//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Looking To The Future // Story: Night's Children // by Lucky424 //------------------------------//         Pinkie didn’t have a chance to move as a swirling orange portal appeared on the floor around her. She looked down as the centre showed another room, one with a dark stone floor. It then widened, the earth pony mare falling through, the portal changing to blue as she did so. “Right, now she’s taken care of… where were we?” She looked up in the direction of the alicorn stallion’s voice, just in time to see the portal on this side closing. She sat still for a few moments while her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and then she realised with surprise that she was in a cell. The one to her left was occupied by a stallion, whose gaze was focused on nothing as he sat still, and the one opposite him housed a very angry earth pony mare. Pinkie grinned, her bright white teeth reflecting the pale moonlight. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie. So, we have a dungeon party? Oooh, is this a fungeon party? I’ll go get Joe!” With that she slipped between the bars and skipped down the hallway, the other two ponies watching her in disbelief. Meanwhile, back in the room where things had been interrupted, a provocatively dressed mare moaned lightly as a set of sandy brown hooves moved over her wings, the stallion above gently nibbling on her ear, until there was a quiet bark, and he glanced over his shoulder. "Uh... Luna?" "Yes, my love?" "I can't." "Why?" "There's a dog watching." She leaned over and looked to the doorway, where Fluffball stood watching with her tongue hanging out and tail wagging. The puppy then shot forward and jumped onto the bed, twisting back and forth between the couple as she tried to lick their faces. Alec fell back to the mattress with an annoyed groan, his head turning towards Luna as the puppy settled in between them. “Three kids and a puppy. We’re never having sex again, are we?” “Not for tonight, at least. But there is always the morning.” With that she sat up and nudged the pup from the bed, who walked over to her basket with her head down, sulking because she wasn’t allowed to stay with her ponies. Luna gave a small giggle as she settled down against Alec’s side, and he laid his head over hers with a happy sigh. “Good night, my love.” “Good night, my beautiful mare.” Trudging his way down the corridor, Alec got the feeling something was different, but he couldn’t quite put his hoof on it. Giving a shrug, the stallion pushed open the door to where he had left his foals the night before, smiling at the scene before him. Lying on a large rug in the middle was Celestia, with Sky and Flame pressed against her side, Wonder Life settled between them. Turning to the couch he found Klaus and Sarah, with Alec and his wife’s namesakes on top of them. All in all, it was a rather peaceful setting, until Wonder woke up. Spotting her father, she wriggled free of her siblings and crawled towards him, the stallion laying down and placing his muzzle on the floor. Once she was close enough, Wonder sat up and reached up a forehoof, boppings Alec on the nose. Giving a small chuckle, he leaned forward and took a deep breath, the filly’s unrestrained giggling causing the others in the room to start waking as he blew raspberries on her stomach, her forehooves flailing ineffectively against his muzzle in order to fight him off.. With a nudge from a smiling Celestia, the twins shot forward and tackled their father, running their hooves over his chest and causing him to laugh uncontrollably. The sudden sound of pained cries drew the room’s attention to the youngest pony present, who was pressing herself firmly against her father’s side. He looked over her in confusing before giving a shocked gasp, his hooves parting the fur on her back to reveal a small stream of blood. “Flame, go get your mother. Tell her to meet us in the infirmary.” “But… father…” “NOW!” The colt didn’t look back as he darted from the room, Alec pulling Wonder close to his chest as he lit his horn, teleporting away. Sky blinked with confusion, Celestia approaching and giving her a small nuzzle. Even though she didn’t know why, the filly knew her sister was hurting, small sobs starting as Celestia hid her under a large white wing. With not much happening recently in the castle, the nurse on duty was absentmindedly flipping through a chat magazine when she suddenly felt a desperate presence, looking up to see a worried alicorn stallion in front of her desk. “Where’s the doctor?” “Consulting room two, I’ll get him for you.” He ignored her, using his wings to glide over. She got a clear view as to what he was holding, which made her gallop over as fast as she could. Once she entered the room after the alicorn, she noted the unicorn stallion inside had already taken the filly and was working on cleaning her wounds, whilst Alec watched carefully. A flash of blue drew her attention to the corridor, and she stuck her head out to see Luna looking around with Flame on her back. “Your majesty, in here.” Luna’s gaze snapped to her, and she quickly entered, moving next to Alec to see what was going on. Unlike her husband, she was the perfect picture of calm, watching as the unicorn attempted a healing spell, only to frown as the magic failed. Alec was about to say something when Luna placed a wing over his muzzle, shaking her head and then moving away, motioning for him to follow as more medical staff entered the room. She led him into the next room, where Celestia was waiting with a red eyed Sky on her back, tear streaks down the filly’s cheeks. “Luna, what’s going on?” “Something that I feared may come. We must wait, that is all we can do.” Celestia floated Sky from her back to Alec’s and left the room, leaving the family to watch in peace. Alec was doing just that, his eyes rapidly following each and every movement of the doctors as their hooves and magic swathed over Wonder’s small body. She had been placed under a sleep spell and rolled onto to her stomach, the alicorn stallion frowning as he noticed that they were not putting any dressings on her back, the first unicorn stallion giving a nod to the others as he turned towards the door and entered the room with the worried ponies. “Doctor?” “I… I’m not sure, your majesty. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The room seemed to grow smaller as Alec slowly trotted towards the stallion, staring down at him with a fire in his eyes. “What… is going on?” “She’s… growing wings, sir.” Nodding to Luna, the doctor turned around and reentered the treatment room, Luna coming alongside her husband and nuzzling his cheek softly, nudging his head back to the window, where Sky and Flame were standing on the table, forehooves resting on the window sill, eyes locked on their sister. “Luna?” “It… is something that has not happened for generations. You know the Royal Lunar Guards?” “Those bat-like ponies? What about them.” Spotting a couch on the opposite wall that still gave them a good view, Luna trotted over and sat down, waving Alec over. He gave a deep sigh and followed, the mare pressing against his side as a hoof draped around her shoulders. “What have those guards got to do with Wonder?” “Well, as you know, my sister and I have lived for millennia, and have had many lovers over that time. Unlike Celestia, who has none, Flame and Sky are not my first children.” She had dropped her voice to a whisper, careful to not let the twins hear the conversation as she pulled away, looking Alec in the eye. “It was at the time of a strange occurence of our solar cycle, a full lunar eclipsed, that I conceived my first child. Or children, as I should say, as I had triplets. In those days, it was very bad for a member of royalty to have foals out of wedlock, so they were taken from me.” “How… how could they separate a child from its mother?” “It was not a decision that was taken lightly. I actually fought Celestia and several of the guards, but in the end I gave in, knowing that they would forever be discriminated against for the reasons of their birth. I do not even remember the name of their sire. Eventually, as I watched them, they grew older and found mares… well, a mare and two stallions of their own. All those that knew the truth took the secret to the grave.” “And… your foals?” “Families of their own, at least one like them in each generation, then two, then three. There are several hundred now, but the majority of them live in a far away place. Some still reside here in Equestria, where the majority of the Royal Lunar Guards get their recruits from. They also live double the life of a normal pony.” “Wait… does that mean that Wonder will…” “No. None of the others ever performed magic, as far as I know. I will have the doctors look into why that is.” “Growing wings… I have seen stranger things.” Alec gave a small chuckle, turning to Luna and placing a soft kiss on her cheek, then laid his neck over hers and closed his eyes. “I used to know a crazy guy back on Earth. He’d have just waved it off with a joke. Come to think of it, most of my friends were crazy to some degree. So, I assume that means there was an eclipse this time?” “It is the only explanation, yes.” “Uh, your majesty?” Alec and Luna looked towards the door, where one of the nursing staff was standing. “She’s settled in now, and we’d like to keep her in for observation until this… period has passed, with your permission.” Luna looked through the window to see one doctor remaining, carefully wiping some blood from the filly’s back, and she gave the mare a nod. “You’re more than welcome to stay in this room for as long as you need.” Easing themselves back against the couch and each others’ side, Luna laid her head on Alec’s shoulder as they looked over their elder foals, an idea forming in the stallion’s mind. “Rising Flame, Sky Sapphire, come here a moment.” The twins glanced at their sister one last time, then turned to jump down from the table. “No, not like that. I want you both to fly over.” They glanced at each other, Flame spreading his wings first. His flight was a little wobbly, but his parents smiled as he slowly drifted over to them, dropping into Luna’s awaiting forehooves. Sky took a few deep breaths before she began to hover, then angled her wings so that she moved forward, much smoother than her brother, right into Alec’s lap, who gave a loud laugh. “Alec, what was that all about?” He turned to Luna with a smirk, pointing a hoof towards the window. “Perfect sibling bonding activity. She’s growing wings, and will need to be taught to fly.”         Young eyes, brilliant azure that sparkled with curiosity and mischief, slowly opened and looked around the room. They didn’t understand the wires connected to the body to which they belonged, nor the importance of the room they were in, but a glance to the side showed them something they did understand; whilst they didn’t know what they saw, they knew that the body in which they resided belonged on the other side of that window. Wonder Life yawned widely and rolled over, starting to crawl to the edge of the bed. Upon reaching the railings slightly too big for her to climb over, she began to cry loudly, a noise that stirred the two adult ponies in the next room. A pounding formed in her head and she slammed her eyes shut, a tingle over her body making her giggle. A bright flash filled the room and the filly was no longer present; instead she was now snuggled between her stunned parents, Alec staring at her with a cocked head. “Luna… what just happened?” “I do not know. Warding Spear!” Once they had heard the news, the stallion and mare now stood outside in the infirmary halls arrived, not leaving their posts even to rest. The door to the waiting room eased open, the one-eyed stallion bowing his head low. “Please fetch a doctor and inform them that Wonder is now awake.” “Of course, you majesty.” Whilst he trotted off with his task, Alec lifted his filly up with his magic and twirled her around in the air, looking intently over her new appendages. He pulled them to their current width, stretched them, folded them back up, then touched the leathery membrane with a hoof. Wonder was giggling all the time, which brought a smile to Luna and the twins, for it meant she was no longer hurting. Her eyes flashed once and she disappeared from view, a surprised yelp coming from the hall a minute later. The door opened once more and Blazing Petal entered, half of her vision obscured by the filly that was lying on her head. “I believe this belongs to you, your majesties.” The group shared a laugh, a doctor entering a few moments later and checking the filly over, giving her a clean bill of health. She certainly seemed happy enough, crawling over, under, and around the twins from where they stood watching over her. Most of the words the doctor said were too much for them to comprehend, but Flame paid interest to the last part of it. “...as to her magic, it seems she does have a horn. As you can see from these x-rays, it has infused with her skull. It’s nothing too serious, we’ve seen this before. She’ll have some bad headaches as she grows, especially around the teenage years, but she should be able to use magic as any other unicorn.” Luna just gave a nod whilst Alec stared at his youngest, amazed at her abilities and happy they had chosen the perfect name for her. Thanking the doctor, the family left the infirmary, Wonder Life draped across her siblings’ back as they walked along side by side. Luna and Alec walked behind them a little, the mare nuzzling her head under his chin as he placed a wing over her back. “Well, it seems we no longer need to worry for her. Next thing… Blazing Petal said some colts were getting friendly with Sapphire at the play park the other day.” Alec stopped dead, his eyes unfocused on the corridor ahead as a million thoughts ran through his head, chief of which were things he would do to anypony who hurt his filly. He was given a kick start to reality as Luna kissed him passionately, swaying her hips seductively when she turned and walked away, her wings ruffled. “You’re so cute when you’re shocked. Come, we have an afternoon luncheon appointment with the others.”         In one corner of the Royal Banquet Hall was a very large pile of cushions. Upon these cushions lay a large pile of foals. Four were only a few days old, all curled up around a puppy in the middle and sleeping peacefully. The other ones were a mixture of all four races, some napping, and some awake, as well as the two human babies belonging to the adults that were visiting. Alec gave a small chuckle as he looked over and saw Rising Flame between both his sisters and using his wings as blankets, his eyes closed, but his ears twitching at every small sound. Watching over all of the foals was a tired Fluttershy, who chose not to partake in dessert nor drinks, Posey doing the same and laying next to her daughter, gently running a hoof through her mane. The doors to the hall slowly pushed open, an alicorn mare with a happy smile and swollen stomach stepping through, an exhausted unicorn stallion trailing behind her with several large bags in his magical aura. Princess Cadance calmly strode to the empty seats and took one, whilst Shining Armour dragged himself over and sat down with a relieved sigh, the bags thudding to the floor. Several of the other stallions laughed at his expense, knowing the kind of cravings the mares got when they were with foal. Now that they were all present, the servants brought out several different cakes, pastries and other assorted goodies, followed by copious amounts of alcohol. The treats didn’t last long, same goes for the table cloth’s cleanliness, and soon everypony was sporting a satisfied belly. “So,” all eyes turned to the head of the table, where Celestia and Luna sat, the elder alicorn addressing them as her sister’s lips were occupied elsewhere. “As we have not seen each other for some time, what have you all been up to? Miss Smokestack, why don’t we start with you?” Rainbow Dash groaned at that name being used to address her, but Soarin just chuckled and wrapped his wing around her, pulling her closer and giving her an encouraging nuzzle. “Well, Spitfire’s last year with the ‘bolts is almost up, so she’s looking for a successor. Naturally, we were her first choice, but we turned her down, because… well, we’re retiring too.” All whispers around the table stopped as the pair became the centre of attention, but instead of cheering adoration like they were used to, they received shocked stares, making Dash a bit more uncomfortable than usual, so she buried her head against Soarin’s shoulder, the stallion taking the cue to take over. “I’ve been with them the same amount of time as Spitfire, so I’d be retiring as well. We, as in Dash and I, have decided to retire from the show team. We’ll still help train the recruits and attend publicity events, but our goggles are being hung up for the last time at the next show.” The pair looked to the side, where the pile of cushions were, along with their foals. “We want to spend more time with our family, so we’re happy with our choice.” “Does that mean you’ll be returning to Ponyville, Rainbow?” The pegasus mare poked her head out from under her stallion’s wing and looked towards her smiling unicorn friend, giving a nod. Rarity squealed in delight and her hooves squeezed tightly to the closest thing to her; Thunderlane. His cheeks started to change colour and he tapped at her hooves desperately, to which she seemed to fortunately notice his discomfort and eased up a little. “It seems you’re not the only one to go home, Rainbow Dash. I have decided to return to my roots, leaving my protege in charge of running the business for now. Don’t look like that, Coco Pommel is a capable mare, she knows what she is doing.” The once again shocked faces calmed down upon hearing the name, knowing Rarity’s businesses were in safe hooves, and she simply settled against Thunderlane’s side, Jett asleep and held in his father’s hooves. All eyes at the table turned to the next couple down the line, where two similar coloured ponies sat. They were not blood related though, despite several rumours that had done the rounds of Ponyville saying they were. The mare quickly shot them down. “Shucks, Ah still live there.” “We, Applejack, we still live there.” Applejack’s ears flattened against her head as she turned to her stallion with a blush, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ve just been helping out other Apple farms, but we’ll be heading back in a couple of days. Hmm?” Caramel looked down to see what was tapping at his hoof, seeing Dusty staring up at him. Knowing the colt was going to be quiet, Caramel leant down and let Dusty whisper to him, then gave a small chuckle. “Hey, Alec, can I borrow Sapphy for a moment?” The filly looked at her father in confusion, but he just nodded, so she got out of her seat and walked around the other side of the table, looking up to Caramel with Dusty to her back. The adults that could see the colt did their utmost best not to laugh at his nervousness, watching as he lifted a hoof and tapped Sapphire on the shoulder, causing her to turn around and go wide eyed at the colt. “Um… P-princess Sapphire… um… I THINK YOU’RE REALLY PRETTY!” The flowers that were in his hooves were thrust into her face as the bright red faced colt turned and ran into the shadows, Applejack giggling as she went to see to him, letting the others carry on and one stunned filly to return to her parents; she wasn’t even aware the conversation she was listening to a moment before had resumed. “Um, Braeburn and I are moving a bit closer to town, to make it easier to take care of the foals. There’s a team working to move my house this week.” Alec frowned at that, but in the past decade he had seen a lot of strange things, so moving a whole house in a world with magic wasn’t all that odd. Fluttershy looked down as movement caught everypony's’ attention, Lavender nuzzling against Posey foreleg, then lay still as her grandmother pulled her closer. Twilight still had the library to take care of, now twice as big thanks to the extension she added, and the tomes inside expanded greatly, so all eyes turned towards the last couple. Joe placed his hoof over Pinkie’s and took a deep breath, meeting her loving gaze with his own, and giving her a smile. “The shop is being passed over, and I’m moving down to Ponyville. With my skills mixed with my wife’s and the Cakes’, we’d be the best treat making ponies in Equestria!” “I shall hold you to that, Joe, but I will miss my little visits.” The unicorn just gave Celestia a small smile, as he too would take some time to get used to not having his regal early morning customer, but they would have to make do. The little get together lasted long into the night, where Sarah and Klaus were given the very amusing show of Celestia lowering the sun and Luna raising the moon whilst quite inebriated. If not for the sober Twilight Sparkle steadying them, the orbiting masses would have been everywhere, and the reason for the young alicorn choosing not to partake was clear for everypony to see, as she and Cadance held a hoof to each others stomach and giggled when they felt a kick. Smiling as he looked at the group of friends he had come to love like family over the past near decade, Alec turned and walked out on to one of the balconies, looking over the countryside of Equestria partially illuminated by the light from the moon. He sighed happily as he felt Luna press against his side and their wings intermingled, then let loose a small chuckle when he felt three foals settle onto his back. Alec looked to the side to see Klaus and Sarah in a similar position, their children held between them, and exchanged a happy smile with Sarah, then they returned their gazes to the distance. Each one was looking to the challenges the future would bring, and knew no matter what the distance, they would be there to support the other in times of need. Night turned to early morning, and the only ones still awake were Alec and Luna; everypony else, including the humans, had made themselves into a massive pile on the cushions, a large ring around the foals to keep them safe. Taking hold of Luna’s hoof, Alec began to fly into the still dark sky, the alicorn mare following with no resistance. He led her to a small gathering of clouds and they settled down on it, Luna sliding under Alec’s wing and pressing close to his side, giving him a soft nuzzle. His horn glowed and a magical glow took a large tuft of clouds in front of them, Alec cocking his head slightly until his work was finished, then helped Luna stand onto it. She looked around at the makeshift bed, then lay upon it, about to beckon her husband closer when he instead took flight. She knew well enough he’d have a good enough reason to leave her there, so she laid her hoof under her head and closed her eyes. She cracked one open slightly when she heard giggling, seeing Alec and their foals looking at her. “It looks so fluffy!” Luna had to agree with Sky Sapphire’s assessment of the bed, so she leaned over the side as her daughter’s horn glowed, giving a giggle at the words that appeared. “There, the SS Fluffywufflekins is ready for boarding.” Alec gently lifted each foal up toward Luna, then moved around the other side of the cloud bed, climbing up behind her. His horn glowed once more and the sides grew higher, just enough to prevent any of them rolling out as the twins yawned, Wonder Life having already drifted off as soon as she was in Luna’s hooves. Once Sky and Flame had settle down, Alec draped a wing over his wife and foals, lovingly nuzzling the back of Luna’s head. A bit of light hit his eyes, so his lifted his wing up a bit more, covering his and Luna’s eyes from the rising sun. Back down in the castle, Celestia’s horn glowed faintly as she slumbered, the sun beginning to rise from the eastern horizon, and the castle staff doing their best to keep the noise down as they started the after party clean up. None of them paid any heed to the draconequus as he calmly strode into the dining room, looking at the pile of sleeping bodies in the corner... ...nor did any of the ponies stop working when the pile was rudely awoken by a shower of chocolate milk.