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// Chapter One: New Blood 
// Story: "Pure" Blood 
// by Wolftamer54 
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Twilight shivered with anticipation. She hopped up and down on her hooves, rapidly tapping them against the station floor. Her violet eyes scanned left and right repeatedly, ears swiveling along with them, desperately searching for any sign of an approaching train. Next to her, Spike gazed up at her with a small smile, all too familiar with the neurotic pony’s habits. 

“Relax Twilight, I know you’re excited to see Shining and Cadance, but you don’t need to get so worked up over it. They’ll be here soon,” he reassured her, patting her side with a clawed hand. 

Twilight looked down at the dragon in disbelief, “Relax? I can’t relax! I haven’t seen them in months, and they’ve only got a few hours here! If that train is even a minute late, we’ll  be missing out on what precious few minutes of time we have!” One of her eyes twitched, and her wings ruffled nervously. 

Under the intense gaze of the alicorn, Spike’s smile was replaced by a nervous grin, and he shuffled his feet as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. “I know, I know, you’ve been planning this visit for months, but you getting nervous about it isn’t going to make them arrive any faster.” 
Seeing Spike’s body language and tone change so drastically, Twilight felt guilty, and mentally reprimanded herself. “Come on Twilight, I know you’re going insane, but that’s no reason to take it out on Spike! He’s just trying to help. Get it together!” 
Pulling back so that she was no longer uncomfortably close to his face, the purple alicorn slumped down onto her haunches, staring at the ground dejectedly. When she spoke again, her voice was dripping with guilt. 
“I know Spike, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. It’s just there’s something really important that I need to talk to them about.” 

“What’s the news?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward inquisitively(though he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew). 

Twilight shifted uncomfortably, “It’s nothing to talk about here. Maybe when we get back to the castle.” As she said this, she looked around the station. Though not crowded, there were still several ponies around. A knot of tourists out to see the countryside, suitcases decked in stickers from places across Equestria, a station worker lazily sweeping the cobblestones, and a young mare with a foal secured to her side in a swaddle, looking down the tracks intently. 
Twilight’s gaze held on the mother and her child for a short time, taking in the unkempt mane, eye bags, and general wear and tear. But she also noticed the small colt, peacefully sleeping in his blanket, safe and secure, and the look on the mother’s face, tired, but optimistic. 
A hint of a smile touching her lips, Twilight turned her attention back to the tracks. Spike, meanwhile, had noticed her scan of the station, and combined with her secretive demeanor, only further piqued his curiosity. Still, he knew he was unlikely to get anything out of Twilight at the moment, so the drake simply shrugged and went back to waiting. No sooner had they returned to watching for the train, when the sharp blast of a whistle could be heard, along with the steady chuff-chuff of steam. 
Twilight excitedly craned her neck out as far as she could, and was rewarded by the sight of a violently pink train snaking its way across the green landscape, not far from the station. Dancing up and down on her hooves, Twilight’s anticipation increased exponentially every second that passed, and every foot the train grew closer. By the time it was slowing to a halt inside the station, Twilight looked ready to burst with the effort of waiting even milliseconds longer. Spike hadn’t seen her this excited since she got her first perfect test score back from Princess Celestia. 
Finally, slowly, torturously, the doors slid open, disgorging the ponies from within. Twilight looked desperately for a glimpse of white among the rainbow of colors that had departed from the train. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long. After a few seconds, the crowd dispersed, and the last occupants of the train disembarked. A pink alicorn, tall and regal, with a long mane set in curls of purple and gold , bedecked in glittering golden jewelry, a crystal heart cutie mark emblazoned on her flank. A snow-white stallion, strong and sturdy, his short, shaggy mane a mix of light and dark blues, and cutie mark a shield with the Sparkle family crest. Twilight rushed forward to embrace the pair, tears of happiness now leaking from the corners of her eyes. 
“Shining Armor! Cadance! It’s so nice to see you again!” she cried out, hooves wrapped tightly around their necks. Despite the near stranglehold, both ponies had wide smiles on their faces, already familiar with the purple alicorn’s crushing hugs. 
Freeing a hoof from the death grip, Shining Armor gave his little sister a gentle noogie. 

“It’s great to see you again too Twily. But, uh, could you maybe not crack our ribs? We kinda need them,” he gave a small chuckle at his own joke. 
Twilight quickly released the pair, who both breathed a sigh of relief, and backed away grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, guess I was a bit overzealous.” 

Cadance regarded her with a gentle smile, “It’s okay, we’re happy to see you too. And if we thought we couldn’t survive your hugs, we wouldn’t have come.” 
A moment passed in embarrassed silence as Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, looking anywhere but at her brother and sister-in-law. Both Shining and Cadance regarded her with looks of concern, knowing she was uncomfortable. They exchanged a look, Cadance motioning towards the smaller alicorn with her eyes and a jerk of her head. 

Shining cleared his throat and inquired, “So, Twily, shouldn’t we be making our way back to your castle? I mean, we didn’t come all the way from the Crystal Empire to spend our whole visit sitting on this platform.” He used his hoof to gesture at the station around them, a light, teasing grin on his face. 

Snapping back to her senses, Twilight started talking frantically, repossessed of her manic energy. “Of-of course! Come on, we’ve got to go!” she circled around behind them and began pushing with all her might. “There’s something really important I need to tell you both!” Unseen by Twilight, the couple exchanged a knowing look at this. Breaking into a trot, with Twilight placing Spike upon her back, the group sped out of the station and towards the city. As they left, Twilight saw out of the corner of her eye, something that made her heart melt. The mother and foal she had seen earlier were now joined by a stallion who had embraced them in a tight hug. Both faces, earlier set with signs of aging and tire, were now radiant with happiness. Twilight regarded the scene for the briefest of moments, and then ran even faster. Her own journey lay ahead. 





When observing Canterlot, the deeply magical seat of power and capital of all Equestria, it’s hard to believe that responsibility for the entire city, and by extent the entire country, rests upon a single nerdy, neurotic alicorn. Canterlot Castle, massive and ornate, its spires reaching gracefully into the sky, stands in stark contrast to its chief inhabitant. At the moment, Twilight felt small and vulnerable, like a lost child. Despite the magnificent trappings of the royal bedchambers where she now resided, she had eyes for nothing but the two ponies sitting before her. 
Shining and Cadance were sitting expectantly, an untouched tea tray sitting on the table in front of them, waiting for Twilight to talk first. They knew better than to rush her, as that would only result in the nervous alicorn further retreating into her own doubts. Spike, too, sat nearby, ready to offer support as needed(though that didn’t stop him from idly chewing on a gem). Twilight herself, meanwhile, was thinking over how best to approach the situation. Months having known that this moment was coming, planning out how to best break the news, and words completely failed her when it came time to spill her secret. Able to face down minotaurs, a draconequus, and all manner of other world-ending threats, and yet she couldn’t even confide in the three beings she should most be able to trust in the entire world. And like all procrastinators, she had many strategies to avoid the inevitable as long as possible. 
Walk to the window. Stare out the window. Contemplate life choices. Sip tea. Pace around the room. Repeat. Twilight continued her little ritual for a good while longer than was reasonable, getting no closer to an idea of how to proceed. 

“Why is this so hard? Just tell them and get it over with!”  Twilight reasoned. 
“Oh, but what would they think of you then, the great matriarch of Equestria, Princess of Friendship, responsible and dependable, and the Queen of incest.” A nagging voice said in the back of her head. 
“I’m not irresponsible! We knew this could happen! We didn’t do anything wrong!” Twilight argued back. 
“Then why is it taking so long to tell them? Clearly you’re ashamed about something!” 
Twilight groaned and held a hoof to her face. She plopped down into a chair opposite her guests, feeling defeated. She buried her face in shame, wanting nothing more than to just sink into the cushions and disappear, to avoid all of her problems just by remaining in the safe haven of plush upholstery. But as she sulked, she felt the gentle touch of a hoof to her back, and brought her face back out to see that Cadance had got up and come over to her. Twilight looked up into her sister-in-law’s face, and saw the emotion in her eyes. Support, care, and love. No matter what, her family would be there for her. From the end of the world to simple everyday life, there was nothing as reassuring as somepony to depend on. So Twilight drew herself up, wiped her face off with a hoof, took a deep breath, and uttered two words. 

“I’m pregnant.”