One of them nodded his cowled head and drew it back, revealing soft tawny fur. "There cannot be progress without some discomfort. You know this intimately."

Silver snorted softly. "Any discomfort I choose to heap on myself is my decision. That doesn't give me a right to heap it on others for my gain. This is not a flexible point."

The other revealed himself with a brighter magenta coat. "Very well. You have great empathy for your fellow pony, as we would expect from any prince worthy of the title. Even if you didn't begin your life as one. Tell us, human, why do you presume to know what's best for our people?"

Silver flipped an ear back, a little surprised at their knowledge. "I don't presume that. I do what I can, as a person, to be good, to myself and those around me." He reached out a hoof. "I truly am sorry I hurt what were likely your friends. I didn't enjoy it. I want this madness to end."

Tawny shook his head. "Your concern is touching, but not relevant at the moment. You are about to shepherd in a great upheaval. It will cause strife and conflict."

Silver brought the ear forward. "What strife is this?"

"How to put this delicately..." Magenta pointed down between Silver's hind legs. "You will change the balance of power. When you service the princesses, alicorns will become a tribe all of their own, instead of just a pinnacle for the rare pony to reach. How can this not upset the balance of things? These new alicorns will demand new rights, but how can we react? What system can contain a growing population of unaging gods among them?"

Celestia stepped out from behind a hedge, approaching the table with a delicate frown. "It is none of your business what Silver does in private."

Tawny looked towards Celestia. "Good day, princess of the land. Will you join us?"

"I will." She settled beside Silver, almost possessively so from her stance.

Magenta smiled gently. "Already she is ready to have you as a husband, and with it, foals, and with them, chaos."

Celestia snorted softly. "I'm in a good mood from last night, let's not ruin it too quickly. Did you come here to discuss me?"

Tawny shook his head. "No. The Lightning Wheel wishes to advance technology and magical study, for the betterment of all tribes and peoples. Ponies, dogs, zebra, griffons, minotaurs, and anyone else that is willing to work alongside us. Technology is a boon that any tribe can benefit from without favoritism. Magic can be encoded for the use by non-unicorns, but isn't done so nearly often enough. Equality, that is the goal. Equal, but improved."

Silver went stiff with realization. Starlight Glimmer's involvement suddenly made a lot more sense. "How do I fit into that?"

Magenta pointed at Silver. "You come from a world of great technology. You know that we speak the truth. You are also a unicorn of unique talents. We would entreaty both aspects of your being, to help usher in a grand new age for all ponies, neigh, all sentient life."

Silver rolled a hoof. "You might have had my rapt attention had you just come out and asked long ago. Why all the skullduggery?"

Tawny's ears fell. "Those were the regrettable decisions of our past leader. His failures have mounted too high and we deposed him. We are now the leaders of the Lightning Wheel, and our first action was to approach you directly, in good faith."

Celestia raised a brow, looking the two over. "Will you turn over your old leader, for trial?"

Magenta canted his head to the side. "That would be a most elegant solution. We need not worry ourselves with his punishment, if you wish the task."

Tawny held up a hoof. "As a display of good intent, we will furnish him and a list of all his dealings, for good and ill. Do as you wish with them."

Silver bobbed his head. He liked most of where this was going. "One thing. I don't miss the despoiling of the land that technology can bring. Easy resources and pursuit of the biggest profits led humanity to take some disastrous shortcuts at the cost of our world. I would feel pretty crappy if I helped usher in an age of smog and poisons to this rather pastoral world. Also, if you're looking for detailed schematics, my memory isn't that good, and I was never an engineer to start with. All I could provide is ideas and basic principles."

Celestia blanched at the idea Silver painted. "Most certainly not! Equestria is no place for that. The land should be kept pure and healthy, for the sake of our foals and our foal's foals."

Magenta pointed at Celestia. "And that is why we need the cooperation of unicorns. We have reviewed the possibilities. Coal is dirty in every word. We would rather enslave the power of the horn, than the dirty smoke of the earth." He seemed to realize what he said. "That was poorly said. Any unicorn in our employ would be just that, employed, and paid well for their services, just as an earth pony would be paid for their great strength, and pegasi for their weather control. We have several diamond dog packs in our roster, collecting crystals of the purity needed to start the project."

Tawny nodded quickly. "We can prove the concept in just a few months. Imagine, a world where a communication crystal was only ten bits, instead of a thousand? With the proper mass production, it's possible, without damaging anything. Right now, you have to buy a crystal separately, then commission a unicorn for the singular task. Both steps are slow and expensive, but if a unicorn is doing nothing but enchanting crystals and being paid by the hour, they would become faster, and it would be cheaper. Instead of a distraction, it is their way of life. Do you see?"

Celestia gave a light nod. "I see no harm in that. Communication is something of a sore spot for Equestria when dealing with those without magic."

Magenta smiled at Celestia. "We thought you might agree." His eyes turned to Silver. "Do we have your support?"

Silver tilted his head a bit. "I haven't heard anything I'm against so far, but I'm still not sure how I can actually help?"

Tawny lifted a hoof. "For today, we seek peace between us. There is too much bad blood to request your aid just yet. Let us simply come out of the shadows, so you can see our good work without deception or coercion."

Celestia's expression brightened, becoming almost radiant. She enjoyed a good peace-bringing in any situation. "If this is a true change for your people, then I look forward to seeing what they can do. Keep us both informed."

Soon they were gone, leaving Silver beside Celestia. She leaned over and kissed him on the snout, making him go red. "You handled that quite well."

Silver nodded hesitantly. "Thank you for the assistance. I... think I won a battle there?"

Celestia nodded. "Your... violent means... eventually broke their will to fight you. I wish there had been another way, but the past is the past." She slid over Silver, nudging him backwards and mounting him belly-to-belly. "Let's not think about that anymore."

Silver squirmed a little, warming up at the rather forward position he was in. "Uh, Celestia? Are you?"

Celestia perked an ear. "Am I? I am many things."

Silver stuck out his tongue. "Not what I meant and you know it."

She leaned in and kissed him on the snout again. "Visit me after day court." She slid off of him and cantered away. She was still in a good mood, and he decided he really liked it.

He got to his hooves and trotted into the castle, to be intercepted by a lunar guard. "The All-Mother wishes for you to follow me." And follow he did, trailing along behind until they arrived at a small padded room. "Wait here."

The door closed behind Silver, plunging him into dark. His eyes adjusted and soon he could see what little there was to see in the room, and he waited patiently. The door opened just wide enough to admit a mare, a familiar mare.

Starlight Glimmer stumbled forward, clearly blind. "Hello?"

Silver went hot as he realized what was going on. "She sent you?"

Starlight jumped. "Oh! Silver?" She stumbled towards him in the dark. "Is that you?"

Silver leaned in and let her snout bump into his. "Why did Luna send you to be bred?"

Starlight's ears pinned back. "She said she saw some dreams of mine..."

Silver sat down. "Oh... Is this what you want? I'm not here to force myself on anyone."

Starlight sat down as well, facing Silver but not looking directly at him, which he forgave, assuming she couldn't see a thing. "Will you love me?"

Silver frowned a bit. "You're a lovely mare, physically. You've done some awful things, but if those are behind you, I can forgive those. The most pressing thing is the basic fact that I'm taken, like super taken. I have two herds, basically, and neither of them are recruiting."

Starlight looked displeased at the news, but rose up and approached Silver. She reached with a hoof until she found him, then she nuzzled him a little. "Do we have to be in the dark?"

"You already know who I am, and I know you, so not really." His horn began to glow and they could both see more easily. "If you want to go, that's fine. As dehumanizing as it is, all I can offer you is a stud."

She tilted her head a bit. "I don't know that word." She rubbed alongside him. "Luna wasn't wrong. I have dreamed of you. I would like to be closer to you, but you had to be so... surrounded. When she offered that I could be the mother of your foal, it intrigued me. The bits weren't a bad touch either. I could start a new life with that."

Silver tapped Starlight on the nose. "The Lightning Wheel has new management."

"Do they now?" She smirked darkly. "I knew that oaf would get himself booted out eventually. That's a load off my shoulders."

"Are you going to work with them again?"

Starlight looked pensive a moment. "Perhaps, if I like what I see." Her eyes fixed on Silver. "Well, this I like. You've... become quite a thing haven't you?" Her horn glowed and Silver felt his cutie mark being pulled away, floating above her head. "Mine."

Silver snorted with annoyance, his thoughts growing muggy and clouded. "Why did you do that? You can't get out of the castle with that."

Starlight put a hoof on Silver's chest. "I'm not running anywhere. You're in my control, little colt. You just lay back and let momma Starlight take care of you."

Silver felt he should notice something, but his flanks buzzed with the power of the neutralizing cutie mark, smudging out the thought.

Starlight did his thinking for him. "Don't you worry that pretty head of yours. I'm just playing with you. For now, you're mine." She guided him to the ground, then rolled him over and soon she was on top of him. They joined together and put a foal into her belly. At the moment of conception, Silver felt his power rise to a boiling pitch. He knew he was fueling the process and he surged wantonly, leaving himself dizzy and weak, but certain the deed had been done.

Starlight slid off of Silver, swollen with magic, though the magic was absorbing into her at a rapid pace, fueling her for her future life as a mother. "What a good colt you are. Maybe Mother Starlight will have to visit you again, if you're good." Starlight returned the mark reluctantly, though Silver didn't notice the reluctance until his intuition returned with it.

"Why do you look so glum?"

Starlight gave a little smile. "Is it wrong that I'm jealous?"

Silver sat up onto his haunches, slowly recovering from the intense magic use. "Of?"

Starlight frowned a little. "Isn't it obvious?"

It was. Silver realized. Starlight would marry him and never look back, if he was reading her right, but he was already married, twice. It wouldn't work. He leaned in and kissed her on the nose. "You'll find your own special somepony. Just lay off the cutie mark stealing. Ponies need those."

Starlight huffed angrily. "They don't need them. We'd all be better off without them dictating what we do or don't do." She turned away from Silver and let out a soft sigh. "Will you be upset if I bring the foal around later?"

Silver shivered softly. "I can't imagine being upset at seeing my own child, but I can see my wives getting edgy about it. I promised one of them they wouldn't have to see any of my, er, extracurricular activities, so... a letter? I can meet you."

Starlight nodded before trotting out of the room, light spilling in a moment before the darkness returned, only cast aside by his glowing horn. He wanted to save Starlight, from the world, and herself, but he had no idea where to start that wouldn't cause hurt to his loved ones. He sat there in the gloom, recentering himself and relaxing before a knocking came from the door. The guard that led him there poked his head in. "Princess Celestia awaits your company."

Silver hopped up to his hooves and prayed he didn't smell too much like Starlight as he trotted out to deal with destiny.

Author's Notes:

The Lightning Wheel comes clean, then Silver and Starlight get all dirty.

Surely this will nave no consequences of any kind.

Typing without a cutie mark is hard, sorry for typos.