February 12
Mornings are always better when you wake up with a friend.
We had a bit more room than we'd had on the couch; his bed was even a little bit bigger than the ones that Peggy and I had in our dorm room. Not that we needed all that room—I had my head on his chest and my foreleg stretched across his belly.
Aric reached his arm up and ran it through my mane. His other arm was kind of trapped under my body. It can't have been that comfortable for him, so after he'd petted me for a bit, I shifted off to the side and let him get his arm back, even though I hated to give up my pillow.
He rolled over and put his hand on my back and traced down my spine. I angled my tail off to the side and arched my back, but he stopped when he touched my dock. He held his hand there for a moment like he wasn't sure where to go next, and then trailed it across my hip, before picking up his hand and starting again.
I shifted around and was about to climb on top of him when I remembered that I wanted to let him take things at his own pace, as frustrating as that was going to be. So I just relaxed and let him pet me.
If it had been a weekend, we might have had time to go farther (if he wanted to), but it was time that I got up for the day. Later, really. So I nuzzled his cheek and then kissed it and he got kind of surprised by that and then kissed me in the nose (which felt really weird, but not in a bad way).
I got out of bed first, and went and used his bathroom while he was putting on pants. Then I stood on my hind hooves and gave him a hug, and told him that I had to go to class. He was kind of sad that I had to go, and so was I.
Nevertheless, I was practically flying as I trotted through our neighborhood and back to campus.
I took a pretty direct route; I didn't want to be late to class.
I didn't really pay much attention in my morning classes: I was just thinking about Aric and imagining how things might go this weekend—it was Valentine's Day weekend, and from what Peggy had said, it was a time when humans (to use her words) hooked up. And hopefully that was what would happen with us.
When I got back to the dorm room from lunch, there was a new message on my telephone from Aric. I swished my tail excitedly while the telephone retrieved the message, then my ears drooped when I heard his voice saying that he was going to be at the theater really late so that he could finish up everything with the lights and have the whole weekend off.
It would have been nice to have spent another night with him, but I could wait. I was kinda in a bit of a funk, though. Luckily, Meghan and Lisa and Becky cheered me up in Equestrian class.
At dinner, Keith stopped by my table and asked if I wanted to stop over in his room tonight to get ready for tomorrow.
I wasn't sure how I needed to get ready, and he told me that people wore costumes to SCA events (they called it garb instead of costumes, though). Sort of like LARPing.
I said that I didn't really have anything to wear as a costume, and I doubted that they had anything fit for a pegasus. Keith said that was true, but Donald's sister Kathleen was visiting for the event, and she'd brought along her sewing supplies and could probably whip me up something appropriate to wear. He said that she'd said she didn't want to miss a chance to sew something for a pegasus.
That was the kind of offer I couldn't really refuse. It's mean to turn down an offer like that, and besides, I'd get a chance to maybe find out some more details about what this event was.
So I got directions to his room, and told him I'd be over a bit later. I still had to say goodbye to Peggy before she left for the weekend.
On the way out of the dining hall, I checked my mail, and there were two letters: one from Aquamarine, and one from my sister.
I put the letters on my desk to read later (I really should have read them right away), and then sat with Peggy on her bed until her telephone chirped and she looked down and said that her boyfriend was there.
I nuzzled her cheek and told her to have a good weekend, and she ran her hand through my mane and told me to have a good weekend as well, and to remember if I needed anything to call her, and she would come, no matter what.
Then she skipped out of the room with her duffel bag. I wasn't sure why she needed so much stuff for a weekend with her boyfriend.
When she was gone, I closed up our room and went over to Keith's. There was already a crowd in his room, and half of them were wearing costumes. Donald's sister Kathleen was in a commanding position in the center of the room, with a box of sewing supplies next to her. She was fixing the sleeve on Donald's shirt, but she stopped as soon as she saw me. She pressed the needle into his hand and told him that since he was studying to be a doctor, he ought to be able to finish mending the tear.
She was super-friendly. She wrapped me in a big hug, then introduced me to her husband, John Jacob. He was as friendly as she was, although he stopped short of a hug.
Kathleen said that what would look really awesome would be if I had a set of barding. I told her my cousin did because he's in the Guard, and she got a kind of wistful look in her eyes, but he's in Equestria and I'm here, so there wasn't much chance of getting it for tomorrow.
She said that I'd look great in a simple caparison, and that it wouldn't be that much trouble to make. A couple of years back, she'd made a coat of arms for all her friends—Keith showed me his, which was a little flag that hung from his belt—and she had some extras all sewn up.
It wasn't quite as simple as she made it sound; I was in the room for hours as she measured and cut and test-fit and then tried again. But it was worth it in the end. The main part was an off-white fabric that looked really nice against my coat, and she used leftover strips of that fabric to wrap my legs from the pastern to hock.
The herald—which is called a device—draped over my shoulders. It was a very stylized brown squirrel on its hind legs; in one paw it had a sword, and in the other a cookie.
Underneath that was the motto: Sanguis herbam alit. I asked her what it was, and she told me it was in Latin.
I knew that—everything important seems to be written in Latin. I don't think scientists want normal people to understand their stuff.
Unicorns do that too: they all use a different alphabet than the other tribes. That made them feel superior until ponies invented typewriters and telegraphs, and then they all had to learn to write like everypony else.
So I asked her what it said, and she said that the motto read 'Blood makes the grass grow,' and when she saw the look on my face, she laughed and said that it was a joke, that it was the motto of the heavy weapons fighters on campus.
So then she had to explain that. It turns out that a bunch of my friends role play with historical weapons, although they're modified so that they can't hurt each other. Sara uses a little sword called a foil (she's a little person), and Seth and Kennith and Keith and Aric fight with big weapons. She said that they would be at the event this weekend fighting a small battle.
I was a little concerned for their safety, but she assured me that it was all very safe.
She helped me out of my caparison—she hadn't had time to put on proper fasteners, so some of it was held together with safety pins—and I thought about going back to my room for the night, but then decided that I might as well stay with them. There were a lot of people in the room, and I knew I'd be lonely in my own room, so when I got tired I curled up on a pile of laundry that was in the corner and dozed off.
I do hope Silver actually talks to Aric about their relationship at some point. At the moment, she seems to assume that he can determine her intentions telepathically.
It's not that scientists don't want people to understand science; it's just that Latin's been used for the terms for a long time, and renaming everything would be a massive headache. Plus, English has a tendency to steal words it likes rather than come up with its own. If it didn't, things would be a lot different.
Definitely looking forward to the SCA event. Nothing says "creative anachronism" quite like adding a pegasus or two.
7106471 If I'm not mistaken, part of the reason why Latin was chosen for scientific literature was that the European Renaissance was drawing from old Latin texts that had survived the Dark Ages in Catholic monasteries and in the collections of Islamic universities and scholars that became known in the aftermath of the Crusades.
Another reason why was because Latin was a 'dead language' that no one spoke in everyday conversation; that way, no one living European language would come to dominate.
A third reason is that first European universities were offshoots of Roman Catholic monasteries where every service was in Latin to begin with; the Bible wasn't translated into living languages until after the invention of the printing press with movable type (heck, the Roman Catholic Church didn't drop Latin services until after 1969).
He's a mammal and he's cute, let's have some fun.
***
She's a... uhm... should I really... is it okay when I... what if she doesn't like this, or this, or this... does she know how this works and I'll look real stupid... what does it mean when she does this... uhm... does she even want that... do I even want that... what the hell do I do now?
The moment I read that I knew that there was a jibe at unicorns forthcoming. She didn't disappoint.
*dies of adorable*
7106471
To be fair, this is a trap humans fall into with each other all the time.
as she
Also, it's adorable how horny Silver is.
I'm curious, did you originally intend for their relationship to go this way, or is this a case of commenters hijacking the story?
7106504
But this is just how relationships between humans go, too. Different people like different things. The only ways you're going to find out require being direct.
@Admiral Biscuit:
ITYM "in Equestria"?
I pretty much guessed that was her intention for the weekend
I Pegasus in costume at the SCA, that's going to make so many you tube videos.
Knowledge is power, hide it well.
Ah, she only got half the quote. The full quote is "blood makes the grass grow green! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
7106516
7106524
Both corrections made; thank you!
7106516 Seconding this question. Story isn't tagged for romance.
I admit that my short experience as a scene technician was more oriented for music show then for theater, but even with just a small team it take barely a few hour to set the ligths.
It is one of the easyest part, more so if it is done somewhere build for that purpose and thus with some instalation already in place.
Funny how that is the tribalist insult that pushes her over the edge for me. She's still adorable but she's hit the point where I'm no longer her fan
She's too cute to live XD
I still say she should be the trusty steed of a mighty hero. Fasten a doll with a little shield & sword to her back, and the sheer cuteness of it all will be the greatest weapon ever beheld by human eyes XD
7106520 Sure thing - it's just that being with an alien would complicate things a lot, not least for oneself. Anyway, it's still funny to see that Silver doesn't seem to have those doubts but realizes it isn't easy being Aric in this situation. And well, yes, the only way to go is actually talking.
Oh, I do hope that wasn't clean laundry. No one likes shed hair on their clean clothes!
What happened to Silver Glow that she had such a deep-seated dislike for unicorns? Is it just the facts of history or is there something more?
I wonder if she would totally dominate at DDR?
7105091
What?
Early morning caresses. Scandalous! Salacious even.
Excellent
7106656
Her father was probably a unicorn.
Because irony.
How can anyone be that alive that early in the morning without coffee? It's inconceivable.
7105303
>So you're looking for her reaction when she takes a history class.
pretty much, yes.
7106563
Hmm it doesn't seem like a romance story though, it very much feels like a slice of life story with setting appropriate elements of romance. It's like, this is a slice of college, and what is college without heated emotions and poorly thought out relationship decisions?
hint hint nudge nudge
7106606
Or a child!
Huzzah! The cuteness has been doubled!
I need a Luna smiley.
Always wanted to try the heavy weapons stuff, but no one in my area did it.
7106938 are you insane?!? The cuteness factor of that would be over nine thousand!!! We want her to be an unstoppable pony of cute, not a heart attack cuteness inducing machine of death!!!
Silver continues to be an AOE cuteness attack. I am happy to see her getting her recommended daily value of hugs 'n snuggles. That is excellent.
Speaking of excellent, Admiral Biscuit has gotten way better at implying Silver Glow's feelings. The last few chapters have a clear emotional arc rather than just being a collection of events. I didn't expect that aspect of the story to get that much better that quickly. Well done, sir!
Silver Glow is doing the smart thing (and showing commendable restraint) by taking it slow with Aric. Figure out how kissing is going to work before you move on to the heavy stuff, especially when dating outside your species. And have a damn conversation with him, as suggested by Celefin and and Oddhack and FanOfMostEverything.
That sounds so cute. Is that a real thing? Is there a picture somewhere?
7106471
That is soothly different. Mighty times, indeed, with mightier yet to follow!
...Jingleheimer Schmidt! His name is my name, too! ~~~
7106656
A unicorn once bit my sister.
Silver Glow seems to have a pretty good grasp of some rather technical English words.
7106656 There's a lot of reasons to dislike unicorns.
#1 Earth Ponies & Pegasi have important PRACTICAL jobs: Growing Food & Weather to grow better food. Unicorns don't do anything like that.
#2 Have you met the Canterlot Unicorns? They are extra snooty. It's possible that she's had some bad experiences with them.
#3 Unicorns are known for working in Government, since Celestia had to keep them placated after they stole the job of the unicorns. The Unicorns have ALWAYS had it the best if you think about it in history, and so I think there's a lot of the general bullshit "Holier than thou" type of attitudes.
#4 Hell the fact that Unicorns had their own written language alone that they refused to change, says a lot about the attitudes prevailing with Unicorns in general throughout History. In fact from what I can infer, it seems like most Unicorns still hold onto their outdated written language
7107242
#5 Firebrand
Jk. He's awesome.
7106951
Death by cute attack! :D
This costume stuff is getting me thinking... I know it's still several months away and clear across the country from where they live, but I can't help but think how Silver would react to attending SDCC (San Diego Comic Con), and how the other attendees would react to her. I also can't help but suspect she'd run into some actual canon MLP characters in a con that size. For example, I find it difficult to believe that A.K. Yearling would not have her own Comic Con booth.
7107242
Pinkie knows.
7106632 It is just as hard or uneasy as they wan't to make it. Had Aric been more carefree, he wouldn't ask himself many question and just enjoyed things.
But yeah, I agree with both of you, talking will be the solution, regardless of how they both feel about their relationship.
I wonder what the preferred posture is for talking to a pony up close, like at a party. It seems impolite to make them crane their neck to look up at you. Do you squat down so you can look them in the eye?
7107307 Huge crowds might be sensory overload--or maybe not, depending on the pony. Being able to hover overhead could make things way easier.
Do you do SCA yourself? I assume so since your writing about it...
Ah, the awkward cuddling, the LARPing faux combat, the foreign language stuff, the simple joy of roommates leaving for the weekend... this fic really does remind me of college.
Y'know, had I been a pony. And female. And slightly racist against unicorns.
7106606 Now I'm imagining a pony jousting at a Ren Faire, ridden by a child. The kid's like "yay horsey!" and the pony's like "You wanna joust with me? Huh? I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
7106471
That article was amazing. I suppose it isn't that weird that I kinda wish English worked that way for real, as I freaking love the German language.
Also, I recognized most of the elements mentioned. Part of that was because I'd seen a German periodic table before.
It was fascinating seeing some of the words that were left unchanged, too.
Soothly we live in mighty years!
Oh right, this is a story's comment section. Ahem.
Silver and Aric are still adorable together. Looking forward to tomorrow's SCA shenanigans and how a pegasus "fights."
I really really enjoy these slice of life journal entry stories. I loved https://www.fimfiction.net/story/13616/arrow-18-mission-logs-lone-ranger for the same sort of story telling, something about it is so intriguing. Great read too, recommend it wholeheartedly.
And I LOVE how adorable Silver Glow is in this. it's hard to explain but I love the interpretation of cultural differences and all the little things.
Great work Admiral Biscuit! I'll be sure to follow.
7107242
1) Kind of raises the question of what society would be like without unicorns, doesn't it? They're a full third of the population, and only the tiniest fraction form the face of the "useless nobility". Not that I'm any particular fan of the Canterlot nobility (it's right there at the top of my profile), but it's hard for me to accept that there aren't all sorts of jobs where unicorns have higher societal value than others.
In my view, it's something of a specialist/generalist distinction. Weather and food are Great Works, of the utmost importance, and everypony involved is important to making them happen, but a lot of those ponies are somewhat interchangeable. Meanwhile, you probably wouldn't want Rarity doing brain surgery. Unicorns are specialists, and very good at what they do. What they do, though, is all over the place. Lacking a unifying "theme", it becomes easier to cast them as the Other.
2) How do you think I know they make terrible neighbours?
But Canterlot isn't very big. There are a lot of unicorns out there (as Glow well knows, having worked in a bunch of places).
3) I've always liked the headcanon that Sombra was (originally) an Earth Pony for that reason. Because they have the most overt "magicky" magic, unicorns are apparently the go-to for bad vibes and bad horses. I do wonder if that's intentional. But Canterlot is only a small fraction of unicorns, and nobility is only a small fraction of them. Really, if you want to find a good unicorn, start where the bureaucracy isn't. If you want to find a bad Pegasus or Earth Pony, start where bureaucracy is.
4) I didn't read that into it; my assumption was they gave it up ages ago. After all, it is pretty awful! But if I held the past against an entire people, for the transgressions of the few, I'd have to become a hermit. Men are, it turns out, rather common.
Did you accidentally call Kevin Keith, or is Keith actually Keith?
I like how both Silver and Aric are showing restraint and taking things slow. It's obviously difficult for both of them, but they are showing maturity through patience. I like that.
I'm part of Amtgard, a form of LARP, and my kingdom has a war chant similar to their Heraldry "Kill! Kill! Blood makes the grass grow!"
-Halfstar der Grüne Jäger of Clan Assana
Barony of Evermore Hollow
Kingdom of the Golden Plains.
7108326 These days the nobility, or at least the "Canterlot elite" we see on the show, are 50/50 earth ponies and unicorns. And most of the servants in Canterlot seem to be unicorns as well. Heck, Manehatten seems to be run by earth ponies, and their elite has to be much richer than the Canterlot elite (though without the machinery of government to balance that).
I think you have a fantastic insight into the roles of unicorns, and how that causes other races to view them.
Oh, and for Canterlot unicorns acting snooty by always walking around with their noses in the air? I think that's deliberate training so nobody gets their eyes poked out if they bump into each other.
7108400
It's supposed to be Keith.
What kind of author forgets what his characters are called?
Another interesting chapter, as always.
However, your Latin is amiss. I'm guessing that you used Google Translate? Don't; GT is horrible with Latin. It's a miracle that GT only got two words wrong this time. Correctly translated, "Blood makes the grass grow" is Sanguis herbam alit. Feel free to PM me if you need a more technical explanation.