The Pony Project

by Palm Palette

Unnecessary Epilogue

Unnecessary Epilogue

Note: Click on to the upper right and change 'Light' to 'Dark' for a better feel.

Now that the mood is set...

About four months later... (around late October)

Darkness flowed through Ponyville like a river and clung to it like fog. The sun would not shine there, for the town was enveloped in eternal night. This anomaly defied all logic and reason and completely smothered the town in panic.

In the center of it all were three forms, three bringers of darkness, three ponies of shadow, three heralds of chaos and doom.

“No pony expects the Cutie Mark Crusader Nightmare Inquisition!” they cried out.

The streets filled with screams and wails. Their arrival had been sudden and every pony was caught off-guard. They raced inside, pulled up doormats, and slammed doors and windows. All that effort would do them no good, though, for the darkness in their hearts was an open invitation.

Rarity was in her workshop when when the unnatural night suddenly arrived. She had to light up her horn to even see past her nose. Her pale, blue light revealed features that should not be there. Red, glowing eyes looked back at her. Her mannequins grew fangs. Black liquid oozed out of the walls in a very tacky manner.

“Rarity.” The whole room seemed to speak to her. Everywhere at once. Its voice was distant, dark and cold and...

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity's head darted around. How could that... thing sound like her sister?

“Bwa ha-ha ha-ha ha-ha.” Laughter resonated throughout the room. With each syllable, more things appeared from the darkness. Cracks ran up the walls, spiders poured out of holes, the black liquid oozed upwards and pooled in the ceiling. Her fall formal fashion line faded to dusty rags. “Sweetie Belle has been completely consumed. I am now-” Green lightning flashed through the windows. Screams echoed in its wake instead of thunder. (For once, Daisy actually had something worthwhile to scream about.) “-Terror Belle.”

“Consumed? I refuse to believe that some tacky darkness has stolen my sister. Hang in there Sweetie. I'll get you out.”

“What you say, and what you feel don't match.” The black liquid that had been pooling in the ceiling dripped down in front of her. Rarity had to jump back to avoid being splashed. A dark silhouette of Sweetie Belle appeared there, mocking her. “I can see the-”

Rarity lept into the air to give the figure a swift kick. It vanished into smoke as she passed through it and crashed into the wall.

“Bwa ha-ha ha-ha ha-ha.” It was mocking her again. “You cannot win.”

Rarity got back up and looked around the room again. It was covered in spiderwebs now. Hundreds of arachnids crawled about as they worked – each with eight red, horrible eyes. It seemed like a direct attack wouldn't work. She had to get through to her sister first. “Sweetie Belle, pull yourself together. You don't want to do this.”

“Sweetie Belle won't do that for you. You never did anything for her.” Hundreds of red eyes opened mid-air and stared at Rarity from all directions. “I can feel your fear, taste your sweat, it won't be long now...”

The words it spoke filled Rarity with dread. What was it planning? She had to try again. “Sweetie Belle, I brought you a present from the Crystal Empire.”

“This? This?” A black hoof formed from the shadows and pointed at the ice skating figurine. With a crunch the hoof stomped it flat. “That might have meant something if you had actually given it to her instead of keeping it for yourself.”

“Well, I meant to, really.” Rarity kept looking around for any sign that might give her hope. “What about all those things I did for you? We even went camping.”

“Oh yes, things that she had to beg and plead for or you to do or you wouldn't lift a hoof otherwise. How touching. You never let her help with any of your work and you never offered to do anything with her unless it was something you liked, and she didn't.” The spiders left their webs and came down to circle around Rarity. They crawled on top of each other and merged together forming larger spiders, made of spiders. “Face it Rarity, you're a failure. I can feel your hope diminishing. You're mine now.”

The spiders shot webbing at her. She couldn't dodge since they were all around her. Sticky threads latched onto her fur and dug into her hide. She tried to blast them with her magic, but it was too weak. She couldn't break them. She could feel darkness seeping into her, and it felt as if she too were being consumed. Rarity had to act fast before she too was dragged into the abyss. “Sweetie Belle,” she said, one last time, “I really am pregnant.”

“WHAT?” The darkness had invaded Rarity's mind, and Sweetie Belle knew it to be true. The voice was higher pitched, squeakier. One set of eyes opened wide, green. There. Rarity still had enough strength in her for one last assault. She had to make it count.

Rarity attacked the darkness.

Natural 20.

The darkness utterly shattered. Sweetie Belle's limp form went flying through the air and landed against the far wall and slid to the floor. A few broken pieces of armor clattered to the ground next to her. Terror Belle had been defeated.

Rarity walked over with dread. She laid a hoof softly on Sweetie who groaned. Rarity gave a sigh of relief. Sweetie Belle was a pony – and not a marshmallow stain. Hoofsteps clattered behind them.

“I came as soon as I could.” That was Twilight's voice. Rarity didn't turn around to greet her because she still had her attention focused on Sweetie. “What happened here?” Twilight asked.

“OoooOoooh,” Sweetie Belle moaned. Rarity stepped back to give her some space. With a groan, Sweetie opened her eyes. They were different sizes and misaligned. She closed them again and shook her head.

“Are you okay, Sweetie?” Rarity asked.

“I... I'm sore all over.” Sweetie Belle struggled to get up and open her eyes again. Once she did, she leaned forward and wrapped herself around one of Rarity's forelegs. Rarity hugged her with the other.

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

Rarity released Sweetie who turned to face Twilight. “Oh, we were the worst balloon pilots ever. We crashed in the Everfree forest and got lost trying to find our way home. We came across some old ruins and found broken pieces of armor lying around and tried some on. And... And...” Sweetie Belle started sobbing.

Twilight looked at the broken pieces of armor on the floor. She didn't touch them, but levitated them with her magic to get a closer look. Twilight bared her teeth and scrunched up her face in a frown. “These are pieces of Nightmare Moon's old armor. They must still contain the dark forces that corrupted Princess Luna.” Twilight straightened the crown on her head and opened a box she'd brought with her.

“Twilight,” Rarity said. Twilight ignored her.

Twilight removed a necklace with a purple diamond centerpiece and hovered it over to Rarity. “Put this on. We'll have to gather up the others and-”

“Twilight.” The magical aura shifted from lavender to light blue as Rarity returned the necklace. “We can't use the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are still in Maneami dealing with that Super Speedy Coconut Squeezy 7000 disaster, remember? (Seriously, how could any pony ever think that that was a good idea?)”

“Oh, right.” Twilight put the necklace back in the box. She hopped up and flapped her wings to hover in the air. “But I could still use your help.”

“Twilight, I'm sure that with your help Applejack and Rainbow Dash can save the other two. This has been a terrible ordeal for poor Sweetie Belle” -Rarity nudged her sister, who looked up, confused- “and I really must stay here to console my sister.” Rarity nudged her again.

Sweetie Belle got the hint and burst out crying. “Woe is me! Woe is me. I'm so distressed. Only my sister can ever hope to console me.”

“Uh...” Twilight hung her mouth open at them. Sweetie Belle's wooden acting and Rarity's fake grin weren't very convincing. “Alright then,” Twilight said, “I think you've done enough already. I'll leave you to console your sister.” She flew out the door and took the cursed armor with her.

Rarity sighed in relief. “Good luck, Twilight,” she said.

“Rarity,” Sweetie Belle asked, “what are the Elements of Harmony?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Is that really what you want to talk about now?”

“No! You're pregnant? How did that happen? When's the baby due? Is it a boy or a girl?” Sweetie Belle leaned on Rarity's foreleg and looked up at her when asking those questions.

Rarity looked around the room. It wasn't creepy like it had been before, but once Twilight left the darkness started seeping back in again. “Come on, Sweetie, let's go to the kitchen and get a bite to eat. I'll answer your questions the best I can there.” She shooed Sweetie Belle off her leg.

“Oh, cravings,” Sweetie Belle said. Rarity rolled her eyes. She wasn't that pregnant yet.

Once in the kitchen, Rarity shut the door. It didn't stop the darkness, but it did slow it down. She hoped Twilight and the others would hurry up. She didn't want to face those nightmares again. “Well, Sweetie,” she said, “it happened about four months ago when I went to the Crystal Empire. So that means my foal will be due around late May.”

“What? But I thought Cadance said you bit and kicked and you told me what that meant over ice cream.” Despite the fact that they had moved to the kitchen, they weren't doing any eating. Instead, they pulled up chairs to sit across from each other at the table.

“Yes, I did bite and kick-”

“Aaaaiiieee!” That scream sounded like Lilly Valley. Rarity drooped her ears. Had she made a mistake by abandoning Twilight?

“-after I let them finish,” Rarity said.

“But, that still doesn't make sense. Wouldn't they have said something?” Sweetie Belle leaned forward on the table.

“Well, it turns out that if you kick a pony in the head hard enough, he won't remember.”

“Rarity!”

“They did make a full recovery otherwise, though,” Rarity said. she watched as the darkness crept through the room. It was showing signs of wiggling. She felt a chill creep down her withers. Sweetie Belle hopped out of the chair and pushed up Rarity's tail.

“Shouldn't there be some sign-”

“Now now, don't be rude.” Rarity pushed her sister away who flopped down on the floor and narrowed her eyes in response. “I'll have you know that I've learned a few tricks from hanging out with Twilight so much. On one of our pony pet play dates-”

“I wish I had a pet.”

“Well you can talk to our parents about that. Anyway, Opal was particularly, well, Opal that day so Twilight taught me a healing spell for small cuts and scratches. As it turns out, the spell can work on that too.”

“Wait, you did this for that 'pony project' didn't you? Wasn't that whole thing a mistake?” Sweetie Belle's words caused an Inkling to emerge from the shadows. It was a manifestation of doubt given life by the unnatural darkness. It spotted them as prey and stalked up to ambush them.

Rarity lept off her chair and landed with all four legs surrounding Sweetie Belle. Sweetie scampered to get out of the way, but backed up against a cabinet. Rarity placed a foreleg on either side of her and leaned down to keep her trapped. “Just so we're perfectly clear about this-” Rarity bucked the Inkling as it tried to ponce on her and she released Sweetie to give that creature a royal thrashing “-no pony is ever a mistake.”

An unnatural wail came from outside. It was followed by voices. They couldn't make out words but the sounds were clear enough to identify the speakers.

“Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle shivered.

“You can do it, Rainbow Dash. I believe in you,” Rarity said. She held a hoof to her heart. The fight moved elsewhere and they were left in silence.

Sweetie Belle looked at the remains of the Inkling. They quivered, but couldn't reform. “I'm sorry Rarity. I didn't mean it like that,” she said.

“It's alright, Sweetie.” Rarity looked out the window. “Just remember that I chose for this to happen, and even if I hadn't I'd still believe that.”

Sweetie Belle walked up next to her and asked, “So is it a boy or a girl?”

“Well darling, I don't know yet, but I can find out.” Rarity extracted three maternity tests from one of her cupboards. The first one had already been opened. It was a simple positive or negative test. It came open when Rarity placed it on the table. Even though it was old, the pink color showing a positive result was still visible. The second box had silhouettes of different pony types and the third box was for gender. Rarity opened the second box.

“What? Why do you need that one? Aren't you having a unicorn?” Sweetie asked.

“Why do you say that?” Rarity spilled out the contents and tried to read the instructions in the waning light. The shadows were creeping in again.

“You're a unicorn and I'm a unicorn, and mom's a unicorn and dad's... Uh, what is dad?” Sweetie Belle scratched her head. How could she not know?

“Good question, Sweetie. One of these day's we'll catch him without his hat and find out for sure.” Rarity picked up a vial. “Now if you'll excuse me, I have to provide a sample. I'll be right back.”

As Rarity walked out the encroaching darkness suddenly made Sweetie Belle very nervous. “Uh, Rarity?”

“Yes dear?”

“Do... Do you want anything to eat?” Sweetie Belle climbed on top of the table to get as far away from the shadows on the ground as she could.

“Hmm, maybe some juice and toast,” Rarity called back absentmindedly.

Sweetie Belle heard the door to the bathroom close. The table top and the kitchen counter weren't that far away. She lept across the gap, and set the table rocking. Fortunately, it didn't upset or spill its contents. Sweetie Belle walked across the kitchen counter. Juice and toast huh? She knew how to do that. She lit the stove to heat up a frying pan and turned on the waffle iron (which didn't need a fire since it ran off of magic). She placed an eggbeater next to the frying pan and poured vinegar on the waffle iron to keep it from getting sticky.

Rarity returned hovering the vial away from her with just a pinch of her magic. “Eww.” Well, it might be gross, but if it got results she wouldn't question it. Sweetie Belle left what she was doing and ran over to the table to watch. Rarity opened a packet and dumped powder into the vial. It slowly turned clear as she stirred it. There was a thump at the window.

Rarity narrowed her eyes and scowled when she saw an Inkling trying to break through the glass. Its hollow, black eyes were somehow blacker than the dark shadows that it came from. Rarity let loose a magical burst. It missed the Inkling, but hit the tree above it. One of the branches transformed into a bushy anvil which Rarity promptly drove into the creature's head. It collapsed backwards and broke apart as it fell. In the background, Roseluck suddenly peeled herself off the ground and ran off.

Rarity closed the curtain. Sweetie Belle had pulled out the test result comparison sheet and looked at it. There was a tree next to a green box, a cloud next to a blue one, and a sun and moon next to a yellow one. The vial was still clear so she flipped the sheet over and read off the back, “blah, blah, blah... Allow five to ten minutes for the result to appear. If the mixture still remains clear, the pregnancy may not be advanced enough for the test to work. Note: Results may not be accurate in the case of twins. In the particular case that you are carrying both a pegasus and a unicorn the blue and yellow will mix together and appear green thus making you think you're carrying an Earth pony instead. Yes, this means you, Mrs. Cake. Please stop sending us hate mail.”

Rarity chuckled.

“Why is that funny?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well, it certainly explains why she was so surprised, is all,” Rarity said. An odd odor caught her attention. “Is something burning?”

“Eep.” Sweetie Belle bounced off the chair and onto the counter again. She poked the frying pan. Was it black enough or should she wait a little longer before adding the fruit? “I can't wait to tell my friends about this,” she said.

“WHAT? No! You can't tell any pony. I'd be ruined. Ruined!” Rarity placed her hooves on the sides of her head and yelled with wide eyes. Her voice cracked. She sounded hollow, raspy, and desperate. An Inkling emerged from her shadow. She was already attached to it, and couldn't defend herself. “Uuh...” She tried to struggle, but it sapped her strength and her color stared draining.

“Eeek!” Sweetie Belle jumped in horror. The creature slithered over to hunt her as well. “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle yelled. It was no use; her sister was limp. The Inkling rhythmically rocked its head back and forth while it coiled up its body and prepared to strike. Sweetie Belle reached for the frying pan. She had to defend herself.

“It's good news!” she screamed and swung with all her might. The Inkling lunged at her and got clobbered in the face with the red-hot frying pan. It writhed and twisted but its face was stuck. Sweetie Belle pressed her advantage and grabbed the eggbeater. She was cooking now.

“You're right, Sweetie. Why didn't I see that before?” Rarity's color came back and she sat up. She blocked her face with a foreleg to avoid being splashed with Inkling remains.

Sweetie Belle placed the dirty eggbeater in the sink and took a glass from the strainer. What was left of the Inkling had been reduced to nothing more than a charred liquid sloshing around in the frying pan. Sweetie Belle poured it into the glass. “Juice,” she said.

Rarity winced at that statement. She glanced at the vial that she'd prepared earlier. It had changed color. “Sweetie Belle, the test is done,” she said.

“Ooh, what is it? What is it?” Sweetie Belle bounced over and hopped up on the chair again. “What? White? But that wasn't even an option.”

The wind picked up outside. The house shuddered as it howled by. The trees groaned in protest. There was a crack and the wind stopped. It was followed by... sobbing? Real sobbing. Pony sobbing.

“Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. Spookalot had been defeated. “Is she okay?” Scootaloo never cried; well, she never cried openly for long without trying to hide it. It was unnerving to hear her friend wail like that.

“No,” Rarity said. The sobbing was suddenly muffled and cut off. Rarity could imagine the wing-hug taking place. “But she will be. She has her sister to care for her, after all.” Rarity looked around the room. Half of the unnatural darkness vanished, but the other half swirled in to take its place. Rarity shone her horn as brightly as she could to keep the darkness at bay. Things weren't over yet. It was up to Applejack now.

“I don't get it.” Sweetie Belle poked the white vial, nearly tipping it over. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Rarity enveloped a nearby pencil with her magic and carried it over to the test result sheet. Underneath the three options listed she sketched a crystal and drew an empty box next to it. She circled that option and put the pencil down.

“What? Crystal? Crystal pony?” Sweetie Belle asked. She scrunched up her face in confusion.

“I'm certain of it,” Rarity said. “Though I do think that the manufacturer has made a grievous error by omitting them from the list.” She tapped a hoof on the table.

“Crystal. Crystal. Crystal. Crystal. Crystal. Crystal...”

Rarity giggled as she watched her sister bounce around the room. “I'll definitely have to send in a complaint.” Rarity tapped the table again. “And I'll be sure to sign it, 'Mrs. Cake'.”

This happy moment was short lived, for the shadows buckled and heaved. The very ground gave way, and a large, gnarled Inkling burst forth. It had a wooden, tree-like appearance. Bright green glowing eyes and a dripping, green glowing mouth opened up. In its limb-like left arm, it held a brown cowpony hat.

“Applejack... failed?” Rarity could hardly believe her eyes.

Its left hand more grew than moved, but the result was the same: black, wooden fingers crushed the hat and tossed it aside. Rarity shuddered. That wasn't just an affront to fashion, it was an affront to her friend. Its right hand was even more frightening. On a single gnarled finger it twirled around a golden crown with a large six-pointed gem as its centerpiece. It fell off and clattered to the shattered tile floor.

“Twilight – too?” Rarity swallowed in fear. Sweetie Belle ran over and hugged her foreleg.

“Rarity, I'm scared,” she said.

Rarity had little comfort to offer. If this... thing... had beaten her two most powerful friends than what hope could she offer? “Look out!” she screamed and flung Sweetie Belle away. She rolled in the opposite direction. The Inkling swung a massive log-like limb and cut a groove in the floor in the floor where they'd been standing.

Rarity got back up, narrowed her eyes and snorted. She lowered her head and pawed a hoof at the ground is if she were about to charge. Well, she might not be able to win, but she would certainly go down fighting.

The Inkling slammed its other arm into the ground and wooden fingers sprouted around Rarity to trap her. She flared her horn and every drawer in the kitchen sprung open. She levitated their contents and flung every knife, every, fork, every cleaver, every sharp thing in the entire room at the Inkling. They all thudded and embedded themselves in the creature's thick bark-like hide. It didn't even flinch. Rarity cringed and glanced around herself. She was trapped.

There was a crash as a glass of gray liquid broke against its head. That it noticed. Sweetie Belle had climbed up on the table and thrown her juice at it. “You leave her alone,” she said.

The Inkling's face sank into its head, and popped out the other side to stare down at Sweetie Belle. “Eep,” she said. She jumped off the table and landed on the counter. Running to get away, she tripped over the sink and skidded to a stop. She looked at the Inkling, who'd raised its massive log-like arm. Unable to get up, she raised a foreleg to block her vision and screamed as it's huge fist bore down on her. “EEEEEE-”

CRUNCH!

“EEEee- huh?” Sweetie Belle opened her eyes. She was suspended in the air by a light blue magical aura just mere eyelashes from the impact. It had hit with such force that it had completely crushed the cabinets and mangled the sink beyond repair. An acrid smell hit Sweetie's nostrils. The waffle iron was within reach.

Once again, the Inkling's face sank into it's head and popped out the other side. Its green eyes shrank to points as it narrowed them and glared at Rarity. Red replaced the shrinking color. Rarity jumped out of the circle of fingers. Her horn glowed with the effort of keeping her sister suspended. Once again, the Inkling slammed its arm into the ground. This time, the fingers erupted much more densely and grew much faster. Rarity bucked at them to break them, but they were as unyielding as a mountain. Her hooves thudded and bounced off.

In that instant she'd touched them she caught a vision tied to the pony who'd spawned this Inkling. It was many years ago, long before Twilight had come to town. Applejack was still a filly. It was the day that she'd gotten the news about her parents. Rarity remembered that day too, but to feel it from Applejack's perspective was truly devastating. “I'm sorry, Applejack,” Rarity said. “I'm sorry.”

The Inkling raised its arm to end her.

“No!” She screamed. There had to be something she could still do. Anything. Her horn flared from the effort.

There was a sickening crunch as Sweetie Belle caught the Inkling's head in her waffle iron. Boiling vinegar ran down its hide. It screamed as only a creature of darkness could. It had no real voice, but the shadows reverberated and quivered with its cries. Of all the knives, forks, and other dangerous objects that Rarity had embedded in its hide, Sweetie Belle reached for the dull, rusty spoon.

It was horrifying to watch, but Rarity couldn't bring herself to look away. The way Sweetie Belle twisted that spoon showed a lack of finesse that most ponies would strive hard to avoid. The Inkling writhed and twisted, but not even the ultimate incarnation of the forces of nightmare was a match for Sweetie Belle's cooking. It died a horrible, culinary death.

In its death throes, it began to crumble and fall apart. Rarity kicked through her cage as if it were made of paper. She walked over to Sweetie who was finishing up her latest master disaster-piece.

All that was left of the Inkling Sweetie poured from the waffle iron into a bowl. She stared at the flat, gray liquid with a frown. Something wasn't quite right. Ah! Sweetie walked over the cabinet and pried off the broken door. Inside, she rummaged around until she found what she wanted: a pinch of baking soda. She took that over and mixed it into the gooey glop. It began to blorp and bubble. Perfect. “Toast,” she said.

“Wow, Sweetie, you certainly proved me wrong. And here I used to think that you couldn't cook to save your life,” Rarity said.

“Aww, thanks, Rarity.” Sweetie Belle picked up the bowl of toast and carried it over to place on the table. It took her that long to realize it wasn't really a compliment. “Hey!”

Rarity just chuckled.

Sweetie Belle hopped up on the table again. From there she had a clear view of the destruction. There was a crater in the floor from which the creature had emerged and it looked like a tree had fallen on the counter where she'd just been only moments ago. “Rarity, you saved my life.”

Rarity drooped her ears in submission and walked over to the table to kiss her sister on the cheek. “And you saved mine, too.”

“Eww.” Sweetie Belle wiped off her cheek. “You're right, Rarity. We do make a good team.”

“Right, teamwork.” Rarity was dimly aware of the fact that she'd just hurled her sister at a monster to distract it. But things had worked out in the end. “You know, this wasn't just our victory.” Rarity opened the blinds magically. Cracks opened in the night sky. The sun was breaking through. With the last of the Inquisitors subdued, the darkness lost its grip. Noon dawned on Ponyville. Frightful Blossom had been defeated.

Light (if you want)

Sweetie Belle pointed at the last of the maternity tests. “Ooh, do this one next,” she said.

Rarity glanced at the gender test but shook her head. “Let's not ruin all of the surprises shall we?” she said and picked up the box to put it away.

“Oh come on, I really want to know,” Sweetie Belle wailed. She pounded her hooves on the table.

Rarity sighed to herself softly. “I'm sorry Sweetie, but you'll just have to wait,” she said. It was for the best. It's not like she could produce another bodily fluid sample after that last battle anyway.

“But how will you know what to name the baby?” Sweetie asked.

“I'm thinking Radiant Jewel for a colt or Sparkling Gemstone for a filly.” With the test put away, she turned around and used her magic to pick Twilight's crown. It was a little dusty, but otherwise unscathed. She was tempted to put it on herself, but dropped it on Sweetie's head instead. It was too big for the filly, but her horn kept it in place.

“Rarity, what are you doing?” Sweetie asked. She fidgeted with the crown trying to make it more comfortable.

“I think our friends will want their hats back,” Rarity said. Next, Rarity picked up Applejack's hat. It was crumpled and torn and in some serious need for tender loving care. Rarity took it into her workshop. Sweetie Belle followed her. Thankfully, this room was mostly intact. Only her fall fashion line had suffered serious damage. The cracks in her wall didn't impact the usefulness of the room.

“Are you going to tell your friends now?” Sweetie asked.

Rarity still felt nervous about that. “I'll tell you what, Sweetie. You can be the one who breaks the news,” she said. Rarity got to work on fixing the hat. She had plenty of threads the right color and needed to replace a piece or two with her own stock of material. She avoided using magic for anything other than sewing because Applejack was picky about that sort of thing. When she was done, the hat was as good as new. She put it on her head.

“But if I tell them, they won't believe me,” Sweetie said. She had to straighten the crown which was trying to fall off.

“Not if I'm there to confirm it,” Rarity said. She walked to the open door and paused at the threshold. Outside, ponies were still recovering from the ordeal. When the sun had come out, the remaining Inklings could not survive. The harsh rays of Celestia's sun burned right through them and brought color back to the ponies who'd fallen. They were still stirring and struggling to get back up. It would be a while before things could return to normal.

Down the road, Rarity could see Rainbow Dash with Scootaloo. Their eyes were puffy from all the crying they'd been doing. Further down the road, Applejack and Twilight would be with Apple Bloom at the farm. Rarity looked down at her sister. “Whatever comes of this, we'll be sure to face it together – as family.”

Though her heart was made of stone, the Princess of Sisters shed a single tear.

***

A week later at Sugarcube Corner Mr. Cake carried in a mouthful of mail. He dropped it on the counter to sort through. Mrs. Cake was busy preparing batter for their next set of baked goods.

“Dear, you got another letter from those PaternaTest folks,” Mr. Cake said.

“Oh, it's probably just another request for me to stop sending them so much mail,” she said.

“This one looks a bit different,” he said.

“Can you read it to me? I'm a bit busy here.” Mrs. Cake started pouring the batter into a cupcake tray.

“Dear Mrs. Cake,

We are sorry that our product has failed your needs once again. We do congratulate you on your recent pregnancy with a, uh, crystal pony. (Seriously lady, do you have a freaking zoo in your uterus?) We will be sure to revise our documentation to ensure that all varieties of pony conceivable will be covered – be they unicorn, pegasus, Earth, crystal, bat, sea, or natural alicorn. We wish you the best of luck with your ever expanding family.

Truly sorry,
The PaternaTest folks.”

Mr. Cake's eyes shrank down to tiny points and darted around wildly. “What? Honey, you're pregnant again already? When were you going to tell me? And with a crystal pony?” Mr. Cake shuddered. “Well, my great great aunt on my fathers side had a great great grandmother who, er, great great great great great...” Mr. Cake curled up into a ball and sucked on his hoof. Not even his freaky knowledge of lineage could take him back the forty generations he'd need to even find a relative who'd met a crystal pony.

Mrs. Cake seethed with rage. She'd poured all of her batter into the same spot and made a mess. After all the trouble she'd gone through with those folks the first time, they had to go and pull a prank like this? She'd be sure to send them a very nasty letter each and every day and she'd never stop.

Author's Note:

Sweetie Belle hopped out of the chair and pushed up Rarity's tail.

Don't worry. She didn't actually know what to look for. She just copied what Cadance had done.

CRUNCH!

If I were a bad pony, I'd have ended the chapter here.

Comments

[Lord of Nothing]

Well, fuck. Interested, but will read later.

[TheExhaustedBrony]

This is somewhat relevant to my interests... I think...

[tana1100]

does this time line continue?

[Palm Palette]

4029036

I don't have any plans to continue this, sorry.

[tana1100]

4029051 ok just wondering, it seems like you could have so much fun with that world/timeline

[LottieOcelot]

All I can think of to say is 'not bad', yet it was better than just not bad. Hmm.