Twilight and Silver sat side by side, waving to the ponies that gathered along the street to see them pass. There were applause and calls and cries. The people were happy to see them, it seemed, the royalty from beyond Canterlot.
Twilight gently nudged Silver and pointed a few ponies to her. "Those are my friends," she whispered.
Silver tried to identify them. The only one he could remember was Colgate? Wait, that was a fan name... She waved gently at them regardless and smiled.
A sudden shape zoomed in at them. It was a lunar pony, looking at Silver with adoring eyes set in her face. "Our princess! You're back! I thought..."
Twilight held up a hoof quickly. "You still have a prince."
"But, she's right here..." The lunar mare tilted her head with obvious confusion.
Silver reached up with both forehooves. "Does it matter which? I am here. Please, tell me how things are."
The lunar mare smiled brightly. "That's true. Please, uh, prince. Are you going to do something about our unfair representation? They don't even have a seat for us in council. They just call us pegasi and tell us to quiet down."
Silver frowned delicately with thought a moment, tail giving a twitch. "It would be unfair to give you a seat to yourself." The lunar pony looked betrayed. Silver raised a hoof. "Hold. What is required is a lunar position, to be held by any pony of lunar blood of any tribe. Perhaps not the full three that the solar tribes have, but we are yet a minority. Let's take small steps."
She flew in closer, practically nose-to-nose with Silver. "But there are only lunar pegasi! Please, explain it, your majesty."
Silver spread her own wings wide. "I was a lunar unicorn first. My own foal is a lunar unicorn as well. In time, a lunar earth pony may result."
She smiled brightly. "Congratulations! Ooo, our royalty is first to foal? This is astounding!"
Silver gestured to Twilight. "My first was with a loving lunar pegasus, the second, right here, beget of Twilight Sparkle and myself."
The pegasus looked between the two royalty fast enough that her neck should have been sore, or so Silver figured. Another pegasus swooped in. "Let me have a chance to talk to Princess Sparkle!" The spot was yielded, and Twilight spoke gently with the next pony up.
Most of the crowd was comprised of unicorns. That hardly seemed unusual. Canterlot was a unicorn city.
"You ruined her."
Silver looked around with twitching ears to find the sudden whisper.
"Cheeky, returning in fanfare."
Silver tried to nudge Twilight, but she was busy speaking. She didn't know a spell to track spells, and she saw no obvious auras.
"We remember you, troublemaker. Attacker of children. Bringer of changelings. Despoiler of princesses. Not even a pony. Oh yes, we've researched you quite heavily, human."
Silver shoved up a hoof, pushing back the pegasus speaking to Twilight and surrounding the two in her bright silvery bubble of lethal protection. "I'm afraid visiting time is over. We'll be back out, promise."
Twilight wheeled on Silver but was still smiling, still waving. "What was that for?" she whispered. "You're making a scene."
"We know your weaknesses, your vices, your corruptions, and your strengths. You are raw chaos. You think your good deeds earn mercy for you? You blundered into them."
Silver's eyes darted across the crowd as she gave a little wave, looking for a frown, or a sneer. Something to reveal the one whispering to her. "I'm sorry, but someone's basically sending a death threat to me."
"I'm sure you remember this little thing. You like it so much!"
An orb of fire began to sprout directly before the carriage, growing rapidly. Silver's eyes went wide and she played the heat gathering notes swiftly, sucking away the flames from the ball as quickly as they came, but that left her holding a lot of uncontained fire that crackled fitfully as she wove a ball around it, forming the fireball a bit backwards from its normal birth.
The crowd noticed, and began looking confused at the magical display.
"Oh? You don't want it to go off? It's fireworks, just the sort you like the most... Maybe something more reminding of your whore of a mother."
Silver's eyes were suddenly blinded in an assault of Trixies. Her grip on the fire wavered, heat began to expand. Twilight snatched up the failing spell suddenly and crushed the fire and heat away with impressive speed. "Enough!" She exploded with power, shattering Silver's silver sphere.
"Hiding behind Princess Twilight Sparkle? We can't have that. Sleep with one eye open, your highness."
Silver snorted with relief and frustration in equal amounts. "I think they're gone, Twilight."
The castle was coming up, and Silver allowed herself to relax a little. As if they were waiting for just that, there was heat. Heat and sudden pain. Several fireballs detonated at once from under the carriage, lifting it up into the air and letting it topple to the ground, upside down. Their pullers were scattered and bruised. Twilight and Silver were thrown to the side, right into the crowd of stunned onlookers.
"Can you hear us? Pity..."
Silver was lifted gently to her hooves. "I say, that was quite the tumble." She looked towards the source of the voice and saw someone familiar. Fancy Pants. "Are you alright, your majesty?"
Silver gave herself a gentle shake. She was fine, minus some bruises, and a new thing to worry about. "They'll have to work harder than that, if they expect to harm Equestria!"
Fancy Pants smiled at that. "Well said! Equestria won't be hurt that easily, what say you, fellows?" The crowd let out a rough cheer of patriotism and caring hooves helped dust off Silver as she looked around and quickly found Twilight, already on her own hooves.
They met and nodded at each other before their wings went out stiffly and they took off at once. Twilight's shield snapped around them, and they flew the rest of the short distance to the castle. The parade was done for the day.
They quickly ascended the steps and entered the castle to find Luna and Celestia standing side by side with worried expressions. Luna moved for Silver as Celestia took Twilight. Both were inspected carefully and doted over in almost silence before Celestia broke it. "Who did this?"
Twilight looked to Silver, drawing the eyes of the others to her. Silver shook her head. "I couldn't say. I could hear a whisper, but not identify it."
Luna suddenly took Silver's cheeks in her hooves. "Let me see." Silver didn't know what she meant by that, but felt her mind press tightly, and let her in. Silver felt like she was reliving the past twenty minutes rapidly in a confusing mess before Luna drew back. "I don't recognize it, I'm afraid."
Celestia let out a slow sigh. "Well... You're both safe here. Welcome, and my apologies." She glanced at Silver, then leaned in to whisper to Twilight, "Is she still docile?"
Twilight suddenly smirked. "Silver is a prince, I will remind, and not terribly docile at all."
Luna's ears perked. "Does she speak the truth? Silver, speak to me."
Silver leaned up and touched her nose to the bottom of Luna's snout. "I'm back. I'm back and I missed you."
Luna grabbed Silver up in a fierce hug and rocked with her. "You have no idea! We bled... We bled and cried to have you back, my dear little one. Once you were my child, then my student, then so much more than that. Now you stand beside me, so close..."
Celestia gave a little ghost of a smile. "It's good to have you back, Prince Silver Stars. The servants will see you both to your rooms."
Twilight perked an ear. "Rooms? We're not sharing a room?"
Celestia fluttered her lashes. "Share, with me? Why Twilight, I'm astonished..."
Twilight went deeply red. "That's not what I meant! With Silver."
Luna licked over her lips. "Twilight... May I have your husband?"
Twilight blinked, then frowned. "What? No! Oh, he has given me full legal right to him, as a stud."
She didn't need to go into details with either of them. They knew what it meant. Luna frowned at her. "We did not mean permanently, Twilight Sparkle. Please, for a day or two. We miss him dearly." She gently ran a hoof along Silver's back. "We will return him, we swear."
Twilight rolled a hoof. "You haven't asked him."
Luna looked at Silver expectantly, but said nothing.
Silver leaned in and gently pressed lips, smooching her. "Luna, I would be delighted to spend a day with you."
Twilight nodded. "One day. I expect him returned to me at this time tomorrow."
Celestia stepped towards Twilight. "Perhaps I was hasty... Since Silver is visiting Luna, why not spend this time... together?"
Twilight smiled gently. "I'm certain we'll spend plenty of time together, but, right now, I want to retire and recover from that."
"Of course..." Celestia waved for the servants, and soon Twilight was seen off towards the guest chambers.
Luna wrapped her wings around Silver, easily engulfing her. "Later, sister dear." And she was gone in a flash of magic, whisking herself and Silver to her chambers. "Tell me everything."
Silver nuzzled into her belly and leaned against the larger moon princess. "My foals are so very healthy and amazing. They both have keen eyes. They'll be special ponies, for sure."
Luna snorted softly. "This is good to hear, but we would rather hear of yourself. Are you truly restored?"
Silver rolled over onto her back. "I remember every time we spent together, and I remember why. My seducer of the night, your stallion is whole."
She pointed between Silver's hindlegs. "We think not. You are clearly a mare."
With a focus of silvery magic, Silver become suitably equipped for a large stallion of Luna's stature. "You know..."
Luna put a hoof over Silver's mouth. "Shhh."
Silver brushed the hoof away. "Oh no, you should hear this. You know, you're so used to being what you are, you're in a rut."
Luna tilted her head. "Explain, quickly. You have us in suspense!"
Silver smiled and gestured below. "The same spell would work for you, and you are stronger."
Luna blinked softly, then crashed to her haunches. "We..." She put a hoof over her face. "We are foals! Is it truly that simple?"
Silver nodded softly. "I can't promise it, but I feel certain. If you laid with a pony that loved you, while she was ready, she would bear you a foal."
Luna rolled her eyes before leaning in and nipping at Silver's belly. "Clever pony. You infuriate us even as you offer us something amazing." She tilted her head. "Are you offering yourself?"
Silver put her hooves down to her belly. "I would need to speak to my entire herd."
Luna pointed at Silver. "But what of you? Does this idea intrigue you, or are you filled with disgust?"
Silver considered a moment.
"Despoiler of princesses."
Her ears twitched wildly. "They can still reach me!"
Luna scowled and threw out her wings. The walls shone with a dark magic, crackling with bits of purple and green. "No more. Now, answer."
Silver licked over her lips. "If it were up to me alone, which it is not, I would do it. Being topped isn't so scary anymore, and you're a mare, not a stallion anyway. Luna, you know I adore you."
Luna smiled. "I know you have plenty of reason not to."
Silver snorted at that, rolling up to her haunches. "Are you going to give me new reasons?"
"We hope not." She licked over her lips. "Do you speak true? You would let us do this with you? To have a foal with your assistance?"
Silver nodded. "I owe the world." Luna looked mildly perplexed. "My foal was born without me. This time, I'll do it right, all the way to the end."
Luna shook her head. "Strange stallion, so eager to feel the burden and to bear the literal labor of this fact. Most would run screaming to avoid it. Others, perhaps a timid step in. Here you are, ready to jump in as soon as the sign is given." She nudged Silver. "Give me the spell. I will study it and master it."
Silver drew her book quickly in her magic and flipped it open to the male-giving spell in the book. "Here you are."
Luna looked it over quickly. "Hmm, high-moderate. We'll have this prepared shortly."