//------------------------------//
// Instrumental 
// Story: We Remember Everything 
// by Thunderscourge 
//------------------------------//


A/N: Special thanks to SilentMech, XaldinLance, hs0003, FleetlordAvatar, Evilhumour, ChaoticLightning, Ketvirtas, Magestikus, bonamb, Killabyte, Drgnwolf, kotor511, doctor_n, and mr.zel for your comments last chapter. Hearing from you all really means a lot to me and I hope to continue to hear from you all!

Title is a reference to how there are "Instrumental" parts to songs 

Anyways, without further adieu, the chapter! Your thoughts mean everything to me and I would love to hear from you in the comments below! Comments are  after all, and I could not get by without them from you all!






“Luna, it is so good to see you. I trust you are doing well, despite everything?”

It was not often recently for Luna to come to Celestia with a smile that was anything less than smug or condescending, but this time when she entered her sister’s chambers she found herself full of nothing but glee. Not only was she no longer under the influence of the corrupting Nightmare, but she had so much that she was thankful for that it was not of any issue to her. She was alive, the foals she was pregnant with were alive as well, she was finally married to her lover, her lover was no longer trapped away in a torturous realm, Trixie was back and no longer in a coma, Trixie had ascended to become an Alicorn without Luna directly contributing power to her…
Luna found herself a little sheepish when she remembered she would have to keep that last thing from her dear sister. After all, Celestia would not likely buy that Trixie could manage such a thing on her own.

“It is good to see you too, Celestia,” Luna warmly greeted while entering Celestia’s room. It was early morning when Luna returned to Equestria, and Celestia had taken to working out of her room during the early hours of the morning the account for the extra rest she was getting and also how miserable she was feeling some mornings. 

As Luna approached Celestia on her bed, the elder sister observed Luna’s new body with some interest, “You are back to your normal color, if not form…” Luna continued to smile sheepishly as Celestia grew a smile of her own, “Without the Nightmare force, I take it that this means you will be more gentle than before?”

Luna rolled her eyes as she carelessly climbed onto Celestia’s bed and moved herself next to her giant, white furred sister who more and more resembled their mother every day, “More so, yes. Completely, no.”

Celestia craned her head down to nuzzle with Luna’s face, “As it should be,” after the two touched heads, Celestia pulled back to show Luna a bright smile, “Congratulations on your wedding. I am so sorry I was unable to attend. We must have some kind of event or reception here to commemorate the occasion.”

The mention of the wedding made Luna remember that her sister sadly had not been able to partake, causing the younger princess to rub her neck nervously, “It was kind of short notice. My apologies. I was not about to let something stall it again.”

“Of course, I understand. Now, you have big news to tell me I presume,” Celestia noted while nodding to her sister’s stomach. Unlike Celestia’s more prominent bulge, Luna only had the slightest of curves to it, so much so that it was unnoticeable to all but the most familiar to what Luna was like. Celestia could see that Luna had chosen a new form, but she also had seen enough of Luna in her humanoid body to know what things were like underneath the fur, and having fur did not constitute a curved stomach.

And Twilight told her with glee. That helped look for it too.

Luna stammered before she could manage to contain her surprise, only being able to reign it in as a result of her logical reasoning pointing to Twilight squealing on the matter since she came back first. Luna’s hand rose to her own stomach as she made herself comfortable leaning against her sister, “I—I do. As you seem to already know, I am going to be having foals. Twins I believe.”

“Now we both have foals from wedlock,” Celestia joked as she brought a hoof to touch Luna’s hand and stomach. There were five people in the room, the majority of whom had yet to be born.

Luna rolled her eyes again, not that proud of herself that she had given into her more carnal side before any vows were made, “You need not remind me, but at least I did something about my own marriage situation.”

Her sister returned the rolling of the eyes before ignoring Luna’s statement about the Discord situation, “I am sure that our mother would be so proud of us. Both pregnant before marrying, both in love with beings who were major threats to our nation, both so wise as to forget the second thing so as to cause the first just because we both seem to have a fetish for those who cause chaos.”

“I forget. Did she or did she not warn us about quote on quote bad boys?”

Celestia sighed as the leader of Equestria part of her mind surfaced, “I do not think she did, though we must discuss the matter of your husband again.”

Luna felt the tone shift and quickly buried herself in her sister’s fur, not caring for where this conversation was going to go, “Celestia, I came to be pampered not lectured.”

“I just think that perhaps we should think about how we should present this matter to our populace. They know him as yet another failed conqueror of our nation when I know the matter is not that simple,” Celestia reasoned, not wanting to burst her sister’s bubble but also unwilling to let Luna go and let herself down in the end.

“Well, he was coerced with threats against his family at first…” Luna tried to rationalize, partially to save her own ego and feelings, “And then he was forcibly corrupted by a magic artifact…and he was already having issues with his personal life, but perhaps we should leave that last reason out.”

“Are you sure he had no personal agency in the matter?” Celestia asked with sorrow. She was not exactly happy with how things happened with Loki, but she did not have any real hatred towards him. She had grown to accept and forgive many things over the years, and she could perhaps spare her sister’s husband some of the hatred she would otherwise feel given his situation.

Not completely off the hook, but no great love or hatred for him. No trust for certain.

Luna continued to plead Loki’s case into Celestia’s chest, “Are we to blame him for what he was put through by his master?”

“And just where is this master?” Celestia asked coolly, not exactly pleased that Luna’s husband brought more than just a kingdom to the table. The enemies of a foreign state were most unwelcome.

“Elsewhere in the stars. Far away. Likely taking his time before he comes back and tries to kill us,” Luna only half-joked, for there was truth in her words.

“At least you have granted me forewarning that there is a powerful figure out there who would have me and our people dead,” Celestia sighed as she brought her hooves around Luna to embrace her. Luna always had to make things more complicated. She always had and always would, and Celestia just had to accept that fact.

“Can we speak of something else? I have had enough of negative emotions and thoughts for now. For a lifetime,” Luna complained.

Celestia nuzzled against her sister’s face again, “Fine, Luna, for you I will drop the issue. I am just glad to have you back. Be happy again,” she paused to give Luna another smile, “I’ll see to the matter of redeeming your husband’s name, along with your own.”

“I love you Tia.”

“I love you too, Lulu.”

“I don’t get that. Lulu. I mean, it’s as long as my real name,” Luna pouted childishly. She always hated it when Celestia called her that when she was a foal.

“Quiet, Lulu,” Celestia shut her down with a small murmur of a laugh.

Desiring to get off the subject of that particular name, Luna abruptly brought up the bump she was brushing against, “When are you due?”

Celestia brought a hoof back to touch her own stomach, then back to Luna, “It will still be quite some time. For now though I am to be taking it easy, so let us not quibble over nothing. I am tired and would care to rest beside my similarly gravid sister.”

Celestia touching her made Luna think of something kind of funny. Something that she learned about a certain purple student of Celestia’s the other day, “Twilight would get a kick out of this. Us together. Alone.”

“Oh you have no idea what it was like having her here all those years. I suggest not reading the books in her old room. Many are self-authored.”

“Perhaps you should have let her out more?”

“Do not blame her depravity on me. I was abstinate then,” Celestia laughed as she thought about her student’s hidden hobby. Celestia had once made the mistake of thinking she was reading Twilight’s journal in secret, only to find an interesting story about…

She stopped herself there. It was best to not think about it.

On the other hand, Luna was laughing at how different their students were, “Mine is the opposite. Poor Trixie would pass out at the sight of such a tome…”





Both Trixie and Kael’Thas sneezed at the same time in Canterlot City. The former was silently following the latter, who had left the confines of the castle and was on a mission to find bread. Trixie felt nervous about being out in public after everything, for even if she was adored at a stadium like the one in the Crystal Empire it did not mean the general public liked her again. Thus the stalking rather than actual following of Kael’Thas, who was likely confused as to how Trixie managed to eat every piece of plain bread in all of Canterlot Castle. Trixie was only happy that she could make herself invisible while following him.

There seemed to be a lack of understanding how the crowds would react to an Elf. Kael was not reacting to the quiet and murmuring ponies around him, the Elf seeming to have only one goal: finding a place he could obtain more bread. He had already stopped by one bread shop and bought all the rolls they had, and he was on his way to a new shop when he sneezed. Whereas Trixie only confused a couple who were passing by her invisible self, Kael’s sneeze gave him pause long enough to look around and notice that a small crowd of foals had begun to follow him in wonder.

The foals, all of the about half dozen of them being Unicorns, jumped back startled as he looked at them with confusion. One bushy eyebrow lifted as he paused for whatever reason before smiling and adjusting the bag in his arms to be out of his way.

“W-who are you, mister?” one foal asked as Kael prepared to do the same to them. Having been asked first, Kael used a bit of magic to place the food into a pocket dimension to be retrieved later when he reunited with the pony tailing him who was not a child.

The food gone, Kael gave a bow to the small crowd, once again displaying a polite air, “I am Prince Kael’Thas of the Blood Elves, a lost but visiting noble from a faraway land. I am a guest of your nobility.”

“So what are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be at the castle?” another foal questioned, not seeming to understand what was going on.

Kael glanced over to where Trixie was standing silently before looking back at the group of foals, “I decided to play the part of a good guest and I ventured to find treats to present to the princess who is sponsoring my stay here. I understand she is quite the fan of bread, and so I was searching for a bakery. I can conjure bread at will, but she complains it is tasteless while I think it is just ridiculous how she can consume that much so—”

One foal yawning gave Kael the impression that he was boring them with his extraneous information, so he decided to go down a different path of conversing with them.

Able to conjure more than just bread, Kael began to channel the magic he had on loan from Trixie with some of the talents he had pried from his memory.

“Here, let me show you something that I am sure you all will love,” magic glowed around his hands as some objects the size of a foal’s head began to appear floating around him, “A puppet show of a sort.”

The foals all lost whatever confusion might have come to their mind concerning just what a Blood Elf was, and instead they found themselves entranced with the powerful magic being displayed before them. Dismissing food from existence? Summoning objects from nothing? That was unlike anything their parents could do, despite being elite Unicorns and everything!

The first of the objects to appear was a miniature version of Princess Luna, albeit in her pony form rather than her Asgardian-Equestrian form. The foals all were busy saying things like “wow” and “amazing”, so Kael cleared his throat to get the show going.

“So, who can tell me who this puppet represents?”

The foals piped up quickly and without the fear their parents might have when saying the answer, “That’s princess Luna!”

Kael nodded yes while bringing forth the second puppet he made, this one in the likeness of Loki, “And this?”

“Isn’t that the guy who tried taking over Canterlot?” one of the foals asked in confusion. They had seen Loki during his little rampage some time ago, and such a memory was quite the memorable one at such an impressionable young age.

“My—” Kael paused to clear his throat, shifting his tone to be one of sorrow and tragedy, “I mean, you are correct, but most tragically it is said that the poor prince Loki was being forced to.” 

Kael brought forth the next puppet, this one a miniature Thanos that held strings from its palms that dangled down and connected to Loki’s puppet. In effect, Kael was puppeteering the puppet of the man who puppeteered Loki’s stint of madness in Equestria.

Kael had Loki’s puppet interact with Luna’s while Thanos loomed over them both, “An evil man named Thanos from a faraway world wanted him to, and used magic to corrupt the poor prince who was only here enjoying the company of the ponies,” Kael paused his narration to move the puppets so that Loki’s and Luna’s miniature selves were now across from one another, at which point he had them smash heads together to symbolize battle, all the while using small fireworks around them and miniature explosions to spice things up in a variety of colors, “Thanos knew the prince was powerful enough to accomplish the job, but through a struggle of wills the foreign prince managed to sabotage the plan so that Princess Luna here could succeed.”

The small figures stopped fighting, and they instead moved to be next to one another while Thanos was moved back behind Kael.

“So he’s not a bad guy?” the closest foal to Kael asked, a young filly who looked barely old enough to be out and about on her own.

Kael shook his head sorrowfully, “Not any more than you or I. Simply a poor soul forced to do which he abhorred.”

“Aren’t he and Princess Luna dating?” one foal piped up, having heard rumors given the nature of Canterlot.

“Yeah, I hear they’re really lovey dovey!” another added with a snicker.

Kael nodded his face with an amused grin, the figures moving to have it so their lips touched, “That is correct. In fact, they have recently been married, and princess Luna is now a queen of a whole new land in addition to being a princess of this one.”

“Oh wow! She’s like a double princess!”

Kael did not bring up the fact that technically she was a double Queen AND a double princess, being Queen of Asgard and a princess in Equestria and Jotunheim. He had access to all of Trixie’s knowledge, after all. 

With his magic, Kael brought forth his next puppet, one of Trixie in her regular Unicorn form because Trixie would not be happy having her ascension revealed just yet. With this figure, he placed it next to Luna’s in the air and had them brush together momentarily, “Of course, this means she has twice the responsibility, so her student and daughter Trixie Lulamoon will be assisting her in her duties here.”

This mention of Trixie got the foals to start speaking to one another with glee, their faces lighting up at the mention of her and also lightening the mood of the still silent and hidden Trixie.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie won the Equestria Games! I hear they’re naming a stadium after her since she was so awesome!”

“I want to be as strong as princess Trixie when I grow up!”

“She’s not a princess, dummy! Princesses have wings!”

“But isn’t she related to Princess Luna? Wouldn’t that make her a princess too?”

“Wait, she’s Princess Luna’s daughter? How? Luna hasn’t been back that long!”

Kael coughed to draw attention back to himself and his little show, “I admit the circumstances are quite the interesting tale. You see, not but a year ago Trixie was a common pony like any of you. She was struggling in her career, and crowds enjoyed heckling her when she did her job. Princess Luna, one day witnessing this, took Trixie under her wing.”

“So she adopted her?”

That brought a smile to Kael’s face, the Elf pleased that these foals were so smart, “Exactly. Trixie is related to Luna through no blood, but their bond is no different than one of a mother and her daughter.”

“How do you know Princess Trixie?” the first foal to speak asked, being ever the inquisitive one.

Kael brought forth a figure representing himself, though before their eyes he transformed it from looking like the wretch he had been into the handsome body he now had, Trixie moving from being beside Luna to rubbing right against him, “She saved me from a world of darkness and despair that I was trapped in. I have little recollection of the events, but I am indebted to her and we have become fast friends since the occasion.”

“Are you going to get married too?” a very enthusiastic foal piped up from the back. Across the street Trixie blanched, and Kael froze for a moment before recovering and shaking his head no.

“We have known eachother but a short period of time. Haha, you foals are quite the romantics. I will assure you that there is nothing more between us than friendship.”

Not seeming to care what his opinion or the facts were, the filly who spoke before piped up with a question of her own, “Would your foals have long ears?”

Trixie was not going to let this continue on any further, and so she undid her invisibility magic and teleported to be right beside Kael. She coughed to announce her presence as everyone turned to face her with confusion. Kael even dropped his three spare puppets that he still had behind his back, their multicolored bodies and pseudo-hair all falling on top one another and being mixed together in a most humorous fashion.

“Ahem. Kael, may I have a word with you?”

Kael looked to Trixie with a broad smile while also using his borrowed magic to pick up his puppets and straighten them all out.

“Woah, it’s princess Trixie!” the crowd all announced in their own various foal-ish manners

The Elf did his best to intercept the children before they could rush Trixie, using his body to halt them as well as the puppets, “Now now children, I need to speak with my friend in private. I trust that these can amuse you for the time being?”

He floated one doll over to each foal, using the gifts to mesmerize them in the brief moment it took him and Trixie to teleport away from them all. When they reappeared together at the far end of the road, Kael called down to the foals to say goodbye.

“Farewell everyone. I will be sure to visit here again sometime, and perhaps then I can continue all of the stories that I have for you! I didn’t even get into the good stuff yet!”

This done, Kael turned back to Trixie with the same broad smile as before. Her face was much less amused and animated. She wasn’t mad or anything, but she was embarrassed.

“Were you enjoying yourself?”

“Of course. It was quite refreshing to have a light hearted conversation with children instead of dwelling on depressing things,” as they turned to leave Kael threw a thumb over his shoulder while simultaneously summoning back the bag of bread he got earlier, “And besides, using the puppets was fun in and of itself. I must say half of magic is what you do, but the more important half is how you do it.”

His words and the bread now being offered to her made Trixie lose control of her brain for a moment. 

“Marry me.”

“What was that?” Kael asked through a yawn, the magic usage having worn down his body since he was so untrained currently. Even the strongest of athletes had to start from scratch at times.

“Nothing!” Trixie blurted as her brain began to function again, “I, uh, I just was thanking you for the bread.”

To sell the lie, Trixie took a piece from the bag and began to wolf it down while Kael nodded, “Oh, of course.”

Trixie was the one trying to flash a smile now, “I admit my appetite has increased these past days. Tremendously so.”

“You are growing after all. Your body is just getting all the resources it needs to get tal—”

Quiet Kael!

Kael paused instantly and fell to complete silence while Trixie took a breath in. Before he continued or did anything else, Trixie cast her gaze down the next street and found herself seeing a familiar stage. The stage where she had been heckled and assaulted before Luna stepped in so many months ago. Trixie felt a sad smile come to her face as she thought about everything that had happened since in a mere moment, just before realizing that there were three figures up on top of the stage.

Trixie narrowed her eyes as she recognized the three as the singers who Stark had brought to the wedding, and they seemed to have moved on from Asgard as well and returned to Equestria sans Stark. That was their place of origin after all, even if they were in a humanoid form. Like and unlike Luna they were humans with the coloration of a pony, but whereas Luna has a thin layer of fur over her skin Trixie had seen no such thing on the three when she observed them at the wedding. They just had funny skin colors unlike the paleness that Loki and Kael wore.

The singers appeared to be singing to a small crowd, and Trixie smiled at the sight. Things were going well. The three were at least not being attacked by rocks and the like, and they seemed to be earning a little change as they did so.

“Those three…” Trixie murmured to only herself.

Despite this, Kael spoke up as he too looked at the performers, who were then just finishing their performance and preparing to leave the stage, “They were at the wedding. I believe the title for their group was named the Dazzlings. Quite the flashy name, though nothing like a title such as Great and Powerful.”

Trixie snorted at her old moniker used when she was not the most powerful pony alive. She did not need a title to appear great now.

“They seem popular for the new girls on the block. I wonder why?” Trixie responded with quite the large smile of her own now, noticing that the three were heading towards them.

Kael fell quiet and did not answer as the three girls continued to walk their way, their voices going back and forth in what they likely did not consider earshot, but the large eared Elf did.

“That was barely worth the effort, Adagio. I’m tired of fast food. I need a meal. It’s been too long,” the purple one named Aria groaned towards the one at the head of the pack, the orange one, while the blue one kept pace more with Aria.

The leader, Adagio, shot a glance back to her fellow singer, “We will be dining soon enough, Aria. Now, smile and wave for Equestria’s newest princess.”

Adagio lifted her hand to wave all the while smiling towards Trixie, who began to return the wave before the blue singer began to wave exaggeratedly and smile more than everyone involved put together.

Sonata, the blue and senseless one, whispered through her teeth to Adagio, “You mean like this?”

Aria groaned and hung her head, muttering escaping her lips that Kael could only raise his eyebrows at as his sensitive ears picked it up. After a moment the group reached Trixie and Kael, the lead singer being the first to speak.

Adagio gave a polite bow to the duo, “It is good to see you again, Princess. I must thank your family for providing us this opportunity to return home after so long.”

“No need to be so formal. I am a princess in name only after all,” Trixie greeted with a nervous smile. She did not want to come off as some snob, but rather as someone friendly.

Kael took this time to speak up and offer his bag towards the singers, “You know, if food is worrisome for you three, my friend and I have more than enough.”

The three singers gave eachother a look of confusion before Aria took a bread roll out and looked it over for a moment. After coming to the conclusion that there was nothing special about it, she dryly commented, “Thanks.”

“If bread is not to your liking, I am sure that the pantry of the castle will have more palatable meals should you wish to join us.”

Adagio smiled to the Elf eagerly, seeming to enjoy the prospect of going to the castle, “That is most gracious of you.”

“Do they have tacos there?” Sonata excitedly asked, her voice really hyper as she grabbed one of Adagio’s arms tightly from pure excitement.

“Tacos?” Trixie questioned at the same exact time as Kael, neither of them knowing what one of those was.

Aria growled before grumbling to Sonata, “Seriously? We’re going to be inside the royal castle and you want to eat that garbage?”

“Well, I think you’re garbage!” Sonata pouted childishly, Trixie and Kael both coming to the conclusion that this was not exactly the smartest member of these so called “Dazzlings”.

Adagio sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose, the lead quite displeased with how impolite her subordinates were. After a moment of this she flashed Trixie an apologetic smile while raising her hands to cover the still arguing mouths of Aria and Sonata, “Please excuse my associates. They’re idiots.”

Trixie laughed as she saw the annoyed faces on all three of them, her hoof raising to her chest as she spoke warmly, “You know, I once was on these same streets without anything to eat. I can remember just how maddening hunger can make somepony,” she looked between the three and their humanoid forms before correcting herself, “Or somebody, as the case may be.”

The singer girls all looked between themselves and down at their bodies, which varied greatly from the ponies walking around the city except in color. Adagio was the one to speak up, her voice semi-nervous, “Oh, yes. We have just grown so accustomed to these bodies ever since we found ourselves on Earth, or what I believe you call Midgard,” Adagio turned back to the others and tried to get them to not look so annoyed, “And I thank you for your offer. You have all of our thanks.”

To prevent them from having an awkward silence, Kael spoke up as Aria gave a grumbled thanks and Sonata continued to pout, “You are musicians by trade I assume?”

“We have been known to sing from time to time,” Adagio glanced back to Trixie smiling.

Sonata slapped her forehead and chuckled at what her leader said, “Hello? We sing, like, all the time! It's how we get people to do what we want.”

Adagio and Aria both shot Sonata death glares, the two of them also growling in unison as Sonata tried to figure out why they were angry with her, “Wha-What did I say?”

Adagio nudged her partner with some anger escaping her grit teeth, “What you meant to say was that being allowed to join them in Canterlot Castle is most generous and that it would be a great way to possibly meet some ponies with need of our talents.”

Sonata began to laugh nervously as she picked up on the hint, “Ohhhh, yeah. Th-What she said I meant to say. That's what I meant. To say.”

Trixie and Kael looked between themselves, each of them smiling.

This ought to be fun.





After Kael’s offer to let the three starving artists come in and eat, Trixie led the others towards Canterlot Castle’s pantry. She honestly had not eaten there too often, receiving most of her meals from either Luna or servants, but she still did know where it was. The sedentary bookworm Twilight would spend long periods of time in there, so Trixie actually tried to not go there before when they still had a rivalry going on. Now that that was relaxed, she supposed she could visit it more often. She also did not need to work day in and out to grow more powerful, as unknown to many of those around her she possessed greater strength with the Aether than any other being in the world, so she now had time to grab food when she so pleased. And given her increasing size, she needed all she could get.

On the way in Trixie came across both Luna and Loki, the latter of whom appeared to have just arrived himself. He was presenting a single flower to Luna when the party of five came there way, at which point Loki stopped doing anything romantic and cleared his throat.

Trixie addressed them, not fully having received Luna’s attention yet, “Hello, mother, father.”

Luna blinked as she looked over to her surrogate daughter, “Trixie. You have guests I see,” the idea that Trixie might be expanding her roster of friends made Luna feel good, so she smiled to the three women as she began to remember who they were, “Oh, I remember you all, you are the performers from our wedding.”

All three of the Dazzlings kneeled down before Luna, the back two seeming to pick up more on polite customs this time. This being said, Sonata knelt down on both knees while her companions knelt down on one each, but before anyone could notice this flaw Adagio spoke up, “We are indeed. It was an honor to participate in such a noble event.”

Luna nodded, pleased to see some respect for once, “Well, in thanks, should you need anything just let us know. You are now our esteemed guests.”

Adagio stood up and gave a half bow instead, her long and large orange hair threatening to fall forward before she stood up fully again, “We should be just fine, thank you very much. The hospitality already demonstrated by your daughter is generous enough,” looking back to Aria, who had stood up by now, and Sonata, who was still kneeling with her head down, Adagio came up with an idea, “In fact, your highness, would you care for some music to pass the time?”

Luna looked to Loki, who rose his eyebrows to show his level of enthusiasm, before turning back to the others and shaking her head no politely, “I should be fine. I lounge enough as it is. I am going to be going for a walk now.”

“As you wish,” Adagio responded, her face becoming a little less pleased from the rejection.

Loki and Luna turned to leave, the latter whispering to the former, “It is nice to have polite guests who can also entertain.”

“I agree,” Loki responded through yet another whisper, “We should see about tending to that urgent matter your sister’s messenger spoke of earlier.”

“You are right,” Luna muttered before glancing back to the others, “Well, farewell, and enjoy your time back in Equestria!”

With the King and Queen of Asgard having departed for the throne room, Kael clasped his hands together and reasserted their reason for returning to the castle, “So, you three need food, right?”

“You are most kind,” Adagio thanked as she and the other two fell into step behind him and Trixie, Sonata finally realizing it was time to get up.

Sonata pumped her arms up in the air in complete delight, “Woohoo, royal taco time!”

“How haven’t I killed you yet?” Aria grumbled, her eyes shooting daggers into Sonata’s two-toned blue haired, blue skinned head.

“Because you love me?” Sonata giggled, her voice joking to match her amused face.

Aria rolled her eyes and snorted, “Yeah, as if.”

Sonata did not understand what Aria meant and responded confusedly, “Wait, you do? Really? Cuz I thought you hated me!”

At the head of the pack, Trixie looked back to Adagio and stopped to place a hand on her shoulder.

“You know, I think I can understand your pain.”





“Celestia, what is so urgent that I had to interrupt my welcome back to Equestria thing with Loki for? Has another of your ancient threats reawakened and you have just now decided to try and confront the issue?”

Silence hung in the throne room as Celestia struggled to find a response to that, the princess flapping her wings and landing down beside the two.

Now more inside the room, Luna and Loki both looked about it and found that none of the normal guards were present. This was the final nail in the coffin for Luna’s good mood, who then groaned to her sister, “Please do not tell me I was right. I was joking. I did not want to be right this one time.”

“Tirek is no longer bound in his prison, Tartarus,” Celestia mumbled from her throne.

“Tartarus?” Loki questioned, not knowing what that was.

“It is a place he should never have been able to leave,” Luna vaguely explained before growling and massaging her temple, “How have you come across this information?”

Celestia hung her head and sighed, “I had Twilight check on Tartarus as I came to the realization that there are many enemies still unaccounted for or who may return as a threat one day. I believe I got the idea from you.”

Luna was pleased that her previous annoyance with how Celestia constantly let old threats creep up on them had some positive effect, but that still did not find nor stop the escaped Tirek, “The only way to defeat him again would be to hunt him before he can amass as much power as he once had. The more he has, the more he can absorb from others, which means he is most vulnerable at this very moment after starving this past millenium.”

Loki decided to just listen to the two discuss the issue as he had nothing to say, and would likely hear all about it from Luna later. Celestia, on the other hand, continued to chat with Luna, “I have Discord looking for him, but so far his search has been fruitless. It appears Tirek is keeping from using his powers for the time being, leaving no trace as a result.”

Luna began to think out loud about what this so called Tirek may do, “He is not so stupid to challenge us right after gaining his freedom. He will likely prey at ponies at the edge of our land, then move his way inward until he can overwhelm us.”

“I am sure we can find him before that time,” Celestia sighed as she brought a hoof to rub against her stomach, “And I hope he takes his time…you and I are not exactly ready either.”

Luna agreed as Loki wrapped an arm around her, curling it around to touch her taut stomach, “I would not care to fight him once again in our current condition.”

A lightbulb would have appeared above Luna’s head if this was a cartoon, as she suddenly came up with an idea, “Perhaps we should keep my own condition a secret. So long as word does not spread that I am as invalid as you, he may hold back from invading fully. As is, he likely thinks I can crush him with the aid of all of our allies. But if he thinks only Cadance and Twilight stand in his way he will assault us mercilessly. Let us leave him thinking we are a larger threat than we really are.”

Celestia nodded, but that did not solve the immediate problem of if he decided to attack right away, “Perhaps, though we should think about ways to handle him if he does come for either of us before our terms are over.”

Luna paused, trying to think of something that might be able to combat Tirek. The monster was quite adept at absorbing magic, but he could not absorb it in its raw form used to fire in beams. Luna feared using too much of her energy while pregnant, lest it effect her children in some way, but perhaps there was an external power source she could use—

“Of course,” Luna groaned, bringing a hand to her head as she felt a headache come on, “I am an idiot…”

“What is it?” Celestia questioned, unsure as to what Luna was now remembering.

Luna groaned as she summoned the staff she stole from Nick Fury’s agency Shield or whatever on Earth, the same one that Loki used when he was turned against her. She had hidden it away for so long she had forgotten she had it. The last time she used it she had been roughing up some Frost Giants, and she hated herself for not remembering it when she could most certainly have used the extremely powerful weapon. 

Loki’s eyes lit up as Luna began to explain the item she held, “The artifact that I mentioned earlier that tainted Loki. I could have used this against the invading Dark Elves. It is corrupting, but some corruption is better than how I nearly died…”

“From what you’ve said about the Elf invasion it sounds like the confrontation was not exactly something that gave you much time to plan. Do not blame yourself,” Celestia cooed supportively to her sister.

“You are correct, but I still feel stupid. I will continue sealing this away until it is of use, since it is quite powerful. Did it not take you out in a single hit?”

Celestia felt them getting on to changing-the-subject territory again, so she did just that, “It is hard to remember. That whole night is a blur. I am just glad it is in our hooves and not those of whomever controlled your husband.”

Loki waved to her, smiling fakely, “I am still here you know.”

The princess of Equestria just nodded back at him, keeping her eyes on Luna, “Yes, you are. Well done noticing that.”

As Loki began to object, Celestia cut him off to continue addressing Luna, “Well, that is all I had to inform you about. Be careful.”

Loki kissed Luna on the forehead before sweeping her around and pushing her towards the door gently. Luna turned her head back to him, but much like Celestia had he spoke up first.

“Luna, go ahead, I will join you shortly.”

Luna nodded, understanding now that Loki wanted to talk to Celestia. That sounded appropriate after everything that happened. Seeing as she now had a level of stress she did not have before, Luna decided her destination based on how she could work that off, “I will be in our room.”

“Our,” Loki corrected while Luna began to leave, his wife laughing heartily at the trueness of that statement. It was their room now, and they would do their favorite shared activities there.

Once Luna was gone, the door closed, and it was just the two of them, Loki turned to face Celestia with another fake smile, “I get the feeling you don’t like me.”

Celestia sighed. Perhaps she was still having issues liking this man who caused so many issues for their family and Luna over the past year.

“Oh no, I just happen to get along grand with those who have proven to be unreliable and a threat to my nation.”

Loki glanced down and began to smile for real, becoming real smug real fast as he turned her words against her, “You see, your voice says sarcasm, but your swelling stomach says there is some truth in your words.”

Realizing that he did have a point, Celestia still decided not to give in to him despite losing wholly on that point, “Do you ever not have a sly remark?”

Loki shrugged as he took a step towards Celestia, “I wouldn’t know. Unlike yourself, I am so used to humor I have a hard time judging whether or not I am using it.”

Now closer to her, Loki looked the tall horse up in the eye and brought a hand to touch her neck gently, Celestia shivering at his touch, “Listen, I am not here to do anything wrong or hurt anyone. I am content to rule my land and make up for all the wrongs I have done. I do not know if Luna has told you this, but I have paid for my crimes. I spent years in a world that is a literal Hel that was full of suffering, despair, and torment. I have seen things worse than you ever will, and I do not want to ever inflict those things on others again. I have realized what I have done, realized that my actions even when I was controlled have hurt people.”

His feelings having been said, Celestia found herself mulling over the details. After about ten seconds of complete silence she spoke up, her eyes narrowed on Loki.

“You hurt Luna, you hurt her foals, and I will do everything in my power to end you.”

That rose a laugh out of Loki, “Well I don’t see how you could manage that since I’m sure a race of warriors could annihilate a race of peace loving equines, but then again you will not need to go after me as I am not going to hurt Luna. I promise you that.”

Celestia’s mood had become too sour to comment back on that, finding herself not trusting and not hating her in-law all at once. This silence gave Loki time to address Celestia’s swollen womb, his hand then removed from her neck so he could take a step to the side to observe her increased size, “Have you thought of a name yet?”

“I am not sure yet, but that is a matter to be discussed between its father and I. Not you,” Celestia snorted, not moving an inch and refusing to do so as long as he did not touch her again. She did not want to give him the idea that she feared him.

Thinking that he had gotten his point across well enough, Loki gave another shrug before turning to leave much like Luna had been forced to, “I will prove whatever opinions you have of me wrong with time, but for now I have a wife to attend to.”

“Attend to?” Celestia questioned instantly, though she grew to regret it just as fast.

Loki grinned wildly on his way out, “Surprisingly becoming pregnant has not slowed her down at all. Now, you should rest well with that big stomach of yours while I go make your dear sister moan my name loud enough to keep you awake.”

Upon closing the door to the slackjawed Celestia, Loki only added, “Sleep well!”

Celestia was beginning to reconsider not hating him. He would definitely have to earn her respect, and making Luna keep everyone awake at night instead of help them sleep was not a good start. Especially since Celestia’s room was within earshot of Luna’s.

Celestia only hoped the soundproofing spell Luna used on her own room was still in effect…