Crystal gripped a piece of paper in her hoof as she navigated the quiet streets of Ponyville. A blue bonnet was tied over her ears and her pink streaks were tucked into it so that her mane appeared to be only blonde. Her tail was adorned with two matching blue ribbons, one tied off at the end of the carefully orchestrated braid and the other at the dock in a bow so large that it obscured her cutie mark.
It was a little ridiculous, but she wasn't there to visit Horsey. She was on a personal mission.
On the outskirts of a small park sat a simple enough house. The address matched the one in the letter, so she took a breath, stepped up to the door, and knocked. A few moments later, the door flung open and a blur of pink tackled her in a tight hug.
"Oh my gosh, you're finally here!" Lovey pulled back to hold her at leg's length and beamed. "When I got your letter, I said to myself—no, actually, I said to Juniper, which reminds me"—she turned her head to call the mare's name over her shoulder, announcing their guest, then looked back at Crystal—"Anywhoo, I said to myself, 'Now she is a mare I'd like to see again!' And here you are!" She tugged Crystal inside. "Please, come on in! Right this way!"
Crystal's head spun with the mare's rapid manner of speech but she smiled nonetheless. "I hope I'm not imposing too much, Lovey."
Lovey paused to blink at her. "Imposing?" She bubbled with giggles and her wings fluttered. "Why, how can a friend I invited over be an imposition? That's just silly! Now, make yourself comfortable."
Crystal glanced around the main room of the house, and Lovey flew over to a door off to the right. It was a simple dwelling with an odd juxtaposition of pink and green decor strewn about. When the other mare, Juniper, walked into the room, the reason clicked: Juniper was an earth mare with a green coat and likely favored that color, while Lovey was obviously the pink culprit.
Juniper smiled and offered a wave before she sat down at the small coffee table sized appropriately for two. "Hi. You must be Crystal." The calm, cool way with which she spoke was a stark contrast to Lovey. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh, yes, that's—"
Lovey poked her head out of the side room into which she had disappeared. "There will be time for chitchat later, Cryssie! You said it was an emergency, so don't dally with Juniper!" She giggled and added, "No offense, Juni."
Juniper simply shrugged while Crystal quietly excused herself to follow Lovey into what seemed to be an office. It was a little hard to tell what it was intended to be, as the whole room was pink, including the walls, ceiling, floor, and furniture. Crystal had to pause just to get her bearings and discern what was something she could sit on and what wasn't.
"So," Lovey started, lowering herself onto a pillow, "what happened?" Her gaze drifted downward. "Everything seems all right to me."
Crystal unconsciously put a hoof to her chest where Lovey was staring. "I just, I just need to know, Lovey. Who is my special somepony that you see for me?"
Lovey's gaze lifted back up to meet Crystal's. "Oh, I don't know that."
"Then how can you say everything's fine?"
"Because it is!" Lovey smiled happily.
Crystal frowned. "How?"
Lovey paused, then repeated in the same chirping voice, "Because it is!"
Crystal groaned in frustration, rubbing her temple. "Lovey, I don't understand! How can it be okay? I don't know how he feels, I don't know if he's the one, I don't know anything! Can't you tell me something?"
"But I did." Lovey tilted her head one way. "Most ponies come in here with weak or tangled love lines and that's why they're confused. Yours is strong, which means you're on the right path and don't need any help from me." She paused, then continued in a slightly more serious voice, "Why are you confused? If your heart says he's the one, then isn't that the answer you need?"
Crystal's ears drooped and she stared down at the table in silence for a moment. "Haven't you ever had a case where a love line only went one way, where a mare loved a stallion but the stallion didn't love her?"
"Nope! I mean, I've had a mare who loved a mare who didn't love her, but not a mare who loved a stallion who—" She stopped when Crystal gave her a less than polite stare. "Um, what I really mean is, in that situation, there wasn't a love line. Love lines connect ponies. They don't just go one way. At least, I've never seen one like that, anyway..."
"What if mine is?"
"Oh, now you're just looking for worry." Lovey giggled and waved a hoof to dismiss the question. "But if it'll make you feel better, I'll find the end to your love line and see if it goes both ways. I'll have to charge you for my time, though..."
Crystal nodded quickly. "Absolutely! Tell me the price and I'll pay you immediately. I can't stand not knowing if Silent Knight cares for me or—"
Lovey clamped a hoof over Crystal's mouth to silence her. "Ah-ah-ah! You told me last time that you didn't want any spoilers, so I'm not going to tell you those kind of details, silly filly!" She pulled back with a big smile. "I'm only going to follow it, prove it leads back to you, and that's it! Nada more!"
"Oh..." Crystal sighed and retrieved her bit purse. "Well, I suppose that's for the best. It would be more exciting to find out from him rather than you, assuming he's the one at all."
"Exactly! Love is much more exciting when there are surprises!" Lovey gazed out the window dreamily. "Don't you worry, Crystal Wishes. Love is waiting for you, and it's going to be wonderful when it finally arrives..." She shook her head and returned her attention to Crystal, smiling wide. "Anyway, I'll let you know as soon as I know something!"
Crystal nodded and tried to smile back, though she felt a little down about the whole thing rather suddenly. If it turned out Silent wasn't the special somepony for her, then who could it be? Nopony else made her feel the way he did, and she wasn't sure she was ready to let go of her feelings just because an intangible force decided she should. But she was also too afraid to say anything to him, so what was she supposed to do?
---
"Crystal, Crystal, Crystal!" Velvet's voice shrieked, followed by the sound of Crystal's bedroom door being thrown open and hoofsteps rushing toward her.
Crystal hardly had enough time to peek groggily out from under the covers before a shadow was cast over her. Her eyes widened and she yelped in surprise when Velvet landed on top of her.
"What!" Crystal squirmed under the squealing mare. "What happened?!"
Velvet rolled over to land on the empty bed space and kicked her legs in the air. "We just got the Equestrian Writers Convention mailer!"
Crystal eyed her with reasonable irritation before checking herself for bruises. "And? They send those out every year the month before."
"Oh my gosh, I'm not an idiot." Velvet rolled her eyes. "Let me finish?" The excitement returned in full force when Crystal begrudgingly nodded. "I was flipping through it while waiting for you to wake up, since you're sleeping in today I guess—"
"I was," Crystal muttered. She had been up all night stressing over a cryptic letter from Lovey that had simply read 'S'all 'Kay!' and had several hearts all over. It had done nothing to assuage her doubts, so all she wanted to do was sleep.
"—and in the section for authors in attendance, there was your name, of course, but there was also an even more amazing name!" Her eyes were wide as she stared, waiting for Crystal to fill in. Silence hung between them for a moment before she groaned and answered, "Rose Quartz!"
Crystal paused to think on the name before it clicked and she gasped. "Rose Quartz is going to be there?!"
Velvet squirmed about much like Red after one too many cupcakes. "Yes! I need all of our copies of Prima Donna, because I want her to sign each and every one of them! I don't care how many times I have to stand in line to make it happen, either!"
Finally, unable to stay mad at the rude awakening, Crystal laughed and tugged the blanket back over her head. "That sounds great. When I wake up on my terms, I'll work on getting all our copies together. Are you going to be at the bakery today?"
"Yeah." Velvet slid off the bed, still smiling. "I have practice after that, so I might be late tonight. Just a head's up." Crystal simply responded with a loud, exaggerated yawn and Velvet laughed as she shut the door behind her. "Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty!"
Though she kept her eyes clenched shut, her mind was firmly standing by the notion of being awake and started to swim with doubtful thoughts. The convention was a month away and she had nothing to show for it. What if somepony started asking questions about her next novel? What if nopony came to her booth at all because she had nothing new since last year?
She curled up into a tight ball as the questions buzzed around her like a swarm of locusts. Her eyes snapped open when the sound of the front door shutting tore her focus away momentarily. Now that she knew she was alone, the condo sounded deafeningly quiet, making her thoughts resound even louder.
So much for sleeping in. She sighed and slipped out from under the covers, dreading another day of little to no progress on Her Silent Love. The writing was complete, more or less, but some of the scenes were painfully dull and in need of serious reworking.
---
Crystal sat hunched over the scattered pages of the third chapter, a light frown on her lips while the quill tapped absently on the paper. There were some gaps and holes she hadn't noticed when she wrote it that were glaring mistakes now and had halted her progress entirely for the day.
She dropped everything and stood abruptly. "Ugh!" Starting to pace the room, she grumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I missed that the first time. Of course Stoutheart wouldn't have reacted that way. Fancy Flight was just—"
Three knocks on the door interrupted her and she froze, ears perked upright and lopsided smile on her face. "One moment!" she called as she gathered the papers into a neat pile before prancing over to the door.
Silent Knight stood outside, and her heart fluttered at the sight of him. After only a few weeks of physical therapy and eating right, he was already looking much more like his usual, strong, swoon-worthy self.
"Oh, Sergeant, what a pleasant surprise." She smiled, hoping she didn't look too much like a fool. "Won't you come in?"
Silent nodded and walked inside. "Thank you." He paused to remove his helmet, which he set down by the door, then smiled at her. "I hope I didn't interrupt you. I'm sorry for coming by unannounced, but Velvet said I wouldn't be intruding."
Crystal turned toward the sitting area. "And Velvet was right." She sat down on a pillow and gestured to the one across from her. "What brings you here?"
Silent settled down carefully, given that edges of armor and fabric don't often get along. "I am working on Runic Phial's surprise birthday, which is less than three weeks away. I would be honored if you would attend and I know he'll be delighted, too." He hesitated just long enough to add before she could reply, "Also, I'm here because I need your advice on something."
Crystal smiled brightly to cover her curiosity. "Absolutely! I wouldn't dare miss it. You can consider me RSVPing a definite yes." She shifted, her ears perked and facing him with interest. "Now, what sort of advice do you need?"
"You see, I have the palace gardens reserved for the party, so there's a bit of an expectation for us to maintain a certain level of decorum. Understandably so. But lately, Runic is really into rock music, so we were hoping we could find a classical musician to play those songs. Is there any chance you might know of any?"
Crystal's gaze lowered to the floor as she went over the list of musical acquaintances at her disposal. Zerox came to mind first and foremost, especially given that he had gotten her the tickets that sparked Runic's rock music obsession to begin with, but classical wasn't exactly the stallion or his band's strong suit. There was the group that had played at the Grand Galloping Gala last year. Such short notice might be a stretch...
Finally, she looked back up with a smile. "That is a tough request, but I think I can manage the task. I certainly know whom I'll ask, at least. Leave the music with me."
"Great! Thank you, Crystal." His forelegs shifted to push his weight up as he started to stand. "I knew I could count on you."
Crystal's breath caught in her throat before she managed to ask, "Are you in a hurry?"
Much like an obedient dog, Silent sat back down, shaking his head. "No, I'm done for the day, but I wouldn't want to impose on your time."
Crystal giggled behind a hoof. "Sergeant, you're never an imposition. Besides, I think it's about time we discussed that tutoring you had asked for."
Silent nodded slowly. "I think you're right. I'll be starting at the academy soon and I'd hate to squander the time I have before then." He tilted his head. "Did you already have a chance to look over the materials I sent?"
"I have, yes." Her tail flicked behind her and she tried not to look too excited. The private alone time was finally happening! "You seem to be well-spoken and polite enough to skip most of the etiquette items. Honestly, all you have to do is treat ponies the way you treat officers. The etiquette is the same overall it seems. I mean no offense, but I imagine you're going to be weak in polite conversation, fine dining, dancing and..." She hesitated, fighting back a grin. "... lying about insignificant things."
One of his ears twitched and he briefly frowned when the word 'lying' crossed her lips. He cleared his throat. "No offense taken; however, I'm not really comfortable with lying, insignificant or otherwise."
Crystal shifted again, this time to cross her forelegs. "Then we'll call it creative interpretation of the truth, no outright lying. Now, as I see it, these are things we'll need to work on together, since I can't simply give you a pamphlet on them. I've studied all that you gave me already, so we can start right away. If it works for you, then perhaps you should come to see me twice a week after hours." Her heart skipped a beat with hope. "Is that acceptable?"
He hesitated again. "That sounds like an awful lot of your time being invested in helping me. I really don't want to be an imposition, especially since I don't have any way to pay you back. It would just be me taking advantage of you."
It took everything in her power not to turn too red at how the recently formed and socially indecent little voice in the back of her mind reacted to his words. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "As I said, sergeant, you can never be an imposition." The little voice continued to nag at her and she tried to laugh. "And you can't take advantage of me if I'm willing."
The back of her neck heated up—that wasn't what she had meant to say at all. "I want to help you with this," she quickly amended. "Helping ponies fit into this awfully fickle society is a labor of love, moreso when I was a filly and had more time to do so but I still enjoy it now just the same. It may very well be my secondary calling in life, just overshadowed by my writing." She winked. "I have no idea what that cutie mark would look like, but I'd have it."
Silent nodded. "Then I accept." He smiled and she melted. "I'm yours two nights a week."
He certainly wasn't helping keeping her thoughts on the straight and narrow. "Excellent," she said, certain her excitement was showing on her face. "Would you care for some tea before you left?"
"No, thank you." He started to stand up. "I should really be going."
"Ah, ah," she playfully scolded, shaking her head. "First rule of polite company: you cannot go until you've said no politely. You should allow your host to offer something twice, refusing it once if you want it and both times if you don't."
He simply tilted his head, brow furrowed.
She giggled and explained, "By refusing the first time, you're showing your host that you're not there just to take advantage of their hospitality. They will insist and then you may accept. If you're truly not interested in their offer, then refuse a second time."
He nodded, but his expression was still confused. "Thank you for the offer of tea," he said, lowering back to his pillow, "but not this late in the evening."
"Are you certain you don't want any?" she pressed. "Perhaps just half of a cup to keep you warm?"
His ears folded back and she fought against another giggle while he worked through his clear irritation at how unnecessary refusing twice seemed. Finally, a forced smile found its way onto his lips. "I really shouldn't. Winterspear is waiting at home with my special dinner, and I would hate to waste any of it." He started to rise, then paused to look at her for more instruction. When she nodded, he stood the rest of the way. "Thank you."
The giggle escaped her and she stood with him. "With enough practice, it'll become second nature," she assured as they walked to the door. "Have a safe walk home. Give Winterspear my warm regards."
He nodded. "I will. Thank you again, Crystal Wishes. I really do appreciate your help."
"Anytime," she said with a soft smile. She leaned against the doorframe and watched his retreating form before it disappeared down the stairs, her smile disappearing with him.
A heavy sigh escaped her and she returned inside, shutting the door behind her. No progress on her Silent love, either, it seemed.