Frost ponies were easy to spot in the middle of just about any crowd, so Crystal had no trouble finding him at the cafe. He sat at a table furthest away from anypony else, his back straight and rigid, eyes and ears forward.
Crystal had to giggle to herself as the excitement bubbled up in her chest. A real, honest-to-goodness frost pony was sitting at a cafe in Canterlot. After having read The Winter Soldier so many times, it almost seemed comical to her. He belonged in the Frozen North, the bitter wind whipping through his lionesque mane, looking out into a blizzard...
She shook her head quickly to clear it, returning her attention to the present. "Hi!" she called just before approaching the table. "You're Cobalt Thane, am I correct?"
Cobalt nodded.
She smiled and sat across from him. "I'm Crystal Wishes."
"I know." He stared at her, his expression void of emotion.
She waited a moment, then pressed, "Have you ordered already?"
He shook his head.
A twinge of annoyance shot through the back of her mind, but was quickly replaced by a nostalgic warmth. It was theater club all over again, except this time, she couldn't speak for the stallion. "Well, then, let's order first before we get down to business, as they say."
He nodded and levitated his menu, drawing her attention to the horn atop his head.
"So, would they call you a frost unicorn?" she asked, glancing at him over her own menu.
"No." His gaze remained firmly on the selection of sandwiches.
Her mouth tightened as she struggled against a frown. "Just a frost pony with a unicorn horn, then?"
He paused, then shook his head. "Just a frost pony."
"I see." Her magic clenched the menu a little too tightly. She coughed when she noticed the edges starting to crease, and forced a smile.
This was going to be the longest lunch of her life.
---
Crystal groaned as she dropped the book and rubbed her eyes with both hooves. "I don't understand."
"How can you not understand?" Velvet looked up from the magazine she held. "That's like, your fifth time reading that stupid thing."
"No, not that." Crystal tossed the book onto the coffee table, staring at it as though it had offended her honor. "Suddenly, the frost stallion's stoic behavior is so very... annoying." She flopped onto her side to give her back to the world. "Now what am I going to do? I can't even read The Winter Soldier without thinking about Cobalt and how awfully awkward that lunch was." Her ear flicked in agitation.
Velvet dropped her gaze back to the article she had been reading. "Isn't your job as a writer to take the unromantic and make it romantic?"
The ear flicked again. "There has to be some kind of spark to get my creative interest piqued, and that stoic rock of a stallion quelled my fire."
A long, drawn-out sigh groaned from Velvet as she slapped her magazine shut. "Oh, then just focus on your other story about Silent Knight, jeeze! Isn't there a lot of fire going on for you there? I mean, you practically finished it before you started chasing this frost pony stuff."
Crystal rolled over to shoot Velvet a curious look. "Forgive the Horseyism, but what kind of bee is in your bonnet?"
Velvet's lips twitched into a lopsided grin. "Horseyism? You know 'bees in the bonnet' was a thing before Horsey said it, right?"
"Yes, well, I never heard it until she said it." She snorted. "And don't change the subject." She waggled a stern hoof in the mare's direction.
Velvet rolled her eyes. "You changed the subject to bonnets first. What happened to Her Silent Love, anyway? I haven't seen you touch the manuscript since you started dating Silent."
Crystal's gaze darted away and she curled her tail around herself, frowning. "It's, well, it's almost complete. I just need to go through it one more time, that's all."
"Uh-huh. And when are you going to do that?" When Crystal merely shrugged in reply, Velvet sighed. "Fine, whatever. It's your life, not mine. I'm sure I'll be taking care of the rent on my own soon enough, anyway, so I'll just get used to that now while you go broke."
"I feel like you're trying to say something to me." Crystal sat up and looked at her again, the frown deepening. "Why don't you just get it off your chest already?"
Velvet opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, her ear swiveled around, followed by her head. "Did you hear that?"
Crystal rolled her eyes. "Oh, real mature, Velvet. I—"
"No, seriously, listen!" Velvet's brow furrowed. "I swear I heard something like a really loud chicken."
"A really loud chicken?" Crystal stared with disbelief clear on her face until the very distinct sound of a chicken screeching hit her ears. "Okay, I heard it this time." She blinked a few times, stepped off the couch, and walked over to the window.
Out in the near distance of Canterlot, several oversized cockatrices loomed above the buildings, seeming to be on some sort of rampage. Crystal just stared for a moment, then dropped the curtain back into place.
Velvet waited until the city alarm filled the silence. "Well?"
"Nope." Crystal took a step backwards.
"Nope?"
"Nope, nope, nope." Crystal's horn lit up and grabbed onto Velvet's hoof, tugging her as Crystal trotted toward the front door. "Nope!"
Velvet frowned and tried to struggle against the pink aura enveloping her hoof, but rather than risk injuring herself, she followed behind the mare. "The hay does 'nope' mean? What did you see?"
Crystal shook her head and started down the stairs at a brisk pace. "Nope means I'm just not dealing with this. I'm not dealing with that, with this, with anything."
"Oh my gosh, is this because—"
"Nope," Crystal interrupted and they skidded to a halt in front of a reinforced steel door where the old but sturdy wooden basement door used to be. Crystal tilted her head at the sight of it. "This is new."
Velvet sighed, rubbing her hoof when Crystal released it. "They installed it after the changeling attack. Didn't you read the newsletter?"
Crystal shrugged, then tested the door. It didn't budge. "Hello?" she called, knocking. "Anypony in there?"
A slot in the center of the door slid open and a pair of eyes peeked at them. "Who's that?" Earl Grey paused, then smiled. "Oh, Crystal and Violet!"
Velvet frowned and begrudgingly corrected, "Velvet. We've met like, hundreds of times now."
The sound of metal sliding against metal followed as Earl undid the locks and latches until the door swung open. "Come on in! You saw 'em too, eh?"
"Saw what?" Velvet glanced between them as Crystal nodded and they walked inside. "I didn't get to see anything."
Earl chuckled and followed them down the stairs. "Never seen anything before in my life like it. Glad we renovated the basement when we did."
Velvet whined, "What is 'it'?!" She paused when they reached the basement proper, blinking a few times. "Oh, wow, that's a big change."
The whole basement had been completely refurbished to look more like a small town bar. The hard concrete was replaced by plush carpet, a few benches and tables lined one side of the room, and a small serving station took up the other side. There were bottles of apple cider and barrels of water at the ready, as well as sacks of potatoes, a small crate of apples, and a couple barrels of oats and barley.
"We could live down here for days!" Velvet grinned, then dropped back into a sulking frown. "Which I hope isn't necessary due to the unseen terror that forced us down here. And, by the by, that is... ?"
Crystal sat down on one of the benches and levitated an apple over, offering it to Velvet. "Cockatrices."
Velvet peered at her over the bobbing red apple. "Aren't those primarily a problem in scary dark forests, and we're on the side of a mountain?"
"Not when they're of astronomical proportions." Crystal waved her forelegs high in the air and far apart. "They were huge! Taller than the buildings!"
Velvet's brow arched. "Uh-huh. Giant cockatrices." She turned her head to look at Earl Grey. "So, what are we hiding from?"
"Giant cockatrices," Earl Grey replied with a nod.
Velvet took a bite out of the floating apple and chewed very slowly as she glanced between them. "Right." Her attention shifted to a couple sitting off to the side at a different table. "And what are you all hiding from?"
The couple offered quietly, "Giant cockatrices."
"I see." Velvet stood there a moment before her eyes widened. "Wait, so there are seriously giant cockatrices wreaking havoc on the town right now?!"
Crystal, Earl Grey, and the couple all nodded. Velvet plucked the apple out of the air and walked over to sit beside Crystal. "Wow. That's kind of too ridiculous to believe."
"Thus why I decided to say nope." Crystal patted her on the back. "In the meantime, you can tell me all about your bonnet bees."
Velvet recoiled away from her, glaring. "Can't you just drop it?"
"Nope." Crystal smiled brightly.
Velvet rolled her eyes and took an emphatic, almost angry bite out of the apple. "You want to know what's bothering me? Seriously, you can't figure it out yourself?"
Crystal paused to think it over, then quietly replied, "Is this about Silent Knight and me?"
"It's about how there's no you and me anymore," Velvet snapped. "You go to school, you go on dates, you sit on the couch and read, you go off to do wedding stuff. There's no us anymore and it's kind of pissing me off!"
"Oh, no," the older mare sitting nearby mumbled just loud enough to be heard. She covered her mouth with a hoof. "Did you two break up?"
"What?" Velvet and Crystal responded at the same time and shook their heads.
"We didn't break up!" Velvet furrowed her brow.
"Not at all," Crystal agreed. "We weren't dating in the first place!"
The mare lowered her hoof to her chest. After an awkward moment of silence, she asked, "Are you sure?"
Velvet glared at her. "I think we'd know!" She turned to face her back to the mare and chomped on the apple.
Crystal sighed, returning her attention to her friend and rubbing a hoof to her temple. "I don't know what to tell you, Velvet. I don't know what you want to hear."
"I don't, either," Velvet bit back, her ears pressed flat against her mane. "But whatever it is, I need to hear it." She sniffed and wrung her hooves in her lap. "I just want some kind of proof that we're going to be friends no matter what."
"Proof?" Crystal stared at her, expression blank. "How? Why can't you just trust me that you're too important to me to lose?"
Velvet stomped a hoof against the floor. "I don't know, I just—"
"I'll break up with him."
Velvet's ears shot straight up and she jerked her head to look at Crystal. "What?!"
Crystal returned the surprised look with a serious one, her lips taut and her brow knitted. "I'll break up with him if that's what it takes. Velvet, you're my very best friend in the whole world. I can find another knight. I can't find another you."
They sat in awkward silence while Velvet's face shifted through all sorts of conflicted emotions. Her ears flicked up and back, her brow twitched, and her lips tugged in all directions until her eyes glossed over with tears. "Don't be stupid. You waited on him for a year."
Crystal jabbed her hoof lightly but meaningfully against Velvet's chest. "And we've been friends much longer than that, but a year qualifies him as important?"
"I..." Velvet sniffed and continued in a fragile whisper, "I just have these ugly emotions sometimes, and I don't understand them, and I'm scared you'll hate me if you knew I had them. I can't remember life without you and I don't know if I ever want to know what that's like, and sometimes, I hate Silent because he might take you away from me."
Crystal jabbed her again. "So then do something about it. Either tell me to break up with him, or tell me to pay attention to you. If you're feeling neglected or lonely or jealous, just say something!"
"I don't want you to break up with him," Velvet said firmly, pushing the hoof away. "It's stupid and confusing but no matter what I'm totally happy for you. You two deserve each other. I just... I just don't want to be forgotten in your fairy tale ending."
"Okay, then that means I'll be more attentive and take you on a date from time to time." Crystal's face lit up with a smile. "I can give both of you my affection!"
Velvet winced and glanced at the mare staring at them. She tried to smile, but the mare simply nodded with misguided understanding. "You're really not helping our case, you know."
Crystal giggled, reaching out and wrapping her forelegs around Velvet. "Aww, don't be shy after we just had a moment! We should be closer than ever now!"
"That's exactly the problem!" Velvet squirmed, but to no avail, as Crystal just held on tighter.
"We can start right now! This will be our first 'renewed best friends forever' date!"
Velvet finally got a hoof between them and shoved Crystal away. "If this is your idea of a date, then I weep for Silent Knight!"
They stared at each other a moment before Velvet broke into laughter first, followed shortly thereafter by Crystal. When they lulled into companionable silence, Velvet rubbed at her eyes and offered into the quiet between them, "I'm sorry."
Crystal looped a foreleg around her and pulled her closer. "Why?"
"I don't know why I'm so scared of losing you. I can't explain it." She sniffed.
"Because we've been friends forever"—Crystal squeezed her shoulder—"but we've never really had any hurdles to jump. If this is our first real hurdle, then it's a pretty easy one, seeing as the solution is I just make sure you know you're not forgotten. I can do that."
Velvet sighed and closed her eyes, tucking her head in the crook of Crystal's neck. "I can jump. I'm pretty good at jumping, you know. I can do a split in mid-air, even."
Crystal giggled. "Yes, yes. Now let's just hope we still have a place to go home to when this cockatrice business is over." The air grew tense as she continued in a somber tone, "I hope nopony gets hurt."
"It'll be fine. I'm sure Silent Knight is out there leading his guards into a valiant victory and everything will be just fine."
Crystal sighed and looked up at the ceiling that separated them from the potential chaos above. With her own safety and Velvet's emotional state on her mind, she had almost forgotten that Silent would be out there defending the city. Quietly, she mumbled, "I hope you're right."
It seemed like forever had passed until the thundering of giant cockatrices moving around Canterlot came to a halt. The ponies in the basement all glanced around at one another until Earl Grey broke away from the pack to head up the stairs. They all waited in nervous silence until the door creaked open. A few moments later, he called down to them, "All's clear!"
"How does it look?" Crystal asked as she started up the stairs.
"Could be worse, I suppose," Earl replied with a sigh from where he stood, waiting just by the door. He shook his head. "At least most of the building is still standing."
One of the cockatrices must have stumbled into the building from the looks of it. Off to the right, the front lobby was caved in, the hall was blocked off on one end, and the stairs were littered with rubble. The view to the left, however, looked as though nothing had happened. While the other ponies ascended from the basement, Velvet and Crystal stood off to the side and out of the way.
"Thank Celestia we live over there," Velvet whispered to Crystal, who nodded in response.
"Let's see." Crystal tapped her chin, brow furrowed in thought. "I'll check on the condo while you check in with your parents and make sure they're all right. Mother and Father are in Manehattan for a fashion show, so they're fine, unless cockatrices attacked there, too."
Velvet shook her head. "I'll come up with you and then we can go together. Mom and Dad have a pretty cozy storage room under the bakery, so I'm sure they're fine." Her ears folded back, but she tried to smile. "Besides, I don't want you to be up there crying all alone in case something happened to your books."
Crystal nodded and they walked over to the stairs, very carefully making their way around the rubble. Same as the first floor, the view to one side was a disaster, and the other was perfectly fine. As they started down the hall, Crystal's ear flicked at the distinct sound of her name being called. "Strange. I swear I just heard Silent Knight."
"Isn't that what being in love is like?" Velvet nudged her side. "Seeing his face and hearing his voice everywhere?"
"Crystal!" Silent's voice rang out from the direction of their condo.
Velvet blinked. "Huh. Either he's really here or I'm in love with him, too."
Crystal's pace quickened and she stopped in the doorway, the door already open. In the darkness, a figure stood with their back to her. She could hear heavy, frantic breathing in the stillness before she spoke up. "Hello? Silent Knight, is that you?"
There was movement as the distinctly Silent Knight figure turned. He tore off his helmet and dropped it to the floor as he rushed toward her, the panic on his face overtaken by relief and he swept her into his embrace. Her eyes widened in surprise when his lips met hers and at first, her body reacted with a euphoric shock that coursed through her, sending tingles from the tips of her hooves all the way to her ears. The wave of electricity receded into blissful calm and she melted against him, her eyelids fluttering before they closed and she wrapped her forelegs around his neck.
Silent pulled back and they gazed at each other for a moment before she whispered, "I don't know exactly what happened today, but if this is the result then good or bad, I think I approve."
Off to the side, Velvet released a squealing aww, her hooves raised in an attempt to hide the grin on her face.
A sigh of relief escaped Silent and he tightened his grip on her. "I'm so glad you're all right. I was worried about you. Both of you... but, you."
Crystal still felt breathless, but swallowed her butterflies and smiled. "We're fine, Silent Knight, see?" She leaned up to nuzzle his cheek. "We're both fine, not a single scratch. And I'm happy to see you are, too."
Silent hesitated a moment before he finally let go of her. "I have to check in on the others," he said while retrieving his helmet and putting it on. "Be careful in here. A lot of your things have fallen off the shelves or toppled over and I think I spied some broken glass." He paused just in front of Crystal on his way out the door. "I'll come back for you later. All right?"
She nodded. "All right, I'll be here." She softly touched her nose to his. "Go be a hero."
He smiled and trotted out the door, leaving Crystal and Velvet alone.
Slowly, the butterflies returned and Crystal giggled. "He kissed me." She dropped down onto her hind legs to free her front ones. She touched her heated cheeks and pinched them to ensure it wasn't a dream. It wasn't. "Velvet, he kissed me!"
Velvet rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on already." She walked over to the nearest mess and set about cleaning up. "It was just a kiss. I mean, it looked like a pretty good one, but—"
"I don't think you understand," Crystal interrupted, tracing her lower lip with her hoof, smiling softly. "That was our first kiss."
While Velvet gawked before bursting into excited squeals, Crystal just sat there, her mind swirling with dumbfounded glee. The shock, surprise, and bliss of that moment all melded together and she felt warmth spread throughout her chest at the mere recollection.
D'awww.... the heroic rush kiss.
"Hawt." ~T ;)
Aw. No Spike riding Celestia with a trident?
I love how totally unfazed everypony is. Get in the disaster shelter. Third time this month. Good time to talk about your personal problems.
Aww, Crystal is so cute. Her first kiss.
~Mell~
Big Mac approves of the Nope levels in this chapter
The Winter Soldier? Really?
Velvet-Crystal OTP
Lovely kiss though ;)
6230088 It was originally The Winter Soldier in the chapter A Whole New World, which is not a reference to that Captain America movie in any way (I forgot it existed, honestly). I changed it to something like Arctic Soldier or whatever because I got a little tired of that being the focus of the chapter's comments, but after some interesting trivia was shared about summer vs. winter soldiers, I changed it back.
6230114
Okay... Confusing and a little depressing. I was hoping you were referencing The Winter Soldier cause I kinda got a laugh outta it
6230096
If Silent had shown up just a big earlier, this chapter's ending would've been quite interesting!
Fun chapter, as always. And glad to see Crystal and Velvet talk things out, as it was a long time coming.
Best moment ive seen in a long time that made me laugh so hard.
Awwwww they had their first kiss! I have to say this was probably one of the best times for it.
All in all this was a great chapter, and I suppose it was an awkward lunch but at least it didn't go to bad and she pissed the frost pony off. Im surprised Rossby Didn't show up as a waiter and made things more interesting. A good chapter and it was well written as always. Cant wait for next update
6230125 A great quote was shared and was why I changed it back.
Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776
6230161
Well, I can still hope...
Hey! For a next reference, do age of ultron or civil war! That would be funny! (If done right)
How Crystal and Velvet never realized the kind of signals they were sending everyone about their relationship is beyond me.
Oh, so we're here...
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/d9/06/0dd906ba8a0c96cc24af7ee59b10df6b.jpg
Sooo... that's it? That was the big deal? I thought it would be something more... I dunno... complicated? And Crystal says she would break up with Silent for her? My mind just froze, guess I shouldn't even try to understand mares...
Also what happened to Willowy Tempest sub-plot? I even have a proof that it was supposed to be a thing 6100586
New vocabulary added: bonnet
its?
they're
Velvet, everyone is in love with Silent Knight.
6230052 Eeeyup.
That was a very funny moment. The thought process of "there is a Thing happening, but I need it not to be a Thing, so I'm just going to Nope it out of existence."
That's a hell of a first kiss!
6230298 Responding to this outside of the round-up because this was kinda an important moment for Crystal and Velvet's relationship (as friends y'all come on).
Maybe it can all be chalked up to mares / women being confusing. I can't give an unbiased opinion because it makes perfect sense to me but I'm also a woman so maybe it is a woman thing. I'd like to think it's a human thing, though.
Again, this could just be me, but I think emotions and feelings are some of the most complicated things there are. They defy logic and reasoning and can feel like physical pain. The worst is when we have dark feelings—anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, sorrow—and we can't explain why we have them but we can't get them to go away, either. We can try to tell ourselves that they don't make sense and we should stop feeling that way but the darkness lingers like a festering wound.
As for Crystal offering to break up with Silent? She meant it. She loves Velvet (like a sister y'all come on) and they've been through just about everything together. You don't give that up. Yes, she cares deeply for Silent, but she cares just as deeply for Velvet, too, and if Velvet is truly hurt by the relationship, she would give it up for her. I don't think there's anything confusing there but again maybe I'm wrong.
And the Willowy subplot doesn't fit in with current events, unfortunately. Willow is at the castle and Crystal has been spending her time elsewhere lately. When the time's right, it'll happen. ;)
First kiss = Time to ship Velvet and Crystal.
Also:
I understood that reference!
Do it! Break up with Silent and date Velvet already! I've been waiting for that for so long. And it's not like it'll bother Silent, he's already used to having his girlfriend dump him for a mare (buuuuuuuuurn!).
6230541 Ouch!
Huh, after this chapter I'm really getting curious about Velvet. She seems to have self esteem issues or something. First, she was worried about being replaced by Red as the foal. Now she is worried about Silent Knight replacing her. I mean sure I can understand feeling somewhat depressed/left out by those things, but then iirc she also had a bit of a freak out over her dancing (I think it was when she got a leading role or something, but it's been awhile). At the very least, maybe she just can't handle change very well.
6230541 and this (sorry Anzel)
Daaaawwww.
They could always pull a Three of Hearts. Silent's up to the challenge, I think.
I just joined FIMFiction a few days ago for Crystal Wishes. I love this story! I'm always excited when a new chapter comes out!
I have to say this was an awesome chapter. I especially loved the scene where Crystal was dragging Velvet saying "nope!" So very Crystal and so very funny!
6231050 Welcome to FiMFiction! I am humbled and honored to have you here, so happy you like my story!
6230444
OK, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the scene with Crystal and Velvet there makes perfect sense. I couldn't have worded the explanation as perfectly as you did, though, Crystal. I guess you OUGHT to think the scene makes sense, since you wrote it, but still. There's a reason there's the saying "sisters before misters"! It can be really tempting for a girl to drop everything when she falls for a guy, but it's super important she doesn't, because a relationship with a guy may not last forever, while relationships with your close female friends might. Plus, every girl needs someone who gets what it's like to be a girl, and shares interests that maybe her boyfriend doesn't! Not to mention, everyone needs someone to keep them grounded... In general, ditching your friends for a new beau is unhealthy. I'm a girl too, so I have to wonder--don't guys ever have this sort of issue? Like, get so caught up in a girl they stop hanging out with their other friends, particularly guy friends or other important people?
Well, there's only one solution. I think Silent will wholly approve, too.
6230444
Nope, that's not it.
P.S. They've been on how many dates, and how many sleepovers, and this is their first kiss? I came, I saw, I was very disappointed in Velvet. When I read that first kiss line I totally expected her to do her deadpan thing again for the same reason that I did.
I just absolutely loved how you described Crystal's reaction to her first kiss with Silent Knight. It was palpably beautiful!
Also, what was Crystal doing while Silent was in nox pony settlement?
6229975 Crystal certainly felt some heat, that's for sure. ;D
6230036 To be fair, giant cockatrices are a pretty ridiculous threat! A threat, but... ridiculous.
6230040 And a pretty good one, too!
6230052 Eeyup.
6230138 It's not healthy to bottle up your feelings, but it's also tempting to do so when you're scared those feelings will only bring about more trouble than you think they're worth. Nothing like a giant cockatrice attack and being stuck in close quarters with one another to force the issue, though!
6230156 So glad you liked it! The "nope" scene was one of the things I wrote first for this chapter because I knew it had to get in somehow.
6230174 Velvet kinda wonders that, too, 'cause now that she's aware of it, it's... kinda really obvious.
6230348 Phew! I was worried no one would comment on that line, because I giggled myself silly after writing it!
6230391 I mean... come on... giant cockatrices. How else can you react?!
6230415 Isn't it, though?!
6230476 They seem to be a popular fan pairing!
6230541 Aw come on, that's not fair to the poor guy! He'd never think a mare was interested in a stallion ever again if that happened to him a second time!
6230898 You bring up some very interesting points that seem to suggest some kind of trend / conflict within Velvet.
6231027 That would be funny to see him try to balance two mares... I'm not sure if Velvet's up for it, though!
6231066 Glad I'm not crazy. And, for the record, I have had several male friends fall off the face of the earth because they started dating a girl. I think it's kind of a universal thing, depending on who you are... how desperate you were for that relationship... the partner you're with... I am very big on having friends, though. A good support group is just as important as a good romantic relationship. As they say... don't put all your eggs in one basket!
6231075 For what it's worth, it's actually only been a couple weeks since their first date. They've only had a handful of dates, and he probably only slept over that one time because of extenuating circumstances (a hoard of fillies).
6231109 He was only gone for a few days (I think two and a half?), so she just went about her normal routine... school, trying to write, reading The Winter Soldier which is distinctly not related to Marvel in any way because why would it be I mean really, wedding planning... She probably didn't even notice he was gone!
6231134
A hoard? That's terrifying. Who in their right mind would want to stockpile a large number of fillies?!
I really need to diversify my portfolio.
So this is what must have been on Velvet's mind over the last few chapters. I can understand how she might feel. I also think what Draetenth said could go hand in hand with it too. It is a common feeling among friends when one moves on be it a new beau or new job etc...
6231190
There is a thing worse than a horde of fillies, a crusade.
6231134 Well I only pointed that out since other readers would consider those unmentionables story loop-holes. Also, I was surprised that Cyrstal would even suggest breaking up with Knight just to maintain her friendship with Velvet Step.
6231134 But feelings are haaaaaaaaaaaaaard!
6231134
I'm sure it was. . .
~Melly~
6231190 Someone who got their hoards and hordes mixed up might stockpile fillies.
6231208 You're definitely right. Even without a history of being afraid of change, change is still scary!
6231218 Don't even joke about such things!
6231245 Well, given that it was only a few days I didn't think it was worth mentioning, since like I said, she probably wouldn't have even noticed his absence (or just assumed he was off doing guard stuff). To point out Silent Knight being absent two ordinary, uneventful days of her life would be pointing out a lot of ordinary, uneventful days. As for her saying she would break up with Silent, Velvet has been her friend since she was a filly. Sisters before misters.
6231303 Thank goodness she changed her mind after that passionate first kiss she had with Silent Knight.
6231134 Ya don't say? :P
6231134
This is MLP fan fiction. If he thought that, he'd be right. Don't you know that everyone in Equestria is gay? The only reason they have a stable population is because magical reproduction is a thing.
6230476
This seems fitting.
i.imgur.com/XS5LK.gif
And yes, I am aware that the title, The Winter Soldier, was not meant to reference the Captain America movie.
Oh you spoil me
6232092 Dungeon! Thirty years dungeon!
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6232283 Happy?
6232744
Aw man, nobody likes the dungeon.
Edit: This was strange though, I didn't get a notification for your comment on my desktop even though I enabled it in my local settings.
Is it bad that I, a nineteen year old boy, squealed like a little girl?
Damn you, author! I need to punch one hundred walls to earn my masculinity back!
6233166 Yeah, I guess some people missed the discussion the first time around. Well, I guess thankfully for my peace of mind, she's lost her interest in that book and I'll be very careful that the next one she reads has a distinctly not-"reference" title.
Hehe, the cockatrices are primarily a reference to the FiM comics. It takes a more serious tone in Secrets, given that Silent is out there facing them, but here it's intended to be more lighthearted. "Giant cockatrices? Really?"
6233194 It's okay, I won't tell anyone. Of course, you did, but I didn't, so I can still say that!
6232092 Haha I guess it wasn't.
It's still kind of surprising we found a pony more silent than Silent.
Oooo, the cockatrice attack. Stay safe, guard ponies!
Bwhahahahaha!
Given how long it took to land the first knight, I'm not sure assuming you can find another is a good idea.
*whistles* Now that's how you administer a post-crisis kiss!
Ooooo, and how you administer a first kiss, too.
6234488 I thought the mare's "oh no, did you two break up" was quite hilarious myself.
I was also very pleased with how the first kiss came out. Good thing she didn't have to tell him that they were breaking up right after, or I may have had every upvote convert to downvotes!
Velvet thinks it's hard getting ignored by a friend for an awesome guy? Try getting ignored by a friend for a guy who thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread and is way too possessive of said friend. But hey, you get the third friend all to yourself.
Such a cute chapter!
Yes, a very good chapter! I can't wait for the next one. No, really, I can't wait. I'm in physical pain as I wait for the next chapter. o-o