//------------------------------//
// 309 - New Balances 
// Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

Night sat on her haunches. "Are you ready?" With a nod from her taller co-conspirator, she took a slow breath, calling on the alien (to Equestria) magic. Lifted from their bodies, they entered another realm, one of thoughts and perceptions. They landed lightly, for they weren't really landing on anything, within the mind of their patient. "Tirek?"

"You, again." He formed from the mists of thoughts. "And you!" His anger didn't come as quickly for Queen Haydon. "What do you want now?" he asked, voice sounding more defeated than confrontational.

"I came." Haydon stepped forward, slowly but surely. "To see you, and get an answer. You're old enough that I can't force you." A faint smirk spread on her lips. "You don't even live in my kingdom. Will you come home? You are hurting, and we are at least partially to blame."

"Partially?"

Haydon wagged a finger. "You won't get me there. However we treated you as a child, as an adult you get to make your own bed to sleep in. I'm willing to share the blame, not take it all. Let's put it to right, starting with this." She offered a hand towards him. "You deserve to be strong on your own."

"What do you mean?" Tirek thundered. "I am strong. I almost took over Equestria! Possibly the world!" He loomed large, swelling with the power of those remembered moments. "You should have seen that."

"I heard. Quite impressive." Haydon didn't look impressed. "Bloated with other magic, not yours. Son, it's time to learn how to stand on your own legs again." Her other hand slowly went out. "Come home. I promise a new chance. Even with father."

Tirek's teeth set. "A queen's power has limits. You can't force father."

"I can't," she agreed, not even trying to fight that. "So I asked him instead. We are ready to have our son back, if he is ready to return to us."

Night, who had been quiet up to that moment, chimed in, "If you return with your parents, agree to, I should specify. I am permitted to authorize your release. Equestria will set aside your crimes. Assuming your reformation is a success, we will gladly strike them from the records and welcome you back some day, when you wish."

Tirek snorted softly. "Damn ponies. I think I've seen enough of them."

"There are very few back home," noted Haydon with a single raised finger. "Now, it's your choice. I couldn't force your father, and I certainly can't force you. Are we going home together, or am I going home alone?"

Tirek glared at the both of them. "You're pressuring me. Give me a day to think about it."

"As you wish." Night turned to Haydon. "Are you prepared to--"

Haydon thrust up a hand. "This isn't the time to save face, son. Forget her." She waved Night away. "This is about us. What difference does tomorrow make? You've been stuck here for too long already. It hurts to even think about."

"Do you think it doesn't hurt to live it," roared Tirek, though he deflated right afterwards, becoming his emaciated self. "I'm tired, mother."

"I know you are... Come home. Rest." She spread her arms in the offer of a hug. "That's all I'm asking right now."

Night glanced between the two. On one hoof, it was annoying being the least useful person in the room. On the other, when it came to a mother and child, sometimes just letting them talk was the best answer one can come up with. Neither was lashing out at the other, so she didn't intrude.

"You'll laugh..." He half turned away. "I failed."

"That... happens, to the best of us. Do you think your father never failed? I can assure you that would be a bald-faced lie. Do you think I even consider myself free of mistakes? I stand before proof that I have erred, but you are not the only, and certainly not the first." Her shoulders raised in a faint shrug. "To live is to make mistakes. Now... Come, please. Rest, recover, and we can try again."

"Try again?" He took her hand, facing her without actually turning around in a fit of dreaming-like logic. "Is it that easy?"

"It's that hard." Haydon squeezed his thin hand. "But we won't abandon you."

Night adjusted her glasses quietly. Perhaps a second of the statues would be shattered that day. Her thoughts went to the last one. That would be a challenge.





Her brow raised. "Rough Draft is back?"

"With his foal." Silver nodded firmly. "He's hoping we can help, with that."

Night's ears danced. "Help the foal? Is something--"

"Nothing is wrong with her, thankfully." He tried to remember her name and failed. Dang names... "She's adorable, and my sister. I want to help, but I wanted to talk to you before I made any big promises."

"Improvement." Night smiled at the admission. "What tribe? Pegasus, if I recall?" Silver nodded quickly. "They will require flying lessons." Her own wings spread. "Which Rough Draft is unequipped to deliver. Hm." She rubbed at the bottom of her chin with a wing-knuckle, folded in to do so. "Trixie would have been just as unqualified." Not that Trixie was there to even try. "They are close in age."

Silver brightened. "So we can introduce them to each other. They'll become friends, hopefully."

Night inclined her head. "74% odds. 12% odds they'll become lifelong rivals, 56% chance within that of friendly rivalry, 40% unfriendly, and the remaining going to bitter rivalry."

Silver sat back. "I've always wondered, can you run numbers on basically any chance?"

Night hiked a brow. "No, that'd be silly. I can only run the numbers if I am aware of most of the facts that would influence them. The more information I lack, the less reliable those numbers become." She grabbed her glasses  at the end of her wing, just to wave them at Silver. "Did I never mention that before?"

"I forget?" he admitted plainly. "But that's still super cool, just to say." He went in for a nuzzle and found her cheek, only to get nipped a moment after that, driven back with a squeak.

"That's for forgetting how my thing works." She rolled her eyes. "I know how your thing works. It's rude." She extended her tongue, which was quite the long thing as befit a bat-like creature. "Now, let's meet this, hm... Actually, they are my sister-in-law. How delightful. Let's meet her."

Silver sprang upright. "Let's. Today's a good day for introductions."





Twilight rubbed at her cheek, her mane flowing gently in unfelt wind. "Your family's growing."

"Not really." Silver waved a hoof dismissively. "Rough had that child a while, just not next to me for most of it. He wants what any father would want, the best for his child. Next to me, he figures she has more chances for good things. Good schools, good food, good opportunities..."

Twilight nodded slowly. "I see..." With a glowing horn she pulled over a scroll. "I did some research on him. An author of moderate means, specializing in game writing, like O&O, but doesn't work with that company. Curious. You know." She leaned forward with a little smile. "I bet Spike would have quite a bit to discuss with him."

Silver blinked dumbly. He had entered the Equestrian universe long before that had been revealed to him. "Why's that?"

"He loves O&O!" She clapped her hooves together. "You know what it is?"

"Yep." That he did, talking with Rough. "I ran a game of it once, a while back, at a convention."

"Get out!" Twilight swatted his shoulder. "That sounds amazing. Like father, like son, I suppose. You're both storytellers. Yes, Spike would love the chance." She rose to her hooves. "But I can't have idle ponies around the castle, only present because of familial relations." She leaned in, lashes fluttering. "Do we need another Blue Blood?"

That brought more confusion to Silver than perhaps expected. Several versions of the aristocrat danced through his mind. "Uh... What does Blue Blood do exactly?"

"Confidential." Twilight blew a raspberry at Silver, chuckling softly as she did so. "But I am getting to a point. Your father will be called on to work. If he lives here, he works here. If he's alright being under my command, then I will find a use for him to make Equestria better."

Silver nodded, turning to leave, but he couldn't, grasped in glowing magic. "Something else?"

"Oh, a little thing." Twilight raised two hooves close to one another. "Seeing as you know what O&O is, and have run it under pressure... Perhaps you could run a game?" She flashed a bright smile. "For me."

"We're..." Twilight was grinning. "Um, you already have a plan?"

"I do!" She rest her chin on a hoof. "But first, a question. More of a confirmation. Patrolling dreams can't be a 1:1 time, can it, or you'd never finish patrolling all the dreams of all the ponies."

"Very much not," he easily agreed. "You only dream for a portion of the night, to start. That's the only part you might remember, so..."

"That helps." Twilight nodded. "So, if you visited me when I was sleeping and we had an ongoing game..."

Silver smirked softly. "The dice would be influenced by our subconscious. Well, and my conscious. I could make them roll whatever I wanted."

"Then forget the dice." Twilight tapped at Silver's chest. "I want a game. Tell me a story, a story about a little pony. I will play the pony."

Silver inclined his head slowly. "I don't have anything against that. If you really want to be subject to my random musings?" She was nodding vigorously. "Then who am I to deny?"

"It's settled." Twilight stood up. "We all get what we want. Equestria is enriched."

"You're already quite the queen." Silver dipped his head at Twilight and strode away without further resistance. "See you tonight."





She leaned against a thick arm. Most of her was thick. That came in handy sometimes. She also had those. She twiddled the pencil that she held in the same hand as the arm she was propped against. The teacher was going over letters, and she was doing her best to absorb the new information, but it wasn't easy. She was used to learning by doing, and that class had a lot of talking and less doing.

"Am I boring you?" The teacher, a unicorn with thin brows was looking at Maribelle. "You don't seem to be with us."

Maribelle went pale. "Sorry! I want to learn this, I do!"

"But you aren't." Instead of going back to class, the teacher was coming closer. Had Maribelle failed entirely?! Would she be kicked to the curb, to beg for mercy at her generous employer's hooves for wasting their bits on even thinking she could become more than a maid? "You aren't a pony."

Maribelle blinked softly. "I am not." That seemed a clear fact. "Is that a problem?"

"I think it might be." The teacher looked left and right across the class, standing in front of Maribelle. "According to recent updates, we are supposed to keep an eye out for this sort of thing. I will admit, it's still new to me. If you aren't learning from me, and you truly do wish to learn--" Maribelle was nodding as hard as she could. "--then perhaps we are just a poor fit." 

The teacher turned away. "There is no perfect teacher. There is no perfect student. Students, a valuable lesson. If any of you feel my teaching techniques aren't reaching you, don't suffer in silence." They looked over their shoulder at Maribelle. "I will suggest another teacher. Do you know what sort of education works better for you?"

Maribelle sat up, confused, but delighted. Was that really happening?! "I prefer to put my hands on what I'm learning. I learn by doing, um... Is there a reading class like that?"

"There is." They nodded softly. "I know exactly who I'll refer you to."

A few other hooves went up. Maribelle would not be the only one suggested to other teachers that better fit their educational needs. Equestria was growing.