“Silverspeak.”
I groaned.
“Silverspeak, wake up.”
I blinked my eyes to find Beakbreaker standing beside the bed. It was so wonderful to see her; I smiled.
She wasn't smiling.
“Your parents are downstairs. They want to talk to you.”
She left.
I turned towards the clock and saw that it was noon. I had only been asleep for an hour and a half. Every part of me wanted nothing more than to return to peaceful oblivion and remain there as long as possible. But the look on Beakbreaker's face... I had seen her angry, furious, and sad, but this was something different.
It worried me.
A storm had come in while I had slept, and the sound of pouring rain hitting the windows followed me as I wearily got out of bed, almost crying at the pain in my legs. My muscles were so sore that I could barely move them. Taking a few unsteady steps, I was relieved to find I could still walk, at least.
Limping to the door, I slowly made my way down the stairs and to the living room. Mom and Dad were sitting in their respective chairs, with Beakbreaker on one end of the sofa. Mangus was there too.
None of them were smiling.
“Silverspeak,” Dad said. “Take a seat.”
Wincing, I made my way to the sofa and sat down between Beakbreaker and Mangus. I couldn't tell what the former was thinking, but the latter glared at me with eyes that could pierce steel.
“What's going on?” I asked, struggling not to yawn.
“Silverspeak," Dad said. "Did you do anything last night?”
I was suddenly awake. “What are you talking about?”
“When your mother and I woke up this morning, we found the basement door open. We went down and found part of the wall had collapsed.”
My jaw tightened.
“How did that happen?”
“I... I couldn't sleep,” I said, thinking fast, “so I decided to look around a bit. I went down into the basement, found that a part of the wall had fallen down, and I went in to explore.”
“Did anything happen?”
I shook my head.
My mother stiffened.
“Silverspeak,” Dad said, “did anything happen down there?”
“No.”
“Then why did we find blood on the floor? Or on the carpet outside the basement door, where it went up the stairs to the bathroom?” He saw my flank, did a double-take at seeing the bandage, and the tips of the slash that were still visible. “And how did you get that?!”
“There was a sharp stone coming from the wall,” I said as quickly as I could, cursing myself for my stupidity at not cleaning up after exiting the basement. “I accidentally cut myself on it.”
“Silverspeak," Mom said, "your father and I slept in until eleven. We haven't done that since both of us were teenagers coming back from an all-night party.”
“Well you were probably very tired," I said. "That happens every now and then.”
“But not from a day of taking things easy.”
“Maybe you've caught something.” I glanced at Beakbreaker, hoping a joke could lighten the mood. “Maybe you all caught Saddle Arabia sleeping disease, or something.”
No one laughed.
Mom took a deep breath. “When I went to brew some tea after waking up, I noticed that some of my herbs had been used. Your father doesn't make tea, and Beakbreaker says she didn't make any either. Neither did Mangus or the other guards.”
She said nothing more, but it was obvious what she was implying.
This was no time to take chances. Turning on my charm, I said, “Well, that's actually quite explainable. I put some of your herbs and spices into the soup last night, thinking it might add to the flavor. But how was I supposed to know they were ingredients to a sleeping tea?”
A bit of color seemed to fade from Mom's face. “I never said they were.”
My heart almost stopped. “Did I say sleeping tea? I mean, I thought they were flavor enhancers. I was mistaken, I didn't read the labels correctly, I-”
My backpedaling didn't fool anyone.
“You took all the necessary ingredients to make a sleeping tea,” Mom said. “The very same one I taught you to make when you were little.”
Everyone stared at me, and I could practically feel the air change as they put two and two together, realized the truth.
“You... You drugged us?” Dad whispered.
My charm goes a long way, but it can't cover up a blatant lie, or when an obvious truth is exposed.
“You drugged us.” Mangus growled.
“No.” My voice was tiny. “I didn't.”
“Don't lie to me!” Mangus said.
“But I didn't...”
“Stop lying!” Mangus shouted. “You tried to kill me!”
“I wasn't trying to kill or drug anyone! How was I going to know the soup would put everyone to sleep?! And besides, I ate it! You all saw how tired I was!”
“But if you were so tired,” Dad said, “then how come you weren't able to sleep last night?”
I had no answer to that.
Mangus shook his head. “Sweet Celestia, you're pathetic! Even when the truth comes out, you keep lying!” He hit his hooves together. “Well, when I'm through with you, you'll-”
“Mangus,” Dad said. “That's enough!”
“Your son tried to kill me!”
“No combination of herbs in this house can kill anyone,” Mom said.
“Doesn't matter. This little creep needs to be taught a lesson!”
“If there will be any repercussions to this, it will be done by us, not you.”
Mangus' horn lit up, and he shoved my parents back against the wall. “Too bad!”
He turned to me, reared back for a punch, only to be magically blasted over the couch and into the wall.
“Mangus Bluehorn!” My mother roared, her horn glowing in tandem with my father's. “You are never again welcome in our home. You will leave this house immediately and never return!”
The door was magically opened, and Mangus was thrown out like trash, the door slamming shut and locking itself behind him. But my parents didn't stop there; all the blinds in the house were yanked shut, and spells were shot into the walls and windows, sealing the house completely, so that not even a magic user like Mangus could break in or eavesdrop.
The act done, my parents calmed down, took a moment to gather themselves.
I remained where I was, not knowing what to do. I had never seen my parents act towards another pony as they did.
When they opened their eyes once more, my parents came to the couch, stood before me.
“Silverspeak, please tell us the truth,” Mom said. “We're angry, but if you tell us why you did what you did, then we can at least understand.”
They watched me, waiting for an answer. So too, did Beakbreaker.
I thought about giving them a lie, telling them something they would want to hear. But if they could be made to understand, and if I could sway them to my side, they'd be potent allies against he inevitable confrontation with Mangus.
Knowing what I had to do, I got off the couch, started for the stairs.
“Silversp-”
I held up a hoof, indicating for everyone to stay where they were. Going upstairs, I gathered my saddlebags, then came back down and dumped them on the floor. The others watched, confused, as I took a deep breath, and pulled out the horn, setting it on the floor for everyone to see.
My parents and Beakbreaker gasped.
“Where did you get this?” Dad asked.
“Beneath the mountains,” I told him.
“What?”
“I went down there last night,” I said, my heart pounding. “I went down because I found Quiverquill's private diary. He talked of a lost civilization and the horn of it's king. I wanted that horn, so I... I drugged you all because I couldn't risk anyone waking up and finding me gone.”
No one said a word.
“I followed a tunnel Quiverquill had carved, and made my way into a labyrinth, eventually finding the horn. But on the way back, I was attacked by something. It chased me, and that's how I got this.” I yanked the bandage off, revealed how big my slice really was. “I got out and sealed the passageway. That was two hours ago." I sat on the sofa, feeling drained. “That's the truth.”
For the longest minute of my life, no one spoke. No one said anything. They just stared at that horn, and at me.
I waited.
“You... You were willing to risk the lives of your own family for... a horn?” Dad said.
“No. I had no idea that thing was down there-”
“But it could have made it's way up. It could have killed us.”
Dad was going down the path of shaming me for what could have happened, instead of what did happen. I had to stop him. “Yes, it could have. But I stopped it. I-”
“You almost killed this family, Silverspeak! And for what? A stupid horn?! Sweet Celestia, how could you be so stupid?! You-”
“Did you not hear a word I just said?! I didn't know it was there, okay Dad?! I didn't! I didn't know!”
Mom looked as if she was on the verge of breaking into tears. “Why? Why would you do something like this?”
“Mom, I-”
“Why? Please, tell me, why?!”
I couldn't bear to look at her. I turned to Beakbreaker, seeking support, comfort, anything. But instead, I only found a face as confused as everyone else.
“Because of you,” I said.
Mom was baffled. “Us? But how do you-”
“Do you remember Mom, what you thought of me when I was little?” I turned to Dad. “Do you, Dad? Do you remember how you thought I was a freak? How you were ashamed of me? That I wasn't the precious little unicorn you always wanted?”
Mom shook her head. “Silversp-”
“Well, I do. My earliest memories are of both of you looking down into my crib and looking so disappointed. I wasn't going to be your precious little spellcaster who you could teach. I wasn't going to carry on the family bloodline. I was a pathetic Earth pony! You didn't want me!”
“Yes we did!” Dad said. “We did want you!”
“That's a lie!”
“No it isn't! It-”
“Yes it is! And you know it!”
Dad tried to speak, but hung his head. “All right, I admit it... We were disappointed that you weren't a unicorn. Ever since we were married, your mother and I wanted nothing more than to have a child who we could teach, and pass on everything we had learned. And when you were born, it... You're right son. I'm not going to lie. We were disappointed.”
My chest tightened up.
“But that changed. We changed, too. We knew you wanted to be something more, but I never thought you'd go so far as to actually change your species. It's...it's...”
“It's something unnatural,” Mom said. “Something that just shouldn't be.”
I bit my lip. “How long have you felt like this?”
“Ever since we saw the first newspaper reports. When you showed us the wings, I wasn't sure whether to change my mind, but after the incident with the heckler, and now the horn... I think it's time.”
“For what?”
Mom and Dad looked at each other.
“Silverspeak...” Mom said, “you need to give up those wings.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Never.”
“You don't have to impress us. Changing your species won't make us love you any more.”
“What makes you think I'm trying to impress you?” I said. “You think I'm doing this for you? No, I'm doing this for myself. I'm sick and tired of being a nobody!”
“But you're not a nobody!”
“I am! I always have been! Neither of you know what it's like, being the only pony in school who can't do magic, or being the only pony in an entire city who's different than every else, and who can never, ever change that.” I pointed to the horn. “With that, I'm finally going to be someone! Someone important, someone who can actually do something that matters!”
“But is it really what you want?”
“Yes!”
“But what has this bought you? Have these wings made you happy?”
I couldn't answer him.
“You need to give this up, Silverspeak. This... obsession of yours has brought nothing but bad things.”
“You don't know that.”
“You're right. I don't. But I do know the entire country is divided; half thinks you're the next big thing, the other half thinks you're a walking blasphemy against nature itself. You may be safe in here, but you have no such protection outside. And what's worse, you're turning into something you're not.”
“That's not true.”
Dad sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, son, how could you be so stupid? You-”
Before I was even aware of what I was doing, I had shot to within an inch of Dad's face. “Don't you dare call me that!” I yelled. “Do you hear me, Dad?! Do you?!”
Dad looked at me as if he was seeing a stranger.
Mom took a step back.
“Silverspeak,” Dad said quietly, choosing his words very carefully. “There's something ponies used to say when they first came to Equestria-”
“Oh for Celestia's sake, not another one of your idiotic stories!”
“This isn't a story. It's a saying, and one you need to hear. Ponies of old used to say that deep within each of us, far below our skin and our bones, is a creature. As we grow, we feed it with our choices. We can feed it compassion, tolerance, and a willingness to change. But we can also feed it anger, intolerance, and selfishness. When we grow up, that force steers us: it can be a good creature... or a monster.”
I shook my head. “I don't have some creature within me, Dad. Neither do you. It's a stupid fairytale.”
“One that rings with truth.”
“The truth is that I am going to be someone, and none of your old stories is going to stop me.” I looked to Mom. “You both should be proud of me. I've already gone beyond what I was. And with that horn, I'll finally be what you always wanted me to be. I'll be able to cast magi! You can finally teach me, just like you always wanted to. Isn't that what you want?”
Mom looked at me for a long moment. “No,” she said. “I don't want that.”
She reached out and touched my chin.
“I just want my son.”
I shook my head. “I am your son.”
I took a step back.
“I'm just going to be the one you've always wanted.”
Beakbreaker finally spoke. “Silverspeak...”
I turned, heart sinking, for Beakbreaker's tone had already revealed what she was going to say.
“Maybe... Maybe your parents are right. I mean, maybe we could...”
I didn't hear what she said, furious at how this had all gone so wrong. First my parents, and now Beakbreaker... they weren't going to take my side. Had I been more rested, my charm, in combination with logic and reason, would have been enough to sway Mom, Dad, and Beakbreaker to my side. But I was exhausted, and any chance of swaying them was gone.
Mom looked utterly defeated. And as I looked to Dad, I expected him to be the same way. But instead, he was looking at the horn, then to me. He sighed.
“I'm sorry Silverspeak, but this has gone on far enough. I know you'll hate me for this, but you'll thank me later.”
His horn glowed, and the horn I had struggled so hard to get rose into the air. Dad closed his eyes, concentrated, and his own horn began to throw off sparks, and in an instant, I realized what he was going to do. While horns are quite durable, they are not unbreakable. An experienced spell-caster can, with enough force, break one.
One snap, and the horn would be useless forever.
Mom was still too shocked at the events of the past few minutes to magically restrain me, and Beakbreaker was too far away to grab me. Dad was focusing all his attention on the horn.
It was a big mistake.
“NO!”
My muscles, exhausted and worn, were forced into desperate action as I tackled my father into a planter. The horn fell from his grasp, and I grabbed it before he could recover. I ran to the door and kicked it open, running outside. I heard Mangus yell at me, but I ignored him, trying to get as far away before any of them used their magic to yank me back. But I was in no shape to run for more than a few seconds without destroying my legs.
Beating my wings, I took to the sky, soaring away as fast as I could, ignoring the ice-cold rain that pelted me. I had to get away from them all, and hide the horn somewhere safe, someplace where they couldn't find it.
Down below, Beakbreaker and my parents ran out of the house and started after me. I couldn't hear their yells over the rain, but I wouldn't have listened to them anyway. They wouldn't understand. If they refused to see reason, then they wouldn't help me even if I told them about Mangus. And if I told them about the library, they'd eventually tell the police if I didn't turn myself in. I had to figure out another way, some other method of getting that horn on without Beakbreaker, and to keep her and my parents from interfering. No doubt they would go to Coin Counter, and possibly the authorities to stop me, so I would have to move fast, and get all the power I could, and then no one could stop me.
I beat my wings harder, trying to gain both altitude and distance.
That's when it happened.
It was minor at first, just a slight pain in my right shoulder that lasted for a second. But then the pain came again, and so much stronger than before, coming from where the wing muscles had been fused to my back. I gasped and wobbled, trying to work my way through it.
Then the pain practically exploded, and my entire right shoulder was in agony. The muscles cramped, tightening until they locked up completely, and I swore I could feel the wet squelch of muscles ripping away from bone.
I fell, tumbling head over heels as I frantically flapped my left wing, trying to regain control, biting down hard on the horn, desperate to protect the treasure I had risked my life to get.
Looking down, I saw that it was not my fate to end up as a bloody smear on the grass, for I was plunging towards a lake nestled between the trees, one that I had swum in frequently as a colt. It had been a place of refuge then, where I could be free and pretend I was swimming into a sunken city in the clear, blue water.
But now the water was grey and murky, and I was speeding towards it.
I made one last, frantic effort to pull up, and my left wing strained with all its might... until it too, cramped, and I shrieked in agony, now free-falling with nothing to hold me up.
The water shot towards me, and I heard Beakbreaker scream my name.
There was a horrible feeling of slamming into an immovable wetness, and everything went dark.
Ah, so close and yet so far.
Can't wait to see what happens next!
Finally we see Silver's darker side, and goddam I thought that my parents were mad sometimes but Silver's parents are brutal and Mangus got what he deserved at last.
This chapter was really intense and totally awesome which is very much expected :)
I'm glad I've stuck around since the beginning
Can't wait for MOAR
Also, you mentioned that we are getting close to the end of the 2nd part of the story. How many more parts are you planning?
Take care!
2913466 Yup, will do!
Pray tell, is that story told by Silverspeak's father an allusion to the old Cherokee parable of the two wolves?
As for my two cents on Silverspeak's motives...some might call his most recent actions questionable or even "dark". I beg to differ. The fundamental basis of his actions is no different than any other character thus far, despite their differences.
Silverspeak acts selfishly out of the fear of being a mere earth pony. His parents and Beakbreaker act out of the fear of seeing someone close to them become different. From one point of view, their worry is selfless as they are concerned with the well-being of Silverspeak. On the other had, there is an element of selfishness to their actions as they wish to make their own lives more comfortable by turning Silverspeak away from this path. Then there's Mangus who acts out of the fear that Silverspeak threatens to take his life. The unicorns of Saddle Arabia act out of the fear that they'll no longer be unique.
What I'm getting at is this: before you criticize Silverspeak's actions, remember that from a certain point of view, he is only as guilty of his actions as everyone else.
Yay, Update!
Wow, that was an intense chapter...
Must. See. What happens. Next.
Also, Silver, if you get caught, guess who's going to the rubber room.
GAH- FOR THE LOVE OF GOODNESS PLEASE TELL ME SILVERSPEAK WON'T BE GIVING UP HIS WINGS!
OH THE HUMANITY... or whatever ponies say when they're expressing agony, but I guess that's what the tradgedy tag is for...
POURQUOI! (O_o)
Can't wait for the next chapter. Will it come out soon?
2913864
Agreed. Silverspeak just want to realize his dream, though his action might seem 'dark' to some, but his motive are just like everyponys else. Poor Silverspeak...
Man, for some reason this fic doesn't show up on my updated fics list. I've missed four updates this way.
(Love this story so much.)
-Mis
2913623
Thanks! And in reply to your question, I'm not exactly sure how many chapters are left, but I would guess fewer then ten, give or take a few.
2913864
Yes, the Cherokee parable is exactly where it came from (I think it's a good one, too). And fantastic analysis by the way; I'm amazed at seeing how people view the story's characters and motivations, especially when there are lots of shades of grey, and nothing is quite black and white.
2914615
Hopefully; I try to have each chapter up within thirty days of the last.
A choice done, a path borne, and the road ahead paved in its first steps, raw, and unfinished. How the truth of history will view this, we only know in the perspective of what we see from an angle, one of many here in.
2915071
I still don't know why the story doesn't show up in those lists; as said earlier, your best bet to catch updates on this is to keep an eye on Equestria Daily's story updates, as I always e-mail them the link within minutes of a chapter going up.
LOL,thanks to your fiction and The Amazing Spiderman,I got good results xD
Looks like Silverspeak just lost his wings by overdoing it. So much for grafting wings on to earth ponies. Medicomp test FAILED. I guess Silverspeak's year is effectively up now (I take it the year of testing wings on earth ponies with Silverspeak as the test subject was the one year Mangus was referring to). I can't believe how stupid Silverspeak's father is, scolding someone by calling them stupid over and over is very unlikely to work. Trying to destroy something that your own son risked his life to get probably wasn't the wisest move either. I'm tempted to slap his father for being so dumb. At least his mother was sensible.
I'm wondering, how long are the remaining chapters going to be? I've seen the word count vary from 3k~10k (barring the teaser). I seriously hope Silverspeak gets what he wanted in the end, and gets to kick Mangus's *** (not literally!) for all the evil Mangus has inflicted on him, not to mention punishing that evil librarian. There's a part of me that would love to Falcon
PunchBuck them into the Sun. Just letting Silverspeak die after going through all this pain is too much. I can't wait to see when Princess Celestia will get involved, there's no way she can just sit back and watch Silverspeak's progress without lifting a hoof to intervene. I find it a bit odd that she never responded to Silverspeak's letter earlier, unless it got lost in the mail (there is no way she could possibly ignore someone as broken as Silverspeak).BTW, is this chapter the start of act 3 - Silverspeak gets screwed -?
Just in case things are going to get REALLY tragic, I'm even prepared to go as far as writing an alternate, happier ending, if that's OK with the author.
One more thing to say: MOAR!
-- “What's going on?” I asked, struggling to keep my eyes open -- Missing period.
-- If they refused to see reason, than they wouldn't help me even if I told them about Mangus.--
Now the horn is in the bottom of the lake. It’s a very good hiding place by the way.
I think I now have a pretty good idea about what is going to happen in the next chapter *points at cover*
Also how the heck I am supposed to be able to sleep now after reading that?
Hoo!
Whoa!
That was intense!
I'm not going to lie, I did more nervous squirming in the first half of this chapter than anywhere else in this story. I don't know what it is but I always find stressful exchanges in wordplay way more intense than any physical bouts.
Anybody here who watches Mad Men, you know what I'm talking about.
Anyway.
Wow, Silverspeak's actions are starting to get pretty dark. He's doing things out of desperation (to be fair, he's done A LOT of things out of desperation in this story) but now he's starting not to care about the toll it takes on other ponies. I don't think the ends justify the means there. He's starting to become so brash that even if he becomes this faux-alicorn, I feel he'll effectively alienate everyone that he loves. He'll be the focus of so many but alone at the same time. Kind of like when he was a foal...
Or none of that could happen, it's late, I'm thinking too much.
Quick question, and I don't know if you can confirm or deny this but I'll ask anyway: Is that the last we've seen of our underground monster? Our MONSTER BELOW?!
YEEAAAHHHH!!!!
I'm terribly sorry.
Anyway.
Because Silver's dad threw quite the fit about it, which leads me to assume that he knows what it is. So will we at least have it explained?
Like I said, I don't know if you can confirm or deny, so reply however you can.
Well, sorry for this wall of text, I just like gushing over your writing is all.
Just to tell you GreenBack most of the chapter I was saying: "Oh, SH8t, Oh Sh&t ect."
And I had to leave my computer just to calm down from how excited I was
Believe that was one of the emotions you wanted out of your viewers. So at least from me you got that response....and also probably the same response from 100+2(x) more readers.
...good job
Now the things are really intense, you better not keep us waiting!
Anyway, yeah, good job so far, keep it up.
Holy spit.
2916583
I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. Could you clarify it a bit more, as I am curious to know what you're mentioning.
2917081
The chapter length varies; typically I write out everything that comes to mind, then revise it until it seems about the right length.
There is a reason why Celestia never responded to Silverspeak's letter, and hasn't intervened . This is also the first chapter of act 3, so we're in the home stretch, though the ending is a ways off. And if you do want to do an alternate ending, you have my permission (and I'd be be very interested in seeing it!).
2919130
Fixed. Thanks for pointing those out; I tried to eliminate all the conflicting then and thans, so I guess it's an improvement if only one slipped through.
2922618
Ah, don't be too sure...
2927636
Heh, nice to hear people reacted the way I hoped they would!
With regards to the monster, I suspect it'll have to be dealt with eventually, now that Silverspeak's parents know about it. I will confirm that his dad didn't know about it before; he's just upset that there was something vicious that could have killed his family. And no problem with the wall of text; I'm actually quite honored that you would write that much!
2927639
You had to leave your computer? Wow! Really honored to read that!
2930327
Already working on the next chapter! And thank you, I will!
2932912 Okay,I got an exam last week or so,and my during that time I was like...wth is this question about?(it was an essay),and I never read anything about the question it asked,I cant remember the question though,so I just took your story and The Amazing Spiderman and tweaked a little and BAM,instant good results xD
I don't know if I've already said it, but this is the best story I've ever read. :3
Came across this story after seeing your My Little Sharknado (I'm still not certain whether that story's an indication that you need to be sedated for a nice, quiet rest somewhere ), and so far it's been damn impressive.
There are only two nits I would pick (and I'm actually surprised to see these, because otherwise the stories are spot-on as far as spelling and grammar):
One, you keep using "loose" when you mean "lose."
lose is the opposite of win, find, or gain
loose is the opposite of tight
So, this is incorrect:
and needs to be:
The other nit is you keep using the contraction "it's" when you mean the posessive "its". Posessive pronouns like "his", "hers", "its", etc. do not get apostrophes; putting the apostrophe in "it's" makes it the contraction of "it is."
A good rule of thumb for dealing with these kinds of words ("it's" vs "it's", "they're" vs "their", "you're" vs "your", etc.) is to take the contraction form, expand it back to the original words ("it is", "they are", "you are", etc), and see if the sentence still makes sense:
Putting "it is" into the sentence makes it obvious nonsense, so you don't want the apostrophed contraction form; use "its":
2915677
It's been something that I've been wondering myself. It almost never shows up when it updates. Kinda like The Sweetie Chronicles having a phantom copy of itself.
2936346
Thanks! It's always an incredible honor to hear that!
2939696
An aspiring one, yes. I'm currently working on a non-pony novel and several screenplays, but nothing's been sold yet.
2947791
Thanks for the heads-up on all those. I admit, I have been having trouble with its and it's, along with then and than, but now I know to keep an eye out for loose and lose as well. I'm glad you like the story so far, too!
This story is extremely entertaining.
10/10 Would recommend to anyone and everyone.
I read from the first chapter all the way to this chapter in one night. Once you start reading this story, you can't even stay off of it for a few seconds without wondering what will happen next. Excellent work!
2952239
amazing. loved the gag chapter too. was it planned or did you just let the wierd part of your brain pour onto the paper?
Dear Greenback, today i wanted to share my thougths with you, ahem:
I played "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" the first time in my life today. The first thing i thought about when i understood the whole theme behind the game was this story.
Sadly, this chapter was a little bit short. I'm always excited when a new chaper comes out and always sad when it ends. As you may already know by now.
But less than 10 chapters left you say? Oh boy, i can't wait for the grand finale, alhough i probably will be sad that this story comes to an end. But at least i will get time to read one of the other 42 fanfics i still have marked to read later... Heh, funny number...
Anyways, you're still gonna write other MLP fanfictions, are you? It would be a shame if not, but i tust you in your decisions.
Your faithful reader, Jojo Miner
2961968
Thank you! That's one of the highest compliments any author can get!
2954565
Thanks!
2963071
Both. I wanted to do a gag chapter, bu wasn't exactly sure how it would pan out, other then that Silverspeak would become a princess by the end, so I let the weird part of my brain go nuts and see what came out.
2970417
Ah, nice to see a fellow Deus Ex fan! (love the story in Human Revolution, and it did influence "Monster" quite a bit in some parts)
With regards to chapter length, I am leaning towards doing a mix of small and long. Not every chapter needs to be 9,000 words, and I feel smaller ones can sometimes have more of an impact. And yes, I'm still going to continue writing MLP stories after this one is finished up, so I'm not going anywhere!
2977162 I am so sorry about The Fall.
Well, on the bright side you saved your father's horn...
They did mention the King's horn was unbreakable, so I think I know what happened to any who tried what he did.
Bah. They don't know the feeling of freedom of flight
Nevermind I have mild acrophobia.
Well, that escalated quickly.
And so his desperation and madness, only temporarily held at bay, makes a full resurgence...