Life After Work [Complete]

[Toast]

Silver smiles at Dark with wide eyes as she responds. Standing almost completely still he does a very good job at holding back an amused laugh. He likes her confident persona, and while he didn't doubt the validity of anything she said, he couldn't help but find the way she says it.... cute.

"For lack of a better word."

"Hey, I only ask because I expect you to protect me if anything happens to us." He says jokingly, trotting to catch up to her. As he does the lack of light in the alley causes the sparkle in his coat to dissipate and the glow of his coat to begin, although only slightly. The alleyway continues on for awhile, and other than the two ponies traversing it, it was completely void of any other signs of life, much less anything dangerous or scary. Silver already knew this was most likely the case, having used the alley much in the past. Soon enough a light at the end could be seen, prompting Silver to trot a bit ahead of Dark.

"Here we are." He says slowing back down to a walk before stopping at the end of the alley. The exit of the alley itself was situated slightly above the city streets now before them, granting an overlooking view of their destination.
"Welcome." He starts. "To lower east Canterlot."

The town below them looks almost completely different from the place they were just minutes ago. Cobblestone roads and buildings line the streets. Potted plants and flowers could be seen hung from windowsills granting a wonderful aroma as everyday looking ponies cheerily went throughout their daily activities. And the sun seemed to reach every corner of the neighbourhood, lighting up the place and giving everything a clean sparkly feel. To most ponies the place looked like a paradise of community and happiness. To Silver, it looked like home.

Staring down at the sight before him Silver takes a deep breath with his eyes closed before letting it out through his mouth with a satisfying "Ahhhh".
"Well, let's go." He says looking over at Dark before descending upon the staircase that led to the city below.

[Dark Star]

As Dark Star and Silver walked through the alley, Silver's coat began to glow in the dark, something that made Dark Star wonder about the latter even more than she did before. 'So he glistens like a Hearth's Warming eve tree in the sun and glows like moss in the dark. this stallion certainly becomes more interesting every minute' she thought to herself. After they walked out, the two unicorns found themselves at a balcony of sorts over-looking the town. Silver introduced this part as lower east Canterlot, which of course, wasn't a place Dark Star knew about other than it's existence.

Her eyes peered around at the streets and buildings feeling pleased by not only the sights, but also the smells of fragrant flowers hanging from windowsills. She heard that Silver took in a deep, satisfactory-induced sigh and then motioned to follow him down the nearby flight of stairs. She trotted ahead, still following him with a few things on her mind. She could tell that this part of town was particularly special to him, so she began making observations of the area as she walked next to him. "So, I take it this is the part of town where you grew up in?" she asked him.

[Toast]

"Ha, you catch on quick." Silver says praising how fast Dark was able to connect the dots. As they reach street level Silver slows down a bit to let Dark catch up till they were walking side by side. The town itself was bustling with ponies this particular day. Many were out on their daily communes or conducting business, and the sounds of fillies and colts playing on the streets filled the air.

"A lot of ponies never get to see this side of Canterlot. Most think it's just a city for the rich or connoisseurs of high class society. But a lot of it is made up of working, middle class ponies just doing their best to get by." As Silver speaks he makes the odd turn down a different street, obviously he knew exactly where he was going and the anticipation of reaching his final destination shows slightly.

"There's a real sense of community, everypony really knows each other around here and they all like to help each other out." Silver stops as he turns to face the building the two ponies now stand in front of.

"But this place." He says raising a hoof again. "This place is the best thing about living here."

The building in front of Silver and Dark at first could be hard to decipher. It stood detached from the buildings around it and is smaller than them as well. Many ponies were busy entering and exiting it too, blocking the view from the inside. In fact the only real way to tell what this place was, was when the smell of the delectable treats inside reached you.
"Best pastry shop in the city, hooves down." Silver says with a smile.

[Dark Star]

As Silver described this particular part of the city, Dark Star made absolutely certain to remember each little detail. She looked around and observed everything that her eyes could take in. She could see foals playing the streets, hear the hustle and bustle of working-class ponies on the daily commune, she could even breathe in the wonderful aroma from a better angle. She walked alongside Silver for a few minutes, still having no idea where it is they were going, but found out just as she began wondering. She stood alongside Silver before a small-looking building with many ponies coming in and out of the door, carefully noticing the looks on every pony's faces-happy and excited.

She thought about what the contents of the building could be, what could make these ponies so enthusiastic towards entering. She got her answer when she heard Silver introduce it as a pastry shop, then confirmed it with the sweet aroma coming from just inside. "It smells positively divine" she said with a smile. She could definitely tell that the friend she made today was special, and not just from the way his coat shimmered. He truly did have a wonderful lifestyle as well. Before she could continue with her thoughts, she noticed Silver standing by the door, smiling at her. She smiled back and followed posthaste.

[Toast]

It's obvious Silver was a bit giddy as they both got in line. Although starting outside the line seems to move like clockwork, moving up every dozen seconds or so. Once they got inside the bakery it's easy to see why. The ponies working at the front of the store move flawlessly to serve everyone, it was clear they had a solid structured system to keep everything flowing smoothly. All the ponies waiting in line seem aware of this too, quickly placing their orders when asked and having their bits ready to pay.

"Alright, I'll let you in on the etiquette in this place." Silver looks up at Dark as he speaks. "They have one of everything they serve on display at the front there. The line takes us past everything so you'll be able to get a good look. It's expected that you know what you want by the time you reach the end so they can grab it before you pay." Silver opens up his bag to grab out some bits.
"It's also expected you have your bits ready. But don't worry, this ones on me." Silver says politely. Silver hopes Dark doesn't mind him paying for her. He didn't even know if she had any money on her and since he was the one who brought her here without telling her it only seems fair.

As Silver and Dark reach the display cases with all the pastries they are finally able to get a good look at the selection. The display is massive and has everything from simple apple fritters to things almost nopony had ever heard of. Unfortunately, with the line still moving it was to get a chance to read what everything was before passing by. 

"If you see something weird and you're not sure about it, I say go for it. That's always been my strategy and I have still haven't gotten something I didn't like."

[Dark Star]

Dark Star was truly surprised to see such an amazingly well-flowing system in this one small shop. With so many fragrances, clockwork movements of the line, and choices to make, Dark's eyes were nearly spinning. Silver explained the system of which things worked in the shop, which only added to her levels of confusion, yet it also gave her a chance to think about this. She wondered whether or not he was the type to simply pay alongside another, but was then relieved to know that he would pay for her as well. "That's very nice of you, Silver" she said endearingly. She almost forgot to say she'd repay him, but she managed to remember just before they were next to order. "As far as for what I want, I'll just have whatever you order, if that's not too much trouble?".

[Toast]

"Alright." Silver says looking at Dark for a moment. Staring back at the pastries he put a hoof to his chin."Hmm." he mutters, contemplating his choices. There were some crazy things on display this day, including a lot of things he had never even heard of before. Although a lot of them were things he might try, he figures he probably shouldn't order anything too odd for Darks sake. He wanted to make sure she left with a good first impression of this place.

"Hi there, What can I get for you two?"

Silver looked up at the pony behind the counter. Realizing he's out of time he asked for the last thing he looked at. "We'll take two..." He pauses for a moment to glance back down at the name. "Tarte tatin please." Silver looks at the food he just ordered. It was something he had never tried before, but it looked quite appetising. A small upside down apple tarte with butter and sugar caramelized over top. Silver smiles slightly, it looked like something anypony would love, especially anypony with a sweet tooth. Silver quickly pays the clerk as the their Tartes are passed to himself and Dark, they even came with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Carefully Silver levitates them, making sure to keep concentration so nothing will happen to them.

"Shall we find somewhere to sit." he says to Dark, glancing around the shop for a place where the two ponies could sit and enjoy their treats. Although busy Silver notices an open spot near the back corner. It was a small table just big enough for two ponies, but what Silver liked about it was its proximity to the a large window that was letting sunlight shine through. As they both approach the spot Silver carefully places the Tartes down before taking a seat himself.

"Ah, much better." Silver briefly closes his eyes as the sunlight hits his coast, causing it to once again glisten.

[Dark Star]

After Silver picked up the tarts, he immediately moved towards a table just by the window. Of course, his entire body started shimmering the same way it would outside. 'Does this guy really love being the center of attention so much?' she questioned within her mind. She took in a big whiff of the tart placed just before her, then smiled at how pleasant the aroma was up close. "Thank you very much, Silver" she said endearingly.

She took a small bite just off the side of it, then was pleasantly surprised at the overall taste of it. Sweet, rich and somewhat creamy, this tart truly was as Silver described it-the best sweet she'd ever had in her life. "Oh wow, it's wonderful" she said in a very pleased tone. She made a "^_^" face at Silver, hopefully belaying a message of gratitude towards the glistening stallion.

[Toast]

Silver was happy Dark was enjoying the pastry, as he took a bit himself he could tell why. "Wow, that is good." He thinks joyously, making a mental note to remember this particular treat.

Silver swallows what's in his mouth before speaking again "So." he starts. "Before our detour you were asking me questions. Was there anything else still on your mind?" Silver says this a politely as he can, trying to avoid sounding egocentric. While he was fine taking about himself he was actually still very curious about Dark, he had yet to ask her what she studied or for how long, or what her job at the university was. And he was also interested in what she mentioned about working in dark habitats and the everfree forest. As far as he knew most ponies made it a point to avoid that place. Silver himself was one of them, especially with all those stories and accounts of monsters and creatures attacking.

Thinking about all of this got his mind racing again, that little incisive need to know everything eating away at him. Still he keep all these feelings on the inside, keeping a calm and casual appearance as he did so well. It only felt like good manners to let Dark finish with whatever curiosities she had left.

[Dark Star]

As Dark Star was moments away from finishing her tart, she was suddenly reminded of how she had yet to finish questioning Silver about various things. She placed a hoof near her muzzle in a curious manner and became enclosed in deep thought. She mulled over the questions she had already asked him, one of them being answered simply throughout actions without needing a verbal explanation. After about a minute, she realized that she no longer had any questions left to ask. She looked at the silver stallion and responded. "There's nothing left to ask, really" she dead-panned.

"In the meantime, I've been surprised how you haven't yet asked me any questions. At first, I thought you were just respecting a lady's privacy, but after looking back at what I said, you'd have to be crazy not to have any questions. It's not to stroke my own ego, it's merely because I want to answer any questions you may have about me" she said to him. She looked him in the eyes and wondered what he would ask about her first, simply burning with the desire to answer some pony instead of being answered.

[Toast]

"Hehe, guess I was a bit focused on myself." Silver says a bit reluctantly. It was odd when she put it that way.

"Well then Dark Star, if you would be so kind as to help satisfy my curiosity." Sliver purposefully says in a high society like tone, a trait that many Canterlot ponies carry, before switching back to his normal speaking voice. "What sort of research do you do for the university? I mean they don't just take in anyponies work, you need to establish some sort of creditability first." Silver decides to keep to this simple question first, it was the initial reason Dark had caught his interest after all, and the reason he had asked her to come along all this way. Really was quite kind of her now he thought about it. And despite their time together so far Silver still couldn't even venture a guess over what Darks area of expertise was. He of course did have a theory, he had noticed her comet cutie mark which would suggest something with astrology. But Silver had a star mark himself and had never studied stars or space, especially not professionally, so he knew better than to immediately judge.

[Dark Star]

"Well, I mostly tried to get an internship at the university with the astrology professor. I was more-so surprised to see that the instructor was an old friend of my grandparents, Professor Specks. He recognized me right away and then asked if I had come for the job offer. I questioned what he meant by that, and he explained that he sent a letter to my home, offering me a job in case I had any interest in astrology. It was actually something I figured that my parents must've done to dissuade me from working in my dream job, which would explain why it was that I didn't get the letter he sent me. Basically my grandparents were great astronomers in their time, but my parents had next to no interest in the business and instead chose completely different careers". Dark Star said the last part in a sad tone.

"When the Professor saw that I had so many notes about astrology, he went on to say that I managed to inherit my grandparents great talent for researching the stars, so he offered an alternative to the internship. What he offered was to pay me in exchange for greatly detailed research papers about pretty much anything that I could find about the cosmos, even supplying me with the required equipment to do professional-level work. The only thing though is that Canterlot was too bright to collect celestial information, even at the darkest point in the night. When Professor Specks found out about this, he pointed out a place called Ponyville. At first, I thought it was just some humdrum little town, but after a few nights, I managed to collect more than enough data to start my research work off with a bang" she said enthusiastically.

She could see that she was starting to get off-topic, so she moved on to the end. "That's the entire reason I was Canterlot today, actually. Last night, I managed to come across an entirely new constellation. It was located a bit off from Orion's Belt, but it was definitely new to that particular section of the sky, so it was in my best interest to write a large report on it and then turn it in immediately to the Professor myself" she explained.

[Toast]

Silver listens in silence while Dark speaks, occasionally nibbling on his tarte. He was surprised how much information he got off of just one question as she mentions a lot of her background. Apparently she was anxious to talk about herself, or perhaps she was too was just an open pony. Didn't bother Silver either way, he was just happy to listen. Although the part about her parents perplexes him slightly. What sort of parents wouldn't want their child following their dreams. It felt odd to him but he knew it probably wasn't a good idea to pry further into that topic unless she brought it up again.

The part about her research visibly catches his attention though. She actually found (or at least potentially found) a new constellation."Wow..." He starts. "That's...Highly impressive." Silver gives a small smile as he contemplates what that means. It felt exceptionally likely that Dark was better at her craft than he was at his. This wasn't a bad thing of course, Silver was never a jealous or competitive pony. All it meant to him was that he now knew how dedicated she was to her job, and that was something he admired.

"Wait I hope you don't mind if I backtrack for a second. You said your professor pointed out Ponyville for you and you said yourself not from Canterlot." Silver says as politely as he can. "So, where exactly are you from then?" As yes, the other question that had been burning inside of him. Where was this mysterious black mare from anyway, the place that she said herself had adjusted her eyes to the dark. Did they all see in the dark? Where they all stargazers or scholars like her? Obviously not considering what she said about her parents, but what did they do then?

"One question at a time. Don't get ahead of yourself." The shiny pony thinks to himself. It was a constant check Silver had to do to himself to keep from projecting a stream of non-stop words.

[Dark Star]

After she had finished her monologue, she took note of how many different reactions Silver went through; becoming curious over her research story, looking slightly depressed when hearing about her non-supportive parents, then a look of comprehension when hearing of her discover the previous night. She had started thinking back at what a certain friend of hers once said "You're a great storyteller, you actually made me feel like I was able to see into your memories as if I were reading a good novel". She thought about this for a moment, but was then questioned by Silver about her actual hometown, this was what made an old memory return to her.

"The place where I come from...It's called Nocturne's Valley. It's a un-mapped location a few miles northeast of Canterlot, only a couple of hours by train to travel there. The ponies found there are known for having dark-colored pelts and vibrantly bright manes, and as the name of the valley implies, they're all nocturnal. During the day, you couldn't see so much as a single pony in the streets, the many houses windows being completely blacked out. During the night however, is when each and every pony in the entire valley come to life. They aren't as friendly as the locals from Ponyville, but they're very quaint and kind to their own. The occasional tourist does become quite cumbersome though, what with their lack of knowledge towards the lifestyle of the locals after all" she explained.

"My father was among one of the tourists visiting the valley one night. He met my mother and eventually married her after a full year had passed since his arrival. Many months later, I was born. My parents were very kind to me, they showered me with the love every foal deserves. There was only one thing he couldn't tolerate; A pony who spent the majority of the working hours staring up at the sky. My mother managed to convince him to meet me half-way, even though she wasn't very interested in my likes either. They met with me half-way, but became greatly surprised towards my grandparents when they fully supported my love. As I said before, my grandparents were fully supportive towards my love of the stars, something that gave me the courage I needed to move onto other places, including leaving home". The last portion of her voice sounded somewhat somber, yet she smiled and began to explain her reasoning.

"Moving away from the valley allowed me to greatly expand my own horizons, even letting me make some new friends in Canterlot and Ponyville. It wasn't easy at first though, I was so shy that I actually hid behind buildings or other objects and eavesdropped on large groups of ponies until I was able to approach them. After a while, I guess I managed to get over it, well for the most part anyway". She looked at him and wondered if he had fallen asleep, but saw that he was wide awake, but more importantly, very involved in listing to her. She wondered if she had said too much, or if she had left anything out, but pushed the thought aside as she stared back into the glowing stallion's eyes.

[Toast]

Silver just continues to listen intently to everything Dark has to say, finishing his treat as she does. Although it was a lot his interest never wanders, in fact his expression often tends to match her tone. Empathy was sometimes a strength for Silver. As Dark finishes talking Silvers whole body seemingly relaxes, his curiosity fixed, the level of intensity he had only moments before began to come down. At the last part of her story though he chuckles slightly. "Ya, it can be tough adapting to new places." Silver says as his own memories reflect back to times where he was awkward or scared over being in a new situation. "Especially coming from where you're from, it must seem like an entirely new way of life. Still, I'd love to see this Nocturne Valley, sounds fascinating." As Silver says this he wonders if the ponies from Dark villages would appreciate wandering around their town glowing light in their faces.

"Probably not." He thinks.

With everything Silver wanted to know wrapped up, only now do his eyes begin to wander a bit. In the rare moment of silence the two ponies have had since they met his mind contemplates everything he just listened too. This Dark Star sure was an interesting pony, from her appearance to her up bringing to how she ended up in Ponyville. Sliver could tell he definitely liked Dark, in a strictly friendship way of course. For a moment he glances out the window to the scene outside, the sun still shining brightly he looks up towards the sky as another question comes to mind. A look of intrigue comes back on his face. "So, if all the ponies where your from are nocturnal. Shouldn't that mean you should be asleep right now?" Silver asks looking back a Dark with a quizzical look mixed with a smile.



(OOC: Sorry for the delays lately, busy school week.)