Slice of Another Life
"So, since your mom is paying for everything, does that mean I can invite Nightingale?" Velvet peered over Crystal's shoulder while the mare worked on the guest list.
Crystal's ears twitched and she tilted her head back to look up at her. "What? Of course! Even if my mother weren't paying that would be fine." The quill floating in her magic wrote down the name. "Do you want to invite any of your other friends?"
Velvet paused. Her gaze darted away and her lips pursed in thought before she shook her head. "Nah. I'm sure Azurite will be there, right? I mean, she is a guard. Kind of." She paused again, then added, "Are all the guards going to be there?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't yet had a chance to talk to Silent about it." She eyed Velvet a moment. "Do you want me to write down Azurite's name just in case?"
"Yeah... Yeah, if you don't mind? She's a lot of fun. Plus, I think she'd be really upset if she weren't invited. Oh, wait, if we invite her, then we have to invite her partners."
"Partners?" Crystal squeaked. "What happened to Sunny?"
"Huh? They all got back together, you knew that." Velvet started to pace, her ears wiggling. "Anyway, Silent and Sunny work together, so I can't imagine he wouldn't invite her."
"Slow down just a second! Work together?" Crystal's eyes went wide. "Her Sunny is the Lieutenant Sunny?"
"Yeah, her. Soarin, though. Soarin, yeah, we'll need to add him."
Crystal gave an unrestrained, full-on gawk. "The vice commander of the Wonderbolts?"
Velvet shot her a sidelong glance. "Yeah. Sunny and Soarin. Add their names to the list."
Crystal did no such thing. Her attention was, instead, fixated on processing the new information. "Are we talking about the same Azurite?"
"Yes!" Velvet tossed her head back in a bark of laughter. "Little Azurite wrangled herself two pretty important ponies, it's crazy, I know!"
"She—two—three—" Crystal sputtered. She looked down at the list, then back up at Velvet. "Does she—well, are they—" After a quick shake of her head and a clearing of her throat, she said, "I-I suppose it's not entirely unheard of, three ponies in a relationship together, I just, well, I've never actually known a pony who was!"
The amusement in Velvet's expression faded while her ears folded back. "You don't have a problem with it, do you?"
"A problem with it?" Crystal waved a hoof. "No! If they all love each other and they're happy together, then of course I don't! I just can't fathom being in a relationship like that myself."
Silence held them for a moment, tense and thick in the air, until Velvet nodded. "Great! So add them to the list. Or—actually, you know what?" Her lips curled into a grin. "Send it Azurite plus two. It'll be funnier that way."
Crystal stared at the list sitting in front of her. "You want me to invite the lieutenant of Princess Celestia's House Guard and the vice commander of the Wonderbolts as pluses? Won't that be insulting?"
"No way, they have a sense of humor! It'll be funny!"
"I'm not so sure," Crystal murmured, then looked back up. "Do you have any extended family you want to invite?"
Velvet tilted her head. "You mean, my parents' parents and siblings? Yeah! We haven't all gotten together in, like... in years!"
Crystal rose to her hooves slowly, stretching out each leg, groaning when her back popped and then shaking out her coat for good measure. "Write them down while I get started on dinner." She walked into the kitchen. "Your mom's parents are the ones that make the banana nut bread every year for Hearth's Warming gifts, right?"
"What? No, those are my dad's parents, d'uh." Velvet stared at the quill while her brow knitted. "My mom's parents are the ones that made that inedible fruit cake that we threw off the side of Canterlot after you got drunk on eggnog."
Crystal's ears folded back and she winced. "Oh, right, yes. The ones who can't cook."
Velvet snorted. She paused to awkwardly take the quill between both of her forehooves and wrote out a few names with slow, careful effort. "Don't be like that," she finally said. "Nanny could crochet your mom's tail into anything you wanted when she wasn't looking. It wouldn't be hard to convince her!"
Crystal laughed softly while her magic worked to hollow out a squash. "Are you just another face in a long line of rapscallions?"
"Yup!" Velvet dropped the quill. "It's in my blood!"
"Is it just the mares, or do I need to worry for Red's future?" Crystal glanced over with a light grin.
Velvet cocked her head, ears flopping. "That's a good question. Pappy is pretty laid back, so I guess it's just the mares."
Crystal giggled. "Good. I prefer him cute and innocent. I—"
After a click of the lock, the door opened and Silent walked in. "I'm home," he said, then paused to look at Velvet, blinking a few times. "Hi, Velvet."
"Well, well, well!" Velvet rose to her hooves. "Look who is on time for dinner!"
Silent raised his brow. "I could say the same to you. Are you staying to join us tonight? You don't have some where else to be?"
Crystal watched quietly from the kitchen as Velvet gave an exaggerated huff and retorted, "What, are you trying to kick me out?"
"Not at all." He shook his head. "I just don't see you much lately. I would be happy if you had dinner with us."
Velvet's ears wiggled. "Sure you would. I think you should go back to work. You're totally cutting into my time with Crystal! She was mine first, you know!"
Silent laughed. "Mm, I will first thing in the morning." He winked and started to remove his armor. "I'll be leaving for Haven for a while, so she'll be all yours again. I just want to spend some time with her before then." There was a pause, then he added with a light grin, "You might want to watch your jealousy though. Green isn't a good color for you."
"Oh yeah? Wanna fight about it?"
Crystal looked over to see Velvet backing up onto the couch, never giving her back to Silent, her eyes narrowed.
Silent raised his brow. After some thought, he chuckled and replied, "Bring it, tiny dancer!"
After a small wiggle of her rump, Velvet sprung into the air and landed on Silent's back. He blinked a few times and turned his head to look at her, but otherwise didn't offer much of a reaction to the small addition of weight. Velvet wrapped her legs around him to brace for an impact with the floor that never came, then blinked and said, "What? You were supposed to fall over."
Silent crossed the living room while she tried to tug him off course. "Sorry, but you don't weigh nearly enough."
Velvet leaned to the right and tugged with all her might, then jerked to the left, but he just kept walking. "Seriously, what in Equestria are you made out of?!" she cried, giving up her struggle and slumping against his neck.
"Steel and vinegar," he replied with a curt nod.
Crystal looked between the two of them, giggling behind a hoof. At that moment, she couldn't be more grateful for what she had: a healthy stallion, a spunky friend, and an idea for a scene with Charlie and his son. It would be great, so long as Velvet never found out that she was the inspiration for her character's foal.
---
A hoof drew a line down her back and pulled her out of the haze of sleep. She shivered at the sensation and blinked one eye open, shortly followed by the other. Silent smiled down at her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Morning, beautiful."
"Mm." She ducked her head to hide a wide yawn, then nestled closer to him. "Morning."
"What, no 'beautiful' for me?" He placed his muzzle behind her ear and blew a soft puff of air against the sensitive area. "Rude!"
She giggled, one ear flicking to slap against his face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Good morning, beautiful." She nipped at his neck. "Now stop!"
"Thank you." He leaned back down and watched her as she shifted to rest her head against his chest. "Unfortunately, you know what today is."
A sigh escaped her as she nodded. "Yes..." She shivered when his hoof stroked her back, all of her nerves lighting up from the touch. "Are you sure you have to go?"
"I'm sure." His chest reverberated against her ear with the sound of his voice, rising and falling with every steady breath. "I've got another session with Mindful Soul, and then I need to pick up the princess and alpha squad so we can escort her to Haven."
Another sigh. She traced a circle against his stomach with the tip of her hoof. "How long will you be gone this time?"
"Only two weeks," he assured in a soft voice. "I need to get the new sergeant settled there. Then I'll send Iridescence to take my place." His hoof trailed down and patted her flank, chuckling when she sucked in a squeaky breath. "Then we can get serious about kicking this wedding into gear."
Crystal wriggled to put her face in his and winked. "Oh, sweetheart, that's sweet, but it already is in gear. The wedding is right around the corner! What do you think I've been doing these past few days?"
"I see. Well, good, then." He grinned lopsidedly. "So, be honest. Are we going to have to move into base housing to survive the financial fallout of this wedding?"
She huffed and poked his cheek in the lightest of slaps. "No! My parents are going to pay for it."
His ears perked. "Are they really? That's a surprise."
"Oh," she managed through a muffled giggle, "don't say it like that."
He shrugged. "I won't now." He shifted to roll her onto her back, put his weight onto her, and placed several featherlight kisses along her neck and chest, then nuzzled her cheek. "I'm sorry, beautiful, but I have to go now." She felt him grin. "Try not to get Velvet too worked up, but if I do come home to find you two in bed together, I'll accept it."
"What!" She huffed and squirmed against him. "Oh, if that happens, it will be because sisters have sleepovers from time to time. It'll have nothing to do with your... your perverted stallion's dream!"
He pulled back to look down at her with one brow raised. "I'm not perverted. She is the one who attacked me to fight over you last night."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "If she had actually attacked you, your instincts would have kicked in. All she did was try to assert her dominance and failed." She puffed her chest. "Unlike me."
"Unlike you, huh?" His ears wiggled. "And when did you succeed?"
Her chest remained full of prideful air. "Why, just the other day."
"Mmhm. No, I seem to recall I got my armor back and went to work."
She gasped and lightly snapped back, "You were late, though!"
One of his hooves moved to press against the center of her chest. "All right, then, Miss Dominant. Get up."
"I will!" She urged her upper half to lean up, but his hoof remained firm. Her nose scrunched and she tried leaning to the side; she barely moved an inch. Glaring up at him, she tried to wiggle down, then pushed her hind legs against the bed to slide up.
With every attempt, his hoof remained unmoved and vigil. He just grinned as he watched her struggle.
Finally, she clamped her forehooves down on either side of his and pushed, pulled, tugged, and otherwise exerted every direction of force she could until she groaned and went limp. "Oh, all right, fine. You win. You're the biggest pony."
"That's right." He leaned down and kissed her softly, then said as he pulled back, "And biggest pony would like to share a shower with his mare before he has to leave for two weeks."
She giggled and chirped, "Second biggest pony is most definitely okay with that idea!"
"Great. I'll get the shower warmed up."
She watched him as he slid off the bed and walked over to the door that led to the shared bathroom, then slowly she closed her eyes and sighed. While he was gone, she was going to have some free time on her hooves, and there was one thing she needed to do sooner rather than later: meet her grandparents, even though the idea scared her.
After a quick shake of her head to clear it, she pranced her way into the shower. "Ready for some company?"
Silent's head peeked out around the curtain. "Always."
Carefully, she stepped into the tub to fill the remaining space. The combination shower-tub was not designed for two ponies, and certainly not prepared for one of those ponies to be a big, strong, muscular stallion. Neither of them complained about the result of having to stand in very close quarters, of course.
Her shoulder pressed to his flank, she flicked her tail against his chest while hot water poured down on them from above. "So, Velvet would like to invite Lieutenant Sunny and Vice Commander Soarin."
"Oh?" His muscles tensed and relaxed as he inclined his head to look back at her. "I already planned for Sunny to be on the list. Soarin, too."
"The thing is," she said, pausing to wriggle herself into turning around so that they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, "she would like them invited as the pluses to A—" Her ears shot up. That was still a secret! "—another pony. Apparently they are—close friends with somepony she knows and she thinks it would be funny if that friend brought them as their pluses."
Silent was silent for a moment. He just scrubbed his mane with one hoof to massage shampoo into it until he looked at her with a light grin. "I think I know who she's talking about. She's right. That would be pretty amusing. Yeah, let's do that."
"Great!" She shifted her weight to her hind legs and crossed her forelegs over his rump to keep herself upright and free up some room. "Now, let me get under your wings, dear." Her magic brought over a bath brush and, once he held out his wings, gently scrubbed soap into the coat on his sides.
A small, satisfied groan rumbled in his throat and she giggled. This was the good life.
---
In some ways, Chicagoat reminded Crystal of Manehattan. It had the same tall buildings that shimmered in the light and towered way above her, but there was one key difference that immediately stood out to her. While Manehattan was a hornet's nest of busy workers rushing to and fro, Chicagoat felt like a refuge for those that wanted the small town feel in a big city.
The buildings that were made from brick or wood boasted colorful murals on their sides, and at one street corner there was a band of musicians playing smooth jazz for tips. Ponies didn't seem to be in any particular hurry to get anywhere, which made it much easier for Crystal to roam the city searching for a distraction from her sudden indecision.
She had lived her life without ever knowing them, and it wasn't as if they had made an effort to meet her. Why was she there, then? Why didn't she just go home and work on planning her wedding?
Because she had to know, of course. She sighed and looked at her current surroundings; she had wandered her way into a large park that featured several interesting architectural features. In front of her sat a large, bean-shaped metallic structure that captured the city's skyline like a snowglobe. A beanglobe? She tilted her head one way, then the other. Yes, a beanglobe.
Finally, she put her mind back on the task at hoof and went to the main street to flag down a taxi. She flashed a smile at the stallion who pulled up to the curb. "Hello! Could you take me to 2324 Haylor Street, please?"
"Yes, ma'am!" The stallion tipped his hat and, once Crystal had boarded the cart behind him, he trotted forward. "What brings ya by there, business or pleasure?"
Crystal blinked and fidgeted, her gaze wandering to look at the buildings that rolled by. "A bit of both, I suppose."
The stallion just chuckled and kept up the brisk and steady pace. When they crossed over a bridge, the scenery changed almost drastically. Two- and three-story homes rose up along the sides of the streets in long chains with no separation until the next road met with Haylor Street. Trees were planted at every interval to be between the buildings, out of the way of doors and signs.
Brick seemed to be the common material, though the varying colors used kept one storefront distinct from its neighbors. They were all of different styles, too; the whole street seemed to be a quilt of all sorts of fabrics, no two alike.
"All right, ma'am," the driver said as he came to a stop. "Have a good time in Liddle Itaily! 'At'll be five bits, if ya please."
Crystal blinked and focused her gaze on the building in front of them. "I'm sorry, is this the right place?"
He nodded. "2324, ma'am!"
She squinted to read the numbers on the door, then slowly lifted her head to peer at the sign.
Papa Pizza's.
"So it is," she said with uncertainty seeping into her voice while she floated the bits—plus tip, of course—out of her satchel and stepped onto the sidewalk. "Thank you, sir!"
He chimed some polite response, but she didn't hear it. Her attention was firmly planted on what was, without any shadow of a doubt, a pizza parlor.
Her tail flicked, then she smiled and almost laughed. Of course! It was so obvious. They had to have moved. After all, how would her mother be current on their address if they were estranged?
Before she could make up her mind on her next step, the door opened and an older stallion of rotund frame stuck his head out.
"Sorry, signorina, but we're closed today. But if ya want, eh, I can fetch a breadstick for you?" He offered a soft smile. "Ya look 'ungry."
Crystal shook her head. "Oh, no, it's all right. I actually was just looking for somepony who used to live here, but I guess they've moved away."
He tilted his head. "Moved away? From 'ere?" He gave a full-bellied laugh. "Then you're looking for us, because nopony moved away from 'ere! Papa Pizza's been 'ere longer than I've been Papa Pizza!" With a wink and a wave of his hoof, he gestured her inside. "Come on in, you're just in time for dinner!"
"What? I—"
'Papa Pizza' hooked his foreleg with hers and tugged her inside as he bellowed, "Fior! We've got company for dinner!"
Crystal's mouth flapped uselessly as she was guided through the empty restaurant and toward a set of stairs. The space was dimly lit and the chairs were upturned to sit on the tables, but a warm glow poured down through the open door above.
A mare's voice, light and sweet and airy, called back, "Grab a chair on your way up!"
"Sì, sì!" Wrapped in a yellow-orange glow, a chair followed behind them and the stallion winked down at her. "It will be nice to have some company for dinner, no? Things can get a little stale when it is always just me, Fior, and the kids."
Crystal could only nod and smile. Her brain had already shut down while her hooves moved on auto pilot just to keep from being dragged.
When they reached the top of the stairs and turned into what seemed to be a dining room, Crystal squeaked in surprise.
Fourteen ponies—all unicorns save for one pegasus, two earth ponies, and a sleeping foal—were crammed around one long table. Thirteen pairs of eyes turned on her; thirteen faces offered smiles and grins; thirteen voices chimed cheerful greetings.
What in the hay was going on?
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Oh hey, this looks like a sappy romance.
I'm a total sucker for sappy romances.
Clicks first chapter.
Good thing that this Chicago isn't like actual Chicago.
Well Crystal has a big family now.
This is going to be crazy. I can't wait for the next chapter. Thanks for the great little twist with the moms family.
Ooooh...
I got a few ideas, but they are pretty far out. Soo...
I'll wait.
gifsec.com/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/03/oh-my-god-reaction-gifs.gif?gs=a
I have no idea what's going on
just gonna point out the name "upper Crust" kinda reminds me of like, pizza crust... so... meet the relatives dear Crystal. Pizza, Pizza.
6628427
6628427 Oh. My. Gawd.
6628429 wait, did uppercrust lie about her parents being cold or something?
Aha. Upper CRUST. I get it. So Crystal has the coolest grandparents ever and Upper Crust is just a doucheface.
So is this our signal that Velvet's been up to something dramatic during Velveteen Mask, or our signal that she really does want in on Crystal and Silent's thing?
6628504 wait, or could be that Papa pizza is crystals uncle and that her parents are living with his family. making it a coolest family ever… I watch way too much of soap opera.
Sounds like another Cosmarepolitan story just got inspired.
Azurite is the important one of the three, no arguing that.
I look forward to the wedding twice as much now. Is Nanny a nickname or actual name?
No wonder Azurite thinks Silent Knight is a monster if he does this to a
normalboring sized pony.That is certainly a different part of Chicago than I've been to, though I wasn't there for fun times. All it was for me was below ground roads, hotels, and bum camps. But I did get a 'Taste of Chicago' on the flight out.
...
...
Oh boy, incoming ponies
* * *
PS No one connected all those blatant words and innuendo I dropped last chapter while talking about Upper Crust.
I was wondering why Posted was using pizza metaphors in response to my comment in the last chapter... I guess Upper Crust came from a large poor Italian family and wanted to distinguish herself from her family. They don't look like they would give Crystal a hard time (provided that is her mom's family).
Hahaha thought they would be utterly despicable, or a completely blue collar working family, seems it's the latter! Next chapter should be great!
Omg it's all too true
! I had a feeling that her second set of grandparents were somewhat eccentric. Anyways this chapter is another example for me of just how many little tidbits you miss if you only read one story or the other. It's awesome to see more of the home life, since Secrets mostly focuses on the stresses SK is facing at work and internally. But this chapter is giving me more hope for their relationship, you have a way of painting it so that it seems so much brighter and happier than when it's written from SK's POV.
An impromptu family reunion!
Oh, you are good at leaving us wanting more...
6628309 You poor poor thing.
Just make sure not to drink too much wine.
6628429
"Okay, theorycrafters. Start your engines! All will be revealed on Tuesday, so in the meantime I'll just sit here, sip on my glass of wine, giggle menacingly, and await your thoughts."
Ohmygawd, I freakin love you.
And the name Upper Crust has a whole new meaning now!! Can't wait for the next chapter!
6628504 Oh we've always known that Upper Crust is a doucheface, but now we can't justify that with a spoiled and arrogant upbringing.
6628633 Huh, go figure, it's an actual pizza place...
6628688 I would agree and disagree with your thoughts on Crystal painting her relationship with SK in a brighter light from her perspective.
I agree that is IS painted in a lighter perspective, but i think that's because Crystal Wishes herself sees them in a more positive light, and that's because she sees the WORLD in a more positive light than Silent Knight does. He's very serious (and frowny!) about pretty much everything. The other reason I think their relationship looks better from this side of things is because Crystal puts in more affection from her point of view, for some reason Silent doesn't include nearly as much affection which makes their relationship being shown in a portrait of kisses, hugs, and awkward conversations.
Ok! According to my TheoryCrafting senses, my short list of possible explanations for 13 children goes thusly:
1) they got their impulse-buy impulses switched over to impulse-adopting
2) coincidentally, a LOT of their friends needed them to babysit
3) they run a makeshift orphanage
4) Crystal is imagining all the children because she's secretly baby-crazy
5) as Lord Legion said: impromptu family reunion!
I'm going to go with #3 for my official theory although I invite everyone to add to the list
Great chapter again Crystal, you are truly gifted in your genre and it makes my week better having these updates to look forward to.
Ah! Its that thing! I've been to that thing, its really neat!
Crust.
Crust like in pizza crust.
OMG YES! Crystal is going to have such a freakout.
6628873
Don't forget, those were Crystal's grandparents she traveled to see. If Papa Pizza and Fior had 2-3 other children besides Upper Crust, and those also had larger families as well it would easily be that many grand and great-grand children. The family business, she doesn't run herself you know.
Remember Crystal, being the submissive one isn’t so bad. Sometimes it can p a lot of fun.
And Upper Crust? I understand the character was pre-named, but taking her name and making a pun like that? That is bad and you should feel bad.
As for the family? I can totally see why a pony as shallow as Upper—her caring for Crystal notwithstanding—would want to break off all ties. Those pizza ponies are awesome! I can already feel it! On a side note, I have some Italian friends, and they have the same seemingly compulsive need to be good host(esse)s. I can’t wait to see how this plays out. And if these are her grandparents, what the wedding will look like if they come.
I think the previous commenters have come up with enough theories, so I'm going to leave pointless trivial knowledge instead!
Yay, trivial knowledge!
(Use this to impress friends, or bring new knowledge to on-topic discussions, or both.)
Long, long ago bread wasn't baked in fancy bread pans. It was placed directly onto the floor of the oven, after a place had been hastily cleared for the dough. Because of this the lower half was typically covered in ashes.
The bread, once done, was then sliced horizontally, and upper class people were given the upper crust, while the lower classes were left with the ashy, lower crust.
The more you know.
I just realized how many side-stories that take place simultaneously to this and memoirs/secrets. It's a lot more than I thought. And I'm gonna have to read them all... and then figure out how to order them in the series in my Calibre Library.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
0:34_11/13/2015
And we see Crystal's concept of reality shatter. Again. And it was amusing.
This whole chapter was sweet and romantic and sappy. And it was very touching and sweet. its good that their relationship is back on track. ALSO!
Really... You tuned Upper Crust's name into a PUN?!?!?!? About Pizza?! I... am conflicted from facepalming due to it being a pun, or applaud you for the genius of it. And Im curious to see if Papa Pizza knows that Crystal is his granddaughter or not. I cant wait for the next chapter to find out!
Wow... I was expecting middle class roots for Upper Crust -- not something this humble. The image of Upper Crust regressing to an Italian accent is amazing. Of course, it's kinda sad that this might mean Upper Crust was so hard on Crystal because Canterlot Society throttled the humble niceties we saw in her journal all those chapters ago out of her... She probably thought she was doing it the nice way compared to how the rest of Canterlot would... Or maybe she can't even accurately remember what she was like before high society?
I suppose the other option is they died, another family moved in, and Upper Crust doesn't know...
Either way, poor Upper Crust...
Aw! You cut the most important line out of Velvet's fight with Silent!
I get the impression that seating at Crystal's wedding just became Willowy's (or was it Raven's?) nightmare.
6628873
They could be like my dad's side of the family. He was the last of five children by a good margin, and he also waited the longest to have children. A good portion of my cousins on his side are an entire generation older than I am!
Not to mention that his side of the family is generally quite prolific. I think his mother got to meet at least one great great grandchild.
So Crusty's got an extensive extended family who are nothing like her gold-digging rump. Who knew?
*after Crystal comes home, dragging her hooves through the house while looking very frazzled*
Velvet: Hey! So, how'd it go-woah, are you okay?
Crystal: Fourteen.
Velvet: huh?
*crystal turns to velvet, eyes tired and hollowed in way that can only be caused by far too much socializing*
Crystal: I have about fourteen relatives on my mother's side of the family.
Velvet: =OOO
Velvet I hope you knew you could never seriously hope to beat Silent. Can't wait to see Sunny and Soarin react to the plus two. Will it tear apart their relationship again because she wants to bring pink pony and leave behind one of them?
So Velvet's spirit animal is a cat.
It was described a bit different in Secrets. This makes it 20% more funny
Okay, so I get why upper crust might be estranged because of wanting to separate from her humble beginnings and her family being insulted by that. What I don't get is why Jet Set also didn't seem all that thrilled by her parents. Jet always seemed more mellow and doesn't strike me as the type who would hold Upper Crusts families status against them. Maybe they blame him for how upper crust turned her back on them...
anyway, 14 ponies.
I'm guessing:
grandma, grandpa
three uncles/aunts and their special someponies. [upper crusts age]
three cousins, two with special someponies. [crystals age]
one foal from one of the families in crystals age group.
Oh goodness
Crystal has a big fat Italian family and didn't know it
Shenanigans are afoot
Well Crystal took the realization of the nature of Azurite's relationship rather well.
I expected her to have more of a hard time excepting it.
6629426
Yeah Velvet definitely exhibits a cat-ish personality.
As for Crystal's family ... after the question of the taxi pony I had a moment where I half expected the address leading into the red light district.
Though I think the current situation is A LOT funnier xD.
So to put Crystal's last thoughts into proper words...
Mamma mia!
Chicagoat...
Itilian...
Large family... or a bunch of foster foals... or both...
Either it's a foster home / pizza parlor, the leader of the mob, or she has some of the most awesome grandparents ever.
I guess those all can go hoof in hoof.
Hello, dear readers, hello! What a delight it is to see y'alls reactions to yesterday's chapter! So, first thing's first: credit where credit is due. Anzel is the one who came up with the idea of twisting Upper Crust's name, and one amusing conversation later I had an extended family for Crystal evolved that I've been dying to share for months. I look forward to introducing everypony in further detail on Tuesday!
6628332 Magic of friendship and harmony means for an idealized version!
6628336 Indeed!
6628365 It was hopefully an unexpected twist!
6628395
I'll just wait, too!
6628407 Hah! I love the gif!
6628444
6628455 I wouldn't say "lied". I would say different perspectives, opinions, untold stories, and many, many years of separation!
6628504 Well... I will just say that Velvet has no romantic feelings toward Crystal or Silent.
6628633 Velvet's family is fun. Nanny and Pappy are just familial nicknames, same as we would use them! And yes indeed. Many incoming ponies, especially since that fourteen doesn't include Papa Pizza or Mama Fior!
6628658 Posted figured out my little 2324 Haylor Street riddle and was very proud of himself.
Family or not, these pizza ponies are definitely a seemingly friendly bunch!
6628664
I can't have all of Crystal's family be upper society snobs, eh?
6628688 There is definitely value in reading both! I will say that Golden Rule is right—neither perspective are 100% accurate. Wishes is tinged with Crystal's rose-colored perspective, and Silent Knight only shares what he a) remembers and b) chooses to.
6628752 Yup!
6628808 Thank you! This was a cliffhanger I was very pleased to leave off on.
6628812 Depends on how you define too much!
data.whicdn.com/images/36033259/original.jpg
That's not related to the story at all. I just wanted to post it.
6629986
That is clever and sneaky. I like it.
I also think that I'm going to love Crystal's other grandparents and family.
Dang, the other side of this conversation made it even more fun. I really like Velvet's "Azurite plus two" idea, that's hilarious.
It's so nice seeing the pair of them back in scenes like this after the recent stress.
So much Silent/Velvet/Crystal teasing this chapter.
Papa Pizza's. Upper Crust. Yes. Yes. Crystal has a large extended Italian (Bitalian?) family on her mother's side that she didn't even know about. I love this development, so much. It is glorious!
I hope they all get invited to the wedding, so wonderful chaos it would be.
6628814 Thank you, my darling audience, thank you!
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6628873 Yep, I was a little torn between Damenzo's and a Papa Johns. With it being Papa Pizza's, the latter sounded more appropriate, but the former actually fits the feel of the place better... so I went with Damenzo's. And I completely agree with your perspective analysis! Neither story gives 100% of the truth—Crystal's rose-colored lenses and Silent's faulty and/or "selective" memory!
And thank you!
6628885
Yes, it's that thing! When I looked up pictures of Chicago, the Cloud Gate seemed to be pretty prevalent in the results, so I had to include it! And... eeeyup. 
6629048 Blame Anzel! It was originally his idea, though I ran pretty far with it.
6629092 I enjoy the knowledge, personally! So thank you for sharing!
6629094 We do write a lot of content! But I shan't apologize.
6629104 It's an amazing pun! You don't know how hard it's been to keep it a secret all this time!
And, yes, it's fun to write happy romance again. 
6629212 Some really good thoughts in there. I've been looking forward to opening these avenues of Upper Crust's life for this very reason!
6629237 Well I can't show everything on this side! Plus, we'll get things from Velvet's side, which I think is even more fun.
6629278
6629425 It could be the very last straw! Good job, Velvet!
6629426 Velvet is the most catpony of my ponies. I like catponies and birdponies.
6629452 To be fair, in Secrets, Jet Set's words were:
But Papa Pizza and Mama Fior will give us the whole story on Tuesday! And I will say that your family breakdown would make a lot of sense!
6629466 So true!
6629595 Multi-pony relationships aren't common, but they're not unheard of either—just not something Crystal's been exposed to (that she knows of, anyway)... It was a bit of a shocker but in her opinion, well, if they love each other... who is she to judge?
6629616 All could be true!
6630032 I hope we all love them as much as I've grown to since thinking them up!
6630157 Yeah, I love writing simple, lovey-dovey moments, so I'm happy to get back to them.
And... yesss. (I go with Itailian myself, but I've seen Bitalian floating around as well!) It's probably one of the things I've been looking forward to sharing the most. 
6629986 And I've just realised that the chapter title's not just a play on Slice of Life but it's also referencing fegging pizza slices too aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
6630241
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6629986
You have no idea how exited I am to see who the 250th pony will be.
Curses... I was sorta hoping that when we met Crystals mothers parents that it might explain the situation with her mom. Through most of the story her mother has been... well, not a complete bi*** but close.
However we've also seen that her mother really does love and care about her, their conversion when she brought Silent over really turned my opinion of her mother around a bit.
But it seems these ponies only crime against her mother is that they're very down to earth type of ponies.
That... or they're in/run the mob.
Also, even though nopony would know it in-story, but Upper Crust kept to family tradition:
View this image:
digitaldeconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Crystals-Pizza.jpg
A sadly-now-defunct pizzeria chain!
The explanation will go something like this:
Papa pizza never wanted to leave Canterlot, however Upper Crust made it impossible for them to stay after she settled down with Jet Set. She was and is still embarrassed by them. Two different cultures colliding, and Upper Crust chose the more expensive one thinking that this is what life is really about. I'm putting all the blame on Upper Crust. She's the one who disowned her family. She has always tried to give Crystal the best, but the Best for Upper Crust is not the best option forCrystal Wishes.
Anyway, Crystal is going to invite the whole family and try to have her parents pick
up the tab!
6628455 Looking at it, I'm wondering more if they are actually adopted/orphan kids, and not related by blood. That Upper Crust was the only real relative, but taking care of so many orphans/adopted kids all the time, didn't have time to visit those that grew up, even if they wanted to? Why else would they not want to visit their granddaughter?
Either that, or her mother left without them knowing, and they didn't know anything about her mother's life after that, such as any Granddaughters she had.
There could be quite a few different reasons.
That was something.