It was rare that the Princess was the one to write to Twilight. Even more so was it rare that she sent a plea for help. However, it was unthinkable that the Princess would lose formality in such a letter, so it shouldn’t be hard to imagine that, when Twilight and her friends stood before her a few hours later, the mood was already pretty tense.
“So, what is this ‘matter of national security’ you have called us here for?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently and was promptly hushed by Twilight.
“Rainbow, it’s the Princess you are talking to!” she hissed, however the Princess waved her off.
“It is true that it was rude, but considering the circumstances, it certainly is the right attitude.” Celestia said. Twilight turned back to her mentor, looking at her with a slightly anxious gaze, before Celestia spoke further.
“You certainly remember the dog, you have written to me about, a few days ago?”
Twilight nodded.
“That dog’s name is Cerberus and he was… is the guardian of Tartarus. You certainly remember it from when I told you about the secrets a princess has to know.”
“Well, good to know that Twilight knows, but what about us?” Rainbow asked. Twilight turned to her friend, but before she spoke, she looked back to Celestia to receive her permission, which she gave with a nod.
“Tartarus is a prison for those, who cannot be reformed, but pose a threat to Equestria and Ponykind.” Twilight explained quickly.
“Well said, Twilight. Sadly, the absence of Cerberus meant that something has happened and when I went to take a look myself, I found that one of the most dangerous criminals of Equestria, Lord Tirek, has escaped.”
“Ha! And now you need us to beat this bucker back into place. I’ve been waiting for something exciting to happen!” Rainbow exclaimed, throwing a few punches into the air.
However, Celestia shook her head. “No. I am afraid, without the Elements of Harmony, you six are no match for the dark powers that Tirek possesses. No, I need you to convince another… ‘friend’ of yours to help us. A friend that I presume is already listening in.” she said, raising her voice a little at the last sentence.
Discord chose that moment to materialize beside her. “I must say, you certainly have sharp eyes, princess.” He said, pointing at his eye and eliciting a glint from the edge of it. “I am sure you know that what you want to ask of me comes close to what Captain Becker has done?” He pinched his nose and blew, causing his torso to explode in a heap of confetti.
Twilight and Rainbow flinched back, trying to force down the memory of their beloved’s sacrifice.
“We both know that your powers more than suffice to deal with Tirek.” Celestia said firmly.
Discord quickly teleported over to the white alicorn and wound himself around her like a snake. “Ooh, have I just heard a subtle ‘you are more powerful than me, Discord’?”
Celestia ground her teeth, but remained silent, while Discord unwound himself from her and popped out of and back into existence directly in front of Twilight.
“But, what would I get from helping you? I mean, not even friends always work for free, do they?” He said, leaning down to her.
“Friends ain’t leavin’ their friends hangin’ either!” Applejack interjected.
“Of course, dear Applejack, of course, but I would be risking my life, so I think a proper reward is in order.” Discord said, folding his arms and pouting.
“Please, Discord.” Fluttershy begged with puppy eyes. “We can have some tea afterwards, if you want.”
“No, those eyes won’t work on me, Fluttershy.” Discord said, shielding his eyes with his talon, but unable to resist peeking through with one eye.
“Okay, fine.” He finally gave in.
Fluttershy flew over to him and clamped onto his torso in a hug. “Thank you, Discord.” She said, causing Discord to blush slightly.
“Don’t thank me too early, I haven’t done anything yet.” He said, pulling her off of him, before snapping out of existence yet again.
“Fine friend we have here, asking a reward for helping us.” Applejack commented sarcastically.
“Oh, uhm, but we are asking a lot of him… so, uhm, I can understand why he wants something from us…” Fluttershy defended.
“At least he has chosen to help us in the end. Let’s just hope that nothing bad happens…” Twilight said.
“Don’t jinx it!” Everypony else commanded.
For the whole ride home, Twilight remained silent. Even when they left the train and neared the Library, she still didn’t say a word, the strangeness of which alerting her friends.
“Twilight, darling, what`s wrong?” Rarity asked, just before Twilight could open the door to her home.
She looked back, forcing a smile and trying to look cheerful. “Nothing. Everything is fine.” She lied. Rarity gave her a stern look, which quickly conveyed to her that her charade hadn’t worked. She let her head drop, sighed miserably and answered. “It’s just… I feel so utterly useless. First, in the Crystal Empire, we couldn’t do anything to help Markus. Then, in Trottingham, we nearly got ourselves killed. In Canterlot, we came too late to save him and now…”
“Oh, come on! We aren’t useless! We were just outclassed, is all! I know there must be some way for us to help!” Rainbow quickly objected.
“I guess… maybe we can find some spell in the Castle of the Two Sisters that may help?” Twilight said with a weak, but hopeful smile.
“Alright then, let’s go to the old castle. Better than stayin’ here an’ doin’ nothin’.” Applejack decided. So, the group made their way into the Everfree and towards the castle.
Their way led them past the crevice in which the Tree of Harmony was hidden and they found it a good idea to take a detour to see how the tree was faring.
“It is too bad, we had to give them up to save the tree. The elements, that is.” Rarity said, as they all stood assembled before the glowing, crystalline entity.
“True, but at least Ponyville was saved through it. I don’t want to think about what might have happened if these vines spread further than they did.” Twilight said.
“Indeed, my little Chaos Seeds might’ve caused a LOT of mayhem.” Suddenly, a voice said out of nowhere.
Discord materialized in front of the group, who immediately made a few steps backwards.
“Discord!” Applejack seethed, “Shouldn’t y’all be on yer way to get this Tirek?”
“Why, yes, I should. I was just saying goodbye to my dear friends, before my departure.” Discord turned around and looked at the crystal tree. “Ah, the Tree of Harmony. Truly a shame that you had to abandon its gifts, don’t you think?” He said, growing four additional arms and spawning six presents, only to throw them away and degenerating his new limbs again. “But hey, it left you this nifty mystery box here. Too bad it’s still locked.”
“So what do you care? Ain’t ya the god of Chaos ‘n all? Shouldn’t y’all be happy that it’s still locked?” Applejack accused.
Discord took an exaggerated gasp and leaned back. “My, Applejack, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that I’m reformed now? I just want to help you and who knows? This box is made by the Tree of Harmony itself, so why shouldn’t it help the Elements of Harmony?”
“Let that be our problem, Discord. You should concentrate on finding and defeating Tirek.” Twilight commanded.
Discord made an exaggerated bow. “Of course, your Highness, I shall excuse myself.” He then spawned a city scooter beside him, with which he then drove off into and through the cavern’s wall…
Only to pop back into existence directly behind Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, one last thing for you two, before I’m going.” He said, before making a few steps backwards and suddenly losing his ever-apparent sarcastic nature and replacing it with a genuine expression of guilt.
“Twilight, Rainbow, I am… truly sorry for what I did in the palace.” He said, rubbing his left paw guiltily. “I know, making jokes about Markus this soon… wasn’t very nice of me. Please know that I, too, truly admired Markus. Not for his obvious deeds like you do, but for what others don’t see. You see: behind his façade of collected calmth always lay a plethora of chaotic emotions and memories. So to say, he was what you want me to become: A being of Chaos which has adapted to the rules of Harmony. Still, beyond what he truly was, he still found it in himself to care about others far more than about himself.” He extended his paw and suddenly held Markus’s last will in it. “I mean, look at this! Even after he sacrificed himself to save you all, he still thought that he hadn’t done enough and gave you everything he had!” He turned the parchment around and marked the passages where the gifts were mentioned in yellow lines. He then held it towards Twilight, who grabbed it with her magic. “It seems that the most chaotic beings in the end can be those who bring about Harmony. I, as the reformed God of Chaos should know that.” Discord then offered a sympathetic smile, before suddenly snapping back into his old personality. “So, now I should really be on my way. I hope the tea party is still on, Fluttershy?”
“I wouldn’t miss it, Discord.” Fluttershy answered, earning her a soft squee from Discord, before he puffed out of existence again.
Everypony except Fluttershy was standing there, their mouths partially opened and completely unmoving.
“Did… Did Discord just… apologize?” Applejack spoke out what everypony (except Fluttershy) was thinking.
“See? He really IS reformed! And he may be right: this box could have something in it that we need.” Fluttershy said, forgetting that she was shy for a moment.
“Well, it’s not like we have any other options, so maybe we should try and open it?” Rainbow proposed.
“Yeah, how’ya gonna do that without keys?” Applejack pointed out.
“Maybe we can find some hints on that in the old castle’s Library?” Twilight said. Rainbow and Applejack shrugged to one another and then nodded towards Twilight, before all six of them made their way to the castle.
Nothing, nothing and nothing again. The search in the Library has brought as much information as not searching at all. What was even more worrying/frustrating, though, was that Discord has been gone for over two days now and had yet to be heard from again. Normally, this wouldn’t have been weird at all, but the current situation made the lack of information an absolutely nerve-racking experience. Not only for Twilight, but also to her friends, who were still helping her dig through hundreds of tomes that the lavender alicorn had amassed over the years.
After they had cleared the old castle, they went to search in Twilight’s own Library, though with the same result. The six were just about to take the last books on their respective piles, when Rarity and Twilight suddenly felt something. It felt like the magic that surrounded them would be drawn away from them… like somepony was charging up a massive spell…
There was only a minimal timespan between Twilight’s realization and the subsequent flash of magic that suddenly hit the Library. The old tree instantly went aflame with the six ponies and one baby dragon trapped inside. Rarity and Twilight erected shields as fast as they could and barely managed to do so, before the whole construct collapsed around them.
When the onslaught of debris ended, Rarity and Twilight were barely able to uphold their protection and, with the help of their friends, slowly pushed outward to free them of their prison. When they finally saw sunlight again, however, they also saw something or rather somepony else, who let their blood freeze in their veins.
There, in front of the Library and surrounded by the seemingly lifeless shells of Ponyville’s inhabitants stood a massive centaur. His horns alone were easily long enough to completely pierce through a grown pony, but the rest of his body made even them look like toys. All-in-all, he stood easily as tall as the second story of Twilight’s (former) Library. Beside him, there was something that looked like a bubble and inside of it was…
“Discord?!” Rainbow Dash noticed.
“Hey there, pals. Sorry, it seems, I got a teensy tiny bit distracted…” Discord said, muffled from the bubble around him.
“’Pals’? So these are the ‘friends’ you’ve been talking about? I thought you, as the God of Chaos, would at least choose more promising candidates than these weaklings!” The centaur taunted.
“Don’t underestimate them, Tirek! After all, these ponies are the ones who defeated me… a second time.” Discord defended from within the bubble.
“These little maggots? HA! You will see, I will squash them like the insects they are!” Without further warning, Tirek suddenly shot a beam towards the group, which they barely managed to evade. It hit the ground in an explosion, the shockwave of which sending our heroes flying for a good few metres, before they came to a sliding stop.
They quickly scrambled back to their hooves to start their own series of attacks. Twilight shot multiple beams of magic at the centaur, which sadly did little more than distract him. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried to beat him through physical force, but didn’t manage anything more than an annoyance and Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Spike tried to fill one of Pinkie’s confetti cannons with all kinds of crystals and rocks and shoot them at the centaur, but they were too slow.
“You are ANNOYING!” Tirek shouted, swiping with his massive hand and slamming it into Applejack and Rainbow, who were flung away. Twilight, momentarily distracted by this, was hit with a sudden bolt of magic, which flung her directly towards her friends and a second bolt obliterated Pinkie’s cannon.
Twilight saw this with horror and now, one thing clearly dominated her mind: “We cannot win this… Oh, if only the Princesses were here.” She whined, drooping her ears and lowering her head.
“The Princesses! Somepony needs to warn them!” Rainbow Dash alerted from beside her.
“Yeah, but how? We can’t get past him!” Twilight pointed out.
“You’ll go and warn them, while we distract him, okay Twilight?”
Twilight’s head shot around and she looked at her herdmate in disbelief. “WHAT?! No! I can’t leave you here alone!”
“You and the princesses have far better chances at downing him than we do, Twilight!” Rainbow argued.
“Yeah, maybe, but—“
“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow grabbed Twilight’s face with her hooves and looked sternly into her eyes, conveying the message clearly and unmistakeably. Twilight was shocked for a moment, but took a deep breath, closed her eyes and steeled her resolve. With her newfound confidence, she looked at Rainbow, signalling her that she was ready.
The prismatic mare smiled at her herdmate, before she called the rest of her friends together and they charged at Tirek once again, while Twilight took the opportunity to flee as fast as she could. She took air and went to fly to Canterlot. However, this didn’t go unnoticed by Tirek. He spun around, trying to suck her magic before she could escape, but just before his magic hit her, a cyan wall of fur appeared between them and caught the blast.
Rainbow was hit square into her chest and her energy left her in a cyan stream that slowly flew towards Tirek, while she slumped to the floor.
“RAINBOW!” Twilight shouted in despair as she saw her friend lose her power. But she didn’t stop. She knew that if she stopped now, Rainbow’s sacrifice would have been in vain.
She set down on the main balcony of the palace and immediately took off into a sprint towards the throne room. Inside, Celestia, Luna and Cadence were already assembled and discussing possible steps, when Twilight suddenly bashed through the doors, completely drenched in sweat and heavily panting.
“Oh my Celestia, Twilight, what happened?!” Cadence immediately came to aid her sister-in-law, who was barely still strong enough to keep herself on her hooves.
“Tirek… Ponyville… Help…” Twilight panted, but her message was still understood.
“So, time is up, I presume?” Luna commented.
“Yes, quite indeed.” Celestia confirmed.
“So… we really have to do this?” Cadence asked with a hint of worry.
“Do… what?” Twilight asked, slowly regaining her stamina.
“We will temporarily rid ourselves of our powers. After all, Tirek can’t steal magic if there’s no magic to steal.” Luna explained.
“Wouldn’t this require for somepony to take all that power?” Twilight asked in wonder.
“Yes, indeed. That is, where we need you, little Twilight.” Celestia stated, smiling down at her former student.
“I—WHAT?! But Princess, I…”
“We have had a long discussion about this, Twilight. We all think that you can keep our powers safe from him.” Cadence tried to reassure.
Twilight was looking back and forth between the white and the pink princess, still trying to comprehend their words.
“Sister, we need to hurry! With all the magic Tirek has absorbed already, he might reach Canterlot within the next few seconds!” Luna reminded.
Celestia looked from her sister over to the still panting Twilight, who was in turn gazing at her. They shared a long stare with each other and after a while, Twilight shook her head clear and nodded. “Alright. I’m ready when you are.”
Celestia nodded and the three alicorns touched their horns together. A stream of multi-coloured magic slowly made its way towards Twilight, until it connected to her horn and began charging her up. Celestia’s, Luna’s and Cadence‘s colours slowly faded into grayscale, while Twilight’s colours grew ever stronger. When the transfer was complete, the three princesses looked like they had fallen into a pit of dust, while Twilight was shining like the sun itself.
There was no time to admire her new colours, however, as one could hear heavy stomps in the halls already. Celestia quickly gestured her to hide, before Tirek blasted the doors open and entered.
From her hiding spot, Twilight could barely see what was going on, but what she saw was enough to determine one thing: since she last saw him in Ponyville, he had grown even larger, suggesting that he now held the magic of all her friends as well.
“Ah, the princesses, ready to become the main course. Perfect.” He mused, as he made his way to his prey, not noticing their lack of a reaction. He stood before them and worked his magic… only to grunt in confusion, when he felt nothing at all.
“WHAT?! Where’s your magic?!” He demanded, not paying attention to Twilight, who was sneaking past him and towards the doors.
“Our magic is safe, Tirek! We will never let you get it!” Celestia said, defiantly. At that moment, Twilight passed the doors and only when they slammed shut, Tirek noticed his mistake and let out a roar of frustration.
He sprinted out, through the doors and past the guards whose magic he had taken. He looked where he could think of, but Twilight was nowhere to be seen. Then, he had an idea. With such a substantial amount of magic, her signature must be ginormous. So, he focused on the flow of energy around him and looked for large sources.
It wasn’t long before he finally found her. There she was, hiding behind a rock in the hills close to Ponyville.
Twilight knew that her hiding spot wouldn’t last long, but she still hoped that Tirek would have taken at least a bit longer than he did. She wanted to come up with a plan, but the time she got wasn’t enough. Now, there he was, standing on the other side of the rock and calling out for her to surrender. Of course, Twilight wouldn’t do such a thing. She had promised the princesses to keep their magic safe and that was exactly, what she was going to do.
She needed a solution. She needed a way out, now! But no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she thought ‘what would Markus do?’, the answer was always the same.
Tirek finally lost his patience and he blasted the rock out of existence. However, behind it, he found that Twilight was not cowering in fear, but standing upright and facing him with a spell already charged, for the answer that Twilight found was simple, yet definite. “Markus would fight.”
She unleashed her power upon Tirek, who was hit completely unprepared. The spell, powered by the might of four alicorns drove him backwards for several miles, before the range of the spell was expended. He recovered and sent a blast of his own towards Twilight, which hit her and blew her away as well.
The two went into a hard, yet equal fight in which both tried to somehow get the upper hand. They blasted, kicked, punched and threw each other to somehow bring their opponent to yield. Yet, after minutes turned to hours, a winner had yet to be determined. They both had yet to seriously hurt the other and so, they both drew their last trump. They put all their reserves into a single attack that meant to determine, who of them would come up victorious.
Their blasts hit, causing a massive explosion to erupt between them and turning their surroundings into a massive wasteland. Still, the two contenders stood unharmed, their options expended.
“It seems, we have come to an impasse, Twilight Sparkle.” Tirek said, suddenly smiling deviously. “How about a trade?” He snipped once, causing Discord, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike and Pinkie Pie to appear behind Tirek, trapped in similar bubbles as Discord was.
“I will free your friends in exchange for the magic you hold.”
Twilight looked back and forth between the five mares and one Dragon before her. Her friends frantically shook their heads, trying to signal her not to, but Twilight just couldn’t let her friends down. With a sigh, she drooped her head and agreed.
With a loud and devilish laugh, he sucked in Twilight’s magic and, true to his word, the bubbles popped and everypony was set free. Everypony, but Discord.
“Hey! What about Discord?” Twilight ask, offended, “He is our friend as well!”
“Oh, are you sure about that? When I offered you to free your friends, you looked at everypony, except Discord. You may call him your friend, but deep inside you, you yourself don’t believe in it and therefor, he isn’t. Now, if you’d excuse me, I’ve got a throne to take.”
With one last, devilish laugh, Tirek left the group, Discord levitating closely behind him. However, Discord hadn’t given up. He knew a way out and he had to show them. He pulled a piece of parchment from behind his back, one with several lines written on it, of which some were marked in yellow and he was frantically pointing at it.
Twilight had to squint, but could identify it as Markus’s last will, but what did he want to say with that? She thought, harder and harder and then harder yet, until it finally clicked.
“The most chaotic beings in the end can be those who bring about Harmony…” she mumbled.
“What was that, dear?” Rarity asked, however, Twilight wasn’t listening.
“He wasn’t just apologizing, but he was trying to give us a hint!”
The five mares and one dragon looked at her in confusion, causing Twilight to groan in frustration.
“It’s Markus, who needs to open the box!” Twilight said.
“But dear, you realize that Markus is dead, don’t you?” Rarity asked, even more confused than before.
“Indeed, he is,” Twilight admitted with a shudder, “but he left each of us something that might work just as well.”
Suddenly, it clicked with all of them. Their eyes widened slightly as they realized, what was meant and, without any further word, they dispersed, running to their (in Twilight’s case former) homes and fetching what Markus had left them in his will.
When Twilight saw the ruins of her Library, she almost lost her hope again, as she had forgotten, what had happened to it. However, when she went to search anyways, she was rewarded with a feeling of relief, as she found the small chest with the one book that was most precious to her.
They all met again in the cavern where the tree of Harmony sat, but hesitated, when they remembered, what Fluttershy’s gift had been. The small bunny sat on her hoof, looking at her, while Fluttershy was returning the gaze with uncertainty clearly displayed on her face.
“Are you sure that you want to do this?” She asked. In return, the bunny nodded and said something that only she could understand.
“(Yes. He saved my life and raised me like his daughter. Now, it is my turn to repay him.)”
“Okay… if you are so sure about it… thank you, Mrs. Bunny.”
When the last confirmation was given, everypony looked at each other once more, before they extended their gifts towards the box. As soon as they touched it, the five objects and one bunny turned into keys. Their blades and shoulders were golden and their heads were pitch-black. Each key held a representation of their bearers cutie mark in their blades.
The keys inserted themselves into their respective holes and turned. The box flew open and a beam of rainbow shot up a few metres, before coming down upon the six mares that stood beneath.
When it hit, a rush of energy flowed through them. Their manes and tails grew longer and more colourful and they were now emanating a faint glow. Their minds were enveloped by a cold calmth and their right eyes turned black and were now emanating a black mist.
With their transformations now complete, they didn’t need to vocally communicate anymore. They knew what they had to do and so, everypony got together and Rarity and Twilight cast a teleportation spell, sending them directly in front of Tirek, who was still on his way back to Canterlot.
He stopped quickly, when he noticed who was standing before him yet again and with a slight confusion, he went to collect their energy once again. However, Rarity and Twilight were quick to erect a shield, blocking the spell from taking effect.
With a frustrated grunt, Tirek chose to use more physical methods. He rose up his right arm, bringing it down towards the offenders in a slam. Out of habit, Twilight wanted to fly off, but a voice within her stopped her. It wasn’t like somepony else trying to speak to her, but more like an instinct that had somehow gained a voice.
Don’t fly; evade left
She did exactly as commanded, causing the slam to hit the ground beside her. She was now standing off to his completely undefended right side.
Kick right front knee
She made a dash for his right leg and slammed her hoof into his knee. Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie did the same with the remaining three legs, causing him to collapse, while Rarity and Fluttershy were holding his arms in place.
Fly; kick face
Rainbow Dash and Twilight both took air and, when their hooves were on Tirek’s eye level, made a round-house kick towards his eyebrows. Not yet unconscious, but momentarily dazed, Tirek’s upper body slumped backwards, as Twilight and Rainbow set back down onto the ground.
Use Friendship-beam
Twilight’s heart called out to her friend’s and with their collected powers, she shot a massive rainbow-beam at Tirek. He screamed, as he was hit and slowly, he began to shrink again. The magic he had stolen returned to their respective owners in a multitude of colours, while Tirek slowly took on his old shape.
When the process was done, Twilight teleported him into the throne room in Canterlot, where Celestia was already waiting to deal with him, while she and her friends teleported back to the tree of Harmony, to give back the powers they had borrowed.
While all this happened, Discord stood off to the side and, for once, it was his turn to be utterly baffled. He was looking around, trying to comprehend what he had just witnessed and wondering, what had happened to his cute little Fluttershy…
The powers were returned and the keys turned back into the objects (and one bunny) they were before and, now that the effects wore off, the six mares shared their experiences.
“Duude, that was so cool! When the magic hit me, I suddenly wasn’t scared anymore, like, at all! There was just all this calmth, as if there was no way that I could fail!” Rainbow described excitedly.
“Yes, indeed it was quite an exhilarating experience.” Rarity added.
“That’s how it was for me, too! Also, there was this strange voice… well, not really a voice, but more like… an instinct?” Twilight said.
“What, you heard it too? At first I thought it was you guys talking to me, but with the difference that it somehow felt like… like I had to do what this voice said.” Rainbow filled in.
While they were talking, the Tree of Harmony was doing the next few steps that were required, until suddenly, it sent the box flying, heading it towards Ponyville.
The six mares followed it and watched, as it impacted the ground in the outskirts of the town, only for a massive, crystalline castle to grow out of the spot, proudly displaying Twilight’s cutie mark on its highest Tower.
After the battle and the subsequent creation of the Castle of Friendship and the Cutie Map, Twilight moved in, seeing as her Library was destroyed and the Castle was so obviously marked as hers. However, even though the bed was soft and the room was quiet and dark, she still awoke with a feeling of heavy drowsiness. Sometimes it was even a feeling of nausea, combined with some gagging, prompting her to put a bucked beside her bed, just in case.
This bucket was finally needed, when one morning, it weren’t just gags anymore. Spike walked into her bedroom and saw her hanging over it and emptying her stomach into the silvery vessel.
“Twilight? Are… you okay?” Spike asked tentatively.
When the waves of vomit subsided, Twilight looked up and at Spike, who was quick to swipe away the remaining bits of stomach contents. “Frankly, no, I’m not. Ever since we moved here, I feel like my stomach would empty at any moment… which obviously has happened today. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to move here?”
“Oh, come on, Twilight. The Tree of Harmony gave this to you, so it can’t be the castle’s fault. Most likely it’s just a coincidence that you became sick or maybe you caught something during your fight with Tirek? Anyways, you should see a doctor, first.” Spike advised.
Twilight nodded groggily. “That would likely be the best, yes. Thank you, Spike.”
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Mrs. Sparkle. At least, nothing we can find.” Doctor Goodhoof said, as he was reading out the results.
“What do you mean, ‘nothing wrong’? I have vomited right after getting up and you say there’s nothing wrong?” Twilight asked, slightly agitated for some reason.
“Well, at least there’s no sign for an Ill—wait a second.” The doctor said, as he finally came to the hormone readings. With a smile, he turned back to Twilight and said: “Miss Twilight, I would like to run one more test.”
Twilight nodded and lay down on the exam couch. The doctor began to apply magic to her lower belly. It felt like multiple small prods, before something searched around within her. The doctor began to smile, as his magic slowly faded away.
“I may congratulate you, Miss Sparkle. I can happily tell you, that you have a healthy foal growing inside of you.”
Twilight’s mouth went agape, as the words registered. “Does… Does that mean, I’m…”
“Pregnant, yes. Congratulations.” The doctor finished for her.
Twilight looked down to her belly, lightly stroking it, while her face quickly lit up with a smile, as the fact slowly registered within her mind.
I am pregnant… She thought happily. And the only one I’ve done it with is… but that would mean…
“Doctor, would you please wait here for a few minutes? I have to get somepony.”
“But of course, Miss Sparkle. I will wait.” The doctor answered with a gentle smile.
Twilight quickly darted off and, a few minutes later, she came back with Rainbow Dash following close behind.
“Wait, the ‘great surprise’ is a visit to the doctor? Oh, come on, Twilight! If you want to prank me, you could have thought of something better!” Rainbow lamented, however Twilight paid her no attention.
“Doctor,” she asked, “could you please run the same test on her, as you did on me?”
The doctor understood Twilight’s thoughts and motioned for Rainbow to lie down on the couch. With a bit of hesitation and a look of confusion, she did as she was asked and the doctor went to work.
Twilight’s heart momentarily stopped, when a frown appeared on the doctor`s face, but began to pump even quicker again, when this frown was replaced with a smile.
“Your assumption was correct, Miss Sparkle.” He said, “She is as well.”
“I am what? What were you looking for?” Rainbow asked, now with worry adding to the mix.
Twilight approached her and placed a hoof on her belly. “Well, Rainbow, it seems he left us more than just some gifts…”
Rainbow was still looking on in confusion, still unable to follow. Twilight smiled lightly and clarified herself. “We are both pregnant, Rainbow.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened as the words sunk in. She looked down and began stroking her own belly, slowly repeating the same words to herself over and over again: ‘I am pregnant… I am pregnant…’
While Rainbow was registering this, the doctor pulled Twilight aside for a word.
“Yes, what is it, doctor?” She asked in a happy tone.
The doctor glanced over to Rainbow, reassuring himself that she was still occupied. “Well… it is about Miss Dash’s foal…” He started.
A hint of worry started to spark up inside of Twilight. “It... It’s in good health, isn’t it?”
“Yes, don’t worry, everything is fine, it’s just… your foal is an alicorn. Given your own physique, that certainly is no surprise, mind you. However, Miss Dash’s… is as well. If you’d allow me the question: who is the father?” Goodhoof asked.
“It is Markus Becker. The Hero, who recently deceased.” Twilight answered, trying to be formal about it. “Maybe, the genes from his dimension translate into alicorn genes in ours?”
Goodhoof nodded in understanding. “It is possible, yes. Frankly, it is remarkable that you were even compatible, but as it seems you were and beyond that, anything might be possible.”
Twilight took a hoof to her snout in thought, something she had copied from Markus, but after a few moments, she shook her head. “You know, doctor, it isn’t important, what it’s going to be. Alicorn or not, we will still love them with every inch of our heart.”
The doctor smiled and nodded and Twilight turned back to Rainbow, who was still mumbling to herself. “Yes, Rainbow, you are pregnant. Come on, let’s go and tell the others!” Twilight commanded happily, however this time, it was Rainbow’s turn to ignore her.
“Well, I guess I can forget about the Wonderbolts for a while, huh?” Rainbow stated with a chuckle.
Twilight jerked back slightly in momentary shock. She was so occupied with her own luck that she hadn’t even thought about that. “Well, there’s still the option of abortion, if you really want to join the Wonderbolts.” Twilight said, somewhat disappointed.
Immediately, Rainbow’s head shot up in a glare towards Twilight. “WHAT?! Abortion?? NO! Buck the Wonderbolts, they can wait! I’m not gonna abort Markus’s foal!” She all-but shouted, before going back to softly caressing her belly.
Twilight was surprised by this outburst, though not in a bad way. She felt happy and proud that Rainbow had chosen to keep the foal, together with her. She let her herdmate caress the unborn foal for a few more minutes, before she gently tugged on her leg, signalling her that it was time to go.
They both left the clinic together and went home, their heads filled to the brim with euphoria over this newest development.