Silver floated in a sea of stars. They were of wildly different sizes, with some being mere pricks of light and others quite a bit larger. She called out, "Hello?" This didn't feel like the inky void of the Text. No, it looked... worse.
Words appeared, 'You have arrived at the end of the path.'
Silver flicked her ears back. "Am I dead?"
'Yes, but you may yet walk onwards.'
Silver grit her teeth. "I said... long ago." She paused to think back on it. "I definitely said I didn't want this."
Soft stroking began to run down over Silver's back as new words appeared. 'You know I do not make you do things. I told you that this path would be long. You would suffer. You would face grave danger. You would likely die. Has this not come to be? Have I not told the truth?'
Silver sagged towards the 'ground'. "I don't want to be a princess. I was just getting half-decent at being a normal pony." She went stiff. "What about my kid?" She stomped a hoof silently. "Tell me!"
The petting grew more intense, distracting Silver, but only faintly. 'Your child is passed, as you have. You may yet walk further.'
It hadn't answered the question, and Silver demanded it. "What of my child? Can it 'walk further'?"
A powerful presence became known as Celestia emerged from the star field with the saddest expression Silver saw since she had stood over the dead body of that pegasus. A moment later, Luna appeared beside her.
Luna looked around with an expression of awe. "Where are we, sister? Why is Silver here?"
Celestia heaved a slow sigh. "This is the astral plane, dear sister. Silver has defeated my plans, again." She approached Silver. "Do you understand what you've done? I groomed Twilight Sparkle for years, gently nurturing the magic within her, guiding her growth in magic and mind to be prepared for this moment."
Silver shrank back away from Celestia. "I didn't want to come here. This wasn't my idea."
Luna quickly trotted up alongside Celestia. "Sister, please tell us clearly what is going on. Neither of us understand." She paused, sifting through Silver's memories a moment. "This is where Twilight Sparkle ascended?!"
Celestia nodded slowly. "Silver was swollen with magic, a combination of mine, yours, and even Twilight's. What might have been your shared foal is now catalyst for this."
Silver shook her head violently. "I want my child, not wings!" She sank to her belly, tears stinging at her eyes. "I didn't even find out if it was a stallion or a mare..."
Luna grit her teeth a moment. "Is there nothing we can do?"
Celestia gestured at Silver. "We can let her die. The magic will be liberated, and that will be it."
Silver struck the ground with a hoof, clambering back to standing. "Text! Stop hiding!"
Luna glanced around sharply. "It is present?"
'I am.'
Celestia recoiled back from the floating letters. "Who are you?"
'We will use Silver's title for me, Text. We stand at a crossroads. You must choose the path you will walk.'
Luna reached up, poking the word 'crossroads', which dissolved on contact. "What marvel is this? Are you a god?"
Silver looked towards the fading text. "Tell us what the paths are! Stop making me blunder along blindly."
'I watch. I can see many paths. In some, you choose to lay down and die, ending the story. In some, you rise up to power and try to shape Equestria. In others, you throw yourself wholeheartedly into being Twilight's partner, comforting her damaged soul and bringing her from the darkness she now finds herself in.'
Celestia scowled at the words, reading them quickly. "What is wrong with Twilight? She was fine just earlier today."
'...'
Silver wobbled a hoof. "Don't dot dot dot us, go on."
'She killed Silver.'
Silver bared her fangs. "What?! I... on purpose?!"
'There is but one path where you somehow emerge with your child, but it is a faint path. I do not predict you will find it.'
Luna pointed at the letters. "Will you tell us how to find this... path?" She glanced aside at Celestia. "I owe you a debt, dear sister. You brought me here so that I might preside over the ascension of the first lunar princess. This is a great honor that you could have denied me so easily." She advanced and nuzzled Celestia gently. "Your faith will be rewarded."
Celestia's darkened expression softened at Luna's words. "I could not deny you this, Lulu. If Silver accepts her destiny, it should be at your hooves that it occur."
Silver flopped onto her haunches, trying to calm herself. "Celestia, Luna... is the magic that you two put in me enough, without Twilight's?"
Luna approached Silver and looked her over intensely. "I can't see where our magic ends and Twilight's begins..."
Celestia shook her head. "I do not see it either... Will you accept your destiny, Silver? Twilight... will be shattered if you remain dead, at her hooves. Please."
Silver shook her head violently back and forth. "I don't want that on Twilight. It... had to be a mistake. Adorkable idiot..." She sank entirely to the ground. "I wanted to be a mother, not a princess..."
Luna suddenly turned to Celestia. "Silver brings up an excellent point. What would she be princess of?"
Celestia shrugged. "Twilight was the Element of Magic, but became Princess of Friendship. We can see where Silver fits in after we are finished here. Go on."
Luna reached for Silver cupping her cheeks in hooves. "There are no words I can say to ease the pain of a mother for the loss of her foal, but you will serve nopony in laying down your life as well. Accept your destiny, dear Silver Stars, and stand at our side. We will only proceed at your urging."
Silver rose up, rubbing her cheek into Luna's hoof. "Can you bring Twilight here?"
Celestia frowned in thought. "She has not yet advanced to that level. She has not yet bonded to the fabric of the world." She brushed a hoof through her flowing mane. "When we accepted our destinies and began to move the sun and the moon, they tethered us to that fabric, and their power flows through us. Twilight will find her own tether, of this I'm certain. You too, perhaps. Without it, she should not return here."
Silver's mind whirred frantically, trying to find the angle that let her walk out of the mess with her foal intact. There had to be a way, the Text said there was, but she couldn't find it... The other paths were so much more obvious. She could become a good alicorn and try to do well at Twilight's side, or even Luna or Celestia's side. She could take the power and make some crazy power play against Equestria. She didn't feel angry enough at either of them for that, she decided. Hurting was just not her goal in life. "Help me... I don't want him or her to die..."
Luna pointed at where the text had faded away. "It was correct. If there is a way, it is very well hidden. Our time draws short. We must revive you or forever lose you. Please, allow us."
Silver hung her head, then rose to her hooves. "Do I get a musical number?"
Celestia tilted her head in confusion. "What?"
Silver wobbled a hoof. "You know, going over my accomplishments, etc. etc.?"
Luna hesitantly nodded. "I suppose I can do that, but why I would sing it is beyond me."
Celestia went rigid. "Your tales carried even to here?! I did not sing to Twilight!" She stomped a hoof, looking agitated.
Despite that, the song music swelled up around all three. Luna began gently singing the tale of Silver's arrival, how she met him first in the cave while she slumbered as the human male. Images appeared around them, showing the sleeping David. It showed David carried into that first little town on the back of Wet Hoof. He met Rough Draft. He rode a train to Manehattan. He met so many, Lyra, Bon Bon, and others. He faced off against Luna's wrath at the changeling actor. He had a good time with what he thought would be his herd, before being kidnapped.
He decided to become a foal at Luna's hooves. He lived with Rough Draft and Trixie. He made new friends at school, and new enemies. He met Discord in person, and had brunch with the princesses. He experienced song magic for the first time. Luna kept right on singing as the images came and went. She seemed unaware of most of them, though Silver took them in, watching her life in Equestria play through. She saw an image of Celine and felt her heart clench. The hurt became new again as she watched several images pass of them together, being so happy and complete. Luna sung on, though a single tear ran down her cheek.
Silver shuddered, unable, unwilling more likely, to face the memories as they continued to crash down around her, but there was no looking away. The great battle with Tumble's parents brought Night Watch into her life, and cast Tumble out of it for a time. The great fireball lit up the panel it was on as Silver joyfully demonstrated her magic crafting ability, and she was in university, reunited with Lyra. She joined with Fast Change and Night Watch in the first herd that would stand the test of time, forged in the fires of Tirek's arrival. She moved against the changelings. She threw herself off a roof. She became a lunar unicorn.
Silver began to regret asking for this extended flashback, even if Luna's words were gentle and so pretty. Luna's hoof settled on Silver's head as she began to taper off. "Are you ready?"
Silver cringed, choking out a tiny, "No..." An old thought came back to her. Where were her rainbows? "Go ahead..."
Luna lifted Silver with a thought, her own hooves upraised. With a gentle mystic tug, she pulled free the magic within Silver. It swirled and bobbed around her. Silver grabbed for it, tears suddenly flowing powerfully. She thought she had heard a giggle, the barest sound of the child she was losing, but it was gone. The magic slammed into her and all was lost for a time.
Silver awoke beside a crater. She could hear sobbing, and it wasn't her own. She opened her eyes and saw Twilight with her hooves over her eyes, weeping bitterly. "Twilight?"
Twilight's head snapped up and focused on Silver. Her wings shot out wide. "Sil...ver?"
Silver rose to her own hooves and approached Twilight even as bright flashes signaled the arrival of Celestia and Luna. Twilight met Silver halfway and bowled her to the ground. Silver learned the new discomfort of having a wing compressed, but ignored it in favor of embracing Twilight with every hoof, squeezing desperately. "I'm sorry Twilight, so sorry..."
Twilight shook her head. "What in Equestria could you be sorry for? I... I blasted you... I went too far, and... what happened?"
Silver rubbed her wet snout against Twilight's chest. "I couldn't think of a way to save our foal. I failed our herd. I failed you. I..."
Twilight cringed and sank, pinning Silver down under herself. "I... it was me, Silver. I blasted you. You... don't get to blame yourself for not fixing my mistake."
Luna cleared her throat softly. "We do not mean to pry..."
Twilight only then realized the sisters were present and scrambled off of Silver, offering a hoof to help her up. Soon they sat side-by-side, facing Celestia and Luna.
Celestia smiled a sad little smile. "Welcome, Silver Stars. I am sorry for the nature in which you have joined our order, but you are welcome."
Luna frowned. "It was quite unkind for that 'Text' to taunt us with a solution without providing direction, nay, even a hint towards its location."
Silver deflated at Luna's words. "It can only show a path exists. Only our hooves can carry us on them. I wasn't strong, or clever, enough."
Twilight extended a wing to wrap around Silver, hugging her tightly. "What are you all talking about?" Twilight noticed that Silver was a little taller, but she was still smaller.
Celestia shook her head. "Let us put this behind us, for the moment. We must coronate you, Silver. The ponies will need to be informed they have a new princess."
Silver cringed at that. "I don't think the ponies of Canterlot will be thrilled at the news."
Luna tilted her head. "On the contrary, this does make your shameless display with Twilight come into a whole new focus. I doubt many will speak ill of it now. She was clearly preparing you in some way they cannot hope to comprehend."
Twilight rolled her eyes, then buried her face into Silver's neck. "I can't say sorry often or hard enough. Words aren't enough for... this."
Silver snuggled against Twilight. "Don't say that! I'm... not... I want to be with you, Twilight." She flashed a fanged smile. "We are two peas from the same pod." They sank against one another and slowly slid to the ground, united in loss and drawing strength from the fierce love both felt for one another, stoked into a painful fury in their battered hearts.
lunar princess.... does that mean she has bat wings?
sorry I just can not comment on this. the loss of the foal is just to much for me right now.
You lied! It was supposed to come tomorrow.
5886044 I said that yesterday. It is tomorrow! Behold!
5886023 That would be most logical, yus.
does mean that the typos also have ascended too. "Princess of incorrect grammar"
How to s ve the foal, ascend it as well?
5886079 There was enough magic for Silver herself only through lucky happystance, and that includes Twilight's magic. Ascending an unborn spark wasn't much on the menu.
awws poor twilight and silver, what a bittersweet chapter :<
5886113 Is it alright to admit I didn't make it through writing without my own tears? I was there with Silver, trying to think of some clever out, but I didn't, and I moved on regretfully.
Not only had silver lost her foal, she also lost the chance to get a choice of becoming a stallion.
There are two spaces between "quite" and "a."
There's no need for that opening single quotation mark at the beginning of the sentence.
And she was "in" university.
Twilight met Silver "halfway."
5886224 Fixes applied liberally!
5886128 Right cause of being a princess locks it now.
Not what I expected. Still, it was a good chapter. But I will be watching for Mary Sue moments now.
5886236 Whoops, one more:
Delete the first "of."
5886265 Sad typo destroyed.
5886269 And so the inevitable comes to pass, with all of its attendant tragedy and triumph.
It's interesting that the Text, when describing what it had told Silver long before, noted the various dangers associated with the path of seeking power, despite Silver's protesting that she never wanted that. It's notable to consider that, for all of her actions to the contrary, Silver has sought out power - she chose to form an intimate relationship with not one, but two alicorns. She choose to make dangerous war spells, using them to fight for the Crystal Empire. She chose to accept a high-ranking political position as an ambassador, and then to study under the warlocks. She chose to be imbued with the powers of a purebred lunar unicorn, and have the potency to breed them true. While her choices were never made in a vacuum, and were often constrained in their scope, she never shied away from the options that gave her the most ability to effect changes on others.
What's been remarkable isn't what's happened to Silver, it's that Silver ever thought that it could have ended up differently than this. In that regard, I find myself unable to sympathize with what she's going through right now. True, the loss of her unborn child is a horrible thing that nopony should have to go through - that line about hearing a soft giggle as she ascended was heartbreaking - but the Text was right in noting (albeit obliquely) that these are the consequences Silver made for herself. Worse, they're the consequences that she stumbled into blindly, never fully appreciating the totality of the scope of her decisions.
Hindsight is always clear the way foresight so rarely is, but Silver's declaration of "I never wanted to be a princess," is one that I can't help but feel scorn for. The fact that Silver kept becoming more and more important - first to a human convention, then to Canterlot, then to the Crystal Empire, and now to all of Equestria, if not the world - should have been a big warning sign that she was heading that way. It wasn't a clear indicator of princess-hood specifically, I'll grant you, but Silver kept making herself a pivotal player on larger and larger stages; that something would come of that should not have been unforeseeable. But instead of saying "Hm, I've been acting in a manner that's going to draw a lot of attention, maybe it's time to retire to some nameless town and live a mild-mannered life," she instead kept wallowing in how unfair it was that she had to go through the things that she did. They might very well not have been fair - Celestia, in particular, has been domineering, no matter how gently she did it (though Luna has been no less so, even if she couldn't help herself) - but they could have been avoided if she'd stopped pushing herself to be more than she was.
Now she's reaped the final (?) reward of her lack of self-awareness, and become a princess at the cost of her child...and quite likely (Twilight using that stallion-equipped spell notwithstanding) at the cost of ever being a mother again. It's fortunate for her that she knocked Night up (and saved the foal) before, otherwise she'd never have any children.
What's ironic, albeit in a sad but beautiful way, is how Silver and Twilight seem like mutual saviors here. Both of them are so heavily guilt-ridden over what just happened that it'd likely destroy them, save only for the fact that the only thing that they want more than to be punished for what they did is to spare the other one from any more pain. It's a very "gift of the magi"-style sort of saving each other through total selflessness, and is a very pure form of love, enough so that it (for the moment at least) eclipses Silver's connection to the rest of her herd. For the immediate future, Silver and Twilight are going to need each other very badly.
As for what sort of princess Silver will be, I'm not sure. Maybe Princess of Forgiveness, since she keeps wanting to be judged valuable in the eyes of others? It could be almost anything at this point, but there's no rush. It took Twilight an entire season to be crowned Princess of Friendship after she received her wings, so there's no rush.
In the meantime, there are still other forces at work, such as Starlight, whomever hired her, the shadows in the north, etc. While being an alicorn princess will make Silver more difficult to capture, it also gives her even more value among those who'd take her, so I doubt that she'll be free from trouble just yet. Of course, let's not forget that every princess has her own kingdom...maybe she'll share Twilight's, once they're married?
EDIT: Probably the most notable thing about this chapter, however, is that this is the first time I can ever remember that your author's note didn't talk about typos. Whoa.
5886394 It is a very rare person that could not point to some point in their life in hindsight and find where they could have turned left instead of right and changed things. One thing I have strived to do is write a story where the characters largely make their own beds and lay in it, even if it seems random at the time. Their triumphs and failures are more their own, and less 'because the story demands it.' I feel sorry for Silver, but she is where she is by her own power. As the Text has said, only your hooves can carry you down these paths.
Silver could have stopped things at a lot of points, but she liked being the center of attention. She liked being loved. She enjoyed having Celestia's attention, as terrible as it often was. Now she pays the price for throwing herself in the middle of all the magic over and over again. It's not where she wanted to go, but it is where her own hooves carried her, no one else. Silver can't point at any mythical bad guy and blame him/her/it. Even Starlight was inconsequential in the long run, when it comes down to this. Twilight had a much more direct say, liberating Silver from her flesh in a most abrupt move. Silver could blame Twilight, but that seems very unlikely.
I think we need some cooling down chapters. Silver needs some happiness and encouragement.
5886457 By the by, my hat is off to you for admitting that there was a way for Silver to save herself and her foal both, and then not having them find it. All too often, I see authors who fall in love with their own characters, forgetting that the entire purpose of the story is to captivate the readers rather than to dote upon their own avatars.
It's horribly literal here, but I think that one of the most important canons in writing is "kill your babies." I'm very impressed that you were able to do so here.
5886583 I feel it would be cheating to not remind that I did think pretty hard for some clever way out, but my fingers were jamming out the chapter, and no idea came forward, and I refused to slow down. If I couldn't think of something that fast, neither could Silver, and we'd both have to live with that.
5886051 now to await a pic of how she looks with these changes, also looking forward to certain ponies reactions
5886781 Which ones?
5886832 primarily night watch and fast change, then there's Jake I think is his name as well as his adoptive parents, sorts dissapointed that twilight didn't really react to the new appendages
5886881 Twilight had a lot of things on her mind I think.
Wow. You just can't let Silver be happy for long, can you? At this point I'm starting to think it would have been a mercy to have Silver stay dead...
5886594 That doesn't make it any less impressive; you were the one who held yourself to think up a decision in (almost) real time, and took it forward with the natural consequences when you couldn't, rather than hitting the pause button until you dreamed one up. Kudos to you for sticking to your guns, even when it hurt to do so.
By the by, a nugget for consideration in future chapters - did Starlight Glimmer escape with Silver's heart crystal? (And would remembering her crystal have been the method by which Silver could have saved her foal?) If so, she has the crystal that connects to a pony that's now an alicorn (notwithstanding however her transformation changed her connection to it), filled with the magic of a second alicorn (e.g. Twilight), so that may come back to bite the two of them later. Twilight won't even be able to track it in the meantime (assuming that any of them even remember that detail), since it's been established that Silver needs to have it and be conscious for that to work.
Well, at least it would be quite hard to screw him over now for the conspiring duo.
I hope.
Nah, you'll probably find new ways anyway.
When that ascent scene happend it make me heard this
due to the fact that she was being trained to be a Warlock...
5886050 But today is always today! Tomarrow will always be Tomarrow! Tomarrow never comes!
6066424 I'm lost in yesterday!
Typos
This was my fault. I shouldn't have let my guard down.
6066434
the dick move the author pulled on us. good on ya mate.
Silver shook her head violently. "I want my child, not wings!" She sank to her belly, tears stinging at her eyes. "I didn't even find out if it was a stallion or a mare..."
Reminds me of a Thomas episode where Thomas went on bumpy track to turn milk into butter.
6:55 is what I'm referencing https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg1ZBfwELkc
Celestia scowled at the words, reading them quickly. "What is wrong with Twilight? She was fine just earlier today."
Grammar Error: Celestia scowled at the words, reading them quickly. "What is wrong with Twilight? She was just fine earlier today."
Silver bared her fangs. "What?! I... on purpose?!"
I think this will work better...
Silver bared her fangs. "What?! Me... on purpose?!"
Not sure to put question mark after "me" or not.
Celestia frowned in thought. "She has not yet advanced to that level. She has not yet bonded to the fabric of the world."
Reminds me of a dream I had. In it I found Gallifrey. By going through the fabric of the time vortex.(Picture tight fabric overlaying each other. Like a lamb shade.) But Missy was in slaving the Time Lords but the Time Lords acted like this life was all the know. Like they were always in slaved.
The magic slammed into her and all was lost for a time.
I thought Doctor Who had an episode called "lost to time" or something like that and I was right.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HvnPfd0vPCU
I'm not sure if it's an actual trailer or not.
6605998 Silver started a sentence, aborted, said something else. They are not meant to work together.
OUCH, that hurt!! It's like getting smacked in the face by a cricket ball in primary school again. Not only nearly blacked me out it left my nose broke and in a world of PAIN that the unconsciousness would have concealed. This chapter was a deep & hurtful blow.
5886881 Wait til Rough And Trixie visit expecting to see Silver as in the picture he sent them, Where's Rarity's fainting couch, they may need many copies.
So, I got confused about the pronouns concerning Silver's unborn colt and how Silver didn't remember Zecora's chastisement about calling her foal an "it", until Zecora's earlier claim was about NIGHT carrying a colt. If that's the cause, it's felt a bit cumbersome without night present(unless she was, and just silent).
Typo spotted:
hooves
7433340 Last typo fixed, but this one not found.
7433658 Whoops! It was actually on the previous chapter, my bad XD
I guess I was too distracted reading your story that I had moved on a chapter before remembering that I found a typo, ha ha.
5886113
I fail to see the sweet part of this chapter
Also give silver another foal it is only fair
So Silver became an Alicorn by way of infant sacrifice? That is some seriously hardcore horse apples.
yep... that's the first thing I thought of
That end to the foalnapping was... unexpected. Expectations subverted with a nat 20. The outcome feels well earned though sacrifice and pain, but dang the way it came about was surprising. Looking back the foreshadowing was even there and that setup is perfect, but I still didn't see that coming. Just the right flavor of bittersweet for tears. That has to be a broken Twilight though.
I like to think about how I might write the out come of a problem and have it fit the narrative, its kind of nice to know some paths are hidden from everyone involved.