On that day he looked upon Misty, the boy known as Silver Letter felt a pain in his heart. He had heard of her once when looking at model trains in a Manehattan toy store. Hearth’s Warming Eve was coming soon. Little foals were crowding the aisles, begging parents to fulfill their heart’s wishes. Silver Letter, as usual, was alone. He could hardly recall the last holiday he had spent with his parents. Every year, the celebrations recalled in his mind all the past days of mother coming down the stairs, bringing a new train for him to play with. When Silver told her that he couldn’t have foals. That he was in fact, more attracted to other colts, she became frustrated and couldn’t look at him again the same way. When he turned sixteen, Silver left home in the middle of the night, never to return.
The posters in the store had the image of a beautiful mare whose coat reflected the majesty of the ocean tides. Known only as the sparkling Misty, foals all over Equestria were overjoyed by all the toys in her vast line. Silver had known about Misty for a few years by then. When he was roaming the streets alone, he would often walk past those very toy stores where Misty’s face was plastered like a celebrity’s on posters. The newest line of train cars was displayed like jewelry for passersby to see. In time, Silver’s attention was divided by the shining cars in front of him and the pony who built them.
Silver got a job working in a factory where many toys were manufactured. It was a thankless and often harsh position working with chemicals and abrasive bosses. It was the bottom line at all cost. Only the thought of playing with his toy trains made the day worth it. Even when he got older, each new toy caused him great joy. When the clerk smiled at him, he slipped them an excuse that the toy was for a friend or a foal of his who didn’t exist. Then it would be okay. The poster beside the clerk promised something else. Misty’s smile appeared real somehow like there would be no judgment in her fine eyes. Over time, he wished to meet and even know her.
He had saved up for over a year for the most special of events. In the Crystal Empire, where Misty lived, all the most popular toy developers would gather to showcase their newest designs. Thousands would go to this convention, and so Silver poured all of his hopes into this one chance to see Misty. The train from Manehattan to the Empire was expensive. The ticket was even worse. When he finally got it in the mail, Silver was disappointed that the tickets were tiered and only the most expensive had exclusive rights to chat with the developers themselves. Yet, Silver’s hope wouldn’t be crushed so easily.
Silver went home to a dark house as usual, a little hole in the wall between two massive factories. Even the air there smelt of smoke. When he turned his lamp on, several work friends surprised him. Apparently, it was his birthday and he had forgotten. There were several new trains wrapped in paper. Seeing them made him smile as he knew how expensive the trains had become.
“I can’t wait to see you two as best friends,” a mare named Amber said, while pinning a taped-up collage of himself and Misty on the wall. The mare was making kissing faces at the picture which made Silver lightly blush at the thought.
“Thank you, Amber,” Silver replied. “I just hope I can actually see her.”
Silver stayed positive after his birthday. Boarding the train felt like stepping through a door into a new world. The Crystal Empire was the heart of love. Such beauty was everywhere. Silver thought about his co-workers and the picture. If only such things could be real. Misty and her best friend were supposedly there. The two mares had written letters to each other for years, according to an article in Child’s Toy Magazine. If two ponies could be friends after so long then Silver reasoned that it could happen for himself too.
From his hotel room, Silver marveled at the majesty of the city. There were crystal roads, buildings, fountains. Even crystal ponies! Maybe it even rained crystals. After taking photos, Silver grabbed a snack at a nearby vendor then trotted over to the convention hall.
Ponies from all over Equestria had come. After showing his ticket, Silver gazed at the massive real life models of toy helicopters and castles made of little plastic bricks. Everything was awesome but none of it compared to the massive steam train on display. There was even a strange looking train car which had weird looking arms, and gas-powered valves which crushed apples into pulp.
Misty had to be near. In fact, there was a line which ended at a closed door next to a poster of the mare’s image.
Silver stood in line for an hour. Then, all the ponies started walking inside the room. Silver sat at the front row. He was nervous but excited like all the other guests around him. A pony came and announced the guests. There were a few ponies who Silver didn’t care to recall then lastly, Misty herself. Misty’s cutie mark shimmered like an emerald. Her colors were like a pony who ascended from the sea. Her mane looked soft as silk. Such beauty made even Silver’s heart palpitate at her sight.
Misty had set a row of gleaming model trains on the table and in such a high-pitched girly voice, talked about it with her fellow guests. There was a special humor about Misty. Everything she said was down to earth, relatable only as a celebrity who came from humble origins could be.
Ponies walked up during the question session and asked a lot from the guests. As much as he wished it, Silver couldn’t get up. All coherent questions slipped from his mind. And as soon as it had come, it was all over.
The guests were escorted backstage. Silver walked with the other attendees towards the exit when he saw an opportunity. The security was busy. He could sneak past them and maybe find Misty. It would truly be his only shot. There wouldn’t ever be another.
Silver was doing something wrong. Yet, he didn’t care. After all, he was trying to make a friend. Even the statues of Spike the Magnificent reminded him that friendship could come from the most unlikely of places.
Going backstage, there was a group of ponies in a nice room where goodie bags were being distributed by the staff. There were a lot of laughing and good cheer. Silver approached Misty, who had her back turned to him, giggling with another pretty sparkling mare, clearly a native of the Empire. Afraid of talking, Silver merely listened to their conversation, something about the newest toy line. The other fans were happy to listen, smiling and nodding the entire time. Misty then turned as if to catch her breath and saw Silver by himself.
“Oh, I didn’t see you! What’s your name?” she said.
“I’m Silver Letter.”
Misty smiled brightly. “Good to meet you.”
“Thanks. I wish I had brought one of my trains for you to sign. I’ve been waiting for a while to meet you, to thank you for all the things you’ve done for ponies everywhere…”
Of all the things he could have said, he had nothing but clichés to rely on. Nothing about the fact that her trains had kept him alive through all of his worst times, that toys like hers were his entire world. But when he was interrupted suddenly by a stern staff member, Silver knew it was too late. He was escorted outside. The guard accused him of violating the rules on purpose. It was too embarrassing for Silver to argue. The badge for the convention was taken from him.
Thinking it was over, Silver walked to his hotel room. The following day, he was walking past the convention hall towards the train station to return to Manehattan. All the fans were heading home too and the streets were packed. Having always hated crowds, Silver left and found a quieter alley to meander through. Since that moment with Misty, the mare had consumed his thoughts. She was beautiful to be sure, but there was something more. He couldn’t really pinpoint exactly what it was. He thought it irrelevant, a mere passing fancy.
Someone was coming out from a building. Silver recognized the mare as one of the handlers of the special guests. He hid behind a dumpster. Sure enough, Misty and the others climbed into a large cart. Amongst them was a stallion known as Time Turner. Silver didn’t know that Time Turner had anything to do with toys so it came as a surprise. As the cart drifted off, Silver noticed something gleaming on the ground. Going there, he saw a black sphere held in a silver band. Time Turner must have dropped it, Silver thought.
Silver gazed into the depths of the sphere. There was little about it that was remarkable as if it was made of shadow. Then seconds later, a wave of blue fog swirled inside it like drops of ink in water. Startled, Silver dropped it on the ground. Somehow, it didn’t crack or break. It was perfectly odd. Picking it up again, a chill flowed through Silver’s entire body. He started crying. It couldn’t be controlled. When tears fell upon the stone, he dropped it again.
On the ride back, the stone was kept in Silver’s backpack, yet he could feel cold seeping through the fabric. He sat alone as if worried that other ponies could feel the intense magic he felt in that alleyway. His eyes hurt. Everything did. But his heart felt the most pain. It is as though he had lost a friend, never to regain them again.