Trials and Tribulations

by _SilverTongue

Chapters

The Case
A Change Of Scene
A New Life
Ponyville

The Case

By Silvertongue123

Edited by Ancient Lionturtle and Luna’s Guard

With help from Dusk Quill

Chapter 1: The Case

“The jury has found the accused guilty of theft, attempted murder, and assault and will be sentenced to forty years in prison for his actions.”

There was a deep sigh of relief from the prosecutor who had fought hoof and tail to convict Orange Stripe of his heinous crimes. The prosecutor was the best know lawyer in all of Equestria, Silver Tongue. Silver Tongue was a tall, white stallion who had won a number of highly publicized cases, including Derpy vs Canterlot, which involved an illegal name change. Silver Tongue looked towards the accused as the guards led him to the back room to arrange transport to a prison somewhere in Equestria.

I hope to Celestia he goes to the Moon Prison, he thought.

The Princess had sentenced a number of ponies to the Moon Prison for murder and higher crimes, but never for theft or bribery, Silver Tongue still hoped for Orange Stripe to be sent there. However, looking at the stallion, Silver’s expression changed from triumphant to dejection. Orange Stripe had an interesting appearance. An orange, white striped coat, with a matching mane, accompanied with a cutie mark of an orange and white pair of shoes. Supposedly Orange Stripe was a fantastic runner and had had the potential to compete in the Equestrian Olympics. Instead, he had turned to crime, and had been running from cops ever since. Orange Stripe turned around slowly and glared at Silver Tongue, those cold, orange eyes pierced Silver to his core. He turned his own blue eyes away from the accused and back to the papers in front of him.

Shifting his attention to his client, he saw she was bursting with tears. She was a fairly well known pony in the area, Manehattan. Her name was Gentle Heart, well known for her work in rehabilitation of ponies that had lost family members. Orange Stripe had posed as a stallion who had lost his wife and daughter in a horrible fire and needed financial aid. After Gentle Heart had kicked him out of her center, he tried to bribe the security ponies to let him back in, but when they refused he tried to strangle one of them with his hooves but was pinned down and arrested for Gentle Heart.

“Thank you so much Silver Tongue, that stallion was bad news all along, and justice was served to him because of you!” she exclaimed.

Silver Tongue just shook his green mane and packed up the evidence and pictures he had used for the case and put them in his brief case, then, using his unicorn magic, levitated the brief case and proceeded to walk out of the court room. He slid through the throng of ponies surrounding the door and left quickly and quietly out the front doors of the court house. When he stepped out he was assaulted by the smell of Manehattan, congested and disgusting. He despised the city. While walking through the crowds, he caught a glimpse of himself reflected in a department store window, his gavel cutie mark reflected back at him The story behind his cutie mark was simple. His father, Strong Arm, was a poor man and had little time for anything but work in the mines outside of town, so Silver grew up alone, as his mother had run away because she couldn't handle living in poverty. Silver never had friends, but would always try and persuade ponies to take his side on any issue. Sadly,he never was assertive enough to convince them and came off as weak. One day while he was trying to convince his school class to elect him as class president, he was laughed at, but he put his hooves down and argued why his plan was much better than any of his other class mates'. He won the election and had received his gavel cutie mark as a result of his debating prowess.

He sighed, looked away from his reflection, and kept walking. He arrived at a street corner to signal a taxi pony and after a moment, a yellow chariot appeared with a pegasus pony pulling it.

“Where to?” asked the taxi pony, his eyes lazily drifting toward a blue stripe in Silver’s mane.

“The Estates on the West End,” Silver Tongue replied.

The taxi pony listlessly set the timer on the chariot and took off. Flying was something that Silver Tongue enjoyed in a city that offered so little. He was able to see Manehattan from the sky where the lights were beautiful. Then it turned from city to the suburbs, where Silver Tongue lived, and everything was made more amazing by the night, the colors stood out more and the city looked alive. Silver Tongue was at peace for once in his busy life. The taxi pony swiftly flew towards the West End, the richest part of the suburb, and when he arrived at the gate of the Estates, he calculated the price of the ride.

“45 bits.” the taxi pony requested.

Silver Tongue opened his briefcase, pulled 45 bits out of a side pocket, handed them to the bright yellow and white pony. The taxi pony took off, and Silver Tongue was left alone at the entrance to his neighborhood. He slowly walked up the to the massive gates and went over to the sleeping guard, who promptly awoke from his slumber after Silver Tongue had nudged him a few times. Crossed Shields had been with the neighborhood for 40 years. The grey stallion had always been a loyal guard, but he had been getting old and had become a little more careless.

“Welcome back Silver Tongue,” Crossed Shields said shaking his head to wake up, “How was the case?”

“It was a victory for me once again,” Silver Tongue quickly replied looking at the old stallion, pitying him.

What made you choose this path? He thought to himself.

“Always a victory for you.” The guard chuckled.

He opened the gate with a special key which he had pulled from the guard house. The earth pony was getting older and older and Silver Tongue feared the worst for him.

“Thanks, be safe!” Silver Tongue said politely as he passed the guard and entered into the lovely neighborhood of the West End.

He trotted through the gate, his light green hooves trailed along the ground as he continued down the long avenue, the lights on the street lamps lit his way across the gigantic neighborhood. As Silver Tongue passed large house after large house, he finally reached his own mansion, with large oak trees, a beautiful flower garden, hedges, and the pleasant fountain that he had installed in the center of the lawn at the request of his wife, Morning Star. He walked slowly up the steps to the large wooden door and pulled a key from his briefcase, and using his unicorn magic, put the key in the keyhole and unlocked the door. He sat for a second, as he put the key away, and thought of the look of regret and fear on Orange Stripe's face as they took him away.

This job is really getting to me, but he deserved his punishment.

He then shook his head, took a deep breath, and turned the door knob with his hooves and walked into his home.

“Daddy’s home!!” The excited squeal was the first thing Silver Tongue heard when he stepped into the spacious front room. Little Blossom, his daughter, rushed towards the door with a joyous countenance. She hugged her dad with her hooves and rushed back to the living room, which was hidden from view by a staircase that led to the second floor. Little Blossom was a small filly, with a yellow coat and purple mane with a blue stripe like her father’s. She had her father’s blue eyes, too, though, and was a joy to him and his wife. After a pause, he heard a pair of hooves trot slowly towards the entrance as he watched his wife enter. Morning Star was a light purple mare, with a light red-orange mane which had always reminded Silver Tongue of a sunrise. Her violet eyes added to that impression, along with her cutie mark, a sunrise with a large star in the middle.

She had received her cutie mark after going through some hard times. One morning, she woke up, watched the sunrise, and her sad feelings melted away. She realized her calling in life was to be the star that brought an end to the dark. Her father, Light Heart, and her mother, Bright Dawn, had been taking a morning stroll when a tree had fallen on them and crushed the life out of them. For a while she had been depressed and thought her life was over. She had to move to her grandparents', who tried to raise her as best as they possibly could. One morning she was watching the sunrise on the porch of her grandparent’s house and thought of what her parents had told her about the morning star.

“You see that?” he father would always ask, pointing to a faint star in the morning light.

“Yes I do see it!” she would always respond.

“Well, if you ever run into any trouble, just remember that the morning star will always be there for you at night and in the day. Always remember that it’s there for you.” Her father would always point that out, while her mother would explain the stars to her.

“They are celestial beings that watch out for ponies in danger,” her mother would explain, “they will always bring hope into your life if you believe in them

She then realized that she needed to be a light for other ponies and help them and in a flash a sunrise with a star in the middle had appeared on her flank.

“You’re late again,” Morning Star remarked, “How was the case?”

“Oh it was fine, and the jury took forever to deliberate which is why I was so late,” Silver Tongue responded carefully, he looked at his worried wife and smiled, “but I’m alive.”

Morning Star started blankly at him for a few seconds, but then returned the smile, trotted over, and nuzzled his cheek.

“I’m glad you’re home,” she said warmly, “Dinner’s ready.”

Silver Tongue trotted over to the kitchen and looked at the clock which hung on the wall beside the table. It read 10:00 pm.

The little filly had followed her parents and was anxiously waiting for her dad to tell her about his day.

“Little Blossom, you need to go to sleep,” Morning Star said after she followed her husband’s blue eyes to the clock.

“Awwww mom, why do I have to go to sleep? Daddy just got home!”

“Blossom, please obey your mother, we will talk about it all in the morning, I promise,” Silver Tongue said and smiled at her daughter, “We’ll talk about while we play your favorite game, Monopony,” he added hopefully, looking into his daughter’s eyes with love and care that only a father could provide.

“Ok, Daddy I love you!” the unicorn filly trotted up to her room to go to sleep, after wishing her parents good night and hugging her father again. Silver chuckled and wished his daughter good night. He had always been amazed by the energy and excitement of his little filly.

“So what happened at the court house?” Morning Star had been watching Silver Tongue and had noticed recently he had been gloomy whenever she brought up the court house. She had a knack for noticing the small things.

“I won the case," he sighed,"But I don’t know what to do anymore. Honestly, I feel as if my job has lost its charm, I feel like I’m harming more than helping and it’s too much for me to handle,” he sighed, “I know it’s good for me to help people, but I have put too many ponies away and charge way too much for my services.” He looked back to the number of cases he had turned away because the ponies who needed him were too poor to pay.

“Silver, you do your job well and have helped many ponies by bringing criminals to justice. You are the best lawyer pony in all of Equestria and deserve a good pay! Don’t let that get to you, you have a family you need to support and money is the only way to do that,” Morning Star said pointedly hoping to cheer her husband up.

“But Starry, I charge 200 bits an hour for my services! A case usually takes 20-40 hours for me to do research on it and do the actual case, that’s a lot of money.” Silver Tongue said as he put his head between his forelegs and began massaging his temples.

When Silver Tongue had started as a lawyer, he had charged very little for his services but as he grew more and more famous in the law market, he increased his prices drastically so only the rich could afford him. It had dawned on him during this case that he had lost the love for his job and money was his only drive. That scared him. Manehattan had changed him from a pony who loved a challenging case to a pony who loved money. He needed a change of scenery as well as a change of heart.

“We need to move,” Silver Tongue decided, “This town is ruining me. We have to leave.”

While Silver Tongue relayed his worries, Morning Star had used her magic to levitate a plate of salad over to him.

“I made this for you and you need to eat it,” She instructed, “It will make you feel much better.”

Silver Tongue began to eat, but the urge to leave the oppressive environment of Manehattan was still burning in him. His wife knew that, and some part of her agreed with that decision. Morning Star had nothing to do in Manehattan except gossip and walk Little Blossom to school. She wanted a new city. The neighbors prided themselves in the most trivial matters. Who had the most money, the largest house, or best hair. It was all too much for her to handle. Her neighbors were artificial, putting on a fake persona to appeal to each other, and she hated it. She remembered her past life, before she met Silver Tongue, she lived in the country and had always loved nature, taking walks with her parents.

She missed her parents and the peace she felt in nature.

After Silver Tongue had finished his meal, he put the plate by the sink, and set off to go to sleep. Morning Star trailed along beside him looking at him thoughtfully. They climbed the stairs,walked into their room, turned the lights off, and climbed into the bed.

“Will you be ok if we move?” Silver asked quietly, resting a foreleg on his wife’s shoulder.

“Yes, I will always support you,” she reassured him.

The clock read 11:45 pm.

A/N: Both my editor and I would like to thank you for your feedback. It means a lot, and really has helped the story evolve. Thanks so much

A Change Of Scene

Trials and Tribulations
Chapter Two: A Change of Scenery
By Silvertongue123

Silver slowly awoke and sat up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes with his hooves, and looked at the empty bed next to him.

She must’ve woken up already, he thought.

He crawled out of bed, plodded to the window, opened the blinds, and was welcomed by the purplish-gold of the morning sky. He yawned and shook his mane.

Yesterday had taken a toll on him and sleep was a blessing for his tired body and mind. He sluggishly walked to the bathroom, shut the door, and looked at the mirror.

He hated looking at himself now. His reflection had become a constant reminder of the stallion he hated so much. A reminder of the greed that now controlled every aspect of his life. A token of the power he had exercised over other ponies. He wanted to be different. He wanted change.

Why am I the way I am now? What’s made me different? Is moving really the right choice?

The questions seemed to invade his mind like a torrential flood, overwhelming him with second thoughts, but he dammed them up in the corners of his mind by forcing his focus on straightening his mane. He needed to talk to Morning Star as soon as possible.

Where will we go?

He stopped dead in his tracks as names of cities swept into his mind.

I really need to talk to Morning Star; she always has the solution to these issues, he shook his head and continued with his morning routine.

After finishing, he slowly crossed the elegant carpet of his second floor, down the stairs, and opened the front door quietly, as to not wake Little Blossom. He glanced at the ornate clock that hung above the front door.

It read 5:45 am.

It’s almost time for the sun to rise.

He opened the door and walked out into the twilight, with rays of the not yet risen sun reflecting a deep orange off the atmosphere and a dark pink from the clouds. On the front steps sat Morning Star, who in herself looked like a sunrise.

“You’re up early,” she said without looking back, “Would you like to enjoy the morning with me?”

She was teasing him, but it was all in good fun.

He walked down the steps and sat down next to his wife. Their eyes met and Silver Tongue was glad that he had her. The light purple mare slowly turned her eyes to the rising sun, her violet eyes reflecting the red- orange hues that ran across the sky.

He took a deep, relaxing breath; finding himself feeling more alive than he had in the past six years of living in Manehattan and began to remember how he had gotten to Manehattan.

After he had finished school in Canterlot, he began his practice and was gaining popularity, but he was still just a young colt at 20 years old. But he was an ambitious colt, which is why Morning Star had agreed to marry him after a year of courting.

He had met Morning at the annual Fall Festival in Canterlot while desperately trying to find the food stalls, for some reason he couldn’t remember. He remembered the day exactly. While he was running to the food stands, a mare with an orange-red mane had stepped in front of him. He wasn’t paying attention, so he accidentally ran into her and they both toppled to the ground. Silver was in a daze, but when his vision cleared, this beautiful mare was staring down at him, kindly holding her hoof out to him. He gladly accepted her offer, rose, and stared in awe at the creature of pure beauty that was in front of him. He slowly introduced himself while stuttering an apology, to which she blushed darker than the red streaks in her mane. She apologized as well, and Silver asked if he could buy her a drink.

From that point onward, their love blossomed like a rose and they felt like they had truly found happiness. They were married when he was twenty-four and she twenty-two. They had decided to move to Manehattan almost immediately after their marriage in order to expand Silver’s practice. For the next six years they had lived in Manehatten. The first few years had been the hardest of his life, but also the best. During those years, his love for his wife was not hampered by the attraction of wealth, the only thing he needed was Morning Star. When he was with her, he felt like he could conquer the world.

“Silver are you ok?” Morning Star asked, jerking him out of the past.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, collecting his thoughts, “Yes I’m fine. I was just remembering the joy of meeting you, and how we ended up in this awful city.”

They stared at each other for a second and began laughing.

“Do you remember the first time we moved to this house? You forgot to get the key from the cellar, and we were stuck here in the rain without a roof over our heads!” Morning Star recalled with a laugh.

“Hey it wasn’t my fault!” Silver pleaded, laughing.

“Yes,” Morning Star’s voice trailed off as she saw the sun enter the canvas that was the morning sky. She quickly glanced around and found her source of inspiration, the morning star. Next to her, Silver Tongue was in awe.

It has been awhile since I’ve seen a sunrise as beautiful as this.

The sunrise triggered the memory of the day he and Morning had gotten married. She had insisted on a very early wedding so the sunrise could be a part of the wedding, but the night before the wedding neither could sleep, so instead of sleeping, they had stayed awake until the wedding. The wedding was beautiful. Morning's grandparents came along with her friends and close relatives, but for Silver, it was a different story. His dad did not show up as he had been recently been arrested. Silver had no close family, but he did have a very close friend from his college years, Cloud Hoof.

Cloud Hoof was the best friend Silver Tongue could have asked for. He was always causing trouble and slacking off; however, he had always brought joy to Silvers’ life. Cloud Hoof was the best colt and one of Morning Star's best friends was the best mare. They had decided to host it at Canterlot Garden, in a section that he and Morning had always gone to for dates, with a raised platform that bordered a lake and flowers all around, the aromas, the sights, and the sounds made the wedding perfect, but what was the most inspiring of all was, as the ponies said their vows, the sun peaked over the horizon flooding the sky with the colors of Morning Star’s mane.

“Morning Star?” Silver tentatively asked, “Even though last night you said it was okay, are you sure we want to move?”

“Yes,” she replied with a smile, “I had been thinking that we need a new place to stay. A new life.”

“Agreed.”

He turned his attention back to the stunning array of purples, oranges, and reds in the sky and continued to think, looking back at Morning Star every moment or so. She had kept her eyes on the star that was her namesake, tears beginning to creep into her eyes.

“What's wrong, Starry?” Silver hoped he wasn't pushing her too hard; he wanted this to be her decision, too.

"I was just remembering my parents and what they taught me," She sniffed and put her head on her husband’s shoulder. He put a hoof over her shoulder and pulled her close.

"It's alright. Don’t cry. Your parents are proud of you! You have become a strong mare and are the mother of a beautiful filly. Don't let anything get you down."

She looked up at him with her beautiful violet eyes and smiled. He returned her smile, then brought her close once again. They shared a kiss for a moment, then returned to watching the sunrise. She then spoke softly to him, "Can we please get out of this place? You and I have changed from the ponies we once were to ponies we don’t want to be. I want to live and love again like we did when we were first married."

He looked down at her and nodded his head; feelings of relief entered his body as he realized that his family is what mattered most.

The sun had risen further to illuminate the neighborhood and the couple in a soft light. The smell of grass graced their noses and the sound of chirping birds blessed their ears. They were at peace. Silver remembered one time that this feeling had been planted in his soul; it was when he was a younger colt who would travel the neighborhood with his imaginary friends. His house was near a forest and a creek and Silver Tongue would play with his imaginary friends there, reenacting the Griffon Wars, or pretending to be the great pirate Black Hoof.

While he was there, he felt at peace, but once he was forced to come back inside, that peace was ripped away from him. His imaginary friends disappeared and he was left with poverty and sadness. He shuddered and was brought back from his memories into the real world. He needed a place where it was peaceful and quiet. He needed a new home.

His practice was important; however, his sanity was also important to him. Manehattan was doing him a disservice. It had changed. Before it was a somewhat quiet city with few ponies in it, the majority lived in the urban areas surrounding it. But there was a commercial boom and everypony wanted to live in Manehattan. That had led to a number of problems, more congestion, more noise, more distractions, more disruptions, and less communicating with neighbors. It was a problem that nopony could fix.

Silver’s mind thought of cities that he would like to live in. Las Pegasus was off the list, as it was no better than Manehattan. Canterlot was full of the upper class that he avoided because of their snobbishness. Trottingham was way too far away. Suddenly, the town of Ponyville popped into his mind. He tried to shake it out. The more he thought of it the more he liked the prospect of moving to the little country town. It was as if some invisible force was pulling him closer and closer toward it.

He turned to Morning Star and without thinking said,

"We're moving to Ponyville."

The time was 6:15am.

A/N

Thanks to everybody who has helped edit and critique the story!
Special thanks to: Ancient LionTurtle, Dusk Quill, and Lord Sunder.

Chapter 3 will be out soon.

A New Life

The week for the move had come quickly. After Silver’s revelation about the location, Morning Star had been shocked, but she had agreed to move to the backwater town of Ponyville.

“It’s exactly the place I would want to live!” she had exclaimed, “beautiful scenery and real ponies to talk to!”

The family had to quickly place their house up for sale, which took about a week, due to problems with the real estate office that Silver was using to sell. Once that was taken care of and their house was on the market, they began searching for a new home in Ponyville.

Morning Star wanted a large house, but not too large that it seemed empty. She wanted a large front yard, and of course she wanted the house to provide the best view for a sunrise. She had high hopes that the small country town would provide that unobstructed view she so wanted.Little Blossom just wanted a house with a “big room for her!”

Silver didn’t care. He just wanted a house away from the city, and luckily for them, they found a house that would be perfect for all their needs. Silver had received a call from his agent once morning before he headed off to work. The agent had told him that there was a house for sale in Ponyville that might just be the perfect house for them, the agent sent a large stack of pictures the next day of the house at Silver’ request.

The house itself was white, large, and beautiful, just on the outskirts of Ponyville, with the closest house being two miles away. They had seen the pictures, but wanted to see it for themselves, so they purchased tickets for a chariot ride to Ponyville.The ride was a mess in and of itself. The truck was late, the Pegasus was overly chilly towards the family, the flight was awful, and Silver Tongue almost died a number of times because of some careless pony!

“Are you crazy? That’s a bridge!” Silver Tongue would yell at the driver from time to time.

“Don’t worry about it man, it’s all good,” the driver pony would casually respond as the chariot arched away from the bridge or whatever object the pony seemed to be attracted to.

Eventually, they had all arrived at their destination, alive, but mentally scared and shaking.

“Hey, man, that’s going to cost like uh 300 bits dude,” said the overly relaxed Pegasus.

“You nearly killed us!” was the consensus among Silver’s family. But they paid the poor driver, excluding a tip, and watched as the chariot of death flew away in loops and dives, back to Manehattan to terrorize some other poor family.

“I need to get a life insurance policy for my family”, he thought miserably.

After the shakes had stopped, they looked around at their potential home. They had been dropped off in the town square, where there seemed to be a lack of ponies. As they searched, they found a zebra walking through town and decided to ask her if she knew where they might find the Charleston Mansion, the name of their house, but as soon as they approached her, the zebra cantered away, leaving them with dust to choke on.

After that failed attempt, they went to find it on their own. After an hour of searching, they happened across an orange earth pony with a western looking hat.

‘Dear Celestia, I hope all Ponyville ponies aren’t hicks,’ Silver thought grimly as the pony approached him and his family.

“Howdy ya’ll,” the tangerine pony said, “What can I do for ya’ll?”

The accent threw Silver Tongue off, but he politely responded, “We are looking for the Charleston Mansion. Do you happen to know where that might be?”

The orange pony took off her hat and scratched her head with her hoof, “Well I reckon it’ll be over by Sweet Apple Acres, that’s at least where I thought it was! Oh! I’m Applejack, sorry I forgot my manners! Ya’ll must be new to Ponyville.”

Silver caught a glance of her cutie mark as she turned around, trying to figure out the direction of the Mansion. It was three apples.

‘From big city to small, undeveloped, country life... This isn’t going to go well.’

He was becoming more and more skeptical of the move the more the orange scratched her head, with a blank look on her face. Silver introduced himself and his family after a look from his wife that urged him to be polite.

“I am Silver Tongue, this here is my wife, Morning Star, and our filly, Little Blossom. We are looking at buying the Charleston Mansion.” He wanted to keep the conversation to a minimum; he didn’t want this new pony to ramble on, on, and on.

Applejack suddenly lit up, “I remembered where this here Charleston Mansion be at! Why don’t ya’ll follow me and I can show you to it?”

“Can you just point us in the…” Silver Tongue was cut off by a sharp jab in his side from his wife.

“Yes, we would love it if you should us where it is, Applejack! It’s so kind of you to offer,” Morning Star said, while glaring at her husband. Silver Tongue looked sheepishly away, trying to hide his ever-growing red face.

As they trotted to the Mansion, Morning Star struck up a conversation with Applejack.

“So Applejack, where are all the ponies? We were dropped off in the town square and all we saw was a zebra.”

“Oh all the ponies are here, they just are out in the fields north of here,” Applejack said pointing behind Morning Star towards the town, “There was a birthday party for the mayor and all the ponies were invited. I decided to stay behind to catch up on some of the work at the farm.”

“That’s quite generous of you, but who was the zebra?” inquired Morning Star.

“That’s just Zecora, she comes to town occasionally,” Applejack replied.

The conversation continued between the two mares as they continued to walk down the dusty road towards the Mansion.

The whole time, Little Blossom and Silver Tongue were laughing and making faces at one another.

“I feel like I'm a little younger,” he thought as he raced after Little Blossom, who had tagged him.

The game of tag went on until they eventually arrived at the mansion. The house had a large front yard, with roses and a fountain that the previous owners had left. There was a lavish white porch, with rocking chairs and a swing. There were enough rooms to fit five ponies in it, so getting a large room was not going to be a problem for Little Blossom.

The rest of the day involved Applejack showing them the house and walking them through it. The whole time Silver had to keep his usually sharp tongue in check every time the country pony opened her mouth to talk. But the day ended, thankfully for Silver Tongue, and they said goodbye to Applejack, and awaited the chariot ride that they had scheduled. It eventually came, and they were taken back to Manehattan.

They purchased the mansion after calling the real estate agent and confirming the payment.

The day arrived for the move. Worry and anxiety had set in when the moving ponies that Silver had requested didn’t show up. So the search began and Silver had placed a call to one mare that could help him move: Derpy Hooves. He had represented Derpy Hooves in a previous case and had won, thus saving Derpy’s name, but when she couldn’t pay him, he decided to waive the fee. This was when Silver Tongue was just starting. But Derpy had never forgotten him and was happy to help her friend move, and she did a great job.

“Except for the broken chairs,” he thought bitterly. “But I can always buy new chairs.”

The packing was quick and the moving van was loaded in under four hours. For Silver, the worst had just begun. His biggest fear was that when he arrived in Ponyville, it would be the same as Manehattan, and the idea that he would leave everything behind, his reputation, his business, and start anew in the small, unimportant town of Ponyville.

“Is that all you need?”

A pony had appeared in front of him. He nodded in thanks.

“Thanks so much for helping us out, Derpy. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

She flew off in high spirits, thankful for the praise she had received, but anxious to get back to her filly whom she had left at home.

Silver turned back to the problem at hand: getting the van to Ponyville. He had made a few more calls and had finally gotten a team of Pegasi to help fly the van to their new house. He was worried that the Pegasi wouldn’t show up at all, leaving him and his family stranded with no house and no way to get to his new house. But sure enough, out of the sky came three Pegasi, accelerating towards them.

“I see’em! I see’em!” shouted Little Blossom, stating the obvious, as three ponies had crossed the sky and dipped towards the family. She looked up at her father and smiled. She had been the most supportive of their decision to move to Ponyville and couldn’t wait to meet new ponies and make new friends. The Pegasi circled the area where the van was parked and seemed to be conversing with one another, but one swooped down to talk to Silver Tongue.

“Hiya, my name is Rainbow Dash. Are you Silver Tongue?” The rainbow Pegasus inquired.

“Yes, that’s me. Are you the Pegasi from Ponyville?” He asked, trying to get a feel for the ponies who he would be living amongst.

“Yes we are! We got your request two days ago. We had a team scheduled to come out, but one of the members was ill and the other pegasi we out helping with weather and other moves, so I was forced to come and help. I usually don’t do this kind of work,” she said with a tone that suggested annoyance at the prospect of having to work, “I’m a speed machine, not a moving pony.”

“There is obviously some alpha-mare in her.” He thought as he looked at her.

“So we just need your team to get this van to the Charleston Mansion.” Silver said.

“Can do! I’ll just get the team going and we will be there in no time!” Rainbow Dash whistled and the two other Pegasi flew by her to grab the van. She took off as well in a flurry of colors that

made Silver’s head spin.

“What an interesting mare,” a voice said beside him.

He turned and saw his wife walk up right next to him.

“Superiority complex if I’m not mistaken,” she said.

“Nah, she’s just a show off,” he replied as Rainbow Dash did loops and tricks in the sky, creating brilliant patterns that seemed to add more and more color as she flew by for her one pony audience. Little Blossom was cheering Rainbow Dash on while the other Pegasi rolled their eyes and yelled at Rainbow Dash to come help pull the van. Rainbow stopped in mid-flight to stare at the other Pegasi, shrugged her shoulders, and flew to help pull the van to Ponyville.

The Pegasi took off and headed in the direction of Ponyville, and the family was left alone awaiting another dread chariot ride. The ride finally came, the family climbed on board, and waited for the chariot pony to issue the flight instructions.

“No hooves outside the chariot, no food, no yelling, no fighting, and no nonsense,” the Pegasus would keep droning on and on, but when he was finally done telling them the rules, he joyfully added, “If you fall, I can’t help you.” With that uplifting comment, the family gloomily lifted off and headed towards their new house in Ponyville, towards their new house.

Silver looked down, searching for a clock.

“What time is it honey?” he asked after failing to find any time telling device on the chariot.

“It’s 5:45 pm,” was the reply.

“Thanks.”

Ponyville

Chapter 4: Ponyville

By: SilverTongue123
Thanks to: TWE, Ancient LionTurtle
Special Thanks to: Quick Fix, Iggy, and Cozmosus

“Slower!”

The moving ponies had begun to yell at each other as they tried to fit a couch through the front door of the Charleston Mansion.

“Careful!”

“Fool, turn it this way!”

“Alright everypony drop it! Let’s think about this.”

Good thing at least one of these ponies has the least bit of sense, Silver thought, beginning to feel stressed by the cacophony of voices around him.

“Daddy, what’s taking them so long?” Little Blossom whined, looking up at her father with big blue eyes, “I’m tired! Make them go faster, Daddy!”

The trip over to Ponyville had taken a toll on Little Blossom. She was tired of being flown around. At this point, she only wanted to have this whole ordeal over with.

“Blossom, they’re going as fast as they can,” Silver said, patting her gently with his hoof.

“Aww, but Daddy!”

“That’s enough Little Blossom,” a stern Morning Star had appeared next to Silver, “We just need to be patient.”

“Ugh, fine!” Little Blossom shouted in frustration. Silver watched as she stomped off to go explore the field surrounding the Mansion.

“She’s just tired, Silver, as we all are,” Morning said with a comforting tone.

“I know it’s been hard for all of us, but it will be worth it in the long run,” Silver sighed, “We never have to deal with the city again, peace and quiet at last.”

Morning Star nodded in agreement. When she turned around to go find Little Blossom, she spotted a familiar figure off in the

distance.

“Hey honey,” she taunted, “Your favorite neighbor is here.”

“Oh, no! Hide me!” Silver’s voice sounded like the epitome of desperation. He looked around frantically, but finding nowhere to hide, gulped, and turned to face the slowly approaching orange pony.

“Howdy ya’ll! How’s the move coming?” asked Applejack. Behind her skipped a little yellow filly with a red mane and a bow.

“It’s going well! Here, let me open the gate for you,” Morning Star said, after glancing back at Silver, who was trying to become as small as possible.

The property was large, but enclosed. A brick wall extended all the way around it, ensuring nopony would accidentally stumble onto private property. The land connected with the main road, but could only be accessed through an iron gate. The mansion was set further back in the property, with a small pebble road leading to the front door, which Applejack, Morning Star, and the mysterious filly were now walking toward.

“Before I forget, I’d like to introduce ya’ll to my sister, Apple Bloom,” Applejack interrupted the conversation she had begun with Morning Star about the move to push the small filly out from behind her.

“Oh, hello there! We have a little filly as well, let me go get her. Would you like to come?” Morning Star trotted off, after Apple Bloom had gotten the OK from her big sister, smirking at Silver Tongue, who now had to make conversation with Applejack.

“So ya’ll excited to live in Ponyville?” asked Applejack. That accent made him cringe.

“I guess. My only concern is I’ve never lived out in the country, so I don’t know what to do. I’d like to open my practice up in Ponyville and continue to do what I love,” responded Silver, making a poor attempt at being friendly.

Applejack stopped. “What do ya’ll do again?”

“I’m a prosecutor,” quickly replied Silver, but upon seeing Applejack’s blank expression, he explained, “A lawyer.”

“Ohhh,” Applejack remarked, “So you’re one of them fancy rich ponies. Well, the town is hosting a welcome party for ya’ll later this afternoon, so all ya’ll can meet the ponies in Ponyville,” Applejack seemed happy to have another pony in Ponyville.

“Where will the party be held?” inquired Silver.

Applejack laughed and answered, “That’s not for me to tell, ya’ll will get your invitation later this morning.”

“Okay, well I’ll make sure I attend,” Silver was attempting to get out of his comfort zone in order to achieve his original purpose with the move. He looked past Applejack and saw Little Blossom and Apple Bloom playing in the field while Morning Star trotted back to her husband.

“Well,” Morning Star said with a smile, “It looks like they’ll get along fine.”

Applejack looked behind her at the two fillies playing in the field and grinned, “Well I’ve gotta go take care of some things back at the farm,” she turned her head toward the fillies and yelled, “APPLE BLOOM, LET’S GET GOING!”

Apple Bloom got up and galloped to her sister, waving goodbye to Little Blossom.

“It was nice meeting you, Apple Bloom!” shouted Little Blossom.

“You too, Little Blossom! We’ll have to play again sometime!”

Silver was smiling a little; at least somepony’s fitting in.

“We’ll have to chat sometime when we’re not moving,” Morning Star called out to the orange pony, “Oh, let me get that gate again,” She cantered over and opened the gate for them, “Thanks again for visiting us!”

“It was our pleasure,” Applejack said with a smile, “Ya’ll have a good day now,” Applejack passed through the gate with Apple Bloom in tow, and they began their walk to Sweet Apple Acres.

The time was 10:21 A.M.

Silver turned back towards the house to inspect how the moving ponies were coming along when Morning Star called after him, “Silver dear, what was Applejack talking to you about?”

“She said there’s going to be a welcome party for us today. She said somepony will drop by and leave an invitation by the end of the morning,” explained Silver. Morning Star nodded her head and caught up with her stallion.

“I was just going to check on the moving ponies. They’ve been here since seven, so they should be wrapping up now,” Silver said.

“Well it looks like they’re done, they finally got that couch though the door,” Morning Star said, suppressing laughter. Silver chuckled and headed toward the moving van.

“Uh sir,” one of the worker ponies had stuck his head out of the house, “We’re just about done.”

“Sounds swell, what’s left?” inquired Silver.

“Uhh, well, you know that couch, it’s inside but it’s not getting up the stairs,” the moving pony said with a hint of sleepiness in his voice.

“It’s fine, just leave it downstairs,” Silver was anxious to get inside the house, as was his family.

“Yes sir!” the worker pony said with renewed energy, obviously happy to not have to deal with that infernal couch anymore,

“Come on boys,” With that the entire crew poured out of the house and left the property, taking the moving van with them.

Silver had hired them from Ponyville after the pegasi team had dropped off the van. They were pegasi as well, but dealt with moving the furniture out of the vans rather than moving the vans from city to city. Silver had paid them in advance and was pleased with the work they had done.

“Little Blossom,” Silver yelled, “You can come into the house now.”

A yellow bolt appeared out of nowhere and zoomed into the house.

Morning Star ran after her, chastising the little filly, “Wipe your hooves before entering the house! You know better than to track mud and dirt all over our brand new house!”

Silver chuckled and walked into the house, after wiping his hooves on the front mat.

The house was fairly large. He stepped into front room, and glanced around the room and saw Little Blossom rush through the living room.

“Slow down!” he yelled out, not wanting the little filly to track mud through the house, but he still heard the filly racing around the house. He sighed and went to find her, passing through the living room first. He looked around the room, inspecting the job that the moving ponies had completed. The living room had been arranged to accommodate a number of ponies, in case there was ever a party or meeting. In consisted of a bookcase, which he instructed that it be placed on the wall, and was relieved when he saw that they had followed his preference. The two couches, four chairs, and a conference table were also in the right place, with the chairs and couches surrounding the table.

Morning Star poked her head out of the kitchen.

“Um Silver, if you’re looking for Little Blossom, she ran upstairs, would you mind fetching her for dinner? I’ve been working on it since I got into the door.” She asked him, with a hint of pleading. The filly was too much for her to handle at the moment, so he nodded. The kitchen was just like any other kitchen, a sink, refrigerator, drawers, cabinets, a pantry, and of course, a table.

He trotted through the kitchen and into the dining room, he could access the stairs from here, as well as inspecting the room.

The dining room consisted of a large, fancy table that Morning Star had received from her Grandparents. It had been the same table that they had given her parents when they had gotten married. When Mornings’ parents died, the table was given back to her Grandparents, but they had given it to Silver and Morning once they were married as a family heirloom.

The chandelier above the table was also another heirloom given to Morning.

He smiled when he remembered being pulled aside by Morning Stars’ grandfather who told him, “That chandelier is like our granddaughter. Fragile. Take care of her like you would a chandelier.”

Silver climbed the stairs that led up to a landing which separated into four hallways, one hallway led to the master bedroom and bathroom. Another led to Little Blossom’s room. The third led to a game room, where a billiards table had been set up.

The last hall led to the attic, which was uninhabited at the moment.

Silver sighed as he wandered down each hallway, looking into each room for the silly filly. When he got to the third hallway, he walked up to the billiards table, put his hoof on the smooth green felt, bringing back the memory of when he had first touched the fabric of a pool table.

Whenever Silver needed a break, he would go play pool. His father had taught him how to play at the local pool hall. It was the first time him and his father had really done anything together. He still remembered how happy he was at the prospect of spending time with this father.

His father had told him, “Son, when you play pool, relax, take a deep breath, feel the felt, and take it slow.”

The memories that the felt had brought back were interrupted by the chiming of a clock. He quickly glanced around to look at the clock that was on the wall behind him.

It read 10:45
_____________________________________________________________________________________
A/N

Sorry if the chapters aren’t as long as you guys would like, I type whenever I get the chance, and sometimes a chapter needs to be ended so it maintains quality. This chapter will be released in sections, (ex. Part 1, Part 2, etc). I’m thinking of having it be 2-3 parts, but to make you, my reader, happy I will release as much as possible. Also please leave a comment and vote on the story. We would enjoy that.
Thanks to everyone who has helped, will help, and is helping,
Silver Tongue 123.

P.S. The fun has been doubled!