The New Guy

by SilverWind102


Dreams of White and Siblings Fight

Cold....why was it so cold?

And that smell....where in Emperors name was that wretched smell coming from? It reeked of a strong, metallic stench that churned his stomach, threatening to up chuck whatever contents it held. And why couldn't he see anything?

...Oh right....his eyes were still closed.

Cracking them open, the world came into view. Pure, powdery white filled the wolf's vision. It glistened in the light, wherever it may have been coming from, and surrounded the him on all sides. It was then that he quickly realized why it was so cold.

As he lay there, he couldn't help but wonder why he was in the snow. He didn't like sleeping outside, unless it was a cool Autumn day with a gentle breeze and a hammock. So why was he....

...Oh...

A thick, crimson liquid slowly drifted into view from below. Suddenly, the wolf was wracked with pain. His chest heaved with broken gasps as he choked for the crisp, cold air. His limbs refused to move, though it changed nothing as even when they were lying still, they throbbed with gut wrenching pain. The world was no longer still and began to spin, everything flying out of control, like someone was constantly smacking him over the head with a brick. He couldn't tell up from down, left from right. Just those two colors. Red and white.

The cold began to fade, becoming a comforting warmth. Strange. He knew he was still in the snow.

The world gradually slipped away. The pain dulled and the snow seemed to loose it's glisten. Everything lost color slowly.

Why was everything turning dark? He hadn't closed his eyes yet...

But then again....he was feeling rather sleepy.

...yeah...that seemed nice...just a quick nap.....

And with that, the wolf took his final rest.


Hazel eyes snapped open and a pair of claws dug into the mattress. Silver ears stood at attention as his breathes quickened and became heavy pants. His eyes darted around the room like a wild animal, still adjusting to having just woken up in such a panicked state.

It wasn't until they finally processed the room that the wolf began to calm himself. His breathes fell into their normal rate, but were still shaky. His heart finally fell out of his throat, but was still rapid. The lurking trepidation of his dream still sat firm in his mind.

Silver looked towards the mares in his bed, grateful that his rude awakening hadn't disturbed them. Both were hidden under the blanket, one on each side of him. He couldn't tell which lump was which mare, but at the moment, he didn't care. He just needed comforting.

Silvers paws drifting around the blanket on his right side until they fell onto a slimmer form. He tugged it closer, nestling into the fluff he'd found. A simple inhale told him the mare he grabbed was none other than Twilight.

His new snuggle buddy groaned and turned over to face her captor. Violet eyes fluttered open for a moment, and her head turned to view the clock. It was still only seven, so back to sleep she went. Any other day, she'd hop up and get to work, but with Silvers injuries and her recent lack of cuddles from him convinced her to stay.

As she nestled back into his chest, she couldn't help but notice something off. The harmony of his breathing and heart beat were missing. They were no longer the lullaby that she'd fallen asleep to so many times before, but were now fast and out of rhythm. His heart pounded and his breathes quivered, and the mare wondered what had him so shaken up.

“Silver? You okay?” she asked, her adorable sleepy voice in full effect.

“Huh?” the wolf said, “Oh yeah. Just uh...bad dream is all.”

Twilight pulled her head from the fluff to look up, “Oh, I'm sorry to hear that,” she cooed, giving him a peck, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Silver just shook his head, “No, I'll be fine. Just a dream. You go back to sleep.”

In all honesty, Twilight wanted to press him for more. He was her boyfriend now, so she wasn't too worried about over stepping her bounds, but more than that she just wanted to make sure he was okay. But then she recalled the night she first asked about Lily. How hesitant he was to tell her and later that night cried in his sleep.

Was that what he dreamt about? Did his memories of Lily come back to haunt him again?

If they did, then Twilight suddenly found her desire to ask more squashed. She refused to bring up that subject anymore than necessary.

Opting simply to trust Silver, she decided to just nod and place her head back down. It wasn't that she didn't care, no. But if he wanted to share, he would, and she knew that.

The wolf laid his head back down as well, holding his mare close. The warmth from her body radiated into him, her breathes tickled his chest and her scent filled his lungs. This was all he needed to convince himself.

“I'm alive....”

The thought echoed through his mind. This moment, this feeling, was all the reassurance he needed to calm himself. These experiences grounded him, reminded him that the dream was only that. A dream.

“But it wasn't...”

“Quiet.”

“That may have been a nightmare, but we both know where it bloomed from.”

“I said, 'quiet'.”

“That wondrous little moment where you made your greatest mistake. Be it out of arrogance or love, it doesn't change the fact that you tried and failed to do something that resulted in your death....because you're weak.”

“ENOUGH!”

“You can't shut this out Silver. It'll always be there, until you submit....”

The voice finally stopped. He hated it. Every damn time, every Winter, it comes along with the nightmares! Speaking to him at the worst of moments, mocking him, reminding him of his cowardice. He knew it wasn't Saber, but what else could it be? He never decided to name it, simply calling it The Voice.

Regardless of where it came from, The Voice always made a wild demand. The same one over and over and over. One that the wolf refused to follow, no matter how many times it was repeated.

“I submit to nothing....”


POKE

POKE POKE

A another set of prods nudged into Silvers back, causing him to use a wing to shoo it away. A light, playful giggle followed after before the poking began again.

“Staaahhp,” Silver groaned, only to receive another small laugh in return.

“Wakey Wakey,” the warm voice of a certain alicorn sang, “Time to get up.”

Silver groaned again and rolled over, allowing Twilight to fall from his hold and turned to face the other side of the bed.

“Tia, what are you doing in my room?” he asked.

“Well I'm your wake up call, silly,” she giggled, “Now, how to wake up the other two?” She put a hoof to her chin for a moment and hummed, only to break out in a devilish smile seconds later.

“Tia, don't,” the wolf warned, “Whatever it is, it isn't going to end well.”

“Hmm...” she thought again for a moment, “....Oh well!”

In a swift movement, the ivory alicorn launched herself off the floor and into the air. Silvers eyes shrank as he watch her form fall.

“RISE AND SHINE!” she shouted, just as she crashed onto the bed. The two sleeping mares shrieked and wheezed, quickly snapping up from the bed as Celestias weight hit them.

“WHAT'S--” Luna began, only to stop as her eyes fell onto her sister, “Sister, what the hell are you doing!?”

“Waking you up of course,” she said, as though what she'd done was completely normal, “Why in name of Equestria are you giving me that look?”

“For one, you're crushing all of us with your big, fat butt!” Luna huffed, her scowl never fading, “And two, SILVER IS INJURED!!!”

“Oh relax Luna, I made sure not to hit him,” Celestia said with a dismissive hoof, “See?” She pointed to her mid section, where she had her stomach raised and just below it was Silvers body, “No harm done.”

Luna just gave her sister a flat stare before rolling her eyes and floating her off of the three of them.

“Honestly, why do you have so much energy in the morning?” Luna complained as she slid out of bed. Silver was patting Twilights back as she tried to regain control of her lungs.

“Why do you have to be such a grouch?” Celestia retorted.

“Because I have to deal with you?”

“Oh? And what about you, Miss-I'm-Going-To-Stay-Up-All-Night-And-Annoy-All-Of-Canterlot-Because-I'm-Bored-And-Lonely?”

“What?! I'm the quietest mare in the night!”

“Quiet? When you're singing at the top of your lungs? You call that quiet? You sound like a goat.”

“Are you saying I can't sing?”

“Well I'm certainly not saying you can!”

“OH, YOU BIT--!”

“GIRLS!” The wolf shouted, getting the alicorns attention, “If you don't stop bickering, I'm going to put you in corners!”

Both mares just huffed and turned away from each other.

“She started it,” Celestia added on.

“I did not!”

“Did too!”

“Girls!”

At some point, Twilights coughing fit had subsided and the small mare simply sat there and watched the two sisters act like....well, sisters. She'd seen Rarity and Sweetiebelle act the same once or twice when she went over to Carousal Boutique, and the moment between Celestia and Luna was more or less the same.

What made the moment so astounding was that never before had she ever seen the two interact in such a way. Both had always been regal and refined, though she had to admit that lately they seemed considerably more playful than normal. Finally being able to see them as equals instead of her rulers, Twilight realized that they weren't just princesses. They were mares.

A loud, long sigh broke Silver from his scolding, “Honestly, the two of you. I haven't even had breakfast yet.”

“Oh, Onyx is working on that,” Celestia informed, dropping her pout.

“Great, cause I'm starving,” Silver said as he rose from the bed and stretched, his tongue rolling out as he yawned.

He trotted out of the room after, and behind him three princesses followed. They were met with the sight of Aerial and Ruppy at the counter, talking and eating pancakes and and orange juice. Onyx was behind the stove and Sica was sitting on the couch.

The assassin mare turned when she heard the hoof steps enter the room.

“Oh come on!” she cried, “Three princesses?!? Now you're just screwing with me!”

And for the second time in the past five minutes, Celestia put on yet another devilish smile.

“Well, I don't know about you,” the ivory alicorn said in her huskiest tone, fluttering her bedroom eyes as she sauntered over to the couch to stand behind the mare, “But he's been screwing us All. Night. Long~

The cloaked mare shivered and turned to the wolf with wide eyes, “She's...she's kidding, right?”

“Yes, she kidding,” Luna flatly answered for him, before he could take the joke even further. She knew they were both just messing around, but it still bugged her to hear things like that. But more than that, there was still something she just didn't get about the ponies, “Why on Earth would I enter a relationship with my sister?”

Sica went to say something, but quickly decided against it. Figuring that bringing up the--

“Dude, have you read some of the fanfictions ponies come up with?” Ruppy voiced, “I mean, that shits weird but it's still hot.”

Both princesses just stopped and stared at Ruppy, eyes wide with horror....or at least Luna's was. Celestia's seemed to resemble curiosity more than anything.

“What?” the sandy mare questioned, “Princest is wincest.”

“Please, for the love of my sanity, please stop!” Luna cried before trotting over to the table where Onyx floated over a plate of pancakes with coffee, “Sister, do us a favor and tell us why you're here so you can hurry up and leave before any more unsavory topics arise.”

“See? Grouchy,” Celestia stated before crawling over the back of the couch and taking a spot, “But as for my reason being here, I received a letter this morning from Duke Little Horn. He wishes to meet with all four Princesses for an important discussion at the end of the week.”

“I refuse,” the midnight mare stated flatly, earning a scold from her sister.

“Luna, this is not a request that can be refused that easily,” Celestia pressed, “Duke Little Horn may be a nuisance, but he's also the nephew of the Caneighdian King. We cannot turn him away.”

“I will not meet with the pony who sent that cretin of a wolf to our home!” Luna fiercely spat.

“Sister, you have no choice!” Celestia commanded, now rising off the couch, “Now I know that Aurora caused Silver discomfort and antagonized him, but that is no reason to act like a foal. You will be attending this meeting and that is final.”

Luna did not meet her sisters gaze, and simply turned her head away before getting out of her seat and going to the door. She opened it, then slammed it shut behind her, the sound resonating throughout the home that suddenly fell silent.

That...that was nothing like the argument the two had just moments ago. How could the two go from such a playful attitude to genuinely angry with one another in such a short amount of time?

Celestia could only sigh before turning to Twilight, who just stood with her mouth open, “Twilight, could you please go after her?”

The lavender alicorn shook herself from her stupor before heading to the door. Just as she opened it, she paused and looked back, “Celestia?” she called, “Just so you know, I...I'm not sure if I'll be able to convince her to go to the meeting. I understand why she's upset, and honestly not sure if I'm comfortable with going either.”

“That's fine, just make sure she's okay for now. We can discuss this later.”

Twilight nodded and headed out after her mare. She had no idea what she'd say to her, but she wasn't about to let Luna storm off by herself.

The door closed behind her, this time much quieter than before, but the room sat silent. Not even the ticking of a clock to fill the air.

...Until Ruppy opened her mouth.

“Soooo....this is awkward....”

Again, Celestia sighed, “I'm sorry you all had to see that. Luna can be stubborn when she wants to be.”

The owner of the home simply waved a paw, “Meh, it's fine. Nothing got broken, so it's more than I can say for when Star and I got into it last time.”

“Oh yeah?” Ruppy questioned, “What happened?”

“Well, let's just say that big window in the library wasn't there when the house was first built,” the wolf explained before going over to the table, “But I am curious as to why you came here yourself Celestia. Couldn't you have just sent a guard?”

“I had a feeling Luna might reject the meeting,” the alicorn explained, “and a guard can't tell her she must attend without soiling his armor, so I would have had to come here anyway. Besides, I wanted to give you your 'get well' gift myself.”

“My what now?” Silver questioned.

The ivory mare simply smiled and began heading to the back door, “Come on,” she said, sliding the glass open.

The wolf trotted over and followed Celestia out onto the porch. She waved a hoof to the side and presented his gift.

“Tada!” she exclaimed, as Silvers eyes fell upon the magnificent sight. There, on his back porch was an incredibly large hammock.

Well, perhaps hammock isn't the right term. It was more like a bed held up by four chains attached to a porch roof that wasn't there before.

“You...you got me this!?” Silver asked in awe, his tail thumping happily against the floor.

Celestia nodded, “I remembered the first day we met, when I found you in the Houndland palace gardens on the hammock. You seemed to enjoy it quite a lot, so I figured maybe I should get you one of your own. Luna and Twilight helped pick it out though. They said you'd probably like this one the best.”

“They were right!” Silver exclaimed as he jumped onto the furniture. It was shaped into an incredibly large circle with a wooden frame, at least three times his size, and hung from the roof. The mattress and pillows that filled it were the softest he'd ever felt, almost as if they were made from clouds.

“Um, Celestia?” he asked, “Did you build the shelter for it too?”

“I did. It took a little figuring out, but I managed to get it up in time before you all woke up.”

“Before we woke up?” Silver repeated, “How long did it take you to make this?”

“Not too long, about an hour.”

Silver leapt from his seat on the hanging bed and wrapped Celestia in a strong hug, “Thank you!” he squealed.

The alicorn simply giggled and returned the gesture, “You're very welcome. You were injured trying to help Twilight, so I figured the least I could do was give you a comfortable place to rest. Now, I've also went through the trouble of clearing my schedule for the day, so how about we put that hammock to good use?”

Silver pulled away and chuckled, “You know, with words like that, you could give a wolf the wrong idea,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Celestia batted her eyelashes back at him, “Maybe your idea isn't wrong.” Both held their gazes for a moment, before bursting into giggles and laughs.

Amid his laughing, Silver stopped and hopped up, “I almost forgot!” he gasped, before dashing into the house. Celestia just sat in confusion for a few minutes before she saw the wolf re-emerge through the door. He was carrying a large sack on his back, tied around his neck.

“What's all this?” Celestia asked.

Silver proudly dropped the sack onto the floor, allowing it to unfold and reveal it's contents.

“We have snacks, books, magazines, music, and if we get bored, we can go watch movies!” he grinned.

Celestia laughed, “I see you've thought this through. Very well, let the lazy day begin!”


Twilight wondered the halls of Canterlot looking for her angry marefriend. In truth, she wasn't very hard to find. Even if the guards didn't tell her where Luna went, she could still find her just by following the echoing ramblings in the castle.

“Stupid sister, always telling me what to do!”came another ramble. Her voice was somewhat hushed, so Twilight knew she was just talking to herself, “'Oh, you have to attend this meeting! You can't just blow it off'. Ha! Watch me! As if I'd spend even a minute in the same room as that--that stupid little piece of--”

“Luna?”

“KYA!” Luna yelped, jumping to the ceiling. Huffing and panting as she clung to the roof, she eventually calmed herself enough to the point where she realized who had called to her, “Oh, Twilight. It's you,” she said, releasing her hold and flying back down.

“Uh, yeah,” Twilight said, not bothering to comment on the strange display, “I...I was worried about you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Luna huffed, “And I'm sure my sister didn't have anything to do with it.” she remarked bitterly.

“Oh Luna, don't be like that,” her marefriend cooed, rubbing her back gently with a hoof, “I was going to come even if Celestia didn't ask me to, you know that.”

“Would you really?” Luna said with a roll of her eyes, “Are you sure she didn't ask you to convince me to go to the meeting as well?”

“Hey!” Twilight said firmly, “Now you listen to me, I am not here to trick or convince you to do anything. I am only here to make sure that my marefriend is okay and won't go breaking walls and ends up hurting herself. You don't need to treat me like...like some kind of enemy!”

Luna's eyes went wide as she realized what she'd said before her ears folded back and she looked to the ground.

“I'm...I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean it. It's just, this is how Tia's always been. She always orders me around even though we're both princesses.”

Twilight sighed and resumed her back rubbing, “Luna look, I understand why you don't want to meet with the Duke. I don't want to meet with the pony that caused Silver so much pain either, but we have to. It's our duty.”

“No it's not,” Luna replied adamantly, “We're the rulers of Equestria, and he is an outsider who is seeking an audience with us. We have the right to refuse him.”

“Yes I know, but as princesses, we also have the duty of giving every pony a fair chance. I know he's nothing but trouble, but in the eyes of both of our nations, he's done nothing wrong. He's been rude, certainly, but nothing more.”

“Ha! Rude? Wars have been fought for lesser reasons.”

“Come on, Luna,” Twilight tried again, “Even if you attend the meeting, it doesn't mean we have to listen to what he says. He'll come in, make his offer and we can turn him down. After that, we won't have to deal with him again, or at least for a while anyway.”

Luna continued to sit, staring at the floor with an upset scowl. After a minute or two, she just sighed.

“Fine...I'll go. But the first rude remark he makes, and I'll have him thrown out of the window.”

Twilight giggled and pecked Luna's lips, “Agreed. Now, let's get back. I'm sure Silver must be lonely.”

Both mares turned and headed back through the castle and to Silvers home. Upon walking in, they found that the wolf and alicorn were no longer in the living room, but the coal unicorn on the couch pointed a hoof to the back door.

Luna and Twilight trotted over and stepped out onto the porch. Unfortunately, what they saw was not a sight that made either very happy.

Sitting on the newly assembled hammock that they had helped pick out, was Silver and Celestia. The former was sound asleep, while the latter had a scroll floating in front of her...and a wing draped over the canine.

“Sister...” Luna growled, getting the alicorns attention, “Would you be so kind as to remove your wing from my wolf?”

Her voice may have been steady, but the sudden drop in temperature said that calm was anything but what the mare was feeling at the moment.

Celestia looked up from her scroll, then to Silver.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, retracting her wing, “It wasn't what you think! He was shivering in his sleep, so I--”

“Yeah sure,” Luna cut her off before firing up her horn and wrapping her sister in a blue aura. The mare began to float off the bedding while Twilight and Luna made their way over to the hammock and crawled onto it, “First the rude awakening, then you force me to go to a meeting with a moose you know I dislike and now we come back to this? Tell me, are you trying my patience today?”

“Luna, you know I would never do that to you!” Celestia defended, “Just look at him! He's shivering again!”

Both mares on the furniture looked to the wolf, who was now situated between them. Sure enough, he was shaking. Quickly but gently, both of them cuddled into the wolf. It took a moment, but his tremors stopped and he resumed his sleep, though his face still showed an obvious discomfort.

“Well,” Luna continued, “Be that as it may, I would appreciate it if you'd keep your hooves and other appendages off of him.”

Celestia just rolled her eyes, “Luna, if I wanted to be with him, don't you think I would have asked him on a date sometime in the last, oh I don't know, thirty years that I've known him?”

Luna just huffed and turned away, nuzzling her muzzle into the wolfs neck before whispering into his ear.

“Silver, dear. You're okay. It's all just a dream,” she cooed as her horn lit up to cast a spell. A small, white thread came from her horn and touched the top of the canines head. His face slowly fell from its terror filled form and to a much more relaxed one. His body let go of a noticeable tension it had been holding onto and he even let out a sigh of relief.

“Now then you two,” Celestia began now that the wolf had been taken care of, “I understand your apprehensions about attending this meeting with the Duke, but-”

“It's fine, Tia,” Luna interjected once more with a sigh, “We'll go. But know that should I find him to become unpleasant, I will not hesitate to leave.”

Celestia nodded, “That's fine. But there is also another issue,” she added on, “I realized that when the Duke arrives, Silver will still not have healed fully.”

Luna rolled her eyes, “I highly doubt there will be any attempts on our lives by the Duke.”

“Firstly, that's not true. If we were capable of getting the wolves to send us guards as powerful as these, then I'm sure he could also find help of a similar strength. Secondly, even if the Duke doesn't make an attempt, it doesn't mean that some pony else won't. It's not often that all four of us are gathered in one place. And lastly, it was not only an assassination I was worried about. It's Radiance.”

Lunas eyes widened, “Of course. How could I forget? If he sees her at the castle, he'll know we freed her.”

“So,” Twilight pitched in, “We'll either have to have Silver take the roll on while injured, or arrive with only Black Wing and Star Shine. I suppose we could increase the number of guards as well, but if he did bring someone as powerful as those two, or if someone else just as strong tries anything, then all the guards would do is get in the way.”

“We could always bring Ruppy and the others,” Luna suggested, “They may not be as strong as Silver, but they're certainly stronger than the average guards.”

“I already planned on having them come,” Celestia explained, “And along with five others I had hoof picked myself. A total of nine powerful ponies would be in the room, along with Star Shine and Black Wing.”

“Still wouldn't be enough,” Silver said, finally waking from his sleep. All three mares turned their attention to the wolf, who yawned and stretched his paws.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, “The other two are as powerful as you. And with Rup--”

“He has the same protection,” Silver interrupted, “Little Horn hired Aurora, and she's not only from the Fallen Star Pack, one of the two packs strong enough to rival our own, but also one of it's Alphas. If she brings her whole squad, then you'd be screwed. And that's if it's the Duke that tries something. I can't even begin to list off the number of assassins that could wipe the floor with all three of us.”

“Surely you can't be serious,” Luna begged.

Silver just nodded, “Potential outside assassins aside, just one of Auroras betas could clear out every pony guard in there, and that includes Onyx and Ruppy. We were lucky that they didn't get killed the last time she was here. But if she brings all twelve of her betas and she fights as well, then there's going to be trouble. Just Black Wing or Star Shine would be enough to handle the betas, while the other takes Aurora, but if they're too busy trying to protect all four of you, then they'll have have a hard time. So I'm going too.”

“What?! No!” Twilight protested, “Silver, you can't! You're not going to be healed by then!”

“I'll be fine,” he said, “Even like this, I could still take the betas as long as Star and Black have the rest of you covered.”

“You won't be fighting!” Twilight said firmly, “Not until I know you're fully healed.”

Silver just chuckled, “Yeah, I know. I don't have any intention of fighting either. If worst comes to worst, I'll let Black handle it while me and Star look after all of you.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief, “Okay then. As long as you're not in the thick of it, it's fine.”

The wolf laughed once more, “Yeah. It'll all be fine.”