100 - To be the Stallion that Falls on Your Door
"Silver? Are you alright?"
Silver looked up at the concerned sound of his wife. "I'll survive..." It hurt, but griping about it wouldn't improve anything. "I'm going to leave my body for a moment. It's not that helpful, and I can still reach her."
Night tensed in the gloom. "You madpony, why would you even consider that?"
"She can't... keep running." Silver closed his eyes, and things didn't change much in appearance. It was just as dark. "Watch over me. I love you."
Night let out a slow breath as Silver went still. Her ears strained to hear that he was still breathing. She considered reaching to feel a pulse, but she didn't want to handle him more than what was needed. Holding him would have to do, and listening to that quiet noise that signaled he still lived.
Her sensitive eyes pierced the darkness. Shining with lunar pony nightvision, she saw a figure approaching with a slow and leisurely swagger. It was bipedal. Diamond dog? No, wrong species. Similar, but wrong in so many obvious ways... Ah! It came to her. "Anubite."
"Oh? You've heard of us?" The figure came up to the bars, ears perked at Night Watch. "What a curious pony you are, like the other. I wonder if you break as easily." Her eyes lowered to Silver's limp form. "Mmm, the spirits say he is where dreams reside, but the way they say it..."
Night flipped her ears back. "Who are you?" The stranger wasn't making a threatening motion, but she felt like a potential threat, even with the bars in the way.
"How rude of me." The anubite smiled at her. "I am Ambassador Nefertari, dignitary of the anubites to Equestria." She wriggled a few fingers. "And you are imprisoned. It would be most unseemly for me to do something about that." She flicked her head towards the direction she came from. "Marching past the guard is one thing. Celestia did promise me free rein to wander, but such promises do not extend to releasing her prisoners, even if I know this one..."
Night flinched faintly. Another strange female that knew Silver somehow? She straightened. It was not the time or place to question little blessings. "You know Silver? Help him. He's an ambassador too, and he's hurt, badly."
Nefertari raised a brow. "I do, but he is an ambassador of this land. No immunity for him here. For being beaten, he smells like a warrior..."
Silver sat up on his bed. He was dreaming. He hopped down from the human bed and shook off. At least his dream form was mostly free of his waking wounds. Every motion made them twinge and ache, but it was a distant pain. He could stand that. He trotted for the door, throwing it wide to find himself standing on a lily pad. There were many others around himself in an infinite lake of other dreams.
He focused on Luna, trying to keep back the anger he felt towards her, to say nothing of the other emotions that boiled in a volatile mixture within himself. One of the pads emerged from the crowd, drifting closer until it bumped against his own. He stepped across to it and felt resistance. Luna was awake.
Luna looked up sharply from what she was doing. She felt something intrude on her mind and scowled. "What could that be?" As if one interruption weren't enough, there was a knocking at her door.
"Your Majesty? A letter."
Luna stiffened as she looked around. Rather than let the pony in to see what she was doing, she marched for the door and opened it just as she shoved her head through. "What is it? We are very busy."
The slight mailpony smiled up at her nervously. "Letter, ma'am."
She took the letter in her magic. "Thank you." She slammed the door in his face and quickly ripped it open. It was from Princess Twilight Sparkle. "Smoke... Oh no!" Her wings flew open and she vanished in a flash of light. Her Tantabus had escaped, and she had to find it.
Celestia strode down a hallway she hadn't intruded on very often. The night guards seemed nervous around her. She wondered for a moment if the day guards reacted the same way around Luna. That would be most uncomfortable. She'd have to look into that, after this was resolved.
She arrived at Luna's quarters and the guards made a weak showing of blocking the way. They were clearly intimidated by her. She gently smiled at them. "Thank you for protecting my sister faithfully. I need to speak with her, as a sister." They almost trembled with uncertainty before they backed to either side. She nodded at either as she strode past them. Her magic wrapped around the door and swung it open to reveal an empty room. Almost empty.
Celestia entered, a little frown on her face as she looked over the mostly completed diagrams and preparations Luna had left. "Sister has left. There's no need to keep guarding an empty room." The guards didn't move away. She looked over the circle, tracing its lines with her eyes and speaking old spells under her breath as she tried to divine its purpose. It was a rare spell, and a potent one. It was right on the tip of her tongue...
She felt a soft ping come from within her. While the dreamworld was Luna's world, her own portion of it was strictly her own. Something had intruded on it. She settled down on the ground and closed her eyes.
Silver wandered the pad several times, but with Luna awake, he couldn't gain access to her dreams, or at least he didn't know how to force that issue. If she was awake, maybe Celestia was asleep? He held the thought of the Sun Princess in his mind, and a new pad drifting close. He stepped across and felt the same resistance as he entered. She was awake too! "Damn..."
"Language."
Silver fell into a dream. He was in a small sitting room. Celestia was before a round table, looking directly at him. "Silver? You can dream walk?"
He blinked in surprise, but a smile overtook his features. "Celestia! I hope I didn't mess anything up. I didn't mean to, uh, wake you up."
Celestia leaned forward slightly. "Putting me to sleep is a closer analogy." She reached a wing, which was just long enough to brush over his face. He sneezed and she smiled. "It must be something very important... But I'm glad you came. We have so very much to discuss."
Silver tilted his head with some confusion. "We do? I mean we do! But I get the feeling we're not on the same page."
Celestia tapped the table. "Come forward, sit, and let's fix that. To make it clear, you have done nothing wrong." She shook her head slowly. "Not even that... I'm so sorry, that was a gross misjustice."
Silver approached the table on stiff legs. "What was?" What was she speaking about? She looked sad. "I'm in a jail right now."
"Jail?!" Celestia sat up at the news. "Why? Where?"
Silver shrugged a little. "I don't know where, not really, but I can tell you the why. I tried to confront Luna and I scared her and was standing too close. She kicked me and had Night and I jailed."
Celestia winced. "She is no small pony. Are you alright?" She drew breath through her teeth. "This is worse than I imagined. Do you know where she's gone? Her room stands empty."
Empty? "Last I saw her was just before I was bucked into next Tuesday. I don't mean to gripe, but I'm pretty roughed up."
Celestia brought her wings around, wrapping them around Silver. "My little pony, I just need to know where you are."
The dream ended suddenly. Silver thrust his hooves under himself, righting his landing and coming in skidding, but upright. He had avoided the avalanche of pain, that time. "Pain is a powerful teacher."
He stepped back across onto Luna's pad, and something happened.
Celestia roused to the gentle shaking of a day guard. "Yes?"
He looked almost as nervous as the night guards. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty, but this is of extreme importance. I wasn't able to deliver your letter."
Being unable to deliver a letter was hardly of great importance, but she knew which letter it was. "Do you know where he is?" Celestia rose to her hooves.
"I do." He nodded firmly. "He is being kept in the night guard's prison. I was forbidden entry."
Celestia nodded. That made sense, in retrospect. "Come with me. It's time to settle at least one part of this."
They strode for the night guard's prison. Celestia had few occasions to visit the place, but she hadn't the heart to have it removed. It seemed like a petty thing to do, while her sister was away. And returned? Well... "I don't predict they will try to bar my way, but just in case, you're not to get physical."
"I will protect you, Your Majesty."
"That's very bold and loyal of you." She reached a wing and gently brushed down his back. "You're a good guard, and I want you safe."
"As a good guard." He looked up at her. "I will risk a little harm to keep my princess safe." He stared at her evenly as he threw her words right back at her. "You're a good princess, and I want you safe."
Celestia knew when an argument was more trouble than it would be worth and simply nodded as she walked. They agreed silently to protect one another and continued forward, descending the stairs into the gloom.
Her horn began to glow brightly, dispelling that dark and revealing a lunar pony guard standing at the far end of the hall, squinting at the new light. His wings were thrown out wide and he hissed with surprise.
Nefertari glanced to the right sharply. "That's my signal to go." She leaned forward. "If you haven't angered the Sun Princess, she is here to see you, and that may be your saving. My task was simply to ensure your safety." She licked over her snout. "I think you will be. Time to go."
She left them, slipping in beside the doctor as she read over a book while writing in another. Nefer settled a paw on the manic mare's withers and scratched gently at the fur and flesh there. "I found your specimen."
She jumped in surprise, but didn't get far with Nefer's paw holding her. "Oh! Hello. Please, tell me everything." She circled in place to face Nefer. "Is she eating properly? Is she physically intact?"
"She is agitated, but otherwise well. Her mate is in a more sorry state, but continues to battle on despite it." Nefertari smiled, more of a grin really. "He's a curious one. Why don't you study him?"
"Him? He's just a unicorn..." Samantha looked Nefertari up and down. "Not like you! You're an anubite, and she's a pregnant lunar pony. Speaking of which." She raised a hoof and tapped the table before her as her magic swept her books off of it roughly. "Examination time! You'll be doing all of Equestria a huge favor. Think of the scientific advancement!"
Nefertari crooked a finger. "If my flesh is pierced, your throat will follow." Dire warning delivered, she hopped up onto the table rump first and looked down at Samantha. "What do you require, for your... science."
Samantha began to practically vibrate, excitement exploding through her. "Alright! No injections, no blood draws." She sounded a little put out by that, but there was too much else competing for that same emotional bandwidth and she just grinned manically. "I'll be very gentle, like a mother with her foal." Or a scientist with her subject, or so she thought to herself as her grin deepened.
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Damn it I'm done. Gonna not read this for a while. I'll be back when it's significantly more updated. Good story but can't wait on cliff hangers every day. Keep up the good work otherwise.
I now imagine Samantha vibrating in place like a foal that just got into her parent's stash of salt and dipped her hoof into the sugarcube jar more than once. Kind of like Pinkie when meeting a new pony.
p.s: I doubt we'd ever get tired of Samantha being adorable so it might take a while for you.
Congratulations on 100th chapter of this book & either I'm slipping or the typos have given you some respect & left you alone for once. Didn't spot a single one.
Am guessing we're in for a Tantabus story-line fracture now?
So many things about to happen, just about falling off the edge of my chair waiting for the chapters to roll on.
Hope you include more of Nefer in this book, she is definitely a fascinating character. Understandably her ambassadorship limits her actions somewhat but she is already showing she's willing to bend the rules slightly.
congrats on chapter # 100! Keep up the great work!
6998255
6998302
6998309 Thanks! 100 great chapters of a story I'm proud to call my own with you all.
I'm sure Samantha won't let Nefertari escape the story too easily. There's so much SCIENCE to be done!!
Number 8 on the featured list today. Yay for you
! It's great to see two of my favorite characters from the dream world taking an active role in reality based events. Especially good to see Nef in action again. She does such a great job at making evil likable 
. As my mohawk-sense predicted, events led straight into the tantabus episode. 
We'll maybe get to see some of that from Silver's perspective maybe?
I, for one, am really eager to find out just what Luna was planning with that spell. I'm pretty sure it was either Celine or dream-world-redux. I'd normally lean more towards Celine, but Luna's concerns about being more careful and the first time being flawed makes me lean more toward dream world because Celine didn't fail because of flaws in the spell, it seems, so much as because Tyrek happened. But, that's purely idle speculation, since I know you're not gonna give spoilers. A double update might be nice, though, if you're feeling up to it, and/or really generous to your readers
. I'm even asking super-nice (he says as he quickly hides the poking-stick). 
Nefer the Anubite? Yup, I definitely got extremely confused as to which story a given character was from. I think I shouldnt try making even more incoherent replies just before going to bed late.
I really hope Luna wasnt working on a cross realm dream barrier, as wouldnt that give Suprise a real problem, as well as straining th veil from the Tantabus, which seems to have breeched it anyway?
Wonder if Discord and the Slime had anythng to do with that.
And Celestia is about to find one of her favourite ambassadors in some medical distress without surcease in her sisters private dungeon, without being informed. I wnder, if the gate is enchanted to be impervious to attacks or to such an extent that to force it would damage the castle, she could do the bypass trick. Melt the surrounding structore and push the untouched gate and surround through it. Unless its caged in the rock as well.?
6998363 Nopony has suggested the jail was more or less than a jail. Any magical defenses it may have are yet to be revealed.
6998246 waiting a month will not give enough chapters.
6998329
The final three slots of the Featured box are reserved for popular stories that are updated. This story has been in those slots (at least with mature turned off) since it started updating again nearly a month ago now. It's going to get into the box every day when it updates, until... I don't know what criteria will happen to make it stop showing up. Either loss of popularity, or getting in the box too often.
(EDIT: A couple months ago it started updating again, not less than a month. I'm not sure when it started appearing in the feature box, but it's at least been a couple weeks.)
6998326 So?...'Research' then?
moment of the - moment if the
coming in with a skidding - coming in
with askidding*****
I proclaim this to be a fine chapter!
The cat, or in this instance the anubite, is not only out of the bag, she has her teeth closed around the bag-holder's throat.
Shame on you Samantha. Is it good science to discount a subject without even a cursory check below surface appearances? He already knows more about you than anypony should. That alone would be cause for inquiry. But you're far too adorkable to be irritated with for more than a moment.
My inner fan is waiting with bated breath to see if we get to read about Silver's impression of Princess Big Mac.
Samantha isn't adorable, she's a textbook psychopath who should be in a psychiatric ward. As a patient.
6998401 Easy, competition. If more popular stories are in the spots, this one doesn't make it. Some days it doesn't. Some days it only manages #2 or #3 update slot. And some days, like today, #1 update slot!
6998415 Your avatar is absolutely perfect for that statement.
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I think, actually, if the story qualifies it hits the top slot of the update list and falls off downward as other eligible stories are updated. Don't quote me on that.
But I've seen stories that I don't think lost their steam, but they stop showing up on the list. It's probably somewhat similar to normal stories in the featured box, who's ability to stay in the box "decays" over time: that eventually after many times in the box it stops showing up in it.
6998401 Ah, so that's how that works. Thanks.
6998417 #1 update slot. Yay for you!
6998414 Typos locked in their own personal jail cells!
Things are rushing to a head, and yet, some conclusions were put back. Celestia missed Luna, which likely would have been quite the showdown one way or the other.
Samantha is distracted by her star patient being locked away from her. Her manic desire for knowledge will fall on Silver's head soon.
He needs a doctor, afterall...
6998428 It degrades rapidly, but that seems to mostly reset every day. We'll find out if I keep going, neh?
6998374 Sadly you are correct.
Certainly not what Celestia suspected, but then, it would be somewhat boring if everything occurred according to expectations.
Keep going! ;)
6998864 But what did she expect, exactly?
well Luna was interrupted this is a good thing.
That chapter title...it is a verse -I think it was called- in the video I posted.
6999721 But nobody fell on anypony's door. This chapter is clearly a letdown.
6999729 Yep....Now, where is the falling?
6998871 Now that is something I expect we might find out soon, or not at all.
One of the more interesting simulations says she was looking to see if Luna was altering the future, but that's just silly, right?
6999776 Absurd!
Free reign should be free rein.
7003817 Fixed!
I have to say, this arc is much more to my enjoyment! This is some top-quality character drama, mixed in with just a hint (perhaps a bit too little of a hint) of political consequences. Very, very good stuff here.
Tantabus
6998415 She can be two things.
A wonderful, unexpected character interaction.
i just had to check: in the series, the Tantubus was 4 episodes after the wedding...