//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3:  Welcome, Princess Skyla! 
// Story: Welcome to the Royal Family 
// by Darkblaze15 
//------------------------------//

	Princess Cadence wanders aimlessly around the Canterlot Castle courtyard as she contemplates everything that had happened to her recently.  As she entered the last stages of her foal-bearing, Shining Armor wished for her to be moved to Canterlot so she would not be alone in the Crystal castle; she objected, claiming she would be fine, but he had insisted.  So, a few weeks ago, with the help of her friends and the other Princesses, she had been moved into Twilight's old home in the Canterlot Library, which had been spiffed up for her arrival.  For the first few days, she had enjoyed living amongst the books, being able to read to her heart's content, but after a while she grew bored and began to leave the library in favor of seeing the sights of Canterlot.
One particular day, Cadence is enjoying her morning trot as ponies greet and congratulate her as they always have, and she returns the gesture.  Soon, however, she decides to turn back to the library; the longer she carries her foal, the more fatigued she believes she becomes during her morning trots.  Upon her return, she notices Moon Dancer lying on a couch avidly reading what must be a good book.  Ever since Twilight gave her the key to the library, she has popped in and out every so often, even occasionally helping the princess with whatever she needs.  As Cadence says hello, Moon Dancer whips her head around in alarm and almost falls out of her position.
"Oh, sorry princess, I thought you wouldn't be back for a while," Moon Dancer says sheepishly while blushing.
"You should know by now, it's quite alright, I really don't mind the company," Cadence says softly, "Yes, I thought I'd be gone longer, too, but I seem to be getting more and more tired as the days go by."
"Well, to be honest, in your condition, I'm surprised you're still up and moving," Moon Dancer says sounding concerned, "You should take it easy from here on out."
"Don't worry about me," Cadence softly chides, "I'm going to do as much as I still can until the day - AIEEE!!" she suddenly screams.
"What's wrong, Princess Cadence?" Moon Dancer asks anxiously.
"Ooh, ah," Cadence winces, "I . . I think it's happening."
"The foal?!  It's coming?" Moon Dancer asks; Cadence nods through her pain.
"Ohmygodohmygod.  I don't know what to do, what should I do?" Moon Dancer asks Cadence frantically.
"Call . . Twilight . . now," Cadence moans urgently; so, Moon Dancer writes a letter to Twilight as fast as she can manage and magically sends it to Twilight's castle.

In the castle, Twilight is enjoying a good book while Spike naps in the corner of an armchair with a book lying over his head.  Suddenly, a scroll appears out of nowhere in front of Twilight; startled, she jumps off the couch, causing Spike to wake up from his reverie.
"Wha' happen'?" Spike asks groggily.
"I don't know, this scroll just appeared in front of me," Twilight says as she begins to read.  "I can't make out exactly what it says, its all scribbled in a hurry, but it looks like it's from Moon Dancer.  All I can make out is 'it's happening now' . . ." Twilight has a sudden realization about the content of the letter and begins racing around, preparing things to take with her, like a baby rattle and blankets.
Spike, watching all of this, has the same realization Twilight did; "Cadence?  The foal?" he asks as he helps to pack her bags.
"Yes, we have to hurry!" Twilight says urgently, "Spike, send a letter to all our friends to meet us in Canterlot as soon as they can!"
"Right!" says Spike as he hastily writes five scrolls and sends them one at a time.
"Good, come on!  I don't want to miss this!" Twilight says as Spike hops on her back and together they fly off to Canterlot.

When they arrive at the library, they see Moon Dancer trying to comfort Princess Cadence, who was lying on the floor shaking and wincing every so often.  Twilight and Moon Dancer exchange a brief greeting before Twilight asks Cadence how she's feeling.
"About as good as I can be, given the circumstances," she replies as another muscle spasm passes through her body.
"Alright, everything is going to be fine," Twilight says, "Spike, send a letter to Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor and tell them what's happening," she commands her assistant, who willingly obeys.  Have you tried contacting the Canterlot Hospital?" she asks Moon Dancer.
"I tried, but I haven't gotten a letter back, yet," she says; suddenly, a member of the Royal Guard races into the library.
"I have two . . pieces of news . . for Moon Dancer," he explains panting, "The first is . . the Princesses and Prince . . are at a convention . . of national leaders, . . but say they . . are on their way," he finishes to catch his breath.
"Well, that's good, at least," Twilight says with relief, "What's the other news?"
"Well," the guard says, "I've received word from the Canterlot Hospital; they say that they're extremely overbooked and can't take anypony else."
"Moon Dancer and Twilight gasp; "Did you tell them that this concerns the foal of the royal couple?" Moon Dancer asks.
"Of course, but they said they cannot make any exceptions," the guard replies.
Twilight, almost ready to lose her nerve, calms herself down and asks Moon Dancer to help her carry Princess Cadence into her old bedroom.  Moon Dancer complies and together they gingerly lift Cadence from the floor using their magic and place her on Twilight's old bed.
"Ooh, where's my Shining Armor?" Cadence pleads as they set her down, her spasms becoming more frequent.
Just then, another guard gallops in, almost crashing into the first one.  "Sorry for the interruption, but I've just received word from the Princesses and Prince that they have been caught up by something else and may not get here until later."
"Great, just great," Twilight says, "What else could possibly go wrong today?" she asks rhetorically.

Almost as if on cue, Rainbow Dash races through the window and crashes into Moon Dancer.  She apologizes and hoist herself up.
"Rainbow Dash?  What are you doing here, where are the others?" Twilight asks the rainbow-haired pony.
"That's why I'm here.  We got on the train for Canterlot when it broke down just outside of Ponyville," Rainbow explains, "I raced ahead to tell you that everypony else is making their way here, but Rarity's teleporting spell can only get them so far."
Twilight groans, "Ugh, I don't even want to say it.  Why in Celestia does everything have to go wrong on today of all days?!"
"Did somepony say my name?" says a familiar voice behind them.  Everypony spins around and bows when they see Princesses Celestia and Luna standing on the balcony outside.  "Don't worry, Twilight, everything will be fine.  I've heard about the situation with the hospital and have contacted my personal nurse; she should be here shortly."
Just then, Shining Armor materializes in the room; "Where's Cadence?" he asks immediately, "where's my wife and child?"  He hears Cadence moan from the bedroom and races in to console her.  Almost at the same time, the rest of Twilight's friends appear in the room and rush over to greet Twilight - all except Rarity, who had fainted from the amount of magical exertion she had to endure.
"I'm so happy you all could make it!" Twilight says to her friends.
"Are you kiddin'?" Applejack says, "We wouldn't miss this for the world!"
"How is she doing?" Fluttershy asks when he hears a scream from the other room.  "Oh, I guess that means 'good'?"
"She'll be doing a lot better now that we're here," comes a voice from the doorway.  Celestia's private nurse and her assistant walk through the door and usher the royal princesses inside the bedroom.  When Twilight and her friends try to enter, she stops them, "I'm sorry, but I don't want anypony else in this room, as having too many of you in the room might make her tense, which is something we do not need at this stage of development."
"But she's my sister!" Twilight protests.
"I know, and we'll take good care of her," the nurse reassures the group, "We appreciate all that you've done already," she adds before slamming the door shut.

Twilight, Moon Dancer, and the Mane 5 sit waiting in the library lobby for news of the delivery.  "Oh, I hope everything goes well," Twilight says nervously, "I wish we could see what's going on."
"Now, listen here, sugarcube," Applejack says soothingly, "I'm sure everything will be just dandy, you wait and see!"
"She's right, Twilight," Moon Dancer says to comfort her friend, "if this nurse is good enough that Celestia trusts her, then she must be doing a great job."
Just then, the nurse pokes her head out of the door to the bedroom; "The procedure is finished, would you like to see the latest member to the Royal family?" she asks.
"Of course!" everypony says and piles in through the doorway.  Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stand off to the side, and Shining Armor and Cadence are holding hooves with one another, while Cadence holds the most beautiful creature the Mane 6 had ever laid their eyes on.  The foal was a bright pink unicorn with a curly purple and yellow mane, sleeping peacefully.
"Wow, Cadence," Twilight marvels at the newborn, "she almost looks just like you!"
Cadence smiles, "Maybe, but she has her father's eyes," she says as she nudges Shining with her muzzle.
"Well, be lucky she got away with your good looks," he jokes and returns the gesture to his wife.
Everypony chuckles; "Of all the creatures I've met in all of Equestria, I've never seen something as precious and charming as she," Fluttershy says warmly and asks to hold her.
"Do she have a name yet?" Rarity asks as Fluttershy carries her over to the group of friends.
"Yes, I think we've decided to call her Skyla," Shining Armor answers.
"Well that's just a beautiful name for such a beautiful lil' filly," Applejack says.
Everypony son has the opportunity to see the foal up close - even Pinkie was more reserved around such a delicate creature as Skyla - before she was returned to her parents.
"I'm so proud of you both," Twilight says as she embraces Shining Armor and Cadence in a warm hug.
"We're so proud of you and all that you've done for us to prepare for this day," her brother says.  They smile just as Skyla opens her eyes and gargles something of a greeting, which melts everypony's hearts.
"Welcome to the royal family, Skyla," everypony says softly as they gaze upon the newest member of the Crystal family.