Silent Wings

by Nitro Indigo

Chapter 2: Silverstream

Silverstream hadn't always been deaf.

It had all began early one morning, shortly after the hippogriffs had returned to the surface. Silverstream, rambunctious and eager to explore, had ventured into the Harmonising Heights alone - Dad said she was old enough to take care of herself. Being too young to remember the surface, she had been awed by all of the sounds - the whistling of the wind as it rustled the leaves, the chirps of the songbirds that stood in the trees’ branches, the rushing of the stream that wound its way through the hills - and the way they combined to form one continuous song, played by Mother Nature’s orchestra. It was all so beautiful! When she'd come home, she'd had a splitting headache, but that hadn't stopped her from describing what she'd heard in vivid detail.

Dad had told her not to worry about the headache. “You'll be fine in the morning,” was the last thing he'd said.

It only got worse. The next day, the headache had turned into a fever, and so Silverstream had been forced to spend most of the day in her hammock. The day after that, a rash had turned her talons bright red. A few nights later, she had woken up screaming, clutching the sides of her head in pain.

Silverstream's memories of the day that followed were a blur. It turned out she'd caught a disease that only existed on land, which in her particularly unlucky case, had caused her eardrums to burst. The other symptoms would heal after about a week - but she’d never be able to hear again.

So Auntie Novo had recruited a tutor to teach Silverstream the Mt. Aris Sign Language - Arisign for short - which hadn't been used since the Storm King invaded. Not just her, but her entire family as well - even Mom, who preferred to spend most of her time as a seapony, assumed hippogriff form whenever she wanted to talk to Silverstream. There was a version of Arisign for seaponies called Seasign that used both forelimbs and wide, flowing gestures, but learning one sign language was hard enough.

---

[Please can you pass me the water?] signed Silverstream a few weeks later at the dinner table, after shoving an entire roll of sushi into her mouth. That was the great thing about sign language: you could talk with your mouth full. Terramar passed her a stained-glass jug filled with water. She refilled her cup and gulped her drink in one go, washing down her sushi without choking on it. Seated next to her, Terramar had barely touched his own sushi; he’d cut it into tiny pieces with his talons, and was slowly eating them one at a time. Silverstream knew exactly what was troubling him.

[Go and visit Mom,] she signed.

Terramar looked offended. [But who else will interpret for you?]

Silverstream sighed. Of all of her family members, Terramar had picked up Arisign the quickest; he was the only one she could hold full conversations with so far. She frowned and tapped her claws on the table as she deliberated over what would change his mind.

[I’ll be fine! Dad is learning,] she insisted.

“What are you talking about, son?” asked Sky Beak; Silverstream could beak-read, but only up close, and it always took her a few seconds to process. At the same time, he signed, [What?]

“Nothing important,” Terramar said quickly. [See what I mean?]

[Don’t worry about it! I’ll be fine!] Silverstream frantically waved her talon in his face as she signed this. Terramar looked confused, and Silverstream realised she’d signed too fast, so she repeated herself slower. [You could at least stay at Mom’s for the night. Go on. I’ll see you off!]

Terramar sighed. [I guess...] He absent-mindedly skewered another piece of sushi with a claw and tossed it into his mouth.

---

One Glad to be a Hippogriff Weekend, while most of the festivities took place at the top of the mountain, Silverstream lay in a secluded corner of the beach and breathed a long, deep, sigh. She could see the orange glow of the setting sun as it touched the ocean's horizon, she could feel its warmth against her downy feathers, and she could smell the refreshing, salty air, but it felt incomplete. Where were the squawks of the seagulls? Where was the gentle splashing of the waves as they licked the shoreline at low tide? Where was the laughter of the fledgelings who ran across the sand without a care in the world?

Terramar fluttered down and landed in front of her. [We’re going to smash a Storm King piñata,] he signed; “we” referred to the other hippogriffs their age. [Want to join us?]

Silverstream shook her head.

Terramar placed a foreleg on her withers. [What's wrong?] he signed with his other talon.

Silverstream looked down at the sand as she deliberated over what to say. [Remind me what it sounds like.]

[You mean the festival?] asked Terramar, and Silverstream nodded. [It's noisy. The soldiers play the trumpets before each event, same as always. There was a screeching competition earlier. I entered, but I hurt my throat.] Silverstream couldn't help but chuckle. Terramar looked unamused. [There was also a band playing the bongoes. Later, everygriff will fall silent to listen to a windsong.]

The last part caught Silverstream’s interest. [When?]

[As soon as twilight falls.]

She looked at the horizon half-heartedly; the purple smudge of twilight had only just begun to appear at the edge of the orange sky. [I’ll come then.]

---

The following summer - not that the passing of seasons was apparent on the tropical Mt. Aris - a stocky, orange pony arrived via airship. The hippogriffs were wary of her at first and kept their distance, until Auntie Novo herself gave her a warm welcome. Skystar explained to Silverstream that the pony's name was Applejack, and that she was part of the group of ponies who had defated the Storm King. Apparently, they were national heroes, despite a certain... incident.

It turned out that Applejack had returned to Mt. Aris as an ambassador on behalf of Princess Twilight Sparkle. They were building a “School of Friendship” in Equestria in order to educate the world about the values of harmony, and she was looking for a teenage hippogriff to be sent there as a student. Since Skystar was too old, Auntie Novo decided that one of her niblings should go.

A month later, it was time for Terramar to depart, with General Seaspray as his chaperone. They would arrive in the capital of Equestria via airship, then take the train to the town the School of Friendship was in. Silverstream, Dad, Skystar, Auntie Novo, some of their other relatives, and even Mom, had all waved him goodbye at the airdocks early in the morning.
[Going to the School of Friendship isn’t just about learning. It’s also about representing your country,] Dad explained.

[Why me?] Terramar asked. [Why not Silverstream?]

[The most important skill for an ambassador is communication. Silverstream would have a difficult time making herself understood.] Mom’s signs flowed like a gentle current. [In addition, her illness has weakened her immune system. It wouldn’t be safe for her to mix with all sorts of creatures in an unfamiliar environment.]

Silverstream scrunched her face in annoyance at that last part, but she didn’t complain. She didn’t want to discourage Terramar! [Think about it - you’ll be the first hippogriff of our generation to go to Equestria!] she signed, hovering as she gestured widely with her other foreleg.

[It feels like you’re expecting too much from me.] It surprised Silverstream how quickly Terramar signed this. If he were speaking, he would’ve stuttered this out.

[You’ll be fine!] Mom signed and said at the same time, placing her other foreleg over Terramar’s withers. [Everyone will be new there.]

“You're a child of sea and land, and a scion of the Royal house. Go make us proud!” exclaimed dad, so loudly that Silverstream could feel his voice.

[Promise to write back to me!] signed Silverstream. [Tell me EVERYTHING you learn about ponies!] Terramar raised an eyebrow. [Not literally,] she quickly added. [But really, tell me.]

Terramar smiled. [I will.]

Author's Note:

“Niblings” is the gender-neutral term for nieces and newphews.

Comments

[Melody Song]

Hey. This story seems interesting and you've done a great job so far. Can't wait to see what happens next!

[Nothingo]

I really hope Silverstream gets to go to the School of Friendship after all, her and Gallus have to meet!

[Casketbase77]

Interesting choice to skip Silverstream’s attendance at the windsong. Perhaps that’ll be a plot point that pays off later. I’ll keep it in the back of my mind til then. Something else I’m aware of (but spoilering in case I’m correct) is that Silverstream isn’t necessarily mute. We know Gallus is of course, but with Silver I can imagine a future scene where she doesn’t have an interpreter and has to attempt to slur out some raspy speech to be understood. That could be a really raw moment of vulnerability there.

On another note...

It surprised Silverstream how quickly Terramar signed this. If he were speaking, he would’ve stuttered this out.

I like this line. A lot. Obvious eventual friendship with Gallus is obvious, but making Terramar a more confident signer than talker adds a natural reason for the two to gravitate towards one another. Wonderfully purposeful character building. Ten outta ten. Chef’s kiss.

[Nitro Indigo]

10245714
Sorry to disappoint you, but the windsong part was about characterisation, not foreshadowing. Though I just realised, since "Surf and/or Turf" can't happen in this continuity, that they won't end up turning it into Glad to Be Together.

[SwordTune]

My review of the first 2 chapters has been posted on the "I Just Want A Comment" group here.

[Nitro Indigo]

10247436
I would've preferred if you posted the review under the actual fanfic, but thanks.

[SwordTune]

10247721
Sorry, a specific location wasn't mentioned in the request on the thread I made so I defaulted to that group.

[Nitro Indigo]

10247736
After reading the review, I've changed my mind. Reviews are more suited to forums than story comments.

[Nothingo]

There is one thing I thought of, it concerns Gallus in this time-line and the following video:

[Nitro Indigo]

10249459
I remembered watching that video before when you posted it, but oddly enough, I misremembered its contents as being in a Wikipedia article. That situation reminds me of a Legends of Localization comment where someone said they could remember the details of a conversation without remembering what language it was in.

[Nothingo]

10249754
First of all, that's interesting. Second, did you get the point I was trying to make?

On an unrelated topic; I still really hope that Silverstream gets to go to the School of Friendship after all, I feel like she's being robbed of important friendships in not being allowed to go.

[Nitro Indigo]

10249946
I understood what you were getting at. I was going to put in a line about how the world became less murky once Gallus learned Arisign, but I couldn’t think of a way to fit it in.

I can’t respond to your second point without spoiling the story.

[Nothingo]

10249957
I just hope Gallus learned Arisign early enough that learning problems won't persist for the rest of his life.

Your second point is fair enough.

[Nothingo]

One thing this fic has caused me to think about how physiology, history, and culture would impact whether or not the other creatures of the FiM world have sign language at all, and whether they have their own sign language or a sign language from a different species.

[Nitro Indigo]

10250957
Headcanon time!

• There are other fanfics where Equestrian Sign Language is mostly stomps and tail-flicks.
• Since dragons aren't a very organised society, I imagine they wouldn't have an agreed-upon sign language, but I can imagine that a group of deaf teenage dragons would band together and create a sign language to communicate amongst themselves.
• It didn’t occur to the kirin to invent a sign language until one of them was born deaf post-series. Their vow of silence wasn't just about literal silence, but suppressing emotion.

[Nothingo]

10251289
My theories (keep in mind I am not a cultural or lingual expert):

• Of course Ponies would have their own sign language, their culture would be very supportive of that and they've had somewhat limited interactions with other species until recently. You're probably right about Equestrian sign language involving stomps and tail flicks although it might also involve gestures. Equestrian sign language would definitely be different from Arisign due to the Ponies not having fingers or claws.
• You're probably right about the Kirin, although they could easily adopt Equestrian sign language instead of making up their own.
• The Yaks would definitely have their own sign language due to being isolationists for quite some time until recently and the fact that their culture values things made by Yaks. I can see Yak sign language looking almost like smashing or fighting invisible things given how important smashing is in Yak culture. That is a guess on my part, it could be something completely different.
• Another thing about the Dragons is that their culture has traditionally not been kind to those it sees as weak and if deafness is seen as a weakness in Dragon culture then that adds to your theory on Dragons.
• The Changelings are a complicated case to say the least, whether or not they have their own sign language depends on how tolerant of deaf Changelings their now former queen was. On the other hand some of them may have learned sign languages from other species for infiltration purposes, assuming infiltration was something they actually did on a regular basis, it might not have been, but if it was then they could theoretically learn and perform any sign language due to their shapeshifting capabilities. And then there's the fact that if they didn't have their own sign language and even if they hadn't previously learned other sign languages, the Changelings could've adopted Equestrian sign language after they reformed due to their alliance with the Ponies.

[Latecomer]

10251408
Changelings "sign language" might use a lot if, well, changing. Almost any non-abstract noun could be represented - and if they can turn into things with writing on, then it might be even easier.

(Of course when you start thinking about all this, uou wonder about whether they all have the same spoken or written language too.)

[Nothingo]

10258293
Again whether or not they have their own sign language depends on how tolerant of deaf Changelings Chrysalis was when she was their queen. True they probably had other leaders before her, but even if some of them ordered the development and implementation of a sign language Chrysalis could just end that in favor of getting rid of deaf Changelings when she became queen.

[Latecomer]

10258487
Being able to comm6nicate silently has benefis even for the hearing, though. So even if the deaf were gone, the language might hang on in some form.

[Nothingo]

10258288
I really hope that you are working on a new chapter for this story. (I know this is irrelevant to the comment it's a reply to but I had to say this to the author.)

[Nitro Indigo]

10267699 Don’t worry, it’s on its way. The reason why chapter 2 came out so quickly is because I wrote the first two chapters simultaneously. Also, this fanfic will only be four chapters long because the deadline for the contest is the 1st of July.

[Nothingo]

10267938
You can't continue the story after the contest is over, or make a sequel to it?

[Nitro Indigo]

10267999

4) Story must be complete by the end of the contest. And no, “complete, but it has an unfinished sequel” doesn’t count. It must stand on its own.

[Nothingo]

10268012
Then I hope you can create a fleshed out story with just four chapters.

On a different note, have you seen Netflix's The Dragon Prince? I ask because there is a really cool character, who is deaf, on that show.

[BrakePads]

10268012
How's the progress on the next chapter?

[Nothingo]

10268012
Tick tock.