“Limestone? Are you okay?”
The gray mare stopped idly pushing her food around the plate and looked to the pony in front of her. “I am sorry, what?”
“Are you okay?” repeated Flint ‘n’ Steel. He pointed with his fork to the mare's plate. “Is the food not good?”
The other pony looked down and glared with disapproval at the mess she had made of her food. The mashed potatoes, peas and caramelized onion slices that the cook had placed so carefully and neatly on the dish were now a strange and rather unpleasant mix of green, yellow and orange. She let out a sigh and rested her head on her hoof. “No, it’s delicious. It’s just that…”
The stallion waited expectantly for a few seconds. “Just that what?” he asked, taking a sip from his drink.
Limestone raised her golden eyes to the ceiling. “Steel, is this a date?”
Flint barely managed to seal his lips to avoid spilling his drink over the table. “W-why do you ask?” he choked out after swallowing. Suddenly, his clothes felt very itchy and the seat was no longer comfortable.
“It is just something my sisters have been saying non-stop for the last two days, since you suggested having dinner together.” explained Limestone, idly tapping her hooves together. She didn’t see Steel trying to gulp through the knot on his throat, with little success. “And today, for some reason, you showed up with your coat brushed, your mane combed, and wearing a shirt that looks rather good on you, if I am completely honest.”
On top of the itching and discomfort, Steel now felt his cheeks burning. He opened his mouth to reply, but words just didn’t come. He just looked to Limestone, his brain wrenching for a good answer.
His silence and awkwardness were the answer the mare needed. Her mouth was dry when she spoke. “So, then it is?” she asked, her heart beating like a hammer inside her chest.
Steel slumped on his seat and closed the eyes. “Is there a good answer?” he muttered, his voice trembling. “W-will ya get up and leave if I say yes? If I say no, will you get mad because you know I am lying?”
That drew half a smile from Limestone. “Oh goodness gracious, no. I am having a great time with you, and I have no intention of throwing that away, no matter what you say.” she said.
Steel let out a sigh of relief and relaxed visibly. He took a minute to calm down, trying to breathe slowly so his voice would stop trembling and he would stop making a fool of himself. Once he spoke again, works came steady and firm. “In that case, yes. This is a date.” he said, giving a small nod. 'Well, that was easy to say. So much worry for that?' he thought.
Limestone took a sip from her wine and studied Steel for a moment. “I am glad you decided to be honest, Steel. It’s just that…I don’t know. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around somepony showing that kind of interest towards me.”
“Why? I think you’re mighty pretty.” said Steel without thinking. Less than a second later, he was covering his mouth with his hooves and feeling his cheeks burning. 'Someday, this bigmouth of me is gonna get me into trouble'.
However, he wasn’t the only one, as Limestone herself was having a similar reaction to the compliment. She smiled and looked away. “Ah…why, thank you.” she muttered, twisting her braided mane on her hooves. She looked back at Steel, and let out a giggle. “I don’t know what to say, sorry.”
Steel peered over his hoof. “Do that again.”
“Do what?” asked Limestone, a broad smile on her lips.
“Laugh.” replied the stallion. “You don’t do that very often. I wouldn’t mind hearin’ it more often.”
Limestone blushed, but laughed nonetheless. “Honestly, I would have never imagined you saying something like that, it was so sweet. There is a lot hidden under that rough miner look, huh?” she said with a sly smile.
Flint gulped. Again, his cheeks heated up and he felt his coat itchy. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to the food. In front of her, Limestone observed him for a few seconds before imitating him. The mixed mesh was still good, much to her surprise.
The two ponies finished their meal in silence, just enjoying the presence of the other. Sometimes, Steel would shoot dissimulated glances to the mare. One time, he found her looking back at him. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a smile, and the two shared a laugh.
It wasn’t until the desserts were served that Limestone spoke again. She poked a piece of her apple pie, and it reminded her of Pinkie Pie. “Why me?” she whispered.
“Hmm?” grumbled Steel through a mouthful of orange cream.
“I was just wondering…” she said, making a pause to eat the pie slice. “Why did you decide to ask me out?”
The stallion frowned and swallowed. “Howdya mean?” he asked after cleaning his snout with a napkin.
“Why are you dating me and no, let’s say, Pinkie Pie or Octavia? Or any other mare on this town.” she said. “What makes me different?”
The stallion pondered his answer for a moment. “Okay, the answers one by one.” replied Steel, leaning back on his chair. “For starters, yer little sister is completely nuts. She’s nice and all that, but she is just not the mare for me. As for Octavia, I do believe she has a marefriend.”
Limestone nodded. “Yes, she does. But you never were interested in her. You didn’t, did you?”
“I didn’t.”
“That is what I though. So then, answer my question. Why me?”
Steel gave her an amused smile. “I thought you were having a good time, and now yer questioning my choices.” he said with a chuckle.
“And I am! Having a good time, I mean.” she replied, smiling as well. “I am just curious.”
The stallion let out a sigh and glanced upwards. “Ah really don’t know what to say, Limestone. Sometimes you fall for a pony and you’re never sure why. Have you ever felt like that?” Limestone shook her head. “It’s hard to explain. Sometimes you’re with a pony, and the time you spend with her is…worth more than the time you spend with others. They are just a normal pony, but for you they’re special. And you want to make them happy and be with them. You get what I mean?”
The gray mare looked down and pondered his words. ‘Is it that simple? Is that what being in love is like?’ she wondered. ‘And, is that what he feels for me?’ Limestone looked to Steel, who smiled shyly. “I think I do.” she replied, smiling back.
***
The cool air of the night sent a chill down Limestone’s spine. Muttering something under her breath, she tried to get some warmth out of her dress, with no success. She should have brought a jacket. Every single spring she made the mistake of believing temperatures would drastically rise since the very beginning of the season. But weather didn’t work like that, and now she was cold.
The mare almost gave a jump when she suddenly felt something on her shoulder. She whipped her head back and saw Steel carefully placing a scarf over her neck. “Oh goodness. Don’t do that again, Steel. You scared me out of my bones.” she said, feeling her heart beating like a jackhammer.
“M’sorry.” muttered Steel with a sheepish smile. “Didn’t mean to scare ya.”
“Don’t worry.” replied Limestone, wrapping the scarf around her neck. There was a pause, in which the two ponies stood in silence for a moment, until the mare spoke again. “The dinner was great.” commented Limestone, letting out a sigh of satisfaction, “This has been a great night.”
“Are you gonna leave already?” asked Steel, stepping next to her.
Limestone glanced to the clock of the town hall. “Well, it is rather late already. But, no. I am having such a good time.”
Relieved, Steel smiled and started walking down the street. “I’m happy to hear that. I was worried that I’d mess something up.”
The mare let out a chuckle. “Why should you? This is your second date with me.” she said.
Steel looked at the other pony, and found her looking back at him, with a very goofy smile plastered on her face. “I think you’re drunk.” he said, amused.
“I’m not drunk!” she pouted. “I’m just a little…light headed.”
“You just had a single glass of wine. You’re such a lightweight.”
“Oh, hush!” she said, giving him a little push. “Where are you taking me, by the way?”
“You’ll see. It’s a secret.”
“Alright. But you better not be walking me home.” she said, noticing they were going in the general direction of the valley.
“Ah won’t.”
The couple walked in a comfortable silence for a while, with no hurries or worries, simply enjoying the night. High on the sky, the Moon watched the valley and bathed it in its silver light. A soft breeze picked up; gently playing with their manes. As they walked, Steel couldn’t help but notice Limestone was walking quite close to him. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else, as she was staring into the black shroud of the night sky.
Neither of the ponies said anything until Steel suddenly stopped on his tracks. Limestone took a few more steps before noticing her companion was no walking alongside her anymore. She blinked and took a glance around. A short distance in front of her was the entrance to one of the tunnels to the underground, on the slope that enclosed the valley. She had crossed the entire esplanade without even noticing. Granted, the area was not that large, but she seemed to have dozed off into daydreaming, so to say.
“What are we doing here?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
Steel gave her a cryptic smile. “You’ll see.” The stallion dug inside his saddlebags and extracted a magic lantern. He fidgeted with the knobs for a moment and the device emitted a soft light. “Alright, follow me.” he said, walking to the cave.
Limestone felt the proper thing to do was arguing. Why was he taking her into a mineshaft? But curiosity won over confusion, and she trotted after the stallion.
The mine was dark, dusty and smelled like…well, a mine. It was a smell that made Limestone feel at home. She let out a small sigh of satisfaction as she walked alongside Steel. She patiently waited for him to say anything, but as they walked deeper and deeper into the earth and the stallion remained mute, the mare just couldn’t stay quiet. “Alright, you win. I have no idea where are we going. Can you tell me?”
“Nu-hu.” muttered Steel through the handle of the lantern.
Limestone let out an aggravated sigh. “Can you please tell me? It’s getting cold.” she repeated, giving him a charming smile.
Steel let out a muffled chuckle and shook his head. “J’st ‘n b’tt m’re.” he insisted.
The mare sighted again, but didn’t stop walking. A minute later, her patience was rewarded when the mineshaft opened to a bigger area. Steel raised the lantern over his head so the beam of light would illuminate the cave. Limestone let out a mutter of amazement as she took in the hundreds and hundreds of prismatic crystals that spread over the ground, the walls and the ceiling, every single one colored in a slightly different hue of brown, yellow and violet. Translucent pillars shimmered under the light of the lantern, each in a different angle, and breaking the space irregularly.
“We discovered it by accident.” whispered Flint ‘n’ Steel next to him. Limestone closed her mouth and looked at the stallion, feeling silly for forgetting about his presence. “It is just calcite, so it’s not worth much. Ah suppose that is why nopony ever bothered to mine it, so it grew into this.” He smiled, gazing the crystals. “Pretty cool, huh?”
Limestone nodded in silence. “It’s beautiful.” she whispered, walking to the closest pillar. She saw her reflection repeated on all the facets of the crystal, each with the same amazed expression she wore. “I didn’t even know it was possible for calcite crystals to grow so large.”
Steel shrugged. “Ah suppose it’s because this is a very good Bloom.” he replied as he walked to Limestone. “Not sure if there is anything close to this anywhere else.”
“Probably not.” said the mare, looking to her reflection. Much to her surprise, her manedo was still perfect and the braid was tightly woven. She would have to thank her sisters later for it, and for the dress. If she was completely honest with herself, it was the best purchase she had done in a while. Correction; the best present she had received in a while.
Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt Steel’s hoof poking her shoulder. She turned around and saw him grinning widely. “Um…what?” she asked, crooking an eyebrow.
“You ain’t seen the best yet.” said Steel. “Come, follow me.” he said, grabbing her hoof and directing her deeper into the cave. Limestone caught herself clenching his hoof more than she intended, but he didn’t seem to notice. A minute later, the stallion stopped and looked at her, expectantly. The other pony looked around, but failed to see anything unusual.
“What is so special about this area in particular?” she asked, studying the crystals.
“This.” was Steel’s answer. He placed the lantern on top of a sideways pillar, and slowly twisted one of the knobs. A set of metal sheets closed, reducing the cone of light into a single, focused beam. At first the cave fell into absolute darkness, but them Steel turned the lantern a bit to the left, and caused the beam to go inside one of the pillars.
Light erupted from the crystal. The column emanated a soft brownish glow. A dozen smaller beams shot in every direction, reaching a different crystal and breaking into more lights, colors and shimmers. The cave became a play of light, with hundreds sources of light, each with a different hue, and beams of light that traveled from one crystal to the next.
Limestone’s jaw dropped and she opened her eyes wide. She had said the crystal was beautiful before, but that paled in comparison to the spectacular show before her eyes. For a long minute, she was unable to look away from the crystals and the lights, merely taking in the view. “How?” she weakly whispered.
“It is not the first time I’ve been here.” responded Steel, stepping next to her. Much to his surprise, he felt Limestone leaning onto him. “Took me a while, but eventually I found where to aim the lantern.”
“It must have taken you so long.” muttered Limestone, shaking her head in disbelief.
“A couple of months, yeah.” said Steel. “I thought I should share it with you.”
“…thank you, Steel.” whispered Limestone, nuzzling his neck.