//------------------------------// // [Old] Chapter 2: Over A Meal // Story: Ours // by Deathscar //------------------------------// Palette trotted along the gold grass, listening intently to Hilt’s words. “Being a weather manager has its perks. It’s fun to see fillies play in the snow you make, or for couples to run in the rain. It’s actually quite rewarding!” Palette smiled to him, watching Hilt turn his head around several times. “So what’s around me?” he asked. “Grass. A lot of grass.” Hilt bowed his head as he chuckled softly. “Okay. Anything else besides grass?” “Not really, no.” Palette gazed at the scenery around them, spotting nothing more than the pink water and the stunning yellow sky. As Hilt’s words reached Palette’s ears, she immediately saw several trees sprout from the ground, bathing the two in some much needed shade from the scorching morning sun. “Now that you mention it…” “What else is there?” Hilt asked once more, closing his eyes. “There’s...a pond.” Her eyes focused on one point of the grass in front of her, seeing a hole slowly form and deepen before the same pink water that painted the ocean filled it to the brim. “Ooo, sounds beautiful.” “Looks beautiful too.” Palette leaned down and touched the water, watching ripples slowly form and move through the still surface. She turned up towards Hilt, watching him stand still, staring at a blank spot in the sky. “But...you can’t see it, can you?” There wasn’t a reply for a small while, but Palette quickly grasped Hilt’s hoof, bringing him down beside her. “Alright, it’s down here, you’re squatting right in front of it.” As he tilted his head down, she saw his smile in the reflection of the pond. “It’s pink, like the ocean. And it has...fish. Small ones, they haven’t grown yet.” She stared down as well, spotting a few more ripples appear throughout the water, made by several moving silhouettes. “Isn’t it odd for a pond to be on a cliff overlooking the ocean?” Hilt questioned, his gaze fixed to the pond. “Not in Spectrum,” Palette responded in an instant. “Your world—” “Our world,” Palette swiftly corrected him. “Heh, alright. Our world is really nice. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen.” He spoke, extending his hindhooves to sit. “Y-yeah.” Palette sat, staring down at the reflections, sometimes disturbed by the moving shadows. “Me...me either.” Palette lost track of time, not that time in Spectrum even passed at the same speed as normal. She didn’t know how long they were just sitting next to the pond in silence, not a word shared between them for Celestia knows how long. However, she didn’t mind. She felt...peaceful. The smell of fresh trees and the ocean, the sound of crashing waves, the heat of the sun on her where the shadow of the leaves above didn’t meet. She could’ve stayed there for all time, but she was quickly snapped back to pitch black reality by a voice. “Palette?” Palette turned her head upwards, having lost the sight of Spectrum entirely, now replaced with darkness. “Storm’s stopped. We should get you home.” She felt a hoof on her shoulder. It took her several seconds before she raised her own and grasped it softly, feeling it yank her back onto her four hooves. “Where do you live?” “F-fourth house from Sugercube Corner. Turn right from Carousel Boutique,” Palette stammered out, still reeling a little from the sudden pull back into reality. “Alright. Come on.” The next sounds that crossed her ears was the soft trot of hooves followed by the squeak of a door turning on its hinges. However, Palette didn’t budge from her position, her mind desperately trying to fix the world back together again. “P-Palette?” Palette shut her eyes tight, finally moving forward towards Hilt’s voice and trotting past him. Palette gave the door several knocks, hearing frantic hoofsteps approach it before the squeak of the door on its hinges echoed to her ears. “O-oh my gosh, Palette!” She felt herself being pulled into a tight hug, the warmth of a familiar pony giving her some much needed comfort. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” “No, mom. I’m fine. Thanks to Hilt over here.” Palette broke the hug and trotted into the house, finding a nearby chair to sit in. “You’re the pony that managed to get my daughter to safety?” Her mother’s tone was filled with concern. “O-oh, it was nothing, ma’am. Just doing what I was assigned to do.” Hilt replied nonchalantly. “Why don’t you come in for a hot drink?” Palette rose a little at her mother’s words, hoping that he would agree. “Sorry ma’am, but I’m going to have to decline. I have to continue making sure the storm did its job.” Of course. Palette slumped back into her chair with a heavy sigh. “Well, if you need anything please do find us. I work as a dance instructor in a studio just a few blocks away, alright?” “I’ll keep that in mind. Have a good day, ma’am.” “Wait!” Palette yelled, practically leaping off her chair. “Y-yes, Palette?” Hilt’s voice was the first to reply. “I...I urr… W-why don’t you come around one of these days?” she asked, face turned away. Even though she couldn’t see it, she was sure her cheeks were bright red. “S-sure. If you would have me in your home that is,” Hilt answered. “Oh we would be delighted to have you. Please come over whenever you are free.” Palette’s mother spoke with a warm tone. “Okay then, I’ll take my leave.” Palette heard his hoofsteps get softer in the distance as the door swung closed. “So, are you cold?” Palette shut her eyes, trying once again to rebuild the world she loved so much, but found that should could only construct blurred images of Spectrum. “J-just need a bath, mom.” Palette stood from her chair and dragged her hooves to her room. “Alright...well, I’ll make you some of your favorite soup in the meantime.” Palette pulled the towel off the doorknob to her room with a weak tug, shuffling off, a mind a conflict of emotions and ideas. The intense aroma of fresh dough drifted past Palette’s nose, causing her to take a deep breath and rise up off the bed. Stumbling out of the room, cane in hoof, she found her chair exactly as where it had always stood and sat down in it. “Had a good sleep?” Her mother asked in an upbeat tone. “D-did he—?” “No, Palette. For the fifth day in the row, he didn’t visit while you were asleep.” “O-oh…” Palette hung her head low, closing her eyes. “But I am making waffles!” Her mother chirped, the smell only intensifying with each passing second. Without warning, the sudden sound of a plate landing an inch away from her startled Palette, returning her mind to Equestria. “You alright, Palette? You just haven’t been the same since the storm.” “Y-yeah. Just...just fine,” Palette lied through her smile while her mind whizzed away at trying to recreate Spectrum. “Well, you should—” Suddenly, the doorbell rang throughout the house, immediately setting Palette’s heart racing. She didn’t hear a word from her mother, only hearing the door being unlocked a moment later. “Morning, Hilt!” Palette froze solid. “Good morning Mrs Pointe. How have you been?” Upon hearing Hilt’s voice, Palette felt as if there was something in her chest trying to burst out. Her mind continued to run faster than ever, the colors slowly returning to the world she craved to see. “I’ve been excellent. Why don’t you come in for a while?” Palette’s mother invited him warmly. “I was actually about to get some drinks at a nearby cafe and I was wondering if you and Palette would like to join?” Palette closed her eyes, trying to quell the rate of her breaths. “I wish I could, but I have classes in less than ten minutes. Palette, maybe you would like to join?” Rising from her seat, Palette snatched her cane from the nearby table and tapped it forward, finding her way to the door. “Y-yes please.” “Well, alright then. Good luck with your class, Mrs Pointe.” Palette could already imagine the warm, kind smile her mother would be giving at this time. “Thank you, Hilt. Have a good breakfast.” Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, Palette felt herself being led slowly down the road, away from the house, hearing only the few muffled words from behind the now closed door. “Oh dear, Palette didn’t even take a bite…” Palette sat down in the soft, cushioned chair, resting her back on it. She felt a small gust of air accompanied with a small thud. Reaching her hooves forward, she felt a smooth rectangular object which only confused her. “O-oh. She won’t...she won’t need a menu.” She heard Hilt hush to what she presumed to be the waiter. “Huh?” There was a slight pauses, before the same stallion voice continued in an obvious embarrassed tone. “I’m so sorry.” Slowly, the rectangular object slid out from under her hooves. “It’s fine,” Hilt whispered back. The air around  the two fell quiet, Palette focusing all of her effort to suppress the loud yells she wanted to shout to the waiter. “Palette?” The voice snapped her out of her concentration. “You...you wanna order something?” “J-just a hot chocolate, please,” Palette answered in a slightly rough voice as she turned her head to the side to cough lightly. “Alright. Waiter!” She heard the increasing volume of hoofsteps, before they stopped.  “Two hot chocolates and a side of hash browns please, thank you.” The hoofsteps slowly trailed off once again. “So...Palette. How have you been?” “F-fine,” Palette almost whispered under her breath, turning her head to the right. “Well, how’s Spectrum doing? The waters still flowing?” She closed her eyes and, as if by magic, small little pieces of Spectrum started forming, like a jigsaw puzzle being fixed together piece by piece. And there it was. The flowing pink sea coupled with the almost glowing sky and golden grass. She found herself seated at plain brown table in front of the pond with Hilt settled just across her, the shadows of the trees providing ample shade. “Y-yeah…” Palette’s eyebrows arched together, still not fully sure how it was working. “The table looks really plain though.” “Table?” Hilt asked inquisitively. “What? A normal brown table?” Palette gave a single hard nod. “Well, that’s boring. Wouldn’t it be more interesting if the table was draped with a cloth?” Just as his words reached Palette’s ears, a white sheet was suddenly present, appearing out of thin air. “W-what color?” “Hmm, your favorite color.” The white cloth was swiftly dyed a bright blue, like the afternoon sky on a clear sunny day. “It’s now a light blue.” “Wow. Good choice. Blue should go great with the yellow grass.” She turned her attention downwards for a second, seeing the blue matched up brilliantly with the grass, drawing a large smile across her lips. Turning up, she saw the wooden chairs dye the same color, complementing them perfectly. “The chairs are the same too.” Hilt chuckled. “Perfect.” Palette focused on Hilt’s cloudy white eyes for a second before looking back down at the empty table.   “Tell me about yourself.” Hilt sat deeper into his chair, resting comfortably against the back. “Like what? What do you want to know?” “Well, do you have any dreams? Of what you want to be?” Palette hugged herself softly. “I...I had a dream. Always wanted to become a kind of artist. Be it a painter, a musician.” Bowing her head, she tightened the hug on herself. “W-well, I guess you see why that’s no longer possible.” The chair across her squeaks forward, before she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Turning up, she saw Hilt leaned over the table, smiling towards her. “So you know how to play some instruments?” “The piano, mostly.” Hilt sat back down in his chair, hooves on the table, listening intently to every word Palette speaks. “Oh? Do you listen to other ponies play music?” “S-sometimes. I like to listen to other really good ponies play music but...it just brings bad feelings when it ends.” Palette released herself from the tight squeeze, instead letting them drop to her seat. A beat crossed between the two, before Hilt spoke,” so, one of these days, mind playing a song for me?” Palette darted her head upwards, seeing the sincere expression behind the long silver mane. “I-is that a joke?” she blurted out without a second thought, only covering her mouth after she realized how loud the words were. “No joke, Palette. Not an insult either. I’m genuinely interested.” Two small thuds resonated to Palette’s ears and immediately, two white cups filled with cocoa appeared on the sky blue table. “I was told playing instruments is like...riding a bike. You never really forget.” Palette bit her lower lip, only letting her hoof wander to the cup she saw. However, her hoof merely phased through the drink. Reaching over, Hilt guided her hoof to a supposed empty spot just a few inches to the right, where she felt the procerline handle and with a few blinks, she saw the cup had repositioned itself to that exact spot. “If you don’t mind me asking, where’s your...your father?” Hilt asked with a bit of caution in his tone. Palette took a small sip, wincing at the heat as she sat the cup back down. “Travelling. Don’t know where he is now.” “Travelling? He’s what? A business pony?” Hilt pushed a bit more, sipping from his cup. “A mechanic. He makes business by going to towns and offering his services, then he moves on to the next.” Palette looked out to the sun reflecting on the moving pink sea. “He sends money back to us with a note, but nothing more,” she continued, her voice stoic and emotionless. “When was the last time you saw him?” “Years. Decades...I think. At least, that’s what my mum tells me. I don’t...really remember him.” Palette drank the liquid chocolate, lifting her right hoof to her eye as she sat the cup back down. “Can we talk about something else? I...I don’t feel comfortable talking about my father.” “O-of course. Sorry I brought it up.” Hilt’s chair gave a sharp squeak as he adjusted himself. Palette simply waved her right hoof in front away, as if swatting the topic away. “So then what about you?” Hilt started to cut into his hash browns, lifting a forkful into his mouth. “Well, you already know some things about me,” he spoke as he chewed. “What else do you want to know?” “What were your dreams?” Hilt swallowed and chuckled, cutting another forkful. “I’m living it.” Palette raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. “A...a weather pegasus? Wow. Most ponies usually try to stay away from that job. Most call it boring.” “Well, then they’ve never seen the things I’ve seen as a weather pegasus!” Hilt lifted another batch into his mouth, smiling. Palette turned her head to the side. “And your family?” “My family..” Hilt stopped for a moment, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “My family is in Canterlot.” “Why aren’t they here?” “I guess they trust me on my own. Plus, they have their own jobs there anyway, wouldn’t… wouldn’t want to disturb them and all.” The usual sounds of Hilt’s clanking utensils suddenly disappeared. Looking at him, she saw that he was frozen at the other side of the table. “H-Hilt?” “O-oh, yeah! Sorry. Was just, thinking.” Hilt regained his movements, continuing to rub his utensils together as he cut and ate. The noise continued for only a minute later, in which Palette remained completely silent, before it stopped once again. This time, she sat still, watching the fish-like shadows in the pond next to them swim around. Try as she might, she found herself unable to get a good look at herself on the reflection of the pink water. Looking back up, she saw Hilt as still as a statue, the only sound she could hear was the crashing of the waves just a short distance from them. As she took the last few sips of her cocoa, her eyes caught the small movement near Hilt’s mouth as he called. “Bill please.”