Chapter 14: A Little R&R Under the Stars
Scarlet followed along while Silver cheerfully led her through the dark forest along the creek and over toward his favorite meditation spot, merrily chatting away without pause. She might have been a little more than annoyed if she had been human, but to a pony it was as normal as normal could be. That said, something about the way Silver excitedly went on about how excited he was to go camping just made her happy in ways that other ponies hadn’t.
“...So that’s when I said ‘well I don’t care if you have a problem with ponies, I’m not gonna go trot to the other sidewalk just because you’re upset that your kid said they wanted to be a pony.’
Scarlet nodded along, “And I’m guessing they weren’t too happy about that?”
“Ha, no,” he laughed. “She tried to pull some BS about how we shouldn’t be allowed to walk around on the same sidewalk with them, and how we shouldn’t fly, and a lot of other stupid stuff.”
“So, what’d you do then?”
“I shrugged and went back to my walk. Apparently, she wasn’t happy that she couldn’t get a rise out of me and started to launch into some tirade. It got really annoying listening to her wailing, so I just hissed back at her and flew off.”
“And that was that?”
Silver nodded, “That was that. I wound up chatting with Stanley and his friend Jess, and I guess that woman had a reputation around town as a crazy pony hater. I didn’t visit around their neck of the woods too much after that, but I guess it wasn’t uncommon to see that kind of stuff there for a while.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t stick around there then, eh?”
“Yep, maybe it was lonely back home, but at least I got to move up here with you.”
“Which is better than down in that cramped polluted city.”
“Oh, absolutely.” He laughed, “I guess I got used to it after the first couple of weeks, but the second I moved up here it really hit home.”
“Which is a great thing. Lots of fresh air, great company, gorgeous views… what more could you ask for?”
“A pony amusement park?” he jokingly replied back.
“You’re into that stuff?”
Silver shrugged, “Used to be. I tried going down to Disney and Knott’s back when they started reopening, but it was obvious that it wasn’t really set up for ponies. Had a lot of bizarre rules too, like they wanted me to wear some weird harness thing so I wouldn’t try and fly around, that was a big pass for me.”
“Maybe it’s different now?” she suggested. “We could take a trip down there sometime if you wanted to.”
Silver nodded, “I think I’m good for now, as much as I want to.”
“You sure? We can both go down there, my treat.”
“Your treat?” He laughed, “Scarlet, they’re still ridiculously overpriced. Maybe we can pool our money together if we really want to go once things lighten up a little.” He paused and looked around at the clearing the pair had entered. A smile spread across his face and immediately he began to set down the cargo he was carrying, “Were here!” He excitedly cheered.
Scarlet looked around at the peaceful retreat and smiled, letting the previous conversation and the rest of the world just fade away around her for a few solitary moments. This is definitely going to be nice and relaxing, she thought to herself. Another smile flashed across her face as she turned back toward Silver, noticing that he was already springing right into getting the tent set up, with a blanket in his mouth and the length of rope splayed out on the ground in front of him. She was content to let him continue on his own, but clearly his bright idea already wasn’t working out the way he thought it would.
“Need some help there?”
He shook his head and waved a wing, dropping the blanket and instead going for the rope. This ought to be good, she thought to herself again, trying hard not to laugh at the Stallion’s goofy attempts to do the impossible on his own. He jumped from place to place, awkwardly wrapping one end of the rope around the tree’s trunk before running to the other side to try and do the same before the first fell. Obviously this had worked way better in his head than on paper, and judging from his frustrated grunts and sighs she could tell he was coming to the same conclusion.
Finally Silver spat out the rope and licked his lips for a moment before looking up toward the tree, “Okay, well this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought it’d be.”
“You think? You kinda do need fingers to tie knots after all.”
“Right… guess I didn’t think of that.”
“It’s fine, I didn’t really think of it either so we’re both the dumb ones tonight.”
Silver nodded, “Mhmm… so uhh, what should we do then? Call it a night and just head back home? Or should we try again?”
“Give me a few minutes to think about this,” Scarlet looked around at the tree, noticing a broken branch that would be the perfect place to hang a rope. Immediately an idea popped into her head, an idea that also made her blush as she thought of it. It was a suggestion that would definitely get way more intimate than she thought the night would go, but it might also be the right way to approach a subject that she knew was on both of their minds. He definitely liked her, she could tell from the way he looked at her, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel the same way towards him. Scarlet silently thanked her luck that the blushes blended in with her coat and then turned back toward Silver, “Okay, well I think I have an idea, but it might get a little awkward.”
“How awkward are we talking?” He innocently asked.
“I guess it depends on how you feel about me.”
He raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, we’re gonna have to try and tie the ends into a loop so we can hang them up on those broken branches. Things might get a little… intimate if we’re both holding rope in our mouths and trying to get it into a loop like it needs to be. Like your face against my face kind of close.”
The Stallion’s face flashed red for a moment as he slowly nodded, “Right… a little awkward then. And there’s no other way you want to go about doing this?”
“Not that I can think of.” She shrugged, “We don’t really have hands to make this work, and the only unicorns we know are all asleep and would probably get cranky if we bothered them right now.”
“So, either we try tying a rope into a loop by basically kissing each other in the process, or going home… and I’m guessing you really don’t want to do the latter?”
She shrugged, “Why would I? We came out all this way, it’d be kind of a shame if we just went right back home.”
“Right,” he agreed, “it just feels a little… I don’t know, I mean I don’t want to make this…”
“Awkward? Is it really that bad though? I mean we’ve been cuddling up together every day, you know, in a very intimate way?”
He nodded, “I just don’t want to make things weird between us. I mean cuddling up in the same bed is one thing, but…” his face flushed red again, earning a laugh from Scarlet.
She smiled, “You know, It’s cute seeing you get so flustered over this. So why don’t you tell me what’s up? Obviously we both have a lot on our minds, why not have a heart to heart?”
Silver nodded and let out a small sigh of relief, “I just didn’t want things to get awkward,” he repeated, and paused for a moment, his face reddening again. “You don’t want to just sleep out in the open?” he innocently asked, earning a laugh from her.
“You mean out in the bright sun that both of us can’t stand even on a cloudy day? Doesn’t exactly sound like a fun day.”
He paused for a moment, trying to find his words. Before he could continue, Scarlet cut him off. “Silver, if you’re worried about this being awkward, or if you’re nervous to share your feelings, then it’s perfectly fine. I wouldn’t have invited you into my home and let you sleep in my bed with me if I wasn’t comfortable around you. You’re not just an acquaintance to me, you’re more than that, and I think you and I both have a lot to talk about with each other.”
Taking another breath, he turned back toward the mare and greeted her with a nervous smile and half nod, “You’re right. Do you mind if I get something off of my chest?”
“I could probably guess what’s coming, but yes, please do.”
He took another deep breath, “I think I like you… a lot.” He quickly turned away, trying to hide the blush that had spread across his face.
Scarlet stared back in silence for a few moments that must have felt like an eternity for Silver. Finally she smiled, “I was starting to think I’d never hear you say that,” she ended with a laugh, earning a confused look from the stallion.
“Wait, what?” His eyes shot open.
“Silver, I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re not just a couple of roomies anymore. I mean you haven’t done a great job of hiding your feelings either, which isn’t a bad thing, mind you. I actually think it’s kinda cute.”
He sat there with a blank expression on his face for what seemed like minutes, but in reality it was only a few seconds before he finally formed a coherent response, “Is it really that obvious? I mean how long have you known?”
She let out another laugh, “From the beginning. You were different when we first met, but I could tell you were starting to loosen up a lot around me, and then you started looking at me differently, and I’d be lying if I said something didn’t start to spark with me too… also, you talk in your sleep,” she finished with a smirk.
His jaw dropped for a moment and he greeted her with another goofy face that she could only assume was a mix of happiness and confusion. Shaking her head, she booped him on the muzzle, earning a surprised squeak from the stallion who looked as if some great secret had been revealed to him.
“I… what… I mean you felt the same way?” He stuttered out.
“I guess I’m better at hiding that than you are,” she teased. “But yes, I felt the same way. Maybe not when I first met you, but then we started spending all this time together, and well, we’re both the only ponies here that stay up all night. You really get a lot of opportunities to learn about each other when you’re practically together twenty four seven.”
He let out a small laugh of his own, “All this time I was so nervous and you knew all along…”
“Don’t feel so embarrassed by it, I thought it was cute, and I wanted to let you tell me on your own time.”
“You don’t know how great it is to hear that,” he laughed. “I was keeping all of this bottled up for so long, I was worried about what you’d say if I finally said it out loud.”
“And now you know.”
“So…”
“So, let's just call this a first date and relax a bit. I like you too, and I don’t want you to feel so nervous about sharing this kind of stuff with me. Does that make this at least a little less awkward for you now?”
Silver slowly nodded, “A little. At least our first kiss will have a funny story behind it,” he nervously laughed.
“See? Now it’s not going to be so bad then, right?”
“Right… I uhh, well, should we just get going then?”
“You tell me,” she laughed, “You’re the one leading this little excursion.”
Silver paused and contemplated this for a moment before grabbing an end of the rope with his mouth, giving her a nod.
“Okay, so this is probably going to be tricky and take some trial and error, but I think I have a good idea of what to do with it, just hold still and let me drive for a moment, okay?”
He gave another slow nod, giving her all the confirmation she needed.
Scarlet took a step back and looked at the small tent they had set up. It had taken a lot longer than she expected it to, with a lot more close encounters between the two than even she had expected there to be, but finally they were done and could start to relax.
She looked over toward Silver and nodded, “See? Was that so bad?”
He gulped down some water and smiled, “Not really, I mean it wasn’t as easy as I thought I’d be, but at least we did it.”
“And you even loosened up a bit, I thought you’d just sit there frozen in place the whole time,” she trotted over toward him and nuzzled up next to the stallion, “and now we can spend some real time together.”
“That sounds… wonderful,” he finished with a smile, leaning into her.
“So, what do you want to do first? A little stargazing? A little cuddling under the stars? Maybe watch a movie?”
Silver glanced over toward the nearby telescope and nodded, “Stargazing sounds like a blast. You still need to teach me about the constellations and stars, remember?”
“Stargazing it is then. Just give me a few minutes to go get some stuff from my bag, I had a whole notebook that had some of this written down, probably makes it a lot easier than having me just ramble on for hours about this.”
Silver nodded as Scarlet started to trot off, “Sure thing, I’m just going to make a couple of adjustments to the tent, I don’t like how the side’s drooping down so far.”
“Gotcha, just don’t tug it loose, I don’t want to spend another couple of hours trying to get it set up again.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Mhmm,” she replied as she started to dig through her bag, “I trust you on this one.”
The quiet sounds of leaves and twigs rustling filled the air followed by a few annoyed grunts from Silver, who was no doubt struggling with the tent. As she continued to dig through her bag, she finally came across a well worn spiral notebook that had some of her old notes written down in it. This wouldn’t have everything, but at least I’d be enough to give the dorky stallion a primer in basic astronomy, assuming he was actually interested in it and not just saying that to flatter her.
A few more loud snaps could be heard along with the frantic flapping of wings, earning an amused laugh from Scarlet, “You okay back there?”
“Yeah… just a little tangled up is all. I think I’ve got this though.”
“Okay, well just be careful, I don’t need you hurting yourself,” she paused for a moment, “And be careful around my telescope, it’s old and fragile and—“
CRASH
Scarlet’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the telltale sound of metal clanking on the ground and broken glass. Dropping her notebook, she quickly turned toward the sound of the noise and let out a gasp. Laying amongst the broken telescope was Silver, who was caught up in some of the loose rope from the tent, which had somehow miraculously not fallen apart. She couldn’t say the same about her telescope however.
The stallion looked at her with an expression of regret and terror, and she couldn’t blame him. This hobby was her life and he had just broken the main tool she had used for it, and it wasn’t like they could just go out and buy another. Sure, they probably had enough money between each other to do that, but the closest store was so far away, and their internet connection was spotty at best.
“Scarlet I am so sorry!” He blurted out, “It was an accident, I swear!”
“It’s alright. I know it was,” She let out a sad sigh and slowly trotted toward the nervous stallion, laying down next to him and nuzzling close. Her mind was racing with a hurricane of thoughts and emotions, but she couldn’t take it out on him. Accidents happened, and unfortunately that’s exactly what had happened right then.
“Are you… mad at me?” he asked with an air of confusion.
She shook her head, “I’m upset, yes. But I’m not mad. You didn’t mean to do it, and I shouldn’t have left it so close to the area we were working in. These things happen, it’s fine.”
She didn’t know if she really believed that she was fine with it, but she didn’t want to hurt Silver’s feelings, especially after they had both just admitted their feelings for one another.
He draped a wing over her, pulling her attention back, “It’s not alright. This is your passion and I just ruined it.”
“You didn’t mean to do it. This doesn’t change anything between us, we’ll just have to go take a trip down to the city sometime, or try and order one online if the connection will even hold for that.”
“Well, let me at least replace it then. I broke it, and I want to make this right.”
“You don’t have to Silver,” she flatly replied. “It’s just a telescope, it’s not like it’s the end of the world,” As dumb as it was, she still felt a twinge of sadness over the whole incident, even if Silver hadn’t actually done anything maliciously.
The stallion shook his head, “I’m still going to try though.” He paused for a moment, “Nothing’s changed. I’m still your friend and I want to treat you to something nice. Even if it’s just getting you a new telescope.”
“You really don’t have to, it’s fine. Ponies forgive, right?” she replied with a sigh. “Let’s just cuddle up and watch a movie or something. See where the night takes us. We can worry about this more tomorrow.”
Silver seemed as if he was about to raise another retort, but closed his mouth and gave a small nod as he trotted toward the tent, snuggling up in one of the blankets, “That sounds wonderful. Now why don’t you come snuggle up and I’ll find something for us to watch.”
Scarlet slowly trotted toward the tent and cuddled up next to Silver, “Something action-heavy?”
Silver nodded, “Something action-heavy.”
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Never noticed in the chapter art until I took a closer look, but is Scarlet drooling in her sleep?
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Yeah. It was made using a base from another artist. Wasn't originally planned to be any kind of tie in to the story, but it just so happened to work out perfectly with this chapter.
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Just want to say thanks again for all the feedback, I’ve since gone in and drastically reworked the beginning of the story to hopefully make it a little smoother to follow and pick up for new readers in general.
So I've been putting together some notes on your updates and changes as I read them, imma just put them here since this is the most recent chapter.
Okay, I know I said that the setting took some time to get into and that wasn't an issue, but the new prologue did indeed help quite a bit.
The rewrites are good too, second time around for chapter 2 felt more, emotional/relatable/understandable - the feeling of being estranged and looking for someone like you that knows the same feelings makes it more impactful
Chapter 12 hits different. Seeing the way they put the dreams together, and even the way they discuss showing it to others reflects a lot of creative journeys - from writing and art to movie directing, the way they brainstorm together and make it happen makes me a little jealous. In a sense that's what dreaming is, isn't it? Fantasizing things in your head, making them as real as possible. Even more so, being able to share that experience with someone makes it all the more wonderful.
Chapter 13 - Shorter (yes obviously) and more casual. Neat little interaction between the two that emphasizes how easy and natural their relationship is while still showing signs of adjustment. Not too much to say, kind of cute.
Chapter 14
KISS KISS KISS
Later in the chapter... wait, for real? It's true! Best shipyesship
KISS KISS KISS
OH NO
THE MAGICAL MOMENT IS RUINED
BUT ALL IS... WELL?
Okay so, the previous chapter ties in much better than I expected to this one, only makes sense that it'd be shorter, but does emphasize what happens in this one - how their relationship was right before they declared they like-like each other
I feel bad for Silver, the mistake happened almost immediately, and of course it played out alright, but still hurts. But, shit happens. Feels like something that will be hard to get over, at least not until it's actually fixed. But maybe that's something he has to learn? Maybe it's a lesson in acceptance and moving on.
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The next chapter really builds off of the previous two in an important way. A lot of Silver and Scarlet's interactions so far have built up toward this, and the next chapter introduces an idea that seems small at first but really plays into the core of both characters, and eventually ties into some of their reasoning during the two sequels. The next chapter in particular really gets into Scarlet's perspective on what happened with the telescope, and it's really one of the main reasons why I wanted to write these chapters from her perspective-- it gives us insight into what she's seeing, her thoughts on finally getting both of their feelings out in the open, and eventually the aftermath of this little hiccup early in the relationship, and it builds up for more in the future which I'm excited to explore. This whole story is a super comprehensive rewrite of my very first story, and in that original version I never really explored the deeper parts of their relationship, so I'm really happy that I get to do that the second time around. Glad you're enjoying it so far, and hopefully you'll enjoy what's coming up!
https://youtu.be/hCuMWrfXG4E
Song I'm thinking of for Silver this chapter