Twilight glanced up towards the quietly ticking clock in the waiting room of the Ponyville hospital. She knew that Celestia hated the fact that Twilight was going to this final check up without her but there was nothing to be done about it. Right as they were climbing into the chariot, a full of himself noble demanded her wife’s attention. No matter how many times he had been informed that Celestia was not seeing any petitioners, he refused to budge.
Twilight shook her head, remembering her wife’s hurt expression as she turned back to the throne room. That stick up his butt, I hope he chokes on it.
“Twilight Everfree?” The nurse called as she stepped into the waiting room, a clipboard levitating in front of her face.
Slowly, Twilight pushed herself out of her chair and waddling after the nurse. “I feel like a beached whale.” She chuckled as she stepped up onto the scale looking away from the results.
The nurse glanced at the weight and wrote it down with a chuckle “At almost eleven months along, most mothers do, my dear. This is your last check up before we celebrate the first born Prince or Princess isn’t it?”
Twilight nodded, stepping off the scale and following her into the exam room. A board on the wall was covered with letters and pictures of smiling foals. “That's right. Dr. Tenderhoof says I should go into labor sometime this week or early next week.”
The nurse nodded. “Well then, this’ll be your last chance to see your foal before you hold them in your hooves.” The nurse looked the clipboard over before her eyebrow raised. “Hmm, says here that neither you nor your wife have actually seen an ultrasound of your little one?”
Twilight’s ear flicked. “Ah... my wife and I have decided we want our first foal to be a surprise. She says after living as long as she has, a surprise is a welcome thing.”
The nurse glanced at Twilight’s expression. “Is that right? Well how do you feel about surprises, Twilight?”
Twilight tapped her hoof on the table and swallowed. “Oh... uh, well truthfully? I’m not crazy about surprises. You said that the ultrasound machine is available?” Twilight knew that Celestia would be disappointed that they wouldn’t share the surprise together but Twilight was already certain she knew what her foal was going to be. As the pregnancy came from two alicorn mares, probability showed a ninety seven percent likelihood that the foal was a filly alicorn. But it would be nice to make one hundred percent certain of this.
The nurse nodded. “Oh yes, I made doubly certain it would be ready in case you changed your mind. To let you in on a little secret, Twilight, most mothers do.”
Twilight took a deep breath then nodded. “Yeah, all right. I suppose I am more than ready to see my foal.” Her smile spread across her face. “Yeah. Let's do it.” Twilight laid back on her back as the nurse applied some warm gel onto her quite large belly. The nurse levitated a strange looking wand onto her belly and moved it around. After only a few seconds, Twilight could hear the familiar ‘whoosh whoosh’ of her child’s heart beat. A smile covered her muzzle, Twilight would never get tired of hearing that wonderful sound after so many times of never hearing it.
“All right, Twilight, turn your head this way so you can see your foal.” The nurse gently called over the sound of the foal’s heartbeat.
Twilight sat up a bit, bracing herself on her foreleg to get a better look. She turned and stared at the image. Her foal, her and Celestia’s foal was curled up just a bit—its head down and one of its hooves in its mouth. It was obvious nothing was wrong with her foal—as she had secretly worried since the test came back positive.
She laughed in relief, wiping a tear away. Four hoofs, a little muzzle, two wide open eyes. No horn, a pegasus then? Twilight shook her head, taking more of the details of her child in. A full coat covered its body. and bits of their mane fell into their eyes like Celestia’s non-magical mane had a tendency to do. Twilight watched as the foal shifted a bit, exposing their wingless back.
An earth pony?
“Well here’s the big question, Twilight, shall we try to get the little one to open those back legs up for us just a bit?” The nurse asked, watching Twilight’s eyes take in every inch of her child.
A silent nod was her only response as she pressed in just the right spot to make the foal kick out. “Well, Twilight, it seems that you are having a son. Congratulations!”
A son…An earth pony son…
Twilight wasn’t sure how she got out of the doctor’s office. She had the ultrasound picture of her foal, her son, in a yellow envelope. She shook her head and stared at the ground in shock.
A son? But my calculations… Twilight shook her head again—harder this time—and sighed. Taking the ultrasound out of the envelope, her eyes looked over the image of her son.
He was beautiful. A smile began to grow on her muzzle as the shock faded away. “I’m having a son.” She breathed out the word and it made her feel warm inside. As she walked around the streets of Ponyville, she found her way to the park where several foals were climbing on the jungle gym. She she sat on a bench to watch the foals play.
“In a few years my son will be out there with them.” Twilight tried to imagine it what would he be like. Strong for certain, it was an earth pony trait, but she desperately hoped her son would not bully ponies smaller than him.
She laid a hoof on her belly as she continued watching. Her son wouldn’t spend much of his time in Ponyville though. Twilight’s ears pinned back as she realized her son would be Celestia’s first born. He would be a Prince, her heir apparent. Twilight shivered as she envisioned how the nobles would react to the fact that their prince was an Earth pony.
Her eyes closed tightly, trying to force the images of the noble’s faces away from her mind.
How will my son do against those stuck up unicorns? I can just imagine what they’ll say about him… Phrases such as ‘dirty blood’ and even the idea that Twilight had cheated on Celestia caused Twilight to silently cry out.
What if Celestia believed them? What if she leaves me and our son? What if she takes our son and forbids me from seeing him? Twilight felt herself begin to shake as she got up from the park bench and began to walk back to where the guards were waiting to take her home.
She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as Cadance taught her long ago. Feeling a bit better, she picked the ultrasound picture back up in her magic and froze.
Wh-what if he is scared of me! Instantly, images of her son nervously walking into her lab to try to get her attention as she worked on something dangerous and magical came to mind. She cringed as she imagined her barking at him for disturbing her.
Magic is my whole life... What if he thinks I don’t love him as much as I would if he had a horn? Twilight’s heart broke as she saw images of herself helping a unicorn student as her own son sat ignored in a corner—his hoof feeling where a horn would be.
Twilight shakily bowed her head to the guards as she climbed into the chariot—closing her eyes to hold back the tears. Visions of her son running away to find ponies who understood him filled her mind.
As the chariot lifted into the air, a final fear rent at her heart. What if he doesn’t want to call me mom… With that final thought, she curled up on the bottom of the chariot and the tears fell unabashed as her sobs shook her body..
Celestia paced back and forth as she waited for the chariot to land, much to Luna’s amusement. “Tia, if this is how you are when she has gone to a simple check up, how will you be once she is in labor?”
Celestia glanced over to where her sister was laying. “I will be in the delivery room holding her hoof. Tell me, do we need an ambassador to the Dragon lands?”
Luna cocked her ear. “I do not believe so. In fact, I am almost certain they requested we not send a soft pony to their lands.”
Celestia nodded with a snort. “After dealing with dear Wellington, I’m almost tempted to send him.”
Luna lifted an eyebrow.
“I said almost—Oh! There’s the chariot!” Celestia and Luna both moved back, giving the chariot room to land. Celestia eagerly rushed to the cab but froze at the sounds of Twilight’s sobs. Nearly ripping the door to the chariot off, Celestia’s eyes widened at what she saw. Celestia’s mane stopped moving; turning to light pink as fear filled her heart.
No. The-There can’t be anything wrong with the foal...This was just a check up...Please…
Twilight looked up to see Celestia gazing down at her, the fear radiating from her. Celestia swallowing hard. “The foal?”
Twilight smiled, tears falling down her cheeks. “He is beautiful.”
It hadn’t taken Celestia long to get Twilight back to their room where they laid on their bed, Celestia’s forelegs wrapped around Twilight as they looked at the ultrasound. She looked at the image, her eyes wide and ringed with moisture. Twilight was right, he’s beautiful.
“Sweetheart, if our son…” ”Our son.” Wow, that’s going to take a few days to get used to. “if our son is healthy, why were you crying so hard?”
After some coaxing, Twilight spilled her fears that their son would be made to feel as a second class pony, that he would be scared of her. that he wouldn’t feel worthy, and most of all, that he wouldn’t call her mom.
Celestia sat up letting her wife lay against her for a moment before speaking. “Twilight, I would never let anypony treat our son like that. He will be their prince and my heir whether he can raise the sun or not.” She shook her mane as it once again returned to its trio of colors. “As for thinking I’d leave you…” Celestia turned a smile her way. “Twilight, face it. This is forever, and you are stuck with me.”
Twilight blushed and nodded. “Are you saying that being with you is a bad thing because I have several hundred scrolls worth of… poetry that says elsewise.”
Celestia’s smile turned warmer. “I may have to read them sometime.” She lifted her head. “Now, back to our foal. Our son will grow up loved by his two mothers, two aunts, an uncle, grandparents, and all of his godmothers. And as for him being afraid of you? I must admit, sweetheart, you get a bit… scary, even to me. But that's just the sign you need a break and that we need a family day.”
Twilight’s blush deepened and Celestia stroked Twilight's mane as she sighed. “I’m certain some day he’ll ask why he doesn’t have a horn like us, but personally I think that he doesn’t have a horn because he’ll go on to do amazing things with earth pony magic.”
Twilight blinked, her eyes widening some. “You really believe that?”
“I’m certain he’ll surprise us.” Celestia nodded before she cupped Twilight’s chin. “Look at me, Twilight.”
Twilight looked up into her wife’s serious but loving pink eyes.
“As long as he lives, He will always call you Mom.”