Silver settled besides Twilight at the banquet table. Celestia was at one end of the table, and Luna at the other. He sat closer to Luna by one chair. Twilight sat closer to Celestia by one chair. Silver couldn't help but make note of how perfectly split it all was. There were other ponies, but they barely registered. City officials and those of similar rank, they had importance, but it was a local importance.

~Thinking of you has filled my mind.~

Silver glanced towards Luna, who winked back gently before taking a sip of her wine. ~Imagining you, submitting to me that way. Not from being forced, but from respect... Love. We've come a long way. I'm sorry for how I've treated you before, pushing and shoving when you weren't ready to make each step.~

Silver nibbled gently at a cupcake, an ear twitching softly as Luna's thoughts caressed her mind, hot with passion and desire. ~Remember, we are wed. True, tis not a typical arrangement, but I, no typical mare, and you no typical pony either. We are bound, and gladly so. Just imagine it. Your face pressed against a pillow, scented gently. My weight settles atop you.~

Her thoughts only became more and more debauched, and descriptive. Silver felt increasingly warm and stirred. She found the mental images of the time with Luna to be increasingly attractive. A small part of herself made a bit of a face, When had she become such a willing brood mare?

A glance revealed Luna gazing at Silver with intense adoration and lust. ~And don't think my passion would end with the evening air. I would tend to your every need. Your littlest aches, your biggest pains. I would be at your side in birth, and as a mother. The child... Our child... Oh just imagine them, resplendent with the power of the moon that could, perhaps, eclipse both of our own. Even I did not learn of my destiny until later. Our child, no, we would teach them swiftly, and let them revel in their nature.~

A platter bumped against Silver's head, startling her to awareness. It was wrapped in Twilight's magic and bumped again. Silver accepted it in his magic and passed it along down the table without causing more of a holdup. "Sorry about that."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "What has you so distracted?"

Silver squirmed, realizing she was turned on, a lot. "Sorry. Did I miss anything important?"

Twilight sighed softly. "So and so wants this and that law passed. A lot of nonsense if you ask me."

A pony rose to her hooves. "Ahem, excuse me, fillies, gentlecolts. Since we have a rare event, with four of the 'circle of princesses' present, I feel we should discuss a matter of great importance." She wore a half-frame of glasses across her snout, severe and dark clothing across her frame, and nodded to Celestia's side of the table, then Luna's. "I was given to believe the circle had changed, gaining a 'prince' among its order. Are they not here?"

Silver sat up. "Present."

She raised a brow. "Princess Silver Stars, you are quite clearly a princess."

Twilight frowned. "Silver is a prince, thank you very much."

The noble mare gave a soft noise. "I see... Then this must be a mistake." She set a crystal cut in brilliant lines on the table. "No prince would make such an offer to Princess Luna, after all."

Luna's eyes bulged with alarm and anger. Her hooves slammed down. "Are you attempting to make light of my actions, or hold me ransom for my own thoughts? We think not!"

Celestia gently tapped a hoof at the table, and all eyes turned to her. Though the sisters were nominally of equal stature, her presence was still the stronger among many ponies. "Our precious, and newest, member of royalty has proven their loyalty to us, through action, sacrifice, and blood. If they can please my sister in any way, then I have little doubt they would do it, with a smile, and without reservation. To make either of us happy... They would hurl themselves before an oncoming train. Their loyalty to Equestria is something to be admired, and nothing more."

Polite clopping went around the table, but the noble mare didn't seem pleased. She snarled at Silver. "She says that, but no prince should be offering to serve as a mother to any child."

Silver locked eyes with her, staring. "Any foal that needs a parent should have one. I served as a father and uncle before I came to Equestria. I am a joyful father to two right now. If I can be a mother to a child? I will raise it well and strong, to be a proud citizen of Equestria. Are you saying Luna doesn't deserve this?"

She slapped the table across from Silver. "I'm saying a prince's place is as a stud, not a matron. You're overstepping your bounds, prince. Your wives should remind you of your limits and restrain you before you make a mess of things."

Another pony, with a perplexed expression, leaned over towards Silver. "Are you not a mare, Prince Silver? I don't... understand this."

The confusion gently rippled along the table. Fancy Pants rose to his feet. "I have seen Silver Stars as a colt, a mare, and many other things. There are a few constants. They love our great nation, and hold its interest high in their heart. We should, this once, not focus on the title of the pony. She is a hero, and with a fine heart. I know her as a friend, and comrade, and hope she feels the same."

Silver smiled as a blush raised in her cheeks. "Thank you... I do."

Fancy's words put many ponies to ease. His influence was palpable, turning the tide from confusion to solidarity behind patriotism rapidly.

The angry noble mare pulled the crystal back, and tucked it into her clothing. "We'll speak again, I'm sure." She turned away, and stalked away from the table.

~We were being recorded,~ came Luna's thoughts. ~I hadn't thought they could even do such a thing. It's my fault entirely.~

With the angry mare gone, a stallion took the spot across from Silver, smiling at her. "Sorry to bother, prince... but... What's it like? I mean, you've been on both sides of the fence. You were born a colt, right?"

Silver nodded at him. "I was. What do you mean, exactly?"

He wobbled a hoof. "If it's not too much to ask, what's it like, as a mare?"

Silver and Twilight flushed in unison. They had experienced the other side of that 'fence' together and memories of it came freshly to them. Silver provided the answer as she rubbed her forehooves together. "With somepony you admire, it's a wonderful experience. As for life in general, it's different. I'm smaller, but feel more agile. I find I care more about some things naturally, and less about others, but I'm still me. We're all ponies, in the end."

He gave a little shaky nod. "Of course, your highness... What if... What if a mare wanted to be a stallion, or a stallion wanted to be a mare? Would you think they were, um, selfish, or perverted?"

Twilight sat up, taking over with a gentle smile. "Such a pony should petition one of the princesses directly and speak their case. They are not a bad pony for having the thought, but it's a serious matter, and not to be done lightly." She gestured to Silver. "In fact, Silver's current condition was a matter of desperation on our part, not an idle whimsy on hers. If a pony has a strong and sincere desire, born of identity and purpose, then I would gladly help such a pony."

The answer seemed to calm the nervous stallion quite a bit as he nodded. "Thank you, your highnesses." He hesitated a moment, then looked to Silver. "Are you upset, if this wasn't your choice?"

Silver put a hoof to her own chest. "The alternative was far more dire, and I am glad, and blessed, to have such friends that would go to such extreme ends to see me safe and happy. I will be their stallion, or matron, and I will never fully repay the debt I owe to them. They are my dearest allies and friends." She spread her hooves out towards either end of the table. "We are the circle of royalty, and I am proud to be a member."

~Silver, you're embarrassing us. Do you mean those words, or are they pretty things to distract them?~

She glanced to see Luna watching her appraisingly. She thought back, ~You have served many things to me. Wife, mother, queen, and even scapegoat. We are bound, and I don't want to be free from that.~

A clopping noise brought attentions towards Celestia's end of the table, where she sat with a gentle smile. "Thank you all for attending this evening. We got some very important matters cleared up. We simply must do this again. Be safe on your way home, and destiny shine on your path."

Dinner was dismissed, and ponies began to disperse.

Silver moved to stand, and almost bumped into a familiar unicorn. Fancy Pant's wife, Fleur. "Fleur! A pleasure to see you."

Fleur smiled gently. "So it's true. You are that awkward colt I met so long ago? Is that a smile of politeness?"

Silver tilted her head a little. "Mmm? No. I'm glad to see you." Silver hopped from her seat and stretched, wings extending a moment. "Are you alright?"

Fleur tilted her head in return. "I taught you once how a colt must defer to a lady, and now you are one... I confess, the idea of it confuses me a little. You have become quite a fetching female at that." Her eyes wandered over Silver's form from front to back. "What are you, now?" She leaned in, speaking in a hushed tone, "Are you a filly fooler?"

Twilight brushed up against Silver as she smiled at Fleur. "Silver is past titles like that."

Silver nodded quickly in agreement. "I have my loves, and it doesn't matter what they are, just who. I've been... Well, I suppose I've been spun around that wheel so hard, I've lost track of where the directions stop or begin."

Fleur licked her lips. "Is that so?"

Fancy Pants wandered over. "Ah, my dear, there you are. And you've found two princesses while you were away! Good day, your majesties." Silver and Twilight nodded to Fancy and he flashed a smile. "A pleasure to see you both. Dreadfully sorry about that unseemly affair. Almost ruined that lovely dinner."

Fleur gained a sour look. "Bringing that up, like that? So uncouth." She glanced towards her husband a moment. "Have you heard, dear? Silver's tried everything there is to try."

Fancy looked confused a moment before he coughed into a hoof. "That's not polite to pry into, dear. I trust Princess Twilight Sparkle to keep her head on straight."

Twilight seemed pleased at those words and grinned at Fancy Pants. "I'm doing my best, sir. Thank you for standing up for her during that little fiasco."

"Think nothing of it, nothing at all." He waved it all away. "Good ponies have to stand together, you know."

~Celestia wishes to speak with you both.~

Silver glanced around, but couldn't see Luna. The evening wasn't ending, it was just starting.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for getting this out so late! Sickness made me go back to sleep, then I got hauled away to see my lovely niece perform a piano piece. So proud!

Silver got to stay here and be hounded by typos.