Chapter 42
The day had turned dark and miserable as the sky was blotted out by ominous storm clouds and a deluge of rain, making the late afternoon seem like dusk. The weatherponies had missed a scheduled rainfall and now their only means of catching up was a sudden downpour, which had left the streets of Hoofington almost completely deserted. The only sound to be heard outside was the loud hiss of rain and the occasional wet tramping of a miserable guard covered head-to-hoof with a poncho. One by one the lights came on in the small two-story house, shooing out the shadows and bathing the rooms in the warm orange light of oil lamps. Clear Rivers was an expert; he held the flint striker masterfully in his mouth and lit the wick of the final lamp on his first try, and adjusted the wick just right with no difficulty. The young colt placed the striker on the table and enjoyed the warmth of the lamp for a moment, before something caught his attention and he perked right up as his mother shambled into the room. She looked like death warmed over, with bags under her eyes and a rather ratty coat of fur, but she was up and around which was definitely a change for the better.
“Well done, my boy,” said Silver Spoon, her quiet voice lost to the torrent of rain as she watched the silent conversation between mother and son through the window. She wasn’t even aware of what it was she was complimenting him for; she simply felt proud of him in some strange way she didn’t understand. She continued to watch from her hidden vantage point, in a tree in the neighbor’s yard where she couldn’t be seen from the streets, until the two of them left the room into a part of the house she could no longer see.
She gave it no more thought and let herself drop, catching the branch she had sat on to slow her fall and land in the mud with nothing more than a dull splat that was lost to the rain. Breaking into a quick sprint she was across the lawn and easily scaled the six-foot fence to land in what was once her own yard.
Cloudy Cradle’s yard.
Silver Spoon didn’t bother to enter the dull and gloomy unlit house; no doubt the guards had ransacked it searching for the witch’s crown and probably tore the place apart just for good measure. Thankfully there wasn’t much of anything in the home worth retrieving. There were some books and little knick knacks that belonged to Cloudy Cradle, not her, and would be useless to her now that she had been forced to drop the alter-ego. As she passed the porch she noticed the book she had been reading that morning still sat there, touched only by the rain that had blown in and soaked it to the point of being unreadable, along with her novelty mug that was filled to the brim with rainwater. Silver Spoon sat motionless against the porch letting the dark coloring of the poncho she had ‘borrowed’ from a guard one town over render her invisible against the gloomy day as a lone sentry trudged past in the street. She took the time to plot the best route to get to her destination, having two choices available. One was to merely walk in the open with her head down: anypony who saw her would assume she was nothing more than a lone pony in a poncho trudging home and odds are even the guards would ignore her, but there was always the chance a guard might recognize the poncho or just stop her for the heck of it. The alternative was to make a beeline through private properties: she’d get there much faster, but would look very suspicious and anypony who spotted her would take notice right away and might even try to apprehend her.
With the guard she hid from now out of sight and probably up past the store by now, she quickly settled on the latter option and sprinted across the street and through the yard of that obnoxious white mare who constantly stuck her muzzle in other pony’s business. Silver Spoon watched through a knothole in the fence as the same guard she had passed earlier was stopped at the store getting a drink. She gave the empty cup to the grocer, and the two rubbed noses briefly before the guard continued the route. “Sheesh, pal,” Silver Spoon whispered as she realized it was the same guard that was flirting with him that morning, “Thought you had better taste than that.”
She thought no more of it and shot across the street, wishing she could stop in the store for one of those mincemeat tarts she loved so much, and hopped over the all-familiar white picket fence. Silver Spoon felt a twinge of relief when she saw G&P shrouded in darkness. Trixie lived on the second floor and the gray mare had been dreading the possibility of running into her, but if nopony was home she could get in and out without anypony knowing she was ever there. As she inserted a pair of hairpins into the lock and went to work setting the pins, she silently thanked herself for her obsession with planning ahead: there was one possession she had left in this town and she had the foresight not to hide it in her home, knowing there was a good chance her cover might one day be blown. The lock snapped open and she smiled as she quietly eased the door open.
The muted sound of the rain spattering on the ceiling and windows soothed Silver Spoon as she crept down the darkened hallway and past the classroom towards the small room in the back where she used to spend her days. She loved the rain. While it had it’s obvious perks for one in her profession, such as making it harder for enemies to see and hear as well as making them less vigilant, there was something about it that made her feel at peace. She hated sand and snow and the sun, but the rain just felt clean somehow. She thoroughly enjoyed the rain that hissed against the window of the back room as she plucked the heavy textbook from the shelf, a dated reference guide of ear pantomimes for communicating with the deaf that she knew nopony would ever bother to read, and opened it…
And it was empty.
Being able to resist the urge to throw the book out the window and ransacking the room was a testament to Spoon’s years of honing her self-control. “Where is it?!” she hissed quietly, “Where did it go?! Even if somepony did find it, why would they ever take it?!”
“Cloudy,” said a familiar tired voice from behind.
Aw hell.
Silver Spoon slowly turned to face her old friend, who stood in the doorway with nothing on but that gaudy old wizard’s hat she always insisted on wearing. She hoped Trixie wasn’t going to try and stop her; she had been forced to do some nasty things to ponies she was fond of in the past, but getting physical with the pony that had shown her such kindness in the past was not something she wanted to do. “Trix,” said Silver Spoon as she tried to gauge the unicorn’s expression, “A fan of hanging around in darkened buildings?”
Trixie yawned softly. “Only when Trixie falls asleep in the room,” she said, clinging to her annoying habit of always speaking in the third-pony, “Trixie’s been kept busy since her helper left.”
“Sorry about the inconvenience.”
“Clear Rivers keeps asking where you went,” said Trixie as she leaned against the doorframe, speaking the same way she always did before she knew of Spoon’s true identity. “His mom’s doing a lot better now that she can afford her medication. She said that little colt talks about you all the time. He thinks the world of you.”
“Is that so?” asked Silver Spoon.
“Mm-hmm. And he told me he thinks of you like a big sister.”
Silver Spoon scoffed and turned to face the elderly blue unicorn. “I sure hope not,” she said in a harsh tone, “I used you, Trixie. I used you, your kids, and Clear Rivers as cover. Cloudy Cradle was an act, Trix. Nothing more than a disguise to keep the guards off me.”
“You’re lying. There’s more to you than that.”
“No, Trixie, there isn’t,” said Silver Spoon forcibly, “I don’t care about you or those foals. All of you were meat-shields. End of story. I made everypony think I cared so nopony would suspect me. Got it?”
Trixie’s expression didn’t change. “If that was true, you wouldn’t have given Clear Rivers that gem in secret. There’s no way you didn’t know how valuable it was.”
“So he blabbed, huh?” said Silver Spoon with a frown.
“No,” said Trixie as a smug smile crept across her face, “you did. Just now. Though Trixie did assume beforehand. Little known fact about rocks: fire-red beryl is only found around Canterlot.”
“That…” said Silver Spoon as she found herself smiling in spite of everything, “that’s well done, actually. Well played.”
“Trixie might know you better than you like to think,” said Trixie as she gestured for Spoon to wait and left the room. She came back a moment later with a photo in her mouth. “You came for this, right?” she said through her clenched teeth.
“Yeah,” said Silver Spoon as she snatched it, “You wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to get it back the last time I lost it.” She looked down at the photo, which depicted a memory from so long ago it didn’t even seem real anymore. It was her sixth birthday. She posed alongside Diamond Tiara, who at the time she had only known for a few months, both with huge smiles on their faces. She was wearing the pearl necklace given to her by Tiara’s dad, and although the pearls were fakes she didn’t care. It was the first thoughtful present she had ever been given. “…Thanks,” she said as she returned from her fantasy and back to reality.
“You have to do better than that,” said Trixie as she pointed at the bookshelf, “My brother used the same trick to hide his allowance. Didn’t take Trixie long to realize he’d never have read a book titled Magic as Conductive Energy.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“Trixie knows you better than you think.”
“You don’t know jack, Trixie!” snapped Silver Spoon. “Look. I have a soft spot for foals, okay?! It doesn’t mean I’m a good pony!” She threw her poncho to the ground to show her old ‘friend’ her scarred and mangled body. “You don’t even want to know how I got these scars. Or about the things I’ve done. So take this self-indulging preaching and jam it down the throat of a pony who wants to hear it!”
Trixie was silent. She quietly studied and traced the scars that ran up and down Spoon’s body with her eyes, and reluctantly took her hat off.
“What the hell?” said Silver Spoon with disgust. She had heard rumors about Trixie’s horn, but never expected something like this. Numerous small black crystals, each about the size of a piece of chalk, were jutting randomly out of Trixie’s horn. Spoon could actually see the tiny cracks around where they had pierced through it and cringed; it looked painful.
“Trixie… I visited Ponyville a long time ago. Back when I was a performer. Things went sour, one thing led to another, and I lost everything. I hated every single pony in that town, especially that one purple unicorn that showed me up. I lost everything because of her…”
“When you say ‘purple unicorn’, you don’t mean—”
Trixie nodded. “Her. Before all of this, of course. I wanted payback. I worked my hooves to the bone on a rock farm scrounging up every bit I could possibly save and spent every available moment studying and learning, looking for a way to make that whole town pay. I hardly ate, hardly slept; it was like an addiction. And when I finally found a way to challenge her…”
“Hold on,” interrupted Silver Spoon. “You expect me to believe you challenged the Queen, head on, and lived?”
“Like I said, it was all before this,” said Trixie softly, “but even then, right away I knew something was very wrong with her. Her eyes… the way she spoke… even the way she moved was… just wrong. I don’t even remember how it happened; it was like a nightmare when she did… something to me I had never seen before. I thought she was going to kill me. Next thing I know her own friends are holding her back and one of them was telling me to run,” she said, smiling sadly, “Funny, right? It was the group of ponies I hated who saved me.”
“Hilarious,” said Spoon sadly.
Trixie reached up and touched one of the black crystals, cringing in pain as she did, “…and I haven’t been able to use my magic since. I had nothing left, Cloudy. Nothing. I didn’t even want to go on living anymore. Not until I ran into him again…”
“Who?”
“One of the ponies who dragged that ursa into town that night. I hated that little colt so much… and yet…” she said, wiping away a tear, “It was a day after the tragedy in Ponyville. He was a survivor, and he had been wandering since that night dazed and hurt and in shock. So dazed he didn’t even realize he was half-dead from exhaustion. I felt so bad I took him in and… and…” she trailed off as she began to sob softly, “something inside of me changed when I took him in. I found something. Peace. He ended up rescuing me, Cloudy. Without him, I don’t know where I would have ended up.”
“Why are you telling me this?” interrupted Silver Spoon.
Trixie paused to replace her hat. “You’re right, Cloudy. Silver Spoon. Whatever your name actually is. I don’t know what things you may have done, but I know enough to see you’re going down the same road I was once on. And Silver Spoon? It’s not too late. You can find the same peace I found. There is a life for you here, Silver Spoon. All you have to do is want it.” She walked over and placed her foreleg gently on Spoon’s shoulder, “Silver Spoon, please.”
Silver Spoon couldn’t breathe for a moment. “I’m a wanted criminal, Trix. I can’t stay even if I did want to.”
“We’d find a way. Somehow. It’s not too late to turn back and find redemption.”
Spoon pulled away and walked toward the door. “What makes you think I deserve it, Trix?” she said sadly.
“Silver Spoon…”
“Tell me, Trix,” said Silver Spoon, “whatever happened to this little colt of yours? Why didn’t he stick around to help you with this school of yours?”
“He... he passed on some time ago.”
“I’m sorry,” said Silver Spoon as she stopped to face her old friend.
“Not as sorry as I am,” said Trixie. “He was my friend, and the one who saved me. In the end, though, I couldn’t save him and I lost him. He left, just like you’re doing now, and ended up marching straight to his death.”
Silver Spoon turned her back and began to leave. “Bad things happen sometimes,” she said softly, “and sometimes they don’t. That’s life, Trix, like it or not. Best thing you can do is keep your head up. And smile, if you can. Nothing’s so bad you can’t have a good laugh every now and again.” She walked down the darkened hallway in silence, only now noticing the single flickering candle in the classroom, surrounded by clutter on Trixie’s desk.
“Take this with you,” said Trixie as her hoof caught the front door before it closed.
“Trixie…” said Silver Spoon firmly as she turned back, but stopped herself when she saw what was being offered to her. A gold necklace of some kind with a blue gemstone in the shape of what looked like a balloon, and a note in a sealed envelope. Whatever the necklace was, it looked valuable. “You’d honestly trust a mare like me with that?”
“The family that owned the rock farm I worked on all those years ago. A hoofful of years back their daughter passed through town and recognized me. I figured the least I could do was offer her a bed to sleep in. She turned it down, saying she was in too much of a hurry and off to do something drastic, but asked if I’d hang onto these for her.”
“So you’re giving it to me. Why?”
“Pinkie Pie asked me to keep them safe and not tell a soul until I met the right pony to give them to. The necklace is yours, and the note is for her kids,” said Trixie as she handed both over. “And she told me ‘smile if I could. Nothing’s so bad I couldn’t have a good laugh every now and again.’ Word for word.”
“Fine,” said Silver Spoon as she snapped the necklace around her neck and shoved the envelope in her pocket. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She stared down the blue unicorn, knowing in her heart they’d never meet again. It was better that way. “Thanks for everything.” She closed the door before Trixie could answer and trudged down the steps, once again into the loud hiss of rainfall. As she walked, too miserable to even care if somepony saw her at this point, she found herself remembering something from the holding cells. That obnoxious pegasus she had the misfortune of being stuck beside had gone on and on and on about his mother; if she remembered correctly, he had called her ‘mama Pinkie’ at one point. “Why not?” she said to herself, not even caring anymore that it was the coincidence of the century. “So was running into the witch, and into Blank Flank. For this necklace and for all his whining about his mom, the least I can do is give him this darned letter.”
“Hey!” snapped that same guard she had passed before as she slapped an armored hoof on Silver Spoon’s shoulder, “So where’d you get that poncho?!”
Silver Spoon punched the guard as hard as she could, knocking her out instantly and leaving her in a collapsed heap face down in the mud. “Keep your hooves to yourself,” muttered Silver Spoon as she brushed the muddy hoof print off of her shoulder. She took one final longing look at Clear River’s home in the distance, at the windows which all glowed softly with warm lantern light. “Good-bye, Clear Rivers,” she said before sprinting into the distance.
So my computer's working once more, and of course the chapter was corrupted beyond retrieval, meaning I had to start from scratch. Thankfully the notes were still intact so I was able to retype it without too much difficulty.
Lesson learned: keep backups more often 
Stats
Page generated in 0.053 seconds
Total duration
935 users online
580,969 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
5686189
That's where the "a bit like" comes from. The basic concept for both is similar: An authority figure who honestly believes what he does is right, but everyone else would probably disagree.
Of course they're not the same. That would take all the fun out of your story, ripping off Disney. Disney takes it in a much darker direction, and you go with the 'more morally grey' version, and I like comparing/contrasting the two. Just something I find fun.
Another excellent chapter, you have my sympathies in the chronicle of "Tonic vs. the Devious Plotting Machine". Thank you for not losing hope and keeping up the rather great work, story, and tale.
The fact that we're getting a bit more world building and plot progression is icing on the cake to the character interaction and thought processes.
You mean that was ?!?!
But how ?
And what happen to ?
All these question and very little answers. Still given her unique Pinkie Senses it makes me wonder what did Pinkie knew about Twilight's downfall into madness ?
This update was both eerie and just plain cool.
I wonder if Silver Spoon knows of the necklace that she has with her now and the TRUE value of it ?
Especially given how much she had to get the Crown from Dinky.
Nice update overall and great exploration as to what happen to Trixie and Twilight before "that night."
Keep up the good work upon such a great tale.
Another brilliant chapter, and another Element revealed! I'll admit that the quote above reduced me to incoherence. The scene between Trixie and Silver Spoon was masterful - full of nuance and you deftly revealed additional backstory. Again, you demonstrate why your story is the one that inspired me to take up a pen again after so many years. Keep up the fantastic work!
A good chapter I think. Funny, I had just finished reading the latest chapter of Horizons and then I read this and I'm back to Hoofington. Trixie it seems has had it rough, and the black crystals sound real recognisable...
Whats really sucky is Silver Spoon cut one of her last real ties to what could be considered a home...
So Pinkie survived Ponyville, eh? Honestly not too surprised. If anypony could survive, it would be that physics-breaking mare. That means there's a possibility that she may even still be alive. My gut's telling me not to hold onto hope, especially in a grim world like this, but my gut can suck it.
Hope is one of the best things you can have, right next to a smile.
I also hope that things work out for Spoon in the end. She may be rough around the edges and downright savage at certain points, but Trixie's right. She's not a bad pony.
There is an "in" too much.
5714342
Lol, oops. Thanks :D
5717218
No problem
Gods this is good. I hope Silver hangs onto that necklace- I have a feeling she'll need it more than Mysterious-Cloaked-Mare-That-Totally-Isn't-Princess-Cadance-Honest will. Because whilst MCMTTIPCH is gathering the elements, what Silver Spoon said, then followed by what Trixie said about Pinkie, I think Silver is an element. But have no proof.
When Silver Spoon did that speech the first thing that came to my mind was was Frank Sanatras "That's Life"
I wish I could like this more than once. This is currently my favorite fanfic. Stay awesome Tonic!
Another great chapter, with a startling reveal. I'm not so much shocked by Trixie having the Element of Laughter as I am the altered circumstances of "Magic Duel." Just how deeply, and how far back, did the changes to Twilight go, I wonder.
Hold on a minute. Trixie had black chunks on her horn? Hmm, where have I.......
Oh.....my......god. Twilight has Sombra's horn, doesn't she! 
5734104 yes it was wat sombra used on shining armor
5736717 I thought I recognized them when I read that paragraph!
5736729 same
5595617 i know i said it before but can you start using ponys OC in this makesit more fun and intersting and great for spanners in the works
All this and we still don't know how it all started.
You're good at keeping one curious.
5720031 most likely almost immediately after they defeated sombra. Whatever turned him into what he became probably possessed twilight during their stay in the crystal empire, and had slowly changed her. Considering their is a distinct lack of discord in this story, I guess she overthrew the princesses somewhere between magic duel and keep calm and flutter on.