Chapters Chapter 1: The Beginning is the End
I was falling, the wind ruffling my fur upwards. I was a Pegasus, yes, but my wings are to beat up to work, and by the way I’m going, I doubt I’ll be able to use them again anyway. A necklace pulled at my neck the blue-green crystal gleaming in the full moon’s light, right its night time. I opened my eye staring upwards into the night sky the moon shining down at me almost putting me in a spot light as I plummeted towards the icy water below, the ocean, how could I forget that. The crystal around my neck glowed some, the magical energy spilling out almost like it was trying to save me. I smiled, yes I smiled. There I was plummeting toward the sea with no hope of rescue, death almost certain, no family to remember me, and yet…I was happy.
-3 months 12 days 5 hours 27 minutes and 6 seconds earlier-
I ran down the streets of Canterlot, guards yelling at me to stop, but I kept galloping. If I stop running they will only take me back to that… that… institution, mental wing, insanity level, solitary confinement. I will not go back to that. My mind raced, eyes darting everywhere. THERE. Top floor, fifth balcony, 264th building from the Institution. I shot up, the unicorn and earth ponies stopping as I shot through the balcony’s open screen door, past a screaming family of 4, and out the other side in less than 1.564 seconds. I grinned the world spreading out in front of me. I was free. That was a short lived fantasy. Two Pegasi assaulted me from the sky one clipping my wing, I spun trying to evade them my wing burned but I kept flapping speeding towards a town known as ‘Ponyville.’
I shot down crashing into a huge tree in the center of town. I opened my eyes to find myself in a library, a purple pony and a dragon standing over me. “Are you ok” the pony asked “peachy” I said through clenched teeth. The purple pony looked at the hole I made “spike, go get some supplies and AppleJack I’m sure she could repair this better than I could” “yes Twilight” the dragon ‘spike’ answered. I rolled as the dragon exited the tree, the purple pony ‘Twilight’ looking at me with shock “y-you can still move? After a crash like that?” I stared at her “who the hell are-” knock knock “who is it” Twilight said “your brother” the voice answered, ShiningArmor. I quickly pulled a knife out of my satchel as Shining pushed the door open, and put the knife at Twilight’s throat “your sister a little pre-occupied at the moment shining” I said smiling slightly “how about you come back at another time, hm?” Shining narrowed his eyes “let her go Silver” I chuckled “all in good time” I looked at Twilight and whispered “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to” “why are you doing this” she said sweating, I sighed looking into her eyes “to survive” and with that I turned throwing the knife at Shining It landing 1.7439 centimeters from his hoof. I barreled into the other guard and shot out of the Library and into the sky.
I flapped, looking around the skies “where is she, where, where, where, AHA” I exclaimed spotting the floating house of clouds “if any pony can get me out of here it’s her.” I banked landing in front of the door, the house was empty and the door was locked. I chuckled easily picking the lock and trotted through the house.
-4 hours 23 minutes and 5 seconds later-
RainbowDash pushed the door open humming a slight tune as she kicked the door close. I sighed “hello dash” she jumped a hoof over her heart “S-silver? What are you doing here? Is it even safe for you to be here?” I got up walking over to a shelf and picking up a picture “I love pictures” I said, RainbowDash watching me “because even when the ponies within them change” I looked straight at her “the picture does not.” I tossed the picture at her and she awkwardly caught it, it was a picture of two foals, one male one female, one grey one cyan. Rainbow sighed “that was a long time ago Silver and as you said ponies change” I chuckled “have you really changed, Dash?” she opened her mouth but no words came out, I looked at her smiling slightly , she looked away “what do you want Silver?” “You know what I want” “I don’t have it any more” my eyes narrowed “sure you don’t” she swallowed hard “fine, follow me” she said walking towards the door. The moment we were in the air I could tell she was uneasy, but why wouldn't she be, as we approached town I could see that purple Unicorn again, this time joined by a tan earth pony wearing a cowboy hat, they both stared at me and Rainbow. I could tell Twilight had told this other pony everything, her stance was rigged, eyes narrowed, obviously ready for a fight. As me and Dash landed Twilight’s eyes narrowed “RainbowDash, what are you doing with him” Dash swallowed “long stor-” “did he threaten you” the earth pony interrupted “quite the contrary” I said smiling “she came willingly.”
Twilight and the earth pony’s eyes widened, Twilight looked at Dash “is this true Rainbow?” Dash nodded “he-he’s an old friend, one that I haven’t seen in a while” “and for good reason, He held Twi’ at knife point” Dash froze “wh-what” she looked at me “you didn't tell me this” “you didn't ask, and thank you, AppleJack, for shedding light on something that didn't need to be known by Dash.” It was the Earth pony's ‘AppleJack’ turn to freeze “how do you know my name?” I smiled “simple, when I crashed into the library Twilight spoke of you to help her repair the damage, though she did not describe you; you seem to be the only pony that would be doing anything of that sort, now if you’ll excuse us, we have some business to attend to.”
“NO” yelled AppleJack rushing me, I side stepped and swept a leg tripping her, she rolled getting back up and lunging at me, pure hate burning in her eyes. I ducked under her my shoulder coming up to hit her in the stomach, she got up again coughing, dust clinging to her flank this time Dash stepped between us before AppleJack could make another move.
“Stop” she said her mane covering her face, AJ was about to protest before Dash cut her off “I said stop” she looked up her eyes meeting AppleJack’s “you can’t beat him AJ, he’s a genius, he knows you’re moves before you know them” AJ narrowed her eyes, silence covered the area for a moment, before it was suddenly broken by a small cough.
I turned my head to the origin of the noise, a light yellow pony with a pink mane; she cowered a bit under my glare. RainbowDash and the others had also turned to her, and I could sense they were watching me, waiting. I narrowed my eyes the pony shying back more.
“I…um...oh” said the pegasus, obviously at a loss of words.
“State your business, I’m on a very tight schedule, and AppleJack has wasted enough of my time” I said. She didn't answer, I snorted.
“C’mon Dash”
“She’s not going with you” Twilight said aura surrounding her horn
“Yes I am” RainbowDash said her head down “I have no choice”
“Then we’re c’mon with you sugarcube” AppleJack looked at me “and you can’t stop us”
I waved a hoof “I don’t care who comes along, I just need to get to Hayfield” I stated rather angrily and began walking towards an abandoned train station Dash by my side, head down. The others followed whispering among themselves until Twilight came galloping up.
“According to the many maps I've seen of Equestria, there is no a town named Hayfield”
“I wouldn't appear on any of your maps”
“Why not?”
I smiled “you’ll see”
The abandoned train station came into view, I smiled as we stepped onto the platform a dead train in front of us.
“All aboard” I said prying open the door, and greeted with scream when they all were inside. I chuckled stepping into the car, blood smeared the walls a few rotten bodies of dead ponies still sitting where they died. They all stared at the bodies, the blood. All except Dash, for her this was standard when around me. None of them dared to speak.
“Heh- the best part is yet to come” I assured them with a smile and kicked a lever, the train jolted forward.
-5 hours 2 minutes and 35 seconds later-
Silence enveloped the entire ride, nopony daring to speak leaving the creak of the wheels as the only sound. I smiled flipping on an intercom.
“If you all please look to the right you will see the amazing town of Hayfield” I said all of them complying and moving to the right of the cart. What they saw was no town, building were crumbling, acts of arson could be seen, broken carts strewing in the streets there wears long gone as well as their owners. Bodies where everywhere, the streets covered in sticky crimson long dried.
“What…What happened here?” Twilight managed to stutter
“He happened” Rainbow answered.
“You mean...Sliver did this?”
Dash nodded solemnly “he lived her once, but after what he went through I can’t blame him for what he did”
“What he went through?” Twilight said, curiosity spiking her voice
Dash sighed looking up into the sky, the sunlight penetrating the clouds in only certain spots, washing the eerie town in a silvery yellow light.
“It started back when we were 3...”
“…about 19 years ago. We were playmates back then, he was the brain I was the brawn. We did all sorts of things, pretended to be Firecolts or Royal Guards, but on one day, that one fateful day, everything changed. It was raining, I can remember it so clearly, rain pelted the glass as we watch from inside, I was pouting unhappy that I couldn't go out and play, wining about how the weather ponies always ruin the fun, heh, I was so ignorant back then. We were having fun playing tag…” Rainbow hung her head.
“…Then they came. They wore all black, masks over the faces, they took Silver, and would have killed me if it wasn't for the neighbors noticing, the police rushed to the house but it was too late for Silver, 10 years later they found the ones who had taken him. Drayos Research Labs, they found Silver and he was taken into reintegration, another 3 years and he was released and sent to Hayfield. I was so overjoyed to see my friend again that I rushed to Hayfield to see him when he got off this very train.”
Her expression darkened “but he was not the same pony I used to play with, he was tall, taller than any other pony I've seen save the princesses, he noticed me right away, his memory as great as ever, but little did I know under this handsome mask lied a blood thirsty beast. What followed was unimaginable. Two years later, around 2:30 at night, on the very same night he was taken, he set fire to his neighbor’s house and barred all of the exits, of course the Firecolts came to stop the fire, but where shot down by flaming arrows, the family perished in the fire, but Silver was not done. He strolled through the center of town whistling and throwing homemade fire bombs. He killed everyone he saw, when the army finally came from Canterlot, there wasn't much left, no one alive but him. They assumed he was a survivor of an attack seeing as there was nopony else to disprove this. He came stumbling out of a burnt building, his grey coat blackened with ash and soot. They told him to stop but he didn't, then they noticed, his eyes were red his, body streaked with blood not his own, and he was dragging a bloody hatched behind him. They tried to shoot him down but missed as he had already calculated where the bullets would hit, he killed many army members before a lucky tranq shot hit him in the shoulder, they were using tranquilizers because they had long since run out of bullets.” She looked up.
“And the rest is history; a killer was sentence as mentally unstable and taken to Dragon’s reach maximum security prison & institution, 3 years later he escaped, and now we’re here”
Twilight was taken aback “so Drayos did something to him to make him this way?”
Dash nodded.
“What was it?”
The cyan pony looked at her friends, tears rolling down her cheeks, and choked out one word “Torture”
As RainbowDash finished her story the train came to a stop, I walked down from the control room and pried open the doors.
“alright, everypony out”
“We’re not going out there” AppleJack spat.
That was my breaking point.
“Listen little miss cowgirl, I didn't force you to come with me nor should you have, but since you’re here you will follow my rules, when I say out, out. Unless you want to end up like one of them” I said gesturing to one of the dead.
“Now out”
Rainbow was first to comply followed by the other pegasus, then Twilight and finally, with a little more help from the bodies, AJ. I smiled, whistling and stepping out onto the loading platform. Dead ponies were scattered everywhere, limbs were missing from a few, a couple more decapitated, their heads strewn around the platform. The walls and floor where covered in dark dry crimson, the four of them stared around taking in the entire scene. I continued to walk forward and pushed open the station doors to the town of Hayfield. The town was worse; bodies lay against the building piled on top of each other, decapitations were more common, heads thrown aimlessly into the street. Buildings were charred and crumbling from non-use, A broken sign reading ‘Hayfield, Population: 759’ lay on the ground next to the doors. We walked along my whistling the only noise breaking the silence, eventually we neared one house that seemed to be in better condition than the rest, the door was gone, a few windows were smashed in, signs of looting present. I paid no mind to it, knowing what I want is still within the walls of my old house.
“home sweet home. Alright Dash, your turn, show me to what I want.”
RainbowDash nodded and stepped forward into the door way, I followed the rest just behind us. Rainbow walked to about the center of the house and peeled back the rotting floor board. She nodded at the dusty ground beneath.
“it’s down there” she said, I smiled spreading my wings and flapped them down hard, the dust blew away revealing a hole big enough to stick a hoof into, which I did and brought back up a black sealed box. I whistled clicking my hoof against the top of the box in a few places; the room glowed in a blue-green light as the seal disappeared from the edges of the box and the top flipped open the light flowing out of it. More correctly, the light was flowing out of the necklace within the box. I chuckled taking it out.
“W-what is that?” the yellow pegasus stuttered. I looked at her my eyes tinted slightly red.
“My insanity” I smiled laughing at the shocked faces, and put the necklace on. A shock wave of pure magical energy shot through the structure, blowing the house apart. I stood at the epicenter Twilight and her friends recovering from the sudden blast, my body shook, sparks of blue-green lightning flying around me. I turned my eyes blood red, the three of them rooted in place, my hoof glowed as a magical aura surrounded it and I pointed at AppleJack. She lifted into the air waving her legs frantically trying to escape.
“you can use magic!” Twilight said in shock staring dumbfounded at her floating friend.
"Oh I can do much more than that" I said staring at AppleJack