The sun was setting, and a gentle bird song carried through the open window of their cabin, making both of them feel perfectly at peace. This was one of their favorite times of day because of that. Usually the two would be close together enjoying their dinner, but some days were different than others. For instance, today, Scarlet was reading an old book she had often read as a kid, and Silver was… making a lot of noise. Scarlet looked up from the book as Silver rummaged through his bag. Laying the thumb of her wing across the page to keep her place, she glanced over at the clock and then back to him.
“Already time to go brainstorm with the science nerds?” Scarlet teasingly asked.
Silver stuck out his tongue and laughed, “Science nerds? You know you’re one of them too via technicality.”
“I guess I should have said the other science nerds.”
“Well, in that case, I guess I am,” he dropped the bag and trotted towards her, “Though truth be told, I don’t think I’m going to enjoy their company as much as the other science nerd I know.”
“I’m flattered; just remember the dream adventure you promised me earlier, okay?”
Silver nodded as he pulled the mare in for a hug, “Wouldn’t dream of forgetting about it.”
“Was that a pun?” She let out a small chuckle.
“Am I really that predictable? I mean, do you think I’d stoop so low as to make a terrible cheesy pun under your roof?” He asked in mock offense.
“Yes. Yes, you would,” she laughed.
Silver paused for a moment, “Okay, that’s a fair judgment. I’ll give you that one.”
“Just don’t have too much fun without me, okay?” She sighed, “Workweek was dry and frustrating, and I could really use some fun to cheer me up.”
Silver hesitated as he looked toward the door, “I promise you I’ll make this a good evening. You sure you don’t want to come along?”
She shook her head, “Sine’s gonna be there, right?”
The stallion nodded, “Yeah, she’s tied to this project; why?”
She let out a sigh, “I think I’m good here.”
“You sure? I know she won’t mind at all.”
“Silver,” Scarlet started, “I had a frustrating week at work, and I just want to relax. I don’t have the energy or patience to deal with Sine’s snark for the whole night.”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” He started to gently rub a hoof along her back, “I didn’t realize that work was that draining. I promise you I’ll make tonight quick, and then we can just relax and cuddle up under the stars or something.”
“How quick is quick?” She asked as she leaned up against him.
“I’m just gonna head over, drop off the stuff, and then at least let them get started. After they’re set, I’ll come right home. Sound good?”
“Promise you’ll make it quick?”
Silver hesitated again, “As quick as I can. You know how the three can get.”
“Rattling your ear off for hours on end. Believe me, I know.”
“Right,” he paused, “I promise I’ll try and avoid all of that as much as I can.”
A smile returned to the mare’s face, and she pulled Silver in for another hug, “Good. You’re gonna owe me big time if you keep me waiting.”
“Silver slid the bag over to the door and turned back toward Scarlet, “Why don’t you tell me about your work week?”
“Don’t you have something you wanted to do?”
He shrugged, “Sure. But I also have a marefriend who had a frustrating week and needs to vent about some things. Other stuff can wait.”
“You sure?” She raised an eyebrow, “It’s just been me dealing with a bunch of weirdos all night.”
“How weird are we talking?” He asked, ignoring her question.
She sighed and buried her head in her hooves, “What kind of people do you expect to just trot on into a seedy motel late at night? Because I can tell you that it isn’t well adjusted families.”
He rested a hoof on her back, “Good point. Well how about your coworker? I mean surely she helps break up the boredom.”
“Mildred?”
“Yeah, does she at least chat with you?”
Scarlet looked up at the stallion and shook her head, “Ha, no. When she’s not napping in the office she’s either flirting with the janitor or smoking me out with cigarette smoke.”
“They let her smoke in the lobby?” Silver asked, astonished.
“Nope. But she does it anyways. No cameras around, no night managers doing their job, and it’s my word against hers so nothing’s going to be done anyways, even if I bring it up.”
Silver pulled her into another tight hug, “Hey, you’re doing your job right at least. In the end you’re the one who isn’t breaking the rules.”
“I guess,” she shrugged, “how’s the scrapyard been?”
“Boring as usual,” he replied without breaking the hug, “Lots of downtime, which at least means I get a lot of time to practice dream stuff.”
“Glad you can at least have fun during it,” she replied.
“Yeah? Well tell you what. When I get back from the inventors’ I’m going to make us something really great to eat, we’re gonna do some solid cuddling, and I’m going to make us a super fun dream to spend some time in. Sound good?”
She gave him a small kiss and nodded, “Just don’t be too long, okay?”
“I promise I won’t. Like I said, in and out, not too long, and I’m gonna avoid the drawn out conversations if I can,” Silver promised as he returned the kiss.
“Good,” she broke the hug, “Now go have fun with the other nerds.”
“You sure you don’t want to come along? We can make it less nerdy and more fun if you want.”
Scarlet shook her head and gave Silver a small smile that made his heart a little happier, “I’ll pass. I’m probably going to go take a nap and take a walk around town. I know Aero wanted to hang out some more and I’ve been blowing her off all week. Thanks for the offer though.”
“Anytime, now before I go, promise me that you’ll have some fun too.”
“I promise,” she let out a laugh, “Thanks.”
“Thanks?”
“For making me feel better,” she clarified, “Sorry I’m not my usual on brand happy cheerful self today, guess work’s just been draining me.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” He reassured her, “You deserve to just take it easy after your week, and I’m going to make sure we make up for that this weekend.”
“Thanks Silver, I love you.”
His heart skipping another beat, he pulled her into a tight hug and smiled, “I love you too.”
Silver lazily flapped his wings as he slowly hovered over the creek. The dim electric lanterns that dotted the rest of the nearby path gave off a cool glow and the sounds of nature around him filled him with this calming sense of peace. The inventors’ camp was closely nearing ahead, and Silver was already bursting with new ideas to share with them tonight.
The bag full of scrap that was slung on his back gave off a metallic clank and jingle as he came to a land, reminding him of his other mission too: repairing Scarlet’s telescope… or at least starting that process. A twinge of guilt ran through him as he realized that he would indeed probably be spending a longer time in the camp than he had promised Scarlet, but this goal was important to him, and he knew that the sight of her prized possession restored and returned to her would more than make up for it.
He had worked hard to gather up the scrap that the inventors had requested, and had even managed to find a new lens for sale online while at work. Buying it had depleted the last of his funds, but payday was fast approaching and he was determined to set that all aside for their future.
“Evening Silver,” Tinker called from the work table outside.
“Evening Tinker. You guys get all your stuff set up yet?”
He nodded, returning his gaze to the bulky wristwatch-looking prototype that was on the table in front of him, “Gyro and I started about two hours ago, Sine hopped in and brought us her smart watch, then went to go take a nap.”
“Sounds like Sine,” he laughed, “Well how’re we doing on it then?”
“Good, good!” He cheerfully exclaimed, “Gyro helped tear that down and last I checked he was working on snapping the module together.”
“And that?” Silver asked as he gently dropped his bag on the table.
“That’s the strap and tool modules.”
“Right… that’s going to be the part that lets you snap on different tools, right?”
“Mhmm, like those cheap wrist straps that are already sneaking into the market, just a little more refined.”
“Now when you say refined,” Silver started as he leaned in closer to inspect the prototype, “Are you talking with the finger things working too, or just a better way to attach tools?”
“The latter for now,” Tinker replied, “I’m thinking a smooth outside with some strong magnets to hold everything in place. Sine was arguing for the finger components, but were honestly a long way away from that kind of thing.”
“Right, don’t want to cast our net out too soon.”
“Uh huh. The sooner we get a working prototype built, the sooner we can start working on bigger things like that.”
The pegasus pressed down on a few small components until a soft click was heard, and then looked back up at Silver, “So, whatcha got for tonight?”
Silver slid the bag over and carefully unzipped it with his mouth, “Just a lot of scrap. Couple of old VHS motors, some nuts and bolts, and a couple of things for the telescope.”
The pegasus smiled, “Perfect! I’m not sure how much we can actually use, but it’s always good to have some extra parts lying around.”
“Always a pleasure. So do you think you can use any of it for the telescope?”
Tinker glanced down at the bag’s contents again, giving Silver a small smirk, “I think we might. Still need that lens, but the tripod is the easy fix, the little parts over there,” he gestured to a metal plate and a couple of rings that Silver had collected, “should be enough to patch up the part that was actually broken. The rest is just giving it some TLC and then swapping out the lens.”
“Which I managed to order,” he proudly stated
“That’s good to hear! Hopefully it didn’t run you too much.”
“Oh it did,” Silver blurted out, “but that’s beside the point. It’s all for Scarlet and I’m happy doing that.”
“How nice of you,” he picked through the scrap with a wing before nodding,” I can definitely work with these. When’s the lens supposed to arrive?”
“Probably a week,” Silver replied with a sigh, “But hey, at least it’s going to get here soon. I thought I’d be waiting a lot longer if I’m going to be honest with you.”
“That’ll honestly work out fine,” Tinker assured him, “We’ve got a project in progress for Golden State and Bright Sun, they needed a better irrigation system for their farm. Should eat up some of our time until the lens gets here.”
“Oh good,” Silver beamed, “I can’t thank you enough for helping with this. It means the world to me.”
“No thanks are needed. You’re helping us out and it’s only fair for us to help you in turn.”
“I mean I’m only bringing you scrap right now. You, Gyro, and Sine seem to be doing a lot of the actual heavy lifting.”
The pegasus shrugged, “You’re bringing us some supplies and parts, that’s a huge help in itself so don’t feel like you’re not contributing.”
“Well I’m always happy to help.”
“Hey Blue, didn’t hear you flap on over,” Sine shouted from the cart, surprising Silver and earning a laugh from the dark blue night pony.
“Were you just waiting for the right moment to jump out or something?” He asked.
“Me? Waiting to scare a poor innocent pony?” She gasped in mock shock, “Why I’d never!”
“Are you finished up with Gyro, Sine?” The pegasus asked, ignoring her banter.
“Uh huh, I kinda just sat and watched while he got the bigger things sorted out.”
“So where’re you at then?” Silver asked with a raised eyebrow, almost immediately regretting his decision as he realized that he’d get dragged into a long explanation.
“I’m glad you asked, Blue! Let’s go take a look and you can see for yourself!”
“I—but,” he started.
“That’s the spirit!” She cheered as she pushed him toward the cart, earning a laugh from Tinker.
After a long winded explanation of everything they were working on, plus everything they still needed to save up for, Silver was exhausted. A quick glance over to the nearby clock only confirmed that he had spent the better part of an hour in the inventors’ camp now, and he could only assume that Scarlet was going to be annoyed with him once he had gotten back.
Definitely going to have to make this up to her today, he thought to himself.
He took another long look at the prototype electronic that was strapped to Gyro’s hoof and nodded, “So you actually got some of it working then, huh.”
“Define working.”
“What he means is, did you get the smart watch part up and running or is it just a big piece of scrap metal and plastic?” Sine clarified on Silver’s behalf.
“Yeah, what she said,” Silver chuckled.
“Mhmm, well the basic module works, but we’re still a long way out from anything really functional. The form factor needs to be ironed out and refined, and we’re far from having any of the utility functions work.”
“That’s still progress though,” Silver said as he looked at the module that the unicorn had been working on.”
“Mhmm. I’m going to call it here tonight and work on it more later, but it’s progress.”
“Past your bedtime eh?” Sine laughed, teasing the unicorn.
Gyro rolled his eyes and opened the door with his magic, “Sure, whatever you say.”
“Well it’s been exciting to see at least, and I can’t wait until we get a good wearable version made,” Silver pointed to the section that Tinker had been working on separately.
“We still have some battery problems to sort out, but I’m going to play around with a few things tomorrow maybe.” He let out a long yawn and shook his head, “Now it really is getting late, and not to sound like I’m kicking you out, but I’m going to hit the hay soon.”
“So you’re kicking us out, got it,” Sine jabbed him in the side, “Cya later Sparky.”
“Bye Sine.”
As the two night ponies stepped out of the cart, Tinker waved at them with a smile, “We made some great progress today! I don’t know what else you two are up to this week, but we’re going to have a small get together this week, call it a little celebration for our first big milestone.”
“Just give us a day and time and we’ll be set,” Silver replied, trotting closer to him, “And you’ll be able to fix up the telescope once I’ve got the lens in, right?”
“Of course, that shouldn’t take long at all.”
A huge grin spread across Silver’s face as he pulled the Pegasus into a hug, “Thanks, you don’t know how much this means to me.”
Giving him a pat on the back, the other stallion wriggled his way out, “Believe me, I have an idea. I know how much you’ve been wanting to do this for Scarlet, and I promise that I’m going to make this extra special for her.”
“Ready to get going Blue?” Sine interrupted, “I don’t want to interrupt this sappy moment but I also need to get home so I can grab a few things before Rocky goes to sleep.”
“Sleeping in with that farmer, eh?” Silver teased.
Sine shrugged, “He let’s me crash on his couch, but he also snores like a sleeping bear and startles easily. Believe me when I say that I don’t need a groggy earth pony bucking me into a wall out of fear.”
“Better get going then, eh?”
“Uh huh.”
Silver nodded and turned back to Tinker, “Thanks again for everything. I’ll give you a holler once the lens gets here.”
Another glance at the clock made Silver grimace. He was definitely keeping Scarlet waiting and right now he just wanted to go see her more than anything. Waving Sine along, he began to trot down the path toward the main part of the village.
“So, got any big plans tonight?” Sine asked with a wink.
“None that you probably want to hear about,” he retorted, “but in case you’re wondering, Scarlet had a bit of a rough week at work and I’m going to just spend some time with her.”
“I see…” she paused, “So guess that’s a no on hanging out some more then?”
“Yeah, for tonight at least. We’re probably going to hang out in a dream later if you really want to stop by, but it’s probably gonna be full of gross couples stuff.”
“Blegh,” she stuck her tongue out, “Yeah no, I think I’ll pass on that. I don’t need to be the third wheel in some freaky dream romance session.”
Silver blushed slightly, “Why do you always jump to that kind of thing?”
She smirked, “Because it’s fun making you blush.”
Silver blushed harder and glanced away from her, “Fun for you maybe. I’d appreciate it if you cut back on the awkward jokes though.”
“Fine,” she dramatically rolled her eyes, “You’re no fun, you know that?”
“I dunno, Scarlet thinks I’m pretty fun,” he smirked at her, earning a drawn out laugh.
“Well you’re not my kind of fun.”
Silver punched her on the shoulder, “Well I think I can live with that.”
As he glanced away from her he caught sight of a very annoyed looking Scarlet who was staring back at the two.
“Hi Silver,” She curtly said, “I thought you said you weren’t going to be gone for long?”