When Two Worlds Collide

Epic Ace's POV

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I let out a deep sigh as I trot towards the balloon, a short distance away from where the alicorn and I had our conversation. “Oh Ace, you truly are a fool,” I muttered under my breath. I mean I don't even know what the feeling of ‘love’ felt like. I don’t even know if I was even feeling love or if it was just a great friendship, something I haven't had in years. For a fact though, I do know I feel something towards that mare. She has helped me through a lot and I have done nothing to help her. There's also this fear that she will get too close to me and I will be bringing her into the mess I call my life. What to do, what to do, I thought as I arrive at the basket, the Wonderbolts tying the ropes around themselves once more to take us to our destination named Ponyville. I hop into the basket where the two musicians were sleeping in their own areas a foot or so away from each other. I pick a corner and make myself comfortable, feeling my eyes grow heavy as I lay still looking up at the starry sky from the balloon. Soon, Silver jumps in, careful not to wake the sleeping mares. She looked over to me and placed my cloak over me like a blanket with her magic. I turned my head and gave her a warm smile, resuming my stargazing when she returned it with a lopsided grin.

I remember when...No Ace, no more thinking about the past, at least not now, I told myself as I glance over at Silver, who had already nodded off. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, I thought as a goofy grin appeared on my muzzle. I know in that curious mind of her's, she has been thinking a lot lately, I remarked as my grin faded. I tried to picture it from her perspective as I continued looking at her, my thoughts clouding just slightly. In a course of just a few days, she has been put through many challenges. I didn't expect an answer from her in the near future of course, but I would really like to know. She has so much going on and it takes a real strong pony to just put up with half of what she has. My eyes began to close, the warmth of my cloak prevents the cold from seeping in. My breathing began to deepen as my eyes closed, darkness was all that was present in my vision before I let sleep fully take me in its grasp.

*   *   *

I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and almost screaming. I shot upwards, breathing heavily. The sudden movement of my body appeared to have shaken the basket slightly, resulting in waking the DJ close to me. She looked at me with her sleepy eyes, batting them a few times before rubbing them. “Hey Ace, why are you up this late moving around?”

“Well,” I said with my groggy, raspy voice, “I was asleep until I awoke from some sort of nightmare.”

“Nightmare?” she gets up and sleepily trots towards me and lays next to me, trying not to shake the basket much like I had before she asked, “what kind of nightmare?”

“It was one of those you can’t remember, you just wake up sweating and scared.”

“Oh, I hate those,” she agrees and then looks at me with tender red eyes, “um Ace, I need to apologize for what I did in Las Pegasus.”

“Oh that, don’t let it bother you,” I swung my foreleg over her and gave her a hug from the side, “you had slightly too many ciders that day.” I gave her a reassuring smile, and she returned it as I still have my foreleg over her.

“Thanks, Ace. You are such a good friend, bro.” She wrapped both her hooves around my waist on the side and squeezed tightly, as if to hug me.

I flushed, and just smiled warmly back. I’m a good friend, I thought as my smile widened. She then began to nod off, her head resting on my right side. I let her stay and thus begin to fall asleep with the mare by me, her snoring nearly unheard by the sound of the wind.

*   *   *

The chirping of the birds comes piercing into my ears as it starts to awake me to a brand new day. I look around the basket with my blurry vision to see nopony in the basket with me. They must of got some food, I thought to myself as I get up to stretch, yawned loud enough that two mares that were passing by the balloon, started to giggle at me. I give them a smirk as they trot by and I sleepily trot out of the basket, feeling the blades of the grass below collapse under my hooves. Instead of looking for my friends, I start walking towards a lake close by. My steady trot soon turned into a fast paced gallop. In mid-gallop, I jump into the lake, feeling its cool refreshing touch on my coat, running though my mane as I surface.  The dye on my mane was fading when I looked up at it, also seeing a lily-pad on my head. Finally I get to see my glorious colors the way they are supposed to be and not this solid black, I thought victoriously as I let out a relaxed sigh and began to step out of the lake, its water running down my coat and mane, eventually dripping onto the ground below me. As I begin to shake my mane to get the water out, I hear an unfamiliar voice from somewhere around me. “Hey there stranger, I never met a pony like you before, are you new?”

The voice seemed very fast paced and full of energy. I turned around quickly, to see this curly haired pink pony wearing a snorkel and some flotation devices on her. She began to waddle out of the water towards me, “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie.” she introduced herself with a very wide smile.

“Um, hello Pinkie Pie,” I said in a very unsure voice, “my name is Epic Ace.”

“Oh boy, that’s a really cool name, reminds me of some like super hero name,” she lets out a very loud gasp before seeming to float in the air, “are you an super hero?”

I cannot help but laugh at this mare's randomness, “No Pinkie, I am no super hero.”

“Then you must be a villain!” she jumps into a tree nearby and, in what seems to be a matter of seconds, she appears in front of me in some sort of super hero costume. “Alright villains, prepare to face justice,” she said with a defiant stance as her cape waved wildly in the wind.

I didn't question her changing in a matter of seconds for I was too busy laughing and almost falling over doing so. “Oh Pinkie, trust me, you don’t know me,” I tell the mare as she shifts constantly.

She then let’s out another gasp, but even louder than the previous one, “You are right, I don’t!” she then ran off into a random direction leaving me there with a dumbfounded look on my face. How odd, I thought to myself. The small group I had been accompanied by on this journey came into my line of vision and seemed to be trotting towards me. I smiled and trotted towards them, all of us meeting about half-way.

Silver spoke first, "Hey sleepy head. We went out to get something to eat," she explained before continuing, "you didn't wake up even when I sat on you so we just left you to rest. Is that alright?"

I nodded, my mane still wet. "Quite. What'd you lovely mares have?"

"Just a simple sandwich dear," Octavia spoke softly as she trotted up next to Silver.

My stomach rumbled softly. "I wish I would've have woken up. I'm famished," I groaned.

Vinyl giggled softly before levitating a sandwich in front of me. "We always come prepared bro."

I smiled, taking the sandwich in my hooves as I sat down on my haunches. "Thanks," I said while chewing.

Vinyl nodded and waved her hoof. "Don't mention it."

I sit there for a moment, eating my sandwich. After I finish, I stand back up, stretch a little and spoke into the silence, “Well what are we going to do now? I mean we are here in a new town, so let’s have some sort of fun.”

Silver turned towards me, “What kind of fun do you plan on having, Ace?”

“I have no plans for what today has in store,” I then direct my attention towards the musicians, “I believe we should walk around and take in the scenery around us. I mean, we may be here for a while due to the fact we have no way back.”

I smiled at the fact I was not being chased anymore or having guards up my plot. Silver though, she looked slightly guilty and she spoke in a slightly agitated tone, “Oh, just shut up, Ace.”

I let out a chuckle and approach the grumpy mare. I then stand on my hind legs, my front hooves resting upon her shoulders and my chin on her mane. “Now come on Silver, lighten up. For now, let’s just go around and meet some ponies.”

I ruffled her mane a little before I dropped my hooves back onto the ground. She let out an exasperated sigh, and Octavia spoke up, “He makes a point. I think it would be rather nice to see some new faces,” she flashed a smile of approval to further her statement.

Silver looked towards her and shook her head, “I guess we could have a look around. I just thought we should get a balloon and try to get out of here.”

Vinyl let out a yell in response, “Aww yeah, come on let’s go see if they got a club here!” She began speeding off in a direction towards the middle of down town. Octavia lets out a grunt, knowing that the DJ will most likely cause some sort of trouble and she began to follow her slowly to where she began running to.

I laugh slightly. "she so adventurous!” I exclaim

Silver looks at me grinning slightly, “You seem much more cheerful than usual. What’s got you in a good mood?”

“Silver, I am not wanted anymore, I can finally have my mane its original color and I have no worries at the moment," I explained as I let the smile on my face show how happy I was.

She just smiled back. “Alright then, then let’s go look around.” she began to trot away from me at a brisk pace, but then she started to gallop at full speed as she turns her head with a sly grin plastered on her muzzle and yells, “Race ya’ to that apple field!”

I was caught off guard as she already had a good lead. “No fair!” I exclaimed, and started to chase after her towards the apple field.

*   *   *

My breath was heavy as we galloped up the hill toward the red barn not too far away now. I see the gray mare in my line of vision and began to charge at her, not daring to stop and I tackled her to the ground. She let out a squeal as she hit the ground inside of the barn, hay falling on top of us. She was laughing as she lay sprawled out with hay covering her body, a smile of victory now where her trademark grin used to be. “I won!" she exclaimed with the voice of triumph.

  My breath was heavy as I huffed out the words, “That was unfair, you had a head start.” I then got up and held out my hoof to help her up, she grabbed it, and I pulled her up as hay fell from both of our manes and bodies.

“Well too bad, I still won.” She stuck out her tongue at me with a smile.

As she did, an orange farm pony came out from around the corner and spoke in a strong, Southern accent, “Now what in tar-nation are you two doing?”

I looked at her with surprised eyes, “Oh. I am sorry if we seemed to be intruding on your farm, this seems to be an odd time to introduce myself, but I am Epic Ace, and this is Silver Mist," I motioned to the alicorn beside me with my hoof and continued, "I'm sorry. We were having a little race to your farm.”

“Ah saw y'all runnin' towards the barn and it kinda’ looked like ya were chasing her, and when Ah heard a scream, Ah came over here to see what the ruckus was all about," the earth pony said, tipping her hat with a smile.

Silver and I both let out a small laughter before Silver spoke, “Yeah, we were just having a race. We are relatively new to town so my apologies,” she gave her a sheepish smile, "nice to meet you."

“Well it’s nice to meet y’all, Silver and Ace. Welcome to Ponyville, if ya haven't already been welcome'd. Ah wish Ah could talk to y’all some more but Ah got things Ah need to do around the farm, so have a nice day,” the blonde maned mare tipped her hat once more and turned, trotting away from the barn. She called back to us without turning her head, "Ah'm Applejack, by the way." She trotted out into the orchard and left us there, still covered in little strands of hay.

Silver spoke, “Phew, I thought something bad was about to happen.”

I had a sudden realization, “Speaking of bad things happening, we should go find the other two."

“Oh yeah,” she laughed slightly, “we should go find them before Vinyl finds a way to start trouble.”

“Actually, trouble always seems to find Vinyl,” I stated. We both had a little laugh out of that as we trotted back towards down town, looking around at the scenery this time around and letting the silence be our way of bonding further.

*   *   *

We made our way throughout the area known as Ponyville, everything but the wind and sounds of birds were heard among the silence that clung to our bodies. Silver then turned to me, still trotting adjacent to my left side. "Ace," she began, curiosity seeping into her tone, "what did you mean by 'I think I might love you' last night?"

The question seemed caught me off guard, nearly loosing rhythm in my trot as I said shakily, "Oh," I let out a deep sigh, gathering my thoughts before I spoke again, "Silver, you must understand that I don't really know what it feels like to love others. I don't even know if I am feeling love, but maybe I am beginning to love you and maybe I am not, I'm just not sure. I always seem to think of you as a friend, but I just needed to tell you that maybe I was, due to the fact I am not good with hiding things. Just to add to the details, you seem really trustworthy from what I have been through with you in the last couple of days and you've helped me." The words I spoke were true, yes, but was it really a good time to tell her the secret that nopony has known about? The past is what holds the secrets to who I am, I thought as I watched the mare ponder what I had said, but do I want to drag her into this? Into my life and have her accompany me on the path awaiting me? Am I ready to trust another pony?

"What you're saying is that you've never truly felt what love is like?" she asked after several long, awkward moments.

I nodded, my cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. "Sadly, that is exactly what I am saying."

The mare beside me stopped and enveloped me in her magic, causing me to panic. She turned me around and put me down in front of her. "I know what that's like. I know what it's like to be nervous or feel like there's a swarm of butterflies residing in your stomach. Just embrace it," she told me as she then began trotting in front of me, swishing her tail just enough to hit me in the face.

I grunted. "What the hay is that supposed to mean?" I blew a strand of her tail from my muzzle before I decided to catch up with her.

"It means what it means," she simply said.

"Again, what?"

"Embrace it, love it, don't let it get to you, okay?" she explained, looking down small alley ways for Vinyl and Octavia.

"I'm still confused," I muttered before her tail hit me across the face again. "What was that for?"

She smiled as she looked back at me, "To shut you up."

I huffed as I heard the familiar voice of Octavia. "Vinyl Scratch, you get your flank back here! Drop that poor frog, Vinyl! Hey, no, don't throw it on-" There was a loud squeal as both Silver and I approached the two mares that seemed to be in a struggle with each other. Octavia had a frog in her mane and Vinyl was holding back laughter as she stared at the proper pony's disgusted expression.

“What's wrong Tavi? Can't stand having something dirty stuck in that pampered mane of yours?” Vinyl asked before she broke out into a fit of laughter, rolling around on the ground.

I let out a sigh as Octavia screamed in pure terror. “Get it out now, Vinyl!” Vinyl was too busy laughing to pay attention to her panicked friend. Silver came to the rescue of course, using her magic to get the slimy creature out of the frantic pony's mane. "Thank you, love," Octavia said to Silver, a visible shiver coursed down her spine.

I shook my head, staring at the unicorn and spoke, “Vinyl, you just like to cause trouble don’t you?”

“Oh you know it, life isn't fun without a little mayhem!” she countered, standing herself up as her stomach let out a growl, all of us turning our heads towards the DJ. "Damn, I'm hungry. You ponies know where we should go eat?"

Silver looked skeptical, "Is it an all-you-can-eat buffet?"

Vinyl shook her head. "No, there's this bakery called Sugarcube Corner. They had some wicked looking sweets in the display window,” she beamed, looking directly at me.

“That does seem rather nice, but it's not so late in the day. Maybe we should walk around some more?” I suggested.

Octavia inquired, “What’s with you and walking around everywhere?”

I pondered her question slightly before I calmly said, “It was something my father and I would do, even though I always walked around the same city every day. We would go on different routes and he would tell me about all these places he has visited. So," I paused, looking at each of them, "I guess you could say walking reminds me of him.”

Silver looked at me for a moment, seeming curious to hear more but instead, she turned to Octavia. “Plus, looking at new place and venturing around is nice. At least the weather is on our side today."

Octavia simply sighed, briefly shaking her head. I could tell she was already tired just trying to keep up with that obnoxious and rambunctious DJ as she filed in behind Silver as we made our way out of the alley way. I began trotting away from them as I called back, “I am going to go to the balloon really quick to get my cloak. I'll be back as soon as possible!” Once the three mares nodded, I galloped in the direction of the balloon, being sure not to get lost before we adventure more within this unknown town.

*   *   *

After I made my way back to the group, we traveled around Ponyville for a good hour or so before we decided to rest. Vinyl, being the mischievous mare she is, thought it would be a good idea to pull a prank on a punk stallion, causing the rest of us to flee. I pulled out my watch from my cloak pocket and looked at the time. “Six thirty-one,” I said with heavy breathing, “jeez Vinyl. Next time, don't mess around with somepony bigger than you. And don’t tell him off after he looks like he's about ready to blow his casket.” Silence fell over us for a moment before we burst into a bout of giggles.

After all of us had eventually regained our composure, Silver hoisted herself up onto a nearby tree branch, much like an earth pony would do and spoke, giggling some still. “How about we head to that bakery Vinyl was talking about?" the alicorn suggested before climbing down from the branch, leaves sticking to her mane and coat. "I do feel like having something sweet and to relax for a bit before we start looking around again."

The white unicorn looked up, a smile spreading across her muzzle. “Aww yeah! C'mon slow pokes, let's get a move on!” she exclaimed, getting up and already trotting in the direction of this Sugarcube Corner. Silver, Octavia, and I trotted after Vinyl, keeping close to her just in case she decided to wonder off and get into trouble once more. Being able to relax after what seemed like ages was more than a great idea, I thought as we neared the building.

Vinyl pushed the door open, trotting inside with us close behind her. I was baffled at what I saw. I can't see anything! I claimed before Octavia spoke up, "Not trying to be a bother but, what happened to the lights?"

I saw the Silver shrug slightly as Vinyl looked around for a switch before I saw Silver shrug slightly. Vinyl looked around for a switch before the light suddenly turned on and there was a massive amount of ponies around us who had yelled out our greeting when we walked in. I jumped slightly since this came as a total surprise to me. Silver and Tavi on the other hoof were almost out the door and Vinyl was just laughing “Good Surprise party, Pinkie pie.”

The pink party pony laughed softly with Vinyl and said, "I didn't know you were here too Vinyl! I was just setting this surprise party up so I could introduce Ace here to the whole town, or well at least the ponies willing to come. The others were busy, but that's okay! Those silly ponies don’t know what they are missing!” Pinkie grinned widely before trotting over to Silver. "Hi there! You're with Ace? Coolio! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

Silver smiled. "I'm Silver Mist and this is Octavi-"

"Oh, hi Tavi! It's nice to see you again!" Pinkie exclaimed before bouncing away, not giving Tavi any time to respond.

“C'mon, get some food, and meet some ponies,” Vinyl yelled out as she walked up to go get her slice of cake. Tavi and Silver were already surrounded by ponies who were willing to chat with them. I overheard questions as to why Silver was an alicorn and honestly, I sometimes wondered that as well. I trotted over on to the coat rack and placed my cloak on it. I looked down in the pocket only to see the necklaces that were stuffed in there. One from Octavia and the spade shaped one I always tend to lose. I decided to put the spade one around my neck and wear it for a while now, carefully pulling it out of the pocket with my hoof, sliding it on effortlessly. As I do so, I see from the corner of my eye somepony approaching me. I turn my head around to see a purple alicorn who was holding her hoof out to me, a gentle smile upon her face.

“Hello there. I’m Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia. I just noticed you in the corner putting your cloak up so I thought I'd come meet you,” her smile widened as I shook her hoof gently.

“Ahh. I am Epic Ace. Pleasure to meet you, Twilight,” I say formally.

“Pinkie Pie told me there were some new ponies in town and she thought she'd throw a party for you all," the purple mare explained, replacing her hoof on the floor.

“She'd throw a party for complete strangers?” I asked.

“Oh yes. She does this almost every time she meets somepony new. I guess you could say she just likes having a variety of friends.”

“So I see,” I responded.

There was a short pause before Twilight spoke again, curious as she tilted her head to the side. “So where are you from?” she inquired.

“Oh well I was from Equ-" I stopped myself before I corrected my word choice, “Manehatten, sorry, word stutter.”

She laughed slightly. “That is a really nice place to visit.”

"Yes it is,” I lied. "Well if you don’t mind Twilight, I am getting really hungry. I would love to chat more, but you know, a stallions gotta eat," I told her as I began trotting away, "I am going to get some food, talk to you later.” The mare nodded and trotted away and I made my way towards the food and tried to enjoy the party as much as I could, biting into a piece of chocolate cake.

*   *   *

The party was starting to wind down a bit even thought there was still the commotion of ponies conversing and having fun with the party games Pinkie had arranged. I took a step outside, breathing in the refreshing air as the cool, nighttime breeze battered my side. I looked back at the party as a yawn escaped and I started to trot away in the direction of a field of open grass. I approached it slowly, the blades of grass collapsing underneath my hooves with each step I took. I laid down upon the dirt and grass and looked up at the stars again, being sure to look at each individual star. The night was so peaceful, yet it was not the same since I left my home. There was a sudden rustle in the grass behind me and, as I stood up to see what it was, I was pounced on and pinned down by a gray blur. I hit my head on the dirt covered ground once I made contact with it again, causing my eyes to close. Once they fluttered open once more, I was greeted by Silver's ocean blue eyes shimmering in the moonlight.

She looks down at me with a smile and speaks softly, “What are you doing out here?" she laughed softly and I joined in. "Looking at the stars again?” She then got off me and laid on her side next to me, looking up at the stars as well. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again, “Why do you look at the stars so much?”

There was a long moment of silence before I dared answering her, chuckling from her curiosity. “I used to always ask my mother that whenever I saw her outside looking at the starry sky. She would just tell me that the stars tell her secrets and that if you look at them long enough, they will tell you the future. Other times, she would just wave her wing dismissively and continue her stargazing.”

She turned her head towards me, a small smile on her muzzle. “That's different,” she whispered and returned her eyes back to the sky for a while. Her voice soon broke the beautiful silence with yet another question I was dreading she would ask from day one, looking at me with curious eyes. "Ace," she paused, looking away briefly, "where are you really from? Why were you hiding?" she asked me. The silence we endured was unbearable and I was squirming around, trying to decide if I should tell her before another question flowed like water over the side of a cliff from her muzzle, "What does your past have to involve?”

This caught me off guard, and my body froze like ice. My eyes are still glued to stars as I speak softly in reply, “I’m not Equestrian, Silver.”

“Where are you from then?” she said, as she lifted herself up to sit side ways on her haunches and looked down at me.

“I am from a forgotten civilization. Equinox is its name. In fact, I was a prince.”

“Wait, prince Epic Ace? Equinox? What the hay?" she spoke with a shocked tone, staring at me in disbelief.

I simply nodded, “Yes, I was the prince of Equinox.”

“I never heard of the place,” she said softly, still staring at me, “and what do you mean by was?”

I let out a deep sigh, knowing this was coming. “My parents were the rulers of Equinox. My mother Queen Serenity, and my father Blaze. My father was a commander in the Royal Army and mother was full blood royal so she had the throne before hoof. She was the most loved ruler at the time when Equinox was a thriving nation once she took on the role of queen. We flourished and grew in the land, spreading out far and wide, but we always tended to stay a rather small country. Anyways, there was a rumor that one day Equinox would build a weapon superior enough to take over the surrounding nations and possibly even Equestria, causing a great war that pushed Equinox out to the seas, killing many Equinoxians. They thought we would die at sea, but my mother was told by her parents that if the country ever was attacked and its subjects were pushed out of its land to take them to the old island, where there was a castle already built, so basically you could call it a backup country.”

I looked over at Silver to see if she was still awake and, to my amazement, she was. She waved her hoof as if to tell me to continue, so I did. “Now, my older brother Phantom and I were born and raised on this island, which was a decent size due to the fact we feed a decent sized amount of ponies. As the years passed and we grew older, things started to drastically change.” I paused, trying to find the right words to say in order for it to make more sense. I let out a deep breath and kept going, the mare next to me seeming absorbed in my life story. “On my fourteenth birthday, I woke up thinking it would be the best day of my life. I didn't have to do father's occasional training that day, which was horrid I should tell you. Anyways, I got to go hang out with what friends I did have, which were not many considering the fact I preferred to keep to myself often. I believe it was three at the most. After the long day and the sun started to set, I retreated back to the castle to receive my gifts from my parents. Mother gave me this necklace with the family photo in it,” pausing once more, I looked down at my necklace and opened up the locket to see the picture in it, staring at it for a moment. “She told me the reason she gave me this was so I would never forget about them. I never have as a result. I then went to my father who had been awaiting my arrival in the throne room. He gave me that watch I have, but what he told me would was the real gift.”

“What did he say or give to you?” she asked, scooting closer to me with more interest than most ponies tend to have.

“He told me, 'Son, one day your mother and I won’t be here anymore to rule over this nation. We have done our best, but I believe that you will do much more than we will. I believe that you will bring this nation to its former glory, and surpass your mother and I. You have shown that you have power and strength of a true leader, and I am proud of you for that.' That day he told me how much he loved me and how proud he was that I have grown so much.” I sighed heavily, tears threatening to fall. I blinked them away and continued again. “Later on that night while I was in my room messing around with some of my gifts, ear piercing scream that came from the throne room. I ran towards the sound to find my mother, lying in a pool of her own blood, and as I ran to her crying out for her to get up, nearly screaming in desperation to have a miracle happen and see her get up again,” a tear fell and I paused briefly, shaking now from the memory as I sat up, hanging my head.

Silver wiped the tear away, pressing up against me as if in a gesture to comfort me. It was silent for a moment as I tried to regain my composure "Do you mind telling me the rest?" Silver asked after my breathing had calmed.

I nodded and began again, letting the mare lean against me. “As I stood next to her, there stood my father on the other side of the room. He looked at me with his eyes full of fear and tears flowing down his face. There was a sharp metallic blade held to his neck by a shadowed figure. I wasn't sure on what I was supposed to do but all I remember is standing there as if I were paralyzed and watching the blade slide across his throat, seeing his blood spill down to the ground as he collapsed, the blood forming a puddle around him. I looked to see whose bloody hoof was it that killed both my mother and father. I could tell you that devastation or shock wouldn't even begin to describe what I saw. It was Phantom, my own beloved brother, wearing a sly grin on his face with the blood of our own parents' on his hooves. He approached me slowly, his eyes constricted as he let the blade drop to the floor and placed his bloody hoof upon my cheek, allowing my parents' blood to get on my coat. The next words he spoke was what made my life a living hell."

"What were they?" Silver asked, the warmth of her coat seeping into my own.

I replied, staring blankly ahead of me as I repeated those awful words. "Happy birthday, brother.”

Silver and I sat there in pure silence. No more words were left to be spoken and after I spilled my guts to this mare about what happened to my parents' that had haunted me for the longest time. What do I do now? I thought, shaking my head slowly. I brought her into the mess I refer unpleasantly to as my life and now she just might be in danger because of it. The images, the thoughts, the actions, the tears all replayed themselves like a movie within my head, over and over again. I wanted it to have been a bad dream. A very horrible, unimaginable dream. It's not though and it never will be because it was all to real. Everything was just too real. I don't even think I can love her, whatever this love thing is, I thought as we sat there, staring at the sky. I care too much for her to just let harm knock on the door and take her away. What have I done? I continued, remembering what my brother has done to the ones I cared for most in my past. I sighed softly, making sure the mare beside me didn't hear.

"Ace," Silver finally said after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Mhm?" I replied without as much as a nod.

"I'm truly sorry. I know what it's like to lose your parents. At least you had yours for a good fourteen years," she murmured, the atmosphere changing some to that of sadness.

I wrapped my wing around her, resting my chin atop her head. "At least we both have experienced something most ponies would find unimaginable."

I felt her nod underneath my chin before pulling away slowly, the cold air filling the gap that now separated us. She stood slowly, blowing her mane from her face as I retracted my wing. "We better head back," she said, looking behind her.

"Why the rush?" I asked, still sitting on the grass and looking up at her.

She looked at me. "Remembering what happened to my parents and combining your story with mine makes me realize that not everypony has to deal with something alone," she explained. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that. Trust doesn't come easy and it takes a lot to be able to tell somepony something as deep as that," Silver then nuzzled my neck softly before standing at her own height.

I couldn't help but smile. I was being thanked for being myself, I thought as she began trotting away. "Thank you for helping me trust somepony again," I breathed as I got up and followed close behind her.

As usual, she playfully hit me in the face with her tail, looking over her shoulder with her trademark grin. "Oops?" she said innocently.

I chuckled softly and trotted faster, making sure to stay by her side. "Oops my flank," I said as I brushed past her, hitting her gently in the face with my tail.

She gasped and tackled me, pinning me down. "Only I can do that, sir."

I smiled wider, thinking back to when I actually trusted somepony. I have somepony to rely on now, I thought as I stared into her eyes, letting her dominate me. And I'm happy we met.