• Published 15th Oct 2011
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Sketchy Salad Symphony - Sketchy Sounds



This is a tale of who we are, and how we got here.

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17th Movement

It was a cool yet sunny afternoon in Canterlot as Freeze Pop glided lazily through the air. As a small thanks for her extra duty the previous night outside of what she would normally have been doing—and on such short notice, no less—she had been granted today to spend as she pleased. She chuckled to herself as she recalled how she had received notice the previous night: when she’d gotten back to her apartment, she’d found a deep blue coloured envelope lying on the floor below the mail slot. Inside it had been an obviously hastily written yet still neatly composed letter from Princess Luna.

My dear Freeze Pop,

I must thank you from the bottom of my heart for so readily attending my somewhat unreasonable request earlier tonight. I have no doubt that you have had the chance to converse with Miss Octavia and ascertain the source of her worries; perhaps even to allay said concerns somewhat.

I have no doubt that you will be rather tired when you get to reading this note, what with having been in attendance at the palace for most of the day and then having gone on to escort our musician friend home. Hence, I insist that you use tomorrow to rest: being as there are no current threats requiring the attention of our finest, I would rather that you are well rested and ready for action.

I shall speak with you on the morrow after. Rest well, and pleasant dreams.

Sincerely,

Her Royal Highness Princess Luna.

It had been a welcome surprise after her extra duty - and a reasonable assumption, too. Even if it had not been as tiring as a relentless week-long pursuit, keeping herself awake all that time to escort Octavia home and talk over her problems with her en route had been quite draining. She was therefore grateful for the princess’s thoughtfulness and was taking full advantage of her generosity.

The pegasus guard was not alone as she planed through the clouds. The most recent addition to her list of friends skimmed alongside her a few feet away on the right. Both of them were taking advantage of her free time to practice their aerial prowess: every so often, the smaller pegasus would barrel roll up and then around her flight path; or she would go into a sudden zoom-climb and then dive back down to whip past her black-coated companion. It was safe to say that they were rather enjoying each others’ company as they played among the clouds.

At length, Blacklight spoke up as the two glided along in a lazy downward spiral around the mountains.

“So, the Princess gave you today off because she kept you back last night?”

“Yep! Luna’s nice like that. Her and her sister both take special care of the Guards. That’s why any one of us would do anything for ‘em.”

“Anything?” the smaller pegasus repeated.

“Pretty much. The job—no, the duty of the Royal Guards is to safeguard the Princesses from harm.”

“That’s a bit vague...”

“That’s intentional.” Freeze replied, looking over at her companion. “There are so many different things that could pose a threat to them. You wanna know what the biggest one is?”

“Uhm... is it some kind of horrific ancient evil sealed inside a stone statue?”

“No dude, what sorta fanciful tales have you been reading?” Freeze replied with a laugh, though her expression then became serious. “No, the biggest threat to the Princesses is, well... their people, and the Princesses themselves. See, the average pony might seem like they have some control over their life and all – but in reality, when something goes wrong, most ponies lose it and panic. They don’t really know how to deal with crisis situations.”

“That’s true enough.”

“That’s why they have us around. We’re trained to repress that instinct to panic, and to keep our heads instead. Some ponies are already born with that to some degree. We’re the ones that stand in between the people of Equestria and the dangers that threaten them.”

“So then, how is that guarding the Princesses?”

“Simple. What do the Princesses care about, more than anything else in the world? By keeping their people safe, we in turn keep their Highnesses safe from their own emotions. I’m sure everyone has at least heard it said that the citizens of Equestria are what matters most to those two. Not everypony realises to what degree, though.”

“So... then that’s why she had you walk Octavia home last night?”

“I’m certain that’s the primary reason she called for me. I dunno how much experience you’ve had dealing with us ladies, Blackie, but sometimes we need another girl around to talk to about the stuff we wouldn’t talk to you guys about. Luna certainly knows that – and she also knows that, despite her being happy to talk to practically anypony, there was no way our cellist friend would have opened up to her.”

“Huh. So... what’d you guys talk about, then?”

Freeze Pop gave her black-coated friend a mischievous smile at that. “Can’t tell you, bud! That’s private girl talk!” she teased, flashing him a wink of one of her ice blue eyes. He smirked a little in reply to that, shaking his head.

“Of course it is. I won’t pry, then.” he chuckled.

The two of them banked slowly upward, rising up to the clouds once more. The heavier pegasus alighted on a larger cloud; her companion soon followed suit. The pair sat there for a bit, saying nothing as they looked out over the city and its surrounding countryside below.

At length, Freeze Pop spoke up once more.

“You know, sometimes I forget how lucky we are.”

“Huh?”

She looked back to her friend at that. “Pegasi, I mean. Not even the highest tower in all of Canterlot has a view as good as this.” She turned her gaze back towards the horizon, gesturing with a nod of her head as she spoke.

“Ah! Yeah, you’re right... I’d never trade my wings in for a horn. There’d be too much to lose.” Blacklight agreed.

Freeze turned her head to look over at him again. Her eyes locked with his, and she realised that he had been looking at her rather than their surroundings as he’d spoken that last sentence. She blinked, feeling a slight hotness in her cheeks – though she couldn’t help noticing her fellow pegasus’s face turning slightly purple as he quickly looked away again. She giggled softly to herself as she looked back out towards the horizon once more.

“You’re right, there would.” she agreed.

Blacklight smiled to himself, casting his gaze over the sprawling city below them.

It’s pretty nice out here. he thought to himself. I can see why somepony might want to live here. There’s plenty to see and do, the view from up here is fantastic, and—

His train of thought derailed rather abruptly as he became aware of something soft and warm brushing up against the side of his body. He didn’t dare to turn his head more than about an inch, his eyes shifting to the side as he slowly looked round. He caught sight of the white coat of his friend, and he had to tilt his head up slightly to see her face looking down into his own.

The sturdy guardspony was now sitting right next to him, her weight leaned slightly onto him. She offered a smile as he looked up at her questioningly.

“What?” she said simply, as though it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be sitting so close.

“I... er... uhm...” the black pegasus stuttered a little, before giving up and looking back toward the horizon. “Ah... nothing...” he replied, the purplish-red hue on his face becoming ever more apparent. He heard a soft giggle escape his companion’s throat, and then felt a gentle weight on his head as she brought her chin to rest on it.

“Has anypony ever told you your blushes are adorable?”

The smaller pegasus’s eyes widened slightly as his wings, as though possessing a mind of their own, suddenly unfurled and stuck straight out behind him.

“Uhm. No?” he said, his voice coming out in a small squeak. His mind was whirling a bit, both from the compliment from his friend and from what it had done to his wings, which were now locked in place and refused to move. He was used to having complete control over his faculties at all times, thus the sudden and unexpected reaction that had occurred confused him somewhat.

“Your wings just popped, didn’t they.” The way she said it wasn’t really a question, and there was a hint of a chuckle in her voice.

“Er... uhm. Yes...?” he ventured. “Er, define ‘popped’?”

The weight of Freeze’s head lifted off of Blacklight’s as she turned to look at him quizzically. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had that happen to you before.”

“Uhm... not that I can remember.” he replied, looking anywhere but at her face for the moment.

“Wow, really? I suppose any time it happened before you musta been too young to remember it.” Freeze mused out loud. “Well, listen. You know your wings ain’t just there for flying with, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, sometimes if a pegasus experiences some sort of strong feeling, like happiness, excitement, joy or what have you, it can cause an involuntary muscular reflex in the wings.”

“...ah.”

“There’s a common vulgar term for it, but I’ll save you the embarrassment of learning it.” Freeze chuckled. “Suffice it to say, that should go away on its own in a little while. Just try to remain calm.”

“Uhm, OK...” Blacklight replied, before adding in a very quiet voice “I don’t know if I’ll manage, though...”

“Sure you will. Just try not to think of anything much. Empty your mind, you know?”

“Well, if you say so...” he replied. Though at first he found, as was so often the case for anyone, that the mind is like a disobedient child. Tell it to do something and it does the exact opposite. His mind swam with several thoughts at once, a number of them pertaining to the snow-white coated pegasus next to him. This was hardly anything new, though; he’d had her on his mind a lot of late, especially after she’d had him spend the night at her apartment.


His mind drifted back to how the day after had been. It had been a little disconcerting, waking up in unfamiliar surroundings, though his initial uneasiness had soon been quelled by the arrival of his host.

“Good morning, Blackie!” she’d called happily to him as she strode into the room, noting his waking up. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did, yes, thank you.” he replied, stretching out on the couch bed. “This thing is way more comfortable than I thought it’d be.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ve not got long before I’ll have to head off to work. Good to see you’re up and about, I need to sort out some breakfast. You hungry?”

“Well, I certainly won’t turn down some food if you’re offering.” he replied happily.

“That’d be the point in asking, dude.” Freeze replied with a laugh, heading into the kitchen. She started to clatter about, finding dishes for the both of them to eat off of.

“Any idea what the weather’s going to be like today?”

“All sunshine as far as I’m aware, Blackie. It is summer, after all. That storm a few days ago was just to make sure the plants don’t all die out.”

“Right, gotcha.” the smaller pegasus replied, getting up off the bed and seeing to tidying it up a bit. With a bit of effort, he got the thing folded back up into its normal state - just in time for his host to wander through, carrying a tray loaded with breakfast items.

“Oh, thanks! You didn’t need to get that, y’know.” she told him, though she seemed happy about his impromptu helpfulness.

“Well, I was always taught to be courteous to folks, so...”

Freeze Pop’s approving smile grew at that as she set the tray down. “Well I’m glad you followed that teaching.” she affirmed. “Help yourself, Blackie. Don’t tarry too long on it if you can help it though, I have to be out the door in the next half hour.”

“Oh! OK.” Blacklight nodded in reply, quickly helping himself to some of the oatmeal she’d prepared. The two of them fell silent as they both set to wolfing down their meal.

A few minutes later, both of the pegasi’s appetites were sated. The two of them saw to clearing up the aftermath of their hurried meal, Freeze once more grateful for her friend’s assistance. She then headed for her room, and the sound of her pulling on her armour came from within.

“I’m going to have to turf you out once I get this stuff on, Blackie!” she called apologetically. “I’ve got just enough time to get to work before I’m expected, and I’m always punctual these days.”

Blacklight tilted his head at that, stood where he was in the living room, looking out of the window. “Hold on, you mean to say you’ve been late for work before?”

“Yep, it’s happened!”

“...whatever do they do to you if you’re late?”

“Send you to the moon!” Freeze called back, pausing for just a few seconds to allow Blacklight a horrified gasp. “I kid! You do get a stern talking to from your superiors, though – hence why I can’t be late, cos I need to be exemplary!”

“Right, of course. They wouldn’t send you to the moon...”

“Of course they wouldn’t. And of course you didn’t believe me.” Freeze chuckled as she emerged from her room, now clad in the outfit of her station. She cut quite an intimidating figure like that, and her friend had to take a moment to remind himself that it was indeed the same mare under the armour that he’d been hanging out with.

“I didn’t! Not for a moment!” he replied somewhat unconvincingly. He smiled with it, though, not trying to cover the fact that he might perhaps have been fooled for a few moments.

“Right, I believe ya.” Freeze grinned, then struck the pose that had been drilled into her for inspection purposes so many times. “How do I look?” she enquired.

“Striking. And kinda scary.” her companion replied truthfully, eliciting a chuckle from the armour-clad mare.

“So pretty much perfect for work, then. Good!” she replied, heading for the door. “We’d best be on our way, then.”


The two had parted ways shortly thereafter, Freeze stating that she would catch up with him after work. However, in the end, fate had planned differently: later the same day, the guardspony had caught up to Blacklight whilst he had been relaxing on a cloud, and hastily informed him that by request of Princess Luna, she’d be performing additional duties tonight.

He was therefore glad that the Moon Princess had seen fit to grant his friend some time off the next day in lieu of her usual evening off. It actually meant that he had longer to spend with her, and by now they had whiled away most of the day just enjoying the excellent flying weather and chatting about nothing in particular. It brought a quiet satisfaction to his heart to have had a carefree afternoon spent in the company of the pony he held quite some admiration for.

“Oh hey, looks like it worked!”

“...buh?” Blacklight eloquently inquired.

“Your wings, dude. They’re not stuck any more.”

The stallion glanced over his shoulder at his wings, which had indeed now folded back up.

“Oh hey, you’re right!”

“That’s good, can’t have you with your wings stuck open when you might wanna go places at some point.”

“Yep. Uhm, hey... Freeze?” he began, feeling a slight tightness in his chest.

“Uh-huh?”

“Can I, uhm... I mean, uh... I need to...” he mumbled, before closing his eyes, taking a breath, and starting once more. “I have to... to tell you something.”

From the way he was acting, and his slightly shaky tone, Freeze already had somewhat of an inkling as to what was on the stallion’s mind. She kept her voice calm and reassuring as she responded.

“Ah? What’s on your mind?”

“Well... uhm, to be honest... you are...”

Even though she had been expecting a reply like that, the sturdy mare still felt her heart flutter slightly in her chest.

“I am? How do you mean?”

“I mean,” Blacklight began, turning his head to look at her face to face, “that I... uhm, I... think I like you.” He then screwed his eyes shut, half-expecting some form of retribution or rejection, as far as Freeze could tell. None came, however, and he instead heard his companion let out a small melodious giggle.

“I somehow had a feeling you were going to say that!” she said with a smile. “I wasn’t certain, mind. I’m glad I was on the mark.”

The smaller pegasus slowly opened his eyes, his cheeks still flushed from his confession. He was however rather relieved to note no sign of upset or discomfort from his friend.

“You... uhm, you knew?”

“I had a feeling, I said. I just wasn’t sure though.” Her smile grew, at that, as she went on. “But you know, I’m glad to’ve heard you say it. I... to be honest, I haven’t ever had anypony else say that to me before. Well, not quite like that, anyway.” There was a reddish tinge to her cheeks, far more obvious to spot through her white coat. “I’m not really sure what to say.”

“Ah...” Blacklight managed to reply, before stopping short as his companion’s face drew closer to his own. Anything more he might have been about to say caught in his throat, as he saw the icy blue eyes in front of him close and then felt a brief, soft kiss on his nose.

“I will say, though, that I am most flattered.” Freeze Pop continued, pulling her face back away from his again, the rosy hue still painting her cheeks. “And... well, it’d be a lie to say that I didn’t feel anything for you at all.”

The black pegasus tilted his head to the side, blinking a few times. “Uh... wait... so... are you saying what I... think you’re saying...?” he said, his voice coming out in a squeak at the end, something he mentally reprimanded himself for.

The smile on his friend’s face scrunched up even further, and she even uttered something that sounded like a small squeal of delight.

“You are just so adorable when you’re flustered!” she giggled, before seeming to regain her composure a little. “Ah, pardon me. Blackie dear, what I’m saying is that I’ve become rather fond of you as well. So uh... y’know. If you wanna give the whole going out thing a try...” she replied, leaving the end of the sentence hanging.

Blacklight felt as though a large weight had just been lifted off him – and at the same time, he felt his stomach stop tying itself in knots as the realisation of what she’d said slowly dawned on him.

“So... so then, you really wanna go out with me?” he beamed, his eyes wide.

“Sure!” Freeze replied, her own expression almost mimicking his. She kept her gaze fixed on him a few seconds more, before suddenly pouncing on him and wrapping her forelegs around him in a warm hug. He let out a squawk of alarm at her sudden friendly assault, but he soon relaxed when he realised that she wasn’t attacking him and, after a moment, hesitantly returned her embrace.

“Are you always this... sudden, when you feel like being affectionate?” he asked quietly.

“Not always, no.” the sturdy pegasus replied truthfully. “I just... I dunno, I felt like I had to show my happiness somehow.” she chuckled.

“I think I can understand that.” Blacklight nodded, a mirthful tone in his own voice. “Say, gimme a moment...” he added, letting go of her muscular frame.

Freeze Pop obliged him, releasing the smaller pegasus from her grasp. She then watched rather curiously as he turned and stuck a hoof into the cloud and began drawing something in its surface. She soon laughed aloud, however, when she realised that what he had drawn was a large number nine. The stallion’s response was to simply grin back at her, at that.

“That’s absolutely perfect!” she smiled, clapping her front hooves together.

“I felt it was fitting.” he replied, trotting back over to her. He sat himself down once more. Freeze was quick to shuffle close and lean her weight against him as she had done before, resting her chin on top of his head again. This time, she felt him reciprocate by leaning into her slightly in turn. They remained sat that way for some time, watching as the sun made its slow descent toward the horizon.

Presently, Blacklight spoke up once more.

“I suppose you’ll need to get going soon, won’t you?” he asked.

“I don’t know about that...” Freeze replied. “After all, I certainly need to be up in good time for my duties tomorrow, but...”

“But...?”

“But, I don’t have to go home to sleep. Not when the forecast is for a clear night and a sunny start tomorrow.”

“Ah?”

“Yeah. So... maybe I’ll sleep under the stars. On a cloud.” she replied, a smile playing round her features.

It took Blacklight a scant few seconds to realise what she meant by that. “Ah... out on this cloud, you mean?” he clarified.

“Well Blackie, I let you sleep on my couch the other night. I think it’s only fair you let me use your cloud.” his friend chuckled in reply. So saying, she shifted herself back from the edge of the cloud a bit and laid herself down, stretching out a bit and then making herself comfortable. Blacklight watched her do so for a few moments, and then settled down himself alongside her. This prompted her to glance round at him, a questioning look on her face.

“Are you planning to sleep over there?” she enquired.

“Ah, well... yes, I mean, so long as that’s OK with you...” he replied a little shyly.

“Well, I dunno if you know, though you probably do seeing as you slept out here a few times already – but, it can get a bit cold up here at night.”

“It’s not been that bad...”

Freeze Pop laughed at that. “I guess subtlety’s not one of my strengths after all. Lemme just be a bit more direct, then.” Having said that, she reached over with a foreleg and pulled the smaller pegasus toward her. He let out a small squeak of alarm when she did so, though he was quick to relax when he came to the realisation of what she was doing.

“There now.” she concluded, cuddling up against him. “That’s more like it.” she sighed, settling her head on the cloud before her.

Blacklight let out a small giggle at that, making himself comfortable. “You know, for somepony with such a cold sounding name, you’re very warm...” he noted. He felt her poofy tail wrap itself partially around his hindquarters at that, and saw her smile.

“Why thank you, Blackie.” she replied, her voice carrying a note of drowsiness. “I’m going to try to sleep now. I’ll have to get up not long after Celestia in order to be ready for work in time tomorrow.”

“Right, yes.” he nodded, settling his own head where he lay. “Have a good day, if I don’t see you tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you. And rest assured, you’ll see me at some point.” she smiled, closing her eyes. “G’night, Blackie.”

“‘night Freezy.” he replied, closing his own eyes. “Sweet dreams.”

As the moon rode high above the clouds the, two pegasi drifted off into a calm and restful slumber; their minds dwelling on one last thought before they succumbed to sleep.

This has been a day to remember.