“Something is very wrong,” Silver Tongue said, pacing nervously in his guest chambers. Crispy sighed in irritation at being called to his room, but none the less waited patiently for the agitated stallion to calm down.
It had been over a week since Silver Tongue and his family had arrived in the Crystal Empire to organize the library. During that time, Silver Tongue had gotten closer to Gem Swirl, and for the first few days, they had gotten along fine, hanging out, enjoying each other’s company. But then she had started to grow distant. She seemed less interested in hanging out with Silver Tongue now, and more interested in staying in her house. Gem Swirl would stare out at the world with dull, glazed over expressions whenever she did leave the house. She hardly ate, and seemed to want to sleep more and more often. Silver Tongue was worried, but had no idea what to do, or what was wrong with her.
And if that wasn’t worrying enough, Silver Page was spending a lot of his time alone in his room, writing and muttering. He wrote sealed letters to Princess Celestia, and received sealed replies on a regular basis. When he was out and about, he all of that time in the library, researching some of the oldest books the Empire possessed. Something crazy was happening, and Silver Tongue didn’t like it at all.
“Why don’t you just ask your grandfather and Gem Swirl what’s wrong? Why mope around, doing nothing?” Crispy asked, pulling out a duster, deciding she might as well do some cleaning if she would be here.
“I have! Or at least, I’ve tried to! Gramps just avoids the question while Gem Swirl gives me the silent treatment!” Silver Tongue ground his hooves into the carpet in frustration. “And I’m not the only one worrying! Gold Dust might not seem like concerned, but I know her better than that! She is hardly getting any sleep, and is doing all of Silver Page’s work for him, in addition to her own. She can’t last like that!”
“And then there’s Princess Cadence and Shining Armor! They are really worried about gramps! He taught Shining how to have confidence in his magic and helped him improve his ‘Aegis Barrier’ spell. Then there’s Cadence, who views Silver Page like an uncle. He always had time to talk, and always listened to her problems. Silver Page is well known throughout Canterlot, not just as a retired adventurer but as a kind and helpful old stallion. If he keeps on this path, he’ll hurt other ponies, not just himself.” Silver Tongue threw his hooves up in despair, and flopped onto his bed, burying his anguish in the fluffy pillows.
Crispy rolled her eyes again, but in truth she too was worried, though mostly about Gem Swirl. She had never seen her like this, not even when King Sombra had been in power. This was new, and that wasn’t good in the maid’s opinion. Before she could say anything, though, the bedroom’s door burst open, and Silver Page stood in the doorway. His mane was even messier than normal, and he had tired circles under his eyes, but he seemed energetic regardless. A bugling saddlebag was on his back, but it didn’t seem to bother Silver Page. Silver Tongue looked up, curious.
“Silver Tongue! Meet me in the throne room right now!” He galloped off before his grandson could form a reply.
“What’s biting his rump?” Crispy mused, as Silver Page burst open Gold Dust’s room and said the same message as before.
Gem Swirl was exhausted. Each day it got harder for her to stay awake, and each day it got harder for her to care about anything other than sleeping. She looked over at the small glass bottle that stood on her side table next to her bed. She stared at it with a strange desire, waiting for it to refill.
She had learned early on that after drinking the Dream Drink, it took an hour after waking up for the bottle to refill with the wonderful brew. Furthermore, if the bottle broke, it would just fix itself, the shards gathering together and mending themselves. If there was liquid inside the bottle when it broke, it sucked itself back into the repaired vessel.
The dreams that came with the potion were wonderful beyond belief. Happiness and joy, wrapped in love and peace. She could have anything she wanted in the dreamscape. Anything. She gritted her teeth as she waited for the minutes to tick away. Gem Swirl was aware that she was dependant on the Dream Drink, but couldn’t bring herself to care. The world had been bright and cheerful the first couple of days, but now, Gem Swirl saw it all as grey and emotionless. Unappealing and boring, she wanted the comfort the dreams brought her. Whatever the cost.
“Good, you’ve all gathered.” Silver Page looked at the group that had gathered in the throne room. Princess Cadence sat on her throne, and Shining Armor stood by her side. Gold Dust and Silver Tongue stood by each other, facing their grandfather, and the one of maids was standing off in the corner. All were looking at him, a mix of curiosity and worry.
“I know you think I’ve gone mad these last few days, but I have not. I have been researching and talking with Celestia. I feel that I should tell you some of what is happening.” Silver Page paced around before speaking again.
“I can’t go into too many details, but this is what I can say. Gem Swirl has been in contact with a very dangerous individual, one that Celestia and myself had thought was gone, sealed by our efforts. I can’t speaks its name, but I fear it has given miss Gem Swirl a dangerous poison.” There was a stirring among the audience, looking at each other worriedly.
“What kind of poison?” the maid asked, stepping forward hesitantly, unsure if she would be allowed to be here.
“That is a good question. I’m not sure 100% sure, but I feel that it is something called Dream Drink.” Silver Page sighed, and rubbed his scarred shoulder. “It’s a potion that grants blissful sleep and wonderful dreams.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad, especially for somepony like Gem Swirl. I think that a potion like that is better than a poison,” Shining Armor mused.
“It is, and that is why Dream Drink is dangerous. At first, your dreams are full of joy, and the waking world is bright and inviting. But the more you drink, the more you depend on it. Dream Drink is a narcotic, it makes the drinker addicted to the dreams it offers, to the point that ponies see the world as a drab, boring mess. And then, they’ll want to sleep more and more. And once they’ve consumed a certain amount of the Dream Drink, they fall into a coma, never to wake up, lost in a dream till their body dies of hunger, thirst, or the elements of nature.”
Silver Page’s revelation was shocking, and there was silence as the ponies absorbed and contemplated this information.
“How much time do we have before the coma sets in?” Princess Cadence asked, and Silver Page shrugged.
“I don’t know, but we probably don’t have a lot of time to waste. It works fast, and in my experience, it can take a single week to a month. In Gem Swirl’s case, I’m inclined to imagine she has a few days left. Maybe less. Her pain and anguish is far beyond anypony I’ve seen in a long time, and to escape the pain, she’ll turn to the Dream Drink. Worst case scenario, she’s already succumbed.”
“Then we need to hurry! She hasn’t left her house in two days! It might already be too late!” Silver Tongue exclaimed, and he rushed out of the throne room.
“Silver! Wait!” Gold Dust called after him, but he was too fast, and not listening.
“I will go with him. Cadence, Gold Dust, please follow as soon as you can. I may need your magic,” Silver Page said, and he shot off after his grandson.
He caught up with Silver Tongue outside the palace, and kept pace with ease. Silver Tongue looked over, concerned his grandfather would stop him, but that didn’t happen.
“Where does Gem Swirl live, Silver Tongue?” Surprised, Silver Tongue quickly recovered, and gave a small grin as he led his grandfather to the small house on the outskirts of the city.
They soon reach her home, a small and modest looking cottage with a cozy feel about it. Something felt wrong, though. The lights were off, which wasn’t unusual, it was only early afternoon, but a sense of foreboding leeked from the dark windows, and a shiver crawled up Silver Tongue’s spine. Silver Page seemed to sense it too, and he stepped up to the door, knocking firmly on it. There was a pause, than Silver Page tried again. Silver Tongue pushed his grandfather aside and began to pound on the door, calling out.
“Gem Swirl, can you hear me? It’s Silver Tongue! Please, answer me!” As he relentlessly struck the door, a cracking sound resounded, and the door fell in, the hinges weakened by Silver Tongue’s abuse.
“Uh…”Silver Tongue looked guiltily at the now door-free entrance, and looked around nervously.
“We can fix it later! We need to check on Gem Swirl!” Silver Page said as he pushed Silver Tongue into the house.
The interior was dark, the only light coming from the now busted doorway and a few thin beams of sunlight filtering through the drawn curtains. It was sparsely decorated, and only a few pieces of furniture existed. There was a dining room that doubled as a kitchen off to one side, a living room with a reclining sofa and an empty fireplace, and a bedroom that was linked to the living room. No doors existed, the rooms open to each other. A few paintings hung on the wooden walls, but that was it. Silver Tongue hesitantly moved to the bedroom, and peeked inside.
Lying amidst soft looking sheets and pillows, Gem Swirl lay on her stomach, wisps of her light green mane obscuring her face, and Silver Tongue was struck by how beautiful her sleeping expression was. He reached over and brushed some loose stands of hair out of the way, and gazed down at her. Silver Page entered the bedroom behind his grandson momentarily, but his eyes were not on the Crystal mare, but on the tiny glass bottle perched innocently on her night stand. Silver Tongue saw the object of his grandfather’s gaze, and a sudden anger welled up from within. He swept the bottle off the table with a hoof, rage in his heart. His rage turned to shock, however, as the bottle smashed apart on the floor, but instantly repaired itself, the cracked shards flowing together to form the pristine vessel.
“Ignore it, Silver Tongue! It’s indestructible, so leave it alone for now.” Silver Page snatched up the bottle and threw it over his shoulder, hearing it smash apart in the next room, and the accompanying tinkling sound as it fixed itself. Silver Page leaned over Gem Swirl, and tapped his hoof on her forehead, her forelegs, and on her shoulders, noting her reactions to the stimuli. He then pried open her eyelids and examined the orbs beneath, muttering something to himself as he worked.
“This is bad,” Silver Page declared at length, just as Gold Dust and Princess Cadence appeared at the front door. They were taken aback that the door was in fact on the floor next to some splintered hinges, but let it slide as they hurried into the house.
“She’s entered the coma,” Silver Page announced, and Silver Tongue’s eyes widened in fear. Gold Dust and Cadence looked at each other remorsefully. “But she can be saved.”
The expressions on the ponies changed to one of surprise and hope.
“There is a spell, one that can delve into the mind of a sleeping pony. Princess Luna knows this spell, as Guardian of the Night, and I learned it from her during my time locked in my room. I have modified it, and I believe you, Gold Dust, and you Princess Cadence, may be able to perform it together.” Reaching into his saddlebag, still strapped to his back, Silver Page removed a scroll of paper, and unfurled it for the Unicorn and Alicorn to read.
“…It seems straightforward, but we have to cast it on a pony who is close to the subject…” Cadence began, but then stopped, realization dawning on her.
“Yes. You will have to cast the Dream Jumping spell on Silver Tongue.” The confirmation from Silver Page was delivered calmly, but an uncertainty was in his eyes. Silver Tongue gaped, and Gold Dust shook her head in protest.
“No way! I can’t risk that! He’s my cousin! What if the spell messes up? Like you say, there are many ways to cast magic, and many ways to fail!” Gold Dust shouted, stamping a hoof in defiance.
“I’ll do it.” Silver Tongue answered solemnly, and the group looked at him. “If it means I can save Gem Swirl, then I will try anything.” Gold Dust opened her mouth to protest, but the expression of her cousin’s face shut her up.
It took over an hour to prepare the spell, but thanks to Silver Page’s modifications and Luna’s notes, the process went smoothly. At last, Cadence and Gold Dust were ready, and they lowered their horns, Gold Dust to touch Silver Tongue’s forehead and Cadence to place her horn on Gem Swirl. Silver Page double checked the spell, and satisfied, gave a grunt of approval. Silver Tongue settled into a comfortable sitting position at the foot of Gem Swirl’s bed, and the spell began. Gold light washed over Silver Tongue, and a pink aura surrounds the comatose Crystal mare. Slowly, the golden aura upon Silver Tongue spreads across the bedsheets, and touch onto the pink aura.
Silver Tongue’s eyes were closed, but he wasn’t asleep. He had to be awake to enter the Dreamscape. At first, all he saw was blackness from his shut eyelids, and could hear the thrum of Gold Dust’s magic. Bit by bit, the thrumming, like a badly tuned harp, built in volume, until it reached a crescendo, then burst. The moment the sound stopped, he blinked. Light stabbed his retinas, and he gazed around a beautiful field of waving grain. The stalks were golden and ripe, and a sweet scent filled his nostrils. He looked around, and saw a clearing in front of him. A small hill rose from in front of him, and it was blanketed in lush green grass. Looking around, Silver Tongue deduced he was at the edge of a field, and the hill in front was the one he had laid upon with Gem Swirl all those days ago. He took a hesitant step forward. It all seemed so real, perhaps more vivid and bright than the waking world, and Silver Tongue could see how this place would be tempting to a hurt soul.
He heard laughter, strong and hearty, coming from the other side of the grassy hill, and Silver Tongue galloped forth to investigate. What he saw was unexpected. A picnic blanket was spread out on the grass, and all sorts of tantalizing, homemade dishes sat upon it. Around the feast six Crystal Ponies sat. Three wore crowns, denoting royalty. These must be her aunt, uncle, and cousin. A green coated stallion wearing a blue and purple tabard was the source of the laughter, while Gem Swirl reclined on the flank of a motherly look mare who had her colors. Silver Tongue sucked in his breath. Her parents, no doubt about that.
“Gem Swirl?” Silver Tongue called out, hesitantly. At the sound of his voice, the ponies all turned to face at him. He flinched, but they did nothing, except look.
“Silver Tongue? What’s going on? Why are you here? I didn’t call for you,” Gem Swirl said, standing up and walking over.
“I’m not a dream, Gem. I used a spell to enter your head.” Gem Swirl’s eyes lit up, and she embraced him. As she hugged him, he realized, for the first time, he could see her Cutie Mark. Normally, she covered herself with her dresses, so he never saw it. It was a light blue diamond wrapped in a silver ribbon, and he smiled.
“What?”
“First time I’ve seen your Cutie Mark. It looks good,” Silver Tongue replied, and Gem Swirl blushed at the compliment.
“Come over, I want you to meet my parents!” Gem grabbed his hoof, and started to pull him over to the group of ponies.
“This is my dad, Sword Swirl, and my Mother, Diamond Dance.” She pointed out her parents, and the nodded to me, smiles on their faces. “This Uncle Honor, Aunt Regal, and my cousin Glory!”
The introductions over, Gem Swirled tried to get Silver Tongue to sit, but he refused, and remained standing.
“What’s wrong, Silver?” She asked, worried.
“We can’t stay here.”
“You’re right! We should go into the city and say hello to the ponies down there! You should meet Crispy! She’s my maid, but also my best friend! She’s a bit older than me, like a sister!” Gem Swirl kept on talking, oblivious to Silver Tongue’s pained expression.
“No, I mean, we can’t stay here, in the dream.” That shut Gem up. She turned, a confused look on her face.
“This isn’t real! None of this is! You have to come back with me, now!” Silver grabbed Gem’s hoof, but she snatched it away, a look of anger and hurt on her beautiful muzzle.
“Why? Why do you want me to return? I love it here! I need to be here! Here, mom and dad are alive! They all are! Here, I’m whole!”
“I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life in a dream!” Silver Tongue began, but was cut off.
“But I do!” Gem Swirl screamed, and the vista changed immediately. The field was gone, replaced by pillars of black crystal. The grass on the hill was dead, and in the distance, the spires of the city were toppled and belching smoke and flames. Silver Tongue took a step back, startled.
“This is what awaits me outside! Pain and nightmares! I don’t want to wake up, if it means leaving my paradise!” As quickly as it came, the image faded and they were now in a warm and cozy living room, far larger and grander than the one Gem currently had.
“I don’t want to leave!”
“But if you stay in here, you’ll die! You’ll never wake up again, and be trapped!” Silver protested, but Gem shook her head furiously.
“I don’t care! Here, I don’t have to bear the scars King Sombra gave me! Here, I don’t have to hide in my home, afraid to look at the ponies in the streets, to know what horrors were inflicted upon them while I did nothing!” Gem Swirl collapsed on the carpet, sobbing, and Silver Tongue quickly wrapped his forelegs around her.
“They don’t blame you for anything that happened, Gem! They know it wasn’t your fault!”
Gem kept on crying, and Silver continued to hold her.
“You wouldn’t want to be with me, once you saw how I really look. He hurt me so badly, the scars can never fade. I will never be whole in the waking world. Only here can I be beautiful enough for you,” Gem sobbed, and Silver gripped her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“You are beautiful here, it is true, but you are just as lovely in the real world! You don’t need to hide it!” She pushed him off of her, and stood. As she did, her coat rippled, and Silver Tongue gasped at what he saw. Her entire flank was a mess, patches of her coat gone leaving behind burned flesh, and her Cutie Mark was torn up with scars and cuts, the lovely image on her brutalized in the most horrid of fashions. The hair on her tail was pale and sickly looking, and was cropped short, even burnt in some places. The tortures Sombra had lain upon her now visible to Silver Tongue for the first time.
Gem Swirl saw him gasp and she looked down, hurt by his apparent betrayal.
“See?! I am ugly! Filthy! Wretched!”Gem fell down again, and began to cry once more as her grief overwhelmed her.
What happened next surprised her. Silver Tongue rose, silent, and Gem thought he was planning on walking away from her. She trembled as his hoof steps echoed on the floor, but gasped when she felt something moist press against her ruined Cutie Mark. Gem opened her eyes to see Silver Tongue leaning down and kissing her flank, his lips pressed firmly against her wounds. Slowly, Silver Tongue let himself onto the floor to lie beside the mare, not once letting his kiss leave her. He pulled Gem Swirl close, and she gasped as he transferred his lips to her own. She resisted, mostly out of shock, but closed her eyes and went with it. After a while, he let her go, and she stared at him with wonder.
“You do not disgust me. You never could. No matter what happened to you in the past, I want to be with you now, in the present, in the real world. You’ll die if you stay here.” Silver pressed his forehead to Gem’s, and he looked into her eyes.
“This world is amazing, and here, your parents are alive. In the real world, they aren’t.” Gem tried to look away, but Silver gently held her in place. “It hurt's I know. In here, you can have everything you want. You don't have to suffer. In the real world, you will be hurt, you will cry, you will want to give up. But I can help you. I want to be the one who holds your hoof when you are sad, and I want to be the one who helps you recover whn you are in pain. In here, your family is whole, and out there they have perished. That will never change. But out there, many people still want to see you, want to help you and be there for you. That old butler who works at the palace. The maids. Crispy. Me.”
Silver looked into Gem’s eyes, and held her gaze.
“I love you.” Silver spoke the truth he had felt in his heart all this time, and Gem looked at him in surprise.
“I, I love you too,” Gem stammered, weakly.
“We need to wake up now. We have a whole world to see. A whole, real world.”
Silver Tongue’s eyes snap open, and he quickly takes in the scene. He was still lying on the foot of Gem’s bed, and Gold Dust and Princess Cadence stood over them, eyes closed, their magic starting to fade. Gold Dust was the first to recover, and she gave a squeal of joy as she wrapped herself around Silver Tongue in a crushing hug.
“Oh, thank Celestia you’re alright! I was worried you’d never wake up!” From a crack in the curtains, he could see the onset of dusk appearing in the sky. He looked over at Gem Swirl, concerned, but he was soon rewarded by her eyes fluttering open. He disengaged himself for Gold Dust and threw a hug around the Crystal mare. Cadence and Gold Dust cough politely and look away.
“Good evening, Gem,” he said softly, and she smiled up at him. Silver Tongue let her go after a bit, and looked around, trying to find Silver Page.
“Grandfather left once the spell was underway,” Gold Dust explained, when she saw her cousin’s search. Silver Tongue cocked his head.
“Why?” Gold Dust shrugged.
“I don’t know. We didn’t ask, but he said he be back before dinner.” Silver Tongue rolled his eyes. Silver Page was probably cooped up in the library again, reading.
In the Crystal Mountains, there was a large series of caverns that were made of ice and black stone. He knew the path well, even though he hadn’t been here in years. It had taken several hours to reach this place, even riding a sled pulled by eight husky dogs. Silver Page clambered over the rocks, slick with ice, and made his way up the sheer cliff face and into the caves. He headed deep into them, but had no need for light. Old sunstone were embedded in the walls and glowed softly in the gloom, refracting upon the ice and frost. He stepped into a wide area, the central cavern. Here, there were many sunstones that cast odd shadows, and perhaps most surprising, furniture. Old wooden bookshelves were caked in frost, and an old worn bed was slick with ice. Snow was piled on a table that was on its side, and in the center stood a statue. It was a statue of an Earth Pony mare, who sat on the icy ground with frozen tears in her eyes. But her expression was the most heartbreaking to see, a mixture of fear and sadness, but also of peace and acceptance of her fate. And it was all made of solid ice.
“Lovely, isn’t it?” A figure emerged from one of the pools of shadow in the room, and stood next to the ice sculpture. Silver Page tensed, and the figure turned into a rust red Unicorn with eyes bright with madness.
“I’m surprised you made it up here all on your own, Silver Page. You aren’t as young as you used to be.”
“I’m seventy seven, young enough to kick your teeth in,” Silver Page said, a low growl in his throat. “And take it off, you look ridiculous.”
“What do you mean? I’m just a humble Unicorn, a humble Toymaker.” When Silver Page said nothing and just glared, the Unicorn sighed.
“Fine! Always so uptight, even after all these decades.” The Unicorn’s horn blazed, and crimson sparks erupted from it. Fire the color of blood washed over his body. It distended and engorged, swelling with increased muscles. His legs elongated, and his tail got longer. A pair of wings ripped from his back, the same rust color as his horn and mane. His coat turned a different color, however, the red leeching away to become a dull alabaster grey. On the flank, an upside down black and white tragedy mask was his Cutie Mark. The fire faded, and an Alicorn stared down at Silver Page, eyes still full of insanity.
“It’s been a while, Silver Page. You’ve gotten so old.”
“Likewise, Forgery, though I can’t say I’ve missed you.” The Alicorn laughed. He tapped the ice statue with a hoof, and grinned at Silver Page’s enraged expression.
“You have no right to touch her, Forgery! Not after you did this to her!”
“Oh, so righteous, little Silver Page. But it was also you that made her like this, or have you forgotten? I just gave her the power, and the warning about what the consequences would be if she failed. You were the one who broke her.” The Alicorn laughed darkly, and tapped the frozen mare again.
“I gave her my love. That is what hurt her, and I am indeed to blame. And I have never stopped hating myself for it.” Silver Page took a step forward, hate and sadness boiling within him.
“She was weak! She had all the power she could want, but gave it up for the worthless illusions of kindness and love,” Forgery spat, his words harsh. “And she paid the price for that betrayal.”
“Your artifacts and curses may be strong, but they are not strong enough to defeat love. You cannot control the heart,” Silver Page said. Forgery narrowed his eyes.
“For now.” His words were heavy with dark promises, and he turned away. “Spend your time with this foolish mare, I have work to do.” His horn buzzed as the vile Alicorn prepared to teleport away. “But know this, my old friend! I will be back, and this time, I will finish what I started. Equestria will bend to my will, and the whole world will be mine.” Forgery erupted in a fountain of magical fire, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
The Alicorn gone, Silver Page approached the mare who had been frozen for all time, and pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes closed as tears ran down his cheeks.
“I am so sorry, Glass Heart. I am so, so sorry for hurting you.” Silver Page wept softly for a moment, and then opened his eyes, a fierce determination burning within. “And I will stop Forgery once and for all this time.” Silver Page threw back his head and roared.
“Do you hear me, you monster?! I will stop you, if it’s the last thing I do!”