> A Family Hearth's Warming > by SerenaTheMoonPony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Happy Hearth's Warming > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ready to go, Twilight?" A yellow unicorn mare by the name of Sunset Shimmer asked her lovely marefriend. "Ready as I'll ever be" the lavender alicorn mare smiled in reply. "I think it'll be fun seeing your parents again" Sunset noted as the two mares left the castle in which they resided in, heading towards the Ponyville train station. Sunset Shimmer had returned to Equestria from the human world almost a year and a half ago. Upon finding out that Princess Celestia wanted to make amends with her-- and the fact that she may or may not have fallen in love with a certain princess of friendship might have influenced her choice to return. It was Hearth's Warming eve, and the two mare's were going to Canterlot to stay with Twilight's parents for the holidays. The train to Canterlot arrived in little to no time. Once the two were boarded, they discussed recent happenings in their lives quietly as to ensure they wouldn't be heard by anypony else. "Aren't you worried about how they're going to react to this news?" Sunset asked. "Not really; my parents have always been supportive of this kind of stuff. In fact, I'm almost certain they're going to be quite thrilled to hear this news, Sunset" Twilight assured. The train ride was quite re;axing for Twilight and Sunset. Once they had arrived in Canterlot, the two mares were immediately greeted by Twilight's parents; Twilight Velvet and Night Light. "Twily!" Velvet greeted. "Mom! Dad!" She replied, caught in a tight hug from her parents. "Mom, dad, you remember Sunset" she said as she was released from her parents' embrace. "Of course, it's a pleasure to see you again Sunset" Night Light smiled. "Likewise" Sunset replied. With that, the four ponies returned to Velvet and Night Light's home. Upon their arrival, Sunset and Twilight got settled in Twilight's old bedroom. The room had remained untouched since the the last time Twilight came to visit. As Sunset Shimmer unpacked their bags, she came across a small box in which contained something that made the unicorn's heart begin to race slightly. "Huh...Twilight, what's this?" She asked the lavender mare sitting on the bed. "A pregnancy test?" Twilight replied, slightly nervous. "Yes, but why do you have one? Are you...?" Sunset began to ask, before being cut off by Twilight. "Maybe, I'm not sure. I mean, I've been feeling a little off lately, so I just want to make sure" she explained. Sunset's mind was racing. What if Twilight was in fact pregnant? What if her family disowned her for having a foal before marriage? This could very well tarnish Twilight's reputation if she was in fact with foal... "Sunset?" Twilight asked, bringing the yellow unicorn back to reality. "Huh? Oh, sorry Twilight. I was huh...lost in thought" she replied. "Quit worrying, Sunset. Regardless of how this plays out, everything will be fine" Twilight reassured. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Twilight opened it to reveal a light pink alicorn mare. "Cadence! I didn't know you and Shining were coming home for Hearth's Warming!" She exclaimed. "Auntie Twilight!" A small pink alicorn-- with a darker coat than Cadence-- exclaimed, hugging the princess of friendship. "Glimmering Jewel! My, you've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you" Twilight smiled. "So, how have you two been?" Cadence asked the two mares. "Great actually" Twilight replied as Sunset giggled. Cadence gazed at the two with obvious curiosity to what they weren't telling her, but realized that they would tell her when they are good and ready, so decided not to question them any further. After a brief moment, Cadence and Glimmering Jewel returned downstairs , leaving Twilight and Sunset alone. After a few moments of silence, Twilight spoke: "I suppose I should get this over and done with" She said, referring to the test. "I'm going to go downstairs in the meantime. Let me know when you have the results." Sunset replied, heading towards the door as Twilight nodded. Twilight walked down the hall to the washroom. Before checking the results, the lavender alicorn first made her way back to her room. Just as she was about to find out if she was in fact with foal or not, there was a loud knock on the door. Twilight quickly hid the test in her desk drawer before opening the door. "Hey Twily, are you alright? Mom and dad were starting to get worried" Twilight's older brother; Shining Armor asked in concern. "Shining. I-i'm fine " she replied. "Are you going to come downstairs, and I don't know, maybe socialize with the family a bit?" Shining asked jokingly, making Twilight laugh. "Yeah yeah, I'm right behind you" she replied as she closed the bedroom door behind her. 'I'll check it later with Sunny' she thought to herself, walking down the stairs. Entering the living room, Twilight took a seat next to Sunset, who shot her a curious glance. "Well?" Sunset whispered. "I didn't check it yet..." she whispered in reply. "We'll check it later then" Sunset replied. In the living room was Night Light, Shining Armor, Cadence, Glimmering Jewel, Sunset and Twilight. Velvet was preparing dinner-- single hoofed, she insisted-- while they sat and talked. Glimmering Jewel played with her doll-- a doll that resembled Twilight's old doll Smarty Pants-- on the floor. "So Twilight, how are things in Ponyville?" Cadence asked in attempt to make conversation. "Pretty relaxed, actually. There haven't been any monster attacks recently, so I guess I can say things are pretty good. How are things in the Empire?" She replied. "Things have been very calm, actually; it's a nice change of pace that's for sure" Cadence laughed. At dinner, everypony sat at the table to enjoy the delicious meal Twilight Velvet had prepared. When offered a glass of wine, Twilight quickly refused; ultimately surprising everypony but Sunset. It wasn't often that she would refuse a glass during the holidays. After the meal, the family went into the living room to relax, sing songs, talk, and reminisce on their memories past. Suddenly, Twilight excused herself, heading upstairs. Once she was in her room, she patiently waited for Sunset to knock on the door-- five times; a signal in which the two mares had previously established. After roughly ten minutes, there was a knock on the door; fives knocks-- it must be Sunset! When she opened the door, Twilight was surprised to see her brother and sister-in-law outside her door. "Twily, are you alright? You've been acting kind of strange lately..." Shining Armor asked. "I'm fine, Shining. Why wouldn't I be?" Twilight laughed awkwardly. "Twilight, we're just worried about you. Please tell us what's wrong?" Cadence pleaded. "N-nothing's wrong..." Twilight said, her voice cracking. "Are you sure?" The princess of love asked her sister-in-law. "I...I guess I'm just a little stressed out; things have been...pretty crazy lately to say the least." She replied. "Do you want to talk about it?" Cadence asked. Twilight hesitated. She desperately wanted to tell them everything, but part of her also wanted to keep it to herself. She wanted to tell Sunset first and foremost. "C-can you go get Sunset please? I promise I'll explain everything after I talk to her" Twilight asked, almost desperate. "Alright Twilight, I'll go get her" the princess of love replied, leaving the princess of friendship alone with her brother. A few moments passed, and Cadence returned with Sunset. The two mares entered the room; leaving Shining Armor and Cadence outside for a good five minutes. Once the two were done talking, they invited the couple inside the room. "Well? What's going on Twily?" Shining asked. The two mares grinned. "I'm pregnant" Twilight replied. "WHAT? B-but how? When? What?" Shining Armor exclaimed; entering 'protective B.B.B.F.F' mode. "Oh my gosh Twilight! Congratulations!" Cadence squealed. "And before you ask, yes we are planning on getting married" Twilight replied as her sister-in-law laughed. "Is he going to be alright?" Sunset asked, referring to Shining Armor. "Oh yeah, he's really happy for you both, but he's probably going to need some time to get over the fact that his little sister is having a foal" Cadence replied. "Shiny?" Twilight asked, waving a hoof in front of his face. "Huh what?" He asked, as if waking up from a dream. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Y-yeah, I think so...I just...my little sis is all grown up..." he said, tearing up. "Are you...crying?" Twilight asked. "No! It's...liquid pride" He replied, causing his wife and sister to chuckle. After the two mares' laughter died down, Shining asked: "So...did you tell mom and dad yet?" "Not yet, besides, we just found out maybe ten minutes ago that I'm pregnant" She replied as she made her way out of the room, followed by the others. "Really?" Cadence asked. "Yeah, we've been trying to find a time to check the results all day" Twilight laughed. Walking down the stairs, the four ponies made it to the living room; where Twilight Velvet and Night Light were sitting on the couch. "Is everything alright, dear?" Velvet asked her daughter, concerned. "Mom, dad, there's something we need to tell you..." > Epilogue: A Year Later... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following Hearth's Warming, Twilight Velvet and Night Light went to Ponyville for the holidays; as did Cadence, Shining Armor and Glimmering Jewel. Everypony agreed that it would be much easier for them to go to Ponyville, than for Twilight and Sunset to attempt to make it to Canterlot with their newborn filly. The filly was a purple unicorn with a mane similar in style to Sunset's-- the only difference being that hers is red and pink. She was now two weeks old, and was comfortably sleeping between her mother's hooves. "She's so cute Twilight" Cadence whispered to her sister-in-law. "Thanks" she replied. "She looks like the both of you, dear" Velvet smiled. "She's so little...what's her name auntie Twilight?" Glimmering Jewel asked quietly. "Her name is Astra" Twilight replied with a smile. "Momma, she's so little" Glimmering Jewel whispered. "You were little like that once too, sweetie" she smiled. "I was?" She asked with child-like amazement. Cadence nodded. "Would you like to hold her Shining?" Twilight asked. Shining Armor was the only pony in the family to have not yet held the foal. Not because he didn't want to, but because his timing was way off. "I'd love to" he said as Twilight handed him her daughter with her magic. As Shining Armor grabbed Astra in his magic, the filly awoke, but did not cry. Instead, the little one looked up to her uncle and smile. The sight of her warmed his heart. "Hello there Astra, I'm your uncle Shining" he smiled. Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight watched as their daughter got acquainted with her uncle. The unicorn mare then noticed that Twilight was standing directly under mistletoe. "Hey Twilight" the yellow unicorn said. "Huh?" The lavender alicorn asked her wife. Sunset then kissed Twilight passionately. "Happy Hearth's Warming"