A Silver Flame

Twilight sat on her bed, the Book of Legends in front of her as she read the same page over and over again. The one about Frost Bite. She was looking for any patterns to his behavior, why he does things, and if there are any places she can predict for him to strike next, as to give a warning to the ponies there about the evil pony ghost. Yet, each time she read it, the more frustrated she had become. It told of his name, birth date, where he used to live, and his parents but no other family, and finally, how to survive an encounter. Nothing about where or why he strikes. She groaned as she finally turned the page once more to read the back, the signs of his presence. Which were as followed, large-scale blizzard, tapping of windows, ragged breath, and knocking at the front door. It gave several warnings to never open it on the first knock, but some things had been added. Such as, never answer on the third set of knocks either, for then you will die the way he did or light a silver candle.

This... This part confused her. Of all the candle designs, why silver? Why not gold or iron? She had looked through every book in her library but only found a few about spirits. One was how to contact them via a weird board, something she found from the book was that the spirits do not like silver, simply because it prohibits them from entering the real world. Yet that was just folklore. Something she couldn’t trust since it had little evidence to prove it.

She turned the page back and forth, looking for any answers, any hidden notes or clues! Yet none came up, her anger started to boil and she roared in anger, slamming the books cover closed as she jumped off the bed.

“I’ve been searching for days! THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING!” Twilight cried as she stomped her hoof on the ground,” I need to prevent this from happening to any other pony!”

In her anger, she did not hear the footsteps echoing up her stairs, nor the sound of her door opening softly. The figure that opened the door was none other than her number one assistant Spike the dragon. He looked in, his gaze full of worry. He worried for her, she had been couped up for two days straight, trying to find answers to something Spike would never hear come out of her mouth. He thought he was dreaming when she said she was looking for answers about the paranormal. This had thrown him for a loop as he asked why. She then told him the story of what happened. He suggested that she was just dreaming, nothing to worry about, yet she argued, even providing him the note and the fact that her book had changed. Yet the page she said to have changed looked normal and was always like that... That set her off on a rant.

He shook his head as he pushed the memories back. He looked at Twilight, putting on a smile and said,” H-hey Twilight?”

The anger filled mare stopped and turned to look at him. She calmed down slightly as she said,” Yes, Spike?”

“I’m done with lunch! Why don’t you take a break and come down to eat?” Spike gulped and felt a bead of sweat run down his brow. Spike knew not to pull Twilight away from her studies, but he brushed that fear aside, he wanted to make sure she was alright.

Twilight said nothing as she stared into his green eyes. Another bead ran down his brow, faster as he felt her gaze harden. For what felt like minutes, Twilight stared at Spike with a slight glare, but finally, it softened as she looked back at the bed where she had placed the book.

“Sure,” Twilight said as she gave Spike a small smile. Spike smiled back, bigger this time.

Twilight got up and left her room, giving a single glance back at the book as she shut the door behind her.

_In the Dining room_

Twilight sat there as Spike grabbed the two meals off the countertop and placed them on the table. Her stomach growled happily at the smell of the food that it longed for. The food itself was a sandwich with a side of hay fries. She smiled and lifted it up, taking a large bite out of it. As she swallowed it, a large crunch came from where Spike sat. In his hand was a large ruby that had a chunk of it missing. Her mind had started to clear as she took another bite, the thoughts and worries of the ghost were fading out and the thoughts about her friends and her family filled the gap. She never realized how much this ghost and what he had done had gotten to her, she thought it would take an hour or two of research to find some fulfilling answers, yet the time it took had blurred and she had been in her room for two days. She remembered exploding at Spike when he questioned her, a pang of guilt hit her in the heart.

She turned and looked at the baby dragon. With a little frown, she said,” Hey, Spike?

Spike looked at her and swallowed the rest of the gem, he said,” Yes, Twilight?

“I wanted to apologize for yelling at you about the ghost...” Twilight said,” I didn’t mean to be... well, mean...”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” Spike said, brushing it aside,” Things happen!”

“Yes... things certainly do happen, don’t they?” Twilight giggled.

Once more the two went back to eating. Twilight quickly finished her meal and smiled, Spike followed soon behind. Twilight stretched as Spike took the plates and washed them off. As he did so, Twilight went into the main room, thinking of grabbing a book that didn’t talk about the paranormal, maybe something like comedy or a light romance novel, something to take the thoughts of both the time she yelled at Spike and the ghost in general. She looked around the room, seeing the books closest to her then slowly looking around, scanning the room. Her eyes glanced past the table with the statue head on it. Three white envelopes stacked neatly on top of each other had caught her attention. She walked over to them, on the top was an envelope with the Royal Seal of the two Sisters, form the princesses themselves.

“I don’t remember sending a letter to them...” Twilight muttered as she used her magic to open it.

The letter inside said the following:

Dear Twilight,
My sister and I have heard of your encounter with the ghost of a pony. Normally, we would have questions regarding the nature of what you have seen, yet the name of the ghost has answered them. Please, do not look into the name or the identity of the ghost, Luna and I do not want you to lock yourself in your room to find these answers as you have done once before.
Your teacher,
Princess Celestia
P.S.
We know thy will look anyways, yet we cannot stop you. You are a scholar Twilight Sparkle, so we expect thou to look into this. Yet for thy sake, do not.
Princess Luna

Twilight looked over the letter again then laid it down next to the other three. The next letter simply had her address and a stamp. This peeked her curiosity. She opened it and read the letter within:

Ms. Sparkle,
I’m sorry to bother you at this time, but I have heard about your encounter with the ghost. I was wondering if I may come over and ask to talk to you. Do not worry, the questions won’t be anything that seemed to trouble you. I would be very happy if you agree! Sorry for bothering you once again, and please, enjoy your day.
Yours truly,
Silver

“Silver?” Twilight asked as she looked at the name again,” Well... If this pony wants to have questions answered, they should’ve put an address on so I could send it back...”

Twilight looked at the letter, the writer seemed to be polite from the way they had worded it. She had a feeling that this wasn’t a newspaper company or anything of the sort, the lack of an address was a big factor, but they didn’t seem too formal when writing it... And the length of it was really short.

The last letter was from her friends. She knew what was going to be inside of it, them worrying about her and why she hasn’t left her house in two days without any warning. She looked through the letter after opening it and it said what she knew what it was going to say, their worries and hopes that she was okay. She smiled and made a mental note to write back to each one to tell them that she was okay. With the letters read, she looked around once more to find a book only for a comedy one to pop up for her. With a smile, she took it, found a place to sit, and started to read it.

For two hours, her mind was at ease, she had read the book, albeit slower than normal as she tried to enjoy it to the fullest. With a low chuckle, she closed it and set it back on the shelf, the letters to her friends now in focus. She teleported to her room, right next to the desk. Paper and quill sat there, ready to be used for the letters. With a new found rush, Twilight sat down and started writing, the first letter was to Applejack. She was going to write these in alphabetical order!

...

“Done!” Twilight smiled as she sealed the last letter away and put a stamp on it. She picked all of them up into a neat stack and walked to her door and down the stairs.

She looked out the window and saw that the snow was still there. She looked back and grumbled, she needed a scarf as to not get too cold. With a grumble and the glow of her horn, she summoned down a scarf. She tied it around her neck with a flick of her horn. Now, armed with a scarf, letters, and her own hooves to carry her, she opened the door. She called out to Spike,” Spiiiike! I’m going to mail these letters! I’ll be back soon!”

“Alright!” Spike yelled back.

With that, Twilight stepped out into the cold and snow-covered town.

...

Most of the town’s ponies were busy either running shops, clearing the snow for a safe passage, or simply talking. The town looked like a winter wonderland. This brought a smile to Twilight’s face as she trotted to the Post Office. She wanted to drop Rarity’s and Pinkie’s letters of first, but Rarity was away for business and Pinkie was with her. Well... if the note Rarity had placed on the door was anything to go by. Still, Twilight wanted them to get a letter telling them she was alright as soon as possible, so mailing them would be alright, she could drop off the others as well. With the Post Office in view, she picked up her pace and soon dropped off the letters. With the letters for Pinkie, Rainbow Dash(Since she lived in Cloudsdale) and Rarity deposited, Twilight walked towards the closest friend’s house, Fluttershy’s then she would head to Applejack’s then head home.

With a quick trot, twilight reached Fluttershy’s house in no time. She looked around for her, but didn’t see her anywhere, so, she slid the letter under the door and trotted off to Applejack’s house. Her luck with Applejack was the same as Fluttershy’s, she wasn’t home, most likely selling apples with Big Mac and Apple Bloom somewhere in Ponyville, so she did the same thing as she had done with Fluttershy’s letter and slid it under the door.

“Now time to head back home,” Twilight said as she walked back to her house.

The sun had slowly begun to set when Twilight reached her house. The shops had started to close up, yet twilight never found Applejack’s cart, but that didn’t worry her too much, Applejack probably closed up early. Yet she couldn’t help but feel slightly weird about it as she reached her door. She started to turn the knob when she heard two voices on the other side of the door. One was familiar, Spike, but the other one was feminine, and it didn’t sound like anypony she knew.

“D-do you know when she might get here, Mr. Spike?” The female asked.

“Sorry, but she said she’ll be back later, I didn’t get the exact time she might be gone...” Spike replied,” Would you like some more tea?”

“Yes please, and... sorry for being a bother,” the female voice replied.

“It’s alright!” Spike had replied happily.

Her curiosity peaked, Twilight turned the knob and opened the door. The door, as if filled with the spirit of irony squealed like a pig on helium. The noise probably signaled the mare and Spike of her presence. With a sigh, she opened the door completely and walked inside. She looked around and saw, sitting on the portable couch was a mare looking back at her a cup nearly touching her lips. The mare in question that looked at Twilight now had a low blush as she slowly set the cup down onto the table. This mare had a grey coat with a fiery mane and tail, a mix of gold, red, and orange. Her eyes were the color of that like gold. Not only that, but this mare was a pegasus, her wings were tucked to the side of her body, the edges tipped with a bright yellow.

The two looked at each other in silence for a quick moment, then both of their ears flicked as they heard the kettle scream. After a few more minutes of staring, Spike came out with a cup of tea but stopped as he saw the two mares in a stare off.

“Uh... Can I make a bet on who’s gonna blink?” Spike chuckled as the two mares looked at him.

“Spike! Who is this?!” Twilight exclaimed as she pointed at the mare.

“Oh her?” Spike asked as he walked over and placed the cup of tea down in front of her,” Her name is Silver Flame, the pony who sent you a letter!”

“Yes, ma’am! I was told that you wanted to talk?” Silver asked as she gave Twilight a big smile.

“How did... Who told you?” Twilight asked pointedly.

“A... friend of a friend?” Silver’s smile grew slightly awkward as she tried to grab the cup of tea.

“Yeah, right, of course...” Twilight rolled her eyes as she turned to Spike.

“What? She said that she sent you a letter and that you accepted,” Spike said,” What was I suppose to do? Shut the door on her?”

“I...” Twilight was about to rant, but seeing the mare looking at both her and Spike made her stop,” We’ll talk about this later.”

“Anyways,” Twilight gave the mare a smile,” My name is Twilight Sparkle, it is nice to meet you Silver Flame.”

“Of course!” Silver giggled,” It is a pleasure to meet you as well!”

Twilight walked over and sat on the couch, a little ways away from the mare, still not trusting her. Even though she sat a little way away, she felt warm, as if the mare was a soft fire.

“So, you want to know more about the gho-” Twilight started

“Yes!” Silver cut her off instantly, then covered her mouth,” S-sorry...”

“Um... Well...” Twilight cleared her throat,” What would you like to know?”

“What did he look like?” Silver asked, her tone more serious.

“W-well, he had blue hair with small hints of white,” Twilight started,” He was also a pegasus with blue fur and no eyes... Does that help?”

The mare’s face turned stone cold, and so did the air. Her tone seemed to be affected by the coldness of her eyes as she spoke,” Yes, a lot... More than you think.”

Twilight gave a small gulp as the mare grabbed the cup a took a soft sip, the warm feeling returning as the mare smiled and shook softly. The mare then turned to look at Twilight, with a calm voice she then asked,” Do you know where he went?”

“No... sorry...” Twilight replied.

“Oh... that’s okay!” Silver responded,” One more thing... did he change anything? A book or coffee mug?”

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she looked at the mare, her book... HER BOOK HAD CHANGED!

“Yes, something has changed, I’ll go get it right now,” Twilight said quickly as she got up and trotted to her room, leaving the mare to sit alone. As she entered her room, a sudden coldness hit her as the warmth left her... But her room was never this cold. She walked to her bed and found the book, but it was opened... and to the page about Frost Bite...

“What?” Twilight gulped as she looked around, no pony... with a rush of adrenaline, she grabbed the book and quickly walked down the stairs, not looking back at her room. As soon as she exited the room, the warmth hit her... but it was hotter than before, not too hot... yet still much warmer than it had been before. She shook her head and quickly trotted down the stairs, her mind flashing back to when she met Frost Bite, and how the air was cold around him... but this mare couldn’t be... could she?

‘No!’ Twilight thought,’ It is HIGHLY unlikely that you would meet two ghosts! She isn’t one!’

With a shake of her head, Twilight finally reached the bottom of the stairs and sat back down next to the mare. She plopped the book down and flipped to the page about Frost Bite... She could swear she saw the blood drain from the mare’s face as she looked over the page.

“He changed this. It originally said’ Frozen Storm’ but when he left it said Frost Bite!” Twilight said, purposely leaving out the part where she had fainted.

“His... favorite book...” Silver muttered.

“W-what?” Twilight asked.

“I know this book...” Silver said softly as she touched the books page,” The pony who used to own this... loved it to pieces... He read it to their foal every night...”

A tear formed in Silver’s eye,” But... the foal had... complications... and... passed away unexpectedly...”

“Oh no... I’m so sorry to hear that...” Twilight said, hoping the foal’s parents were doing alright.

“Thank you...” Silver said with a smile.

Silver glanced down at the book for a few more moments, then flipped the page. On the backside of the page they where just on, the page was now half blank, the words now smaller and almost squished up against the top to make room. Twilight froze... This wasn’t right at all... The book had changed again. Yet, the delicate voice of Silver brought her back as she said,” It... is incomplete...”

“W-what do you mean?” Twilight asked,” I’ve seen many books that have this type of writing style-”

“No... something was not just missing here...” she turned the page back and pointed at where it said ‘family’,” But here as well.”

“What might be missing?” Twilight asked,” I thought the book was complete!”

“When he changed it... he changed it to be incomplete...” Silver stated as she turned to look at Twilight,” Twilight... promise me you won’t be scared.”

“What... What are you going to do?” Twilight gulped.

“Finish the chapter,” Silver said as she gently placed a hoof on the paper,” Like it is supposed to be.”

Before Twilight could ask what she meant, a bright light flashed from the mare’s hoof, blinding Twilight and Spike as he entered the room to check on them. Both Twilight and Spike let off a scream, the latter rubbing their eyes to clear them of the white. The blindness lasted for a few more seconds before their vision came back. Twilight shook her head and exclaimed,” WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT!?”

“Yeah!?” Spike agreed as he walked over and looked at the book.

“The chapter is now finished,” Silver stated as she lifted up her hoof,” Like I said I would do.”

Twilight looked down at the book, sure enough, the chapter looked more completed, she looked at the family part, since that is what Silver had pointed out. As soon as she saw it, her heart skipped a beat as her eyes dilated. Next to the word ‘wife’ was one name... A name that was still fresh in Twilight’s mind, the name... Silver Flame.

She looked next to it and felt an emotional pain hit her heart, it said ‘foal’ Cool Gold, but that wasn’t what made her feel this pain, the thing that did was the word right next to it... deceased. The story now made sense... Frost Bite had said he loved the book from when he was a foal till now, and the story about the foal, it started to piece itself together. Twilight was now speechless as she turned to the mare, who had some tears leaking from her eyes as she stared right at the name Cool Gold.

“She was a beautiful filly...” Silver sniffed,” But that illness... it took her before the doctor... before my husband could get the doctor... little did I know he would die only a few days later to a train...”

“A...are you a...?” Twilight stammered.

“A spirit?” Silver said as she looked at Twilight,” Yes... I am, you can guess how I faded from the land of the living.”

“Fire,” Spike said as he caught up with them,” You did by fire...”

“Yes... I did...” Silver said sadly,” But... this is how I looked before the fire... just like how my husband looked before the crash... besides the eyeless nature... He had eye problems...”

“Why then... are you looking for him?” Twilight asked.

“So I... so I can help him... feel his warmth in a hug... and tell him,” she choked softly,” a-a-and t-tell him that I love him... and that we are going to be fine...”

Spike looked at Twilight, who looked back at him, both felt sorry for the mare, Spike more so, not knowing of the things the stallion had done or probably has done. Twilight laid a hoof on the mare’s shoulders and asked softly,” Have you found him yet?”

“Yes... and no,” Silver said as she wiped away a tear,” I’ve found him, but he moves quickly, he knows something’s following him... but he doesn’t know it’s me...”

“Maybe you can catch up!” Spike said,” Twilight did say he was here not too long ago, right?”

“Yes... but I believe he is still here,” Silver said, she picked her head up as her ears swiveled as if she had heard something.

Then Twilight and Spike heard it too... the wind blew loudly. Twilight and Spike looked out the window, just in time to see a dark blue pony zoom by the window.

“THERE!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Huh!?” Silver asked as she looked out the opposite window, just in time as well to see the dark blue pony zoom by.

“Go and get him!” Spike said,” We know you can help him!”

Silver looked back and nodded. She spread out her wings, a glowing aura of orange formed around her and got thicker, soon, the room filled with the color, and the mare was gone. The roaring winds started to die down as both Twilight and Spike ran outside. In the distance was a storm... a storm is being followed by a large ball of orange light, Twilight and Spike both knew... the chase was one for Silver, for she had found her love once more.

The two went back inside and found that the book was now missing. Normally, Twilight would be furious, but she wasn’t, she knew who had taken it, and for what reason. All she did was smile and look outside the window at the direction the two ponies went.

The snow on the ground slowly melting as some flowers started to bloom.

Author's Note:

Honestly, I wasn’t planning a sequel for A Cold Visitor. But after thinking, I decided to do so.

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