Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat

by David Silver

91 - Hitting the Books

Silver scribbled out a little note before he wandered out into the castle, not out of boredom, but... "Hope she lets me."

As luck, or fate, would have it, Celestia was moving between rooms with an envoy of her secretary and several guards. Her secretary was speaking at a rapid clip about where Celestia needed to be that day and what was on the agenda.

Smiling with joy, Silver moved to intercept the ruler of the land. "Ce--Princess Celestia, can I bother you a moment?"

The procession looked like it was ready to run Silver right over, but Celestia stopped, which encouraged the others to do the same. "Ambassador, I thought I wouldn't be seeing you for a while."

Silver waved up at her. "I still live here, and I could never entirely avoid you, nor would I want to. To get to the point, you look busy. Can I have access to the Starswirl area of the library?"

Celestia raised a brow. "There are very dangerous spells in there, I trust you realize?"

Silver tapped his head. "They'll have company. My cutie mark itches to study and learn. I won't be leaving the castle without Night Watch, but I can study at her side."

Her secretary leaned in and whispered urgently and Celestia nodded. "We really must be going." She looked to one of her guards. "Accompany the Ambassador and inform the guards he is permitted to study, and to borrow one book at a time, but the books are not to leave the castle."

"Of course, Your Highness." The guard saluted with a wing, then moved to lead Silver away.

Silver waved at Celestia before he went. "Thank you! I'll let you know if I figure anything interesting out."

The guard strode before Silver, marching stoically and silently. Silver didn't like it. He accelerated to be at the guard's side. "It's alright to talk. I'm not a noble."

The guard raised a brow faintly, almost lost. "You're an ambassador, that could be argued to be higher a rank."

Silver raised a hoof as he ambled on the other three. "Ah ha, there is a mind in there, and a sharp one, I bet. My name's Silver Watch, what's yours?"

"Not to contradict you, sir, but aren't you Ambassador Silver Lining?"

Silver lifted an ear. "I was, until my wife renamed me."

"That's an interesting way of phrasing it."

Silver smiled brightly. "I laid down and let her shape me in that way. She let me shape her long before today." The guard's brow raised a little higher, but he was silent. "She's expecting." Silver tilted his head. "I wasn't going to deny taking her name, and it's not a bad name."

"Are you lonely, Sir?"

Silver's raised hoof came down in a stumble. "W-wha?"

The guard didn't offer any expanded explanation. Silver shook his head quickly. "I'm just making conversation. Is it bothering you...? I never caught your name."

With a faint sigh, the guard looked aside at Silver. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

Silver's ears went up. "Granted, not that you needed my permission."

The guard smirked, one side of his mouth raising. "You're like a foal, sir. Respectable adults just walk. You don't need to fill the time with conversation."

Silver felt his ears falling without his say so. His cheeks colored. Physically, he was still a young adult, he supposed, still... "I don't think it's that bad to want to talk. That's my job." He glanced away, feeling increasingly self-aware. "I just thought... I'm married to a guard. I know ponies are used to not even noticing you most of the time."

"Pointedly ignoring," corrected the guard. "Here we are." He gestured ahead, where two other guards stood watch. "The Ambassador here is permitted entry and one book loaning while within the boundaries of the castle."

The other two nodded in quiet acceptance of the information, and the first spun in place, ready to depart. Silver held out a hoof. "Wait! I still didn't get your name."

He looked over his shoulder. "You'd just forget it." He walked off without another word.

Silver wondered which part hurt more, the snubbing, or the fact that he was likely correct. Silver shook off the momentary funk and strode for the forbidden collection of spells and lore. He could feel his spirits raising with every step. So many spells! Like a foal in a candy store, his eyes roamed wildly from one shelf to the next, unable to determine where to even start.

He closed his eyes and reached with his magic, yanking a random scroll off the shelf before him. It was a classic scroll, wound around a central post. With a careful pull, he unfurled it and began to skim over it as his body moved on auto-pilot towards a chair.

The scroll spoke of interdimensional contact and travel. It was a treatise on mirror portals! Silver gasped and almost dropped the scroll. "Text, that wasn't funny!" There was no reply to his outburst. Text, fate, or luck, whatever had been responsible, Silver shook his head. He wasn't going to make a spell based on mirror portals, so he slid it away and reached for another.

The next was a book, aged, but not dusty. The books were upkept and cared for, so dust was not allowed. Silver carefully flipped it open and began to scan over the pages. It spoke of some sort of 'aetheric slime' and Silver perked. That sounded interesting. He folded the book shut just as carefully and tucked it in his saddlebag before moving to trot for his room.

Somehow, the guards knew he hadn't tried to sneak out a second book, or just assumed. Either way, he was unchallenged and trotted towards his room with his precious cargo ready for studying. He arrived back at his room without challenge and pushed inside. There was no Night Watch or anypony else, so he hopped up on the bed and set the book before him, getting to reading even as he pulled out his own book for note taking and his writing supplies with it. It was time to study!

Studying didn't seem nearly as boring as it had been before. He supposed studying how to hack reality itself did have a bit more glamor to it.

He couldn't resist. Seeing the first spell to create some of this slime, he stood up, reading over it and mouthing how the spell should go, he turned away from the book and raised his horn, playing the complex notes of the spell clearly not designed for starting magicians.

Suddenly he felt wet and slimy around his horn. Looking up, he could see bright neon pink ooze was running down his glowing horn in a steady procession, starting to gather at the base. He squeaked in surprise and his horn stopped glowing, and with it, the slime stopped being made. That didn't make what was already there go away, and it still coated his horn.

He reached up and gently tapped at the slime that quivered and shook like set jello. It didn't hurt, and he could still use magic, so it wasn't immediately worrying, just curious. Confused, but not too alarmed, he turned back to the book.

If you're anything like me, you didn't finish reading and now have a horn coated in a singular bright color.

Silver blushed brightly. "I've been called by an ancient sorcerer..."

Have no fear. Aetheric slime, though potentially useful in many ways, is nothing without directed will towards a purpose. Created without such purpose, it does nothing. You should not proceed until you have convinced the slime to leave your horn and to sit beside you. If you cannot manage this feat, close this book and forgot you ever saw it. It is not meant for you.

Silver raised a brow. It didn't say how to convince the slime. Could it understand him, or was this a mental feat? He crossed his eyes up at the goop on his horn. He tried thinking at it as hard as he could, commanding it to come free of his horn. It quivered, but largely remained as it was.

"Come on, please?"

The slime ran down his horn, forcing Silver to close his eyes as it ran over his face. "That's right, come on down." He could feel the slime quivering as it ran down over his cheek to his throat. He could open his eyes, but not look down well with it barring where his snout would go. "Keep on going."

It didn't move.

Silver frowned a little. Maybe it was a combination? He began imagining it going down his front to the bed as he kept coaxing it. "Go on, you're almost there..."

That proved effective, as the slime ran down to between his fore legs, grasped one of his legs and slid down to the bed. Slowly, Silver stepped away from it, free from the slime. He let out a sigh of relief before smiling. "Challenge complete." He reached out and poked the dollop of slime on the bed. "Now what can I do with you?" It had no answers for him, so he turned back to the book.

The door suddenly opened, admitting Night and Surprise into the room. Night raised a brow high, looking at Silver standing on the bed with all his gear. "What are you doing?"

Silver hopped down from the bed quickly. "Practicing magic. Look, I made a slime!" He thrust a hoof out at the goop on the bed.

Night tilted her head slowly. Surprise wasn't nearly so reserved and darted forward to look at it more closely. "Wow! What is it?"

Silver shook his head. "I'm still reading about that. It's called an aetheric slime."

Night rolled a hoof. "You made it without figuring out what it is first?" She took a slow breath, then smiled. "It didn't eat you."

Silver smiled brightly. "Nope! I even made it do something." He pointed to the floor beside the bed as he held the image of it slithering off. "Down boy, down!" The slime began to slowly ooze along, slowly leaving the bed behind. It didn't leave a trail, thankfully, on the bed or himself.

Surprise blinked softly. "Wait, it's a colt?"

Night rolled her eyes. "I don't think it's a colt or a mare."

Silver tapped at his chin. "I can't prove it is or isn't. I got a book to read and work on while we're hanging out." He noticed Surprise giving the slime curious pokes. "Oh, hey Pinkie."

"Surprise, silly." She stuck out her tongue at him.

Silver nodded. "Right, sorry, Surprise." He looked back at Night. "You two getting along?"

Night clenched her teeth a moment. "Actually... yes. Surprise, you should go to bed now."

"Aw..." Despite her objection, she moved back for the door. "I'll visit tomorrow!" And she dashed away.

Night moved to Silver's side and nuzzled into one of his ears. "My little magician. You're going to lose track of time working on this."

"I won't get carried away!"

"Let me help." She reached back into her saddlebag and pulled out the silver pocketwatch. "To help you keep time under control."

Silver's magic wrapped around it and he brought it close to look it over. "It's wonderful... Thank you! Oh look, a changeling, and an umbrum." He tilted his head. "Why's the human so nondescript?"

Night rolled her eyes. "Neither of us were experts on humans. You can thank Surprise it's as detailed as it is."

Silver threw a leg over Night and hugged her close. "It's perfect, thank you."

Author's Note:

Surely no typos will result from our new slime friend...

Comments

[Dravkwn]

Pet slimes are best slimes. Now I'm stuck thinking of old Dragon Warrior/Quest games.

[Booster Spice]

Wonder if Silver is going to try the old add one cell and a mind gem to pet slime safe to save as a temporal snapshot so Twilight or Discord dont have to reach back and pull it forward. Or I wonder if thats how the Smooze started, but wasnt it from a Witch in the Age Of Legends?

I dunno, if youre lookng at such a new thing, maybe check the back of the book, or failing that if the pages are blank, check the last entry to see if the writer was still coherent and intact by that time or a gibbling dissolving mess?

[harts fire]

o A vary interesting chapter.
I was going to say on my last comment about night watch.
I think I have a idea of who Night Watch has her eye on to join the vary little herd but like night I am not going to say as Silver Watch is not ready yet.

[Not so New Brony]

6968905 You're not the only one...

[Morphy]

So, um, where'd the slime go? Last we saw, it was on the floor and Surprise was poking it. She didn't 'borrow' it, did she? Or is it still where Silver told it to go and moved no more? This could prove disasterous/funny if a half-asleep Silver crawls out of bed and steps in it before going for a slide into a door or wall.

I suppose only a unicorn would have an aetheric slime for a pet, heh. Now, what to name it?

[cosmic flash]

Do I sense a Ghost Busters 2 reference coming along?

[Daremo]

No typos that I could detect.

*****

A fine chapter; quiet times in the castle, or at least business as usual.

I want to feel like the guard was a jerk, but honestly, a guard job is not necessarily the occupation of choice for gregarious, extroverted personalities. Some folks are just there to do a job and go home at night. Silver doesn't seem the sort to let a single awkward moment discourage him, at least not for too long.

The slime is pretty cool, actually. It seems to be almost semi autonomous as well, or at least on the verge of it.

Wait... when is the next Grand Galloping Gala? Oh... oh no... oh Silver...

[David Silver]

6970479 They can't all be Shining Armor, alas.

[Shadow Lance]

6970642 : new skill, lvl 1 slime, threw efforts in conjuration, you have produced a slime, weakest of its race, it has 1 atk 0 def

[Boulder]

6969340 He already missed his opportunity of "He slimed me"

[someone else]

... morph from treasure planet? static1.fjcdn.com/comments/The+uterus+reminded+me+of+morph+from+treasure+planet+loved+_f3357c7cdec70fa7e52fa31d1af227e9.jpg

[ArcherStern]

8157271
A level 1 summoned morph. He learns to hover at level 2.