Conflict of Interests

Bird signing ? Was he hearing actual birds signing ?

Silverwing slowly opened his eyes, recollecting the events of the night before as they agreed to pass by his brain, one by one, in disorder. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to the light filtering in his room through the windows. It was certainly approaching noon, judging by the brightness of the sun.

The stallion slowly sat down on the bed, feeling for each and every muscle of his body, gauging for pain. His hind leg still felt like something was displaced on top of the clean claw marks, and his left wing was still in a pretty lame shape, but at least he could move it ; it was a start. He'd need to get his leg examined tough, the pain was not horrible -he had worse- but it was definitively a serious discomfort.

Silverwing stood up and walked to the clear windows, noticing the meal the purple mare probably brought him just after he fell asleep. He suddenly felt a bit ashamed. The mare -what was her name again ? Twilight, right.

He drank the juice without further thinking and bit the bread. Both were a bit stale from staying out overnight, but he was more than just a bit hungry. He looked through the window.

Through the glass that led to some sort of square he could finally observe all the colors this world had to offer. In the daylight, it almost seemed surreal. Pink roofs ? Yellow roads ? Purple bridges ? He looked at all the candy colored ponies trotting around in joy, exchanging smiles and salutations. Everyone seemed happy.

This was a bit too much for him. He could not believe that what he was seeing on the other side of this window was real. He sat down on the ground and buried his face in his hooves. Was this really Equestria ? How could a place like that even exist ? Let alone be labeled as 'forbidden' by his government ? If anything, its Equestria who should be afraid of Cydonia, not the other way around. Everything was so peaceful and happy here ; Harmonious - not like his war torn home.

''Oh ! You're awake''

Silverwing quickly looked up at the door. The purple mare was standing in the opening, two full saddlebags hanging on both sides.

''I noticed you wouldn't probably wake up very early judging by the state you were in yesterday, so I went out and bought some more food in the meantime'' She happily claimed.

Twilight turned around and trotted towards the kitchen, Silverwing stood up and followed loosely.

''You see, I usually eat out with friends or very little when I'm home. I'm not much of a cook anyway, so I had to restock a bit. Didn't want you to starve while you're here''

Silverwing followed the voice to the small kitchen. Twilight was placing down the stocks she had bought. There was at least two full weeks of food right here.

''I hope you will find things you like. I didn't really want to wake you up and ask you see''

''It is very nice of you miss Twilight'' He answered.

Twilight giggled.

''Aww come on, you can call me miss when I hit my second decade, right now just Twilight is enough''

''Alright then, thanks for the food miss just Twilight'' He remarked with a light smile.

Silverwing just realized how awkward what he had just said sounded and quickly lost his smile. He just have been awake for less than an hour on this continent and this town was already getting to him. Usually at this time he would have been doing push ups in the mud or something, not trying to be funny in a casual exchange with a mare. Especially not a darn purple mare. Purple. He still couldn't digest the whole color thing. Still, maybe it was his relative sleepiness compared to the pony's energy, but he found this whole scene strangely adorable.

He quickly retaliated.

''Sorry, I-''

Twilight cut him off.

''Its all right 'Mister First Lieutenant Silverwing'' She said mockingly.

Silverwing was about to be offended by principle. But it was actually deserved and funny. Besides, it's not like ranks meant anything anymore for him over here.

''Right''

He cornered a smile. Twilight jumped on the occasion to learn more about the stallion.

''Speaking of which. I'm very curious to know where in Equestria one would have the need for a First lieutenant except at the Canterlot palace''

She was trying to hide her unhealthy curiosity behind causal talk. She turned back to the groceries while talking.

''And although I don't know all the guards, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed you before''

The unintentional emphasis she put on the 'you' made her realize how awkward this last sentence sounded. She had a small pause.

''The eyes, I mean. You know''

She sighted internally She was never good with casual talk. Engage her in a conversation about mathematics, history or even better ;  magic - She would speak coherently for hours. But small talk, no. That was way too complicated for her.

''Yeah, I noticed you guys don't have quite the same palette as ours back home'' Silverwing casually said.

''Your friend the pegasus especially''

''Who Rainbow Dash ? Ha, its true her mane is quite.. extravagant !'' She answered, happy the stallion just ignored her last sentence

''Well, no offense, but yours too, back home colors like this are considered outrage''

He nodded towards Twilight, not realizing how outlandish this made him sound.

''I mean, if the guard found a neighbor like this, it'd probably be burnt down and all ponies dyed black'' He added in a dismissive tone.

Twilight blinked Silence ensued.

''Okay, sorry to be blunt but you are getting the best of my curiosity right now ; where are you from exactly ?''

Silverwing tried to evaluate the risk of telling the truth versus the advantage of having him excused from his very weird and misplaced last two sentences

''I was born and raised in Steelmare, its just east of..''

He stopped, realizing that the most he said, the most likely she was to discover the truth about its hometown. In fact, he was curious as to see if Equestria even had documentation about Cydonia.

''Its east of nothing in fact, its a bit of a lost place, and I never traveled a lot. I don't know much more I'm afraid''

''Steelmare.. I can't seem to remember it being mentioned in any of my books''

She trotted around Silverwing and headed back into the library's main room. Just now the gray stallion noticed the walls were actually lined up with books. Twilight started magically sorting some of them from a particular section.

''It sound a bit northern, maybe its around New Foal Lands''

She was frantically looking through books after books, quickly scanning the headlines for any kind of clue. Her sudden determination made Silverwing laugh. He really had the mare on the tip of his hooves, with this big mysterious secret hometown of his. He decided to cut her some slack, but he did not want to tell everything just now. Not before he knew what was Equestria's stance about Cydonia.

''You know, my hometown is really boring anyway. Yours looks much more lively. Maybe you could show me around, if I'm to be there some time I'll need to get my markings'' He told with a genuine touch of enthusiasm in his voice.

Twilight stopped her carrousel of pages and looked at Silverwing.

''Oh. Right. Sorry ! How horrible of a host I am. I should help you get installed before trying to do any research''

She rolled her eyes walked down from the small pile of book she had formed.

''Let's go for a walk then. I needed to grab something at Rarity's shop anyw- Oh my sweet Celestia what happened to your leg ? And your cutie mark ?'' she remarked in a panicked tone as she spotted for the first time Silverwing's left flank.

The pegasus tried to process all of the questions this one sentence created. Did she really just praise Celestia ? What was a cutie mark ? How was he going to convince her this huge wound really was nothing to worry about ? Did she really just praise Celestia ? Celestia as in Celestia-the-Alicorn-Godess herself ?

''I-Its nothing really, its just a scratch, it looks worse than it is because of the short coat, I'm fine, really. At the very least I've had much worse.'' he tried to casually claim.

Twilight had a genuine mix of shock and slight horror on her face. She looked at Silverwing's bare flank once again. Well bare - except for the foot long claw mark.

''And what about your cutie mark ?''

That again, he didn't hallucinate the first time. Silverwing didn't even try to hide his confusion.

''I... I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about..''

Twilight winked, staring blankly at the clueless stallion before her. She pointed her own flank.

''Well... you know ; cutie mark, the symbol you get when growing up that tells you what is your special talent..''

An awkward silence crept in the kitchen while Twilight and Silverwing were exchanging their best puzzled looks.

''you know what, let's just get on with the walk, we can talk about those later around a good bottle of cider okay ?'' Twilight spoke in a bit of a crazy voice, obviously overwhelmed by Silverwing outlandishness.

She quickly dropped her saddlebags on her back and headed trough the front door, followed by Silverwing.

This is going to be interesting, he tough.

***

The town was as lively in person as it looked like through a window. Maybe even more. Silverwing never was the overenthusiastic type, but this town ? The colors, the happiness Everything was so... sugary. And even though like all the colts back home he was trained in the art of war, he was still a living breathing pony at heart, and all this joy made his softer side slowly crawl back from the tangle of scars it was buried in.

Silverwing let himself get basked in the warm sun and harmony, he even found himself trotting at one time, but then the pain in his hind leg made him slow down. Still, this was a marvelous day.

''It is quite the lovely town you have there, Twilight'' He remarked, still frantically looking around.

''Oh it's nothing compared to Canterlot and all the other bigger cities, Applejack talked to me about Manehattan and it sounds like a really nice place with huge buildings ! Tallest building around here is the Royal Castle and...'' She stopped

''Oh I'm sorry, I tend to get overexcited with words. I'm not used to having casual conversations'' She apologized

''How come ?''

''Well, studies, mainly, my social interactions are fairly limited outside of my normal friends''

''Those that brought me to you yesterday ?''

''Yes, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but I got more'' She said happily ''Wait until you meet Pinkie Pie, if you though Rainbow Dash was colorful, Pinkie will certainly show you another definition of the word'' She said with a giggle.

Silverwing truly smiled for the first time in ages. He certainly could get used to living in a place like this.

They kept trotting north, eventually getting to the Town Hall Square. Twilight remembered the primary goal of their walk and cleared her throat

''This is the Town Hall Square. Its visible from almost anywhere in Ponyville and it's central. So if you ever get lost, you can just come back here and ask somepony. Even at night there are attractions and groups hanging out, since its far from any houses, so they don't annoy anypony''

Silverwing didn't quite understood.

''You mean, the troublemaker, like, agree to come make noise here because its far from the houses ?'' He asked, uncertain.

''Oh, they are not troublemakers. It's mainly just fillies and colts hanging out late after a glass of cider or two''

''But you do have troublemakers to deal with from time to time ?''

''Not really, I mean, from time to time there is a pony that gets too much cider or don't realize he's speaking a bit loud. But usually somepony just helps them back home and that's that.''

Silverwing was astounded.

''Somepony, you mean a guard ?''

''What ? No, silly ! There are no guards in Ponyville, except the ones that come visit while off duty from Canterlot.''

No guards ? And he tough that this place might have been hostile. This was borderline ridiculous.

''But.. how do you prevent crime ?''

Twilight seemed shocked by the question.

''Well... that is a weird question. Crime is practically nonexistent in Ponyville... In almost all of Equestria for that matter.''

She gave him that intrigued look again, except now it was mixed with a bit of uncertainty.

''I get it's not exactly how things roll where you're from'' She added in a worried voice. ''I mean, it's not like you talked to me a lot about it, but from what I've gathered, I'm almost surprised such a town even exists in Equestria.''

She quickly turned to look Silverwing in the eyes.

''No offenses''

''None taken'' He replied.

His mind was somewhere else. He was getting confused by this all, should he be telling her the truth ? He still didn't know if Equestrians even knew about Cydonia.

Twilight didn't know how to pursue the conversation either, so she just stopped talking. They were getting close to Rarity's place anyway.

''We're here'' She said with enthusiasm ''Carousel Boutique. Its in fancy. Rarity likes to speak fancy.''

They walked through the open door and Silverwing immediately started to feel uneasy The overabundance of mares ; ok. Pastel colors ; he could live with them. But there was something about girly shops that. Just.. did not resonate well with him.

''Hum, If you don't mind I'll be waiting outside'' He asked.

Twilight giggled

''Oh sorry, I forgot I had a stallion following, at least let me introduce you to Rarity. She just came back from Canterlot this morning.''

A voice came from upstairs, it spoke along with the sound of hooves hitting the stairs.

''Comiiing, I'm so sorry I was taking care of matters upstairs and- Oh, Twilight !''

The blinding white mare quickly joined Twilight in a friendly hug. Rarity looked at Silverwing over Twilight's shoulder.

''And who in Equestria is this handsome stallion ?''

Her voice was quite charming but Silverwing guessed it was just her natural tone. The mare trotted to him, extending a hoof.

''I'm Rarity, pleased to meet you, mister ?''

''First Lieutenant Silverwing, nice to meet you too miss Rarity'' He said in a soft tone.

''Oh ain't he just the lovely kind ! Twilight, I go out of town for just a few days and you just had to chose that moment to make new acquaintances didn't you ?''

Her emphasis on the last words made Twilight uneasy.

''He just got here yesterday, I'm just lodging him until we can find out how to get him back home.''

''And where could you be from miser ?''

Silverwing sighted internally Now that he had made himself a story, he might as well stick to it.

''Steelmare, I can't quite say where it it from here, my travel here was.. hum, unusual.''

''Steelmare you say ? I never heard of it. They must not be into fashion, or I would at least have heard of their new tendances here and there.'' She said that with a hint of harmless snobbism. ''And no offenses but those colors on you are a true hindrance to your stature. Surely there would be something better to do around those marvelous crimson eyes ! All the gray and black is most depressing''

Silverwing was not sure if this was meant to be a compliment or an insult. Maybe both ? He never stopped himself to think about how he looked before. And he'd certainly not start now.

''Thank you but I don't think it'll be necessary'' He gently replied, turning to Twilight. ''I'll wait outside''

The gray colt stepped politely around Twilight and out the door, stopping to sit on a bench a bit further away. He noticed the beginning of a big storm forming just west of the city. By looking closely he noticed a multitude of pegasi working around the clouds to corral them towards Ponyville. So the pegasi here did use their abilities to control the weather ?

This had Silverwing think of home once again. He remembered flight school, where weather control got slowly replaced by other, more war-oriented disciplines. Sure, he learned to transport, reload and discharge small thunderclouds as weapons, but they never learned large scale weather control. This could have saved countless lives back in the days of the night wars, at more than one occasion.

But not here. Here, it was just because ponies wanted to schedule the weather to their liking. Because they had nothing else to worry about.

How come this society managed to have such a peaceful way of life ? How could they be so oblivious to, well, everything ? Even petty crimes were almost nonexistent here, or so Twilight said him. He had trouble believing it. But then again, if somepony back home had told him that whole cities filled with candy-colored ponies existed, he'd have probably nudged him in the back of the head. Hard.

The stallion was torn apart internally by these events. All his life he was trained in being bound by honor towards his fellows but right now he wanted to repress that. He would've gladly forgotten his old life to be in this peaceful place forever. ; slowly healing the scars Cydonia left on his body and soul.

But what if his allies still needed him ? What will become of them ? The small colt that is likely to replace him – Swift - is not even 15 yet, and that's assuming he survived and was not teleported here too. Some part of him truly hoped that Steelmare survived the attack and that he could go back to his friends, but another part knew fairly well that even if he did all he could to go back as soon as possible, it would not make a difference. By now, the troops occupying Steelmare certainly had to deal with the menace of those beasts, the fate of the town was probably already sealed

The ignorance teared him apart, so he tried to stop thinking about it.

Silverwing felt a tear coming. But a self respecting stallion never shed tears unless there was an inch-deep wound implied.

He shed it anyway.

Maybe the wound was simply not physical...

***

''So, what about this ?'' Rarity exclaimed

''What about what ?'' Twilight defended, obviously caught off guard.

''Oh come on Twi, we've been friends for two wholes years now, I can tell when there is more to something that you let on my dear !''

Twilight's eyes widened.

''Wait. Are you insinuating I... NO ?!'' she replied, irritated.

''My dear Twilight, I can tell from a mile away that you find this Silverwing most interesting'' Rarity added half-jokingly while magically dusting her outfits, as if nothing.

Twilight frowned at her friend.

''Well yes, I do, but only because of how he stands out'' She pointed the streets. ''He's not exactly blending in, and I'm pretty worried about this place he's coming from -Steelmare – It looks like a lot of bad things happens there..''

Rarity regained a bit of composure from the revelation

''What kind of bad things ?''

Twilight's tone lowered.

''I don't know, but apparently, crimes are frequent in his town, also he keeps freaking out about our manes and coat colors, apparently this is unnatural where he is from...''

Genuine worry punctuated her words. Rarity seemed very surprised.

''Unnatural ? I haven't traveled that much, but I'm pretty sure its his kind of color that is the exception in Equestria, not the other way around'' She looked at the stallion afar and both mares paused from a second. Twilight sighted.

''I.. I know it sound stupid, but I'm starting to think he may not..'' She paused ''Maybe he's not even from Equestria at all.'' She looked at her friend. Rarity turned back to Twilight.

''Well.. that's not that stupid of an idea.'' The white mare turned back and trotted towards one of the shelves, picking up a sealed bag and hovering it towards Twilight ''After all, that would explain a lot of things. What are the chances of Equestria being the only kingdom on this planet anyway ?''

Twilight perked up. Rarity was actually right ! None of her books ever mentioned another known kingdom however, but that didn't mean it was impossible. She'd have to refer this to Celestia. If there was any answer to this question, the Princess would surely have it. The purple unicorn quickly thanked her friend and gently stored the sealed bag away, trotting excitedly through the door.

***

Silverwing was about to fall asleep. The warm weather, the slight breeze of the upcoming storm, the gentle chatter of the crowd. He could not remember when was the last time he felt so comfortable. His reverie got gently interrupted by a mare's voice.

''Hey, Silverwing !''

The gray pony turned his head to spot his purple companion trotting happily towards the bench he was sitting on.

''Enjoying the weather ?'' She gently smiled.

Silverwing shook off the dizziness of his aborted nap and approved silently. Twilight looked up at the giant gray clouds slowly hovering towards them. The weather team was almost ready to bring it over town.

''It wont stay like that for very long however, we should head back to the library. We can stop to pick a bottle of local cider on the way back, I'm sure you'll like it''

Twilight wasn't sure of how exactly her proposition sounded like, but she didn't really care. Silverwing paused for a moment and stood back up.

''That seems like a good ide-Arg !.'' The stallion dropped a sharp exclamation as he put back weight on his hind leg. Twilight instantly closed to help.

''Are you all right ?'' she inquired.

''Yes, I'm fine, don't worry'' he quickly replied.

Silverwing's tone was probably a bit too sharp for the situation, but it was only his ego talking. He knew that he would probably benefit from help at this point, but he didn't want to appear weak. The pegasus promptly shook off the pain and started walking around Twilight.

''See, perfectly fine, it was just a cramp''

''You're sure ? It flinched pretty badly for a cramp, maybe I could take a look once we're back ?'' Her tone was almost angry, as if she was growing tired of the pegasus' dismissal.

Silverwing dropped his head and sighted internally What was he even trying to prove by sucking it up like this ? It's not like she was going to throw him out or try to kill him while he was hurt. Old habits die hard he though, looking at the worried mare behind him.

''Yeah, ok'' he said softly.

Twilight smiled. She was not an expert in interpony relationships, but she could see when somepony was softening up. After all, she was once the stuck up, defensive and annoyed pony too.

The two of them walked silently towards the liquor shop, smiling. Silverwing was genuinely enjoying his day so far, the first in a long time where he didn't have to fight for his life. Twilight had stopped to chat with the vendor, discussing prices, probably. The gray pony looked at the now completely clouded sky. The cover was very thick, it was probably a very heavy storm coming, but the weather team seemed to wait a bit for everypony to get under a roof before activating the clouds. How nice of them.

Twilight returned from the stand, hovering a bottle of Apple Cider towards Silverwing. He took a quick glance at the bottle and silently nodded in approval. It did seem a lot lighter than what he had at home, but he was not the kind of pony to be picky when offered free alcohol Or free food and shelter for that matter.

As the library finally got in sight after a dozen of minutes of walking they heard a loud crack coming from above. The moment after the two ponies were getting soaked by the downpour. Silverwing tried to trot a bit faster towards the house and Twilight followed, as they both got into the house they looked at eachother. Twilight let out a cute giggle.

''Humph, so much for trying to stay dry !''

Silverwing grunted something that could probably pass for a laugh, Twilight acknowledged it as such.

''You can use your room to shake it off, I'll go upside and try to put some order back in that mane'' She quickly rubbed her hoofs on the rug to get the mud off and headed up the stairs.

Silverwing did the same and got to his room. Another loud crack of thunder made everything flash for a moment.

The gray pegasus got in a corner of the room and vigorously shook off the rain from his coat and mane. Good thing they were both relatively short, it would take only a few moments to dry. Silverwing took a glance at his armor lying on the ground, exhaling slightly before going back into the living area.

''So, how about that leg ?'' the mare asked while trotting downstairs.

Right, the leg. Silverwing stopped and looked at his flank.

''Its painful to walk on, but its only when I move it, not when I just stand on it''

Twilight approached Silverwing and closed her eyes, her horn started to glow a reddish purple. The pegasus stared at the mare as he started to feel a soft and warm feeling coursing through his wound. After a couple of seconds, the claw marks started glowing in unison with the mare's horn and finally flashed as the magic dissipated.

Silverwing blinked a couple of time to shake off the surprise and instinctively tried moving his leg ; the pain was gone.

''That's the most I can do I'm afraid, I had not many occasions to practice healing spells, the scar will have to stay for a bit'' she said in a soft voice, almost sorry.

Silverwing was astounded. Sure, back home the unicorns could heal much more efficiently, but for a peaceful pony she managed to heal him pretty thoroughly At least he could walk on his hind leg completely now. The pegasus looked at his leg and trotted a bit around Twilight, testing the extent of the healing. Everything was in order, not even a discomfort.

''I'm impressed'' he simply said. ''You think you could help with the wing too ?''

Silverwing spread out his wing, showing his missing feathers and the continuation of the scar on his leg. Twilight nodded.

''I'll do my best !''

The unicorn went a second time through her spell, this time healing the pegasus' wing. Silverwing could feel the vigor coming back to his muscles a second time. The two ponies stood silently for a couple of seconds, looking at eachother.

''I- I'll go try to prepare something, you just take a seat and open the bottle okay ?'' Twilight quickly turned away towards the kitchen, visibly embarrassed

The gray pegasus smiled and let himself fall on one of the reading chairs, closing his eyes briefly before reaching for the bottle of cider Twilight had left on the table. He swiftly popped the cork and smelt the sweet aroma of apple and bubbles. Silverwing was more used to stronger alcohols - like the standard-issue Steelmare Brandy they had in whole crates back at HQ - but nothing he ever tasted smelled that good.

After a couple of minutes Twilight came back from the kitchen hovering two bowls of salad, whole oranges and glasses towards the table.

''I really ain't much of a cook, it's mostly just all good stuff thrown together in a bowl, at least you can't burn a salad, because I'm sure I would have managed'' she said jokingly.

Silverwing emitted what seemed like an actual, fully-voiced giggle and proceeded to pour some of the cider in the glasses as Twilight was taking place in the adjacent chair. The pegasus then placed down his glass in his hoof and proposed a toast

''I thank you for your hospitality, miss Twilight. I'm glad I met such a fine pony in this oh-so-strange-but-lovely town'' he said with a detached voice. Twilight smirked.

''And I'm glad I could help an oh-so-strange-but-mostly-fine stallion get used to my town''

They ported their respective glasses to their mouths and drank. Silverwing admittedly way faster than Twilight.

''Wow... this is so sugary, very sweet. I like it, it's different'' he remarked, surprised

Twilight took another sip of hers, not even looking at Silverwing.

''It's even better when you take time to actually taste it'' she remarked mockingly.

Both of them laughed as the pegasus refilled his glass.

***

''Wait, so I did not misunderstood that. You are Princess Celestia's student ? Princess Celestia as in the Princess Celestia ?''

''Well, yeah. I mean I'm not one to brag but I am. And her majesty is as great of a teacher as she is a ruler.''

Twilight was very happy of the turn of events. Silverwing had drank most of the cider - her being only at her second glass – and he was getting way more talkative and enthusiast than before. He took great interest when she talked to him about her studies about friendship and the elements of harmony. His tone was a bit uncertain at times, almost mocking at some points, but at least she had been talking for a little over an hour now and he hadn't asked her to shut up just yet. Victories comes in all sizes she though.

''Wow.. so she is real..'' Silverwing remarked almost to himself, leaning back in his chair.

Twilight was slightly shocked by his words.

''Well of course she is ! Who in Equestria thinks the princess isn't real ?!''

The both of them had their smiles dimmed by the following silence. Silverwing realized his mistake and started considering just telling her all of the truth, but its Twilight who broke the silence again, trying to take advantage of the situation to finally learn something about this gray stranger's origins. She sighted deeply.

''I mean. I wouldn't jump to conclusion earlier, but this really has been bugging me since you got here. Don't take this the wrong way, but there is a lot of things about you that doesn't adds up. You show up here all armored up, back at Rarity's you mentioned that you had an unusual travel, both her and I never even heard of your town's name before'' Twilight paused for a second, she was trying to sound as neutral as possible while enumerating her thoughts, she didn't want to sound aggressive ''You- you don't even know what a cutie mark is, you were surprise to learn that Celestia is real... Not to mention all the very...strange.. things you told me about your home... No offense, and pardon me from saying it so bluntly... but I'm starting to suspect that you are not even from Equestria.''

Silverwing blinked longingly and smiled. He knew the unicorn would probably figure it out. As much as he tried to hide it, his society and hers were too different for him to blend in just like that. The pegasus took the last shot from his glass and looked back at Twilight.

''Guilty as charged.'' he simply said. Twilight's eyes lighted up from her renewed curiosity. She waited a moment, looking right at the stallion's crimson eyes. Several seconds passed.

''Care to expand a bit on that ?'' She enquired barely hiding her annoyance of Silverwing's cliffhanger.

''Like I said, I come from a town called Steelmare. Its a coastal town near the Great Ocean, just a bit south of Hoofington and a couple of days of travel west from Fillystine.'' He paused a moment, toying a bit with the mare's fiery curiosity ''And all these are war thorn right now and fighting for political stability because, apparently, a couple of millenias ago our Gods decided to leave Cydonia in a dying state after ending the First Great War that marked the last time of lasting peace in our recorded history.''

Twilight's curiosity transformed instantly in deep horror. She couldn't even imagine the implications of all Silverwing had just told her. It took a whole minute before she could utter a straight though.

''B-But.. how did you know Celestia's name if you're not from Equestria ?'' she finally said quietly, fearing the answer.

''Because they were our rulers, once. Before they, well.. left...'' Silverwing's tone was as bitter as sorry. None of that was of this poor mare's fault, yet, he could feel her pain.

Twilight's eyes became vitreous from the tears wanting to come out. She was certain that it was not Silverwing's explicit intention to hurt her that badly – Why would he ? - but she just had a big part of her belief system shattered by a stranger.

''That....That can't be right. You are wrong, it was not the same Celestia.. It couldn't be.'' Her voice was broken and high pitched. Tears started rolling down her panicked eyes. She was trying to fight the truth. For the first time in her life, Twilight Sparkle was regretting learning something.

Silverwing tried to say something to comfort the mess his host suddenly became. It was not his intention to cause this reaction – far from it – but the harm was done. A painful silence took over the library.

''I-I'll be going to sleep. Sorry to.. well... I...'' Twilight had trouble speaking, Silverwing took over.

''It's okay, I'll do that too...''

The both of them slowly stood up and Twilight immediately walked towards the stairs. Silverwing tried to catch up but stopped after a few steps, realizing how faint his actions would be.

''I'm sorry Twilight'' he simply said.

The mare stopped, looked at Silverwing under her mane and silently nodded before disappearing upstairs.

''Well that was brilliant of you Silverwing'' the pegasus told to himself sarcastically.

The pony picked up the remnants of their meal and dropped them in the kitchen before going to his own room, a bit tipsy from the cider and guilt. He let himself fall on the bed, trying to just forget the events of the last hour to allow himself some sleep.

Somehow, it had worked better before.