Caramel's Legacy

by Soraya

Friends and Waterfalls

Xenon and Tempest Shadow paid for their orders at Cinnamon's Chai and Tea Shop, splitting the bill as they had agreed to do. Let's not be done yet. I still want to talk with this stallion some more, Tempest thought. Xenon glanced over at the unicorn as he rose up from his seat. A friendly smile spread across the stallion's face. "Want to do something else? We could visit another place in Canterlot today," he said. "I'm up for wherever you want to go."

Tempest began a steady walk down the road outside the outdoor cafe. Xenon went along with her, glancing briefly at a company of unicorns who had stopped outside Cinnamon Chai's shop. Tempest turned to the stallion in her company. "Xenon, would you like to walk with me to the overlook? You know, the location where you have the best view of the waterfalls?" she asked him. "It's very scenic, but there usually aren't many ponies there."

"Okay, I would like that," the earth pony nodded. The young stallion looked happy with her suggestion. "I've seen the overlooks before, but never with anyone special. It would be great to go with you."

Tempest Shadow acknowledged his reply. "I'm glad you like my idea. We've visited some different shops and locations in Canterlot for our first few times together. Personally I think it's good for a couple of ponies to get away from the busyness of the city to a quieter place."

"And I agree on that," said Xenon. The two ponies walked alongside each other as they headed in the direction of the waterfall overlook. Tempest Shadow's internal monologue resumed. Why can't I have the confidence that Xenon seems to have for me? The stallion is nice, and innocent enough. For experiencing a failed relationship so soon, he seems to be able to trust far more easily than I can. Xenon seems open about everything, almost as if he doesn't understand his own boundaries. Why would he tell me about the foal he had with Caramel so soon? At an outdoor table at a popular cafe, no less! Tempest was not wary of her new friend, but she knew that either he - or Tempest herself - would address those unanswered questions soon enough. She glanced over at the earth pony, who was enjoying looking around at the residents of Canterlot as they went about on their daily routines.

The falls they were looking for were not far away. The city of Canterlot had multiple waterfalls in and near it. A typical pony could reach it from downtown in less than a quarter of an hour - going at a slow canter. Tempest Shadow looked out at the view of the rushing water. This overlook had a wide viewing platform fenced off with a barrier, to minimize the danger of a pony falling off into the water. So far, she and Xenon were the only two ponies there.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Xenon commented, tossing his head up and down. "This viewpoint has to be one of the most scenic locations in Canterlot." The roar of the rapids was not too loud for them both to talk and be able to hear each other speak.

"Indeed it is," Tempest replied, gazing at the sight. "You told me that this is the first time you have visited these falls before, but this is your first time with anypony special. Have you wanted to go before?"

"Well, I once had the idea to ask Vinyl Scratch to go with me," Xenon replied. "But I ended up not asking her."

"I'm not sure that Vinyl Scratch is that trustworthy of a friend," Tempest cautioned. "I know that I have a harder time trusting others than most ponies, but I got a bad feeling when I talked with her at the night of the dance."

"What do you mean, Tempest?" Xenon asked. "Vinyl Scratch is my friend, and she appreciates me helping her out. With my skills, I help make her shows better, and she's said so herself. She doesn't judge me when I tell her about Caramel Blaze, or vent to her about that whole thing."

"But she had no problem telling an unfamiliar pony - one she had only seen once before - details about her friend's recent failed relationship. I may be still learning about the nuances of friendship, but that behavior doesn't line up with what Twilight Sparkle told me about being a good friend. You don't just freely share that kind of information about your friend with others. Especially with a pony that you have just met."

Xenon looked back at Tempest. "I'm not that well known in Canterlot - I mostly just show up at Vinyl Scratch's parties. You know I don't exactly stand out in a crowd or garner that much attention. In many ways, that is a good thing in royal cities. I don't think any pony would want to start gossiping about me."

"I'm not saying that she is spreading gossip about you," Tempest Shadow clarified. "I just think she needs to be more careful; perhaps she didn't realize her words were potentially harmful. Maybe she takes your help for granted and doesn't realize that you see her as one of your best friends."

"Maybe you're right," Xenon said. "I doubt that Vinyl takes my assistance for granted, though."

True, thought Tempest. "And for me, I have a harder time than most in trusting other ponies. But there's a difference between a mare telling you that she is your friend and showing mutual trust and respect for each other. It's not right, but I certainly know what it is like. In my case, the other unicorn fillies thought less of me for my broken horn and had no problem telling me so."

"That was a terrible thing for those fillies to say about you," Xenon acknowledged. "When Caramel and...is it okay with you if I talk about her for a second?" the stallion asked, looking hesitant.

"Yes, it's fine with me," Tempest said. "If you and Caramel had a secret, won't tell anypony if you don't want me to."

"Okay," Xenon said. "That's not what I was going to say. But I didn't think you would be the type of pony to be spreading secrets anyways."

The orchid unicorn nodded her head. "But if you want to keep it to yourself, you don't want to talk about it with me or Vinyl Scratch or anypony else."

"Well...when Caramel talked to me, shortly before we broke up, she told me that I didn't trust her enough. She said I didn't value her opinion and she deserved better. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I wanted to make her happy and went out of my way to make her feel so. Caramel wanted to have a foal more than anything else in the world. I disagreed with the idea for a long time. I told her I wasn't ready for that responsibility yet and she wasn't either. Then..." Xenon paused for a moment. "On a few occasions, she would storm off upset and disappear for a while."

"I'm guessing she made you feel bad, out of guilt?" Tempest asked. She understood what was going on here.

Xenon nodded. "She did, but I don't think she realized she was doing that."

"In a relationship, your opinions and feelings are important too. I didn't realize that fully until I looked back on the time I served the Storm King," Tempest said. "Even if you don't realize you're hurting someone in a relationship, it could have the same effect as what the Storm King did to me - just using someone for your own gain."

"I suspected she was unaware of the level of commitment that is required for a long term relationship, and also raising a foal," said Xenon. "She didn't take it very well when I told her that. I told her exactly how I felt - I didn't raise my voice or hurt her, but I didn't use much tact with my words, because I was frustrated. That only made our rift worse."

Twilight also said that any relationship needs mutual respect, it can't be one sided. Friends shouldn't try to manipulate the other's emotions. I was loyal to the Storm King, but he wasn't a friend to me at all, or interested in restoring my horn. The Storm King only wanted to use me in order to accomplish his own goals. Whatever relationship we had was completely one sided - in his favor."

Comments

[HolyCross9]

This going pretty well so far.