Steel woke up early.
Well, that is, the fact was he always woke up before everypony else. It was important to maintain a good sleep regimen so that he could be alert and prepared for the day ahead.
That regimen was being disturbed a lot more recently, Steel had painfully noticed.
As he lay in his bed, with his eyes focused on the darkened ceiling, Steel's thoughts drifted to and fro on what was bothering him. It was difficult to place a hoof on it exactly.
The sleeping form of Silverfire across the room shifted in his sleep as he rolled over. Steel's focus fell into a drawn out side-glance. A correction: difficult to want to place a hoof on it exactly.
The bedside alarm clock rang out, with Steel's hoof already partway there to silence it. Drawing in a deep breath, Steel slowly swung himself out of his bed to start the day.
Breakfast having come and gone, Steel busied himself with the post-breakfast cleanup, taking the used plates and bowls into the kitchen to wash and put away to dry. He felt at ease when it was his turn scheduled to do the dishes. Silverfire would miss obvious spots, and Miss Meteorite… well, she would drag out the time to complete the chore for some unfathomable reason. And Miss Flora-
Steel paused mid-scrub to glance aside over the counter dividing the kitchen and dining room, and at Miss Flora sitting at the dining table, her face buried in a book.
Well, alright, he didn't really have issues with her. She knew how to look after things. Must come with caring for her garden round the back.
As Steel resumed scrubbing a plate, a flat and off-key humming made itself known behind him, making his ears flatten against his head for some salvation. He surreptitiously looked over his shoulder, to see Miss Meteorite trotting through the kitchen and into the dining room, already wearing her saddlebags.
"Well!" Miss Flora announced, looking up from her book with a smile. "Somepony's in a good mood!"
Miss Meteorite stopped mid-stride and put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, appearing to consider the statement, before breaking back into a smile a beat later and nodded. "Huh, I suppose I am!"
"What's the occasion?"
Miss Meteorite shook her head lightly. "No occasion, I'm just… in a good mood," she half-shrugged before lidding her eyes at Miss Flora with a sly grin. "That can happen, you know."
Miss Flora rolled her eyes along with her own smile, before peering around to see Miss Meteorite's saddlebags. "Going into town?"
"Yeah, you know. Going to the library, Sugarcube Corner… the ush," Miss Meteorite replied, being very sloppy with her words, as usual.
"Oh, neat!" Miss Flora's eyes brightened. "Mind asking something for me at the library?"
"Shoot, what is it?"
"Well, I'm looking to plant a few new flowers in my garden soon, so I'd like to know if there's any special care I need to consider first."
Miss Meteorite frowned slightly as she thought for a moment. "That… doesn't seem like something Twilight would know about. But, she must have something on the subject, I guess."
"Well, it was just an idea," Miss Flora replied, her smile waning slightly.
"Oh, for sure," Miss Meteorite replied quickly. "What flowers are ya growing anyway?"
A wistful look crossed Miss Flora's face. "Well… I was considering tulips, roses, gardenias, chrysanthemums…"
"Quisa-wha?"
"Chrysanthemums," Miss Flora repeated, with more enunciation.
"Chris an' the mums, got it," Miss Meteorite grinned, looking far too pleased with herself. Miss Flora, however, was rightfully unimpressed. Regardless, Miss Meteorite continued. "I'll see if I can find anything for ya."
To Steel's surprise, Miss Meteorite turned her attention his way, catching eye contact with him. "You want anything while I'm out, Steel?"
Steel looked back down at the last few dishes to be washed, lost in thought. "No, I'm fine, thank you Miss Meteorite."
Miss Meteorite blinked blankly at the back of Steel's head. "Welp, okay. Less work for me." She turned back to Miss Flora and gave her a casual salute. "I'll see y'all when I get back, then."
"Have fun," Miss Flora beamed back at her.
"Will do," Miss Meteorite called back as she trotted away towards the front door.
Putting the remaining dishes away to dry, Steel turned and set the kettle to boil, preparing a cup of tea for himself. However, opening the sugar bowl revealed it to be empty. Frowning, Steel turned his attention to the grocery list neatly located at the far end of the kitchen counter. 'Sugar' was the most recent addition, in his own writing as well.
"Actually, Miss Met-" Steel called out with a hint of a sigh, but was cut off by the front door slamming shut. Steel stood still, silently musing his options, as Miss Flora glanced quizzically in his direction.
His own brown saddlebags strapped on, Steel stepped outside the cottage and closed the door behind him properly. He took a moment to also welcome the silencing of the faint drumming seeping up from the basement. Breathing in, he set out towards Ponyville.
It wasn't long until he encountered Miss Applejack walking up the main path through the orchard towards his direction, along with a hovering yellow pegasus he wasn't familiar with.
"Good morning, Miss Applejack," Steel greeted with a nod.
"Mornin' Steel," Miss Applejack greeted back, though she sounded more than a little irritated. "'fraid can't stop fer pleasantries right now, the river's all backed up down on the far side of the orchard."
Steel's ears shot up, alert, as his posture straightened. "That's awful. Do you need our assistance?"
Miss Applejack waved him off. "Appreciate it, but Fluttershy here got it covered." The pegasus yelped slightly as Miss Applejack patted her on her side, and shied behind her pink mane.
"H-Hello… n-nice to meet you," she managed to squeak out.
Steel gave a curt nod. "As it is with you, Miss… Fluttershy, was it?" A timid nod in reply, and Steel turned to his employer. "Miss Applejack, are you sure? We're more than happy to help with-"
Miss Applejack cut him off with a hoof. "Ah know Steel, but this ain't exactly that kinda problem. Some varmint pests-"
"Applejack!" Miss Fluttershy admonished rather suddenly, her voice reaching a volume Steel had assumed wasn't possible for the pegasus. Miss Applejack sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Ah meant, some critters have dammed up the dang river, and only Fluttershy here can get through to 'em."
"They're just like everypony else, Applejack," Miss Fluttershy nodded sagely. "If you speak with care and understanding, you'll find it easier to get past your differences."
"The only differences Ah want," Miss Applejack began, getting behind her friend and pushing her past Steel, eliciting a tiny shriek from Miss Fluttershy, "is them off mah dang farm!"
Watching the two mares disappearing down the path, Steel briefly paused to consider his own path, before resuming his journey into Ponyville.
Steel's morning was spent drifting through the market, mentally crossing off items on his grocery list as he filled his saddlebags. In addition, he made a mental note that pears were becoming expensive, and perhaps they did not need that particular fruit as much.
On the edge of Ponyville's bustling market, Steel paused to retrieve the list and go over it proper, just to make sure he wasn't skipping anything. The roar of the crowd behind him faded into the background as he slowly walked on while reading, and a familiar accent began to reach his ears. Glancing up, Steel spotted Miss Meteorite a short distance ahead and off to the side, talking, loudly, to a mare running a flower cart filled with the most fanciful and extravagant flowers Steel had ever seen.
"...look, I'm not asking for your trade secrets, I just want a couple pieces of advice I can tell my friend!"
The other mare was unfamiliar to Steel, at least, he had never talked to her directly. He faintly recalled seeing her pale lemon complexion and wine-reddish mane, but nothing more. Miss Meteorite seemingly was growing agitated as the mare shook her head.
"Sorry, can't help you," she smiled, with a glint in her eye that suggested that she knew she was being unhelpful.
"What do you mean 'you can't help me'?!" Miss Meteorite shot back, her voice going up an octave. Thrusting a hoof towards the cart, she went on. "Look at all this! You must know a thing or two about growing flowers, Roseluck!"
The other mare frowned. "That's not my name."
Miss Meteorite's tirade faltered as she took this in. "E- uh, what?" she asked, her voice suddenly small.
"That's not my name," the other mare repeated, sounding offended. "It's Rose, not 'Roseluck' or whatever it was you said."
"...oh."
Steel watched as Miss Meteorite's posture sank, her head turning away in embarrassment. Drawing himself up, Steel marched on over to Miss Meteorite's side. Miss Rose gave him a curious look.
"Is everything alright here, Miss Meteorite? Do you need some assistance?"
Miss Meteorite sharply turned her head with a look of mild surprise at seeing Steel, but gave him a friendly nod. "Oh! Hey Steel. Um…" she paused to consider his offer before briefly holding up a hoof in rebuff. "Uh, give me a sec here, alright?"
Miss Meteorite faced Miss Rose once more, looking very apologetic as she did so. "Hey um, look, I'm super sorry I got your name wrong, Rose. I must've… misheard somepony talking about you." Miss Meteorite paused to glance at the flower cart before continuing. "I know you're really good at what you do though, so… um… how about I buy some of your flowers here, then will you tell me something I can go back to my friend with? Just something, anything."
Miss Rose took a moment to carefully consider her flowers, rubbing her chin with the crook of the hoof. After a beat, she shrugged with a beaming smile. "Okay!"
Miss Meteorite perked right back up. "Really?! Oh, thank you Rose, I was so desperate! Okay um…"
Steel felt awkward as he silently stood to the side as Miss Meteorite perused and selected a few flowers to purchase. Once she had paid for them, Miss Rose tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Well… I suppose you can tell your friend that now is a good time to start growing the flowers she wants, although it's probably a little late for chrysanthemums. She should save those for after winter has wrapped up. Also, bare-rooted roses should be planted in pots inside during winter."
Miss Meteorite nodded as she took the information in. "Chrysanthemums after winter, roses inside winter."
"Bare-rooted roses," Miss Rose corrected.
"Right," Miss Meteorite said a little sheepishly before smiling appreciatively. "Thank you so much!"
"No problem," Miss Rose waved it off with a slight grin. "Come back anytime."
"Yeah sure," Miss Meteorite said absentmindedly as she packed her newfound purchase away into her saddlebags. "Thanks again!"
After that, she turned to face Steel with a broad smile. "Sorry about that! Anyway, what's up? How come you're in town?"
Steel kept silent for a moment as he half-turned to gesture at his packed saddlebags. "Groceries, Miss Meteorite."
"Ah… yeah," Miss Meteorite murmured in thought. "We were running low on stuff." After a beat, the two ponies started walking away and down the road. "Sooo, still shopping or doing something else? I… kinda don't have much to do now."
Steel turned his attention back to the flower cart, then towards the library gradually getting further away. "I thought you were seeking information at the library as per Miss Flora's request?"
"Oh yeah," Miss Meteorite scoffed with some annoyance. "Was barely in there before Twilight got a letter from Princess Celestia."
"Princess Celestia?" Steel queried, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Yeah…" Miss Meteorite continued casually, "dunno what she wanted, aside from wanting to meet Twilight and her posse of friends, so naturally her and Spike booked it out of there, and I didn't really want to try and find what I needed alone. Tried that before; didn't go so well."
Steel hung his head in thought. "Hm. Still, an audience with the Princess is quite the request."
For a while Miss Meteorite was silent, although Steel could have sworn he saw a small smirk before she replied. "Yeah… probably. Don't think it's that important though. We just had that whole ordeal with Trixie a couple months back."
Steel looked at her questioningly. "Why would that be of relevance?"
Miss Meteorite made a strangled sound as she struggled to respond. "Uh-! Well, I mean-! If it was important, t-then- it would've been… sooner, yeah?"
Steel tried to dissect her words. "I… don't think you have quite thought this through, Miss Meteorite."
"Haha, probably not!" Miss Meteorite laughed nervously. Steel briefly eyed her in confusion before shaking his head.
"Well, with that… aside, I suppose it could just be a formal meeting."
"Exactly what I was saying!"
Steel's only response was a weary stare, to which Miss Meteorite rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean, Steel. Sorry I don't word as good as you."
Steel swallowed. "...I do believe you just gave me an aneurysm with that sentence."
"Oh, lighten up Steel," Miss Meteorite sighed, although a smile remained on her face. "Why are you always so serious? Have some fun once in a while; this is our day off, for goodness' sake!"
"I am quite sure that what you and I consider to be 'fun' is vastly different, Miss Meteorite."
"So what would you consider to be fun?" Miss Meteorite asked, trotting ahead to cut Steel off before turning to face him. "I'm honestly curious, because I've never seen you get excited about anything."
Steel stared her down before side-stepping past her. "I assure you I do find things exciting, I just have no need to proclaim it to everypony within earshot."
Miss Meteorite turned her head as she frowned at Steel's departing backside before hopping into a quicken pace to catch up. "Not even with Silverfire?"
"Like you Miss Meteorite, his ideas of fun are considerably at odds with mine."
"Yeah okay but… like, you can still show excitement about something because someone you like likes it, y'know?"
For once, Steel didn't have anything to come back with. His pace slowed slightly, allowing Miss Meteorite to match pace again.
"I mean, look at me with Flo. I don't give a f- flying feather about gardening, but like, I still at least get caught up a little in her excitement whenever she talks about some new flower she's growing, because it means something to her." Miss Meteorite's expression turned to a worried one. "You've never done anything like that with Silverfire?"
Steel fell silent as memories eked forth, bubbling to the surface of his mind, and the world around him faded as he became lost in them.
"Steel! Steel! Steel!" a young Silverfire, sans cutie mark, shouted as he barrelled into the bedroom he shared with Steel. Steel, not much older but having earned his own cutie mark by now, grimaced irritably as he pointedly tried to ignore the ruckus while pouring all his focus into the book at his desk.
"Steel! Steel!" Silverfire continued, before calming instantly as he reached his older brother's side. "You busy?"
The glare he received hurt more than the snappiness in Steel's reply.
"Yes, actually," Steel squeaked. "I'm trying to study. Not that you'd know what that's like."
"...oh," Silverfire replied, the spark in his eyes fading briefly. Shaking his head clear, he tried again with a grin. "I thought maybe you'd like to go play?"
"No," Steel uttered with absolute finality as he turned back to his book. "Games are stupid. Can't you go find somepony else to bother?"
There was no response as Silverfire turned his head away, his ears wilted. Turning back, his eyes wandered to the book in front of Steel, and he perked up again. Standing on his hind legs, he stood against the desk from the side and peered across it.
"Watcha reading?"
Steel exaggeratedly rolled his eyes as he sighed loudly. "It's a chron-o-log-i-cal recording of the founding of Equestria's cities and towns, and the ponies that were in charge."
"What's that word mean?" Silverfire asked. Steel gave him a nasty smirk.
"Which one?"
"The big one. 'Kronosumthin''."
"It means 'in order as it happens'. Is that all?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Silverfire nodded, his eyes falling back to the book. "So… is there, like, a bad guy they have to beat?"
Once more, Steel sighed with annoyance. "It's not that kind of book. This," he punctuated by jabbing the open book, "actually happened. It's not some dumb story that's made up." Upon seeing the confused look on his younger brother's face, Steel brushed him off with a hoof. "Look, just go make some friends, okay? Preferably ones that are away from me."
Dejected, Silverfire slowly stepped back down onto all fours, turning to leave the room. "...o-okay. I… guess I can do that."
As he reached the door, Silverfire looked back one last time, only met with the sound of Steel turning a page.
~~~
Steel, now on the verge of entering his teens, came home to the sound of the kitchen imploding in on itself. With hurried hoofsteps, Steel braced himself for the chaos that was surely awaiting him and his family.
Upon pushing the kitchen door open, instead he was met with the sight of his mother and Silverfire together, Silverfire pounding away at upturned pots with spoons in each hoof. Silverfire's excitable face brightened at the sight of Steel and he halted his pot-playing. Their mother turned to Steel with a wide smile.
"Oh, Steel honey! Look, your brother got his cutie mark earlier today!"
In a flourish, Silverfire stood up and showed off his flank to Steel, the newly formed image of a bass drum awash in flames proudly displayed upon it.
"I can play the drums!" Silverfire announced giddily. Steel, however, remained unimpressed as he took the time to offload his book-ladened saddlebags.
"Great, you excel at causing a racket. Somehow I'm not surprised."
"Steel, be nice," his mother admonished lightly. "This is a happy moment for Silverfire, and the family!"
"It's going to disrupt my studies, mother."
Silverfire's little body drooped slightly, until he felt the comforting embrace of his mother's foreleg around him. She had a concerned thoughtfulness to her face as she considered Silverfire and the pots in front of him.
"It would be very noisy…" she admitted, causing Silverfire to panic slightly until she nuzzled him. "Don't worry Silvy, your father and I will figure something out."
Silverfire threw his hooves around his mother in a hug, still holding his spoons. "Okay mom!"
Steel merely rolled his eyes in a huff as he left the kitchen, dragging his saddlebags behind him.
~~~
"I'm sorry, run that by me one more time?"
Steel sat at the family table, tea in his hooves, as Silverfire stood opposite him, both now considerably older. Silverfire grinned at him.
"I wanna try being in a band. Whaddya think?"
Steel stared him down, before taking a sip and placing his cup down on the table with careful precision, next to the daily newspaper. "You?" he queried with a tone of incredulous mirth. "You want to be in a band?"
"Well…" Silverfire began, doubt creeping into his voice. "Yeah! I think it could be fun!"
Steel kept his focus. "Do you realize how much work would be involved? How much coordination you'd need with your team members?"
"I mean… sure, I… guess?" Silverfire said unsurely.
"Have you ever worked a day in your life that wasn't coddled by our parents? Do you understand the effort you'd need to put in?" Steel studied Silverfire as he looked down under the barrage of questions, before driving in one more. "Can you even take care of yourself?"
The kitchen quietened, save for Silverfire's hooves shuffling slightly against the floor as the reality of the situation sank in. "Wh- What should I do then?" he asked, his voice small and scared. Steel leant forward in his seat, hooves clasped together against his chin as he stared at his brother thoughtfully.
"What you need is guidance," Steel said finally. "Somepony to put you through the works and make sure you come out right. To make sure you're the best pony you can be, and not some lazy layabout."
Silverfire gulped to himself. "I don't know anypony like that…"
A twitch formed in Steel's eye. "I was referring to myself, Silverfire."
Silverfire looked back up, his face full of hope. "Really? You'd do that for me?"
Steel sat back, a satisfied smugness about him. "Naturally. You're my brother, after all. It would be my pleasure to lead you through this perilous part of your life."
"Thanks bro, you're the best!" Silverfire beamed briefly, before blinking. "But… how do we begin?"
"Hmm…" Steel mused, turning his attention to the newspaper on the table. "What you need is hard, tough and unforgiving experience to help build and prepare you for the world." Flicking through the pages, his eyes caught sight of a photo and news article regarding a Ponyvillian farmer single-handedly winning several ribbons at the Equestria Rodeo. Steel smiled to himself.
"Yes, I think someplace rough and out of our comfort zone here in Canterlot. Someplace in the countryside…"
Silverfire rubbed his head uneasily. "Does that mean I'll have to move out?"
"Most likely," Steel nodded as he met Silverfire's eyes with his own. "But fret not, I'll be there with you."
"Oh, right," Silverfire brightened once more. "Heh, that's alright then. It'll be like an adventure, just the two of us!"
Steel pursed his lips.
"Mm, yes, quite."
"Steel?" Miss Meteorite called pointedly, waving a hoof in his face. "Hello, Steel?"
"Ah- Wh- What?" Steel blinked frantically, glancing about before refocusing onto the concerned mare before him. "What? What is it, Miss Meteorite?" he said snippily.
"Something happen?" she asked carefully. "You kinda zoned out for a minute."
"I…" Steel swallowed, glancing aside. "I was momentarily lost in some thoughts."
"Well, clearly," Miss Meteorite drawled with lidded eyes before softening her expression and tone. "You alright? I get like that sometimes."
Steel stayed silent as he breathed deeply, still looking aside. "...I'm fine."
Miss Meteorite stubbornly remained unwavered by the response. "Steel. Come on. It's me you're talking to," she persisted, before softening her voice once more. "Is something bothering you?"
"...Perhaps," Steel finally admitted, more to himself than anything. His gaze swept across the landscape of the town, taking it in as he refused to lock eyes with the pony in front of him. "Miss Meteorite, may I ask you a question?"
Miss Meteorite nodded cautiously. "Shoot."
Steel swallowed as he considered his words. "Why did you come to Sweet Apple Acres?"
Miss Meteorite blinked, the question taking her by surprise. "'Why?' You know why. I was travelling and I needed somewhere to stay." A moment's consideration later, she added, "Also, a job."
Steel nodded at the answer, and continued. "And afterwards?"
"Afterwards…?" Miss Meteorite questioned unsurely. Steel turned his attention to her from the corner of his eye.
"Yes, Miss Meteorite, afterwards. You said you were traveling, did you not? Surely you're not planning on staying at the farm forever. What do you plan to do next with your life?"
There was a subtle change in Miss Meteorite's eyes as she shivered, turning away with a troubled look, staring vacantly at the ponies walking past them. "What do I…" she whispered to herself as her gaze dropped to the ground between her and Steel. "I… I don't actually know…"
Steel remained steadfast in his stance, although guilt was fast building up inside. He had simply wanted Miss Meteorite's reasons and goals for being there; he hadn't expected her to break just from the question. Stepping forward, he steeled himself as he placed a hoof upon her shoulder, jolting her out of her thoughts as she looked up at him, worry in her eyes.
"Fret not, Miss Meteorite," he told her as calmly as he could. "We still have plenty of time to decide what we want to do with ourselves."
Miss Meteorite gulped slowly as her wide-eyed stare slowly drifted aside. "Right…" she said timidly, "plenty of time…"
Studying her face which was still awash in painful existentialism, Steel wondered in frustration how he could help further. He began scanning their surroundings at the various storefronts nearby for something, anything, to serve as a distractio-
"How about something to eat, Miss Meteorite?" Steel asked, gesturing to a nearby café. "Let's not focus on such matters right now." Following his hoof, Miss Meteorite turned her head to stare blankly at the café.
"'kay," she meekly replied.
The two ponies sat on packed bales of hay at an outdoor table, with a cup of tea in front of Steel, and a tall chocolate milkshake before Miss Meteorite. It seemed neither of them were hungry.
Steel watched as Miss Meteorite stared down into her glass as it sat on the table, idly rotating it between her hooves, before occasionally sucking on the straw.
"Feeling better?" Steel asked.
Another idle turn of the glass. "I guess."
The conversation fell away into the noise of passersby. Steel lifted his cup to take a sip, when Miss Meteorite continued.
"I just… never really considered…" she started, still staring into her shake. A frown formed as she shook her head. "No that's… not right. I didn't want to consider what to do with my life here. I thought… I could just keep to myself and not have to bother with anything…" she admitted, her last words almost inaudible.
Blinking, she lifted her head to face Steel before glancing aside at the town around them. "And yet… the harsh reality of life continues to pull at me, even here."
"You're sounding melodramatic, Miss Meteorite."
She shot him a side-eye, accompanied with the tiniest smirk. "I'm allowed to if I want to. I don't get to be poetic that often."
Not wanting to argue further, Steel conceded with a nod, to which Miss Meteorite glumly went back to gazing at the townsponies. Steel decided to intervene.
"So you've not made any plans beyond staying here in Ponyville?"
Glancing down in thought, Miss Meteorite clucked her tongue. "To be honest, I'm not even sure I've planned that far. It just… happened, and I was okay with not prodding any further and letting it stay like that." She turned to him with a small helpless smile. "I'm not exactly a big fan of change…"
Steel arched an eyebrow. "I would've thought traveling abroad would have constituted a rather large change."
Miss Meteorite fidgeted with her drink for a bit before responding. "I said I didn't like change, not that I avoided it completely." She stared thoughtfully at her half-filled glass as she tilted it about in her hooves, studying the contents as it reshaped itself to the curvature of the glass, before setting it back upright. "Sometimes it's unavoidable, y'know?"
"Very much so," Steel nodded slowly, letting the conversation draw to another lull as he drifted into his own thoughts. Unfortunately, his pondering was rudely interrupted by Miss Meteorite taking this moment to finish her drink, and draining her glass irritatingly dry, for far too long. Apparently deaf to the noise she was making, she finally released her grip on the straw and sat back slightly, staring off into the distant sky as she casually wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof.
"Ah well," she sighed with a resigned tone, "I'll figure something out, maybe. Just… gotta figure out why I'm here."
"Indeed," Steel murmured, not really looking at anything as he mulled Miss Meteorite's words over, his tea halfway to his lips. "I suppose that is something we all must figure out at some point, even if each one of us has their own personalized starting line."
Miss Meteorite blinked at him in a moment of confusion, before her eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh!" she exclaimed with a bit of shock, before twisting her body awkwardly to look down at her cutie mark. "Right, that. Yeah, that's… that's definitely a thing."
Steel nodded absent-mindedly before finishing off his tea, setting the cup back down on the table with a bit of a clatter. The noise made Miss Meteorite glance back up at him curiously.
"All good?"
The simple question snapped Steel back to reality as he faced his companion, his eyebrow arched once more.
"I should be asking you that, Miss Meteorite."
"Hah," she smiled lightly, "Yeah, I'm good. You know how I get."
"All too well."
"Hah," Miss Meteorite repeated, though more subdued. She shook her head mildly. "Well, anyway. Should we head back home then?" She peered under the table at Steel's saddlebags. "You don't have anything that needs to be in the icebox right away, yeah?"
"I wouldn't be sitting here this casually with you if I had, Miss Meteorite," Steel remarked matter-of-factly. She grinned at the response as she got up from the table, reaching for her own saddlebags.
"Alright, just making sure." Miss Meteorite then waited patiently as Steel stood up and got himself ready, and upon turning about to face her, she gave him a warm smile.
"Oh um, by the way… thanks. For calming me down and… stuff."
Steel regarded her with a thoughtful stare. Calmed her down… from a situation I instigated in the first place…
"But of course," he nodded as they both left the café grounds.
The pair walked back home to Sweet Apple Acres in the late afternoon, both silent and preoccupied with their own thoughts. In fact, Steel hadn't noticed when Miss Meteorite had stopped walking by him until he heard his name being called out.
"Hey Steel!" Miss Meteorite shouted, before waiting until he came to a halt and turned his head to face her. She lifted a hoof off the ground in mild concern. "Is it me, or is the whole area here kinda… damp?"
His attention falling to the path beneath him, Steel dug slightly into it with his hoof. "Now that you mention it, it does seem strangely irrigated…"
"Did it rain?" Miss Meteorite asked as she looked to the skies, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hoof. "Did Applejack ask for rain?"
"Ah," Steel exclaimed, remembering something. "Miss Applejack did mention earlier today that she was concerned about the river on the far side of the orchard flooding."
"But, like," Miss Meteorite started with a frown, turning about in a circle as she spoke, "all the way out here?"
"It is a bit of a stretch, yes…" Steel admitted, looking further up the path. I knew I should've fought harder to offer my help at the time… but I didn't. I just walked away.
"Although…" Miss Meteorite mused to herself, hoof to her chin. "I suppose it could be possible… I mean, it's either that, or there was a flash downpour that we both somehow missed while we were in town." Dropping her hoof, she took a few steps forward. "Did you see anything, Steel? I didn't."
"Mm?" Steel muttered, glancing at Miss Meteorite as she approached. "No… No, I didn't notice anything, I'm afraid."
"Welp," Miss Meteorite tutted with a half-shrug, "I'm guessing there was a whole thing that happened here or something." She looked over her shoulder to briefly assess the surroundings. "Looks like they got everything under control though."
"'A whole thing'," Steel repeated drolly. "Yes, I do believe your deductive reasoning is unparalleled, Miss Meteorite." She flashed him a grin.
"What can I say? I'm just amazing."
Steel had never fought harder to resist rolling his eyes.
Making their way back to the cottage, Steel took a moment to open the front door for Miss Meteorite, although in the moment she seemed preoccupied as she stood off to the side of the path, leaning her head downwards as she faced the cottage itself. Steel cleared his throat.
"Miss Meteorite?"
"Hm?" she murmured absent-mindedly. Glancing back at Steel, a look of surprise and mild embarrassment crossed her face as she stood up with a start and trotted over. "Oh! Sorry! Was just checking the walls. Doesn't seem to be any water damage here, so that's good!"
Steel blinked in surprise. He… hadn't considered checking for damages.
Why hadn't he? He should've. He was supposed to be the responsible one.
Briskly brushing by, Miss Meteorite hadn't noticed the concerned frown Steel was wearing as she stepped inside. "Hey, we're back!" she called, a hoof to the side of her mouth. "Flo? You about?"
Just as Miss Meteorite was about to break away down the corridor leading to her room, a rattling at the basement door caught both her and Steel's ears, and soon it opened to reveal a slightly flustered-looking Miss Flora.
"O-Oh! Hi! We- I- You're back early!"
Miss Meteorite looked out a window at the orange sky. "We've been gone the whole day, Flo."
Miss Flora blinked rapidly, glancing outside herself. "...oh. Huh. I er… I must've lost track of time."
"No kidding," Miss Meteorite murmured, peering past her friend. "Why're you down in the basement?"
"She was listening to me play!" Silverfire boasted happily as he came up the basement stairs behind Miss Flora. He had an unusual air of smugness about him. "I guess my music is just irresistible to the ladies."
Miss Flora tittered slightly into her hoof as Miss Meteorite rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "Well, I do have to admit, you are good at what you do."
"Yes," Steel said quietly, spoken into his chest but clear as day to all present. "He is."
Silverfire faltered slightly, tilting his head in confusion at his brother. "Dude. Did you just… compliment my drums?"
"I complimented your skill," Steel muttered, refusing to make eye contact with anypony, even as the three sets of eyes bore into him. "There's a difference."
"Hey, I'll take that!" Silverfire beamed. I don't think you've ever done that!"
The silence that followed felt too heavy to bear.
"No, I suppose not," Steel began, breaking away from the group to head to the kitchen. "In any case, I have things to put away. I will prepare dinner."
"Isn't it my tu-" Miss Flora began to protest, but Steel had already left.
The following atmosphere shifted and grew heavy as the three remaining ponies stared at the rightmost corridor entrance where Steel had last been.
"That… was something," Silverfire noted, speaking low. "What's up with him?"
"I'm… not really sure," Meteorite admitted. "He got kinda weird today."
"Weird how?" Flo asked.
"Me weird."
Silverfire sharply inhaled. "Wow, that is weird."
Flo nudged him in his side with an annoyed glare. "Silverfire! Don't be rude!"
"She started it!"
Meteorite giggled lightly for a couple seconds before fading into a worried frown. "I'm not really sure what it might be though. But he did kinda drift off into his thoughts for a while when we were talking. I've never seen him do that."
Silverfire shook his head. "Yeah, that doesn't sound like him."
"Maybe… he just needs to be alone for a while?" Flo ventured.
"I guess…?" Meteorite half-nodded but not really convinced, as she continued staring out into the corridor. "He didn't seem to want to talk about it."
This prompted Flo to give Meteorite a weary look, though this went unnoticed by her. "Well…" Flo said as she stretched upwards, "in any case, I really should go water my garden before it gets too late."
"Ah, I wouldn't worry about that actually…" Meteorite uttered, giving Flo a side-glance. Flo straightened upward, face full of concern.
"Why…?"
"Thiiiink there may have been a teensy bit of a flood going on earlier."
"What?!" Flo shouted as she pulled the front door open and bolted outside. With a short pause of clarity, Meteorite gave chase after her.
"Oh, right! Flo, also I gotta tell ya about what I learnt today!"
The cottage entranceway quickly fell into eerie silence as Silverfire stood there, thinking. His thoughts were only disrupted by the sounds of Flo's distant anguished cries drifting in through the cottage windows, followed by Meteorite's attempts to calm her down.
That was as good as any motivation to head off to the kitchen, Silverfire figured.
As he turned into the kitchen's doorway, he was met with the sight of Steel unpacking his saddlebags into the kitchen's icebox, cupboards and assorted containers. Catching sight of Silverfire, Steel slowed his pace, moving with careful precision.
"Yes?" he prompted, still focused on his duties.
For a while Silverfire said nothing, not really knowing what to say. Eventually, Steel's movement came to a standstill as he waited, hoof still on the last packet being put away. Silverfire swallowed, and simply said one thing before walking away.
"Thank you."