Silver hopped off of Night with a soft huff, shaking herself out, "How was it?"
Night seemed to consider it as she circled around Silver, nipping at her as she went, "Not much different. You weigh about the same, you act the same before, and you're just as... you know?"
Silver tilted his head, "I noticed something odd, but I'll save that for Cadance. She's about the only magical expert I fully trust right now."
Night sat on her haunches, "Even Twilight? I thought you used to like her a lot."
Silver shrugged, "Still do a little, but liking and trusting are not the same."
Night looked genuinely guilty and glanced away. Silver frowned, not in the mood to let it lie this time, "Fess up."
Night shrank, "I don't want to..."
Silver clopped the ground with a hoof, "Tell me. There's been enough lies."
Night looked at Silver's determined eyes before she let out a slow breath, "Fine... Celestia asked that I keep an eye on you, long before."
Silver cocked a brow, "Are you still doing that? And what were you looking for? Plots to overthrow the throne?"
Night shook her head, "No, violent thoughts, or trying to hide from her or Luna. I think Luna shared much about you with her."
Silver frowned in deep thought, brows furrowed a moment before she recovered, "I... damn it. It all boils down to the same thing. They should just talk to me, like a person." She raised a hoof and prodded Night, "Why did you go along with it?"
Night shrugged miserably, "She's the immortal god-ruler of the realm? Please don't hate me."
Silver half-lidded her eyes, "I'd have stronger footing to complain if I didn't just let her strong arm me into ditching my bits."
Night tried to jest, though her tone was half-hearted, "You got them back quickly."
Silver advanced on Night, nuzzling her neck. Night began to relax until Silver bit her, sinking the fangs deep and channeling her magic into them, sharing her feelings with Night, flooding her with Silver's frustration and insecurity. Night began to sag to the ground, crumpling under the force of her onslaught. Silver drew back, licking her fangs, "That is how I feel."
Night shuddered violently, curling up in place, "I don't want to feel that ever again."
Silver stomped the ground, "It's what I feel right now! And it won't go away like what I gave to you. How can I trust you, if you'll just do what Celestia or Luna asks?"
Night scrunched her eyes shut, knocking her glasses free with a twitching of her wings. She had no answers, and Silver began to feel bad for pushing her this hard.
Silver grunted softly, "I won't make any... more... rash decisions until we reach Cadance and speak with her." She hopped up onto the bed of their cabin and curled for rest, though her eyes remained on Night's trembling form, wanting to comfort her, and yet so angry with her.
They passed the remainder of the trip quietly. When the train drew to a halt, both sighed with relief and were quick to disembark. They trotted together towards the large palace that was Cadance's home. The ponies peered at them curiously, clearly not used to the presence of lunar ponies. None of the crystal ponies attempted to impede their journey, so they walked past them, ascending the steps to the palace.
Night cleared her throat, "Silver. I'm not going to say sorry, because you've heard that a lot of late... I still want to be your wife. Do you still want to be my stallion?"
Silver turned to face her, tail twitching, "I'm a pretty strange stallion right now... but yes. I do want to be your stallion." She leveled a hoof at Night, "I gave Luna a few tries to cut the act, and I'm feeling a little burned. She didn't even try to comfort me when Celestia was making her move." She grunted, clopping the ground in an angry stomp, "Do you understand?"
Night adjusted her glasses as she nodded, "I do... You're putting me in a bad spot, but... you're not, really. Luna did that. She's... betrayed us both." She advanced and bit Silver softly in the neck, but her fangs couldn't share her feelings. Silver accepted the token as presented, and raised a foreleg to hug her.
"Excuse me," said a solar guard, "Please don't block the hallway." Night and Silver scooted out of the way, and he proceeded past.
Silver raised a hoof, "Wait! Where's Cadance?"
"Princess Cadenza?" asked the guard, "She is attending court. Do you need a guide?"
They were soon following the guard through the Crystal Palace. Much like the solar guards in Canterlot, he seemed to have little to say, and simply brought them to the courtroom. It was much less gaudy than the one Celestia and Luna shared. A few cushioned benches rested before Cadance, who was speaking to a crystal mare animatedly.
When they entered, the princess spotted them immediately, offering a smile, but not pausing her discussion. They found a seat to wait their turn as Cadance went over some sort of crystal corn-growing farm and the details of its expansion. The crystal mare soon left, looking pleased.
Cadance turned to her newest guests, looking over Silver and Night, "Hello Night Watch. I'm afraid I'm not recognizing your friend, but I feel like I should."
Night extended a wing to fold over Silver, "This is Silver Stars, previously Silver Lining, previously David."
Silver snorted, "And currently annoyed. Please tell me you have some time to talk?"
Cadance glanced at the empty room, "It appears I do." She looked to a guard, "Inform any latecomers that court is recessed for the day." She rose and guided the two to a small room close by, "We're private here. Silver Stars was it? It's been quite some time."
"Too long," agreed Silver, "Please, you're the only princess that has treated me fairly and evenly. I want to share this story with you, but it doesn't paint the other princesses in flattering lights, but it has parts where I mess up too. I want you to listen until I'm done, then you can ask questions or comment."
Cadance tilted her head a little, "You're certainly no crystal pony." She settled onto a cushion beside a table, "Please, go on. Would you like a drink? Crystal berries make a delightful beverage." She lifted a carafe with her magic and poured out three cups, offering one to Silver and Night. Night sat down and sipped at her cup while Silver remained standing, holding the cup in her own magic.
"Thank you," began Silver with a smile, "Where to begin... Luna professes deep love for me, which I worked rather hard to get, but now I'm wondering if maybe that was a mistake... She's great fun when she's in the mood, but she's also extremely... dark. Pragmatic and unsympathetic, she seems willing to ignore any feelings I might have to see her lunar unicorns made reality."
Cadance opened her mouth to speak, but aborted the effort, instead making a hoof gesture to continue. Silver did so, "I thought I had laid a foal in her, but it was only the essence she needed to make me a lunar unicorn, which is what I am now." She twitched a tail, "I don't mind it so much, really. I mean, it makes me and Night fit together better." Silver paused to nuzzle Night gently, "Luna played on my, er, fetishes, whispering promises of putting foals in a lot of mares, but I suppose that's hardly a unique fetish for a stallion to have. Anyway! I was attacked by four ponies at once. I fought them off, but when I bit one, I found out 'pure breeds' of lunar ponies project feelings through bites. In a battle, this manifests as fear, and can kill. I took a life. I didn't plan on it. I didn't want to, but I did."
Silver settled to the ground on her belly beside Night, "Anyway, Celestia is ready to banish me from the looks she was giving me, but decides I'm more useful guarding Luna when she goes to Anugypt. Biting a few things that aren't her little ponies doesn't bother her conscience much." Silver huffed with annoyance, "Luna thought the fight was hot."
Cadance blushed at this, but managed to remain quiet, listening to the story. "Then Twilight shows up, grabs me, and takes me to a nice secret lab to tie me down and start examining me," reported Silver with a frown. "She could have just asked. If she just said 'Silver, come with me. I'm going to examine you,' I would have followed her. Heck, if she said flat-out she wants to do some experiments on me, I probably would have followed her." Silver sank her head down on her hooves, "If she just asked... Anyway. I did convince her I had a good track record of being cooperative and she let me stand up and help with getting all kinds of samples. She does her thing and decides I'm unbalanced, with more mare than stallion, and that I should be switched. She left me in the room, locked in, and fetched Celestia. They made it sound like I had to change. I asked Luna about it and she acted like it was no big deal. Said I could mother the new race as well as I could father it."
Night perked an ear, "You didn't tell me that part."
Cadance held up a hoof, giving Night a shoosh.
Silver continued, "I flat-out asked Twilight if she was going to force me into it, and she backed off and gave the option of going. I didn't. I demanded a favor from each of them, let them turn me into a mare, and then stormed off with Night to you."
Cadance gave a slow, hesitant, nod, "I see... Why are you still..." She hinted under Silver's barrel.
Silver snorted softly, "I learned a few tricks in college."
Cadance's wings unfurled, "That is not what I learned in college!" She controlled herself, doing the breathing technique she showed Twilight, "So are you mare, or stallion?"
Silver rose and turned away from Cadance, letting her judge.
"Both?" she said, "This is almost beside the point. First, tell me how you feel. Be honest. Let's start with Celestia."
Silver turned back around and flopped to the ground, "Scared. Angry. She talks peace and harmony, but she clearly loves mares more than stallions. I wish she liked me, for real, but she doesn't, and I doubt she ever will, and she's too corrupt to assume she'll leave me alone now that she knows who I am personally."
Cadance tilted her head, "I see... And Twilight?"
"Forgiving," said Silver. "I want to like her. I loved her before I even came to Equestria. If I'm honest with myself... if she came up to me, right now, and begged for forgiveness, and meant it, I wouldn't be able to say no to her. Her biggest crime is just not asking first. She hasn't schemed against me. She's been impulsive and... even adorable even as she scared me." Silver extended a hoof, "And no telling her to do that, that's cheating! She has to mean it."
Cadance held a hoof over her chest, "I promise. Luna?"
"Conflicted," said Silver. "Hurt. Betrayed? Crushed."
Cadance nodded softly, "Those are a lot of very negative words."
Silver sagged, "It was my idea to get close to her. I was the one that kept pushing and pushing. She tried to avoid it! It feels awkward to then turn around and blame her for being bad at this thing she was trying to avoid doing. She's an awful wife, but she told me that before I bull-rushed into her life and demand she try it anyway."
Cadance reached forward, resting a hoof on Silver's shoulders, "It takes a big pony to admit a mistake like that. Do you want to let Luna go?"
Silver rolled her ears back, "Can I do that? I'm carrying her project. I am her lunar unicorn, her hopes and dreams."
Cadance shrugged softly, "I don't know about that, but so long as you have foals eventually, aren't you doing your part?"
Silver blinked, "Is it that simple?"
Cadance shrugged, "It should be, or Auntie is being unreasonable." She waved a hoof, "And I won't accept that. Tell me plainly, Silver, do you wish to move past her?"
Silver nodded slowly, "Yes... I love her, but it won't work. She won't come down to my level, and I can't climb that high."
Cadance made a wiping motion with a hoof, "Consider it gone. I will talk to her, and until that is done, you are a guest of the castle."
There was a sudden fizzlecrack, and Twilight appeared with a frazzled mane, looking haggard. "The Crystal Empire?!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?!"
Cadance frowned, "Twilight, sit. You are being rude. What are you doing here?"
Twilight collapsed bonelessly, "I told the girls what I did, thinking they'd support me, but they all chastised me for being a real jerk. I remembered Silver wore a pendant attuned to my magic and teleported to it to apologize. I didn't expect to teleport that far! I'm exhausted and in pain right now."
Silver glanced at Night, then rose up. She approached Twilight, "Well, I am here. Say your piece."
Twilight grabbed the carafe of berry juice in her magic and brought it to her muzzle, guzzling for a moment before she put it down with a relieved sigh. "Silver!" she exclaimed as if she just remembered she was there, "I'm so sorry! I never should have done half the things I did! I had a horrible bedside manner, pressured you into treatment, and was just plain... rude the entire time!"
Silver nodded lightly, "That is accurate."
Twilight clopped a hoof on the ground, "Don't say that! I'm sorry! Ok, maybe I am a little jealous... You made more spells than I did half a dozen times over like it's no big deal. You live with Celestia and Luna, like it's no big deal. You murder a pony and get away with it, like it's no big deal!" She collapsed to the ground, panting. Silver was about to say something when she rebounded, "But that isn't the only thing! Then you tried to seduce me!" She pointed at herself with a hoof, "That wasn't nice, faking attraction to get away from me. I have enough self-image problems, thank you very much!"
Silver snorted softly, "Twilight, I am still attracted to you. That wasn't faking."
Cadance nodded knowingly, aware of the truth of the statement.
Twilight started to go red rapidly, "And I turned you into a mare! I'll never get a stallion." She flopped to the ground. "I probably don't deserve one anyway." She hid her face in her hooves, looking miserable.
Night cleared her throat softly, "Um, Miss Sparkle?"
Twilight looked up at Night Watch, "What?"
Night reached out a wing and knocked out one of Silver's legs easily, lifting it up to expose her undercarriage to easy viewing.
Twilight blinked. She sat up slowly, staring, then she buried her snout in a saddlebag, coming out with parchment and writing supplies. "Did we do that, or was this a later spell? Are you fertile? Tell me everything."
Cadance put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "Enough, Twilight. Relax. There will be time for that, later. For now, I am glad you two have explained your differences. Can you forgive each other?"
Twilight smiled broadly, "Everything is forgiven."
Silver raised a brow at Twilight, "Don't think this gets you out of your favor, and you have to ask in the future if you want something. I'll probably say yes even, but if I say no, you respect that, right?"
Twilight bobbed her head, "May I examine you?"
Silver looked to Cadance, then Night, "In front of the others? Twilight, show some shame."
Twilight flushed and nodded, ceasing her request.
Cadance gave a soft smile, "Then it's settled. Did you leave anything in Canterlot?"
Silver frowned in thought, but Night thought of something first, "You left behind your artifact. The one with the games."
Silver nodded, "That's true... but I don't care much about that anymore. Life got interesting enough to not need games. Why play games?" Silver felt good about saying that. She had grown, if painfully.
Cadance nodded, "Then you stay with me for now. If you have any problems, talk to me. I promise to listen."
Silver gestured at Night, "Her too, right?"
Cadance smiled, "I wouldn't dream of separating a herd."
Night flushed a little, "Luna technically dissolved our herd..."
Cadance looked at Silver and gestured at Night.
Silver caught the hint on the second gesture, "Oh! Night, will you be my first wife?"
Night smiled joyously, "I would be honored."
Cadance clopped her forehooves together, "Then, as princess of the Crystal Empire, I do officially recognize this herd."
Silver raised a hoof, "One other problem. I sort of tried to kill myself once, and Luna hasn't declared me recovered yet."
Twilight frowned, "Why would you do that?"
Silver sagged, "Moment of incredible stupidity. But I'm not technically allowed to be by myself."
Cadance shook her head, "I accept responsibility for you, Silver. This is my kingdom. I will give you a week. After that, I will declare you cured, unless you give me reason not to."
Silver gave a sigh of a laugh, "You are so... ugh, what's the word... fair? Helpful? Forget it, you're best princess."
Cadance rose, "I should get back to being that 'best princess'. Enjoy your stay, Silver, Night." She looked to Twilight, "Play nice!" Twilight shrank at the stern words from her former foalsitter.
Night looked at Twilight, "Did you mean half the things you said?"
Twilight sat up and tilted her head, "About what?"
Night snorted, "The apology, to my husband. Did you mean it?"
Twilight unfurled her wings, "Of course I meant it! I want to be his... her? Uh, their friend, yes. If they will allow me, I would also like to be their physician."
Silver raised a brow, "Translated, you want to examine me intimately, both physically and magically."
"Maybe," said Twilight guiltily.
Silver reclined in her pillow, "Well, fine. The idea of being leered at by Twilight Sparkle is not a turnoff, assuming she does it respectfully."
Twilight looked pleased, and yet nervous. "So... did you mean it? I mean, liking me?"
Silver raised a brow, "You spoke to Jake. You know how bronies work. You were best pony."
Twilight flushed softly, "He said that it varies per brony. What does that mean, exactly?"
Silver felt very little shame. It was a day for airing out emotions. Besides, he, er, she, couldn't see the future, so whatever. "In my case it means I like you a lot. Like like. You hurt my feelings terribly when you treated me that way. It was like having a lover just walk all over me. If you had asked me to, nicely, I would have put myself on that table for you and done everything reasonably in my power to help you." She twitched her spiky tail, watching Twilight.
Twilight looked miserable. "Oh now you'll hate me forever! I wasn't thinking of you as... a pony. I was--"
"There is your mistake," piped in Night. "Everypony deserves to be looked at like a pony first."
Twilight gave a slow nod, "Yes... You're right, of course. I'm so sorry, Silver. We'll talk tomorrow, if you want." She rose to her hooves, "Right now, I am totally bushed. Long-range teleportation is no joke."
Silver went with her instincts and kissed Twilight on the cheek suddenly, teeth brushing her flesh, "Sleep well."
Twilight went red and fled the room, stuttering something of a goodbye on the way.
Night snorted softly, "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
Silver moved up to Night and rubbed along her side, "Let's discuss this forgiveness, in private. I'll take the high road, you take the low road, and I'm sure a solution will come between us."
Night failed to stifle a laugh at the poor humor, "Oh my, that sounds like heavy negotiations. We should get started immediately."
They retired to their new room, and eventually came to a conclusion.
There are a bunch of stuff where your character, Silver, is still calling herself a he. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
Off my small rant, I just saw only one error. Probally because I was reading more than checking and reading.
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myself
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Off note today is my b-day. Will be 29 today.
5804636 She does, and yet chooses to use it entirely for benign ends. Even when Cadance turned her magic on Silver, she just made him kiss his girlfriend, an activity he is OK with. She has displayed nothing that breaks trust or kindness in front of Silver.
5804640 You will always have loyal readers :P, and silly adorkable twilight apologized to Silver so that is good. Now lets see how long he can stay in the Empire, though i somehow believe the next time Tia shows up she is going to get a stern talking to about her behavior and Silver refusing to go back to EQ/Canterlot xD. So far Twilight and Cadence seem to be the only princess to be somewhat level headed.
I'm feeling quite better, but somehow, knowing the way the stories go I highly doubt Silver will be able to actually taste any of what happened. Either something happens again and mess everything up or Celestia/Luna will somehow know about what just happened, probably via TwiMail, and come in charging and declaring Cadance's decision null and void. Ooh, I'd like to see Cadance confronting Celly/Luna over bullshit they pull on Silver.
"This is MY kingdom, and only I decide how to rule it. YOU BOTH, disregarding your age and supposed wisdom of ages, act like he's not a sapient being, but a THING you can do whatever you want to! Now BEGONE! Before I decided to slap a ho."
I'm glad that at least Mane5 acted adequately.
Oh just godamn make up your mind! Who is he with exactly? the only stable constant at the momment is Night but others are changing rapidly...
sorry, got frustrated there.
5804924
Had Celine - lost Celine.
Had Fast Change - lost Fast Change.
Had Luna - discarded Luna.
So far nothing changes that rapidly. Sure, he may have something for Twilight, but bronies tend to like/love more than one character anyway.
Her saying "you're just as" is meant to be a leading statement, so I'd change out its comma for an ellipsis.
Every instance of "him" or "he" or "his" should be in the feminine. Other instances of using pronouns to refer to Silver use the feminine form, so it's best to strive for consistency.
She crumpled under the force of "her" onslaught. "She" draw back, licking "her" fangs.
"So they were walked beyond" is a very awkward phrase. I'd recommend dumping the "were" there.
"She" grunted and clopped the ground.
The farm is "crystal corn-growing."
This isn't an error per se, but hearing "recognize" in the present-continuous tense is odd. Usually it'd be "I don't recognize."
Silver is holding the cup in "her" own magic.
"She" twitched her tail.
It doesn't bother her "conscience" much.
She says that Twilight tied her "and and" started examining her.
If she said "flat-out" that she wanted to experiment on her.
There needs to be a closing quotation mark here.
She's using "auntie" like a name there, so it should be capitalized.
Unless Silver is trying to make a double entendre there, that should be "Say your piece."
She "had a" horrible bedside "manner."
"Miss" should be capitalized.
"Forehooves" is a compound word.
Not an error per se, but shouldn't that be "foalsitter"?
5805439 Extra-long chapter apparently means an extra large helping of crystal typos, which are like normal typos, but shinier. Thanks for running through them! I hope this chapter helps steer things in a better direction.
5805479 This chapter felt like it moved Silver quite a few steps closer to catharsis.
What struck me most powerfully, here, wasn't so much Silver's admission that his relationship with Luna isn't working, but his recognition of the fact that Luna tried, in her own way, to tell him that from the get-go, and he ignored it and insisted that they try anyway. Cadance was right to recognize that that was a very big admission on his part; indeed, Cadance is uniquely suited to recognize that Silver realizing that means that he's still emotionally healthy, and that his judgment is to be trusted, at least insofar as matters of the heart go.
I say that with some chagrin, as even I had forgotten that small but very important fact in my previous indictment of Luna. In truth, Luna is what she is, and it's not fair to her to blame her for the fact that she can't be what Silver wants, or needs, her to be. It's not that she "won't" come down to Silver's level (which is what he said), but that she can't, the same way that he can't make it up to hers. It's ironic that Cadance was the one who, after initially warning Luna against having a relationship with Silver, reversed her position and helped Celestia come up with the "ambassador idea" that started things on their current trajectory. Given that her initial indictment of a relationship between the two of them had more to do with Silver's broken nature (at that point in time) than with the gulf between their statuses, I can only presume that Cadance made the same mistake that Silver did when she encouraged him to be with Luna in that garden meeting: she thought that if they just tried hard enough, love would conquer all.
What's most important now is to recognize that that didn't happen, and that it's ultimately no one's fault. That's often a hard thing to do, since it's natural to want to lash out at someone when they hurt you, even when it's clearly not their intention, but Silver's experiences with being brokenhearted seem to have made him stronger in this regard. Though, I suspect that Luna will handle this with surprising maturity also; after all, she was the one who initially recognized that this wouldn't work, even before they tried it, and as an immortal being she would have been cognizant of the fact that it was going to end relatively soon anyway, one way or another. This bittersweet ending was one that she likely saw coming from a long way away. They clearly do love each other, but what that means for each of them is just too different to be compatible; it's like the situation with Fast Change multiplied a thousand times over.
On a similar note, I'm glad that Silver had it out with Night Watch. The exchange felt very real, as he recognized that she betrayed him and was able to embrace his anger in an honest, but not destructive, manner. Night, in turn, was able to admit that she was wrong, and explain why she did what she did. Silver, in turn, was able to empathize with her reasoning, and find it within himself to accept her explanation and forgive her. That, right there, is a healthy relationship - it's how a couple that's in love and respects one another deals with an interpersonal conflict between them. That they renewed their marriage shortly after that was perfectly symbolic of how strong their bond is.
Insofar as Silver's feminization goes, I'm still not seeing why he bothered to accept that, notwithstanding demanding compensation in the form of future favors. After all, as Night pointed out, he's still functioning as a male with regards to their sex life, via his trick, so it still has no practical impact - he hasn't tried to experience mare-on-mare sex with Night, and I seriously doubt he wants to do it with a stallion, let alone become pregnant, so what's the hold up with asking for his masculinity back? Really, I'm surprised that he doesn't demand that Twilight help restore his parts, since that seems like the next logical step in reclaiming his self-image.
Insofar as Twilight is concerned...her about-face seems rather abrupt, but that's due to it taking place off-screen. It's not unbelievable though, since I can easily see her friends castigating her about what she did. This seems like it was her own personal "Mare-Do-Well" moment. It was also telling that she did admit to feeling jealous over Silver's magical aptitude, and uncertain regarding his attraction to her. It did feel a little odd that he was saying that right in front of Night...but that's consistent, since his initial marriage proposal to her was done moments before he propositioned Luna as well. But I'm still having a bit of a disconnect between that and Twilight being truly "interested" in Silver. She's intrigued by the magical puzzle he presents, certainly, and she's clearly flattered and maybe even excited by the prospect of his being attracted to her (has anypony ever flat-out said that to her before?), but that's a far cry from her liking him back...and that's presuming that she's not put-off by his currently "fluid" gender. We've seen Twilight liking someone before (hey, isn't Flash Sentry a guard in the Crystal Empire anyway? Hmm.) and she seems to be pretty clearly heterosexual (all the more reason for Silver to want to be a stallion, since I suspect that's what Twilight would want), to say nothing of the fact that she quickly goes to pieces when she feels like she could reciprocate a romance, acting ridiculous and embarrassed.
(I also suspect that this is the "should First Star go off-screen?" option in action, since otherwise she's sort of been abandoned by her de facto parental figures.)
Overall, this is a major move in the right direction, both for Silver personally and the story in general. But as the author's note says, will it hold up?
5805565 It was an emotional fireball, exploding in a constant inferno of amazingness. Will Silver miss the intense passion of that fire? Likely. When he/she was with Luna, it felt fantastic, but he/she was never her equal, and likely never would be. She had just accepted taking him/her as a lesser.
Silver really isn't that worked up about his/her sex, and is more willing to experiment. Did he go straight to lesbian hijinks with Fast? No, but he/she was also kinda upset at the moment, and just wanted to vent at her, vocally and physically. Let him/her unpack a little before she fully explores new options. Would he/she spread legs for a stallion? Which stallion? She's not eyeing passing crystal ponies if that's the question, but the chance of her saying no to a nice stallion that approached her is not 100% either.
Twilight has good friends, who help reset her moral compass. When she shared the story of her exploits, they gave her a proper talking to and made her realise she was being a butt, so she ran off to apologize. Is she in love with Silver? That would be unnaturally fast, but she may be curious on a few levels, both intellectually and otherwise, and Silver will likely encourage that, already harboring feelings towards her and all. Whether he/she succeeds is a whole other matter!
He/she does have a habit of approaching new females right after hooking up with Night. What's up with that?
Ah well, it's not much a herd with two ponies.
5805605 Insofar as Silver's sex, I think that part of my issue is that Silver was pushed into this against his will. Silver wouldn't enter into a gay relationship with Tumble no matter how hard Celine pushed (though, to be fair, he did make a token effort) even when he was suffering from very low self-esteem, so the idea that now that he's more self-confident he'd let Celestia and Twilight push him into having a sex-change feels backward.
And make no mistake, he was pushed into this. Suddenly agreeing to it doesn't change the fact that the impetus for this change came from them, not him. If Silver can't honestly say that he'd have asked for this on his own, without any prompting, then it's hard to see this as being anything other than externally imposed on him, even if he demanded favors for accepting it. (In fact, that he demanded favors sort of proves the point; you don't ask for compensation for something unless it's burdensome.) Why try to make the best of a bad situation when you can simply bring that bad situation to an end? That's why I keep harping on this point - this doesn't feel like Silver's choice, and there's no greater exposition regarding why he allowed it to happen when he was given a way out.
Regarding Silver being willing to have sex with a stallion...I really think he'd be a hypocrite if he did it with anypony but Tumble, at least at first. Given everything Tumble has gone through, it really feels like Silver owes him that much; then again, obligation is a poor reason to get into a relationship. There's also the fact that Tumble likes colts, but he also likes Silver, who is sporting male parts anyway, so maybe he'd be "up" for it.
...though I admit I'm amused by the idea that Twilight walks in at some point to find Silver and Flash together. Wouldn't that just cause her to fuse out?
5805634 Let's not mince words. Silver has a fear of gay. Gay as in two guys going at it. The idea of it bothers him, not to the point of holding things against others that enjoy it, power to them, but participating, nothing but heebie jeebies. He/She avoids the backdoor, giving or receiving, but finds most other forms of intercourse interesting. Since Tumble, who is now half-a-world away, wants to be bottom, but male, this doesn't leave a lot of comfortable ways to approach him, as a male, female, or both. That he doesn't bring much to the table intellectually doesn't help either. They would have zero to discuss before or after the fact, and Silver does want partners he can live with.
Night has a keen mind, Luna does, Twilight does, Fast Change does, Celine did. Silver likes ponies that can hold their own in a conversation. Tumble is... simple. He/she cares for Tumble, as a friend, but feels no attraction to him, physically or, more importantly, emotionally. He probably wouldn't be up for Big Mac either. That pony is way too quiet.
5805659 I can understand Silver not being interested in Tumble romantically (though I feel like he still needs to have a heart-to-heart with him about how badly he handled things before), but insofar as Silver's homophobia goes, I'm starting to become confused.
Silver is clearly still in possession of a masculine gender identity; that'd be true even without using that "trick" to give herself male parts. If that's the case, saying "Silver has a fear of gay. Gay as in two guys going at it." is going to flatly rule out fem-Silver being with any stallion...but that seems to fly in the face of saying "the chance of her saying no to a nice stallion that approached her is not 100% either."
I suppose you could resolve those two statements by saying that Silver just doesn't like the thought of any literal backdoor shenanigans, but that feels like way too much of a technicality to be credible.
5805678 I don't pretend to make sense. I don't think sexuality always makes sense. Seriously, if someone hit me with a ray gun and bam, female. I wouldn't rule out the idea of straight intercourse as a female (as unlikely as the opportunity would be to come up, go social recluse powers!), and yet I just don't even entertain the idea of being with a guy, as a guy.
Does this make any sense? Heck if I know! It is what it is, and I'm severely under-qualified to discuss the morality of one's gender identity.
5805684 There's no responsibility that demands that people make sense, especially with regards to their sexuality. It's eminently plausible that someone would be confused and uncertain about their sexuality and gender identity even under ordinary, real-world circumstances.
The problem that comes up is that characters aren't real people, per se. We may endow them with the presumptions of real people - which is what we call "characterization" - but ultimately, all characters are in service to the story itself, which has the end goal of entertaining the readers. While we may not need to empathize with supporting cast members, if we can't figure out why the main character is doing what they do, then we have a much harder time empathizing with them, and that hurts our overall ability to engage with them, and through them, the story as a whole.
That doesn't mean that the character needs to always clearly know what they're doing; it just means that we need to have enough information to make a reasonably-certain guess as to their state of mind. If the character is confused, we should be aware of their confusion. They don't have to resolve it, they just have to let the readers know about it within the context of the story.
I am still not 100% on board with the new plan silver but I am kind of liking ware this is going. kind of.
Harts Firex
Where is First Star?
'are'
6213421 Fixed.
5819880 Hah! i just noticed that! Thank you for granting me amusement!
1.)Silver half-lidded her eyes, "I'd have stronger footing to complain if I didn't just let her strongarm me into ditching my bits."
Correction: Silver half-lidded her eyes, "I'd have stronger footing to complain if I didn't just let her strong arm me into ditching my bits."
Twilight flushed softly, "He said that it varies per brony what that means exactly."
Correction: Twilight flushed softly, "He said that it varies per brony. What does that mean exactly?"
There was a sudden fizzlecrack, and Twilight appeared with a frazzled mane, looking haggard. "The Crystal Empire?!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?!"
I think Twilights Magic should have teleported somewhere in between her starting place and the Crystal Empire because in the show I believe it was a two day journey from canterlot to the Crystal Empire.
6475148 Typos fixed!
Gah! Coming into a good story so late can be frustrating! I want to comment more - to postulate on upcoming events, to respond to others' thoughts, and to parse the chapters' themes - but everything is so far in the past that I don't want to bother ancient commentary, nor postulate on an already-realized future.
Oh well.
I suppose I can at least say that I'm not much of a fan of your Celestia. She's a much more hardline in her motherly role than I normally envision.
Luna's characterization is more up in the air because I can see the missing 1000 years screwing with her in all kinds of ways.
So... I really like Cadance so far. Her personality seems the least polarized.
Wow typo in the author's notes, that's a rare one, but seriouslly "in new his frozen home"? Come on, you can do better
11627632
An ancient typo set to rest.