//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: a Twist in Silver's Tale // Story: Silver and Foals // by dracone //------------------------------// A Twist in Silver's Tale Silver Fall had just celebrated her third century of life when something unusual happened, a wounded pegasus wandered into her lair. Said pegasus was announcing his presence before he even got to the point where her sleeping chamber could be seen, so she quickly took on one of her guises. This time it was Bit Watcher, whom happened to have the onyx raven clutching a bit along with a deep indigo mane. After Checking herself in the mirror, one of the treasures she had procured from places ponies should not go that she would occasionally visit starting from the age of 215 to keep the boredom away. “Hello she,” she said in chiming voice she reserved for the Bit Watcher alias as she stepped into view of a navy blue pegasus stallion with a mane colored in bands of red and green. “Oh,” said the pegasus in a light Southern Equestrian accent, “I was expecting to see a dragon, considering how much treasure is around here.” “Well if you don't see, hear or smell a dragon then this lair was probably abandoned a long time ago,” said Silver in her Bit Watcher voice, “I'm Bit Watcher, whom might you be?” It was probably the lack of emotion in her voice that tipped him because instead of stating his name his left wing flared up, his right wing and left hind leg looked damaged, as he said, “who are really? Some kind of changeling? Some monster that plays mind games with ponies?” “No,” said Silver Fall flatly and dropping her disguised voice in favor of her natural one. In her cold concerned voice that was crowded with more sorrow than she wished said, “this is my home, and this is in fact my treasury. I noticed you left your saddlebag's outside, take a few hooffuls this and see the doctor in Mustang.” “Your not being ironic or facetious,” said the stallion in surprise, “why?” “I'm just that generous,” said Silver Fall in her Bit Watcher voice, “you seem a little on edge to me, and seem to be suspicious of anypony new.” “I'm just on edge because somepony pulled a rather nasty prank on me a few days ago,” said the stallion, “I'm Storm Runner.” “And, as I said before, I am Bit Watcher. Feel free to come back and visit anytime, I don't really get guests around here, too many ponies let their fears and superstitions get in the way of actually getting near this cave.” “I'm surprised a pretty mare like you would isolate herself from the community like this,” said Storm Runner. “I have my reasons,” I said, “besides I have my garden to tend to, the plants grow better with less negative energy in the air.” “Where did you get an idea like that.” “My father,” I said, “he had a...unique philosophy. Now you better get going before that potentially gets worse, after you leave the cave hang a right after going straight a quarter mile, that should put a short jaunt from the hospital.” “Thanks,” he said scooping up a wing-full in his uninjured wing and headed out, before leaving he said, “I'll be sure to bring some friends over next time, I'm sure you could use the company.” “That is indeed accurate,” Silver Fall called as he disappeared from her sight, after the sound of his hoof-falls were barely audible to her draconic ears she returned to her sleeping chamber and reverted to her natural state. After staring at her face in the now small claw mirror she said to herself, “looks like I won't be feeling lonely at home for a while, I wish I could feel more about this.” ************************** It was a few weeks later while Silver was selling some her soy beans at the market with her makeshift stall next acting as the diving point between the gardening supplies and foods, like always, when Storm Runner showed up with his friends tailing him. He wanted them all to meet this most unusual mare, somepony with genuine compassion yet a cool personality when it came to some other things. “17 bits for beans that big?” said a mare's voice, when Silver looked up she saw Storm Runner with another stallion and two mares (all pegasi). The mare that asked question was a vibrant indigo with a navy blue mane and a cutie mark in the form of of a green cloud shaped like a square pillar, she continued with saying, “that's a better bargain than anywhere else in Equestria.” “Well,” said Silver in her Bit Watcher voice, “when the shop first started around a hundred years ago the asking price was 5 bits, but the ponies here quickly started saying they couldn't in good conscience buy such high quality food at such a low price.” The mare's eyes went wide and the other mare, who had a shadowy blue coat with lime green mane and a pair of neon blue and neon green colored racing flags for a cutie mark, said, “forgive my sister, Nimbus Build can get a little eccentric sometimes. I'm Night Racer by the way, and it really is more of bargain you have here.” “Thank you,” said Silver with a generous smile, “I would just give these away and tell ponies how to grow them on their own, but then I wouldn't have anything for my personal expenses.” “Aside from a dragon's hoard worth of treasure,” snarked Storm Runner with an eye roll. “That stash is meager by dragon standards, and besides its for emergencies and helping other ponies get back on their hooves. To use something like that as a personal expense would mean I have complete lack of integrity, which thankfully I don't.” “I like the way she thinks,” said the other stallion, he was a dark green with a sky blue mane and a cutie mark that looked like a white scroll with a reddish green lightning bolt acting as its seal, “she personally tests herself by spending an extended period of time with more money than most ponies would know what to do with and has decided to only touch in the case of an emergency. She's has more integrity than some ponies we know.” For some reason just hearing his voice made Silver Fall feel her frozen emotions begin to thaw, then when she looked at him it felt like the ice around her emotions was melting at an alarmingly quick rate. She quickly said, “I'm starting to feel a little...strange, so you all will be my last customers of the day before I close up shop, I don't want to be rude.” “Oh, in that case,” said Nimbus Build, “I'll buy four of your delightfully large beans. Lightning Twist you are always doing that!” “They're called soy beans,” said Silver as he dropped 4 of the largest beans she had into a large brown paper bag, “they're from a land in the far east, I'm apparently the only one to grow them from what I hear,” she passed the bag to Night Racer, “but I've never been able to get them as good as the one who brought them here, I guess you could call him my family patriarch. He was a very good soul, he was lost to us far to early from what I was told.” “What was his name?” inquired Lightning Twist. Silver spent a few seconds contemplating whether or not use her father's real name, to the ponies it probably looked like she was trying to recall something from an old story, before finally deciding to use her father's real name and said, “his name was Guiding Guardian, he was devoted to his family and was from the distant land these beans are from.” “He must have been somepony special if he was willing to travel so far?” said Night Racer. “He was a protector without something to safeguard until he met my ancestral mother and they had a child. pity he never met Princess Celestia, I'm sure the two would have become good friends in no time.” “How do you know the Princess never met him?” Inquired Lightning Twist. “Well,” said Silver as she started disassembling her stand and left small four sided sign that sign saying she was sorry the shop was closing early, but something potentially urgent came up before putting the disassembled stand on her back after tossing on her saddlebags with a large sack for the beans in front of her, “somepony that important showing up would definitely show up in the family history if she did,” she grabbed the bean sack in her mouth before she metaphorically started spilling the beans. She and the four other ponies made there way to the cavern she called home, mostly because the other three were curious to see this supposed abandoned dragon's lair Storm Runner had told them. After seeing it the four ponies spread out to better look it over. And before she knew it one of them was looking around her sleeping chamber and she heard Nimbus Build ask with excitement, “can I have this mirror? It's aesthetically what I've been looking for to help compliment my latest project.” “I'd love to,” said Silver as she placed the stand and bag in an empty corner, “but that's my only mirror, every mare has to have discreet way of ensuring she's presentable,” she really did want to give the mirror away because of her almost unbridled generosity, but she had to be honest and explain she only had the one mirror (as far as she knew, she had been through her treasure Faust knows how many times and had never found another mirror). “Best cloud architect in Cirrus is trying to make an extravagant mansion for the Wonderbolts to stay just in case they visit, you know he's probably not going to notice you as a mare eligible for dating, right?” stated Night Racer. “You could make their team easily, I've see how you just make everypony else eat the clouds behind you,” said Storm Runner. “I'm more of a score keeper,” said Night Racer, “I'll do a few laps just keep my wings in shape, that's it.” “I'm sure they need those too,” said Lightning Twist, “you're probably the best racing score keeper in all of Equestria, you deserve to be with the best.” Night Racer blushed and said, “you're still a sweet-talker I see, pity those dates didn't work out for us.” “We both know it just didn't feel right,” said Lightning Twist, “if it makes you feel better the same holds true with your sister.” “He's got me there,” said Nimbus Build, “he's a sweet stallion, but the feeling for something more just wasn't there.” “You all should get going, you have work tomorrow, I still have a few days off,” said Lightning Twist as he noted the position of the sun. When they had left Silver said, “you felt something at our first meeting as well?” “Yes,” said Lightning Twist, “but I've never felt like this before it's like we're...” “Resonating in our souls,” said Silver, “that's the way dad would have put it,” she realized her slip and for the first time in her life she felt a panicked fear (and it was so strong she almost started showing signs of her true form). “I like that expression,” said Lightning Twist, “you know I asked around a few days ago about you and they said they never saw you with your mother or that she gave any indication of pregnancy.” Silver gave a long sigh of defeat (the first genuine one in her life) before saying, “that's because she's me, every pony that's been selling soybeans for centuries here is me, I heard in advance when Princess Celestia was coming so I avoided the town for that entire week. I'm not a pegasus, I'm not even a pony. I only wander around like this to keep the loneliness at bay, I need social interaction or I slip into sorrow begot by the loneliness. You are making me feel emotions I've never felt before, both good and bad.” “What are you then? You can't be a changeling, your behavior doesn't match the stories about them," said Lightning Twist. Silver shifted to her true form, there was no flash of light with the transformation instead there was the image of every fiber of the pony before Lightning Twist growing and changing into something with scales and a long articulating tail (which promptly grabbed her saddlebags the moment it was formed enough to do so, and before he knew it Lightning Twist beheld a massive Silver Dragon (she had grown to a size to match her mother's by this point, around five times the size of the average pony). Silver Fall then turned to him and in a voice filled with emotional confusion that overflowed with compassion, love and honesty said, “my real name is Silver Fall, it has been for almost three centuries now, I was cast out by my mother's clan shortly after my father's death. I told the truth when it came to his name, he was the most important individual in my young life. For some reason I feel like you have an importance that surpasses him, you feel like the mate to my soul and I can't bear to lose anypony so significant in my existence.” She waited for his response, expecting fear and confusion to be his dominant emotional reactions, instead he just trotted up to her hugged her right foreleg and cried tears of joy, “why are you reacting that way?” said Silver Fall with genuine surprise. “Because you're just so beautiful and you trusted me with something so big even though we just met. You know what you have to do next, right?” “Reveal the truth to Mustang and your friends, Mustang must suspect something since they saw how little variation my aliases had, your friends will be harder. Your home will prove more difficult.” “True enough,” said Lightning Twist. “Alright, that is it,” said Silver Fall, “I've played at emotions I didn't have access to until after just meeting you, so I can tell when another individual is acting. Let it all out now or I'm going to have serious doubts about any future our relationship we will have.” Lightning Twist stared at her a full minute before he realized she was right, and right on queue he had twenty minute panic attack in front of her that showed every one of her concerns regarding him and his friends leading up to that point, when he collapsed on the stone floor exhausted she said, “are we feeling better now Lighty?” she said teasingly. “Trust a dragon with mostly frozen emotions to see through me like that,” he deadpanned in a more somber and charged voice. “You're welcome sweetheart,” said Silver Fall, “you can be yourself around me, I just wanted you to know that.” “Well, you're being very affectionate this fast, that's kind of disturbing,” said Lightning Twist. “Are you saying I'm trying get you to take things to another phase to quickly,” said Silver Fall with rage building in her voice, and her horns beginning to transition to a deep crimson. “Um what's up with your horns?” said Lightning Twist with a hint of fear, and desperate for a topic change. “What?” said Silver Fall, her horns returning to their usual snowy white, “I don't know, I just felt really angry all of a sudden, all these emotions are difficult for me to adjust to in such a short amount of time,” she then curled into a spiral around Lightning Twist and started given a low rumbling hum that he found surprisingly soothing. “Um, what are you doing?” he inquired with genuine interest. “Trying to quiet the storm within my mind and balance out my emotions,” said Silver Fall after another minute of humming, “it's a meditation technique dad used a lot, he said it helped keep unwanted emotions in check. Emotions like anger, greed and fear. All emotions are important, they help us in determining priorities, but sometimes they make us focus on the wrong priorities and when that happens a little meditation can help.” “You are a very strange dragon,” said Lightning Twist, “you're generous to almost a fault, usually calm and collected and most importantly don't try to eat other creatures.” “Dad said it's always important respect all life and do our best always find another way that will have the effect of everything coming out with its life. However there are times where a life must be sacrificed to benefit of the whole, it must be given in the name of the greater good,” she started crying tears of pride, “he gave his life to teach one last lesson to all within my mother's clan who would listen. I wanted to despise, hate and revile the dragon that dueled dad, but at the time was incapable. Now that I've had time to mature I can't even feel disapproval of Inferno Rage, it took him a few years to learn the lesson dad gave that day. On the day dad died he said he would meet my exile from the clan with celebration, but when the time came he had matured and showed genuine guilt over my having to leave. I was always an oddity, in my rite of passage designed to induce greed I was filled with an abundance of generosity and started bringing the treasures within the pit to every dragon there piece by piece,” she gave a chuckle at the memory, “I never experienced the transformation that comes with greed, my father said that I was a rare treasure to be praised, instead they reviled me. I was the only silver scaled dragon any had seen, a sort of exotic beauty when you include my unique body design, and instead of looking upon me wonder they claimed I was an unwanted existence,” she gave a small cry with three tears falling and forming into pearls, “instead of breathing fire I breathed ice, they were told it is a rare ability for dragons and called me a disgrace. Other dragons my age turned seeing who could make me cry the longest and hardest into a game so I could make those,” she gestured at the pearls, “they found the pearls born from my sorrow delicious, if you have any sense of justi...” the sound of one of the pearls shattering brought her attention to see him smashing the three pearls she had cried. “You have a good heart,” he said with pride, “and anypony, creature or thing that says otherwise doesn't know just what kind of individual you are, you're more Equestrian than some ponies I've seen in my experiences. You deserve to be happy, but before you and I try spending time together as lovers you need to come clean with everypony, and when you finally meet the princess you'll share your story with them as well. I know she won't show displeasure at what you are, but maybe some of your life choices. You are, and always will be, an entity with a good heart and desire to do the right thing. Although I'm a little concerned about dating a mare? What do you call a female dragon?” “You call a female dragon a dragoness and a male dragon is called a dragoon,” said Silver Fall, “I'm concerned about our ability to have offspring, I've had dreams of raising children for the past eighty years.” “I'm only twenty-four,” said Lightning Twist, “doesn't this feel like robbing the cradle to you?” “Nope,” there were over seven centuries between my parents when they had me, age is of little consequence to entities that can potentially live thousands of years,” said Silver Fall, “I'll miss you when you pass, and if we have offspring I could potentially outlive them. Outliving your child is a fear every parent can see as potential possibility, and for me it potentially is a very legitimate one.” Storm Twist thanked her for her time (also promising to keep her secret until the time she revealed it) and was on his way, they would continue to try and make their relationship work for a few months before coming to some realizations. Storm Twist came and talked with her every couple of days and they were both fine with that, they both felt like their hearts were perfectly in sync whenever they were near each other. Silver Fall would regale Storm Twist with tales of her parents, and in return he would do the same. It all came off as something harmless, but what came next would lead to problems. It had been two months since Silver and Lightning had met and she decided to finally reveal the truth Mustang and let the townsponies decide what they wanted to do with her after that, while feeling very nervous over the whole thing (an emotion she was not entirely used to yet), but also felt a sense of genuine calm at knowing they would all see the real her. Silver Walked trotted into town, with Lightning Twist and his friends in tow, true to his word he hadn't revealed her secret to any of them. Silver finished setting up shop made an announcement, her sense of unease being so intense it could almost be tasted, she said, “everypony before I open the shop I just want to say I haven't been very honest with the town in a long time,” she took a deep calming breath before continuing, “the truth is for the two centuries it's been a single individual setting up shop. I'm not a pony, but I'm also not a creature of stories you've been told is a danger. I am something else, and would like to show you what I really am, you've already seen who I really am and that will not change anytime soon,” with that she closed her eyes and assumed her true form, but made sure to only grow to a little more than three times the size of the average pony. She opened her eyes to surprised faces on everypony, including Lightning Twist's friends, she then continued with, “my real name is Silver Fall, and yes I really am a dragon.” “Then why aren't trying to eat anypony?” inquired Nimbus Build. Silver smiled gently at her and the rest of the crowd before saying, “my father taught me to respect all life, no matter what your personal feelings are, I'll never take the life of another creature when there are better options. Besides most of the nutrients I need can be acquired by consuming the soy beans. When I said my father's name I was being honest, his kind of dragon felt revulsion at the prospect of hunting and eating meat. To be honest with everypony here, the same holds true for me. I'm more like my father than anything, the bulk of my personality and abilities come from him.” “That philosophical view sounds like something that would be inspired in Equestria,” said one of the town ponies, “several of us had our suspicions, but we didn't think it would be something like this. You've been a noticeable part of our community for a long time.” “I was aware that some of you may have had suspicions,” said Silver with a gentle understanding tone while assuming the size of a pegasus so as to make everypony a little more comfortable, “a series of mares with the exact same coat color claiming to be descended from the one that was known a few years prior despite the fact there were no indicators that the prior mare was carrying a child or the sheer lack of foals following the mares around. I'd be suspicious of those mares too.” “Honestly,” came a mare's voice, “we thought you might have been a changeling, but then we remembered the rest of the old stories and no changeling would make themself so obvious to spot. We didn't know what to make you after that.” Silver just smiled and asked, “are you aware of the transformative properties dragons posses?” “Um, yes,” said Storm Runner, “when dragons are overcome with greed they transform into hulking dangerous version of themselves, why do you ask?” Silver gave another smile before saying, “the dragons in the far eastern lands, where my father was from, learned how to access that part of themselves and adjust it to enable them to take any form they wish. I partially inherited the property, no matter how hard I try I am unable to alter the coloration of my scales when I change so every single one of my pony forms would always have silver fur.” “Well,” said Night Racer coming out of her stupor, “I think a silver coat is lovely, it lets us know it's you more effectively.” “Thank you, everypony,” said Silver Fall, “I believe we have a market to deal with, and this time I think my produce is getting up to the quality that my father had it, please enjoy.” With that everypony just went back to business as usual, almost. Silver Fall had brought a big change with revealing herself, but at the same time it wasn't a change that seemed to immediately impact the present or near future. However it would bring quite the change to Cirrus, the pegasus community close to Mustang. Cirrus also happened to be the home of Lightning Twist, Storm Runner, Night Racer and Nimbus Build. And their telling that community about Silver would elicit a different reaction.