Night rolled a hoof in the air. "Let me be sure I have this right. You want to offer yourself to Luna, again, but this time you'll do it as a broodmare instead of a stud?"

Silver quirked an ear back. "When you say it like that... But yes, that was the basic idea of it."

Fast Change snorted softly. "Why can't we do it? For Luna, I might revise my opinion on foal bearing."

"Fast!" Night glared at Fast a moment. "A moment of pleasure is not something we suddenly swap our beliefs for... Besides, I've been Luna's servant longer than you."

Silver lifted her ears. "Night... Do you want this?"

Night looked ready to deny it quickly, but sank instead. "Oh... I do..."

Silver leaned in and gently kissed Night on the cheek. "I don't hold it against you."

"I hold it against me." She thrust a hoof at Fast. "Doesn't it make you angry?"

Fast shrugged softly. "I just said I'd lift my tail for her. How angry can I be that you want to too?"

Silver ruffled her wings as she sat up. "I think we all have some feelings towards Luna, except Twilight." All eyes turned to the quiet Twilight.

She recoiled. "What?! Are you waiting for me to profess my feelings for her? She's a lovely pony, and sister of Celestia, but we're not that close. I'm perfectly satisfied with the ponies in my herd." She nodded at each of them in kind. "And if they want to... do this, then I'll try to be supportive of it." She took a slow breath. "I know why Night is involved. She was basically your idol even before she returned to us. Silver, she played a formative role in your new life as a pony, and before that, as a human learning to live in Equestria. For better or worse, she's been involved in your life a long time. Fast..." She trailed off while tapping at her chin. "I don't really know why you're involved. Care to enlighten us?"

Fast started to look uncomfortable. "Can I not and say I did?"

Silver reached with a wing and nudged Fast closer. "Fast, lovely creature that she is, is simply jealous."

Fast drew back powerfully. "I am not!"

Silver shook her head. "You are. You've wanted to experience Luna's attention and love for a long time. You haven't made that a secret, either."

Fast huffed as she turned away and began to stalk off, only to be tackled to the ground under Night Watch's armored bulk. Night squeezed her gently and held her still. "No. She's not wrong, and you're not bad for it. We love you, Fast. No running away."

Despite squirming and struggling, Fast couldn't escape easily. "You both have way better reasons than me... I'll just get super jealous about something else. I'm being a little foal about it, and you're being mature, even about me being immature."

Silver circled around to kiss Fast on the bridge of her nose. "Because we love you. We'll say that until you internalize it. Now... Night, you've had a foal recently, and a darling one, may I remind. Are you certain you want another? It will slow you down and make you fat again."

Night shuddered softly, her wings flapping as she made quite a face of disgust. "Ugh, good... good point. I don't want to slow down again. You're not escaping me, Silver. Not even to Canterlot! Foalnapped, the moment I take my eyes off of you. No! I'm staying at your side. I hope you like company in the bathroom."

Fast burst into laughter. "You would go that far, wouldn't you?" She tickled at Night's ribs gently through her armor. "You love us so much."

Twilight softly coughed into a hoof. "Right, well, that leaves Silver and Fast considering, does it not?"

Silver put a hoof to her belly. "I would gladly experience all of motherhood, first hoof. Last time fate stole it from me, even if Twilight is the kindest, most thoughtful, creature I know and gave me a snatch of what I missed back to me." She moved over to Twilight and leaned in. They nuzzled quietly a moment. "I love you so much."

Fast grunted softly. "The way you all keep talking about it. I keep thinking... I'm missing something. Like I should stop being so selfish and let somepony climb up and fill me with a foal or two, so I can see what I'm missing."

Silver nuzzled against Night until she could take her place, sliding up over Fast. "I'm not sure the foal that Luna wants can be made any way other than letting her stud an alicorn and basically dropping a massive explosion of magic." She leaned in at Fast. "A sexual explosion."

Fast burst into fresh giggles at the imagery offered. "Can I see, at least?"

Silver smooched Fast's nose. "If Luna allows it, but as for you." She trailed a hoof slowly across Fast's front. "If you want a child, for a child, and I need you to consider that... Then you have a choice of loving herdmates to do the job."

Night fidgeted a bit. "Two, right?"

Twilight tilted her head. "Technically three. We could work the spell on you, Night, and let you perform the required task."

Fast flushed brightly. "Oh! Oh... Oh wow... Oh..."

Silver tilted her head. "I think we broke her."

Fast shook her head quickly. "No! I mean... Night Watch..." She turned to look at Night. "It was you that let me into the herd in the first place. Even when Silver was losing their marbles, you were solid, stable... Even when I ran away, you stood your ground... There is no other pony in this entire world I would want to have a foal with. Not a single one."

Silver felt a flush of jealousy, but refused to acknowledge it as she slid off of Fast and let her rise up and greet Night. They crashed together in a hug that was fiercely given and received on both ends. They began to kiss passionately and slowly fell to the floor in one another's embrace.

Twilight turned to Silver. "Well, I think that's settled. Luna will be elated to hear the news."

Silver pointed at Twilight. "And Celestia?"

Twilight snorted softly. "Will have to wait until after the herd is clear of foals before I even consider it. Besides, I just had one. I'm not that kind of mare, thank you very much."

Silver rubbed cheek-to-cheek with her. "I wasn't accusing you."

"You might not be, but Equestria is judging us all harshly and quietly behind our backs." She frowned softly. "Welcome to being popular in all the right, and wrong, ways. Everything we do reflects on the country as a whole. Do you even plan to reveal how you became pregnant? Either of you?"

Night put a leg around Fast. "None of their business, and we're not nobles."

Fast grinned. "She's right. They'll never drag the truth out of us."

Silver sighed as she shook her head. "I won't have that defense, and being stonewalled in front of everypony that asks is going to get them making up their own answers, which could be just as awkward. They know we're a herd without a stallion. Foals don't get to just be assumed. This is going to be fuel for their fires. If we say nothing, the stories will go dark in a hurry. If we say it's Luna? I'm the grand corruptor of their precious princess."

Twilight raised a hoof, but stopped and whipped her neck around. Her cutie mark was glowing and vibrating and her eyes went wide. "I'm being called!" She was gone in a lavender streak, abandoning the conversation.

Night shook her head slowly. "She's gone. So, what about Rough Tumble?"

"What ab--" Silver raised a brow. "You're saying to claim he did it?"

Night nodded. "Claiming he literally studded for us, and we got two foals out of it? Pretty standard affair there. It'd barely register as news, besides a princess being pregnant, but that's all good news." She smiled with a self-satisfied expression. "No awful rumors."

Fast wrapped her forelegs around Night. "Did I tell you today that you're wonderful?"

Silver inclined her ears forward. "We really should discuss this with him. Imagine just walking out one day and having a reporter gushing at you, trying to get news of how you did something you didn't do. He has to be warned, and asked, to make sure he's okay with this."

Night snorted softly. "Or... we could put this off, for now. Maybe we should take care of whoever's stalking after you, all of them. You're in a lot of crosshairs. I'm glad we've nailed down how to get this done, but that doesn't mean we have to rush ahead with it."

Fast's ears went backwards. "Does that include me too?"

Night nuzzled into Fast's cheek. "Unfortunately yes. Let's find some measure of peace, then we can see about expanding this herd, as if it needed it." She perked an ear and glanced up. "Silver, could you see to the foals?"

Silver canted an ear towards their room and could hear the faint noises of their stirring. "I'm on it!" She flew from the room in a hurry to erupt into the nursery. "Hello, my wonderful little bundles. How are we feeling today?" She approached the crib and leaned in to pull back the sheet, but there was only one foal there.

Jumping back with surprise, Silver's eyes began to wander the room. "Where did you get off to, Morning Glory? I can see your sister. Come on out and give momma a hug." She moved to the other crib and pulled back the sheet. A note fell from the blanket and fluttered down, to be caught in her magic and pulled close. The blood in her veins went cold as ice.

Good day, 'Prince',

Perhaps we were hasty in our treating of you. As a loving mother, you must have a great deal of care for your little one. We've borrowed him. He's full of your sick, tainted, befouled blood. But that's not his fault, is it? You have created an adorable little abomination. If you love him, if you can even feel proper love, you'll come quietly, and without fanfare, to the small house on the east side of town. It has a purple trim and yellow sides. Bring nopony. Bring nothing. Come naked and put on that ring of ours we know you have. If you truly love your child, come before us meekly, and prove that you have a heart.

Judging,

Instead of a name, there was a symbol. Reading it made her horn itch fiercely, and the paper exploded into fire, quickly becoming nothing but ash.

Author's Notes:

Well... shoot.

And they burned the letter to prevent us from finding their typos!