Twilight stared at the key in her hoof. It was small, blue and silver, with a strange flowing pattern inscribed into it. She found it on her couch the day before, with a note lying underneath.

I want you to have a key to my house should you ever need to come get me. Just pick any random door, doesn't matter the size, shape or location, place the key in the lock, turn it and come in.

DON'T LOOSE IT! It's very expensive and hard to replace.

Sincerely - Silver

The sentence echoed through her head. She hadn't seen him for the past two days, and was a little worried. She wanted to see him, but didn't need to, and felt like she would be pestering. She knew that he started the training for the two Manehatten mares a few days ago, but she couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.

Or maybe it was her desire to simply just see him again. She did enjoy their talks, even though it was mostly about Houndland Magic, or as she had learned it was supposed to be said as Houndish Magic. On occasion, she would pry a little into the wolfs more personal life, and he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was quite forthcoming with his secrets, however small they may have seemed. Still though, it was nice to learn more about the wolf himself, rather than the place he came from.

This was something Twilight found strange. She had never before been quite so invested with some pony's private life, unless they were close personal friends of hers. She usually cared more about the ponies cultures and customs rather than their life story.

But with Silver, it was different. Sure, she enjoyed his explanations and demonstrations, but his personal life and ideas seemed to intrigue her so much more, and she couldn't for the life of her tell why.

Just what was it about this wolf that made want to dig deeper into the depths of his past? Was it his vagueness when it came to answering the more difficult questions about his life? Like the air of mystery he left when he'd say, “It's a long story,” or something else to dodge the question and press on. Twilight found he did that when she asked about a particular type of story, usually involving violence of some kind, like the scar he'd gotten from Black Wing. Twilight had asked him about it before, but he never did give an answer. Or at least, one that satisfied her.

In truth, it actually annoyed Twilight a bit. She wanted answers, but knew she couldn't press him for them. He had every right to keep his past from her, but that only made the curious pony in the back of her mind scream louder.

For a wolf who seemed to be willing to share any secrets, he certainly kept many of them to himself.

Of course, the small item in her hoof could change that. This was the key to his home after all, and it would definitely provide her with answers.

It's wrong to go snooping around some pony's home. But then again, Twilight wasn't sure how much longer she could deal with the screaming curious pony.

The lavender alicorn sighed and dropped her head. She looked down to the wooden floor of the library hall, then up to the wooden closet door she stood in front of.

“Maybe I'll just stop by and say hi,” Twilight thought aloud. She used her magic to float the key to the closets lock. She gave it a quick turn, causing the signature blue light to fill the hall before dying down. Hesitantly, Twilight pushed the door open.

“Um...hello?” she called as she poked her head in. When no one called back, she stepped inside and looked to her surroundings.

Twilight reveled in awe as she moved across the shining white tiles. It wasn't just because of the size of the home, but mostly because the massive room was in place of what was supposed to be a junk closet. She'd heard about spells like this, though she'd never seen one for herself.

Her hooves clacked and echoed through the halls. After her amazement lessened a little, Twilight noticed a paper laying on the kitchen counter.

In the smith room
-Silver

Twilight looked around and saw the two hallways that went throughout the house. She looked down one, but didn't see any doors, and the other had many. Naturally, she went with the one with doors.

She wondered slowly down the halls, and carefully knocked on each one. No pony answered, and so she moved down to the next floor. When she reached the second floor, she tried the doors there, but again no answers. She was beginning to wonder if he was even home, but there was more to the home for her to check. When she first went to the third floor, she could smell smoke filling the hall, but could see any rising.

Twilight lifted her nose and followed the scent down the hall and to the last door. When she reached the door, she could hear metal striking and whistles blowing. She took her hoof and knocked loudly over the sounds.

“Come in!” Silvers voice called through the door. Twilight pushed and entered.

“Right here,” he answered. He was standing next to a large furnace with a large pair of tongs in his paws and an apron on, “Oh! Twilight, it's you! I wasn't expecting you. Is there something you need?”

“O-oh, nothing really,” Twilight stammered, “Just wanted to pop in and say hi, you know; see how you were doing. Oh, and to see how this key worked.”

Silver set the tongs down on a stone bench and moved to the alicorn, “Oh, right. Sorry I haven't come by to see you lately. I've been trying to finish a little project, as you can see,” he gestured a paw over to the furnace. Twilight could see something sticking out from the pit, but couldn't tell what.

Twilight took a step back to the door, “Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll let you get back to your work.” She turned to leave.

“No, wait. It's okay. You caught me a good time. The metal needs to be tempered for a while anyway, so I have some free time.” Silver undid his apron and let it drop to the floor before picking it up and hanging it on a hook behind the door, “Just let me go clean up and we can leave.”

“Oh, no. I don't think you should, not with all this going on,” Twilight waved a hoof around the room, “I'd hate for you to mess up your project just to spend time with me. Or worse, leave and have your house burn down.”

“Hmm, I guess you have a point. But we can still hang out here! I think I have something you'd like to see.” Silver pulled the door open and allowed Twilight to step out. When she exited, she noticed the temperature hadn't changed.

“Ice magic spell. I had a friend install it in the room to keep it cool, along with a fire-proofing spell. I also put in an air filter spell to ventilate the smoke, but unfortunately it doesn't do anything for the smell.”

Twilight let out a giggle and allowed Silver to pass by across the hall into the bathroom, “Ya know, even with the smell, I still find it impressive that you have a fully functioning blacksmith work shop inside your house.”

Silver lifted his face from the sink faucet and grabbed a towel, “Then I think you're gonna love the next room,” he muffled through.

He tossed the towel onto the rack and went through the hall to the library door. Twilight followed behind him and stepped through door after he opened it.

When she entered, she could only gasp and awe in starstruck amazement. It may not have been the first library she'd seen, but it was a library she'd never visited before, and that meant new books to read. She loved the feeling of knowing that there was still more to read and learn, and every new library she went filled her with that feeling of anticipation and eagerness to flip through the pages and see what secrets the tomes held.

“This! Is! Amazing!” the alicorn squealed as she fluttered through the shelves. She ran a hoof excitedly over the spines, quickly reading the titles as she glided by, “Oooh! I can't wait to read them!! Can I!? Can I?! Can I?!”

Silver trotted behind her and chuckled at her excitement, “Of course! That's why I brought you in here.”

Twilight whooshed down and wrapped the wolf in a hug, “Thank you!” she squealed again, before taking off into the shelves once more. She eagerly plucked a number of books off the rows and plopped them down in a spot next to the window where a pile of pillows laid. She laid down and quickly flipped open the first book and began reading.

Twilight cocked her head as she noticed an irregularity in the books, “Huh?”

Twilight moved her hoof across the lines on the pages and the strange symbols and characters that filled them, “This book, I can't understand it. It's not in any language I've seen before.”

“Hmm?” Silver quickly looked over the words on the page, “Oh! No wonder, you picked one from the ancient languages section. There aren't many who can read it. Even I can't read every single word, but I know enough to get the picture. Why'd you pick this one though? Didn't you see the writing on the spine?”

Twilight shrugged, “Well, I just kinda felt like I wanted to read it. I didn't pay much attention to what was written on it, but just that I didn't recognize the title, so I knew I didn't read it yet. Is it interesting?”

“Sure!” Silver said as he moved to Twilights side, “It's a collection of old stories from a long lost fox tribe called the Kitsune. They were said to be one of the most powerful creatures to ever exist.”

Twilight marveled at the book before her. It was a one of a kind literature piece, and she couldn't read it. Nothing else in the world could break her heart more than this moment.

Twilight dropped her head and frowned, “Guess I can't read it...” she moped. She sunk a little lower and sat like that for a moment.

“I may not be able to read it, but you can!” she exclaimed as she whipped her head up. She looked at Silver with bright, gleaming eyes, “Could you read it to me!? Pleeeeease?!” Twilight put on her best pleading face.

Not that she really needed to. Silver found her too adorable to resist anyway, so he happily agreed. He laid himself down next to her and flipped through a couple of pages.

Time had flown. The hours felt like minutes, the minutes like seconds and the seconds seemed to disappear entirely. With each word that flowed from Silver, Twilight found herself getting more and more lost, but she wasn't sure in what.

Was it the book? It was certainly intriguing. She'd never heard about these nine-tailed creatures from the far east, and found them to be a wonderful read.

But there was something else about the moment that she enjoyed. Something that made her heart flutter and her tummy twirl with delight.

“...Silver...” the mare whispered. Her head laid on a shoulder of fluff, while a warm voice filled her ears.

Silver looked down to the snoozing mare, who had fallen asleep just a short while ago. He continued to read, as the last time he stopped, she began to stir from her slumber, and he didn't want to ruin her moment of repose.

Twilight could still hear every word the wolf spoke, and the stories provoked vivid, powerful images in her mind. Though she wasn't aware she had fallen asleep, she continued to listen, both to the story, and the wolf reading them.

The vibrations the deep tone made her smile, and the sounds of his heart played it's sweet harmony in sync with his breathes, which was what put her to sleep like it had done twice before.

It was this feeling that Twilight ached for. This is what kept calling her back to the wolf, despite knowing there was no real need. Sure, there was the study of wolf culture and magic, but even so, there were two other wolves she could talk to, one of them was in Canterlot, just a train ride away.

But still, she kept coming back to him. Not out of convenience, but hope. Hope that maybe she can again feel this flutter of her heart and twirl of her stomach.

Twilight's dreams had slipped away from her. No matter how hard she tried to grasp them, they just kept fading.

Eventually, her eyes slowly opened to find that she was still on the pillow pile in the library. The stack of books were still there, but the Kitsune one laid in front of her, closed.

Twilight lifted her head and examined the room. Her cuddle buddy seemed to have wondered off some where, though not too long ago as the spot where he laid was still warm.

Twilight rolled onto her back and stretched out her limbs, earning a loud yawn from her. She rolled back over and rose to her hooves then walked to the window. The sun was setting, and when she arrived, it was almost noon. She'd slept for at least five hours.

Twilight sighed. While she was more than happy with her nap, she wished she'd stayed awake to read the stories, or at least talk more with Silver.

“Oh, you're awake.” Silver called from behind. Twilight turned to face him, and took notice of the flakes of soot and ash under his cheek fur.

Of course, she also took notice of the heat in her own cheeks, “Hehe, sorry. I promise I don't usually fall asleep randomly. It won't happen again.”

Silver waved a dismissive paw, “Don't worry about it. I'd have probably joined you if I didn't have to watch the blades.”

“Oh, yeah, I never told you, did I? Well, you can already guess I do metal works, but I specialize in weaponry, particularly of the bladed variety. It's what I was working on earlier.”

“Onyx. I saw she used two re-bars back in Manehatten, and yesterday, she used two branches she broke off from a tree. So I figured, I should make her something a little more useful. I want to do something for Ruppy too, but I haven't figured out what yet.”

Twilight was surprised at the wolfs profession. When she saw the smith room, she knew he had the ability to create and mend metal works, but she didn't expect him to make blades. It just didn't seem in his nature.

“Well, they aren't done yet, and I don't like showing off an unfinished product. And besides, I won't be giving them to her until I come up with something for Ruppy too. It would also seem kind wrong to show them to some pony else before she got to see them.”

Twilight ears dropped a little, “Oh, well that's a shame. But I'm afraid I need to get going anyway. It's getting late, and I'm sure Spike is worried.”

Twilight moved away from the window, and was about to head to the door when she looked back to the books she picked. She used her magic and floated them back to their spots, but stopped when a certain one passed in front of her.

On the cover was written, “The Fallen Kings”. Twilight thought for a moment.

Silver looked closer and read the title, “Oh yeah! This is where the name of that gang came from. Or at least, I think. Their details were a bit off, but I think this is what they were aiming for.”

Twilight stared at the book, then looked to Silver, “Do you mind if I take it with me? I would love to give it a read.”

“I will.” Twilight assured as she left the room. In truth, she really did find the story a bit interesting, but she mostly took the book just to have a reason to come back. It would also give her something to talk about the next time she saw him.

“I don't need an excuse to come talk to him; he said I was welcome to come any time. More importantly, why am I even looking forward to seeing him again? I mean sure, he's not a bad guy. He's nice, sweet, charming, warm and fluffy. His eyes are like rivers of golden honey and his smile is just the cut--

Wait...what am I thinking?! A small crush is understandable, even manageable, but this is just getting out of hoof. I need to make sure I don't get too involved with him.”

Twilight strode out of the door and back into the library. She in the main room and stared at her book, the excuse she'd come up with. She laid the book down onto the coffee table and put herself on the couch.

“What am I doing? Of course I know I like him. I'm not to sure when this infatuation began, but it's here now. I guess the question is, what do I do?”

As she laid on the couch, the memories of her night with Silver crept to the front of her mind. At first, it was the feeling of emptiness on the couch. Then, she began to feel cold. She balled up to keep herself warm, gripping a pillow tightly in her chest.

Twilight sighed, “I need help. But who can help me? I need to find some pony with a lot of knowledge about stallions, or maybe just males in general.”

“Hmm...Applejack? No, she's too busy with farm work to have relationships. Flutter Shy, maybe? No, no. Definitely not.

Twilight hopped off the couch and left the tree home, her sights set on Carousel Boutique.

Silver set the newly sharpened blade down onto a wall rack. It had been about an hour since Twilight had left, and he just finished up the sharpening of Onyx's blades. All that was left was the buffer and polish, then he'd start on Ruppys new toys.

He'd finally come up with an idea for the pegasus. He'd decided on making a pair of magic gauntlets, imbuing them with earth magic crystals that allowed her to control land and rocks.

While it wasn't quite as powerful as one who had learned to use earth magic naturally, it still was very strong.

Silver once more left the smith room and washed his face before heading to the kitchen to start dinner. Ruppy and Onyx would be back soon from swimming, and Silver wanted to make sure the food was done before they came in and started snacking.

He went to the kitchen and set out a ball of lettuce, a bag of tomatoes, carrots and oranges from the fridge. He then grabbed a number of spices and a couple of cans of soup from the cabinets.

He put the soup on the stove in a pot, then added the spices and left it to simmer. He turned his attention back to the other ingredients he pulled out and began chopping them up.

He pulled out a six bowls and set them on the counter. He filled three with the lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and orange slices, then the other three with the soup.

Just as he finished serving, the two mares came in from the back door, soaked and panting.

“Whew! Oh, man that was great.” Ruppy said as she entered, Onyx following behind. Their coats were mostly dry, but their manes were still dripping, creating a trail of droplets where ever they walked.

“Please wipe that up.” Silver said as he pushed the bowls in front of the chairs, “Foods done!”

The wolf quickly trotted over to his seat and was joined by the mares. They wasted no time digging into their dinner, promptly scarfing and inhaling the soup and salad.

“Mmm, this is really good!” Ruppy praised with a mouthful of food. She swallowed her serving, “Hey, now that I think about it, don't you need meat to survive? I mean, you're a carnivore, right?”

Silver took a break from his eating, “I do need meat, but since ponies don't sell much of it here in Equestria, I take vitamins instead. They don't give me everything the meat does, but it's still enough to live.”

The three quickly finished their dinner, and Ruppy and Onyx went to shower. Silver had left to go to Canterlot for more research with a bag of....something.

The halls were quite as they had always been during the night. Silvers claws didn't make so much of a tick as he moved across the floors. It didn't take long for him to reach the library. He learned the layout of the castle fairly quickly, even a few of the secret chambers Celestia had installed. Silver approached the large oak doors and cracked them open slightly. He peeked inside and found the mare he was looking for.

Luna sat on the floor in front of a fire, a pillow under her hooves and a book open. Silver, with a devious thought in mind, quietly crept into the room, making sure not to reveal himself or his intentions.

He slowly stalked behind her, until he was hovering just over her back. He leaned down close and whispered in her ear, “Did ya miss me?”

“KYAH!” the alicorn squealed as she jumped into the air, flying to the ceiling and gripping it tight. Silver simply stared at the startled mare for a moment, before falling to the ground laughing.

Luna growled, “Silver, I do not appreciate being sneaked up on!” she floated down from the roof, “If that had gone differently, you may have ended up dead.”

Silvers laughs slowly died down, “Well, consider that pay back for embarrassing me last time.”

Luna huffed and sat on her haunches, crossing her fore hooves and turning away from Silver to pout.

“Oh, come on. Don't be like that. It was just a joke,” Silver cooed, but received no response from the mare.

Silver faked a sigh, “ Oh, well. Looks like I'm gonna have to eat all this ice cream by myself.” He made sure to give the bag a rustle to get the mares attention.

At the sound of the rustling, Silver could see Lunas ear twitch. She slowly turned her head to face the wolf, “What flavor?”

Silver opened the bag and looked inside, “I got chocolate fudge, strawberry, vanilla and moose tracks.”

Luna dived and snatched the bag out of his paws, quickly going back over to her spot in front of the fire and on the pillow. She dug into the bag and pulled out the vanilla tub first, popping off the lid. She licked her lips and was about to dig her muzzle into the ice cream before Silver cleared his throat loudly to get her attention.

She paused and looked up from her frozen treat. Silver was clacking two spoons in his paws with a smug look on his face. Luna looked to the tub in her hooves, her tongue still in mid lick.

She quickly straightened herself and levitated a spoon over, “Well, I suppose I could forgive your little stunt. You did keep your promise after all, even if I was hoping you'd come visit sooner.”

Silver smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, I kinda got caught up in some things, so I couldn't come when I wanted.”

“I know. Tia told me all about the mares you found in Manehatten. She says they're quite intimidating, but promising.”

“She doesn't know the half of it,” Silver said as he moved to the stacks of the library. He climbed a ladder and began looking through the books.

Silver spoke without looking to her, “I need to find a book on Equestrian lore and fables. Particularly, stories that cross with ones from Houndland.”

“Hmm,” Luna hummed as she tapped a hoof, “Well, I'm not sure about stories that cross with Houndland, but we most certainly have books on lore and fables. Check the 7th shelf.”

Silver pushed up the ladder and along the row of books, stopping when he found the right section. He skimmed the titles, then plucked a few off the shelf before jumping down.

“So, what about you?” he asked as he sat the books down in front of Luna, then pulled a pillow up in the same spot, “Why are you in here? Don't you have things to do?”

Lunas expression seemed to drop a little as she shook her head, “No. The night is not nearly as busy as the day, so when I finish my patrols, I have a lot of free time on my hooves. Sometimes, I'll go for a fly or a walk, and other times, I'll just come in here to read.”

“Oh, well that sounds nice,” Silver said honestly. He liked having time to himself.

“Yes, it's not bad when you have some pony to spend it with. It happens on occasion that I'll enter a dream of some pony whose having a nightmare, and help them get through it, but it doesn't last for long. Nightmares don't occur all that often these days. Not that that's a bad thing.” Luna took another spoonful of ice cream. Her expression seem solemn and lonely.

Silver reached out paw and gave the mare a reassuring look, “Ya know, you could always come visit me.”

Luna gave him a confused look, “I thought you said you didn't want me to look into your dreams anymore.”

“Well I changed my mind. I don't have nightmares often, but most of my dreams are quite pleasant, and I think you'd enjoy them. Just don't go to my memories, those are still off limits.”

“I'll let you in if I want you to see it. But if I don't, please don't pry and force your way in. Just leave it.”

Luna gave a small nod. Sure, it wasn't exactly what she wanted, but still, she had some pony she could spend time with, even if it's not face to face.

Maybe it was better this way. A pony's dreams do reveal a lot about them, even if they don't mean for it to. After all, dreams are formed from your subconscious, so it's not like you can have full control over them. Sometimes, even Luna couldn't control her dreams.

Maybe she could learn a little more about this new wolf she'd come to call a friend.

Silver took his paw back, realizing he'd left it there for longer than he'd intended. He pulled a book from the small pile he gathered and flipped through it.

It was filled with all kinds of artifacts and legends, but after an hour, he found nothing.

The third one was the same, as was the fourth and the fifth. They didn't take as long since they weren't as large as the first two, but Silver was still sitting there after four hours with nothing to show for it.

Luna and Silver made conversation as he read, but nothing of any significance. Luna told Silver about the most interesting nights she had, and some of the funnier dreams she'd entered. She wanted to lighten the mood, as she saw Silver was beginning to get frustrated.

He dropped his and groaned in annoyance, “Stupid bracelet. Why's it so hard to find?”

Silver nodded his head and looked up, “Or at least I would be if there were any actual research on it.” He began to rub his temples with his paws, as a migraine had become present in his mind.

Luna sat and watched the wolf as he moped, “So then what are you gonna do? You can't find what you're looking for if you don't have any clues.”

“Oh, I have a clue. There's a valley where the bracelet may be hidden, but I was hoping to find a bit more information to help narrow down it's location so I don't have to go checking every nook and cranny in the whole damn thing. Looks like I have no choice though.”

Silver dropped his head once more, this time allowing it to hit the floor with a thud. Luna winced as his head made contact with the carpet. She honestly didn't think he could be like this. Her impression of him was some pony who never got over worked or...well, mopey. But the wolf before her was most certainly both.

Luna couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the sight. She used her magic to push the pile of books aside, then moved closer to the wolf. She took her hoof and stroked the top of his head, making his ears perk up a bit.

“There, there. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. It may take a while, but you'll get it.” She moved a bit closer and pulled Silver into her chest, cradling his head in her hooves and nuzzling hers into his neck.

Silver, while shocked at the notion, seemed to be quite pleased. He once again felt the cool of Lunas coat against him, relieving some the pain in his head and this time, there was a small something else added to the moment. It started off as a gentle hum, but soon, words were formed and....

Come little children, the times come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows....♪♫

Luna quietly sang, her voice filling the room with a sweet melody. She was like the whistle of the wind in the night; cold but comforting, eerie and yet beautiful. Silver loved it. It sent his heart into a strange pace, seemingly pounding but yet still remaining calm. A tickle filled his chest, and he found himself hoping that morning never come, so that he might lay in the comfort of the arms of the Princess of the Moon with her pleasant songs filling his ears.

This was a moment he would always treasure. The night Princess Luna sang him to sleep with a lullaby.

The more she sang, the more Silvers eyes drooped. They were like lead in water, and once they closed, they wouldn't open again till sunrise.

At first, he fought to stay awake. For one, he wanted to hear the rest of the song, but he also didn't want to fall asleep with a Princess...again. But as time ticked on, he found himself caring less and less about how it may appear to others should they discover the two of them, and began to dive deeper into the comfort of Luna.

“Screw it...I don't care anymore. If ponies start talking, I'll just let 'em talk. But right now, this is all I want.”

Luna felt Silver nuzzle a little into her. She continued to sing until she was sure the wolf had fallen asleep. She looked down and smiled at the peaceful face Silver made when he was snoozing.

Luna let her head rest on Silvers neck, then concentrated to connect her mind to his. She wasn't going to join him, just a little look-see.

Luna's mind slipped into Silvers conscious, careful not to go in to far. She searched for a moment, then found Silvers dream.

It was a vast plain, with tall swaying grass and a few thick trees scattered about. She looked to a nearby tree, and saw a familiar wolf sitting below it, reading a book with a glass next to him. Luna could feel the sun and the wind, even in the dream. The smell of the grass filled the air as a breeze blew by, tossing the blades about and making them dance in the wind.

This is what Silver was. This moment told her everything she needed to know about the wolf. He was humble, tranquil, content, but above all...

The New Guy

by SilverWind102

Fallen Kings and Luna Sings