//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Idyllic Interludes // by lollipopchica //------------------------------// -C1- "Can we go over that last scene one more time?" Chrystal Heart asked as she pulled herself back up on stage from her supposed fall to her death. Cadance Mi Amore stared at the mare who was her supporting actress before sighing. Chrystal could be such a slave driver thought the beautiful mare. But in their line of work, the best performance was all that mattered and the mare pushed everypony around her to give more. Sometimes it was endearing, sometimes not. Tonight it was not so endearing. The Manehattan theatre scene was top brass in Equestria. Only the brightest stars occupied its venues. It spoke a lot about a pony's ability if they got the chance to work in this city. Grand Manehattan Theatre had rich history that was as old as the city itself. It was one of the great show houses with a reputation as colorful as its performances. It was a luxurious place and no pony wanted to tarnish its legacy with a mediocre show. With audible groans, the cast and crew readied themselves for what they hoped to be the last practice of the evening. Later in the dressing room... "Cadance, could you pass me the makeup remover pads?" Asked Chartreuse a pony with a pale golden coat and eyes as her namesake. "Sure thing," said the starlet as she floated the item over. "Are you coming with us for drinks tonight?" "Not tonight..." The mare grinned as she brushed the curls out of her hair. "Cadance has a date." Came the voice of Chrystal Heart, born Chrysalis Black, as she flopped down at the vanity on the free side of Cadance. "What is this? The third date this week?" "Ooo..." Chartreuse wiggled her eyebrows at the mare, who shared a knowing look with Chrystal before the trio dissolved into a fit of laughter. Cadance liked to keep her options open. Plus the mare loved meeting new ponies, most if all her dates were strictly casual. The mare liked to flirt, so three dates in one week was a record for the same pony. "It's not like that," Cadance defended. "This one's-" "Different?" The other two sounded before falling into giggles again at the expression on the mare's face. "Why do I even bother?" Cadance complained with smiling eyes. The trio continued to remove remnants of their characters from themselves as they chatted about random topics. "Are you still considering Stone's play- I read the script and it’s pretty amazing." "Hmm. He hasn't contacted me. You know he and I don't mesh well." The relationship between Chrystal Heart and Cadance Mi Amore was one built of mutual respect. While Chrystal was slightly envious of the younger mare, she was in no way hateful towards her. If she were honest, it was actually really hard to hate the other as Cadance really was a nice pony. A fact that annoyed Chrysalis to no end. None of the three were 'friends,' but they were friendly enough that they could joke and talk to each other after work. It was customary that after a Friday night rehearsal everypony go out for drinks. "Well I bid you ladies adieu." Cadance sang cheerfully as she secured her coat and headed for the exit. "Night, Cadie!" Chartreuse called. "Bye Princess!" Chrysalis called using the nickname she'd given the other years ago. "Are you coming with us?" Chartreuse asked as she checked her complexion one more time. Pale blonde curls swung over her shoulder as she regarded her co-worker. "No, you guys go on ahead. I'll meet you there." "Chrystal... It’s 11 o'clock- Manehattan isn't all that safe at this time of night." The darker mare rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl. Besides, Delia's is barely a ten minute walk down the street." "Are you sure?" Asked the other worriedly. "What's the worst that could happen?" *-*-*-*-* "Give me your purse, bitch!" "No!" Chrystal struggled wildly against the stallion who pulled on her purse strings. "Help!" She screamed as she struggled tirelessly against the other. "Somepony- Help!" She'd only been walking for about five minutes when some grey colored stallion had bum rushed her and pulled her down an alleyway in an attempt to take the designer bag that rested comfortably against her side. There was no way she was letting somepony run over her like that. Especially when she'd just gotten that bag. Chrysalis' bright eyes couldn't make out the features of the mugger as the shadows of the alleyway obscured her vision. She could hear other ponies hurrying by trying to avoid the scene. "Let it go, you creep!" She grunted, incensed at the spinelessness of the ponies around her. With a growl, her attacker shoved her hard causing her to trip backwards into the rough brick wall behind her. Chrystal grunted as she hit hard bouncing forward only to receive a hard right that rocked the side of her face as a haze of pain draped over her. The world around her was spinning as she lost her balance and crumpled to the ground completely disoriented. She was faintly aware of her Dior bag being torn away as her jeweled pendant was yanked from her neck. Just as her vision was fading, she saw a new set of hoofs, cerulean in color, as the sound of a scuffle lulled her into unconsciousness. *-*-*-*-* Early Dawn Elementary was a nice private school located closer to Uptown Manehattan. Shining Armor had been working at the school for about six months now. Though teaching was very different from the last job he had as an Equestrian soldier, it had its own benefits. After an unfortunate event that resulted in an honorable discharge, the former soldier found himself lost with no job. Every day he looked in the mirror he was reminded of the accident that scarred the left side of his face and claimed the life of the pony who had been like a brother to him. Blue eyes followed the pale pink scar that crawled across his left cheek, jumping over his eye as it snaked into his hairline. After his discharge it took him a little while to find himself and piece together some kind of life. Now here he was eighteen months later starting all over again as an elementary teacher. Straightening his blue sweater, and matching striped tie, the stallion was satisfied with his appearance as he moved to leave his tiny apartment. He didn't mind his scars so much nowadays. His trot to school took less than twenty minutes. He nodded at the passerbys as he mentally prepared himself for another class with the foals that were starting to worm their way into his heart. When he arrived to the school, Shining Armor took his time to his classroom as he casually spoke with other teachers that lingered about in the hallway. Most of the school's faculty arrived about an hour early. What he wasn't prepared to find was a dark siren comfortably seated in his empty classroom. A dark mare with teal colored hair and bright green eyes stared at him with a smirk that was as calculating as it was curious. Chrysalis was immediately intrigued by the male in front of her. He was snow white, with eyes like the sea. His scarred face only interested her more. It brought him down to the level of his fellow mortals. He was handsome she decided, despite the gaping look on his face. She could tell that he recognized her by the way he stared. "It's... you..." "Imagine my surprise when I find out my mysterious knight in shining armor turned out to be a mild mannered school teacher." “Uh... I-I...” “Are you always this articulate,” she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I was just passing by...” He managed as nonchalantly as he could. Slowly he walked by her to his desk, somewhat unnerved by her presence and stare. When he'd been making his way through the streets that night, he'd been in a blue mood and was hoping to find peace. Instead he found a mare getting robbed, something he couldn't walk away from. “And modest to boot. I can guarantee you two or three others were passing by and none of them so much as yelled for help," she flipped her hair as she rolled her eyes disgusted with the actions of her fellow ponies. “You saved my life,” she said with a crooked smile. Not knowing what else to say, he nodded with a tight smile. A silence fell over the two. “Well,” she breathed deciding to stand. “This is yours.” She presented a handcrafted black leather messenger’s bag. “What’s this?” He asked taking a step forward to examine the presented item. “You dropped it in your haste to keep your identity a secret.” He raised a cyan colored brow as he chanced a look into her eyes. The bag she placed on the table was worth more than what he made in a month. She rolled her eyes as a small smile graced her features. “Well, maybe not that one. But no good deed should go unpunished. And don’t even think about not accepting it.” He looked back down at the high end bag running a hoof over the material as he continued to inspect it. “I… I don’t know what to say,” He admitted sheepishly scratching the back of his head with a hoof after taking a step back. “A ‘thank-you’ never hurt anypony,” she said smartly. “Thanks…” he trailed not knowing her name. “Chrystal…” She supplied with a knowing expression on her striking features. “Chrystal Heart.” His eyes widened as he put a name with the face. “It was nice meeting you.” She winked before making an exit his eyes couldn’t help but follow. *-*-*-*-* The rest of the week had passed by with little noise. The stallion found his mind wander to the dark haired mare every so often as the days danced by quietly. She seemed nice enough despite her high perception of self. He was lost in thoughts of bright green eyes and lesson plans when a flash of pink, blonde and violet caught his attention. He paused. Only one mare had a mane like that. And he briefly recalled that she did in fact reside in this city. "Cadance?" A beautiful mare paused in her movement and looked around her. Classical features were confused until an air of realization settled over them. That voice was familiar and as the idea sunk in, lively eyes darted around until they landed on the stallion from her youth. The teacher and the lady easily gravitated to the other, navigating the crowd passing around and through it. "Shining!" Her voice was just as he remembered. The two were all smiles and laughter as they greeted each other. It had been years since they had seen each other. Childhood friends turned sweethearts, Shining Armor hadn't wanted their relationship to end. He hoped now that they were in the same city things could be different. He had been meaning to look her up. But it looked as if fate decided to help him out. "How have you been?" Cadance gushed kissing him on his unblemished cheek. “I’ve been okay. Hey- have you eaten, yet?” He asked. “Actually, lunch would be nice. I know the perfect place.” Fifteen minutes later, the two were at local spot a few blocks away from the stallion’s school. “So… How are you? Or did I already ask that?” The stallion chuckled at her anxiousness. “It’s not every day you run into old friends like this.” "It’s fine. I know what you mean. I've been alright, making ends meet I guess." The two took their time taking their seats and getting situated. After their waiter took their order, they continued their re-acquaintance with the one another. "Your sister told me you're a teacher now?" "Yeah, it's weird right." "What's up with that? I never would've imagined you stuck in some old school." She wrinkled her nose in jest. Plates were set in front of the duo prompting them to thank their waiter as they continued talking. "I know what you mean." He rolled his eyes before taking a sip of water. "But the kids are great. They can be a handful sometimes, but it’s actually not that bad. So what about you? Big time actress- that’s gotta be exciting." Shining Armor took a bite of his meal as he listened to her response. "It is..." She groaned after washing down a bite of food with crisp white wine. "I've met so many ponies and been so many places- It's great. It’s everything I thought it'd be." "Congratulations, I'm happy for you." He gave her the brightest smile he could as her words crushed the hope he had for the two of them reconciling. Though he had accepted their breakup years ago, he still held a torch for the mare and had one day hoped to pick up where they left off. "No you're not," Cadance took another sip of wine as she studied him. "But I'll pretend you are. I'm really good at that. What's that?" She noticed a light colored bruise under his eye and along his hairline and moved to poke at it. "What- Ouch!" "That on your face... Did you get in a fight?" Her violet eyes narrowed with worry. A light went off in his head as he'd almost forgotten. "The craziest thing happened the other night..." He began to tell her the story of Chrystal's mugging and how the mare had paid her thanks. "You saved Chrystal Heart from getting robbed?" Cadance's eyes were as wide as saucers. He shrugged. "She came by my class and thanked me, even got a gift." "She said, 'thank you'?" "Yeah..." Shining Armor tilted his head as he stared at her oddly. "That’s usually how people show gratitude." "I'm just shocked she was nice to you." Cadance blinked as she looked to be struggling with the concept. "Is... she not nice?" Now Shining Armor was confused. "Well she's not, not nice..." The mare was struggling with how to say what she wanted to say without sounding judgmental. "If I could describe Chrystal in one word... it'd be diva. Diva all the way." "I thought you two were friends." "Please..." She huffed as she rolled her eyes. "More like 'frenemies...' I'm being overdramatic. It's just..." "What?" "I'd watch out for that one if I were you...." She laughed and took a bite out of her meal. "She's a little high maintenance." "Like you weren't..." Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Fair enough... but don’t say I didn’t warn you."