A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

Sometimes at night, I still see her.
I’ve tried to talk to other ponies about it, but they always assume I mean I dream about her. That I’m reliving a bad memory while I sleep.
I wish it were something as simple as a dream.
Because a dream goes away when you wake up. You might remember it for a little while, but soon reality washes it out of your mind, and it’s gone forever.
But no, when I see her, it’s not a dream. It’s a memory, which comes to me without warning.
It’s the expression she gave me that hits me the hardest. The way she looked at me at the moment she died.

That night changed me in ways I still don’t fully understand. In some ways, it was the most important night of my life. Those of us who were there call it the Night of the Broken Circle.
And I would give anything to forget it.

--Chapter 19: Family---

“Miss Rarity has arrived.”

“Goodness, she does know how to be fashionably late, doesn’t she?” Fancy said. “I imagine most of the Circle must already be here.”

“They are gathered in the grand hall, as per your instructions,” Fancy’s doorman said.

“Splendid. Then let’s give our fellows a night to remember, shall we?”

Silver Spoon stood next to Fancy on the balcony. She had been intensely focused on the sunset this evening, to the point that the doorman’s words had gone completely unnoticed by her.

“You appear to be whispering something,” Fancy said when he noticed the focused expression on Silver’s face.

“I’m counting the stars,” Silver had said. She wasn’t lying. The sky gave her something to focus on besides Rarity’s impending fate. “It’s kind of fun to see which ones come out first. I don’t think it ever happens in the same order.”

“Indeed,” Fancy had replied. “One wonders if it occurs by happenstance, or intentionally, as part of Celestia’s blessed order.” He sneered as he spoke the Princess’ name.

“I don’t think it matters,” Silver said. “Even if Celestia planned it, random chance is always there, you know? She’s not fully in control.”

Silver closed her eyes, and pictured Happy Tune. Then Rarity. And finally, herself.

“No one’s ever really in control. Not all the way,” she said. “There’s always some bigger force. Maybe it’s outside you, maybe it’s inside you. But it’s there.”

She looked up at Fancy. He seemed irritated at her words.

“Um, that’s what I think, anyway,” Silver said, looking away.

Stupid! I can’t afford to upset him. Not now!

“An interesting perspective, my dear,” Fancy said. “But a childishly naive one.”

He turned and walked back into the mansion.

“Tonight, I intend to prove to everyone just how fully in control I am,” Fancy said. “Now, I believe it’s time you got to work on your side of the plan.”

Silver trotted inside after Fancypants. “Of course,” she said. “But, um, are you sure I should be the one to distract her? You could send Gaze, or one of the servants…”

“Bringing Sparkle here was your idea, Silver,” Fancy said. “You’ll never learn to be a proper lady if you don’t start taking responsibility for your decisions. You will keep her occupied until the Circle has completed its business. I will have someone inform you when it’s time.”

“Yes, sir,” Silver said. “What should I do to distract her?”

“I honestly could not care less,” Fancy said. “Just keep her away from the grand hall.”

“Of course. It certainly would be a problem if she told the Princess about this," Silver said.

“Oh, there’s little chance of that,” Fancy said. “Between Gaze and my guards, Miss Sparkle would never make it out of the mansion. But I’d prefer not to have to cover up the disappearance of such a notable pony. It would be quite the tremendous bother.”

“Right,” Silver said. “Wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” She did her best to keep her voice from sounding sarcastic.

“There’s a good girl,” Fancy said. “I’ll see you after the meeting. Run along to Sparkle’s room now. I’ve kept my guests waiting long enough.”

Silver, still wearing a frilly pink dress to compliment her Gentle Step disguise, curtseyed in Fancy’s direction. She noticed his demeanor brighten slightly in response; he always did like it when she acted girly. With that, she trotted off in the direction of Twilight’s room.

“Why did I do that?” Silver whispered to herself as she walked along. “I can’t believe I asked him to have Gaze look after Twilight. She’s the key to saving Twist. And now’s the perfect time, while the others are distracted with Miss Rar-“

Of course. Silver stopped in her tracks.

“…Miss Rarity can take care of herself,” Silver said. “She doesn’t need me to save her. Twist does.”

She began walking again, turning to ascend the staircase which led to the guest quarters.

“As soon as the Gallery foals are free, I’ll go the grand hall. Just to check up on her. Miss Rarity should be fine until then.”

Silver kept walking. The stairs seemed endless.

“She’ll be fine,” she repeated to herself. “Miss Rarity is strong, she’s cunning. She’s got a plan. I know she does.”

She was at the top of the stairs now. Twilight’s door was just few hooves away.

Whoosh.

Silver thought she heard something behind her, and turned around reflexively.
“Miss Rarity?”

She was alone.

Silver exhaled loudly.

“She’ll be okay,” Silver said. “She’ll be okay!”

“Is someone out there?”

The door opened, and Twilight Sparkle walked out, with a look of concern on her face.

“Oh, Gentle Step, it’s you. Did you say something just now? Something like, ‘she’ll be okay?’”

“I…yes. Yes, I did.”

“Who were you talking about? Is something wrong?”

Silver Spoon closed her eyes. She focused on the image of Rarity in her mind for just a moment. Then she let it go.

She opened her eyes and looked right at Twilight Sparkle. Then, without giving herself the chance to think, Silver Spoon began to speak.

“Yes. Something is very wrong,” she said. “For starters, there’s no such pony as Gentle Step. This is an illusion. You and I have met before.”

Twilight took as step back as the spell’s effect dissipated in front of her. The image of the proper light gray filly seemed to melt before her eyes, revealing another, more familiar pony underneath.

“You…you’re…oh my sun…” Twilight stammered, invoking Celestia without intending to. “Sweetie was right! You’re alive!”

Twilight fell to the ground, and then, to Silver’s profound surprise, Twilight grabbed the filly and embraced her.

“Oh thank goodness, oh thank goodness!” Twilight said, her voice shaking with emotion. “Even after I read Sweetie’s note, I wasn’t sure it was true. But here you are! You’re alive!”

Silver pushed Twilight away, confused. “Miss Sparkle…are you alright?”

“Am I alright?” Twilight said, getting to her hooves. “I’m feeling wonderful now! I came to Canterlot to find you and your friends, but it looks like you found me! Oh, wait until they hear the news back in Ponyville! The mayor will probably throw a celebration or something!”

Silver blinked. This was not what she had been expecting.

“A celebration for me? But why would they…” Silver said. “I don’t understand. I was never a local hero like you. I was never anything special. All I did was push other foals around. You were friends with some of them. I even made fun of your assistant a few times. I mean…”

Silver looked around, trying to avoid making eye contact with Twilight.

“I thought most of you would be glad I was gone…”

“Silver,” Twilight said. “I won’t deny that you could be pretty mean when you wanted to be. But, well...how can I put this…do you know my friend Applejack?”

“Only by reputation. Her sister, um talks about her a lot.”

This was a lie. Silver had met Applejack once. It was not an incident she was proud of.

*******

Before Apple Bloom had formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she didn’t have many friends. This, combined with her accent and folksy mannerisms, made her an easy target. One day, when they overheard Apple Bloom talking to Twist about her sister’s latest rodeo performance, Diamond and Silver ran up and began loudly reciting a chant of Silver’s own devising:

Poor dumb little Apple Bloom
She’s practically brain dead
She’s real close to her sister
Cause her family’s all inbred!

The first time they had used the taunt, Apple Bloom had screamed at them to shut up. The two fillies had merely laughed, and then began chasing Apple Bloom around the schoolyard, reciting the chant endlessly.

Finally, a furious Apple Bloom had thrown a clump of dirt at Diamond Tiara. It had hit her in the eye.

Filthy Rich barged into the schoolhouse that same afternoon, demanding to speak to Cheerilee. The meeting had lasted over an hour.

The next day, Cheerilee announced that Apple Bloom would be suspended for three days for attacking a classmate. Since Cheerilee couldn't prove that they had provoked Apple Bloom, Diamond and Silver were not disciplined.

On the day that Apple Bloom returned to school, Silver Spoon arrived early, without Diamond Tiara. As it happened, Apple Bloom was early as well. Silver noticed her walking into the schoolhouse slightly ahead of her.

As soon as she saw Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon hurled an insult at her. There was no real malice or even any thought behind the gesture. It was almost automatic.

“HEY, APPLEFREAK!” Silver yelled. “WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING STUCK ON THE FARM FOR THREE DAYS? DID YOU TEACH YOUR BUMPKIN SISTER HOW TO READ?"

“Funny you should mention that,” said a voice from behind Silver. “I actually taught Apple Bloom how ta read. She had the alphabet memorized by age four. Not bad fer a dumb, inbred hick, wouldn’t ya say?”

Silver Spoon turned around.

Applejack stared down at her. The filly thought to run, but something about Applejack’s gaze froze Silver in her tracks.

There was barely restrained fury in her eyes.

“Yer one of the fillies who got my sister all upset, ain’t ya?” Applejack said. “Any particular reason why you did that? Did she insult ya or something? Or are you just a vicious little brat who likes makin' life hard for other foals?”

“I…I didn't…” Silver stammered. “Diamond Tiara, she said it might be fun to…”

“Oh, ya thought it might be fun!” Applejack said. Her voice was noticeably louder now. “Ya thought tormentin’ a filly who never did a thing to hurt ya would be FUN! That how you operate, little missy? Just goin’ around makin’ other ponies miserable cause you can’t think of anythin’ better to do with yer time? My sister came home cryin’ three days ago! THAT SOUND LIKE FUN TO YOU?”

Silver opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“Ya know, if a grown pony ever picked on my kin the way you did, I’d send ‘em limpin’ home with half their teeth missin’,” Applejack said. “An’ you know what? I think I might just forget that you are a foal. Make an example outta you. Let everyone know exactly what happens when someone messes with my family.”

Applejack began to advance on Silver, who stood paralyzed by fear. The orange mare raised her hoof.

Silver shut her eyes and screamed. “I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! PLEASE DON’T-“

She felt Applejack pat her gently on the head.

Silver opened her eyes to see the orange mare smirking at her.

“Oh come on, now, missy. Did you really think I’d ever hit a foal?” she said. “Shucks, I was raised better n’ that.”

“But…” Silver said, still frightened. “But you said you were going to make an example of me…”

“Well, sure. I saw a defenseless little filly and decided to scare the tar outta her,” Applejack said. “I thought it might be fun. How about you? You have fun just now?”

The fear Silver had been feeling was gone now. In its place was an intense feeling of shame.

“I’m really sorry,” she said. “What I did to your sister was wrong, and there’s no excuse.”

“Darn right, there ain’t,” Applejack said. “Now git yer butt ta school, missy. N’ pray I don’t ever have a reason to come visit ya again.”

Silver had done as she was told, running to the schoolhouse faster than she ever had in her life.

She wished she could say that she had learned her lesson, and Applejack’s talk had had its intended effect. But it merely resulted in Diamond and Silver switching targets. They stopped teasing Apple Bloom and began to tease Featherweight in her place, and life had continued as normal. A few months later, around the time of Diamond Tiara’s cute-ceañera, the duo had begun teasing Apple Bloom again. By then, Applejack’s reprisal was a distant memory, and Apple Bloom’s lack of a cutie mark made her too good a target to resist.

Applejack had left a lasting impression on Silver, however, though perhaps not in the way she had intended.

For just a moment, Silver really had believed that Applejack was going to hit her. The thought of being hit by an adult had terrified her. But mixed in with the fear was a deep, profound sense of excitement. The mere possibility of being struck had somehow been exhilarating.

Silver wasn’t sure what to make of it.

But part of her wanted to feel it again.

*******

Silver shook her head as Twilight beamed at her.

“I don’t think Applejack likes me very much,” Silver said. “If anyone was glad to see me gone, I bet it was her.”

Twilight suddenly looked very sad.

“Silver Spoon, how could you say that about yourself?” she said. “I brought up Applejack because she explained how all of us felt better than I can. I saw her during your memorial service. She had her hat in her hoof, and she kept putting it in front of her face. I don’t think she wanted anyone to see her crying.”

“She cried? Why would she? Her of all ponies...” Silver asked, in a hushed tone.

“Applejack isn’t a pony who gives in to emotion very often,” Twilight said. “I asked her after the service why it hit her so hard. She didn’t know you, after all.”

“What did she say?” Silver asked.

“She said, ‘Of course I’m sad. It doesn’t matter if she wasn’t the nicest filly. She was family.’”

“No, I’m not!” Silver said, louder than she intended to. “I’m not related to the apples!”

“That’s what I thought, too. I said, ‘Applejack, how can Silver Spoon be part of your family?’ And she replied, ‘She’s from Ponyville, ain’t she?’”

Silver turned and looked at Twilight again, finally able to meet her gaze.

“That’s all?” Silver said. “Just because we’re from the same town?”

“You say that like it’s so meaningless!” Twilight said. “Silver, I lived almost my entire life in Canterlot. But I never understood friendship until I came to Ponyville. There’s just something about that town. There’s a warmth, a sense of home, that you just feel everywhere you go. Don't tell me you haven't felt it, too. I’ve had ponies I barely knew walk up to me and chat like we were old friends. I’ve seen the whole town come together at a moment’s notice to help someone in need. Like when Twist disappeared. I guess you must not know about that. We think she ran away. It was months ago, and ponies are still looking for her. Search parties go out into the forest, the gorge, everywhere, pretty much every day. We’re not the same without her, and the same is true for you. And when we thought you had died…

“Silver, there’s a grave on top of a hill near my library. It has your name on it. It’s where we buried what we thought was your body. Would you like to know what the inscription says?”

Silver wasn’t sure she did. But she nodded her head, sensing that the answer was something Twilight wanted her to hear.

“I have no idea,” Twilight said. “I’ve never been able to read the inscription, because your grave is always covered in flowers. Hundreds of them. Ponies come there every day and leave them for you. I'll admit, it began to thin about a bit after six months, but then when we found out about Rarity, well, losing a foal is bad enough. But we thought you'd been murdered. I don't think anything's hit the town that hard in decades.

"Lines began forming, dozens of ponies deep. These huge lines, just to leave flowers at a little filly’s grave. Everyone in town misses you, Silver Spoon.”

Twilight Sparkle extended her hoof and smiled.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go home. You and me.”

Silver trembled as she raised her foreleg. But instead of taking Twilight’s hoof, she pressed her own hoof against her heart.

"But weren't you looking for Mi- um, for Rarity here in town?"

"I was looking for a lot of ponies," Twilight said. "But the first thing is to get you back home. So all the ponies who miss you can finally rest easy."

“But how could they? How could they miss me so much? I was awful! I was mean and hurtful to so many foals!"

“I won’t deny that you weren’t a very nice filly,” Twilight said. “But you were one of us. You were a part of Ponyville. And without you, our town just wasn’t whole.

“I know you can be a better pony if you truly want to be, Silver. And all of us would love to help you. Just come home, okay? Take that first step.”

“A better pony…” Silver echoed.

She walked toward Twilight and silently embraced her. Twilight felt the filly’s tears against her chest as she gently stroked her mane.

“It’s okay…” she said. “You’re safe now. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to take you home.”

Silver gently pushed herself away from Twilight.

“No,” Silver said.

“What? But-“

Silver wiped her last tear away, still smiling. “Thank you so much, Twilight. But I can’t go home yet. There’s something I still need to do here,” she said. “And I’m going to need your help.”

“Silver, what are you talking about?”

“Just follow me, okay? And if anyone asks, I’m still Gentle Step,” Silver said as she began running down the hallway, with Twilight close behind.

“Silver, what’s going on? What are you doing?” Twilight said.

Silver’s smile grew wider. “I’m keeping a promise!” she said.

After parting with Silver Spoon, Fancy turned and began to make his way down the long hallway which led to the front door. He was halfway there when he saw Indigo Dream standing in the middle of the hall. She appeared to have been waiting for him.

“Good evening, Indigo,” Fancy said. “Shouldn’t you be in the grand hall with the others?”

“Hardly, dear. Blueblood’s gone, which makes me your second this evening,” Indigo said. “That was our deal, remember? A promotion to third-ranked in the Circle and a foal for my children to play with, in return for helping solve your Ponyville problem.”

Fancy theatrically tapped his forehead with his hoof. “Of course, milady, of course! How thoughtless of me to forget! It’s just been such a tiring week! Worry not, the position is yours. Tonight, you will enter the hall at my right side. That drunken harpy Wishing Star can consider herself demoted.”

Indigo’s expression softened. “Pleased to hear it,” she said. “I think Star’s on her fourth vodka of the evening already. I doubt she’ll even notice she’s lost her station.”

Fancy rolled his eyes. “Even if she does, I’m sure her inevitable tantrum will be the least of the night’s events. Now then, I’m terribly late in receiving Miss Rarity. Walk with me?”

“Not just yet,” Indigo said. “I never did give you my report on everything I learned in Ponyville.”

“Is that really so important?” Fancy said. “I know the gist of things, and now is really not the time. The guests are waiting.”

“Let them wait. You need to hear this,” Indigo said. “There’s more going on tonight than you realize, Fancy.”

Fancypants raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve been deceived,” Indigo said. “There’s a pony here tonight who you shouldn’t have trusted.”

[NEXT: The liberator/Reunion/One last chance]