Credit to the artist Minty Root
Northpoint Scenic Lookout. That was the inscription on the railing where Sapphire Oasis rested her chin. Sandstone was too tall to recline the same way, but he still stood nearby. Street lights from Canterlot twinkled below. Star lights from constellations twinkled above. The desert stallion and the arctic mare were between worlds. Alone together.
Sapphire spoke first. As she often did.
"It’s windier up here than on the streets, huh?"
Her coltfriend adjusted his windbreaker. "If you say so. I can't feel any difference."
Sapphire cozied up, the crown of her head barely meeting his chin.
"Crystal Ponies are real good at retaining heat, you know. Gimme a squeeze if you're feeling numb."
When a muscular foreleg draped over Sapphire's withers, her heart quickened. Sandstone was so hard to guess at. So private about his thoughts and feelings. Yet every once in awhile, Sapphire was able to read him. To intuit what he needed. To offer some humble comfort. Moments like these were more precious than a pentillion plates of topaz crumbles.
But moments like these were also too rare for her taste.
Sapphire and Sandstone's trek from the street to this lookout had been long. And quiet. Sandstone was the one who led the way of course, and Sapphire had followed behind with only her sense of trust for encouragement. Because it was only fair that she follow, right? Every choice today had been hers, and look where they'd led. To a mess at the cafe. To a premature flight from that tour right before Sandstone made a new friend. To a owl she'd been brainless enough to laugh about. Every mishap today had come from Sapphire's fumbling flights of fancy.
Sapphire leaned further into Sandstone's chest fluff, hoping he didn't see her bite her lip in frustration. Why did Sandstone put up with her? She was such a selfish excuse for a lover. Inconsiderate. Fickle. More of a babysitting project than a companion.
By Faust, Sapphire wasn't good with silences like these. She wasn't cool and controlled like Sandstone. Right now she was actively forcing herself to stay quiet because if she opened her mouth, it'd be all over. She'd spill what they both knew, but didn't want to say: that Sapphire Oasis is a bad marefrien-
"Saph, am I a bad coltfriend?"
Sapphire Oasis gasped at the blasphemy she'd just heard. She wasn't big enough to properly hug Sandstone, but in an instant she was on her hinds pawing at his broad shoulders anyway.
"Never!" Sapphire babbled. "Never ever! How could you even think that?"
She felt Sandstone patting her back. She wanted so badly to smile, to broadcast that she was happy simply being near him. But truthfully, she worried he didn't like her habit of smiling. Did he consider her airheaded when she did it? Utterly embarrassing to be around? He never smiled back at her, after all.
The patting on her back faded. Sapphire sighed. "How could you even think you're a bad coltfriend?" she repeated in a dull mumble.
Sandstone shifted, and with her head so close to his chest, Sapphire could hear his breathing. Quick. Shallow. As if he was nervous. But that was preposterous, since Sandstone wasn't a nervous pony.
Was he?
"You talked me into moving to Canterlot, Saph. The capital. This shining city on a hill." He gestured to the buildings below. To the homes, businesses, well-to-do-estates. The highest spire belonged to the Princesses. Nestled somewhere in the chateau district was Heart Manor.
Credit to the artist Minty Root
"It's a grand place." Sandstone went on. "I knew it would be, once we saw it from above. From up here."
He sighed. "But a grand place is still just a place. For me, anyway. It has people, food, public things to see and do. Like anywhere. Like Saddle Arabia. And don't get me wrong, I'm not homesick, I don't want to leave, but I worry..." Sandstone's stolid face wasn't accustomed to sadness. Wrinkles folded his mouth uncomfortably. "I worry I'm not grateful enough. For how hard you tried to make today special."
Tried, sure. But failed every time, Sapphire reckoned silently. If she were Sandstone, she'd feel no guilt in calling today a failure. But she wasn't Sandstone. She was her, and he was him. They'd been guessing at each other's feelings for too long. If they were going to be a couple - a real couple with a future together - the guessing had to be replaced by sharing.
"H-hey Sandstone, when we were trekking up here... what were you thinking about? I know I myself was thinking about a whole mess of things, but what about you?"
Sandstone was clearly caught off guard by the question, He pondered before answering.
"I was thinking that if I saw the Canterlot from above, I'd feel the way you do about it. The same way you do about everything. You know what I mean: Enchanted. Hopeful. Eager and excited."
Sapphire squeezed his hoof in hers. As much of his hoof as she could grip, anyway.
"You flatter me, big guy; Peppiness is just a hobby I have. On the walk up, I was actually fretting that you put up with too many of my quirks. Guess we're both too hard on ourselves, huh? But at least we both see the other as... someone worth admiring."
Sandstone didn't take compliments well. He coughed, trying to clear a sentimental lump in his throat. The lump persisted, so he gave up and wordlessly stroked Sapphire behind the ears. She leaned into him, wiping her eyes.
"You're right," Sapphire eventually admitted. "Canterlot is just a place. But it's a place you came to. To be with me. That makes it the best place. In all of Equestria."
"Poetry certainly isn't your Special Talent," Sandstone teased. He received a playful push to the shoulder, and made Sapphire yelp when he retaliated by scooping her up onto his back.
"Lovely view from up here," Sapphire reported to the back of her coltfriend's head. "I do love looking at your sweaty mane instead of those harsh old city lights."
"Sweaty? I haven't shed a drop of sweat all frigid day and you know it." Sandstone tossed his head in mock pride. "I'll tell you something though, I'm looking forward to burrowing into some blankets back at the mansion. There's a comfy pillow I've been dearly missing lately."
"Manor. Not mansion. If you're going to live in Canterlot long term, you're going to have to learn the overly-specific local lingo."
Sandstone tossed his head again. "I'm a bumpkin with no proper schooling, remember? I call things as I see them, little lady."
Sapphire smiled at her man, and for a moment he looked like he might actually be about to smile back. Then he chuffed and began trotting down the hillside.
"Whoa! Hey, I have four legs that aren't broken you know!" Sapphire shifted to hang on. Sandstone was so fast. So strong.
"I know you do. But... I remember when one of them was broken. Back in Saddle Arabia. When we first met."
Sapphire draped her head over Sandstone's shoulder. It made it easier to nuzzle his cheek.
"I remember too, Sandy. I cracked my hoof in the first hour of our hike, so you-"
"So I carried you. Until it was time to lay down and rest." Sandstone nuzzled his marefriend back. "We're in a new town now, but we're still the same ponies. I'll carry you wherever we go."
The rest of the trot home was silent. The good kind of silent, unlike the trek up.
By the time Sandstone's hooves hit pavement, the only lights still on in Canterlot were streetlamps. It was midnight, so most ponies were asleep. Sapphire was one of them, and she snored delicately into Sandstone's ear as he crossed the lawn of Heart Manor.
Sandstone pulled at the sleeve of his windbreaker, since for the first time all day, Sandstone didn't feel cold. As his uncovered foreleg pushed the front door open, he didn't notice he was smiling. Not until Sapphire's eyes fluttered open, saw him, and answered his smile with one of her own. She kissed his cheek as the door eased shut behind them.