Silver was in the library, letting his imagination run wild between spells, trying to find inspiration for something worth the ink it was written in. He perked an ear at a familiar voice. Luna was speaking to what sounded like Applejack. Silver rose and approached to hear more.
"It is good that you are confessing your guilt."
"Ah didn't use it, Ah swear. Ah brought it here for Twilight to examine and get rid of."
Silver peeked through the doorway, seeing the two of them talking. Luna nodded softly. "Of course, a wise decision. I'm certain they will be lenient in your punishment."
Applejack was clearly distraught. "What?! No! Why should ah be punished at all? Ah just found out it was bad and here ah am."
Luna leaned in. "For what reason did you have such a trinket?"
Applejack frowned, tail twitching. "Rainbow Dash got it. It weren't my idea at all."
Luna pointed past Applejack, to the lurking Silver. "Here is a better answer. He could sire any foals you two desire, could he not?"
Applejack looked up at Silver, then back at Luna. "Ah suppose? Ah weren't in no rush in the first place."
Silver approached, but heard Luna's voice in his mind, ~Be still. I wish to secure this mare for you.~
Silver frowned and thought back, ~Secure? I have plenty of mares as it is.~
~But few that will come into reception so soon. Do you not find favor in Applejack?~
He did. Applejack was a wonderful mare, both physically and mentally, but not like that... ~She is too good to force like this. You're manipulating her. Just ask, and accept her answer.~
Luna frowned, but nodded. "Applejack."
Applejack perked her ears at the change in tone. "Yeah?"
Luna pointed at Silver. "Silver would like to be your stud, is this acceptable?"
Applejack turned red in her cheeks as the question was asked in the most blunt way possible. She looked at Silver, then shook her head quickly. "Ah'd need ta talk to RD first, if nothin' else. Ah mean... no offense or nuthin'."
Silver closed the distance with a shake of his head. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way at all. You won't insult me taking or not taking it. It would be an honor to perform for you, considering how good of a friend you've been to me even before we met, but you won't hurt my feelings if you don't want to, or have somepony else in mind."
His words put Applejack at ease and she let out a breath. "Well alrighty then. The way Luna was sayin' it... Uh... so am ah still in trouble?"
Luna shook her head. "Of course not, dear Applejack. You have lived up to your honest reputation admirably."
Applejack smiled, relaxing. "Ah try mah best. Ah'm gonna take this ta Twilight now." And she trotted deeper into the castle.
Luna poked Silver in the shoulder lightly. "Now she will say no. You should have let me handle it."
Silver snorted softly. "I'd rather an honest no than a coerced yes. I'm not looking for mares to bed with randomly anyway. What brought this on?"
Luna tilted her head. "You are still the start of the lunar unicorns. You can't do that unless you breed, yes? I am aware you have no desire to break your current bonds, so lending you as a breeding stallion seems the best solution, doesn't it?"
Silver nodded a little. "That part makes sense, but the idea of tricking a mare into it?" He licked his lips. "The idea of just breeding to make a foal and never seeing it again?"
Luna shrugged. "Turns you on. You are pleased at the idea of having many foals."
Silver frowned. "There's a difference between fantasy and reality."
Luna wobbled a hoof. "So if I brought a female that wants, without trickery, to be filled with your foal and then depart, never to bother your herd again, you would deny her?"
Silver grit his teeth. It was a dirty offer, that pressed against base desires. "I don't want to hurt my herd-mates, or my circle-mates, for that matter."
Luna leaned forward. "A stallion being lent to stud does neither, assuming everyone involved is honest. It is your decision."
Silver tapped his chin. Luna didn't look like she wanted any answer but yes, and 'yes' only bothered him on a faulty moralistic level. If he wasn't cheating, didn't he want to do this? He kind of did, and he kind of didn't. "It would be completely a one-night stand? I'm not making a bunch of pretenders to the throne or legal issues later? They won't stalk me or my family trying to get me to be a father for them?"
Luna lifted a hoof over her chest. "I will bring them to a neutral place, in the dark if I must, and they need never see you, though you will see them with your enhanced vision. The contract will be quite clear. I will see to every angle. All you must do is what you promised to do. Be my alpha lunar unicorn."
Silver wasn't willing to concede yet. "Let me talk to the others."
"If you must." She smiled a little. "I will not press further if you decide against it, on my honor."
Some of the tension faded with her promise. She did seem to be learning. Silver turned and trotted away, looking for his mates. Night wasn't in the castle, so he took flight, sailing to the road-in-progress. They had cut about halfway into the menacing forest and were clearly making good progress. He landed beside her and spotted Tumble working on the road as well. Surprised at the sight, he moved for him first. "What are you doing here?"
Tumble's ears perked up and he turned to face the very male and large Silver. "W-what? Is... that you?"
Silver tilted his head one way, then the other. "Silver Stars, in the flesh. I thought you had gone?"
Tumble stepped towards Silver, sniffing at him. "You're so big! You're bigger than me!"
Silver sat down and reached out a hoof, petting across Tumble's mane. "Am I scaring you?"
Tumble shook his head quickly. "N-No! You're... you're..."
Night came up behind Silver. "He's trying to say you're smoking hot."
"Uh, yeah, that." He sank to the ground, too flustered to say much more. He peeked up at Silver. "Do you want me to go?"
Silver shook his head. "I never asked you to go. I thought you wanted to? I invited you to stay on, as my guard, and friend."
Tumble sat up. "But you said you couldn't love me?"
Silver held up a hoof. "I said I didn't. That can change. I was trying to make it clear you shouldn't stay just for that. You are a dear friend. Stay?"
Tumble jumped at Silver, making him rock back before Silver held Tumble gently, rocking him. The powerful stallion wept quietly and Silver slowly swayed left and right with him, just holding him for a few quiet moments before setting him down. "So, guard captain?"
Tumble smiled. "Yeah." He sniffled and wiped his nose. "Uh... Night wasn't wrong."
Silver flushed a little, unsure how to handle that. Without the heady pheromone rush, he didn't feel any instinctive urging towards Tumble, or any other stallion. He was nice though, and Silver liked nice things, so he liked Tumble, and that was enough to want him around for now. Silver leaned in and pressed nose-to-nose. "Keep up the good work with Night Watch for now. We'll talk more later, alright?"
Night poked Silver. "What did you want? You landed next to me before you wandered off."
Silver turned towards Night. "Luna's giving me odd positions and I want to be sure I get some words of wisdom, and avoid hurting those I love dearly, such as yourself."
Night looked thoughtful a moment. "Is she trying to stud you out?"
"Got it in one." Silver bobbed his head. "Are you alright with that? Should I?"
Night frowned a little. "I think you need to make more of your own decisions, but this one, I understand. Thank you for not sneaking off under my nose." She rose up and nuzzled Silver's belly. "Since you've told me, I'm OK, provided I never see the mares involved. I try not to be a jealous pony, but that only goes so far." She raised a hoof. "Once a month, at most. If you don't set a limit, she'll drag a mare by practically every day at my estimate."
Silver nodded a little, but Tumble was listening in, looking all the more flustered. "You're being put to stud?"
Silver perked an ear at Tumble. "I'm apparently very in demand."
Tumble squirmed in place. "That's like something out of magazines I used to read. That has to... be good for the old ego, being such a stallion that ponies want to rent you."
Silver considered. Tumble wasn't exactly wrong in that. It was nice to be so desired. "I should talk to Twilight too, and Fast. Is Fast around?"
Night pointed down the road, and Silver took off at an energetic trot, finding her helping get a pole into position. Silver waited for her to finish before approaching her with blunt words. "Luna wants to rent me out as a stud. Does that bother you?"
Fast tilted her head. "As long as you get back in one piece, and I want to see the mares first to make sure they're alright."
Silver's ears twitched at how opposite the reply was. "If that's what you want."
Fast leaned in with a grin. "If you let me take your place once in a while, we'll call it even."
Silver flushed dark, surprised at Fast's offer. Fast laughed at Silver's reaction. "I was joking, mostly... I might join you if the mare doesn't mind, but I won't fool somepony like that. That'd be mean. Off with you."
Silver was dismissed, and took to the air, returning to the castle. He found Twilight scowling at a letter. "Twilight, have a moment for a question?"
Twilight held up a hoof. "Your attackers have come out of hiding."
Silver's thought train derailed. "What?"
Twilight lifted the paper in her magic and held it in front of Silver. "They want to talk to you."
Your Majesty Silver Stars,
We have realized the error of our ways and wish to open formal lines of communication. Show that you are a pony of your word and meet us at the place of your choosing. We will come unarmed and send earth ponies, so there will be no fear of magic. Treat us fairly and we will return the favor.
The Future Awaits,
The Lightning Wheel
Silver tilted his head. "Huh? Well if it's anywhere I want, we can pick a safe place, and see what they want to talk about?"
Twilight pointed towards Canterlot. "Right beside Celestia. I know you have feelings about her, but she wouldn't allow harm to come to you, and her guards would have the place surrounded."
Silver flashed a bright smile. "That seems like a good idea to me. I'll do that." Silver took the letter in his own silvery magic and scrawled out a quick reply. "Off-topic, but could I ask you a question?"
Provided she doesn't see the mares involved? Yeah I see that one breaking down rather quickly considering the possibility of Applejack and I just bet Lyra and Bon Bon get mixed up in it all as well.
Sometimes Luna is like that over eager parent trying to set her kids up on dates.
If Silver becomes a stud will his foals be born with typos?
5982915 Unfortunately likely.
5982920 the typos! they are multiplying!
5982920 Great a whole new beed of lunar pony's now with typos
Nice to see that Luna has matured a bit and learned to talk to Silver instead of forcing to follow her desires. Also nice to see that Celestia is making progress there as well. She still has a ways to go, but progress in any case.
I don't think that Rainbow will be amused about this "encounter".
She gives up her claim on Twilight and he "tries" to give Applejack a fowl?
Not even trying to think about their feelings?
That is kind of an abuse of trust and Rainbow is the Element of Loyality.
5983049
Lunar unicorns with magical dyslexia. Can't help but get the horn-letters out of order and cast the wrong spell..
generations of hilarity set to ensue!
Trying to find inspiration "for" something worth the ink "it was" written in.
Both instances of "ah" should have a capital "A."
What "brought" this on?
She ended the sentence prior to this one with "yes?" Using it again here feels redundant, so I'd change it to "doesn't it?"
Delete the "over" from this sentence.
I'm pretty sure you need to hyphenate "herd mates" and "circle mates."
There needs to be a closing quotation mark at the end of that second sentence.
It would be a "one-night" stand.
Silver wasn't willing to "concede" yet.
They had cut about "halfway" into the menacing forest.
Silver slowly "swayed" left and right with him.
Hyphenate "nose to nose."
Ironically, there's no hyphen between "in" and "demand."
That's like "something" out of "the" magazines he used to read. (I'd also add something about when he read them, e.g. "as a colt.")
5984986 Odd request, but could ah get a citation fer 'ah' being capitalized all fancy-like?
5985031 It was mostly for the way of consistency, since you have it that way when Applejack says:
Given that it's a stand-in for "I," which is capitalized, it seemed appropriate.
5984986 Typos ground under the heel of JUSTICE!
5985047 Well, Luna didn't wait very long before getting back to advancing her plan to breed her lunar unicorns into existence now, did she? I knew she hadn't let that one go, but even I'm surprised - though not unpleasantly so - that she waited barely a day before she started trying to push that particular agenda forward again. As it is, the interplay between her and Silver in this regard was fascinating to read, as it seemed like an honest, and not unpleasant, clash of ideals about how sex and parenthood are "supposed" to work.
(EDIT: I can understand Silver's reluctance to breed willy-nilly, since fathering children that you would then not actively parent seems irresponsible. But that's a cultural consideration from twenty-first century America, and Equestria - with it's largely-female population - is different. Moreover, the question of heirs is also a false concern; when the rulers are immortal, there are no heirs to contend with.
By the by, that makes me wonder about Cadance. She said that she was mortal, but I honestly don't think she's right about that. This fic has postulated that alicorns become immortal when they "connect themselves to the fabric of the world" or something to that effect. "Love" is a pretty major fabric of Equestria, as it seems like the cousin of "Harmony," the world's central tenet ("Friendship," by contrast, seems like Harmony's sibling). As we already know that a pony can ascend to become an alicorn involuntarily, then I suspect that if Cadance isn't already immortal, she will become so soon...much to her distress, since it means she'll outlive her beloved husband.
With regards to Applejack (and, by proxy, Rainbow Dash), I suspect that Luna and Silver might be surprised by the answer she (eventually) comes back to them with. While it was appropriate for her to note that there's no particular rush on her and Rainbow having a foal, based on what we know of them there's going to be a surprising shortage of available stallions that the two of them would want to stud for them; they simply don't seem to know that many. Presuming that they stick with the current arrangement and have Rainbow be the one to carry the foal to term, Big Mac is the obvious choice - that keeps it "in the family" after all - but there's a surprisingly large chance that his reply to being asked to stud Rainbow will simply be "Nnnope." After all, he seems to have no real interest in a relationship at the moment, not particularly wanting to date Cheerilee or any other mare when Hearts & Hooves Day rolled around. Oh, and there's the fact that that pesky "the mare must feel love to conceive" proviso, which seems to imply that Applejack would need to be there while a stallion was doing Rainbow, so definitely "nope" to that.
That also removes most other members of the Apple family (sorry Braeburn), so who's left? Bulk Biceps? Somehow I really don't see that happening. Soarin? He may be a Wonderbolt, but he seems a bit too skittish for Rainbow to seriously respect, after what happened at Rainbow Falls - he certainly wouldn't be aggressive in bed the way Rainbow likes. That means that it would pretty much have to be Silver...something I doubt that Rainbow would be very upset about. After all, he worked her over so well before that she almost had an orgasm completely involuntarily. Between that, and that Rainbow is the sort who'd want a "rematch," I can see her warming up to the idea. (Of course, it'll be rather ironic when the solar pegasus and earth pony have a lunar unicorn for a foal.)
What's also interesting to consider is that - as much as it runs counter to our contemporary morals - Luna isn't necessarily wrong in trying to use a sentence of "breeding" as a criminal punishment. Presuming that the mare in question isn't opposed to the idea (which is Silver's biggest concern), then doing this plays into the concept that criminals should perform a service to the community in restitution for their crimes, and Luna is quite clearly of the mindset that breeding the lunar unicorns into existence helps the lunar pony community. I'd be surprised if some of the mares that she brings to Silver aren't nobles - or other notable ponies - that have gotten in trouble some how, and have taken this option over some other sort of punishment. When you've been caught cheating on your taxes, and the choices are going to jail for a year or spending a night of passion with a sexy alicorn stud, is that really much of a choice at all? (But then again, there's that pesky "she has to be in love" requirement...this is why I thought that was a bad idea to begin with, since it runs counter to how easily breeding occurs, which is the hallmark of how life perpetuates itself.)
The reactions of the rest of Silver's herd were interesting for how opposite they were. Night made it very clear that she wasn't necessarily opposed to it, though I'm not entirely clear on her reasons why. Presumably she knows that it's just sex, and so she's trying (with modest success, it seems) not to feel any jealousy over it, since she knows that there's no emotional intimacy involved. That strikes me as dicey, given Silver's history of falling in love so easily, but to be fair Silver is also quite a bit more mature now. However, Night did overlook one salient detail...there's no way that Luna will be satisfied with a "once a month" proviso. Breeding only twelve lunar unicorns per year - and that's presuming that there's a 100% rate of successful conception, which seems ridiculously unlikely - is likely to be pushing it even for an immortal being. Silver can that particular stipulation to be treated as a negotiating point, or perhaps a loose guideline, rather than a firm limit.
Fast was predictable, but amusing, in thinking that putting Silver out to stud was a sexy idea. Also, yes Fast, committing "rape by fraud" is mean. That said, I wonder if Fast could help out with that "she has to feel love" clause, by turning into whatever pony the receptive mare is in love with while Silver mounts her. That's not an artful solution, for several reasons (Fast has to know what they look like, for one thing), but I can't think of anything else that'd help bypass that particular requirement. Surely Equestria has got to have something to help bypass that prerequisite? Aren't there watered-down love potions - real ones, not love poisons - that can act as fertility treatments in this regard?
Moving on from the issue of studding for a second, I cannot overstate how happy I am that Tumble's back! Oh Silver, I'm so proud of you! This, this is how things should go; open and honest communication, combined with time spent together, should allow for the possibility of seeing if a relationship is possible, something I remain convinced can definitely happen. I say that because, while it's true Silver is no longer physically able to be turned on by another stallion's pheromones, he was in a similar position a while back - when Silver was still a mare, another mare's scent did nothing for her, but she was still attracted to them. Even when Twilight was sporting stallion bits, she didn't have the scent of one, and yet Silver was quite willing to touch, tease, and play with Twilight's male parts and enjoy it quite a bit. So there shouldn't be any problem doing the same thing with Tumble, apart from Silver's giving them enough time to become closer (and to get over his own lingering homophobia). Hopefully they'll have a heart-to-heart in the near future; for that matter, Tumble should be sticking closer to Silver anyway - as captain of the guard, he needs to take his duty to protect Silver seriously. That, and it was heart-meltingly adorable when Tumble was crying into Silver's chest like that. That, right there, was the pain of a freshly-broken heart being let out; hopefully it will heal up in time.
So the terrorist organization has a name, now. The tenor of that latter was rather arrogant, in that they wanted Silver to showcase his word; they're the ones with a history of foalnapping and planting bombs! I'm also curious if they're sincere in their desire to talk, or if this is a trap. Normally I'd lean towards the latter, but if they're truly ideological (but why would diamond dogs, earth ponies, and pegasi care about the advancement of magic? They can't cast spells!) and not completely psychotic, then I can believe that they'd want to negotiate for some form of recognition. The real world has examples of terrorist groups trying to gain political legitimacy via negotiation and civic action, after all.
Overall, a very strong chapter, and I really like where all of this is going!
5985149 You are surprisingly positive about RD and AJ. As was pointed out, there is a lot of room for misunderstanding. It is unlikely that Rainbow Dash will be pleased about this story, when Applejack gets back to her and explains it. Silver and Luna are getting along much better than before. it helps that they are much closer to peers, though it is clear that Luna still feels some bits of superiority, which is not entirely undeserved.
the reactions of night and fast where interesting to consider. it seems fairly certain that night will have to reconsider her position one way or the other, or feelings will be hurt.
5985218 I am positive with regards to Rainbow and AJ, but that's because I'm looking at this in terms of plot development, rather than what I want for them as characters. As individual ponies, this is definitely a setback for their relationship, quite possibly a major one; Rainbow is going to be ticked that AJ turned in that heart crystal that she got for them, and being told that the item was illegal isn't likely to change her mind on that. After all, Rainbow believes in loyalty, and choosing to follow some crazy law over starting a family with the mare she loves is likely to seem like a very disloyal action.
The reason I feel good about that, however, is that this sort of character drama is rich with narrative potential. Interpersonal conflict keeps things up in the air, and you can practically taste the possibilities for what might come about as a result of this. Will Rainbow think of this as a plot on Silver's part to come between her and AJ? Will she be so mad that she'll threaten to leave Applejack over this? Will Applejack be contrite about what she did, or will she stick to her metaphorical guns and refuse to admit that she was wrong? The seeds of entire chapters are to be found here!
I don't see Night having to reconsider her position on Silver studding; her points were all very well-thought out, and she's wise enough not to have buried feelings in this regard (that I can see). It might be a problem if Silver starts studding mares that she knows (e.g. Rainbow Dash), but that's less of an issue with him being with other mares than it is him needing to remind her that she's special to him. Silver told her, in front of all of the others, that she was first in his heart. So long as he can make her believe it, then I don't think that she'll be too upset (and so long as she has something to offer her community). Also, I'm betting that Night will feel much better about things when she and Luna get to have some alone time together - the two of them have a surprisingly deep bond (comparable to the one between Night and Fast, but with much less time spent building it), and they haven't really had time to renew it yet.
Harts Fire was vary surprised at booth nights and fast change's answer to silvers question but at the same time they make perfect sense.
the bigger question how will Twilight answer, she is a princess and understands duty but is still dealing with her feeling towards Silver and don't forget she is just a few days pregnant so her hormones will be a real mess.
and now the Villon is willing to talk or is it more of a demand.
I am liking this story more and more.
Harts Fire
i could be an extreme jerk about this but seeings how this story is completed and doing so will get no results i will just say this. silver lost a lot of depth and is essentially being whored out by his pimp luna and now he wants to get very many people pregnant so his kids are everywhere. it would have been smarter of luna to make more than one lunar unicorn and to keep making them. i am just pointing out what i think are flaws because this story is excellent and i was quite pleased it had taken the unexpected turn of him being a lunar princess. it had made it so unpredictable. it might be a common trope but you did wonders with it and then yet another change and he turned into that. still good story and i will stick with it to the end. i owe you that much.
6281767 This rooter eventually returns home to roost. No injustice goes unquestioned forever in this world.
6281862 ROOTER? Was that another Freudian slip or intentional pun, either way works?
I think you mean "derailed".
7211706 Fixed!
Interesting approaches. Night wants to limit Luna stealing Silver away, but Fast seems to have a firmer idea about enforcing any limits on him. It's one thing to say "do things my way," but it's another to actively check on the things being done.
That Fast may get additional... "considerations" from such an arrangement is just icing on top.
Momentary switch to present tense.
7769431 Fix'd
HAHA You don’t have to be so blunt Luna!!