Trit-trotting up the street...

[Roxanne]

[Time: Early winter, I gather? in the afternoon]

Roxanne slowed down as she neared her theater, and stopped in front of the double doors. Twin whiffs of steam came out of her nostrils.

The magical events of the autumn had been a little too much for her to handle. Everything that had happened was so mixed up in her mind... rainbow streaks, the panicking town, tongues of fire, and behind it all was a blue and iridescent mist. Such were her only memories, and when she had awoken from her deep sleep after the battle, they would not quiet themselves in her mind.

So Roxy had left town for a while. It was something she had never done, but she felt that it would clear her thoughts. She left her theater unlocked, because she figured Ponyville was safe again, and headed off for a month to walk down the river and back. She had gone many miles, thinking of things she had never thought of before: magic, philosophy, childhood, and the little blue heart on the inside of her back ankle.

Now that she was back - well, she was her old cheerful self. She was ready to fix the Center Stage, ready to plan a new season, ready to recruit some new talent...

Maybe magic existed, and maybe it could really affect her life, but she wouldn't worry about it any more. The past was over, and the future was happening every minute. Optimistic reality, in short, was calling her name.

Roxane grinned, rubbed her hooves together, and opened the door to her loft. She trotted upstairs, flopped on her bed, and stretched with a squealing whinny of pleasure.

"Nwheeeeheee!!"

[Roxanne]

From her position flat on her back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, Roxy perked her ears. She could hear... what sounded like... voices... downstairs?!

She hopped to her feet and took the flight of stairs two at a time to her flat's little ground-floor front hall, and she went through its side door into the theater lobby.

She popped into the box office and hit the master switch.

"By the Bard, that's right, the bloody lights are out. Oh balls." Thwarted, she grabbed a high-beam flashlight from a desk drawer. The lobby was lit by stained-glass windows during the daytime, but she wanted some extra light just in case.

She popped her head into the theater. "Halloooah?"

[Shadoweaver]

Shadoweaver's head swung in the direction of Roxy's voice. "Oh...well I guess I was wrong. The food can wait a moment. Hello!" She called back clearly.

[Christian]

Christian opened his mouth to reply to the flutter, but was cut off by (or so he guessed) the owner of the theatre. Chiming in with Shadoweaver, he called out in response. "Hello!"

A bright smile lit up his face. There was a twinge of hope quickly growing in his heart. Maybe, just maybe, he’d get the job that he was after.

[Roxanne]

"Well I declare! Hey y'all, doncha know there's something called trespassing?"

But Roxy was in a good mood, and the voices sounded friendly. She was only a bit miffed and was quite interested to know what was going on.

"Come on chaps, however many hundreds of you there are, join me in the lobby! Git up! Clear out! Come on now! And mind you don't get near the stage, it's a ruddy mess, trust me on that one - " And she absentmindedly ran her hoof over one of the minute scars that the broken lighting track had left on her leg.

[Bp]

Christian's ears went limp. "I'm sorry." He felt bad about having trespassed, especially sense the thought had never crossed his mind.

Taking note of what was said to Shadoweaver and him, he headed for the lobby.

[Shadoweaver]

Shadoweaver followed at a half-trot, her normal pace when she needed to keep up with the longer legged.

Trespassing? The thought hadn't entered her mind either. Too much time with her teachers, she supposed...they seemed to make a point of popping in just about anywhere. And where they didn't appear, they watched... Aedeminar in particular held nothing sacred. She wondered idylly where the ancient pony was....

But the she was in the lobby, and there was the here-and-now to deal with. Shadow bobbed her head to Roxanne.

[Roxanne]

Roxanne smiled at the two ponies who came towards her. They seemed nice; and certainly harmless.

"Hello kids! This is all of you, then? Well. I'm Roxanne, and obviously, this is my theater, right!

"So, eh - what can I do for you two snoopers?" She looked at them expectantly, quite ready to hear what she thought must be an interesting explanation.

[Bp]

Christian stepped forward, and gave an embarrassed smile, still having felt bad about waltzing into the theatre. He gave a quick bow of his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am. My name's Christian, and I... I was hoping to compose a script for the theatre."

Multi-colored eyes shifted nervously. "That is, of course, considering that you like what I do."

[Roxanne]

"Well hey now... there's an idea.

"Oh, y'know, no need to call me ma'am. We're all on an even keel here. I swear I don't bite." Roxanne grinned.

"As for the writing thing..." she mused, nodding to herself for a moment. "Welp, I'm definitely going to try to get a season up and running, so uh... yeah, I could always use another good mind.

"What kinda stuff d'you write? Or would you like to have a meeting sometime?

"And - " she turned to the other pony - "I'd love to know what you're here for, too, eh!"

[Shadoweaver]

"Heard something. Was curious, that's all." Shadoweaver shrugged. "But I'm afraid I feel the need to return to my own buisness...I have a sinking feeling that people have wandered in during my absence." She looked at Christian, both apologetic and wistful. "Finish your talk here with her, eh? I wish you luck. Wander into the Black Dragon Inn when you're done, perhaps?"

[Roxanne]

Roxanne blinked at the cryptic pony. "Yeah, that's it? Well, uh, at least tell me your name so I can say halloo if I see ya around town. And what's your business? - Maybe I'll trespass sometime!" She tipped the mare a broad wink.

[Shadoweaver]

"Shadoweaver," she said with the faintest of smiles--in fact, most unfamiliar with her face would not even notice the slight upturning of her lips. "The inn, as I mentioned. Can't miss it, it sticks out like a sore thumb...seems a few hundred years out of place. YOu can find my house the same way too...if it looks like a castle in miniature, you've got it." She chuckled, then turned and walked--not to the door, but to the nearest patch of shadow. And vanished.

Cryptic? Sometimes. Odd? Certainly. Cliche? Only a little.

[Roxanne]

"No worries babe, the Center Stage ain't exactly the newest kid on the block either."

Then Roxy blinked. Aw bloody fish, more magic? Well, she seemed harmless at least.

[Bp]

Christian was about to reply, but was cut off by Shadoweaver. He smiled at the mare. "I will."

As Shadoweaver disappeared into the shadows, Christian found himself staring. He wasn't used to ponies just vanishing, his hometown was quite ordinary. Not much magic happened in those parts.

He cleared his throat and began to speak, though his eyes were still locked on the shadows. "Romance..." His eyes trailed back to Roxanne. "A meeting would be good."