Peas in a Pod (Closed attn Alivda/Blueblood

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

The past several months had been tedious and busy for Ice Storm. Between running recon for STAR, running the casino, and checking in on her franchise of dessert parlors. It kept a mare much busier than any pony should ever be. Family time, was sparse and there was finally a bit of a lul here. Finances were ahead of schedule, inspections were finished, and Frozen Delights was operating as efficiently as ever. That being said, while they had spent evenings together before at home, it wasn't the same as being able to bring able to get time specifically devote to your special somepony, and that is entirely what tonight was about.

 

And what better place to do that, than a place both of them loved dearly. Tsiyukomi's. The fancy Neighponese restaurant that was down at the end of the strip. Home of some of the tastiest noodles in all of Las Pegasus. And they was exactly where she was taking Raven to tonight. In fact, they were already here waiting in the foyer to be seated. Sitting next to them was another couple that was looking for a break from the limelight. A couple that was looking to just to get some time for themselves, save for a few friends. Wind was no stranger to being a celebrity as she was one of the most popular dancers in the city. Mostly because of her heart, and hey desire to not let game and fortune go to her head like most do. As it was, she would nuzzle into Raven, and wait for them to be called to be seated. It was already somewhat loud in the lobby and didn't want to miss the call for their table. 

[Alivda]

Raven smiled and nuzzled back, grinning. "This is nice... It's been a long while... Sorry I've been so wrapped up in my research..." She said, resting her head on Icy's shoulder. She had been busy herself, especially with the weirdness involving her magic recently. She blinked, drawing herself back to the present. Wouldn't do to get lost in her thoughts when her love was right there...

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

"I can't say that anything on my side of things have been any better. Between missions, nobles, and all of my other stores, I haven't been able to do much of anything. At the very least, I'm glad you were with me when we went to Neighpon tracking the sorceress... even if that lead to nothing but a bunch of dead ends, but we were able to get Nira out of that toxic environment, and we were able to establish an alliance with the Neighponese Navy, so some good came out of it," Ice spoke, resting her head on Raven's. "But tonight is just for us, and relaxing with out friends."

 

 

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

It had been a bit since Wind Dancer and Sky Sailing had had an evening where it was just the two of them. The downside of being popular was that nearly everypony wanted an opportunity of your time. It made it somewhat difficult to balance personal life with business. Which was why when Ice suggested to her after the last show that she had done at the Fire and Ice that they should do a double date. She'd been wanting to get out of the casino with Raven, and it would give Wind and Sky some much needed relaxation as well. Now, she didn't mind the spot light most of the time, but there was always going to be one thing that was more important to her, and that was family. As soon as the show side of things started interfering with her family, that would be the end of the show. She had built up way more of a security blanket than she or sky could ever need to move on from the show business life and be happen whenever that came up. Wind had already resigned to the fact that this would likely happen whenever she and Sky had their second foal.

 

Granted, tonight it wasn't exactly just the two of them, considering they were meeting a couple of friends here. However, Icy and Raven were the kinds of friends that were like Goldie. They were never really looking to make anything about themselves and more what they could do for others. They also knew when not to be too invasive and just let ponies be who they are. She had just gotten into Tsiyukomi's With Sky and Ice was already sitting with Raven, waiting to be seated. "Hey Icy! Good to see you out! And you too Raven! It's been a while since I've seen you outside of Icy's casino," Wind said warmly, sitting next to the friend, waiting for the Sky to sit next to her. "I'm assuming you've already put us on the list for the table?"

[Blueblood]

Not having lived in Las Pegasus as long as Wind Dancer, Sky Sailing didn't know Ice and Raven as well as Windy.  But, from what the Stallion had seen of her during his shows, and the time she'd lent a hoof to the grand opening of the Kandy Korner, the stallion had been assured how good a friend she was to have.  So, when the offer of a double date was made, he was quick to accept, coming into the restaurant just behind his wife, extending a wing to the other couple.

 

"Good to see you again, Ice.  And... I don't think we've met before, have we?"  He asked Raven.  "I'm Sky Sailing."  The stallion himself made a handsome figure, in a gentle and winsome sort of way.  His expression was soft in his eyes, and he wore a shirt and tie like a colt dressing up for his first date.  He hadn't yet quite gotten used to the idea that one could actually be married to a mare one loved so much, and he hoped he never did!

[Alivda]

"Oh, um... No... We wouldn't have... I'm Raven Shadowfire. I haven't been out of Icy's casino in a bit. She set aside a room there for me to do my research in. Mainly reading..." Raven said, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "Oh, and yeah. We're waiting on our table. It's good to see you too, Wind! I uh... I need to get my nose out of my books more often." She chuckled a bit at this, and then nervously smoothed out her dress, a simple black one... While she had dressed up for formal parties before, she was still kinda new to the dressing up for your date idea, and was still finding her legs in that field.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

Ice would smile as their other guests arrived, and she waved as Wind greeted them, Wind letting out a small laugh when Raven said that she needed to get her nose out of books more often. "Hey, I may not entirely be sure what it is you're researching, but knowing that it's something for Icy, it's probably for a noble cause, and Equestria will be better off once you've figured it out," she smiled, looking at Sky. "I for one am just glad that we were able to get out to do something like this."

 

"Right?" Ice Storm spoke up. "I was genuinely starting to think that free time was a myth with everything that was coming at me one right after another."

 

Wind would kinda smile with a bit of sadness at that. "Yeah, that's one thing that I've had to learn fast since Sky and I had our foal, is knowing when to put the brakes on things and make sure that I have time for my family. I've already cut back on some of the activities I usually partake in. I don't like not being able to be there for my fans, just as I'm sure you don't like not being out there doing whatever it is you do, but sometimes you just have to put your hoof down and say 'No, this time is for my family, and nothing else matters," she smiled, putting a wing around Sky.

[Blueblood]

Sky, for his part, was dressed as simply as Raven, just a shirt and tie.  He'd even opened one of his songs on a scene just like that, oddly enough; Windy had proven to be an inspiration to his love songs, for obvious reasons!

Spoiler

 

 

"It's always important to take a little time to remind yourself every week why you and your mate are together."  Sky replied, giving his wife a little nuzzle. "Not that I think I'd ever forget, but that's what my parents taught me; Thursday nights were always for them.  They'd go on little dates, just making time for each other."  He nodded towards the surrounding restaurant.  "Not that we had anything like this place in Cloudsdale; Neighpon was practically a fantasyland, if anypony had even heard of it.  I had, but that was mostly because I'd lose myself in fantasy and daydreaming a lot.  Wasn't until later that I started trying to learn what it was actually like over there."

[Alivda]

"Yeah, I grew up in Canterlot, and had a lot of take-out meals, as well as instant noodles... Always found it quite tasty. I will admit as well, I also kinda daydreamed about Neighpon myself... It was quite beautiful... if a little on the rigid side. Very interesting society." Raven said, smiling at the pegasus. "Oh... Um... not sure how much my research will help Equestria... Here recently, it's been mostly testing theories about magic itself..." She leaned gently into Icy, and looked over at the hostess, wondering if they'd get seated soon...

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

"Theories of magic and how it functions, will eventually be the very thing that lets unicorns cast spells again or let a pegasi with prosthetic wings regain flight! We've already made several break throughs in the medical research division because of the magic study that you've accomplished!" Ice smiled. As she heard Wind and Sky talk though about setting time back and making sure that the time is set for family and it's untouchable was vitally important for a relationship. They talked about how even as famous as Wind Dancer had gotten, there were times that she simply had to say no for her family. Sky added that for his parents, it was Thursdays. Ice looked at Raven and smiled. "We should definitely set up something like that. A night just for us, and do things like this more often. Everything else will happen when it happens."

 

Wind nodded. "I've heard that about Neighpon. I have some other friends from there. I heard it's very pretty there, and if there buildings that they build here are anything to go by, I'd believe it," she smiled. She'd nod again as her husband spoke. "In fact they still keep Thursdays to themselves. Well, mostly, I believe my mom and dad join them from time to time."

 

"Storm, party of four! Your table is ready," one of the hostesses spoke up. When they were ready to follow, the hostess would lead them through the crowded restauraned back into a private hibachi bar in the back. the hibachi itself was on an island in the center of the room with a small moat of water surrounding it except for the path that led over it. Various koi could be seen swimming around in the water as they were seated. "Please enjoy your meals."

[Blueblood]

Sky nodded.  "Even outside the medical realm, theoretical research can have applications that are very far reaching.  There was probably a bunch of scholars long ago who studies the harmonic resonance of crystals, and how different shapes could be charged to emit different tones, and thanks to that, I was able to find the old synthesizer parts that led to me becoming a musician!  You just never know."  Sky smiled at Raven as he chimed in after Icy, before the hostess came in to guide them to the low table in front of the hibachi grill.

Taking a seat beside his wife, he asked the ones who'd been here before.  "You said the noodles were good... there's quite a few options with them, though.  Udon, Ramen, Yakisoba, Cold Soba... Any recommendations?"  Picking up on the conversational thread from earlier, he asked Windy, "Who are your Neighpon friends, by the way?  I've been looking to see if I could arrange some collaborative work with some musicians over there, or at least produce some translations of their popular music.  I've liked the tunes of what I've heard, but its hard to get an audience on this side if you don't speak the language."

[Alivda]

Raven smiled as they were led to their table, and she was a little surprised as she saw the table. It was like one of the shrines in Neighpon, where it was enclosed, everything around it fading away, so only they, the table, and the chef seemed to exist. "I suppose you're right... It just... feels a little... Well, okay... what I'm researching right now... is me, basically. Ever since I started dating Icy, My... my arcane field... my magic, seems... different... I don't know if you are familiar with the specialization of unicorns, how our magic tends to specialize towards our cutie marks, making spells that are aligned with our cutie mark easier to cast... but mine... mine never did that... but now... well, It's high level stuff, but my field is... off... and... and I think it might be... specializing..." She said, as they sat, then realized she was basically rambling a bit. "Sorry... Haven't really talked about it with anyone." She said sheepishly, before the questions of which noodles to get. "Oh! Um... I prefer Ramen, or Udon... Depends on if I want more chewy noodles or not. Not tried the others, though."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

 

As they were seated, Ice heard Sky responding to Raven. She also took in the sights of the room. It was a bit darker than the rest of the restaurant, but that wasn't a bad thing. She felt like it added more ambience, and it would likely get brighter after the cook was finished. She heard Raven divulge what she'd been working on, and hearing her explanation of it gave her a bit of pause. She was right on every aspect, that a unicorns magic is mostly tied to their cutie mark and makes spells aligned with it easier to cast. It was why after she started combining her own teleportation spell with snow, she stopped getting sick when she cast it. What puzzled her more was the timing of it. "Huh, I wonder if my magic was some sort of catalyst for yours. Maybe when we sparred in the Crystal Empire that day we met, I activated something inside you without realizing it. You did always say that the flame shield had cast itself after all."

 

"That definitely sounds interesting," Wind Dancer spoke up. "Researching what could be an entirely new field of magic? That sounds equally bit as exciting as it does dangerous. That in mind, do be careful. I'd hate to read about you in the Las Pegasus Chronicles because of a magical mishap," she added, turning to her husband that asked about her friends in Neighpon. "I haven't seen them back over here in Equestria in a while. If they were here, they didn't come through LP. But I met Azuma and Nishi during one of my shows a while back and we've always caught up when they were in town. Nishi isn't actually her full name, but I can't pronounce the rest of it. At least not sounding like a filly trying to make sounds," she giggled a bit.

 

Ice laughed a bit at that as well before answering Sky's question about the noodles, since Raven had given her take. "I almost always get the ramen, but the Sobas are good to. Never had the cold ones though," she answered.

[Blueblood]

"Hm... I think I'll go with the cold soba, then.  It's a warm day outside, after all.  And since no one else here has had it before, I'll order an extra-large helping so you all can try it!"  Beaming at this little bit of culinary adventurism, Sky set down the menu, chuckling a little at Windy's remark.  "I wonder if little Glimmy might do even better at pronouncing the names; they say that foals are quicker in picking up new languages.  It'd be nice, I think, if she could learn Neighponese; I wonder if any of them would be willing to act as a teacher?"  He knew it could be a bit of a tall ask, but he was pretty sure he'd heard that Icy had a Neighponese mare in her herd as well.  "I wouldn't mind actually learning the language myself; I know bits and pieces, and the katakana and hiragana syllabaries, but the kanji still confuses me."

[Alivda]

Raven laughed a bit, and smiled. "That's actually what tipped me off that something was up to begin with... I wasn't loosing control of my magic as much as I was before... Remember what happened when we kissed up in the Crystal Empire, Icy? I think that, plus our sparring, did that... Anyway... Let's see... Ooo... They have gyoza too!" She said, looking over the menu, before smiling. "Tonkatsu, black, with extra everything... What do you think, dear? Should be enough for all of us to share as well..." She asked, sliding a little closer to Icy...

[IceStorm]

(OOC: Apologies, the last month and a half have been hectic, and have had 0 free time. I promise I hadn't forgotten about anyone.)

 

 

~~~Ice Storm~~~

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

Wind Dancer would giggle a bit at Sky's suggestion of maybe having them teach Glimmy how to speak Neighponese. "Now that would be funny if Glimmy could speak better Neighponese than me, although I suppose that wouldn't really be that hard. Especially considering that me trying to speak as such sound like I'm constantly trying to tie my tongue in knots," Wind laughed. As she listened to Raven's retelling of one of their adventures to the Crystal Empire, a thought struck her as Ice brought up that it seemed that her magic started functioning a bit without input. "Huh, believe it or not that sounds like a natural defense mechanism for unicorns, kinda like how a pegasi's first instinct in a crash is to wrap their wings around their head. Though that usually leads to significant wing damage if the crash is severe enough. Mind you, I'm not a unicorn, so I'm far from an expert on the matter, but I've heard of several similar cased of things like that occurring during my monthly donation trips to the LPMC."

 

Ice nodded. "And when we kissed in the crystal empire it was likely just a flood of emotion. I know that when I get really angry it becomes really hard to control my own magic, even with all the defenses I've put up. Luna help anypony I catch harming a filly or colt. I genuinely don't think I would be able to stop myself before I would do something I would regret," Ice said. "But understanding how and why magic reacts like that is important, as maybe we can help others figure out how to control it better. that would greatly aid the pursuit in the prosthetics as well, as it would reduce the overload potential of them," she added as Raven suggested the Tonkatsu. "That sounds delicious, though we should do a double order of everything. You know how I get my with my noodles."

 

That statement got a laugh out of Wind Dancer. "Ha, you sound about like me with my noodles. We went to the Neighponese Restaurant that is inside your casino, and Sweet Celestia I think I at three bowls of noodles myself," Wind chuckled.

[Blueblood]

Taking all their orders with a smile, the waitress remarked cheerily, "Well, if that's a double portion for you all, then that's enough to get a few free gyoza skewers as well!"  She was always delighted when she could say that, everypony loved getting free gyoza!  Those chewy, crunchy-bottomed dumplings were just the best!  At least she thought so, since a skewer of them were her cutie mark!

 

"Oh, thank you!"  Sky replied brightly, returning the menu to her as she brought their orders back to the kitchen.  He was only half following the conversation the others were having, partly because he didn't have much to add as far as emergency wing action went, and partly because he needed a short break to recharge his introverted social energy.  He was usually fine and continuous with just one or two ponies at a time, but he was finding three, even if the three included his wife, surprisingly tiring for him, and he wasn't sure why.  Windy would recognize his attitude, though, and would know he'd be back to full engagement in a few minutes.  Right now, his attention was drifting back towards the music playing in the background of the restaurant, picking out new notes and sounds that might prove fruitful inspirations...

[Alivda]

Raven nodded. "Most likely. I... I hadn't ever met someone I felt like that for before then... or since." She said with a smile, before giving Icy a kiss. "And yeah... Heck, We might need to take some to go." She giggled, nuzzling up to Icy as she waited for their food.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

As the conversation continued, Wind Dancer did in fact notice how quiet Sky was getting, and what that usually meant for him. She knew that he would fine in a moment, but that didn't stop her from scooting closer to him and leaning in to him as the waitress left to put in their orders, She was especially logging forward to the gyoza sticks now. Those were quite tasty indeed. She smiled as Raven said, more to Icy than anypony else, that she hadn't ever found a pony that had made her feel like that, or since. Seeing Raven give Icy a kiss, Wind smiled and leaned up to Sky and did the same, and then a second small on oh the base of his chin. "That is one sentiment that I can fully agree on," she replied to Raven while looking into Sky's eyes with a soft smile. 

 

Ice herself couldn't help but blush a tad bit from the compliments from Raven. She wasn't always used to such praise herself so it always made her heart flutter when she heard it. As raven nuzzled into her, and then kissed her, she returned the kiss and wrapped a hoof around her. "So, how's it going with you to over there? I heard that you both were looking into doing some touring. That sounds both like fun and a lot of work. Have you found any locations yet?" she asked the two performers.

[Blueblood]

As Windy leaned into him, Sky's wings automatically wrapped around her in an instinctive pegasus gesture of affection.  He was still a little zoned out, though when the background music played by the restaurant shifted to the next song, she would feel his grip stiffen a bit, and see his ears perk up at the drum beat.  As the first refrain went into the verse, the pinfeathers on his other wings marked time like a conductor's wand.  His lips moved to match the syllables, even though he didn't know the language, meaning seemed to come to him over the language gap without a need for translation.  It helped that the melody was pretty catchy, too!

 

Spoiler

 

 

He was caught up in the music enough that he almost missed the kirin waitress arrive with the skewers of gyoza, still steaming on the plates.  But once he realized she was here, he took the opportunity to ask, "What's this song?  Who's singing it?"

A little taken aback by the unexpected question, she tilted her head to listen a bit, before recognition dawned.  "Oh, that must be 'RPG' from Sekai no Owari."

 

"Sekai no owari..."  Sky Sailing softly repeated, straining his knowledge of Neighponese for a translation.  "End of the World?  Interesting name for a band that sings such a happy song..."  Coming back fully to the present, he asked, "What do you all think?  You think it would be worthwhile to see if I can make a translation cover of this one?  It should be interesting, and I really like the tune.  The brightness of it... I think it suits me, though its a bit bombastic in the arrangement.  But I can definitely see it as a big show-closer for you, Windy, perhaps with a background ensemble?"

[Alivda]

Raven listened for a bit, before nodding. "Yeah, I could see it being used at the climax of a show, or to close it, like you said." She said, before looking at the food. She took a few, and slowly began to eat, a warm smile on her face at the flavors that seemed to melt on her tongue.