//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Life with Twilight // by Brony Chronicler //------------------------------// I can’t believe it’s all come down to this. Just when I finally start to live in the world around me, I lose it all. Everyone’s now huddled together in a small circle, listening to the sounds of screaming coming from outside. I can hear Queen Chrysalis’s army hissing and roaring as they tear through the streets, and can only imagine what’s going on out there. The Queen herself is standing in the doorway, watching the chaos unfold. Every so often she takes her eyes off the pandemonium to look at me, making sure I look just as miserable as I’m feeling. I look back at the portal and see the creature who was once my wife standing before it. She doesn’t move; only stands there with a blank face, as though she's expecting the Queen to tell her something. I don’t even know if she has a will of her own anymore. The Queen got her wish; my happiness has been completely crushed. All I feel now is pain and sorrow, and even worse than I did before. The woman I love is gone, and now I’m about to lose my home as well. All I have to remember her by is the locket I hold in my hands. It should be making me happy, but instead it just causes additional misery as it just reminds me of the good times I had with Twilight… the ones that I will never get to have again. As I sit there, wallowing in my sorrow, I feel something grab my shoulder. At first I’m a little scared, given all the tension befalling. I turn around and see it’s my sister, a look of concern on her face. She glances at Twilight and gets close to my ear and whispers, “Tai, you’ve got to try and get through to her. She’s the only one who can fix this.” “Lauren…” I respond. “Look at her, she’s not even blinking. I don’t know if…” “Tai,” she says, “You were the closest to her out of any of us. If anyone can figure this problem out, it’s you. We’re all counting on you.” I take another look at her, her face now bearing a expression of determination. I glance back at everyone else. I see Scott trying to comfort Liz and their yet to be born child. I see everyone else trying to comfort each other and to block out the horrible noises. They all look so miserable—maybe even worse off than me. I wonder what will happen when the Changelings finish off the town. Would the Queen allow her minions to harm us? She said she wouldn,’t but she already betrayed Twilight’s deal about leaving this world. I don’t know, but I’m not ready to find out. Sis is right; there are too many lives at stake. I need to get through to Twilight… somehow. I take another look at Twilight’s locket and try to come up with a plan. I remember what the Queen said about Twilight having so much magic that it may have a mind of its own. Quite frankly, I believe it. I remember a few times during our training sessions that whenever Twilight got extremely frustrated or happy, she’d accidently release a few bursts of magic, the likes of which would have unpredictable effects. One time she was practicing levitation on a plate and a funny commercial popped up that made her laugh. She wound up accidently turning the plate into a frog, a spell we never quite figured out. It’s a long shot, but at this point I’m willing to try just about anything. If I can get her to laugh or maybe even smile, maybe I can trigger one of her random magic bursts and somehow fix all this. At least… I hope I can. While the Queen is enjoying the show, I creep over to Twilight. She follows my movements with her eyes, but remains silent as though awaiting my next course of action. “Twilight…are you in there?” I ask. She simply lets out a light growl and readies her claws. I swallow hard and continue my approach towards her. “It’s me… Tai? Your husband? Don’t you remember all the fun times we had?” I place my hand on her shoulder, but she claws me away, and strikes my across the face with the back of her hand, sending me flying into the wall. The Queen hears the commotion and looks behind her. She quickly catches on to what I’m doing and lets out an evil laugh. “You little fool. She doesn’t remember you. Well, at least not the good times,” she says. “What do you mean… the good times?” I say, as I slowly pick myself off the ground. “When we Changelings feed, we suck out all memories from our victims. But when we assimilate a victim, we devour their good memories and give them back their bad counterparts. Those memories are injected into them through our fangs along with the special venom that transforms them. All Changelings feel nothing but anger and sadness. Which makes it kind of ironic that we feed on happiness to gain power. Happiness is after all such a bother—it’s what motivates us do things, pick ourselves up and strive for a better tomorrow. If my servants all felt happiness, they might start breaking away from my command, and I wouldn’t be much of a queen, now would I?” She goes back to splendoring in the miasma of chaos, as I hang my head in defeat. This is it. I’ve lost her for sure. Even worse, I’ve lost everything else—my friends, my sister, and my world. I start to shed a few tears. I know I must look pathetic, sitting here crying like a little kid, but that’s exactly how I feel. I take another look at Twilight’s locket in my hands, thinking back on the day I first gave it to her. That was one of the most magical days of my life—the day we first started our relationship. But even before that, we still had a lot of fond memories. Our movie nights at home, our various trips to the museums, and so much more. Twilight may have been a bit of a pain at first. Finding her a job wasn’t easy, the oven incident wasn’t much fun, and there was basic education of this world, but in the end, everything turned out okay. That’s when my brain clicks. I lift my head up and look back at Twilight. She simply glares at me, as though she expects me to make another move. I put on a small smile, and look up at her. “Hey Twilight, you remember the first time you applied for a job?” I ask her. She starts to growl. “You remember, how you couldn’t finish the application, because you didn’t have a social security number?” I continue, as Twilight growls louder. “You remember, how we had to go through all that stuff… just so you could work in this country?” I start giving off a few chuckles as I rise to my feet. Twilight starts making hissing noises. “You remember those long nights, how much studying you had to go through and how I had to eventually call up my sister for help? Wasn’t that frustrating, wasn’t that one of the most pain-staking situations you'd ever had to go through? Having to learn all that stuff in so little time?” Twilight swipes at me, knocking me back down to the floor. She moves in for another attack, but I just look up and smile at her. “Do you remember what happened next?” Twilight hesitates, if only for a moment. “After all that studying and my sister pulling a few strings, we eventually succeeded. We celebrated with cake and ice cream at home. We also laughed at how silly this whole thing was, all this trouble just for a stupid number. All just to finish a lousy application.” Twilight’s face starts to shift from that of anger to one of confusion. My plan was working, I was starting to get through. “You remember the first few jobs you got? How you got fired after about a week of work? Weren’t you frustrated?” Twilight growls a bit, as I manage to pull myself back onto my feet. “And you got that job at the library, and earned enough to go to the aquarium? You remember all the fun we had? You remember the starfish incident? ” Twilight starts looking away, as though something was going on inside of her. “You… remember the night we fought? How you thought I was some kind of lunatic? How you yelled at me, and said you never wanted to see me again? Do you also remember how you regretted those words, and you so badly wanted to apologize?” Twilight remains silent as I wrap my arms around her. “And … do you remember what happened after that?” I hug her tight, and she remains still. Finally after a full minute, her arms slowly start to wrap around me. Suddenly a magenta aura forms around her hands just as she pulls me into a hug. The two of us become covered in a bright light, of which the Queen quickly takes notice. When I can finally see again, I see Twilight hugging me. All her Changeling features have completely disappeared, and she now looks once again like the girl I love. She doesn’t look up, just squeezes me tighter. “Thank you Tai… I love you.” She says gracefully. I close my eyes, and rest my head against her shoulder. “I love you too, Twilight,” I say with a smile. “IMPOSSIBLE!” the Queen shouts, “How could you have cured her without the Elements of Harmony?!” “Because I have something you don’t,” Twilight says, turning her head to face the Queen. She closes her eyes and rests her head on my shoulder. “A truly close friend, who’s able to fill me with laughter and happiness, even in the worst of times.” The Queen glares at us with a sneer. “You said it yourself Chrysalis—happiness is what motivates us to do things, pick ourselves up and strive for a better tomorrow. Tai reminded me of what happiness was, and that gave me the power to fight back against your assimilation. “In fact the same thing happened when my friends and I were corrupted by Discord. We were so angry at each other that we couldn’t remember all the happiness we experienced as friends. Princess Celestia sent me those letters of friendship and reminded me of all the good times I had with my friends. If your assimilation can’t even stand up to that, your magic is no different than Discord’s. Honestly, I find that to be truly pathetic.” “YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE WRETCH!” The Queen shouts as she once again changes form. This time casting away all humanoid features and morphing into her true cast—a coal-black horse with shredded insect wings and a crooked horn atop her head. “If I can’t have the power of the elements, I’ll make it so nobody does!” She fires a green beam from her horn, and it heads straight for Twilight and I. I attempt to turn the two of us around, so I take the blunt of the blow instead of Twilight. But before I can make it, Twilight holds out her hand and creates a protective force field around the both of us, blocking the Queen’s attack. A look of shock fills her face. “Did you forget, Chrysalis? You restored some of my memories of Equestria, and thanks to that burst of magic, I now remember everything. Including all the spells I learned during my time as Princess Celestia’s student.” The Queen fires two rapid blasts, but Twilight blocks both of them. The Queen looks at our friends and fires at them, but Twilight creates a shield around them as well. She gazes at Twilight, who wears a determined look on her face. She grits her teeth as her horn starts to glow once again. A green aura appears around various objects in the room, and the Queen starts hurling them into the shield. Twilight’s hands shake upon impact, but she still holds the shield up just fine. The Queen fires even more blasts into the shield, ones much bigger than before. Twilight holds her position for a good while, but she eventually falls to her knees. I get close to her and see sweat pouring down her face. She’s giving it her all, but she can’t keep the shield up much longer. I look at the Queen, and notice she’s starting to sweat as well. I can see a great look of rage and determination in her eyes. She’s completely set on breaking through Twilight's barrier no matter what. She’s got all effort focused on that one task. That’s when I get another idea, and get down to Twilight’s level. “Honey…” I say to her. “Release the shield.” “Release it?” She asks. “She’s weakening. If you can release the shield at just the right time…” “But Tai, what if one of those blasts…” I wrap my arms around her. “I’ll be the one to protect you this time,” I say. Twilight gives me a slight nod and drops the shield as I move into protect her with my body. Just as the shield dissipates, one of the Queen’s blasts ricochets off it. The blast hits the Queen with full force, zapping her with green lighting as she’s flung back against the wall. She falls to the ground, causing her magic to become undone. Twilight casts one more shield protecting everyone from the falling objects. When the coast is clear, Twilight picks herself up, and walks towards the Queen, who’s struggling to stand up. “It’s over Chrysalis,” Twilight says, “You have threatened the people of my home in Equestria and now you have threatened the people of my home here. You’ve had this coming for a very long time.” She folds her hands as they start to glow once again, and swings them outwards as the Queen charges at her. Suddenly chains come from behind the Queen and seize her just before she reaches Twilight. The Queen looks behind her to see a black portal from which the chains are emerging. “What… What have you done?” she panics. “I’m banishing you to Tartarus,” Twilight says, “Believe me, I truly despise having to do this, but you’ve pushed me so far that I simply have no other choice.” The Queen struggles against the chains, but she is no match for them. Her horn starts glowing, as do all four of her hooves. She keeps pushing hard and manages to get her hooves on the ground, her magic holding them down to the floor. She looks at Twilight with a furious grimace, sweat running all down her face. “Fight all you want; it’s useless. Once those chains find their target, there is no escape,” Twilight assures She looks at the portal that Chrysalis opened earlier. “As for your minions…” She reaches out her arms and casts a spell on the portal. It starts picking up speed, creating a huge gust in the room. At first nobody is sucked into it, everyone is able to stay on the ground without any problems. Changelings start flying in through the doors and windows, and disappearing into the portal like a vacuum cleaner. “I’m sending them to Princess Celestia’s kingdom in Canterlot. She’ll know what to do with them.” The Queen watches in anger as her servants are sucked into the portal. Her gritted teeth curve into a sinister grin as she lets out another evil laugh. “I’m afraid Princess Celestia isn’t at Canterlot, she’s locked away at my castle.” Twilight simply takes another look at her. “I will send them to Princess Luna, and alert her of Celestia’s current whereabouts.” “I’m afraid Princess Luna already knows, she’s guarding my palace,” the Queen responds. “As a Changeling.” “What?” Twilight asks with a bit of shock. “Without you, the other five Elements of Harmony were powerless, leaving Equestria without it’s most powerful means of defense,” The Queen says. “Which just made it that much easier to assimilate each and every acre of land that I could find. Princess Cadenece, your brother, your parents… they all serve me now. The only one that I spared was Princes Celestia herself. You could imagine the look on her face when she returned to find her loved ones now my Changeling servants. I trapped her within a pod in my own throne room, where I could watch her wallow away in misery, day by day.” “And my friends… what about them?” Twilights asks. I can tell by looking at her face she already suspects the answer, but doesn’t want to accept it. The Queen smiles and turns to the shattered crystal orb on the floor. She uses her magic to levitate a broken shard into Twilight’s hands. “Take a look for yourself,” she says with an evil grin. Twilight looks deep into the shard, an expression of concern washing over her face. I come up behind her, to see for myself. The shard starts to show something… and Twilight stares with great fear. There in the shard, is a dungeon. With five Changelings, all chained to the wall by their necks. They each have a different hairstyle, that match the styles of the other five ponies, albeit much messier and duller. They all stare at each other for a brief moment, before making loud hissing sounds. They try to bite one another, but are held back by the chains. Twilight gazes with a horrified face. “Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy… no,” she gasps, falling to her knees and tears pouring out of her eyes. I get down on the ground to try and comfort her, as the Queen starts to laugh again. “Equestria is now my kingdom, and without me to command them, my Changelings will give into their feral instincts. They will battle each other for supremacy, savagely fighting day in and day out. They will destroy one another and anything that gets in their path. And even if your precious Princess Celestia does mange to escape her prison, two years of starvation have rendered her weak. She’ll be a sitting duck for all those angry Changelings and Equestria will crumble.” She takes a good look at me. “But don’t take it too hard dear. After all, you get to stay here in your NEW home, with your PERFECT husband. I’m sure you’ll forget all about it eventually.” She releases the spell around her hooves, and lets the chains pull her into the portal, laughing maniacally as she goes in. The last of the Changeling minions fly into their portal and both dissipate in a bright beam of light, leaving everyone silent. I look back down at Twilight, who is still down on her knees. She now has her whole face buried in her hands, tears pouring out between her fingers. I look at her with a sorry face; I completely understand what’s she going through. I crawl over to her front, and move her hands away as I pull her into a hug. I let her cry into my chest for about two whole minutes, as I hold her tight. After she calms down a bit, I lift us both onto our feet, and pull her away a bit. “Twilight,” I say. She doesn’t look up. “Tai… I have to go back.” “What?” “I have to go back to Equestria… I’m the only one who can help them.” She finally looks up at me, her face now soaked with tears. I can tell just by looking at her how much pain she’s in right now, as I felt the exact same way when she was in that coma. I don’t argue with her, or even tell just how dangerous it may be. I just put my hands on her shoulders, and look her straight in the eye before speaking. “I understand…” I say, “And I’ll go with you. I’ll help as best I can.” Twilight sniffs, and looks back down. She lets loose a few more tears, before shaking her head. “No Tai, you need to stay here. It’s far too dangerous for me to take you.” “But… Twilight, I…” She puts her fingers to my lips, silencing me. “With all those Changelings around, I know you would not be able to handle yourself. Just look at how you handled Queen Chrysalis on your own. On top of that, there are more dangerous creatures in Equestria, some of which Princess Celestia had sealed away for centures. No doubt they're running around as well. I may not always be there to help you, and if something happened to you…” I take hold of her hand, and press it to my chest. “Twilight, I’m willing to take that risk with you. You’re my wife, I’d be willing to take any risk for you.” “But what about for them?” Twilight says, glancing behind me. I turn around and see all of our friends staring at us. “You once told me, that before we met… you didn’t have any friends. You didn’t have anything that made your life worthwhile. Well now you do. I’ve watched you grow Tai, and you’ve come a long way since the day we met.” She turns away from me, as more tears fall from her eyes. “And I just can’t bear the thought of seeing something bad happen to you after all you’ve gone through, especially if it was on my account.” My eyes start to tear up. I understand what’s she saying, and I will respect her wishes. But that doesn’t make the pain any easier. “You know…” I start to say. “They’re your friends too.” “I know, and that only makes this so much harder for me,” Twilight responds. She turns to face me, keeping her eyes closed as more tears roll down her face. “But sometimes… we have to do what’s hard in order to do what’s right.” I remain silent for a moment, before I put my hand on her shoulder. Twilight looks up into my eyes. “And though we face many hardships, if we can just push our way forward, ultimately we can find our rewards,” I say to her. Twilight sniffs and wipes some tears away. “Yes…” she says, managing to put on a slight smile. “Promise me…” I start to say. “That you’ll be safe. You’ll fix everything in Equestria and get things settled. And one day, when the time is right… you’ll come home. And we’ll be together again, and start our new life.” “And promise me…” Twilight says, “That you’ll maintain your friendships, and make new ones. And that you’ll get a great career that makes you happy. And… don’t feel the need to keep my existence a secret, share it with those you meet. So when I do eventually come home, I’ll have a great life waiting for me.” “I will…” I say to her. “And, let this be a symbol of that promise.” I put the locket around her neck and she looks at me with a smile. “Thank you, Tai. For everything. For filling my life with joy, for helping me stop Queen Chrysalis, and for showing me what true love is.” “And thank you… for all you’ve done to change my life,” I reply, looking back at my friends. “Don’t worry Twilight, we’ll take care of him,” Scott says. “You can count on it,” Liz adds. Twilight and I take one last look into each other’s eyes, before we wrap our arms around each other and embrace in one last kiss. We hold each other tight for what seems like an eternity, just lost in each other at the moment. Finally, we separate and she walks into the portal. Her hands start glowing and she’s covered in a bright magenta light. When it fades her form is now that of a lavender colored unicorn, large wings spread out at her side. The portal closes as everyone looks in awe at the sight before them I stand there for about a whole minute; just staring at the area where the portal once was, a tear running down my eyes. That’s when Scott comes up and puts his arm around me. “You did the right thing, Tai. Don’t worry; she’ll be back one day,” he says to me. I dry my tears, before putting on a smile. “Yeah, she will,” I respond. Liz approaches me. “How about we all go to Burger Joint? It’ll help cheer you up,” she says. “Sounds good,” I say Ten months have passed since that day. True to my promise to Twilight, I’ve succeeded in getting a great career. I don’t really feel like saying what it is right now, but I can tell you it’s a heck of lot better than my last job. My friendships still remain strong, especially with Liz and Scott. Their little daughter Brandi is the cutest little thing ever, and they’ve also adopted a son named Rick. I drop by two or three times a week to visit them, and sometimes take the kids to the latest movies. They really do love those Pixar films, and are even starting to enjoy some of the old Disney films I have in my collection. And you might be wondering about that whole Changeling attack, huh? Well, nobody knows for sure whether it was real or not. It happened so fast that there were barely any news reporters that could make the scene. The victims themselves couldn’t remember anything and nobody knows whether or not to believe the other witnesses. There is a little footage, but rumor has it that it’s fake. Either way, the whole thing is dismissed as an urban legend, with only my friends and I knowing the truth. So now I’m here at home, enjoying some “me time”, watching Alien yet again. I still pull it out to think back on those nights I spent with Twilight watching it, and all of a sudden a portal opens in my kitchen. I go over and look at it, when a figure walks out. It’s a tall and magnetic horse, with a flowing colorful main and a crown on her head. She also has a long horn and a large set of wings. “Are you Tai Bantly?” the horse asks. “Yes,” I respond. “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and former mentor of Twilight Sparkle.” “Yeah, I know; I watch the cartoon.” The princess raises an eyebrow. “Yes… Twilight did mention something about a cartoon,” she says. “How is she?” I ask, “Is she okay?” Celestia simply smiles and gives me a nod. “Yes, she was successful in her mission, and the Changeling swarms have been defeated. Thanks to her actions, Equestria has now entered a state of peace.” I give a small sigh of relief. “But… “ Celestia continues. I look at her with a bit of concern. “She is now burdened with another matter… one that I feel only you can help her with.” I stare at her with a bit of interest. Celestia gives me a stern look. “If you promise, to remain by her side. To stick by her during the good times and the bad, and promise to always love her for the rest of your life. I will allow her to return to this world… and stay with you.” “Yes… I will,” I say, “I promise.” Celestia smiles and steps aside. “I present you with… your lovely wife.” Twilight steps out of the portal, once again in her human form. She’s wearing a sparkling white dress, incredibly long in leg area. Two winged ponies come out of the portal with her, hovering at her sides, carrying the edges of her dress in their mouths. I recognize them from the show as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and they don’t look at all like Changelings. A white pony with a purple mane exits the portal and runs up to me. I recognize her to be the one named Rarity. “I do apologize for this rather awkward presentation,” she says, pointing to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “But human dresses aren’t exactly my specialty.” Finally a pink pony hops out followed by an orange pony wearing a stetson hat. They’re Pinkie Pie and Applejack respectively. Pinkie hops over to me and hugs my neck, pulling me down to her level. “Oooh, I gotta say Twilight, you sure can pick ‘em. I mean I’m no expert on humans; in fact this is the first time I’ve ever seen one. But I gotta say…” “Pinkie!” Rarity says, using her magic to pull the hyper active pony away. I get to my feet and finally get to take a good look at Twilight. Once again she looks as beautiful as ever. But I notice she has something in her arms, it looks kinda like a bundle of blankets. She comes up to me and I take look at what she’s carrying. I pull a few blankets away, and see it’s a human baby, with some little bits of hair the same color as Twilight’s. The baby turns to look at me, and opens it’s eyes. They’re the same color as mine. I suddenly become surprised and look up at Twilight. “Twilight… is this…” I say. She simply smiles and gives a gentle nod. “Congratulations Tai… you’re a father now.” Tears start falling from my eyes as my mouth curves into a smile. I-I can’t believe this. Me? A father? “But why didn’t…” I say to Twilight. “I didn’t know,” she responds, before taking a glance at Princess Celestia. “It was Princess Celestia, who first informed me that I was pregnant. And that’s when I realized just how important it was for me to complete my mission, so that you could see your new baby girl.” I take another glance at the baby; she’s truly a sight to behold. “She’s so beautiful,” Fluttershy says, positioning her front legs in a folded hands position. “She’s just like Applebloom the day she was born,” Applejack says, taking a good long look at the baby. “I can’t wait 'till she’s older and I can start showing her my moves,” Rainbow Dash says, making punching and kicking gestures. “CAN I BE HER BABYSITTER?” Pinkie Pie shouts. “There will be plenty of time for that later,” Celestia says, as she walks up to Twilight and me. “But for now, this child is a descendent of two worlds. Like Twilight, she too posseses magic and will one day wield the element of magic just like her mother. Therefore, I believe it is best that she has the experience of both worlds and is raised properly by her two parents. Until then, Twilight, you will continue to wield the element of magic and should Equestria ever fall into peril again, you must come to our aid. Spike will act as my messenger.” She turns to the portal, to which a little purple dragon emerges, carrying suitcases with him. “Hey Twilight… looks like we’ll be rooming again,” he says. Twilight smiles and gets down to his level, hugging him while still holding onto the baby. “Thank you, Princess,” I say as I throw my arm over Twilight. We exchange smiles. “But why should we only come in times of peril?” Celestia simply smiles. “I thought you’d say that. Regardless, I leave her in your hands. Come, my little ponies. Let's leave these four to settle.” All the ponies head for the portal, while Rainbow Dash drags Pinkie Pie away. “WAIT!! Can I be her babysitter?” Pinkie screams just before Rainbow drags her into the portal. “Of course you can Pinkie, you can babysit her whenever we come to Equestria,” Twilight calls. “Ahh” Pinkie says, finally giving up her fight and allowing Rainbow to take her into the portal. The portal closes, leaving Twilight, Spike, our daughter and I alone. “In the meantime…” says Twilight, “Spike, you’ll be her regular sitter.” “What me?” Spike asks, “But I’m supposed to be the messenger should Princess Celestia need you. “You can do both,” Twilight says with a slight chuckle, “Spike, Tai and I both need to work in order to support this family and we need somebody to take care of our daughter while we’re both away for the day. Besides, what else are you going to do all day?” “Well…” Spike says, “I suppose. “We’ll make it worth your while,” Twilight says. “You have any gems to snack on?” Spike asks. “Even better: pizza,” I say, showing Spike a sample slice from the fridge. Spike takes a bite and jumps up in excitement. “Holy cow, that’s good.” “I thought you’d say that,” I respond with a smile, “And you can have the spare bedroom all to yourself, provided you don’t mind sharing when my sister comes to visit.” I point to the spare bedroom, and Spike walks in. I hear some shuffling and clothes flying all over the place. “Oh wow, what is all this stuff? Is it clothing? I’ve never seen clothing like this. How do you put it on?” I laugh a little bit, as I go back over to Twilight. “Remind you of anyone?” I ask. “Yeah,” Twilight responds with a giggle, “Don’t worry, I’ll be the one to educate him, I also think we should get some new furniture to accommodate his small stature.” “I think we’re going to wind up raising two children,” I say with a smile. “Speaking of which, she still needs a name,” Twilight says, placing the baby in my arms. “I thought I’d let you have that honor.” I smile at her, and take a good, long look at my baby girl. “I think I know...” I say after a good minute. “How about we name her after my mother… Teresa Bantly?” “I think that’s a fine name,” Twilight says, hugging me and looking at our daughter. I pull Teresa close to me and kiss her on the forehead, and turn to my side and kiss Twilight on the lips. I think my life… has just taken a turn for the better.