19th Movement
Sketchy’s jaw hung open in abject shock. He had practically leapt out of his skin when the soft voice had spoken from the shadows, and when he had hastily fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on, the sight that had met his eyes was one he hadn’t been prepared for.
Sat on one of the chairs in his living room was the pony he quickly realised must have been the one to scribble on the back of the official note he’d gotten from the judges’ panel. Nevertheless, that didn’t take away much from the sheer shock of the fact that said pony happened to be one of the two most powerful in the entire kingdom.
“I apologise for the intrusion.” Princess Luna stated, her regal tones carrying the familiar undercurrent of mirth they had shown during their first encounter. “Did you get my note?”
“I did, Your Highness.” Sketchy replied, bowing his head respectfully. He lifted his head again, a smile starting to form on his face as he got his pounding heart under control. “And in answer to your first question, well... it’s not the best of times, but it’s far from the worst.”
“Is that so? I can come back later if that would be preferable.”
“Oh no no, I wouldn’t dream of turfing you out, Princess!” Sketchy replied, slightly aghast. “No, it’s fine. Please make yourself comfortable. I’ll just need a few minutes to unwind.”
“I see.” the night blue alicorn replied. “You too have felt pressured of late?”
“Just a little.” Sketchy affirmed, trotting over to the kitchenette. Goodness me, that’s actually Princess Luna just sitting there! he thought. Have I finally gone mad?
“Well, no doubt you are relieved to have submitted your entry to the contest in good time.”
“I am, Princess. That and to have scooped a prize from it, as well.”
“Well, certainly, it is always nice to receive a reward for one’s efforts.” Luna chuckled, idly watching the earth pony as he tended to getting himself a drink.
“It is. Er, did you want anything?”
“Not for the moment, thank you.”
“Alright. So anyway... what did you want me to do for you, Your Highness?” Sketchy inquired as he set his kettle on the cooking range.
“Well, as I stated in my little note, I was rather taken with your rendering of the Elements. That, and I have seen at least one other of your works. That, too, was quite the sight.”
Sketchy paused for a moment at that. “Hold on... you’ve seen some of my other stuff? When was that, if you don’t mind my asking?” After all, what work he had done as an artist that had seen any notable degree of exposure had mostly been shortly after his return to Canterlot – and that had been primarily drawing sketches for passers-by in the streets for a modest fee, with the odd commission now and again. It had also been prior to Luna’s return, for the most part.
“Why, twas when I last visited Miss Octavia at her home, Sketchy.”
“...oh!” Sketchy blinked, turning his attention fully back to the alicorn on his easy chair. “Well right enough, that was one of my better works.”
“Quite! Anyway, to answer your inquiry: I should like you to put together a rendering of myself.”
If Sketchy had been holding something, he would have dropped it on the floor as his jaw fell open again.
“...seriously?”
Princess Luna tilted her head at that and raised an eyebrow, a somewhat amused smile playing around her lips.
“Well, yes. I did not let myself in here this evening to simply play a practical joke on you – despite my enjoyment of the occasional such humour.”
“Right, no, of course you didn’t... I just, er... I’m kind of surprised, is all. I mean, I didn’t know who it was who’d written that note. I certainly wasn’t expecting you of all ponies... I mean, I’m hardly that good—”
His babbling was cut off by the Princess’s silvery voice interjecting his speech. “Sketchy Sounds, do not attempt to tell me that you are without talent. Were that the case, would I have gone to the bother of coming here personally to make my request known?”
Sketchy promptly shut his mouth at that, silently conceding the point.
“To say nothing of the fact that, had you no skills in such an area, you would not carry that mark upon you.” the alicorn went on, waving a hoof in the general direction of his flank.
“You’re absolutely right, Your Highness. I apologise.” the earth pony nodded, feeling a trifle silly for trying to argue that point with her.
“Think nothing of it, dear.” Luna chuckled, her smile returning. “I believe your kettle is about to boil.” she noted, glancing over his shoulder. Mere moments after she spoke, there came a distinctive whistle of steam from the boiling vessel.
Sketchy hurriedly moved it off the heat to let it cool a little. “OK... so, how do you want to be portrayed, Princess?”
“Hmm. Well, I can certainly tell you what I would not like. The majority of the portraits that hang within the Royal House tend to depict myself and my sister as the rest of the world typically sees us.”
Sketchy pondered that for a moment, a frown creasing his face. “Then, you want me to show a different aspect of you, other than simply one of the Royal Sisters whom govern the entire kingdom of Equestria?”
“Simply put, yes.”
“That... might be a little difficult.”
“It may indeed. But do you think you can accomplish it?”
The earth pony artist peered thoughtfully at his royal guest for a few moments, a deeply contemplative look written on his face.
“I think... yes. I’ll have to ask you one or two favours, though.”
“Such as?”
“...there’s no really elegant way to put this. Would you mind taking your... adornments off?”
“Why, Mr Sounds!” Luna exclaimed, looking shocked. “I am absolutely scandalised!” It took Sketchy a good few seconds to notice, right after she finished speaking, that the deep blue alicorn had a rather amused smirk on her face. He heaved a sigh of relief, shaking his head as she continued. “I do not mind in the slightest. That should certainly help with playing down my regal side, yes?”
“Quite.” he agreed. “Alright, I’m going to whip myself up some coffee here. Uhm, while I’m doing that, maybe you can make yourself comfortable? I mean, once you’ve taken your things off.” he added, desperately hoping that the slightly awkward feeling he got from saying that out loud didn’t show too much in his voice.
“Recline on this chair, you mean? I believe I can do that.”
As Sketchy saw to the task of brewing himself a cup of coffee, he heard the sounds of the alicorn behind him utilising her magic to carefully remove and set down her shiny black crown and necklace, slipping her glassy slippers off as she did so. He then heard her shuffling about on the chair a bit, muttering to herself now and again. He picked up the steaming beverage and carried it through to the living room, setting the mug down on the coffee table. He nearly did a double take upon looking over at the pony settled comfortably in the easy chair across from him.
Princess Luna had followed his directions rather well. Her head, neck and hooves were now devoid of their usual decorations, resulting in her flowing mane tumbling over one side of her face and obscuring one of her eyes slightly. Her forelegs were resting on one arm of the chair, on top of which she now rested her head at a slight angle. One of her hind legs was stretched out over the other arm of the chair, with the other one sticking out from under her slightly. Her tail was curled slightly around her outstretched leg, the end of it hanging down over her shin. Her expression as he looked over at her in surprise went from being neutral to somewhat pleased, her mouth curving upward as her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Well now, I would ask if I look suitably non-regal, but I can already see the answer is yes.”
“It certainly is, Princess. I hardly recognised you.”
“Ha!” Luna replied. “Very smooth, sir. I merely followed your instructions, though. Now then, I must ask. Will you require me to remain in this position for an extended spell?”
“Huh? Oh, not at all. I’ll just need to snap a photo to work from and then that’ll be that.”
“Ah, yes indeed. You know, photography was an art still very much in its infancy prior to my absence.”
“I don’t doubt it. I expect there were a lot of surprises awaiting you when you came back.”
“More than you can know, Sketchy.” the princess replied, with a slightly melancholy tone to her voice. “Time did not wait for me, sadly. There has been much change in the world whilst I have not been a part of it.”
Her earth pony host nodded at that, taking a sip of his coffee. “Such as the development of cameras?”
“Oh, that and far more. Society as a whole has changed vastly over the past thousand years. I recall a time when there was a far greater sense of imperiousness among the citizens of Canterlot, for one. I suspect that may have been due to their proximity to myself and my sister, of course.”
“I’m not sure I can imagine the snobbery being more stuck-up than they are now.” Sketchy stated, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, believe you me, the upper class citizenry you have now is utterly tame compared to how things once were.” the princess replied. “You will not hear me complain, though. It puts less pressure on both myself and my sister, after all.”
“How so?”
“Simple! In order to maintain our authority, we must always appear to those who think themselves important to think of ourselves as holding even greater importance. How difficult do you think it was to maintain such a facade back then?”
“...so that’s what the deal is with the Royal Canterlot Voice?”
“Ha ha! Quite so, dear. Unless my sister and I made a point of shaking the very heavens with the mere sound of our voice, we would not always necessarily be taken seriously. I know that may sound like an outlandish idea to you, but it is the truth.”
“It sounds pretty bonkers.”
“It most certainly was. I am glad that trend waned through the years, though. It was quite the culture shock when I visited Ponyville and did not need to raise my voice to be listened to.”
“I heard a bit about that.” Sketchy nodded, taking another swig of his drink. He was beginning to feel a lot more at-ease around the royal pony as they sat and talked. That was, of course, the entire reason behind him doing so: he could hardly render a picture of Luna as something other than Her Royal Highness if he had no insight into what she was like outside of that image.
It was clear that the princess was aware of this need, as she lazed on the chair with her limbs comfortably sprawled out, idly kicking a hoof. Now that the artist was a little more calm, he was able to properly take in her delicate beauty. It was certainly true to say that Princess Luna was one of the most majestic looking creatures he’d ever seen: her slender limbs were perfectly formed, with not a single flaw; her flanks were smoothly rounded with neither an excess of fat nor muscle. Her neck, which was slightly longer than the average pony’s, tapered from her shoulders to meet her head. His gaze moved to her face itself, and he couldn’t help but smile. The younger of the two ruling sisters had the most adorable happy expression, one which scrunched her face up slightly in a very cute fashion. It was a delight to see, for it was an expression that would have fit on any pony’s face – hence it was further reassurance that there was more to the alicorn than just being a head of state. His eyes locked with hers, and he saw in them a deep contentment and also a hint of laughter and mischievousness.
“Were it not for the fact I requested you to render my likeness, sir, I would ask you if you must stare so much.” she teased.
Sketchy felt his cheeks burning as he hastily looked away, which raised a giggle from the princess.
“Er, sorry Your Highness...” he uttered.
“Luna.”
“Uhm... what?”
“My name, Sketchy.” she replied. “It is Luna. Not ‘Your Highness’. Not ‘Princess’. Do you see a crown on my head right now?” she questioned.
“...well, no...”
“There you have it. I am sure you do not address Freeze Pop as ‘Sergeant’ when she is not wearing her armour.”
“I... no, I don’t.” Sketchy found himself genuinely surprised that the Moon Princess knew of his association with the guardspony. Having thought about it though, it made sense. His pegasus friend had spoken before of how close the palace staff and their sovereigns were.
“You see now, yes? Right now I am simply being me, Luna.”
“Right.” he nodded, a smile spreading across his features. “Sorry... Luna. I’ll go get the camera. I think now I have a suitable impression in my mind to link together with the visual.”
“Superb!” Luna replied, clapping her front hooves together. She watched as her host rose from his seat and clattered off up the stairs, to return shortly after with the camera from his desk. She promptly arranged herself comfortably on the chair once more, striking her best relaxed yet alluring pose, and effected a slightly husky voice as she pouted at the camera.
“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr Sounds.” she cooed, before giggling at her own silliness and putting on a big smile.
Sketchy found it difficult to keep his camera steady as he promptly burst out laughing himself, but he was able to snap a steady shot of the night blue alicorn as she laid there with a mirthful expression on her face.
“Perfect, one or two more just to be certain.” he grinned, pushing the shutter release a few more times. Luna happily obliged him, keeping the same smile on her face. “There we go. I’ll have those developed first thing tomorrow.”
“Hmm.” Luna mused, stretching out her wings and her limbs all at once. “That was certainly faster than what I am used to.”
“I’m forever grateful to whomever it was thought up the idea of photographs.” Sketchy admitted. “It’s truly a fantastic thing to be able to catch a moment in time like that which you would otherwise miss.”
“I can imagine.” Luna replied, sitting up in the chair. She didn’t move from it for the time being, though. From her expression, it was obvious that there was something else on her mind. “Pardon me the impropriety, if you will...” she ventured after a few moments’ silence.
Sketchy cocked his head at her, setting the camera down to one side. “Hmm?”
“I could not help but notice Miss Octavia’s upset of late. I questioned her on the matter and she told me that she had fallen out with you.”
“Ah... yeah. We, ah... we did have a bit of a falling out, yes. Uhm, but that’s... well. It’s getting sorted out.” Sketchy replied uncomfortably.
“You don’t sound so convinced of that, my little pony.” Luna replied. It felt downright strange to Sketchy to hear someone refer to him as that – especially the younger alicorn, who he knew from their previous meeting stood about an inch shorter than him. Nevertheless, as he looked into the steady teal gaze of the royal pony, he could see the depths of wisdom that her exceptionally long life had brought – and in that moment, he was reminded of the fact that he was indeed talking to one of the most ancient creatures in all of Equestria, whom had experienced more than a thousand ponies’ lifetimes worth.
“If I’m honest, Luna, I’m not wholly convinced. Or to put it more bluntly, I’m at a loss for what to do.”
“Perhaps I can offer you some advice then, young sir.” Luna replied, straightening her back and her legs a bit as she sat up properly in the chair. With such a simple change in posture, she now bore the very image of a wise and caring monarch sat upon her throne. Sketchy was quietly impressed with how simply the princess had gone from playful and silly to contemplative and regal. “How do things stand?”
“Well Your High—Luna,” Sketchy started, catching himself, “what it equates to is that I screwed up. Really badly.” He then proceeded to give her a brief and honest account of what had transpired between him and his friends, up to and including the events of earlier that evening.
“Hmmmm. Proof, is it?” Luna stated thoughtfully, putting a hoof to her chin. “In my reckoning, what she needs from you is a way of making it clear that your selfishness is not the norm. I am sure I don’t have to tell you how much she keeps to herself... I would not be surprised to learn that she has rarely experienced this kind of emotional distress.”
“You think? I mean, I’d figured perhaps I should try to think of something nice to get her or do something for her by way of apology...”
Luna smiled at that, a knowing look in her eyes. “Trust me, Sketchy Sounds. I know the hearts of ponies well. If you truly wish to win back her favour, you will have to think of a means by which to demonstrate your capacity for selflessness. I am certain you have heard it said that actions speak louder than words, yes? Now is the time to take that to heart.”
“Easier said than done... I’m still stuck for ideas.”
“Something is sure to come, sooner or later.” Luna replied, rising to her feet. Her long horn glimmered with magic as she saw to replacing the sparkling black crown and necklace upon her head and neck, after which she daintily slipped her hooves back into their slippers. “In the mean time, I have something for you.”
Sketchy tilted his head in surprise at that, and then blinked as there was a brief puff of blue-purple smoke in the air above his coffee table. A small cloth bag fell on to it with a metallic jingle.
“Forward payment for the excellent work I expect from you.” the princess explained, her voice slightly more resonant and commanding. “Half for starting, and half on completion – subject to my approval, of course.”
“That... that is very generous of you, Princess!” Sketchy exclaimed.
“Think nothing of it, dear. My sister and I command the greater portion of the kingdom’s wealth; it is only fit that some of it should be directed toward those that do not have so much as they might need. It is hardly a lot, but it is not insignificant either. Experience has taught me that many artists achieve better results when their minds are free from other concerns.”
“That’s true.”
“One small word of advice I would give you, Sketchy.”
“Uhm, yes?”
“It would be prudent to perhaps invest some of what you have. Even if it is only through such a means as depositing it in the Treasury for safe-keeping. It would gain some interest, after all.”
“...eh?” the earth pony replied incredulously. “What... er, what do you mean by interest?”
Now it was Luna’s turn to look baffled. “Have you not heard of this concept before, child? If you are to place some of what funds you have in the care of the Treasury, then they will utilise that for investments made on the behalf of both the Crown and the local council. As a recompense for that, the Crown and council will give back to you some of the financial gain from the use of such assets. The percentage is small, but it does nevertheless build with time.”
Sketchy blinked a few times. “...so, basically... they pay you for giving them money?”
“In simple terms, yes.”
“I’ve... not heard of that before.”
“You haven’t?” Luna frowned. “It was one of the more recent concepts I introduced to the Treasury’s workings. I specifically told them to spread the word!”
“With all due respect, Princess, the ponies I met there didn’t strike me as the most marketing conscious individuals I’ve ever encountered.”
“There is that.” Luna sighed, shaking her head. “Well, I shall have to think of something there.”
“I don’t envy you that.” Sketchy noted with a small chuckle. “But for what it’s worth, I’m still glad that somepony like you is in charge.”
Luna’s smile returned at that, and she glanced toward the upstairs window. “I shall have to be on my way, my good sir. Would you show me out?”
“Of course, Princess.”
The two ascended the stairs, and Sketchy pushed open the french window for the midnight blue alicorn, standing to the side and bowing his head slightly.
“Thank you, sir.” Luna smiled, heading out onto the little balcony. “Please do send me word when you have begun your work. I am very much looking forward to seeing how this image develops.”
“I promise. Goodnight, Princess!”
“Goodnight!” she replied, leaping into the air from the balcony with a mighty flap of her wings. She hadn’t gone far when she was joined by two Guards to her flanks, and the three of them flew back towards the palace.
Sketchy watched them fly off, before closing the window and retreating back down the stairs.
OK... this has been a heck of a day. First that letter, then the prize, then that carry-on at Graze... and now this as well.
He stretched and headed for the kitchen, fishing around for the components for a decent sized sandwich. He would have preferred something more substantial, but he didn’t really have the energy to cook anything more complex or time consuming. Luna’s unexpected visit had somewhat drained him down to the last of his reserves of energy after the taxing events just beforehand.
Having devoured his evening snack, he exhaustedly climbed the stairs one last time and collapsed into bed. It took very little time at all for sleep to find him, his eyes closing soon after his head hit the pillow.
The next morning found him waking of his own accord; as opposed to having an alarm clock or a pegasus at the window interrupting his slumber. He felt quite refreshed for that, and wasted no time in heading down the stairs and whipping himself up a quick breakfast. There was plenty to be done today, after all. For one, he would have to get the film from his camera developed post haste. The reel wasn’t all used up, but it contained enough photographs already to warrant its submission to the nearest laboratory. Luna’s enthusiasm for seeing herself drawn had certainly proven contagious; Sketchy found himself hastily scoffing his food as he glanced from the camera on his coffee table to the small bag of coins that had been left by his visitor the previous night. He would take both with him on his trip into town today, he decided.
He would also have to call on Sally as he had promised. He would certainly have quite the tale to tell her, and he expected she would be somewhat shocked. That, and perhaps a little jealous, too. Sketchy knew, after all, that Salad was somewhat of a fan of the younger princess: when the ruler of the night had returned, the unicorn had gone on for days about how adorable she looked, and how happy Princess Celestia must have been to have her little sister back.
Still, first things first. He headed down the stairs, having pulled on his saddlebags after carefully tucking the camera and coin bag into them. Heading outside, he was greeted by the warm glow of the morning sunshine. He trotted happily down the street at a brisk pace, enjoying the gentle breeze through his hair and the pleasant background din of hooves on stone coupled with birdsong and happy chatter. He made his way through the town to one of the local photography specialist’s stores, offering a pleasant smile to the pony at the desk as he entered the store.
“Good morning! I’ve a film to develop!”
“Certainly sir, not a problem.”
Sketchy fished in his bag and retrieved his camera. “I’ve not actually used the whole reel yet, is that OK?”
“Should be fine. Just leave the camera with us, we’ll take care of it.” the clerk replied with a reassuring smile.
“Much appreciated! Oh, and uh, please be careful. The pictures are pretty important.”
“You know we always are.”
“You are. Thanks.” Sketchy smiled. This was, after all, his preferred developers’ business. It wasn’t the most well-known, nor the most frequented, but he’d found they delivered a good service for a fair price – and that was worth a lot in the big city. “Can I pick these up today?”
“That important, eh? Well, I think we can squeeze them in.”
“Thanks a lot!”
With that errand taken care of, the earth pony artist exited the shop to make his way to another of the cozy little shops found in Canterlot – the very same where his close friend lived and worked. There was already an idea formulating in his mind as to what to do for the unicorn mare to make up for mistreating her – and, thanks to his visitor last night, he now had the means to accomplish his planned task.
He entered Graze with a quietly confident expression, glancing to the counter. He saw three attendant unicorns stood behind it, due to the fact the little shop was quite busy in the morning breakfast rush. He recognised all three of the shop’s staff, though: Salad and both her parents, Honey and Mustard. He joined the back of the queue, flashing a smile to the staff. When it came his turn to order, he was attended by Salad herself.
“Good morning, Sketchy. The usual?”
“Please. To go, if possible – and I’ve another small thing to ask as well.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Can I steal you for a few hours?”
“Er.” Salad blinked, and then glanced to her parents with a questioning look. The two of them exchanged a brief glance, and then the smaller of the two nodded.
“I think we’ll manage for a little while without you, dear. Go and enjoy yourself.”
Salad grinned at that, turning her attention back to her earth pony friend. “OK then, one CLTC to go, coming up. With a side order of Salad.” she giggled. Sketchy groaned out loud at that.
“That was almost as bad as the treble joke!”
“Why Sketchy,” Salad smiled, “you still remember that one?” She seemed rather delighted by her friend’s memory for her terrible jokes.
“Lass, I could hardly forget it.” he replied, watching as she grabbed assorted ingredients and implements with her magic. She fell silent for a bit as she focused on the art of swiftly whipping up his favourite snack, deftly dropping it into a bag thereafter.
“There we are!” she replied, ringing it through. Sketchy dropped a few bits on the counter, which the unicorn swiftly swept into the till’s receptacle. Having done so, she then trotted over to a set of hooks off to one side and hung up her apron, joining her earth pony friend round the other side of the counter thereafter.
“So, what sort of plans have you made?” she questioned, a slight smirk on her face. It was plain to see that she knew that he had to have had some sort of good news, as her mood was starting to reflect the taller stallion’s own good humour.
“I’m planning to spoil you.” he replied with a chuckle as he led the way out of the shop.
“That so, hon?” Salad inquired, her formal tones vanishing as they moved away from the shop. “Well, Ah ain’t about tuh stop ya if that’s what yer plannin’.”
“Good!” Sketchy grinned, giving her shoulder a gentle playful nudge with his own. “It’s exactly what I’m planning. You’ve been way more understanding and patient with me recently than I rightly deserve.”
“Now c’mon Sketchy, yuh know that ain’t completely true.”
“I suppose, but neither is it a complete fabrication.”
“Well yuh got that right.” Salad agreed shortly, shrugging momentarily. “Ah ain’t gonna argue the point. Just don’t take it too far with the spoilin’ alright? Ah ain’t the only gal yuh need to get back in the good books with.”
“You’re not, no, but you are the one I know best. And I happen to know already that there’s something you need that’ll make you happy.”
Salad put on an amused expression at that. “Oh, yuh do now, do ya? When’d ya become a mind-reader?” she chuckled teasingly.
Sketchy smirked slightly as he turned on to a long street lined with fancifully decorated shop fronts, many of them with pony mannequins posed in their windows and clad in all manner of fashionable attire.
“We can’t let you go to the Summer Equinox concert without a suitably gorgeous gown, can we?”
“Ma stars! Sketchy, yuh serious?” Salad questioned him, her eyes wide with excitement. While there were few things in life the rosy unicorn loved as much as offering the hospitality of a good meal to others, being allowed to dress herself up nicely for special occasions was one of them.
“I said I was spoiling you today, as I recall.” he chuckled. “I’ve been given some more commission work very recently, and my commissioner paid half up-front.”
“...how recently, hon? Ah only just saw ya last night.”
“Yeah... actually, funny story. That was when my commissioner stopped by, was last night. I forgot to mention yesterday, you remember that note Freezy brought me?”
“Ah do, yeah. So wait, that wasn’t just a letter from, like the judge’s panel or somethin’?”
“Not just that, no.” Sketchy replied as they walked along the street, the two of them glancing in the windows as they made their way along. “There was a note on the back as well, from one of the panel. They said they’d like to commission me separately for a bit of work, and they’d come call round once they were done with judging.”
“Ooh, nice! So yuh done got a visit from one uh the courtiers? Or a guard perhaps?”
The tall earth pony grinned at that. “Nope.”
“...huh? But yuh just said...” Salad replied, trailing off as she looked at the massive grin on her friend’s face. Realisation slowly dawned on her, bringing with it an expression of disbelief. “No... no way. Yuh surely can’t mean...!”
“Guess which one it was.”
“...aww, no! No, there ain’t no way!” Salad wailed, her envy written clearly on her face. “Well shoot Sketchy, Ah was almost feelin’ bad about makin’ yuh spend money on me. But now? Yer gonna pay!” she told him, though he could tell she was nowhere near as upset as she was pretending to be.
“That’s the spirit, Sally!” he chuckled. She shook her head at him in reply to that, a smile returning to her features.
“Seriously though... am Ah gettin’ this straight? She paid yuh a visit?”
“She sure did. And I’ll have photos to prove it later today.”
“Well ya sure as heck better let me see ‘em!”
“I will, promise.”
“Alright then. Well, let’s find me somethin’ stunnin’, shall we?”
“Attagirl.”
The next hour or so was spent with the two of them making their way between assorted seamsters, with Salad spending a lot of time trying on assorted different dresses and gowns. Sketchy found himself quietly amazed with the sheer range on offer by the assorted tailors and boutiques.
Presently, however, he found himself waiting on the floor of yet another of the clothes shops, idly listening to the sound of his unicorn friend getting to grips with yet another gown. He heard the dressing room curtain slide back, and turned to look over at his fancily-clad companion.
“So, how do Ah look?”
Sketchy frowned. “I’m sorry miss, have we met? I was out shopping with my friend from one of the local sandwich shops. A model such as yourself wouldn’t happen to have run into her back there, would you?”
Salad giggled aloud at that. “Flatterer! Still, Ah guess that answers that. Ah think we got ourselves a winner, then.”
Sketchy had to agree: the gown adorning his friend’s body was of a simple design in pastel shades of green and yellow. It didn’t surprise him in that regard that Salad liked it, as that particular combination of colours was probably her favourite. The design was neither extremely flashy nor ridiculously modest, striking a nice balance somewhere between fashion and function. In short, it fit her pretty much perfectly.
“Well then lass, go get it ready to bring with you.” he smiled, nodding briefly to a nearby attendant. “I’ll see to the bill.”
Shortly thereafter, the pair of ponies were on their way back down towards Graze. Salad had a carefully wrapped package sat on her back, and a smile on her face as she walked alongside her tall earth pony friend. Sketchy too had a look of happiness on his features as he glanced round at her.
“You’re gonna be a smash hit at the Equinox now, Sal. I just know it.”
“Well, if nothin’ else Ah’ll sure look mighty purty.” she smiled. “Thanks, Sketchy. Yuh really helped... last time Ah had to wear anythin’ fancy was some time ago, Ah’m pretty sure that old thing wouldn’t’ve fit me these days.”
“That was what I figured... and like you said last night, I owe you.”
“Yuh owed me, hon. Ah think we’re almost even now.” she replied happily.
“Almost?”
“Uh-huh. Ah got just one little thing to ask ‘fore Ah can call it quits.”
“Anything, Sal. Well... within reason of course.” Sketchy replied. He could sort of guess what she was going to ask though, going by the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice.
Salad didn’t disappoint him. “Ah wanna see them photos yuh took!”
“Of course you do.” he chuckled. “Well, with the time we’ve spent buying you something nice, I expect the shop’ll have gotten them done now. C’mon.”
With that, the two made a detour towards the developers shop that Sketchy had called in on earlier in the day. The pony behind the desk looked up with a smile, followed by a look of recognition as he looked at Sketchy.
“Good timing!”
“Oh? My pictures done then?” Sketchy questioned, mirroring the clerk’s expression.
“Just a few minutes ago.” the clerk replied, then lowered his voice slightly. “And I haveta say, I am slightly envious of you right now.”
Sketchy couldn’t help letting out a small snicker of a laugh at that. “Well, that answers my question as to how well they came out.”
“You’ve an eye for capturing the cute ones, I’ll tell you that.” the clerk added, pulling an envelope from a shelf behind his desk. “Did you want a quick look over ‘em just now?”
“Yeah. Me and my beautiful assistant both.”
Salad shook her head and rolled her eyes at that remark, though she was smiling nonetheless. She leaned over the desk alongside Sketchy as the latter carefully pulled the prints from their envelope. She blinked in surprise a little at seeing the image of her sleeping self among one or two other candids of ponies.
“Hey, when’d you take that?” she asked, intrigued.
“That was when you came over to keep me company when I was drawing that picture for the contest, remember? And you wound up dropping off?”
“Oh! Right enough, Ah did.” she nodded.
“And you looked way too cute to not snap a photo.”
Salad couldn’t bring herself to disagree on that point - after all, the image of herself curled up asleep on the vast bed was somewhat endearing.
“Yuh got a point, hon. Ah musta been havin’ some real nice dreams.” she agreed. “But c’mon, let’s see the real big picture!”
“Alright, alright.” Sketchy chuckled, shuffling through the photographs. He soon had about three or four photographs of Princess Luna in all her laid-back glory laid out across the desk. Salad let out a low whistle of admiration.
“Dang, that gal ain’t half pretty... yuh oughta get her tuh sign these, Sketchy!”
“Ha! I dunno about that, Sally. ‘sides, for now I need them in their untouched state.” he pointed out, carefully scooping the photographs back into their envelope.
“Right, a’ course.”
Sketchy dropped some bits on the desk in return for the envelope, which he carefully tucked away in his bags, and he and his “beautiful assistant” exited, with Sketchy offering the shop’s clerk a word of thanks on the way out.
It wasn’t long before the two of them had made their way back to the little sandwich shop. It was relatively quiet, being the middle of the afternoon.
“Ah see somepony got herself somethin’ special!” the unicorn mare behind the counter noted.
“Well, tuh be more accurate, Sketchy got me somethin’. But yep!”
Honey turned her attention to the tall earth pony. “Ah see. Yuh done spoilin’ our little darlin’?” she inquired.
“Yeah, for the time being.” he replied with a cheerful smile. “I’ve some drawing to get on with.”
“Ah see. Well thanks fer gettin’ Sally out our hair for a little bit.”
“Hey!” Salad interjected, pouting a bit. Her mother chuckled happily at the younger unicorn’s mock upset.
“Ooh, look at that face!” she giggled, looking fondly at the rosy-hued mare. Salad shook her head, her expression giving way to a more mirthful one.
“Whutever am Ah gonna do with yuh, maw?”
“Some bakin’ and washin’ up?”
“You walked right into that one, Sally!” Sketchy chuckled.
“Ah did now, didn’t Ah?” Salad agreed, groaning slightly. Her expression was still quite cheerful though as she glanced back to the older mare behind the counter. “Ah’ll go put this away safe an’ then come back down tuh help out, a’right?”
“Alright, Sally.”
Salad then turned her attention back to Sketchy, promptly throwing her front legs round his neck to hug him briefly. “Thanks fer this, Sketchy.” she said fondly, craning her neck slightly to kiss his cheek. He put a foreleg round her in return, squeezing her gently in reciprocation.
“Not at all, Sal. I’ll seeya again.”
Salad nodded as she released her friend and headed for the stairs. “Later, Sketchy!”
“Later!” Sketchy affirmed. He turned to head back out of the shop, when Honey’s clearing throat stopped him in his tracks. He looked back over his shoulder at her.
“Ah heard about last night’s li’l ruckus.” she said, though Sketchy was relieved to note her voice carried no hint of upset. Clearly she had been filled in on all that had transpired.
“Uh huh?”
“Ah hope yuh get things sorted out with yer fancy friend. If what Sally tells me’s all true, then Ah reckon she can really use a good friend in her life. Yer mother done a good job with yuh, Sketchy: yuh got what it takes tuh be a proper gentlecolt. Remember that.”
“I... thanks!” Sketchy smiled, somewhat delighted at the unexpected praise. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to her.”
“That’s the spirit!” Honey smiled. “On yuh go then, son, an’ don’t waste the day.”
Sketchy gave a nod as he headed out, accompanied by a brief thanks and a word of farewell.
Alright... develop photos: check. Spoil Sally to make up for being horrible to her: check. He frowned as he then came to the last item on his mental check-list. Think of a way to prove to Tavy I’m not a self-serving stallion... un-check.
He let out an exasperated sigh as he made his way towards home, deciding to put the matter to the side for the time being. After all, there was a drawing he had to start work on - plus a letter to write to the contest panel.
In another part of the city, meanwhile, the subject of his frustrations was busily preparing herself for the evening’s rehearsal. Had she known what would transpire, she may have had second thoughts about going...
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447858
What's happening is I'm replying to really, /really/ old comments.
Blacklight gonna Blacklight!
447861
> HOLY WOW MASSIVE COMMENT
What did you expect? I check this page once, see five comments, then you point it out to me months later when it has /dozens…/
447867
I have a following?
(love that emoticon…it's got that perfect combination of :o and 6.9 )
Foreshadowing!!!
Was the film Color? or B&W?
450000
I would say colour: Photo Finish had colour photography at her disposal, likewise Featherweight more recently.
I know he's a borderline starving artist, but any photographer with a shred of self-respect that still uses film has turned their bathroom into a darkroom especially when they have as much of a DIY spirit as Sketchy. But he is poor and I know from personal experience that chemicals are insanely expensive. Besides, he chiefly sticks to drawing so it makes sense to not have all the excess equipment.
Meaningless stream-of-consciousness thought process is meaningless.
450696
Besides, you're applying modern day thinking to a world that's a mix of medieval and industrial revolution as far as we can tell. Equestria is not as modern as we are :)
And you're quite right: Sketchy uses his camera sparingly, such as in the given example where there is only a short window of time to catch something he wants to draw. In that respect, it's cheaper to pay someone else to develop the pictures.
With that said, I'm rather pleased to see that folks are paying close enough attention to detail to want to think about this in the first place :)
450839
Modern shmodern. Even the most advanced film technology is still based on chemicals, formulas and principles invented in the late 1800s. The only real innovations have just been able to make the film more reactive and clear thus allowing the camera itself to become smaller and more lightweight. And because of that, color or not, a darkroom is very simple thing to have. All you need is a pitch black room with running water (a bathroom works well),a negative holder, trays for the chemicals, the chemicals themselves, a negative enlarger with the right accessories and photo paper. Expensive (because film photography is now a dying artform and thus the elements are harder to come by and other supply demand nonsense) but ultimately simple. If I were to be honest, even with the lack of digital technology in Equestria, having a place that delivers film for you is actually a very modern convenience. But given that Equestria doesnt have digital photography and film photography is still the only way to do it, it makes sense that there's a place he can drop it off.
It just goes to show that I'm thinking while reading, which is the sign of a very good story. If I wasn't thinking while reading then I'd be indulging in something for a lower denominator, like something for little kids or a romance novel...
452452
That was what I meant by modern day thinking: when you phrased it as "still uses film" - as you noted, photography isn't that modern as its basics began a century or two ago (and in fact, I made reference to that in Sketchy's chat with Luna :)), but that turn of phrase suggested a nod towards digital, which we've not seen any evidence for the existence of in Equestria yet.
On the point of having his own dark room though, besides the cost of set-up versus frequency of use, there's another far more practical reason: I doubt he has the dexterity for it, skills with the pencil notwithstanding XD
452543
Ha true that. Didn't even think of dexterity. And yeah, chemicals are crazy toxic. Wouldn't want to ingest that. Hope they have unicorns a the shop. lol
452991
I do as well. I was in the school darkroom the other day and accidentally splashed some stop on a small cut. It burned. That said, A bathroom darkroom is, as you said, really easy to set up. The only hard part for earthponies would be loading the film onto the reels, and actually unicorns as well, spell-casting gives off light, so unless they have a light-stopping spell running concurrently your film is hosed. Unless they have an automatic film developer, but those scratch up the negatives quite easily, and I'm sure Sketchy wants the best. I'm reading too much into this aren't I?
453675
I'm sure there are plenty of spells unicorns can use to get around their aura's casting negative-ruining light. Its deus ex machina, I mean magic after all.
*** Obligatory Blacklight late reply ***
447867
> Please feel free to inundate his comments with responses and make him panic over his following.
> following
Following? /Me?!/
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Yeah, right
I'm nopony special…the /last/ pony you'd think would have a /following/
*** End of obligatory Blacklight late reply ***
456970
> Blackie
…
Don't call me Blackie.
447308. Cod damn it, blackie! I need quite a bit of time to compose all of the movements, then get 3 people to play them. Even then, 20+ pieces to play is a lot, so I'll need time for that. As soon as 452543 is done with the fan fiction, I will have plenty of ideas. As for links, it will take time to get all of them on to YouTube. So sketchy, elongate the story as much as you can. Because I want to be a jerk, let's torture blackie by MAKING HIM WAIT
EDIT NUMBER 1: oh really. You are writing another symphony? Glad to hear it; lots more music to make!
456970
/Don't/ call me /Blackie!/
457347
He's touchy about being called Blackie :p
Unless it's Freezy calling him that.
456970
457403
*glares around at all the ponies on the thread*
“Dang, that gal ain’t half pretty... yuh oughta get her tuh sign these, Sketchy!”
I'm probably just derpin' here, but to me that sounds more like an insult.
“OK then, one CLTC to go, coming up. With a side order of Salad.” she giggled.
i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/jensens7/RoseluckSeesWhatYouDidThere.png
I see what she did there!
As I've said before, I absolutely love how you portray the princesses in this story.
I shall eagerly await the next movement!
463969
It's not an insult. Sally is a big fan of Luna as previously mentioned. It's nothing more than envy of the Princess's beauty :)
465220 Gotcha. My bad.
465223
No worries. And I'm glad you enjoyed Sally's incredibly lame pun XD
457347 Then WAIT /BLACKIE/light Shining
Hey sketchy!
So, remember like, a week and a half ago in the everfree radio livestream thingy when you started reading a misterious fanfic called "sketchy salad symphony" from the 4'th movement and i said i understood nothing of the story, and had no idea who sally was, and then you (and other people) told me to give it a read, and i quitted shortly after becouse i said i was going to read it right away?
No? Well, is was kind of expecting that...
Yet, i started reading it and i found it massively great, with great portraials of the original characters of the show mixed with awesomely designed original characters, with great scenary description and a brilliant story, so i kept reading it...
So here i am, finally managed to read all the movements/chapters, and i just wanted to inform you that the brilliance of this fic made me create this account just to tell you this...
One of the things i love the most about it is that this fic's main story, unlike any other MLP fic i've read, is just pure simple and yet so genious, i mean, it is just a couple of love stories, but you make them so amazing and touching that i actually became sad when octavia and sketchy got mad at each other, and laughted when sally and octavia bursted into a brawl (i know i'm really saddistic, but it kind of reminded me of AJ's and rarity's little pillow battle in look before you sleep
), and this is something i've never experienced before: such a deep conection with characters that don't even exist!
So i gotta thank you for writting this wonderfull fanfic, wich i will look forward to read until it is complete! :)
466650
You have no idea how much it warms my heart to read such glowing praise of my work!
That sort of connection between reader and characters is something I strive for every time I write a story, so to see that I accomplished that sort of connection and brought about that sort of feeling? Makes me pretty darned happy, I have to say. :)
Thank you very very much for your compliments; it's stuff like this that really gives me drive to plow onward. Thank you!
468710
If you look on my profile page you'll see a dA link :)
With that said, my renderings of Sketchy's cutie mark need some correction - the alto clef portion is missing the two lines to the left of the 3 looking part that are an actual part of the clef, which I keep omitting because I'm a derp.
When a god asks if you are someone, you say "YES"!
. . . Which is to say, when Luna thinks you can do something, few ponies would dream of telling her she's wrong.
Not to mention that your fetlocks are unshorn!
"Draw me like one of your Prench mares."
Yes. Yes he must stare so much. It is imperative he ogle you.
It's inevitable that those who spend a lot of time around Tia would pick up that phrase. She uses it a lot. Anyway, whichever direction the height difference, you're still a baby compared to her.
I doubt she'd mind, but it still seems wrong calling a pony at least a millennium your senior "adorable."