Unexpected Intelligence
Twilight shifted in her seat, unable to get comfortable; the chair she sat in was unforgiving and ungiving. If it weren’t for the importance of the upcoming speech, Twilight would have returned to the royal hospital suite. Right now, her and Luna could have been cuddled close under the covers, or reading a book together, or just fantasizing about their future. There were an infinite amount of things that she would rather be doing, most of them involving her Queen. Instead, Twilight was in this goddesses damned seat, stuck waiting.
Celestia had called another war meeting and had requested the Student of the Night’s attendance. At that point, it had only been two weeks since Luna had come home, and Twilight loathed sacrificing any amount of time with her Queen. Luna, however, insisted, telling her Student how important it was that Twilight support the Princess. Plus, after such a long absence, it would be good for the Lunar presence to be felt in the court, and with the guards watching the Queen night and day, Twilight was the only pony free to go.
And so, Twilight continued to struggle with her chair, waiting for Celestia’s announcement. She knew the Princess had big news. Not only were all the court’s nobles stuffed into the room, there were even important ponies from outside the city crammed in with them. This news had to be monumental, and that made Twilight uneasy. Big news was either really good or really bad, and Twilight couldn’t help focusing on the latter.
Not to mention, it was really damn hot; it was the inevitable result of packing so many ponies into such a small space. Twilight’s tight dress didn’t help the situation either, and after only about ten minutes, she could already feel the sweat running down her back. That soured her mood. She hated being warm - she was a night pony after all - and being so hot only made her want to snap at the ponies to her sides. Briefly, she toyed with her mother’s amulet. She could feel her mother’s magic thrumming underneath, and the familiarity comforted her. Actually, speaking of comfort…
Twilight horn briefly lit as she cast a cooling spell on the air around her. She then tied the spell off to the amulet, letting it supply the magic needed to continue the spell. She sighed as the cool air touched her coat; she could finally breathe. Twilight hoped that nopony would notice and ask her to extend her range, but luckily, everypony was so enraptured in the speculation surrounding the upcoming news that they didn’t pay her a lick of attention. Twilight liked that; it had been too long since she had gone incognito.
“Welcome, my little ponies,” Celestia’s voice broke over the crowd. Twilight’s ears twitched, angling towards the source as her head followed. The white goddess and her retinue had finally graced them with her presence.
Immediately, the dull roar that dominated the hall ceased, making Twilight even more irritated. If it was Luna, silence wouldn’t come uncommanded, and even then, there would be a noticeable, if brief, pause. Sure, it was almost immediate, but the ‘almost’ was like a slap in the muzzle. But with Celestia, silence greeted her immediately without asking. The Queen of the Night deserved better than these insolent subjects.
But Twilight shoved that far from her mind. She needed to pay attention, and Celestia had begun talking. “We have grand news for all of you today. Our troops, at long last, have reached the griffon capital!” Cheers began breaking out as the hall was filled with excitement. Everypony knew that reaching the capital meant victory.
Celestia allowed the commotion to continue for a moment before holding her hoof up for silence. The crowd immediately complied, but this time, Twilight didn’t notice. She was too enthralled with Celestia’s speech. “As of now, we are fortifying our position around the city to prepare for negotiations. I have been assured by the generals that, barring any huge mishaps, our ponies will be home within six months, just in time for Hearth’s Warming Eve!” Cheers broke out at this news as well, although not as much. There were a large group of nobles who remained completely silent. This time, the cheering died naturally, allowing the Princess to continue.
“But, as long as peace remains unnegotiated, we will still continue with troop rotations. The next wave home shall be the Valkyries, who will be bringing home the heroes Sunset Shimmer and Shining Armor.” Celestia took a pause, her eyes seemingly lingering on Twilight.
Twilight barely noticed, however; she was too overwhelmed by the good news. Her brother and friend were coming home. With them and Luna back, all of her loved ones would have escaped from the horrors of war. Sure, some had been injured, but at least they were coming back. Twilight could hardly believe her luck. At the beginning, the war threatened to take everything away from her, but now, it was ending without Twilight losing anypony. Soon, the war would only be a distant memory, and Twilight’s only real worry would be her broken horn.
As Twilight reached up to touched her disguised horn, she realized that she had been zoning out, and quickly refocused on Celestia’s speech. “...three weeks on board the Zephyr. There will be a ceremony in the banquet hall, and we invite everypony in Canterlot to come. Please, let’s welcome home our warriors with all the love and respect they deserve.” To that, a light stomping rose in approval, and Twilight, despite herself, joined in.
“That is all, my dear citizens. For now, we must move onto the council meeting. I will speak to you soon,” Celestia dismissed them with a gentle way of her hoof.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight buzzed with excitement over the next week. Some of her most beloved ponies in the world would be coming home safe and sound. The war had ended, barely lasting a year and a half. Plus, it was all punctuated with a party!
Luna was also excited by Shining and Sunset’s return as well. During the next week, she often spoke about them, recounting their time together. She even told Twilight that she wanted to adopt Shining into her own private guard, though she didn’t seem convinced that he would accept. Twilight agreed with the Luna’s assessment; Shining had always preferred the sun princess over the night queen. Twilight thought him mad, but she had her own bias. And who could blame her as well? When such a wonderful, caring, radiant pony loved you, you held onto it with all of your heart.
Twilight lived buried in that love for another three weeks after the war meeting. She continued to push back her diplomatic and political duties, trying to be there for every step of Luna’s recovery. Luckily, Luna was almost fully healed by the end of those three weeks. The small pony that Twilight had first seen in that dark room had already grown back to her full size and the night sky had returned to her mane. Already, the Queen was walking around the castle, though never too far from her bed. The doctors insisted on keeping her in the hospital, a request Luna was happy to oblige; while she had been nearly healed physically, it would take much longer for her to be ready for court.
Judging from her brief stints away from Luna, Twilight could tell that the capital was buzzing with news about the returning heroes. Everywhere she went, she heard ponies talking about the time that Shining singlehoofedly held off an entire battalion of griffons, or when Sunset slew a dragon all on her own. Twilight knew those tales were pure fantasy, but there is no wrong way to fantasize. Plus, it felt good to have so many other ponies as happy about her loved ones return as she was, especially since Luna was still too weak to attend. Having her first return to the court during a huge party would not be the best venue, something Twilight could appreciate.
The night of, Twilight slipped on a simple, purple dress and her horn ring, kissed Luna good-night, and made her way to the banquet hall alone. Luna still wasn’t ready for public appearances, and Matron was stuck at the orphanage, leaving her on her lonesome. A patch of fillies had come down with a cold, and while it wasn’t the plague, Matron wanted to stay by their bedsides. Twilight was little disappointed, but promised to pass her love on to Shining and Sunset.
Twilight walked into the hall, which was filled with both nobles and common ponies. Most of the ponies were broken up by class lines, but there were the odd groups of nobles and common ponies talking. Their loved ones must had become friends during the war. A long, curved table ran along a quarter of the wall, stocked with snacks and drinks of all kinds. Almost every pony had a drink in their hooves, and around her, ponies chatted away. Overall, most ponies were happy to have the war finally end. But, here and there, an odd voice or two whispered disappointment; some lamented that their troops were petitioning peace rather than total domination of their enemies. It was a sentiment that was in line with the Charlemane party, but at least they had the good sense to keep their criticisms to a whisper. No pony wants to get between soldiers and their loved ones. But, ignore the whispers, the air of the party was merry. Canterlot, as a whole, was glad to have it’s brave soldiers back.
Once Twilight had gotten herself some juice, she found her way to one of the banquet windows and looked out at the Zephyr. She had arrived less than two hours ago, and had dominated the city’s skyline ever since. While still getting ready, Twilight, with her enhancement spell, saw ponies running to and from the ship, unloading it’s supplies. She tried to spot Shining and Sunset, but the armor made it impossible to differentiate them. How much of a tease must that be? You finally see your home after months of service, and right when you get back, you have to work for hours before you can finally go. Goddesses, that must have been frustrating, but, that was the life of the guard ponies. Twilight just wished that she wasn’t forced to wait because of it.
After her third glass of juice, a hushed whisper broke out through the crowd. With a loud creak, the great double doors at the side of the hall split open. The marching of boots sounded out over the hall, perfectly timed with the standard marching cadence for the Equestrian military. The crowd parted, leaving the middle of the ballroom wide open for the returning victors. Twilight stood a little taller on her hooves, looking out over the crowd. She could barely make out the rush of incoming heads, the gleam of their pristine armor in the light of the chandeliers. Despite being a mish mash of colors and race, somehow the Equestrian army managed to look all the same. Golden armor, with the same sword and shield lashed on the back, clad every soldier as they marched in. Occasionally, Twilight would see markings, like a slightly different sword or art on another’s armor, but for the most part, they were a uniformed mass of marching gold.
That golden march was interrupted with the entrance of the next group. Instead of gold, this regiment was clad in the black of a starless night. Their crested helmets were closed, except for earguards frilled with metallic wings and the occasional horn opening for unicorns. The same went for their armor, save the gaps for pegasi wings. Their weapons, unlike the golden regiment, were varied. As they filled into the room, Twilight saw swords, spears, bows, and even a curved blade that Twilight couldn’t place.
As the soldiers marched into the room, the took a formation, with the ponies facing the crowd. After the march finished, silence dominated the room. These soldiers were intimidating. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t taken off their armor before they entered the room. Some of the children that had been brought had gotten deathly quiet. If this was the Empire’s army, how did the griffins stand up to such idols of terror.
When it looked like the mood couldn’t be saved. Two armor ponies gave a silent order, and the Valkyries removed their helmets. Manes, bright in color, spilled out, revealing the ponies underneath. Inside of the emotionless, almost sinister looking helmets were happy, smiling ponies. With the helmets off, they turned to each other, laughing and talking. The tension melted away instantly. Several ponies, seeing a sibling or a child, rushed towards their loved ones and met them in a warm embrace. With that, the two groups, soldiers and civilians, merged into one. Conversation and laughter once again filled the air.
Twilight tried to spot Shining and Sunset, but she couldn’t see over the sea of giant soldier ponies. If only she had wings like Luna right now! But, Twilight decided that the best strategy was to wait it out. Weaving in and out of the crowd, Twilight make her way to the refreshments table, thinking that after months of subpar military rations, Shining and Sunset would find their way over to Canterlot’s finest cuisine eventually.
As she waited, Twilight saw the faces of the ponies that Shining and Sunset fought alongside of. As they helped themselves, Twilight made sure to thank them for their service. All of them smiled at her words, happy that somepony as important as the Student of the Night was here to personally thank them. Some of them even knew her as Shining’s little sister, and they told her how proud she must be of him.
Twilight waited for quite a while, but eventually, her plan bore fruit. As a group of armored ponies moved, she finally spotted a short, dark and light blue streaked mane that she knew to be her brother’s. Excitement stirred in her chest; she was too excited to move, but luckily, her brother was already moving towards her.
At first, Shining, who was talking to another soldier, didn’t see his sister, but as he got closer, he finally caught site of Twilight. With a goofy grin on his muzzle, he rushed up to her. Alright, play it cool Twilight. Let’s show him that you’re not the same filly that he once knew.
“BBBFF! I missed you so much!” So much for playing it cool. Twilight dove forward, wrapping her forelegs around her brother’s neck, hugging him close. His black armor dug into her arms a bit, but at that moment, she would endure any pain to hug her brother again. With the way Shining hugged back, it was clear he agreed.
Twilight heard the pony in her arms laugh like Shining, but something was different. “Missed you too, LSBFF. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he asked. Twilight realized his voice had deepened since she last saw him. He was all grown up now; when did that happen?
For a few moments, Twilight didn’t answer, still caught up with holding her brother close. After a few moments, Shining broke the embrace, pushing her at arm's length. “You know Twiley, I would love to say ‘look how big you’ve gotten’, but I swear you haven’t grown an inch!” he teased. Twilight rolled her eyes - would everypony that come back have to comment on her height?
“And when did you grow up to be a stallion?” Twilight retorted. “Have you listened to yourself? You sound like the Doctor!”
Shining laughed, a deep chested, full-hearted laugh; Twilight had missed that laugh. “Has it really changed that much? I guess there goes my chance of singing soprano in the Valkyrie's talent show.” The both of them laughed.
“You know I missed you, right Twiley?” Shining asked, one forehoof pulling her tight against him again. Twilight nodded quietly, nestling against him and simply basking in their closeness. Goddesses, she had missed him.
Twilight looked right at her brother. “Of course, Shiny. I missed you too. I’m just glad that you came back in one piece.” Twilight could feel tears of relief start to fall down her muzzle.
Shining tousled her mane, interrupting her tears. “Enough of that, Twily. Let’s not get bogged down and get all sad. Tonight’s supposed to be a celebration! And besides, I want to hear more about this marefriend of yours,” he added, giving Twilight a subtle, careful wink. Twilight’s cheeks turned a bright red with embarrassment. Oh Goddesses, how had he found out about that?
“Are we already talking about Twilight’s marefriend?” A familiar voice intrejected. Twilight groaned when she recognized the voice of Sunset Shimmer. Twilight turned her head to playfully scowl at the new arrival, but ther expression quickly turned to shock. The war had taken it’s toll on Sunset. Her muzzle had a long, red scar running from her left eye down to the tip of her mouth on the right side. She was missing the top third of her right ear, the rip jagged and painful looking. Not only that, but her mane was singed, leaving the ends blacked and frizzed. She looked like she had just been to Tartarus and back.
Sunset poked her with a hoof, the yellow mare’s smile seeped with insecurity. “Didn’t Matron tell you it’s rude to stare?” she tried to joke. Twilight felt ashamed, but she continued to stare. How could this have happened to her? Hadn’t somepony told her that Sunset was safe? How was this safe?
“Look, Twilight, it’s not a big deal,” Shining interjected, trying to stop his sister’s staring. “Remember when the ‘accident’ happened and your horn was damaged. It’s not much worse than that, is it?”
“Besides, the doctors said the scars will eventually fade, though I’ll still be missing part of my ear. But it’s not like I listen much anyway, right?” Sunset laughed uneasily. “It’s still pretty bad though, isn’t it?”
Twilight continued to stare in silence until she felt Shining nudge her. “Oh, um, oh no, it’s not that bad at all.” Twilight lied. It was impossible not to notice, just like her horn had been. Maybe she would research a spell for Sunset in the same way she found the horn illusion.
Shining coughed, drawing Twilight’s attention away from Sunset’s ear. “Twilight, I think both Sunset and myself would like to talk about things other than the war.” He cast a glance towards Sunset as he spoke, catching her eye and giving her a meaningful look that Twilight couldn’t identify.
“Yea, Twilight. We’ve been dying to hear about your marefriend.”
Twilight felt her cheeks burning. “How do you two know about that?”
Sunset’s expression changed near instantly, the anxiety melting away into a calming smile. “Oh, you know. Shining and I were pretty close to her back on the field. I think he even helped her write a certain letter to you.”
Twilight face was on fire. “Do you two think that this is the best place to talk about this? It’s kinda a sensitive subject.”
Shining laughed. “Yes, I suppose we need a little privacy.” His horn glowed a majestic purple, and, within an instant, a translucent purple dome had enclosed the trio. “There, now nopony will be able to hear us.”
For a moment, Twilight was shocked. She couldn’t believe that Shining would just cast a spell like that in the middle of a party. She couldn’t help feeling embarrassed for him. Yet, Sunset showed no outward horror, and, looking out at the crowd, it was clear the only ones bothered by Shining’s actions were the citizen ponies. Twilight realized just how much she had been shaped by her months in the court. Fleur was rubbing off on her.
Twilight sighed, realizing she had no more excuse. “So, like I said, there really isn’t much to tell. Luna and I are a kind of couple, I guess? Before you all left for the war, I told her I loved her, and she returned my feelings. It was right after the assassination attempt, so I kind of thought that maybe emotions were just running high. You know, that she didn’t really mean it, or something,” Twilight took a breath, trying to stop the embarrassment from taking over.
“But when my birthday came around, I got the letter and this ring,” Twilight continued, “and she told me that she loved me and she wanted the chance to court me. Then she came home injured, and since then, we’ve been sort of living together. And I’m not sure about love or anything, but I think what I’m feeling is real. Since she got back, we’ve had a lot of time to just talk and get to know each other. I mean, I knew the Queen, but I never really knew Luna, you know what I mean? And she said the same thing about me. It’s like we learned how to click, and it’s been amazing!” Twilight gushed, her smile growing wider as she spoke.
“Plus, we’ve been in a great place, you know? This is a first for me, and Luna’s been great about making me feel safe and everything. She’s even insisted on going slow. So it’s not like she’s taken advantage of-”
Shining held a hoof up defensively, his eyes locked on Twilight with an odd stare. “I wasn’t going to say anything, Twily. You are your own mare now, and that means you can handle your love life yourself. As long as you’re safe and happy, I’m fine with it, okay?”
Sunset took a small step closer, nodding in agreement. “He’s right, Twilight. We’re both happy for you,” she assured her. “We both spent a lot of time with Luna, we know that she’s not going to hurt you. Don’t worry about us or anything.”
Twilight blinked tears out of her eyes. She was ready to defend her decisions, but having them validated was a lot better. “Right,” she answered, voice cracking a little. “I didn’t mean to accuse you two or anything. I guess I got ahead of myself.”
“For now, let’s just enjoy the party, okay?” Shining asked as he dropped the bubble around them, exposing them to the party once more.
Twilight nodded, wiping the tears with her hoof. Tonight was the perfect night to forget her struggles and enjoy the company of her two soldiers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the party was amazing for Twilight. Her, Shining, and Sunset stayed together and talked throughout the night. They talked of lighthearted things that brought no pain. They talked about Twilight’s studies, of the different ponies Sunset and Shining had met during their time in the army, and even of their interactions with Luna. For the group, just having the others there strengthened their spirits and made the world a little easier to face. For Twilight, the castle no longer felt so dark with her loved ones back safe. There would be no more agonizing nights spent awake, stressing over which one of her friends could be hurt. Nay, they had all found their way back to her, and now that they were back, she could finally protect them once more.
But the bliss from that night wouldn’t last. Over the next few days, Twilight would spend all her free time with her friends, her brother, and her marefriend, but eventually, work called her back to reality. Leaving her paradise was hard enough, but it wasn’t her studies or charity work that brought her back; no, Twilight had to return to the world of politics. Fleur’s party had moved to pass a new bill, and she had insisted on the aid of the Student of the Night. For once, however, Twilight didn’t object to Fleur’s request. The bill was simply a way to tax the upper class in a more concise way. Sure, it wasn’t something that Twilight particularly cared about, but she didn’t mind helping Fleur. She even relished the chance to use her expertise on the tax code of the empire during a political speech. It was one of the rare times Twilight stuck her neck out.
And who had moved to block it but Silverhorn? Sure, he claimed that he objected on the grounds that the bill would decrease the taxes on a few, select members of the House. He wasn’t wrong, but it was such a negligible point. Who cares if one or two House Ponies got a tax break in exchange for an easing of the bureaucratic complexity. He was against an overall improvement if it meant his enemies got something out of it? He was just being petty. Plus, going against the bill Twilight had spoken for was like a public announcement of their split. What an ass.
After the House meeting had adjourned, Twilight stormed through the castle in anger, fire lighting her eyes. She was sure that Silverhorn looked right at her during his speech. It had to be his way at getting back a Twilight. He wasn’t stupid enough to throw away good will in the House for no reason. He knew that this would piss her off!
Twilight found herself before Silverhorn’s office door. Even though it was late, she knew that he would be here. He basically lived in his office; he even had a bed for working long nights. If he wasn’t out, he would be here.
Twilight pushed against the heavy wood with her magic, but it didn’t budge. Twilight focused her magic on the lock, only to see that it was warded against magic attacks. “Just a minute!” Twilight heard Silverhorn call from the inside.
Twilight didn’t care about that. Why should she, the Student of the Night, wait for a mere Duke? With practiced effort, Twilight teleported inside the room with a bright flash. She felt the dip in her magic, but refused to acknowledge it. She wouldn’t let anything distract her from her anger.
Twilight lit her eyes with her magic, trying to emphasize her rage. “Silverhorn! Why did...you…” Twilight trailed off. She let the magic go from her eyes as they grew wide at what she saw.
Instead of the familiar unicorn, a strange, insectoid equine was seated behind Silverhorn’s desk. Black chitin covered the body, with holes like swiss cheese in the legs. Not only that, but thin, buzzing wings lay folded on the thing’s back, and a jagged horn split its head. Its eyes were pure blue and wide.
“Twilight…” The thing started, it’s voice mimicking Silverhorn’s. Her heart froze. “Twilight, please, don’t look. Turn around,” the thing pleaded, holding a hoof over it’s head.
Confusion seized Twilight’s mind. What was she looking at? What had this thing done to Silverhorn? Sure, she was still avoiding the Duke, but her heart throbbed at the possibility of him being hurt. She needed answers, and she was only going to get them from this bug. Twilight’s magic surged and surrounded the insect-pony, roughly forcing it against the ground. It gave off a weak cry of pain, but Twilight didn’t care. She surrounded it entirely, pressing exceptionally hard on it’s horn, not daring to let it up. She felt pokes at her magic from where it tried to resist, but Twilight held strong. This was for Silverhorn.
Twilight stepped close, craning down her neck, trying to put the fear of the Goddesses in it. “What. Are. You,” she growled out, eyes narrowing to slits.
The thing looked up at her with large, soulful eyes. For just a moment, Twilight’s heart twinged. But then she remembered where she was. This thing had invaded her friend’s office and had obviously taken him somewhere. Even as she felt the chitin strain against her magic, she did not budge. She needed answers.
“Shapeshifter,” it coughed out, Twilight’s magic forcing most of the air from its lungs.Twilight lightened the force, allowing the bug to cough out more explanation. “Always...Silverhorn.”
Twilight’s mind raced. The thing had to be lying - she knew SIlverhorn. She had spent over a year with Silverhorn. Goddesses, he and Cadance were the reasons why she made it through the war. She knew that Silverhorn wasn’t some kind of shapeshifting freak; he was a pony! “Prove it,” she snarled, craning her neck so far that their muzzles nearly touched. She wanted to tear him limb from limb.
“Met… Market... Horn…Shattered…” Each fragment was squeaked out between attempts to grab more air. A light green fluid had begun leaking out around the chitin. “Kiss…Mistake…” Twilight’s magic immediately loosened; she had been so embarrassed about her birthday that she didn’t even tell Luna about Silverhorn’s advances. This bug had to be the Duke.
Twilight continued to release her magic pressure, eventually relegating her hold to his horn and wings. “How…” Twilight breathed out, her anger dropping away to a deep pit in her stomach. This… This couldn’t be true. This had to be a nightmare. Or something. Would she wake up? “You’re SIlverhorn?”
The insect nodded, though it kept its head down. Its breath came in long, painful sounding gasps, each shuddering one shaking its body.
Twilight swallowed hard, taking a hesitant step away from ‘Silverhorn’. “Oh my goddesses. Oh Luna. I-I’m sorry,” Twilight stammered, releasing her magic completely. “L-Let me get you to the hospital!” Twilight practically yelled. Guilt rose in her throat, her heartbeat quickening. Regret flooded her veins as she realized looked at the ichor on the floor. Oh goddesses, what had she done?
‘Silverhorn’ held up a hoof weakly, shaking his head. “No, no, Twilight, not that,” he managed to mumble out. The ichor had already stopped flowing. “My kind heals fast, and I would rather keep my true identity a secret.” His eyes met hers, and Twilight was surprised to see them still filled with kindness and caring. She felt another wave of guilt. After all she had done, he still cared about her, but she couldn’t extend the same courtesy. Sure, he had made her feel uncomfortable with his advances, but they were supposed to be friends. All she was good at was hurting him.
“I’m so sorry,” Twilight whispered, head dropping to stare at the ground. She couldn’t look at him, not right now; not after all she had done to him. She had ignored him for almost two months and now she barged into his office and nearly crushed him. She shouldn't have acted so rashly.; she shouldn’t have teleported into his office; she shouldn’t have shut him out instead of talking about her feelings. He was one of the ponies who stood by her first, and she repaid his one mistake by icing him out.
The pair remained silent, letting the ticking clock fill the room. After a few moments, Twilight worked up the courage to ask her most pressing question. “So, um, have you always been, a, um…”
“Changeling, yes,” Silverhorn answered, cleaning the ichor off his body. “Born this way, but it’s been years since I’ve been known as anything other than Silverhorn.”
Twilight shifted, trying to keep her emotions in check. “You'll be okay, right? You’ll be able to change back to Silverhorn again, right? H-how could you have kept it from everypony else?” Twilight asked, all of her thoughts spilling out at once. “Why didn’t you tell me? Does anypony else know? What abo-”
Silverhorn held up a hoof, cutting her off. “Twilight, one at a time please. But, to answer your questions in order. I’ll be fine, and I never stopped being Duke Silverhorn,” the black insect took a deep breath before going on, his gaze looking tired, fatigued.
“As for ‘why’ I lied, it’s quite simple: I had to. My race doesn’t officially exist. All of ponykind’s knowledge of challengings is found in fairy tales and urban legends. And even if ponies did know about us, their reception wouldn’t be great. My kind, as a whole, does not wish the best for ponykind. We are parasites living off of the strong emotions that ponies give off. We literally feed off of others’ love and happiness to survive. Many changelings see ponies as livestock and nothing more.” Silverhorn sighed deep before continuing on. “There are a number of us that wish to integrate with pony society, but compared to the greater hivemind, it’s a small fraction at best.”
“Are, um, are you the only one in Canterlot?” Twilight interjected it. She had trouble coping with one shape shifting-creature, let alone an entire race of them.
Silverhorn looked Twilight in the eyes. “That I know of, yes; I’m all alone. There maybe be one or two hiding throughout the city, but there’s no grand conspiracy.” Twilight looked into those pools of blue; how could she tell if he was lying without pupils? She would just had to take his word.
Twilight nodded for Silverhorn to continue, “And I’ve had no problem keeping it from everypony else because, quite frankly, I don’t see myself as a changeling. I haven’t transformed into anypony other than Silverhorn the unicorn for years, and I only ever change out of it to recharge my magic reserves. Plus, my dedication to helping the common ponies of the city has given me all the love and happiness I need to survive. I might as well just be a normal unicorn.”
Twilight tried to listen for a hint of dishonesty in Silverhorn’s monologue, but she heard none. He was telling the truth. “As for your other questions, yes. Both Celestia and Luna know; it’s the only way I was able to become Duke Silverhorn. But, before we go on, would you mind if I changed back into my unicorn form. It’ll be more comfortable for the both of us.”
Twilight absently nodded her consent as her head buzzed with questions. The Diarchy knew? Why hadn’t Luna told her? No, that was a stupid question. Luna would never break another’s trust like that. Twilight had no reason to believe he was lying. Silverhorn had never been unkind to her, and, save his kiss attempt, never gave her a reason to doubt him. Since Twilight had meet him in the Market, she had only seen him fight for the common ponies without a voice. Perhaps she should learn to accept Silverhorn’s true form. Besides, he said he wanted to be a pony, right? Twilight thought it was worth trying to treat him as such.
Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw the start of the transformation. She took a quick step back as his body erupted in green fire, swarming over his chitinous form. The flames left just as quickly as they came, but, instead of burn marks, they left fur and a cutie mark, erasing the wings and making his horn whole once more, leaving the familiar Duke in the place where the insect stood. He brushed himself off and smiled at Twilight, muzzle wide.
“So, now that I’ve put my face on, do you have any other burning questions?” Silverhorn almost laughed at his own puns as Twilight felt her mind empty. Now that he was ready to answer, not a single question came to mind. All she could do was shake her head, eyes still wide from what she had seen. “Alright, let’s end it here then, shall we? I’m sure you’re overwhelmed at the moment, so let’s reconvene about this issue once you’ve had time to process everything.” Twilight only nodded in agreement.
Silverhorn sat back down at his desk, still looking at Twilight the entire time. “But, before all that, I must ask, what brought you here? You seemed like you had something that couldn’t wait.”
Twilight swallowed hard. On wobbling legs, she made her way to the desk, sitting across from him. “Well, it’s about that bill…”
Stats
Page generated in 0.036 seconds
Total duration
1,027 users online
1,512,184 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well that's a definite twist.... was not expecting Silverhorn to be a Changeling....
8118040
Heya, can you spoiler this comment for new readers? I like to be a little careful!
Wonder what the emergency is...
Holy shit! A changeling!
:O
8118043 Oops, sorry!
8118046
No worries! Thanks a lot for reading!
8118049 *gives Salute*
Keep up the good work!
Suck when you meant stuck.
8118125
Oh man, first paragraph >< I'm embarrassed! Thanks!
8118139 Hey, you asked for errors, I'm happy to help! :P
i think u meant hooves
thats supposed to be BBBFF (Big Brother Best Friend Forever) yes?
breathe.
mane.
I see what you did there
table
Didn't see that "change" in Silverhorn's character coming fom a mile away in this story which was nice for a change, makes sense in retrospect as well. Thank you for the surprise Nadir.
His real name don't start with a "T" or anything dose it?
8118890
8118840
Thanks you two!
8119056
You're welcome! He's good at what he does! I was really looking forward to that reveal and am happy that it came off well!
8119518
I actually love Fleur as a character - she has a lot of grey to her. She genuinely believes that she's doing what is best for the nation, but at the same time is certainly an antagonist for the story. She develops more as we go on and will definitely show her true colors.
Should be changelings.
Twilight horn briefly lit as she cast a cooling spell on the air around her.
Twilight's horn briefly lit as she cast a cooling spell on the air around her. sounds better with "Twilight" having "Twilight's."
Rant Incoming:
I was kind of hoping that one of Twilight's friends would get mortally wounded (Man why do I like it when main characters are suffering? I have a problem...) in this war or something of interest happen with this war. But really it just felt like filler. Nothing important happened with the war. We were just told about it as Twilight was and then the war sub-plot was pushed aside for the main plot. You could have done some much more with this war plot, but just didn't...Twilight's friends and family are heroes and that's all that happened. Well also Luna gets hurt very badly, but if that's all that really happened in this war. It was very tense those last chapters with the war, even the plague and its monsters took a back seat for it, and when a plague and monsters take a back seat that means something bi is happening. Not that they didn't take a back seat as soon as Twilight became Student of the Night, but it took even more of a back seat if you know what i mean. Like when will the vampires and other creatures appear, so far it's been politics. The other threats you set-up just.. vanished for the time being, and still are. When will we find out more about the plague and this worlds mythical creatures, I.E. vampires, and the likes? Stopping the plague was a huge thing at first until she became Student. And for all of the tense moments with the war we didn't get to see any of it. Like Twilight we just heard about it in the meetings. Ponies and Griffions dyed Luna got badly injured. It was being told and shown. I really like this story, but plot points are being moved around or just moved to the side for later until we forget about it and then then they either reappear later when we have forgotten about them or their just talked about in small detail, then the plot that we are on comes back in full force.
*That's all I got... Sorry for the big rant. I don't really know where I was going with this. Just needed to let this out.
Other than that I have loved this story and it's one of my favorite stories on this site. :)
Twilight agreed with the Luna’s assessment;
Take out "the" in this sentence.
As the soldiers marched into the room, the took a formation,
replace "the" with "they"
Twilight make her way to the refreshments table, thinking
"make" should be replaced with "made"
“You’re SIlverhorn?”
"SIlverhorn", the i is capitalized, i don't know if you wanted the whole name capped like this: "SILVERHORN?" or if you wanted it like this "Silverhorn?" But the S and the I that are the only things capitalized makes it weird...
Ah Sliverhorn the changeling. I wish that I didn't read comments and look at the through the spoiler tag when I read comments that are far above where I am in the story. Oh well my fault, but man never would have seen that coming. The twists are everywhere!
man I can't wait for the next chapter, because I have no idea where this story is going to go from here.
Also what Charity did Twilight make Blueblood donate to? It's been a huge time skip and we were never told where she was wanting him to donate to.
I'm also all caught up now. Time for the waiting game.
8124422
I think your rant is a really fair criticism and its definitely something I do. Twilights friends didn't completely escape unscathed but its much more mental anguish than physical and isn't instantly talked about. Think the plague stuff is coming back up in the next few chapters if i remember my outline right!
Coincidentally, part of that was kinda cause I might write a tie in first person Sunset fic of the war.
8124345
I thought I brought it up at one point but I probably forgot, but Charlemane was instantly discredited due to wanting more war and equine dominance. Something Twilight abhorred.
8124083
Injuries are a perfect cover! As always, thanks for the feedback! I super appreciate it.
8122797
Thanks!
How can Charlemane be dismissed but not Fleur? Her own speech to Twilight was pretty awful.
8124422
What bugged me about the war was that every announcement was basically "don't worry all the named characters are big heroes and still alive".
8125908 sorry if this has already been answered but were you inspired by Nights favoured child? It has been put on hiatus by the author for a long time but its one of my favorite stories, and it is very similar to this story plot wise. Not saying you stole it, but the plot is very similar and a great idea. Glad to see someone picking it back up and making a new one.
8145559
I've actually read Night's Favored Child and loved it, wished it was still going. I'm not sure if I can say I was inspired or anything, but it was probably an influence somewhere in my head or something. Great story. everyone should read it!
Gah!!!!! More!!! I must know more!!!!!