The smells of toasted bread, grape jam, and fried eggs were the first clues that Velvet wasn't home—Crystal only ever made tea at that hour of the morning, and her parents always baked muffins for breakfast. Velvet's ears swiveled as she opened her eyes and looked around. The unfamiliar surroundings pieced the puzzle together. She wasn't at either of the places she called home.
At first, she thought perhaps she had somehow overslept, but the lack of any light reaching out from behind the curtains told her the sun was not yet up. Her gaze fell on the empty space beside her and she winced. An early rising bed partner meant there would be no smooth getaway that morning.
After taking a deep breath, she pushed away the covers and tiphoofed her way to the door. It creaked when she tried to stealthily push it open, attracting the attention of Dawn, who stood in the kitchen putting plates on a tray. She even had on a cute, frilly pink apron and her mane was tied into a high ponytail.
"Oh! I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She smiled, her tail swishing back and forth as she glanced between the tray and Velvet. "I, um, I wasn't sure if it would be too forward or not if I made you breakfast, but it seemed rude not to."
Velvet looked at the array of breakfast options and licked her lips. No, she had to fight the temptation, no matter how good it looked and smelled! She needed to get home so she could either celebrate with or console Crystal, depending on how her day with Silent had gone. "It looks great, but—"
Dawn raised a hoof. "Please don't say but! Please?" Her face started to turn red. "This is the first time I've ever had a special... a special somepony, and, I've always wanted to do this."
Crabapples—well, that was what she pretended she thought, anyway. Her mother would be furious if she knew the word Velvet had really been thinking. She felt her mouth go dry as she forced a weak grin. "Oh, sweetie, I—"
"I'm sorry!" Dawn took a step back as her tail and ears drooped. "Way, way too soon, I know! I realized it as soon as I said it! I'm sorry. I'm just so excited. This is all new to me! I've never done anything like this before, so..."
More crabapples. Her heart started to pound with sudden worry. "Wait, when you say that, do you mean, uh." She nodded her head toward the bedroom door behind her. "You mean, that was your first time?"
A meek nod from the blushing mare sent Velvet's heart into the pit of her stomach.
Oh, sweet Celestia, what had she done? She swallowed and rubbed one hoof against her foreleg. "I, uh, wow. I had no idea." The grin tried to take hold of her lips again. "You could've fooled me?"
Dawn bit her lower lip. "Is, is that a compliment?"
"Do you want it to be?" Velvet groaned and raised a hoof before Dawn could reply. "I'm sorry. It's hard to turn off. Okay, I'll try to be serious." She took a breath and drew herself up to her full height, which still put her eye level below Dawn's. "Look, please don't hate me, but last night... Dawn, we're not special someponies. That wasn't what that was."
"Oh," Dawn said more like a quiet whimper.
Guilt gripped her chest, but she held her head firmly in place. "I'm not interested in that, and I don't think you're interested in what I'm interested in."
Dawn was quiet for a moment, her eyes focused on the floor. "Oh," she repeated. She shifted from one hoof to the other and glanced up at Velvet. "What—what are you interested in?"
"Sex. That's all. I just want to enjoy myself, not settle down."
The blush returned to Dawn's face and she squeaked, "H-how do you know I'm not interested in that?"
Velvet smiled and shook her head. "Because you look like you might cry, sweetie. You wanted a special somepony to be yours. And, just so you know, this is totally not your fault." She put a hoof to her chest. "If I were a normal pony, I'd be so into this whole breakfast thing that I'd be head over hooves for you! But, since I'm not, I'm just gonna go before I ruin this any more for you. Okay?"
There was no response. The guilt and silence were suffocating. Velvet glanced at what she guessed was the front door and took a step toward it. "So, I'll just go, then."
"Wait!" Dawn glanced at the tray of breakfast. "Please, it's okay. It was my fault for going to a bar! So, it's okay. Will you at least stay for breakfast?"
Velvet's stomach cramped to say yes, but she shook her head. "I really should go."
Dawn gave a sound that was somewhere between a whine and a sniffle. "Please, I'm sorry for what I said. I'd really like to see you again, though."
"I..." Velvet tried to swallow the lump of regret in her throat. There was no way in Equestria she could just walk away at that point and not hate herself for it. Finally, she sighed. "Okay, I'll stay for breakfast."
Dawn's ears perked upright. "Really?!"
"Yeah." Velvet offered a grin. "Who could say no to a face like yours?"
Smiling brightly, Dawn bounded around the island that also served as an eat-in bar and pulled out a stool. "Please, sit! It should hopefully still be warm!" While Velvet sat down, she trotted back into the kitchen proper to clean the skillet. "So," she started, hesitated, glanced over her shoulder, and continued, "where does this put, um... you and me?"
Velvet paused just short of biting into a piece of toast, her ears folding back. "What do you mean?"
"I don't—" She sighed, setting down the sponge and turning to face her. "I moved here last week from my family's farm just outside of Ponyville. It's really hard to meet ponies in this town, harder than I expected, and I'm just..." She sighed again. "I'm just really lonely, and you were at least kind enough to be honest with me, so I don't want to lose the closest thing I have to a friend."
Slowly, Velvet finished the bite she had started and chewed in thought. "Okay," she mumbled, "but there's just one problem."
"What?" Dawn's ears fell to the sides.
"We"—she gestured a hoof between them—"have had sex. I don't know if I can just turn off the turn on. You're cute, you make cute sounds, and you turn cute colors, like that little shade of pink your ears are right now." She laughed, then cleared her throat and put on a serious face. "If we just hang out, I'm going to remember last night, so I don't know if we can just be friends."
Dawn shuffled her hooves as she walked around the island. After a hesitant pause, she stuck her head underneath one of Velvet's forelegs to force it around her neck while she nuzzled Velvet's chest, her face hot with embarrassment. "I-I, I don't know if—if that's so bad," she managed in a lilting stammer.
Velvet nearly choked on the toast as a shiver shot down her spine. "Whoa there!" She stared down at the beet red face looking back up at her. "Are you hitting on me?"
"Do—" Her breath hitched with a nervous flutter. "Do you want me to be?"
"I do." Velvet's lips curled into a wholehearted grin from the heat that surged through her like a sudden spark, but she tried to quell it by pushing the mare's head away from her chest. "But it's just sex. I'll make it as great for you as I can, but we're not dating. Got it?"
When Dawn merely replied with an overeager nod, Velvet couldn't help herself. Even if the sexual enjoyment was heavily one-sided, there was still a thrill to be had in the act itself, and Dawn's little squeak from being forced onto her back and splayed out on the floor was exceptionally thrilling.
---
Velvet stood outside the condo, working on her third attempt to open the door. How would she explain coming home so late? She sucked in a breath and held it while her mind raced through various avenues of thought. Nightingale would probably cover for her if, for some reason, Crystal ran into her and mentioned it, but she didn't want to do that to their friendship.
Slowly, she released the breath as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. Before she could announce her arrival, however, something was amiss.
She looked over at a small dining table for two sitting near the kitchen and her ears perked. A distraction! Furrowing her brow, she asked with a stern tone, "Crystal?"
Crystal, who was sitting on the couch, smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. "Welcome home!"
Velvet looked over at her, frowning through her relief as sincere concern over her roommate's financial stability set in. "Since when did we have a dining table?"
"Oh, that?" Crystal waved a hoof as if dismissing a simple knickknack. "It was very cheap, don't worry!"
How was she not supposed to worry? Crystal was the worst at managing her bits. Velvet sighed and shook her head while rubbing at her temple, grumbling, "I thought you were done spending money on frivolous things!" She gestured at the dining table. "What happened to me not worrying and you making money, not throwing it away?"
The pretenses dropped and Crystal gave her a serious look. "I'm sorry, Velvet. I've just been wrapped up in finishing school, and these weddings, and—"
Excuses, as always. Crystal was great at those. Then again, so was Velvet, so she supposed she couldn't blame the mare too much.
"I get it, I get it," Velvet snapped as she sat down and folded her forelegs, raising one brow. "So, now, you're done with school, you're done with weddings. You're running out of excuses, and I'm not going to pay your half of the rent, so... ?"
Crystal's ears shot up and she gasped softly. "I'm writing!" Her forehooves were thrust forward to draw Velvet's attention to an open notebook. "I'm still waiting on the second round of editing of Silent Love, but in the meantime, I'm going to dedicate myself to a short a month for Mares Monthly."
Velvet snorted lightly as she looked between the notebook and Crystal. After a moment of considering her responses, she let out a sigh and walked over to one of the sitting pillows. "I'm pretty sure Cosmare pays better," she said, dropping down onto the blue one.
"Cosmare—" Crystal cut herself off with a huff. "Velvet!"
"What? Are you seriously pretending that wasn't a thing?" Velvet rolled her eyes, waving a dismissive hoof. "Okay, fine, whatever. But my point still stands. And now that you actually have real life experience, I bet you'd be even more popular."
Groaning, Crystal shifted position on the pillow so that Velvet couldn't see her face. "I suppose," she started in an almost bitter mutter, paused to consider her words, then continued, "money is more important than my... dignity."
Velvet's ears perked straight up. Well, that was an unexpected change! She laughed while clapping her hooves. "You go, girl!" She stretched out a foreleg as far as she could reach and slapped Crystal's exposed flank.
Crystal gasped, jolted upright, and twisted around to look at Velvet with wide eyes and a red face.
With another laugh, Velvet relaxed into the pillow and asked, "Anyway, so, how did it go? Did you surprise him?"
"Actually—" A fit of giggles interrupted her and she covered her face with both hooves, then shook her head. "—he surprised me."
Even more unexpected change, huh? Velvet looked around the condo, hoping to solve the mystery herself. The way Crystal reacted was either because she and Silent had made some pretty serious love for Hearts and Hooves, or—roses. A vase of roses sat in the kitchen by the window. "I see that."
Crystal lowered her hooves and followed Velvet's gaze to the vase. "Oh, that was only the first surprise!" She giggled and twiddled her hooves.
"What?" Velvet waited, and when only more giggles responded, she pressed, "What else happened?"
"Weeell..." Crystal drew out the word, her ears wiggling, and grinned when Velvet scowled at her. "He also brought a box of chocolates from Sunridge Sweets."
"You sure about that?" Velvet tilted her head while the gears ground against one another, trying to click into place. "Mom and Dad don't sell chocolates unless"—click!—"he ordered them special?!"
Crystal nodded. Holy Tartarus! Velvet's eyes almost hurt from how wide they were. She almost couldn't believe that Mr. Unromantic had really pulled it off. Her lips were tugged into a big smile and a high-pitched squeal emitted from her throat, but Crystal held up a hoof to interrupt her. "But wait, there's more!"
"More?!" Velvet gawked. Had she turned into Rip Vanner Winkle and missed months of development in Crystal and Silent's relationship? How could there be more? One of her hooves reached out to rest on Crystal's and gave it a squeeze. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head and dream all of this up? I mean, it's a nice dream and I wouldn't blame you, but..."
Crystal shook her head, giggling. "I'm not making this up!"
Velvet stared at her for a suspicious moment, then slowly pulled her hoof back to rest on the pillow beneath her. "Okay, then, what else happened?"
After a sharp intake of air, Crystal explained in a rapid manner, "Well, he also showed up in a very nice suit. He had made reservations for Le Bernardin. And, last of all, he gave me a very sweet card that held two tickets to Glimmer World."
"Glimmer World?!" Velvet's heart jumped into her throat as she jumped to her hooves, nearly stumbling when she clipped the edge of the coffee table in her panicked scramble. "Crystal! Glimmer World?!"
Her gaze searched the room for some kind of help as panic seized her in place. Glimmer World was the theme park that had been opened in the semi-newly returned Crystal Empire, in an attempt to reestablish tourism to the once lost province. It was a place of fun for foals, but similarly wonderful for adults.
It would also be the perfect place to propose—not even Silent could be oblivious to the allure of asking a mare named and like Crystal to marry him in the Crystal Empire at what was already known as the happiest place in Equestria?
"Crystal!" she gasped out, her ears going flat against her mane. "He's going to propose!"
How was it possible to be so excited and so scared at the same time? Proposal meant engagement. Engagement meant marriage. Marriage meant happily ever after... without her.
Crystal shook her head with a quick, almost frantic motion until she laughed. "What? Don't be silly!"
Velvet grabbed her by the shoulders and locked their gazes. "No, seriously, think about it! Flowers? Chocolates? Suit? Reservation? Glimmer World? It's like something straight out of one of your stories!"
They just stared at one another in silence, aside from Velvet's heart pounding all the way to her skull. Over and over, she tried to remind herself of how long they had been friends. There was no way Crystal would suddenly forget her just because of some ring and silly vows. Friendship was forever. Right? Of course, sure, definitely!
Crystal gave another, slower shake of her head. "He's just being a good stallionfriend. No, a great stallionfriend. I'm happy with him doing this much." She shrugged Velvet's hooves off her shoulders. "I'm certainly not going to get my hopes up and ruin a perfectly nice trip by expecting more! Besides, this is Silent Knight we're talking about here, you know." She giggled.
Seriously? Crystal just wanted to giggle things away? Was Velvet the only one that was scared?
Velvet sucked in a quiet breath and held it. Her mom told her she needed to trust Crystal, so that was her new mantra. Crystal wasn't taking the fear seriously because she wasn't afraid. She trusted their friendship. Velvet had to, too.
Keeping her lips in a tight, straight line, Velvet said, "Yeah, Silent Knight who just did a bunch of un-Silent Knight things. All bets are off! But, fine." She forced a smile. "If you want to live in denial then I'm not going to waste my breath. Now, get back to writing, get a paycheck, and then we can go celebrate on your bit."
"All right, all right." Crystal laughed and looked at the coffee table, her magic raising a quill to the open notebook. "Why don't you help me decide what I'm going to write, since you're so intent on me writing something for Cosmarepolitan?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Velvet teased, grinning and wiggling her ears. "I think it's... page thirty-two of Notebook #23?"
Crystal's face turned bright red and she squeaked, "Think what's on that page of that notebook?"
Velvet winked. "Let's get it from your box and see!"
Trust their friendship, keep looking forward. Velvet trotted toward Crystal's bedroom, laughing when magic grabbed her tail and stopped her before she reached the door. Everything would be fine, so long as she kept her panic under control. After all, she did have Nightingale and Dawn now. It wasn't as though it would be the end of the world if she saw less of Crystal. She just had to keep looking forward.
Hmm. Needed more Red, but otherwise good. ;3
What is on page 32 of notebook 23? Is notebook 23 one of Crystal's Lucient Dreams notebooks?
Only now did I realize that every chapter title has "face" in it And we get some major info about the timeline. I wasn't keeping track of it in this story until I read the part where "Silent Love" and new dining table were mentioned.
It appears that Dawn likes you, but not enough for pancakes just yet.
Or not, crush her heart like you were always meant to.
Not-friends-with-benefits, a new Velvet category.
I'll say this, you have to work extra hard to maintain contact when your friends get married. They really do just disappear if you turn your back for a minute.
Is this or should I say, is the vampony thing another aspect of her fear of others not taking her fears seriously?
Also, come one, is there another story in the wings, we are already one removed from the main trunk and we get references to major things happening off screen.
How sweet, Velvet made an index for Crystal's notebooks. No more randomly searching through a mountain of words to find the sought after piece.
I don't know what's more disturbing. That Crystal wrote something that elicits such an interest from Velvet or that Velvet has memorised both notebook and page number.
Ha, name me one instance in which it worked just like that...
Oh, Velvet... Velvet, what are you doing? You had two choices there, and you tried to pick neither. This is going to end poorly...
Velvet Steeeep...
Velvet Steeeep...
This is the voice... of your subconscious....
You sex-crazed idiot!! "Who could say no to a face like yours?" That's how we got into this mess in the first place!
I swear, if I wasn't incorporeal I'd pimp over there and settle your hash! You know what? I'm not going to let that stop me!
Sparkle! Drop everything and help me! Where are you?
i don't care, this is important! I need a subspace translocator so I can smack Velvet Step.
Don't walk away from me! Get back here!
Sparkle!
6652422 I know right?
Well. My my. Seems Velvet has picked up a newbie and has completely enthralled the poor dear. then again it could be a good thing for Velvet to have someone enthusiastic about her.. Though I still ship her with Nightingale. But Dawn is so adorable. I think Velvet has Abandonment issues. maybe something from her past before she met Crystal could be the cause? Still. I can understand where she is coming from but I dont think Crystal would ever abandon her.
and just like that, i'm over the Nightingale ship. Set sail on the Dawn Ship! She's cuter than nightingale anyway, somehow shy and forward at the same time!
haha! like that's going to work out the way Velvet plans...
I think if Dawns keeps up the sexual forwardness, Velvet will keep coming back for more, and with the breakfasts and other ways to show she actually wants to get to know her, Velvet may start to to actually care about a real relationship.
I know Velvet's whole thing is that she DOESN'T want a relationship, and that's part of what makes her a unique character, but I still gotta hope for it.
Plus, I think our authors enjoy writing unconventional relationships, or is that just Anzel?
Fun chapter, as always. I keep forgetting how far behind Velvet's story is from the main timeline.
6652733
I would consider two friends who live together while one of them is engaged to be married to a third who lives elsewhere kind of unconventional.
I keep trying to figure out what Velvet's actually looking for, but I keep hitting dead ends. I think it's because Velvet herself doesn't know what she's looking for, so she comes off as contradictorily spastic - mooning over Crystal's changing friendship but filling the gap with empty flings.
I guess... she's insecure in her own way, or something.
Maybe doing the right thing for the wrong reasons with Dawn will teach her a few things. (*Has flashbacks to "Five Star Service: A Gentleman for Mares Tale" which is chock full of those kinds of relationship life lessons*)
God damn it Velvet ... you had one job ... ONE JOB.
It might hurt to tell her "it was great but it was just for fun" and then get the fu*** out of there.
But if you're going for a one night stand DON'T give into temptation ... only tears and unplanned children can come from that ... though the second one is probably not an issue in the current constellation.
Not that I have any experience in the matter of one night stands, it's just common sense (and probably too many movies/books) telling me you just fu***ed up.
I like this, a lot.
Volte Face means an act of turning round so as to face in the opposite direction.
In Velvets mind the only way to get through this is to keep looking forward,
That contrast is so satisfying to me, this practically made my night.
thxverymuch
6653180
Agreed. Though in my mind I'm just reliving "Whitest Kids You Know" and Abraham Lincoln yelling "now you fucked up" over and over.
Oh, crap. Poor Dawn, she's about to get a rude awakening that Velvet really can't do anything but give her.
That sounds like a really not good idea, unless Velvet can transition her to not wanting her as a special somepony in very short order.
Also, a farm outside of Ponyville? Interesting.
Huh, okay, that was a fast transition. Well, unless Dawn is just playing the long game and hoping the sex might turn into something more over time, but that sounds a little unlikely for someone who was literally a virgin the night before.
Dining room tables, the perfect distraction.
Heh.
It's funny how instantly Velvet realizes the Glimmer World plan. She knows things, and is really lucky sometimes that Crystal does wonder why she knows things for someone who is supposedly not interested in anything relationshipy.
Dang, well that took a sad twist. It's really going to hit Velvet hard if Silent and Crystal do end up in the Crystal Empire in the distant future, though at least by that point her list of friends will have expanded out a bit more.
6652179 Crystal will never tell!
6652188 Yep, faces everywhere... I've tried to keep some framing with each chapter; the big performance, hearts & hooves day, etc.
6652215 Velvet's sort of brought it on herself; with her modus operandi being that she turns most things into a joke and frequently doesn't seem to take things seriously, it's hard to take her seriously because more often than not it's just a joke. Prime example would be when she psychs Crystal out with the whole 'I didn't make it into the Royal Ballet... just kidding!'
6652386 It totally has not been confirmed in Wishes that Crystal definitely did not write something for Cosmare!
6652422 I'm sure it's happened before! I mean, look how sweet Dawn is. It'll be fine!
6652540 It'll be fine...
6652575 How many times am I going to have to say it'll be fine!
6652639 All first relationships (or whatever you want to call what is going on right now) tend to have the rose-colored lenses of optimism, and I think Dawn has hers permanently affixed to her face!
6652733 Dawn is a quick study. Velvet likes it hot? She'll deliver it sizzlin'! With stammering and stuttering on the side, of course. I will say that of the characters we'll meet, Dawn is probably my favorite.
6652923 It does make things tricky, but I just wasn't ready to start this story when all of this was going on in the main timeline.
6652931 I would definitely agree that Velvet doesn't know what she wants, but has convinced herself that she does. And I can't guarantee she'll completely figure it out by the end of the story!
6653180 Velvet totally knows what she's doing! She explained it to Dawn. Dawn said she understands. I fail to see how that could possibly go wrong!
6653217 I really enjoy naming chapters. ... Okay, that's a lie. Half the time I spend 20 minutes after a chapter is done trying to find a name. What I enjoy is when the chapter practically names itself and is deliciously perfect!
6654042 Hah!
6655059 I won't lie... I don't think Dawn is thinking long term at all.
Velvet has a great excuse for why she knows things: because she reads Crystal's stuff! She learned it from watching her!!
I feel bad for saying it, but I've not laid an easy road ahead for Velvet.
6655169
I am uncertain about "fine". "Intriguing" might be a better word here. And, yes, Dawn is pretty sweet... if naïve.
I am looking forward to more chapters. Do indulge me, if you could be so kind.
6655190 I'll take intriguing!
No worries there. When Wishes ends (which is soon... ), this story will get two updates a week until I either A) finish it or B) relegate it to one of my update days and bring one of the other stories I'm working on into the fold!
6655213
Sounds great. Your stories can be incredibly heart-warming. And although I usually feed more on intrigue and drama, I do enjoy those moments of unabated cuteness that you deliver so well...
6655169
since we all know how well love and reason mix, we have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Hmm, I'm going to spoil this since it's something that comes from... Crystal Wishes (I think): In whichever story it was Crystal learned about Azurite being in a trio with Sunny and Soarin. Her reaction got a reaction from Velvet (it was just surprise on Crystal's part, but that wasn't what Velvet initially thought) who got worried and wondered if something was wrong about that. Velvet still hasn't admitted to Crystal that she likes sex without a relationship, but her reaction to Crystal's reaction on Azurite's reaction combined with what happened in this chapter and given that this story is still in the past time-wise makes me wonder: is Velvet in a relationship with two others and could that be Nightingale and Dawn. Just a thought that popped into my head... Interested to see how things go.
6655798 I love theorycrafting! Velvet definitely did seem to react somewhat strangely in that situation, you're right. Of course I can neither confirm nor deny anything else but I like the reasoning behind your thoughts, thanks for sharing!
6673167 *except
Poor Velvet, with all those emotional battles.
Look! I'm catching up.
Uhhhhhh, oh dear, I can't......what do I do guys?! My brain just fizzled.....WHADDOIDOOOOO!?
kekekekeke......I can't, I need a minute, MY BRAIN!
Okay, now it's meta....I'm done, I need a day or two, this is so good I can't bear to look anymore, I'M DONE.