A gray smoke rose into the air accompanied only by the shallow breath a white stallion, only to be wiped away into the cool indifference of the atmosphere above whenever a pony walked by and nodded to him. His green mane bounced lifelessly against his neck with each stumbling step forward. He recovered decently considering what he had recovered from.The stallion flinched as memories flashed like bolts of lightning against his skull of that fateful day. They dulled, however, when his recovery displayed two very caring, very loving ponies standing by his side the entire way.
Grunting, he shuffled to get the weight off of his right hind leg as the snow fell like a thousand tissues torn to shreds and rained down from the heavens themselves. They covered everything, perfectly camouflaging Silent in the wintry wonderland to the point where he looked like a floating bush wandering for a spot of warmth, away from the cold wasteland below. Silent looked up to the endless sea of white as if Celestia were watching over all of the land, gracing its denizens with the story of the blind filly who forever changed the thought of winter with one passion-crafted snowflake.
“The first few flakes falling from the sky, signifying great change...”
The white stallion took another drag from his black cigarette, muttering to himself about the great change. Silent's life may have taken a complete left turn, but—No, this terrified him. He no longer knew where he truly belonged, what his purpose was in life, nor who he truly was anymore. Silent's thought paused when he looked up to spoke the first ice crystal descend from the sky above directly towards him. He couldn't help but drag the book and rip another quote from it.
“...all brought forth by a single, powdery flake.”
I disagree..." Silent said to the castle resting atop a mountain miles from him.
"A snowflake doesn't bring any great change," he took another drag, "Rather, it is the congregation of them all to bring about any measurable sense of change." The castle offered nothing in response. He blew the cigarette's smoke, half mixed with his own clouded breath.
But the question I want to ask is... Who gets to be the snowflake? Who gets to start a movement? Who gets to make the change?"
Greeted with nothing but silence, Silent trudged forth as a new layer of snow wiped the memories of the previous travelers away. His cigarette was half gone by the time he reached the center of town, where he paused and looked into the static of the scene. He had a life. A real life, with all the lovely perks that he read about in the stories: a job, friends, family, everything.
|||
His deficits came with his mental faculties. Silent would seize as the wreck would play, in its entirety, in front of his eyes, often several times a week, usually in his dreams. He had recovered, but it took its toll on the stallion who would often bolt upright in his bed, a seering pain shooting through his body. Even now the throbbing of his joints begged him to stop, to collapse into the snow and let the frozen crystals sooth his heated muscled, but he forced himself onwards. After all, he had a meeting with two very special ponies. He owed them his life, in every sense of the word, and he would do anything for them. Even, should the circumstance call for it, fight off a rainbow dragon with nothing but a wooden sword and shield.
Silent blinked and found himself, again, the snowy streets of Ponyville, his sword and shield disappearing in his hooves—though he kept the stance that accompanied them. He shook his head to rid the thoughts and quickly readjusted himself, hoping that no pony had seen his impromptu pose. However, the universe had other plans as he hurriedly walked through the many disapproving glances.
Silent silently kicked his own flank. No matter what he did, he had a problem. Even fixing a problem only caused others to arise. His only hope was to amass minor idiosyncrasies rather than major, noticeable faults or failings as a pony, or at least internal ones. He could deal with himself, but he would not stand if his actions hurt others.
Walking through the town's center, his eyes happened upon familiar fronts. Some looked new, or previously unnoticed, but others he could name if he could find the drive to do so. Finally his eyes landed squarely on a familiar restaurant front. Inside, waiting for him, was the mare of his dreams. He should hurry; the restaurant was the pinnacle of decrepit. Probably why nobility, or any pony thinking themselves above the common class, avoided the place like poison joke. Their loss. A wonderland for any tongue awaited inside, eager to be ordered and devoured. His stomach agreed with his mind, harmonizing gloriously with the rumble only ever heard from a low timpano.
The warm interior dragged him through the doorway. A pony stood at a desk to welcome in any potential customers, but he did not notice the deaf stallion walk in as his eyes were elsewhere, but when Silent trotted over, his attention was shifted. A nod from both ponies was that needed to be exchanged. Thee pony gestured deeper into the warm glow of the restaurant as he led the deaf stallion to the best table in the house.
The white stallion watched with an even glare as something danced around his stomach. Butterflies? Couldn't be, they resembled demons from tartarus, and dancing would be generous. Running jagged pitchforks along his intestines fit his feeling better.
His eyes wandered in his stoic stupor and offered him the first chance to truly take in the setting around him. He and the impromptu chauffeur walked through a grand room divided by a big, red rug that ran from wall to wall, splitting off to travel elsewhere in the restaurant like a river dividing through a country. Silent's eyes lost track of the many paths to take, but froze when they landed upon a brilliant golden arch leading from one section of the restaurant to the other.
A stiff glance from the steward brought Silent back down to Equestria, and they continued onward to find a mare sitting patiently at a table. Silent's hooves dragged along the rug as he ran through every possible choice and event that lead to this moment. The steward stopped so Silent could continue on alone, which he did trepidasiously. His eyes locked on the mare, but seemed to travel past her and to the heavens beyond, and only gateways beyond could bring him back. The mare turned her head, and the heavens slammed into Silent as the world came crushing around him, leaving him, the table, and the mare wearing her best smile.
He could hardly control himself as he trotted over and wrapped his forelegs around the mare in the biggest hug either have them had ever experienced. Silent broke the embrace first, locking eyes with a look that assured her nothing would ever tear them apart again.
When they each found their seats, a waiter arrived brandishing two menus for the couple to look over, though he didn't see them as he brought his snout in the air with an air of elegance to match the setting. Silent stole a glance at the stallion, chuckling to himself before a cough interrupted the mare from her own reading. She quickly explained about his deafness, and the waiter nodded understandingly.
“Very good ma’am, what would the sir like?”
Silent looked over the menu intently before finally resting upon the best sounding dish.
“I would like this lasanga with extra cheese, please, Salad with ranch dressing sprinkled with a little bit a pepper, and good pint of your cider.”
The waiter looked past Silent into space as he tried to interpret the random hoof movements. The mare suppressed a giggle and tapped the waiter to get his attention before translating. The waiter nodded, avoiding Silent's eyes as she continued with her order.
“I would like number 17: the fish dipped in lemon sauce with touch of soy sauce. Same side and drink, please.”
The waiter, in rehearsed fluidity, stifled his outburst at the meat-lover, and withdrew to the kitchen to relay their orders to the chefs. The other patrons, however, were not so practiced, muttering among themselves at the gall of the mare.
In puzzled amusement, she looked around, but found not one other pony's eye. A gentle tap on her shoulder brought her back to the stallion sitting across the table. She smiled and managed to struggle out a greeting in her broken and flailing sign language.
“How are you doing Silent? How is your leg doing?” She frowned when Silent's face fell, and he too found more interest in the tablecloth than her as he answered.
Fine...
Silent motioned to continue on with conversation, but his hooves froze when he looked up to find the mare with a knowing and prodding glare beaming from her pupils and into his very soul. He stammered, his own hooves now failing him, yet he managed to say something to break the statuesque purgatory he found himself in.
"My hind leg isn't improving past the point of basic function. I can still walk, and even run, but it locks up too often." "My mind, though, won't stop. It drives my autonomously; to the point that I often blink and find myself in a position I wouldn't willingly fall into." "The doctors are trying their best, but they aren't really helping. Overall, though, I think I'm doing okay," the stallion finished, offering a smile half-bravado, half-relief.
“With you by my side, I could take on Equestria.”
When Silent's hooves met the surface of the table, a smile exploded on the mare's face. She found great interest in the light clopping her own hooves made in response, and a long pause loomed over the duo as stillness crept over. Thankfully, the pause was dissipated when two mugs of cider clamored together as they landed on the tablecloth. Silent smiled and snatched one of the mugs, thought became entrapped at the amber liquid, like material surrounded him.
The mare slowly grabbed her own mug, her eyes locked on the stallion's lips as they slowly contorted to a smirk. She rose her hooves to speak, but they fell limp instantly.
The cider, she realized, no longer rested in his hooves, but floated a few inches above the table, enveloped in a pale green aura. She rubbed her eyes, yet there the mug stayed, shifting and wobbling uncomfortably in the new aura, matching the stallion's own facial features as he struggled to channel the energy necessary to keep the glass chunk aloft, let alone upright.
Finally the mug fell hard before a panting silent, unaware of his own gasps. A hoof reached across and grabbed his own, breaking him from the tired haze he found himself in. The smile he saw was enough to bring him back to the restaurant, with the most beautiful mare, in the most perfect moment.
The smile drove him forward, and once again a pale green aura encased the mug, and once it again it wobbled into life. This time, however, the stallion became cocky, and the mud soared higher and high until finally... it tipped. A great golden river poured from the mug and onto the mare, staining her dress.
The mug clattered to the table top moments later, its clings ringing in a silent room as all eyes were turned to the stallion, furiously fumbling his hooves together in a mixture of embarrassment and horror, and the mare, stoic face of surprised collapsing under the pressure of a new, bursting emotion. Her lips cracked apart, and from within came a wonderful thing. Uneven, high pitched bouts of laughter surprised everypony in the restaurant, the stallion included. However, Silent soon broke from his shell and joined her own boisterous laughter, and together they laughed, hooves intertwining.
Eventually the happiness subsided, and the mare was painfully aware of all the eyes set upon her table. Her cheeks burned like the candle between them, and like the wick she struggled to become smaller and small under the prying gaze. Silent coughed, grabbing the napkin and handed it to her. The patrons returned to their food.
Once she finished scrubbing off what she could from her dressed, she placed the napkin back on the table, and happened to meet the stallion's expecting, yet inviting eyes. His smile was infectious as she took his outstretched hoof, though her smile faltered when his eyes glazed over, and he seemed to look beyond her. She tapped the table softly, returning him from his adventure.
The waiter walked in, placing the plates of food in front of each pony, earning a duet of grace bows for his performance. He produced a pitcher from his back, and refilled Silent's empty mug, a reserved smile on his mouth as he did so. The smile was not lost on the duo; Silent shrunk back into his seat as the waiter bowed and left.
The ponies looked at each other, a smile on their faces. Forced smiles matching strained eyes as the enticing scent of the meals wafted into the air. A staring contest, a test of will, of endurance, of might! Silent was the first to crack, breaking the eye contact and digging into his food with renewed vigor. His date matched him, chewing into her food like a bear fishing at the stream. The moments their mouths were not full of food was when they were cleared with a wash of cider.
“So...how is your lasagna so far? This has too much lemon, but the fish is really good. Still not quite as good as my mother’s recipe. It was to die for!” Amber said, her fish half devoured on her plate.
“Yeah, homemade meals are the best. My mom made the best meals. I remember the time that she would make a odd vegetable cake; don't ask me how she did it. My father and I would eat the entire cake within one or two days, much to my mother's displeasure. What did your mother do to the fish before it was cooked?” Silent replied.
Thus began a chain of stories from foalhood regarding food, friends, and family. Brief glances to the past at best, yet volumes about each were shared and let loose. Even after the plates were cleared and taken from the table, they continued with skits from the past, yet they were slowly becoming incoherent as the alcohol made nests in each of their brains. They didn't care. Nothing existed except one another, and they embraced the new void with open arms.
“Hey Silent?...”
The stallion looked up pensively at the mare, his smile fading into the void around them. He was crashing back to land quickly, and the new look on the mare's face only put rocks in his pouches.
“Yes?...What is it Amber?”
The mare gazed to the ceiling, wishing to see the constellation beyond in a vain hope for an answer. Her hoof tapped a rhythmic four beats before resting back to her chair which she brought closer to the stallion before looking him in the eyes.
"Our lives haven't been... easy, to say the least." They shared a light laugh. "But, we've stuck together, and I guess I just want to know... why? Why me?"
Silent's ears fell, and he turned away only to be turned back by a familiar, yet unnaturally forceful hoof. He gazed into her eyes, and she responded by mouthing the word "Why?" Her hooves fell to his chest, and there she stay, her hooves feeling the subtle beats of his heart. She rose when his chest did as he took a shaky breath to answer.
"_There is no real 'why.' We have history, we have a past, and nothing can take that away from us. My heart belongs to you, and only you, Amber._
"Twilight, she's... special to me. She's smarter, more resourceful, and a better magician, but I never found that spark. Here's the real story of what happened..."
_____________________________________
Twilight sat across from Silent in a room bearing his namesake in a time bearing hers. Tears streamed down her face, a complete shift to her emotions when receiving his invitation to his house. She was sure... she was so sure.
Silent was the problem. Moreover, he solved the problem. A clean detachment, a clear answer. Cut the string while it was still weak. His indecisiveness hurt every pony involved, yet his decisiveness hurt one exponentially. But only for a short time, he had reasoned to himself as his quill scratched on to the parchment.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. It hurts now, but I could not lead you down a never ending path. I spent many days thinking about this, many hours of solitary imagining endless possibilities... but in none of them could I find a world where I could return the love you have for me.
"And you deserve better than me, anyway. You deserve a stallion as smart as you, as funny, as beautiful, and can even begin to return the endless pools of love you have within your heart."
The scratching stopped, only for tears to replace the ink. It pained him, the quill like a spike injecting poison at the same rate it ejected ink.
"And I just can't do that..."
Silent set down the quill, and relinquished the letter to the mare before him. It pained him to write it, and it pains him to have her eyes, her tears stained, bloodshot eyes grazing over every letter in a vain hope in understanding, and it hurt him the most as he squirmed under her reaction.
But to his surprise.
He looked up to hind a letter floating before his eyes. Behind it a calm unicorn staring at the floor.
"I understand"
Silent smiled, moving the paper with his hoof as Twilight flashed a small smile back.
_
"How could it have worked out? A student to the princess herself, a hero, a savior of the world, paired with a stallion whose greatest accomplishment so far is living? I hated having to hurt her, but I had to. Now she's free, she's stronger, she's able to pursue stallions much better than I.”
Silent pulled Amber close, connecting his lips with hers, placing them both in an utter bliss of emotions released.
“Hey Amber?”
The maroon Unicorn looked up with eyes misting up.
“Shall we go and weave our dream together?”