//------------------------------// // Ep 16 - The Friendship Report // Story: My Little Pony: Small Town Life // by Mythic Night //------------------------------// It was a lazy Sunday, and Sunny was relaxing at Silver’s house, sprawled on his couch as she watched the unicorn work on a sculpture. She wanted to see him sculpt, and he was happy to let her watch as he worked on a wooden sculpture of a mare and stallion cuddling together. Love and romance were his new inspiration, and Silver felt confident that these new sculptures would sell far better than anything he had made before. Silver wiped his brow after he finished his latest piece, worn out from the focus and effort needed to sculpt the statute sitting on the table. “Whew… That’s another one done,” he said. It wasn’t quite finished; he still needed to stain the wood and paint the sculpture, to make it look as beautiful as it could be, but the hardest part was done. “You did a nice job, sweetie,” Sunny said, looking more closely at the sculpture now that it was finished. Just as he had done with her bust, he made the ponies rounded while keeping their manes and tails geometric like his old sculptures. She thought it was an interesting and unique look, one that made his sculptures stand out while also respecting his previous style. “Few more like this, and then I can send them all out to Fillydelphia to be sold,” he told her, looking over the sculpture to make sure no mistakes were made. “I wonder what Winter Gust will say about these new sculptures?” He hadn’t told his art dealer about his new direction, wanting instead to surprise him with a batch of these sculptures; he didn’t want Winter Gust to try convincing him to go back to his old style, even though those pieces had sold well enough in the past. “You’re looking pretty tired, hon; want me to get you a soda?” Sunny asked, seeing how her lover was sweating from the effort. “Yeah, thank you,” he replied with a nod, glad to finally be able to relax. In some ways it was easier to create his old sculptures, not having to worry about proportions on a pony, but the complexity of those designs definitely made them harder than his new artwork. He thought his old work was visually interesting, but he knew there was no heart in any of it. As confident as he felt in this new direction, though, some part of him still worried how the art community would take these sculptures. Right after his girlfriend left the family room to head into the kitchen, Silver heard a knocking at the front door. “Who could that be?” he wondered as he trotted over to open the door, and his jaw dropped as he saw Princess Twilight Sparkle and her assistant, Spike, at the door. “Puh-Princess Twilight?” he stammered, unsure just why the Princess of Friendship was standing at his door. “May we come inside? I’d like to talk to you, if you have the time,” Twilight said with a warm smile. He was about to respond, when he heard from the kitchen, “Hey sweetie, who’s that at the door?” Twilight’s eyes widened at that. “Sweetie…?” She looked at Silver, and gave him a sly smirk. “You know, I told you to make friends, not find a special somepony. I suppose I have to give you credit for going above and beyond your original assignment.” He blushed a bit and moved aside. “Please come inside, your highness,” he said, motioning to the family room. “Just Twilight, please,” she said as she strolled in, with Spike following along. Sunny trotted into the family room, her eyes bugging out at the sight of the Princess of Friendship as she fumbled with the bottle of soda. “Wuh-what the? Princess?!” She quickly dropped to a bow. “It’s an honor, your highness.” “Oh please, there’s no need for that,” pleaded Twilight. “I’m just here to talk, that’s all.” “About what?” Silver wondered as Sunny rose and put the soda on the coffee table. “About friendship, of course!” she answered, as if it was the most obvious thing. Of course, Spike went on to explain, “You see, Twilight here was bored out of her mind at the castle, until she remembered that she told you to make some friends when you first moved in, and then she decided to come by to see what you learned about friendship!” “Thank you, Spike…” said Twilight with a tense smile. “But yes, that’s why I’m here. Before we get to that though, it occurs to me that I owe you an apology.” “What? Why?” Silver asked, confused as to what the princess thought she did wrong. “Because I assumed the worst of you without reason, back when you first came to Ponyville,” she explained. “It was wrong of me to think you’d cause trouble simply because you’re talented with magic, and I’m sorry about that.” He smiled sheepishly. “Apology accepted, I guess, though to be honest I should be thanking you for that.” He looked to Sunny, motioning her over to wrap a foreleg around her shoulders. “If it hadn’t been for Pinkie’s welcome party, and your order to go make some friends, I never would have met Sunny or the rest of our friends.” He smiled and kissed Sunny’s cheek, causing her to smile and blush as he added, “Nor would I have fallen in love…” “Not to mention you did need to make some friends anyway,” she added with a gentle nudge. “That’s true, though I didn’t realize it at the time,” he replied. Twilight smiled. “I trust you’ve learned quite a bit about friendship, then?” Silver’s brow furrowed as he thought about it. “Well, not just about friendship, but I think about life in general.” He motioned to the couch and told Twilight and Spike, “Please, make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.” Twilight thanked him and sat down on the couch, as did Spike. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to record this interview.” “I’ve got no problem with that,” Silver replied, sitting on one of the chairs while Sunny took the other. “Great!” Twilight said, and her horn glowed as an inkpot, quill, and lots of parchment appeared on the coffee table, which Spike got ready to use. “When we met, you said you didn’t even know how to make friends. So, to start with, I’d like to find out what your life in Fillydelphia was like, and what made you decide to move to Ponyville.” Silver glanced over to Sunny, who gave him an encouraging smile. “Well, as a colt, I spent most of my time studying magic, hoping to become the next Star Swirl the Bearded. Unfortunately, I got labeled an egghead for it, and after a lot of bullying I decided I didn’t need friends…” Spike stopped writing, looking sadly at the stallion, and Twilight also frowned at that. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I know foals can be cruel sometimes, and it must have been hard on you to be ridiculed for your passion.” “It was,” he replied sadly. “In fact, I got so lonely that I…” His mouth hung open, and his ears folded as he looked away, unsure about sharing his quirk. “A-anyway, yeah…” Twilight caught that, and looked at him with concern. “What’s the matter? You sounded like you had something to say, and I’d like to hear it.” He winced, and glimpsed at Sunny, who reached over to rub his shoulder. “It’s okay Silver; I told you it’s just a quirk, and I’m sure Princess Twilight wouldn’t think any less of you.” “What’s going on?” the princess asked as she glanced between them. “Yeah, it’s nothing bad, is it?” Spike wondered. Silver sighed, and shook his head. “The truth is, I got so lonely that I started talking to myself. I’d just go and have these one-sided conversations to fill the silence…” He chuckled bitterly, and added, “Went through a few years of therapy for that, and I still do it from time to time.” Twilight looked thoughtful, nodding as she said, “Yes, that sounds like a normal symptom of extreme social isolation.” She smiled sheepishly and added, “Truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have been much better off myself, had it not been for Spike here, and my friends in Canterlot whom I recently reconnected with.” “Well, what about your family?” Spike wondered. “Weren’t they around at all?” “Well, I mean, yeah, I guess…” he replied sheepishly. “My mom is an author, so she was always around if I needed anything. Dad works on the Fillydelphia weather team, so he was around in the evenings.” “And since you got good grades and didn’t get in trouble, your parents left you alone, right?” Twilight asked with a knowing smile. Silver’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Uh, well, yeah. How’d you know?” She chuckled. “I’m pretty sure most parents are like that. My brother and I were good foals, so I know our parents didn’t feel the need to watch us constantly.” “Yeah, my brother was the one who caused trouble in our household,” Silver replied with a smirk. “He wasn’t a bad colt, but compared to me he was a troublemaker.” “You have a brother too?” Twilight asked. “Is he older or younger than you?” “Older,” he replied. “And what sort of relationship do you have with him?” she wondered as Spike continued to document their interview. Silver snorted derisively. “None… He’s a jerk, and I really don’t want to talk about him.” “It’s fine, we’ll move on,” Twilight said. It was clear to her that this was a touchy subject, and she certainly wasn’t going to press the issue. “You said your mother is an author; what does she write? I’m curious to see if it’s something I read.” He smiled proudly, glad to have a change of topic as he told her, “Oh, her penname is L.S. Fable. She’s the author of the Scarlet Sword series.” Sunny gave a squee of delight. “His mom is one of my favorite authors! What are the odds, huh?” Twilight smiled. “Ah, yes, I’ve read that series. It’s quite good, though Daring Do is still my favorite.” She shook her head, and said, “But I feel we’re getting off topic. So, your childhood in Fillydelphia consisted of studying magic, essentially alone?” “Well, technically, I did get a few friends in my teenage years,” he told her. “They’re why I stopped needing to go to therapy.” “Really?” Twilight asked, quite interested to hear about his previous friendships. “How’d you meet them? And what are they like?” At her side, Spike kept transcribing their conversation. Silver couldn’t help but smile as he told her about the old arcade he visited when he took his breaks from studying, and how he and his friends bonded over the games there. He told her about his friends, and the things they’d do together. “Looking back, though, I’d say I wasn’t a very good friend to them, not compared to Sunny and the others anyway,” he said after he finished the story. Sunny gave him a gentle nudge, and told Twilight, “I told Silver that he shouldn’t worry about that; different groups of friends have different ways of doing things.” The princess nodded. “That’s true, though I can understand how you feel, Silver; I wasn’t a great friend to my old friends back in Canterlot, but I was fortunate enough to get a second chance with them. If you think you could be a better friend to them, then I’d strongly suggest going back to Fillydelphia to talk with your old friends and apologize for how things were.” He smiled and nodded as he told her, “Well, I was thinking I’d try writing a few letters to them, see how things are going back home.” “That’s a good start, at least,” Twilight replied. She looked down at the recently-made sculpture surrounded by wooden dust, and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to change the topic again, but did one of you make this sculpture?” “I did,” Silver told her. He motioned to the sculpture resting on the coffee table and said, “I make sculptures with my magic by using a modified repair spell. I originally made these sculptures to work on my focus and endurance, until a family friend told me that I could sell them. It’s how I made my living back home.” “He was quite popular back in Fillydelphia,” Sunny added. “He’s recently changed his style from geometric designs to sculptures based on life.” Twilight looked at the sculpture with interest. “Fascinating… I see you’ve kept the geometric style with their manes and tails; it’s an interesting contrast, to be sure.” Her brow furrowed as she looked at Silver, questions floating around in her mind. “So, it sounds like things were going quite well for you in Fillydelphia. What made you decide to move to Ponyville?” Silver’s face fell and his ears folded as he said, “In a word, Tirek.” At Twilight’s look of confusion, he explained, “My dreams, my income, my whole life revolved around magic. Then one day, Tirek attacked, and I was foolish enough to think that I could stop him and save Equestria. I attacked him, hit him with my most powerful spell, but he brushed it off and drained me dry.” He scowled at the memory, adding, “He just walked away, while Discord stayed behind to laugh at me and my failure…” Both Twilight and Spike looked at Silver with sympathy while Sunny pulled him into a hug. He nuzzled her gently, and continued his story. “That was… It was a bad time for me. I laid there for a while, feeling weak and completely hopeless, thinking I’d never have my magic again. My dreams were shattered, and on top of that I felt ashamed of myself for not being able to save Equestria from that monster after all the years of studying I did.” “That… That’s terrible,” said Twilight sadly. “I traded my magic to Tirek for the lives of my friends, but that gave us the final key needed to defeat him. I can’t imagine how it must have felt for the rest of Equestria, thinking they’d never have magic again… But, that still doesn’t explain why you moved to Ponyville.” He grimaced, but continued on, “When you and your friends defeated Tirek and returned our magic, I felt so relieved, and yet I was also terrified. I realized just how weak I really was, even after years of study, and even worse was that I had nothing beyond my magic. I didn’t feel safe in my home anymore, so when the papers said that you and your friends lived here in Ponyville, I knew this would be the one place I could be safe.” Spike fixed him a deadpan stare. “You feel safe in a town located right next to the Everfree Forest?” “Spike, don’t be mean!” Twilight chided him. “Well, he’s not wrong…” Sunny replied, looking to Silver. The unicorn chuckled softly. “I know, it doesn’t make much sense, but, well, it is what it is. At least I know Princess Twilight and her friends are here, ready to save the day if anything happens.” He sighed, and added, “But, even under your protection, I still suffer from those events, mainly in the form of frequent nightmares.” “I’m surprised Luna hasn’t helped you with them. I mean, that is her duty,” Twilight said. “She does,” Silver told her. “In fact, we became friends after a while since she kept having to come and save me. In fact, we all recently went to a nightclub to show her how modern ponies enjoyed the night.” Twilight actually blushed at that as she admitted, “I remember seeing that article. I thought it was slander, so I wrote to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to tell them about it. Imagine my surprise when they wrote back to tell me it was real, and not to worry so much…” Spike chuckled as he told them, “Oh, you should have heard her going on and on about how that paper was ruining the image of the princesses, and how they should feel bad about slandering Luna’s good name, and all this other stuff!” “Thank you, Spike…” muttered Twilight. “ANYWAY! I think we’re getting off the topic again. So, after Tirek’s attack, you came to Ponyville to feel safe. Tell me, what happened at the party where you met all your friends?” She smiled at Sunny, and added, “And I’d be interested to hear from you as well. After all, friendship is a group activity, and I’m sure you’ve got your own perspective on the events in question.” “That I do,” she replied with a mischievous grin. “For instance, I first noticed Silver here when he was staring at me with this goofy look on his face.” Silver blushed and sputtered, “W-well, I thought you were one of the most beautiful mares I’d ever seen!” “Clearly you’ve never met Rarity,” Spike replied dismissively, earning him a not-so-gentle nudge from Twilight. “Please, continue,” she said, fixing a pointed look at Spike while he smiled sheepishly in return. Silver cleared his throat. “Okay, so, yeah, after you told me to make friends, I went around making small-talk with ponies attending the party, but I didn’t feel any real spark of friendship from them.” He glanced over to Sunny, and added, “And then I saw Sunny here, and… Yeah…” He blushed and rubbed his shoulder. “I thought she was so beautiful, and I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t say hello…” Twilight chuckled. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to start a friendship, even if I’d have preferred you making friends because you wanted to.” Sunny grinned and wrapped a foreleg around Silver. “Yes, well, it worked for us. So, anyway, there he was, just staring at me, and I gave him a little wave. He waved back, and came over to say hello, and then we talked a little bit before my friends found me.” “They lost her in the crowd,” he explained, “when she went around talking with one pony or another.” “Until Silver here started helping me with the shop, I didn’t have much time to myself to socialize,” Sunny added. “I got caught up talking with lots of ponies I hadn’t seen in a while.” “So they came by, and introduced themselves to me,” he continued. “We talked, got to know each other a bit, and decided to meet up the next night for bowling. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of bowling, but if my new friends wanted to play then I wasn’t going to say no.” “Plus he wanted to see me again,” Sunny added with a cheeky grin. “Yes, that too,” he replied with a blush. “Is this a story about how you met your friends, or how you two fell in love?” Spike asked with a flat look. “It’s both,” Sunny declared with a smile. “You have to be friends before you can be lovers, after all.” “Why didn’t you want to go bowling?” Twilight wondered, getting away from the romance. She was happy that Sunny and Silver had found love, and they seemed to be a good couple from what she could tell, but she was interested in their friendship; love was Cadance’s thing, and she was happy to leave it to her fellow princess. “I was never good at it,” Silver explained. “At least, not until Sunny helped me out.” “He just didn’t know how to play properly; after I showed him how, he was actually quite good at bowling,” Sunny explained. “Turned into a new hobby for me!” he added with a grin. Twilight smiled and nodded as she looked over to see Spike write down that last bit. “Interesting that you were already a group of friends before Silver came along; I suppose that made friendship easier for you, huh?” she asked the stallion in question. “It did,” he admitted. “I’m still not quite sure how we just became friends like that, but at least it meant that I didn’t have to deal with the awkwardness of putting a group together myself.” “Friendship can come from something as simple as a bit of small talk on the street,” Twilight told him. “A party is a great way to meet new ponies, and I’m glad to know that you met some lasting friends there. Now that we’ve established what life was like in Fillydelphia, why you moved, and how you met your friends, I’d like to hear what you’ve learned about friendship.” “Ah, right, what I learned about friendship…” he said, remembering the reason for the visit. “Well now…” It wasn’t that he hadn’t learned anything about friendship from them, it was that he’d have to think to really narrow down the lessons they had taught him. “Please, take your time. I’d like you to be as thorough as you can be,” she said. “I’m sure each of your friends have taught you something about friendship, and I’d like to hear every lesson you’ve learned.” Silver’s brow furrowed, and he leaned on Sunny as he thought back to his friends and the times they spent together. It was hard to believe that he’d lived in Ponyville for a couple months already, hard to believe that so much could happen in such a short span of time. Even still, he pondered everything he had learned from his friends since moving to Ponyville. He thought about the night he talked with Mystic at that pub, as well as the talk he had with his friends when they first met Princess Luna together. “One lesson I learned is that you need to talk about your issues, because simply bottling them up only hurts you. Friends can lend an ear and help you deal with your problems, but only if you tell them.” “That’s a good lesson to learn,” said Twilight with a nod. “Friends can help you deal with pain, but you first need to trust them, and let them in. What else have you learned?” Silver grimaced as he thought back to their adventure with the golden idol, and how Frosty took charge and planned their rescue attempt when all he could do was whimper in fear and call for help. “There are times when you face problems too big for you to handle alone; I learned that there’s no shame in getting help from your friends, and that sometimes you need to rely on them to get through a tough situation.” The princess smiled, and said, “Another great lesson right there. I remember when it was applebucking season at Sweet Apple Acres, and Applejack was forced to harvest alone; there was simply too much work for one pony, but she was too stubborn to ask for help, and she suffered for it. Thankfully, she saw the error of her ways, and finally accepted help from myself and our friends.” “Certainly a better way to learn that lesson than having treasure hunters ponynap the mare I love,” said Silver, hugging Sunny close. The mare in question nuzzled him softly as she squeezed his hoof gently, murmuring sweet things into his ear. Twilight winced and nodded. “Ah, right, the incident with the golden idol; I remember that day when you brought it to me. I can only imagine what would have happened had you not had such dependable friends to rely on.” “Well some good did come of it,” Sunny said with a smile. “Thanks to that, Silver finally asked me out. I think our relationship is worth that bit of trouble.” “I’d like to think so,” he replied with a smile. “Anyway, back to my lessons…” Twilight smiled and nodded eagerly. “Oh yes, I’m eager to hear what else you’ve learned.” Another lesson he had learned came from Jewel only a week prior, and he thought back to that day… ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Silver smiled as he knocked on Jewel’s door, having gotten the address from her when she commissioned him. The house was smaller than he expected, even compared to his own home; it was a one-story house, seemingly big enough for one pony, or a married couple at most. The door opened, and Jewel smiled as she saw Silver and the box he was levitating in his magic. “Hey there! Come on in,” she said, moving aside to let him in. He stepped into a hallway leading from the front of the home to the backdoor at the other end. “The family room is this way,” she told him, leading him down the hallway before turning to the room on the right at the end. He smiled as he looked around, seeing the place was similar to his own; a couch was against one wall, and a coffee table sat in front of it, and a lamp sat at one corner, though the large window at the end of the room let in a lot of light during the day. “Cozy place you have here,” he observed. She smiled and shrugged. “Well, I’m all by myself here, and I don’t need much room.” He glanced over at a toy box sitting on one side of the room, motioning to it as he said, “All alone, huh?” She giggled and told him, “Well as you know, I foalsit from time to time. I’ve found it’s better to have toys ready for the foals I care for than to let them find their own entertainment.” “I suppose it makes for a cleaner house, at least,” he chuckled, imagining the mess some bored foals could make. “Well, anyway, would you like to see it?” he asked, bringing the box around to rest on the floor between them. “Yes please!” Jewel replied, bouncing excitedly. She had asked him to make a sculpture for her to decorate her family room with, and she was eager to see what he made. Silver nodded, his horn lighting up again as the box opened, and a small sculpture levitated from it to rest on the coffee table. The sculpture in question was made of wood, stained a rich brown, depicting a unicorn stallion and earth pony mare sitting together, cuddling a little unicorn foal between them. “What do you think?” he asked, hoping that she liked it. Jewel told him that she wanted a sculpture of an earth pony mare and a unicorn stallion cuddling together with a foal, but left it up to him to decide how to pose them. She smiled warmly at the sculpture as she looked it over, taking in the details. Silver did a fine job, and she could feel the love shared between the members of this wooden family. Her heart ached as she pictured herself and Mystic Spiral in place of the couple, cuddling their firstborn. She hadn’t told Silver just why she wanted an earth pony and unicorn together, and thankfully he hadn’t asked. “It’s beautiful…” she told him, holding a hoof to her heart. “I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life.” He blushed and chuckled, smiling sheepishly as he said, “Well, I didn’t think it was that great, but as long as you like it…” “I do, I really do,” she told him, looking up from the sculpture to face him. “How much do I owe you?” she wondered. “Oh, uh, don’t worry about it,” he told her, not all that concerned with payment for the piece he made her. Her eyes widened in surprise. “What? You can’t be serious.” “Consider it a present from a friend,” he said. She glanced to the sculpture once more, before turning and pulling him into a hug. “Thank you…” He hugged her gently in return, and after they separated, Jewel said, “I never told you why I wanted this, did I?” His brow furrowed as he shook his head. “I had assumed it was just for decoration, but I’m guessing there’s more to it than that?” She nodded and told him, “Yes, there is. I don’t know if you knew this, but, well, my dream is to have a family of my own someday.” She looked to the sculpture, and said, “It’s… hard, for me, to ask a stallion out. I know that if I want that family I dream of, then I need to get over my fears and ask, and yet…” She sighed, wishing she had the courage to just ask that stallion… She shook her head, and turned to Silver. “Anyway, I wanted this sculpture to remind me of what I could have if I just had the courage to go for it.” He smiled and nodded. “I’m sure you’ll get the family you deserve, someday. I admit, I don’t know enough about dating to help, but a pretty mare like you shouldn’t have any issues if you just try.” She blushed and smiled. “Th-thanks… If only it was that easy,” she sighed. “But I’ll try. I know this dream is worth it, even if it’s so hard to take that first step…” “At least your dream is simple enough; meet a stallion, fall in love, and get married. I don’t even know the path to fulfill my dream of being a great wizard, even after all these years of study,” he admitted. “I just can’t see what I could do to help Equestria; what do I do with my years of knowledge, how do I turn that into something helpful?” He sighed and ran a hoof through his mane as he added, “Maybe it’s better if I just put away my books and focused on sculpting and helping at the chocolate shop…” Jewel frowned and reached a hoof to rub Silver’s shoulder, telling him, “Hey, don’t think like that. Sure, you haven’t done any great deeds for Equestria yet, or made any useful spells, but that doesn’t mean you won’t.” He frowned. “But how am I supposed to do that? I’m no fighter, so I can’t prove myself by defeating a monster, nor can I be of any help to the princesses when they have greater wizards than me to consult with.” “Well, you just have to keep trying, even if it’s hard,” she said, smiling as she rubbed his shoulder. “The worst-caste scenario is that you’ll never help Equestria, but you’ll still know more about magic than most other unicorns, and at least you’ll know that you tried your best. If you just give up now, you’ll look back one day and regret it.” He smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right…” It seemed like it would be easier to just give up and let his dream go, especially with Sunny in his life, but he knew he’d grow to regret it someday. Even if he never managed to do anything great with his knowledge and talent, he could still enjoy learning about magic, and he could stand proud knowing that he did his best to make a difference. Jewel sighed as she added, “Now if only I could follow my own advice…” Silver chuckled, and said, “How about this; I promise I’ll keep trying to follow my dream, if you’ll try following yours.” She smiled and nodded, reaching out to give him a hoof-bump. “Deal.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Silver smiled as he told Twilight, “Another lesson I learned recently is that a dream is worth fighting for, no matter how hard it seems.” Sunny looked to him curiously, and he simply mouthed ‘later’ before turning his attention back to the princess. Twilight nodded slowly. “I suppose that’s a good lesson to learn, about perseverance in the face of adversity, though I’d stress the importance of having realistic expectations as well.” She smiled as she looked to Sunny. “So, I suppose all that’s left is what you’ve learned from Sunny here.” Silver turned to look at Sunny thoughtfully, who smiled at him. “What do you suppose you’ve learned from me, sweetie?” That’s a good question, he thought to himself. It felt like these past couple months with her taught him more about friendship and life than he ever learned in Fillydelphia. It seemed like an impossible task to narrow it all down to just a couple lessons, but he knew he had to try. He smiled at Sunny, holding her hoof as he said, “From you, my love, I learned many things. I learned that sometimes, you need to have the courage to make a better life for yourself. I learned that I shouldn’t be ashamed of my flaws, because everypony has them.” He leaned over and shared a tender kiss with her, before ending with, “And thanks to you, I now know that a life without friendship isn’t worth living. Thank you for giving me a chance…” She smiled and blushed, turning away as she rubbed her reddened cheek. “Oh, Silver…” He chuckled softly at her reaction. “You’re cute when you blush,” he murmured, leaning over to nip her throat playfully. She gasped and swatted him, her whole face red as she hissed, “S-Silver! Not in front of the princess!” He turned to glance at the princess, whose cheeks were pink at the affectionate display as her hoof covered her young assistant’s eyes. “Oh, uh, sorry, your highness. I forgot myself for a moment…” “It’s fine!” Twilight quickly replied. “I think we got quite a lot out of this interview,” she said, eager to change the subject as she removed her hoof from Spike’s eyes, and took the parchment from him to give it a look.  “It sounds like you’ve learned quite a lot about friendship from the short time you’ve been here, and I look forward to finding out what other lessons you learn in the future.” “Should I write down what I learn about friendship?” he asked teasingly. “That’s not a bad idea, actually,” she replied, missing the joke. “I used to write to Celestia regularly, back when I first came to Ponyville, telling her every lesson I learned about friendship.” “And then there was the Smarty Pants incident,” Sunny said with a smirk. Twilight scowled. “I apologized to the whole town for that! I’m just never going to live that down, am I?” “Probably not,” said Spike, rolling up the parchment. The princess sighed. “Anyway, I think we’ve taken up enough of your time for now,” she said, her horn glowing as the writing supplies disappeared while the report floated in her magic. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come visit from time to time to find out what else you’ve learned about friendship.” “That’s fine, I suppose,” he said, making a mental note to write down whatever he learned about friendship from then on. Twilight grinned. “Great! Oh, and by the way, feel free to drop by the castle sometime; it’s not often I get to discuss advanced magical theory with anypony.” She felt excited that she’d finally have someone around Ponyville to talk about magic with, as none of her friends understood the intricacies of it like she did. He couldn’t help but smile. “I’d really like that, thank you.” He’d never had the opportunity to talk with an equal in the field of magic, and he was excited at the thought of learning new things from the Bearer of the Element of Magic. Silver and Sunny led them to the front door, where they bid Twilight and Spike farewell as they left. With the two left alone, they went back to the family room, where Silver opened up his bottle of soda, and promptly got soaked as it fizzled everywhere from Sunny’s earlier fumbling, much to the amusement of the mare in question. = = = = = = = = = = Silver sighed as he worked on painting the sculpture he made earlier, lost in thought at the lessons he discussed earlier with Princess Twilight, specifically the one about talking with friends about your problems. It only just occurred to him that Mystic still hurt from leaving Manehattan years before, and he couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d be haunted by his own demons. Sunny’s ear flicked at his sigh, and she looked up from her book to notice the thoughtful look on Silver’s face. “Something wrong, Silver?” she asked. “Just thinking…” he replied, slowly lowering the brush and paint onto the coffee table. “Did I ever tell you about the time I went drinking with Mystic?” A bemused smirk grew on her face as she replied, “Why no, I don’t believe that story ever came up.” He chuckled softly, and told her, “It was the day before we went to the nightclub together. He introduced me to his family, who wanted to meet a fellow artist. We had a nice chat, and dinner was delicious, but Mystic was quiet through most of it.” He frowned as he added, “He seemed tense.” “Then what happened?” she wondered. “Mystic and I left after dinner, and he said he needed a drink, but before he could get too far away I asked if he wanted some company,” he said.  He smirked as he told her, “That was the first time I ever drank. Anyway, after a couple ciders, he told me that he was still upset over moving from Manehattan all those years ago.” Sunny tilted her head as she looked curiously at her lover. “Why are you telling me about this now?” He grimaced as he told her, “Well, the thing is…  Mystic is still hurting over that, so what’s going to happen to me?” At her look of confusion, he explained, “Talking with you and the others about what happened has helped me, but I still live in fear, and I still suffer from nightmares. I thought the pain would just go away with time, but if Mystic’s still hurting over his move, then...” He shrugged helplessly. She looked at him with concern, moving off the couch as she asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?” He blinked some tears away as he asked, “Can… can you help me find a therapist?” He leaned into her as she held him close, and said, “I’m tired of being afraid, tired of all these nightmares. Luna was right, I should have looked for professional help a while ago…” “I think it’s very brave of you to admit you need help,” Sunny told him, nuzzling him softly. “I’ll be happy to help you. I’m sure a crazy town like Ponyville must have a therapist or two around.” She kissed him softly, and gently grabbed his hoof as she began pulling him toward the door. “Come on; the sooner we find you help, the sooner you can get better.” He followed her out the door and into town, glad to have somepony like her at his side. He wasn’t sure how long it would take to heal, but he was done letting pain control his life. With the help of a therapist and the support of his friends, he knew that he’d be okay… Someday.