Sunburst’s about ready to start throwing the well-wishers out the window when the doorbell rings again. He drops the box he was holding with a frustrated sigh, wondering who could it be this time. The neighbors already came, so did the florist, and the pony that fixes the school’s furniture from time to time, Trixie just left so…
So, he’s not really all that surprise to find Twilight Sparkle, the newly crowned Princess of Equestria, standing on their doorstep and looking somewhat awkwardly down at him. At this rate, Firelight would be showing up soon with half of Sire’s Hollow behind him. (And that’s a visit he’s not looking forward too, but one they would have to do, eventually.) But he is caught off guard by how tall she’s gotten. The last time he saw her was at her coronation, and only at a distance, and she hadn’t been so tall. She’s almost as tall as her brother now and would likely surpass him in no time.
Starlight, two steps behind him, peeks over his shoulder at the growing alicorn and immediately brightens. They haven’t seen the new princess in months, so it’s understandable. But honestly! Does every pony and their mother have a pregnancy radar?
Gah. His mother. If Stellar Flare shows up next, he doesn’t know what he’ll do.
“Twilight! What’re you doing here? Come on, come in!” Starlight is not showing yet, and their doctor told them she wouldn’t be until another three months, so she easily slips pass him and latches onto the alicorn to pull her inside. Twilight doesn’t put up a fight and lets herself to be dragged in. Though he doubts she could wiggle out of Starlight’s embrace if she wanted. He knows from experience that his girlfriend is a very determined hugger.
“Well, I just came by to see how the school was doing, and Ponyville in general.” Twilight says as she follows them inside, mindful of where she’s stepping. “And I must say, I love what you done to the place.”
“Thanks!” Starlight nods distractedly, and guides her to the living room of their home.
It was a three-bedroom house, certainly not as grand as the castle Starlight and her mentor used to live in. When Twilight moved to Canterlot, Starlight moved out of the castle as well, telling him it just didn’t feel right to live in it all by herself. Their home was cozy and a little bit of a mess right now, he’s clearing one of the rooms to turn it into the nursery, it’s a slow process even with Starlight helping.
“And the castle is coming along nicely, I don’t think it will be much longer until we can reopen it again.” After the two mares and their dragon friend left, the castle just sat there, abandoned. But lately there’s been talks of converting it into a dormitory to accommodate the influx of students enrolling to the school, and the castle seems to agree, since every time he looks at it there’s something new added to the structure, seemingly overnight. It freaks him out, honestly.
“I hope so,” Starlight sighs as she sits on the dark green couch. “It always makes me sad to see it close.”
Twilight nods and sits awkwardly in a couch that, a few months ago, fitted her perfectly, but now she struggles to sit comfortably. Her body is growing faster than Twilight can register, and her clumsiness is at a new time high. In the end she has to switch from the love seat to the biggest one they had, forcing Sunburst to scoot over to give her room.
“Ugh, I swear, every day I grow another inch,” Twilight moans as she carefully settles herself on the cushions. “I’m very sorry about this, maybe I should leave before I break something…”
“Hey, it’s alright! Please stay! We haven’t seen you in forever!” Starlight pleads and stands up, making her way to the kitchen. “I’ll make some tea, in the meantime tell us how are things in Canterlot?”
“Ah, you know, lots of crises averted thanks to Spike’s organization skills.”
Starlight grins and turns to the stove in their kitchenette. That’s probably when the alicorn notices, Sunburst decides. From the front, it’s easy to miss the growing lump. But from the side, one could tell that Starlight’s body was changing.
“Ah, Starlight. You seemed a little…different?”
“Mmhmm, I’m pregnant.” Starlight says simply, tactless as ever.
“EEEEH! P-Pregnant!” Her wings ruffle at her sides, and Sunburst ducks before they spring open and they smacked the couch instead of his face. “Oh my gosh! Really?! How far along are you? When did you find out?”
“About three months ago, Sunburst and I were very surprise, to say the least.”
At that, the princess eyes turn to meet his and her grin is so wide it threatens to split her face. Then her wings spread again and grab him and Starlight into a feathery embrace, the princess squealing all the while and his girlfriend laughing along. He laughs too, but mostly he’s content in seeing Starlight so happy for the first time in months, and the feathers tickling his nose is a small price to pay for that sight.
With a final squeeze the alicorn releases them. Then she pauses, looking at Starlight with slight apprehension and asks her former student sheepishly.
“Can I touch your stomach?”
“Sure! Although I haven’t felt any movement yet, and the doctor says I shouldn’t expect any, but maybe you’ll be lucky?” Twilight nods at her words, her face practically glowing with sisterly pride. The princess smile is contagious, and Sunburst finds himself smiling along.
Carefully, as if one wrong move would hurt her former student, Twilight’s hoof comes to rest on Starlight’s firm stomach. “Um…hello there. My name is Twilight. It’s very nice to meet you, little one.” Huh, now why didn’t he think of that? Sourly, Sunburst realizes that he hasn’t introduced himself to the baby. He just figured that he’d do it when the baby arrives and all.
Twilight smiles. “I hope we can be friends.”