Chapter Three
Chapter Three
“We are nearly there, dear husband,” Luna chuffed in an annoyed tone. “And these are some of our best fliers so you need not worry.”
“I can’t help it, you’re nine out of eleven months pregnant,” Pharynx told her. “All fathers-to-be worry around this time.”
“I am an alicorn, I am made of sterner stuff,” Luna replied. “And we have plenty of assistance in case of emergencies.” She looked around at their fellow passengers - four of the six who had once freed her from Umbrea’s control, along with Tempest Shadow and Grubber, whom Cadance had specifically invited. Applejack was not with them, though Thorax (who, as brother of Cadance’s uncle-in-law, was also on the guest list for the first group to see her foal before the public Crystalling) had agreed to make a quick trip to Vanhoover to get her. Moondancer and Trixie were also too far out of range for a quick return, though Luna had brought a communications mirror linked to the one she’d given them so they could call in later.
“I understand that Lus but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Pharynx grumbled. “Can you at least step away from the railing?”
Luna rolled her eyes, but stepped back a bit. “There.”
Pharynx facehooved. “I walked into that one, didn’t I?”
“Yes, yes you did,” Luna said before sighing. “You are worried about how the birth will turn out, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” he replied, rubbing against her. “We still don’t know how the birth will even happen and we do need to inform more of the doctors of the fact we might need to pull several of them into the dream realm for our child which means telling Celly.”
“Creators…” Luna muttered. “How is she going to react to that?”
“If it’s anything like how she reacted that one time, she might just cover her ears and say she doesn’t want to know the details,” Pharynx said, cracking a smile.
Luna gave him a Look. “What did you do?”
“Er… it was about a year ago, and I suggested what I was on my way to do with you in the vaguest of terms when I was passing by her one time?”
Luna sighed. “That explains the dream of hers I had to treat last spring.” She then tilted her head at him. “But I am being serious here Pharynx. The last time I kept secrets from her resulted in my banishment for a thousand years.”
“Luna, it won’t come to that,” Pharynx said with a frown, butting his nose into hers. “She will be hurt that we didn’t share this with her sooner, but she will also understand why we didn’t. She will also do anything to help our child if they are more of the dream realm than the waking realm and you know that she will be your side during your entire labour, even if it is in the dream realm.”
Luna smiled. “You always know the right things to say, don’t you?”
“Hey, it’s what you deserve, Lus,” Pharynx said. “Now, come on inside. I think there’s some weather up ahead that we might want to be under cover for.”
Luna smirked and wiggled her ears. “Does that include you, my dear husband?”
“You know what I mean,” Pharynx told her with a smirk of his own as she let him lead her in, wing on her back. He could see Rarity giving them one of her knowing looks as he and Luna went to their seats, and Fluttershy’s own smile too.
Then they settled in for the rest of the flight.
“We’re about to land everyone,” the minotaur co-pilot said as she poked her head into the room. “We’ll try to be as gentle as possible with the landing, your highness.”
“Thank you, Aethra,” Luna said, leaning into Pharynx and tilting her head towards his. “Isn’t that good news?”
Pharynx nodded, though rolled his eyes. “It should be good to see the empire again,” he said as he rubbed Luna’s side with his hoof. “And to see these windigos at long last.”
“That will be an interesting experience,” Luna said.
“I kinda want to see how fast they can go,” Rainbow Dash said from her own seat.
“From what I have heard, they have yet to allow them to fly anywhere too far from the capital of the empire,” Rarity said. “Something about needing the right mixture of emotions to keep them stable while they recover?”
“More or less,” Luna said. “We are still learning a great deal about their entire biology while helping them adjust to the modern era as well as working with other nations to help them find a place that they can claim for their own. Despite our claims to help anyone we can, so few could, or would, go as far as to part with vital land, Equestria included.”
“That makes sense,” Pinkie said. “I mean, if they need food to support themselves, they’d need a place like Applejack’s but we just can’t make Applejack give up her farm for them, right?”
“Exactly,” Luna said. “What’s more, they are healthier in the colder environments, such as the Crystal Empire. I understand that if they get too far south, they become more vulnerable to the equivalent of heat stroke, unless they bring massive storm systems with them. And that would not be sustainable for any of our societies.”
“And the inverse is true for us changelings,” Pharynx added. “We don’t do too well in the cold unless we have enough love to help us get past it. One of the reasons we never tried to come after the Crystal Heart back in the day.”
“But wasn’t there nothing here until the empire returned?” Pinkie asked.
“When I say back in the day, I mean between the Empire’s founding and when Sombra took over,” Pharynx said. “The Crystal Heart protected ponies from the cold, but the temperature outside was still way too much for us when we tried to cross the tundra to get here in the first place.”
“Oohhh…” Pinkie nodded. “That makes sense!”
“You aren’t having problems now, are you?” Fluttershy asked, concerned.
Pharynx shook his head. “Strangely enough, we seem to be more tolerant to the cold now that we’ve changed like this,” he said. “Queen Tegmina thinks it’s because we’re getting more than enough love to sustain ourselves better, so we can dedicate more of it to protecting ourselves from temperature extremes automatically.”
“That and you have a lovely means of gaining both warmth and love, right?” Luna asked as she leaned up to nip his ear.
“I thought changelings had really tough skin,” Rainbow Dash said with a frown.
“We do; it is just that Luna has rather sharp teeth and a stubborn streak,” Pharynx said. “Also, not all of us are as lucky as I am when it comes to finding a love partner.”
“Flatterer,” Luna teased him. “You are good as well, my love, and I would not trade you for anything in the world.”
Pharynx blushed, and Rarity smiled at the couple.
“I have said this before, and I shall say it again,” she said. “Would that I were as lucky as you and Cadance were, in finding someone as kind and respectful as your husbands are.”
“You’ll find someone some day,” Fluttershy said, laying a hoof on her shoulder. “Maybe when you least expect it.”
In two separate locations, a nose twitched suddenly, and their owners wondered the same thing: What was that about?
Further conversation was cut off when they reached the ground, and had to wait for the pilot and co-pilot to tell them it was safe for them to leave their seats.
When they emerged, they found that standing in front of them were a mixture of the royal guards along with several White Changelings, on loan by High Queen Tegmina. It was partly due to wishing give a dear friend the utmost protection possible but also to protect the first changeling born to inherit one of the thrones of Equestria one day. Luna grimaced, annoyed at all the protection in front of her, but knew it would be beyond foolish and rude to dismiss them for her own sense of pride.
With their companions by their side, the royal couple headed in to the Crystal Palace after the guards of the Crystal Empire allowed them through.
“Luna, you finally arrived,” Celestia said, practically dancing in front of a door before racing over to nuzzle her. “I take it your travel was pleasant and easy on the foal?”
“Verily,” Luna agreed. “Celly, what’s…”
“A miracle has happened, sister dear,” Celestia said. “Come and see, all of you.”
Luna and Pharynx exchanged looks before following her into the room, and gasped at the sight of the foal Cadance was holding.
“An alicorn‽” Luna looked stunned as she stepped closer to examine her great-niece. “That’s…”
Celestia nodded. “The first new alicorn foal since you, sister dear,” she said.
“Whoa.” Pharynx blinked, then grinned. “Congratulations, Cadance!”
“Thank you,” Cadance said, still cuddling her daughter. “Though I doubt I will remain the only one with a bundle of joy for too much longer.”
“We’ve got another two months to go, but yes,” Pharynx said.
“And speaking of which; Celestia,” Luna’s tone caused her sister to snap her head towards her, all joy swept aside by recognizing her seriousness. “We need to inform you of something. Privately. Cadance can stay, but...” She looked at the others. “No offense intended, but this is a family matter.”
Celestia nodded, and seeing the others backing out, shut the door after them. When she was certain only she, Luna, Pharynx, Cadance and the foal were present, and the sound-scrambling was up, she turned to them. “What is it?”
“It is about our foal,” Luna said. “And their exact nature. While I will not go into graphic details, sufficient to say they were conceived not just in the material world but there and the dream world simultaneously.”
“We are highly uncertain as to how this will affect them,” Pharynx said. “We believe the foal will be a natural dreamwalker, linked to one or both of our Mantles somehow.”
“Our fear is that due to the fact we are not sure which world Luna will need to be in to give birth safely will cause complications,” he added. “And no, we can’t recreate the circumstances as that was a rather spur of the moment night on our honeymoon.”
Celestia nodded. “I see.”
“Does… anyone else know about this?” Cadance asked.
“Our doctors,” Luna said. “And Moondancer was informed early on during her own training in the dream realm. We were… worried, about how you would react,” she said, directing this last to Celestia.
“Luna, I promise, that no matter what happens, I will be there to support you,” Celestia said.
“We also wanted to wait until we had more information and more of a solid plan instead of just reacting at the last second but... we can’t keep doing that,” Pharynx said. “It wouldn’t be fair to you and it was starting to put real stress on Luna to keep this from you.”
“I understand,” Celestia said, nodding her head. “So we might have two new races on our hooves; the alicorns and the dream ponies.”
Luna nodded back. “That is one of the possibilities,” she said. “We are truly just guessing at this point.”
Cadance’s eyes suddenly widened. “I can feel them,” she said. “Luna… your baby…”
“What is it?” Celestia asked.
Cadance’s face brightened. “They have so much love!”
At that, Luna relaxed. “Yes, they do,” she said happily. “We felt it in their dream, the first time we found them doing so,” she said.
Cadance smiled, then looked down at her own snoozing infant. “Babies are like that,” she said. “In my experience, they don’t think in words. They think in pure love, and trust, and faith. And ours are both giving off those feelings so strongly…” She looked up at Luna. “I don’t know what type of pony my little cousin is, but one thing’s for certain, they’re going to be a wonder.”
Luna leaned over and nuzzled her. “That’s good to hear,” she said.
Celestia, meanwhile, was barely holding back tears of happiness, until Pharynx nudged her.
“Let it out, Celly,” he said. “We don’t mind.”
Celestia nodded, and then reared up and…
Years later, Cadance would happily tell her daughter and little cousins that this was the first time she ever saw her aunt Celestia doing what she termed a “happy hoofy dance”, and that it was just as glorious as the sight of her and Twilight’s giggling victory hops.
“So how was the visit, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. They were all in a small seating room so the family and friends could relax together without overwhelming the new mother.
“Well… I met my Other,” Twilight said. “And Cadance’s. And Spike’s.”
“Not mine?” Shining Armor asked.
“I think he was at work,” Twilight said.
“But we did find out a little more about him,” Velvet said. “Cadance said he’s a detective for the police department.”
“Sounds fitting,” Shining Armor said.
“And… do you know a pony named Abacus Cinch?” Night Light asked.
Shining Armor thought. “Not off the top of my head,” he said. “Why?”
“Because a human by that name was the principal at my other’s school,” Twilight said. “She was a bully, and… well, that’s the most I can say about her without getting into non-foal friendly terms.” She grimaced.
“That woman forced their Twilight into competing in a big inter-school event that she wanted nothing to do with, and used your other to emotionally manipulate her into agreeing, Shiny,” Velvet said. “He and Cadance’s Other didn’t realize what she was up to, otherwise they’d never have helped.”
“And then she bullied their Twilight into releasing gathered magic just to see what it would do, all so their school could win the games and ensure her ‘reputation’ stayed intact,” Night Light said disgustedly. “Hence, the sudden rifts in the sky. Thankfully, Sunset was able to talk Twilight down, and Cinch has since been stripped of her position, but still…”
“Someone to look out for, then. I’ll get right on it,” Shining Armor said. “Is Twilight - the other Twilight - okay?”
Twilight nodded. “She and Sunset, and my other friends over there, are all friends now,” she said. “She’s transferred to CHS to be with them. And even before that, she had her Spike and her Cadance, and the rest of her family, to support her.”
“I still wish I could meet my Other over there,” Rainbow Dash said.
“So do I,” Rarity commented. “Imagine seeing a whole new style of outfits… why, the inspiration I could get from them!”
Rainbow Dash sniffed at that, but before Rarity could say anything to her, Twilight raised a hoof. “I also explained everything I knew about Powers to Sunset,” she said. “I’m… not entirely sure if she is one yet, but she does have a Role,” she said. “Protecting the Gateway between our world and theirs.”
“Really?” Fluttershy asked. “That’s… unexpected. After all that Discord has told me about their closure, I didn’t know they still needed protecting.”
“As long as any Gateways exist, they need protecting,” Twilight said. “Magic and I talked, and she said most of them are like the one I’ve been through, linking an Equuis and its counterpart human world. The others go… somewhere else. Don’t ask,” she said as Rainbow Dash started to open her mouth. “I’m not allowed to talk about it yet.”
Rainbow Dash looked disappointed, but changed the subject. “So, you meet up with that Flash guy again?”
Twilight saw her brother suddenly glaring, and did her best to ignore it. “We talked,” she said. “We explained to him why there’s more than one of me.”
“And your mother and I talked to him too,” Night Light said. “He’s a nice young man, and Twilight was lucky to have him helping her out. Though I think he could use a little more self-confidence, since he doesn’t seem to think he’s good enough for Twilight now that he knows she’s an actual princess.”
“He does want to keep in touch with you though, dear,” Velvet said. “He still sees you as a friend after all.”
Twilight nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“That’s all we can ask,” Velvet said.
“So what else happened?” Pinkie asked, her face suddenly in Twilight’s.
Twilight tried not to look startled. “Well, we talked, a lot… apparently Celestia and Luna’s Others knew about Equestria the whole time, the Alpha filled them in a long time ago. Oh, and you know how I told you about how my friends and I all ponied up there, the night I came back? I saw Sunset do it too, just by singing!”
“She was very good at it,” Night Light contributed. “I’d almost swear… well, in some way, it sounded like your singing voice, but pitched differently, Twilight.”
Twilight started to speak, but then stopped and considered. “Hmm… you know, she really did sound a bit like me under there,” she said thoughtfully.
“Neat!” Pinkie said. “Wish I could have seen it. So what else?”
Twilight smiled as she began to fill them in. Not on everything though.
She would wait to tell them about meeting Life until she’d had a chance to speak to Celestia about it first. In private.
While the rest of the girls did want to see the foal, they were also aware that Cadance would need some private time to recuperate and be with her child without any outsiders. The actual Crystalling ceremony would be happening the next day, when Cadance announced her baby’s name to her subjects and the Crystaller added a prism of Cosmic Spectrum charged with the happiness and love of the people in attendance to the Crystal Heart, and Twilight couldn’t blame her for wanting some quiet time before the big moment.
At the moment, though, Twilight found herself walking the halls of the palace, taking in the different crystal architecture when she spotted a white figure approaching her.
It was not the Lady of Life as she could see this person but she almost didn’t recognize the species until they were almost a few steps away.
“So you are the famous Twilight Sparkle,” the windigo said, looking over her.
“And you must be Lady Aputsiaq,” Twilight said, extending a hoof. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise,” Aputsiaq stared at the hoof before looking at Twilight again. “Forgive me for not shaking your hoof but I do not particularly care for that practice. In these times, it is a much more common practice but I recall a time when it was used to seal deals between leaders.”
“What kind of deals if you do not mind me asking,” Twilight said carefully, feeling that the windigo was looking for something from her.
“All kinds of different deals, Princess Sparkle,” Aputsiaq said, tilting her head down to her. “Agreements about trade, marriages, placement in the migration routes for when we do our travels among others.”
“Princess Sparkle?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at that.
“Twilight is your family name, is it not?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “Your mother is Twilight Velvet and it was a practice that the mares of unicorn families would have their first daughter take the family name. Unless that has changed as well.”
“Um…” Twilight could feel her face heating up with Aputsiaq beginning to snicker.
“It varies from family to family, these days,” she finally said, having mentally dug back into her old stores of historical and etymological knowledge. “Some of us use a single family name, some don’t. As far as I know, Twilight is my personal name, and my mother’s as well.”
“Perhaps you should ask her later on, your highness, for clarification,” Aputsiaq said, shrugging her shoulders. “You could also go through your family records for more information.” She then sighed a bit too much for Twilight to believe it was genuine. “If only my own windigos could have such a luxury. Such a long time has washed away my people’s tribal grounds that only our memory and our word shows that it was once ours.”
“It is a shame, Lady Aputsaiq,” Twilight said. “Though I would wish I could help you and your windigos in reclaiming your land, I still have not completed all of my diplomatic training and I cannot in good conscience try to give help or advice on my own without consulting my fellow Princesses in these matters as of yet.”
“Ah.” The windigo seemed… well, Twilight wasn’t entirely sure how to quantify the look on her face. It was almost as if she was disappointed that the youngest (well, second-youngest now) and least-experienced princess wasn’t the pushover she’d expected. “A shame that you cannot do more to help, considering how well liked I have heard you are in the international community, your highness.”
“Indeed.” Twilight’s gaze was firm and steady. “I do what I can, but for now, I am part of a triarchy - a position I am quite happy with. I know what I can and cannot achieve without my co-rulers’ backing, and this, regrettably, is one of those things I must consult with them on.”
Aputsaiq smiled coyly and Twilight instantly felt she had made some sort of mistake. Already, the windigo was bowing her head towards her. “I understand, your highness,” she said. “It is late, though. Perhaps we should retire for the night?”
Twilight nodded back. “Quite,” she said. “And as soon as we have all the facts in this matter, and can make arrangements to sort this out in a fair and satisfactory manner for everyone, we will.”
“Perhaps,” Aputsaiq said, giving Twilight a measured look. “Allow me to be direct with you. Windigos are not a species that are normally one to sit by the table with others to discuss matters of legality and ownership. That was not our way back in the past; we survived and grew like other emotivores had done; by taking the emotions we needed by your kind. Granted that the last time we had done so it had turned out poorly for us and that we have not only seen the benefits that the changelings have received through the new method of receiving emotions, we have also started to see it have an affect on us as well and we are at the mercy of the kindness of Empress Cadance to shelter our kind here.” She let out a sigh and shook her head. “We are being asked to change a lot of who we are. I do not wish to see my tribe lose all that they are so I am desperate for anything that will allow us a connection to the past, even if it is land that others have now. I am also not the only one that wishes to reclaim some part of our legacy and the longer it takes, the greater the chance that some will attempt to do so on their own.”
Twilight nodded. “I have spent much time learning of other cultures and their ways, and have seen many who wish to bring back the glory days of their species. But the world has changed. People have adapted. Equestria has learned much from its experiences in recent years, and we will not bully a nation and its people into changing things to suit another race’s demands. Nor will we allow another nation or group of people to attempt to do it.” She looked even firmer now. “Make no mistake, I understand your desire to reclaim what was once yours. And perhaps, it will be again. But cooperation and compromise are the way of things now. I have taken up a firm hoof when the situation required it, and if that’s what it takes to get everyone sitting down and talking, so be it.”
Aputsaiq looked somewhat taken aback. “I… I see.”
Twilight’s look softened. “I do understand your attachment to your old homelands,” she said. “And if it is possible for you to return to them, then so be it. But as I said before, I will require a thorough understanding of all the facts from both sides. We do not want a repeat of the incident that nearly led to war between Equestrian settlers and the buffalo whose land they had tried to claim, after all.”
“Thank you, your highness,” Aputsaiq said, bowing her head again. “Though I am off put that you lied to me. You said you still needed to finish your training and yet, you spoke like a person with many years of experience behind you.”
Twilight smiled. “I didn’t lie,” she said. “I have indeed had experience, even before I gained my wings. But my formal training is not yet done.”
“To the frozen pits with that; you have more than proved to me that you are worthy of your crown, throne and reputation,” she said, flashing her a smile. “If you will accompany me, I will give you a list of names of windigos we will need to watch out for. I feel that they are the most likely to try to forcefully take the lands back from Yakyakistan. Perhaps you will be able to convince them otherwise and I can tell you of Winter magic. I may no longer be Lady of Hatred, but Winter still grants me mastery of its powers, and while I have heard tell that you tend to prefer Summer and the Sun, I believe their Opposite’s magic would also be of interest to you.”
Twilight nodded. She would listen to the Lady of Winter, and agree to check on things. But as much as she hated to rely on any advice from Blueblood, no matter how supportive he’d been more recently, she would be cautious and alert, and not allow Aputsaiq to manipulate her.
With that in mind, she followed after the other Lady.
Before anyone had been aware, Luna had set her moon and Celestia raised her sun and the big day was upon them all in the Crystal Empire. They had been preparing for the Crystalling for a while now, though it had seemed every citizen had applied an extra layer of polish and done a bit extra in preparation for the additional celebration that was to occur today. The naming of their new princess and the first alicorn born in over a thousand years or more was an event that none wanted to miss.
They had gathered in droves before the Crystal Palace, while the Royal Family and friends gathered inside (Applejack had arrived with Thorax late the night before, and had promised them quite the story after all was said and done), and the ceremony was about to begin.
When Cadance gave the nod, Rarity’s horn lit up and opened the curtains, allowing them to walk onto the balcony, the infant being held by her beaming great-aunt. As she reached the railing, Cadance and Shining Armor leaned over to kiss their child on each cheek, before they lit their own horns and levitated the giggling foal into the air, while Twilight lowered a crystal prism to the ground in preparation for the big moment.
"Ladies and gentlecreatures," Cadance announced as the floating foal giggled and waved her little hooves happily. "We are very proud to present, for the very first time, the newest member of the Crystal Empire... Princess Flurry Heart!"
The roars and cheers that filled the Crystal Empire energized the Cosmic Spectrum roads they stood upon, flowing up into the prism Twilight was holding against the ground. As it glowed, she sent it inside to join with the rest of the Crystal Heart, the two fusing and releasing a wave of positive magic that swept out and enveloped everyone present. All gasped in surprise and delight as they found themselves covered in temporary crystalline coats.
"Wow. Shiny," Pharynx remarked as he examined his hooves.
"Yes?" Shining Armor asked, smirking at him.
For a moment, Pharynx just stared at him, and then burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Aria examined her new look. “I’m surprised this didn’t hurt me,” she said.
“Or us,” Aputsiaq said as she stood next to Aria. “Normally I would expect this much love energy to be…”
“Maybe it’s ‘cause you weren’t actually hostile this time?” Sonata suggested.
“You may be right,” Aputsiaq said thoughtfully. “Though it might be our Mantles that are protecting us.”
Aria shook her head. “I don’t think so. Look.”
Aputsiaq did, and saw, to her shock, that her windigos were also crystalled now, and looking at themselves in awe.
“The look’ll wear off in a while, like it does for everyone who isn’t a born Crystal Pony, but I guess the Heart’s accepted them,” Aria said.
“So it would seem,” Aputsiaq said faintly. “My windigos are in far better hooves than I could have ever hoped for.”
In another part of the crowd, the Alpha eyed his new look with interest. “Fascinating,” he said.
“Quite,” Queen Tegmina remarked from his side, the High Queen of the Changelings having accompanied him to the event.
“This is quite spectacular,” Octavia noted from her own position in the crowd.
“Yeah.” Vinyl grinned. “And just think of the acoustics they’ve got in the palace!”
Queen Scolopidia looked at her own changed chitin. “At least this isn’t permanent. No offense intended to the Crystal Ponies, but I don’t know how they can enjoy certain… activities, shall we say, when their outsides are hard as a rock!”
Octavia looked a little disapproving at her, but Vinyl just snickered. The Earth Pony then smirked at her wives and suggested, “Well, we could try to wander off to find out for ourselves…”
“Works for me,” Vinyl said with a grin.
The trio still chuckling, they slipped away.
Back on the balcony, Cadance cuddled her daughter. “Thank you all,” she said to everyone around her. “The festival shall now begin and in due time, I will join you personally but I have other duties to attend right now.”
With that, everyone below went off on their own, while Cadance and the others went inside to settle in for a bit.
“Does she need another diaper change?” Shiny asked as he walked towards his wife and daughter.
“No,” Cadance told him. “She’s doing just fine.”
Flurry Heart giggled, reaching her hooves out to him. Shining cooed and lifted his daughter into his hooves.
Thorax, from where he was standing, smiled. “You’re both going to be great parents,” he said.
“Thanks,” Shining Armor said, still cuddling Flurry. “You are too.”
Thorax beamed proudly. “Thank you,” he said. “Our little Tagma’s doing great.”
“Where is she, by the way?” Celestia asked.
“She and my wife were in the crowd,” Thorax said. “Metanotum said she’d bring her up later, so she could meet her… um, what’s the proper term for their relationship again?”
“First cousin, once removed by marriage,” Twilight said. “And Luna and Pharynx’s child would be Flurry Heart’s first cousin once removed.”
“Okay, thanks Twilight.”
“No problem Thorax,” Twilight said. “I’ve always found genealogy fascinating.”
“And I think your niece just found someone else fascinating,” Tempest remarked. Indeed, the little filly, though still cuddling up to her father, was now looking in Grubber’s direction and burbling at him.
“She’s new to the world,” Rarity said. “Speaking from my experience with Sweetie Belle, she will be finding a lot of things new and fascinating for a long time.”
“Eeyup,” Applejack agreed. “Apple Bloom was the same way.”
“And the Cake twins!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “But, no offense? I hope I don’t have to dump flour on myself again to keep your baby happy, Cadance.”
Cadance smiled. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out,” she said. “Even if it is messy.” She then lifted her head upwards as one of the servants walked into the room. “Are they here, miss Shard?” she asked.
“Yes, Cadance, they are,” the mare said, a clear indication that Cadance had managed to get her ponies to treat her as an equal.
“Excellent,” Cadance giggled excitedly as two Earth Ponies walked into the room, looking a little exhausted but delighted nonetheless as they walked over to her. “Hello Mom, hello Dad,” she chirped happily as she pulled them both into a hug.
“Hi, sweetie,” the mare said. “We’re sorry we couldn’t get in sooner, but you know how things go.”
Cadance smiled. “It’s okay, Mom,” she said. Turning to everyone else, she introduced them. “Everyone, these are the ponies that found and raised me, before I ascended. Caramel Lilly, and Silver Vision.”
“You are well met indeed, to have raised such a wondrous little filly as grew up to become our niece,” Luna said, bowing to the couple.
Caramel Lilly smiled. “Oh, she was a joy,” she said. “I just wish we could have been here in time to see the Crystalling.”
“By the way, Night Light, Velvet, we tried that recipe you guys recommended and it was delicious,” Silver Vision said. “Thank you.”
“It was our pleasure,” Night Light said, shaking his hoof. “Thank you for putting us up for that month while Velvet got more research for her next book.”
“Hey mom, dad, come meet your grandfilly,” Shining said to Caramel Lilly and Silver Vision, with Flurry Heart staring at them with awe in her eyes.
The couple smiled as they walked over. “She’s adorable,” Caramel Lilly said as she leaned over. As she did, Flurry Heart burbled happily and reached out her hooves, pulling her grandmother’s face in close and rubbing her nose against the older mare’s muzzle, eliciting a laugh of delight.
When both of them had received the appropriate attention from their grandfilly, the pair stood back, then looked at Twilight. “I don’t think we’ve met you properly before,” Silver Vision said. “It’s good to finally meet the mare our daughter adores so much.”
Twilight blushed. “It’s nice to finally meet you too,” she said. “I know that Celestia helped teach Cadance after she ascended, but it is wonderful to meet the ponies that raised her when she was little.”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged looks, before Applejack cleared her throat. “Beggin’ yer pardon, sir, ma’am, but… if yer her parents, how come you weren’t at Cadance’s wedding?”
“Oh,” Silver Vision said. “Well… it’s kind of a long story…”
Cadance spoke up. “Chrysalis kidnapped them,” she said. “She knew they’d be able to identify her as an imposter, so she had two of her changelings capture them as they were on their way to Canterlot, and then pretend to be them when they arrived. They claimed they’d had an accident on the way and needed to stay in a hospital until they’d recovered, so they wouldn’t be able to see the wedding in person.” She sighed. “Shiny and I actually stopped by on the way out of Canterlot and figured it out when we caught them trying to escape. We stopped them, questioned them and talked them into telling us where my parents were being kept. Then we rescued them, and came up here afterward.”
Thorax looked distraught, before he bowed to the couple. “I am so, so sorry we couldn’t stop her sooner, before she caught you,” he said.
Caramel Lilly dipped her head. “It wasn’t your fault, young colt,” she said. “Cadance has told us everything about what went on. You did your best to make things work out.”
“We’d be fools to blame you,” Silver Vision said. “Especially as you were the one that rallied your own hive against her. That was a very brave and noble act, King Thorax.”
Thorax blushed a little. “Well… thank you,” he said, looking away from the two.
Pharynx groaned and shook his head. “Same old little brother,” he chuckled before giving a bit of a groan as Luna elbowed his side with her wing.
“Behave,” she whispered.
“I am, I am! Is it my fault he’s so… well, un-egotistical?”
Luna raised an eyebrow at that, but turned back to see the couple smiling at Thorax. “Still, at least wait until after his moment to remind him of the sibling dynamic, okay?”
“Okay,” Pharynx told his wife. He then looked up at Thorax, and smiled. “I really am proud of him, you know. For everything he’s done.”
Luna smiled. “As you should be, Pharynx dear,” she said, nuzzling him, their horn rings clinking against each other. “As you should be.” She then turned her eyes to Thorax and strode over to him. “Now let us go see if we can go find our niece and sister in-law, dear brother, for I have gone too long without spoiling them rotten.”
Thorax looked at Pharynx, who simply shrugged his shoulders. “You haven’t let Luna spoil Tagma in a while; I’m surprised she hasn’t done more already considering our sister in-law’s proclivity to do so to other foals.”
“Celestia does love to spoil,” Thorax muttered as Celestia eyed Flurry while making faces towards her before yipping as Luna began to peck at him. “Gah, Luna!”
“The more you stay here is less time I can spoil my dear niece,” Luna said, pecking his neck again.
“All right, all right! I’ll get her!” Thorax rubbed his neck as he began to walk towards the door, with Luna and Pharynx on his heels. “You realize, of course, this means I reserve the right to do the same for your foal.”
“I expect nothing less, little brother,” the other Royal Changeling said with a chuckle.
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A very chilled-out chapter (so to speak), glad that the Crystalling went without a hitch & we finally got to see Cadence parents. Hopefully Luna/Pharynx foal won't cause too much of an uproar when she finally goes into labor in 2 months (give or take)
Hah, nice shoutout to the fact that Twilight's singing voice is also Sunset's VA in RL. And Cadence's parents were nice to see, we just hear about her being adopted by Earth Ponies but never see them in canon which is a shame. Can't wait for the next chapter.
yes!! im like number 10!! also- love this series...great chapter!!
For some reason I find this very interesting
Congratulations, you have now been shipped
Just realised..
Abacus, tool of accountants, Cinch, to twist tight.
Shes a Tight Wad.
The Alpha raised his eyebrow in intrest and spocked, "Facinating".
I just realized, did we say the fate of the PVE society? I feel like we just kinda forgot about them.
10303745
They were last mentioned in the third story after trying one of their usual stunts and getting in a lot of trouble for it. Between that, events at the start of the war and the world coming together in general, they've lost a lot of their backing.
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.