Where Only Silver Shines

by Etyco Filly

A3 — Moonlit Reunion

There he was!

Silverstring sat at the edge of the cliff overlooking the serf village. Basking in the dim silvery light of a crystal formation overhead, he read. I took a few steps away from him, ensuring he would miss my sudden materialisation.

I called out, “Hey, there you are!”

His ears swivelled towards me, and he looked up from his book. As he turned to me, something gleamed around his neck. Perhaps jewellery? In this light, it blended into his coat’s colour. “You? What are ya doin’ here?” Though I had found his accent unpleasant at first, exposure had warmed my opinion of it.

I donned my best, most gentle smile as I approached him. “I, uh, I noticed you haven’t been to the library in almost a week, and I grew curious.”

“Wait, really?” His eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, he blinked a few times. Before I could confirm, he closed his mouth and said in a hesitant, quiet tone, “Kinda thought I was just botherin’ ya.”

I nodded, making his ears droop. “At first you were. I thought you were a noble, so I remained careful around you, nervous even.” I looked away, embarrassed by such a mistake. “One day, you disappeared. I asked around, then found out you’re apparently just a guard.”

Silver stared at me, brow furrowed, and mouth ajar and frozen in a frown.

In reality, he had left a few days after I had first seen him with Aurora. However, I found it easier to lie than bother with the truth.

Finally, Silver’s mind caught up to reality, and he burst out laughing. “Me, a noble?” he managed to say between fits of laughter. “How'd ya get that idea? I was born into a poor family of hunters.”

I huffed, warmth rushing to my cheeks. “You were well-dressed, and usually only nobles stay as guests in the estate.” His silver coat held a peculiar lustre that I had foolishly mistaken for a sign of extensive grooming and good health; it turned out to be naught more than natural sheen. His visage, with its delicacy, had fooled me into believing him gentle. “And your attitude radiated nonchalance usually seen in nobles.” In hindsight, his rudeness hailed not of condescendence, merely of a lack of manners.

He was no noble; silly of me to have thought so. Even aside from the dead giveaway of the serf collar around his neck, it was evident. Numerous scars, shallow and deep, long and short, new and old, peeked through the gaps in his garb. His lower neck, now bare, had previously been covered by his shirt’s collar. On closer inspection, only his face and upper neck remained rather immaculate.

Silver chuckled. “I mean, I know I’m pretty good looking, but I ain’t used to ponies downright starin’.”

I slowly nodded. Actually, his cheek had a small cut, albeit barely visible. No wonder it had slipped past me when he had sat on the other side of a lamp, back in the library.

Wait a second, what did he say?

“W-what? No, I’m just wondering how you managed to avoid getting scars on your face and neck and—”

Silver’s chuckle cut me off. “Relax, I figured it was somethin’ like that. You were kinda starin’ past me half the time.”

“Oh.” I let out an awkward giggle, cheeks heating up.

Silver tilted his head, still smiling. “Though I’ve gotta wonder, how’d my speech fool ya? I don’t exactly sound fancy. Or do I? I’m kinda used to how I talk.”

Forcing myself to relax, I shrugged. The motion came off more rigid than I would have liked, but my shoulders loosened up nonetheless. “Like I said, I thought you were just being rude. Besides, I’ve never heard an accent like yours before, so I thought that maybe it was normal for nobles from where you are.” Oh Stars, I was rambling.

He too shrugged before replying, “Dunno, it’s just the normal Spurringham accent. Don’t think I’ve ever talked to a noble from there.” Scratching at the ground, he pondered for a moment. “Actually, not sure Spurringham even has nobles, come to think of it.”

Now that I carefully listened to him, his accent had a certain rugged beauty to it. Though it was not the easiest to understand, nor did he put great care into diction, it nevertheless carried a pleasant rhythm. In particular, short u sounds tended to replace certain o’s. How his r’s rolled, too, broke the monotony of spoken Equish as I knew it.

After a moment of silence, his expression soured, and he muttered, “Probably for the best. Schemin’ bastards, the lot o’ them.” With a sigh, he turned away, staring at the town far beneath.

The words stung, but I remained quiet. Were he to look at me, he would no doubt see through my façade.

Thankfully, he did not: after a moment of silence, he said, “It’s why I was kicked out of the estate. It’s that scumbag Halterdawn. He sold me out by cuttin’ all ties with me. I went from bein’ a guest in the estate to bein’ stuck down here. I shoulda just let him die!”

His eyes popped wide, and he covered his muzzle with a hoof. “I… I don’t mean that. He’s a jerk, but he doesn’t deserve to die. I’m just… upset.”

The look on his face distracted me from my selfish concerns, and I gave him my best smile. “I would not hold it against you if you did mean it. He sounds like a truly awful pony. Frankly, ponies like him are why I avoid dealing with nobles.” Had I said too much? No, most likely not. Unless…

“I bloody hate it.” Now, he was pouting. Not that I could blame him, given everything he had gone through. “Why do awful ponies get the best lots in life? I’m here clawing my way to the top, and this asshole gets everything for free.” His anger went as quickly as it had come, and he sighed, grimacing in an attempt not to frown.

Silence stretched over the two of us. As tempting as it was to explain the reason for Halterdawn’s presence here, it would not make Silver feel any better.

Staring at the ground, I tried to will my mind to find something, anything to break this dreadful silence, yet the page remained blank.

My original plan had involved befriending this poor soul in hopes of learning from him. Who better to learn bravery from than a guard? Their strength hardly extraordinary, they still faced danger on the regular. In many ways, they were champions of courage.

A true friendship could hardly be built upon such a basis, but that detail had mattered little. However, I now wondered: perhaps I could legitimately befriend him. Given the difficult times ahead of him, he needed a companion. He needed somepony to talk to, and it would do me no harm to fill that role. Though I would not care to seduce him, I too could greatly benefit from even a single friendship.

How could I have been so blind? Of course he would make a good friend; he believed us equals. Even now, with the serf collar resting on his neck, he spoke to me entirely unaware of any barrier between us.

Though I struggled with the filter instilled into me from an early age, I could not deny the surprising comfort of such a casual environment. So inured was I to the judgement of my every word that a mere break from it enraptured me to the highest extent. And despite my trouble and oft aloof attitude, he kept returning to talk to me. I needed to grasp this opportunity.

Yet I would have to keep lying to him, or risk losing his friendship.

My heart sank. I would need to keep wearing this horrible—but so wonderfully warm—sweater, keep my mane tied in an uncomfortable bun, and keep casting glamours to hide those few key details of my appearance, such as the shape of my pupils. He had not noticed it during our first meeting, though only through a great deal of fortune.

Until he was ready to accept the truth, I would have to remain Book Keeper, the awkward earth pony librarian, even if it meant sustaining this guise forever.

With a sigh, I finally broke the silence. “I don’t know what to say. I am sorry to hear that, but I cannot think of a way to make you feel better. If you want to talk about it, I shall happily hear you out.” Yes, textbook friendship! Great work, me! I kept my enthusiasm to myself, most naturally.

Silver forced a smile, and I perished the absurd thought. “Thanks, but there ain’t much to say. I dunno if I should feel betrayed, or if I should just be mad at my terrible luck.” He sighed and shook his head.

After a few moments, his smile reached his eyes. “You know, it really does make me happy that ya came to see me. I really thought ya didn’t like me, so this warms my heart.”

I shared his smile. “I apologise for my awkwardness. I will try to be less distant from now on.” I furrowed my brow, pretending to think. “If I may ask one thing… would you mind keeping our encounters a secret? I am not supposed to leave the estate. They say it would cause unrest if word got out that an employee is allowed to live with the nobles.”

Eyes wide, Silver jumped to his hooves with a flap of his wings. “And ya still came out here just for me? Please don’t take risks like that!” I raised an eyebrow, and he flushed, his ears folding as he sat back down. “I mean, I’m flattered and all, but you don’t need to do that for my sake. I’ll be fine.”

I shook my head. “It is my choice. I wanted to see you. Besides, I have always dreamed of seeing the rest of The Tower. I know it is dangerous, and I know it is a silly dream, but I cannot help it.” I waited for my words to sink in, then added, “Would you mind showing me around? You are certainly strong enough.” Despite my best efforts to keep it still, my tail flicked nervously.

His eyes widened further and ears perked up. “Are ya sure? What if you get caught because of me?”

I shook my head. “I shall take the blame, claim you did not know.” If anything, this would keep him safe. If Father found that a guest had been seeing me in the estate, awful brutality would await Silver. Like this, Silver had an excuse.

“How are ya even out here? How did ya get past the guards? And why’s your coat colour different now? Was that just the light in the library? It looks a lot darker now.”

His questions assaulted my unprepared mind, and I found myself staring past him. What could I say? The truth? No. Part of the truth? Yes. But what?

“Miss Keeper?” he asked, slight worry seeping into his tone.

“An artefact!” I blurted, then covered my mouth as my ears folded back. Letting out the most awkward chuckle in aeons, I averted my gaze, unable to stop myself from blushing. “Sorry, I got lost in thought.” Why did I have to pick now of all times to lose any ability to tell a convincing lie?

I shook off the mist clouding my thoughts. “I have an ancient magic brush that allows me to change the colour of my coat. It would work on my mane as well, were it not so dark already.” Crisis averted. “As for how I made it here… Well, there are only guards in front of the estate during the day, when ponies might actually go through it. At night, nopony is allowed to come or leave, and the door is locked from inside.”

And during the day, I could simply follow a pony through the gate while invisible.

“So you’re breakin’ yet another bloody rule‽” Though his entire body tensed, he succeeded in remaining seated.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, for I am tired of this gilded cage. I understand the risk I am taking, so please do not try to talk me out of it.”

He was going to object, but the stern look on my face convinced him otherwise. “Fine,” he grumbled. “I have another question anyway, about what you said. Ya mentioned day and night, and while that kinda makes sense, I don’t really get the point if most ponies here don’t see the sun anyway.”

A tiny smile crept its way onto my lips. “It is more about agreeing to have the same time convention, even if the outside world follows a different one.”

“I… see. I think I had another question, but I can’t remember what…”

Silence draped over us yet again. Try as I might, I found nothing of interest to bring up. He too remained deep in thought. Should I ask about his past, or would that open wounds that should stay closed for the time being? Perhaps I could inquire about his training regimen?

Oh, right. “If I may ask, Silver…” He raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “You said your family was poor, but somehow you were able to afford guard training.” Hopefully, the topic was safe.

“Got lucky.” I was relieved as he shone me a smile. “Got a 1.4 at the trial o’ Soulfire, and that made House Hockney take me in as a trainee guard.”

“That makes sense.” A 1.4 lay well below the average for nobles. Though for a commoner, such a score signified a few steps up on the social ladder.

Still, a 1.4 could only control a few of the ancient magical artefacts in the heart of the capital. Even Father, with his extraordinary score of 4.0, hadn’t been able to open the door to the castle. It—

Silver looked at me and said, “I remembered my question.”

I took a moment to catch my breath, my heart thundering for a few seconds. “Oh?” Was it another question about my means of remaining unseen? I needed to come up with solid excuses ahead of time. “What might it be?”

“I’ve been all around the Tower, including the mushroom farms. Back there, I saw something that weirded me out… Earth ponies working the fields. I never really thought about it, but usually earth ponies tend to do less physical work.” He averted his gaze and squinted at nothing. “Come to think of it, I can’t figure out the reason for it, one way or another.”

"How is it odd?" I asked before giving it any real thought.

In the brief moment it took him to come up with a reply, the pieces slid into place, and I understood the point of confusion. He had lived outside for a long time, perhaps even his whole life. “Nevermind, I know,” I told him. “It's got to do with the way ponies cast magic. You see…”

As I explained it to him, I grew more and more relaxed. The more I talked about theories, ancient and new, the easier words came to me. The mask I wore faded into the background, and I found myself smiling as I overwhelmed him with information.

I was pretending to be another pony, and yet it was so genuine. I was playing a pony more me than even my usual self.

I had made the right choice in befriending him, and it would only improve from now on.

Author's Note:

I was trying to hint at Silver's accent in the previous chapters, but in hindsight, I kinda messed it up. I'll have to fix it when I have the time.