A Breakfast Rendezvous [waxworks]

[waxworks]

Grace was immensely grateful that Onyx had been able to suss out her manner of dialogue. True, Stump could act as an interpreter if he was in a particularly helpful mood, but it always felt significantly more satisfying to carry on a real one-on-one dialogue. Her brother had often said that talking to her was like watching a foreign film with subtitles. Sure, you could look away and the conversation would continue without you, but when you turned back there might be ducks and clowns and giant monsters and you'll have no idea how you wound up there.

Of course pantomime did a great deal towards helping with those who didn't understand hoofscuff, but sometimes she preferred it. Reading body language was always more personal than interpreting little scuffs. In this case, she was picking up on Onyx's body language on multiple levels. The bowl of fruit jam in front of him was a neatly typed letter with a tart aftertaste. The purple unicorn smiled, reached a hoof across the table, and patted his own consolingly. She then quietly remembered that she should wipe her face after going all waffle-hog, and hid her face for a moment before applying a fiercely magicked napkin to her snout.

"Sometimes she forgets to clean her face in the morning," said Stump nonchalantly, dipping a wooden claw into the bowl of fruit jelly and sampling it in his wooden mouth. "But hey, at least you get to spend the day without any band members interrupting it, right?"

Grace flung the napkin at Stump and returned to smiling brightly at Onyx. She nodded in agreement and began to start the 'I'm done with breakfast' gesture, but in all honesty her life as a puppeteer meant maybe a bagel in the morning while a new script was read through one half-open, sleepy eye. Her lip wibbled for a moment, and she flashed Onyx an apologetic grin before dipping a rolled-up waffle into the mashed up fruit. This was followed by two eclairs and washed down with a mug of cider, while Stump stared on with a sort of glassy-eyed amazement.

A full tank of fuel now sitting neatly in Grace's belly, she looked aside demurely and lightly made a 'finished' gesture with her hooves over the table. Then she made the tiniest burping sound imaginable, covered her mouth with a hoof, and turned a miraculous shade of blueberry in the cheek region.

[20monkies]

The simple gesture of hoof upon hoof was enough to make Onyx Bass’ heart swell with happiness. It calmed him immensely, never knowing such physical contact could make a pony relax and calm down. His shimmering silver eyes glanced up in a swift movement, hair blowing with the gentle breeze. The weeping willow’s branches drifted and swayed, as though it were on a curtain of waves in the ocean.

He looked away, gazing up into the clouds as the other was finishing up her meal. He grinned at Stump and let out a low chuckle when the napkin smacked him.

“Well… you are right in that sense.” He still questioned if it was actually the right thing or not, but that didn’t matter too much now. Grace and Stump were enjoying themselves, and that’s all that mattered to Onyx. As long as they were happy and content to be with him, because in truth even Onyx was enjoying himself in a selfish sort of way.

Another laugh escaped him as Grace finished off the meal with a grand gesture, and Onyx steadily, but surely, cleaned up the mess. He wasn’t going to let his guest touch the remanents of what was left over.

All the food disappearing into the depths of the basket, Onyx tidied it all up and rubbed his hooves together.

“Awesome! M’lady, if you will…” he held his arm out towards her, waggling his brows playfully in a gesture they could walk arm in arm. If she felt comfortable, that is. With his other hoof, he pointed down the little hill towards the lake area. There were a couple of ponies already on the ice, skating around in circles and making infinity symbols across the surface. One single pony, a stallion, sat at the outskirts with a pile of skates ready to hand out for those wanting to enjoy the last remaining days of the winter.

“I think you’re both going to be natural’s at ice skating.” Not that he knew if she would be just as graceful as a figure skater or not, but he was trying to compliment her. “I’m a little clumsy, so don’t expect too much from me. I kind of enjoy the feeling. Kind of like flying through the clouds. Have you ever done that before? Gliding in a hot air balloon or even use magic to fly?”

[waxworks]

Grace flashed a smirk at Onyx's dissonance. Hearing the words 'Awesome' and 'M'lady' together like that just amused her intensely, and she wasn't entirely sure why. She shrugged it off with a smile and small, contented sigh. The gesture of the offered foreleg was a touching one, it was like something out of one of the plays she'd normally put on, some terribly romantic piece of melodrama. If it weren't for the season there'd be cherry blossoms figuring into it by now.

She winced slightly as Stump leapt onto her back while the two trotted along, cheering at the change of venue, and also being happy that he didn't have to clean up the mess they left behind.

"She's afraid of heights," offered Stump nonchalantly, leaning against Grace's head while they made their way towards the frozen pond. Grace frowned at the comment and bobbled her head back and forth to say that wasn't strictly true, although the idea of looking out over the edge of a hot air balloon's basket made her suddenly feel like she was about to start reeling. Of course that wasn't really it either in fact. She paused for a moment to gesture straight up into the sky, and then shake her head dismissively. Another gesture for a pause, followed by her hoof going from high to low, accompanied by Grace whistling from high pitch to low pitch, stopping as her hoof hit the ground. She pointed at the spot where her hoof had impacted, and raised her eyebrows to Onyx.

A refreshingly cold, icy breeze was coming off of the ice of the lake, where a few ponies were capering around in their skates. Grace pulled in a lungful of the cold air, glad to be out of the musty theater for a little bit. She'd been ice skating in her youth but not as much recently, and she was curious as to how much practice a traveling musician could get. The purple unicorn considered for a moment, and pointed to Onyx's nose. She brought her hoof down low, to roughly colt height, then drew a simplistic outline of a house, followed by a perfect chilled pantomime, complete with chattering teeth.

[20monkies]

Coming to a sudden halt, Onyx turned to look at Stump when he had spoken. His expression softened a little, pewter eyes gazing fondly at Grace.

“Well, everyone is afraid of something or another.” There was a bit of sadness in his words, but it didn’t show on his face. He was waiting patiently to hear, or read, what Grace had to say on the subject since she did have her own opinion. Onyx found that charming, that despite not being able to speak and having someone that was able to speak for her, she was of the mind to speak for herself.

He flashed a lopsided grin out of nerves as Onyx watched all of her gestures and sound effects.

“So you haven’t flown before? That’s okay, I haven’t exactly flown before either. I mean, being an Earth Pony and such… I like keeping my hooves on the ground as well. But the feeling is something to long for.” He paused, calculating the meaning of what she said, his eyes following the motion to hit the ground.

“… have you fallen before? Or is it that you are afraid of falling? You don't have to worry about flying then, since I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.” He tilted his head, hair sweeping against the icy breeze. He shuddered himself as well and then blinked just as soon as Grace’s hoof came at his nose. In automatic response he took a step back, going cross eyed for a second there. He watched the drawing formed on the ground, and then let out a soft sigh.

“You’ve been alone since you were little?” He didn’t want to assume that that was what she was trying to say, but this was what he came to understanding. She had a cloak over herself, and so he didn’t think she would be too cold right now. But the wind was refreshing here, and he also took in a deep breath. “You don’t have any siblings, or family? Please forgive me if I’m not understanding right now. I really am trying my best.” He blushed, glancing towards Stump for maybe some sign of help on his part if he could. As well as he was at reading body language and Grace’s actions, there was still a block in him truly, truly coming to understanding her. He wanted to, he really did. He was enjoying the time spent with her. She wasn’t as loud or hyper or obnoxious as most fan-girls that he had come across. Grace was really different, and he was glad to have her company.

[waxworks]

The purple unicorn blinked in surprise. That wasn't what she'd meant at all. She dispelled the notion with a harried flailing of her hooves and a shaking of her head. One of her hooves pointed to her chest, and then went level at a height slightly over her own head. This was accompanied by puffing her chest out and making a butch grunting sound as best she could. She scanned around for a moment, and neatly stole a little lettuce from a nearby pony's lunch, and held it up to her head like a variation of a mane.

"He doesn't know what Mandolin looks like," added Stump helpfully, before he clammed back up. The little wooden puppet seemed to have a look of amusement on his little wooden face, but he wasn't going to offer up any more help.

Grace sighed and handed the lettuce back to a mildly confused looking pony and considered how to rephrase what she'd tried to tell Onyx in the first place. She clapped her hooves together, and pointed directly at him, then lowered her hoof down to about a colt's height, then further down to about a foal's height. She pointed back at Onyx, and then gestured around him, throwing her hooves towards invisible walls and ceilings. She then trotted over to one of these invisible walls, opened an unseen window, and began a high pitched, wailing whistle, like a snowstorm blasting against a small crack.

She took a moment of walking against the wind, trying to shut the invisible window again, and having done that, trotted back to Onyx with a questioning look on her face.

Stump looked absolutely delighted, for something that had immobile cheeks.

[20monkies]

The sight of Mannequin Grace repeating similar actions to before made him pay closer attention, as he was sure there was something he had missed out. His cheeks were red, both a little from the cold and from embarrassment that he had lost his ability to decode her message.

And Stump wasn't being very helpful… not that Onyx Bass asked for it, but it would have been great if there was some indication.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what Mandolin looks like. Who is this…" He murmured, hoof to his chin, before it dawned on him. The name was unfamiliar, but Grace's actions, however, made it show that it was important.

"Your sibling, I'm assuming?" He finally asked, hesitating on his own words. The gruff sounds definitely indicated that he was he. "Mandolin. He has a leafy mane? And you both lived in cold weather when you were younger?" He trailed off, until a hoof was pointed at him once more.

"Me?" He blinked once. Twice. Then smiled and looked out towards the frozen lake, at a couple spinning across on their skates laughing and tossing their manes back, whipping in the breeze.

"No… I live in Canterlot, if you can believe it. My parents… my younger brother, they live there. I'm still on the search for my own place though. I mean, Canterlot is not such a bad place, but the ponies there are a little on the stuck up side if you know what I mean." He rubbed a hoof at the back of his neck, chuckling lightly. "Besides, I actually prefer small town's like Ponyville here, and the cool weather is preferable. It really clears the mind, especially when I'm having a bit of a block on creativity. How about you? You live with your brother someplace closely to Ponyville I guess? Are you both puppeteers?"

He wasn't sure if he was intruding on any private matter in asking, simply because he truly wanted to get to know her. As he asked, the stallion handing out the skates looked over at them and let out a gruff sound.

"Hungh. You two going to skate? I've only got a few pairs left." He held out a couple towards both Onyx and Grace, and Onyx blinked at the stallion before smiling widely and charmingly at him.

"Of course! Of course, here, we'll take these off your hooves. Thank you so much!" He handed him a few coin bits, eyes brightening as he held them out for Grace.

[waxworks]

Grace seemed massively relieved as Onyx correctly interpreted her gestures. When she was younger she'd been absolutely mad about pantomime. Puppetry was her first love of course, but whenever she saw a mime performing she'd sit and watch them for hours and hours. Lately she'd been so used to speaking with her friends in hoofscuff that she'd let her pantomiming skills go to waste for the most part, and it was all the more evident when she was trying to express herself solely with it. But oh how she was reveling in it now, and it was while she was wondering how to explain the next bit that Onyx held out the ice skates towards her. She eagerly slid her hooves into the skates, neatly lacing them up with a quick flourish of her magic.

It was probably due to the smiling, charming stallion, but as Grace went to eagerly thunder out her next volley of gestures, there was a small shrieking squeak from her back as Stump neatly threw himself forward to block a skate blade from doing any significant damage.

Grace's eyes went wide as she realized she'd mindlessly nearly given herself several new facial features by virtue of suddenly having blades on her hooves. Stump threw an aggravated look at her, taking his little wooden claws off of the blade and resuming his place on her back. With a small grunt, he spoke up.

"Sheesh, I know he's charming but pay a little attention!"

The unicorn turned a shade of blueberry and looked to Onyx with a haphazardly arranged expression that attempted to say, "er, no no, just, inspecting the... blades..."

But the small puppet on her back wasn't having any of it. He leaned forward in annoyance, and tapped the side of her hat twice the way one would tap a truck that was ready to ship out. "Her brother farms mushrooms, and they both live in the Puppet Theater sometime."

He hopped off and waddled over towards a nearby log to get a good vantage of the pond, during which he glanced over his shoulder towards the pair with a wooden squeak, "if you get the chance, you should visit."

[20monkies]

Onyx laughed softly as he watched Grace quickly and magically put on her skates, lacing them up expertly. It took Onyx himself a few tries as he bent over and fumbled with the laces, using his teeth to assist himself with it. Eventually, he got them done up and was rather proud of himself for getting them on without a hitch.

Small problem was - now he had a hoofscuffing mare speaking with gestures with blades on her hooves sweeping them out and about rather dangerously.

"Woah! Careful!" Onyx held his head back, specifically his muzzle, so that his nose did not get sliced up in the process. At least, the gestures were halted very quickly because of Stump.

Onyx also let out a small sigh of relief, wiping the small bead of sweat that appeared there out of nowhere. His own cheeks were flushed pink from the comment the little puppet made. His platinum eyes gazed away from the other, mostly out of sheer respect for the mare. He really wanted to take her out onto the frozen pond, and he was happy that she was happy and excited about everything.

It had been a while since he really enjoyed himself with another. Sure, the night before was nice with the other mares after the concert. But this… this was different. This was really bonding one-on-one with another who took just as much interest in him as he was taking interest in her.

Stump's voice brought him back around, ears perking at the words.

"Ah - a mushroom farmer. How interesting. Perhaps one day I will come to visit, if you will have me of course. I really would like to see one of your performances." He looked back at Grace, grinning nervously.

Clearing his throat, he took hold of her arm with his own and linked her with himself.

"Come, let's go skate now! I've been wanting to skate for so long, and now that we're finally here, I can't wait a moment longer." He nearly dragged her onto the pond without realizing, but immediately eased himself and her onto the frozen ice so that they were both balanced and not toppling over one another.

Onyx Bass just stood there on all four hooves then, allowing himself to glide. He did keep some balance, but as soon as he tried to shift a leg, he could feel his entire body wobble and shake. And that's where his movement really stopped - he was still getting used to the feeling on being on ice, wearing blades on his hooves. He didn't want to make a fool of himself, but there was no way the other could think of him as such. Could she?

[waxworks]

Grace blinked, suddenly finding herself literally balancing on knife blades atop a mass of one of the slipperiest things in Ponyville, with a stallion using her for counterbalance. She was skidding as they still had some momentum from going out onto the ice, and she found herself suddenly balancing in another sort of way.

When it came to ice skating, Grace was, well, graceful. Mainly this had to do with a history of puppeteering giving her ankles like ship-rigging. Most ponies would tend to think that ice skating required really powerful legs, but it was the teeny-tiny movements of the hoof and the blade that could easily power you around the rink. But this was what was now putting Grace into a particular state of imbalance.

Up until now, the outing had been nice and casual, the sort of ideal thing like any sort of play Grace would direct. But the problem was that right about now was when a villain would kidnap the damsel, or a rival would appear, or one of the ponies would reveal themselves to be a time-traveling holographic robopony from an alternate dimension. She'd read those plays, she'd even written a few of them, but she'd never encountered a nice bit of ice skating with a handsome stallion. Grace was at a total loss.

Should she show off her prowess, throw a few spins and twirls, race around on the ice like a wendigo hockey pro going for gold at the Winter Equestrian Games, or should she lean on Onyx unsteadily, using him to keep her propped up, following his lead? It didn't help matters that the stallion himself was wobbling and wibbling like jello with a coughing fit. Worst of all, her hooves all occupied with the task of not smacking plotfirst into the ice kept her from making any meaningful gestures.

Grace sighed softly to herself. No, better to keep Onyx from being injured than to try to be cute. With a small grunt she nudged against him and got her head under his left foreleg, lifting it aloft and helping to steady him like a little purple unicorn pillar. With a light whistling cadence, she bobbed her head back and forth to indicate which hooves to put weight on and when, slowly trying to get some momentum built in Onyx.

[20monkies]

As the moments passed, and Onyx Bass spun very slowly on the surface with his bladed hooves planted firmly into the ice, he realized that the very few times he had skated always ended up like this. Although he thought he might have a better understanding of balance and grace on the ice, it was not like his performances on stage. Where he was able to face a thousand screaming fans and the blaring of the spot lights, here he felt vulnerable and, quite frankly, very clumsy.

Acting casual, and at best showing that he really didn't need any help, he attempted to shift his weight and balance so he could properly skate. He felt stuck, and didn't want to fall over. The least he expected was the mare to help him. So it was a big surprise when Mannequin Grace nudged against him that he looked down at the top of her head, and blinking slowly.

"What are you – you don't have to, really! I'm fine, I can –"

His cheeks were burning a brilliant red shade as her head found a way under his leg, realization dawning upon him that she was helping him.

A big shot, and super rock star like Onyx Bass, need help from a mare? That was really, truly unheard of.

It would have been easier if he could let go of his ego and make it so that his date didn't have to do any work, to make it so that her day was perfect. He could have made it so that he wasn't embarrassing himself out here on the ice, where even the few ponies skating had now stopped to look at him.

They were pointing hooves towards him, whispering, glancing at the musician every few moments.

But Onyx knew better than to make Grace feel bad, or hurt her feelings. So he shut his mouth and bit back on his tongue.

"T-thank you, Grace. I'm sure I would have been fine, but this helps. A lot. I told you, I'd be a little clumsy."

His balance was now finally relaxed and steady with her support. Her light whistling and the bobbing of her head assisted him in understanding which way to move, and how to get some speed without slipping up.

He grinned nervously, one hoof in front of the other, as a pace was finally put into place. In no time, the other figured out how to move with confidence instead of fright, and his shades bounced up and down atop his head, hair flowing freely against the wind. A soft laugh bubbled up from his throat, loud and clear like crystal as he kept himself in check at the same time. Over-confidence would have been bad, if he put too much trust in his new found ability and just as quickly hurt himself. So he made sure he wasn't going too fast, as he wanted to be able to stop just as easily as he started.

"Let's see what you can do, Grace! If you're able to teach me how to skate, I know you can skate like a pro. After all, you must have had lots more practice living in cold weather, right?" He called out to her, admiring her patience with him as he glided slowly once more to watch her with brightened and excited eyes.

[waxworks]

Grace snapped off a smarty-pants smile at the comment. She didn't live in particularly cold weather, but Midnightville had a small lake that tended to stay frozen for longer as the entirety of the town was inside the mouth of a massive cave. It was this message she was about to convey as she lifted a hoof when a loud, piercing whistle sounded from the coast.

She turned to see the small wooden dragging warningly wagging a wooden claw at her. Stump shook his head in a 'no no no' sort of way, as Grace quickly remembered she was not only still on blades, but was now also on ice. Whistling. That was about the best she could do on ice.

A light-bulb went off in her head as she gazed at Onyx's adorable nervous grin, and replied with one of her own. Not adorably nervous, but the sort of smirk somepony does before they're about to show off, and Grace knew how to show off.

After checking the ice with the blade of the skate for one tenuous moment, Grace gave a small flourish and began skating backwards in one large arc. She lived up to her name as she glided along, picking up and dropping her legs as she went like a dot matrix printer. No wild twirls or breathtaking spins, but her lines were neat and her turns were sharp. With a few more slices through the ice she hopped back to admire her work.

It wouldn't last long, no, but this ice etching of the town of Midnightville complete with enveloping cave and small ponies skating on a little pond was quite the signature. Grace grinned sheepishly as she flicked her mane back and raised her eyebrows at Onyx.

[20monkies]

Grace had wasted no time in showing off her moves, gliding like a swan across the frozen lake, her limbs moving and swaying in the breeze just like the willow tree they breakfasted under. Onyx couldn't stop himself from staring at her, his mouth ajar at the beauty she moved with, elegant and clean. There was no hesitation in her body language, only confidence and in a little way Onyx felt a bit competitive as was in his nature when someone did something better than him.

But he pushed that emotion aside, locking it away in a box and burying it deep into the recesses of his mind. He wouldn't let it get in the way of admiring her graceful limbs. There was just something about her quiet demeanor that captivated even his attention. Onyx couldn't place his hoof on it, only left gaping in awe as she came to a stop. He followed the motion of her mane flicking back, catching his breath before turning his attention towards the ice beneath them.

There was what she had been doing, without even Onyx realizing she had been drawing out a picture.

He stared down in even more amazement, letting out a surprised laugh.

"Wow! Did you just do that!? I never noticed!" He slid closer, standing at the edge of the etching. Taking in every little detail, he looked back up at her with his mouth gaping.

"You are truly an artist. So this must be where you lived?" He pointed towards it with one staggering hoof, keeping his balance on 3 legs without falling. "I've never seen a town like this before. I assume it's towards the North?" He asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

Onyx hadn't toured too much just yet, as he had hit most of the major cities with his music. But what he did see did not compare to the sheer beauty of the landscape drawn out in the lake.

"I am still in awe. One day, I must come visit your home town. It looks incredible." His gaze locked upon Grace's, a grin tugging at the corner's of his lips. "Just like you. You are simply divine on the ice. I'd say you should definitely become a figure skater with how graceful and elegant you are. No words can describe the beauty in your dance." He quickly cleared his throat, and resumed gazing upon the artwork.

[waxworks]

Grace's ego was swelling up nicely, to the point that she threw off a casual, "oh, you know" expression, a small flit of a smile and a flick of the mane to pass off the whole thing as some casual doodle. There was a nagging worry at the back of her head that said that she was going off-script a bit and to try to be more humble about this sort of thing, but she was enjoying having compliments lavished on her work as usual. She nodded solemnly about Midnightville being to the north, making a quick note to tell him the proper name of the place later in her own typical style.

While her head was full of lovely compliments, it had sufficiently inflated it that Onyx's next words hit her like an expertly delivered left hook to a speed bag. Divine. Graceful. Elegant. Beauty. The stallion was looking directly at her as each of these words hit the center of her brain like birds coming home to roost, and she felt a slight sway. It was a pleasant sway, it was the sway that cat-tails on the riverbank knew, it was the sway of a swing on a windy day, and it was the sway best experienced when not standing on ice.

Grace came to her senses in time to realize she was very quickly turning into a park bench. She had a habit of turning her hooves inwards when she was feeling a little shy or exceedingly flattered, and doing this on the ice had the effect of her hooves slowly proceeding towards each other, exchange pleasantries, and then continuing on their way in opposite directions, leading the purple unicorn to form a neat pair of Xs with her legs, glancing around in a panic for how to untie herself.

From the shore, Stump could be heard cackling.

[20monkies]

Onyx Bass continued to absorb each and every detail of the work done on the ice, making sure to keep the image printed into the back of his mind. He would savour every aspect of this village, hoping to come across it on his adventures in the future. And in hopes that he would get a chance to go there with Grace himself, and live the beauty that only snow and ice often brought when it was not storming through the cities like a stampede of wild bulls.

When his gaze returned to Grace, he was startled. His eyed widened and he was quick to move forward as the purple mare had tangled herself with her own limbs on ice.

"Oh dear, let me help you there!" He exclaimed, but it only made matters for the worse.

As he was reaching forward with his fore hooves to help untie her X'd legs, he was unbalancing himself in the process. He stumbled on his own hooves, only recently having gotten used to being on the ice, and was quickly hurtling at such speed that his face came at Mannequin Grace's without warning.

His lips smacked against hers, and in that moment his body froze in whatever tangle of limbs that his and hers were in, for he was quite sure they were falling together towards the ice beneath them.

He couldn't move, afraid that he would do more harm than good in this mess. His face was bright red, his heart skipping a beat or two. A mix of emotions was going through Onyx in those moments where lips met lips, their warmth permeating the cold and over bearing the chill of winter.

On one hoof, he was enjoying the awkwardness of the kiss, on the other hoof it was unplanned and not the way he had wanted to kiss her if he had any control over it. But alas, he had no control here and he only hoped that Grace did not mind as sudden as it was.

Still, Onyx did his best at pulling away from her if he could, catching his breath finally, as he turned his face away.

"I… I am so sorry, Grace! I really am!" Eventually, Onyx was able to think clearly despite his muddled thoughts, focussed on balancing as bladed hooves dug into the ice to support his stand. He helped to straighten Mannequin Grace, all the while blushing and avoiding her gaze for fear that she may smack him.

[waxworks]

On the shore of the frozen pond Stump had been giddily watching the two flailing ponies with the same amusement that one would watch slapstick. But as suddenly as Onyx and Grace had impacted one another, Stump had the life go right out of him. With a heavy, wooden clonking sound he fell to the ground completely motionless and without the slightest bit of magic to animate him.

Grace's attention had been completely consumed but the sudden and unexpected kiss. Her mind had just turned into a pile of collected notes in front of an industrial fan, a whirled concoction with just one pervading thought punching up through the middle of it. DO. NOT. FAINT. That echoed through her head as she tried to steady and disentangle herself from Onyx, getting a mingled whiff of the scent of his mane accompanied by the refreshingly cold scent of the ice. Throughout all of this her countenance had undergone a glorious change of hues, from her normal rich purple to a burning red that filled her cheeks.

She was vaguely aware that Onyx had then helpfully adjusted her stance so she was no longer in danger of collapse, but her mind was still picking over the moment that had just happened. On the coast a nearby concerned pony had run over to examine the stricken dragon, discovered it was just a wooden puppet, and quietly backed away with a look of extreme apprehension on her face.

The little purple unicorn had been trying to figure out a good reaction to a surprise smooch, most of the heroines in her scripts would've had some wry comment or maybe done a stylish mane toss, maybe doe eyes! Yes doe eyes were a good idea! They were a great idea, and one that wasn't getting through to Grace as she flashed a somewhat dorky, unreserved smile that hinted at a bit of an overbite to Onyx. A moment later and she became aware of the smile and dropped her head so her raggedy mane would cover her face a little, but the smile just wouldn't go away. She waved a hoof mechanically at Onyx in an "It's okay, no problem, I'm fine, everything's fine" gesture, once against forgetting her hoof was outfitted with a blade at the end for the moment.

"HEY YOU TWO!" Came a yell from the coast as the little wooden dragon lifted itself off of the ground, "maybe you've had enough ice skating for today!"