Silver retired from dinner and settled on his and Celestia's shared bed. Setting his clothing aside, he snuggled in and sent himself off to the dream realm. There were some pools of water close by, while others were arranged further away, on the shore, he supposed. He thought of the brave bird and one of the pools came closer to him. He had to weave around others to get to it. The water and the distance were putting the bird already at a good distance, but he arrived without too much difficulty, just a stiffness from expending the magic. He hoped the bird wouldn't comment on it and gently shrouded himself in dreamstuff, slipping unseen into the bird's dream.
The bird was on the top of a mountain, wearing skis on its talons. Other birds gasped and cried in terror, but he pushed off and started down the treacherous course, screaming in excitement all the while. Silver rode beside him on fuzzy wings, unseen and unnoticed as the dream played out. The bird did a few things that defied physics, spinning and twirling through the air before coming in for a smooth landing at the bottom. The birds there clapped their wings together with wild approval.
Silver emerged from the crowd, dropping the shroud. "An amazing display."
The bird looked to Silver with a blink. "Yes, thank you. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off, but if you never try, you'll never know."
Silver stepped up to him with a slow nod. "Very well said. You certainly seem far braver than your peers."
The bird looked out over the crowd, then back at Silver. "I'm not that brave, they're just a little cowardly, between you and me. Oh! I haven't introduced myself. I'm Master Stroke."
Silver tilted his head a little. "Do you write by chance?"
"I do!" he said with a smile. "I write about all the exciting places I want to see and what I want to do there. It scares the others, but they liked it. Writing can't hurt them, even they know that."
Silver sat on his haunches. "You said you were interested in my dream walking ability. Here we are."
Stroke blinked and looked around slowly, then back at Silver. "Is it really?"
Silver banished the fog from Master Stroke's mind with his magic, even if it made him more uncomfortable. "Do you see?"
Stroke smiled. "I do!" He waved a wing and the crowd vanished, then the mountain vanished. They were suddenly in a small and cozy room, with Silver on a large branch that he fell off of immediately. "Oops. I forget horses don't handle perches very well. What do you like sitting on?"
Silver willed a pillow into existence and set himself on it. "Here we are. I hope you don't mind my coming? I'll leave if you prefer."
Stroke shook his head. "Perish the thought. This is thrilling! You're not hurting me, and I never had a lucid dream before." The bird peered at Silver's protuberance. "What is that? Are you hurt?"
Silver came up with a quick excuse. "Um, a little, but it's harmless. Just a horse thing, pay it no mind. Do you know who's in charge of that museum we were talking about?"
A bird appeared instantly and Stroke pointed at it. "There she is. She's been in charge for years as a curator. She has a flock of other birds helping her out, of course. It's a big responsibility. Miss Spreadfeathers. She's a little overweight, you can see. She's accepted the name though."
Silver thought she looked fairly much the same as the other turkeys. "How can we get on her good side, or at least avoid getting on her bad side?"
Stroke lifted a wing. "I have a request! Show me something fearsome and terrible, from horse land. I want to see something new and horrifying, and then I'll answer."
Silver nodded as his mind wandered, considering the various beasts of Equestria. He started with a cockatrice. "See how familiar it is to you in some ways."
Stroke frowned at it. "That is spooky. It's so close but so wrong. What can it do? Do its talons tear at things?"
Silver nodded. "It can do that, but it's primary weapon..." He had the dream monster fix its gaze on Stroke with its deadly red eyes, and Stroke began to go solid.
"Oh my! This is utterly horrific!" He sounded excited despite the terror. "OK OK! Enough!" Silver banished the cockatrice, and Master Stroke shook himself free of the stone which seemed to be little more than flakes without the bird-monster's presence. "That was good! I'm going to write about it in my next book. I'll be sure to give you credit. Now let's see, a deal's a deal, and I'm a bird of my word."
Master Stroke summoned a bowl of water and took a sip. "I suppose you don't have to drink in dreams, but habits are habits. The lady Spreadfeather has a real sweet tooth, but not just any sweet. She loves baked goods, with vanilla, especially with a dash of lemon. You get her a lemon-vanilla cake? You're off to a good start with her."
Silver conjured a scrap of paper and began taking notes. "That's good, anything we should avoid?"
Stroke nodded. "Oh certainly. Don't ever mention her lazy left eye, or look at it. If she thinks you're paying attention to it, she gets really steamed. It's better to just not look her in the eyes at all. Find something else around to be interested in."
Silver scribbled the information quickly even as his pulsing member gave a hard twitch. He looked forward to having his libido be more under his control, though was thankful the bird seemed to be almost sexless, even if nominally male. "Lemon cake, and don't look her in the eyes, check. How does she feel about foreigners?"
Stroke waved a wing. "She doesn't trust them, not at all."
Silver was struck with an idea. "But you're not foreign. Would you like to help us? There's a reward in it for you."
Stroke perked up. "Me? Help a horse envoy? Why... that's truly frightening." He smiled. "Which means of course I'll do it! Oh the writing materials I'll gain from this. I'll come over right now."
The dream ended with Stroke's excitement, and Silver came for a smooth landing in the dream world. Luna was there. "Ah, Silver! I was hoping I'd run into you." Her eyes dropped to his excitement. "Are you that happy to see me?"
Silver was. He approached her and bit into her neck without delay, sharing his lust with her as he clambered up onto her. He was just about to start rutting her when Luna proved she was the master of dreams and held him still with a thought. "Not so fast. We need to talk. Twilight gave birth three days ago, and her gift's ready for you."
Silver blinked. "Oh..." He knew he should be happy, elated even... but... "They all popped while I was away from them... I'm a terrible husband, and father. Is she alright at least?"
Luna nodded. "They are all well, and I have been keeping them up-to-date on your adventure. They're all looking forward to your return." She raised a brow. "Tumble's shown some curiosity to this 'Bottom' pony."
Silver didn't remember telling Luna about all that. "How did you know?"
Luna snorted softly. "I do speak with Celestia at times, when the conditions are right. Tia's been watching you. You're making her proud, and concerned at times." She wriggled her rump lightly. "I am ready to proceed."
Silver didn't keep her waiting any further, and began rutting with her in earnest, only to be rudely pulled from the dreamworld.
Celestia came into his vision on awakening. "Not again, Silver. Are we going to have to start sleeping in seperate beds?"
Silver flushed and squirmed, still worked up and uncomfortable. Celestia was looking equally as delectable, and he would have gone for her if she hadn't pointed over his shoulder. "You have a guest."
Silver rolled over in bed and saw Master Stroke perched in the window. "Hello, Prince! Reporting for duty."
Silver pulled himself to his haunches, panting a little in frustration, but he tried his darndest to keep that fury pointed away from the bird that would help them. "Good that you came so quickly, Stroke. Go ahead and settle in." He pointed to the door leading into the hallway to other bedrooms. "Take the second on the right. It's yours until we leave Turkey. We'll plan come morning. Thank you."
"I've never done something so reckless in all my life," he said excitedly as he flew through the room and opened the door with a talon, vanishing into the hallway in a fluttering of wings.
Silver closed the door with his magic, but that only made his eager member jump, spurting a bit of prefluid as his arousal raised higher. "Mmmf, Celestia? Can we?"
Celestia raised a brow. "Is that what I am now, a convenient release?"
Silver rolled his ears back. "That wasn't fair... Besides, if you had an itch, you know I'd try to scratch it, without the hurtful words."
Celestia nuzzled him gently and bit at his whiskers. "Don't get pouty. I'm just teasing you.." She hugged him close and pulled him up on top of her. That was all the consent he needed by far, and soon they were rutting passionately.
"Excuse me, where do I get a good perching stick?" asked Master Stroke, apparently oblivious to the specifics of pony procreation. When he did see what was going on, he looked confused. "I don't mean to be rude, but you really shouldn't do that to, uh, her? That looks like it hurts."
Celestia burst into laughter at the innocent mistake. "Ask the guards to fetch you a stick, dear, and please knock next time." The door closed with her golden magic, blocking further interruptions with a quick flick of the lock. Nothing else stopped them from coming to a satisfactory conclusion in one another's embrace.
The next morning they introduced Master Stroke to the others over breakfast. Patty Windsong peered at him curiously. "I only ever met one other turkey before, and he looked scared of his own shadow, but here you are sharing morning meal with a whole table of strangers."
Master Stroke shrugged. "One of the doctors said it was a medical condition. I suppose I'm technically insane, but it's a harmless sort of insanity. Scary things excite me." He reached for a peach and removed a third of it with his razor sharp beak. "Mmm, very good. So I make a living writing about the scary things and scaring other turkeys. Everyone wins really. I could have done much worse." He looked across at Silver. "I trust you'll be more gentle with your partner? The male's just supposed to touch, not, er, whatever that was you were doing."
All eyes settled on Silver and Celestia, unsure of what they just heard and how to parse it. Silver coughed into a hoof. "I assure you, that's entirely normal for ponies. Neither of us was hurt, I promise."