Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat

by David Silver

303 - Small Mistakes

The goons had gone. They weren't there when Silver left. He wasn't shot crossing the street, and nothing else got in the way when he collapsed to his belly and retired for the evening. He had done his part.

So why was someone knocking on his door? He grunted, irritation swelling as he forced himself upright. "Who is it?"

"Is this a bad time?" came a female voice.

Silver's ears danced, not expecting that. A gentle female voice, not one he'd spoken to recently. "Come in?"

And they did, the door's handle glowing with magic as it twisted and turned outward. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you."

A unicorn, tall, female, pretty. Who was she... Somewhere deep in his mind, he registered her as someone he'd seen before, but not a bit beyond that came to him. "Hello there." His wings fidgeted on his back, annoyed at his own lack of information. Curse his bad memory of people. "What brings you here?"

"Are... you...?" She shook her head. "This will sound daft, and you'll laugh me away if I'm wrong."

"I doubt I will do that." He sat up properly on his haunches, waving the mare closer. "Close the door so nopony else has to hear and share what's on your mind."

"You don't seem to recognize me. That's alright! I promise... though it is surprising." She raised a hoof to her chin, but it was only there a moment before she gestured at herself. "I'm Nicole. Nicole Foalman."

That name! Ugh... That name pinged at him. He'd heard that name... But he couldn't click it together. "Nice to meet you, Nicole." Nicole wasn't that pony of a name...

Nicole inclined her head. "Do you not remember me? Are you...?" She danced in place. "Are you the same creature, or not? The... David. Are you David, or not?"

Silver's ears were trained on Nicole with a new intensity. Few were the ponies that knew his original name. "That's me... Um..." Then it clicked. "The changeling! Where are your... the others? Are they alright?"

Nicole relaxed as recollection seemed to return to Silver. "Oh, thank Celestia. I thought you had forgotten us entirely... They're at the hotel room, relaxing... I wanted to see you." She walked up to and sat down beside Silver's bed, eyes on him. "I've been keeping track of you... my savior, who went on to do so many things."

Silver inclined his head lightly. "I am just awful at faces and names. Sorry for scaring you, but it came back."

"You married a changeling," continued Nicole suddenly. "How was... that? You two happy? She was a... royal, like me, I hear."

Silver began to color swiftly. "Will you be upset if I answer with 'it's complicated'?"

"Life usually is," she assured with a little smile. "Are you upset with being with a changeling?"

"No! No... She was... lovely."

"Was?" Nicole's right ear went flat. "Did she get hurt?"

"Sort... of, but mostly they left." Silver rubbed behind his head a moment. "I wasn't the best husband to them, I'll take fault for that."

"The prince of Equestria. The rumors of you are so very varied, but rare are they boring," Nicole half-sang, rocking a little in place. "Always something new, something bold. I don't mean the other changeling any... ill will, but she choose the wrong husband to have a calm domestic life."

"How are you?" turned Silver, leaning forward a little towards her. "Now that you're a citizen, right?"

"Officially," crooned Nicole. "And with reformed changelings being an accepted thing, I've even come out."

Silver's ears danced. "What about your friends?"

"Silly things were practically ready to do it all this time... They loved me, and, well, I loved them back." She sat up fully. "So it is a known thing, that Nicole Foalman is a changeling, and my career didn't crash and burn."

Silver brought his hooves together in light applause. "Great. Seriously, that's a happy ending I'm behind." A smile on his face, he nodded at his guest. "I'm glad to hear it."

"And it is, in part, thanks to you." She rose to her hooves. "Though part of me wonders if I would have come out on my own, when reformed changelings became accepted. Still... you changed things, when you got Luna involved. That was... a frightening time... but it worked out, didn't it?"

Brought to his memory, he could remember that distant time. "I was very new to Equestria, back then. You were a new and confusing thing."

"That you took pity on." She inclined her head. "And now you're the Too Kind Prince."

Silver's ears danced. "Do they really call me that?"

"I just did," noted Nicole, tongue poking free a little. "Seriously, I am curious... Why did you..." She trailed off, frowning with thought. "When we met, you had two legs and two arms and hands." She reached out a hoof, which became a hand at the end of her arm, though the rest of her remained a unicorn, showing she was quite practiced in the way of shapeshifting. "And now you do not. For a changeling, this is an average day, but you are not one of those. Care to share why?"

That was... quite the question. "Step by step. First, the offer a new life." He nodded, thinking back to Luna's original offer. "But life isn't easy. I had... an interesting childhood... twice now."

"Most would not look forward to that twice," noted Nicole with an unsure look. "You made it though."

"I did... I made some friends, some enemies. The usual." He waved a hoof lightly. "But I was a pony at that point. I am a pony now." He flopped over onto his side. "A tired pony, perhaps, but a pony. It really is nice to see you though."

"Now that you remember me," she joked gently. "You do look tired. Want me to head out?"

"I should get some sleep." He yawned, trying to cover it with a hoof with limited success. "Seriously, nice talking to you."

"Sleep well," she bade gently as she saw herself out. "I may stop in on you, in Canterlot. Any objection?" He said something that could be taken for agreement, or not. She decided to believe what she wished as she departed, leaving him to rest.

---

"Just a little."

Silver awoke with a snap, headache rushing upon him, only to recede almost as quickly. Before him, the source. "When did you get here?"

Samantha smiled brightly at her adopted father. "I am precisely on time. You slept longer than is standard for you. Are you well? I can perform a medical evaluation."

Silver slid to the floor, shaking himself out on the way towards the door. "Gonna guess you're eager to meet with Fetlock."

"Ah, yes. Good thinking." Samantha nodded as she followed him out. "You appear to be injured." She was not speaking as if scared, just taking note of something. "Is that why you were asleep?"

Silver glanced back at where he'd been punctured. It was on the way to healing. For all the magic Equestria had, not a single curative spell. Boo. "I'm alright now, but that could be why I slept as long as I did." They began across the street, just two alicorns on a stroll, as alicorns do.

"She sounded like a responsible sort." Samantha cantered in front of Silver, her steps light. "I hope she can help. I would like to redress my mistakes."

"You do realize what we are doing exactly, right?" Silver caught up with her as they slipped through the door. "No pony is being created from nothing.

The griffon secretary was there. She was... not typing. She had a newspaper unrolled and was browsing it. "What?" She saw them, watching them. "I get breaks." She hiked a thumb. "Doc's waiting for you two."

"Fantastic!" Samantha was gone, galloping into the back without delay.

Silver was not so fast, trotting along. "Have a good one."

"Yeah."

As he came around the corner, he could see the two unicorns were chatting amiably. Samantha was seated in front of a sealed jar. "--been kept as well preserved as I could manage." Samantha nodded along with her words. "Can you work with it?"

"There is your father," noted Fetlock, her mane still in the same bun Silver had put it in. "I have been considering your problem since you challenged me with it. With so little, we can only work with impressions and possibilities." She clopped her hooves. "But having some fragment will bring us much closer than we'd otherwise be, so there is that."

Samantha inclined her head. "How much information can you--"

"--wrong question," cut in Fetlock. "I will get nothing, but the call will be changed. Colored is the term I used before, it's not a bad one. You, come here." She waved for Silver to step closer. "I need to know something. An assurance, really."

Silver perked an ear. "Assurance of what?"

"You are, were, human. I call humans. Will you be upset at me doing exactly that?" Fetlock pointed to Samantha. "It is what your daughter wants, so, logically, you should not stop me, but ponies are not always logical."

Samantha nudged her jar towards Fetlock. "Silver wouldn't do that, I'm super sure of it. His empathy is quite high, and I am a creature of importance to him, so stopping me from this task is not something he would do."

While it was, by and large, true, he didn't like how Samantha was analyzing him. "Can you promise me that whatever human you get will want to be here?"

"No." Not even a moment of delay there. "But they will have agreed to it, or they wouldn't be here. There are rules. I can't break them." Her glowing horn took Samantha's jar, bringing it to rest in a dense circle of runes and marks. "Maybe it will attract an older human, wishing for youth. Maybe an already young one, who would rather be here, or just not there. Does it matter?"

Not to her, clearly... "I will not get in the way." He wanted to see what was happening and how. "Samantha, this sounds good to you?"

"My neglect ruined the physical body." Samantha's head listed to the side. "But perhaps I can make a new one, now. If they take to the task, I will endeavor to be a better mother this time."

Speaking of that... "Where is your son right now?"

"Moonbeam is having a good time." Samantha clopped her hooves with a big smile. "There was a camp he wanted to attend. I gave him the bits to be there, allowing him to expand his horizons and distract him while I do this. All parties got what they wanted in a very agreeable fashion. One moment." Her ears switched and swiveled. "Ah, he's talking with another foal, lovely. Oh, he mentioned me."

Silver set a hoof on her shoulder. "You shouldn't listen when people are talking about you when they don't think you can hear. That's how feelings get hurt."

Samantha frowned a moment, ears folding back. "You are not incorrect. I will allow him to enjoy his experience and share details with me later."

Fetlock clopped a hoof on the ground. "If your goal is to..." She trailed off, turning in place. "Shall we begin?" It wasn't really a question, seeing as her horn was glowing as were some of the runes, changing in patterns as she wove the magic that would create life, or move it? "Tell me, fellow doctor. Is your father also the source of this child?"

Samantha's ears pricked up. "No. Even I am aware that would be a faux pas, though we are related by adoption, meaning there is no risk of inbreeding. His sexual life is occupied, and complicated."

Silver inclined his head, unsure how to feel about the specific reasons given.

"Huh." Fetlock raised her hooves, tracing glowing patterns in the air. "It's time to spread the net, and see what swims in."

Author's Note:

Two mad scientist mares in one room. There may be no survivors.

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Comments

[terrycloth]

And it'll get another copy of David, of course.

[Dravkwn]

10883632
I suppose it's not otterly impossible.

[Booster Spice]

Having seen the video on turning a 4D hypercube into a 3D Doric Cross which then can be unfolded into a 2D tile that can tile the plane, then relating that to microwave stripline as runes, things get ever weirder. They can aquire anyone that fits teh conditions of wanting to be there in particular, or just elsewhere? Becausae thats an awful lot of possibilities even in one reality, planet, town, time.

[David Silver]

10883692
Someone who wants to be there, or at least away from where they are, fit the conditions, and accepts the terms. The best, or arguably the first, or some combination thereof, gets to come. If skill based, skill would determine how well you filter for the best, instead of just the first, or randomly shooting in the dark of all that qualify.

[harts fire]

things are moving forward, i am really hoping all is going to be good.

[Well Geboren]

Lead poising, as I don't remember the bullet being removed.

[David Silver]

10890636

So Silver did sit. A fine time to... dig out that little metal bit. That hurt, and he clenched his teeth, but at least magic was far better at that kinda thing than clumsy fingers in that case, floating the bit that didn't belong in him out and letting it clatter to the ground.

[Well Geboren]

10890694
Ah my mistake, see my memory cells are going.

[David Silver]

10890853
Been there, welcome to the club.

[prism heart]

Looks like Samantha lost the foal she got with Night that one incident.

[David Silver]

10907642
Wait, which incident? :D

[prism heart]

10907709
I can't remember which story it was in but it was when Night asked Silver to cast THAT spell on her and Night was with Samantha afterwards.

[David Silver]

10907782
Was that during the dream?

[prism heart]

10907802
It happens after Silver has Samantha as a wife but before she gets adopted. I can't precisely remember when but on thinking of it I believe it is somewhere in this story. Not very helpful in a story with so many chapters.

[Admiral Stoic Rum]

10911601
This is true. It still makes me laugh imaging him trying to mount

[Alvsecret]

"Sort... of, but mostly they left." Silver rubbed behind his head a moment. "I wasn't the best husband to them, I'll take fault for that."

Why is he reporting Fast with they instead of her?

[Alvsecret]

That was... quite the question. "Step by step. First, the offer a new life." He nodded, thinking back to Luna's original offer. "But life isn't easy. I had... an interesting childhood... twice now."

They offered? The offer of?