“I did it!” I exclaim, feeling my elated tears dampening my cheeks.

The young dragon looks at me expectantly. “That’s great, Silver,” he replies in a congratulatory tone. “Um, do you want to come in?”

My ears prick forward as the sound of conversation flows more freely through the open doorway. “Are you sure? It sounds like you have guests visiting,” I offer, hesitantly. “I really wouldn’t want to intrude.”

Spike glances hesitantly at my bulging saddlebags, eager for his expected treat. Every time I come by, I always bring some doughnuts for everypony. You can guess who liked it more during the study sessions. “I’m sure Twilight wouldn’t mind too much if it’s just for a few minutes; she’ll probably glad to hear,” he says, beaming. “We just received word that we’ll be heading back to Ponyville, so there are some guests here to wish us well!”

“Well, I suppose I could stay and share my mid-day snack with everypony,” I tease. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather a parting gift?”

“Aww, can’t I have both?” Yes, he can, but it’s more fun if I make him think he has to choose. “I thought we were friends!”

I giggle at his comment. It’s hard not to. He’s just so naïve, but at the same time, I think that’s because he’s been pretty sheltered. Everypony is too kind to screw with his head, but that’s because he spends too much time around mares. “Relax, dude!” I pat him on the shoulder as I slide past in the doorway. “Nopony razzes you enough! You’re a growing boy, but easy prey! I thought with all the time I’ve been around you would have helped you recognize when a pony is being cagey.”

An adorable look of dawning realization fills his eyes as he leads me into the Sparkle family’s sitting room. He doesn’t have to show me in, of course; he’s just doing that in hopes of getting a bigger share of the doughnuts in my bag. Too bad for him! I already ate the jelly-filled ones. “Don’t tell Twilight, but I’ll miss you.”

“Why, ‘cause I don’t mind helping you with your chores when Twilight’s not looking?” I giggle, elbowing him in the side. “Or is it ‘cause I let you use my wing as a pillow when you’re napping during the late sessions?”

Spike ejects a puff of smoke from his nostrils before slapping me on the side in good humor. “Nah,” he says coolly. “You don’t treat me like just a kid. Everypony will explain things to me when they think I need to know, sure, but you actually level with me. It makes me feel equal.”

“So show her you’re ready to be leveled with, little dude,” I say with a chuckle, still looking at Spike, as we enter the sitting room. “That’s all I’m saying on the matter, though; I’m not getting blamed for inciting any rebellions.”

All at once, I feel as though multiple pairs of eyes are on me. “What rebellion would you not be blamed for inciting?” a masculine voice questions.

Oh ponyfeathers! I know that voice. Still, maybe it was just a figment of my imagination. Slowly, ears drooping, I turn my attention away from the young dragon to the source of the voice. My blood turns frigid as Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight Sparkle come into my field of view. Why did they have to be visiting today?

It’s not that I have an intense dislike for either member of the royal couple. If anything, I genuinely enjoyed seeing their wedding and the drama unfolding. Even for a case of ‘sudden big brother’, Shining Armor seems like a real good guy. Unfortunately, Shining is nothing if not protective of his little sister. When you are the pony who nearly murdered the Captain of the Royal Guard’s sister in a fit of insanity, you’d develop a healthy fear of the guy too. Still, I was hoping not to encounter him just yet. I managed to avoid him for six months, after all.

“It was just a t-turn of ph-ph-phrase,” I stutter, quickly ducking behind the slightly smaller dragon for protection. “S-Spike was j-j-just asking how to g-get ponies to level with him and stop t-treating him like a ch-ch-ch-child.”

The white stallion continues glaring at me for another moment, but relents after a quick an elbow from his pink wife. “Shining, that’s enough! You’re scaring her!”

Then, all at once, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor break off into their own hushed conversation. I can barely make out anything being said. The only things I particular pick up on are the terms ‘insane’ and ‘locked-up’ from Shining Armor and ‘infirm’ from Cadance. I have a good idea of what they’re talking about, but I really don’t want a good idea of what is being said.

Instead, I trot over to Twilight, who is now shifting uncomfortably on the couch, looking back and forth between me and Shining Armor. She probably expects some sort of fight between us. Surely she knows better though. I’m just a diminutive pegasus mare, and her brother is a Prince, a highly trained guard captain and unicorn. Part of her still expects my mostly male personality to lead me into dominance bouts. I don’t do that sort of thing though; never did. Anything that she usually classifies as such a thing from me is just me not putting up with nonsense.

“Look, Twilight,” I begin saying after a few moments to think. “I know what happened between us in the past prevents us from having the sort of friendship you share with Pinkie Pie and the others, and some part of me still holds you and Lyra responsible for all that happened to me during that week of Tartarus... I just want you to know that I’m grateful for everything you’ve gone through in order to help me—even if I didn’t exactly come off a grateful at the time.

“For what it’s worth, I still consider you my friend.” I smile in what I hope is a disarming manner. “You might not see it that way, but you’ve done more than any other tutor really would. A normal tutor would only have helped with one specific subject. You went out of your way on more than one occasion to expose me to relevant information. Hay, you even found a hooves on way to help me learn those difficult details. Regardless of your grievances told you, you never half-flanked the job. If that’s not friendship, I’m a lobotomized lemur piloting a blimp.”

If Twilight looked at all uncomfortable before, all of that is very clearly done with. If anything, she looks to be on the verge of tears. “I know this is hardly enough to repay you, but I brought gifts to you and Spike, in addition to the usual fare.” At that, I duck my head into my saddlebags. I’ll say right now that I sucked at gift-wrapping, even as a human, so it should come as no great surprise that my gifts are wrapped in brown packing paper and tied off with string.

When I set the gifts down on the table, I nod towards Spike and Twilight. The dragon immediately disregards the obviously book-shaped gift and goes for the smaller box-shaped one instead. As he tears away the wrapping, ignoring the string entirely, his eyes lock confusedly at the take-away box. With a nod and a cocksure smile from me, he opens the box, revealing a large ruby-encrusted cupcake. His eyes light up, but Spike remains completely speechless.

“I know how much you missed Pinkie’s cupcakes, so I put in a special mail-order to Sugarcube Corner,” I explain, watching the bemused look on Twilight’s face. “Pinkie was more than happy to help out when she knew it was for Spike. She even delivered it personally a week ago.” What I don’t say is that she popped out of my desk drawer to do so. Seriously, if that pony took over parcel deliveries, she could make a killing. “It might be a bit stale now, but she assured me that it’s mostly jewels anyway so that wouldn’t bother you so much.”

When I look back to the dragonling, his face is already being stuffed with the cupcake. “Thank you!” he manages to say as he chews, spraying me with flecks of ruby. Say it, don’t spray it, dude. “It’s delicious!”

Meanwhile, Twilight continues to eye her wrapped gift anxiously. “Go on, Twilight, I’m sure it’s a lovely gift!” Cadance says, urging Twilight on. Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure about this one. I mean, I know she owns every book in the series, but this seemed like the right gift for her. Still, Twilight doesn’t make a move.

“I really thought you’d like it Twilight,” I say softly, trying my best to give her my attempt at Apple Bloom’s puppy-dog eyes.

Just like that, Twilight wraps the parcel in her magenta aura and begins carefully stripping the packaging. “Silver... I already have this book,” she says, looking at the very aged copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone she’s just finished unwrapping.

In spite of the supposed rejection, I can’t help but smile. “Look on the inside cover, Twilight!” I say excitedly, unable to suppress a giggle. “You’ll be very surprised!”

When she does so, she releases the book with an excited squeal and simply stares at it, tears rimming her eyes. Concerned, Shining Armor glares in me while levitating the book over to the couch he shares with Princess Cadance. “To my number one fan, Twilight Sparkle, signed—” He looks back to Twilight. “—A. K. Yearling. Twily, this is—this is the copy I bought you for your fifth birthday!”

“But I... I lost this in Magic Kindergarten when I was a little filly! How?” She levitates the book over and wraps her forelegs around it in a hug.

“You know how I keep getting lost here in Canterlot?” I ask rhetorically. I’m pretty sure we both remember the time I ended up outside the Griffon Kingdom’s embassy when I was just going to the restroom. “One of those times, I found myself in a little used book boutique. At the time, I had been thinking about getting you a gift as thanks, so I asked if the owner had any interesting books. When she mentioned having a signed first-edition copy of Daring Do for one hundred bits, I was a bit hesitant, but I asked to look at it, regardless. Color me surprised when I saw the copy was addressed to you. I wasn’t sure if it belonged to another Twilight Sparkle until I found this photograph—” I pull a small picture frame out of my other saddlebag and place it in front of Twilight. The picture inside is a faded photograph of a certain young stallion and a little filly. “—tucked in the back.”

Twilight stares at the photo, still clutching the book tightly to her chest. “I still don’t understand how it ended up there,” she says, tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t care, either. This is probably one of the most thoughtful things anypony has ever done for me. Thank you, Silver.”

I stand right in front of Twilight, grinning. “It’s the least I could do for the mare that helped me pass.” With a giggle, I add, “Next time, snacks are on you.”

A short while later, I exit the Sparkle residence. It’s not for want of staying; I just get the feeling that I was interrupting something when I showed up. If Shining Armor and Cadance stopped by for more than just a goodbye—announcing Cadance somehow got Shining Armor pregnant, for example—I may have made things more awkward by intruding. Conversely, I could just as easily have provided some emotional headway by softening the air or something like that. Who knows?

Just as I ready myself to take off, however, I hear the front door to the residence open and close behind me. Before I have a chance to turn around, Shining Armor brushes past me. “Walk with me.” His words are barely audible given the liveliness of the street, but they’re very clearly an order.

Not wanting to disobey the Prince—it’s very clear that I’m not in the clear with him—I trot after him with great haste. He wordlessly leads me through many winding streets, not bothering to look back to verify I’m following. By the way his horn is glowing, he’s probably watching me with his magic, either sizing me up or determining whether I’m going to make a break for it.

All the while, various scenarios are going through my head. What if he’s taking me to a guardhouse for holding, deciding that the princesses shouldn’t supersede due process in favor of time served in reference to the events culminating in my situation? What if he’s super upset that I almost took his little sister away from him and is now taking me to a convenient place to kill me and dump the body?

When he leads me out into a garden pavilion overlooking the CRZ and the palace on the opposite side of Canterlot, a sickening thought crosses my mind. What if he’s here to give me the option of begging his forgiveness or otherwise become indentured to him and Cadance, for whatever purposes they can imagine. The prospect of being a concubine—even one to a royal couple—causes my insides and nethers to clench in fear.

“Come.” He motions me to stand beside him, and then sweeps his hoof across the vista in front of us. “What do you see when you look out at Canterlot?” he asks flatly.

Unsure of what he wants, I decide to err on the side cautious honesty. “When I look out there, I see an incredulously colorful city that up until six months ago I didn’t imagine actually existed, never mind thinking that I might be living here one day,” I reply in a controlled tone, trying to hold back my unease. “I see a reminder of the life I’m now bound to, just as I do when I gaze in the mirror each morning.”

He gives me a calculating look before nodding and looking back out at the setting sun. “When I look upon Canterlot, I see my home. More than that, I see the faces of the ponies I am meant to be protecting as Captain of the Royal Guard and a Prince of Equestria,” he says wistfully. “Sometimes, my duties take me to faraway places like the Crystal Empire, and it is not always possible to protect those I care about.

“Four months ago, I received word of an incident that had occurred two months prior.” Shining Armor’s steely gaze returns to me. “Not only was an attempt made on my sister’s life, protocols regarding violent offenses were completely disregarded. Instead of being set free, the offending pony should have been imprisoned and put on trial.” The Prince sighs and shakes his head before looking at me once more. “The princesses have always been rather soft on their subjects, especially when they have some sob story. Maybe in your case, what you went through did equate time served. That should have been decided by a jury, though.”

Oh horseapples! I’m getting murdered for sure. At the same time, though... “I don’t disagree,” I reply softly, drawing a surprised look from him. “In my world, I would have gone before the courts. Given that I know that I did the things I was accused of and know that they were wrong, I would have made a plea of insanity. Maybe the jury would believe the truth in my words, and I would be sentenced to a mental health facility. Maybe I would have gone to prison. I was honestly just as surprised as you were at the generosity of Their Majesties.

“At the same time, if you were in a strange new world with nopony to turn to, and suffered the same losses and events I did, would you not accept the chance to be given a new life?” I look at him imploringly. He doesn’t answer. “There isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not reminded of what could have been. If I’d been even just a bit more deluded, there is no doubt that I would have done the unconscionable. I have to live with that—and other scars—for the rest of my life.”

Shining Armor nods soberly before smiling. “You aren’t anything like I imagined, you know.” I raise an eyebrow curiously. “When I first found out about the incident, I rashly sent members of the guard to watch you and to send me reports on your movements; this was before I had the entire story. At the time, I only knew that a pony attacked one of the elements of harmony—my own sister—using the body of another. With some of your wanderings, I was convinced you were some devious being—possibly an avatar of Discord—sent to destabilize Equestria, but what you did for Twilight —giving her that gift—doesn’t fit with any of that.”

“I have no sense of direction here in Equestria,” I admit, blushing. “I tried going to the restroom in your family’s house, and somehow found myself in front of the griffon embassy. That was within the first week of studying with Twilight. I got better-ish though.”

The laugh that came from Shining Armor is so mirthful that it surprises me. “That’s what you were doing: trying to find a bathroom?” he cried out, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. “How do you even do that?”

“The same way I get lost in every other part of the city.” I look away. “I think too much, and pay too little attention to what I’m doing.”

He quiets down after a few moments. Just as the sun crosses the horizon, he clears his throat. “Cadance and I will be in Canterlot for a while for personal matters.” So that’s practically a verification on my pregnancy guess. “When I brought you out here, I was going to warn you that I’m keeping an eye on you, waiting for the first slip-up, and then send you straight to the brig.”

“Seems reasonable given my history.”

“Yeah,” he replies, sounding once again surprised. “Just... keep yourself out of trouble. You seem like a nice pony, and I don’t want to have to arrest you.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

The rest of the evening passes quickly once I return to the apartment I share with Dr. Forceps and Candy. The latter hasn’t returned home from work yet, and the former probably won’t be back until particularly late tonight. Given that most of the time they’re particularly tired when they return home from the hospital, and that they usually either pick something up or eat a pre-prepared meal from the icebox, I generally make it my business to make sure that they can always come home to a warm home-cooked meal.

As I pull the mason jars of crushed tomatoes and kidney beans from the pantry closet and set them upon the counter near the stove, I can’t help but reminisce about my first days as a pony, and the first day I spent living in Canterlot. It was foolish for me to have listened to Lyra when she told me that tomatoes and potatoes were toxic to Equestrian ponies. I mean, why would ponies cultivate foodstuffs that they couldn’t eat? Why even make potato chips? I still remember how foolish I felt when I flipped out when they served pasta with a marinara sauce at the boarding house I was staying in at the time. Is it bad that I never wonder if Lyra ever figured out where the anonymous parcel of feces came from?

After I have my primary ingredients set out, I begin grabbing everything else I need, starting with the bag of rice. From a cupboard beneath the counter, I pull out a large steel pot, and a mixing bowl. Once I pull my step stool I move on to the spice rack, dropping the necessary spices into the mixing bowl and sifting them well to make the seasoning. While I would love to add some jalapeno peppers to the mix, I’m the only pony in this household with the stomach for spicy foods. Hay, the meal is almost too spicy for the others with just the seasoning alone. At least the rice helps ease the spiciness of chili.

Cooking may not be my special talent, but darned if it isn’t one of my favorite time-passers. It’s one of those things you can set your mind upon and just do it. Yeah, standing over a pot of meatless chili can get a bit boring, and there’s not much to do until dumping the rice in, but it certainly gives you time to think about a great number of things.

More than anything, I think I’m probably going to have to make a visit to Princess Luna’s Night Court. I trust the princesses to keep up their word about my restitution including education, but it never hurts to be completely sure, even if they have been nothing but kind. Besides I think it might be kind of nice to see the princess again.

Once the chili is finished cooking and I have served myself a bowl, it’s just a matter of leaving the remaining chili on low. That way their supper won’t be cold just because they come home late. After that much is done, I finally allow myself to fill my belly. Say what you will about human cooking, the taste of home is what drives a mare in a place not quite her own. Yeah, Candy and her mom have been great to me, but I sometimes feel more like that freeloading friend that they’re getting paid to house.

There’s no rattling of keys against a lock when Candy Stripes finally comes home; crime here in Canterlot is low enough that nopony gives a second thought to leaving doors unlocked when they’re home. It’s just as well that I was already used to such a thing. If I’d come from a city high in crime, I have no doubt that my first reaction to hearing the door opening would be to panic.

While washing my dish in the sink, I watch her trot relaxedly through the door. “Mmm, that smells good!” she exclaims as she trots eagerly over to the stove. “You must be in a pretty good mood.”

I watch her with amusement as she retrieves a bowl brom one of the cabinets. She always seems to have such a good handle of my personality. Even with my quirks, she never misses on these apparent cues that I give off. “How did you know?” I would be lying if I didn’t wonder how she picks up on these things.

“I’m a Certified Nursing Assistant, silly!” She says this as though it answers everything. Upon seeing my flat expression. “I work with ponies of all sorts every day. If I can’t get a feel for their mood, I can’t possibly do my best to help them and make them comfortable. You’d be amazed what kind of odd cues you get from ponies if you spend enough time with them.”

I can’t keep the expression of cautious skepticism from my face. “What cues are you getting from me, then?”

Candy sets her bowl down on the table in the apartment’s small dining area and gives me a good minute-long stare. “Well, right now I can tell you that you’re being purposely difficult.” She lets out one of those playful ‘I had a long day and am screwing with you’ giggles. “I know you’re in a good mood because you cooked some zesty food. Things you cook reflect your mood. Take what you cooked when you were feeling anxious about the exam for example; you cooked mashed potatoes and steamed some veggies—kind of a glum meal, if you ask me.”

That’s fair enough; it certainly is the sort of thing somepony could pick up on. “Yeah, I suppose I am in a pretty good mood.” I reply, smirking. “I passed my exam, made Twilight cry, and was almost pushed off a residential overlook by a prince—all-in-all, a pretty good day.”

There’s a cough of disbelief from Candy as she stares at me, her face still dipped into her bowl of chili. “I could have sworn you just said a prince tried to murder you,” she whispers. “I mean, I understand about Twilight, since you wouldn’t shut up about how you thought that book was a great idea, but why would a prince try to murder you?”

“Well, it’d hardly be murder... Inconvenient, sure, but I’m a pegasus,” I reply with a with a grin before stifling a yawn. I coyly decide to not tell the truth and leave her thinking something hinky is up. “Anyway, I’ve gotta go get some sleep. Really exciting day! I’m sure my parents would be proud...”

At that, I stretch before trotting my way out of the kitchen. Of course, no bedtime is complete without a trip to the little—and no, that isn’t a joke about my diminutive stature—fillies room. It’s not just that I need to pee desperately, but I’ve also need to take my sleep aid. I used to have difficulties falling asleep when I was a human, and that difficulty seems to be one that didn’t vanish when Equestria converted my body. Oddly enough, it never seemed an issue in Lyra’s body.

The difficulty falling asleep is only half of my issue though; since becoming a pony, dreaming has been a problem for me. While I used to love sleeping, my dreams—when I’m lucid enough to remember them—have become frightening and rather unpleasant. Thankfully, even here in Equestria, over-the-counter sleep aids make dream recall much more difficult.

After taking care of my feminine duties, washing my face is next. It’s just one of those odd things that feels strangely nice when you have fur. The way the cold water cascades through my fur is just so refreshing. Ultimately it’s a pretty good way to help get into a routine. If I wash up, I know that next is time to brush my teeth and take my sleeping pills. Sadly, routines cannot always be followed. For whatever reason, I failed to take notice that I was on my last sleeping pill last night. “Drat!”

Trotting sadly into my room, I don’t even bother closing my door. I’ll just flop onto my bed, bury my face in my pillow, and try to fall asleep. Looks like little ol’ me will be going cold-turkey tonight. Oh, why oh why did I have to think about my parents tonight?

Author's Notes:

First thing I wanna say is that I don't think Shining Armor is a bad dude. He's a big brother, for sure, and that's why I reckon he'd do almost anything to make sure his sister is alright, even if it constituting maybe overreaching the rightful use of his power, like a big brother should. Shining Armor is not an antagonist in this story. Needless to say he isn't going to be Silver's 'friend', either. If he does appear more, he'll be more an authority figure than anything else.

At this point, with how in detail things are, you might just be worried that the story is going to be a play-by-play slice of life. Needless to say, that isn't the case. This story will have quite a few Time Skips, as I'm only covering things that are plot relevant or pertinent to character development.