I sat quietly in my bunk, watching Iridescence get ready. She looked amazing. Her mane was done up, her tail braided, and she had on a dress I had never seen before. It was long, slinky, and had all kinds of sparkling sapphires on it. Once everything was just right, she headed for the door.
Pushing off the bed, I fell in step behind her. She paused, looked back and asked, “Where are you going?”
“With you,” I replied in confusion.
She shook her head and said, “Oh, no, no. It is mare’s night out with Princess Luna and Crystal Wishes. You’re not a mare.”
My eyes shifted to her foot locker and she took my face between her hooves. “Don’t even consider it.”
I snorted. I wasn’t really. “What should I do, then?”
Iridescence shrugged. “I don’t know, but for me it is mare’s night! Why don’t you go hang out with Runic?”
Frowning, I said, “So you don’t want me to come with you and you want me dead?”
She laughed and patted me on the shoulder. “Silent Knight, he is your friend and cousin. Why don’t you go spend some time getting to know him better, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Good,” she said before sweeping out of the room, looking the nicest I’ve seen in a long while.
“Mare’s night out. It sounds more like... stallions… not invited.” Yeah, I wasn’t very clever back then.
☾
Runic had closed the shop for the night but I knew him pretty well. I went around to the side door and knocked on it a trio of times. There was no answer. I knocked again and waited. Still nothing. Well, that was easy. I turned to leave, but as I did so every window in the place was suddenly illuminated by a blinding flash.
The door burst open and Runic tumbled out, landing on his back in front of me. He stared up at me through his soot-covered goggles and smiled. “Hi, Silent Knight.”
“Hi, Runic,” I replied. “Success?”
Runic rolled over, stood up, and brushed himself off. “Still in one piece, so I’d say yes. What can I do for you?”
I brushed one hoof against my leg and said, “I thought you might want to hang out tonight. You know... like friends?”
“Great!” Runic exclaimed and walked back into the shop. “Come on in!”
Following him proved difficult as the whole back room was clouded in smoke. “Goggles,” I heard Runic say and then felt when he slapped them on my face.
“Thanks,” I coughed.
Somewhere in the darkness, Runic flipped a switch and fans kicked on. The cloud vented out of the room, revealing the surroundings. I had never actually been in the back-back room. It was all work benches, shelving, and science experiments. To my surprise, it was actually in relatively good order.
Runic pointed to the bench nearest the door. “I’m trying to grow river rocks on beanstalks,” he explained, as if it made sense.
“I wasn’t aware that river rocks were so explosive,” I said playfully.
“They’re not. It was the beanstalks,” Runic deadpanned. “Would you like to help out?”
Friends weren’t something I was familiar with. Iridescence was different, of course. She had always taken the lead. I felt out of my depth just standing there and I am a diligent worker so I nodded. “Sure, what can I do?”
“Hold this,” he said, offering me a metal rod attached to a wire. He had a similar one in hoof. “Could you pick up that beanstalk, too?”
I saw which one he meant and picked it up. “Sure.”
“Great!” He smiled and flipped a switch.
☾
I awoke an hour or so later, my coat standing on end. Runic was next to me, sprawled on the shop floor. I moved closer and lightly shook him. He coughed, sat up, and looked at the beanstalk. I had not realized it at first but I was still clenching the plant in my hoof. It was unbelievable: smooth river stones had replaced the pods. I’m not kidding.
“Great!” he exclaimed. “You must be lucky. Well… that was my mission for the day. What’s next?”
Was he seriously asking me? I had not thought to bring any games and I wasn’t sure he would be into Royal Guard stuff. I found that most ponies were bored by us. Then I had an idea. “Runic, do you think you could help me make a bracelet for Iridescence?”
Runic stroked his chin. “A bracelet? There isn’t a lot of challenge to that. Mostly metal work. I doubt we’d even need potions.” He looked at me and then said, “But for you, why not.”
“Thank you,” I replied and we sat down to work.
It all started with some plain wire. It had the same shine as silver but it was something far more sturdy and less expensive. Runic’s invention, of course.
I selected a thinner, pink spool of wire, and asked Runic, “Mares like pink, right?”
Runic shrugged. “I know what they don’t like: rocks on a first date. Alchemists aren’t always known for their ability to swoon ladies.”
I frowned. Runic was a good guy. He should have a nice mare. If, as my sister taught me, his barn door swung that way. That was a different problem, though, so I looked at him and repeated, “Mares like pink, right?” and nodded a little.
Runic seemed to catch on. “Yes,” he said, nodding in time with me.
“Great.” I wound the pink wire around the silver, making two separate, compact coils in the front. It looked fairly well done for a stallion without any magic. Laying the bracelet on the table, I couldn’t help but feel like it needed more. “Hey, Runic?”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any of those sapphires left? The ones in the trash bag?”
He shook his head. “No, sorry.”
I smiled. “It's okay, no problem.”
“Would any of those work?” he asked as he pointed a hoof to a small mountain of sapphires. It was literally large enough for me to leap onto and climb my way to the ceiling.
“Yeah…” I said, blinking. “I think I can find one in there.” I walked over to sort through them all. Eventually, I found one that was the right size and even somewhat shield-shaped. It kind of looked like Iridescence’s cutie mark. I made my way down the pile and set it on the table. “You know these are worth bits, right? Lots of bits?”
Runic shrugged. “Not to me. Those are failures in my book.”
I rubbed my nose with a hoof. “I understand that, but if you needed bits you could sell these and buy things you needed to make rocks. They have real value. I can’t just take one and give you nothing.”
Runic smiled at me. “We’re family, so of course you can have that one.”
I shook my head and replied, “That is kind, but family can’t just take. I can’t pay you now, but…”
“I turned you pink and then electrocuted you,” Runic said flatly.
“Right. Even then?”
Runic nodded. “Even.”
“Thank you, Runic, you’re a good pal,” I said and got back to work.
Runic helped me shape the sapphire into a perfect shield and even built a custom metal fastener to hang it from the bracelet. He was really excited about that bit because it allowed him to fuse the metal directly into the sapphire. The final touch was to add a clasp. Runic wanted to attach it with a torch. I convinced him that his tiny soldering iron was a better plan.
It is important that I don’t give the impression that Runic and I were jewelers or that this particular bracelet was the best one ever made, but it did look like something you might buy in a store. It was special because we had made it together and it meant something. It felt like magic.
“Runic, we’ve done a good thing,” I said to him.
He smiled. “Yeah, I think we did. Fun, too.”
I nodded and patted his shoulder. “Yes. We could do similar things again sometime… if you like.”
“Sure, stop by anytime. I’m sure we could come up with a ton of things to do,” he said.
I put a hoof around his shoulder and smiled. “I’ll do that. Just try not to kill me, okay? I’m attached to my body.”
“Fair enough,” Runic said cheerfully.
”Now, how about we go get something to eat? I’m really hungry and for some reason I’m craving those pods from the beanstalks.”
Runic nodded. “Me, too… I bet we could find those in town.”
We left through the side door and Runic locked up. I placed the bracelet in my saddlebag before we headed off into the night to find beans.
☾
I was asleep when Iridescence burst through the door that night. She staggered ever so slightly as she wandered in. “I’m home,” she whispered loudly. In the dark she fumbled around a bit on her way over to our beds.
“Are you okay?” I asked her quietly. I wasn’t sure why she had whispered… although I was also not sure that it qualified as a whisper, anyway. I’m pretty sure the ponies in the next room heard her.
Iridescence smiled in the darkness, the only light in the room provided by the moon outside the window. “I’m great,” she said. “Goodnight, Silent,” she added before tossing the sheets back on my bed and slipping under them.
“Hey, you realize that—” I started and then shrugged. I pulled the sheets back up around us and went back to sleep. She’d figure it out in the morning.
☾
The next morning I woke up feeling less rested than usual. That was probably due to the fact that Iridescence kicks in her sleep. I rolled over to face her and her eyes opened. She looked at me and said, “Good morning.”
I smiled back. “Good morning.”
Then the color drained from her face. Her eyes got big and she leaped from the bed. Ah, she had figured it out!
“You?! Me. Us!” she exclaimed, not quite forming coherent thoughts yet. “What happened?!”
Stretching out a bit in my newly recovered bed, I looked at her and said plainly, “You stumbled in late last night and jumped into my bed.”
My straightforward response was rewarded with a pillow to the face, immediately followed by a second fluffy blow to the head. “And what did you do?!” she demanded.
“Slept awfully,” I replied, holding up my hooves to fend off further attacks. “You kick in your sleep.”
Iridescence dropped the pillow and stared at me. Finally, some form of realization dawned on her face. She leaned down and kissed my cheek. “You’re a gentlepony and an idiot,” she told me.
I clapped my hooves lightly together. “I’ll allow it. Though my feelings are hurt that you’d think the worst of me.”
Iridescence’s cheeks burned red in a blush. It was cute. I smiled as I let her realization set in. Yes, Silent Knight isn’t clueless about everything.
“Then you’re just a gentlepony,” she said, sitting on the edge of my bed. “Did you and Runic have fun?”
“We did. Although he did electrocute me in the name of science. All told, though, it was a pretty successful evening. It looks like yours was as well?”
Iridescence shook her head. “It may have gotten a little out of hoof. No harm was done, though… none that I can remember.”
“I’ll be sure to check the warrants after breakfast. If there are any for you, I’ll have to take you in,” I said sternly while looking up at her. “Oh, and then there is this.” Reaching over to the nightstand we shared, I tugged open the top drawer and took the bracelet out of it, then offered it to her.
“Where did you get this?” Iridescence asked as she looked it over. As I said, it was magic.
Proudly, I replied, “I made it with Runic’s help.”
“You… You made... this?” she asked and I deflated a little.
“I did.”
“Silent Knight, it is amazing. How did you to do it without magic? I thought you had bought it!” she gushed.
I reinflated and shrugged. “Hard work, dedication, and a semi-crazed but exceptionally talented alchemist cousin.”
Iridescence slipped it on and leaned down to kiss my cheek again. “Aren’t you full of surprises this morning!”
Mission accomplished. I rolled over onto my side. “You are, too. You kick like a mule,” I teased before being immediately rewarded by additional blows to the head with a pillow.
5386060 I'm glad my dry brand of comedy resonates =D Very pleased you enjoyed it!
5386105 He is! He does not understand the world of mares for sure.
I'm really enjoying your first story on his site. I look forward to seeing much more from you!
I began reading this series earlier today, and was unable (and unwilling) to stop until the end. Quite possibly my favorite read yet, which is a hard thing to earn, usually reserved for AP's work, Pen Stroke, or Comet Burst. This might be tied with Affliction for me right now (excuse me while I go confess my blasphemy to AP)...Now I have but one question: have we met? Your portrayal of Silent Knight is entirely too similar to my own (as described by everyone I know) oblivious demeanor, awkwardly silent, minimal responses, and all.
Even the military family line, though I am admittedly the exception, is eerily accurate.
Though the by the book approach to everything is still me....I'm going to have to keep an eye on you...
But seriously, can't wait for more!
5386410 I'm floored by such high praise. I really appreciate it!
I'm also glad he is a character that folks can relate to. I was extremely introverted as a teenager and didn't fit in due to my rigidity. Silent Knight is one path I imagine my life could have followed. I love him as a character and he has been very easy for me to write.
Thank you for reading!
I've been reading this story since it first came out and never got around to commenting somehow. Anyways, I love your story! You definitely earned a like and a favorite!
5386588 Both are greatly appreciated! I'm glad to have you along for the story.
XD the jokes in this chapter a great.
Well, glad I found this. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Hmm. Don't get me wrong, I've been loving this up to this point, but this chapter kind've broke the flow for me. It felt like the conversation between Silent and Runic was really wooden, and I can't quite put my finger on it, but Silent in general feels a little off this chapter. Still eagerly awaiting more. ^_^
Peace,
~C
5388758 I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I appreciate you taking the time to share your criticism. Could you elaborate a little bit more? I'd love to center in on what you felt didn't work so I can improve going forward.
5389217
Alright, I think the main thing that I noticed was that Runic in particular was a lot less animated. From earlier chapters, particularly 11, I got a very definite sense that Runic got overly excited about things, moved too quickly, spoke too quickly. In this chapter, his speech style was much more similar to Silent's - short, plain responses. Aside from electrocuting Silent, the sense of zaniness I got from Runic just fell flat this chapter.
That's probably why Silent felt off as well - Silent is a straight man to the bone, so if he doesn't have a lot of silliness to play off of, he just comes across as kind've dull. Later, when he was talking to Iridescence, he had more to play off of ("I'll be sure to check the warrants..." in particular cracked me up) so he in turn came across as a more complete character.
I hope this was at least somewhat helpful, I'm not very good at figuring out what it is about something that actually bugs me. Seriously though, I am loving this story.
Peace,
~C
5389692 Absolutely that makes sense! I appreciate it =D
Discovered this story yesterday, and I read straight through it. I don't often leave comments, but I felt that you deserved to know you're work is definitely appreciated. I enjy Silent Knight as a character, because, in a way he feels like Twilight Sparkle- The whole learning friendship angle- and I'm really interested in the possibility of a war breaking out since it seems to be foreshadowed a lot.
Princess Luna is also an incredibly interesting character and you give her incredibly 3D qualities. From the Nightmare Night and Writer's Con, we can really see how much she's grown as a character. I don't see much stories centered (Or semi-centered?) around Luna that portray her as you do, and it definitely improves the story as a whole. Finally, Iridescence is actually one of the best OC's I've read. She's incredibly likable, especially since we're viewing this through Silent Knight's eyes, and seen her frustration with Silent even if he doesn't himself.
All in all, an amazing story that I'll keep up to date with.
5389731 High praise and I am humbled by it! Thank you so much. I'm glad you like my Luna. I've tried to portray her as a really important side character but she does take center stage a lot.
I'm glad the cast is interesting and I hope to keep it up!
5386469 Read the links. Thanks for that by the way, references are always good.
So essentially I was just another link in the chain of an internet urban legend.
dang, well at least now I know better.
I be thinking that S.K. and Iri's relationship will soon be put to the test.
"Turned you pink and electrocuted you"
End of discussion.
I really love Runic too! An idealist, with a child's curiousity and amazing mind. Great job!
Runic best pony :3
Runic has officialy become one of my most favorite support characters of any story ive ever read.
I like this story.
I doesn't feel like it's going anywhere, neither does it feel like it has a purpose.
It is simply 'the life of a guard,' and that's ok.
I am in tears again.
Runic seams like he would be an epic science teacher!
5919501 Total agreement there! He is one of my favorite characters to write =)
I hope Maud knows that...
5937816 She may disagree with the sentiment ;D
Runic reminds me a lot of Varrick from Legend of Korra. Which is a good thing cause I absolutely love Varrick.
PS. It's REALLY hard to find a Varrick video on youtube for some reason. Like, REALLY hard.
// Sphex
Ask and you shall receive eh?
And what a glory it was.
5944400
If hadn't already read Crystal's Wishes and therefore know who Runic ends up with I'd say "SHIP IT!"
As is I'm content with the way things turn out.
This just occured to me, but who's the designated filly in "Phial and Filly?"
And here I found a problem with removing the visit to Winterspear at Cloudsdale in the previous chapter.
This was a follow up joke from that conversation where she tells Silent Knight that she is not into stallions. Now it just comes up weird.
~Leonzilla
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7098062 Runic and Maud? I ship it.
I've felt absolutely ecstatic every time Runic got some screentime, both in this story and over in Crystal Wishes' one ... I am utterly delighted to see nearly a full chapter dedicated to my, as of now, most favourite alchemist.
Runic! Runic! Runic!
Family resemblance there. They're both good-hearted and hare-brained.
Runic is always good.
It's a good thing Runic didn't sell his gems. He would probably crash the economy. Equestria having a Great Depression. Who'd a thunk it?
Really cute chapter
I would not mind more chapters with Silents cousin. I like him.
It’s like what Chuck Yeager said, “a good landing is one you can walk away from”
8019005
They're on the gold standard so it'd be a lot harder to crash their market. Also, it kind of depends where the gems go. Rarity uses a lot in clothing, they can be used as mana batteries for spell matrices, as jewelry, as food for dragons, I dont really think its that big of a problem.
So what your saying... is you and the boi’s where in the PM looking for BEANS?
I adore Runic.
I can only say one thing.
pics.me.me/mede-boys-at-2am-looking-for-beans-beans-55530137.png