//------------------------------// // 12 - Big Nights // Story: Lost Muse // by David Silver //------------------------------// Libel landed lightly on the night street, the lamps shining down on her dress. She was gussied up, lashes extended, makeup gently applied to her fur, nose and ears where the flesh showed. Her hoofs made strange clops, adorned as they were with glittering shoes. On her head sat a little tiara. Not at all competition for the sort a princess would wear, but enough to be clear she was an important mare. "Pearls before swine," she muttered to herself, but she held onto faint hope. Perhap he had been nervous over the phone. When they actually met, he'd be an acceptable pony, and they'd get along well enough... She approached the wrought iron gate that barred his house from the road. She could see the house, a two story affair. It wasn't a hut, but it wasn't a mansion either. He was comfortably middle class. He was doing well for himself, if you looked at it from a particular angle. Considering how little of a house he hailed from, it was a lovely achievement. He should be proud. She should have been proud enough to look for better. With a soft sigh, she reached a hoof out, daring not sully her wings against the bars. They opened without resistance, proving to not be locked. She walked, not trotted, towards the door. "Look on the bright side." Maybe he was, dare she hope, a deeply fascinating pony with all manner of inner complexity. She'll feel silly for not giving him more of a chance. "Color Splash?" It was a mare, on the phone. Color hadn't used phones very often, and had been quite surprised to be told he had a call. "Um, that's me. Who's this?" "A concerned friend," spoke the female in a proper tone. "I will not be adding a name to that. Tell me, Mister Splash, what are your intentions for Miss Libel?" Color arched a brow. "Why exactly would I be telling that to somepony I don't know?" "You do know me, or rather, she knows me." There was a brief pause. "I am a concerned friend. Answer me truthfully, and I could help, or blow me off and kiss your chance goodbye." Color frowned a little, holding the phone away in his magic to scowl at it properly, not that it could see him... he was fairly sure. "Uh... alright? She's a foalhood friend. We were best friends, BFFs, but that last F may have stood for Forgotten. I want to... be friends again. She's an amazing pony." "She is," agreed the mare on the line. "Exactly why we're having this conversation, Mister Splash. She may act tough, but she has a soft side. Friends stand by their friends in their vulnerable times." "I did that!" He hopped up to his hooves from a sitting position. "When... And..." All the times he could think of were private. "That's between us..." "Good... keep your secrets. She wouldn't want you sharing them with me." He could swear he was sure she was smiling, whoever she was. "Describe her, in your own words." He bit his lips. "A lot of what I know is from the past. I want to learn her... new self. I want to learn what makes her tick now. Where she's gone. I know where she's come from." He sighed softly. "Look, she's, uh, real popular. You could be some pony trying to get dirt on her." "I could be..." There was another pause. "Look... Let's meet, in person. We'll put the cards on the table. I only need one thing." Here it comes... "Which is?" He braced, expecting something unreasonable. "Promise me you won't hurt her." He blinked at that. "Oh, uh, I... will try not to? I can promise that." "It'll have to do..." She gave an address. "Come quickly." Color looked around the front room. Other ponies were chatting or lazing near the fire. It was cozy, and not at all reflecting the tension he felt. That was an opportunity. "I'll be there." He set the phone down on its base and hurried for the door. There was no time to wait. Libel sat down across from him, smiling gently. He was overweight. On one hoof, not the ideal look of health and grace. On the other, he wasn't a muscle-bound example of masculinity. She nodded towards him, half an eye on the menu she had little interest in. "So... come here often?" "Only for special occasions." He gave his mane a toss. It was straight and fell like a carpet across the right side of his head. in a flowing of blonde. "It has the Tubthumper seal of approval." She was quite certain the small eatery they were in was proud of that recognition. She leaned forward a little. "What do you recommend?" "The stuffed linguine is to die for," he heartily recommended. "But that's an aside. I'm here to gorge myself on good company. The food can wait." Her eyes fell to his curves. She figured he gorged enough without help. "Tell me, what do you do, outside of work?" Hidden complexities. That is what she still hoped for. Maybe he was truly a fascinating pony. "Work does take up a good portion of the day." He shook his head. "Ponies would lose their heads if they were not attached. You know the feeling, I'm sure, but I'm there to pick up the pieces and set them back on course." He clopped his forehooves together. "When I get time away from them, I like to collect things." "Such as?" There were quite a number of collecting hobbies... "Antiques?" "Stamps." He waved it away gently. "I know it's not for everyone, but there is a rich history there, and it's an echo of the one we live in. You can really see the timeline of Equestria through the stamps that were printed and used, even the more recent ink and rubber ones." Libel allowed a little smile. That sounded... almost... nice. It was delightfully harmless and almost amusing. "What's the rarest stamp you have?" "Hmmm..." His eyes darted to spot a waiter. "Can you get us two reds, top shelf?" He wobbled a hoof. "And two orders of the stuffed linguines with an appetizer of garlic bread, extra butter. Thank you." The waiter scurried away without writing anything down. She guessed his order did not deviate far from his usual selection. He looked at her expectantly. "Well?" She rolled a hoof at him. "The rarest stamp?" "Oh, yes! It took months of tracking..." He slowly swept a hoof over the table. "But I laid a hoof on it. The very first actual 'stamp' stamp. Rectangular and made of unusually thick paper, it was hoof-drawn to perfection. I had to pay a restorationist to bring back the shine to it. It had faded badly over the years." He smiled quite proudly at his accomplishment. "It showed the princess flanked with a member of each of the three tribes. They were all decked in armor, showing the military mind of the time. It was about the time that the Wonder Bolts were a fond thought, still a few revisions away." Libel nodded softly, imagining the little stamp. "And you still have it?" "I couldn't keep it, no... I... just couldn't." Libel raised her brows as one. "Why not? Isn't collecting stamps what you do?" "Not that one." He gave a soft little smile. "It was too precious... Too important. I will never forget holding it, but I gave it up to a museum, where other ponies could see it and learn from it." He coughed into a hoof. "But nevermind that..." She considered it, watching him start to ramble about a recent business trade. Was he afraid of feeling things? She reached across the table and set a jewel-clad hoof on one of his forelegs. "Hey. Don't do that." He was shocked into quiet. "W..." He glanced around. "What should I not do?" "That was nice. You did the right thing, and you feel things about it." She nodded softly. "Don't regret that." Her mother would have laughed at her for saying that. It was not a proper pony's place to get publically sentimental. Good thing she was not her mother. "Did they at least put your name on the display?" He smiled at that. "Oh, yes. I'm right in the corner." He gestured. "Donated by:" He laughed a little. "I thought you would think I was a sentimental fool for having... Nevermind that. Tell me about you! I've been monopolizing the time. What is it you do when work isn't calling?" Elsewhere, Color sat down across from a mare that wore something on everything. He could barely tell it was a mare. "Um... hello?" "Hello, Mister Splash," she said in a familiar voice. "Order what you want, my treat." She glanced away, brilliant amber eyes focusing on something behind Color a moment. "Now, it's just me and you. No recordings. No notes." She spread her gloved hooves. "Just you and me." "This is... very clandestine." He dared a little smile. "You're a good friend, maybe?" "You have one of those." Her eyes half-closed. "Day Dreamer left a mark behind. Behind those sleepy eyes slumbered a great if tranquil pony." Color blinked at that. "Not sure I'd put it that way, but he is a good pony, yeah. That's why we're friends." And who else would put up with his particular habits? He loved the pony anyway, as a friend. Besides... "Wait, you met him?" "He came here just to deliver a message." Color winced softly. "I hope he didn't make a mess of things." He had forgotten to talk about that with Libel. "I'll help clean up!" "He left no mess." She laid a glove-clad hoof on the table. "He was fine. A gentlepony, if you didn't mind that spaced out look... He seemed a good judge of character. The fact that he likes you is a good mark in your favor." Color smiled a bit at that. "Oh, well, thank you. So, you wanted to know about us? I mean, Libel and me?" "Yes, if you please." She sat up taller. "How did you meet?" "We went to school together, as foals." He thought back to the distant past. "She was a little firecracker, always ready to pick a fight if she had to, and she often did. I liked her though. Uh, maybe a part of my silly colt self saw her as a fellow colt. She liked getting rough and tumble. She loved flying and getting physical. I loved it, and hung out with her a lot." The mare smiled. He couldn't see her face, but it showed in the subtle lines around her eyes. "She isn't as physical, these days. You know what she does for a living, don't you?" "She's an editor," he quickly replied, then pointed at himself. "I'm an artist. Neither of us are spending all day getting into that kind of trouble anymore. We're, you know, adults." "Just making sure..." She tapped one glove to the other. "If everything went absolutely perfect, how would it go?" Color blinked softly. "That's a big question... I mean, I'd be happy if we touched bases and became friends again." He brought his own hooves together. "I mean, beyond that... I'm just fantasizing. I mean..." "Do you like her?" He shrank back at that, coughing softly. "Well, I mean... If I say yes to that, I'm admitting to being a creep. I don't know her, you know... now. I want to! I want to become friends. Anything past that, well, we'll see when we get there." She pointed past him silently. He craned his neck to look across the eatery and the other ponies, and Libel sitting across from a rotund stallion. The two were clearly having a chit-chat. Appetizers were just arriving, being set at their table by their waiter. His mysterious host gestured at the menu. "Better order, we'll be here a little while."