34 - Combination Potion
It had been three days of learning the basics before Silver felt up to trying a combination of two simple potions. She looked at the two, then back at the reference chart for ingredients, then back at the recipes, then flopped onto her haunches with a frown.
Zecora tilted her head, "Is something amiss?"
Silver shook her head, "Just don't see the pattern like I did with unicorn spells. I could make an intellectual guess, but it'd just be a guess. I definitely don't have the confidence to suggest anyone actually drink the result." She frowned a little as she looked between the two recipes again, "The diplomats are probably going to be upset."
Zecora glanced upwards, "Let us find out." She was gone swiftly, and returned with them in tow. "She has put in effort true, but her talent is no use for you," said Zecora on the way back.
The diplomats looked saddened at the news as the stallion spoke, "I trust Equestria will continue to share its discoveries of magic with us."
This made Silver's tufted ear perk, "What can zebras do with unicorn magic?"
The mare smiled, "It is always such a surprise to be reminded how little our allies know of us. We have troubled you long enough, and have other places to visit. Peace on you." They bowed in unison and saw themselves out.
Silver looked after them, then turned to Zecora, "They took that rather well."
Zecora tilted her head, "If I may be frank, you have me to thank. Their ire was fierce, but short. I convinced them to return and report."
Silver bobbed her head quickly, "Well, thank you. I did my best..." She nudged the recipe book, "Don't they want their books?"
Zecora glanced down at them, "You will find it more useful than they. Study it perhaps to learn a new way?"
Silver noticed something then, "Oh... you're rhyming again. Does that mean the lessons are over?"
Zecora just nodded. Silver advanced and nuzzled her shoulder, "Thank you for being an awesome teacher. You'll still be around, right? I didn't stop having this foal."
Zecora nodded once more, "Princess Twilight was quite clear, to you I should remain near. Until the foal has tasted air, you can trust that I'll be there."
Silver turned and started cleaning up the potion-making supplies when she heard new clip-clops approaching. Turning, she beheld Night Watch, who looked a little different. Silver tapped her chin thoughtfully before it hit her, "Oh!"
Night looked back at Silver, blinking through her glasses, "Oh? Did the spell-combining work for potions?"
Silver shook her head quickly, "No, but you're growing." Silver moved up quickly with a smile.
Night snorted, "Don't remind me. Big fat mother is not a title I'm looking forward to, and it's your fault."
Silver nuzzled Night, rubbing snout-to-snout until her frown turned into a light smile. "You aren't really angry, are you?"
Night nipped at Silver's cheek with sharp teeth, "No, silly pony, but I'm fairly sure one foal's enough." She perked an ear at Zecora, "Unless I'm getting a pair?"
Zecora shook her head, "Neither of you bear twins today. There are two foals between you on the way. With mothers as healthy as the two, the foals should come easily for you." She turned and trotted off after the good news, leaving Night and Silver alone.
Night rubbed noses with Silver fondly, "Are you happy?"
Silver perked an ear, "That's a sudden and deep question... I suppose I am. I have a family that I love so much, with more on the way. We're stable, with a network of friends." Silver shrugged softly, "Even Twilight seems to be warming up. I'm not sure what more I could ask for right now."
Night wrinkled her nose lightly, "Not even to be a stallion again?"
Silver shuffled in place, "Low blow... Right now, this very instant, I am happy. When I have succeeded as a mother, I can face the next challenge. What about you?"
Night extended a wing to point towards the center of town, "I met Mayor Mare and she put me in contact with the right pony. You're looking at the town's night watchpony. This is not a very... exciting town, but everypony's nice enough, give or take."
Silver's ears twitched, "I hear a but."
Night went flat-lipped a moment before she sighed out, "But, it's also kind of boring? There isn't a lot of call for a... warrior. When I worked for Luna, she would send me out on exciting missions. Even if I was only watching, it was important watching. Watching a sleepy rural town is like the opposite of that."
Silver sagged a little, "Well... I don't want you bored... How can I help?"
Night looked quite uncertain, taking a moment to adjust her glasses, "Well... If we're not doing exciting things on account of foals, we can at least spend more time together. Now that you're done messing with silly potions, how about you take me out on the town?"
Silver smiled brightly, "It would be a pleasure. Do you want to go alone, or should we invite Fast along?"
Night tapped her chin with a hoof, "Let's bring her along. She always makes a fun situation more so. I'll go get her, you go pretty up."
Ever since Night and Fast had seen her with managed mane and tail, they never let Silver go back to her natural spiky appearance. With a bit of a grump, Silver trotted off and proceeded to get dressed for the evening ahead.
Silver emerged to the appreciative nods of her herd-sisters. The front door opened just then, admitting Twilight and Spike. Spike noticed the three of them all gussied up, "What's the occasion?"
Twilight looked over the three, "Did I miss a holiday?"
Fast flashed a bright smile, "Girls' night out. Want to come, Twilight?"
Twilight looked hesitant a moment before she bobbed her head. Spike crossed his arms, "Wouldn't want to go on a froufrou thing anyway." He stormed off in a bit of a sulk. Twilight, oblivious to it, marched off, and soon returned with her own pretty-work completed.
"Where to?" she asked.
And so they were off. The first stop was the nicest eating spot Ponyville could support, where they sat around a round table and talked over the tasty food.
"Oh thank Celestia," sighed out Twilight, having just been told neither of the expectant mothers were having twins.
Fast nudged against Twilight, "You sound especially happy about that."
Twilight shook her head, "I don't mean it like that, but, well... I'm barely getting my mind around being mother...father? Parent! Of one foal. I know the Cakes are handling theirs pretty well."
Night reached across the table with a wing, poking Twilight, "You're not alone. Even if you don't join us formally... I don't think I'm alone in saying you're part of us."
Fast quickly nodded, and Silver followed. Silver smiled gently, "If you need anything, don't feel shy about it. We're one family, fancy titles or not."
Twilight flushed a little as she wriggled in place, "I... thank you..." She let out a slow breath, and her tension went with it. "You really want to be with me like that? I'm a bit... neurotic. And I'm... obsessive, and I hide in my books all the time, and..."
Night shook her head slowly, "You're describing things we've learned to find endearing, and they aren't absolutes anyway."
Silver put up a false wall of bravery as she spoke, "You just get sexier when you're obsessing over something."
Twilight went red through her lavender fur, "You're joking!"
Fast wobbled a hoof, "Afraid it's true. You're just an adorable alicorn. The more you get fixated, the more I want to tackle you to the ground and offer a... distraction."
Twilight's wings extended stiffly as her eyes went downcast, unable to form a reply.
Night tilted her head, "My turn! Tell me why I'm sexy."
Silver reached and gently tapped Night's glasses, "You're cute with them on, and taking them off makes you look dangerous, and I like that."
Fast bobbed her head, "When you analyze my madness, I feel like you can see through me, and that makes me want you all the more."
Silver and Fast looked to Twilight, who looked back and forth between them, "What? Oh! Uh..." She shrank a little, "I... want to be wrapped up in those wings..."
Fast slapped the table with a hoof, "You did not!" She burst into gales of laughter, collapsing. Night was as red as she could be, silent.
Twilight looked to Silver, "Did I do it wrong? I'm sorry!"
Silver shook her head quickly, "You did it very right. If you don't mind my echoing, I also think Night's wings are wonderful. When she holds me in them, I feel... so safe."
Night cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses in a double gesture of composure, "I do believe it's Fast's turn. Fast Change, I find your earnest expression of your feelings to be a buoy in my life. You lift me in dark times, and bring me to happiness in light times. You are the white to my black, and I couldn't dream of life without you now."
Fast's laughter died quickly, and it became her turn to color, "Oh... oh Night... That was so..." She leaned in and kissed Night on either cheek, "I love you too."
Twilight raised a hoof, "Your honest expression of affection is something for me to strive for. I doubt I'll ever get as good at it as you are, but I am glad to have you around."
Silver took her turn, "Fast, you're sexy as hell." Blunt, but Fast seemed to appreciate that. "You're also optimistic, clever, and best of all, you put up with me. Thank you for being with us."
Twilight pointed at Silver, "Your turn, hmm. Well, I'll start with the obvious... You were my first, and you accepted me even when I was being rude. You have a searching intellect, and you like to read."
Fast wobbled a hoof, "Go on."
Twilight darkened, "I... was consi--"
The doors to the restaurant exploded inwards as the lights were snuffed out abruptly. Silver saw flashes of magic as it happened. Twilight surrounded the table with a sudden force field that only Silver could see in the dark.
Loud clip-clops filled the area. Silver shrank a little, wondering why her eyes couldn't penetrate the gloom. She could hear ponies being shoved to the ground with cries of fear and alarm. Night whispered softly, "We should leave." Silver heard her wings unfurl just before Silver was grabbed in big paws. Before Silver could panic, she smelled Fast's scent and knew she was safe. The bubble suddenly shuddered violently and Twilight grunted with effort.
Twilight let the bubble vanish, and Silver could see nothing. She felt movement. Fast was going somewhere with her. They emerged through the window of the eatery, crashing past and flying off into the night, leaving the attack behind.
It seemed life was taking a new direction.
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"She" looked at the two.
You need a comma after "turning."
There are two spaces between "Night" and "looked."
Also, you need to hyphenate "spell-combining."
Don't capitalize "there."
It's slang, but there's no hyphen in "fru fru."
That should really be "She let out a slow breath," to make sense with the second half of the sentence.
5848431 Fixes applied! And no evil zebra magic to derail this chapter. Only evil... something else!
And the next adventure is under way.
5848436 One I missed before:
Twilight's fur isn't scarlet.
5848446 Fixed, oh keen-eyed one!
Silver look like an Earth horse....heh...never noticed that all of ya pictures look like earth horses before...
5848457 They're all done in Ponyfinder style, which should surprise no one.
5848458 Meh...I usually don't really care all that much about EarthHorse-like stuff...their cudliness at best is 30 micro lunas...compare to the average Equestian of 300-500 micro lunas...
Reference
5848470 Sure, but my artist tends to work in that style, and it means I could, in theory, use it in an actual book at some point if called upon to do so. I could specifically request a MLP version?
5848473 Ya call mate...
As of right now, I take that picture and imagine a MLP version of them...and then Silver look like some character from another story for some reason...
5848477 Probably not, seeing as I do have to pay her for her talents. You're entirely welcome to reimagine her in MLP style of course.
a new Villon.
I new life was to good to last.
love the cliff hanger.
Harts Fire
5848449 This chapter was excellent. One of the best ones that we've had in a while, I'd say.
First, I'm glad that Silver's experimentation with zebra "magic" dried up so fast. That felt like a very realistic take on how that would go: Silver looks into zebra alchemy, discovers that there's absolutely no way that her special talent applies to it, reports that, and the entire thing concludes. I'm a little curious that Zecora said that the ambassadors had "fierce ire" over Silver's failure to master their "magic" (no, I won't stop putting it in quotation marks), since they'd previously made it sound like there was no pressure on her to succeed. I half expected them to be relieved that a foreigner wouldn't be able to use their "magic" better than they could, but either way, it's over and I don't miss it.
I also need to take a moment to offer my praise for the artwork of mare-ified, post-makeover Silver! I presume that's Sita's artwork again? If so, she continues to impress! Silver seems to be settling in to her life as a mare, to the point where I'm starting to wonder why she wants to go back? Her thinking in that regard isn't clear; it seems like she's talking about a minor change, rather than anything truly important to her.
But all of that pales in comparison to my favorite part of the chapter: the four-way date. I admit it: I have a dreamy sigh as Night, Silver, Fast, and Twilight all started opening up and saying what they loved about each other. That was so romantic! It was a really beautiful scene, not just because it was great to see them being so honest with each other and strengthening their bonds, but because they did so as a unit. They weren't just split off into pairs, but were actually all together as a herd, reinforcing what made them a family unto themselves. It was long overdue, and very, very gratifying...all the more so since this seemed to be Twilight's formal acceptance (to herself, primarily) that she wanted to be with them.
My only complaint is that we didn't have enough supporting material regarding Twilight's relationship with Fast and Night. As it is, all of Twilight's relationship angst has been focused solely on Silver, the mother of her foal. That she has any feelings towards Night or Fast isn't something we've had any exposition regarding. It's a more pronounced version of how we don't often see Night and Fast interact with each other (which made it all the more lovely when Night said such beautiful things to Fast here). That can't be helped, since the narrative puts Silver front and center, but it does weaken the overall sense of their bond as a group.
The sudden attack on them came out of nowhere, and was a very dramatic way to reintroduce conflict into the story. Between the obvious spellcasting that darkened the room and the pronounced clip-clopping during the attack, these are clearly enemy unicorns (unless the northern shadows have more tricks up their proverbial sleeves than we thought), but who and why remains mysterious. It was nice how we saw the first inklings of Silver's herd behaving as a team, between Twilight's defense and Fast's rushing to get Silver out of there - hopefully Night and Twilight will be close behind. This isn't going to be something that can be easily dismissed if and when they all manage to fall back and regroup.
Very good stuff here! Please keep it coming!
5848481 Best i could with the pony OC creator
lh3.googleusercontent.com/JCDMj9w6W_TEIWN-ICSOUz4U7pF0eqFJOOrsq8l-cw=w140-h109-p
5848501 Thank you for the kind words. Perhaps a chapter or two with Silver shoved off the camera wouldn't hurt anypony any, giving more chance for those around her to express their own feelings towards one another, though this dinner did that better than I could have expected.... or did expect... Heck, I didn't even know they were going to dinner until they arrived. My brain is weird... I was writing out the zebra stuff, then Night showed up and said how she was, and it just felt right to have Silver poke into her story, then came the admission of boredom, which flowed into inviting Fast along, and bam, Twilight shows up! I don't plan any of this, it just happens.
I wonder sometimes if I'm the only writer that works this way. Either way, I was also very pleased with their shared words. Night and Fast showed a deep and abiding love for one another, and Twilight got a chance to express her awkward affection for the mares she finds herself indirectly related to through Silver. She's as lost as you are, with their proclamation that she is a part of the herd family, whether she ever formalizes it or not, and they will embrace her as a wife. She doesn't know what to do exactly, but it sure feels like a good thing.
Moving on! I think this might be a good break chapter? On to the next fic?
5848519 I forgot to react to Night's confession of boredom. Thinking on that, I think she used the wrong term there - by her own description, she's not looking for action or excitement. Rather, it was her admittance that the missions Luna sent her on were exciting even when nothing happened that made it click. She doesn't want excitement so much as she wants the potential for something to happen. In other words, she's not so much bored as she is finding a distinct lack of meaning in her life at the moment. That's not so say that she doesn't find her wives or her foal meaningful - she clearly does - but rather she doesn't see herself as contributing to society in any meaningful way. Night is the sort of pony who needs to feel like she's making a difference, making a contribution, to her community in order to feel good about herself. It isn't enough for her to simply do a job; she needs to do an important job.
In that regard, Ponyville isn't likely to serve her very well, as she noted. Though this recent attack might help with that. It'll be tough if she admits that she's not happy living there, though, since I doubt Twilight will be able to bring herself to leave. Hopefully this won't be a problem that tears the herd apart!
I think a chapter or two of the rest of the herd interacting, without having Silver be there, would be a good thing. It's easy to forget to portray secondary characters as having lives outside of how they relate to the main character, especially insofar as relationships go. Night went through her own process of having to adjust her sexuality to be with another mare, for instance (e.g. she said that Fast was the one who taught her to love mares), and it seems unlikely that that was easy to do - sexuality isn't a switch you can flip; just ask Silver how well it worked out with him and Tumble - but we didn't get to see that, because it was all about Silver. Having some "Night, Fast, and Twilight-time" wouldn't be a bad idea at all.
That said, I'm not sure what you meant by "break chapter"? Do you mean ending the story here and starting a new fic to continue Silver's saga? That would seem rather abrupt, wouldn't it?
5848549 No, I mean the next story of the Silver Saga, though maybe I should stop making new stories and just make one big story.
5848555 I think that might be a good idea - splitting it across so many stories is starting to become slightly unwieldy, especially when the narrative is relatively unbroken across all of them.
Not a Cliff hanger!
Exelent chapter as usual!
Well shit.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
5848923 Hello there! Welcome to the herd, uh, not that herd... I think? Nice to hear from you!
5848926 I have been keeping up with the Silver Saga for a while, but I had no clue that this new one was started... All I can say is damn, you write quick.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
5848940 Aw, sorry about that. If you click watch on me, then it'll inform you when I write more madness! Where'd you leave off?
5848943 I finished the one before this one, when you put the last chapter of it, but I didn't know this was here until I saw it in the recently updated section. I think I will follow you to keep up better.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
... Well, that escalated quickly. Keep up the good work and let's see where this goes!
5849483 Thank you kindly! There is, alas, a babbling child behind me, which is not conducive to further fic writing.
5848943 You remember when I was creepy and said I was kinda gay for Rough Draft?
Well, I'm also kinda straight for femSilver.
And dat cliffhanger.
5849523 You just like me, as a pony, clearly.
5849527 except I strongly avoid having a pony OC. If anything, I consider my Lineage2 prophet my OC. Hell, this is where I picked this name which is almost my second name by now.
5849532 What does you not having a pony OC have to do with liking someone else's pony OC(s)?
5849543 *shrug* I dunno, I like pones but I prefer myself as a human more.
5849545 There are many fics in which this is the norm.
5849547 ...and I prefer when human stays human *grumbles about treacherous species-shifters a bit*
HUMANITY! F* YEAH!
5849547 you know what, ignore that, I'm dumb and slightly friday-spirited (spirited as in alcohol)
5849575 I'm not sure we're on the same page. I'm saying humans and ponies sometimes get together without the human ceasing to be a human, or the pony ceasing to be a pony. Just cause my crazy human went that route doesn't mean they all have to.
Looks like Silver has some more 'fans' that want to see her.
Also looks like the foals are progressing well. Kinda makes me wonder how Silver will react after her foal is born if anyone threatens them. And Celestia thought being female would make Silver less violent. There's a reason why you fear the momma bear over the poppa.
5849585 Murder. Everything.
5849579 I know, and I learned to like the way it all went in your story, but in other stories it's a 90% drop for me.
"And suddenly he was turned into a pony"
Dropped.
"And suddenly he could into majik."
Dropped.
"And he got bossed by ponies"
Ragedropped.
"Servant"
Angry marine dropped.
"Forcefully turned into female"
Lava buttmad dropped.
How do you make me love your stories?
Is that some sort of... Christian magic?
5849597 I try really hard to keep character motivations reasonably logical, for all the logic that sometimes goes into being wildly emotional creatures? Few things happen because 'lolrandom'.
'bear'
6213675 Fixed.
(done)
I am conflicted with this fic, but love wins all and I will read on!
6323601 Always impresses me how many eyes pass over something and typos still crop up later.
Silver shook her head, "Just don't see the pattern like I did with unicorn spells. I could make an intellectual guess, but it'd just be a guess. I definitely don't have the confidence to suggest anyone actually drink the result."
I think a to belongs here...
Silver shook her head, "Just don't see the pattern like I did with unicorn spells. I could make an intellectual guess, but it'd just be a guess. I definitely don't have the confidence to suggest anyone to actually drink the result."
That picture is kinda creepy.It doesn't show up when you download the chapter html version doesn't work for the othe so don't bother asking.
Ever since Night and Fast had seen her with managed mane and tail
I think it will make more sense if it was written like this...
Ever since Night and Fast had seen her with a managed mane and tail.
With a bit of a grump, Silver trotted off and proceeded to get dressed for the evening ahead.
Correction: With a bit of a grumble, Silver trotted off and proceeded to get dressed for the evening ahead.
Night reached across the table with a wing, poking Twilight, "You're not alone. Even if you don't join us formally... I don't think I'm alone in saying you're part of us."
You
Are
Not
Alone
Night cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses in a double gesture of composure, "I do believe it's Fast's turn. Fast Change, I find your earnest expression of your feelings to be a buoy in my life. You lift me in dark times, and bring me to happiness in light times. You are the white to my black, and I couldn't dream of life without you now."
petrozziwellness.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ying_yang_labeled-copy-e1398926348303.jpg
Night cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses in a double gesture of composure, "I do believe it's Fast's turn. Fast Change, I find your earnest expression of your feelings to be a buoy in my life. You lift me in dark times, and bring me to happiness in light times. You are the white to my black, and I couldn't dream of life without you now."
Is Night referring to life in general or is she referring to her life?
If she is referring to her life it would be...
Night cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses in a double gesture of composure, "I do believe it's Fast's turn. Fast Change, I find your earnest expression of your feelings to be a buoy in my life. You lift me in dark times, and bring me to happiness in light times. You are the white to my black, and I couldn't dream of a life without you now."