Disharmony

by ItchyStomach

Chapter Eight: Silver

The two unicorn stallions walked in a steady pace towards the station's office building. Silver looked back over his shoulder to check if Coal was out of earshot yet, but the earth pony was already limping away from them. Silver turned his head back to find Amber Luster looking at him from the corner of his eye. To Silver's raised eyebrow he smiled.

"Made a new friend, Silver?"

The white unicorn nodded. "Yes, I think I have."

"Who is he, anyway? And why does he know about the storages?"

"We've been talking while traveling back from Ponyville and the conversation kinda turned to it. He seemed genuinely interested and... And I don't think I was the one who told him. It was like he knew about the subject already. Of course I didn't say a word about our take on it."

"That's both good and bad to hear," Amber replied. "Promise me you won't let him wander around in tender places."

"I didn't plan to. Besides, he just wants to see some filly in the zoo then head back to Canterlot."

"I think I understand. Chicks dig scars and he has a good one, doesn't he?"

Silver smirked. "Indeed, but it's not that. He just saw her run by and suddenly he had to talk to her. I don't really get it, but I don't suppose it's what you think."

Amber's eyes lit up. "So you're saying..."

Silver grinned at the other unicorn. "I don't think his barn door swings that way. But seriously..." he nudged Amber who had hanged his head to the ground, mimicking sadness. "He was driven by something he didn't tell me about."

They turned a corner and the sight of the office building reminded Silver a more important matter.

"So, what's the situation I'm being dragged to?"

Amber Luster cleared his throat. "Not so long ago, we were informed about an out-of-schedule shipment from Los Pegasus to Manehattan. They'll be only passing by, maybe grab a snack before continuing so they shouldn't cause any trouble, but the thing is, they are carrying one of the disabled storages for some reason so there are at least three trained unicorns with them. They didn't say who they are and how good they are. Now, since we both know some ponies here who would just love to get their asses kicked by strangers, we need a persuasive person. I think you know who I mean."

"Me?"

"What? No, no, I mean the ponies in the zoo. Their teleporting machine has been showing signs of weakening for weeks, so someone has to persuade them to shut the whole thing down for a couple of hours or at least tune it down until the caravan goes away. You are certainly welcome to give it a try, but that's only part of the plan."

"Then my part in it?"

"Mostly, we want you to be here in case something goes wrong, but Dash will tell you the rest."

They were nearing the entrance to the offices.

"You know what?" The orange pony said cheerfully. "Since you're here, you can talk to Crop Glider about the pony who hauled you and your pal to the ruins."

"Already? Is he here? Is he still alive?"

"Yes, he is here and alive, but he's been badly injured and needs to rest. Also, he isn't too thrilled that you left him there alone."

Silver sighed, more sadly than he actually felt. "It was necessary. I had to improvise and it was a good opportunity to... Oh, hey, Cian!"

The blue and green colored unicorn stallion who just exited the building froze as he heard his name. Silver ignored Amber's expectant stare and trotted up to the pony.

"Silver?" Cian squinted. "I thought you were out today."

"I was, until I heard what's what. Amber told me about the caravan and the guards."

Cian moved as if wanting to leave, but his voice was neutral. "Yes, they are coming. I don't think it's such a big deal but... Ah, whatever."

"Right," Silver replied. "Where is Arching Dash?"

Cian motioned upward. "I last saw him on the top floor. I guess he will be happy to see you here."

"I suppose."

"Also, the boss is talking with someone in her office so you will have to wait a bit."

"Is she? Who is she talking with?"

Cian shrugged and looked in the distance. "A stallion in a business suit. I saw the two of them go inside and lock the door."

Silver nodded. "Okay, thanks." He turned to the door and Amber followed him while the green-blue unicorn swiftly trotted away.

"Do you know anything about that businesspony?" Silver asked Amber who was following him through the corridors.

"No, I don't. He must have arrived while I was gone and she hasn't mention anything. Uhm... where are you going?"

Silver looked back, one hoof on the first step upstairs. "Since the boss is occupied I'm gonna visit the facilities first. I assume you have your own place to be, right?"

Amber frowned but didn't hide a playful smile. "Is my company that bad?"

Silver rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna watch me lay cables. Maybe you can tell Dash I'm here."

Amber nodded. "Good idea."

Silver was half way up when he looked back again at the orange unicorn at his tail.

"Seriously."

"Dash is upstairs, too," Amber explained, "and this is the way up."

Silver rolled his eyes and quickened his steps.

Amber let him put distance between them. When Silver turned left to the restrooms he slowly went ahead but stopped when he heard the door closing. He crept back to the corner and listened.

Several minutes passed while he was crouching beside the wall, hoping nobody would bump into him and for his suspicion to be false. Eventually both wishes came true, as he heard flushing noises and remained undetected. He stood up and continued to his original destination, feeling glad that he was proved wrong.

* * *

Everyone needs a change in scenery from time to time, even if they spend the majority of their days in a place to their liking. Such a need pursued Coal to take a break and clear his mind from elements and alicorns for a little while. He was getting sidetracked more and more often and he figured he needed to look at the problem with fresh eyes and mind.

His choices of distractions were a little walk then an easy-to-follow adventure book in the coffee shop he had intended to meet with Hazel Crunch, paired with a cup of decaf. The shop had a rather busy day with almost every table occupied and Coal was comfortable in the sea of strangers and their sounds after the quiet of the library and his home.

What prevented him from truly enjoying it all was his own mind, a tingling sensation and uneasy feeling of being watched, and he was sure it wasn't the fellow guests. Even in the solitude of his apartment he found himself looking over his shoulder and behind doors.

It had taken him a few days to come up with an explanation. Both Silver's and Hazel's warning-advice seemed too serious and overall implausible, so apart from the initial surprise they didn't have much effect on his actions. He saw nothing to back their theories up... Well, maybe apart from a little incident from the day before.

Their eyes locked for only a second and he couldn't see much the pony but her eyes told him a little bit more. Behind the fear and curiosity they were familiar, although not visually. He had never seen those eyes before, yet... He had no words to describe it, even to himself. The whole thing felt like a dream anyway and being so tired at the time surely didn't help either.

Now, alone in the mids of ponies conducting their social lives around him that tingling eased to almost nothing. Maybe it had been only paranoia.

From time to time he looked up from his book at a new pony entering or moving about, but never with much thought. When a yellow coated unicorn mare showed up however, his eyes stayed on her. She walked to a table where a lone mare, or rather filly had been sitting, who greeted her with friendly kisses. He looked at the pages when they sat down to avoid eye contact. He was certain that she was the mare from the chariot.

He remembered the feeling he got when she had said her name. There was something about it, something which he couldn't pay enough attention at that time. He gave up on figuring it out days ago but despite all odds there she was, not alone and probably not wanting to talk with him.

The admittedly cheesy adventure book which started out well enough quickly turned boring and he found himself merely staring at the page, thinking about entirely different things. Above the book's edge the young mare stood up and left to the lady's room. He had to take the opportunity, otherwise it would bug him for weeks, he knew it.

Coal bagged the book and made his way to the table, in his head reciting a decent enough way to initiate a conversation. She looked up and recognition, with a little worry flashed through her face.

"Hi," Coal began, a little more awkward that he had intended. "Sorry to bother you... Do you have a moment?"

"Hello... Coal?" Her voice carried more strength than he remembered doing so in the chariot, but didn't reveal other than surprise. "Sure, come on, sit down."

Coal accepted the invitation, glad that it went easily. "Thanks, uhm... I don't mean to interrupt what you two are having, so I'll be quick."

Up close she was older than he remembered, but was quite attractive with her little wrinkles that made her look more mature instead of simply older.

"Call me Pie, please, and don't worry about my friend. She will understand."

"Okay. So... what I have in mind is something you said about a week ago, in the chariot from the Ponyville station. I, uhm... can't explain why, but it caught my attention. Could you elaborate?"

She smiled appreciatively.

"Wow, to the point! You weren't kidding." She let out a quick laugh. "Just like her... All right then, what was it?"

"When you told us what your name is and where you were from. You started to say something but then changed it."

Her smile faltered and she cast her eyes down while flicking her mane with a hoof. "Oh, that. You really remember that?"

"Yes... If you don't mind, what were you going to say? You see, I'm kind of in an investigation and I'm trying to get everything available."

She was quiet for several seconds, as if debating whether to talk, then said, "I guess it can't hurt..." She looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "I had relatives who lived in Ponyville before the accident. My... husband and I were visiting a memorial to pay our respects to them. It's always a hard time, going there, seeing the place... at least what remained. I was still under the effect when that diamond dog showed up and I almost mixed up the names of it and my home town. What you're investigating, does it concern Ponyville?"

She seemed sincere, but it wasn't the answer Coal was hoping for and he pressed on.

"Yes, it does. Sort of. And... what relatives did you have there? Grandparents?"

She grinned and blushed a little and the effect was stunning.

"Oh... Was that intended? Do I look that young?" Before Coal came up with a response she continued. "No, they were my parents. I was... I mean they were living there the time of the incident and I was in college in Manehattan at that time, but I could've been a victim as well."

There wasn't a proper response Coal could think of at the moment, but eventually he broke the silence.

"So... Were you born in Ponyville by any chance?"

Her eyes widened a little and her hoof flicked her hair again. "Did I say that? I..."

"No, you didn't," Coal said quickly. "But it was logical to ask. Why are you hiding it? Is there something wrong with that place?"

She sat there silently, slowly putting her hooves together on the table. Her face eventually shoved understanding, only adding to Coal's unease.

"You don't know much about Ponyville, do you?"

"What?" Coal was barley able to hide the worry from his voice, already expecting even more troubling new about that place. " I suppose not, but what's there to know?"

"See, Coal, it's... Uh... Yes, I was born in Ponyville and spent quite some time there, so I know things about certain ponies and that not many do anymore. They aren't exactly secrets but they do explain a few things. I will spare you the details. I tell you this because I think you can be trusted, and... It helps to talk to someone who believes you."

Coal barely registered the compliment, his mind was busy with the new information which, instead of giving answers only strengthened his suspicion of a conspiracy.

"Is this about the Elements of Harmony?"

She looked at him surprised, then nodded.

"So you know what that necklace is, you just hide it from everybody else, right?"

He nodded as well.

"That makes it both easier and harder," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Easier because you know they aren't to talk about freely. Harder because they aren't yet you are doing it right know, which means you aren't likely to stop doing it in the future."

"So... I should stop talking to you right now?"

She hummed coincidently but her posture didn't change.

"You should, but like me and many others, you won't. I know you have connected with the necklace therefore you won't be willing to abandon it."

"Why do you think I won't?" Coal protested. "You don't know me."

A smile crept onto her lips. "I know you well enough. Haven't anybody told you not to poke around?"

"They have, but-"

"And here you are, aren't you?"

"I guess..."

"If they haven't told you this, I will. You, in fact, can find clues to the story but uncovering it will bring consequences. Ponies don't die by the hundreds without a reason and aftermath."

They were silent while Coal stomached what he heard, also while trying to guess if she was really honest. She talked like she was, but she did so with a little too much confidence for a subject like this. And the way she kept adjusting her hair... he knew what she said but this was an opportunity to hear even more.

"You said you go to the ruins to pay your respects," he said, "but aren't you afraid from the radiation? Being a unicorn and all."

She frowned. "I am, but there are ways to dampen the effect. It's not pleasant, but it's for something I feel obligated to do. It's not just my parents' memories, you see."

"Ways?"

She smiled. "Do you come here regularly?" She asked out of the blue. "We should meet again and discourse some more. I'm here every week with my friend but we can arrange something."

"Yeah, sure," Coal uttered. Did she just ask him out?

She looked behind Coal as if noticing something and looked apologetically at him, but before leaving she got up and whispered into his ear.

"Make sure you avoid the town in the future, though, unless you are absolutely determined. Stay safe, Coal."

Coal turned to look at her but she was already at the next table, hurrying to the filly. She glanced at him one last time before swiftly leaving the shop with the young pony at her tail.

* * *

Amber trotted down the corridor to the canting, where he hoped to find Arching Dash who wasn't in his office as he had supposed. Upon entering the dining area he saw the unicorn, sitting with two other unicorns who Amber didn't know. Dash, seeing the orange pony enter pulled out a chair for him and Amber accepted the invitation.

"So?" Arching Dash, a middle-aged, brown and red colored stallion asked simply, after making sure no one was listening then casting a noise-canceling spell around the four of them.

"Silver is here, but he's a little reluctant."

"I'm sure I can convince him to do what I want," Dash said confidently.

"What is he gonna have to do? I told him he's gonna make the zoo ponies shut the storage down. Well he be here when the guards come?"

"If all go well, he will be back here when the caravan arrives. As for his task, he's gonna take a trip to the zoo and do some maintenance," Dash pressed the last word. "These two will go with him. They will rig the console so it will backfire at a specific time, alerting the guards. An investigation will determine that it was Silver Beam, acting on behalf of the boss, who sabotaged the storage, costing thousands of bits of property damage as well as endangering lives. He will be removed from his position thus from our way. If we're lucky, the boss will go as well.

"So... " Amber said with mixed feelings, "you want to actually put ponies into danger?"

"That's not the point, Amber. The point is, we have an opportunity to move the plan forward. We also made preparation to minimize collateral damage."

"What are they?"

"We'll make sure the event will take place at a relatively safe time, when nobody is near. We already have a speech ready to be read to the public. We'll have evidence that Silver did it intentionally. He'll likely see through all of this but he'll be in condition to refuse the charges."

"I don't like the sound of that," Amber remarked under his breath.

"There aren't supposed to be anything more than some harsh words. Silver is smart enough to recognize a cornered situation. I know you sympathize with him, but he has to go, and he won't do that if we ask nicely."

Amber nodded, although his heart didn't get any lighter. "I know he won't, but... This seems a little too excessive."

"You have to gamble big to win big. Getting rid of both of them at the same time will help our case significantly. Plus, we'll likely see some others to go from the zoo as well."

Amber didn't respond to that.

"Where is he, though?" Dash asked suddenly.

Amber hesitated with his answer, his emotions colliding. "He went to the restrooms just after we arrived. He then went to talk to the boss and to find you."

"Did you actually wait until he finished?" Dash arched an eyebrow.

"He told me he would do that before we parted, and I believed him." He didn't dare to admit he had done the opposite of that, but he thought it didn't matter after he didn't see Silver leave suspiciously early.

"Well, in that case, I hope he turns up soon," Dash said casually. "I set someone by his office to tell him to come and talk to me about his part. Cyan said that the caravan is two hours away, so we will have to prepare everything that isn't already done. I just hope the boss is done soon with her private consultation." Dash ended the silencing spell, adjourning their meeting. "Let's have a productive day, everyone."

* * *

"Aww, yeah..." Coal sighed as he was bending and straightening his leg for the first time in more than a week. He had sort of accepted the bandage and learned to work around it, but having it off felt great.

"I'm glad that's over," he said to the doctor, who nodded.

"The injury has healed very well. I suppose you took my advice and had a lot of rest. Your coat will take some time to grow back properly but you won't be limping anymore. Oh, and in the future, try to avoid teeth."

"Yeah... Will do." The doctor never quite believed Coal's story but just like the mare who initially took care of him in the station, he did his hob regardless. "Thanks again."

"It was my pleasure."

A few minutes later Coal was trotting on a stream of joy on his way home, being able to do more than just awkward limping. By the time he reached his apartment's door the scar was aching again, but it was a minor thing. He won't be running off leaves from trees anytime soon, but it was only a matter of time.

Right after opening his door he saw a letter on his doorstep again. Why couldn't they just use his mailbox?

Dear Coal,

Prince Blueblood requested the analysis of several historical sources and artifacts from the Chrystal Empire. I want you on the team. Starting from two days from now, each member of the team will either receive a package containing their pre-proportioned part which could be done at home, or be ordered to the castle personally. Pay will be discussed personally, but it will be worth it. Send back your yes or no as soon as possible. Have a nice day.

Short Cut

Even the usual lack of "please" couldn't stop Coal from grinning. This day was looking to be good.

Only when he entered his room and his eyes fell on his bedside table did his mood change. The new assignment meant he had to abandon his mystery. Royal orders were rare but demanding, and also a good opportunity to earn a name which usually resulted in more interesting cases and more bits. Not that he was too short on the latter, but high connections meant access to restricted parts of the library, maybe even to the Royal Library in the castle.

Coal frowned at the daydream. He was far from getting there, that's was for sure, but it was too good a chance to let it pass. He wrote a letter with his yes, only better phrased, to drop off later.

He had different plans for the day, but the letter overrode them. For starters, he had to wrap up what he collected so far and put all in order, to resume it once the new assignment was finished. Some of the material was his own but several books belonged to the library and needed to be returned. He spent the remaining day going through his findings and sorting out what was needed to keep an what not.

On the day before the new assignment, in the library, the librarian took the books and when she came back she had a note with her.

"You're Coal Shelter, right?"

Coal froze for a moment as a sense of deja vu hit him.

"Slitter, actually... Why?"

"Someone was looking for you. He left this note. Do you know what it means?"

The small paper only bore a few words: "I knew you wouldn't listen to me," in smooth telekinetic writing. Coal's stomach felt cold as he looked at the librarian.

"Do you know who the pony was? What did he look like?"

"Let me see... He was white, a unicorn, a stallion, and had a lovely blue mane."

The cold eased and gave way to warmth.

"Do you know him?" She asked, seeing his smile.

"Yes. Well, kind of. I know who he is and why he wrote this. Uhm... Did he say anything else?"

"Not really. He asked what books have you been interested in, then wrote that. I take he is a friend of yours, then?"

"You could say that."

She hesitated then grinned sheepishly. "When you see him, would you be so kind and steer him this way? I really liked his mane."

Was Silver really that charming?

Once outside, Coal couldn't help but keep looking around every minute expecting Silver to pop out from behind something, but it didn't happen. He hadn't really thought about the white unicorn since they parted, but now he was curious how Silver managed that mishap in the zoo and how he found Coal in the big city. He remembered what Silver had promised in his letter, but didn't really believed the unicorn would be actually able to find him.

Later that day, Coal and the other future teammates met up with Short Cut, their supervisor, in his office. He briefed them about the background of the task and how were they supposed to complete it, along with Prince Blueblood's usually lofty comments, read from a paper. After Short Cut ended the meeting he held Coal back for a few words.

The supervisor sat back in his chair and took a long gulp of coffee from a mug.

"Any news, Coal?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Sort of. My trip to Ponyville was rather exciting."

"I'm happy to hear that. Was the map any help?"

"Yes, very much, thank you."

"Do you still have it by any chance?"

"Uh... Yes, sure, it's in my home. I'm giving it to you as soon as I can."

"Thanks. Old relic, you know. So, what have you experienced?"

"I saw the town and spent some time at the station's zoo, met some people, saw a bear..."

"Sounds good," Short Cut said and yawned. "Have you seen or hear anything worth noting? From your point of view."

Coal hesitated. Short Cut didn't elaborate why he wanted to talk to Coal, but he suspected the reason.

"Yes. I experienced the radiation in the town, heard that the ponies in the station still use a storage on a day-to-day basis but that might be not true, I heard some theories about the inventor of the storages... And there was also a... bunch of police ponies on my way home, who stopped our carriage and looked over everybody's luggage. Do you know anything about that?"

"The head of the royal guards' order. They set up authorities on all roads leading to Canterlot. I'm not in the right circles to know exactly why, so I only know what everybody else does. Assuming one reads the paper."

Coal looked at his lap. "Yeah... I hadn't have much time to read newspapers."

"And why is that?" Short Cut took a sip and glanced at Coal, who fidgeted on his seat.

"I... I have found some leads and ideas about the pony who created the storages and since I'm interested in it I wanted to dig a little... To see if I can find anything... But it wasn't really much."

Short Cut nodded. "Don't fret, I just wanted to hear your answer. See you tomorrow, Coal."

* * *

She stared at the paper, he thoughts stirring up as a tornado made by pegasi. It was a spell, depicted in traditional hieroglyphs used to write down the complex structure, similar to musical notes.

What first struck her mind was the fact that the non-magical dogs actually had something like that lying around, knowing what it's use was. It was also strange that the system was an old one. For several decades, maybe even a hundred years a new system has been in use, an updated and somewhat simplified version in order to enable more ponies to study magic, especially young students.

To an untrained eye, the sheet was a bunch of random symbols, sometimes having a pattern, by otherwise a mess. The paper had no regular Equestrian letters so there had to be somebody with the sufficient knowledge working with or for the dogs. Otherwise, there was a dog who could read spell sheets and that was... unsettling.

"So?" The dog, who gave it to her pointed at the paper. "Does it makes sense to you?"

She nodded.

"Then get on with it."

"Maybe she has to practice it first?" Another dog offered.

The leader contemplated it. "Well, do you?"

She shook her head. She was familiar with the spell, although with a newer form. It could be used to determine a gem's ability to hold enchantments, but it also enabled her to see if the gem was touched by magic in the last year or so and what it was used for. It was more complex than scanning for gems, but not so difficult to cause too much problem.

She looked at the giant pile of both raw and finished gemstones towering before her. Before she could stop herself, she already made plans on how to organize the big pile into six smaller ones, depending on their level. The cave should be spacious enough... She grunted at herself. She shouldn't think about making their job easier.

The dogs' leader turned her to face three small, empty carriages with familiar saddles, each standing before an opening in the wall. She had once hauled one like those long ago, in a very different scenario. They meant there were other ponies here beside her, supposedly in similarly bad conditions.

"Left is weakest, right is strongest. Can you manage that?"

She wanted to ask if she was going to pull the carts but realized she didn't want to know, so she merely nodded.

"Now get to it."

A small crowd had gathered, all looking at her, expecting something and making her uneasy, even more so than she already was. She turned to face the pile, turning the old spell over in her head. This wasn't anything she hadn't done before. She took deep breaths to prepare herself, recited the spell and lit her horn. The magic she had to channel felt strange, just like before, but now it was more pronounced. She levitated a small stone and started the determination spell.

Immediately, her instincts kicked in and she cut everything off. The gem dropped to the ground but she barely heard it. Her ears flattened to her head and she looked back at the dogs. They didn't look angry or surprised, instead some even nodded, as if knowing this was going to happen.

"What's the matter, pretty?" One of them said, grinning.

She didn't answer. It was so unexpected. She tried again and this time she got the spell to work but only for a second. She heard remarks like "I knew she can't do it," and similar ones. They expected her to fail the spell, she wasn't the first unicorn to try this.

She had two theories as why this was happening, but neither of them was comforting. The third attempt got a little further, but at the fourth try she completed her spell once and floated the gem in the cart on the left.

"That's it, pony. You are good." She looked at the leader dog, surprised.

"What?"

He smirked. "You got that right at the fourth try. That's the best we've had so far. Now there's only..." He mimicked counting the stones. "...five thousand left. Roughly."

"There were others? What happened to them?"

The smile didn't leave the dog's face. "They died."

She cast her eyes down and turned back to the pile. Behind her, the leader ordered the others to leave.

* * *

When Amber next saw Silver the white unicorn was chatting with a young female co-worker. Amber waited politely until Silver waved goodbye then stepped up to him.

"Hey, what's up? Have you found Dash?"

Silver snorted and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe that's the reason I'm here. I'm not the only one with a mouth in this darned place and I'm not even a maintenance pony!"

Amber was prepared to his reaction. "If it was that simple it wouldn't have to be you. Cyan hasn't been here long enough, not to mention you're much more accustomed to the ponies in the zoo than almost any of us."

Silver nodded slowly and walked to a water fountain. "It's still odd, though. Why do I need two escorts? What Dash told me doesn't seem that difficult and I think he could use the help now."

"They'll be there to do some additional work and to make your visit look more official. Their absence won't mean a problem here."

It was true enough. Amber didn't know the extent of Silver's scientific knowledge but the white unicorn had a good reputation among the zoo ponies and they would let him tinker with the rather unstable device.

Silver drained the cup. "I guess that makes sense. Still... Oh, whatever. It's not like the end of the world."

"I'm glad you accept it. By the way, isn't that friend of yours there as well?"

Silver hummed, then smiled. "Actually, he is. I hope I can get a good look at the filly she's after."

"Don't be a cock blocker." Amber grinned. "I know what you said about him earlier, but I think you know that that can't be all."

" I didn't intend to, but you might be right about his motive." He looked behind Amber at the far end of the corridor, where their boss's office door was still locked.

"She is still in there," Amber said after following Silver's line of sight.

"I wanted to ask her something," Silver said, "but it will have to wait until I come back. Dash made the whole thing sound so urgent and I can't say how much time I will need."

"Just make sure to succeed."

"Don't worry. Now, where are those two guys?"

Amber told him then watched him leave. He knew he was betraying his friend's trust, but he had to make a decision between him and his own future. He just just wished it didn't have to be so drastic.

He went downstairs to make sure Silver left the building then reported back to Arching Dash on the top floor.

"Why did you pick those two to go with him? Aren't you afraid they will alert him? By mistake, I mean."

"Because they had to be regular maintenance ponies so Silver wouldn't be spooked and they were the best I could trust. Even if Silver finds them out they are both able to make the necessary adjustments and stage it as his work."

" I hope your plan is as good as you think. I'd hate see it failing prematurely."

"Let's hope it won't come to that."

Dash was looking out through the window of his office, where the two of them sat. To Amber, the unicorn seemed to sit very comfortably in his own cleverness. Amber didn't like him much, but he was in fact a good planner with an effective persuasive ability.

"Do you know how frequently Silver visited his office and how many thing he had there?"

"He was never the tidiest, if that's what you mean."

"His room was very clean, only the expected stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"You... checked his room behind his back?"

"While the two of us talked, I had somebody take a look."

"And nothing is...bad?"

"It depends on how you look at it. Either he knows nothing, or he deliberately makes sure we think he knows nothing. I'm guessing he made sure to clean up anything suspicious, in case we look through his stuff without his consent."

"Haven't you done that before? Why wait now while he's here?"

"He uses a unique spell to lock and unlock his door and I finally had someone to decipher it, but he could still have beaten us. We can't be sure, and we can't do more without alerting him."

Amber nodded without comment. Dash looked at him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

The orange pony sighed. "No, I just feel sorry for him. He's a great guy."

"I don't disagree with you, Amber, but this is an opportunity we can't let slip away. It is drastic, but it's more than we usually get." Dash looked at the other unicorn who avoided eye contact. "Keep your eyes on the goal, Amber. I need you to make it happen."

* * *

She was exhausted, but at least awake. She didn't remember falling unconscious or being relocated to where she was now only that it was a relief. She lifted her head and slowly opened her eyes.

She was in a familiar, little cave, with hay on the ground and a candle mounted on the wall next to her, complete with the usual bars blocking the only exit. To her left side were three small, nicely polished gems embedded in the rock, pulsating slightly. She reached out with a hoof but only found smooth, cold texture. She felt the presence of magic in them, but when she tried her magic the numbness in her head and horn grew stronger and she had to stop. She reached for her horn but there was no ring. She was drained.

She massaged her temples, moaning. She had been doing the spell for hours or days, it seemed, and was only able to fill one cart out of the three. The dog for some reason didn't push her too much after the first tries, instead kept mostly silent, saying occasionally something to the other one that stayed in the cave. She didn't catch the words, she was focused on keeping the spell going.

She looked around for anything of interest, but the cellar was otherwise empty. She got up on weak legs and walked to the bars to peer into the darkness behind. The candlelight illuminated a small portion of the tunnel running parallel to the bars, disappearing into darkness in each direction. Further to the right she saw a glimpse of orange as another candle lit the rock there. Was it another cellar with another pony? She listened, but heard nothing but her own breaths. The complete silence was nothing new down here but now even the cracks of the torches were missing. It felt like pillows pushed against her ears.

She walked back to where she had been laying, ruffling the hay as she went to make at least a little sound. She was so alone. Just like when she had to flee from her home and her friends, only having time to hide the last necklace. As to where she was now, she had two options.

The first was that she was outside of Equestria thus Celestia's magical protection and that's why the magic around here was so different and unregulated, unlike home.

The second one seemed unlikely, but she saw Celestia being defeated by the changeling queen, if only momentarily. If she was thrown from the throne for good, her magic would no longer help the ponies in the realm, resulting in a state she supposed similar to where she was. Celestia herself might deserve that, but... such fate was not meant for anyone, and with Luna at her side, the second option was very unlikely.

To where she could be exactly, she had no way to tell. Every big mountain could hold a cave system like this one. Judging by the density of the gems in the ground she could be near the Crystal Empire, but that still meant an enormous area of tall mountains stretched out for hundreds of miles, and even Ponyville had a great deal of gems in the ground. The diamond dogs had no real homeland that she knew of, so that wasn't for much use either.

She tried her magic again but had to stop because of the pain in her head. That spell was so simple yet so difficult to execute without Celestia's regulation that she used all her reserves.

But what if this was the way magic should be? So comfortable as it was back home, was Celestia, in fact, holding back from its potential? What if her whole life studying it was into a very wrong direction? The very foundation she had been building on differed from reality, not to mention everything that came on that.

She slumped down on the ground and dropped her head low, poking her horn into the old hay. She didn't know what to think of all this, what was the right thing to think, what parts of the case she didn't yet know. She has been a slave for too long to dare to cross certain boundaries, even in her own head.

* * *

Silver firmly pulled Amber into his office, locked the door with a quick spell then turned to face the orange unicorn, who was trying to look as casual and genuinely surprised as possible. He couldn't hide all of his discomfort, though, and he was sure Silver picked up the signs.

They looked at each other for several seconds before Amber broke the eye contact and looked around the room, as if for help.

"So..." He began, already suspecting Silver's question.

"How big a part did you have in all of this?" Silver's voice was threateningly even.

"I, uh... I don't..."

"You must know what I mean. I know a lot of people was involved but you're the one I know for sure."

"Listen, Silver... I know what it looks like, but-"

"Those two others who went with me screwed with the storage's circuit and made it so that it'd seem like an accident. I know I didn't do anything that'd result in something like that. I also know there are people in this station who would go very far to get what they want, and I know you don't tend to swim against the current. So?"

Amber cringed back, but noticed Silver didn't seem to know who was the initial target for the blame.

"I wasn't that involved... But to be honest, it wasn't supposed to make the whole barn disappear, only to make a small... puff, for the guards to notice."

"Well, that's quite unfortunate. If I recall, you told me earlier that we'd be screwed if somebody were to find out our little secret. Now, we not only have that coming, we also have to find the missing ponies."

"Yes, that's true, but believe me when I say, it wasn't intended-"

"Believe?" Silver seethed. "Why would I believe you? You lied to me so many times. At least have the balls to tell me you're sorry."

His horn glowed and Amber took a step back, but Silver only levitated a glass of water from his desk and took a sip.

"Also, you know what?" He said, the glass still floating in front of him. "Those guards aren't stupid. They will connect the dots to find out that it was, in fact, I, who initially set the circuit to overload. It could be only bad luck that I happened to be there, but on my day off? That's kinda fishy. Of course you won't know why I was there when not in service and neither will any other."

Hearing what he really didn't want to hear, Amber couldn't meet Silver's eyes. Keeping him in the blind was already a lost effort and he figured he owed the unicorn the truth.

"You are right. It was planned to make you suspicious, but it went too far. We didn't want it to be this... drastic, but..." He trailed off. He had nothing to offer.

Silver snorted, expressing his disgust.

"Let me guess. You wanted to stop them, but they were too persuasive." He continued before Amber could say anything. "Too bad... I actually liked you. I think you will have to see it through without me, though."

Amber looked at him questioningly, and that what Silver had been waiting for.

The glass exploded in a burst of shrapnel, water and magic, giving Amber only a split second to close his eyes before the shrapnel hit his face. The first bang was followed by a louder second one soon after, and Amber flattened himself to the ground.

He cleaned his eyes and peered around while also preparing a quick shield spell. He doubted he could fight Silver, but at least he would try and defend himself.

The room was empty, and Amber could feel the remains of a strong magical discharge still lingering in the air. He realized Silver had teleported, using the glass to prevent Amber from interfering. Either that, or to make a dramatic escape. Using the door was too boring, apparently...

A bad feeling lingered in his mind and he got up and walked to the door to try it. It was still locked, but when he tried to force it with magic he realized how much it was so. Dash told him that Silver used special spells to lock his door, but he didn't elaborate.

Amber found the door not only locked, but structurally integrated with the wall, making it impossible to open without the necessary skills or brute force, neither that Amber had enough from. He didn't have the ability to teleport out like Silver either. Dash didn't mention how Silver's door was locked, but Amber doubted he would skip a detail like that. Or not...

He frowned, turning from the sealed door to the window, which was also locked with the same method. That was expected, but the shades outside were dropped, preventing direct sunlight from entering, as well as others from seeing who was trapped inside. The controls for the shades were locked as well.

He spun around, worry creeping into his mind. He didn't think Silver could have manage to make all of this in a blink of an eye, also while preparing to teleport away. He could have used preset spells on thin triggers but that meant he was suspicious all along and knew this situation was coming. That was why there was nothing strange in his room, because he knew it would be looked through, and these safety measures were either prepared just that day or were pre-installed and hidden well. All of this resulted in situation where Amber couldn't contact Dash while in here to talk over their cover story now, that the circumstances have changed.

Comments

[amiamera]

Ok, this chapter was good and interesting. I'm not a fan of changing perspectives often but I don't think you did too badly but the past Silver stuff felt more than a little confusing as it was being interspersed with the present or whenever the Twilight stuff happens. Actually this chapter creates a bit of an issue for me and I don't know if it's intentional or not. I don't know when the Twilight stuff happens relative to the coal stuff. Originally it felt like they were concurrent, which is a basic assumption in stories like this. However, with this chapter, you introduce that time is not constant with the breaks between different elements. This means that the Twilight chapters could be years old and we'l discover Twilight died a pitiful death when we get the flashback from coal upon finding the body and figuring out what happened based on what was previously displayed. If this is intentional, then good job, if not then you might want to think about reworking it somehow so that it clearly demarks and separates Silver as an exception to messing with time.

Also, with the number of perspective switches, thank you for using the asterisks. It makes this chapter much easier to read and, other than my bias about # of perspective switches, keeps the flow working by telling us, we have changed perspectives.

[ItchyStomach]

6258358
It might be a little spoiler, but the Twilight stuff happens many years before the Coal and Silver stuff, while those two, with the exception of this chapter, happen at the same time. They all will connetc eventually.
In short, they are not concurrent. It's good that you pointed it out, though, I will try and make it more obvious.

[amiamera]

6274952
The problem is that there IS no easy way to show they're not concurrent and based off years of indoctrination from dealing with fantasy novels and most novels, changes of perspective are normally assumed to be concurrent unless plainly stated otherwise, either by flashback of little headers that say 10 years ago. It actually makes this story a little weirder if they aren't concurrent because I have had no reason to believe it wasn't until you started messing with this part of the story. This, unfortunately, may mess with expectations and unintended promises to the reader conflicting with what you originally intended. (On phone and can't link to Writing Excuses podcast on promises to the reader. It's a very useful podcast and even more useful episode. I'll link if interested and I get on computer).

[ItchyStomach]

6274976
Do you mean www.writingexcuses.com? I just found it via Google, thanks for the tip. I'll give them a listen. The thing is, the Twilight part always played in the past relative to the main story and it was supposed to be some sort of surprise or twist as the story proceeds, that's why there's no "Ten years ago". I didn't think it would be too confusing. Maybe by going back and inserting some hints in the early chapters could do the trick?

[amiamera]

6281788
Might be able to do the proper setup. Foreshadowing would be good. Even if it's subtle, as long as people can go back and go "oh, I should have seen that coming. 'It is surprising, yet inevitable' (quote from Writing Excuses)."

Also link to specific podcast I mentioned about promises.

[ItchyStomach]

6283935
Many thanks for all the help and for introducing me to WritingExcuses. It's the kind of podcast/tutorial thing I've been looking for since I started writing, and it's simply awesome.