Crystal Clear Destiny [Emerald]

[Topaz Dream]

The crystal mare wandered through the streets of Canterlot, on the hunt for... something. She wasn't completely sure what, but she needed something for her apartment. A small, one room affair with low rent, but also no decorations. Granted, it had taken the mare quite some time to even buy a table for the place, if she planned on meeting any friends and inviting them over for any amount of time, she wouldn't want the place to look too boring. She pushed open the door to the florist and lowered her head slightly at the ring of the bell. She slowly made her way through the store, browsing the various flowers and other decorations in the shop, unsure of what to get. Most of the flowers wouldn't last all that long, being meant to put in a vase for a few days or so. She looked at some of the leafier plants, ones that you watered every day and that would look nice for quite some time. But, as she looked around, things became ever more apparent to her. She had absolutely no idea which of these she needed. She lowered her head again, starting to read the labels on each of the plants in turn, to find one to suit her needs.

[Deleted]

Emerald had been reading a book, as of late. Petal Talk: The Secret Language of Flowers. Among other things, it talked about this fascinating concept that had apparently evolved out in the more temperate realms of Equestria, where flowers were a common lot; the concept of different flowers, in different colors and arrangements, meaning something actually communicable. You could deliver actual coded messages just in the way you sort your bouquets. It went without saying that Emerald immediately wanted to start putting this into practice, and then take it to the next level. A floral morse code. But to do that, he would need flowers, and he hadn't the land to grow them, and he would need practice in the established arts, which he was still a greenhorn on. So. That led him, naturally enough, to a flower shop. Which was to him as a library might be to the studious, or a candy shop to a foal. He was gathering up a small number of chrysanthemums, white roses and heather to take to the counter, when he looked to his left and saw his long-lost sister browsing the labels. Emerald would prefer to think that he held a sense of calm and decorum. Meanwhile, in reality, he bit down on the stems in surprise and got his tongue jabbed by the white roses' thorns. "Gblck," he gagged, dropping the flowers and sealing his fate as the master of first impressions.

[Topaz Dream]

Topaz has taken a step forward, reading one label closely. Zebrican Violet. She looked at the small pot it was in. She could get a few of them, and it wouldn't be that hard to transfer. And the color gave her a bit of a smile reminding her of an old friend. Then she heard a sound behind her. 'Gblck.' She blinked and turned around in time to see the roses hit the floor, and the green pony standing over them. A bit of red on the rose caused her eyes to wide. "O-oh!" She said, moving toward him. "Y-you didn't hurt y-yourself, did you?" She asked, reaching into her pack and pulling out a small napkin and passing it to the pony to help clean the wound, wherever it may be. She looked around, then back to Emerald with a nervous smile. "I'm... G-getting a plant for my a-apartment... It's p-pretty bland, but I have n-no clue what a-any of these are... W-would you happen t-to know anyone t-that works here?"

[Deleted]

Of course. She was exactly as generous as she had ever been, offering him a napkin like that. He dumbly pressed it to his lips a bit, but only a little spot came off—he hadn't seriously been hurt, just bit down on a thorn. This wasn't exactly how he had pictured finding her again. He thought maybe there would be a long and difficult search, that he would have gone through many half-ruined records and drawn lines from tree to tree, tracked down names and locations... he thought he might have to spend money, to go places he shouldn't responsibly go. But no—all his life, reuniting with his only family culminated in running into each other in a flower shop. In Canterlot, of all places. "I..." he said, swallowing. His voice felt dry. He gave back the napkin. "I... not by name. But I might help you... I, um... I was a gardener for a very long time. The kind of flower depends on your, your décor. What kind of look you want. I recommend yellow roses and tulips of all colors." Oh, Celestia help him, he was babbling. He hadn't said a word to her all her life and now they just tumbled out. To shut himself up, he gathered back the flowers he dropped and put them back—save for the one he had soiled, which he'd be paying for shortly.

[Topaz Dream]

Topaz let out a light giggle, then covered her mouth. This Stallion was ready to help her, but he seemed a bit nervous for one reason or another. She listened to his 'babbling' with a patient expression. When he was finished talking, she looked at the plant she had been looking at. She gently touched the leaf of the flower, then looked back at him. Yellow Roses or Tulips of any color. "Not Z-zebrican Violet?" She asked, humming in thought. After a few moments, she nodded and smiled. This stallion seemed to be someone that knew his plants. She looked around, walking a little ways up the aisle next to them, and then paused. "Umm.... W-where are the R-roses or T-tulips?" She asked, rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous laugh.

[Deleted]

As he should have expected, she was perfectly patient of his babbling. Naturally. It didn't even matter that she had no idea who he was, she would be as sweet as ever to him in spite of things. Why had he been worried she would react in any way otherwise? ... Well, because he was nervous. Letting out a slow breath, he tried to mellow out, following her eyes to the flowers. "...Well, you could if you liked. Violet is... um. It works well with... many colors." Come to think of it, trying to say "I'm your long-lost brother, just thought you should know" in the language of flowers was probably going to be a lost cause, doubly so since he doubted she knew it. He smiled back. "The tulips are behind me, the flowers that look like little drops? They're very pretty and resilient. The roses are right here... it is, er, the kind I just bit." He gestured as he indicated the flowers. "But those are just what I like. The best kind of flower for you is the kind you like best."

[Topaz Dream]

Topaz gave a glance between the Tulips and the Roses for a few moments, approaching the Tulips and looking at the little info card. "It w-would be easier to k-know what flower I l-like if I h-had more experience w-with them~" She said with a smile. She found a Yellow Tulip and smiled at it, giving it a light smell. "T-these are lovely~ very bright and happy." She said as she wandered past the stallion toward the roses. She smiled again, looking the roses over. "T-these ones seem like they'd b-be better for a s-special occasion. I d-don't know if I'd be able t-to use them for r-regular decoration." She admitted, looking back to the stallion. "I w-would only c-choose purple for my f-friend... and o-old friend I got separated from l-long ago." She said with a bit of a shift in place, but a soft smile still on her face. She looked back over to the Stallion. He had a bit of a shimmer to him. He was a Crystal Pony too, right? "D-did you... lose a-anyone?" She asked. She kept the question somewhat vague, in case he /wasn't/ a crystal pony.

[Deleted]

"Oh, I just meant, um... the kind you find prettiest. The meanings are all rather secondary to that," he said, watching her pass, and then directing his eyes to the flowers again. It would make sense she'd like the bright, happy ones. After everything that happened, why wouldn't she? Spending your life in the cold gave you a great appreciation for warmth. He started turning over in his head how, exactly, he was going to get across his identity to her. Couldn't well just blurt it out—and besides, she might well not believe him, or think he was plain old mad. But he had to let her know somehow, right? Considering it, he gave her a gentle nod, tone dulling very slightly at her words. Of course—she had that close friend who vanished, didn't she? ... He never knew her name. But she was close to Topaz, so to him she was important, and worth remembering. "It... is complicated," he admitted. "I worked in the garden, and... well. I got in trouble fairly often. So I think the others were afraid to associate with me. But I do have a sister, though I don't... believe she remembers me. We were separated very young, so I understand, but..." He scraped his hoof on the ground nervously, trying to keep an anxious quake from his voice. This was a good time to try and get to what he needed to say, but it still set his nerves up even to think of it. "...You were a cleaner, right? In the castle. I heard you sing, sometimes... your name is Topaz."

[Topaz Dream]

Topaz smiled at the explanation. "I g-guess that's a good w-way to look at t-things." She said, looking to the flowers once again and giving a couple of them a little sniff. She giggled lightly as the flower tickled her nose. "The K-king had some Flowers in the M-main hall of the c-castle, but I n-never stopped to smell them." She said with a smile and turning back to Emerald. A little nod and Topaz lowered her head a little bit. "I g-got into some troube f-from time to t-time as well..." She said, leaving it at that. Her smile returning when the other pony talked about hearing her sing, a little bit of a blush crossing her face. "I-it helped keep t-the foals calm." She said. "S-sorry, yes m-my name is T-topaz Dream." She gave a polite little bow. She picked up a couple potted plants carefully and placed them into her saddlebag, keeping it open so she wasn't accused of anything while she carried them to the front of the store. She smiled at Emerald again. "Tell me more a-about your sister?" She asked, keeping still for the time being, knowing Emerald probably had more to do here.

[Deleted]

Emerald had certainly been afraid before, anxious, worried. But he wasn't sure if he had ever been as nervous as this in his entire life. He took a deep breath to try and steady himself out, pointing his gaze in the center of a violet. He wouldn't screw this up. Would not. Would. Not. "Sometimes stopping to smell them is nice. But they're fine just to look at, as well," he said, smiling back at her. "Much like singing is calming, even when it isn't being sung to you. The foals I knew who had been in the castle did love your songs. I remember that." He glanced over the flowers she had selected, quietly sizing them up. They weren't what he would have chosen—but he wasn't her, so that was just fine. He nodded quietly to affirm, either to her or to himself, that she had good taste. One of them matched the ribbon in her hair, even. Her next question made him need to take another deep breath. Right. This was a good segue. It was now or never, and he had to be direct sooner or later. Had to admit she was his sister. Being vague would just be awkward and confusing. Yet... being too blunt would be bad as well, right? He couldn't just flat out tell her he was her brother, right? He had to be a little oblique. But strong hints wouldn't do. Don't just say his sister was yellow and sang to foals, then she'd think she had a doppelganger. Oh no, he had been quiet too long. It was getting weird. Did she think it was getting weird? For Celestia's sake, say something! "I'm Emerald," he blurted out. "You're yellow. Sister. H-hello." Oh, bother.

[Topaz Dream]

A few things happened as Emerald mentioned Topaz's singing, and how much the foals loved it. First, Topaz brightened ever so slightly. Then, a light blush crossed her cheeks. Lastly, she nodded. "Y-yes... My lullabies s-seemed like the b-best way to help t-the foals get to sleep... It p-pulled them out o-of the castle and i-into their dreams. If o-only for a brief moment." She said, shaking her head lightly and blinking to come back to the reality in front of her. There was a long pause as Topaz asked about Emeralds sister. It was as if he was trying to figure out the right way to say something. She kept her soft smile as he was silent, not wanting to push the issue if he didn't want to talk abou...His name was Emerald and Topaz was Yellow... Sister... hello? Her smile twisted just slightly into confusion as she looked at Emerald. "I um... S-sorry?" She asked, not quite sure what he was saying.

[Deleted]

Alright. Accept your mistakes, make the best of them. Just because he blurted out disconnected nonsense from a case of nerves that were still there and—why were his hooves still shaking?—quit it, hooves—probably totally bungled the only ever chance he would have at a first impression for his only family—(oh, right. That's why his hooves were shaking)—didn't make this unsalvageable. "I'm sorry, Topaz. Nervous. Let me... try this a different way," he said, and took a quiet breath. Then, to the best of his ability, he started humming a soft, familiar melody. One that Topaz surely remembered, since she had sung it before; the oldest song they knew. One that their mother had sung. When he was done, he scuffed his hoof on the ground again and fidgeted with the flowers. "You remember who sang that for you? ... Does that, um, explain things?"

[Topaz Dream]

Topaz listened to Emerald as he hummed the song. The song was familiar. It was one she had sang to the foals in the Empire to get them to sleep. It was one, surely, all of the foals would know by heart. Anyone who heard her singing it would know it. But she listened to him anyway, a soft smile across her face. Then his body language as the song finished showed her he was nervous. She remembered who sang the song to her, sure. Her mother had sang it to her before she was taken and put to work. But how would that explain how he knew... Suddenly, Topaz's eyes widened. His surprise when he first saw her. The... attempt at rational thought. 'You're yellow. Sister. Hello.'. The song... She looked at the pony with a look like she had just seen a ghost. She had always been told she had a brother, but she was never able to figure out who he was. Was this him standing right in front of her. "E-Emerald." She started, but paused. She had to think out her next sentence very carefully. But, for some reason, rational thought was being very elusive at present. Her color brightened, and her eyes watered slightly as she smiled. "You're G-green... Brother... H-Hello." She said with a light giggle, finally realizing what he had been trying to say with his own version of that line earlier.

[Deleted]

His shoulders slumped with relief. She was making a bit of fun of him, but... she could have walloped him across the face and he would still be happy, as long as she was smiling like that about it. He had been worried she would think him a creep or a liar, and it softened his old rocky heart to see her happy instead. "Emerald Seal," he said quietly, stepping forward and offering a hoof over to her. Was that too polite? It was probably too polite. Should he have been hugging her, or bowing, or...? What was the etiquette at a time like this? "It... it's nice to finally meet you, Topaz. Properly." It occurred to him that out of all the little situations in his head where he tracked down his family, wrote out a genealogy and came to her door with proof and a pot of tea and a pumpkin pie for supper, randomly running into her in a flower shop was somehow turning out less awkward. There was something to be said for the spontaneous after all, he supposed.

[Topaz Dream]

Topaz smiled a genuine happy smile. She didn't think she'd find her family, but here was her brother. Granted, it could be a pony lying about things, but he knew who she was in the empire, and he would have no reason to lie, right? She nodded at him, looking at his hoof for a moment. She ignored the hoof, instead, giving her a light hug. "It's n-nice to meet you t-too, Emerald~" She said happily, paying for her new plants, slowly walking toward the exit, pausing and looking at him. "You p-probably have plenty t-to do, but I'd like i-if we talked more. M-maybe I'll w-wait for you, and we c-can take a walk through C-canterlot? I've gotta g-get these plants back t-to my apartment." She offered, thinking that him walking her home would feel nice, and maybe they'd get distracted on the way back and have a nice time together, getting acquainted.