"I'm home," Crystal called as she opened the door to her and Silent's quarters. The lights were off and it was just a bell before noon, so it was no surprise that Silent was at work. That didn't keep her tail and ears from drooping a little at the empty home, however.
Crystal sighed and brought her luggage in, dropping it on the sofa while she collapsed on the rug. A soft groan dragged out of her, starting as a low moan and ramping up into a high-pitched whine.
She had come to the complete and total conclusion that a job that required her to be on her hooves for hours on end was her definition of Tartarus. And she had only done it for two days.
After a final snort to relieve the remaining frustration and exhaustion within her, Crystal rolled over to sit upright and looked around. The space was emptier than she remembered. Hadn't she gone shopping recently? Why were there no personal touches? Savoir and Horsey's home above the restaurant was full of memories and love. Velvet had made the condo her own. This place was still cold and smooth—too smooth.
A shopping trip was definitely in order. All she needed was a couple picture frames, some vases, a few doilies… Crystal smiled, rising to her hooves and retrieving her saddlebags. And, perhaps, she could surprise Silent and drop by for an impromptu lunch. He might enjoy that half as much as she would! In fact, that seemed like a wonderful place to start.
The sights of the Crystal Empire were wondrous as always and had yet to grow old. Though she was fairly sure it would have to happen eventually, she had some doubts about that. The stained glass murals in Canterlot Palace always took her breath away whenever she had stopped to really look at them. Perhaps casual strolls through the Empire would become less brilliant with time, but if she ever took a moment to take in the sights, it would likely still glimmer and sparkle with the same radiance that it had on her first visit.
Crystal smiled to herself, trotting down the wide street that led toward the palace. It loomed above without any sense of looming; instead, it was a beacon of all that was good in the world with the way it stood tall and proud. A symbol of peace and harmony. And there was no better pony to occupy it as its keeper than Lady Cadence… even if she had developed the unfortunate habit of listening to Velvet's advice on Crystal's likes and dislikes.
"Hello!" a crystal pony greeted from the street corner. "Hello, would you like to try a sample?"
"A sample?" Crystal stopped and turned her head to look at the stallion. "A sample of what?"
The answer, however, couldn't have been more obvious. He stood in front of a candy store and had a tray of different, colorful sweet treats held in his magic.
The stallion smiled. "Some of our candies, of course! The Crystal Candy Corner has anything you might like, I guarantee! Why don't you try some?"
Crystal walked closer, her gaze darting between the options and her mouth watering in anticipation. Of course, she had already been a mite peckish with the time of lunch approaching, but the candies did look very appealing. "Oh, my, they all look wonderful! What do you recommend?"
"Why not a bit of everything?" He winked and held the tray closer to her. "We have more! Lots more!"
Crystal giggled and shook her head, pawing at the air in his direction. "I'll spoil my appetite if I try everything, sir! But if you have a box of samples I could purchase and enjoy for dessert?"
Quick as a blink, an oversized box just as colorful as what it contained levitated over. "Of course! Normally it's thirty bits, but on such a lovely day for such a lovely lady, who could charge anything more than twenty-five bits?"
A bubble of laughter escaped her and she retrieved the bits. Though it was all a sales tactic, it still felt genuine. Everything about the crystal ponies felt that way, but perhaps when her base of reference was Canterlot, that was just a side effect of culture shock. "You, my good sir, have yourself a deal. I look forward to enjoying them!"
"I look forward to seeing you again as a repeat customer, I'm sure of it!" He waved as she tucked the box into her bags and started on her way back toward the palace. "Have a wonderful day, ma'am!"
"You as well!" she called over her shoulder before settling into a merry little hum. It already was a wonderful day. Their house might not yet be a home, but the Empire and its citizens were certainly growing on her.
When she approached the large double doors that led into the palace, the guards standing at their posts straightened to attention. One cracked a light smile and said, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Wishes. Visiting your husband?"
Crystal bobbed her head in a light nod. "I am indeed! Just a quick little visit before I go shopping."
"Very good, Mrs. Wishes." He pulled the door nearest to him open as she reached the top of the stairs. "Have a nice visit and good luck with your shopping."
The Crystal Palace was unnecessarily large, in her opinion. She couldn't fathom there being a pony in existence that needed doors so wide or rooms so tall. It sometimes made her feel small and insignificant against the crystalline grandeur, a stark contrast to the culture of the Empire. Of course, that didn't detract any from how gorgeous the architecture was. She just wished it was on a more reasonable scale.
As she made her way along the halls, guards greeted her here and there. It hadn't even been three weeks and they were polite enough to remember her name, though she was still learning theirs. She really needed to work on that. Unlike Luna's House Guard, however, there were just so many of them and she had yet to spend any time with them out of the armor. It was hard to remember the name of a pony who had no distinct personality around her.
Brushing the thoughts from her mind, she arrived at Silent's office and knocked, a little jolt of joy jumpstarting her mood when she heard his voice call her in. She pushed the door open, chiming, "Hi, honey!"
Silent froze. He sat behind his desk with a partially eaten sandwich held in his hooves. He glanced between her and his lunch, which he slowly lowered as he said, "Oh. You're back."
One brow arched, Crystal strode over and put her forehooves on his desk. "Yes, I am. Why do you look like a colt stuck in a cookie jar? And where did you get that sandwich? Hmm?"
His wings drooped and his ears folded back. "Sorry. I didn't know you'd be home so soon. I packed my own lunch." He started to stand up. "But I can put it away and we can—"
Crystal sputtered into giggles, waving him back down. "Oh, don't be silly! You're almost done with it, so just finish." She leaned in as far as she could toward him, the desk proving to be quite the barrier between them.
"All right. If you're sure." A smile lit up his face and he met her halfway with a light kiss. "Welcome home."
With a small hum of delight, she stole one more kiss before sitting down. "It's a shame you couldn't come with. Horsey's foal is absolutely perfect."
Silent said around a bite of sandwich, "Yeah? What's 'er name?"
"Claire de Lune," Crystal purred more than said. "A perfect name for a perfect foal. Oh, Siley, she has her mother's eyes, and looks like a beam of moonlight came down from the heavens to grace us with how perfect she is." She hooked her forehooves together to rest her chin on them. "She'll grow up to be a beautiful mare, and with a personality to match it if she has even half of Horsey's kindness."
"Wow." He blinked. "That must be some foal. We'll have to invite them up sometime so I can meet this Claire."
She gasped and jolted upright. "Oh! That's a wonderful idea! When Claire is of age to travel, we should absolutely invite them. They can enjoy the sights of the Empire while you and I sit the foal!"
After a brief pause, his brow knitted and he tilted his head. "Sit the foal? Don't you want to spend time with Horsey?"
"Well, yes, certainly, of course." She waved a hoof. "But you don't understand! Red was an adorable foal. Is an adorable foal. But it's as Velvet said. He's grown so much that I hardly remembered how wonderful little foals are."
There was another pause and he asked slowly, "Are you trying to tell me you want a foal?" One ear flicked. "I'm not against the idea, but we only just got married, and—"
"What?" She scrunched up her nose, then gave a quick shake of her head. "What? No! I'm talking about Horsey's foal, not having a foal! If I talk about somepony's pet, that doesn't mean I want to have a pet."
He eyed her with a look of suspicion before he shrugged. "It's okay. I think it would be normal for you to want to have foals. You'd make a great mother."
She huffed lightly. "I'm not saying that, either. I just want to talk about Claire, and—" She blinked, tilted her head, and then smiled. "Do you really think that? That I'd be a great mother?"
The tension seemed to leave his shoulders as he relaxed back into his seat, nodding. "Of course. Just… in a month, maybe. Or two. I'd like to get settled here in the Empire before then. If that's okay with you."
"Oh, honey, I'm fine with waiting much longer than that." She shifted one hindleg to cross over the other. "If it's okay with you, I just want to enjoy the married life for now. Besides, I can enjoy Horsey's foal in the meantime." She giggled and inclined her head toward the saddlebags resting on the floor beside her. Her magic sought out the flap and retrieved the box of candies. "For now, why don't we have dessert?"
Silent's ears perked and angled toward her, interest glimmering in his eyes. Even he, who had never expressed an excessive fondness for sweets, was drawn in by the colorful box that promised a delightful experience. "What's that?"
Crystal set the box between them and pulled back the lid. "A sampling of what they sell at the Crystal Candy Corner." A shiny yellow, spherical candy with a swirl of white in the center rose in her magic and bobbed over to him. "Try it and see what you think!"
"What is it?" he asked, but opened his mouth and accepted it nonetheless. His nose wiggled when he tried to bite into it and the sound of his teeth clacking revealed it to be much softer than anticipated. "Oh," he said, chewing the sugary remains, "it's lemon. And soft. I thought it would be a hard candy."
"Me, too!" She retrieved a half-pink, half-white sphere for herself, bit down with much more care, and giggled as an explosion of flavor burst along her tongue. "Mm, strawberries and cream…"
Silent picked up another—this one yellow with a green stripe—and balanced it on his hoof to give it a closer look. "You should get more of these." His gaze lifted to meet hers. "Unfortunately, my lunch break is almost over, so—"
"Oh! Right!" She scooped the box back into her saddlebags. "I'm sorry, I got carried away. I have some shopping to do, so I'll see you at home?"
He smiled and rose to his hooves when she stood. "Of course. Do you have what you need to buy what you want?"
Suppressing a giggle, she leaned in to kiss him one more time before turning to the door. "Don't worry about my bitpurse! It and I are just fine. Have a good day, dear!"
♡
While unpacking yet another box from the pile that never seemed to grow any smaller, Crystal had made a most wonderful discovery.
Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee.
Her record player and collection of records had been safely tucked into a box at the bottom of a stack. Oh, how she had forgotten the joys of song in her life! She hummed along with the tune as she dusted the shelves and rearranged her most recent purchases.
Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,
Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away.
The world was so much brighter with music. It made the hours pass by like leaves on a stream, and soon Silent would be home. Yes, home—it was starting to feel that way after the past few days of shopping since she got back from Ponyville. A cute collection of pink, blue, and white shimmering vases had been an absolute must-have she couldn't pass up.
Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,
List while I woo thee with soft melody.
Frames were affixed to the walls with secure strips, sans any pictures. She couldn't decide which ones she wanted on display; Silent would just have to help her with that when he got home. There was still some time before he would, however, so she was arranging and rearranging and re-rearranging the vases. On the table? On the counter? On top of the bookshelves? So many options!
Gone are the cares of life's busy throng,
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Her ear twitched at the sound of somepony undoing the lock and she flipped the player off. So perhaps she didn't have as much time as she thought. Music did have a tendency to take away the time she wanted to pass as well as the time she tried to watch. The door would open at any moment, and the vases were scattered in different locations. She had to pick a place, she had to—
Silent walked in, their eyes met, and her time was up.
"Welcome home, sweetie!" she chimed, hoping to look casual as she hurriedly decided on top of the bookshelves would be a suitable place for the time being.
"Thanks." His gaze followed the floating vases while he shut the door behind him. "Somepony's been busy today again, I see."
"Somepony has indeed!" She puffed out her chest with pride. "Every time I go out, I find inspiration to decorate our home with everywhere." Tossing her mane, she looked around at her accomplishments. Individually, they weren't much—little knicknacks, at best—but collectively they really brought the place together. "Even though it looks more like any old Royal Guard base than a Crystal Empire home, it still feels like we're living in a crystalline wonderland. The glamour has yet to wear off for me." She returned her attention to him and smiled. "How was work?"
Silent continued to take a scrutinizing look around, as if playing a game of spotting the differences. "Hmm. Work was fine. Cadence was busy, as usual. Same for Shining Armor. I did have lunch with Russet today, though, so that was nice."
"Good for you!" While he looked at the new decor, she looked at the old. His armor, to be precise. Sometimes it was nice to take a moment to appreciate how well he filled it, and how despite what it covered, she could still see his firm, muscular form. She blinked and tried to focus on the conversation. "Have you made friends with the any of the other guards yet?"
He met her gaze and an unreadable look was on his face. Finally, after a moment, he shook his head. "Not yet. There are a few junior officers I am around more than others, but not a lot. Besides, I have you and Russet."
She huffed and waggled a hoof at him, trying to look stern. "As well and good as that may be, you should make some friends! The ponies here are so nice that I'm surprised one hasn't just declared themselves as your friend already." Her expression lightened as she giggled. "Oh well. I made some good progress today on unpacking. It's your turn soon, mister. When are you going to unpack the one you put in the closet?"
His wings twitched before tucking close to his sides. "Do you need the closet space?"
"No, but it's the last box of yours, so wouldn't it be nice to mark that task complete?" She tried to flutter her eyelashes. Really, she was just obnoxiously curious about its contents. Too many times she had opened the closet, stared at it, and felt like it was staring back at her. She was fairly certain that at one point, a flap twitched as if to ask her to tear it open.
He smiled and shrugged. "Maybe next week?"
The fluttering of her lashes ceased and a frown took over her lips. "But that's what you said last week."
"I'm sorry, sweetie." He lifted his helmet, set it on the stand, and walked over to kiss her cheek. "I just don't feel like unpacking it. I'll take care of it on my next day off."
Curiosity would have to wait. Whatever was in that box was clearly not meant to be revealed just yet. "Oh, it's fine." She giggled and nuzzled her nose to his. "I'm just fulfilling my duty as a wife to nag you a little." With another giggle, she teased, "Get it? I'm a little nag for you?"
One of his brows arched. "I do, but you realize that you are saying that you are, yourself, a nag, right?"
Her ears flicked back and she pulled away from him to shoot him a full-faced dirty look. "Okay, that didn't work out how I intended." She tried to turn her head away from him in a huff, but instead caught sight of the mail resting on the kitchen counter. "Oh!" She returned her gaze to him. "I almost forgot. Mindful Soul sent a letter saying that she'll be here on Friday for your appointment. She requested for you to pick her up at the train station when she arrives, and I believe that's the least you can do since you're having her come all this way."
He nodded and said in a perfectly even voice, "Of course… nag."
A gasp escaped her and she swatted at him. "Hey!" She squeaked when he wrapped his forehooves around her, pulling her to him. "Don't hug me!" She struggled—not too much, of course—and glared up at him. "You called me a nag!"
He nuzzled her cheek. "You called you a nag first."
"Of course! That's my word." She turned her head away from him. "You can't call me my word."
With a soft chuckle, he lowered his head to instead nuzzle her exposed neck. A tingle shot down her spine and almost reflexively, she started to melt. He always knew how to find that particular spot there that sent a wonderful sensation to the very tips of her hooves.
"Stop that…" He kissed and her muscles relaxed. "Don't…" He nibbled and her knees gave out. "Mm, don't stop…"
He put his weight against her and guided her into a tumbling fall to the floor, one hoof on the back of her head and the other around her middle. His wings flared out almost like a blanket to shield them from the rest of the world as he nibbled a trail down her neck.
She giggled at first, then gasped and pushed a hoof against his chest. "Siley!" She tried to move her head away from his ministrations. "What if the neighbors hear us?"
"Then they'll be jealous," he mumbled, the movement of his lips and jaw sending more of those pleasant tingles through her.
Her will to fight him was waning, but she had to at least try. They had missed the rug, and the solid surface beneath her wasn't entirely comfortable, though the cool crystal against her hot coat wasn't entirely unwelcome, either. It was actually a little thrilling, in a way.
"I'm a lady," she tried to say without moaning. "We have a perfectly nice bed and—" She squeaked at the sound of somepony knocking on the door. The neighbors had heard! How would she ever face them after this?! Her face grew hotter than the rest of her while Silent grumbled and they stood up. She tried to smooth out her mane to prepare herself for whoever was on the other side of the door when Silent opened it.
"Sorry to bother you, sir!" a crystal pony said, standing at rigid attention. His gaze was aimed high, which only made her feel all the more embarrassed. He must have heard something. Oh, she needed to figure out who he was so she could never talk to him again.
Silent shook his head and put a hoof on his helmet, ready for the inevitable. "Is something wrong?"
The pony didn't lower his gaze or relax his stance. "The governor sent me to get you herself. She didn't say anything but given that it couldn’t wait…"
"Yeah." Silent looked over his shoulder at Crystal, his eyes asking for permission as well as forgiveness.
Did she want him to go? No. She wanted him to stay. But he would be home later, and she'd be waiting for him. She put on her best smile and waved a hoof. "Go. I know how this works."
Silent picked up his helmet, stole a kiss that was quicker than she wanted, and just like that he was gone. The silence that followed the door shutting was almost harrowing. She waited a while longer, however, in case he might change his mind and deal with whatever it was in the morning. It could happen.
It didn't, but it could have.
She sighed and turned her head toward the record player. "I know how this works," she mumbled as her horn lit up to put the needle down. Wandering over to the couch, she dropped down and settled in for a long night of patiently waiting, hugging a throw pillow close to her chest.
Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
Even as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me…