He fell from the world. He could see something. It wasn't a physical sight, more of a mental comprehension. The infinite permutations of Equestria spread out before him and he could feel, for just a moment, his place in all of them. He smiled. While he was a horrific beast beyond redemption in an uncomfortable many, they were still the tiny minority.
Are you finished?
Silver looked up at the writing and frowned. "Why are y--" His question died in his throat. If the Text were to appear anywhere, lost in time seemed like a perfect time for the being to be. "Never mind, sorry. What's up?"
What's up? Did you seriously just ask me what's up after that?
"Yeah?" Silver shrugged shoulders that he couldn't tell how broad they were. "I'd rail about this not being what I asked for, but I kinda did."
You did. You didn't just walk down this path, you pranced. I can't believe you remain unaware of what path it is you're taking.
Silver blinked at the words. "What? Which path is it?"
He fell.
He was a human, cowering in a cave with some listless ponies. Tirek rampaged outside. There was no hope.
He was a worker and accountant, keeping track of the numbers that operated Flim and Flam's mighty commercial empire.
He was dead. Everything was gone, so much ash blowing in the wind. Strangely, this didn't bother him as much as it might. He had been dead before.
For being dead, he felt like he had a presence. That wasn't normal. He tapped at the ground beneath him, feeling the crunch of the ash and dust. Was he dead? He began to believe he might not be.
A figure emerged from the haze, Four legs, a long horn, a bright blue pointed hat. "You appear much more calm than I had calculated."
Silver felt more surprised at the figure than anything else about that reality. "Star Swirl?"
"I would claim the one and only, but you know better than that." The elder unicorn nodded lightly. "We have things to discuss."
Silver stepped forward towards that shape. Star seemed quite grave, but he was still a familiar presence, even if only through tales. "I'm not upset that you are, but how are you here." He waved a hoof into the haze. "Everything in this world is dead."
"You know that answer already. Would it comfort you to hear me say it?" Star raised a brow.
Silver frowned with thought. If everything was dead, but there they were, not dead. "We're not from here."
"Precisely. We are displaced from time itself. You were shaken loose with the abuse of the spell you had a hoof in. My story I will keep to myself if it's all the same to you." He raised a hoof at Silver. "That was quite brave, and foolish, undoing the protections I had laid. I have already retrieved the spell." He produced a familiar scroll from his scroll. "They won't use this again."
Already? "I guess the order of things doesn't mean quite as much right now."
Star smiled, just a little. "Now you're getting the hang of it. Come, pony who is not a pony. You have set wheels in motion." He turned in place as a rift opened before him, echoing the deep sensation of everywhere and nowhere. "We have things to discuss."
He led the way for Silver, and they both stepped quietly from the world, leaving it to its sad nothing.
They were between times and places. The sensation of feeling his presence among the various time lines grew. Silver could even feel some places where he simply was not, not even as ash in the wind.
"Mind those places. You are not welcome there, even displaced as you are right now." Star Swirl sat on his haunches in the void. "If you thought your existence now unlimited, you would be gravely mistaken." A little smile touched his features. "I tried once."
Silver looked 'around', but there really was just looking at Star Swirl, or looking at not-Star Swirl. "I'll stay put for now. Can you put me back where I started? I was happy with what I had."
"Oh? You didn't favor any of the possibilities you experienced, or even glimpsed?" Star's shaggy brows raised faintly. "Not tempted?"
"No." Silver clopped a hoof on nothing. "I've had enough reality shifts and time jaunts. I'm happy with the family I have, and the past, present, and future I fought for. Nothing against the, uh, other 'me's, but I'm not them, even if related."
"Good." Star Swirl rose to his hooves. "I had wondered if you would make time your domain. That would have been quite the perilous responsibility. I'm as close as Equestria gets to a guardian of time, and I think I do reasonably enough, thank you. Come with me." He turned and began walking. Where there was no space and infinite space, there became a clear hallway that he was trotting along.
To the left and right hung oil paintings. The first showed his old self, his human self, caught mid-walk through the streets of Oakland in a leisurely stroll. The next showed him atop a mountain, looking confused but hopeful. It was just like...
"I will not sing for you." Star Swirl looked over his shoulder. "I would rather not."
Silver stopped walking and froze.
"Come along, I have much to show you yet before we arrive." But Silver was frozen like a deer in headlights. Star Swirl sighed softly. "Oh very well, I will sing."
"I have watched you from the start. I didn't think you'd make it very far."
Silver frowned a little at the imprecise rhyming.
"Look, I'm doing this for you, calm yourself and enjoy it, and get walking." Star cleared his throat before continuing his slow walk.
He sang his poorly composed song of Silver's life as they both went down the hallway. Silver's mind raced. Had he really stepped into this particular mess again? Didn't he have to...
"You did." Star Swirl looked over his shoulder. "You were dead when I found you. Did you already forget?"
Silver frowned. He couldn't argue it, not precisely. He was dead and alive many times with time unbound and probability laid out as it was. "Why not an actual pony? I'm sure there are many who would be more deserving."
"Probably." Star Swirl turned forward and resumed his walk. "But they didn't do this. You did, so here we are. You think Twilight Sparkle is the most 'deserving'? Hmmph. Coddled little filly was guided every step of the way by Celestia, who never learned when not to meddle with things. This has nothing to do with merit, though I dare say you at least didn't have a hoof guiding you quite so overwhelmingly, so take pride in that."
Silver felt a twitch of a smile forming. Being guided by the somewhat crotchety old stallion seemed somehow fitting, or at least deeply amusing. "Why you? No offense, I mean, really, your spells have been pretty great, and from what I heard, you're a nice pony."
"Yeah, nice." Star Swirl glanced over his shoulder. "Only one pony took note of my absence. After all I did for Equestria, do we have a Star Swirl the Bearded day?" He ran a hoof through that beard of his, thick and voluminous as it was. "Of course not, but we're not here for that. Nice costume, by the way."
Conjured by the remembering, Silver was wearing his Nightmare Night outfit, fake beard included. It felt especially ridiculous with the real pony standing before him and he blushed in his cheeks even as he wondered if he really had cheeks at the moment. "I look up to you. Most ponies don't seem to care about how their magic is structured. As a programmer, it drives me crazy."
"Programmer?" Star shook his head as he walked towards the end of the hall, starting to get closer to the modern day of Silver's life. "I have never heard of such a thing? But I suppose it's as good a term as any to describe your talent. You make spells, sometimes with the most adorably hideous syntax, but they work. Which is more than many can claim."
"Do we have to do this?" Silver glanced left and right at the paintings of the umbrum, menacing, and set free to pursue their own life. They were close.
"You'd rather be dead?" Star shook his head. "Been there. It's not much to write home about."
Silver shook his head quickly. Being dead wasn't what he wanted. If this was the alternative... "Alright, then I'll make the best of this."
Star peeked over his shoulder with a bit of a smile. "Isn't that the best any of us can do?" He turned to face Silver. "You'll be fine. Just don't forget who you are" He reached forward suddenly and pulled something free from Silver's chest with a flash of pain. He held a portion of Silver's soul, glimmering and sparkling atop his hoof. "This is the accumulation of your progress and power. With a little breath..." He puffed on it, coughed, and gave a more spirited blowing, making it flare brightly. "It awakens. Are you ready?"
Silver hesitated a moment before giving a firm nod. "I've walked this once. Let's do a better job this time."
Star smiled at that response. "Good pony." He waved his hoof, the ball of spirit-stuff coming free and fluttering towards Silver as he lifted into the air. The energy coursed through him hot and fierce, but not painfully. It was actually very familiar. He could feel old lanes of power reawakening from his dream-time. He was becoming larger. He...
He fell.
I have no words for what I just read.
The only disappointment is I have to wait till tomorrow to read further
Behold Princess Silver Plating! Princess of Shipping with Princesses!
Silver gonna have some 'splainiing to do when he gets home. All I'm saying.
Reborn! Reborn as an Alicorn! Again!
So star swirl is doc brown prince of time
YAAAAA HOO HOO HOO HOOIEEEEeeeeeee....
Yes. In my mind Silver now screams like Goofy when falling through the endless abyss of the astral realm.
Also +1 for Starswirl best Princess.
... So, if Silver whistles the Song of Time (yes, from Zelda) would Starswirl chew him out?
Yes
Quite ironic ascension. Amused me a lot. What I don't get is why Silver should get bigger? Is he getting bigger? And how much? Just let him grow over time, please. This is not Beneath a Silver Sky. The size difference between an Alicorn (even Luna sized) and regular pony is just to big... There is many complications that would come up... I wonder what domain is Silver getting... Is he going to be Twilight's opposite? Can't wait for the next chapter!
Nevermind - Never mind
other me's - other 'me's - this is more stylistic than a typo. Do as you wish
re-awakening - reawakening
*****
First and foremost, great chapter. I was completely not expecting this thread from the dream to reassert itself, since Silver was no longer seeking to tangle his life with the princesses and only wanted his relatively quiet life with Night Watch and the foals to continue.
This leaves me feeling cautiously optimistic, perhaps a little wary. We know what happened in the dream, and we know that waking Silver has grown a lot as a pony beyond dream Silver at this same node in his life. I'm certain he won't repeat the mistakes he made in the dream. But will new mistakes be avoided or will they be even worse?
As a reader, I know that a life without some sort of conflict isn't really a story worth telling, so the adventures must continue or the story ends. So I will remain cautiously optimistic and see where this train is headed. You haven't taken us over a cliff yet, though you have teased us mercilessly from time to time with the prospect. My primary concern is how Night Watch will respond, her character is strong, but I can't imagine that she can't avoid feeling diminished no matter what Silver may do to prevent it.
Resolving that alone should be good for another million words, at least.
Holy crap, Starswirl is the Text?!? no, that's not quite right, speech patterns don't .match very well, but it's so close!
I hope the readers don't take this as a reward for meddling....
Keep going! ;)
7197659 Twilight got larger when she ascended. She is larger than her friends.
7197664 Typos fixed. How did Star Swirl turn out? We have vanishingly few canon sources on the poor stallion that aren't books or comics, but I tried my best.
Is time trying to correct itself perhaps?
Like death in final destination?
Oh my goodness, I'd pay to hear Starswirl actually sing that song!
Starswirl, the Bearded, cranky Princess. This image gets funnier every time i think of it.
7197698
I know practically nothing about Starswirl as I've never read the books or comics. I checked the wikia for more information, but it's vague at best.
So, with a more or less blank slate, he seems to be knowledgeable and wise enough to keep most of that knowledge to himself. He's comfortable in his own skin, as it were. You've avoided the usual stereotypes that go with the 'aged wizard' trope, as far as I can determine. He does a believable job of keeping Silver from flipping out at this new/old twist in his path.
I've had a couple more thoughts as I've let this percolate through my brain as well.
How does his brief encounter with Luna on Nightmare Night tie into this? Does it tie into this at all?
Was this planned, or is it a poke in the eye to the 'Silver is over-powered' faction?
7197742 Luna thought she could out-smart destiny. Seeing Silver dressed up as Star Swirl, she realized what might be coming, and all the subtle hints Celestia laid out made sense all of a sudden. She decided if she just didn't encourage this path, and didn't 'play her part', she could avoid it, and be the hero.
That didn't work out. She will be a little pouty when he shows up looking like that.
Destiny's hard to combat, damn it.
7197679 I know that... what I meant is Silver Stars big... Somewhere in the saga is mentioned that fully grown (as Alicorn) he would be bigger than Celestia... that would complicate his life in many different ways... (poor Night Watch) ... guess I have to wait till tomorrow...
7197776 Well, stallions are larger than mares, so far shown. Silver was still a growing colt, so...
7197757
D'oh! Now it all makes sense. You've had this set up for a while.
Luna's singing would have been more pleasant to the ear, but perhaps having a more neutral third party (Starswirl) involved will alter things slightly from here on out.
7197793 Twilight and Cadance are bound to Celestia. Silver was bound to Luna.
Now he only has a formal, mystical, tie to Star Swirl, and that crotchety old stallion doesn't seem to be the sort to do much with it, so...
Silver's on his own, for better or worse. He's an independant alicorn, unlike all the others save the royal sisters.
7197793 Ah right! Just remembered. How did you like the writing of time itself? The spread of time, space, and probability, that is.
I just about lost it when Starswirl started singing
7197429
I should have been clearer.
I don't like angst, but if Silver is going to have a moment where he asks, 'how did this happen' or why is this hop l happening?' He can point to himself for the the reason it happened. He enabled Starlight Glimmer by giving her the spell and hoping it all follows his 'dream' not worrying about the possibility of failure or the adverse effects of screwing with the timeline. What happened with Silver and Celestia letting this happen (they both had a vision pertaining to this) is again similar to letting a psychopath go on a killing spree to show them that their anger is misplaced. And they follow the 'dream' even as it becomes more unreliable.
Sorry for text wall, I just dislike seeing charters not even struggle against a predetermined fate because it turns out well in the end even though the lead up to it is fill of pain that could have been avoided.
7197802
If you're asking about the tine-scape itself, it seems as close to the canon as it's possible to be without animating it.
I just read the whole thing again to keep it fresh in my head, and I enjoyed the subtle ironic humor that you slipped in to lighten things up a touch.
Part of me is wondering if Discord could pull off such a convincing deception. If that pans out to be the case I can only imagine the amount of time you'll be chuckling at all of us that swallowed this hook, line and sinker.
7197799
[silly] So... what you're saying is that Silver and Starswirl are the next couple to be shipped? [/silly]
7197857 He found another way, did you see it?
7197901
Damn man let me read the chapter first. I replied to your comment as a new one dropped, so I find that funny.
7197909
7197901
Aaaahhhh that was excellent. A return to the past in a more convincing form. Would Silver now be the Apprentice Alicorn of time?
Silver TARDIS anyone?
7197945 Twilight wasn't an alicorn of anything at first.
7197960
Would Silver be the actual Alicorn of magic? Or would it be the Alicorn of diplomacy?
7197865 Interesting you should bring up Discord making a fake alicorn.
Found the only issue with this chapter..... No typo mentioned anywhere.
Handling the totality of space, time and probability? Nice. As in you managed to not actually describe it correctly and in such a way you leave all your readers quivering insane psychotics.
Done there, eaten that, been the Tshirt.
Now, I like that chapter, I can't wait for the next one. Keep up the good work you are doing.
Good chapter. I am a little confused on about a few things though. At one point it says that he is human and then later it mentions his hoof when did he become a pony again. Also, how did Starlight using his spell cause him to ascend? Was it some sort of accident due to being thrown out of the time stream? Also will Silver be getting Twincast powers: ie two heads?
7198471 How did Twilight ascend?
7198564 She cast a finished spell with the elements of harmony. But she did it not another right?
7198815 Let's flesh out that idea a bit, m'kay?
7198564 let me clarify what I was saying I mean Twilight actually cast the spell . What did Silver do? I am merely trying to follow your thought process
are."
7198652 yes but she ascended when the elements of harmony blew her up with full power, he ascended because of his strength and being riped from time and the power from the rest of him selves, i just hope he will be less sunny all the time.
7198564 one thing david, can you please tell us where david got the energy to accend? because last time he had the life of another in him, pluse the blessing of the moon and sun and finnaly he was blasted apart by a warlock spell from twilight, in this one he accedentaly wound up in a plane he was already dead in... speaking of which should he have not just ended back up in his body back in equeus because these are just splinter time frames and not multi verses because its all the same time line, just thoes two fucking with it in some diffrent way, one thing that does not make sence from the show is how is it that them not becoming frineds make so many diffrnet outcomes, like how woud the changlings rule? how would night mare not be the ruler and kill the changlings, hell the changlings only where around because of love and luna would kill them all that being said since trik is a demigod he would steal everyones magic and rule supreem anyways, only way i see thigns is with tirk or night mare
7199139 Uhm....It's not really set in stone when you drag multi-verse and timelines in. Nightmare could probably trump all other. Queen Chryssalis might throttle Celestia after she was weaken from defeating Nightmare. Tirek might not always escape the prison since Cerberus wouldn't always run away from the prison. Flim Flam might got a hold of Equestria because Celestia was too busy fighting the other villians and defeating them. Everything is dead because Celestia pulled a Mutually Assured Destruction. Stuff like that.
7199111 ok so you are saying the catalyst is a near death experience due to magic then?
7199640 The steps as given to us by the show:
Either A: Be born with it, lucky sods.
Or B: Do great things.
You did great things? Great, on to part 2. Meddle with powerful magic.
Twilight completed Star Swirl's spell.
Cadance reversed a love-stealing spell.
Silver undid the protections on Star Swirl's time travel spell, unlocking its full power, besides other magical achievements.
Fantastic! On to part 3: Ascencion! At this point, a disembodied pony is put in the caring hooves of an already ascended pony to guide them to rebirth and welcome them to the life of alicornhood.
Until now, Celestia was the proud gatekeeper of part 3. She may have even denied other ponies this last step, who can really know besides her? Would she have welcomed Silver to this august body??
We'll never know for sure, because Star Swirl took the place, escorting the disembodied form of Silver through the astral plane and welcoming him to his new stage of being.
Part 4, return to the physical world, changed forever.
We haven't gotten to that part for Silver. Tomorrow!
Part 5, gain a domain. Celestia and Luna are both princesses of Equestria entire. Celestia has mystic domain over the sun, and Luna the moon. Cadance rules the Crystal Empire, and has a mystic domain over love. Twilight has rulership over... her castle? She claims mystic providence over friendship.
Silver just became an alicorn, so he rules nothing and claims nothing. We'll have to see what he ends up with.
Part 6, Bond with domain. Celestia and Luna bonded with their domain, linking to it eternally, creating the ever-flowing mane and tails and earning them life beyond measure so long as their mystic bond remains intact. Cadance and Twilight have not, having no flowy manes/tails.
Part 7, uh... I think we're out of steps...
7199695 ok cool, so only the two sisters are ageless then. I may have not noticed in the description if Starswirl was an alicorn or not. The singing reference was very funny. It also begs the question about the mane 5 and the rainbow power if they could also ascend. I also bet that Shining Armor and Blueblood to a greater degree are going to be jealous.
The final timeline, all Equus is dead. Silver is thrown out of time as well as all other life now held in limbo in the astral plane. All panicking about where they are but Silver, Text notices & decides to throw him to Starswirl for a talking to who then hits him with the magic whammy. What will be the outcome? Will he change substantially? Will Twi & Starlight's messing with time alter Night & the foals, or Rough, Trixie & their foal? How might this also effect Nefer, Sam or Surprise? Will their be some interesting herd changes on the return to the normal timeline?
...to be continued...same Batpony time, same Batpony Channel!