//------------------------------// // A fork in the road // Story: An Azure Future: Moving On // by Krass McWriter //------------------------------// An Azure Future: Moving On A fork in the Road By Krass McWriter A knock came to the door. "I got it!" Silver Shield called out. He was in the kitchen for a snack and Azure was in his room playing with his toys. Trotting over to the door and opening it he found a light blue pegasus with an extraordinary silky white mane and glimmering turquoise eyes carrying a decently sized poster tube. "Hello sir, I'm Windy Echo, I got yourrr..." He trailed as he searched for the appropriate package, "...Wonderbolts pin up here." He hefted the poster tube. "Oh, hold on, thats my son's." He explained, before shutting the door slightly and turning to shout, "Azure! Door!â" He returned the door to its previous open state, "He'll be right down." Silver beamed, he couldn't explain it but ever since he got back from Yosemite he just felt happier, "So how's being a mailpony treating you?" Windy Echo's gaze shifted about, "Uhhh, I have more packages to deliver sooo..." he trailed once more, this time lacking even more confidence than before. Azure came tromping down the stairs, "Geeze dad, leave the poor mail pony alone, you'll give them a heart attack." Azure pushed his dad aside and signed for the parcel. "Oh c'mon Azure, the one time I'm being hospitable..." Silver rolled his eyes as Azure pushed past him to collect his mail. Windy Echo took the opportunity to make himself scarce not wanting to be caught up when there were still deliveries to make. Azure tucked the poster tube underneath his wing and gave his dad a quizzical look, "Don't you have somewhere to be soon?" Silver paused and thought hard for a minute, "Oh, the date!" He quickly snapped his head around to look at the clock hanging on the wall, "Oh no, wait, I still have almost hour." Silver let out a sigh of relief. "Then again it is on the other side of town, by the time I get there it'd only be about fifteen minute." Silver rolled his head to the side as he considered his options. He could wait and just fly over there, but then he might be a little sweaty or he could leave now and walk. As Silver pondered on this dilemma, Azure snuck away to enjoy his new poster. "Hey Azure, Should I wa-" Breaking out of his concentration Silver noticed Azure had disappeared. Walking it was then. Silver took a shortcut by hopping out of window and gently gliding down to the street. It was another lovely Californian day, then again the weather had very recently switched over to manual now the pegasus population was high enough. Silver figured there wouldn't be much except lovely days for the rest of his life. Silver's mind turned to his date, Napalm seemed a little... unhinged. Anyone that lives alone in the forest and starts fires for living is a little questionable at the least. She was nice though and she wasn't hurting anyone as far as he knew, Silver guessed he was being a little judgmental. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful and Silver arrived the designated cafe. It was a small building with more flowers arranged on it than he would've thought were possible. The scent of coffee and chocolate wafted out of the door into the street where the mixed with scent of the flowers. Silver looked around for the nearest clock and was unable to locate one. He wandered inside and took around. Significantly less flowers than the exterior but there were still plenty of vases around. There was no barista in sight but a clock behind the counter told Silver there was about three minutes until his date. With nothing else to do he took a seat. Three minutes passed, then another minute and another until it was ten past the time there was no sign of Napalm. Silver poked his head outside and ran headlong into Napalm, their skulls meeting with a solid thunk. "Hey, watch it!" Naplam snapped, rubbing the spot where their heads collided. She looked up to see who she was about to berate further, “Oh, hey, its you! Sorry I’m late." Silver’s vision was spinning, the skull of the earth pony was much harder than his own. “Y-yeah" Napalm looked at Silver quizzically, “Hey, uh, are you alright?" Silver shook his head to clear his vision, “I’m good," He winced and the pain started to subside, “Yeah I’m good. I was just about to look outside for you." “Oh well I got caught up with a..." Napalm made a motion with her hoof, “last second job. But I’m here now!" “Oh so did you wanna go inside?" Silver asked. Napalm stretched, “You know I’m actually pretty hungry now, how about we walk somewhere and grab a bite to eat." Silver shrugged, “I could eat." "Great! I know just the place, this way!" Napalm started trotting down the street, Silver followed shortly after. Several long moments passed before either of them spoke but Silver broke the silence, “So, uh, what was the job?" Napalm’s ears twitched going flat for a moment, “Oh! Uhm, it was local job not really a whole lot to say. The client paid really well or else I wouldn’t have ever taken the job when I had plans. Still I was hoping I could finish it much faster than I did." Silver made a minor mental note Napalm didn’t say what the job was, but didn’t press the issue. “So what’s new with you John? Looks like you got your cutie mark." She noted. Oh shit. “It’s uh, Silver now. Silver Shield." Napalm smirked, “Well now that sounds like a story. I’d love to hear it." Silver thought about the best way to summarize such an eventful trip, “Well my son and I ended up going to Yosemite very recently. I was along as a chaperone and to make a long story short we were attacked by a pack of wolves and much to the surprise of everyone, including myself, I lead them away." Napalm chuckled giddily, “Holy shit.” “Yeah it was something alright.” Silver averted his gaze. “You really fought a bunch of wolves?” Napalm tried to stifle her laughs. A smile tugged upon the corners of Silver‘s face, “That’s nothing, one time back when I was human I assaulted a HLF building practically unarmed. Luckily it was recently abandoned.” “You did WHAT?!” Napalm stopped in her tracks, disbelief apparent on her face. “Wasn’t it rigged to the brim with traps?” The slight smile faded, “Uh there were a few, but luckily it was using my company’s AI to manage it. Part of the source code is built over an override I have.” Napalm rolled her eyes, “Man you get up to the most unbelievable stuff,” She continued leading the way, “If I hadn’t seen your place I’d think you were lying.” Before Silver could ask when exactly she had seen his place Napalm spoke again, “Hey we’re here!” Silver found himself standing in front of a very new looking building, it’s design looked similar to the pictures of native Equestrian construction he had seen. There were three tables arranged outside, low enough to allow a pony to sit at them without a chair. Napalm ducked inside, “They have the BEST Daisy sandwiches.” Silver followed her in, the inside was also fairly typical for Equestrian structure. In fact if Silver didn’t know any better he’d say he was in Equestria right now. Napalm turned towards Silver, already at the counter, “Hey what did you want?” The sheer amount of words on the board blurred together and overwhelmed Silver immediately. It didn’t help that it was all in Equestrian; Silver had only lightly studied the language. “Uhhh, I guess one of those daisy sandwiches would be great.” “Great!” Napalm peered over the counter, trying to locate the help. Almost as if Napalm had tripped a magic alarm, a small light brown mare with a snow white mane appeared out of thin air. “Can I help you?” She drooled, her eyes half lidded and dull. “Hey Autumn Blossom, two of those fantastic daisy sandwiches.” Napalm beamed. Autumn grunted and turned away, disappearing into the back. “She’ll be right out with those, lets grab a seat outside.” Man she’s really energetic. Silver accompanied Napalm and sat down at a table just outside the door with a clear view of the counter. “Do you come here often?” “Oh yeah, I come here almost everyday when I’m in the area. They have the best Daisy sandwiches, including Equestria. Autumn Blossom might be quiet and moody but she is good.” Napalm looked towards the counter inside, trying to see if Autumn was coming yet. “Really? Better than the ones in Equestria?” Silver puzzled. Napalm shrugged, “Yeah I know how it sounds, but you’ll see.” “So you told me that you do mostly back burning in Equestria but what sort of jobs do you on Earth?” Silver asked, he almost immediately regretted it as Napalm’s face soured. Napalm sighed, “Same thing as I do in Equestria.” Silver puzzled over the the words for a moment when it suddenly dawned on him. Silver‘s shock was plain. Napalm frowned, “Yeah I thought you might react like that. It’s not as bad as you think though!” “Oh?” Silver’s interest was piqued, maybe it was above board work after all? “I didn’t take just any jobs,” Napalm sat upright, “I never actually worked for the HLF or PER despite what the royal guard might think.” Autumn came out and placed the two sandwiches in front of each of them. “Wait what?” Silver blinked. Napalm took a bite of her sandwich, “Oh yeah,” She spoke through a full mouth, “Captain Ebony Dawn has been trying to get me on a slip up for years.’ She swallowed, “Celestia that’s good, but she’s never found anything and seeing as she doesn’t have jurisdiction outside of Equestria it’ll be a good while before she could.” Silver took a bite to buy time so he could think it over, it was without a doubt one of the best things had ever eaten in his life. Almost good enough to make Silver forget the many worrying things he’d just been told. Silver gathered himself, “I’m, uh, getting the feeling that your work isn’t exactly always legal.” Napalm shrugged, “I mean it’s not morally reprehensible, nothing worse than insurance fraud.” She perked up again and lilted, “My hooves remain clean.” Napalm wriggled them for emphasis. He quickly shoved another bite into his mouth to buy time. Silver honestly didn’t know what to make of this information, suffice to say this date had not developed as hoped. Silver decided the best course of action was a change of topic, “Anyways, you said you grew up on a farm?” Napalm swallowed another bite, “Oh yeah, we grew potatoes in one of the more rural areas of Equestria.” She rolled her eyes, “Honestly one of the most boring things I’ve ever done. Potatoes don’t exactly need a whole lot of attention but I suppose it could’ve been worse. Could’ve grown up on a rock farm.” Silver mentally let out a sigh of relief, “Oh, growing up in the country sounds fun.” Napalm raised an eyebrow, “How does walking three hours just to get some groceries sound? Or two hours to the nearest restaurant just so you don’t have to make your own meal?” Silver was taken back, “I... never thought about that.” Napalm shrugged, “I mean a lot of people visit or pass through the countryside and go ‘Oh this is pretty and it’s nice and quiet’ but don’t really stop and think that it’s been forever since they’ve seen anything.” She seemed to get lost in thought as she continued, “They don’t think about living in that quiet everyday for years. No one to talk to except family.” “That sounds pretty lonely.” Silver took another bite sheepishly as Napalm shoved the small remainder of her own into her mouth. “It was whatever.” Napalm shrugged before standing up and stretching. Silver quickly followed suite and finished his own sandwich. “Y’know this wasn’t the worst date, do you wanna do this again? I won’t be offended if you say no.” Silver thought about pursuing a relationship with Napalm for a few long moments. “You know I kinda like you and I do want to hang out again but...” He paused, gathering his strength, “I don’t know if I’d want that to be a date?” Napalm hummed dissatisfactory, “That’s fair I guess. I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to just hang out though.” “Oh, uh, great. I guess I’ll see you around?” Silver shriveled up inside at the awkwardness. He didn’t remember this being so odd with Catherine. Then again he did end up having a child with her. “Yeah...” Napalm glanced back down the street behind her, “Yeah alright. I think I’ll go now, see you around?” “Well alright then.” Silver hesitantly left, heading back towards his apartment. Napalm headed the other direction. Silver reflected upon the date, she was nice but he just didn’t know about starting a relationship with her. In fact the more he thought about it the more he realized he didn’t feel like starting a relationship at all. The thought clicked in his head, Silver didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to go on dates or find a new significant other. Catherine was enough and he had Azure to raise, there wasn’t really any need to bring in someone to his small budding family. Then again Cadence herself had come to him, “I don't have to play nice you know.” Silver’s heart sunk at the predicament he had found himself in. Silver let his mind wander to possible solutions. Simply put he could either keep seeking a relationship despite his heart not being in it or cease dating. He hummed disapprovingly, if only it was that simple. More realistically he could either keep failing at finding an emotionally engaging relationship or go to... wherever it was they sent arrested PER members. A thought crossed his mind, what if he appealed to her? Surely she could see that in the time since then he’d grown. Silve found himself nearing his apartment, he stopped to dedicate more energy to figuring out his situation. The issue was how to contact her-- he could send a letter by dragon’s breath, it was the quickest option. However tracking down a dragon capable and willing to do such would likely end up taking longer than just using the post. Silver supposed he could just... not tell her. Whether the princesses were actually divine beings was a heated topic of debate amongst humans and new foals but from his limited dealings with her it didn’t seem like much escaped them nor that they took kindly to those attempting the feat. No, the letter would be the way to go. Silver leapt into the sky, relishing in feeling of the temperate afternoon wind rushing under his wings. A letter seemed too impersonal for something like breaking a contract, even one made under duress. Surely he was important enough to ask for a personal audience. Silver touched down on his balcony and opened the sliding door, walking inside. Azure was coming down the spiral staircase as he came inside, “Oh hey, how’d the date go?” Silver grimaced and sucked in air through his teeth reactively, he forgot his son’d want to know all about it. “It was, uh...” He searched desperately for the right words, his previous train of thought clogged up his thinking process making it far more difficult than normal. “Yikes, that bad?” Azure asked, giving a little jump to skip thee last few steps. “No she was nice, it’s just that I don’t think a lot of what she does is legal and its definitely morally questionable.” Silver made a so-so motion with his hoof, “Also she is definitely an arsonist.” Azure silently raised an eyebrow. “Yeah it was definitely an experience. What were you up to the last few hours?” Azure shrugged, “Oh not much, just reorganized some of my Wonderbolts collection.” His face lit up suddenly, a giant smile upon it as his whole body perked up, “Hey since your date didn’t go well how about we watch a bunch of movies together! We could have a sickening amount of popcorn and candy until you feel better.” Silver felt pretty fine about the whole thing, it wasn’t the first bad date he’d been on, but how could he say no to something that meant that much to Azure? “Alright, you pick the movies and I’ll grab the snacks.” --__--__-- The light of the sizable TV offered the barest traces of light as the credits rolled on the fourth film. The outline of popcorn bowls and discarded wrappers were barely visible in the darkness. Silver squinted at the clock, unable to make out the time. It was late for sure. He looked down at his son, “Hey.” He whispered. Azure had been silent for the last half hour and Silver didn’t want to disturb him if he was indeed napping. The Credits ended and the TV snapped back to the main menu instantly lighting up the room, Azure was indeed asleep on him. Silver watched the foal’s chest rise and fall, the light of the TV dancing across his fur as it played the menu sequence. His mind turned to the letter he’d have to write tomorrow, he doubted Cadence would take a foal away from their only parent but the thought caused his heart to sink. Carefully putting the idea out of his mind and reaching for the remote, Silver turned off the TV. The darkness enveloped him as did his exhaustion from a long day. He adjusted his position so Azure wouldn’t roll on the floor, sighed and dozed off. Silver found himself at a crossroads, both roads looking awfully dark and unappealing with no end in sight. He looked around for a signpost and found none. A soft voice came from everywhere at once, “Well isn’t this a predicament?” Silver scanned the area again, this time for the source of the voice, his efforts bearing no fruit. He called out, “Hello?” The light faded briefly before condensing in an orb of darkness in front of him. It quickly took shape and standing before him was Princess Luna, “Apologies Silver Shield, I forget that most new foals do not know I preside over their dreams now.” A playful smirk crept upon her muzzle, “Planning on disobeying my niece? A bold gamble, for sure.” “If I could just talk to her-” Silver started. “I’m sure she would be open to an alternative, Cadence is far more mercrucial than she likes to let on.” Luna paused for moment, the emotion on her face was unplacable, “However, if she demanded a price be paid, a price will be paid. My niece may be lenient does not forgive debts. If this is still what you wish, I can bring her here.” Silver hesitated to gather his convictions before nodding. Luna‘s face regained her grim demeanor, “Very well. I shall send her here but first I must take my leave.” She disappeared much as she came, her form dissolving into a formless darkness and dissipating. It wasn’t long before a brilliant flash blinded him, melting away the forest, the road and the rest of the dream. Once Silver’s eyes adjusted he found himself standing in a white void, in front of him was Cadence. “My Aunt said you wanted to speak with me.” She looked him up and down, “I get the feeling you haven’t done as I asked.” Silver cocked his head ever so slightly, “You aren’t just gonna read my mind?” Cadence laughed, “Forgive Luna, she cannot help it. When she enters a dream she gleans all the thoughts that created it.” “Well... it’s about our agreement...” Silver swallowed, his heart beating hard in his chest. Cadence remained silent. “I can’t do it.” “And why is that?" Cadence’s face betrayed nothing. He sighed, trying his best to separate himself from his emotions to avoid breaking down, “I’m just not ready to be emotionally available and it’s not fair to me, my potential mate or my son even.” Silver didn’t have time to enjoy his success. “Truly? Surely I do not have to remind you of your crime. I feel that I was more than generous in letting you off without even so much as a record.” He felt as though he had been kicked in the guts, “W-well I-” Cadence interjected, “I’m honestly not that convinced you are indeed sincere about what you are saying. You’ve always had a keen foresight and a knack for scheming from what I know about how you acquired your wealth.” Silver choked on his words as tears began to stream down his cheeks, “I-I can’t... I can’t give that much myself right now. My son needs that part me...” He feebly attempted to wipe the tears and snot from his face, they were quickly replaced. Several moments passed, finally Cadence sighed, “I believe you Silver Shield. I wouldn’t take your son away from his only parent.” A wave of relief washed over him, “However, you cannot go unpunished.” Silver’s short lived relief vanished. Cadence hummed for a moment, until a sudden smirk pulled up the corners of her muzzle, “Silver Shield, you will stand trial and be punished for your crimes against Earth and Equestria.” “Wait I thou-” He started to object. “Please wait until I am finished.” Cadence huffed, “As I was saying, you will stand trial and be punished... in about twenty five years.” “Twenty five years?” Silver asked, baffled. Cadence smiled smugly, “Oh yes, I imagine finding time to track down evidence and hold trials for every PER member, conspirator and accomplices. Unfortunately by that time the case against you would be weak, especially if you were an upstanding member of society.” Silver was stunned, “I... I don’t know what to say...” “Well lets see how thankful you are then, until then I’ll be watching you. Oh, I may not be Luna but,” Cadence leaned in close, “I believe it’s time for you to wake up.” Silver bolted upright waking up Azure in the process. The foal twisted to face him, “What’s wrong dad?” The early morning sun came in through the balcony window, the sounds of birds and the pegasus weather team could be heard. For the first time in a long time Silver felt at peace. He looked at his son and said what he now knew to be the truth, “Yeah, everything’s going to be alright.”