Silver sat in his uncomfortable computer chair, nudging himself into place with his magic. A huge grin was painted on his features as he reached for the mouse... Oh. He frowned, realizing that clicking the buttons on a mouse were far beyond the ability of a hoof. He withdrew his hoof and focused on his horn magic alone. He imagined his hands over the keyboard like they normally would, and moved a hand over the mouse with a smile. This would work well enough.
He called up Steam and opened up his library. Ha! He thought he was being silly when he installed all those games he had no intention of playing at the moment. Now he had a huge collection of games he could play without the internet. He clopped his hooves with joy before he slid out of the chair. Knowing the option was there was good enough. He left the computer on as he wandered into the house. A peek revealed Rough Draft in the den, reading Ponyfinder.
Silver trotted up to him with a cautious expression, "So... like it?"
"Why don't earth ponies get a strength bonus?" asked Rough Draft, "And where are the harmony stats? Do none of the ponies get any modifiers to them?"
Silver snorted softly, "Welcome to my world. Looking at Humanway is that, right there. It's close, but so far off from reality." Rough began to pout and Silver moved in quickly, nuzzling his cheek, "We tried our best."
Rough smiled back, relaxing. "That's all we can ask, I suppose. You did a great job. Did you draw all these pictures too?" He tilted his head at the question, "I didn't know you were an artist."
Silver shook his head, "I had two artists, uh, three artists help with this book. And another person to do the layout, and another to do the editing!"
Rough gave a soft whistle, "I usually have to do it all myself. How do you get a bunch of people together?"
Silver pointed out back towards the living room, "The computer I just plugged in. I can send messages, and even money, through it. They can see what I see, and the editor can edit, and the artists can art, and the layout person takes all we did and puts it together in a book, like that."
Rough frowned a little, "I'm still not sure how you can say your world didn't have magic. You were using it long before you became a unicorn."
"Huh..." said Silver, looking thoughtful, "I guess I was. Do you want to see it working! It's on!"
Silver was back on that bed. Lyra was there. She shimmied up to him across the soft sheets, "No more words. Let's show everypony how much we love each other?"
Silver's sour attitude had followed him. He put a hoof on her muzzle, "Not in the mood. Why can't I have a normal dream?"
Lyra drew back with a blink, "I thought this was a normal dream for a young colt with lingering attraction to an older mare."
Silver squinted, that voice... "Luna?"
And she was Luna, just like that. "You have found me."
Silver blinked softly, "Is there a good reason you're dream-seducing me? Seriously. I was a human, and you know that, and you come after me? You could have anypony you want."
Luna frowned softly, "I have no interest in you that way. I wanted to see how you behave. Your dreams have changed much. They are no longer wild and chaotic, and I wonder why." She raised a jeweled hoof to point at Silver, "You are mine, so it behooves me to know."
"Was that pun on purpose?" asked Silver.
"Pun?" asked Luna, baffled.
Silver shook a hoof, "Nevermind. So... if I had gone along with the dream and, you know, rolled you over and went at it, what would you do?"
Luna raised a brow, "That would tell me several things, though the fashion in which you began your debaucherous act would be most telling of all."
"Would you be offended if I said that's kind of... sick?" asked Silver.
Luna shook her head, "I fail to see why. I have watched the dreams of my people for a long time, be they virtuous or depraved. There is much that can be learned from either."
Silver kept further comment to himself. It was a different world. So their princess and co-god snoops on their dirty dreams? "So... Since we know we're in a dream, I can do... this?" Suddenly Silver was David again. "Huh."
Luna adjusted her sight upwards to David's taller human form. "You could think of females of your kind." It was a trap. The moment David did, she changed, becoming a buxom human female with dark skin and dreaded hair. "Is this attractive to you?"
David barely restrained a chuckle. Luna-human looked confused, "Is this not the female you imagined?"
"Oh, it is," agreed David. "It is also my mother. I'm afraid that won't turn me on, even in my dreams."
Luna was suddenly a pony again, wings unfurled wide, "I did not mean... Forgive us. The human mind is not the pony one."
David shook his head, "There is way too much focus recently on my libido. Crazy mares want to rape me, and then I go to sleep and there are alicorns waiting to finish the job."
Luna reared her head back, "I have no intention on raping you. Do you wish me to leave?"
She began to turn to go when David put a hand on her lower back, which became a hoof as he became Silver again, "No, stay."
Luna turned back to Silver and smiled, "You are far cuter as a colt."
Silver smiled back, "Yes... I am."
Luna poked him then, "What was that about a mare?"
Silver shook his head violently, "I don't want to talk about that."
But it was too late. The warehouse appeared around himself and Luna. The red-furred mare stood beside Silver, who was tied up again with the magic-blocking ring on. She brought down the crop on him and it hurt in that odd way that dream things can hurt. He knew it should sting, so it stung, but there was no real pain.
Luna's eyes narrowed darkly, looking much like Trixie's reaction. "What foulness is this? That filly is old enough to be a mare." She gestured at Silver uncertainly, "This is... Is this true? Do you exaggerate?"
The crop came down again, making Silver yelp and squirm, but also blush hotly at how much he was showing off for Luna. He kind-of liked Luna, even if she was quite frightening.
Luna had seen enough. With a wave of her wings, the dream was dispelled, and they were seated on Discord's bed in the dark void. "I will punish her. It has been some time since I have been able to dispense true Lunar judgment on a pony." She stomped a hoof, cracks running out across the bed as if it were glass.
Silver shrunk a little, "What if--"
"No," said Luna. "You have excused every pony that has slighted you. You have raised your hoof in offer of friendship to those that would slap you across the face. You are... broken. It is a nice broken. It is a friendly broken." She circled around Silver, "But you are broken."
The dream ended abruptly with Silver sitting up in his bed in a cold sweat, Luna's last words echoing in his ears. He was broken. New tears began to build quickly in his eyes as he beat upon his bed with his hooves. Why was avoiding trouble bad? Why couldn't they just let him live? He envisioned Luna already rushing to inform her sister. They would talk.
Then they would send the dangerous human away from their perfect pony land. Who needs a broken citizen?
insta fave Stay Awesome
Your story is THE MAGICS!
Trixie is the best and worse kind of mother to have. Terrible things indeed.
So.... Rough is out to bring some justice, Trixie is out to dish out the technically not legal justice and Luna is out to serve old school justice. And I don't feel sorry for the near-age-of-majority Lass (we really need a word for pony teenager...).
And... is Silver trying too hard to be a good pony?
5705880 Thank you. You brought a smile to my face. Any favorite parts?
5705888 If Silver had it his way, they'd all just forget about her and play some vidya games instead. His caretakers do not accept this as a viable action plan.
Are you sure that tears don't work I mean look at Woundsalt he does just fine with it.
5705913 Who?
5705914 Here is a link to the story.Woundsalt
i want to wait till i have read every chapter out so far (probably be done by midnight) before i point out my favorite chapter(s) i will post them with my thoughts if you want me to ( one of my top favorites so far and i have read literally 10,000+ story's) i would rank it up their with the best HIE's ( like my little dashie, or
The Mighty Warrior of Epicness) at least my opinion of the best. matter of fact if this story turns out like i think it will ( although i want to wait before i share my thoughts), i would rank it up there tied with my most favorites like kkat's fallout equestria, and ROBCakeran53's my little dashie series. i hope that conveys how much i like your story.
That should be either "without the internet," or "without an internet connection." While there are many connections to the internet, the internet itself is singular, no matter how many Silver has won.
"Humanway" needs to be capitalized, as it's a specific game.
"Barely-mare."
There's a closing quotation mark that should be at the end of that sentence.
"Dream-seducing," Silver. She's "dream-seducing" you.
I think that there's supposed to be an ellipsis after "I did not mean..."
The mare is "red-furred" and the ring is "magic-blocking."
I think what she wants to dispense is "judgment."
Skyrim. If you have Steam, you must have Skyrim. Also pony mods for Skyrim.
5705992 Tear damage blotted up and cleaned away. What think ye of the chapter?
5705999 I would have had Skyrim with pony mods already installed!
Don't forget to change it from "dragonborn" to "flutterborn()"!
And TF2, portal 1 & 2, half life, Gmod, minecraft, oh and don't forget Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, either!
5706045 Most of those would be installed. Alas, can't go download new ones.
5706045 Not sure how useful offline TF2 is, though.
5706056 there isn't a way to play against AI? It's just multi player?
5706014 This chapter was a palate-cleanser that was very much needed (more than I had thought, in fact). Silver was right that there'd been a awful lot of focus on his libido lately, but it wasn't that that was the issue. It was the lack of fallout, or even recognition, of how much sexual aggression had been directed at him lately that was starting to make things feel...whatever the opposite of "grounded" is.
What happened in this chapter flies in the face, at least somewhat, of the idea that the ponies lack an acute sense of situational awareness, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Having some level of consequences to their actions keeps the characters more firmly aware of the world around them, which makes them easier to relate to. The fact that both of Silver's "parents" put their hooves down, as well as Luna, was something of a "return to normalcy" in that regard. This will keep things fresh for later chapters.
Also, I suspect that Luna was ducking the question when Silver asked what she'd have done if he'd gone along with her advances. Insofar as this fic goes, she's essentially outed herself as being not just a guardian, but a voyeur. Even more than that, I'd be willing to bet that she has dream-liaisons with some regularity, all without the ponies involved ever realizing that it's anything more than a dream. After all, they have fun, and she gets some release without having romantic entanglements or children. (Poor Celestia, having no similarly-easy outlets for her own needs.)
Of course, Luna is right about Silver being broken. In a very real way, he represents the inversion of one of the Elements of Harmony, that being kindness. The dark reflection of kindness is weakness; where wanting to be kind to others turns into passivity and submissiveness. It's what Fluttershy struggles against, though she does a good job thanks to her friends. (It's enough to make me wonder if Discord wanted David there because his presence weakens the Element of Kindness enough that it'd provide him some sort of advantage somehow...though I dislike Discord as a character, so I hope that's not it.)
5706080 I'm not sure it paints anypony as being particularly perceptive, seeing as Rough was dealing with it first hoof, then shared the knowledge to Trixie. The only one that had to do any deducing of any kind was Luna, but David/Silver even mentioned that, if a bit roundabout in fashion.
Silver is a very sad pony, fearing the worst, and feeling a bit lonely with his guardians off riding to vengeance. Sure, everypony is doing what they want to do, but that's not what he wants, as 'broken' as it may be, or not. The changeling hurt him, but she was a good, if confused pony. Let it pass. Lyra hurt him, but she was also a good pony. No harm done, let it pass. This new pony didn't get much a chance to cause significant physical harm, but she is not a good pony, and his quiet insistence to let it pass is only irritating those around him.
And what about that Tumble fellow? Is he out a marefriend? Is this something Silver gets to look forward to next school day? He doesn't really want to be pummeled for it... Why isn't this nearly as easy as the show looked like?
There were feelings felt, but, as you said, it felt like a chapter that really needed to happen.
5706089 Like Tumblr, Tumble is full of needless battles fought with all the fury they don't deserve.
>inb4 venting stress with Postal 2 and Manhunt.
5706181 Don't have either of those installed, so no luck there. Plenty of other games though.
'lots of games downloaded' - I immediately thought of http://mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/Banned_From_Equestria_%28Daily%29
Also - wikipedia english text dump is only 10GB.
A small price to pay for all the leverage you'd get over Twi.
5706045 that's top tier casul set right there, son. I'm disappoint. And there is no Minecraft on Steam.
5706182 I went 500+ during the winter holiday sale, you?
5706190 Sure, if he planned for this, he'd be set! He wasn't planning this. He is not set. No Wikipedia for you, son.
captivated. that one word says so very little about how amazing this story is, from beginning to end it caught my attention and i could not stop reading. I was so involved in the story due to the superb character development, and the amazing exposition that kept me hanging onto every word, to the point that at the last chapter i was saddened that there wasn't more. out of all of the story's i have read only two other story's that i can attest to being that captivating, you my good sir are the author to an amazing story that ties itself in first place with Fallout Equestria and The Mighty Warrior Of Epicness, on my very long list of favorites.
Thank You for your amazing story, cant wait to read more (squee)
5706506 That's mighty high praise! I'm not sure if I deserve it, but I will humbly accept it in the spirit it is given. Thank you.
Preclude means prevent or stop. I don't think that's what you meant.
You said earlier in the comments that a his-word-against-hers situation would not constitute evidence. Luna seems to have found a tidy way around that problem by tricking him into remembering the actual event. So far, Luna's reaction seems pretty justified, depending on what exactly "Lunar Justice" entails.
your welcome, i just want to say that as an example i have posted my thoughts on less story's than there are fingers on my hands.
An amazing story doesn't need to be 300,000+ words, it doesn't need to be popular, it just needs heart and soul!
An amazing story will grab your attention and not let go, an amazing story will let you see through the characters eye's and as you read see what's happening through the words as if you were there.
And that's why i praise this story, very few can immerse you in the world the story's in and be believable at the same time. so ( clears throat) Thank You for this gem of a story, Stay Amazing
And best princess strikes again, though it is rather shallow to judge someone based on their dreams.
"You who are broken, we shall fix you! Make you better! We have the technology... We have the Magicks!"
I've not been able to play many games on Steam when offline. DRM and all that..
6600024 Odd, my steam flips into 'offline mode' and runs anyway, provided it's running.
6600024 Go to the top of Steam, click the "Steam" options tab, and click 'Go Offline'. It should log you out and reboot steam in offline mode. Then feel free to do the same thing again and 'Go Online'. From that point onwards, unless you log in on a different steam account on that computer at some point, you will be able to play offline at will.
Also, if you start up Steam while not connected to the internet, it should give you a "Run in Offline Mode" option alongside the "Quit Steam" option.
C'mon, Silver, do three-handed computing like everyone wishes they could.
aaaand he's called on it finally.
Fiiinally.
Welcome back to the Action Tagging Hour with guest stars Other Corrections!
the Internet.
expression.
cheek.
question.
head.
whistle.
little.
little.
surprise.
nervously.
Silver.
back.
Draft.
Is it wrong that I find this character trait of his deeply interesting?
7060464 He tries so hard to see the bright side of things, people, and ponies.
Trixie, you rock.
"But of course. Trixie is Trixie, after all."
Plus 1 for Luna Justice! :)
"THE DISCORD HATH RETURNED MINE SUBJECTS!!" Said The Celestia.
I love it when people make that typo of addressing people as objects using 'The'. It was the first ever typo I pointed out when it was The Celestia. Great nostalgia, 10 points to hufflepuff. Sorry, wait.
"THOU HATH EARNED TEN POINTS FOR THE HUFFLEPUFF!!!" Shouted royally The Celestia.
7350467 Fix'd
A SMUDGE!
The "s" turned into an "ed"!
8377553
Fixed!
8377553
*Activate wingboner*
SIGH
I know, I know. I'm a jackass. I'm sorry for my previous comment and for safety i won't say another word till the end of the story. I hope you forgive me.
It just irks me whenever a story brushes off a very serious situation like death, rape, drugs etc. as if it didn't happen and I THOUGHT that's what happened for a second.
Again, please forgive me.
8984072
If you keep reading, few comments can bother me, seriously. If something throws you off-kilter, go ahead and comment on it. Thank you for taking this journey with us.
8984072
Don't worry, I had the exact same thoughts. The only reason I didn't comment was that I saw yours, and I suspected something, based on how David has been characterizing Silver.
Sometimes violence is the only language a person understands. It is a sad necessity, but it is a true necessity.
Shouldn't that be "then stomped"?
9587987
Over 3000 people failed to spot that typo.