//------------------------------//
// Meddlesome Pegasi 
// Story: As The Sun Sets 
// by Noobblue 
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Shining was done with his meeting in the next hour and joined her in court. Luckily, as it is currently Friday, court started three hours later than normal. Ponies knew this, so after the first five petitions or so Cadance decided to close court early and get a move on.

She and Shining had elected to teleport under invisibility, alerting the guards that they were taking the six from the cells, but otherwise intending to keep their punishment hush hush.

Cadance walked into the cell block while Shining organized the paperwork in the prison office. As she approached, the six roused themselves slowly, apprehensively. Cadance spent a moment or two just watching, whatever she thought she was going to say slipped from her mind; all that was left was the vague thoughtfulness directed towards nothing.

The mauve mare with a two tone gray mane, who Cadance had learned was named 'Grey Skies,' pulled Cadance from her thoughts. "Princess? If I may?" She said from the other side of the bars, respectfully, as it was.

"Of course."

"Will you..." She turned back to Point Flare, who nodded at the glance, "Will you protect us? From Silver? If this goes poorly?"

I can try

"You'll be safe, with or without me, but I will if need be. As will my husband." She said in a low tone.

Shining peaked his head into the open doorway leading into the metal jail hallway, "We're good to go."

Cadance turned back towards the ponies, "I'll be teleporting us all there."

Shining walked up next to her and spoke in his 'royal guard' tone, "And we'll be outside, and you will all be able to run" He paused for effect, "Don't."

There were several nods as Cadance lit her horn and began focusing. Teleportation definitely was something she could do on a good day, but an eight pony warp? 

Luckily you did the math

She had found the reference point for the Crystal Heart relative to their destination. Which meant she could manage her unique 'Loveport' as she'd been mentally calling it. She wrapped her magic around the surrounding ponies and herself, the initial targets being marked by her magic, and then she reached out for her location. The heart shone like a beacon and even though it wasn't alive, it always gave Cadance the sense that it was; it's presence said: "I am here, I Love you"

Nonetheless, her magic brushed against the beacon, and she mentally recounted the location she'd done the calculations for, with just the right amount of magic-

*pop* 

whoah

Cadance swayed a moment as her hooves tried to buckle beneath her. She was inside, specifically inside what looked like Silver's home.

"Ah! Hello!"

Oh, this is Silver's home? How did that happen?"

The other ponies in the room gathered up, each of them closing together behind Shining and Cadance at Silver's presence. The room had been redecorated to look like some foyer, or sitting room. There was a couch, a table, a throw rug that looked more expensive than it probably was, and numerous other random things that made the room look lived in; homely.

"I didn't think you all would be popping in like that, but evening nonetheless."

She felt Shining tap her on the shoulder, "You okay?"

"Yeah, that teleport took more out of me than I thought it would."

Silver was lounging upright on one of the seats with a hoofrest, there was a tea plate and pot balanced there, steam rising from it and a cup Silver had in her hooves, "Tea?" She said, not glancing at the pot to her right.

There was a silent standoff.

Silver broke it, "Oh please. That's an awful lot of fear for your new... employer" She ended with a malicious grin

To which it was, Cadance could feel the rising fear from the ponies behind her. Not active fear, but like rising anxiety at seeing something that had hurt you before.

"Don't antagonize them please."

Silver rolled her eyes

Shining spoke again with his guard voice, "This is: Point Flare, Kayfur, Rip Tide, Grey Sk-"

"Grey Skies, Hematite and Misty Scarlet, yes I know them well." Silver interrupted. She leaned back, seemingly composing herself, "Please you six, come sit." and gestured to the couches. In the same move, Silver used her magic, protruding from her hooves, to pour several cups of tea, and levitated them all to the table where she'd gestured the ponies to sit. Cadance felt the curiosity boom out from behind her, and Shining became apprehensive. 

"Ho-"

"Evil magic Shining Armor, and I'm supposed to be teaching it to you," She looked to Cadance, "Right?"

Shining hasn't seen that yet...

Cadance shook her head, "Just the defensive strategies, that's all."

Silver let out a contemplative hum, "Your tea will be getting cold soonish."

Cadance looked over her shoulder at the group. They featured general apprehension, but were slowly fading from being scared. She gave them a soft smile and a nod towards the couches. They took that as a go ahead, and the lot meandered over to the table. Misty and Hematite being the last two in the group to take seats, farthest from Silver.

Point Flare was the first to speak, "Cadance said you could fix my horn?"

Silver responded immediately, "Princess Cadance, and if she said that, she lied to you."

What?

Cadance dually questioned the correction for her title, and Silver's apparent lie.

"I can't fix your horn, it's gone. I can, however, make you a new one."

Oh... of course

Stupid Silver and her stupid word play.

Cadance mock frowned, and watched a short conversation between the criminals and the... admittedly bigger criminal.

"Will it be like it was before?" Point Flare asked

"You'll have to work up some physical resistance in the horn, since it will be fresh bone, but yes."

Kayfur, the only crystal stallion spoke up, "I think I speak for everypony when I ask: How?" He continued after a momentary pause, "Ponies ca-"

"Everyone." Silver interrupted.

"What?"

"This goes for all of you, if you're to work for me. No 'everypony' or 'anypony.' Say everyone, or everybody. Racism and xenophobia in Equestria and its territories is unacceptable. It's also very annoying."

There was a short wait before Misty, the only other unicorn besides Point Flare, spoke, "Who are you?"

Everypony besides Silver turned their gaze to Misty, who didn't shrink back to her credit.

"You must be referring to my 'attack' and I must apologize where it's due. I didn't mean to scare you all as much as I did." Silver took a short sip of her tea, "Truly a mistake."

"I struggle to see how... That could have been a mistake" Said Hematite

"Then you are short-sighted." Silver raised an eyebrow at her own quip and set her tea down.

"I'll be restoring your horn later, and for the rest of you, I have several jobs we will speak of in the morning. For now, I have business with the Princess and her Consort." Silver raised her hoof, and several conjured cerulean arrows lit up a path from the seating area into the furthest hallway. "There are some modest quarters, as well as a bunk room for those of you who would like to sleep together; please make yourselves at home while I conduct my business."

"When will yo-" started Grey Skies

"As soon as I am able, for now, go make yourselves comfortable."

There were several looks shared between the ponies before they began standing up again, and filing out of the space between the table and the couch. 

"Oh, and feel free to take that tea with you if you want."

They did not, and soon it was just Cadance and Shining.

And Silver.

Shining was the first to take charge of what was about to become a verbal battleground, if Cadance could tell from the rising tension.

"You understand that you are responsible for the safety and well being of those ponies?"

Silver, quick to retort, "I understand that I'm going to have to spend the next hour or so teaching you basic principles of magic."

"And me." Cadance said, hoping to throw her off,

"and the Little Princess apparently." Silver took a deep breath and tossed the teacup behind her as a wave of cerulean magic covered the room and everything began spinning. The couches and random tacky pictures spun and transfigured into other shapes and colours. The room itself bent inwards and outwards like it was breathing as it slowly expanded into a circle, instead of the rectangular sitting room. The walls hardened and lost their reflective transparency and the ground shifted under Cadance's hooves into powdered crystals. She felt wave after wave of indescribable emotion that passed too quickly for her to sense properly before the room groaned to a halt.

It was a sparring arena. She'd seen a couple of sand pits in Canterlot, and there was even one made with snow out in the encampment in The Empire.

"So." Silver dropped her stance low, and dug her hooves into the crystal powder. "What do you want to know?"

Shining looked at Cadance with a 'this is an absolutely terrible idea.'

Cadance hoped she could salvage the situation, "Now, Silver, we're not going to be doing anything unnecessarily dangerous right?"

"Actually, that's a good point." Silver gestured to Cadance, "Can you take fifteen steps to the side?"

Cadance did, albeit deliberately slow, keeping her eyes on Shining and Silver. After she was done, she turned to face the two of them. They stood in a triangle.

"There, now you're safe." Silver threw a blast of blue magic at Shining. He let out a short grunt of surprise, but raised a shield in time to catch the blast, the dome settling unevenly on the crystal powder floor.

"Hey!" Cadance yelled, and subsequently realized her limbs had sunk into several hooves into crystals that had solidified under her.

"First rule of dealing with any kind of dark magic user: Be prepared for the unpredictable!" Silver took flight as she spoke, and landed on top of Shining's shield, "Corruptive magics bend the mind, anyone you're fighting won't be of sound mind. You can't count on them to act normally."

Shining flared his horn and the shield rapidly expanded, throwing Silver into the air. Cadance watched as the ceiling grew away from her, stopping her from slamming into it, and instead making enough space for Silver to turn her vector into a spin. Catching the air in her wings and coming to a skidding halt on the ground.

"Second rule! Same as the first!" Silver disappeared in a flare of shadow dust just as Shining's blast flew through whatever was left. Shining's tail lifted in the same moment, and Silver shimmered into appearance with his tail in her right hoof.

Shining threw his back hooves into a buck, and his left hoof caught Silver in the jaw where it spread the flesh like a rock being chucked into a pond, his hoof sank into Silver's face, as her eyes lit up with black mist.

"Third rule." She said maliciously, as she took a leaning step into Shining's back leg. "Don't ever touch, or let yourself be touched by a dark magic user." The skin and flesh around her face where Shining's leg was embedded flicked like angry goop, trying to crawl up Shining's fur.

Silver took a step back and Shining stumbled forwards as his hoof was disconnected from Silver's grasp. He threw up a shield as soon as he was planted, and Silver dismissed whatever effect she was channeling.

"Now what did you learn?"

Shining snarled, "That you're bucking crazy!"

"Exactly! That's rule number one," Silver smiled and Cadance saw a sparkle in her eyes, "Any dark magic user that's attacking you is definitely insane; treat them like it, or their unpredictability will take you for a ride. What else?"

Shining's retort fell silent, and his snarl turned into a glare. He glanced once at Cadance. She shook her head as if to say, 'I can't help you here.' 

Despite what I'd like... I could get out of this little trap, but undoubtedly this is Silver's kind way of telling me not to get involved.

"Cmon, Shining, don't you want to show off for your wife?"

"I learned that you're a pansy that won't fight me head on." He yelled through his shield

"Perfect!" Silver said, switching to a condescending tone, "Any dark magic user that isn't completely insane, won't ever fight you directly. If you lose sight of your opponent, you're dead, or they've escaped."

Shining slowly turned his glare into a smirk of challenge, "I learned to play that same game back in basic." He dropped his shield and fired a blast which Silver sidestepped. Silver took a single hoofstep and then launched herself into the air. She twisted as she jumped, dodging Shining's second shot before diving towards him again. This time, Shining teleported to the other end of the room, and launched three bolts in sequence, two arcing around the sides, and one dead on, Silver shimmered out of existence when the bolts were halfway to their destination. They all struck the powder, and Shining threw up a shield. There were six seconds of undisturbed silence before Silver reappeared, knocking on his shield.

"And about this shield spell of yours."

Shining dropped the shield and fired a larger short range blast straight at Silver, who had to throw herself into the sand to dodge. The sight that Cadance saw next reminded her of Silver dancing. The speed at which she threw herself to the ground was turned into radial momentum as Silver hit the dirt with her wing, throwing her hooves and twisting her back while sliding across the ground like it was ice, Silver went from throwing herself down to the floor, back to standing and launching herself at Shining in less than a second.

Shining teleported at the last second as Silver went careening into a roll as she flipped and turned.

Shining fired several more blasts from the other end of the room.

Cadance watched this exchange happen a couple more times before she realized the premise. Shining couldn't take on Silver head on, and Silver wasn't going to try and do the same to Shining. He was just going to dodge until he got a lucky shot. He may have even been able to sustain it except for on the sixth clash, Silver sailed through Shining's shield like it wasn't even there, the spell folding like one would expect a piece of paper, rapidly dissolving into the air as Silver rapidly turned her dive into a halt, and booped Shining on the nose.

Shining shook his head in agitation and took several steps back.

"So about your shield."

He blasted her again. This time his mana bolt exploded in the air just in front of Silver, and Cadance saw the flickering slate gray plate of magic it hit fizzle out just as it did.

"What about it?" He huffed

"It's too easy to manipulate." Silver lifted her hoof and casted Shining's own shield. "The main issue is also its greatest strength. The fact that the shield is focused as a hard-mana projection from a single point means that the entire shield has the same stability, but the meta-magic manifold is basically just floating around in the wind."

Cadance tried to follow along. Basically what Silver was saying was that the shield was strong, but...

"So what?" Shining called out

"So it means," Silver continued, "That the actual shield can be interrupted with another spell. Anypony with enough conceptual understanding of magic can steal the energy you're using for your shield, and just use it for something else." The blue shield around Silver warbled and congealed into her hoof, shrinking down into the size and shape of a single ravioli. "Some parasitic magics are particularly useful in acting as a counter spell for 'loose' spells, since the caster can't even compensate without knowing exactly what was cast."

"Sounds like a problem I'll only have with you then."

"Yes indeed."

Shining's retort fell silent at Silver agreeing with him.

"But you should still factor in the fact that against dangerous magical opponents, your shield can be easily beaten by a foe with disruptive capabilities. If you fought Tirek when he escaped, you may have noticed that your shield did nothing to protect you; this is why."

Shining seemed to roll the idea around in his head, and after a couple of seconds, lit his horn again. This time, a new shield appeared, it was hexagonal in nature; Cadance recognized the structure as a particularly powerful 'all purpose' seven layer shield matrix.

"Ah..." Silver's shoulders went slack... "I knew the mare who crafted that spell's predecessor."

"Really?" Cadance said, from across the room.

"Yeah, say, do either of you know a 'Chrysalis'?"

Shining glared harder, and his spell dropped.

Cadance just hung her head, "I'm not even going to go there."

Silver just shrugged, "Another round?" She said to Shining, her response was getting a mana bolt to the face, sending her head over hooves into the powder. She came sliding to a halt and then her head popped up from the powder, "Whoo!" In the next moment she was in the air, and the spar continued.

After another hour of what may or may not be referred to as 'bullying' Shining into coming to several useful conclusions, Silver gave Cadance her written reports about 'spells' and they went on their way. The sun was down by the time they left. Shining was exhausted, but surprisingly content with the encounter, at least that's how he felt to Cadance.

Thus another day of dealing with Silver ended.

Heavens, I need a break