Misty waited at the end of the pier, clutching a white lily to her chest while she whispered a simple request under her breath. "Please return him to me..." She closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the flower. If there was no ship cresting the horizon when she opened them, then she would toss it into the sea.
How long, she wondered, could she keep her eyes closed? What if she simply never opened them again? Then she would never have to see the empty seascape that would break her heart...
Crystal's ear flicked at the distinct intonation of her teacher's lecture coming to a close. He always started to use a more questioning tone when he was finishing class for the day, so she looked up and feigned attention.
"—and that just about wraps up today's lesson, everypony, okay? Remember: it's not the size, it's how you use it!" The professor smiled as he set an oversized test tube on the table.
Crystal blinked a few times. "What the hay did I miss?"
"A lot, as usual," her classmate, Clarity, teased and giggled. "Do you need to borrow my notes again?"
"Maybe... Yes," Crystal admitted with a sheepish smile. "Do you mind?"
She floated her notebook over. "Nope! Just be sure to give it back to me tomorrow, okay?"
Crystal slid the notebook into her saddlebags and the two started to walk out of the room together. "It must be nice to have such a good memory."
Clarity shrugged. "What good is remembering things, anyway? At least you can be an author or something someday! What kind of job am I going to have with my talent?"
"I don't know." Crystal hummed in thought as she pulled her locker open. "I'm sure you'll think of something when you're not having to study for exams." She winked. "I'll see you tomorrow! Thanks again!"
Crystal trotted down the hall and toward the main doors. The next half hour was one she could do with her eyes closed: take a right once off school grounds, two blocks up the street, one block left, and she'd be right outside the hospital. Of course, Canterlot's sprawling layout meant the blocks were hardly straight lines like in Manehattan, but they were close enough.
She smiled when she opened the door to Silent Knight's room. The scent of flowers overwhelmed the usual hospital smell. "We could run a flower shop out of this room," she commented as she walked over to the bed.
Runic inclined his head to look at her. "A flower shop, huh? I wonder if there are any rules against shopkeeping in a hospital." He rubbed his chin. "I wonder if I could run my shop from here?"
"A flower shop is less likely to explode at random, so I think I like that idea better." She floated a vase over to the sink, raised the flowers out, and emptied the water to replace it.
"How do you know?" Runic huffed. "Flowers can be volatile. Especially when you mix them together!"
Crystal shot him a light frown. "And how many innocent flowers have you combusted?"
Runic shrugged and got up from the chair. "Potions have to come from somewhere, you know! Anyway, how was school?"
"School?" She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the next vase, replacing its water before moving onto another. "Pointless, but I just have to make it through this last year and then I'll be done with the whole waste of time."
"Aww, school isn't so bad! At least, it wasn't while I was there." He tilted his head with a small frown. "Did school change after I left?"
Crystal waved a hoof at him. She laughed softly and set about rearranging the freshly watered flowers. "I'm sure it's not so bad once it's over. Nonetheless, you have a store to get back to."
Runic nodded, offered a coltish smile, and started for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Of course." She waited until the door clicked shut before she sighed and shook her head. The room was quiet for a moment as she avoided turning around, instead keeping her focus on the flowers. "Everypony is so certain they'll see me tomorrow," she finally said, glancing over her shoulder at Silent. "What about you, hmm? I'll see you tomorrow here as well, same time, same place, same condition?" A small smile briefly lit up her face. "Perhaps tomorrow you will open your eyes and see me, too?"
There was no reply, of course.
"Well, I suppose you wouldn't want to see the state of your room." She giggled and prodded at a tulip. "Look at this one! Drooping its head so low. How disrespectful!" Her horn lit up as she focused on the wilting petals. "Want to see something neat?" She squinted, directed all of her thoughts toward the flower, then clenched her eyes shut as a burst of energy bubbled from her chest to the tip of her horn and shot out in a concentrated beam.
When she opened her eyes again, the tulip stood tall and proud among the rest of the bouquet.
"Hah! See there? See what I did?" She panted lightly. "A florist taught me that when I mentioned just how many flowers you have in here. It's only temporary, but it's a neat party trick, don't you think?" Walking over to the bedside chair, she gave a breathless laugh and tossed her mane. "You're right, it's a very neat party trick."
Once seated, her smile wilted, and there was no magic spell to fix it.
"So!" she exclaimed, clapping her hooves. "I made more progress on my novel. I've decided to just let my muse lead me instead of trying to guide it myself. It is determined that Stoutheart goes overseas, and so he has." She rested her elbows on the bed, hooked her hooves, and lowered her chin onto them. "Poor Misty Glen... She doesn't know if he'll ever return..."
She swallowed. The air was dry and stagnant. Through the floral scent she could detect the stench of over-sterilization.
"Have you figured it out yet? Her Silent Love?" Her lips quirked into a coy smile. "Hmm?" A somber expression overtook her face. "Oh, why aren't you smiling, Silent? Do you still not get it? It's not a very well-conceived hint, you know. In fact, I don't know if it's a hint at all."
Her gaze wandered the room. "I was thinking they would dance, and that is when she would tell him. Of course, she's not a very good dancer, being a mare of simple upbringing." She giggled softly. "The problem is I'm afraid I don't know any true knights, and the only things I can find at the library are romance novels." The giggle returned as a laugh. "But you're a Knight, aren't you? Perhaps you can tell me."
She finally looked at him again, her eyes soft as her brow knitted. "Would a Knight know how to dance? Is that part of chivalry? I'm not making too wide of a leap by assuming that is part of their training, am I?" As she continued, her voice grew weaker, almost desperate as she pleaded, "Do you know how to dance, Silent Knight? Could you tell me?"
He said nothing. As usual.
"Please?" The last question fell out in a breathless whisper before her throat caught on a lump. She shook her head quickly, patted him on the hoof, and said with forced cheer, "It's all right. A stallion is entitled to his secrets. Nonetheless, my readers will like a knight that dances. I certainly would."
An image flashed across her mind and goosebumps prickled her skin. She imagined it all: the music playing and swaying their hearts as they swayed across the floor, his forelegs wrapped around her, silently promising to never let go... The daydream was cut short by her sighing heavily. "Is it strange for me to dream like this of you when I don't even know what you think of me? Am I a lovelorn fool? Could you just open your eyes long enough to tell me once and for all?"
He did neither, so she stood rather abruptly and walked over to the nearest vase. She busied herself by rearranging the flowers. "I'll keep waiting for your answer, Silent Knight, but I do hope you'll give me one soon. It's rude to keep a lady waiting."
---
The aroma of coffee and pastries enveloped Crystal as she stepped through the doorway into the cafe. She breathed it in before sighing contentedly. It was a much welcome reprieve from a month of rubbing alcohol and hoof sanitizer. After looking around, she spotted Raven sitting at a table over against the wall.
"Hello, Raven!" she chirped as she walked over.
"Oh!" Raven's magic flickered out as her focus was torn away from the notebook floating in front of her. "I didn't think you'd get here so soon."
Crystal sat down across from her, brow raised. "When you say it's important, I assume that means important."
Raven flushed lightly. "W-Well, yes, but perhaps I exaggerated a little." Crystal stared at her with an expectant smile, and she continued, "It's still a way's away, but Moore and I are starting the wedding planning now."
"Oh my goodness!" Crystal squealed in delight. "How long is a way's away? Six months? A year?"
"Seven months, currently," Raven replied. She turned the notebook around to show its contents: a timeline.
Crystal scanned the dates until she found the current day's date and gasped. Next to the date was written, 'Ask Crystal Wishes to be a bridesmare.' When she looked up, her words were halted by Raven's guilty expression.
"I'm sorry," Raven said. "My brother is going to be my stallion of honor. When he found out I was engaged, he jumped on the assumption that because we are related, he would have the honor." Her nose scrunched up. "But he is stuck in Vanhoover for his job and is only going to be in town for the wedding. I... I can't say no to him, but I need somepony here to do the work he should be doing." She stared at the table, her ears folded back. "I know it's very gauche, but could you stand in for him in duties but not in title?"
Crystal smiled, nodding with enthusiasm. "Absolutely! I don't mind at all! I'm just happy you'd consider me at all." The smile darkened into a playful grin. "So does that mean I am in charge of the bachelorette party?"
Raven looked up at her, wide-eyed. "I-I suppose? What are you planning?"
"Oh, nothing yet." She rubbed her hooves together, then giggled. "But I will do my best to make it wonderful. Now, let's see." She looked over the timeline again. "Wow, you went all-out with this schedule, didn't you?"
"Yes and no." Raven's ears pinned back and she sighed. "Loath as I am to admit it, Willow helped me put this together. She has a spectacular eye for arranging these things."
Crystal laughed behind a hoof. "Oh, don't look so green. Yes, she's good at scheduling, but you're good at managing the castle as a whole. I'm sure if you had to swap jobs for a day, she'd be the one grumbling with envy."
Raven visibly fought it, but she eventually smiled. "I suppose you're right."
"Now, back to this." Crystal tapped on the notebook. "You want to have the dress picked by next week? We should start shopping now, then! Oh, no, I see, you want to start dress shopping on Friday..."
Raven tapped her hooves together. "I hope it doesn't seem strange, but I'd like to keep to the timeline as much as possible. Willow and I accounted for buffer days to reduce stress so not too many things happen all at once, especially since I will still be working throughout all of this."
"Don't worry," Crystal assured. "Nothing ever goes according to plan, but we'll try anyway."
They laughed, then Raven said in a serious tone, "We'll do more than try. Isn't that right, honorary mare of honor?"
Crystal gulped and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good." Raven straightened her glasses. "Now, let's discuss when and where we'll meet on Friday to look at dresses. How do you feel about wearing yellow?"
Crystal nodded again, somewhat dumbly. What exactly had she gotten herself into?
---
Crystal hummed while she flipped through the pages of Bridal Bridle. "Look at this!" She faced the magazine to show a selection of bouquets toward Silent Knight. "White roses with blue hydrangeas. What do you think?" After a pause, she turned the magazine back to herself. "I agree. It's a little too simple for Raven."
Her left hind hoof tapped lightly against the floor in rhythm with her occasional humming. "What about something exotic, like a bird of paradise? Hmm? No, you're right, she's not that showy."
The sound of conversation outside the door caught her attention. "Oh, come on!" cried Velvet's recognizable voice. "Do we have to do this every time? Just let me in!"
Crystal wrapped her magic around the door handle across the room and opened it. "Thunder Tumble, don't be contrary. You know Velvet."
"Protocol, ma'am," Tumble mumbled.
Velvet upturned her nose at the guards as she walked past, huffing. "I know I don't come by very often, but I'm not a total stranger."
"You've only come by once." Crystal smiled and looked back at the magazine in her hooves. "That pretty much makes you a stranger around here. Anyway, what brings you by? Shouldn't you be at the bakery?"
Velvet stared at her for a little while, glancing up and down before she said, "Well, I came by to say hi, but now I'm here to ask... is that legal?"
Crystal blinked. "Is what legal?"
"Planning a wedding with a stallion in a coma," Velvet deadpanned.
"What?" Crystal furrowed her brow before she gasped and laughed. "Oh! No, no! I'm sorry, I didn't get to tell you the news last night. Raven asked me to be one of her bridesmares, so I'm helping with that. This isn't—No, this isn't for me."
"Oh." Velvet sat in the seat on the other side of the bed. "That makes more sense. Sooo..." She swung her hind legs. "How are you doing?"
Crystal floated the magazine over to her friend. "What do you think of peonies for Raven?"
"I don't care about Raven's wedding." She swatted it away. "I asked how you're doing. You seem so... content lately."
Crystal stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Velvet raised one brow and gestured at the stallion between them.
"Well, yes, I see your point there." Crystal grabbed the magazine out of her magic. "It's easier to be happy than sad. Every day is another day he might wake up. Isn't that better than dreading every day as another he might not?"
"You know how I feel about that attitude," Velvet said slowly and carefully.
"I know." Crystal smiled. "I know, and don't worry. I won't sit around here forever. I don't know when I'll give up, but I know I'm not ready to yet. I'll be all right either way."
Velvet eyed her with clear suspicion, then smiled. "You've changed." Her tone grew more playful as she teased, "So how many pages in that magazine have you marked for your own wedding?"
Crystal's face heated a bright shade of red. "Three, of course." She bit her lower lip and leaned closer. "Do you want to see?"
"D'uh! Why else would I have asked?" She rolled her eyes. "Hoof it over!" Eagerly, she looked over the pages with the corners folded in. "Uh-huh, I see... So you want a princess gown? Big surprise there. Rose garden venue?" Her gaze raised from the magazine. "I take it back. You haven't changed in the least."
Crystal stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.
"Nope. Definitely haven't changed at all."
They stared at each other before both breaking out into giggles that slowly died down into simple smiles, neither looking at the stallion for a while. Finally, Velvet glanced at him first.
"I don't know how you can spend hours here," she said, standing from the chair. "It's a little creepy with him just... there, unmoving, totally silent."
Crystal shrugged. "I can't describe it, but I don't mind. It's worth it if I can get to see him open his eyes."
Velvet scrunched up her nose as she started for the door. "Well, I'm going to go to the bakery and have some fun with ponies that talk back. I'll see you tonight?"
"Of course." Crystal waved her off and waited for the door to shut, then sighed and slumped in her seat. "She has a point, you know. I wouldn't necessarily call it creepy, but I do feel a little crazy, sitting here and talking to you for hours." She sighed again, flipping the Bridal Bridle back to where she had left off. "Anyway, back to Raven's bouquet. I know she doesn't have that on her schedule for another two weeks, but you won't tell, will you?" After a pause, a bitter laugh escaped her. "That's what I thought."
Crystal rambled on about flowers and eventually transitioned into accessories and, after about an hour, silence. The machine continued to drone its usual beep, though it was faster than normal. Her attention was fixated on her surging emotions, however, and not the monitor, while Silent Knight groaned ever so slightly.
Her resolve wavered and brought her to the point of begging. Though she didn't know to whom she pleaded, she couldn't keep the questions trapped inside. "What more do you want from me? What have I not done that I still need to do?"
Her lower lip quivered. "Oh, Celestia, please help him. Please help me. There is so much I want to say to him, so much I didn't say because I was afraid." She choked on her words as she continued in a quieter voice, "Did you know that I got his last letter just a few days before I found out what happened to him? I was so excited, so determined to tell him how I feel, and then..."
She sniffed and rubbed at her stinging eyes. "And, well, if you can hear me, then you already know the rest, don't you?" She bowed her head. "Please, our story can't end this way. Not like this. This isn't how it was supposed to end at all. Anything but this..."
Silent Knight's eyes opened just long enough to wince and clench back shut, then slowly cracked open again.
Crystal blinked through her tears and, when she saw him staring at her and that it wasn't just her imagination, she gasped. "Doctor!" she cried, jerking her head toward the door. "Somepony, quick, get the doctor! He's, he's awake!"
The sound of metal hoofguards scrabbling against the floor responded as the guards outside mobilized to track down the nearest doctor. She looked back at him to see half of his mouth curled up in a smile, the other wriggling its way up but not quite making it.
"Hello, beautiful," he whispered in a raspy, tired voice.
Crystal's ears stood straight up. It was hard to tell if he was truly seeing her or if he was just hallucinating a mare in her place, but the feel of his gaze on her sent electricity up her spine. She could have sworn her heart jumped into her throat as she added, "And he's delirious!"
When seeing this scene from Silent Knight's point of view, it gives a sense of tiredness, as if waking up from a tiring nap.
From Crystal Wishes's point of view, it feels a sense of excitement and relief. I like this one more!
I feel like this should be here.
CSAR Pararescue | "That Others May Live"
This still makes me chuckle.
Princess Luna has spent the last few weeks sending specific dreams his way to further her match making. It is no wonder that waking up could be disorienting.
I'd forgotten about that line...
Now I want to see that come up again later. Y'know, have one or the both of them tease the other about their parts in that exchange. We should totally wrangle Anzel into this.
seeing this part again still made me laugh. I'm happy to finally see him wake up though. This chapter was a good fluff builder for Raven's character, and to see inside a bit of Crystal's mind and work. And I think it was at this point that Silent Finally lets on he does like her.
I was feeling all emotional through the whole thing, feeling so bad for Crystal...
And then that last line just killed me
At least she didn't have to kiss him to wake him up now.
6076154 is that canon? I mean, it SOUNDS like her, but I don't remember it being a thing
Anyways, thanks crystal, didn't even want to get sleep for work tomorrow
jk I love this story and am so happy it updated.6076263 well, he is slowly waking up to it. all joking aside, I agree with you. The call back to the other story works so well, while being to stand out on its own. Although, I'm wondering what that teacher said about size doesn't matter? That's going to bug me for a while.
I don't know why, but when I read that in Memoirs and here I imagined Crystal shaking her forehoof in playfully dramatic manner when she said "And he's delirious!"
Awww Yeah!
Guess whose back. Back again. SK's back. Tell a friend. Guess whose back, guess whose back, guess wh- Lol too soon?
I don't think it would've been soon enough for Crystal hehe...
Anyway, glad to see an update and glad to see that SK has returned to the land of the living.
6076307 Good question. So many questions are raised by that statement.
6076307
Same here! But, oh, that moment when Silent awoke! I read it in Memoirs but it has so much more weight here! I'm so happy!!!
... this chapter makes me feel silly.
If you know what I mean.
D'awwww!
Well... I could say that this was a great chapter and that it was a really pleasant to read, but you already know that! Instead I'll just say few kind words about Velvet. She's my favourite character in a whole story (Crystal is a protagonist here so she doesn't count) and sole though that she was so close, so close te be just an episodic character gives me shivers.
But! She's sassy, cheerful and have that voice...
Besides, that made my day:
I really enjoyed this chapter, keep it up!
Find your own path,
Vuko D.
There are so many responses to that...
i.imgur.com/6Czg2An.gif
And hey, it works for the chapter as a whole, too.
6076289
Well, it wasn't in Memoirs, but people usually don't remember their dreams, so... who knows? Though, to be fair, Silent has had a thing for Crystal for a long time, he just never said anything about it, so I feel like if Luna was gonna do anything matchmaker-wise she would have just smacked him in the head and told him to ask her out already.
YAY, another chapter. :P Although, I was a little late on the read today because ... I'm in Germany. :P Time zones.
I loved it.
It's great to see this from Crystal's point of view.
Huzzah! He's awake and so am I! Was out all night, so early morning for me
I wonder what will be Crystal's reaction reading the note of her classmate. And what kind of tame Bachelorette party she had planned :)
Welcome to the 0330hrs comment post! (For reference, my alarm goes off at 0445hrs for work)
Well, that was another amazing chapter. The hospital was getting really sad towards the end with Crystal all but begging for Silent to awaken. Velvet was funny, though, with her razzing of Crystal, though if Silent waking wasn't already a foregone conclusion (I'm not just reading 'unlocked' chapters, I'm current with Secrets of a Royal Guard), I would have fully agreed Crystal's waiting was setting her up for a heartbreak.
But, I was on Crystal's side for this, because when Knight awakened, if she'd given up, it would hurt him badly. But, she didn't give up, so it all turned out alright. Now Silent, if you don't get the hint now, I am going to club you over the head! ...Actually, Crystal, Anzel, would you be against me drawing a chibi Luna clubbing Silent over the head with Crystal's CM on the end of a 2x4? I can't believe I never had this idea before... (I swear to god, it's the time!)
Anyway, Raven's wedding going according to schedule? Please... do you not understand Murphy's law? Everything takes longer than you think. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. I guess Equestria gets to avoid Mother Nature is a bitch. It is impossible to make anything fool-proof because fools are ingenious. Those little rules, Raven? Your schedule is going to go splat, we all know it... -____- But! Just leave it to the overly romantic filly and everything will go purrrfectly(roll the r there like a pur! [I blame the time!]).
Now then, I think that about covers it all.
On a last note, I leave you with these!
My Silent Knight returns to me,
From his drift on the dream filled sea
Dreams hold captive his soul and mind
To which consciousness tries to find
But found at last, was his waking breath
I did not watch the coma death
They all tried to make me see
But my Silent Knight has returned to me
Me, the one that never lost hope
Me, who forever gripped the rope
Always holding it close to me
Always refusing you lost, to see
And here, you have returned to me
My Silent Knight from across the sea
Good morning (for me), y'all! I apologize for the late update yesterday and am gonna go ahead and say that tomorrow's will likely be late as well, but I am committed to trying to make the Thursday update deadline. I have had a lot of RL distractions that were not kind toward writing... This chapter, however, was an important one so I really wanted to post it yesterday.
Okay, on to the response round-up!
6076055 The benefit of different perspectives really does shine here, with the nigh opposite emotions stirred!
6076119 And (as of this posting) 5 other people agree! It's a great line! Anzel and I enjoyed it when writing his chapter... so long ago... I'm so far behind...
6076154 Now that would be funny. "Comatose Dreams of a Royal Guard"
6076179 There is a fair amount of Crystal x Silent content that's not shown in Memoirs and Secrets. Given the format of Anzel's work, we see only what Silent remembers and decides is relevant to sharing about his life. For example, Secrets is currently over seven months ahead of Wishes, but we never saw Raven's wedding.
6076263 Yes, with Crystal's resolve to just accept the doubts and hope for the best (whoop, there we go, I said it! I wondered how far into the round-up I'd get before I said it!) her life could finally move again. Without that, she was stuck on his coma, unable to really function in her every day, normal life. But now she can function and have Silent Knight!
6076268 Mission accomplished! I thought about going further for this chapter, but it seemed like a good "break" point.
6076282 Hey, she was spending hours alone with him for over a month... Who says she didn't already try that?
6076289 I know, I'm sorry! I just really wanted to post the chapter when it was ready!
ahh I'm happy you love my story!6076307 If only Crystal had been paying attention in class rather than writing! And if only I hadn't timeskipped over the next day in class
because I honestly have no idea about anything related to science that might involve oversized test tubesto keep readers guessing because I totally know what was going on!6076362 Hah!
6076436 Oh my gosh, never has Rafiki been more appropriate and also necessary to a situation. Now he just needs to take them to the over-the-top Upendi.
6076480 Never too soon!
6076493 And there will never be an answer, unless a scientist gives me one to retroactively claim as intended!
6076516 It was an emotional ride to write and I'm glad to pull into the station with happy feels instead of sad this time around!
6076589 I think you already have! Mixed emotions, just as planned. *evil finger steeple*
6076621 I'll keep an eye on my library updates!
6076655
6076803 I won't beat around the bush: don't worry, Velvet isn't being written out at all. Crystal was just spending so much time at the hospital (and, when it started, school) and Velvet is at the bakery and at her parents, so they aren't seeing much of each other, but Crystal being back at the condo and Red getting (a little) older will resolve that. Velvet is too awesome to demote in character role!
6076882 It could be foreshadowing! Poor Silent Knight...
6077082 Oh, don't blame Germany, it did nothing wrong! I just posted late... really late.
6077088 Thank you!
6077095 It was fun (and a bit challenging) to write this from this side of the fence!
6077141 You need more sleep! ... but I'm not your supervisor, so I'll allow it.
6077252 Tame? Tame? Oh, no, Crystal is going back to Los Pegasus and finding herself some of those pretty mares. Wait, no, that's not right, that's the bachelor party... Oh well, pretty mares with feathery displays it is!
6077314 You need more sleep, too! What is with my insomniac readers? Bah! Nonetheless, I'm glad you enjoyed it! If that 2x4 idea inspires you to draw then I definitely won't stand in your way, it sounds funny to me! And oh, don't worry, Raven is in for learning that lesson the hard way.
6077183 Welcome to the story and to my sometimes unnecessarily long response round-ups! Anyway, thank you so very much for taking the time to read and comment. I really appreciate it and it has started my day off right to read your kind words. This story is one I love writing and sharing so knowing that folks enjoy it as much as I do is one of the things that keeps me going. Thank you!
6077407 It was the first thing I read this morning. :P
6077407
Now that's just mean. You would really make Crystal Wishes wait all this time for Silent to notice her just to have him not measure up at the finish line? And here I thought you actually liked your characters...
6077410 That doesn't sound like too bad of a deal then! Germany, Germany, what's for breakfast in Germany? ... Sausage and french fries? All I know about Germany is that folks there freaking love french fries. I assume that's what you're eating
right nowthis morning ... your morning? ... last morning??6077407 hehehehe combo breaker. anyway Im happy with how this chapter turns out. cant wait till the next one as usual.
6077423
Or it could have been a throwaway line just to show that when Crystal is writing, the world disappears. Who knows!
I mean, size or skill or both... Unless Silent Knight is a natural, I think we all know that he's not exactly experienced, so he's either gotta have a compensation or things are going to get awkward later on.
6077429 Hahahah, "combo breaker" ... Yes, I look forward to the next chapter, too... mainly to see if I can finish it on time!
6077433 One can hope, but It's worth the wait either way.
6077424 LOL I'm sorry, and yet I'm not:
~From the Wingpony~
We can always do lunch and find out. Talk about our love lives and squee over them...
http://puu.sh/gi23U/2dab2dcc76.png
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6077430
Oh, I'm looking forward to it, lol. I foresee much awkwardness when that topic comes up, because I can pretty much guarantee that Silent is not a natural. He doubts himself too much when it comes to women (with good reason most of the time), so he'll be looking to Crystal for direction.
Unfortunately for him, Crystal won't have any to give him. And even worse, her love of the romance genre might have left her with some...unrealistic expectations. I really hope she has a conversation with either Sunbeam or Raven at some point, because I can pretty much guarantee that her own mother hasn't given her any useful information on the topic. I would say that Silent needs to get some help from someone as well, but his list of choices is...much shorter. Really, his only choice is Shining Armor.
On a completely unrelated topic, I keep attaching songs to your characters. For some reason, this one always makes me think of Velvet:
https://youtu.be/mqWq_48LxWQ?t=40s
I don't know why, but every time I hear it I picture her singing it about someone.
6077745 Addressing your comment backwards...
Oh good grief. So, I heard the other song you linked for Crystal on the radio the other day, and now it's on the radio all the time. I had never heard it before you shared it! And now this one... Ohgosh. I want to learn how people do the 3D pony videos (some kind of team fortress thing or something?) ... and then make Crystal and Velvet and etc. ponies... And totally do a Velvet version to this song.
It'll never happen, 'cause I barely have time to write between everything else, but I can dream.
I need to start making a Crystal's Wishes playlist...
Aaanyway, I don't want to say too much, but I will say I love all your theorizing and whatnot. You're almost always spot-on, so much so that I just want to grab you and ask, "How do you know!?" ... Let's just say yet again, you are a hammer.
That makes two things I am dying for you to eventually see.Okay, jumping back to songs... The majority of my personal playlists are either MLP fanmade music, Disney songs, and Bollywood soundtracks. It's annoyingly difficult to find a good quality video with the lyrics, but... Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. 1) That movie is one of my top favorites and I love it to bits and pieces. It's also where I stole the "slowly, slowly, you will fall in love" lyrics from. 2) Some of the sentiments in that song... hnngh. "You are my heaven, you are my passion / You are my wish, you are the peace of my soul / You are the calmness of my eyes, you are the beat of my heart."
What is this ninja update at 3:50am?! I couldn't read it until ~4.30pm and most of the time I was thinking when I'll finally get home to read it.
So, he's finally awake now. I was actually hoping for one more chapter with Crystal's monologue, I really liked those.
Velvet plz
New vocabulary added: hydrangeas
6077840
I had a friend back in college that was really into Bollywood movies. I've never been big on movies and TV and the like, but I do remember some of them being surprisingly good. And hey, if they're giving you good songs to use in writing, I approve of them even more. I have a 19 hour playlist of pony music I listen to while I'm at work, but that's about all I've got besides the radio, so pretty much all of my random songs will be from there.
As for the guesses... I dunno. I don't think I'm psychic, but I could be wrong about that. I've always said that if I were a D&D character, Wisdom would be my highest stat, so maybe I just have good intuition. But if you were talking about the song being right on the money, I will add that while I was linking that I couldn't help but think to myself, "if Velvet ends up getting with that chick from her dancing group or Golden Pants, does that make me psychic?" Cause every time I hear that song, I always picture it being about Golden Pants.
The thing about Silent and Crystal really wasn't much of a stretch given their personalities and their friends. People are amazingly predictable creatures once you've known them for a while. On a side note, you'll know you're doing a good job with your characters as long as I can predict (or at least attempt to predict) what they're going to do. I do it automatically, even in real life, and it's one of the reasons I'm awful at things that require me to plan ahead.
6077855 Sorry about the late update! I'll try not to make a habit of it. Things are just not cooperating with writing these days...
6077876 I was talking about both the song and a few things in particular you said regarding Crystal. I'll just leave it at I can't wait!
Now, as far as the Velvet song goes, it would totally be toward Perennial. Golden is so far off her radar these days... but Perennial? Put on them shades, Velvet, because she thinks she's cooler than you!
6077951
What a Twist! I will wait with bated breath.
...Ok, probably not. I need my breath for staying alive and stuff, but I'll wait with excitement, how's that? There are so many things I've been waiting to see from Crystal's perspective.
6077840
It's so tempting... But it wouldn't be those pony models... I really do need the practice, though you're right about the time it takes... ...to make my own from scratch.
6077951
Oh, right, Perennial... Great, another Capital B who I want to see get slapped into making a characterization turnaround. One of these days I'm going to find a good romance that caters to that silly desire of mine. (I probably have and just don't remember.)
6077745
First off... *cringe* I hope it goes better than I'm dreading. I have so much sympathy for Silent's position.
Second...
In my own latest chapter the main pony character incredulously asked, "Does everything in your world run on explosions?" My prereader responded, "Sex doesn't... Usually."
Enter Runic Phial; sounds like a challenge to him.
6078338 Whoa, so much response! Such wow!
I've never done any 3D modeling before except but once. And I was just trying to make a heart. It... It did not go well.
We won't see too much of Perennial here in Wishes, but we will see of her. And, well, Velvet is a pretty mare who is bisexual. Perennial's not necessarily out of her picture...
Don't dread too much. I don't enjoy cringe humor or awkward situations, and I enjoy writing them even less. Whatever happens will be kept light-hearted!
As for Runic Phial's potentially explosive sex life... Ohh myy!
And Silent Knight finally wakes up from Equestria's longest nap. Huzzah!
Ah your cliffhangers will be the death of me I'm afraid, he's finally awake and says just what I was hoping. And oh crystal wishes your writing never fails to amaze me, I look forward to further updates.
6077407 I totally forgot about that line, so I got completely blindsided.
I'm still spelling it "Cadance" by the way! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!
6078383
That's not what I meant...
You and Aziraphael were talking about who Silent might be able to go to for help with deeper intimacy with Crystal. It probably would be best if he stuck to asking Shining Armor, because Runic's solutions might be a bit... explosive. (The idea of which was made funnier by the previous conversation with my prereader.)
6077407
Dunno what's with us. Woke up at quarter to three (aprox five hours of sleep, don't worry!), decided to read Wishes at 0300. Wrote that at the (not quite as relatively early as it would be to some) hour! It was awesome. Now then, Raven getting to meet Murphy... this will either turn out really, really bad or in fire and in tears.... Please don't be too mean to Raven. It's my job to traumatize my original characters!
Now, then on to the chibi! Thanks for the permission! 'Twill. Be. Awesome....
Oh, and on a side note, I've operated on far less sleep! Try going five or six night straight on aprox. four hours per!
6078743 Oh... I like my misinterpretation better.
6078804 I can't promise there won't be some tears. But I wouldn't put a tragedy or sad tag on that subplot!
...Because he's weak after staying in bed for weeks. Most certainly not any lasting damage. That would just be utterly cruel and heartless to pull after such a happy chapter. Right? ...
You'd better not Crystal, I swear I would find you and we would have words. WORDS.
Depends on the flowers!
See, Runic knows what I'm talking about.
Bwhahahahaha! You know, I was kind of thinking the same thing.
*angels singing, and possibly Runic too*
Hallelujah!
That moment when a story makes you smile so hard it hurts a little. It is so good to see Silent back in the land of the conscious.