//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - Unexpected Progress // Story: The Lonely Prince // by Caladis //------------------------------// Three days… Three long, sleepless nights. Twilight had moved the ‘samples’ from the master bedroom to her lab, which included Blueblood’s seed, remnants of Chrysalis’ own orgasm, and, perhaps most shocking of all, a few of Chrysalis’ eggs. It was a gift that was beyond valuable. Twilight had done every test she could think of, backed up with the scientific method she had learned in Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, years of self-medical study, plus now a full year at Medical School. The results were mixed, at best. There was no clear sign of being able to fix her own fertility issues from the experiments, from one source, but she was drawn very near to her own limits by Chrysalis’ advice and warning. Psychologically speaking, once a pony started to cheat, it was very hard to stop. And the more a pony did it, the easier it became to justify it. Twilight had opened that door for her husband herself and pushed him through it, and then watched him do it for her own curiosity. In the back of her mind, she knew that Blueblood loved her, and he had said repeatedly that he would do anything for her. She knew that he would indulge her scientific experiments… but at what point would he stop doing it ‘for science’ and just start sleeping with random mares on a whim? Would she even care if he did? She had more or less given him her blessing at this point, which was a shocking turn of events for herself given how she used to feel about it two years ago, back while she was still pregnant. The chain of events of him learning something to help her led her down the rabbit hole of the worst possible conclusion during that first time that she assumed he had been cheating on her when he learned how to preen pegasi wings. The shocking how’s and why’s had humbled her. His love for her had never failed to impress her. She sighed to herself, quite the lonely princess herself at this point. The lab was quiet. As empty as her womb. Blueblood had long since stopped trying to spend time with her while she was working, least he interrupt her ‘important’ work. Part of her valued his understanding but she also knew that she was pushing him away. He was too nice to fight back… he just accepted it. What was that old saying he often used? ‘The briefest moments of love with you is more than I was expecting, and I’m grateful’. She hated herself for how she treated him, but she could never admit it because that would make him feel even worse than he usually did, as if it was his fault. It wasn’t fair to him. And she knew it. The doors to the lab opened on their own and then closed behind the unseen guest, which could only mean one pony. “Hi momma.” Twilight looked down at little Velvet Dawn. The 19-month-old filly was filled with excitement and adventure this morning. She smiled at her daughter in a way that only a mother could. “Good morning, Velvet. What are you doing today?” Velvet fluttered her wings and landed on the lab table. “Daddy is taking me to a museum. I wanted you to come with us. Please?” Twilight winced. She only had at most two more days before these samples would be unusable and she wasn’t sure if Chrysalis would be willing to provide more. She took a breath and held it, exhaling slowly, and trying to come up with a way to not disappoint her daughter. When she opened her eyes to look at Velvet, she stopped short. Velvet was looking at the samples curiously. On instinct, she lit her horn to cast a spell. Twilight lit her own horn and cast a magic tracking spell to record and map Velvet’s spell… so she would be able to deconstruct it and learn whatever spell Velvet was casting. Normally, Twilight would stop any interference in her work, but something seemed incredibly, and profoundly important about this moment. Velvet’s spell was nothing that Twilight had ever seen before… it was certainly nothing that she had learned or had been taught. While too young for a cutie mark, this spell had a cutie mark level natural talent that rivaled her brother’s shield spells. This was something Velvet was doing by instinct. Twilight eyed the process closely. Velvet went sample by sample, casting her spell on each one. Twilight’s tracking spell showed that it was, in fact, the same spell each time. Velvet would stop, cast the spell, shake her head and mutter ‘Nope.’ And then move on to the next sample. “Nope.” “Nope.” “Nope.” “Nope.” Velvet got to one of Chrysalis’ eggs, this particular egg was magically artificially inseminated with Blueblood’s seed. It was non-viable, given that it wasn’t in the correct environment to hatch, but in the correct environment it could hatch. Twilight was still toying with the possibility of giving the egg back to Chrysalis so it would hatch. The idea of having a second foal was intoxicating, even if it was a changeling foal. The morality of the situation was ambiguous at best, given that she didn’t have Blueblood’s consent to allow the egg to hatch, giving him a second foal. She wasn’t sure how he would respond if she asked him… Twilight still wanted 12 foals… and at this point, she was willing to accept surrogate mares baring Blueblood’s foals. She would love them as her own… they just needed to be of her husband’s seed. But could she convince him to get other mares pregnant? It would be an uphill battle at best and an outright ‘no’ at worst. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to find the limit of Blueblood’s love for her. She wasn’t sure that her heart could take it. Velvet eyed the egg and cast her spell. Her eyes widened in excitement and pointed a hoof at it. “Life.” Twilight’s breath hitched. Did Velvet know that the egg could hatch? Twilight gulped. “Life? What you do mean, Velvet?” Velvet frowned, searching for words. “Life. Daddy life.” The blood drained from Twilight’s face. She didn’t want Velvet to know that it might be possible for her father to have foals with other mares. That wasn’t the life lesson she wanted to give her very young daughter. “Umm. Daddy’s foal?” Velvet shook her head, frustrated with her own inability to convey what she wanted to say. “Daddy life. Daddy… forever.” Twilight’s magic deconstructed Velvet’s spell and the results left her jaw hanging open. Velvet had just crafted an Immortality spell for Unicorns. She would never have to lose her husband, or her brother, or her parents! Tears pricked Twilight’s eyes as she hugged her daughter. “You don’t know what you just did but thank you Velvet. Thank you, my beloved daughter.” Velvet giggled into the hug and then yawned. “Museum trip cancelled. Nap time.” Velvet hopped off the table and walked towards her room, exhausted by the amount of magic she just used. Twilight walked her out of the lab and met Blueblood in the common room. The blood seemed to drain from his face when he saw them. “OH! Dearest… I’m so sorry that I failed to stop her from interrupting your work! Please forgive me!!!” He seemed distraught which made Twilight feel worse about, well, everything. Twilight momentary left Blueblood in the common room while she tucked Velvet into bed and kissed her goodnight for a short nap. She returned to the common room to find Blueblood sitting down on the couch with his face in his hooves, crying, seemingly unable to accept his failure. She sat beside him. “Beloved… you didn’t fail. I get so caught up in my work that sometimes I forget that I need a break. Our daughter is good at reminding me about how much I love you.” Blueblood looked at her with bloodshot eyes. “Dearest…” She hugged him fiercely, overcome with emotion. “I love you Blueblood… never forget that. I know that the thing with Chrissy was a little unexpected and you did great with it, but I hope you know that I don’t think less of you for having indulged me. It wasn’t cheating and I love you!” Blueblood shuddered into her hug. She could feel all his uncertainty. She couldn’t tell him about the immortality spell, at least, not yet. She hedged. “If you are willing to indulge me a little more… I have a request of you, my beloved…” He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I’m not going to like this, am I…” Twilight sighed. “Maybe? I was hoping to convince you to allow surrogates into our marriage so that we could have our 12 foals. I would raise them and love them as my own, but they must be of your seed to have royal rights and royal or noble titles. We can’t simply adopt. I know my friends would bare your foals… if you were willing to try.” Blueblood was as still as a statue. He didn’t seem to be breathing. “… And… how would you be able to look them, or me, in the eyes again knowing that I got them pregnant, on purpose?” Twilight gulped. That wasn’t the worst question he could have asked, or response that he could have given. “It’s my idea. If I have any regrets, I’ll have nopony to blame but myself. I surely won’t hold a grudge against you or my friends when it is my idea. Maybe simply having the foals would be enough to make it worth it… Maybe?” Blueblood sighed. “I’ll try. I guess ask them and see if it’s… okay? I won’t do it with a random mare… that’s too close to cheating and I can’t…” Twilight hugged him again. “Thank you!!! You don’t know how much this means to me!” Blueblood nodded with a tear leaking from an eye. “So… who do you think would even say yes? I doubt that all your friends would be on board with this… if any of them are.” Twilight considered the question. “I think I know at least one mare that won’t turn me down.” ---------- A couple of days later, Fluttershy knocked on Twilight’s door in Canterlot Castle. Twilight answered the door and pulled Fluttershy into a hug. “Thank you for coming! I knew I could count on you!” Fluttershy blushed. “Your request caught me off guard, but Discord is okay with it, and I don’t have any other stallions in my life that would object to it. I am in estrus so it should only take one time…” Twilight led her into the common room and Fluttershy met Blueblood’s eyes. He could smell the estrus in the room, and he gulped. “So… you agreed?” Fluttershy blushed. “Yes, your highness. It is my honor to help my friend have more foals. I hope that you can take me as you took her. Breed me.” Blueblood nodded mutely and escorted her to the master bedroom. Twilight sat in her favorite chair to watch, quill and parchment in hoof to take notes. Fluttershy, for her part, lowered her head to the mattress and lifted her tail, exposing herself, completely sweet and submissive. Blueblood stared at her uncovered marehood. Sweat started to form on his brow as he considered his actions. He placed his hooves on her hips and mounted her, he placed his hips against hers and he tried to thrust forward only to find himself as limp as a pool noodle. He rubbed himself against her marehood, trying to get hard enough to penetrate, but to no avail. He looked at Twilight, who smiled in response, giving all her approval to the process. He sniffed Fluttershy’s marehood, searching for the scent of estrus. That scent alone should have made him hard enough to breed any pony… He tried one more time but couldn't find purchase. Frustrated, he yelled and ran from the room in shame, crying. Fluttershy’s ears folded back upon her head. “Was it something I did? Or said?” Twilight sighed. “No… he loves me too much to cheat on me. He managed my experiment with Chrysalis only because she was able to look like me for the process. I guess I should be grateful that he won’t cheat on me, but I’m sorry for putting you into this situation to begin with…” Twilight lowered her head in shame, but Fluttershy lifted her chin up with a hoof, forcing Twilight to look into her eyes. “Your husband loves you… there is no shame in that. We should all be so lucky…” Twilight gasped and burst into tears, placing her head on Fluttershy’s shoulders. Fluttershy held her tight and tried to soothe her. She whispered. “I’m going to leave you two alone. Go to him, Twilight. Tell him it’s okay. Tell him that you love him. I’m not mad about this and I’m very happy about the love he has for you. Please…” Twilight nodded and hugged her tighter. “Thank you for trying… and please… don’t tell our friends about this. I don’t want my husband to have to deal with embarrassing rumors about his… lack of performance.” Fluttershy gasped. “I would never…” She stopped short and nuzzled Twilight, allowing her actions to express her words. Fluttershy met Twilight’s eyes one final time once the embrace ended. “Blueblood is a very misunderstood pony. His past actions have painted him in a bad light, but I believe in my heart that he would never hurt you. He may have wanted to accept a surrogate to give you more foals, for your sake, but actively breeding another mare was too much for him. He loves you too much to betray you even while trying to follow your suggestions. I know that this is a confusing emotional issue, but please don’t hate him for loving you!” Twilight was forced to reflect upon everything that led to this moment. She sighed. “You’re right. I don’t hate him. I hate myself. I hate how little I have considered his feelings.” Fluttershy gasped. “You shouldn’t hate yourself either. Nopony should have to face being barren. You are a problem solver. That doesn’t mean that all your responses have to be correct. I don’t know how many foals I want but I’m not sure I could handle being told that I could only have one. You have to forgive yourself too.” Twilight sobbed into Fluttershy’s shoulder. “But can I?” She didn’t know. ----------