Transparent Living

by PinoyPony

Chapter 17: Argentum Dreams

"Ehm, so I haven't seen you in a while." Cheerilee broke the silence. "How are you?"

"Fine." Dazzle put her ear to the wall.

"Quite a Nightmare this is, thank you for helping me through it." Cheerilee continued.

"No problem." Dazzle answered. She didn't want Cheerilee distracting her, she had to find an exit.

"So… how are things going in Mane-hattan?" Cheerilee asked.

Dazzle's ear perked up. She slowly lifted her head off the side of the wall. "News travels fast, doesn't it?" She squinted at the Crusaders. In response, the Crusaders stopped in their tracks and backed away. Sweetie Belle took the liberty of hiding behind Luna.

"I guess so." Cheerilee shrugged.

"Okay, how much do you know?" Dazzle asked.

"Only the part that you left town and staying with Coco. Also, a little bit about her play went."

"That's about it." Dazzle inspected the next section of wall and put her ear to it. She tapped. Hearing nothing of interest, she continued up another meter.

Cheerilee jogged back to Dazzle. "I received a couple paper request for a file transfer. Are you signed up for Mane-hatten North Elementary?”

Dazzle halted. “You know about that?”

“Only the part that a Ms. Paprika is requesting records of what subjects you’ve been taught.” Cheerilee answered. “Seems to me, more is going on Mane-hattan than meets the eye.”

“Indeed it does.” Dazzle resumed her task.

“By the way, that scratch on your face is clotted up.” Cheerilee added.

Dazzle completely forgot about it. She licked her hoof and wiped some of the blood off. “Normally, I would be afraid about my appearance, but now, since this is a nightmare, I don’t really care.”

“You know, usually I would think a nightmare is having a dream about you.” Cheerilee nudged Dazzle.

Dazzle whipped her head back and glared at Cheerilee.

Cheerilee smiled. “I see you are still the same you, a sassy Tiara. But I’m glad to have crossed paths… or technically dreams with you."

“I don’t care much about what is happening now.” Dazzle said. “I just want to find Silver Spoon now.”

Silence penetrated the corridors, only the sound of hoofsteps from the others as they searched for openings in the wall echoed across the empty stone hallways.

"How are things going back at Elementary?" Dazzle asked finally. She figured that Ms. Cheerilee would keep persisting untill she had a decent conversation with her.

"Good. Things are a lot calmer since you've been gone." Cheerilee snickered.

"Hmm." Dazzle grunted.

"Although I feel bad for Silver Spoon."

"What's been going on?" Dazzle asked, stopping in her tracks.

Cheerilee prodded her to continue walking.

"She's been quiet as of late. Neglected, I daresay." Cheerilee frowned. "She sits alone at lunch, plays alone at recess… I've tried to play with her since the other foals are too scared to make the first move. But she seems… out of it. She just sits on the swingsets, away from everypony else. When I try to push her, she gets up and trots away and goes somewhere else.”

“Don’t the Crusaders keep her company?” Dazzle asked.

“We do, but when we come near her at the swingsets, she doesn’t say a thang.” Applebloom replied.

“Yeah.” Scootaloo added. “Also, other ponies come up to us, requesting help, and Silver Spoon says something like ‘It’s okay guys, go ahead, I’ll be fine’.”

Dazzle came up to Luna. "I understand why you've taken me into this dream, Princess."

The maze protected Silver Spoon and she needed her help. That was the end goal now, even if didn't seem clear at the beginning.

"Aye, Diamond." Luna waved out to the others. "But do you know why I chose your teacher, followed by Applebloom and her friends?"

Dazzle shook her head.

"It is because each of them have influenced her life for good, we needed not just help her out of a Nightmare, but to plant an idea. An idea that just might save her life…"

Dazzle's heart pounded. Was Luna implying that Silver’s life was at stake?

Suddenly, they heard a rumbling down the hallway. From the faint light from Luna’s horn, they saw it kicked up dust. They ran towards it.

Dazzle, getting there first found in the midst of the rubble, found a couple loose stones that fell from the ceiling.

“Hey! Everypony! I found something!” Scootaloo shouted.

Dazzle rushed over to Sweetie Belle, who held up the light for Scootaloo.

“What is it?” Applebloom asked.

“Seems like a cloth of some sort.” Scootaloo held it up to Sweetie’s light.

Dazzle’s heart raced. “I know what that is!” She trotted up to it.

Scootaloo’s held a pearl-white scarf in her hooves. The scarf had magenta accents around the border. She swiped it out of Scootaloo’s hooves, and held it gently in her hooves. Tears fell out of her eyes. “Silver Spoon’s Scarf. I recognize it from the time she lent it to me when one cold winter morning.” She hugged the cloth. “Oh, Silver Spoon, please.”

“Mah question is why is it so clean?” Applebloom asked.

Dazzle took another gander at it. She was right.

“Uh, ponies!” They heard Cheerilee say. “We’re not alone.”

They saw Cheerilee back away from a branch of the dungeon, her eyes wide with fear.

Lunging from the shadows emerged a timberwolf. Only, it had a coat made out of shiny metal and an eerie purple glow coming from the cracks and seams of its body.

Instantly, Luna picked up a hunk of fallen stone and hurled it at the Iron-wolf. The crusaders did the same with smaller pieces of debris.

Each attempt made the wolf run from the rocks. Seemily it did not enjoy it. So, Dazzle wrapped the scarf around her neck and tried to remember how she could edit.

Suddenly, a barrage of stones sailed out of the wall and landed on the wolf.

It spun around in confusion.

“Princess! What is this thing? An elite of Timberwolf?!” she shouted.

“No, worse!” Luna retorted back. “I heard this frightening rumor from towns near the Everfree. They call this creature Argentum.”

“Argentum?” Sweetie asked.

“Old Ponish for Silver.” Luna continued. “I thought it was a myth since only wild magic conducts through organic material. Rarely metal.”

The wolf circled them, prowling at a safe distance away from the stones. Dazzle held her channeled edit, waiting until the wolf came into range.

“Organic?” Applebloom asked, keeping her eyes steadily on the wolf. “Like an apple?”

“Yes, as well as gemstones, old wood, unicorn horns, just to name a few.” Luna blurted quickly. “The only known wild magic I studied in depth that conducts through precious metals is that of King Sombra.” she explained, parrying a swipe from the creature with a levitating stone. “Which makes this creature dangerous. Only the Elements of Harmony can defend against such magic.”

“Well, that’s not an option on the test, is it?” Cheerilee shouted as she hucked a stone at it. Without invitation, the others joined. It charged for Luna, who lifted up another mass of rock and plunged it under it’s jaw and sent it flying.

The creature dove for her. She ducked again, not wanting to repeat the claw mark on her face.

When the creature passed overhead, she caught a glimpse of something that chilled her to the core...

“Wait!” she shouted.

The creature pivoted away from the others, and bounded down the hallway, disappearing into the darkness.

“Good Riddance.” Cheerilee growled, dropping her stone. She rushed over the Crusaders. “Are any of you hurt?”

Luna rushed to Dazzle’s aid. “That was a close one.”

“We need to go after it!” Dazzle pointed down the corridor

“What?” Sweetie Belle squeaked in disbelief.

“Go after it?” Scootaloo yelled. “That’s suicide!”

Cheerilee cast a wary look at Scootaloo, who then smiled nervously.

“No, you don’t understand!” Dazzle reasoned. “Silver Spoon was buried in its neck!”

---

As they hurried down the tunnels, Sweetie shouted “I see light!”

It came into view. A small, white light marked the end of the tunnel. Freedom awaited.

Dazzle pulled forward.

“Wuh-Wait! Duh-Diamond! I-I can’t run that fast!” Scootaloo panted.

Dazzle didn’t care. Her lungs burned, and her legs screamed for her to stop. As she got closer, she could feel a cold gust of wind.

When she came to the edge, she found a bit of snow drifting in. Inspecting closer, she could make out the faint tracks of the wolf. She paused as she looked out.

The others caught up, as it took their breath away also.

Nothing but blizzard as far as the eye could see. At least they weren’t stuck in small hallways anymore.

Luna looked out. “Wasteland.” She stuck a hoof out, and immediately, a block of ice formed around her hoof.

“Look! The tracks are still fresh!” Cheerilee pointed to the trail.“How do we cross?”

“Diamond, you go on.” Luna instructed.

“What?” Sweetie squeaked. “And send her out to freeze?”

“She’s the only one that can edit, so she’s the best chance we’ve got.” Luna looked at Dazzle. “Only if you want to.”

“I will do whatever it takes, Princess.” Dazzle answered.

“Go.” Luna pointed.

As Dazzle ran into the storm, she felt the shock of cold penetrate her. The icy blast sharpened her conciousness, sobering her to the reality of this task. She heard Luna call out "As soon as you edit out the storm, we'll cross!" But, because of the blizzard, the fog of the drifts shrouded anything two feet in front of her with a white haze.

"I will!" Dazzle promised as she followed the pawprints.

---

Dazzle waded through the snow, the scarf around her neck billowed in the icy wind. Thank Celestia for the layers that protected her from the storm. She wouldn’t have gotten this far without them. But in this moment, she started to doubt her decisions.

The blizzard raged, blowing the mounds of snow like sand of the Saddle Arabia desert. It constantly shifted. She hoped she wasn’t going in circles. If only she could find an oasis, safe from the snow.

As soon as she thought that, the blizzard subsided. Then, everything became clear. She hadn't even noticed the beauty all around her because of the storm. She stepped upon the ridge of a snow-covered mountain, looking out at the view of an old sight- her old home.

Ponyville.

The lights from the houses and shops scattered around the valley. Surrounded by the blue aura of winter night after a storm. It took her breath away as she looked at it upon the height. It looked so peaceful with no ponies out, just the gentle steam and smoke coming from stacks and chimneys.

She started to descend carefully. The starlit night and crescent moon gave way to illuminating her path. The night gave her just enough light to follow a snow covered gravel walkway that weaved through the trees.

It winded down the slope, going past trees and forgotten trails alongside wooden posts laced with barbed wire.

As she came to the base of the mountain, she slowly approached a familiar building in the distance, as she recognized it, her old Elementary school, but covered in snow.

Dazzle wondered if she made and ‘edit’, but didn’t think too much of it. Altogether, it was better than wandering through the snow.

When she got close, she could hear two ponies shouting from inside.

She crept forward to make sure they didn't know of her presence.

From the voices, she could tell it wasn’t Silver nor Ms. Cheerilee… it was a mare and a stallion. Unfortunately, she couldn't make out any of the conversation because the siding of the schoolhouse muffled it.

She peeked in, then immediately ducked.

Silver Spoon’s parents. She recognized them, but what threw her off is that their settled composure was utterly lost. It made it hard to believe it was actually them. They had frazzled manes, crazed eyes, like the time Twilight forgot to turn her letter to Princess Celestia.

She wondered what they were fighting about.

She looked around for any sign of the wolf. The tracks came back. She followed them and then more things came into view.

A swingset. A hunk of metal, and…

An orange filly.

She ran towards the swingset, keeping an eye on the metal. She recognized it. Argentum. Only… it was an empty shell. Like a suit of armor. Missing the ghostly purple light.

A rattle shook the swingset. Dazzle looked over to the orange filly.

Only to find the orange filly to be Silver Spoon. She had an orange jumpsuit on, matched with a chain around her neck. Silver shivered violently in her soaked-through clothing.

Dazzle left the empty Silver Timberwolf behind to help the filly in the orange jumpsuit ahead. She took off the scarf and wrapped it around the filly’s neck. She then gave her a big hug, hoping her leftover body heat would keep her from freezing.

“Diamond?” The filly called out weakly.

Dazzle’s eyes looked to the filly, and then met with those magenta eyes. “Silver Spoon.” She sighed in relief. "You're alive."

“Diamond, why are you a mare?” Silver Spoon chuckled.

“Even better question, what are you doing here?”

Silver Spoon hauled in the chain. Slowly, a silver clock dragged across the slush. She picked it up and pointed to the minute hand. “Recess isn’t over yet.”

“Let’s get you to someplace warm.” Dazzle picked up her friend and walked towards the school. Noticing the chain and clock weighing Silver down, she lifted a hoof over it. Praying that the dream would cooperate, she chopped it with a “Hiya!”.

The chain disintegrated.

Silver Spoon’s eyes widened. “We are in a dream, aren’t we?”

Dazzle chuckled. She fixed her hold on her friend and walked towards the schoolhouse, Silver asked again. “So, why are you a mare?”

Dazzle chuckled. “I’ve got stories to tell.” She approached the back door of the school, where they printed the newspaper. Dazzle figured this to be the best option since she didn’t want to cross paths with Silver’s parents. Especially with how crazed and frenzied they appeared. She pounded on the lock with her hoof and it shattered. “Let’s just say that Princess Twilight gave me a boost.”

She lifted her cold friend down the stairs and into the room. She set her down on the table and turned on the heat lamp they used to dry the ink to prevent smearing. “There.” Dazzle chirped “So you can warm up.”

Dazzle pulled up a chair, then met eyes with her friend. “Please don’t do that again. If Cheerilee kicks you out of the schoolhouse in the winter like that, I’ll personally come back from Mane-hattan and give her a piece of my mind.”

Silver Spoon laughed. She coughed. “Thank you.”

“So, what’s been going on?” Dazzle asked. “You haven’t been returning any of my letters.”

“Letters? What letters?” Silver spoon looked up with wonder.

Dazzle's mind reeled back to the many letters she sent. Then to the two arguing ponies upstairs. She figured she wouldn't ask again.

“Something terrible is going on, I just know it.” Dazzle sat upright “What is going on back at Ponyville? I want to know everything."

Silver Spoon gave her a weary look.

Dazzle stared at her intently.

Silver sighed. “Well, since you’ve left, everything has been falling apart.” Silver Spoon started. “I don’t even know where to start. The night you left, I was enjoying dinner until my parents received a letter from your parents. When they broke the news to me, I ran upstairs to my room and cried.” Her eyes were frozen in place. “That’s when the bad stuff started happening.

“The next day, I didn’t want to get up.” Silver Spoon continued. “I don’t know why, but I laid there until the sun went down. I didn’t want to go to school, and when my parents came in, they figured I needed some time. The days passed. I only got up when absolutely needed."

“One day, Ms. Cheerilee came in, and talked with my parents. She told them that I needed to be back at school, or else I would have to repeat the fifth grade. So, like any parent would react, they told me that I had to go to school or else. When I went back to school, the class welcomed me back with open hooves. Many ponies that I teased before smiled at me and said things like ‘welcome back’.” She smiled for a split second. “After all I had done, why were they being nice to me? Even Ms. Cheerilee wanted to help. She told me to go outside and be social.” Tears flooded her eyes. “I had everything… friends everywhere. But, why did I still feel so… numb?

"As soon as I went out to recess, smiling faces turned into frowns and glares. Nopony wanted to play with me." Tears flooded her eyes. "Then, came the bullies. They saw that nopony would stick up for me so they started to hit me and push me."

"Didn't you tell Cheerilee?" Dazzle asked. "What about the Crusaders?"

“Crusaders told Cheerilee first.” She sniffled. “Ms. Cheerilee told my parents, and then… my parents got angry at me. They told me I was stronger than this and I was being dramatic. They told me that I was being a crybaby and should grow a backbone and stand up for myself.

"It was like that for the past two months. Luckily, Cheerilee looked out for me, knowing my parents wouldn't take action. The Crusaders hung around me, but I didn't want to keep them from helping others earn their cutie marks.

"Then… one day, we were doing a group project, cutting out snowflakes. Then, I accidentally got a cut on my hoof." Her eyes went dark. "When recess came, I took a pair of scissors, and…” She shook her head. "After that initial one, I felt like I could keep going. Felt that numbness wear away. I felt... I deserved every bit of what I was feeling."

Silver Spoon held out her forelegs. They were covered with thick red lines. “I finally felt something. The numbness fled away, and then I could keep going.”

Dazzle got up and hugged her friend. She had no idea. “Silver Spoon. Please. You don't deserve any of this. Talk to me. Write to me.”

Silver Spoon hugged her back. “How?”

“Talk to Randolph.” She said. “He’s been helping me.”

“I will. I hope you don’t mind me questions, but what’s been going on with you?” Silver Spoon asked.

“It’s a long story.” Dazzle asked. “First, I met Coco…”

---

“Thank you for helping me.” Silver hugged Dazzle.

“Actually, I think you helped me too.” Dazzle embraced her friend. “Coco enrolled me in school, Ugh, because it is the law. I’m nervous about my first day and the impression I’m going to make, but thanks to you, I know I can do it.”

“That’s good.” Silver Spoon looked at her with puppy eyes. She smiled and lifted a hoof bashfully. “Mind?”

Dazzle immediately knew what her friend wanted.

“Bump!” Sliver pounded Dazzle’s hoof.

“Bump!” Dazzle completed the next motion, bumping her side.

“Sugar Lump!” Dazzle pushed both forehooves against Silver’s.

“Rump!” The met flank to flank.

Despite her awkward mare body, she still moved through their best friend hoofshake with ease.

“I guess I’ll be writing to you later?” Dazzle asked.

“Sure thing! You gotta tell me about whatever else happens!”

“I will!” Dazzle walked out of the room and met face to face with Luna. Dozing softly, nearby, were the Crusaders and Cheerilee. They were all gathered in one huge pony-pile. Cheerilee had her back to the wall while Applebloom and her friends curled up around Cheerilee’s lap.

Dazzle smiled. She wondered if they caught onto any of her and Silver’s conversation.

“I’m really impressed with your tenacity, Diamond.” Luna stood stoutly. "You're learning how to be kinder quicker than most I talk to."

“It’s all nothing.” Dazzle looked back at the printing room. She wondered how her friend was doing now. “If anything, I just want to make sure Silver Spoon is okay."

“That’s what probably makes it easier.” Luna waved over to a shimmery image shining on the window like a projector. Dazzle spotted herself hopping up on the counter to help Coco with the Hot Chocolate.

“You’ve learned a lot, your mind is open to act in kindness, and for that, I’m proud.” Luna said. "You're true nature hasn't disappeared and become subjugated to Kindness, but you've learned that both can coexist."

Dazzle smiled and nodded. She looked back to the doorway to the press room. "It's funny… you brought me here to plant an idea, to help Silver Spoon for reasons I know why. But, you know what happened also? I think this whole ordeal has taught me strength to go forward and to stand up for others who are suffering as well."

Luna chuckled. "Indeed."

Her horn started to glow. "It's time to go, Diamond Dazzle Tiara. The nightmare has dissipated.”

A bright light shone from her horn, and bathed the dream in white light. The light grew brighter, until Dazzle woke up with the sun in her eyes.

The smell of hot chocolate and the warmth of the apartment greeted her as she woke up. It felt like a warm blanket she could snuggle up in.

She turned her eyes away from the window to find Coco standing overhead.

"Morning, Sweetie, how did you sleep?" Coco asked.

Author's Note:

Second time writing this. Ugh. Mobile Data stinks.

Anyways, sorry for the dark chapter. I was half tempted to throw it out, but it will be nessecary to move the plot forward.

As for future darker things, I will keep it to a minimum, if possible. I will only add in darkness as absolutely necessary. Since the action is still rising, there will be a touch of darkness (Self-harm and Violence) as we go along. We are not out of the woods yet.

As for the next chapter, it will be released in the evening (about six extra hours from usual upload time give or take.) Right now, I'm using mobile data to post this chapter. Ugh. In order to avoid it next time, I will delay next time (since I know I always have wifi in the evenings.)

TLDR: Darkness falls as we continue in the story. Upload time will be delayed on Thursday.

'til next time! Thanks for reading!

-Pinoypony