Silver looked up from his desk to see an unexpected face. "Celestia."
"That's Princess Celestia," she said in a gentle tone, like she reminded a friend of something needed rather than being offended. "You will need to learn that habit for public moments." She stepped into the room and closed it behind herself as she looked around. "Neither of your wives are with you, nor your foals? This is a rare moment for you. Is this a bad time?"
Silver realized with a start. "Wait, one of them isn't--"
Celestia put a hoof on Silver's snout. "I have faith that she will be reformed, and rejoin you. In fact, it would come as a far larger surprise if she did not join you. The way you look at her... Either she will become your wife, or your daughter."
Silver's wings unfurled without any permission given by him. "My daughter?!"
"Well, if she cannot be reformed fully, you will not leave her to the life of a madmare alone." She leaned forward. "I should imagine you will adopt her eagerly from my sister's hooves and hold her close, even if the title of wife is kept from her." She saw Silver's confused and worried expression. "Oh, I know you wouldn't force yourself on the mentally deficient." She sat down in front of his desk. "It's not consent if they don't know what they are agreeing to."
Silver cringed at the statement. His being a pony could be qualified easily as that. Every interaction with the Text seemed to boil down to that, consent given without full understanding. "What brings you here today, C--Princess Celestia?"
"Very Good." She smiled gently. "It's time." She pointed a hoof at Silver's head. "We will announce you to Equestria, and the world, as our newest prince. You are relieved of your duties as ambassador while you learn the proper steps for the ceremony and until it is complete. It is of the utmost import that this be done properly, after all. For many, this will be the only time they see or hear of you, so getting it right is all we have to leave an impression."
Silver slipped to the ground and circled the desk. "Of course. I'll do my best." He paused as a weight fell upon his brow. He was wearing a crown. He gazed at his reflection as Celestia held up a mirror for him.
Playing off his name, silver was its primary metal, with large jewels that sat on the sides and front. Like his watch, each jewel was held aloft by a species he had helped bring to peace.
He quirked a smile. "This is a nice crown, but one that will need updating if I keep it up."
"That is a price we're willing to pay." Celestia nodded. "You like it then?"
He tilted his head left and right, watching as the crown moved with him right between his ears. "It's nice..." But did he deserve it? Deserved or not, it was his. He would... "I'll earn it."
"I never finished earning mine." Celestia raised a hoof to her crown. "I work every day to try. You have no idea how much of a relief it is to hear you say that."
Silver softly cleared his throat. "Celestia." She looked at him, ready to admonish him, but he cut her off. "Celestia, as a pony, not as a princess, I want to speak to you."
She looked surprised at the request. "Of course. We are peers." She sat down gently and rolled a hoof. "What's on your mind?"
"Your sister." He gestured in the vague area Luna was. "I'm damn near certain at this point she will win over Night, and be won over. She will--"
Celestia heaved a soft sigh. "That brings us to a topic I had been trying to delay, but since you bring it up now..."
"What?"
"Your marriage. It is not unusual for a person of great standing to be married, of course. Cadance is well-loved, princess of her own kingdom, and married all the same, but... that is a modern marriage. The marriage most ponies are used to seeing." She shook her head. "Herds are a relic of the past to most. Perhaps why my sister is so fond of them, and why she introduced you to them, and then you taught it to your wife. Having our first prince be the stallion of a herd..."
"Is it that bad?" Silver sat up. "Will it cause trouble?"
Celestia raised a brow. "Let us assume not. It will be awkward, at the least. You will have petitioners come before you in court, all dressed and with proper rituals, just to ask you to lay with a mare, to borrow you as any stallion in a herd might be. A married stallion? Well, he is promised to one, to ask would be an insult most dire. But a stallion of a herd, he's already shared, and there are rules and etiquettes to ask for it... The older you become, the more legends are spread of your deeds, the more the average ponies will seek it. A vanishing few to start, just the most bold or depraved, but that will change with time..."
Silver let out a slow breath. "Alright. Let's assume you get what you want. What would you want me to do?"
Her wings came in and gently cradled his face. "You would live long and well. You would love and be loved and be happy. You would escape these things entirely and just be what you want to be." She quirked a smile. "Neither of us has that option, do we?"
Silver smiled a little and leaned forward, touching his nose to Celestia's. "Don't get sad about it. Even you have your fun. I'll manage. So, perfect utopias aside, what do you want me to do?"
Celestia let out a slow breath. "Well, option one, you pick a mare, get married, the new sort, and be done with it. You'll be tied to that mare until death do you part. Option two, you sever all bonds of marriage entirely. Then you're just a bachelor doing as a bachelor wants to do, which, while a little morally grey, is considered... acceptable... from one of your station."
Silver hiked a brow. "Wouldn't I still get ponies after me?"
"Oh, certainly." Celestia nodded. "But it will be considered an informal social request. No courtly approaches about it."
Silver suddenly went red with a thought. "Do you--"
She put a hoof on his snout. "We both know the answer to that. Requests of a mare are considerably slower in coming, considering how long it takes a mare to fulfill such a request, but they aren't zero. Neither I nor Luna are wed."
The blush only grew worse. "I... imagine neither of you said yes to such things, or I would have heard about it."
"Oh?" Celestia perked an ear. "You would imagine incorrectly... I am no virgin, and I am a mother, and grandmother, and... That was long ago, I admit. Agreement did not often leave these lips, but they did at least once... Luna as well, and you are well aware of it."
"Before I go making any decisions, I want to know everything clearly." He sat up tall. "Celestia, do you have any feelings for me?"
"Do you?" she retorted without a moment of pause.
She was large, powerful, kind, and just about every positive adjective that leapt to mind. He would be lying if he didn't say, "Well, yes..."
"You have your appeal." She smiled gently. "You don't see me quite as a sun, to be admired, from afar. To never be looked at directly for fear or burns and injury. To be handled with such care..." She suddenly pushed up and back, over him and looking down. "If I said I wanted you to sever your herd, sever it and marry, but to no simple mare. You will marry me. You will be the prince of the kingdom completely."
Silver felt his heart thumping angrily in his ears. "N-night would be so sad... And Luna!"
"I was just testing you." She slid back, giving him room. "It is a pleasure to serve Equestria at your side. We don't need to be wed."
Silver felt he was slow by human comparisons, quite a lot, but he felt that Celestia wouldn't say no if he went along. Was she testing? That didn't mean she would refuse whatever answer he gave. He took a slow breath. "You read my book."
"I did."
"Then you read how I... we, you know..."
"You effectively bound yourself to all the princesses, thanks to Twilight's clever intervention." She raised a brow a little. "Is this something you wish to happen again?"
Before Silver could answer, he was tweaked somewhere sensitive and squeaked, hopping in place. Celestia looked completely innocent, but there was no other pony present. "Look, Celestia, please. Can we be forthright about this? Like, all the cards on the table?"
"Knowing more can sometimes close paths instead of open them up, and leads to further heartache." She gently rested a hoof on Silver's nose. "I will gladly be your friend and peer no matter what you decide. Now, I will be sending some ponies your way to go over your parts and have you measured for the formal attire you will be required to wear for the big day. I apologize now, but you have to make a decision before then. If you're married, be it in a herd or otherwise, they will be involved in the coronation."