//------------------------------// // Halcyon Days // Story: Crystal's Wishes // by Crystal Wishes //------------------------------// A small sound that resembled a choking snort bubbled in Luna's throat, her ears swiveled toward Crystal and her eyes widened. "Pray, come again?" She blinked a few times, keeping her voice low so that the conversation remained private despite the overwhelming crowd of ponies in the vicinity. "He was under the impression you and Velvet Step—?" Crystal rubbed the back of her neck. "It would seem that way." Luna stared at her a moment longer, then tossed her radiant mane and laughed. "Everything is much clearer now! It seemed too strange that he had not properly courted you despite the attraction clear as starlight between you." "In hindsight, I appreciate your efforts at matchmaking." Crystal smiled up at her. "Silent Knight wasn't the only one oblivious to outside influence." "I did not seek gratitude for my actions," Luna said with a soft, motherly smile as she looked at Crystal. "But you are welcome." The smile lifted into a grin. "Henceforth you are on your own, however. If you wish to keep the stallion it is in your hooves now." Crystal giggled and nodded. "Yes, Princess." She turned her focus to the still closed academy doors. The time was approaching. Soon, the graduates would march onto the field and a speech would be given. Silent Knight would become a new stallion, or so they said of the cadets that became officers. She shook her head. If he changed any further, then he would be an entirely new pony altogether! The more she thought about those doors opening, the more nervous she felt. She had no reason to be, of course, and scolded her heart that thumped so hard against her chest she could hear it in her ears. He was the one who had gone through twelve weeks of officers' school, not her, and that aside he had already graduated. All that remained was ceremony. Yet, there went her heart, pounding away while she waited with the others on the stands. Strangely, she was gripped by the sudden fear that she wouldn't recognize him in the crowd of other guards that would soon march onto the field. She wanted to see him, her stallion, standing at attention with all of the pride he had earned through his accomplishments. She wanted to see his face when he saw the section filled with ponies that had gathered solely for him. All of his friends were there, ready to cheer for him, ready to show him how much support he had. After all, how many cadets could say that one of the alicorn princesses attended for their sake? Of course, a selfish part of her was even more excited to see his face when he saw her. She wore an elegant silver gown that shimmered beautifully, more so than any dress she had ever seen before. Lazuli had tipped her off that fashion in the Crystal Empire was different from anywhere else, so Crystal had placed an order right away and was grateful she had. Clothing that was crystalline in appearance would be all the rage in Canterlot soon enough, but right then, it made her stand out and that was exactly what she wanted. Now that she knew how he felt, she would be bold. She would do whatever it took to be worthy of his affection and that day, she would look her very best and cheer with all her strength. The pounding of her heart found rhythm when the sound of drumming filled the air. As the doors were pushed open, everypony on the stands broke out in cheers at the sight of whomever they were waiting for; Crystal's whole being lit up with glee when her gaze instantly found him. She put everything she had into cheering and stomping her front hooves against the stand beneath her. There he was. Silent Knight, the stallion who had already done so much and still had so much left to do. The stallion who, only three years ago, wouldn't say a word during rehearsal of Romehorse and Julimare. Who the other hoofball players called antisocial. Who spent so much time alone. Who now never had to be alone. All around her were ponies that would do anything for him. Iridescence and Winterspear stood in the front row in their highly polished ceremonial armor; despite the rocky road that the three had travelled, they had come out stronger for it. Behind Crystal cheered Runic, whose eccentricity had been tempered—but not fully quelled, for who would he be without it—by his relationship with the happily screaming Miley Hooves, the little mare who could because Silent had helped her find the confidence to overcome anything. And, of course, he had Velvet's unwavering support, even with her reservations about what changes may be on the horizon. She had and would stand by them through whatever happened. Of course, that meant standing a little further away now, given the recent revelation about their perceived relationship. Velvet was a better friend than she could ever ask for. The cheering quieted down as the commandant called for attention and began his speech, but Crystal heard none of it, too busy thinking of how many friends he had. She took a sharp breath in as tears started to prick the corners of her eyes and she blinked them back. Yes, they were his friends, but they were also hers, too. She had gotten to know them before gaming night associated them with Silent in her mind. That had never truly occurred to her until that moment and it overwhelmed her. For as much as she had thought of his changes, she then reflected on her own. After all, Velvet was right: the same three years ago, Crystal panted and drooled over every stallion that came her way. She had no direction, no friends outside of Velvet and Horsey, and no real commitment to anything. Now, all of that was different. She had two novels under her belt, a third one in the final stages, and a fourth brewing in the back of her mind; more friends than she realized, presently nearby and elsewhere; and, most importantly to her, a love in her heart. Which brought her back to the stallion standing tall and proud on the field. Briefly, their eyes met and her thoughts were swept away in his gaze. If he wasn't the one, then why did her soul feel glad? If her love line wasn't made for him, then why did her heart tell her that it was? Her eyes widened and the tears she fought returned with a joyful fury. It all made sense. Lovey had been telling her the simple truth all along. Her heart said he was the one; therefore, he was. It was so stupidly simple that she almost broke out laughing in the middle of the commandant's speech, which was coming to a thankful close. "Mares and gentleponies, it is my pleasure to present to you this season's graduates!" The cheering surged from the crowd and showered Silent and the other graduates with adoration and pride. After a moment of letting them bask in the attention, they were allowed to break rank and start toward the stands. At that moment, Crystal and the others hurried onto the field to meet him halfway, forming a pony barrier to block one secret attendant in particular from his view. Luna walked in the front, her wings spread in proud display with an ulterior motive. The rest of them glanced at each other in secretive excitement. None were very good at keeping secrets, but this one, of all secrets, was worth letting Silent find out for himself. "Silent Knight," Luna said with elation clear in her voice, "we have a surprise for you." Silent's face clouded with confusion until she stepped aside to reveal Shining Armor, former Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, current Commander of the Crystal Empire's Royal Guard. For a third time that day Crystal wanted to cry. Shining Armor had been many things to Silent Knight over the course of his career—commander, instructor, mentor, and, most of all, friend. There was no more perfect pony for such an occasion. "If you will allow it," Shining said as he approached Silent, "I would like to do the honors of pinning you, cadet." Silent puffed up with pride. "It would be a privilege, sir." Shining stepped closer with a small wooden box levitating in his magic and Winterspear fell in beside him. They all watched as the box was opened to remove a shiny silver bar, which Shining raised and pinned to Silent's uniform before he stepped out of the way. Silent angled himself just enough to face Winterspear, who stiffened to attention and saluted him. He returned it, then gave her a silver twenty bit piece. It was an old tradition: a newly minted officer paid for his first salute to acknowledge that he had yet to actually earn it, that his duty had only just begun. Crystal gently touched the corners of her eyes to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall while the rest of the crowd stomped. Winterspear threw her forelegs around Silent and hugged him tight. "I'm so proud of you!" Winterspear exclaimed, squeezing even tighter. When she let go, Silent shook hooves with Shining. Runic hopped forward and offered his hoof for a shake as well, which Silent gladly accepted. "You have done well, Silent Knight. We are all very proud of you," Luna said. Silent looked up at her, smiling. "Thank you, Princess. I would have never made it this far without you and the colonel. I owe you both a lot." Shining shook his head. "You owe us nothing. Just keep looking after your ponies; that's all I ask." "Verily!" Luna cheered. "Come, it is time for us to return to the palace and celebrate, for on the morrow we must return to work!" Everypony turned and started to leave the field. Crystal hesitated a moment when Silent approached her. There was so much she wanted to say, but she hadn't quite found the words yet. Instead, she smiled and started to follow the others, walking alongside him. "I'm so proud of you, Silent Knight." Silent smiled. "Thank you. And thank you for coming." "I wouldn't have missed it for the world." She let her gaze drift to the other cadets with their loved ones. "I—frost pony!" she squeaked when she spotted a dark grey, thick-coated stallion the size of an earth pony but with a horn on his forehead. Her eyes went wide. A frost pony, no more than thirty paces away! Silent blinked a few times, following her gaze. "Frost pony? I... Oh." He chuckled. "That's Cobalt Thane. Yes, he's a frost pony, but how did you know that?" Crystal tore her attention away from the dark grey stallion to look up at Silent with excitement plastered on her face. "I've been doing research on them for my next novel! To think I would see one here in Canterlot, of all places!" She leaned forward to peer around Silent at him again. He had a very light blue mane that extended to his shoulder and chest, much like the mane of a lion. "What is he like? Did he tell you anything about his homeland?" Silent chuckled and shook his head. "He doesn't talk much, though he is working on that. We could go over and talk to him, if you'd like." She gazed up at him a moment, then giggled. "Thank you, but perhaps another time. Today, you are the center of my attention." "If you're sure." He shrugged in mid-step without altering his gait. "I don't mind." "I do." She held her head high. "You've come a long way, Silent Knight. The least you deserve is a day to celebrate that." He arched his brow, but simply shrugged again in response. They continued onward toward the palace and light conversation resumed, mostly regarding how grateful Silent was to be done with officers' school and start his new life as a lieutenant. Crystal just smiled and nodded, more than happy to listen to anything he had to say in that wonderful voice of his. --- Crystal was not ashamed to admit that despite her words, her attention had strayed to the beautiful mare in front of her, Lady Cadence of the Crystal Empire. Fun pop songs played over the speakers of the makeshift DJ table, which was a surprise given that Runic was in charge of the music, and everypony was dancing. Crystal was well aware of her limitations after the last time she danced, so she sticked to just bobbing lightly from hoof to hoof. "I'm just so, so happy for you two!" Cadence beamed at her. "I was wondering how long it would take." "Huh?" Crystal tilted her head to one side, pausing her bobbing for a moment. "What do you mean?" Cadence waved a dismissive hoof. "Oh, well, I figured it out when we met at the, you know, hospital. You kept saying that you were just friends and that didn't make any sense. I asked Shiny about it and he told me the same thing. It was very confusing!" "Admittedly, I've pined after him for quite a while now." Crystal shook her head and sighed. "And apparently he felt the same way, but everypony was under the impression that my friend Velvet and I were a couple." "Yup!" Velvet chimed in, bouncing closer to force herself into the conversation. "Mares can't just be friends these days, I guess! What's up with that?" Cadence glanced at Velvet, then smiled after a moment. "Well, all's well that ends well, right?" Velvet nodded and repeated, "Yup!" She flashed a grin at them before twirling her way back into crowd. The two of them laughed before Cadence nodded her head away from the others and they walked off to the side. Crystal felt a momentary wave of dread wash over her until Cadence asked in a quiet voice, "I take it this means you made up your mind since we spoke at the hospital?" Crystal nodded quickly and resolutely. "I have. I know what I want"—she put her hoof to her chest, feeling her heart beat with excitement as she looked toward the balcony where Silent stood, talking to Shining Armor—"and I'm willing to face the good and the bad. They are our stallions, and it's our job to support them through it all." "That's wonderful to hear." Cadence smiled, though it didn't fully reach her eyes, a hint of sadness lingering at the corners. "If you ever need to talk to a pony who understands, you are always free to come visit." Crystal looked back at her. "At the Crystal Empire?" Cadence nodded, then perked up. "Actually, you and Silent Knight should come visit us sometime! We can have a double date!" "Oh, please!" Crystal's ears stood straight up. "That would be wonderful! I've actually been doing some research on the Crystal Empire for a potential novel set there. Actually, if you—" Cadence interrupted her with a gasp. "You're going to write a new novel based in the Crystal Empire?" "Maybe!" Crystal shrugged. "Or maybe the frozen north. I found an old novel from before the Empire disappeared and am currently a little obsessed with frost ponies!" She giggled behind a hoof. "Obsessed?" One of Cadence's brows arched, a playful little smile on her lips. "But I thought you said you were going to stand by Silent Knight? Have you already changed your mind?" "What? Oh, no! No, not like that!" Crystal's face turned bright red. "I meant—I just—You see—" A melodic laugh bubbled up and Cadence tried to cover her mouth before it escaped, but it was too late. "I'm just teasing! Come along, we should get back to dancing before somepony notices." As they started back toward the crowd of dancing ponies, Shining Armor cleared his throat to get everypony's attention. He stood at the threshold from the balcony back to the main chamber, Silent at his side. "Mares and gentleponies, Silent Knight!" The crowd cheered and waved for him to join the dance party. Silent lit up with a bright smile as he looked at all of them, nodded, and walked over to join the festivities. "I got this!" Runic shouted from his spot behind the DJ table and cut off the music rather abruptly. When all eyes were on him, he grinned sheepishly from the suspicious looks he received. "Hey, I said I got this." He flipped a new record into place and dropped the needle. Soft and slow music drifted out of the speakers and the lights dimmed. Runic winked at Crystal, then walked around the table to go to Miley's side. Shining went to Cadence and greeted her with a loving nuzzle, brushing his neck against hers. Velvet rolled her eyes, then looked up at Princess Luna, who returned the blank stare. They shrugged, then faced one another and swayed with the gentle rhythm. "Well, Lieutenant," Crystal practically purred as she turned to face her stallion. "It looks like it's time for you to put your training to use." Silent nodded and bowed low to her, then held up a hoof. "My lady?" Crystal placed her hoof in his and melted when, with one fluid motion, he rose from his bow to stand on his hind legs and pulled her to him with his free foreleg around her middle. Cadence squealed in delight at the sight and Velvet clapped her hooves, then everypony went quiet to watch when Silent began to lead. It took everything in her power to not completely melt in his warm, firm embrace. Their eyes were locked as they glided through the steps. She hardly noticed the smiling faces around them; in that moment, everything she was belonged to him. Oh, if there were a way they could stay like that forever, she would gladly sacrifice whatever it took.