Silver went trotting from the tower towards the town. With her loved ones nearby and the gentle guidance of Cadance nearby, she felt a little more confident, about everything. Even her servants, which she was still getting used to the idea of, were behind her and wanted her to be better. She had so much to be thankful for!

She whistled soft tones as she went, smiling and content. Sure, she still missed the feelings other ponies had, but that'd be sorted out, in time. She had no good reason to be sad, after the shock of it had washed over her. She was blessed, a thousand times over. She began counting them in the names of the amazing ponies around her. Night Watch, Twilight Sparkle, Rough Tumble, Shei Windsong, Mi amor... Cadance! There was Fiddah and even the lesser presences in her life, like Jake and David. They all had their part, and they all wanted her to be well and happy.

"Silver."

She stopped and looked towards the female voice. A unicorn was shrouded in a trenchcoat, smiling at her. "Hello there, Silver... So, it's true. You're a mare now?"

Silver looked confused a moment and pointed at herself. "I am."

The figure stepped closer with a gentle snort. "Did they do this to you? They're controlling us, limiting us... We could get away from them." They were definitely female. Silver could tell by the shape of her. She reached out and put a hoof on Silver's withers. "Just us, together..."

Who was she? Silver couldn't remember, but she was acting very familiar indeed. Oh... Did he? Silver licked her lips. "Did we have a foal?"

The other figure went solid as a statue a moment, then shoved Silver back. "What a cruel way to even ask that... You know we did. You were there! I was there just to do that... Our foal... Our... perfect little foal."

Silver quickly figured out something had gone awry. "I'm sorry. Can I help?"

The unicorn leaned forward. "You can run away from your captors. Or do you like being their... pet?" She raised a hoof and gently stroked along Silver's snout. "I could make you my pet if you prefer? I'll treat you right... And I won't keep playing with your gender. This is hardly the first time."

Silver frowned softly. "They had to, to save me."

She waved a hoof. "Of course they did. They would say that. Do you have any proof they had to in order to get anything done other than making you a mare?"

Silver didn't. She hadn't learned the specifics of the process that dragged her from the void of death and gave her another chance. "I suppose not, but they love me."

The unicorn revealed her bright mane to view and leaned in, pressing her snout to Silver's cheek. "They tell you that, to keep you in line. You just stay out of the way, little pet. I need to break her. You stay out of my way, and I'll scoop you up afterwards, alright?"

Silver bristled. "You shouldn't hurt Twilight, or any of the others. They're good p--"

The unicorn zapped Silver. She gasped with surprise and a sensation of pinching and pulling. Her cutie mark was ripped from her flank with a grunt and pulled to float beside the unicorn. "I love you, Silver Stars, but stay out of my way." She blew a kiss, then walked off, cutie mark in tow.

Silver staggered and collapsed, feeling dizzy and confused. She could barely remember where she was, and the details of the encounter fogged over into a confusing blur. Somepony was going to hurt... someone... Somewhere?

She sat there, trying to get her head cleared, until a quick flitting caught her eyes. Her cutie mark was returning! It slammed home into her flank and her head cleared mercifully, but she still couldn't quite grasp what had happened, lost to her.

She rose on shaking legs and checked her things. Everything seemed to be there. There wasn't much more she could do, so she resumed her journey to the town a little more sedately than she had begun it originally.

She remembered a unicorn with a piercing gaze... Who was she? She seemed to remember Silver. What had they done together? She resumed her walk towards town, wishing she could remember more.

"Would you like some carrots?"

Silver looked up to Carrot Top and smiled. Some carrots would be delightful. She purchased two bundles and slipped them away. "Thank you." She couldn't do anything about the unicorn, or whoever was going to... something... something... So she got to shopping in earnest. As she trotted past Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie's voice called out.

"Hey! Wait up!" She bounced out and smiled at Silver. "We don't hang out near enough since the whole dying things. Pfft, who lets a little thing like that stand between ponies?" She threw a leg around Silver and hugged her close. "Don't worry, I know you're getting better, and I'm not in any hurry, no sir. I'm just happy to see you."

Silver smiled at her energy. It was nice to have someone so happy to see her and not demand anything, especially someone she was already aware had another foal cooking, just for her. How horny was her old stallion self? Was it that amazing? Would she fall back into those habits the moment she could feel it?

Pinkie suddenly leaned in and kissed Silver on either cheek. "Want some cookies? I just made a batch."

Silver flashed a bright smile. "I would be delighted, lead the way." She returned to the castle several hours later, saddlebags laden with groceries, her belly full of sweets, and a smile still worn on her face. She ran into Twilight as Silver emerged from the kitchen. "Oh, Twilight! I ran into this odd unicorn that seemed to be angry about something."

Twilight looked confused. "What unicorn? What are they mad about?"

Silver tried to remember. "She was a mare... Someone I know..."

Twilight shook her head. "Are you feeling alright? Your memory isn't usually this bad."

Alas, Silver couldn't place much more and huffed. "What's on the plan for today?"

Twilight smiled. "I heard you had a learning problem, and, as it so happens, I love teaching! What were you trying to learn?" She cracked a smile. "Is it some advanced magical technique?"

Silver nodded quickly. "Oh, yes! But it's nothing fancy. I'm pretty sure you'd get bored with it..."

Twilight waved dismissively. "Out with it. I'm here to help, and learning problems I can do. Why, I could get Rainbow Dash to learn a whole book practically overnight, how hard could it be?"

Silver smiled a little, deciding to have faith in her family. "I never learned the unicorn alphabet."

Twilight recoiled with surprise. "Never?!" Silver shrank in shame. "But you cast such big spells!" She shrank further. "You made up whole new spells!?" Silver wanted to vanish, but didn't know the spell for that. "That's amazing!" Huh? "You are a true savant, Silver. Come on, let's review the material and see where you're getting tripped up. We'll get past this."

Silver followed Twilight's bobbing tail as the excitable alicorn began rambling about learning techniques. "Ooo! I should show you the Haycartes method. I bet you'd take right to it. You like learning new spells, don't you?"

Silver bobbed her head quickly. "What kind of spell is it?"

Twilight stopped and turned to grin at Silver. "Imagine being in a book! You haven't read till you tried that out. Oh, I know you'll love it." She clopped her forehooves together, then began trotting excitedly away, leaving Silver to hurry to catch up with her. "If that doesn't work, don't worry. We'll find out the perfect method for you. You just leave it to me and be ready to learn!"

Silver felt better, more confident. Twilight's confidence was infectious, adorable, but most of all, touching in how enthusiastic to help Silver with such a longstanding problem of hers. Maybe if she had Twilight as a teacher, way back when... That wasn't fair to Trixie. She had tried her very best and taught Silver many things. She was a fine mentor and mother. They really had to have a visit. Maybe after Silver's various issues were settled? It'd be nice to see her parents without any drama lingering in the air. Her pony parents, rather. She remembered she had human parents before. Old memories she could find. It was the most recent ones that struggled to surface.

Suddenly it hit her. She knew that unicorn! She held her captive. She... She apologized... They were friends. Her name... Her name... Starlight! "Twilight, does the name Starlight ring a bell?"

Twilight stopped and turned to face Silver. "What brings her up?" She didn't sound happy about it.

Silver flipped her ears back, remembering all her friends had a grudge against Starlight. Poor Starlight. Was this what she was angry about? "Oh, nothing. I'm still sorting through my memories."

Twilight nodded lightly. "Then kindly remember to not be around her, if you see her." She turned back away. "Now as I was saying, I have a copy of that spell right... here." She grabbed a tome in her magic and pulled it off the shelf with a firm pull before swinging it around to Silver's reach. "Page fifty-two, second paragraph. You may use your notes for this, until we get your memorization up to speed."

Silver quickly flipped the book open, holding it in her magic. She found the start of a spell and pulled out her own book, consulting the reference chart for each letter and practicing each part of the spell bit by bit and piecing them together. It was a long and complex spell, and she found herself looping back and playing an earlier part a few times, getting it down enough to feel confident enough to play it with the spell open in front of her. "I think I'm ready."

Twilight clopped her hooves excitedly, then grabbed another book. "Just for a test, we'll start with this. Cast the spell on it, and you'll be drawn into it. I'll follow you and we'll explore together. Ready?"

Silver peered at the title of the book. It sounded like some kind of fantasy tale. The Unicorn's Breath? Maybe it was some medical thing about unicorns? In a world where unicorn was a tickbox on the census instead a mythological creature, perhaps she was being far too hasty in assuming something named after them would be a novel. Silver held up the spell high and began to play it with authority. She felt the magic surging through her as the pattern reached the halfway point, building to a powerful strobing throb before it all faded away, and she entered a new world entirely.

Silver hopped back as a sword came down in front of her. "Friend or foe?" demanded a unicorn in heavy armor, wielding a sword in its magic. That was a heck of a question to ask after swinging at her!

"Not foe!" she cried. "Don't do that again."

The unicorn rose to full height. "Ah, a lady, dressed more for a dance than a battlefield. Why are you wandering out here? You're in grave danger." He swung at her again and she squeaked, but his sword met another, not her. He blocked the blow of another combatant and warded him off. "Go. Run! This is no place for delicate mares."

Author's Notes:

What did Silver get into? What does a typo look like from inside the book?