Crystal Dreams [Silent Whistle]

The pale blue unicorn found herself trotting down the Main Street in Canterlot in the late afternoon. Ponies dressed in their finery were looking at ornate displays in shop windows and talking to one another, laughing - but Bright Eyes was not among them. She didn't own any fashionable outfits, and she walked alone, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. She had been to Canterlot before, of course, but it always seemed bigger and grander than she remembered.

Her pace slowed when she caught site of a magnificent shop, crystal shining in the sunlight, and she could smell something wonderful wafting through its open door. Curious as always, Bright Eyes stopped to admire the restaurant, and her stomach growled in angry protest - How long had it been since her last decent meal? The azure mare couldn't recall. She had been traveling for months now.

Silent Whistle was busy in the back preparing meals for all of his patrons focusing intently on each and every detail! Sure Chef school in the Crystal empire was fun while it lasted but he wanted to bring out those flavors and zests into a whole new community! A Crystal Empire menu made to send your tastebuds through the arctic climate all the way to the not too warm yet leaning on the not too cold while still holding that cold feel, sunny climate within the crystal heart's warm glow! Feel the shimmer of the crystal energy absorption streets shaped much like a snowflake as every pony greets you with the warmth of light and love the Empire prides itself upon!

Silent quickly placed bits of the crystal corn kernels as well as a crystal berry glaze over top his last piece before smashing the bell as it was rushed out through waiters quickly to the customers.

Bright Eyes hesitated for another moment. Should she go in, even though she had nothing to give?  Whether it was simply hunger or kismet that lured the mare inside, she didn't know, but it smelled too enticing and looked too beautiful to simply walk away.  She was intrigued by the place as soon as her hooves crossed the threshold.  There were crystals glimmering in every direction, such a lovely sight that Bright Eyes couldn't contain a growing smile from her face.  The ponies dining there didn't look up when she entered, and she was reminded that here in Canterlot, she was nobody.  But this didn't differ much from the other places she had visited, as she was seldom staying in one place long enough to get to know any pony.

(Mind if I jump in on this one?)

((I don't have a problem with it but it's Bright's RP
EDIT: Bright wants a few more posts between SW and BE but after they meet, you can jump in :D))
Silent was still in the back as he fixed another few orders when the familiar yet unheard to him jingle rang as soon as Bright stepped through the door. She was instantly greeted with a warm welcome by a waiter's warm smile. "Welcome to the Crystal Delights!! Our head chef and owner will be out to greet you soon! Though he may be young, he's studied culinary delights of his home and brought them here all to enjoy! So, would you like a booth or a table?"

She was taking in the sights and smells when she heard someone greet her.  The young pony froze as if she had done something wrong when the waiter noticed her, like he could tell just by looking that she was flat broke and had little business being inside such a wonderful diner.  She returned the friendly smile with an awkward, lopsided grin of her own, aqua-hued eyes cast downward.  "Oh.  Well, um, a table, I guess."  As she moved in the waiter's direction, still staring downward, her black glasses began to slip from her face.  She lifted a blue hoof just as the glasses fell to the crystal floor.  The frames landed just below her hoof, where they were instantly smashed to bits.

The shattering frames, seemed to ring off of the crystal floor in such a way that all of the pony patrons on that floor stopped instantly to look in her direction. The waiter then ducked down and helped her clean up before the main chef arrived. "Ah, terribly sorry! We can offer you a free meal but I don't think it could pay for a new set of frames... I"ll talk with the chef and see what we can do..." He then stood slowly dusting off the pieces from his hoof into the nearby trash bin and ducked back through the crystal doors to speak with Silent who was busy trying to fix a frozen dish! Silent felt a light tap upon his shoulder and turned around, only to find his startled waiter and quickly signed, "Is everything alright?"

"No, A young mare broke her glasses and I've offered her a free meal but told her we couldn't pay for a new set until we get the mortgage paid over." To that, Silent then grabbed a nearby rag and whipped off his hooves and with a nod signaling another chef who knew Crystal cuisine, to finish up what he'd started. He then carefully opened the door and walked over to the mare sitting down beside her and putting a hoof upon her back. He had a single notepad and pencil tucked away in his polished mane and quickly pulled it out writing, "I'm so terribly sorry for what had happened. Don't listen to the waiter, I'll personally see to their repair... if it is at all possible."

Her mouth fell open in silent horror as she looked down at the shattered glass and twisted frames, her vision now blurry. She could feels all eyes turn toward her, and her cheeks felt flushed with embarassment. Bright Eyes didn't dare look up now, and had to suppress every urge within her to run out of there, and run fast. As the waiter began to apologize, the mare quickly shook her head. It wasn't his fault! But the mention of a free meal was too enticing to refuse, and she could only nod in reply, hoping that the restaurant patrons had stopped staring at her by now. When the stallion departed, Bright Eyes once again considered fleeing, but her stomach grumbling reminded her of why she had come in the first place.

Biting back a sigh, her gaze finally lifted when a purple figure came closer to her - the owner, she guessed If not for her blurred vision, she would have noticed the cooking spoon cutie mark and known without asking. The pony said nothing when he approached, instead writing on a notepad. Bright Eyes squinted to read the words, only briefly contemplating the oddness of the stallion's communication style. "It wasn't his fault," she stammered. "Please, you don't have to do that. I don't deserve..." She stopped herself from finishing the thought.

The waitress nearby rolled her eyes and conveyed Silent's message to the young Bright eyes. "We're sorry, our head chef and owner of the restaurant is completely deaf and can't hear a word you say. I'll convey what he's trying to say. She then signed a few words to him and silent smiled happily nodding in agreement. "Silent can't quite leave his post for another few hours but we do have another capable pony who could aid in your glasses repair or entirely new glasses. There's a shop a little down the road that ponies have said work wonders in lens repair! I'm not sure what kind of spells they use but you could certainly give it a try! Besides," She finished with a chuckle, "I highly doubt much conversation would go on for a pony who can't see and a stallion who can't talk!"

The young waitress mare with a brown mane and tail and a light orange coat then said, "Hey, I'll take you there right now if you want! It's not far! And I'm sure your free meal can wait until after you can see again! Waddy a say?"

((On the way, they could run into Fire's char?))

Bright Eyes felt even worse for not realizing the reason the stallion had the notepad - he was deaf.  She cast an apologetic smile in his direction for her mistake, though she wasn't sure if he'd noticed.  She felt a tinge of emotion when she heard what he was called - Silent.  Even his name symbolized his disability, as if it were the only aspect of his being that mattered.  At a closer look, she wondered if he was a crystal pony.  It would make sense.  Her smile seemed to falter when the brown-maned waitress suggested that Bright Eyes couldn't see at all.  She wasn't blind, but she didn't know the area well enough to navigate without some help.  "That is very kind of you to offer."  She smiled again, hoping that Silent could see her appreciation.  Communication didn't necessarily require words all the time.  She then turned to follow the mare.

((Sounds good to me!))

Sitting at his own table, Aero watched as the scene with the formerly spectacled unicorn unfolded in front of him. Normally Aero wouldn't be one to interfere with a situation like this; heck, usually he just liked to watch what happens.

However, staring at the broken glass shards around the black frames on the floor reminded him of someone. A certain mare he'd been-

Moving from his table a little too quickly, Aero trotted over to the unicorn mare and waiter.

"Excuse me, Miss. If you'd like, I could help take you to the store. I happen to know the one the waiter mentioned," he offered, offering what he hoped was a comforting smile.

Silent tilted his head at the pegasus stallion but then shrugged and went back to his post in the kitchen while the waitress smiled warmly at Aero. "Good! Here's Silent's pay for the glasses, that should be enough, I hope?" Silent watched them go silently pondering the beauty of the light blue Unicorn as well as her 'out of this world mane'! Upon realizing he was blushing, he quickly excused himself back into the kitchen to finish preparing the rest of the meals for the day. Luckily, it was almost closing time for him as well and ponies were finishing up. He might actually make it to catch up with them if these few people sparsely spread out in the restaurant would leave.

Her blurred focus shifted to the silvery gray pegasus who had been watching, and her head ducked demurely when he addressed her.  She returned his smile with one of her own, her shyness threatening to take over if she allowed it to.  Were all the ponies in Canterlot like this?  When her attention rose again, the restaurant's owner had vanished again, returning faithfully to his duties in the bustling rush of the kitchen before the young mare had a chance to show her gratitude.  She would return, whether or not she was fed for free.

With a ready nod, she fixed her gaze on the stallion who would lead the way, willing herself not to do anything else clumsy or silly.  "My name is Bright Eyes, and I am ready to follow, sir."  Hopefully not too fast, she thought to herself when she caught a glimpse of his cutie mark and guessed what it could mean.  Her horn glowed a soft sky blue color and the broken shards and bits of black frames of her destroyed glasses lifted from the trash where the first waiter had dumped them.  Maybe they would prove useful to the experienced ponies who excelled in repairs.

"Aero Dynamic," he replied in introduction, as he began to walk from the restaurant in the lead.

Now that he was closer to Bright Eyes, Aero took the time to examine her more thoroughly. A young mare, seemingly a little nervous, clearly a bit shaken by the incident. Her cutie mark; two yellow stars. How intriguingly vague...an astronomer perhaps? It didn't seem like the kind of profession a Canterlot unicorn would have. Then again, her lack of fine clothes or overly elaborate hairstyling suggested she wasn't from Canterlot. It might make a nice change to meet a pleasant unicorn in Canterlot...

"I take it you don't make it a habit to break your glasses everytime you go out for a meal?" he questioned, in a slightly teasing manner.

((Skipping Doodle Bug for now, per her request in her OOC thread))


"Pleased to meet you, Aero Dynamic," she responded in a quiet tone, and she meant it. She was still rather embarrassed, but the light azure mare was glad to get outside again where she felt she could breathe, without all the hoity toity Canterlot residents inside staring at her. She sensed Aero Dynamic wasn't like the rest of the restaurant patrons, and while she briefly wondered why he had stepped forward to assist, she didn't argue. The broken shards and bits of glass floated in the air just behind her as she followed, each hoof stepping carefully down the worn stone.

A hint of a laugh played her lips as he teased her gently, but Bright Eyes adopted a feigned serious expression, raising her head high as she had seen the Canterlot crowd doing. "Only at the fanciest restaurants in the lands." Finally, she couldn't keep herself from laughing softly. "If I may be so bold, I suspect you're not from here, either."

Heading down the cobbled street, Aero kept at a pleasant pace besides Bright Eyes. The day had remained fairly pleasant with a clear sky and warm sun, except for a cool breeze that sent a chill through the air. It suited Aero just fine.

He watched Bright Eyes in amusement as she adopted the Canterlot mannerisms for her answer. He couldn't help but snicker as she nailed the impersonation, before answering her question.

"No, I'm not. I'm from Cloudsdale originally, in case these didn't give you a clue," he ruffled his wings in emphasis, "Although I don't really live anywhere. I travel for work a lot."

As she walked along, she kept the gray stallion in her peripheral vision - In part because she didn't know where she was going, and because it helped to steady her as she walked in a blurred haze. The last thing she needed now was to fall flat on her face.

The sound of his snicker made her feel more at ease. Somehow, it was comforting to know they were both from distant places, rather than raised amongst the finery and splendor of Canterlot. "Yes, well, I didn't want to assume. I have never been to Cloudsdale, for obvious reasons," she lamented. She had read so many stories, looked at countless pictures, but she still dreamt of seeing it herself. "Oh? What do you do for work?" She glanced over curiously, blue eyes still squinting against the sunlight of the late afternoon, trying to guess in her head what sort of occcupation he had. Perhaps a racer?

"If you can find a unicorn to cast you a cloud walking spell, I'd definitely recommend it," Aero replied, allowing himself a slight pridefulness in his voice. He'd been many places in Equestria but Cloudsdale would always be a special to him.

As they neared the end of the street, they approached a store. The sign out front was shaped like a pair of glasses and read on it 'Spectacle's Spectacles.' Aero gestured at it for Bright Eyes, indicating this was the store.

"Deliveries mostly. Odd jobs here and there," he answered simply. Frankly, his jobs were never that interesting, just the journeys. "How about you? I'm guessing astronomy?"

She nodded, having heard of a spell like that before.  "I will be certain to go there, one of these days."

Bright Eyes gave an appreciative sigh of relief when they reached the store, but she paused, wondering if Aero intended to continue conversing, or if he was ready to go on his way.  She hoped it was the first option, but was too shy to ask.

"Well, not exactly.  I got my cutie mark while studying the movements of the stars and planets, but it's not something I get paid for.  I do odd jobs wherever I wander to.  Book keeping, accounting, really anything to do with vast amounts of information."  She paused, giving a soft laugh.  "None of which sounds interesting to most, I know.  I just don't have one job.  Mostly, I use it as an excuse to travel."

Eyebrows raising in interest, Aero cocked his head slightly as Bright Eyes revealed she too worked odd jobs. In his experience, the majority of ponies worked the field in which they had their special talent. There were those that travelled as part of their jobs - magicians, sales ponies and the likes - but it was a rarity to find another who took work where they could find it.

"I like to think there's a certain amount of freedom that comes with travelling for the work," Aero stated, "Staying in one place, working one job too long would get repetitive."

There was a pregnant pause as Aero stood beside Bright Eyes. He realised that she seemed to have been waiting for something. What was she waiting- Oh, maybe...

Politely, Aero extended a wing to open the store door for Bright Eyes, while he beckoned her inside with a flourish of his other wing.

"After you."

"Staying in one place, working one job too long would get repetitive."  The words brought a wide smile and a quick nod, for Bright Eyes had always felt the same way.  It was something most ponies didn't understand much. "I just could never be happy if I were trapped behind the thick walls of a library of observatory.  I would miss the sunshine and the smell of flowers and forests, bustling cities and desert skies - I haven't found a job that means I can have all that, so I take what I can find and I keep exploring."  She was quite excited as she spoke of her passion for traveling and seeking the unknown. She suspected Aero was cut from the same adventurous cloth.

She hadn't really expected him to open the door for her, and Bright Eyes looked mostly confused at first.  "Oh, you didn't have to do that!  I'm sorry, I just wasn't sure if you had somewhere better to be.  Thank you. I hope it won't be long, but if you need to get going, then I understand."  She realized she was talking quickly and hid another shy laugh.

The mare entered the store with her broken glasses in tow, where she was immediately met by a salespony with glasses so large and bizarre that even with her vision blurred, Bright Eyes failed to see what could be considered fashionable about them. "You see, I smashed them over-" But she couldn't finish her sentence before the stuffy stallion nodded, his aura taing possession of the smashed speactles before he disappeared behind a swinging door.  "Oh, very well, then!  Thank you, sir."

The more he listened to Bright, the more Aero seemed to relate. He couldn't help but smile and nod in agreement as she spoke about not wanting to be limited by a restricting job.

"As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life," stated Aero, smiling as Bright passed him into the store.

He was glad that she seemed so easy to get on with. Often enough, Aero was concerned that others found him standoffish and cold. Truthfully, he knew that he often could be but he certainly didn't intend to act like that all the time. Conversing and finding common ground with Bright Eyes had been no trouble.

He followed her in, casually looking around the shop himself.

"I haven't got anywhere to be for the rest of today. I already made my delivery here in Canterlot, just got to head home at some point."

The service pony was remarkably fast - within seconds, the pale lavender stallion with the eccentric spectacles (perhaps this was Spectacles himself, Bright Eyes pondered) returned with the mare's glasses; now fixed, they were even brighter than before.  "That's amazing!"  But the salespony only nodded curtly in response, a receipt for costs thrust into Bright Eyes' direction.  "Yes, of course, thank you."  She paid with the bits given by Silent Whistle as the glasses returned to her face.  Happily, she could see clearly again, perhaps even better than before.

She looked back to Aero with a giddy bounce in her step.  "Oh!  There you are!"  She joked, eyes quickly exploring Aero's fur and physique for all the details she had missed before.  He was a handsome Pegasus, but she kept that particular thought to herself.  There was nothing about Aero that seemed standoffish.  On the contrary, Bright Eyes saw someone with a similar outlook on life.

She was the first at the exit.  As her horn glowed a warm gold shade, the door opened easily.  "Now it's my turn.  After you, good sir."  Her voice teased, again adopting the silly, snobby accent of a local.

The shopkeeper was surprisingly quick in restoring Bright's glasses. Aero had to admit he was quite impressed by the pony's speed and clear mastery of his craft. He watched as Bright donned her fixed glasses. Strange. Not that they didn't suit her, but he preferred her without them.

He grinned as Bright Eye's feigned seeing him for the first time. "Hope I was what you expected to see," he comment humorously.

Aero approached the door and found himself grinning again as she opened it for him. It seemed Canterlot had a new door pony. It seemed the impression game had only just begun.

"Why thank you madam. Of course, an esteemed stallion such as myself cannot be fussed with the opening and closing of doors."

She had been teased all her life for her glasses, but having them back made her feel better. It would have hurt her to know what the stallion thought of her with them versus without, but ignorance was bliss. A light laugh parted her lips at his jest. "Not too bad, I would say. You are.. acceptable." She flashed a teasing smile.

Her feigned snooty voice returned: "But sir, you are out in public without your finery! No enormous hats or sparkly vests." Her head gestured to an absurd window display at the fashion store next door - A manaquin with flouresent blue pants and a vest made of glittering crystals, with a hat that was taller than the fake pony wearing it, and boots with blinking lights covering it. "I say, that outfit positively screams Aero Dynamic. Such fashion!"