Silver awoke the next morning and gently pulled herself to her hooves. Her vision hadn't left her. Even sleeping was hard, with it rattling around inside of her. A part of herself was miserable and dying, and she had to act. Surely Fluttershy wouldn't try to hurt her on purpose...
She trotted from her room and ran right into David. "Oh, good morning."
David smiled at her and reached out, petting her over her ears in a soft way. "Hey, I had a question for you."
Silver tilted her head. "Go ahead and ask. You know I'm here for you."
David nodded quickly. "And thank you for that, but I think I need to experience Equestria on my own a little. Would you be opposed to giving me some starting bits and setting me loose?"
Silver squeezed her not-twin gently in her magic. "Is that what you want? Here you can have whatever you want and explore at your own pace."
He chuckled. "That feels odd, but yes. It's too easy to be lazy when you have everything. I'm not running away. We're still friends." He put a hand gently on her nose and she nuzzled it gently. "Running away from yourself rarely works."
Silver snorted gently at the line. "Not literally, but close enough. If you're sure, then yes. Let's get you some money to take with you, and remember you can come back if things go sour."
She led the way through the castle and fetched him a sizable bag of bits. "Make it last, not that I need to lecture myself about trying to set a basic budget. Are you planning on getting a job?"
He nodded quickly. "I have a few ideas. Thank you, again. You've been great. Even if we weren't extradimensional siblings, you're a great person."
Silver walked aside him, talking about some of the Earth things they left behind, until they arrived at the front gate. They parted ways with friendly waves, with Silver setting off towards Fluttershy, and David heading into town.
On firm wings, Silver spotted her little house at the edge of the forest. She set down lightly in the morning grass, the ground thumping against her steps as she moved up towards the door. It was quiet until she heard it. Singing? Oh, yes. "She does sing," Silver whispered to herself, following that sound.
Fluttershy came into view, singing gently to a troupe of birds as she set out little bowls for them to peck from.
Silver smiled a little. It was hard to imagine anyone so harmless as being a problem. She backed away from the shy pegasus, then came closer while amplifying the sound, making her second approach much more obvious. By the time she came back into view, Fluttershy was looking her way curiously, and surprise was avoided. "Prince Silver Stars?"
Silver nodded. "Princess, but hello. Fluttershy, I believe we promised to hang out a little more often." She settled on her haunches. "When you're done with your friends."
Fluttershy smiled gently. "Oh, um, if you don't mind..." She went about tending to her animals with a content expression. "What brought you today? Was it just me?"
Silver nodded more slowly. "Well, yes. Would you believe I had a dream about you?"
Fluttershy set a final bowl of food down and landed before Silver. "Was it a bad dream?"
Silver smiled. "Some of it, and some of it felt very important. Being a student of Luna means they tend to stick with you, especially your own. Fluttershy, is there any reason you'd want me to avoid my old self?"
Fluttershy went tense, her wings ruffling. "Would you like some tea?" She took off towards the house, with Silver trailing behind. "I'll get some for both of us!"
Silver stepped into the house, her hooves clip-clopping across the wooden floor before she found a place to settle down. "Thank you, but we need to talk, Fluttershy. You're not in trouble, I don't think. I just want the truth."
Fluttershy flashed a most anxious smile as she went through the motions of getting a kettle going. "Aren't you happy?"
Silver tilted her head. "In some ways, yes, in some ways, no. I suppose that describes most pe--ponies. Fluttershy, I mean it. I'm not here to punish anyone. You're a dear friend of Twilight. I would never dream of harming you."
Fluttershy sank a little, leaning against the counter. "Why can't you... just be happy like you are?"
Silver put a hoof to her chest. "I'm hurting my loved ones by being dead. This isn't a natural peace. I don't mind being a mother. I love being a wife. Being a caring and doting family member? I'm fine with that too. But when they look at me and ask for something... and I just kind of have to let them rape me and fake it. It's wrong."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "It's not that bad! Is... Is it?"
Silver leaned forward. "It may be our fault, but even Twilight has some desires that she wants to fulfill with her family, and I'm useless for it."
She flailed a little. "Not that part, I mean... Do you? Is it that bad?"
Silver's ears went flat. "I let Fast hop up because she wanted it and tried to make a few noises to sound right, but I felt nothing but her weight and her pushing."
Fluttershy trembled softly. "I... I just wanted you to..."
She looked ready to burst into tears and Silver wrapped her in magic, gently squeezing her and stroking her mane. "Shhh, just tell me. I'm not here to yell and accuse."
Fluttershy gave a halting bob of her head. "I just... I wanted you to be peaceful. I wanted you to stop hurting Twilight. No more fighting. No more studding. You could spend more time with her, and the foals. Doesn't that sound nice?"
Silver brought her closer even as she flinched with a squeak. Silver gently nuzzled her cheek. "It does sound nice, and the time I've spent with my foals is not regretted at all... But I need to feel, and I need to face the past. Fluttershy, may I be me?"
Fluttershy whimpered and whined, tears squeezing from her eyes. "Oh, I've messed everything up... You're going to go right back to your old ways. Twilight's going to be sad without saying it, smile without meaning it..."
Silver perked her ears. "Perhaps you should tell me what I was too blind to see. Did I hurt Twilight?"
"Yes!" Fluttershy screamed the one word, her wings snapping open before she collapsed on herself, hiding her face behind her long mane. "I'm sorry..."
Silver softly brushed her mane with magic. "Get it all out. You can yell if you want to. How did I hurt her?"
Fluttershy was quiet for several long moments before she nodded. "She would barely talk about it, but she hated you being so far away. She hated you going to stud for mares you didn't even know, that she didn't even know. She accepted it... because she's a princess. Royal... Royal duties and all."
Silver gave a slow nod. "I... I can remember being far away from Twilight. I was miserable too. For her, for Night and Fast too. I didn't want to be away from them. Please believe that."
Fluttershy sagged in the telekinetic grip. "Please... let me go." The silver aura popped and she easily fell to the ground. "Thank you..."
Silver spread her hooves wide. "Fluttershy, everyone was suffering. We have duties, all of us... None of us liked it."
Fluttershy shrank away. "But she's my friend..."
Silver gave a gentle smile. "She's my friend, and I hope you are too. Please, let me face my past. I won't grow pretending it wasn't there. I need to do this."
She took on a slow breath before she nodded. "Fine... Face your past, um, if you're sure that'll help."
Silver felt something snap inside of her in a painful twang. She could barely see as a horrible headache settled over her like the worst sinus headache she'd ever had. "Mmmf, thank... you..." She tried to leave, but fell over instead of walking. The world faded from her.
The front door suddenly burst open and Night Watch entered swiftly. "What was that?!" She saw Silver sprawled on the floor and scowled. "Did you? No, 20 percent chance. What happened?" Fluttershy looked horrified and squirmed in place. "Fluttershy, out with it, what happened?"
Fluttershy worked her jaw a moment before she nodded. "I just told her she could face her past, and she collapsed. Is she alright?" She paused a moment. "Were you listening?"
Night moved over Silver and set her in a comfortable position before nuzzling her sleeping cheek. "I was listening for trouble after Silver flew out like she was ready to do a showdown. Imagine my surprise when she ended up here instead of some villain's lair." She moved around Silver, approaching Fluttershy. "What you discussed is your business, but if you know something that could help her, now is the time to speak."
Fluttershy was quick to shake her head. "I swear, that's all I said! Are you... Are you angry?"
Night shook her head in turn. "No." She flashed her fangs. "You hardly strike me as the villainous sort. What did she... No, I said you could keep that."
Fluttershy squirmed a moment. "I... I should say... I... I wanted Silver to be happy, and to stop hurting Twilight. I... I told her to be peaceful when we were trying to bring her back."
Night's wings snapped out. "Well she has been that! Fluttershy... You made her dead inside."
Fluttershy hid away behind her mane again. "I know! I didn't... I wasn't trying to do that. Isn't she a nicer pony now?"
Night took a slow breath. "Silver has been a sweet little pony, but that's not exactly Silver. I want the real Silver, not just a chunk of her. I might get angry at her sometimes, but I love those parts too."
"I love those parts too." Twilight stepped in from the front.
Both Night and Fluttershy were surprised at her presence, but she smiled and continued. "When I took her hoof in marriage, I accepted all of her, even the less-than-perfect parts. She can try to improve, like any pony, but having the parts we decide aren't nice cut out of her... She's not a criminal we need to throw a reform spell at."
Fluttershy flopped out on her belly. "Oh, Twilight! You must hate me so much... I'm sorry! If you never want to talk to me again, I'll understand."
Twilight stepped closer and reached, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's cheek. "Fluttershy... We're closer friends than that. Of course I forgive you. Now let's support Silver. Let's get her to a bed instead of on the floor." She wrapped the unconscious pony in pink/violet magic and trotted deeper into Fluttershy's abode. "That was a very nice thought, Fluttershy, but we were all under a great deal of stress at the time. Let's just put it to right, and learn from our mistakes like grown ponies."