It took you so long to get here!

But at long last, I can tell you that...

The Princess must be in another castle.

I've never met her...

Are you sure she exists?

                                                                                                                                             - "Braid" by Jonathan Blow

***

Always In Another Castle

Silver was in a quandary. His mouth fell agape as he heard Lancy's words, the words that had cut him like a sharp knife - or, to be more exact, fell on his mind like an axe falls on one's neck, slicing and smashing it at the same time. The black pony was utterly disorientated. His state could be best described as 'complete bafflement'. On one hoof, he knew very well he was sane, and he remembered exactly all the events of the previous day - he could sill feel them: the sound of steel hitting copper, the sight of steam covering the floor and the walls, the feeling of Layla's hoof on his shoulder... The warmth of her breath on his cheek... On the other hoof, Lancy sounded gravely serious - but... Layla...

Lancy coughed in his hoof, obviously not in order to simply clear his throat, but to draw the lavender-maned earth pony's attention, at which he immediately succeeded.

Silver turned his head towards Lancy, snapping from his dreamy thoughts, fear and confusion once more returning to his mind.

"Silver, pal, you're all right?" The red unicorn asked with a great amount of anxiety in his voice. His face expressed deepest concern, and even his grin had been dropped completely and resolutely.

Silver shrugged, somehow keeping his composure - probably, due to the remnants of total disarray in his mind. Anyway, from an outsider's viewpoint, it seemed that the black pony was calm and cool simply because of his natural imperturbability.

"You are the one who called me insane in the first place. If you ask me, I'm quite all right, and fully and completely sane, thank you," Silver said rather coldly, showing - actually, showing off - his character and absolute autonomy.

The red unicorn glanced at the black adventurer lamentably, almost painfully.

"Silver, pal, I may have overreacted, but you must understand me - it's not the first case of such madness. Quite a few ponies have had such... delusions..." He said carefully, trying to weigh each word, lest he should offend his interlocutor.

The lavender-maned pony huffed, shrugging again.

"Lancy, those are not delusions. Those ponies saw the underground city because it exists!" He exclaimed, slamming a hoof on the table, immediately riveting attention of a few ponies sitting at adjacent tables, some of them simply glancing at him with disapproval, making the black pony wince.

Way to go, Silver. Another reason for them to think you're crazy. Waaay to go. Somehow, this thought made the black pony chuckle, then laugh a little - only a little, but still enough to fulfil his worst apprehensions: Lancy really seemed convinced that he, Silver, was insane.

"All right, Silver, pal... Calm down, calm down," the red unicorn said in a caring tone, corroborating his words with a pacificatory hoof gesture.

"I. Am. Not. Insane." Silver said, punctuating each word, instantly realising his inadvertence: Lancy fervently nodded, widening his eyes and repeating the same 'calming' gesture.

"I know, Silver, pal, I know - and I believe you!" The red unicorn smiled indulgently, like a doctor smiles as his stubborn patient. "You're just tired, right? That... Hmm... 'underground city' wasn't a delusion - it was a fruit of your imagination, right?" He asked, putting emphasis on the last word, almost morphing his question into a statement.

"Wrong," Silver replied obstinately, shaking his head. "The 'underground city' is real."

The red unicorn sighed and faked a smile - not his usual grin but a weak smile whose only purpose was to assure one they were believed and trusted all the way.

"Well, Silver... I've heard of this 'city' before - alas, only from ponies who were considered... mmm... not in their right minds. Maybe your 'city' is different - mind telling me about it?" He asked, not unlike a skilled psychotherapist - and his calming, relaxing tone made Silver settle down.

The black earth pony sighed and lowered his head. He didn't know what to do - was Lancy playing a game to make him tell about the secret society, extraditing Layla?.. Why was he thinking so much about her anyway? Or maybe the red unicorn was honestly concerned with his mental health - but Layla said Lancy had been in the underground city before? Why the hay is everything so difficult? Silver groaned - both mentally and physically, making Lancy shrug in lack of understanding.

"Silver, pal, if you don't want to talk about it - fine. But in that case, I'd advise you to visit House of Health - we have a good psy-" The white-maned unicorn began, only to be interrupted by another groan - a louder one, and an intended one, this time.

"I don't need help, for I am sane," Silver managed to say dispassionately, his voice calm and unworried. "I was in that town yesterday - and it was for real. You didn't see me yesterday - so how can you say whether I were there or not, huh?" He continued, posing a rhetorical question before Lancy, to which, to his surprise, the red unicorn instantly answered.

"I can, Silver, for you spent yesterday with me, not in that... imaginary city of yours," he replied, trying to be tolerant and firm at the same time.

"What." Silver said flatly. It sounded like a statement, not a question - and, as a matter of fact, it was a statement: the black pony simply couldn't put the pieces of Lancy's game together, plainly allowing the red unicorn to continue.

Lancy deeply sighed, preparing for a complicated talk, slightly licking his lips, obviously considering what exactly he would say.

"Silver, pal..." He began, raising his hoof, trying to bring it closer to Silver's shoulder, but in vain: the black pony frowned upon the, it would seem, usual form of addressing and leaned back on his stool, almost falling - he forgot that there was no back to rest upon. "You see, I were with you all the time. I went to your place about an hour after I had shown it to you - but you were fast asleep, so I woke you up. We went for a walk around the town - remember?" Lancy continued, gifting Silver with a pleading look, apparently hoping that the black pony would recollect the lost memories.

The lavender-maned adventurer shook his head and shrugged emotionlessly.

"I see... Then, we went to our golf course - you said it was..." The red pony put a hoof to his chin, rubbing it. "...'lifeless', If my memory serves me right... You even compared it to the barrens..." Lancy chuckled. "And I showed you a golf club - you were so surprised..." He continued, looking at the black earth pony, who suddenly turned slightly pale and gulped.

"This... that... it was all a dream..." Silver whispered almost silently, though loud enough for Lancy to hear.

The red unicorn raised a brow questioningly, then suddenly hit his forehead with a hoof and smiled victoriously.

"A dream? No, no, pal - that was real! We could ask ponies at the golf course - they saw us: hay, they even talked to you - do you remember?" He said, visibly growing more and more confident with each passing second.

Silver Dawn paled completely, his black coat turning greyish-white. He felt forlorn. Desperate. Even if Lancy were tricking him, the red unicorn had proof - or... was he bluffing? The lavender-maned pony's spirits rose a little and he resolved to continue the discussion - Lancy had to slip - somewhere, anywhere - he couldn't be right! Or... could he?

"Silver, pal - I know what's wrong!" Lancy suddenly exclaimed, drawing attention from the neighbouring tables. "You aren't insane - it was a dream, right? That 'city' - it was a dream! Just a dream - and, since you were exhausted, your brain replaced the reality with the dream! You say you had a dream about us playing golf?" He asked, his grin once more returning to the red face.

The black pony nodded, slowly understanding the thread of Lancy's thoughts.

"Something like it..." Silver wanted to say aloud, but whispered again instead.

The red unicorn nodded.

"That wasn't a dream, Silver, pal. Your 'underground city' was, however. I've heard about it - it's not an illness. Sometimes ponies' brains do strange things - such as, replace grim reality with especially shiny dreams - and vice versa." Lancy spoke softly, but firmly - in his usual manner of an orator standing before a large audience, even if he were addressing just one interlocutor.

Silver felt like losing it: the integrity in the unicorn's red eyes made him reconsider the past events. Maybe twenty years of loneliness exasperated his state of mind, and the feeling of being around other equines aggravated that... But Layla...

"Lancy - that city was real." Silver's voice echoed across the table, reaching only the mentioned unicorn's ears.

"Silver, pal-" Lancy began.

The black pony waved his hoof disapprovingly.

"No, Lancy. It was real. I can describe it to you - you see, it's like a big steely box, and there are steam machines, and copper clocks-" He began, but was suddenly interrupted.

"-and 'Sleeping', 'Eating' and other 'corners', I know," the red unicorn said, smiling indulgently.

It seemed that Silver's mind, which was already standing on the brink of precipice, took a resolute step forth. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before yelling:

"So you were there - Layla was right! I knew you were pulling my leg all the time!" The black pony smiled triumphantly.

To his utter astonishment, the white-maned unicorn simply chuckled.

"Silver, pal, I know that because I read it in a book - 'Steampunk' was its name, if I recall correctly... Every colt read it around twenty years ago - it was a big hit!" He said, managing to keep the same indulgent smile and his speciality grin at the same time.

How the hay does he even do it? Silver thought, his thoughts leaping onto another topic for some reason.

"So, if we put the pieces together - you read about this place in a book, had a dream about it - and, due to fatigue - not insanity, of course! How could I be so demeaning! - somehow confused the dream and the reality: you thought that city of your dreams to be real, and you thought our small tour round the town to be a dream! Easy as hay!" Lancy said in a confident tone, reminding Silver of his late father for some reason.

"But..." The black pony tried to defend himself but realised that if he were to meticulously reminisce the past events, he would come to a great deal of contradictions: golf, the barrens, the book, Lancy's knowing about it all... His eyes... His eyes.

"Lancy, your eyes are red," Silver suddenly said.

"Um... yes, I've kind of noticed," Lancy snickered.

"Mine are red as well," the earth pony continued, not noticing the unicorn's mockery in the heat of his ideas flowing out of his weary mind.

"No, really?" The red pony wiggled his brow mockingly.

"How many red-eyed ponies have you seen in your life, Lancy? Apart from you and me?" Silver said resolutely, repeating the words he heard from Lancy in his dream - or not dream?

Golden Lance opened his mouth to say something witty but closed it immediately, rubbing his chin with a hoof.

"Now that you mention that, Silver, pal..." He said slowly, as if he were chewing his words thoroughly. "I'll definitely think about it later... By the way, you mentioned somepony Layla..." The red unicorn continued, not even slightly changing the tone or pace of his speech.

He sure knows how to change topics... Silver thought jealously. Why can't everything be simple? He mentally groaned one more time.

"She is a mare... from that dream..." Silver faked a smile, hoping that Lancy would buy it. He decided to play along for a while. Have you decided to play along or admit you were wrong? A naughty voice whispered in his head, making him shake his head a little to get rid of it. He surely didn't need any more contradictions for that day... or was it already evening? There were no windows in that basement that those ponies called a 'pub', so the lavender-maned stallion had lost his time sense completely.

"Oh, a mare!" Lancy laughed - not with his usual fake laugh, but (as it seemed to Silver) with a honest, natural expression of delight. "A mare in your dreams - I see... Say, when were you with a mare last?" He asked, tossing Silver a conspirational smile.

The black pony blushed, his coat turning red. Hay, how many times am I going to change colour today? He thought disgruntledly, understanding very well what exactly Lancy implied.

"I... I don't..." He stammered, scrutinizing his front hooves that were lying on the table.

"I mean - when was the last time... you know?" The red unicorn winked.

"I... The Cataclysm happened when I was four so..." Silver whispered, embarrassed and contrite.

"Oh..." Lancy's eyes widened in realization. "I see..."

An awkward silence endured.

Silver looked around. The ponies were still sitting at their tables - there were a couple of new faces but the rest were still the same. The bartender was obviously bored, yawning and lazily cleaning a glass.

"I'll ask Star to do something with this..." Lancy muttered under his breath, momentarily commanding Silver's attention.

"Pardon?" He asked, having missed half of the unicorn's phrase.

"Nothing, Silver, pal, absolutely nothing!" Lancy exclaimed, grinning. "Say - you don't drink alcohol for the same reason or on principle?" He wondered unconstrainedly.

Silver shrugged, not paying much attention to the trap he was heading straight into.

"I was four, Lancy! Of course, I haven't tried alcohol before!" The black pony smiled widely.

So did Lancy - but his smile was more of a sly one.

"Why don't you try?" He asked and, before the black pony could reply, yelled towards the bar counter: "Barney! Bring us a glass of whiskey, will you?"

The brown unicorn turned his head towards their table and nodded.

"Lemon or somethin'?" He shouted back.

"No, no, just the old good stuff," Lancy replied and with that, the bartender trotted to their table with a full glass of dark liquid, putting it before Lancy.

"Thank you, Barney, pal!" The red unicorn said, grinning, and the brown stallion went back to his idleness.

Lancy nodded to Silver.

"Try it, Silver, pal," he said with an assuring smile.

Silver hesitated for a while. But everything was so strange anyway! A little bit of singularity wouldn't hurt, would it?

Silver gulped and took the glass.

***

Silver felt amazing. Everything was so clear - his head was pure, free of all unwelcome thoughts. He opened his mouth to breathe the fresh air. It was already nighttime. The moon was high above the ground, and, to Silver, it seemed that the celestial body was smiling at him - just at him! And maybe at Lancy. Lancy was such a great pal! Too bad he trotted away, leaving the black pony alone in that pub with whatever-it-was-th glass of whiskey. But now he was outdoors and everything was great. He felt happy. He felt confident. He felt good.

The almost empty streets inspired him - he wanted to go write a song, or a poem, or a book! But he still had to read some... Oh, right! The library! Yes, he would just go to the library and borrow a book!

Staggering, leaning at lampposts from time to time, the black pony walked towards the House of Wisdom - why had he called it 'library' before? - slowly, but steadily.

Words were jumping up and down in his head, ruining his once adamant stream of consciousness. Lancy... He's sooo good... Layla... Silver hiccupped. Why Layla? No - no Layla! That was a dream... Shining Star... He thought for some reason, remembering the librarian's shining blue coat, her beautiful orange mane... Even her horn seemed beautiful to him now.

Suddenly, he saw the very mare right before his eyes. She was standing in the doorway of the library, smiling at him... She was smiling at him!

That fact alone made the black pony even happier, and, proudly throwing out his chest, he approached her, waving a hoof.

"Hi, Lay- I mean, Star! You see, I was gonna write a book - no, I mean, read a book - I mean, I need to read a book before I can write one, right? Haha," Silver muttered, his tongue not fully obedient to him.

Shining Star simply listened to his nonsense with a smile, which was turning into a sly grin.

"In that case, you'd better come inside... Maybe I'll find something nice for you..." she said, winking and turning away from the black pony, and - purposely or not - slightly touched him with her orange tail.

Silver didn't feel embarrassed at all. Of course - it all seemed so simple! Silver snickered with content. He was a stunning representative of his species - every mare would desire him! Smiling dumbly, he followed the blue unicorn into the library, closing the door.

***

The first feeling that met Silver in the morning was guilt. Overwhelming guilt. Unforgiving guilt. His head didn't hurt - although he could still remember his father saying something about 'terrible hangovers' - but his heart did. Not literally, of course. But if he had believed in soul, he would have said that his very soul ached painfully. He rolled in bed, only to see Shining Star next to him. Her orange mane was glowing as the sunlight cast its warm glance at her - a tiny ray of light illuminated her nose, making the unicorn smile in her blissful sleep. Yesterday, Silver felt passion upon seeing her. Today, he felt disdain. Disdain and pity - pity for himself, for the mare he had spent the night with, for Lancy... Lancy? Silver shook his head slightly, noticing that his own mane was dishevelled, falling on his shoulders. Making sure that the blue mare was still sleeping, he carefully got to his hooves, left the room and then the library.

The sun was shining brightly, making some ponies smile and look up to the sky. Some ponies were lazily lying in the square, near the Sphere. The strange figure glowed with almost transparent light.

Resisting the overwhelming urge to come closer, the black pony resolved to go to his flat first. Maybe it was a blind instinct - but he wanted to go home. even if home weren't home at all.

Trotting along the road, he held his head high for a while but, observing all the happy faces around him, hung it low. He couldn't bear it. He still couldn't bear it. As he reminisced the events of the previous night, the expected headache finally appeared - they were painful to remember, but too important to forget. His mind was forcing its way through the subtle layer between dreams and reality. Golf, Lancy, Stealth, Steampunk, Layla, Star - all of these thoughts haunted Silver all the way home... all the way to his flat, to be more exact.

The black pony opened the door and slowly entered the house. He headed for the staircase, throwing an infinitesimal glance at the door - the same door which lead him to the underground world. It was open. No, I won't. I will. I won't. An array of thoughts rushed through Silver's head, making him take a few especially difficult steps up the stairs.

He looked at the door again. It was still open. No. He wouldn't go there, no matter what. He had strength of will. He suddenly recalled his father teaching him - when he was only three years old. The old stallion put a candy on the table, leaving Silver alone in the kitchen for some time. If the candy were still lying on the table upon Silver's father's return, the mature earth pony would give his son a hug - and another candy, as a supplementary stimulus. If not - he would just shrug, leaving the room. The worst memory of Silver's foalhood was his father turning away, leaving the room with contempt... Never in his life had the old stallion spanked his son, never had he shouted at him - but that punishment alone was enough for Silver.

Now he couldn't even remember his father's appearance: the colour of his mane and tail, the tint of his coat, the look on his face... He could only remember his eyes - they were green, like the pastures of old Equestria... His father truly was the very avatar of the old world, being conservative to the bone - while Silver was more of a nihilist. But who had he to blame? How could one find any meaning in a meaningless world, world of pain, death and destruction?

Silver's head suddenly bumped into a door. He raised his head and saw it was his door, waiting for its host to come. Silver rubbed his forehead, tousled his mane and, with a deep sigh, entered the flat.

Everything was the same. The door, the curtains, the bed... The lavender-maned adventurer still couldn't get used to stability. But did he really need to? Was stability his goal? Or he still wanted to return to the outside world - no, to the real world - world of freedom, independence and... fear? Pain? Constant exhaustion?

The black pony threw himself on the bed, hiding his face in the pillow. It was so soft... So good... It reminded him of his mother's gentle coat - as a foal, he would often bury his nuzzle in her coat, sniffing the aroma of mother's love, feeling her hoof brushing his mane and stroking his neck with utmost solicitude... Everything was so easy back then... And everything was so convoluted now.

Silver tried to fall asleep - to no avail. His head was aching, his whole body was filled with uneasy thoughts and feelings. All his principles and beliefs were being constantly changed by some puppeteer, who was pulling at the strings - the very strings connected to all ponies, and to him, Silver, as well. Was it a god? A goddess? Or... Lancy?

Silver had always been a non-believer. His parents were free-thinkers, despite his father's conservative cast of mind, and so was he.

Celestia, Luna, Star Swirl the Bearded - those were mere old mare's tales to him. He knew very well that the Sun and the Moon were acting by themselves, the seasons were changing by themselves, the nature was living by itself. The new world - the world after the Cataclysm - was the heaviest proof. But now Silver was in doubt. What if?.. He raised his head and looked out of the window, up to the sky. What if?.. No, of course not. Silver, my friend, you are losing it, he thought to himself, shaking his head and chuckling. Such internal monologues had always given his spirits a lift.

He got up, trotted to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. His aloofness vanished at the sight of his own face. He didn't believe in what he saw. Of course, while in the wilderness, he could only look at his face in a lake or a puddle - but now, he saw a fair young stallion. But for the mane, he looked rather handsome - and mature, for the wrinkles on his face were extraditing all the toil and strife he had to experience in the lifeless and cruel world.

He washed his face carefully, properly brushing his mane for the first time in the past twenty years - with a real brush that was lying on the dressing table, amongst other items, like various shampoos, soap and sponges. Suddenly, the black pony felt an urge to clean himself - maybe it was more of a mental desire? Maybe he wanted to get rid of the feeling of filth caused by the previous night? One way or another, he resolved to step into the shower cubicle, letting the cold water cleanse his mind. It felt good - it made his thoughts slow down, coming to his head one by one. The door... No, that was not the thought he desired now. The door... Silver sighed at his mind that refused to be obedient even for a second. He knew that if something had already caught his attention, it would be very difficult to cease thinking about it. Not just difficult - nearly impossible.

The black stallion groaned and turned the tap. Drying himself with a small towel - didn't they have bigger ones? He would ask Lancy later - he left the room, taking the key with himself, checking it twice before he departed from the flat, shutting the door behind him.

He descended the stairs at a slow pace, gambling with his impatience. He arrived at the first floor, purposely trying not to look at the door. He just stood there and waited up to the moment his impatience and curiosity would become unbearable.

Okay... Here goes nothing, Silver thought and turned his head towards the door. It was open. He gulped and shivered slightly. Still considering whether he were insane or not, the black pony approached the door, ready to be hit on the head again.

The door slightly opened and a purple hoof dragged him inside. The room he was in now resembled his perfectly. The same bed, the same curtains, the same pillows and blankets...

There was one crucial distinction, however. In this flat, right in the middle of the only room, stood a familiar purple red-maned unicorn mare, her blue eyes drilling him. Layla.

"Hello, Silver Dawn," she said.