"Hello, we're here!" Crystal called when she and Silent Knight walked into the shop. Runic and Miley were waiting just inside, turning their heads to look at them.
"Hi, Crystal!" Miley chirped, hopping a little with the exclamation. She wore a cute yellow sundress with white lace along the hem of the skirt, a pleasant contrast to her dark mane and coat.
Crystal approached the two and Miley threw her forelegs around her neck in an excited hug. Crystal blinked, then smiled and returned the embrace. "You look lovely, Miley," Crystal said as she pulled away.
Miley's ears wiggled as she beamed up at her. "Thank you so much! You, too!"
Crystal giggled softly. She was only wearing a pink scarf around her neck, but she accepted the compliment with a light nod of her head.
Miley looked between the three ponies and clapped her hooves. "So, where are we going?"
They turned their eyes to Silent and waited expectantly. Noticing the attention on him, he blinked, then looked at Runic with an equally expecting expression.
Runic shrugged and suggested, "Why don't we try the Fillyharmonic?"
Crystal's ears perked at the name. "Seconded. I've heard their food is excellent."
"Then let's go there!" Miley cheered and bounded for the door.
Crystal followed behind Miley while Runic and Silent walked side by side to catch up on each other's lives. While one of Crystal's ears remained focused on their conversation about recent events and such things, she trotted a few paces to pull up alongside Miley. "How have things been lately?"
Miley smiled. "Good! Great, really! I couldn't be happier." She bobbed her head from side to side in time with the rhythm of their hoofbeats. "How is your writing?"
"I can't complain, I suppose." Crystal shrugged lightly. "I'm hoping to finish this novel soon. I'm a bit stuck in the refinement and editing stage."
"Oh." Miley paused before she inclined her head and asked, "Which one is this novel? I've kinda lost track, I think."
Crystal swallowed and said after a hesitant moment, "I've been working on the novel titled Her Silent Love."
Miley stared. Slowly, her eyes shifted to the side to look back at the stallions behind them. After she stared at Silent for a pointed amount of time, she looked back at Crystal, grinning wide. Crystal's face heated up but she just kept walking.
There was a line out the door when they arrived at the Fillyharmonic. The other three looked to Crystal, who shrugged and said, "I did say I heard their food was excellent." The line shuffled forward and she gestured ahead of them. "And it doesn't seem like the wait will be that long."
After settling into the line, Crystal glanced down at Miley. "You know, Miley, I don't believe I know anything about your family."
Miley perked back up and smiled brightly. "Oh! What do you wanna know?"
"Well, do you have any siblings?"
Miley nodded. "Yup! I have eleven."
Crystal's eyes went wide. "Eleven?!"
"Yup!" she repeated with a happy little bounce. "Five sisters and six brothers."
Crystal turned her head to look at the stallions, gawking, but their attention was elsewhere. She looked back at Miley and blinked a few times. "How does that work? Wouldn't that drive you insane, to have so many ponies in one house?"
Miley tapped her chin in thought, then shrugged. "I mean, it was a little tight sometimes, but we were happy, and that's all that matters, right?" She gasped. "Wait, I just realized! You're an only child, aren't you?" When Crystal nodded, Miley giggled. "Only children can never understand having a lot of siblings."
Crystal just continued to gawk while Miley explained the nuances of a large family until it was their turn to be seated. Mare sat across from mare with their respective stallions beside them. The server set a basket of fresh rolls between them all and, save for Silent Knight, they all took one.
Miley picked up the basket and held it closer to the stallion. "Would you like a roll, sir? There's only one left."
Silent shook his head. Crystal giggled behind a hoof, then waved the notion away. "You don't have to call him sir, Miley!"
Their gazes snapped to her and Miley replied, "Yes I do."
At the same time, Silent said, "Yes she does."
Crystal blinked. "But you're both off duty and we're on a date."
Silent hesitated and Miley explained, smiling, "That's true, but he's an officer and we're both royal guards. That kind of thing doesn't just turn off. We're guards all the time. If he wasn't my commanding officer, we could be less formal, but, um..." She tapped her chin. "Think of it this way: what would everypony else think if they saw us sitting here and I treated him any differently than we were at work?"
"That he wasn't a stuck-up jerk?" Runic offered, his head tilted to the side.
Silent chuckled. "Perhaps, but no," he replied, shaking his head. "They would think I was favoring one sergeant over others and we can't have that. We're fine, though. Miley and I will keep it professional and everypony else can just act like normal."
Crystal glanced between the two, a small pout on her lips. "That doesn't seem as fun, but all right, if you two are sure that's what you want to do." She cleared her throat and picked up her menu, continuing in a lighter tone, "What should we get to eat? Does anypony want to share an appetizer? The cheese sticks sound good!"
Silent cleared his throat and leaned in toward her to say in a more private tone, "Are you sure? Velvet told me you had a bad experience with cheese before."
"What?" she squeaked as she took a sharp intake of air. "Oh, Celestia." Heat spread across her face and all the way to the tips of her ears. She turned away to hide her reddened face. "I'm going to murder her," she finished in a quiet mumble.
Miley interrupted, "How about the potato wedges?" She glanced around the table. "Nice, inoffensive, simple potato wedges? That sounds good to me!"
"I do love potatoes!" Runic grinned and clapped his hooves together. "They make excellent batteries. Let's do that!"
"Make batteries or eat the potatoes?" Silent raised one brow.
Runic paused as if to seriously consider the question, then shrugged. "These are probably meant for eating and I don't need any batteries right now, so... eat?"
Crystal jumped on the topic shift and nodded. "Potatoes it is!"
After the server returned with complimentary salads, he took their orders for appetizers and entrees. Runic broke the momentary silence by saying, "Have you ever thought about getting to the moon?"
Crystal and Miley shook their heads. Silent tilted his and asked, "No, why?"
"Moon rocks, of course."
"Of course." Silent blinked. "How do you plan to get to the moon?"
"Well, I have some theories." Runic paused to take a bite of salad, then continued, "The one that seems the most likely to me would be using a booster of some sort. I've made some models that worked pretty well. Just need to get the good push of force and the rest will be a piece of cake!"
Silent stared for a while. "I'm not following."
Crystal quietly added, "Neither am I."
Runic's eccentric interests were usually comical, but a lot of the science that went along with those eccentricities went over her head. She was fairly certain even if she had paid more attention in her science class she would still be lost.
"Okay, follow me here." Runic set his fork down and raised his hooves, one resting on top of the other. "Imagine a rocket filled with an immolation potion, then you set it on fire and..."
The more he and Silent talked, the more her mind seemed to buzz with confusion, uncertainty, and, most of all, boredom. All of those emotions were washed away by a sudden pit of dread in her stomach. Was this what it was like for other ponies when she talked about her writing?
Silent seemed to notice the look on her face and cleared his throat. "Hey, did you see that they released the Airship Armada starter box? That looks like a lot of fun." He glanced at her.
Her expression must have reflected her true feelings too much because his ears flicked back for a moment. The dread curled in on itself and doubt wriggled its way into her mind. Whenever Silent and Runic got to talking about their miniatures, there was usually no end in sight.
The movement of Miley standing caught her eye. "I'm just going to go to the filly's room real quick," the little mare said. "Be right back!"
"I'll go with you!" Crystal nearly jumped to her hooves in her hurry to stand up.
Miley blinked. "Um, okay. Wait, why?"
Crystal bit her lip and glanced at Silent and Runic. "Oh, well, that is what mares do in filly flicks and..." She trailed, gesturing at the stallions with a hoof. "In situations like this. Isn't it?"
"Right, okay!" Miley shrugged and they walked toward the restrooms.
Once they were safely inside the tiled room that smelled vaguely of incense and hoof soap, Crystal slumped against the counter. "Does Runic talk about flying to the moon and miniatures when Silent's not around?"
Miley paused before she headed into one of the stalls. "Um, yeah, sometimes."
Crystal buried her face in her hooves. "Oh, no, no, no."
"What?"
"I'm not interested in either of those things! Silent is very much into strategy games and miniatures, and for as much he is, I am not. I find them utterly boring!" She looked up and stared at the door that separated them. "What am I going to do?"
There was a pause before the door opened and Miley stepped out, her head tilted. "I don't think you do anything." She hopped up onto her hind legs beside Crystal and washed her front hooves.
Crystal frowned at her. "But how does doing nothing fix anything?"
"It doesn't!" Miley returned the frown with a smile. "It's okay to not like the same things. At least, I think it is! Runic likes rocks a lot." Her lips tightened into a straight line. "A lot." The smile took its place back on her face. "But we're still happy, so, I think it's okay to like different things."
"Oh, I hope you're right." Crystal sighed, following her out of the restroom and back to their table.
The stallions were still engaged in a discussion about Airship Armada, though the potato wedges had finally arrived. Crystal was grateful for their presence; it allowed for a small distraction to the seemingly ceaseless talk of miniature airship warfare. The one time she had been taken on a tour of the airship museum that was her grandparents' house had quelled any interest she might have in the subject.
"Here you are," the server said, interrupting the conversation and her thoughts. He set a plate in front of Crystal, then around the table until they all had their entrees. "Does everything look all right?"
"Absolutely," Crystal replied with the others, her mouth drooling at the sight of the mushroom lettuce wrap before her. "Thank you."
The conversation lulled to be replaced by eating. Halfway through their meal, a spotlight lit up a stage on one side of the room and a pony walked into it.
"Good evening, everypony!" the pony said into a microphone. "I hope you're all having a wonderful time at the Fillyharmonic, because it's about to get better. The karaoke bar is now open! Step right up and croon your favorite tune!" He winked at a nearby couple. "Show your mare what you're made of, stud?"
The stallion made a clear effort to go unnoticed, raising a hoof to cover his face, and the announcer laughed. "Well, surely somepony out there is willing to kick the night off right!"
Crystal gasped, giggled, and nudged against Silent. "Come on, stud," she teased, "you have to!" She tried to shove him and force him to stand, but his larger size and sturdier muscles resisted her with ease.
"I think not." He shook his head. "I just build sets."
After a moment, Runic shrugged and stood. "Fine, I'll go first."
"Still no whether you go or not." Silent's ear flicked in light irritation. "I had no idea this was that kind of place or I wouldn't have agreed to it."
"With all due respect, sir," Miley said before her laughter got the best of her. She quieted down and continued, "It is called the Fillyharmonic. How could it not be a karaoke restaurant?"
Crystal sighed and gave up the one-sided fight, settling back into her seat. "Oh, fine, you win."
Runic got up onto the stage much to the announcer's delight and a few ponies, including an enthusiastic Miley, cheered. He flipped through a song book, tapped on a page, and dropped the record onto the player. Music drifted out of the speaker and words appeared in front of him via an enchanted lantern.
To everypony's surprise, Runic began to sing. Of course, the act of singing was not surprising, but that he had perfect pitch, tone, and rhythm as he sang was somewhat unexpected.
"How does it feel, how does it feel?" he belted out along with the song. "To be without a home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?"
When he finished, there was a pause as everypony sat in dumbstruck awe. Miley was the first to clap and led the others into stomping their hooves and cheering. Runic set the microphone back on the stand, nodded, and returned to the table. He glanced around at the wide eyes staring at him.
"What?" He blinked. "I have other interests."
"I had no idea you could sing," Silent said.
"Me neither!" Miley beamed at him. "That was amazing! You're amazing." She snuggled up against his side, giggling.
Runic shrugged. "None of you ever asked."
Crystal giggled behind a hoof. "You should go again!" She nudged Silent with her elbow. "Maybe you two could do a duet."
"I just build sets," Silent grumbled, then raised his brow at her. "And are you trying to pair me with him now?"
Crystal scrunched up her nose. "If it will get you to sing, then yes." He shook his head and she sighed. "You're no fun."
"I just build sets," he repeated and returned to his meal while they all laughed.
---
They stood outside of the restaurant for a while, still engaged in conversation long after having paid. Finally, Crystal broke the cycle by hugging Miley and saying, "We should do this again soon!"
"Yes!" Miley giggled and bumped her hoof against Silent's after he hugged Runic. "I had a lot of fun! But next time we should do something that the sir might actually participate in."
Silent's ears flattened to the sides. "I just build sets."
"We know, honey," Crystal said, patting his foreleg. "We know."
Runic laughed and waved. "Night you two! See you around." He looped a foreleg around Miley's shoulder, and the two started walking in the direction of his shop.
"That was so much fun!" Crystal smiled up at him. "I'm glad we did this."
Silent nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad you get along with both Miley and Runic. That makes things easier."
"Well, I've known Runic a while," she replied, glancing over at their retreating forms, "and Miley isn't hard to get along with at all. She's so sweet." Her gaze returned to him and her smile softened. "Walk me home, handsome?"
"Do you even need to ask?" His brow arched and he offered his hoof. "After you, beautiful."
Crystal glanced down at his hoof, accepted it in her own, then giggled as they started walking. "You know, I fell for you when you walked me home one time, just like this. Minus the hoof holding, of course. I think Luna was playing matchmaker that evening, to be honest."
He squeezed her hoof gently. "And in a year, you really never thought to tell me?"
"You never asked," she replied with a wink.
"Of course." He chuckled and nudged her shoulder with his own. "Well, anything worth having is worth waiting for, right?"
Her heart fluttered and she returned the nudge by leaning against him for a few steps. "I think so," she murmured. The fluttering slowly calmed down and her mind started to spin until she asked, "So, you and Miley can't be friends? Is that the case for you and Iridescence?"
"Life changes when you become an officer," he replied with a small shake of his head. "I have to keep a safe distance between us to avoid complications for either of us. That is just how it is."
She looked up at him, her brow knitted and her lips pursed. "But she's your best friend. How can you just be okay with that?"
He stopped walking and stared off at nothing in particular. She watched him for a moment as the wheels visibly turned though his expression remained unchanged.
Finally, she asked in a soft voice, "Silent Knight? Are you all right?"
His eyes hardened. "That is just how it is," he repeated. "I don't have a choice." He glanced at her. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Of course. What would you like to talk about?"
There was another pregnant pause before he leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. "Let me just get you home safe."
They walked in silence the rest of the way to her condominium building. Once they were inside, up the stairs, and standing outside her door, she turned to face him. "I had fun tonight."
He nodded. "Me, too."
She swallowed and hesitated, then said, "Good."
It was a little awkward, but she had her heart set on a kiss goodnight. He seemed to catch the hint because his ears stood up with realization and he leaned in, placing a brief kiss on her lips that sent tingles down her spine.
"Goodnight," he said, straightening back up and turning to leave.
"Goodnight." Crystal sighed happily as she waited for him to walk out of sight, then she opened the door and stepped inside. She froze when she saw Velvet staring at her, equally frozen in mid-step. "Oh!" She smiled. "You're home." The smile fell at the mare's bedraggled appearance, her mane and coat clinging to her like wet rags. "Why are you soaked?"
Velvet rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know. Rogue pegasus. I swear, it's like they're always in a bad mood or something."
Crystal clasped a hoof to her cheek. "I hope it wasn't Rossby. I did irritate him the last time we met..." Her brow furrowed and she started to pace the living room. "But he shouldn't take it out on you. I think I'll have a talk with him!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Velvet waved her forehooves. "I don't know if it was Rossby or not. Maybe just forget it before you start a war with the guy."
"I suppose you're right, but still. Whether it was him or not, pegasi are supposed to be responsible with their clouds." Crystal sighed, then smiled and shooed her toward the bathroom. "Go on and dry off before you catch a cold."
Velvet laughed and trotted just out of reach when Crystal pushed her, then flicked her wet tail and disappeared out of sight. "I don't think it works like that, but all right. So how did your double date thing go?"
Crystal flopped down onto a pillow, another dreamy sigh escaping her. "Oh, he was wonderful." She blinked. "The date was wonderful, I mean."
"Uh-huh, sure," Velvet's playful voice replied and Crystal could just imagine the grin on her face.
Crystal stuck her tongue out in the direction of the bathroom, then dropped her head onto her hooves and giggled. She could certainly get used to the goodnight kisses. She just also had to get used to hearing about—in her opinion—overly complicated and utterly boring miniature games. That was a fair trade-off, wasn't it?