Swish. Bounce…bounce…bounce.
Swish. Bounce…bounce…bounce.
Swish. Bounce…bounce…bounce.
Twang! Clack! Bounce…bounce…
“Like, dang, dude,” The tanned stallion sighed, blowing the mane away from in front of his face. “Missed again.”
His voice echoed throughout the Cloudsdale Basketball Court, his words bouncing off of the walls as if they were basketballs themselves. The stallion didn’t mind though, as this was his moment of solitude. The only time in the long and strenuous week that he could have to himself. No work, no drills, no rivals; just quiet, peaceful solitude.
It was a rather ironic thought, getting away from the court by staying in it, but Hoops never thought too much of it. There was something…different about floating at the free-throw line in the middle of the night.
The crowds had long since dispersed, the heat of the games had since receded, and his muscles had since recovered from all of the exercises. All that remained was the ball, the hoop, and Hoops himself.
This calming cycle would have repeated itself tonight as well had somepony not interfered. But sometimes, a little interference can change the entire outcome of a game.
Hoops sighed, knowing that to get his ball back he would have to leave his favorite spot above the free throw line. Shaking his head, the pegasus turned to go search for the stray ball. To his surprise, somepony had already found it for him.
“Uh, wha-- Surprise! What’re you doin’ here?” he exclaimed, whipping his head back and forth for a double, then triple take.
“Just watching an old friend of mine do what he does best.” The white pegasus smiled.
Hoops was still trying to comprehend the unusual situation. “But like, I didn’t even notice you?”
“Surprise!” the giddy mare yelped out loud, doing a small flip in the air for emphasis.
The two ponies shared a friendly laugh, genuine and unrestrained. Hoops wiped an unnoticeable tear from under his eye, settling his laughter.
Surprise’ expression was light. Upon her lips rested an inviting smile, and in her eyes was a warmth that kept her visage ever bright. Hoops remembered the face well; how he could ever forget such a wondrous mare?
The two had once dated, but those days were so far gone now that even the history books have forgotten. However, the pegasi remember their past with blissful cheer. The breakup was mutual, formed from the two of them having been too busy for one another. Their feelings still remained though, as if they were the bottom coals in a fire, still burning but never igniting. Because of this, their friendship stayed strong. Despite being apart, the two could never get enough of one another.
“Anyways,” the white mare began, “I was taking a vacation from Las Pegasus for the week and I figured, why not stop by and see my pal Hoops?”
“Hehe, that’s real nice of you, Surprise.”
“You know me, I just love seeing my friends!” she laughed.
Hoops chuckled along, but his mind was lost elsewhere. Going from a seemingly unshakeable meditative state into light conversation bumped the stallion off track. Now, instead of nothing, Hoops had Surprise to think about.
“So how are you, SP?” he asked, trying to clear his clouded mind.
Surprise’ eyes widened as she reeled her head back, “Wow, haven’t had anypony call me THAT in forever!”
“You didn’t think I’d just stop using your nickname, did you?”
Patches of light red and pink worked their way onto the white pegasus’ cheeks. She turned her head and looked away, a faint smile coming into view.
“Guess not,” she whispered beneath her breath.
The two of them shared an identical blush. It wasn’t much in itself, but the principle behind the nickname made them curl away in embarrassment. Anything from their days together was liable to strike a nerve and pluck a heartstring.
Breaking the silence, Surprise shot out a question. “So what’re you doing here at this hour? I’d think you would want some sleep after a long week.”
“I could ask you the same thing you know,” the stallion with the three basketball cutie mark retorted. “Actually wait, how DID you know I’d be here?”
“Dumbbell and Score said you come here every Friday night. I thought it’d be a fair bet, considering it is Friday after all.”
“Saturday by now.” he laughed.
“Yeah.” She giggled. “But really, why are you here?”
Hoops sighed. He itched his head, ruffling his mane in the process. “I like to come here to just kind of cool down, you know?”
“Long week?” the inquisitive pegasus asked with concern in her voice.
Hoops’ tone changed from lax to irritated. “Every week is a long week. Practice, practice, practice all day long, every day. Then the game, then the speech about how great or awful we were, then we go home. Sleep a few hours, wake up, do it all over again.”
“Oh my, that must be really taxing on you and the team.”
“Of course it is!” Hoops snapped back. “It’s like my entire life is a cycle. I do the same things every day and nothing ever changes. Even this…the only time I have to myself. It’s all part of the cycle.”
Surprise frowned. Dropping the basketball, she outstretched her foreleg and placed a hoof on Hoops’ shoulder. Hoops’ tried to force a smile, but nothing was working.
“It’ll never change, SP. I’m just an average pegasus with an athletic talent. But I guess there’s not much I can do about it right?”
Surprise tightened her grip on his shoulder, forcing him to look her straight in the eye - her bright, purple eyes. Hoops’ removed his mop of a mane from his face, revealing his own light green eyes.
“Listen, Hoops. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s surprises. And if I’ve learned anything about surprises, it’s that they throw all of the ordinary guck out the window. Now, you can say what you want about your cyclical life, but in the end, it’s all up to you.”
And with that, she released his shoulder. With a light smirk on her face, the random mare began hovering towards the door. Once she had reached it, she turned and called out to Hoops.
“Hoop Loop!” she yelled “If you wanna do something interesting for a change, I’ll be here all week.”
The court door shut behind her, echoing across the room. Hoops stood motionless at the center of the court. His eyes were fixated on the ground, as his mind tried it’s best to take in what was just said to him.
Seeing the ball, Hoops instinctively picked it up and walked over to his favorite spot. He placed his legs methodically in their places before lifting himself slightly off of the ground. Glancing at the hoop, he bounced the ball twice and threw it.
Swish! Bounce…bounce…bounce…
Hoops looked over at the door to the court, then back to the basketball hoop. The ball had bounced its way back to him, but he felt no need to pick it up this time.
Most of his life had been the same, unchanging and repetitive. Why couldn’t he change that? What could possibly stop him? Oh yeah…
“Nothing.”
The sportstallion smiled. He flicked his hoof, knocking the ball away while he headed for the door. Life was about to take a turn for the better.
“SP, wait for me!”
