Memories
Chapter 10: Memories
A single, solid thwack on the door roused Perfect Jewel and Good Spirits from their rest. A glance at the clock revealed that it was two in the morning, and as he was expecting no visitors, he braced himself for whatever pony might be intruding this late.
“Spirits, be careful.” He nodded, making his way down the hall and cracking open the door. Never before had he seen his son in such a state, and he immediately stepped aside as he trudged in without a word.
“Son, what happened?” Silver said nothing, cracking open the door to his old room and climbing into bed, facing the wall. Upon hearing her husband say “son,” Jewel threw back the covers and ran to investigate, stopping beside Spirits as he watched from the doorway. She made as if to enter, but Spirits barred her path, closing the door and motioning her to follow. “He’ll speak to us when he’s ready, but something awful must have happened. He was always such an optimistic, cheerful colt, so for him to be like this...” he whispered, casting a glance back to the room. “I can only imagine what happened to him.” Jewel nodded and followed him back to bed, though they both found sleep to be elusive, fleeing from them every time they drew close.
Silver’s parents awoke earlier than normal the next morning, and it was only with great self restraint that they refrained from invading his room and bombarding him with questions. They knew he’d probably understand if they did, but then, they hadn’t seen their son like this. After finishing breakfast, Jewel left the table and quietly entered his room, kneeling beside the bed and placing a hoof on his shoulder.
“Silver? Are you awake?” He slowly nodded, but remained facing away. “Is everything...” She didn’t bother finishing the question. It was needless. “Do you want to talk about it?” He shook his head, and Jewel sighed as she rose and left the room, closing the door gently and returning to Spirits.
“Anything?” Jewel shook her head, making her way out of the apartment, down the stairs and towards her shop. As distracted as she was, it would be unwise for her to attempt anything other than basic alchemy, regardless of the larger orders whose deadlines were looming in the distance. As much as both Spirits and Jewel wanted to stay, having their son back in the house made maintaining their jobs a higher importance than it was the day before. Spirits entered Silver’s room to find he hadn’t moved an inch since his arrival. “Son, I don’t know what happened, and I won’t ask. But if you feel the need to unload, know your mother and I are always ready.”
“Thanks.” Spirits felt every bit as broken as the hollow voice sounded, the voice of a pony who has lost everything. Silver halfway opened his eyes as Spirits slowly slid his arms around him, drawing him close and whispering three words into his ear before releasing him and exiting the room.
“Don’t give up.” His leaden eyelids forced themselves closed as his father left the room, the fatigue of emotional exhaustion slowly easing him from consciousness.
Applejack was hoping that the anxiety and nausea would have died down on the long train ride, but the only relief she had found was the sparse moments of sleep she had managed to catch during the longest night she could remember. And even when she did manage to sleep, she was confronted by the memories of the hurt caused by a single thoughtless act. Where she once had been forcing herself to take action, a growing, compelling feeling was overpowering her remorse and spurring her on. As the train pulled into the station, she crammed her childhood memories down and stepped off, seeing the bustling city for the first time in many years. Manehatten, even without the pressing matter of apologizing to Silver, was the last place she wanted to be.
“It don’t matter, I ain’t leavin’ until ah’ve said mah piece.” Saying the words out loud was supposed to build her confidence, but as the sound passed her ears and she heard the quavering nervousness and borderline despair, she allowed herself some frustration before trying again. “Dangit, pull it together! I said I ain’t leavin’ without ‘im!” As a boiling anger for her actions coursed through her heart, she used the energy to begin her search, not having any idea where to begin but wishing to Celestia that somehow, she would manage to find a single pony amongst the thousands of others.
For a pony skilled in making alcohol, Applejack decided that the best place to start looking would be the bars. While a sound theory, it was difficult to fathom checking every one individually, seeing as how there was at least one or two every couple of blocks. This was exactly what she did, and with great reluctance, she entered the first and stopped in her tracks as several less than reputable stallions immediately began giving her a thorough looking over.
“Hey there, little lady, come on in and we’ll treat you right.”
“Thank ya kindly, but ah'm just lookin’ fer somepony and he don’t seem t’ be here. Ah’ll just be on mah way, then.” The scent of alcohol and improper oral hygiene assailed her nostrils as somepony grabbed her tail and yanked her backwards, landing her on her back. Three of the stallions crowded around, towering over her and ignoring the barkeeper’s pleas for them to stop. He ducked behind the counter as a mug shattered against the wall behind him, cowering and not saying another word on the matter.
“Ah... ah don’t want any trouble, fellas.”
“You hear that? She don’t want any trouble!” As the three burst into laughter and the memory of her attempted abduction came flooding back, she closed her eyes and began to shake. “I’m afraid it’s a little late for that, lass. You’re already in trouble.”
“You lay a single hoof on her and I’ll snap it clean off.” The three sullenly stepped away as Good Spirits walked in the door with his delivery, stooping to help the mare before stopping cold. “Wait, aren’t you...” he began before Applejack leapt upright and fled the scene. Was it really possible that was the same mare? It’d been a long time, he couldn’t quite say for sure, but something told him it was. “You just can’t leave innocents alone, can you?” he said slowly, turning to face the three. Good Spirits, while not much of a fighter, certainly could look terrifying when the mood took him, and that kind of behavior was something he could not, and would not, tolerate. “I’m sure you three have heard the saying: ‘Fear the Good Spirits of Vengeance.’” The three nodded, suddenly realizing they had backed themselves against the wall. Spirits brought his face in close, before whispering, “That’s me.”
It likely would have done Applejack well to hear the beatdown commence, and even moreso to see the spineless slobs running for their lives, but she was long gone before the scuffle began. Applejack found a bench in an open area to rest, placing her hooves to her head as she tried to calm the fear that had driven her nearly a mile away in a very short time.
“This place hasn’t changed a lick since ah left. Ah know ah need t’ keep goin’ but ah can’t do that again.” She ignored the rumbling in her stomach and collected her thoughts. While loathe to entertain the idea, asking random strangers if they had heard of or seen Silver Moonshine was the only thing she could think of. Applejack allowed herself a few more minutes of rest before beginning to ask around. Half of the ponies were “too busy” to listen to her blathering questions. Of the ponies that did bother to give her the time of day, she usually had to listen to five minutes of pointed jibes about her appearance and accent from the snobs who counted themselves as being too refined and sophisticated to be seen speaking with one such as herself, and even then, almost nopony had heard of Silver Moonshine. She must have asked nearly a hundred ponies before stopping, recalling the whole three answers she had received.
“I heard he moved to some backwater place called Ponyville.”
“He was a great bartender, but I heard he moved recently.”
“Silver? He had such a nice mane. I was, like, so sad when he moved.” Two hours and that was all she had to show for it. Applejack hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day, and she knew if she didn’t find someplace to eat soon, she may well pass out.
“Well, that was right foalish of me,” she muttered, checking her coin purse to find she hadn’t brought any spare bits for food. “Wait a second, Aunt and Uncle Orange live here! Ah’ll bet they could spare some food, even if ah am just a country bumpkin t’ them.” It had been a long time since her last visit, but she still remembered the way well enough, and soon found herself invited in to her relative’s luxurious house.
“Look, dear, she still wears her hair the way she did when she was a filly, how quaint!”
“I can’t say her sense of fashion has improved. Just look at that beaten up old thing she’s wearing!”
“Yeah, yeah, ah look like a wreck, now,” she started before they devolved into snooty giggles.
“I had almost forgotten how funny you country folk speak!” They soon regretted their words and drew silent as Applejack went from minorly peeved to half starved, emotionally unstable, “ah’ve had a really bad mornin’ an ah don’t need any lip from you” furious.
“Would you just shut up and listen t’ what ah'm tryin’ t’ say? This ain’t a rodeo, but so help me I will buck you hard if y’all don’t quiet down an’ help me!” The outburst had its intended effect, and Applejack continued with an exasperated snort. “Now, mah goofy appearance and accent aside, ah really need yer help. First, ah need food an’ water, ah haven’t had anythin’ fer a day now and it’s startin’ to get to me.”
“I suppose you can help yourself to anything you can find in the kitchen. Honestly, you were such a charming little filly...”
“Uncle Orange, if ah hear one more word outta you an’ it ain’t about mah questions, we’re gonna have ourselves a problem. We clear?”
“Quite.”
“Now then, ah'm lookin’ fer a stallion by the name of Silver Moonshine, uses alchemy t’ make booze. Have you heard of ‘im?”
“Do we look like the sort of ponies to deal with such riff raff?” her aunt said with a haughty sniff, pointing her snout in the air. It was forcibly pulled back down and she soon found her face inches from Applejack’s, whose cold eyes and controlled speech made it quite clear she was of a different mind.
“You’d best watch what you say, auntie. Ah don’t take kindly to anypony insultin’ mah friends. Even the princesses themselves had a right good time at his tavern; it don’t get any more posh than that.” Applejack released her aunt’s muzzle and stepped back, ignoring the indignation with which she regarded such violent action.
“I do know of a jeweler that is said to use alchemy, you may try starting your search there. Its name is supposedly ‘The Ruler of Gold’s Perfect Jewels,’ though you will only see the Jewels part of the name on the sign, as the rest is just some strange symbols."
“Finally, somepony is talkin’ sense. Thank ya, auntie.” Leaving the two disgruntled ponies behind, she found her way to the kitchen and set about diminishing her voracious appetite. This would have been nigh impossible were it not for the fact that it was filled with ingredients and not meals, as she recalled the pitiful portions she was served when staying in Manehatten as a filly. She was halfway through the meal when her mind replayed her words through her head, causing her to pause. “Ah called him mah friend... Ah don’t really have the right, but ah’d like the chance t’ be,” she murmured, staring at the orange she had just peeled. She resumed eating as the thought played through her mind, and bid her irate relatives farewell as she finished.
While she couldn’t say for sure, the sun’s position told her it was well past noon. Finding her uncle’s house had taken a good deal longer than she had hoped, and her aunt’s directions to the jeweler were vague at best. After another hour of wandering the streets in what she had hoped was the right direction, she decided it would be a better use of her time to ask directions and entered into an upper class jewlery shop, and was immediately met with disdainful, half lidded glares.
“I’m terribly sorry, but are you lost? You clearly aren’t of the proper pedigree to be casting your eyes upon our wares.”
“You can take yer fancy jewels an’ shove ‘em where the sun don’t shine.” Applejack allowed a fiendish grin at the collective gasp from her crass statement before continuing. “Ah don’t wanna be here one second longer than ah have to, so if you’ll just answer mah question, ah’ll happily be on mah way. Has anypony heard of some place called ‘The Ruler of the Gold’s Perfect Jewels?’”
“Now that is much more your status. It’s about ten minutes down that way,” the attendant said with a huff, motioning due west.”
“Thank ye kindly, sir. Now go on back to bein’ the delightful snobs y’all are. Everypony knows when it’s crammed that far in, there ain’t no use tryin’ to pull it back out.” She drew some mischievous satisfaction from the cries of outrage behind her, breaking into a gallop so as to get to the shop sooner. She nearly ran right past it, backing up and beholding the incomprehensible sign hanging above the small store. The symbols were different than Silver’s, but they looked fairly similar, and as she entered she found a few customers and the bizarrest of gem creations she had ever seen.
“Welcome, do come in. Feel free to browse, and if there is anything you need, let me know.”
“Finally, someplace a pony can enter without bein’ told they’re filthy just cause they talk different,” she chuckled, approaching the unicorn behind the counter with a grateful smile. Her deep blue eyes reminded her of Silver’s mane, and her gold and silver mane was tied into a braided ponytail. Her coat was almost pure white, and golden glasses sat perched on the end of her muzzle. It was strange, she could likely pass as a high class pony with a little change of mane and a snobby attitude, but as she spoke it eliminated any doubt in Applejack’s mind that she was as grounded as a pony can be.
“Fiscal status is hardly an indicator of a pony’s character. Anypony is welcome in my shop as long as they are respectful. That is all I ask.”
“If only everypony here could take a lesson from ya,” Applejack muttered, eliciting a small laugh from the unicorn. “May ah ask yer name? Ah haven’t met many decent ponies ‘round here.”
“But of course, I am Perfect Jewel. Yours?” As she raised a hoof to her chest, Applejack noticed she was wearing matching golden hoof rings, each set with a blue jewel. They were reminiscent of a sapphire, but a slightly deeper blue.
“Applejack, pleasure to meet you. Now, ah heard somepony in this shop knows a thing or two about alchemy. Ah was wonderin’ if you might be able to point me in the right direction.”
“That would be me, see?” she said, turning slightly to reveal her Cutie Mark; a symbol Applejack nearly mistook as being the same as Silver’s, set inside of a ring. “Is there something you wish to know about alchemy? It’s rare that I receive questions on the subject.”
“Ah'm actually lookin’ for somepony named Silver Moonshine, do you know him?” Applejack made the connection the moment Perfect Jewel gasped, even before she spoke.
“I am his mother, Applejack. He returned home to us early this morning, but I’m afraid he’s likely not in the mood for visitors. You wouldn’t happen to know something about that, would you?” Applejack's ears fell as she looked towards the ground, unable to face the mare as her voice quieted to a pained whisper.
"Ah'm afraid I'm the reason." As Applejack hung her head in shame, Jewel knew that this was neither the time nor the place for the conversation that loomed.
“Applejack, I will hear what you have to say, but not here, not now.” Jewel scribbled down an address and time of meeting before offering the note to the mare, who was still refusing to make eye contact. “You’re not a unicorn, so you’re going to have to grab it.” Applejack glanced up just long enough to accept the note before exiting the building, the few customers present watching her go before turning their attention to the jewels.
It was a very long three hours of waiting for Applejack, made longer by her thoughts that wouldn’t be quiet for more than a few seconds. As the sun went down, she grew increasingly nervous of the ponies lining the streets, and thus spent the last half hour waiting patiently outside the door of the apartment Jewel had indicated. The unicorn was quite surprised to find the orange earth pony sitting by her door when she arrived, rousing her curiosity as to just how this mare was affiliated with her son. All things in due time.
“Your punctuality is appreciated, Applejack, but you are a little early. No matter, let us go inside.” The door, unbeknown to Applejack, was unlocked, and Good Spirits was already inside. The two stopped and stared at each other for a moment.
“You’re that mare from earlier, aren’t you? Are you all right?”
“Yes sir, thanks fer that. Ah could ‘ave taken ‘em if ah wasn’t so shaken up.”
“Applejack, this is Good Spirits, Silver’s father. Have you two met?” Applejack should have made the connection the moment she saw him, but she couldn’t help but be shocked by the turn of events.
“Only twice. Come in, have a seat,” he replied, motioning to the table. Despite their friendly demeanor, fear and worry clawed its way up her chest as she sat down, keeping her eyes firmly locked on the table. Spirits didn’t have any idea why Jewel had brought the mare in, and Jewel explained their encounter in hushed tones before they both turned to Applejack. “It would seem that you have some explaining to do.”
“Is... is Silver home? Ah’d like t’ speak with ‘im.”
“I’m sorry, Applejack, but he left before I got home from work. Jewel said that you admitted to being the reason for his return. What did you mean?”
“Ah...” The choking sensation in her throat caught the words, holding them captive as the guilt came flooding back. It was no use trying to fight it, and she deserved whatever she got, so she let it out. “Ah hurt Silver really bad. Ah did somethin’ terrible, somethin’ ah don’t think he’ll ever fergive me for, and ah don’t... ah don’t even think ah’ll fergive mahself.” Spirits and Jewel remained silent, which only spurred her tears to flow more freely. “Ah know he’s your son, an’ ah don’t deserve another chance, but even if ah can’t fix things... even if ah never see him again after tonight, ah want to at least try to set things right. Please, if you can help me find ‘im...”
“There are... two places he’d likely be.” Applejack forced her head upright to meet the deep azure earth pony’s gaze. “One is the bar he used to work at, before moving to Ponyville. I’ll give you the address. If he’s not there, then you’re only hope is to head due north out of the city, and just keep walking until you can see the stars.” She reached out a weak hoof and gave the note a look before clutching it to her chest.
“Before you go, Applejack, there’s something I think you should see.” As Applejack lifted her eyes, Perfect Jewel removed one of her bracelets, revealing several scars much like the ones that coated Silver’s body. Applejack let out a small whimper and covered her eyes as the memory came flooding back, confirming Jewel’s suspicions as to what had happened. “Silver has endured more than his share of pain, more than you can know. So please, Applejack, be gentle.”
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501814
Here you go: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=prYtzjLILDg
In case you were curious.
Wow, no wonder alchemy has mostly been abandoned if it is that dangerous.
Am I remembering correctly that in your established backstory, AJ was assaulted in some way as she left Manehatten back when she was just a little filly? Or am I thinking about another story?
503506 You are correct, she was nearly abducted as a filly. Was in "Tears," glad people remember! It's rather important to her development.
503506
Alchemy. Wonderful results when it works, big prices to pay when it fails. However there is a reason why Perfect Jewel has lesser and smaller scarring than Silver.
sweet so far so good keep up the great work
Must read another chapter!
Cant wait for the next chapter
love your story's. and poor cerulean gets the short end of the stick a lot.
501814
ummm OminousBrony
phantom of the opera is a play as well
I see the next chapter to be either Tearful/Romance/Kiss or Tearful/Hating/Abandonment
503506
correct, she was assaulted and gagged as she was only able to get out one scream, someone heard the scream and saved her before anything else happened.
I'm officially naming AJ the "stallion" in this ship. Pain is weakness leaving the body, man up moonshine. I could understand if other people were injured or killed but just having scars? Let me get you a bitch sticker to make it better.
Yes, your hate gives me strength. Please more thumbs down!
If, by the end of this story, Moonshine has metal prosthetics on some of those scars, I will have officially "called it".
3383104 sorry but wrong all i'm sayin