//------------------------------//
// Unanswered Questions 
// Story: Guardian of Fire 
// by googolplex 
//------------------------------//

	Princess Celestia lied peacefully in her bed for the first night in quite some time, asleep after Luna had once again come to her aid, helping to ease her mind. For the first time, Luna was now the one to take care of her sister, instead of the other way around, and she felt proud to do so. For once, Princess Luna felt herself as something more than just the alicorn who raises the moon. She sat next to her sister, shining in the firelight from the fireplace, overlooking her sister both as a caring sister and as a watchful guardian. As sleep would seem so mundane to other ponies, Luna saw it as the one escape from reality, a peaceful realm where one could drift softly down a river, listening to the sounds of nature after a troubling day. 
It did not last long, however when a light grey unicorn burst through the door to Celestia’s chambers, and what felt like screaming at the top of his lungs.
“Mother! I know how Sombra is going to attack!” he shouted, quickly waking Celestia and angering Luna.
“If so, can it not wait?” Luna angrily retorted. 
“No! He could come at any moment! Is Shining Armor still here?” Silver began to look around hoping to, but not expecting to find Shining Armor in the room. 
“He is back in the Crystal Empire,” Celestia quietly answered. “You can tell us, and then tell him later. I’m sure he is busy making his own preparations.”
“You recall that you banished him to the shadows?” Silver asked. The two nodded. “What if he had turned his shadows into a teleportation device of some sort that allows him to be at or in any shadow at any time?”
“He could quickly gain entrance to Canterlot by merely phasing through as one of the shadows of even a guard,” Luna answered with a stressed tone. Silver nodded. 
“Then he could come straight for you from your shadows.”
“I am the Princess of the day, my shadow can be over shone by my own magic, even at night,” Princess Celestia answered.
“And I am like a living shadow cast day or night already,” Luna followed. “Finding my shadow would be as if finding a hay in a hay stack.”
“You mean needle in a haystack?” Celestia asked politely.
“No,” Luna answered, “I know what I said.” Celestia quickly sat up out of her bed, eyes now wide with fear, body trembling. “What is it sister?” 
“Silver,” Celestia turned her gaze directly to him, “Go to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and never leave her unattended. Have your fire on at all times, understood?” He nodded, but with hesitation. “What is the matter?”
“If I continue with this-“ Celestia stopped him.
“I know what will happen, yes,” she answered him. “You should have enough rest in between teachings to recharge most of your magic.” Silver did not look appeased. “I will make preparations just in case.”
“Thank you,” he bowed his head. Then, his horn lit up and his fiery self took form. 
“Rest for tonight,” Her voice tried to sound as reassuring as a tired voice could. “Sombra has not made a move yet, and I doubt he will he so surprising.” Obediently he allowed his fire to quell. “I will tell Twilight about her new arrangements, and we will have your bed moved to Twilight’s room.”
“No. Have her bed moved to my room tomorrow evening. My room is smaller and there are fewer objects to cast shadows. My room will be fully prepared by tomorrow morning,” Celestia gave him an approving nod, then he slowly walked to the window to peak out at the Everfree forest.  “Do the wisps still gather there?” 
“They do.” 
“Considering our shortening timeframe, would you mind if we studied there from now on?”
“What are you planning?” Luna asked intently. She walked from behind Celestia’s bed to the front. “Surely you cannot hope that we would approve you to do unto her as you did to yourself.”
“Never,” Silver’s eyes narrowed angrily. They burned with resentment. “It’s hard to fathom that you would even assume that as a possibility.”
“Well, Burns, I wouldn’t have eleven hundred years ago, but considering your past actions, I believe I have a right to question your current motives,” Luna spat back. 
“You’re right,” Silver gave a sad sigh and knelt his head. “She has one of Starswirl’s unpublished works.” He raised his head again, “I hoped showing her this magic would be helpful.”
“One of his unpublished works?” Celestia inquired. Silver nodded. 
“But they are supposed to be under lock and key in Celestia’s personal wing,” Luna began to sound startled. She began to fear that the castle had already been infiltrated and the sisters’ most valued secrets would be available to the public.
“Calm yourself, Sister,” Celestia laid her wing on her sister, “Starswirl had many unpublished works and there is a possibility that this one simply escaped my grasp.” Her eyes focused on Silver. “What series?”
“Real element magic,” Silver answered without hesitation. 
“He still wrote it,” Celestia whispered to herself. She ran through her thoughts trying to remember what books she had and what ones she did not. 
“If he wrote this, there has to be a continuation,” Silver interrupted Celestia’s thoughts.
She pondered the idea for a moment. “There is a possibility, yes. I will look through my collection tomorrow and see if I come up with anything.” She then turned back to Luna. “Tell the guards of Silver’s new findings immediately and make sure that all areas are properly lit.” Luna with a nod walked toward the balcony and opened her wings. “Be careful,” Celestia anxiously tells her Luna before she disappeared underneath the balcony railing. 
Silver gently closed Celestia’s balcony’s glass door and walked to Celestia’s bed. Celestia was now sitting on the edge of her bed.  Silver took a seat beside her. They were alone for the first time since the first time he had arrived in Canterlot.  
“Your mane is so long now,” Celestia spoke up. “I do realize that there are no barbers in Tartarus, but why not get it cut now?” 
Silver shrugged. “It feels like a personal reminder,” his orange eyes turned to Celestia’s, glowing in the firelight. “Almost like a battle scar,” he chuckled to himself. “I did have it cut. It wasn’t much, just enough.” 
“Oh?” Celestia smiled at him. “So you like having a long mane?” 
“And when the wind blows just right, my mane looks just like yours.” He made Celestia laugh, and he laughed along with her. 
“I see you’re getting more control of your fire,” she started. Silver nodded. “So why do you worry?” 
His response was hesitant, carefully trying not to open old emotional wounds. “I thought I had control once before, and then,” he hesitated again. Flashes of his past came rapidly and nonstop like a locomotive running through in his mind. 
“And then?” She tried to help.
“I lost everything,” he said, his eyes still rapidly moving side to side like he was looking for something. “You, Luna, Daisy,”
“Daisy?” Celestia asked. 
“Cloud.”
“Oh,” Celestia gasped. “That wasn’t-“
“It was,” Silver answered grievously. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as if a void had been filled in his head. He started to speak and could not stop himself. “She and I were taking a night picnic. I put lightning bugs in jars for light. Everything was going so well; then we were attacked and,” he looked up to Celestia, barely finding his voice as he swallowed and took a breath. “They were not even a challenge, but I was so infuriated, I used my fire to its extant. Now, you know what comes next.” 
His body began to tremble and he even grew cold. “She refused to leave even after I had gone as far as threatening her,” His eyes welled will tears now. “Then she was gone. She,” he whimpered, “she,” he could find no words to express his torment and sadness any longer. Finally, he broke down and cried. 
“There, there,” Celestia shushed him as he cried into her breast. She caressed him in her wing, nearly fully engulfing his body. She looked at him with sad eyes, not pity or even remorse. She understood his pain, and it hurt her to see her son like this. But she knew that this was what a mother was for. Careful and comforting when her little colt needed her the most, and she hugged him tighter. 
“The last thing she said to me was ‘I don’t believe you.’ I don’t want to lose you, too,” he said sobbing. “I’m tired of losing.” 
“I’m still right here, Silver,” she answered, “and I promise it will be that way for a long time.” She lifted his head with her hooves. “Now dry those eyes, my child. You have a student who still needs you, and she needs to know. It’s time to show her.” 
He obeyed and dried his eyes. “When you show her, you will have my blessing to teach where you see fit.” 
Silver sat up and shook off his sadness, trying to reacquire his calm. The fire behind them was beginning to die.  The light beginning to dim, Celestia used her magic to light the entire room. As she mentioned before, not a single shadow existed in the room, yet it was not too bright inside. 
“If we are to continue, can you tell me more about Princess Twilight?” Silver asked. “I should have asked before, so I could properly utilize our time.” Celestia giggled and quickly perked up at the chance to discuss her two favorite things, minus Luna and Silver. She began to tell Silver of how she met Twilight Sparkle and the amazingly exciting journey she has been on.



“What happened Twilight?” Spike asked. He had been worrying the last few days about Twilight being gone. She was unaware of her longer absence, but Spike was sure to let her know. “You had been gone for three days. I thought you’d be gone longer.” 
“Actually Spike,” Twilight began, “I’m not sure all I can tell you,” but Twilight explained the best she could. She left out Chrysalis’s name and the specifics of the events. When she finished, Spike laid on a barrage of questions.
“Why the cave? Where did he take you exactly? How come your stay was so short?”
“Spike.”
“Did you get everything right?”
“Spike.”
“I know you’re pretty good at magic so that’s gotta be it, right?”
“Spike!” After Twilight shouted, Spike finally ended his questioning and allowed Twilight to speak. “I don’t know what exactly is going on. I didn’t originally go there to learn anything. It was an accident that I was even there. When I finally started to understand, he took us both back here.” Twilight appeared uneasy at the realization of her conversation with Silver prior to meeting Chrysalis. The word kept creeping into her mind since he mentioned it, and after seeing Chrysalis’s memory, it remains etched into Twilight’s mind.
[War, Princess. It kept clawing at Twilight’s attention. She had no idea what to think of an actual war in Equestria. There were many books on the subject, but well-read readers know the difference between books and experience. This was the thought that made Twilight the most uneasy. So much so that she had drowned out any further questions by Spike, who kept asking more questions. 
Thoughts ran through her mind so quickly, even she had no time to process everything. She thought about Chrysalis and her changelings, then Nightmare Moon and how she wanted to make the world bask in her eternal night. Then her dream of the strangely familiar looking black unicorn with those same eyes as Nightmare Moon.   
It took her a moment to realize that they were no longer alone. Princess Luna had joined them, waiting patiently for Twilight to come to her senses. 
“You look worried, Twilight Sparkle,” she walked as she spoke. “Is something the matter?” Twilight nodded, but she could not verbally answer. She was afraid to ask questions. 
“I came to discuss your previous dreams,” she continued, “more specifically the one you had this previous night.” She came to a stop now directly in front of Twilight. “What do you know of Silver’s past?” 
Twilight hesitated. “Don’t be afraid to tell me what you know,” Luna spoke softly. “I have seen his bitter half. Now it seems he may be passing those dreams to you, though he may not be on purpose.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight curiously asked. 
Luna sighed and dropped her head. “Dreams are very powerful. Sometimes they have the ability to pass on to the dreamer’s consciousness. Others, have the ability to affect the ones around them, if the weight the dreamer bears is great enough.”
“How’s that work?” Spike asked. Luna gazed down to the young dragon and shook her head. 
“I’m afraid I have no answer. It is a mystery even to me,” her eyes returned to Twilight. “Do you remember the dream I speak of?” Twilight nodded. “Do you recognize the pony?” Twilight again nodded.
“But he’s taller and black with purple flames. I thought it might just be something I imagined up.”
“Unfortunately, no. That is his nightmare self. He called himself Pitch Black, and he is worth fearing. While I only fought him once and defeated him, I was badly wounded. It was my first near loss in over a hundred years.”
“How did Silver take it?” Twilight was quick to ask. 
“His loss?” 
“No, hurting you.”
Luna’s expression changed. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted tightly trying to hold back something, but what Twilight did not know. “He didn’t.” Luna finally answered. I did my best to hide most of my injuries to make it seem as though I had one-sidedly won. It was then that I banished him from Equestria, for the greater good of the kingdom.” The tension in her face had released, and her eye contact with Twilight had been broken as she looked to the ground. “I still haven’t forgiven myself for it, either.”
“What did he do?”
“He destroyed anything and everything in his path. He wanted Equestria and its surrounding lands to be bathed in fire and be reborn from its ashes, but in dark agony only. This darkness that he and I experienced is known as Pandora.” 
“Pandora?” Twilight asked with disbelief. Luna closed her eyes and slowly nodded.
“It is an event, long before written pony history, an awakening of the darkness inside all creatures before any sort of harmony was made. We don’t know the entity’s original name, nor do we really know its true purpose. It was sealed away inside a box and hidden in Tartarus where it stayed until a little over a thousand years ago.”
“Then Silver found it?” Luna nodded. 
“It was a gift,” added Silver, who just walked into Twilight’s room. His eyes were a little puffy but his composure was back to his normal distant self. He positioned himself next to Luna. “I had allowed Discord entry and in exchange he showed me what he was searching for. Unfortunately, the box was cursed and the first to open the box received the curse,” his eyes narrowed. “I was tricked, but by the time I realized it, it was too late.”
Silver now was directly in front of Twilight. “Tomorrow, we will begin a full decent into my past. While we are gone, your things will be moved into a new room.”
“Why?” Twilight asked. “Is it because of what we saw?" 
“Yes,” he answered, “but there is more to it than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mother requested it. It’s a bit of an intuition she has. Personally I believe that it is a pointless waste of time; however, she feels differently.” He lied a little to try not to give Twilight any worries. Then he faced Luna. “Have all the guards checked in?”
“Yes,” Luna answered. “The night guard has successfully been informed.”
“And what about the day guard?”
“Most of them were informed before going home,” Luna answered, she looked to one side as she said it.
“Informed about what?” Twilight curiously asked. 	
“Our new state of things,” Silver answered. He looked to Luna for assurance he could tell her the full story. Luna nodded, and he continued. “For the past few months, a mix of dark magical energies have been brewing a few miles North-East of the Crystal Mountains. Though there were many, Mother sensed two distinct energies: Sombra and Pandora.”
“So they are forming a bond like you guys did?” Twilight asked. 
“We believe so. That is why I have been doing a terrible job at teaching you anything to do with self-defense.” He made Twilight laugh because she agreed. “So beginning tomorrow, I will attempt to give you an understanding of how real element magic works, by showing you how,” he paused, “how not to use it.”
“For now, you should rest,” Luna smiled. “It will be a rather long day for you tomorrow.”
“Oh come now,” Silver argued. “Just because she will be with me does not automatically make it a long day.”
“It is not a short day either,” she mocked with a giggle. “We will leave you two to try and sleep for tomorrow,” she said turning to Twilight, bidding her goodnight, and then leaving, Silver following close behind. 
“Oh and Twilight,” Silver looked from the corner of his eye to Twilight, “keep the lights on.”
As Silver closed the door, Luna gestured for him to follow her. They walked down the now completely lit corridors making the nighttime appear to be day. Their hooves echoed throughout the chambered hallways as if they were the only two in the castle. 
“So who’s missing?” Silver asked. 
“What do you mean?” Luna replied, trying to push off the question. 
“You lied when you said everyone had been notified.”
“I said most of them,” Luna snapped and glared at Silver. “I did not lie.”
“You’re still hiding something,” Silver stopped in front of Luna and faced her. He may be shorter than she is, but height is not as intimidating as somepony who has lived in Tartarus for a thousand years. Luna looked down, bit her lip, and backed away. “Who is missing, Luna?” 
Luna sighed and gave in. “Lightning and his squad went missing in the Everfree forest.”
“The Everfree?” Silver asked loudly. Luna nodded. “How do you know?”
“We have been regularly sending his squad into the Everfree to keep watch on the dark creatures that inhabit it. In case they decided to side with Sombra.”
“So we have no idea where he is.” Luna shook her head. Silver thought hard for a moment. “This will take priority.”
“Silver, no,” Luna stopped him. “If you get hurt or-“
“If I get hurt, something extremely powerful is coming and we may all be in trouble.” He smirked.
“A bit brash, don’t you think?” Luna smiled back.
“Only if one cannot back it up,” they continued walking. 
“Still I would like to make sure you are safe, especially since I presume you will take Princess Twilight with you whether or not we permit it.” 
“I just had the idea to teach her about the wisps while we were there.”
“Fine,” she sighed, “I will permit it, but talk to Celestia first about who to take with you.”
“Do you think she would let me choose?”
“Oh?” Luna looked down at Silver and smiled. “Who did you have in mind?”
“Well I thought about maybe getting to see one of the two leggeds.” 
“Now that is bold,” Luna laughed. “I’m sure she would let you, but if you are so sure of yourself, why one of them?”
“Why not?” Silver gawked. “They are possibly the most unique group of soldiers we have.” 
“Point taken,” Luna giggled. “Now, let us go and speak with my beloved sister.”
“Can it wait until the morning? She just went so sleep.”
“Silver,” Luna was showing concern in her eyes, “I know everypony who is asleep at this very moment. My sister is not one of them.” Silver looked half shocked. The other half made him think he should have seen it. “Still want to wait?”
“No,” he answered after a few moments of thinking, “It is probably best to quickly get this over with.”
They walked to Celestia’s room and explained the situation. She did not share the two younger ponies’ ambition. However, she did listen and wait to give her thoughts. Celestia’s thoughts, however, are law.
“I cannot condone this,” she spoke with a firm voice. “Silver, I told you your condition and I will not break my condition.”
“But-“
“No.”
“If I may, sister.”
“I said no!” She shouted and stood, raising her wings, fury burning in her eyes. 
“What about Lightning?” Silver yelled back, doing his best to stand down his mother. “If we do nothing to find him than we give up a good captain and give up a chance to stop Sombra before anypony loses a life.” Silver looked a bit awkward trying to make himself taller, but still only came to the bottom of Celestia’s chin on the very tip of his hooves. 
“And how do you know it’s Sombra who attacked?” She yelled back, angrily staring down Silver. “If it were timber wolves or one of the celestial creatures there would be nothing to search for. Have you stopped to consider that?”
“A military expert with eleven, hoof picked soldiers which, in his mind, are the best soldiers in the entire royal military does sound pretty easy prey to a wandering pack of timber wolves,” Silver sarcastically answered. “And if it were a celestial creature, it would be the summer, not the winter that the attack would be most likely, so any provocation would be cause to search for answers.” Silver lowered himself to his normal level, about a foot over Celestia’s shoulders. “I need to talk with that zebra again also. Prolonged memory transfer can have debilitating effects on both of us, and zebras are world renown for their brews against magic debilitation.”
Celestia sighed and sat back down. Silver was right, but taking Twilight along was too dangerous at the moment. She could see that the stakes were high if she were to go. If they were found and caught by Sombra’s ponies, he would surely have an upper hand and possibly use Twilight as the new host for Pandora. 
Then again, Celestia knows magic better than anypony else. She could see that Silver’s magic could nearly rival an alicorn’s if necessary, and taking along one of the Two Legs would be just as effective as backup as Twilight herself if the situation were ugly. But Silver’s magic is not normal magic. Ponies should not have the magic he does, which makes him just as much of a liability as a benefit. 
She sits and thinks for a few more moments and finally comes to her decision. “I will allow it this once,” she now glared directly into Silver’s eyes, “on one condition.”
“Ask,” he said without breaking eye contact. 
“When you return, you will immediately start the transfer.”
“Done.” Silver smiled at his triumph. Celestia remained unmoved, her glare still piercing through him.
“I expect you back by the morning after tomorrow.”
“Not a moment later,” he answered with a half-cocked smile. 



The next morning Twilight awoke refreshed from her night’s sleep with an unexpected guest waiting at her bedside. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she said good morning to the still sleeping Spike before returning her gaze to in front of her where her visitor awaited. 
Then she finally realized she now had somepony staring directly back at her. 
“Good morning,” Silver brightly said to Twilight. 	She jumped back and let out a frightened yell. She lost balance, causing her to fall backwards onto the backrest of the bed. “You didn’t leave the lights on, Princess Twilight. That’s very dangerous.”
“It’s just Twilight,” she answered still with a tired voice, “and why is it so dangerous?”
“Because the shadows are now alive. You said it yourself, I thought a mare with your intelligence would have realized by now.”
“I don’t under- HEY!” She shouted at Silver, realizing now what he was implying. “How was I supposed to know? You just said leave the lights on and left!”
“And you’re supposed to trust your teacher,” he answered without missing a beat. “That’s not important now. Come, we are about to depart to the Everfree Forest.”
“Are we taking the train again?” 
“No, my way is much faster,” he grinned. “But before we go, wake Spike, and I will get our attendee.”
“Attendee?”
“Just another word for escort. It was the only way I was allowed to bring you along.” 
“To do what?” 
“You’ll see.” Silver’s horn lit up and he disappeared in a flash. 
Twilight turned to the sleeping, and heavily snoring Spike. She nudged him, nuzzled him, pushed him, and even shoved him but could not wake him. She quickly drew to her more creative side and stroked her chin to think of a clever way to wake Spike. 
“Oh Spike,” she sang. “I have a large pile of jewels with your name on them.” It was not a moment later Spike was up and running around trying to figure out where the pile of precious, delicious gems were. He soon gave up after realizing it was just a ploy. 
“Twilight that’s not nice,” he grimaced. 	
“Well I had to get you up somehow didn’t I?” 
“What for?”
“I don’t know,” she answered already being stumped by Silver’s confusing methods of relaying information. “Silver just asked me to wake you.”
“What for?” he asked again. 
At the same time, a bright flash of light followed by Silver and somepony else. Or was it somepony at all? She looked like a pony. She had hooves like a pony. She even had the face of a pony, but she stood on her hind legs. She was peach colored with a short, blond mane combed over to one side and blue eyes. She had a cutie mark, but it was covered by a rather large belt that had two blades on both sides of her flank. She also wore two golden gauntlets with complex looking gadgetry on the outside edges. 
She walked to Twilight and bowed in an odd stance; still completely upright, she put her fore hooves to the sides and bent over. Twilight, bowed her head in response, but not sure if it was the right thing to do. Silver looked over to her and smiled and shook his head.
“Stop showing off and introduce yourself,” he said with a chuckle. “They’re gawking.”
“Pfft, like you didn’t,” she retorted. She finally came down on all fours. “Sorry about that Princess Twilight, I’m Colonel Amber Jewel and leader of the Two Leg Brigade.”
“Amber?” Twilight asked, looking at the peach colored pony’s coat. 
“Yes?” she answered.
“Okay then,” Twilight hesitantly responded. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Is everypony ready?” Silver stepped in between the two mares. 
“Ready for what exactly?” Spike asked. 
Before he knew it, he would get his answer. Silver’s horn glowed its bright orange and suddenly they were in an entirely different setting. The dark twisted trees replace Twilight’s bedroom walls and grass replaced the floor. The only two still standing were Amber and Silver while Spike and Twilight fought to remain balanced. 
“Take your time,” Silver calmly spoke to the two, “I wanted to leave early for this purpose. I wasn’t sure how well you had adapted to long distance teleportation.”
“Wait,” Amber said standing back up on her hind legs, “Are they new to this?”
“Well, no,” Silver answered. “But it is only their fourth time.”
“How’d they take the first one?”
“Actually pretty well, like most ponies,” Silver chuckled. “You know it’s never dizzying until they realize that the distance is further than they thought.”
Twilight finally came to her senses. Fully balanced, she took Spike with her magic, who was still having trouble standing, and put him on her back. Silver gestured for her and Amber to follow him. 
For what seemed like hours, they wandered around the Everfree forest. They circled, zigzagged, and circled again through the vast forest. Silver would stop every few minutes and look around, then give Amber a look to whence she nodded or shook her head. Twilight quickly grew tired of their silent secret language and began to ask questions. 
“So where are we going exactly?” Twilight asked, “And why am I here?” 
“I am going to teach you about wisps,” Silver answered in a cheery tone. 
“Like will-o-wisps?” 
“Well wisps in general but more specifically the ones you summoned the day you tried to burn down Ponyville.”
“I did not try to burn-“ 
Silver hushed Twilight. “Don’t raise your voice,” he said. “We’ve been invited.”	
“To what?” Amber asked looking around.
“A very old tradition.”
“How’d you manage that?” Amber asked in surprise. 
“It requires a payment,” Silver whispered. 
“Like what?” 
“Knowledge,” he turned to Twilight. “They want proof we can understand what happens.”
“Like what?” Twilight took a step back. 
“You, Amber, and I have already paid,” Silver answered. It was now clear that Silver was not looking at Twilight, but at Spike who was still sitting on Twilight’s back. 
“M-me?” Spike pointed a claw at himself. Silver nodded. “But I’m a baby dragon, what can I pay?”
“You can offer yourself as a payment.”
“That’s not funny!” Twilight yelled back at Silver.
“It was not meant to be,” Silver walked to Twilight and Spike. “It is your choice, but it could be to your benefit if you choose to go with them.”
“Will I come back?” Spike sounded scared. Silver nodded. 
“Wait, Spike!” Twilight got defensive. “You don’t have to go anywhere!”
“But Silver said I would be okay.”
“I don’t care what he says. You’re still just a baby!”
“It is your choice, Spike,” Silver interjected. “But time is short.”
Spike took a few seconds to think. “O-okay.” Spike jumped down from Twilight’s back and walked close to Silver. 
“Walk with me, Spike,” Silver said in a calm, hushed tone. 
They began to walk towards a darker area of the forest when Twilight heard the whispering again. As Spike and Silver disappeared, the whispering grew louder. 
A few seconds later, Silver returned alone. The whispering continued to grow louder.
“Where’s Spike?” Twilight confronted Silver, tensing her wings and keeping them just unfolded enough to let them be seen from the front. 
“Don’t worry,” Silver replied completely relaxed, “he’s fine. I would not have let him even consider this if I thought there were any danger.” He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. “Trust me.”
“Why were we so special,” Amber asked, walking upright towards Twilight and Silver. 
“Each of us has our own unique skill. Yours is the most obvious,” he gestured to her body as a whole. 
“So what exactly is mine then?” Twilight sounded offended. 
“You’re an alicorn. The level of understanding it takes to become an alicorn is proof in itself that you will be able to comprehend what is happening.”
“So what’s yours?” Twilight asked. 
“And what exactly is happening?” Amber asked quickly after Twilight. 
“What you are about to see has happened to ponies before, but it is very dangerous. The same has been done with me, several times.”
“What is it exactly? And what is with the noise!?”
“Try to tune it out,” Silver’s horn lit up and suddenly the whispering dulled.”
“What noise?” Amber looked around for something she might have missed. “You guys aren’t playing tricks on me are you?”
“It is Whisper: language of the wisps,” Silver answered. “Only ponies who have been touched by their magic can hear them. For instance,” he turned to Twilight with beaming eyes, “trying a spell without proper knowledge of its uses.”
Suddenly the darkness that Spike and Silver walked into glowed brightly and Spike stood I plain view surrounded by a fiery blaze. The fire inched closer and closer to Spike until it fully encased him. 
Then, as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving only Spike, glowing in the distance. Spike nodded and returned to Twilight, Silver, and Amber. Twilight and Amber were both awe stricken at Spike’s glowing presence. 
“What just happened?” Twilight asked before she thought about it. Amber, jaw wide open, lost her balance and was forced back down on all fours. 
“That was awesome!” Spike paused between each word, shouting even louder for each word. 
“Spike received an anointment, and now he has a wisp living inside him.”
“And that’s not at all creepy or dangerous?” Amber hesitantly spoke up. 
“For dragons, a mutual respect is given between them and the wisps. They were the ones who taught the dragons the magic of fire.”
“But haven’t they always had fire?” Twilight was getting more intrigued. 
“Yes, but,” Silver stopped and sighed trying to think of a better explanation. “Spike can send messages via his fire, correct?” Twilight nodded. “That is the magic, or one of them at least.”
“So this ritual intensified his magical abilities?” 
“Yes.”
“So, I have to ask,” Amber stood back on her hind legs. “That was your original plan wasn’t it?”
“Well,” he held the “l” sound, “yes.”
“And we wouldn’t have seen it otherwise?” Silver shook his head. 
“Well,” Twilight snorted, “how sneaky.”
“Okay. Blame me if you must, but I did it to make sure that you had as much protection as possible with as little resources as possible. We may encounter some creatures that decide we’re tasty and I want to make sure that the most important pony is not lunch, or worse.”
“Or worse?” Twilight gulped. 
“This is the Everfree. It is dangerous enough without the threat of the Equestrian Empire being torn apart by some mad pony with a plan to throw everything into darkness.”
“Hey,” Amber lowered herself to four legs again, making eye contact with Silver, “you said this happened to you.” Silver nodded. “What made you so special?”
“I was not special,” Silver looked down and away from both Amber and Twilight. “I stole my power from dragons,” then he looked back up with a humble look in his eye. “I stole their secrets in order for my own gain. However before you think any less of me, I would like to say that I was also born with a wisp.”
What? The three asked at once. 
“I found out the hard way as well,” Silver answered along with a nod. “When I was eight, I disintegrated my room. With the one wisp, my magic did exceed that of a normal unicorn, but it was also unstable, and at times, uncontrollable.” 
“Is that why your fire is blue?” Twilight asked. Silver nodded. 
“I thought that if I were to use the dragons’ secrets, my problems would be solved.” He shook his head, “It was foolish, and those I loved most paid the price for my actions. That is also why I asked you not to read further into that book. And I’m most glad that you listened.”
“Well you were kind of convincing when you showed us that glass desert,” Twilight lifted Spike onto her back with her magic and began to walk tangent to the other two. “If that was all you wanted to show us, then let’s go back now.”
“It’s not,” Amber answered. Twilight stopped and moved her head to face Amber. “Lightning’s gone missing and we don’t know where he is. We came here to hopefully find him or clues to where we might find him.”
“Oh,” Twilight stared at the ground for a moment. “Is that what all that stopping and nodding was?”
“Yeah,” Silver rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle. “Sorry about not saying anything.”
“Why didn’t you say anything!? Does my brother know about this yet?” 
“Not yet.” Silver looked up and around, eyebrow cocked to one side. “We still need to visit that zebra that lives here.” He spoke, but never made eye contact with anyone. He kept scanning the area looking around with a peculiar expression on his face. 
“What are you looking for?” Amber asked. 
“Hopefully nothing,” he answered, still not even giving her a passing glance. “We should go now before it starts to get dark.” Silver began to walk in the direction of Zecora’s hut. Amber and Twilight quickly rushed to his side. 
“Aren’t we going to teleport there?” Twilight curiously asked. 
“It’s a bit rude to show up unannounced as is, and you would like us to teleport straight to her home?” Twilight gave Silver a confused expression. “I want to at least give her the time to prepare for our arrival.”
“But she already doesn’t know we’re not coming,” Twilight quickly answered. “The time we come doesn’t exactly change anything.”
“True, but I think she will notice what is about to come,” Silver looked behind him, again looking for something, “or maybe she won’t.”
“What does that even mean?” Twilight shouted.
“I hope we don’t find out,” Silver walked forward slowly, but kept checking over his shoulder. “Come. Let us not doddle.” They followed, mimicking Silver as he kept walking, stopping and turning around, then continuing walking again.
A slow hour had passed and they had barely moved a mile. Silver could barely walk five steps without turning around and checking behind them. Then Twilight made a realization, there was no ambience. No birds chirping, no bugs buzzing, and no occasional moving bush, like the normal Everfree forest. 
“Silver,” Twilight started, but before she could finish her sentence, or even get a response, the trees behind them were quickly bent over and a towering blue bear with a large star on its head was bearing down on them. “An Ursa!” Twilight fearfully shouted. 
“Thank goodness,” Silver happily sighed. His three companions did not seem to share his enthusiasm and refused to remain as calm as he was. 
The ursa roared and stood on its hind legs and slammed back down on its front legs, then it charged towards the four of them. Amber quickly pushed Twilight in an effort to get her to run. She quickly got the message. Silver remained in his place, however. 
“What is wrong with you?” Amber scolded Silver. “Run!” 
“It’s only an ursa minor,” Silver said casually and glanced back at Amber and Twilight with a smirk. “I can scare him off.” In no time, flames began to spread from Silver’s hooves to his surroundings, turning from blue to orange to yellow as it spread further out. The ursa stopped dead in its tracks, eyeing the fire as it spread further outward. Silver then projected his shadow onto the fire, making the glowing-eyed stallion appear larger than even the ursa. 
The ursa finally turned tail and ran after a few more seconds of staring. Silver’s eyes stopped glowing and the fire died. Twilight, Spike, and Amber looked around, jaws dropped and completely astonished that nothing was burned. Silver slowly turned around sporting a huge over confident smile on his face. 
“See, I told you-“ A very loud, blood curdling roar that shook all the trees and made Silver’s mane fly up and into his face. 
Shakily, he turned to see the much larger ursa major standing where the ursa minor had just disappeared. He smiled weakly and bolted in the direction of his companions without so much as saying a word. However, he needed no words for the other two to run along with him. Spike had to hold on tightly to Twilight’s mane so he would not fall off. 
However, the ursa’s strides were ten times the length of the three ponies’ bodies put together. It was not long until it was nearly walking on their back hooves. 
“It’s already caught up to us! We should have run when we had the chance!” Amber angrily screamed at Silver. 
“I know, I know,” Silver said slowing down. “Just keep going towards the zebra’s hut! I’ll buy us some time!” As he slowed to a halt, so did the ursa who was now standing right over Silver. It raised its right paw and quickly smashed right on top of Silver, his shield barely holding its own against the ursa.
As the ursa hammered away at Silver’s shield, he concentrated on its back legs, encircling them in his magic. His magical field around the ursa’s legs was getting stronger, but he was getting knocked further into the ground. He still needed to build his magic, so he waited patiently as he inched further down from the bearlike creature’s attacks. 
As the bear pounded on the shield, it became closer to level with the ground. A second ring circled around his horn and he fully grasped the bear’s back legs. Lifting them became the real problem now. He was running out of strength. 
“Of course I have to drop my shield,” he shouted angrily at the wind. “Why would this be easy?” He waited until the ursa major was rearing back for another strike. When he finally got his opening, he dropped his shield and used his remaining magic to finally sweep its legs out from under itself. 
It landed on the ground with an earth shattering crash. Dust and debris exploded into a large cloud, giving Silver a chance to run. 
“Silver!” he heard from behind. Quickly he turned to see that Twilight had come back to help. 
“Run! This is,” A large, purple paw had come as Silver had his back turned and knocked him nearly fifty feet away into a tree. Twilight ran to his aid. He coughed and opened his eyes. They had gone completely white and had begun to glow. His fire flared up on its own as Silver whined in agony. 
The ursa ran towards them with a furious roar and raised its right paw for one final blow, but it never came. Instead, an overpowering gust of wind had blown the creature straight backwards. 
“Twilight,” Silver sat up and then stood up as if nothing had happened. Twilight looked at him with disbelief.
There’s no way he should be able to speak, let alone stand, Twilight thought. 
“Twilight, listen to me,” he snapped her out of her awestricken state. “Get out of here. Go to your zebra friend’s house. You’ll be safe there.”
“But,”
“This is not debatable.” 
“You don’t know where to go.”
“I’ll be fine. Duck!” The ursa had lunged itself forward in an attempt to get ahold of either one of its current prey. Silver quickly reacted and sent another gust of wind, hurtling towards a line of trees. It quickly stood back up and made another attempt, but this time, screaming air had knocked it into the trees so hard that they all had bent backwards. The creature roared in pain. 
“You hurt it! That’s enough!” Twilight shouted, but Silver was no longer listening. His gaze was fixed on the ursa, beating it back down each time it stood. “Stop!” Again, no response, only cold eyes that would not even face her. He just stood there unmercifully pushing the beast back down.
Then finally, the trees gave in to the pounding, throwing the ursa on its back. It whined, rolled over, and took off opposite of Silver and Twilight.  Silver’s eyes faded back to normal, but his mane stayed ablaze. He turned to Twilight and smiled so innocently, it infuriated her.
“You could have killed it! It was only protecting its baby!” Twilight shouted.
“Please Twilight, do you know nothing of these celestial creatures?”
“I know enough that you could have seriously injured it! And what about you? You shouldn’t even be standing!”
“That’s what you were worried about?” Silver laughed. “Twilight even if I wanted to hurt that ursa major, there is no possible way I could. I just needed to show that it was futile to keep following us.”
“So you’re saying that you weren’t trying to hurt it?”
“Twilight, tell me honestly, do you think you could have hurt it?”
“I wouldn’t!”
“That was not my question,” he pointed to the broken trees, “Do you think in the event that it was necessary, that you have enough magical ability to hurt that creature.” He kept pointing to the trees, making Twilight look. “I used all mine just to stop it.”
“You mean,” Twilight gulped, “that everything you did, didn’t even hurt it?”
“Well I may have scared it, but I in no way caused it harm, it’s too strong. I just managed to catch it off guard.”
“So in other words, you could have been seriously hurt,” Twilight shoved him.
“Okay, yes,” he gave Twilight a weak smile and put up one of his hooves, “but you must understand that your protection comes first.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“True,” Silver laughed. “Where are Spike and Amber?” He looked around. 
“We found Zecora’s not too long ago. We were surprisingly close.”
“I doubt close,” Silver let out another chuckle. “We did run a long way.”
“Yes,” Twilight giggled with him, “we did, didn’t we?”
“Come now,” Silver gestured for her to walk with him, “show me which way we should go.”
“Turn around,” she said with a smile. “It’s this way about a half mile.”
“Oh?” Silver deviously grinned and he disappeared with a flash, leaving Twilight alone. She rolled her eyes. She started to take one step when Silver returned and then took her with him. “Less than a half mile,” he said walking towards Zecora’s front door. 
“What? You trying to show off?” 
“Perhaps a little?” he said still sporting his devious smile. 
“Hey! Your fire, you haven’t turned it off yet,” Twilight pointed to his back, engulfed in blue flame. 
“I thought I,” Silver, to his surprise was still on fire. “Fantastic,” he said with a grimace. “Go on inside I’ll return momentarily. The potion should take a while. In the meantime, you do not leave this zebra’s home for anything, understood?” Twilight nodded, but she was unsure of what he meant by that. “Now go on. I will be along any moment.” 
Twilight obediently walked towards Zecora’s door. “Oh, and Twilight,” she turned back around. “Make sure she makes the tonic for prolonged magical exposure.” Twilight gave him a funny look, but nodded and went inside to join Spike and Amber, already inside.