Silver read the scroll Celestia had given to him regarding his next mission. This was slightly unusual, but he trusted that Her Majesty knew what she was sending him to do. As the chariot pulled by two of the Royal Guard carried him to his destination, his took a moment to absorb the information he had been given. He was to ride to Ponyville, and according to the scroll...make some friends? Of course he would do it without hesitation, but there was likely an ulterior motive here that the Princess was not informing him of. After all, he was her Knight, not her son; he knew she worried about him from time to time, but it would be a terrible waste of resources to send a skilled pony like him just to 'make friends'. She would have another reason for sending him. He was sure.
And, as much as he respected Her Majesty, he was not sure he would end up following through with this. He had no reason to make friends...she knew this as well as he did. And even if he did, it had been so long, he was not sure he knew how to be anything other than Silver Shield, the White Knight of Celestia. He wasn't sure if he remembered how to make friends. But, he would keep it at the forefront of his mind. The princess did often know more than he did, and had proven it many times over. If she was telling him this, it must be important somehow...he was torn. He decided to put it off for the time being; anyways, he was touching down in the town. Time to find a place to stay for the time he would be here.
He hopped off the chariot with a nod of approval and thanks to the guards, who nodded back, and then took off once more. Silver was in simple clothes - his bright white hooded robe and a saddlebag of books and supplies - and they had landed just outside of town; he was sure nopony had seen him exiting the chariot. He walked at a leisurely pace into town, looking for somewhere that was renting out a room or, if it came down to it, an inn, though those were often more expensive. Not that he had limited funds, thanks to the Princess; it was just a habit of his from times gone by. He was not a wasteful or extravagant pony by any means, not in his work, not in his spending, and not really anywhere in his lifestyle. He was efficient, in terms of time, energy and money, as a habit, in almost all things he did.
As he walked the streets, he reflected on how the town had looked the last time he had been here. It had grown. There were several new buildings, a lot more ponies than he remembered, and overall it seemed much different than he remembered. But, as though an anchor to the past in the middle of a place changing along with the rest of Equestria, there was the town hall, which had obviously undergone renovation, but looked nearly identical to how he remembered it at the founding of the city. The clock tower stood watching over the town, informing everypony on what time of day it was, assisting them by bringing order and structure to their daily lives. It, too, was older than most of the buildings around it, and it showed, but it certainly was not run down in any way.
In his reverie, Silver lightly bumped up against another pony's side, and he blinked in surprise, yanked out of his old memories. The purple-coated mare turned to face him at the same time he turned to face her. "Oops! Sorry, I..." she trailed off.
Silver regarded her calmly. "My apologies, I had no intention of violating your person in such a way." He continued on his way, not noticing the lavender eyes that followed him until he was out of their view.
He continued without incident until he arrived at a sign that said "Rooms for the night! Available!". He entered and paid for his room, the price fairly low like most costs in Ponyville, and proceeded to go directly to his room and make good use of the bed. As he drifted off, his mind organized his schedule for the next day. Wake up...shower... then, as he had no clue what his true purpose here was to be, he supposed he would follow his princess's orders. Making friends...hmmm... That was his last thought before he fell asleep in the comfort of the inn.