April 30
Me and Aquamarine were up with the sun and I got coffee going then we took a shower and groomed each other then drank our coffee and talked.
Neither of us wanted to wake up Mister Salvatore or Miss Cherilyn, 'cause they'd been up really late driving us while we were sleeping so it was only fair that they got to sleep in. But I hoped it wouldn't be too long.
Once we were done catching up, we found glossy magazines which said what the hotel had to offer and what the town did. I found where we were on a map, which was between two lakes, and Aquamarine said that the hotel had a restaurant on the roof. I thought that would be a fun place to eat and we both agreed that Gusty probably wouldn't like it.
I wasn't sure if we'd have a lot of time to hang out with her before her play, because I knew how much time Aric put into his theatre work and I figured that all he was doing was making the lights work and it had to be a lot harder to act. I didn't say it to Aquamarine, but I figured that Puck was probably a pretty small role, but she'd still be spending a lot of time making sure that her character was just right.
I didn't know when Cayenne was going to show up, either.
We finally heard a knock at the door between our rooms and I opened the door and it was Miss Cherilyn and she asked if we were ready for breakfast. We both nodded and she said that we would get something to eat and then go to campus to meet with Gusty. I asked if we could eat at the roof restaurant but she said it wasn't open yet but promised that we would eat there before we left Madison. So we ate at the Portage Pi instead. Aquamarine ordered oatmeal and I ordered granola and we shared with each other.
After breakfast we took a leisurely walk around Madison towards the campus. Mister Salvatore was talking on the telephone behind us, trying to get in touch with Gusty but apparently she wasn't answering. I didn't mind so much; Miss Cherilyn led us by a brick building that looked like a castle and down to the lakefront. There were steps leading into the water, plus little buoys that looked like they marked off a swimming area. We both galloped off the steps and jumped into the water and splashed around a little bit. There were a few people walking around that noticed us and one guy who was wearing shorts took off his shoes and waded in with us, but not deep enough that he would get his shorts wet.
Then it was time for us to go see Gusty, so we let Mister Salvatore take the lead because he seemed to know where he was going. I followed along in the air just to stretch out my wings a little bit but not too high because I didn't have any of my flight gear and didn't know how high I was allowed to fly in Madison.
She lived in the Ogg Residence Hall, and when we finally found her room it almost had a lake view, if there hadn't been any other buildings in the way. She hugged us both and then Mister Salvatore and Miss Cherilyn for good measure and said that she was really happy that we came and she introduced us to her roommate who was a girl named Jamie. Aquamarine asked her if that was the girl who made all her clothes, and she said it wasn't, but we'd meet her later.
Then she picked up a newspaper that was on her desk and proudly showed us a picture of herself in costume, which was right atop a review of the play. She said that they had done really well in the first show and now that people knew she was in it she was sure the house would be sold out for the rest of the run.
And then she noticed that Cayenne wasn't with us and asked if she was coming, too, and Mister Salvatore said that she was; the last he'd heard she'd be arriving just in time for lunch.
She said that we just had to meet Nicky, who was her friend who made all her clothes and who had convinced her to audition for Puck instead of one of the faeries and so we said goodbye to Jamie and Gusty practically skipped out of the room with us following along.
We went back out into the street and walked into a neighborhood that was a lot like Aric's and we came to a big old house that had several different front doors and she went to the middle one and rang the bell.
I heard footsteps coming down stairs, and then the door opened and there was a girl with short brown hair and dolphin earrings and when she saw Gusty she leaned down and kissed her on the nose and then sort of realized that the rest of us were all standing on the porch, too.
So we all introduced ourselves and she led us up to her apartment which was kind of cluttered and had lots of playbills on the wall and there was a very fancy looking sewing machine and some humankins and lots of fabric and also a funny looking helmet. I asked Nicky what that was and Gusty said that not only did she make clothes but she could also weld sculptures and Nicky blushed when she said that but admitted it was true and said that she had a whole welding setup in her garage.
She brought us all bottles of Leinenkugel's and we sat in the living room and drank our beer and chatted. Gusty had to answer a telephone call and when she was done she said it was Cayenne and she was on her way over and she was so happy she was practically glowing.
I thought we'd go out for lunch at some point, but after Cayenne arrived, Nicky brought us snacks and we just sat around talking until it was time for Gusty to go to the theatre and get ready.
That probably would have been our chance to get dinner, but none of us felt like it because we were having so much fun talking and Nicky had lots of snacks including hummus which was really tasty.
All six of us walked to the theatre together, and Nicky pointed out some of the landmarks around campus for us. She had to stop at a friend's house and pick up a huge bouquet of flowers—she said it was for Gusty and she'd had to hide them there so Gusty wouldn't sniff them out.
When we went to the theatre we went into a special line that was named Will-Call, and we got our tickets and then the ushers led us down to our seats which were right in front. Nicky didn't have as good of seats as we did and I felt bad about that, then Cayenne noticed that the barriers between the seats folded up and she thought that if we all crowded together we could make enough room for her, so she went to get Nicky, and she was so happy that she was almost crying.
We read through the program and Cayenne pointed to Gusty's biography and it was weird to see it in print like that.
It sort of took us all unawares when the house lights dimmed halfway and the crowd fell silent. I looked behind me and I could see a row of windows and I knew that was the light booth and the sound booth and I could imagine that there were people up there who were now completely focused on the instructions that came through their headsets and then the lights went all the way out and the play began.
I know all of us were on the edges of our seats waiting for Gusty to appear, and the whole first act passed and there was no sign of her, but then in the second act she came right out on stage and I could see right away how at home she was there. She had a crisp, formal accent, and her voice carried over the theatre, and whenever she was on stage she stole the scene.
We couldn't talk about anything else during intermission, and I wanted it to end as fast as possible so that we could see her again. There was almost a sigh of relief when the lights went down again and then she came back on and I just watched mesmerized right up until she spoke her final monologue and then the stage lights went dark and suddenly there was so much applause it was like thunder and everyone was on their feet and Miss Cherilyn was wiping tears from her eyes and when everyone came out for curtain call it got so loud I thought that the whole theatre might collapse around us.
After everyone had bowed they all went up through the house and stood by the doors to greet everyone and there was a long line of people by Gusty but when she saw us she waved us forward and I felt like I was sort of a celebrity too. Nicky gave her the flowers and Gusty hugged her and kissed her and there was a bunch of applause at that, too. Then she hugged and nuzzled the rest of us and I would have liked to talk to her right then but there were so many people in line who also wanted to so we moved down the line and greeted everyone else who had been in the play (except for Nicky, who stayed right beside Gusty).
We talked for a little bit once the crowd had finally left, and she said that she was going to a cast party and we could come if we wanted to and we all knew by the way she said it that we'd be imposing and she was just saying that to be polite, so we hugged her and told her again how well she'd done and she said that she would like to see us again before we went back. She looked over to Miss Cherilyn who was standing the closest and then turned back to us and said in Equestrian that she would be spending the night with Nicky (which I don't think was a surprise to any of us) and so we said that we would come see her in the morning.
I thought it would be nice to see the play again; there was a matinee performance, but she said that it was sold out, and there was a rumor that they were going to extend the show for a second weekend so that everyone who wanted to could see it.
When we got back to the hotel we went up to the roof-restaurant and sat outside where we could look over Madison. It wasn’t so high up as the Space Needle or the Willis Tower had been, but there was still a pretty good view. It was really too late for dinner, so we had some snacks and a few drinks and then it was time for bed.
Neither Aquamarine nor I thought it would be right to have Cayenne take the other bed and be all by herself, so we said that she could sleep with us. Aquamarine wound up in the middle, and I was on the window-side of the bed.
7344371
Well they are.
Man. All them ponies goin' native. Something about those two legs, I guess?
Finally got the Salvatore / Cherilyn meaning... and am kinda surprised you didn't make Salvatore just a LITTLE bit more bumbling.
Aww. Adorable on many levels. And I have to smile at the casting. A unicorn as the trickster archetype, making mischief wherever she goes. I'm sure Silver approves.
On the flip side, do humans exchanging into Equestria often "go native" and acquire regular, largely platonic cuddle-piles? Or are the chaperones there even more stringent?
7345144
Well, as we've seen through the seasons, with great power comes great height. All these tall humans must be so powerful and so in charge that it's a wonder any ponies spare time for anyone else!
7345144 Love the one you're with, I suppose. Not like there are a lot of ponies around.
Either that or all the pervert ponies apply for exchange student status and Silver's just running the long con. She doesn't want her journal to give her away, but she always planned to end up with a human harem. An
adorableinsidious plot from beyond the universe itself!Humankins was great. Welding is pretty fun.
Midsummer Night's Dream... I had an overdose of that play in high school. One of my English teacher was a bit obsessed with the play. So we read the play, both in old and modern english, listened to a reading of it, watched the movie and would've watched the play if it hadn't been cancelled.
Coincidentally, I met that teacher yesterday at my job.
Gusty smart enough to know that the helper should not learn where she is going to spend the night.
7345410 Given what we know about the ponies attitue thoward these sort of thing, the "chaperone" are more likely to be the ones cuddling with the human then stopping them from having fun...
Sort of surprised Silver didn't suggest her grabbing Mister Salvatore or Miss Cherilyn... Or that Cayenne didn't suggest it. They are not her personal handler/attendants after all.
Pony-pile.
7345548
Granted.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/159/643/e64.png
Random idea, I could see the nice ATC lady inviting Silver to come see the Oshkosh airshow. It's a fairly big show and because the busiest airport in the world during it (to the point they have their own special rules). It would be a lot of fun and would be interesting for everyone involved.
Well done! They way you described Gusty's performance made me surprisingly emotional. I was so proud of her.
This story always gives me something good to read, every day.
7344196
no no no other question, would the google AI get smarter ? or would Twilight sill outsmart it from the get go?
next youtube hit for Silver Glow ...
7345144 Hey now. Ponies are very needy creatures, they need a herd to be comfortable. Can't blame them for using humans as pony substitutes.
Also they're college students, if they weren't up to this kind of stuff it'd be just as weird.
Wait. Didn't you leave fimfic years ago?
It's a shame we don't hear what Silver thought of the play in general and how to compares with pony theatre. Are there actual fay creatures in Equestria, does she think it's actually historical rather than fantastic? Did she consider the idea of a human getting a donkey's head to be specist?
7346301 Not yet!
were
It's funny, the title of this chapter is actually the title of another story here on FIMfiction.
The Red Gym?
kahlerslater.com/content/images/UWMadisonRedGym003.jpg
So, Nicky is Gusty's Aric?
I think I've worked out the real reason the handlers have a separate room: so neither of them dies of diabetes.
7345144
You know what they say: Four legs good, two legs better.
7345153
I thought about having him come on the ski trip, but that would have ended badly.
7345374
That's what unicorns do: make mischief.
7345444
You're on to her secret plan
7345410
In Equestria? Heck, they probably encourage it.
Wouldn't you, if you were in Equestria?
7345464
I'm so bad at it. I can burn holes in metal and stick a welding rod to things, but that's about it.
7345524
When we did it in college, we set it in modern New York. As part of the set, we got to 'vandalize' the lobby, graffiti the bathrooms, and rig the lobby lights so they were sickly shade of green and flickery.
Our faeries were dressed as prostitutes.
Although she doesn't realize that she isn't fooling anyone.
7345529
It's that pesky fraternization rule again. Human helpers aren't supposed to sleep with anypony.
7345548
Pony-pile.
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Diabeetus warning
7345631
Ooh, she'd like that. Fun fact: my brother's been there a few times, and he said that when he was still in high school a lot of the vendors wouldn't give him the time of day. Now he runs his own aviation company . . . I wonder if he holds grudges? (I should ask him.)
7346066
She'd probably wind up falling into the Wikipedia links trap, and a week after she started an innocent search for the history of horseshoes, she'd be reading about Swedish progressive rock bands.
Really, pretty much anything she does is potentially a YouTube hit.
7347262 That interpretation must've been glorious!
7346018
Thank you!
7346301
That's true. Ponies hate being alone.
Ah, back when I was in college, I . . . well. Good times.
7346427
From the two productions we've seen (I'm not counting foal talent shows) it's very similar.
I don't know if 'fay' would be a useful classification, given the number of magical creatures they have. That does raise an interesting question about pony mythology, though; one which I don't have an answer for.
She's seen enough movies by now to understand that it's made-up. Although her idea of 'fantastic' is probably a much higher bar than the rest of the audiences'.
Ponies don't seem to like other species of equine, so that was probably more on-point to her than a lot of the rest of the audience.
7347007
I'd honestly be surprised if that was the first time it had happened.
7347200
Yes.
Yes, she is.
Yes.
7346562
Correction made; thank you!
So, I was looking back aa a few older chapters and I wonder:
-Any news about Silver becoming a storwatcher?
-When the semester started, she was supposed to take part in some seminar for Equestrian classes and help a bit for a class that study equestrian's culture, any news on that front?
7347262
yeah, stick is difficult. I'd recommend trying mig welding. It feeds the wire so you has a constant arc length, it's a lot easier. go to 3:30 it wouldn't let me set the start.
7347230
Oh damn, I finally got the reference too (with Google's help) and that is dark.
Oooh, Gusty has gone native too.
"Unicorns aren't good for much, but I guess they are okay for cuddling. As long as you avoid the pointy end, I mean." -Silver Glow.
7347237
Dear mom and dad,
I finally made it through to Equestria yesterday. This exchange program is great! The locals are so friendly; I've slept with three already!
I wanna see a real life theatre play with pony actors so bad right now
7347294
The 1996 Royal Shakespeare Company film is one of the better adaptations and Puck is played as an anti-establishment punk... in yellow pajama pants and flying around with an umbrella.
66.media.tumblr.com/a053b19435b453dbf89e9f52c816883e/tumblr_moojxuD4vl1s8f979o2_500.png
Yeah, that was a weird staging, but brilliantly acted as expected of the RSC.
7348638
Maybe they can do a staging of A Shoggoth on the Roof and give the law students something to chew on when the Fiddler wankers and their lawyers start raising a fuss.
https://reason.kzoo.edu/prelaw/
7348638
Me, too. Actually, if they stretched Hinny of the Hills out into a full play, I'd watch the hell out of it.
7349755
I hate musicals, generally.
I don't hate A Shoggoth on the Roof, as of the moment I clicked on the video.
7347404
There is now!
She was taking a less-direct role in it; I've got another mention of that coming up soon.
7347631
Embarrassingly, that's what I've done. And burned holes in metal and stuck the welding rod (or whatever you call the wire) to things.
I did buy a cheap welder so I could practice at home, but have just never got around to it.
7348167
I did honestly think of throwing in some subtle hints, but never bothered. And people finally started figuring it out even without them.
Nicky's the girl Gusty mentioned on the train but wouldn't say anything else about.
That the danger about being in close proximity to unicorns. Which is undoubtedly why Pinkie Pie keeps an emergency supply of eyepatches all around Ponyville.
7348282
There is no one reading this story who wouldn't want to at least snuggle with a pony. No one.
This was a really sweet chapter. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my favorites of Shakespeare's.
Though I'm a little surprised that there was no comment about Nick Bottom being transformed into an ass, considering they might well know some donkeys in Equestria. Ah well.
Great chapter, Admiral.
*snicker snicker*
7349755
7350306 "A shoggoth on the roof, fiddling with tentacles"
I REALLY wonder how the Tamarians will explain THAT to Picard!
7345144
so long as thy don't pick up any more of are bad habit's, there's nothing wrong with that, (nudity taboo's and such)
7345153
Uh... What?
9311208
I assume he’s referring to how Salvatore had a skiing accident, although there might be other incidents I’m not remembering.
Probably a stupid question all that way to that chapter, but Silver is writing her journal in Equestrian, isn't she?
10526734
No, she’s writing in English, which is why she has some problems with language here and there.
10527120
Huh, so all that sliverisms are just from innate desire of ponies to pun? I mean, she should've heard correct pronunciation of skyscratchers a dozen of times by now, but still writing it as she likes : )
10527886
Yeah, that’s just the way she learned English and how she interprets it. I can attest to people who are native English speakers getting it wrong well into college, so it’s not like it’s just the ESL people who have difficulties (or don’t; I can name any number of authors on this site who aren’t native English speakers and write better than I do). Once Silver’s learned--rightly or wrongly--what something’s called, that’s what she’s likely to name it going forward.
Plus, Silverisms are what makes the journal good.
To be fair, there's an obvious sampling bias built into that statement.