Minding the Gap

by Karrakaz

Epilogue: A belated jump.

Things quickly returned to normal in the Sparkle household, although both Velvet and Nightlight decided that they could use a holiday, and perhaps go on their second honeymoon. None of that was possible before the scheduled visit by Shining and Cadence had come and gone, however.

Luckily for them, that visit was today.

Unluckily for them, Shining was a mess.

Much like his younger sister, the stallion had a big problem with unruly hair whenever the stress got to him, and now, sitting in the living room on the couch where Twilight had been sitting just a week before, it looked like a bird had made a nest in his mane.

“So how are things in the Crystal Empire, Shining?” his father asked him with a smile. “Still no problems since that Sombra fellow?”

“Eh, no, Dad. No problems there,” he answered looking around the room like the walls were closing in on him.

“When we heard that you had something important to tell us, we were so happy!” Velvet exclaimed, entering the room with a pot of tea and several small chocolates. “We were planning on going on our second honeymoon, but we decided that we wanted to hear you out first.”

“We’re very happy you would do that for us, Velvet,” Cadence replied warmly. Unlike her husband, she had a glow of happiness about her and looked completely relaxed. “I only wish we could have gotten here sooner so that you wouldn’t have had to postpone, but ruling an empire is more exhausting than I would’ve thought possible.”

“Oh, please,” Velvet waved a hoof. “It’s not a problem, real—.”

“Mom, Dad, please sit down,” Shining interrupted her. “There’s something important you need to hear, but you need to promise me you won’t freak out.”

“Shining, honey, I was talking to Cadence.”

Cadence smiled apologetically. “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s been like this all week.”

“What’s wrong, son?” Nightlight said, sitting down at Shinings insistence.

Shining Armor took a deep breath and briefly looked to his wife for support. When she smiled at him he exhaled and said: “Twilight is in a romantic relationship with Princess Celestia. Cadence thought she felt something in her magic two months ago, but she couldn’t be sure until last week.”

“Well, I think that—”

“Please don’t be angry with them! You know how Twily was always going on about the princess, and for them to find each other like that really is the best thing that could’ve happened to them!” Shining looked more frantic by the second, and as he didn’t bother to breathe in between sentences, it seemed like he would pass out before he could finish his plea.

Nightlight got up and put a comforting hoof on his son’s back. “Don’t worry Shining, we’re not angry.”

“You’re... not?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“No we’re not,” Velvet said, smiling. “We knew that they were together. They told us as much last week. I’ll admit it was a little difficult to accept at first, but if they’re happy together, why should we complain?”

All at once, Shining seemed to deflate. “Oh...” He took a deep breath once again and walked back to the couch to nuzzle Cadence, whispering: “Thank my lucky stars.”

“Although we’re relying on you for grandchildren now, Shining,” Nightlight continued, smiling at his son before directing his next question to his daughter in law. “So tell us, when are you due?”

“Uhm, Mom... Dad...” Shining turned around to regard his parents again. “You know that we’re not even trying yet, don’t you?”

Velvet giggled. “Come now, don’t play coy. When is it due?”

“Uhm... Mom? Are you even listening?” Shining asked, feeling ever more confused. His mother nodded, though it still did not see like she was listening to him.

“Yes, honey, and we’re asking when it will be born.”

“We. Are. Not. Trying. For. Foals.”

“July,” came Cadence’s voice from behind him.

Shining spun around and gaped at his wife. “What?!”

“Early July,” Cadence said again, barely suppressing a gleeful squeal. “It was a surprise to me as well, but when the doctors told me I couldn’t wait to tell you.”

Shining Armor, former captain of the Royal Guard of Canterlot and stalwart prince of the Crystal Empire, couldn’t take it anymore. He blinked at his parents, blinked at his wife again, and then sank to the floor with a slow groan. The last words he heard before passing out were: “And it’s not just one; we’re having twins!”

Comments

[DiscordedWhovian]

Aw, hell yes. I DEMAND A SEQUEL

[Xaldon Ajide]

4496805 Seconded!

[Aurora Dimmet]

Shining got juked. Good show, Karra.

[Shirohige]

Sequel, nao!

[AndersJager]

more

[Evilhumour]

Ha! Poor shmuck

[Blue_Paladin42]

The rubber broke!
(I'm not even sorry. )

[Karrakaz]

4496955

That's assuming they even used one... or even know about contraception...

[DianaWinters]

That poor bastard...
This is where being a lesbian comes in handy

[Bookmark88]

Love da whole ficcy.

Which is surprising cuase I don't normally care for Twiliestia outside of a few exceptions where my issues with it are adressed.

Those issues aren't addressed here, so It's strange that I like it.

Eh, it's good story, that's all that matters.

Will recommend to Twiliestia shipping Friends

[thenerfherder1000]

We need more. GIVE US MORE!

[oron61]

4496919
Hey, now! That's not how you say things to an author. you must say so like this... *clears throat*...
MOAR

[ChakatFirepaw]

4496966
It's a safe assumption that they know: Birth control devices are easy enough to figure out that they definitely go back to at least the Bronze Age/late Neolithic and there is some evidence pointing to condoms having been invented during, (or even before), the Mesolithic.

[Talon and Thorn]

Given Luna and Celestia's huge ages (at least they're not as old as the sun and moon, probably, you never know in Equestria) are Cadence and Twilight equally immortal now? Or will they be gone in the flicker of an eye to the sisters?

[SPart]

4496955
4496966
4497125
that never happen in hentai manga, why should it happen to ponys ? srysly ?!

[Etyco Filly]

Usually not too fond of Twilestia, but the more stories I read the cuter I find it. Though it's still ages away from the perfectness levels of Twiluna or Octascratch :3
Anyway, good fic dude!

[BlazeNekoFox]

so they couldn't wait to tell them but Twilight they didn't even give or keep in touch, there mean X3

[tsunsu]

what a helriuss ending in the ep[olog for this story hehe so so funny.

[ArchAngelGundam]

Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.

[Maddielittle1998]

Awwwwwwwwwww!!!!

Ok ok.. I'll try to compose myself.
Awwwwwww! Twily and then celestia... And then the Velvet rage
.....and then the the the shining and Cadence.,. And the twins this is ... This is just......

Ok, is there a way I can vote for your story?

[Steel Resolve]

4498414 Upvote this comment.

[Maddielittle1998]

4498624 oh thanks! This has been the best twilestia I've seen for the comp. so far

[vullture]

Now I really want to see more! Sequel!

[metroid_freak]

Yes, a sequel would be great!

[ultra1437]

When Celestia threw a definite number out for her age... I couldn't resist throwing said number in a calculator, along with Lulu's.

Ten million, eight hundred sixty one thousand, seven hundred eighty one - 10,861,781 sunrises (For all intents and purposes, days)
Assuming Equestria's calendar is much like ours, 365.25 days per year.

10,861,781 / 365.25 = ~29,737.94 years.

Luna said roughly nine million (9,000,000) moonrises, so I'm going with that for her age.

9,000,000 / 365.25 = ~24,640.66 years.

Ho-lee sheeit. That beats out my own headcanon of eight to ten thousand years by at least two times, if not three or more!

Fun fact, not counting leap year, Celestia only ages ~21 years (29,758.30). Luna is less so, ~17 years (24,657.53). Those were my original calculations.

---

Oh, Karrakaz? I'm all for it should you continue this in a sequel.

[unknownbore]

Sequel plz?

[TiaC]

4499460

It's less than a month to Celestia's birthday.

[ultra1437]

4499768
A fair point. Sounds like a good continuation prompt!

Edit-
4499627

See here.
4499460

[MEGA LM ShiroHige Pony]

Thanks for the chapters 3 & 4 :D

We need sequel :3 with lemon :3

[ChakatFirepaw]

4499627
Given what we know about Equestria's cosmology, they probably don't have leap years. Remember that we are talking about a world that, as far as we can tell, is not even Ptolemaic, it may even be flat[1].

Now we have days that are set by the ponies who raise and lower the sun and years which are largely defined by the ponies changing the seasons. There is no reason to not have the number of days in a year be an exact multiple.

[1] Then there is the idea from Sharing the Night: A roughly spherical world where the time of day is constant no matter where you are. Stop trying to think about how that would work with a set of physical bodies.

[The Dungeon Maestro]

That was a wonderful story! I believe I'll just mosey on down to the forum and vote.

But I gotta say, I am bloody paranoid!! When I read the part with the chef and how he put too many hot peppers and vinegar on the salads, I was convinced he'd poisoned them! Glad to find out he didn't. I wonder what that says about me......

[PinkiePieFox]

Highly enjoyable read!

[SP00KY NINJA-PON3]

Shining Armor was found hanging from the ceiling with a noose around his neck. He left a note saying "I regret nothing".

[marinus18]

not bad but a little too rushed.
I hope that maybe they will include Shining and Cadence having a foal for real in season 5. I mean it does imply a few things but they seemed to have no problems with the twins so I don't see why they couldn't do it. Maybe they could even add a pregnancy period for Cadence in it.

[Cedric Bale]

Comedy aside; terrible wife, much? Jeez, Cadance, you obviously could wait to tell them if you didn't even tell your own damn husband before now.

[Steel Resolve]

4502988 Well, how often do you get a segue like that?

[blazikenking]

Sequel please.

[Superbowl]

And the tradition of Velvet being irritating still persists. Is there a single story anywhere on this site in which she's actually pleasant?

[OminousBrony]

4505046
I know of several, but just woke up so cannot think of them right now.

[Steel Resolve]

4505046 Um... some clop stories?

[Matrixpony]

A bit of a wonky start, but a Damn solid finish. Have my like.

[BlanquitoNinyo]

[MrJellyLord]

Twins!

[Sailorleo]

4505734

Yeah, I missed that one.... Remind me not to become a professional proofreader.

[Avid Reader]

Commence read.

Congratulations to Shining then.

[Shumiry]

Haroo! Very well. I saved this for last, as it was recommended to me. Having read all the others, and having left critiques and comments and what-have-you, I feel compelled to say, you exceeded all of my expectations.

I had an absolute blast reading through this. In every other fic in the contest, there were moments where I found myself flummoxed. Something in the dialogue, something in an explanation, but always something that didn't sit right with me.

That did not happen here.

And I feel like that's not a small thing. I've said before I'm pretty open-minded about headcanons, because the vast majority of these topics haven't been covered by the show, so there is no canon reaction to draw from, and it's all conjecture. That being said, I am a stickler for things flowing well, and making sense within the confines of the universe you're creating.

In that regard, you succeeded to a degree that no other writer managed. The scenes all made sense to me, the characters, once I'd gotten a feel for them in their initial actions and dialogues, remained true to the selves you'd set up for them, and at no point did I read a sentence and have to quirk an eyebrow.

And I disagree with Superbowl; the only thing I saw in Velvet was a genuine concern for her daughter's welfare, considering the vast difference in age and experience, and over the fact that Celestia was Twilight's mentor, and the inherent risks for trust abuse that stem from turning that relationship into a romantic one. Not only was she remarkably accepting when Celestia allayed her fears, she even was able to joke about it when Shining visited.

Loved the story, you've earned my vote for sure.

Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!

[Karrakaz]

4547282

Thanks for the well thought out comment. I'd love to have more of those.*

I'm glad you liked the story, and especially the flow (as that is something I worry about constantly) and hope you'll try some of the others I've written.

As for keeping with the writing, I'm doing my very best. Which for me means three days of nothing followed by an evening of around 3000 words I'll get there eventually though!

*I'm looking at you other commenters

[Cobolt Soundwave]

Shining is so done?

[minecraftgender]

Oyes. That was awesome But poor Shining though. He'll have to ask Mr. Cake for some tips!

5 out of 5 hearts.