After letting themselves become engulfed by their passions, they had laid together for a while, content in basking in the the afterglow of their bliss. After some time, the couple decided that their day had been long enough. As Anon slipped the sheets over the both of them, Luna scooted toward him, her back against his chest. His arms moved to rest on her stomach, his hands brushing softly over her belly fur.
"Good night, my moon." He whispered in her ear.
"Sweet dreams, dear heart." Luna replied, turning her neck to give him a soft kiss on the cheek.
Nestling into the sheets, the two of let their exhaustion finally take them, and they quickly drifted off to sleep.
A loud cry penetrated the air of the infirmary. Though, that had been happening throughout the past few hours.
Luna rested on her side on a hospital bed, her hind legs spread as far as she could manage. She grit her teeth, tears running down her cheeks as she tried her best to follow the instructions of the doctor. Her breaths were shaky, yet steady. Remembering the breathing techniques Cadence had taught her, she breathed in deep through her nose, letting it go as smoothly as she could out her mouth.
"You're doing great, sweetheart! You can do it." Her husband encouraged, holding her forehoof. Secretly, he was grateful that Luna didn't have hands, as he felt that his fingers would be in a tangled mess at this point.
Another scream of effort passed through the alicorn's lips, followed by a series of pained whimpering. "Oh, please! Tell me it's here!"
"Almost there, your majesty! Keep it up, I can see a head!" A doctor spoke from between her hindlegs.
Soon, another series of wails could be heard joining Luna's, though these were much smaller. As the unicorn doctor backed away, his eyes were wide open, shock apparent on his muzzle. The married couple looked upon him in concern. His horn was alight, yet they couldn't see what it was grasping.
"What? What is it, doc?!" Anon yelled.
"I...I have no..." He trailed off, backing away further. Soon, he dared to lift what was held in his telekinetic grasp. Gasps of shock filled the room.
Luna didn't know what she was looking at. This creature was something she had never imagined could exist. The first thing she saw was what appeared to be the top half of a human body, from the waist up.
But the further down she looked, she caught sight of a pony's body. The barrel and four legs of an equine sat beneath the top half of a human. The hybrid cried aloud, seeking the care that it needed. As the doctor brought the newborn over to a small table, Luna found that she could hardly speak. "A...Anon?"
Turning her gaze toward her husband, she saw the same look of shock on his face as she had seen on the doctor. He was muttering something, but she couldn't tell what. Looking into his eyes, she saw a look she had never seen before. It terrified her.
His voice continued grow louder as he appeared to be repeating the same word, and Luna thought she could hear something. As the moments passed, she began to decipher what he was saying.
"A...on..."
"Wh-what, dearest?"
"Abomination..."
The alicorn recoiled slightly
as she let that word run through her mind. The baby certainly seemed unusual, but that word horrified her. Her husband, her greatest love, saw their child as such?
She was about to question him for his choice of words, but when she turned her head she didn't see him by her side anymore. Looking about the room, Anon appeared to be shoving the doctor out of the way. Delivering a sharp punch to his horn, the doctor stumbled to the floor in agony, before Anon walked over to a supply cart.
"Anon! What in the-!"
Luna's breath hitched in her throat when she caught sight of the scalpel in the human's hand. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment, only to come back with a thunderous beat that she could hear in her ears.
Her eyes followed Anon's gaze, finding that it was solely trained on the newborn writhing on the table. It's cries continued on, equine legs flailing about.
"Abomination..."
Frantically, Luna looked around the room, desperate for help. "Anon please, stop! D-don't!" He ignored her, stepping closer to the table, as if in a trance.
"Anon, stop now! You don't know what you're doing!"
"Abomination." He repeated, his voice now completely audible to any in the room. Now standing over the table, his arm began to raise. Luna tried to summon her magic to grasp the instrument, but her body was far too strained for her to focus her magic properly.
She watched on, eyes filled with fear, as Anon raised the scalpel above his head.
"Please, my love! No!" Tears began run anew, her face a mask of horror.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw him grasp the scalpel with both hands. His grip was firm, his face devoid of any emotion. "Abomination."
Faster than anyone could blink, the scalpel went down.
"Nooooooo!"
Luna's eyes snapped open, a gasp escaping her muzzle. Immediately shooting upward, she discovered she was panting, a light layer of sweat running down her skin.
A quick glance around the room told her that it was still night, about an hour or two after midnight. Turning her head back to the bed, she saw that Anon was still sleeping, his hands resting on her belly.
Gently, so as to not disturb her husband, she wriggled from his grasp. She curled up on the other side of the bed, her eyes wide open. Shaky breaths left her lips.
Never in all her life had she ever had such a horrific nightmare, let alone one that realistic. She tried to forget everything she saw, to block it out from her mind with every ounce of will she could muster.
But the images remained. Those terrible, haunting visions of her husband holding the scalpel played throughout her mind, as did that one word.
Abomination.
The word caused a shudder to slither up her spine. She tried to steady her breathing, to no avail. Her gasps soon turned into hushed sobs, tears filling her eyes and running down her cheeks. The poor alicorn cried as quietly as she could, shaking her head back and forth.
Having heard the sound of muffled sobbing, Anon slowly lifted his head from his pillow. He looked at the spot before him, not seeing his wife in his grasp. "Luna?"
Slowly sitting upright, he soon found the night princess curled into a ball at the edge of the bed. "Luna, are you okay?"
Reaching forward, he gently set his hand on her wither. Her head snapped up as she felt his touch, her head slowly turning to meet his gaze. He frowned when he saw the tear-filled eyes of his love.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Moving beside her, looked her over for any signs of injury. "Please, talk to me."
Having received no response, he grew increasingly worried. Her muffled sobs were still apparent, but that look in her eyes...he knew something must be really messing with her. Something really bad.
"Luna, please. I can't help you if you don't talk to me." He whispered, his voice soft.
Suddenly, Luna began to cry once more, tears flowing anew. Her sobs grew louder, breaths uneven and short.
Snaking his arms around her barrel, Anon hugged her close to his chest. He gently shushed as he slowly rocked her back and forth, trying to calm his mare. He had never seen her like this before. It made him want to cry, but he had to stay strong. For her.
"It's okay, sweetheart. You're okay." He whispered, gently nuzzling her mane. Soon enough, her sobs became quieter, and her breathing began to steady. He slowly brushed a hand along her back, soothingly.
"Anon..."
He looked down at her, her eyes bloodshot and staring up into his. "Tell me what's got you so shaken up. Please."
Taking a few deep breaths, Luna let out a shaky sigh, her gaze moving to the wall. "I-I had a nightmare. A horrible, dreadful nightmare."
He frowned, his heart aching to see her in such a state. "Care to share what it was about?"
"I...th-..." Another sob left her lips, and she buried her head into his broad chest. "It was...about our baby..."
Anon waited patiently, nodding to indicate that he was listening. His hand gently brushed down her long, elegant neck.
"It was...different."
"Different how?"
"I don't quite know how to say," She whimpered, tears building up in her eyes again. "B-but..."
"It's okay, take your time." He eased, bringing his hand up to softly caress her mane.
"Y-you...you hated it," She croaked out, turning her eyes upwards to look into his. Searching for the words, she managed to croak out, "You tried to...kill it."
This caused Anon to recoil, his jaw slightly agape. He was expecting bad, but this...he could hardly find the words to speak. "That's...that's awful." He whispered. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry."
His hold around her grew tighter, and he rested his head against hers. Luna lightly sobbed into his shoulder, her tears staining the fabric of his shirt. She cried into the arms of her beloved, seeking his comfort.
"I...I don't know why I had this nightmare, but..." She paused, her eyes clenched shut.
"Luna."
The alicorn slowly opened her eyes, looking up at her human. His eyes seemed to shine in the low light of the moon coming in from the window. "You know I would never do anything to harm you. Or our child. I don't care if it's different."
"I know. I wouldn't dare ever think that. But I just..." She trailed off, unable to think of what to say. "It was so real."
"I love you, with all my heart. And I will love our baby." He stated. "I don't care if it's a pony, human, or purple space duck."
Despite the tears still streaming down her cheek, Luna couldn't help the little giggle that left her lips. He always knew how to make her laugh.
"There's nothing in the world that will keep me from being here with you. With our child." His hands drifted down her body, caressing her soft fur. They came to a stop on her belly, gently rubbing in slow circles.
He felt the fullness of her body, soothingly tracing his fingers over the curves that had filled out over the last few months. He had watched her body grow to accommodate the little life growing within her. Their child.
"I love you, Anon. I love you so much." She whispered, voice weak from the emotional stress.
"I love you too, Lulu," Leaning down, he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. "Maybe we should take a few days off. We could visit the Crystal Empire, spend some time with Cadence and Shining. I bet Flurry Heart would love to see you."
"Yes, I think you may be right. Some time away from work would be good. For both of us." Luna nuzzled into his neck, inhaling his scent. She let out a sigh. His scent always helped to calm her, letting her know that he was there.
His hands continued to stroke over her belly, delicately caressing her baby bump. "Do you want to go back to sleep? Or do you want to stay up a bit more?"
"Please, let's just stay like this for a while."
"Anything for my sweet moon." He smiled.
They were content to remain as they were, cuddled together as they whispered little comforts into each other's ears. Anon reached a hand up to gingerly scratch behind her ear, that one spot that always made her purr like a kitten. She nuzzled into his touch, cooing softly in his embrace.
A whole hour had passed before Luna felt comfortable enough to return to sleep. Resuming their cuddling position, Anon held the lunar princess to himself, a little closer this time. His warm breath and calm words in her ear helped to soothe her worries, a small grin on her lips as she finally felt sleep take her. He joined her soon after, giving her a tender kiss on the top of her head.