The lights of Sunridge Sweets were off and a sign hanging in the door declared: "Closed for Private Function." While Sunbeam was in the back room putting last minute decorations together and Pepper Ridge was upstairs retrieving the guest of honor, Crystal glanced between Velvet and a mare she vaguely recognized from the ballet company, Nightingale. Silent sat at Crystal's side, staying true to his namesake in the presence of giggling mares.
"I can't wait to see his little face!" Nightingale quietly squealed, her wings held out from her body as they trembled with excitement.
Velvet sighed, staring at the door that concealed the stairs to the second floor. "I can't believe that little face is a year old already."
Crystal reached over to place a reassuring hoof on one of Velvet's. "Don't worry." She smiled. "Before you know it, he'll be attending Canterlot Academy."
"So not helping." Velvet's ears flattened against her mane.
"Hush, hush, hush," Sunbeam chided as she swept into the room with one foreleg clutching supplies to her chest. She set a party hat on each of their heads, threw some streamers at them, and fussed over the arrangement of cupcakes. "Pepper'll be down any second now with the birthday colt! He thinks it's a normal day of work, so sound normal!"
Velvet raised one brow. "Then wouldn't hushing us be the opposite of what you want?"
Sunbeam shot her a scolding look. Nightingale chirped, "Don't worry, Mrs. Sunbeam. It'll be fine!"
The door's handle jiggled loudly to alert them before it creaked open. "Oh my," Pepper said in an exaggerated tone of surprise. "It sure is dark down here! I sure wish I could find the light switch!"
Crystal, Velvet, and Nightingale breathed in and, once Pepper's hoof found the switch and the lights came on, they all exclaimed, "Surprise!"
"Surprise," Silent said just a second too late, earning a few teasing looks. His ears flicked and he crossed his forelegs over his chest.
Red gasped and looked at them all with wide eyes. His head bobbed a bit as he looked up at his father, furrowed his brow, and looked back over at them. Finally, he smiled wide and squeaked out, "Su-pise!"
Sunbeam trotted over to put a little party hat on his head. "Happy birthday, Red!"
Red waved his forelegs at her. "Ma-ma!" When Pepper held him out and Sunbeam took him, he wriggled about until he could stretch his forelegs at Velvet. "Si-si!"
"What?" Sunbeam stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "What happened to ma-ma?"
Red blinked up at her. He stared for a moment, then squeaked, "Su-pise?"
Crystal tried to smother a giggle, but Sunbeam's light glare suggested she failed in her endeavor. "It's not really a surprise, is it?"
Velvet swatted at her. "Shh!" she whispered. "Mom's still pretty sensitive about that!"
Silent leaned back into his seat and shifted his gaze to Pepper Ridge. They made eye contact and nodded in an unspoken agreement to let the mares work things out themselves.
"So, those Wonderbolts, eh?" Pepper whispered to Silent as he took the empty seat beside him. Silent just nodded again.
Nightingale blinked a few times, then turned her attention to Sunbeam and put on a big smile. "It's all right, Mrs. Sunbeam. Just show him the cupcakes and he'll forget all about Velvet!"
"That's right!" Sunbeam gasped and rotated to face herself and Red toward the table of snacks, including a bunch of cupcakes arranged and decorated to look like one giant cupcake. "Look, muffin! It's a cupcake!"
Red tore his eyes away from Velvet long enough to be distracted. He gasped and exclaimed, "Coop-coop! Coop-coop!"
Sunbeam smiled brightly. "I'll take a coop-coop over a si-si! Thanks, Nightingale!" Shifting his weight to one foreleg, she picked up one of the cupcakes and held it up for him.
"Not a problem, Mrs. Sunbeam!"
Crystal glanced at Velvet and nudged her with an elbow. "How does it feel to be the big sister to a one-year-old?"
"Weird." Velvet blinked. "I mean, I'm old enough where I could be his mother, you know? That's weird."
"Velvet!" Sunbeam turned her head and looked at her with an exaggeratedly hurt expression. "Are you suggesting I'm old enough to be his grandmother?"
Velvet rolled her eyes. "No, Mom. That's not what I'm saying at all. Just... Look, a distraction!" She pointed at Red. "He's going to need a B-A-T-H after this and I call not it!" The pointing hoof flew to touch her nose.
When Sunbeam touched her nose with her free hoof, Red blinked. He dropped the cupcake—though at that point there was more of it on his face than left in the wrapper—and stuck both of his hooves into the frosting that was smeared over his nose.
"Not it!" Sunbeam chimed, giggling.
Silent, Pepper, and Crystal reacted quickly in turn, leaving Nightingale the last to touch her nose. They all looked at her with a grin while she shrugged and said, "Oh well! That means I get to play with Red and you all don't!"
Velvet snickered and Crystal levitated some of the cupcakes over to their table. They both took a bite to hide their grins while Nightingale looked at them with a furrowed brow.
"Oh, sweetie." Sunbeam smiled, offering Red a second cupcake. "Have you ever tried to give a cat a B-A-T-H?"
Nightingale blinked. "Um... no?"
"Me neither, but from what I've heard, I'd much rather attempt that." Sunbeam stroked Red's cream cheese-colored mane that had a stripe of blue frosting running through it.
Pepper wrapped a foreleg around himself and feigned a shiver. "I still have nightmares from last night."
Velvet patted Nightingale on the back. "Don't worry! I'll come with so maybe he won't chew your hoof off in the process. Maybe."
---
"She learned the lesson very quickly," Crystal explained, smothering a giggle. "Despite not being stuck with the torture, Velvet and I went upstairs to help her with the bath."
Princess Luna's teacup remained levitated in mid-air, just inches from her lips. It had been lifted several minutes ago but went forgotten halfway through Crystal's story. "Yes?" she pressed, her eyes wide. "What is so fearful regarding this foal and baths?"
Crystal waved her hoof. "Oh, well, first, he splashes wildly as though he is under attack. And he screams. Then, after he's tired himself out from all the fighting, he just stares at you."
"Stares?" Luna blinked. "I... do not follow."
"Red is one of the cutest, most adorable foals I've ever known." Crystal put her hooves to her cheeks and tugged them down. "He stares at you with these big, pitiable, saucer-sized eyes as if to ask, 'Why? Why did you do this to me?'" She laughed as she let go of her cheeks. "It breaks your heart into so many pieces!"
Finally, Luna let out a soft laugh. "I see!" She took a sip of her tea and jerked the cup away, blinking down at her. "Oh, my. The tea is cold."
Like clockwork, Willow swept in to replace the teacup with a fresh brew. "There you are, Princess," she said while carrying the old cup over to the tea set's tray.
"Thank you." Luna gently blew on the light brown liquid to cool it off before she sipped. "Perfect."
"Before you fade into the background, Willow," Crystal said, looking over at the pegasus, "you have some questions to answer, missy."
Willow tilted her head. "Yes?"
Crystal pointed an accusatory hoof. "Why was I not aware that you had a stallionfriend?"
"I—" A noticeable red hue showed through the light brown coat on her face and she huffed. "Because, Miss Wishes, you never asked! Why would I divulge personal details when we've only been on one outing?"
Crystal's brow started to furrow until she burst into a chime of laughter. "So you're saying that it's my fault for not taking you out on another date?"
"It wasn't a date!" Willow shrieked, then coughed and cleared her throat when Luna looked at her with wide eyes and an amused smile.
Luna lowered her teacup to the table, her gaze fixated on Willow. "I must admit, Willowy, I was unaware that you had a special somepony."
"It's not pertinent to my job." Willow glanced between them and her ears flattened to the sides at the curious faces looking back at her. "Fine! His name is Frank."
Crystal and Luna looked at one another, the former with her brow raised and the latter with hers furrowed. Luna cleared her throat and asked, "Frank? That is a... unique name."
Willow huffed, the flush of her face returning, and she whipped around to trot toward the secretary's desk. "My personal life is not relevant to my professional life!"
Crystal whispered, "Frank?" Luna just shrugged, so Crystal continued in a normal tone, "Well, it is nice to have the both of you back. The three of us should have an outing sometime soon. If the timing is right, Velvet could make it a full mare's night out!"
Luna raised a hoof as she laughed and shook her head. "I am not so certain that is possible."
"Oh." Crystal's ears drooped. "No?"
Luna pointed in the direction of the secretary's desk, where Crystal saw Willow staring at them with wide eyes and a blanched face. "I believe Willowy would die if I were to join. Perhaps I should abstain, and then you and I can have tea where you will share all the gossip." She grinned at Willow, who shrunk down behind her desk and mumbled something incoherent.
"That sounds like a wonderful plan!" Crystal clapped her hooves. "Willow, please pencil in some time soon and I'll talk to Velvet! You can tell us all about this Frank of yours!"
Willow responded with a sound somewhere between a sob and a squeak.
---
It had been a long time since Crystal had been in the company of her father's parents. They were ponies of the highest class, well above the social circles of Canterlot. There was no need for them to attend art shows or garden parties and pay lip service to other ponies; they had lots of money, and that was enough.
Crystal took a deep breath in and released it through her nose. She stood beside her parents, both of whom were engaged in a quiet but heated debate over the entitlement ceremony and whether or not they should just leave. They went completely silent when Jet Ship and Diadem came into view, heading straight for them.
Some ponies carried themselves with confidence. Some ponies exuded it from their very being and it showed in their every movement. There was no question that Crystal's grandparents were very much in the latter category. Diadem tossed her perfectly curled mane over her shoulder while Jet Ship's piercing orange eyes locked with Crystal's even at a distance.
"Jet Set. Upper Crust," her grandfather said in an even tone that was tinged with ice. His gaze flickered away to acknowledge them before returning to Crystal and he continued, "Is this my granddaughter? Since when did she become a fully grown mare?"
Upper Crust snorted. Jet Set opened his mouth to speak, but his father raised a hoof to quiet him.
Crystal held his intense gaze, though her knees trembled just slightly. "I suppose when I graduated from Canterlot Academy, Grandfather."
The raised hoof shifted to reach into the pocket of his black tuxedo, which contrasted with his slate grey coat. "You've grown so fast. How long has it been since Grandpa had a surprise for you?"
"Father—" Jet Set tried to interject, but a huff from Diadem sent him back into silence. His tail twitched and he looked to Upper Crust, who simply rolled her eyes.
Crystal's brow furrowed. It was starting to come back to her. "A surprise?"
"That's right." A smile started to soften his otherwise stern features. "Grandpa's got a piece of candy for you!"
The confusion lifted with recollection. Though he had treated her parents with disinterest and even contempt, she had instead been showered with candy as a filly. "Grandfather, I'm not a foal anymore."
Jet Ship pulled out a wrapped butterscotch candy and bounced it on his hoof. "Oh? Even though it's your favorite?"
Crystal watched the bright golden sphere while her ears slowly flattened against her mane. Desire for its sweet taste overrode her desire to be treated as an adult and she held out her hoof, smiling. "Okay, Grandfather, all right. It is my favorite!"
While she took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it in her mouth, Jet Ship turned his attention on his son. His expression snapped back to its cold and distant one. "Today is the entitlement ceremony."
Jet Set's ear flicked. "I'm aware, Father."
"I won't be mentioning that it was primarily your design." Jet Ship inclined his head to look at the young airship hovering in her berth.
The airship, soon to be entitled as Their Majesties' Ship Harmony, was the height of luxury and decadence in the transportation world. All of the airships that rested in their berths nearby paled in comparison to her design. The wood of her hull was stained a dark color and the polish made her shine in the sunlight. The main balloon was a deep purple with golden yellow accents, while the secondary balloons that served as a back-up if the primary failed were solid gold in color.
"Unless," Jet Ship continued, "you would like to join the company."
A long, tense moment of silence held them all. Crystal stopped turning the candy around in her mouth so the sound of it clicking against her teeth didn't draw unwanted attention to herself. She just stared at her father with wide eyes while he stared at his own father.
Jet Set finally shook his head. "I'm not interested, Father."
Jet Ship sneered, his upper lip curling into a brief snarl. "I see." His short-cropped tail swished in agitation, but stilled when he looked at Crystal. The sudden shift in his demeanor and tone was almost as frightening as the venom in his prior words. "Do you want to join us for her maiden voyage, hmm?" He smiled.
Crystal nearly choked on the candy when she tried to swallow her nerves, and she quickly shook her head. Though she wanted to, of course, the narrowed eyes of her parents gave her no choice. "That's all right, Grandfather. But thank you for the offer."
"Hmm." Jet Ship raised one brow, then shrugged and levitated a second piece of candy out of his pocket and over to her. "Well, enjoy the ceremony!"
"Thanks, Grandfather..." She shifted her gaze to her grandmother, who had kept herself preoccupied with styling her mane. "It was nice to see you, Grandmother."
Diadem regarded her with mild surprise, then shrugged. "Yes, it was."
"Come along, dear." Jet Ship turned and started toward the area behind the ceremony stage. "I must speak with Eminence before we begin."
Upper Crust waited until they were out of earshot before she muttered, "Your parents are truly despicable."
Jet Set wrapped a foreleg around her shoulders, shaking his head. "They are as they always have been, dear. Nothing has changed."
"I disagree." Upper Crust inclined her head to look down her snout at Crystal. "Accepting his bribe? Darling, that was terribly uncouth."
Crystal tucked the butterscotch in her cheek, the still-wrapped one hovering nearby in her magic. "It's not a bribe, Mom." One ear flicked. "It's just candy."
Upper Crust's lips twitched into a frown before she jerked her head to the side and strode toward the gathered crowd. "Come along, dear. I believe I see Hoity Toity in attendance."
"Really?" Jet Set smiled, following behind her. "It's been a while since he's actually been to anything outside of a fashion show. We must know how he has been!"
Crystal remained standing where she was. Her tongue pulled the hard candy out of its hiding place and she sucked on it while her gaze wandered the area. Fancy Pants's fall line premiere was only a few days away, which would lock her in to a higher run in the hierarchy. It wouldn't do to be caught being unsociable so soon before then.
With a small groan, she crunched and chewed the hard candy while she tucked the second into a small pocket sewn into her light blue dress. She put a proper smile on her face and urged her hooves toward the crowd. The ceremony would begin shortly, so she only had to keep the smile on for a little while.
Only two pointless conversations later, all eyes turned to the stage when a pony approached the podium and called over the murmuring conversations, "Ladies and gentleponies, on behalf of Jet Ventures and Eminence Enterprizes, I am honored to thank you all for being here for this momentous occasion today. Please join me in welcoming the Chairpony of Jet Ventures, Mr. Jet Ship."
Polite stomping filled the air as Jet Ship walked up to take the pony's spot at the podium. The applause quieted down when he looked out across the crowd with that hauntingly commanding gaze of his. "Friends, I am thrilled to be standing here today," he started, though his low voice clashed with the words. "My father founded this company in an era when most ponies believed the sky to belong to the pegasi alone. He started with small airships for a single pony to the designs considered standard now. Today, however, I am here to present a craft he could have never imagined."
Crystal snorted. A craft that the pony known as Jet Craft could have never imagined? She raised a hoof to hide the amused grin that spread at the thought. No eyes were on her, of course, as they were all focused on the Harmony when he gestured to it and the sound of stomping briefly returned.
"This new class of airship," he continued, "will be the new standard. It is the most modern, the most safe, and the most luxurious in Equestria—and beyond. Its spacious hull can comfortably house two thousand guests and seven hundred crew members, allowing more ponies than ever before to experience the joy of being one with the skies." He paused, then smiled and added in a light tone, "Of course, as chairpony of the board, it is solely out of obligation to that position that I mention we will be taking reservations for the maiden voyage as of today. Be sure to speak to your travel agent as soon as possible."
He straightened up and returned to his cut-and-dry manner of speech as he finished, "Without further ado, I would like to invite to the stage a pony who had a huge hoof in making all of this possible. In fact, I would dare say that without him I doubt we would be where we are today."
Crystal stole a glance at her father. His ears were folded back and his eyes were closed halfway while he bit down on his lower lip. She reached out a hoof and set it gently on his shoulder. He jolted in surprise and blinked at her, then returned his gaze to the stage.
"Ladies and gentleponies, please help me welcome the president of Eminence Enterprizes, Mr. Eminence himself."
A unicorn who exuded even more confidence and power than Jet Ship walked onto the stage to stand beside him at the podium. Where Jet Ship was a more stocky sort of stallion of faded hues, Eminence was tall, lanky, and had a coat of gold. They shook hooves and he said, "Thank you, Mr. Ship. You are much too kind." He smiled, lowering his hoof. "I am simply happy to be part of such a monumental moment in history. I have always believed that we as ponies should always reach for the heavens and you, sir, have never disappointed. It is my honor to stand here next to you."
Jet Ship nodded and turned his head to look at the airship that hovered right within hoof's reach of the stage. "Well, then, shall we entitle her and reach for those heavens together?"
Eminence smiled. "By all means."
While they walked side by side toward the edge of the stage, an attendant stepped forward with a bottle of champagne already prepared. The two powerful figures put a hoof each on the bottle and, after counting down together, pushed it forward so that it swung along the ceremonial ribbon to crash into the side of the hull.
When the bottle burst open, the crowd burst into cheers and stomps, and Eminence declared, "We entitle you: TMS Harmony. May you sail the skies for many years to come."
"Well, then," Jet Set said while the cheering continued all around them. "I suppose that is that, then."
Upper Crust sighed. "I'm so glad that is out of the way."
Crystal stared up at the Harmony, smiling softly. "She is a beautiful ship. You did a wonderful job, Father."
A smile flashed across Jet Set's face before he settled into a light frown. "Thank you, dear."
Upper Crust looked at Crystal out of the corner of her half-lidded eyes. Her nose started to wrinkle up until she gave an exaggeratedly loud sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. "Darling, are we going to keep playing this charade?"
"Charade?" Crystal blinked at her. "Excuse me?"
"It has been a month and you still have not introduced us to your fiancé." Upper Crust turned her head to look at her straight-on. "I honestly am appalled that you've let this linger as long as it has. Shall this be another evening where you avoid the topic? What are you hiding, darling?"
Crystal bit back her first response, sucked in a breath, and said, "Nothing, Mother."
"Then if you have nothing to hide, we shall expect you and him for dinner." Upper Crust looked to her husband, who was looking anywhere but at her. She huffed and returned her gaze to Crystal.
Crystal dug a hoof into the grass and managed through clenched teeth, "All right. When?"
Upper Crust smiled briefly. "Tomorrow night, of course. Why delay any longer?"
For a moment, Crystal pondered every excuse she had available and weighed their believability. He was an important commander of Princess Luna's House Guard. She knew firsthoof that he was busy most evenings. How long could she delay the inevitable, though? Until the day before the wedding? The day of?
"All right," Crystal relented, her ears folding back in defeat. "Tomorrow night it is, then."
As soon as the words left her mouth and a smile twisted the corners of her mother's lips, regret flooded her mind. She was certain she had just walked into a trap, but what other option was there at that point?
I like it. I think it was very well written.
Yeah, yeah, mom, I know, go meet a nice stallion and make you a grandma.
Velvet is well acquainted with frosting related baths.
Interesting name indeed. Gryphon and Frank is short for something? Frank as in blunt ie a tell it how it is reporter? Frank as in hotdogs so a chef/restauranter?
Awww, I you're so cute Upper Crust, I could just pinch your cheeks.
Willingly entering the dragons lair is never a wise choice, good thing Crystal is bringing a Knight along.
Allow me to applaud your profuse adherence to this rather expansive story. Maintaining this tale surely has taxed you, with a word-count best defined as colossal. Although I haven't indulged myself with Crystal's Wishes, I believe this is quite the quality read.
I impart to you the splendid rating of 8/10. The only fraction of repine within me is incited by your unvaried word-usage and your limited usage of vocabulary. Disregarding the minor nitpick, I think highly of this product designed and executed during your terms as an author.
Good wishes from me to you.
HE SPEAKS?!?! holy time-skip! You, Mrs Crystal, almost make me want a child with your annoyingly cute scenes with Red Velvet! I will have to go to my sisters house to remind myself what's on the other side of the coin.
I wonder if he will have a pony last name like Everglow, or a human name like Brown.
It feels good to see Luna from Crystal's perspective again. I am a little bias, Luna is one of my favorite Canon characters.
[insert something undeniably masculine here]
6551742 Thank you!
6551774 Some good theories on the currently mysterious Frank... I will say one of those is actually, surprisingly... pretty darn close!
You like Crystal's response to Grandpa Ship? I grinned, admittedly.
oh my gosh—"dragon's lair"—"bringing a Knight"—... Why did I not make that connection myself?!
6551865 Whoa, hey there, undeniably masculine person! Yeah, it kind of feels more like a timeskip than it should because a) we haven't seen Red in a long while in Wishes b) Velveteen Mask is four months behind in-universe and c) the minific was... nonspecific in where it links up in the story line, if only because I really just wanted to write Red without stressing too much about where exactly it fit in. Certainly before his birthday, though.
We will learn more about Frank... assuming he exists... I mean, she's never mentioned him before? Hmm...
6551884
Crystal unleashing some inner-Velvet onto that old grump was great. It is kinda funny that Crystal's father is so 'cool' while his father is the way he is. If that had been Upper Crust's father it would have made so much more logical sense.
6551865
I'm waiting for the big reveal that Frank isn't a pony at all. My first thought was a griffin, but I could see a minotaur or a diamond dog being a possibility as well.
6551911 Hmm hmm hmm... I'm looking forward to Thursday's chapter, which will reveal a thread that will potentially interest you. I can say no more.
6551912 Now to decide if I stick to my plan or divert course because you've sparked a fun idea. ... I guess I stick with my original plan...
6551929
Aziraphael and I agree, Frank the Gryphon is a go, it would really really mess with Silent Knight as well.
Great chapter! I'm looking forward to reading Silent meeting Crystal's parents from her point of view and even that event thing that Fancy Pants is holding. Can't wait until Thursday!
Edit: I also still ship Velvet and Nightingale. Maybe it's being hinted at? I'm hoping it is! Also, according to my time zone, you published it at 11:59PM... that's pretty close to your self-made deadline :P
6551884
Of course Frank exists. After all, here there is no "Canada" for him to live in, therefore he must exist.
He is also probably not a pony with a name like that. Or his is a pony, and his special talent has allowed him to take control of all Equestrian hotdog exports.
Lastly, I have to give Jet Set some serious props here for sticking to his guns. Yes, he very absolutely could catapult himself even higher in society by just joining his father's company and spend the rest of his life on easy street, but chooses not to, likely because of tensions stemming from his marrying Upper Crust instead of someone his parents approved of.
-Grins like the Cheshire cat.
Oh my god... the first part of this story was so sweet it coulda caused tooth decay. It was adorable. Poor Silent, Atleast he almost got it. and the bit about bathing Red was funny to when she explained it to Luna. As for Willow, I wonder who this "Frank" Pony... or could he be a Gryphon? Now that would be an interesting paring. And Im surprised Luna didnt take Crystal up on her offer.
Its a shame when parents and grandparents are fighting, and trying to use the granddaughter as a pawn. How can candy be a bribe?!?! And I soooo cant wait for the next chapter, the suspense is killing me! all in all a great chapter. I loved it
Poor Crystal, ambushes are a horrible thing. Not as deadly as the one Silent was in but her mother knows how to lay a trap.
The first part of this story is the darn cutest thing I've ever Red *rimshot*
When Crystal's grandparents were in high school, did people Ship them?
Loved the chapter!
6551968 As long as the 'published date' says 10/20, I consider myself on time! Yes, the long-awaited dinner with the parents! I'm sure everyone has nooo idea how well that will go between Crystal and Upper Crust. Just look at them. Happiest little mother-daughter duo. It'll be fiiine!
6552077 He could be from Vanhoover! All we know is his name is Frank and nopony has ever met him before.
Y'all know, there is a donkey with a pretty human name. Matilda. Maybe he's a donkey. Anyone think of that? Hmm? Oh, what, donkeys solely exist for the butt (teehee) end of "stubborn" jokes? Speciesists.
Yes, the tension between Jet Set and Jet Ship is pretty much primarily centered around what we saw in the minific, and mostly explained in my rewrite of his conversation with Crystal in the Rendezvous with Reality: "My parents wanted me to marry a fine mare from a fine family and work at Jet Ventures." Son didn't follow in Father's hoofsteps. Father never forgets. Father never forgives!
6552127 I won't lie, writing Red is one of my favorite things to do. I'm glad we'll see a lot of him in Velveteen Mask. In my head, Luna's reasoning is that she wants Willow to get out more, and Willow won't relax if she's there. So she'll settle for the post-game show with Crystal giving her all the gossip.
I find it interesting how characters get perceived by readers. My intention (and it's fine if it came across differently; no two people will interpret someone's actions the same way) was that Jet Ship is fond of his granddaughter, but he hasn't seen her since she was a filly due to the whole parent-grandparent tension, so he just treats her like a foal because he knows nothing else about her. He doesn't blame his granddaughter for the "sins" of her parents. But pawn works, too!
6552342 Better sharpen those dinner knives, because things are about to get hot in this kitchen! Okay, in the dining room, really, but that doesn't work as well for the joke. Oh, well.
6552509 Someone is feeling comedic, eh? I am sure there were some jokes about Jet Ship's name, and like he tried to do to Jet Set, I'm sure Jet Craft had done in turn with him: tried to ship him with a fine mare from a fine family!
6551782 You, my dear, are a brilliant beam of sunshine and I adore your presence, basking in it like a lazy cat on a sleepy summer afternoon. Never change.
(I simply had to upvote your comment, for it broughteth my mucheth joyeth.)
6552578
You're thinking of miles, which despite their origins, are different from donkeys. Now who's the speciesist?
6552804 Me, because I thought mules and donkeys were the same thing. Welp. Now everyone knows I'm a speciesist!
6552810
Yes, we do! Hang your head in shame!
And then, hang this feeder! We could do with some hummingbirds around here.
Nightingale is at this party? Interesting.
In truth, that kind of is the implication.
I'm imagining that to be kind of like:
Except, you know, stare not Stare.
Frank? Willow's boyfriend is named Frank? That's so aggressively non-pony that I'm wondering if he isn't. Diamond Dog? River serpent? Imaginary stallionfriend? Hey, I don't judge.
Oooo, the other side of the airship launch. The more awkward side, apparently.
Bwhahahahahahha!
Heh. It had to happen eventually, Crystal, not unless you wanted to completely break off contact or something like that.
well I feel bad for Jet Set a bit. His parents are absolute jerks. He seems a bit better than them when it comes to tolerance, but I have a feeling Upper Crust's parents are probably the same way as Jet Set's parents.
6552578 While I will admit that Upper Crust's design is adorable (especially in EQG), I'll admit that she's a pretty big jerk. Anyway, I kinda already know what happens because of what happened in Secrets. I'm still pretty hyped for it
6553099 Poor Sunbeam. There aren't enough goofy petnames in the world to recover from being old enough to be her child's grandmother!
I would try to commission a post-bath Red, but I think it would kill all of my readers, so for y'all's wellbeing, I'll abstain. For now.
Frank is a peculiarly un-pony name, yes.
Eeyup, I'm glad people found Crystal's response as funny as I did.
6553118 Yes, Upper Crust's parents... It would be nice to meet them...
I was going to make a quote about SK being late in yelling surprise at the B-day party or any of the lines around Sunbeam (jealous of si-si, the grandmother remark), but realized I would be quoting the whole scene, good job!
I see that Nightingale is an optimist. Looks like that was taken care of soon enough. Though I find it odd that they let someone who I'm assuming they just met give their one year old son a bath (or even let Crystal do it), I know he's supposedly hard to give a bath too, but that struck me as really odd. Is this supposed to be a ponies are very friendly and trusting creatures (or characters in this universe) or something? I can't imagine anyone in the real world allowing this.
Either Frank is a very blunt pony... or he isn't a pony. Given that Willow always seems to be vying with SK for Luna's attention, it seems like it would be fitting if this Frank was a griffon. Certainly would make another thing that SK and Willow would feud over (well, I guess it really isn't a feud, but would add to their disagreements).
, I don't know, I actually thought they proved likeable compared to a certain pony (which is odd because I'd imagine the friction there is because they didn't approve of Jet Set marrying a low class mare, which would normally have me support that mare, but it's Upper Crust so I can't, though I have to say good for Jet Ship for apparently not holding anything against Crystal. She didn't choose her parents, only born to them).
Heh, I remember this chapter in Secrets...
Hey, Upper Crust, look over here!
*She looks*
*Holds up a small mirror in front of her* Get it? Get it?
*She doesn't*
Yeah, I'm calling you a hypocrite! so, nyaaaahhhhhh...!
*Jitters*
Wait, why am I so excited about fashion? I'm never excited about fashion! Something feels very wrong here...
Though Fleur is a very attractive pony...
*Flees*
P.S. Willow... You can't hide now! It's all going to come out, so just go easy on yourself and don't struggle too hard... *dun, Dun, DUNNNNNNNnnnnn....!*
*obligatory note the Enterprizes is spelt enterprises* Nah, I'm messing with you. I'm current with Secrets, so I know that wasn't a mistake. Still, I wonder how many people have/will point it out, though. Haven't read any of the comments. Anyway, another great chapter, and poor Crystal... even if she knows how, she just doesn't have the personality to be a Canterlot elite. She's too nice. Oh well, hopefully it all gets better... Though I admit, I can't remember how the dinner went (or if it happened, I'm pretty sure it did) from Silent's perspective, so I don't even know what to anticipate... Oh well. Can't wait until next week. Oh, and for making Jet Set a little more of a sympathetic, if still mostly despicable, character, have a
6554051 I'm glad you enjoyed the birthday scene so much that you wanted to quote all of it.
Ahh, so many things to answer regarding the Nightingale and the bath thing! First and foremost, this chapter is four months ahead of the most recent Velveteen Mask chapter, so this isn't the first time Velvet's parents have met her. That said, secondmost, I do think the pony world as a whole is more trusting and they wouldn't suspect a friend of their daughter of any foul play. And beyond that Velvet and Crystal were with her. ... Lastmost, in the real world, you'd be surprised. Just trust me from personal experience.
There have been some repeated theories that Frank is a griffon! Well, I will say that in general, Anzel and I seem to prefer to name our griffons more like... Alistair, Garrard, Kronson, etc., sooo... maybe not a griffon... but maybe so, still!
6554178 I don't think she gets it! You might have to try harder. And, ahh, don't worry, I'm sure something golden will be of interest to you at the fall line preview...
6554321 So far, I don't think anyone's complained about the archaic spelling of enterprises! And, well, don't worry, even if you remembered the dinner in Secrets, Silent and Jet Set separated from Upper Crust and Crystal, so we don't know what happened! Thank you for the moustache!
Frank could be a zebra. No pony thought about that. Or maybe from Scoltland. Hmmmmm?
I'm just gonna throw in a guess for the mental image.
Frank is a Smooze.
6554342
Honestly I didn't think of it as an archaic spelling so much as a business trying to be hip to the kidz (foalz?) or something.
6554332
I've got it!
*Tosses Upper Crust into the Mirror Pool and two come out.*
Now all we need to do is wait for them to realize how much they hate each other! It's a foolproof way to force an epiphany!
6554554 Those are indeed theories that haven't been brought up yet!
6555081 ... that is also a new theory! Regarding enterprizes, oh, gosh, no, Eminence is the last stallion who would name his company on something like "being hip for the foalz". No, enterprizes is an older spelling. Even though the company was built from the ground up by Eminence and isn't "old", he is more the kind of stallion who would name it using an older spelling to further emphasize his... eminence. If you search the Google Books for enterprize, you'll get a fair amount of books from the 1700s and 1800s. It isn't strictly only an older spelling, 'cause you'll get modern books with it, too, but I think it was much more common back then than it is today.
6555120 Yes, that'll totally wor—*world catches on fire*
6556601
I won't belittle Crystal Wishes for choosing such an adorably short chapter name. Besides I am still riding high from all the fun yesterday and can't be bothered to rise to the occasion after such a tiny amount of time. I'll leave the jokes to others as they are beneath me.
6556765
I thought that involved Crystal and cheese...
titanic anyone?
6638399 Titanic EVERYONE.
The grandparents clearly weren't as despicable as the parents insisted they were, so something's amiss, I wonder what will happen next?
As for TMS Harmony, I'm at a toss-up, prediciting if it'll Titanic this or not. On the one hand, narrative casuality firmly dicates that any 'most safe' thing on their maiden voyage must go wrong, but this is a SoL fic to the very heart, so an arc of the story could unfold pleasently with a change of scene, no issues at all, but on the OTHER other hand, there's the B half influence of QnB, and a plummeting skyship seems quite B to me and also this ship is very very large indeed, but I take it you knew that!
This chapter and my own work had me wondering.....just what does Crystals parents even do?
Ooohhh...
... boy.