Silver snuck back to the tower and scurried to bed, thankful that nopony got in her way. She hid under a blanket and was soon asleep. Her dreams were not to last long. Luna stood there, as if waiting for her to nap.
"Hello," said Silver, defaulting to her usual response to unexpected guests.
Luna nodded, "Greetings. We are aware that you are aware of our interference."
Silver tilted her head, "First... how? Second, does that mean you'll stop?"
Luna wrinkled her nose, "I reserve the right to not speak on the first, and I will not on the second. It is for your own good."
Silver frowned, "I've heard that a lot. Your sister used it like a club when she declared my masculinity against the law."
Luna sighed softly, "Silver, you are not my lover, but you are still loved. I would think of you as my child, and I am looking out for your interests."
Silver shook her head, "Not following. What interest of mine is served by making sure I grow into a perfect little brood mare? That sure sounds like you being selfish, working with what you have, instead of helping me become a stallion again."
Luna waved a hoof, and Silver was suddenly bloated and round. Silver collapsed under her own weight as pain began firing in agonizing spasms through her abdomen in clenches of muscles powerful enough to make her vision swim with dots. "I thought... dreams, no pain?"
Luna leaned over Silver, watching the agony passively, "You are in my realm. If I wish you to not awaken for a time, it is well within my power. You are experiencing labor with your original form. Is it pleasant?"
Silver grunted and began to kick out her hind legs, but no amount of wriggling made the pain settle, "No! It really isn't!"
Luna reached out, placing a hoof on the tense dome of Silver's belly, "Your hips are too small, your... I will spare you the anatomy lesson. You have this foal. I will not let you hurt yourself carrying it to term."
The pain vanished as Silver returned to the form she went to sleep in. She panted for breath as she flopped over onto her side. "On one hoof, that was a really brutal lesson... on the other I don't imagine I would have gotten it otherwise."
Luna moved the hoof from Silver's belly to her cheek, "Do you hate me?"
Silver crawled back up to her hooves, still wobbly from the pain, "I'm really bad at hating people. If you're really doing it for me, then I should say thanks." She hiked up a brow, "But is it just coincidence that it makes me prettier? Are you hoping to keep me going on and on?"
Luna lifted her shoulders, "Fertility is one of the most primal signals of attractiveness. If we are speaking of my... goals... you would still serve better as a stallion." She snorted, "I fear Tia will never allow you that, especially since you have given every sign of improving as a female. She watches you as I do, in her own ways. It... amuses and alarms her to see you flirting with her precious little Twilight Sparkle."
Silver frowned, "What does she think about the fact that I carry Twilight's foal?"
Luna cocked a brow, "She seems of two minds. She does not favor thinking of Twilight in that light but in some ways, she defeated and reformed you as she has so many other dangers in the realm. The foal within you is a symbol of your reformation, so Tia is happy with it."
Silver sagged, ears falling, "I don't think I like being the monster of the week, to be beaten and tamed by Twilight."
Luna pet over Silver's head with a hoof lightly, "When you have delivered your foal, we will speak on your future. You deserve agency. You have yet to abuse your power, despite temptation. You have been deemed a hero of the Crystal Empire. That was you, not your womb, nor your old gender. You."
Silver smiled a little, cheered by Luna's encouragement. "I do hope you find someone who can be your peer."
Luna made a dismissive wave of a hoof, "That is unlikely..." She drew Silver closer with soft wings, "But thank you, for not spurning me as a mother."
Applejack, Twilight, and Night Watch sat around a dimly-lit table. Applejack looked to Night, who looked back, then they both looked to Twilight.
"Yes?" asked Twilight, looking back and forth between the two, "Why are we here?"
Night tapped the table, "You're hurting Silver, and she doesn't deserve it."
Twilight frowned, "What? I'm giving her room, shelter, food... everything!"
Applejack looked at Twilight flatly, "Sugarcube, Silver could get that stuff from anywhere. She didn't agree t'come with you fer that."
Night rolled a hoof, "She loves you. Stupid mare only knows full-throttle love. She doesn't love a lot of ponies that way, but she doesn't give them up easily."
Twilight spread her wings wide, "And that means I should just take her?!"
Applejack shook her head, "No. Ahm not asking you to do nothing you don't want ta do, but you need to make a choice, and be clear." She raised one hoof, "On one hoof, ya give her a chance, go out on a date or somethin', see how it goes." She lowered the hoof and raised the other, "On the other, you tell her straight that you're not interested."
Twilight sagged in place, "I... don't know."
Night gave a soft huff as she played with her glasses, "Then give her a chance, a real one. Don't be like Luna was. She's not your toy, or your pet, no matter how willing she is to roll over and let you step on her if you smile while you're doing it."
Twilight cringed, then clopped her hooves on the table, "I am not stepping on her!"
Applejack cocked a brow, "Alright, so how'd tha last time ya spent with her go?"
Twilight looked upwards as she thought back, "I was examining her for anomalies and studying her special talent. We made a small breakthrough, and a discovery."
Applejack waved a hoof, "Did ya ask her how she's doing?"
Twilight shrank a little, "No?"
Applejack nodded lightly, "Did ya ask, or even care, what she did after ya finished what ya wanted wit' her?"
Night spoke, "What did you do when she expressed her feelings, again?"
Twilight wilted into her chair, "What if I'm not ready to be... married?"
Applejack wobbled a hoof, "Ah reckon she'd be right pleased if ya just gave her a hug or a kiss once in a while. She's not hunting for yer hoof, just..." she looked to Night.
Night nodded quickly, "All she wants is a chance, not a wedding. Are you willing to give her a try? If you feel bad, tell her. If you don't know what to say, tell her. She's... so not judging." She flashed her fanged teeth, "When she starts judging, you know you're really getting to know her and moving forward."
Twilight drew a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh, "Fine. I'll ask her how she's doing, then invite her to read with me." She flashed a bright smile, "That's a nice thing to do together, right?"
Applejack clopped the table, "Twi... yes, ya do that. If she likes it, ya done found somepony right fer ya."
Night raised a hoof, "Silver used to be a writer, long ago."
Twilight raised her brows, "What, really? She was? Not just spells?"
Applejack smiled broadly, "See, now we're talking. Ya should encourage her t' write something. Who knows?"
Twilight nodded with a thoughtful expression, "You're right. I should be talking with her more. If nothing else, we should be comparing notes." She pushed up to her hooves, "Thank you both. I think I can handle this..."
Luna nodded to Celestia across the table. "Have you heard the report from Cadance?"
Celestia sipped from her tea, "Of course. I'm glad they weren't harmed, the ponies of the Crystal Empire, and Cadance."
Luna waved a hoof, "And of their savior?"
Celestia raised a brow, "I did say she would make a fine mare. She has become so much more than she was before."
Luna snorted softly, her look on Celestia turning flat, "This is the same pony that struggled for days tending to the ponies of this very city, and who surrendered his wife for the betterment of Equestria. I dare say her actions are entirely in line with their past behavior."
Celestia softly sipped her tea as if in protest, "Her destructive urges have been turned entirely to protection. You can see her glowing with maternity, and it suits her brilliantly. I am certain she will be a very caring and doting mother."
Luna nodded softly, "Of this I have little doubt. She will love the life within her no matter her gender, with all of her heart..."
Celestia nodded, "I'm glad you agree. She is much happier now."
Luna heaved a light sigh, "Will you not reconsider allowing her to claim her masculinity?"
Celestia frowned delicately, "There would be no purpose to that." She waved a hoof, "Besides, I am perfectly aware of the little spell he shared with little Twilight." She wore an expression of distaste for a moment, "That's as male as either of them needs to be."
Luna shook her head, "This isn't like you, dear sister. When did you decide you dislike stallions."
Celestia raised a brow, "I do not!"
Luna bit into a cookie, chewing a moment, "Then why so insistent she never become one?"
Celestia narrowed her eyes a moment, then let out a breath. "You deserve the truth, Lulu. She scares me."
Luna tilted her head, "She is as dangerous as a beaten puppy. How does she scare you?"
Celestia made a slight wave of a hoof before sagging in her seat, "If she... he... were to turn to hatred, there is little that would prevent them from competing with Sombra for the harm they could inflict."
Luna snorted loudly, "And you prevent this by snatching away his tool and mocking him? He could be a Star Swirl instead, but you deny him the chance. It is a true testament to his benevolent nature that he still dreams of your forgiveness."
Celestia frowned sharply, "You jest."
Luna shook her head, "It is a recurring dream. He stands at your hooves, looking up at you like a tower of pony perfection, and he begs quietly for you to forgive. In some dreams, you crush him mercilessly beneath your hooves, and in some, you gently pet him, and he is happy. In either, he weeps, wishing he hadn't made you hate him so."
Celestia clopped a hoof on the table, "And what, pray tell, does he dream of you, dear sister?"
Luna smiled a little, "He dreams of our time together. There is a sense of longing. He wishes he could have me, as an equal, for all titles and formalities to be thrown aside and true love could bloom." Luna leaned forward, "Impossible, of course, but I am touched by the fondness of it."
Celestia snorted softly, but managed to calm herself with a soft sip of her tea, "You are making it sound more dramatic than it likely is."
Luna waved a hoof, conjuring an image of Silver. He was a he, and on his back. "This dream is less common," spoke Luna as it played on. Silver was crying and wriggling. The view changed, showing a leering Twilight with a scalpel floating beside her in glimmering magic. Celestia was to the left, watching on impassively. Twilight began to cut away at Silver. Silver looked to Celestia, begging and pleading, but Celestia just watched on until the deed was done. When the surgery was complete, Twilight pranced away with a smile and an unseemly jar held in her magic.
The dream-Celestia stepped up beside Silver and looked down at the neutered pony. "You are a bad pony. This is what you deserve. You disgust me."
The vision ended. Celestia trembled slightly as Luna spoke, "What you say varies from dream to dream. Sometimes you get quite long-winded about his failures, other times you just glare."
Luna conjured another dream, the one she hinted at the first time. Silver cowered at the seemingly titanic hooves. She was a she, and she said soft apologies at the hooves. The words were meaningless, just a jumble of dream apologies and desperation. "He really is quite sad. Is this the Sombra that you fear? You are making it so, if that be the case. Desperation turns eventually to resentment, then to anger, then to hatred. Why are you so set on turning him away from harmony?"
Celestia hissed loudly, "You turned him away from harmony when you took his light soul and plunged it into the night!"