//------------------------------//
// 149 - You Can Leave Now 
// Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

Silver worked furiously to create a new spell. Sure, it was fairly identical to the spell he was working with, just with a few key phrases removed. A bit of pride stirred in his chest that he could see the way to adjust it without collapsing the entire thing, or at least he was pretty sure.

"Test it." Starlight was sitting there, watching him. "When you're finished with it, jump back to several hours before this meeting and meet me." She produced a card from nowhere and slipped it behind Silver's ear. "I'll be here. Or I will have been there. I won't be in the future, so don't bother looking there afterwards.

He barely noticed her, but he heard the command and grunted a little as he labored on the spell. With the last bit of the spell scribed out, he let out a huff of breath and looked around. She was gone? He plucked the card from behind his own ear in his magic and read it off before reading the spell off the scroll he'd made. It was too complicated to cast from rote memory without a lot more time and effort than he had to give, so he cast it from the scroll, and vanished with it.

He fell through time itself, colors swirling around him wildly.

Text formed against the backdrop of chaos. "She was never yours."

He tried to question it, but speaking between time was harder than he would have liked, and he fell free of it to land roughly before a little bed and breakfast. He shook off the funk of breaching the fourth dimension and trotted  to the door, pulling it open with his magic.

Inside was quiet, minus a few ponies enjoying the titular breakfast that came with staying at this particular place. "Over here," harshly whispered Starlight, who was waving for him to follow as she walked from the room. He quickly moved to catch up with her.

"Do you know why I'm here?"

"I can guess." Starlight smiled brightly. "You have the spell?"

He produced the scroll and she took it in her magic. "Great, then you've done your part. You can leave now."

Silver raised a brow. "If I leave just like this, that's going to cause untold problems."

"Hmm?"

He rolled a hoof. "I could meet myself, or run into other ponies before I should. Heck, what if I mess up our meeting and never make the spell to begin with?"

A sour look ran over her face. "You may have a tiny point. Fine, you can stay here until the meeting, then leave. I didn't pay for tonight, so they'll shoo you out anyway." She tucked the scroll away. "I'm leaving. I have things to do, and a certain brown pony to meet."

"You're welcome." Silver rolled his eyes.

She put a hoof on his cheek and ran it down to his chin. "Don't look so disappointed. Who knows, maybe I'll look you up again if I need another spell drafted." She turned away, tail flicking him lightly across the nose as she trotted away, leaving him scowling at her back end.

For just a moment, many very petty thoughts ran through his mind with how he could wipe that self-important smirk off of her face, but he let her go. Once she was out of sight he let out a breath and put a hoof to his chest. "Well, my part's done with that." It was a relief in many ways, though he couldn't help but think of the differences. It wasn't enough to stop things from going as they should, he felt sure, but his own part had been minimized and cut out. He would become no friend of Starlight, and certainly no lover.

That was likely for the best, or so he figured with a sigh. He didn't need to be involved with anypony that close to Twilight, and his home life was already rich and complex enough on its own. With these thoughts tumbling around, he hopped up onto the provided bed and closed his eyes to idle the time away.

A soft knocking woke him from his nap and he looked up to the door. "Huh? Who is it?"

The door suddenly burst open, revealing Samantha. "It is you! Or is it? I need to check." She proceeded inside as her magic closed the door. "You won't  believe how surprised I was! Suddenly, two! Two of you. One of you was inside the castle where you should be, and here's another you. I just don't understand." She produced a worrying assortment of small syringes and medical supplies.

Silver hopped to his hooves. "Relax, Samantha. Nothing's wrong."

"Nothing wrong?!" She tilted her head at him. "There are two of one of my star subjects. That is most certainly not correct. Now you just lay down and let me take care of this." She reached up a hoof to his chest. "You must be as confused as I am."

"I'm not confused." He crossed his forelegs. "Please, relax. I can explain what's going on, without the examinations."

Samantha raised a brow. "I doubt that, but fine, for your benefit, please, proceed." She sat down with a hopeful smile. "What's going on?"

Silver considered a moment how much was safe to say. "I was testing a time spell. In a little while, the other 'me' will vanish and become this 'me'. There may appear to be two of me, but really there's only one, just overlapping a little. That's why I'm waiting here."

She raised her ears slowly. "That made a lot more sense than I thought it would..." She leaned in close. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, promise." Silver smiled. "Thank you for checking up on me." He reached out and gave her a pat on the head.

She glowed with the praise, then stopped. "Are you just saying that?"

Silver opened his mouth to respond, only to have her hoof suddenly shoved in, silencing him. "Wait! Better question. How did you know so much about me?"

He frowned a little. "Do you believe, no, forget that." He smiled at her. "You told me."

She tilted her head at him. "I did? But you said that the first time we met. How much do you know?"

"I know you love science." Silver nodded softly. "And that your mother was human, and father a unicorn, and that your mother didn't weather the experience well."

Samantha frowned a little. "All true. Why were you hurting one of my other star subjects? I need you both healthy and happy! That expressly means no setting each other on fire!"

Silver's ears flipped back. "Sorry about that. It shouldn't happen again."

"Promise?"

He smiled a little. "Promise. Nefertari's the one that really wanted to fight, not me."

"She's the one set on fire, not you." Samantha frowned a little. "Explain that one, Mister."

He sighed. "My fault, and I accept that."

"Good, then you won't mind this." She poked him suddenly with a needle right on the rump and it filled with blood.

"Ow! What's this have to do with anything?" He scowled at her as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Nothing really directly, but I wanted a blood sample." She tucked the needle away. "Now explain your mating habits."

"W-what?!" He rose to his hooves.

"Most ponies form monogamous pairs, but I'm informed you are engaged in a polygamous pairing with you as the central male figure. A 'herd' as it's referred to by lesser educated ponies." She nodded in satisfaction with herself. "Is it standard that you physically subdue females before indoctrination to your family unit?" She raised a brow.

"No!" He blurted a bit more forcefully than required. "Where did you even get that from? I'm only involved with one female, and that's Night Watch."

Samantha began to blink rapidly. "Oh? Was I misinformed?" She lowered her eyes to his wedding shoe. "I did some reading..."

Silver groaned. Was that shoe really such a loud tell to everyone in sight? "Yes yes, I've heard, but I have the other two and nopony else is wearing them, just Night and I."

Samantha clopped her hooves softly, then paused. "Wait, who's in charge, you or Night Watch?"

What kind of question was that? "We're partners."

"Perfectly even partners? I find that doubtful." She smiled. "Like Nefertari and me. She's my subject."

Silver couldn't help but giggle a little, imagining Samantha trying to order Nefertari around. "If push came to shove, Night could roll me over, but she usually doesn't. We love each other, even when our opinions differ."

"What would you say my suitability is?" She leaned in even as she tilted her head. "I could be very affectionate."

Silver's eyes went wide. Was he being proposed to? "W-we barely know one another, Samantha." Realizing how severe that may come across, he gave a little smile. "You shouldn't just ask that out of the blue. There are steps, with that being one of the last ones."

"Oh, of course." She bobbed her head. "How silly of me. I'm not following the proper courtship rituals. Thank you for informing me instead of immediately judging me." She raised a hoof to her chin. "I'm afraid I'm a little new at these social interactions, but I'll learn and do it right."

"Samantha..." He put a hoof on her shoulder. "I mean this without any anger, but why? You don't know me that well, and you want to tie yourself to me and Night?"

"Oh, I know quite a lot about you." She smiled brightly. "I know some things about you that you probably aren't aware of about you. I am your doctor, after all. I know that you like science. I know that I fall within your acceptable physical parameters. I know that you are kind, especially to those you regard as being a part of your social circles, protective as well. I know you don't get angry at me even when I completely fail at social cues." She pointed at him. "And, you are the central figure of all of my best subjects, yourself included. Being involved with you would just make sense."

Silver raised a hoof. "But you would be adding a bias to all your research. How can you have an unbiased opinion about anything you're married to, or even dating?"

Samantha tilted her head. "I'm afraid it's too late for that. I already like you for accepting me as I am. I like Nefertari for being such an interesting subject, and the way she speaks so authoritatively. She is truly fascinating, and exotic. We're friends. I'm sure of this." She tapped her chin. "And Night Watch... I helped her through her pregnancy. I feel invested in her. I want to see her and her foals happy. If a bias is what I need to avoid, it's too late for that."

She turned away from him. "I will perform research on proper courtship rituals and conduct and I'll get it right this time. Please be patient." The door opened under her magic. "I'll make it perfect."

She trotted out, leaving a mildly-stunned Silver behind her. He flopped down to his haunches as he thought of Samantha trying to look up the perfect way to approach a stallion, him. It was almost certain to be awkward. "I need to talk to Night," he vowed to himself. She deserved to know, and it would avoid a lot of hurt feelings.