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Act II
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Chapter 13-Good News
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The night sky above the towering pinnacles of the Crystal Empire was like nothing else, a sight that had been lost to the world for countless generations, a thing of beauty long forgotten to the sands of time. It had been something that only the Royal Sisters could remember, a memory both of wonder and sadness. One that the two had hoped to preserve.
When Luna was banished to the moon however, it had fallen upon Celestia to keep safe this ancient knowledge. But in vain she toiled to breathe life to a faded existence. And so, like all things that are taken away, the Empire and its once fruitful line of royalty were forgotten, left to be nothing more than a fabled whisper, said only on rare occasion among the great stories and legends of Equestria.
That was of course, until Cadence was born. She had remained unknown to the Princess of the Sun as was with so many others who lived in the land, but when she helped Prismia to change her evil ways, it became clear of what destiny had in store for the mare. So Celestia took the girl under her wing and made Cadence her adopted niece. And when the time came, after years of study and the pursuit of love, she ascended.
She was indeed a symbol, a pure embodiment of love, the same love that ran in that once noble line of Crystal Royalty. So when the Crystal Empire returned, it only made sense to send her there. Celestia had hoped that with such love and hope that defined her character, Cadence would have found the heart easily. But her hopes were in vain, and as it was expected, the shadow returned, hoping to reclaim its sickened hold upon that forgotten land. Had it not been for Twilight and her friends, the events to unfold afterward would have been disastrous. Perhaps unimaginable. But in the end, hope, friendship, and love were allowed to prevail, sending the shadow back down into the depths of hell, while all that is good shined victorious.
And so the nights returned, beautiful and undying. Stars clearer than any found elsewhere in the world, a tapestry of tender light that wove its way about the sky, bathed with the ribboned color of the Aurora Borealis, dancing with strings of green and purple. A sight truly unrivaled, it was one of the few things in this world that physically showed the true unity of the celestial divide, between the night’s heavenly bodies, and the sun’s graceful touch.
It was a night that Cadence now looked upon with solemn interest. As she had discovered, many of her subjects were night watchers at heart, spending much of their time gazing at the heavens to ask questions and ponder the mysteries of what lay beyond their earthly shores. It was something that rose new questions to the ponies who visited this place, and by no doubt did it please Luna by all accounts. Looking out from the balcony to the streets below, she could see almost half the lights in the city burning in their lanterns as ponies watched in awe at the tiny orbs above them that flickered so bright. She felt a sense of wonder at their devotion, especially considering the time of night. She had found it hard to sleep herself, due to the fact that the small life that was growing inside her was kicking up a storm. Cadence looked down to where the large hump in her belly hung, rubbing it gently with her hoof. The foal inside her gave a soft kick in response to her stroke, gracing her with a smile. She and Shining had decided to keep it a surprise on the sex of their baby, but with all the strong squirms that it insisted on making, she was almost certain that it was a colt. It wouldn’t be long before it would come, especially since after the past few days she had been getting contractions. Cadence drew her attention back to the midnight sky above her, watching as the sickle moon made its slow ascent from the east into the west. It was peaceful, silent. Something she could watch for a lifetime.
But eventually, restlessness overcame her as she made her way back to her bedchambers, where her husband laid sleeping on the bed. Slowly she walked beside him as she smiled softly at him, watching as his chest moved up and down. Cadence leaned down and gave a peck on his cheek before she climbed under the sheets and made herself comfortable on the bed, positioning herself so that she was face to face with Shining. God, she could feel his warmth, comfortable and inviting. Shining Armor was one of those ponies who had a slightly higher body temperature than normal, making him overheat from time to time. She had found that out after many nights of sleeping with him, nothing of significance but, certainly welcome to her, especially during the winter months when the nights would become colder than usual. Cadence rearranged herself on the bed so that her back faced him, snuggling up so that their bodies laid close together with his arm draped over her.
Maybe some ponies would say that someone of her status indulging in such actions was degrading herself as a mare, simply because it was seen by some as a submissive habit. But in all honesty, she didn’t care. The way she saw it, she belonged to him and he belonged to her, simple as that. He treated her like a queen, and so if he asked her to do something, she’d happily oblige him as long as it was nothing beyond her moral standards, which never happened, and it was the same vice versa. It-
“Agh!” Cadence cried silently. A dual pain welled up inside her as a sudden, popping sensation came, followed by something wet between her legs. Cadence placed down a hoof to her crotch, feeling the slow trickle of liquid that came from that special area, signifying only one thing.
“Shining? Shining?!” she said with earnest as she tried to shake her husband awake. Shining steered slightly at her advance, but soon shrugged it off in his sleep as he rolled over away from her.
“Oh, for the love of...” Cadence grumbled, wincing as she suffered through another contraction. The mare looked over to the dresser where a stack of magazines rested, picking one up with her magic. Cadence rolled it up as she looked down at her husband’s face, and when she had it good and tight, she let him have it, swatting him right in the nose.
Shining awoke with a spattered snort, shaking his head around before he opened his eyes slightly but weakly, “Huh? What...what?” he said before he tried and failed to suppress a yawn.
“Shining, I...I think it’s time,” she said in a whisper, not really helping him to register what she was saying to him in his tired stupor.
“Time? Time for what?” he asked with a slur, threatening to lose consciousness at any moment. Shining stared inquisitively as she righted herself up on the bed, clenching at her belly. It took a surprisingly short time for him to figure it out.
“Oh...OH! Oh my god, it’s happening!” Shining jumped from the bed in one bounding leap, immediately walking out of the room without her.
Are you SERIOUS? She thought to herself with a sense of agitation, brushing away a few strains of hair from her eyes. Several moments passed by before Shining Armor came back, stubbing his hoof on the side of the bed as he hurriedly came to Cadence’s add, “Forgot the wife. Forgot the wife.”
“Did you just refer to me as ‘The Wife’?” she asked with a certain bite in her tone, something that she never had any intention of doing NOR ever seen herself acting in such a manner. Luckily, Shining barely even noticed, instead so tired yet focused on helping Cadence get to the hospital wing of the castle that he either didn’t notice or simply didn’t care. Another contraction came, worse than the ones that came before, as Shining walked by her side all the way, from their room, down the hall, to the hospital wing, and he would be with her through it all.
No matter what.
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Ponyville
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Warmth filled the living space of the castle as the group of friends sat in their respective couches and comfortable chairs, all enjoying each other’s company in the light of the fireplace of Amicitia Hall, which was now the title that Twilight had given to the Castle of Friendship. A month had passed since Ponyville had been attacked, and many ponies were still trying to pick up their lives where they had left off. Many of their homes and places of business were destroyed in the ruin caused by the dragon, but little by little, life went on. It was an example of the good in ponies when they pooled themselves together to help their fellow man. But if there was any place in Equestria where ponies would stick together in a crisis, it was here, in this small corner of a vast world. The worst had passed, and now was the time to rebuild.
So it was only befitting that after weeks of sweat and blood that they were allowed a little time of peace, as they did now, talking about the things they had been going through in the rebuilding of Ponyville, each telling a tale that brought smiles and laughter to those who listened. But no one listened more than Fluttershy, who sat quietly on her cushion sipping gingerly at her tea. The pegasus grew stronger through each passing day, relishing in the beauty of life like she had never done before. Barely any clue of what had happened to her remained on her exterior, save for a scar that she bore just behind her ear down to her upper back. It had healed exceptionally well, only visible to one’s eye if they looked for it, but it would never truly heal. It would serve as a reminder of the things that had come to pass, and it would be with her until the end of her days.
But it didn’t bother her. Somehow it gave her a sense of liberation, quelling her fears into silence. She had always felt afraid, but now it seemed that all those fears went away. Now by no means did this mean that her insecurities went away with them, nor did it mean that she didn’t feel anxious when socializing with other ponies. But all her tensions, the fear of the unknown, fear of the Everfree, even her fear of dragons, went away. This was certainly odd within itself. After all, she had died because of the rage of a dragon. And yet she felt nothing. She had been one of the first to see the body of the beast. Before, she would not have DARED to come anywhere near the thing, but she had walked right up to it, and strangest of most, had felt pity. She knew that it had deserved death but, she cared about all creatures, all life, so when she stared into its dark, lifeless eye, she had felt for it, shedding a tear for its fall.
But now was a time of happiness and cheer, and Fluttershy was not excluded from the festive mood. She had only started to work again about two weeks before, and she couldn’t have come at a better time. After the fire trail through the forest had died away, many of the homes for the local wildlife had been completely destroyed. Now, the animals were trying to find new homes, and since that involved them invading the living space of Ponyville, it was Fluttershy’s job to tend to them and to work on finding them new homes in a safer and non-inconvenient area. It had been tiring and time-consuming, making it hard for her to spend any time with her friends.
However, the one friend that she had been able to spend a great amount of her time with was Rainbow Dash. Dash had been going out of her way to spend time with Fluttershy, from the moment she was sent to the hospital all the way through the weeks that followed. It was something that Fluttershy didn’t mind. In fact, she relished the fact that she was able to spend more time with her childhood friend more than she had ever done in the past four years. It felt nice that she wanted to spend time with her again, though at times, she did tend to get a little protective of Fluttershy. Just the day before, when Fluttershy had to work with the beavers to divert the waters through Ponyville so that the workers could use it to mix into cement, she had gotten a message that she was needed on the other side of town to fix a problem involving a family of squirrels. This would have been fine and all, if it hadn’t been for Rainbow Dash, who wouldn’t let her walk anywhere NEAR the construction of Ponyville, undoubtedly for fear that she was going to get hurt again. It wasn’t something that Fluttershy really minded, but it was still a bit of an inconvenience, and it was something that she would need to talk to Rainbow about soon if she wished for this to not continue.
“...so when he gets there, he forgot the seeds again. Honestly, I don’t know why I keep gettin’ Caramel to organized the seed planting when he keeps losin’ the darn things.” Applejack complained, lifted the cup of tea to her mouth to take a sip.
“Well what did you expect, darling? He’s always been a scatterbrain.” Rarity sighed, stirring the spoon in her cup, “Even when we were foals he’d misplaced his things almost every other day.”
“I think you’re being a little too hard on him, even if he is a screwup. He does try his best.” Rainbow chimed in, sitting back on the couch that she shared with Rarity, “At least the work in Ponyville is finally getting back on track. It was almost a disaster when the gas main almost went off.”
“Ahhh, TELL me about it!” Pinkie said as she recalled the memory in her mind, “If that thing had gone off, I don’t think there would even BE a Ponyville anymore. Well, not there’s much left of it anyway.”
“We lost a lot, almost too much.” Twilight said solemnly, looking directly at the yellow pegasus sitting across from her, “But what matters now is that we’re all here, and that we can enjoy the experience of rebuilding.”
“Besides, if anything good has come from this, it's that now there might be some opportunity for a few new businesses to push themselves into Ponyville.”
“Oh, I must agree with you, Twilight. With the new space available, houses can be rearranged for the more ‘high class’ of establishments.” Rarity paused, mulling over the thought in her head, “Although it might take a little coaxing. A dragon attack isn’t very good for business after all.”
Everyone laughed at this remark, making light of the chaos that had fallen upon them only a few weeks before. The world for them had changed, though so slightly, it would be carried by each and every one of them for the rest of their lives. Twilight smiled as she repositioned the glasses on her face. Though her eyes had healed, it would be a long time before she would be able to see as well as she had before, so until then, Doctor Stable had prescribed the glasses to her for the time being. They were small, square-rimmed glasses with blackened frames that hugged tightly to her muzzle, but not to the point that they gave her any discomfort.
“Well, if they put anything in, I hope we get a new jewelry store. I’ve been dying for some jade.”
Twilight turned in her chair to look as her assistant Spike walked into the room, levitating with relative ease a tray with refreshments balanced on top. His magical abilities had improved in the past few weeks, an adequate replacement for his claws, though at times he did miss them. Spike levitated a glass of lemon iced tea to Twilight, walking towards the couch Pinkie and Rarity sat, leaning in to give Rarity a peck before he sat down beside her, passing a drink to her while he brought the one he held to his mouth.
Twilight had to turn away as the two ponies shared affections. By no means did she object to the two having this new relationship. If anything, she felt happy for both of them. Spike had finally gotten what he had wanted since he first came to Ponyville, and Rarity had gotten the stallion she had always deserved. But it just felt so...odd. In her mind, he was STILL the same little dragon that helped her out around the castle. Not that that had actually changed. He still helped her and sought her approval, but that feeling of dependence was gone, and it was something she would have to learn to let go.
"Now Spike, do be careful. You may still be able to eat gems, but don’t get too carried away.” Rarity smiled, batting her eyes at him, “Wouldn’t want you to break your teeth and ruin that handsome face.”
He gave a faint laugh as he made himself comfortable in his seat, letting out a yawn. However, that yawn soon transferred into a belch as he released a bellow of flames, a letter forming out from the embers and landing on the floor.
“Oh Luna-ugh!” Spike coughed, hitting his chest with his hoof. Though he could still breath fire, it wasn’t as insulated as it had been when he was a dragon, so every time he did use it, it always left a nasty burning sensation in his lungs. It was something he was getting used to, but did it hurt when it came unexpectedly.
“Oh, a letter from the Princess? What’s it say?” Rarity asked as Twilight levitated the letter to herself, popping the seal and unrolling the paper. Twilight skimmed through the words, lowering her glasses so that she could focus on the print. Twilight ran over the words with increasing speed, lifting her head up as she finished, her eyes growing wide.
“Twilight? Is something wrong?” Spike asked, her friends all staring at her curiously as her face lit up with excitement.
“Cadance is having the foal! She's having the BABY!” She exclaimed, hopping out of her chair and jumping about, the feeling of elation vibrating from her. The jumping and excitement she exhibited were enough to draw out a few snickers from her friends as she danced about, oblivious to their laughter.
Spike lifted the letter up in his magic, reading off the words to the group of friends as Twilight was left to her escapade, “Dearest Twilight...I write to you shortly as I am needed with the utmost haste. I have received word from the castle infirmary that Princess Cadance has been rushed there, registered after going into labor. I am sending you four tickets so that you, Spike, and Nyx can be with her and your family. The fourth I wish you to give to Novis, as I would like to speak with him. Yours truly, Princess Celestia” Spike finished the letter just before he belched again, four tickets flying out from the flames down to the floor before he caught them in a levitation spell.
“Where’s Nyx? She’s going to be so excited!” Twilight beamed, walk towards her daughter’s room.
“I think she’s with Novis.” Spike said, looking up from the second parchment, “They’ve been spending a lot of time together recently, so I’d say that it’s a safe bet.”
“Ooooh! I’ve got to go tell her the news!” Twilight elated, running out into the hall. Things were changing, and for once, they were for the better.
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Somewhere near the Rainbow Range…
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A drop of water could be heard in the calm quiet of the darkness. Down, far into the deep, lost to the vacuum of black. Silence soon followed after it, the still touch of cold and isolation, deep within the caverns of the mountains it dropped, until it was dashed about upon some unseen stone. However there was another sound, scrapes and chatter deep underground that could be heard through the black vale. A low buzzing that gave way to a low, chilling hiss.
Something had changed, they could sense it. Like a flare shot up in the darkest of nights, the emotion they felt grew bright in the eyes of their desire. Their lust. That desire only grew until it could be ignored no longer, as the large, black figure aroused from where she lay. This had been the moment she had been waiting for as her twisted horn lit, it’s pulsing green energies illuminating the moving walls with its haunting light. Soon, soon they would have their revenge. Soon they would hold the power to overthrow a nation, a people.
Soon, they would feed.
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