Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat

by David Silver

224 - Heavenly Concert

Silver vanished from the meeting hall and stalked back towards the castle with a building frown. "Don't like it." A powerful magic swept over him and he started moving to a beat he couldn't hear, but he could feel. "How will I save them?" he asked in a song. "How will I show them? Bringing darkness from my world!" He was swept up in a fit of music magic and he rose to two legs, doing a spin to find a pony there to meet his hooves.

"In the darkest nights," she sang. "The moon shines bright! Guided by silver light, we will find our way free!" She gave a powerful pull and sent Silver spinning.

But he was far from out of control. He was in full throes of the magic he had not felt in a while. He spun and danced as the ponies around him sang out in chorus. He fell to all fours and Samantha was in front of him. "I've been swept up in the dark."

Night pushed in from his left. "We won't let you fight alone!"

"I will use all that I've learned!" He gathered both of the mares he loved close as he rose to his hind legs. "The light does not shine alone!"

"Does not shine alone!" sang out the ponies in the street, taking part of the song they knew nothing of, not that Silver did either.

He marched with Night to the right and Samantha to the left. Her scientist daughter sang on, "I made so many mistakes. I'll do what it takes. I pushed so many down, without knowing exactly how. I'll take one as a son, show some ma--"

Silver blinked internally. What was Samantha talking about? He wanted to find out, but the song would not be denied.

"I'll be the light for my friends, even if I can't be the end, of all their suffering!"

Silver turned for the court he was told to not enter. Only foreign dignitaries were allowed there, and only at a specific time, like when Celestia and Luna needed to speak to them privately. "We need to gather all sides. If we mean to turn this tide!" he sang out, though he didn't want to storm in on them.

It was answered for him as Celestia, Luna, and a large buffalo emerged, also swept up in the potent display of harmony. "It was a pleasure to speak to you!" sang Luna.

"We will make the dreams of both our people come true," continued Celestia.

"A delight to speak to you, today and any dayyyy. I'll tell my people what we said. Until next time comes our way!" He bowed to them and trotted off with an energetic bounce.

The magic of the music faded and Silver felt himself go a little limp as control passed back to him. "Celestia, Luna, we need to talk."

"Prince Silver Watch," spoke Luna. "Your tone implies something serious has happened."

Celestia nodded in agreement. "This way. Privately?"

Silver looked for his wife and daughter, but they were gone. They had played their part and fled when he wasn't looking. They wouldn't remember any of it, but he did. "Just the three of us is fine. There are important things to discuss."

He followed after them as they trotted. Celestia moved to his side, looking down at him, but not nearly as down as she had before he became an alicorn, and he got a little taller each day. "I sense that this is a grave matter."

"A human has achieved public invincibility against direct attack, after already showing, at least to me, that he means very little good to Equestria as a whole."

Luna raised a brow. "Perhaps it would be better to start from the beginning. What has this human done?"

Silver nodded. "Alright, I ran into him first just at the office, using the obviously fake, but doesn't matter, name of John Smith. He asked a bunch of questions that I didn't like while not answering any of mine, then went off and started the AmNeigh 'thing' that had ponies engaging in crooked economics to screw each other over, or just sell slightly over-priced common goods."

Celestia nodded. "Deplorable, but not unrecoverable from, we'll--"

"Not done." Silver shook his head. "He already blew the whistle, but he made sure ponies took the fall for it while he got the credit for blowing the whistle, and now he claims to be a friend of the lunar ponies." He looked to Luna. "Which he claimed you were ignoring."

Luna turned dark as rage clouded her features. "I'll tear him apart!"

"You'll do no such thing." Celestia sighed as they went. "If what you report is accurate, outright attacking him would only feed his public perception while starving ours. He's made several intelligent moves." She reached out and poked Silver. "Humans play for keeps, whether nice or not. The way I see it, there are several actions available to us."

Luna perked her ears. "Does it involve forbidden magic? I would be ha--"

"No." Celestia quirked a smile. "Violence is not the answer. One, we should send a trusted soul to work with him, publicly. We should give public support for his initiative while reminding him that such a thing would be under the jurisdiction of the Canterlot authorities. Our agent will ensure the money given to him goes to the right places and in a legal manner, and will look good for us that we are actively supporting a fine initiative, even if there are problems lurking out of their sight."

Luna snorted softly. "It sounds to me that he believes you write all the laws, sister dear."

"That is a mistake on his part." Celestia nodded. "I may be accepted as the highest, but I am far from the only source of laws, especially at a city level. I expect local nobles will feel slighted that he moved around them by moving around me. He didn't follow the proper steps and make the right friends. He's doing it all by brute force and charisma, which will carry him far, but not every pony is as patient as I."

Silver perked an ear, thinking about the friends and contacts he just recently made. "Should we remind them of how rude he's been?"

Celestia nodded. "They see you more as a peer than someone over their head, currently, you're in a fine position. However, remind them that any public action taken against him makes him a victim, and those attacking him villains. This is a battle that will be won through subtlety." She smiled faintly. "I wonder what it is he truly wants. It seems a shame to become opposed to such an obviously resourceful soul, even if we must."

Luna looked over to Silver. "How did you come to know this, I scarcely heard of this 'AmNeigh' thing before this."

Silver pointed out to the city. "One of the guards, yours, pointed out that a meeting was going on while you were in the meeting. Oh, I talked to Filthy, he's in good hooves, so I wouldn't worry about him. Anyway, I showed up at his meeting and saw it myself. It's a mess, a horrible mess that ponies are eating up."

Celestia settled beside a table. "They are good souls, and he is taking advantage of that. Part two, we should separate him from the public he's made into a friend, but not through violence." She smiled faintly. "If he wishes to assist the Lunars, then starting at the source would be wise. Why, we'll even support him fully. I'm sure the lunar ponies would support him as well, and he'll make a fine mayor of their town, outside the sight of most, hmm." She looked calculating, running through the odds. "That's for later. Acting too quickly on this will backfire."

Luna got a distasteful expression. "You would send him to my ponies? Why?"

Celestia rolled a hoof. "If he accepts, he will endeavor to consolidate his power, meaning any town he's assigned to will likely flourish, but making a small place into a large place is quite a long project. Tell me, Silver, how long does the typical human live?"

"Seventy to a hundred years?" ventured Silver. "Why?"

"He'll perish long before it becomes a concern." Celestia nodded. "He will be allowed to live a long life pursuing his goals, then become too old to do so, and, with hope, he will die surrounded by love, not hate. Perhaps he will leave an impact we will appreciate and help the ponies he's using now to further himself."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Too slow for my tastes, and I would have him monitored closely even in such a case."

"Of course," agreed Celestia before looking to Silver. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. How have your coronation lessons gone?"

Silver started, jumping mental tracks. "Oh! Fine, really. Learning all the steps is a challenge, but I'm doing it. When are we scheduled to go?"

She pointed at Silver. "We need to arrange the public observance of the herd-joining, which I feel is soon, but this puts it back a little. We don't need to provide him with more ammunition to use against us, so we'll keep things that might stir the public off the schedule for now. Let's deal with this 'Mr. Smith', and move from there."

Silver turned for the door. "I need to talk to some others, but I'm glad we seem to be on the same page."

They shared nods, and parted from one another. Silver moved to find his family, perhaps to get some answers from that line in the song. Just what was Samantha up to?

Luna watched him go before looking to her sister. "It's good to see his loyalties are true to us."

Celestia nodded. "I could not have asked for better, save for a human more sympathetic. That's beside the point. There's work for you to do."

"That there is." Luna shook herself out. "Human or pony, his dreams are my domain. I will at least learn of his motivations, if not his methods."

"Be careful, sister. He does not appear to be the sort to be caught unready."

Luna nodded and they shared a little nuzzle. "I will take care, and tell you what I find. Good luck, sister. You have words to speak." She turned and left purposefully.

Celestia was left alone and allowed a faint frown to touch her features. Banishing the human, even to such a cushy job, was unlikely to result in peace. What did he want? What Luna found would be vital. She rose to her hooves and moved to the balcony before she nodded and spread her wings, but before she could launch, a soft tapping came from the door. She turned to see Samantha entering. "Forgive me, for I have broken the Golden Rule, again." She hung her head low.

She turned to face the unicorn and the small lunar colt beside her. "What brings you here?"

"I know you removed most of my trackers, so I just put one on you to see where you were," she admitted. "Please don't be angry."

Celestia gave a gentle smile. "You are a resourceful pony. What did you want to talk to me about, and who is your little friend?"

"I'm not little!"

"Of course not, but you will surely get larger," argued Celestia, though her eyes were generally on Samantha.

Samantha put a hoof over the colt. "I was involved in this AmNeigh thing that you have likely heard of? I was a great salespony, even if the product was false, and I made friends, several of which are lunar ponies. They need my help."

Celestia blinked softly and sat down, suddenly interested. "You don't say?"

"I do say! You are hearing me correctly? I wish to adopt this colt. I will teach him well and feed him and see him properly educated."

Celestia held up a hoof. "I think there's something..." She bit off her comment. Samantha, though insane, perhaps could be used as a sign of unity. "Are you good with numbers?"

She perked her ears. "I like to think so. I was taken in by this recent incident but once I started asking the right questions, the numbers gave the right answer. I will be more careful in the future."

"Very good..."

The colt looked up at the alicorn before him. "You're, um, damn big."

"That I am," agreed Celestia. "But you will not be harmed here." She spread her wings and nudged both along. There were things to discuss.

Author's Note:

I'm back! Here, have an extra large episode, with singing, to celebrate.

Comments

[Snow]

... Huzzah, Luna the violent voice of the audience! Hehe.

That's it Lulu, return to the dark side.... we have brownie fudge cookies.

[Omega Delta]

pubic invincibility

THe horror, the horror!

[Not so New Brony]

Hehe, I like how the chapter is a nod towards the comments with Celestia being the redeemer and Luna as the voice for the more bloodthirsty comments. It's funny how willingly she resorts to forbidden magic at the first chance.

I'm all for villains getting their just desserts but forming a lynch mob isn't the way to go about it, no matter how deserving of it they are.

p.s: Nice to see the Equestrian song magic making a return to the story, however brief it was.

[Amethyst Blade]

7391691 Public invincibility? Hah! Kill him and everyone that support him, then rewrite history.
*Evil Laughter*

[Daremo]

in full throes - in full throe
only at specific time - only at specific times --or-- only at a specific time
sung Luna - sang Luna
They played their part - They had played their part
but not recoverable - but not unrecoverable
moved into his side - moved to his side
help the poniwa - help the ponies

She spread her wings and nudged both along.

Is Princess Celestia still sitting down?

*****
Excellent chapter! It's good to have you back and continuing the story

It's been... a while since Silver has been caught up in song magic, the last time I can recall was back in the Crystal Empire, where he resisted it. That may have been in the dream-time.

Speaking of dreams, perhaps Zecora is cannier that Mr. Smith gives her credit for and her countermeasures are flawed in some way to prevent him from hiding while still working well enough to keep actual bad dreams away. If not, and Princess Luna is blocked from him, she can always visit the dreams of those he has been dealing with and learn of his immediate plans in that fashion. There's a reason intelligence agencies don't just look at the target of their investigation but anyone that the target has close contact with.

He'll perish long before it becomes a concern.

Perhaps, but ideas/memes tend to live on past their originator. Mr. Smith may eventually die of old age, but he will have passed his ideas on to countless ponies before then. How does one kill an idea, even one as unharmonious as what Mr. Silver is peddling?

Silver forgot to mention that not only was he there at the meeting, Mr. Smith definitely noted his presence, that could change his plans slightly. Princess Celestia, being who she is, may have already inferred this likelihood in her own plans, but it should still be mentioned if it crosses Silvers mind. It may also pay dividends to find out who the guard was that tipped Silver off to the meeting, just to ensure that it wasn't a setup.

[Omega Delta]

7391732 no, no, no. PUBIC invincibility. as in PUBIC area. as in penis.

[David Silver]

7391772 Typos devoured by a passing lunar. Surely you know nothing of that, right?

Wheels in wheels. Celestia has more than a few angles to employ, and already she works to set them in motion.

[Alzrius]

7391772 Speaking of dreams, perhaps Zecora is cannier that Mr. Smith gives her credit for and her countermeasures are flawed in some way to prevent him from hiding while still working well enough to keep actual bad dreams away.It's worth noting that John didn't ask Zecora for something to keep bad dreams away; he deliberately asked her for to make them keep Princess Luna out of his head. That was (hopefully) communicated in his exchange with Apple Bloom back in chapte 213:

“So, um, whaddya want those dream-thingies from Zecora fer? I mean, I know ya said that humans’re private ‘n’ all, but Princess Luna’s really great! She helped out me ‘n’ mah friends a whole buncha times!”

There was a long pause before he answered. “Dreamcatchers. And it’s a cultural difference, the same way that humans prefer to wear clothes all of the time.”

Apple Bloom was about to argue that Jake had never cared that Princess Luna might visit his dreams, but her rebuttal died as she glanced back at his unchanging expression again.

The implication is that Apple Bloom is only protesting John not wanting Princess Luna to visit his dreams because he expressly stated that he doesn't want Princess Luna to visit his dreams. That's a request that Zecora, it's implied, honored. I suppose she might have been deliberately duplicitous about that, but I don't think that seems very likely. After all, Zecora is from a foreign culture herself, and had to deal with issues of cultural acceptance in Bridle Gossip, so since John phrased it as an issue of human culture, I see her as having done what he asked faithfully.

If not, and Princess Luna is blocked from him, she can always visit the dreams of those he has been dealing with and learn of his immediate plans in that fashion. There's a reason intelligence agencies don't just look at the target of their investigation but anyone that the target has close contact with.

Well, that presumes that there's anything to find, in that regard. She might be able to visit Filthy Rich's dreams, but at this point that will only confirm what Silver told her already. Beyond that, if there's no one that he's confided in, then there's not going to be any new information for her to unearth.

[Alzrius]

7391810 Yes she does...but where will those wheels lead?

Her idea of "exile him via promotion" isn't a bad one, but it's predicated on the idea that he has no choice but to accept. If she says "you're going to be mayor of Lunar Nowheresville," what's to stop him from simply saying "Thanks, but I think I can do more good as a free agent in Canterlot"?

On the other hoof, sending Samantha to be her "mare on the inside" is much more promising. Hopefully...

[Daremo]

7391810
*urp* Who? Me?

[Daremo]

7391816
He can't be operating entirely alone, can he?

He may not be telling ponies his plans, but has to be giving instructions, and a savvy pony might be able to piece together a larger picture from that. Any conversation he has can provide clues in what he says and what he does not say, even allowing for flawed memory.

[Alzrius]

7391848

He can't be operating entirely alone, can he?

Well, let's take a look at what we've seen so far:

1) He's had a very cagey conversation with Silver.

2) He's had a few very secretive meetings with Filthy Rich, which it's implied were entirely about AmNeigh.

3) He's had Apple Bloom take him to Zecora.

4) He's given an interview to a local newspaper about pyramid schemes.

5) He's hosted a reception where he gave a speech.

Are those things that can be done alone? That doesn't mean that this is all he's done, necessarily, but we can only judge what we've seen so far. And so far there's nothing that necessitates that he's been operating with anypony else.

Now, there might be one area that's open...which is that Apple Bloom realized that John was looking for something in the Everfree Forest.

[Astorius]

He needs some Poison Joke tea.

[Shadow Lance]

"You're, um, damn big." yep, that fine bitch.

[DJ_Arashi_Rora]

7391874

No, just some tea laced with cyanide.

7391689

And tanks, and bombs, that may be nukes, assassins, black ops squads. And red velvet cake.

7391691

Knife between the ribs and a burning house with him inside can be denied.

7391723

It's not a Lynch mob, it's a kill squad. Especially since John is trying to get at the Lunar Ponies. Of course Luna (and us) would want to end him.

7391732

I like the way you think! *Manic laughter*

7391772

You! *Points a finger* should be our logistics officer in this glorious new age we are building.

7391788

Oh.... that's not that impressive then....

7391810

poison.....

7391823

Water board the answers out of him.

7391823

That would be the equivalent of turning down a promotion from the president or a prime minister, odd and maybe even suspicious.

[Alzrius]

7391936

That would be the equivalent of turning down a promotion from the president or a prime minister, odd and maybe even suspicious.

It might be odd, but there's nothing inherently suspicious about it, presuming that a benign reason is given. It happens all the time in the real world.

[Amethyst Blade]

7391936

I like the way you think! *Manic laughter*

You! *Points a finger* should be our logistics officer in this glorious new age we are building.

For Glorious New Arstotk- Equestria!

[harts fire]

this is going to be good as this ark moves along.

[Daremo]

7391852
2) if they can get a playback of every conversation Mr. Sith had with Filthy Rich, there is quite a bit that could be inferred as to what he knows and how he operates.

3) same for Apple Bloom, plus anyone he may have encountered before he found her and enlisted her help to find Zecora. For that matter, if he had to ask around to find out about Zecora in the first place. Even if he went in knowing precisely who he wanted to see, that is information (indicating he has somee sort of inside knowledge).

4) how did he get the interview? Even if he just walked into the adminostrative offices of the local paper ponies had to see more and hear more than his published statements.

5) The questions that follow are rhetorical - How did he set that up? Who did he use to set it all up? How did he convince influential ponies to come? How did he know which influential ponies to invite? All of these things require some level of contact with others and every point of contact is a bit of information that can reveal a larger picture. As canny as he is about possible magical surveillance, good old fashioned hoofwork can reveal more than he would prefer. It's not impossible to keep secrets when you're under a microscope but it's considerably more difficult. At the very least it slows him down.

That doesn't mean that this is all he's done, necessarily, but we can only judge what we've seen so far.

I'm not judging yet, only observing and making (hopefully) logical and reasonable inferences.

To clarify my point, because I suspect we are not quite on the same page, I am not suggesting he has collaborators in whatever his ultimate scheme may be, but inferring that he still has to be using ponies as go betweens to muster the resources he needs. Mr. Smith cannot be operating in a vacuum.

Even the study of lacunae can allow one to make educated guesses to the nature of the obscured information.

[Booster Spice]

John Smith looks like he will use the destruction of the dream catchers, if Luna isnt restrained enough in her efforts to extricate herself from them, as raising fear over loss of mind privacy, while leading Silver on a real song and dance.

If Samantha can repeatably stick trackers on Celestia without her noticing, could the same occur for Smith and followers?

[Vutava]

Guided by silver light, we we will find our way free!

They would't remember any of it, but he did.

wouldn't

However. remind them. any public action taken against him makes him a victim, and those attacking him villains.

However, remind them that

"How did you come to know this, I scarcely heard of this 'AmNeigh' thing this morning."

before this?

7391874 Hopefully, it would work like Jim Carrey's truth curse in Liar, Liar.

[tsaukpaetra]

Song Magic tips for the win!
Keep going! ;)

[David Silver]

7393365 Fix'd!

[Cursed Quill]

in full throe

thrall OR throes…except that either meaning contradicts the rest of the sentence.

[Typist Gray]

And Celestia's counter is just as brilliant.

[Mynillion]

"A human has achieved pubic invincibility against direct attack, after already showing, at least to me, that he means very little good to Equestria as a whole."

Pubic invincibility? Surely you mean public invincibility?

[David Silver]

8162282 Fixed, thanks!

[sorenxoras]

The colt looked up at the alicorn before him. "You're, um, damn big."

"That I am," agreed Celestia.

Stones colt, stones.