5 - Big Issues
Silver trotted through the streets of Canterlot. It was bright and early. His saddlebags were comfortable and matched his brown fur nicely. The sun was warm and the ponies just as interesting to watch as ever they had been. Canterlot ponies were well-dressed as a whole, making him feel a little underdressed in comparison. Maybe he should ask Rough Draft and Trixie about clothes shopping? He put the thought aside as he approached the school.
He arrived with plenty of time. A glance at a clock hanging on the side of a building showed there was twenty minutes before class began. He trotted onto the playground area and sat on his haunches, unsure what to do with the twenty minutes until a shadow fell over him. He glanced over to see a large earth pony colt frowning at him. "Hi," he offered, smiling. Say hello and smile, it could never hurt, or so was his philosophy.
The big colt snorted and gave Silver a shove, sending him to the ground easily on his less-than-perfect balance. "Don't get smart with me. Think you're so clever? This is my turf!"
Silver went through a few emotions, feeling surprised at first at the taste of grass (not bad) and dirt (less good). He pulled himself up to his hooves only to be shoved over again. The other colts and fillies stayed away, not willing to get involved. "Look, I'm not trying to make trouble," said Silver as surprise started to fade to a small mote of building ire.
The bigger colt shoved him again, grinding his face along the dirt without even letting him stand. "My name's Rough Tumble, and I live up to that name. Now who's the boss of this playground? Say it."
Silver trembled. He flashed back to equally terrible human bullies he had met when he was in school. He didn't have magic then. He let the magic build within him and quickly released it into his outer horn as Trixie had showed him. Too much must have spilled into the central channel, because Tumble roared and leaped upon him. Silver's breath was knocked free under the crushing weight as the magic fizzled away.
"You think you can fight me?" asked Rough Tumble, standing up over Silver Lining and driving a hoof down into Silver's back painfully. "You're nothing! I bet you can't even use that horn, you blank flank runt!"
Silver seethed even as tears stung his eyes. This was somehow worse than being punched in the face over a candy bar. That was just as senseless, but it had been over right away. This bully was trying to break him. Silver released the magic again, his anger giving focus. He imagined his hands grabbing the bully around the midsection and hauling him up and off of Silver. When the weight suddenly vanished, Silver sprung up and dashed away a few steps before turning. The moment of distraction was enough to release Tumble, who fell to the ground with a grunt.
"I'm going to rearrange your face so hard, your father won't recognize you," roared Tumble. He pawed at the ground once, kicking up a tuft of grass before he charged at Silver. Silver never felt the focus snap back in so quickly.
He put up a firm imagined palm, "Talk to the hand!" None of the ponies present could see his hand, but Tumble felt it as he ran face first into his silvery construct. Silver made its fingers curl around him. His horn began to spark, not with a lack of control, as the hand did begin to squeeze Tumble. "You fucking jerk!" shouted Silver, trembling, "Just had... to pick on the new kid?" He shook Tumble around in his grip, "Did that make you feel better? Do you feel less like a little bastard?" Tears began to flow hotly from Silver's eyes as he rattled the shocked Tumble vigorously, "Just leave me alone! Leave me alone!" The silvery hand faded away, letting Tumble sail away from its last motion and roll over in the grass.
Silver's horn hurt terribly, as did his back. His chest ached as soft sobs forced their way free and he collapsed to the ground. A hoof gently rested on his shoulder. Silver looked up through his tears to see Meadow Leaper smiling down at him. "It's OK," said Meadow Leaper. The friendly colt helped Silver up to his hooves, then suddenly hugged him. "It's OK."
Silver's tears only intensified as he was hugged. He really wanted a hug, and he got one. The simple satisfaction was almost too much. He wrapped his forelegs back around Meadow Leaper, hugging him back and sobbing against him.
Rough Tumble had got himself back to his hooves on his own, snorting at Silver's display. "Little cryfoal. You got lucky." He turned away from them and stomped off onto the playground, the other colts and fillies moving away from him.
A female voice called out, "Are you OK Silver Lining?"
"He'll be fine," said Meadow Leaper. He patted Silver on the withers, "Don't let Rough Tumble get you down. You took care of him good!"
Silver smiled and sat on his haunches, looking around. It was Lily Jump that had spoke up about him. He smiled at her, "Thanks for checking, Lily. I'm OK." He wiped away tears with a fetlock.
Soft Blush trotted over to join the group, "I say, that was awfully brutish, but your skill is hard to not notice. You were mouthing the chalk just yesterday, how did you advance so quickly?"
Silver felt a bit of pride fill the ache in his chest, "I had the best teacher. Trixie wouldn't let me quit even when I wanted to a few times."
Soft Blush raised a brow, "Trixie Lulamoon? The performer? I didn't know she was a teacher."
Silver shook his head, "She is, for me."
The bell went off suddenly, summoning the colts and fillies in to class. As they went, Meadow Leaper whispered, "Where'd you learn those words? You have a potty mouth." He sounded more admiring than admonishing, but Silver blushed gently with shame at having cursed so vehemently in front of all those foals.
School went by without any further explosions. As Trixie had commanded, he spent the boring times working on his channeling. The note he'd given to Butter Scotch explained that he would be nibbling on snacks and glowing occasionally, which he did. The little granola bars Trixie had made were delicious! By the time school was over, the horn-ache from the morning had faded away to an unpleasant memory. When the other fillies and colts trotted out, Butter approached Silver with a set of books held in her mouth, bound by a strap. She set it on his desk, "Here you are." She pointed with a hoof at one with a yellow cover, "I want you to start reading this. See if you can't get through the first chapter by the weekend."
Silver nodded quickly. Eager to practice, he sent out his silver hands and picked up the books. He giggled with a simple joy as he lifted them up and set them in his saddlebags. Butter raised a brow, "It's very good to see you're getting better, but we shouldn't use magic on other ponies." She leaned in, "Especially not to attack them."
Silver's ears fell, "He was beating me up! I was defending myself."
Butter nodded, "Mister Tumble has been spoken to." She put a hoof on his shoulder, "But you be a good pony. It doesn't feel good to hurt other ponies, right?"
Silver shook his head quickly and Butter smiled, "I know it doesn't. Just be mindful."
Silver trotted out of the school, laden with new books. He quickly made his way home, eager to drop them off. Trixie was nowhere to be seen, but Rough Draft was writing something in the den. After dropping off his books, Silver trotted into the den, "Hey Rough! What are you up to?"
Rough looked up from his book, "Writing the book you inspired. How was school?"
Silver wobbled a hoof, "Rough start, but it was alright. What book did I inspire?"
Rough smiled, "Colors of Terra, remember? I'm striking while the iron's hot." He was soon back to writing busily. Silver pondered how much easier it would be for Rough Draft if he had a computer to work on.
Silver focused his magic and gently squeezed Rough Draft around the middle, "Gonna make a snack, want some?"
Rough startled sightly at the embrace, but smiled and nodded. Silver trotted quickly back to the kitchen and set about making some food. That was when he noticed there was no lettuce or tomatoes and even those tasty nuts Trixie had used seemed to be almost out. "We're out of food!"
"Take some money and get some more," advised Rough Draft distractedly from the den, "My bit bag's in the bedroom."
Silver quickly recovered the bag and placed it in his saddlebag, "I'll be back." He was soon out the door and trotting eagerly to the grocery store. Canterlot was too large a city to have the idyllic little markets of Ponyville. This was just as well. Silver knew how to shop in a grocery store, but not so much a marketplace. He quickly began to gather supplies. Some romaine hearts, more of those nuts, milk... He wandered the aisles, filling his saddlebags with food.
"Are you finding everything alright?" asked a mare looking down on Silver. "Your bags are getting a little full."
Silver jumped back in surprise before shaking his head, "Almost done." He pointed, "Check out is over there right?"
The mare nodded, "That it is, young colt."
He returned to shopping, but the mare followed not that far away. He sighed internally. Was she worried he was going to steal the food? Nothing for it but to pretend she wasn't there. The jar of spaghetti sauce he wanted was high up, but magic was the clear answer. He floated the jar down to himself, or so was the idea. The hand wavered at the wrong moment, and the jar fell to the ground with a crash, splattering tomato sauce everywhere. The doting mare hurried up with a frown, shooing Silver away from the mess, "You shouldn't make a mess," she said as if it was his idea to break the jar, "Are you going to pay for that?"
Silver felt a little anger build, but let it go, shoving it aside with a slow breath, "I will, but can you get me another one? I still need a jar." Deciding not to press his luck, he added, "That's the last thing I need." She fetched a jar for him, but didn't give the jar to him. Instead she walked him right up to the check out and placed the jar in front of the checker there. She flashed an insincere smile and trotted off.
Silver frowned a bit but tried to press past the uncomfortable situation. He started placing the rest of his food up in front of the clerk to be tallied and paid quickly before moving to return home with what could become dinner that night and perhaps the next.
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Capitalization needed for the second sentence.
I'm pretty sure that he's looking at a clock, though the mental imagery of a building with a pocket-watch attached to the side is funny.
You can drop the "as" in that sentence. Also, I'm not sure "rude" is a strong enough word here; I'd go with something like "awful" or "terrible."
"Candy bar" is two words.
5697191 All fixed! I felt a thing as I wrote this chapter, did you?
5697196 If I'm thinking of what you're thinking of, then yes.
Silver's reaction to being bullied (and by another pony named "Rough" to boot!) was one I could empathize with. In all honesty, my first thought in reaction to that was "put those magic hands around his neck and start squeezing (Darth Vader quote optional)." My second thought was "if that doesn't work, start slamming him against the building, or the ground, or a rock, until he stops moving."
I did find myself sort of wishing it was one of the fillies that he'd cried to, since I seem to be unable to stop myself from being ship-happy with this fic; that may have been a bit much for a young colt who is fighting off a sense of humiliation though - regardless of whatever gender roles Equestria has, Silver still has a human heart. Lily and Soft already seem to have some definition, even if it is in their "opposite of each other, Betty-and-Veronica-style" characterization (or maybe I'm just reading into it there). Meadow Leaper, by contrast, seems nice but undefined.
5697214 Silver would have died a little if he had to cry wildly into a mare's neck after that, only to be enhanced later when he realized he cried all over a little filly. At least the colt probably felt like he was being a big bro for serving as a crying post. We have to give a chapter to him hanging out with his classmates outside of school sometime and let them express themselves a bit more. They're good little ponies, at least, Rough Tumble excepted. Bad pony.
Silver, being modeled after my broken self, doesn't really want to hurt anyone, or pony. I've been in this situation. I just can't hurt people, even when I'm faced with imminent beatings. Squeezing and shaking? About as far as he really wanted to go. I once won a fight by tackling someone to the ground and just holding them still until they got tired of being held. Wussiest victory ever.
5697231 I don't think that Silver really wants to hurt anypony; that wasn't what I was trying to advocate. Rather, that sense of humiliation when you realize that someone is trying to make you less than is so awful, so visceral, so completely horrible that I'd anticipate overreaction, perhaps massively so, in the opposite direction.
Bullying is traumatic because it damages your very sense of identity; it's trauma to the ego. Trying to compensate for that, in the heat of the moment, is to try and deny that by pushing it back onto your tormentor. In hindsight, that's really not much better, but right when it's happening? It wouldn't be surprising.
5697314 Very true, though most of the violent actions would have required more grace than the, relatively, simple grab and shake. To smush him against a hard surface would require the mental hand opening to expose Tumble to the hard surface instead of actually cushioning Tumble against the very wall Silver aimed to smash him against. In the heat of the moment, he ran into the hand, and Silver had the hand grab him and keep him away, then started yelling at Tumble and doing the magical equivalent of stomping your feet. His fury, and magical endurance, ran dry pretty quickly, leaving an emotionally and physically drained Silver in the hooves of his new friends.
Not Silver's proudest moment.
5697333 Silver should be proud. He stood up for himself, refusing to let a bully push him around. He fought back, and he didn't lose. He even had a new friend there to help him out when he needed it - that's the sort of thing that life-long friendships are founded on. No, he wasn't Daring Do about it, but he certainly didn't fail either.
Honestly, what irritated me more was Butter Scotch's admonishment, gentle though it was. Yes, fighting is bad, and yes, Rough Tumble was "talked to," but any reproach towards Silver, no matter how lightly dealt, is hideously misapplied there. Silver was defending himself, and he didn't go overboard. To suggest that he's in any way wrong is a fairly unambiguous argument to moderation. The two sides are not equal in being at fault. One side was at fault, and the other should be congratulated for how he handled the situation.
Rather ironically, the one thing she could have scolded him for was the one thing she let go: his language. Though it was amusing to see that Meadow was impressed by that.
5697356 Think of it societal wide. Unicorns have the ability to do terrible things, if they applied their gifts for ill. Teaching unicorns from an early age that it is never alright to abuse their magic is likely considered a basic lesson, right up with never use a cloud to zap somepony no matter how funny you think it is.
Dude, 4 chapters in one day? Don't hurt yourself.
5697434 My hooves just wouldn't stop typing! I like the feel of this story and hope you all do as well.
laden
5697528 Fixed, thanks for being on the watch.
5697505
I was thinking that also, but I was less certain that phasing in the first-person was the right thing to do.
Trixie's use of the first-person is typically done only when she's feeling humbled - when called out on her "Ursa Minor" lie in her debut episode, and when apologizing in her second episode (and even then, she quickly styles herself as the "Great and Apologetic Trixie"). Since that's not the case here, having her use the first-person (first-pony?) would seem rather odd.
My recommendation would be simply to not have her refer to herself if she's not the subject of the sentence. For example, change something like "Just do your best, Trixie thinks that will be good enough for now," into "Just do your best, and that will be good enough for now."
5697577 I'll try to be mindful of it. Irritating my readers is the opposite of my desire.
5697436
this story feels really good and as the saying is if the words must be wrighten so be it. it is that or have story back up and I here that is rather painful.
I really love the way Trixie is developing I am hopping she is in season 5 and in a good light I think she was given the short end of the stick.
*grumbling while pressing the green flag button*
Silver quickly recovered the bag and placed it in his saddlebag, "I'll be back."
I'll be back in a couple minutes there's just some things that I have to and I'll come right back
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XY9jQq7U85c
Just after the "Talk to the hand" scene, I had a realization. That hand functioned a lot like a shield. Shining Armor's shield during the Canterlot Wedding was obviously noticeable, or else the mane six wouldn't have made a comment about it.
6770088 It's not very fair or practical to use Shining Armor's extreme usage of magic as a baseline for much of anything.
Excessive quoting means spoilers possible.
More (primarily) action-tag quote commas...
palm.
grip.
"Are you OK, Silver Lining?"
her.
group.
chest.
brow.
head.
desk.
brow.
in.
nodded.
shoulder.
smiled.
Silver trotted in. ("into the den" was in the previous sentence, so it is better implied than repeated.)
book.
hoof.
smiled. "Colors of Terra,
middle.
saddlebag.
head. pointed.
breath.
5697426
One that Rainbow never learned, clearly.
I call bullshit. It feels GREAT to pound some sense into a creep to make them back off. There is still a need to exercise restraint though. My Sensei used to say, 'Any fool with a club can hurt somebody. A trained combatant can subdue without doing any permanent damage. A warrior makes their weapon go where they want. A master makes the entire engagement go where they want.'
It is surprising, that Silver could stand up to the bully... Makes it a crowning moment of awesome!
And I think, he should have had a guardian: when he feels weak, the guardian comes right to the rescue
! But defending himself was OK as well. Although why is it always so, that the grown-ups teach us not to engage in a fight 
? It takes a certain degree of mastery to learn, how to battle without hurting the opponent (and life's being more complicated, than "Undertale", doesn't help), so instead of giving advices to be nice how about giving advices, how to act, when faced with the opponent 
? Yeah, to quote the game, "if you ACT a certain way or FIGHT, until you almost defeat them... they might not want to battle you any more".
It seems he’s mentally regressed. There are more simplistic phrases here and there pointing at it, and his emotions seem less controlled.
Aww, he just needs to teach Mister Tumble about the joys of tabletop roleplaying games, then they can become best buds!
Is she preparing him for failure? Cause otherwise I have no idea why she said can't there