Null-Magic Pegasus

by Scors

Chapter 2 - Silver's Rescue

It had been a quarter hour, and this pegasus was still setting up her story. Doc found it a little frustrating, but decided to let her go on. She was a lot more stable than his colleague had warned him about, but he didn't want to push her out of whatever frame of mind that made her so stable, and agreeable.
So far, the Doc had gotten the gist of it, so he tried letting it play out in his own mind as the mare had described it.

It was Saturday night, busiest night of the week for Spectrum Mane and definitely the biggest money maker for the owner. The club interior was shaped as a circle, despite the mostly square building that housed it. The front doors curved out and onto the street, making it seem like the club was trying to bust out of the box it was placed in. The owner had once tried that very theme, but it went over badly as the cheap contractor didn't make the facade properly. There were still two lawsuits left to go through. The windows on the doors were one-way glass specifically designed to keep the outsiders from looking in but everypony inside could see those in line.
The club wasn't the fanciest around, but it wasn't the worst off, either. It was well known to ponies in Manehatten as a great place to party and have fun and possibly stay the night if necessary in one of the several guest rooms the club had in the building above.
The pony standing behind the turntables could hear the bass from the main speakers even through her headphones, which slightly threw her off as they were supposedly noise canceling. What do I expect from somepony who doesn't test their stuff thoroughly? the amateur DJ thought to herself. She wasn't a skilled DJ, but the ponies partying below didn't seem to care. They were still having a good time, though Silver chalked it up to the drinks they were serving rather than the mid-level stuff she'd made. She wasn't bad, Silver knew that just from the lack of an angry mob on the crescent-moon dance floor below, but she wasn't anywhere near the best. Thus the lack of good headphones and pay, Silver thought to herself.
She wasn't in too good a mood tonight, thus the reason she was wearing her DJ Pon-3 knock-off shades instead of the contacts she normally wore. While the contacts were great for when she was calm, the enchantment her sister put on them to make them work also kept her in check when she wasn't in complete control, like that night. The funny part was that no pony seemed to care that she totally stole the look of DJ Pon-3 or that the shades were actually a bright baby blue instead of deep purple.
The origin of the shades wasn't totally horrible, though. She'd met the famous DJ in one of her first school field trips. Several schools were taking field trips to Canterlot at the time to tour the city. Some lucky ponies, Silver and the filly-sized DJ of that time included, were given a special tour of the Royal Palace itself. Silver had noticed the DJ's shades and had inquired where she got them, which the filly happily filled her in on. The shades had hid her eyes perfectly, something Silver desperately wanted at that time. Maybe with those shades ponies would lighten up on teasing her.
The shades had stayed with her ever since. They were her prized possession as they not only signified the time she met the now-famous DJ but they also bookmarked a new chapter of her life: Silver's confident years. She also used them to promote DJ Pon-3 whenever any pony inquired about them. It was the least she could do even after all these years.
The pop of the custom-made vinyl brought Silver out of her reminiscing in time to switch the records quickly with yet another of her custom-made ones. She'd figured a good, low-frequency pop would do wonders for predicting the end of a record, and it had worked for a while. But it wasn't until she inverted the pop accidentally on a record that it turned out to be perfect for her as the supersonic sound seemed more inclined to reach her ears and not the party-goers'.
It was on this change, though, when something caught the pegasus' attention: a mare running by the bouncer at the door. Silver had noticed because she looked terribly out of place in this part of the city and Check, the bouncer at the right door, hadn't even flinched. Either he's asleep again or that's somepony important among the clubs, Silver thought to herself as the mare pushed her way through. Her head kept twitching at each bass note, which confirmed Silver's original thought of her not really belonging here. But it wasn't long until she found out why she was in the club: four large colts had slipped between Check and Deck (no relation) and were standing inside the doorway, the one in front looking rather angry about something.
It was when the colt caught eye of the mare who was half-way to the stage and started charging that Silver decided to interject. The only question then was how to do it without getting anypony else hurt or lose funding for the club. So, she took plan B. Not the best of plans, but it'd work out. Silver had a trick to use, a particular new talent that Silver had been coaching for a while. She wasn't at the level of someone like DJ Pon-3, but she did have the potential to reach it.
"Well, everypony, it's been a great night!" Silver shouted over the crowd. A lot more ponies turned to look at her than she'd planned. I just hope I don't get both of us thrown out, Silver thought to herself as the remaining ponies continued dancing to the still-playing record.
"But I made a promise to a rising talent and I think she'd be better starting someplace with the nicest group of ponies I've met!" Silver wasn't lying, either. Spectrum Mane was actually the nicest club in terms of patrons. She'd made a lot of mistakes when she was starting, and the response in a lot of clubs, excluding Spectrum, was the prompt removal of the offending DJ and her records.
A pale yellow unicorn walked up the stage-left stairs at her cue, her long, curled pink mane swaying slightly with each step. Silver turned to her and smiled, motioning her to come up and introduce herself. She complied, though obviously nervous. They'd agreed that Sound Stream would one day soon wrap up one of Silver's sets, and Silver had completely planned to surprise her when she did. It worked out perfectly, if a bit sooner than Silver's liking.
"Hey, everypony," the unicorn said in a shaky voice. The crowd just watched.
It wasn't until Silver heard her custom pop on the record that she nudged the unicorn with her hoof."Records, go, now."
The unicorn forced a nervous laugh before turning to the tables and levitating her own record on. The second the arm hit, however, the room went back to dancing, completely forgetting the DJ's had changed. Silver took the opportunity to wish the new talent good luck before dashing down the left stairway, the way the mare from earlier had gone. She got through the staff-only door to the back just in time to see the four colts dash out the opposite end.
This was Silver's least favorite part about these situations: chasing. It was always exciting, true, but it just didn't appeal to Silver too much. But she persisted and ran down the hallway, ignoring the ponies waving at her as she whisked by.
Silver wanted to catch them in the club, not on the street. At least in the club she could hold them and maybe, just maybe, avoid a fight. At least the club security made a good deterrent to it, but outside in the street there was little deterrent. Especially if she runs down the wrong alley.
The pegasus burst out the back of the club into a narrow alleyway. Two dumpsters and a bag of garbage were the only features that the pegasus noticed before she closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her.
She could hear carts being pulled by ponies in the wide street 80 feet to her right. The street was wide enough to host five carriages side-to-side, though only two lanes of traffic existed. Many, many pedestrians were walking the sidewalk on the street, each talking and walking loudly. But it was the lightning bugs in the lamps that really bugged Silver. I wish those were solar, I really do, Silver thought to herself as she put her whole mind to sifting through all the sounds.
Mother with a crying baby walking down the sidewalks towards the apartments. That's not it.
Carriages moving quickly up and down the street, some pulling over to let passengers out. Filter that out.
Three teens planning a prank on some unsuspecting filly in the club next door. Nope.
Random ponies exclaiming as another pony ran by, out of breath, hard hoofsteps on pavement. Bingo.
She honed in on the ponies and took off towards the street. Way too fast, way too soon as a carriage suddenly stopped right in front of the alleyway. A shot of adrenaline took Silver over as she barreled towards the offending transportation. The only thoughts through her head were Cart cart cart cart cart!!! as she pumped her wings once and jumped. She sailed through the air, hoping the carriage had no glass in the windows, and pulled her wings in tight, trying to minimize her already small physique. That hope proved fruitful as she seemed to soar slowly through the carriage, the occupants staring as she passed. Silver landed on the other side and her reflexes began working overtime, proving why she deserved the name Quick Silver.
A carriage from the right came at her and she expertly dodged it, narrowly missing the carriage passing by going the other direction, pulling a few hairs from her mane as it passed. Once she had enough wing space, though, she jumped on top of the carriages and began carriage-hopping down the street before reaching the corner she wanted.

"Woah, wait a minute." Doc had to interrupt here. "You jumped through a carriage, dodged two more in the time frame of about six seconds with minimal space between and then decided to jump on top of them?"
Silver looked at him perplexed. "Yeah, why?"
"Well, it sort of defies what a pony can normally do, even a pegasus." Doc put a fine point on the end of his statement.
Silver shook her head before pointing at her cutie mark. "Doc, my special talent is dodging. Technically, it's moving really fast and fluidly, but it's mostly triggered by reflexes. Thus dodging."
Doc looked at the cutie mark for a second. It looked like 3 drops of liquid mercury, each one doubling the size of the last as they approached her tail in their zig-zag style. "Still amazing," was all Doc could say.
"Could I please continue?" Silver asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Doc could only nod and returned to the scene playing out in his head, guided by the pegasus's story.

Silver had been following the unique sounds of the mare's hoofsteps as she'd been running. It was easy to pick out after she'd taken a third turn and started heading towards the dead end of town. The section of the city ponies avoided at night, as was evidenced by a lack of any other ponies. And no more street lamps, thank Celestia, Silver thought to herself. Trying to siphon anything from the constant buzz was really difficult, especially for Silver.
Wait, where's the sound? Silver thought as she realized the hoofsteps had also stopped. Her answer came in the form of a very faint, but very clear, cackle. The colts had caught her in an alleyway. Oh, come on! You were doing so well!
Silver followed the cackling to the middle of the street. The buildings loomed around her like sleeping brick golems, totally black and lifeless. Golems is a nice comparison for SQUARES, Silver chastised herself as she jumped at the entrance to the alleyway. She bounced off the wall in front of her and landed with a metallic clang on the dumpster she had not been expecting. Pain shot through her hooves, but she still stayed upright, and her wits kept about her.
The alleyway was, as usual, filled with garbage bags and the two dumpsters that serviced the businesses on either side. Two doors stood towards the end of the alleyway, both were originally black but age had faded them. Above the left door hung a small lamp, this one (thank Celestia) was electric, and somepony had apparently forgotten to turn it off. The red bricks of the walls were in good condition but still showed their age beneath the peeling dark red paint. The ground was mostly loose cobblestone, really good for holding one's ground and digging in. The stairs leading to each door numbered three for each side, and could prove a small issue if this fight got overly mobile.
The scene within this alleyway, however, caused Silver a mix of relief and urgency. The mare from before had found herself in front of a brick wall. The doors on either side of her must've been locked if she was still in here. Her amethyst eyes held a fear that the rest of her body didn't hold. She had her head low, ready to fight the four colts in front of her. She's either really courageous, or really out of her mind, Silver thought to herself.
The unicorn was big, obviously very strong and had the color of mocha. His black mane sort of didn't match, though, which Silver found odd. Then it wasn't as she noticed the other three earth ponies making up the unicorn's posse were all the same coat and mane color. They must have been at a party or dyed themselves before the night started. Maybe for this moment, maybe just to have fun and ran into this mare. Silver didn't care, she wanted to make this as simple as possible and figure out details later.
All four of the colts turned to look at Silver the second she'd landed earlier than intended. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" Silver tried to sound like just some passerby. Okay, improvise, delay, and try to avoid a fight, Silver thought to herself, having no actual plan beyond catching up to these ponies. And if they want a fight, show them why you don't mess with a Silver. This thought put the smile on Silver's face that she needed to add to her act.
"None of your business, filly. Just walk away," The unicorn responded in his best threatening tone. If looks could kill, Silver would've died a few times. But that'd take magic to do, and Silver wasn't worried about it.
"You alright over there?" Silver asked the shaking mare. Silver decided to take in the mare's appearance as well in case she managed to duck out during the fray. She was a light grey earth pony with a black mane. A single pink bowtie adorned her neck, which intrigued Silver. She tried to hide the fear she had, but Silver wasn't fooled. The mare knew she was outmatched and assumed Silver was, too.
"Not sure how you'd help," the mare responded through clenched teeth.
High society. No wonder you didn't fit in, Silver thought.
"Watch out!"
The mare's voice pierced the silence but it was too late. The pony closest to Silver had tried to grab her from the dumpster, but her reflexes acted quicker. Silver had already jumped above her would-be captor and pulled a front flip, leaving the stunned colt draped on the dumpster she'd been on earlier. She landed with a thud on the cobblestone ground, looking at the unicorn leader. A faint crack behind her and the lack of a baby-blue hue over the world told Silver that her shades had fallen off during the flip and had broken a lens.
The other three colts stood staring at the pegasus's unique eyes. Pure silver stared back at them, a fountain of rage slowly welling up within the pony whom they belonged to. "Those. Were. My. Best. Shades." Silver punctuated each word with venom as she lowered her head and allowed the rage to bubble to the surface. "I was going to talk and convince you four to leave," she said, the rage within her reaching the zenith. She'd want that for this. Every drop was going to be either vented into these ponies or the surrounding area. "But instead, I'm going to tell you one thing: back down now."
The unicorn started laughing, though he was the only one. "Or what? You're going to stare us to death with your screwed up eyes?" He suddenly stopped laughing and pointed at the pegasus. "Shorty first."

"'Shorty first'?" Doc couldn't help it. He'd heard ridiculous insults before, but that was just plain unimaginative. True, the pegasus in front of him was smaller than most but she obviously wasn't somepony you'd call 'short' and get away with it.
"It's what he said," Silver replied, shrugging her shoulders, "I can't help what other ponies say. But I can help teach them the errors of their ways." Silver's smile genuinely scared the psychologist. He tried not to show it, but Silver must have caught it anyway because she started laughing, that element of 'homicidal maniac' gone from her in a flash. That wasn't an element Doc particularly liked to see.
"Well, what did you do?"
"Nothing."
"Wait, what?" Doc couldn't help the bewildered look he knew he had.
"It wasn't my move. It was theirs, and the two idiots not still draped on the dumpster in a dumbfounded fashion followed orders."

The two aggressors attempted to flank Silver on both her left and right. They approached quickly, almost cat-like, except for one flaw: Silverwing was a pegasus, not an earth pony.
Silver tensed the muscles in both her wings, waiting for the perfect moment. Waiting as they got closer... and closer... until they were in perfect line across from one another. Silver jumped directly in between the two earth ponies, gaining shocked looks before she released her wings and effectively plowed them into the walls of the alleyway. Pain shot through her wings as the ponies on the ends impacted the brick walls, the vibrations of cracking bones being sent down her tightened muscles. Silver really hoped those weren't hers and she'd just cracked the ribs of the two ponies, but the games were on now.
The unicorn stood stunned as Silver retracted her wings, letting the two ponies fall in the garbage bags directly below. The pony that had tried to grab her before moved forward, faster and more direct than the other two, taking a swing at Silver. She dodged it with ease, practically smiling at the attempt. This ticked off the third colt, causing him to stand up on his hind legs and start swinging wildly. Every swing he made Silver dodged expertly and with perfect precision. She felt his hoof brush her ear as she dodged for the last time. She couldn't keep backing up lest she bring the other mare into this fight. That was unacceptable, this was her fight and she was going to enjoy it.
Silver's last dodge moved her forwards, giving her a perfect chance to nail the offender right below the rib cage, which she promptly did. She held back, though, not wanting any serious damage, with the rest of her blows. Each one landed perfectly as she was taught. One to the right shoulder, one on the left rib cage, centered third rib down. Sidewind into neck then finish spin with sweep of rear legs. It was over quickly, but the pony lying on his back on the ground gave Silver a sense of satisfaction. She was a violent pony, but she never looked for fights. Well, that is to say she never started them. She'd happily end it, though.
The sound of a horn lighting perked Silver's interest as she stared at the unicorn leader she'd almost completely forgotten about. His face looked well focused as he tried to cast a spell, the red aura around his dyed horn backing this theory up.
"Now, my little pony. You're going to dance," he said through a wicked smile.
Her well of rage having drained back to a manageable level, Silver decided to have fun with this unicorn. He obviously was trying to cast the spell on her, but he had no idea who he was messing with. "Absolutely. As soon as you teach me," Silver said with a smile.
This elicited a blank blink from the unicorn before he tried to concentrate harder. Again, backed up by the intensified glow around his horn. "Why. Won't. This. Work?" He barely got out through his intense concentration.
"Well, honestly? No pony knows. But it's not you, it's me," Silver said, sitting on the ground and taking tabs on her wings. She felt a small twinge of pain as she tried moving her wing tips. She'd fractured the bones, putting them out of commission for a while.
The unicorn finally gave up and relented his intense concentration, the aura fading from his horn. But the anger in his eyes only intensified. "Then I'll make you dance myself."
Silver had expected this. Aggressive, blunt, and oblivious to the fact that she'd just taken out three EARTH ponies in hoof-to-hoof. Silver was done with this fight. It wasn't worth it, honestly. And the sound of sirens approaching told her to really wrap this up. The unicorn tried to charge in, his head lowered like a bull with one horn. Silver countered it easily, only needing to spin on the spot, bringing her hind leg to the side of the unicorn's head. He ran straight into the dumpster next to him, the added momentum of Silver's kick impaling his horn into it, knocking the final colt out cold.
"Well, that was disappointing," Silver stated to nopony.
"Wow." the voice from behind Silver made her jump. She'd completely forgotten about the mare behind her. Silver turned around to look at the mare, her reflexes putting her in battle mode again. "Eep" was all the mare could manage before she froze. Silver closed her eyes, imagining her rage and lust of violence being put back in its box. The tactic her first psychologist recommended worked really well. Silver felt her muscles relax and the last of her anger drain.
"Sorry. Just hard to stop once I've started," Silver stated, looking at the mare in question, the last of her rage finally vented.
"They really are silver, aren't they?" The mare stared at Silver.
Right, lost the shades, Silver thought before she walked towards where she'd heard her shades land earlier. "Yeah, they are," Silver said, a touch of hostility permeating the simple response.
"Are you--"
"Blind? No, but sometimes I try to be," Silver replied. She'd heard every excuse in the book about her silver eyes, but none held true. She was an anomoly, just like being immune to magic. A unique case in a cruel student body driven world. Silver finally found the frames of her glasses lying behind the small staircase to the door, under the lamp in the wall. Silver sat down, feeling a small tear form in her eyes as she picked up what remained of her most precious possessions
The lenses had been smashed on the corner of the brick wall, shards of baby blue glass spread all over the ground. The frames themselves were bent completely out of shape, resembling pies with slices missing rather than the shape of pony eyes.
"Thank you for saving me." The mare had walked up to Silver's side, and for once the pegasus didn't notice the clopping of hooves on rock. She didn't hear the sirens pull up or the officials start yelling at her. She just sat in the corner, looking at what remained of the best chapter of her life. The best part of her life. The only part of her life she'd ever wanted to preserve.