Twilight exploded with magic, throwing everyone in the room against the wall behind them in a chorus of grunts and yelps. Twilight rose up to her full height. "Silver Stars! You have a choice. You can either stand at my side, as a friend, or you can stand in my way, as an enemy. I will go through with this. I have to." She deflated a little, the adrenaline rush ebbing. "Please help me go through with this."
Silver rolled up to her hooves and nodded. "If I can't convince you, then I will help you, as a friend." She licked over her bloody fangs lightly. "Sorry, for biting you."
Twilight snorted. "Easy to say. Prove it." She waved a wing in the direction of her library. "Find every book of law you can find that relates to this. I'm not letting Celestia get away with bending the laws." She stomped a hoof. "Help me. The ponies of Equestria deserve to have truthful rulers, that accept their mistakes. I'd rather be a true failure than a false hero."
Trixie rose a brow. "Trixie will help, if only to ensure Sparkle gets what she deserves." She rose and moved towards the books without another word.
Night tilted her head a little. "I approve of justice, but you do know outright horn removal is one of the options for murder, right? I don't think you deserve that."
Twilight tapped a hoof on the ground. "That is for the judge to decide. All I'm asking is that we arrive at that point with all the facts followed and the laws obeyed. I've gotten away with a lot being who I am, and I won't stand for it anymore. I will be judged as anypony else."
Night slipped off to join Trixie in searching the library. Twilight looked to Silver, who was seated on her haunches. "Your bite has... gotten more intense with your ascension. You should be more careful with it or I'll be presiding over your trial next."
Silver frowned. "Let's not even joke about that. If it means anything, Celestia seemed to be taking this seriously for the moment."
Twilight tilted her head. "How can you know that?"
Silver began describing the dreamwalking she performed the night before, skipping the details like how she and Luna tortured each other or Celestia's hunky stallion servitor.
Twilight gave a light nod. "Fascinating. It seems the time you spent with Luna has bonded you in more ways than you thought." For a moment it looked like her curiosity would be more powerful than her obsession for justice.
Silver tried to capitalize on it. "I can go to your dream tonight, if you want, and 'wake you up' so to speak. We could explore a little, together."
Twilight reached with a wing and brushed it across Silver's cheek. "Nice try. Now get to searching. We can explore dreams after the trial, when I can devote myself fully to study."
Silver rose up and plodded off to help the others, leaving Fast and Rough behind. Rough shrugged a little. "I'm a writer, not much of a researcher. Nice to meet you again, your majesty. Sorry for the timing."
Twilight smiled at Rough. "It's not your fault. Your daughter has been driving me to distraction."
Fast tilted her head. "In mostly good ways, right?"
Twilight nodded faintly. "Mostly good ways. Please, make yourself at home. I have to join them. If you see a small dragon, that's Spike. He's harmless and very polite." Twilight turned away and joined the others in the library.
Fast leaned in and nuzzled Rough's cheek, making Rough squeak and shy away. "I don't swing that way."
Fast suddenly became Trixie, batting her eyes at Rough. "You swing this way for the great and powerful Trixie, do you not?"
Rough's ears spun back. "Uh... Trixie? How did you do that?"
Fast giggled softly. "I can't do this to my wife's father." She became a he again. "Shapeshifting is my talent. Sorry."
Rough leaned in and sniffed at Fast gently. "You looked just like her. Were you... all like her?"
Fast raised a brow. "If you're asking if I was a mare, yes."
"Wow." Rough shook his head slowly. "You have a very powerful talent."
Fast waved a hoof at Rough's flank. "You write things that affects hundreds of ponies easily. I can't dream of doing that. You don't even need to meet any of them! Writing's a fine talent."
Rough blushed softly through his dark fur. "You're just being nice, but thank you. You seem like a very kind stallion. I'm glad Silver found you."
Fast tilted his head. "Even if she was a he when you two last met? That's OK, I was a she back then. Even trade."
Rough blinked and put his face in a hoof. "Not going to even try figuring all that out. I just hope you two are happy."
Fast bobbed her head. "We are. We really are. She makes me happy deep inside, and no matter how sad she is, a good hug from me gets her smiling. I have not a single doubt I found the right mares to be with."
Rough let out a slow sigh. "I feel that way about Trixie. She always knows just what to say to make me smile. I know she can seem a little... overbearing, but she doesn't mean to be. She's a good pony."
Fast reached out and put his hoof on Rough's nose. "Any mare that can hold onto a nice stallion like you has to be a good pony."
Rough wasn't sure how to react to this overly friendly stallion and the odd feelings his attention brought up, so settled on awkward silence.
When the day had come to an end, with the herd coming together to collapse together, and Rough and Trixie settled into their own room. It was time for sleep. Twilight softly brushed the cheeks of the others sharing her bed. "Thank you all, for helping me with this. This is very important to me."
Silver nuzzled against Twilight's ears. "We're a herd, even if not official."
Fast nodded in agreement. "Which means we stand together."
Night huffed. "Even if we disagree a bit."
They settled together, and one by one, they slipped off into their dreams. Twilight was still awake, and her wakefulness kept Silver awake, who was waiting on her. "Something wrong?"
Twilight softly snorted. "A lot! Are you going to come tonight?"
Silver tilted her head. "I'd like to, but only if you want me to. Just because I can doesn't mean I should."
Twilight shuffled around and pulled Silver in tight, gazing into her eyes. "Why do you still love me? Are you incapable of being angry?"
Silver frowned softly. "It was a mistake... God knows I've made plenty of those. I'd want you to forgive me, if I was sincere, and I didn't do it again."
Twilight reached a hoof and rubbed over Silver's empty womb. "This won't come back with an apology. Hate me a little."
Silver felt pain blossom as she was reminded of the life she lost. "I hate that I was kidnapped. I hate that you were so worried about me. I hate that I didn't think of a more creative way to signal you. I hate that I didn't think faster when I was being ascended!" Twilight kept rubbing, and the pain seemed to deepen. Silver squirmed against her with the building discomfort. "The Text told me, straight up, there was a way I could have gotten out of there with my foal, but I didn't find it. I hate that. I hate that you're hurting so much. I hate that it hurts when you touch me there. I want to love your touch."
Twilight jerked her hoof back, then sighed gently. Her hoof returned, rubbing insistently. Part of Silver wanted to lash out at her as the pain returned. "Twilight... I'll help you through this, but don't demand I hate you. Please. Even if you feel society should get a pound of your flesh, don't insist I do too." Twilight pressed a little more firmly, almost hurting physically from the pressure, but much more so from the thoughts the rubbing brought. "I get it, Twilight! I get it..." Twilight leaned in and kissed Silver on the lips. They hugged silently, and finally sleep came for them both.
Silver awoke in his room on Earth. "Is this where I'll start every time?" She slid to the floor and approached her desk, flicking the monitor on. She had a lot of mail. Curiously she checked the date and saw it read the 22nd. She frowned a little. Is that how fast time was moving? Was she actually on Earth? She rushed for the door and pulled it open, only to find herself in the hallway of doors. "Shoot."
Silver considered where she should go to first and concentrated on Twilight. A door slid into view and she entered to find Twilight working in her lab. She was scrawling wildly on a chalkboard that was bigger than the rest of the room. She suddenly turned around, facing a crowd that wasn't there before. "And that's how you do it!"
The crowd was silent, heads tilting this way and that.
"What?" Twilight turned back to the chalkboard to find it had been replaced with '2+2=a picture of an apple'.
Before Twilight could start to panic, Silver made her presence known. "Hello Twilight."
Twilight jumped before blinking at Silver. "Huh! You weren't fibbing. Hello."
Silver shook her head. "Nope. We're in your dream right now. I can leave if you want me to?"
Twilight considered a moment before she shook her head. "No, stay. Maybe we can continue our discussion."
Suddenly Silver was on the ground, and Twilight was over her, rubbing right in that same spot, bringing back the awful feeling of emptiness. "Hate me."
Silver hissed, baring her fangs. "You didn't want me to force you to do it my way, don't do it back. I'm not going to hate you, Twilight. You don't deserve to be hated."
Twilight bit Silver on the ear, crushing the sensitive flesh. "I deserve it and more. Stop forgiving me and hate me! Punish me!"
Silver suddenly rolled over, wielding a folded belt in her mouth. "Fine! I'll punish you. Bad girls get the spanking." With a shove, Twilight was spread over her lap, flank presented. Silver raised her tail and brought down the belt, somehow stinging smartly despite the fur and bringing a quick blush as Silver struck her several times in quick succession.
Twilight squirmed under the abuse, but it wasn't enough. "Do it like you actually mean it! Your foal is dead Silver, hit like that means something to you!"
Silver brought down the belt, but it became a cane half-way through the strike, drawing out a pained cry from Twilight when it struck her. "I thought we were growing closer together, Twilight."
Twilight grit her teeth. "I don't deserve to be closer. I murdered you. I killed your foal. Hit me!"
Silver spat out the cane and grabbed it in her silver magic, bringing it down all the more firmly on Twilight's exposed rump as it began to bleed from the abuse. "I'm tired of neverending cycles of pain, Twilight. I choose to break it."
Twilight pushed her back end higher, "It's not your choice! Harder! Punish me!"
Silver shuddered, then shoved Twilight onto the ground, climbing over her and hugging her tightly from above. "I want you to pay my pain forward."
Twilight swiveled her ears back at her. "What?"
Silver nibbled at Twilight's shoulder. "Help other foals. Help other mothers. Keep other innocent ponies from ever feeling what we feel right now. You have so much magic, we could save so many lives. We lost one... we could save so many."
Twilight sagged weakly under Silver, starting to tear up. "I don't even know how to do that! I don't know very many healing spells, or midwifery spells. Most mares are treated by midwives and doctors, not wizards."
Silver found Twilight's wing bases and started to chew at them gently, making Twilight squirm. "Then let me figure it out. If I make the spell, will you use it? Will you pay back that lost foal, because that will mean a lot more than a thousand years banishment or having your horn chopped off. Neither of those gets that foal back. If you bring me a smiling little face that would have otherwise faded from this world like mine..." Silver sagged as limply as Twilight, crying instead of speaking.
Twilight squirmed around, turning to face Silver. She brushed away the tears with a fetlock gently. "That... is a very sweet thought..." She snuggled up against Silver, and they were united in their misery for a time before the dream ended. Silver landed properly back in the hallway, tears staining her snout, but no headache pounding in her head.