//------------------------------// // Recitativo 5 – Dinner for Two, Pain for One // Story: Sketchy Salad Serenata // by Sketchy Sounds //------------------------------// Freeze Pop awoke, feeling a little sore from having fallen asleep on her couch, but nevertheless refreshed from her slumber. Her neck was a bit stiff, as she’d feared it might be. However, that couldn’t compare to the warmth that flooded her heart as she looked to one side and was swiftly reminded of why it was she’d ended up falling asleep here. Curled up next to her, sleeping soundly, lay the contented form of Blacklight. His sleep had apparently gone undisturbed by her waking, which she was relieved to see: she couldn’t help but find the way he looked at rest both calming and endearing. Still, can’t just lie around all day. She reached over and gently prodded the sleeping pegasus. “Blackie!” The black-coated pony snorted slightly in his sleep and carried right on snoozing. Freeze Pop raised an eyebrow and prodded him again, a little more forcefully. “Blackie? Wake up!” Her actions were rewarded with a further grunt and a snort, and no further reaction. Freeze Pop’s other eyebrow crept upward, and she tilted her head in thought, mulling over how best to wake him. A somewhat wicked grin crept across her face, and she leaned her head down to the sleeping Blacklight’s ear. “Blackie?” she whispered softly into his ear, effecting the most sultry tone she could, “Blackie, please wake up. I really need you right now. Won’t you please wake up?” For a few moments more there was silence, and she had to wonder if her change in tactics had worked. However, Blacklight suddenly woke up with a start, sitting up straight. His muzzle was flushed purple, and his eyes had gone wide. “I... just had the oddest dream...” he stated to the world in general, before his mind caught up to the fact Freeze Pop was sat right next to him. “Ahh! Uhm, good morning Freezy...” he managed, his heart still pounding. “You were just in my dr—uhm, never mind.” he finished awkwardly. “Your dream? Fancy that.” the sturdy pegasus smiled nonchalantly. “Sleep well?” “Pretty good, yeah. Oh, right, Canterlot. Right, flew here yesterday, didn’t I?” Blacklight stated, taking in his surroundings with a nervous flutter of his wings. “Yes, that you did.” Freeze nodded, leaning towards him. “And we came back here, had dinner, and then I guess we just fell asleep here on the couch.” Blacklight looked back around at her, and the blush on his muzzle deepened. “Do you like making me—” he began, though his speech evaporated into a small squeak as her nose pressed into his. “—making you blush?” she inquired, completing his question with a shy little flick of her eyelashes. “Of course I do. I think it’s cute, though nowhere near as cute as you looked curled up asleep.” The black pegasus’s wings popped straight open, and his blush intensified. Freeze Pop giggled upon noticing that, shaking her head. “Goodness me, that’s the second time I’ve gotten that out of you!” she grinned, playfully poking him in the chest. “At least they aren’t stuck, this time.” Blacklight replied, flexing his wings once and folding them again. “True, so you’re already coping better.” Freeze chuckled. “Looks like it. So, what’s the plan today?” “Well, breakfast first.” the white pegasus replied, getting up off the couch and rolling her shoulders and neck. There were a few crack sounds as she did so, and she winced slightly at the remaining stiffness in her muscles. “Mmmf. Cereal?” “Sounds good.” her companion nodded, stretching out on the couch before rising to his feet as well. “Though those cracks didn’t.” he added with a note of concern in his voice. “Eh, no worries there!” the larger pegasus replied with a hearty laugh. “I’ve suffered worse in my time, sleeping on a couch is comparatively comfortable to some places I’ve had to lie down before.” “I’ll take your word for it.” Blacklight shrugged, silently wondering to himself what sort of places the sturdily-built mare must have had to sleep in during her career thus far. There was, after all, more to the Royal Guard than just standing around all day: they could be called upon at any time to defend the palace, the populace, or even to rush off to some far-flung place with a strange name at the drop of a hat. Freeze meanwhile had already taken to clattering around the kitchen, and she soon emerged with two good-sized bowls of cereal. Either due to her only having just woken up or still being unused to preparing food for only herself, both bowls were rather heavily laden. The black pegasus chuckled to himself slightly on seeing that. “What’s funny, Blackie?” Freeze Pop questioned, arching an eyebrow. “Ah? Well, it’s nothing really, Freeze. Only... well, it’s pretty obvious you’re used to only feeding yourself.” he grinned. The white pegasus tilted her head in confusion for a moment, before realisation dawned. “Oh! Er, well... will you eat this much?” she inquired sheepishly. “I think my stomach’ll stretch to it.” Blacklight nodded. “It was a long flight yesterday, so I’ve more of an appetite than I would have otherwise.” “Perfect! Well then, help yourself.” A short while later, both ponies had sated their appetites, and were lounging on the couch. The morning sunshine was streaming in through the large windows that dominated one wall of the living room, bathing the area with warmth. “So... plans for the day?” Blacklight ventured in a slightly lazy tone, stretched out comfortably as he was. “Well, I know I’m on mid shift at work today.” Freeze replied, a note of annoyance in her tone. “So that means I can’t spend the whole day with you, much as I might like to.” It came as no surprise, as she glanced round at her smaller companion, to see that his muzzle had turned slightly purple. “Uhm. Yes...” he nodded, a shy tone to his voice. “Well then... we’ll have to make the most of what we have. And maybe...” he trailed off, the remainder of his sentence lost to indecision. Freeze Pop arched an eyebrow at that, turning her gaze on him. “And maybe... what?” she prompted. “Uhm... maybe we could, uh... go and get something to eat after you finish work? I mean, if you’d like to, and all...” Blacklight replied, his voice trailing off once more. “Why, Blackie... are you, perchance, asking me on a date?” the white pegasus smiled. In reply, the stallion shuffled a bit where he lay, not looking directly at her. “Uhm... yes? I think I am, yes...” he ventured, his voice even quieter than normal – though there was a hint of a smile on his face. The off-duty guard promptly turned and hugged him, a joyous note in her voice as she spoke. “I would be delighted to! Where did you have in mind?” she beamed. Blacklight’s face fell slightly at that, as he came to the realisation that he actually had no knowledge of the eateries in Canterlot. “Uhm... I... uh...” he mumbled, flashing his companion a slightly desperate look. An understanding smile made its way across Freeze Pop’s features, her eyelids half-closing as she realised what the problem likely was. “This is where you say ‘lady’s choice’, Blackie.” she prompted, a small giggle accompanying her words. “Ah! Uhm, lady’s choice, Freezy.” he grinned back, his tone regaining some confidence. The mare’s grin grew at that. “How gentlecoltly of you! Well then, how about you meet me at the grand central plaza just after eight tonight? We’ll head to wherever my stomach would prefer.” she offered. “Sounds like a good plan to me, Freeze.” her companion smiled. She released him and sat back up, eyeing him thoughtfully for a few moments. “Never asked a gal out before, have you, Blackie dear?” she queried, her head tilted slightly to one side and her eyes narrowed in a sly look. The heavy blush that reddened the stallion’s face confirmed her suspicions. “No...” he replied honestly. It was true after all – he hadn’t met any pegasi living in his home town that he had been attracted to, or at least none that had been resident to the area. Whilst it was certainly true that there had been the occasional visitor to the area that had caught his eye, he had never plucked up the courage to introduce himself to them. “Well, for your first shot it was pretty good.” Freeze smiled. “As I say, I’ll be quite happy to go out to dinner with you.” With that, she then leaned her head forward and planted a soft kiss on the end of his nose. That only caused his face to burn up even more, something that, again, Freeze found incredibly endearing. It wasn’t the first time she’d kissed him, nor the first time she’d seen that reaction from him. I doubt it’s going to be the last either, with how things are going. So it was that, some hours later, Blacklight found himself standing around in the royal city’s grand central plaza. In the light of the slowly setting sun, it looked even more grandiose than normal: the tall columns of the assorted statues of Equestria’s heroes from ages past cast long shadows across the square, and the central fountain sparkled as the sunlight caught both its polished stonework and the clear water that trickled down it. Despite such a wondrous spectacle, though, he was still pacing to and fro a bit. It was no secret that he was, after all, just a little bit nervous. I’ve never been on an actual proper official date. I mean, there was that lunch we had when Freezy escorted me back home a few months back... but this is an actual real, proper, official thing... He briefly glanced up at the sky for what must have been the fifteenth time in nearly as many minutes. And where is she, anyway? The sun’s starting to set, surely she must have gotten off work by now... His question was soon answered, however, by the mare in question descending gracefully from the opposite direction he had been looking for her. He blinked a few times in surprise on noticing her having landed a few feet away. She flashed him a smile, and then trotted towards him. “Good evening, Blackie. Did you wait long?” “Not that long... got somewhere in mind, then?” he smiled back. OK, she’s here. You can relax, she didn’t forget, she wasn’t held back or anything. “Yep, got just the place in mind.” Freeze nodded. “Ready to go?” “Lead on.” The robust white pegasus stretched out her wings and then folded them again with a nod, turning and setting off at a trot across the plaza. “This place we’re going is a favourite of mine, when I feel like treating myself.” she noted over her shoulder as Blacklight began to follow her. “Uh huh? That sounds good.” Blacklight nodded, having already found another dilemma to worry over. Where should I walk? Beside her? Behind her like I am now? I mean she might think I’m staring at her b—no! Don’t actually stare! Thankfully, however, the white mare slowed her pace a little to bring her into step alongside him. She glanced round to him briefly with a warm smile on her face. ...uncanny, the black pegasus thought to himself. Maybe she can read my mind? Hey Freeze, can you read my mind? His companion offered no response to his line of thought. That was probably just as well, he considered, because otherwise it would have meant she’d overheard him telling himself not to look at her posterior. That or she’s feigning ignorance to disguise her power... but no, let’s be reasonabe. It’s pretty clear she just didn’t want me to be stuck back there fretting as I’ve never done this before. He glanced briefly at the muscular frame of the off-duty guard by his side, and smiled a little to himself. Either way, side by side it is. Presently, Freeze spoke up once more. “Here we are!” she stated, nodding her head towards a cozy-looking restaurant nestled among other cafés and eateries. Hung from the shop front was a sign, that proclaimed the place to be Lo Stallone Sazio. “I hope you like pizza.” the white pegasus added with a grin as she led the way inside. “Pizza is good.” Blacklight nodded, keeping his tone calm. Yay, pizza! Freeze’s smile grew as she turned her attention back to the fore, addressing an usher stood patiently behind a counter just beyond the door. “I sent word ahead. Freeze Pop, table for two?” The usher, a tall unicorn with a slick black mane and olive green eyes, cast his gaze down over the book lying on his counter. He nodded briefly and turned to lead the two further into the restaurant, finding them a secluded booth to seat themselves in. The pair seated themselves, and were soon left with just themselves and a set of menus for company. The both of them set to looking over the menu. However, as Freeze Pop had visited the place on many a prior occasion, she soon lost interest in the menu and turned her attention to her date. It took Blacklight almost a minute to notice the mare’s ice-blue gaze focused on him. He blinked and looked up at her, and was greeted with a slightly shy smile and a blush from the snow white pegasus. He felt his own cheeks flush, and he hastily looked back down at his menu. Freeze quietly cleared her throat to get his attention once more. “Anything catch your eye?” Blacklight frowned a little, squinting at the menu. “...no...” he replied, though that wasn’t exactly true. It was more that he was having a little difficulty with understanding some of it, as it didn’t appear to be written in the same language he was familiar with. His companion cocked her head a bit at him. “No?” she repeated. “Want me to help you pick?” “Um, OK...” I bet he’s never seen the language before. That’s probably it. Freeze thought to herself, a small smile forming on her features. “Alright. Well, how hungry are you? Pizzas here are made to a traditional recipe, so they’re a pretty good size. Like, easily a whole meal’s worth, especially if you get something fairly loaded.” A growl from the black pegasus’s stomach served to answer that question, accompanied by a sheepish grin. “Well, that answers that!” Freeze chuckled. “OK then, you probably wanna go for a pizza. I’m quite a fan of their farmhouse selection myself, it’s very filling. You have any particular preferences? I mean, they’ll make just about anything you order.” Blacklight shook his head. “Maybe just a cheese pizza...” The white pegasus giggled a bit, shaking her head. “Really? Come on, at least be a little adventurous and make it a quattro formaggi.” “A kwah-troh-for... what?” her companion echoed, a confused frown on his features. “A quattro formaggi. Four cheese. They put four varieties of cheese on it.” “Oh, OK.” the smaller pegasus nodded, his expression mirroring his understanding. “That do you? Cos if that’s so, let’s get it ordered.” Freeze stated, turning and waving a hoof to get the attention of a waiter. “Oh, and what do you fancy drinking?” “...just water is fine.” I don’t think it’d be smart to risk anything stronger, I’m still kinda nervous! “Gotcha.” the off-duty guard nodded, turning her attention to the waiter. “A, signore! Avrò una casale pizze, e il mio compagno affascinante avrà un formaggio quattro. Oh, e due bicchieri di acqua da bere e, grazie.” Blacklight simply blinked in confusion as the waiter hastily scribbled down some notes in his pad, and then trotted off. “I did not understand a word of what you just said.” he stated matter-of-factly after the waiter had left, adding after a moment’s thought “...okay, well I got the name of my pizza, but that’s all.” “Well, thankfully you didn’t have to get it.” Freeze grinned. “Though if you must know, an approximate translation would be ‘I'll have a farmhouse pizza, and my charming companion will have a four cheese. And, two glasses of water, please’. Or thereabouts.” “Charming?” the black pegasus questioned, raising an eyebrow. His question was rewarded with a coy smile from his robust companion as she narrowed her eyes a little. “What? Is there something amiss with my description?” Blacklight felt a rush of blood to his cheeks, and his eloquence once more departed him. “Well... no... I mean... uh...” he mumbled. A giggle emanated from the mare across from him.   “Not used to being complimented, Blackie?” she teased. He looked over at her and shut his mouth, quite clearly deciding it was best not to comment on that. She took that as her cue to lean towards him over the table a bit, her smile growing. “Well, you’ll have to adjust that.” she informed him, punctuating that sentence with a flirtatious wink. “I, ah... I guess so...” Blacklight nodded. Somewhat fortunately for the state of his nerves, the waiter returned and Freeze sat herself back down properly. After setting down a pair of glasses of water, the attendant unicorn turned and said something briefly to the white pegasus in the same unintelligible tongue she had used earlier. “Grazie.” she replied, with a brief nod of her head. The unicorn then vanished off into another part of the establishment once more.   “What was that about?” the pegasus stallion enquired. His date looked up from taking a sip of her drink, a reassuring smile on her face. “Oh, nothing to worry about. He was just telling me our food ought to be ready in a little while.” “Oh, right.” Right, of course. I really ought to— “Ya know, you really ought to relax.” Freeze went on, her tone at ease. “The food here’s good, it’s a lovely evening and all. How’ve you been, all this time?” “You mean, while I’ve been back in Cape Sunrise? I’ve been doing OK, though I really missed being here. In Canterlot, I mean. There’s just, as I say, something about the place. It’s fun, it’s exciting. And, well, you know... there’s, uhm, you here, too...” The white mare let out a chuckle at that, though the smile on her face and the rosy tint to her cheeks spoke of her feeling flattered by that. “That’s very sweet of you to say, Blackie.” Blacklight couldn’t help chuckle a little himself, as his nerves began to loosen a little. “You know, Freezy, you’re nothing at all like what I’d have expected. From a Guard, I mean.” “Ha! You wouldn’t be the first to say that, Blackie, and I guarantee you won’t be the last, either.” she chuckled. “But hey, I only put on the Guard attitude when I’m wearing the armour. Rest of the time, I am just being me, Freeze Pop.” “Yeah. Say, now you mention it, what did you have to do to get into the Guard, anyway?” The mare’s face lit up at that question. It was something he’d not asked her up until now, but it was very obvious from how she sat up in her chair that this was one of her favourite subjects. “Well now! That’s a heck of a story – and also one of my proudest achievements.” she stated, puffing her chest out a little proudly. Blacklight smiled to himself at that, having had the feeling this would be just the thing to elicit such a response. He relaxed into his seat, silently telling her to go on. She needed little encouragement. “See, getting into the Guard’s no easy feat. You’ve gotta be one heck of a tough pony. There's a rigorous and unforgiving test of your physical ability. You gotta do stuff like flying, running and swimming long-distance with a heavy load, prove yourself capable of high-speed, high-manoeuvrability flight... it's really tough. And, I failed the test four times over.” “Wow... wait, you failed it four times?” “Sure did.” Freeze nodded. “But I didn’t give up. I decided, you know what? I need to go and really toughen myself up. I wasn't gonna get in without really pushing myself. So I left Canterlot for a bit. I headed north, to find some harsher conditions to test myself against. You have to be in much better shape to survive in the colder parts of the world, especially if you're gonna fly.” Blacklight simply nodded, prompting her for more of the tale. “Right. So anyway, you might know this already, but the further north you go? The colder the air gets. So I started going further and higher each time, pushing myself harder and harder. I tell you, it's a heck of a workout. The air gets really thin, so your body has to work harder and harder just to keep functioning. Didn't take me too long to really start piling on the muscle, and I started to build up one heck of an endurance for long distance and high altitude. As it stands now, I don't know if there's any pegasus that could equal me for endurance flying. I know I'm not the fastest there is, but I bet I'd have a good crack at being named the toughest!” A glance over the large pegasus’s supple and muscular frame was certainly confirmation of that last sentence. “I don’t doubt that!” Blacklight agreed, looking back from the mare’s muscular shoulders to her face. She grinned broadly as she continued on. “Yeah... so anyway, word spread around in the end about this hardcore pegasus gal that was doing all this intensive training, right? And in the end, they actually came looking for me once they realised I was indeed the same Freeze Pop that’d failed the physical four times over, and they got wind of how much I’d changed. They were pretty impressed by my dedication – and I won’t lie, being head-hunted for it was a big confidence boost.” “I’ll bet!” the black pegasus chuckled. He could certainly picture the situation in his mind’s eye. “Yeah. And, well, as I’m sure you can guess, I pretty much aced all the physical tests they threw at me. Heck, set them some new records in the process! It was pretty plain sailing from then on.” She was about to say something more, but their unicorn attendant returned with two impressively-sized pizzas sat on plates, levitated before him. “Ooh, excellent timing. I am one hungry horse!” Freeze commented as the plates were laid down on the table before her and Blacklight. She wasted no time as the waiter made his exit in snatching up a slice of the crispy goodness and stuffing it into her mouth, chomping it happily. She heard an amused giggle from the other side of the table, and she slowly swallowed her food as she noticed Blacklight looking at her with an amused expression. “...what?” she questioned, a rosy tint painting her cheeks. Thanks to her white coat, it was that much more obvious than when her companion blushed. “I don’t know,” the stallion shrugged, “though apparently you do. You’re blushing.” With that, he picked up a slice of his own pizza, smiling at the mare as he did so. Freeze felt her cheeks burn a bit hotter at that. “So my manners aren’t perfect.” she stated, letting out a slightly self-conscious giggle. “Nothing wrong with that.” In spite of her saying that, however, she did make an effort to display a more ladylike sort of grace to her eating, even though her date’s attention was now more focused on his food. “Hey, this is good!” he commented, swallowing a good-sized bite of the slice he’d picked up. “It should be, Blackie. The family that runs this place have been at this kinda thing for generations.” Freeze pointed out. Blacklight made no reply other than to nod as he took another, larger bite of his slice. Freeze decided to follow his example, swiftly but politely grazing her way through a good half of her pizza before she piped up again. “I’m glad to see that’s to your liking.” Her companion swallowed down another mouthful of his own. “I’ve never had a pizza this good, honestly!” “Heh! I’m sure the chef will be delighted to hear that.” the blue-maned mare chuckled. Unsurprisingly, her companion once more had little more to say. He was clearly enjoying his food as he continued to steadily graze his way through it. She decided to follow suit. It took her less time to finish off her meal than it did for him to finish his, but she’d expected that. Whether it was a product of her usually keen appetite or her need to be able to stuff her face in a hurry due to her occupation, it seemed to be she was usually the one to finish her food before most of her friends. She patted her belly contentedly as she swallowed the last bite. “Ahh. Good stuff, that.” Blacklight again simply nodded, steadily working his way through finishing off his own meal. Freeze slouched contentedly in her seat, stretching out a bit as she watched him. It wasn’t long before he too had demolished the last of his meal, and he stretched a bit as well, a contented look on his face. “Wow, I’m full. That was good.” A broad grin spread on Freeze Pop’s face. “Told ya so!” she said with a note of cockiness in her voice. “You did, and you were right.” her companion agreed with a smile. “This one’s on me, this time.” Freeze added, fishing in a small bag she’d had hanging round her neck, and setting down some bits on the table. “Only fair, seeing as last time you fed me.” “You sure? I mean, it was me that asked you out...” her date pointed out. “Maybe so, but you forked out for feeding me back in Cape Sunrise. Besides,” she went on with a cheeky smile, “would you have understood them at all when they brought the bill?” Blacklight had to admit defeat on that point. “Well... no, I don’t suppose I would have.” he conceded, a slight chuckle creeping into his speech. “There you have it!” Freeze concluded with a laugh. “Ah, I’m only being half-serious though. They do actually speak Equestrian standard here too. But I wanted to treat us both this time. And besides, it’s only fair. Next time, you get to pick where we eat.” “Alright.” Blacklight nodded. “OK. Well, I’ve left enough for the meal and a tip, so let’s... hmm. You know, the night’s still young... can I show you something special?” There was an air of mystery in the stoutly built pegasus’s tone, accompanied by an inviting smile and a sparkle in her eyes. Her eyes... Blacklight found himself unwittingly leaning forward a bit in his seat as he looked into the intensely blue coloured gaze of his companion. “Your eyes... they’re so blue...” he commented a little wistfully, his tongue for once moving before his mind could stop it from voicing his internal musings. Still, it was enough to make Freeze Pop blink and then blush rather profusely, having not expected that from him just like that. “Why... thank you, Blackie...” she said softly, her tone even a little bashful. The stallion’s mind caught up to the rest of him, and he blinked and sat back, averting his gaze. There was a bit of a purplish tinge across his snout. “Um... sorry, I just...” he trailed off. It elicited a good-natured giggle from the blue-eyed mare as she rose from her seat. “Don’t apologise. A girl likes to be complimented on her looks, you know.” she informed him, a brief flick of an eyelid punctuating her remark. “Oh... umm...” he mumbled on, rising from his seat to follow her. “C’mon.” Freeze prompted him, her voice buoyant and happy as she headed for the door. He followed her outside, his head a mixture of thoughts. Am I doing this all right then, so far? I suppose I must be, she doesn’t seem upset with me or anything... in fact she seemed fairly happy that I complimented her. I’ve really gotta be more careful about letting my thoughts out, though!   The maelstrom of his thought processes was interrupted by Freeze’s voice once more, however, as she took in a deep lungful of breath. “Ahh. I do love the cool night air, don’t you?” The stallion filled his own lungs with a refreshing draught of fresh, chilled air. “Yeah... it’s really refreshing, especially up here in the mountains.” “Yeah. Well, I said I’d show you something... follow me, Blackie.” the larger pegasus instructed, before launching herself skyward with a few powerful beats of her wings. She was soon joined in flight by Blacklight, who fell into formation alongside her. “You know, I really love getting out to fly at night. When it’s quiet like this, and all you have is the night sky, filled with stars like it is now—and the moon as well, of course, Luna always does an amazing job with it all—and the cool air... the wide open sky... it’s like flying through the great beyond itself...” Freeze glanced over her shoulder at him, with a thoughtful nod of her head. Never took you for such a poetic sort, Blackie! “It’s a thing of beauty, certainly.” she agreed. Her gaze then moved back towards the ground, and she perked her ears. “Stay close! It’s just down below!” she instructed, before pulling into a sharp dive. Blacklight was quick to dive after her, as her flight path took her down low over a large pool of water, then over a rushing waterfall that cascaded out over the edge of the mountainside. She dove down once more, following the flow of the water, but as she reached the halfway point of the water’s flow, she levelled off and flew out from the mountainside. Her companion followed straight after, as she veered around... and then rocketed straight towards the flow of cascading wall of water. Oh, this must be some kind of game she’s playing, Blacklight thought to himself with a chuckle. Any moment now she’ll veer off from the waterfall so’s not to get pulled down below. Any moment... now. Now maybe? ...now? Wait... what is she...!   Before he had enough time to fully process what was happening, however, his instincts had already pulled him into an aileron roll, mimicking what his larger companion had just done a split second before, as she hit the wall of water. He was rather surprised, however, to find that the dampness lasted only for a moment, and he then felt cool air rushing through his coat and feathers once more. He quickly looked around, and spotted Freeze Pop already sat atop a nearby rock platform, a mischievous grin on her face. He flew around and up to join her, seating himself on the platform himself, and looked around to get his bearings. “Wow... a secret cavern!” he uttered, as his senses took in the natural wonder around him. Indeed, the platform on which he and his larger companion now sat was right at the rather wide mouth of a large grotto, the entrance to which was concealed by the curtain of water. “Yep! Only us pegasi, and of course the Princesses, know about this little haunt!” Freeze informed him. “And it has quite the view, too.” she added, gesturing back out toward the open sky beyond the clear waters of the waterfall. Through the shimmering waters, the moon and stars could be seen – though with the curtain of water occluding them, the sky was lent an almost other-worldly feel to it, as the light from so many celestial bodies shimmered and danced in the water. “Wow...” the black stallion breathed, gazing up at it. “That’s really something... I could sit here and watch that for hours. Maybe all night!” Freeze let out a small sight, smiling to herself as she looked up toward the moon. “Same here. I came and watched a meteor shower here once, it was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw.” “I can imagine...” Blacklight agreed. He sat in silence alongside her for a few minutes, before his gaze was drawn towards her face as she continued to gaze out at the moon. The flickering light of the moon was reflected in her icy blue eyes, something which he couldn’t help finding his attention drawn to. It was as though the shimmering effervescence he saw in the waterfall had been duplicated further in the eyes of the sturdy mare to his side. It wasn’t long, however, before Freeze seemed to realise she was being watched. Her gaze drifted to the side, and then she turned her head, her eyes meeting the gaze of the stallion’s own chocolate brown ones. She gave him a shy, questioning look, which caused him to blush and avert his gaze once more, returning his attention to the view and not saying a word. Freeze didn’t question it, turning her own attention back to the spectacle before her. Blacklight soon mimicked her – then tensed slightly when he felt something soft and warm brush up against his ear, and then lean onto it. He didn’t shy away from the contact though, and he felt the robust mare lean her head a little more against his own, a relaxed-sounding soft “mmm” emanating from her. She began to hum a tune softly to herself, though it was just loud enough for him to hear as well as the two of them sat there. Contrary to her frosty-sounding name, she was soft and warm to the touch. He relaxed a bit more, leaning into her a little in turn. A small sigh of contentment emanated from him at the sensation of his frame sinking a little into her dense coat. This is so... good. Freeze thought to herself. So relaxing... nothing at all like spending time with most other stallions I know. That was to be expected, of course, seeing as most of the stallions she knew were fellow guardsponies, and for the most part when the armour came off, so did the attitude and professional conduct. She’d had to very firmly tell some of her colleagues on more than one occasion that she wouldn’t be interested in getting to know them better outside of work, or at least not whilst they had too much alcohol inside them. But this guy? I’d really like to keep finding out more. she thought happily to herself. She then realised from the position of the moon that they really ought to be heading back to get some sleep. “We’re going to have to get going, Blackie. Much as I’d love to stay out here all night, we can’t sleep here. Wouldn’t be comfortable at all.” Blacklight straightened up, looking up at her. He looked a little disappointed at having to leave so soon, but he knew she was right. “OK then.” The two of them rose to their feet, stretching and shaking themselves out a bit. A sly grin spread across the white pegasus’s features as she glanced at her companion. “So, just a heads-up. You probably already noticed there’s not enough of a run-up in this little cave of wonders to get back out through the waterfall.” “Now you mention it, it’s not very big.” “It’s not, no. Getting out of here is a bit more... thrilling, shall we say.” “Thrilling?” the smaller pegasus echoed, following her as she trotted over to the edge of the plateau. “Yep!” Freeze affirmed, standing right on the edge of the island of rock. “C’mon, come stand here. And follow my lead.” The black pegasus did as instructed, though he eyed the rushing wall of water with an air of nervousness. There wasn’t much of a gap between the cave’s entrance and the waterfall. “OK...” he replied, a little unsure. His companion, meanwhile, had spread her wings out wide and flat to either side of her body. She then proceeded to pitch slowly over the edge of the plateau, kicking off into a vertical dive with her hooves tucked up under her body. After a few seconds of hesitation, Blacklight followed suit. It was an easier thing for him due to his smaller stature, but he could still feel the water whipping past barely more than a foot away from his back, and he was very aware of the cliff face rocketing by underneath him as he dove down after the white-coated mare. Freeze took the briefest of glances over her shoulder to be certain Blacklight had followed her. Once she had a visual confirmation of that, she returned her attention to the fore, with a brief call of “This bit is a little tricky!” shouted back into the wind. The cliff face under her jutted inwards, and she pulled sharply in towards it. There was a large enough alcove here to pull in and turn, then rocket out to the side of the waterfall – and that was exactly what she did, arcing up into a swift climb back towards the top of the waterfall. She gave an exhilarated whoop as she went, a huge grin on her face. “Woo! What a rush, am I right Blackie?” she declared, taking a glance back over her shoulder. There was no sign of the black pegasus. Freeze frowned a bit at that, though perhaps she had misjudged how far behind he was. He’ll pop up soon, probably. she thought to herself, hovering where she was as she turned around to watch for him. Seconds passed. She began to worry a bit... and after a whole minute had passed, she began to worry a lot. She flew back towards the waterfall, looking every which way and calling out for the smaller pegasus.   “Blackie? Blaaaackiiiie!?” she called out as loudly as she could, as she made a slowly spiralling descent back toward the the alcove she’d used for her exit turn. Her eyes were frantically searching as she went, looking for any sign of an accident: clumps of fur, loose feathers... blood... she saw nothing of the sort on the cliff face itself – but as she spiralled around behind the waterfall and peered into the alcove, she spotted something sticking up from the cave’s floor. There was no mistaking the prone body of the black pegasus lying there, with a wing held out awkwardly. She quickly flew in, alighting alongside him. He was whimpering rather pathetically, clearly in pain. It made her wince as she spoke up. “Blacklight...! Are you... are you alright? What happened!?” “F... Freezy? I’m not sure... think I might have... nnph! Might have misjudged...” he answered, hissing air in through gritted teeth. Freeze Pop frowned, scrutinising his held-out wing. It wasn’t sitting at the right angle, and considering how much pain he was in... “You can’t fly, can you.” she stated matter-of-factly. Blacklight slowly shook his head, an upset look in his eyes. “Right.” the sturdy pegasus asserted, and she knelt next to him. “No choice, then. Get on my back.” With much wincing and shuddering, the dark-coated pegasus found his way onto the guardspony’s back. She shuddered a little herself, as she could tell he was obviously in a lot of pain, but doing his best not to cry out from it. He’s being as brave as he possibly can... It’s up to me to make sure it doesn’t go unrewarded. “Alright, I’m not gonna lie... this will likely be a bit rough, Blackie. So just... hold on as tight as you possibly can, and don’t you dare let go no matter what, OK? Focus on that as much as you can.” she instructed, slowly rising to her feet with a bit of a grunt and a small groan. Even if he wasn’t as large as her, the smaller pegasus was still a fully-grown pony with the weight to go with it. “I’m going to take us back up to Canterlot, round to the gates. That’ll be the easiest place to get to as it’s the lowest part of the city. I’ll keep us close to the ground, just in case. The Guards’ll get you some help. If you can, keep your wing still, OK?” She heard a strangled “OK” in response from the stallion on her back. Steeling herself, she drew in a deep breath and spread out her wings wide. “Alright... here we go!” she warned, and leapt from the alcove. She had to beat her wings fast and hard as soon as she left the ground, thanks to Blacklight’s extra weight pulling her down. Whether it was adrenaline, urgency, sheer determination or all three she couldn’t tell, but she somehow struggled her way back up the path of the waterfall. Upon reaching the top, she touched down heavily on a stretch of grass just beyond the city’s outer wall, her breath coming in deep gasps. “Right... we... made it... Blackie...” she panted, glancing round at him. He was still conscious enough to nod, a look of concern in his eyes despite his own discomfort. “I’ll... be fine...” she hastily informed him before he could voice his concerns. “Come on... let’s go... get you some attention...” she continued, starting towards the gates. Her passenger was in no state to disagree, and as she approached the city’s gates she raised her voice. “Guys! Got an injured pegasus here!” she informed the two armoured ponies, who promptly came running toward her. “...Sergeant!?” the one on the left inquired. She quickly recognised him as the same unicorn she’d been working with previously. “The very same, Flashbang. Listen, you’re a fast runner, right? Do me a favour: run as fast as you can to the barracks hospital, and grab Private Mercy. She’s the only medic I know who’ll still be up and about this time of night.” “At once Sarge!” Flashbang saluted, then paused. “Uhm, what am I telling her, ma’am?” Freeze paused, glanced at the pegasus draped over her back, and then looked back at Flashbang. “You go and you tell her my coltfriend’s knackered his wing and he needs the best first aider in town’s attention, pronto.” Blacklight blinked a few times, his consciousness having already started to fade due to a mixture of pain and exhaustion. However, as his senses faded, he managed to register one word in memory as he dimly heard the retreating clatter of hooves of the young unicorn. ...coltfriend...?