Silver strolled down the halls of white marble as he rounded another corner, he had a wide smile on his face as there was a certain trot in his step. Celestia had given him a few days to get accustomed to Canterlot before continuing his lessons; in the time he had, Silver chose to invest his time in exploring the castle and its plethora of rooms and passageways. He could now easily make his way around the labyrinth of a castle without the need for an escort of guards.
Turning yet another corner, Silver acknowledged the presence of the two guards which were stationed outside of the princess’ throne room with a smiling nod.
“Good morning sirs, how are you two today?” in response to his question, the guards gave him a solemn nod before opening the large double doors that lead into Celestia’s throne room. The princess sat upon her massive throne as Silver approached her, neither of their smiles faltered in the least. “You were right to give me a few days off princess, I know this castle like the back of my hoof now.”
“Wonderful to hear Silver,” Celestia eyed the earth pony carefully, something about him was different today. He didn’t know it, but the earth pony had a magical sensation radiating off of him; It made Celestia want to try out….that. “Tell me, are you ready to begin your lesson?”
Silver’s head nodded violently, he made no attempt to hide his excitement. “Yes, yes, what is it? Yes!” The earth pony practically bounded toward the throne as though he were hopped up on sugar, “Am I gonna teleport? Are you gonna teach me how to fly? AmIgonnabecomeaprincess? Becausethat’skindaweirdbutit’dbesupercool! Oooh! AmIgonna—” A silent raised hoof from the mighty Alicorn stopped Silver’s mouth from running a mile a minute, he let out a sigh before allowing his teacher to speak. “How about you take it from here?”
A giggle escaped the princess, “It’d be my pleasure.” Celestia cleared her throat, and while her smile still remained, it was a bit more stern than the her usual that Silver was used to seeing. “As I’m sure you’re aware by now, you are not an ordinary earth pony. Your body is a unique one that allows itself to take in magic from not just the surrounding land but also from animals, plants, trees, even magic from other ponies.”
“What!? I’m stealing magic from all those things?” A worried expression crept itself upon the face of Celestia’s pupil.
“Not necessarily, you see, everything from a single blade of grass to every pony in Equestria is magical and therefore retains magic no matter how small the amount. What your body does is allow you take in magic from these things at will, granting you unique albeit unknown abilities.” Celestia arose from her seat and slowly trotted in the direction of the earth pony who was listening intently. “You can produce some sort of magical prowess, I’m just not entirely sure on how you do or how it is triggered.”
“So then my lesson for today will be finding out how to trigger my untapped potential…err, magic?”
“Precisely,” Celestia replied as she gave Silver a nod, “Once we figure out what it is that triggers your magical abilities to activate, then we can focus on controlling them at will.”
Silver began hopping with a grin that spread from ear to ear at the sound of Celestia’s words. “Sweet! So how are we gonna do it?”
“With a meditation spell I know. Please, calm yourself and close your eyes.” Silver did as he was instructed, Celestia’s horn came alive with a hum as a soft gold glow emanated from it. “Now, clear your mind of all outside distractions and focus solely on my voice. Tell me, do you see anything?”
“Yes,” Silver replied in a flat monotone voice as though he were under a trance. “I see a bright light.”
“Good, now we’re going to delve further into your subconscious. There is no need for fright, as long as you hang on to my voice everything shall remain fine. Understand?” A slow nod from Silver was all the reply that Celestia needed. “Very well then.”
Silver found himself inside a white void, devoid of any other ponies from himself. The ground, or where he was standing on, radiated with what looked like wisps of white smoke or mist. “Hey, I recognize this place. It’s my inner sub sandwich.”
“I believe it’s pronounced ‘inner subconscious’.”
“Princess Celestia?” a shocked cry and gasp from Silver rang out. “Is that you? Where are you princess?”
“I am not physically there, mind you. But I am still right here by your side, so please do not fret.”
“This is so awesome!” Silver squealed with delight as he began to trot around the void looking around at nothing in particular. “This is just like that time during the Arcane Trials when I went up against Dexter only you didn’t forcibly invade my mind with an illusion spell, and force me to relive some of my most painful memories.” Silver gave out a nervous chuckle with a smile to match, “Hehe, your not gonna make me do that princess….are you?”
“I’m afraid we are going to have to go through a similar process. But there is no need for despair, I will not force you to relive any memory you choose not to. Now, let us begin with a few simple questions to push us in the right direction: can you tell me what your happiest moment of your life is at the current time?”
Silver tapped a hoof on his chin, pondering what memory he could think of, when it suddenly hit him like a freight train. “I’d have to say that the happiest moment I’ve had so far is when you accepted me to become your student. I still can’t thank you enough Princess Celestia.”
“No need to thank me, you earned this opportunity. Moving on, can you tell me any times when you might have felt a strange sensation overcome you?”
Silverlight scratched the back of his neck as he tried to think of what strange sensation the princess could be referring to. As he pondered in silence, a panel like rectangular shape appeared before the earth pony, Silver immediately recognized it as a memory. In the current memory, the earth pony was carrying an unconscious unicorn mare on his back; upon closer inspection, he recognized His best friend Astral as the unconscious pony.
“Well, there was this one time with Astral,” Silver began to explain as he unknowingly pointed a hoof at the panel. “It was an S-rank assignment that I took, Astral tried to save me but ended up getting hurt herself. I remember we were trying to escape the cave and then….” Silver watched his memory replay, he couldn’t remember much, luckily that’s what his brain was for, it stored away things that the earth pony couldn’t even believe were memories; and what he saw surprised him.
As Silver galloped away from Tenebris’ fiery attack, he noticed that the large sphere of fire was drawing dangerously close to him and his friend. Just when it seemed like neither of the two would make it, Silver’s body had shrouded him and Astral in a cyan colored aura; when it did, Silver’s speed seemed to gain an increase as he was now out running his pursuing attack which collided with the cave entrance causing it to crumble.
“Wait, so is that how?...” Silver began as he watched the memory do what it had done before and replay as though on a re-loop function.
“Most interesting,” Celestia’s voice echoed all around the void, “You had no control over your ability even back then, and yet, it seemed to activate on the perfect time. Perhaps…” The voice of Celestia paused for a brief moment, as of pondering further about Silver’s unique ability. “As odd a request as it sounds, can you remember any other times your life was threatened?”
“How about my first fight with Midnight Star?” Silver chuckled as several memories now descended upon him, though the one with Midnight seemed to be the largest one which stood out the most at the moment. As it currently was, Silverlight’s memory was playing at the point where Silver made a last ditch effort to combat Midnight Star.
“Hey! Midnight!” he called as he watched the grey unicorn turn around and face him.
“This duel…isn’t over!”
“Well, I commend you for being able to stand, but your efforts will only be wasted,” Midnight said as he assumed his stance.
“But what the hay, I’m down for a good laugh. Go ahead and give me all you’ve got left.”
Now watching his memory from a whole new perspective, Silver was able to make out the faint cyan glow which was now surrounding him in memory once more. This time, not only did he receive a slight speed boost, but the aura was now shielding him from Midnight’s magic weather based attacks.
“Hey, now that I think about it, this glow also appeared in my mind when I was going up against Dexter.” Another panel appeared before the earth pony as the previous one floated away with several others. “It’s how I forced him out of my head, he was getting really annoying.”
“Tell me, was the trigger as life threatening as the others?”
Silver shook his head. “Uh-uh, it happened after I relived a memory from my childhood,” Silver’s usual upbeat demeanor broke slightly. “It was about my brother, but strangely enough I was actually able to control the sensation that time."
“Interesting, perhaps if you could recall that exact memory, we might get a trig—” Celestia’s voice was halted as every memory in Silver’s mind simultaneously shut off like a television set, leaving nothing in the void except the earth pony. “Is something wrong, Silverlight?”
Silver looked confused, unsure of what had just happened. “I’m not exactly—” Silver stopped as he began to drool, a look of bliss replacing his confusion. In front of his face, only inches away from his muzzle was a massive panel which had a basket of blueberry muffins with sprinkled sugar on top.
Quickly to the left of him spawned another panel, this one of blueberry pancakes now, then another of blueberry waffles. This trend continued until Silverlight was surrounded by several breakfast delicacies, most associated with a certain blue ball of a fruit. “Man, blueberry muffins sure sound good right now,” Silver said as he wiped the drool from his mouth. Then he felt a strong sensation become to him from his midsection, “Uh-oh,” he remarked as he felt himself waking from his meditation.
Silver’s yellow eyes shot open wide as he stared at his teacher standing before him, his face getting flushed with a shade of crimson. He let out a hearty laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes. “Hehe, sorry about that Princess Celestia, I kinda skipped breakfast this morning, I was too busy exploring the castle and didn’t even think to drop by the kitchen before I came to see you.”
Celestia continued to smile. “It’s quite alright, why don’t we head to the kitchen? I can have the kitchen staff prepare us a little snack and then we can continue with your lesson.” Celestia made her way to the exit, “Sound good?”
Just as Celestia had opened the door leading into the hall, a white and gray blur rushed passed her, only one word escaping from his mouth. “FOOD!” She giggled warmly at Silver’s new demeanor and watched with a smile as he rushed down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.
Celestia watched Silver finish off the last of his pancakes with wide eyes, then he gave a satisfied belch before apologizing to his teacher. “I had never expected for you to have such an appetite,” Celestia laughed warmly to herself as the earth pony finished off his seventh stack of pancakes. “I take it you like blueberries, hmm?”
Silver washed down his final bite with a glass of milk, “Heck yeah! Blueberries are my favorite fruit hooves down, and there are so many things you can make with them. Like blueberry muffins,” Silver began to drool again even though he had just finished his pancakes.
“I’m sure I can have someone whip something up,” Celestia’s eyes narrowed with interest as she arose from her seat and walked to another area in the dining room out of Silver’s sight. “Give me a moment Silver, I’m just going to check something. I hope you don’t mind.”
Silver chugged more of his milk unceremoniously, some of it dripping down the side of his muzzle and on to the table. “Not at all, I’ll just be here.” He picked up another plate of stacked pancakes and brought them in front of him and devouring them just as he did the ones before. ‘This. Is. Heaven.’ Silver thought to himself as he began thinking out loud. “I’m finally a 1st Class Student, I’m Princess Celestia’s personal pupil, and I’m studying magic under one of the most powerful and influential rulers of Equestria.” Silver paused and looked down at his green scarf and cleaned his mouth with a napkin before nuzzling into it and letting out a warm sigh. “I’m on my way big brother. I’m on my—”
CRASH!
Silver’s head perked up, his ears narrowed towards the room in which the sound shattered of porcelain was heard. “Princess Celestia!?” Not receiving an immediate response, the only thought running through the startled pony’s mind was danger. Silverlight jumped out of his seat and rushed into the room Celestia had entered only moments before, a look of determination mixed with a stern gaze on his face. He entered the room, and without even thinking, started shouting off threats. “I don’t know who you are, but you got a lot of nerve to be skulking around here of all—” Silver stopped with his words and looked around the room only to notice Celestia as the only creature in his sight. “Places?” he finished of confusingly.
A pair of pegasus guards rushed in shortly after Silver, their expressions a mix of disarray and seriousness.
“Princess, is everything alright?” the first guard questioned.
“We heard a loud noise, sounding like a crash,” the other guard added after his comrade.
Celestia let out a sigh as her gentle smile returned to her facial features. “It’s quite alright, I simply dropped a dishware, no need for concern.” Hearing her words, both Silverlight and the guards took notice of the now shattered plate on the floor, scattered around Celestia’s hooves. “No need to inform the maids I can clean it up myself,” the princess nodded to the pegasi, “You two may return to your posts, we’re fine here.”
“Yes your highness,” the armored pegasi said in unison as they gave the princess a nod. They then turned to the earth pony, “Sir Silverlight,” with a final nod, both guards exited the room and left only the princess and her pupil.
“Well if everything’s alright, I’m going to—”
“Wait Silverlight,” the white haired pony turned around to meet his teacher’s gaze only to find it frozen in a stern expression, one that Silver hadn’t seen before. “I didn’t want the guards to know, but something is amiss.” Celestia’s gaze softened slightly as she attempted to put on her usual poise. “Something has been taken from me, something that your going to get back for me.”
Silverlight rushed over to Celestia, sliding across the marble floor until he stopped after bumping into Celestia’s hooves. He gave her a salute. “1st Class Arcane Academy student Silverlight reporting for duty ma’am, I am ready when you are.” His smile was a cross between determination and complete glee, it was a somewhat odd sight that the princess had never seen before.
Celestia suppressed a giggle and managed to keep her somewhat serious tone as she continued to address the young stallion. “It seems that Princess Luna has taken something which is very precious to me, something which cannot be replaced easily. What I need is for you to gather the required items on this list,” the mighty princess paused for a brief moment as her horn made a small parchment appear before Silver. “Once you have all those items, I need you to take them to the designated location in Ponyville, ask for the “The Gala Special” and you will receive a package. You must bring this package back to me here in Canterlot in one piece. This will be a very important mission, one who’s details you are not to disclose to a single soul.”
“That’s why you didn’t want the guards to know,” Silver began bouncing up and down excitedly. “Wow! If it’s this secretive, it must be something really, really important!” Silverlight stopped bouncing and a touch of seriousness came to his face. “But the fact that it’s so important means that I can’t mess up, not one bit! Alright then Princess Celestia, as your pupil and friend,” Silver took the parchment in his mouth and spoke (though his words were muffled), “I won’t let you down!” The earth pony quickly scurried to the door, but not before the princess gave him one last warning.
“Silverlight,” Silver turned to meet Celestia’s slightly stern eyes, “I wouldn’t put it pass Luna to try to intervene with your attempts, stay weary for any sign of my sister.”
A final nod with a quick salute to follow left Silverlight as he dashed out the dining room and rushed to his own, he quickly packed his saddle bag for what he’d need for his “mission”.
“This is so exciting!” Silver practically squealed to himself as his train came to a stop at the Ponyville station. “I’m on a super, secrete mission sent by Princess Celestia herself. I wonder what’s so important that she doesn’t want me telling anyone about? Well whatever it is, it’s obviously important enough for Princess Luna to try to intervene.” Giving himself a quick slap, Silver’s demeanor changed drastically. “Get a grip Silver, this is really important to the princess so you can’t screw up.”
Hopping out of his coach seat, the earth pony exited the train to another station similar to the one he was at when he was in Canterlot. After leaving the station, Silverlight found himself amongst several other friendly looking ponies who appeared to all have smiles plastered onto their faces. “So this is Ponyville? Well, it sure seems friendly, I’m sure I could make a couple of new friends easy here. Let’s see, what we have here,” the stallion reached into his saddle bag to grab the parchment his teacher had given him, written on it were several items and at the bottom a single address.
“Well, the list says the first thing I need to get is cherries.” A perplexed Silver just scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “Cherries? That’s odd, but it’s what the princess wants, and who am I to question her judgment?” Rolling up the parchment and placing it back into his bag, Silver continued walking with his head held high, after realizing he had no idea where he was going, he began to laugh nervously to himself. “Forgot, this isn’t Canterlot, I don’t know these streets.” Pondering his thoughts, a light bulb lit up in Silverlight’s head. “Oh! Of course! I’ll ask Derpy to help me,” a sigh escaped the pony, “But she’s probably working and I’d hate to interrupt her work for a tour.”
Now rubbing his head with his hooves, the earth pony struggled for an idea as to what to do next. “Come on, think. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate,” and then, as his gaze trailed off, he took notice of a large crystal structure in the distance; then it hit him. “Princess Twilight! Duh! I almost forgot she stayed in Ponyville. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind helping me with my missi—” Silver stopped speaking as he recalled Celestia’s words. “I can’t tell Twilight, Princess Celestia specifically said to not disclose any information to anyone.”
Dragging a hoof down his face, Silver stopped his worrying. “Why am I getting so worked up by this? Twilight invited me to come visit her. So as far as she’s concerned, that’s what I’m here to do.” He patted himself on the back, “Silver, you’re a genius.” And so he made his way to the large crystal styled castle off in the distance.
Silverlight approached the castle with an expression of pure awe on his features. ‘It may not be as big as the castle in Canterlot,’ he thought to himself, ‘But it sure is just as beautiful’. On that thought, the stallion trotted up to the stairs to the golden doors of the castle and knocked several times. After several moments of silence, Silver seemed a bit confused. “Have I got the wrong place?” he thought aloud to himself as he tilted his head to the side. “If Twilight doesn’t stay here then I don’t know who—”
Before he could finish rambling to himself, one of the golden doors before Silverlight opened up. Out poked the head of a unicorn mare with a curled mane of purple with aquamarine highlights that accented her brilliant blue eyes which sparkled like diamonds before the earth pony. “Yes?” she questioned as she examined the earth pony which stood before her.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Silver apologized as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously now. “I guess I have the wrong castle, I was just looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle, this wouldn’t happen to be her home, would it?”
“Oh, you’re looking for Twilight,” the unicorn’s gaze seemed to wander elsewhere, not meeting Silver’s eyes anymore. “She’s currently not in at the moment.”
“Really? What a drag,” Silver turned his back to the unicorn but still remained in front of the door, mumbling to himself. “What am I gonna do now? Princess Celestia is counting on me.”
The mare cleared her throat, drawing back the stallion’s attention. “Well, if that’s all you need I’ll let her know you stopped by.” She went to close the door, however, a well placed hoof stopped her from doing so.
“Wait a sec, you live around here, right?” Silver questioned as he attempted to open the door slightly. “Do you think you could show me where to get some cherries? It’s really important.”
“W-what? But I—”
“Oh, where are my manners? I almost forgot to introduce myself,” the earth pony scratched the back of his mane as he smiled warmly at the mare before him and extended a hoof. “Names Silverlight, I’m a 1st Class Student of Arcane Academy. Nice to meet ya!”
The unicorn looked curiously (and confusingly) at the odd earth pony who was sitting on his haunches with his hoof extended toward her in a greeting manner. After shaking off some hesitation, she opened the door more and exited to shake the strange pony’s hoof. “Starlight Glimmer.”
“Starlight Glimmer?” Silver’s head tilted slightly to the side as his eyes met hers. Starlight stared back as the earth pony appeared to analyze her. Silver gave her a nod with another warm grin. “I like that name.”
Starlight’s cheeks began to glow a shade of red at the comment, her confusion growing all the more. “W-what?” she stammered at the odd pony’s remark.
“Wow, usually I’m the nervous one when I talk to pretty mares,” Silver laughed as he gave the unicorn a light nudge, then he proceeded to clear his throat. “So, Starlight Glimmer, are you Twilight’s sister or something?”
“What!?” Starlight exclaimed with a small chuckle. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, Twilight’s my um….she’s sort of my teacher.”
“Huh, so you’re her student?” Starlight gave a singe nod in response and Silver’s smile beamed. “Oh cool! Then we already have something in common! Well, except I’m not Twilight’s student.” Silver’s eyes found Starlight’s once more as an intrigued look picked up in his features. “So what’s it like? Being Twilight’s student I mean. I know she’s the princess of friendship, so I can only assume that’s what she teaches.”
Starlight’s demeanor seemed to loosen up slightly as she now spoke. “It’s a bit of challenge, I suppose. Twilight’s really organized and tends to do everything ‘by the book’ as she puts it.” A small giggle escaped the unicorn, “It’s when things don’t go as she plans that it becomes a challenge though. I’m still learning my lessons about friendship, I didn’t have friends for the longest…” Her gaze became somewhat somber as her voice trailed off at the last few words she spoke.
Noticing this, Silver put on the friendliest smile he can muster and gave Starlight another small nudge. “Well you have friends now and that’s what counts. As a matter of fact I think you just made a new one.” Starlight, still slightly pink, looked up at the earth pony’s warm gaze and locked eyes with him. “So whaddya say? Wanna be friends?”
Starlight’s blush seemed to deepen after Silver’s question, she swallowed and nodded her head. “Yes, I think I’d like that,” she replied somewhat quietly.
“Then it’s settled!” Silver said as he turned away from Starlight. “From this day forward you and I are friends.” He glanced over his shoulder, “All jokes aside though, I did come to Ponyville for a very specific reason. You see I hav—” Silver stopped as he caught himself before he revealed the list that Celestia had given him. ‘Almost slipped up about my mission there. I know the princess said not to say anything about it….but it couldn’t hurt to just mention the items that I need. Starlight won’t know what they’re for.’ Silver scrunched his nose at his current thoughts. ‘To be honest, even I don’t know what they’re for’.
“Silverlight? Are you okay?”
Snapping back to reality at the mares question, the earth pony let out a nervous giggle. “Oh yeah, just got lost in my own thoughts for a sec. Now, what was I talking about again?” A few silent seconds later and Silver’s eyes brightened as he raised his head triumphantly. “Cherries! That’s what I gotta get.”
Starlight just looked on, small dose of confusion on her face. ‘This pony is really weird, was it really a good idea making friends with him? Still, I guess if he knows Twilight then he can’t be all bad’. Starlight cleared her throat. “Well, good luck with the…er, cherries. I’m sure you’ll find everything you need in the Ponyville market district.”
“Well…wait!” Silver exclaimed as the unicorn made an attempt to retreat back into the castle. Hearing his plea, Starlight looked over her shoulder back at him with a raised brow. “Well, ya see, I’m not from around here. I stay up in Canterlot so everything in this town is new to me. The whole reason I came here was to get a sense of direction from Twilight but she’s not here.” Silver paused for a moment and hesitated as he and Starlight’s gaze met once again, this time his gray features becoming a shade of scarlet. “So…uh, I was wondering if…if maybe you could show me around, or at least until I get to the market district.”
Starlight’s expression softened and her own blush returned slightly, Silver quickly noticed this and changed up his approach. “O-or not, I mean you don’t have to. I-I just thought that….” The white haired pony let out a defeated sigh and turned away. “Never mind, you don’t have to. I mean, it is pretty sudden of me to ask seeing as we did just meet and all.”
“Well, wait a second,” Starlight called to the earth pony as he began to walk away from the castle. “I never said that I wouldn’t show you around, and besides, if we’re friends now then there’s no way I could turn my back on a friend in need.” Starlight’s smile was warm but did nothing to help hide her still rosy cheeks.
Silverlight ran right back up to her and began shaking her hoof haphazardly. “Thanks a bunch Starlight! This really means a lot to me.” Silver stopped and then took a few steps away from the mare before performing a mock salute which caused a small chuckle to escape the unicorn before him. “You’ve got the lead ma’am.”
The streets of Ponyville’s market district were bustling and teeming with life, Silver noticed that unlike the streets of Canterlot each passing pony all held smiles of glee and genuine happiness. He was glad the glares of high society and stuck up demeanors from Canterlot were nowhere to be seen.
Silver exhaled deeply and took it all in. “This place is just so…peaceful, I just love this environment.”
“It’s nothing special, really.” Starlight shrugged. “Is it?”
“You don’t understand, when your surrounded by nothing but upper class ponies who seem to think you’re beneath them; it’s nice to be around ponies who seem to at least value your existence.” Silver stopped walking and looked to his left were Starlight was. “Its beautiful out here and the atmosphere is awesome! So what were you doing cooped up in a crystal castle for?”
Starlight looked away and shuffled uncomfortably in her position before answering Silver’s question. “I don’t really…have many friends, aside from Twilight and her friends and Trixie. So I tend not to leave the castle without someone with me.”
“Aw, come on,” Silverlight nudged Starlight. “Its not that hard making friends, at least not with friendly ponies all around you here. Making friends in Canterlot, now that’s a challenge.”
“Well, I…” Starlight hesitated before clearing her throat and continuing. “I-I haven’t had the best experience in the past with making friends, I wasn’t always the nicest of ponies.”
Silver could sense how distressed and uncomfortable his new friend got on the current topic, so he mustered up all of his kindness and gave her the warmest smile he could as he gently placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Starlight, it doesn’t matter what kind of pony you were in the past, all that matters is the kind of pony you are now. I’m not sure what you’ve done before, but everyone makes mistakes; none of us are perfect, you just gotta learn to move on from the bad of the past and focus on the upcoming good.”
Starlight tried to hide the crimson hue which had once again returned to her facial features, now deeper then before. “Now come on, those cherries aren’t gonna find themselves!” With a hearty laugh he zipped off into a group of other ponies, soon out of Starlight’s sight.
The usual expressionless look on Mary’s face helped to keep other students from talking to her as she walked through the academy. She never did like socializing, she had learned that already and did her best to avoid contact with her fellow classmates. However, there was one stallion in particular that she didn’t mind being around, frankly, she enjoyed his very presence. Something stirred inside her and made her feel different when she was around him. Though she couldn’t tell what, she was sure it was a feeling she had never felt before; even then, it was just a small nagging feeling and never too serious.
“It’s been some time now since Midnight’s been kept in the medical wing, he should be allowed to leave now and rest in his own dorm. Maybe he’d like to come to our next family picnic on the beach?” Mary stopped her trotting and talking for a moment and stared blankly into space. “I know our last one didn’t turn out the way we expected, but it’ll be different this time. I mean, we’re all friends now. Right Sir Trottsalot?”
Mary sought confirmation from the wooden puppet which sat atop her head, curled up in her white mane; yet all she got as a reply was silence. “I think he’d like it, he has been complaining about how he hates being stuck in his room. And now that he’s healed up enough to leave, I’m sure Midnight would enjoy the fresh air.”
Mary stopped in front of Midnight’s door and prepared to knock, but a peculiar noise made her ears rise and fall as they made an attempt to tune in on the sound. The sound was soft, feminine, and wasn’t very audible from Mary’s side. Curiosity getting the best of her, she gently pushed open the door to the dim lighted room. The blinds to the window were shut tightly stopping the sunlight from penetrating any further; after scanning the dark room, Mary took notice of the large alicorn by Midnight’s bed. She immediately recognized it as Principal Solar Wind, she was humming softly while Midnight lay in deep slumber on his bed.
The unicorn couldn’t make out the song she was humming, but it sounded like a nursery rhyme that parents would sing to their foal. The principal’s voice was soothing, bliss to Mary’s ears, she couldn’t help but let out a blissful sigh.
“No need to hide dear, I’m sure Midnight wouldn’t mind you paying him a visit.” The golden and white alicorn looked over her shoulder at Mary and gave her a gentle smile. “He likes you, ya know?”
The unicorn hadn’t known it, but a distinct blush now overcame her and her light brown coat did her no justice in helping hide it. “Re-really?” she questioned as she trotted over to the side of Solar Wind, her expressionless gaze softening ever so slightly.
The principal gave a single nod in response. “If he didn’t like you, he certainly would’ve made it known by now; I think being the only other 1st Class Student at the time helps him relate to you. Trust me, he may not tell you or even admit it to himself, but you’re special to him.” Solar let out a sigh and fixed her gaze on Midnight’s resting form. “I know what you’ve been doing, completing his assignments for him so he doesn’t lose his title as a 1st Class Student. I’ll admit, while what you’re doing is very kind and sweet, you are under no obligation by the school to do so. So my question is: why do you continue to do them?”
Mary watched as the alicorn continued to stare at Midnight, then she began to do the same thing. “At first, I was only doing it to make up for his injury, seeing as I’m the one responsible for it. But as time went on and I talked with him, I genuinely got used to his company, I didn’t feel that alone here anymore. I guess now I keep doing them because I want to, and because it gives me a reason to see him everyday. I’m not sure what I feel, it’s complicated for me to explain.”
“I see,” were the only words which had escaped from Solar’s mouth and found themselves entwined in reality. A lingering silence befell them, the only sound being Midnight’s steady snoring as he still lay in slumber. She turned her gaze to the unicorn who was beside her and gave Mary a slight nudge while keeping her voice down. “I’m so very glad that my son has someone like you in his life. Ever since he was younger, he’s never had much luck in making friends, frankly because he didn’t want any. But as long as you’re by his side, I’m sure he’d be willing to open up more.”
Glancing at a clock on the wall, she let another sigh exit her. “Well, I must get back to my office, there’s so much for me to do. Feel free to stay as long as you like, Mary.” The principal departed quietly so as not to wake the sleeping unicorn, leaving only Mary now as the only one in Midnight’s room.
Silverlight wasn’t a patient pony, and having to wait in line for cherries wasn’t helping. But these cherries were important, Silver had to get them no matter how long he had to wait. He had lost track of Starlight after he dashed off, hopefully he’d be able to find her afterwards. After the customer in front of him was done, Silver rushed to the front of the stand.
“Finally,” Silver exhaled overdramatically, “I need fifty cherries, stat!”
“Fifty!?” the stall owner practically choked on his question when he heard the earth pony’s order. “You sure you got the Bits to cover that, kid?”
“Kid!? I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student!”
“Yeah right, and I’m Princess Mi Amora Cadenza,” the owner scoffed with a laugh. “So you gonna buy some cherries or not? You’re holding up the line.”
Silver was about to reply with a sarcastic remark but decided against it. “Yeah, whatever,” Silver pulled out a sack of Bits from his saddle bag and tossed it on the stall counter. The stall owner’s eyes widened at the sight of the large sack of Bits. “I save up a lot of Bits seeing as I never really go anywhere to spend them, plenty where those came from.” Seeing the owner still mesmerized by the sack of Bits in front of him, Silver nonchalantly just reached over the stand and grabbed the sack of cherries he had purchased. With a smile of accomplishment he exited the line where a yellow mare pegasus now approached the stand.
“Funny, I thought there'd be more, but it looks like that's the only item on the princess’ list, now I have to head to…” the earth pony pulled out his scroll and glanced at the address written on the bottom. “Sugar Cube Corner, wherever that is. Now, where did Starlight run off to?”
“Oh, but are you sure that you don’t have just one more cherry left?”
Silver couldn’t help but notice the very soft and gentle voice, it was barely audible and he couldn’t exactly make out what it was saying but he was sure it belonged to a mare. A strong reply from the stall owner he had just left caused Silverlight to glance over his shoulder.
“I told you! Someone already came through and bought the last of my cherries!” The stallion behind the stand was now raising his voice at a frightened looking yellow pegasus with a rather long pink mane and tail. “Now, stop pestering me and go find your cherries somewhere else!”
Turning his back to the mare, the owner placed a large “SOLD OUT” sign on the top his stand before trotting away; leaving a deflated looking pegasus sitting on her haunches with an expression of disappointment.
Silver glanced at the sack of cherries he was still carrying and then back at the distraught mare. ‘Fifty cherries huh? I’m sure whatever Princess Celestia needs them for doesn’t require that many’ he thought to himself. Giving himself a moment of silence to figure out his conflicting thoughts, Silver let out a sigh before trotting over to the mare and making conversation.
He cleared his throat which seemed to startle the poor mare. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought you might have need for some of these.” Silver grabbed his sack which rested on his back and poured out several cherries, seeing this the pegasus’ eyes widened slightly though she still tried to hide behind her mane. “I couldn’t help but have overheard you, and I do have a lot of cherries; I don’t think I’ll be using all of them anyway.”
The pegasus stared at the cherry pouch, then back to Silver, she did this several times before finally speaking in a low, gentle tone. “Oh, um, I-I couldn’t possibly ask you to—”
“You’re not asking, I insist,” Silver interjected with a warm smile, trying his best not to seem rude.
“Oh, but I-um, I don’t have any Bits to pay for them,” the pegasus replied shyly still trying to hide behind her mane.
To this remark, Silverlight gave a gentle laugh which seemed to surprise the mare. “You don’t have to pay for them, you can just take as many as you need. My brother once told me; ‘A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees’. I always figured he meant spreading kindness isn’t a bad thing to do, ya know?”
No longer was the mare exhibiting signs of shyness, she was now wearing a grateful smile with a small blush making itself known on her features. “O-oh, thank you very much, Angel Bunny will be so happy.” The pegasus took the cherries she needed and then gave a nervous nod. “I-I’m Fluttershy.”
“No wonder you’re so soft spoken,” the earth pony laughed as he scooped up his cherry sack before returning it to his saddle bag. “Nice to meet you Fluttershy, I’m 1st Class Arcane Academy Student—”
“Silverlight!?”
The stallion’s introduction was interrupted as he heard the sound of a familiar unicorn voice. “Well, that saves me the trouble of having to find Starlight.” Returning his attention to the mare of front of him, Silver gave her a gentle laugh and a nod before leaving. “I gotta go, but maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” Heading through a group of ponies, Silver eventually found his way back to Starlight.
Finally catching a glimpse of the white haired pony heading her way, Starlight let out a sigh of relief. “There you are, do you usually just run off like that?”
Silver gave the unicorn a shrug in response followed by a laugh. “Yeah, sorry about that. But I did manage to get everything I needed, so I’m pretty much done here.”
“Oh, really?” Starlight’s gaze feel to the ground as her voice got lower. “I guess you don’t need me anymore then…”
“Starlight!” Starlight jumped at the sound of Silver’s voice which had dramatically increased in volume. “I may have only just met you, but I can see what you’re doing, and it’s not good. Look, I’m not sure what you did in the past that makes you so self conscious, but just let it go. I don’t care about what you’ve done before, I only care about the Starlight Glimmer in front of me today. You gotta stop beating yourself up like you don’t deserve any happiness or any friends, cause that’s not right.” Silver gave a sigh and put on his trademark grin before continuing.
“And besides, nothing you could do could ever make me dislike you. Whether you were a bad person in the past or just made bad decisions, it doesn’t matter to me; because I’m already your friend, and nothing could ever change that, and that’s a promise.” Silver turned his back away from the unicorn and didn’t notice her eyes now glistening the faint hint of tears. “And if it’s forgiveness you’re looking for, don’t worry about what others think. What’s most important is that we learn from our mistakes and do better by them. You can strive your whole life to get other ponies to forgive you, but none of that matters; the only pony who’s forgiveness you have to worry about is your own. If you can’t learn to forgive yourself, then how can you expect everyone else to?”
The market district was not as packed as before, so when these two ponies remained standing where they were in silence for a good moment, not a soul questioned it. Starlight wiped away the tears before they had a complete chance to form and before Silverlight could notice them. “Thank you,” she mumbled softly as Silver now turned to face her again. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
“Aw, it was nothing,” Silver laughed somewhat nervously. “I’m not too good with heroic speeches or giving advice, that was always my older brother’s field.”
“Well he seemed to have taught you well,” Starlight giggled as it was now Silver’s turn to don a shade of crimson on his features. “So, where exactly did you have to go next?”
“Oh, right!” Silver quickly snapped out of his embarrassed stupor and remember his task that was at hand. “Some place called Sugar Cube Corner. Sounds like some sort of pastry shop or something.”
“Sugar Cube Corner? What are you making, a cake?” Starlight laughed as she made a motion for the earth pony to follow her.
“Not that I know of,” Silver muttered quietly to himself so as not to allow the unicorn to hear. “Now that I think about it, Princess Celestia never said that the fate of Equestria hung in the balance, I just assumed that. But she did say it was a very important mission and that I shouldn’t disclose any information to a single soul.” Silver continued walking, but now his thoughts wandered elsewhere as he took a moment or two to think about his task carefully.
‘What exactly is so important that Princess Celestia wants that I can’t tell anyone? I’m supposed to go to Sugar Cube Corner and ask for “The Gala Special”, whatever that means, and receive a package that I’m supposed to bring with me back to Canterlot. And then there’s Princess Luna…’ Silver’s eyes scanned the passing streets and found no sign of an alicorn, another scan of the sky overhead only revealed a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane resting peacefully on a fluffy cloud.
‘Why would Princess Luna want the package? And why would she try to stop me if what I’m doing is so important’ The white haired stallion exhaled deeply, “My brain hurts.”
“Well, here we are,” Starlight said as she gestured with a hoof to a large building which seemed more like a dessert then an actual establishment. “Sugarcube Corner.”
The stallion earth pony took notice of the gingerbread house structure, it was covered in frosting with a giant pink cupcake resting on the very top. Unbeknownst to him Silver began drooling at the sight of the frosting covered building, giving himself a quick slap he was back to his senses and remember his task at hand.
The inside of Sugarcube Corner was just as colorful as the outside, images of candy and other assorted sweets were finely carved into the gingerbread like boarding along with candy cane pillars which seemed to help support the building. Silver was truly beginning to think that the wood (if not the whole building) was edible; wiping away some more drool, he and Starlight approached the counter where a tall yellowish Earth Pony with an Orange mane who sported a peppermint patterned bowtie and hat to match along with an apron.
“Hey there,” the older Earth Pony greeted both Starlight and Silver with a gentle smile. “What can I get you folks?”
Silver reached into his saddle bag and pulled out his sack of assorted cherries, then leaned in close and tried to keep his voice low as he spoke. “I’d like ‘The Gala Special’.”
“Err, The Gala Special?” the pale yellowish stallion scratched under his chin as he pondered the white haired pony’s request. Then suddenly, something in his head clicked as his eyes widened greatly and his pupils shrunk. “The Gala Special!?” the earth pony now removed his hat and gave a slight bow in Silver’s direction. “My apologies sir, I didn’t know she sent you, I’ll be right back.” Taking Silver’s sack of cherries, the older stallion disappeared towards what Silverlight could only assume was the kitchen.
“And now we wait,” Silver let out a small huff adding under his breath, “As if I haven’t done enough of that today.” Turning his gaze back to Starlight, the stallion took notice of her confused yet surprised expression. “What?” he asked.
“What exactly were you doing in Ponyville again?”
Silver shrugged with a tired sigh, “I’m not entirely sure, Princess Celestia wasn’t too keen on the details.”
“Wait, Princess Celestia sent you?” a bit of surprise was detected in Starlight’s voice.
‘Damn it!’ Silver screamed internally as shock overcame his features. “Umm, yeah, ya see, we were in the middle of a listen when—”
“A lesson? Wait, Princess Celestia is your teacher!?”
‘DAMN IT! I cannot shut up when I'm nervous!’ Silver’s internal screaming continued. “Ugh, I’m such an idiot!” the white haired pony gave himself a face hoof.
“But…how, I mean, no offense but you’re an Earth Pony. How does an Earth Pony become Celestia’s student, and why did she send you down to Ponyville?”
Starlight was spitting out more questions than Silver had expected, he became overwhelmed by his slip up. Just as his brain was beginning to fail him, the Orange stallion from earlier returned with a large brown colored box. “Here you are sir,” placing the package on the counter he gave a nod of his head that Silver almost mistook for a bow. “Do give our regards to Princess Celestia, will you?”
Silver took the package and gentle placed it in his saddle bag before returning the nod. “Will do, thanks for everything.” Turning back to Starlight, Silver let out a sigh, “I wish I could explain and or answer your questions, but as of right now I have to get back to Canterlot. Mind walking with me to the station?”
“If only you’ll answer my questions,” Starlight replied, a hint of annoyance in her words as her and Silver exited Sugarcube Corner. “What are you, bound by silence?”
“Not exactly, but..” Silver’s words trailed off as before giving up and exhaling a defeated sigh. “Aw to heck with it!” he kicked some dirt in the road. “I’ve already said too much as it is, might as well tell you everything, plus I trust you.”
“But I have no idea what the cherries were for or what’s in the package that I’m supposed to deliver, but Princess Celestia made it seem really important.” Silver had just finished up the last of his story as he and Starlight arrived at the Ponyville station. “And that’s pretty much how I became Celestia’s student and what I’m doing here in Ponyville.”
“Celestia’s new student is an Earth Pony, who woulda thought?” Starlight laughed as the two proceeded further into the station where a train rested on the railway. “Sooo, I’ll be sure to let Twilight know that you stopped by. Maybe I’ll see you the next time you come to visit Twilight again.”
“Nah, probably not,” Silver smiled at the confused expression which now rested on Starlight’s face. “Twilight is pretty cool what with being a princess and all, but I think I’d rather pay you a visit instead. Next time I’ll be sure to stay longer, my time here was short lived and I’d really like to get to know you better.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, actually Starlight, I was wondering if—”
“Now boarding to Canterlot! All ponies heading to the Canterlot area please board now. Please make sure you keep track of all belongings which you bring with you as Equestrian Railroads are not liable for any stolen or misplaced luggage.”
“Yikes, better get going! Wouldn’t wanna miss my train.” The Earth Pony hopped aboard the coach, but not before saying his goodbye to his new friend. “See ya Starlight Glimmer, thanks for showing me around. Maybe next time we can take a whole tour of the town?”
“I look forward to it Silverlight,” the mare called back giving him a wave of goodbye.
Setting his saddle bag down next to him, Silver took a seat and prepared for his arrival as the train underneath him began to come alive and motion forward.
Solar Wind trotted along one of Arcane Academy’s many halls, this one would lead her back to her office. After a nice lunch consisting of a roasted carrot and celery salad, she had to return back to her workplace to continue her daily duties as principal. “One of these days I really should take a day to myself and go to the school spa, it’s been quite some time since I last pampered myself.” Allowing her magic to turn the knob and open the door, the Alicorn was surprised and annoyed with the unicorn who sat at her desk reclined in her chair.
“Your office is a lot nicer now that I actually get a moment to see it from your perspective, Solar. Tell me, seeing as I’m vice principal now, when do I get my own? I mean, it’s only fair.”
A sigh was the only thing that exited Solar Wind as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. “Can’t I have at least one moment’s peace when you’re not intruding on my work, Ignis?”
“If eating a salad counts as work to you then we should swap jobs, you can get back in the field and take a shot at doing the work I have to do.” Ignis arose out of the seat as his old friend was now only inches from reclaiming her “throne”.
“Running around gawking at mares all over Equestria in that pathetic helpless romantic style you have?” Solar laughed as she sat at her familiar desk; she then proceeded to levitate a stack of papers out of a nearby filing cabinet and onto the desk before her. “Asking out single mares left and right isn’t a job last time I checked.”
“Oh hardy, har, har,” Ignis scoffed as he sat before the Alicorn’s desk on his haunches. “I’ll have you know that besides trying to find a mate and being a flirt every once in awhile what I actually do is important. As I said before I’m a historian and gatherer of information, I travel to the far reaches of Equestria to record data for the biggest or even the smallest of things.” The orange unicorn’s horn lit up and made a large tome spawn in front of him on the desk. “I’ve written everything down and I plan on publishing the data I’ve compiled over the years as an all-in-one encyclopedia when I’m done.”
Solar turned the books many pages and began scanning the text, her eyes widening after the turn of each new page. “Ignis, this is incredible! There’s history and information about not just pony culture, but even Griffins; Dragons; Timberwolves,” the principal came to a halt as her page turning stopped at a “unique” diagram in question. “You even have information on Changelings? And how did you come about that information?”
“Oh yes, that, well,” Ignis diverted his gaze away from Solar as he outstretched a fore hoof and began examining it as though it were the most interesting thing ever. “Years ago I encountered a Changeling hive on one of my travels south into the Badlands. I was brought before their queen, after striking a bargain with her she remained my associate just for a small amount of love to keep her and her subjects fed.”
“You…feed a Changeling hive love in exchange for?...”
“Information about anything pretty much, but mainly about their history and background, in addition to her informing me about the actions of any criminals the agency sends me after. You’d be surprised how well Chryssi’s drones are at reconnaissance, they’ve encountered and studied so many creatures in their lifetime.”
“Chryssi?” Solar Wind asked as she raised an eye at the unicorn who has now decided to meet her gaze.
Ignis cleared his throat rather loudly as he straightened up his slouching position. “I mean Chrysalis, never mind that, I seem to have strayed off topic. However, even after compiling information for so many different species and life-changing events, there is still one place I haven’t recorded any information for; the Crystal Empire.” Ignis levitated the book back over to his person before making it teleport away. “And that’s why I’ve come to you today.”
Solar Wind kept looking over her documents but still replied to the unicorn’s request. “You’re a grown stallion Ignis, you don’t need my permission to venture off to the Crystal Empire.”
“You’re right, I don’t, but I decided to use my new position to help appeal to the student body.” The mare now stopped shuffling her documents and looked at her friend before her, interest plastered on her expression. “Since this journey was gonna be related to studies, I thought it might be a good idea for the Students to learn in a hooves-on manner about the Crystal Empire and its history as well as its culture. Shining Armor owes me a favor and he was able to convince Princess Cadence to give a tour of the castle as well as some history and cultural background info.”
“Ignis, that’s a splendid idea! Its nice to see you taking your role as vice principal seriously for once.” Searching her files for a blank document, Solar began writing upon it quickly before handing it over to Ignis. “Here, make some copies of this sign up list and post them around the school. I’ll be sure to make an announcement about your little field trip later on, you’ll have to wait before you leave though, I think Princess Cadence would enjoy a heads up so I’ll send her a letter just to be sure. After a couple of days of preparation, you’ll be able to take leave with whomever decides to go.”
“Yes ma’am, I’ll get started on it right away.” In a flash of brilliant green light, Ignis was gone and left the principal to continue her work.
Now with a moment to think with her loud mouthed vice principal gone, Solar pulled out a blank parchment and began writing while speaking to herself out loud. “Dear Princess Cadence…”
Silver’s happy grin picked up on both sides of his face, he had his eyes closed as he walked and hummed to himself but still managed not to bump into any locals, lest he be ridiculed for having bad coordination. He had spent a few days exploring the capital so he knew exactly where he was heading, but he didn’t mind if he ended up wandering around town for a bit; reason being, he had done it. He had accomplished what his teacher had sent him out to do, while he was still unsure exactly of what he did, he was certain he had done it correctly.
She had put faith in him to carry out an important task, though hesitantly at first, he had eventually done it without question. He could already hear Princess Celestia praising him on his hard work and dedication to the mission, such thoughts only made him evermore proud that things had gone off without a hitch. So lost in his own thoughts, Silver was unaware of the figure which crept in the shadows and watched his movements carefully.
"I can already hear the praise now," Silver said to himself as he paused (unknowingly) by a dark alley. "I'll walk into the castle, hand her the package, and she'll say—”
"Good evening Silverlight."
"Good evening Princess Luna,” Silver replied nonchalantly. It was at that moment he knew, he messed up. He slowly turned his head to look into the alley to see the Princess of the Night watching from the shadows. “Princess Luna!?” he finally exclaimed in shock. “I know what you’re here for, and I won’t give it to you!”
Luna raised a brows at her sister’s pupil, “We commend thee on your loyalty Silverlight, but do you think it wise to disobey your Princess of the Night?”
“If it means completing my mission and not failing Princess Celestia,” Silver faced the alicorn head on, a glare forming on his face. “Then yes, I’d even stand against you Princess Luna. Please forgive me.” There was a silent face off as the two ponies both donned expressions of uttermost seriousness, a silent tension hung in the air.
“One last chance Silverlight, hand over thine package to us,” Luna demanded as she stepped forward slowly.
“Well, since you asked so nicely,” Silver let out a chuckle before he slowly backed away from the creeping Luna. In a matter of seconds he had bolted away from the alleyway without further words. With his hooves hitting the cobblestone as hard as his legs could take him, Silver’s speed was incredible as he weaved in and out between groups of Canterlot ponies; nearly running into a few in the process. Making a sharp right turn, he found himself heading down an unfamiliar street, as soon as he turned around however, he was faced with a familiar alicorn blocking his path.
“Wait a sec, doesn’t sunlight, like, hurt you or something?” Luna raised her horn, seeing it begin to glow proved to Silver that she meant business. “Wait! Fine….you win.” Silver practically deflated as he lowered his head in defeat, slowly he trudged over to face Luna. He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a brown box and placed it at Luna’s hooves. “I’m tired, I need a nap and definitely something to eat too. So you win, take it, I give up.”
“A wise decision on thou part Silverlight, perhaps we may even share the spoils of victory with thee,” Luna offered, however, the dejected earth pony just trotted by the princess before he began to pick up speed.
“Well, I’m heading to the castle to get some rest, see ya later Princess Luna!” It was at this moment that Silver took off into a full on gallop once more. ‘Go, go, Silverlight, go!’ he thought to himself as he looked back and no longer saw Luna begin to shrink in the distance..
Luna thought the pony’s behavior odd, but quickly dismissed it as she remembered what sat before her. Finally, what she has wanted all evening, it was finally in her grasp and she couldn’t wait to savor every bit; she was so impatient in fact, that she removed the lid to the box so she could begin her celebration early. This, however, was not meant to be; when Luna opened the box, she only found emptiness, pure and utter emptiness. Her nostrils flared as she thought back to how quickly her sister’s student had retreated after his so called ‘surrender’; now she knew why.
“Who knew that saving the box that Light’s scarf came in would come in handy?” Silverlight snickered to himself as he saw the castle was now within his sights. “Hehehe, Silver 1; Luna 0. Now to wrap up this mission and grab some lunch, I’m starving!”
Celestia Sat upon her throne as she watched a couple of soon to be wed ponies leave her court; they had ask that she attend their wedding which she graciously agreed to. The last wedding she had gone to was that of her niece Cadence and her husband Shining Armor, she enjoyed attending and knew she wasn’t going to let the opportunity waste itself. Besides, it would be quite sometime before Twilight decided to get married, and very few couples were getting married in this day and age; so she knew it would be awhile before she’d go to another one.
Celestia’s attention was brought to the doors of her throne room which had been forced open; her smile picked up greatly at what she saw. In trotted her pupil Silverlight, panting Like a tired dog and clearly out of breath; but still with a smile plastered on his face.
“Silverlight, my faithful student,” Celestia cooed as the pony proceeded further into the throne room. “I trust your mission was successful?”
“You betcha!” Silver exclaimed as he carefully took out the proper package from his saddle bag. “The Gala Special, just like you wanted.” For a split second, Silver thought he witnessed something odd; he thought he saw his mentor, a wise and powerful alicorn, begin to drool like a young colt in a candy store.
“Splendid job Silverlight, can you perhaps, bring it over here?” the sun princess asked of the earth pony.
“Sure, but princess,” Silver started as h began to push the box slowly over to Celestia’s throne. “What exactly is in this package that you had me get? I mean, it must be important with badly Princess Luna wanted it, right?”
“Indeed it is!”
The white haired stallion stopped pushing the box as he heard an all too familiar voice generate from behind him. Craning his neck around, Silver caught sight of the other princess which was hot on his trail moments earlier; Princess Luna.
“Silverlight, hand me that package,” Luna began as she stepped forward confidently. “You know not of its contents, the truth is—”
“Silverlight, listen to your teacher’s wisdom,” Celestia interjected causing the earth pony to shift his stare back to his teacher. “This is the last step to your mission, have you intention of failing?”
“Tia, I believe you’ve tortured the young stallion enough,” it was now Luna’s turn to counter her sister. “Silverlight, for our sister’s sake, you must hand us the package.”
“Are you really to sway loyalty from your teacher so easily?” Celestia countered back, her tone picking up a bit in sternness.
Silver did a double take on both princesses, here he was, standing in the middle of the throne room in the middle of two of Equestria’s rulers; his only thought: What was in this box that made two of the oldest and most respected beings in Equestria bicker like little foals over a turn on the swings? There was only one way to find out. With not a moments hesitation, Silverlight opened the flaps of the rectangular shape to see what sacred artifact was contained within.
There was a small collective gasp that came from who Silver could only assume was his mentor and her sister, meanwhile, he just stood there silently, silently eying the carefully prepared delicacy that sat staring back at him. Whipped cream topped the cake, followed by a distinct amount of cherries, he should’ve known at the cherries.
He looked to Luna who gave him a knowing nod before slowly shifting his eyes toward his teacher. “Is…is this what you sent me after?” Celestia’s warm smile just remained, Silver on the other hand wasn’t smiling back. “I DID ALL OF THIS FOR A CHERRY CAKE!?”
“Not just any cherry cake,” Celestia began as her eyes hazed slightly. “A Manehatten style Cherry Cheesecake!” the mighty princess exclaimed with glee.
The earth pony looked back to the other princess, “So then when she said that you took something very important to her, she meant you ate her cheesecake?”
“Tia is supposed to be on a diet,” Luna said as a devilish smirk came upon her features. “I thought it only fair I dip into her stash, Celestia never lets me have any cheesecake.”
“So my lesson…” Silver continued as he turned back to face Celestia who had risen from her throne and crept up silently behind him, waiting to pounce on the cake. “Was postponed on account that you wanted cake? Not only that, but you sent me grocery shopping for most of the day just to get it!?” Silver was now annoyed with what he had gone through, his lesson had been tossed aside simply because his teacher wished for him to run an errand for her.
“You still underwent a lesson though,” Celestia continued as she wrapped a large wing around Silver and brought him in for a hug. “Even when unclear of my intentions or what you yourself were doing you still followed my instructions and stayed loyal to what I asked, I’m so proud of you.” Silver blushed slightly at the compliment while Luna rolled her eyes; she had to hand it to Celestia, she could make a lesson out of anything.
Silver’s happy demeanor only lasted for a moment though before he let out a sigh, “You know what, I’m tired and hungry. I’m heading to the kitchen, getting something to eat, and then going to my room to practice my meditation.” The stallion pulled himself away from his mentor’s embrace and made his way to the exit of the throne room. “If anyone needs me I’ll be learning how to tap into my power on MY OWN,” Silver placed emphasis on his last two words as he exited the large double doors.
The two sisters sat in awkward silence, Luna being the first to break it, “Sister, I think Silverlight is upset after the so called mission you sent him on.”
The white alicorn sighed heavily, “You’re right Luna, perhaps I shouldn’t have sent him, I just thought he may enjoy getting out of Canterlot while on his mission. I will have to make it up to poor Silverlight.” Celestia’s eyes returned to the cheesecake which still rested on the floor, “But first.”
“I’m beginning to feel claustrophobic,” Midnight spat as he sat in his bed with a book floating in front of his face. “I’m telling you, if I don’t find something to do or somewhere to go I’m going to put this room on ice.”
“What would you like me to do?” Mary questioned as she played with one of her many puppets from her large collection, this one being a light brown oak alicorn. “Students aren’t allowed to be wandering the halls this time of night so we can’t go to the beach, also I haven’t been able to sneak you another wheelchair yet.” Mary’s expressionless face meet eyes with Midnight, “Not only that but you slept through most of the day, so that’s your fault.”
“You know, I’m pretty sure normal friends don’t usually want to kill each other, and right now, I really want to deprive you of your existence.” Midnight glared at the mare who still appeared unfazed by his words.
“It just means we’re more than normal friends then,” Mary replied nonchalantly, as though her friend didn’t just threaten her life.
Midnight sighed in defeat, it was as though nothing fazed the mare, even a death threat; or perhaps it was because Mary felt that Midnight didn’t mean his words. While he didn’t necessarily mean anything by what he said, Midnight still wasn’t fond of Mary, still harboring hate for her after his injury; but the mare did prove useful, far more than Midnight originally intended. All that aside, Midnight definitely didn’t consider her a friend, not because of his feelings toward her, but because he though that he needed no one.
“Honestly Mary, sometimes I really—”
“Good evening students, this is principal Solar Wind coming to you all with a very special announcement.”
“The principal?” Midnight mused as he sat up straighter in his bed. “A special announcement this late? Wonder what it’s about?”
“Perhaps if you listen you’ll know,” Mary said, earning her another, albeit, now familiar death glare from the stallion.
Midnight growled like a ravenous Timberwolf, “My patience with you grows thinner everyday, one of this days I’m going to keep my promise about destroying you.”
“Like I’d make it easy for you,” Mary uttered under her breath as the two listened on to the announcement.
“A special field trip to the Crystal Empire will occur in two days time. Those students interested can find the signup sheet posted outside of my office, but act fast, the positions are limited to thirty students only. That is all for now, goodnight to all of you, may Luna bless you all with sweet dreams.” A quick pop from the PA system caused it to lose life, leaving the two unicorns in silence.
“Crystal Empire? As in, former King Sombra’s Crystal Empire?” a genuine smile crossed Midnight’s face after his question. “We have little history books that speak about the Crystal Empire, this’ll be the perfect chance for me to learn more about its history as well as the period when Sombra ruled.”
“What’s your obsession with King Sombra?” Mary asked, the first emotion of curiosity finally crossing her feature. “This doesn’t have to do with dark magic again, does it?”
“You misunderstand,” Midnight elaborated further as he closed his book. “King Sombra was a very powerful being, when he was defeated the was able to make the entire empire vanish along with him. Power like that is legendary, but that’s where my admiration for him ends, I still acknowledge all the bad his done; believe me, I know Equestria is better off with him gone.” Midnight placed his book on his nightstand by his bed, “Still, the Crystal Empire is a mystery that I wish unravel, this field trip will help me learn even more than I could ever hope to know from just studying the few books and scrolls the school has on it.”
“So, you want me to sign us up first thing in the morning?” Mary asked as Midnight dimmed the firefly lantern in his room, changing the bright light down to a warm, soft orange glow.
“There’s no rush, regardless if the spots are limited, I’ll still be able to get two for us,” the stallion replied as he lay back in his bed and gave a sigh. “Now I can’t wait, I’m excited.”
“A field trip to the Crystal Empire, how fortunate for us,” Ventus smiled warmly as she sat on her haunches in the comfort of a dorm bed. “This could prove to be quite the opportunity for us, Sidewinder.”
“How so?” the changeling questioned, he often dropped his disguise around his mistress, she would be able to handle any company should someone enter their room without permission. “Midnight Star is still injured, you said you were going to wait for him to heal before making your next move.”
“Ahh, I did say something of the sort didn’t I?” the unicorn mare chuckled softly. “Well as you already know I’m quite the impatient mare, so I figured why not speed up his recovery by giving him a small sample of the dark magic that dwells within his soul.”
Sidewinder stared at his mistress with an incredulous look, “You’re going to undo one of the seals?” Sidewinder inched toward the mare with a concerned expression now, “But won’t that cause even more damage to him?”
Another chuckle from the mare, “Oh Sidewinder, I lack the necessary power to undo the seals, but if I put the key in the lock I have no doubt that Midnight will turn it of his own free will, thus saving me trouble.” The mare rose from her spot on the bed, “Furthermore, if Ignis will be there we can’t afford that buffoon mucking up the plan, I got lucky as it is with Solar Wind not going. Now then, I have to meet up with Chrysalis about a rogue changeling that may have wandered into the Crystal Empire.”
The changeling scoffed, “Has that fool a death wish? Why venture to the Crystal Empire alone after everything that’s transpired?”
“Quite simple really, ever since Princess Flurry Heart has been born the empire us overflowing with love.” Ventus fixed a stern expression on her face, “That being said, when we go I expect you to behave, understood?”
“Of course malady, I can contain my hunger unlike most drones,” a knowing nod told Ventus that’d she’d have no trouble with her most loyal of spies.
“Alright then, for now I am off to speak with the queen, however when I return be expected to take leave.” The unicorn mare disappeared in a red flash of light, leaving the changeling alone with no one to accompany him but silence.