Silver awoke to the warmth of Night Watch and smiled, snuggling against her quietly before Silver opened her eyes to have Twilight's face only a few inches away.
"Good morning!" said Twilight excitedly.
Silver scrambled up to her hooves, "Twilight! When did you sneak in here?"
Twilight waved a hoof, "Oh, about an hour ago. You were asleep, so I waited."
Silver half-lidded her eyes, "Don't be creepy, Twi. You're looking better." Silver stretched out slowly, "What brings you this way?"
Twilight pointed at Silver, "You. I want you."
Silver blinked, "What?"
Twilight advanced on Silver and her magic undid Silver's pouch. She pointed at the book poking out of it, "Is that your spellbook? I want to see it."
Silver relaxed, letting out a breath, "Don't say 'I want you' unless you mean me. I am not my spells." She grabbed her book in her silver magic and brought it over to Twilight, "You can look though, sure."
Twilight eagerly took it in her own magic and soon had it open, reading the spells with a little giggle. Her tail swayed back and forth and she looked so happy it was contagious, and Silver settled to watch her read.
Night roused from her slumber and cracked an eye open, looking at Twilight reading, then Silver watching Twilight read, "Are you two having a wild book party?"
Twilight looked confused immediately, "Is that a thing?"
Night rolled up to her belly, "With Silver around? Wouldn't be surprised. Good morning, Silver, Your Majesty."
Twilight huffed, "Twilight will do." She flipped to the next page. "Your spells all have a serious rough edge to them, but they work! I imagine if you put some actual time into optimization you could achieve most of these effects with half the energy." A book suddenly appeared beside Twilight and landed beside Silver's and the words began to copy from one to the other with Twilight's horn glowing.
Night shuffled closer to Silver, "So... About the whole mare thing?"
Silver raised a brow, "Yeah?"
Night pointed at Twilight, "We have Twilight and Cadance. Surely they're enough together to put you back to full-stallion mode again, so why aren't you already leaping at the chance?"
Silver blushed a little in her cheeks, "A guy, er, girl can't experiment a little?"
Night twirled a hoof, "You had a chance to be with a stallion long before, with Rough Tumble, and you melted down."
Silver flicked her tail, "I didn't have a vagina then, he isn't interested in vaginas anyway."
Twilight perked an ear at the conversation, but seemed to be trying pointedly to ignore it.
Night snorted, "So you want to use it? To be a mare?"
Silver shuffled uncomfortably, "Maybe? A little... To see what it's like. Besides..." Silver moved in to bump noses with Night, "I have you, my lovely First Wife, to be all the stallion I care to be with."
Twilight thumped a hoof on the floor, "You two are very sweet and all, but that talk is very... distracting."
Night gained a smirk quickly, "You've driven poor Twilight to distraction, you monster."
Silver bared her fangs, "Your monster." She advanced on Night and slipped over her, soon embracing her warmly. "I want to practice something. May I bite?"
Night shivered softly, "Will it be bad?"
Silver shook her head quickly, "No." She leaned in, softly playing her teeth along Night's shoulder before biting. She was getting better at deciding where her magic went, and opened the channels to her fangs, sharing her affection and love for Night. The two sagged together, and for a time, nothing else in the world mattered.
"Done," declared Twilight, snapping both books shut before noticing the two other ponies were in a very intimate moment. She blinked owlishly before pointing, "Are you... biting her?"
Silver withdrew her fangs and clambered off of Night, "I was."
Twilight looked quite perplexed, "Why? That looks painful."
Night rubbed her shoulder, "It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it probably looks."
Silver raised a hoof, "As for why, I can share emotions through bites. I didn't know that when I scared that mare to death."
Twilight conjured some parchment and began taking notes, "Fascinating! Do you mind if I examine this? Could you bite her again?"
Silver tilted her head, "I suppose I could...? If you don't mind?"
Night smiled, "If it's that same feeling, I'll gladly accept." She rolled over onto her back, "Hug me."
Silver had no reason to deny such a request, and soon they were belly-to-belly. Silver pushed her teeth into the same place as before, deciding not to make new holes in her beloved.
Twilight watched and made furious notes, muttering to herself a moment before she suddenly stood up, "No. We need a proper laboratory for this."
Night looked up from under Silver, "Where would that be?"
Twilight sighed heavily, "I'll ask Cadance if the castle has any suitable supplies, or I'll have to have mine sent up from Ponyville." Suddenly, she vanished in a puff of lavender light.
Night smiled gently, "Nice mare, but a little obsessed. Now that she's gone..."
They greeted the new day eagerly.
Eventually, they emerged and began to roam the palace. Night adjusted her glasses as she looked around, "It's all very pretty, but I feel like they're missing the art."
Silver wobbled a hoof. "Makes sense," she said, "They were under the hoof of a tyrant, then banished a thousand years. Give Cadance time." Silver looked left and right, "I haven't seen a single other lunar pony."
The sound of approaching hooves brought their attention forward to a white stallion. Silver tilted her head, "Hello Shining."
Shining smiled, "Hiya. Cadie said you'd be our guests for a while." He looked Silver over carefully, "Are you the same pony that found that changeling? I was certain that was a young stallion, not a lovely mare."
Night wrinkled her nose, "Don't make Cadance jealous."
Shining shook a hoof, "I didn't mean anything by it. Seriously, you have to totally share that spell."
Silver raised a brow, "Have, or should?"
Shining looked confused, "Should?"
Silver nodded, "Correct answer. Do you have a magic academy?"
Shining shook his head, "Naw, but we have a sweet library! Show me the spell and I can pass it on to the guards."
Silver felt conflicting emotions. Shining's accent made her want to giggle, but his large stature and what she presumed to be the pheromones of a healthy stallion were tickling at new female sensibilities. She shoved the urges off to the side, deciding Shining had very little in common to bond over, and was already married! "I'll get a copy to you ASAP, but I just remembered something."
"Yeah?" asked Shining.
Silver pointed at Shining, "Your sister is adorable, and insane."
Shining frowned a little, "I'm not sure how to take that, but Twilie says you're OK by her." He started to move off, "Catcha ya later!"
Night nipped at Silver, "Don't insult royalty to their brother. What are you thinking?"
Silver shrugged, "I never claimed to be good at that 'thinking' thing." She bumped Night gently, then they walked together.
They found the dining hall with some exploring, and found Cadance was already there with Twilight, enjoying breakfast. Night took a seat beside Silver, who sat beside Cadance.
Twilight was still speaking, "The state of magical research in your kingdom is a matter of dire importance."
Cadance held up a pink hoof, "That my people are fed is more pressing. We lack much in the way of an infrastructure with a thousand years of not existing. Research and development can come after full bellies and safe borders."
Twilight snorted in disagreement, "Fine, but you don't mind if I set up in one of the empty rooms, do you?"
Cadance shook her head, "I do not, but if this involves Silver, be sure it is consensual. He..." she glanced over at Silver, pausing, "Do you prefer he, or she?"
Silver was suddenly in the spotlight and frowned in thought, "I assume I look obviously female to everyone else?"
Twilight raised a brow, "You can't tell?"
Silver shrugged softly, "I wasn't born a pony. The differences just don't hop up at me as quickly. If I look like a mare, we'll go with that and make it less confusing." She quietly added another tally point to Cadance's mental score sheet.
Night nudged against Silver, "I think Celestia was trying to make you a very nice-looking mare."
Silver frowned a little, "I don't look that different than before."
Cadance nodded, "It's true. You are quite fetching, but let's stop talking about that, you look uncomfortable. Let me put this out there plainly. In my kingdom, no means no, and not asking doesn't get you an automatic yes." She dipped her head at Silver, "I apologize for manipulating you before."
Silver perked an ear, "Do you mean at the picnic?" Cadance nodded. Silver waved a hoof, "You can make me kiss Night whenever you want."
Cadance frowned, "It was still wrong, at least a little."
Silver smiled at Cadance, "I'm very glad to hear you say that, but I'll give permission now. If you have my interests in heart, I do not fear your magic." She paused, "You can't make love, right?"
Cadance shook her head, "Only enhance what is there, or suppress it, if need be."
Silver bobbed her head, "Then consider permission given."
Cadance agreed, though her eyes were on the thin thread binding Silver to Twilight, uncertain if it spelled bright possibilities or future tragedy. She looked for any connection between Night and Twilight and saw none. "Twilight," she said out loud, "I would like you to keep Night Watch with you, should you work with Silver Stars."
Twilight raised a brow, but nodded, "Alright. Night, how are you at recording?"
Night flashed a fanged smile, "This magnifying glass isn't for nothing. Data recording and analysis is my specialty."
Twilight looked much more enthusiastic on hearing the news, "Excellent! I look forward to working with you."
Cadance slid to her hooves, "I should get to business. Silver, I am certain one, or possibly both, other princesses will stop by for a visit. Do not speak to them if you have the option. If they approach you, speak calmly and do not let them goad you into reaction, and do not go anywhere private with them." Soon she was gone, moving through the crystal castle.
Twilight huffed a little, "Celestia's not a monster. Just relax and be yourself and everything will be fine." She began to eat at last, which reminded Night and Silver that they were also hungry. Crystal Empire food proved to be crunchy on the outside much of the time, but the inside was sweet and delicious. No meat was provided, so they did without.
Now if only the chapters all came this fast, but were longer, I'd think you were secretly using some sort of time compression chamber. In any and all thoughts I might have though, this is good wordage that I scoot my eyeballs across.
5806062 Do you speak of chapter 14 or 15?
5806072 Yes.
5806081 Heh, good to know the length pleases, but what of the contents?
Before Silver opened "her" eyes.
Put an "h" on that "yeah," Silver.
I'm pretty sure that should be "full-stallion" mode.
She was getting better "at" deciding where her magic went.
There are two spaces between "Silver" and "pushed."
If you're going to say "single," you can't use "ponies" in its plural form. Either switch "a single" for "any," or change "ponies" to "pony."
Put an "h" on that "yeah," Shining.
"She" quietly added another point.
5806102 Ah, I believe you misconstrued the meaning I was intending to put forth, at least foremost. The area of my statement that should garner the most focus is the "this is good wordage that I scoot my eyeballs across". How fast or slow it is produced is purely secondary in value, though if you can maintain this speed without the loss of quality I might suffer friction burns to my viewing organs.
And yes, I do get rather verbose and silly at times.
5806138 Typos put to the sword for their heresies against the crown! How do the worlds hold up?
5806141 Fair enough! Glad to hear somepony is enjoying the twists and turns.
5806167 Things continue to improve as we get more fallout from what happened with Silver and Celestia. It's nice to see the impact of major happenings continue to unfold, as that makes for a world that feels realistic, in that things follow a pattern of actions having proportional consequences.
First, it was good that we got some exposition regarding Silver's decision to stay female (and contrasted it with his not-really-a-relationship with Tumble). I'm still not convinced regarding how casually Silver is taking the idea now versus the panic he had when he thought it was going to be forced on him, but I suspect that's simply a difference of opinion between us. That said, I am surprised by how appropriately in-character it feels for him to not be wallowing in sorrow and self-pity at this point. Despite having to essentially flee Canterlot, and recognizing that his relationship with Luna is over, he feels believably chipper.
I think some of that can be ascribed to his being out of an immediately-bad situation. There's some element of relief in knowing that he's now in a place with a legitimately-empathetic leader who honestly has his best interests at heart. However, I have to wonder how if he's also simply ignoring the heartbreak that he's about to go through when he and Luna have to formally break up. It might not be tearful, but it will be bittersweet (and let's not forget that Night will feel the same way). In that regard, his interest in Twilight almost feels like he's making her his "rebound mare." Right from one princess to the next, and this one is one that he loved from his brony days; it's almost as though he hasn't really lost the princess that he shared a passionate romance with.
I was pleasantly surprised by how obvious it seemed to pair Night and Twilight together the way Cadance did (to say nothing of their names, being Twilight and Night and Stars, oh my!). Cadance is sly, but in a very moral fashion, being a skilled matchmaker (though I question her assumption that Twilight will be attracted to Night, as insofar as we've seen, Twilight is straight). That she essentially told Silver that she'd keep him safe from the other princesses was a big point in her favor, too. It was interesting how Twilight perked up in response to the perceived slight against Celestia's character...this could be interesting if and when the Princess of the Day shows up and things become tense.
Insofar as Silver being attracted to a stallion, you showed your entire hand with his brief interaction with Shining Armor. I suspected that it was going to be a case of "female body makes female hormones that cause attraction to stallions." That doesn't strike me as realistic (and here I mean "realistic" as in "how it works in the real world") since arousal doesn't impact sexual identity... but quite frankly, so what? Fidelity to the real world is massively overestimated in fantasy fiction. The ponies have inherent magic that's closely tied to their biology, so who's to say that their hormones don't work like that? In other words, this particular avenue of having fem-Silver be attracted to a stallion doesn't really impact my suspension of disbelief. (I still say it'd be fun to go with Flash Sentry, here. Add in him and Twilight, and not only is it a very natural-feeling arrangement, but that'd make Flash the stallion of the herd, amusingly enough.)
5806228 I, nor anyone else in the community, knows a dang thing about Flash Sentry. I would basically be inventing him. He's an OC with a known face, even worse than a background pony, most of whom have fanon personalities. Lyra acted like I expected Lyra to act like. Flash? I dunno!
Cadance isn't at all certain Night and Twilight will ever be a thing, but does think Night will keep Twilight from getting over-zealous and protect Silver's interests, and they could become friends. Friendship is good too, right? Not all ships have to be romances, and Cadance likes love in most of its forms. It seems safe that if they have a chance to interact without drama, they could become friends.
5806281 I'll admit that Flash is a very bland character that doesn't have any development that isn't related to being a(n exceedingly thin) romantic foil for Twilight, but he does have more direct depiction than Lyra does (though to be fair, I pay little attention to fanon development of characters). Given that you were willing to have Lyra be a bubbly, impulsive human-fetishist, I'm not sure why Flash would be that much harder to develop, based on what we've seen of him.
I'm not very attached to the idea, make no mistake, it just seemed like it was exceptionally convenient, being that he's located at Silver's current residence, and Twilight (who is Flash's raison d'etre, from a meta-standpoint) is there also. One would think that she'd be curious about him, at the very least...but then again, she went to the Crystal Empire a few times in season four, and never seemed to be too motivated to look him up then, either, so there's room to go either way.
You may be right in that I was presuming too much regarding Cadance's telling Twilight to keep Night close by. Given that she's the shipping princess, and that she gave her that directive after noting the utter lack of connection between the two of them, it seemed like a natural conclusion to jump to. Mea culpa, there.
5806311 Horribly secret things will now be PMed, nothing to see here.
Five chapters in two days, man i praise you for your dedication But slow down before u burn yourself out and none of us want that
5806385 But, does it blend? Er, I mean, how do you like them?
Your doing a great job so far
Yeah, I highly doubt that, Twilight.
5806655 Hello you! How are you feeling today?
5806690 I'm chill. I got not enough of sleep but some hours ago I opened a bottle of vodka and took a bath while reading some HiE fics which only made me slightly rustled.
Your take 2 chapter was nice, if a bit predictable. Twi is learning to respect others, Silver doesn't like it in the butt, Cadance is being best Princess. If only you depicted my Queen in a way I sometimes dream of it would be just peachy. But good god, don't ever do that. The spring is kinda almost here so my mind is mostly into a "heat" mode. I'm actually seeing females all around as females, not like usual faceless NPCs I see other people outside of spring and autumn "heat".
5807146 Who is your Queen?
5807156 so far there is only one Queen in MLP.
Technically, two with Fast Change.
Silver perked an ear, "Do you mean at the picnic?" Cadance nodded. Silver waved a hoof, "You can make me kiss Night whenever you want."
What picnic?
6475150 The one where he met both princesses? In their garden? Only Twilight wasn't there. It was before the Tirek invasion/ usurpation. Cadance saw the bond between Night and Silver and cast her love magic to strengthen and enhance the bond. She also did it to Trixie and Silver's adoptive father.
Seems like you were trying to keep it consistent throughout the rest of the story but you missed this one at the start:
her
7424955 Found some other typos lurking around, all fixed.