It was on the evening of the third day. Silver had seen Tirek soar towards Ponyville and stopped by the academy to spread the news. Night Watch emerged with him, and he was not alone on that last day. As the sun grew heavy, great bursts of light flashed from the direction of Ponyville, far below the mountain city. Silver was a little excited. It would soon be over, at last.
It went quiet and still, and Silver sat watching the spot, waiting. He was not disappointed. The rainbows came. They washed over the city, restoring color and cutie marks to ponies all around him. Silver felt some of the power rushing into him and drew a ragged breath as his body greedily absorbed some of the pony magic, but it seemed unable to hold very much. As the color explosion faded, a last pulse went out. Silver's form seemed to latch onto it, and he grew furry again. A weight on his brow felt like a horn. He glanced at his cutie mark and found that it was still missing.
Night landed in front of him, "You're... what is that?" she raised a hoof to point at the top of his head.
Silver went cross-eyed trying to see it, "What?"
Night frowned, "You have one of his horns." She flared her wings wide, "That can't be good." She took off in a hurry, vanishing towards the castle.
Silver frowned as an alien power brewed within him. With single-minded intent, he marched towards the castle himself. "We have business," he said to nopony at all.
Silver found that the guards of the castle were still dizzy with joy at having their powers returned. They paid no mind to him as he walked through like he belonged there. Though Canterlot Castle was vast, he had patience, and soon found the darkened room that looked like Luna's, and smelled of Celine. He settled in a corner, and waited.
He wasn't sure how long he waited, but the door finally opened. Luna stepped in, mane fluttering with power. She nodded to her guards and closed the door with a sigh. She looked tired and ready for bed, and he let her lay down before he emerged from the shadows. "You're going to give her back."
Luna blinked, wide-eyed, "Human David?"
Silver frowned, "I'm not sure which name fits, but I am definitely not David. You have what belongs to me, several things, and you're going to give them over, now." He stomped the floor with a loud clop, "If you have any honor at all."
Luna shook her head slowly, "I can restore your cutie mark and your vigor, but you seem to have the latter already. Celine is gone."
"Liar!" shouted Silver before he pulled the ethereal chords. He began to separate Luna from her magic violently, drawing her magic with a powerful pull that became a waterfall of power from the alicorn to Silver. He grew before her, matching her size as power bristled through his true stallion of a body. Luna sagged to the bed, drained and tired. "Now she is with me. I'll figure out how to put her back together!" He turned away from Luna, his silvery mane and tail starting to waft without a breeze.
The door burst open to admit Night Watch, "Princess, Si-- Oh..." She shrank before the imposing figure of the empowered Silver.
Silver smiled, "I'm not here to hurt you. We're still friends, even if I am so very angry at Luna."
Night shook her head quickly, "Don't do this... You're a good pony."
Silver stuck the ground with both hooves, tearing the tile easily, "What has being a good pony got me? I never asked for much. I just want her back. The one that loved me!"
Night hunkered down with wings wide and her eyes on Silver's blazing eyes, "She chose to go, Silver. I was there..."
Silver blinked, deflating a little, "What? You... where? But you... you helped me search for her. Why?" His bewilderment turned into a deep scowl, "Why would you toy with me like the others!"
Night shook her head quickly, "They made me promise not to say, but she choose it. She didn't want to hurt you anymore."
Silver grit his teeth, trembling, "I could have found a way... We could have found our own rainbow." Tears began to fall from his eyes, "She took my chance away by throwing away faith in me. Twilight! Is that the only pony worth having faith in?" Silver collapsed, huge, but crying. "Aren't I worth a little?"
Night slowly approached Silver, "You are. You were amazing."
Silver frowned at Night, "You're saying that to distract me." He rose to his hooves, "I've already taken Luna's magic. There's no forgiveness for that. I'm a bad guy, just waiting for a rainbow to smash me to bits."
Luna's soft voice spoke up from behind Silver, "No, you are not." She rose up to her hooves shakily, fatigue showing in every movement. "The tiredness I feel doesn't come close to the hurt I've placed on your heart."
Silver growled softly as he spun on Luna, "Why did you do it then? Why won't you show me how to get her back?"
Luna glanced away, "She is gone, truly. If I had the power to bring her back, I would do so. The best I could offer is another that is like her, but you are a smart enough pony. You would know the difference."
Silver sank to his belly, the tension fleeing him. He released the magic, deflating back to being a pony as Luna swelled larger. "I would," said Silver, "I'm so angry that sometimes I think it'd be worth it..." He looked up at Luna, now towering over him, "You've been nothing but unending agony for me."
Luna reached out a hoof and softly pet over Silver's ears and cheeks, "We are... You tire of hearing our apologies. What can we do, in action, to make amends?"
Night crept up and put a hoof lightly on Silver's shoulder, "No offense, but that horn has to go. Nopony should have that kind of power."
Silver's ears fell, then he rose to his hooves, "For one, I will not be your squire."
Luna raised a brow, "Your promise?"
Silver shook his head, "Was voided when you destroyed me, twice. I owed you thirty years of the life you tore apart. You have nopony to blame but yourself."
Luna huffed softly, "Very well, though I feel Celestia will have words for you."
Silver snorted in return, "She can shove her wor--" Night bonked him lightly on the head, "Ugh." He wanted to be angry at Night, but she had done little truly to deserve it, though now that his attention was on her, "Night. I need complete honesty."
Night raised a brow, "I haven't given too much less than that."
"Fine," said Silver, glancing around, "Do you like me or not? If you don't, fine. I'm not going to go crazy either way, but I need to know."
Night flushed softly, "You're a good pony." Silver frowned at her, "I mean it! You threw yourself into the line of danger for others without hesitation. I can respect that kind of sense of duty. You're clever enough, and you run a decent game of Humanway, even if you are cheating."
Silver raised a brow, "Cheating?"
Night Watch rolled her eyes from behind her glasses, "You were a human. Cheating."
Silver snorted a little, "Do you want to be with me?"
Night began to shuffle in place, "This is not how I imagined this sort of thing would go..."
Silver shook his head, "I'm tired of beating around bushes and playing coy games. Night, will you be my first wife?"
Night's cheeks began to burn as her glasses fogged up. "Oh! Well, this is so sudden..." She shuffled in place, hooves scuffing the floor.
Luna asked, as she spread her wings, "How does this involve me?"
Silver looked to her with a quirk of a smile, "Is it not obvious? You would be our official witness, and I would ask that you release her to my care."
Night frowned, "But I am loyal to the Princess."
Silver gestured at Night with a hoof, "She won't go if you don't release her."
Luna took a slow breath before she moved a wing to raise Night's chin up to face her. "If you wish it, I will release you."
Night trembled softly, "Not fair..."
Silver nodded, "No excuses. It is your choice alone. If you say yes, I promise to protect you, and to cherish you. If you say no, I promise to leave you be and carry no animosity. This is your choice."
Night waved a wing at Silver, "Why not take Fast Change? She would practically leap at the chance!"
Silver settled on his haunches, "She is lovely, but she is not first wife material. I would trust you to manage affairs, and to select wisely. You know the odds, and I think you've grown to know me over this disaster. I can't think of a more responsible mare, that also makes my heart quicken, that I would want. Will you say yes?"
Luna stepped back into the conversation, asking, "What other boon would you request? I feel there is another coming."
Silver tilted his head, "Ah, first." He reached up, tapping at the unnatural horn, "I don't want that. Like Night said, nopony should have that power. I was very happy with my horn, and my cutie mark. Give them back."
Luna suddenly lashed out. Her hoof struck the horn at the base. Searing pain made Silver's body tremble before it hit the floor, furless and weak. "Be still." It was a useless command, with Silver curled in pain on the floor. Familiar magic flowed into him, and his foreign body felt at home again. Silver was back, and some of the abuse faded away. "You are restored."
Silver struggled back to his hooves, huffing for breath as he frowned. "You could have warned me. You did that on purpose." Luna did not deny it, and he huffed softly. "Night, I need your decision. My choices depend on if I make this journey alone, or with you at my side." He smiled gently, "Will you be mine?"
Night pulled a single twenty-sided die from her pouch and demonstrated it at the end of a wing. Silver raised a brow, "You're not going to roll that, are you?"
Night bobbed her head, "Old trick. Roll it, if you're sad about the results, then you know the truth." She let the die fall, clacking loudly on the broken tile floor as it bounced around to and fro, numbers spinning wildly with every landing. All eyes were focused on the little stone die as it tumbled and gyrated, carrying so much of the future on its uncaring surface.
Okay. Thank you. Seriously, thank you. I'm not happy that Celine's still dead, but this is possibly the best alternate outcome. Silver finally grew a pair and hopefully it sticks. I'm fifty/fifty on Night Watch being his new wife, but we'll see how that turns out in later chapters.
5745822 As somepony else pointed out, she's a cup of water lost in an ocean. Getting her back exactly would be a fairly impossible task. Night Watch is adorkable, and Silver is alright with this, if she's alright with him.
Of course, what some may not notice, is that he is ultimately honoring Celine's memory. This is what she wanted.
And the answer is... Answer Uncertain, please try again later... Really should stop buying the Pinkie Pie brand dice.
5745961 I knew that mare was up to something...
A nitpick here. The "eve" of something is "the night before." I think that making this "the evening of the third day" would work better.
I believe that the sun "grew" heavy (though I'm a bit curious how the sun did anything at all, since Twilight was the one struggling to move it around and didn't do so very well).
"With set intent" is a very odd phrase. I'd change to something like "single-minded intent" instead.
Shouldn't "human" be capitalized here?
He was drawing her magic "with" a powerful suck...though you might want to change "suck" to "pull."
Not a true error, but I think it creates a more powerful image if his mane and tail are wafting without a breeze, the same way Luna's does normally.
She "shrank" before his imposing figure.
I think he deflated back to "being a pony" as Luna swelled larger.
This should be "though now that his attention was on her."
Her "hooves" were scuffing the floor.
"You could have warned me."
5746041 Fixes applied to the likely last chapter of the day as we wrap up this arc and venture towards bold new territory in which not even Silver knows what's coming. A bit for your thoughts?
I'd say that both Night and Fast join his herd. Also, if it would please you, would Moonfire ba able to just visit sometime soon? I haven't written everything that will happen, nut there will be some new changeling lore entering the story that you might want to give to Nicky. and her two 'drones'.
5746192 I have mixed feelings with regards to this chapter. Usually when I say that, it means that it has both sequences I like and sequences that I don't. In this case, however, I find that I really liked everything about this chapter - the events that we see here are all ones that I was very enthusiastic about; the level of interpersonal drama here was not only very strong, but had some real stakes riding on it, including the power of an alicorn princess, the love of Night Watch, and Silver's choice as to whether descend into villainy or not. This was probably the most that we've ever had hanging in the balance, and it was spectacular.
The problems came from the fact that how these issues were presented felt disjointed, if not rushed, in their presentation and resolution. The entire thing feels flash-in-a-pan, with the build-up being immediate, the highest stakes being resolved very quickly, and the back-pedaling from the brink being done a little too quickly and easily. It honestly feels like everything here was two or three chapters' worth of material pared down into a single one.
This first begins with Silver suddenly obtaining Tirek's power. How in the hell did that happen? Actually, on reflection, I'm okay with that. It doesn't make sense, but it's actually consistent with the story - David/Silver has had weird form-changing magic dumped on him since (almost literally) day one, when a strength-enhancing spell was cast on him in his sleep. Since then, his body has been magic's plaything, and it's often made very little sense, so why not this too?
It's far less forgivable with regards to Silver's sudden desire to confront Luna and take what he wants from her. It's not that Silver doesn't have very good reasons for wanting to confront Luna directly - I know because I outlined them previously - but his motivations aren't made clear for why he's suddenly acting on them. There's no indication that he's passed his breaking point and gone from Fluttershy-esque levels of "I just want to cry, but nopony likes a whiner" to "now she's going to PAY!" He just sort of switches gears, and we're left trying to play catch-up. Again, it makes sense that he did; it's just why he did it right then that isn't clear.
I think what would work best here is if there was a subtle, ambiguous question raised as to whether or not absorbing Tirek's power has altered his mindset some. That's a tough line to cross, because it runs the risk of invalidating his actions here in terms of character development. This is also a watershed moment for Silver - it's when he finally stood up and said "I'm tired of being a victim!" Suggesting that he was acting under some sort of outside magical force runs the risk of taking that personal growth away from him - and that'd be a shame, since he did need it. At the same time, this would help to contextualize why he suddenly seemed to recognize that he had good reason to be pissed at Luna. It doesn't need to be a case of magical mind-alteration, to be sure; simply the realization that now he was in a position where he could do something would have been enough, but either way there should have been something in this regard.
I'm also slightly irritated that Luna saw fit to remove Tirek's power in the most painful way possible for Silver. Geez, Luna, you acknowledged that you've wronged him multiple times and wounded him deeply - did you really need to get some licks of your own in when he very understandably decided that he wanted a pound of flesh? Are you that proud, that arrogant, that you couldn't allow him even one instance of having power over you? You, you....nag!
For that matter, how in the heck did Silver get to Luna before Night did? They left at the same time, and Night had wings.
Speaking of Night, my complaints about the pacing of this chapter don't apply where she's concerned. Silver's forceful, unromantic way of proposing to her felt appropriate...strangely so. Upon reflection, I think the reason for that is that Night is a very stable pony, as Silver mentioned. Asking her directly, with no equivocating or antics, felt like the sort of thing that she could respect and relate to, which makes sense for her - Night Watch is a soldier. While that doesn't mean in Equestria what it does on Earth, she clearly has a deep respect for duty, hierarchy and authority. While Silver's openness and honesty might have earned her friendship, it's entirely believable that this sudden burst of confidence and decisiveness - even if he very nearly went to the dark side with it - would attract her in a more primal way. Night, in my opinion, wants her mate to be stronger than herself. While not fetishistic about it, she seems to be more comfortable taking directions than giving them, and so it makes sense that she'd want her husband to have a "commander" aspect to him. Certainly, she seemed to react surprisingly well to being put on the spot like that.
My only real complaint with regards to his proposal to Night is that I didn't understand her answer, insofar as rolling the die is concerned. Rolling for a result and seeing if you're disappointed by it not only implies that there's a set of results that correspond to the numbers on the die - do we know what a 13 will signify, for instance? - but it also presumes that you already know what your answer is, since how else would you know if you were disappointed or not? I can understand wanting to make a cliffhanger out of her answer, but this felt a little too convoluted in how it went about it.
So overall, what was here was good, but could have used some more polish.
Please let the Dice Gods be with him, i played to much warhammer 40k Table Top to know that Dice Rolls are truly the spawn of Evil and all that is unholy
a die is not needed here night gave the answer in the question but I have the wisdom of 51 years of life and thousands of hours of reading.
here is the question and the answer in one.
"Old trick. Roll it, if you're sad about the results, then you know the truth
The sads I have right now... Even my successful finals doesn't even it out.
5746443
The die-rolling is something I can explain, at least, because it's one I've used for trivial decisions like being split between two restaurants. If you are too caught between choices, and cannot work them out, you roll a die/flip a coin, assigning high or low to each decision (with dice, 1-10 is one, 11-20 is another), then you see what the die says. If, after you roll, you agree with the option, then that's that. If you feel disappointed, you know you actually don't want it, but you were too consumed by thinking about it to figure out how you felt. It's a way to trick yourself into expressing an emotion about a decision when you're consumed by unemotional, distant thoughts.
... It's a lot better decisionmaking trick when the options are trivial, though.
5756766 Night is nopony's fool.
He totally deserved it. He attacked a princess. People have been executed for less. She took it especially well considering she's probably not in the mood for any more magic-stealing psychopaths today.
chose
the die
6816393 Fixed!
6816408 Luna damn you and your author notes they are so rad
"that looked like Luna's,"
7354337 Fix'd!
Found one!
Mismatched pronouns.
Squish!
7742143 Fixed!
The sense of unreality grows strong. None of this should have happened. If nothing else, Silver should’ve kept the horn to use on the things that go bump in the night.
10093305
This is a bad moment.
His roll:
...go fuck yourself author
10525130
This will not be the last, but the heights we will reach.