The Tale of Isla Nova

Checkered Past

Silence ran through the swamplands, not caring where he was going, only why. As he dashed over the bridges his mind rang with the sound of the gunshot, and his father’s last words. When it seemed he could go no further he stumbled upon a peculiar looking home, it was in a state of disrepair, windows busted out, roof in disarray, but the inside was slightly furnished. Silence decided to hide in the shack until it was safe to move on. As he entered the unfamiliar hovel his mind began to process the events of the night, his father was dead, assassinated by a Keeper, which was another crime the evil Princess of the night would pay for. As he trotted over to the wall, he lit a nearby torch using a tinder box on the table and crawled into the bed.

When Silence awoke the next morning, he had two things on his mind, food and murder. He decided food was more important, and trotted outside and toward New Ponyville, but stopped when he realized his mistake; the Keepers weren’t going to let him trot his plot into town and do as he pleases, he was a witness and they knew it. He looked around him, the only landmarks nearby were the town, the Tram and a small island out in the middle of a lake just south of the bridge. He looked out onto it; a few plants growing on it, what looked like wheat… WHEAT! That meant FOOD! Silence held his hoof to his grumbling stomach, and he immediately dropped into the water of the lake.

He propelled himself through the water using his wings and swam for what seemed to be hours toward the small island. As he approached it with finality, a few buildings popped up. The short, stout buildings were made of bricks and there was a glass pavilion between them. Leaning over the garden were several earth ponies, slaving and sweating the skin right off their bones. Some of them were shaded by the shadow of the buildings, others… not so much. As Freesoul marched up on the shore of the Island, which was near a small wooded area, he approached the garden area with relative silence, living up to his name. He slipped past any workers, who were either to weary to notice him or just didn’t care.

However, just as he finally reached a patch of watermelons and he was just about to pluck one, somepony’s shadow was cast upon him and he heard a loud “STAWP RAT THAYER!”

Silence turned around to see a large, silhouetted Earth mare wearing a cowboy hat. She trotted toward him slowly, and with each step she emitted a word, forming the sentence “AH DON’T LAK LAHERS AND AH SHER DON’T LAK THEIVES!”

Her large green eyes glistened with rage as she approached him, and she raised her hoof as if she was about to strike him. Other ponies began to gather to see the commotion, and just as Silence flinched and didn’t dare look, a cream-colored stallion with a curly pink mane appeared next to the usurper.

The stallion stepped right in front of Silence. Silence wasn’t paying any attention to what anypony was saying and he was still debating with himself about whether he was dead or not, and he really didn’t know anypony there anyway, so he was just fine with grabbing his loot and FLYING back to the old hut.

Soon, he found himself with a loaf of bread and not one, but TWO small watermelons shoved in his new saddlebags, which were so kindly provided by individuals he didn’t even know, and he was flying back to his secret hideout.

He wondered who those two ponies were: The mare that nearly knocked him unconscious, and the Stallion who protected him. Looking back Silence realized both of them had been wearing necklaces of pure gold, each reflecting the wearers Mark. He decided that he would visit the island more often, only at night unless the yellow stallion one was around during the day. He landed in the yard and dropped his bag of food on the floor of the cabin. He approached the far wall and looked into the empty fireplace, expecting to see animals had made their homes within, he found the chimney was completely closed off from the outside except for one small section. Assuming it was for decoration Silence turned to the clock behind him, broken but not beyond repair, he decided to leave it as it was.

The next morning Silence approached the shoreline to the island, but was stopped by the sounds of yelling coming from the bridge. He turned to see two Keepers and a shop owner, a white stallion with a curly violet mane chasing a masked pony carrying a bag down the bridge. Silence flew towards the masked pony and tackled him, sending the bag flying and hitting the bridge side. The Keepers quickly pinned the pony down as the shopkeeper angrily ripped off the mask.

“Wait, please don’t hurt me!” The stallion underneath pleaded.

“Stealing my entire stock of jewels; then pleading for mercy. You thieves are all the same. Gentlemen, he’s yours.” The shopkeeper said then turned to Silence. “As for you, thank you. I am Elusive; what is your name?” Silence paused for a moment, reluctant to reveal his identity.

“I’m Silence Freesoul.” He finally said.

“Pleasure to meet you Silence, if you ever need anything my store is right near the entrance to town.” Elusive informed. Silence pondered his needs for a moment, sorting through the most important things he would need for the rest of his life alone. Hours later Silence walked into the shop and purchased a black cloak and carpeting, Elusive asked no questions about why, but simply gave Silence the items for free.

As Silence once again entered his new home his mind began to ponder who could have lived here before, and for what purpose they left. As he spread the carpet he began to notice some details of the house he’d never noticed. The cabin was only one room, a bedroom, and extended around the corner with nothing else anywhere in the house.

For the next four years Silence kept up his process of taking food from Eden, doing small deeds and plotting his vengeance against the Lunar Republic. On a cold winter night Silence visited New Ponyville in hopes of finding a job; he strolled through the Residential District, hoping to talk to a shop owner on the way home. As Silence passed an alleyway he heard a scream ring out. He ran into the narrow split to find the source of the call. As he approached the dead end, Silence saw a large purple Alicorn mare with a long flowing mane being held up against the wall by thugs. Silence started to jump in to save the Princess, but was stopped when her eyes became white and the thugs disappeared in a flash of light.

“Ignorant fools, daring to hold a goddess at knifepoint.” The mare remarked. “Oh, hello sorry if I frightened you, it’s just that wretched thief Al Capony attacking more than he can handle again.”

“You’re not Nightmare or Celestia, so then how are you an Alicorn?” Silence questioned. The mare levitated a nearby crown onto her head; it flashed bright white as it settled on top of her.

               “I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Alicorn Princess of Harmony and Magic, pleasure to meet you, umm…” Twilight trailed off.

“Silence Freesoul, so what’s with your crown, why did it glow?” Silence questioned intrigued.

“Not many ponies ask me that question; this crown is my Element of Harmony, Magic. It will give its wielder power, and only responds to me.” Twilight replied. “Do you live around here?” Silence lived up to his name again, refusing to answer the question.

“Well, come with me. You can stay at my house until we find your parents.” Twilight stated. Silence cringed at the word ‘parents’ but decided spending a night away from his glorified trash bin of a home would be good for him.

Twilight lead Silence through the cold night, using magic to light the way. As they approached a library Twilight stopped and began glow.

“Whoa, what’s with you and the lightshows tonight Princess!?” Silence exclaimed. Twilight didn’t answer; instead her body began to shrink down. Before long she was the size of a seventeen year old mare instead of a thirty-seven year old.

“Sorry, but I usually switch back when not in public.” Twilight said calmly, her voice now a bit softer. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my friends, they’re all here tonight.”

Silence nodded and followed the Princess inside. As he entered the room, three of the eleven other ponies inside stood out, the two from Eden and Elusive. The orange mare looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of Silence.

“Ye come tah steel moar stuff from us, varmint?” She asked in her accent. The yellow stallion looked up from talking with what seemed like his twin.

“Now Applejack, we agreed the colt needed food, I even paid you the difference.” He corrected her. The yellow mare stood up and mumbled something that couldn’t be heard.

“Everypony calm down now.” Another one interrupted from upstairs. A purple Alicorn Prince made his way downstairs, the argument ceasing with his arrival.

“Good then. Just because we are under rule of a monster doesn’t give us right to become monsters ourselves.” The Alicorn spoke. “Hello there, I’m Dusk Shine.” Silence had a look of confusion on his face; he looked around to find there were six ponies in the room, each with a stallion lookalike.

“I’m Silence Freesoul… are you all twins or something?” Silence asked.

“In a way, yes Dusk and the other stallions are from another version of Equestria, but they live in this one now with the help of The Doctor and The Professor.” Twilight said. “Their realm fell into turmoil around the time Nightmare Moon took over here.”

“Speaking of Nightmare Moon, shall discussions go underway?” Dusk questioned.

“Yes, will we fight for the Republic, against it, or stay Neutral in our lives.” Twilight replied. “To eliminate any conflict each pair will decide for themselves, we are our own individuals, and your choices are your own, introduce yourselves to Silence as you speak please.” Two rainbow colored Pegasi stood up.

“Hey, wassup, Silence, I’m Rainbow Blitz.” Rainbow Blitz looked back at the crowd.  “Dash and I have decided to remain loyal to Equestria’s rulers, even though it is Nightmare Moon; she hasn’t done any true harm to Equestria itself.”

The room was quiet, some ponies were wide eyed; others nodded.

“Ah’m Applejack and dis ‘ere mah friend AJ. I reckon we’re stickin’ tah this Republic business tew y’all. We git gud business from this here deal we got with the Princess. We pick an’ sell dem apples o’er in Eden. Not tah say dat we agree wid Maggie and ‘er family none, but dere’s no real gud an’ bad no moe, just business.” The orange mare said.

“Personally, Dusk and I have decided to rebel. Magic is Freedom, and freedom doesn’t work well with capitalism.” Twilight pointed out. Silence looked in Twilight’s direction, surprised to hear this.

“WHAT IN EQUESTRIA ARE YOU PONIES TALKING ABOUT!?” A pink mare exclaimed.

“YEA YOU TOLD US YOU WERE HAVING A PARTY!” A similar stallion joined in. The room was filled with the sound of ten facehoofs.

“Pinkie, Bubble, tonight’s the night we choose our alliance; I never said anything about a party.” Twilight explained.

“Aw… Well, we’re rebelling; Ponyville is tiring with all these laws about ‘Disturbing the Peace’.” Pinkie replied.

“Okay, so we know four of our positions, Fluttershy and Butterscotch are next.”

“We’re neutral!” They both said quickly and shyly.

“We are neutral as well.” Elusive stated.

“So it’s settled then, two pairs to each side… Don’t fight each other, if it comes down to that point we join our own side.” Twilight ordered. “The Elements are not tools of War, but if we must use them as such then we will.” Everypony nodded in agreement.

“So then, meeting dismissed?” Elusive asked. Twilight nodded and the ponies began to leave the library.

“Dusk, I found Silence on the way here, Al Capony’s gang attacked and he came down the alley.” Twilight informed.

“Al Capony again, can’t that stallion take a break!?” Dusk exclaimed angrily.

“Apparently not, I offered Silence a home for now, he has nowhere to live.” Twilight replied. Dusk nodded and gestured for Silence to follow him; Silence did so and was lead to a room that branched off from the library. The room was a bit bigger than Silences normal accommodations, and had a small desk in the corner with books on it. Silence made his way into the room and inspected it. The room was lit by candles and a chandelier in the center, the floor was carpeted, and the walls were beautifully decorated, the window frames and floor frames were decorated with odd symbols Silence could not read; as he approached one it began to glow. He looked up at the dark brown hardwood walls, decorated with paintings of the ponies from before and various others he could not identify.

“It’s nice, but what’s with you Alicorns and glowing objects?” Silence remarked. Dusk shrugged.

“The symbols are protection enchantments against Nightmare Moon should she invade, they also project the thoughts and voices of nearby Keepers to anypony who concentrates.” The Alicorn explained. “Why don’t you try it?”

Silence nodded and closed his eyes, the symbols began to glow around the windowsill and a small beam struck Silences head and vanished.

“Man I gotta go take a piss!” Silence heard a voice say. Dusk suddenly burst out laughing.

“By Solaris’ beard that’s funny!” He exclaimed. Twilight walked into the room with a look of annoyance.

“I really need to re-enchant these to project only relevant thoughts.” She stated. “Well, goodnight Silence, we’ll see what we can do tomorrow morning.” Both of the Alicorns walked out of the room. Silence, unable to sleep because of the recent turn of events, began reading through the books in the room. The first book he found was titled ‘Electrical Wiring for Morons’ which he tossed onto a shelf in annoyance. The next book did not have a title; instead the front was a golden Alicorn head. Curiously Silence opened the book and read its contents.