207 - Silver Penny Pt 2
Silver blinked at the outburst, and he was far from the only one. "Sorry… I'm sorry, for your loss." He sat down on his haunches. "She made a reference, to my dream."
“Dream?” Penny was more than a little lost in the conversation, she sidled over to Fast. “What dream? What are they all talking about?” The last was said quietly, likely overheard by the others though.
Fast shrugged softly. "Search me."
“You keep calling it that,” Surprise nearly whispered, “It was the world. The whole world. And then I saw whole other worlds… and mine went away…”
“Okay, Silver, you are getting distracted.” Penny looked from Silver to Night. “He is getting distracted. And for the record, no, I am quite happy with my situation, so don’t try and infer I am not.” She looked a little upset about the last bit, clearly not having liked being accused, but holding it in until the pair got to talking.
Night took an angry step forward. "And what was that… dream, world, vision, whatever. I don't care what it is, but it still means more to you than me or anyone else, that much is obvious!"
“He loved you in that ‘dream’ if that’s what you want to insist it was,” Surprise bowed her head as she remembered, “He loved you and he had faith. He believed in the power of you together. I don’t know how it ended, because I didn’t have faith. I thought I had more important things than what was in front of my snout, but he had faith in you. He would fight the sun, Do you even know what that means? Because I don’t. But Charlie did. And I didn’t. I kept telling myself there would be one more day…”
Night grunted but looked away. She didn't see the book that flopped to the ground in front of her, flung by Silver's magic. "You can read it.. If you want. It's the… basically all I could remember."
Fast reached for the shell-shocked Surprise and casually pulled her into a hug as if there wasn't a heavy conversation going on from all sides.
“Okay, I’m going to make some hot cocoa. Anypony want some?” Penny excused herself from the talk that was so far above her head it was practically in orbit.
“Z-978 does not see why Night Watch is angry?” Z interjected, seeking real explanations, “She has her herd. She has her stallion. They love and are loved. Please explain Why Night Watch is angry. Z-978 is confused and does not understand?”
Night wheeled on Z with a hiss. "I don't have him! He's ready to throw it all away. He wants…" Her words died off as she noticed the book in front of her. She reached out a hoof to nudge at it. "This won't help me if…"
"I did say I'd marry you… You are my other half, Night." Silver looked to her as his eyes sank to the ground, darting.
“Cocoa all ‘round then.” Penny started checking cupboards for mugs and ingredients, finding the cocoa powder in short order. “I swear, when the mathematics teacher in the room is the one confused, there really is a problem.” She was muttering to herself mainly.
“Say something, stupid,” Diane nudged Night. “You’re totally going to blow it. There’s hot cocoa coming and everything!”
Night blinked at Diane's reaction before looking at Silver and away. "I don't want… to be married. I want to have a herd of my own." She thrust a hoof at Silver. "One you don't want to join!"
Penny heard the conversation swing back in a direction she knew. “Right, so get him to tell you why he doesn’t want to.” Penny’s focus came back on Silver, the cocoa forgotten for a moment.
Silver squirmed in place. "I will not be the first prince, I mean, alicorn prince, that is in a herd, that is a male but not stallion… There's a whole cou--"
"I don't care about the country!" Night hissed hotly. "I thought it was you and me? I thought at one point you were willing to face the world for me. Where's that Silver?"
“How can you just not care about the whole country?” Surprise asked in earnest, to be answered by her daughter.
“The same way you don’t care about a whole world until you see you can break it,” the little changeling’s teeth clicked dangerously, “Have you seen that yet, MISSUS Watch? Have you actually paid the world for what you want?”
Cups and ingredients flew around, Penny’s magic wasn’t the strongest, but she had good practice with what she could do. She didn’t even realize what would be the side effect of her using it as she started pouring the drinks.
Night narrowed her eyes at the changeling. "This isn't going to 'break' a world. You're just being--" Her words were cut off as the book rose into her view.
"Read it, please…" Silver gave a little smile. "It may be a stupid fear, but it's my fear. Please."
“It was real,” Diane moved to nuzzle her sister, “We all lost each other again and again. We all thought we had one more day! Just because you call it a dream never made it not real!”
Mugs of hot, chocolaty goodness started to float from the bench to each pony as Penny inadvertently radiated more of her emotions out. “Here we go, maybe it is time for Night to have some time to read? That book seems important to Silver.”
“I never cared what was important to Silver,” the little queen announced as she left the room.
The larger queen, Fast, er, Princess, stuck out her tongue. "Well I do care." She smooched the top of Suprise's head, "So are you going to read that with me or what? I want to know what it says already."
Silver turned dark, as if he hadn't realized there was a danger in more than one pony reading the book he had released. When a mug softly bonked his head, he started, then took it in his magic. "Thanks."
As Penny finally had just one cup left, she lifted it to her own lips and sipped. “Wait, isn’t there a spell that would read it out to us, so we can all hear?” She was, unfortunately, oblivious to Silver’s embarrassment.
Night wasn't so blind, or quite angry enough to read the book out loud. She snatched it with a wing and marched towards Fast. "Fine, we'll read it." She flopped down on her haunches beside her former herdsister and set the book where they could both read it. "I doubt this'll change my mind though…"
“Well, if we aren’t all going to read it, let’s leave them to their book.” Penny drank the rest of her cocoa and set the mug down. “Silver, have you met Fast’s little ones?” She was clearly trying to get him away so Night and Fast could explore the book at their own pace.
Silver looked ready to argue, but he swallowed noisily and raised upright. "R-right, please…" He followed dutifully, even if his ears were down and tail barely swayed with his motions.
Night and Fast skimmed over the book curiously. When one reached to turn the page, the other would hold them still for a moment before letting them go. Fast turned a bright red softly. "A mare?!"
Night didn't look much better. "But he… she… they still wanted me."
"And me," reported Fast with a cocky grin, reading on eagerly.
“Pretty sure the nursery is around here some-” Penny was talking loudly, loudly enough that she suddenly had little changeling larvae racing out and, in the most adorable way possible for such things, trying to bowl her over. “Oh, I think they found us!” The mare was reaching down and nuzzling little changelings, not sparing a single one.
Silver smiled at the little 'grubs' as they were swarmed. "They're both adorable and mildly frightening at the same time," he confessed plainly. "Any care I should take, besides the usual infant things?"
Back in the other room, Night raised a brow at the words she read. "He defied both of them…"
Fast nodded. "He'd do just about anything for you."
"Would!" Night clopped the floor loudly. "Now he won't. Now he's scared... "
“Oh they are just scamps. Here, watch this.” Penny settled down on her belly and suddenly there were half a dozen little changelings riding on her back. “Oh no! I have been attacked by changelings!” Her cry was in jest, and full of mock fear as she was suddenly being attacked by the tiny and adorable swarm.
Silver tilted his head before reaching with his magic to snatch one of the changelings into his mental grasp and bring the little thing right over. "Hello there. Would you like to play a game, hmm?"
Back in the other room, Fast gently patted Night on the head. "Everypony has limits. Maybe you're just attacking this across a line he doesn't want to go across."
"So I should be happy he wants me to be a quiet little wife?"
Fast raised a brow. "You realize this option means I don't get to be a wife at all, right?" She leaned in, nuzzling Night gently. "I want you both so badly… But what I want, and what I get…"
“They want to do nothing but play games when one of their aunts is here.” Soft Spoken, a changeling drone stepped out of the nursery to find her charges.
Penny stuck her head up out of the squirming swarm. “Oh, hi Soft. Soft, this is Silver Watch. Silver, Soft Spoken, the most forgiving changeling I have ever met.”
"Forgiving?" Silver set the little changeling down on his back just behind his head and began marching around with the young one. "Did you do something that needs forgiving?"
Night shoved Fast suddenly. "You don't have to accept that! Look, you can be a part of a herd."
"No, I can't." Fast shook her head slowly. "We're both royalty, and I know what that means…"
"But you wanted to…"
"I want a lot of things." Fast sat up tall. "But I'm princess of these changelings first."
“Forgiving. As in, look at what she has to deal with on a daily basis.” Penny stood up, changelings hanging off of her everywhere. “I have one foal to deal with, and there is three of us to share the responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Soft.” Penny ended up looking at the mare with a smile.
The changeling was unused to having such praise but took it well. “Somepony has to care for them. It gets easier with more.”
Silver glanced over his shoulder at the one changeling riding him. "I only have two to take care of, and they're plenty. My hat, if I wore one, off to any that make it a habit or a calling. Have you met Samantha yet? She's watching them now."
Night looked more and more deflated. "I'm not a princess."
"No you're not." Fast shrugged a little. "So? I mean, Silver wants you, but what he wants and what he gets… If you want to be free, to do the stallion thing or whatever else you have in mind, well, power to you." She thrust a hoof up. "I'll support you, as a friend, but I won't join you."
“I don’t think so.” Penny looked up to Silver, she had rolled to her back in the hallway, still being swarmed over. “Don’t tell me you are working on that herd of yours even during all this?”
Silver blinked. "What? No! No… I mean, she did join, then she was stripped out of it… She's a special person, kind of touched in the head. She's a genius, but she doesn't see the world the way others do in a rather drastic way, romance included."
Penny smiled. “Well, I am glad she found somepony then.” Penny was noticing the larvae moving a little slower now and looked up to Soft. “Bedtime, soon?” She got a nod back and a knowing smile.
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Always fun to write two disparate conversations at the same time.
I lost the single two column example I tried doing many years ago.
Will Night take time to read, and think about what she read, and what it means and implies, or will she just throw her combat reflexes in once again and look at this as yet another ambush against her capabilities?
Had to read the conversations separately for consistency and even then I'm lost.
Though I will admit I would love to see Silver playing with the changeling larvae. It's just so adorable.
I used to have so Much respect for Night Watch.
But when she starts being so aggressive with Silver (who had always been a passive lamb) and hurting him both physically and emotionally without stopping to discuss things like a f*cking adult.... Well.
I say Night Watch needs a good smack on the head to get it on straight. She's been extraordinarily selfish and stupid right now.
Now I can understand Night watches desire to become a more powerful Pony. She's trying to keep up with her husband silver watch but something's wrong here since she started learning Shaman powers, she is now to the point of giving up her children that is an instinctive desire that hard to deny. I think her Shaman powers are affecting her personality too a certain degree. I think Silver watch is trying to learn from his mistakes, the first time around but I personally think silver what should stand up to Princess Celestia! This is for his loves he is standing up for! He should talk to Blue Blood as well as Nefertari. Blue Blood could give him insights on how the Canterlot nobility would react to him setting up a herd as a prince. Night Watch does not have all the information. By reading his book it will give her some ideas of why silver is doing what he's doing.
And here is Princess Celestia prediction that his spell that gives mares penises will diminish the role of stallions. Is this one of the reasons why Night Watch feels the need to take a stallion's position because she has a penis?.
Dragonfox
why (lower case)
Either we need a capital Queen or lower case princess to match up, I'd assume lower case on both?
Oh I hope they don't name that changeling Stephen Falken or for that matter WOPR, could have some dangerous potential later!
wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/wopr.jpg
(Geez what am I doing there? For Lulu's sake burn that tie and jacket though.)
* needs an exclamation mark or full stop. So royalty envy?
For the record posted comment originally at 3.08AM Thursday morning UTC+9:30, now I need to go pass out!
7328541 Queen as a title is capitalized. 'queen' as a noun, as in queen bee isn't necessarily. Sorta like the difference between referring to a princess, and the Princess.
7328572 So both nouns in this statement so both lower case then, yes?
7328634 I... don't honestly know. I remember being taught about this but hayseed if I can remember the details governing English's rules of "Always except when it isn't." I usually remember it thusly: If you're referring to any of a kind of person, it's lower case. If you're referring to a single person or a title thereof, it's capitalized.
Like...
"Is the lady of the house in?" This would the appropriate of a salesman or someone asking after 'the wife' or what have you to sell a vacuum cleaner or something in the 50s.
"Is the Lady of the house in?" This on the other hoof indicates the title of 'Lady' and ergo would indicate a noble house or referring to one lady in particular in place of her name.
So if in the example of this story, they were asking after any queen changelings in attendance, it would be lower-case, I think. However rereading your quote, I'm honestly not sure in this case if it's capitalized or not. The safer route would be to capitalize it I suppose.
7328652 I'm not sure now either, if it is said Queen or Princess Fast, capitals for names. But just a queen or the princess describing someone e.g. 'she can think she's a princess all she wants.' I reckon demands lower case. But then a title with no name mentioned is...what capital again? 'The Queen exited her carriage'. Boils down to what Silver's story is saying I suppose.
The larger queen = this seems straight forward lower case noun.
Fast = obvious name so Capital.
Princess = now this depends if an extension of 'The larger...princess' comparing 2 or more princesses or specific single 'Princess' on her own? Is there only one princess in the room? Is Z a princess or juvenile queen? I think I trod on my own hoof here.
Damn the British & their confusing verbal Diarrhea, When is our convict colony finally going republic & say 'Stuff ya Poms, we going to speak 'Stralian from now on!'
the the power - the the power
coco - cocoa (six separate instances)
daugher - daughter
hotly hissed Night - Night hissed hotly.
the book raised into her view - the book into her view
as if he didn't realize there was a danger in more - as if he hadn't realized there was a danger of more
Silver smiled at the little 'grubs' as they were. - Silver smiled at the little 'grubs' as they were swarmed/surrounded/overrun.(?)
there was half a dozen - there were half a dozen --or-- there was a half-dozen
gently pat Night - gently patted Night
hanging off her - hanging off of her
Bed time - Bedtime
*****
The three-way collaboration is still working well in my opinion. Things get a little chaotic and disjointed at times, but it works in the context that there is a lot of confusion amongst the characters as well, so it feels natural that people are talking over one another and missing cues. It feels... real in a way that a perfectly edited and coordinated narrative might wind up feeling contrived.
A great showing all around!
So the point is made that what people want and what they get are not always the same thing. I have not seen anyone make the point that just because the circumstances don't allow it right now, that there is no reason to abandon working for a time when circumstances are different. As the old saw goes, "Life isn't about the destination, it's about the journey."
I would opine that it's time for an assessment of what they have or can easily acquire, what they want, and what they can do in the short and long term to match up the two.
*****
Technical commentary:
Damaged set this element into the mix a couple of times. It should have had some pacifying effect on the changelings in the immediate area, but it never got picked up as events spun around wildly.
Ki's participation kind of stopped here and Surprise and the rest faded into the background without another mention. Ironically, this feels awkward, to me.
The audience is told Soft Spoken's name before she is introduced to the characters. It's not a typo, but it felt worth mentioning after multiple readings.
7329476 G'day, how are you today? Glad you're here, and I thought I could do what you do so easily,
although the panadeine/codeine pills the doctor give me yesterday for my ankle pain might be dulling my senses slightly. No idea how I missed the cocoa one, Probably did the same as David & associated it with Coco Pommel's name, sneaky little bugger, non-parole period of forever to that typo.
I think Penny's control of her affection metering out abilities are well practiced with the help of her wives Stick & Hay. It's doubtful she even needs to think about it anymore with automatic finesse so as not to let it drain herself too far
Am still concerned Night's anger is outweighing that she really needs to talk to Silver peacefully to resolve the issues she has. It's good Fast seems to be acting as an impromptu marriage councilor even with her own bias to a herd. She has her head screwed on right with balancing her responsibilities with her personal life though. Hopefully she can help Night see that this has been thrust on her(/their?) stallion without his asking & reading about his other world experience might show he really is only trying to do the right thing for everyone by avoiding the same mistakes again, even if it muddies up his own life for a while til it all settles. My personal feeling is I still have high hopes for the herd.
7329476 So many typos, and so many to blame on my co-conspirators. Tomorrow, back to just me!
Oh fucking spit it out man!
Oops, forgot to actually give you the correction on this one. Typos are sneaky like that.
the book raised into her view - the book rose into her view
Finally Night is starting to see, just a bit.
Keep going! ;)
7330379 Fix'd!
I'm really gettting tired of being jerked around, this shit needs to get sorted soon one way or another.
7331301 You have efficiently said you are angry, but not what you are angry at or what you want done about it.
I really don't like how you kept switching between two different scenes.
princess."
"No, you're not." or "No. You're not."
7436156 First fixed, the second, in my head, depends entirely on how it's phrased. You can say it without that pause, with it, or with it longer (the period would make sense then).
I don't remember what went wrong so much in the Silver Star verse with Silver having a herd. I do remember him breeding a lot of mares which seemed like a bad idea. So don't remember how many mares were in his herd but if he loved them and could spend time with them I don't see why he thinks it would be a bad example.
10851444
Most of the mares he got with were in the dream. He gets two children from one mare. He has one adopted daughter eventually.