//------------------------------//
// Sensual Desires 
// Story: Crystal's Wishes 
// by Crystal Wishes 
//------------------------------//

Crystal groaned and adjusted the awkwardly shaped hat atop her head.  The tassel slipped to the front, tickling her nose, and she blew a puff of air in an attempt to knock it out of the way.  It bounced around before settling right back on her nose again.

"This hat is ridiculous," she grumbled to herself and glanced at the ponies in line with her to mirror the way they wore their hats.  They waited just outside the auditorium while the principal gave some nonsensical speech about responsibility and the future.

More than the hat, the whole ceremony of graduation was ridiculous.  Most of the ponies around her already had jobs and varying levels of success.  They had learned responsibility and grabbed onto their futures without the help of this farce, which only served to lord over ponies without higher education systems.

But, there she was, standing toward the back of the line and waiting for it to start moving.  Did that make her a hypocrite, or just a part of the herd?

Crystal sighed and let her gaze wander the line of ponies ahead of her.  Not too far ahead, she spied the dark blue form of Midnight Poem and smiled.

"Excuse me," she mumbled as she broke formation to trot around and ahead.  "Hello!"

Midnight blinked, then smiled.  "Crystal!  It's been a while!"  He glanced behind him.  "Shouldn't you be in line?  It's going to start soon."

Crystal gave a small roll of her eyes.  "We've supposedly been going to start soon for over half an hour now."

"That—"  He paused, thought it over, and chuckled.  "That is a good point."  His ears perked upright as his tone lifted.  "How are things with you, then?"

"They are well."  A soft expression took hold and her knees went a little weak as her thoughts drifted to Silent Knight.

Midnight's lips curled into a grin and he pawed at the air.  "Well, huh?  Did you find yourself the right stallion?"

There was a pause before a flush shot from Crystal's ears down to her neck.  "P-perhaps."

"Good for you!  I mean, it's not a surprise.  A mare like you doesn't simply stay single."  He chuckled.

"Speaking of, how are things between you and..."  She trailed, her eyes going wide as she drew a complete blank.

"Azure Dance?" Midnight offered.  He shrugged while he rubbed the back of his neck.  "They would be fine, if I weren't leaving after graduation."

Her eyes went even wider as a gasp escaped her.  "What?"  She stepped toward him.  "Leaving?  Why?  Where?"

Midnight waved a hoof, laughing softly.  "It's fine!  Our dreams just don't align, that's all.  I'm going to go with a small group of poets and tour Equestria's more remote locations."  He smiled.  "Hard to call myself a poet when I've never seen anything beyond Canterlot's walls."

"Oh."  That was the only word she had, if it could even be considered a word at all.  She just stared at him, certain her uncertainty was clear on her face.

He verified her visible uncertainty when his smile softened and he said, "It's all right, really.  It was an amicable breakup.  She wants to stay in Canterlot and I don't."

Crystal gave her best effort at a smile.  "Then I wish you the best of luck and hope your travels give you what you're looking for."

"Thanks."  His ear flicked and he glanced ahead, then behind.  "You should get back in line, though.  I really do think we're going to start moving soon."

"All right."  She took a step backward, hesitated, and turned away to walk back to her spot.

The idea ate away at the back of her mind.  Their dreams didn't align, so they broke up.  Did her dreams align with Silent's?  She scoffed under her breath and started to follow the line that shuffled forward.  No, she wouldn't let silly doubts wiggle their way in.  It was silly.  No matter where his dreams took him, she would follow, because she could follow.  A pony could write from anywhere, after all.

The whole graduating class strode out into the open with well-practiced precision so that no pony tripped another or missed their mark.  They took up formation on one end of the stage and faced the crowd that had gathered in support of their respective graduates.

Crystal's gaze easily spotted Velvet's pink and mauve figure in the crowd and when their eyes met, the mare waved both her forelegs with enthusiasm.  Crystal smiled and offered a small wave in return, but her mood deflated when she saw the empty seat next to Velvet.

Of course he hadn't made it.  He was an awfully busy pony.  That was why she hadn't wanted to invite him in the first place; that way, when he didn't show, it wouldn't hurt as much.  She didn't even want to be there herself, so why should she care if he were?  Hypocrisy seemed to be her middle name that day.

A sigh escaped her.  Seeing an empty chair just reminded her of the life she was getting into.  A life of late nights waiting up for a stallion who might, someday, not come home.  Her mind had accepted that as reality, but her heart still ached at the idea.

Slowly, names were called and a pony walked out, accepted their diploma, then walked back to their spot while the next moved to take their place.  It was almost agonizing.  She was so close to being done with it all, and yet it felt like forever still stood between her and that diploma.

"Crystal Wishes," the principal called, pulling her out of her thoughts and back to the moment at hoof.

As with every pony who approached the podium, a light wave of polite stomps and cheers resounded, but one voice called out above the quiet noise, "Whoo!  Yeah, you go Crystal!  You're mah gal!"

Crystal's cheeks flushed as laughter followed, even more attention on her than there had been before.  Her gaze darted about in embarrassment and landed on a sight that brought her an immediate sense of calm: a stallion standing at the very back of the auditorium, the unmistakable dark armor of Princess Luna's House Guard clashing with his white coat.

He had come after all.  Her knees went weak as warmth spread from her chest to her face as her flush grew more intense.  Though there was a fair amount of distance between them, she could feel his gaze on her, and she relished in it.  She smiled and her heart fluttered when he nodded and smiled back at her.

"Crystal?" the principal whispered.  "Step down for the next pony, please."

Crystal glanced up at him, then squeaked and hurried back to the line while he called the name after hers.  She leaned to the side once she was in place to look at Silent Knight again.

The ever-busy, ever-important lieutenant had found time for her on such an inconsequential yet simultaneously important day.  It sent a shiver down her spine while sparking a fire in her chest that wouldn't soon be quelled.


---


Normally, Crystal would be thrilled for game night in Princess Luna's chambers.  It was always fun to spend time with her friends and to forget about the stress of daily life.  That night, however, her mind was elsewhere.  To be precise, it was on the stallion sitting across from her.

He seemed to be back to his normal self.  The smile reached his eyes with sincerity, he was able to laugh and joke around, and most of all, he was there.  He had been there and currently, he was there, so close that if she ignored the stares she would receive, she could touch him.  Oh, and how she wanted to!

She swallowed and glanced down at her cards while Miley stared indecisively at the ones in the center of the table.  What was her strategy, again?  Her brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle it through until Miley broke the silence.

"Sorry, sir."  Miley glanced up at him.

Silent shook his head.  "No need to be.  There's no rush, Miley.  Tonight is more for socializing than playing, anyway."

Crystal frowned behind her spread of cards.  He could speak for himself.  The last thing she wanted to do right then was socialize.

"Speak for yourself, Silent Knight!" Princess Luna called from her separate table.  There were eight ponies in attendance that night, so they had split up into two groups.  Luna tossed her mane with a menacing cackle.  "Tonight, we are out for blood!"

Crystal turned her gaze to Miley and offered a small smile.  "Oh, don't you mind her, sweetie.  That's why we sacrificed Velvet to the princess, so she couldn't scare you while you try to learn."

"What?" Velvet squeaked, looking over at them.  "Gee, thanks, Crystal!  Love you, too!"

"We're not dating anymore, honey."  Crystal giggled.  She kept her attention on her cards, still trying to sort through what her plan had been.  "You'll just have to defeat Luna on your own this time.  Keep your focus and, when she isn't looking, peek at her cards."

A hoof flew to Luna's chest as she gave an exaggerated gasp.  "Such treachery and deceit!  I remember when this evening was civil."

Crystal glanced up from her cards to watch Silent as he surveyed the table.  She knew that look.  He was planning his attack.

"Miley," he said as he casually reordered his spread of cards, "I noticed that your mane is finally back to normal."

Crystal watched Miley as the mare huffed and shot a glare at Runic.  She naively took the bait.  "Yes, it is, thank Luna.  We had a long talk about labels after that!"

"It could have been worse."  Runic shrugged.  "The rock I tried the potion on caught fire."

Miley's eyes went wide and while she did her best not to shriek her baffled dismay, Silent reached across the table to buy one of the available estates.

Crystal giggled and whispered, "You're awful.  I thought you were an honorable knight?"

"Strategy," he replied with a shrug.  "Victory comes before honor."

"Is that so?"  She did her best not to laugh while Miley and Runic fought over the semantics of 'near zero' risk.  "I'll keep that in mind next time I have to make a choice between the two."

Several hours later, the games finally came to an end with Silent and Luna winning their respective games, to no pony's surprise.  Crystal hesitated as the group started to disperse.

"Ask him," Velvet hissed in her ear, causing her to jump a few inches.  "You've been giving him the stare all evening.  Just ask him already!"

"What?"  Crystal gave a hurried shake of her head.  "It—it's late, Velvet.  We should just go home."

Velvet rolled her eyes.  "Lame excuse, but whatever."

With a spread of her mighty wings, Luna stretched out her sore joints, then said as she always did after a late night of gaming, "Silent Knight, please escort Crystal Wishes and Velvet Step home."

Silent nodded.  "My pleasure."  He looked over at the two of them, either ignoring or oblivious to the way Crystal sucked in a breath and went wide-eyed.  Instead, he just motioned to the door.  "Ladies?"

When Crystal just stood there frozen, Velvet bumped their flanks together to push her forward.

"Y-yes," Crystal stammered and shot a light glare over her shoulder.  "Come on, Velvet."

Velvet grinned wickedly when her back was to Silent and whispered, "Don't you mean 'me'?"

Crystal's brow furrowed.  "Yes, I did mean you.  That's why I said your name."

"Oh, Crystal, Crystal."  Velvet giggled and patted her on the shoulder.  She pranced on the tips of her hooves as they made their way down the main corridor of Luna's wing.  "Someday, you'll be on my level, but today's just not that day."

Silent followed behind them, so Velvet continued in a conversational tone, "Can you believe it?  In less than an hour, you'll start your first full day as a brand new mare."  She winked.

Crystal tried not to make eye contact with the devious mare.  "I'm just thrilled to be done with going to school," she enunciated clearly.  "Think of all the free time I'll have now that it's over!"

"Just think of all the sleeping in you can do," Velvet said.  She upped the ante by looking over her shoulder at Silent Knight with a big grin.

Though her face was flushed, Crystal couldn't fight it when Velvet started giggling.  The chime of laughter bubbled up from her chest and she swatted at Velvet.  "Please, stop, okay?  I don't even know if—if—"  She swallowed and shook her head.  "I just don't know, okay?"

"Crabapples and you know it."  Velvet stuck her nose in the air.  "I told you, you've been leering at him all evening."

Crystal groaned.  "Leering is such a vulgar way of putting it."

Velvet shrugged.  They walked the rest of the way in silence while the all-too familiar feeling of uncertainty and doubt churned in her stomach.  When they were outside the condo, Velvet announced just a little too loudly, "I'm just going to head inside.  Straight to my room.  Right to bed!"  She winked at Crystal as she opened the door and pranced inside.  "See ya, Silent Knight!"

"Goodnight, Velvet," Silent called before his gaze settled on Crystal.

They stared at one another, neither moving.  Crystal blinked when she realized she wasn't breathing and took a sharp intake of air.  It was cold inside her hot lungs.  All of her was hot, almost uncomfortably so.  Every time she imagined this moment, it was so easy—Silent would say the perfect thing and she'd answer the perfect way and everything was perfect.

Instead, everything was quiet and awkward.  Her pounding heart nearly drowned out the sound of her self-doubting thoughts.  She wanted to pass out from all the stress rolling around inside her until, finally, she took another breath and dove right in.  One hoof raised toward him in offering as she asked quietly, "Would you like to stay the night?"

Silent nodded and took her hoof.  It wasn't the most romantic acceptance, but she also wasn't sure if he understood the romantic implications.  A giggle bubbled up and she whispered, "This is a little fun.  It feels like we're getting away with something."  She tugged his hoof to gently tug him inside, her magic shutting the door behind him.  "Come on."

They walked slowly and quietly across the living room, each hoof falling with little to no sound.  When Silent nearly tripped over the rug and froze, staring at the ground as though it had attacked him, Crystal had to smother a fit of giggles.

"I feel like I missed out on this experience in secondary school," he whispered as they continued toward her bedroom.  A rush of hope surged through her that he actually did understand, but the feeling was quickly smothered when he added,  "Sneaking around this late at night, that is."

Her words ran away with her when she replied, "My parents would never approve, especially when you were in school."  As soon as she heard her say it, a pang of regret hit her.  Did she have to bring up her parents right at that moment?  She gave a small but quick shake of her head to dislodge the thought.

"Oh?"  Silent stopped just short of crossing the threshold.  "Then maybe I should just sleep out here.  The pillows just are fine."

Crystal rolled her eyes.  She tightened her grip on his hoof and pulled him the rest of the way into her bedroom, shutting the door behind them while he gasped a small "whoa!"

Tonight was the night.  She had spent too much time preparing herself for this to let him slip away with the excuse of being oblivious now.

Silent swallowed, the situation seeming to dawn on him the moment the door clicked shut.  He looked at her with an uncertain tentativeness that shook her confidence.  "Crystal?" he asked quietly.

She didn't move away from him, instead keeping so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.  "Yes?"

"I don't—"  His gaze flickered away from hers.  "I don't have a lot of, well, experience in this."

This calmed the agitated butterflies in her stomach and she smiled.  She raised a hoof to his cheek, gently forcing him to look back at her.  "Neither do I."  She pushed herself up to kiss him.  "But," she finished in a low mumble against his lips, "there's only one way to learn."

His ears perked straight up and she felt his muscles tense.  A shiver shot down her spine and she pulled away, walking toward her dresser with a small sway to her hips.

He remained standing where he was, though his gaze followed her.  "What do I do?"

She paused in the middle of rummaging through a drawer and tossed her mane to look over her shoulder at him with half-lidded eyes that scanned his wonderfully masculine frame.  "Well, first, you relax."

With a pleased flick of her tail, she retrieved an article of clothing and while he focused on his breathing, she slipped the black and pink lacy undergarment on.  She turned to her bed, rested her forelegs on it, and posed in the most coquettish way she could imagine.  She just hoped she wasn't overdoing it.

He froze when he took in the sight of her, the black undergarment contrasting with her coat so that his attention was immediately drawn to it—and what it covered.  His brain must have overheated because he repeated, albeit with a hint of huskiness to his voice, “What do I do?”

She definitely wasn't overdoing it.  A smile lightened her expression and she climbed all the way onto the bed, keeping her alluringly clad rear in his view.  “What do you want to do?” she teased as she stretched out with enough space for him to join her.

Finally, the gears seemed to click into place and he strode over and onto the bed.  Heated excitement shot from the tips of her ears to the tips of her hooves when she saw the eagerness in his eyes and felt his weight as he lowered himself onto her.

Their lips met in a passionate kiss that felt much like their first while she melted underneath him.  This time, however, there was a stronger force behind it.  Romance novels had always described it as 'want' and 'need', but the feeling in her chest and in his kiss was something else entirely.  It was a deep, shared longing that simply felt right, and when they pulled away to gaze at one another, there was no more hesitancy.