//------------------------------// // Hello, My Name Is... // Story: Crystal's Hopes // by Crystal Wishes //------------------------------// The sound of spoons hitting the sides of cups as ponies stirred their coffees and teas filled the Cat's Eye Café. It was an ever-constant ambient noise that brought Crystal Wishes a sense of calm despite her nervous, pounding heart. The journalist from the Mares Monthly magazine sat across from her and tapped a pen against his notepad to test the ink before he looked up and smiled at her. "I'm ready whenever you are." Crystal nodded. A hoof raised to tuck a strand of her blonde mane behind one ear, which flicked at the light touch. "Go ahead." Wrapped in silver magic, the pen hovered just above the waiting paper, poised and ready to strike. "Let's not waste any time and get straight to the point: you are C.W. Step, popular romance novelist beloved by mares and stallions alike." "Yes, I am," she replied while she folded her hooves neatly in her lap. The journalist smiled. "It's been four years since you published your first novel, and now you have three under your belt as well as several serials in Mares Monthly. Today, you are ready to drop the guise of your penname and come out from behind the veil. What prompted the change?" A chime of giggles escaped Crystal. "To put it simply, because I want to expand my horizons. I want to start attending more conventions, traveling to more cities, and meeting more ponies. I could do this while maintaining the anonymity of C.W. Step, but frankly, I don't enjoy feeling like I have to hide myself." "Well, then, why don't you tell us who you really are?" He chuckled. "Who is the mare behind the books?" Crystal took a breath in. It was time. Time to accept the good and the bad that would come of this interview. Going public meant staying public; there was no taking it back. "My name is Crystal Wishes. I have recently moved to the Crystal Empire to follow my husband in his changing career, but in my heart, Canterlot will always be my home." "Your husband? Ah, so somepony has already captured the heart of Mares Monthly's Lady of Romance?" "Oh, yes. We actually just returned from our honeymoon." Her teacup levitated and she took a quick sip to compose herself. Her agent, Sunset Coffee, had warned her about divulging too much about herself. The only problem with that was she wasn't sure exactly where the line was and when she might cross it. The journalist bobbed his head. "How wonderful! Do you think your own relationship experience has affected your writing?" Crystal nearly snorted her tea as laughter tried to overtake her. "I'm sure some of my experiences have bled into my fiction from time to time." "What about the other way around? Has what you've read and written in the world of romantic fiction prepared you for the reality of love?" After a startled pause and lowering her teacup back to its saucer, Crystal answered with utmost care, "There are so very many paths of love, in both fantasy and reality, that I don't know if anypony can be truly prepared. For me, it was a winding road with unexpected twists and turns along the way. For a friend, it was a hard fall before a whimsical rise. And for another, it was sunshine and roses after a tentative game of hoofsie. "Everypony finds love in their own way, and I think it is our right as hopeless romantics to seek out as much hope as we can from stories while we wait for our wishes to come true." "Mmhm, I see." He winked. "It almost sounds as though you want ponies to read more romance novels. I can't imagine how that would benefit you!" Crystal laughed politely behind a hoof. "Oh, I have no idea." "Now, let's return to the important matter at hoof. C.W. Step—is there a story there? Why that specific pseudonym?" "Oh, yes." She hooked her forehooves together and rested her chin on them. "My fillyhood friend, Velvet Step, was the one who pushed me to get my work published through Mares Monthly. She had submitted my information to them, posing as the agent for a 'C.W.' When it came time to pick an official pseudonym, I chose to add Step to my initials as a way to thank her for everything she's done for me." "How wonderful! So much meaning behind one word. And finally, what should your fans take away from knowing the mare behind the books?" "What should they take away?" Crystal lowered her gaze for a moment before nodding after some thought. "I suppose they should take away that I'm a pony, just like them. I'm honored and flattered by some of the fan mail I receive and to hear that I've touched the lives of ponies I've never met. But I don't really want to be an inspiration or an idol." She smiled, shaking her head as she continued, "I want to actually and truly meet those who read what I write. I hope that by letting everypony know who I am, that will be the first step in getting to know my fans, now that they know the real me." ♡ Crystal sighed as she sat in the middle of the small but serviceable quarters she and Silent Knight now called home. It was free housing provided by the Guard, so she certainly couldn't complain, but there was just something missing. The buildings of the Crystal Empire were, unsurprisingly, composed primarily of crystalline materials. A part of her missed the beautiful hardwood floors and polished hewn stone of Canterlot. There was also the teensy, tiny issue that she had brought nothing that couldn't fit in a box with her to the Empire. The rest she had left for Velvet to keep in the condo they used to share. That meant they only had a regulation standard bed, locker, footlocker, armor stand, table, and two chairs. The kitchenette was stocked with the bare minimum for home-cooked meals. The rest of their furniture? Boxes. Three boxes of equal size were side-by-side to serve as their couch. A long but narrow box posed as a coffee table. Other boxes were stacked against the walls in order of descending depth as makeshift shelving for what little had been unpacked. As much as Crystal was loath to admit it, she was rather accustomed to just... having things. The place felt so barren and empty without pictures on the walls or real bookshelves. She would never mention it to Silent, but 'regulation standard' was not something she was sure she could live with. Of course, if she could just finish unpacking, then she'd have room to place proper furniture. She levitated the nearest box closer and opened it up to look inside. How many possessions did a mare really need? Certainly not as many as she had! Her ear flicked. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to pare things down. She'd make three piles: keep, donate, and sell. This would be a breeze! She would have fewer things, they would have more space to buy things together as a couple, and make some bits from the 'sell' pile. That plan flew right out the window when she realized it was her own box in front of her. Of course, all of the boxes except for two were hers, so that wasn't much of a surprise. Underneath a protective layer of some scarves and shawls was a picture frame that featured her two closest friends in all of Equestria since foalhood: Velvet and Horsey. It had been taken during their first year at Canterlot Academy, when manes were voluminous, makeup was wild, and colorful clothing was hot. It was also before Horsey had left Canterlot to seek a happier life in Ponyville. So many memories bubbled to the surface of her mind just from looking at Velvet's goofy grin and Horsey's shy smile. Crystal giggled and levitated the frame over to the makeshift coffee table. That was a keeper for sure. The shawls and scarves that had protected it were also to be kept! They were now living in the Frozen North, after all. She'd need all the bundling materials she owned, and possibly even more than that. Taking up the rest of the space in the box were countless notebooks, all with numbers on their covers. A soft, wistful sigh escaped her as she picked up #27 and flipped through it. Scenes, short stories, snippets, outlines, and character notes flashed before her eyes until she reached the last page. There was absolutely no way she could get rid of any of them! They were vital. Necessary, even! It took about two hours, but Crystal had finally made three piles: want to keep, need to keep, and absolutely must keep. She glanced between them and groaned, flopping over to lie on her back. How long would it take before she could make sense of everything and turn the place into a home? The floor, made of perfectly smooth crystal of a muted, dark blue color, was dreadfully cold and uncomfortable. One of the spare notebooks floated over, wrapped in her light pink magic, with a quill tagging along and she levitated them above her as she started to take notes. 1 — Get a rug. 2 — Move boxes to make room for rug. Her nose scrunched up and she scratched the lines out to start over. 1 — Clean up before Silent gets home. 2 — Finish unpacking! 3 — Get a rug and don't move any boxes because they're all unpacked. With a resolute nod, she dropped the notebook back onto the pile of its brethren. "Okay," she muttered and sat upright. It was time to get serious. For real! Another hour went by and though she didn't make any progress on paring down, she did get the clothing tucked away into the locker that currently served as her dresser and the notebooks stacked in a corner of the bedroom. Just as she started to break down the box to have it sent out for recycling, the front door opened. "I'm home," Silent called, slipping his helmet off and onto the armor stand. Crystal hopped to her hooves and trotted over to greet him with a kiss. "Welcome home, husband." Silent smiled down at her. "Thank you, wife." They gazed at each other a moment before Crystal bubbled with giggles. "It still doesn't feel real!" She pranced into the kitchen and listened as he started to remove the rest of his armor. "How was work?" "Still doesn't feel real," he said, chuckling. "It's been a long time since I worked with Shining Armor. I didn't realize how much I missed his mentorship." "You two are so cute together," she teased. She filled up a kettle with water, then set it on the stove and looked over at him with a grin. "Should I be worried?" Silent snorted. "No. Unfortunately, I don't think I could tear him away from Lady Cadence. It looks like I'm stuck with you." Her ears wiggled. "In sickness and in health, my love!" "Mmhm." He eased himself onto the box-couch and stretched out. "How did your interview go?" "Oh, well—well. It went well." She leaned against the counter. "I'm a little nervous, but what's the worst that could happen?" A soft laugh escaped her as she rubbed her foreleg. "I mean, aside from everypony who knew me in Canterlot finding out that I write romance novels. And everypony here I try to meet knowing that, too." He inclined his head to look at her. "That doesn't seem like too bad of a worst case scenario to me." Crystal sighed. "I suppose not. At least the ponies here are less judgmental about things like this." Her tail flicked with light irritation as she turned back to the stove. "I'm sure my mother is going to have some cross words for me about how my 'tawdry affair' reflects on her." A tapping sound responded. She looked over to see him sitting upright, one hoof patting the empty spot beside him. After a moment of uncertainty, she walked over to sit down and smiled as he wrapped a wing around her to pull her close. "You wanted to do this, right?" he asked, nuzzling the spot behind her ear. "This was your choice, wasn't it?" She tried not to shiver at the sensation that would otherwise be a tempting offer. "Well, yes, I—" "Then what does it matter?" She tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "I don't exactly enjoy disappointing her at every turn." "Oh well." He shrugged, dropping back down onto the box-couch and placing his head in her lap. "I think that's just the destiny of children. We disappoint our parents. Then we have kids and they disappoint us. Now forget about all that and pet me." Crystal gazed down at him for a moment before giggling and running her hoof through his mane. "I'll be sure to use that line in my next novel. The readers will love such a whimsical sentiment." He hummed at her touch and closed his eyes. "How is that going? Your next novel?" "It will be coming along nicely once I get this place in shape." She smiled down at him. "It's hard to focus on writing with so much work to do! I think it might help motivate me to unpack if I buy some things to brighten the place up." "Brighten the place up?" He gestured vaguely at their crystalline surroundings. "Crystal walls aren't bright enough for you?" She huffed and swatted at his shoulder. "Oh, you know what I mean!" "Yes, yes." His hoof dropped to land on the box-couch. "Some real furniture?" "Yes. And maybe a painting or two. And some new sheets." She scrunched up her nose. "The ones the Guard provided are too itchy." After a pause, Silent sat upright and dropped down onto the floor to walk over to where his armor rested on its stand. "I know I already gave you your allowance, but let me give you some extra bits for shopping." "Allowance?" Crystal blinked, her head tilting one way, then the other. "Yes?" He glanced between his bit pouch and her. "The twenty bits I gave you yesterday as spending money?" A small sound rose in her throat and she strangled it with a smile. "Oh. Right." She had an allowance? Of twenty bits? Was that a day? A week? A month?! She had spent those bits on lunch with the journalist! When he had given them to her, all he had said was, "You shouldn't have to worry about bits, so here." He hadn't mentioned it was an allowance! She watched him with what she hoped was a neutral smile as he walked back over. Did he think that was a lot? Did he expect her to live on twenty bits? She had never considered herself a materialistic mare, but suddenly she wondered otherwise. He held out two twenty bit pieces. "Here you go." He smiled. "I want you to be comfortable here, so don't be afraid to spend it all." She tried to take them as graciously as she could. He thought it was a lot. In a way, it was extremely endearing. He never had to pay rent because of the Guard, and his meals were either cheap or free, also thanks to the Guard. On the other hoof, she was almost terrified to know how much the Guard paid him after taking care of his room, board, and food. Did she make more than him? Would he be offended if he knew how paltry forty bits was to her? "Thank you, honey," she said, tucking the bits away into her own bit purse before returning to the kitchen as the kettle whistled. One little secret couldn't hurt. After all, if he didn't discuss his finances, then it wasn't lying to do the same. "What kind of brew do you want?" "Mm, what was the one from yesterday? I liked that." He sat back down and stretched out, yawning. She smiled and levitated a glass jar off a shelf that contained a mix of tea leaves and spices. "Coming right up. Oh! And don't forget, you're on your own for a few days next week." After a brief pause, he nodded. "Right. Horsey's foal is due. That's fine. I'll see if Runic wants to come visit." His ears flicked. "Do you think you can make room for the table he got us for our wedding before then?" "If all goes to plan, I'll have this place ready for anything within the next few days. Living in a box warehouse doesn't feel befitting of a handsome lieutenant and his beautiful wife." She winked at him as she brought over the steeping tea. He chuckled and accepted the teacup. "I don't know. It is a versatile storage solution, if you think about it. Modular furniture that you can arrange into anything and keep your belongings in. Maybe we should market it, get rich, and retire to live at Colton Head Island for the rest of our days." Crystal sat down next to him and nestled up against his side. "That's a wonderful idea, but I don't think you would ever be happy in retirement." "You're probably right, but if I had you with me, I think I could manage." He wrapped a foreleg around her shoulders. She closed her eyes and smiled, a soft hum rumbling happily in her throat. "I'll start the process right away, then." She raised a hoof. "To our retirement." He took her hoof in his, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it softly. "To our retirement."