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The night autumn air was crisp. Leaves were turning shades of orange and brown, falling and cluttering the ground. The trees were starting to look barren as they were thinning out, with their foliage piled around their trunks. This was exactly the kind of season that Willow Wisp, a brown unicorn, loved. Not that she really played favorites, as the unicorn always found something to admire no matter the season. There was just something about autumn; chill enough to warm up by a fire and drink hot beverages, but not cold enough to be bundled up inside all the time. Not to mention the feeling of crunching leaves underneath her hooves. There was nothing quite so satisfying as hearing a loud crackle.

Still somewhat a babben at heart, the fully grown Wisp was having a moment of playfulness. She was bounding in and out of piles of leaves, letting herself be fully engulfed by them. Her coloring allowed her to naturally blend in with the leaves, as her coat and mane as largely brown and yellow; her minty hair too pale to really reflect as green in the moonlight. What really did standout however was her bright teal horn, which had bizarre intense glow even when Wisp wasn’t performing magic. Her horn was like a beacon in the night, even when Wisp was nearly entirely buried in leaves, her horn stuck out like a sore thumb against all orange, red, and brown colors of the forest floor.

It took a moment for Wisp to see what had, or who, had spoken to her. The voice broke her carefree leaps, and instead she stood peering into the shadows. Wisp did find it a bit unusual that shadows could speak, she had to wonder how that was possible. The unicorn mare, who nearly blended so well into the forest, had trouble picking out the mare that blended into the shadows. It was the eyes that caught her attention, their glossy red reflecting back the light of her horn. “Lights will always help you find what you need though,” Wisp replied to the shadowy figure.

Her own natural curiosity caused her to advance, step by step to see a better. “Judging by your eyes and shadow, I wonder if you are a Cheshire.” She whispered lightly, more to herself than her unexpected company.

As Wisp drew closer, the figure before her became much clearer. It was not a cheshire cat but a phony instead, and one the likes that Wisp had never seen before. As leaves swirled up by her hooves, and the whoosh of air ran through her mane, Wisp couldn’t help but smile wide. ““That is a marvelous trick,” the unicorn dreamily watched the leaves fall to the ground.

Her smile turned into a look of awe, as Wisp saw beyond the leaves and took in the full effect of the mare’s wings. They were much like a dragon or a bat. “…Oh… your wings are mesmerizing.”

“I’ve never found that to be a bad thing. Who knows what you’ll find if you follow, there’s so much wonders to be discovered.” Wisp said cheerily, ever the optimist that everything works out the way it should even if there might be a detour.

The unicorn faintly blushed at the flattery. “It’s always the most luminous at night or under cloudy covers, sunlight usually makes it less noticeable I suppose. I never really thought about it too much on how it might change from time to time, I’m so use to the shine. Though I’ve heard the occasional complaint that the glow can keep some awake.”

Utterly fascinated by the wings, Wisp took a closer step to inspect the other mare up close, face to face. At times, she was a little jealous of her siblings and father’s abilities to fly and daydreamed about what that was like. Now she wondered if flying was entirely a different sensation if wings were leathery instead of feathery. “It must feel amazing to glide along in a cool breeze, and almost disappear into the sky.”

Wisp was incapable of disappearing into anything almost, least if shadows, But that made the other mare so exotic and mysterious, with a dark color that let her fade into the night.

“A club? I’ve always wanted to go, but somehow never really found the time.” Wisp often let the day take her wherever, not often with a plan unless she needed something in particular. Fate made most of her decisions for her. Dancing wasn’t an unfamiliar concept though, and the brown mare did a small shuffle and sway to an imaginary tune. "Stars sound like a wonderful audience, or dancing partner."

“Magic?” Seeing the mare wrinkle her nose gave Wisp an idea of how to explain it. Mimicking it, Wisp wrinkled her nose a little bit to illustrate the point she was about to make. “Magic, is like a tingle in your nose and a gentle warm feeling. Almost like having butterflies in your stomach, but instead it’s butterflies on the top of your head.” Then Wisp, without really thinking much about it, raised a hoof and very lightly tapped the grey mare on the forehead, as if that helped make her point.

"Perhaps I shall see you there sometime... as for being here...."

Playing. Feeling the satisfying crunch of leaves under hooves. Wisp considered her answer to the question, though she thought better of saying such a literal one about what she had just been doing. Perhaps, the more accurate answer was in the big picture of why she was out in the forest. “A wandering soul. That’s what my family would say I have. I like to go everywhere, see everything there is to see. I let fate direct me. But the forest especially, it just calls to me. The breeze through the trees, the rustle of birds in branches, the crisp air … there’s something beautiful and majestic about it, even in the simplest things… you just need to stop to notice. “

Wisp took a brief look around. Maybe it looked like just a pile of leaves on a forest floor, but the unicorn always saw possibilities. With magic, she hovered a small twig that still had some of its reddening leaves attached. Gently, using magic and a hoof, she tucked the branch behind the winged mare’s ear and into mane, like a small hair pin. “Beauty is everywhere,” she smiled. “What brought you down, if the sky is your domain?”

"Ah," Wisp let out a little chuckle, but blushed a little. The unicorn sometimes forgot what it must look like in the dark, like a firefly almost perhaps.

"Light, dark, both have their own tricks to play when it comes to concealing or revealing things. A little bit of daring can go a long way in unlocking mysteries. You've solved this one. No ominous spirits dancing alone, just me." Wisp shuffled her hooves a little, silently wondering if being a phony was less interesting then purely dancing lights. She had to admit, that would be something worth investigating.
" But maybe that's a better surprise then just lights. A light wouldn't be easy to dance with... unless maybe it was a lamp post. I've seen a phony or two on stage to do that."

“Yes … to an invitation? Perhaps you just need to know how to ask the lights.” Wisp smiled back, thinking that the conversation was very serious indeed. The unicorn didn’t immediately understand that Nocturne meant her; Wisp was sure that a truly floating light probably could accept an invitation. “I’m sure no one has ever asked a light before, but maybe they would like to go out.”

As Nocturne continued with her joke, Wisp suddenly got it. “Oh!...oh…” she blushed a little, embarrassed for realizing it late, “that does sound lovely. If you don’t mind my lighting it up some. Nocturne.” Wisp’s smile melted into a look of awe, a beautiful name to suit the mare. She repeated it, “Nocturne, my name is Willow Wisp, but most people call me Wisp. I think I would like to see your batcave, very much.”