EPILOGUE:

YOU'LL BE IN MY HEART

Five Years Later

The alarm clock went off at six AM, signaling the start of a new day as Blazing reached out his hoof to shot off the larm. He sat up with a groan as he stretched his wings and forelegs as let out a loud yawn. He got out of the bed and proceeded down the hall into the bathroom where he to a quick hot shower, brushed his teeth and preened his feathers.

When he was done he took a closer look at his reflection and could swear he saw some grey strands of hair in his mane. He shrugged it off and left the bathroom down the hall, through the living room and into the kitchen where he made some toast.

He looked up at the calendar and saw all the days marked off except for today, the sixth. It was five years ago today that he married Chocolate before the changelings attacked. Tears started to stream down his face as he relived the events of that horrible day.

He finished his simple breackfast and started for the door and when he opened it Rainbow Dash was standing outside with her hoof raised like she was about to knock. She was a deep blue jacket with badges pinned on the pockets and a proud smile on her face. "Hey, Stripes." She chirped.

"Dash!" Blazing cheered as he embraced his old friend. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Manehatton training with the Wonderbolts right now?"

"I'm on my vacation." She replied. "I wanted to come and check up on you. How've you been?"

"Great." Blazing replied with a proud smile. "I was just heading out to the station. You wanna come?"

"Aw, yeah!" Rainbow answered. Blazing stept out of his new cottage and closed the door behind him then the two took off toward the Canterlot Train Station.

The station was scarcely filled with ponies when Blazing and Raindow arrived, except a few buisness ponies, who checked their hoof watches to see what the time was. Blazing glanced up at a clock on the wall, six-fourty-five. Anyminute now the train would be arriving at the station with its passengers and take the ponies waiting to their destinations.

"You excited, Stripes?" Rainbow asked, nudging Blazing in the shoulder. He rolled his eyes at the nickname then he smiled at her with a nod.

"I've been waiting for over a week now, Dash. You can bet your Wonderbolt Uniform I am excited." He replied. The sound of grinding mettle filled the distance, growing louder, signalling the train was getting closer.

The train pulled into the station and came to a stop with the sound of grinding mettle then the doors opened and several ponies trotted out of the carts as the buisness ponied boarded the train. Blazing and Dash looked through the crowd until he pointed a hoof to the cart to their left. They trotted over through the crowd toward the cart. Two pegasi, a mare and a young filly about four years old fallowed by four young mares came trotting out of the cart.

The filly was yellow with a brown mane, she was quite cheery and filled with energy. She saw Blazing and bursted into a run toward him. "DADDY!" The filly chided. Blazing sat on his haunches holding his forelegs out as his daughter bounced into him nearly knocking him down.

"There's daddy's little girl!" He said, kissing her on the cheek and hugging her tightly. " I missed you so much!" When Blazing let his daughter go, she looked up at Dash and bounced up into her forelegs.

"Like always!" Scootaloo answered as she bolted to Rainbow and Cream, hugging Dash around the neck. Blazing then looked over to the last mare he had not yet greeted. She had her brown mane done back in a ponytail and wore her necklace with the red flaming wing and golden heart shining on her blue coat.

"Hi, Shmoopy Doo." She replied. Chocolate laughed at Blazing as his cheeks flushed red to the nickname. "I never tire of that!"

~~~

Shortly after the changelings left Ponyville five years ago. Blazing sobbed over Chocolate's body, the towns ponies gathered around him, disbaliefe, shock, sadness and remorse all filled their faces. Rainbow and Spark came up behind him, Spark placing a hoof on his shoulder. Blazing looked at the still body laying on is lap, his tears dripping from his chin onto the black shell.

"I love you, Chocolate." He said through his sobs. "I always will. You'll always be in my heart." He gently placed his nose on Chocolate and sat there for a minute before he blinked. He felt her stomach rise and fall slowly. He lifted his head back up, looking at his wife.

"Oh, do stop crying." She moaned. "You're going to make me cry." Blazing gasped, his heart burning with joy as more tears streamed down his face when Chocolate looked up at him. She slowly wrapped her hooves around his neck as he hugged her tightly against his cheek. "Take me home you sweet softy." She ordered. Blazing got to his hind hooves and flew off toward the Ponyville Hospital.

"First, I want to make sure you're okay." He said earning a concerned yet thankfull look from his wifes face. He landed outside the hospital doors and went right inside to have the doctors check on her.

~~~

After Chocolate recovered from her injuries, they packed their things from the house and set everything up to move away from his home town.

"Are you sure you wanna leave Ponyville?" Chocolate asked as she admired a picture of them together infront of the house. "You grew up here." He looked up at her with a smile.

" Honey, we can't stay here anymore." He said as tears started to form in his eyes. "Everypony knows you're a changeling and most of them will not approve of it."

"Don't worry, I have everything worked out." He said with a reassuring smile. "I have a cottage just outside of the borderline so nopony will be able to barge in on us. You can freely walk around as a changeling and the princess has our backs."

She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him. After they held onto each other for a while they resumed their packing. A week later they found themselves in their new home. After they were settled in they got things set up to properly get married, inviting all their friends and Blazing's mother Autumn Leaves, her husband Winter Breeze and Blazing's birth parents, Sunlight Skies and Zecora and his sister Spitfire. Princess Luna, herself, conducted the ceremony with Celestia their to guid her.

After their wedding they decided they wanted a baby and nearly nine months later Blazing and Chocolate were sitting on the couch together in their new home as he rubbed his hoof over her swollen belly and leaned in to kissed her on the cheek. Chocolate gasped making him flinch.

"What's wrong?" Blazing asked in alarm. She looked up at him, panting as though she were in pain. She had been having contractions all evening, wich ment it was almost time to meet their child.

"It's coming!" She said. He blinked. "Sweethear, the foal's coming!" Blazing waisted no time in swooping her in his forelegs and bolting out the front door toward the castle where Princess Celestia herself would aid in the birth. He flew straight for the princess' private chambers in the northernmost tower. He bolted through the winder with Chocolate in his forelegs.

"Princess, I'm gunna be a father!" He yelled. His sudden entrance made Celestia jump, but she quickly regained her smile as she looked up at the couple and ignited her horn to take Chocolate in her magic and set the pregnant changeling on her own bed as she pulled a rope that rang a bell. Shortly after, Princess Luna came into the chamber with a curious look on her face untill she saw Chocolate on Celestia's bed.

"Sister, go get some towels and blankets fast." Celestia said as she looked up to Luna. The younger alicorn nodded and bolted out of the room and came back with a stack of towels and blankets as her older sister instrucked. Celestia took the towels in her magic as Chocolate let out a scream of pain.

"Okay, my little pony," she said as she set a few towels up under the changeling, "let's meet your foal." Blazing sat next to his screaming wife and took her hoof in his to help support her.

She screamed on the bed as Blazing held her hoof in his own, Celestia and Luna at the end of the bed telling her to 'push'. She gave one more scream as she did what she was told, the pain coursing through her body for severl long minutes before hearing little cries.

Celestia took the screaming newborn in her magic and dried her off with the towels then wrapped the foal in one of the blankets and came up with the bundle and a smile on her face. "It's a girl." She said, placing the foal in her mothers forelegs. The two smiled at the little yellow changeling filly wrapped in pink as she giggled at her parents. Blazing kissed Chocolate on the cheek, tears streaming down his face.

"S-she's beautiful, sweetheart." He said as he cried. Chocolate looked up at her husband with a proud, weak smile on her face.

"What are we going to name her?" Blazing thought about it for a minute as he let his tears fall off his chin. The two princesses got up and left the couple alone with their newborn daughter.

"How about, Marshmallow?" The changeling filly giggled. "You like that?" He asked his daughter earning another round of giggles as she stretched her hooves out to him.

"Well, then I'm calling her, Cream." She said looking at her daughter, who gave her a fit of giggles. "I think she likes that better." Blazing smiled down at his daughter with a satisfied smile.

~~~

Every day for the next four years, Autumn Leaves and her husband Winter Breeze would come to see their son, his wife and their daughter. Of course Cream would never get to know her grandmother, Queen Chrysalis, but she would still meet Autumn Leaves, her husband, Winter Breeze and Blazing's birth parents, Sunlight Skies and Zecora.

Upon meeting her grandparents, Cream took an extreme liking to them, though Autumn and Winter still had to get use to the fact that their son was maried to a changeling.

Cream grew up to be quite a hoof full, as well. She was half changeling, so she could not change as much as her mother could, but she did have a good range of pegasi and changed frequently to play games with her parents. She may have been a hoof full, but she was still a good filly. Blazing taught her good morals and to be kind to others much like his mother did when she adopted him and Cream followed her fathers teaching faithfully.

Blazing and his family and friends were all laughing as they caught up with each other on the events of the past week. "Now, who's hungry?" Blazing asked. The small crowd of mares around him all called out 'me' earning a chuckle from him. "Then let's get our flanks over to the restaurant!"

"Honey! Language around Cream." Chocolate protested. Blazing flinched and hugged his daughter.

"Exactly!" The four mares laughed at Blazing while Chocolate swatted him on the shoulder. Then the group trotted off out of the station

THE END

Heart Of Fire: You'll Be In My Heart

by Melody Brush

Epilogue: You'll Be In My Heart