Twilight awoke with a pounding in her head like a series of miniature explosions going off inside. She was in a cave, alone. The darkness was only broken by a single torch a few feet from her. She enveloped it in her magic and began to walk around.
"If you wait, I can just turn the lights on," a voice called out. Not long after, the room seemed to light itself. It was dim, but enough light to see. Some of the rocks were not just rocks, they were light gems, and they lined the cave walls. Twilight gave into her senses and dropped the torch. She looked around admiring the greens and blues that filled the now large looking cave.
"Where am I?" Twilight asked to the air, hoping the strange voice would answer.
"A hideaway," the voice answered. "I was forced to leave the Colony when the shadows came," it continued, and now sounded like it was moving. "I tried to save as many as I could before even I had to leave. Whatever it was, we were no match for it." Queen Chrysalis now walked from behind a large glowing gem. Twilight was quickly on guard and her horn sparked light. She meant business and did not want to take any chances. She remembers. Same legs with holes and turquoise mane and tail and even her wings, but somehow something felt different.
"What do you want?" Twilight shouted, slowly taking steps to avoid Chrysalis from getting closer. The queen merely smiled devilishly and began to circle Twilight.
"What do I want?" Chrysalis chuckled cruelly, then gave Twilight a stern look. "I want my kingdom back from whoever took it! It wouldn't happen to be those menacing princesses of yours, would it? Or maybe you decided you would try and take my kingdom and stage an act using black magic, hmm?"
"Why would I want a your-"
"Shut your mouth, foal!" She shouted at Twilight before she could say anything about her kingdom. "I will not have some goody-four-hooves slandering My Colony." Her horn began to light a devilish green which caused Twilight to take stance against her. Chrysalis's horn beamed around her, and Twilight put up a shield. The beams were not in Twilight's direction, however. Instead they were lighting the gems behind Twilight. There was a makeshift bed behind her and laying on it was Silver, unconscious. Chrysalis walked to him. When she reached him, her horn once again glowed its sickly green glow, and it enveloped Silver.
"He's helped you enough," she shouted. "I don't want you hurting him like you hurt my brother!" Twilight teleported to Chrysalis and pushed her away from Silver. Chrysalis then proceeded to pick Twilight up in her magic and throw her against one of the cave walls and walked back to him and continued her work, enveloping Silver in her magic again. Silver woke, eyes green as grass. He looked up to Chrysalis.
"Mother, you're back," he smiled.
"Yes," she hushed him. "Now go back to sleep. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Silver happily nodded and obeyed, laying his head back down.
"You poisoned him like you poisoned my brother!" Twilight accusingly shouted at Chrysalis. She paid her no mind, continuing her work on Silver. "Stop it!" Twilight shot a magical beam from her horn. Chrysalis took it full on. Her knees buckled, but she kept her concentration on Silver. Twilight charged toward Chrysalis. Chrysalis responded by turning and kicking Twilight away.
"He is very sick," Chrysalis finally spoke to Twilight with a booming voice, "and if you want him cured, I suggest you allow me to do my work." She turned back to him, concentrating once again.
"Likely story coming from the queen that doesn't care for anypony. Now stop it, or I'll stop you!"
"Believe me or not, but what I am doing right now is the only thing keeping him from going insane," Chrysalis said, keeping her focus on Silver. Twilight caught a glimpse of the concern the queen was showing for Silver."He did a very stupid thing trying to save me like he did." She gently nuzzled him, pushing his head in a more comfortable-looking position. Twilight allowed the glow from her horn to evaporate.
"What did he do?" Twilight now calming herself, walked closer to Chrysalis.
"He used his love of his mother to save me," Chrysalis quietly stated as if she were worried someone might hear her. Then she turned to Twilight. "All of it."
"What does that do?" Twilight asked, concerned.
"It can drive ponies insane, or-" Chrysalis halted her thoughts as if she were pondering an idea that scared her. She took a deep breath. "Has he been in Canterlot all this time?"
"Well," Twilight began to answer, "ever since he came from Tartarus, yes."
"You mean he's been at the gates for a thousand years?" Chrysalis loudly inquired, surprised by Twilight's answer.
"More like inside them." This caught her attention.
"Inside?" Chrysalis yelled. Twilight nodded.
"He's been in Tartarus for a while now."
"So, you know?" Chrysalis asked cryptically.
"Know what? His age?" Chrysalis shook her head. "Then no. He hasn't said much about his past to me, other than he had done some things that he regrets."
"Indeed he has," Chrysalis's more regal tone was coming out. "He's also accomplished a variety of good in his life, so don't let him fool you," she again turned to Twilight. "He's very pessimistic and quite shallow minded when he thinks about himself." Twilight was caught off guard by Queen Chrysalis's sincerity. For a moment it seemed like she actually cared for Silver. The green aura around Silver's body dissipated. "I think that might do. Now I need some rest. Go guard the door." Twilight gave Chrysalis a surprised look.
"Why should I?" She protested.
"Well I would most certainly like to live to see tomorrow," Chrysalis remarked, tired eyes drooping.
"Then why don't you do it?" Twilight said standing her ground.
"I'm very tired, if you haven't noticed, and I've been watching this whole time. You owe me."
"You hurt my brother and tried to take over Equestria," Twilight answered. "You owe me."
"Look," Chrysalis sighed, "if you want to sit here and argue, we can, but I'm having trouble staying awake as it is and I will probably pass out soon." Twilight could tell she was telling the truth. Twilight could hear the exasperation in Chrysalis's voice. She just had a hard time attempting to like the idea.
"Fine," she huffed. "I'll go." She walked a few steps then stopped and turned back around. "Where is the door exactly?"
"Past the large light gem then take a right," Chrysalis then rudely remarked, "It's hard to miss since we're in a cave." Twilight rolled her eyes and walked to the cave entrance. Surprisingly, the cave actually had a door. It was probably magically hidden from the outside, but Twilight would not be able to know for sure unless she went outside. She did ponder on the thought for a while, but decided against it after hearing Chrysalis's story.
Watching the door was extremely boring and Twilight had nodded off several times, quickly waking herself back up in case Chrysalis just happened to change her mind about letting herself and Silver stay, or maybe there was a true threat outside the cave and Chrysalis was unwilling to risk letting in whatever may lie beyond the door. Either way both thoughts made Twilight feel uneasy. Hours passed but they felt like days to Twilight who was merely sitting next to a door where her only true excitement came from having to recharge the light gems. Eventually her eyes took charge themselves and closed on their own.
Twilight was suddenly awoken by a strange sense, her eyes slowly opening, then she realized what she was in. Fire with a sickening presence surrounded her. It hissed at her every which way she turned her head, and the whispering had returned. She tried to run, but the fire kept her stuck in one place. She tried to use her magic, but the fire simply broke free of every spell she could toss at it. The whispering grew into laughter as Twilight's feeble attempts to put it out were put to shame. Then the laughter became more apparent and familiar.
Then the fire kicked up, towering over Twilight. Its pink and purple glow forced itself higher even and eventually formed a dome over Twilight, laughing growing more intense.
"Stop it!" She shouted. The fire enclosed on her and she made a desperate outward expansion of her magic, forcing the fire outward and causing it to ignite further around her. She could now tell she was in Ponyville, and every part of it was on fire. She looked around for anypony, but it looked as though it had already been deserted, leaving just her, but as she began to run, she noticed Applejack and her other four friends stuck inside Sugarcube Corner, they were trapped inside, banging on the windows with not luck on getting them open. "Girls!" Twilight shouted. "Hang on! I'm gonna get you out of there I promise!" Twilight was banging on it incessantly with no luck, even her magic was useless against the window. "No!" she cried, helplessness taking over her. "No," she said beating the window hopelessly. Rarity and Fluttershy holding each other, and even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were now tearing up. Applejack tried to speak to Twilight, but the whispering was louder, keeping her from being able to hear Applejack. "I'm so sorry," she cried, still clawing at the window, tears running down her face.
"Aw dear child, do you need help?" A familiar voice called from behind Twilight.
"Silver?" She looked up and around, but no pony was there.
"Not quite," the voice answered, and the whispering seemed to grow more excited. Twilight turned to her right and saw the fire parting, curling at his hooves as he walked forward, a black stallion, the pink and purple fire protruding from his mane, tail, and hooves. Twilight immediately recognized him when she saw his eyes, his devilish orange dragon eyes. She watched in awe and fright as he walked forward, terrified of what he might do. Twilight's friends still sat in the burning room, also stunned by the unicorn stallion.
"You would help?" Twilight cautiously asked.
"Of course," his eyes narrowed and he gave a wicked grin as his horn lit up. The entire Sugarcube Corner was ignited in bright, sickeningly hot flames, and he was hysterically laughing.
"No!" She cried. "No!" She fell into tears on the ground. "No," she could only find that single word as she cried. The stallion gave her a pitiful look before kneeling closer to Twilight. She looked up and saw him pitying her. It angered her, and she snapped and stood, powering all of her magic she could muster while he stood laughing at her. She shot every last ounce she had into the stallion, and he absorbed it all. Twilight fell, exhausted of magic and now completely defeated. She could only watch in frightful horror as he reared back and began to come down on her, ready to crush her with his hooves.
Suddenly before he had stomped down on her, he had flown from his hooves and landed almost a block away. The Princess of the Night stood bearing over him as he stood and began to fight back, but she was far too quick for him. She bucked him away and shot him with a beam of magic, freezing him instantly. Then she reared back and crushed the icy statue under her forehooves. She turned and the fire dissipated.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," she said calmly as she gracefully walked to Twilight.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted.
"This is frightening," Luna stated as she looked at the now scorched Ponyville. Though she said it, her voice made it feel like she had either seen it before, or was doing her best not to be emotional. She walked around looking at all of the blackened buildings. "Your mind wanders quite excessively lately," she said as she walked back towards Twilight.
"So this is a dream?" Twilight asked.
"Luckily, yes." Luna closed the gap between herself and Twilight and sat down on her haunches. "I had just awoken myself when I heard your cry for help."
"Is it nighttime again already?"
"Not quite," she answered. "Early evening. The sun is beginning to set at the moment. We should converse about this later. Meet me when you return to Canterlot, but for now," Luna began quietly laughing.
"Now what?" Twilight asked.
Luna was still chuckling when she said, "Awaken."
Twilight awoke to laughing in the background. Her first thought was that Chrysalis had changed her mind and decided to get rid of the two of them, but as the laughing grew louder and more distinct, she could make out two voices and one of them was definitely Silver's.
"Wait a second, where is Princess Twilight?" Her body soon leapt up at the sound of Silver's conscious voice and began to gallop towards him, however Silver apparently had the same plan without the intention of galloping.
"Twilight! You're okay!" A bright light had nearly blinded Twilight as Silver had popped up directly in front of her. He proceeded to tackle her and hug her as tightly as his forehooves would allow, which gave Twilight breathing issues.
"Silver!" Twilight gasped for air. "You're crushing me!"
"Oh! Sorry!" Silver then let go of Twilight and backed away. "I was concerned, but now I think I am fine," he stood smiling for a second and Twilight opened her mouth to speak but Silver quickly cut her off with another hug. "Oh who am I kidding? I was worried sick about you for a second!"
"Why?" She asked, only knowing that some cryptic answer that she would have to decipher later would be given.
"Well, Chrys told me she and you do not exactly get along, so I was worried you had left." Silver actually answered the question.
"I didn't really have much of a choice," Twilight replied. "Wait," she gave Silver a funny look. "Chrys?" He nodded, which struck Twilight's funny bone and she burst into laughter.
"What is the humor behind this?" He asked.
"She's the queen of the changelings and you call her Chrys?" Again Silver nodded.
"I do not laugh at your friends' names you know," he said with a huff. This quickly sobered Twilight's humor.
"Wait. Friend?"
"Yes!"
"Her?"
"No the other queen of the changelings," Silver grimaced. "You cannot be serious."
"No you can't be serious," Twilight shot back. "How can you even think that you could be friends with such an evil creature?"
"Evil?" Silver shot her an angry look.
"Yes! Evil!" She stamped the ground.
"How?" Silver asked, eyes beaming at Twilight.
"She kidnapped Princess Cadence, put my brother in a trance, and tried to take over Equestria so her minions could feed on our love!" Again, Twilight stamped and added an extra huff for good measure to get her point across. Silver, however, remained steady and was quick to answer Twilight.
"So, she is evil because she wanted to find a sustaining food supply for her colony?"
"Yes!" Twilight shouted back at Silver. He rolled his eyes at Twilight and sighed rubbing his forehead.
"Are dogs evil?" He asked with his usual cryptic wording.
"How is that relevant?" Twilight snapped. Silver simply stared her down and waited for an answer. "What?" Silver still stood quietly and patiently waiting. "No, okay. They're not evil."
"How about dragons?" Silver continued after Twilight finally answered him. "How about Spike?"
"Of course Spike isn't evil. And dragons aren't evil just because they're dragons either." Twilight kept staring at Silver, confused. "But what does this have to do with anything?"
"Dogs are carnivores, as are dragons," he mused. "You do know what carnivores are, right?"
"Of course I do," she huffed, angry that somepony would insult her intelligence. "They eat meat."
"However, you accept them as they are, do you not?"
"I do."
"But a queen performing actions that could quite possibly endanger herself and her kingdom for the sake of the continuation of herself and her species is evil?" He whinnied.
"She also hurt your mother," Twilight again shot back. Silver stopped for a moment to consider the facts as Twilight gave a smile knowing that he would finally side with her.
His lips gave a sarcastically impressed whistle. He then looked behind him and shouted, "Hey did you know you are evil?"
"Yeah yeah," Chrysalis shouted back with melancholy. Then Silver turned back to Twilight.
"I know she hurt my mother," he smiled and bent down, "and while I was upset and I did have words with her about it, we sorted it all out." He chuckled a little, "Actually, I am very surprised that you did not come gallivanting our way when I was shouting earlier."
Twilight answered with a nervous chuckle of her own. "You see, I kinda fell asleep once or twice."
"Oh," Silver's voice gave rise to a sarcastic tone that Twilight knew she was not going to like. "So I risk my life to save somepony who in returns risks her entire colony to save me and asks you to watch the door for a measly few hours so that the two of us can rest and rebuild strength. You then proceed to come here and take a nap. Am I correct?" Twilight felt belittled by his accusation and made herself smaller as she looked down to the ground and nodded. "Look at me," Silver demanded. Obediently, she looked up the now glaring Silver. His eyes were daggers piercing into Twilight's insides. She remembers this look. Celestia has given her that look once before, and it scared her as much as it did now. "You are unreliable."
"But!" She looked up to Silver, but he cut her off. Even his words were just as piercing as Celestia's when she was angry. It felt like the time she was stuck in the doorway back in the Crystal Empire when Sombra's black magic had enchanted her and led her to one of her darkest fears, disappointing Celestia. This was a reality, however, and it was a crushing reality at that.
"See how depressing it is to be labeled, Princess Twilight?"
"But," Silver cut her off before she could say anything more, shaking his head and walking back to Chrysalis.
"When you are prepared to accept the truth, you may come learn the whole story," He said turning the corner as he disappeared. His hollowed voice continued, "I believe my mother would be upset at your judgment." Upset indeed. His mother radiated from Silver's aura as he walked and talked. His seemingly all-knowing and all powerful side even gave the idea that he is actually the son of Princess Celestia whether by blood or not.
Minutes passed and Twilight finally decided to walk over with Silver, still being cautious of Chrysalis. Silver grinned at Twilight and Chrysalis both eyeing each other. Chrysalis was sitting a few feet from Silver, her body not moving, but her head was locked on Twilight's body. Twilight, on the other side of the cave room was slowly circling her way towards the two. When Twilight reached a point where she decided to sit down, the three sat for a while. Silver was still smiling at Chrysalis and Twilight eyeing each other.
"So," Silver broke the electric atmosphere. "Have you reconsidered yourself?" Twilight nodded.
"Only for the sake that I think you're crazy," she answered.
"Well then, instead of answering your next questions, I will show you." He turned to Chrysalis, "Can you watch us? It may be a day or two until we return."
"Are we using the place like the Celestial Zone?" Twilight asked. Silver shook his head.
"That would require leaving all together," he stated. "I would rather we at least physically be here so she if she needs it, she can wake us so we can help her."
"I will be fine on my own," Chrysalis hissed.
"And what if they return?" Chrysalis grimaced, then she stood tall, towering both Twilight and Silver.
"It's probably about time that I try to get back to my colony."
"At least allow me to check and see if it is safe," Silver insisted.
"As if you're strong enough to handle it if they were to find us," Chrysalis spat.
"You know better than to challenge me," he said with a cocky grin. "Now let us go." Then Silver's horn lit and flickered three times at the tip. He looked up in surprise. "I guess Mother gets reception nearly everywhere. Ladies, if you will excuse me I am getting a call. I shall return shortly." He vanished in a bright flash of light.
"Princess Celestia!" Spike shouted. Celestia turned to see the little dragon panting from running. "Twilight! I can't find her!" Spike was panicking, even as he reached Celestia, he continued to pace back and forth. "I looked in the garden, in her room, in her library, and even knocked on that building door where she and Silver usually are and nothing! She never goes anywhere without telling me!"
"I see," Celestia answered. "This is serious indeed," she felt a shock in her heart, already fearing the worst, then lowered her head to Spike. "Have you tried to find Silver?" Spike shook his head. Celestia then raised her head again and simultaneously lit her horn, a small orb of light glowing from the tip. It flickered quickly three times. A little over a half minute later a bright flash of orange light was followed by a tall standing stallion.
"Yes ma'am?" Silver asked, a little shrewdness flowing from his voice.
"Are you with Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Celestia demanded.
"Yes," he calmly answered.
"Where are you?"
"In a cave," he answered walking slowly towards Spike.
"What are you two doing in a cave?" Celestia asked confounded. Silver took his chance with an evil smirk.
"Learning," he said with a wink. Spike and Celestia both took a step back, again taken by surprised.
"Learning what exactly?" Spike asked anxiously.
"The difference between good and evil and doing the right thing versus going to the extremes," he shrugged. "She happens to have quite a bit of bias when it comes to decision making, and I intend to correct it."
"How does the cave fit in?" Spike retorted, scratching his head at the idea.
"Yes," Celestia supported Spike, "Do tell."
"Well," he started, "if I am to teach her fire magic, then what place better than without a light source?"
"I see," Celestia's eyes narrowed, beaming at Silver. "If you plan to do this more often I would appreciate you contacting me first." Silver nodded.
"But why couldn't I come?" Spike asked.
"I do apologize, Spike," Silver lowered his head to the baby dragon. "It was my idea and I had neglected to think to tell you she needs to be alone for this, hence the cave."
"Oh," Spike looked heart broken, "I see." Celestia then put a hoof on his small shoulder.
"I'm sure that Silver has a perfectly good reason for his methods," she turned her beaming gaze back to Silver. "Right?" Silver, startled this time by his mother's glare, cringed at first, then squeamishly nodded with a smile. "Then you may continue." Silver again stood tall and nodded, his horn lighting up then his body disappearing in a flash of light.
Silver returned to find Chrysalis and Twilight completely unmoved from where he had left them. The two did their best to even avoid eye contact. Silver found humor in it and chuckled to himself.
"What are you laughing at?" Chrysalis asked hearing him. He turned with a smile still on his face and walked towards her.
"Oh," he started and paused for a moment, "nothing," he said again chuckling to himself. "You did wait for me though," he winked. She huffed and looked opposite to Silver. "One more moment to see if the coast is clear for you Chrys. Would you walk with me?"
"Fine," she said, again huffing. She and Silver left Twilight on her own. Twilight decided not to follow to avoid Chrysalis.
While outside Silver and Chrysalis gazed as the sun setting slowly disappeared into its otherworldly bed. “How did it find you?” Silver asked as the last bits of light faded to darkness.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It was like a shadow, silently striking us from behind. And when we had finally noticed its presence it was far too late.”
“Would you mind,” Silver’s magic began to lift what was left of the potion from Zecora, “if I asked to see what happened and share it with Twilight? I would like to know if I can find any subtle hints at how it works and what to do to beat it.” Chrysalis stared at Silver like he was crazy.
“Still trying too hard, I see,” she let out a soft chuckle and took the bottle from Silver, and enchanted it. “Regardless, it was good to see you,” she hugged him and he hugged back. “Don’t wait another thousand years to come find me.”
“Only if you can promise to keep Equestria off the menu,” he smiled back. She nodded.
“Thank you again, you crazy stallion,” she said as she spread her wings and took off.
A few minutes later and Silver returned, happily trotting to Twilight. "Now we go," he said a little excited. His horn lit up and the azure haze began to fill the cave, then it replaced the cave entirely. Twilight had trouble readjusting to the new surrounding she was in. She could see Silver standing a few feet away.
"Now, I imagine your first question will be how we met," Silver spoke. Twilight nodded. "However, I will need to show you your more pressing matters first. I have a memory from Chrys that I am about to show you," he pulled out a small elixir bottle, "and I hope you see that my friend may have made bad choices, but is not evil." He handed her the bottle.
"Where did you get this?" Twilight asked curiously as she took it in her magic.
"Canterlot Castle, of course," he answered bluntly. Twilight violently shook her head wondering how he could have teleported from an unknown location. She quickly dismissed the notion figuring he had known where they are the entire time. "Hey," she raised her voice crossly, "if we could have gone back this whole time, why haven't we already gone?" Silver gestured for her to drink the bottle and said as much. "I want to know first!"
"If you want to know, drink up." Twilight rolled her eyes and gave in. The azure haze faded to a dark black coloring, then rock formations came to replace the empty spaces. A castle focused into view in between the large rock formations, revealing a mountaintop that had been carved into to make the castle. Bug-like creatures, changelings, were running a muck around the grounds. They were being chased by what looked like an expanse of dark clouds. Twilight suddenly saw Chrysalis jump in and blast the shadow. Initially, it dispersed, but it was only temporary as the shadow-like substance reformed and began its charge once again.
"Run!" She shouted to the few she had just saved. "Disperse among Equestria! You'll be safe there if you don't reveal your identities!" The changelings flew away as quickly as they could. However, some were not lucky enough to escape. The shadowy cloud enveloped the unfortunate changelings and then under cover of the blackness, the changelings fell to the ground. "No!" She shouted tears beginning to run down her face. She quickly ran to the fallen ones, cocooning them with magic unknown to Twilight. The fallen changelings would then get up and run again. One, however, stayed back to help, but Chrysalis urged her to go.
"My queen," she shouted, "what if you lose?"
"I will send a beacon to you and to those still left," she answered without turning to her, keeping her eyes on the shadowy cloud. The smaller changeling was still hesitant. "Don't just stand there!" Chrysalis shouted and turned to the small changeling, tears welling up in her face. "Go!"
"Yes my queen!" The changeling's wings beat and took flight as Chrysalis remained, her horn glowing its usual green color. The ominous cloud was now bearing over her, towering even her castle, but she remained steadfast ready to defend her kingdom.
"You've hurt my children," Chrysalis spoke. The cloud gave an windy howl in response. "This is MY colony!" she screamed to the cloud, beaming it with magic. It did very little now that its size had nearly quadrupled. The cloud had begun to collapse upon the entire castle.
Then, the memory ended. The azure haze had refilled Twilight's vision. Silver was sitting on his haunches, looking upwards into the nothingness. Twilight walked over to him. He noticed her walking and refocused his gaze on her.
"Do you understand now?" Silver asked, his voice quiet. Twilight shook her head.
"I still don't understand how this would not make her evil," Twilight answered.
"Do you think an evil anyone would sacrifice for those in need of help before their own needs?" Silver answered with a question. Twilight pondered the thought for a moment. "She made the distress signal to me by mistake, exhausted from the failed attempt to save her colony."
"So that's why you wanted to stay," Twilight asked. Silver nodded. "You know if you would have said that to begin with, I wouldn't have been so mean earlier."
"Would you have believed me?"
"No," Twilight answered after a long silence. She thought about how rudely she had been to Chrysalis. She began to think of ways she could have acted, or if she should have acted any different at all. She did try to use her brother and future sister-in-law, at the time, to take over Canterlot, then Equestria. But she was doing it to help her kingdom, her colony, her subjects. Twilight thought so long about it that it made her sick to her stomach.
"I do not blame you for your actions if that is what you are thinking about," Silver spoke, seeing the turmoil Twilight was experiencing. "Neither does she. We both feel that anypony would have reacted the same way given the circumstances." Twilight looked up to him, "Though she does hate you for thwarting her plans if that makes you feel any better," he whinnied. Twilight only grimaced.
"So how did you two meet?" Twilight asked.
"I volunteered to be her slave hoping that doing so could serve as part of my punishment," Silver answered.
"By the way," Twilight replied, "you still haven't mentioned what exactly you did."
"Right," he sighed. "I will, but allow me to finish." Silver's horn lit up, and the blues around her faded to black and dark colors alike, and things began to come into focus. "Since I can project my memories directly to you now that I know the source of our previous, misunderstanding, I can show you without the use of that," he pointed to the bottle.
"What misunderstanding?" Twilight asked as a town block began forming in front of them. Twilight watched as the road and buildings became clearer and shadows were more present in the windows of the lit buildings.
"Remember Sombra?" Silver asked. Twilight nodded. "My memories had been changed for somepony's benefits, and I have yet to know, however, I know now the truth."
"Oh, memory spell failsafe."
"Indeed," Silver gave a nod and through him walked a tan colored earth pony holding a bouquet of an assortment of flowers. He was walking in Twilight's direction. She stepped out of his way. When she turned her head back to Silver, she noticed two of them. One looked a little antsier than the other as he followed the stallion.
The earth pony stood at a corner under a candlelit streetlamp waiting for obviously somepony special. The younger Silver stood a block away, hiding in the shadows watching the stallion as he slicked his mane back.
“What are we looking at?” Twilight asked.
“This is where I first met Chrys,” Silver answered with a hushed tone. “Ponies in this now old town had been disappearing. I had taken a job to discover who or what might be taking them. This is the night I found out who. The stallion standing under the streetlamp is a decoy I had set up.”
“He definitely knows how to act,” Twilight said looking impressed at the way the stallion was trying to spruce himself up for a decoy job.
“If he were acting, the job might have been harder,” Silver’s voice answered. A few seconds later a gorgeous red earth pony mare with a darker red mane and yellow eyes walked into view and towards the stallion. He smiled and ran to her to give her the flowers he had been holding. She gave them a quick sniff and smiled. She said something that may have been thank you but Twilight was too far away to hear exactly what it was.
“Is that her?” Twilight asked.
“Indeed it is,” Silver answered. “The decoy and Chrys had been dating for some time before this incident as well.”
“That’s cruel,” Twilight bluntly stated.
“Yes,” Silver answered, “but it was necessary for her survival.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“True.” The mare had wrapped her tail around the stallion and started whispering things into his ear. The stallion’s eyes widened and a grin from ear to ear showed his excitement.
“What’s she saying?” Twilight asked with a curious look on her face as she tried to get closer, but somehow she wouldn’t let her legs move.
“It’s his birthday and she’s telling him that she had tickets to a popular musician that he happened to like,” Silver answered
“Sounds exciting,” Twilight said turning her eyes back to the couple standing at the streetlamp. However the excitement was ending for the stallion, but just beginning for Twilight as the mare rubbed her head beneath the stallion’s head and her body began to glow green and the stallion fell to the ground. Chrysalis’s body now began to form in place of the red mare she was impersonating.
“Oh you poor ponies are just so vulnerable,” she said now standing tall giggling in her awful voice. She took another look down on her victim, “And gullible.” Her face changed expressions, now looking the part of being in charge as she said, “Now, you know where to go so make sure you are there before me.” The stallion stood and nodded. His eyed glowed the same green that her brother’s and Silver’s eyes glowed after they had been under Chrysalis’s spell. He turned and walked away.
The stallion did not walk too far before he fell to the ground. Then his body was surrounded in an orange aura as he floated from the ground into a dark alley completely out of sight.
“Excuse me,” the younger Silver said as he walked out from the shadows behind Chrysalis. “I believe kidnapping is against the law in Equestria, and those who choose to commit such heinous deeds would be severely punished by Princess Luna herself.”
“Oh,” she said turning her gaze to the young Silver and slowly walked forward with an evil looking smile on her muzzle, “and who are you to stop me?”
“I’m,” Silver took a step back, seeing that his plans may be backfiring. “I’m,” he stuttered again, unable to continue his train of thought, like a broken record.
“Silver,” Twilight started, “why were you so afraid of her?”
“She is as tall as my mother if you happened to have missed that, and my mother could be intimidating with her height alone. As you can see,” he pointed to Chrysalis, who was bearing over the young Silver Radiance, “this is how she handles being surprised.”
“Now,” Chrysalis spoke as her horn lit up and a short smile began to split her muzzle, “who do you love most?” Her eyes began to glow and the rest of her body followed as it changed form from her changeling self into a red pegasus with a striped light brown and creamy white mane and tail. She examined her new body and gave a twisted giggle as she looked back up to Silver and blinked her eyes. “It would be a pity if anything happened to this gorgeous, delicate mare, would it not?”
“You,” Silver stuttered again, “You,” he sighed. “Please, not her.” He lowered his head in defeat.
“I must know,” Chrysalis asked, still in the pegasus form, “How did you manage to meet a pegasus such as this one?”
“Canterlot,” he answered with a mumble.
“Oh I see,” she smiled, “A maiden?”
Silver shook his head, “A noble. Lady Daisy Cloud from Cloudsdale.”
“Ooh the granddaughter of the city’s founder, I presume?”
“The same,” Silver answered beginning not to like the fact he had just answered all her questions.
“You do realize what will happen when they find out about this? The Cloud family are purists, are they not?” Chrysalis tilted her head to one side. Silver answered with a nod. “Tis truly a pity that I cannot read your thoughts,” her smile again sneered across her muzzle, “or perhaps I would regret looking into your thoughts.” She let out a sinister snicker as she walked closer to Silver. He mumbled under his breath. “What was that?” She asked.
“You have no idea,” he said looking back to Chrysalis, emotion now drained from his eyes. “That is why I am here.”
“What?” Chrysalis took a step back, now reverting back to her original form.
“I have come to offer my life to the benefit of yours,” Silver took a gracious bow. The queen, taken off guard, was quick to recompose herself as she watched Silver stand back up.
“Have you thought about this? You will never see that lovely mare again.”
“With the monster I have become, it would be better to be with monsters,” Silver answered with a disgusted tone, looking to the ground for comfort. However, Chrysalis did not share his feelings.
“I am not a monster!” Chrysalis shouted. “You will do well to remember that I am a queen, or this agreement will end with your love-“
“No!” Silver shouted, “I understand.”
“Good,” she retorted, as her horn lit up and immediately fired at Silver. Then the memory ended, and the azure haze came back to focus. Twilight had questions buzzing inside her head, anxious to ask them all, but weary of the answers. Silver’s eyes were an assurance that Twilight could ask her questions, but she could tell that she would not like her answers.
“Where would you prefer to start?” Twilight asked Silver finally.
“What are you most curious about?” Twilight thought for a moment before she answered.
“What are purists? In all the history I have ever read, I’ve never heard of a purist.”
“Unless you were as old as I am now, you would not,” Silver answered. “I was asked not to speak of it, but I am beginning to think it may be necessary to tell you. Purists are, or were, groups within the different ponies that believed that their race was the more dominant behind Alicorns. There were two especially powerful groups within the earth pony and unicorn races. The earth ponies’ group was known as the Ironclads Clan, and the unicorns’ group was known as the True Horse Clan. It took a little under a score to drive them out and purge the records of such groups, but they did exist.”
“What about the pegasus group?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Heaven’s Wings,” he answered. “Each one believed that their unique qualities made them stronger, better, than other ponies. They also hated the other ponies and would frequently fight over who was better.”
“Why purge this history from Equestria?”
“Sometimes it is better to eliminate the problem by eliminating its history. It would keep the idea out of ponies’ minds.”
“So you justify destroying history for the sake of the future generation? But it’s history that teaches us lessons about how things worked out and why they didn’t work out. How could Princess Celestia think that was right?”
“I’m sure my mother had her reasons, however it was much longer after my absence that she had done it, and while I used to, I no longer question my mother’s motives.”
The azure haze faded to black and suddenly they were in what appeared to be a darkened throne room. Strange light fixture arranged on the ceiling gave an eerie green glow to the room. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Twilight could see the outline of the younger Silver out cold on the floor. “We should continue,” the older Silver said, standing next to Twilight. “This is the most important for you to see.” The younger Silver had awoken and began to look around before moving. Twilight also took the time to look around at the strange new place.
“This is Chrysalis’s throne room, isn’t it?” she asked. Silver nodded. The throne room looked smaller than Celestia and Luna’s throne room, but sizeable enough. There was a single chair that almost looked like it was carved into the room rather than just placed. Its rugged bottom did not match its elegant top, yet it complimented its entire form. The red cushion was embroidered with beautiful leaf-like structures. Twilight was sure Rarity would love to get ahold of it. There was no red carpet in the room. However there were two rows of torch stands with long extinguished torches. Twilight could only imagine that they were enchanted torches and would burn green when lit. However, the torches were not too necessary. Other than the dim light fixtures at the top, which now looked to be light gems, there were a series of windows with no glass to one side of the throne room that let in natural light of the moon.
The young Silver tried to stand. He was wobbly to say the least as he walked to the single, large wooden door at the front of the room. He tried to open it using his magic, but he was not strong enough to and wound up wearing himself further out. He put his hoof in the ring handle of the door and pulled it open. It looked taxing on him to merely open the door. After letting go, he stumbled out into the hallway, brightly lit with torches all down the corridor.
A small sound gave the young Silver a scare as he turned around to see what it was. Nothing was there. After a minute of getting back to his senses, he could tell that the sound was pervading down the hall from him. He went to investigate.
A long trip down a very long corridor made him come to a stop at a now much louder voice which was now obvious that it was Chrysalis. She sounded excited. The young Silver opened the door and peaked inside.
“And the Ursa Major lifted her giant claw and pounded the rock in front of her,” Chrysalis was happily smiling as she reared back on her hind legs and transformed into a smaller version of an Ursa Major and stamped back down just as she had described. All of the smaller changelings quivered after her display. Silver himself had jumped back and fell on his haunches with a loud thud, which caused every wandering eye to look back at the open door with a shining grey unicorn sitting like a buffoon.
“Come in,” Chrysalis said, “You’re just in time for shadow puppets.” Silver obediently walked in and sat down in the back and shut the door. Now,” she spoke to the room, “which story do you want to hear?”
“We want you to finish the story about the Ursa Major Queen Chrysalis!” One of the littler ones called out.
“You’ll just have to wait until next week,” she giggled and picked up the small one. You don’t want to spoil the surprise now do you?” The little one looked down and shook her head. “Good,” Chrysalis set her back down. “I promise you won’t be disappointed. Now, I think I have a good one in mind.” She walked to the back with Silver. “Unicorn, could you give me some light?”
“My name is Silver,” he huffed, “and I am not sure I am strong enough to perform any magic right now.”
“But if you don’t, then I guess we’ll have no shadow puppets,” Several AW’s came from the audience. Even Chrysalis gave Silver what would qualify as puppy dog eyes for her.
“Fine,” he huffed out a sigh, “I will try my best.” The younger changelings shouted with excitement as Silver’s horn began to glow and Chrysalis put her hooves in front of the light. Twilight for the first time noticed the lack of holes in her hooves. Her first object was a heart.
“Now we all know the story about two halves of a heart.” She split the heart in two and as she lowered her hooves two figures took their places. Twilight glimpsed over to see that Chrysalis was shaping her mane to look like two ponies and make them look like they were walking towards each other. “When a stallion meets a mare and they both have a strong connection between the two of them, it is known as love.”
“That’s our food!” one of the little ones shouted and jumped up into the air.
“Yes,” Chrysalis gave a chuckle to the small changeling, “but love has many forms. This is just the most basic one. We do feed on the love one pony feels for another, but we can never feed on the love a pony has for us. Do you know why, Teni?” She spoke to the same little changeling that spoke up earlier. She shook her head. “Our magic that allows us to feed on others’ love makes them slaves to us. But when somepony willingly loves one of us, the spell is no longer useful.
She demonstrated again using her mane as the medium as the stallion that she had formed bowed to the mare and when the mare used her magic, provided by Chrysalis’s horn, it was useless.
“She’s amazing at shadow puppets,” Twilight said thoroughly impressed.
“Indeed she is. If you could wait until she got older and the holes formed in her hooves, it only gets better from there,” Silver said with a smile. Mimicking his younger self who was also smiling, looking giddy as a young colt.
“I think I understand what you mean now, Silver,” Twilight announced, but it fell on Silver’s deaf ears. He was lost in his memories watching Chrysalis comfort and entertain her subjects.
Chrysalis continued her show and Silver and Twilight just watched the shadows as the moved, paying no attention to what Chrysalis was saying anymore and simply focusing on the shadow puppets.
“It’s like they’re really alive.” Twilight said still watching Chrysalis. Silver stopped smiling and looked back to Twilight with a bewildered look on his face.
“What did you say?” Silver asked as his face began to look more and more shocked.
“The shadow puppets,” Twilight stuttered, “They look like they’re alive.”
“You’re a genius!” Silver shouted and the memory ended and everything around them swirled around until suddenly Twilight’s room at Canterlot castle appeared.
“What!?” Twilight shouted ad woke Spike sleeping in Twilight’s bed.
“Twilight!” he shouted. “You’re back!”
“I guess so,” Twilight said confused.