Silver looked at the old horse and felt a shiver force its way down his spine. The eyes of the elder bore into him intensely. "You are not a pony."

Bottom shook his head nervously. "Of course he is, sir. You can see him."

He released Silver only to weave a strange spell in the air. Silver's eyes followed it curiously as the old one's hooves danced and circled in a precise fashion. Then there was discomfort, like something gave his insides a light nudge. "What was that? What are you trying to prove?"

"Not a changeling..." He tapped his chin lightly. "Maybe a curse? Listen here, not-pony. Do you remember what you are, or have you forgotten?"

Silver clenched his teeth, glancing around. "Stop this at once. I know my past just fine, what does it matter to you? I'm not hurting anyone."

He snorted softly. "They all say that. Was it power? Why else would you wear the form of a prince? You have a slave, and you shop for fine things. You've taken advantage of the situation quite nicely. Perhaps not a curse, but a spell of your own devising?"

Silver felt increasing irritation at the old horse, but starting a fight with him felt wrong, so he turned away, or tried. The old one's eyes refused to be ignored and demanded he be faced. "I didn't ask to become royalty. I did ask to become a pony. My actions were still my own, it is my own fault I'm where I am, but it wasn't my intention, just working with what I have."

He snorted loudly. "A fine excuse. And what's this... Your internal magic is severely off balance. Oh ho! I didn't expect to find it again, but here you are, false prince, wearing the Bracelet of Amu-Khan. Oh the things it has seen, the lives it has ruined... And began. I thought it was lost forever."

Silver was certain the bracelet was hidden from view, but the old horse had already proven he had sights beyond the physical. He took a slow breath. "Alright, I don't want trouble. What do you want? Can you get the bracelet off me?"

Bottom looked confused. "You don't like your bracelet, sir?"

The old one laughed. "Good, if you did like it, I'd know you were unredeemably corrupt. Perhaps there is some slim hope for you. There are two ways to remove it."

"Which are?" Silver tilted his head, wondering if the cure would be worse than the disease.

"Well, there's always the direct way. A quick clean cut, no more bracelet. No more foals, either, but no more bracelet."

Silver grimaced. "And the other?"

He pointed a hoof at Silver. "You find the other half of the set."

"It's a set?" Silver leaned forward, getting more curious. "I hadn't read anything about it being a set."

"Oh, then I must be mistaken." He sat back.

"No no! I didn't mean to imply anything, please, tell me." Silver had a new, manic, hope. If he could gain mastery over the device, that would surely be the best solution. "Where is it? What is it?"

He raised a bushy brow lightly. "You should ask what the price is. That is clearly not a question you ask often enough, to find yourself in this situation. Not-pony, have you abandoned your old self so fully?"

Silver grunted softly. "It's been a long slow journey. I'm comfortable being a pony, and living with ponies, and even, yes, loving ponies. What's wrong with that?"

He shook his head. "You're still not a pony. Just a pretender, however high you raise, however 'comfortable' you are. Do your loved ones know of your past?"

Silver glanced aside at Bottom, then at the old horse. "Most. Every single pony I'm married to." Silver could see Bottom getting more and more curious.

He smiled a little. "That's a start. I won't call you a liar then."

Bottom took a timid step forward. "What is he?"

He raised a brow at Bottom. "Why don't you ask him?"

Bottom glanced at Silver, then his eyes fell and he went quiet.

Silver felt bad for Bottom, though having the bravery to ask was important. "About the other half of the bracelet?"

He crossed his forelegs. "How can I know you'll use it for good and not ill?" He turned his eyes to Bottom. "You. Tell me about him. Speak honestly, your very life depends on it."

Bottom went stiff as a board, suddenly locked in the old horse's eyes. "H-he's a kind pony. He w-wants me to be a better pony, but I don't know if I can be. He... He makes me feel so good. I want to be next to him forever, and I try so hard to learn what he's teaching me but it's hard... He wants me to act like a better pony, but I'm not a better pony. I'm a little pony and it scares me trying to act large. One day I won't be next to him and someone will call me out on it and I'll get into trouble for pretending to be larger than I am."

The old horse nodded slowly. "How did he come into possession of you?"

Bottom smiled. "He defeated all my old friends when they tried to take his ship."

"Oh? Are they dead? In jail?"

"Oh! No! He convinced them to become merchants and stop hurting ponies. Silver didn't want to hurt any of them. Not a single pony was hurt badly." Bottom nodded slowly. "It was amazing."

Silver tried to interject, but found his voice was gone. The power of the old horse was quite trying, but he had answers, and Silver meant to gain them, which meant patience was called for.

The old horse turned his gaze on Silver. "Perhaps I was too hasty to judge." He looked back at Bottom. "What would you say is his greatest failing?"

"Failing?" Bottom shuffled in place. "H-he... I don't want to say bad things about him."

The old horse reached out and lifted Bottom's chin lightly. "Speak the truth. I command it of you."

Bottom's ears span back against his head. "He hasn't ridden me, not once!"

Silver flushed and glanced around, but it seemed not a single other pony on the crowded street was paying them any mind.

The old horse chuffed softly. "Is that the extent of his crimes?"

Bottom lowered his head as far as the hoof under his chin lowered. "It's probably my fault... He hasn't done anything else bad that I saw. I heard he made a lot of foals with the mares? That isn't bad, right?"

The old one raised a brow. "I see, so he isn't immune to its effects. But you say they were happy?"

"Very. He let them all go, and lots of them went back to their coltfriends and some of them started making plans to get married. They seemed very happy." He glanced towards the boats, then the old one. "Can I go?"

"Stay, but you have answered well." His magic released Bottom, who retreated behind Silver. The old one wove a rune in the air. "This is my name. Can you see it?"

Silver nodded. "I can, but I can't read it."

He smiled lightly. "I thought you might. I have decided to trust you for now. You may call me Oman the Elder, and you're stuck with me, until such time as I decide otherwise. Take solace in the fact that I have no interest in you romantically."

Silver grunted softly. "I should hope not. No offense, but..."

"I'm old? I wouldn't take that as a name if I wasn't aware of the fact. I will speak to you of the other half later. Go and finish your shopping." He kicked his stand, and it collapsed, folding on itself to a fair-sized cube. He turned towards their boats and began trotting towards them without further prompting. He had left the cube just laying there.

Silver pointed at it. "Do they share stands?"

Bottom nodded. "I think so, sir. Tomorrow another pony will unfold it."

Silver smiled. "Alright, that was odd, but not entirely unpleasant. Let's get you your dart board, and you are definitely large enough to have one of those."

They trotted together to the next stand as Bottom whispered gently, "Are you angry at what I said? I didn't mean any harm, sir."

Silver shook his head. "You did fine. He was a little scary, wasn't he?"

Bottom nodded quickly. "He was! I'm... glad I wasn't the only one that thought so, sir. Is it really OK that he's joining us?"

Silver nodded firmly. "He may be unsettling, but he has knowledge. The discomfort he brings will be worth it if he knows what he claims to know. That's part of being 'large'."

Bottom pointed at himself. "I'm uncomfortable sometimes to get things done."

Silver smiled at Bottom. "See, you are larger than you think. Only very small ponies run away from any discomfort, no matter how rich they may be, or how many other ponies bow to their whims. Now let's get you that board..." They came upon the gaming stand. Silver saw a collection of boards that looked immediately closer to what he had in mind. He pointed at them. "What do you think?"

Bottom approached the stack and carefully began inspecting them. "Oh, I don't know how to pick..."

The stallion bedecked in gold behind the stand leaned forward. "Are you new to the game?"

Bottom looked up at the salespony. "No, sir. I'm alright at it. I never owned a set before though, sir."

He pointed at one towards the bottom. "Durable and attractive. As long as you have a good throw, you'll get it in the wood with no problem, but not for weaker players." He nudged a cloth package forward. "Good solid steel darts. They'll punch right in. I hear some ponies use them as weapons."

Bottom's eyes went wide. "Can you do that?"

He shrugged softly. "I've heard stranger tales. Come, try one." He came around and set up the board on the side of his stand quickly, then opened the bag, revealing the heavy-looking steel darts.

Bottom quickly claimed a dart the wrong way, but managed to move it around in his mouth easily. Silver flushed lightly at the reminder that Bottom had a skilled tongue. He moved around to stand in front of the board by about twenty feet then gave it a flick of his neck. The dart landed straight on, at least horizontally, but was a bit off, vertically. "I need more practice..."

The saleshorse gave a soft whistle. "A fine throw, especially with a new dart. A good match!"

Silver nodded in agreement. "We'll take them. How much?" He produced the bits and gave it to the saleshorse before turning to Bottom. "They're yours now. Treat them well." He tapped his chin. "But, again, if something happens to them come to me. I swear I won't get angry, and it'll be easier to fix, together." Trying to spot the drama ahead of time was a little draining, but he'd hope it'd reap dividends when mountains weren't made of mole hills.

Bottom was beside himself with joy at his gift. He tucked the dart back in its bag with its friends and carefully slipped the board onto his back. "I'll take good care of it, sir. We should get something for you too, sir. You deserve it."

Author's Notes:

Oman the Elder has joined the party, insert fanfare here. Let's celebrate with a round of typos!