"...ike I swear to Celestia, if you..."
Silver grumbled, digging his head deeper into his pillow in an attempt to drown out the noise, shifting his body pillow closer and humming contently when the noise died down.
"...et him off me! He's c..."
He groaned, cracking open an eye to figure out what was making the noise that was getting through the muffling spell on his bed.
He slowly looked up, spotting a frozen stiff Spike standing above his body pillow, pulling on it.
Silver traced the arms down to his body pillow, the feathered thing giving him a look of amusement.
Silver tightened his grip, making Terry wince, before he let the griffin go, placing his hooves between them and pushing Terry, causing the griffin and Spike to topple off the bed with two nearly identical yelps.
Silver rose out of the bed like the zombie he truly was, dragging himself off the bed and towards the bathroom, using his magic to turn on the sink and sticking his head under the flow, taking a few gulps as he did, sitting there for a few moments before pulling his head out from under the water, somewhat more alive than he had been a few moments ago.
He grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and wrapped his head in it, setting his forehead on the sink and wishing, not for the first time, that his continued existence didn't rely on sleep.
He raised his head, lighting up his horn and magically unwrapping the towel from his head, looking at himself in the mirror, the dead-eyed unicorn making him realize that yes, he did in fact look just as bad as he felt, which was impressive.
"I could be the greatest actor ever, all I have to do is get up early and only play characters who hate everything and everyone around them." He mused. He shook his head, trotting out of the bathroom and heading down the stairs, pointedly ignoring the sound of claws padding along behind him.
Silver entered the kitchen, lighting up his horn and all at once grabbing everything he needed to make scrambled eggs, using another quick spell to heat up the pan faster and make it so the eggs wouldn't stick.
He rolled his eyes when he heard a pair of chairs move over by the kitchen table, not even looking as he used his magic to poor three glasses on orange juice.
He only payed a little attention when he started the eggs, buttering six pieces of bread in preparation, before moving all the eggs to one side of the pan and pressing two of the pieces of bread onto the freed up area, waiting a moment before flipping them over, doing the same to the rest of the bread before grabbing three plates, laying a piece of toast on each before piling them high with eggs, then placing the remaining pieces of toast on top.
"Three scrambled egg sandwiches, enjoy." Spike grabbed his, tearing into it with gusto. Terry eyed it for a moment, before shrugging and biting into his, Silver joining them after downing half his orange juice in one gulp.
Silver floated the plates into the sink once they were done, grabbing Spike in his magic and floating the tiny drake onto his back before turning to Terry.
"C'mon. S'like super early, and we need to go watch Celestia raise the sun so I can go back to bed." Silver stated, trotting out the door. Terry rolled his eyes and followed after chugging the rest of his orange juice, flapping his wings to catch up quicker.
Silver waved halfheartedly to the other non-morning ponies he could see trudging along the streets, each of them looking like death had given them a good kick in the face, but smiling anyway, after all it wasn't often your home town held the Summer Sun Celebration, so you didn't miss it.
Silver frowned slightly as he noticed how few guards had been posted at the town hall, using his magic to make sure his pouch of bits was still secure around his neck, before he nodded firmly and continued walking, ignoring the confused looks Spike and Terry were giving him.
They walked into the town hall, grabbing as close a spot as they could to the balcony, waiting there as more and more ponies filtered into the building, and before long there was a sizable crowd gathered, all tired from waking up earlier than they were used to.
Silver was pretty sure that humans would all be strangling eachother by now. Luckily, Silver was pretty sure there weren't any in attendance.
Terry yawned beside him. "So, when's the Sun gonna wake up so I can go back to sleep?" The griffin mumbled.
Silver rolled his eyes. "It'll be over when it's over, now stop complaining." Terry grumbled a bit, but relented, sitting there silently as everyone waited for Celestia to be announced.
A few more ponies filtered in, before the doors closed and a grey-maned mare with glasses trotted onto the balcony from behind a curtain, smiling down at all of them.
"Welcome, Everypony! To the Summer Sun Celebration! And now, the moment you all have been waiting for, announcing her highness, Princess Celestia!" There were hoots and hollers all around Silver, but he just frowned, readying himself for what was about to come.
The curtain was pulled back, and Silver felt an odd sort of amusement as confused murmurs broke out when Celestia didn't show up.
"Where is she?..." Silver ignored Spike's whispered question, his eyes tracking an easily overlooked wisp of something drifting through the air towards the stage.
The wisp started to grow, ponies voices growing panicked as a miniature black whirlwind appeared on the stage, thickening until it was impossible to see through, before slowly dissipating.
'Her fur is darker than I thought it would be.' Silver noted grimly. It was like the light avoided her completely, her mane seeming more like chemical smoke rather than Celestia's flowing river, but whatever it was, it was too dark to be hair.
It was, much to Silver's reluctant respect, a thoroughly unnerving effect, and from the way every single pony in the hall fell completely silent and the minute twitch of her lips, Nightmare Moon knew it too.
When she spoke, her voice was like velvet, smoothly worming it's way into his ear, and Silver spotted a few of the ponies near him shiver at the sound.
"Ah, my beloved subjects! It's been too long since I've seen your precious... Sun loving, faces!" For an instant, the facade vanished, revealing sheer, unadulterated hatred, and Silver spotted more than just a few ponies take a step back.
"Where's the princess?!" Silver's eyes widened as he felt a weight vanish from his back, and he turned to see Spike glaring at the alicorn, naked fury playing its way across his face as Terry held the young drake back, but Silver noticed that he was giving Nightmare Moon a glare just the same.
Nightmare Moon's eyes locked onto Spike, and suddenly all plans of quietly waiting for her to leave went out the window as Silver put a hoof between Spike and the alicorn, lighting up his horn.
Nighmare Moon laughed, the jarring sound making nearly everyone present flinch, and she leaned forward, grinning at Spike with far too many teeth.
"What is it little one? Am I not Royal enough for you? Did spending a thousand years trapped in the moon somehow..." Silver stopped paying attention partway through as a sound caught his attention, and he felt Spike latch onto his leg, trembling.
His little brother was crying.
The glow on his horn slowly shifted from blue to silver, the effect slowly spreading to the rest of his body, and soon Nightmare Moon's attention shifted to him, the alicorn's eyes widening as the intensity of the glow doubled, becoming an aura around him, before it doubled again, the size of the aura growing ever so slightly but getting much brighter.
Silver kept it at that level, gently pushing Spike towards Terry, before he turned back to Nightmare Moon, the alicorn of the night merely giving him an amused look.
"Oh? What's this, a little pony trying to stand up to their betters? Well that just won't do!" She sent a blast towards him, and Silver quickly analyzed the projectile, before the glow around him dimmed heavily, a curved shield springing into life in front of him, the blast hitting it and dissipating harmlessly off into the air above everyone's heads.
Nightmare Moon frowned, before snorting. "Very well then, but know that whatever resistance you put up will be useless! Say goodbye to your precious sun! The night, will last, FOREVER" The whirlwind returned, kicking up dust everywhere as it grew, before suddenly vanishing, taking Nightmare Moon with it.
Silver scanned the room as best he could, but with all the dust in the air it would be pretty much impossible to spot any wisps of her magic, and he had more important things to deal with anyway.
He focused, and slowly the aura around him receded, until just his horn was glowing, and it turned back to blue as Silver let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.
"You okay?" He felt Spike nod against his leg, and he clicked his tongue as he floated Spike onto his back, turning and trotting towards the door, inwardly grinning as he heard the sound of talons scrambling against tile, Terry walking right behind him.
"So. Where are we going?" Terry asked after a moment.
Silver smiled. "We're gonna go look something up, because I think I know a way to stop her, just don't really remember the specifics."
Terry nodded, before both of them started to slow as they heard the sound of hooves coming up behind him, and Silver turned his head, grinning at the sight that greeted him.
"Time Turner! Good of you to join the party!" The brown stallion bowed his head politely, before raising it, a serious expression on his face.
"Yes! Silver, I hope you don't particularly mind, but I'm assuming you're going after whoever that was?" Silver blinked (Oh yeah, he stopped her intro, didn't he?) before nodding. Time Turner straightened his back. "Then please allow me to accompany you!"
Silver shrugged. "That's fine, just be careful, alright?" Time Turner nodded, and they resumed trotting towards the library.
Soon enough the tree library came into view, and Silver put on a bit more speed in the hopes that he could end this sooner, Terry and Time Turner scrambling to keep up.
Silver all but flew through the door, trotting up to one of the book shelves and starting to scan through the titles, looking for any patterns that could lead him to the Elements of Harmony book he was looking for.
"History section. Easy History, after that. Evil in Equestria, before that. Elephants, near here. Ele... Elementary... Elements of Harmony! There we go!" Silver grinned and grabbed the book in his magic, chucking some other random book at a snickering pair of idiots a few steps away and sending a confused Time Turner an apologetic smile.
"Sorry Turner, I'll sort those two out in a bit." Silver took far to much pleasure in the way Spike and Terry paled, before he turned back to the book and flipped it open to the page he'd long since memorized. Not that he'd let anyone know that.
"Okay, the Elements of Harmony. It says here that they sealed Nightmare Moon away around a thousand years ago, trapping her in, well, the moon."
Time Turner blinked, before a megawatt smile spread across his face. "Great wickering stallions! So if we find the Elements, we can stop her once more!"
Silver matched his grin tooth for tooth. "That's the spirit! Now, it says that the Elements were stored in the Castle of the Two Sisters, anyone here know where that is?"
Terry scratched at his chest feathers. "The Two Sisters? I think I had a history class on that once. I think... the Everfree Forest?"
Spike blinked, sitting up from his spot on Terry's back. "Wait, isn't that the nightmare forest? The one that nobody is supposed to go into, with all the manticores and basilisks and hydras?" At some point he'd started bounding on Terry's back, an excited grin pulling across his face.
Silver sighed, raising a hoof and rubbing at his temples. "You're excited. Why are you excited? Have my crazy, danger-seeking habits rubbed off on you too much?" Spike just shrugged, and Silver groaned. "Okay, ignoring that for now. Turner, you're the native, you have any experience with the Everfree?"
Time Turner winced. "Ah, yes. Most of us don't really go in the Everfree, the most anypony in ponyville does is just skirt around the edges."
Silver clicked his tongue as he paced, two completely different problems at the forefront of his mind. "Okay, okay... Guess we'll just have to wing it. Now, Terry, think you can gather some bits of wood from outside?"
Terry nodded, heading out through the library door, and Silver let out a breath. "Okay, other than that, it'll probably be best if we keep the book nearby for reference, Time Turner, think you can hold it?" The brown stallion nodded, grabbing the book in his teeth and starting to look for something to carry it in.
Silver turned to spike, frowning. "Now, when we head off, I expect you not to run ahead of us or provoke anything, got that." Spike gave a serious nod, and Silver smiled. "Good, now, I think that's it, all we have to do now is wait."
Silver sat there with Spike, waiting, and soon enough Time Turner and Terry came back, one carrying a little satchel holding the Element book and the other with his arms full of sticks, to which Silver grinned, heading into the kitchen and coming back out with three soaked rags, which he wrapped around the ends of some sticks, handing one to Time Turner and Terry.
Said griffin turned his over in his claws for a bit, before huffing. "And how, exactly, are three sticks with wet rags at the end supposed to help us?"
Silver just grinned, holding his own stick in front of Spike. "Hey Spike, got a light?" Spike just rolled his eyes, but blew a tiny flame towards the stick.
FWOOSH!!!
Terry and Time Turner stumbled back as the end of the stick went up in flames, burning vigorously.
Time Turner's eyes lit up. "You soaked the rag in a flammable substance! I assume it was grease of some sort?"
Silver nodded. "Impressive, didn't think anyone her would know that. You guys good with holding the torches?"
Time Turner nodded eagerly, and Terry looked at his warily for a moment, before sticking it forward, wincing when Spike lit it and the flame burst to life.
Silver nodded, looking everyone over. "Alright, everyone ready?" There was a round of nods, and Silver grinned.
"Alright, let's get moving!"
"-and if you combine the two, it makes really neat looking fireworks, you just have to make sure they're mixed thoroughly, otherwise the flash will be lopsided."
Time Turner nodded as Silver talked, clearly showing interest in what he was saying, but Silver felt more than heard Spike's groan, the young dragon covering his ears and repeatedly thumping his head against Silver's back, Terry not far from doing the same considering the look of long-suffering on the griffin's face.
"Fascinating! Could the same be done with other materials that have similar properties?" Time Turner asked eagerly. Silver tapped his chin in thought, before shrugging.
"I guess, but the powder doesn't really like to be mixed with most things. I'd try it though, you never know unless you give it a shot." Time Turner nodded, before stilling as one of his ears twitched, Terry doing the same.
Spike scratched his frills. "What's wrong? You two hear something?" Silver frowned when the two shushed Spike, before closing his eyes and focusing.
C-crk!
Silver's frown deepened, and he levitated his torch closer to the trees surrounding them, grimacing as he hear the rest of the group take in shocked breaths.
"Creepy demonic tree face... Okay, that is... proper horror stuff right there." Silver muttered shakily.
Snrk!
Silver blinked, turning to find the sound, only to find Terry holding a claw to his face in an attempt to stifle his laughter.
"What's so funny?" Silver asked irritably. The griffin let out a breath, a grin planted firmly planted across his face.
Terry walked over to one of the Nightmare trees, extending his claw before slowly dragging it down the tree's face, carving a trench through it.
"It's a TREE! What are you all so scared of?" Silver blinked, before slamming his face into his hoof, groaning as he heard Time Turner start laughing and Spike's giggles.
"Can I blame the fact that these things are literally soaked in Nightmare magic?" Terry just raised a brow, and Silver's face fell. "Thought not."
Time Turner walked up to one of the trees, a smile spreading across his face as he examined one of the faces. "Fascinating! They are, in fact, not part of the tree at all! The closest comparison is that of a shadow projected onto the tree! The extremely accurate shading merely makes it look like the tree has formed that way!"
Spike giggled, hopping off Silver's back and walking up to one of the tree faces, blowing a bit of fire and grinning when the area the face was on stayed the same despite the area around it getting brighter, making the face seem more cartoonish than scary.
Terry snorted, turning in the direction they were originally heading and starting to walk, entering the shadows without a care in the world, his torch held haphazardly in front of him. "C'mon! We have an evil villain whose but is in desperate need of kicking!"
The three others grinned, exchanging quick looks, before hurrying to follow after Terry.
Time Turner noticed that Silver grinned particularly widely though.