Surprise bounced along. Her mane was limp, but there was a bit of satisfaction in her heart. The guards didn't try to stop her. They knew her as Silver and Night's guest, and she didn't misbehave, so they stopped trying to chase her off a while ago. She appreciated that. She didn't want to run away from ponies.
So it came as a surprise when she crashed into a guard in her heavy thoughts. "Move aside," he ordered.
She looked up at him and saw why he was even more stiffly formal than normal. Princess Celestia was with him. "Oh! Um, sorry." She slunk to the side, but Celestia was looking at her.
"Excuse me, what book is that?" She lifted a hoof to point to Surprise's book strapped to her side.
Surprise glanced back at it and to Celestia quickly. "Oh, this little thing? I wrote it."
"And what is it about?"
Surprise felt a momentary urge to withdraw, but that wasn't like her. She stood up instead in defiance of herself. "It's a journal, of my past."
Celestia raised a brow at that. "Curious. I seem to be coming across so many journals of late." She stepped towards Surprise at an even pace. "This will sound improper, and perhaps it is, but may I see it?"
Surprise blinked with surprise up at the princess. "Oh, uh, I mean, sure! If you want." She didn't imagine Celestia would want to read about her past, but... If she remembered, then it'd never be forgotten. Her friends, her family, and all her past would be immortal, in a way. She grabbed her book in her teeth and pulled it from its straps as her hooves took hold of it and held it out towards Celestia. "Please be careful with it, K?"
Celestia's golden magic gently lifted the book from Surprise's grasp. "You are the Watch's friend, aren't you?"
Surprise swallowed heavily before she nodded. "Um, actually..." There she was. This was finally the chance! "I mean, I am! For sure, but there's more to it than that."
Celestia gave a wan smile. "There always is around that stallion. Walk with me. I'm certain there are things to discuss."
The doctor had finished his work, placing Silver in what amounted to a huge cast and having him placed gently in a bed to recover. "You say a single kick did that?"
Night frowned at the doctor. "It was by a very large pony."
"I should certainly hope so. She should be more careful with her size and strength."
"She certainly should." Night sat beside the bed that held Silver and reached out for him with a wing, draping it over his still form. "Did you sedate him?"
"Funny thing about that." The doctor shook his head. "He was far beyond a normal sleep. I didn't sedate him in case it complicated things. We don't need our patients going into a coma. He may already be in one, only time will see on that, but, at least physically, he should be on the road to recovery."
Night wrinkled her snout at Silver. "Trying to show me up? Broken wing not enough for you?" She rested her head on his body-cast. "Still fighting..."
The nurse put a quiet hoof on Night's shoulder in support.
It was a battle on at least two fronts. There was the tantabus itself, trying to break free, but there was also its nightmarish creations generating fear to give it the power to do just that. "It's just like an umbrum..." Silver directed his long horn at a collection of impish creatures harassing ponies below, turning them into various-shaped rocks that would frighten nopony again.
"You have to forgive yourself," drifted a voice from below.
Silver perked an ear at it and drifted closer. His hooves touched the ground and he trotted briskly towards a clearing in the town that held the form of Luna, clearly struggling and the center of the dream network that bound all the dreams together.
"I have done terrible things. I deserve to suffer..." Luna grunted with obvious effort. "I will defeat it on mine own!"
Twilight was also there. "You don't need to do it on your own. Luna, look, you're surrounded by friends. You aren't the same pony you once were. You've changed."
Luna's eyes met Silver's. She shuddered. "Nay. I have not..."
Silver emerged from around the building, coming into plain view as he closed the distance. "We can talk about this, like adults, after that's taken care of." He thrust a hoof at it. "It's from your past. It has nothing to do with today."
Twilight tilted her head, clearly not knowing who it was that stood beside her. "Right. That's your past. Nightmare Moon is defeated. The fact that you're trying to battle it is proof enough that you're not her. It's time to let go."
The dream suddenly froze, but Luna's mane was still flowing, and her eyes were set on Silver. He tried lifting a hoof and found he wasn't frozen either.
"Even here you pursue me?"
"You have enough power to do this?" Silver tilted his head. "I thought you were pretty tired-looking just keeping up what you had."
"This won't last long. Are you here to gain justice? Will you attack me when the time is right?"
Silver quirked a smile. "The time would be right about now if I wanted that, which I don't. Why did you kick me like that? I'm not a manticore, you can talk to me."
Luna scowled a moment. "I will not discuss that, not now."
Silver pointed up at the tantabus. "Then master your past. Bloody hell, if I lived my past, I wouldn't be in any shape to be with my friends and family. Let it go. You made a mistake, we all make mistakes. Sometimes they're big or small, but you have to learn from them, not wallow in them."
The dream resumed, and Silver found himself not near Luna, but across the town, casually pushed away. He frowned a moment, but took a slow breath. "Fine, talk to the ponies you know." He turned away. Clearly, Luna did not rate him among their number. But why should she? He was a foreign element. An alien, as comfortable as it was wearing the flesh of a pony, still an alien. He was literally the stuff of her nightmares, at least the nightmares that he had endured.
He drove a hoof to the ground with enough dream strength to rend the ground. "So what if I am?!" He spread his wings wide and took to the air, going directly to the tantabus with new fury in his eyes. "I won't hurt Luna, but no such thing protects you." A fireball formed over his head, only to be joined by another, and another, swirling around one another in a rapid orbit. He brought them together with a terrific clap, creating a new form of matter, plasma. He held a sun over his head even as he began to fashion orbs of cold. Not ice cold. No, he was an educated man. He aimed far lower. Low enough to stop atoms in their place. The two spheres of opposing spectrums played off one another in brilliant, horrifically beautiful swirls of colors.
With an angry neigh and a thrust of his hooves, the two orbs were propelled, plasma rushing for the thing's front end while the zero kelvin orb rushed at its back end. Even as they flew, he began gathering a new force, one not made of elements at all, but of despair, pain, feelings of helplessness and agony. He smirked a little, realizing how emo that attack would be, but he fashioned it anyway.
The elemental balls slammed into the creature and it recoiled from the rift it had been about to use even as its hind legs froze quick to the ground. He couldn't tell if he had actually inflicted any damage, but it was held, for a moment.
He raised his forehooves, the ball balancing between them before he gave a mighty heave. The condensed ball of misery moved like a stroke of lightning, crashing into the creature, but it did not harm it. It lived for all those things, and grew suddenly, shattering the ice around its hooves. "Oops."
Nefertari crooked a finger under Samantha's snout. "You're a very naughty pony."
Samantha looked away from her, even if her muzzle was held straight. "I want to help everypony."
"By locking them in a closet? Curious methods..."
"They won't let me!" Samantha looked back at Nefertari. "I just want to learn, and to share. There are so many questions everypony has, but they won't help me look for answers."
"There remains something about you... You are a question." She poked the pony in the chest. "Why don't you answer yourself first."
"M-me?" Samantha perked her ears and sat up fully. "My name's Samantha. I'm a unicorn, fairly standard."
"Lies."
She scowled at Nefer. "What part?"
"There's more to you than a unicorn. I can feel it, but not place it. Come now, I rescued you from captivity. You'll have another chance to chase your answers. The least you could do is answer my question, hmm. Isn't that what you like to do, provide answers?"
Samantha clucked her tongue softly. "Will you still be my subject?"
Nefer raised a brow. "I am no one's subject. Others bow to me, little pony."
"No no no!" Samantha clopped a hoof on the table she was seated on. "My test subject. I want to study you more, please?"
Nefer leaned in, nose-to-nose with Samantha. "You are a delight. Even unmasked, you would continue the path?"
"I-I may not be a... licensed doctor, but that doesn't mean I can't learn things, and write about them. I want to, please?" Samantha squirmed in place.
"And you were Silver's wife's midwife? I imagine what she will say when she learns of this..."
"Don't tell her!" Samantha's eyes went wide with terror. "Oh please don't tell her! She's my star subject... I'm taking care of her, I swear!"
"Perhaps I won't... Assuming I can trust you to be a good pony, and do as I say." Nefertari gave a sharp smile as she set a hand on Samantha's head, petting her gently. "Now are you going to be a good pony?"
Samantha bobbed her head quickly, almost catching Nefertari with her waving horn. "If you help me keep her as a subject, I'll do anything you want." She smiled suddenly. "I'll be good with you too. No blood, promise."
Nefer raised a brow. "What is your fascination with blood? Blood is for battles won and lost, not idle curiosity. To spill it for nothing is obscene."
"Right right." Samantha hopped down from the table, starting to look around as if all the tension had simply fled her. "No blood, promise. So where do you keep your examination tools?"
And people wonder why I liked dream Silver.
Noooo! I want more Silver, Night and Surprise, not Samantha.
Keep up the good work.
-I am no one's subject
Unless Nefertari has some how pledged herself to the pony who wasn't there. Not saying I'm against Nef teaming up with my OC, I mean they're both evil... Just figured Nefertari would be the one in charge (who put's Iam Noone in charge of anything?).
7007475 Typo banished from the dream, and we caught another lurking nearby.
I loved this chapter on SO many levels...
7007544 Now you make me curious. Tell me of these levels!
7007558
Hmm. Let's see.
1 - Lots of Samantha shenanigans. Check!
2 - Silver going full Alicorn on the Nightmare... Check.
3 - Silver's assault backfiring horribly...Check!
4 - Getting closer to Luna getting what she has coming to her...Check.
7007569 It shoulda worked! It always works in anime...
Indeed. You don't fight fear with despair, Silver clearly wasn't thinking clearly.
So that's how the Tantabus got so big. ...
Keep going! ;)
Having fun in the dream time. Ice attacks and impacts have an effect because they are natural, innate, with no feelings attatched. Tantabus like Windigo feeds off hate and fear etc, so feed it a meteroite attack taken from a disaster movie and it will feed off it. Feed it a meteorite used to destry an enemy invasion, thats an attack of hope.
If you want to take the Tantabus out Silver, youre going to have to call on the greatest hope of them all.
Youre going to have to do The Trench Run.
If you Really want to pile it on get Pinkie to help you, in J for Joker.
Nefer will have to be careful with Samantha, dont want to Fox her so much her mind breaks.
7007684 Fox her?
7007677 It seemed like a good idea at the time.
7007702
Joke from the Oldies. Samantha Fox.
strapes - straps
wane - wan
She rest her head - She rested her head
thing protect you - thing protects you
*****
First and most importantly, I'm enjoying the living daylights out of this slight twist on the cannon events. I think it's close to seamless in the way it meshes with your narrative.
Now then, my thoughts on the events in today's chapter.
Wow, if I'm reading this right... If Luna can freeze reality in place, then she never really lost control of the Tantabus. Is this just an adventure she put on for all the dreaming ponies? Was this all just more self punishment wrapped up as a friendship lesson, and she only pretended to make peace with part of herself?
If Silver learns a lesson from his encounter with the tantabus I imagine it would be to stick with forgiving and setting a good example for those that hurt others and leave the punishment to those better suited for it. Seems to me that whenever he gives in to the urge to be disharmonious, he ends up suffering more.
I could nitpick the use of absolute zero to 'freeze' things, but I want to be thought of as a good member of the audience and not a pest. Besides which, it's a dream and another universe so physics can take a back seat to good storytelling.
it looks as if Luna is slowly coming around.
7008291 Dream logic is fickle, but not typos! We can be escort those little bundles of disharmony right out of here. Hmmph.
Silver is ready to do battle, but his methods leave something to be desired. Perhaps a different tact is in order? He didn't get to be there in his dreams. Of course he wouldn't be. He was lost in his own. This time he gets to help Luna.
7008389 - Where didn't he get to be in his dreams?
7007269 The story at the moment is certainly no slice of life, it feels like it's accelerating again. I feel Silver's magic abilities may take a substantial rise with this. Especially with Luna having another raging Tantabus episode again all to do with the guilt she feels toward Silver.
7008389 well firstly you cant create sub zero or absolute zero because cold is just the abstance of heat and nothing is cold like the vaccume of space. secondly, really. i thought silver was smarter than that. he should have attacked it with his love and forgivness for luna. it should have radiated from his body in a wave of pure glowing light like a god and have him fly at it and his horn pierce it as he floods his emotions into it or he just kami kami kass it.
7008723 If we're discussing theoretics, you could have a material with an extremely low temperature that is extremely difficult to heat, so when put into contact with another material, draws its heat away, becoming effectively a source of 'cold', being a thing or not.
7008778 i see how it is. your going to play samantics. if it was that cold, it would draw up all the heat naturaly/ make a blizard happen in the dream landscape or turn the tanticbus frozen solid
7008799 And it almost worked!
7008807 if i was him i would have had long freazing chanes get attached to it that holds it inplace and frezzes it
Hmm, once Luna absorbs the Tantabus back into herself, will she feel the weight of Silver's emotional pain and misery? Or will it vanish when Luna accepts her past...though the former is more likely since it would bite Silver in the flank later on.
As for Samantha, she seems to be happy getting to keep examining her subjects and I'm guessing she's going to be put under Nefertari's protection by saying she's being punished under Anubite law?
7008980 Samantha is currently protected by the short memories of Equestrians. Out of sight, out of mind. If she ran into the same doctor and nurse, they'd scowl at her and be wary, but justice was obviously done, right?
7009015 Well, that and everyone has bigger problems to deal with than an eccentric scientist. And now that you mention it, It'd be funny if Samantha was allowed back into the medical wing to continue the role of Night Watch's midwife.
Just sayin'. That journal. The sun make's me smile too.
pre02.deviantart.net/ef84/th/pre/f/2016/007/1/a/the_sun_smiles_by_iamselrahcnoone-d9n2hdv.png
7008807 Chapter not long enough, needed more??
Perhaps this should be the Watches'?
Kelvin was a Lord.
How much time has passed from the renewel of the story to now? I read a bunch of chapters the other night while waiting to see a show, when it struck me that a dozen chapters have taken place over what seems to be a single day.
Also, Nefer and Samantha make a dangerous team. Someone should split them up before they accidentally create a zombie plague or something.
7241592 We did the zompony plague in another story already! Time is funny in Equestria though. Welcome back!