Midnight

"Wow, look at all the people and ponies here tonight! I've never seen so many at once!" Starla gasps for what may be the third time tonight.

That's alright – I know she's excited about this. From the time she and Teddy picked me up in the Cutlass, I could sense her anticipation building up to our arrival in the town square. Granted, I can't quite understand her fascination with social gathering and interactions, but I'm wired different.

It was an experience in itself riding in the back seat of the Cutlass alongside Starla. With the top down, the wind was a bit noisy, but the feeling of the airwhipping past made it worthwhile. And it really wasn't that loud – Star and I had some discussions on how we would go about tonight, wandering around the car show.

But I was taken aback by how busy it was as a Teddy crept through the crowd to the car show area. Even I have to say I've never seen this many people and... well, it was a bit overwhelming. I had to take a few deep breaths and ground myself; Star helped me with that, so by the time we were parked and Teddy was setting up, I was ready to go.

Teddy has been content to lay back a few steps from Star and I; it was his idea to have me... erm, 'leading the way' in this little exercise. So while he's chimed in here and there on conversation, it's mainly been a one-on-one session between us mares.

But I quickly came to the conclusion that I... didn't really have a plan here to support Starla. I myself have rarely interacted with passersby, and the few friends I have all introduced themselves to me. So tonight has been nice to look at cars, but for Starla...

I can tell that even though she's still thrilled to be here, the lack of interaction with others has been a bit of a disappointment. There's been a few waves here and there along with some brief friendly greetings, but it seems no one has the time to stop and partake in anything beyond that. Adults don't have much interest in us, while the kids and the ponies, excited as they may be to see Starla and me, are glued to their parents or... well, owner's side.

After a half hour of walking around now, I feel like I'm kind of failing Starla. Yeah, much of tonight thus far has been out of my control, and I don't... I don't really have any idea what I'm doing. I've given Starla multiple pep talks on pausing to think before responding to try to be a bit more reserved in her seemingly ingrained spontaneity, and what should always be kept under wraps – which seems obvious, but— well, it's sort of hard to tell someone to dial back friendliness, too.

"What's this thing? It looks like a car and truck mashed into one," Starla comments as we sidle up to a clean white vehicle.

"Ford Ranchero, but I'm not sure of the year..." I trail off, taking a few steps forward to glance at the placard in the front windshield corner. "1973 with a 351."

"Huh, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. Were there more vehicles made like this, or was this it?"

"They made these for a number of years, and Chevy had the El Camino for even longer," I explain, surprised as I realize despite being more common, we haven't seen one of those yet. "Other than that... I don't know. That might have been it. I don't think either were big sellers."

Unfortunately, that's legitimately all the knowledge I have – my walking encyclopedia sidekick isn't here tonight to chime in...

But that's fine. We really need the Hemi painted to move forward with the project. I wish John were here, but I'm eager to see what he's able to accomplish by the time I get back home tonight.

"Ford only made the Ranchero until the late seventies – the El Camino lasted about a decade longer, and I think for a short time, GMC made a copy of it, too," Teddy speaks up. "Chrysler made a smaller version of the same idea called the Rampage, but... well, I've never seen one. They were even less successful."

"Thanks, Teddy," I say, turning my head and flashing him a grin. "My focus on specifics is tethered to the '60s and early '70s – glad you're here to fill in the blanks."

"Happy to help when I can," he says, taking a slight bow while he chuckles to himself.

There are easily over a hundred vehicles here this evening, so our little group moves on after a short glance at the interior, upholstered in a deep red, and then to the rear of the Ranchero. It is a neat little idea for a car – I'll have to do some deep-dive reading on it and the other hybrids in that odd class.

But with each passing minute, I'm starting to feel anxious. The whole idea of this night was to get Starla some face time with others, be it people or ponies. Once again – how do I do that? Since the opportunity hasn't arisen naturally, should I just go up to random folks and try to stop them?

What the hell do I even talk about? How do I include Starla into the conversation if I'm the one instigating it? This is taking way more effort and thought than I expected.

"Wow, it's not often I get to see others at eye level with me," a mature, feminine voice chuckles. It pulls me out of my current internal battle to figure out who said that.

That's not a hard mystery to solve – just off to my right, a fellow pony with a familiar off-white coat and pastel mane stands just a couple of feet away. Her magenta eyes scan between me and Starla equally, amused and intrigued by what she just mentioned – ponies matching her height.

I'm sort of surprised I hadn't noticed a Celestia bot present earlier – they usually stick out on account of size and color. Then again, tonight is a busy night, with plenty of folks milling about. Also, cars are present – my big interest.

"Hi there!" Starla blurts out with barely contained excitement, circling in front of me to approach Celestia.

Uh – hi. Sorry, I was lost in thought," I admit, decidedly more reserved in my approach to greeting as I offer a wave.

"Aw, that's quite alright? How are my fellow ponies doing this evening?" Celestia calls back, tilting her head as she inspects both Starla and I.

But my focus turns to Starla – more importantly, keeping watch over her. She's excited, and that's when the filter can come off in her head.

"We're doing great! There's a lot of cars out here tonight, huh?" Starla answers her, garnering a cheerful head-bob from the bot. "You're Celestia, right?"

I start to answer but catch myself before uttering a word. I don't think 'Who else would she be?' is an appropriate comment at this moment.

"I suppose I am in a sense, but my family actually gave me a custom name. I'm Aurora," she replies, putting a hoof to her chest.

Wait, that's a thing? Granted, I'm not well-versed in ponybot info, but I figured they all just went by their show counterpart names. Now I'm doubly glad I bit my tongue – I wouldn't have just made myself an ass, I'd have been a dumbass.

But Celes— Aurora now looks at us with a smile that's faltered just a bit now. "I actually don't recognize either of you," she says, a hint of concern in her voice. "Usually I can hazard a guess..." she trails off, her eyes narrowing just a bit as she inspects us closer...

"Well that's okay! It's because we're—"

I step forward and flare my left wing out in front of Starla to cut her off, causing her eyes to go wide with shock. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but between Aurora's bit of suspicion toward us and Starla's excitement...

"We're actually customs models – not really a basis on the show," I speak up glancing over at Starla and flashing her an uneasy, apologetic smile. "We get that a lot – my name's Midnight."

Starla's expression softens up, now realizing why I jumped in. She nods her head while I lower my wing back down to bring her back into the conversation. "Yeah, I can't say we've come across many custom models like us. I'm Starla," she answers, continuing to roll with my setup.

Thankfully, that explanation also alleviates the slightly troubled reaction from Aurora. Her expression lightens up as her original welcoming demeanor and smile return.

"I must admit, this is a first for me!" Aurora proclaims, giggling at her own reaction. "It's very nice to meet you both. Every year during this show I get to meet some folks and ponies from distant areas that come together here – did you two travel far?"

"It... was a bit of a drive," Starla chimes in cautious in her answer as she flicks her eyes to me for approval, which I offer with a slight nod. "We're from around this general area, but this is the first time we've been to your town's annual show."

Starla motions back to Teddy, who stands just a few feet behind us, pretending to ogle at a nearby car while the three of us are tied up. "I live with Teddy – Midnight's a friend of mine we invited to come with us tonight."

Starla is doing great now that her initial unbridled enthusiasm has been tempered. But now it's my turn to get a little suspicious; while we're near our... eugh, 'owner', Aurora hasn't glanced around or introduced us to her 'family.'

"Who did you come with tonight?" I chime in, restraining my voice to something much more casual than I feel right now.

Without hesitation, Aurora turns to her left and flares out her wing on that side, pointing the feathertips toward a Ford Country Squire wagon just a couple of rows down and across the street. An older gentleman sits in a lawn chair, happily watching the folks passing by; meanwhile, inside the wagon, I can see a young boy and girl playing some sort of silly game between the back cargo area and the back row of seats.

"It's probably different where you're from – surprises a lot of ponies to see one of us venturing out a little bit," Aurora says. "This is a big event, but we're a small town. Rules are pretty relaxed, so we can walk around a bit without needing someone by our side. But I don't stray too much further than this – no sense in abusing it, you know? And I do enjoy the kids."

Aurora pauses to stretch – particularly focusing on one of her hind legs. "I like to stay a bit more active. The actuator in this back leg likes to start sticking if I'm lazy for an extended period of time," she chuckles. "I'm sure you know how that is."

"Yeah... I get that in my wings from time to time," I comment, fanning them out in demonstration. I force one of them to twitch a bit in an attempt to sell it. "Yep, right on cue, too. Damn thing."

Starla looks at my wings for a moment, then raises up one of her front legs and smiles. "Sometimes, it just gets to a point where you're better off replacing things," she says, flexing her limb. "I suppose the downside of being a custom model – parts aren't an exact match."

Perfect! I didn't even have the time to think of that on Starla's behalf – she included herself with her own little twist and without giving anything away.

Hell, that might have been a better way for her to focus on selling herself as a bot. Now I'm almost a bit ashamed... but then again, I'm so used to her quirks, be they physical or mental, that I never really notice her discolored front legs these days.

"Ah, that explains the coloring!" Aurora blurts out. She covers her mouth with a hoof, aghast at her utterance. "I'm sorry, I wasn't focused on that, I just noticed and—"

"Oh no no – you're fine, Aurora," Starla interrupts, motioning for her to settle down. "It doesn't bother me one bit. They're better than what I was—"

Starla pauses, taking note as my eyes dart toward her and glow a bit brighter. It's more subtle than a wing block, but still gets the job done.

"—made with. The custom parts, they had their glitches."

The finish comes out a bit broken and awkward, but Aurora doesn't appear to take note – at least, not of Starla. Aurora's magenta eyes have seized upon me as they widen a bit – though her beaming expression remains almost fully intact. "Wow, they put some pretty neat details in you two, huh? I hadn't even noticed your glowing eyes until now," she comments

Er... I guess that makes sense she would now notice, but it leaves me feeling vulnerable being put on the spot. At least she didn't mention anything about my slitted pupils... and now that I think of it, I'm glad she hasn't drawn comparisons between me and my closest show counterpart. That would have been awkward.

"Yeah, my own little quirk, I guess," I reply, trying to brush it aside.

"Aurora!" A little voice calls out our acquaintance's name; the little girl in the Country Squire has climbed out of the back and stands beside her parental guardian, waving frantically toward our group.

"Oops, looks like I'm wanted by my little friend. It was good to meet you two," Aurora sings, turning to head back.

"Maybe we'll meet each other again sometime! Thanks, Aurora!" Starla cheers, waving her goodbye as she trots off toward her family.

"Yeah, have a good night," I call after her. That actually went fairly well. Maybe a bit awkward at times but—

Starla's legs wrap around my neck, hugging me close in a surprise attack I hadn't noticed or anticipated... or cared to do so, anyway. "Midnight, that was wonderful!" she shouts. "Thank you so much for that!"

"Hey, that was pretty much all you, Star," I concede, returning her hug. "All I did was awkwardly butt in once or twice."

"That second time was perfect – maybe we should have gone over ways for you to stop me from getting carried away beforehand, but your eyes glowing – that was good thinking."

"Yeah... I didn't do much planning. To be honest, I'm realizing I'm not exactly sharp when it comes to interacting with new people... or ponies. I'm glad someone stepped up and happened to strike up a conversation," I admit while pulling away from her, that pang of doubt coming back despite the celebratory atmosphere.

"I thought you both did really well – maybe tonight is a learning experience for both of you," Teddy remarks, stepping into the conversation. He strokes Starla's mane while offering a pat upon my withers. "You both complement each other well, covering each other's... well, I don't want to say weaknesses, but—"

"Nah, no offense taken. We don't need to dress it up," I quip, adding a chuckle to assure him I'm good.

"Hopefully we get to see Aurora again someday – and hopefully we get to meet a lot more ponies like her tonight!" Starla exclaims, rising back to her hooves and trotting forward with her new mission in mind.

"Well, let's not go overboard tonight," I comment, trailing after her with Teddy in tow. "Don't want to meet em all in one night."