To the best of Crystal's knowledge, Princess Celestia was one of the most eloquent orators in Equestria. Her voice was as smooth as silk and typically enraptured those who listened to it. Judging by the faces in the crowd, everypony was hanging on her every beautiful word. Even Velvet was giving the speech her full attention and, after a quick glance around, wiped her eyes with one hoof.
Crystal, however, had something more important occupying her mind. She knew the speech: dearly beloved, sincere but somewhat humorous anecdote, explanation of significance of vows, exchange of said vows, so on and so forth until they were wed. Moore was just finishing up his vows, giving Crystal plenty of time to keep an eye on the crowd—or, at least, one pony in particular.
Finally, the words drifted into Crystal's ears and her muscles tensed. "If any pony in this room knows of any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."
The room was so silent that all Crystal could hear was the pounding of her heart. She watched as Prince Blueblood sat there, facing straight ahead, making no move to stand or speak. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raven steal a worried glance.
Princess Celestia smiled and continued, "Then I am most honored and happy to proclaim you wife and husband." She lowered her regal head to their level. "Moore, do I even need to tell you what you may now do?"
"No, Your Highness, but I certainly would like to hear it anyway." Moore grinned down at Raven, whose face turned bright red.
"Very well." Princess Celestia chuckled softly. "Moore, you may now kiss your bride."
"With pleasure, Your Highness." Moore dipped his head low and as he pressed his lips to Raven's, the room broke out in polite but enthusiastic stomping.
When they pulled away and turned to face the crowd, Princess Celestia announced, "And now, to all the friends and family who have come to celebrate this union, I take great pleasure in presenting, for the first time in Equestria, Mrs. and Mr. Raven and Moore."
As the newlyweds descended the stairs and walked down the aisle together, they were showered in white and pink rose petals as well as cheers. The bridesmares and groomstallions followed behind them in pairs and, once they were all outside the ceremony hall, formed the receiving line. Raven switched places with Moore so that he was at the head and Crystal with Perfect Pace so that she was at Raven's side.
"I can't believe it," Raven whispered, a small, squeaky crack to her voice as she fought back a squeal. "I'm married!"
Crystal giggled. "Congratulations, Raven!"
Raven raised a hoof to rub at her eyes and took a sharp intake of air. "It's almost hard to believe."
Moore leaned his head down to interject, "Rav, you two can gossip at the reception. The guests are ready."
"Yes, Moore." Raven smiled and brushed her shoulder to his. "Spoilsport."
Moore's ears stood up straight. "Excuse me? Now I'm the spoilsport? Have our roles switched now that we're married?"
"It seems that way." Raven stuck her nose in the air with a playful huff, then put on her best smile when the first guest approached. "Hello! Thank you so much for attending."
Crystal doled out obligatory gratitude as the guests made their way down the line. Occasionally, she leaned forward to see how many ponies were left between them and Blueblood. The receiving line sounded good on paper, but in practice, it was awkward and boring, so she made a mental note to not have one for her own wedding That was a fantasy for a different time, though.
Blueblood's recognizable figure finally came into view and Crystal positioned herself closer to Raven without outright blocking his path as he approached. He was bigger than her, but she was scrappy, or so she chose to believe as she prepped her magic. If he made one wrong move, then he'd find his tail stuffed so far up his rear he'd never find it again.
Tension was thick in the air until Prince Blueblood's haughty voice cut through it like a razor. "Raven. Pony Moore." He glanced between them, peering down his snout, then settled his gaze on Moore. "It figures that it would take a common stallion to make a common mare happy."
And, with that, he walked on down the line without speaking to anypony else. Crystal blinked while Raven gawked.
Raven breathed in through her nose and growled, "That pompous—"
"I can't believe it!" Moore interrupted, his chest swelling and a smile spreading across his lips. "I do believe that's the nicest thing he's ever said to me!"
Raven glared up at him. "He called you a common stallion!"
"Yes." Moore leaned down to nuzzle her cheek. "And he said I make you happy, which is a lot better than what he's said in passing to me before."
Raven's expression remained unchanged. "He called me a comm—"
Moore interrupted her by leaning down and kissing her. At first, she mumbled the rest of her complaint against his lips, then gave in to his rather convincing argument.
Crystal smiled and turned her head to look out into the reception hall. Her smile fell when she spotted Prince Blueblood making his way through the crowd and straight for one of the exits. Watching him disappear, she just shrugged and returned her attention to the remaining guests in line.
After the last guest had given the newlywed couple their blessings and what had to be an hour of photographs had been taken, the reception officially started. Crystal walked into the hall alongside Perfect Pace and, when faced with a room filled with heart-themed decor, a thought nearly struck the wind out of her lungs.
The very next day was Hearts and Hooves Day. Not just her first with Silent Knight, but her first with a special somepony at all! What was she going to do? She smiled and did her best to enjoy the free meal and hours of dancing without thinking about it; of course, that meant it was the only thing on her mind the rest of the evening.
---
Velvet peered down at Crystal, who was sprawled on the floor and staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. "So, I guess you partied hard last night, huh?"
Crystal replied with a simple groan.
Velvet took a bite of her breakfast bagel and continued, "What, are you mad because I bailed on the reception? I'm sorry, all right? I just didn't expect there to be so many ponies there."
Another groan. Crystal wriggled over to turn her back to Velvet and curled up into a tight ball.
"Wait... Are you hungover? How much did you drink?" Velvet prodded her with one hoof. "Did you embarrass Raven by bar diving again?"
"I'm not hungover," Crystal finally mumbled. "I'm meditating."
Velvet moved to flop onto the nearest pillow. She took another bite and chewed as loudly as she could until Crystal jerked upright to glare at her. "Whatchya meditating about?"
"Today's Hearts and Hooves Day." Crystal dropped her head back down. "I'm finding my inner peace so that I am able to embrace the day without expectations or disappointment."
Velvet nearly choked on the bagel as she laughed, covering her mouth with one hoof. "Oh, wow! That's right!" She lowered the hoof to reveal a wicked grin. "You're going to spend your first Hearts and Hooves Day with Mr. Unromantic!"
Crystal huffed. "He's not Mr. Unromantic! He's just, well, romantically challenged, that's all." She rolled her head from side to side. "I thought if I stayed at the reception, he might get away from work long enough to drop in so I could get a read on where his head was at. I didn't see him all evening, and now I have no idea what to expect. Thus, I'm trying to expect nothing at all."
"Okay, whatever." Velvet snickered and shifted on the pillow, shaking her head. "So what are your plans after you find your inner peace?"
Crystal blinked a few times before she inclined her head to look at Velvet. "About that. Do you think you could spend the night at your parents'?"
Velvet's amusement faded into a small frown. "Oh." Her expression bounced back to a smile. "Are you going to pick up the slack on the romance, then?"
"I hope to." Crystal twiddled her hooves. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask such a thing of you on such short notice, but with everything that has been going on, I—"
"It's fine!" Velvet rose to her hooves and stretched her hind leg. "Yeah, I can clear out and give you the place to yourself. Just clean up after you're done, all right?" She paused, then grinned and added, "Do you need me to run to the theater and get some coat glitter? Lazuli got the company a hook-up in the Crystal Empire for the Swan Lake performance and we've got a ton left over, if you want to really make a statement."
Crystal's head spun with all sorts of responses until she settled on, "Thanks, but I'm all right." She shook her head. "I'm just going to keep it simple with dinner and dessert. I don't want him to feel like he made a mistake if I make a big deal about it."
Velvet raised one brow and tilted her head just slightly. "I'd think not doing anything for the most romantic day of the year when involved with the most romantic pony I know is pretty much a huge mistake, but whatever. As long as you're happy!" She patted Crystal on the head before trotting over to the door. "I'll go make arrangements to spend the night elsewhere. Good luck finding your inner peace!"
"Thank you, Velvet." Crystal smiled. "I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise." She stood and, once the door was shut, allowed a downtrodden sigh.
It felt wrong to lie to Velvet when she probably knew the truth but was at least kind enough to play along. Crystal hadn't been meditating at all—she'd been sulking.
---
Crystal hummed to herself while she checked on the meal-in-progress. The noodles were boiling, the vegetables were sizzling, and the chocolate-covered berries were setting. All that was left was to blend the toasted almonds and tomatoes with the rest of the ingredients to make the pesto sauce and, as three brisk knocks on the door reminded her, for Silent to arrive.
When she opened the door, she started to greet him with a cheery hello, but her pride and enthusiasm washed away under the weight of surprise and what she said instead was, "Helloooh..."
Silent stood in front of her in a handsome suit. It was the kind of suit dashing stallions wore as they swept unsuspecting mares off their hooves and carried them into sunsets. Her knees nearly buckled underneath her, as if to challenge Silent into carrying out the rest of the suit-inspired fantasy, but she forced herself to stay upright.
"Oh?" He repeated, just the slightest hint of disappointment showing through his tone.
Her eyes widened and she gasped, "No!" She waved a hoof. "I don't mean, 'oh.' I mean, oh, I'm so surprised!" She glanced him over from head to hoof and her heart fluttered. "I'm really surprised. Why don't you come in?"
As he walked inside, he offered her a box of chocolates, which she stared at with wide eyes before taking it in her magic. "Just the first of many surprises, I hope. Did the flowers arrive safely?"
She idly nodded in response to his question, her gaze wandering over to the bouquet of a dozen red roses resting in a vase. They were beautiful, certainly, and she had been happy to receive them, of course, but they had been enough of a surprise. However, the box in front of her had the Sunridge Sweets logo on it, and that meant he had ordered it specifically for her.
Then there was the matter of his suit. Just the thought of it sent tingles down her spine, but she did her best not to drool as she stared at him.
He glanced around after she had been staring a little too long. "And I made reservations at Le Bernardin for dinner."
She blinked a few times. "Really? Oh, wow, you... I'm..." Her brow furrowed a moment, then raised. "Honestly, I'm speechless. You really went through all of this effort for today?"
"Of course." He nodded. "And there's more." He tilted his head and asked with a tinge of tentativeness, "Did I do something wrong?"
Crystal broke free from her surprise to reassure him with a tight hug, nuzzling her face against his neck. "Oh, no! You did right. More than right, actually. This is more than any mare would expect on a day like today. I just—" She bit her lip before she pulled back just enough to look up at him. "Well, it's just that you've been so busy lately, so I made dinner. I thought we could just enjoy each other's company for a quiet evening." She nuzzled the underside of his chin and purred, "Alone."
Silent finally smiled and wrapped his foreleg around her shoulders. "If you just want to stay in then we can do that. I don't mind as long as you're happy."
"Trust me, I am." She giggled and kissed his cheek, then slipped out of his embrace to trot over to the kitchen. "Let me just finish up here while you and your nice suit have a seat."
After tossing the pasta and vegetables in with the sauce, she portioned the meal onto two plates and served them to the small, two-pony dining table she had bought just for the occasion. "I hope you like it," she said as she sat down across from him. "It's a new recipe, which I wish I had made a few more times before having you try it." She bit her lower lip, doing her best to not make it obvious she was watching him.
He just nodded, twirled the pasta around his fork, stabbed a piece of zucchini, and ate it. His ears perked and he quickly dipped his fork back to the plate to twirl it once more, but didn't say anything between bites.
She swallowed. Her stomach did a nervous flip when he went for a third bite and still hadn't said a word. Fear kept her from trying it herself and instead she asked, "How is it?"
"Mm?" He swallowed his mouthful and replied, "Delicious. Why, is there something wrong with yours?"
Relief forced a sigh out of her, but she quickly covered it up with a smile. "Oh, no, I was just making sure."
They ate in companionable silence, Silent seeming to eat with a fury. Before she was even halfway done with her plate, he finished his and leaned back into his seat.
"Crystal," he said as he loosened his tie and smiled, "you may not believe me, but you'll have to trust me when I say that that was the best meal I've had in a while."
She set her fork down, giggling. "Why, thank you, Mr. Knight. I'm glad you enjoyed it." She tapped her hooves together. "If you're ready for dessert, I have some chocolate-covered berries." Her gaze wandered over to the box of Sunridge Sweets chocolates. "Of course, if you'd rather, I don't mind having the special chocolate you bought instead."
He shook his head. "They're specially made for you. We can share the berries you made."
A bolt of excitement shot through her as she levitated the plate from the kitchen and onto the table. She had made up her mind before that she was going to be bold, but after his display of romanticism, he had sealed the deal. With as much grace as her nervous hooves allowed, she stepped around the table and slipped onto his lap, one foreleg wrapped around his neck to steady herself.
She nosed his cheek and said softly, "You really surprised me tonight, Silent Knight." Carefully, she picked up a strawberry with one hoof and held it close to his lips.
"Good. That was the goal." He leaned forward just enough to take a bite.
Crystal relished in their closeness as she continued, "I've never seen this side of you before. Flowers, chocolates, and a nice suit?" She smiled. "I think I like it."
"Well, this side of me is only for you." He returned the smile. "If you'd be so kind and use that unicorn magic of yours, there is an envelope in my bag for you."
She blinked, then turned her head to look at the bag. While she focused on finding and retrieving the envelope, she asked, "There's more to your surprises?"
"This is the last one."
She eyed him with curious suspicion before opening the envelope to find a card inside, which she read aloud. "To my very special somepony. Celestia's sun may be bright, but you are radiant. Luna's moon may be silver, but you are shimmering."
Warmth spread to the tips of her ears as she paused to flipped the first flap of the trifold card over. The words were prewritten by some pony who was paid to write sappy cards all day, but he had still picked the card knowing what it said. They may not have been from his hoof, but they reflected what was in his heart.
"I wouldn't trade you for the sun nor the moon. You mean more to me than both. Aww..." She giggled, then caught sight of a hoofwritten addition. "Even in a world full of Crystals you'll be the one that glimmers the most." She glanced up at him and tilted her head while her cheeks flushed. "That's sweet, Silent. I suppose there are a lot of ponies named Crystal, aren't there?"
The self-assured smile that took residence on his face sent her heart into a fluttering frenzy. He shook his head and said, "Almost there. Open the last flap."
Her brow furrowed as moving the flap revealed two tickets. They were unfamiliar to her, not ones to the ballet theater or for a train ride. A quick skimming of the information on them gave away everything she needed to know and she gasped, nearly slipping out of his lap. "Silent Knight! Are you serious? Are these really tickets to Glimmer World?"
Silent bobbed his head in a slight nod. "Of course. Will you go with me?"
The tickets nearly fell out of her magic as she wrapped both forelegs around his neck. "Yes! Of course! What kind of mare would say no?" She giggled, pressing their cheeks together. "I can't believe you're taking me to Glimmer World on a vacation just for you and me!"
"Yes, just you and me." He chuckled. "Mostly."
"Mostly?" she repeated, pulling away, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. A pit formed in the base of her stomach as all sorts of possible scenarios flew through her mind. There was no way he had just invited her to some sort of family vacation with such a romantic card, was there?
"Well, I sort of made plans for us to have lunch one day with Colonel Armor and Lady Cadence." He shrugged. "Of course, if you don't want to visit the Crystal Palace, that's fine. We could just tell them tha—"
"No, no, no." Crystal slapped a hoof over his mouth a little harder than she intended. "No, that sounds fine. I know how important Shining Armor is to you, after all." She smiled. "I'm sure I can find the strength to share you for one day. Although..." Her hoof slid down and gripped his tie, giving a gentle tug to pull his face closer to hers. "Today is most certainly not that day. You have been a very, very, very good stallion and have earned a reward."
---
Crystal's eyes fluttered open and she breathed in the heady scent of stallion. Her blurry vision focused on the form sleeping next to her and she smiled. He looked so peaceful lying there that she hated the idea of disturbing him, but her stomach hated the idea of lying there even more. Carefully, she slipped out of bed and tiphoofed across the room, breathing a sigh of relief once she shut the door behind her.
First thing was first: clean up the table from the night before, then set about making breakfast. Sunbeam had given her Pepper Ridge's recipe for cinnamon apple cider muffins that she had been practicing. It was time to show it off.
While the second batch was in the oven, she wrapped up the first and slipped them into his bag. She was midway through mixing the batter for a third batch when her bedroom door opened, Silent's head leaned out, and he called, "Hello?"
Crystal looked up from the bowl, smiling. "Good morning! Breakfast is ready, so why don't you have a seat? You should eat before work."
He nodded and took a seat at the table. "Sounds good to me."
She set the bowl on the counter to levitate the plate of cooling muffins. After adding a variety of fruits to the spread, she brought it over to the table. "I thought you might have a healthy appetite this morning so I may have overdone it."
"I'm a bit hungry, yeah," he muttered, his face turning a light shade of red, then he sniffed the air. "Wow, that smells good."
"I hope they taste good, too." She sat down and picked up one of the muffins. "So..." A smile curled her lips. "Just about two weeks from now and we'll be off on our special vacation?"
Silent paused. He had stuffed a whole muffin in his mouth and it didn't look like swallowing quickly was an option, so he just nodded.
"Mmm." Her ears folded back as the smile turned into a goofy little grin. "I don't know if I can be patient for two weeks, though. Can't we just leave now?"
"I know," he managed after finally swallowing, "but it'll be worth the wait. The travel agent said the weather will be better then."
"Really? Well, all right then." She giggled and tilted her head. "You thought of everything, didn't you, stud?"
The feathers of his wings quivered, a self-satisfied smile on his face. "I tried to. I wanted this to be as close to perfect as I could get it."
A rush of what she could only describe as 'warm fuzzies' filled her chest. "I'm sure it will be. Anyway, I wrapped up a batch of muffins and put them in your bag so you could enjoy them at work."
Silent chuckled. "I will do just that, thanks. But, I should go now." He took one last bite and said around it, "We're still short-staffed and I don't want to make things worse by being too late."
When he stood, she stood with him and followed him to the door. He paused, turned toward her, and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips.
"Will you come back by tonight?" she asked, gazing fondly up at him.
"I will." He smiled. "See you then." As he walked out into the hallway, he added two very specific and unexpected words: "Love you."