Morning in the Crystal Empire
Twilight Sparkle just arrived in the Crystal Empire, her face brimming with excitement and anxiety, with her trusty assistant, Spike, at her side.
“Relax, Twilight, it’s just a presentation. It’s not like you haven’t given speeches before,” Spike says to try to calm her nerves.
“But this is a very important presentation," Twilight says, "Cadence and Shining Armor want me to talk to the Crystal Ponies about the magic behind cutie marks - it's imperative that this goes without a hitch!"
"And I'm sure you'll do just fine," a voice says behind them; Princess Cadence and Shining Armor trot over to the two friends. Cadence's stomach had bulged quite a bit since Twilight saw her last, with her being with foal, yet it did little to curb her enthusiasm and pride in her sister. "This is a big honor for you to be chosen for something as special as this."
"Yeah, Twilight," Shining Armor says, "don't over think that and you'll do great!"
Twilight smiles. "I'm really lucky to have siblings like the two of you," she says as she hugs the royal couple. "And I'm especially lucky that I will be an aunt soon," she adds as she gives Cadence an extra hug.
"Come on, Twilight, you don't want to be late, do you?" Spike says jokingly and motions towards the Crystal Empire Amphitheater.
Twilight rolls her eyes and trots over to Spike. "Good luck with everything!" she calls back to the royal couple.
"See you soon!" they call back as Twilight enters the Amphitheater.
Just outside Crystal Empire
Twilight wasn't sure of the full extent of Starlight Glimmer's spell had as it spread through Equestria. She has already witnessed the effect Starlight's stopping the first Sonic Rainboom had on the rest of her friends, but she doesn't know what to expect as she enters her brother and sister-in-law's abode. As she walks through the doors she can sense an eerie quietness, as if no pony had been inside for a long time; after a short while, however, she hears voices and rushes towards them.
When she enters the room, she sees a sad sight; Cadence is lying on their bed sobbing her eyes out while Shining Armor tries to console her. "I know how hard this is for you," he would say.
"Shining, what happened here?" Twilight asks. When he looks up, she can see that he had poured his share of tears, as well.
"Oh, Twilight," he began, "we . . we . . lost the foal." It takes Twilight a moment to comprehend his statement, but soon she too shares Cadence's sorrow.
"What? I . . I . . why? How did this happen?" she asks as she begins to tear up as well.
"Well, we were on our way to the amphitheater to greet you when it suddenly went up in flames," Shining Armor explains, "As ponies rushed outside, we hurried inside to find you. When we opened into the hall, we saw you up on stage struggling to move, as if something was on top of you. I couldn't reach the stage because of fallen debris, so Cadence had to fly up to get to you, which was difficult for her in her state. She eventually freed you and prepared to take off again, but a beam supporting the roof came crashing down and pinned the both of you to the ground. Fortunately I could get the both of you out in time, but . . the doctor said that . . the trauma . . too much . . no hope for survival . ." he finished as he chokes back a sob.
"It's all my fault!" Cadence wails in sorrow, "I should have been more careful, but I was only thinking about getting you out of there rather than watching my surroundings. It's all my fault," she repeats as Shining Armor tries to comfort her.
Twilight can not believe what they just told her, and almost joins her brother in trying to calm his wife, but she suddenly realizes something; the last she remembered, there was no fire after the presentation, she and Spike had made it back to Ponyville safe and sound. She has a sudden realization that Starlight Glimmer had a hoof in causing the fire, either directly or indirectly, and a deep anger rises from within her.
"That does it," Twilight says to herself, "You can take away my past, my livelihood, and my friends as many times as you want, Starlight Glimmer. but taking the life away from a pony who hasn't even been born yet - that's crossing the line!" She looks one more time at her brother and sister-in-law embracing one another, and whispers in their ears "I will put everything right again," before racing out of the room to find Starlight Glimmer.
In Ponyville Center
A celebration is held in honor of Twilight's efforts to stop Starlight Glimmer from continuing her plan for world domination and restoring the vitality of friendship in Equestria. Nopony, however, is more proud of her than her six closest friends, who put together the whole parry and whose pasts had all been repaired. As the festivities continue, however, Twilight suddenly remembers Cadence and Shining Armor and immediately sets off for the Crystal Empire to see if all trots of life had been restored. When she arrives, she immediately hurries into the castle, where she finds Cadence lying on the bed again, but this time, she's not crying.
"Twily, you're here!" Shining Armor says as he enters the room. "We would have come to Ponyville, but with Cadence being in her state, we didn't want to risk travelling any great distances." Twilight is confused, but when she sees Cadence's bulging stomach, she realizes that everything in Equestria had been restored.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you guys, I don't care that you missed one measly celebration!" she says as she brings the two of her siblings into a hug. "I missed you two," she adds.
"But, we just saw you yesterday," Shining says, slightly confused, but Twilight dismisses his comment to enjoy this happy moment in their lives.