Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat

by David Silver

77 - In the Light of the Moon

Silver found himself showing red through his brown fur. "It's kind of a--"

"An engagement shoe." Luna inclined an ear. "They're normally worn in pairs, but each of you is only wearing one. That's a most curious decision."

Silver grunted softly, squirming in place. "Is that so? Luna..."

"So she has allowed it."

"Allowed what?" Silver's sour expression melted, becoming curious. "Did I miss something obvious?"

Luna's horn glowed gently and reached right into Silver's pocket, plucking out the other two shoes. "If she didn't insist on wearing a pair, that means you still have shoes waiting for ponies."

Silver blinked softly, quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "No no. I don't want to hurt her, and she said she was tired of--"

Luna put her hoof on his lips. "What if she is the one that desires it?"

Silver felt conflicting emotions welling up in him. "You have my general attention, Luna. You always do, but aren't we here for the Crystal Empire?"

She nodded with a little smile. "We are, brave Ambassador. I am increasingly certain that the mare you seek will arrive on her own, driven by her own whims." She tilted her head a little. "Perhaps she also hungers to set things right?"

Silver nodded quickly. "That's good! Is she really an alicorn?"

"Who said that?" Luna raised a brow. "She is a unicorn, much like you. She has no claim to royalty, save a special gift that we encouraged."

"Sombra." Silver shook his head. "But he could easily have just been mistaken. I gather special talents aren't enough for ascension?"

"Only in the rarest of cases." Luna clucked her tongue softly. "Are you hoping for a chance?"

Silver tensed and paled in his ears. "N-no. I had enough alicorn prince, and princesshood, thank you."

Luna reached across and softly flicked one of those ears. "I am sorry for losing my patience before. Will you tell me? I would hear of these dreams, these visions of ours, for truly it does sound as if our souls were as one."

Silver hesitated a moment before he nodded. "Well, here, I came running away, from you and Celestia, actually..." He rubbed at his cheek with an unshod hoof. "I was a refugee, but saw the Crystal Empire was in need, so we ran around fixing things, then the shadows came, but they were faceless monsters, ready to be slaughtered with spells and fires and combatted with spears and swords. It was a great and terrible fight, but we won, and that was that, for the most part."

Luna glanced around. "There are hints of truth in your dream, but also dangerous misconceptions. You found sympathy in Former-King Sombra. Your wife found it in his tribe, the Umbrum. You have transformed a faceless horror, an obstacle to be overcome, into a hurt friend in need of help and warmth. Why were you fleeing us?" She set the two silver shoes on the table.

Silver's attention slid to those shoes. "Do you really think she meant it, instead of just not thinking about it?"

Luna's smile was fast and immediate. "What do you think of your wife? Is she one to not consider the angles?"

Silver thought back over her words. "Was... Is..." Luna kept looking at him, seemingly waiting for him to put the pieces together. "Was she waiting for me to broach the idea of a herd again?"

Luna nodded firmly. "I knew you would arrive in time."

Silver licked over his lips. "But she's the one that didn't want it, and I agreed. I want her to be happy. If she changed her mind, why didn't she tell me?"

Luna rolled a hoof at Silver. "Can a mare not have her moments and demands?" She leaned closer. "She made me swear to not inform you unless you figured it out for yourself, and you have, so now I will tell you this. She is regretting her actions, but is afraid it will hurt you to turn back on it."

Silver glanced towards the door he had come in through. "Is there a pony she wants? I tried to get her to speak before, but she wouldn't say a word about it."

"There is."

Silver looked up to Luna. "How did she really spend the time I was sleeping?"

"She cried. She wept and she fumed. She kicked and thrashed and cursed every fate she could find to curse. She cursed you. She cursed me, Celestia, Cadance, Twilight. There was no pony she knew that was safe from her biting words, and little around her that would be spared her vicious hooves, and she cried."

Silver's ears pinned to his head. "The entire time?"

Luna shook her head slowly. "She calmed with fatigue, and I held her gently, and she cried. She was sure it's what drove you to the edge. You kept gaining and losing wives. There was... Celine."

Silver tensed, an old wound becoming sore again at the memory of his first wife.

Luna gently put a hoof on his head. "Then there was Fast. She's a princess now, if you were not aware."

Silver blinked in surprise. "What? I thought she was a changeling queen?"

Luna raised her free hoof. "Changeling princess, as decreed by Celestia and accepted by wildly cheering crowds. She is a unicorn no longer."

Silver felt his insides coiling tighter. "N-not a unicorn? She... Oh..."

Luna nodded. "She is a changeling, inside and out. The Fast Change you knew is gone, much like Celine. To be her husband would be to court destruction."

Silver's head hung a little, as if the parting of Fast were a new thing, with pain restored to vibrant reality. "Is she happy?"

Luna inclined her head faintly. "She is, as is her new family. It was not a bad passing."

Silver looked up to her with a little smile. "That's good then. I hope she stays happy." He rubbed over his eyes with a foreleg, wet despite his wishes.

Luna gently pressed the leg away as her magic brought over a cloth and dabbed up the flowing tears. "Your wife had her turn. Cry."

Being ordered to do so made him not want to, but trying to hold it back purposefully just made them come stronger, and soon Luna was doing little other than brushing away the many tears that flowed from him. Silver suddenly sat up. "Wait. You know who it is. Who's the pony that has Night's eyes?" He tilted his head. "Do they not like me? Is that why she's so nervous?"

Luna raised a brow. "And if they did like you, you would be amenable to the idea?"

Silver stood up. "I tried to kill myself, Luna. I broke my promise, to myself, and hurt her savagely for it. I will not stand in her way if she wants to be with somepony besides me." He glanced off a moment. "Better a third wheel than thrown away entirely."

Luna bit him suddenly, sinking her teeth into his throat and throwing him back into the cushion he was on with her bulk descending on him. He could feel her tongue wash over his throat, affectionate, but the signal was clear, he was in her grasp. "I will not like any stallion that isn't ready to fight for what is his."

Silver went pale anew. "O-oh! You?! Of course. God, that was dumb of me."

Luna sat up, looking down at him. "Pony of the day, you seem to draw ponies of the night to your side."

Silver smiled gently. "I don't regret that, but there are a few issues, and you know it."

"Many," she casually agreed. "But only one matters." She rose from him and circled the table to her side. "And you know what it is. I will await your reply. Until our friend arrives to deal with Sombra, there is little to discuss. You have other duties, I'm told?"

Silver rolled up to his haunches, nodding at the large night princess that occupied the room, and his thoughts. "I'm still an ambassador, though a peaceful resolution of the Sombra and Umbrum incidents will be a big help to getting ponies motivated and lifting their spirits."

"Do what you can." She waved him off. "Don't forget your shoes."

Silver plucked them up in his magic and tucked them away quickly. With a soft bow to Luna, he fled the room, mind full of thoughts.

He made his way back to Night and Under Rock. The latter was floating around the room, drifting easily on her bulbous wings. On his entry, both turned to look at him. "I don't see what you like about him."

Silver's horn glowed and encased Under in a sudden bubble, moving her over to the bed. "Stay."

Under looked stunned a moment. "W-what? What'd you do? How? Show me!" She began bouncing up and down, enclosed in the bubble. "I thought you didn't have any cool tricks?!"

Night moved in and nuzzled at Silver gently. "Welcome back. Did Luna have anything new to report?"

Silver raised a brow, and looked across at Under. "Yes and no, nothing that can't wait until our adorable terror has returned to her father."

Under stuck out her tongue at Silver. "No fair!"

Night waved a hoof at Under. "We got our night secrets, he gets to have his day secrets."

Under gasped. "Why do you get to hear both?"

Night put that hoof to her chest. "Because I married him."

Under sat down a moment, nodding thoughtfully. "So that's what you see in him..."

Silver smiled at Under. "I'm glad I meet your approval. Did you have fun?" He released the bubble and offered a hoof.

The filly met the hoof with a loud clop. "We had tons of fun!"

Night nodded. "Good, because it's only going to get more fun now that Silver's here. I hope you're ready."

She squealed with joy, and they did just that. Under Rock gained some grudging respect for the fun levels of unicorn magic. When her father came, she was returned, giggling and well.

Author's Note:

That meeting went well, mostly? Sorta? I think there were a few typos in there.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Two shoes on my equine, and I keep running headlong, those chickadees, are after me, but I aint sad, and I aint mad, I keep singing, my happy song.

[Snow]

Luna certainly takes 'mercurial' to a logical extreme.

[No one is home]

Dammit, Silver, you're gonna ship with all the princesses and break the universe again, aren't you? Well, it was a fun ride last time.

[Matrix]

6922388

The Ride Never Ends
i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/011/512/Mrbones.png

[Daremo]

Lune inclined - Luna inclined

amendable - amenable

*****

So much going on in this chapter that I enjoyed and am eager to comment on!

I'll try not to gush.

Perhaps she also hungers to set things right?

Dude... the only way she could signal any more clearly would be with an arc-light-

Luna bit him suddenly, sinking her teeth into his throat and throwing him back into the cushion he was on with her bulk descending on him. He could feel her tongue wash over his throat, affectionate, but the signal was clear, he was in her grasp. "I will not like any stallion that isn't ready to fight for what is his."

-or this. This works too. Eeeyup.

A large portion of my heart rejoices to see Luna speaking with Silver, unguarded.

The smaller but noisy portion is concerned to see Luna speaking with Silver, unguarded. It's so out of the ordinary for her, but this hardly a normal situation.

Over all a very warm and fuzzy chapter to lighten a dreary day at the office, and ending with the absolutely adorable and audacious abomination is icing on the cake.

On the subject of the Umbrum, I posit that most crystal ponies will be able to adapt to their appearance. What might prove an insurmountable challenge would be if they reek of death and corruption. People can adapt to sights that would normally be disturbing, but smells can evoke an instinctive revulsion that can be nearly impossible to overcome. The opposite is also true, so maybe a spell that makes an umbrum smell like freshly baked bread or cookies would be a helpful psy-op strategy.

I'd bet Princess Twilight could come up with something...

[David Silver]

6922715 Typos fixed. While I won't argue that, perhaps, they could be eased into being with one another, their insistence on the crystal heart being around and its importance to Equestria as a whole means keeping the Umbrum there is just a really bad idea, no? I can't see happy endings coming from that, their imprisonment and prejudices entirely put aside.

[harts fire]

this chapter is vary interesting silver found out that Fast Change is out of his grasp now .
and he has a clue about his wife night and how she feels and how she is protecting his feelings or weighting for him to grow more.

this chapter cares a bunch of weight for the story.
exultant work team.

[Daremo]

6922997 I have not read the comics but I understand that there may be another solution for the Umbrum if the unicorn healer arrives.

The downside would be that there would be no Umbrum left as a distinct species.

[David Silver]

6923030 How likely would they embrace that idea?

[Daremo]

6923035 - logically if the only alternative is "or death" most might take it, albeit unhappily.

What is needed is a viable alternative option. War is a non starter, it results in the end of the Umbrum. Unicorn magic is unpalatable for the same reason. Exile to the most distant corner of Equestria/The Crystal Empire is only a little better. Rainbows would likely be fatal or the same as the unicorn magic. If there is a perfect solution here it has yet to have even a hint appear.

Hmmm... although....

I suppose they could take up residence in the dreamscape as agents for Princess Luna... if such a thing were possible.

[Morphy]

6922386

That's "bipolar" these days. But if Celestia's the calm, serene one of the two then it makes sense. I'm still not entirely sure of getting Luna in a herd. It just sounds like an accident waiting to happen. So much drama from the llama waiting to explode.

[David Silver]

6923076 I can't really debate it much further without all the spoilers. :)

[Daremo]

6923151 - No worries, I just want you to know you have my brain working in overdrive because of this story.

[David Silver]

6923134 It likely wasn't a good idea the first time, but good luck convincing Silver his time with Luna, or her counterpart Celine, was bad.

[Dragonfox]

Don't git me wrong, I am steal enjoying this story. I do hope to see more of it. I am just wondering if this is a new time line that the text made, or all the thing that happen to him was just a dream or is this a dream that he is having now?

Dragonfox

[tsaukpaetra]

Luna's evasion seems to make sense now. Hmmm,.,
Keep going! ;)

[Boulder]

6923264 Have you seen the release notes for season 6? http://ideas.wikia.com/wiki/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic_Season_6 Kind of disturbing coincidence with 2 new characters Moondrop & Dollar Rain. DIDN'T HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS DID YOU???/

[Boulder]

There was no pony she knew safe from her biting words, and little around her that would be spared her vicious hooves, and she cried."

Syntax sounds a little wrong, should that be "There was no pony she knew that was safe from her biting words,"?

[Wind of the Skies]

I'm getting violent urges towards the umbrum whelp they would be worse if I was there instead of silver. first I would warn her I would feed her her own intestines and then I would try if she kept it up.

[David Silver]

6926863 Under Rock?

[erictheblue]

strangely, the only other story i've read where Luna finds a mate is "a different perspective" by Goldfur...in that story, a clever Earth pony named Long Path becomes leader of a Herd, which not only includes Luna, but also Twilight, a female griffon, and a changeling queen!

[David Silver]

7826375 Luna likes herds, it seems?

[Ponyess]

Sliver licked over his lips. "But she's the one that didn't want it, and I agreed. I want her to be happy. If she changed her mind, why didn't she tell me?"

who is "Sliver?
or, is this one of the anciatn Typoes rearing its ugluhead at us once more?

[David Silver]

11224170
It had already retired, confident that it had escaped without detection.