New Mentors, New Lessons

Chapter 1

Was it chaos or panic in the streets of Ponyville on that day? That was the question that remained unanswered for the time being as an orange glow as cast over the land. Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi could be seen racing all over the town in a panic over everything that had happened just recently and while the problem had been solved the chaos only seemed to get worse. It was evident as to why though as the sun slowly sank behind the horizon, bringing an end to the day as the night sprang forth. Stars began to appear, followed by the light of the full moon in place of the sun. As this occurred, a figure descended upon the ground, a few deep blue feathers falling from him as he landed. Amidst all the panic, he seemed to go unnoticed, just simply trotting through the streets without a care in the world, so it seemed anyhow.

Light from the full moon seemed to give him a bit of a glimmer, causing his very mane to sparkle as he trotted quietly, in hopes of remaining unnoticed. Parting his mane on top of his head was a medium length, pointed horn, but that wasn't just the only feature that stuck out on him. His eyes even glistened as he stopped in his tracks, gazing up at the stars and moon. A soft sigh slipped from his mouth as his silvery-golden orbs gazed up to the night sky. Already he could sense what was going on and while it was a positive thing for Equestria, was it really a good thing for her? This is what plagued him. He shook his head and continued on his path. As he trotted, his eyes slowly closed, looking back on everything that had happened over the past couple of months. Recalling the very day this began.

“You're late...Silver...” a voice rang out as he stumbled into the room, a bit of a snicker following behind it at his clumsy behavior. “You should've been here fifteen minutes ago.” his eyes narrowed up at the mare, picking himself up off the floor. His gaze was met with pale magenta orbs just inches from his own face.

“Bah!” his own voice rang out in surprise, this caused him to stumble back onto the ground, this caused his position to shift relatively quickly, now he rested on his back, still facing whom had met him at the door. His eyes first locked onto the flowing rainbow mane, which followed up to a horn. The first curious point came here, when he saw the empty space on her head where her crown should be. This caused him to slowly trail down her body, her fine white coat seemed to be a bit messy, which seemed especially unusual for her. What was even more unusual though, was the distinct lack of her gold collar with the amethyst gem. It wasn't until he looked up again did he also take note of the fact that her mane was an absolute mess as well. He knew right then and there something wasn't right. He quickly collected himself, getting up on his hooves in a matter of seconds before he spoke up. “Is something wrong, Celestia?” she paid little mind to the distinct lack of formal titles, knowing that Silver often preferred to call her by just her name. It seemed to ease her troubled mind a bit when she heard him speak, as she exhaled a held breath.

Hesitation was in her eyes, causing them to shift slightly, turning away from the alicorn stallion. “I...I don't know how to put it exactly...” Her voice seemed torn, broken, raspy even, looking as though she was facing an inner struggle. The stallion could clearly see that as he was sure to close the door behind him, ensuring that nopony would hear the conversation.

“Then...why don't you just start from the beginning?” Silver inquired, “But, before that, allow me to deliver the last part of my report on the Changelings in Manehatten.” From the saddlebag, a scroll appeared, surrounded in a silvery aura which also seemed to envelop the stallion's own horn. Gently, it moved from the bag, over to the nightstand. “For later.” Celestia only nodded, turning to the scroll for a brief moment, before turning back to the deep blue alicorn.

“W-well...where exactly should I begin?” her voice seemed to break here, which is where he placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Just...take a deep breath and relax.” he advised, to which she listened. With her hoof on her chest, she inhaled deeply and while the exhale was a bit shaky, it seemed to ease her a tiny bit. “Feel better?”

“A little...” In truth, it was quite a significant difference than it had been a little while ago. From before, she couldn't even put her thoughts into words, but now, her mind felt calmer, more at ease. At least now she actually had someone she could talk to about the situation.

“Now...do you think you could enlighten me on what has you so worked up?” It was indeed unusual to see Celestia like this, especially for Silver, considering how close he was to her. Never in his life had he seen the princess so worked up before. Normally she was extremely calm and relaxed, able to handle anything that was thrown her way. This seemed different however, her eyes alone told a tale as they were clearly bloodshot, which said to him she had lost quite a bit of sleep over the issue. 'Least she's kept it contained...' he thought, still looking over her present state.

Celestia cleared her throat, standing up like the proud alicorn she should be, even given her present condition. “Silver, before I explain everything...I must tell you that...the reason I'm like this is because of something that just came to my attention very recently.” His attention was grabbed by this, leaning in a bit closer to the princess. “Your mother...brought me something a few days ago...” his eyes seemed to go as wide as plates when he heard mentioning of his mother.

“R-really? She was here?!” his own voice cracked here, he was astonished, the last time he heard from his mother was more than six months ago, back when he fought Nightmare Moon. “What...did she bring you?” he was almost afraid of the answer at this point, well aware of what she had in her possession.

“She...brought me two journals...” His heart dropped here, knowing full well which journals she may be talking about. “A dream journal and...Starswirl's magic journal.” Silver nearly fainted when these words slipped past his ears, sweat began to fall from his brow and if his eyes could grow any wider, they surely would have. These journals, he knew about.

“W-which...dream journal?” he had to ask this, to ensure maximum clarity.

“Your great-grandfather's.” Celestia added. This caused the alicorn's entire thought process to freeze for just an instant, fear shooting up his spine when he heard it. He knew what it meant too, his great-grandfather's dream journal wasn't just any journal...it was a journal that contained visions, premonitions and even...prophecies. Nearly all of which had indeed come to fruition up to this point in Equestrian history. While he hadn't read it himself, but he could only guess what was in it. “And...she very kindly pointed me to two of the predictions...two of the very last ones in the journal.” Silver gulped, now beginning to gain some understanding of what was going to happen. Apparently these two predictions in question had really stirred up something in the princess, something that hadn't been seen in quite a while. As he thought about this though, a question struck him.

His ears perked up, eyes locking onto Celestia. “What...do these predictions have to do with Starswirl's journal?” he questioned, this caused a smirk to slowly form on the princess' face, which only made him nervous as he recognized the type of smirk very well.

“Only one prediction relates to Starswirl's journal...at least, according to your mother's interpretation.” she added, her voice growing calmer by the second. “Now...allow me to enlighten you on it...In the dream journal, the second to last prediction alludes to somepony ascending.” At first he seemed confused listening to this, which caused him to turn away, gazing at the ground for a moment, tapping his chin in thought. It didn't take him more than a second or two to put the pieces together. Celestia's slightly frantic state, Starswirl's journal and the biggest clue, a pony ascending. It hit him the moment the word 'ascending' ran through his mind it was here where he understood everything.

“...Do you mean?” she nodded, as if she had read his thought process.

“She'll be...a princess by summer's end.” Celestia's voice seemed to become one of dismay here, looking down to the ground.

“You should be proud though!” Silver stomped the floor here, as if trying to get her attention. “From what you've told me of her, she's come a long way since you sent her to Ponyville...” Silence followed as the alicorn mare's gaze slowly moved up to him. This is when he felt his own heart break. Not even in the time they had been together had he ever seen tears in Celestia's eyes. The stallion couldn't even get a read out on what she was crying about either. Was it sorrow? Was it joy? He wasn't sure, but he could still indeed see the pain in her eyes.

“I-I am...” she sniffed, holding back the tears. “I...even had a feeling she may become one, especially after how she helped save the Crystal Empire.”

“Which, mind you, was impressive.” Silver remarked, adding more to it.

“But...I thought...that there'd be more time before it was meant to happen!” A few tears began to flow here, it was tough seeing Celestia like this. “There are...so many things I feel like I need to teach her still...so many things left unsaid!” the stallion took a few steps closer to her, placing his hoof on her shoulder.

“You're not sure she's ready to ascend, are you?” he inquired. She weakly shook her head.

“No...which is why...I called you back so suddenly...” she whispered, the tears still seemed to flow a tiny bit, as she looked back up at him. “I need your help with this...” Immediately, Silver was able to guess where this might lead, his ears lowering a tiny bit as he gazed back at the princess.

“Let me guess....you want me to go to Ponyville, to observe Twilight and her friends?” It was almost as if he had read her mind, she was surprised when these words came from his mouth, but not too much. “And then send reports back to you on them and whether they are ready for this?” she was then left speechless at this moment, unable to even come up with a coherent vocal response for the stallion. All she could do was simply nod. He chuckled softly, “Now pull yourself together, Celestia, its unbecoming of a princess to cry.” she giggled at his remark before embracing him.

At first he was shocked by this, but he soon wrapped his arms around the princess. This seemed to bring her comfort, the small amount of tears seeping from her eyes vanished quickly and she became  her true self again. The worried look in her eyes remained as the embrace broke, but it was much more peaceful than it had been previously. A smile returned to her face as she took a step back, her wings extended and her horn lit up brightly with a gold aura. This brought the sun over the horizon, often she would actually go outside to do this, but there were few problems otherwise, as it was a simple spell for her.

“That's why you're my favorite spy, Silver.” she remarked, her body also having returned to its former glory, minus her crown and collar. He chuckled softly at her remark, in truth, he could be considered a spy for her, but in this case, he saw himself as an informant. It was only when he had to use dirty tactics to get information was he truly considered a spy.

“Informant.” he corrected, which made her smile vanish.

“Aw...” a look of childish disappointment appeared on the princess' face in place of her smile. This indicated that she had regained her true composure.

“I'm not just an informant though, I'm also your friend...which is why I'm glad I could make you feel better.” he added, “But...what is it this job really entails?”

“To be more precise...I want you to observe the traits of the Elements of Harmony, while I know a bit about them...Twilight's friendship reports are a bit vague on the details...could you gather up information on their natural abilities? As well as possible magic abilities?” Silver's eyes became a bit perplexed at her request, with the back of his hoof, he scratched his chin to think.

“But...I thought that, aside from Twilight, there was only one other unicorn among the elements?” he asked

“There is, however, even Earth Ponies can use some degree of magic, even without realizing it.” she explained, this only seemed to add to his growing curiosity. “Six individual reports.” Upon hearing this though, he became confused, he even had to do a double take of the princess.

“Wait...six?” confusion filled his voice at this point. “But, I thought...” Her hoof met his mouth relatively quickly though, before she began to walk quietly to her balcony. For a moment, she paused, turning to him with a gesture of her hoof. He complied, trotting right up to her side.

“Silver, the sixth report...is the most important.” They both grew silent now, sitting side by side upon the balcony, both gazing at the sky above. Silver began to grow worried in the silence, it caused him to turn to the princess still with a look of confusion in his eyes. “The final report...is on Twilight, whether you believe she's ready to ascend or not...” This caused his eyes to grow even wider than plates, his pupils shrunk and a bit of sweat even dripped from his brow.

“B-but...why me? Aren't YOU her mentor?” his voice began to shake, even more confusion filled his mind along with many more questions. However, he couldn't find the words to ask anymore, instead he just sat in place, a glare locked onto the princess.

“Yes...while that may be...” she began, only to stop in mid sentence, hesitant on what she should say next. After a few moments of silence, she was able to find the words in her mind again, speaking up to the stallion. “...the fact of the matter is, I would be biased...I care about her far too much to make such a decision...I would probably...hold her back from it for a few more years at the very least and put her through even more testing to prove that she was ready.” Slowly, Silver closed his eyes as he listened to this, this was why she was upset. She loves Twilight far too much, even as her teacher. He even came to the conclusion, that if she had the choice she'd most likely send Starswirl's journal to the moon or even the sun. In this matter however, it was different, she couldn't deny somepony their destiny, no matter how much she loved them.

“And...you want me to make the final analysis...am I correct?” She could only nod, now being forced into silence by the stallion. “Why me though? Answer that.” She turned to him in a flash, her eyes locked on to him.

“Because...I know you were a teacher at my academy for a few years...” His cheeks flushed here, a bit embarrassed that she even knew about this. “I read through your records and they said you were the toughest teacher there....” His blush only began to grow when she said this, he wanted to speak up about it, but was cut off again by the princess. “And plus...Twilight wouldn't know this...she wouldn't know that you were a teacher unless you told her.” This much was true, looking back on the last time he had met the lavender unicorn, he didn't recall ever mentioning he was a teacher.

He froze in place, his mind growing blank for a few minutes. A response was out of the question to this job request, it may very well be beyond his skills. He wasn't even sure he should take this one, especially since it consisted of him having to gather personal information on particular ponies. This wasn't out of the ordinary for him though as he seemed to be accustomed to it. It wasn't until his body forced a yawn, that he finally snapped back to his senses. Should he take this job? Should he 'test' Twilight Sparkle? Was he even worthy to do such a thing?

“If its...too much for you, you don't need to take the job...the other five reports are optional.” Celestia added, “But...as a favor to a friend...please...can you evaluate Twilight and help me decide whether she's ready or not?” This seemed to hit him rather low. A favor to a friend...his eyes narrowed at these words, before closing. He sighed in his thoughts as if struggling with his decision. He wanted to help right away, but guilt seemed to strike his conscious very hard, which made him continue to think very carefully. By the time he snapped back to reality completely, the sun had completely risen over the horizon.

Celestia's face seemed to grow a bit darker as he turned to her. She assumed the worst, knowing how good of a pony Silver was, regardless of some of his bad habits. It was a high possibility that he might turn down the job. Very high. “I'll...do it.” he hesitated, “All of it...all of the reports, not just Twilight's final evaluation.” Her expression seemed to morph instantly at these words, before pulling him into an embrace instantly.

“Thank you!” the alicorn pushed her away however, seemingly in anger.

“I'm doing this for Twilight's sake...not yours.” his tone changed drastically here, filling with what seemed like anger and...disappointment. “None of us can fight destiny, Celestia...Twilight's...is a tough one to call...I don't know whether to say its a blessing...or a curse in disguise of a blessing...you and Luna, should know more than anypony else what it means to be an alicorn.” She knew alright, she truly did know. These words were like poison to her, stinging in a wound that struck her in the heart. His words made her bring a hoof up to her chest, right where her heart should be. She looked down for a moment, before gazing back up at Silver. By this time he was already trotting toward the door, his rage filled expression vanished.

“Be sure to return once your evaluation is complete!” she stated as he reached for the door.

“Don't worry...I'll be back once I'm done.” Those were his last words as he left the room.

No matter how hard he tried to forget, this day was forever burned into his memory. That was nearly four months ago. Rage boiled in him as he looked back, it was too late now. No turning back. Was it regret for the decision he had to make? Perhaps. Was it frustration with 'destiny'? That was yet to be seen as he trotted through the streets of Ponyville. As the chaos seemed to die down, he let out a sigh before stopping in his tracks. Once again his eyes trailed up to the sky, a strange sensation filling his very being. He could feel it from the base of his horn to the very tip. A spark of magic shooting out in reaction to it. His wings even trembled from what was going on. Even from this distance, he could sense it, he was certain all other alicorns in Equestria could as well, as it was an event that only happened once in a lifetime. A princess was about to rise. As he gazed up at the stars, his ears twitched. They picked up on approaching commotion, this sent him into a short-lived panic, causing his head to shift from right to left. The voices seemed to grow louder and he recognized them easily, knowing very well who they were. It was the voices of the other five elements and Twilight's dragon assistant.

'No...not yet!' he screamed in his head. His horn lit up without a second thought, before he vanished from the streets with a bright silver 'pop'.