ActFast231

@, Crystal was relieved that he took it well. And when he kissed her, her heart melted. His kind words helped too. "You are so corny and sweet Celestia I love it." She said, kissing him passionately. She felt like she had the best luck to find a colt like Dusty to be with. He was everything she wanted and more.

@, "That is a very nice name." She said kindly. She knew now that she was not going to be able to find a good nickname for him. "Your name suits you so well I cant think of a pet name to do you justice." Her eyes widened at that point. "Did...did I say that out loud?" She asked sheepishly. (Sorry, I know this post sucks. Writers block)

@, "Hmmm...What could his pet name be..." She thought about this, wondering what she could call him, since he was calling her such flattering names. "I...cant think of anything. Wow. Dusty just suits him so well, that I cant think of any variation. Good ol' Dusty...Duuuustyyyyy..." "Hey, I never asked, but what's your last name?" She asked out of mild curiosity. He knew her last name because of the signature she had on her art, but she didn't know what her last name was. That was something couples knew about each other right?

@, Crystal was quite impressed with the swiftness he delivered a fire with. She gave him a smile, and then began lifting the apples from the basket. As each apple reached a certain point, a rush of wind was heard, and four apple slices were made. The slices were then placed back into the basket. "I learned this in a cooking class I took one semester. This spell is probably the only useful thing I got out of it." It wasn't that amazing, it was a variation on the TK spell she already knew. You just force down a thin wave of energy and it cuts right through. Anypony with a horn and a reasonable level of intelligence could do this spell. "It should take about 10 minutes to cut all these apples. Do you have any idea what to do next?" She asked Dusty, still focusing on the apple cutting.

@, She raised an eyebrow looking at the fire pit. She glanced over at the home, confused by this turn of events. "Does he not want us in his house or something?" She shrugged, and landed the apples by the fire pit. She trotted ever, but immediately frowned. "Um, I don't know how to start a fire. I don't know any elemental spells either, as I am only good with Warping and TK." She said, looking down at the pit.

I am making a griffon OC. And I wanted some feedback on how to improve. And your opinion on the character design, and how I can improve in that area. Anyway, BEHOLD MY ATTEMPTED ART!

@, Crystal managed to pick clean 5 more trees, before she filled the basket. She brought all the apples into the sky, and checked for any rotten or bad ones. After only finding two, she discarded them and returned the remaining apples to the basket. It was full to the brim. It looks like there were enough here for two, possibly 3 pies. Maybe she could make a few, save the other groups the hassle. She the basket flew behind the unicorn mare as she trotted over to the entrance of the orchard. She found Dusty talking to Apollo. Good, maybe he found a kitchen of some description. "Hi Dusty." She greeted, approaching the two. "Look at all the apples I got. We have enough here for maybe three pies. So, did you find a kitchen?" She was quite proud of herself for this. Her advance knowledge of TK was never really useful until now. She saved her coltfriend the trouble of climbing up trees, and possibly breaking his neck. And her ecstatic demeanor was showing.

@, After completing the second tree, she stopped to turn to Dusty. She realized that she was doing all the work. She didn't mind it, as she was the most qualified to do so, but she didn't want her coltfriend feeling useless. She thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Why don't you find Apollo and see where this kitchen is. We can set up early, get the jump on things." She hoped this would help him feel like he was contributing. She would hate to alienate him with her magic. As she spoke, she began TKing the third tree, with the same precision as the others.

OK, so taking into consideration the feedback I have received, I have made a few adjustments to character design, proportions, and detail. What do you think?

@, Crystal smiled at the positive reception the apple got. She brought it over to herself, flipping it to the side that was uneaten. In hind sight, it shouldn't matter, considering she has kissed him, but old habits die hard, I suppose. She too really enjoyed the apple. Again, it wasn't Apple family quality, but it was very close behind. "This IS good." She floated the apple over to Dusty, setting right in front of him. She looked around to see if there was a basket. There was, near a tree leading into the orchard. She could use the TK spell very effectively without tiring due to it constantly being used for her drawing. The basket, and the entire tree, began to glow. One by one, the apples plopped off, and floated down into the basket. It took only a minute to complete a tree. "Benefits of being an artist is advanced lessons in the TK spell." She said proudly at her display. In art classes, it is common for unicorns to learn advance techniques in this spell to improve their performance and quality. It was the one class that Crystal aced in school, getting B's and C's in all the others. She moved onto a different tree, and again, the tree glowed a bright red and apples began flowing into the basket.

@, (Sorry, I was napping like a cat :l) Finally having her breathing under control, Crystal looked up at Dusty. "When unicorns use magic too much, it puts a strain on them and can cause headaches and vomiting. It is similar to if you work out too much, I suppose. The mind is a muscle after all." She stood up, feeling like she recovered enough energy to begin picking. An apple on a nearby tree glowed in a magic aura as it was TK'd off a tree. It floated down in front of the unicorns coltfriend. "Give it a taste. I am sure Apollo wont mind." She said with a smile. It was weak, as she was still worn.

@, Crystal hoped that their other friends would catch up, but she wanted to get a jump on this. "Let me see how big this orchard is. One second." Crystal's horn began to glow a bright red, before she was gone in a bright flash. One could see occasional flashed shoot out from the tree line. After 10 minutes of this, she returned to Dusty in a red flash, panting. "OK, so *huff* it isn't *huff* as big as *huff* an Apple family farm *huff* but it is *huff* pretty big." She said. Her horn's glow finally died, and the unicorn sat on her haunches. "Just *huff* give me a minute." She said, clearly fatigued from the excess magic use. She remembered why warping here was a bad idea. Its exhausting.

@, Working in an orchard? That is an interesting vacation activity. Crystal was pretty good with her TK spell-she has to be in order to draw well-so picking apples shouldn't be a problem. She turned to Dusty. "I can help with the picking with my TK spell. As for the baking...well I CAN cook, but I am not that great at it. But we can give it a try." She said cheerfully, pecking his cheek before heading to the orchard.

@@Glaceon,@, @, I had an idea I wanted to run by you guys. I thought-since I was quick to ship-than instead of focusing on the shipping(s), That our OCs have this already formed social ring, and focus on the groups dynamics and relationships with each other, while still giving some attention to the romance. What do you think?

@,@@Glaceon, @, @ As they talked, it occurred to Crystal that, while everypony else had physical abilities, she was no good in any physical activity. Her major skill was art, and it didn't stray from that. She can cook well enough, but is far from a high grade chef. She found it interesting that everypony had such diverse skill sets. She was about to talk, only to be cut off by Apollo. She turned to see what he needed, taken back slightly at the military edge in his voice.

Trust exercises sound good. Crystal ended up immediately with Dusty, because I can pace a story slowly as effectively as a walrus can fly. Hence the name, I suppose :l

This...may be the first thing I have drawn in the MLP fandom that is actually good. It doesn't suck at least. I would like to get feedback on where I can improve. I think I have nailed the head. The legs and the proportions of the body maybe not.

@@Glaceon,@, "Hi Eve. Hi Fire." Crystal said pleasantly, shaking their hooves. She...wasn't being shy. How? How is this possible? She never was this confident. Maybe...maybe being around Dusty is like a natural confidence booster. Like being around her lover was helping her be more active and open. "How are you guys enjoying the vacation so far?" She asked brightly, still surprising herself.

@, (WARNING: Filler ahead to bridge the gap between walking and finding somepony.) As they walked about the farm, Crystal thought back to her first creative piece, and the wonderful reception it got from Dusty. She got another idea that she started to write down to remember in her journal. She imagined a griffion taking on an army of changlings, armed with light leather armor, steal claws attached. He was taking them out left and right, while badass theme played in the background. Eventually he came to the queen, and he charged up with a lot of power for the final fight, the music shifting to a different mix. After a brutal fight, the queen is engulfed in a white light that freezes her to stone. She would have continued, but then they ran into some ponies by the barn. @ "Hello. My name is Crystal. Nice to meet you." She said slightly dreamily. She still had after thought of that awesome day dream. (Referring to Fire)