It was midday at this point and Charlotte had been left to her own devices. Get to know her fellow campers? Introduce herself to some of the training staff? The choices were many. But one in particular bubbled up in the back of her head, exploration. She was free to wander the property and check things out. Out of all the options, that was the most exciting to her. Sure, she liked being social. But she was also an incredibly curious type.
So exploration it was.
Unpacking her bags and tucking the bits of clothing she had into the little storage space she had, she would quickly shove a bag of cherry-flavored soft candies into her pocket and head out of her cabin. She stepped out into the sunlight, blowing strands of fiery red hair from her face. It seemed everyone else was kind of mingling in and around their cabins, except for Liam who was walking down the steps of a cabin rubbing his backside and looking to pout as Ashley leaned against the door frame grinning.
Charlotte noted the slight pain the tawny-haired man seemed to be in and walked up to him, "Hey Liam, I was just wondering what the best route around the property is? I'm kind of eager to go look around."
Liam didn't answer, instead, Ashley behind him spoke up, "Ah, Liam is rather forbidden from opening his big mouth right now. I would recommend taking the main path down towards the training fields, circling past the steeple chase course, and then making your way up to the stables, that way when you're finished it's downhill to the cabins instead of uphill. It's a bit of a walk, but based on those strong-looking legs of yours, I'm quite sure you can handle it." Ashley tapped her chin for a few moments.
"Liam. Why don't you show Charlotte to the right path?"
Liam stomped on the ground firmly.
"Good Stallion." She waved a dismissive hand and wrapped her arms around the shoulder of a raven-haired woman with creamy dark skin and made her way back into the cabin she was standing on the porch of.
Liam motioned for Charlotte to follow, which she did. Hiking up her leggings a little bit as she moved along. A few of the other campers offered polite waves to her and she was quick to offer that bright smile of hers and a polite nod back. It seemed everyone here was more than a bit friendly and were from all walks of life. She saw people younger than her and people older. All here to explore their fantasies the same as her. It was refreshing.
Liam led her out of the Horseshoe layout of the cabins and pointed to a well-groomed path that led down a steep zig-zag incline towards several fields below and the curious building Charlotte had seen earlier. She turned to Liam and smiled, "Thank you. I really appreciate it."
Liam offered a smile and puffed out his chest as if he was proud of completing the small task.
"Alright. I'm going to explore!" Charlotte said suddenly before turning on her heel and heading off down the path. Up the hill on her right were the stables, looming over the property like a castle on a hilltop. The route Ashley had recommended made a lot of sense because the climb back up to the top from the bottom where she was headed was not going to be an easy one and yet she noted a few carts like the one Lila had been riding on being pulled by elegant looking ponies up and down the various hills.
"That's some next-level fitness." She said in amazement. She couldn't imagine trying to pull a cart with a passenger up hills like these!
She walked to the right side of the path just in case any carts were making their way along and hummed softly as she walked, letting fingers trace ancient rocks lining the sides of the path. They looked like they'd been pulled right out of the small mountain the place was built into. She took a moment to pause though as she realized these rocks were all etched with names, each of them filled with glittery silver paint.
'Sunset' 'Dakota' 'Kupkake' 'Jo' 'Telra' 'Josie'
These were just a few of the names that had been carved into the stones. There were dozens upon dozens more. Charlotte wondered what their significance was? A question that was answered when she reached the bottom of the winding path and a sign sat atop the very last rock reading, 'Memorial Path. Honoring ponies and trainers alike who have left us.'
Charlotte looked up the path and smiled softly. There had to of been a hundred names carved into those stones. It was a beautiful thing to behold, "That's a really pretty way to honor the past." She mused, wondering if her name too would lay alongside the rest of them someday. She hoped it didn't mean they were all people who passed away. Hopefully, it included people who had moved on from the farm as well and the like.
After taking a long moment to reflect upon such a permanent and perhaps historic fixture, she'd turned about to look down the final inclined path to her right. There as it seemed would lead her around to a field with letters placed at strategic points all around it. From this distance, they seemed to perhaps be big and bold wooden carved letters. Or maybe metallic? Whatever the case, their placement seemed to be in such a manner that they were only perceivable as correct in shape and orientation if one were to stand in the center. There it was that all the curious lines that were painted upon the lush green grass seemed to concentrate and flow out from. Turning to look along her left, the path led to a rustic-looking covered bridge. No explanation was offered by its mere existence of what it led to, and all the more it wasn't part of the described path that Ashley said to follow.
Deciding to heed Ashley's advice she'd take the path to her right, finishing the downhill hike and walking around the edge of the enclosed training area. Alongside the field were several other setups. Several poles stuck into the ground in a straight line, three enclosed round pens with very well-worn paths around their outer edges, and even what seemed to be a smaller version of the steeple course she'd seen earlier. She watched in awe as a pony dressed in pastel blue tack with a crisp gray catsuit on underneath leapt over the steeples in sequence. She looked as graceful as an actual horse as her body sailed through the air, her well-built hooves never so much as touching one of the poles.
Charlotte decided to take a moment to lean against the fence and watch. Near the gate that led into the steeple stood a man dressed in similar garb to the trainers she'd seen earlier. He was an older gentleman with grey streaking his hair which was combed back in a handsome style. He seemed to watch intensely as the pony took her last few jumps and came to a sliding stop in front of him.
The click of a stopwatch echoed through the air. Fifty-one seventy-nine
"Fifty-one point seventy-nine, not too bad Sky. Two seconds more and you'd be claiming the top of the board."
The pony, Sky, let out a bit of a grumpy snort as she glanced back towards the steeple, staring at them like they were against her. Her vibrant blue-green mane was held in a messy ponytail away from her face which was lathered in sweat. Just a bit of drool leaking from the corner of the silicone bit tucked neatly in her mouth.
"Really? Snorting at me? Sounds like you WANT to do five more rounds."
The pony stomped her hoof into the ground once.
The man let out a chuckle that came from his belly, "Why do I even bother threatening you? Go on then you silly pony. Two more laps, not five. And put in some extra effort, you've got an audience." Despite the man standing with his back to where Charlotte stood, he knew she was there. He turned his head and winked at her making Charlotte flush slightly as Sky offered a polite curtsy in her direction and lined up at a painted line on the ground, ready to start again.
The man turned his gaze to Sky and held up a whip in one hand, "Ready?"
Sky stomped once.
The man snapped the whip, the crack echoing through the area and Sky took off like a bullet going into the sequence of jumps once more.
The man turned slightly and raised a hand, using one finger to make a 'come here' motion at Charlotte.
Charlotte tilted her head.
"Don't be shy dear. Much better view from inside the field."
Charlotte smiled brightly and nodded, fumbling awkwardly with the gate latch until the man came over and finally helped her open it up, "Don't worry. Nobody can figure those damn things out on the first try." He walked with Charlotte back to his spot which Charlotte noted was a very 'worn' spot in the grass. Like dozens of trainers had stood in that exact spot directing ponies through the jumps.
