Chapter 3: Three of a Kind
“This is bad,” Sweetie said for the sixth time. “She's-”
“Not supposed to be due for another two weeks,” Scootaloo finished. “You've said that, but worrying won't help. Heck, worrying's probably why she went into labor early in the first place.”
She and Applejack had been listening to it for the past hour, and were starting to get rather tired of it.
It was just the three of them, with Shining going off to see Twilight and Rainbow and Pinkie feeling too excited to stay put.
“How can I not worry?!” Sweetie snapped. “Twilight, Midnight, and Fluttershy are hurt, Applebloom’s missing, and now my sister giving birth premature, of course I'm worrying!”
“It's just two weeks, Sweetie,” Scootaloo placated. “It's not that big a deal.”
“Not for ponies, it isn't. Rarity isn't having a foal, though, she's having pups. They have a much shorter development period, which means two weeks for a diamond dog is like a month for a pony.”
“Oh... Yeah, that is a little worse, but still nothing major.”
“A birth for diamond dogs two weeks premature gives a thirteen point seven percent likelihood of complications. Combine that with the fact that a pony's womb is designed for a single embryo, and the chances are twenty one point two. That's a one in five chance, with three chances!”
“And if there is a complication, the doctors will deal with it,” Applejack said from the bench nearby. “Now sit down. You ain't helpin' matters.”
With a nervous sigh, the young mare obeyed, taking a seat across from the others.
“This is bad.”
Scootaloo could only groan.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Shining Armor had finally finished relaying the story to both Twilight and Cadence. Though her emotions were still a bit dampened, Twilight was still brought to tears of joy when he assured her that Midnight was okay. She was even excited to hear that a changeling was the one that did it.
“It means they aren't inherently evil,” Twilight explained, upon seeing Shining’s curious expression at her subdued cheer. “It also means the rumors I heard about them were true.”
“What rumors?” Cadence asked.
“You haven't heard?” Twilight asked, slightly confused. “Oh, well... Rumor has it there is a division between changelings; those who follow the changeling Queen EI dubbed 'Chrysalis', and those that wish to live with ponies in harmony.”
“Who leads the... uh... pro-harmony, I guess, changelings? Do you think we could meet with her?” Shining asked.
“According to the rumors, they don't have a 'leader' in the traditional sense,” Twilight explained. “The closest thing they have to a leader is a changeling simply referred to as 'the Unseen Prince', on account of the fact that he stays out of the public eye... well, the changelings' public eye, anyway. He doesn't really lead, but he’s something of a figurehead.”
“Do you think our new... friend might know how to find him?” Shining asked.
“Maybe.”
“Let's not talk about that, for now,” Cadence interrupted. “We should be celebrating. It's not every day a loved one comes back from the dead.”
Twilight gave a small smile at that. “Yeah, I'm actually glad Storm drained me. I think I might have died from joy. It definitely makes taking news that emotional easier.”
Cadence perked up at that. “It does? Well... Shining, I think now might be a good time.”
Shining winced at that, “A-are you sure?”
“Tell me what?” Twilight gave them a curious look. “And why do I get the feeling I would normally start yelling.”
“Because... you probably would,” Shining admitted. “Twi... We're seeing somepony.”
“What?!” despite her dampened emotional state, she still managed to express enough anger, indignant, and confusion to make both Shining and Cadence glad they did this now. “Are you kidding me?! Did you forget what herds did to this family?!”
“First of all, Twilight, 'herds' didn't do anything,” Shining scolded. “Bronze Armor and Jade Wind did. You remember the Booms, or the Silver's? What about our grandparents?”
“Yeah, but think about how many herds don't make it!” Twilight countered. “Like the Patch's, Lime's, or Symphony's.”
“The Butter's, the Crystal's, the Horn's, the fudge's, and the Ruby's,” Cadence listed.
Confused, Twilight asked, “When were any of them in a herd?”
“They weren't. Yet all of them got divorced,” Shining revealed. “It's not the herd, but the ponies in it. Bronze didn't really care about mom in the first place. She was just an obligation to society. I love Cadence, and would never leave her for anypony.”
“You want to meet her?” Cadence asked. “She's at the inn. I can go get her, and you can see for yourself that she's a good mare.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “I... Alright... I'll meet her. I can't guarantee I'll like her, but I'll give her a chance.”
“Thanks Twilly,” Shining said, leaning in to give his little sister a hug.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Spike had finally arrived to help calm Sweetie down. He would have already been there, but his concern for Twilight had him by her side first, at Sweetie's insistence. After Shining arrived, though, Twilight asked him to return to Sweetie so he could tell her all about the pups, and assure the others she was fine.
Scootaloo was especially relieved to hear Twilight wasn't going to suffer any long term effects. She was worried, not only for the mare, but for what it would meant for Storm if he took too much.
“So... Scootaloo,” Spike spoke up. The pegasus in question sighed, knowing what was coming. “Did you really know he was a changeling?”
“Yes,” she answered. “I saw it right after we got our cutie marks. I was going to ask him out, but when I saw him, he looked weird. When I confronted him, he denied it at first, but I... convinced him to tell me.” Spike winced, knowing exactly what she meant by 'convinced'. “At first, I thought the same thing anypony would have thought, but after talking to Lyra and Bonbon, I decided to give him a chance.”
“And now you're banging a bug,” Spike teased.
“Spike, I consider you a friend, which is why I'm not pummeling your face in,” Scootaloo growled, causing the dragon to shrink back a little, “but I recommend you learn to watch what you say.”
“Scootaloo, stop. You know he doesn't always think before he speaks,” Sweetie reminded.
“Gee, thanks,” Spike said sarcastically.
Sweetie gave her husband a quick peck. “You're welcome. Besides, Scootaloo, you know him well enough to know that means he accepts Storm as he is.”
“Well, yeah. It'd be pretty hypocritical of me if I didn't. I mean, how much have ponies and dragons fought? Like, hundreds of times. Changelings have only attacked us once.” Spike stated as if it were obvious.
Scootaloo exhaled heavily. “I know, I'm just... irritable. I hate that Stormy has to put up with this.”
“Well, he has to be quarantined anyway considering his love addiction re-” Sweetie stopped abruptly when the door opened and the doctor walked out.
Sweetie felt a weight lift when he smiled and said, “They're all fine and healthy. Congratulations, Sweetie Belle, you're an aunt to two boys and a girl. Now, your sister's incredibly exhausted, so I can let two of you in to see but only for a moment.”
Scootaloo said. “Sweets, gimme your eyes.”
Sweetie walked to her friend and let her place a hoof on her whither. Scootaloo's seal flashed and the world shifted from the usual myriad of overlapping colors of magic, to natural sight via her friend.
“Alright, go on,” Scootaloo said.
With that, Sweetie and Spike stepped into the delivery room. Rarity looked up as they entered, her glazed eyes filled with not only exhaustion, but pride and joy. Two tiny bundles of fur latched to her swollen teats, feeding with a voraciousness that belied their size. One was gray, with white and black markings much like his father, while the other was a pale blue, an unusual color for their race. The third pup, the smallest, was in her father's arms, nursing from a bottle with as much gusto as her brothers. Her's was a coat as brilliant white as her mother's.
Sweetie, and Spike took in the sight of the newest and tiniest members of the family, barely acknowledging the squee from the hallway.
“Oh, my gosh,” Sweetie whispered. “They're... they're... Oh, my gosh...”
“What she said,” Spike agreed.
“Would you care to meet your niece and nephews?” Rarity asked, her exhaustion apparent in her voice.
Sweetie could only nod as she and Spike approached.
“This one,” Rarity said, gently caressing the gray one. “Is Lucien, named after Virgil's father. His rather bitty brother is Hector. And my little princess there, is Persephone.”
“I... don't even know what to say,” Sweetie admitted, breathlessly.
“They're beautiful,” came Spikes simple, yet perfect reply.
“Yeah,” Sweetie agreed, an uncontrollable smile spread. “Yeah, they are.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Twilight had been lost in her thoughts for over an hour. While her brother's revelation was on her mind, it wasn't alone. The news about the changeling that apparently had been Storm Feather the whole time was also dominating a good portion of her mind. She would have to speak with him, not only to gauge for herself if he was trustworthy, but to learn about the enigmatic race.
Eventually, though, a knock came at her door, drawing her back to the real world. “Come in!”
The door opened but instead of the nurse, a light beige mare with a red and yellow striped mane trotted in.
“Um... hello, Twilight,” the mare said shyly.
Twilight's eyebrow shot up in confusion. “Can I help you?”
The mare fidgeted nervously. “Well... Shining Armor said you were expecting me.” Twilight's other eyebrow joined the first as confusion gave way to surprised realization. “My name is Sunset Shimmer, uh, Shining and Cadences new girlfriend.”
Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat. “I see. Come in. Take a seat.” The other mare dutifully obeyed, settling in the comfy arm chair. “So... I take it you already know how I feel about herding?”
“Yes, I do,” Sunset answered. “And, honestly, I can kind of understand why. Herds are a common reason marriages break up.”
“So, you can understand why I'm a little skeptical of you joining a herd with my brother and Cadence.” Twilight took a good look at the mare, making her a little uncomfortable, but she never complained. “You... look kind of familiar. Have we met before?”
“Yes, but it was a long time ago,” Sunset replied. “I was Princess Celestia's senior pupil when she took you on.”
“Wait... Sunset,” Twilight pondered aloud. “As in, Sunset Shimmer? The filly that vanished? I remember hearing that you blew yourself up with forbidden magic. I take it those rumors weren't entirely accurate.”
Sunset laughed. “No, I just went through a magic mirror to a parallel dimension, where I lived in a human version of Equestria.”
“Makes as much sense as anything else,” Twilight said lazily. “So what did happen to you? You know what, scratch that, how did you meet my brother?”
“Well, honestly, the two are related. You may have already figured this out, but Princess Celestia knew all about Nightmare Moon's return centuries ago.”
Twilight let out a single humorless laugh. “Ha! Yeah, I kinda figured.”
“Did you know you weren't the first pony she was conditioning for the job?” That managed to get Twilight's attention. “Originally, the princess meant for me to bear the Element of Magic, but... There's a reason she never told you about Nightmare Moon.
“When she spoke to me about her plan, I was excited. I couldn't wait to be a hero, and not only save the world, but return our long lost princess Luna. However, thought's of helping others, became thoughts of being a hero, which became thoughts of being in charge. The fact that she promised me the title of princess just made it worse.”
That last part got a raised brow from Twilight.
Sunset let out a long sigh. “It went to my head. I became arrogant, and selfish. I felt like I was already a princess. So, when Celestia came to me and said that I wasn't to be the bearer of Magic, and that she found somepony more suitable, I... What can I say, I threw a temper tantrum. Anyway, I ran off and hid in a storage room, where I tried to kick a mirror, only to fall through.
“Anyway, I... spent several years over there plotting revenge for what I saw as a betrayal. I was foolish, I realize now, but at the time It made sense. Anyway, my plan was to sneak back, find you, steal the Element of Magic and... do something. Honestly I'm still not sure what would have happened.
“Regardless, when I came back, the first thing I noticed was I was in a castle I had never seen before. Figuring it was yours, I searched high and low for you, until I was caught by the guards.”
“Wait,” Twilight stopped her. “Why would you think I had a castle?”
“Because princesses have castles,” Sunset deadpanned.
“I'm not a princess,” Twilight said, baffled by the mare's reasoning.
“I didn't know that. I figured you were given the same deal. So imagine my surprise when I learn that you were just a librarian, settling down with your new husband, a soldier you found wounded and nursed back to health.”
Sunset Shimmer leaned over, resting against the arm of the chair. “For six years, my entire life revolved on getting revenge on Celestia and you. In my eyes, Celestia was a pandering fool, catering to the nobles by taking a spoiled brat that only cared about the position as her student. Then, suddenly, I find the 'spoiled brat' was a librarian. You could have had anything, and the only thing you asked was to be allowed to move to a small, simple farming town. It broke me.
“But then... Your brother gave me a job as his secretary. It was such a small thing, but because of that, I was able to get back on my hooves again. Your brother and Cadence gave me a life, again. How could I not become infatuated by them. He was so strong, noble... not to mention he has nice flanks.”
“Eww.”
Sunset giggled. “Cadence, on the other hoof was kind, caring, graceful, smart, funny, and drop dead gorgeous. Of course, I never said anything to them. I was just some stupid mare that ran away in a fit of jealousy. The fact that they gave me not only a job, but their friendship was more than I deserved. Shining and Cadence thought differently, though. One day, I was finishing up some paperwork when Shining asked me if I wanted to join them for dinner. Now, we've been together for about three months.”
“Three months, and I'm just now learning about it?” Twilight's voice was calm, and collect, but she was quite upset by that.
“We didn't want to say anything until we felt it was going somewhere... and then we were worried you would freak out.”
Twilight sighed. “Yeah. I'm not always the most rational pony whenever emotions are involved.” The two mare's sat in silence for several seconds before Twilight spoke again. “Alright. I'll give you my blessing, but just remember one thing; I've been trained to kill.”
Sunset's reaction wasn't the fear or nervousness Twilight expected, but a giggle. “It's a good thing I'm not planning on making you angry, then.”