//------------------------------// // 6th Movement // Story: Sketchy Salad Symphony // by Sketchy Sounds //------------------------------// “I saw a new face the other night.” Freeze Pop blinked and cast a brief sideways glance at her fellow guard, before returning it to a straight ahead stare. The two of them were stationed at the royal palace’s front door. “Oh?” she said, keeping her gaze fixed where it was. “Was she pretty?” she asked, a slight snicker escaping her mouth. “She was a he, actually.” her companion retorted. “Came on in lookin’ a tad lost. Into the pub, I mean.” “I figured.” Freeze nodded slightly. “New face in a pub fulla guards? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was scoping for a position.” she said dismissively. “Heh, well funny story actually.” her colleague replied. “He asked a pretty daft question. I was dyin’ I tell ya.” “Uh huh.” “So yeah he comes on in, looks around the place lookin’ a bit lost. Now I’m sure he had to have seen us guys, surely. But nevertheless, up he comes to the bar, right? And then.. and then he says...!” Freeze turned her head slightly toward her companion, curious as to what could have been said that was so humorous as to have this effect on even a disciplined pony such as one of her colleagues. “He says...?” “He says...! ‘Has anypony seen a white pegasus around here with a blue mane or tail’...!” Freeze Pop was forced to quickly clap a hoof to her mouth to suppress her giggles. “Oh goodness! The poor idiot... didn’t he realise where he was!?” she managed between muffled peals of laughter. “I’m guessing he had to have either been new, blind, or both. There were a whole load of us there, after all. Poor sod, his face practically went purple. What a sight!” “I can imagine!” Freeze replied, smirking. “Did he drop any more clangers?” “Nope, sadly. He clammed up a bit when half the folks at the bar nearly wet themselves. Though I did hear him sayin’ after that that it wasn’t a fella he was after.” “Ah. A mare, then? Though the description’s kinda open-ended. Like you said, white pegasus with blue mane or tail describes a good number of the folk living here.” “True it does... but y’know, it describes fewer ladies than guys.” “Well, true. Heck, off the top of my head, I only know one lady fitting that description.” Freeze agreed, then quirked an eyebrow at the thoughtful look on her colleague’s face. “Oh come off it. I’m pretty sure if someone was after me, they’d ask for me by name. Let’s set it straight, what’d he look like?” “Oh, about yea high, jet black coat, same colour mane. Well, with a purple tint running through it.” her fellow guard replied, gesturing with a hoof. “Doesn’t sound like anypony I know at all.” Freeze confirmed. “Any guy I’m familiar with would’ve just asked for me rather than giving a vague description.” “True. I’ve only ever met one of your other colt friends, and he just asked for you specifically as you say. What was his name? Scratchy?” “Sketchy.” Freeze corrected. “Yeah, that was it. You were hanging out with him a whole lot a coupla years back.” “Well, naturally.” she replied, a warm smile spreading on her face. “He disappeared from my life for a big chunk of me growing up, then came back outta the blue. We were always pretty tight-knit, so naturally I wanted to take time to catch up.” “Yeah? Were you two... you know...?” “What, dating? No. Call me archaic if you want, but there’re two big reasons I wouldn’t want to date him. For one, we were friends since we were both little. I don’t think of him as another colt, I think of him more like family. And two, he can’t fly.” “Well, those’re both pretty good reasons, sure enough.” her colleague nodded. “I can understand both, specially the second. It’d be horrible not being able to share that aspect of who you are properly.” “I know, right? I mean yeah, sure, I can carry another pony when flying, that’s no problem. But I can’t do that and show off or have fun simultaneously. That kinda takes a lot of the point out of having wings, really.” The other guard guffawed at that, nodding. “I’d call you an arrogant fool if I didn’t agree so much with you!” he grinned. “Well, no point in denying the prerogative of being a pegasus.” Freeze replied with a smile on her own face. “True, true. I can’t imagine a life without wings.” “Me neither. So anyway... what do you reckon your mystery colt was after?” “Haven’t a clue, aside from what I told you. I might ask him if I see him again.” “Mmm.” she nodded, returning her gaze to straight ahead. The two of them stood in silence once more for a spell. “Oh, by the way...” Freeze turned her head slightly toward her colleague again. “Yes?” “How’s the evening classes going?” Freeze grinned at that. “Well... let me show you.” With that, she drew in a long, deep breath, straightening her neck and drawing her head back slightly. She closed her eyes and then opened her mouth. Her voice issued forth, its tone soft yet strong and melodious, and carried well in the early afternoon air. “A-a-a-a-a-a-ve Sele-e-e-e-e-na, Ju-u-u-u-ungfrau mild...” she sang. It was an old song, but nevertheless one instantly recognisable to those familiar with the classical genre. Her colleague let out an impressed whistle, Freeze having only sung the first line before stopping and looking rather pleased with herself. “That’s quite something!” “I’m still improving.” the poofy-maned pegasus replied. “Though, my tutor tells me I have quite the voice. She was most impressed with my lung capacity.” “Well I can see why. Or, hear, rather.” “I guess I have my past failures at getting into the Guard to thank for that.” “Oh?” replied her colleague, before frowning slightly. “Wait a minute... I heard tell from one of the old hooves about one really determined filly that failed the entrance tests something like four times over, then came back like a year later and basically set the bar. Was that...?” Freeze Pop smirked slightly at that, despite herself. “Sergeant Freeze Pop the Hard-headed, at your service.” she grinned. “Yep, that was me alright. My reputation precedes me, huh?” An air of respect crept into her colleague’s tone. “It was you? Goodness me... how come you never mentioned that before? I mean, we’ve been stationed on the same position for, what, nearly a month?” “You didn’t ask. I don’t tend to brag about it if I can avoid doing so.” she replied truthfully. “Granted, I am proud of my achievements. It’s the failures I don’t like dwelling on so much.” “I don’t think anyone does. Still, you got there in the end.” “That I did.” Any further conversation on the matter was cut short by the approach of another pair of guards. They drew level with Freeze and her companion, snapping to attention in front of them. She and her colleague mimicked the gesture. “Changeover time’s here. We’ve come to relieve you.” Freeze nodded briefly and smiled to the two pegasi before her. “Thank you, gents. Have a good day, then.” she smiled, trotting away from her post by the door. She stretched her wings out as she did so, preparing to take flight. As she took to the air, she heard her colleagues chattering away idly behind her while they switched over. She didn’t care to hang around herself - she had a class to attend later in the day, and she was eager to get home and ditch the additional weight of her armour so she could get some decent exercise without its additional weight bogging her down. It wasn’t that the striking golden plate was a burden to her ability to stay airborne - it was merely the case that it offered protection at the cost of some manoeuvrability, and for a pegasus wanting to cut loose and engage in some exhilarating aerobatics, it was far from ideal. As she swept down through the air toward the ornate building she called home, her mind wandered back a bit toward the earlier conversation she’d shared. It was true that she wouldn’t ever have considered dating her earth pony friend... although, she had to admit, she could see why others would have made the assumption. And why not? she thought to herself. We hang out a fair amount. And he’s nice and all. Ultimately, though, she knew even if she had wanted a deeper relationship than what she had with her large earth pony friend, he likely wouldn’t have wanted the same of her. Not to mention it’d drive both of us nuts, him not being able to fly. The whole idea of it all was something she had considered and discarded some time ago, anyway. It would mean making too many sacrifices, in the end; and if she was honest, Freeze didn’t want to have to cope with the idea of not making as much use of her wings. She wasn’t sure how other ponies managed it. She knew, after all, that there were interracial relationships between the three pony races. It wasn’t so difficult for pegasi and unicorns to form couples - after all, a suitably skilled unicorn could utilise magic to render themselves able to walk on clouds. Even if such a unicorn were to fall, it would still be likely they’d have some means to save themselves, via magic - and that was making the assumption that, if you were a unicorn with a pegasus partner, said partner wouldn’t be quick to come to your rescue. Earth ponies, by comparison, were not so fortunate - and, either way, whether you were with an earth pony or a unicorn, if you were a pegasus it meant having to restrict yourself. A bit pointless having wings if I can’t use them as I please. she thought to herself, touching down on the stone floor of the building’s rooftop plaza. This was accommodation built with her kind in mind: the rooftop was a large stone-paved plaza with a sturdy marble canopy overhead, held up with thick pillars. It kept the brunt of most bad weather at bay if you were trying to take off from or land on it, and there was ample room on it to do either safely. She hurried down the stairs to her own apartment, letting herself in. Once inside, she saw to pulling off her armour, with a sigh of relief. It was far from uncomfortable, but after standing mostly still for hours on end, it did tend to weigh rather heavily on the shoulders and back. She stretched out her wings, glad to have them free from the slightly restricting cloth under-shirt and plate of her outfit of office. Shaking herself thoroughly, she turned and headed back out, returning to the rooftop plaza. Taking a glance around for other air traffic, she galloped towards the edge and sprang off, her wings unfurling to their full spread as she did so. She glided downward for a short spell, skimming over the street below, before pulling up sharply to soar skyward. A smile spread across her face as she felt the wind rippling through her mane and blowing through her coat. Beating her wings, she rapidly ascended toward the clouds and up through them. This was what being a pegasus was all about: the joy of flight, being able to soar above the hustle and bustle of the city, to rise above it all and experience the feeling of utter freedom it brought. She flew ever higher, up and away from the city. This was, after all, a part of where the mark on her flank originated from: the snow-capped mountains and cloud were there to tell the world of her astounding endurance, for Freeze Pop was a pony capable of sustaining flight for heights and distances others could only dream of. It was something she had only discovered for herself just prior to her joining the Royal Guard; the almost punitive training she had subjected herself to had tested her limits, as she had relentlessly pushed her body on until it was on the verge of giving up. Indeed, as she’d told Sketchy upon reuniting with him some years previous, her exercise regime had nearly been the death of her on more than one occasion. Nevertheless, she had lived to tell the tale - and to awe those who heard it. As she continued on her upward flight, she felt the air around her growing colder. She was used to this, however, and had in fact been anticipating it. Much like other pegasi, she was one who enjoyed engaging in the occasional display of aerobatic prowess, and through her time spent flying far and wide in the freezing conditions of the loftier heights, she had developed her own signature manoeuvre which she knew to be among the more difficult to perform. This was due to the high risk factor involved in the set up, which was now beginning to take effect: as she gained altitude, she felt her wings growing colder. The moisture in the air at this height was beginning to crystallise on her feathers, and she felt the icy chill spreading all the way along her outspread wings. She did not turn back though - this was all a part of the trick, after all, and was necessary for the visual wow factor involved. Of course, as far as that sort of thing went, her own display would never be perhaps as impressive as that of Cloudsdale’s resident Best Young Flier. She liked to think that it still had its own charm, though - a thought which was interrupted by the stinging feeling of ice on her wings, which by now were becoming difficult to move. She took a glance downward. Her planned path was clear. She stopped beating her wings, and angled herself down into a steep dive. Her face creased into an exhilarated grin as she began to rapidly pick up speed, the cold wind whipping through her mane, blowing it straight back into one long blue blur. The same went for her ordinarily fluffy tail, which right now was a single blue streak behind her. The most striking part of this display, however, was her wings - coated as they now were in a layer of ice crystals, the light from the sun glanced off them in all directions in a dazzling display of shimmering sparks. As she dove toward the ground, the ice began to flake and fly off behind her, so as she swept down in a wide arc she left a glittering trail of multi-coloured sparkles in her wake. Little surprise, then, that she had dubbed this trick of hers the Aurora Flare - certainly it was in some respects reminiscent of the multi-hued lights that played on the horizon of the world’s polar regions; a spectacle she had beheld herself on many an occasion passing through those places. As the warmth of the sun brought feeling back into her wings, she banked around and headed back towards Canterlot, making a rather lazy barrel roll on her way. Her gentle glide took her down to the street, and she touched down neatly at a trot, folding her wings in neatly after giving them a slight shake to rid them of what little moisture remained on them. This was a street she knew well, having spent a lot of time playing here in her foalhood. It was once home to two of her best friends at one point, after all - and was still home to one of them at least. It was this friend she was now calling on, as she made her way in through the front door of Graze. She was greeted by the proper tones of Salad, who was behind the counter. “Good afternoon! Welcome to Graze!” she automatically said as she heard the tinkling of the shop door. A smile lit up her face as she took note of her customer. “Freezy!” she exclaimed happily. “What can I get for you?” she grinned. The white pegasus grinned back - there was a small in-joke running between the two, which dated back nearly a year now, give or take a few months. Back then, she had caused somewhat of a stir among both her colleagues and the local populace by chasing down another pony almost non-stop for a period of roughly five days straight. As for why she had been chasing said pony, it was a matter of them having fled from justice: as she recalled, the offending party had been due to appear in court, and had chosen to flee from the summons. Word of the matter hadn’t reached the Guard until almost a day later, by which point the majority opinion had been to simply recapture the perpetrator if and when they were seen once more. Freeze Pop, however, had been in the small minority that expressed the opinion they could still catch the fleeing party - and had set off at once to do so. After four days of exhaustive pursuit, she’d hounded her quarry to a stand-still. It had then taken her a further day to escort them back to Canterlot - or, more accurately, to carry them on her back almost all the way, stopping only for the occasional drink of water as she went. By the time she’d returned to the capital, most of her colleagues had resigned any hope of her returning with the fugitive - hence her arrival at the city gate, haggard and worn with said fugitive secured to her had made for quite the entrance. This, however, was merely the prelude to what she would later become renowned for in the little Sandwich family shop. Upon reporting to the Princess of her success, her sovereign had taken pity upon her condition and instructed her to suspend her duties for no less than three days until she was rested and able to work once more. Additionally, she had granted the exhausted guard permission to indulge her by now ravenous appetite wherever she felt best to replenish her lost energies at cost to the royal purse. So it was that mere minutes after leaving the Princess’s presence, a mildly deranged-looking Freeze Pop had burst into Graze with a predatory stare on her face, and demanded of the attendant unicorn to build her the biggest sandwich she’d ever made. Her friend had taken the challenge head-on, and that day saw the birth of what would later be termed the Hungry Hero Horse Special. It had taken an impressive amount of the little shop’s stock of ingredients to create, but perhaps even more astounding was the fact that the ravenous Royal Guard had devoured it in its entirety - shortly before collapsing from exhaustion, and being taken upstairs by her concerned friend to rest. The event had been well-remembered, of course, and since become a fond memory for both of them. “I’ll just take the usual today, Sal.” Freeze smiled at the rosy coloured unicorn. “I’ve not chased down any fugitives of late.” Her friend giggled happily at that, her horn lighting up to tend to the task of preparing food. “Well that’s a relief.” she smiled, manipulating a large knife and assorted vegetables before her. “Just been out for a little exercise? You look a little damp.” she observed. “Yep! Went for a spin over the outskirts. Good weather for it today. I even pulled off a Flare for fun.” “Ahh, you fliers and your tricks.” Salad said teasingly with a wink. “You do make me jealous sometimes... although I’d have to say I’m happy enough keeping my hooves on the ground.” “Oh yeah? Sure you wouldn’t wanna try using some of that fancy magic to give yourself a sweet set of wings some time?” her pegasus friend teased back, waggling her own feathery appendages for emphasis. Salad laughed at that, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. Gosh, can you even imagine the disaster that’d be? I have enough trouble sometimes keeping track of my four legs, I don’t need an extra pair of things to worry about co-ordinating!” Freeze nodded at that, the warm smile she still wore standing in stark contrast to the emotionless mask she wore when on duty. “Fair point. So anyway, one of my workmates had a funny story.” “Oh? Do tell!” “Well...” Freeze began, proceeding to relate to Salad the tale of the black pegasus asking after a white and blue pegasus in a pub full of guards. Much like Freeze herself earlier, the rosy unicorn was forced to clap a hoof to her mouth to suppress her giggling. “Oh the poor thing!” she said as she finished up preparing her friend’s lunch. “He must have been so embarrassed, bless him. Shall I put this on your tab?” “Oh, if you would! I completely forgot my purse, sorry.” “Not at all, Freezy. Enjoy your lunch!” “Thanks.” Freeze replied, taking up the bagged sandwich and trotting outside with it. Seating herself at one of the forecourt tables, she unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. Delicious as always. she thought happily to herself. She considered herself fortunate to be acquainted with as talented a chef as her unicorn friend, as it meant she always had someone to go to for a good snack. With that said, her appetite being what it was sometimes, she knew a number of places around town where good food could be found - the life of a Guard required one to always be in peak physical shape after all, and that meant making sure the body always had fuel enough to keep it healthy. As she sat devouring her sandwich, the sound of approaching hooves came from behind her. She heard the footfalls stop a few inches from her table, she guessed. She looked up and over her shoulder - and was met with the smiling face of her earthbound colt friend. She smiled back at him pleasantly. “‘afternoon, Sketchy.” she said. “Nice to see you. How’s life treating you?” “Pretty awesomely!” he replied with greater enthusiasm than she was used to seeing. It showed on her face, as she raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “Oh yeah? Do tell!” Sketchy didn’t need a second invitation, as he proceeded to excitedly babble on about the time he’d spent recently in the company of a certain earth pony musician. Freeze’s expression went from initial surprise to happiness as she heard about how he’d met with Octavia earlier that week on two occasions, and a third was forthcoming. “Well well well!” she said with a smile. “Sounds like things are coming full circle, so to speak.” Her friend tilted his head to the side, a slightly bemused look on his face. “Full circle? How do you mean?” Now it was Freeze’s turn to look puzzled. “...don’t you even remember, Sketchy?” “...no?” “Wow, dude. Alright, think back. And I mean, way back, to like, primary school. Do you remember that?” “Of course. That was where we all met, after all. Well, where Sally and I met you...” “Right.” Freeze affirmed. “You two were already peas in a pod before even then, and then you both met me and your lives became about 20% cooler.” she stated, a joking smirk on her face. Sketchy laughed and shook his head at that. “Yeah yeah, you’re totally the most awesome thing to grace my existence. But seriously lass, what’s that got to do with what I was on about?” “Afternoon playtime, every few days. Remember what we used to see?” Sketchy’s brow furrowed in thought. His mind searched through old memories from his younger days; time spent playing with his classmates in the afternoon, chasing each other in games of tag, watching the changing seasons, and... “...! That... that was her!?” he blurted, as distant memories of a wistful-looking stone-grey filly gazing through the school gates at all the other foals laughing and playing together surfaced in his memory. “Sure was. You wouldn’t have known what with you having to move away and all, but that lonely lookin’ little filly that used to come and look in the gates every so often? Well, now everyone watches her real close instead. Once I fledged, I followed her a coupla times. And then later on when Sally and I got to secondary school, I saw the same ol’ pony stopping by and watchin’ the other kids play every so often. She stopped it after a while though - I guess she had less free time or something.” Sketchy sat in silence for a bit, contemplating that thought. “I wonder what brought her by so often...” he thought out loud. Freeze shrugged. “Beats me, bud. Maybe you can ask her some time.” “Hey yeah, maybe so.” he grinned. “So, anything interesting been going on with you lately?” “Pfft, nah, not much. I’m still doing my evening classes, those’re going well. Teach reckons given some more time I’d be good enough to belt some tunes out for a proper performance. I guess that’d be pretty cool.” “Wow, nice! Keep me posted on that.” Sketchy enthused. “Sure thing. Oh yeah, and there was a funny thing happened to one of the guys at work.” “Oh yeah?” Freeze found herself telling the tale once more of the unfortunate black pegasus. Her friend laughed initially, before a thoughtful look crossed his face. “Say, come to think of it... I think I maybe met that guy.” “Oh?” the pegasus inquired, leaning forward slightly with an interested look. “Yeah. I drew him, actually. He was chillaxing on a cloud down at the park. Looked like the most carefree guy ever, heh heh.” “Can I see? You know I always like taking a nosey at your stuff.” “Yeah, sec.” Sketchy nodded, messing about with his satchel and pulling the sketchpad from it. “Here we go. Procrastinating Pegasus.” he smirked, opening the pad on the picture he’d drawn. Freeze leaned over to look at the rendering of the black pegasus snoozing on the cloud. “Ha, you weren’t kidding. He looks like if he was any further laid-back, he’d be horizontal—heck, he practically is!” she laughed. “Kinda cute though. I’ll have to keep an eye out for him.” she mused. Sketchy folded the pad closed, stuffing it back into his bag. “Well, his name’s Blacklight, if you happen to run into him.” he said. “He seemed a bit awkward to me. You’d be best approaching him with caution if you don’t wanna scare him. Hmm, plus, if he is indeed the same guy, you’d also best be careful seeing as you don’t know what he’s looking for you for. Assuming it’s you he’s after and not someone else.” Freeze laughed at that. “Relax, Sketchy. I can handle myself, and you know it.” “Yeah, I know you can.” he grinned back at her. “I’ve had the bruises to prove it before as well!” Freeze promptly stuck her tongue out at him for that in mock upset. She knew full well what he meant by it - in their younger days, the two of them had been highly competitive with each other, something which had lead them to the occasional bit of fighting. The occasions were rare, but each time had usually seen both of them end up with a few bruises here and there, and a scolding from their elders - and from their mutual best friend, who usually ended up having to be the one separating them. That was a task that had become far easier for Salad as she’d grown and gained greater mastery over her inherent telekinetic abilities, as all it needed was for one or the other to be lifted out of reach of their rival. “You and me both, Sketchy, you and me both.” Freeze replied, before munching down the last of her lunch. “Well, I expect you’ll be wanting to grab something to eat, and I’ve a bath to take.” she smiled. “Sure will.” her earth pony friend nodded. “Good catching up with you, Freezy.” “And you, Sketchy.” she grinned, holding a hoof out to him. He smiled and thrust one of his own front hooves out to clop against hers. “Til next time!” “Til then. Later!” she replied, getting up from her seat. She spread her wings, taking to the air, and soon was on course back to her home. Once she reached the building she called home, however, there was a surprise waiting on the rooftop plaza. Initially, she completely missed the other pegasus stood over on the edge of the plaza with a thoughtful look on its face. However, when she touched down on the stone floor with an audible click of her hooves, the surprised edge-dweller nearly fell from his perch with a startled shout. She instinctively turned toward the source of the noise, and consequently caught sight of a very dark-coloured pegasus stood there trying to look inconspicuous. Trying and failing, as the jet black colouration of his coat stood out by a mile against the pristine white of the marbled stone columns. She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, keeping her expression otherwise neutral. “You alright over there?” she queried. “I’m f-fine!” came the reply. “I was just, uhm, thinking! You startled me!” “Oh. Fair enough.” she replied, noting that the other pegasus was keeping his back turned to her, and continuing to look out over the edge. She shrugged, starting to move toward the stairs down inside the building, but she stopped as she noticed the colt’s mane and tail. Black coat, purple tinge... do you think...? “...say. Just outta curiosity, your name wouldn’t happen to be, uh, Blacklight, would it?” she asked idly. The black pegasus froze, and his head slowly turned her way. “How... how did you...!?” he began, and then he stopped as he fixed his gaze on her. “It... it’s you!” he exclaimed in a tiny voice--and then before she could utter any sort of fitting response, he’d leapt off the edge and flown off in a sudden flurry of wings. “Well. That was... odd...” Freeze mused to herself, pondering whether or not she should pursue the colt. After several seconds’ worth of deliberation, she decided against it and headed inside the apartment block, figuring that, as she apparently was indeed the pony he was seeking, she’d be seeing him again sooner or later. With that thought in mind, she let herself into her apartment and flopped down on the couch, settling down to take a snooze. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town, a certain stone-grey pony was nervously pacing inside her house. The sun was beginning to set, which meant that in a little while she would be expecting a visitor - her star pupil, no less. Or rather, her only pupil. Octavia was not one for taking on students ordinarily, and certainly not with an important concert looming. Not ordinarily. However... her pupil was not ordinary - and in spite of her having already had said pupil over for tutelage a few times already, it still gave her the jitters thinking about it.