“Kieran.”
“Kieran…”
I raised my head from the comforts of the fluffy bed I was tucked into and said, “H…Huh?” My eyes opened leisurely as I reached a hoof up to rub my eyes.
The dim lighting of one of the castle’s rooms came into view, a quiet fireplace crackling in the corner bathing the room in warmth. Luna was sitting by the bedside, smiling happily at me. "Hello, little one.” She muttered quietly, almost to match the fireplace.
I yawned, lowering my head against the pillow again as my eyes fought to stay open. “Oh, hi Luna.” I paused for a moment and huffed, “Auntie.” I tacked on.
She giggled, carefully hopping up onto the foot of the bed and settling next to me. She laid her head on her hoof to gaze at me. “So tired that you have to nap within your sleep?”
It took a moment for my brain to register what she meant as my eyes opened again and I stared at her for a second. Eventually my eyes widened, and I sat up and said, “Oh, yeah, I’m already sleeping.”
She giggled again as she raised a brow and gave me a once-over. “Has anything happened recently? I’m noticing a distinct change.”
I tilted my head and looked down, only now noticing my hooves. It now occurred to me how abnormal this was for a dream of mine. “I’m a pony.” I said with a hum.
“Mhm.” Luna nodded. “You seem to have quelled some sort of conflict in you. Your inner self reflects your outer self. And I get to appreciate my new nephew in all of his pony-ness.” She said this as she leaned in and squished her cheek against mine.
I laughed and lightly pushed her away. “You mean your niece’s body with a human stuck in her brain?”
“You’re so much more than that.” Luna remarked as she pulled back.
“That’s what Cadance seems to think.” I stated with a yawn.
I drifted closer to her in the covers until I was up against her side, and we laid there comfortably for a while longer. After a while, Luna brushed my hair back and asked, “Has Cadance ever told you the story? Why she never had another foal?”
I shook my head and looked up at her curiously. “No? I just thought she was unable to or something.”
Luna hummed, “Not quite; it’s something else a bit more personal, and I’m not sure she’d love me telling you.”
I huffed, “Well, you’re the one who brought it up…”
“Indeed, I did.” Luna contemplated for a moment.
“Can you tell me?” I asked curiously.
“Hmm… I don’t know; it’s an odd story.” Luna trailed off.
"Please, Auntie Luna?” I asked while attempting my first set of puppy dog eyes, quivering lips, and all.
It worked wonderfully.
“Of course, little one.” She cooed, nuzzling my cheek.
I could get used to having this sort of power over people! Though I better not abuse it like Flurry...
She cleared her throat. “Well, it was about a year after Twilight became ruler of Equestria…”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~It was during a get-together for the Summer Sun Celebration. Cadance, Shining, Celestia, and I were all visiting Canterlot. It was the first time we’d all been together since Twilight’s coronation.
Somehow the topic arose, and Cadance confessed to all of us.~
All the adults watched Flurry in the corner, desperately grasping up at the dangling toy that a young Spike was hovering over her. “Come on, Flurry! Just a little higher!” He encouraged her as he held in a laugh.
“Spi! Give!” Flurry babbled clumsily as she tried to use him as a foothold.
The adults all watched together for a while happily, until Celestia focused back on Cadance. "Sorry, my dear, but have you had any… luck?”
Cadance’s eyes widened, and she quickly took on a much more solemn look as she shook her head. “No… Unfortunately.” Shining put his hoof around her and soothingly rubbed her back.
Cadance hung her head low. “The doctors don’t know why, but they say it may have something to do with magic.”
Twilight furrowed her brow. “In what way?”
Shining took over for her. “Well, almost every doctor has given the same diagnosis. It’s not… us… that’s the problem. They think that she may be unable to produce enough magic to have an offspring.”
This is nearly unheard of in ponies. A pony needs to have enough magic available for their offspring to absorb before birth. Though this magic can never outright take enough that it would leave the mother without magic, and it replenishes over time as would normal magic.
“That’s nonsense!” Luna denied, “You have plenty of magic; surely you have enough?”
“That’s what we thought too,” Cadance said with a half-hearted shrug. “But it was our only guess.”
Celestia reached her hoof over, setting it atop Cadance’s. “Surely there’s an explanation, dear. Don’t give up hope yet.”
Twilight nodded and dawned a sympathetic smile. “I wouldn’t worry about it yet. You’re an alicorn; magic is in your blood.”
Cadance giggled. “I suppose you're correct.”
“Momma! Momma!” Flurry came crying over to her mother, "Spi, have toy!”
The table tried to hold in their laughter as Cadance tilted her head. “Oh, is that so little one?”
She reached her hoof up, jostling the toy, which was hooked around her horn with a ring. “Because I see it right here!”
“Oh,” Flurry mumbled, looking down in confusion, before turning with a red face and running, jingling with the toy on her head, “Spi! Say sorry!” She demanded as Spike began running.
~And to Cadance’s credit, she never gave up on her hopes. For a year, then another, three whole years went by. Cadance had both accepted that she’d only been blessed with one foal, but at the same time, she was still just as sad now and again.~
-------------------------------------------------------------------
“Why didn’t she just adopt?” I asked curiously, interrupting her story.
Luna looked me dead in the eyes and seriously said, “She did.”
I put my hoof up and batted her face lightly. “You know what I mean!” I whined with a small groan. “Like other foals.”
Luna giggled, “Yes. Well, for two reasons. For one, children do not stay in orphanages very long in Equestria.”
“They don’t?” I asked with surprise.
She shook her head. “The princesses themselves will provide enough bits and usually a permanent residence to whomever adopts.”
I huffed and pursed my lips. “Are there really that many ponies?” I asked slowly.
She shook her head. “Orphans are rare in themselves here. I know you’ve told me stories about your time on earth.” She smiled, “Our system is not like that. We make absolutely sure to take care of our own.”
I nodded slowly, with a sigh. “What’s the second reason?”
"Well, the second reason is that Cadance would never deny the potential for others to adopt before her. She would never force herself to the front of the line to adopt a foal. Even if she could, with a few simple words," Luna released a somber bit of laughter. “Trust me, we tried to convince her it was okay, but she never listened.”
“So she’s just stubborn. Got it.” I replied with a small laugh.
“Quite.” Luna agreed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~Eventually, Cadance looked to outside means for help. As the years went by, she became increasingly suspicious and unsure of their original explanation. She researched and read everything she could, eventually coming to the conclusion that nothing was wrong with her.
It was when she was visiting Twilight some years later that the topic of the mystery was brought up again. And Twilight had a new idea.~
“Have you tried asking Harmony?” Twilight asked, taking a sip from her tea.
Cadance gave her a raised eyebrow and an odd look. “What? I’ve never entertained the idea that you could actually… talk to Harmony.”
Twilight shrugged leisurely. “Since the elements were destroyed and things haven’t quite fallen apart, Harmony must continue somewhere as her own being.”
“You mean like Discord is his own entity?” Cadance wondered. “I guess it’s not too far-fetched to assume Harmony exists in a similar fashion.”
“Oh, it’s not an assumption; Harmony is real. I’ve talked to them.”
Cadance’s wings ruffled. “What!?” She exclaimed.
Twilight tilted her head, “Yep. They come to me in dreams, usually. But they’ve given me advice for future endeavors. It’s very rare, but quite useful!”
Cadance now stared at Twilight with unsureness. “Mhm, so a talking being gives you advice in your head sometimes while you sleep. Advice that usually turns out to be real and useful.”
Twilight slowly nodded as Cadance threw her hooves up in defeat. “Okay, that’s perfectly Twilight enough for me to believe it.”
Twilight laughed, “I didn’t always believe it either. But a couple times I went against their advice, and things really started to fall apart.”
Cadance sighed. "Well, then how do I speak to them? It doesn’t exactly sound like a talkative sort of spirit.”
“Maybe ask Discord?” Twilight proposed.-------------------------------------------------------------------
“Auntie, who’s Discord, really? Every time I asked Cadance, she just huffed and rolled her eyes, telling me I’m better off not knowing.” I asked quietly.
Luna hummed, “He is a spirit of chaos and disharmony. He used to be sort of a problem, but he’s… mostly good now. As you could guess, interacting with him is one of the most confusing things possible.”
“How confusing?” I questioned further.
“The sort of confusion where he could turn you into a bug, flip the entire world upside down, and make gravity nonexistent just for fun.” She said this while poking my stomach.
My eyes lit up. “He sounds cool.”
She didn’t know how to take that as she hummed unsurely, “He’s... interesting. But he can be quite annoying.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~So Cadance followed that advice. Now searching for a way to finally contact Harmony. She spent a year like that, but with absolutely no luck, she began to grow increasingly frustrated. Flurry was old enough that she’d been in school for a couple of years, and Flurry’s loneliness was really weighing on Cadance’s shoulders.
She doubled her efforts even more, running her energy dry and making every single one of us worry about her.
Unfortunately, Cadance would get her answer one night. During one of our get-togethers where every alicorn was present.
Somehow, they’d convinced Discord to be a mediator between themselves and Harmony.~
“Harmony doesn’t want you to have any more foals.” Discord said with a shrug.
The room went silent as everyone stared at him in confusion.
Discord laughed sheepishly as he held his claws up. “Whoa, whoa! Before you go crazy, I’m just the messenger!” He declared while turning himself into a letter and making a mailbox appear as he shoved himself inside it.
Twilight groaned and walked over, opening the mailbox angrily. “Discord! Get out here and explain!”
At once, the mailbox disappeared, and he returned to his regular self. “What? What!? I have nothing else to give you!”
Celestia huffed, “Explain. What happened?”
Discord sighed, “Alright, alright.” He summoned himself up a lavish-looking chair, materializing a monocle and suit on himself as he pulled out a wine glass. “Gather around children and listen to my story of-”
“Discord…” Twilight growled another warning.
Discord looked up; the room’s mood was somber from his regular antics. Cadance was already weeping in the corner as Shining tried to comfort her to the best of his abilities.
“Just tell us what happened.” Twilight pleaded.
“I couldn’t get a direct answer out of them.” Discord said with a sigh. “You know how they are; they’ve never liked me.”
Luna huffed, “So Harmony didn’t actually say that she didn’t want Cadance to have any more foals? You made it up?”
Discord hummed inquisitively and shook his head. “I asked Harmony why Cadance was unable to have any more foals. Harmony simply replied that this was how things were meant to be.”
They all listened with confusion.
“Then what?” Twilight urged.
“Well, after I asked on behalf of Cadance, Harmony looked at me oddly. Said I was trying to upset the balance of everything. Whatever that means.” Discord rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Typical of Harmony.”
“Why would Harmony do that?” Luna inquired.
“I tried to ask more questions, but they just told me to leave and shoved me out the metaphorical door.” Discord said with a big shrug. “I don’t know what’s got them in such a tizzy; there must be something weird in the spirit water again.” Discord grumbled to himself.
There was a long bout of silence, as all that could be heard was Cadance’s sobbing and Shining’s soft voice above that.
“Thank you for trying, Discord.” Celestia sighed, “At least we have an answer. As cryptic as it may be.”
Discord nodded, his lower half beginning to disappear in a puff of smoke; however, he stopped as it neared his head. “Well… Sorry, I couldn’t do more.” He only stayed long enough for Cadance to look up and lock eyes with him before disappearing.-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well, that’s depressing…” I mumbled as Luna seemed to be finished with her story.
Luna stayed silent as my head swirled as I stared at the ceiling. Why would the spirit of harmony itself be keeping Cadance from having any more foals? That seemed like such an odd and un-Equestira-like thing. I’d expect Discord to be the one causing chaos instead.
Luna sighed and hummed with relief. “Thankfully, she has you now. So none of that matters.”
I crossed my hooves as I continued staring at the ceiling. “I think it matters... Like, what if Harmony hates me now or something?”
Luna huffed, “Don’t be silly.”
I looked up at her seriously and said, “No, really. I’m exactly what Cadance isn’t supposed to have. Add on the fact that I’m an alicorn, and..."
Wait…
There’s no way that Harmony is the reason for my magic inability… right?
Luna hummed and nuzzled the top of my head. “I wouldn’t worry much, little one. This was a long time ago now; for all we know, Harmony may have changed their mind.”
I still felt sore about the whole thing and scoffed, “How dare Harmony do something that evil in the first place?” I grumbled sourly.
“You know they may hear you?” Luna questioned me with raised brows.
I smiled and stuck my tongue out. “What’re they going to do? I bet they’re already seething, knowing that some random kid from Earth ruined all of their evil, nefarious plans.” I waved my arms dramatically.
Luna giggled. “Maybe you and Discord would get along, as crazy as that is.”
“What are these?” Bristle released a curious hum as the contents of a sac were dumped onto his desk unceremoniously.
“Evidence.” The bored grey unicorn mare with purple and orange hair remarked with a smirk.
Bristle opened the bag, and what met his eyes only confused him even more as he glanced up. The mare was leaning against his desk leisurely. “Miss Wither Wisp, I have no idea what this is.”
The mare raised her brow, seemingly uncaring, as she shrugged her shoulders. “You had us out in that dusty wasteland for a week searching for evidence that something happened.” She gestured towards the bag and said, “There’s your evidence. Get some sort of scientist to analyze it... or something, I don’t know.” Wither commented with a sigh.
Bristle grumbled, “Did you find tracks? Evidence for what did all of that? Anything?”
Wither huffed, “A bunch of desert. We only found these because we got desperate enough to dig up sand around the blast site.”
“So they could mean nothing..?” Bristle asked incredulously, which was only met with another half-hearted shrug.
Bristle grasped his muzzle with his hoof in annoyance. “Is there anything else you’d like to report Wither?”
She hummed, putting genuine thought into it for a moment. “Nah.”
He nodded slowly, “Understood, at ease than.”
She smiled and gave a rather unofficial salute, “Later.” She called as she headed for the door.
Bristle sighed, sitting back in his chair as he poured the contents of the bag out. An array of white scales met his eyes, glistening in the light trailing in from the window behind him. The scales were polished and clean, reflecting a rainbow underneath a level of glossy toughness. Bristle carefully lifted one before banging it on the table to test its durability.
“That doesn’t look very scientific.” An older mare said, clearing her throat immediately afterward.
Bristle lifted his head and sheepishly smiled, putting the scale down. “Sergeant Zenith, how are you?”
Zenith was a golden-colored unicorn mare with even blonder hair. Her eyes shone like rubies, and her hair was kept loosely braided. The purple robe she wore had deep burgundy accents that ran back towards her tail and slowly turned to a dusty brown near the bottom from the trip.
“About as good as I can get for looking like this.” Zenith said in a huff as she dusted the bottom of her robe, barely returning the color but clouding the room with sand.
Bristle laughed as Zenith approached, taking a careful seat. “I assume Wither gave her classic ‘report’ of hers.”
Bristle groaned, “Honestly? Worse than usual.”
“Hmm… What can you do, y’know?” Zenith said with a shrug.
Bristle huffed a laugh. “I can think of a few things.”
Zenith hummed, “There’s no changing that mare. She knows what we think already; we might as well leave her be.”
“I think I know where she gets it, but it might be a hunch.” Bristle commented cheekily.
Zenith smirked before turning her eyes down towards the scales. “Brilliant, aren’t they?” She paused to hold one delicately. “Scares me to think of the beast who left them. They’d have to be larger than a common house.”
Bristle tilted his head curiously. “How do we know it holds any relevance to the pillar of light?”
Zenith laughed, “We don’t! But I’d still be scared to meet a beast covered in these. They’re tougher than steel!”
Bristle cracked a smile and a small laugh. “I suppose.” He waited a moment for her eyes to drift back toward him. “Anything else of intrigue happen up there?”
Zenith pursed her lips and said, “Well... The cider was good! And the ponies were friendly. But as for some terrifying beast, all we have are a couple scales and a large sandy wasteland.” Zenith clicked her tongue. “Best-case scenario, whatever it was, eradicated itself with some spell gone haywire.”
“And… a worst-case scenario?”
Zenith paused, thinking it over for a moment before furrowing her brow. “Some ponies are going to get real unlucky then. A beast big enough to drop these scales and smart enough to hide from both Wither and me? That’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Bristle nodded as Zenith hopped off her chair, grabbing one of the smaller scales in the process. “It’s all conjecture anyway. I wouldn’t worry about it much.”
“What do you intend to do with that?” Bristle asked, nodding towards the scale she took.
Zenith shrugged and smiled, flipping the scale like a coin and catching it. “I like a souvenir every now and again.” She put the scale up to her mouth and bit down before humming, “Ones that don’t disappear easily as well.”
She headed for the door, glancing back as her red aura gripped it. "Have a good Hearth’s Warming, Bristle.”
Bristle smiled and nodded back. “You as well, Zenith.”
As the door clicked shut, Bristle leaned back in his chair again, a single hoof resting on his desk as he released a long sigh.
“Bigger than a building, tougher than steel, and as smart as a pony...” Bristle muttered to himself.
“That’s a bit worse than being unlucky.”