> Cat's Cradle
>  by Shakespearicles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Bonsai
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the dusk of a cold Sunday evening. A young mare had just left visiting her parents' home in Canterlot. She was walking through the city towards the Royal Palace. She was already late getting back to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She tugged at the brim of her velvet chapeau to shield her eyes from the setting sun. She wasn't really a fan of hats. But her mother had made it for her, and she had been insistent that she wear it to show the princess. It didn't hurt that it also kept the cold winter wind off of her.

As the sun slipped below the horizon, dusk gave way to twilight. The unicorn of the same name stopped and stood on a street corner and waited. It would be the vernal equinox next week, the first day of spring. But as she stood there, she could still feel the icy grip that winter had on the mountain-side city. The red and orange hues of the sky looked deceptively warm from the inside of a house window. The colors refracted off of the frost on the sidewalks. Its slippery presence was a more accurate indication of the present climate.

She stood there and listened. The city was rarely quiet. She could hear the distant bustle of carts moving around in the commercial district. She could smell the wood smoke emanating from the chimneys in the neighborhood. She waited, and watched the fog of her warm breath swirl in front of her.

"And here... we... go," Twilight whispered to herself. The street lights flickered to life as the moon crested the horizon. The young pony looked up at the moon. The Mare in the Moon looked back at her. She resumed her walk along the main street. She cut down a dark alleyway. It was a shortcut that she'd learned. She had long-ago mapped out the most efficient route to take back to the castle after visiting her parents for the weekend. It wasn't the most scenic of routes, but she was nothing if not pragmatic. And unfortunately, she was also a predictable creature of habit.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" she heard a voice from the shadows ahead of her.

"Looks like somepony is lost," came another voice beside her.

"All alone in the city night," came a third behind her, cutting off her escape. 

"I'm not lost!" Twilight said defensively. "I'm heading back to Canterlot Castle. I'm Celestia's student!"

The three gruff stallions surrounded her, slowly closing in.

"What's in the bag there, Sweetie?" one asked. 

"Bits, I'd wager!" another said as the third grabbed her saddlebag, tearing the strap.

"Hey!" Twilight shouted.

"Nah, it's just books!" he said as he rifled through her bag.

"Forget 'em then! Get the rope. I bet the princess will pay a nice ransom to get her little pony back." The other stallion pulled out a coil of rope and advanced on her.

"Stupid books!" the other complained, throwing her bag to the ground, spilling the books out into a muddy puddle, soiling the pages. The corner of Twilight's eye twitched.

"Oh, Sugar," Twilight's shaky voice rasped as her horn burned a hole through the hat, "you've just gone and done the dumbest thing in your whole life."


By the time the Royal Guards responded to the noise reports of "Armageddon" happening, all they found were three bloodied, bruised, and unconscious stallions roped up and hung by their hooves from the street light like discarded horseshoes. Each of them had a scorched word burned into their singed fur.


THIEF



FOALNAPPER



BOOK-WRECKER


The rope running from their tied hooves, over the pole and to the other ponies were woven into an intricate pattern, resembling a rectangular spiderweb.

"What do you make of it, Sergeant?" one of the guards asked. The sergeant stepped closer and she inspected the pattern.

"It almost looks like a..."







Cat's Cradle






"Twilight! My most faithful student!" Princess Celestia greeted the young pony.

"Princess," Twilight responded with a small bow. It wasn't the deep bow of somepony meeting the princess for the first time. It was a small gesture bore of familiar habit, but also respect.

"Twilight, how many times must I tell you to just call me 'Celestia'," she said.

"At least one more time, Princess," Twilight said with just the subtlest of nods. Twilight had been attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns ever since she was a small filly. Twilight had been a star student ever since she had arrived. The princess herself had taken Twilight under her wing as her personal protégé. The white princess towered over the young pony even without the added height of her horn. And her broad wingspan all but dwarfed any other pony she met. It was intimidating to anypony that did not know her true, kind nature. Her voice was soft, warm, and comforting. And maternal.

"Come," Celestia directed her, "I've something I want to show you in my garden." Twilight followed the princess, giving a wide berth to her ethereal, flowing mane and tail. As they walked past the entrance to the Canterlot Garden, the sunlight refracted through her translucent mane, causing it to project shimmering pastel colors onto the swirled, marble floor. Twilight's expression became quizzical as they passed the entrance to the Canterlot Garden.

"Princess, we've passed the garden," Twilight said. Celestia wore a soft, knowing smile as she looked to her student.

"I did not mean the Canterlot Garden," she said as they continued toward the castle's west wing. "I mean my personal garden." Twilight could not stifle her gasp. She had only ever heard whispers of Celestia's private garden. Her mother used to tell her stories about it when she was just a foal. It was rumored to have the rarest, most exotic flora in all of Equestria. The other students at Celestia's school gossiped that it was to have the most potent herbs in the land for 'recreational use'. But Twilight paid such deplorable talk no heed. No theories were to be believed, after all. It was Celestia's private sanctuary. Nopony was allowed in Celestia's personal garden except the princess herself. 

Until now.

"P-Princess! This is- it's such an honor! I- I don't know what to say!" Twilight stuttered. "Thank you!" Princess Celestia led her into the hallway past her royal chambers. Castle guards flanked each of the doorways, still as statues, eyes forward. At the end of the hall was a lone doorway that was left unguarded. It was ornate, but it had no handle, or and visible means of opening, save for a round hole in the center. 

Celestia bowed her head, and placed her horn into the hole. She unlocked the door with a spell that only she could cast. The gold relief etching of the door glowed to life. A seam materialized up the middle of the door and it split open on its own. Bright sunlight filled the hallway as the door opened. Twilight squinted and followed Celestia through the doorway, stepping outside into her garden. 

Twilight had expected Celestia's private garden to be many things. She expected a jungle of exotic plants. She expected a vast collection of carefully labeled nature exhibits like the botanical garden in the Canterlot Conservatory. She expected a simple, yet perfectly-manicured vegetable garden, like her own mother's. 

They walked through the doorway, into a jarring transition from the marble tile of the castle to a course cobblestone pathway leading to a solitary tree amid a sea of rather plain field grass. 

As soon as they both were through, the door closed behind them. Twilight looked back at the exterior of the castle. There was no visible sign of a door having existed in the wall at all. Her eyes traveled upwards along the ancient architecture to one of the spires. Twilight recognized the tower with her guest dormitory in it. She orientated herself within her mental map of the castle. She'd been in that very window up there. She'd looked out at the very ground that they were standing on. But it did not look like this. She'd never seen this stone path or tree before in her life. Twilight's mind struggled with the geographic dissonance.

"I- I know where we are... but... where are we?" Twilight asked.

"This is the West Castle Courtyard," Celestia said.

"I know but-" Twilight spun around in place, still trying to get her bearings. "But this isn't here," she said, pointing at the tree. "There are supposed to be some flowering bushes and... a couple of benches and-" Twilight noticed how warm she was. How green the grass was. It was the last frost of winter not more than a week earlier. But it felt like the height of a balmy summer day where they stood. "How?" Celestia gave her the same smile she always had when she would impart her knowledge upon her students.

"We are in the West Castle Courtyard. And we are not," Celestia began to explain. "This... place, exists in the same space, in the same time, but layered, superimposed on top of what is already there. Like pages in a book."

"I don't understand," Twilight said.

"It's like a pocket, or a bubble in the world. Like a bubble in water. The world is like the sea. Even if there is a bubble in it, the sea is still the sea,  The water moves around it as though it were not even there. So too, does the bubble exist, without regard for the water around it. But this is a bubble of space, of reality, of my design. Technically, it does not exist. It is unable to be measured, observed, or reached from the outside but by my spell to access it. Without it, that door leads nowhere." Twilight followed her gaze to the bare wall where the door had been.

"This is... unbelievable!" Twilight said. Celestia place her hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Twilight, my dear. Please give yourself more credit," Celestia said. "You can't even imagine... what you can not imagine." Twilight gave her a strange look. She assumed it was just one of those cryptic things that Celestia would say from time to time that probably had a much deeper meaning than she would be able to handle in the moment. Twilight found that it was best to not think about such things too much. She needn't wait long. "Never underestimate what you are capable of believing. What other evidence do you need beyond what your very own eyes report?"

"What if I could be under the effects of a perception-altering potion, or spell? What if I could be dreaming? What if-" Celestia cut off Twilight with her hoof.

"Did you know that 'if' is the middle word of 'life'?" Celestia asked. She moved her hoof away from Twilight's lips and walked toward the tree. "This is what I brought you here to see."

"A tree?" Twilight asked dubiously.

"Yes," Celestia answered rather plainly. "Do you think that you might be able to identify it?" Twilight smiled. It was an academic question. Twilight's favorite kind. She walked closer to the tree, inspecting it intently. It was massive. The gnarled limbs looked ancient. The leaves looked... unlike like leaves of a deciduous tree. But it wasn't the needles of a coniferous tree. It almost looked like bits of moss on the tips of the branches. She ran her hoof over the bark. Everything about it looked alien. She'd never seen anything like it before in her life. Not in person, or in any of her textbooks.

"I- I have no idea what kind of tree this is," Twilight admitted.

"You do," Celestia assured her. "Here, let me give you a hint." Celestia took a small branch in her magic and gave it a gentle snap. She picked up a small pot of dirt that was sitting at the tree's base. She placed the small branch into the dirt and gave the pot to Twilight. Her eyes lit up. She recognized it immediately.

"It's a Bonsai Tree!" she said, looking at the tiny pot in her hooves. "My mother has one like this."

"I know," Celestia said. "I gave it to her." Twilight regained her composure. Her eyes move up along the size of the massive tree looming over them. 

"It's a giant Bonsai Tree," Twilight gasped. "But the largest one I've ever seen was at the Conservatory. And that was only-" Twilight made a motion with her hoof, barely at her waist in height. She stared at the massive tree. "How? I mean this tree must be... for it it have grown so large, it would have taken-"

"Time, Twilight," Celestia answered. "Time, care, and patience. All things that I have in abundance."

"Wow," Twilight breathed, still in awe of the living miracle of nature.

"The farm pony that plants a date tree, never reaps the dates from it," Celestia said. "It takes longer than the lifespan of a pony for a date tree to reach fruit-bearing maturity. And yet, date tree orchards exist. Planted by ponies who knew that they themselves would never reap the fruits of their labor. These ponies understood the value of planning for the future." Celestia walked in a slow circle around the thick trunk of the massive tree, running the tip of her wing along the familiar grain of the bark.

"I've spent all of my life caring for this tree. Each limb that you see, every single branch, was once a choice that I had to make at some point in time. Keep this branch, or prune it? All of those choices would not reveal their results for many years. Every choice had lasting effects, shaping the tree that you see today." Celestia regarded her pupil as she looked at her tree. "Perhaps, one day, I will tell you the story of when I planted the seed for this tree."

"I would love to hear it," Twilight said.

"A tale for another time, I'm afraid. For now, there is something else we must attend to," Celestia said.

"Okay," Twilight resigned, setting the pot down to leave on the ground. Celestia lifted it back into her hooves.

"No, Twilight. This one is yours. Keep it."

"Thank you, Princess."

"You're very welcome. Now come." Twilight followed Celestia toward the castle wall. Her horn glowed and the invisible seams in the wall opened. Back inside the castle, they were met with the brisk air of Equestria still just emerging from a cold winter. Twilight walked back to her chambers in the castle as Celestia escorted her. Inside, Twilight set the tiny tree sprout on her desk.

"Celestia, I promise I'll take care of this!" Twilight promised. "My mother always doted on her tiny tree. I never knew why she loved it so much. But I do now." Celestia smiled.

"Come. I have a surprise for you." Twilight looked at the small tree on her desk. 

"It's not the tree?"

"I mean, another surprise," Celestia opened the door and led them back out into the hallway. "It's something that I've been putting off for far too long. But I can't wait any longer. Especially after that little incident in the city where you were accosted by those thugs."

"It was nothing I couldn't handle," Twilight said. "They tried to mug the wrong unicorn."

"Yes, Twilight, you did well. I'm glad that you were paying attention during those defensive magic courses. But I just can't bear the thought of-" Celestia cut herself off, refusing to even speak of the unmentionable. They stopped outside of the Royal Guard barracks. The Commander received her and gave a sharp salute. Celestia nodded and he turned to go inside. "I have every confidence in your abilities, Twilight. This isn't for you. It's for me. For my peace of mind," Celestia said

"What is?" Twilight asked.

"Your Highness!" a Royal Guard pony emerged from the barracks and presented himself before the princess. He bowed quickly before he stood at attention and gave a firm salute. "Reporting as ordered!"

"Twilight," Celestia said, "I am assigning you your own personal guard pony. He will be at your complete command. He will obey your will as though your words were my very own. And he will defend you with his life."

"YES MA'AM!" the guard pony confirmed.

"Twilight, may I present Lieutenant Night Light," Celestia introduced. "Lieutenant, I would like you to meet my most faithful student, Twilight Velvet."
> Guarded Feelings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That evening, Twilight Velvet sat at her desk scribbling her quill upon some arcane paperwork. Her personal chambers in the Canterlot Castle were modest, by castle standards. It was little more than a studio bedroom apartment with a small bathroom. But it was lavish compared to her old bedroom in her family home where she grew up. Understandable, since the cost of living was so high in Canterlot. As an only child, her parents were her whole world. It was her mother that got her into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Velvet looked at the bonsai tree next to her ink well. It was small. But with time, care, and patience, it would grow. One day it might even be as big as her mother's. She looked back at the arcane paperwork she was supposed to be transcribing. It was tissue-thin, and falling apart from the ravages of time.

"More like archaic paperwork, by the looks of it," Velvet said, chuckling to herself. She looked over at the mirror on her vanity. "Great, Velvet, the best joke you'll make all night and nopony was around to hear it," she said to her reflection. The pale-furred mare in the mirror looked back at her with those blue eyes under her white-and-purple-striped mane. She looked at the bonsai tree again. She needed a distraction.

She got up from her desk to stretch her hooves and paced around the room. Outside, she could see the sun was about to set. The library would be closed by the time she got there. But the royal kitchen would still be open. She opened her chamber door and walked out into the hallway.

"Ma'am," Lieutenant Night Light greeted.

"Holy-Bucking-Hell!" Velvet nearly jumped out of her fur, surprised by the pony standing just beside her door. He was clearly alerted by her reaction, but he didn't share her surprise. He looked after as she nearly tumbled to the floor.

"Ma'am? Are you okay? Do you need help?" he asked. 

"What? Yes. I mean, no! I mean- I'm fine. You just scared me," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," he apologized.

"I just wasn't expecting you," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am."

"Well, I remember that you were posted here when we came back, now. But I forgot when I came out. I'm still getting used to this whole... guard thing. It wasn't your fault."

"..."

"Not much of a talker, eh?" she asked.

"Not really, Ma'am," he said. Velvet just stood there for a minute, looking him over. From what little of him she could see under the Royal Guard armor, he was a stallion of average build. He wasn't as physically imposing as some of the other guards. But he was a unicorn after all. She recalled her own scuffle in the city. Strength had different measures. His blue fur was accented by his dark blue mane and tail. His eyes were the color of golden amber. They reminded her of her father's eyes. Velvet pushed the thought away.

"You don't need to call me 'Ma'am', you know," she said.

"As you wish, Madam."

"That's- no, that's not better."

"Understood, Mrs. Velvet," he said.

"Miss Velvet," Velvet corrected. Night Light shifted his stance slightly. Velvet suddenly felt her face become warm with her blush. "I don't know why I said that."

"To indicate that you are not married?" he asked.

"No- I know what it means! I just- never mind."

"..."

"Have you really been standing there this whole time?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am, er- Miss Velvet."

"Do you need to use the restroom?"

"No, Miss Velvet."

"Well, I mean, would you like to?" she asked. He hesitated.

"... yes," he admitted. Velvet opened the door to her room.

"The door on the left," she said, directing him inside.

"I don't think that would be appropriate. We have facilities at the barracks."

"I'm offering."

"...Thank you, Miss Velvet," he said. He walked inside and made a hasty bee-line to the bathroom. He did as the Royal Guard does all things: Quickly and efficiently. Velvet stood outside the closed bathroom door while he washed his hooves.

"Just 'Velvet' is fine, by the way," she said. He opened the door and adjusted his armor a bit.

"I... don't think that would be appropriate, Miss," he said. Velvet shrugged.

"Maybe. But I don't really care. Ma'am and Madam make me feel old. Titles make my fur crawl."

"Okay... Velvet," he tried. He excused himself. Velvet watched him walk past her toward the chamber's door. Her eyes lingered a moment longer than she had intended as he resumed standing his post out in the hallway. She looked at her desk, feeling bored just thinking about resuming her work. She opened her door and walked out into the hallway again. She closed it behind her and stood on the opposite side of her doorway, mirroring his post. She stood and stared straight ahead at the far wall as he was doing. Occasionally she glanced over at him. Mostly to see if he was glancing at her. He didn't.

"Doesn't this get boring?" she asked.

"No, Ma'am," he answered on reflex. "Er, I mean-"

"Relax. You don't have to lie. I don't care. I mean, it obviously is boring. And I thought my paperwork was boring, but this! This is worse than watching paint dry." She pointed at the far wall. "It's just watching... dry paint." Velvet could see Night Light deflate a little before righting himself.

"No- it's not like that. Or, it's not just that," he said.

"Really? Then what is it like?" she asked.

"It's... it is boring to look at a wall all the time. But we are still on alert with all of our senses. Not just with our eyes. We listen for sounds of distress. Feel if the floor rumbles from a monster attack, smell if there's smoke from a fire."

"What do you taste for?" she asked.

"That... doesn't really play a role in being a guard," he said.

"Huh." Velvet clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth and leaned against the wall, already fed up with trying to stand at attention. "Well, speaking of taste, are you hungry? I'm hungry."

"They feed us well at the barracks."

"That's not what I asked. I asked if you were hungry," she said.

"I- I could eat."

"I'm heading down to the castle kitchen. You have to follow me, right?" she asked.

"Yes. That is correct."

"Alright, let's go." Velvet headed down to the castle kitchen with her new guard in tow. It was adjacent to the massive dining hall. The inside of the kitchen was like a diner restaurant complete with a serving bar. Usually the waitstaff would come in and fetch orders to deliver to the dining room for esteemed guests. The bar kept them from sullying their suits in the kitchen proper. It also served as a means to get food on the off schedules of faculty and guests. Twilight Velvet technically counted herself somewhere in between. Not a guest visiting for pleasure. Nor was she an employee in the strictest sense of the word. She was Celestia's protégé. But Celestia put her protégé to work.

"Hey Velvet," the line cook greeted her, ignoring the guard. "Grabbing something for dinner?"

"Yes," she answered. "What do you have that's ready?"

"We have this soup," he said. "Here, try it." Velvet levitated a spoonful of the soup to her mouth. She grimaced as soon as it touched her tongue.

"It's cold!" she complained.

"It's gazpacho, Miss. It's supposed to be cold," he said. 

"Oh." Velvet took another spoonful of the tomato soup, tasting it despite the unexpected temperature. "It's good." Velvet turned and motioned to her guard, Night Light. He stepped up to the counter.

"Heh, try again buddy," the cook laughed. "Guards eat in the chow hall."

"Sorry," Night apologized and backed away. Velvet walked over to him and whispered.

"Are you hungry? What did you want?" she asked. His eyes looked at the items on the counter.

"That basket of hay fries looks really good," he said.

"Go wait out in the dining room," Velvet ordered. She turned and went back up to the counter. "I'd like a basket of hay fries, too. For me. To eat myself." The cook grabbed the basket of hay fries and pushed them across the counter. She went to grab them, but he held it for a minute.

"Don't make it a habit," he said sternly before he released them. Velvet took the basket and smiled.

"Thank yooou!" she sang as she walked out into the dining room. Night Light was waiting for her at the end of the table. He pulled a chair out for her. "Heh, think again," she giggled. She walked up to the head of the table, pulled Celestia's chair out and sat in it.

"That's Princess Celestia's chair!" he said.

"I'm so glad I have you around in case my eyes stop working," she said, setting the soup on the table in front of her. She put the basket of fries in front of the seat next to her. "Come on."

"I shouldn't. You shouldn't!" he said.

"Wow, you're really bumming me out."

"You could get in trouble with Princess Celestia!" he said. Velvet looked around the empty room.

"Well, it's a good thing she isn't here then." Velvet resumed eating her soup. 

"Are you always this reckless?" he asked. "Because I feel like I'm going to have a busy job looking after you."

"Come on. Sit. Eat."

"Velvet-"

"I command you! Sit. Eat. If we get caught, just tell them I ordered you to," she said. Night Light cautiously sat down in the ornate dining chair and ate the hay fries as quickly as he could. "Wow, that is... not attractive. Do you do everything this fast? It's like watching somepony barf, but, in reverse."

"It's food. You don't make love to it, you eat it," he said between mouthfuls.

"But if you were making love to it, would you take your time?" she asked. 

He froze. 

She froze. 

She felt her face turning red again. 

"Ignore that question," she said.

"Thank you," he sighed with relief and finished eating as politely as he could. She tried to hurry as well. A risk-taker though she may be, she wasn't the attention-seeking teenager that wanted to get caught. She gathered up her bowl and placed it in his empty basket. She sat there and waited for him. "What?" he asked.

"Bring them back to the kitchen," she said.

"I'm your guard, not your slave," he said.

"Would you please bring them back to the kitchen?" she asked.

"Okay. I would. But don't you think that would look suspicious?"

"No. It would look chivalrous."

"Ugh. Fine." He carried their dinnerware back to the kitchen, earning a glare from the cook. Night ignored him and walked back into the dining room. "Are you ready to retire to your room for the night?" he asked Velvet.

"Hmm... no. I need to get something to read," she said as she started walking. He followed her to the Castle Library. 

The door was locked, and the sign on it said, "Closed," he read aloud. "Oh well."

"Oh heavens," Velvet feigned, laying her hoof across her forehead for effect. "Whatever shall I do?"

"Retire to your bedchambers?" he offered.

"After."

"After what?" he asked. She didn't answer. Her horn glowed and so did the lock. After a moment it clicked open. "Hey! You can't do that!"

"Really? Then how did I do it? Because I did it. Riddle me that!" Velvet taunted as she pushed the door open and walked in. Night Light just stood there. Basic Training and the Officer Academy had prepared him for a lot of scenarios: combat tactics, first aid, and wilderness survival. But nothing could have prepared him for her.

"I've been assigned to a crazy pony," he muttered to himself under his breath. Velvet turned and vanished around a corner inside the library. "Hey, wait!" he called out as he trotted in after her. "We're not supposed to be in here after hours!" he whispered loudly.

"Well then, we better not get caught!" she whispered back with an irritated edge to her voice. She knew the layout of the library practically by heart. Her horn cast a dim light to help guide her way. "The princess needed me to cross-reference the paperwork I'm currently transcribing. I was supposed to get this book earlier. I didn't think I needed it. But it's proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated," she said as she scanned the book shelves.

"So you're like, what? Her secretary? A clerk?" he asked.

"No. I'm her protégé. Her 'most faithful' student," Velvet recited. "I've been a student in her School for Gifted Unicorns since I was a foal.

"So why do you need a guard?" he asked.

"I don't," she answered tersely.

"..."

"I presume that she assigned you to me to assuage her worries that something might happen to me. I think she worries too much," she explained.

"Maybe she assigned me to keep you from getting into trouble," he said.

"Like what?"

"She asked, literally in the middle of breaking and entering," he mocked.

"We haven't broken anything."

"Burglary then."

"I'm not stealing anything. I'm just borrowing. A book. From a library. That's literally a library's entire purpose." She ran her hoof along the edge of the shelf, scanning the titles. "Besides, I don't see you trying to stop me."

"What do you expect me to do? Try to put you in hoof cuffs and drag you out of here? No thank you. I read the report about what happened to the last ponies that tried that with you."

"Oh? You heard about that?" Velvet asked, unable to keep the grin from her face. He nodded. "I was on my way back to the castle from visiting my parents. They tried to mug and foalnap me. They messed with the wrong unicorn."

"Clearly."

"So what about you then?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"Well, for starters, why did you join the Royal Guard?" she asked.

"Well, mostly because of my Dad," Night Light said. "He was a Royal Guard officer."

"Mine too," Velvet said.

"Huh, small world. Okay, so you know what its like then," he said. "Anyway, my brothers and I all looked up to him. So we all wanted to join the Guard when we were growing up. My older brother, Air Tender was in the Pegasi Air Corps. They said he was on his way to becoming a Wonderbolt until he lost his wing."

"Oh no! What happened? Was it a combat injury?"

"No. It uh, heheh, he got too drunk during his bachelor party. He tried to do a flip off of a bar table and he ended up hitting the ceiling fan. We had to cancel the whole wedding, and everypony had to cram into the hospital room while he did his wedding vows in the hospital bed."

"So much for being a Wonderbolt, I guess."

"Yeah, he was pretty bummed out about that. But he quit drinking that day. And now he's a bartender."

"Air Tender the bartender?" Velvet said.

"Yeah." Night snorted. "You should tell him that if you meet him. It never gets old."

"And your other brother?"

"My younger brother, Mage Star, is a unicorn in the City Guard."

"Let me guess, he's a 'star mage'."

"Funny enough, no. He's actually a pretty crappy spell-caster. But he's got a pretty good set of tracking spells. He's on his way to probably becoming a detective one day. We wanted to enlist in the City Guard together, but since we're family, we can't be in the same chain of command. So, that's why I'm in the Royal Guard. 'Conflict of interests' sort of thing," he explained.

"Right. And your mom?"

"I never knew her."

"But... you have a younger brother. You must have known her at least for a little while."

"Oh! Right! Uh, I'm adopted. I uh, probably should have led with that."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not. They're as much my family as anypony could be. I wouldn't trade them for anything." He smiled. She smiled back. "So, that's me. What about you?"

"Only child."

"You don't say," he said. The quirks of the strange mare suddenly made a little more sense.

"My dad is retired Royal Guard. My mom used to be a student of Celestia. She had a knack for potions. She used to run the Canterlot Apothecary."

"I know that place."

"She met my father while he was a Royal Guard and she was a student under Celestia."

"Huh."

"What?"

"No, nothing. It's just... an interesting coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"Well your mom was a student of Celestia, and met your dad, a Royal Guard. You're a student of Celestia and I'm a Royal Guard," he said. Velvet gave him a shove with her hoof.

"Easy there, Casanova. I also met your Commander today, and a dozen other Royal Guards. It's not fate. It's statistics. And there are a hundred students enrolled in her school. And they all meet Royal Guards every day. Some of them may end up going on a date and getting married. I'm sure it happens all the time."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," he admitted.

"Yeah, well, get used to it. Because I'm really good at it." Velvet's eyes lit up as she spotted the book she had been searching for. "Ah, here it is!" Velvet pulled the book off the shelf. The one beside it flopped down. Velvet picked it up to set it back upright. "Hold on, you don't belong here," she said, taking the book out.

"Neither of us do, we broke in."

"Again, we didn't break in. And I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the book."

"Talking to the book. Yep, definitely an only-child."

"This book doesn't belong on this shelf. This is the reference section. This book is... fiction," she said, grimacing as though the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

"What's wrong with fiction?" he asked.

"The purpose of a book is to impart knowledge onto the reader. Facts and figures! History and spells! Fiction is, by its very definition, fabricated! What is to be gained by reading that!?" she said. Night Light almost couldn't even process what he was hearing.

"Oh. Wow. That is messed up. Well, clearly you've never tried it then. What, did your parents never read to you?"

"Yeah, when I was a foal! I'm a grown mare now. Such things are- well, they're beneath me quite frankly."

"Who doesn't enjoy a good story book!?" 

"Well here." She gave him the book. "I was going to put it back in the right section. But if you love it so much you can read it yourself." Night Light flipped over the book and read the title.

"A Knight in Satin," he read aloud and flipped open the cover and read the synopsis inside the sleeve. "Princess Satin falls in love with her knight. He is sworn to be her protector, but becomes her lover." He looked up at Velvet. Even in the dark library, he could tell that she was blushing. "Do you still say that there's nothing to fate?"




Velvet closed and locked the door to the library. It was late at night and the evening sconces had been extinguished. The halls of the castle were shrouded in darkness. Night Light escorted Velvet back to her room, his horn lighting the way.

"Night Light," Velvet said.

"Yes?" he replied.

"No, I mean, literally." She motioned to his horn illuminating the hallway.

"Oh... Yeah." Night rolled his eyes.

"Hey, we don't get to pick our names," she commiserated. "Like, me, 'velvet', I don't even like the material."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, I'm more of a S-" Velvet stopped herself from saying Satin, remembering the storybook that was accompanying them. "I'm more of a Silk gal," she said, which was also true.

"Well I love velvet," Night said. "The fabric I mean," he needlessly amended. "I think it feels really good. It's actually what lines our armor."

"Really? I never knew that."

"Well, yeah. You can't just have bare metal plating on you when it's so cold out. Or if a dragon is breathing fire at you," he explained.

"Have you ever had a dragon breathe fire at you?" she asked.

"No. I've- I only just finished with officer school recently. I haven't had a chance to see any action," he said with an edge of disappointment to his voice. A square of light poured onto the hallway floor through a window. As they walked by, Velvet could see the Mare in the Moon shining down from the night sky. 

"Equestria is so peaceful," Velvet said. "I don't know what kind of action you were planning to see. Do we even need the Royal Guard to be as large as it is? It just seems so unnecessary."

"We don't exist in spite of Equestria being peaceful. Equestria is peaceful because we exist. Nopony loves the warrior until the enemy is at the gate. You civilians have the luxury of not having to know the truth that we know. The truth that we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by ponies with spears. Who's gonna do it? You!? We know the truth that there are monsters under our beds, even if we choose to not believe in them. The truth that there are things that go bump in the night. And we have to be the ones that bump back. We have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. And I can assure you; We are entirely necessary."

"Wow. You really drank the punch in officer school, huh?" Velvet said.

"What?"

"Never mind." They arrived back at her room. Her opened the door for her and let her inside. 

"Will that be all for tonight? Can I trust you to retire in your quarters until morning?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm not going anywhere."

"Goodnight, then." He turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to report back to my section chief at the barracks and get some sleep."

"Would you like to stay and read with me?"

"Uh, no. Not tonight. In fact..." Night Light took the book from his bag. "I can't bring this to the barracks. Is it alright if I leave it here?"

"Sure," she answered. He walked back into the room and set the book on her night stand and walked back out of the room.

"Goodnight Velvet."

"Goodnight, Light." He nodded and closed the door.





"... and that is why when you are magically banishing specters in teams you must never cross the beams," Celestia explained to the classroom. The bell rang, signaling the end of the last class of the day. "Remember to finish your term papers by the end of this week!" she reminded everypony. Velvet stayed after the class emptied, as she usually did.

"Your guard will be waiting for you," Celestia said to Velvet. "You mustn't make him worry." Night Light had met her that morning at her room and escorted her to the schoolhouse. He would return to collect her at the end of the school day.

"It's okay, Princess. I told him that I usually stay after for a bit," Velvet said.

"Did you finish your transcription I assigned?" Celestia asked.

"Not yet. But I'll have it done by tomorrow," Velvet replied.

"Okay. And you'll have your term paper done by the end of the week too? I don't want your schedule spilling over into your availability this weekend."

"Why? What's happening this weekend?" Velvet asked. Celestia gave her a blank look.

"It's the Grand Galloping Gala," Celestia reminded her. 

"Oh, right-right-right," Velvet said.

"I've told you about this several times," Celestia scolded.

"I know. I know."

"Aren't you looking forward to being by my side and greeting everypony that evening?" Celestia asked.

"Of course. I always love our time together." Velvet froze for a moment. "Buuut I'm going to have a date this year, aren't I?"

"Oh?" Celestia said in surprise. "Is it your lab partner, Bunsen Burner? He seems to have eyes for you." Velvet sneered.

"Yeah, and halitosis. No, I mean Night Light. Isn't he going to be accompanying me?"

"No. There will be plenty of guards for the event. You will not need your personal guard. Lieutenant Light will be assigned elsewhere for the evening," Celestia explained.

"Well, I really don't want to show up alone again. The other mares all made fun of me. Maybe I could invite him to accompany me unofficially, posing as my date?"

"No!" Celestia said sternly, her usually stoic face upturning into a jagged scowl. "You are in no way to become involved romantically with your guard! I forbid it!"

"What!?" Velvet recoiled. This was unprecedented. Celestia had always been so lenient with her in the past. Her memory struggled to remember a time when Celestia had ever explicitly forbidden her from doing something. She couldn't think of a single instance.

"You heard me perfectly well. Take somepony else. Or nopony at all. You are not to get involved with the lieutenant. Do I make myself clear?" Celestia said. Velvet gritted her teeth.

"Crystal."

"That will be all," Celestia dismissed her. "Be sure to have that transcription to me as soon as possible." 

Velvet trotted out of the classroom without another word spoken. However there were plenty of words on her mind. All of them would have landed her bits in the swear jar.
> Damsel in This Dress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside, Velvet huffed and fumed, stomping right past Night Light, waiting for her by the main entrance.

"Ma'am," he greeted on instinct. Velvet fumed as she stormed down the limestone stairs. "Hey!" he called after her as he trotted to catch up. "Hey! What is it? What's wrong? You don't look too happy."

"It's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing," he said.

"It's nothing!" she barked at him. He moved away a little. He knew mares well enough to know when to not press an issue.

"So... where to?" he asked.

"Home. I need to finish the damn transcription for Her Royal Highness!" she growled. "And then I need to finish my term paper for Her Royal Highness!"

"...Okie dokie." 

Night Light followed after Velvet. They made good time getting back to her room. She stormed in and stomped across her room to her desk. She brought her hoof to one side, ready to sweep everything off. Just as she was about to, she stopped herself. She looked at the bonsai tree on her desk. She put her hoof down on the floor again and sighed. She pulled out the chair and slumped at her desk. 

For a while, she did nothing but stare at the clutter on her desk. She focused her anger into her work. She worked as fast and as hard as she could to get her paperwork done if only to just be done with her transcription and term paper. It wasn't her best work on her term paper. But she was already head of her class and didn't mind settling for a B- for this one. Finished, the angry energy finally finished burning off. Her anger gave way to confusion.

Why? she wondered of Celestia. Why, after all this time, make this the thing that she puts her hoof down over? It doesn't make any sense. Velvet sat and replayed the event in her mind. All she wanted Night Light to do was pretend to be her date. Show up with her, maybe have a dance. And that was it. She hadn't even considered actually dating him. Velvet turned and looked back at her bedroom door. She hadn't even considered actually dating him... before.

Velvet got up from her desk and walked over to her door and opened it. Just as before, Night Light stood at attention just outside.

"Ma'am," he greeted. She groaned loudly. "Velvet," he corrected. She just stood there for a minute with her hoof holding the door half-open. She looked at him, standing there at attention, guarding her door.

This is stupid, she thought to herself. There's no way that she would ever actually date him. What with his stupid uniform and his stupid, strong jawline and those stupid amber eyes and his stupid toned flank.

"UGH!" Velvet yelled in frustration and slammed the door closed. She paced around her room. We have nothing in common! He's a guard and I'm an academic. And he likes fiction! She shuddered. His skill set is standing out there and staring at a wall by himself. She looked at herself in the mirror. I, on the other hoof am busy with the pursuit of knowledge in here!

"... by myself," she said to her reflection. Velvet walked back over to the door and opened it again.

"Velvet," He greeted correctly. "Are you okay? Did I do something to upset you?"

"UGH!" Velvet yelled in frustration and slammed the door closed again and ran over to her mirror. "Stupid!" She scolded her reflection. "Just talk to him!"

She opened the door again. Night Light waited a moment in silence, unsure of what he was doing wrong.

"Velvet," he greeted in a stoic, even tone. Velvet sashayed a bit in her doorway and flipped her mane with her hoof as she batted her eyelashes at him. His eyes never wavered from facing straight ahead at attention.

Just look at me, you idiot!

"Look at me," she said. He turned to face her. Velvet flipped her tangled mane into her face as she rapidly blinked while she tried to sashay again and tripped over her own hoof, sending her reeling.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" he asked in concern, reaching out to help her up. "Are you having a seizure?" She slapped his hoof away.

"I'm fine!" she yelled as she got up and dusted herself off. She ran back into her room and slammed the door. She ran over to her mirror. "Why are you like this!?" She just stood there and stared at herself in disgust. She had taken out three armed thugs only days ago, and now here she was, paralyzed in her own bedroom like a scared little foal. "Are you just going to stand there?" she asked herself. She ran over to her door and threw it open.

"Vel-" She cut him off before he could greet her.

"Are you just going to stand there!?" she asked impatiently. He turned and faced her, unsure of how to respond. It was a yes-or-no question. And his standing orders were to guard her door until instructed otherwise.

"... yes?" he hazarded. She visibly grit her teeth and turned to go back inside. "Velvet," She stopped in her tracks. "I'm not a mind-reader. If something is wrong, if you need something, you need to tell me."

"I'm an adult! I can do what I want!" she cried.

"I... never said that you couldn't," he said.

"Shut up! I- No, I mean, it's not you! I just- UGH!" Velvet stomped back inside, leaving the door open. She flopped onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow. After a second she rolled over and looked at the open doorway. "Are you just going to stand there?" she yelled.

"Uhhh..."

"Get in here!" she commanded. Night Light appeared in the doorway and stepped inside the room, if only just. "Close the door." He closed the door.

"Yes?" he asked, awaiting her direction. "What do you need?" Here he was, in her room, looking at her. It was what she wanted, wasn't it? And now? She hadn't planned this far ahead. She cursed herself for acting so foolishly and impulsively.

"I wanted... I wanted... to apologize," she said. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm not mad at you. I was mad at somepony else."

"The Princess?" he asked. Velvet jumped off the bed and ran over to him.

"What!? Why!? How do you know? What did she tell you!?" she yelled. He recoiled a little.

"What!? Nothing!" he defended. "I might not be a detective or have telepathy, but it was pretty obvious from the way you were acting earlier today. What happened?"

"She- she said that I couldn't..." Velvet trailed off and looked at him. "I just don't like being told what to do. Or, actually, what I can't do. How do you... how can you stand it?"

"What? Being told what to do? Well, the Guard is a volunteer force. Nopony made me join the Guard. I chose to. I chose to serve. To serve a purpose greater than myself. And I knew going in, that it meant being told what to do for at least four years. And really, it's not so bad. And, no offense," he glanced at the paperwork on her desk, "I prefer this, to a desk job."

"I could never resign myself to being told what to do like that," Velvet said.

"Well, we all have to, to some degree," Night Light said. "If everypony just did what they wanted all the time in their own interests, we would be no more than the savage beasts in the wild. Ponies have to be able to put aside their own selfish desires from time to time to be able to compromise and work together. Otherwise we would never be able to build a house, or a castle. Or a city for that matter. It would be anarchy," he said. Velvet settled onto her bed again and regarded the soldier. 

"You... are a lot brighter than I originally gave you credit for, Night Light."

"Well, you don't graduate at the head of your class from the Royal Guard Officer Academy by just being able to do a lot of push-ups and running really fast."

"Even though you like fiction," she said. Night Light chuckled.

"Yeah. Even though I like fiction." Velvet smiled and rolled over on her bed, grabbing the book from her night stand.

"Read to me?" she asked, holding the book out to him.

"What? Like a bedtime story?" he asked.

"Yeah." He looked out the window. The sun was just barely setting.

"It's a long time until bed time," he said. Velvet looked at the side of the book.

"It's a long bedtime story," she said. He didn't reply. But the expression on his face was one of objection. She could command him to read to her. But after her little fit of complaining about being controlled, she felt it would be incredibly hypocritical. "Please?" He rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He took the book from her and pulled her chair from her desk to sit beside her bed. 

"Thank you." Velvet pulled back the covers of her bed and climbed inside. She laid there with just her head poking out from the covers as she looked at him anxiously, waiting for him to begin. He sighed and settled into the chair, making himself comfortable. All things being equal, it sure beat standing at attention in the empty hallway. He opened the book to page one and cleared his throat. 

"Ahem, A Knight in Satin. Chapter One: A Changing of the Guard. It was a cold winter evening when Princess Satin received the news that her knight had perished on the battlefield. She mourned for him. He had served professionally, and faithfully until the very end. But now she needed a new personal bodyguard. And that was when she met him. A strapping young knight was presented to her. He had proven himself worthy on and off of the battlefield, and was, in the Princess's opinion, rather easy on the eyes...." 


~~~~~


Night Light continued to read to her long after dusk, illuminating the pages with the light from his horn.

"... were still on the run from the marauders pursuing them. The knight hurried his princess into the ruins of an abandoned village to hide for the night, and to seek shelter from the coming storm. He hastily gathered what he could to put together a makeshift bed for her. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his love. He was finally able to admit it to himself. Even if he would never be able to tell her how he felt about her. It was not his place. And it never would be. He was not a prince. He was just a knight, and her sworn protector."

Night Light turned the page.

"The princess tried her best to make herself comfortable on the coarse pile of hay. They had been on the run for so long she could not even remember the comfort of her silken sheets of her royal bed. The icy wind screamed outside. And the drafts cut through the tiny room unhindered by windows. 'I'll freeze to death tonight,' the princess said. The knight said nothing. He only pulled the cloak from his back and laid it over her thin, tattered dress. Leaving his fur bare to the cold. 'You must be freezing!' she said. 'I'll be fine,' he replied."

"The princess's eyes ran over his exposed body, taking in every detail of his muscled physique. She pulled his cloak closer to her, smelling his scent on it, on her. She could not deny her own lust for him any longer. Even as she shivered in the bitter cold, she felt a rush of heat wash over her body. Beneath the cloak, her hoof trailed down to her..."

Night Light paused and read ahead silently, going ahead to the next several pages. 

"Um, this gets... really really graphic," he said. He looked at Velvet. "Are you sure you want me to-"

"Yes!"

"Uh, okay." Night Light returned to the page where he had left off. "Um, let's see. So, beneath the cloak, her hoof trailed down to her..." Night Light struggled with his embarrassment in saying the word. "princesshood. Her hoof making small circles as she looked at her knight standing guard, and enjoying the scent of his cloak. Her knight could not ignore the peculiar movements his princess was making, nor could he ignore her-" Night Light paused again, reading the word silently. His nostrils flared. Was it just his imagination, or did he really... 

"Nor could he ignore her scent filling the room," he continued reading. "To his princess's pleasure, the effect of her musk had an evident effect on the bare knight. He could feel her eyes on him as his... spear emerged, silhouetted against the moonlight. 'Surely in such a state, you will suffer frostbite, my Knight,' the princess said. 'Please, come and join me in the bedding.' But the knight remained where he was, fighting his own, internal battle. 'I can not,' the knight said. 'I must stand guard.' The princess whimpered. 'But I need you to guard me against the cold,' she said. 'I need your warmth. I need your body against mine. Please!' she begged. The knight could not ignore her desperate command. 'As you wish.' He laid beside her in the hay, close, but facing away. She lifted the cloak to cover them both. His senses were flooded with the scent of her arousal. He felt his spear grow yet more rigid. 'Hold me,' she pleaded as she leaned her back against his. Before he turned hold her, he said, 'Please forgive me for bringing a drawn sword to your bed.' He turned to lay his hoof across her body, careful to keep the rest of him away. She moved closer to him, he tried to move again. 'Do not move away. I need you to touch me.' She moved against him and felt his dagger pressing against her flank. She reached down between her legs, taking his weapon in her hoof. 'Your Highness,' the knight tried to object. She aimed his shaft at her princesshood. 'I need it,' the princess said. 'I need you to-"

"Put it in!" Velvet moaned into her blanket as she shuddered. Night Light froze. Her eyes shot open. "Did I just... think that out loud?" Night Light put the book down on the night stand and got up.

"I- I should go! It's late and... I should go!" He made a quick march to the door.

"Wait! Night!" she called out. In rare defiance, he ignored her. Velvet jumped out of the bed after him. "Wait! Stop!" She blocked his exit. The suddenly-too-snug armor he was wearing made him physically  stagger.

"What is it!?" he asked, desperate to remove himself from the situation as fast as possible before something happened that they would both regret. Velvet panicked, trying to think of something, anything to say to keep him from leaving.

"It's just that... you have something on your face," she said.

"What?" He turned to walk over to the mirror. Velvet grabbed his cheeks with her hooves and pressed her lips against his. His body went rigid in catatonic shock, unable, or unwilling to neither stop her, nor allow himself to indulge in the act as she whispered to him.

"Me."

She let him go after a long moment, breathing quickly. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his mouth was slightly ajar, as though he were staring down the shaft of an archer's drawn bow and arrow.

"We... can't," was all he could manage before he quickly ran past her, closing the door on his way out. Crazy crazy crazy! This mare is crazy! he thought as he ran down the hallway.

Velvet stood there in the middle of her room, waiting for this bad dream to end. 

"Good night, Light," she said to herself. She turned and walked back to her bed, catching a glare from her reflection in the vanity mirror. "And don't you start." She climbed into bed and blew out her candle.





You're going to be late, Velvet thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling. The morning light was pouring into her bedroom window. She had been awake for some time. But she had been unwilling to leave her bed. Let alone her room. I could always call in sick, she said. Maybe I could even use it as an excuse to get out of going to the Grand Galloping Gala. I could stay home, and Night Light would have to stay with me for the evening.

"As if he would ever want to see me again," she muttered. "He's probably already asked to be reassigned." Velvet got up and walked over to her mirror. Her mane was a fright. Her eyes were tired. She had been restlessly tossing and turning all night. She quickly brushed her mane out and grabbed her things. She walked out into the hallway.

"Velvet," Night Light greeted. Velvet jumped.

"Whoa! I wasn't expecting to see you here this morning," Velvet said.

"I am your assigned guard. I would not be anywhere else," he replied.

"Uh, listen, Night, about last night... I uh-"

"You're going to be late for class, Velvet," he informed her flatly.

"Yes. Right." Velvet trotted to Celestia's school, with Night Light in tow. She occasionally glanced back at him over her shoulder. His face was the very picture of stoicism. As though that statuesque resting expression were carved from marble.  

"Same time this afternoon?" he asked as he stopped at the school entrance.

"Yes... Night, I-"

"See you then," he said before he did an about-face, and quickly trotted away. 

"See you then," she said under her breath.


~~~~~


"...and if we extrapolated the data we see that we can infer from the statistics-" RRRRRING! Celestia was cut off by the school bell. "Alight everypony, I need your term papers on my desk on your way out!" she announced. The students formed a line passing her desk, placing their papers on the surface as they passed, eager to start their weekend. Velvet stayed after, as usual, placing her paper last. "You were late this morning," Celestia said as she began to grade the papers.

"I was on time," Velvet defended.

"But you are usually fifteen minutes early. In fact, you are always exactly fifteen minutes early. I can set my hourglass by it," Celestia said.

"I- I didn't want to come. I wasn't feeling well this morning. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Were you too excited about the Gala tonight?" Celestia asked. 

"The Gal-? Uh, yeah! Yeah, I was too excited. About the Gala."

"Well, why don't we work together to get these papers graded? We can get out of here twice as fast and get ready for the evening." Celestia picked up Velvet's paper first, reading it over. Velvet sat opposite her and worked on grading another pony's paper. Velvet's participation in the classwork was a formality to avoid the appearance of favoritism. In reality, she was leagues beyond the material covered in the classroom. Now, she functioned more as a teacher's aide. Celestia's eyebrows went up as she read Velvet's paper.

"This heliocentric model of the cosmos seems a bit... sycophantic, don't you think?" Celestia said with a grin.

"I think Clopernicus was onto something, based on the relative motion of the moon and the stars, and the phases of the moon and the way the seasons work, it only stands to reason that-" Celestia  raised her hoof to cut off Velvet.

"I appreciate your reverence. But I assure you, the sun is hardly the center of the universe," Celestia said. Velvet frowned. She was certain that her math was correct. She had double, and triple checked it. "The only things you need to worry about is right here, on terra firma," she said as she patted the desk. Velvet sighed and took up a pen to help grade papers. "Still though, you cited your sources and showed all your work. A- for effort."

"Thank you," Velvet said without looking up from the paper in front of her.

"..."

"..."

"Have you a dress picked out for tonight?" Celestia asked.

"Yes."

"Is it the same one as last year?"

"Yes."

"The same one you've worn for the last two years."

"It's comfortable."

"It's plain."

"The ponies aren't there to see me," Velvet said. Celestia frowned.

"I will be," she said. Velvet stopped and put down her pen for a minute.

"Thank you, Princess."

"Of course! And thank you for the help."

Night Light greeted Velvet at the school entrance and walked her back home. In her room, Velvet got into her Gala dress and stood in front of her mirror. She turned in place and looked at herself to make sure that the fabric was laying nicely. The pale-yellow dress had a bit of off-white trim at the bottom. The whole thing was lacking in pattern and texture, resembling more of a bed sheet. 

"Night Light," she called out. The door opened and her guard walked in.

"Yes, Velvet?" he asked.

"How do I look?" she asked, giving her dress a little twirl.

"Beautiful," he said. "That's a lovely dress."

"You don't think that it's too plain?" she asked.

"Not really. But I'm hardly an expert on fashion. So, take it with a grain of salt I suppose. It looks more comfortable than some of the crazy, frilly and feathery ensembles I've seen around the castle," he said.

"It is comfortable," she said. "What about your armor?" she asked, looking at the polished, brass metal of his helmet, boots, and body armor. "It looks very fetching. But you can't tell me that it's very comfortable."

"It's actually not too bad," he said. "It's a little heavy at first. But you do physical training with it, so you get used to the weight. The Pegasi Corps have lighter armor to be able to fly. And it's actually pretty comfortable. Like I said, it's lined with velvet to guard against extreme temperatures."

"Let me see," she said.

"Um, okay." He took off his helmet and showed her the inside. Sure enough, the lining was very soft, and nicely broken in from use.

"Can I try it on?" she asked, looking at the rest of his armor.

"It's uh, a little big for you," he said.

"I know. I'm just curious," she said as she peeled off her dress.

"O-okay..." Night Light took off his boots and undid the clasps of his armor with practiced efficiency and laid it out in front of her. It was the first time she'd seen him undressed. There was no taboo to it, since it was the natural state for ponies to be without clothing. Still though... Velvet though as her eyes wandered over his body. She wondered if he enjoyed seeing her in the same way. She tried to not linger on the thought too long. She picked up his armor and tried to step into it, struggling a bit. "Uh, no, you have to-" Night light tried to guide her. "Actually, you're doing it backwards. You need to-"

Velvet tried to slide it up her body like a dress, rather than putting it on over her head. Her tail snagged inside the hinged joints and pulled upward as she got caught inside, missing the holes for her hooves. She tumbled forward onto the floor with her hooves pinned to her sides. Her legs tried to lift her, but she only managed to prop her butt up into the air with the armor firmly pulling her tail up and away, putting her marehood on full display to him. 

But it wasn't like he had never seen one before. In a mostly nude society, ones privates were hardly that. But it was just an unspoken courtesy to avert ones eyes if the wind should cause a tail to fail in keeping a pony's modesty. The burden fell more onto the mares as they, and their peers entered puberty. Colts that hadn't yet mastered self control over their biological reactions were easy to spot. They stuck out like a... well, they stuck out. 

Velvet struggled to right herself. The flexing of her muscles caused her light grey marehood to pout and wink at him. A small tuft of lavender fur lay just under it. And just like that, with this mare on such a lewd display before him, Night Light was back in middle school.

"A little help!?" Velvet groaned. Night Light shook his head and moved to help her, careful to keep out of her line of sight, and his lower half a safe distance from touching her. He quickly disentangled her from the armor and held it, using it to hide himself.

"Uh, here's your dress back!" he said, throwing her dress at her head to give him enough time to get into his armor. Velvet quickly pulled the fabric off of her face. She opened her mouth to say something but instantly forgot the words. He had his armor on over his head as he began to slid into it. But below, she could plainly see the reason for his abruptness. From between his legs, his blue shaft was pointed at her, mottled with dark blue patches that matched the color of his scrotum. It was big. At least, it looked big to her. Being the only one she'd seen outside of an anatomy book. Her societal imprinting took over as his mane appeared from the top of his armor suit, and she quickly looked away, getting dressed herself. 

She pulled her dress on, feeling just a bit of dampness in her fur from his sweat in his armor. It smelled like him. She zipped up her dress and flattened it again, making a particular effort to not look at him. But the mirror allowed her one last glance at his stallionhood beyond his notice before he tucked it away inside of his uniform. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the twisting feeling in her gut. She turned back to face him, now that they were both decent again.

"I should get going," he said nervously. "I'm on duty tonight. Princess Celestia will accompany you to the Gala. Have fun. I'll... see you tomorrow." He turned to leave. 

"Wait." She stopped him with her hoof.

"Yes?" he asked. 

"It must get... so lonely in the guard." She stepped closed, pursing her lips. He put his hoof up between them. 

"No. We can't," he said with obvious disappointment in his voice.

"Are your lips broken?" she asked.

"We shouldn't!" he corrected. "I was explicitly told that guards can't get involved with their charges."

"Do you always do what you're told?"

"Yeah. It's kind of my job," he said.

"Fine then. I command you to answer me, honestly. Do you want to kiss me?"

"Vel, we can't!"

"That's not what I asked."

"We shouldn't!" he said. Velvet stepped closer.

"I don't hear you saying 'no'."

"I have orders from the princess!"

"And you have mine. And she said that you are to obey them as though they were from her own mouth. And I am ordering you to kiss me." He raised an eyebrow at her. "If... you want to," she added. 

"Vel-"

"Shhh." Velvet closed the distance and kissed him. He didn't pull away. He didn't push her away. He just stood there and let her kiss him.

And then he kissed her back. Slowly, nervously at first. She felt a burst of warm air on her cheek from the breath he'd been holding. She melted into him as he relaxed into the kiss. He was enjoying it. And she could tell. She parted her lips and he felt her tongue on his. His tongue joined hers. She moaned into the kiss. He felt her pawing at the buckles of his armor, struggling to undo them. He put his hooves on her and pushed her away. She looked at him with pleading eyes. He looked back and frowned.

"Vel, how do you think this is going to end?" he asked. "Do you think that we can keep this up and have ponies not notice? Do you think Celestia won't find out about it?"

"I don't care."

"You're not thinking clearly right now," he said.

"Do you not like me?"

"Of course I do. Yeah, you're a little wild and weird. But you're smart and interesting and-"

"Pretty?"

"Definitely pretty," he said. She smiled. "And if you or I were any other pony..." he trailed off. She frowned again. "It would be a different story."

"..."

"I look forward to being with you, crazy as you are. But as your guard, okay?"

"...Okay," she resigned. He smiled.

"Have fun at the Gala. I'm sure you'll meet another stallion that gets you. One that you'll be allowed to date." He turned to head to the door. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Light."

"Good night, Velvet." 

He opened the door. 

Princess Celestia stood on the other side.








> A Night in Velvet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Your Highness!" Night Light greeted Princess Celestia and took a deep bow. 

"As you were, Lieutenant," Celestia said. "You are relieved for the evening." Night Light bowed again quickly in her dismissal and trotted passed her, down the hallway. Celestia stepped inside the room and nodded at her own guards. They stood post outside. "Twilight, I have something for you, for this evening." A stallion in a suit vest walked in from behind her with a garment bag. "I know you wouldn't indulge in getting yourself a new dress, so I took the liberty." He unzipped it and unfurled the dress from inside. It was puffy, and sky blue with white lace, pink heart embroidery, and frilly pink fringe. "Try it on." Velvet took off her plain yellow dress and tried to climb into a fluffy blue cloud, in dress form. She couldn't see her hooves under her. She could barely move.

"It's itchy," Velvet complained.

"Yes, well, new dresses need to be worn in. Isn't that right?" she asked the tailor.

"Mhmm."

"Can't I just wear my dress?" Velvet asked.

"Of course not! Your dress will be matching your date!" Celestia said.

"My date!?" Velvet asked. 

"Well, sure!" Celestia said. "You were saying how you wanted a date for the Gala to impress your friends. Now you don't have to show up with a lowly guard." Another stallion walked in. His fur was pure white. His mane was blonde. His cutie mark was occluded by the suit that he wore. Is was the same sky-blue Velvet was wearing. "Twilight, this is Prince Pedigree. A nephew of mine."

"Chaaarmed," he said. His stuffy droll caused the word to just sort of slide lazily from his mouth. "Oh, you have a mirror!" he said excitedly. He trotted over to her vanity, admiring his reflection, striking a few poses.

"He's my date to the Gala?" Velvet asked.

"And he's royalty!" Celestia said. "Your friends are sure to be impressed. He's the most eligible bachelor in Canterlot!"

"And the most attractive!" he said, his eyes never leaving the mirror.

"Shall we go?" Celestia asked rhetorically. He rolled his eyes and clopped his hooves.

"Hoof pony!" he called. Yet another stallion walked in. Pedigree pointed at the mirror. And without any further instruction, the hoof pony grabbed it and gave it a firm yank, breaking the frame from the vanity dresser.

"Hey!" Velvet objected. Pedigree waved her off.

"Ugh, I'll buy you a new one," he groaned, as though just speaking to her was an inconvenience. The hoof pony stayed ahead of them so that Prince Pedigree could look at himself as he walked to the Gala. Velvet walked (begrudgingly) beside him in her matching outfit.

"Oh, look at you two! Such a cute couple!" Celestia said.





"I'm so glad you could make the trip from Saddle Arabia!" Celestia greeted enthusiastically yet another guest at the entrance of the Grand Galloping Gala. The delegate shook her hoof, then the Prince's, and then Velvet's. 

"How has the weather been in Whinnyapolis? I heard that you got record snow this winter!" He shook Celestia's hoof, then the Prince's, and then Velvet's. 

"I'm so sorry to hear about your husband! I hope he gets well soon!" She shook Celestia's hoof, then the Prince's, and then Velvet's.

"What a lovely evening! Don't you think?" Celesta asked Velvet between waves of arriving guests. She turned and smiled as she asked. That same warm smile that Velvet had known her whole life.

"It certainly is," Velvet lied, tugging at the collar of fabric scratching against her neck. Inside from the cold winter air, she had discovered that the dress was also stifling hot.

"You two should go mingle!" Celestia said. "Twilight, you should introduce your new special somepony to your friends!"

"Okay. Fine." Velvet sighed and trotted down the stairs toward the ballroom. Prince Pedigree clopped his hooves.

"Hoof pony!" he called out. The pony carrying her dismounted mirror appeared from behind the curtains and moved alongside the prince as he walked. He walked down to where she was waiting. "Well, come on now. Introduce me to your friends, Velcro."

"It's Velvet," she corrected.

"Hmm," he mused aloud. "Velcro sounds better though, doesn't it? You should be Velcro from now on." 

"What? Why would I even-"

"Come, 'stick' by my side, Velcro," he said.

"I swear, Your Honor, he broke his neck when he fell down the stairs," Velvet muttered to herself. A familiar mare and stallion rushed up to them. 

"Oh my gosh, Velvet!" one of her classmates greeted. "We heard that you were here with a prince and I was all like, oh my gosh, no way. And now, yeah way, here you are, oh my gosh! I literally can't even! I mean, who would have thought that you would be here with a prince!? Because, like, he's a prince and you're like... well, you. But like, I guess this means that you'll be super-popular now so we should be friends now right? I know right!? Oh my gosh! What's his name?" She turned to him. "What's your name?"

"Prince Pedigree, Madam," he greeted, giving her hoof a quick kiss. "And who is this charming fellow with you? Your special somepony?"

"What? No! This is my brother. I'm totally single! Toootally available! If you know what I mean. Like, not like I just go with stallions like that or whatever but you know, like, if you decide things aren't working out with Velvet or whatever. I'm just saying."

"Limber Achieve" the other stallion introduced himself.

"Limber? Just how Limber?" Prince pedigree asked with a wry smirk.

"Mmh, wouldn't you like to know," Limber said.

"Oh my gosh, like totally limber. He's like, totally a gymnast. He can do flips and stuff on the swing thing and twist himself into a pretzel it's like, cray cray-zay!"

"Have you seen the buffet, my Prince?" Limber asked. "They have soy tacos and vegi-sausages."

"Which would you recommend?" The prince asked.

"I prefer the sausage myself," Limber said.

"Mmh, I bet you do."

"Oh my gosh, your special somepony is like totes besties with my brother! So like, when you guys get married I'm gonna be like, your best mare right? Would that like, make me honorary royalty or what? Do I get to be a princess? Can I be a princess? Would I get a tiara? Should I get gold or silver? Vel? Velvet! Where are you going!?"

"I'm too sober to deal with this," Velvet groaned, walking over to the bar. 

"What'll it be Miss?" the bartender asked.

"Whatever's cheap," Velvet said.

"It's an open bar."

"Whatever's strong."

"That kind of night, eh?"

"That kind of night." He poured her a glass of the double-fortified Canterlot Wine.

"So what's the trouble?" he asked.

"Why? So you can pretend like you care?" she asked back. She shook her head. "Sorry, I... it's just been-"

"That kind of night?"

"Yeah." Velvet drank her wine. "My date ditched me." Velvet nodded at the stallion in the same sky-blue she was wearing.

"What, the prince?" he asked. She nodded. "Honey, don't feel bad. That colt is so 'fabulous' that he can't even see straight. You were going to be disappointed eventually. Better now than back at the hotel room. Still, there are plenty of other ponies to dance with." He motioned at the ballroom dance floor.

"That?" Velvet scoffed. "That isn't dancing. That's a bunch of ponies shuffling their hooves near each other."

"I couldn't agree more, sweetheart," he said as he polished a glass with a bar towel. "I'm just here for the night. You ought to come by my bar some time if you want to see some real dancing."

"Yeah, maybe. But that doesn't really help me tonight," Velvet said.

"Well ya know, there is a real party I could direct you to if you're so-inclined. My little bro is in the Royal Guard. They throw themselves a little shindig down in the faculty quarters during the Gala." He pointed at the door on the far side of the room labeled 'Staff Only'. "Through there. They keep it propped a tad for blokes that forget their keys. Head downstairs two flights. Turn right into the hallway. Follow the noise. You'll find it, sure enough," he said. Velvet noticed the nub protruding from his back opposite his other wing.

"Thanks for the tip," Velvet said as she started to leave. "And Air Tender? Sorry about the Wonderbolts." He dropped the glass he was drying.

"OI! Are you psychic? Stay outta my head!" he yelled. Velvet just grinned and headed to the door on the far side of the room. Just as he said, there was a small rock keeping it from latching shut. She pushed it open and snuck in when nopony was looking. The air in the stairwell was dank and musty. The utility lights were minimal. She headed down and turned into the hallway. Sure enough, she could hear it. Music and the ruckus of a party. A real party. Not the sham upstairs. Light sliced across the dim hallway, out from under the door from which the noise was coming. It made a patch of illuminated ground before her. Like a welcome mat of light. She pushed the door open.

Inside was a scene that belonged in the dictionary next to 'party'. Everypony was singing along to the booming music. Drinks were everywhere. Everypony was dancing, even where there wasn't even space. It wasn't the practiced steps of a waltz. It was the organic, half-random gyrations of improvised movement. Everypony was laughing and smiling. But, much like the particles in her books about quantum mechanics, all of that changed once it was observed. Everypony stopped moving, laughing, and singing as soon as she opened the door. Even the DJ killed the music. Everypony stopped and looked at her standing in the doorway. She looked at all of them.

It was then that she noticed two things:

1. They were, all of them, stallions.

2. They were all Royal Guard ponies.

Everypony froze, as though they were foals that had been caught with their hoof in the cookie jar. The Royal Guard were not supposed to act like this. They were supposed to be the very symbol of professionalism. The silence was heavy with tension, unbroken until,

"Dibs!" an unseen stallion called out from the back.

"You can't call 'dibs' asshole!" Another stallion yelled.

"Oh yeah? Well how'd I do it then!? Cuz I did it! Riddle me that!" Velvet peered into the crowd, recognizing the voice using her own phrase now.

"Night Light?" she asked.

"Velvet?" The stallion waded through the crowd. "Oh, wow. I didn't even recognize you in... that."

"Yeah, well, it's not mine. I, uh, it's a long story," Velvet said.

"Want a drink?" he offered.

"Yeah, sure," she replied. He turned to face the DJ

"Hey, what the hay!? Who killed the music!?" he yelled. The music started up again and the room returned to its previous ruckus. She followed him to the small bar stuffed into the corner. It had a big bucket of ice with a tapped barrel sitting in it. "Two," he yelled over the blare of the music. He gave Velvet a cup. She took a drink and gagged. It tasted like a drunk diabetic's piss.

"Ugh! What is this!?" she asked.

"Beer!" Night said, guzzling his own cup. 

"Why would anypony drink this?" she asked.

"To get fucked up!" everypony responded in unison. Night Light smiled and drank some more of his beer.

"Come on, let's dance!" he said. They moved into what little space was available as they moved and swayed to the beat of the bombastic bass of the music. Her dress became sweltering.

"I need to take this stupid thing off!" Velvet complained. Night held her drink as she shed her dress and discarded it.

"Aw yeah! I didn't know it was going to be that kind of party!" another stallion said, taking off his uniform. "It's naked time!"

"Naked time! Naked time! Naked time!" Everypony began to chant as they all disrobed. Velvet just watched in shock as everypony around her stripped. Even Night Light just shrugged.

"Hey, when in Roam..." he unbuttoned his uniform and peeled it off along with everypony else. "Yeah! Naked time!" he yelled.

"I have so many questions!" Velvet yelled. Night Light gave her beer back.

"Drink this. It'll help with that," he said. Velvet forced down some more of the swill.

"Ugh!" Velvet grunted, trying to keep her constitution as she danced with Night Light. "What is all this? What is this party for?"

"Do you need a reason?" he asked. 

"Me, personally?" she asked.

"No, I mean, in general. Does one need a reason to party?" he asked back, a bit more philosophical than she was prepared for. She looked around. Stallions were dancing with stallions, on the floor and on tables.

"Why though?" she asked.

"Because we could all be dead tomorrow!" Night said. The other guards joined in.

"By hoof we march, by horn we fight, and on a wing we fly!
Eat, drink, be merry my Guard! Tomorrow we may die!
Kiss that lass, grab her ass, you can't lay 'till you try!
Eat, drink, be merry my Guard! Tomorrow we may die!
Tomorrow we may die!"

Everypony cheered and clinked their cups together and drank.

"That seems kind of grim," Velvet said.

"No, no! It's about living life to the fullest. Living every day like it could be your last! Because tomorrow a dragon could attack and we'll have to go out and fight it and who knows who will make it home that night? So live while you can!" Night Light said. 

He stepped up onto the table next to them, and he reached down to pull her up with him. She tried to object, but he either didn't or couldn't hear her. And once she was up there, the cheers of everypony drowned out her ability to hear herself even think. Perhaps the beer played its part in that, as well.


Night Light and Twilight Velvet danced until it was so late, that it was early.






"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Velvet asked Night Light. She was practically prancing as she walked home from the Gala. Her inebriation kept her mind from the cold, despite her wearing naught but his helmet.

"Yup," Night Light replied, half wearing his uniform, half carrying it, along with her crumpled-up dress. He walked back with her to her room in the castle. He opened the door for her and let her inside. He stood outside in the hallway, leaning against the wall next to her door.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I dunno. Guarding stuff. Heh-he!" he laughed. 

"Aren't you off duty?" she asked.

"Oh yeah." He laughed.

"So are you just going to stand out there for fun?" she teased. He turned to face her in the doorway. 

"May I come inside?" he asked.

"Yes," Velvet purred into his ear, grabbing him by the collar of his uniform and pulling him into the bedroom. "Or wherever you like."

Velvet pulled him to her and she kissed him. Hard. It wasn't the slow, tender, romantic kiss of two reluctant young lovers. It was the hot, desperate kiss of two ponies that had both had too much to drink that night. She grabbed him and pulled him with her toward the bed, keeping her face mashed against his as she continued to sloppily kiss him. When she felt the mattress behind her, she broke the kiss, falling back onto it. He leaned over her to continue kissing her. His uniform flopped open, hanging by it's last straps. Velvet felt it brush against her thigh. She looked down between them. 

It wasn't his uniform.

"Looks like you're 'standing at attention' there soldier," She teased. 

"Wha? No I'm not. I-" He saw the smug grin on her face and realized what she meant. "Oh, shit!" He quickly tried to cover himself.

"What? What's wrong?" Velvet asked. He gave her a worried look as he fumbled to hide his shame.

"Nothing! I-" he winced. "Could you just- take that stupid thing off?" he said, pointing at her helmet. "You're reminding me of my drill sergeant right now."

"Are you saying that I look like a stallion!?" she asked with pouting lips as she put a hoof to her chest, feigning insult.

"She wasn't a stallion. But she did say that if she ever caught us with a boner that she would kick it!" he said.

"Yikes."

"Yeah. So we had to make sure we didn't look at her flank."

"Did she have a good looking flank?" Velvet asked with a sultry tone as she rubbed her butt with her hoof. "Did it look as good as this one?" Night Light bit his lip, unable to find the words as her tail fell aside, revealing her marehood to him. "Are you looking at my privates, Private?"

"It's Lieutenent."

"Talking back to your Commander now, are we?" she said as she sat up and adjusted the helmet. She was having fun with the role.

"She wasn't a Comman-"

"That's enough sass from you, Newbie!" she scolded.

"Oh, geez." 

"Now get up here and give me twenty!" she barked, trying to sound intimidating. The goofy grin on her face didn't win her any acting awards. He climbed up onto the bed, looming over her.

"Like this?" he asked, lowering himself to do a push-up. He kissed her as he did, before lifting himself back.

"One," she counted. He leaned down and kissed her again. "Two." She giggled. He smiled back and kissed her again. "Three."

"Seriously, can you please take that helmet off?" he asked.

"Okay," she relented, taking the helmet off and tossing it onto the floor. "But you still owe me some push-ups, recruit!"

"Yes Ma'am!" He leaned down and kissed her again.

"Four," she counted. He kissed her again. This time on her neck. "Five." He shifted down a bit and kissed her on her chest. "Six." He kissed her on her tummy. "Seven," she breathed. He shifted a bit lower still. "Eight-ahhhh~" Velvet moaned. "N-n-nine! Night!" she shuddered as he moved down between her legs. "T-t-t-" She couldn't even get the numbers out as he kissed her lower lips again and again. His kisses turned into licks. His licking became sucking. She ran her hoof through his mane, grabbing his hair and pulling him into her harder as he licked her. She could feel a knot in her abdomen getting pulled tighter and tighter, threatening to snap. "F-f-fourteen! Fifteen! F-fuck me!" she moaned as he continued to go down on her. He lifted his face from between her legs.

"Is that an order?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Please!?" she all but begged. He crawled up along her body, kissing his way back up.

"Aaand, twenty," he whispered, kissing her on the lips again. He opened his mouth and touched her lips with his tongue. She parted her lips and her tongue met his. She felt him brush against her thigh again. Her horn glowed as she continued to kiss him. He felt her magical grasp on his shaft as she moved it up and down along his length. She tugged him gently, coaxing him closer to her. She felt his tip brush against her marehood.

His broad tip parted her lips. His precum mixed with her feminine wetness and his saliva. He moaned into her mouth as he slid against her copious lubrication with smooth ease. Her magic pushed it downward ever so slightly as she wrapped her legs around behind him. He began to push against her. Her lips began to spread around his girth, offering little resistance. He looked her in the eyes one last time.

"Are you sure you-"

She cut him off with a firm flex of her legs, pulling him to her. In an instant, her virgin flower was plucked. Velvet's mouth gaped in silence. Her moan was hitched in her throat. It was nothing like she'd ever felt before. It was nothing at all like a carrot, cucumber or zucchini. It was different in so many ways. It was warm, and soft. Firm, but spongy. And she could feel the irregular texture of its veiny surface as it moved into her. It moved on its own. It was not her hoof or magic. Its speed, direction, and rhythm was outside of her direct control. Just like how one could not tickle themselves, it was so much more intense by somepony else.

Night Light, for his part, had not expected this tonight. He was almost certain that he wouldn't know the touch of a mare until he was out of the service. Unless he paid for it in the red light district. And he certainly never thought that it would be with the very pony he had been assigned to protect. The very pony with whom he had been explicitly instructed to not engage. But such thoughts were far from his mind now. All that mattered now was the feeling itself.

Description of the warm confines of her love tunnel were beyond his paltry vocabulary. It was like his mind and body were opened to a whole new world of sensory delight. A blind pony seeing a sunset for the first time. A deaf pony first hearing a bombastic orchestral overture. He hadn't the adjectives for the feeling. It paled any comparison to his own hoof. 

Her tangy flavor yet lingered on his tongue, and her heady aroma flooded his nostrils. Her euphoric moans punctuated the thunderous heartbeat in his ears as he watched her writhe beneath him in pleasure. All of these things were merely backdrop to the tactile sensation they each felt at their point of coupling. It was nothing short of pure ecstasy. The regular intervals of his thrusts exposed his wet shaft to the cool air of the room before once again bathing it in the warmth of her feminine embrace. Her pelvic muscles rippled and squeezed at his intrusion, milking and massaging him from within. Their bodies filled the room with the noise of wet slaps each time their hips met. Her clit involuntarily winked in rhythm, causing his pubic fur to brush against her sensitive nub, driving her wild. 

In lonely nights of the past, Velvet had sought solace in her self-pleasure aided with only produce. She'd intentionally teased and paced herself to prolong the experience. Contrariwise, Night hadn't the luxury of indulging himself for long in the barracks' latrines. He'd done as he always had, quickly and efficiently. Tonight, Velvet could do little more but hold on as he rutted her with wild abandon. Each recognized their own impending climaxes. 

"So close!" Velvet cried as she felt the knot in her tummy pulling taut, begging for release. Night Light was hot on her trail, acutely aware of the risk. He felt his balls tighten. He grunted and started to pull out. "Don't stop!" Velvet screamed, locking her legs around the back of his waist and rocking her hips like a mare possessed. She felt him flare inside her, stretching her to her fullest. It sent her reeling over the edge. "I'm cumming!" she cried. Her whole body began to shake and convulse in the throes of the greatest orgasm she'd ever experienced in her entire life. Her wetness spurted from her stuffed marehood, dripping down onto his scrotum.

"Vel I'm-" She cut him off, grabbing his face as she kissed him, moaning out her bliss into his mouth. It was already too late. He was past the point of no return. Her legs gripped him with unnatural strength, holding him like a vice as he felt his cock twitch and throb, pumping his seed deep inside her. His flared tip offered no exit for his flood of cum. He went ridged, stone-still as she held on, riding him from below as she continued to squirm in her climax, even after he was spent. Her movement was over-stimulating on his still-buried shaft, deep inside her. He cried out in the terrible mix of agony and ecstasy. The adrenaline of his panic allowed him to finally wrench himself free of her thighs' grip.

He pulled his cock from her pussy with a wet 'plop'. The extent of time since his last release was immediately apparent as his cum rushed from her in a white torrent, further soiling the already-wet bedding. Night's bout of strength was short-lived, however. The adrenaline passed quickly and his head became a-swim. The alcohol he'd had that night only exacerbated his sudden drop in blood pressure. The room spun, his vision darkened, and he toppled, unconscious before his head flopped onto the pillow beside hers.
> Red vs Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Velvet stumbled, bleary-eyed and barely awake, into her bathroom. In ritual older than the hills, she knelt in reverence on the tile floor. Her hymns and words were known to all ponykind as she began to pray to the porcelain god.

"BLAAARGH!" Velvet wretched. "I swear- BLAAARGH! I will never- BLAAARGH! Do this again! BLAAARGH! Please just take the pain away!"

Velvet's zealous prayers stirred the stallion that was still in her bed from his blissful slumber.

"F-fuck! It feels like my head is full of broken glass!" Night Light groaned. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It felt like he was using sandpaper to do it. 

"BLAAARGH!"

Night Light's ears perked up at the sound of Velvet's technicolor yawn. He looked to the bathroom. He could see the star-studded hind-end of the mare in mid-hurl. Her tail was plastered with a familiar protein stain. The same that was discoloring the sheets beside him.

"Oh fuck. Is that morning sickness!?" he asked in terror.

"NO, you jackass! It's a- BLAAARGH! hangover!" she growled.

"But you- but we- last night!" he stuttered. Velvet felt her head pounding as her blood pressure spiked from the exertion, and frustration. With her stomach finally and completely vacated, she hugged the base of the toilet and rested her cheek against the cold rim of the bowl in exhaustion.  

"Yeah well," she groaned. "It takes more than just twelve hours." Velvet crawled over to her sink and turned on the water, splashing some into her mouth to rinse. "It usually takes about six weeks after conception for morning sickness to present."

"But still! Last night I- you made me cum inside you!" he said.

"I didn't make you do anything. You could have stopped yourself," she said.

"Okay, I'm not going to get into explaining how wrong you are about that!" he said.

"You could have stopped me, then. You're obviously a lot stronger than I am!" she said.

"I didn't want to hurt you!" he said.

"Just admit that you let it happen because you wanted to! You enjoyed it!" she said.

"No, I didn't-" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, Fine! I obviously did enjoy it!" he admitted. "But we still shouldn't have let that happen! It was grossly irresponsible of both of us!"

"Would you please lower your voice!?" Velvet groaned as she rubbed her temples. She rummaged through her bathroom cabinet, seeking a headache potion. "Besides, my fertile season doesn't even start until spring." She uncapped the bottle and threw back the elixir. "So relax." She set the empty bottle back in the cabinet and grabbed her toothbrush. Night Light started balling up her soiled linen to bring to the castle launderer. He froze after a moment.

"Last night was the Grand Galloping Gala," he said. Velvet snorted as she brushed her teeth.

"Wow. I thought your brother was gonna be the detective," she mumbled, with the brush still in her mouth. "Tell me something I don't know."

"It was held yesterday!" he repeated. "Held traditionally on...?" he led. Velvet froze and looked at herself in the mirror. Her reflection's wide eyes stared back. "...the Vernal Equinox," he finished. The toothbrush fell from her gaped mouth and clattered in the sink basin.

"... fuck."




"Hey. Hey!" Night Light shouted as he chased after Velvet through the streets of Canterlot. "Where are you going? 

"Canterlot Apothecary," she said without even looking back at him.

"What? That's almost on the other side of the city! Why don't we just go to the castle doctor?"

"Absolutely not!" Velvet said as she trotted quickly down cobblestone roads. "Princess Celestia can not find out about this!"

"But you might not even be-"

"Don't even say the word!" she cut him off. "I'm probably not. But I don't need her asking me any uncomfortable questions. I don't like lying to her."

"You seem pretty good at it," he said.

"That doesn't mean I like doing it!" she said.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Well we need a plan."

"The plan is for me to not be... you know. And Celestia will never have to know about any of this," she said, getting a bit breathless as she trotted faster.

"That's not a plan that's a goal!" he said. He ran in front of her. "Hey!" He put his hoof up in front of her to stop her. "Listen, I know you're scared. I'm scared too. But we need a plan. We have to be prepared for you to be..." he trailed off. "For the worst-case scenario. Failing to plan is planning to fail!" he said. She stared him in the eyes.

"Failure isn't an option," she said.

"I agree," he said. She brushed his hoof away with hers and walked around him. He followed after her. "So what's the plan?" he asked again.

"If I'm not..." she avoided the word. "If it's negative, nothing. We pretend this never happened and we never speak of it again."

"And if it's..." She looked back and glared at him. "If it isn't negative?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," she said.

"I don't think that's how the expression goes," he said. He trotted after her, very nearly to other side of Canterlot, avoiding any places that might be visited from somepony from the castle. But there was another problem with Velvet's excuse for a 'plan'.

"We're here. Canterlot Apothecary," she said, reading the sign.

"Okay. So?" he asked waving for her to go inside.

"There's a problem," she said. "I told you my mother used to run this shop. Well the mare that works here now knows my mother. And me."

"Okay..."

"So I can't very well go in there and buy a... test without her telling my mom!" Velvet said.

"Okay..."

"So you need to come in and buy the test."

"What? No! I'm not buying it!" he said. Velvet grabbed the collar of his uniform.

"Listen to me very carefully," she growled through her grit teeth, "You and I are in this mess together. It's a big shit sandwich and we all have to take a bite. So if you don't go in there and buy the damn test for me, I am going to fold you in half and feed you your own dick! Do you understand?"

"...kay."

"Welcome to the Canterlot Apothecary," the shopkeeper greeted them as they walked inside, "where it never fails to cure what ails- Velvet? Is that you?"

"Oh, uh, hey Poppy Seed," Velvet said as she waved sheepishly. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you know. Same old same old," Poppy said. "What brings you here? I thought you were staying in Celestia's castle."

"I was. I mean, I am."

"Don't they have their own potions alchemist?"

"What? Oh! Yeah, but, I was just out and about and I remembered that I was out of my headache potion. And I said, 'hey, why don't I stop in and see my mom's old friend?'. So, yeah, here I am," Velvet said.

"Here you are," Poppy repeated and looked over Velvet's shoulder at the Royal Guard pony. "Who's the stud?" she asked with a playful grin.

"Nothing!" Velvet barked. "I mean, he's not with me!"

"Hey Velvet, is this the right thing?" Night Light asked, bringing her a test kit.

"Not with you, eh?" Poppy teased.

"Well, I mean, yes, he's here with me but he's not with me with me. He's a Royal Guard." Poppy looked at the signature brass armor on the stallion.

"I would never have guessed," Poppy said as she rolled her eyes. "Does he have a name, or should I just call him 'Guard'?"

"His name is Night Light," Velvet said. "Lieutenant Night Light." Night Light brought the test kit to the counter. Velvet grabbed it. "No! This is the wrong thing. This is an ovulation tester! Go get-" Velvet stopped herself and pulled Night with her to the right area. She put the ovulation tester back and grabbed the pregnancy test and put it into his hoof. "This," she said. Night Light took the box and walked back to the front counter.

"I would like to purchase... this," he said as he placed the pregnancy test on the counter. "It's not for me!" he blurted.

"No. I should not think so," Poppy said, ringing up the sale. She tried her best to keep her raised eyebrow from escaping her forehead.

"It's not for me either!" Velvet said, a bit too loud and defensively. "It's for a friend!"

"Okay-"

"A slutty friend!" Night said.

"That's really none of my-"

"Like, really slutty! A cockoholic!"

"Seriously none of my-"

"Like throwing a carrot down an allywa-" Night Light had a candy apple shoved into his mouth as Velvet's horn glowed. "..."

"And one candy apple, please," Velvet said. Poppy rang up the sale and Velvet grabbed the bits from Night Light's bag.

"I hope everything works out," Poppy said.

"It's for a friend!" Velvet repeated.

"I hope everything works out... for your 'friend'," Poppy amended. "Have a nice day."

"Hank hoo!" Night said with a mouth full of apple.

"Smooth," Velvet scolded him as they left.

"Alright, so let's head back to your place and see what's what," he said once they got outside.

"It doesn't work that way. We have to wait a week before I can take the test," she said as she read the back of the kit.





One Awkward Week Later





"So, how does it work?" Night asked, sitting beside Velvet on her bed.

"It's pretty simple," Velvet said as she looked over the instructions in the kit. "You pee in a cup and then you add the activator solution. It reacts with the level of hormones in the urine. And you wait to see what color it turns. Red or blue."

"And that tells you if it's a filly or a colt?" he asked.

"No. Red is negative. It's a control to make sure you did the test right. If there's no color change, then you need to try again. If it's blue..." Velvet trailed off.

"Okay. So, let's do this," he said. "The suspense is killing me."

"Alright, fine." Velvet took the kit into the bathroom and sat on the toilet with the cup in hoof under her. Night Night stood in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Well, do you mind giving me a little privacy?" she asked.

"What's the big deal? I had my tongue down there last week. Is this really that weird?"

"You're making it weird!" she said. "And you're making me nervous!"

"Alright! Fine!" Night Light turned around. Velvet closed her eyes and sighed. After a moment she filled the testing cup and placed it on the sink counter. Night Light turned back around when he heard her finish. He looked at the dark yellow liquid. "You're looking a little dehydrated there."

"NOT my biggest problem right now!" she yelled.

"Okay, sorry," he apologized. Velvet opened the bottle of activator solution from the kit and added in the measured amount. Several tense seconds passed. "Nothing happened. Did you do it right?"

"Yes. It just takes a minute."

"I'm just trying to say that maybe you may have done it wrong."

"And I'm just trying to tell you to WAIT A MINUTE!" she yelled.

"Wow. Mood swings already? Are you having weird cravings too?" he asked.

"That's not funny," she muttered.

"Nopony's laughing," he said. 

"..."

"..."

"For the record, you can't hold your liquor worth a shit," Night Light said. "I drank way more than you and I didn't puke."

"Congratulations," Velvet deadpanned, still sitting on the toilet. "I think I have a dog treat around here that you can have."

"Wait, look!" The yellow fluid in the cup started to change tint, slowly getting darker and finally changing to- "Red's negative right? So, is that like, a really, really dark red? Like purple or violet? But definitely not-" Night Light's face turned pale and he dove in front of her. He shoved his head into her lap, puking between her legs into the toilet. Velvet recoiled in what little space she had, too tired to be angry anymore. She just placed her hoof on his head and rubbed his mane gently to comfort him as he retched violently.

"Yeah. Me too," Velvet sighed as she looked at the cup on the counter. 

It was blue.





"So what's the plan?" Night Light asked as he washed his face in the sink. He had finished 'purging his weakness' into the toilet and was now on damage control. Velvet sat on the bed, looking at her belly as she rubbed it with her hoof. It didn't look any bigger. "Velvet? Velvet!" She snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "What's the plan?" he asked her again.

"What do you mean?" she asked, still dazed in shock. 

"I mean, what are we going to do," he waved at her belly "about this?"

"Do?" she asked, still confused.

"Yeah. I mean, you could take a potion, or just drink a lot of alcohol. Or I could push you down the stairs."

"No."

"Okay, okay, I know a clinic that doesn't ask questions-"

"No."

"I'll pay for it."

"No!" Velvet yelled. "We're not doing any of those things!" Night Light rushed to her side and held her.

"Velvet, listen. You're emotional. You're in shock. I understand that. But you're not thinking clearly right now," he said.

"You're not thinking clearly!" she retorted.

"No doubt," he agreed. "But we need to be rational about this. I'm a lieutenant in the Royal Guard. You're Celestia's protégé. We both have bright futures ahead of us. There's no need for us to throw all that away over a reckless mistake."

"It's not a mistake! It's a foal!" she said, her hoof still on her stomach.

"It's-" He bit his tongue. "I meant last week." Velvet sneered at him.

"You're a coward," she spat. "You were ready and raring to go off and battle dragons. But look at you now, trembling in your boots like a scared little colt. Does this really make you that afraid? Are you really that pathetic?"

"No! It's just-" He grit his teeth. He was angry. Angry and disgusted with himself. He took off his helmet and set it on her dresser. He sighed and ran his hoof through his mane. He turned and faced her. He stood at a crossroads of his life. One path was easier, but darker, and dirty. The other was harder. It was so much harder. But it was also bright with honor.

"Velvet," he said, "you're right. I am afraid. Fuck it, I'm terrified! So, see me for the scared colt that I am. Because it's ultimately your choice. But my father raised me right. So if that's your final answer, I will stand by, and support your decision... and you."

"I know," Velvet said, hugging him. "You're my bodyguard." She smiled. "You don't have a choice."





The custodian finished replacing the vanity mirror that Prince Pedigree had stolen from Velvet's dresser. She got ready for class and stood in front of the new mirror. She looked at herself, turning from side to side as she rubbed her belly.

"It's only been eight days," Night Light said from the doorway.

"I know," Velvet sighed.

"What are you going to tell her?" he asked. "Princess Celestia, I mean." Velvet shrugged. "Because, you don't have to tell her anything. Not today anyway."

"I know." She looked at herself a minute more.

"Come on. Spring break is over. You're going to be late," he said.





"... And so if the dominant allele for yellow coloration in wax beans is carried down to the next generation, we will see a seventy-five percent showing and a twenty five percent-" Celestia's lecture was cut off by the last bell of the day. "Okay class, make sure you read the rest of chapter four, and do the review questions for homework!" The students all got up and headed for the door. Velvet hid herself in among the mob as she tried to make her way out the door.

"Twilight?" Celestia called. Velvet pretended to not hear her. "Miss Velvet?" Celestia called louder. The students around her parted, exposing her to the teacher. Velvet could not hide. Not without making a scene.

"Yes... Princess?" Velvet asked. Celestia waved her over with her hoof. The rest of the students filed out. Celestia motioned to the seat opposite her. Velvet sat down.

"I just wanted to extend my support for you," Celestia said in her warm, motherly tone. "I know this must be a tumultuous time for you. But I just want you to know that I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault. I am however, very upset with him." 

"With him? Why?" Velvet asked.

"If I had know that he was going to do that to you, I would never have set you up with him! You deserve better. But rest assured, you'll never have to see him again!"

"What!? No! Princess, he-"

"He abandoned you at the Grand Galloping Gala and left with somepony else! A stallion, as I recall. Very unbecoming of a prince."

"Prince?" Velvet asked as the gears whirred in her head. "Oh, Prince Pedigree!"

"Mhmm," Celestia nodded. "I blame myself. I didn't think that he was of the... 'alternative lifestyle'. The signs were all there, but I didn't see them," she said. "Still, he shouldn't have left you alone to get home yourself. But I'm glad that you made it home safely."

"Thank you, Princess. I-"

"I understand that we have Lieutenant Night Light to thank for that," Celestia said. "Even though he was off-duty, he went above and beyond the call to see to it that you were kept safe." Velvet's hazy memory recalled the party in the Guards' room, Night Light holding her legs up and cheering her on while she did a keg-stand. "Every bit an officer and a gentlecolt," Celestia continued. "I knew I made the right choice when I selected him to be assigned to you. Even going so far as to walk you home to your room. I was informed that you two were seen leaving together. And he stood guard at your room the entire night. Such dedication!"

"...Yes. What you just said is exactly what happened," Velvet said. Celestia smiled.

"I just wanted to let you know that there are still plenty of eligible bachelors out there. So don't let the whole 'Prince Pedigree' thing get you down. You'll find the right pony one day."

"...Okay."

"Before you go, have you made your arrangements for the spring season? I know your heat was particularly trying for you last year. Make sure that you get your suppression potion before you need it this time. You don't want to get taken by surprise."

"Right. Thank you. No surprises." Velvet got up and left. She headed out of the school. Night Light stood outside the school entrance waiting for her.

"What did you tell her?" Night asked.

"I didn't," Velvet said.

"Did you change your mind? I mean, about keeping it?"

"No."

"Then you're going to have to tell her."

"Yes. Someday. But not today," she said.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Now? Now we go home."

"And then?"

"And then you're going to guard me until it's time for me to go to bed."

"And then!?"

"And then..." Velvet trailed off. "And then I think I feel a bout of bad dreams coming on. I may need you to stay the night again." She turned and grinned at him. Night smirked.

"Isn't that how we got into this mess in the first place?" he asked.

"True," she admitted, flicking her tail at him. "But it's not like you can get me more pregnant."
> The One Where Celestia Knows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Three Months Later





"Velvet, wake up," Night Light said as he rolled out of her bed. Velvet blinked awake. She was facing away from his voice. It was still pitch dark outside.

"Night, I'm going to turn around now," Velvet growled. "And you are going to be on fire. You are going to be in flames, and the only pony who can put you out, is me. Because that is the only concievable reason you would wake me up like this!"

"I'm sorry! But it's the Summer Sun Celebration today. We have to go watch the Princess do the Sunrise. You promised," Night Light reminded her as he quickly got dressed into his uniform. Velvet groaned and sat herself upright.

"Alright. Just give me a minute to -URP!" Velvet moved quickly for still being half-asleep. "BLARGH!" Velvet retched, reaching the toilet just in time.

"Another hangover?" Night asked, teasing. "Velvet, you know you shouldn't be drinking in your condition."

"You know it isn't, you bastard!" Velvet coughed and heaved again as she cradled her gravid belly with her hoof. "This is all your fault! You did this to me!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm the bad guy," he said, getting her a glass of water and a banana. "Here you go."

"Thank you," she said, taking them as she started to cry. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I yell at you like that. I'm just so saaad!"

"And here we go..." Night muttered as he sat through another round of emotional roller coaster.





Night Light stood beside Velvet with the other ponies in the Canterlot Castle plaza, awaiting Celestia's arrival in the dark of the predawn morning. Velvet's nostrils flared.

"Ooh, I smell something good," she said.

"Yeah, there's a table over there with donuts," another pony said.

"Donuts?" Velvet waded through the crowd.

"Vel, wait! The Princess is going to be here any second!" Night said as he followed after her. Almost on cue, Princess Celestia appeared on the raised platform.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Celestia addressed the crowd, "It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this year's Summer Sun Celebration! This year is particularly special because..." As Celestia continued to speak, Night Light pushed through the crowd to Velvet, who was already helping herself to the complementary pastries. 

"Vel, stop! Or at least, slow down! One at a time! Chew, for pony's sake!" he begged.

"... so without further ado, let the Summer Sun Celebration begin!" Celestia finished. She spread her wings and lofted up into the air, raising the sun behind her as she did. Night Light's voice obediently joined the chorus of 'oohs' and 'ahs' until she was finished. The Princess returned to the ground and took a bow to thunderous applause.

"Can we go now?" he asked Velvet. "This is getting embarrassing."

"But there's a midway!" she said. "Maybe they'll have fried dough!"

"Donuts are fried dough."

"Yeah, but it's in a different shape. Like funnel cake. OOH! I have an idea! Let's get some funnel cake!" she said as she trotted toward the food booths. He sighed and followed after her.

"Don't ruin your appetite tonight. You're having a dinner with the Princess."

"Pssh, yeah, in like, twelve hours!" she said. "Ugh, I'm hungry just thinking about waiting that long to eat."

"You just ate!"

"Yeah, I know but- OOH check it out!" Velvet pointed at a food sign. "We can get a giant pizza for just twenty bits!" She looked at him. "I need to borrow twenty bits. I swear it's not pizza related."





That evening, Velvet sat across from Celestia at the castle's royal dining table. Each were politely eating their entrees with quiet poise. Velvet showed tremendous restraint.

"So... what did you think of the opening ceremony this morning?" Celestia asked, making small talk.

"It was nice," Velvet answered before she continued to eat her meal.

"Just... nice?" Celestia asked.

"It was... really nice. Just like last year," Velvet said.

"Well, a toast to another year!" Celestia said, raising her wine glass. Velvet raised hers as well. Celestia took a sip of her wine as Velvet put her glass back down.

"Hmm." Celestia took another bite of her meal. "Did you have a nice day at the celebration?"

"Yes," Velvet said. Celestia waited on the details. They never came.

"That's good," Celestia said after a minute, remaining calm. "So what's new with you?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Nothing new at all?" Celestia asked, probing. Velvet looked up from her food.

"... No." Celestia sighed, and picked up her fork again. But before she picked up another bite, she huffed loudly in frustration and slammed it onto the table, causing the rest of the dinnerware to rattle. Velvet froze and looked like a deer in headlights.

"Twilight, when are you planning on telling me?" Celestia asked, fed up with the charade.

"Tell you what?" Velvet asked, trying to keep her best poker face.

"That you're pregnant!" Celestia said.

"..."

"..."

"What!?"

"Don't play coy with me, young lady," Celestia said. "What kind of fool do you take me for? Have you even seen yourself?" Celestia pointed at Velvet's obvious baby bump. "And don't try to just chalk that up to the way you've been eating like a dumpster lately. Even though I watched you eat eleven donuts this morning. For pony's sake, you have teats!" Velvet blushed and covered her engorged mammaries with her napkin. "And you haven't touched your wine tonight." Velvet looked at the full glass of wine on the table. The last damning piece of evidence. Velvet looked down in shame, unwilling to look her mentor in the eyes. Celestia sighed.

"I'm not mad," Celestia said at last. "I'm just disappointed."

"That I'm pregnant," Velvet said.

"Of course not! You are a grown mare. That is your business," Celestia said. "I'm just disappointed that you didn't tell me right away. That you felt like you had to hide it from me. And that you thought so little of me that I somehow wouldn't notice!"

"I- I'm sorry," Velvet apologized. "I thought that you would be mad because I wasn't married."

"That's not my concern," Celestia said. "My concern is, and always has been, for your well-being. Have I ever given you cause to doubt that?"

"No."

"Good." Celestia picked up her fork again. "I suppose we have two things to celebrate then." Celestia lifted her wine glass. "I'll forgive you for not joining me in the toast this time." She took a sip of her wine. "But please, eat." Velvet took her fork and stabbed a small bite of her salad. "Twilight, please, there's no need for manners. I'm sure you're famished, eating for two."

"I- I'm not really in the mood for salad," Velvet said, pushing her plate away. Celestia nodded and picked up the dinner bell on the table giving it a hard shake. The team of waiters arrived through the double doors.

"Yes, Your Highness?" the head cook asked with a bow. "Are we ready for dessert?"

"We are," she answered. The other waiter rolled in the dessert cart. Velvet watched it intently as it rolled in.

"What will be your pleasure?" he asked.

"Twilight?" Celestia asked.

"Yes," Velvet said. "Leave the cart."

"I beg your pardon, Miss?"

"You heard her. Leave the cart," Celestia commanded. The waiters bowed quickly before they abandoned the cart and they scurried back into the kitchen. "Don't be shy." Celestia's horn glowed and she pushed the cart with her magic, stopping it beside Velvet. "You needn't feel self-conscious. An expectant mother is a beautiful thing. Regrettably it's something that I've never experienced. To me, you're like the daughter I never had. So, please, dig in."

"Thank you, Princess." Velvet said, grabbing two hoof-fulls of danishes. To start with. She began to aggressively eat them. Celestia was content to let her gorge herself while she finished the rest of her salad. The room was quiet but for the washing machine sounds of Velvet chewing. 

"If I might ask, who's the father?" Celestia asked. Velvet stopped chewing for a second before she grabbed another brownie to stuff her mouth, avoiding an answer. Celestia was nothing if not patient. She waited a few minutes more. "Do you...not... know who the father is?" Velvet coughed and sputtered at the question. "Are you... okay?"

"Why wouldn't I-?" Velvet blanched, "Oh, OH! No! He didn't- I mean I wasn't-" She wiped her mouth. "I know who it is. He didn't... It was consensual," she assured her. Celestia released her breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

"Well that's good, at least," Celestia said. "I'm... I'm not trying to pry. But I would like to know who it is."

"It's my business, isn't it? You said so yourself," Velvet said.

"I did say that. But I do feel somewhat entitled to know whose foal I'm feeding," Celestia said. Velvet looked at the cupcake in her hoof, and the rest of the devastated dessert cart. She looked at the roof over her head. She thought about the warm bed that waited for her in her bed chambers. None of it at cost to her. She looked at Princess Celestia, sitting across from her. "Is it somepony I know?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Is it a fellow student?"

"No."

"Is it-"

"It's Night Light," Velvet said. 

Celestia blinked.

"Your guard!?"

"Yes! My guard!" Velvet yelled, standing up from her seat. "He's the father. And he's my special somepony! He's kind, and sweet and he's a gentlecolt! And he's promised to do right by me! We're going to get married. Even if that means that he has to quit the Royal Guard and I have to resign from being your protégé! I know you said I couldn't get into a relationship with him. But I don't care! I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to! So if you don't like it, you can take back your food and your castle and fuck right off!" Velvet screamed as she grabbed the dessert cart with her magic and threw it at the wall across the room.

Celestia sat perfectly still. She looked down at the bits of cake that had splattered onto her white fur. She brushed it away with her hoof and took a sip of her wine.

"I'll begin the preparations for the wedding," Celestia said calmly.

"What?" Velvet asked in breathless confusion.

"The wedding. The preparations for it. I'll begin them." Celestia elaborately repeated. "I'll even officiate it myself."

"But you said-"

"That my concern is, and always has been, for your well-being," Celestia said. "And if this is what you choose, then I will support it. And you." Velvet looked at the wrecked cart and sat back down, ashamed of her reaction. "After all, who am I to stand in the way of true love?"

"I'm sorry," Velvet apologized.

"It's okay," Celestia said, looking mournfully at the smashed chocolate cake. "But in the future, if your mood swings must destroy food, throw a vegetable instead?" That made Velvet giggle. Celestia laughed with her.

"Okay. I promise."

"Now then, Have you at least seen a doctor yet?" Celestia asked.

"No."

"That is unacceptable, Twilight!" Celestia scolded. "I am mad about that! You are smarter than that to place your health in jeopardy."

"I've been careful," Velvet said, pointing at the wine she didn't drink. "I know what I'm doing."

"I'm disinclined to believe either of those statements, given your current circumstances," Celestia said. "You need to have a medical examination at once!" Velvet looked at the hands of the grandfather clock by the wall.

"It's after-hours. I'll make an appointment tomorrow." 

"Nonsense! You can be seen to this very evening!" Celestia said as she rose from the table. "Come, follow me." Velvet followed Celestia downstairs.

"There's no need for me to go to the Canterlot General emergency room!" Velvet protested.

"Not at all. That's not where we are headed," Celestia said as the walked towards the lower portion of the castle's east wing. Celestia pushed open the door under the sign that said 'infirmary'. The pony behind the reception counter had their nose buried in a newspaper.

"The infirmary is closed for the evening. If you have a medical emergency, please go to the Canterlot Gener- Princess Celestia!?" he gasped, discarding the paper and standing upright.

"It's Doctor Celestia tonight," she corrected. "I'm just making a quick house call. We'll be in exam room one for just a few minutes and then we'll be out of your mane." Celestia ushered Velvet down the hallway to the exam room and let her inside. She followed in after and closed the door.

"Doctor Celestia?"

"Yes." 

"You have a doctorate?"

"I have several. In fact I have every doctorate that Canterlot Medical University has to offer. And I have my licences to practice their respective fields of medicine. Including OB/GYN." Velvet stared at her in disbelief. "Come on now. Up, up." Velvet got up onto the exam table and sat at the edge. 

"Princess, this is-"

"Doctor."

"This is embarrassing," Velvet said.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed. However, this is necessary. Now lie back, please." Velvet did as she was told. Celestia gave her a quick visual inspection. "Hmm, that's unusual," she said.

They were words that a pony did not want to hear during a medical exam.

"What! What is it!?" Velvet asked.

"Just relax," Celestia said. She turned and get a swab from the supply drawer. She levitated the swab and rubbed it along the inside of Velvet's vagina. "It's just a bit of milky discharge residue. It might be nothing, or it might just be a minor yeast infection." She turned in her chair rubbed the swab on a glass microscope slide. She turned on the monitor and focused the lens.

The screen was filled with the image of what appeared to be hundreds of tadpoles.

"Oh," Celestia said. Velvet's face turned crimson. "Last night, I take it?" Velvet covered her face with her hooves. "Well, that explains that. You can let him know that he has a good count of strong swimmers." She turned off the screen and spun back around in her chair with a tube of conductive jelly and an ultrasound probe. "This will feel a little weird," she said spreading a bit of conductive jelly on her belly. Velvet winced at first, but it warmed up in short time. Celestia turned on the monitor and pressed the ultrasound probe to her belly, moving it around a bit trying to get a good image. "Aaand... let's see... Ah, there we are!" Celestia said, pointing at the screen. "Do you see?"

Velvet strained her eyes at the screen. It looked like a Rorschach painting. She started to cry.

"No," she cried. "I can't see it! I can't see my own baby! I'm a terrible mother!"

"Twilight! Look. Right here!" Celestia said, pointing at the very center of the screen. Velvet wiped her eyes and looked again at the dark spot that Celestia's hoof was pointing at.

"What? That lumpy potato-shaped thing?" she asked. Celestia nodded excitedly. "Well yeah, I saw that!"

"That's your foal!" Celestia said.

"That's my foal," Velvet said. Celestia hit the print button. A sheet of paper printed out the blurry black & white sonogram image and slid it into a stock card paper frame that had the title 'Baby's First Picture'.

"Here you go," Celestia said. "We're all done here. Come on, let's get you home so you can show your 'special somepony'."





The clock chimed the hour as Celestia escorted Velvet back upstairs to the dining hall. The kitchen crew was just finishing cleaning up the mess from the dessert cart. Night Light arrived promptly after them to collect Velvet from her dinner as ordered. Celestia walked over to him.

"Lieutenant," Celestia addressed him. He stood a bit straighter at attention. "You have a tailoring appointment tomorrow morning at zero nine hundred for a tuxedo fitting."

"Whatever for, Your Highness?" he asked as Velvet appeared from behind the princess. His professional demeanor belied his desire to hug and kiss Velvet as soon as he saw her. She, however, shown no such restraint. She practically tackled him with her hug and kissed him on the cheek. 

"Why, for your wedding of course, Lieutenant," Celestia said. Velvet gave him the card. He opened it and looked at the sonogram picture inside. Celestia smiled. "Congratulations."
> The Big Announcement
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You look really handsome," Velvet said as she watched Night Light get fitted with a tuxedo. 

"I think there are a few pins still in this. I can feel them," Night Light said. The tailor pony ignored him and took a few more measurements, and made a few notes.

"How are the pants?" she asked.

"Like a cheap castle," Night said. Velvet raised an eyebrow. "No ballroom," he said. She chuckled.

"I'll adjust the inseam," the tailor deadpanned, making a note.

"Twilight?" Princess Celestia said from the doorway of the boutique. "It's time." 

"Okay, well, I'm off to go have my dress made," Velvet said.

"I'm not coming with you?" he asked.

"No. It's bad luck for a groom to see the dress before the wedding," she said. Velvet got up from her chair and walked over to kiss Night goodbye. "Love you."

"Love you too," he winced. "Uh, I'd hug you, but I'm afraid that if I move, these pins are going to stab me." She kissed him again and he kissed her back before she headed out the door. Celestia could see the worried look in his eyes.

"At ease, Lieutenant. She's in good hooves," she said. "But I hope you understand, this doesn't change anything for you."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Even once you are her husband, you will still be her guard."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Even more so now that she's carrying your foal."

"I understand, Your Highness."





"... and this is one of our most popular styles," the seamstress said as she brought Velvet out from the fitting room. She and Celestia looked at her reflection in the many mirrors. Velvet could feel herself start to sweat under the heavy fabric in the height of June heat.

"I don't know," Velvet said, shuffling it off. "I was thinking something with less... poof! Just a simple gown to hang down. And maybe some see-through sheer material, since it's going to be a summer wedding." Celestia looked at the seamstress.

"Excuse us a moment, please," Celestia dismissed her. She bowed and left the room. Celestia turned and faced her protégé. "Velvet, listen. I love you, and I'm not judging you. But you are visibly pregnant. And you will be even more-so next month for the ceremony. There is going to be a photographer. Your family. His family. Everypony is going to be there for the wedding. They are all going to be looking at you." Celestia put her hoof on Velvet's gravid belly. "Do you really want to be advertising the reason for the wedding?"

"...No," Velvet resigned.

"Poof?" Celestia offered.

"Poof," Velvet agreed.





Princess Celestia sifted through the stack of envelopes on her desk as Twilight Velvet looked on.

"Well, it seems that everypony has RSVP'ed!" Celestia said with a smug grin. "But then I suppose it's hard to turn down an engraved royal wedding invitation from me," she said. Velvet frowned.

"Princess, I really feel like all of this is going too fast!" Velvet said. Celestia's smile faltered.

"Twilight, your dress has been custom made for your current figure," Celestia said. "And given how rapidly your figure is going to be... augmented, I would advise that we not delay the wedding one day later than scheduled. That is, unless you want to be a mare having a bastard foal out of wedlock?"

"No, Princess. I don't want that."

"Do you not want to marry Night Light? Does he not want to marry you?"

"No, it's not that. I just- with all of the planning, and my other responsibilities, I haven't even had time to meet his parents, or for him to meet mine!"

"Don't worry. You will. They're on the guest list," Celestia said, fanning out the cards in her hoof. "Besides, the entire purpose of the dress is to hide the... evidence of your recklessness. So unless you have some other full length dress that you are planning on wearing for your entire visit to your, or his, parents...?"

"No. I just didn't think that the first time I'd be introducing my coltfriend to my parents would be at my wedding."

"Rest assured. I'm certain that they will be delighted to meet him."





It was the big day. Princess Celestia stood at the entrance to the Canterlot Temple, once used in the olden days by pony commoners to praise the sun princess. However she had long-since discontinued the practice. She did not relish the idea of being a deity. Particularly so as it was based on her feat of banishing the Nightmare in the Moon. Unbeknownst to most ponies, it was a sore subject for her.

"Welcome!" Princess Celestia greeted. The arriving ponies gave her a penitent bow. "Now, now," Celestia chided, "None of that today! Today is not about me. Today belongs to the bride, Twilight Velvet." A pair of Royal Guard ponies ushered the guests to their seats inside the temple as Celestia greeted more guests.

The bride sat nervously in her dressing room. Her posture let her belly make a large bulge in her snow-white dress. She looked at herself in the mirror as her pedicured hooves ran over the round bump in her dress. She almost didn't recognize herself. Her make-up was professionally done. She looked beautiful. She looked like somepony else entirely, a strange pony that she didn't know. The door opened and Celestia stepped inside.

"Everypony is here," she said. They both looked at the clock. It was nearly time. "Are you nervous?"

"No," Velvet said.

"Liar," Celestia said. Velvet huffed, trying to calm herself. "It's going to be okay," she assured her. "But your father is here. So you're going to need to..." Celestia motioned for Velvet to stand. Velvet got to her hooves. She was far enough along where her back was beginning to feel the weight. She shuffled her dress until the contour of her abdomen vanished. Celestia turned and opened the door.

"Hey there, my little Twi," her father greeted as he walked inside.

"Hi Dad. Where's Mom?"

"She's already seated in the front row. She's got her camera ready for us and everything," he said.

"We have a professional photographer," Celestia said.

"Yeah, but you know how she is," he said. Celestia smiled.

"Yes. I'll always remember," Celestia said wistfully. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to get into position myself." She left the room and closed the door.

"Dad, I'm- I'm sorry about... I know you haven't met him, and it's last minute-" He put his hoof nearly to her lips, not quite touching her perfect lipstick.

"Shh," he hushed her. "Twilight, you could never disappoint me. Or your mother. We're both so proud of you today."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he told her. She was on the verge of tears. "No! No crying little Missy!" he said. His drill-pony past showed through. "We don't have time for you to be messing up your makeup now. Suck it up buttercup!" Velvet's eyes went wide as she snorted hard, sucking back her tear. The Temple bell tower sounded the hour. "You ready to go, filly!?"

"Yes sir!" she answered with conviction.

"That's my little pony!" he said, opening the door to the main hallway. "Now march! Left hoof on four... three... two..."

Everypony in the temple stood as the music began to play. They turned to the back of the temple as the doors opened. Twilight Velvet walked beside her father down the aisle, following after the flower filly. At the altar, the groom stood at attention. For any of the times he had to stand before his commander, or Celestia herself, Night Light stood taller than he ever had in his whole life. The muscles of the proud groom's back threatened to snap his own spine. 

Night's brother, Air Tender stood beside him, significantly less tense, wearing his rental tuxedo. Next to him, Mage Star wore his Royal Guard dress uniform, a red button-up shirt with a gold collar and cuffs, and blue sash ran over his shoulder across his chest. Velvet's mother was busy flashing her camera as the bride walked, and generally just got in the way of the professional photographer. The music finished as Velvet stepped up beside her groom. Night Light couldn't keep the smile from his face.

"You look beautiful. I love you," he whispered. Velvet shifted her extra weight on her dress shoes.

"My hooves hurt," she whispered back through her falsetto smile.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Celestia began, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Miss Twilight Velvet and Lieutenant Night Light. May we have the rings, please?" Night Light looked to his brother. Air Tender shrugged.

"Sorry bro," Air Tender said, "Had to pawn 'em to pay for those strippers at the bachelor party last night." Velvet's horn glowed and a ring of magic appeared around his neck.

"You had better be joking, or else the two of you are going to be wearing those rings as necklaces!"

Mage Star quickly produced the pillow with the rings resting on it. 

"Bitch is crazy!" Air Tender gasped in her magical grip, "Not too late! Run!"

"Yeah, she is a crazy bitch," Night said. Velvet glared at him. "But she's my crazy bitch." His smile melted her anger. She released Air Tender as he tried to casually not die. Celestia's horn glowed and placed each of the rings on the horns of the bride and groom. 

"Twilight Velvet and Night Light, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you Mare and Colt." Night Light and Velvet kissed as everypony clapped their hooves. "I welcome you all to join us in the Gala Ballroom for the wedding reception. There will be catering and an open bar." Outside the temple, Air Tender directed the crowd toward the reception hall.

"Come on everypony! Let's-" Air Tender coughed and wheezed as he headed to the ballroom. "Let's do some shots! Shots! Shots!"





"Your brother seems interesting," Velvet said to her new husband at the head table.

"Yeah. He's always been... interesting," Night said.

"Mage Star hasn't said a word all evening," she said.

"Yeah, he's a bit less... social," Night said. "And he has some very conservative opinions about marriage. He's only just met this pony that's marrying his brother. He just needs to warm up to you."

"What? Why?" she asked.

"He's just a little over-protective. He's always had to look after us when we were younger... and older too. He blames himself for not being there the night that Air Tender lost his wing," he explained.

"Oh."

"Come on, let's get something to drink," he said. They got up and walked over to the bar. Air Tender was standing behind it, serving the line of ponies.

"Aye! Boyo!" Air Tender greeted his brother. He looked at Velvet and winced. "Uh, sorry about the whole, 'crazy bitch' remark. I was being choked at the time."

"Strangled," Velvet corrected.

"Eh?"

"Strangled. You were being strangled. Choking is when you have something inside your throat blocking your airway. Strangulation is when it's something around your neck," Velvet explained.

"That's, uh... something," he said. "So what can I get for the lovely filly for her big day?"

"Juice, please," Velvet said.

"Juice?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were pretty regular that night at the Gala," he said. She pretended to be surprised. "Yeah, that's right. I remember. I thought you were some kind of mind reader. Didn't know my bro'd been tell'n ya stories about ol' Nubby here." He flexed his back muscles, making the small bump in his suit flex where his wing had been. "C'mon filly! It's a celebration! How about a bit of Canterlot Wine?"

"Juice, please," she repeated.

"Al-righty," he poured her a glass of juice. "And you?"

"A vodka maretini," Night Light said.

"Shaken, not stirred?" Air asked.

"Do I look like I need my drink watered down?" Night asked. Air smirked and mixed the drink. He pulled out a bowl of olives and plopped one into the glass.

"Ooh! Are those olives!?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, they-" Air Tender was cut off as Velvet snatched the bowl from him and began shoveling hoof-fulls of them into her mouth. Both stallions winced. "You know, there's a buffet..."

"I know," she said. "I just had the weirdest craving for-"

"Vel," Night put his hoof on hers. She stopped and realized that several ponies are looking at her.

"Uh... really good olives," she said to nopony in particular as she set the bowl back onto the bar. Air Tender gave her a sideways look and glanced back and forth between the two of them.

Sudden wedding
No alcohol
Weird cravings

"Congratulations," Air Tender said, extending his hoof. "On the wedding," he added.

"Yeah, thanks," Night Light said as he shook his hoof.

"Thank you," Velvet said as she shook his hoof next. They took their drinks and turned to walk back to their table. Mage Star walked over to the bar. 

"So, how long do you think before they have a foal?" Mage asked. "I put the over-under at one year."

"Oh, I'll take the under on that one!" Air tender said as he tossed an olive into the air, catching it in his mouth. "Hrgh!" 

Air tender clutched his throat as his face started to turn blue. Mage jumped over the bar, knocking glasses over onto the floor. The shattering glass caused everypony to look at the bar.  

"You see!? That's choking," Velvet said.

Mage wrapped his hooves around Air Tender, giving him repeated hard squeezes. With a final, hard hug, the olive was propelled from Air's throat. It sailed across the room and splashed down into Princess Celestia's crystal goblet.





With the commotion at the bar settled down, Velvet's parents walked over to the bride and groom at the head table.

"Oh my gosh, there he is!" her mother said to her father as they sat down. "We- we've been looking forward to seeing you!" she said. Velvet blushed.

"Mom, Dad, this is Night Light, my... husband," Velvet said. Night Light stood up and shook her mother's hoof, and then her father's.

"Sorry," Night Light apologized. "I realize it's a little late to ask for your permission for your daughter's hoof in marriage."

"That's alright son," he said. "I- I suppose it is son now. I don't blame ya. I'm sure it was my little filly's doing. Wanting to get 'er done before you realized what you were gettin' yerself into."

"Dad!"

"So, Lieutenant eh?" he asked. "Retired Colonel myself." 

"Oh." Night Light stood at attention and gave a firm salute.

"Nah, nah, none of that!" he waved off the salute. "Those days are behind me. And if you ask me, I don't miss 'em a bit. I'm take'n my orders from a different commander now. Isn't that right dear?"

"At ease, soldier," her mother said.

"So you had best square your ass away and start shitting me some Tiffany cuff links for my daughter. She's your commander now, you hear?" he told him.

"Yes sir!" Night Light said.

"Holy shit, Colonel, you too?" another pony said as he walked over. "Did they dig up any other ancient fossils for this shindig?" He froze in  as soon as he finished the sentence and then bowed to the oldest pony in the room at the end of the table. "Begging your pardon. No offence, Princess."

"None taken," Princess Celestia said as she sipped her wine.

"That mouth of yours is gonna get you court marshaled all over again, Major," Velvet's father said. Night Light blushed.

"Velvet, this is my dad," Night Light said.

"Ma'am," he greeted Velvet. "Night, I gotta say, you done good. Marrying somepony that has the Princess hosting the wedding! I always figured that you'd end up with a desert ten."

"Desert ten?" Velvet asked.

"Dad, don't-"

"A desert ten is when you get sent into the south desert in the Guard. And the mares in the Guard are usually heinous." he said.

"You can suck my dick, Major!" one of the on-duty Guard mares said.

"Sorry ma'am. Didn't see you there," his father said.

"Dad, how much cider have you had?"

"Is this really happening right now?" Velvet asked as she tried to shrink into her seat. Celestia struggled to hide her devious grin behind her goblet. "No wonder he got court marshaled."

"So anyways, you're in the desert so long, that your standards start to go down. And before you know it, that Guard mare starts looking like a ten. Hence, desert ten."

"Thanks, Dad. Thanks for that. Thanks for calling my bride heinous."

"What!? No! No, I'm saying that she's not! She's not heinous. Right?" he looked over at Celestia. "Right Princess?"

"Don't look at me, Major." She put up her hooves. "You're on your own with this one."

"Whatever. Congratulations. And thanks for the open bar. I'm gonna go keep an eye on your brother, make sure he doesn't die."

"Thanks... Dad," Night said.

"Wow," Velvet said.

"Yeah," Night sighed.

"Hey," her father put his hoof on Night's shoulder, "Your father saved my ass back in the day. I owe that pony my life. He's a good stallion when he's not..." he looked at the pony staggering at the bar, "...carrying on." He looked back at Night Light. "I'd be proud to have you as my son- as my son-in-law."

"Thank you, sir," Night Light said. Velvet's parents walked back to their table. Night's dad started flipping bottle caps at the other guests.

"I thought my parents were embarrassing but him? You win," Velvet said.

"Great. What do I win?" he asked. Velvet leaned over and whispered into his ear. His smile came back to his face. "That'll do."




Twilight Velvet and Night Light stood outside of their castle honeymoon suite. It was a short walk from the Gala ballroom, for which Velvet's hooves were very grateful. Night Light lifted Velvet with his magic as he opened the door and carried her inside. He grunted as he strained to carry her across the room to the bed.

"I don't want to hear it," Velvet said as he set her onto the mattress. "I have to carry this thing all day." He pulled her shoes off.

"Well, it's over. We're married. Now about that prize I won...?" he grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Just let me get out of this thing!" she said, trying to peel the dress off of herself. "Unzip me?" Night helped to unzip her dress. Velvet started to take her dress off and smeared her makeup on the fabric. "Oh, shoot!" She rushed into the bathroom to clean off the makeup, both from the dress and her face. "Won't be but a moment!"

"Okay." He waited on the bed. Velvet stuck her face into the sink and scrubbed off the makeup. She realized that she needed attention elsewhere as well.

"I actually just need to freshen up a bit, too. Won't be too long."

"Okay." 

"Actually, I could just really use a shower. I'm all sweaty from being in this dress all day."

"Okay." Night yawned as he laid there on the bed, tired from the long day. Velvet started running the warm water.

"You can join me if you want," she said. "Night?" She stuck her head out of the bathroom. It had been a long day. Maybe it was the ciders. But Night Light was out cold. Velvet sighed and turned off the water. "Or that too, I suppose." Velvet flopped onto the bed beside him, cradling her belly in her hooves. The door opened.

"Now sweetie," Velvet's mother said as she walked in, "I got you this book of foal names. I know you two are anxious to start making some grand foals but I-" she froze in the doorway and saw Night Light passed out on the bed. Her visibly-pregnant daughter was laying beside him. "Oh. Well that was fast."





Several Months Later





Velvet laid on the couch, reading a book. Sitting upright had become a chore for the pregnant mare. The floor was littered with empty potato chip bags, ice cream tubs and a pickle jar. On her desk, her bonsai tree had grown a bit over the course of the year. Velvet hadn't brought herself to shape or prune any of the new branches yet. She was content to just let it go and see where it led. Night Light opened the door to their suite and carried a couple of bags inside.

"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, my special somepony!" Night said from the door.

"Ugh," Velvet groaned, craning her neck to look vaguely in his direction.

"I got you something," he said, giving her an envelope. Velvet took it with her magic and peeled open the flap.

"Be my special somepony this Hearts and Hooves Day?" the card asked as Velvet read aloud. She opened the card. "Trick question. You don't have a choice. We're married." She looked up at him. "That's... sweet, dear."

"And so are these," he said, giving her a box of-

"Chocolates!?!" Velvet's eyes lit up. Night Light took a step back as she snatched the box from him, afraid that he would also lose his hoof. She shredded the wrapping and ripped open the box, shoveling the various chocolates into her mouth. "Yer da besh!" she said with her mouth full.

"You're welcome, dear," he said. Velvet dispatched the candies quickly, rubbing her thighs together as she did.

"Mmm, and I know just what I want next!" she purred, eyeing up Night Light. The hormones that had been flooding her system since she'd conceived had swollen her teats into full mammaries, increased blood flow to her nipples and pubic area. And it had turned the once-virgin filly into one horny mama. Her horn glowed and lifted him into the air before laying him down and pinning him to the floor. 

"Oh, uh, okay. Uh, right now?" he asked. Velvet didn't answer as she slid off of the couch. She didn't walk, so much as waddle over to him, her pendulous belly swung beneath her. She leaned down and pressed her muzzle into his crotch. She took a deep whiff of his scrotum and she nuzzled his balls with her nose. He felt her warm tongue join her nose on him. "Oh, honey- no, I- at least let me take a shower first! I've been running errands all morning!"

"No," she growled. "I love your stink!"

"Okay..." Night Light could do little else but lay there in her magical grasp as her plaything. He groaned as she continued to lick his sack and worked her way up to teasing his sheath.

"Ah, here we go," she purred, as she watched his shaft appear from its hiding place. She shifted up along his body and began to lick his penis directly.

"Vel-" he moaned. She felt his legs twitch under her as his staff grew to full mast. She shimmied up along his body, straddling his waist with her legs. She was practically dripping wet as she slid against his shaft. "Oohf!" Night couldn't help but grunt as her weight crushed him.

"A little help?" she said, releasing her magical grasp on him. He reached down and helped to lift her butt with his hooves. His own horn glowed. His magic did its part, cradling her belly to help ease the weight for both of them. Velvet's magic grasped his cock and angled it upwards towards her needy marehood.

"Can we try to take it slow this time?" he asked. "I'm still a little tender from last time." The absence of a reply from her made him nervous. But she eased herself down gradually, letting just the tip inside her at first. She lowered herself a bit more, but taking no more than just a third of his shaft. She was comfortable taking her time with his hooves and magic supporting her. Her pussy winked and gripped at him. But she could tell that it was now him becoming impatient. After almost two minutes of slow teasing, his hips jerked. He bucked upwards into her, giving her nearly two thirds of his length.

"Oh, are we done with slow?" she teased. Her magic flashed and knocked his hooves away, letting her fall all the way down onto him. In an instant his entire length vanished into her. Her winking clit bumped against his pelvis as he bottomed out inside her. He felt a rush of wetness spray from her pussy.

"Wow! You came just from that?" he asked, seeing fluid soaking into the carpet.

"What? I didn't-" she froze and they both looked at each other with eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Oh shit. You need to get me to the hospitoooOOOH!" Velvet lurched as the contraction struck her. She fell onto him before rolling off onto her side. His cock sprang free as the rest of her broken water gushed out.

"Oh shit! Oh fuck!" Night Light sprang to his hooves and ran to the door, pushing it open. "MEDIC!" he screamed into the hallway. He ran back across the room and grabbed the day-bag that they had prepared for the big event. Out of the corner of her eye, Velvet looked at the bonsai tree on her desk. Next to it was a snow globe that Celestia had given her. It was enchanted to be a sort of panic button. The princess's words echoed in her mind.

"If you ever have an emergency, just break this, and I'll be there."

Velvet's horn glowed as she panted on the floor. Her magic nudged the globe off the edge of her desk. It fell to the floor and shattered. 

The entire room flashed an iridescent white, stunning the panicked stallion and sending him reeling to the floor beside his wife. 

"Twilight!?" Celestia bellowed into the room as the light faded. The princesses eyes fell to her most faithful student, sprawled on the floor in distress. "Are you okay!?" 

"Foal's... coming!" Velvet wheezed. Celestia's horn glowed and enveloped the pregnant mare in a protective aura. Night was nearly to his hooves as Celestia's horn flashed again. A concussive force blasted the far wall, knocking the door and the frame clean out of the wall, scattering debris into the hallway as they charged through. Velvet rode along comfortably inside the yellow bubble as Celestia ran with unnatural speed through the castle. Night could barely keep them in sight as he gave chase.

Celestia bounded into the air of the vaulted hallway. Another blast from her horn smashed a hole in the floor. And the floor under that. Ponies below were kept out from under the falling rubble as a wave of yellow magic shoved them to the walls. Celestia dove through the hole and free-fell. Her hooves smashed the marble tiles when she landed. She bolted down the hallway to the castle infirmary and discarded her golden horse shoes, crumpled from the impact.

The doors to the infirmary simply evaporated into yellow dust. The reception counter and the wall behind it were shoved aside like they were no more than a fabric curtain. The receptionist and her desk followed with it. The entire architecture of the room was altered by the princess's whim. Celestia burst through the waiting area at supersonic speeds. Her wake scattered reception papers and criminally-old magazines everywhere.

Celestia came to an instant halt when she reached the maternity ward. The protective magic bubble surrounding Velvet shielded her from the acceleration forces that might have otherwise liquefied her skeleton. Celestia gently placed Velvet into the hospital bed, setting her legs into the delivery stirrups.

"SCRUBS!" Celestia turned and yelled behind her. The princess began washing her hooves in the nearby sink as cadre of her nurses flooded in. 





Half a castle away, Night Light followed the trail of destruction through the castle. Her magic blast had nearly left him unconscious. It was like he was in the same closet as a firework going off. All he could hear was the ringing tinnitus in his ears. He had only ever heard rumors as to Celestia's power. Her ability to move the sun notwithstanding. But to see it with his own eyes. She had blown a hole in the solid stone wall twice as large as the doorway as easily as if it were made of a house of cards.

As he ran down the hallway he could barely hear the muffled voices of the ponies shouting all around him. He came to a skittering halt just before he reached the stairs, nearly falling into the gaping hole in the floor. The edges of the hole in the granite structure glittered with fresh quartz crystals, formed from the intense heat. Such immense force, just from her impatience to take two flights of stairs. 

He edged around the hole and ran down the stairs. In the lower hallway, he saw four huge dents in the solid stone floor. Impact craters. Her golden horse shoes had partially melted and fused with the stone. He ran to the castle infirmary and found it looking as though a train had collided with it. The central structure of the reception had been moved nearly twice its own length aside. Exposed pieces of the room's infrastructure protruded from the floor and hung from the ceiling. But perhaps most impressive of all, amid all the destruction, was not a single injury.

Any unicorn could do each of these feats on its own. Like grabbing a tuba and blasting out a single, loud note. But for Celestia to single-hoofedly do all of these things so rapidly, while protecting everypony around her, while carrying and protecting his wife. It was like a one-pony symphony of magic. 

"Note to self:" Night Light thought, as he ran into the maternity ward. "Do not piss off the princess."

"Where the hell have you been!?" Celestia yelled at him.

"Too late."

"Did those pegasi get dispatched to her parents home?" Celestia asked a nurse.

"They're on their way!" a nurse said.

"I need that ring!" Celestia commanded to the room. A hurricane of ponies moved around the relatively small room. At the center was Celestia in full doctor scrubs. "You," Celestia grabbed Night Light with her magic. In a flash he teleported and appeared next to Velvet's bedside. "Here!" Celestia's magic grabbed his hoof and put in into Velvet's. Her hoof gripped his like a vice.

"YOU!" Velvet growled. "You did this to me!" Night Light buckled as he felt the bones in his hoof being crushed. Velvet's horn glowed. The walls of the room began to shake. The light flickered. The saline in her intravenous bag began to boil.

"Nurse, I need that ring immediately if not sooner!" Celestia yelled. The nurse ran in with the ring. Celestia quickly put the magic-inhibition ring on Velvet's horn. Everything returned to normal. A foaling unicorn was one of the few forces of nature that even Celestia feared. But the ordeal wasn't over for the stallion.

"Get this thing out of me!" Velvet yelled. Her hoof twisted Night's, forcing him to contort himself to keep it attached.

"Hang in there Lieutenant," Celestia said. "You're doing great Twilight! You're doing so great!"

"I hate you! I want you to DIE!" Velvet roared.

"We know you don't mean that," Celestia said, remaining calm for everypony. Velvet wrenched her hoof again. Night felt his shoulder dislocate.

"Can I die instead?" he whimpered.

"Not today soldier, or else you're going to be in a world of shit," Celestia said. "You know the rules. Royal Guard ponies are not allowed to die without permission." Celestia turned to the nurses. "I need that epidural! STAT!" A nurse brought in the epidural. Night Light saw it and fainted.

"If you stick that needle in me, I'm going to stab you in the heart with it!" Velvet growled.

"It's not for you. It's for him," Celestia said, pointing at the stallion on the floor beside her. Velvet rolled onto her side and looked down her unconscious husband.

"On your hooves soldier!" Velvet screamed, shocking the pony awake. Celestia snuck up behind her and injected her exposed spine. "AAGH!" Velvet yelled as Celestia depressed the plunger.

"Aaand there we go," Celestia said, withdrawing the needle.

"Bitch!"

"You're welcome," Celestia said. "Now let's deliver this foal." Velvet rolled onto her back again. Celestia helped to set her leg back into the stirrup. The epidural eliminated the pain in moments so that it wasn't the world-ending, all-consuming body torture that had ponies of the past praying for the sweet release of death.

"Come on now, remember to breathe, like we practiced," Celestia said. "And one, two, three, push!"

"NGGH!" Velvet gripped the edge of the bed frame and just held-the-fuck on. Between pushes and her rapid breaths, Velvet let fly strings of vulgarity that would give even a longshorepony pause.

"And push!"

Night Light groggily got to his hooves. As his head appeared above the edge of Velvet's bed, another head appeared between her legs. Oh, sure. He'd read the books. He knew what to expect. But nothing ever really prepares you for seeing a pony come out of your wife. He felt his stomach do a flip.

"Almost there!" Celestia coached. More of the tiny foal emerged. "One more!"

"GAAAH!" Velvet's eyes were puffy and red as she gave one final push. She went silent with the last of the air in her lungs even as her jaw was still stretched in a breathless wail. The whole room fell still.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Waaa!" The cries of the tiny foal broke the silence of the room. Celestia quickly wiped the baby clean and wrapped it in a towel. She gave the foal to Velvet to hold in her hooves.

"We're not done yet," Celestia said.

"What? You mean twins!?" Night asked.

"Not exactly," Celestia said, nodding to Velvet. She gave one last small push. The other end of the umbilical cord slid out, attached to the-

"OH sweet fucking HELL NO!" Night Light turned and tried to climb the stone wall of the room in sheer terror as he gagged. He fell to his knees and wretched violently into the trash can. Celestia cleaned up the mess of Velvet's afterbirth.

"Yeah," Celestia sighed. "They never show that part in the movies, do they?"

A nurse poked her head into the room as Night continued to dry heave.

"Mrs. Velvet's parents are here," she said.

"We'll be done here in a few minutes," Celestia said. "You can send them in." The cadre of nurses worked quickly to clear the equipment out of the room and cleaned the floor. Mostly of Night's own mess. Once Velvet was decent and comfortable, the last of the nurses left, letting her parents in.

"Hi dear," her mother greeted and they stood on the other side of her bed from Night Light. "You look beautiful."

"Liar," Velvet groaned.

"You look better than him," her father said, pointing at Night Light, who was still a bit green around the gills. Velvet's parents both leaned over and looked at her newborn foal. Celestia stood at the end of the bed. Her horn glowed as she closed and locked the door.

"Now that we're all here, it's time for the big announcement," she said. Velvet looked at her sideways.

"Oh? And it's not me being pregnant, getting married, or having a foal?" she asked. Celestia shook her head.

"Not even close."
> Birth of a Notion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now that we're all here, it's time for the big announcement," Celestia said. 

"Oh? And it's not me being pregnant, getting married, or having a foal?" Velvet asked. Celestia shook her head.

"Not even close," Celestia said. She brought her hooves together and sighed. "Twilight, do you love your husband?" she asked.

"Of course I do, you know that," Velvet said.

"Till death do you part?"

"Yes!"

"And you love her too?" Celestia asked Night Light.

"Of course! Nothing will ever change that!" Night Light said. "What? Are you going to tell me that this isn't my foal?"

"Oh, no. It absolutely is," Celestia assured him. "But Twilight, what I'm about to tell you will shock you. It will shake your understanding of the world to its very foundations." Velvet rolled her eyes.

"Save me the theatrics," Velvet groaned. "I just had a foal. After going through something like that, everything else tends to get the volume turned down."

"It's about your foal, actually," Celestia said, her tone and expression both serious. "But mostly, it's about your brother." 

Velvet saw Celestia's mouth moving. She heard the noises that sounded like words. But somewhere between Celestia's mouth, the vibrations in the air washing over her, and her eardrum vibrating, somehow the message didn't seem to get through. 

"What?" Velvet asked. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I think I had something crazy in my ear. Because it sounded like you said 'my brother'."

Celestia waited patiently for the concept to sink in.

"Which is crazy, because I have no brother!" Velvet said. Celestia remained still. "I was an only child. I'm an only child!" Velvet looked at her parents beside her bed. "Mom? Dad? Right?" Her parents smiled weakly and then looked away. "Right!?" Her mother looked at her again.

"No dear," she said. "You... do have a brother."

"What? How? When? Why!?" Velvet blabbered as all the questions in her mind tripped over each other as they struggled to get out.

"Dear, relax!" her father said. "I know this is a big shock for you but you need to calm down and listen to us!"  

"When were you planning on telling me!?" Velvet demanded.

"Today," Celestia said. "It was always the plan to tell you on this, the day of your first foal."

"But, but why!?" Velvet cried.

"Because of who your brother is," her mother said.

"Where is he!? I want to meet him! I need to meet him!" Velvet demanded. Celestia looked at Velvet's parents and nodded. They both nodded back. Celestia looked at Velvet and took a deep breath.

"Twilight Velvet," Celestia said as she moved alongside her bed, standing beside the new father. "I want you to meet your brother, Night Light."

"..."

"..."

"Heh, he he." A low laugh rumbled deep in Velvet's throat as it slowly bubbled up. "Ha! hahaha!" Velvet was practically rolling in the hospital bed. "HAHAHA! Oh my GOSH!" Velvet cried as she wiped her eyes. "You really had me going! Were you in on this too? I bet you set this whole thing up!" Velvet said to Night Light. Night Light just looked back at her with eyes as wide as dinner plates. 

"Night, come on, drop the act!" Velvet said. "I appreciate the dedication, but it's a little early for an April Foals prank isn't it? Right guys?" She looked at the rest of the assembled ponies. They all just looked back at her. "Right? Guys come on!" Velvet said growing irritated with how long the prank was being drawn out. Her smile turned into a scowl. "Come on, this isn't funny anymore!"

"Nopony is laughing, Twilight," Celestia said.

"Mom! Dad! Come on!" Velvet begged.

"I'm afraid that it's true," her father said.

"No, it's absurd!" Velvet said. 

"I'm sorry Twilight, I know how hard this is for you to hear," he mother said.

"No! N-No!" Velvet stammered. "When did you find out that he was my brother!?"

"When I delivered his birth, from your mother," Celestia said. "In this very same room."

"We gave him up for adoption that very day," Velvet's father said. "That was all before you were born, of course." Velvet glared at Celestia.

"And you, YOU!" she yelled. "You knew about this, this whole time!?"

"I did," Celestia admitted. Her stoic face was expressionless.

"And you just... just let all of this happen!? You let me marry my brother and have his foal!?"

"I did." Celestia repeated. If Night Light hadn't already thoroughly emptied his stomach earlier, he would surely have done so now. Velvet's face twisted and contorted as a myriad of emotions flooded through her. Anger. Betrayal. Fear. Sadness. But mostly, confusion.

"But- but WHY!?" Velvet asked desperately. Celestia took a deep breath and sighed.

"That... is a long story," Celestia said, making herself comfortable.







"A long time ago," Celestia began, "A very, very long time ago, I wasn't the only alicorn in the world. We were many. We were all there was, among pony kind. We were immortal. Our lives were taken only by the cruel hoof of fate, but not by time. But immortality meant that we had to be responsible. We had to have careful planning and foresight for our population."

"When one of us died, we did not mourn their death. We celebrated their life. For whether it was ten years, or ten thousand years, we all got the same thing. We got a lifetime. And it meant that our controlled population had an opening for a new member. A lucky couple would be given the opportunity to have a foal."

"But then one day a wingless pony, a unicorn, had appeared in a neighboring town. She claimed to be from the future, from another world. And she brought with her a terrible curse. Ponies began to lose their horns to horn-rot. Others lost their wings to feather flu. Some lost both. All lost their immortality."

"My younger sister was barely twenty. I was only a few years older. Newborns by Alicorn standards. Our mother took us to a distant land, and sequestered us in a crystal cave, high up in a lone mountain. And there, she cast a protection spell on us, turning us to stone."

Celestia wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I can still remember our mother. Her fur was white, like mine. Her mane was a deep red, like burgundy. Her cutie mark was a quill and inkwell. Her eyes were teal, like the color of the ocean. I can still see them sometimes, when I dream. I can remember the look on her face as we cried, when she had to tell us goodbye one final time."

"I do not know how long my sister and I were in that cave, as stone statues. We had no perception of the passage of time. No consciousness. It was as though she had said goodbye, and we blinked our eyes closed. When we opened them again, it only felt like an instant had passed. But it had been longer. It had been far, far longer."

"That was when we met Starswirl the Bearded. He was the pony that figured out how to release us from our stone form. He was a wingless pony. A unicorn. Others with him had only a horn, or wings. Some had neither. It was hard for my sister and me to look at them."

"We asked him about what fate had befallen our alicorn race. He told us that he'd never heard of a pony with both a horn and wings. And neither had anypony else in the world. My sister and I searched for any trace of the world we knew. But it had been thousands of years. We could not find a single ruin, or record from our era. All knowledge of our time had gone out of the world."

"We were special, she and I. The only ponies in the world with both a horn and wings. The other ponies looked upon us as deities. We were hailed as the De Facto rulers of all ponykind. We were princesses without princes."

Celestia blushed.

"We took suitors, of course. There was never a shortage of them. But it seemed that we could never sire an heir. We just enjoyed their company. For a while at least. As time went on, it became harder and harder to accept a companion, knowing that we would one day lose them to the sands of time. Eventually we stopped accepting them altogether, seeking companionship then, only in each other."

Velvet asked, "You and your sister were...?"

"We were lovers, yes," Celestia answered. "And for a time, it was enough. Other ponies came and went but we were always there for each other. But after a while, that wasn't enough for me. I became obsessed with trying to find a way to bring back our race." 

"I had founded a school in a small mountainside town that would one day become Canterlot. A gifted student of mine had been making great strides in the field of botany. He was able to accurately determine the traits of the plants that he would cross pollinate. He posited that all life forms could pass on traits in this way. He was the first to hit upon the idea of genes. His successor and I worked closely together for many years. We hypothesized that we could apply his methods to ponykind, and possibly breed alicorns back into existence. All we needed was to combine the traits of Unicorns and Pegasi. At first it didn't seem to be working, just mixing a Pegasus and Unicorn. But with a few Earth Ponies in the mix things started to turn around."

"But... there are lots of interracial couples in Equestria. None of them produce alicorns," Velvet said.

"That's correct!" Celestia said. "The genes are recessive to a very long degree. The genetic composition and combination would have to be just right for it to happen. It would take many successive pairings of ponies to distill the genes down to just the right set. But he and I figured out how to do it! Although he realized that in order for it to happen, I would have to oversee the entire project, long after he had died. We started by pairing him with the right mate to begin the process."

Celestia took Velvet's hoof.

"And your great, great, great... many many greats, grandparents were him... and his sister."

Velvet grimaced.

"And when they had their first foal, I looked after him myself. Then they had a daughter," Celestia said. "Years later, I played matchmaker and I introduced him to his unbeknownst sister. And then I did the same with their foals. Eventually the ancestors of Night Light's foster family began to help, taking on the adoption of the first born. And so on. Until now."

Velvet looked at her parents.

"Mom? Dad?" she asked, seeking some kind of explanation.

"It's true, Twilight," her mother said. "Your father and I are siblings. Just as our parents were. Just as you and Night Light are." Her parents walked around to the other side of the bed and both hugged Night Light. "We've missed you so much, Son," she said.

"It was so hard for us to not reach out to you," his father said. "But our family made a promise."

"And I made a promise too," Celestia said. "I vowed to always look after your family through the centuries. I've always made sure that nopony ever wanted for food, or shelter. Everypony in your family has had a blessed life. Ensured admission to my school, and to the Royal Guard Officer Academy. Any and all of the best opportunities." 

Velvet was still struggling to accept it all. Celestia smiled wide. 

"And we are so close to our goal! I'm certain that your foal will be capable of becoming an alicorn. And their foals will be born with both a horn and wings! You are part of the royal family!" Celestia's smile faded. "Which is why it breaks my heart that I must ask to take your foal away from you."

"What!? NO!" Velvet growled. Velvet clutched her tiny bundle of joy closer to her.

"Twilight, dear, please," her mother said, "I know how hard this is,"

"No you-" Velvet stopped herself.

"I DO know how hard this is!" her mother snapped. "It broke my heart when I had to give up tiny Night Light." She turned to Night. "It pained both me and your father that we could never see you." She looked to Velvet again. "But we owe the Princess so much. She's always looked after all of us, and you. She made you her protégé. She made Night Light an officer in the Royal Guard."

Velvet refused to release her baby.

"Of course, I won't force a mother to part with her foal," Celestia said. "But you are still so young! You have a semester of graduate school left to finish and get your Master's Degree. Do you really want to be raising a foal while you try to do that?"

"I can do it," Velvet said. 

"Your foal will be looked after, with the very best treatment!" Celestia assured her. "And you will be able to visit, and see their progress. And you will be reunited again as their mother one day when your foals have foals of their own. But nopony else can ever know that this one was born to you. Twilight, you and your foal, your entire family, is the biggest secret in Equestria."

"Twilight, please," her mother begged. "I sacrificed raising Night Light so that our family could have this incredible opportunity to be part of something truly special. Historical! Your foals, our grand foals could be alicorns in our lifetime! We gave up our son to see this day." Her parents hugged Night Light harder. "Please don't make our sacrifice become in vain!"

Velvet looked at the tiny foal in her hooves. Her eyes began to water.

"Can I at least pick the name?" she asked.

"Of course!" Celestia said. Velvet peeled away the blanket wrapping the tiny pony. The tiny pink wings sprung out from under the baby pegasus. A tuft of purple and creme mane sat as a bit of fluff on her head.

"Cadance. Cadance, my love," Velvet said. Celestia nodded in approval. Velvet held out the bundle of blanket. She clenched her eyes. She couldn't bare to look. She only felt the weight in her hooves go away. A moment later, the door opened and closed. When she opened her eyes again, Celestia and her daughter were gone. She cried. Her family gathered around her in the bed and held her. Her mother, father, and brother. They all held her as she cried. She cried until she had no tears left. "Goodbye Cadance," she whimpered.

"It's not goodbye," her mother assured her as she hugged her and Night Light. "You will be together again soon."

"It won't be soon enough," Velvet said. Her mother hugged them both harder.

"No. It won't."
> Parental Guidance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Velvet and Night Light returned to their suite a couple days after she was released from the infirmary. It was no secret that he was her husband now, but he still wore his guard uniform while he was 'on duty' with her. The destruction of the castle had been all but erased. One would not even know that the wall or floor had holes blasted in them unless they knew where to look for the fresh seams in the mortar.

He opened the door for her as she held her discharge paperwork. Her official documents indicated that she'd had a stillborn foal. But she knew better. Night Light picked up the newspaper at their door, reading the headlines.

"Princess Celestia has adopted an orphan foal. She has dubbed her Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," he read aloud, turning the paper to show Velvet. The front page had a full-panel photograph of Princess Celestia cradling tiny Cadance in her hooves. Velvet's lips trembled, but she kept her composure. She'd cried enough in the last two days.

She walked into the suite and dropped her bag on the floor. The soiled carpet had been replaced and the broken snow globe had been cleared away. Celestia had given her a new one, still in her bag. But her office that she had turned into a nursery remained. She bit her lip and turned away.

"I can't be here!" she said, forcing back the tears. "I can't stand to look at this! Have them change it back!" she demanded as she turned and went back out into the hallway. Night Light stood in the suite and looked at the nursery that he'd helped to decorate with his wife.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied as he set his jaw. "I can't stand it either." He made a mental note to submit a maintenance work order as he followed after her. "Where are you going? It's going to take them a few days."

"I'm going to spend the rest of February vacation at my parents," she said.

"Okay. And?" he asked as he caught up to her.

"And what?" she asked back.

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Am I- do you need me to stay here and oversee the work or-" he trailed off. "Or did you want me to come with you?" he asked. 

She stopped walking and looked at him. It was almost as hard to look at him as it was the nursery. It was conflicting. Celestia hadn't minced words when she'd said that the revelation would shake Velvet's world to its very foundation. It had. Everything was different now. Everything that mattered. When she looked at him, she saw her husband, and father to her foal. But he was also her brother. It colored everything. All of her memories of him, every time they'd kissed, every night that they had... Velvet shuddered and pushed the thoughts away. 

"I..." Velvet began. "I'm sure they'll be pleased to spend more time with you," she said. She turned and kept walking, a bit faster.

"Hey, hey!" he called after her as he tried to keep up. "That didn't answer my question!" he said.

"No. It didn't," she said. He caught up and stopped her, grabbing her hoof.

"Hey, this isn't easy for me either, you know!" he said. "Do you want me there or not?"

"I- I'm not sure right now."

"Don't you still love me?" he asked.

"I- I'm just confused right now. I don't know what I feel. I'm just trying to be honest," she said.

"Well, I can appreciate that at least. But, come on!"

"I think we both just need time to... I don't know, process all of this. Let it sink in. You know?"

"Okay."

"Do you want to come with me?" Velvet asked him.

"Yes."

"Okay then." She nodded for him to follow.





"Welcome home, sweetie!" Velvet's mother greeted as she opened the door for her. "How are you?" she said as she took Velvet's bag and let her inside. Velvet grimaced. "I'm sorry dear, I know that this is a tough time for you. But I want you to know that your father and I are here for you."

"You mean my uncle?" Velvet said.

"Twilight, dear, I realize that this is a lot for you to take in, but you're focusing on the wrong thing. He is your father, first, and my husband! He and I brought you into this world, and he helped to raise you. His relationship to me, beyond that, is irrelevant!" Velvet opened her mouth to argue, but didn't.

"I just... need some time," she said as she headed upstairs to her old bedroom. Night Light stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Do you-" 

"No." Velvet cut him off and closed her bedroom door. Night Light just stood there, unsure of what to do. He turned and faced her mother. His mother, he supposed.

"Should I..." he tried to ask, seeking guidance.

"She just needs some time," she said.

"So she said."

"So let's do just that. Would you like some tea?" she asked "I just put a kettle on."

"I'd love some... uh..." he hesitated. She smiled.

"It's okay. You can say it. Try it on and see how it feels."

"Mom?"

"Son," she replied. She smiled. He didn't. "Give it time," she said. He sat at the table.

"You know, I never thought that I'd ever get to meet my mother," he said.

"I know," she said. "Your... other family and ours have been close for all these years. The princess made sure that you were always seen after. Especially when his wife..." his mother put some tea bags into the cups and added the hot water. "She died just before you were born. It was a shock to all of us. But things were already set in motion for him to receive you. And he had to raise the three of you himself." She placed the cup in front of him and sat beside him and held his hoof. "We helped when we could. We wanted so badly to just see you, even when we knew we couldn't." Night Light looked down at his tea as he stirred it with his spoon.

"How did you... how did you and Dad do it?" he asked. "Any of it? All of it? How did you deal with... losing me?"

"It wasn't easy," she said. "It never was. It still isn't. When I think about all those memories that we missed out on. We would get letters from him telling us about your first steps, your first words, the first time you did magic." Her eyes glistened. "We were so proud when we heard about you graduating from the Royal Guard Academy. We were actually in the audience that day. But I'm sure you didn't even see us." She held his hoof. "And it's not going to be easy for you either. Both of you. But you don't have to do it alone. You'll have the Princess, and us. And you'll have each other." Night felt his stomach flutter. 

"How did you... get over that?" he asked. "When you found out about each other?"

"Our mother talked to me. Our father talked to him. In our time of crisis, they helped us to remember what we still had," she said.

"Like what?"

"She loves you," she said.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore," he said.

"Trust me. She still does. Don't you love her?" Night felt his stomach flutter again. It felt like there was a blender inside of him with all these emotions in it, churning up everything at once. Anger, fear, doubt, disgust and guilt. But also love.

"Yes."

"Then it'll be fine," she assured him. "All you need is love. And everything else will work out," she said. The front door opened.

"Honey, I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen with our son!" she called back. Her son's fur crawled. 

"Night's here?" he asked, hanging up his coat. He trotted into the kitchen and gave him a slap on the back. "Hey! There's my boy! How're ya doing champ!?" he asked. His boy felt his bile rising. "Yeah, not so good I bet." He sat down beside Night as she made another cup of tea. He took a sip. "Mmm, Mm! Baby, this is some bomb-ass tea!" he said.

"Excuse me?"

"That's what all the cool colts say these days. Eh? Say, where's your sister?" he asked Night. Night felt like he was about to return his tea to sender.

"Upstairs," Night Light said.

"She's still upset," she said. "I'm going to head up and talk to her." She walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs, leaving the boys to talk. Once she was gone, he set his tea down and turned to face his son.

"You're not looking so good," he said frankly to Night Light. "In fact, you look like shit."

"Yeah... well..." Night trailed off and just stared at his cup.

"Hey, look. Believe me. I get it," his father said. "Everything. This past year. This past week, it's just been... Hell. I get it." Night sighed. "The wedding. The whole pregnancy. Having the foal, losing the foal." He got up and grabbed the trash can and gave it to Night Light. "And now finding out that you've been nailing your sister this whole time." Night Light grabbed the bucket and puked.

"Yeah, that was about how I felt at first, too," his father continued. "Go on, get it all out. You'll feel better." Night Light coughed and sputtered out the last of his breakfast. He gave him a napkin. Night Light wiped his mouth as his father set the trash can back where it has been. "But you listen to me. You need to get over that shit, you understand?"

"But how?" Night Light asked. "She's my sister!"

"Now look here! That filly up there ain't your sister. Not really. Yeah, you and she both came from the same parents. But that's the beginning and the end of it. You never had to share toys, or fight over who got to sit in the front of the carriage. Or which of you would get the top bunk. You never had to get pissed about her using up all the hot water in the shower when you were late for school. You never had to worry about which coltfriend she was going to date. None of that shit. None of the shit that makes her a sister to you. To you, it's just a word."

"It's still kind of a big deal," Night Light said.

"Bullshit. It's a word. And words only have whatever meaning you apply to it. It's only a big deal if you make it one. The same with 'son' to me. You're my daughter's husband, first." Night Light looked unconvinced. "Besides, you've got bigger things to worry about."

"Like what?" Night asked.

"Me!" he said, grabbing his shoulder. "Worry about me! Because you married my daughter. You made a promise that day to her, and me. You promised that you would always love her, and look after her. And son, if you don't, you are going to be in a world of shit." He gripped his shoulder harder, digging his hoof in. "So you go ahead and drink as much cider as you need to, cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get-the-fuck over it. You do whatever you need to do to un-fuck yourself and do it quickly, soldier. Because if you break my daughter's heart, this retired colonel will break your spine! I don't care who you are. And then it will be 'death do you part'. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" Night answered on reflex. He let go of Night's shoulder.

"Glad to hear it!" he said jubilantly, as his smile returned. "Now, how can I help?" Night light looked down at his tea cup and pushed it away.

"I think I'll t-take that cider now," Night said. His father grinned.

"I'll get ya two."





Upstairs, Velvet's mother knocked on the locked bedroom door.

"No." Velvet said as she laid on the bed.

"Twilight, dear, it's me," her mother said through the door. "I just want to talk to you." Velvet didn't respond. Her mother's horn glowed and unlocked the door. She pushed it open and walked inside.

"I didn't say you could come in," Velvet said.

"My house, my rules."

"I always hated that," Velvet said. "That was why I wanted to move out."

"Did Tia not have rules in her 'house'?" she asked.

"Tia!?" Velvet asked.

"Celestia? Princess Celestia? The Princess? Perhaps you've heard of her."

"Ugh! I can't believe she did this to us!" Velvet fumed. 

"To us!? Twilight, we've had a blessed life because of her."

"She made me give up my foal! She made you give up your foal!" Velvet said, clutching her old teddy bear.

"And now we have him back! It all worked out in the end. And it will for you, too. Tia loves you. She loves all of us. We're like family to her. The only family she has. She takes no pleasure in separating us."

"Will my daughter call her 'Mama'?" Velvet asked.

"No. She will know that she's adopted. She will be Aunt Tia to her." 

"How do you know?" Velvet asked.

"Please," her mother scoffed. "You don't think that the Princess has been acting alone this whole time, do you? Your father and I have been working closely with her this whole time to ensure that everything went according to plan."

"Her plan."

"Yes. Her plan. And my mother's plan. And my mother's mother's. Just as it's your mother's plan. You didn't end up with Night Light by accident."



In the dark castle library, Night Light held the book in his hoof and showed it to Velvet. " 'A Night in Satin'. A guard falls in love with his princess. Still think that there's nothing to fate?" he asked.



"But Celestia said that I was forbidden to date my guard!" Velvet said. "Why would she say that if she wanted us to be together?"

"Because dear, we know you," her mother said. "We know you better than you know yourself. We understand your rebellious nature. Celestia prohibited you from dating him, because that was exactly what she needed to tell you to ensure that it would happen."

"This whole time..." Velvet scoffed. She'd played right into Celestia's hoof, and didn't even realize it. "So what do I do now?" she asked, feeling lost.

"Talk about it to Celestia. She's here to help us. All of us. And she's going to need your help too in the coming years."

"With what?" Velvet asked.

"Your son, some day," she said. Her daughter sneered.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Velvet said.

"Trust me. You just need to talk to her. And talk to your spouse."

"You mean my brother!?" Velvet spat.

"I mean your spouse! He's still your husband. And he's still the stallion that loves his wife."

"Well I don't love HIM!" Velvet huffed and buried her head under her pillow. Her mother pulled the pillow away and grabbed her, rolling her over to face her. 

"That's not true! You love him!" she said. Velvet grit her teeth and her lips peeled back into a viscous scowl.

"No!" Velvet yelled. She brought her hoof back an took a swing at her. Her mother caught her hoof with her magic and pinned her down.

"Stop lying!"

"No! I hate him!" Velvet screamed, as she tried to pull herself free.

"Tell the truth!" she said.

"I hate him! I hate the Princess! And I hate YOU!" Velvet yelled as her horn glowed. Her mother smacked her horn hard, extinguishing it. She looked her in the eyes.

"Twilight Twinkle Velvet!" her voice boomed, "You look me in the eyes right now, and you tell me the truth, young lady! Do. You. Love. Him!?" Velvet struggled, but her mother held her firm. Her angry scowl broke along with her fit of rage. She clenched her eyes and cried. She bawled out.

"I DO!" Velvet sobbed. "I do love him!" Her mother released her magical hold and hugged her. "Damn it! I wish I didn't!"

"Shhh, that's not true," she said. Velvet cried into her mother's shoulder.

"I wish he wasn't my brother!" Velvet cried. Her mother just held her in her hooves. 

"...I know, sweetie."





Downstairs the two stallions sat across from each other as they each drank a bottle of cider. Night Light looked up at the ceiling listening to all the noise coming from upstairs. When all of the shouting and crying settled down, his father just looked at him and smiled.

"See? I told you she loved you," he said. "Ah, dames. Sometimes you've just got to let them get it all out. And a few buckets later, they're right as rain." Night started to push his chair out.

"Maybe I should go up and-" His father's magic pushed Night's chair back in. 

"I would advise against that," he said. "By the sounds of it, your mother has things well in hoof." The upstairs door opened. "Ah, you see?" Night Light looked towards the stairs. His mother walked down. Alone.

"So...?" Night Light asked, without any plan for an actual question.

"She'll be alright," she said. "She just needs a little bit and then she'll be down to join us for dinner." She sat down next to her son. "And you?"

"I'm... okay," Night said.

"Just... okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. No, I'm... I'm good." Night smiled weakly. "I'm... better, knowing that's she's okay."

"Because you love her?" she asked. Night Light nodded. 

"That's good!" his father said. She smiled.

"Then everything's going to be just fine!" she said.




Night Light helped his parents set the table. The older couple only had two chairs for the small dining table since Velvet had moved out. They had brought a small bench from the mud room into the dining room to accommodate the guests. He helped to put the serving dishes on the table just as the door upstairs opened again. Velvet walked downstairs and silently took a seat on the small bench at her usual place setting. Her parents each sat in their seats and Night Light sat beside her. Velvet scooted away until half of her was hanging off the edge. Night Light was doing the same. They were sitting as far apart as they possibly could while still being on the same bench.

Their mother just looked at them and shook her head as she started serving the dinner. They each took up their silverware and began to eat. Their father was content to just eat in silence. It suited him just fine. There would be plenty of time in the future to work these things out. It didn't need to ruin this perfectly good eggplant lasagna dinner. Their mother was less content with simply keeping the peace. Night Light and Velvet both reached for the same bread roll and their hooves touched. They both recoiled and pulled their hooves away. 

"Oh for fucks sake!" Their mother slammed her hoof on the table, causing the plates and silverware to rattle. "Would you two cut that shit out!" Night Light and Velvet both looked at her in shock. Night Light was just surprised by the loud noise. But Velvet had never heard her mother swear in her whole life. Their father didn't even flinch as he continued to eat his lasagna. The zen master blocked out all. Her horn glowed and her magic shoved them together on the bench, flank against flank. They each blushed. "There! Now stop pretending you have cooties!"

Their father glanced up from his plate and looked at the two of them sitting together. Even if they weren't talking yet, or even looking at each other, he could see it, just at the corners of their eyes. Their mouths didn't show it, even when they weren't full. But the eyes never lie, no matter how hard they were trying to hide it. 

They were smiling.

It was the most that Night Light and Velvet had touched since they'd gotten the news. Night Light was silently grateful for the contact with the mare he still loved. And deep down, in a place where Velvet didn't like to admit to herself, she was grateful for it too.




Velvet helped her mother clear the table and do the dishes. Night Light settled down on the couch in the living room. By the time the mares finished, it was starting to get late. And it had been a long day for everypony. Velvet walked past Night Light and her father on the couch and headed upstairs to her bedroom. Her mother did the same. She looked at Night's father and bid him to join her. He got up from the couch and looked at Night Light.

"Velvet's bed is a queen size," he said.

"Okay," Night Light said.

"Enough room for two," he said.

"Okay," Night Light said, laying down on the couch. His father was done with subtlety. He walked over to him and leaned close to whisper to him.

"Son, I'm gonna have to get back up in a few hours to pee. Old stallion problems being what they are. And if you're still down here on this couch, I'm going to throw it out into the yard and set it on fire.... With you on it." His dad walked back over to his mom and they headed upstairs.

"Sweet dreams, Night," his mother said as they turned off the lights and headed upstairs.

"Thanks," Night replied. He sat up on the couch. For several minutes he just sat there and listened to himself breathing in the dark room. It wasn't so long ago that he was afraid to spend the night with Velvet. And now this fresh terror had him afraid not to. He weighed his options. His wife being mad at him was something that he had experience with. It was something he could handle. Her father on the other hoof...

Night Light got up off the couch and headed upstairs. He stepped softly, trying to keep the old wood from creaking. He stood outside of Velvet's room and stared at her doorknob. Part of him hoped that it was locked. The other part of him moved his hoof to turn it. The door slowly swung open. In the dark he could see Velvet's form on the bed beneath the blankets. He crept across the room and stood beside her bed. 

"Hey," he said, barely louder than a whisper. Velvet stirred just a bit. Her head turned just enough for her to see him standing in the moonlight.

"What?" she muttered, with an edge of annoyance to her voice.

"I, uh- your dad said..." he started, not sure if he wanted to say 'your dad said that if I didn't come up here he was going to set me on fire.' He cleared his throat and started over. "Dad helped me to understand a few things and I, uh..." He trailed off. The words got away from him. He hadn't planned this far ahead. He hadn't planned on even coming up here tonight. Or ever. But now here he was. Velvet rolled over and turned to face him, looking at him with her deep blue eyes. He looked back at her eyes, glittering in the moonlight. There was only one thing left on his mind. The only thing that really mattered. 

"I love you, Velvet," Night Light said. "Dad's right. Nothing about what's happened has changed that. I don't care what we are. I still love you as much as I ever have. And really, that's all that matters. That we love each other." he said.

"..."

"Isn't it?" he asked, waiting for her to say something. Anything. He could see her eyes glisten in the moonlight as she blinked. His heart sank as she shuffled away from him on the bed, and rolled over, facing away from him. He looked down at the floor and resigned himself to his fate. It would not be the first time he had slept on a hardwood floor. It certainly couldn't hurt any more than what he was already feeling in his chest. Velvet pulled open the bed covers behind her.

"Are you getting in, or what?" she asked. Night felt his heart start beating again. He tried to be nonchalant, and kept himself from all but jumping into her bed. He laid down next to her, looking at the back of her head. Another pony could easily fit in the space between them. 

"I love you, Velvet," he whispered into her ear and waited. He was unsure if he had said it too quietly, or if he had even said it at all. Perhaps he just thought that he'd said it. Or perhaps she was already asleep. Or perhaps- 

"... I love you, too," she said.
> What Tangled Webs We Weave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast was a little easier for everypony in the house. Night Light and Twilight Velvet sat next to each other without discomfort. And their parents had no shortage of questions for Night Light. They were eager to get caught up on the parts of his life story that they had missed. Which was nearly all of it.

But for Night and Velvet, there was still something there, wedged between them. Something that was easier to ignore in the dark bedroom the previous night. In the harsh daylight, it was difficult for Velvet to not think that he was still her brother. It wasn't on Night Light's mind as often. But it was enough.

In the coming days, neither of them were sad for it. But it was something that kept them just south of happy. For what they had gained came at a cost of losing something else. Even as they saw each other, they missed each other. Velvet missed her husband. Night Light missed his wife. This new pony that they saw was like a stranger that they had just met. And they were dating all over again.

It didn't help that they didn't have Cadance either.

"Scroll for Twilight," her father said as he walked in from getting the mail. He gave her the scroll and she opened it.

"They've finished the renovations to my suite at the castle," Velvet read aloud. 

"So does that mean that you'll be heading back?" her mother asked. Velvet nodded.

"I need to talk to the Princess and to finish my final semester at magic school," Velvet said.

"Celestia will make sure that you're taken care of," her father said. "She's looked after our family for centuries. You don't need to finish school right away for job security."

"I'm doing it for me," Velvet said. 

"You know, you can always make up the courses later," her mother said. "The Princess would understand. Everypony would understand in the wake of... your loss. Besides, you should be focusing on more important things right now."

"More important than my education?" Velvet scoffed. "Like what?"

"Like your family," her mother said.

"You guys are fine. Night is fine. I'm fine," Velvet said.

"We mean, the future of your family," her mother said, looking back and forth between them. 

"Mom, I-" Velvet looked at Night Light and he looked away. "We're not..." she sighed. "We're not quite there yet," she said, trying to be diplomatic. In truth, though, she was unsure if she would ever be ready for that again.

"We understand dear, these things take time," he father said. Her mother hugged her and whispered into her ear.

"But don't wait too long."

Her father extended his hoof and shook Night's.

"Carry on, Son. And do keep an eye on her for us," he said.

"Yes sir," Night answered, feeling a crumpled note being put into his hoof.

"Grab my bag?" Velvet asked, as she headed out the door. Night nodded and picked up her bag with his free hoof and slung it over his back as he followed after her. In his other hoof, he opened the note that had been given to him. As he read it, he set his jaw.

Standing orders:
1. Never let her go to bed angry.
2. Never let her go to bed alone.





Back inside the castle Velvet stood outside the door to her suite. She just stared at the door knob for a minute and then looked to Night Light as she moved aside.

"Check it," she said, as she walked a bit down the hallway. Night nodded and opened the door. He stepped into the room and looked around. He had given very specific instructions to maintenance. All indications of the foal were to be erased. He set her bag on her bed and checked the nursery. It had been turned back into her study. He checked every part of every room. Every shed of evidence of her pregnancy was gone, save for a few maternity shirts in her dresser drawer. It would still be some time before she would be rid of her baby weight. He walked back out into the hallway.

"All clear," he reported. Velvet walked past him and looked around inside herself. She nodded in satisfaction. In her heart, she knew she would never be able to truly forget about it. But at least she didn't have to look at constant reminders.

"Good enough, I suppose," she said. She walked into her study and sat at her desk. She opened her drawer and took out her books, papers and quills.

"Vel," he said, waiting for her to talk to him. 

"That'll be all," she dismissed him without looking up.

"Velvet, is it really so hard to look at me?" he asked. She set her quill down and sighed. She turned in her chair to face him.

"Yeah. Right now, yeah. I'd rather not be reminded of everything that's happened. I'd rather focus on my work and not think about that stuff. Which is why I wanted to not see any other reminders. And unfortunately, you're one of them," she said. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. He closed it and did an about-face, walked out of the suite. He was accepting his old role once again, it seemed. 

He closed the door and stood beside it at his post, unsure of what else to do. He looked down at his boots. They were dull and scuffed. He took off his helmet and inspected it. It looked just as bad. He could only assume the rest of his uniform was likewise unpresentable. It looked like how he felt.

He walked across the courtyard to the barracks. He nodded to the ponies standing post at the barracks and walked inside. He walked down the long row of racks, the cots for the on-duty guards. At the end of each bed was a trunk with their standard issue gear. He arrived at his old bed, only to find that the placard on it had a different name on it now. One of the perks of getting married was that it meant that you didn't have to stay in the barracks anymore. He kept on walking to the office at the far end of the room. The supply depot. He pushed open the door and walked to the counter. The pony behind the desk stood up for the approaching officer.

"As you were," Night Light said. "I need a polishing kit," he said as he pushed a few bits across the counter. The pony turned around and grabbed the small kit from the supply shelf behind him and placed it on the counter.

"Sign here, sir," he said. Night Light signed the requisition form and took the kit. He walked back out through the barracks, stopping for a moment to wonder where exactly he was going to do his work. 

He walked to his old bed and sat on the trunk as he took off his armor. He opened his kit and began to polish his brass armor to a mirror shine, starting with his helmet. He always enjoyed maintaining his equipment. It was simple, mindless work with a discreet indication of progress, and a tangible result that was proportionate to his effort. It gave him time to think, which was good because he had a lot to think about.

"Hey, Dumbass! That's my spot!" a nearby pony barked. Night Light glanced at him, set down his helmet and picked up his chest plate, brandishing his officer bars insignia.

"That's Lieutenant Dumbass to you, Private," Night said flatly. The other pony reflexively went to attention.

"Sorry sir! I didn't realize," he apologized. "But that is my spot." Night Light looked up at him again briefly before he went back to focusing on his work.

"Not right now, it isn't. I'm commandeering this... 'spot'," he said. "Just use your bed."

"But my bed will get messed up," he said. Night Light gave him an irritated glare.

"Then make it again after you're done," he said. He stood up and let the private get into his trunk for his own polish kit. The private didn't argue further with the officer and sat on his bed. He felt pained as he rumpled the perfectly flat blanket. He took off his own armor and began to likewise polish it. Night Light glanced over at the other pony's technique. The surface under his hoof cloth alternated between streaked and smudged, with what looked to be a long road to even being remotely acceptable.

"No, look, make little circles like this when you apply it," Night said, showing him how it's done. "And then use the other cloth in the opposite direction to clean it." The private did as he was told with much better results.

"Thank you, sir." Night Light nodded and quietly returned to his own work. The private was clearly unnerved by his presence.

"So... how are you liking the Guard so far?" Night asked, trying to break the silent tension.

"It's great!" he said. Night smirked.

"It's okay. You don't have to lie. I won't tell your C.O." Night said.

"Well, okay, yeah, there are some parts about it that are rough. But overall, I really like it. I don't mind the challenging work. It really suits me." 

"Yeah, me too," Night said. "Are you just doing one term?" he asked.

"I was thinking about going career," he said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Any advice?" he asked. Night snorted. He could give a book of advice. But three important ones immediately came to mind.

"Three things. One, don't get married."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. Mares are alright once in a while. But they're a distraction if you let them tie you down," Night said. "Secondly, don't have foals. Same thing. They tie you down. They force you to change your priorities. And your priority should be the Guard. At least until you're ready for this part of your life to be over. Because once you say 'I do', and have little ones, everything changes," Night said, polishing his armor a bit harder than explicitly necessary. "Everything."

"And the third thing?" he asked.

"Well, lastly, and most importantly, you can avoid the first two by never letting your dick do your thinking for you!" Night said as he finished working. He stood up and began to dress himself. He walked toward the exit. "You can have your spot back now."

"Thank you, sir."

Back outside, Night Light stopped to think for a moment. Back across the courtyard was the entrance to the castle's living quarters. Off to his left was the walkway that led out to the main entrance, into the city. Without a bunk, he was unsure of where he would be sleeping that night. He couldn't go back to their parents' place. He checked his pocket for bits for a hotel for the night. He felt a slip of paper. It was the standing orders that their father had given him. Don't let her go to bed alone.

He stuffed the paper back into his pocket, rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hoof and groaned.





"Velvet?" Night Light asked as he knocked on her door. She didn't respond. He opened the door to her suite. Technically, their suite. "Velvet, I brought you some dinner," he said, heading toward her study. "I know how you forget to eat sometimes when you're working." He looked into her study. She was busy reading and writing by the candle light. She didn't even look up at him.

"Just leave it on my table," she said, waving him away with her hoof. "I'm not hungry right now."

"Come on, you need to eat," he said.

"No I don't. I'm fat," she said.

"No you're not," he said.

"Lying doesn't suit you. And it's disrespectful to me," she said.

"Okay, fine! But it isn't your fault," he said.

"You know what? You're right! It's yours!" she said, glaring at him.

"Okay," Night sighed, "I guess I did set myself up for that. But come on, I brought you food. It's your favorite!" He brought the bag to her. She opened it and looked inside. Her stomach growled. "Ah ha! I knew it."

"Okay, fine! I am hungry!" Velvet took out her container and began to eat. Night Light sat near her with his own food. "What's this?" she asked, looking in the bottom of the bag.

"Leftover Hearts and Hooves Day chocolate was on clearance at the store. I figured you might want some."

"I'm not pregnant anymore."

"But you still love chocolate," he said. Velvet gave him a look but still quickly grabbed the box of chocolates and stuffed them into her desk. "And I hear-tell that they're an aphrodisiac," he said, half-joking. She gave him a more stern glare.

"Night, you being my brother aside, I just had a foal. If you think I would even remotely be in the mood for that, at all, then you have a gross misunderstanding of female anatomy."

"Sorry." He and Velvet ate their dinner quietly. He cleaned up once they were done eating and let her get back to work. He sat out of sight in the other room while she finished working and he resumed reading a book that he'd left in the night stand. 

Some time later, Velvet's desk candle burned out, ending her evening's work. Night put his bookmark in the page he finished and set the book back down. Velvet put her things away into her desk and walked into the bedroom. He stood up from his chair as she climbed into bed. 

"I can leave, if you want," he said.

"You don't have to."

"I mean, if it's- You said that it was hard for you to look at me," he said. Velvet looked at the space beside her in the bed. It was a big bed. A gift from the princess for her wedding. It was too large for just one pony. She hadn't minced words when she'd said that seeing him was a reminder of things that she would rather forget about. But feeling him in bed beside her reminded her of the good things as well.

"Well then just blow out the candle," she said as she opened his side of the bed to him. He did as he was told and climbed into bed beside her. He laid there for what felt like a long while. Seconds, minutes, hours? In the dark with no clock, it was difficult to tell. For all the times that they'd had sex in the past, his mind lingered on dinner that first evening at her parents' house. Feeling her leg against his. The simple intimacy of that contact with her was what he missed the most. It was what he craved. What he needed. His trembling hoof reached out into the dark, across the bed. He nervously placed it on her shoulder. He felt her flinch at his touch, but she didn't pull away.

"Is... is t-this... okay?" he asked.

"No," she said. Her other hoof reach up and grabbed his, pulling it across her barrel, and wrapping it around her. She pulled him to her as she moved back against him, with his hoof around her body. "This is better." Night Light was nearly in tears as he felt his body against hers. He pressed his face into her soft mane, relishing her scent as he felt sleep tugging at his eyelids.

He was happy to wrap his hoof around her. 

She was happy to let him.




Princess Celestia finished raising the morning sun and walked back inside her quarters to bid good morning to her adopted niece. Afterwards, she trotted happily to her school.

Tiny Princess Cadance was left in the capable hooves of her highly trained nannies, a team of skilled mares that rivaled Equestrian Special Forces. Two of them were active wet nurses. They were all experienced foal caretakers and body guards, certified emergency responders trained in first aid, as well as mortal combat. They could kill you with one hoof, and feed the pink pegasus foal mashed peas with the other.

Celestia walked into her school and went to her classroom. Velvet was already at her desk.

"Good Morning, Twilight," Celestia greeted, glancing at her clock. "You're... earlier than usual."

"Couldn't sleep," she said. It wasn't completely true. But neither was it a lie. When she had awoken that morning, it was still dark. Night Light was beside her. But she hadn't the strength to face him again. Not yet, anyway. She readied herself quietly. But his training had made him a light sleeper. He didn't object to the time she was getting up, but he insisted on still accompanying her. Especially if it was to be in the dark of the morning.

"Are you okay?" Celestia asked.

"No," Velvet said, honestly. "I'm not okay. I'm pretty far from okay." Celestia didn't respond. She'd been here, in this exact moment with her protégés so many times before. She knew how she felt. She knew that there was really nothing that she could say that would help her feel better. Only time could do that. "I want to see her," Velvet said. "I want to see my daughter."

"I know you do. You are entitled to see her, of course..." Celestia said, leaving her statement open-ended.

"But?"

"But... I would advise against it," Celestia said. "I realize that you've been through a lot. Physically and emotionally. And right now you're fixating on the idea of your daughter. But you don't have that attachment. Not yet. And the more you see her, the more difficult it's going to be to compartmentalize those feelings. But there's also the matter of you, this strange pony, coming to visit... what everypony thinks is my foal. And in the coming years... it will be confusing for her. Especially when the time comes for her to be... properly re-introduced to you."

"When she marries her brother? My son?" Velvet asked curtly. "Whom I'm supposed to conceive with my own brother?" Celestia frowned.

"You mustn't keep thinking of it that way," Celestia said. "We are on the verge of greatness! Your foals could be the rebirth of the Alicorn race!" She could see that Velvet was still unconvinced. "Come with me, I want to show you something." Celestia said. She retrieved from her desk her rarely-seen 'cancelled class' sign and hung it on the door on the way out.

"You're cancelling class?" Velvet asked.

"Yes." Celestia said. Velvet looked at her with wide eyes. "It's that important."

They walked together up to Princess Celestia's royal chambers. It wasn't the first time that Velvet had been there. The guards posted at her door recognized her. Celestia opened the door and her horn glowed as they walked in past her guards. Velvet felt her fur tingle as she walked in through the invisible ward on the doorway's threshold. Celestia's magic let them pass without being violently repelled.

Celestia closed and locked the door behind her. Velvet felt a static charge shock her as the ward snapped shut around them, also serving to soundproof the room. Celestia unlocked and opened the door to her closet. It was less a closet, and more a walk-in mini museum of all manner of magical artifacts and trinkets. In the back of the locked room was a locked trunk. Inside the locked trunk was a locked box. And inside the locked box...

Celestia placed the box on the desk in her study and opened it. Inside were two ancient books and a scroll as thick as Celestia's massive bed posts. She carefully removed the binding strap from the scroll and began to unroll it. It was a map of ponies' names. She didn't recognize any of them until they got to the end of the map. Velvet recognized the last names at the bottom. It was Night Light, and Twilight Velvet. 

Above their names was their parents'. Above them were her grandparents', great-grandparent's and so on. It was her family tree. In each generation it split and came back on itself. Some had branches that diverged with other ponies' names. But the main trunk of brothers and sisters went all the way down. Secretly separated at birth just to be rejoined in marriage. Velvet felt her chest get tight with disgust as she looked at the visible web of lies, a tangled road map of incest.

"But... all this inbreeding!?" Velvet cringed. "Isn't there the risk of birth defects and congenital disorders?"

"Oh yes," Celestia breathed solemnly as she went back toward the very top of the scroll. "I'm afraid I was not completely forthcoming about this project when I first told you about it. When I said it was brother and sister and then brother and sister, and so on... that part is true. But the first four generations were plagued with... undesirable outcomes." She reached the top section. It was littered with branches that had dead ends. Names that were lined out.

"Your ancestors were tried of their patience more than you can possibly imagine. It was so long ago, but I remember each of them. I held their hooves for each miscarriage. Each stillborn. And worse," Celestia said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "It was hardest for all of us then, when the tunnel was darkest and the light was so far off. And they knew that they would never live to see it. After four generations, it was so bad that I was ready to give up and end it. It wasn't worth so much suffering of the ponies that I loved. Not even for an Alicorn."

"But it was your..." Celestia did a quick count in her head, "Thirty-seven-greats grandmother that convinced me to continue. She had seen the rest of her siblings die. Only she and her brother remained. I can still hear her voice when she told me, 'Let's just try one more time'. And in the next few years, they'd had two beautiful foals. Their pegasus colt became a champion aerobatic. And her daughter was one of the most talented mages of her time!" Celestia moved her hoof down the scroll. There were fewer and fewer dead ends and lined names until there were none.

"It had been a rough road," Celestia said. "But they had beaten some very long odds. They had each avoided getting any of their parents' genetic diseases and they had perfectly healthy foals. And from then on, it hasn't been an issue." Celestia took the first of the two old tomes from the box. Despite her great care, its cover was worn blank with the passage of time. The first page inside revealed its contents. It was the first edition of what had later become two books in her classroom. Velvet recognized each of them.

Experiments on Plant Hybridization & The Origin of Ponies 

"I know these books," Velvet said. Celestia nodded.

"We were ahead of our time when we had first happened upon the theory of genes." She opened the book to the accounts of early studies. "We studied the family trees of interracial couples. Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn. And based on enough information, we were able to predict with great accuracy the probability of a foal's traits. Wings, horn, or neither. But never both for some reason." Celestia flipped ahead into the body of the book. 

"We were able to save marriages," she went on, reading the account. "Two earth ponies had a unicorn foal. The husband accused his wife of infidelity. But when we examined her family tree, we found that it was a legitimate foal. They both had unicorns as maternal grandparents. The trait skipped two generations. Only to finally match up with their foal. It was a rare event. A one in sixteen chance. They had five other foals together. The rest were all earth ponies."

"I understand how genetics work," Velvet said. Celestia nodded.

"Yes. Ponies do, now. It's part of standard curriculum. But this was a revolutionary discovery for the time! It explained why there were so many more earth ponies than unicorns or pegasi. Because-"

"Because the absence of the trait is dominant to its presentation," she said. 

"And that was when we realized that if we could control the breeding of a certain set of ponies, we could control the presence of the traits that were passed down. We could ensure that a foal had wings, or a horn..." Celestia flipped to the back of the book.

On the Resurrection of the Winged Unicorn

"Or both," Celestia finished. Velvet looked at the title and flipped through the pages.

"I've never heard of this book," Velvet said.

"You wouldn't have. It was never put to print. This is the only copy," Celestia explained. Velvet looked through the text and the graphs and tables of data. She reached the last few pages.

"It's unfinished," Velvet said.

"That is correct," Celestia confirmed. She reached into the box and pulled out the other large book. "But not discontinued." 

Velvet opened the book and pored over the pages of data. Each table had a pair of names and a set of traits. They were probability sets for breeding results. The names corresponded with the ones on her family tree. The last quarter of the book's pages were blank. The last page that had been filled out had Velvet's name and Night Light's. They were arranged on either side of the table with their corresponding traits.

"I didn't realize I was nearly half pegasus," Velvet said as she looked at her own traits.

"It's more significant than that," Celestia said. She pointed at the graph on the opposite page, bringing her hoof along the two axis to a point in the top right corner with her name. "Velvet, you are 98% Alicorn!" she said. Velvet just looked at her in puzzlement. She heard the words, but they didn't register right away.

"Oh," Velvet breathed.

"Genetics is a game of averages. If you had mated with an average earth pony, the foal would be about 50% Alicorn. Most ponies are somewhere between 25% and 50%, depending on their family history. It's a lot easier to go down than up. In fact, it's exponentially more difficult to go up the closer you get to the top," she explained.

"Night Light is 96% Alicorn," Celestia continued, waving her hoof in a so-so motion. "With a 1% margin of error. But that means that with your combination, there is a one in four chance that Cadance is 99% Alicorn. And the fact that she was born with wings instead of a horn from you two is a strong indication of that! That puts her within range of magical ascension! But we won't find out until she's older. But if she can...!" Celestia was practically giddy. "Your grandfoals should have a 100% probability of being pure-born Alicorns!"

Velvet could not deny her own excitement at the prospect. Her heart raced as she looked over the data. In light of her modern understanding of genetics, everything looked correct. Based on these pairings, her grandfoals would have equal parts of recessive traits, allowing them to equally be visibly present. A horn, wings, an earth pony's magical connection to the land, and-

"What is this trait symbol?" Velvet asked. Celestia smiled.

"That... is the Alicorn trait for body cell degradation. Or rather, lack-there-of." Velvet raised her eyebrow. "Immortality, Twilight."

Celestia moved the book aside. She rolled the scroll back up as she went back to the very bottom of the family tree. She retrieved her quill and drew a line connecting Velvet and Night Light, with a line going under them to-

"Mi Amore Cadenza," Celesta said as she wrote the name. And then she drew a line to a space beside it. She left the space blank and let the ink dry. She looked at Velvet, making it clear to her student of her intent.

"Your parents understood the gravity of what is at stake. As did their parents. And theirs, and so on. This is your destiny, Twilight! We are but a step away from our goal." Velvet looked over the names of her ancestors in the long tree. "If not for me, for your family. Don't make their sacrifices be in vain."

"And you're certain that there's no risk of..." Velvet trailed off. Celestia nodded. "Alright," she said, "What do we do next?"

"I'll keep on raising the Sun," Celestia said with a smile. "And you need to get to work on raising a son of your own." Velvet nodded in acceptance and looked at the space at the bottom of her family tree. She sighed. 

"Oh, what tangled webs we weave..."
> Graduating
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fillies and Gentlecolts," Celestia announced to the large crowd outside of her School for Gifted Unicorns, "It gives me great pleasure to present to you, your graduating class!" The parents and family members cheered as the assembled students all stood and took a bow. They had all walked up onto the stage and received their degrees from the princess, and were now filtering out into the crowd, seeking their loved ones. Among the students sweating in the hot June sun was Twilight Velvet in her black robe, clutching her Master's Degree. Her parents waved her over to their location. They each hugged her as soon as she was in range.

"We're so proud of you!" her mother said.

"I knew you would finish what you started!" her father said. Velvet's husband waited patiently for his turn.

"How does it feel?" Night Light asked.

"Ugh! This heat!" Velvet complained. "I can't wait to get home and get out of this robe!"

"Sounds like a plan," he said. "I've already hailed a carriage for us."

"Oh, you're the best!" Velvet said, giving him a kiss. He kissed her back, harder. Even though he was her brother, her parents and Celestia were right. All they needed was time to get used to the idea. It did take time, but in the months since February it had become easier to ignore that aspect of their relationship. To Velvet, he was her husband before he was ever her brother. That part was easier to remember and focus on. She loved him. That was the part that mattered. They boarded the carriage. Her parents sat in the front and gave the driver the address. Night Light snuggled against Velvet in the back seat.

"Ugh, no," Velvet said, pushing him away. He looked hurt. "No, I'm just hot, that's all. I need to get out of this robe." 

"I could help with that," Night said as his hoof started to move up her leg under the material. 

"Behave!" Velvet quietly scolded him, slapping his hoof away. "My parents are right there!"

"She's right, Son," her father said from the front seat. "At least wait until we get home first." Both of the younger ponies blushed. The carriage rolled up to the house and her father paid the cabby while her mother unlocked the door. Velvet practically bolted past her to run upstairs. Her mom gave Night Light a knowing look. 

"I... should go see if she needs help," he said, trotting after her upstairs. Night walked into her bedroom to see her struggling with the collar's clasp. Her magic faltered. "Here, I'll get it," he said, easily undoing it. 

"Ugh! It's just so hard to concentrate with this damn..." She lifted her robe off and flung it at him. The wet spot where she'd been sitting on it hit him in the face, flooding his senses with the musk of her "...heat!" she groaned. Night Light took his time removing the garment from his face, trying not to make it obvious that he was intentionally smelling it. 

Not that he needed to. With her robe off, her feminine scent plumed into the room. Her nose had gone blind to it. But he couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to. And now that he had finished his term in the Royal Guard, he hadn't the uniform to hide the result. He pulled her robe from his face to find her glaring at him.

"Oh really!?" she said, pointing at his obvious arousal bobbing beneath him.

"Hey, this is entirely out of my control!" he said. "Don't even try to blame this on me. You're the one... smelling good!" He tossed her robe back at her. She could visibly see the dark spot. She held it close to her nose and cringed.

"Oh, geez, it is me," she groaned. The 'Beat the Heat' potion that her mom had given her didn't seem to touch her ache. "It's bad this year."

"You seemed fine last year," he said.

"I was pregnant last year!" she growled. "I didn't have to deal with all this." Night Light shrugged and smirked.

"Well then... the solution seems simple."

"Ha!" Velvet scoffed. "Simple, he says!" She looked at the small pot on her dresser. Her bonsai tree had grown quite a bit in the last year. The shrubbery was nearly the size of an orange. "You try having a foal," She said as she looked at her tangled mane in the mirror. "Nothing about it is simple!" She looked in the mirror at her brother's erection behind her and sighed. "Especially now."

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said, hugging her. "I didn't mean to trivialize it. I know it's hard."

"Speaking of hard, it's touching my leg," she said. He looked down at it poking against the outside of her leg but he didn't move it.

"Well... where would you prefer it to touch you?" he asked seductively. 

"Night..."

"Maybe... here?" he asked boldly, moving it with his magic to the inside of her leg.

"Night...!" she groaned in idle protest but didn't move to push him away.

"Maybe a little higher?" he asked. He shifted his stance and brought it up along her inner thigh. She let out a little whimper. He moved his hips and slid his length against the edge of her marehood, along her pubic mound between her legs. He could feel her heat positively radiating against his abdomen as he pressed his body against hers. He pulled back as she snapped her legs together, keeping him pinned between them. But it only served to push him even more up against her sensitive nethers. But she hadn't the strength to hold him long.  He pulled back and let it bob a bit higher.

"Or what about up here?" he asked, letting his tip brush against her swollen petals. Velvet gasped at the contact. "Ooh, I think you do like it here," he said, pushing against her a little harder. Her hooves pawed at the floor as she felt him start to spread open her hot, wet entrance with his tip. "I think you need it in here," he said and he leaned closer, nibbling on her ear. "And I think you want it!" Velvet couldn't move, she couldn't think, she could barely see straight as he continued to tease her. "You want it, don't you? You want me to put it in?" he asked. It had been months. Velvet moaned desperately, unable to resist any longer.

"Yes!"

"Say it."

"I want it!"

"You want what?"

"I want you to put it in!" she cried. Night didn't normally like to keep a lady waiting. They had denied themselves of each other long enough. So he obliged her request. Velvet felt the air rush from her lungs as she felt him push it inside. Her voice was hitched in her throat, leaving her mouth agape in a silent squeal as she felt every inch of him moving along inside of her well-lubricated love tunnel. It wasn't until she felt his balls resting against her clit that she gasped for a breath. She could feel his breath on her ear as he panted on top of her. She felt an instant of relief. A scratch for her itch that only her lover could provide.

Velvet cursed herself for her previous inhibitions. Ever since the beginning of spring, she'd suffered this ache. And Night Light was ready to relieve her of it from the very beginning. He had been able to move on from what had happened. Why hadn't she, she wondered.
Each time she had rebuffed his advances. Each time she left him physically in the lurch and guilty for feeling like he did. She was upset with herself for forcing him to have to deal with her musk, without any reward. But no more.

All of these thoughts and feelings went away. The only feeling that mattered now was feeling him inside her. But the relief it brought was but a single pail of water for her raging forest fire. And it was like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Her ache had transformed into a desperate need. She needed to feel more of him. She needed him to move in and out. She needed him to fuck her!

"F-fuck!" Velvet moaned. Night needed no further instructions. He planted his legs behind her and moved her away from the mirror for more room. He placed his hooves on her back and got ready to pull back. The door opened.

"Twilight, you left you degree downst-Oh, sorry!" their mother said when she saw them. Velvet was facing the door and Night was behind her, so she couldn't explicitly see what was happening. 

"I was just, uh, Velvet wanted a back rub!" Night said, frozen stalk-still. "So I was just giving it to her!" he said. 

"Oh. Well, dinner will be in twenty minutes. So you had better finish 'giving it to her' soon," she said with a smirk before closing the door.

Night Light moved again, backing away from Velvet to dismount her. Her horn glowed and he felt her magic push against his butt, halting his retreat.

"Vel, what are you-"

"You heard Mom," Velvet growled in her lustful haze as she locked the door. "You had better finish giving it to me!" Her magic pushed him back into her. She felt him fill her again and moaned as his balls smack against her winking clitoris.

"Velvet, I don't know. I'm just a little uncomfortable now. Mom walking in like that-" Her magic only needed to move his hips a bit more before they were moving on their own.

"Doesn't seem to have affected you at all," she said, feeling him still as rigid as a steel rod moving inside her. She felt him try to pull away against her magical grasp. "Oh, boy! You think you can take this bull by the horns, you'd better be ready for a ride!" She let him go at once, causing him to pull out and stumble backwards. While he was off balance, she turned and tackled him to the floor boards with a loud thump that made the loose bits on her dresser chatter. "Don't start what you can't finish!" she cackled with hungry eyes.

Night Light just looked up at her with worried eyes. His mind screamed 'Retreat!' but his penis yelled 'Charge!' This fact was not lost on the mare in heat. She looked down at his glistening erection and lifted it with her magic, aiming it at her needy marehood. She lowered her hips and took him into her hot depth once more. She would get her relief, to be sure. And the stallion would have no say in the matter. 

Night Light had been spared the living nightmare of Velvet's heat the previous season. He dismissed the tales of terror that he'd heard from other stallions when they had faced 'the creature' themselves as merely that. Velvet's restraint this season only served to reinforce his assumption that those stories were indeed just exaggerated for effect. But when that fragile dam broke, the mare-possessed rode him like he was no more than a sack of potatoes. He bore witness to the reality that every single one of those estrus horror stories had been true.

She rode him. Hard. She pinned his chest down with her hooves. Each time she lifted herself and slammed back down, he found himself praying that he had enough calcium in his diet for his pelvis to survive. Each time she smacked her clit against him, he could feel her pussy spasm and quiver around him, spurting fresh nectar from around his girth. Her sopping wetness filled the room with the noise of wet slaps. Her wicked grin was wide enough for him to see molars. 

Amidst her lustful haze, all other thoughts were gone from Velvet's mind. He was no longer her brother, or husband, or even a stallion. In that moment, to her, he was little more than a dildo with a pulse. There was no mistaking their roles. She was the one fucking him. 

Velvet threw her head back and moaned loudly as a particularly big orgasm hit her. She felt her fleshy dildo flare thicker inside her, stretching her wider, even as her pussy gripped tighter against it. With the exception of their first time, all of their sex had been while she was pregnant. He was accustomed to foregoing the usual precautions. She was accustomed to letting him. Her exhausted legs finally collapsed as she landed a final time onto him. She felt it bottom out inside her as it throbbed and pumped against her innermost barrier. She flopped forward and landed on the furry pillow she was straddling, never letting him slip out.





Downstairs, their parents sat at the table, waiting for the thunder on the second floor to stop. Their mother took a sip of her wine.

"Their dinner is going to get cold," she said, nodding at their plates. "Apparently, he's 'giving her a back massage'."

"Oh, leave them be," their father said. "She obviously needs it. By the stars, I could smell her in the carriage." The plates and silverware rattled as the sound of somepony getting body-slammed shook the house. "Why is her heat so bad all of a sudden?" he asked as the ceiling light started to swing slightly.

"Well, I may have accidentally replaced her 'Beat the Heat' potion with fruit juice," she said.

"Really?"

"Well, by 'accidentally' I mean 'repeatedly', and by 'fruit juice', I mean 'virility potion'," she said.

"Oh," was all he said. The rhythmic banging upstairs finally stopped. "Well then," he said. "You might want to go make sure that he's still alive."

"What? Do you think she rode her brother to death?" she asked. He smiled and put his hoof on hers.

"Well, if she's anything like her mother..."





"Dinner!" Velvet heard her mother's voice coming from outside her bedroom door. Her head popped up, shocked awake by her surge of adrenaline. She jumped to her hooves, feeling Night's penis practically yanked from her as she did.

"GAH!" Night yelled underneath her as his dick flopped out of her and slapped against his belly, followed by a torrent of his cum flooding from her pussy, soaking his already-matted fur. Sobriety hit them both like a bucket of ice water.

"I need a shower!" They said in perfect stereo. Their mother rolled her eyes and headed back downstairs.

"So?" their father asked as she sat at the table. They heard hooves scramble through the hallway and the shower turn on. "Ah. Figures." She sighed and began to cover their dishes to put into the refrigerator for later.

Velvet nearly shoved Night Light aside to get into the not-very-roomy shower first. He followed in after her. Velvet grabbed the shower head and did her best to scrub his mess out her tail. But each time she shifted herself, more of his cum leaked from her.

"Dammit! There is so much!" she cursed. "What, have you been saving up?" she accused. Night Light was struggling to get the sticky mess out of his own fur.

"Well it's not like I didn't want to spend it," he said, continuing the euphemism. "It was just that the store was never open!"

"Well why didn't you just try shopping from a magazine!?" she asked.

"Because I wanted the real thing!" he said.

"Well then why didn't you just go out and find somepony to-!"

"Brand loyalty!" he shouted, scrubbing his fur harder. Finally he stopped and looked at her calmly. "I don't want anypony else, Velvet. I love you." He gave her the bar. "Here, use the soap. It helps."

"Thanks." She took the soap and scrubbed her tail. Both stood there in the cramped space listening to the water run. "I- I'm sorry. About that. I didn't mean to say that you would... I was angry."

"I know," he said. 

"I don't know what happened. I just haven't been myself lately," she said.

"No, I get it," he said. "It's your heat. Makes you crazy. You weren't thinking. And I shouldn't have..." He scrubbed the last of his mess from his fur. "I shouldn't have tried to take advantage of you for that. I just wanted you so badly. But I'm sure you're probably still grossed out by it." He turned to get out of the shower. She grabbed his hoof.

"No, it's okay," she said. "I'm okay now. With it. With... us." She pulled him closer and kissed him. "And I think we both needed that." He smiled.

"Come on, let me go. We're going to be late for dinner." Velvet smiled and shook her mane.

"We've been late for a while now. Scrub my back?" Night Light grinned and stepped back into the shower.




A couple weeks later, Velvet was sipping her morning coffee at the breakfast table. Her mother sat down opposite her.

"Are you sure you don't want breakfast, dear?" she asked. Velvet shook her head.

"No thank you. I'm not really hungry." Night Light walked downstairs and sat beside her.

"Good morning babe," he said, kissing her. She kissed him back. "I hope you're feeling better."

"Oh," their mother asked. "Are you not feeling well?"

"I just had a bit of an upset stomach earlier," she said.

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that," her mom said without surprise. "How has your... season been?" she asked. Velvet nodded positively.

"Well it was rough for a little while, but it's feeling much better. I think it might be over early this year," she said.

"Ah...ha," her mother deadpanned. She turned in her seat and reached into the counter cabinet, taking out a small, wrapped gift box. "Well, I suppose I ought to finally give you your graduation present."

"Present!?" Velvet's eyes lit up, taking the gift. She unwrapped it. "It's a pregnancy test. Why would I need this?" she asked. Her mother could not raise her eyebrow any higher with it still being attached to her forehead. 

"Dear, you have a Master's Degree," her mother said. "Your season has ended early, you're feeling sick in the morning, and all of it just after he started 'giving you back massages' again."

"Ugh," Velvet slumped a little lower into her chair.





Velvet sat on the toilet and placed the test kit on the bathroom counter. She added the activator solution to her test sample and waited. Night Light and their mother waited by the door.

"Okay, so, what, we want blue, right?" he said.

"No, we want red," Velvet said. "Blue is positive."

"We want blue!" their mother said.

"No, we want red!" Velvet repeated. 

"Dear, aren't you going to come see?" their mom called out to the living room. Their dad sat on the couch reading the newspaper.

"I'll find out soon enough," he said as he adjusted his reading glasses. The three ponies watched the test tube closely. It slowly shifted from the usual yellow to green to a purple and then finally-

"SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Their mother squealed in a frequency usually reserved for bat ponies. One of the lenses in his reading glasses cracked.

"Gee, I wonder that that could mean," he said as he flipped to the next page. "Is it red?"

"It's BLUE!" she squealed.

"It's blue," Velvet and Night both groaned. Their mother tackled Night and shook him like a can of paint.

"It'sBlue!It'sBlue!It'sBlue!It'sBlue! YAY!" she screeched into his ear.

"Yay," he groaned.

"Twilight! Be excited!" she yelled.

"Yay," she groaned.

"I'm gonna be a grandmare! I'm gonna be a grandmare!" she started chanting.

"You're already a grandmare!" Velvet yelled, ceasing her mother's dance. "Or have you already forgotten!?" Her mother's tone turned serious.

"Twilight, this time will be different. This will be your foal. Yours both," she said to Night. "All you have to do is be the best parents you can be! Oh, I need to write to Tia!" She ran out of the room. "Were's my Dragon Fire lamp?" she asked.

"In the cabinet above your desk," their dad said from the couch. She got the lamp and ignited the oil. It burned with a small green flame. She quickly began writing on a small scroll with her quill.




Dear Princess Celestia,
You must come at once I have the most delightful news...




"Look, it's going to be fine," Night Light said as he stood beside Velvet, still sitting on the throne while her mother continued to write. "We've been through this before. I'm sure we can-"

A flash of white light in the house cut him off.

"Where is she!?" a voice boomed.

"In the bathroom!" her mother said. A Royal Guard appeared in the doorway.

"She's in the bathroom," he called out.

"That's what I said," her mother said. Celestia appeared in the doorway behind her guard, with another guard.

"Twilight!" Celestia greeted the mare on the toilet. "I heard the wonderful news!" She walked in and hugged her. There was another flash of white light.

Velvet's mother stood in the doorway with her camera.

"Beautiful! This is going up above the mantle!" she cheered, capturing the moment of Princess Celestia hugging Velvet on the toilet. "OOH! How about another one with you holding up the kit!?" Celestia smiled and held up the test tube with the blue liquid in it. "Everypony say cheese!" The guards wedged themselves into the shot with Night Light, crowded around the princess and Velvet still on the toilet in the tiny bathroom.

"That's my pee," Velvet said.

"Everypony say 'That's her pee"!" her mom yelled.

"THAT'S HER PEEEEE!" they all cheered as the camera flashed again. 

"Fuck my life," Velvet groaned.
> Taking a Shine to You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Eleven Months Later


"No surprises this time," Night Light said as he pushed Velvet's wheelchair into the Canterlot General. It was her due date. And even though her water hadn't broken yet, she had an appointment for a reserved bed for when the big event arrived. Not that Velvet had made it any easier this time around. She had been as horny as ever, but as Night Light had promised himself, "No surprises this time."

"I heard you," Velvet said, sitting uncomfortably in the wheelchair. Although in all reality, there was no way for her to ever actually be comfortable in her state. Except for when she was swimming. Her mind drifted to the maternity spa where she could just float in the heated indoor pool. Night Light delivered her to her maternity suite without event. He and the nurse helped her into the bed.

"The doctor will be here shortly," the nurse said. She closed the curtain and walked away. A few minutes later the sound of heavier hooves approached accompanied by the voice of a pony singing.

"Cuz it's the first of May, first of May, outdoor hmm-hmm starts today," The curtain was yanked open and the tall pony stepped inside with some balloons. "Congratulations!" Celestia said, tying the blue balloons declaring that 'It's A Colt!' to the bed.

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," Velvet said.

"Ah, ah!" she chided as she slipped into her medical coat and washed her hooves in the sink. "It's Doctor Celestia today. So, how are you doing? Have the contractions started?"

"A little. Still a few minutes apart," Velvet said.

"Hmm," Celestia hummed, glancing at Velvet's dry tail. "And your water hasn't broken yet?"

"No, not yet," Velvet said. Celestia glanced out the window at the sunny afternoon.

"Well, I'm going to need to set the sun in a few hours," Celestia announced, "So lets get this show on the road!" She brandished a scalpel at Velvet. Before Night Light could even react, Celestia stabbed a balloon with a loud 'pop'.

"GAH!" Velvet shrieked in shocked surprise. Every muscle in her body tensed at the same time in a single constriction. With a second 'pop' a rush of fluid soaked the bedding between Velvet's legs. "Um, I think I wet the bed," she said muttered.

"Everypony say, 'That's not her pee'!" Celestia teased.

"No," Night and Velvet said together.

"Alright, alright," Celestia said. "So how far apart are the contractions now?"

"Um, I don't knoOOH MY GOSH!" Velvet lurched as she felt a big one.

"And off we go!" Celestia said as she pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Give me your hoof!" Velvet said to Night. He sucked in a breath through his teeth. He quickly grabbed a piece of metal frame from the next bed over and put it into her hoof. She gripped the section of steel pipe and it crumpled like a plastic drinking cup while Night Light slipped away. He headed into the waiting room. He had been through this once before. He didn't need to see it twice.

He sat in the maternity waiting room and looked at the stack of magazines. They were so old that he suspected that the venerable hospital had been built around them. On the far side of the room he saw a stallion in a Royal Guard uniform. He wasn't a high-enough rank to be one of Celestia's usual escorts. Night got up and sat beside him, looking at the rank on his sleeve.

"Corporal," he greeted.

"Hmm? Oh, hey," the pony greeted nervously. He seemed young.

"You waiting on a family member?" Night asked. He shook his head.

"My wife."

"Oh yeah? How long you been married?"

"Nine months."

"And... she's due today?" Night asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, uh, we got hitched as soon as we found out. You know, doing the right thing by her and all."

"I can respect that," he said.

"Are you in the guard too?" he asked.

"I was. First Lieutenant."

"Retired?" he asked. Night Light chuckled. 

"Do I look that old?" he asked. The corporal shrugged.

"I don't know. Sorry." Night Light looked at his dim reflection in the reception window. His mane was scruffy. So was his chin. He felt old.

"Eh, it's not the years," Night Light said, "it's the mileage. No, I got out after I finished my term. Could have been a Captain by now but you know, life happens." The corporal nodded in understanding.

"Are you here for family?" the corporal asked.

My sister

"My wife," Night said.

"First one?" he asked.

Second

"Yeah," Night said.

"You nervous?" he asked.

Terrified

"Nah," Night lied. "You?" The corporal nodded. "That's okay. You're allowed." He looked at his uniform. The brass had been tarnished from recent neglect. "But you know, when I got nervous in the guard, I would shine my armor."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You have your polish kit with you?"

"Yeah, in my duty ruck sack," he said, digging out the tin of polish. Night Light took it and started to shine the corporal's helmet.

"You do your chest plate," he said. The two of them sat there and shined the armor. "You see? All you need to do is focus on this one thing and block out all your worries.

"Excuse me, sir?" a nurse said as she walked by, "What are you doing?"

"Shining armor," Night Light said. "What does it look like?"

"Heh, yeah, you tell her El Tee," the corporal laughed. For the rest of the afternoon, each time a nurse came in to investigate the smell of polish, he told them the same thing. 

"What are you doing?"

"I'm shining armor."

"What's that smell?"

"We're shining armor."

"Have you chosen a name for the colt?"

"Shining armor!"

The nurse took out her pen for the birth certificate.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Night Light jumped up and ran after the nurse. "Wait no! It's supposed to be Negasonic Warhead! Aw dammit you already wrote the... thing. Fuck."

"Wow! Negasonic Warhead! That's a way-cooler name than what I was going to do!" the corporal said. "I think I'll have to use it!"

"Yeah, fine... go ahead." Night Light groaned. "I'm not using it anymore." He walked back to his wife's suite. "Shining Armor?" he muttered to himself. "Well, that's what I get for huffing armor polish." He arrived at her bed and reached out to pull back the curtain, but stopped. "Um, are you done with... the whole event?" he asked through the curtain.

"Yes!" Velvet said through the curtain. "They already got rid of the placenta." Night Light pulled back the curtain and walked inside. Velvet was cradling their small white colt. A tuft of his two-tone blue mane sat just above his small horn. Celestia walked back in with the clip board with the birth certificate.

"Welcome to Equestria, little," Celestia squinted at the paper, "Shining Armor." Velvet glared at Night Light.

"The fuuuck!?"

"Sorry!" Night Light apologized. "I wasn't paying attention in the waiting room and I might have kinda gotten sorta a little bit... high."

"Unbelievable."

"Eh, I'm sure it will grow on you," Celestia said to the little foal. She gave Night Light the clip board and snapped off her gloves. "Well my work here is done!" She looked at the clock. "And with forty five minutes to spare! I'll have to pay Air Tender's bar a visit!" she said on her way out.

"Why is your hoof black?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, Celestia gave me a piece of coal to see if I could crush it into a diamond."

"And!?" She pointed at the pile of coal dust on the floor. He frowned, a bit disappointed. A nurse opened the curtain.

"We're ready to move you to recovery," the nurse said. Velvet nodded and they wheeled her down the hall to a different section of the hospital.




After some well-deserved rest, Velvet went home accompanied by her family. Once there, she had more visitors. Specifically, Night Light's adoptive family. 

"Shining Armor, eh?" Air Tender said as he looked at the foal in the crib. "So what happened bro, were you high when you came up with that name?" he asked his brother.

"It's... a long story," Night Light said.

"Yeah, he pretty much was," Velvet said.

"Thanks... dear," Night said. Mage Star stood beside the crib in his City Guard uniform. He looked into the crib with a serious expression.

"I see great things for you, Shining Armor. I will be your favorite uncle!" he said.

"Oh, how do you see great things for him!?" Air Tender asked.

"With my magic!" Mage said pointing at his horn.

"Oh, please! You couldn't magic your way out of a paper bag!" Air said.

"Yeah, well, you couldn't fly into a ceiling fan! Oh wait, yes you could!" He flicked the nub of his broken wing. "You want another cripple nipple?"

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you!"

"Hey! Fuck both of you!" their father said, grabbing both of them by their ears.

"HE STARTED IT!" They both said together.

"No! I started it years ago in a moment of blind passion!" he said. "And I swear, I will end it the same way right here, right now in front of your brother, his wife, and his damn newborn!" He smacked them both upside the head. "Now take it the hell outside!" The other two ponies slumped their shoulders and went out the front door to have a calm, reasonable discussion about who was the bigger doo-doo-head. "Eh, those two..." their father sighed. He turned to Night Light and Velvet. "Anyways, congratulations you two." He elbowed Night Light. "I always knew you had it in you." He elbowed Velvet. "And apparently you did too! Heyo!"

"Wow."

"Thanks... Dad," Night said.

"Anyhoo, I just wanted to stop by and see the little cooch potato. But I can't stay too long. I need to swing by the liquor store on my way over to seeing your future step-mom over at the brothel."

"Isn't it a little early to start drinking?" Velvet asked.

"Pssh! Who stops!" Velvet and Night Light walked with him to the door and watched him walk in a not-so-straight line down the road.

"So he still gets paid by Celestia for raising you, and this is how he uses it?" Velvet asked. Night sighed.

"...Yeah."

"So how did you turn out so well?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Who says I did?" he asked. She hugged him.

"I do. But honestly, why would Celestia put you with... him?"

"Mage says he was a lot better before his wife died. But after that... everything just sort of went south," Night said. "But he's a good pony, deep down. He always made sure that we ate and did well in school. He kept us well-behaved." Night looked at his brothers smacking each other around, tussling in the front yard. "Most of the time. But then once we were old enough that he didn't have to take care of us, he just sort of... stopped taking care of himself, too. But I'll never forget what he used to tell me when I was younger. He would say to me, 'Night Light, be better. Be better than you were yesterday. Be better than the other colt. And definitely be better than me'." Velvet put her hoof on his shoulder.

"You are," she said.

"Thanks." A cry came from the crib. Velvet sighed.

"Feeding time again."

"Dibs on leftovers!" Night said as Velvet scooped up the tiny colt from the crib. 

"No. You need to go deal with your brothers," she said as she headed up to the bedroom. Night Light turned and headed outside. The other two stallions were done fighting and were sitting side-by-side on the front steps. 

"Are you two done?" he asked.

"Yeah," they both answered.

"So what now?" Night asked.

"I need to go start my shift soon," Mage said.

"But your uniform looks like a mess," Night said.

"Eh, I'll just say that I got into a fight with a homeless vagrant. I mean, I wouldn't be lying."

"Eat a dick," Air said.

"You live in a bar."

"I live above a bar. That I own!"

"What about you?" Night asked Air.

"I work all night in a bar, mate. This is cutting into my sleep enough as it is." They both trotted down the walkway to the road and headed in opposite directions. Night Light turned and headed back inside. He walked upstairs to their bedroom. Velvet was laying on the bed with little Shining Armor happily suckling at one of her engorged teats. Night Light crawled across the bed eyeing her free breast. Velvet felt a second set of lips on her other nipple. She put a hoof to his forehead, pushing him away him barely a mouthful of her milk.

"This isn't for you," Velvet scolded him. "You can have what's left after he's finished!"

"Aww, but there's never any left!" Night pouted. "I miss feeding time from when you were still pregnant."

"And I was very grateful for the relief. But Shining needs his nutrition if he's going to grow big and strong like his father." Shining Armor scrunched his tiny face in disappointment as he finished draining one of her breasts and shifted over to the other and resumed drinking. "He certainly has your appetite."

"Well that's fine," Night said, moving down between her legs. "I still get priority elsewhere..." Velvet's eyes shot open as she felt his lips on hers. She practically shoved him off the bed with her magic.

"Too much!" she yelled. "Too much, too soon!" She grabbed a book from her shelf and threw it as nicely as she could at his head. "You know better!" The book flopped open in front of him. What to Expect When You're Expecting. Night Light flipped towards the back.

"Ugh, let's see... blah blah... after birth the mother will not be receptive to... da da da ...for up to SIX WEEKS!?" 

"Life can be so unfair, I know," Velvet groaned.






Six long weeks later


Night Light looked down at the pony laid out under him. His magic undid the clasp on the fabric covering their crotch, revealing what was within. He was in awe of what he saw. 

"That sure is... something," he said, changing Shining's diaper. "I kind of wish Celestia would take you for a few years, too," he said as he cleaned Shining's brown fur white again. "At least until you were housebroken." He tossed out the soiled diaper and powdered the foal's bottom before fitting him with a clean one. He looked at the clock on the wall. "Where the hell is your mother? She's going to be late for our date."





"Welcome back from your maternity break. How has motherhood been so far?" Celestia asked Velvet, walking beside her to the princess's castle chambers.

"Exhausting. I've actually been looking forward to this meeting to get a break for a bit," Velvet said. "That little foal is a need-machine. And my teats are so tender. He's always hungry!"

"And Night Light?" Celestia asked.

"Him too! If it isn't Shining on my breasts, it's him!" Velvet said, exasperated. Celestia chuckled.

"That's not really what I meant."

"Oh," Velvet blushed. 

"Although I suppose it's understandable with his... fixation. He was bottle-fed after all."

"Right."

"I meant more about how he was holding up with his new role as a father," Celestia said.

"He's been a big help. I don't know how I would ever do it without him," Velvet said. Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Perish the thought. But you would never have to carry this task alone," she said.

"Thank you."

They walked into Celestia's chambers. She took out the locked box in the locked chest in the locked closet. She opened it and took out the book with her journal of charts. The last page had Velvet and Night Light's traits crossed. Only a single square of all the possible foals described a pegasus filly. It was circled with fresh red ink. 

"Cadance," Celestia said as she wrote the name in below it. "Ninety nine percent." Celestia drafted up a new graph on the next page with Night Light and Velvet's traits again. She started to fill in the cross sections. She darkened the outline around a group of four squares that each said 'Unicorn' and 'Male'. She made a new note. "Shining Armor," she said, "is one of these four possibilities."

"How do we know which one?" Velvet asked.

"We don't. At least, we won't know for sure until we see his offspring," Celestia said. The four squares ranged from 96% to 98%. "He lacks the X Factor."

"What is that?"

"It's literally the X Factor," Celestia said. "The X chromosome carries the needed genes for him to be an Alicorn. And as a male, he only has one X chromosome, paired with a Y. Shining himself will not be capable of ascension. But his daughters are sure to be natural born Alicorns!" Celestia said. "That is... his daughters with Cadance."

"And his sons?" Velvet asked. Celestia drew a line down between the four squares, splitting them into two groups.

"It's a coin toss," Celestia said. "His colts have a 50% chance of being Alicorns. Beyond that, it's 25% Unicorn. 25% Pegasus." She put the quill down and closed the book. "Again, that is, if..."

"He breeds with his sister," Velvet said.

"Yes."

"How is she?" Velvet asked. "Cadance. I heard that her birthday was the event of the season last Hearts and Hooves Day."

"She's doing well," Celestia said as she placed the book back inside the box. "She'll be flying soon, I suspect. I'll be taking her out into the garden to play once we're finished here."

"Hmm. Well I should get going. Night Light will be expecting me home soon, too."





Twilight Velvet stood on the balcony overlooking the Canterlot Castle Gardens. Princess Celestia was far below, along with her personal guards and her foal's cadre of caregivers establishing a perimeter. Velvet watched Celestia ducking in and out from behind the various flower bushes playing hide and seek with little Cadance as she ran around. Velvet's ears strained at the distant giggles of the foal. But it was as close as she could get, as per her old agreement with the Princess.

Cadance jumped and fluttered her wings. Each time, bounding a little higher. Until on her next try, she didn't fall back to the ground. Velvet gasped as she witnessed her first flight. The squeals of the foal's delight echoed off of the courtyard's stone walls as she zipped upwards into the air. The tiny pink pegasus stopped and hovered just in front of Velvet.

Velvet froze, afraid to move. She didn't breathe. She didn't blink. As though she might scare off this fawn that had crossed her path in the forest. The only sound was the buzz of Cadance's tiny wings moving in a hummingbird's blur. The little pegasus erred closer. She extended her tiny hoof and booped Velvet on the nose, curious to see if she were real or just another statue. 

A blur of white appeared behind the foal. Celestia's gold-clad hooves plucked Cadance from the air and cradled her. Velvet finally let herself breathe again, free of the fear that the filly might fall. Cadance looked at Velvet from Celestia's hooves with a curious expression. Celestia, herself, gave her former student a neutral look. Neither disapproving of her presence, nor particularly pleased to see her at the moment.

"Leave the nice pony alone," Celestia said to the foal in her hooves. Cadance looked up at the Princess and smiled. Velvet watched as they slowly drifted back down to the ground. Rain drops began to fall on the balcony railing. 

"What a terrible day for rain," she said to herself. It was a strange rain cloud, with the precipitation localized entirely above Velvet's cheeks. She decided that she needed to get home before the rain got any worse.


~~~~~


"Night?" Velvet called into their home as she opened the door. "I'm sorry I'm late. I know we had a 'special' night planned but I got a little sidetracked." She walked into the living room. Night Light was asleep in the recliner. His mane looked like a ragged mess, his hoof around tiny Shining Armor asleep on his chest. She carefully cradled Shining in her magic and put him to bed in his crib. She unfolded the guest blanket and laid it over Night Light in the chair, kissing him on the forehead. "I guess we'll have to take a rain check."
> Ready Player Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A white unicorn colt trotted across the playground chasing after a ball. His two-tone-blue mane and tail billowed in the brisk spring air behind him as he ran. As he got closer to the ball, he gave it a kick with his hoof, sending it rolling once again. Two other earth pony colts joined him, and the three of them kicked the ball back and forth to each other.

"I hope he can exhaust all of the seemingly-endless energy for when it's bed time," Velvet said, sitting on a nearby park bench.

"It would be nice to have some quiet time," Night Light said, sitting beside her.

"I might actually be able to get a full night's sleep," she said.

"Well, I wasn't really planning on sleeping right away," he said, squeezing her thigh with his hoof. A grin spread across his face. "Tonight I was actually thinking about finally trying that thing you were talking about, where you-"

"Ma? Ma!" Shining said as he ran over and tugged on her tail.

"What is it dear?"

"How come... when we're at the park... and they're here... they're always together?" he asked.

"Who?" Velvet asked. Shining pointed at the two other colts playing with the ball. They were both sporting similar tan fur coats with dark brown manes. The mare that was obviously their mother was trying to round them up, getting ready to head home. "They're brothers," Velvet said.

"What's brothers?" he asked. 

"Brothers, or sisters, are ponies that come from the same mommy," Velvet said.

"Come... from?" Shining asked. The young colt was still struggling with abstract concepts. Velvet blushed, unsure of how to proceed. Night Light tried to put it in terms that his son could understand.

"A brother is kind of like a best friend," Night explained. "But it's like an all-the-time best friend that you see everyday and lives in the same house as you."

"An all-the-time best friend?" Shining repeated. Night Light nodded. Shining scratched his head, absorbing the idea. "I want one."

"Eh?"

"I want one!" Shining repeated. Night Light and Velvet exchanged looks.

"Uh, we'll think about it, okay?" Night offered.

"Okay," Shining said, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He turned and ran over to the jungle gym and resumed his playing.


~~~~~


Later that evening, Night Light carefully pushed the shopping cart through the apothecary as quietly as he could. Shining Armor was slumped over in the foal seat, sound asleep. Velvet walked beside him, picking up a few things on their way home from the park. She passed him a bottle of potion to quietly place in the cart. He looked at the label. It was her usual Beat the Heat potion for the coming season.

"You know, I've been thinking about what Shining said earlier," Night Light whispered to Velvet.

"What? You mean about how sometimes dogs are brown?" she said. Night smiled.

"No, I meant about him having a brother, or sister," he said. Velvet stopped walking.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was thinking, you know... maybe we should," he said. "It would be good for him to have somepony at home to play with. I mean, you know how only-children turn out," he said with a chuckle. Velvet gave him a dirty look and grabbed the potion from him to put into the cart herself. "Look, I'm just saying, I caught him talking to his own hoof the other day. I mean... that ain't right!" Velvet looked at the bottle in her hoof, considering the notion of having another foal.

"This better not be just so you can keep breast-feeding," she said. Night Light blushed.

"What? No! It's not that!" he said. She cocked an eyebrow. "I mean, not just that. That's just icing on the cake. And to be honest, I sort of miss this, too," he said rubbing her abdomen where her baby bump used to be.

"Night Light, I never took you for a chubby-chaser!" she said. He just hugged her and nibbled on her ear as he continued to rub her belly in the store aisle. "Come on!," Velvet groaned, pushing him away. "I worked really hard at the gym to get rid of that!" He relented and backed off. She looked back down at the bottle. And then back at him. "Really?" she asked. He nodded. She looked back at the bottle. Maybe another colt, she thought to herself. But maybe a little filly of her own that she could raise herself. The thought made her heart flutter. She put the potion back on the shelf. "Okay."

"Really!?" he said, almost squealing.

"Yeah. Really," she repeated. He hugged her again and kissed her.

"Ooh, I love you!" he said as he squeezed her. "Oh, hey, are we still going to do that thing tonight where you-"

"No. You can't make a foal by sticking it in there."

~~~~~

"All right. I tucked Shining into bed. He's out like a light," Night Light said as he walked into the bedroom. "You ready to do this?" he asked seductively. "You ready to do the dirty?" 

"Oh, yes. The dirtiest. Marital intercourse for the sole purpose of procreation," Velvet said on the bed. "Well... here I am," Velvet said, spreading her legs.

"Well when you say it like that you make it sound so sexy," he teased. "And, you know, it really is dirty, what with you being my sister and all," he said, jumping up on the bed with a goofy grin, his erection bobbing beneath him.

"Wait, that actually turns you ON now!?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Well, yeah, actually."

"When did that start?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said. "A while ago. I mean, yeah, it was weird and gross for me at first. But I got over it. And then the more I thought about it... the more I started to realize that I... well, that I actually like it! The taboo of it! It makes what we have more special, you know?" he said. Velvet gave him a weird look. "Why? You're not still bothered by it, are you? It's been years."

"What? No!" Velvet said "I mean, obviously not if I'm asking my... brother to intentionally impregnate me tonight."

"Oh, fuck!" Night groaned and Velvet saw his cock pulse harder.

"Wow? Really!?" she asked. He nodded. She shook her head. "Alright then, whatever tickles your pickle," she said, accepting it, as she laid back and spread her legs.

"No no, you gotta flip over." 

"What? Why?"

"The first time we did it, you were on your back like that," he said, leaning over and kissing her. "And we had a filly. And then on the day you graduated, I did it from behind. And we had a colt. So if we're going to have another colt, I gotta hit it from behind. It's mandatory!" 

"I don't think it works like that," she said.

"Yeah huh! It's science!" He flipped her over on the bed, pulling her tail aside as he lined himself up with her marehood. She rolled herself back over and pushed him onto his back.

"Actually, I was on top on my graduation day, as I recall," she said, climbing on top of him, grasping his shaft with her magic, rubbing it against her pussy. He shook his head.

"It won't work that way," he said, pushing her off and sitting himself back up. "It'll all leak out."

"You have a gross misunderstanding of the biology involved with this," she said. He piled up the pillows. "What are you doing?" she asked. He moved her to lean over the pile of pillows, with her face down towards the mattress and her ass propped up into the air.

"There. This way gravity can assist," he said, lifting her tail aside with his hoof, savoring her aroma.

"Night, I've had to clean your loads out of my tail, my fur and my linen. I don't think you need gravity's help. And again, that's a myth!"

"Shh, embrace the magic of the moment," he said. Velvet laid there, slumped over the pillows like a rag doll.

"This doesn't feel very magical," she said.

"Well, the moment hasn't started yet." He leaned forward and kissed her marehood. Velvet gasped at the contact, and then again when she felt his wet tongue running up along hot pussy. Her clitoris reflexively winked at his chin. She had been planning to buy a new bottle of Beat the Heat to replace the one that had run out almost a week ago. But a few days were all she needed to begin to feel the ache. A few days were enough for Night Light to be able to tell.

"Hmm, the scent and taste, both!" he said as he licked her. "It's so good when you're like this!"

"Nggh! Well I'm glad you're enjoying it. Because it's already starting to get unbearable for me," she grunted. Indeed, the smoldering embers of her heat were fanned into a roaring blaze from his oral attention to her nethers. Especially with the way that he would intentionally tease her. He licked her up and down, all around, but deliberately avoided the one spot that would send her over the top. She felt the tension inside her growing tighter, begging for release, and soon, so was she. She pushed her hips back at him as her clit winked again, desperate for him to touch it. "Please!"

Night Light would not deny her any longer. He ran his tongue down her slit one last time and caught her wink in his lips, kissing and sucking her clit. All of Velvet's muscles went rigid and her legs shook as her orgasm rocked her body. Her marecum practically squirted up his nose. Velvet was no longer the only uncomfortable pony. Night Light was painfully hard. His erection threatened to fuck a hole right into the mattress under him.

Velvet felt the bed shift as he reared up and mounted her. His dribbling precum added to her excessive wetness and he thrusted into her with ease. With her hind end propped up as it was, he was penetrating her at an oblique angle, stimulating her in whole new ways. Velvet felt parts of her insides being rubbed that she didn't even know she had. And it forced her marehood to be angled back at him in a way that made it much easier for his balls to hit her clit each time he bottomed out into her. 

It didn't give her more orgasms, but rather, it rode the wave of her first one, stretching her peak out into a prolonged plateau of pleasure. This effect was not lost on Night Light as he felt her pussy practically pulsing and vibrating around him as he plunged deep into her over and over.

"Vel, I- you gotta take it easy with me with- whatever it is you're doing with that!" he gasped.

"You're doing it!" she breathed, "You're doing it to me!"

"Your brother is doing it to you!" he growled and kissed her neck.

"Night, don't make it weird!" she said.

"Come on, just play along," he begged. "Just this one time at least?"

"Fine, whatever." Velvet rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, Fuck me brother!" she said. She felt him throb thicker inside her. "Get me super pregnant!"

"Super pregnant? What is that? Is the foal going to come out wearing a cape?" he asked.

"I don't know!" Velvet said. "I'm no good at talking dirty! Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not, I just- just keep going, you're doing good," he coached as he continued to rut her.

Velvet felt at odds with herself. Night Light was her brother, and she knew it plainly well. She hadn't just forgotten something like that. It didn't bother her any longer. But it had been one of those little facts that she learned, and then filed away with all the information that she didn't particularly need to think about. Like how there were more bacteria cells in her body than body cells.

She had gotten over her hangups about having sex with him. And with the assurances from Celestia, she was comfortable with having foals with him. But she focused on the fact that he was her husband, more than the other thing. But it seemed that Night Light had no such reservations about what they were. It didn't turn him off. Quite the opposite, in fact. He relished in it. He wanted Velvet to stress the point, even as they copulated. It clearly worked. She could feel him making love to her with a fresh passion that they hadn't known in some while.

And Velvet, for her part as well, was beginning to come around to the idea. She had only ever mentally visited the notion of him as her brother in a negative light. She only actively thought about that fact when it was a problem. But now her mind wandered into this territory while she was having a good experience, the best experience, while he was rutting her. While her brother was rutting her. Velvet shuddered at the thought. But is was no longer in disgust of the act itself, but with herself for liking it. She began to understand now. Perhaps Night was onto something with this fixation.

"You're a sick perv!" Velvet spat, catching Night Light off guard. The very words stung him.

"W-what-?"

"You like fucking your sister like this!?" she said. "Just thinking about it makes your dick so hard! I can feel it!" she said. 

Her wicked grin belied the act of her scolding tone. 

Night Light understood. His shocked expression twisted into a sly grin of his own.

"I am a sick perv!" Night said. "I love fucking my sister's tight pussy! You love your brother's big cock?"

"I love my brother's big cock inside me!" Velvet said. The words felt a little forced in her mind, and sounded a little silly to her. But by the stars! she felt his erection go as hard as a steel girder! Something inside him had transformed, turning him into a primal beast. His hooves gripped her flanks hard as he fucked her with wild abandon. His hips slammed into her, smacking her clit each time with his balls. She could feel him just reaching her innermost barrier. He had gotten physically longer and thicker at her words. Silly or not, they worked. She felt herself cumming again.

"Oh- oh fuck!" Velvet panted, under his renewed efforts. "F-fuck me, brother!" Night Light was giving her the ride of her life as she came. A fresh gush of her wetness spurted from around his shaft. His balls made wet slaps against her clit and her sopping marehood, sending droplets onto the bedding. Each time, it made her shiver and tremble abound him. His balls tightened and she felt his cock flare inside her.

"You better not cum inside me!" Velvet said. "You're going to get your sister pregnant!" The words struck him light a bolt of lightning.

"Gah!" Night Light cried out as all cognitive thought fled his mind as he went past the point of no return. He thrusted his hips into his sister a final time, slamming it home so deep that whosoever should be able to pull him out would become the new King of Canterlot. Velvet felt him throb and pulse inside her, flooding her pussy with his seed. The pressure sealed inside only added to the fullness his flare was giving her, pushing it deeper into her.

"So full! So much!" she gasped, pawing at the bedding fruitlessly. "Why!?" 

"So hot!" Night wheezed, struggling to breathe after the workout. "You- so hot!" He slumped over her as he tried to catch his breath. The two of them laid on top of the pile of pillows. Her butt propped up, and him on top of her back, still inside her.

"Wow," Velvet breathed. "I hope we didn't wake up-" They both looked up at the sound of the doorknob being jiggled. The door creaked open on its hinges.

"Mum?" Shining asked in the dim doorway. "I heard a noise." Velvet and Night Light both looked at him. Thankfully they were both facing the doorway. And the pillows hid everything else.

"Go back to bed, dear," Velvet said nervously. "Daddy and I were just... playing leap-frog."

"Oh... who won?" he asked.

"Your mother won," Night said, trying to keep the smirk from his face, still mounted on her. "She always wins." 

Shining's nostrils started to flare reflexively as he took a step into the room.

"Can I play?" he asked.

"NO!" they both said at once. Shining looked disappointed.

"It's late kiddo," Night said, trying to keep calm. "We can play tomorrow. Go back to bed. I'll be there to tuck you back in again in a minute."

"Can I have a glass of water?" he asked.

"Buddy, I will bring you milk and cookies if you just go back to bed right now!" Night bargained desperately. Shining's eyes lit up.

"Okay!" He turned and trotted quickly down the hallway back to his bedroom. His bed frame squeaked as he jumped back in. Night and Velvet both sighed in relief.

"That was close," Velvet said.

"Too close," Night agreed, slowly pulling out of her. His softening flare pulled free with a wet 'pop'. Velvet tried to get up. "Nu uh!" he chided. "You stay put. I'll handle this," he said.

"I'm not sleeping like this!" she said.

"Just stay there for now. I'll be back in a minute!" Night Light quickly darted into the bathroom and washed himself clean of the stench of sex. The cold water helped him to be visibly presentable for when he dealt with the colt down the hallway.

Velvet waited, hunched uncomfortably over the pile of pillows. Some milk and cookies, tucking in, and another bedtime story later, Night Light returned.

"Sorry about that," Night apologized. "You know how he is."

"Hmm. Can I get up now?" she asked.

"Just one more minute," he said, digging out the box from under their bed. "So you were really getting into the role-playing tonight," he said. She smirked.

"I guess I've taken a shine to the idea. It is kind of hot. And it made you so hard!" she said. He put their 'special' box on the mattress. "What are you doing now?" she asked. He didn't answer. He opened the box and dug through the items until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah ha!" he lifted out the butt plug. "It'll keep the cum in tonight."

"That's for my ass, not my pussy." she said.

"Don't worry, we cleaned it really good." he said, pushing it into her vagina. She shook her head.

"That's not the point! My pussy doesn't have a... sphincter to, you know, keep it from sliding out." And just as she said, it started to slip out. Night Light scratched his chin and looked through the box again.

"Ah, here we go!" He pulled out a pair of tight, black, latex panties from her dominatrix streak with him earlier that year. He pulled them up her legs and snugged them onto her waist, keeping the plug snug as a bug in a latex rug. Velvet got off the pillows and laid as she normally would on the bed. Indeed, the usual mess that would have spilled from her was kept well-contained. "How's that?"

"Uncomfortable," she groaned, shifting her hips a bit. She swore she could feel his cum sloshing around inside her.

"Well, it's just for the night," he said "Do you think you can manage?"

"Yeah..." she sighed.

"Okay." He put the rest of the box back under the bed. He climbed into bed with her and pulled the covers over them. He wrapped his hoof around her, rubbing his hoof on her belly. "I'm excited. Aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," she admitted.

"I love you."

"I love you, too. But you owe me for this. The next time I wear these panties, I'm going to whip your ass red!" she said. 

"Okay," he chuckled, "it's a deal."




A few days later, Velvet sat on the toilet in the bathroom. She watched the test kit on the counter intently to see if it would turn blue or red. In the kitchen, Night Light held a bag of frozen peas on his flank that had already turned from blue to red.

"Daddy, what happened?" Shining asked as he ate his breakfast at the table.

"Oh, I just, uh, fell down the stairs," he said, limping across the kitchen. "That why we always tell you to never run on the stairs. You wouldn't want this to happen to you."

"Oh, okay," Shining said. They both looked up at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Velvet stepped out and walked into the kitchen.

"It's blue," Velvet said, giving Night a hug.

"What does that mean?" Shining asked. His father smiled knowingly.

"Oh... you'll find out in a few months, Son."






A Few Months Later






Shining Armor sat in his booster chair at the kitchen table eating his breakfast. His father, Night Light, sat beside him, cutting up his food, and making sure that he didn't make too big of a mess. Velvet sat across from them, shoveling a stack of pancakes into her mouth.

"Mum?" he asked of her attention. She stopped for air and looked up at him.

"Yes, dear?" she asked. 

"You shouldn't eat so much. You're getting fat," he said candidly. Velvet blushed in embarrassment. Night Light scolded him.

"Now Son, that's a very rude thing to say to a pony," he said. "Especially to a nice mare like your mother. Now say you're sorry!"

"I'm sorry, Mom," he apologized. "But it's true." He pointed at Velvet's very pregnant belly.

"That doesn't excuse that sort of behavior," Night said to him. "Now finish eating and go wash up. You have a doctor's appointment today."

"Okay." Shining finished eating and headed into the bathroom to wash his hooves and brush his teeth. Night Light looked across the table at his wife.

"Sorry, Hun. Foals say the darnedest things," he said. Velvet pushed her last few pieces around with her fork, feeling disgusted with herself. 

"He wasn't lying," she said, rubbing her belly.

"We can't keep doing this," he said. "We have to tell him eventually. We can't just keep blaming it on you eating like a dumpster."

"I know..." Velvet groaned as she finished the last few bites of her breakfast. He put his hoof on hers.

"Do you remember when you were pregnant with... the first time?" he asked. "And we promised each other that we weren't going to be one of those 'Santa Paws' families? We promised that we were going to be direct with our foals and just tell them the truth. Whatever happened to that?" he asked. Velvet put her fork down.

"Well, gosh, Night, kind of a lot has happened since then," she said. "So what? Do you think we should just tell him about everything? About us? Him and Cadance?"

"What? No! I don't mean about all that!" he said. He picked up the plates from the table and brought them to the sink. "I'm just talking about the normal stuff. He has to learn about the 'facts of life' eventually. You're going to be coming home from the hospital in less than a month with a new foal. He's going to want to know where it came from."

"Night, he's way too young for sex ed!"

"I don't mean the birds and bees part. But the... pregnancy part of where foals come from. Unless you want to tell him a stork brought it."

"No, I hate that," Velvet said.

"Give the lad some credit. He's been doing really well on those standardized tests you have to give him for your home-schooling. I'm sure he'll be able to handle it."

"I don't know... but we can talk about it later," Velvet said. "Shining, hurry up, we're going to be late!" 





Night Light walked into the clinic waiting room where Velvet and Shining were sitting.

"Doc says I'm all set for another year. Your turn, Honey," he said. Velvet slowly got up from her seat and waddled towards Exam Room One.

"I wanna go with Mommy!" Shining said. 

"Nope, Kiddo. You're coming with me," Night said

"Where's Mommy going?" he asked.

"Mommies and Daddies have to go to the doctors too, Buddy. Everypony does," Night explained, walking with Shining towards Pediatrics.

~~~~~

Velvet laid back on the familiar exam table while the nurse went to go fetch the doctor. A moment later she arrived.

"Long time no see, Twilight," Doctor Celestia said. Velvet tried to sit up, but faltered.

"Celestia? Where's Doctor-"

"Let's just say I'm covering her shift. I hope that's okay," Celestia said. Velvet just looked at her. "You can tell me if it isn't. I won't be offended."

"No it's... okay. I was just surprised, is all,"

"Hmm, that makes two of us," Celestia said, looking at Velvet's chart. "Wow, almost that time, eh? Less than a month to go."

"Uh, yeah."

"When were you going to spring the news on me, this time?" she asked.

"Well, I didn't want another photo op with me on the toilet," Velvet said.

"Have you not even told your mother?" Celestia asked. "Were you afraid that she would 'rat you out' to me again?"

"No, she knows," Velvet said. "But I made her promise not to tell you."

"I know," Celestia said, pulling on her gloves. "Did you have your father make the same promise?" she asked, with a tiny smirk. 

"Dammit, Dad!" she muttered.

"Oh, don't be too hard on him. I can be very persuasive," Celestia said. "Lie back?"

Velvet laid back down as Celestia applied the conductive jelly to Velvet's gravid belly. She turned on the sonogram probe and began rubbing as she looked at the monitor.

"Although I have to ask, why?" Celestia asked.

"What?"

"Why didn't you want her to tell me? Why didn't you want me to know?" she asked. The answer was obvious to Velvet as she looked up at the Princess of Equestria acting as her personal healthcare practitioner.

"Because of this," Velvet said, motioning at her. "This. You. All of it. I just wanted a normal life. For us and Shining. I never wanted my family to be part of some giant royal secret. With you, the Princess of Equestria as my doctor. I was happy with just my academic interests at the school. Not roped into this alicorn breeding scheme with my brother. I just... wanted a normal life," she sighed. Celestia focused on the monitor as she moved the probe across Velvet's abdomen.

"Normal lives are all the same," Celestia said plainly. "Abnormal lives are abnormal in their own special way." She looked at Velvet. "Like your life with your brother, for example." She looked back at the monitor. "Besides, normal doesn't exist. At least, not the kind of normal you're talking about. I mean, yeah, there are ponies that make a special effort to avoid anything unusual or different, but that isn't normal! In fact, those are the weirdest, creepiest ponies of all. And every time I meet somepony that likes things quiet and boring all the time, I can't stop wondering how many foals they have tied up in their basement."

"Huh."

"You have an enchanted life, Twilight, and you always will. Accept it. The normal rules of society don't apply to your family. You, your parents... and your brother. Cherish the relationship you have with him. I terribly miss what I had with my sister long ago." Celestia adjusted a knob on the monitor. "Your foals will have an enchanted life." Celestia looked at Velvet. "Even the ones you don't want to tell me about." Celestia looked back at the screen. "So, how spoiler-y do you want this appointment to be?" Celestia asked with levity as she squinted at the blurry figure in the monitor. "Race? Gender?"

"Well, it would be nice to be able to stop referring to it as it, or 'the foal'," Velvet said.

~~~~~

"And there you go champ," the pediatrician said to Shining Armor on the exam table a few rooms down the hallway. He finished giving him a booster shot and opened a box of colorful adhesive bandages. "What's your favorite color?" he asked.

"Purple, like Mommy's hair!" Shining said. The doctor put the little bandage on Shining's shoulder.

"All done! Do you want a purple lolly pop too?" he asked.

"No, blue like my Pop!" Shining said. Night Light smiled in the other chair. The doctor gave Shining a blue pop and opened the door for them. They both walked into the waiting room. "Where's Mom?"

"She must still be in her appointment," Night said. In the blink of an eye Shining was on the move. Night Light ran after him as Shining pushed open the door to Exam Room One. That was when Shining Armor first met-

"Princess Celestia!?" Night Light said, running into the room after his colt.

Shining Armor just stood there, frozen, mouth agape. He was used to grown-up ponies being bigger than him. But the white pony with a horn and wings positively towered over the tiny colt. He saw his mommy laying on the exam table, like he had done himself. But the big pony was touching her belly with a strange thing that he didn't recognize. The grainy black and white image on the screen next to her didn't look like anything he had ever seen.

"What are you doing to Mommy!?" Shining asked the big pony. Celestia looked at Velvet.

"Do you want to tell him?" she asked.

"Shining," Velvet said, "This is..." Princess? Doctor? "my friend, Celestia. Say hello."

"Hello Slest-ya," he said.

"Hello, little one," Celestia greeted.

"Shining, we were just... looking at your sister," Velvet said. 

"Sister?" Shining's head quickly scanned the room, looking around for some other small pony that was going to be his all-the-time friend. "Where? Where is she?" he asked.

"She's in here," Velvet said, rubbing her belly. Shining's eyes went wide in horror.

"YOU ATE MY SISTER!?"

Princess Celestia could not remember a time in her long life when she had laughed harder. She was in tears, nearly rolling out of her exam chair at hearing Shining Armor's accusation that Twilight Velvet had eaten his sister.

"Your mother- BWA HAHA didn't eat HAHAHA your sister!" Celestia tried to tell him, wiping the tears from her eyes as she desperately tried to compose herself. Shining Armor ran over to the exam table and reared up, reaching with his hooves to touch his mother's belly.

"You did!" Shining yelled at his mom as he ran his hooves over her abdomen. "You ate her and now she's in your tummy! Look it!" he cried.

"Oh, Shining, dear, no, that's not what happened!" Velvet tried to console him. Celestia put her hoof on his shoulder.

"Shining, you know how colts and fillies have different parts under their tails that make them different?" Celestia asked. "Colt parts and filly parts?" 

Shining wiped his nose and nodded.

"Mum says I'm not a-sposed to look at filly parts," Shining said. Celestia smiled.

"Well, mommies have a very special filly part, inside them," Celestia explained.

"Their stomach?" he asked.

"No. Your stomach is for food. Everypony has a stomach," she said. "Mommies have a very special filly part where a foal can grow. And then when they're ready, they come out."

"Like a poo?" Shining asked. The adults giggled.

"No. That's from food when you're all done with it," Celestia said. "Remember, it isn't her stomach. So it's not like food. Right?" Shining nodded. "Remember, fillies have special parts that are different from colts. And one of them is a part for the foal to come out."

"Fillies are weird," Shining said.

"Well, fillies and colts are certainly different," Celestia said. "I'm sure a little filly your age might think that colts are weird too," she said. Shining rubbed Velvet's belly again. "And she's fine right now," Celestia said, putting the ultrasound probe back on Velvet's belly. "She's just sleeping. Look," She pointed at the screen. "See? This machine can look at the foal inside your mommy." 

"Wow!" Shining said. Celestia pointed at the bulbous shape of the foals body and head. 

"She doesn't have any wings, but if you look here, you can see the little bump on her forehead. And that little bump will grow and become her horn."

"How do you know it's a filly?" he asked.

"Well, uh," Celestia stammered, "If we look down here we can see that, uh... she doesn't have any colt parts."

"A peepee?" he asked.

"Right. Exactly," Celestia said.

"Can you let her out now? I want to meet her!" he said.

"She's not quite ready yet, Dear," Velvet said. "It's like waiting to pick an apple. You have to wait for the tree to grow from a seed. Foals are the same way."

"She grew from a seed?" he asked.

"Ehh, yeah, sort of," Night Light said.

"How did the seed get in there?" he asked. 

Even Celestia blushed at that one.

"You'll learn about that later, Buddy," Night Light said, scooping him up in his magic and carrying him out of the exam room. "Now let's let them finish."

~~~~~

"Is he finally asleep?" Velvet asked, struggling to get comfortable on her bed.

"He should be soon," Night Light said as he climbed into bed with her.

"Ugh, it's just been non-stop with the questions with him. I miss the days before he could talk," Velvet said, shifting her massive belly again to her side.

"Are you alright?" Night asked.

"No. It's my breasts. They're so tender. They've been aching ever since we got home," she said. Night smiled.

"Say no more." He crawled across the bed, helping her to lift one of her legs aside as he took the nipple of one of her swollen teats into his mouth and began to suck on it. He gently rolled and massaged her breast as he did, helping her to drain it of her milk. He was only too happy to drink her delicious milk. He savored it, knowing that this time would be finite.

"Dad!?" 

Night Light's head turned around so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Why are you kissing Mommy there?" Shining asked. Velvet's tail quickly swished between her legs to hide her modesty.

"Uh, Mommy just had a boo-boo, and your Daddy was just kissing it better," Velvet said, "Go back to bed dear!"

"Vel," Night Light stopped her. "No Santa Paws!" he quietly reminded her.

"This is different. This is weird!" she whispered back.

"It's only weird if we make it!" he told her. Celestia's words echoed in Velvet's mind. The normal rules of society don't apply to your family. Night Light looked back at Shining, still in the doorway, looking confused.

"Uh, Son, your mother is getting ready to have a foal," Night explained. "And when the foal is born, she's going to need to eat to grow up big and strong like her brother. But newborns can't eat normal pony food like you and me. She's going to need to drink a special milk that mommy makes in here," he said, pointing at Velvet's teats. "Just like you did when you were just a baby."

"I did?" Shining asked.

"Yes. But you were too young to remember," he said.

"Why are you drinking the foal's milk?"

"Well, uh, you see," Night Light scratched the back of his neck. "Mommy has already started to make the milk for the foal, but the foal isn't here yet. And she's full. And that is uncomfortable for her. Like when you have to hold it to go to the bathroom. You know?" Shining nodded. "So I'm just helping Mommy feel better by sucking the milk out like the foal would so she isn't full anymore."

"Can I help?" Shining asked.

"Uuuuhhhh-" Night Light looked at Velvet, searching for the right thing to say. She looked just as lost for words as him. "...Okay." Velvet grabbed Night's mane and yanked him to her, clearly not expecting that response.

"What!? Are you insane!?" she snapped at him quietly.

"It's only weird if you make it!" he said. "Let me handle this." They felt Shining jump up onto the bed. He was kneeling beside Velvet's belly, looking at her teats. "So, uh, yeah. That's where Mommy makes her milk. And when they're full, they ache and need to be emptied. And that's what I was doing."

"The foal 'sposed to suck on them? And milk comes out?" Shining asked.

"Yes. On the nipples. These." Night said as he pointed at Velvet's nipples, careful to keep her tail over her marehood. Shining leaned down and took one of the nipples in his mouth and started to suck.

"OW!" Velvet yelped. "Teeth!" Night Light pushed Shining off of her nipple.

"No biting, Son," he said. "When a foal gets their teeth, that's when they have to stop breast-feeding and start eating normal pony food. So when you got your teeth, that was when you stopped getting your milk from Mommy like this."

"I'm sorry Mommy!" he cried. "I promise I won't bite! I'll be good!" he begged. Velvet could not even see him beyond the curvature of her belly. But she could hear the tears in his voice. She cringed and forced herself to say the words.

"It's okay dear, you can keep going," she said. A moment later, she felt him suckling at her half-empty teat again, careful to only use his lip. She felt the bed shift as Night Light leaned over him and took the other, full teat. Velvet would have been lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy the duet of pleasures she was feeling.

Nature had built pleasure into the act for her to provide her young with milk. It made more than just her nipples feel good. She was not proud of the pleasure she felt her own son giving her in this way. But it was pleasure nonetheless. And she let herself enjoy it. Her boys made short work of relieving the pressure, and emptying her mammaries.

"Good job, Son," Night Light said, wiping the stray milk from the corner of Shining's mouth. "I'm sure Mommy feels much better now." Shining moved up to her face.

"Do you feel better Mommy?" Shining asked. Velvet smiled.

"Yes, much better, dear. Thank you."

"When will you be full again?" he asked anxiously.

"Every night," Night Light said.

"And I can keep helping?" Shining asked. Night Light looked at Velvet. She nodded.

"If you want," she said. "But when your sister gets here, that's it! You can't do it anymore. It's supposed to be just for her. Do you understand?" she asked.

"Yes, Mom."

"Now go on, it's past your bed time," Velvet said. Shining kissed her. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Shining said before he trotted down the hallway, back to his bedroom. Velvet looked at Night Light sitting on the bed beside her.

"I really hope this doesn't end up being his first memory," she groaned.

"That lucky shit," Night laughed. "I never got to breastfeed when I was a foal, and he gets to do it twice!"





Shining Armor quickly came to look forward to bed time with the new addition to the nightly routine. Each night he would suckle at one of his mother's teats, while his father was at the other. And that was how it went each night.

"Can I do both this time?" Shining asked after he finished his. "I'm still thirsty."

"What? No!" Night said, feeling possessive. 

"Dear, he is a growing colt," Velvet said.

"He's fine! He already eats like he has a hole in his neck!" Night said. He turned to Shining. "You're going to have a sister soon. So you're going to have to learn to share."

"And he will," Velvet said. "Besides, I'm due any day now. Just let him have both tonight."

"Please?" Shining asked.

"Fine," Night huffed. "But just this one time for tonight. And it's only because you said please. Okay?"

"Thank you." Shining was, at least, a polite colt. Night Light got up from the bed to go brush his teeth before he went to sleep. Shining leaned over her to reach her far teat. Velvet rolled onto her back a bit. Without Night there to keep watch, her tail fell away from covering her marehood. Shining looked at the strange sight from the corner of his eye.

Velvet was unaware of her bare state. She was far away in a haze of bliss. She had come to enjoy their little sessions. She no longer reviled the pleasure her son gave her as he suckled. She didn't feel dirty for it, as it was never enough to make her orgasm. But it always left her teetering on the brink. It was a state of which Night Light was happy to relieve her each night since they had started letting Shining 'help'. But until that happened, Velvet was left on the brink of cumming. Which meant that there were other effects.

No longer covered by her tail, her clitoris visibly winked in Shining's peripheral vision. He didn't want to release her nipple that he had worked so hard for. But the intermittent movement at the top of her marehood mesmerized him. He sucked harder to finish her second teat as fast as he could so that he could investigate this strange discovery.

"Ooh, ooh! Easy baby," Velvet moaned, feeling him turn her on more than she was accustomed to. Her clit winked harder, and more often at him. The more he looked at it, judging by its size and shape and color, it was almost like...

Another nipple? he wondered. There was only one way to find out!

"AAAHHH!" Velvet cried out as the intense over-stimulation. Even despite her extra weight, her back arched her body up off the bed as she came hard. Shining was practically thrown from the bed, landing on the edge of the mattress. Every muscle in Velvet's abdomen contracted at once. A torrent of fluid gushed from her pussy.

"What just happened!?" Night yelled as he ran back into the room. Shining saw the puddle grow on the bedding.

"Mommy wet the bed!" he said. 

"I think my water broke!" Velvet yelled as she lurched up and clutched her belly, feeling a contraction begin. "I think the foal is coming!"

"Oh shit! Oh shit!" Night panicked.

"Bad word!" Shining scolded.

"Shining! Go to your room! Velvet, I'll call a carriage! Do you need me to carry you down stairs!?" Night asked.

"No, I think I can still walk on my owOOHH MY GOSH!" Velvet felt another contraction.

"Oh SHIT!"

"Bad word!"

"Go to your room! Shining! Now! Shit, Velvet, how far apart were those contractions!?" Night asked.

"Not far apart enough for a carriage! This foal is coming NOW!" Velvet yelled.

"Yay!"

"Go to your room!" Night yelled.

"No, Shining!" Velvet called, between quick breaths, "I need your help!"

"How, Mommy?"

"I need you... to go in Mommy's desk... and I need you... to find the snow globe!"

"Find the snow globe!" Shining repeated.

"I need you... to BREAK IT!" she said. "Go!" 

Shining ran out of the room to go complete his mission for his mommy.

"Vel, I could go-" Velvet grabbed Night's hoof with hers. 

"Night, I need you HERE!" she growled, squeezing him. 

"ARGH! Sweetie! Not my bowling hoof!"

Shining Armor ran through the house as fast as his short legs could carry him. He didn't understand why his mother wanted him to break her snow globe. She was always so upset when he broke things by accident. But she made it sound like it was very important that he do this. 

He ran into his mother's office. He normally wasn't allowed to go in there. But she specifically told him to go in there this time. He ran over to her desk and grabbed the handle to the drawer. He tried to pull it open but it was stuck. He recognized what looked to be a lock in the drawer. He looked all over the top of the desk for a key but he couldn't find one. He pulled the drawer harder, trying to force it break it open.

"Open! Open!" He cried desperately. But he wasn't strong enough. He heard his mother screaming upstairs in pain. He grit his teeth and he pulled again and again with all his might one last time. He yelled as loud as he could, "I SAID OPEN!!!" A blast of magic from his horn struck the lock in a flash of energy, smashing the wood around it to splinters. He pulled the drawer open at last and spotted the snow globe. He grabbed it with his hoof and chucked it at the tile floor as hard as he could, sending water and broken glass everywhere.

The room was filled with blinding white light and everything shook with a boom that sent Shining Armor stumbling back against the wall along with the rest of the furniture. He squinted into the light as it began to fade. Princess Celestia stood there, bright as the sun in the middle of the room. Her sleeping mask was pulled up onto her forehead. She looked around the room frantically. Her eyes fell onto the frightened colt.

"Shining!? Where is your Mommy!?" she asked.

"She's upstairs!" he cried. "She said the foal is coming!" They both looked to the doorway as Velvet's cry of pain echoed through the house. He felt the wind of her speed as she ran past him through the doorway, and upstairs.

"Twilight!" Celestia said as she ran into the bedroom.

"NGHH! Cess... Tia!" Velvet panted. "Foal's... coming!" Celestia moved to the edge of the bed between Velvet's legs.

"How far apart are the-"

"NGGGH! THEY'RE NOT!" Velvet screamed. Celestia took a sharp breath and her horn glowed as she knelt down to take a look.

"Whoa," Celestia said, "Looks like somepony ordered the expedited delivery! We've already got a horn!"


~~~~~


Downstairs, Shining dusted himself off and walked out of Velvet's office. He could hear the yells and screams upstairs. His dad ran downstairs and threw open the linen closet, gabbing every towel he could carry.

"Dad?" Night Light froze and looked at Shining. 

"Stay down here, Buddy. Okay?"

"I'm sorry Daddy! I didn't mean to hurt Mommy!"

"You didn't! This isn't your fault! Everything's going to be okay! Just stay down here!" Night said before he ran back upstairs with the towels.

Shining walked across the living room to the bottom of the stairs. He stood there and waited as he was told. But he was also scared. He had never heard such noises before in his life. It went on for such a long time. He could hear Celestia yelling 'push!' and his mother crying, and his father yelling.


And then... nothing.


And then more crying. But it wasn't his mom. It didn't sound like any grown-up pony cry. He saw his Dad poke his head out of the bedroom doorway and look down at Shining at the bottom of the stairs.

"Shining?" Night Light called. "Come on up." He waved with his hoof for his son to come upstairs. Shining walked up the stairs slowly, afraid of what he might find or see after all the commotion. The crying continued, quietly. It was soft, squeaky, and high-pitched. His father waited for him patiently in the doorway. "Come on. I want you to meet somepony." Night took Shining's hoof and led him into the bedroom.

Celestia stood proudly beside the bed. His mother laid in it, beneath a fresh set of blankets. In her hooves, she had a bundle of towels. Night Light led Shining over to the bed and helped him up onto it. He crawled over beside his mother. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy. But she was smiling, so that was good. She leaned toward him, showing him what was in the bundle.

"Shining," she said, "I want you to meet your little sister." He looked at the tiny foal in her hooves. Her little purple face was scrunched up. She had just a tuft of violet hair above her horn. "Her name is Twilight Sparkle."
> Bath Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Years Later





"Get back here you thieves!" the Royal Guard shouted, chasing after Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle. The clatter of the guard's armor grew closer.

"What are we going to do Shiny!?" Twilight asked her older brother as they dove behind some cover. "We're going to be in so much trouble!"

"Quick, Twilie! We have to destroy the evidence before we get caught!" Shining said to his little sister as they hid. Both quickly ate what they could.

"Give those back!" their father shouted at the ponies with the cookie jar behind the couch. Shining Armor made a bubble shield around himself and his little sister with his magic. "Shining, no magic!" Night Light yelled. They kept eating cookies. "Don't make me counter-spell you! You know how much that stings!" he said. Shining could tell he was serious and lowered the shield. Night Light reached down, snatching the cookie jar away from them. "You're going to ruin your dinner!"

"Aww!" the siblings whined.

"Honestly!" Night Light scolded. "When you asked me to go put on my old Guard uniform to play cops and robbers, I didn't think it was just to distract me," he said as he put the cookie jar back in the kitchen cabinet. "Just so you two could be actual robbers!" He walked back into the living room. They were both jumping on the couch. "Oh, what now!?"

"The floor is lava!" Twilight said.

"Yeah!" Shining said. "Can't touch the floor!" He jumped from the couch to the recliner. The impact made the chair accidentally recline and fall over sending Shining, and the floor lamp beside it, toppling to the floor, breaking the bulb inside.

"You're dead!" Twilight said as Shining touched the floor. He looked up at his father standing over him.

"Yes he is," Night growled. "Outside! Both of you! Back yard if you're going to be running around like this!" he said. The two younger ponies ran out the back door and started playing on the jungle gym's swing set. Night Light set to work sweeping up the glass and getting a new bulb. He changed out of his old armor uniform and put it away back in the memento box. Along with the newspapers they had saved, reporting the adoption of Cadance by Princess Celestia. And a newer one that announced the young Princess Cadance had miraculously gained a horn and ascended to an Alicorn. Back downstairs, he checked on his little ponies in the back yard. He looked at the kitchen clock. It was barely lunch time and he was already exhausted. "Dammit, Vel, where are you?"





"I want her back!" Twilight Velvet demanded.

"It's out of the question! The gears are already in motion! There's no going back now, even if we wanted to!" Princess Celestia retorted, "Cadance has already ascended. She's a Princess! She's a public figure! She's the first new Alicorn in the world in almost a millennium!"

"She is MY daughter, dammit!" Velvet yelled. Celestia checked the soundproofing spell on her royal chambers. 

"Not anymore," Celestia said, calmer, trying to deescalate the fight. "If you want her back as your daughter, you're going to have to settle for her as your daughter-in-law. You can do that by helping ensure that Shining Armor joins the Royal Guard, and excels, so I can promote him and make him Cadance's personal guard, as planned! You just need to be patient!"

"I've waited long enough! I just need to see her. Can't you just have her come visit?" Velvet huffed, feeling very tired, herself, just from raising her other two foals. "For pony's sake I know Night Light and I could use the help for a day with those two around the house." Celestia's eyes lit up with an idea.

"Do you need a foalsitter?" she asked.

"What? Why?" Velvet asked. Celestia smiled.

"Because I think I know a way for us to both get what we want," Celestia said as the gears turned in her head. "Yes, yes that could work. That would work nicely!" she said to herself as she paced around her desk, formulating a plan. "Princess Cadance could be your foalsitter!" Celestia said.

"How could we have a princess as a foal-sitter?" Velvet asked. "Why would a princess even be a foal sitter?" Celestia rubbed her chin.

"We could make it look like a public service, to teach the young princess about responsibility. The Equestrian Press would have a field day with a public interest piece like that." 

"And why would she choose us? I mean, Night and I? Who are we? I used to be your protégé, and Night was in the Guard. But as far as the public is concerned, we're nopony!" Velvet asked.

"She wouldn't... we couldn't. We would have to... hold a contest! A lottery! Families could enter for a chance to have Cadance be their foalsitter. But we'll rig the contest so that you'll win, of course." She looked at Velvet. "That should be satisfactory. So long as you can continue to keep the truth about her a secret. Especially from her." Velvet nodded.

"For this opportunity!? Of course!" Velvet said. Celestia sat back in her chair and grinned.

"Just think of the wedding," Celestia mused. "The story they'll get to tell the press about how they first met. Young love, reunited years later as adults by 'fate'." Celestia chuckled, marveling at her own brilliance. "It's almost... storybook!" 

"And we'll get to have Cadance back!" Velvet said.

"For a time," Celestia cautioned. "But once Twilight is older, we will not be able to carry on the farce. We must stick to the original plan. Do you understand?"

"I do, Princess," Velvet said.

"I have work to do in preparation for the 'big contest'. You make sure that your name is in that drawing. Run along now. I'm sure your- the rest of your family misses you."

"Thank you."





"Stop it! It's not funny!" Night Light shouted, dripping wet in the summer evening. Twilight and Shining Armor stood up on top of the jungle gym with the hose.

"Yes it is!" Twilight cheered, spraying the water at him again.

"Shining Armor! You know better than this!" Night yelled, deflecting any more water with his magic shield as he made his way over to the hose spigot. Her turned it off and started pulling the hose away from them.

"Out of ammo!" Shining said, dropping the hose. "Run!" He and Twilight slid down the slide as Night Light chased them around the house. On the return lap, the two fugitives tripped over the garden hose and fell into the soaked dirt, marring their fur with dark mud blotches.

"Oh what the heck!" Night Light said, catching up to them. "Look at you two! You look like a couple of cows! Now on top of everything else, I'm going to have to give you a bath" They both got up out of the mud and start to walk towards the door. "Oh no you don't! You're not going inside like that!" Night Light grabbed the hose, and turned on the water. "Hooves!" They each held out their hooves one at a time as he sprayed them.

"It's cold!" Twilight whined.

"I know!" Night Light said, his fur still dripping. He finished getting most of the mud and turned off the water. "Dry your hooves on the mat on your way in, and go straight to the bathroom. And don't touch anything!" 

Night Light coiled up the hose and followed them inside. They waited obediently in the bathroom. Night Light walked in and began drawing a bath. While the water was filling the tub he just looked at them and shook his head.

"What would your mother say if she saw you like this, hmm?" he asked Twilight. "And you," he said to Shining. "What kind of an example are you setting?"

"The hose wasn't my idea!" Shining said.

"It doesn't matter! I shouldn't have to be the one putting a stop to your antics!" Night said. "Alright, in the tub." Shining stepped into the tub and Twilight climbed in after him.

"Mom makes a bubble bath for us!" Twilight said.

"I know Mom is usually the one that gives you guys baths, but she's not here right now. So tough!" Night said. "I'm not having her come home to you guys looking like you just crawled out of a swamp."

"Why are you so mean!?" she asked.

"Because you sprayed me with a hose!" Night said.

"You sprayed me with a hose too!" she said.

"To clean the mud off of you! That's different! And it was just your hooves!" Night said.

"Still counts!" she said.

"This isn't up for debate!" Night said, raising his voice. He grabbed a bar of soap and rubbed it in his hooves, working it into a lather. He gave it to Shining. "Here, start scrubbing your sister," he instructed. Shining started cleaning Twilight's back. Night grabbed the other bar started scrubbing the muddy stains out of Shining's snow-white fur. "Why couldn't you have been born with earth tones?"

"I'm a unicorn, not an earth pony," he said.

"No I mean- earth tones are a group of colors that you would find out in nature. Greens and browns like leaves and dirt. And mud."

"Sorry I'm not mud-colored, Dad," Shining said.

"You don't need to be sorry for not being mud colored," Night said. "Be sorry that you are mud colored now." Twilight turned around and stuck out her tongue at her brother. "Both of you!"

The kitchen timer started ringing downstairs.

"Damn it!" Night Light cursed.

"Bad word!" Twilight said. 

"I have to go get dinner out of the oven!" Night Light gave his bar of soap to Twilight. "Here, see if you can get your brother's fur white again," Night said, quickly toweling himself off. "Stay in the tub! No splashing!" He quickly headed downstairs. Twilight turned around and they rubbed each other with their soap.

"Hey Shiny, that was really neat with the magic shield earlier," Twilight said, scrubbing his fur.

"Thanks Twi. Remember the first time I did that?" he asked as he soaped her mane.

"Yeah. I was trying to climb the bookshelf and I accidentally pulled it over. It almost fell on us but you did your shield, and you saved me!"

"And that was how I got my cutie mark!" he said with pride. 

After a minute or so, the warm bath water was starting to have a very specific effect on the adolescent colt. Twilight looked down at the strange thing poking up out of the water between them. "What's that!?"

Downstairs, Night Light grabbed a pair of mitts and took the casserole out of the oven, setting it on the rack to cool. The front door opened and Velvet came inside.

"I'm home!" she said.

"I'm in the kitchen!" he said. She walked into the kitchen and looked around quickly.

"Where are the kids?" she asked.

"They're in the bath. I just came down for a second to take this out of the oven," he said.

"Oh, okay," Velvet said as she set her bag down. She felt her stomach drop for a second. "You... did make sure to make it a bubble bath, right!? Lots of bubbles?"

"No," Night answered. Velvet turned on her hoof and ran to the bathroom. She threw open the door of the bathroom and dashed inside.

"Heeeey!" Velvet said, trying not to sound panicked as she knelt down beside the tub. "Hey guys! I'm home!" She put her hooves between them and pushed them both to opposite ends of the tub. "Remember what we talked about? Keeping our hooves to ourselves in the tub!?"

"Dad told me to clean him," Twilight said.

"Yeah, it's okay," Shining said.

"No! Listen! Twilight, turn around!" Twilight faced the front of the tub as Velvet turned the water back on and added lots of bubbled soap to the water, creating an opaque blanket of white hiding Shining's... business.

"But why?" Twilight asked. "Why are we only supposed to clean ourselves? You clean me."

"That's different. I'm your mother!" Velvet said. "I also used to change your diapers. I only wash you because you don't have your magic yet. Then you can do it yourself."

"But not Shining?" Twilight asked.

"No. You don't do that to each other," Velvet said.

"Why?" she asked her mother. Shining looked at Velvet as well, curious for the answer.

Because you're siblings! Siblings don't do that! Velvet's conscience instinctively screamed. Just say it! Velvet wrestled with her own moral contradictions. Not the least of which being Velvet having regular intercourse with her own brother, Night Light. But Shining could likely still vaguely recall a brief period years ago after Twilight began teething, and she was no longer breastfeeding. After he begged incessantly, Velvet allowed Shining to breastfeed again until her teats ran completely dry. Those memories would fade with time. 

But how was she to argue with so many double standards for them? Velvet wanted so much to be able to tell them that brothers and sisters just didn't do that sort of thing. It was a simple, unambiguous rule that was easy to define and enforce. But in her heart she knew it wasn't the truth. Not for her family. Celestia's words echoed in her mind.

The normal rules of society don't apply to your family.

Besides, what did it matter? It didn't. It doesn't.

"It doesn't matter," Velvet said. "Shining, you have your magic and you can clean yourself. So hurry up while I finish scrubbing Twilight. Dinner is going to get cold soon." Velvet finished bathing Twilight and rinsed her off. She helped her out of the tub and toweled her off. "Now go on downstairs, Twilight. Your brother and I will be with you shortly," she said.

"What's wrong?" Shining asked, still sitting in the tub.

"Nothing," Velvet huffed, scrubbing the last bits of his tail.

"You seem mad."

"No, Shining it's just- you two are getting too old to be bathing together anymore," she said.

"Why?"

"Because ponies... that have cutie marks aren't supposed to bathe together," she said.

"Twilie doesn't have her cutie mark," he said.

"Exactly!" She said. "Wait, I mean, no! I meant to say that... ponies that have their cutie marks... just aren't supposed to bathe with other ponies in general," she said, making the rule more clear.

"But me and Twilie have been having baths since I got mine," he said.

"Yes, well, and you weren't supposed to be. So, I was wrong for breaking that rule. But not anymore. From now on you're going to have separate bath times. Ponies that have their cutie marks aren't supposed to bathe with other ponies."

"But you and Dad take baths together sometimes," he said.

"What?" she denied.

"Yeah. At night after me and Twilie go to bed. I got up to go pee, but you were both in the tub. Remember?" he said. Velvet knew he had her there. "And you have cutie marks."

"Okay, yes. Your father and I can do that because we both have cutie marks. Ponies that have their cutie marks just aren't supposed to bathe with ponies that don't have cutie marks!" She said. She was absolutely confident of that rule.

"Oh," Shining replied, sitting in the water, unable to think of a way to refute her rule. "Why?"

"Because that's just how it is, Shining! Okay!? That's just how it is! That's the rule!" Velvet was at her wit's end. She was hungry, and frustrated, and just wanted this ordeal to be over so she could go downstairs and eat. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and her stomach was growling.

"So when Twilight gets her cutie mark, we can have bath time together again?" he asked. Velvet wanted to say no, but in that desperate moment, she hadn't the fortitude to back it up with a logical reason that he could accept. Twilight was very advanced for her age, but there was no knowing how soon, or not, her cutie mark would come. Velvet decided that she could burn that bridge when they got to it.

"Yeah... sure," she sighed in flustered defeat.

"Okay!" The answer seemed to please him enough. He stood up as she let the water out of the tub and rinsed him off. The soap no longer covered the effect the warm water had on the colt. It bobbed under him as he stepped out of the tub. Velvet towel off most of him, leaving him with a towel to deal with... himself. Once he was dry and... decent, she hung up his towel.

"Alright mister, let's go! It's time for dinner," she said, shooing him out of the bathroom. She followed him to the kitchen and sat beside him at the table.

"We have a big day tomorrow!" Night Light said at the dinner table. "Tomorrow we're going to go see The Summer Sun Celebration!"

"The Summer Sun Celebration!?" Twilight Sparkle cheered. "I've always wanted to go!" 

"I know, dear," Night said. "But that means we're going to have to get up early tomorrow. Very early if we're going to get to the celebration before the sun rises. So that means that we're all going to have to go to bed early, too."

"And go to sleep!" Velvet said. "No getting up after dark!" she said, giving Shining a look.

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep!" Twilight squealed. "I'm so excited!"

"You had better," Night said. "If you can't get up tomorrow, we're going to go without you," Night teased.

"No!" Twilight cried.

"We wouldn't do that!" Velvet said.

"I'll make sure you get up in time," Shining assured her. 

"Thanks Shining! That's why you're my big brother best friend forever!"





"Are they asleep?" Night Light asked as he finished drawing a bath. Velvet nodded as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door. "No, I don't mean 'in bed'. I mean, asleep!" he emphasized as he stepped into the bath tub.

"Yes. I checked. I'm sure they'll be fine getting up tomorrow," Velvet said, sitting in the tub in front of him, letting her mane lay on his chest.

"It's not that, that I'm worried about," he said, looking at the door. "I just don't want Shining coming in here with one of his mid-night bathroom trips. It really kills the mood."

"We'll be okay," Velvet said as she sank lower into the warm water.

"I don't know about that either," Night said. "They were running me ragged today. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get up tomorrow."

"Hmm," Velvet purred as she moved her butt back against him. "You don't seem to be having a problem 'getting up' now."

"Well I can't help it with the way my sexy sister is grinding against me," Night said. Velvet stopped for a moment and just rested her head against his chest.

"Night, do you regret what we are?" Velvet asked him in all seriousness.

"What? Why are you asking this now?" he asked. "Is it because of the sister remark? I thought you were into that too, now."

"I am," Velvet assured him, reaching back with her hoof and giving his cock a few strokes to emphasize her point. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think I wasn't. It's not that."

"What is it?" he asked.

"I mean, I don't know if 'regret' is the right word," Velvet said. "Do you wish things had been different? That we weren't part of Celestia's 'big plan'?"

"She's been wonderful to us, Velvet. Why would I want to change that?"

"I just mean, the matchmaking part of it. What if we had been free to fall in love on our own, rather than her putting us together like she did?" she asked. He wrapped his hoof around her and held her cheek, turning her head to him.

"She may have put us together. But we did fall in love on our own," he said, kissing her.

"Did we? You were in the guard without a marefriend until you met me. I was sheltered away as her protégé until you were assigned to me. Celestia set me up with a 'fake' date at the Gala to push me towards choosing you. I just- sometimes I just feel like a puppet." Night held her in his hooves.

"That pony rules Equestria and can move the sun," Night said. "But she can't make you or I feel anything! I chose to fall in love with you. Even after Cadance was born and I found out that you were my sister. I loved you in spite of that. And now..." his hoof drifted down her belly under the water. "I'm in love with you even more because of it," he said. Velvet cooed as his hoof rubbed between her legs. "Velvet, tell me, what's bothering you? Why are you worried about this now?" he asked.

"What are we going to do about Shining and Twilight?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Shining's getting to that age where he's going to start noticing mares. And he was already sprouting in the tub tonight," she said.

"Sprouting?" he asked. Velvet gave Night's dick another rub with her hoof. "Oh. Oh!"

"Yeah," she said.

"With Twilight in the tub!?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's why I've been using a lot of bubble bath soap lately."

"Shit. When did that start?" he asked.

"Earlier this spring," she said. "But it's been so hard to find the time for one bath. I didn't want to have separate bath times yet. I just used a lot of bubbles and tried to not draw attention to it. You know, not weird unless you make it."

"Okay. So, yeah, separate bath times now. We can work together for that. Take shifts watching one while the other is in the tub. I mean, Shining is probably old enough to take a bath on his own now, anyway. So was that what you were worried about?"

"No. I mean, yeah, but... it just got me thinking," she said. "It got me thinking about us. Like, if what we are is wrong."

"No. Velvet, we're part of something special," Night said.

"But I mean, what if we weren't? Like, if you and I were just a regular brother and sister?" she asked.

"But Celestia said that we don't have to worry about that, because we don't have any of the bad inbreeding genes left in our family," he said. "So it's okay."

"I don't mean about having foals. I just mean... having foals aside, do you think it would be okay if any brother and sister fell in love?" she asked.

"Geez babe, I don't know. That's a pretty big question. I suppose it depends on a lot of things. And really, who's to say?" he said.

"I'm asking you," she said. Night sighed.

"I think that... as long as nopony is getting hurt, if two ponies really love each other, then it shouldn't matter!" he said. Velvet hummed a sigh of comfort. "Is this about Shining and Twilight?" he asked. Velvet nodded.

"Twilight's getting older too. She'll have her cutie mark before too long. And then... if they start to feel things for each other... I don't know what to do," she said. "I mean, the rational, logical part of my brain says to discourage it. They're brother and sister, and it's no secret. But in my heart, it feels wrong to tell them that they can't feel that way. That it's wrong for them to feel that way. When it feels so right to feel this way about you. You know?"

"I understand," he said, rubbing his cheek against her mane.

"So what should we do?" she asked.

"Well obviously nothing right now. Twilight doesn't even have her cutie mark yet," he said.

"Well, yeah. We're both in agreement on that point," she said. "But after?"

"Well, I would just wait and see," Night said. "Most siblings- normal siblings that grow up together and know that they are related, don't fall in love. So we might just be worrying about nothing."

"There's no such thing as 'normal'," she said.

"What?"

"Never mind. But obviously, we're not normal," she said as she felt her brother's hoof continue to rub circles on her marehood.

"You and I? No. Obviously not," he said.

"I mean our whole family," she said.

"Shining and Twilight are as normal as any siblings. And like I said, most siblings don't fall in love."

"But I think that's taught. I think that's because society and parents tell them that it's wrong for them to feel that way for each other."

"Maybe, I guess. I don't know. I never grew up with a sister."

"And I was raised an only child. But I still think that I'm at least partially right. I'm just saying that if Shining and Twilight start feeling things for each other when they get older... that we should just... let it happen."

"And what will society think of them?" he asked. "They would learn one way or another that what they were doing was... taboo."

"Fuck society," Velvet spat. 

"They'd have to keep it a secret," he said. "Would you really want them to have to live like that? Isn't that our real responsibility as parents? To protect them from harm? To prevent them from being hurt?"

"If they choose each other, we would tell them that we support them. We could tell them the truth. About us. So they wouldn't feel alone."

"..."

"..."

"Velvet, if Shining chooses Twilight instead of Cadance, Princess Celestia isn't going to like that," he cautioned.

"Cadance will get her chance," Velvet said. "Shining can make his own choice. Celestia will just have to accept it, either way." Velvet stood up and turned herself around in the tub and straddled Night Light's waist. "I'll be happy no matter which sister he chooses to be with," she said, lowering herself down onto her brother's penis. She moaned as she felt it sliding into her vagina. "As long they're happy." 

"As long they're happy," Night agreed as he breathed against her neck. He felt his sister began moving up and down on his shaft. 

"And nopony gets hurt."
> The X Factor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early the morning of the Summer Sun Celebration. So early that it was still dark outside when the alarm clock rang. Night Light groggily smacked the clock's alarm off. He rolled back over to see that Velvet was still very much asleep. He crawled under the covers to wake his sister in the usual way.

"Mmm," Velvet moaned as she felt her own 'alarm clock' happily licking away between her legs. His tongue probed deeply into her and flicked her clit. "Morning," she groaned. He moved up along her body. She felt his morning wood bobbing against her as he tried to part her legs. She put her hoof to his chest, pushing him away. "No, stop. Not today. We have to get going," she said. "I got enough last night."

"Liar," he teased. "We have time." She looked under the blanket at his massive erection.

"Ugh, fine! But I get to be on top!" she said, pulling him down to the mattress by his mane. She rolled over on top of him beneath the blanket and slid back onto his shaft. He had done a good job of getting her quite wet. She slid completely onto his length. It vanished inside her as she sat straight upright on his lap, just enjoying the fullness inside her.

"Mom! Dad!" Twilight and Shining Armor yelled as they burst into the room, yanking the blanket off of them. "It's time for the Summer Sun Celebration!" Night Light froze. His eyes were wide with panic, even though Velvet's tail was well placed to hide their deed. As far as an outsider could tell, she was just sitting on his lap. Nothing strange about that at all. Her head whipped around at them and her horn glowed, snatching the blanket back from them. She wrapped it around their lower halves.

"Knock!" Velvet yelled instantly. "How many times do we have to tell you!? Knock!"

"But it's a surprise!" Twilight said.

"Surprise!" Shining said.

"It sure fucking is," Night Light muttered.

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked. "Why are you on top of Dad? Are you trying to wake him up?" she asked climbing onto the bed.

"I'm up!" Night said. Velvet could feel Night's cock throb inside her at the innuendo.

"Are you doing CPR?" Shining asked, "I know CPR!" he said climbing onto the other side of the bed. 

"I don't need CPR! Go away!" Night said, unable to move.

"Oh! Are you wrestling!?" Shining asked. "Did Mom pin you? Tag me in! I'll help get Mom off!" Night felt Velvet's pussy clench at Shining's inadvertent innuendo.

"No!" Velvet said. "Go away!" Twilight grabbed the blanket again.

"Why do you have the blankets like-"

"GET OUT!" Night yelled. Velvet's horn glowed and her magic picked them up and pushed them both out into the hallway, slamming the door closed and locking it.

"Go have breakfast! We'll be right down!" Velvet yelled through the door. Shining and Twilight stood in the hallway looking at the bedroom door.

"Sheesh, they are not morning ponies," Shining said. 





"Wow, look at this crowd!" Night Light said as he led his family through the festival grounds. "I don't think we're going to be able to get much closer to the stage."

The stage was a raised platform lined with massive trumpets and Royal Guard ponies. At the back of the stage was a tall spire with a crescent sun at the top. The space in the middle of it was where the sun would appear behind it that morning when Celestia raised it.

"I want to get closer!" Twilight whined. Before Night Light or Velvet could react, she was off. The small filly easily ducked and weaved between the ponies of the crowd until she was nearly at the front. The massive trumpets blared as Twilight looked up at the stage. And that was when Twilight saw Princess Celestia.

Celestia had agreed to Velvet's desires for a normal life. After Twilight was born, she didn't visit the family. Although Velvet did have her meeting with the Princess, it was always low key, at the castle. But Twilight had heard about the Princess. She had seen pictures of her. She had always wanted to see her in person. 

Each of the many Guard ponies were many times larger than the filly. But Celestia absolutely dwarfed them all. Not just with her height, but also her massive wingspan, and her billowing, ethereal mane. The pictures didn't do her scale justice. She was larger in life. She was larger than life.

As the bombastic music from the trumpets rose to a mighty crescendo, Celestia's horn glowed and she lofted into the air. As she flew higher, the sun rose above the horizon behind her. And then, when both she and the sun were aligned in the spire's top, all Twilight could see was the Princess's silhouette. It was the most amazing, most wonderful thing that she had ever seen. But just like that, it was over. Celestia completed her spell, setting the sun onto its course across the sky. She drifted back to the ground and smiled as her eyes scanned the crowd. For a moment, Twilight felt like the princess was looking right at her. It was tough to tell with the sun in her eyes. There was a glint of recognition in the Princess's expression. But it might have been for the white stallion just behind Twilight. The Princess bowed and turned to leave the stage.

"There you are!" Shining Armor said, putting his hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't run off like that! Mom and Dad are probably freaking out right now! Come on, let's go." He led her back out of the dispersing crowd to their parents.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Velvet cried, spotting her ponies coming back out of the crowd.

"Don't ever run off on us like that again!" Night Light said.

"Dad! I saw the most amazing, most wonderful thing that I've ever seen!" Twilight said. "On the way home can we stop by the library?" she asked.

"Whatever for, dear?" he inquired back.

"I want to learn all about magic!" she said proudly.

"Alright, we can make a short stop," he decided. 

It turned into a three hour long literary odyssey, culminating in Twilight pushing a cart of twenty three books to the checkout counter.

"Dear, are you really going to read all of those?" her father asked.

"Yes," she answered with the surety of the sunrise.

"Really?" he asked her again.

"YES!" she said, a bit frustrated.

"Huh. All right. We'll take these," he told the clerk.




Twilight poured herself into learning everything she could about magic. Starting, of course, with basic levitation. It was a staple skill for any unicorn to possess. She sat down at her father's desk in his basement study. He had given her the space to read in a quiet environment. She opened the book to the first page.

"Chapter one: Levitation Theory," she read aloud. "When levitating an object, a unicorn must apply a magical force, N, to counter the force of gravity, G. The object at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by a net force..."

Twilight tore through the book. She had read the theoretical application of magic and was ready for practical field study. But first she needed to turn the page. She lifted her hoof to flip the page over, but instead placed it back on the desk beside the other. "Not this time," She decided. This time she was ready. She remembered the chapter on magic philosophy. 

Your magic is an extension of yourself. Lifting an object with magic is as simple a reaching out with you hoof... in your mind. 

Twilight closed her eyes and focused.

She focused on the page she wanted to lift. She focused on the texture. She felt its weight, its essence in the world. She could feel the wood that the paper had once been. The tree the wood once was. The seed that the tree had once been. She felt the forest it once called home. She could hear the birds that nested in the tree. She could smell the air in the leaves. She could taste the water raining on the branches. She could feel the earth that the roots held on to. She could feel the earth upon the stone. She could feel the stone upon all of  the world, drifting through time eternal.

She experienced all these things at once as she tapped into the magic realm for her very first time. Her corporeal body struggled and groaned in profane pain, tied to a mind trying to ascend beyond the physical world. And, just like all unicorns, she promptly forgot the experience. Not that the forgetting was intentional. Far from it. The unbridled exposure to the magical vortex is one of the most beautiful and profound experiences possible for a pony. But it was far too much for the conscious mind to bear. And so it is mercifully, if regrettably, repressed into the subconscious. But it is there for life, in the very soul of a unicorn, tying them forever to the magical coil.

The beginning arcs of magic sputtered from the tip of her horn.

Twilight's portal to magic opened.

Her horn glowed.

The page turned. 

Twilight gasped with joy at her success. But that was the limit of her jubilation. While she could appreciate the significance of the first time a unicorn did magic, her excitement was tempered by her knowledge of the long road ahead of her. It had required great effort for her to do this, the most basic of spells. She would not be satisfied until she had it mastered. Along with other spells. Thus began Twilight's path down relentless self-improvement. She finished the book and moved onto the next. And the next. Until she had read every word of every book.

The next morning, at breakfast, she focused on the spoon on the table beside her cereal bowl. She closed her eyes and reached out with her magic. An invisible appendage in her mind extended and touched the spoon. She felt the cold metal in her mind. Her subconscious linked to the magic vortex. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she felt the metal of the spoon. The iron ore that it been smelted from, that had once been embedded in stone, deep underground for the eons of the life age of the world, until it had been extracted from a pony in a mine. 

Consciously, Twilight simply experienced her magic grasping the spoon, and with an effort of will, lifted it from the table in a soft, magenta glow. Twilight's focus wavered as the aura vanished and the spoon clattered on the tile floor. Twilight huffed and gasped. The effort had taken a lot out of her in that moment. She was disappointed with herself. She was so sure she would have been able to hold it longer. Her parents were both very impressed though, and that made her feel better.

"Twilight that- that was amazing!" her mother cheered, sweeping her up in her hooves, hugging her tightly.

"Well, not really. It was just-" Twilight complained.

"Twilight! I can't think of any other unicorn who had taught themselves magic nearly overnight! You are quite a talented little filly!" her father praised.

"Yeah, Twilie!" Shining said. "Way to go!"

"Really? Wow!" Twilight hugged her mom back even harder. "I can't wait to see what else I can do!" 

"Neither can we!" her parents said.





That night, after the little ones were asleep, Night Light sat beside Twilight Velvet at the dinner table. She filled out the form for the 'Have a Princess be Your Foalsitter!' contest.

"So this is how we get Cadance back?" Night asked. Velvet nodded.

"Yes. But it's just for the summer," she said. "That's the deal. Celestia gets to give Cadance some good press with a responsible public service. And She gets to introduce Shining to Cadance to 'plant the seeds of love', before he becomes her personal Royal Guard," Velvet explained. "It's a 'lottery', so nopony will think that it's weird that we have an alicorn princess for a foalsitter." She finished filling out the form and sealed it in an envelope. "And we get to see our daughter early." 





Princess Celestia stood on the stage beside the young princess, Cadance. A large barrel full of envelopes rolled in place beside them as the crowd of ponies murmured excitedly. Velvet and her family were among the crowd.

"So what do you think of Princess Cadance?" Night Light asked Twilight Sparkle.

"She's pretty," Twilight said.

"Yeah... pretty!" Shining agreed with a bit more enthusiasm.

Princess Celestia stopped the turning barrel and opened a small door. She reached in and grabbed the envelope that had been intentionally wedged in the barrel seam. She pulled in out and gave it to Cadance. The ponies in the musical accompaniment began a drum roll as Cadance opened the envelope. 

"And the lucky pony, whose family that I get to foalsit for this summer is..." Cadance took out the paper inside and read the name, "Twilight Velvet!"

"Mom! That's you!" Twilight said.

"We won!" Shining said!

"Oh my goodness!" Velvet said. She was prepared to feign surprise. But she could not keep the genuine excitement from her voice as she and her family moved towards the stage. The crowd of ponies parted, letting the lucky mare through. Some were clearly disappointed, but most clapped their hooves for the family. Velvet didn't take her eyes from the pink pony as she got closer to the stage. They walked up the stairs to 'accept their prize' and pose for the newspaper. They stopped and stood in front of Cadance and Celestia.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Princess Cadance said to Velvet and her family. She spoke with practiced poise and inflection, just as a princess would. "I'm looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you."

"I..." Velvet couldn't speak. She felt her throat closing up. To be so close to her after all this time. She felt the tears at the corners of her eyes. She wanted so much to just lunge out and hug her. Celestia watched Velvet's face intently, her magic at the ready. She would not allow the unicorn to make a scandalous scene of the event. 

"We're all very excited!" Night Light said, jumping in for Velvet, defusing the tention.

"Yes!" Velvet managed at last. "Excited!"

"You're pretty!" Twilight Sparkle said. Cadance smiled.

"Why, thank you," Cadance replied. Her fur and mane were groomed to perfection for the event. Her makeup was flawlessly applied. She was clearly prepared for such compliments. "What's your name?"

"Twilight Sparkle!" 

"Well, that's very sweet of you to say, Twilight Sparkle. You are quite pretty, yourself." 

"Thank you," Twilight said, gaining an 'aww' from the crowd.

"I think you're pretty, too!" Shining blurted a bit too loudly. Night Light elbowed his son in the ribs. The crowd chuckled at the forwardness of the awkward colt. His white cheeks turned crimson enough for everypony to see. But only the ponies on stage were close enough to see the applied blush makeup on the young princess get just barely a shade darker as well. Everypony had a cheap laugh and smiled. Even Princess Celestia smiled. Everypony smiled but Shining.

And Velvet.

Oh sure, the muscles of Velvet's face stretched her cheeks back and her lips showed of her teeth. She knew how to fake a smile. She needed to in order to hide her face of worry. She looked up at Celestia, smiling at Cadance and Shining's little moment. But she knew her mentor well enough to know that smile she was wearing. She could see it at the corner of the white alicorn's eyes. That smug glint of a pony in complete control. It was a smile that said, "Just as planned!"

Velvet felt an invisible hoof pulling invisible strings, moving her as she gathered with her family and the princesses to pose for the newspaper photographers. Princess Celestia said, "Smile!" Velvet smiled as she was told. Like a good little puppet. After several photos, Princess Cadance departed and the event dispersed. Celestia pulled Velvet aside.

"Okay, so the first day is going to be a bit of a circus, I'm afraid," Celestia explained. "There are going to be ponies from the newspaper and photographers who are going to want to take pictures of Cadance's first day of 'work'. So I would recommend tidying up the house. But I promise that after that, you will be kept from the public eye as much as possible. Officially anyways. You may still have passer-by ponies that will want to gawk. But we will try to keep that mitigated. Cadance's guards will maintain a perimeter around your residence."

"Okay," Velvet said, absorbing the information. Celestia smiled.

"Right then. We will see you tomorrow."




Velvet and her family waited just outside their front door to greet Cadance. First the press arrived and set up their cameras. Then the Royal Guard arrived and fanned out onto the lawn. Lastly, the Royal Carriage arrived. Princess Celestia stepped out, followed by Cadance. Camera's flashed as Cadance greeted the family. Again.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" one of the press ponies called out. "What sort of a foalsitter does Princess Cadenza make?" he asked. She turned and patiently addressed the press.

"My niece is a fully-qualified foalsitter, second to none!" she said with pride. "She is well trained in foal care-giving, first aid, and mortal combat!"

"Combat... Your Highness?" the pony asked with confusion.

"But of course," Celestia said. "A foalsitter's ability to protect her foal from all dangers is paramount. And I can assure you that no foal is safer than one left in her charge." Celestia's horn flashed. "Manticore!" she yelled as the beast materialized before Cadance and the filly. Cadance's horn flashed and turned the manticore to stone. Celestia levitated the statue into the air and threw it high into the sky. A moment later it began to return, burning bright as it fell back toward the ponies. 

"Meteor!" Celestia yelled. Cadance planted her hooves and her horn glowed brightly as a wide swath of alicorn magic beam blasted from her horn, obliterating the projectile to dust in the wind. She turned to the guard beside her. "Corporal, I want you to try to kill the foal!" she commanded.

The Royal Guard pony did as he was told. He charged at the filly and threw his spear with true aim. Cadance's horn  flashed and a shield surrounded herself and Twilight beside her. The spear deflected harmlessly off of the glowing dome. The guard continued to close the distance as he pulled the sword from his sheath. He leaped at them with his weapon at the ready. Cadance grabbed him in mid air with her magic. In a flash, his sword transformed into a bouquet of flowers.

"For me?" Cadance said with a smile, taking the flowers from him. "Thank you... Good bye." In a flash of her magic the Corporal vanished. Princess Celestia took the steno pad from the shocked reporter and quickly wrote up a Royal Pardon, passing it to the Sergeant.

"Go pick up the Corporal from the castle dungeon on your way back to the barracks," Celestia said. She gave the pad back to the reporter who was still in awe. She motioned to the guards around the edge of the property. "As you can see, these guards are for the protection of the encroaching public from the foalsitter. Not the reverse. Now then, make haste with whatever photographs you need, and be on your way. I recommend that you leave my niece a wide berth to work in peace. And I suggest that your news article advises the public to do the same," she said. He nodded and made a note of it, underlined it, and circled it. 

"Cadance," Celestia said, "Why don't you do something cute with little Twilight for the nice news ponies? Perhaps teach her the ladybug dance song?"

"Okay!" Cadance said. She stood in front of Twilight and showed her the song and dance. "Sunshine sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake," she sang as she shook her flank at the end. Twilight watched closely. As did Shining Armor from the front steps. He especially liked the 'do a little shake' part. "Now you try with me," Cadance said. Twilight joined her an mirrored the dance as they both sang the song. 

The news ponies said 'Aww' and took a few pictures from a safe distance before they departed. Celestia walked over to Cadance and nodded in approval before she turned and boarded the carriage to depart.  Only the guard ponies remained, scattered at the perimeter of the property. They would only be needed for the day. Once the newspapers were out tomorrow, nopony would be bothering the foalsitter.

"Wanna see my room?" Twilight asked.

"Sure!" Cadance said as Twilight led her inside the domicile. Night Light and Velvet tried to keep their expressions neutrally positive as they followed. Happy to have a princess as a foalsitter, but without the overbearing joy of being reunited with their long-lost daughter.

"This is my room," Twilight said. Cadance looked at the piles of books.

"Wow, you sure do like to read, I see," she said. Twilight nodded.

"After I saw Princess Celestia raise the sun at the Summer Sun Celebration, I wanted to learn everything there was about magic. So I read these books and now I can do this!" Twilight said, focusing on her quill on her desk. Her unconscious mind experienced the entire lifespan of the bird that the feather had come from. But she was unaware of the connection as her horn sputtered for a moment but then it glowed and lifted her quill. She held it in the air for a moment before her concentration faltered and it fell back onto her desk.

"You read all these books and taught yourself magic that quickly!?" Cadance said. Twilight nodded. "That's amazing!" she said. Twilight felt very proud, receiving the complement from a princess. "So, what would you like to do next?" she asked.

"Let's go play on the swings!" Twilight said. Cadance smiled and chuckled.

"Why not," she said as she followed the filly outside, where Shining Armor was, already. Twilight's parents followed after her. Cadance could feel their eyes on her. She was no stranger to attention. But her sensitivity to emotion magic told her that this was different. It wasn't the usual starstruck onlooking of common ponies, or the lecherous stares of stallions with ill intent. It felt more... loving, parental. She chalked it up to her being in such close proximity to their daughter. Emotional magic wasn't an exact art, and she was hardly an expert at it, in any case.

"I have everything well in hoof," Cadance said to Velvet and Night Light. "You don't have to stay. You can run errands, or go out on a date or whatever you like."

"That's okay," Velvet said. "We just want to..." Velvet trailed off, not wanting to say that she just wanted to watch and be near her estranged daughter after such a long time.

"We're just happy for the help, and having a break." Night Light said. "But we're not quite up for going out today." Cadance had a flash of understanding.

"Ah, I see," Cadance said. "If you two need to go... 'take a nap' up in the bedroom," she said with a wink, "I can ensure that these two stay outside for... at least an hour?" she said. Night Light and Velvet blushed. "There's no need to be embarrassed. I know it can be hard for parents to find time for... themselves."

"Yes, a nap does sound nice," Velvet said. Night Light grinned. "An actual nap," she said, glaring at him. His smile went away. Cadance gave him a look that was sympathetic and... vaguely flirtatious?

He must have been seeing things, he decided, as he pushed the thought from his mind. Cadance left them behind as she headed outside. Outside, Twilight trotted past Shining Armor, sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to the swing set and  sat on one of the swings. Cadance followed shortly after. Shining watched as she walked by. Cadance pretended not to notice. She walked over behind Twilight on the swing and started pushing her.

"I am so lucky to have you as my foalsitter!" Twilight said.

"I'm the one who's lucky, Twilight," Cadance said.

"But you're a princess. I'm just a regular old unicorn."

"You are anything but a regular old unicorn," she said, still impressed with the skill of the self-taught pony.


Velvet watched from her second-floor bedroom window as the two ponies did the ladybug dance again outside. Night Light sat on the bed nearby.

"So... no nap, or what?" he asked. "I got a little lost in the euphemism downstairs."

"I can't," she said. 

"If you're tired, you can be on bottom this time," he said.

"No, it's not that," she said, never looking away from the window. "I mean, it is. Sort of. I'm not... in the mood. But I can't sleep right now either. It's so strange to have her so close like this and yet..."

"She still feels like she's so far away?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just want to hug her and tell her everything. But I know we can't. I mean, she wouldn't even believe us. She'd think that we're crazy ponies." 

"I know. It's tough. But this was what you wanted, right? To have her here like this?" he asked. She nodded weakly. "You can't think of her as our daughter. She's just our foalsitter for the summer." 

Velvet didn't respond at first. She actually did feel tired. In fact, she felt very tired.

"I think I will take a nap actually," she said getting into bed.

"Really?" Night said, growing visibly excited.

"A real nap," she said, discarding the euphemisms. Outside, Cadance continued to play with Twilight.

"Maybe you can come see where I live, sometime," Cadance said to Twilight.

"You mean I'd get to visit you in the castle!?" Twilight said.

"Well, sure, if it's alright with your parents," she said.

"I'll go ask them!" Twilight said. Cadance stopped her.

"Wait! I promised that we would stay outside for an hour," she said.

"Why?"

"Because sometimes grown-ups need a break from foals," Cadance said.

"Why? Don't they love me?"

"Well, what is your favorite toy?" Cadance asked.

"My Smarty Pants doll," Twilight said.

"Do you play with it all the time?" 

"No."

"But you still love it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, parents are the same way. They still love you. But sometimes they want to do other things besides spend time with you."

"Like what?" Twilight asked. Cadance glanced up at the bedroom window and smirked.

"Boring grown-up stuff," she said, spotting a scooter leaning against the house on the porch. "Is that your scooter?" she asked. Twilight nodded.

"It used to be Shining's but he doesn't use it anymore," she said. She trotted past Shining up to the porch to get it but couldn't quite lift it to carry it back down the stairs. Cadance walked up the stairs to help. Shining turned to watch her pass. Her tail swished from side to side as she stepped. At the top, her tail snapped firmly in place to hide her modesty. She turned and looked at him. He looked like a foal with his hoof caught in the cookie jar.

'Naughty colt,' she silently mouthed at him, her expression was a confusing mix for him, of both scorn and teasing allure. He quickly looked away. Cadance grabbed Twilight's scooter and they both walked back down the stairs together for her to ride it on the walkway. Shining made sure to keep his eyes on the ground as she passed.

Twilight stepped onto the scooter and pushed herself along while Cadance watched, keeping a mental note of the time. On a particularly sharp turn, Twilight fell from her scooter and scuffed her leg.

"Ow!" Twilight yelped.

"I'll get a bandage!" Shining said.

"Stay out here!" Cadance said. "I've got it covered." She opened her bag and took out a first aid kit and put a bandage on Twilight's scrape. Then she dried the tears from her eyes. "All better?" she asked. Twilight nodded. "Alright, let's keep playing." Twilight quickly forgot about the scrape as they played. "So I heard your dad was in the Royal Guard?" Cadance asked with a smile. Twilight nodded. "Tell me more about him."





Each day that summer, Cadance would come over to the house and foalsit for the family. Even though Shining insisted that he didn't need her to foalsit him. He was 'almost as old as her', he said. Nevertheless, he seemed awfully keen to 'let himself' be looked after when she was around.

Velvet and Night Light took the opportunity that summer to run errands, go out on dates, and even get new jobs. After Night Light had opened Velvet's eyes to the world of fiction, she had become quite passionate about the genre. Going so far as writing her own in her new-found spare time. Night Light was able to get some of her writing published inexpensively by working at the book-binder's place.  

Cadance spent the majority of her time with Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn had a thirst for knowledge and learning unlike anything she had ever seen. And Cadance realized that Twilight had a natural talent for magic that nearly rivaled her own. Cadance gave Shining Armor freedom from being foal-sat at the simple request that he merely refrain from getting into trouble while she focused on Twilight, and her training.

"How has your summer been, my dear?" Princess Celestia asked Cadance as she arrived back at the castle after a day's 'work'.

"Wonderful, Aunt Tia!" Cadance replied. "Twilight and her family have all been so nice and kind. I've been very lucky to have been assigned to them for this. Twilight is a very talented little filly."

"Oh?"

"Yes! She practically taught herself magic overnight! And she's been learning more by leaps and bounds. You should have her join your School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Does she still not have her cutie mark?" Celestia asked. Cadance nodded. "You know the rules. A pony must have their cutie mark before the start of the semester in order to attend the school. It is not a place for little foals."

"But the semester doesn't start for another two weeks. She could still apply, and do the entrance exam. And if she gets her mark before the school year starts, she would be able to attend!" Cadance said.

"Consider it considered, if she gets her mark," Celestia said dismissively. Twilight Sparkle was of no consequence to Celestia. She was more concerned with, "What of the young stallion, Shining Armor? I understand he intends to join the Royal Guard Academy and follow the hoofsteps of his father. He's quite a handsome gentlecolt, would you not agree?" Cadance was careful to not let her aunt see her roll her eyes.

"He's alright," Cadance said. In truth, she was more interested with the older stallion of the house. "If you really want to know about him, you should ask Twilight."

"Why is that?" Celestia asked.

"She's practically obsessed with him. When she's not talking about magic, or books, she's talking about her B.B.B.F.F."

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked, confused.

"Her Big Brother, Best Friend Forever," Cadance explained, earning a raised eyebrow from Celestia. "Yeah, she made an acronym out of it. You should hear her go on and on about him. Those two were inseparable before I got there." Cadance thought back on her time there. "Come to think of it, they still are." Celestia's lips made a thin line. 

"Does Shining not interest you?" Celestia asked, nudging the conversation. Cadance shrugged. Even though she was less than two years older than him, she'd had to grow up quickly into a young adult very early. As a princess, she'd had the luxury of everything except a long foalhood. She understood perfectly well what Celestia was implying.

"He just seems a little... immature," Cadance said. "He's nice. But I think he'd rather spend time with his sister than me. He's more at home with raiding the cookie jar with her than going out on a date with anypony..." she said as her tone trailed off a little. "I'm rather quite envious of their relationship."

"Oh?"

"I've oft wished that I'd had a brother or sister to play with, and just be foals together. Somepony besides the foals of visiting dignitaries." Celestia frowned a little. "But I know that would not have been possible. I'm special. As you've told me so many times," Cadance said, looking up at her own horn and fluttering her wings.

"And it's always been true," Celestia said. "Colts like Shining will notice you more soon enough. He just needs to have some more space to discover who it is he wants to be. He needs to spend more time around ponies closer to his own age," Celestia said, thinking to herself. She came to her solution. All it meant was moving up the timeline for everypony. "Go ahead and have Twilight's parents apply to enroll her in the school. I'll make sure she gets an early entrance exam appointment. If she's as talented as you say, she should have no difficulty. And I'll enroll her this fall. Cutie mark or not."





Not long after, Twilight's parents enrolled her in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. They smiled brightly as her father presented Twilight the approved acceptance letter. Twilight hopped up and down in joy. It was a dream come true for young Twilight, except for one thing. She had to pass an entrance exam!

Twilight could feel her hooves getting sweaty and clammy as she and her family walked down the hall of the school to the audition exam room. Her parents were close behind her, there for support. They arrived at the door to the auditorium. Twilight paused, took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Her parents followed her in. 

"Remember to smile. Charisma is key," Velvet whispered.

On shaky legs, Twilight took her place in the center of the room. She looked around nervously, trying her best to keep her nerves calm, or at least, hidden. The four judges sat up in the back of the room, quietly judging her. She looked to her parents standing by the room's entrance. They motioned for her to keep smiling. Twilight turned back to the judges, all a-grins. An attendant rolled in a cart with a pink and purple spotted egg, nested softly on a bed of hay.

Her instructions were simple. Use her magic to hatch the egg. 

But it was far from simple. Unbeknownst to the filly, the egg had been a part of the school very nearly since its founding. The egg itself was ageless. Dragon eggs were inherently extremely resistant to pony magic. It was part of their ability to protect themselves. Only the innate magic of dragons themselves would hatch the egg. Besides that, only Alicorn magic was powerful enough to hatch it.

The acceptance of Twilight's application was already enough to ensure that she would attend that fall. The entrance exam was always a farce. The egg served one singular purpose. It was to teach new students to cope with failure. As Celestia was fond of saying, 'If you can survive disappointment, nothing can beat you.'

But Celestia had selected this particular test with specific intent. To find out if maybe, just maybe, a unicorn applying to her school was born with the ability to wield alicorn magic. The odds were better for somepony to be struck by lightning while winning the Equestrian lottery. But for Twilight's pedigree, her odds were one in four.

"Well Miss Sparkle?" One of the judges prompted impatiently.

Twilight walked over to the egg, inspecting it closely. She laughed nervously, still forcing out a smile for the judges. They made no effort to hide their condescension. They scrawled a variety of comments on their evaluation clipboard. Every tap of punctuation on the pads was a thunderous hammer in Twilight's ears. She began sweating profusely now. She could feel beads rolling down her cheeks. It would help to hide her tears when she failed.

FAILED

"No! I must not fear!" she thought to herself, "Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

She began mentally preparing for the task at hoof. She reared up and focused all of her will into her horn. Tiny sparks sputtered from the tip. She groaned and huffed from exertion. But the stress had caused her to crack under the pressure, leaving the egg failing to also do so. One of the reviewers yawned. Another looked at her watch. 

"We don't have all day," the judge heckled. It was not their desire to be needlessly cruel. It was simply a part of the test for the unicorn's resolve and temperament. An angry, cynical unicorn, spiteful of a judgmental world could be great trouble with the school's teachings. The students must be humble, but determined.

Twilight tried again. She knew it was the most important day of her life. That her entire future would be affected by the outcome of that day. And she was about to blow it! Her whole world fell down around her. All her hopes, her dreams, began to crumble before her eyes. All because of one stubborn egg. She tried a final time, forcing every last ounce of will she had, trying to mentally pry open the door to her magical ability. A tiny spark from her horn fizzled out again. She felt her stomach fall, her heart sink. Doubt overtook her. At least she could still keep her dignity. She tried not to cry. Maybe she wasn't meant for this after all.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time..." Twilight whimpered her apology in defeat. 

The judges took positive notes of her effort and mature attitude. She would be an acceptable, if mediocre student. As they made their notes, something extraordinary happened.

Outside the exam room window, the sky exploded with concentric circles of rainbow rings. The silent display reached the school with its thunderous shock wave. The blast shook the entire school and scared the living daylights out of everypony. The blast caught Twilight in the midst of trying to access her magic. The tenuous new portal linking her mind to her magical essence was blown wide open. It shook loose the tiny door in her young mind shielding her fragile psyche from the magic vortex. Raw magic raged freely from the powerful unicorn.

A powerful rush of magic traveled up her horn, erupting in a beam of energy, crackling with arcane lighting as it struck the egg, hatching it at once. The egg split in half and the baby dragon rested comfortably in the bedding of hay. But it was not enough of an outlet for the poor unicorn.

Twilight screamed as her eyes became pools of iridescent white. Her entire body floated into the air as raw magic radiated off of her in concussive blasts. The school staff were held captive in her arcane levitation. Her parents were turned to plants. The exam dragon hatchling was transformed into an enormous, building-sized full grown dragon, his head smashing through the roof of the school.

Twilight's mortal mind was held hostage to all of time and space flowing through her. 
All that was. All that had ever been. All that would ever be. All things that could never be. 
The smell of the number seven. The color of infinity. Impossible things. She knew all things, and no thing. 
Her mind was burning up.

Outside of the school, Princess Celestia saw the same rainbow blast, and the following rush of magical energy blasting from the exam room. Something had gone wrong with one of her students. After all this time, she recognized it. There was a great disturbance in the horse. A student had alicorn magic. Celestia ran into the auditorium.

Celestia gently placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, mercifully closing the door in the mortal mind that it could have unmade. The magic ceased. The teachers were released. Twilight's parents were ponies once again. The dragon returned to its normal, hatchling size.

"Twilight Sparkle." Celestia greeted her. Twilight only now just barely realized what she had done.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-" Twilight began to apologize.

"You have a very special gift. I don't think I've ever come across a unicorn with your raw abilities," Celestia praised.

"Huh?" Twilight was still barely recovering.

"But you need to learn to tame these abilities through focused study," The princess continued.

"Huh?"

"Twilight Sparkle, I'd like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school."

"Huh?"

"Well?" Celestia asked. Twilight looked to her parents for their consent. They nodded enthusiastically. It was more than any of them could ever have hoped for.

"YES!!!" Twilight exclaimed, leaping into the air.

"Oh, and one other thing Twilight," Celestia, said, halting her mid-air celebration.

"More!?" Twilight asked. Celestia pointed at Twilight's flank.

"My cutie mark! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" Twilight leaped about in circles around the princess. Celestia's own internal celebration was invisible. But it was equally enthusiastic. Twilight's ability to ascend, or not, would have been determined by her magical ability as a unicorn. There could be no mistake. Celestia looked at Velvet in the exam room doorway and smiled. Velvet could see by Celestia's smug expression that she had her answer.

Twilight Sparkle had the X Factor.
> An Offer  (S)he  Can't Refuse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!" Twilight Sparkle cheered the entire way home from the exam. "I passed the entrance exam! I got into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns! I got my cutie mark! Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!"

"Yes dear, we know," Night Light said. "We were there. And we're very excited."

"We both are," Velvet said, sitting beside her in the carriage. "And I'm sure Shining will be as well once we get home and you tell him the big news."


Back at the house, Cadance and Shining both sat on the living room couch. Shining sat at one end reading his comic book. Cadance sat at the other end, looking bored and frustrated. Even with her 'Beat the Heat' potion, being a alicorn made it especially tough for the mare that season. Twilight and her parents were going to be out of the house all morning, leaving the two of them alone. The clueless colt had been oblivious to her hints the entire time.

"So they're going to be out all morning?" Cadance asked.

"Mhmm," Shining replied, reading his comics.

"So we've got the house all to ourselves?" she asked again, in an implying tone.

"Yeah."

"And we can do whatever we want," she led him on.

"Yeah. I already had cookies for breakfast. You can have the rest if you want," he said.

"How gracious," she deadpanned. She moved one of her legs apart and flicked her tail aside just a bit. "Maybe we could move up to your bed?"

"I'm not tired," he said. She was nearly to the point of just laying back and spreading her legs at him with a neon sign. He got up and moved off the couch over to the recliner. "But you can lay down on the couch if you want."

"Ugh!" Cadance gave up on the hopeless pony. She rolled over and just pressed her face into the pillow. As much as she wanted it, it wasn't his fault. And she certainly wasn't about to force herself on him. She looked up at the photos on the far wall. Specifically the one of Night Light. "So you're going to join the Royal Guard like your dad?" she asked.

"Yeah. The stallions in our family come from a long line of Guard ponies. I'll be starting in the Junior Guard Academy this fall."

"Neat." She just kept looking at Night Light's photo. 

Her Aunt Celestia was no fool. All of Cadance's guards were either mares or geldings. Celestia would never let a pair of balls near her niece. And they were all especially trained to be immune to Cadance's advances. Shining was the first real male that she even had a chance with. Shining Armor was a scrawny colt at the moment. Her attempt to seduce him was less a choice than a lack of options. But  being in the Royal Guard would do well to bulk him up with lean muscles and... the skills to use them. She practically quivered at the thought. 

Several comic books later, the door unlocked.

"We're home," Velvet announced into the house. Twilight ran in past her.

"Shiny! Look!" she shouted as she ran over to him on the recliner. 

"Oof!" he grunted as she jumped up onto his lap.

"Look!" she squealed and she practically shoved her butt in his face. "My cutie mark!"

"Oh, wow! Awesome, Twilie!" he said. She jumped off the chair and started jumping around in circles. He joined her, jumping around in excitement himself. "And!" she yelled as she jumped, "And I passed! I got into the school!" Cadance wasn't jumping around like a foal. But she was nearly just as excited for Twilight. Her frustrations with Shining evaporated in a heartbeat for her.

"Twilight! That's so exciting!" Cadance said, hugging Twilight. "I told you that I always knew you could do it! You worked so hard and we practiced so much!" Cadance praised. Twilight suddenly stopped jumping.

"Wait, if I'm going to Celestia's school instead of being home-schooled, does that mean you're not going to be my foalsitter anymore?" she asked. Cadance frowned.

"I'm afraid so, Twilight," Cadance said.

"Twilight, Cadance was only meant to be here for this summer," Velvet said. "I'm sad to see her go. We all are. But you're getting older now, and you don't really need a foal sitter."

"You never really did," Cadance said. "You're such a smart and mature filly- I mean, mare now," Cadance corrected, tapping Twilight's cutie mark.

"But what about next summer during the school break?" Twilight asked, looking at Cadance and her parents.

"Twilight, Cadance is a very busy princess," Night Light said. "We were lucky to have her while we did." Twilight was on the verge of tears. Cadance couldn't stand to see a filly cry. But she also recognized that it was practically blackmail. Not just for Cadance, but also Twilight's parents, even if Twilight didn't realize it. Cadance genuinely wanted to be able to come back. She put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"I'll see what I can do," Cadance said, drying Twilight's eyes. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to Celestia and see if I can come back next summer."

"Really!?" Twilight asked more excitedly. Cadance put her hoof up to caution her.

"I can't promise anything, though," she said. "Your father is right. I am a very busy princess. And even if I can come back, it certainly wouldn't be for the whole summer again."

"Okay."

"Come on, no more crying," Cadance said. "This is a happy day! You got your cutie mark!"

"Yeah. Yeah! My cutie mark!" Twilight cheered again.

"Alright, come on," Velvet said. "I'll make us some lunch." Twilight and Shining followed Velvet into the kitchen. 

Cadance grabbed Night Light's hoof, stopping him from leaving.

"Yes?" he asked. Cadance fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"I could come back next summer for a little while," she said with a wry grin. "But I wasn't lying when I said that I'm very busy. I would have to be very motivated to come back."

"I know what that's like. I've got two foals after all," he chuckled. She was still holding his hoof.

"How are you going to... motivate me?" she purred. He looked down at her hoof as she pulled on his a bit more aggressively.

"M-motivate?" he asked with nervous confusion.

"Entice me. Make me an offer I can't refuse," she said.

"I could pay you. I know you worked for free this year. But next year I could-"

"You know, money means nothing to me. I'm a princess," she said.

"Well then, what do you want?" he asked. 

"Oh, I think you know," she said. She walked past him, flicking the underside of his chiseled jaw with her tail as she ran the tip of her wing down under his muscular belly to his- 

"Whoa!" he jumped back. "What are you doing!?"

"Oh, don't play coy with me," she said. "I've seen the way that you look at me. Just like all the other horny stallions that want a piece of this princess." It was a bluff. Quite in fact, she never saw him looking at her in that way. But she knew that it didn't mean that he never did. A tiny part of her felt guilty for taking advantage of the poor stallion who had been so nice to her this whole time. But another, louder part of her wanted to get laid. And when a princess wanted something...

Night Light, for his part, was awash with revulsion. Firstly, she was his daughter. But she didn't know that. Secondly, and almost as important, he was a married stallion. Not to mention the fact that-

"You think I'm way too young for you, huh?" Cadance said. "You shouldn't. I'm not. I've had my cutie mark and been legal for years. I'm not a little filly. It's been a long summer. I'm in heat. And I'm a mare that knows what she wants." She flagged her tail across his nose again as she looked under him. "It doesn't look like it bothers you," she said, eyeing his growing erection. Night Light quickly tried to cover himself. 

"That's immaterial!" he defended. He felt ashamed of the way his body was betraying him, reacting involuntarily to her pheromones. "And besides, I'm married!" Night said.

"Well then," she whispered, "it sounds like we're both in a predicament." He was still in shock. "I mean it though. If you... give me what I need, I'll talk to Celestia about coming back next summer."

"Not unless I talk to her first!" he bluffed. He knew that he would never do that to his daughter.

"No, I don't think that you will." She squinted a bit at him, reading his face. "And besides, even if you did, nopony will believe you. Remember, I'm the princess's sweet, innocent niece." Night Light's poker face broke. 

Fuck. He knew she was right. And she did too. She brushed her hoof against his broad chest. 

"Listen Mr. Light, I'm not a bad filly. I'm really not. I'm a nice pony." She fluttered her eyelashes at him again. "And I know you are too. So I'm not going to make you do anything that you don't want to." He felt her wing brush along the length of his shaft. "Though, I know you do want to. But I don't want to get you into trouble either." She leaned closer and whispered in his ear. "I just want you to get me to cum," she nibbled his ear "... back next summer."

She let him go and took a step back to compose herself. She smiled.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you take some time to think about it?" she said, flicking his nose with her tail one last time before trotting past him to the kitchen.

"Lunch!" Velvet called.

"Be there in a minute!" Night said, dashing to the bathroom. "I just need to take care of something."





After lunch, Cadance collected her things and got ready to leave. She was only there to cover that morning for Twilight's entrance exam. With the family home for the afternoon, she was no longer justifiably needed. Once she was gone, Velvet sent Shining and Twilight to play in the backyard for the afternoon. She watched them play from the kitchen window as she did the dishes.

"Velvet, we need to talk," Night Light said. "It's about Cadance."

"Oh? I sure hope we can get her again next summer! You and I could go on a vacation! Wouldn't that be lovely!" Velvet said.

"Well I'd have to convince her to come back next summer," he said. "And she wants this favor from me-"

"Well you had better do it, by any means necessary," she said.

"You see, you say that now, but here's the thing-" he said. She turned and poke him in the chest with her hoof.

"Night, when I was first pregnant, you told me, you promised me that there was nothing you wouldn't do for our foals. Are you telling me now that there is!?"

"I could think of a couple things."

"What? Does she want you to have somepony killed?" she asked.

"What!?" he balked.

"Because if she does, you can tell me. Two shovels can dig faster than one!" she said in utter seriousness. "I will bury a body for our daughter."

"The fuck!? No! Nopony is getting killed!" he said. She rolled her eyes and waved him off, turning back to work in the sink.

"Well then how bad could it be?" she asked.

"She wants me to-" he huffed in angry frustration. "She wants to have sex with me!" he said. Velvet looked at him strangely in confusion. After a moment she laughed.

"What? No she doesn't!" Velvet laughed. Night Light could hear Cadance's words echo in his mind.

Nopony will believe you.

"I'm serious Vel, she was flirting with me today!" he said.

"Oh, I'm sure you were just imagining things!" she said.

"She was flagging her tail and rubbing it in my nose! And then she used her wing to stroke me when she gave me an erection!"

"You got an erection!?" Velvet yelled.

"I didn't get one on purpose!" he defended. "She was trying to seduce me! I'm the victim here!" 

"You're serious?" she asked, still in shock.

"Deadly!" he said. Velvet sat at the kitchen table. She was ready for Night Light to have to bury a corpse for Cadance. Not for him to bury... himself... in her.

"So what did you tell her?" she asked.

"Well, 'no', obviously!" he said. Velvet sat and wrestled with the information. "What? You're not seriously thinking about it, are you?"

"I'm just trying to understand her point of view," Velvet said. "Celestia is no fool. She had to have known that this would happen, right? I mean, that's why all of Cadance's guards are either mares or fixed. She said that estrus season was especially bad for alicorns. Maybe that was part of her plan. You know?"

"So why isn't she seducing Shining instead?" he said. "I mean, if that's supposed to be the plan, right? Why not somepony her own age?"

"Well I would ask how do you know she hasn't but..." Velvet looked out the window at Twilight and Shining making silly faces at each other on the swings. "He's not exactly her type... yet. I mean, colts do mature slower than fillies. He just needs another year or so to catch up to Cadance."

"I thought the plan was for him to be assigned to her as her guard, like me and you, and our parents."

"I messed it up," Velvet realized. "I messed up Celestia's plan. Because I missed Cadance too much to wait a couple more years." Velvet shook her head. "Her plan, her formula, it had been working so well for so long. And now that we're just one step away, the ground is going to fall out from under our hooves! And it's my fault!"

"It's not your fault," he said.

"It is! We have to fix this!" she said.

"What are you going to do? Tell Shining to seduce Cadance? Tell Shining how to seduce Cadance?" he asked.

"No, no! Something like that, that direct kind of meddling would never work," Velvet said, shaking her head. "No, no we have to be smart about this. We have to be subtle, like Celestia would be. I can't intervene. You have to help me fix this!"

"What!? How!? By having sex with Cadance!?" he scoffed. "She's our daughter!"

"She is a horny mare in heat, Night!" Velvet said, speaking from experience. "She's a princess. She has power. If she wants to fuck somepony, she will. She'll find some stallion with less willpower than you and she'll get what she wants. And then that will be it! She won't be back next summer and Shining will be out of the equation! I- we- our whole family, will be out of the equation. Night, you can not allow me to be cut out of my daughter's life after I worked to hard to only just now get her back!"

"Vel,"

"Night, please! You just need to get her back here next summer. Shining will be more mature, and she'll fall for him like she's supposed to! Do you really want our daughter going out and just fucking some stranger!?"

"Of course not! But is this really better?"

"Yes! You're not some random stallion that will take advantage of her, or hurt her, or give her a disease. You love her. And that's all I could ever ask of my daughter's partners," she said.

"This is so fucking weird!" he said, shaking his head in his hooves.

"Night, you and I of all ponies should appreciate how unusual a family can be. After all we've already been through, is this really that much of a stretch?" she asked.

"...No. But still, she's our daughter!"

"But Cadance doesn't know that. Look, we'll talk to Twilight about having a sleepover the night before Cadance's last day here. And then you can... make sure she's back next summer."





The eve of Cadance's final day arrived. She brought an overnight bag for the big sleepover she was going to have with Twilight. After dinner the two of them were up in Twilight's bedroom laughing and giggling well past Twilight's bedtime. Cadance had invited Shining. But he did not want to 'have a tea party all night with Twilight's dollies'. The colt was fast asleep by the time Twilight was starting to curl up in her sleeping bag.

Velvet laid in bed beside her husband, waiting for the noise in Twilight's bedroom to finally settle down. She nudged Night Light, urging him to get out of bed.

"We're really doing this?" he asked. Velvet nodded.

"It's okay. I love you. And I know you love me. That's why you told me right away about Cadance's behavior."

"I do love you," he said, kissing her.

"Okay, go on," Velvet said. He got out of bed. "Night? Promise me something though?" she asked.

"Of course!" he said.

"Make it..." she winced and sighed. "Make it a nice experience for her, okay?" she asked with pleading eyes.

"I'll try," he said.

"And Night?" she said, turning off the bedroom light.

"Yeah?" he asked from the doorway.

"Try not to get her pregnant?" she asked. He closed the door and sighed in the hallway.

"Right."

Night Light walked downstairs to the living room. The couch had a pull-out bed for guests. It was where Cadance would be sleeping once Twilight was asleep. Night Light sat in the recliner beside the couch in the dim room and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Twilight's bedroom door opened and then closed. He heard hoof steps coming down the stairs, stopping at the bottom. The switch on the lamp beside him glowed the same color as the mare's horn. The light flicked on. Cadance stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at Night Light sitting in the recliner.

"Hello there, Mr. Light," Cadance said with a devious smirk.

"Hello, yourself," Night replied.

"Did your wife kick you out of bed and force you to sleep on the couch?" she asked, teasing him. "Sending you, unknowingly into my waiting hooves?"

"No, she's just asleep," he said, he hoped, but he doubted.

"Is she a deep sleeper?" she asked, sauntering over to him.

"You could say that," he said.

"Did you tire her out?" she asked, running her hoof along his chest.

"No."

"Oh? No love for hubby tonight?" she asked, as her hoof ran down lower to his abdomen as she straddled his lap.

"I'm afraid not."

"What kind of mare ignores her stallion's needs?" she asked, putting her other hoof into her crotch, shamelessly playing with her pussy in front of him.

"Oh, yeah. She's a real ice queen. That's why I'm here. That's why I want to do this," he feigned, trying to convince himself most of all.

"That's why you want to do... what?" she asked, moving her hoof faster against her wet pussy making lewd squelching noises in his lap. 

"Whatever you tell me to, Princess," he said. Her wings sprang open at the last word. She bit her lip and stifled her moan as she came on top him. Her legs quivered on either side of his lap as she soaked it, and her hoof, with her wetness.

"Mmm," she purred, "That's what I like to hear." She dragged her dripping hoof across his snout, flooding his senses with her arousal. "Lick." He did as he was told and licked her hoof. Regardless of who she was, the basic animalistic part of his brain took over his body's reaction to her pheromones. His conscience was struggling to keep control of his mind.

"Ah, what's this?" she asked as his penis emerged from his sheath. Between her scent, her taste, and her warmth on his lap, he reached full mast in record time. She slid off of his lap and knelt in front of him. She took his shaft in her hooves and started to slowly slide them up and down along its length. "It's so big!" she said stroking his ego as well. "And so are these!"

She moved down and admired his hefty balls. She leaned closer and pressed her nose into his scrotum, sniffing him aggressively. Her wings trembled as she smelled his musk. He could feel her hot breath on his balls as she panted from her open mouth. Warmth became wet as she stuck out her tongue and ran it up from his base, all along his length to his tip. A droplet of precum appeared at his tip. She pressed her tongue flat against it and lapped it up, and grinned, clearly enjoying his flavor. She took the head of his dick into her mouth and licked while she sucked. She just stared up at him, keeping eye contact the entire time.

"Wouldn't you prefer a pony your own age?" he tried. "Like Shining Armor?" She rolled her eyes and popped his dick out of her mouth for a moment.

"Shining Armor wouldn't even know what to do with me," she said. "I'm a busy mare, Mr. Light. I don't have time to train a colt. I want a stallion that knows how to please a mare." She resumed sucking his dick.

"But why me? Isn't there some other stallion that you could... you know... that isn't married?" he asked. She didn't answer with her mouth full. He almost didn't even want to hear an answer. The thought of some other older stallion with her filled him with equal disgust. And with each passing second, she was less his daughter, and more the beautiful mare sucking his dick with those gorgeous purple eyes looking up at him. She just continued to enjoy his shaft until her oral fixation was satisfied. She lifted her head off of his dick and wiped her spit from her mouth with her hoof. She got to her hooves and moved out from in front of his chair.

"On the bed," she directed. He did as he was told and sat on the couch's folding bed. "Lie down." He laid back on the mattress. She crawled onto the bed and leaned over him, straddling his body. She sat and pressed his slick shaft against his belly. She looked down at his face as she slid along the side of his length, grinding against it with her hot pussy. She could feel how hard he was. 

"Mmm, don't act like you don't want this, yourself. You're obviously enjoying it." She slid up to his tip, teasing it with her wanton entrance. "Mmm. Not yet." She moved up along his body until she was straddling his face. He knew what she wanted. He put his hooves on her flank to support her as she lowered herself back down. She rested her weight on his face. His mouth opened and began to expertly lick and kiss her marehood. She shuddered and winked into his mouth. He no longer cared who she was to him. She tasted heavenly.

"To answer your question, Mr. Light, there are no other stallions for me. All of my guards are either mares or geldings. So none of my 'little tricks' can work on them. And they've all been given strict orders regarding my more... base needs." She reached down with her hooves and ran them through his mane as he ate her out. "But they are needs, Mr. Light." Her tail swished back and forth across his erection behind her. She felt his tongue licking up and down along her slit as she ground her clit against his nose. He lifted his chin a bit to catch her next wink with his lips, giving it a little sucking kiss.

"Ooh!" she shuddered. "You certainly know what you're doing!" She felt the knot in her tummy pulling tighter as he continued to please her. Her thighs clenched on either side of his head. He could tell she was close to cumming again. He avoided her clit to tease her, and prolong the buildup. She arched her back to try to force her angle downward but his hooves lifted her butt just enough to avoid it again. "Stop teasing me and let me-" He cut her off by giving her what she wanted. He sucked her clit and her whole body shook as she came a second time. Much harder than the quick one she had given herself. He felt her spray her hot nectar into his mouth. He swallowed as much as he could to spare the mattress. The mattress be damned, he wanted it for himself! She listed, and began to fall to her side.

His hooves guided her down as he got himself up and between her legs. He gave her a couple more tender licks, causing her to wear a goofy grin in the afterglow of her climax. She was thoroughly satisfied, and would happily come back the following year. It had been a long day and she was ready to call it a- "Night!?"

The stallion grabbed her legs and pulled her ass to the edge of the bed. He leaned over her and rubbed his tip against her slit. It deflected off of her smooth lips and slid up along her belly. He slid it back down and brought the tip to bear against her tight pussy, pushing at her entrance. Her lips stretched around the tip as he just held it there. With his last shred of equine decency, he looked at her, waiting for her consent. Him taking the lead came as a small, but not unpleasant, surprise. He felt his tip pressing at her entrance impatiently. She had expected this part sooner or later. But nothing could really prepare her for this moment. She bit her lip nervously and nodded.

He didn't push it in. Instead, he leaned down and hugged her. She hugged him back. As they hugged, they pulled themselves toward each other. Cadance pressed her face into his shoulder and bit him to stifle her cry as she felt his broad tip enter her. He waited and held himself there until Cadance took another breath. He advanced a little further. He felt a bit of her resistance give way. She cried again into his shoulder. He waited to let her lay back down on the mattress. He looked down at where he was inside her. The pink fur around her stretched pussy was stained a darker shade.

"Wait, am I your first!?" he asked in sobering shock. She nodded weakly. Of course it was her first time! he thought to himself. After everything she'd said, it should have been obvious. And now I've taken my own daughter's virginity! He tried to pull out but she grabbed him with her hoof, keeping him there. 

"Keep going," she begged.

"It shouldn't be like this! Your first time should be special!" he said.

"I'm a princess. Everything I do is special. Everything is a ceremony. I didn't want this to be like that. I just wanted it to not be a big deal."

"But it is a big deal. For anypony. Your first time should be with a nice pony," he said. She touched his cheek with her hoof to cut him off. She looked up at him and smiled, lifting herself up to whisper in his ear.


"... It is." 


She wrapped her legs around his flank. 

"Please?" she begged. Night remembered Velvet's words.

Make it a nice experience for her.

"Okay," he agreed.

"Be gentle?" she pleaded.

"Of course." He hugged her again and pulled her to him as he pushed into her a bit more. If all alicorns took after Celestia, then he knew that she would be taller than him one day. But in the meantime he was still a good deal larger than her.

"Ooh," she moaned, as his medial ring slipped inside her. She put her hoof between them and placed it on her belly when she felt him bottom out against her cervix. "Ow." 

"Sorry," he said. About three quarters of his length was in her. He looked down at the bulge he was making in her slim frame.  She rubbed the bump with her hoof. He started moving it in and out of her slowly, careful to not go too deep again. "How's this?" he asked. She nodded.

"It's nice... It feels really nice," she said.

"Okay. I'm going to start going a little faster," he said. She nodded again for him to go ahead. He moved his hips faster using his medial ring as a depth guide, letting it slid just in and out of her, but no deeper. He used his hooves to support himself above her. He knew he would only be able to have this one session with her. He was determined to make it the best it could be for both of them. His horn glowed and Cadance could feel his magic playing with her little love button.

He couldn't fault her for wanting a stallion with experience. When he was first starting with Velvet, she'd had her work cut out for herself with training him to be a proper lover. Or at least for him to have a better understanding of mare anatomy. And tonight it showed through in spades. He used his magic to play with her clitoris, lightly and gently. Enough to bring her pleasure, but not so much to overstimulate her. It was incredibly effective.

He could feel Cadance's pussy clench and pulsate each time he made her cum. Each time she climaxed, he backed off from playing with her clit, to give her time to recover. He would slow or stop his thrusts too. It was as much for his benefit as hers. It was taking every ounce of his willpower to stave off his own orgasm. She wasn't making it easy. Her age and relation non-withstanding, she was a smoking-hot mare with a taut body and a snug pussy to match. Her peaks of pleasure were running together into a continuous plateau of euphoria.

"Ngh! N- no more!" she begged. "Can't-" she managed, between her panting breath.

"Okay-" Night huffed, trying to keep his own focus. "Where do you want it?" he asked.

"Inside!" she demanded. "Give me- *pant* ...it all!"

"No."

"I'm safe!" she said.

"I'm not- *huff* ...falling for that- *puff* ...one again!" he said.

"My butt!" she said. He felt his balls start to tighten as he neared the point of no return. Her virgin ass would be staying that way, tonight.

"No time!" he pulled out. She wrapped her legs around him to keep him in. His cock began to flare inside her. "Nuh uh!" He had this done to him before. That was how he'd become a father in the first place. He muscled himself out from her legs' grip and pulled his cock free. She sat up quickly and opened her mouth with her tongue hanging out. He followed her lead and aimed himself with his hoof as the first mighty rope of his cum blasted forth.

Half went into her mouth. The rest splattered across her nose, cheek, and chin. She closed the distance and held his cock on her tongue, resting directly in front of her open mouth for the next salvo. The second blast of cum filled her mouth with white. She quickly closed her mouth to swallow. In an instant she opened her empty mouth and wrapped it over the tip of his cock for the rest of his salvo. She licked and sucked and swallowed as fast as he gave it to her, timing her breathing to quick breaths. 

It felt like she had sucked his spine right out of his back as all of his muscles turned to jelly. His legs gave out as soon as he was finished cumming. He nearly fell onto her, but she was alert enough to move out of the way and let him roll to the side of her onto the pull-out bed. She fell back onto the bed beside him.

"Wow!" he breathed. "That was... wow!"

"Yeah! Wow!" she panted. "That was... the best thing... ever!" He looked over at the mare's face, still glazed from her facial. She wore a big, goofy grin. He didn't have a clear memory of exactly how he felt after the first time he'd had sex. But he was positive that he looked just like that. The goofy smile, that was. Not the face-half-covered-in-cum part. He felt his own face. It was still wet from her squirting on him while she sat on him. Not stallion cum, anyway. 

"That's so neat," she said, looking at his crotch. His thoroughly-spent erection was quickly retreating and vanished into his sheath. "Bye bye," she whispered, waving with her hoof farewell to his penis before she flopped back on her back.

"So," Night Light said, "Can we count on you coming back next summer?" he asked. She smiled.

"If you're going to be here, I'm definitely going to be cumming again," she said, putting emphasis into the innuendo.

"Cadance, we can't," he said sternly. "You're my daughter-er's foalsitter. And I'm married. I love my wife." Cadance's grin wilted.

"I know. I can tell," she said. She rubbed her flank with her hoof. "It's kind of my special talent." She licked some of his cum from her lips. "One of them, anyways."

"Sheesh," Night groaned.

"I know you love each other. I can sense it," Cadance said. "Your love for each other is..." she narrowed her eyes in concentration, "special. I've never sensed another love like it."

"Yeah, it's certainly something," he said, knowing exactly what made his marital relationship so unique.

"But I also sensed your love for me, as well," she added. "You love me, but it isn't like the lustful kind I sense from horny stallions that just want to lay a pretty mare. It's... genuine love. It's caring and sweet and kind. It's a benevolent love that would have you do anything for me," she said. She frowned in disgust with herself. "Including letting me take advantage of it," she said, suddenly feeling very ashamed. With her heat sated, it came with a harsh sobriety.

"Hey, it's okay," he said.

"Of course you would say that," she said. "You really are too kind. But I did take advantage of you. I was a desperate mare, and I lusted after you like I was no better than one of those horny stallions."

"It's our nature. Nopony is immune to feeling that way," he said.

"I just wanted my first time to be with somepony who really cared about me. Not just somepony that wanted to be a prince or whatever. Just somepony... nice." She looked at him. He looked back at her. His older eyes were deep with the understanding wisdom of his years. "Thank you," she said at last. She leaned over and hugged him. He hugged her back.

"You're welcome. But we really can't do this again," he said. He winced at his own words. "No matter how much we might want to."

"I know." She let go and sat at the edge of the bed. "We absolutely can't do it again... after tonight," she implied.

"Yes exactly- wait, what are you getting at?" he asked. She nudged her shoulder against him.

"Well I'm still curious about feeling you cum inside," she said.

"Absolutely not. I'm not risking that," he said. Cadance rolled her eyes.

"If Celestia found out that I got pregnant, I think I would be more in trouble than you," Cadance said.

"I highly doubt that," he said.

"Well, what I meant was, I'm still curious about feeling you cum in my ass," she said with a seductive grin.

"No. We can't," he said, trying to get up from the couch bed. She held his hoof. 

"He seems to like the idea," Cadance said, looking down at his erection returning. Night Light looked down at his growing dick, betraying his effort to ignore his lustful urges.

Traitor.

He looked at the clock. "It's getting late," he said. Cadance moved in front of him and backed her butt up to his vertical pole. She slid her wet marehood against it. "And  before we go to sleep," he continued trying to resist "in separate beds, we each need to take a shower." She just looked back at him as she pressed her anus against his tip a little harder. She looked toward the bathroom and then fluttered her eyelashes at him while she brushed the tip with her puckered plot hole.

"Can't you multitask?" she asked, pulling his hoof toward the shower.





The next morning, Velvet put a plate of pancakes on the breakfast table for Twilight and Shining while Night Light helped Cadance fold up the sofa bed. Cadance joined the others at the table and gently sat down on her chair. Night Light cut up the pancakes and took a mouthful. Velvet looked across the table at Cadance, curious to ask how the princess had slept.

"How was the pull-out?"

Night Light nearly choked.
> Bath Time 2: Bathe Harder
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The last day of Princess Cadance foal-sitting for the Sparkle family was bittersweet. But true to her word, she promised Twilight that she would talk to Celestia about coming back the following summer. They walked with her to the front door. It was raining out that day. She opened her umbrella and flew away. She had wings after all. The umbrella didn't make her fly. She wasn't a Trottingham nanny after all.

Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor had been home-schooled for their entire lives up to that point. Velvet was an adept teacher and ran a rigorous curriculum for both of her little ponies. Twilight was a very advanced learner in both her academic understanding and maturity. It was not uncommon for her to be helping her older brother with his assignments. But this school year would be different. Twilight Sparkle began going to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. And Shining Armor started his courses at the Canterlot Junior Guard Academy. 

Twilight was delighted to have unfettered access to the Canterlot Library. Her capacity to learn knew no limits. However, the social climate of a school was nearly invisible to the studious mare. Each day she would go to class, come home, and do her homework. And then she would study ahead for the class, or in some other subject entirely. Shining, for his part, fit right into the academy. He was athletic, and charismatic with the other young stallions. His academics were only just above average, but that was okay. As the saying went, 'muscles are required, intelligence not expected'.

The biggest difference though, was while Twilight came home from school every day, Shining did not. He was staying in the academy's residence dormitories with the other cadets. The family came to visit him for Hearth's Warming Eve, but he was there until summer break. Shining felt that it couldn't come fast enough as he and the other cadet stood at attention. They were in formation in the sweltering heat of mid June, while the Academy Commandant gave his closing speech for the year. When he finished, they were released for the summer. 

"Dismissed!" the Commandant shouted. The formation of cadets scattered.

"Freeeedom!" Shining Armor screamed, undressing himself from the hot uniform as he ran from the harsh sunlight. They all ran back to their dorm rooms to pack the last of their things. The pegasi cadets flooded into the air. The rest headed to the front gate to go... literally anywhere else but there. Most went home. Some went elsewhere. Some had their rides waiting to pick them up. Some took public transportation. Shining's home was close enough for him to walk. He knocked on the front door of his home. Velvet opened the door.

"Shining!" she cheered. She had been expecting him to come home that day, but she wasn't sure exactly when. She was delighted to see him. She tried to hug him. Shining practically pushed his way past Velvet into the house, heading toward the kitchen. Night Light came running to see him. 

"Dad, do you have any molasses seltzer? It's insane what you miss in military school!" Shining said.

"Um, what?" 

"No, you're right. I'll take a cider." Shining reached into the fridge and opened a bottle of cider and started to drink it.

"Welcome home!" Velvet said. "How was-"

Shining held up his hoof to pause her speaking as he continued to chug.

bloop - bloop - bloop

"Wow. Really?"

bloop - bloop - 

"Ahhh," Shining sighed. He walked past them back out of the kitchen and up to his old bedroom. They followed after him. "Listen, I love you guys, and I miss you too, but can we do this tomorrow?" he asked. He walked over to his bed and fell face-first onto the bed. The pillow was flat. The mattress was older than he was. The springs were gone and the whole thing was uneven, hard and lumpy. It was, by all accounts... "By the stars! This is the most comfortable thing I've ever felt in my life!" he said before passing out. ...far better than an academy cot.

Velvet moved to wake him. Night Light stopped her.

"Let him be. He needs it. Trust me," Night said, recalling his own experiences in Guard training.

"It's three in the afternoon!" Velvet said. He nodded.

"And we'll wake him for breakfast tomorrow," he said.

"What about dinner tonight?" she said.

"We'll have another one tomorrow," he said, closing the bedroom curtains with his magic. "Let him sleep." They closed the door and went back downstairs. Shining's bag was still on the living room floor where he dropped it. Velvet walked over to it.

"Well, I can at least help him unpack," she said, opening his bag. Her head flailed back as though she had just received an uppercut. "ACH!" she gagged as the odor from his laundry hit her in the face. "I've opened diapers from him that smelled better!" she groaned, closing the bag back up and bringing it to the laundry room.

"You spoil him," Night said. "I always had to do my own laundry."

"And he will too," she said, dumping the bag into the machine. "But I'm not letting this sit around in my home like this for another minute!" The front door opened.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Twilight said. Night Light walked into the living room to greet her.

"Welcome home, sweetie. How was your last day of school?" he asked.

"About the same," Twilight said, unenthusiastic. "I can't wait until next year when we can learn about more advanced things."

"Well, it's summer break now, so enjoy it!" he said.

"I know! Now that I don't have to worry about homework, I can spend more time to study the things that I really want!"

"Well, I meant a break from studying in general," Night said. "Maybe just go outside, and play with your friends."

"Pfft. Friends?" Twilight scoffed. "Sure. We can all sit around and talk about how pretty our manes are or we could all go out for hooficures!" she mocked.

"Um... yes?"

"Where's Mom?"

"I'm in here!" Velvet called from the laundry room. "I'll be out in a minute." Night Light looked at his daughter.

"Well I bet there's at least one pony you're looking forward to seeing this summer," he said. 

"Cadance?" Twilight asked.

"Um, well, we'll see," he said. "What I meant was that Shining's home." Her face lit up.

"He is!? Where!?" Twilight asked.

"He's upstairs-" Twilight ran up the stairs. "He's sleeping!" Twilight opened the door to Shining's bedroom. He hadn't moved from where he fell face-down on his bed. He only turned his head toward the wall a bit to be able to breath. Night Light appeared beside Twilight. "He's very tired," he whispered. "Leave him be until tomorrow."

"Okay." They closed the door and went back downstairs.




Dinner was the same as it had been since the previous autumn, with just the three of them eating quietly. The parental questions about her last day of school were met with the usual fare of 'fine's and 'nothing's from the adolescent mare. After dinner, Twilight went to her bedroom to read, as she usually did. She could spend the entire evening at her bedroom desk with her nose buried in a book or three.

"Don't stay up too late," Velvet said to Twilight. She didn't even look up.

"I won't," Twilight said. Velvet went to her own bedroom to go to sleep. After some time, Twilight's candle was nearly out of wax. She searched her desk for a replacement. The light burned out before she could find one. The room became an eerie blue from the moonlight coming into her window. She considered the late hour that it was. She realized that she needed to get some sleep, or else tomorrow she would be just as tired as... Shining Armor. 

Twilight felt a rush of excitement when she remembered that he was home. She hadn't seen him in many months. She looked to her bedroom door, got up from her desk and carefully walked in the dim light to open it. She walked out into the hallway, down one door to her brother's bedroom. Beyond that was their parent's bedroom. She silently opened his door and slipped inside. She opened the blinds to let the moonlight in. 

She moved closer to him and sat in the chair beside his bed. He was still exactly as she'd last seen him. He hadn't moved one bit. He was dead to the world, but for the slight movement of his torso breathing. She just sat there for a bit and watched him sleep. They had both grown quite a bit in the last year. But for him, it was especially noticeable. His lean colt frame had been transformed into a muscular stallion physique. His chest, back, and legs all had tone muscle definition that hadn't been there when they had parted last. 

She could still smell his sweat from his walk home in the summer heat, even though his mane was plastered down from when it dried. It was hardly what she would have called a nice smell. But even so, there was something about it that attracted her to lean closer. She didn't notice her own tail lifting just a bit.

"Shining?" she said, trying to rouse him, without being loud enough to also wake her parents. "Shining?"

"Nggh... yes sir..." he mumbled in his sleep. "...general order... Wonderbolts... phalanx..."

He must have been having a dream about still being at the academy, Twilight reasoned. She watched the way his face twisted into a frown. It didn't seem like a nice dream. Twilight remembered whenever she would have a bad dream, she would come to sleep in his bed. She always felt so safe when he held her. She never had a bad dream when she slept in his bed. It seemed time to return the favor. She climbed into his bed and tried to push him over a little.

"Move over," she said.

"Ngh... proceeding sir..." he rolled over onto his back, giving her room to lay down beside him. She laid down beside him. Her head was uncomfortable without a pillow. She scooted over closer beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. Her nose was regrettably close to his arm pit. He smelled like a locker room. It reminded her of when she was forced to play sports with her classmates at Celestia's school. But just beneath that, there was something else. It was hard for her to identify. It reminded her of playing on the swing set with him when they were foals. It smelled like sweat, yes. But it was his sweat. It smelled like nostalgic happiness. It smelled like safety. It smelled like Shiny.

But it also still smelled like a locker room. She grimaced and turned to lay with her back to him as she had after a bad dream when they were younger. But she missed the comforting weight of his hoof draped across her body. She reached behind her and took his hoof with her, pulling it across her body. He rolled toward her and she felt his broad chest against her back. She could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck. She felt his hoof hold her a little tighter as he pressed his nose into her mane.

"Mmm... Twilie..." he breathed. Twilight could see from the corner of her eye that his frown had vanished.

No more bad dreams, she thought, smiling herself. Mission accomplished.




"Are you sure you've got this?" Velvet asked the next morning as Night Light made breakfast.

"Trust me, Honey, I know exactly what he's going to want when he wakes up," Night said, cracking several eggs into a large bowl. "I'm going to make that stallion the most baller omelette he's ever known!" 

"Okay. Well I'm going to go get him and Twilight out of bed," Velvet said. Velvet walked upstairs and opened Twilight's door. Her bed was vacant. The first time she'd found her bed empty in the morning, she was positively hysterical with panic. But that, and every subsequent time, meant that she'd had a bad dream. And there was only one place she'd be. Velvet walked to Shining's bedroom and opened his door. Sure enough, she was there. 

But she felt a fresh rush of panic this time. Twilight was laying in his bed, and he was laying behind her with his hoof draped across her as he normally did whenever she'd had a bad dream. But this time it was different. This time there was a third member in the bed. His. Shining's morning wood had caused his erection to sprout forward, through her tail, and appearing out from between Twilight's legs. At first glance, it almost looked like Twilight had a penis.

Velvet restrained herself from immediately yanking Twilight from the bed. She needed to be tactful about this. She very carefully took the still-sleeping Twilight with her magic, and lifted her leg as she pulled her away from him. His penis slid against Twilight's marehood as she did, causing her to whimper a bit in her sleep. His hoof around Twilight resisted letting her go a bit and his shaft throbbed a little. At last his tip brushed past, and his whole shaft snapped back through her tail against his belly with a heavy slap as she pulled her free of his grasp. 

He was still a growing stallion, and it was already nearly as long and thick as his father's. She forced herself to stop looking at it. Both siblings were still asleep as Velvet carefully levitated Twilight back to her own bed and tucked her in. She walked back downstairs as Night Light started to heat up the skillet.

"Are they up?" Night asked. Velvet bit her lip. One of them certainly was.

"No, not yet," she said. "Twilight was in Shining's bed last night."

"Hmm. Another bad dream?" he presumed.

"I don't know. I guess. Maybe," she said. "It's just that... he was hard."

"Hmm?"

"Like, as a stallion... in the morning hard," she said. Night stopped what he was doing for a second.

"Oh... Did she look like- did it look like they... did anything?" he asked.

"No. Everything looked... okay," she said.

"Okay, well then, I wouldn't worry about it," he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure she just had a bad dream, like old times. And he..." Velvet looked at him. "Look, I promise, it's nothing he has any control over. They're both just at that age now. I wouldn't worry about it too much. They gave us- they give the Guard ponies and cadets these 'vitamins' they call them. But it's just a pill that suppresses getting erections like that when you're in training. You know, to avoid that sort of awkwardness. It's probably the first boner he's had in months. The fact that she was in bed with him is just a coincidence." He poured the omelette mixture into the pan. "And besides, you and I talked about this. We agreed that if they decide to... choose each other... that we were okay with that. We would support their decision." He held her hoof. "Right, Sis?" he asked her. His sister smiled and nodded at him.

"Right," she agreed, as she kissed her brother. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said as he kissed her. "Come on. Go wake them up. Breakfast will be ready soon," he said.

"Okay." Velvet walked back upstairs to Shining's bedroom. "Good morning Cadet!" she said, a bit louder than necessary. 

"Ur-porting's zizz ordered!" he groaned and he sat up quickly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His morning wood bobbed in front of him as he sat up at the edge of the bed. "Oh- hey Mom," he yawned and stretched, making no effort to cover himself, still pointing directly in Velvet's direction. "Is it tomorrow already?" he asked. Velvet made a special effort to maintain eye contact, and to avert her eyes from drifting downward at his unknowingly lewd display.

"Uh, yes," Velvet said, trying to be polite. "Breakfast will be ready very soon so get yourself downstairs as soon as your decent."

"Decent?"

"Yes. Uh-" Velvet was about to make a remark about his current state. But as he woke up it quickly began to subside and vanish into his sheath. She spared him the indignation and ignored the whole thing. "You still smell like sweat from yesterday. So after breakfast, you desperately need a bath!"

"Yeah, yeah, fine. I get it. I will," he said. Velvet was about to leave to wake Twilight. "Hey um, what about Twilight?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can she take a bath with me?" he asked.

"What!?"

"Well, you said that we couldn't take baths together anymore because I had my cutie mark and she didn't. But she does now. So we should be able to, right? That was what you said."

"What!? No!" she blurted. His face turned into angry confusion. "I mean, yes I did say that. But you can't..." Velvet trialed off as she remembered what Night said.

"We would support their decision."

"Bu- But you can't... uh, unless Twilight wants to... that is," she resigned.

"Well, yeah, duh, of course," he said. "I would never force her to do anything she didn't want to." Velvet just nodded and left, feeling equal parts of both shame and pride. She walked to Twilight's room.

"Twilight, breakfast!" Velvet said. Twilight's eyes fluttered open. She turned suddenly and pawed at the empty space behind her in bed. Velvet knew what she was looking for, but remained silent. Twilight recognized her own room. Velvet could see her perplexed expression shift as she mentally dismissed her confusion for whatever rational explanation she arrived at.

"I'll be right down," Twilight said and she sat up. 

Velvet headed back downstairs and set the table. Shining came down shortly after and sat in his seat, quickly serving himself a heap of food. He ignored his own silverware and used the serving spoon to eat with. Velvet sighed and rolled her eyes, getting a fresh spoon for everypony else.

"You could at least wait for your sister," Velvet said as she and Night Light sat down.

"Are you sure you really want her to see this?" Night Light said, motioning to Shining. It had been some time since Velvet had seen such a vulgar display. She'd trained Night Light to eat politely over the years. But Shining Armor was fresh from eating in the Academy chow hall. He barely chewed. He swallowed the food as fast as he could shovel it into his mouth. His jaw practically unhinged like a snake.

"Like father like damn son..." Velvet groaned, as she started cutting up her own omelette. Shining had practically hoovered his entire meal by the time Twilight got downstairs. Velvet made sure to put breakfast some aside for Twilight before Shining ate that too. "If you're still hungry, you can gnaw on this raw potato," Velvet joked. Shining wasn't laughing. He took the potato from her and took a big bite out of it. "Oh... wow."

"Yeah, I'd mind your hooves around him at 'feeding time' unless you want to lose one," Night warned her. Twilight and her parents ate their breakfast. Shining finished chewing up the rest of the potato, his voracious appetite seemingly sated for the moment.

"Hey Twilie, Mom says I need to take a bath after breakfast," Shining said. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Well... she's not wrong," she said, holding her nose for dramatic effect.

"Do you want to join me?" Shining asked. Night Light nearly choked on his food. True, he and Velvet had agreed to be permissive of such things. But he was still a bit taken aback by the blunt forwardness of Shining invitation. Not to mention the complete lack of subtlety with the rest of the present company. It seemed he wasn't the only one.

"What?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Do you want to take a bath with me after breakfast?" he asked again.

"But... why? Mom says we're old enough to take baths on our own," she said. Velvet just kept her eyes on her plate.

"Yeah, I know. But I miss you. I just thought it would be fun. Like old times," he said.

"Um, okay. Sure," Twilight said. She wasn't weirded out by the idea, nor was she exceptionally excited by it. The request had little more impact to her than if he offered to share a carriage ride with her someplace. It was like it was a completely normal thing for him to ask her.

"Normal doesn't exist," Velvet remembered. It only seemed strange to her because society had taught her to think that way. It wasn't strange to them. For them, this was normal. They were happy. They got along so well together. Which was more than Velvet could say for most other families' siblings she knew. 

"You could probably use the help getting cleaned anyway," Twilight teased him as she finished eating. 

Once everypony was finished and the dishes were done, Shining headed into the bathroom to begin drawing a bath. Twilight stood beside him as the water filled.


"So we're really just going to... let them?" Velvet whispered, peering toward the bathroom. "Let this happen?"

"Well it's too late, now," Night said.


Shining Armor finished filling the bath tub and stepped in, making sure that the water was the right temperature. He sat down in the water and moved to the back of the tub to make room for Twilight. 

"No bubbles?" Twilight asked. Shining rolled his eyes.

"We're not foals anymore. We don't need to make it a bubble bath," he said. Twilight shrugged and stepped into the tub, sitting in front of him with his legs on either side of her. Shining grabbed the pitcher and filled it with water. "Lean back?" he directed. Twilight did as he said and leaned back as he poured the water through her mane, careful to keep it from going into her eyes. He dumped the next pitcher into his own mane with far less finesse. He brushed his wet bangs from his face and took the bottle of shampoo from the tub shelf.

"Hmm," Twilight hummed as he worked the shampoo into her mane, getting a good lather. "That feels really good. I forgot how nice this was," she said as she slid closer to him.

"I know. I've missed this too," he said, rubbing his hooves through her mane. Before long, the warm water did as it always does to the stallion. His erection grew from his crotch. Shining was used to it happening and paid it no attention as he continued to wash her mane. "Time to rinse. Lean back," he said. Twilight closed her eyes leaned back again as he rinsed the shampoo from her mane. As he rinsed the last of it, she felt something pressing into her back.

"What is that?" she asked, with her eyes still closed. She reached back with her hoof and grasped his penis.

"That's me, sorry," Shining said. Twilight wiped her eyes with her hooves and turned to look at what he was talking about. She saw his penis sticking up out of the water and resting against her back. The base was light grey, and a light pink above the medial ring, mottled with patches that were the same dark blue as his mane.

"Oh," she said.

"Yeah," he sighed. "It just does that sometimes." Their anatomical differences were never a secret. Even when Shining wasn't aroused, they could both plainly see that he had balls and a sheath where Twilight had... neither. But their parents were the same way. So each just accepted it as what made colts different from fillies, with little other inquiry. But this new development was more intriguing for both of them.

"Why does it do that?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "It just happens sometimes. Like when I take a bath or when I first wake up in the morning it's like this. But then it goes away."

"Oh." Twilight stood up and turned around to face him, sitting in front of him with her legs over his around his waist. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"No. it just... it's just there, until it goes away." he said, feeling a little self-conscious. "If it's weird or gross, I can turn around if you want. It's your turn to do my mane anyway."

"No, it's not gross... I don't mind," she said, still staring down at it. "It's just... neat."

"Neat?"

"Well sure. I don't have one so, yeah, it's neat to me," she said. He and Twilight both looked down at her crotch in front of his, blurred just below the water's surface. She leaned back and reached down with her hooves to spread her lips a little. "I don't have anything like that. Just this... boring thing." She took her hooves from herself and sat back up, looking at his thing again. "What does it feel like?"

"It doesn't really feel like anything. It's just sort of... there," he said.

"No, I mean- it doesn't have any fur. What does it feel like to touch it?" she asked.

"Like... skin."

"Can I touch it?" she asked.

"Um, I- I guess. If you want to," he said. Twilight reached out with her hoof and touched the rounded tip. It twitched from her contact.

"Eep! It moved!" she said.

"Yeah, it can do that too," he said.

"Wow. So it's like having two tails," she said.

"I guess. But this one is for pee."

"What about those?" she asked, pointing at his balls under the water.

"I think those are just decorative," he said. She reached down and held one in her hoof. "Ow!" She let go immediately. "They're really sensitive. It's easy to hurt them," he explained.

"Ooh! Sorry!" Twilight apologized. She kept her hooves to herself as they both just sat there and looked at Shining's genitals.

"So are you going to wash my mane before the water gets cold?" he asked.

"Yes. Right!" Twilight said. She took the bottle of shampoo and put some into her hooves. She moved closer and reached around him to start scrubbing his mane.

"This is nice," Shining said with her hooves around him. Her cheek was against his.

"Yeah, it's like a hug," Twilight agreed. Shining wrapped his hooves around her and pulled her closer to him, pinning his erection between their bellies.

"Is this...?"

"It's fine," she assured him as she felt his penis against her stomach. While she scrubbed his mane, he lathered her fur on her back with soap. "Mmm," Twilight purred, enjoying his hooves on her back, the warmth of the water, and the tender intimacy of the hug.

Velvet opened the bathroom door.

"Hey, how much longer are you-" her voice hitched in her throat as she saw Twilight sitting in Shining's lap. His guaranteed bath erection was nowhere to be seen. Shining turned to look at her. As he twisted his body, his penis moved out from between their bodies. Velvet sighed. She was not ready for that yet.

"What?" Shining asked.

"What?" Velvet asked back, forgetting what she was even going to say.

"You were asking how much longer are we... something," Twilight said.

"Oh. Yes. I was- I was wondering- I wanted to know how much longer you were going to be," Velvet said. Shining and Twilight looked at each other and shrugged.

"I don't know. A while, I guess. We're in no rush," he said.

"Yeah. This is nice," Twilight said. "Why?"

"It's just that... I needed to pee. So I was hoping that you two would wrap things up so I could use the bathroom," Velvet said.

"Go ahead," Shining said. His time in the military school shower room had eliminated all sense of privacy from him.

"Yeah, it's nothing I haven't seen before," Twilight said.

"Yeah, nothing neither of us haven't seen before," Shining said, pointing at Twilight's crotch.

"O...kay," Velvet blanched, unprepared for this outcome. They both more-or-less ignored her and went back to washing each other.

It's only weird if you make it.

Velvet walked over to the toilet and took a seat. She lifted her tail up out of the way and draped it across her lap in an effort to at least keep some semblance of her own modesty. The otherwise quiet bathroom was filled with the stark water stream sound of Velvet's relief. It seemed especially loud to her in that moment with an audience, certain that they could hear her. But as she sat there, they paid her no particular attention. With everything else, it just seemed like one more natural thing in this unnatural household.

She was struck by just how natural the two of them looked in their embrace. But for his penis wedged between them, it was otherwise very innocent-looking. The two of them washing each other as they hugged. It was tender, loving, and sweet. Shining looked over at his mom, still sitting there after she had finished.

"Um, if that's going to turn into number two, you better warn us now," he said.

"What? No." Velvet quickly wiped herself and flushed, getting up to leave.

"Wait! Mom would know!" Twilight said. "Mom!" Velvet stopped at the doorway and turned back around.

"Yes... dear?" Velvet asked. Twilight leaned to the side and held Shining's penis. He didn't even flinch.

"Why does this... do this?" Twilight asked of his current erection in her hooves. Shining turned around as Twilight continued to hold his dick.

"Yeah, why?" he also asked.

"Tha- that is... uh, a good question!" Velvet stammered.

"Do you not know?" Twilight asked.

"No, I- I do. B-but I... I'm going to need your father's help to answer it," she said, trying to buy some time.

"Oh. That makes sense, since he has one too, right?" Twilight said.

"Uh, yes. That is correct. So that makes him the expert," Velvet said.

"Can he come tell us then?" Shining asked.

"Uh, no," Velvet said. "Why don't you rinse off and get out."

"And then you'll tell us?" Twilight asked, rinsing herself off and stepping out to towel off.

"I... guess," Velvet resigned. Shining rinsed off and let the water out of the tub. Velvet gave him a towel before she walked back to the kitchen. She sat at the table next to Night Light, who was reading a newspaper.

"So how did that go?" he asked. Velvet put her face into her hooves.

"They invited me to pee while they washed each other with his boner between them. And now we have to give them 'The Talk' together."

"Hmm, wow." Night Light said, turning the page of the newspaper. "So your autobiography is just going to be one long series of what-the-fuck moments, huh?"

"Apparently," she groaned.
> Old School Home Schooled
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you and I are going to give both of them 'The Talk', together?" Night Light asked. Twilight Velvet nodded.

"Twilight is old enough to know and understand," Velvet said "Shining is home for the summer, and they're both getting curious about each other. We should at least educate them about what they're feeling and doing before they... have to learn a hard lesson from a mistake," she said, putting emphasis into the word. Night Light gulped. "I'm not ready to be a grandmare yet."

"Yeah. I hear that," Night agreed. "So when do you want to do this?"

"Hey Dad," Shining said, walking into the kitchen. Twilight was close behind him. "We have a question for you!"

"Right now, apparently," Velvet muttered.

"Why does Shining's 'thing' get hard?" Twilight asked. Night Light looked at his son.

"Do... you... not know?" he asked. Shining shook his head. A late bloomer, indeed, Night thought. He had never made a point to consider the nature of his son's 'personal time' before. By the time Night was Shining's age, he had already 'discovered' himself. But then again, Night hadn't gone to the Royal Guard Junior Academy as early as Shining had. So he had more time to spend on 'research' before he was given libido-suppression medicine in the Guard training. Even so, it was staggering for Night to think that Shining was as old as he was without ever having learned to masturbate.

"It just gets like that when I first wake up, and when I take a bath," Shining said.

"I'm curious too, even though I don't have one," Twilight said. Night Light looked at his daughter. He'd always said that she was too smart for her own good.

"And you've never read anything about it?" Night asked. Twilight shook her head.

"We aren't going to be studying anatomy at school for a few years, and I haven't studied that far ahead on my own yet," Twilight said. Night rubbed his forehead.

"Okay. Wow. I guess we need to just start completely from scratch," he said. "So, starting with some basic terminology. Your brother's 'thing' is actually called a-"

"Um, why don't we head upstairs to the classroom to learn about this?" Velvet suggested. 

"Okay!" Shining and Twilight both said, running upstairs. As a home-school teacher, the 'classroom' was the master bedroom. The kitchen ceiling shook as they both jumped on their parents' bed.

"What are you doing?" Night asked Velvet.

"It just seems like that's the place for this sort of discussion, rather than the kitchen," Velvet said. "You know, in case they're visual learners." 

"What exactly are you planning?" Night asked nervously. "Do you really expect us to... do that in front of them?" Velvet shrugged. 

"Night, honestly, what other lines are there left to cross!?" she asked. "You've already done it with Cadance..." His face turned red as he rubbed his forehead and sighed in defeat.

"Fuck it! Two tickets to Tartarus, please." He got up from the table and they walked to the stairs. Velvet held his hoof.

"We're just going to be direct, and honest. We're a no-Santa-Paws family, right?" she asked.

"No Santa Paws," he agreed. They walked up to their bedroom. Shining and Twilight were waiting patiently on their bed. "Alright you two, move down to the end of the bed," Night said. Shining and Twilight did as they were told. Night and Velvet moved their pillows aside and sat opposite them, at the head of the bed.

"Class time," Velvet said, as she did while she was home-schooling them.

"Yay!" Twilight cheered. Normally, Shining would melodramatically groan about home-school class time. But today, while not as vocally enthusiastic as his sister, he was genuinely interested about the subject they would be learning.

"So you're going to teach us why his thing gets hard?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Velvet said. "But it's part of a much bigger question: 'Where do foals come from'?" Shining had seen a few pregnant mares in his time. He understood the vague connection that it meant that they were going to have a foal.

"From moms," Shining said. "Pregnant moms."

"That's correct," Velvet said. "But there is a lot more to it than that. You see, when a mare and a stallion love each other, and the mare decides that she wants a foal, she and a stallion... have sex."

"Sex?" Shining asked.

"Is that a food? Is it like cake?" Twilight asked.

"No. It's something that ponies do, like 'have a party'," Velvet explained.

"Oh," Twilight said.

"How do you have sex?" Shining asked. As much as she had expected it, nothing could really have prepared Velvet for the directness of the question.

"Well... uh," Velvet tried to think. "Sex is... a lot like dancing. There are are a lot of ways to do it, and there are different kinds of sex. But most of them have the same basic parts. And speaking of parts, let's get back to that terminology." Velvet looked at Night Light, encouraging him to participate in the discussion.

"Uh, okay, right." He cleared his throat. "As I was saying downstairs, your brother's 'thing' is called a penis."

"A penis," Twilight repeated, looking over at her brother's crotch. His penis was still hidden away inside his sheath.

"What about Twilight?" Shining asked.

"Your sister has a vagina," Velvet explained. Shining looked over at Twilight's crotch. But the way she was sitting hid it from his view. Likewise, Twilight was still looking at his. Specifically at his balls. 

"What about the other things?" she asked.

"Those are called testicles," Night said.

"Why don't fillies have them?" Twilight asked.

"Well fillies do have something like testicles," Velvet said. "They're called ovaries. And they're inside you." Velvet placed her hooves on her own abdomen to show approximately where they would be inside her. "When a mare is ready to have a foal, she goes into heat. And then-"

"Ooh! They get the itchies!" Twilight said. "That's why we take the medicine." 

"That's right," Velvet said. As a mare now, Twilight was in the midst of her first heat that summer. Velvet made sure to give her her own supply of Beat the Heat potion for her season. She explained that it helped to get rid of the 'itchies' she was feeling 'down there'.

"When a mare is ready to have a foal, she goes into heat," Velvet continued. "Her vagina will feel hot, and itchy sometimes. It can be very uncomfortable for a mare. It can cloud her judgement, and make her act without thinking. The medicine helps with that."

"A mare in heat also makes pheromones," Night Light said.

"Farra-whats?" Shining asked.

"Pheromones. They're like a perfume that a mare makes." Night said. "It smells really nice to a stallion, and helps a mare to attract a mate."

"Like incest!" Twilight said.

"W-what!?" Night Light blanched.

"Ants use faro-moans to make paths and communicate with the colony," she said.

"Oh, insects! Yes, that's correct," Night said. "A mare makes pheromones in her skin, fur, and mane. But mostly, stallions are attracted to the pheromones from her vagina."

"Colts want to smell my butt?" Twilight asked. Velvet laughed out loud at how silly, yet accurate the statement was.

"Yeah, pretty much," she chuckled. "But that is how a stallion will know that a mare is ready to have a foal. And the stallion will get an erection, which is what it's called when his penis gets hard like that."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Because that is how a stallion has sex," Velvet said. She rubbed her hoof into her pussy. She found that she was more turned on from the talk than she would have cared to admit. She took her wet hoof and rubbed Night's nose with it.

"Hey!" Night said in surprise. Velvet just put her wet hoof in his open mouth, flooding both of his senses. Shining and Twilight both laughed. But the effect was practically immediate. Night Light's penis began to emerge from his sheath. He tried to instinctively cover himself, but Velvet kept him still.

"Oh, wow." Twilight said, watching in awe as it grew before her very eyes.

"As you can see, your father smelled my pheromones, and now he has an erection," Velvet explained. It was an understatement. He was rock hard and beet red with embarrassment being put on display before them like that. "Once a stallion has an erection, he places his penis inside the mare's vagina-"

"But I poop from there!" Twilight said. Velvet couldn't help but laugh again.

"No, Twilight, you don't poop from your vagina. It's a different thing. You, uh, it's uh-" Velvet tried to shift in her seat. "Sweetie, can you help? Turn around."

"Uh, okay..." He stood on the bed and faced away from them. His erection bobbed beneath him as he did. Velvet stood to join him and also turned around. Her magic pulled both of their tails aside.

"You see, you're father and I both have a poop hole. It's called an anus, and everypony has one. Everypony poops."

"Even Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, yes. She poops from her butt," Night said.

"So a stallion puts his penis in a mare's anus?" Shining asked.

"Well... you can..." Night said with a grin. Velvet gave him an admonishing slap.

"Can we just stick to the basics!?" Velvet said.

"Okay. Fine," he said.

"Aaanyways!" Velvet tried to get the discussion back on track. "Below a mare's anus is her vagina," Velvet said as she looked back at the two students. Night Light moved back and pointed at Velvet's vagina with his hoof.

"But I pee from there!" Twilight said. Velvet stifled her giggle.

"Sort of," Velvet said, looking at Night. "Dear?" Night Light placed a hoof on the side of her marehood and pulled it open a bit. "There are actually two holes. The small one, below, is called the urethra. That's where pee comes from. But next to that is the other hole. That's the vagina. During sexual intercourse, the stallion puts his penis into the vagina," Velvet explained. At the other end of the bed, Twilight leaned closer and squinted at her mother's vagina. Then she looked at her father's penis.

"But something so big can't fit in there," Twilight said in doubt. Night Light blushed with pride.

"It can fit," Velvet assured her. "The vagina is a flexible muscle that can stretch open for a penis to enter. But it helps if both parts are lubricated. Which leads us to foreplay."

"Because there's four of us?" Shining asked. Velvet rolled her eyes.

"No. Foreplay is a type of sex that happens before intercourse," Velvet said, putting emphasis into the word. She and Night Light both turned around to face their kids and sat down. Night's erection was hard as ever with Velvet's scent still smeared on his nose and her ongoing demonstration of her anatomy. "As I said, the main purpose is to help each of the parts get wet so that they can be put together more easily."

"Like grease on a carriage wheel," Night said.

"But you wouldn't use grease for this," Velvet said.

"You use water, duh!" Twilight said.

"Actually, water would be a poor choice too," Velvet said. "Most ponies use saliva, which is spit."

"You spit on it?" Shining asked.

"You can," Night said. "If you're using your hoof, by yourself." He looked at Velvet. "But that's not as much fun."

"A mare can do it for the stallion like this," Velvet said as she leaned over and began to lick Night's penis.

"Eww!" Twilight recoiled. "You're licking his peepee!" Velvet laughed a little at her innocent term for it.

"Well yes, some parts of sex seem gross at first. But it really is okay to lick a stallion's penis," Velvet said. "Your father is a clean pony, and this is perfectly fine when a stallion has good hygiene." She resumed licking and moved her head up to the tip and began sucking his dick. 

"This type of sex is called oral sex," Night Light said as Velvet sucked him off. "Because she's using her mouth. Sometimes you can have just oral sex, without going any furtherhuhuuh!" Night gasped as Velvet began to swallow his penis. Twilight watched in awe at the bulge moving down her throat until her nose bumped into his belly.

Shining was barely paying attention. He was too preoccupied with looking under Velvet's tail. Her rump pointed at him while she was sucking on Night Light. He leaned closer to get a better look. He recognized the smell of his mother's shampoo in her tail but there was something else. He hadn't the vocabulary to describe it, besides 'pheromones'. That was even if his conscious mind recognized it. To him, it just smelled really good, even if he didn't fully understand why. But the effect was obvious as he quickly sprouted to a full erection.

"Sweetie, there's no need to show off," Night Light breathed. Velvet held herself there with his cock in her throat for just a moment before pulling off of him completely to catch her breath. She sat back down beside him to face the students. "The important part to remember is to keep your teeth off of it," Night said to Twilight.

"What does it feel like?" Shining asked.

"Really good!" Night said without hesitation.

"Can you do it to me?" Shining asked, pointing at his own rigid penis. Night Light and Velvet were both equally unprepared for the request, each deferring to the other.

"Well, uh, I don't think..."

"Uh, well, we really shouldn't..."

"Please?" Shining begged. Night Light winced. He remembered what it felt like to be his age. Shining was painfully erect. Both parents looked at each other with the same unsure hesitation, but they both shrugged with the same neutral absence of objection.

"I mean, I guess..."

"If it's alright with you..."

After years of marriage, each had the ability to read the thoughts behind the other's expression. After all, it had been Velvet that convinced Night to do anything for their daughter, Cadance. And Night that had actually done it. But while Cadance was none the wiser to the true nature of the interaction, Shining and Twilight were perfectly aware that these were their parents. It was a situation that needed to be handled very carefully. It was only weird if they make it.

"Um, okay..." Velvet said at last as she moved over towards Shining. He sat there, eagerly pointing his penis at her. He was still a growing colt, but it was already nearly as big as Night's. Night did not fail to notice this fact as well, feeling a mixture of both pride and shame. "But before we go any further, I need to explain something very important to both of you," she said. They both gave her their undivided attention. "Ponies that go to public school don't learn about this stuff in this way. Just books and pictures."

"This is better!" Shining assured her.

"Thank you, dear," Velvet replied. "But it is also very unusual. You need to understand that normal ponies do not do this sort of thing with their family members."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"That's just the rule," Velvet said. "We're only showing you this now because you're home-schooled, and we want to teach you about it. But ponies would think that this sort of thing would be wrong for us to do together like this."

"But why? It doesn't seem wrong to me," Twilight said.

"Yeah, me either," Shining agreed. Velvet struggled to grapple with her own internal conflicts regarding her own morality on the matter and that of popular opinion at large. Her own inherent rationalist personality weighed against her desire for objectivity. 

"Okay, but, this sort of thing is like pineapple on pizza," Velvet said. "You might not think that there is anything wrong with it, but some ponies might. So you mustn't tell anypony about this okay? What happens secretly in our family stays in our family. Okay?"

"Okay," Twilight and Shining both responded.

"Promise?" Velvet asked.

"We promise."

"Okay then," Velvet said. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves as she knelt in front of Shining. She reached out with her hoof and touched his penis. It jerked in reaction to the contact.

"Ooh," he said, feeling the alien sensation on him.

"Well, if you haven't done it before, it is a little sensitive," Night said to him. Velvet touched Shining's penis again, letting him get used to the contact before she wrapped her hoof around it and held it a bit more firmly. She moved her hoof lightly along its surface, sliding over his skin. Shining panted, his heart raced, and his legs trembled.

"Are you ready for a little more?" Velvet asked. Shining nodded. Velvet leaned down and stuck out her tongue, licking up along the underside of his shaft.

"Oohh," Shining whimpered. She licked him again, and ran her tongue across his sensitive tip. Shining chewed his lip to keep from crying out. Velvet opened her mouth and slowly moved it over his tip, gently taking it inside. Shining felt the air rush out of his lungs. It felt so good to have his penis in his mom's mouth. It felt too good. It was so much for him to process. She waited for him, just keeping his penis head inside her mouth, trying not to move too much. At last, Shining sucked in a lungful of air.

Once she had made sure that he wasn't about to pass out, she continued. She moved her tongue inside her mouth along the ridge of his tip, causing his entire body to quiver. Once he settled down, she slowly began to bob her head a little. He began to get used to the sensation. She moved a little deeper. His hips rocked back and forth under her. She felt his hooves grab her mane and pull her deeper, causing her to gag. She slapped his hooves away and sat up.

"No!" she scolded with another cough. "Bad!" Shining recoiled immediately.

"I'm sorry, Mom! I don't know why I did that!" he said, looking genuinely confused himself. "I- I just wanted more, like you did for Dad."

"Okay. It's okay," Velvet assured him. "You just scared me. But you mustn't ever do that. You could hurt somepony like that. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Most mares can't go as deep as your mother, anyway," Night Light said. "So you should never expect it. It takes a lot of talent."

"This is a good time to mention the importance of consent," Velvet said. "You mustn't do anything with, or to, a pony that hasn't given you permission to do so. Always ask first. Especially when it comes to sex!"

"Can you do it some more for me? Please?" Shining begged. "I'll be good, I promise." Velvet sighed.

"Okay. But only because you said 'please'." She knelt in front of him and started sucking his dick again. She angled it toward her a little and lined herself up. She lowered herself down and felt him at the back of her mouth. She relaxed her throat and began to swallow him. Night Light watched his wife swallow Shining's penis in a fairly smooth motion until her nose bumped into his belly. Shining panted like a mare in labor, feeling his penis enveloped in her warm confines. Night's attention was pulled away as he felt his own penis being touched. He looked over at Twilight, sitting beside him, rubbing his penis with her hoof.

"Whoa, sweetie, what are you-"

"I wanna try!" Twilight said. She stuck out her tongue and started to lick his penis.

"Y- you don't have to do that!" he said.

"But I want to!" she said, giving him a pouting face. "Can I have your cunt-scent?"

"Uh... okay," Night said, "You have my consent." She grinned and kept licking him. The entire situation was far from comfortable. But in that moment, he was struggling to find a reason to stop her. Twilight opened her mouth wide and tried to suck on his tip. Night winced as he felt her inexperienced teeth graze against him. "That's... great sweetie," he said, trying to be encouraging. She tried to take a little more, but gagged a bit in the attempt. 

Velvet waited as long as she could, deepthroating Shining until she felt the need for oxygen draw her away. She lifted herself back up. Shining grit his teeth and fought the urge to hold her back down, nearly sitting on his hooves. At last, Velvet let his penis flop free from her mouth. She moved back over to Night Light, tapping Twilight on the shoulder to shoo her away. Velvet looked at Night's glistening penis.

"There, nice and wet," Velvet said. "Now it's my turn." She laid down and spread her legs. "The other kind of oral sex is the kind that a mare receives," she explained. Night Light obediently laid down on his belly between her legs and spread her pussy with his hooves. She was already dripping wet. "Most mares are usually wet enough without this part. But if somepony is nice enough to give you oral sex, it's just common courtesy to reciprocate it." Night Light leaned down and began to lick Velvet's pussy. Twilight didn't have the same disgusted reaction this time. She and Shining both looked on closely with equally intense interest.

"But in addition to being courteous, oral sex for a mare is still very important," Velvet explained while Night Light continued to eat her out. "Even if a mare is already wet enough for intercourse, oral sex is often the only way some mares can achieve an orgasm."

"What's an orgasm?" Twilight asked.

"It's like a little bacteria," Shining said. Velvet grinned.

"No, Shining dear, that's an organism," Velvet corrected. "An orgasm is... it's the best part of sex," Velvet said, feeling one of her own beginning to build up. "Sex feels really good. And it keeps feeling better and better until..." Velvet shut her eyes and trembled as Night Light gave her clitoris a little lick and then a suck. She tried to keep her composure and she came against Night's tongue. He backed off for air, but Velvet grinned and ran her hoof through his mane, pulling his face back into her pussy. "...Until it feels like the best thing ever! That's an orgasm," she breathed.

"You said not to do that," Shining said as Velvet pulled on Night's head. Velvet blushed a bit in embarrassment.

"Yes, you're right. I did say that," Velvet admitted. "And normally that's true. But your father and I have been together for a long time. We trust each other and we know what our limits are. Once you are more comfortable with a pony, you can be a little rougher. But only if they like it. Isn't that right, Dear?" she asked, wiggling her hips into his face.

"Mmhmmf" Night mumbled into Velvet's dripping pussy as he nodded to the affirmative. Shining had never seen his father like this before. Even when his father was having his favorite flavor of ice cream, Shining had never seen him licking something with such tenacity.

"What does it taste like?" Shining asked.

"Good!" Night answered quickly, but rather vaguely. Velvet smiled and rolled her eyes.

"To answer your question a bit more thoroughly, the way that a mare's vagina tastes depends on a number of factors," she said. "Such as what they eat in their diet, if they're in heat, and where they are along their cycle if they are in season."

"So what does yours taste like?" Shining asked. Night Light stopped licking and looked up at Velvet from her crotch.

"Uh..." Night Light looked over at Shining. He was leaning much closer, practically over Night's shoulder. His nostrils were reflexively flaring. He looked back at Velvet. She had the same neutral expression as before. "Uh... I guess, if you're curious," Night said, "you can... try it." Shining practically shoved his dad out of the way and took his place laying down in front of Velvet's pussy. He reached out with his hoof to touch it. Velvet's magic grabbed it.

"Now do you remember how you felt when I touched you? How sensitive it was?" she asked. He looked up at her and nodded. "A mare's parts are the same way. So you need to be gentle, okay?" He nodded again and she let go of his hoof. 

He moved it to touch her pussy. He could feel how warm it was against his hoof. He just ran his hoof along the edge of it, feeling its soft texture. He reached out with his other hoof and gently moved her lips apart, enraptured with the sight alone. He committed every line, every curve to memory. He mentally went over the list in his mind, identifying each of the parts. He leaned closer until Velvet could feel his breath on her marehood. Shining was confident that he could have spent the rest of his life right there, between her legs, looking at this, and smelling its wonderful aroma. But he wanted more. Velvet felt a rush of hot air as he opened his mouth.

It was Velvet's turn to gasp as she felt her son's wet tongue on her hot pussy. She trembled as he gave her a few cautious licks. He stopped for a moment and focused on her flavor in his mouth. It was hard to describe. It wasn't bad. That much he was sure about. But it wasn't like any food he knew. Sweet, savory, bitter, tart? The usual descriptors for food flavors failed him. It was simply without compare. All he knew was that he wanted to taste more of it. He leaned back down and continued licking her.

"Hey Velvet, I think he likes it," Night said, stating the obvious. Velvet wasn't listening. She was miles away. All she could think about was the feeling her son was giving her. Night Light's experience let him give her orgasms with reliable efficiency. He was good at it. Truth be told, he was great at it. But Velvet had grown used to his routine. 

Shining, on the other hoof, was somepony new. He was different. Sure, he was clumsy, inexperienced and sloppy. But he was also unpredictable. Velvet had no way of telling what he was going to kiss, lick, or suck next. He was just randomly trying everything and seeing what worked. It was making her arousal curve climb and fall in erratic spikes and valleys, and it was driving her wild. Night Light moved to stop Shining,

"Alright now, why don't we-" Velvet cut off Night Light by gently, but firmly pushing him away with her magic to let Shining continue. Night Light chewed his lip uncomfortably. He was all for transparency when it came to academic curiosity. Shining wanted to know what she tasted like. Now he did. But Shining didn't want to stop tasting her, and Velvet didn't want him to stop either. Movement caught Shining's attention. Velvet's clit winked out from under it's hood.

"What's that?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he moved up to the top of her pussy and sucked on it. 

"Shining!" Velvet moaned as she went tumbling over the edge of her climax and came into his mouth. Shining was surprised by the sudden rush of her wetness but not deterred, happily lapping it up. Velvet winced as he licked her clit again. It was too soon after she just came. She pushed him away with her hoof at last.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Shining asked. Velvety panted for a moment and tried to compose herself.

"It's okay dear," She said. "You just gave Mommy an orgasm."

"Really? So I did good?" he asked. She smiled and nodded.

"So, what does she taste like?" Twilight asked.

"Good!" Shining answered vaguely with a dumb grin and Velvet's marecum plastered on his face. "Really good!" Twilight raised an eyebrow at him and pushed him aside. She leaned down and gave Velvet's pussy an experimental sniff, followed by a couple brief licks. She sat up and rubbed her own pussy, comparing her mother's scent to her own on her hoof.

"It's good," Twilight said to Velvet. "Mine is a little more..." Twilight trailed off, struggling to find the words. "Well, yours is more... I don't know. It's hard to describe. They're similar. But I like the way yours tastes a little better." Twilight looked at the older pony's vagina again, opening it a bit with her hoof, looking at the rather small opening. "A penis is supposed to fit in there?" she asked. Velvet nodded.

"Like I said, it stretches open," Velvet said. Twilight put the tip of her hoof at Velvet's entrance, getting it wet with her juices. She pushed into it a bit and felt it give way a little. Twilight looked at her hoof. It wasn't as thick as her father's penis. So if his penis was supposed to be able to fit... Twilight pushed her hoof a little more. Velvet felt her hoof stretching her open. "Twilight...?" Twilight kept a steady pressure and moved slowly as more of her hoof went inside. "Twilight, what are you aaaah-" Velvet moaned as the widest part of Twilight's hoof slipped inside of her vagina.

"Oh... wow," Twilight breathed, feeling her mother's hot wetness around her hoof. "Doesn't it hurt?" she asked. Velvet shook her head.

"No. It feels wonderful to have a penis... or something like that in there," Velvet said. She panted as her daughter pushed her hoof deeper inside. Shining and Night Light both watched in awe as more of Twilight's arm vanished inside of Velvet. 

"How deep does this go?" Twilight asked, looking at the bulge her hoof was making in her mother's abdomen. The young mare's hoof wasn't as thick as a stallion's penis yet, but her arm was certainly longer. She laid down and straightened her arm as she pushed her elbow inside.

"Ooh!" Velvet lurched as she felt Twilight's hoof reach her innermost barrier. Twilight stopped and looked at where the bulge of her hoof was in her belly. Shining leaned over and put his hoof on the bulge, feeling his sister's hoof moving around inside. "That's-" Velvet struggled to breathe with the strange sensation she was feeling inside her. "That's the end of the vagina. At the back is the cervix. Thaaaaah!" Velvet moaned out as Twilight rubbed her hoof against Velvet's cervix. "That's the entrance to the uterus, where the foal grows."

"Huh." Twilight slowly pulled her hoof out of Velvet's vagina. She, and the other two looked at how much of her arm was wet. Velvet recovered from Twilight's impromptu hoofing and sat upright. "So how does the foal get in there?" Twilight asked.

"Well, when a mare goes into heat, she releases a tiny egg that is stored in her ovaries. It goes into her uterus. Then a stallion puts his penis into the mare's vagina, and a fluid comes out that goes through the cervix and fertilizes the egg, which grows into a foal."

"A stallion pees inside the mare's vagina?" Shining asked.

"Well... you can," Night said with a wry grin.

"Night! Can we please not get into the advanced stuff!?" Velvet said.

"Hey, you like it!" he said. She blushed.

"That's- That is entirely not the point!" she stammered. "No Shining. Normally, the stallion would make a different kind of fluid, called semen. In the semen is sperm, which fertilize the egg inside the mare's uterus and make a foal." Shining looked down at his own penis. He had only ever known urine to come from it, not this 'semen' they were speaking of.

"How?" he asked.

"Wha- well, um, when the stallion's penis is stimulated, semen comes out when he has an orgasm," Velvet explained. "Either from a mare's hoof, or when you use your own hoof, while masturbating, or during oral sex. But usually during intercourse." Velvet turned sideways to them and flagged her tail at Night Light, encouraging him to demonstrate. Night Light followed her lead and stood up behind her on the bed. He reared up and mounted her. His cock bobbed and twitched under her. Velvet's magic glowed and helped to guide him to her vagina as Shining and Twilight watched. Even after she'd had her hoof in there, Twilight was still in awe seeing her father's penis start to enter. 

"Once both the penis and vagina are well lubricated from the oral sex, it makes intercourse go much more smoothly, and is more pleasant," Velvet said as Night Light pushed more of his length into her. "It also helps the mare to be more likely to have an orgasm during intercourse if she has one during foreplay first." Once Night Light was completely inside her, he pulled back a bit and pushed it back in again. He repeated the motions.

"Are you trying to get it deeper?" Shining asked.

"His motion is what stimulates the penis to orgasm," Velvet explained. "Like when I was stroking yours with my hooves, and using my mouth." Shining nodded in understanding, subconsciously touching his own erection with his hoof.

"So he just keeps doing that?" Twilight asked.

"Well, a stallion can vary his depth and speed for variety," Velvet said. "You just try to find what works for you and feels nice."

"For how long?" Twilight asked.

"It depends on a lot of things," Velvet said. "Sometimes it's not long at all if you do a lot of foreplay first. Sometimes a stallion can just be really excited. And some stallions just last longer than others."

"Isn't he heavy like that?" Twilight asked.

"After a while it can be a little tiring," Velvet said, feeling the weight of her husband on her back. "But this is just one of many positions." Velvet gave Night a soft elbow to his ribs. He backed off and dismounted her. Velvet laid down and rolled over onto her back. "A mare can lay on her back like this and she and the stallion can face each other during intercourse." On cue, Night Light moved between her legs and reentered her, resuming their rutting. 

"One of the positions I like is being on top." Night Light stopped again and took his turn to lay on his back. Velvet stood up and squatted over him, using her magic to align his penis again with her vagina as she lowered herself down onto it. "In this position, the mare has more control over the speed and depth of the penetration," Velvet explained, huffing as she bounced her hips up and down on her husband. "But it is a bit more work."

"Hng, Honey!" Night Light grunted. Velvet stopped moving.

"Your father is close to orgasm. So I want to demonstrate what ejaculation looks like." Velvet bounced a few more times. Night gave her a panicked tap on her thigh, signalling his climax. Velvet quickly dismounted and Night Light's penis pulled out of her. Velvet held it in her hooves and stroked as the tip began to swell and flare wide. His shaft throbbed and twitched and the first spurt of cum shot straight up and arced through the air before making a sticky white splat on Night's blue fur. Velvet quickly put her mouth over his tip and sucked as he continued to cum. Velvet swallowed his load with practiced timing of her breathing, leaving one last bit in her mouth. She showed it to everypony before she closed her mouth and swallowed that as well.

"Eww!" Twilight whined, witnessing her mother's lewd act. "Why would you do that!?" Velvet wiped her mouth and gently let her husbands penis rest on his belly until it retreated back into its sheath.

"Well, for one, semen can be quite messy," Velvet said. "It can stain fabric, and it is a nightmare to try to scrub out of your mane. So you should never ejaculate in a mare's mane."

"Unless she asks for it," Night said with a goofy grin.

"But normally, I would let your father ejaculate inside my vagina, and then go clean up in the bathroom afterwards," Velvet said. "But the important part I want to teach you is that you need to use contraceptives."

"Ketchup, or mustard?" Shining asked.

"No, those are condiments," Velvet said. "Contraceptives are things that prevent a mare from becoming pregnant. As unicorns, we can use a spell that prevents the mare from ovulating, or releasing an egg, which is what I did for myself before we started. I'll take some time to teach it to you both later. Pegasi and earth pony mares can use a potion that does the same thing. But you have to use it before you have sex for it to work. Otherwise, the stallion can use a condom. They put it over their penis to keep the semen out of a mare's vagina." Velvet leaned over the edge of the bed and opened her nightstand drawer, and took out a small packet. She always kept a couple on hoof in case they wanted to do butt stuff. Neither of them were fond of stink-dick. She opened the packet and demonstrated how to put one on a penis as she unceremoniously unrolled it onto Night's horn. Night pulled the latex off of his horn and discarded it.

"Some stallions just pull out before they cum- er, ejaculate. But it's not a guaranteed strategy. It's very important that you are both responsible about having sex. Always use contraceptives until you are older, and you're ready to have a foal. But as long as you're safe, and smart about it, sex can be very enjoyable."

"Nngghh!" Shining groaned as he rocked in place on the mattress.

"Dear, are you okay?" Velvet asked. Her eyes followed his as he looked at his penis. It was still very hard.

"It- it's just so... NGH!" he whined. 

"Well geez, Hun, just look at what you've been doing to the poor colt. His balls are probably bluer than mine," Night said, not referring to the hue of their respective scrota's fur. Velvet realized that he was right. In the heat of her estrus, the room was practically a heavy miasma of Velvet's arousal. Between that, her giving him half of a hoofjob & blowjob, and the ongoing display before him, Shining was so hard that it hurt.

"Oh, my poor dear! I'm so sorry," Velvet said. "You need an orgasm too. You must be in so much agony right now. Come here. Mommy will make you feel all better." He moved over to her and she got onto her knees to finish felating him.

"No," Shining whined. "I want to do it in here," he said, putting his hoof on her pussy as he laid her down on her back. Velvet glanced over at Night Light. He just shrugged again. In her mind, Velvet knew that there was a point where they should have stopped, and they had clearly passed it. But now all she wanted to do was keep going and see what happens. After all, she'd already had her daughter's arm in her pussy up to the elbow. To say nothing of what Night had done with Cadance. Turnabout was fair play after all.

"Okay Sweetie. If that's where you want to put it," Velvet said, spreading her legs for him. Shining was on her almost immediately, thrusting desperately at her, causing it to simply slide against her pussy and onto her belly. He grew more frustrated and was practically growling. Velvet just held his face with her hooves and cooed to him. 

"Shh, shh. Easy now. It's going to be okay soon," she said. She held him still with her hooves as he felt her magic gently grasp his penis. "Back up a little bit?" she coached him. He moved back just a bit and she aimed him downward, running his tip down along her slit. He tried to hump, causing himself to miss again as it slid away. Velvet just ran her hoof through his mane. 

"Just relax. Let Mommy help you." She guided him back down again. "Wait for me to tell you." She pushed his tip down along her pussy lips, parting them as she went until he reached the bottom. Velvet wiggled her hips just a bit to make sure that he was lined up properly with her entrance. "Slowly." He tried his best to do as he was told. He slowly pushed his hips forward. After Twilight's hoof, Night Light's penis, and how wet they both were, his tip slipped inside with little resistance.

Shining moaned. His mind could no longer form intelligible words. All that came out were a variety of guttural vowels. His euphoria left him unable to think of anything but the ecstatic sensation he was feeling. His penis was inside a mare's vagina. It was warm, and wet, and soft and wonderful. His hips moved on their own accord, pushing more of his shaft into her.

Velvet just held him as she felt his medial ring pop inside of her. He leaned down closer to her when at last their hips met and his heavy balls rested against her butt. She wrapped her hooves around him and hugged him. His legs kicked at the sheets, desperate to try to get deeper, even as he had already hilted her.

"So good!" he moaned, pressing his face into her shoulder.

"Oh, you're just getting started," Velvet said. "Keep moving, like you saw your father doing." Shining was reluctant to withdraw himself even a single centimeter. He never wanted to leave this place, this feeling. He wanted to stay there forever. Velvet sensed his hesitation and took the initiative, rocking her hips under him, gaining some movement between them. Shining felt the fresh sensation on his penis as she moved around him and it primed his pumping. His hips moved on instinct, humping a bit mindlessly without any finesse or rhythm at first. But with the help of her hooves on his waist, he soon found his stride.

"If Shining gets to have an orgasm, then I want one too." Twilight squealed, looking at her father.

"Wha- well, we can't!" Night said. "You haven't learned the contraception spell, and- and we-"

"Can't you give me an orgasm with oral sex?" she asked. Night looked at Velvet. Velvet raised her eyebrow at Night.

"I don't know. Can you?" Velvet teased Night from under Shining.

"Okay. Fine," Night huffed at Twilight. "Lay down and get comfortable." Twilight did as she was told and laid down right next to her mom on the bed. Night Light moved down between his daughter's legs. Unlike Shining, Night was no amateur to the act of going down on a mare. Even though Velvet had made sure that Twilight took her Beat The Heat potion, it only dulled the ache of the filly's first heat. It didn't eliminate it. He could feel the warmth of her need radiating off of her virgin loins.

Rather than dive right in, he moved slowly and deliberately. He held her legs with his hooves. He worked his way up her thigh so that she could get used to his touch in that general region. He didn't lick her lavender marehood right away. He kissed above it, and on either side, but getting closer with each touch. Twilight squirmed a bit at her father's touch. It felt new and strange, but not bad. She watched him get closer, clearly telegraphing his movements so that his contact never took her by surprise.

But for the grace of her heat potion, Twilight was only a little aware of her feminine ache. But feeling her father's warm breath on her nethers broke right through the dulling effects of the elixir. Until that moment, she did not realize just how much she wanted to be touched there. But now she wanted nothing else but to be touched there. She needed to be touched there. She would not wait another moment. She whimpered desperately and tried to push herself closer to him. Night Light needed no further direction.

"Alright sweetie," he said. He opened his mouth and she gasped as he nearly covered her entire pussy with it. He flattened his tongue and pressed it against her folds. It was at once both too much and not enough for the young mare. He sensed her desperation and began sliding his tongue up and down against her lips, slowly parting them as he pushed it deeper into her.

He deliberately avoided her clitoris and moved down lower to her entrance. He straightened his tongue to probe into her. Talented though his tongue was, it wasn't nearly long enough to get very deep. Twilight hardly seemed to mind. The sensation of him in her was simply driving her wild.

"Show her what only unicorns can do," Velvet suggested. Night grinned and stopped licking Twilight for a second. She pouted and looked down at him. He just bowed his head lower and leaned forward again. Twilight felt the tip of his horn slide smoothly into her. She could feel the texture of his horn's ridged spiral as it moved in and out of her, making her legs tremble on either side of him. "I meant actually using your magic," Velvet said.

"Oh. Well, yeah, that too," he said. Night Light pulled his horn out and went back to licking Twilight and his horn began to glow. Twilight could feel him at her entrance again. It didn't feel like his horn, or his tongue, but rather amorphous. He molded his magic into a vaguely cylinder shape, pushing it inside her. Twilight gasped as she felt the duet of pleasures from the moving penetration and his attentive licking.

"Now pay attention, Dear," Velvet said to Shining, still happily humping away into her. Shining turned his attention towards watching his father going down on Twilight. Night Light lifted Twilight's hips with his hooves as he sat up. He was nearly holding Twilight hanging upside down with just her head and shoulders still resting on the mattress. He licked faster, and Shining could see the blue magic moving in and out of Twilight's pussy just under Night's chin. She panted and moaned as Night angled the magic tendril upwards against Twilight's G-spot. Her moaning grew louder and higher in pitch as her climax approached. Just as she teetered on the precipice, he licked her clit. Twilight cried out as she came. Her pussy trembled and clenched, gushing into Night's mouth with her marecum.

Night Light was taken completely by surprise. Whenever Velvet came, she would get a little wetter. Sometimes she got a lot wetter with a fresh batch of mare nectar. But he had never seen her cum with such explosive ferocity as Twilight. He lost his grip of Twilight and she slipped to the side as she continued to orgasm. Her second gush of marecum arced over at Shining and sprayed him in the face.

Night recovered quickly and put his mouth back over Twilight's pussy and swallowed the rest of her special gift. Shining was drenched in two mares' arousal and thrusted quickly and frantically, a colt desperate to get off without regard for the mare under him. Velvet forgave him. After all, this time wasn't about her. His movements became more erratic as his moaning became louder.

"Remember to pull out when you're about to ejaculate," Velvet said. Shining wrapped his hooves around his mother and held her tighter, intent on doing no such thing. Velvet felt him flare inside her as he pushed it one final time as deep as he could. Velvet felt his penis bumping against her cervix. His wide flare stretched the depths of her vagina, opening her tight cervix by the tiniest amount. He cried out as he started to throb and pulse inside her, flooding her with his pent-up seed. His wide flare kept any from leaking out, quickly filling what meager space remained. He pushed into her again, forcing his cum deeper into her, even as he continued to cum more and more.

"Ngh! Ngh! Gah!" Shining grunted and groaned as he came again and again deep inside of his mother. It was as if the air was let out of a balloon. Shining collapsed on top of Velvet. It was the most incredible feeling he had ever known. He didn't understand why, but amid his labored breathing, he cried into her mane. She just held him, stroking his back with her hoof until his orgasm subsided. Twilight was utterly exhausted from her own orgasm and laid there next to Velvet. Night Light laid down next to his daughter.

"There, there. All better now," Velvet whispered to her son. After a few moments, his weight was starting to smother her. She tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on now, let Mommy get up." Shining shakily lifted himself up, but tried to keep his hips against hers. He wasn't prepared for his penis to leave the warmth of her confines. But his penis betrayed him as his erection wilted and slipped out. He barely had time to mourn the loss before it retreated back into his sheath. His hooves felt weak under him as he flopped onto the bed beside Velvet.

"I'm sorry," Shining panted. "I was inside and it felt so good. I don't know what happened!"

"It's okay. That's what was supposed to happen," Velvet assured him, calm in the knowledge of her contraceptive spell. She brushed his mane with her hoof until he fell asleep. Twilight was likewise passed out beside Night Light. Velvet groaned as she slid off the bed. She used her magic to plug herself, keeping Shining's prodigious load from leaking from her and making even more of a mess. She waddled to the bathroom to clean herself. She looked back at her family laying on the bed. "Class dismissed."
> Simply Irresisterble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow... That escalated quickly," Night said, sitting on the edge of the bathtub across from his wife, still sitting on the toilet as her son's copious seed continued to drip from her marehood.

"You're telling me," Velvet groaned. Shining and Twilight were both still passed out on their parents' bed. "There is a point where we needed to stop and we have clearly passed it," Velvet said.

"Which point was that?" Night asked. "When you decided to let your own son fuck you?" Velvet wiped the last of Shining's cum from herself and flushed. "Or when you said I should do the same with Cadance? Or maybe it was when we decided to give up Cadance in the first place and go along with this whole crazy plan of Celestia's?" 

"Can I have some water please?" Velvet asked. Night Light grabbed a couple cups and filled them with water from the sink, giving her one of them. She held her cup and looked at it. "Maybe it was when I decided to go home with my brother from the Gala," she said, giving him a smirk. He just sighed and smiled back.

"To the first of many bad decisions," he agreed, tapping his cup against hers in a toast. "So what do we do now? I mean, we have to tell them that what we all did was wrong."

"It wasn't!"

"You know what I mean! Yes, I get that our family is unusual, to make the understatement of the century, but we need to explain to them that the rest of society will think that what we did was wrong. At the very least, we can't have them telling anypony else about it," he said.

"Yeah, you're right," Velvet agreed. They walked back to the bedroom and sat on the bed, rousing their children.

"Shining, Twilight?" Night said, nudging them awake. "We need to talk to you about what you just learned." Shining and Twilight woke up and sat up as they rubbed their eyes.

"Are we taking a quiz?" Twilight asked, excitedly. Even Shining looked eager to 'learn more'.

"No, it's nothing like that," Night said.

"There are a few more things that we need to tell you about sex," Velvet said. "It's more important than the types of sex, or techniques."

"Always practice safe sex," Shining said.

"That is an important point to remember too," Velvet agreed. "But there's more. Specifically about this lesson today. Because most ponies aren't home-schooled like this. They learn about sex in a classroom. And it's just a boring lecture without any of the... interactive learning we did. They just talk about it."

"And even other ponies that are home-schooled just talk about it," Night Light said. "They don't actually do it."

"Why?" Shining asked.

"Well... sex is just supposed to happen between ponies that love each other," Velvet said.

"But I love you, Mom. Don't you love me?" he asked.

"Of course I do, Dear. But it's different," Velvet said. "Sex is supposed to be between ponies that are in love, like your father and I. Ponies that get married. The love between family members is different," she said, practically tasting the hypocrisy on her tongue. "Family members shouldn't have sex."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Well, if family members have a baby together, the foal could be very sick because of how close their genetics are," Velvet explained.

"So as long as you use a contraceptive, and you don't have a foal, it's okay?" Shining asked. Velvet grit her teeth.

"No," Velvet lied. "It's wrong to do it. Which is why what we did today must remain a secret."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Because ponies will think that it's wrong for family members to do that. Society will think that it's wrong. That's just the rule."

"But why?" Twilight asked again. "If they're not having a sick foal and nopony is getting hurt, then what does it matter? It seems like a silly rule." Velvet felt very proud of her daughter in that moment.

"You know what, Twilight? You're right. It is a silly rule. But it's sort of like picking your nose. There's nothing really wrong with it, but you still don't want to get caught doing it."

"So as long as we don't tell anypony, we can keep doing it?" Shining asked excitedly as he moved closer to his mom. Night Light cleared his throat loudly and wrapped his hoof around Velvet.

"Shining. I'm your father's mare. And he's my stallion. So that is just something that he and I do together as a married couple. We made a special exception today to teach you both about sex. But that's it."

"Oh." Shining was visibly disappointed.

"Besides, you should be more interested in fillies your own age," Night said. "Somepony like Cadance."

"I guess," Shining said.

"Speaking of," Night Light continued, "Cadance will be here for the next weekend to watch after you while your mother and I go on a little trip. Twilight, I know how much you wanted to see her again."

"Yeah!" Twilight said excitedly. "But we really don't need a foalsitter to watch over us anymore."

"We know," Velvet said. "But your father worked very hard to... persuade her to come back for a weekend while we go on vacation."

"It will just help to make your mother feel better while we're gone," Night said. 





Friday evening, a knock came at the front door. Velvet turned the knob and opened it. 

"Cadance!" she greeted the pink alicorn. They shared a hug and Cadance presented her with a platter. "What's this?" she asked.

"Just a little something I baked. I know how much Mister Light likes brownies," Cadance said.

"Oh, he is going to be disappointed," Velvet said. "We're actually on our way out, now. Sorry to drop it on you last-minute. But yeah, we're going out for the weekend. But you've got this, right?" They both turned to look at the carriage pulling up to the curb. "Night!" Velvet called into the house. "The cab is here!" Velvet quickly put the plate of brownies on the kitchen counter and walked back to Cadance at the door.

"Sure. What are foal-sitters for?" Cadance said with a saccharine smile. Velvet smiled back and walked past Cadance outside to the cab. Night Light hustled down the stairs with his bag.

"Hi Cadance," he said as he neared her. "Sorry about the short notice on our trip. We should be back Sunday night. If you need anything... well, I'm sure you'll have everything under control." 

"You're not going to be here... with me?" Cadance asked with sad, doe eyes.

"Sorry, no." He moved to walk past her. She put a hoof up to stop him. 

"Am I going to have to get this meal... to go?" She grinned at him as her horn glowed. He felt her magic on his crotch, teasing his sheath. She could tell he was starting to get hard.

"Night?" Velvet called from the curb.

"I'm coming!" Night shouted.

"Not yet..." Cadance whispered.

"Enough!" he growled, countering her magic. "I am still a married stallion."

"I'll stop doing it when you stop enjoying it," she said. "Just tell me that you honestly don't like it. But don't lie to me." Night Light just stared at his daughter for a moment.

"I have to go," he said. It wasn't a yes.

"Mhmm. That's what I thought. See you soon, Stud," she purred. He huffed and trotted past her. She watched his toned flanks as he stepped up into the carriage with Velvet. The cab began to roll away and was out of sight within moments. Cadance turned and walked back inside the house and closed the door.

"Cadie!" Twilight squealed from the top of the stairs as she bounded down and ran over to hug her. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Twi," Cadance said, feeling her frustration with Night fading away. Her desire aside, she really did value her time with the filly. Or rather, the mare now. "Wow, you've certainly grown since I last saw you. Where's Shining?"

"He's in the bathroom."

Meanwhile, Shining Armor was busy exploring his new discovery: Himself. His hoof was a blur on his shaft as he felt his climax approaching. In moments, he turned the toilet bowl into a Jackson Pollock masterpiece. Once he was finished he flushed and washed his hooves. 'It still wasn't as good as the real thing,' he thought to himself as he scrubbed that last of it from his hooves' fur while his penis retreated back into its sheath. The feeling of being inside a mare was still fresh in his memory. And as arousing as the thought was, his fresh release gave him some respite from his physical reaction.

He walked out of the bathroom and headed into the living room to greet Cadance. Twilight was already regaling her with tales from her first year at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Shining had already heard the bulk of the stories over the preceding days. Cadance caught his eyes and gave him an exasperated look. He knew how she felt. Once Twilight got to talking about something, she could have a real motor-mouth. Shining just settled into the living room chair and zoned out, listening to the mares on the couch.

"Well, it's getting late," Cadance said some time later as she stretched her legs. "And it was a long flight in, so I'm going to turn in for the night. Your folks aren't home, so feel free to stay up as late as you like." Cadance got up and walked upstairs. Twilight and Shining watched her walk to their parents' bedroom.

"That's Mom and Dad's room," Twilight said.

"Yeah, your dad said I could sleep in their bed for the weekend," she lied. 

She stepped inside and closed the door. She walked around to the far side of the bed and leaned over Night's pillow, smelling it. She could tell right away that it was his. She climbed into the bed and pressed her face into it, relishing his scent as she put her hoof between her thighs.

"So what do you want to do now?" Twilight asked Shining. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm not tired at all. I'm actually a little hungry," he said.

"I saw that Cadie brought over some brownies. They're in the kitchen," she said. They walked into the kitchen and unwrapped the dessert platter. Sure enough, there were a dozen brownies that Cadance had made, meant for Night Light.

"Dinner is served," he said, taking several. Twilight followed suit.

"Should we leave some for her?" Twilight asked. Shining shook his head while he finished chewing. He pointed at the pantry.

"She can always make more. We have all the ingredients. You love baking with her, don't you?" Twilight nodded as she ate a couple herself.

"That's true," she agreed. "Hey, do you want to play Scrabble?"

"No. You always kick my ass at it," he said between bites.

"Please? We can do what you want after," she said. He rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, fine," he resigned. Twilight ran into the living room to fetch the game while Shining grabbed the rest of the platter and put it on the table. They set up the board, the rack, and their tiles. 

"Do you want to go first?" Twilight asked, offering the double word bonus of the first word played.

"Gladly. Light. With the double word bonus, that makes it 22 points!" he said, writing down the score. He drew some more tiles while Twilight added three letters to the beginning of it, reaching the Triple Word bonus.

"Twilight. Triple Word is 45 points," she said.

"You can't use proper nouns, like names, Twilight," he said.

"It's also the time just after sunset, you doofus!" she teased, writing down her score.

"Okay fine. Shin," he said. "A part of the leg."

"I know what a shin is," she said, adding to it. "Shining."

"No names!" he said.

"It's what the moon is doing right now," she said, pointing out the window.

"Oh yeah. Hey are all names like that?" he asked.

"No. What about Cadance?" she asked.

"It's a thing that we do in the guard, sort of like singing when we march," he said. They both scratched their heads thinking of all the ponies they knew.

"Celestia!" Twilight said.

"Doesn't it mean 'the sky'?" he asked.

"No, that's celestial," she said.

"Okay. I guess that's one. It's my turn, right?" he asked. She nodded and they continued playing. The board slowly filled up.

"Quixotic," Twilight said, laying the tiles across the last Triple Word bonus.  

"That's not a word! You made it up," he accused.

"All words are made up!" Twilight retorted. She pushed the dictionary across the table. He angrily opened the book and looked up the word.

"Quixotic: Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical," he read aloud. 

"128 points!" Twilight declared, utterly trouncing his score.

"Dammit!" Shining cursed and slammed the table with his hoof, scattering the tiles onto the floor.

"Hey!" Twilight yelled, getting out of her chair to pick up the tiles. She ducked under the table to gather them up. That was when she saw it. Shining's huge erection. It wasn't a very large table. Just by being under it she was practically face to shaft with him. She felt her nethers itch as her tail reflexively lifted. She was certain that she had taken her Beat the Heat potion that morning. But that evening she had the itches worse than she'd ever had before. She shifted her hind legs and unconsciously leaned closer to it. Shining leaned over and looked under the table, seeing his sister staring at his crotch.

"What are you doing?" he asked. She snapped out of her trance and looked at him, getting angry again.

"Cleaning up your mess!" she said as she started to gather up the tiles. "Why don't you get down here and help?"

"Fine," he huffed, kneeling on the floor beside her. They started scooping up the tiles. She occasionally stole glances at his shaft bobbing under him.

"So why is it like that?" she asked.

"What?"

"Your... penis. Why is it like that right now? I though it only did that when you first woke up in the morning or when you took a bath," she said.

"Yeah. But sometimes it just happens. Like if I think about... sex stuff," he said.

"You were thinking about sex stuff while we were playing Scrabble?" she asked.

"No. It just sort of happened. I don't know why. But, yeah, now I am," he said. Twilight waited for a few moments.

"Like what?" she asked.

"What?"

"Like, what sex stuff are you thinking about?" she asked. His cheeks turned pink.

"Mom. I was thinking about when I... when we did it," he said. "It felt really good. Like... the best thing. I wish we could do it again."

"Yeah," Twilight agreed. "When Daddy gave me an orgasm, it was the best! I tried to do it with my hoof and my magic, but it just isn't the same."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. She turned to get the last few tiles under her chair. Her tail brushed across his face, soaked in her musk. He hadn't noticed it consciously before. But now he was aware of it. It was that good smell that was unlike anything else. Pheromones, he remembered. He could see Twilight's clitoris winking out of her marehood at him under her flagged tail. He leaned closer to smell her better. She backed up into him, mashing his nose into her pussy. She yelped and moved away from him as he reflexively licked his nose. His erection was so hard now that it almost hurt.

Twilight turned back to face him as she forced her tail down to cover herself. She felt like her loins were on fire. Her hooves pawed at the floor in desperate frustration. She could see that Shining likewise had a pained expression on his face. 

"I- I think I need something to drink," Twilight said. She crawled out from under the table and put the tiles bag in the game box before heading over to the fridge. Shining followed closely after her. He practically had his face in her tail as she leaned down to get the pitcher of apple juice from the bottom shelf. She turned around and collided with him, getting juice splashed on both of them. "Gah! What the heck!" Twilight snapped at him being so close behind her.

"Oh, uh, sorry!" he apologized, backing away in shame. But the damage was done. The sugary juice was already seeping into their fur and manes, making them sticky. Twilight set the pitcher on the table and then stood aside while Shining quickly wiped up the mess on the floor. She chewed her lip and shifted uncomfortably in place as she watched his erection bobbing beneath him as he worked. "I need to go get cleaned up," he said, scurrying to the bathroom as soon as he was done.

Shining turned on the water for the shower and stepped inside. As much as he usually enjoyed soaking in a bath tub, his time in the Guard Academy had taught him the efficiency of taking a shower. He rinsed off and reached for the shampoo, but felt another, more pressing matter that needed to be dealt with. But his hoof just braced against the shower wall while the other reached under him. He had gotten good at using his magic on himself. But the running water made it difficult for him to use magic. Even so, he couldn't very well go back out there in such a state around Twilight.

He started to stoke himself under the warm water's spray. It was as much the reason for the shower as the apple juice. His mind wandered to the usual fodder while he masturbated. He thought about the other week when he had first discovered masturbation and sex. He especially thought about his mother, and how it felt when she let him-

He heard the bathroom door open and the the shower curtain was pulled aside. Twilight stepped into the shower behind him.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" he yelped at the intrusion, quickly trying to make it look like he wasn't just beating off.

"What? It's not like we've never bathed together," she said. "Besides, I need this more than you do." It was true. Being shorter than him, she'd taken the brunt of the splashed juice. It had gotten into her mane, and much of the fur on her back. "Now move over before you use all the hot water." She shimmied past him while he tried to cover himself with his hoof. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Please. It's not like I've never seen it before."

She was right, he realized. She had seen it before plenty of times. Why did he suddenly care if she saw it now? Why did he suddenly feel ashamed of her seeing him like this? Was it because of what he was just doing? Shining stood and wondered in the far end of the shower while Twilight stood under the warm water. He watched her bathe while he was still unbearably horny. He felt a twisting feeling in his gut as his thoughts of sexual fantasy shifted from one mare... to another.

"Do me?" Twilight asked.

"W-what!?" Shining balked. She passed him the soap.

"My back?" she asked. He looked at the soap in her hoof. 

Do her? Oh, wash her! he realized. He took the soap and began to rub her back with it, creating a nice lather.

"Mmm, that feels nice. Get my shoulders?" she asked. In the confined space of the shower tub, he didn't have much room to maneuver. He did his best to lean over her while keeping his lower half a safe distance from touching her. She backed up a little closer to him as he worked, causing her tail to drape over his erection. He looked down and realized that despite the weight of the wet hair, her tail was still flagging high, exposing herself to him. 

Her tail teased his penis and his shaky leg stepped forward to catch his balance, sending his penis under her, between her legs. It grazed her inner thigh. Her legs reflexively snapped shut, but it only served to trap him between her warm, wet thighs. His hooves grabbed her waist on instinct, pulling her back to him as he pushed forward. The texture of his shaft rubbed against her marehood.

"What are you doing!?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know!" Shining said. In truth, he understood perfectly well what he was doing. But he didn't understand why he felt compelled to do it. Not that he had anywhere near the capacity for abstract reasoning at the moment. All he felt was the need. He thrusted again, sliding it between her soapy thighs. 

Twilight felt his medial ring graze against her clitoris as he did, making her shudder with the pleasure she'd been unknowingly craving. It served to both ease her ache, and yet intensify it further. She, too, though of their mother. She remembered how worked-up she felt when she watched her taking a stallion into her. She remembered the moans of pleasure her mother made when she was brought to orgasm by both of the stallions that day. She remembered how badly she wanted to be her in that moment. She wanted to feel it. No, she needed it. And she needed it now.

Sliding it in and out between her legs felt better than using his hoof, Shining decided. But it was a far cry from the memory he had with his mom, of the time it was actually inside a mare's vagina. He started to lose focus as he lost himself in the fantasy. He pulled back a little too far and pulled it out from between her legs. It sprang upwards a little and when he went to push forward again, it pressed against her hot marehood. It parted her lips, his tip poised at her entrance.

They both very-well understood what sex was, and the significance of virginity, at least for a mare. Even in the haze of their lust, it gave them a fleeting moment of sober clarity. Shining froze his movement, realizing that they were on the threshold of a very important line they weren't meant to cross with each other.

"We really should stop," he mumbled, summoning his last shred of willpower to pull away.

"No," Twilight stopped him, reaching back and holding him in place with her free hoof. "I want this too!" She pushed herself back against him. 


And just like that, he was inside her. 


With her ache finally being seen to, she was too overcome with with her need and pleasure to even notice the brief twinge of pain inside her vagina. The pain passed without fanfare, as did the unnoticed, crimson droplets, heralding the significance of the event, being washed down the shower drain.


"F-ff-fuuh!" Shining couldn't even find the words. It was just like he remembered with his mom. Better even. She pushed herself back further, urging him to continue. Shining needed no more encouragement. He wrapped his hooves around her and pushed himself forward into her. As eager as he was, she was still his little sister and he wanted to try to be gentle with her. Shining understood the mechanics of the motion well enough. Twilight braced her hooves against the far wall and moaned. Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle began to have sex. 

With each of his first few thrusts, he pushed a little deeper. Though she was an adult, she was still not yet fully grown. As a result, he was nearly all the way inside when-

"Ow!" Twilight yelped as she felt him bump into her innermost barrier. She had never felt so full in her life. He felt himself reaching a dead end with barely an inch of his length left.

"So close!" he whined. Twilight lowered her hooves from the wall and bent over, leaning down towards the tub floor. The new position angled her pussy so that her clitoris was closer to him, and it served to cause her insides to shift a bit upwards, yielding just a little bit more space for her big brother. He pushed in just a little more, resting his balls against her winking clit. It had taken some doing, but at last they were "A perfect fit!" he said. She couldn't agree more. He was content to just keep himself there, buried deep inside the wonderful embrace of a mare.

"Okay," she breathed. He understood and began moving his hips again. He made long, slow strokes. He understood that once he came, that would be the end. He wanted this to last as long as he could. A tough task, as she was much tighter than their mother. But having two (or three) foals could do that, he reasoned.  Each time he sank into her, his balls would press against her clit, making her shudder. Feeling her pussy quiver around him was not making his mission for longevity any easier.

"Faster," Twilight begged.

"Twi, I-"

"Faster!" she demanded. Twilight struggled to cast the contraception spell under the running water. Shining would not deny himself a good time any longer. He complied with her wish and thrusted faster. His balls smacked against her pussy with wet slaps. "Oh. My. Gosh!" Twilight's knees trembled as she felt herself cumming. Her pussy squirted out from around his penis, mixing with the other hot water of the shower as he continued to rut her right through her climax. Twilight continued to cum as he fucked her even faster. He felt his own orgasm coming on like an unstoppable train.

"Twilie!" he cried as he slammed it home one last time. She came again even harder as she felt him swell inside her, his flare stretching her to her limit, pressed against her cervix. She felt his cock pulse and throb inside her as his began to fill her with a torrent of his hot seed. It felt like drinking hot cocoa too fast. The warmth of the liquid radiated from inside her. And there was so much. She tried to step away, but his hooves were wrapped tightly around her, holding him in place. The remaining soap helped to aid her escape and she wriggled free. He slid out of her with a wet 'plop', even as he continued to cum. Twilight turned around quickly, intent on getting a taste.

"Gah!" he nearly shrieked as he felt her mouth on his dick. He gave her one last mouthful before he became too sensitive to let her continue. He pushed her away and they both slipped and fell onto the tub floor together. Shining landed on his back, and Twilight landed on top of him. She just laid there and focused on his flavor while just enjoying the warmth of both the water on her back, and him, panting under her. She reached behind her and turned off the water. Finally she was able to cast her contraception spell. Hopefully it wasn't too late.

"Wow," she gasped. 

"Yeah," he agreed.

"We are doing that again!" she said.

"Shit! What about Cadance!?" Shining realized. His post-coitus sobriety hit him like a bucket of ice water. "We can't be doing this if Cadance is here. We'll get caught!" Shining quickly got to his hooves and finished washing up. He gave her the soap and stepped out of the shower, quickly toweling off.

"Relax," Twilight assured him. "She went upstairs to bed earlier. She's probably in a deep sleep by now. "





Upstairs, Cadance clopped herself silly as she pressed her face into Night Light's pillow, huffing his scent as she came yet again. She was thinking about when Night Light would come home and she would feed him her special brownies with the virility potion baked in. Her pussy dripped on the bedding as her infectious love magic continued to radiate off of her horn, out into the rest of the house.
> Moving On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor had sex with his sister, Twilight Sparkle, again that night. 

And again.

And again, as many times as they could manage before his penis had become too chafed to continue. And even then they pleasured each other with their magic, mouths, hooves, and horns, until their magic muscles were simply too fatigued to let them physically continue any longer. Twilight cleaned herself in the bathroom one final time and then slept where she fell on the couch beside him.





Shining Armor woke up the next morning and immediately regretted the decision to do so. He hadn't had the pleasure of sneaking one of his father's cider bottles the previous evening. But as exhausted and dehydrated as he was, he felt hungover just the same the next morning. His mouth felt like he had eaten a bucket of sand. His eyes felt like cotton balls covered in saw dust. His time training in the Royal Guard Academy had greatly increased his stamina and endurance. But even so, every single muscle in his body ached. He had felt better after his first sparring matches.

He struggled to even breathe as he tried to blink his eyes open. As his blurry vision came into focus, the reason presented itself. He had fallen asleep on the couch, and Twilight was laying on top of him. And much like the revelation that came after a night of blacked-out drinking, the events of the previous evening came flooding back into his memory.

He moved quickly, but carefully to disentangle himself from her hooves and walk to the medicine cabinet. Every step caused his raw groin to chafe. He took a vial of Poppy milk for his body pains and  headache. At least he didn't have to endure the nausea of rot gut. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He looked like somepony that owed the mob money, and had it beaten out of them. He looked at the shower behind his reflection and cringed. It was the first of many locations that he had... with her.

The nausea, it seemed, was merely delayed.

He couldn't explain it. Last night he was completely enamored with her. But now, that feeling was gone. It was like he was drunk. He could presently remember how it felt then. He simply did not feel that way now. And now, like drinking, the thought of it made him equal ill. He got a cup of water and walked back out to the living room.

"Morning," Twilight mumbled, stirring on the couch. He sat down on the far end of the couch from her. She avoided his gaze.

"So, um," Shining started. "Are we... gonna... you know... talk about it?" he asked. Twilight backed away and rubbed her head. It ached also from sitting up too fast.

"Do we... have to?" she asked, blushing intensely. He shook his head.

"No, but... I just wanted to make sure that you're... okay. That we're okay," he said.

"I don't know," she said. "It was... I mean, it wasn't bad."

"Yeah. It was definitely not bad. But it was... weird. Like, like it was almost a dream," he said, recalling the sense of haze.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Do you... regret it? I mean, are you..."

"Sorry?" he asked, suddenly feeling shame not only in what it was he did in it's own sake, but in whom he had do it, or rather, to. "I, I mean, I am, if it was bad... for you," he said.

"No, not bad," she said. "You don't need to apologize. You were going to stop, but I made you do it," she said.

"You didn't make me do anything," he said. "You don't need to apologize either."

"But you regret it?" she asked again.

"I, I don't know," he said. "It's just confusing. It was just weird and... I mean, it was good..."

"Yes, it was good," she agreed.

"But now I feel weird about it, and you remember what Mom said, about how family isn't normally supposed to do that," he added. 

"Yeah," she agreed.

"So, um..." he trailed off. "Actually, can we just pretend like it never happened?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! That is exactly what I was going to suggest," Twilight said, standing up in excitement before stumbling back into her seat on the couch. "Ugh," she groaned, rubbing her temple. "My head."

"You're probably dehydrated too," Shining said, fetching her a glass of water. "Here, drink some water. Apparently it fixes everything when you're in the Royal Guard," he said with sarcasm at the military solution to any ailment.

"Breakfast?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, sure," Shining agreed. The two of them headed into the kitchen to start cooking. 

Sleeping in somewhat late as they did, Cadance slept in later. It was a rare treat for the princess, away from the castle. But the clatter of the siblings cooking roused her from her slumber. She groggily walked downstairs and joined the other two ponies in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Cadance," Twilight greeted cheerfully.

"Morning," she groaned, setting to making a pot of coffee. She sat at the table and just waited for her beloved brew to work its way into her bloodstream. Her eyes slowly focused as she watched the other two try to make pancakes, spilling batter on the counter. Cadance's eyes drifted along the counter to the empty brownie plate. Her eyes slowly widened as she realized that the plate that had once been filled with brownies, was now empty. Brownies that were meant for Night Light. Brownies that were filled with virility powder.

She looked back at the two ponies making breakfast. If Twilight had eaten them, she would be a crazed, horny mare, dripping with arousal. If Shining had eaten them, he would have been sporting an erection hard enough to hammer in railroad ties.

They both seemed fine, if a bit ragged around the edges. One or both of them must have spent the entire night in their bedrooms clopping themselves stupid to have gotten all of the effects out of their system. Shining shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Likely chaffed from last night, she figured. She smirked in secretly knowing the cause for his ache. But there, at the edge of her senses, beyond the smell of the pancake batter and her coffee, Cadance could smell the remains of another mare's arousal. So they had both gotten into the midnight snacks. She grinned harder. That must have been an awkward evening.

Shining stood closer to Twilight as they worked together at the counter. Twilight just subtly leaned back against him. Cadance narrowed her eyes and wondered if they had possibly...

Nah. That's crazy, she decided, sipping her coffee. They're siblings. It was her own lewd imagination running away from her, was all.

The rest of the weekend that Twilight Velvet and Night Light were away, not much else happened. Cadance's presence was far more direct with Shining after that first night. She hadn't seriously considered the colt, nay, young stallion before. But with Night gone, it was less a choice than a lack of options. She quietly regretted not bringing more of the potion with her to make more brownies for him. But Shining was far too sore to even notice her very not-so-subtle hints.

True to their promise, Shining and Twilight were able to move on and forget about that one crazy night. Though, forget is a strong word. One does not simply forget such a thing. More accurate to say that they didn't bring it up again. For the rest of the summer, it was good old Twilight and Shining, as normal brother and sister.





"How was your summer break?" was the common question around the Royal Guard barracks. Fresh from the academy, the rookies settled in for their first year as Royal Guard ponies. Shining Armor was among them. The young stallions recounted their adventures over the summer. Some of them had traveled on vacation. Most simply spent time with their families, as Shining had. Some found love. Though not quite as Shining had. Photographs accompanied some of the tales.

"That's her," Spearhead said, showing the group a photo in his hoof, "Isn't she hot?" Shining looked at another photo in the stack beside the guard on his bed and picked it up.

"Yeah, she is," Shining said. Spearhead looked at the mare in the photo Shining was holding. It was different from the one he was holding himself.

"No, that's not my marefriend. That's my sister," Spearhead said. Shining looked back and forth between the two photos, seeing his mistake.

"Well, she's hot too, don't you think?" Shining asked. Spearhead sneered at him.

"Why would I think that about my own sister?" Spearhead asked indignantly. Shining was about to defend how he meant that objectively the mare was attractive, regardless of her relation to him when others in the surrounding crowd spoke up.

"Yeah. Why would he think that about his own sister? That's disgusting!"

"Do you think your sister is hot?" Spearhead asked.

"Yeah? Do you!?" another asked him accusingly. Shining Armor quickly became aware of the pack-mentality surrounding him and felt the stare of their judgmental eyes. There was no reasoning his way out of it.

"N-no!" Shining defended. "That would be disgusting!" He looked at Spearhead. "Chill brah, I was just messing with you." The tension of the room broke along with Spearhead's scowl. The room erupted into laughter. A couple of them threw their hooves around Shining and patted him on the back.

"Good one!"

"You actually had me going there!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shining chuckled nervously. Shame is a powerful social force, and behind his fake smile Shining felt ashamed. He felt ashamed about what had happened between him and his sister. And the way he had felt about his mother. While he didn't relish it, neither did he have the visceral revulsion to the idea the others seemed to have. His parents had tried to warn him about how wrong it was in the eyes of society. He didn't want to believe it. But now he was beginning to wish that they had never done it in the first place. 

He was surrounded by ponies in the barracks. But in that moment, he felt very alone.





On the other side of Canterlot, Princess Celestia sat in her office at her School for Gifted Unicorns. She read over her notes of Princess Cadance's disappointing 'debrief' from that summer. She recalled the conversation.

"Cadance, How was your return visit to Twilight's family?" Celestia asked. Cadance shrugged.

"It was okay, Auntie," she said, trying to remain diplomatically neutral. In truth, Cadance was equally disappointed that she didn't get another chance to lay Night Light. But she could never tell Celestia that. He was a married stallion. And she was a princess after all. It was scandalous.

"I'm sure that young stud, Shining Armor, was pleased to see you again," Celestia said, giving her a playful nudge. Cadance rolled her eyes.

"Please. He was more occupied with spending time with his sister than me," Cadance huffed. Celestia pursed her lips, silently cursing the little, purple distraction. She knew it wasn't her place to tell Velvet not to have any more foals after Shining. She was still a free mare after all. But it was doing no favors for Celestia's matchmaking efforts.

"Well, I'm sure he will notice you soon enough," Celestia said, positively certain of it.

Celestia sighed at her desk and put her notes away, along with her thoughts. It was a school day and she needed a clear head. She stood up and walked down to the laboratory wing, where students would be waiting to begin their potion class. She looked through the door at the teacher overseeing the classroom. Most of the students were reading the lesson that they had been assigned. Celestia spotted Twilight Sparkle among them, sitting beside her best friend, Moon Dancer. Meanwhile, Lemon Hearts had managed to get her head stuck inside an Erlenmeyer Flask. Minuette and Twinkleshine chased after the panicked pony as she ran around the room. Just another day at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Celestia opened the door to relieve the frazzled teacher. Celestia caught Lemon Hearts with her magic and made the flask vanish from her head. Once the commotion had settled down, the students paired up to do the potion lab. Minuette and Twinkleshine were each other's go-to partner. As was Lemon Hearts and Moon Dancer. Twilight Sparkle's usual partner, Lyra Heartstrings, was filling in for a student that was absent with an illness, helping another student. 

Twilight Sparkle seemed no worse for it, easily accomplishing the assignment on her own. In fact, she was able to work faster and produce more spectacular results unimpeded by a lab partner. While she did not yet possess the raw power that Princess Cadance did as an alicorn, Twilight had the talent and ability to be the most powerful unicorn in ages.

Celestia had been so sure of Cadance's role once she had successfully become an alicorn as a blank-flank filly. But in truth, Twilight's cutie mark was that of the Tree of Harmony. There could be no mistaking it; she was predestined to be the Element of Magic. She was one of six ponies that embodied the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful magic known to Equestria. 





The next few years passed without any major event. Twilight Sparkle continued to excel in her studies. Shining Armor excelled in the Royal Guard. Each of them saw less and less of each other. Shining completed his officer training as Twilight entered her senior year in Celestia's school.

In the meantime, Celestia's searching across Equestria had located the other five ponies that embodied the Elements of Harmony in the nearby town of Ponyville. But Celestia knew that she was running out of time. The coming summer would be the thousandth since Celestia had banished Nightmare Moon and the summer solstice would herald her return. Celestia had a decision to make. But she knew it wasn't easy.

That evening, Celestia flew up to the peak of Canterlot Mountain, overlooking the city below. She knew that Twilight had the magic inside her to be able to defeat Nightmare Moon. But the recluse filly would not be able to unleash it until she let true friendship into her heart. And Twilight was far more content to remain alone in the library than to try to make friends, even as Celestia foisted her classmates upon her with group projects.

"Maybe I could close the library," Celestia mused aloud to herself on the mountaintop, "or throw a party in the castle. Oh, she'd have to talk to the other fillies then!" Celestia looked up at the moon in the evening sky. The Mare in the Moon looked back. She knew that Twilight couldn't just make friends with anypony. It had to be the other fillies she had found that embodied the Elements of Harmony in Ponyville. Celestia's eyes teared up. "I must send her away."

Celestia returned to her throne room to mull over her choice. She knew what she had to do. But as she paced back and forth, she kept inventing all kinds of reasons why she shouldn't send her.

"What if she runs into a Manticore? Or what if she gets pulled into Tartarus? Or worst of all, what if she doesn't get along with anypony!?" 

"Are we supposed so say something?" one of her guards whispered to the other.

"I don't think so," the other whispered back.

Of all the reasons Celestia could think of to not send her away, as she looked out the window, she knew there was one glaring reason why she must. It shone brightly in the night sky. And there was one other, less immediate, but no less important reason. Twilight was impeding Celestia's matchmaking. The sooner she could separate Twilight from Shining Armor, and to Ponyville, the better it would be for Celestia to be able to accomplish both of her goals. But she knew Twilight would not easily agree to be needlessly sent away from her studies, even if it was a royal decree. As with all things she did, Celestia would have to be subtle.

"I should at least wait until the end of the semester," Celestia decided. "But in the meantime..."





The next morning, Shining Armor received a letter with the royal seal. He opened it quickly. Inside was a royal summons to the throne room for an assignment to be verbally given directly from Celestia herself. Shining gulped. 

There was only two reasons why somepony would be summoned to the throne room. It was either extremely good, or extremely bad. There was no middle-ground. And he hadn't saved Canterlot from a dragon attack, or anything, so he doubted that he was going to receiving a medal. But he hadn't done anything bad either, unless...

Shining felt his fur stand up. 

Twilight was attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She would be seeing the princess on a regular basis. What if Twilight told her about what they had done with each other!? he thought. Something told him he would be making a visit to the gelding clinic soon. But failing to answer a summons would be far more dire consequences. He wanted to run away. He didn't even know where. But if, on top of everything else, he added abandonment, he would be a hunted stallion for sure, until he was brought in for court-martial. Even if it was not often used, Canterlot Castle still had a dungeon. And he had no desire to see the inside of it.

Shining took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror, for perhaps the last time as a stallion. He walked out to the barracks office and presented the summons to his Commander, and then made haste to the castle throne room. By the time he arrived, he felt like he had just sprinted a marathon. His heart was racing. His fur was matted with sweat. He presented his summons to the guards at the throne room doors and they opened them. He stepped inside and the doors closed behind him with a resolute thud of metal on stone. Every guard had practiced this procedure in the academy. His mind went to autopilot as his shaky, but well-trained hooves moved out from under him.

He marched across the throne room with even, confident steps that belied his inner panic. He stopped at the invisible line a certain arbitrary distance from the throne and bowed his head as he got down on his knee.

"Your Highness," Shining adressed as trained, "Lieutenant Shining Armor reports as ordered!"

"Lieutenant Armor," Princess Celestia greeted. Her voice echoed off the chamber walls. "Arise," Celestia commanded. Shining Armor stood firmly upright. He looked straight ahead, but in his peripheral vision, he could see Princess Celestia's personal guards. Princess Celestia produced a scroll with her seal of office embossed on it. "Attention to orders," she began to read aloud, "the Royal Guard Pony, Lieutenant Shining Armor shall be reassigned forthwith-"

Shining's mind raced.

To the gelding clinic.
To the Canterlot Dungeon.
To Tartarus.

"... to be the personal Royal Guard Pony to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," Celestia announced, "and is to be promoted to the rank of Captain, effective immediately." Celestia rose from her throne. Shining bowed again. When the princess stood, you bowed. When she bowed, you bowed lower. She walked towards Shining, with his head bowed. He had heard the words, but they hadn't yet registered in his brain. He was still operating on his training. She stood, he bowed. His whole world was the red carpet on the floor filling his field of view. He felt the tip of Celestia's horn horn tap him on either shoulder. "Arise, Captain Shining Armor, personal guard to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!"

Shining Armor stood back up and faced the Princess. She leaned down to his ear.

"At her request," Celestia whispered. She stepped aside and Shining looked past her to see Cadance, grinning as she stepped out from behind the throne. "She wanted somepony she knew, to have as her personal guard. You will be her live-in Guard. You will take your orders directly from her, and obey her every command as though they were my very own." Shining heard the words, just over the thunder of his heartbeat in his ears. "Is that understood, Captain?" Oh, shit, her voice went up. That was a question.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Shining replied confidently.

"Dismissed, Captain," Celestia said, turning to walk back up to her throne. Cadance passed her as she walked down towards Shining. With Celestia's eyes off of him, his brain processed everything backwards. One, he was still alive. Two, he wasn't being dragged off by the guards to the dungeon or clinic. Three, Cadance was looking at him.

Personal guard to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

"What are my orders, Your Majesty?" Shining asked with a bow to Princess Cadance.

"You may begin by accompanying me to my new villa, in the Canterlot Palisades," Cadance said.

"And then?" he asked. Cadance smirked and leaned closer.

"That is not for public ears to hear," she whispered. With practiced princess grace she strode past him. He turned and followed after her, precisely one pony-length behind her, offset at a forty five degree angle to her right side. Just as he had been trained. He didn't dare to look back at Celestia, who was surely watching his every move. Surely she was. And surely she was unable to keep the smile from her face.

Shining Armor followed Cadance through the castle. The main gate of the castle opened and they walked out into the city. He kept his head on a swivel, on a keen lookout for any potential threats. Cadance's villa was not terribly far from the palace. And no threats presented themselves. It seemed that Cadance's reputation, as a mare with whom not to buck, preceded her. Ponies in the streets gave them a wide berth as they passed. They turned onto an empty road leading up a gentle hill. At the top of it was a rather large house. It was nowhere near as big as the castle, but it was still a very impressive residence. 

"Here we are," Cadance said, arriving at the front door. Shining dashed in front of her to open the door for her. The handle gave him a healthy zap and remained locked. Cadance chuckled. "Thank you, but you needn't open doors for me. You are my guard, not my butler."

"Do you have a butler?" he asked as Cadance's horn glowed.

"No," she replied as her magic dispelled the ward and unlocked the door. "Aunt Tia offered me a suite of servants for my villa but I politely declined." Cadance opened the door and she walked into the foyer. "I'm not helpless, after all. And I prefer my privacy."

"Am I to stand guard outside, then?" he asked from the porch.

"Not at all," Cadance replied, turning to grin at him. "I insist that you... come inside."

"Okay," Shining said, entering the dwelling, oblivious to her innuendo. He closed the door behind him and stood before her.

"If nothing else," Cadance continued, "Aunt Tia insisted that I have at least one bodyguard, though. I agreed, but on one condition. That I get to choose the guard."

"It's an honor, Your Majesty," he said.

"First order of mine," she said, "You may dispense with the titles. I chose you for your familiarity. So please, Shining, while we are here, call me Cadance."

"Yes, Cadance," he said with a bow.

"And no more of that," she said, lifting his head with her hoof. "Unless we are out in public, you don't need to bow to me unless I ask it of you."

"Understood," he said, standing back up at attention.

"And relax. It's just me," she said.

"Okay." He stood at-ease.

She stood in front of him and looked him up and down. She had seen him many times before, certainly, both in and out of uniform. But this time she was looking at him differently. Her expression was lost on Shining. But were he to have a keener set of eyes, he might have seen a glint in hers, one that was almost predatory. Indeed it was quite how she felt as she walked around him in a slow circle. Patient, Confident. Savoring the meal to come.

Aunt Tia was a fool to let me have but one lone pony guard, Cadance thought to herself. She had done well in her efforts to keep me chaste. Even I could not have foreseen my success with Night Light. She glanced under his tail as she walked around behind him, finding him intact. But now I have a stallion all to my own. And if he's at all like his father... Cadance practically shuddered at the thought. Patience, she reminded herself. She had all the time in the world now to do this right. She patted her tail against her marehood to try to stay her dampness.

"This way," she said. "If you are to guard this residence, you ought to know the layout. So let me give you a tour." She led him out of the foyer, and he followed after her. His nostrils reflexively flared as he caught a whiff of... something. He couldn't tell exactly what. But it made his heart flutter in his chest. He shook his head and focused on keeping his nerves under control.

"Dinning room, parlor, den, bathroom," Cadance said as they visited each room. The dining room was rather modest, with only seating for four. The parlor was cozy with couch seating for more guests. The den had a fireplace, a fully-stocked bookshelf, a reading nook, and, what Shining could only assume was, a mini-bar. The bathroom was particularly impressive. Marble tile with a pedestal sink. The tub was more like a small swimming pool with multiple shower heads above. Even so, the toilet was a rather plain porcelain 'throne'. 

"Right then, upstairs." Shining followed her. As they went up the stairs Cadance flagged her tail to an almost obscene degree. From his position behind her she was certain that there was no way he couldn't feast his eyes on her. As much as she wanted to look back and catch the naughty colt in the act, she didn't want to spoil his desire. She glanced to the side at a curio cabinet, catching his reflection off of the glass window. He was trying to make it look like he wasn't staring at her marehood. Trying, and failing. She swished her tail a bit, wafting her scent to him even more, unwilling to play fair. 

"Second floor," Cadance said, "My office." It was a rather plain-looking office with a nice desk and a minimal amount of paperwork. It looked like it had seen little use. "Next is the guest bedroom, which will be the 'guard's quarters' now." The guest bedroom was practically lavish. It featured table, chair, dresser, closet, and a bed larger than any he had ever seen, let alone slept in. That is until... "My bedchambers." Cadance said, opening the door to her bedroom. It was just like the guest bedroom but everything was bigger, and fancier. And her dresser came with a large vanity mirror. Her massive bed was enshrouded in a pink, sheer canopy.

"Now then," Cadance said, standing in her bedroom. "Since we're going to be seeing a lot of each other now, why don't we get a bit more acquainted?"

"You've... we've known each other for years now," he said. "What more do you want to know?"

"Well, most of the other guards weren't particularly chatty. I think they were intimidated by me. I'm curious though. What's it like in the Royal Guard?" she asked. Shining stood at attention.

"WE ARE THE ROYAL GUARD. WE ARE THE PROUD, THE FEW-"

"No no!" Cadance said, waving him to stop. "I've seen enough of the posters. I want to know the inside scoop."

"Oh. Okay."

"Is it true that they give you pills to... suppress your urges?" she asked with a coy grin.

"They gave us..." Shining began, thinking of how to describe it. "They called them vitamins. But my dad told me later that, yeah, it was to keep us from... 'getting urges'."

"Do you still take them?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No. It was just for when we were in basic training."

"That's good," she said. "I don't want my guard to be... impaired in any way."

"Okay," Shining agreed. It made sense.

"Tell me, Shining, have you ever been kissed by a mare?" she asked. Shining mind flashed to when he had kissed Twilight that night. Or during that lesson when he was being home schooled by his- "Your mom doesn't count," Cadance added. Shining somehow turned a whiter shade of pale. "Kissing you goodnight as a colt," she added. "Is that a no?" she asked. He certainly wasn't going to correct her otherwise. He shook his head. "Never had a special somepony?" she asked. He shook his head again. She smiled and walked closer to him. "Would you like one?" she asked with her very best bedroom eyes. He had missed just about all of the subtle, and not-so-subtle hints that she had lobbing his way. But that one, he got. Somewhat in shock, he opened his mouth to answer. She didn't wait for one, instead giving him one of her own, kissing his mouth with hers.

To call Shining's kissing skills novice would have been charitable. Cadance parted her lips to further the kiss but Shining reflexively pursed his. Beyond that, she'd had more interactive kisses from the pony statues in her foyers. It ended as quickly as it started. She made a mental note to spend some time improving his technique. But her point was made. 

"I'd like one too," she whispered. The shock of the kiss faded and Shining's mind was able to form a cohesive thought. He very-much wanted a special somepony. Cadance was one of the prettiest mares in Equestria, and a princess to boot. Best of all, she was a mare he didn't have to be ashamed to be attracted to. He couldn't wait to tell everypony. "But we can't tell anypony," she said.

"Oh?" he asked with disappointment.

"I'm a princess," she said, stating the obvious. "And you're my guard. We aren't allowed to get involved, romantically. So it will just have to be our little secret. Okay?" He nodded. "Good." She turned to walk towards the bed and sat on the edge. Her marehood dampened the covers. "Now then, why don't we work on your kissing?" 

"My kissing?" he asked. She nodded.

"Come on over here," she said with a wave of her hoof. He stood in front of where she was sitting and leaned in to kiss her. She put a hoof up to stop him. "Uh, ah!" she chided. She flopped back onto the bed with her tail and legs hanging off the edge. He made a special effort to keep his eyes from drifting south of the equator. He moved to climb onto the bed to kiss her. "Hold on," she said. He stopped and stood where he was. "Before you kiss me, you need to bow," she said.

"Oh, okay," he said. He hadn't read up on 'princess kissing' etiquette and simply took her at her word. He bowed his head slightly. Cadance propped herself up on her elbows.

"Lower," she instructed. He did as he was told and bow a bit lower, getting even closer to the source of her musk. "Lower," she repeated.

"Uh," he hesitated, unsure of just how close he was going to be able to get to her nethers.

"Low-wer," she sang, gently placing her hoof on the top of his head. He let her push him downward until his lips met hers. "There," she breathed. "Practice kissing," she said. Shining didn't need her hoof on his head for it to be plainly obvious what she wanted him to do. She was a princess, after all. It only stood to reason that she would expect to be pleasured first. Not that he was complaining. Her scent and flavor was bliss as he began to happily lick away.

"Oo-ooh! You're quite talented at this," she admitted. "At the top, try-" Shining cut her off giving her clitoris a kiss and a quick suck. Cadance audibly gasped at the contact. "Are you s-sure you're a v-virgin?" she asked. He nodded, rubbing his nose against her clit as he kept licking her pussy. "Well you certainly s-seem to know what you're d-doing!" she said, gripping at the covers with her hooves. "And here I thought I was going to have to tell you where to put it." Shining paused and looked up at her.

"I know where to put it," he said a bit defensively. Though to Cadance it sounded a lot more sexy.

"Oh, I bet you do," she breathed. If he was anything like his father, Cadance was looking forward to exactly that with great anticipation.

"Want me to show you?" he asked, standing up. He reared up and flourished his throbbing erection sticking out from under his armor. It was every bit as big as she was hoping.

Oh, by the sweet stars above, YES!

"Finish your meal first. Then you can have your dessert," Cadance said, directing him back downward. Shining did as he was told and brought his face down between her legs again. He offered no complaint and happily resumed licking her. As badly as she wanted him to just take her, right then and there, she feared that his inexperience would leave him with a hair trigger. With that in mind, her horn glowed as she cast her contraceptive spell while she still had the presence of mind to do so. Just because the couch at his parents' house pulled out, didn't guarantee that he would, after all.

Secondly, and almost as importantly, she knew that once he started using that, he wouldn't stop until he was done. When a stallion was done, they were done. At least for a while. She wanted to make sure that she got her jollies at least once first. Though she had to give credit where credit was due. He had her well on her way to getting hers.

Shining Armor, for his part, applied every last scrap of knowledge he had on the matter at hoof, and tongue. To his credit, he stayed his drive to mount her immediately, even as his demanding need bobbed beneath him. He wracked his memory about the subject and mentally compared notes... and parts.

The basic anatomy of Cadance's marehood was familiar enough in all the ways that mattered. But it was unique in a few key was as well. Her lips were a bit fuller, more puffy. And obviously pink, inside and out. He felt conflicted as he compared and contrasted it to the other pussies that he had seen before. Twilight's was a bit more narrow, and more taut. Velvet's was softer and more stretchy. He felt a pang of shameful guilt at the thought. Contrariwise, his stallionhood throbbed harder still. Like so many things in the heat of the moment, he pushed it aside to simply enjoy the moment itself. Here was a willing mare that wanted him. And by the sounds of it, this was to be the first of many. And best of all, he wasn't related to her.

Heh.

The fact that he would yet again have to keep his relationship a secret was of no consequence to him as he felt her writhing under his ministrations. He had become quite good at it. Both pleasing a mare, and keeping secrets.

Cadance's back arched and her wings sprang out from under her to either side as he flicked her clit with his tongue one last time and sucked it. Her thighs clamped together on his head as she came. She didn't squirt, so much as gushed her marecum into his mouth. Shining just held on to his breath as she held onto his head. Her hips rocked and rolled back and forth and side to side until at last her legs fell slack on the bed in exhaustion.

"That was- wow," Cadance breathed. Shining rubbed his neck, pleased to find that she hadn't broken it. He wiped his mouth as best as he could of her wetness. He leaned over her and planted little kisses up along her tummy.

His veiny cock between them slid against her pussy, getting even wetter with her lubrication. He looked down and guided the tip to her entrance with his magic, holding it there with a slight amount of pressure. He looked up at her eyes and waited. She looked at him and nodded. He leaned forward and pushed into her in a single, smooth motion. Cadance gasped as the air was forced from her lungs. He was every bit as long as she remembered Night Light being. But where he really excelled was his thickness. He gradually got deeper until his thick tip pressed against her deepest barrier as he bottomed out inside of her.

"A perfect fit," she breathed as he held himself there. He started to move again, agonizingly slowly. "Go," she demanded. "Just go!" He did as he was told and rutted her as fast and as hard as he pleased. Cadance had gotten her way, and was happy to let him have his. Many times.







While they enjoyed their 'dessert', Princess Celestia enjoyed a dessert of her own back in Canterlot Castle. Cadance thought that she was so clever, negotiating a lone, unfixed stallion into her own keeping. Unknowingly playing right into her aunt's hoof. Celestia grinned and took a sip of her tea. She brought the tiny dessert to her lips and took a dainty, princess-like bite.

"Easy as cupcakes."
> Friendship is Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Celestia had been very busy for the last couple of days. She had spent the entire day prior giving Mayor Mare of Ponyville very specific taskings for very specific residents of her town. The local orchard, Sweet Apple Acres, was to be in charge of the banquet. Resident fashionista, Rarity, would be in charge of decorations. The animal specialist would assemble a choir of birds. And the resident Weather Team pegasus tasked to the skies over Ponyville would receive yet another royal pardon to ensure her continued employment. As for the pink one... Celestia was certain that pony would find Twilight on her own. She seemed to have a knack for knowing when somepony new was in town. Everything was in place. It had been a busy day indeed. But it wasn't over yet. There was one last item that required her attention.

Princess Celestia laid out a parchment and took up her quill to send a letter to her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She had given her some assigned reading for the summer break that would clue her in to the truth about Nightmare Moon. All that was left was making sure that all of the pieces were in the right place at the right time.



My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying. So I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location, Ponyville. (See attached Summer Sun Celebration Overseer's Checklist) And I have an even more essential task for you to complete, make some friends!





Summer Sun Celebration Overseer's Checklist
1. Banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres
2. Ensure that the local weather pony [Rainbow Dash] clears the sky of clouds.
3. Decorations. 
4. Music.



"And now to just fire this off..." Celestia said. But just then a wisp of green smoke came in her window. It manifested into a scroll in front of her. She opened it and immediately recognized the claw writing of Twilight's dragon familiar, Spike. 



My dearest teacher, 
My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that something really bad is about to happen. For you see, the mythical mare in the moon is, in fact, Nightmare Moon. And she's about to return to Equestria and bring with her, eternal night. Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.



"At the zero hour, Twilight," Celestia muttered. "Alright," she said as she quickly amended her original letter and sent it off, probably responding faster than Twilight was expecting. But it no longer mattered. What was done was done. She needed to make her own preparations for what was to come.





Princess Cadance was enjoying a warm, morning bath at her villa in the Canterlot Palisades. A wisp of green smoke snaked in through the window. She looked up at a magic scroll appearing in front of her, landing on the small table beside the tub. It bore Princess Celestia's seal. 

"Hmm, what does aunt Tia want now?" Cadance mused to herself as she opened the scroll with her magic and began reading.



Dear Cadance,
Please come to the Canterlot Castle as soon as you are able. As you know, I will be presiding over the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow morning in Ponyville. While I am gone, I will need you to be at the Canterlot Castle in my stead until my return. You may tend to any minor matters that arise as you see fit. (Yes, you may finally sit on the throne if you please.) I have faith that you will do well with this assignment.

- Aunt Celestia



As she finished reading, Cadance threw her head back as she felt herself orgasm in the warm bath water. With a large splash, Shining Armor's head burst from beneath the soapy bubbles, coughing and gasping for air.

"Mmm, thank you, Shiny," Cadance cooed to her dutiful stallion. Shining wiped the soapy water from his eyes and looked at the scroll.

"What's that?" he asked.

"A royal summons," Cadance answered. "Aunt Tia is going to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow morning and I need to hold court at the castle for her tomorrow. She wants me to come to the castle now for, what I assume will be, a more detailed briefing."

"Oh. So we should get ready to go then!" Shining said, moving to get out of the tub. Cadance grabbed his horn with her hoof.

"Uh, ah. We have time. We can leave after."

"After what?" he asked. She smiled and pushed his head down.

"Deep breath," she said and she pushed him down beneath the water again. She grinned and her eyes flittered. She leaned back in the tub and moaned. Canterlot could wait a few minutes more.





In the small hours of the next day, Celestia waited backstage at Ponyville Town hall. She hated the Summer Sun Celebration. To her, it was an annual reminder of her failing her sister. But at last, it was her chance to redeem herself. As she stood there in the dark, she felt something that she hadn't felt in centuries: fear. She felt afraid and anxious. She had been preparing for this day for a millennium, for Nightmare Moon's return. It was only by the Elements of Harmony that she was able to defeat her the first time. 

Or rather, she could have defeated her quite easily. But she was still her sister and she loved her. That was what stayed her hoof from a killing blow. It was only by the Elements that she was instead  able to imprison her in the moon.

Celestia felt afraid. Not of Nightmare Moon. But of what she might have to do, herself. She didn't have the elements with her this time. She would not lose her sister to the moon for another thousand years. Celestia looked out the window at the moon. The mare in the moon looked back. Celestia prepared her suite of warding spells for the confrontation as she listened to Mayor Mare out on stage.

"Fillies and gentlecolts! As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration! In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land. The very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day. The good. The wise. The bringer of harmony to all of Equestria: Princess Celestia!"

Celestia blinked. The mare in the moon vanished. In a puff of blue smoke, Nightmare Moon appeared before her.

"Hello, Nightmare Moon," Celestia greeted flatly.

"Goodbye, Celestia," Nightmare Moon growled. 

Her black horn glowed a bright blue as she flung the spell at Celestia. The spell hit Celestia's invisible shield and several things happened. Firstly, time stopped. But not for Celestia. She reached out with her magic and studied the spell, expecting a standard death curse. Such spells were simple, and direct. But as such, they were easily countered. 

But this was, instead, a spell similar to what the Elements of Harmony had done, set to banish Celestia to the moon for a thousand years. It was clear that it had taken her some time to construct the spell. Unsurprising given how much time she'd had in isolation. It was appropriate, Celestia felt. Her sister always did love to bring a sense of irony to a magic battle.

Celestia manipulated the spell. At its heart, Nightmare Moon's spell was a targeted teleportation spell. Celestia simply changed the location. As soon as she finished, she released the ward. With nary a blink of an eye, time resumed. Nightmare Moon's spell landed its blow and Celestia vanished. With victory in hoof, Nightmare Moon made her grand entrance in the Ponyville town hall to greet her new subjects.

Celestia reappeared standing in a cave, before the Tree of Harmony. Above her was the old castle she once shared with her sister. There could be no mistake, there was no turning back now. She, and the ponies she cared about, were now in harm's way.  But she was a mare that played chess, not dice. She had done all she could to make sure that all the pieces were in place. She looked up at the Tree of Harmony. It bore the marks of Twilight Sparkle and the other five ponies that Celestia had found in Ponyville.

Celestia sighed. She was never one to believe in prophecy or fate. But now it seemed that it was time for fate to play its part. She had made sure to give Twilight her copy of Predictions and Prophecies, and her checklist that would ensure that she met the proper ponies. She was a smart mare. The trail of clues would surely lead her and her friends to the old castle and find the Elements.





Far away, in the Canterlot Castle, Shining Armor sat up in the massive bed. His military training had left him with an internal alarm clock that always had him waking up before the dawn every morning. He leaned over and disabled the alarm on the nightstand clock before it went off. He sat and looked out the east window. 

"And here... we... go..." he whispered to himself, bracing for the first streak of the dawn's sunlight. But it didn't come. He looked at the clock again. It wasn't broken, or running fast, as far as he could tell. It matched the clock in the living room. The sunrise was late. "The sunrise is late," he thought to himself. "The sunrise is late," he repeated out loud, trying to wrap his mind around the absurdity of it. His eyes went wide as the realization hit him like a bucket of ice water. "The sunrise is late!" He was on his hooves with a start as adrenaline flooded his system. He quickly began to make a ruckus as he dressed himself. The other pony that had been sleeping beside him in the massive bed roused to the commotion. 

Princess Cadance rubbed the sleep from her eyes and squinted blearily into the dark room as her guard pony fumbled with his uniform.

"What are you doing? It's not even morning yet," she groaned.

"Exactly!" he said, as he stumbled around getting dressed. "It's not morning yet, but it should be! The sunrise is late! The sunrise is never late. In a thousand years, the sunrise is NEVER late!"

"Shining, relax. I'm sure the clock is wrong or something," she said, rolling back over in bed. Shining finished getting dressed, put on his armor, combed his mane and put on his helmet. A few minutes later a knock came at the door. He opened it. Lieutenant Spearhead was on the other side.

"Your Highness!" Spearhead called into the room. "Princess Cadenza! You're urgently needed in the throne room!"

Cadance got up and out of the bed. She quickly ran a brush through her mane and tail, stepped into her golden horse shoes and affixed her tiara. Shining Armor had gotten specialized training in the Royal Guard academy. Cadance had gotten her own personal training from Celestia herself, in preparation to one day become a proper princess, in more than just title. The common ponies envied her, as a princess. But they would never know the pains of the great responsibility that came with the position when duty called. 

And duty called.

"Give me a situation report, Lieutenant!" Cadance commanded as her emergency training kicked in. She walked beside him as he briefed her along the way. Shining Armor followed closely.

"We just received word from our pegasi express runners from Ponyville. Princess Celestia has vanished! The Mayor reported that she had arrived as scheduled, but when it was time for her to make her appearance, there was another pony there, calling herself Nightmare Moon."

"Nightmare Moon?" Shining asked, as they walked through the hallway. "But that's just an old mare's tale. Somepony is just using it as a scare tactic." 

"It seems not," Spearhead said, motioning to the window as they passed. The three of them looked up at the moon. Its face was flawlessly white, devoid of the iconic 'mare in the moon' pattern. They moved a little faster. Spearhead rushed ahead and threw open the throne room doors for Cadance. Everypony in attendance quickly rose to attention.

"Give me an update!" Cadance yelled to nopony in particular.

"The Princess is still missing," Commander Herder reported.

"Locating Princess Celestia is our top priority," Cadance said. "Send a pegasus division to Ponyville to search for her."

"One is already on its way," the commander said. "But there is no knowing how long it will take them to find her."

"Then send two!" Cadance said as she took her place on the throne.

"What about the ponies?" another officer asked. "The rest of Equestria will be waking soon to dark skies. Ponies are going to start to panic." Cadance sat on the throne. Princess Celestia had always been fond of saying that their first responsibility was to the safety and welfare of their citizens.

"Send the second pegasus division to Ponyville to reinforce the search effort, and to spread the word about the... 'night-time holiday'?" she offered. "We need to make this seem intentional. Scatter Division Three to spread the word to every city we can reach as quickly as equine possible."

"A... Nocturne Appreciation Event?" an officer suggested.

"Yes. Excellent!" Cadance said. "Spread the word that we are doing a 'Nocturne Appreciation Event', and there is no reason to panic. The sun will be here soon."

"And if it isn't?" the commander asked.

"Then we will have far more to worry about than riots in the streets," Cadance said. 

"But there will be no pegasi guard left in Canterlot," he said.

"The unicorn battalions will remain here," Cadance said. "But we need every speedy wing we have to spread the word. Make it happen, Commander! Immediately, if not sooner!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"And what of this 'Nightmare Moon'?" Shining Armor asked. Cadance sat back in the throne and steeped her hooves together.

"If conquest is her goal, then she will move against Canterlot next. Against me. She may have gotten the drop on Celestia. But I will be ready." Cadance looked at her assembled team of Guard officers. "We will be ready. She will be stopped. And if she has done anything to Celestia," she growled, "I will have her begging to be sent back to the moon before I am done with her," she growled. Shining gulped.





Twilight and her new friends arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the Everfree Forest to confront Nightmare Moon. In the cave beneath the castle, Celestia waited for the sound of the Elements being used.

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the- the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth Element. The Element of Magic!" Twilight Sparkle said. The Elements of Harmony activated and a chromatic beam of magic struck Nightmare Moon. The alicorn screamed out in fear of being sent back to the moon for another millennium. But no such fate came. Princess Celestia took flight out of the cave, and up to the castle after the commotion of the Element's magic subsided.

"Gee, Twilight. I thought you were just spouting a lot of hooey. But I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship," Applejack said.

"Indeed you do," Princess Celestia said, finally able to raise the sun, free of Nightmare Moon's influence. The sunlight poured into the window and she teleported herself inside the castle.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped as she trotted over to embrace her mentor.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it," Celestia said.

"But you told me it was all an old pony tale," Twilight said.

"I told you that you needed to make some friends. Nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return. And I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well," Celestia said, looking towards the blue alicorn amidst the broken armor. "Princess Luna, it had been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." Celestia knelt down beside the fallen mare. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together little sister," Celestia said.

"Sister!?" the other ponies gasped.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked her. A thousand years was a long time. She had been so angry for so long. It had burned everything away, leaving her feeling so empty with naught left but her desire for revenge. Celestia knew this. She knew that violence would resolve nothing for her. And it would not fill the void that guilt had left in her own heart. Nightmare Moon had made herself Celestia's enemy by her hatred. But Celestia was wise enough to know that what she really needed in return was love. As she would often advocate, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? It was never more true than that very moment. Luna blinked back her bitter tears and jumped to her hooves to embrace her elder sister.

"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" Luna cried.

"I've missed you too!" Celestia said back as she held her. 

"You know what this calls for?" Pinkie Pie asked. "A party!"

"Indeed," Celestia agreed. "We have much to celebrate!"

The eight of them walked out of the Everfree Forest to Ponyville.

"Princess Celestia!" a guard from the pegasi corps called out from above. "There you are! She's here! She's here!" he yelled. Immediately, two more pegasi joined him. "Your Majesty, are you okay!?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Celestia assured them. 

The guard turned to his squad-mates. "You," he said to one of them, "fetch the Princess's chariot. And you," he said to the other, "get to Canterlot as fast as you can and tell them that we've secured the princess!" They both obeyed and flew off.

"And you, Sergeant?" Celestia asked.

"I'm not letting you leave my sight," he said. 

"Twilight, why don't you and your new friends head back to Ponyville," Celestia said. "We'll be along in a short while. There is still a celebration for which you must prepare."

"Right away!" Twilight said with pride as she and the others trotted into town. 

"Now what in the wide world of Equestria happened last night!?" the sergeant asked. Celestia looked at Luna beside her, and smiled.

"That, Sergeant, is a long story..."





Cadance and the rest of Equestria had watched the sky become bright with the dawn some time ago.

"So the sun is back," Shining Armor said.

"Thank you, Captain," Cadance said. "I'm glad I have you around in case my eyes ever stop working."

"Sheesh, somepony hasn't had her coffee," Shining muttered. A pegasus guard ran into the throne room with great haste, staggering briefly to catch his breath.

"Princess Celestia... has been found... safe," he gasped.

"... and!?" Cadance asked.

"And I was... told to tell you... as fast as I could..." he panted.

"That's... good," Shining said. "Crisis averted."

"I need more information!" Cadance demanded. "Where is she? What is she doing now?" A wisp of green smoke came in through the window and a scroll materialized in front of Cadance bearing Celestia's seal. Cadance caught it with her magic before it hit the floor and opened it. She read it quickly. "Princess Celestia is in Ponyville." Cadance reported from the scroll. "Carrying on the Summer Sun Celebration as planned with her..." Cadance read the last part three time to make sure that she hadn't gone crazy. "...with her sister."





Princess Luna watched as Celestia's chariot had arrived to collect her and her new... "guest". The smaller blue pony sat beside Celestia as the four pegasi guard ponies flew them into Ponyville to the joyous reception of all. Celestia had great practice with smiling for everypony. Even though she wanted nothing more than to just run away with her sister and just take the next month off to catch up on lost time with her, but as she always said, service to the citizens of Equestria came first. Luna was out of practice with wearing the happy facade.

They stepped off of the chariot into the center of town and two pegasi foals flew to Celestia with a flower lei. Celestia nodded them away toward her younger sister. The foals obliged and placed the flower necklace on the younger pony. Luna smiled weakly at the gesture, trying her best to keep her composure. It was all just so overwhelming. After a millennium in dark, silent isolation, it felt like sensory overload. Everything was so bright. There were so many ponies. And the noise! She just wanted to run away.

Luna listened as Celestia made a decree about the purple unicorn that had wielded the element of magic. Something regarding magical studies and friendship. Luna wasn't particularly paying attention. She was just anxious to leave. Celestia kept their visit in Ponyville mercifully brief. And after not too long, they were airborne once again, heading back to Canterlot.

Luna was happy to be away from the commotion of the crowd. Now there was only the sound of the wind rushing by, and the rhythmic beats of the pegasi wings pulling them. Luna looked down at her hoof when she felt Celestia's hold it. She looked at the alabaster alicorn beside her. Luna had to squint. Her fur was bright in the harsh light of day. Bright as the sun itself. Celestia turned and looked at her, and smiled. It was that same warm, patient smile that she always had. Luna released a breath that she didn't realize that she had been holding. The skyline of Canterlot came into view, perched on the side of the mountain. Canterlot Castle stood high above everything else.

"The main foyer?" the lead pegasus asked.

"East spire," Celestia replied. Luna's ears perked up. The guards exchanged nervous glances as they flew towards the castle. The chariot slowed to a stop beside the balcony of the 'Forbidden Tower'. One pegasus guard grazed the edge of it with his hoof and got a quick jolt of electricity from the surface. He quickly yanked his hoof away from the 'cursed tower'. Luna moved to step onto the platform, but Celestia stopped her with her hoof. Celestia's horn glowed, and a golden yellow spell spread out and washed over the spire, removing the several ancient defensive wards that she had placed on it.

Celestia stepped onto the balcony first, ensuring that it was safe to do so. Luna joined her as Celestia waved off the chariot. Luna grimaced at the state of it. The entrance from the balcony had been bricked up and sealed. Celestia's horn glowed again and the brick wall shimmered and evaporated, revealing the old entrance. Celestia's horn continued to work as she walked, peeling back each protective ward that she had placed upon the structure. Each one was specially crafted and layered upon the others. Wards against monster attacks, magic, intruders, insects, and mice. Wards against moisture, dust, light, and even time itself. All of Canterlot could be razed and this tower would have been all that remained. When the last spell was lifted, Celestia opened the door and let Luna inside. It was Luna's personal royal chambers, utterly unchanged since the night she'd left a thousand years ago.

Celestia waited and watched as Luna walked through the familiar room, running her hoof along the surfaces of her furniture. Everything was kept perfectly preserved with immaculate detail. She saw her reflection in her vanity mirror. Her fur and mane were both lighter shades of blue than normal. She brought her hoof to her cheek.

"What is this now?" Luna asked of her appearance. Celestia blushed as she walked over to her.

"Some time after you... left, we encountered some Changelings, creatures that were able to change their appearance at will. I tried to replicate their magic, but I was unsuccessful. So I tried to use the Elements, but I was only able to slightly change my appearance. Like so," Celestia said, motioning to Luna. "I guess there was a bit of it left over when I put them away in the old castle. But don't worry, it will wear off in about a day or so."

"It's certainly different," Luna said, feeling her mane hang limp on her shoulders. She lifted her mane with her magic and tried to get it to wave again as it used to.

"That will come back in time as well," Celestia assured her, putting her hoof to Luna's. Luna looked up at Celestia.

"Thank you for... everything," Luna said. with tears in her eyes. "You have no idea how much I've really missed you."

"No, I do. I really do," Celestia said, wrapping her hooves around her. Luna brought her face closer to hers and kissed her. Celestia kissed her back. Luna kissed her harder, pulling her backwards onto her lush bed. Celestia kissed her again as they both opened their mouths. Their tongues slid over over on another as they ran their hooves over each others bodies. Each of them slid their hooves down between the thighs of the other.

"I have longed for your touch so badly!" Luna moaned into Celestia's mouth as she felt her sister pleasuring her. Celestia climbed into bed with her and straddled one of her sister's legs at an askew angle, bringing her pussy to bear against hers as they ground together. 

"I'll never let another stallion come between us again," Celestia said.





Downstairs, in the throne room beside Princess Cadance, Shining Armor felt his ears become quite warm.
> Old, New, Borrowed and Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Make love to me, sister!" Luna pleaded from lewd pose on her bed. "It has been far too long since we have known your touch." Celestia kissed her again. "And then after, we will mark you as our mare once more. I look forward to staining your perfect white fur with our golden hue!" Luna pulled her toward her harder, but Celestia resisted. "Why do you deny us?"

"I want to," Celestia breathed as she looked at her younger sibling beneath her. "I want this more than anything!" She gently pushed her away. "Though I feel I must inform you that 'marking' one's partner has fallen out of vogue some centuries ago. So as much as I miss wearing your... scent, unfortunately I must see to my royal duties first. And I can't very well hold court in such a lewd state. And the ponies are all worried. I need to assuage their fears. Our duty to Equestria-" 

"Comes first, yes we know," Luna huffed begrudgingly. "You have told us a hundred times. Go, then! And make haste in your return. We have much time to make up for."

"You're coming with me," Celestia said, pulling at Luna's hoof. Luna yanked her hoof away and rolled over in her bed dismissively.

"We have had enough fanfare for one day. Let us know when it is time to raise the moon," Luna said.

"The ponies want to meet the sister of the princess," Celestia said. "They are excited to meet you. And I want you to meet them. I want them to know you and understand why I love you so much. And then they will too."

"What they want. What you want. Have you ever considered what I want!?" Luna said angrily. "No, of course not. You never have!" she spat. Celestia's face whipped to the side as though the words had physically slapped her. She knew that her sister's return would reopen old wounds. But she didn't expect that particular knife in her heart to be twisted by the one pony she loved more than any other. A thousand years of practiced poise and with a single utterance, Celestia's stoic facade crumbled. Luna bit her lip, regretting the words immediately. "Tia- I- I'm-"

"No, I'm the one who is sorry," Celestia said. "You're right. I always did put your needs second. And I know that was why you..." she trailed off. "Why things went the way they did. I've long regretted it. I don't want to lose you again. Please forgive me."

"Only if you forgive me," Luna said, wiping away Celestia's tears, "for turning into a night-mare." Celestia turned and kissed her again.

"I already have," Celestia whispered. The two ponies were content to just hold each other. They had waited a millennium to do so. Equestria could wait a few minutes more. "Please," Celestia begged, "Just come down and meet our ponies. And then we can come back up here later and I promise, it will be-" Celestia paused to nibble on her sister's ear to punctuate her words, "the best night ever." Luna shivered and nodded. After a bit more playful enticing, they roused themselves from Luna's bed and readied their appearances for the Canterlot elite.

Celestia broke the ancient seal on Luna's bedchambers door and it slowly creaked open on old hinges into the dark hallway of the "Forbidden Tower". Unlike her perfectly preserved bedroom, the hallway showed its age. The air was heavy with dank staleness. The banners lining the walls were little more than scraps left to the moths. The carpet crumbled to dust beneath their hooves. The ceiling was thick with spider webs, making lighting the sconces a terrible fire hazard. Celestia lit the way with her horn.

"I'm sorry about appearances," Celestia apologized. "I should have come through here before you returned. I'll have the castle staff get this back to its proper state at once."

"That shan't be necessary," Luna said, taking in the sights. "We quite like it. It reminds us of our old castle in the forest. Before we came into the finery of modern royalty in Canterlot."

"As you wish," Celestia acquiesced. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Celestia unlocked the door sealing off the spire. In the intervening years, the East Wing had been converted into the 'industrial part' of the castle, as Celestia liked to put it. She found it was more palatable than calling it the 'servants' quarters'. Several of the castle's faculty ponies turned to see the 'Forbidden Door' glowing as the very last of the wards were disabled and the door unlocked, swinging into the well-lit hallway. Out from the dark stepped Princess Celestia herself.

Every pony there had seen Celestia before in some manner or another. She made it a point to visit all of her employees, even here, though it was a somewhat rare occurrence. Celestia was accustomed to all eyes on her. But their gaze upon her was askew to the shorter, blue pony beside her. Murmurs abound in the gathering of ponies. Those closest to them bowed politely as they walked passed. A couple of the wait staff ducked back into the kitchen. A moment later the Head Chef burst out from the double doors, slamming them open with his long, crescent horns. His woolly fur was kept buzzed very short for the kitchen.

"Your Majesty," he greeted as he bowed curtly. "What brings you to the kitchen? Do you have a special request for a meal? Perhaps for your...guest here?" he asked, looking at Luna. Luna leaned close to Celestia.

"Our chef de' cuisine is a ram?" she whispered.

"Luna, this is Chef Ram Carpi- uh, Capra..." Celestia trailed off. "My apologies. Chef Ram, with a last name that begins with a C, that I have long-since given up on trying to pronounce," Celestia said.

"Chef Ram Capricornucopicabanahoof," he said with an understanding smile. "It's a muzzle-full, I know. But Ram C. is perfectly fine, Your Grace." Celestia smiled back.

"Chef, this is my sister, Princess Luna," Celestia introduced. 

"Charmed," Luna greeted.

"Your sister!?" he asked in unabashed surprise.

"Now then, we are in a bit of a hurry, so we shan't keep you from your duties any longer," Celestia said dismissively, stepping quickly down the hallway with her sister in close tow. 

Luna could feel their curious eyes on her as they departed until at last they were out of view. She looked at the various stained-glass windows, banners and tapestries adorning the walls of the populated section of the castle. To her dismay she found that she adorned none of them. The entire color palette of the interior was solely the warm hues of the day, with nary a splash of cool blues to be spied.

"Has the whole world forgotten about me?" Luna asked. "It seems as though I've been erased from history." Beside her, Celestia blinked back her tears.

"It wasn't easy, you know," Celestia said after a long pause. "I know you were imprisoned on the moon, and my suffering can not compare, but I did suffer. I couldn't bear to see reminders of you everywhere. And what was worse-" 

Celestia paused as they passed by a couple of maids. They bowed to the princess as she passed. Once they were out of earshot, Celestia continued. 

"What was worse was all of the ponies that wanted to celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon. They wanted a festival to celebrate my 'glorious victory' over the 'traitorous monster'," Celestia spat the words as though they tasted awful in her mouth. "I wouldn't allow it. And it seemed that the only way to quell those that would dare to besmirch your name, was to make them forget about you entirely. And less than two hundred years later, the legend of Nightmare Moon was no more than that. To be disregarded as an old mare's tale to scare little foals." Celestia turned to look at her. "But I never forgot about you. Every night when I had to set the sun and raise the moon, I had no choice but to look at it, and see the Mare in the Moon look back, an ever-present reminder of how I failed you, every night for a thousand years. I was never able to forgive myself for it."

"Tia, please," Luna said, holding her hoof, "Let the past be the past. I know we have had our differences. But let us only concern ourselves with what lies ahead." Celestia smiled.

"Thank you," she said. They reached the throne room doors. The Royal Guard ponies standing their posts bowed to them and moved aside. "Are you ready?" she asked. Luna nodded. The guards opened the grand doors and a hush fell over the din of the crowd inside as it parted to make way for Celestia and... her guest.

Luna walked beside Celestia as they entered the room and approached the ornate throne at the far end. Luna's eyes narrowed as she stared at the pink unicorn that dared to sit on the throne. The gall of the pony that remained seated as the rest stood and then bowed before them. The cheek of the mare that remained on the throne, giving no effort to attempt to hide what it was they were doing in Celestia's absence.

"Princess Celestia," the pink pony greeted with her formal title. "It is a tremendous relief to have you back."

"It is a relief to be back," Celestia replied.

"Whom do we have the honor of greeting this day?" the pink pony asked, knowing full well the answer, but giving Celestia the opportunity to properly introduce the new pony in the room. Celestia took a deep breath and stood even taller than usual, practically beaming with pride.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, it gives me great pleasure to present to you all, my sister; Princess Luna, returned!" Celestia announced, stepping aside to bow towards her sister. Everypony else bowed again. "Long live the princess!"

"Long live the princess!" everypony echoed.

"Princess Luna, may I introduce to you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," Celestia said. At last Cadance rose to her hooves and gave polite curtsy to Luna. Celestia returned a deferring nod to Cadance, as she was the current stewardess of the throne. Luna followed her sister's lead and returned a similar nod. Cadance stood upright once more and gave her wings a modest flourish. 

Luna's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. 'An Alicorn!?' Luna's head twisted to an unsettling degree to glare back at Celestia. The temperature in the room dropped sharply. The old princess looked at the new princess on the borrowed throne. The new princess looked at the blue princess. Celestia knew perfectly well what was coming next. But there was protocol to be seen to first. She cleared her throat.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, you are hereby relieved of duty," Celestia announced. "You may now retire to your villa in the Canterlot palisades." Cadance nodded in acceptance and stepped down from the throne. She wore a polite smile as she walked past Celestia and Luna, in spite of Luna's eyes boring daggers into her. But Celestia had taught Cadance well and she remained calm. It was not the first time she had to keep her stoic poise in the face of less-than-pleased guests of the crown. Her personal guard pony followed closely after, feeling his two-tone blue mane standing up on end as he passed by the new alicorn.

Celestia stepped forward and took her place on the throne as Cadance exited the room. Luna turned from Cadance and directed her glare back at Celestia, sitting high and mighty up on the throne.

"Sister, a word, now!" Luna all but growled. Celestia bristled, mostly in embarrassment for her sister's outburst, and she cleared her throat. Luna rolled her eyes. "Princess Celestia, might we have a private audience, please!?" Celestia nodded.

"Everypony out," Celestia dismissed the rest of the Day Court. The ponies filed out until at last the guards closed the door. Luna looked back at the guards and then again at Celestia. "Everypony," Celestia repeated. The guards bowed and removed themselves from the room and closed the doors behind them. Luna took a deep breath and started to yell.


"How could y-" Celestia held up a hoof to silence her. Her horn glowed, encasing the doors and walls with a sound-proofing spell.

"Okay," Celestia said, bracing herself.

"How could you!?" Luna yelled again. "After everything! You really did it! I can not believe you! How many Tia!? How many ponies had to die for you to indulge yourself!?"

"Lower. Your. Voice." Celestia said calmly. 

"You might as well have taken a sword to them yourself!" Luna stomped up the stairs to the throne, bringing her face an inch away from Celestia's. "How many more ponies had to die!?" Luna growled through her clenched teeth.

"Too many," Celestia whispered in admission.

"But apparently not enough for you to stop!" Luna spat before walking back down the stairs in tears. "They were foals, Tia! Foals that I had to help bury!" she sobbed.

"They knew the risks," Celestia said.

"Bullshit!" Luna cried. "Starswirl would never have allowed it to continue if he knew what was going to happen!"

"You obviously didn't know Starswirl like I did," Celestia said.

"Fuck you!" Luna cursed. "He was my special somepony first! But just like everything else of mine, you had to take him away from me too! You filthy whorse!"

"I didn't steal him away from you. He chose me, Luna. He supported the alicorn project from the beginning."

"Until he didn't, and you made him disappear!" Luna said.

"I've told you a hundred times before! I had nothing to do with his disappearance, or the other Pillars! The loss of them was a tragedy for all of Equestria. And all the more reason to see the project through to the end! And it was a success!" Celestia said.

"It's an abomination!" Luna retorted. Celestia slapped Luna across the cheek. Hard. It was the elder alicorn's turn to glare now.

"I love you Luna. But don't you ever call Cadance an abomination again."

"Or else what?" Luna asked, rubbing her cheek. Celestia said nothing in response, only standing firm with her stern expression. Luna huffed in disappointed resignation. "Have you no conscience at all, sister? Those foals. Those stillborn, and worse. Their... faces, they still haunt my dreams. I can still hear the echoed wails of the bereft mares, begging me to make it better with my alicorn magic. And every time I had to break their heart again, even as an alicorn, unable to sway power over life and death. Did it never bother you at all!?"

"Of course it did! How can you ask such a thing of me!?" Celestia cried. "It tormented me to have to have put my little ponies through such misery."

"But not enough to stop," Luna said.

"I was going to. I very nearly did after losing you. I thought, 'without Luna, what was the point?' But it was another that convinced me to see it through," Celestia said. "Snowdrop." Luna gasped.

"But- but that poor pegasus was born blind because of your program!" Luna spat. "Why would she of all ponies wish it to continue?"

"Because ironically, while she could not see, she did not lack vision," Celestia said. "She believed in what I- what we were trying to accomplish." Luna huffed.

"If only she could see you now," Luna muttered. She looked at the throne room doors where Cadance had exited. "Was it worth it? All the ponies that had to die for your little... project?"

"Do you really think me so heartless?" Celestia asked. "I'm not proud of the sacrifices that were made. They still haunt me to this day. I've tried to be a good pony for it. A kind, gentle, benevolent ruler. Maybe it's not enough to make up for what I've done in the past. Maybe it never will be. And if there is any justice in the hereafter, I'll burn in Tartarus for it. But what's done is done." Celestia sighed. "Cadance marks the beginning of a new era for our race." Celestia stepped down from her throne to sit beside her sister. "We don't have to be alone in the world any longer. Soon Cadance, and her foals, will be able to take our place on the throne, and we can just have each other." Luna looked up at Celestia. "Luna, all I've ever wanted was you. Everything I've done, I've done for you, for us. Luna, I've been alone for so long," Celestia cried. "I'm so sorry. I missed you so much."

Luna knew that her sister was a talented liar. But Luna was the one that could always see through her. And she could tell that her remorse was sincere. She wanted to stay angry. She wanted to hate her. But she wanted to love her. She missed her just as badly. Luna trembled and stepped closer to lean against Celestia. Celestia wrapped her hooves around her and sobbed quietly against her little sister. Luna looked through the stained-glass window at the sunlight that she had nearly eliminated from the world as Nightmare Moon.

"I suppose we both have much to regret," Luna said, hugging her back. "Sometimes I wish that Clover the Clever had never found us in that cave. Or that her mentor, Starswirl, figured out how to free us from the stone."

"The tribes were freezing, and starving from the Windigos," Celestia reminded her. "We were able to represent all the races and unite the ponies under a common banner," she said, nodding toward the Equestrian flag adorning the wall. 

"Hmm," Luna agreed, leaning against her. "When did life become so complicated?"

"When we desired," Celestia answered. "When we desired more than we had. When we desired a stallion over each other." Celestia could feel her tired weight in her hooves. "You should get some sleep, sister, if you are to take up your old shift for the night," Celestia suggested.

"We are... not sure if we are quite ready for that just yet. We have only just returned. We have much to learn about the world and the ponies in it if we are to rule in any sort of meaningful way," Luna admitted.

"Bad dreams have never ceased to plague the sleep of ponies," Celestia said. "I'm sure Equestria would welcome back the patron champion protector of foals' dreams."

"Do they not now fear the Mare in the Moon? Are we not the Night Mare?" Luna asked. Celestia pursed her lips.

"Maybe they do," Celestia admitted. "But you can change that, one night at a time, one foal at a time. You can be the change you want to see in yourself."

"Celestia the Benevolent," Luna mocked. "You speak from experience?"

"You know it damn well," Celestia said.

"I do," Luna breathed. "By the stars, sister, you were a magnificent terror in the olden days. After watching you face down Tirek and banish him to Tartarus, I could only pity the fools that dared make themselves your enemy. Even after we discovered the Tree of Harmony, and the Elements we wielded together. Turning Discord to stone, and King Sombra to shadow, trapped in the ice of the Frozen North. To think of it now, I can scarcely believe that I was ever foolish enough to cross you myself after witnessing all of that. But I couldn't let you continue." Luna looked at the stained glass portrait of Cadance. "For all the good it did. After you eliminated me, you just carried on with your plan. You haven't changed at all. Not really."

"That's not who I am anymore," Celestia said. "I've done my best to put the past behind me. I can only hope that you might as well." 

Luna just looked at her for a long while.

"Perhaps we will retire to our chambers after all," Luna said as she turned to leave. Celestia moved to accompany her. "Alone!" Luna snapped. Celestia winced from the words. Luna grimaced and bit her lip in a pang of regret at her outburst. "We love you, sister. But we need time to... process this Cadance issue. We are certainly not in the mood to be intimate."

"Luna, please!" Celestia begged. "Please don't shut me out over this. Not again."

"Don't embarrass yourself!" Luna said with a sneer. "Begging is unbecoming of you." 

"But I've waited so long to have you back," Celestia said.

"Then you can wait a bit longer, sister," Luna said, vanishing in a flash of blue light.

Celestia sat down in her throne and wept. "All I ever wanted was you." In the centuries since she had started the project, the one thing she held onto was the hope that it would all be worth it. That despite her own sister turning on her over it, that she might one day see the good from it in light of its success. Celestia had remained resolute in the face of so much loss and regret. But in that moment, she felt something for the first time in centuries:

Doubt.





When the time came to set the sun that evening Celestia did as she always had, stepping out onto the balcony and lowering the sun with her magic. However, instead of raising the moon right away, she waited. The sky was dark for several minutes as Celestia stood there and looked to the neighboring tower where her sister was once again residing. Eventually Celestia presumed that Luna was indeed sleeping after the long day. Celestia's magic glowed again and raised the moon to bring forth the night and the stars.

Shrouded in the darkness of her room, Luna looked back at Celestia. She watched her lower the sun and wait for her. Luna didn't know what it was she was looking for or what to even expect. She waited to see how long Celestia would wait before raising the moon on her own. For what the length of time indicated, Luna could not reason. She felt so many emotions that she struggled to choose one to hold onto.

The most obvious one was anger. But Luna knew this path all too well. It was her anger that drove her to becoming Nightmare Moon in the first place. It was her anger that had consumed her and ate away at her while she was imprisoned on the moon. Anger was a useful emotion in small doses. It got things accomplished. But like anything, too much for too long was toxic. Luna was angry that she felt angry, an oddly meta thought, she realized. She was angry with Celestia for making her feel this way again. Celestia had asked her to put their differences aside and rule together again. Luna did not realize how much she had been wanting it so badly until that moment. She was only too happy to forgive and forget it all to have their time together back again.

And then Celestia had to ruin everything.

A thousand years had been a long time for Luna to come to terms with what had happened in the past. But now, the issues of the past had been thrust into the present. Cadance was living evidence of it. A breathing reminder of the very thing that she had rebelled against her sister over, and ultimately led to her exile. Luna grit her teeth. She wanted to be angry at Cadance just for existing. But Cadance was hardly at fault for being born. She wasn't the cause of the schism between Luna and Celestia, she was merely a symptom of it.

Cadance was, irrevocably, an Alicorn. And in her heart, Luna knew that it didn't make Cadance intrinsically special. But this world was not the one that she and Celestia had been born into. And because of that, Cadance was special. Luna knew nothing about the mare. But Luna knew that Cadance had spent her entire life under Celestia's wing, being filled with her ideologies.

"And then there were three," Luna muttered to herself, with the stark feeling of being outnumbered. But even so, she knew her sister better than anypony. She knew well enough that a direct confrontation would be futile. Celestia was a brilliant tactician, and an even-more masterful strategist. There could be no part of this scenario that Celestia hadn't already considered and prepared for. Including, Luna realized, her predictable resentment for Cadance's very existence.

Luna pushed her anger away. It had brought her nothing but pain for the past millennium and it would serve her no good now, either. Now was not the time to be thinking with her emotions. Luna took a deep breath and calmed herself. She had no allies, no influence, and no plan. Brash action would only end poorly. No, she needed to be smart about this. Smarter than her sister, even. She looked wistfully to her moon in the night sky. She was unsure if it would even be possible to outsmart her sister at her own game. But she needed to believe that she could, or else she never would. She needed time. Time to gather information. Time had changed much in the world. But knowledge was still power.

But to what end? Luna wondered of herself. As angry as she had been in her confrontation with Celestia in the throne room, she still wanted so badly to just be held by her again. More so than to just gather information, she needed time to resolve her feelings about Cadance, Celestia and... everything. For the countless lives of ponies that she had been in the world, time seemed like such a trivial thing to the immortal mare. 

And now she suddenly felt like she had very little of it.
> Heated
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia roused from her sleep just a minute before her alarm clock was set to go off. She reached over and turned it off before it rang. She noted with some dismay that she was not in Luna's bed, but rather her own. It did not matter to her in either case, only that she was in bed alone.

Celestia sat up and got out of her bed. She walked into her bathroom to freshen up. She stepped into her golden horseshoes, donning her neck piece and crown. Each felt particularly heavy this morning. She walked out onto her balcony and looked to her sister's tower again. The drapes were still mostly drawn closed and the room inside was pitch dark. Celestia was about to lower the moon. And then, in the darkness of Luna's room there was a faint blue glow. Celestia focused on the glimmer until the movement of the moon caught her attention. She watched it slowly slip down below the horizon. Once it was completely set, the blue glow in Luna's dark room vanished.

Celestia smiled weakly. It was a step, at least. Her own horn glowed and she took to the air, raising the sun along with herself, and setting it on its course across the sky. She drifted back down to her balcony and waited a moment more, looking to her sister's tower. The drapes snapped completely shut in the morning daylight. Celestia's smile wilted and she turned to go back inside.

"One step forward, two steps back," Celestia whispered to herself. She made her way to leave her chambers and head down to the throne room for another day.

Princess Luna stood in the darkness of her bedroom. "This will not do," she decided. There was nothing to be gained in simply shutting herself away. It was time for her do a little investigating. She closed her eyes and focused on her spell as her horn glowed. A moment later the spell completed and washed over her. She looked at the mirror. She was ready. She slipped through her drapes out onto her balcony and blinked into the harsh light of day. Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness she spread her wings and took to the air.

She flew across the courtyard airspace to Celestia's tower, landing on her balcony. She braced herself and walked inside her chambers, feeling the ward across the entryway parting around her like a curtain of beads. It was a selective ward that allowed only certain ponies to pass unscathed. Luna was apparently on the guest list. Trust, freely given. She moved quickly to the far side of the room and listened through the door for the signature sound of Celestia's golden horse shoes against the stone floor as she walked away, accompanied by a pair of guards wearing their brass armor. Luna carefully opened the door and snuck out into the hallway and followed after them.

Many of the minor aspects of the castle had changed over the years but the basic layout was the same as it ever was. They were heading to the dining hall. Luna waited behind and kept out of sight until she was certain that the way was clear and then watched from the hallway.

Celestia took a seat at the head of the table, as she always did. Her usual mug of coffee was already waiting for her. Ram C walked out to her just as she seated herself, ready to take her breakfast order.

"May I have a second place setting?" Celestia asked, motioning to the seat next to her.

"Are we expecting a guest?" he asked.

"No," Celestia said, somewhat disappointed. "Just... hopeful."

"Yes Ma'am." He turned and went back into the kitchen and sent out another place setting with a plate, bowl, and silverware.

"And for you?" he asked. Celestia waited for a moment and just stared at the empty seat.

"The usual is fine," she said at last. He nodded and quickly turned to get her breakfast from the kitchen.

Celestia ate as a princess would. She took small bites and chewed her food. She occasionally sipped her coffee. As if on cue, as soon as she finished eating, another pony walked in with a scroll and quill. He was an older unicorn with a big, bushy, grey mustache. He approached Celestia and stood waiting. Celestia paid him nary a glance, instead still staring at the empty chair. After a long minute, she wiped her mouth and turned to face him.

"Good morning, Kibitz," Celestia greeted him.

"Good morning, Your Highness. Shall we begin?" he asked. Celestia looked at the empty seat one final time, willing herself to keep her lip from trembling. She stood up from her chair.

"Yes," she answered. Kibitz undid the clasp on the scroll as they began to walk together towards the throne room. Luna followed as closely as she could to listen to them.

"We have quite a busy agenda today," he began to say as he presented the beginning of the scroll. The tick boxes along the side indicated that it was clearly a checklist of some sort. "Firstly, there are many ponies from the press that are still seeking answers regarding this... Daylight Savings Time, that you have invented."

"I've already explained this yesterday when I sent out the official statement," Celestia huffed in frustration. "It's simply a day of the year when the sunrise comes an hour later. There will be another day like it in the autumn when it comes an hour earlier."

"What of the multiple reports from Ponyville, claiming that a 'Nightmare Moon' had foalnapped you and threatened to shroud Equestria in eternal darkness?"

"Nightmare Moon is an old mare's tale. Any reports regarding her should be treated as such. Fiction," Celestia said.

"But there are multiple witnesses claiming to have seen-" Celestia cut him off.

"I was just pulling an elaborate prank to capitalize on the delayed dawn of Daylight Savings Time. That is what happened," Celestia said with resolute finality.

"Your Highness, there are simply too many ponies that know that Princess Luna is Nightmare-"

"NO!" Celestia yelled as she slammed her hoof against the stone floor. Her Canterlot Voice boomed in the empty hallway. "Luna is NOT Nightmare Moon! If anypony EVER-" 

Celestia stopped and saw that Kibitz was trembling in his hooves. Kibitz had been her most-trusted adviser for decades. He knew her as well as anypony could ever hope to. But even he had only ever heard legends of what Celestia was like when she was angry. Celestia looked down at the stone slab beneath her hoof and then looked back at Kibitz. She took a deep breath, and cleared her throat, regaining her stoic composure. He took the quill in his shaking hoof and made a note on the list.

"Elaborate... prank," he said as he wrote the words. They continued walking down the hallway.

"What is the... next item?" Celestia asked in her perfectly calm tone.

"There are a stack of Gala invitations that require your attention," Kibitz said. Luna followed after them, noticing the large cracks in the stone slab floor.

The assembled crowd outside of the throne room parted and made way for the approaching princess. The doors opened and Celestia walked inside and took her seat on the throne. Once she was in place, the rest of the crowd shuffled inside. Luna carefully made her way through the crowd, keeping to the margins of the room as she made her way closer. Her perception-blocking spell had been working well all morning. But even so, if an invisible pony physically bumped into one of the other guests, the jig would be up.

"Your Highness," one of the ponies greeted Celestia. He held the familiar pencil and steno pad of a pony of the press. Many of them did. "What of the reports of Nightmare Moon attacking Ponyville?" Luna felt herself bristle. "The ponies have a right to know. The ponies have a right to feel safe!" Luna looked up at her sister on the throne. She expected to see the same rage as before. But she didn't let herself slip this time.

"My little ponies," Celestia began, in the same warm, maternal tone she always used, with a matching, soft smile. Every pony with a writing utensil quickly scribbled down every word she said for posterity. "As I have already clearly explained, in my official statement that I released yesterday," which was Celestia's polite way of saying, 'bitch, can't you read?' "these reports of ponies witnessing the return of 'Nightmare Moon', were simply confused citizens from an elaborate prank of mine, capitalizing on the delayed dawn of Daylight Savings Time. Nopony was harmed. And Equestria may rest easy, knowing that they are safe. Nightmare Moon is, and always has been an old mare's tale."

"What about the Mare in the Moon? She's gone!" another pony said. Luna inched closer to Celestia's throne. Her perception-blocking spell had let her get closer than anypony else in the room.

"True," Celestia confirmed of the moon's new appearance. "But as several astronomer ponies will confirm, four falling stars were seen colliding with the moon just before the change. These impacts raised the white moon dust, and changed the appearance of the surface."

"Are we to just believe that these reports are merely a coincidence with the return of this 'Princess Luna' that you claim is your sister? That this Princess Luna isn't Nightmare Moon?" a particularly bold reporter asked. They were all too far away but Luna was close enough to see it. The flare of Celestia's nostrils. A twinge in the corner of her eye. The bulge of the vein in her neck just beneath her fur. She was absolutely furious. Celestia's horn glowed and she levitated the cup of tea from the nearby tray. She brought it slowly to her lips to take a small, purposeful sip and just held it with her magic there in front of her. She controlled her breathing. The smile returned to her lips when she spoke. But not to her eyes.

"My little ponies, I want to be positively... abundantly... CRYSTAL clear about this," she said, with an almost disturbingly calm tone. From where she stood, Luna could see steam coming out of the tea cup. 

"My sister, Princess Luna, is not- I repeat, not Nightmare Moon." The room began to become uncomfortably warm. Luna felt herself beginning to sweat. She looked at Celestia's horn. The yellow aura around it would have been mistaken from her holding the tea cup. But Luna could see otherwise.

"If anypony accuses my sister of being Nightmare Moon..." Luna could see the inside of Celestia's crown was beginning to glow red from the heat being so close to her horn. "If anypony besmirches her name..." The bodies of the candles in the nearby stands began to wilt and slump over. "If anypony, anywhere, speaks against her, then they speak against me." The tea in her cup began to boil. 

"Now then, I'm sure you don't want to all be cooped up in this stuffy room on this hot, summer day," Celestia said, looking cool as a cucumber as several reporters tried desperately to wipe the sweat from their brows, smearing their paper pads. "So unless anypony has any legislature they need signed, you are free to leave." Celestia looked to the guards at the doors. They threw the doors open and everypony was quick to get out into the cool air of the foyer. Even Kibitz, and the guards themselves, stepped out other room and closed the doors behind them. Only Luna remained in the face of such thermal oppression, even as she was dripping sweat. 

Celestia placed the cup down and extinguished her horn, letting the room cool along with her temper. Suddenly, Celestia stiffened in her seat and flared her nostrils. Her head whipped and looked around the room before looking directly at where Luna was standing.

"Luna!?" Celestia asked of the empty air. Celestia's horn flashed and hit Luna with a disenchantment, dispelling the perception-blocking spell with a shimmer, revealing the blue pony. 

"How did you know?" the now-visible Luna asked. Celestia smirked and walked over to her.

"You did a fine job with being unseen and unheard," Celestia complimented of Luna's spell. "But there are..." she leaned over and sniffed Luna. "...five senses. And I would know your scent anywhere. How long have you been there?"

"We've been with you since breakfast," Luna admitted. Celestia kept her reaction from her face. She just stood and blinked before the faintest hint of a grin tugged at her cheek.

"Hmf. I never took you for a voyeur," Celestia teased.

"We are surprised that you're surprised," Luna said, still a bit shaken. "But in truth, we just wished to see what a day in the life of 'Celestia the Benevolent' was like." Luna pushed one of the still-soft candles to lean the other way. "Is this... standard fare?"

"Sorry," Celestia apologized. "Things got a little..."

"Were you about to say 'heated', Tia?" Luna smirked. Celestia chuckled.

"I was trying to think of a different word," Celestia admitted. "Personal, perhaps?"

"Perhaps. Ever the over-protective big sister?" Luna asked.

"Always," Celestia said with a smile. Luna smiled back.

"We-" Luna struggled to find the words. "I'm sorry. About yesterday. I shouldn't have yelled and said those hurtful things. We promised each other that we would put our differences behind us. And you have. I needed to as well. I was just... surprised... about what had happened while I was away."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Celestia said. "I should have told you up front and been honest about it. I should have told you about Cadance right away, in private."

"Yes, that would have been preferable," Luna agreed. "But I still shouldn't have called the pony I love, a whorse. Friends?" Celestia smiled and leaned over to kiss her. Luna turned a bit at the last moment. Celestia felt a bit stung, but settled for her cheek. One step at a time. "So, what now then?" Luna asked, trying to break the tension. "Is it back to business as usual for you? Tending to the needs of your little ponies all day?" Celestia sighed and chuckled. The daily goings-on of princess life for her had become so trivial to her in the wake of her sister's return. 

"Yes. Would you like to join me?" Celestia offered.

"Tomorrow, perhaps," Luna said. "Though I have to wonder why it would not be Twilight doing so. Would she not want to be at your side at all times?"

"She would," Celestia agreed with a smile. "But she is moving to Ponyville today. I imagine she would be packing as we speak."




Across town, Twilight was nearly finished packing the last of her things that she was moving to Ponyville. Or rather, her dragon, Spike was nearly finished packing for Twilight while she visited her parents. Spike found that Twilight often confused the subtle difference between 'assistant' and 'slave'.

"Just a few more things," Spike said, taking a break to visit with Twilight's parents.

"He's certainly grown," Velvet said as she watered her bonsai tree. Night Light nodded in agreement.

"You know, we were quite shocked when you first told us in your letter home that you had a baby," Night said. "We didn't realize that you we referring to Spike here."

"I suppose in hindsight I did word it a bit ambiguously," Twilight said with a blush.

"So what's going to happen with school now?" Velvet asked. "How are you going to finish if you move? That would be one heck of a commute."

"Princess Celestia said she will let me take my final exams early. I've already finished studying everything in the curriculum for the rest of the year. We're both confident that I'll pass easily. She's more concerned that I study the 'magic of friendship' now as my advanced studies thesis."

"Well, we're glad we were able to catch you before you moved," Night said. "Ever since you and Shining moved out, we've been doing a lot more traveling."

"Speaking of," Twilight said with a hopeful tone. "Were you able to get a message to him?"

"We reached out to his commanding officer yesterday to let him know that you were leaving today. He said that he would try to be here today. Apparently he's on a 'special assignment'," he said. "I was hoping to see him today too but-"

The clock chimed the hour.

"We actually need to catch the train to Fillydelphia soon," Velvet said, nodding to their own bags by the door. Twilight's parents stood up and they each hugged her. "Sorry to cut it short. But we will come visit. And this will always be your home too," Velvet said. Night grabbed their bags.

"Be sure to lock up when you leave," he said, carrying the bags out to the cab that pulled up to the curb.

"Will do. Have a fun trip. Love you guys," Twilight said.

"We love you too," Velvet said as they boarded the cab headed for the train station. Twilight and Spike waved goodbye to them until they were out of sight. They turned and headed back inside. Spike looked at the clock.

"We still have an hour before our Pegassistance chariot gets here to bring us to Ponyville," Spike said before flopping on the couch. "So if you don't mind, I'm gonna catch a quick nap."

"Yeah, that's fine," Twilight said, grabbing her last bag to set by the door. All of her non-personal effects had already been boxed and shipped early that morning. They would be waiting for her at the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville. Her new home. Now there was nothing left to do but wait until it was time to leave. She sat at the kitchen table and sipped her coffee. Years ago she would never have imagined herself drinking the acrid beverage. But school life had opened her eyes. And now, so did the coffee every morning.

The front door lock clicked and Twilight turned to see the door being opened. Had they forgotten something? she wondered. A tall white stallion with a two-tone blue mane walked in.

"Hello?" he called into the house before his eyes landed on Twilight. "Oh, hey Twilie!" he said. Twilight practically leaped from her chair and pounced on him with her embrace. "Oh, hey, wow. Yeah, I missed you too kiddo." He staggered but caught himself.

"You're late!" she said as she hugged him, pressing her face into his mane. He smelled like sweat from trotting here from Canterlot Castle. He smelled like... him.

"I know. I'm sorry. Where's Mom and Dad?" he asked.

"They just left a little before you got here. Their trip to Fillydelphia," she said.

"Oh," he said with a bit of disappointment.

"But I'm glad you were able to see me at least," Twilight said.

"Yeah, me too," Shining said, taking a seat at the table. "So Ponyville, eh? What are you going to do there? Buck apples?" he asked pulling himself away from her. She composed herself and moved back to her seat at the table.

"They have more than just apple orchards," Twilight said with a huff.

"So what are you going to farm then? Rocks?" he asked.

"Ponyville isn't just a farm. It's a thriving, diverse town! They have a bakery, and a quills & sofa store, and a fashion district!"

"District!?"

"A fashion... boutique."

"Uh huh," Shining said. "And what are you going to be doing there?"

"I'm going to be a librarian," she said with pride.

"Why am I not surprised," he said with a disappointed grin. "Twilight, you are one of the most powerful unicorns of our generation. And that's not just me saying it. You could have been anything! A battle mage. Arcane research and development. Runes, potions, hexes, enchantments. Any of it. That library could have spell books on its shelves written by you. You're wasting your talent as a librarian." Twilight frowned. She knew he was right. But it didn't matter to her.

"It's what I want Shining. I'm happy. Be happy for me?" she said. Shining rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, fine," he acquiesced. "If you're happy, I'm happy. I'm happy for you. Be a librarian if that's how you want to pay the bills." 

"Actually, Celestia is giving me a research salary," she said. He scoffed.

"What are you researching? 'The accumulation of dust on books'?" he asked.

"Actually I'm studying the 'Magic of Friendship'," she said.

The Magic of Friendship he silently mouthed as he nodded mockingly. "Sounds serious."

"It is!" she defended. He put his hooves up. 

"Hey, whatever. Like I said, if you're happy and it pays the bills, I don't care what you do." He paused for a moment. "You know, aside from being a whorse." Twilight gasped in angry shock that he would even suggest that. "Hey! I'm kidding!" he said, reflexively shielding his face. "Hey, look, I'm sorry." He apologized. "I'm talking out of my ass here." He looked at her mug of coffee.  "I'm only half-awake. Can I get a mug of that? It was a long night for me."

"Doing what?" Twilight asked.

Shining's mind was flooded with his memory of being tied to the bed and Cadance brandishing a saddle and a set of jumper cables.

"On... duty..." he said quietly. Twilight poured him a cup of coffee, just the way he liked it. He sipped it and sighed. "Ah, blacker than a zebra's funeral". 

"You know, I don't appreciate the casual racism of that euphemism," Twilight said. Shining grinned and shrugged.

"It's a joke, not a dick. Don't take it so hard," he said. Twilight blushed, feeling her nethers twitch at the lewd comment. "Oh shi- is Spike around?" Shining asked. Twilight nodded behind her.

"He's passed out on the couch. A tornado couldn't wake him right now," she said.

"Oh, okay." Shining had gotten a bit of a mouth from being in the service. But he was always careful to keep a filter on it when colts or fillies were about. Or baby dragons. 

"Speaking of..." Twilight said.

"Of... Spike?" Shining asked. Twilight scooted her chair closer to his.

"Of... dicks," she barely whispered. Shining froze. He has seen and heard some crazy shit in the service. But he was entirely unprepared for what to do or say in response to a conversation-starter like that one. From her.

"...kay." It was about all he could manage.

"I've..." she trailed off, uncertain herself if she was actually going to say it. "I've been thinking about... that summer. That... last summer that we were here. And Cadance foalsat for us. About..." she shuffled her hooves under her chair. "...us." She looked over at him and stared at his eyes. "Do you remember?" she asked. 

He did. And she knew it. 
How could he forget? 
How could either of them?

"I..." he tried to speak but felt his throat tighten. He cleared his throat and tried to buy himself some time to think about how exactly to handle this. "*Ahem*... I seem to remember a certain agreement to never speak about said event ever again," he said. She looked at the floor.

"I know but... I've just been thinking about it lately," she said. "For a while... actually."

Shining felt his stomach drop.

"Twilie, I- I'm sorry!" he blurted. "I don't know what happened that night. I- I never meant to hurt you!"

"What? No, I'm not mad at you I-" she blushed a deeper shade of red. "I liked it. I mean, I was confused at the time but... yeah, I liked it." She looked at him. "I loved it. I love... you."

Shining's mouth just hung open. When he was trotting to his old family home, he had been prepared to lift heavy boxes and spend time with his family. As a Royal Guard, he had liked to believe he was prepared for any scenario. For him to have to rescue his entire family from a burning house. To perform CPR. To fend off burglars. Even a damn meteor impact. But nothing in his wide imagination could have prepared him for this. A chorus of everypony in his squadron jeering at him echoed in his mind. All of society judging him. His entire mind rebelled, simply unable to cope, unable to accept that this was reality. No. It simply could not be. 

"N- no?" he accidentally thought out loud.

"What?"

"No?" he tried again.

" 'No' what?"  she asked, in confusion of her own.

"I... don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I'm- I'm sorry, could you say that again? I had something crazy in my ear."

"I love you, Shining," she said.

"Okay. Um. I love you too. But as a-"

"I'm in love with you," she clarified. He put a hoof up and sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"Okay. Yeah. That is... different. That is... not... the same," he said, albeit redundentantly.

"And!?" she asked.

"And?"

"And... do you? Do you love me?"

"As a broth-"

"I meant more than that!" she said. Shining felt like he was on fire. He actually wished that he was. It would have been a preferable state than what he was feeling in that moment. He felt like his head was splitting in half. His own mind at odds with itself. He had been so content to just bury those memories. Those feelings. It was a mistake. It was just one night and it was a mistake, he had told himself. They would both just forget about it and never talk about it again. And that would have been that. They could have just taken it to the grave. 

But now he was face to face with it. With her. With all of those nagging thoughts at the edge of his mind in the quiet hours of the night. Those feeling that he liked to tell himself weren't there, weren't real. He had spent years building walls around them. Big, tall walls of guilt and shame. He walled them off from his mind. And then, with a single sentence, she came in like a wrecking ball. And those big, heavy walls came crumbling down and it all came flooding back to his consciousness. But the walls, too, built and filled with guilt and shame, came with it. The mantra of societal pressure leaped from his tongue.

"I can't. We can't!" he said. Twilight scoffed.

"And after that whole speech of yours about me... 'being able to do anything'. You're so quick to say what you or I can't do," she said.

"As a career, Twilight!" he said. "Not..." he motioned at the two of them, "Not this! Not like that!" Twilight looked at him and narrowed her eyes. She still knew him better than anypony else did. She could tell when it was somepony else's words coming out of his mouth.

"And why not?" she asked.

"It's illegal for one!" he said. "And don't act like you don't damn-well know it!" he said.

"I don't care."

"You? You don't care? You, little Miss Goody-Two-Horse-Shoes who made me pay for two grapes that I ate while we were grocery shopping? You don't care about the law?" He reached into his bag and produced his Royal Guard badge. "I am the law."

"We could keep it a secret." He shook his head.

"Twilight, I know you. And I know 'hate' is a strong word. But I know that there is nothing in this world you hate more than-"

"Library late fees?" she said. "Quesadillas? Ponies that say the word 'both' like there's an L in it?"

"The fuck!?" Shining recoiled. "No. I mean hypocrisy!"

"Ohh, I do hate that!" Twilight agreed.

"And I'm a Royal Guard pony. It is my duty to Equestria to uphold the law. And if I were to... if we were to... then I would be a hypocrite! It's illegal. What more do you want?" he said. "What? I mean what if... what if Celestia found out? Hmm? What would she think of you? Or shit, what about Mom and Dad? What would they think of us? After they told us that... that it would be wrong?"

"That society would think that it's wrong," she corrected. "I was paying attention. You were thinking about Mom as I recall." Now it was Shining's turn to blush.

"Which, again, illegal!" he said. "That whole thing, what they did, the way they... taught us? Illegal!"

"Are you going to arrest them, then?" Twilight asked, turning to look at him. "Are you going to arrest me as well? Testify against us?"

"I was perfectly happy to forget about it, and never speak of it again," he said. Twilight sat there and looked at him. She stared at him. She looked into his eyes for a long minute. 

Anyone who has ever tried to stare at the eyes of a complete stranger for a full minute can attest that it's uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable for a reason. The eyes are a gateway. To what, exactly, is hard to say. Call it what you want. The soul?  Twilight preferred to think of it as the truth. The mouth of a pony could lie. This, she knew. But the eyes could not. Not to somepony who knew them. She saw the truth in his eyes and narrowed her own.

"No," she said with resolute confidence. "No, you weren't. Not really. Be happy. Make me happy. Be happy with me." 

"You know... you still haven't answered my question," Twilight said. "Do you love me?"

"As-"

"As more than as a brother!?" she asked. He looked away.

"Twilie, I-"

"Look me in the eyes and answer me, Shining!" she said. "And don't you lie to me, don't you fucking lie to me about this!" Shining didn't look at her. He couldn't. He felt paralyzed. He felt like each of his limbs were being pulled off in a separate direction. He didn't want to lie to her. But he didn't want to tell her the truth either. She leaned over and kissed him. On the lips. She kissed him. And he kissed her back. Briefly, until he pulled away. She looked at him. A tear fell across down his cheek.

"You're playing with fire, Twilight," he said, keeping his jaw firm. "How do you think this is going to end? Hmm?" he asked. "If we... if you get everything you ever wanted? What then? What, we... we run away!? Some place where nopony will know our names? I'm in the Royal Guard. That's desertion Twilie. They hang ponies for that. And you? You're Celestia's protégé. Do you honestly think that she would not go to the ends of Equus to find you?" He leaned back in his chair away from her. "Twilie, ponies like you and me... ponies like us can not just simply disappear."

"We don't have to run away," Twilight said. "We could... I... I don't know."

"What? Get a place? You and I? The old-maid mare and her doting brother looking after her? Until we both expire?" he asked.

"I don't know. Something like that," she said.

"Exactly. You don't know," he said. "What about me? What about what I want? What about my situation?"

"Your situation?" she asked. He looked at her.

"I'm sorry if you've spent all this time waiting for me. Because... I haven't," he said. Twilight was a smart mare. She understood.

"Oh." She looked away. "It's another mare then," she said.

"Mhm," he confirmed. "Twilight, someday you are going to meet somepony. Somepony else that will make you forget all about this and... that time. You'll get married, and so will I. And maybe, one day, years from now, we'll look back at all of this and have a laugh at how silly we were. But you can't keep going on like this, fixating over it, no matter how we feel."

"We feel?" she asked. He put his face into his hooves. She took his hoof in hers and looked at him. "Shiny, could we just... it doesn't have to become anything serious. I just want to... I just want one more time with you."

"Twilie-"

"One last time," Twilight begged. "I've been thinking about you so much since you went away. I've dreamed about you." She blushed and shifted in her seat. "I'm excited just remembering it," she said. His nostrils flared. He could tell. "I just want one more time with you, knowing that it's our last time, just so I can enjoy it, really enjoy it. I know you want it too."

"Twilie-"

"I can see that you do," she said, nodding to his crotch. He was already at half-mast. He hastily shifted in his seat and covered himself.

"That's- That's immaterial! We can't! Spike is right in the next room," he said, feeling his willpower beginning to erode.

"Spike is out cold and Mom and Dad are gone," she said, putting her hoof between his legs. He shuddered as he felt her hoof grip his swelling shaft. With her free hoof she took his and pulled it to her own crotch. "Feel how hot I am for you," she whispered. His hoof moved on its own as it pressed against her slick folds. Anti-estrus potion or not, the height of summer Heat was in full swing for the poor mare. 

"Ask me to stay," Twilight said.

"What?"

"Ask me to not move, and I'll stay. I'll stay for you, if you..." Twilight trailed off. "Please?" She leaned against him, pressing her face into his mane as she continued to stroke him and whisper in his ear. "PleasePleasePlease." He didn't say yes, but he didn't push her away either.

Fuck, he mentally cursed to himself. Just this one time. Just this one last time, and that's it! he promised himself.

"Twilie, I-"

DING DONG

"Shit!" Shining nearly leaped out of his seat. His erection pulled free of her grip and smacked him in the belly. "Get the door. I need to... erg!" he quickly ran upstairs to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. Twilight did her best to appear decent and opened the door.

"Pegassistance," one of the Royal Guard pegasi on the porch said. "Twilight Sparkle?"

"That's me," Twilight said. "Um, my stuff is all ready." She pointed at her things. The other guard stepped in and began to collect her things and load them onto the chariot.

Upstairs, Shining pulled his face out from under the cold water faucet. The surprise shock had managed to cause 'little shiny' to make a quick retreat. Once he was certain that he was decent and his head was clear, he walked back downstairs to find Twilight rousing Spike from his nap on the couch.

"Oh, hey Shining," Spike greeted with a groggy wave.

"Hey Spike," Shining replied. "Sorry I was late. I guess we'll have to finish that Ogres and Oubliettes campaign some other time."

"I guess," Spike said.

"Are you excited?" Shining asked. "About moving to Ponyville?"

"Yeah, actually," Spike said. "There's this pony there, Rarity. She's... she's just..." Spike trailed off with hearts in his eyes.

"Oh boy. Say no more. I get it," Shining said.

"Yeah," Twilight said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure Ponyville will have a special somepony for you too, Twi," Shining said. She cut him a look. There was so much on her mind, and on her face. Anger, hurt, and regret. Shining bit his tongue. Spike grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

"Miss?" the guard pony called into the house to Twilight.

"I'll be out in just a minute," Twilight said back. Spike went outside, closing the door.

"Well, I know how much you hate being tardy," Shining said.

"Ask me to stay," Twilight said again. "I love you." She said it very simply. Very truly. Say it back, she thought, she hoped.

Say it back, he also thought to himself, he willed it. "I know," he said. She blinked and waited.

"And!? Shining, I love you!" Her voice wavered. He frowned and sighed. "Shining?" 

"Go on. You're going to be late," he said. Her lip trembled for a brief moment. She blinked back her tear and sniffled, but remained firm.

"So that's it then?" she asked. He nodded. She turned to leave and walked out to the chariot. Once on board she turned and looked back. Shining followed her outside and waited on the patio while the chariot took off and Twilight waved goodbye. Each of them watched the other become smaller and smaller with the distance. Soon Twilight's old home was indistinguishable from the rest of the city. She turned and faced forward to watch Ponyville get closer. 

Spike saw her eyes water in the wind.

That's what it was.

The wind.

Shining watched the chariot vanish as a speck in the sunny sky and turned to go back inside. He opened the small wooden door on his father's cabinet and took out a half-empty bottle. He opened it as he sat at the table and took a swig, feeling the burn of the contents scorch it's way down to the inferno in the pit of his stomach. Like putting out a fire with petrol. He took another big swig. He could smell the char of the oak barrels in the liquor, but also something else. He set the bottle down on the table and smelled his hoof.

It smelled like her.

He closed his eyes and just held his hoof to his nose, savoring her scent. He could feel himself getting excited under the table.

"Just a quick one and then back to the palisades," he said to himself. He got up and trotted to the bathroom. He stepped inside and turned on the light. He caught his reflection in the mirror. He looked at the stallion that was about to beat off while sniffing the scent of his sister's pussy on his hoof. He felt his stomach turn. He quickly turned on the sink and grabbed the soap, scrubbing his hooves vigorously. By the time he finished drying them, the rest of his anatomy managed to calm itself. But his mind was still racing. 

He trotted downstairs to the basement. Night Light has a small, personal gym with a bench, some free weights and what Shining was looking for. The old heavy-bag, hanging on a chain from the rafter joist. He stood in front of it and brought his hoof to his nose again. There was nothing but the faint aroma of the soap.

I love you.

"AAARGH!" He reared up and punched the bag. Then he punched it again. And again. "FUCK!" He punched the bag until it started to list and swing on the chain. "Why did you have to say that!" he yelled at the bag. He turned and kicked it with everything he had. The bag swung up nearly to the ceiling and swung back at him, catching him in the arc. It slammed into him and sent him reeling into the weight rack, spilling the bars and plates across the floor with a loud crash.

He got back to his hooves and swung wildly at the bag. There was no form or finesse to his strikes. It was the wild beating of a foal throwing a tantrum as he hit the bag through his wails. 

I love you.

"FUCK! Why did you have to say it!" he screamed through his haze of rage and sweat. He hated that she brought up those memories. He hated that she made him feel this way again. He hated that their positions and society kept them from acting on it. But in that moment, mostly, he hated himself. He collapsed to the floor in exhaustion, awash in guilt and shame, not for how he felt about her, but for his cowardice. "Why couldn't I say it back?"

Ask me to stay.

But he didn't. 

And now she was gone. 

He leaned against the cold field stone of the basement wall and quietly cried.





That evening, Princess Celestia read the scroll she had received, informing her that Twilight Sparkle's move to Ponyville went smoothly, and she was no longer living in Canterlot. 

She walked to the enchanted door at the end of her castle wing's corridor. She unlocked it with her magic and stepped through into her personal garden. She admired her massive bonsai tree. Shaped perfectly according to her desire. In the time since her last visit, an errant branch had made an appearance. It was crowding out a space that she had intended for another pair of branches. Celestia brandished her garden sheers and pruned the offending branch before it caused any problems for her grand design.
> The Best Night Ever
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After seeing Twilight Sparkle off to Ponyville, Shining Armor locked up his parents' home and went back to Princess Cadance's villa in the Canterlot Palisades. The way to his parents' house had been such an easy walk. The way back was harder. By the time he arrived, it was nearly lunch time. Cadance heard the door open downstairs and poked her head out of the bedroom.

"Hey, you're back! I nearly got the swing put together up here!" she said. Shining walked upstairs as she connected the last few pieces of hardware to the apparatus. "You see? I just lay in this sling here, and strap my hooves in, and voila! Just the right height for perfect access to do whatever you want!" she said. "Ready to give it a spin?" 

"That's neat," Shining said as he walked past her. His time in the Royal Guard had taught the stallion many things. Among them was the ability to keep one's feelings hidden. But Cadance had the advantage of being a mare. And her feminine instincts would forever outclass any training he could hope to obtain. She knew something was wrong. He didn't let his face wear the sadness he felt. But neither did he show the elation she expected from such a lewd proposition of hers. "Maybe we can try it out later." He walked over to the bed and flopped in.

"Is something wrong?" Cadance asked.

"No, I'm just not in the mood right now," he said. 

Shining doesn't want sex? Something is definitely wrong, Cadance thought.

"Aw, are you sad because Twilight moved?" Cadance asked. Shining sighed into the pillow. It wasn't the main reason why he was upset, but it was true enough.

"Yeah," he said. She climbed into bed beside him and wrapped her hoof around him, rubbing his belly. Her hoof slowly rubbed up and down, gradually moving lower. He reached down and took her hoof with his and just held it against his chest. "Could you just... just..." He felt his throat tighten up.

"Shh, shh. It's okay," Cadance said, content to just hold him. Shining trembled. In that moment, the big strong Royal Guard felt very not-strong. It was the princess's turn to do the protecting. They closed their eyes and just pretended. They pretended that for just a moment, he was just a stallion, and she was just a mare. Shining felt the words on his mind, repeating over and over.

"I love you," he thought as he sighed. He felt his lips move as he breathed, forming the words. His thought escaped his lips, barely a muffled whisper into the pillow. Cadance's ears twitched. There were some words that had innate power. Words strong enough that you can hear them if someone just thinks them hard enough. Those were three of them. But she couldn't be sure, herself, if she had actually heard them, or just thought that she did. But she didn't need to hear them to know it.

Cadance could feel his love for her. It wasn't new. It had been steadily growing for some time. She had been keen to keep herself from feeling the same way for him. She knew that Celestia would never allow it for her. Cadance was a princess. She would never be able to marry her guard. And if she let herself love him back, it would just be one more heart getting broken when her betrothed husband was finally arranged with her.

But for now, she could pretend that she wasn't a princess. For now, her heart could accept his love, and she could love him back. Just a little. It wasn't so hard. And she found that it didn't feel so bad. She hugged him a little tighter.





After joining Princess Celestia for breakfast the following day, Princess Luna accompanied her in the throne room.

"Prithee, what be on thine agenda this day?" Luna asked. Celestia looked at the stack of golden tickets beside the throne.

"I have to send out invitations to the Grand Galloping Gala," she said with mild disdain.

"A gala?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded. "How would Equestria ever survive without your little... soirees?" Luna teased with a roll of her eyes.

"How indeed?" Celestia feigned, turning to walk back up to the throne. Beside the tickets were form-letter invitations and a mostly-completed guest list. All that was left was for her signature, and for each one to be sent out. "First up, I should definitely have one sent to Twilight Sparkle."

"Your student?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded. "Should you not send her two? One for her date?" Celestia laughed out loud.

"You obviously don't know my student. Twilight doesn't 'date'," Celestia said, dipping her quill in her inkwell to personalize and sign Twilight's invitation. "Though I suppose I should send her another one for Spike, at least."

"Spike?" Luna asked.

"The dragon," Celestia said.

"Oh, her familiar?" Luna asked. 

"Eh... sort of..." Celestia said. "He prefers the term 'assistant'." Celestia placed the two tickets in with the invitation and sent it out immediately with a flash of her magic. "Now then, who is next on the list?" she asked Luna. Luna took up the scroll of names.

"Next up we have a... Prince Blueblood," Luna read. "Prince? Is he the alicorn colt you have been seeking to mate with?" she asked bluntly. Celestia had a hearty laugh at that one.

"Hardly," Celestia answered. "He's no alicorn. And even if he were, he..." she trailed off, tapping her chin with her hoof as she tried to find the right words. "He prefers the company of stallions."

"Ah," Luna acknowledged the euphemism. Celestia signed and sealed it, setting it aside to be sent in bulk with the rest. "Next we have a Captain Spitfire," Luna read. "Is he our current Captain of the Royal Guard?" she asked.

"Um, no," Celestia answered. "She is the Captain of the Wonderbolts."

"The what now?" Luna asked.

"Uh, it's sort of a long story," Celestia said. "But after you... left, I needed a protective pony platoon to fill in the role left behind. So the Earth-Unicorn-Pegasus, or E.U.P. Guard was formed. On the anniversary of the the first year of... peace, a celebration was held. Not my idea, obviously, but it was what the ponies wanted. Headed by General Fyre Fly, an elite team of aerial performers were chosen to commemorate the auspicious occasion. The first performance was so full of energy, so highly charged, that  magical lightning showered down on the crowd. Everypony was so filled with amazement and wonder that General Fyre Fly dubbed them: The Wonderbolts."

"Okay." Luna looked at the section of the list. "So these other names in the group, Soarin, Blaze, Fleetfoot... other Wonderbolts?" Celestia nodded. 

Celestia and Luna spent the better part of the hour going through the list of names, stuffing envelopes with invitations and tickets. 

"And that's the last name on the list," Luna said.

"Well, we've got five extra tickets," Celestia said, offering them to her sister. "You could make some friends of your own and invite them." Suddenly a wisp of green smoke came in through the window and materialized into a scroll in front of Celestia.

"What is it?" Luna asked as Celestia opened it.

"It's from Twilight," Celestia answered, pulling the two tickets out of the scroll. "She returned the tickets." Celestia skimmed over the letter. "Hmm, let's see. Blah blah blah. Friendship... blah blah blah. Oh. She needs more tickets for her five Ponyville friends." Celestia took the two returned tickets and added four more making six, along with an updated note and sent it off. "One for Twilight and each of her friends. Well, at least there's one left for you," Celestia said, passing the ticket to her sister.

"What about Spike?" Luna said. "I mean, do we even need a ticket? We live here." 

"That's true." Celestia nodded and took the last ticket with a separate invitation sent to Spike.

"Have you considered what you might be doing for the event?" Celestia asked.

"Actually, if it is to be an evening event, then I'm afraid I will be working," Luna said.

"Working?" Celestia asked.

"Verily. The gala will be carrying on long past the bed times of foals. And the dreamscape will need looking-after once again. We took in the power of nightmares to become Nightmare Moon. The worst bad dreams were locked away with us in the moon. That is why you didn't need to look after the dreams of ponies in our absence. But now that we have returned, so too have those bad dreams."

"Do you wish that it were not so?" Celestia asked.

"Somewhat," Luna answered. "We can only hope that our return will bring with it more good than harm."

"You could take one evening off," Celestia said. "At least part of it."

"And do what, pray tell? Show up to the Gala as your date? Is that what this is about? For you to have a pony on your hoof when you are there?"

"Not at all," Celestia scoffed. "I've become quite comfortable being at the Gala stag."

"Well we are not," Luna said.

"Are you asking me out to the Gala, sister?" Celestia asked with a faux swoon. "What would the ponies think!?"

"You needn't be so theatrical, Tia. We know that our relationship would be even more taboo now than ever," Luna said. "Even in these so-called 'enlightened' times."

"Well if you want to ask some other pony to the Gala, I suppose I could live with it," Celestia sighed.

"What of the acceptance of homosexuality these days?" Luna asked. 

"Eh." Celestia shrugged. "It's not illegal. But it's still... how to put it... stigmatized?"

"A stallion then," Luna said, with as much enthusiasm as though she were selecting a flavor of ice cream. "Shall we have a contest of suitors?" she asked.

"That's... not really how it works nowadays," Celestia said. "Though I suppose it's only because I haven't indulged in it myself. But stallions have not competed for a princess's hoof in centuries."

"How are we to obtain a... 'date' for the evening?" Luna asked.

"I would imagine that you could just go out and meet somepony that you like, and have an interest in, if you really feel the need to have a date for the evening."

"How does one 'go out and meet somepony'?" Luna asked.

"Well, I'm not the best pony to ask on the matter. But some of the usual establishments would be the local bars."

"Are we to be relegated to alcoholics?" Luna asked. Celestia shrugged. "Forget it. You were right. You are the wrong pony to ask. But it matters little. We will handle this matter ourselves." Luna turned to leave the throne room.

"If you go out, be sure to have my guards accompany you," Celestia said. Luna turned to look back at her and smirked.

"Where we're going, we don't need guards."





That night, Princess Luna stood with anticipation on her balcony. Celestia stepped out onto the balcony of the nearby tower. Luna waited for her elder sister to set the sun. As soon as it was down, Luna's horn glowed and she raised the moon. The two exchanged a familiar glance before Celestia went back inside to turn in for the night. 

Luna's shift was only just beginning. She took a sip from her juice of the coffee bean. She walked back inside to her room and made herself comfortable. It had been some time since she had entered the dreamscape. She focused her mind and closed her eyes. The waking world around her melted away and she found herself in the unconscious realm. Bubbles of dreams floated all around her. Tendrils of her magic reached out, sensing for anypony in distress. A few slain nightmares later, the dreamscape was relatively quiet.

"Foal's play," Luna said smugly. "Now for our reward..." Luna looked over the many bubbles until she found what she was seeking. "Ah, what a handsome specimen!" she commented, locating an unmarried stallion she found fitting to be her date for the gala. She entered the dream.

The rugged earth pony was trotting through an apple orchard in his dream. The hue of his red coat matched that of the delicious apples in the trees all around them. She followed him through the trees, watching his dirty-blonde mane flowing behind him on his muscular shoulders as he walked. Luna erred nearer. She knew that she had to be careful about interrupting a dream, or else the dreamer would wake suddenly, without memory of the encounter. She stifled a gasp when she saw the size of what he was equipped with. It may have simply been the stallion indulging himself in the fantasy. But if otherwise, he was a gifted pony indeed. Luna was practically drooling as she felt her loins ache.

Just before she was about to reveal herself, another pony appeared in his dream. An earth pony mare of orange fur and even lighter blonde mane than his. Unlike Luna, this other mare was a fabrication of his dream. She watched and waited to see in what capacity the other was here for. The orange mare greeted him with a kiss and turned around, lifting her tail for him. He disregarded all pretense and mounted her immediately.

"Oh, it was one of those dreams," Luna thought to herself. It mattered not. In fact, it would make things even easier for her to insinuate herself. Many things had changed over the last thousand years. But stallions were as simple as they had ever been. The only thing they wanted more than a mare, was two mares.

Luna walked closer, getting a better look at the orange pony. She recognized her. With a bit of her magic, Luna reached out and assumed control of his dream mare. The orange pony turned to look at him.

"Thou fancy the Element of Honesty?" the orange mare said, speaking in a voice that was most certainly not hers. "A commendable choice. Would you care for another?" She turned to look towards Luna. His eyes followed hers. Luna approached him with a seductive saunter. The red pony panicked at being discovered in such a compromising position. As Luna feared, the dream bubble collapsed and she was sent back to the empty dreamscape.

"Perhaps a less direct approach, next time," she mused in disappointment to herself.

Big Macintosh awoke with a start and fell out of his bed, landing on the heavy wooden yoke beside it. One of the metal pegs stuck him in the side, cracking a couple of his ribs. The silent night in the farm house was pierced with a pained shriek unbecoming of a stallion. He heard the clatter of hooves coming down the hallway. He quickly grabbed his sticky sheets to hide his wilting modesty.

"What in the hay happened?" Applejack asked, opening the door. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Eeyup," Mac answered.

"Fell out of bed?"

"Eeyup." He pushed the yoke out from under him and clutched his side.

"Aww Mac, you gone and hurt yourself right before Applebuck season!?"

"Eeyup," he groaned as he picked himself up and carefully climbed back into bed while Applejack went to get a first-aid kit.

"Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" she asked. She turned and bent over to get the bandaging out of the kit on the floor to wrap him up. He was none-too-proud to steal a glance under her tail as she did.

"Eenope," he lied.

For the rest of the night, Luna flittered from dream to dream, seeking a suitor. In hindsight, her first choice was more of desperation than anything. And the more she persisted, the more she came to understand her sister's choice in being single. Even if, rather than it being a choice, it were a lack of options. For Luna it was much the same. None of these ponies could be her choice; Luna had already made hers centuries ago. 

Unlike Celestia, Luna's choice of ponies was not trapped in the moon. But she might as well be. For as much as she wanted to be her lover again, part of her, a big part, couldn't see it happening again. She drifted through the dreamscape to Celestia's dream. Her bubble was shrouded in an opaque shield.

"Still keeping me out, sister?" Luna asked of the bubble, her voice falling deaf to the dreaming pony inside the warded dream. Luna frowned and moved on. Her melancholy turned to bitterness as she happened upon the next dream. Luna peered inside at the pink alicorn.

In her dream, Cadance was sitting on the throne again. Her dream versions of Celestia and Luna walked in. Cadance's dream was reliving the memories of that day. Of particular focus to the mare was the expression on Luna's face as she walked by to leave. As soon as she left, the dream started over again. The stress of the encounter was making the pony have a recurring dream, seeking to gain some closure from the experience. Luna looked at herself in the dream. Her expression was, admittedly, not attractive. And that was her first impression upon the young princess.

For as much as Luna resented her sister for carrying on with her alicorn project, she found that she could not summon such vitriol for Cadance herself. Cadance had not ask for this life. Luna looked at the scowl on her dream-counterpart. Cadance had done nothing to have earned such ire from her in this way. Celestia was right about one thing. What was done was done. Begrudging hatred would gain Luna nothing now. It was not the way to make friends and influence ponies.

When the dream reset again, Luna supplanted her dream doppelganger. This time, walking into the throne room beside Celestia. Celestia relieved Cadance of the throne and took her place. Cadance walked down to pass Luna once again. Luna withheld her scowl this time.

"Cadenza," Luna said. Cadance stopped in surprise. "Please, forgive our sour expression," she said. "Our journey home was most unpleasant and we had yet to have eaten. We are not ourselves when we are hungry. It was wrong of us to make you a front of our misplaced anger." Cadance's eyes fluttered for a moment and then re-focused in understanding.

"Thank you, Princess Luna," Cadance said with a polite nod. The room in the dream shimmered and melted away. Luna returned to the dreamscape and Cadance returned to a more peaceful sleep. Luna sighed in her personal accomplishment. It was one wrong that she had righted, with many yet left to fix.

"Ponies needn't suffer us as a nightmare any longer," she breathed, moving on to the next dream.





And so it went, that Princess Celestia presided over the day, and Luna watched over the night. On the surface, it might have seemed as though nothing had changed at all. Ponies saw and interacted with Celestia as they always had. Luna, on the other hoof, remained aloof and nigh invisible to the public. It was as she preferred. As the days and weeks turned to months, the mere concept that Celestia even had a sister at all was no more than a footnote. But Luna no longer resented the ponies for this. While most ponies did still sleep through her beautiful night, the advent of electricity in the intervening centuries had allowed many ponies to relish it as much as the day.

Each evening, Luna would wake to the setting sun peeking in through the crack of the drapes in her west window. Once the sun was set and the moon was raised, Luna would join her elder sister for a brief meeting before Celestia would go to bed. In the morning, Luna was far less forthcoming about her nocturnal adventures. Most dreams were mundane. Some were terrifying. And each night, Luna never ceased to be amazed at the depths of depravity some ponies indulged in the realm of fantasy. Luna spared her sister the details. 

Celestia, however, was only too happy to share the event of her day with her younger sister:

"So my unofficial, casual visit to Ponyville had to be postponed because of an infestation of parasprites in Fillydelphia."
"Ponyville finally managed to get Winter wrapped up on time this year without magic."
"The Autumnal Running of the Leaves proved rather eventful in Ponyville this year."
"I was nearly assaulted with a cloud the the Cloudsdale 'Best Young Fliers Competition'."
"Philomena, my pet phoenix renewed itself today."
"Have you a date for the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"... Huh?" Luna asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I asked if you had a date for the Gala," Celestia repeated, offering her sister a cup of coffee.

"Oh, no. We've decide to just not go at all," Luna said. "The dreamscape has been quite boisterous of late. We fear that we will not be able to get away for the evening." Luna sipped her coffee and felt the drowsiness in her consciousness drift away. She blinked a few times and took a deep breath as her heart fluttered. "Besides, are you not looking forward to spending the evening with your most-faithful student? Twilight is all you ever seem to talk about these days. That and her letters that you insist on reading to me."

"They are Friendship Reports," Celestia corrected. "And I only read them to you to demonstrate that I am teaching my little ponies to be a better friend to those they care about than I was." Celestia put her hoof on Luna's shoulder.

"Yes. We get it," Luna huffed. "But she could do better than sending the same stock photo of her friends with it every time. What, did she have some kind of bulk discount at the photograph developers?"

"I think so," Celestia chuckled. "But to answer your question, yes, I am looking forward to seeing her at the Gala. But you should come out just the same. It would be good for you to get a little positive P.R. and show ponies that you're not Nightmare Moon anymore."

"Hmf," Luna huffed. "Ponies come out to your gala to see you, not your recluse sister. Will there at least be jousting and other contests of strength?"

"Uh, no. You're thinking of a fair," Celestia said. "This is an indoor event."

"Shall there be mares of the night then? Games of chance?" Luna asked.

"No. No gambling, and definitely no prostitutes," Celestia said. Luna decided that she'd had enough of living in her sister's shadow. She'd had enough of being known as 'Celestia's sister'. She was Princess Luna, and she was every bit Celestia's equal. And she needed the ponies to know this as well.

"Your gala sounds lame," Luna said. "We shall have our own gala. With card games and consorts!"

"I will see about helping you with... something like that," Celestia offered with hesitation. She absolutely could not have her sister hosting an official event with such vice. The best she could do is at least guide her event towards something more... legal. "When would you like to have your gala take place?" Celestia asked.

"We shall have it on the same night as yours. We will let the ponies decide which gala they want to attend," Luna said. "The good gala, or yours." Celestia sighed. She could tell that there was no way she was going to be able to dissuade her sister from this idea. As old as they were, sibling rivalry was timeless.

"As you wish," Celestia said. "I will leave the details to your capable hooves. And what about after the Gala?" Celestia asked in an implying tone as her hoof moved down from her shoulder, along her back down to her-  Luna pushed her hoof away.

"We- we are not quite ready for that yet. We need more time," Luna said, trotting away.

"Time is all you and I have, sister," Celestia whispered to herself. "Time and each other."

That evening, Luna bid Celestia a pleasant night and set to her own preparations for the night. She slipped off her ebony horseshoes and kept only her crown and collar of office. She draped her body with her enchanted cloak.

"Equestria forgive us," Luna whispered into the empty air from her balcony. The dreams of ponies would go unattended for the night. She spread her wings through the openings in the cloak and took to the air. From on high she could visibly see that much of the world had changed in her absence. But in the time since she'd returned her investigations had found what she had been searching for: Hope.

She flew to the horizon. Her heading took her to the northeast, past the Foal Mountain range. She flew low over the thick forest. Her pupils were pools of black in the pitch dark of the new moon. But perfect darkness would be what she needed to find it.

Just then, there below her, was a glint of light, nearly invisible through the thick canopy of the trees. She slowed her flight and came to a hover, searching for a clearing in the trees to descend. She carefully drifted downwards through the gap in the tree limbs.

Her hooves landed on a simple dirt road amid the towering trees, with but a scant few dim oil lamps to guide the way. She followed the arrow of the sign bearing the town's name. She walked quietly on the soft dirt without her shoes. But not silently. When she reached the edge of town, her ears perked up and pivoted, reflexively turning to a noise just at the edge of her range of hearing. A shrill screech. Followed by a chorus of dozens more. Shadows darted through the trees and in an instant, two figured landed before her, blocking her path. Each wore armor of dark blues and violets. Each of them brandished a spear.

"Halt!" one said in a gruff voice. "Who goes there!" Several more appeared behind them. Princess Luna shuffled off her cloak as it evaporated into magical bats, flying off into the darkness. She held her head high and spread her wings wide. The guards saw her horn, wings and crown. Her collar of office bore her cutie mark. They quickly dropped to a knee and bowed their head. The others behind them followed suit.

"Citizens of Hollow Shades! Thine Princess of the Night has arrived!" she announced in her Canterlot voice.

"Princess Luna!?" one of the villages asked in astonishment.
"Princess Luna!"
"Princess Luna is back!"

The guards moved aside as Luna walked forward through the sea of batponies. Their slit eyes were fixed on her. Their leathery wings shuffled nervously as she passed. Luna's eyes were fixed on the batpony at the back of the crowd, standing firm as Luna approached.

"Mayor," Luna greeted.

"Your Highness," she greeted in return with a bow. "How did you know?" Luna's eyes dropped to the ancient pendant around the batpony's neck, bearing Luna's cutie mark.

"We gave that to thine ancestors' mayor, when this village was first founded," Luna said. "We are pleased to see our name still holds merit."

"Of course, Your Highness," she said. "Most ponies may have forgotten. But we remember. We are your children of the night." A skree of unity came up from the crowd around them.

"Thank you, Mayor..." Luna trailed off.

"Midnight Blossom," she answered.

"Thank you, Midnight. It warms our heart to hear it," Luna said.

"What brings you to our fair hamlet this evening?" Mayor Blossom asked.

"We require the services of your best stallions," Luna said. Midnight blushed slightly.

"Shall I... have a room made up?" she asked. Luna was confused for a moment and realized her wording.

"We require them as guard ponies," she said.

"Ah, keekeekee," Midnight snickered. She turned back to the crowd and made a series of quick squeaks and clicks. Two stallions made their way forward and presented themselves before the princess with a bow. Princess Luna looked over their muscular, toned bodies. She briefly reconsidered the Mayor's initial offer. Both looked to be in peak condition, but for one small detail. Luna pointed at the eye patch one was wearing.

"We trust that... scratch hasn't made thee useless?" Luna asked.

"Hardly, my princess. It's just an eye. Luckily I've been graced with a spare."

"What is thy name?"

"Sunshine Smiles," he muttered and then nodded to the batpony beside him. "This is my brother, Frolicsome Meadowlark." Luna nodded to each of them.

"We do not get to choose our names," Luna said. "Do you not like yours?" she asked.

"I like it just fine," he said. "But it doesn't instill fear in the heart of the enemy." Luna looked back and forth between the brothers.

"Are... we your enemy?" Luna asked.

"...No."

"Do you... often give your enemy a cordial greeting with your name?" Luna asked.

"No."

"Then the only pony that it would be a problem for is you," Luna said. "Embrace your name. Wear it with pride like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you. Do not seek a fearsome name. Seek to make your name fearsome."

"Like Nightmare Moon?" Frolicsome Meadowlark asked. Everypony's fur stood up. Luna turned to him and took a large step closer.

"Are you trying to provoke me, Meadowlark?" Luna asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To see if you practice what you preach."

"Are you not afraid?" she asked.

"Of course. I would be a fool not to be. But I find fear to be more of an inconvenience than an imperative," he said. Luna stared him down. He didn't blink. She looked at the mayor.

"These two are your best?" Luna asked the mayor. The brothers shuffled their hooves and glances at each other nervously. Even the mayor looked unsure.

"They're our best... stallions. As was your request," Midnight said.

"But...?" Luna asked. Midnight cleared her throat.

"There... is another pony," Midnight began to say.

"Is he the best?" 

"She is," Meadowlark corrected.

"But?" Luna asked again.

"But... she's currently..." he tried to find the words.

"Unpresentable," Midnight said.

"Bring me to her," Luna said.

"Your Highness, I-"

"Now," Luna commanded. Midnight sighed and turned to lead Luna. They walked a ways to the far side of town to the tavern. The placard read 'The Shady Trough'. All of the batpony citizens inside turned to look as the mayor walked in. And then Princess Luna walked in after her. 

"Princess Luna," one of the patrons called out in surprise. Among the sea of dark blues and grays of the bat ponies, a lone white pegasus looked at her. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates. 

"Holy shit!" The pegasus grabbed his Royal Guard uniform as the gryphon with whom he was was playing cards grabbed his bits and they ran for the rear exit. The rest of the batponies scattered in a flurry of leathery wings and screeches as they flew up and out of the belfry windows. The only one left at the table was a lone batpony with her back to the door. She wore the same guard armor as the others. She was still contemplating the cards in her hoof.

"That's her," Midnight whispered to Luna. Luna walked to the table. The batpony lifted a hollowed-out mango to her lips and drank from the straw sitting in it. She tossed her cards on the table.

"Well, you just cost me a winning hoof," she said, without turning around. "So this better be pretty damn important." She turned around to face Luna. Her eyes crossed a little as she looked at the two Lunas in front of her. Her vision had been doubled. "Cute Nightmare Night costume."

"We are Princess Luna," the double vision of Luna said with the ironically appropriate royal 'we'.

"Yeah, I can see that. We're not blind. That's a myth, Loony," she said.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry, I tried to-" Midnight apologized.

"That's quite alright," Luna dismissed her, never taking her eyes of the mare at the table. "By the smell of her we would say that it was the..." Luna sniffed. "The mango wine talking. Isn't that right?"

"Well I've already got the mayor up my ass like a stallion on Neighiagra about that, so unless you're my sanguine snack, you can fuggoff!"

"You drink blood?" Luna asked.

"Periodically. Keekeekee!" she snickered.

"She's joking," Midnight assured Luna.

"Yes, we got it," Luna said with a disgusted grimace. "You wear the garb of the guard. Did you not hear the alarm go up when we arrived in the town?"

"I don't get alarmed," she said.

"What's your name?" Luna asked.

"Echo."

"Echo?" Luna echoed. Echo rolled her eyes.

"Never gets old," Echo groaned.

"Echo, we come seeking guard ponies for our service," Luna said.

"I thought your sister already had that covered," Echo said.

"We prefer to keep our own nocturnal company," Luna said. Echo looked at Sunshine and Meadowlark behind the princess.

"Looks like you got some. The hell are you talking to me for?"

"Because some damn foal accused you of being the best," Luna said, walking around to the far side of the table to face her. Echo just looked at her and leaned back in her chair. She casually picked up her hollowed mango and slurped her wine obnoxiously loudly before setting it back on the table.

"I am. "

"Then prove it," Luna said, at the limit of her irritated patience with the mare. "Hit me... if you can," Luna said. 

"Keekeekee!" Echo snickered. "And what happens when I send Celestia's baby sister home with a black eye, eh?" It was the final straw for Luna.

"I am NOT her baby sister!" Luna yelled turning to grab a bar stool to throw at her. "I am the Night Princ-"

The instant Luna took her eyes off her, Echo jumped from her seat and kicked the table up to shield the incoming bar stool. Her mango and gold bits were flung up into the air. Echo grabbed a bit from the air and flung it at Luna, ricocheting off of her horn, causing Luna, and her magic, to falter. Echo didn't stop moving, flipping backwards into a flying kick, hitting Sunshine and Meadowlark's helmets with a buck from her hind legs. She disarmed the spear from Sunshine's stunned hoof and dove forward into a rolling somersault bringing the tip of the spear a hair's breadth from Luna's throat, giving her just the slightest nick. With her free hoof, Echo caught her mango before it hit the floor.

"And now... you are dead princess," Echo said. She brought the tip of the spear back to her own lips and licked the tiny dot of Luna's blood from it with a grin. She dropped the spear on the floor and snickered. "Keekeekee." She walked over to the bar to refill her mango. Midnight Blossom ran over to Luna with a handkerchief for her cut.

"I'm fine," Luna said, rubbing her horn. She looked over at Sunshine and Meadowlark. "Where the hell were you two?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Sunshine said. "She's the best. But..."

"She's also Echo," Meadowlark finished. "Sometimes she turns into a drunk asshole."

"And when she's sober!?" Luna asked.

"Well... then she's a regular asshole," Sunshine said. "But still..."

"She's the best," his brother finished.

"She also stole your crown," Sunshine said. Luna's eyes crossed as she looked up at her bare forehead. She looked over at Echo, still sitting at the bar, now wearing Luna's crown and raising her filled mango in a toast.

"Cheers, Loony," Echo said. "Keekeekee!" Luna grit her teeth but couldn't help but grin.

"She'll do."





Time and distance.

Time and distance were the two things Shining Armor needed regarding Twilight. Cadance could tell that something was amiss when he had come back from seeing Twilight off to Ponyville. But he didn't want to talk about it. She didn't press the issue. Cadance had her own way of helping the stallion feel better. What did it matter if it made her feel good too? Cadance herself knew that the best way to get over somepony was to get under somepony else. She might never have Night Light again. But having his son was proving to be even better.

Soon enough the worries of the troubled stallion faded away and all was right with the world once more. As the days turned to weeks, the happenings in the princess's life were enough to keep him, and his mind occupied, particularly when the day of the big event arrived.

"I'm gonna go to the Gala! I'm gonna go to the Gala! I'm gonna go to the Gala!" Shining Armor chanted in giddy glee as he hopped in place.

"Would you calm down," Cadance scolded him. "You don't even know what you're excited about."

"The Grand Galloping Gala. It is only THE event in all of Equestria!" he said. "And I'm going! With you! BOO YA!" he cheered.

"As my guard," Cadance reminded him. "As far as the public is concerned, I'm still an eligible bachelorette. There are going to be bona fide suitors there looking to court me. And you're going to have to let them!"

"Boo- nah!?" he groaned.

"Dukes. Lords. Foreign princes," Cadance cited a few examples. "Celestia would want Equestria to be able to expand its influence by marrying into other royal families."

"But I thought you and I were going to get married some day." Shining said. Cadance looked at him with an expression of pity for his naive innocence.

"Shining, I..." she tried to find the words. "We can't allow ourselves to fall in love with each other. What we have right now, it's fun. But it can't be more than that."

"Says who?" Shining asked.

"Says the princess," she said.

"Which one? There's two now," he said. "Actually, three. You're a princess. Don't you get a say in it?"

"Shining, I do love you. Really," Cadance said as she rubbed his cheek with her hoof. "But I am a princess. Everything I do is political. Including whom I marry."

"And whom will that be?"

"Whomever Celestia tells me too," Cadance said with dismay. "Marriage isn't about love. Not for royalty. It's about power."

"But what about me?" Shining asked.

"You will always be my personal guard, wherever I go," Cadance assured him. "And besides, I wouldn't just be keeping you around to guard me." She fluttered her eyes at him. "Whomever I marry, it will be your foals I raise." Shining's anger faded. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"I guess I can live with that," he said.

"Ugh, I don't even want to go!" Cadance groaned as she looked through her wardrobe. "I hate all of these!"

"I think this one looks pretty," Shining said, pointing one of the dresses.

"Yes, but it's incredibly itchy."

"What about this one?"

"Too small."

"This one?" 

"Ugh! That color? On me?"

"Blue and white?" Shining asked. "But those are my colors." He looked at her and grinned. "And I look pretty good on you."

"Hmm, that you do," Cadance said. "You know what? Fuck it. I'm just going to go naked like Aunt Tia."

"Really?"

"Well, no. I'm still going to wear my horseshoes and tiara, like she does."

"Oh."

She walked over to her vanity and leaned on it, looking in the mirror at Shining behind her. "But you know, I could stand to have a little blue and white on me later." He looked over at her and smiled, nearly pouncing her.

"Oh yeah?" he asked as he laid on top of her back. She could feel him prodding at her under her tail. "What about... in you?" he asked.

"Mmm, definitely!" she purred. "But later. We have to get going." Cadance and her guard made their way to the grand Gala ballroom. On their way, another of the castle guards approached them.

"Your Highness," he greeted the princess with a polite bow before turning to Shining. "Captain, we're having trouble with Celestia's menagerie. The animals are attracted to the guests and the food."

"Well, just cast an aversion spell on them to keep them away from everypony for the evening," Shining answered. The guard nodded and went to carry out the order. Cadance smiled and leaned against him.

"Command suits you," Cadance said. "You would have been a fine prince." Shining and Cadance continued to the ballroom. They passed by the royal kitchen. "Wait a sec," Cadance said before ducking toward the kitchen.

"Cadie- er, Princess!" Shining caught himself. They were in public and he was on duty after all. "Your Highness, where are you going?" he asked. 

"I'm hungry," she replied.

"There's going to be food at the Gala. What do you think they're cooking?"

"I'm hungry now!" Cadance growled. He knew that look in her eyes. It said that if he did let her get something to eat, he could very well be next on the menu. And not in the fun a la mode, kind of way.

Shining stood and waited outside of the kitchen door, knowing full-well the mayhem that would be going on inside and wanting nothing to do with that kind of anarchy.

"Mister Armor," a stallion's voice said from behind him. Shining turned to see the resident prima-donna, Prince Blueblood, approaching him.

"That's Captain Armor," Shining corrected. "I believe I've earned it."

"Captain now, already? You rise quick... like my dick. I like that in you."

"Which?" Shining asked. The prince smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." 

"Actually no. I'm a little busy right now, Blueblood."

"That's Prince Blueblood to you, Captain," he retorted. "I believe I've earned it." Shining snorted.

"How? By being born into the right family?" Shining asked. "Besides, aren't you actually a Duke or something? You're related to Celestia, barely. Like, 52 times removed."

"You needn't worry your simple little head over that," Blueblood teased. "You're just a guard. You just make sure to hit the bad guys with the pointy end." Blueblood walked around him in a slow circle. "Speaking of..." Blueblood glanced under Shining's tail. "Tell me, are you the sort of officer that prefers to be giving orders, or receiving?" 

"Oh for fucks sake, I'm not a colt-cuddler, Blueblood!" 

"Hmf. You just need to find the right colt," Blueblood said. "Maybe I could put you in for a transfer. Cadance is always saying what a great guard you are. I could use capable a pair of hooves like yours on my staff."

"My hooves will not be going anywhere near your staff," Shining said.

"Come now, Captain. We are both stallions of action. Lying does not suit you." Blueblood walked closer to him, to an uncomfortable proximity. "If it makes it easier for you, I could be on bottom. You could just pretend that it's a mare's ass you're putting it in."

"I think I'd rather stick my dick in an ant hill," Shining said. Blueblood smirked and leaned on him.

"Here is what I'm imagining. Me, on top of you, rutting you from behind. My magic stroking you from below. My thick flare thrusting back and forth across your sensitive prostate. And then, just as I cum deep inside your ass, you cum at the same time, upon a decadent cake, bound for my Aunt Tia's dessert table. And then you and I would be in attendance as we both bear witness to my aunt eating your seed, only you and I the wiser."

"If you want to watch your aunt eat a cake with cum on it, you can do it yourself," Shining said. Blueblood sneered in revulsion.

"Ugh! That's incest! I would never do such a disgusting, horrid thing!" he said.

"Oh, no of course not. You're far too classy for that," Shining sarcassed.

"Blueblood!" Cadance yelled from the kitchen doorway. "Get your hooves off of my guard, or else they will never touch anything else, ever again." Prince Blueblood quickly removed himself from Shining Armor's proximity.

"Your highness," he bowed in deference. He cut his eyes at Shining Armor. "Who's guarding whom?" he whispered, just a bit too loudly, at the stallion.

"Another word from you, and my horseshoe will have to be removed from you surgically!" Cadance said. Blueblood quickly made himself scarce from the princess's glare.

"You didn't have to do that," Shining groaned.

"Shiny, I love you. But I do not get what he sees in you," she said.

"His dick, apparently. Or the other way around," Shining replied.

"You should oblige him," Cadance said.

"What!?" he blanched.

"Yeah. Don't ask me how, but I've seen his. And yours is waaay bigger," Cadance said. "If nothing else, it might knock his ego down a peg. And who knows. It might be fun to see him try to explain a ruptured colon to the Canterlot General E.R." Shining just stood there and stared at her. He could usually tell when she was joking or being serious. And in that moment he was finding it difficult to figure out which it was.

"... I'm not doing that," Shining said.

Cadance could see his expression fall. She hadn't been looking forward to the gala at all. And now he wasn't either. Both now for the same reason. "Come on, cheer up. We can still make this the best night ever!" Cadance said as they headed to the main foyer. Princess Celestia was waiting at the top of the entrance's stairs. "Aunt Tia," Cadance greeted. 

"Cadance," Celestia greeted back. "Captain." 

"Your Highness." Shining said as he bowed.

"Al fresco, tonight?" Celestia asked of Cadance's lack of apparel.

"I couldn't find a dress I liked," Cadance said. "I'm sure it won't deter the male dignitaries' advances."

"Actually, there has been a change of plans," Celestia said. "You see, my sister, Princess Luna, has decided to have her own Gala this very same evening. And unfortunately she has grossly mismanaged its advertising." Celestia motioned to the rather small, hoof-painted sign by the stairwell. "I fear that it will be dead down there."

"Down there?" Cadance asked.

"The castle grotto," Celestia said. "So I was hoping that you could attend her Gala to help her feel some measure of success."

"If it means not getting hit on by visiting princes, then sure," Cadance said, turning to go. Shining was about to follow.

"There are ample guards here. Captain, if you wish to remain behind for my Gala, Twilight should be in attendance," Celestia said. "She speaks very highly of you in her letters. She may wish to see you tonight." 

Shining felt his fur stand up. He knew he would not be able to avoid Twilight forever. And sooner or later they would have to address how they left things off last time they spoke. But the Grand Galloping Gala was just about the worst place he could think of for that conversation. At best it would just be awkward. And at worst... Well, he knew how unpredictable Twilight could get when she was all worked up. Celestia waited patiently for his answer.

"Well, uh, yeah, but I mean, like you said, it sounds like Princess Luna's gala needs as many ponies as it can. And you know, the more the merrier, right? Plus I'm sure I'll see Twilight soon anyways. So it's no big deal. I should stay with Princess Cadenza anyway... Your Highness," he said. Celestia kept her expression neutral.

"A wise decision, Captain," Celestia said. "Oh, and you will need this," she said, giving Cadance a purse of bits. She watched them walk to the stairwell closer together than could possibly be considered professional. Celestia could not keep the smile from her face. Outside, Twilight Sparkle and her friends rolled up to the Canterlot castle. Each of them full of hope for their own vision of what was to most certainly be the best night ever.

Cadance and Shining made their way downstairs to the castle grotto. The natural cavern had a small pool of water, lit by the many sconces on the walls. The main area had several tables set up, covered in green felt. All were vacant but one table. There sat Princess Luna and three others. They all looked at the two newcomers.

"Gah!" Shining jumped just a little. He had only ever heard of batponies before. To see one in real life was a different matter. The leathery wings and slit eyes just looked so unnatural. Echo smiled at him, brandishing her fangs and enjoying his discomfort.

"Ah, Princess Cadenza," Luna greeted, rising from her seat. She gave her a polite nod. The batponies followed her lead. "We see that you decided to go to the good Gala. We were just about to begin. Please, join us won't you?" Luna pulled out a couple of chairs at the table for Cadance and her guard. Sunshine Smiles fetched another round of ciders from the bar for everypony as they took their seats. Luna began to deal out the playing cards. "The game is Appaloosan Hold'em. Blinds start at ten and twenty bits."

"Oh, is that a card game?" Cadance asked innocently as she fluttered her eyelashes. "I hope this is enough bits." She emptied her purse onto the table.

"Um, Princess, maybe you should let me-" Shining tried to say. 

Cadance stomped on his hoof with hers. It was the kind of stomp that said: "Shining, dear, I know very well how to play cards. It's called a hustle. Now be a dear and shut up." But, you know, in stomp form. Shining got the message.

"M-maybe you should at least let me shuffle?" Shining tried.

"Oh, okay!" Cadance said as she whimsically teased her mane with her hoof. "Cards, how do they even work? Am I right? Oh well, I'll just figure it out as I go." Sunshine and Meadowlark just grinned, eyeing her stack of easy bits. Cadance split the pile roughly in half and pushed some over to Shining. "Try not to lose it all," she teased. Shining looked across the table at Luna and Echo, staring back at him.

"I won't," he said with determination.

And then he did.

After several hooves of cards, Shining sat desperately at the edge of the table, playing with his last two ten-bit coins. Echo snickered at him.

"You can rub them together all you want but they ain't gonna breed, keekeekee," she said. He glanced at his cards. They were single-digits, non-sequential, and off-suit. In other words, trash. The flop was straight paint. He put on his best poker face.

"I'm all in!" he said confidently, pushing the two meager bit forward.

"I don't know," Sunshine sarcassed, "That might be too rich for my blood-I-call," he said.

"I'm in."
"I'm in."
"I'm in."
"As are we."

A Turn and River later, Shining had nothing. But then neither did Meadowlark.

"Ace high," Luna groaned.

"I've got a pair," Sunshine said said. Echo snickered. 

"Keekeekee! Of cards at least," she said. Sunshine glared at her with his one good eye. "But I've got three," she said showing off her jacks.

"Pity," Cadance said, throwing down her queens on top.

"Me thinks the pink one has played before," Meadowlark said.

"Oh, whatever do you mean!?" Cadance feigned, pulling the rather small pot to her much-larger pile.

"Well Captain, it would appear that you are busted," Luna said. She pointed at the pool. "Make your way to the loser circle in hopes that it might wash away your shame." He looked at Cadance. She nodded for him to go. "Shun the loser. Shun!" Luna taunted.

"Shun. Shun," the rest of the table chanted as he walked. He stepped out of his armor and into the pool, finding that it was actually quite warm, apparently from a thermal spring. He slunk into the water and relaxed. It wasn't like it was even his money that he lost. Cadance gathered the cards and deftly shuffled for her turn to deal. Luna glanced over at Shining and then back to Cadance. 

"He seems quite taken to you," Luna said, keeping her voice low enough to keep from Shining's range of hearing. The others at the table looked at the pink pony. Cadance didn't react. She knew the first rule of cards. Leave emotion at the door.

"What stallion isn't?" she asked in a neutral tone, glancing across the table at Sunshine and Meadowlark. They quickly averted their eyes. 

"Do not be coy, Cadenza. You know it's true," Luna said. Cadance finished shuffling and dealt out the cards. After the first round, she played the first three cards. Ace, King, and Jack of hearts. Cadance looked at her cards, and then at Luna.

"True? Yeah, maybe," Cadance said.

"I bet," Luna said.

"Do you?" Cadance asked. Shining had busted out, but Luna was not far from a similar fate. Luna pushed in one of her stacks.

"Fold," the three batponies said. Cadance met Luna's bet. The 10 of hearts hit the table. Cadance put in another stack that would force Luna to go all-in.

Luna looked at the cards. Then at Cadance. Then at the bits. Then at Cadance.

"Bah!" Luna said, throwing away her cards. Cadance took the pot. "Did you have it?" Luna asked. Cadance gathered up the cards and shuffled in her hoof and smirked.

"Sorry, Auntie... I don't remember."

Shining nearly nodded off in the warm water a short time later when he heard chanting from the card table.

"Shun. Shun. Shun!" Luna trotted over, dejected, and slipped into the warm water.

"The agony of defeat," she groaned.

"Mhmm," Shining commiserated. Luna moved a little closer.

"Princess Cadenza seems quite taken with you," Luna said quietly. "She told us so."

"Yeah, I learned how to interrogate ponies too. Don't try that with me," he said.

"Perhaps not in so many words. But we can tell," Luna said. "Do you not also desire her?" Shining opened one of his eyes just a crack and looked at her.

"What I want is of little consequence," he said, closing his eye again. "It's not enough to merely want something. Wishing does not make it so."

"But you do wish it," Luna said. Shining opened his eyes and turned around to look at Cadance over at the table. Her back was to them. He settled back into the water and sighed.

"I do wish it."

"You strike us as a stallion of action, Captain. If you truly love her, what is stopping you?" Luna asked.

"She said that she'll probably be married off to some other prince or duke or something. But not me. I'm just a guard," he said.

"Says who?" Luna asked.

"I dunno. Princess Celestia?" he said. Luna smiled, admiring the stallion's body in the water. She moved beside him, touching his leg with hers.

"Mayhaps we could convince our sister to allow such a thing," Luna said quietly. "If, perchance we were to be persuaded to do so," she whispered into his ear. She placed a hoof on his lap under the water, moving it up to his-

"P-Princess!?" he gasped.

"Shh, shh," Luna hushed him. She looked over at Cadance. She was still focused on playing cards. "We're just talking." Her hoof teased his sheath. "But perhaps there is something that you could do for us you persuade us to... talk to Celestia on your behalf."

"Please, I love Cadance," he said through his teeth, trying not to yelp.

"We are not asking for your love, Captain," Luna purred. "Only your- ah here it is!" she cooed as his shaft emerged. She began stroking it in the water. "Only your... gratitude."

"I can't!", he whispered harshly. Luna grinned.

"You are not Cadenza's stallion yet. We are royalty, we will do as we please, as Celestia does. Do not tell us that she does not seek the comfort of her Captain on occasion."

"What!? No!" he said. She could tell he wasn't lying.

"Pity. But you needn't fret," she said moving in front of him to straddle his lap. She brought his broad tip to her hot pussy, rubbing it against her wanton entrance, nearly getting the tip inside. "By the end of this..."

"YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!" a booming shout came from upstairs, preceded by a loud crash and followed by a thundering rumble.

Luna sprang from the pool and ran to the stairs as Cadance quickly bagged her winnings and followed after. As soon as Cadance was out of the room, Shining climbed out of the pool and grabbed his armor. 

"Shit, shit, shit!" Shining cursed.  The three batponies at the table watched him struggle to get dressed as his erection swung and bobbed about under him. "The fuck are you looking at!?" he said, tucking himself into his armor. The other two males looked away. Echo just snickered and gave him a slow clap. He finished getting dressed and ran up the stairs after the princesses.

"I can see why she likes him," Echo said.





"Well, this has been the worst night ever," Shining groaned as he joined Cadance to help the other guards sift through the rubble that was once the Gala ballroom. He had just gotten a situation report from the other guards. "My sister's friends were here less than a half hour. And apparently her pink friend had managed to harass just about everypony. I've got a prince assaulted with cake, property damage and a damn stampede!" he huffed. Even as he spoke a few stray animal continued to run amok.

"What in Equestria!?" Princess Luna said as she walked through the destroyed ballroom.

"Everything happened so fast," Cadance said. "When we heard the commotion it was over by the time we arrived."

"It matters not. Where is our sister in this hour of need!?" she asked the room. Nopony answered. "Splendid! So then, it falls to us once again to clean up one of her messes!?" she fumed. "Oh, that is just classic her! She is probably off stuffing her fat face somewhere!"

Across town, Princess Celestia was sitting with Twilight Sparkle and her friends in Joe's pastry shop, sharing a laugh and a plate of doughnuts.
> Utter Chaos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor did not leave Cadance's side the rest of the night. Primarily because it was his duty to accompany her as her bodyguard. But part of him was worried about what might happen if Princess Luna were to corner him alone again. He could not keep the memory of the grotto pool from his mind.

Objectively, Luna was far from the worst-looking pony after all. In all honesty, she was one of the most beautiful mares he had ever seen. But his life already had enough drama in it. As much as he wanted a more official relationship with Cadance, he wasn't about to compromise his integrity for it. He and Cadance made it back to her home that night without further incident.

"Why him?" Echo asked Luna. Echo and Luna stood on her balcony admiring the night. "I mean, I saw him when he got out of the pool, so I get that part. But why him specifically? If you really want... that, why not those two?" Echo nodded toward the entrance door. Sunshine Smiles and Frolicsome Meadowlark had already taken up their posts outside of Luna's royal chambers.

"They are guards in our service," Luna said. "That would be cheating."

"They aren't married. And neither are you," Echo said.

"That is not what we mean," Luna said shaking her head. "For us to command them to our bed, it lacks the thrill of the chase. The satisfaction of the conquest." Echo nodded.

"Okay. I get that. But just because Princess Cadenza couldn't hear you two, doesn't mean I couldn't," Echo said, flicking her disproportionately larger ears. "You don't think that making him an offer he can't refuse isn't its own kind of coercion?"

"..."

"So why him?" Echo asked. Luna looked past Echo at Celestia's tower.

"We just wanted to take something of Celestia's. Something personal," she said.

"But he's Cadenza's."

"Celestia does not keep a consort. If she did, it would be him that we would be after. The only thing Celestia has that she cares so much about is Cadance. And Cadance has Shining," Luna tried to explain, swishing her tail as she was getting flustered. Echo raised an eyebrow.

"Princess, if I might speak freely, just between us gals, you really need to get laid. Because you do not make good decisions when you're all worked up like this." Luna narrowed her eyes at her.

"To your post, Corporal," Luna commanded. "We've work to do." Echo snickered and flittered up to hang upside down in the rafters of the balcony soffit. She was nearly invisible in the darkness for anypony that didn't know she was there. But it gave her the perfect vantage point to see everything.

Luna settled onto her padded carpet and focused her mind on her spell. The world around her melted away as she entered the dreamscape. She floated among the bubbles of ponies' dreams as she sought out one in particular. She approached the bubble and stepped into the dream. 





She watched the white stallion running about the the city of Canterlot. The architecture of the city was made into impossible shapes, turning back on itself in a labyrinth of streets and alleyways. The stallion seemed to be searching for somepony. A sign of anxiety in the dreamer. Luna approached the pony.

"Captain," Luna greeted Shining Armor. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

"Your Highness," he greeted, bowing on reflex.

"Looking for something?" she asked. "Or somepony?" Shining did not reply. Even here, with access to his subconsciousness, he was on guard. Whatever it was he was looking for, it was repressed very deeply. His face fell.

"I... I think I'm lost," he said after a moment. There was pain and sadness in his voice. Luna smiled softly.

"You needn't fret," she said, as a door materialized behind her. "We are here to help you." She opened the door and led him through. It led to her bedchambers. Or at least, the dream version of them. "Perchance you could help us as well?" she asked, laying onto her bed. She made the message in her seductive expression abundantly clear. He looked at her, there on the bed. His eyes flittered away for a moment.

"I can't," he said.

"You can," Luna assured him.

"I shouldn't," he responded. Luna braced the walls of her dream. Her bedchambers were in her dream realm, into which she had drawn him. Even so, it wasn't a perfectly inescapable vessel.

"It's okay, Captain. This is a dream," Luna said.

"A dream!?" he asked. Luna felt the edges of the dream strain in the realization.

"Yes, so you needn't worry," Luna assured him. "Nothing that happens here is real. There are no consequences to our..." Luna spread her legs slightly. "... actions." Shining still looked unsure. "Your secret would be safe with us. We will still keep our word," Luna said. "If you would give yourself to us, here, in this place, we will see to it that you be permitted to wed Princess Cadenza," Luna said, inwardly grinning to herself. What did it matter to him if allowing Cadance to wed her guard would upturn Celestia's plans for whomever she had intended her to wed?

"It still doesn't feel right," he said.

"Perhaps in this form?" Luna asked as her dream form shimmered and shifted into that of Cadance. "She never has to know," Luna said in Cadance's voice. Shining felt like he was walking into a trap.

"If this is some kind of trick..." he said.

"We swear to you that it is not," Luna said. "We want for you to wed the pony you love as much as you do."

"Why?" he asked.

"We know what it is to live under the rules of our older sister. We do not wish to see another befall such an ill fate. Particularly in the face of love. Is our request so unjust? Are we so repulsive for you to reject us?"

"Not at all," Shining replied. He walked closer and grabbed the edge of the bed sheets in his hoof. "It isn't real?" he asked. In response, Luna's magic made the sheets shimmered into a different color.

"The pleasure you give us will feel real enough. We will keep our word in the waking world. Now please," she begged, "we grow restless." He moved to the edge of the bed and leaned over her. Her form was exactly like Cadance's. It should have been. Luna had pulled her from his memory after all. The key difference being that Luna had turned up all of her alluring aspects to him to eleven. The effect on him was visibly evident. Shining leaned closer as his erection brushed against her loins. His hooves pulled her hips to the edge of the bed with a strong yank. His body pressed his thick shaft between their bellies.

"Please, don't leave us waiting," she pleaded.

"Shh," he said, putting his hoof to her lips. Luna might have been speaking with Cadance's voice, but her vernacular still sounded off. He shifted his hips back, sliding his length down against her slit until his tip moved to to come to bear against her entrance. Luna held her breath. It was the first time she would feel the carnal touch of a stallion in centuries. Shining closed his eyes and pushed forward, parting her lips.

Luna sighed as she felt his broad tip enter her. There was no struggle with his aim, or lack of lubrication. Here in the dream, there was only perfection. There was no discomfort, only pleasure as he sank into her. The textured surface of his penis hit every one of her nerves in just the right ways. She moaned as he filled her, feeling his balls rest against her butt as he hilted.

"Yes," Luna hissed. He moved slowly, pulling out of her and pushing back in again. She felt every inch of him as he moved inside her, every detail. The strong, strapping stallion loomed over her in the dominant position, with her laying on the bed beneath him, physically at his mercy as he started to fuck her faster and harder. But Luna shuddered in the pleasure of her victory, taking this stallion that was Cadance's, who, in turn, was Celestia's.

Luna felt strong and empowered. Even as she lay under the pony using her body for pleasure. Even if when his eyes weren't clenched shut he would see Cadance's body under him. She took pleasure in feeling him rut her. She took pleasure in who it was that was doing it.

Sex was easy for a stallion. All the blood left one head for another. All thoughts flooded out of the mind, and focused only on the pleasure. Other senses faded away. When Shining closed his eyes, it was all the easier. Even in a dream. There was only the pleasure he was feeling. The pony on the other end of his pole began to become irrelevant.

Luna could sense his mind retreating. She felt herself taking less of an active role in his dream as his mind perceived her as Cadance, and Luna was merely along for the ride behind her eyes. She felt him begin to thrust faster, nearing his climax. Her victory began to feel hollow. She wanted him to fuck her, not Cadance. She felt him beginning to flare inside her. Her form shimmered beneath him back into Luna.

"Open your eyes," Luna commanded. Shining did as he was told. He looked down at his penis moving in and out of her dark-blue pussy, mottled with the black blotches of her flanks. He looked up along her body to her face. Her teal eyes looked back at his. "Say my name!"

"L-Luna!?" he said, taking himself by surprise, realizing the gravity of his deed. But he was past the point of no return. He felt himself about to cum inside her. The walls of his subconsciousness crumbled and his guilt flooded back in a tidal wave. He looked up at the door behind her. A purple unicorn watched him from the hallway.





The dream shattered as Shining humped fruitlessly against the mattress of the massive bed beside Cadance, staining the sheets with his shame. He blinked in the darkness. His memory of the dream vanished in moments. It was not the first time he had awoken from a wet dream, nor was it even the messiest. Barely any got on his fur. But even so, for reasons he couldn't explain, he felt dirty.

Luna too, was ejected from the dream, awaking with a start in her own chambers. Unlike Shining, she remembered all too well the dream. In the heat of the moment she had lost her hold on the veil of the dream. She never saw what it was that had startled him so severely. But all that mattered was that she had been left in the lurch. The carpet beneath her was stained with her arousal, but not with her relief. Her wings ached as they stood stiff behind her.

"Dammit!" she cursed to herself. Even if she could manage to get back into his dream, it would not be enough to satisfy her craving now. Her body needed the real thing. She no longer cared how she got it. She put her pride aside and walked to her chamber doors. She opened them and looked at the bat ponies standing guard outside.

"You," she said collectively to both of them. "We need you, in the capacity of a stallion."

"Uh..." Sunshine hesitated.

"To rut us!" Luna said, in no uncertain terms.

"Which one?" Meadowlark asked.

"Either. Both! We do not care! We just need it now," she said. As she did, the scent of her arousal drifted out into the hallway. They could practically taste it in the air, it was so heavy. They tried their best to stifle their shudder. But the evidence of their arousal was impossible to hide. "Ah," Luna said, spying their erections. "We see that we have two volunteers!" She stepped back into her chambers and clear of her doorway. "Come inside," she said. Both sets of their leather wings sprang open.

"First one may have the bed," she said. They both moved for the door. Meadowlark edged out his brother and pounced onto Luna's bed first. Sunshine frowned. "Fear not, you will have us as well," she said. She climbed onto the bed over Meadowlark. She laid down on top of him, pinning his erection between them. She looked back at Sunshine, wiggling her hips. "Come, you first," she said to Sunshine. He scrambled up onto the bed and got into position to mount her. Meadowlark whimpered beneath her. "Just a moment," she said.

Sunshine thrusted nervously at her hips, carelessly missing his mark in his excitement. Luna used her magic to guide him to her very wet entrance. He penetrated her with relative ease. Her wasn't nearly as big as Shining was, nor most stallions she'd had in centuries gone by. But it suited Luna just fine for what she'd had in mind next. With him now well-lubricated, she pushed him away, forcing him to pull out. Now it was Sunshine's turn to whimper.

Luna adjusted her hips so that Meadowlark's penis sprang up from between them. As before, Luna used her magic to aim him at her entrance and she eased her hips down onto his shaft. Under her, his hips bounced up and down off of her mattress as he began to fuck her in earnest.

Her magic pulled Sunshine back to her, bringing his very-wet tip to her tight pucker. His hooves grabbed her hips.

"Slowly," she said in a serious tone. Meadowlark stopped moving under her as Sunshine began to push. Luna's ass stretched around his girth until his tip popped inside her tight o-ring, gaining a gasp from the blue princess. "Okay," she nodded. He pushed himself deeper, getting inch after inch inside of her back door. Beneath her, Meadowlark felt him hilt her as their balls touched. 

"Uh, but my brother-"

"Is not your concern!" Luna cut him off. "Now rut us! Both of you!" They did as they were told, moving back and forth inside her as they each pistoned in and out in opposition, and at the same time, gaining and losing tempo as they went. Luna was in ecstasy as she felt each of them moving inside her. She felt extra full as each of them rubbed against each other through the thin wall of her flesh separating them. The pleasure left over from the dream rose again nearing its peak. "Yes, Yes!" Luna cried out as she felt the knot in her belly finally snap free. "Yesss!"

Luna's body quivered and shook sandwiched between the two batponies as they continued to fuck her amidst her orgasm. Her marecum spurted out from around Meadowlark's shaft and dripped onto his lap, splashing against Sunshine each time he bottomed out. Meadowlark wrapped his hooves around her and pulled her down to him. The larger mare pressed her face into the pillow behind Meadowlark, and Sunshine leaned further over her.

The suddenness of her warmth and wetness, combined with her muscles squeezing and milking them proved to be too much for the batponies. Luna felt them begin to flare inside her and they let out a shrill cry as they both began to throb deep inside her. Outside on the balcony, Echo snickered from the rafters, pleased to hear that Luna had taken her advice.




The next day, Shining tried his best to orientate himself. Judging from the sun, they were heading east, which he was pretty sure was wrong.

"Cadie, I think we took a wrong turn," he said. She just giggled beside him. "We're just going to get more lost if we don't try to work out some kind a system."

"Oh, Shiny, that's the point! Why do you think I wanted us to walk the Palace Labyrinth?" she said, trotting merrily on, carefree. "Stop worrying about the future so much. You'll get to your destination eventually. Just focus on the here and now. Here you and I are, enjoying a wonderful day together. Just appreciate the little things for what they are."

Shining pondered her words as his gaze followed her down the path between the high hedges of the maze. He realized she was right. And besides, he didn't have anywhere he needed to be today. He should just relax and enjoy the moment. He caught up to her, surprising her with a kiss. She stopped in her tracks.

"Hmm, what brought this on?" she asked, kissing him back.

"Oh, just you," he said, kissing her again, more passionately this time. She laid down on the soft grass, pulling him on top of her. He ran his hoof though her soft mane as they continued to make out in the labyrinth. She felt him grow hard between them.

"Ooh, Shiny! Right here?" she asked in a hushed tone. She felt him beginning to grind his shaft against her rapidly moistening folds.

"Hmm, I like to live dangerously," he said in a sultry tone. "Besides, we're the only ones out here," he said as he started nibbling on her ear. He knew that was her weakness. She loved it.

"MMmm," Cadance began to buck her hips back against his now-slick member sliding along her slit. "Okay, but can you make it fast? I just don't want to get caught," she said. Shining nodded, happy to oblige her request for a quickie. She flipped over, laying her face down in the grass, her flank raised high in the air, her tail flagged, exposing herself completely to him. He didn't waste any time mounting her. He brought his throbbing head to her wet entrance, missing his mark a couple times in his haste, causing her to gasp as he rubbed against her swollen clitoris. He aimed it once more, ready to sink home.

"I want to start our field trip here, in the world famous Canterlot Sculpture Garden." Shining froze at hearing the voice from just on the other side of the hedge wall. He and Cadance must have been closer to the edge of the maze than he thought. "That one over there represents Friendship," he heard the mare continue. He quickly dismounted Cadance who looked similarly surprised and disappointed.

"All right my little ponies. This one represents Victory," Cheerilee narrated, leading the tour. Thankfully, they were moving further away. He could still hear some of the school fillies bickering something about a dictionary. Any hope of him keeping his erection quickly faded.

"I suppose we should just get out of here," he said to Cadance. She frowned a little and just nodded in agreement. The pair followed the sound of the field trip to, what must surely be, the maze exit.

"Now this is a really interesting statue. What do you notice about it?" Cheerilee asked her class.

"It's got an eagle claw."
"And a lion paw."
"And a snake tail."

"This creature is called a Draconequus," Cheerilee explained. "He has the head of a pony and a body made up of all sorts of things. What do you suppose that represents?"

"Confusion."
"Evil."
"Chaos."
"It's not chaos you dodo!"
"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of! And it is too chaos!"
"Is not!"
"You're both wrong!"

"Actually, in a way, you're all right," Cheerilee cut in, trying to break up the argument while staying positive. "This statue represents discord, which means a lack of harmony between ponies. In fact, you three have demonstrated discord so well that you're each going to write me an essay explaining it." The rest of the class giggled at the trio's misfortune. "Now let's go. And I don't want any more fighting."

Shining peeked out of the maze exit from around the corner of the hedge wall. The class had moved on, out of sight, into the west castle courtyard. The coast was clear for them to make good their escape. They started to make their way through the sculpture garden.

"Muh ha ha ha."

Shining swore he had heard a murmur of a sinister laugh. He looked over at Cadance. She too had frozen in her tracks. Both of their heads where on a swivel, looking around them to find the source. Bits of stone fell from the cracks in the Draconequus statue. Shining moved closer to inspect it. Had one of the fillies damaged it in their fight?

Suddenly, brilliant white light burst from the seems in the stone as the rest of the statue crumbled and fell in pieces on the ground. It was instead replaced with the imposing figure the statue once represented.

"EEYEAH! OH! OOH! Well it's about time some pony got me out of that prison block. What a relief!" the Draconequus said, before snapping his fingers. In a flash, his magic struck Shining and Cadance.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shining demanded. He was suddenly silenced as he noticed the sudden change in his voice's pitch. It was much too high and...feminine?

"Why, stretching of course," Discord said. "When you're a creature of chaos, stone body suits aren't your typical go-to fashion choice."

Shining looked over at Cadance. But instead he saw only himself. 

"Shining?" Cadance asked in Shining's voice and body. Shining looked down at his own, pink hooves. Cadance's hooves. He looked back at her, inside his body. Her horrified expression mirrored his own.

"Hah ha ha! You should see the look on your faces! Priceless!" Discord was nearly in tears, clutching his sides. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some chaos to wreak!" He snapped his fingers, vanishing in a flash. The sky filled with pink clouds as it started to rain.

"Cadance, what's going on with this rain? I mean, chocolate milk. I mean, chocolate milk rain?" he asked her in Cadance's voice.

"We need to tell Celestia right away!" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hooves. She hadn't expected her own voice to have become so baritone. They each exchanged nervous glances. Neither wanted anypony else to see them like this. But if anypony would know how to fix this, it would be Princess Celestia. They sprinted for the castle. Rivulets of chocolate milk began to stream down the sides of the castle walls as they made their way inside. The pair burst into Celestia's throne room.

"Auntie Tia!" Cadance said, from Shining's body.

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked 'Shining'.

"We've had our minds swapped!" Cadance said. "I'm in his body and he's in mine."

"Oh no," Celestia groaned. "Cadance, have you been trying to make potions again? Testing them out on the hapless Captain?"

"No, Auntie."

"Your Highness, we just came from the sculpture garden," Shining said in Cadance's voice. "The Draconequus statue broke and released a creature. He... did this to us. And then it started raining chocolate milk! We came as fast as we could!"

"Discord!" Celestia growled. "I need Twilight and her friends here right away. Only the Elements of Harmony will be able to stop him." She brought up a fresh parchment, hastily scrawling a message to Twilight. Exposition would have to wait until she got here. All that mattered was that she got the message as soon as possible, and hurried to Canterlot before Discord could gain any further strength.



My dearest Twilight,
I need to see you and your friends in Canterlot immediately!
- Princess Celestia



She sent the letter out the window in a green smoke.

"Princess, is there nothing we can do?" Shining asked.

"I'm afraid not. Discord's power is beyond anything the Royal Guards could handle. And now that Princess Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, even we are powerless to stop him. The fate of Equestria is in your sister's, and her friends', hooves." Shining felt his stomach do a flip. The concept of 'Celestia' and 'Powerless' in the same sentence made him feel queasy.

"Auntie, could you at least fix... this?" Cadance asked, motioning to Shining and herself.

Celestia's horn came aglow, as her warm spell washed over the swapped pair. Afterward the spell faded, the two ponies looked at each other. To their dismay, they remained displaced.

"This is worse than I realized," Celestia fretted. "My magic is already faltering. Hopefully Twilight will get here soon and stop him. Luckily, the Elements are in a chamber protected by a powerful spell that only I can break. They will be safe from him until they arrive." She looked at the pair before her. "As for you two, just lay low until all this is over. Once Discord is defeated, harmony will be restored and his magic will be undone."

"Lay low?" Cadance asked.

"Cadance, stay in your castle chambers until this is resolved," Celestia instructed to Shining's body. "Captain Armor, stay by her side. Neither of you are to let the other out of your sight!" She looked at Cadance's body. "I'll brief the commander of the situation and tell him that you are...indisposed. I'm sure you don't want your subordinates seeing you like this." Shining's pink cheeks blushed. "I can't imagine how embarrassing this must be for both of you. I'll see to it that neither of you are disturbed," she said.




They went to Cadance's chambers and waited. Cadance paced back and forth in the room. Shining settled onto the bedspread, sinking into the soft pillow top. He laid on the bed, absent-mindedly staring out the window at the chocolate milk rain gently pelting against the glass. Cadance flopped onto the bed herself, giving her broad, stallion frame a rest. After a few minutes she closed her eyes. 

"That's not a bad idea," Shining mused, eager to get a nap in after his restless night. 

He awoke some time later. It sounded like Cadance was sawing logs. He looked over at her, sleeping in his body, making atrocious noises.

"Huh, I guess I do snore," he said to himself. After a few moments, the rain gave way to bright sunshine again. Maybe thing wouldn't be so bad after all. Things were already looking up. He was still in Cadance's body, but Celestia said she would be able to fix that once all this was over and her magic was working again. 

Outside, across the way, he could see the Canterlot Sculpture Garden, and the Palace Labyrinth beyond that. Suddenly, there seemed to be some kind of commotion coming from the maze. All of the hedges vanished into the ground in a cloud of dust, leaving a big brown crater where the maze once stood. The skies filled with pink clouds once more and the chocolate milk rain resumed.

Maybe this wouldn't be over as soon as he hoped.

Shining got up from the bed and walked past the full length mirror by the bedroom vanity. His quick self-inspection earlier outside only told him enough that he needed to panic. But now that he had more time, he looked over his new form more closely. He turned his rump to the mirror and flagged his tail. He looked back over his shoulder. For a while he just stood there and stared at it, her marehood. It wasn't like he had never seen it before. But this was still a very different, very new experience. He had never had one attached to him before.

He shifted his hips from side to side, adjusting his stance, watching as his muscles moved beneath his fur. He experimented a bit, flexing new muscles he had never had before. He found it ‘winking’ at himself in the mirror. He sat back on the edge of the bed, facing the mirror, looking down at himself.

He rubbed it a bit with his hoof, touching various parts and feeling the differences. He felt himself positively radiating warmth. His pussy lips were soft and pliable. He rubbed and spread them apart. He found that rubbing his little nub at the top of his slit was particularly pleasing.

The wetness of his nethers began to soak into the fur on his hoof. The smell of his sex filled the room. But he couldn't resist a closer inspection. He brought his sticky hoof to his nose, taking a deep whiff of his feminine aroma. It was positively intoxicating. He enjoyed Cadance’s flavor very much. It was an incredible turn on when she asked to taste herself on… whatever part of him she was on at the time.

Still, he felt a bit strange looking at his own hoof with his own juices on it. He had certainly never ventured to sample himself as a male. He stuck out his tongue, tapping the tip of his hoof. Her nectar was very appealing, spurring his arousal further. He began to rub himself more vigorously. Up and down, in tight circles, faster, then slower. He started to instinctively buck against his hoof.

Shining had enjoyed watching Cadance pleasure herself. He tried his best to mimic her movements as best as he could remember. In the end, a lot of it just came down to experimenting with what just felt good. He felt the heat and tingling electricity spreading out from his nethers throughout his abdomen and his whole body.

He felt the tension and pressure slowly building, like a knot in his belly being pulled tighter and tighter. He slowed down his pace a bit before he got too sensitive. He tossed and turned in the bed, rolling onto his belly, his hoof trapped beneath him, between his legs. His pinned hoof could only make small movements. It was more than made up for as his whole body rocked and bucked, grinding his crotch down onto it.

The frame of the bed began to squeak under the rhythmic humping of the masturbating mare. His juices were making a positively sloppy mess of his hoof and the covers. He felt the knot in his tummy getting bigger and bigger. And just when he thought he couldn't take any more…

“Ngh, uh uh AHHH!” Shining bit the pillow and let out a muffled moan of pleasure from his first maregasm. He jerked and bucked in spasms as his orgasm rolled and rolled like waves on a beach. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Before it was like a firework, an explosion of pleasure all at once.

But this, it came in waves, rolling through his pelvis again and again as he writhed on his side, with his hoof in a death grip between his thighs, completely immobilized. Any more friction on his crotch, and he felt like he was going to explode.

He finally managed to free his hoof from between his legs. He laid there on the bed, panting, struggling to catch his breath.

"Having fun, are we?" Cadance asked beside him. He looked over at her and found that she was very much awake.

"You're awake!?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"How could I not be?" she asked. "Between the bed shaking, your moaning, and the smell..." she trailed off. Shining became aware of just how strongly he smelled of musky sex. "Unf," Cadance moaned, feeling herself getting very hard very fast. She looked down at herself, watching Shining's penis emerging from its sheath. "Oh, wow." Her face lit up with excitement. 

Shining mind was still that of a male in a mare's body. He was perfectly content to remain fixated on his own physical form. But Cadance's mind became addled as soon as all the blood left one head to go to her other head. And in seconds, the dire situation outside vanished from her thoughts. In that moment, she gained some brief insight into how a stallion's penis was their whole world.

"I have so many ideas!" she said. She stood up on the bed and started jumping on the mattress, making her penis flop up and down under her. She laughed uncontrollably. "Hahaha! It feels as funny as it looks!" Shining watched and chewed his lip. It felt strange to stare at a penis, even if it was technically his own. Yet he could not look away.

"Oh my gosh, we have to do it!" she said, jumping off the bed. She reached over and pulled him to the edge and leaned over him, rubbing it against his pussy. Shining felt something he had never felt before when making love with Cadance: Nervousness. Apprehension. Fear. His own penis looked incredibly menacing from the angle of receiving end.

“Cadie,” Shining whimpered in a weak mare voice, “let’s- let’s take it slow okay? It’s-“ Shining realized how ludicrous the words were even before he said them, but they were the best, and most appropriate for the ludicrous situation. “It’s my first time,” he said. The burning lust in Cadance’s eyes eased somewhat at the statement. Shining wondered if all stallions appeared so intimidating when they were horny. He made a note to be more aware of it once he was back to ‘normal’. Cadance relaxed and slowed her motions. This helped Shining relax as well. 

“Sorry,” she said, “I just never realized how hard a stallion’s drive is when they’re horny. Everything in my head is screaming how much I need it. Like NEED it!”

“Well, I do want to… do it. But it’s just that… well…” Shining trailed off, looking away.

“I promise I’ll be gentle,” she whispered. She pushed Shining onto his back with her strong hoof. She slid her head up along his thighs, inhaling his strong aroma. Shining just looked down as Cadance stuck out her long tongue, tracing a path up his inner leg. She tried her best to take it slow, but her male instincts rushed her to her goal.

She pressed her muzzle into his hot pussy, her warm breath washed over his nethers, stimulating him further. Her tongue lapped greedily into his wet slit, running along its length. She fucked his tight entrance with her tongue before sliding up to the apex of his sex, flicking and teasing his clit.

As a mare, or a former mare, she knew exactly how to please his new anatomy. He was already still worked up from his solo performance earlier. It didn't take her long to bring him back to his plateau of pleasure, and hold him there. She teased his clit, pushing his threshold ever higher, and then backing off just as she felt him tensing up. Indeed, she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

Every fiber in her male body was demanding that she just finish what she was doing and get to the rutting. But her willpower was strong. She was going to make this last and enjoy it. She continued lapping deep into Shining. She began humming with her nose pressed against his sensitive nub.

“Oh, oh ohhh CADANCE!” Shining cried out in a high voice.

She grabbed a hold of his legs and held her face firmly in his crotch as he exploded, gushing mare cum into her mouth. He bucked and jerked wildly on the bed, but she held on tightly, not letting him pull away.

She waited a few moments, letting him relax, making sure not to move, lest he be overstimulated. Her soaked face absolutely inundated her senses with his essence. She was rock hard for him. She climbed onto the bed, aiming it at his face. Shining loved Cadance, and his body desperately craved stallion cock. But deep down, he was still Shining Armor. His field of view was filled with penis, eagerly awaiting his mouth’s attention. He winced, turning his face away.

“Uh, Cadie, I don’t want to do that part,” he said. She looked down at him, disappointed, but understanding. She climbed back down off the bed, letting Shining roll over onto his belly. He flagged his tail at her, indicating that his body was at least ready for the final step.

She reared up on her hind legs, mounting him. He felt her large cock bob off of his flank, missing its mark and sliding along his back. She backed off a bit, trying to realign herself. She moved in again more slowly. He felt her press against his butt, and he tensed up. He tried to wiggle a bit until she slid southward into his slit.

She felt his wetness getting her head slick and pushed forward a bit, parting his lips. Shining took a deep breath as he felt himself spreading open onto her. She just managed to get a couple inches inside when she met resistance. She backed up a bit and slid forward again. She reached under him and pushed one of his forehooves into his crotch. Shining began massaging his clit in his hoof.

Cadance pulled back, letting her cock slide nearly completely out of Shining until only the head remained inside. Shining felt himself now longing for the fullness he just had. Cadance didn't make him wait long, pushing forward again, sinking to the hilt. She repeated the motion slowly a few more times.

Gradually she began to speed up her thrusts. Each time she bottomed out in him her balls would slap against his swollen clit. Cadance was absolutely in heaven feeling Shining’s tight pussy wrapped around her throbbing cock. She could understand now why stallions wanted to do this all the time. It felt fantastic.

Shining felt tremendous satisfaction in having his wanton pussy thoroughly plowed by his own endowment. Each thrust pushed him closer, every slap of her scrotum against his clit was a spike in pleasure. He felt himself tensing, his legs getting weak. His third orgasm that day was a few humps away. Cadance felt him tensing up. Her own climax was imminent. She sped up to a blinding pace. Her hips were a blur as she fucked him with intense fervor.

“OH OAH AH AHHH!” Shining cried out and his most intense orgasm yet wracked his body, making his pussy clamp down on Cadance’s speeding piston. His juices splashed out onto her balls. Cadance fought back her orgasm as long as she could, but Shining’s pussy rippled and milked her cock, sending her reeling over the edge. She slammed home one final time and exploded inside him, painting his insides white with her seed.

“OH OH OH MY GOSH!” she yelled as her eyes rolled around in her head. She saw stars. Shining felt her cumming inside him, flooding his pussy with her cream. There was so much, she was pumping him full and he felt himself stretch around her. With each gush from her flared cock, she felt the pressure of cum inside him pushing her out. In a final, defiant, buck, she thrusted herself back inside, her cum gushing out of his pussy around her throbbing shaft.

A mix of their cum was splattered on their legs and crotches, as well as all over Cadance's bedspread. The room stank of hot sex. There was no hiding what had transpired within those walls. Cadance looked about them, surveying the damage. She immediately decided she didn't care and collapsed onto the bed beside Shining. Her limp cock slipped from his pussy with an audible ‘pop’, spilling the remaining contents onto the floor beside the bed.

For now, the pair were both thoroughly exhausted from their post-coital bliss. Cadance curled up behind Shining, running her hoof through his soft mane. The sun vanished from the sky again, replaced with the moon. It was still chaos outside. But they each found some peace sleeping in each other's hooves.





Celestia felt helpless. She hated it. She hated the way that Discord had taunted her earlier. "Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you." Now there was nothing left of the labyrinth but a large crater. In a flash of light, Discord reappeared in Celestia's throne room.

"Discord! What have you done to Twilight and her friends?" Celestia demanded.

"Oh, I just sent them on a little... field trip of my own," he said. "To Ponyville, to be exact." 

"What do you want, Discord?" Celestia asked.

"Oh, ho ho! Look at you!" Discord laughed. "So serious. The way you're seeking an answer, a motive, from me!" He continued laughing. Her expression remained stern. "Oh, what's wrong, Tia? Still haven't figured it out?" he asked as he ran his paw along her horn. "Still using all the muscles except the one that matters? I don't make plans. I break them. And you... you make the biggest plans of all."

Celestia didn't break her poise.

"Oh, don't be so coy. I know full well what you've been up to. After all, I've already met Cadance," he said. He shifted into Cadance's pegasus form. "Or should I say, princess Cadance?" he added, sprouting a horn to go with the wings. "Though I suspect that you wish it were Prince?"

"You know nothing!" Celestia snapped. Discord looked out the window at the stone ponies that used to accompany him in the garden.

"So much fear and doubt... so much hardship, over a single plan, over a pony. The promise of a pony." He smirked. "I need to go make some renovations in Ponyville. But honestly Celestia, if a stallion was all you wanted, you needed only to ask." He snapped his magic fingers. Celestia looked herself around frantically.

"What have you done!?" Celestia demanded.

"Oh, I don't know," Discord feigned, before vanishing in a flash. His empty voice echoed in the room "Perhaps you should ask your sibling."




In her tower, Luna stirred from her sleep. Something was poking her midsection. She rolled onto her back and looked under the covers. She blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Well this is peculiar," Luna said to herself. A few moments later there was a frantic knock at her door.

"Luna! Luna, are you in there!" Celestia asked in a panicked voice. "Please open the door!" Luna's magic unlatched the door. Celestia burst inside, panting rapidly. "Luna, are you okay?" Luna just barely peeked out from under her held covers in her hooves.

"Close the door," Luna whispered. Celestia closed the door behind her. Luna locked the door with her magic and soundproofed the room. "Is this a dream!? Am I dreaming? Is this your dream!? Is this what you dream about!?"

"Luna, calm yourself!" Celestia said. "If this were a dream, you of all ponies would know!"

"What is going on!?" Luna asked.

"Discord has escaped and I was afraid that he had done something to you," Celestia explained.

"Well he has!" Luna snapped. 

"What's wrong?" Celestia asked. A tent formed in Luna's sheets. Luna's eyes cut down to the protrusion. Celestia's eyes followed hers. Discord's choice of words echoed in Celestia's mind.

"Perhaps you should ask your sibling."

"Is that a... do you have a..." Celestia stammered. Her yellow magic grabbed Luna's blanket and yanked it away. Luna's blue and black mottled penis sprang free.

"Tia!" Luna shrieked.

"Oh my gosh!" Celestia gasped.

"So what do we do?" Luna asked. "Do we use the Elements again? That should set things right once again. It fixed everything last time. Is Twilight handling it? Tia? Tia!" Luna tried to get Celestia's attention. It was focused elsewhere.

"Wh- wha?" Celestia shuddered, willing herself to tear her eyes away from her sister's new appendage. "Uh, yes, Twilight is handling it," Celestia mumbled, finding that she was unconsciously walking closer to Luna's bed. "But you and I should, um..." Celestia licked her lips, "focus on the problem at hoof." She sat at the edge of Luna's bed. Luna grabbed her blanket back to cover herself.

"Tia, what has come over you!? Is this Discord's doing?" Luna asked. Celestia just shook her head.

"Luna, don't you see? This is a gift!" she said. "All this time with my plans for an alicorn stallion. The rift it caused between us. And now the solution has landed in our lap. Or rather, in your lap." Celestia pulled the blanket aside again, revealing her penis again.

"Tia, please!" Luna pulled away. Celestia frowned.

"Luna, I know things have been difficult between us since you returned," Celestia said. "And I know that we haven't had enough time to mend the tear between us. And maybe we never will. But we have this one, shining opportunity." Celestia put her hoof on Luna's. "Please sister, all I've ever wanted was to raise a foal with you. And for this-" she moved her hoof to her penis. "For this opportunity for it to be our foal..." Celestia blinked back her tears. "It's more than I ever could have hoped or dreamed!" Luna pursed her lips nervously. "Please sister, don't take this dream away from me! You can be angry at me later if you must. But for now, I beg you, give me a foal!"

Luna was in awe. She had never seen her sister like this. Their reunion in the old Everfree castle was emotional, yes. But she had never seen her so... vulnerable. Celestia never begged for anything. Least of all from her. Luna felt a rush of control, of power. It made her dick hard.

"Fine," Luna conceded, "But not because you told me to. And we are to do it my way!" she said, relishing her dominant role.

"Yes, whatever you want! Just so long as I can have a foal!" Celestia blabbered.

"Not here," Luna said. "We do it on your bed!"

"Okay." With a flash of Celestia's magic the two sister reappeared on Celestia's bed. Celestia moved onto Luna, straddling her waist.

"No! I get to be on top!" Luna said. 

"Oh, okay," Celestia said in a genuinely meek tone. She climbed off of the bed. Luna followed after her and pushed her back down onto the bed. Luna reared up and pointed her dick at Celestia's face.

"Who's the big sister now?" Luna asked. Celestia grumbled. Luna smacked Celestia's cheek with her blue cock, getting her white fur sticky with her dripping precum. "What was that!? I didn't hear you." 

"You are," Celestia said, giving her the answer she wanted.

"That's right!" Luna said as she pushed Celestia onto her back and brought her dick to her sister's pussy lips, teasing it as she rubbed the tip up and down along her slit. "Mmm, how long has it been?"

"Too long," Celestia breathed.

"You want it?" Luna asked, bringing the tip to her entrance. 

"Yes."

"You need it!?" Luna teased, applying a bit of pressure.

"Yes!"

"Beg for it!" Luna commanded, barely working the tip inside. 

"Please sister!"

"Just 'sister'?" Luna asked, pulling back.

"Please, big sister! Please fuck me!" Celestia cursed. The vile word dripped with extra crudeness coming from such a prim and proper princess. A princess brought low by her animalistic need for her little- no, her big sister's cock. Luna leaned down and nibbled on Celestia's ear and whispered.

"Well since you asked so nicely..." Luna shoved her hips forward, impaling her sister. Celestia's eyes went wide and her mouth was agape in a silent wail. Each of them had long-ago taken many males in the past. But armed on the second-largest pony in the land, Luna's equipment was proportionately larger than any living stallion could hope for. Easily the largest that Celestia had ever taken.

Luna pulled back and adjusted her stance, giving Celestia a brief chance to breathe. But the air was forced from her lungs with Luna's next thrust in a raspy rush. Celestia's wings sprang out to her sides from under her. Her legs quivered at either side of Luna's hips. She was practically turned to jelly under her. Luna's magic flicked and tweaked at Celestia's clit.

"L-Luna!" Celestia threw her head back. Luna felt her sister's pussy quiver and spasm, gripping her cock as she came. Unprepared for her orgasm, Celestia's horn fired off at the shelf behind her, striking one of Twilight's 'friendship letters'. It vanished in a wisp of green smoke. Luna just looked down at her and grinned.

"You know, fun isn't something one considers when restoring our race," Luna began moving her hips in rhythm, gaining little moans and whimpers from her sister. "But this... does put a smile on our face." She increased her pace and depth. Celestia's orgasm rolled into her second one without a break and her magic uncontrollably struck another scroll. Luna moved slower, but deeper-still. She pressed forward intent on hilting her. She bottomed out inside her just as their hips met with a wet smack.

Luna's pelvis ground against Celestia's, hitting her winking love button with each contact. With each strike, giving her orgasmic plateau little peaks of pleasure Celestia's horn fired off in rapid succession. More of the scrolls vanished.





In Ponyville, Twilight found Spike on the floor of the Golden Oaks Library, clutching his stomach as he burped up each scroll that was 'returned to sender'. "Please! Make it stop!" he cried.





"Please!" Celestia begged. "I can't take much more!" 

Luna stopped and pulled out. 

"No! I didn't mean stop! I meant I need you to finish!"

"Flip over!" Luna said. "I'm finishing you from behind, like a proper brood mare!" Celestia did as she was told and got up off the bed and turned around. Luna mounted her from behind. "Yeah, bend over you dirty whorse!" Luna growled as she pushed her down onto the mattress, pressing her face into her own wet spot in the sheets. Luna lined herself up again and penetrated her sister for her big finish.

"Yes, yes! YES!" Celestia moaned into the bed as Luna resumed fucking her. She felt her shaft grow thicker inside her.

"I'm gonna cum soon!" Luna said, quickening her pace.




“I’ll tell you what we've learned Discord," Twilight said, squaring off against the draconequus alongside her friends in Ponyville. "We've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there’s no doubt it’s worth fighting for.” And with that, the magic of the Elements struck Discord, turning him back to stone. The wave of magical energy radiated out away from them, spreading all across Equestria, undoing Discord's chaos.




"Yes! Cum inside me!" Celestia moaned as she felt the tip of Luna's cock flare. "Give me a foal! Yes! Yes!" Luna felt herself go past the point of no return. The next throb of her cock would deliver her seed deep inside her sister. She shoved herself as deep as she could, pressing her flared tip squarely against Celestia's cervix. "YES!" 

A wave of magic rushed past them. 

Luna's penis vanished. Her orgasm spurted as clear marecum from behind her. Luna's eye shot open. She looked down at Celestia's shocked expression. They both looked between them. Indeed, Luna's penis was gone. Celestia cried out. "NOOO!"
> A Nightmarish Lesson
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With Discord's defeat, Ponyville, and all of Equestria returned to normal. Twilight Sparkle was confident that Princess Celestia would be able to tell right away that the threat had been eliminated.

Only too well. 

Celestia wept into her pillow and beat her hooves against the mattress.

"No! We were so close!" she cried.

"Speak for yourself," Luna said, still laying on top of her.

"Get off," Celestia growled.

"We did get off," Luna said with a coy smirk. Celestia elbowed her sister in the ribs and forced her to roll off of her. Celestia rolled over, herself. Her hooves rubbed her belly, where her foal would have been. Where it could have been. She felt a great emptiness. Not just from the absence of Luna's temporary penis. But an emotional hopelessness. To have been so close to her goal just to have the ground fall out from under her hooves so abruptly. Luna brushed herself off and crawled out of Celestia's bed, checking her appearance in the vanity mirror. She looked at Celestia's reflection, laying there on the bed behind her in sullen defeat.

"Do you ever wonder, dear sister, if it is simply not your fate to have a foal?" Luna asked.

"I do not believe in fate," Celestia replied. "I don't like the idea of not being in control of my life." Luna turned to face her once again.

"Yet you seem to be quite fond of controlling the lives of others," Luna said.

"I don't enjoy it," Celestia replied. "Not really." Luna searched her face. Whether it was true or not, her sister was being sincere. But it may have been that after all these years she had deluded herself to the point of believing her own fabrications.

"We want to believe you," Luna said, leaving it at that as she looked out the window. "Though, if that is true..." she continued, "What of Princess Cadenza?"

"What of her?"

"Is she not the result of your 'big plan'? Brought about by your control of ponies? What of her parents? You have not told even me of their identity. But surely they must know who they are. Unless... you've had them eliminated." Celestia blanched.

"How can you even suggest such a thing of me!? I would never! My little ponies have always had a choice in their participation in the plan. I never forced anypony to do anything."

"Except each other," Luna added.

"No. I may have played matchmaker and put the right ponies in the right places. But in the end, they choose each other," Celestia defended.

"So what of Cadenza?" Luna asked again. "Because it seems that she has elected to choose somepony that you did not intend. No duke or prince for the princess. She loves her guard, the Captain. And he truly loves her as well. They wish to wed, and we will not sit idly by and let you come between them! No reassignment of him to some remote post. You will allow this union, sister." Luna looked her in the eyes intensely. Celestia looked away first in deference.

"Yes, you're right, Luna," she said. "I should just let it be. And... I will. If you make an appearance for Nightmare Night this year."

"Sister..."

"Please Luna? I just want ponies to stop being afraid of you. You could use a little positive P.R. It's a holiday for you, after all."

"It's a holiday for Nightmare Moon," Luna grumbled.

"Well, maybe you can change that," Celestia suggested. Luna nodded in agreement. 

"Fine," Luna agreed. It was once again mid-day. And Luna was now exceptionally tired. "We imagine you have some celebration ceremony to see to for your prized pupil and her friends' defeat of Discord." Luna yawned. "You will have to forgive our absence."

"Of course," Celestia said, sitting up in her bed. She took a deep breath and pushed her troubles away. Duty called. And it was never Celestia to be one to refuse to answer. Luna turned to leave. "Luna, I love you." 

"We love you as well, sister," Luna said with a sigh. "By the stars, we hate ourselves for it. But we do." Celestia frowned, failing to keep it from showing. It should hardly have come as a surprise to Celestia, after all. Luna walked over to where Celestia was sitting. In that moment, her older sister did not look like a princess. She just looked sad, and hurt. Luna put her hoof on Celestia's. Celestia held it both of hers.

"We don't get to choose who we fall in love with," Celestia said. She echoed the same words that she had said to her over a thousand years ago when they first admitted their feelings for each other.

"No. We don't," Luna replied, looking into her sister's sad eyes. "And we mustn't choose it for others." Celestia nodded.

"Sleep well." Celestia lifted her chin up to Luna by a subtle degree. It was an invitation. Luna leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't a passionate kiss of lust. But more than a chaste kiss goodbye of family. After a long moment, Luna pulled away and vanished in a flash of blue light, returning to her own room.

As soon as Luna left, Celestia could not keep the grin from her face any longer, letting Luna 'convince' her to allow the union between Shining and Cadance.

She sat alone in her room for a minute, becoming acutely aware of how much it stank of sex. She set to work making her bed with fresh linen and incinerating the evidence of the old. A couple of open windows and scented candles later and one would never know what had transpired earlier. But for the sticky dampness remaining between her alabaster thighs. Celestia stepped into her shower and washed herself quickly and efficiently. One dehumidifying heat spell later, and her ethereal mane took to the air once again. 

She took a deep breath and put on her stoic facade once again. She walked to the door of her chambers and stepped into the hallway to address her guards.

"Send a moving team to Ponyville to retrieve a large stone draconequus statue. The point of contact there will be Twilight Sparkle," Celestia began in a steady monotone. "And have the throne room prepped for an honoring ceremony. Put out an open invitation to the Canterlot citizens for standing-room capacity attendance. Also, send some pegasus taxis to Ponyville to pick up six ponies and a baby dragon. The P.O.C. again, is Twilight."

"Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?" one of the guards asked. Celestia rubbed her forehead in thought.

"Yes, um, have the stained-glass artisan sent to me as soon as possible. I have an urgent commission for them to do."




Twilight Sparkle and her friends accompanied the return of Discord's stone form back to the Canterlot Castle Garden, staying at the castle for the night. The following day they went to the ceremony in the throne room. 

"We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends, who stood up to the villain, Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos!" Celestia announced to the assembly in the throne room for Twilight and her friends. Everypony cheered as Celestia revealed the new stained-glass window, depicting the defeat of Discord. Her artisan had worked through the night to have it ready in time for the ceremony. Twilight looked out over the crowd. Even in all the excitement, her eyes sought out a particular white stallion among them. She did not find him. The absence of both him and her parents made the event a bittersweet one.

Pomp and circumstance and a few medals later, and the assembly dispersed. Twilight and her friends stayed behind for the after-party. Much like after the Gala, it was just their small gathering with Celestia and some dessert pastries. The friends recounted their experiences for the Princess and after a time, the conversation moved on to other topics. Celestia removed herself from the group. She stood with her glass of wine in her magic, looking up at the new stained glass window. It was next to the one depicting the first defeat of Discord, by Luna and herself.

Things had changed, Celestia thought to herself. The world had changed. It was still changing. And she knew in her bones, the biggest changes were yet to come. She sipped her wine.

"Princess," Twilight greeted, taking the opportunity to speak with her trusted mentor away from the others. Celestia turned to her with the same warm smile she always wore for her dearest student.

"As you tell it, it was fortunate that you were able to see the lesson in all those returned letters," Celestia said, keeping the embarrassing blush from her cheeks recalling the manner of their return. "And fortunate that you have been sending  those to me every week."

"It is," Twilight agreed. "It's fortunate that you told me to do that."

"Fortunate that you listened."

"Of course!" Twilight said, nuzzling against Celestia's shoulder. "I would never disobey you." Celestia smiled and leaned down to nuzzle her cheek against Twilight's.

"Yes, I know," Celestia said. "My most faithful student." She looked at Twilight's frown. "Twilight? What is it?"

"Well, I was just hoping that my brother would have been in attendance today. I know my parents were out of town on one of their travels. But since he's in the Royal Guard, I just thought that..."

"I understand. I'm afraid that most of the Royal Guard has been tasked with the recovery efforts after Discord was defeated. His magic might have been undone, but he still managed to cause quite a stir in his wake. It's hard for ponies to just ignore that the sun and moon were zipping about a sky full of cotton-candy clouds and chocolate rain." 

"I guess." Twilight frowned. Celestia lifted Twilight's chin with her hoof.

"Your brother is actually on a very important assignment, doing his duty to Equestria, as we all must."




**************





"Do it!" Cadance moaned. "Do it harder!" 

Shining Armor gripped her hips with his hooves as he rutted her as fast and as hard as he could.

"Oh! It feels so good to have this back!" he said, grateful to be back in his own body, once again wielding a penis.

"C- cumming again!" Cadance cried out, having lost count of her multiple orgasms. She was likewise pleased to be a mare once more. Not that they hadn't enjoyed the previous day with their little vacation into how the other half lived.

~~~

Even after having sex with their minds swapped into each other's body, Cadance was far from having her curiosity satisfied. She laughed maniacally as she jumped on the bed, making her penis flop about under her.

"It feels so funny!" she said. "Wait wait! Let me try something!" She reared up and gyrated her hips, getting it to swing around in a continuous circle. "Hahaha! It's like a windmill!"

From the bed, Shining just rolled his eyes as Cadance went on her joyride in his body. In the meantime, Shining was spending his time with his rental vagina playing 'will it fit?' with literally anything he could get his hooves on. He found that it had less to do with how long something was, and more to do with how thick it was. Texture played a part too. Perfectly smooth things were perfectly boring. Cadance owned no shortage of toys. But mostly, he found that putting things inside the 'doorway' was not nearly as pleasurable as playing with the 'doorbell'. It quickly became clear why nearly all of her toys vibrated. His pink fur was soon matted with his sticky marecum.

"Wow. You need a shower," Cadance said, looking at the state he had her body in. "I don't want to be getting that back like that."

"Alright, alright," Shining groaned, shuffling his way to the bathroom. He turned on the water and stepped into the shower. He took hold of the shower head and ran the warm water all over his body to rinse his fur before it dried as a sticky mess. He aimed the stream under his tail and trembled. He looked at the shower head and realized at last why she had one with a massaging-pulse setting. He looked to the doorway before adjusting the setting. The warm water began shooting out in a pulsating jet. He aimed it under his tail again and felt his legs turn to jelly. He came at once, and again and again in rapid succession. His grip on it wavered and his aim drifted upwards. The powerful jet sent spurts of warm water into his vagina. "Whoaoahoo!" Shining cried out, dropping the shower head. 

Water shot upwards towards the tile ceiling and he quickly turn off the flow. He looked at the shower head behind him, intent on exploring this new discovery. He reached down and disconnected the shower head from the rubber hose. He turned the water back on and watched it come out the hose in a strong, warm stream. He brought it back under his tail, feeling it flowing against his pussy again. Without the nozzle, it didn't have the force to stimulate his clit enough, or manage to get any to go inside. He brought it closer to his entrance until at last, he pushed the end inside.

Warm water flooded his tunnel, filling it quickly and then spurting back out around the hose. It was a new and strange sensation, but very pleasurable. He worked the hose deeper inside, thrusting it in and out like her other dildos as water spurted out behind him. Cadance opened the bathroom door.

"Hey, I'm gonna see how far away from the toilet I can stand while I-" Cadance was cut off as she looked over as Shining, bent over in the shower with the water hose plunging in and out. He looked up at her in shock.

"Cadie!?"

"Well I can't say I've ever thought of doing that," she said. "But it does give me an idea." She climbed into the shower behind him. He tried to pull the hose out. "No, no, leave it in there," Cadance said, bring the tip of her penis to his vagina, stuffing it inside along with the hose, pushing against the flow of water.

"Oof!" Shining grunted as he was plugged up, feeling the pressure building inside. But the water managed to find a way out around her shaft as she pushed in deeper.

"Wow! It feels like you're cumming around me, constantly spurting marecum!" Cadance said as she started to thrust in earnest. Each time she pulled back, his pussy filled with water. Each time she pushed it, it forced its way out around her in rhythmic gushes. Her thrusting pulled the hose loose to fall onto the tub floor. Cadance just held herself there, panting on top of him. With his last ounce of strength, Shining reached up and turned off the water. Cadance missed the warmth flowing out around her. But she felt another pang of 'inspiration'. Shining felt a new warmth spreading inside him.

"Wow, cumming already?" he asked.

"That's not cum," she said, as he felt it running out and down the inside of his thighs. The yellow hue running toward the drain.

"Cadie!" he yelped in surprise.

A wave of magic passed by them with Discord's defeat. Shining now found himself on top of Cadance, back in his own body. He was still inside her, and he was still going, unable to stop the flow once it had started.

"Ohhohhh!" Cadance moaned, now feeling the sensation from the mare perspective. Still in the mindset of relieving herself, she could not stop what came next. Shining felt a more directed stream against his balls and she joined in his release.

"Cadie!" he yelped, in his own deeper voice now, as she stained his snow-white fur. He tried to get away, but she backed up with him, pinning him against the tile wall, intent on holding him there until they were both finished.

"Mmm," she moaned, in relief, at last letting him pull himself free. She looked at his fur, now that she had marked him. She connected the shower head to the hose again. "Okay, now we both definitely need a shower."

Another shower and a good night's sleep later, and they spent the better part of the next day celebrating the defeat of Discord in their own way in Cadance's villa.





"You're up early. Dusk isn't for another half-hour," Celestia said, offering a cup of coffee to her approaching sister.  Luna shrugged and accepted the mug and sat with her on the balcony of Celestia's tower. It had been a week since Discord's defeat. The ponies' memories of the event were all that remained. All other evidence had been erased, save for the new pose of the draconequus statue in the garden below.

"We were just eager to see you," Luna said, with equal parts sincerity and sarcasm. It was a fine line that she tread with ease. Luna would be the first to admit that it was likely Echo's abrasive personality rubbing off on her for a large part of it.

"Well I actually was eager to see you as well," Celestia said, retrieving an oblong box from under her seat. "I managed to... procure something for you that I think you might enjoy." Celestia slid it across the table to her sister. It was a rather plain box, wrapped with a decorative red ribbon. Luna tugged as the ends of the ribbon and undid the bow. She lifted the cover and looked inside. It was a large, rubber stallion phallus, the same shade of blue as Luna's fur, and likewise mottled with black. It was attached to a harness with straps and buckles. It's purpose was overbearingly obvious. Luna placed the cover back on the box.

"It's nice," she said in a neutral tone, sipping her coffee. Her eyes looked over her cup to her sister on the far side of the table. She set the cup down and licked her lips. "Is it your intention that we wear that for you?" she asked.

"If you want," Celestia answered.

"So when you say that you got us something that you thought we might enjoy..."

"You seemed to enjoy the role," Celestia said.

"We did," Luna replied, unable to keep the smirk from her face. "So what do you intend? That we take thee into thine bedchambers and rut this very moment?"

"You tell me, Big Sister," Celestia said. Luna's smirk stretched into a full smile. Celestia turned to walk inside. "Or should I say, Big Brother?" Luna picked up the box and followed her inside, closing the door and drawing the curtains while Celestia cast a soundproofing spell. Luna opened the box again and adjusted the straps of the harness before stepping into it. Celestia chuckled as Luna struggled with the apparatus, and ended up wearing it backwards. The dildo stuck out behind her like a second tail.

"Sister! We require some assistance!" Luna said. Celestia walked over and undid the straps and readjusted it into the correct orientation so that the dildo stuck out under Luna's belly.

"Mmm, you made a fine male," Celestia said, recalling that day as she reached around Luna's body to stroke the shaft. She moved back behind Luna and brought her nose under her tail, giving her pussy a few playful licks, thoroughly enjoying the flavor. "But even if you can't give me a foal, I'm glad that you are my sister," she said before pulling the harness up the rest of the way and buckling it into place. "Done."

"On the bed, whorse!" Luna barked.

"Ooh hoo-hoo, yes sister!" Celestia squealed.

"We are not your sister now! We will enjoy this! See to it that you do not, or else you will be punished! Do you understand?" Luna said, threatening Celestia's tight pucker with the thick dildo.

"Yes, Big brother," Celestia said. Luna slid the tip lower to Celestia's pussy, poised to penetrate her. A scroll appeared in front of Celestia with a bright flash of magic.

"Ugh! By the stars, what now!?" Luna groaned. Celestia quickly unrolled the scroll and read it.

"It's from Spike," she said as she read it. "Apparently Twilight has had some kind of mental breakdown regarding sending friendship reports every week. I need to go to Ponyville immediately," she groaned in frustration. Celestia got up off the bed and stomped out to the balcony. She focused her magic to lower the sun. "Raise the moon. I will be right back," she said, eyeing Luna's dildo. "And I will be expecting some male." Celestia vanished in a flash of magic.

"And we shall deliver," Luna said to herself, walking toward the doorway to raise the moon. 

Despite her initial sour mood of being pulled away from a session of carnal bliss with her sister, Celestia made quick work of assuaging her student's worries about her letter-sending schedule. She returned to her tower in Canterlot to find that her bed chambers were empty.

"Luna?" Celestia said into the empty room as she walked in. "Luna!?" As soon as she was inside, Luna dropped down from her hiding place up in the ceiling rafters, pouncing on Celestia and pinning her to the floor.

"Surprise, little sister!" Luna growled. "You big brother has something to give you, whether you want it or not!" Luna said, leading Celestia into the role as she rubbed the strap-on against her backside.

"N-no! Big brother! Please don't!" Celestia whimpered, making herself sound small and weak. She could feel Luna shudder in pleasure on top of her at the words. Luna brought the tip back, under Celestia's tail and pressed it to her pussy. "Big brother! Please don't rape me!" Celestia cried. She could actually hear Luna's lips peel back in a smile before she pushed her hips forward, getting the tip inside.

"Ah, it's in!" Luna said in satisfied triumph, pushing it deeper inside.

"No, please take it out!" Celestia feigned. "Whatever you do, don't keep fucking me! You'll make your little sister cum!" Luna grabbed Celestia's mane and pulled her head back. She leaned down and bit the back of her neck. Not enough to leave a mark, but enough to elicit a genuine yelp from her. Luna shoved her hips forward the rest of the way.

Celestia saw stars in her eyes when Luna struck her cervix with the strap-on, realizing that she had overestimated the dimensions when she ordered it. Luna found herself unable to hilt, but was determined to try.

"Ow. Ow! OW! Luna stop!" Celestia shouted. "Luna, STOP! BANANA!" Celestia invoked their safe-word. Luna stopped immediately and pulled out.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked. Celestia rolled over and sat up, clutching her stomach.

"I think I ordered it to be too big," Celestia groaned.

"A dick too big for you to take? We never thought we'd see the day," Luna joked.

"Ha, ha," Celestia deadpanned as she climbed onto the bed. "I just can't be hunched over like that." She laid back on the bed, stretched out. "Try it this way," she suggested. Luna moved to the edge of the bed and put the tip back into her, this time with clinical efficiency. She carefully slid more and more in until their hips met. Celestia's womb was spared the impact. "Okay, this is fine," she said.

"Yes?"

"Yes. Fuck me. Fuck me big brother!" Celestia moaned. Luna was happy to oblige her.

~~~

"Fuck me big brother," Twilight moaned quietly into her pillow as her hoof moved in a blur on her pussy, indulging in her own fantasy back in Ponyville. Her friends had all left and Spike was sound asleep downstairs. Her pussy winked against her hoof as she came, wetting it with her marecum. "Oh Shiny... I miss you."





"Shining?" Cadance called out, searching for the stallion in her villa the following day. "Where are you?"

"Just a second," Shining replied from elsewhere in the house. "I'm almost done."

"Almost done what?" she asked in suspicion, heading upstairs to the direction of his voice.

"You'll see!" he said. A moment later he walked out of her office. "What do you think?" Candace just looked at him. He had a crown made out of cardboard and yellow construction paper with a matching collar, and a pair of cardboard wings strapped to his back with white paper feathers.

"What...?"

"I'm Princess Celestia," he said.

"You've lost your mind," Cadance said.

"No, I mean for Nightmare Night!" he said. "This is my costume."

"Oh. OH! That's right. That's this weekend!" Cadance realized.

"Yeah. What? Do you not have a costume?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. I completely forgot. But I'll think of something," she said. "But really? Princess Celestia?"

"Well, it's more like Prince Mo-lestia," he said, leaning over her with a pair of aggressive hooves. Cadance winced uncomfortably at the contact, given his appearance.

"She's my aunt!" Cadance squealed, wriggling out from under him.

"Adopted aunt," Shining corrected.

"Well she's still like a mother to me," Cadance said. "Can't you be something else?"

"But I already did all this work," he whined.

"Fine," Cadance groaned.

A few days later, it was the afternoon of Nightmare Night. After a trip to the cosmetics store, Cadance vanished into the bathroom for the better part of an hour. Shining, meanwhile, was prancing about the living room in his Celestia costume with a yellow balloon with a sun drawn on it. He gave the string an occasional tug, making the balloon rise and fall in the air.

"Sun goes up. Sun goes down. Sun goes up-" he looked at the clock as the actual sun set outside the window. "Cadie, we're going to be late for the party!" he said through the bathroom door.

"Almost done," she said back. A few moments later she walked out into the hallway. "What do you think?" Shining Armor lost his grip on the balloon's string and it floated up to the ceiling as his jaw dropped. Cadance had dyed her fur lavender purple. She dyed her mane and tail violet with a two-tone streak of purple and pink running through it.

"W-wha-what?" Shining stuttered.

"I'm Twilight!" Cadance said, making a small circle to show herself off. Aside from being a bit taller and having her wings, she looked strikingly similar.

"W- why though!?" Shining asked.

"Well you thought that it was so clever to sexualize my aunt, I thought to myself, 'Well two can play at that game'," Cadance said. "Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Cadance waved her butt at him to an obscene degree.

"Stop that!" Shining snapped. 

"Well you wanted to dress up and get frisky with me dressed as my maternal figure. So it was this or Velvet," she said. Shining shuddered at the fresh visual, both real and imagined. He felt like he was going to throw up. Cadance simply did not realize the kind of fire she was playing with.

"Come on B.B.B.F.F, let's go trick or treating!" Cadance said in mocking tone of Twilight's voice. "Do you have a treat for me?" She leaned down, glancing under him. "Ooh, I think you do!" Shining scrambled to cover himself.

"N-no! That has nothing to do with anything!" he said, backing away from her. His tone was far more defensive than he had intended.

"He doth protest too much," Cadance teased.

"It's just you, Cadance," Shining said, for himself more than anything. "It's just you with a dye job." He covered his erection with a pillow. "It's just from you shaking your flank at me. That's all! But we can not go out in public with you looking like that!"

"Oh? Are you telling me what we are, or are not, going to do now?" the princess said to her guard.

"Please don't! It's weird!" he pleaded.

"And you going as my aunt isn't?" she asked.

"That's different. She's a celebrity!" he said.

"And so is Twilight. She's an Element of Harmony. She's saved Equestria twice. I'm actually quite envious of her accomplishments. I mean, yeah, I'm a princess. But that's about it. So yes, I wanted to dress up as my hero. Okay?"

"Really?" he asked, a bit incredulous.

"Yeah. Really," Cadance confirmed. "Although, teaching you an uncomfortable lesson along the way about your own costume choice was just a bonus."

"Okay, fine," Shining said, taking off his wings and other costume parts. "So I guess we're not going to the costume party?"

"No. We can just stay in this year. I never cared for it all that much anyway," she said.

"Can you rinse that dye out now?" he asked. She smiled nervously.

"It's enchanted to last for a whole day," she said. "Sorry. Is it really going to be that much of a prob- oh, wow. Is that the Big part of B.B.B.F.F?" she asked as she inched closer to him. He stepped back and tripped over the ottoman, falling onto his back. Cadance pounced on top of him, pinning him down.

"Cadie!" he said in panic, making his voice crack.

"Ooh, Shiny! What's this?" Cadance said in her mocking Twilight tone as she took his length in his hoof and began to stroke him. Any magical or physical strength he had to push her off of him evaporated at her touch. She continued to play with him. "It's even bigger than I read about in my books!"

"Cadie, stop it!" he pleaded.

"Call me Twilie," Cadance said as she started to lick up along his shaft.

"No, it's weird!" he said.

"Then call me weird tomorrow," Cadance said. "Just call me Twilie tonight. I've never had a brother. Just give this to me this one time," she begged, teasing his tip.

"You are weird!" he said. She stopped and waited.

" 'You are weird'... what?" she prompted, keeping her open mouth just an inch from his tip. Shining winced and clenched his eyes and huffed in frustration.

"... Twilie," he said. Cadance's entire body practically quivered at the word. She proceeded to practically swallow half his length. Shining felt the tense stiffness in his muscles fall limp. The only stiff thing about him was now halfway down her throat. "F-fuck!"

"Hmm?" Cadance hummed with him still filling her mouth. She pulled off of him to catch a breath. "Oh? Like this?" she asked as she moved forward to straddle him. She took a hold of him again and aimed him upward at her waiting pussy. She was quite literally dripping with arousal as she rubbed his tip against her entrance. "Does it go in here?" she asked with faux innocence.

"Yeah!" he said, nodding eagerly. She slowly, painstakingly, tortuously worked just barely the tip inside.

"Yeah... what?" she prompted him again.

"Yeah... Twilie," he said as commanded. She dropped her hips the rest of the way down, taking him completely inside of her.

"Oh, BIG brother!" she said, teasing him in her role playing. Shining grunted. She felt him throb even harder inside her. "Wow, you are really hard!" Cadance said, genuinely impressed. "We should do this more often!"

Shining's eyes watered in anguish. He kept them clenched shut. He hazarded a glance, for just the briefest moment. His vision was blurred, but all he could see was the diffuse colors of his sister bouncing up and down on his cock. He felt like his heart was twisting inside his chest. His hooves gripped anxiously at the rug at either side of him. He grit his teeth as he felt his primal urges overtaking his willpower and conscience. 

His hooves moved to her hips and gripped her so tightly that Cadance was sure that she would have bruises the next day. On her next bounce, he moved up with her and flipped her onto her back, pinning her on the floor. He held her to the floor and began fucking her with a bestial ferocity the likes of which she had never before witnessed. She looked up at him and saw the raw hunger in his eyes. For the first time since she'd met him, she felt a genuine flutter of fear. The combination of emotional charge caused her to cum unexpectedly. Her pussy gripped and milked him as he fucked her with only regard for his own climax. 

She felt him begin to flare inside her. He pulsed and throbbed. As he began to cum inside her, he growled through his grit teeth like a wild animal.

"TWILIE!"





In Ponyville, Twilight was just finished getting dressed in her 'Starswirl the Bearded' costume for Nightmare Night. Under the heavy material of the hat, her pointy little ears felt like they were burning.
> Gifts Given
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance walked out of the bathroom the following morning. Her mane, tail, and fur were back to their normal colors. Shining Armor had been out of bed for some time. She joined him downstairs for breakfast. They sat across from each other and ate in silence. Shining ate quickly and took his dishes to the sink. He sat back down at the table, sipped his coffee and read the newspaper while Cadance finished eating.

The sobering reality of the previous night hit him like a bucket of ice water just as soon as he had finished. The clarity replaced the haze of his lust-addled mind. He took a long shower and went straight to bed. Cadance joined him in bed a short while later with nary a 'good night' from either of them. He wasn't angry. At least, not at her. He was upset with himself. His self-loathing went by a more common name: Shame. They hadn't said a word to each other the next morning either. But Cadance refused to let this go on any longer.

"Are we going to talk about it?" she asked.

"No," he replied as Cadance barely got the last syllable out.

"Shining, it's okay if you-"

"No," he repeated, cutting her off. "We are not going to talk about it." Cadance opened her mouth to say something else. But his walls were up. It wouldn't do either of them any good for her to keep trying with his guard up like this. She finished eating and put her dishes in the sink. As she did, a wisp of green smoke came into the window. It materialized into a scroll on the table. Cadance walked over and opened the scroll, reading it over.

"It's a summons... from Princess Luna," Cadance said.

"Oh? What does she want with you?" he asked, taking a sip.

"It's for you," she said. 

Shining choked on his coffee.




A week later, Shining Armor stood in his full dress uniform outside of the throne room at the appointed time. One hour after sunset. He stood at attention and waited with his eyes on the clock. In the back of his mind, something was nagging at him about the date. Something that he had forgotten. But he was at his royal summons. He could not think of anything else that would be nearly as important to forget.

The minute hand ticked and the clock chimed the hour. He brought his hoof up to knock on the door. Just as he was about to knock, the door was pulled open. He looked at the slit pupils of the batpony on the other side of the threshold. Echo looked back at him with a smirk that seemed vaguely flirtatious. She stepped aside to let him walk by.

Shining Armor approached the throne. The room was shrouded in darkness. The only light was the cool blue of the moonlight coming in through the window. Princess Luna sat on the throne. Batponies, Sunshine Smiles and Frolicsome Meadowlark stood on guard at either side in place of their daytime counterparts. It was of some comfort to him that he would not be alone in the room with Luna. Shining Armor stopped at the proper distance from the throne and bowed.

"Your Majesty," he greeted formally, "Captain Shining Armor reports, as ordered."

"Arise," Luna said. Shining stood up from his bow. He looked up at her. She looked down at him from her seat. She let him stew in his nervousness for a long minute before speaking. "I have spoken to Tia-" she caught herself. "With... Princess Celestia," she said. "I have convinced her to allow your marital union to Princess Cadenza."

"Thank you, Your Maj-"

"BUT," Luna continued, cutting him off. Shining gulped. 

Here it comes, he thought to himself. The caveat that would mean him being made to join her in bed.

"But- you must make a formal marriage proposal to Princess Cadenza yourself. Princess Celestia has decreed that if you are stallion enough to ask for Princess Cadenza's hoof in marriage, in her presence, that is, if you have the testicular fortitude to do so." Shining could hear Echo snickering behind him. He ignored her.

"When and where am I to do this, Your Highness?" he asked.

"As for the details, the choices are yours and yours alone," she said. He nodded. "But if you were inclined to make a good impression, one would suggest it be at the Canterlot Hearts and Hooves social."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"You are dismissed, Captain." Shining bowed and turned to leave. "Oh, and there is just one more thing, Captain." He turned back around to face her.

"And what is that, Your Grace?"

"Do not breathe a word of this meeting to anypony else. Especially my sister," Luna said.

"What am I to tell Princess Cadance?" he asked. "She received my summons. She knows about this meeting." Luna narrowed her eyes a slight amount.

"The fact that she has not tried to throttle me since the night of the Gala tells me that you are a stallion that knows how to keep a secret. I'm confident that you will conjure a suitable fabrication on your way home." Shining shifted his weight on his hooves for a moment.

"I appreciate what you are doing for me, Princess. But after this..." he narrowed his eyes. "Don't ever ask me to lie to her again." He turned on his hoof and walked away. The throne room door closed behind him after he exited.

Propose to Cadance on Hearts and Hooves Day at the Canterlot Social? he mused to himself. Everypony will be there, including Celestia. He thought about what kind of ring he would get her. It sure would be one hell of a birthday present for her.

Shining Armor's eye went wide.

"Oh, SHIT!" he cursed out loud, realizing what it was that he had forgotten. 

It was Twilight's birthday today. 

He hadn't even gotten her a card. 

He galloped to the castle barracks. As strained as things had been between them, he never forgot her birthday. And shameful lust aside, she was still his sister and he loved her. After what had happened between them the day she moved to Ponyville, he was afraid that she would think the worst of him ignoring her now.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he swore as he ran. He burst through the barracks doors. One of the enlisted ponies went to attention and shouted.

"Officer on deck-"

"Shut up!" he cut him off, "I mean, carry on!" he apologized. Sort of. "I need the two fastest pegasi immediately if not sooner!"

"Sir!" two winged volunteers stood up.

"Station a chariot! I need to get to Ponyville yesterday!" he said. They quickly ran outside and got into the harnesses. Shining boarded the chariot and they took off. Shining realized that he was empty-hoofed. "Can you get me to the Ponyville bookstore before it closes?" he yelled to them over the noise of the wind. It was less than fifteen minutes to close.

"Why, Cap? You gonna buy us a cider if we do?" one asked.

"Private, if you get me there in time, I will buy you both a case!"

"Hold on, Cap!" the other said, before going into a steep dive down from Canterlot Mountain. They pulled the chariot downward faster than it could free-fall. Shining just held on as his rear hooves came off the floor. A few minutes later they screeched to a halt in front of the Ponyville bookstore. The sound of Shining's screaming caught up to them.

Shining Armor stepped out of the chariot and double-timed it to the store. He puked as he jogged, but didn't break stride. He pushed the door open just before the clerk could flip the sign to 'closed'.

"I need a book!" he said.

"I'm sorry, but we're clos-"

"I said 'need', not 'want'," he cut her off. "It's a birthday emergency!"

"Okay, uh, what book?" she asked. Shining froze.

Fuck. What book? What did Twilight like?

"Oh! That one with the pony that does the thing-" he stammered.

"You're going to need to be more specific," she said.

"Darling- During- Daring Dude?" he tried.

"Daring Doo?" she asked.

"Yes, that one!"

"Which one?"

"The newest one! Please!" he said. She turned and fetched the book. He put a large stack of bits in her hoof. "Keep the change!" he yelled as he ran back to the chariot. "Golden Oaks Library! Now!"

They came to another abrupt halt in front of the library. Shining was nearly thrown from the chariot. He gave each of the pegasi a big stack of bits. "Take the evening off. Knock yourselves out," he said. They both climbed out of the harnesses and headed to the local tavern. Shining took the blue sash from his uniform and wrapped the book with it like a ribbon. He knocked on her door frantically. "Twilight!?" he yelled. The place was dark. She probably already went to sleep. "Shit. Twilight!?" he yelled louder as he continued to bang on the door. Next door, the lights came on and the window opened. A pale-green unicorn stuck her head out the window.

"She's in Canterlot," Lyra said. "Her friend, Rarity, couldn't come to Ponyville, so she moved her party there."

"Okay! Thanks!" Shining yelled. He turned back to the chariot. "We need to get back to-" The pegasi were gone. "Shit." He ran to the tavern. There were already nearly a dozen empties littering the floor at their hooves. "What the fuck! It's been like, four minutes!"

"Thanks, Captain Obvious!" one of them said before shot-gunning another can, crushing it, and adding it to the others. They were both in no condition to fly.

"Dammit!" Shining ran to the train station. The ticketing clerk shook his head.

"Sorry. Last train to Canterlot left a few minutes ago," he said. "The midnight red-eye departs in a few hours." Shining sighed in defeat.

"Okay. Um... do you have a pen I could borrow for a second?" The clerk passed him a pen. Shining wrote on the blue ribbon wrapping the book and gave the pen back.

He walked back to the library and pushed the book through the return slot. Then he turned and walked back to the train station to catch a nap on the waiting bench. He would catch hell from Cadance for being out all night. But he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

~~~~

As he expected, by the time he arrived in Canterlot, Twilight had already departed back to Ponyville. Cadance had been worried sick about Shining. He apologized and explained the best that he could, and Cadance forgave him.

Back at the library, Twilight nearly tripped over the book as she walked inside. It was a wrapped Daring Doo book. The ribbon was signed, From Shining. Happy B-Day. Sorry. Her eyes watered. Spike walked by and saw how sad she looked.

"Uh oh, what's wrong? Somepony late with a book again?" he asked. She pulled the blue sash from the book and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah." Twilight sighed and headed upstairs to start unpacking. In the next room, Spike belched. A moment later he walked into her room with a scroll.

"I wouldn't put your travel bag away just yet," he said, giving her the scroll. "It looks like Celestia wants us to do the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant in Canterlot this year. This is great!" Twilight didn't react. Her mind was elsewhere. "That's great, right?" he asked. Her eyes fluttered and focused on him again.

"Great. Yes. I'll let the others know as soon as possible," she said, looking at the scroll. Another trip to Canterlot. This time she resolved to see a certain somepony.







"What are you going to do while you're on leave?" Cadance asked Shining as they put up the Heath's Warming decorations in her house.

"You, I assume," he answered.

"I'm afraid not," Cadance said. "Officially, you're still technically my employee, and you have to get the Heath's Warming holiday off."

"Oh."

"I'll be fine in Canterlot Castle visiting Aunt Tia. Don't you want to visit your family?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, after the pageant, I'll accompany Tia back to the castle, and your leave will start, and be until dawn of the day after," she explained.

"Okay." Shining continues to hang the decorations up in relative silence. There was one last nugget of information that Cadance wanted to relay to him, but she was unsure of how exactly to broach it. All she knew was that she didn't want him to find out about it himself at the last minute.

"Twilight will be there," Cadance said. Shining froze for a brief moment before carrying on as though the words had little more impact than the weather report. "She's in the pageant. Along with her Ponyville friends. And Spike."

"Okay."

"I just thought you should know."

"Okay." They finished decorating a short while later and Shining went to his guard quarters in her house. The bed was still made from when he had first been assigned to the villa. It had never been slept in. But the drawers of the dresser still had most of his personal effects, including what mail had been forwarded to him from the castle barracks. There was an envelope that he had opened already. He took the card out again and looked at it. It was a standard 'thank you' card that came in a pack of thirty or so. This one had been sent to him for the book. It was signed from Twilight, but he recognized Spike's writing. She probably never even saw the card. Just like he never saw her. It felt oddly appropriate.

"Hey," Cadance said from the doorway. He put the envelope back in his drawer and turned to face her. "We need to have dinner and get ready for the pageant."

"Right." He followed her out to the kitchen.





After the general admission crowd filled in the seats below, Princess Cadance took her place in her royal box seat. The next box over was reserved for Princess Celestia and Luna. It wasn't close enough for them to be heard, but enough to be seen. Cadance emphasized the need for Shining to be on his best behavior.

"Could we have another chair please?" Cadance asked the attendant. As a Royal Guard, Shining was expected to be... on guard. But Cadance wasn't about to let him stand for the entire evening. Shining took a seat in the folding chair. His respite was short-lived. Celestia and Luna walked in a moment after, bringing them and everypony else back to their hooves.

"Please, be seated," Celestia announced into the theater before she and Luna took their seats. The lights of the theater turned down as the play began. Celestia was content to just sit and watch the production. Luna, however, was most vocal about the many many historical inaccuracies of the play.

"What is this horse manure!?" Luna complained incredulously, careful to keep her voice low enough for only Celestia to hear. "This is meant to be a historical re-enactment but it is almost entirely fiction!" 

"Well, this play is more interpretive than anything. What's important is the message," Celestia tried to explain.

"But none of this makes any sense!" Luna said. "There's no mention of the rise of the three tribes from the Alicorn master race. No mention of the fiend, Discord, creating the disharmony between the tribes and bringing about the Windigos. And there is no mention of the finding of the Royal Sisters by Smart Cookie. Brought back from stone by Starswirl. What did they find in that cave? Magic!?"

"Those are minor details, Luna."

"Minor!? We united the tribes under a common banner and defeated the Windigos! The very banner they use in the play! After the Pillars vanished, we defeated Discord and were hailed as the saviors of Equestria. Has everypony forgotten!?" Luna asked.

"Over time, the history books focused less on what made us ponies, and more on what made us divine," Celestia explained.

"And I'm sure you were only too pleased to let them," Luna huffed. Celestia sighed.

"Well... I didn't make any special effort to correct them," Celestia admitted. "But I could not rule a nation divided. I wanted a holiday about the ponies themselves, and the importance of unity among the races. And so the message of Hearth's Warming, turned into this."

"Get along... or else," Luna muttered.

"Or else, indeed," Celestia said. "A nation divided against itself can not stand, Sister. Perhaps not a fate of Windigos. But the prospect of an outside invasion dividing us and conquering, or a civil war is scary enough. You and I have a greater responsibility than these ponies can possibly fathom, burdened with a truth they can't handle." Celestia leaned back in her chair. "Have no illusions, Luna. These stories exist for the good of the ponies. Not my personal enjoyment."

"That may be true," Luna said. "But you're not right."

"No..." Celestia admitted, pursing her lips, "I am not." She stood along with the crowd to applaud the end of the play. Luna rose as well, applauding the performance of such a pleasant fiction.




Twilight Sparkle bid farewell to her friends after the play. She would be not returning to Ponyville with Rarity or Applejack that evening. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were both heading back to Cloudsdale to visit their families, as was Pinkie Pie with her trip to her rock farm home. Twilight and Spike took a taxi across town to her old home in Canterlot.

Shining Armor escorted Cadance outside to join the other princesses in the short walk from the Canterlot playhouse back to the Palace proper. At the entrance they stopped and waited as Cadance turned to face him. 

"Alright, well, I'll see ya the day after tomorrow..." Cadance said. Celestia cleared her throat loudly. "Oh, um, I mean, *ahem*. You are hereby relieved, Captain," she said in her formal tone. Shining bowed as he was trained.

"Your Majesty," he replied. "Majesties," he corrected. They turned and walked inside the castle. The on-duty guards closed the doors after them. He turned back to the cobblestone road. All of the taxis were at the playhouse after the event, and likely had all departed by now, unlikely to return. For taxi drivers it was a holiday as well, and they had families of their own. He started walking, looking in the general direction of his parents' house. He had made the walk plenty of times before, even in the snow. "Right," he said to himself. "Home."




"Is he not coming?" Twilight Sparkle asked, sitting at the kitchen table with her parents. She looked at the clock again. It was getting late. Night Light and Twilight Velvet looked at each other briefly.

"He said he had leave for the holiday," Velvet said.

"But that can be taken away at the last minute in the Royal Guard if something happens," Night Light said. "Believe me, I know."

"He wanted to be here," Velvet said. "I'm sure he misses you, too." Twilight looked away, over at Spike, sleeping curled up under a blanket on the rug in front of the fireplace. 

"You can have the guest bed," Night Light said. "We turned his old bedroom into the guest room after he graduated from the academy."

"What about my room?" Twilight asked.

"After you moved to Ponyville, I turned it into my study," Night said.

"Oh," Twilight said. She looked in her bag at the blue sash from Shining's uniform. She reached in and touched the material again.

"I'm sure he'll be here tomorrow," Velvet said. "It's late. The sooner you get to sleep, the sooner tomorrow will get here."

"I guess." Twilight walked upstairs to the guest bedroom. Night Light and Velvet went to their own bed shortly after.




Shining Armor made a small detour on the way to his parents' house, stopping at only place with an 'open' sign still in the window.

"We're closing up soon," came a voice from out back, "What'll it be- oh-ho shite! Shining!? Is that you?" the barkeep asked walking back out into his bar. "How the hell are ya, ya lil' scamp!?"

"Hi Uncle," Shining greeted Air Tender.

"The fook are ya doin' in m'bar on Hearth's Warmin'? You should be at home, eh?"

"I'm on my way. I just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy holiday. Is Uncle Mage Star around?"

"Nah, fam, he's on duty t'night. A right shame. But ya Gramps is right over there." Air Tender pointed at the stallion slumped over in the corner booth. Shining walked over to the older stallion, giving him a bit of a shake to stir him.

"Hey Grandad," Shining greeted. His grandfather blinked his eyes for a moment, waiting for them to focus.

"Oh, hey, Shining!" he said. "Happy Birthday!"

"It's, um- It's Hearth's Warming," Shining corrected.

"Happy Hearth's Warming," he said. He patted his pockets. "I uh, I didn't get a... Hey, let me buy you a drink!" He stood up and Shining helped him stagger over to the bar. "One for my grandson!"

"You don't have to-" Shining tried to say.

"Put it on my tab!" he said.

Air Tender snorted. "Your tab." He poured a mug of cider for Shining. Shining tried to slide a few bits across the table. It was almost the end of the month, and his grandfather's pension payment was already long spent. Air Tender pushed his bits back and gave him the mug.

"Nah fam," Air winked. "It's from 'both' of us." Shining took a swig from the mug. 

"Shouldn't you guys be at home?" he asked.

"This is home," Air Tender said. "Both spiritually 'n lit'rally." He pointed at his ceiling, his loft above the bar.

"What about him?" Shining asked of his grandfather.

"Who the fook else do ya t'ink would 'ave 'em?" Air said. "He hold up the rent, 'n I keep'm fed."

"Feed me another, Tendie!"

"Tendie!?" Shining asked. Air Tender glared at him.

"Don't you fook'n breathe a word a this t'anypony else!" Air Tender said. "Nah ol' man! Yer cut off!"

"I pay your damn rent!"

"Aye, ya do! An' so ya ain't no good to me dead!" Air poured another mug. "Now look, Shine lad, I'ma have this one with ya, then you get yer arse home to yer folks, eh?"

"Alright. Just this one. Cheers." Shining clinked his glass to his, "... Tendie."

~~~~~

"NEXT ONE! NEXT ONE! NEXT ONE!" the three stallions cheered in the bar, pumping their hooves in the air as they chugged another round.

~~~~~

Shining's bleary eyes looked at all the empties littering the bar. Then at the elderly stallion sleeping on the tile floor, spooning an empty forty-ounce bottle. Then at the barkeep trying to feebly clean the same glass with the same rag for the last thirty minutes. And then at the clock. 

It was so late that it was early.

"Oooh... fuuuuck," Shining groaned. "I gotta go!"

"Lock the door on your way out. And give yer father me love," Air Tender yelled after him.

Shining's eyes rolled around in his head, looking at the houses going past him. His hooves managed to auto-pilot him through the city. He found himself on the old stoop of his foalhood home. He stared at the lock like it was some kind of ancient riddle.

"Lock..." he mumbled to himself. "... Key," he answered himself. "Key," he repeated. He opened his bag to get his keys. There weren't that many but he was certain that he had gone through and tried all of them twice before he found the right one. 

It wasn't his first time sneaking home after hours. As soon as the door unlocked he went into stealth mode. He closed the door behind him quietly. He stepped carefully through the house, keeping his hooves on the soft padding of the carpet, avoiding the curled up baby dragon and avoiding the steps that squeaked going upstairs. He made it to his bedroom and slipped into his bed. 

The pony in the bed beside him stirred. Shining hadn't slept alone in bed since he had moved to the villa, and was accustomed to the company. He reflexively wrapped his hoof around her.

Twilight blinked awake with a start, but she recognized the white fetlocks on the hoof holding her in the dim moonlight. She smiled as she felt him pull her close to him. He was cold from being out in the winter night. He pressed himself against the inviting warmth of her body. She felt his hoof move lower along her belly down to her-

Twilight let out a gasp as she felt her brother's hoof between her legs. He started rubbing her in just the right ways to spur her arousal, teasing her wet marehood and playing with her clit. To feel the touch of another pony, him of all ponies, it was better than all of her fantasies, by far. Twilight let out a muffled moan into her pillow as her brother brought her to orgasm with his hoof, wetting the sheets under her.

Shining let out a smug chuckle hearing his success audibly moaned from her lips. She could smell the cider on his breath and felt him against her back. She felt it against her back. He held his hoof in place on her pussy and started thrusting fruitlessly against her, his penis pinned between them.

Twilight reached back to try to guide it lower, but he was holding onto her tightly. She lifted herself to get a bit more leverage and pulled herself away quick enough to push his shaft downward. His next thrust sent it between her legs, grinding along her pussy as he kept humping. She tried to angle her body so he could be thrusting upwards, not forwards. She nearly got it lined up when he suddenly flared too wide for her to get it in. He grunted and bucked frantically and he came. The first rope shot up at Twilight's face, landing on her horn and mane. The second splashed across her cheek and open mouth. The last few dribbled out against the fur of her chest and the onto the bedding.

"No..." Twilight whimpered, watching it vanish back into his sheath. "Shining? Shining!" His only response was his snoring. Twilight laid there in the dark, tasting her brother's seed on her tongue. She wiped her cheek and fur, licking her hoof for what more she could. She sighed. It wasn't exactly like she had dreamed. But they would have another chance tomorrow to do it right, at last.




Twilight woke up early the next day. She extricated herself out from under the comforting weight of her brother's hoof. She knew that he would be far more tired and was content to let him get some extra sleep. He would need his strength later. She walked into the bathroom to wash the stickiness from her mane that she did not want to have to try to explain at breakfast.

The sound of running water made Shining head pop off the pillow. Hangover or not, he lurched upright in bed and got to his hooves in a hurry. He needed to pee, NOW. Twilight heard his hooves quickly approaching and turned to greet him.

"Oh, hey-"

"MOVE!" He practically shoved her into the tub as he pushed his way past her. He was already partially emerged from his sheath before he reared up in front of the toilet to let it fly. He groaned in pain from the bright lights of the bathroom. Once his aim was true he clenched his eyes shut, ignoring the other pony in the room. 

Twilight just sat there, halfway in the tub and watched him. She didn't appreciate the rude greeting, but still relished the sight of his length, even if it was in a context she didn't particularly care for. She felt a familiar twinge in her lower abdomen as she watched him continued to go. Though perhaps she could warm up to the idea, she mused to herself.

Shining finished and shook himself dry before he slumped against the sink. He just leaned there and breathed, waiting for the adrenaline of his pounding heart to stop making his brain throb.

"Hey," Twilight started again, from in the tub. Her bottom half was still hanging out and over the edge. His head turned slowly to her and his eyes squint open. He blinked a few times. The blurry purple smudge took shape. "Last night was fun."

"Wha-?" Last Night? What the fuck about last night? Shining thought, clearly in no condition to think. He looked at the matted, sticky blotches of her fur, and the plastered parts of her mane, and the milky shade of yellow in the toilet.

"Shiny... we had sex," Twilight said. 

Shining fell to his knees and puked into the toilet. Hard. Heaving until everything was out. Even the air. He coughed and sputtered and gasped. And then he flushed. He wiped his mouth and looked back with bloodshot eyes at the angry glare she was giving him.

"That was the booze, not you, I swear." he said, sitting on the floor next to the porcelain throne. She passed him a washcloth for the rest of the... whatever he drank last night... on his fur. He leaned over to the medicine cabinet and grabbed some tablets and put his head in the sink to slurp some water from the faucet.

"Well, we didn't actually have sex," Twilight said. "You used your hoof on me and then humped against me until you..." she pointed at the stains in her fur. "... finished."

"I'm sorry!" he said, mortified.

"Yeah, well you can make it up to me soon enough," she said, climbing out of the tub. She heard their parents waking up down the hallway. "But not right now." She leaned over and closed the bathroom door. She got back to scrubbing him out of her.

"Twilight, are you up?" Velvet asked from the hallway.

"Yup!" Twilight replied. "Just getting freshened up."

"I thought I heard somepony being sick," Velvet said.

"Uh, yeah. That was just Shiny. He just had a rough night," Twilight said, quickly wiping the last bits from her fur.

"Shining's here?" Velvet opened the door. She looked at Twilight standing next to Shining on the floor. He looked like death warmed-over.

"What in Equestria happened to you?" Velvet asked.

"I was on my way here from the castle, and I stopped by Uncle Air's place to wish him a happy holiday and have just one-"

"Stop!" Velvet held up her hoof and cut him off with an angry huff. "I don't need to hear the rest." She shook her head. "Look, breakfast is going to be in... an hour. So get yourself cleaned up and-"

Shining groaned as he tried to move.

"Twilight, be a dear?" Velvet asked. "I need to go cook." Twilight gave her a salute.

"You got it!" Twilight turned on water to draw him a bath. 

Velvet turned and walked back down the hallway. "Night! We need to talk about your brother!" she bellowed to her husband. Twilight lifted Shining with her magic and lowered him into the warm water. He tried to protest but it just came out as a groan of relief once he was in the warm water. She took some shampoo and started washing his mane.

"Twi, I can wash myself," he said.

"What did you get me for Hearth's Warming?" she asked, ignoring him.

"Twi, I..."

"Were you going to give me anything?" she asked. "Besides a facial," she whispered with a wry smirk.

"Twi, stop it."

"Not that I didn't enjoy it," she said, licking her lips. "I just wanted to know if I should expect more."

"No."

"Oh really?" she asked, eyeing him sprouting in the warm water. She closed the door with her magic and took the wet wash cloth and washed his horn while her free hoof reached down into the water to-

"Hey!" he nearly shrieked as she started stroking him.

"For me? I found my present!" Twilight teased. He tried to push her away but his magic was grounded in the wet cloth and his muscles were too fatigued in his hangover.

"Twi-" he pleaded helplessly. She mistook his moan for one of pleasure as he came to full mast, sticking half-way out of the water. She leaned down and started licking his tip. "Twi, stop!" he said sternly. "This is- it's sexual assault and I don't consent!"

Twilight stopped. She slowly took her hooves off him. She clenched her jaw and eyes in self anguish. He was right and she damn-well knew it. He pulled the wet cloth from his horn and covered his erection with it.

"Please," Twilight said through her teeth with her eyes still closed. It wasn't angry. It was desperate. "Please," she begged again. "Just... let me have this? All I've ever wanted was you. Ever since that first time, I can't stop thinking about you. I miss you so much. Just let me have this?"

"Twilight, no."

"Look, I get it," she said, opening her eyes finally. "I want this, and you want it too-"

"No, I-"

"But you wish you didn't," Twilight continued. "I know because sometimes I also wish that I didn't. I know that it's weird. That I'm weird. But I can't change it. It just how I feel. And I know you feel the same way too, deep down."

"..."

"Just... just this one time? Okay? Please?" Twilight was nearly in tears. "Be mine?"

"Twi,"

"Please?" Twilight begged again, pressing her face into his shoulder, whispering against the nape of his neck. "Please, please, please?"

Shining mentally cursed himself, and his weakness to his libido, and to her sad, begging pleas. She could end a war with those eyes. 

Or start one.

"Just this one time?" he asked. Twilight was upright in an instant. Her hoof snatched the cloth away and was on his shaft, stroking again.

"Uhuh!" she confirmed with an excited nod.

"You know damn well that won't be enough for you," he said. She didn't reply. She simply continued to idly stroke him, and the last of his willpower, away. "Fuck it. Fine." He barely got the 'n' out before she had him in her mouth, swallowing him until her face was below the waterline. By the stars, it felt like she had sucked his spine right out, turning the rest of his body to jelly. She held herself there, letting the occasional bubbles out of her nose. But her ears were still above water. "Okay Twilight," he said. "Okay," he repeated, getting worried. "Twi, you don't need to impress me!" She lifted herself off and took a breath.

"But you are impressed!?" she asked with a proud grin.

"Extremely," he breathed, just barely able to hold onto the edge of the tub. "Come on, we don't have time for-" Twilight cut him off by sucking him again. Her head bobbed up and down on what she could above the water line. One of her hooves stroked the rest underwater. Her other hoof gently rolled his balls. 

She hadn't the skill or experience of Cadance. But her enthusiasm more than made up for it. She bobbed her head fast enough to give a woodpecker a run for its bits. She sucked like her life depended on it. As though she had poison coursing through her veins and his cum was the only antidote. She was utterly focused on her mission. Celestia herself could barge in and she wouldn't have stopped.

"F-fuck!" Shining moaned. She was going to make him cum so fast it almost hurt. "T-twi, I'm-" Twilight stopped and stood up, arching herself over the tub. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting in with you, I want you to finish inside me!" she said.

"W-what? No! Use your mouth."

"What?"

"I want to cum in your mouth," he blurted. 

The words made Twilight's legs go weak and she fell back down to her knees. He WANTS to cum in my mouth! She resumed sucking him with the same gusto as before. She grabbed his hoof with hers and pulled it to her flank. It was plainly obvious what she wanted him to do. He reached under her tail and mashed his hoof against her marehood, rubbing her in pace with her movements. Her moan vibrated around him, sending him past the point of no return. He flared in her mouth and she took one last breath.

She felt him throb and pump his load into her mouth, quickly filling it. As soon as it hit her tongue, her whole body quivered and she spurted her marecum against his hoof in her own orgasm. She didn't break stride and just kept swallowing, letting only a few drops escape. He finished cumming but she kept sucking.

"Twi, stop! Stop, stop, STOP!" he shuddered, grabbing her by the horn to pull her off his over-sensitive dick. She looked at him through her lustful haze.

"Best. Gift. Ever," she said, punctuating it with a belch.

"Kids! Breakfast!" Velvet yelled from downstairs. They exchanged the same 'oh shit' expression and quickly made themselves decent. Twilight hiccuped. Shining just looked over at her.

"I hope you still have room."
> Hearths and Hooves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Breakfast is going to get cold!" Velvet called into the house. Upstairs, Twilight Sparkle gave Shining Armor a sly wink. She leaned over and reached under him to tease his sheath.

"Hmm, we wouldn't want it to get cold. I know how to get it hot again," she said. Shining slapped her hoof away and pushed her against the hallway wall. It was not a romantic gesture. Without his arousal clouding his judgement, he was in control of his thoughts.

"Twilight, you need to stop this shit right now!" he growled as quietly as he could. "You and I have a lot to talk about, but right now you and I are going to just be normal siblings!" He held her pinned against the wall. It wasn't rough, but firm, conveying his seriousness, without anger. "When we go downstairs, I don't want any of this from you, you got it? No touching, no teasing, no innuendos, no fucking winks across the table!"

"Why? Are you afraid Mom will get jealous?" she asked, instigating him. His lips peeled back from his grit teeth as he held her a bit harder for a brief moment. His sister still knew him better than anypony. And she knew just what to say to cut him the deepest.

"Twilight, I am fucking well aware of how fucked up our sex-ed was. But that doesn't give us licence to act like... this. I just want to have a normal family. I just want to have a normal family!" he repeated. He let go of her.

"Kids!" Night Light called upstairs.

"We're coming!" Shining said. Twilight giggled at his phrasing. He glared at her. "Don't even fucking say it." They walked downstairs and joined their parents and Spike at the table.

"Ah, welcome to the land of the living," Velvet greeted Shining. 

"Usually I'm the one sleeping in," Spike said.

"Your mother tells me you had quite the evening," Night said. Shining sat down and slumped in his chair.

"Yeah..." he groaned as he made a plate of food for himself. "Uncle Tender and Grandpa say 'Hi', by the way."

"Hmm," Night nodded, watching Shining neatly cut up his food and eat with small bites and chewing his food. "Glad to see that your manners have improved," he said. Shining finished chewing before he spoke.

"Thank you. And thank you for breakfast, Mom." Velvet blinked and thought to herself for a long moment.

"Wow, I can not remember the last time you thanked me for a meal!" Velvet said. "You're welcome, dear. The Guard really has shaped you up, hasn't it?"

"I told you it would," Night said. Shining nodded.

"Well, in hindsight, if somepony offered to feed and house me for eighteen years free of charge, I would literally do anything that pony asked of me. Yet I know I bitched every time you guys asked me to take out the trash."

"Well Son, that's the difference between knowledge and wisdom. You can't teach wisdom. That only comes with time," Night said.

"And besides, you'll pay your dues when you have ungrateful foals of your own one day," Velvet added with a smirk. Night Light caught her eyes with his nervous own. A brief reminder of exactly what was in store for Shining and his foals. The levity in Velvet's statement evaporated.

"So how are things in the Royal Guard?" Night asked, eager to change the subject. Shining shrugged.

"Fine," he said, knowing he was not at liberty to tell them about his assignment to Princess Cadance, let alone the true nature of their relationship.

"Fine?" Velvet asked of his single-word response. It was just like any other time she asked him about his day. "I see some things never change. Care to more specific?"

"I guard stuff, and ponies. It's really not that exciting," Shining said, mostly being honest.

"Well Spike was just telling us about a little adventure he had in Ponyville on his birthday, turning into a giant dragon," Velvet said. Spike blushed. "Surely you must have heard about that."

"Yeah, I heard the report. But we couldn't get to Ponyville in time. The Wonderbolts were the Alert Five response team for that," Shining said. "I heard you were more than a match for them," Shining said to Spike. Spike blushed harder.

"Not my proudest moment," Spike said.

"And Twilight, what about you? We've hardly even seen you since you moved to Ponyville!" Velvet said.

"I've just been busy with my advanced studies on the magic of friendship," Twilight said.

"And saving the world from Discord!" Spike added.

"Yes. We read about that. Sorry we couldn't make it to the award ceremony," Night Light said.

"It's okay," Twilight said, eating more of her breakfast. "These pancakes are really good."

"Thank you. Spike helped out with them," Velvet said.

"Number One Assistant," Spike said proudly.

"I thought that was Dad's job," Twilight said.

"I supervised," Night said.

"Finish your breakfast and we can open presents," Velvet said. They did so and cleared their plates before heading into the living room.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring anything," Shining said. "I didn't really have a chance to go gift-shopping."

"That's okay dear," Velvet said. "Just having you here is gift enough. That's why it's called your presence." Velvet gave him a small box. He opened it. It was a small jar.

"Coat Coat?" he asked.

"It's a balm for your fur," Night Light explained. "It's to help you from getting chaffed from wearing guard armor."

"I did not know how much I needed this until just now," Shining said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Twilight got, predictably, a book. The History of Hearts and Hooves Day. She was, predictably, thrilled to have received it. Twilight gave her parents an envelope. They opened it. It was a card, and inside were-

"Two tickets to the Canterlot Hearts and Hooves Social!" Twilight said. "Princess Celestia sent them to me, but I didn't have anypony to bring with me."

"And I thought it would be weird if I went as her 'date'," Spike added.

"So I figured you two could have them!" Twilight said.

"Oh, thank you, Twilight!" Velvet said. "We are looking forward to it." Shining gulped. He was not.

After a lovely Hearth's Warming Day, Twilight and Spike had to catch their train back to Ponyville. Twilight wanted Shining to walk her to the train station so they could have a chance to talk about things. But Spike's presence made that discussion impossible.

"I'll talk to you later," Shining promised, before leaving her at the train station to report back to the Royal Guard.

Back at the house, Velvet went upstairs to tidy up Shining's bedroom, now the guest bedroom. In her haste, Twilight had forgotten to make the bed. Velvet pulled back the blankets to tuck in the sheets. Her hooves froze. She had raised both a filly and a colt through puberty. She recognized the stains when she saw them. Both kinds, in the same bed, from the same night. The list of possible explanations was short.

She gathered up the soiled linen in her hooves and carried it down to the laundry room, thinking about what to do. What could she do? She stuffed the linen into the washing machine. She leaned on it as it ran and put her face into her hooves.

"Please," Velvet quietly prayed for her children, "Please be careful."




A few weeks later, Shining Armor was about town in Canterlot, taking the afternoon to do a bit of personal shopping while Cadance was attending a Day Court conference with Princess Celestia and the other delegates. That personal shopping was for that of a ring. An engagement ring. A task difficult enough on its own. But he needed to find an engagement ring worthy of a Princess, to be publicly presented. All on a Royal Guard Pony's budget.

"Shit," he cursed as he looked at the rings in the glass case. The shopkeeper watched the stallion struggle to choose a diamond ring. Hearts and Hooves Day was coming up. It was plainly obvious what he was planning on doing.

"Can I help you pick something out?" she asked.

"Yeah, uh, I need a ring," he said. She smiled. Years in the customer service industry had given her the patience for such a response.

"Well, you have come to the right place. We have lots of those," she said, motioning to rings in the glass case, literally right in front of him. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Right, uh, I need an engagement ring," he clarified.

"Alright. Did you have a particular karat, cut, or color in mind?" she asked, trying to narrow down his options. He looked at her as though she had ten heads. "Size, shape, or... color?" she asked again, unable to make the question any simpler.

"I- I don't know," he said, feeling anxious. "It just has to be good. Like, really good. Good enough to impress a princess!"

"Ah, well then..." She reached under the counter and brought out a hidden box of specialty rings. It was polished wood with a glass lid. Shining had to shield his eyes from the amount of light that was reflecting off of the massive gemstones on the rings inside. "What sort of price point were you planning on spending?"

He told her.

She quickly put the box away. 

She took out another, smaller, crappier, cardboard box. She took out the ring inside and held it up in front of him. He squinted to look at the setting in the ring.

"That's an engagement ring?" he asked.

"Yes. Technically," she said, taking out her jewelers loupe and inspected it. "It has a diamond. At first I thought it was a one-eighth karat, but it turns out that it's actually a one-sixteenth, which is pretty rare," she said.

"Rare? Like rare good?"

"No, it's rare because they don't usually waste their time with diamonds that small on jewelry. They usually get used in industrial grinders or something like that. Plus, this is a beer diamond."

"Beer is good."

"Not for a diamond. It just means that the diamond is the color of piss," she said, giving him the loupe to see for himself. "Plus, you see all those black specks inside it?"

"Mhmm," he said, as he looked. The diamond looked like a Dalmatian.

"Yeah, those are little bits of charcoal. Leftover carbon. It's like a baby diamond that never got a chance to finish forming into a complete diamond."

"Babies are cute," he said. He held the ring in his hoof. The ring itself looked like it had been bent and reshaped into the vague shape of a circle. "What happened to the gold?"

"It's actually brass. The pony that pawned it said that the firefighters had to pry it off the horn of a pony that died in a house fire. They say her vengeful spirit still haunts this ring."

"That's... unique," he said.

"Well, I would rather receive a marriage proposal with an onion ring," she said. "I feel like I need a Tetanus shot just from looking at this. There is no horse hung enough to get away with proposing with this ring. This is literally the worst ring I have ever seen in my entire life. And it is exactly what you can afford."

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice. I guess I'll take it," Shining sighed, giving her the magnifying glass back.

"Very well. Good luck. You're going to need it," she said. "What is the name for the purchase?"

"Shining Armor."

Her hoof dropped the loupe.

"I b-beg your pardon?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Shining Armor is the name," he repeated. She gulped.

"I, uh, I can't sell you this ring," she said. "I- I have special instructions that I am to give you," she said, reciting the carefully rehearsed words. "That every jeweler in Canterlot has been given. I am to direct you to the Hidden Gem. By royal decree."

"Whose?"

"P-Princess Luna."

"The Hidden Gem? I've never heard of it."

"Think about that for a second," she said.

"Okay. I get it. Where is it?" he asked. She gave him directions to the shop.

"Just go there, and give them your name."

"And then?"

"I'm sorry. That's all I was told to do," she said, growing increasingly anxious. "Now p-please! Just go!"

"Okay, okay." Shining Armor walked out and orientated himself, heading to the northeast. He followed the landmarks to the pasta restaurant that she had mentioned and walked around to the side. Sure enough there was a small door with a small sign above it with the shape of a gem etched into it. "I'm sure the overhead must be low for a store location like this," he said as he reached for the door.

Inside, the store was barely a store. Hell, calling it a closet would have been charitable. In the back of the room was a heavy iron door that looked to be an entrance to a massive safe. In front of that, one unicorn stood behind a small counter. The glass of the counter was cracked. Inside the case was a small piece of paper with the word 'jewelry' scribbled on it. In front of the counter, playing cards at a table, were two gruff, burly, earth ponies that looked like they routinely ate pain for breakfast.

"Whatchu sell'n?" the pony behind the counter asked suspiciously.

"I, um. I'm looking for an engagement ring," Shining said.

"There's a jewelry store down the street, meat-head. Get the fuck out!" the pony said. The two at the table stood up to 'help' him find the door. Each of them grabbed him.

"Wait WAIT!" Shining panicked. "I- I was sent here! My- my name is Shining Armor!"

Both of the earth ponies let go of him instantly and backed away, as though he was a burning-hot, venomous snake.

"Oh shit." The pony behind the counter quickly turned to unlock the combination on the safe door while the two earth ponies stood guard by the doorway. He opened the door and stepped inside. From where he was standing, Shining could see shelves of jewelry and stacks of bits. The pony knelt down to a smaller safe inside and opened it in turn, taking out a jewelry box.

The box itself was worth more than the ring Shining had almost bought. The intricately-carved wood was polished to a mirror finish with gold-leaf inlay and encrusted with more jewels than he could count. He carefully opened the box for Shining. Inside was absolutely the most exquisite ring anypony in the room had ever the privilege to bear witness. It had not one, but five diamonds. Each was a flawlessly-cut, absolutely clear, ultra-rare blue diamond. Each was nearly the size of a grape.

Shining felt like he was about to be charged admission just for the honor to look at it. He fumbled for the bits in his pocket.

"Oh, no sir!" the clerk said. "It's been bought and paid for. Just waiting for you to pick it up." He carefully placed the box inside another padded box and placed that inside a heavy, padded bag. He held the bag out to Shining. "I would suggest that you treat that little parcel with the same love you have for your special somepony."

"Oh, I will," Shining breathed, clutching it close to him.

"I would wish you luck in your proposal but..." the clerk looked at the bag one last time. "Something tells me that luck won't be a factor."

Shining considered the ring. For any other mare, it would be a sure thing. But he would have to give this to a princess. In front of two other princesses. And now his parents. At one of the most prestigious events in Canterlot.

"I think I'll take that luck all the same," he said.




"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," the door pony announced into the large room upon her arrival. 

"Are you okay, Shining?" Cadance asked as they walked into the Canterlot Hearts and Hooves Social. "You seem sweatier than usual."

"I'm fine," Shining lied. His hoof checked his pocket again, making sure that indeed, the box had not sprouted legs and escaped. The ring felt heavier than even the heavy metal it was made of could justify. Keeping it hidden this entire time had been nothing short of torture. He would have been more comfortable at the event trying to hide a boner. Speaking of-

"Shining!" Twilight Velvet greeted. She and his father were both dressed to the nines for the event. She objectively looked, Shining thought, very attractive. "Oh, you look so handsome!" she said, remarking on his uniform. "Cadance!" Velvet blushed and covered her mouth in embarrassment amid the mixed crowd. "I'm sorry, Princess Cadenza," Velvet greeted with a formal curtsy.

"It's okay Mrs. Light," Cadance said.

"Happy Birthday, by the way," Velvet said.

"Yes, Happy Birthday," Night added.

"Thank you both," Cadance said.

"Shining, I didn't know you were going to be a guard at this event," Night Light said.

"Actually, he's here with me," Cadance said. "As my guard!" she quickly corrected.

"You're a personal guard to the Princess?" Velvet said. "Oh, what an honor!"

"Yup," Shining squeaked.

"Princess Celestia and guest!" the door pony announced. Celestia's blue guest shoved him aside.

"Princess Celestia and PRINCESS LUNA!" Luna shouted over him in her Canterlot Voice. Everypony in attendance took a quick bow or curtsy.

"Luna, we talked about this!" Celestia scolded in a hushed tone. She grabbed a cup of coffee from the dessert table and gave it to her cranky sister. "I scheduled this as early in the morning as possible. Just get through this and then you can go to bed."

"Okay," Luna groaned, taking a sip of her coffee. "I love you." Celestia smiled.

"I love you too, sist-"

"I was talking to the coffee," Luna growled. Celestia shook her head and turned to the crowd.

"Welcome, everypony, to the annual Canterlot Hearts and Hooves Day Social! And let me wish a happy birthday to my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!"

"Happy birthday!" everypony said together for Cadance.

"Thank you, everypony," Cadance said as she waved.

"Now then, my favorite part," Celestia said. "Cake!"

The kitchen staff brought forth the massive, overly-ornate cake. Everypony sang 'Happy Birthday' and Cadance blew out the candles. And then everypony presented the birthday filly with her gifts. Cadance had gone through the same song and dance routine each year. Shining just followed her lead and gave her space to interact with her guests. When the last guest gave the last gift, the party started to wind down. Everypony started to have their own little conversations.

Shining felt his heart pounding. It was like when he trained in the Royal Guard for aerial drops. Where a pegasus would fly a non-pegasus into an area of engagement, and then that pony would be dropped with only a parachute keeping them from an early meeting with the ground. An area of engagement. Engagement. Engagement.

Shining gasped. All the moisture in his mouth was gone. He grabbed a glass of water and drank it. Then a glass of champagne. And then one more. He held the empty glass and took a deep breath.

"Go big or go home," he said to himself. He took the glass and tapped it loudly with a spoon until everypony fell quiet, all looking at the lowly guard that dared to silence the conversations of everypony in the room, including each of the three princesses. Everypony was looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

Say something.

Say SOMETHING! his mind screamed.

"Something!" his voice cracked as he tried to speak in front of the crowd, turning the word into a squawk. He took a quick drink and started over.

"Something- There's something I want to say," he managed. "Princess Cadan- Cadenza, you have received many gifts today. But I have one more to give you!" He started walking towards Cadance. "Being your personal guard has been a gift for me. I could not ask for more, but I will." He reached into his pocket. "I would ask for your hoof." He pulled out the ornate box and got down on one knee. "Will you do me the honor of having mine? Cadance?" "Will you marry me?"

He opened the box, revealing the ring.

He looked up at her eyes. They were as wide as dinner plates. Her face was frozen in pure terror as though he was pointing a knife at her. Shining became acutely aware of all the eyes on him. He looked behind her. Luna stood some ways away, grinning knowingly.

Oh fuck.

Oh FUCK!

Shining felt his throat close up. Luna had duped him with a clever ruse. Celestia would have his balls in a vice for this stunt. He would never be able to see Cadance again. He would probably never see sunlight again. And all because he refused to bed the blue alicorn. All he wanted was to be a good, and honorable stallion. And now he was going to die for it.

Celestia looked at him. Her expression was completely unreadable. She could have won a poker tournament playing a greeting card. And that was how Shining felt in that moment.

Played.

Cadance's head turned around to look back at her aunt. Her eyes were filled with dread. At once pleading to spare the love of her life, but also begging for permission to- 

"Say yes," Velvet thought, looking on at the scene beside her husband. She was as shocked as everypony else in attendance. Velvet was privy to Celestia's greater plan for Shining and Cadance. Even as torn as she was about the lives of her children being manipulated, here and now was not the place or time to pick that fight. There was only one way everypony was getting out of this, and it was by going forward. The law and etiquette be damned. 

"SAY YES!" Velvet shouted.

Cadance's eyes didn't leave Celestia's. She knew her aunt better than anypony else in the room, with the exception of Luna. Cadance was the only pony that saw it. The tiniest, subtlest, barely-imperceptible nod from Celestia. Cadance instantly welled up. She turned back to Shining and smiled so hard it hurt.

"YES!" She squealed, holding his hoof. He stood up and kissed her. She kissed him back. There were shocked gasps from the crowd. But they could not be heard over the clapping.

The clapping of Celestia's hooves, just as loud and resolute as she could without breaking her golden horseshoes. The message was clear. The princess approved, and the rest of you all better damned-well too. Clapping of hooves rose from the crowd into a thunder of applause for the happy couple. Velvet rushed to them and embraced them both in a joyous hug, followed by Night Light. Everypony there came back around again to give their gift of congratulations to both ponies. Velvet walked over to the dessert table afterwards and took a cupcake. She looked at the unicorn beside her and smiled.

"Oh, isn't it exciting! There's just so much love in this room, you can practically feel it!" Velvet said. "Don't you think so...?"

"Chrysanthemum," the other unicorn said. "I'm just here for the buffet."

"And how is the the buffet?" Velvet asked. Chrysanthemum levitated a heart-shaped cupcake to her mouth with her green magic. She practically shuddered as she fed.

"Oh... It's d͖̠̱̤̭e̞͍̖͓̙̗l̪̱̮̣̙͖̱̟̮̞͇̙͈̠̭͈̗̫i̟̺̜̫͕͈̜͉̩̬̳̙̰̘̤͓c̯̥̻̗̬̭̦̞͔i̺̮͎̠̩̰̦͎o̮̼̺̲̭̹̝̰u̲͓̘̣̣͉̠̗̦̻̻̫̩̲͕s͚̫͕͓̯̜͎̙̖̝̯͕̭̳̱̖̦̣."
> A Canterlot Bachelor Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Queen Chrysalis had been searching for a new source of food for her hive of Changelings. Changelings were magical creatures that could shape-shift into the form of anypony or anything, and their nourishment was love. Chrysalis had found that Equestria had more love than anywhere else in the world. Taking the form of a pony citizen, she had infiltrated the capital city of Canterlot and breached the highest levels of royal security.

She attended the Canterlot Hearts and Hooves Social. She watched as the grand birthday cake was bought out for Princess Cadenza. Chrysalis could have easily snatched the cake knife and, with a well-placed leap, cut down Princess Celestia in that very moment. But assassination of the nation's matriarch was not her plan.

Not yet, anyway.

No. The queen was deep undercover on covert reconnaissance. It was a military procedure called probing. Nopony could be hurt, and that was the getaway. She was there, not to engage, no, but to observe and evaluate the situation, evaluate the level of danger, and to make sure things were all clear... for the rest of them.

Her timing was not by accident. She had taken great care and planning to have insinuated herself among them in time for the Hearts and Hooves Day celebration, when the love in the air would be at its most potent. In the coming year's time, her hive would accompany her among the population and feed like locusts until every drop of love had been consumed, leaving behind only the empty husks that once called themselves ponies.

But what the queen did not anticipate was the surprise marriage proposal to the 'Princess of Love' by her bodyguard, Captain Shining Armor. The amount of love that was radiating off of the young alicorn was almost overpowering. 

In that moment, Chrysalis's plan changed. 

The target for the hive would no longer be the diffuse integration into Equestria at large. For Chrysalis, her personal mission became a singular pony: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

The plan was simple:
1. Eliminate Cadance's bodyguard and take his form.
2. Feed on the potent love of the Princess until Chrysalis was powerful enough to eliminate her, as well as the two elder alicorns.
3. As the sole remaining 'prince', she would have absolute control of the nation's defenses. The rest of the hive would be able to infiltrate with ease.

In the following days Chrysalis watched the newly-engaged couple and waited for the perfect time to strike. For the many, many vices that she indulged in, one virtue that she prided herself on was patience.





"So that's all of the invitations for the Canterlot V.I.P.'s, and my bride's maids," Cadance said, sitting beside Princess Celestia at the large table in the castle's meeting room. "Now we just need to send out the invitations for your side of the family," Cadance said to Shining Armor, sitting across from them. "One for your parents, one for each of your uncles, their father, and Velvet's parents." She filled out the invitations and passed them to Shining to sign. "Oh, and Twilight Sparkle of course!"

Shining's ear twitched so hard it nearly ripped itself from his head.

Oh fuck.

After everything that had happened since Princess Luna had set him on the path to propose to Cadance, he had completely forgotten about his promise to resolve things with his sister. He needed an opportunity to speak with her about everything between them before she found out about the wedding. 

"This seems like the sort of thing that I should t-tell her in p-person," Shining said, a bit nervous as he tried to angle for an opportunity to go to Ponyville alone. "Otherwise it'll be quite a shock to her."

"That's true," Celestia agreed.

"It might also help if you made her your Best Mare," Cadance suggested. "Since you still have yet to pick one."

"She would be very good at helping to organize the wedding," Celestia added. "We could invite her Ponyville friends as well," Celestia advised. "We could use all the help we can get with planning this royal wedding. And they've proven to be very capable with handling far-greater challenges." 

"They each have useful specialties," Celestia continued. "Rarity's talent as a seamstress could make the most beautiful wedding dress. Pinkie Pie could plan the reception party, and Applejack could cater it. I'm sure Fluttershy could organize a choir of singing birds. And Rainbow Dash..." Celestia tapped her chin with her hoof, considering what to do with the brash pegasus. "Hopefully Ms. Dash can remain perfectly still and not break anything with this visit to Canterlot."

"Wasn't she the one that did the Sonic Rainboom last year at the Cloudsdale competition?" Shining asked.

"Oh, I remember that!" Cadance said. "We could see that all the way from here!"

"You should ask if she can do that at our wedding!" Shining said with coltish glee. Celestia sighed. She could already see the stacks of monetary claims rolling in from the Canterlot citizens for the resulting broken windows.

"Please?" Cadance begged. Celestia rolled her eyes and added it to the letter to accompany Twilight's invitation. 

"Ooh, we should tell Spike he can plan the bachelor party," Shining said with a chuckle. "You know, like as a joke. He probably doesn't even know what a bachelor party is."

"Speaking of," Cadance said.

"What?" Shining asked. Cadance waited. His eyes lit with understanding. "Oh, no-nono, I wasn't planning on actually having one," he said, looking back and forth between her and Celestia. "I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard. I could never do something like that." Celestia just smirked. Cadance tried to pretend that she didn't care.

"I'll get these sent out," Celestia said, breaking the tension. "I'll hold off on sending Twilight's directly until after you get a chance to speak to her. As for tonight, you two love birds head home... And stay out of trouble! Especially you mister!" She said to Shining with a teasing scold, then she bid them each a pleasant evening as they left.





Shining gave Cadance's shoulder a nudge. "It's you she should be worried about," he said.

"Oh, you know it," she agreed.

Back at Cadance's villa, Shining opened the door to let her into the house. Behind them, a pegasus chariot landed in front of the house.

"Captain!" the two pegasi called to him. He turned to face them.

"What is it?" Shining asked.

"You have to come with us to the barracks!" Sergeant Aegis said.

"It's an emergency!" Lieutenant Sea Cay said.

"What kind of emergency would need me?" Shining asked as he walked to them.

"Uh, a threat has been made against Canterlot!" Aegis said.

"Wha- the whole city!?" Shining said.

"Uh, yeah," Sea Cay said. "And so we needed to come get you right away!"

"We were sent by Princess Celestia herself!" Aegis said.

"Oh no! Cadance, stay here!" Shining yelled as he ran to clamor into the chariot. "This is it! The day I've always feared! Let's go!" he commanded. Cadance watched them fly away with her fiance. A third pegasus guard followed after them.

"So what's the situation? What was the nature of the threat?" Shining asked as they flew across the city. "Do I need to cast a giant magical shield to surround the entire city? If I did that, I'd have to stay in Canterlot, and I really, really need to be in Ponyville tomorrow! I can not overstate how important it is to me!"

"What? No!" Aegis said. "Maintaining a giant, city-wide, magic shield would be an incredibly contrived reason to prevent you from going to Ponyville."

"Okay. So tell me about the threat!" Shining demanded.

"The threat?"

"Against the city!?" Shining asked, getting impatient.

"Oh, uh, yeah, the city is going to lose somepony important," Aegis said. "They're going to be taken away and held hostage!" 

"Who?" Shining asked as the chariot landed near a gathering of other Royal Guards in the city streets.

"You!" Sea Cay said. "Somepony is threatening to take our Captain away in bonds!" The two pegasi unhitched themselves from the chariot as the other guards approached them. "In the bonds of matrimony!" 

"Wha-?" Shining looked up at the building where they had landed. The neon lights on the front of the building read 'The Rut Hut'. He realized then that they were in the red light district.

"We need to save the Captain!" Sea Cay said to the other guards, there for the bachelor party.

"Oh no-nonono-NO!" Shining said, trying to get away.

"Get him!" one of the guards shouted. Shining was immediately tackled by several of his squad-mates and fitted with a magic inhibition ring while they held him down. He was powerless to stop them from tying him to a chair and carrying him inside the seedy club. They set him down in front of the main stage in the club where mares would shake their tails for bits.

"Hey, New Guy," Sea Cay said to the pegasus Private in the group. "Keep an eye on him while we go get drinks at the bar!"

"Yes sir," he said, sitting in the chair beside Shining. On the other side of him was a dull-looking earth pony mare. She had dull-grey fur under her dull-blue flock, and a dull-lavender mane. She paid no attention to the stallion beside her. She was preoccupied with her conversation with the azure-blue unicorn up on the stage in front of them, shaking her silver tail.

"There aren't too many mares that come into a place like this," the mare on stage said.

"I'm like a geology hammer," the earth pony mare said in a flat monotone. "It has a blunt side, and a sharp, pick side. Both sides can be used. As such, the hammer, like myself, can swing both ways."

"Okay..."

"Maud," Maud said. "I was visiting Canterlot to explore the crystal formations that can be found in the caves under the city. The caves were once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. Most ponies have forgotten that the caves even exist. Geology is a passion of mine. I'm working on getting my Roctorate. How did you become a... 'dancer'?" Maud asked, using the most polite term she could manage.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is only doing this temporarily, until she has enough bits to replace her wagon that was destroyed by an Ursa Minor in Ponyville." Trixie said, speaking in the third person.

"My sister lives in Ponyville," she said.

"Mine too," Shining said. "Huh, small world?" Maud shrugged.

"Once Trixie has enough bits, she can get back onto a real stage and do magical feats of illusions instead of this stage and doing tricks," Trixie said, using the term in the pejorative sense.

"Rocks take on different properties when interacting with magic. With the right stone, you could rule all of Equestria. Some crystals even have innate magical properties. Many of them have been made into wearable amulets that can enhance a unicorn's power."

"Are you messing with Trixie?" Trixie asked. Maud shook her head.

"Such things are rare and expensive. But if you're looking for an... alternative income, you could always come work on my family's rock farm."

"Really?" Trixie asked. She nodded. "Anything would be better than this," Trixie said. "Trixie's shift ends in about an hour, then she can get your information."

"Trixie!" the club manager called out to her, "You have a bachelor party to do!"

"Ugh," Trixie groaned.

"Hey, I'm not thrilled to be here either," Shining said, still tied in the chair. Trixie noticed his restraints.

"I take it that you're the lucky stallion?" she said. He nodded.

"I assume your sister knows mine," Maud said. "Pinkie is friends with everypony in Ponyville. Whenever she visits home, she insists on telling me about all of them."

"Oh, so I guess she's mentioned Twilight Sparkle?" he asked. She nodded. Trixie's eyes lit up at the mention of her rival's name. She headed towards the champagne room.

"So, the lucky stallion is the brother of Twilight Sparkle!?" she thought to herself as a wicked grin spread across her face. "For once, Trixie will enjoy this." She put on her hat and cape and got her box of magic props for her special bachelor party routine.

Shining's squad-mates came back with their drinks and tied his mouth with a gag to silence his protests. They picked up his chair, with him tied to it, and carried him to the champagne room. The whole squad had pitched in. The weight of the bits in the bag they gave Trixie told her that they had ordered 'The Works'. Shining looked as the sign posted in the champagne room. It declared in bold letters: 'No Sex in the Champagne Room'. The used condoms on the floor told a different story. They closed the door behind him.

"Cum one, Cum all!" Trixie said to the snickering of the assembled horny stallions. "Cum and witness the amazing magic of The Great and Powerful Trixie!" She did a quick flourish with her cape. "Watch in awe, as The Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" The stallions in the room hooted and hollered. Except for the new Private, hanging back in the far corner. And of course, the one with the gag in his mouth.

"For her first trick, The Great and Powerful Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience!" Trixie said. Several of them raised their hooves. Her eyes scanned the relatively small room before they settled on the one stallion literally incapable of raising his hoof. "Ah, Trixie sees that she has a volunteer!" she said to Shining. "For this first amazing feat of magic, Trixie will need a magic wand. Watch in awe as she makes one magically appear right before your very eyes!"

Trixie began to dance and gyrate in front of Shining, turning and bringing her flank around to face him. She flagged her tail at him. It was heavy with her scent as she brushed it across his nose. Shining tried to pull his head back away but she followed him with her tail. She looked back at him.

"Are you ready to help give Trixie a magic wand?" she asked. He shook his head to the negative with aggression.

"C'mon, Cap! Enjoy it! It's the last time you can!" one of the guards teased, pushing on the back of his head. Trixie elicited a yelp, caught by surprise when she felt Shining's nose get pushed into her marehood. The others there laughed at the cute outburst. Shining's nose was wet with her nectar. Her scent was inescapable before, but now it was overpowering.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie... I need consent," Trixie said, dropping her character for a moment. "Legally."

"We are the law. We're not gonna arrest you," a guard said.

"And morally," Trixie said. Shining shook his head again.

"Fuck it! I'll take that dance then!" Lieutenant Sea Cay said. Grumbles came up from the others. He added bits to Trixie's bag. "I'll take that dance- first," he said. "Yeah, I'm pulling rank. You fuck-wits can fight over who goes next!" He pushed the Captain aside and sat in the chair next to Shining. Trixie huffed in disappointment that she would not be able to rub this night in Twilight Sparkle's nose the next time she saw her. But there was too much money on the table for her to object. Trixie shifted over to the other stallion and shook her flank in his face. She brought her free hoof back and gently massaged his balls and teased his sheath.

"Ah, here we go," Trixie said, switching up to stroke his shaft directly, serving to stimulate him further. He was at an impressive full mast in no time. Trixie turned back around and knelt in front of him, taking his shaft in her hooves, idly stroking it. "And for her next trick, The Great and Powerful Trixie will make this magic wand... disappear!" She licked her lips and opened her mouth, stuffing the tip of his dick in. She stood up and leaned over a bit more to line up her throat as she pushed herself further down. After getting about two thirds of the way down she gagged, quickly pulled off and coughed. She waited a moment to compose herself.

"Sit on it!" one of the other guards said.

"Yeah, make it disappear in your ass!" one said.

"In your pussy!" another shouted. Trixie turned her nose up at them.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is an erotic magician! Not some common whorse!" she said. A few hooves came forward to add significantly more bits to the bag. She sighed.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will now make this... magic wand... disappear." She climbed up onto the chair with him and squatted over his lap. She took his shaft with her hoof and aimed it at her pussy and squatted down. Without too much difficulty, her hips reached his lap. "And, tada! It's- it's gone!" she said. She readjusted herself to get up and move on. She felt a pony behind her lifting her tail and something prodding at her o-ring.

"H-hey!" she squealed.

"I got another wand for you to make disappear," he said, pushing into her. At least he had taken the time to wet it, with his spit, she assumed. It was more than some stallions would bother to do. She became acutely aware of the others around her jacking off. The next pony in line behind the one fucking her added more bits to the bag.

"I've got one too," he said.

"Can you make all our wands disappear?" another asked, with a pile of bits in his hoof.

Just this one last night, and then she would be out of this place forever, she thought to herself. She held onto that hope.

"It will cost extra, but The Great and Powerful Trixie can make all your... wands disappear!" she said, as enthusiastically as she could manage. The stallion began to rut her ass, even as she was still on Sea Cay in her pussy. She looked at Shining, or rather she looked through him as her bored eyes just sort of unfocused. "Oh yes. That's it. Your magic wand is so big," she said. But Shining could tell that she was somewhere else. Sea Cay felt her pussy quiver a little after a few moments and her eyelids fluttered as she came. He felt the stallion finish in her ass and pull out.

Trixie quickly climbed off of Sea Cay before the next stallion could get in place. She opened her bag and took out a small vial.

"To make all these wands disappear, The Great and Powerful..." she trailed off. "I'm gonna need a secret potion to make my magic super..." she dropped the act. "...to not get pregnant," she said, drinking it. She took a small top-hat out of her bag. The top of it had a large hole in it. She turned it upside down and put it on Sea Cay's dick so that his tip was just inside the hat.

"For my final trick, I'm going to pull a white 'rabbit' out of the hat," she said, stroking his shaft. The next stallion added his bits to the bag and mounted her while she jacked him off. Trixie could care less about the other ponies. Trixie pretended that it was indeed Shining Armor's cock in her hooves, intent on making the brother of Twilight Sparkle cum. And then the next time she saw that purple unicorn, she would rub it in her face. Rub in the fact that she did it, not the literal cum itself. But Trixie couldn't help but smirk at the thought of it though. She thought about taking a hoof-full of his cum and rubbing it in Twilight's face.

The next stallion came in her pussy. Or her ass. She didn't pay much attention to them anymore after the first couple. She put all of her focus into the cock in her hooves. She fantasized about letting Shining cum in her pussy without any protection, getting her pregnant, and being forced to marry her instead. Having Twilight as her sister-in-law, and making her live with the fact that she had taken her brother away for her own. Trixie was an only foal to a single mother. She fantasized about what it must have been like to be Twilight herself, growing up with such a stud for a brother. "Mmm," she hummed.

Sea Cay's cock throbbed thicker and she felt him pulse in her hooves. The flare of his tip filled the small hat and he spurted his cum onto her face. She had done her best to keep her mane pulled back. Cleaning that out was always a nightmare. His cum spurted onto her horn and down her forehead. It went across her cheeks, chin and into her mouth. The last of it dribbled down inside the small top-hat. She brought her hoof to her cheek and felt his cum on her. She pressed her hoof and imagined she was smearing it on Twilight, pushing more of it into her mouth, making her taste her brother's cum.

Trixie came again, more from the fantasy than whatever the pony behind her was trying to do. Trixie was unsure of which part of the fantasy she enjoyed more, degrading her rival with her brother's cum, or being her rival, enjoying it.

"Tada," Trixie said to nopony in particular, pulling the small top-hat off of Sea Cay's dwindling erection.


The new Private accompanying the group remained in the far corner of the champagne room. Behind the eyes of the guard pony exterior, Queen Chrysalis looked on in disgust. 

Love was food to a changeling. Lust was like fast-food. It was filling, and tasty, but it lacked genuine nourishment. This wasn't even that. Chrysalis thought in revulsion. This was a bunch of savage animals gaining emotionless, physical pleasure from a desperate employee making shameful bits at a night job. The only love in the room was how much that mare loved herself.

Once the last stallion was taking his turn, Chrysalis could watch no more. After what she had just witnessed, she had absolutely no reservations about sending these so-called civilized beasts to the slaughter. She stepped out of the champagne room and walked out of the club, slipping into a nearby, dark alley. Certain that she would not be seen, she changed into the form of Princess Cadance. She walked back to the front of the club and went inside. At first, nopony could believe their eyes. Surely it was a costume, or the cider playing tricks on their eyes.

"Oh SHIT, it's Princess Cadenza!" one stallion yelled and ran for an exit. Other patrons followed suit, running for the nearest door or window to avoid her. The pandemonium could be heard from inside the champagne room. Every guard in the room ran out and scattered. Except the one currently rutting Trixie.

"Shit! Gotta finish quick!" he said, fucking her faster. Trixie used her free hoof to gather up her bits into her bag.

"Get off!" she yelled.

"I'm fucking trying!" he said. Trixie bucked him off with her (sticky) rear hooves and ran out with her money. The corporal scrambled to his hooves with his erection still bobbing under him. "Sorry Cap!" he said to Shining, still gagged and tied to the chair. "I'll say something nice at your funeral!" He ran out of the room and scurried for the back door. The whole club had emptied out.

Chrysalis, still disguised as Cadance, walked through the empty club. Shining could hear her kicking aside empty cider bottles as she waked closer to him. He closed his eyes and waited. All he could do was hope that his fiance could find it in her heart to give him a quick and painless death.

The door to the champagne room opened. She stood there and waited for him to open his eyes. He finally did and she looked at him. Her eyes scanned over him, and the room, and the sticky mess on the floor. She looked him in the eyes and could see his fear, remorse, and sorrow. She walked over to him and lifted her hoof. He winced, anticipating the beating to commence. None came. She undid his gag, untied his hooves, and helped him up out of the chair.

"Come on," he heard Cadance's voice say. She led him out of the room and he followed after her.

"I- I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be. You did nothing wrong. Because nothing happened tonight," she said.

"But I-"

"You did nothing. Nothing happened. Is that clear?" she said. "That is what you are going to tell me. That is what you are going to tell everypony. And that is what you are going to tell yourself."

"But my friends-"

"Your friends weren't here tonight," she said. "Those... creatures that did this to you do not get to call themselves your friends," she said. He thought about that. He thought about the ponies that were there that night. They were acquaintances from the old squad. But they weren't friends to him like Lieutenant Spearhead was, who was markedly absent tonight. In fact, he realized that all of the ones there had some kind of paperwork against them in their personnel files. That should have been a red flag right away.

"Can I show you something?" she asked. He was in no position to decline. She reached out with her magic and sought the hollow space beneath their hooves. In a flash of magic, they were both in a dark room. She lit up her horn, giving the space a soft, green glow.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The caves beneath Canterlot. Once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. Most ponies have forgotten that the caves even exist," she said. "Which makes it the ideal place for you to make up with me."

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Look, why don't we just put this whole, messy business behind us?" she said. "I know you and I can get over this. And I find that the best way from me to get over something, is to get under somepony else," she said, nuzzling the underside of his chin with her nose. "So why don't we make up for you doing something naughty by doing something a little naughty ourselves? How about some pre-marital sex?" she asked.

"But... we already do that. Like... a lot," he said.

"And yet I'm not pregnant," she said.

"Well, yeah, because we use protection," he said.

"Well, not tonight!" she said. "That's what makes it naughty."

"But what if you get pregnant?" he asked.

"I'm ready to roll those dice," she said, turning to lift her tail at him. "Now come on, before I change my mind."

Shining Armor had, up until that very moment, a very unusual life. Of all the things that had happened to him, he could identify the who, what, where, when, and how. But the one thing that always managed to elude him was the why of his life. And really, that could be said of most everypony. It was a deep, philosophical question to ask of one's own life. 

Why? Why was this happening to him? What was the reason? Cadance was forgiving him, here, now, in this cave, via make-up sex. But why!? Shining Armor had lived a life less ordinary. Although it had altered his consciousness and given him a unique perspective of the world, and his role in it, he remained, irrevocably, a stallion. Ergo, he did not question why she was offering herself to him in this way. Hell, it could have been at his father's funeral and he would have still obliged. Perhaps it was the 'never say no to a good thing' mentality of those in the guard, acutely aware of their own mortality. In any case, he only accepted this good thing without question.

He mounted her. Aside from the location, there wasn't anything particularly exotic about their sex. Compared to the depraved gang-bang he had just witnessed less than ten minutes prior, it was quite tame. Perhaps that was what this was. A test of his preference to her in the face of a vanilla lifestyle. All those exotic and kinky couplings in the past, being exactly that, in the past. Curiously, he found that he was perfectly fine with this. He was willing to marry her and be perfectly content with their boring, vanilla lives. He loved her.

She could tell.

Chrysalis was expecting a bout of lust from the stallion being offered intercourse from a mare after such a bizarre evening. But the love Shining had for Cadance was very simple, very true and pure. It was the sort of rare, consummate love of not only passion, but of intimacy, and commitment. The kind that was never just one-sided, like lustful infatuation. This was real. She savored the anticipation of receiving such love from the alicorn Princess of Love herself. Her body quivered. It was as close to orgasm as a changeling could genuinely experience. The signs of her partner's orgasm were all too apparent.

She wore the outward appearance of Cadance, but inside, she was still a changeling. The stallion's penis could not tell the difference. It only required an enclosed space, preferably moist. But unlike a mare, Chrysalis had complete control of her physical form. She had as much direction of her vaginal muscles as her tongue. She moved and flexed herself to practically milk him, creating a suction for his seed. She felt him flaring inside her, signalling his climax. She opened her cervix at will, and pulled him in deeper, ensuring that his potent seed doused the clutch of fertile eggs waiting in her womb.

Chrysalis was nothing if not a brilliant strategist. Even if everything else went wrong, her Plan B was all but assured once she laid these eggs. But in the meantime, there was still Plan A to see to.

"Ah, that was wonderful," she breathed as Shining slowly pulled out of her and fell backwards onto his rump. "And what better place to do it? The caves beneath Canterlot. And now, your prison!"

"Wha- what!?" Shining asked, unsure of what he had just heard. Her form shimmered and changed in a flash of green magical flame. She revealed her true form, that of a black pony-ish, insect-like creature with transparent blue wings and a teal mane. Her entire body was riddled with holes. Shining tried to call to his magic, but found that he was still wearing the horn ring. He reached up to pull it off but she vanished in a flash. With his horn free, he called his own light to his horn. The small cavern he was in was completely enclosed with no exit.

"It's the perfect place to keep those that would interfere with my plans," he heard Chrysalis say in her shrill, multi-tonal voice. Her face appeared in the facets of the crystal walls.

"What plans!?" he asked.

"Why, the plans I have for your fiance, of course!" she said. Her form shimmered again, turning herself into him. He fired a shot of his magic at her image. He dodged his own attach as it ricocheted off of the reflective surfaces of the cave until it struck the dull dirt in front of his hooves. His memory hearkened back to a saying that Twilight had taught him. 'One day, Shining, a mosquito is going to land on your balls, and you are going to learn that violence doesn't solve everything.'

The impostor in the crystal face laughed at his failed attempt. "Now if you will excuse me, I have a princess to marry," she said in his voice. With another flash of magic, she vanished, leaving him in the pitch darkness.

Shining slumped down against one of the cold, crystal walls. He felt helpless. There was only one pony left that would be able to stop her now.

"Twilight," he whimpered into the darkness, "Twilight, please recognize that it's not me. Save Cadance from that monster." 

He didn't waste his breath on a prayer to save himself. There were too many things that he felt guilty about. Not the least of which was his failure to talk to Twilight like he had promised he would. There were so many things that he regretted. Things that he did. But mostly it was the things that he had left undone. Things that he had left unsaid. Things that the ponies he cared about deserved to hear before he left this world. The prospect of his own imminent demise, albeit slow, by starvation or dehydration, strangely were of no concern to him. Certain death had a way of putting all of his priorities in order.

"I love you," he said into the darkness. The words were certainly not meant for himself. About that, he was damn sure. His mother had heard it enough from her colt. His would-be-bride heard it many times daily. He said it into the darkness for the one mare in his life, to whom he never said in the the way that he meant it. Not really. Not in the way that she longed to hear it. If for nothing else, he wanted just one last chance to tell her how he really felt, before he burned in Tartarus for it. 

"I love you, Twilight."
> A Canterlot Wedding: Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having trapped the Captain of the Royal Guard in the caves beneath Canterlot, Queen Chrysalis reappeared topside in the city with a flash of magic. She strutted up the road to Princess Cadance's villa. She was enjoying the long stride she had in her disguised form as Shining Armor. She knocked on the door. Princess Cadance opened the door a moment later, looking a bit distraught.

"Has the threat against Canterlot been resolved?" Cadance asked.

"Hmm? Oh, uh yeah," Chrysalis said in Shining's voice. "Um, the guys tried to take me to a bachelor party, but I didn't want to go. So I left."

"You were gone for quite a while," Cadance said.

"Well yeah. They flew me there but they didn't want to fly me back. And I don't have wings, so, I had to walk. So... that's why."

"I suppose that makes sense," Cadance said as they walked inside.

"So, how about some of that premarital sex that we often have?" Shining asked. Before she trapped him in the caves, Chrysalis had taken Shining Armor's seed to fertilize her eggs. Now she was anxious to use her male form to deposit them inside a mare's womb. She would make Cadance her hive's brood mare, hopefully sooner rather than later.

"Maybe tomorrow," Cadance said. "We should get some sleep. We have to get up early and get started on the wedding preparations." Cadance walked upstairs to her bedroom and climbed back into her bed. Shining joined her, laying behind her as the big spoon. Cadance felt Shining's erection sprouting behind her. He prodded under Cadance's tail with it. Beneath the veneer of his penis, Chrysalis's ovipositor sought out the mare's vagina. "You are incorrigible," Cadance said, pushing them apart. He tried again. "Shining! No!" Cadance said with an edge of anger to her voice. "If that's how you're going to be tonight, you can go sleep in the other bed!"

Chrysalis felt a pang of anger at the denial. Part of her wanted to just pin down the mare and force herself on her. The need to lay her eggs was a real one. But there was too much at stake to blow her cover now. She got out of the bed and headed down the hall to the other bed. In the past, she had carried her eggs for many days  before finding a suitable partner. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. More importantly, she needed Cadance to love her. She needed to feed on her alicorn love magic to grow strong enough in time for the wedding. Two days would be worth the wait. Then she could take her time to enthrall the mare. She wouldn't say 'no' anymore after that.





"So I sent out the rest of the invitations," Princess Celestia said the following day. She was sitting at her desk, across from Cadance and Chrysalis, still disguised as Shining Armor. "So Shining, once you go to Ponyville to inform your sister, I'll send her invitation with the instructional letter for her friends," she said. "Shining?" Celestia asked.

'Shining' was barely paying attention. His eyes drifted across the desk to the letter-opener, day-dreaming about lunging across the table and stabbing Celestia in the throat with it.

"Shining?" Cadance asked.

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to go to Ponyville to personally tell Twilight about the wedding?" Cadance asked.

"What? No. Just send her an invitation like the others," he said, annoyed at the suggestion.

"Really Shining? It seemed pretty important to you yesterday," Cadance said.

"W- well... I don't want to be anywhere but by your side until the wedding," he said, truthfully. "Besides, she's a grown mare isn't she? She can read, can't she?" 

"That pony does love to read," Cadance agreed.

"Fine. Whatever," Celestia sighed, sending off the invitation with a flash of her magic. It turned into a swirl of green smoke and went out the window to be received by Spike. "It's just as well. It will be more time for them to be here and help prepare for the wedding," she said, and then she did the same with the letter for Twilight and her friends.





In Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were enjoying a lovely picnic. Spike had stepped away from the gathering and into the nearby woods to go 'water the bushes'. On his way back the spell reached him and he belched out the wedding invitation that Celestia had sent. His eyes scanned over the card.

"Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and- OH SHIT!" Spike yelped and started to sprint back to the picnic to tell Twilight about her brother. By the time he got there, he was panting and wheezing. Being a librarian's assistant was not the best for keeping him in shape. Or getting him there in the first place. "Twi...Light..." he said between gasps. "I... have... lemme just-" He paused to catch his breath. Before he could, he lurched and belched another parchment. Twilight picked up the letter and read it aloud to her friends.



Dear Twilight, 
I'm sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot. I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music. Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception. Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception. Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids. Rainbow Dash, I would very much appreciate it if you could just sit perfectly still and try not to break anything perform a Sonic Rainboom as the bride and groom complete their vows. And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all, making sure that everything goes as planned. See you all very soon. 

Yours, 

Princess Celestia




"But, I don't understand. Who's getting married?" Twilight asked, scanning over the letter again.

"Oh, wait!" Spike said, grabbing the other scroll to give to her. "Uh, I was probably supposed to give you this one first." Twilight took the scroll.

"Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and- MY BROTHER!?" Twilight gasped. 

Something in her mind snapped. Everything stopped. She felt herself become flooded with every possible emotion and reaction.

Firstly, and most predictably, was denial. She looked at the name on the invitation again in complete disbelief. There had to be some kind of mistake. Shining Armor. It was not a typo. It was her brother. Perhaps it was a prank. An elaborate April Foals joke. But it was far too late in the spring for that. And for as much as Celestia enjoyed the odd prank once in a while, this was too much, even for her.

"Your brother's getting married? Congratulations Twilight! That's great news!" Applejack said.

"Yeah, great news... that I just got from a wedding invitation, not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! I mean really, he couldn't tell me personally!?"

Denial gave way to anger. Anger was an uncomplicated emotion. Anger gave her issues a laser focus. He promised that he was going to talk to me about us! she thought to herself. And now I get this out of the blue!? He knows that I love him. I LOVE him! 

"Um, Twilight, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sorry, it's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. Before I came here and learned the importance of friendship, he was one of the only ponies I ever really accepted as a friend."

I just need to talk to him, she bargained with herself. I just need to reason with him and get him to change his mind about this. About me. And then we can be together again. Or if not, to at least still share him.

"Your brother sounds like a real good guy," Applejack said.

"He is pretty special," Twilight said, feeling depression set in. "I mean, they don't let just anypony be Captain of the Royal Guard."

"So let me get this straight. We're helping out with the wedding of not only a princess, but a Captain of the Royal Guard!?" Rarity asked.

"I guess we are," Twilight said with a shrug of acceptance.

The group packed up the picnic and then they each packed for their trip to Canterlot on the next train.





"Alright. Up next you need to go down to the train station to greet the arrival of your sister and her friends," Cadance said to Shining.

"And then we put them to work," Shining said. "And then that will free us up to head back home and-"

"Save it for the honeymoon, dear," Cadance said. "We have a lot to do. All of us. Twilight and her friends are just here to help out. Not to do all the work for us. I'll finish up here and be with you at the station shortly."

"Fine." He agreed to be separate from his source of food and power briefly, if only to play along in the role. Once Chrysalis dealt with placating this 'Twilight' pony, she could get back to getting Cadance alone long enough to lay her eggs in her.

He watched the train pulled into the station and waited for the ponies to disembark. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the unicorn that matched the one the photos in Shining's bedroom. He spotted the purple unicorn among her entourage of friends.

"Shining!" Twilight called out, running over to him. Her expression was equal parts excited and upset. She closed the distance and hugged him quickly. "We need to talk," she said in a curt whisper.

"Yes indeed. I trust that you received the instructions from Celestia for helping with the wedding?"

"I need to talk to you in private," Twilight said. He stifled his annoyance and looked at the others.

"Fine. The rest of you all have a job to do. Let's get to it!" he commanded. The others excitedly scurried off to their castle accommodations to unpack and then get to work. "Now let's make this quick. I need to get back to my bride."

"You promised me that we were going to talk about things!" Twilight said. "And then I get this invitation to a wedding out of the blue! How did you think I was going to feel?"

"Invited?"

"Shining! What about-" Twilight looked at the ponies around them, careful not to talk about such a scandalous issue in public. "What about us?" she whispered.

"Well I'm getting married, and you can be my Best Mare if that helps." Twilight scowled and led him away from the busy streets up onto an empty promenade.

"I don't care about being your Best Mare. I want to be your-"

"Twilight?" Cadance asked. "Twilight, how are you!?" she practically squealed. 

"Cadance?" Twilight's eyes lit up upon seeing her old foalsitter. She put her anger on pause as she ran over to greet her.

"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" the two mare said together as they did their little dance.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked.

"I'm getting married!" she said. "Didn't you get the invitation?"

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!?" Twilight asked. Cadance rolled her eyes.

"It's a muzzle-full, I know. But yes, that's my full name. I guess I just never told you when I was foalsitting for you. I always just preferred 'Cadance' anyway," she said. "I'm so glad you and your friends are here to help with the wedding. Speaking of-"

"They went to go unpack in their rooms," Twilight said.

"And then they're going to get to work," Shining said.

"And so are we," Cadance said, leading Shining towards the castle kitchen. Twilight decided that she would need to have a word with Shining later when she could get him alone again. When they got to the kitchen, Applejack had already begun working with the other cooks on the wedding banquet. Twilight took out her wedding preparation checklist.

"Cake, check," Applejack said, putting the finishing touches on the cake. "Ice sculpture, check... Best darn bite-size apple fritters you ever tasted..." Applejack fed one to Twilight.

"Check," Twilight said, pleased with the food at least. Cadance walked into the kitchen after Twilight, with Shining in tow.

"Hiya Princess!" Applejack greeted.

"Please, just call me Cadance," Cadance said.

"Hiya Cadance! You come to check out what's on the menu for your big day?" Applejack asked.

"I have!" Cadance answered. Applejack offered her a fritter. Cadance held it in her magic and took a bite.

"Delicious!" Cadance said. "I love, love, love them!"

"Aww shucks. Why don't you take a few to go?" Applejack said, giving her several in a bag. "I know how you brides can be. So busy you forget to get a little something in your belly. And what about you, Shining?"

"That's Captain Armor to you," he said.

"Sorry sir," Applejack apologized. "Something to eat?"

"No." He glanced at Cadance. "I've been snacking all day."

"Well don't fill up too much. There's going to be a feast for you tomorrow," Applejack said.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it," he said with a grin. He followed Cadance to their next stop, and Twilight followed closely after. They headed to where Rarity had set up her seamstress workshop.

"Your Highness," Rarity greeted. "Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion."

"Is my dress ready?" Cadance asked.

"Oh, uh, yes, of course!" Rarity said, leading her to the dress on the mannequin. "I've been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you'll be pleased with the results." Rarity helped Cadance into the wedding dress for a final fitting. It needed no adjustments. It fit her perfectly. She looked in the mirror and was speechless. Her smile told Rarity all she needed to hear. It was perfect. Rarity helped her back out of the dress and turned her attention to Shining Armor "And you?" she asked.

"Oh, he's going to wear his uncle's vintage guard uniform," Cadance said.

"That's... right sweetie," Shining said, forcing a smile and nodding in agreement.

"Oh. Well alright then. That saves me from having to tailor a tuxedo for you," Rarity said. The next stop was the reception hall where Pinkie Pie had, predictably, decked out the place with the perfect decorations for a six-year-old's birthday party. It was complete with a pinata, music, and games like Pin the Tail on the Pony. 

"Okay, let me see," Pinkie Pie said, bouncing about the room with her usual, unnatural amount of energy. "We've been over the games, the dances! I think this reception is going to be perfect! Don't you?"

"Yes, perfect!" Cadance said as she danced along with Pinkie Pie. Shining remained unmoved as he watched them dancing like foals, commenting only that he was 'saving his moves' for the big day. At the final stop in the castle fauna garden, even though Shining commented that one of Fluttershy's choir birds was singing off-key, Cadance agreed with Fluttershy that the rest of them were enough to balance out the harmony. 

Rainbow Dash required no visit. Either she would be able to so a Sonic Rainboom, or not. Cadance was no expert on advanced flying, and found it strange that Shining had no opinion in the matter, despite Dash's performance being his enthusiastic suggestion the previous day. In either case, Rainbow was rarely available for a visit, dividing her time equally between flying really fast in the sky, and napping. With the sole exception of that evening when it was time to grab drinks with her friends. The six mares and Spike all sat at a big patio table outside of a city cafe.

"No cider for you, Dashie?" Applejack asked of her borderline-alcoholic friend.

"Heh, remember the last time I did a Sonic Rainboom?" Rainbow asked. "How loud it was?"

"Yeah?"

"Well imagine that, but with a hangover," Dash said. "Plus, it's nauseating enough trying to pull seven Gs without rotgut. I can wait until after the wedding."

"I guess," Applejack said.

"Speaking of, it certainly was generous of Princess Cadance to have an open bar for the reception," Rarity said.

"And you would know a thing or two about generosity," Pinkie Pie said with an unsubtle wink. "By the way, open bar, my idea. You're welcome Dash." 

"Well there's no way that can go wrong," Rarity sarcassed. "A wedding party with an open bar, a pinata, and Dash armed with a melee weapon."

"Ooh, that actually sounds like it could be quite dangerous," Fluttershy said.

"Yes dear, that was the joke," Rarity said.

Twilight just sat quietly in her seat at the table. Her presence there was not by choice, but out of obligation to her friends. Despite her best efforts that day, she could not get any time alone with her brother to speak to him about their issues. But what had been more troubling to her still, was the apparent change in him, personally.

But the more she thought about it, the more alienated she felt, surrounded by friends, but feeling alone all the same. She couldn't talk to them about the way she felt. How could she? None of them knew Shining Armor. He was a stranger to them all. The only pony that would even be able to relate to her concerns was-

"Why the long face, sugarcube?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"I'm just thinking about Shining Armor," Twilight said. "Something's wrong, but I can't tell what it is. I don't know how or when he changed, but he changed all right."

"What d'ya mean?"

"It's like... it's like he doesn't even know who I am. He has barely even acknowledged that I even existed today. We were always so close growing up. But ever since I moved to Ponyville, we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with Cadance, we'll probably never see each other!"

"Come on now. You're his sister. He'll always make time for you."

"He couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married! And now he just spends all of his time with her. I can't even get a hoof-full of minutes to just talk to him!"

"Maybe you're being just a tiny bit possessive of your brother? There's no call to be taking it out on him." Applejack said. The others nodded and hummed in agreement.

"I am not being possessive! And I am not taking it out on him! None of you know what he was like before. Something is wrong and I'm going to get to the bottom of it!" Twilight said, slamming the table with her hoof before storming off.

Something was wrong, Twilight thought to herself. And in all probability, it was her. Her every thought was plagued with nagging doubt. Every time that Shining had rebuffed her advances in the past. Each memory was weighed down with guilt accumulating on her shoulders. There was only one other pony she could talk to about him. And it was the very mare angling to wedge herself between her and her brother forever. But what choice did she have? She walked up the road to Cadance's villa. Twilight knocked on the door. Cadance opened it a minute later.

"Yes? Twilight!" Cadance greeted with a hug. Twilight quickly looked into the house behind Cadance for her brother. He was strangely absent.

"Is Shining here?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. He's upstairs trying on his suit. What's up?" she asked. Twilight had rehearsed what she had planned to ask, and say, a dozen times on the walk over. But now that she was here, she was lost.

"I- can we talk for a minute?" she asked her old foalsitter.

"Of course. What's wrong?"

"It's about Shining. It just seems like... there's something off about him. You know?" Cadance just gave her a warm, reassuring smile.

"Oh, I'm sure he's just a little unlike himself because of all the excitement. You know how he gets when he's stressed out," she said.

"But that's just it," Twilight said. "I do know what he's like when he's stressed out. And this isn't that. This isn't from stress or the pressure. He's the Captain of the Royal Guard, he can handle both of those things. It just feels like he just so... different. It's like I don't even know him anymore. And he acts like he doesn't even know me."

"Twilight," Cadance said. "One of the important things that Aunt Tia has taught me, from her long life as an alicorn, is that the only thing that is constant... is change. Ponies change. Sometimes it's because of other ponies, or things that happen in their lives that change everything. Like getting married? But the changes are only on the outside. The important parts about him, that make him your brother, and the stallion I want to marry, deep down, stay the same. He might not be affected by stress, but his appetite might be. And if he doesn't eat, he may get irritable?"

"I guess..." Twilight grumbled, inwardly hoping that it was truly that simple, but she knew that things between her and her brother were anything but simple. 

"Listen, it's getting late and we all have a busy day tomorrow," Cadance said. "I'll make sure that you get a chance to talk to him about how you're feeling after the rehearsal ceremony tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Yes, thank you, Cadance." Twilight said.

"You're important to him," Cadance said as she hugged her. "And you're important to me, too. Tomorrow is going to be the happiest day of my life. But I want you to be happy, too."

Twilight bit her lip, unable to imagine herself being happy witnessing her brother being officially taken from her for good. She tried to blink back her tears. This must have been what Shining had been trying to warn her about all this time. In what possible reality could Twilight have ever have dreamed to have a happy ending to her fairy tale with him? How could she have ever entertained the crazy idea of marrying him herself? Were they to both stay single forever? No, it was almost as impossible. 

This outcome was inevitable, whether it was sooner or later. Twilight knew that, and she knew she had to accept it. She had to accept that Shining would want to marry somepony someday. Obviously it couldn't be her. 

And taking a step back, objectively, she could not think of a better choice in her eyes than Cadance. Cadance clearly loved him. He made her happy. And she must make him happy as well. She could be happy for them, at least, couldn't she?

"Yes. I can do that," Twilight said before they finally parted. They bid each other good night and Twilight went back to her lodging to get some sleep.





The rehearsal the next morning went well. At least, in the execution of the ceremony's steps. Everypony was in the right places at the right times. Speakers got their lines right. Nopony lost the rings. A success by anypony's standards.

Twilight, however, was less than pleased with how the whole affair went. The entire time she could not take her eyes off her brother. He, on the other hoof had his entire attention focused on Cadance. Twilight could understand this, to a degree. It was their big day. But even so, Shining, barely even looked at her. Was he intentionally ignoring her? she wondered. Did it really hurt so much for him to look at her, knowing what had happened between them, and now both of them forced to go through all this, pretending like none of it ever happened? Maybe she wasn't the only one of them hurting. Shining never was very good about coping with emotional vulnerability.

True to her word, Cadance gave Twilight the opportunity to find out. Cadance walked with Twilight to the groom's dressing room. Shining Armor was close by Cadance's side, just as he had been all morning.

"Twilight, why don't you stay here in case Shining needs any help while I go get into my dress," Cadance said. Shining tried to object to being separated. Cadance chided him. "You can't see the bride in her dress before the wedding ceremony starts. It's bad luck. I'm sure you can wait for thirty minutes," she teased.

"Yes... dear," Shining begrudgingly agreed. Cadance gave him a parting kiss and closed the door. Twilight waited until the sound of her hoofsteps were gone. She turned and looked at her brother.

"Shining, we need to talk," Twilight said.

"Well make it quick," he said with annoyance. "I have a wedding to get to in half an hour. Perhaps you've heard about it?"

"Yeah. I heard about it. From a wedding invitation!"

"I was of the impression you were capable of reading," he said.

"The point is I heard about your wedding from an invitation! Not from you in person!" she said. He recalled the discussion of the importance of him going to Ponyville. This must have been that.

"Is that what this is about?" he asked.

"You know what this is about!" Twilight said, feeling the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I LOVE YOU!"

Beneath the veneer of the stallion, those three words, along with Twilight's emotional outpouring, hit Chrysalis with the shock of a bucket of ice water. That was when she felt it. She had felt it ever since Twilight had arrived to Canterlot. Suddenly so many things made sense.

For the changeling, Cadance's love was like a song playing on the radio. But ever since Twilight had arrived, there was an interference to the music, like static, distorting the sound of it. And now that Chrysalis was far enough away from the saturating radiation of Cadance's alicorn love, she could hear it, taste it, and feel it, clearly from Twilight Sparkle.

Tainted Love.

The tainted love of Twilight's forbidden desire for her brother was a rare treat for the changeling queen. It was far stronger than the normal bond of bland familial love. It was sweet, yet spicy, but also bitter. Like dark chocolate infused with red pepper. And like the food, it was not very nutritious, but it was a sweet delicacy. Shining's mouth practically watered.

"After all the times that we..." Twilight trailed off, searching for the words. "... that we were intimate, I never thought that out last time would be... our last time. I've thought about you every day since then. You promised that we would talk about it. About us! When you told me that you loved me too, was that a lie!?" She was nearly in tears. Chrysalis was struck with a most wonderful, awful, terrible idea. Shining smiled.

"Whoever said that it had to be our last time?" he asked. Twilight's breath hitched in her throat, scarcely able to believe what she had just heard. Did he really mean that he wanted to...? As though reading her expression, he nodded. She ran over to him and threw her hooves around him. She hugged him and kissed him. He kissed her back. His tongue matched hers with the same frantic passion of her desperate lust. She trembled in his hooves, practically melting from his touch at last. All of the fear and doubt about his behavior before evaporated in an instant. She had never been so happy to be wrong before.

Shining broke the embrace and walked over to the bed and patted the mattress with his hoof. They didn't have time for the full affair. They had places to go and things to do. Twilight didn't mind in the least as she quickly hopped onto the bed and rolled onto her back. Shining pulled her hips to the edge of the bed. He reared up, proudly displaying his massive erection. Now it was Twilight's turn to have her mouth water. But it wasn't the only thing that was plenty wet.

Shining took his shaft in his hoof and guided it down to the wet entrance of her marehood. Twilight practically bucked her hips against him, eager to have him inside. He was only too happy to oblige, working the rest of it into her. Twilight stifled her moan as she felt him fill her at last, scratching that itch that she didn't even know she had. They were both older, grown ponies. But even so he felt even larger than she remembered, almost disproportionately so. She felt him bottom out inside her.

Beneath Shining's white fur, Chrysalis was feeling euphoric. Twilight's love wasn't as powerful as the Alicorn of Love. But while the consummate love from Cadance was a slow, steady feed of nutrition, the energy from Twilight's tainted love was like a concentrated rush of crack cocaine. Chrysalis's magic reserves thrummed with the temporary over-charge. 

Chrysalis focused her concentration on Shining's penis, letting it take the form of her ovipositor. The head changed from being rounded and blunt to a narrow tip. His precum became a powerful cocktail of muscle-relaxing analgesic, and aphrodisiac. It started by numbing and relaxing the muscles of Twilight's cervix. As he continued to thrust, the tip extended into the small opening. Once inside, it swelled thicker, prying her open in preparation for the delivery of Chrysalis's fertilized eggs. Twilight felt no pain, only the tingling from the changeling's potent secretion. For the mare, it was like the pleasurable sensation of a small, but continuous orgasm. Chrysalis felt her eggs shifting inside her, ready to be implanted into the mare.

"I'm gonna come," Shining said, bracing her for the strange sensation of him pumping into her. 

"Yes!" Twilight gasped. Her head was swimming from the effects of the changelings nectar. 

"I'm gonna cum inside you Twilight! I'm gonna get you pregnant!"

"Yes!" Twilight all but begged for it. Her addled mind would have made her agree to anything in that state.

Chrysalis felt the pressure building inside herself, signaling her imminent delivery.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Places ponies! The ceremony is about to begin!" a voice said from the hallway. 

Panic shocked Twilight back to her senses and scurried away from Shining for fear of being caught in such a position. 

"Just let me finish!" Shining said, trying to hold onto her.

"There's no time for me to clean up after!" Twilight yelped, pulling off of him. She twisted and rolled onto her belly to climb off the bed. Left in the lurch on the brink of cumming, Chrysalis quickly turned the ovipositor back into his penis before Twilight could see it, and retracted it at will. Twilight cleaned herself as best as she quickly could and neatened her mane in the mirror. "Come on, let's go!" Twilight made for the door but stopped at the last second. She looked at him. "I know you're getting married but... Is this going to be our last time?" she asked. Shining smiled.

"I promise you, it won't be," he said. Twilight smiled. They walked out to the ceremonial hall to take their places.

Cadance was running late with getting into her dress. But alas, with a wedding, the bride is never late. Everypony else is merely early. They all waited patiently in position. Shining and Twilight exchanged occasional glances. He smiled at her. She smiled back, more than she had the entire time since they had arrived. Until she stopped smiling. After a few minutes her face twisted into a grimace and she clutched her stomach. She keeled over.

"Twilight are you okay?" Applejack asked. Twilight shook her head.

"My stomach hurts," she groaned. Shining looked on in genuine concern. Chrysalis knew what this meant. The numbing effect of the changeling serum was wearing off and Twilight was feeling the pain of her cervix having been stretched and penetrated. Normally, a brood mare would receive a numbing aftercare effect from the eggs in their womb. But Twilight never received the eggs. The pain must have been excruciating.

"I'll take her to her room," Shining said. "I'll be right back." Nopony objected to the stallion caring for his sister. He lifted Twilight onto his back and carried her to her room. Once inside, he closed the door behind them. She staggered to her hooves, working through the pain as she shuffle off her dress, noting the bright green stain. She reached back and felt under her tail, finding more of it on her hoof.

"What- what is this? Some kind of infection?" Twilight asked.

"This is an opportunity to finish what we started!" Shining growled as he grabbed her and pinned her against the dresser. He mounted her and she felt him prodding at her entrance again.

"Shining! No! Not like this! It hurts!" she cried, looking at her brother in the vanity mirror.

"It'll feel better soon," he said into her ear. Twilight felt a sharp sting and saw stars as his tip hit her tender cervix again. But a couple more thrusts and his fresh changeling secretions melted her pain away, left only with the mind-dulling pleasure. The tip of Chrysalis's ovipositor penetrated Twilight's numb cervix again, stretching it open completely, letting the rest of the shaft inside. The head blossomed open like a horrible flower, ready to release her eggs deep inside Twilight's womb. 

Chrysalis's eggs began to move into her ovipositor. She started fucking her against the dresser harder, causing it to bang against the wall. The entire floor of the castle was vacant. Everypony was down in the wedding hall. The vanity mirror slammed against the wall and cracked in half, a portion landed on the bureau in front of her. Twilight looked into the broken piece on the dresser. She could see the refection of the rest of the mirror in it, the reflection of Shining's reflection.

But it wasn't Shining.

Twilight's eyes blinked wide in abject horror as she beheld Queen Chrysalis's true form in the reflection's reflection. The horrible, terrible insect monster that was now pinning her down and raping her. Her equine instincts reacted faster than her as a unicorn. Her hind legs reared up and she bucked her with every ounce of strength she had.

She was no apple-bucking earth pony like Applejack. But the element of surprise caught Chrysalis completely off guard and the full force of the double kick sent the changeling reeling across the room, tumbling backwards across the bed and onto the floor beyond. Viewing her directly, most of her was still wearing Shining's appearance. But Twilight witnessed the monstrosity that was  the queen's ovipositor just as she began to cum. Eggs began to uncontrollably pump from the tip, landing fruitlessly on the dry, inhospitable floor. Chrysalis's shrill voice cried out for the premature end of her unhatched grubs.

Twilight was still in shock at the sight. The thing with Shining's face got back to his hooves. The dissonance in Twilight's mind stayed her magical attack just a moment too long. Chrysalis slammed Twilight with her green magic, creating a portal in the floor with a ring of fire, sending her the crystal caves to be dealt with later. She could not have one of her drones killing Twilight by accident. She was going to take her time with that mare, and make her pay for what she had done to her forsaken clutch of eggs. She would breed her with eggs a hundred times over until she died from it. But Chrysalis had no time to mourn the loss of her clutch now. It would be of little importance soon. She refreshed her Shining Armor disguise on her ovipositor and put it away once more. With Twilight disposed of, nothing would stop her from finally having it all.

"This day is going to be p̝͉̘͇̩̗̼e̘̜͔̙̰͖̬r̜f͕̮̗̥̙̖̯e͔̫̫c̗t̶̪.̻̹̼͔̬͍͈͠."

.
> A Canterlot Wedding: Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle found herself in pitch darkness. She feared that the queen had struck her blind. She called a light to her horn with her magic. The soft purple light of her horn lit the space dimly. But she could see hundreds of reflections of the light all around her. The dampness of the air told her that she was somewhere underground. She walked towards the nearest reflection. It was a crystal. A giant crystal. She was in a cave filled with thousands of them.

"Hello!?" Twilight yelled into the darkness. "Is anyone there!?" She heard only the echo of her own voice. And then the distant rumbles of a laugh getting closer. "Where am I?" The image of Queen Chrysalis magically appeared in the facets of the gems, still wearing Shining's appearance. 

"The caves beneath Canterlot," Chrysalis answered in Shining's voice. "Once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. And now, your prison!"

"Help! Help!" Twilight screamed into the darkness.

"It's no use. No one can hear you. And no one will ever think to look for you either. Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist. Which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans."

"Plans? What plans?" Twilight asked.

"Actually, I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan for Cadenza, of course," he said, flourishing his revolting ovipositor at her. "And then, the rest of your friends!"

"Don't you dare do anything to them you- you monster!" 

"The only way to stop me is to catch me," he taunted.

Twilight fired a beam of magic at his image. The arcane bolt reflected off of the crystal facet and ricocheted about the room, narrowly missing her until it struck the dirt. The taunting image laughed and jumped from one crystal to another. Twilight would not be goaded into making the same mistake twice. She reached out with her magic and pulled a stone boulder from the ground beneath her hooves. She swung it around like a mace, smashing the image everywhere she saw it.

The commotion stirred the real Shining Armor from his emaciated lethargy in a nearby cave chamber. He looked towards the direction of the noise. Twilight came in like a wrecking ball. She followed the boulder in through the hole she had smashed in the wall of his small room.

Shining Armor realized that if Twilight was here, then she must have been sent here by that same shape-shifting creature. He didn't even want to think about what that thing had been doing while it ran around Canterlot with his face. The look of utter wrath on Twilight's face made him fear the worst.

"No, wait!" he yelped. She rushed him and pinned him to the ground. He was normally much stronger than Twilight, physically, but he was weak from not having eaten in days. "Please don't hurt me! Twilie, it's me! Please, you have to believe me! I've been imprisoned like you. The Shining who brought you down here was an impostor."

"Likely story!" she growled. Her horn glowed bright with her readied attack. He had been in the pitch dark for days. His tired eyes flittered closed in the glare. She would either save him, or kill him. He no longer cared which. She slammed him with a disenchantment spell to nullify the disguise. Her magic washed over him harmlessly. "Shining!?" she choked on the word as she reached down to cradle his crumpled body.

"Five more minutes..." he whimpered. It was as he once did in their youth when she would wake him for school. He skirted the edge of consciousness.

"Shining!" Twilight panicked. Her first aid response kicked in and she reached out with her magic, sending a shock to his adrenal gland. She screamed in the most commanding voice she could muster, "REVEILLE!"

His eyes shot open and he was on his hooves in an instant.

"First general order - ergh," he listed and staggered, nearly falling again. She caught him.

"Hey, hey, it's me," Twilight said, trying to keep his attention. An adrenaline rush could wake him, but it was no substitute for real nutrition. "We have to get out of here. I can teleport us, but I need a clear line of sight, away from these magic-sapping crystals." Twilight took up the same boulder and gave it another good swing, sending it through the far wall of the small room. It opened up into a larger cavern. "We need to move." She started walked, and helped him along with her. They made their way through the massive crystal cavern.

-

Meanwhile, far above them, Queen Chrysalis comfortably wore Shining Armor's appearance and walked back to the wedding hall to rejoin the rest of the ponies. 

"Twilight's not feeling well," she told everypony in his voice. "But she said to go on with the wedding without her." Shining took up his place at the front of the hall and the music began to play, announcing Princess Cadance's imminent arrival. Everypony stood as the bride entered, preceded by the flower fillies, and followed by the long train of her wedding dress. Her expression was neutral. Her eyes were tinted dull green. The queen had her enthralled under her complete control at last.

True to Chrysalis's words, Twilight was very much not feeling well. Just as they reached the glimmering source of daylight on the far side of a wide chasm, she lurched and keeled over. Shining staggered beside her, but managed to keep himself standing. The numbing effects of the changeling serum had worn off again.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" he asked. She shook her head 'no', writhing on the ground as she clutched her abdomen. The first time, the pain was so excruciating she thought that she was dying. This time was so much worse that she hoped she was. She retched most of her breakfast into the dirt. Shining barely had the strength to keep up an illumination spell.

"Hurts!" she groaned through her clenched teeth. It hurt to breathe, let alone cry. There was no way she would be able to teleport them now in her state. "He... she... it, it had your face-"

"I know. I know, I'm sorry," Shining cried for her.

"She had a- it... she took me in the bedroom and..." she forced out the words. Shining clenched his eyes, dreading her words. She yelled, even as it pained her to do so. "She had your face! She raped me!" 

That word. That one word cut Shining Armor to the core. It burned him like a red-hot poker. And it burned within him like a fire reignited. His horn flared brighter. Usually, a unicorn used vitality to cast magic. The same finite amount of energy that kept one awake for a day. Like coffee, potions could temporarily extend this vitality pool, but it was always finite. Use too much, and one would pass out. Shining was burning energy reserves that he did not have. He felt fever chills run through his body as he consumed slivers of his Soulfire to fuel his spell. Soulfire was a different, powerful source of magic. But it too, was finite. It was a weapon of last resort. Use too much... and it was fatal.

When Shining had joined the Royal Guard, he knew that it meant that his life could be in peril. He accepted that. He only hoped that his death would be for something, not of something.

The spell spread out over her abdomen, healing the damage the queen had done. Twilight's eyes fluttered open as the pain melted away and she looked up at him. Through the blur of her tears she could see the blue ethereal flame surrounding his horn. She knew what it meant.

"Stop!" she shrieked. She called light to her own horn and slapped his with her hoof, extinguishing his magic. Some had more than others, but nopony knew for sure how much Soulfire one had until it was too late. Any time a unicorn used it could be their last. "Are you crazy!?"

"You were in pain! I had to do something!" he said.

"But burning your soul? Were you really ready to die for me!?" she yelled.

Yes. Shining's response hitched in his tightened throat. 

Twilight grabbed him and focused her spell. In a flash they were across the chasm, within a stone's throw of the cave's exit. They were finally clear of the crystals' interference. With another flash of her spell, they teleported back inside Canterlot Castle. They were as close as she could manage to get to the ceremony. They made haste, cutting through the reception banquet hall. Shining's stomach forced him to run over to one of the serving tables. His eyes lit up.

"I had Pinkie Pie make them for you. I know it's your favorite," Twilight said. Shining immediately began to eat the first cream pie he could grab. He ate so fast it was like watching somepony barf in reverse. He grabbed a can of espresso grounds and dumped some on the table. "Shining, wait, don't eat-" He took a drinking straw and snorted a not-insignificant amount of the brown powder.

"Oh FUCK!" he groaned as his head snapped back up and his eyes shot wide open. "A little trick from being on the Guard third shift."

"Okay. Are you ready?" Twilight asked.

"Ready doesn't even fucking describe it!" he yelled with fresh vitality, feeling like his fur was trying to crawl off of his skin. 

-

Meanwhile, in the wedding hall, Princess Celestia was concluding the ceremony, "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-"

"I OBJECT!" Twilight screamed as she kicked in the doors.

"You're too late," Shining Armor said from the altar, standing beside Cadance. "We're past that part. And aren't you supposed to be writhing in pain?" Everypony looked at him. "Uh, I mean, I'm so glad that you aren't writhing in pain, sweet sister."

"She's not your sister!" The real Shining Armor said from behind Twilight. "She's mine!"

"Two Shining Armors!?" the ponies in the audience gasped. "How is this possible?"

"He's a changeling!" Shining Armor said. "It takes the form of somepony you love and feeds off your love for them!"

"No. He's the changeling!" the other Shining Armor said.

"I'm sure there's a way that we can peacefully resolve this with reason," Cadance said in a dulcet tone, enthralled by the Changeling Queen's control magic. 

"How about we all have a nice, tall glass of calm down?" the fake Shining Armor said, standing beside Cadance. Chrysalis was stalling for time. The real Shining Armor glared at the impostor.

"How about a nice tall glass of SUPPRESSING FIRE!" he yelled, charging at the altar. His horn fired a barrage of magical attacks at the disguised queen. They were all easily deflected by a shield of green magic. Distracted, the queen did not see Twilight teleport to out-flank her. She saw the purple flash in her peripheral vision just before Twilight hit her with the disenchantment spell. Chrysalis's disguise melted away in a heat-less green flame, revealing her true form. Another gasp came up from the crowd as ponies began to scatter.

"Enough!" Chrysalis yelled. Her super-charged magic sent out a concussive blast that sent the two siblings tumbling. The massive clock tower in the center of the city chimed the hour. A low chuckle bubbled up from the queen, erupting into a full, evil laugh. "It's too late. Canterlot is MINE!"

"Oh yeah?" Celestia said, her own horn glowing ready with her own attack. "You and what army?"

"Hmm," Chrysalis hummed. "That's a good question. Hmm. What army indeed? Hmm? HMM!"

HMMMMMMMMMM

The hum grew louder into a omnipresent buzz. The sky grew dark as changeling soldiers filled the sky, blotting out the sun. Celestia's eyes went wide in horror. She reared up and drew a deep breath. She let forth the full, unbridled force of her Canterlot Voice.

"BATTLE STATIONS!" Celestia bellowed, shaking the very foundations of the mountain with her voice. Sirens went up across the city as the Canterlot Royal Guard mobilized to counter the attack. Celestia's glare bared down on the queen. "As for you, now that your true self has been revealed, I can protect my subjects from you!" The princess lofted into the air and leveled her attack at the queen. 

But Celestia had a problem. She to be careful. She lived in a world of matchsticks. She always had to take constant care not to break something, or somepony. Never allowing herself to lose control, even for an moment or somepony could die. She could have easily incinerated Chrysalis where she stood. But if she used her full power, she could just as easily reduce the entire stone building to molten slag. Everypony she cared about, and everything she was fighting for, would be destroyed. Cadance and Shining Armor, a millennium of work, were within range of the queen. Celestia traded power for precision. A beam of focused magic fired from her horn at the changeling. 

Chrysalis had far less restraint.

Her magical counterattack forced back Celestia's beam until it reached her horn, knocking her from the air. Her alabaster body fell limp to the floor as her golden crown tumbled across the stone tile.

"Ah! Cadance's alicorn love is even stronger than I thought!" Chrysalis gloated. "Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!"

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle and her friends rushed to help her.

"The Elements of Harmony," Celestia groaned from the floor. "You must get to them and use their power to defeat the queen!" The six ponies ran to the exit and opened the door. An entire battalion of changelings waited on the other side.

"Oh, I don't think so," Chrysalis purred, manifesting a green pod encasing Celestia and suspending her from the ceiling. "I will not be another statue for your garden!" The changelings rushed at Twilight and her friends. They stood their ground, even as they were overwhelmingly outnumbered. Out in the city, the guards fared little better. The unicorns were out maneuvered by the changelings flying around them. The pegasi were outgunned by the changelings' magic. Twilight and her friends managed to hold their own- for now.

"You still try to fight? Can't you see that it's hopeless?" Chrysalis mocked Twilight Sparkle.

"That mare won't quit as long as she can still draw breath," Celestia said from her cocoon prison. "None of my little ponies will."

Shining Armor managed to slink away from the fray to reach his bride. Poor Cadance stood at the altar, still under the queen's control. He looked at her, at her blank expression, her dull eyes. He wept and hugged her. She didn't deserve this, any of it. To see everypony around him suffering, he felt a fate worse than death. He felt useless. He touched his horn to hers and gave her the one thing he had left. His love for her. Their horns arced and her eyes fluttered to alertness, shaking the green haze away.

"Shining?" she asked, awoken from her magic stupor.

"Cadie!?" he practically cried. "Cadie, we have to get you out of here!" He zapped the green goo binding her hooves and led her to the side exit. Her escape was halted when Chrysalis flew over and landed on the long tail of her dress. 

"Where do you think you're going, Food?" Cadance's head turned and glared at her. Her eyes burned with rage at this... this thing that had ruined her special day. She turned and faced her. Chrysalis readied her horn in defense. She could not kill Cadenza. Not yet. She was too valuable as a resource. She merely needed to deflect the princess's feeble magical attack, and subdue her again. 

But the thing about magic-users, especially when it comes to combat, is that they tend to fall into the trap of only thinking in terms of magic. They make all of their plans around it. And, well... everypony has a plan until they get punched in the face.

And nopony plans on a pretty pink pony princess punching you in the face.

"Get off my train!" Cadance growled. She brought her gold-clad hoof back and socked Chrysalis in the jaw hard enough to damn-near unscrew her head right around off of her neck. The queen was sent tumbling. 

"Shining! Your spell! Perform your shield spell for the city!" Cadance shouted.

"What good would that do!?" Chrysalis laughed, shaking off the blow as she got back to her hooves. "My changelings already roam free!"

"No!" Shining tried to conjure his spell. "My power is useless. I don't have the strength to repel them."

"My love will give you strength," Cadance said.

"What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment," Chrysalis cackled.

"What!?" Cadance scoffed. "So your entire race gains strength from the pilfered love of others. A method of attaining power that you just utilized to vanquish Celestia. But when somepony else tries the exact same thing, right in front of you, it's a ridiculous sentiment!?"

"..."

"Yeah. Think before you talk shit!" Cadance put her horn to Shining's and helped him power his spell. He cast the spell and the magic shield radiated out from them in a magenta explosion. It passed by ponies harmlessly while it slammed into the queen. She screamed out as she, and the rest of the changeling horde were flung into the air and sent scattering to the distant horizon. "Bitch!"

Twilight Sparkle ran over to where Celestia laid on the floor, freed from her cocoon prison. She helped the alabaster princess to her hooves.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Celestia assured her. "You have a real wedding to put together." 





Twilight and her friends did so in record time. While Cadance was having her dress repaired with Rarity, Shining Armor pulled Twilight aside.

"Hey, can we talk?" he asked her. Twilight triple-checked her check list to make sure that she hadn't missed anything when she double-checked the checklist. She looked at him and nodded as she put the list away in her bag. He led her someplace where they could talk in private. He opened the door to her room. Pieces of the broken mirror were still on her dresser. Twilight felt a cold chill run down her spine.

"Not in here," she said with a shudder. "I- I can't." He remembered what she said about what the queen had done to her. 

"Okay. It's okay." He hugged her and they walked to his room instead. He opened the door and let her inside before closing the door behind him. "I- I'm sorry," he said. Twilight turned and looked at him.

"For what?"

"For..." his eyes welled up. After the adrenaline rush of survival in battle had finally passed, he broke down at her hooves. "For so much!" he cried. "For everything! I should have talked to you sooner, like I had promised. I should have told you about Cadance and I. I should have told you..." he trailed off into sobbing. He did his best to get it out of his system and compose himself. "Twi, I was down in that cave for two days. I was so sure that I was going to die. But I promised myself that if I ever got the chance to see you again... that I would tell you the truth."

"What truth?" she asked.

"I know things between us have been... strained," he said as diplomatically as he could. "And I know I haven't helped things. And now this whole thing with... Cadance. And for this whole time I knew that you loved me like... like you do. And I-" 

"Shining..." Twilight said as he stepped closer. Shining felt like a hoof was crushing his throat, keeping him from getting the words out.

"Twilie, I- I do, too." he said at last. "I love you. Stars above, I hate myself for it, but I do." He reached out and held her in his hooves. He leaned down and kissed her. He kissed her like she had always wanted him to.

Right up until that moment.

"Shining, no." Twilight put her hoof up to his chest and pushed him away, gently, but firmly. "We can't- I can't!"

"I'm not married yet," he said.

"It's not that. I mean, it is, partly. But when the queen..." she trailed off. "When she did that to me, she was wearing your face. She took advantage of my feelings for you and she-" Twilight choked up. "And now when I look at you, it's all I can think about."

"Twilie-"

"Shining, I do love you. I do. But it's just too soon," she said.

"Twi, we're... we're not going to have another chance. I'm going to be married in a few hours."

"And that's the other thing," Twilight added, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know how it feels to be the other mare. I can't to do that to Cadance. We can't. She doesn't deserve that."

"I know," Shining admitted, sitting down beside her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Twilight said. "You were right. You were right all along. All those times that you told me that we shouldn't feel this way. That we couldn't. It had nothing to do with the law at all. It was always about somepony getting hurt. And somepony is going to get hurt from this, Shining. There is no avoiding it."

"So what do we do?" he asked.

"We choose who gets hurt," Twilight said simply. "Or rather, I do."

"What do you mean?"

"I choose myself," she said.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Shining said.

"I know. But it's not your choice. It's mine," she said. "You're going to go out there, and you're going to marry Cadance. And I'm going to be your best mare and be happy for you. And then tomorrow, I'm going to be your sister. And that's it."

"And that's it? I still love you. And I know you still love me. We can't just wish these feelings away. You don't think this is going to hurt me too!?"

"I know it will. And I'm sorry about that. But this is the price we have to pay for indulging in this," she motioned her hoof between them. "You're going to get married, and have your own family. And I'll move on too. And you and I will look back on this chapter of our lives and laugh at how silly we behaved."

"Silly!? I was ready to die for you! I still am!" he said.

"Your Soulfire will replenish with time. You just need to do things that are good for your soul. You need to live for Cadance," she said.

"And I will, but..." he huffed, feeling everything slipping away from him. "Is this it then?" he asked. She nodded. 

"Can I at least kiss my lover goodbye? One last time?" Twilight looked away.

"Shining, I don't know-" He held her chin in his hoof and looked into her eyes.

"Hey. It's me. Okay?" he asked. She hesitated at first. But she looked in his eyes. 

"Yeah."

"Yeah?" he asked. She nodded. He turned to her and held her closer as he brought his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips as well. He kissed her. She kissed him back. This feeling, this feeling of being in his hooves. There was something indescribable about it. It was beyond the physical senses, or even magic. It was this feeling of safety, and security in his love. Something that a changeling, even a changeling queen, just couldn't fake. They both melted together into the kiss. Her tongue was the first to rush out to meet his. He happily obliged as the fell together onto the bed. The rest of the world melted away around them. All of their fear and doubt and responsibilities faded. 

"I love you," she said before kissing him again.

"I love you too, Twilie," he said back, kissing her harder. Speaking of harder.

"Mmph, Shining!?" Twilight gasped, looking down at his erection, sandwiched between them.

"Sorry Twi... I-" he paused. "You know what? No! I'm not sorry! This is for you. I'm not ashamed of it anymore. I want you, and I admit it!" He slid it back and forth against her dress until he hiked it up over her waist. He slipped underneath it to slide it directly against her marehood. She thought that she was going to be strong enough to say no. If not for their own sake, at least for Cadance. But Cadance be damned, she wanted him.

"I want you, too," she moaned. "I want this." He slid himself back, letting the tip dip down along her marehood. With a bit of pressure his broad tip was poised, pressing at her entrance. It wasn't like it was a line that they hadn't crossed before. But they needed to be crystal clear about what this meant.

"This has to be the last time," Shining said. Twilight mumbled an objection. "Twi, this has to be it!" She nodded.

"Okay. Fine. At least this time I know," she said. "And this is good for the soul, too."

"Twi-"

"Come on. I've waited long enough for this. Don't make me wait any more!" she all but begged. He pressed a bit harder. Twilight's wet marehood parted and then- "Aah," Twilight gasped, feeling the head of her brother's penis pop inside her tight pussy. She had wanted and waited for this moment for so long. And it was finally happening. For real, this time.

Twilight flashed back to the queen. Her body stiffened and her vaginal clenched uncomfortably. Shining recognized her whimper from discomfort, not pleasure. He looked down at her grimace.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She forced her eyes open and looked at him. She looked at Shining Armor. Her brother, the stallion that cared about her. This wasn't the thing that forcefully pinned her against the dresser. This was the pony that loved her, waiting to see if she was okay. She pushed away the thoughts of Chrysalis. Twilight refused to let her win. She refused to let her take this away from her. She took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Yeah, I just- I forgot how big you were," she said, not wanting to spoil this for them. Her compliment earned a grin from him. She smiled back. It was nice. This is nice, Twilight thought to herself. Her feeling of safety and security in his hooves returned. The queen was gone. She couldn't hurt them anymore.

Shining started moving again when he felt her relax, pushing a little deeper. Twilight looked down between them, watching his penis sliding further into her vagina.

"We're really doing this," she thought out loud. Shining let out a half-chortle.

"Yeah, we are," he said, unable to keep the smile from his face. His medial ring slipped inside her.

"We're making love," she said. "We're making love!" she repeated, as though she was expecting to wake up from this dream. He hilted her, his hips against hers. She felt his balls against the dock of her tail.

"We've done it before," he said, as he pulled out and thrusting again. Twilight shook her head.

"Not like this," she breathed. "That first time, we..." she struggled to form her thoughts amid her pleasure. "I don't know what that was. We were both just horny and... I don't know. Confused?" Shining held her tighter and his hips started to gain a rhythm, moving in and out of her. "It was fucking," she said. The cuss sounded strange to Shining in her voice. "But this is..."

"Making love," he agreed. She looked up at him and they kissed again as he continued to rut her. She hummed into his mouth as he pleased her. He broke the kiss after a moment to catch a breath. She scrutinized every detail of his face. His expression that he had while having sex with her. She made a conscious effort to embed it in her memory. Every time she saw him, she wanted to remember this moment, how he looked while having sex with his beloved sister.

"At least this time I can cherish it," Twilight said. She focused on the feeling of him inside her. She had never forgotten how it felt the night he took- no, she gave him her virginity. She bestowed it upon him. She never forgot that feeling. But she never quite remembered it as well as she felt it in this very moment. Her memory didn't serve it justice. It was simply incapable. And this was so very different. They were not teenagers overcome with hormones. They were adults. And they were choosing this. They chose each other. They chose to make love. Twilight could feel the slight, upward curvature of his penis hitting her g-spot. She felt the pressure in her tummy building. 

Twilight wrapped her hooves around her brother and pulled herself up to him, pressing her cheek into his shoulder. His mane draped over her face. She could smell the sweat from his exertion. She focused on the scent. She knew that smell was the sense tied closest to memory. She breathed in his enchanting musk as she focused on the feeling of him moving in and out of her. She felt the sensation in her belly growing stronger, like a rope being tied up into knots, being pulled tighter and tighter, threatening to snap.

She focused on the image of his expression. She remembered every detail with intent. Her magic reached out and gently cupped his balls. The sensation caught him by surprise, eliciting a moan of pleasure from him. All of this she tied to his scent. She wanted to remember all of this each time she hugged him from this day forward. Every time she hugged him, she would press her face into his mane, smell his scent, and remember this exact moment. This moment that her brother made her-

"Shining!" she cried out. The rope snapped free with her climax. Her pussy quivered and trembled around him as he continued to move inside her. Twilight had gotten herself off in the past with her magic or her hoof. Both failed to continue once she went over the top in climax. But Shining just kept going as she came. Her pussy squeezed and milked his cock. Her peak of pleasure stretched out into a longer experience. It was almost too much to bear. Her eyes fluttered and looked up at him, trying to focus her vision.

"I came," she breathed.

"I could tell," he said with a smile. His hips made wet slaps against hers, both of them soaked from her marecum. "You soaked me, and the bed." Twilight giggled. "Woah." Shining's knees nearly gave out feeling her muscles spasm around his cock as she laughed. "You keep giggling like that and you're gonna make me cum," he said. Twilight felt a devious grin stretch across her lips.

"Oh yeah? Is your little sister going to make you cum?" she asked. His rhythm paused for a moment.

"Come on. Don't make this any weirder than it already is," he said. Of course, like any good sibling, when told to not do something that made the other uncomfortable- 

Twilight wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him down to her, taking his balance off of his legs. She gave him a shove with her magic and rolled him onto the bed. With him still inside her, she rolled with him and was now on top, straddling him.

"Am I going to make my big brother cum?" she asked again, running her hooves over his chest as she started to move up and down on him.

"Twi, slow down!" he said.

"Why?" Twilight teased, rubbing her clit with her hoof as she rode him.

"Slow down or else I'll-"

"Or else what? You'll cum?"

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll cum!"

"Your little sister is gonna make you cum?" she asked again, feeling another orgasm coming quickly.

"Twi-"

"Come on, say it! Say it big brother." Her hoof was a blur on her stretched pussy as she continued to ride him. "I'm so close!"

"I- My little sister is gonna make me cum!" he cried out. Twilight felt her entire world lurch as she came again on his cock. She fell forward onto him as she came, pressing her cheek against his.

"Oh! My! GOSH!" she cried out into his ear, giving him acute tinnitus. Not that he noticed. Her entire body shook with what was easily the strongest orgasm of her entire life. All he could feel was her pussy milking his cock again, and his lap getting soaked with her fresh, hot nectar. He grabbed her hips with his hooves and he thrusted up into her rapidly, feeling himself quickly approaching the point of no return.

Twilight felt his cock flare inside her, stretching her more than she'd ever been before. She knew he was about to cum. Shining felt his balls tighten. His magic grasped her hips to pull her off of him.

In a flash, Twilight put her mouth on his horn. The wetness of her mouth grounded the spell. It felt like she was licking a nine-volt battery, but she didn't stop. She would not be denied this. She pinned his hooves down with hers. He was stronger than her, but in this position, she had all the leverage. And his orgasm turned his muscles to jelly. She slammed her hips down on him a final time, feeling him bottom out inside her. It was a perfect fit. Lock and key. His cock flared wider, stretching her deepest barrier just slightly, his urethra was perfectly aligned with the opening to her cervix. She felt him begin to throb deep inside her. Her cumming pussy sucked on his dick just as her mouth suck on his horn.

"Twilie!" he cried out, both in pleasure and panic. He came. He came in torrents and he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. She felt gush after gush of his hot semen flooding her stuffed vagina. His wide flare made a tight seal, giving his cum no exit. She pushed herself down on him harder. His potent seed had no where to go, forced deeper inside her fertile womb. She didn't let go of his hooves or his horn until she was sure he'd given her every last drop. Even then, she didn't relent until he began to go soft. His flare shrank, letting the tight muscles of her cervix seal shut. 

His penis softened and retreated back into his sheath, pulling out of her with a wet 'plop'. They both panted like they had just galloped a marathon. The haze of their lust lifted away, leaving the cold shock of sobriety in its wake. 

"Shit!" he yelped, nearly tossing her off of him, onto the bed beside him. He looked at his sister's pussy, still glistening with her wetness. A small dribble of his cum leaked from her. It was not nearly as much as he knew he had just unloaded into her. "You took a potion, or did a spell right? A pregnancy spell?"

"A pregnancy spell? You... want me to get pregnant?" she asked.

"An anti-pregnancy spell! Whatever!"

"Whatever? Kind of a big distinction between the two," she said.

"TWI!"

"Would you relax? I've got it covered, okay?" she said.

"Okay. Okay. Shit." Shining rubbed his forehead with his hoof. "So that just happened."

"And..."

"And?"

"And I loved it," Twilight said, smiling and rolling on the bed. Shining just looked at her, still in shock. He thought he knew what he was doing going into it. But now that it happened, it still just felt so surreal. "You loved it too, right?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly.

"But?" she asked, sensing his hesitation. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I just feel like I just robbed a store. Like I'm going to get caught any moment."

"Well, we did just commit a crime," Twilight said with a devilish grin.

"I don't just mean that, but I do also mean that," he said. "I just feel like... like something bad is going to happen."

"Shining, the city just got invaded a couple hours ago. What worse thing could you be afraid of?" she asked.

"Don't tempt fate!" he said. "I just feel like-" Shining looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh shit! Like we're gonna be late!"




Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle quickly made themselves decent and fixed up their respective formal wear in time for the wedding ceremony. They got into place at the altar, and Fluttershy's bird choir began to sing, announcing Cadance's arrival. Again. Cadance looked lovely in the dress Rarity had made for her. 

"Mares, and gentlecolts," Celestia began, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-"

"Princess Cadance is fine," Cadance said. Behind Cadance, Celestia could see the smug expression on Velvet from her daughter's preference to her birth name over the elaborate surname Celestia had given her. A small victory amid playing along with Celestia's grand scheme.

"The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor," Celestia resumed. "The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. May we have the rings, please?" Spike presented the wedding rings. Celestia's magic placed them on each of their horns. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Everypony cheered for the happy couple. Now it was Celestia's turn to look  smug. It had been a roller coaster of a day. She had been so close, so close to losing everything. But as she watched Cadance kiss her unbeknownst brother, she knew that the fruits of her labor would soon be at hoof. So long as nothing else came between them.

Twilight Sparkle stood nearby, watching her brother kiss his marefriend. Or rather, kiss his wife now. Like Velvet, it was bittersweet for her. At once she felt deep in her heart her selfish desire that she didn't want things to go like this. But at the same time, she knew it had to be this way. At the very least, she could be happy for them.

Still, Twilight had her last time with her brother. She took efforts to remember it vividly, always. She would remember it every time she smelled his scent. Every time she would visit and hug him at Hearth's Warming, at his birthday... at his wedding reception.

Shining and Cadance stepped out onto the balcony behind the altar to greet the cheering crowds filling the Canterlot streets below. Rainbow Dash performed her Sonic Rainboom to signal the happy news to everypony from there to the horizon. The wedding party filed out of the ceremony hall and headed down to the Canterlot Garden courtyard for the reception.

Pinkie Pie consulted her party-planner log. The afternoon reception had been pushed back, due to invasion, she wrote as a note in the log. Now it was an early-evening reception. Everypony watched at Shining and Cadance had their first dance as husband and wife. As it neared dusk, Princess Luna joined the event.

"Hello everypony. Did I miss anything?" Luna asked.

"Miss anything?" Celestia asked her sister, incredulously. "How about everything!? Where were you?"

"I was sleeping. I sleep during the day. I told you I was going to be sleeping for the wedding. You knew that." Luna defended.

"The city was invaded! How did you not notice?"

"I use a sound-proofing spell during the day." 

"I called for battle stations in my full Canterlot voice. Rainbow Dash did a sonic Rainboom!"

"What part of sound-proof are you not understanding?" Luna asked.

Twilight quickly motioned for Pinkie Pie to get the music going to defuse the situation before there was another battle royal. Pinkie Pie ran over to the DJ equipment and pulled a DJ out of her pocket to run the DJ equipment. She always kept a DJ in her pocket for DJ emergencies, and quarreling alicorn sisters certainly qualified. Vinyl Scratch bid farewell to her friends, Lintball and Gumwrapper, and proceeded to play music.

Twilight mistook this moment to mean that it was time for karaoke. She grabbed the microphone and started singing. At least she could sing better than she danced. Once Twilight finished singing, Pinkie wrestled the microphone away from the unicorn.

"Alright everypony," Pinkie said, looking at her reception timeline. "Next up we have the Family Dance!"

Shining Armor looked to his mother, Velvet. She walked out to join him on the dance floor. But they both looked at the 'orphan' Cadance. Cadance looked to where Celestia had been standing, hoping that she and Luna had made up. The royal sisters were both markedly absent.

"Where did aunt Tia go?" Cadance asked. Everypony looked to see the sun setting and the moon rising. "Oh, I guess they left to take care of that."

Up in Luna's bedchambers, the sun wasn't the only thing going down.

Cadance walked over to Night Light and extended her hoof. Night Light gulped. His eyes looked to Velvet who gave him the subtlest of nods. He took Cadance's hoof and walked out onto the dance floor with her. They began to dance as the next song played.

"So..." Cadance said quietly as she danced with Night.

"So..." he said back, equally awkward.

"So are we just going to pretend that-"

"Yes," Night said quickly.

"...that nothing ever happened between us?" Cadance finished her question anyway.

"Yes!" he whispered harder. They danced a bit more in silence.

"It was nice though," she said. He gave a neutral hmm. "Wasn't it?" she teased with a little smile.

"...Yeah."

"I wouldn't have minded another round. But now I'm married too and... I suppose it is weird now that you're my..."

"Father-in-law?" he asked.

"Yeah," she laughed, trying to break the tension. "I suppose it's probably too soon to..." she trailed off, discarding the comment.

"To what?" he asked.

"To... I just, I've never had anypony to call 'Dad'," she said. "I was looking forward to the day I..." She looked over at Shining and then back at Night. "And of all the stallions, it ended up being you," she said as her smile wilted. Night Light looked at his estranged daughter.

"It's- it's okay, I wouldn't mind. I- I'd like that, actually. I know Vel would, too," he said.

"Okay... Dad," She said, trying it on. He hugged his daughter. She hugged him back, trying to not let her mascara run.

-

Across the floor, Shining and Velvet danced together. But something made them feel like they were miles away. Not just from the party, but from each other. Velvet was the first to notice.

"Hey," she said to her spaced-out son. "You in there?" she teased. Shining shook his head and looked at her, forcing himself to be present in the moment.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just... it's been a day," he said.

"You're telling me!" Velvet sighed. "You should have seen your father when Celestia called 'battle stations'. He grabbed some ceremonial weapons and armor off the castle walls and got right in it with the others guards holding off the horde and defending the other guests."

"Once a Guard, always a Guard, eh?" Shining asked. Velvet nodded.

"So, the invasion... is that why you look so tired?" Velvet asked. Shining was indeed tired. He was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. After everything that had happened that day. Being trapped in the cave, escaping the cave, the invasion, the queen, Cadance...

And Twilight.

"I just have a lot on my mind," he said honestly. "I guess after everything that's happened, I'm just worried that something's gonna... that something bad could happen." Velvet felt exactly the same way.

"Don't be silly," Velvet humored him in the face of her own fears. He could still tell something was wrong.

"What about you?" he asked. "You seem off, yourself as well." She looked into his eyes. She knew she couldn't keep her feelings hidden from him.

"I guess I've just been worried, myself. I've been seeing you less and less since you moved out. And I was just worried that you were trying to avoid me," she said.

"Avoid you? Why?" he asked. She blushed.

"Because we... because you and I have a very... uh, specific relationship," she said quietly. "I was worried that you resented me for... that. Regretted what happened."

"What? No!" he blurted. It was what he meant to say, though more blunt than he had intended. His quiet voice lowered to a whisper. "I mean- I mean I know that we have a... special thing that... most colts don't have with... their mom." Velvet blushed harder in shame. "And I know it's strange, and wr-" Shining was about to say 'wrong', but he stopped himself. Firstly, it would have been hurtful for her to hear it. And secondly,  "I don't think it's wrong," he said, finally honest with his own feeling in light of everything that had happened recently. 

"But what about Twilight?" Velvet asked.

"Twilight would agree with me," he assured her. "She's fine." He almost believed it himself. But to be fair, Twilight's brother-infatuation aside, she really was doing well. 

"Thank you," Velvet said, hugging him closer. "I needed to hear that." Shining hugged her back.

"I love you," he said. Velvet wasn't precisely sure how he meant it. And now, neither was he. But in any case, her shame had evaporated.

"I love you too," Velvet replied. She meant it as a mother, but she wondered if he thought otherwise. 

So did he.

-

Twilight Sparkle watched them dance as a server walked by with a tray of champagne glasses.

"Drink, Madam?" he asked.

"No. No alcohol for me," Twilight said, putting her hoof to her tummy.
> The Test
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Any threes?" a Royal Guard asked, sitting at the tiny folding table in the equally tiny room of the tiny guard post. It was the bare skeleton of a train station at the edge of the world. 

"Go fish," the other replied. While he sifted through the mess of worn cards, the other grabbed his drink and pried it free of the frost sticking it to the table. "Damn this cold!" he cursed. His words were barely audible over the howling winds of the Frozen North outside. The tiny building had zero insulation from either the noise or the arctic temperatures. The tiny coal furnace barely kept the room inside above freezing.

"So what got you into the shit outfit?" the third asked.

"Sleeping on duty. You?"

"Same. What about you?"

"Statutory," the third said. The other two sneered. "Hey, she had her cutie mark. But I guess the rules are stricter when you're in the guard."

"Mm-hmm," the other confirmed.

"So it was this or... you know. Snip snip."

"I would've chosen the knife, I think," the other said, shivering.

"What about you, El Tee?" the other asked the forth guard there, the only pony standing watch at the frosty window.

"I was assigned here," the lieutenant answered.

"Yeah, but what did you do wrong?"

"Yeah, nopony comes here by choice. It's either this or the dungeon."

"I accepted this assignment voluntarily," the lieutenant answered, his eyes never leaving the snowy horizon.

"The fuck did ya do that for?"

"Do you hate yourself or something?"

"No. I just know the real reason for this remote post," the officer replied.

"Yeah, to look out for abominable snow ponies!"

"No. Yetis!"

"Windigos."

"Windigos aren't real."

"Well neither are Yetis."

The officer ignored the ranting arguments of the guards tasked under his unit. He just kept a vigilant watch.

"So when are you gonna tell us why we're really here?" they asked.

"When you get some brass on your lapel," the lieutenant answered, tapping his officer insignia with his hoof.

"I bet El Tee stabbed a guy," one of them said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Came home early from a shift, caught his wife in bed with another stallion, and stabbed him."

"Pretty sure they hang you for murder."

"I didn't say he killed him. Just, I dunno. Cut him or something."

"Maybe he tried to stab Celestia... with his dick."

"Hehe- yeah, but then when she saw how little his peener was she just felt sorry for him and sent him here." They all laughed at the officer's expense.

"Can it," the lieutenant barked at them.

"Or else what? You'll send us... here!?" They kept laughing. He ignored them. He kept watch, looking for any sign of it returning. Princess Celestia herself had instructed him, as she had all of the officers assigned to this post, to look for the signs of it's return. She wasn't precisely sure what those signs would be. So he had to be vigilant. It could be small, something subtle, that required the keen eye of an attentive guard. Something as small and faint as-

With a thunderous crash and boom, blinding white light flooded the window. The lieutenant was sent tumbling to the floor. The ground shook violently as the room was lit up. It was not the soft yellow light of the sun that never visited this dark part of the world. It was the crisp white light of lightning. But it came, not from a quick bolt, but from everywhere, and it persisted, forcing them to shield their eyes with their hooves.

When his pupils had finally shrank to pinpricks, he could just  barely look through his squinted eyelids. It was like looking into the sun, but it was there, a few klicks in the distance. The shimmering crystal spires he had been shown in Celestia's ancient books. This was it. After a thousand years of waiting and watching, he would be the one. He would be the guard to herald the news.

It had returned.

"Prep the train!" he yelled. The other guards scrambled out to the tiny train that had brought them to this place. The officer loaded coal into the furnace and struck it with a flash-fire spell to get the furnace to roar to life. But the furnace wasn't the only thing that roared. He looked behind them towards the horizon. An inky smoke billowed up out of the fissures in the ice. A pair of giant green eyes appeared, glaring at them. 

"Get this thing moving! Now!" he screamed in horror. The boiler pumped steam into the pistons. The wheels strained at the ice binding them to the tracks. He struck them with another heat spell, freeing them from the frost. The water caused the wheels to slip, spinning in place on the metal tracks. The monstrous cloud of shadow drew closer. 

"Get the fuck out of here!" he yelled at the other three on the locomotive. He struck the linkage with a spell and shattered it, freeing the locomotive from the rest of the train. It pulled away quickly, speeding off to Canterlot. "Tell Celestia that it has returned!" he yelled after them. 

He turned and fired off a few arcane blasts at the smoke monster. Its attention ignored the departing locomotive, and shifted to the stranded officer. The unicorn's horn glowed and fired another bolt at the creature. The smoke shifted and parted, easily avoiding the attack. He fired again and again without effect. The lieutenant looked to the locomotive one last time, to see that it was now a distant speck on the horizon. "Eat, drink, be merry my Guard..." The creature quickly drew in closer for the kill. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"...for tomorrow we may die."








"How goes the foal-making?" Princess Celestia asked as she looked over the stack of paperwork in front of her.

"Oh, well, you know. We keep trying," Raven said, levitating the stack of legislature for the princess to sign.

"Do you think he might be infertile?" Celestia asked her, dipping her quill in the inkwell.

"Oh, no. I'm pretty sure he has a high sperm count," she said.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Celestia asked. Raven blushed.

"Heh-he, um, because I have to chew before I swallow."

"You know, you can't make a foal like that," Celestia teased.

"I know," Raven said. "We haven't done that in a long time. He makes sure to put it... in the right place."

"Are you sure he's delivering it deep enough?" Celestia asked indirectly of his size.

"Oh yes," Raven answered a bit too quickly.

"Well then, I must admit, I am a bit envious," Celestia said, signing the next form.

"But you- you could have any stallion you want," Raven said. Celestia looked off wistfully into the distance for a moment, thinking about her own plans for her future suitor.

"Well, like you would say, 'I'm working on it'." Celestia signed the next form. "Besides, listening to you for now is enough for me. And I wouldn't worry about it too much, dear. It's still early in the season. I'm sure you'll have better luck this year."

"Thank you, Princess." Raven moved the next form to the bottom of the stack as Celestia continued to sign in relative silence. A few minutes later, the door to the throne room was slammed open. 

"News from northern Equestria!" the panicked guard yelled as he ran in. He had been running all the way from the train station. The other two lagged far behind. "... Your Highness." he added as he caught his breath. Raven collected the signed papers and excused herself.

"Yes?" Celestia asked of the guard.

"I am simply to tell you that... IT has returned," he said, relaying his fallen officer's final message. The princess gasped in realization of what he meant. If it had returned, it meant that he had as well. He could threaten to jeopardize everything that she had worked so hard for. After nearly losing everything in the changeling invasion, she was not about to risk it again. She turned to her other guard.

"Find Princess Cadance and Shining Armor!" she commanded.

"Yes, Your Highness," he acknowledged. The three of them ran off to Cadance's villa in the the Canterlot palisades. Celestia would not chance it again. She wanted to know exactly where they were at all times until this threat was dealt with. And she knew just the pony for the job. Celestia took up her quill and enchanted parchment.



My dearest Twilight, you must come to Canterlot at once. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again, and stop-



Celestia paused for a moment, looking at the parchment. She looked at it, and thought about her hasty plan. She put the quill and parchment down, leaned back in her throne, and thought. Celestia was a brilliant tactician, and an even more masterful strategist. If her millennium of reign had taught her nothing else; it was that she could not just think in the short term.

Yes, the Elements had worked before. They worked every time they were used. So why mess with a solution that worked every single time? Because if she came to rely on a single solution too much, it could become a weakness. Case and point, Queen Chrysalis.

Chrysalis had, in rare deft, outmaneuvered Celestia in neutralizing the Elements. She had the one element that mattered; the element of surprise. But as before, Celestia had been wise enough to have more than just one weapon. By her lucky stars, the training she had given her niece and captain had paid off in spades. They routed the invasion in a way that the queen could not have anticipated.

Celestia did not just train her guards to know how to fight with magic, or a spear. When that fails, the sword, the shield, sticks, stones, and their very hooves were trained weapons. And now, just as then, Celestia understood that she needed more than just one weapon in her arsenal.

And Twilight Sparkle had still yet to realize her true potential.

Celestia chewed her lip for a moment. She knew she was losing time that she did not have. 

The pious prayed to a higher power for good fortune. The entire city of Las Pegasus was built on the belief the lady luck smiled on the intrepid gambles. And there was no gamble larger than this, with an entire empire at stake. Celestia had a plan. She had come up with a backup plan. Celestia smiled now she had a backup plan for that. She took up her quill and rewrote her letter. 

Celestia knew better than anypony that fortune favors neither the righteous, nor the bold... 


... Fortune favors the prepared.






"Come on, come on!" Twilight Sparkle groaned as she worked feverishly in her Ponyville laboratory, in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library. She was hastily awaiting the results of her test. She paced back and forth in front of her lab bench. Her eyes darted from the test tube, to the clock, and back again. The reaction should only take two minutes. But it felt like an eternity.

"Come on. Please," she begged of the test tube, willing it to give her the result she desired. Endless seconds ticked on the clock. Her mind idly wandered back to the previous week, back to her brother's wedding. After the wedding, after the reception, after the dancing and cake. When the bride and groom were ready to depart on their honeymoon carriage.

Princess Cadance boarded the carriage first. And before Shining Armor followed after her, he stopped to give his sister a hug goodbye. Twilight hugged him and pressed her face into his mane, breathing in his scent. She nearly came right then and there, remembering what they had done together not more than a few hours earlier. When they had made love together. His hug came with the promise of seeing her again. "I love you, Twilie."

If Twilight tried hard enough to remember that moment, she could almost smell him again, right then and there in her lab. She closed her eyes. She could almost see him on top of her, the look on his face, that moment when he came deep inside her. She could recall the feeling of it. Her tail flagged so hard at the memory that her dock ached.

"Twilight?" Spike asked.

"GAH!" Twilight jumped from her fantasies back to reality at the sound of his voice. It was coming from the top of the basement stairs. She thought that she had locked the door. But she must have forgotten in her excitement. Her hoof swept the extraneous materials off the lab bench, into the trash bin. "What is it, Spike? I'm in the middle of a very important science!" Spike ran downstairs as fast as he could, clutching a scroll.

"It's a message from Princess Celestia," he said, giving the scroll to Twilight. "It sounds urgent."



My dearest Twilight, you must come to Canterlot at once. I have a test for you.



"A test!?" Twilight shrieked. Her mind ran wild with anxiety.

A test!? What kind of test? That kind of test!? But why? Did she know? How could she know!?

"Big whoop. So your old teacher wants to give you a test," Spike said.

"But why the urgency? 'You must come to Canterlot at once'?" she asked.

"Well, maybe it's like a pop quiz... on the friendship lessons you've learned," he suggested.

"That- that actually makes more sense," Twilight realized. Her fears suddenly felt very unfounded.

"Well, we better get going then," Spike said. "Oh hey, what's with the red potion?" he asked, pointing at the test tube.

"It's-" Twilight's head whipped around to look at her lab bench. The liquid in the tube was indeed red. She felt her heart breaking. "It's nothing," she sighed. "Go upstairs and pack for Canterlot. I'll be there in a minute." Spike did as he was told and ran back upstairs. Twilight discarded the liquid into the sink drain. She levitated the small box out of the trash and double-checked the back. "Blue for positive... red for negative," she said to herself. With a quick flame spell, she incinerated the pregnancy test.





Shining Armor sat beside Princess Cadance on the sofa in the living room of their villa. Each of them were reading a book. Shining was reading one of the comic variety. It was pretty much how things had been ever since they had gotten back from their honeymoon to Horseshoe Bay. In fact, even the honeymoon itself was rather uneventful.

After the ordeal that was their wedding day, each of them were more than happy to simply go straight to sleep on the night of their wedding. Spending the next day poolside, or on the beach, was just the way to relax, too. After such a stressful event, who could expect them to consummate their marriage right away? Better to wait a day or two. Or seven.

Cadance looked up from her book, over at her new husband. He had his nose buried in his comic book, admiring the art. She knew it was him. But whenever she looked at him, she felt a pang of the memory of the changeling that wore his face. The queen was so anxious to have sex with her. She wondered, how it was that the queen had tricked Shining into being trapped in the caves. Had she worn Cadance's face? What else had she done with Shining while so? Did she try to seduce him? Did she succeed? she wondered. 

She didn't ask him about it. He didn't say. She pushed the thoughts away. She just needed time, she decided. Time for those thoughts and feelings to pass. She went back to reading her book.

Shining looked up from his comic book, over at his new wife. She had her nose buried in her book, engrossed in her story. He knew it was her. But whenever he looked at her, he felt a pang of the memory of the changeling that wore her face. The queen had tricked him into having sex with her. He wondered, did she manage to do the same with his bride? Wearing his face? He felt his face flush with angry jealousy at the mere thought. But at the same time, he realized his own hypocrisy. If she had been tricked into sex with the changeling, she was no worse than he was for the same sin. Guilt supplanted his jealousy.

She never asked him about what had happened with him and the queen. He never had to lie to her.

He averted his eyes back to his comic, even though he couldn't focus on reading in that moment. 

He knew that even if Cadance had sex with the changeling, she was still on the moral high-ground. His own secret guilt gnawed a hole in the pit of his stomach. Changeling trickery aside, every time he looked at his wife, he couldn't help but remember how he had consciously chose to betray her... with his own sister. 

His imagination betrayed him, remembering the last time he'd had sex. That day when his sister laid beneath him as he rutted her. It wasn't nearly as wild or kinky as some of the things he had done with Cadance in the past. Objectively it was rather tame. But it was just so much more intimate with his sister. Nothing else came close. Even as he hated himself for it, he reveled in the memory.

"Good scene?" Cadance asked playfully.

"Hmm?" Shining looked up at her. Her eyes darted down to his lap.  He looked down at himself, at the first erection she'd seen from him since before the wedding. "Sorry," he blurted reflexively. Cadance didn't know what to expect as a reaction. But the last thing she expected was an apology. Her playful expression fell. Shining scrambled onto damage control. But it was too late. His erection wilted even as he spoke. "I mean- sorry. I mean- no. It's not a good scene. It's- I- I was just thinking about you," he lied.

"Okay," Cadance said, still not sure what to make of the whole thing. "But- but why did you feel like you needed to apologize? We're married. And I've seen it hundreds of times before anyway."

"I- I don't know."

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Shining, come on. I could always tell when you were lying because you were never any good at it. I know something is wrong," she said. He felt the room getting smaller around them. He felt his throat closing up. She knew something was wrong. Her senses were tuned in. She would be able to tell if he was lying, and she wouldn't let this go until she got an answer.

"I just..." he trailed off. "It's hard-" He adjusted his words. "It difficult to-" He didn't want to say look at her. "... to get in the mood because..."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because... I can't help but think about what she... the queen, would have done to you if..." he didn't even want to think it.

"But you stopped her," Cadance said. "You saved me. You and Twilight, together."

You and Twilight, together

The combination of words in her voice were like a knife in his side.

"I just..." he tried again. "I was just worried about... while I was in the caves... and she was disguised as me... What she did with- what she did to you."

"Oh. Oh!" Cadance said in realization.

"Yeah."

"Nothing," Cadance said. Shining gave her a dubious look. "No, I mean it. She didn't- we didn't do anything."

"Really?" he asked, both in hope and doubt.

"Well... I mean, it's not like he- she didn't try," Cadance admitted. Shining felt his blood surge. "But I didn't let anything happen!" she said, adamant. He wanted to believe her. "She was very... aggressive. It wasn't like you. It was very off-putting. I guess my instincts knew better than I did. I'm just glad I trusted them."

"..."

"Shining?"

"Yeah?" he asked. He realized she was asking if he believed her. He wasn't certain. But he wasn't a breathing lie detector like his wife. And he wanted to believe her. For the sake of his sanity he needed to believe her, to trust her. If he couldn't trust her, if they couldn't trust each other, than what the hell were they even doing? "I mean, yeah. I'm glad you trusted your instincts, too. I'm glad that- that didn't happen. With her. To you." He rustled his comic book and tried to keep reading.

"Shining?" she asked again. He looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"What about you?" she asked.

"Nothing!" he blurted. "I mean, w- what? What about me?" he asked. Cadance grew visibly frustrated.

"Shining, did she- When was the last time it was the real you?" she asked. He took a deep breath.

"When they picked me up for the bachelor party," he said. "You- she showed up at the club, disguised as you and she trapped me in the caves."

"And?"

"And?"

"And that's it?" Cadance asked. Shining gulped. His ear twitched nervously. Cadance didn't need him to say it. She could see the truth in his eyes. She looked away first. He did the same. "It's okay," she said. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry." In a single breath, Cadance had gone from an interrogation, to surmising the truth, forgiving him, and then apologizing.

"What!?" Shining stood up, upset and confused. "Cadie, no! I'm sorry!" he said louder than he intended. He was angry about the situation, angry at Chrysalis, but mostly, angry at himself. "I- I had sex with her."

"I'm sorry, Shining," she apologized again. "I shouldn't have made you talk about it. It's not your fault that she did that to you."

"Did to me?"

"That she- that she raped you," Cadance said as tears ran down her cheeks. 

That WORD! In his anger, Shining opened his mouth to argue with her. But he froze. He looked at her, and saw how hurt she was. She cried for him. It pained her to know what had happened to him. He felt the same pain when Twilight had told him what had happened to her. Where Shining had once seethed in hatred for the rapist and distrusted his spouse, Cadance only wept for the victim. Him. 

He had sex with someone else, and she only loved him more. Shining fell into his chair.

An actual knife in the heart would have hurt less.

All this time he'd felt so bad about being the one doing the... doing in the encounter. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Cadance was right.

"She raped me," he said, as though only just now understanding it when hearing his own words out loud. Cadance rushed over and wrapped her hooves around him.

"I'm sorry, Shiny," she said as she held him "I know you would never do anything to hurt me." Shining felt the knife in his heart twist a little more. "You're a good pony. I love you." Salt in the wound.

"I love you too," he said. He never knew that words so sweet could taste so bitter.

So what do we do?
We choose who gets hurt. 

Twilight's words echoed in Shining's mind. He held Cadance as she cried into his shoulder.

Everypony... Everypony gets hurt.

An urgent knock at the door startled them both. Cadance clamored to her hooves and wiped her eyes quickly to make herself look decent while Shining went to see who was at the door. He recognized Celestia's personal guards.

"Yes?"

"Captain," the guard greeted. "The immediate presence of Princess Cadance and yourself had been urgently requested by Princess Celestia at once!" he said.

"Cadie?" he said into the house. Cadance had heard the guard. She finished composing herself and nodded, following them back to Canterlot Castle.




"Auntie Tia?" Cadance said as she and Shining entered the throne room. "You wanted to see me? To see us?" Celestia nodded.

"What's so urgent?" Shining asked.

"The Crystal Empire had returned!" Celestia said.

"The Crystal Empire?" Shining asked. "Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't have," Celestia said. "Few remember it ever existed at all. Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited. But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire. He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north. But not before he was able to put a curse upon the empire, a curse that caused it to vanish into thin air. If the empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold..."

"So that's what that remote post was for in the Frozen North?" Shining asked. Celestia nodded.

"So you need me to go to the Crystal Empire and spread hope and love with my magic?" Cadance asked.

"No," Celestia said sternly. "According to the survivors, I'm afraid the Crystal Empire isn't the only thing that has returned." 

"Survivors?" Shining asked.

"The three guards that escaped the Frozen North remote post," Celestia said. "They said that a monster... made of shadow attacked their post. They managed to escape, and deliver the message of the Empire's return. Their commanding officer however... was not so lucky. I fear that King Sombra has also returned, freed from his icy prison." 

"We need to stop him!" Shining said with conviction. "A fallen Guard must be avenged!"

"The citizens of the Empire need to be protected," Cadance said. "I can do that with my love magic. So can Shining, with his shield spell."

"I called you here because I don't want to risk losing you again. I want you both right here, never leaving my sight until this is resolved. Luna and I will deal with Sombra ourselves again if we must. I have already contacted Twilight Sparkle. She and the other Elements of Harmony will go to the empire and destroy Sombra once and for all." She looked at Cadance.

"If the returned king is a threat, I can't abide putting Twilight into harm's way!" Cadance said.

"She won't be defenseless. As I said, she and the others will have the Elements. They will be able to vanquish the king once and for all, where Luna and I failed in the past. I just don't want to risk losing you two after what happened at the wedding."

"We're not defenseless either," Shining said. "We won't be taken by surprise this time. We know what we're facing."

"And if you're so confident in Twilight's success, you have nothing to fear," Cadance said.

"And if you're not, I will not stand idly by while my sister fights this battle!" Shining said. 

Celestia looked back and forth between them. Was this what it was like to have foals? she wondered. To be, at once, proud and terrified at the same time?

"So be it," Celestia said at last. "Just promise me..." She took a deep breath. "Promise me that you will not take a single unnecessary risk."

"I will protect her with my life!" Shining said.

"You are not a bodyguard any longer, Prince Armor. Do not let it come to that," Celestia said sternly. He nodded. "Take care of each other, and be careful. There is no time to lose."

They both left and made haste for the waiting train at the station. Celestia fell into her throne and rubbed her face with her hooves. The stakes had just raised a little bit higher. It was not the outcome she had intended. But she knew that once she set her mind to something, her niece could not be dissuaded. And now, matters were worse.





"Sister?" Princess Luna greeted a few hours later. "You sent for me to be woken early?" she said with a yawn. Celestia had the Crystal Empire shard in her hoof, and was reading a very old book in the other. "What is the meaning of this?"

"The Crystal Empire has returned," Celestia said.

"The Crystal Empire!?" Luna said in surprise. "This is wonderful news!"

"Reports indicate that it did not come back alone," Celestia said. Luna realized what it meant a moment later.

"The dark king?" she asked Celestia nodded and set the crystal back under the glass dome beside the throne. "Should we not depart at once to defeat him as we have before?"

"It would do no good for him to make the Empire vanish for another millennium," Celestia said. "I have already considered it." 

"We did not have the Elements before. Could we not take them, ourselves, and turn him to stone as we did with Discord?" Celestia shook her head.

"We are no longer connected to the Elements. That mantle has passed to Twilight and her friends." Celestia leaned back in the throne again with a heavy sigh. "Ugh... Twilight," she groaned. "The moment I saw her cutie mark, I knew everything had changed. That it would be she, not Cadance, that would aid in your escape from Nightmare Moon. She, who would bear the Element of Magic. She who would one day..." Celestia trailed off and looked at the book beside her. Luna recognized it at last.

"Is that Starswirl's final spell-book?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded.

"Yes, and the final spell he had tried to conjure, to self-substantiate himself into an alicorn. I think Twilight has the potential to solve it."

"Do you think she's ready for that?" Luna asked. Celestia stood and walked with her younger sibling. She looked at the new stained-glass window of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance thoughtfully.

"I think that she can be... that she will be, if she can manage to protect the Empire..." Celestia trailed off.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go as well?" Luna asked.

"Yes. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are already there. The others will be joining them soon," Celestia said.

"The Empire's magic is powerful. It can not fall again, my sister."

"She will succeed at her task. And when she does, we'll know that she is that much closer to being ready." Twilight cleared her throat in the doorway at the far end of the throne room. "Trust me, little sister," Celestia whispered.

"You wanted to see me? To give me a test?" Twilight asked. On Luna's way out, she briefly caught eyes with the unicorn. Twilight turned her attention back to her mentor. "I brought my own quills, and plenty of paper to show my work."

"This is a different kind of test," Celestia said. "The Crystal Empire has returned!"

Princess Luna stood outside of the throne room while her elder sister briefed the unicorn about her task. She did not abide her cavalier plan to deal with King Sombra. There was far too much at stake. Celestia risked the lives of innocent ponies like such pawns in chess. But for her to put her own beloved Cadance in harm's way, Luna wondered, she must be quite confident in her plan. She had become too accustomed to things going her way. As far as you know, Luna, she imagined Celestia's voice in her mind. That same smug, cocksure attitude she always had. Being brought low by the Changeling Queen seemed to have done nothing to curb it.

"I need your help finding a way to protect the Crystal Empire," Celestia said to Twilight.

"You want me to help protect an entire empire?" Twilight asked.

"It is, as I said, a different kind of test. But one I'm certain you will pass."

"How do I begin?"

"By joining Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire."

Twilight's face lit up. She had been depressed all morning after the negative result of her test. It was only overridden by her anxiety from the urgent letter from Celestia, and this subsequent meeting. But now, at the very mention of her brother's name, all of that went out the window, if only briefly. Just the prospect, the possibility that she might yet have another chance with him... her mission in the Crystal Empire now became two-fold.

"My brother is there?" she asked excitedly.

"He is," Celestia confirmed. Twilight felt herself nearly leap in joy. She trotted after Celestia as she walked her to the throne room door. "And your Ponyville friends will join you there as well. I have every confidence you will succeed. And when you do, I'll know you are ready to move on to the next level of your studies." They stepped outside of the throne room. Luna was there, waiting. Twilight could see that Luna did not share Celestia's optimism. It showed on her face. Twilight felt a pang of doubt.

"But what if I fail?" Twilight asked.

"You wont," Celestia assured her.

"But, what if-" Celestia stopped Twilight with a hoof on her shoulder.

"You won't," Celestia repeated. Twilight turned to leave. "But Twilight," Twilight turned back to look at the royal sisters. "In the end, it must be you, and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the empire. Do you understand?"

"Mmhmm!" Twilight confirmed.

"Then go. There is no time to lose!" Celestia said, closing the door. Once Twilight was gone, Luna turned to Celestia.

"You're playing a very dangerous game," Luna said, walking over to the window, watching Twilight depart outside.

"Change always is," Celestia said. "But I'm sure she will make short work of vanquishing the king right away. After all, I told her that there was no time to lose. You know how much she hates being tardy." Luna continued to watch Twilight outside.

"She's singing," Luna said, pointing at the unicorn prancing about the streets of Canterlot.

"I wasn't prepared for thiiiiis!"

Celestia rubbed the bridge of her nose in embarrassment while Twilight wrapped up her impromptu musical number and rounded up her friends onto the train bound for the Frozen North.

"There, you see?" Celestia said, watching the train speed away to the northern horizon. "They're on their way. They'll defeat the king in no time."

"Well, they're going to have a hard time doing it without these," Luna said, pointing at the box with the Elements of Harmony in it. Celestia looked at the box, scarcely believing that she had forgotten to give them to Twilight.

"... Well shit."
> Crystal Clear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train pulled up to the station in the Frozen North. The near-perpetual storm had calmed somewhat from the constant, roaring gale to merely windy. The only passengers, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, stepped off the train in their cold-weather gear. Despite the reports, the station appeared to be in good shape. The rest of the train that had been abandoned, however, was markedly absent. Shining checked around for any signs of danger or survivors. He found neither.

Cadance stood captivated on the station platform. Her eyes were fixed on the glowing spires in the distance. She had only ever seen crude illustrations of the empire in Celestia's ancient, worn textbooks. No artist could every truly capture its beauty.

Shining poked around in the surrounding area at some suspicious shapes in the fresh snow. Without digging very far, he found the wreckage of the rest of the troop transport train. The steel frame of the train cars had been mangled into a pretzel.

"Oh... we need to go. Now!" Shining said, turning a whiter shade of pale.

"Then let's go!" Cadance said, heading toward the empire.

"What? No! We need to leave on the train. We need the rest of the Equestrian Army!" Shining said, chasing after her.

"No. We came here to protect the empire. And we will. As soon as we get there, you cast your shield spell," Cadance said. Shining looked behind them as the conductor put the train in reverse, departing from the station, and heading back to Canterlot. They were stuck here until his sister and her friends arrived on the next train.

A howl came up from the distance as they ran. Shining had never in his life heard the wind make such a horrid sound. He felt it as much as he heard it. It made his fur crawl with chills more than the bitter cold ever could. A massive shade moved towards them. It was darker than the space around it, like a rain band. But it was moving fast, and against the wind, and very much in their direction.

"Run, RUN!" he yelled. The deep snow impeded his speed. It clung like cement on his hooves, weighing him down and sapping his energy. They were still a decent ways away from the outskirts of the empire. Shining ran as he took deep, panicked breaths. His lungs burned from the extremely cold air. The shadow was getting closer much faster than the empire was. His legs ached in fatigue. He felt a sudden dread, like a pit in his stomach. It was like he had fallen out of a window, and he was looking at the ground rushing up at him. It was the stark realization that he was about to die.

He turned to face the monster. At the very least, he could buy his wife enough time to make it to the empire. He readied his horn to attack. At the last moment, something grabbing him and picked him up into the air. He looked down at the pink hooves wrapped around him as Cadance carried him, flying through the air towards the empire. Just as soon as they passed the first crystal spires the air around them changed. It was like they had stepped into a warm, spring day. The shadow, close behind them slammed into an invisible wall and shrieked.

Cadance recognized the aura of her aunt's magic. Celestia and Luna must have shielded the place from the cold when they battled the king the first time. But even though the spell had been preserved along with the empire, it was still finite, and increasingly brittle under the barrage of attacks by the creature outside.

"Shining! Your spell!" Cadance said. Shining hurt, inside and out. He felt like he was going to throw up. But he summoned what strength he had and focused it into his spell. A bolt of magenta arced from his horn, up into the shield spell around the empire, refreshing it with new strength. For how long it would hold, he could not say. But hopefully he would be ready to recharge it before they had to find out.

The shadow outside slinked away, vanishing in the distance. Celestia said that it had been banished to the Frozen North. Without the strength of the empire, it would be unable to leave this place and be a threat to Equestria. And as long as the shield held, they were safe inside. But now they, too, were trapped here, at the edge of the world. But they were not alone.

"Come on, we need to get to the palace," Cadance said. Shining began to follow her, but stopped and looked back. Out beyond the edge of the shield, across the frozen wasteland, back towards the train station. Twilight and her friends would be arriving in a few hours.

"I'll need to come back and keep watch for Twilight and her friends," Shining said. "They have no idea what they're heading into."





Twilight's imagination ran wild while she rode on the train. All she needed to do to protect the empire was stop the unicorn king. She had gone up against more powerful foes like Nightmare Moon and the very Spirit of Chaos, himself. A mere unicorn would be cake compared to that. Shining knew an entire suite of combat magic. In all probability, he had already dealt with the king, himself.

The more she thought about it, the less she worried. She would get to the Crystal Empire, and it would just be a vacation for her and her friends. And she would find a way to get her brother alone with her again and...

Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The weather outside the train had deteriorated as they got further north. The howling wind and blustering snow drowned out the chug of the locomotive. The fading sunlight vanished altogether behind the dense cloud cover.

"End of the line," The conductor announced as the squealing brakes of the train slowed it to a halt. The door to the train car opened. Twilight and her friends moved to the exit. She shielded her face from the biting wind with her her hoof.

"Ha, and you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves," Rarity said smugly.

"Twilight!" a stallions voice called out from the distance.

"Shining Armor!?" Twilight called back. The white stallion galloped towards her, donned in a heavy scarf and visibility goggles.

"Twilie! You made it!" he said, taking off the goggles to see her at last. They ran to each other and embraced in a hug. Twilight could have just stayed there forever, even in the freezing cold, to just hold him. He broke the hug quickly, as the smile ran away from his face. 

"We better get moving," he said in a serious tone. "There are things out here that we really don't want to run into after dark."

"What kind of things?" Fluttershy asked.

"Let's just say that the empire isn't the only thing that's returned," Shining said ominously. They followed him towards the Crystal Empire. The wind was against them, slowing their progress. "Something keeps trying to get in," Shining shouted over the gale. "We think it's the unicorn king that originally cursed the place."

"But Princess Celestia said I was being sent to find a way to protect the empire," Twilight said. "If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected."

A fell voice roared over the noise of the wind.

"That's one of the things, isn't it!?" Fluttershy shrieked. Shining felt his fur stand up from worse than cold.

"We have to get to the Crystal Empire now!" Shining yelled. A column of shadow rose up behind them, terrifying green eyes blinked open in it and gave chase to the group of ponies as they ran for their lives towards the light ahead of them. The cloud of shadow was unperturbed by the wind, moving faster against it than the ponies. As before, it was closing the distance on them faster than they could get to the empire. Shining needed to buy them time. "Almost there..."

If they could not reach the shield in time, perhaps he could bring the shield to them. He tried to focus his magic to enlarge the empires shield to extend outwards to them. But he hadn't the time, strength, or focus for something so grand. He stopped and turned to face the shadow monster. It worked. It stopped to square off against him, letting the others escape. Shining fired a couple quick shots of arcane energy at it. It dodged them with ease. It didn't matter. He was just trying to stall. 

Sombra realized this, and swooped down to kill this interloper once and for all. Shining readied his spell. It was a small spherical shield, just enough to surround himself. It was all he could manage with what strength he had left. The king hit it with the force of a train. The shield did not shatter. It was made flexible to give like a resilient balloon. The shield squished and warped, compressing until Shining's horn penetrated through it. Sombra's death hex merely attacked Shining's horn, embedding it with inhibiting crystals. The shield rebounded like a compressed ball and launched Shining backwards away from the king. The last of his magic fizzled and the shield evaporated as he was sent tumbling through the barrier around the empire.

"Oh no! Shining Armor! Your horn!" Twilight cried, looking at the hex crystals. She helped him to his hooves. He was alive, but when he tried to call his magic to his horn, it hurt like an arcane-inhibition ring that they used for unicorn prisoners. Twilight looked at the pained expression on her brother's face. At that moment, King Sombra had added himself to Twilight's vivisection list, alongside Queen Chrysalis.

"Ooh. Sparkle-rific!" Pinkie Pie squealed in joy, looking at the pretty colors of the Crystal Empire.

"Pinkie Pie!? What the hay!?" Twilight scolded. "We almost just died and my brother is gravely wounded!"

"This is how I cope, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said, seriously. "Giggle at the ghosties. Otherwise they win. You can't live in fear." 

"It's gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous!" Rarity said, unable to keep the smile from her face. "There are no words."

"Rarity, what the hay!?"

"Focus Rarity. We're here to help Twilight. Not admire the scenery," Applejack said.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Rainbow Dash said. "Just looks like another old castle to me."

"Have you lost your mind!?" Rarity scoffed. Rainbow and Applejack snickered and hoof-bumped. Rarity realized that she was being messed-with. "Very funny."

"Dash, Aj, what the hay!?" Twilight snapped. "There is a giant smoke monster just outside the empire waiting to kill us all! Can you please take this seriously!?"

"Twilight, it's okay," Shining said, putting his hoof on her shoulder to calm her. She was nearly in tears. He pulled her into a hug. "It'll be okay." She had a dubious expression. "And even if it isn't..." he trailed off, thinking about the numerous times in his life he was so certain that he was going to die. After all that, things like a giant killer shadow monster tended to get the volume turned down. They were alive, for now. He knew better than any pony that in life, there was no certainty beyond the present. So why be miserable? "Nothing like almost dying to make you appreciate being alive," Shining said, smiling at his little sister. It got her to smile back. She hugged him for just a tad longer than he was comfortable with in mixed company. He gave her a subtle, but firm push away. They headed upstairs to the palace throne room.

Cadance sat on the crystal throne. Her horn glowed, maintaining the spell. Her head was nodding as though she was bobbing for apples. 

"Cadance!" Twilight greeted, smiling with glee. The name leaped from her mouth without another thought. A part of Twilight had come to resent Cadance for taking Shining away from her. But Shining was right. Almost dying did make her appreciate being alive. And it put things other things into perspective. It made her lingering resentment seem so petty. What mattered was that Cadance was still a dear friend to her. And nothing had changed that. Cadance returned a smile of her own, trotting out to greet her with their old dance.

Sunshine sunshine.
Ladybugs awake.
Clap your hooves,
and do a little shake!

"One of these days we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance," Cadance said with a tired groan. Now that Twilight was close enough to get a good look at her, she could see the bags under Cadance's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light," Shining explained. "That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn't slept. Barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra."  

"It's alright Shining Armor, I'm fine," Cadance said.

"She's not fine. She can't go on like this forever. And if her magic were to fade... Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen."

"That's why we're here," Twilight said.

"Why we're all here," Applejack said.

"Well with Cadance putting all of her strength into keeping her spell going, and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the arctic, we haven't been able to gather much information from the crystal ponies," Shining said.

"Crystal ponies? There are crystal ponies!?" Rarity said with inappropriate glee.

"Rarity, what the hay!?" Twilight said.

"But we have to believe that one of them knows how to protect the empire without having to use Cadance's magic," Shining said. "But they seem to have some sort of collective amnesia or something. All I was able to get out of one of them was something about a library."

"A library? Well why didn't you say so!?" Twilight squealed.

"Uh, I thought I just did," Shining said. 

"This will be like a research paper. Don't worry Shining, I'm really good at these sort of things," Twilight said as she and her friends trotted off into the city to find the library.

"What was all that she was going on about a 'research paper'?" Cadance asked. Shining shrugged.

"Eh, it's probably just her way of coping," he said.





Twilight opened the doors to the crystal library. Halls of rows of shelves of books stretched out before her. The shelves were filled with tomes a millennium old, untouched by the ravages of time. Ancient knowledge that would have otherwise been lost to the sands of history, here, perfectly preserved.

"I just- I don't even know what to- There are no words!" Twilight fawned.

"Actually, there are millions of words. This is a library," the crystal librarian said. "May I help you?"

"Yes. We're looking for a book," Twilight said.

"We have plenty of those," the librarian said with dry snark.

"You do. You really do!" Twilight gushed.

"We're looking for a history book," Applejack said. "Something that might tell us how the empire might have protected itself from danger back in the day."

"Yes, of course," the librarian said. "History... history... ah, yes!"

"Which is where, exactly?" Twilight asked.

"I... I can't seem to remember," the librarian said, a bit flustered. "I'm not sure if I actually work here." 

"We'll just take a look around. I'm sure we can find it on our own," Twilight said.

"Let's grab random books off of the shelves to read until we stumble upon the right one," Applejack suggested.

"Whoa, wait a minute, AJ," Rainbow Dash said. "You can read?"

"Rainbow Dash, what the hay!" Twilight scolded. "AJ, how about we act like time is a factor instead? I assume the history book we need will be in the history section."

"Oh yeah. That makes way more sense." They walked to the history section of the properly organized library. Twilight scanned over the books that were organized by title for a few moments until she found the one they needed.

"Boom. History of the Crystal Empire," Twilight said with smug satisfaction. "I just hope it has the answers we need." Twilight skimmed through it until she found the answers they needed. "A Crystal Faire. According to this book, it was established by their first queen and became their most important tradition. The fair was held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm. The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies so the light within them can power the Crystal Heart so that the empire can be protected."

"The Crystal Heart?" the librarian asked excitedly. "Do you mean you've found out where it is? But King Sombra said he'd hidden it away where we would never see it again. I only hope it will still be as powerful after all these years."

"Uh... yeah," Twilight said nervously. "We need to, uh, run away now for a completely unrelated reason." Twilight and her friends ran back to the palace to tell Shining and Cadance what they had found. 

"My friends and I could put the faire together," Twilight explained to Shining and Cadance. "Everything we need to know is in the book. The only thing we're missing is the Crystal Heart mentioned on the last page. It's a relic that King Sombra apparently hid."

"Wow. That's a pretty significant detail," Spike said. "It's a good thing Sombra didn't tear out that last page."

"Spike, that would be an incredibly contrived measure. If he was going to do that to prevent ponies from finding out about it, he would have just destroyed the whole book," Twilight said. "And that would have to assume that he could have foreseen this exact scenario during his reign before Celestia and Luna defeated him a thousand years ago. Even my Daring Do fan fiction writing isn't that convoluted."

"Yeah Spike," Applejack said.

"Shut up AJ! You can't even read!" Spike said.

"Spike, what the hay!" Twilight scolded.

"Dash, stop spreading rumors about me!" Applejack snapped. Rainbow Dash just snickered in guilt.

"Aww, Cadance is so cute when she's asleep," Pinkie Pie said. Everypony turned to see that Cadance had passed out in Shining's hooves from exhaustion. Her spell faded and they all watched the shield around the city evaporated. The smokey form of King Sombra appeared in the tundra beyond, bearing down on the empire. "You know what? I owe Princess Luna an apology. That pony looks like a Hokey Smokes."

"Twilie," Shining cried, looking to his sister in desperation. His wife, unconscious in his hooves. His magic, disabled by the Sombra's hex. She could teleport. She could take him along with her, away. Far away. Far enough away to escape. Without his magic he wouldn't be able to stop her from- Twilight pushed those thoughts away. Even if they managed to escape, he'd never forgiver her. She'd never be able to forgive herself.

Shining shook Cadance awake. "The empire is under attack!" Her dull eyes flittered awake and focused on the smoky black mass approaching the empire. She looked back at her husband. He couldn't give her strength with his magic, but his eyes told her all she needed to know. 

I love you.

She took a deep breath and steadied her hooves with fresh resolve. She marched out onto the balcony and her horn glowed with an iridescent tinge to her usual blue magic that Rarity had never seen before. The protection spell spread out and surrounded the empire once more. Twilight and Shining exchanged nervous glances. If time hadn't been a factor before, it was now. Cadance was burning Soulfire.

"I have to find the Crystal Heart!" Shining said.

"I'll help you!" Twilight said.

"We all will!" Applejack said.

"No," Twilight said. "The Crystal Heart is useless without the Crystal Faire to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies so the light within them can power it. The rest of you need to put the faire together to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm! Everything you need to know is in the book."

"Yeah AJ," Dash said. "You can read it to us."

"Seriously Dash, what the actual hay!" Twilight scolded. "The empire is in peril and we could all die!"

"Pssh."

"Rainbow, I need you to spread word to the crystal ponies that there's going to be a Crystal Faire while the rest of them put it together," Twilight said. She looked at Cadance, and then back to Dash. "And I need you to do it fast."

By the stars, it was like the pegasus had been waiting all day to hear that word. The 'T' in fast didn't even make it to Rainbow's ears. The prismatic mare outran the sound waves, taking off into the sky so quickly that she left behind a hole in the volume of air that was once occupied by her body. The atmosphere collapsed in on it with a deafening boom akin to thunder following the hyper-expansion of ionized air around a bolt of lighting.

"We'll get started right away," Rarity assured the prince. "Come on Spike, we've got a Crystal Faire to put together."

"That sounds pretty promising," Shining said. "The two of us will find the Heart and you guys get that faire going." The other ponies left to get to work. He turned back to his wife, watching her burn her Soulfire. "Cadance?"

"I feel fine," Cadance said, unnaturally chipper.

"And she'll keep on feeling fine right up until she..." Twilight trailed off.

"Then we don't have a moment to lose finding that Heart!" he said with conviction. "Um, any idea where we should start looking for it?"

"Right here!" Twilight said, walking with her brother back inside from the balcony, into the throne room.

"The castle?" Shining asked.

"The king would have been counting on the fact that no pony would dare come looking for it here," Twilight said. "They'd have been too afraid to even try."

"I hope you're right," Shining said.

"You and me both," Twilight said.

"So you think we'll find it in here?" he asked. Twilight looked the the throne, remembering Celestia's words about the way the nature of the Crystal Empire's magic changed 'if fear and hatred take hold'.

"No," Twilight replied. "Because this isn't King Sombra's castle."

"Well, isn't this where he lived while he was in power?" Shining asked.

"It is. But it didn't look like this," Twilight said. She focused on the crystal structure of the throne room. She fueled her every dark thought into her magic. Every time she felt anger, or hate. 

She thought about that colt that called her a nerd in magic school. She thought about the pony that was late returning the library book that she needed. She thought about Discord turning her friends into the opposite of themselves. She thought about Chrysalis trapping her brother in the caves to starve to death. She thought about Cadance.

Shining watched the magenta magic around his sister's horn turn dark. Arcs of black crackled around her horn.

Twilight thought about Cadance. She though about her lying there in their bed and Shining, standing over her with his... penis. His erect penis! Her eyes were clenched shut but she could see them, in her mind's eye, as clearly as she could see her hooves in front of her.

Shining could see wisps of dark purple aura at the corners of Twilight's eyes.

Twilight could see him, there, right in front of her. She could see him, on top of Cadance with his erection. He moved between her legs and he- he was putting it in! Twilight wanted to stop him. She wanted to stop Cadance from doing that with her brother. She wanted to stop her with all her might. Cadance was fucking Shining! She's fucking him! Twilight would stop her! She would- she'd KILL her!

The bolt of black magic fired from Twilight's horn at the throne. The dark spell transformed the throne room into the shadowy version of its former self. A hole opened in the floor, revealing a spiral staircase leading down into a pitch dark abyss. 

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief to be rid of the toxic magic, and the equally toxic thoughts. 

"Whoa. When did you learn to do that?" Shining asked with equal parts of awe and concern.

"That was a little trick Celestia taught me," Twilight said.

"Twilie, I-" Shining put his hoof on  her shoulder. "That kind of dark magic, we've been trained to defend against that sort of thing in the guard. The unicorns that use it... it taints them. It turns them into..." Shining shuddered.

"I won't let that happen," Twilight assured him.

"Nopony lets it happen. But the fact that Celestia is teaching it to you... Maybe it's different for an alicorn. The ponies that use it, the things that it shows them, by the time it takes them over, they don't even realize it. Just- just please promise you won't ever use that again."

"Okay. I promise," she said. They looked down the hole that the stairs led into. They couldn't see the bottom. Twilight pried a bit of crystal from the wall and dropped it down. They waited and listened. And waited. And listened. The echo of the impact finally made it back up to them. "Whoa, that's a long ways. And we don't have much time."

"Then what are we waiting for!? Cadance is burning Soulfire!" Shining grabbed the back panel of the throne and pried it off. He positioned it at the edge of the stairs and got on.

"Shining, wait!" He slid down the stairs in a blur. The spiral shape kept him pinned against the wall's edge. The world spun rapidly as he went in circles He braced his hoof against the wall to steady himself and to try to slow his descent. Sparks flew from his horseshoe and it quickly grew too hot for him to stand. He reached the bottom of the stairs before he could worry about burning his hoof. The panel struck the abruptly level floor and he was thrown from it. Luckily, his face broke his fall. Shining shook off the crash and orientated himself. In the small space at the bottom of the stairs there was nothing but a single door. 

"Twilight! I think it's here!," he called up to her. 

Shining opened the door and walked inside. The room was small and plain. The Crystal Heart sat there on a rather unassuming pedestal. Clearly the former king had no love for the item to put it in any kind of place of honor. He picked up the heart and looked at it. It was smaller than he had expected. But then he didn't know what to expect. He turned to leave. Twilight was waiting for him in the doorway.

"Oh, good! You found it!" she said. "You know, we've got some time before the rest of my friends have the faire ready to power it. And I can't think of a more private place in the entire empire for us." Twilight slinked up to him with her come-hither bedroom eyes.

"Twi, come on! Cadance is upstairs burning Soulfire. This isn't fair to her," he said. Twilight's magic began teasing his sheath. "And we promised that we wouldn't do this again after I got married," he said. "We promised that we would be good ponies."

"Shining," Twilight cooed as her magic drew out his shaft, and began stroking it. His erection grew harder than it had been since that time together with her before the wedding "we're not good ponies."

Shining's throat hitched. Deep down in his heart, he felt it. He knew she was right. He was not a good pony. He was a married stallion that lusted after his own sister behind his wife's back. His wife who was dying for him just to buy them time. And they were using it to-

"Twi, stop!" he begged. She grabbed him with her magic and pinned him down, straddling him. With the hex on his horn, he was powerless to stop her.

"You can tell yourself you don't want this, if it'll help you sleep," she said, lowering herself onto him. He groaned as he felt his cock slide inside his sister's tight pussy. She began sliding up and down on him, keeping his hooves pinned with her magic. "I will do what I must to put out the flames of my heat. I will take what is mine. You can tell yourself I forced you to do this." He moaned as she rode him. "But I can tell you are enjoying this." 

The terrible truth of the words stabbed him like icy daggers. He was enjoying this. He loved it. And he hated himself for loving it. He hated how much more he enjoyed having sex with Twilight than with Cadance. She rolled over, pulling him on top of her just at he went past the point of no return.

"Twilie!" he cried out. His cock flared, throbbing and pumping. His pent-up load flooded deep inside his fertile sister. A week's worth of cum into the mare in season would surely get her pregnant. There would be no way for him to hide this.

"Well, well well!" Cadance said from the doorway. Shining's eyes went wide at the voice.

"Cadance! It's not what it looks like!" he cried.

"Really? Because it looks like you're balls-deep into cheating on me! With your sister of all ponies, you disgusting pervert!" Cadance yelled. Cadance grabbed him with her magic and carried him upstairs. Without his magic, he was helpless. She carried him out into the empire's square, tying him to a post on a cart. She hung a sign around his neck that said 'sister fucker'. His limp penis hung in front of him, still wet with Twilight's juices. Cadance spat on his face and then turned to begin pulling the cart. A mob formed around him. At the front of it was his parents.

"Mom, dad!" he begged for help. His parents gave him a look of utter disgust and they cast the first stones. Then the rest of the ponies began throwing rocks at the defenseless stallion as they all chanted 'sister fucker'. Cadance pulled him to the other end of the square to a platform where Celestia and Luna waited for him, surrounded by every Royal Guardpony he ever knew.

"Shining Armor," Celestia addressed him. "For your infidelity, your marriage is hereby annulled. You are stripped of the title of 'Prince', of 'Captain', and you are hereby expelled from the Royal Guard!" 

"Shining Armor," Luna said, "For the crime of..." she sneered at him. "incest, you shall be hereby gelded!"

"Shiny," Twilight said from down below, "At least I'll still have your foal."

"Give me the knife!" Cadance said, grabbing it from the operating table. She pointed it at his balls. "These are mine!"

"Shiny!" Twilight cried. Cadance brought the knife down.

"SHINY!" Twilight screamed. 





Twilight screamed as she finally reached the bottom of the stairs and tackled him. His cheeks were dripping with his tears. "Shining what's wrong, why were you just staring at this... doorway..." she asked, looking at wall in the door frame. Dark magic shot out from the door frame at her. He saw his sister being brought to tears. "What!? What do you mean you don't want me as your student anymore!? But I- I-" Twilight sobbed. Shining slammed the door shut. "Wha- what happened?" she asked.

"King Sombra's dark magic," Shining said. "A doorway that leads to your worst fear."

"I was back in Canterlot. Celestia said she didn't want me as her student anymore," Twilight said as she wiped her eyes. "She was sending me away for failing my test." He wrapped his hooves around her.

"Twilight, I've known you for your whole life. I know you well enough to know that the only thing you can't do is fail. You don't know how to." She hugged him back. She could feel the wetness of his cheek on hers. She couldn't imagine what horror could have driven her fearless big brother to such a state. She glared at the door frame and hit it with her magic to disable the curse. The doorway opened into another space. She let go of him and walked through. "What's in there?" he asked. Twilight looked up.

"Stairs. Lots and lots of stairs," Twilight groaned. Shining joined her. She could still see the damp patches of fur on his cheeks. "What did the door show you?" she asked. He gulped.

"The worst-" he said, trying to keep the tremble from his voice. "Sombra winning," he lied.

"Well we're not going to let that happen!" she said with conviction. She ran up the stairs. He followed after her. His eyes automatically followed the pony in front of him. His angle below and behind her gave him a very particular view. He found his eyes being drawn to when he knew they ought not be. Her flank flexing and shifting as her tail swished from side to side. He felt a primal part of him stirring. He was not a good pony. He tried to bite back his arousal. He tried to think back on the visions that the door had shown him. Something occurred to him.

"What if this is just more of his magic?" he asked. "He makes a door that leads to your worst nightmare. Why not a staircase that goes on forever?" Twilight thought about it for a second, looking up at the spiral of stairs. Her eyes lit up.

"Hold onto me," she said. Shining felt his loins twitch.

"Uh, what?"

"Hold onto me!" Twilight lifted him with her magic. He could only float there as she placed him onto her back as though he were mounting her. It was just like in the horrible vision. The nice part of it anyway.

"Uh, Twi, we don't have time for-" She cut him off as he spell finished and they were flipped upside down and fell... up. They began 'falling' up the smooth slope of the underside of the stairs.

"WHOA! Hahaha!" Twilight laughed out loud as they slid along the smooth slope. It was the same hearty, innocent laugh he remembered from her when they had gone sledding in the snow as foals. But it was all he could do to keep his hooves wrapped around her and hold on. And it took all his willpower to keep himself from getting hard on top of her. "I actually studied gravity spells thinking it might be on my test! Turns out I was prepared for this! Woohoo! Hahaha!"





"So about that Crystal Heart...?" one of the crystal ponies asked Fluttershy down in the palace courtyard.

"Oh. Um, well, you see-"

"Where is the Crystal Heart?" another crystal pony asked Applejack.

"The thing is, uh-"

"When are you going to get the Crystal Heart?" another asked Pinkie Pie.

"We uh, we uh-"

"Why are you not getting the Crystal Heart now?" another asked Rainbow Dash.

"Uh..."

"Spikey, why don't you run and check on how Cadance is doing while we manage the crowd?" Rarity suggested. Spike ran up into the palace to head up to the throne room.





Twilight and Shining reached the top of the stairs. Twilight quickly disabled the gravity spell and they fell down onto the floor of the room at the top of the spire. Shining landed on top of her. Twilight couldn't ignore the semi-firmness in his sheath pressing against her flank. As much as she wanted to push back and rub against it, she knew they didn't have time to indulge themselves.

"The Crystal Heart!" Shining said, spotting the relic floating in the middle of the room as he got to his hooves. Twilight focused on her mission and ran to grab the Heart, inadvertently triggering the hidden trap. She leaped to grab the Heart but only knocked it away with her hooves as the black crystal walls shot up around her. The Crystal Heart skittered across the floor, sliding off of the edge of the spire. 

"Oh shit!"





Cadance stood at the balcony railing, her spell burning her Soulfire. She would hold the spell for as long as she had to until the empire was safe. Or until it killed her.

Spike walked into the throne room and saw Cadance at the balcony with her back to him. He walked out onto the balcony to talk to her.

"Hey Cadance, is there anything I can d-" The falling Crystal Heart clocked Spike square in the head and bounced onto the balcony floor in front of him. Cadance turned to look at him, seeing the Crystal Heart beside him.

"Spike! You found the Crystal Heart! You're a hero! Come on, let's go!" She picked him up and the Heart with her magic. 

With her magic carrying the Heart, the barrier spell lapsed. The monstrous form of King Sombra closed in on the empire as Cadance flew down to the mob in the courtyard. 

"The Crystal Heart has returned!" Cadance announced to the crystal ponies. "Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not!" All the crystal ponies used the light and love within them to power the Crystal Heart, sending out a blast of magical energy. It turned everypony crystalline, destroyed the crystal cage around Twilight, the hex on Shining's horn, and made King Sombra explode into a million tiny pieces. Rarity looked around at all the sparkling, glimmering, shimmering, crystalline ponies and nearly had an aneurysm. She grabbed the nearest stallion she could and, in so many words, demanded that he mate with her. At the top of the spire, Twilight ran over and wrapped her hooves around her brother, tackling him to the floor.

"Oh my gosh! We did it! We save the empire!" Twilight squealed. "Look at you! Look at me! We're see-through!" She looked down at herself. "We're like a living anatomy book!" She looked through herself at Shining under her. She could see what she was feeling where she was straddling him. She could she his semi-hard shaft still inside his sheath. She couldn't keep herself from grinding her hips against him. Shining couldn't keep himself from his involuntary reaction.

She watched his erection grow out of his sheath, sliding under her marehood, pinned between them until it emerged out from under her, growing harder with each beat of his heart. She lifted her hips off of him and he took to thinking she was done playing and he tried to sit up. She took his cock in her hoof and angled it upwards towards her pussy.

"Twi, no!" he objected. "We promised we weren't going to do this again after I got married!"

"I just want to see what it looks like inside!" she said in genuine curiosity. Before he could tell her no again she lowered herself back down onto him. The air rushed out of Shining's lungs as soon as he felt himself slip inside her. He truly did miss this more than he wanted to admit. Least of all to himself. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Look!" Twilight squealed as her hips met his. Shining had no choice but to look. Even with his eyes clenched shut, he could see right through his eyelids. Shining's cock filled her pussy perfectly completely. It was as though it had been molded around him. It was the exact right depth for his length. His tip rested snugly against her cervix.

"I knew it felt like a perfect fit! And now I can see it is! We're perfect for each other." Twilight said as she started to move up and down on him. They could both see in detail exactly what each of them were feeling. He could see every muscle he felt squeezing and massaging him. She could see every contour of his veiny shaft sliding in and out of her. She could see the cloudy white swirling in his balls. There was a lot. "Those look full," Twilight said. "We'll fix that!"

"Ngh, Twilie!" Shining moaned. His fear and guilt melted away under her. It just felt so good, so right. She was right. There was a lot. It had been too long. He wanted this. He needed release. His hips thrusted up to meet her. "F-fuck!" he panted. She looked down at his shafted thrusting in and out of her. 

"Yes! Yes! Fuck me, big brother!" she moaned, appealing to the taboo nature of their act. Shining started to hyperventilate as the vision of all his worst fears came rushing back. 

"Cadance is going to see. Everypony is going to see! Celestia is gonna have me sent to the gelding clinic and- and-" Shining realized that his horn was no longer hexed and his magic pushed her off of him. "Shit. Shit!" he cursed as harsh sobriety washed away his lustful haze.

"Shining, it's okay! There's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about!?" he said incredulously. "Twilight, I'm married. I'm a prince! I have SO MUCH to worry about. And I can't have a secret relationship with you on top of that! I already feel bad enough for what we did at the wedding. I can barely sleep, and things between me and Cadance have been really strained. But I obviously can't tell her why."

"Well, maybe you just need this as stress relief," she said.

"This isn't stress relief. This is stress increase!" he said.

"But you obviously like it," Twilight said.

"That doesn't make it okay," he said. "A few minutes of bliss aren't worth the lifetime of torment. I'm scared all the time, Twilie. I'm scared that we're going to get caught. I'm scared that we're going to lose everything we care about just to indulge in each other. But most of all..." He sighed and looked away. "I'm scared that we'll get away with it. You have to be the one to stop. You know how hard it is for me to say no to you. You- you know how weak I am for you, and you're preying on that weakness. You know that there is a possibility that I- that I just might give everything up for you. And that terrifies me. You're Celestia's star pupil. I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard. A prince now. We're supposed to be good ponies."

Twilight considered his words. She wondered what she would actually do if they ever were found out. Would she deny it? Would she run away? Would she give everything up for him, too? Even if it meant hurting everyone else she cared about? Her friends, the rest of her family, Celestia and Cadance? The more she thought about it, the more it troubled her that the answer wasn't immediately 'no'. Twilight put her hoof on his. 

"Maybe we're not good ponies," she said. He yanked his hoof away from her.

"Maybe you're not," he spat. "But Cadance is a good pony. And she deserves to have a good pony for a husband! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go downstairs and see to my wife. When you come down, it better be as my sister." His shameful erection finished retreating back into its sheath. He walked to the stairs and looked at her a final time before leaving. "But never again as my lover. Is that clear!?"

"... Crystal."





Princess Celestia watched the aurora streak across the evening sky from the north, signaling the success in the Crystal Empire. With a smug grin, she looked at her sister beside her, leaning her head to touch her horn with hers. Luna hesitantly returned the gesture.

"Well Luna, it looks like you owe me a cider."

"We shall see," Luna replied before she left to begin her shift. 

Celestia took Starswirl the Bearded's ancient spell book from her bag. She flipped to the last page where his final spell remained unfinished.

"Indeed we shall," Celestia mused to herself.





In the Crystal Empire, everypony was celebrating the return of the Crystal Heart and the defeat of King Sombra, hailing Spike the dragon as a hero. Shining Armor ran into his wife's hooves and they embraced each other. She filled him in on what he had missed. Everypony was in high spirits. 

Everypony except Twilight Sparkle. 

Twilight remained at the top of the spire for how long, she didn't know. So much had transpired so quickly. Sombra was defeated. She should have felt relief. Instead she felt only dread that she would have to carry on. The imminent threat of her demise that King Sombra presented has given her a strange sense of comfort. It gave her focus about what was most important to her. And now that it was gone...

Twilight sighed and began trotting down the stairs.

Princess Celestia had told her that she alone was to save the empire. But it hadn't been the case. She had failed the test. And now she had alienated herself from her brother even more so. She could feel all the things she cared most about eroding away from her.

She was hardly alone. She was surrounded by thousands of ponies who were the happiest they had ever been in their lives. Their world was saved while it felt like hers was ending. That was what loneliness really felt like, Twilight realized. Not being alone, but being surrounded by ponies that made you feel alone. 

She had never wanted to hurt anypony. She used to believe that all you needed was love. And that love would beget more love. That the more you gave, the more you would have. That if she loved her brother, that he could love her back, simple as that. But if she had learned nothing else, it was that love, like life, was never simple. And it would never be enough to simply want for something.

~

Spike sent off Shining's letter with a quick burst of green fire just before Twilight's friends came up from the courtyard. Twilight reached the throne room shortly after her friends and they all ran to hug her. She smiled reflexively. Pinkie Pie knew smiles, and Spike knew Twilight. They could both tell when her smile was fake.

"Are you worried about your test?" Spike asked. Twilight nodded. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor returned to the throne room from the balcony to join them. Twilight felt her throat closing up. She couldn't look her brother in the eyes. Cadance was practically glowing.

"The love and light inside the crystal ponies has revitalized her," Shining explained to Twilight's friends. "They're hailing her as the 'Crystal Princess'."

"I always thought the heart for my cutie mark had to do with my love magic," Cadance said. "But now I see that it's the Crystal Heart! It's my destiny!"

"So I guess that means we'll be staying here for a while," Shining said.

At the edge of the world, Twilight thought. As far away from me as possible.

"But we should probably be getting back to Canterlot as soon as possible to tell Princess Celestia that the empire is safe," Spike said. "Right, Twilight?"

"Yeah... sure," Twilight said, turning to leave. Her friends reluctantly followed after her. As did Shining and Cadance.

As they reached the edge of the empire, the crystalline effects wore off of them, much to Rarity's disappointment.

"Everything's going to be okay," Shining said as he caught up to Twilight to walk her and her friends to the train station. Twilight's friends assumed he was talking about her test with Celestia. But the siblings knew better. "You've got to stop saving my rump like this. It's starting to get embarrassing," he added, trying to cheer her up in recalling her role in saving the wedding. "Besides, it's just a test. Maybe she'll let you retake it," he said jokingly, trying to give her poor mood some levity.

"Shining, what the hay?" Cadance scolded him.

"I don't think she's going to give me a new test," Twilight said, getting on the train without looking back. It was a little unnerving to her how well Shining could act like everything was fine. But she would have time to worry about things with him later. First she had to deal with Princess Celestia back in Canterlot.





"It's beautiful," Celestia said to Twilight of the aurora outside the castle window.

"I wish it had been me that ultimately made it so," Twilight said. "But it wasn't." 

"Twilight, as I understand it, Spike brought Cadance the Crystal Heart because you weren't sure how quickly you could escape the tower. You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own," Celestia said, holding a scroll in her magic. Twilight recognized her brother's writing, a letter he'd had Spike send to Celestia before they'd left the empire. Clearly he had slightly enhanced the truth in Twilight's favor. "Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self-sacrifice than one who only looks out for her own best interests."

"Does this mean...?" Twilight asked. Celestia nodded. Twilight ran from the room in excitement.

Outside, Spike paced back and forth unreasonably close to the castle doors. Twilight threw open the doors, giving Spike his second concussion in as many days. "I passed!" she announced to her waiting friends.

~

Back inside, Luna brought her sister a mug. "Here's your cider," she said, before taking a sip of her own.

"Luna, it's like, nine in the morning," Celestia said with disdain.

"Pssh. Yeah. For you," she said before chugging her drink. "Does that mean you're not having yours?" Celestia gave her sister the other mug back. Luna drank that one, too. "Enjoy your day being sober. I'm going to bed."
> Keep Calm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late at night by the time Princess Celestia returned from her trip to Saddle Arabia and Ponyville. She had visited, and accompanied the delegates from their nation to hers in an effort to keep up foreign relations. But she was relieved that the traveling was over. She walked past the throne room where Princess Luna was to be overseeing the night.

Celestia looked over the pile of mail on her desk that she had gotten while she was abroad. Among them were several scrolls from Spike about some unicorn taking over Ponyville. She looked at the date on them and realized that everything must have been resolved by the time she'd gotten there. She added them to the rest of the junk mail in her bin. She looked at the candle on her desk and rubbed her eyes. The trip had left her tired, but not sleepy. She found herself regretting that last cup of Arabian coffee she'd had with them before they departed. She'd have preferred to have had a glass of wine with them. But Saddle Arabia was what what known as a 'dry' nation. Meaning no wine, or cider, or alcohol of any kind.

Just knowing such a nation exists, in the desert of all places, made her feel absolutely parched. She got up and walked downstairs to the castle cellar. She walked past the rows of barrels to the shelves of bottles, it was like she was walking back in time. She ran her hoof along the edge of the shelf until it found what she was looking for at the very back of the cellar.

"The Ought Series," she read the section's sign aloud, looking at the very oldest bottles of wine. Made and bottled in the first hundred years after Nightmare Moon had been banished. Celestia took one of the bottles from the shelf and looked at the ancient papyrus label, cradling it carefully in her hooves to keep the paper from crumbling into dust. There were shelves of wine nearly a millennium old. Most were made from strains of grapes that didn't even exist anymore. Each and every one of them were absolutely priceless.

"Pity," Celestia said, pulling the cork from the bottle and taking a swig. "Ah, tastes better with age." She smirked as her thoughts drifted to Luna. "That's what she said."

Hearing herself say the joke she had set herself up for out loud made her feel very self-conscious. Part of her scolding herself for such juvenile humor. Another part of herself telling the first part to shut up. It was after midnight, which meant that it was tomorrow already. She took another swig.

"It's Sunday. Sun day. My day," she said with self-affirmation. She took the bottle with her and left the cellar. 

The last few weeks had been especially trying for her. She decided that she needed to cut loose. I deserve it, damn it! she thought to herself as she walked outside into the castle courtyard. Celestia liked the night. Everything else aside, she loved her sister's nights.

"I should really tell her that more often," Celestia mused to one of the statues outside of the hedge maze. She took another sip of wine and wandered among the other statues until she found herself at the new arrival. "Or rather, the return," she said to Discord's statue. She looked up at his frozen expression of shock, like he just could not believe what had happened.

"Join the club," Celestia said, raising the bottle to him in a toast before taking another big drink. "Nothing ever does go quite as we plan, does it?" she asked rhetorically of the silent, stone figure. She looked up at his eyes, wide in permanent disbelief. "What was your plan, hmm?" Celestia asked, wondering what his motivation was. Chaos, obviously. But giving her sister a penis? "What was your plan?"

He had managed to escape when she and Luna were no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony. But that was only because the Elements were taken up by Twilight and her friends. Celestia had plans for Twilight, but the others? In time, they'd no longer be connected to the Elements either. They were mortal, after all. And what then?

Celestia took another sip of her wine and narrowed her eyes at him. The gears turned in her mind as she formulated a plan. Perhaps she could use Discord for her own purposes. If he could be turned to good, or at least obedient, he could be a great asset. Discord would hate this plan. He wouldn't want to answer to anypony. But she had the Elements of Harmony now, ready and able. For how long, was no guarantee.

She just needed to pitch the idea to Luna.





"You're out of your damn mind, Tia!" Luna shouted across the breakfast table. Celestia cradled her pounding head.

"Could you please keep your voice down?" Celestia groaned.

"Hungover? Perfect. That's just perfect. Only a drunk pony would have come up with such a ludicrous idea! I still say we have the statue pulverized and the gravel be scattered to the four corners of the world."

"Luna, I've seen Discord cut his own head off just for a pun," Celestia said. "It doesn't matter what we do to his stone. When the Elements' spell wears off, all the pieces, no matter how many, will release his spirit and it will be of no consequence to him."

"He's an enemy to Equestria! We should find a way to destroy him," Luna said. Celestia looked across the table at her sister. The pony that was formerly Nightmare Moon.

"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" Celestia asked of the very mare redeemed by friendship. "We will have the Elements at the ready. If he doesn't want to play nice, we will just turn him back to stone and think of something else."

"I'm going to layer my protective ward over your ward on the Elements. Your ward sucked last time," Luna said.

"So you're okay with the plan?"

"No. I still think that it's a stupid, stupid, STUPID plan. But..." Luna rolled her eyes. "You are right about the bearers being mortal and... and I can't think of a better plan right now. So, yeah. Good luck with that," she said grabbing her sleeping mask. "Let me know how it goes at dinner."





The team of four pegasi Royal Guards huffed and panted as they pulled the cart behind them. The other team in front of them pulled the princess herself. But they were far enough from Celestia's range of hearing behind her to gripe to each other about the task.

"So I said to the princess, 'that's great that they turned him into a statue, but why do we have to move him to Canterlot'?"

"I know right? If he's a statue, does it matter where he's a statue?" the other said.

"Exactly! But you know what she said? She said, I swear, that she 'didn't want him to miss his old statue friends and get lonely'!"

"Ha. That's rich!"

"Yeah. So we move him. And then what does she tell us a few months later? Move him back to Ponyville!"

"It's horse apples."

"And so I'm like, why!? Guess what she says."

"No idea."

"She says, 'it's where Twilight and her friends are'."

"Why not move them to Canterlot?"

"Right!? Heck, I'd have done it myself for each of them. I'd have made six trips. Anything is better than lugging this heap!"

"I swear, if we have to move him again, I'm just gonna resign."

~

Princess Celestia and her entourage landed in Ponyville, where Twilight and her friends were waiting for her.

"With all due respect, Princess Celestia," Twilight Sparkle greeted, "How could you bring Discord here!?" she shouted, voicing the feelings of all present. " *ahem* Your Majesty," she quickly added as politely as she could.

"I'm fully aware that the last time Discord was here, he created serious havoc," Celestia said.

"If by 'serious havoc', you mean turning Ponyville into the Chaos capital of the world." Rainbow Dash said.

"And tricking us all into being the opposite of our true selves," Rarity added.

"Yes. I understand," Celestia said. "But I have use for Discord's magic, if it can be reformed to serve good instead of evil. This is why I've brought Discord here. Because I believe that you are the ponies who can help him do just that."

"Wouldn't it have been easier if we were to have just come to Canterlot?" Twilight asked.

"Thank you!" one of the pegasi guards said.

"I realize that this is a tall order," Celestia said, "but I wouldn't ask if I weren't confident you could get him to use his magic obediently of his own free will."

"I suppose we can just use the Elements of Harmony again if he gets out of control," Twilight said. 

"I have them right here," Celestia said, presenting the chest containing the Elements. "And I cast a spell on them so Discord can't take them and hide them again."

"I hope it was better than the last spell you cast to protect them," Dash muttered under her breath.

"Now I must return to Canterlot for Equestria's Royal Summit. You may release Discord when ready."





"A Royal Summit? Really?" Luna asked groggily half awake, stirred from her sleep.

"Well sure," Celestia said, sitting at the edge of Luna's bed. "As in, a meeting of royals, which we are."

"Uh huh. And when will we know that Discord has been released?" Luna asked. Celestia smirked, putting her hoof on the blanket at Luna's crotch. "HEYO! Good morning to you, too," she said, slapping Celestia's hoof away, clearly not in the mood. Celestia pouted at the absence of any morning wood. 

"I want to be right here just as soon as he..." Celestia nodded at Luna's crotch.

"Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty to me," Luna deadpanned in tired irritation, rolling over in her bed away from Celestia. "Trust me, if he does, I'll be the first to let you know. Now let me sleep."





"Shining, you're a prince now. Just let the movers do their job," Princess Cadance said, watching her husband carrying a box of their things.

"Well I didn't want the Pegassistance guys moving this particular box of... eh, your personal effects." he said, setting the box down by her nightstand. Gentle as he was, it caused something inside the box to start to vibrate. Cadance quickly rummaged through the box of latex wonders until she was able to turn off the 'personal massager'. Her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink.

"Thank you, dear," she said.

"Of course," he said, turning to go get another box.

"Shining, give me some credit. I'm pretty sure I only have the one box of these things," she said.

"I know. I just want to... you know, help move some more boxes," he said.

"You don't have to do that," she said.

"I know. I just... I want to feel useful," he said.

"You are! How can you say that? You were the Captain of the Royal Guard. You're a prince!"

"Yeah? And?" he asked. "I was the Captain and I still didn't prevent the changeling invasion. I was trapped in a cave to starve to death until I was rescued by..." he trailed off. "I'm supposed to be the one doing the rescuing. And as a prince... I've done even less. When Sombra... I wasn't the one that found the Crystal Heart. She ended up saving the day again and..." Shining frowned.

"And you feel envious?" Cadance asked.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Do you think that it makes you less of a stallion? That ponies would think less of you?" she asked. He shrugged. "If I were the one that had been trapped in that cave, and Twilight saved me, would you have thought less of me?" she asked.

"Of course not. I love you!"

"And I love you too. And you're more important than a captain or even a prince. You're my husband. That's your job now," she said. His frown only deepened.

"I can't even do that right," he said. Cadance gave him a strange look. 

"Shining, what are you talking about?"

Did she really not realize? he wondered.

"Cadie, we haven't even-" he tried to say it. But the words caught in his throat. He wanted so much to just pretend that it wasn't true. That if he didn't actually say it out loud, they could just ignore it. "Since the wedding, we haven't..." he gave her box of sex toys a gentle nudge.

"Oh... OH!" Cadance's eyes lit up with realization. "Wait, no, we have, haven't we?" she asked. He shook his head and slumped into a chair. Cadance wracked her memory. She realized he was right. "Oh, well, Shining, that's not you failing as a husband! That- that doesn't mean anything!"

"Doesn't it?"

"No!" she said emphatically. "Shining, the day of the wedding... it was exhausting! Even without the changelings, the whole event was just- I was wiped out! Not to mention how you must have felt after being down in that cave that whole time! I wouldn't have expected you to be able to... do that right after an experience like that." 

It certainly didn't keep him from doing it with his sister that day, Shining thought.

"And then the whole 'meeting the new couple' tour of Equestria that Aunt Tia set up for us. Even with the long weekend at the Horseshoe Bay Resort, it wasn't much of a honeymoon. I know I was just happy to get some rest and sleep in."

"Yeah, me too."

"And then when we got back to Canterlot, moving the rest of your personal things to the villa. And then getting called upon to save the empire, and now-" she looked at the movers bringing in their stuff. "Shining, I love you. But these past few weeks have been so busy, and I've just been so tired, intimacy has been the last thing on my mind!" Cadance shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I guess I didn't realize how much of a problem it had become for you. If anything, I feel like a failure as a bride." 

Shining Armor jumped up to his hooves.

"No. NO! Don't EVER say that!" he said, nearly in tears. "You are a WONDERFUL bride, Cadance! I'm am so, SO lucky to have you! I thought it was a problem for you! I felt terrible!"

"Shining, no!" Cadance rushed into his hooves and they hugged each other tightly.

"I feel like such a bad pony," he said, pressing his face into her shoulder. Cadance slammed the bedroom door shut with her magic and grabbed his face with her hooves aggressively. She stared at him in the eyes. Her expression looked angry.

"You are a GOOD pony, Shining!" she said.

"Cadie-"

"You are a GOOD pony!" she repeated. "You are my husband, my prince and my captain. I am your wife and your princess, and you WILL accept my word as the infallible truth of your goddess that I am!" Sombra's vision of him being punished for being a bad pony invaded his thoughts. She could see his spirit breaking before her eyes. "You're a good pony!" He was openly crying. Cadance couldn't bear to see her stallion falling apart like this. "Say the words!"

"Cadie, I-" he choked up. Her love spell slammed into him, evaporating the dark visions from his mind.

"SAY THE FUCKING WORDS!" she screamed through her own tears.

"I'm a good pony!" he forced out through his sobs. She wrapped her hooves around him again and clutched him tightly to her chest as he cried into her mane. She was grateful for the soundproof spell she had thrown up on the walls. Her tiara fell loose from her haggard mane and tumbled across the parquet floor. She lifted it with her magic as she continued to hold him. Before she put it back on, she took a second to look at the inscription on the inside of it. It was, in her opinion, the best advice that her aunt had ever given her in preparation for becoming a princess.



~ Keep Calm ~



"It's okay," Cadance said with a sigh, setting the tiara back on her head as she continued to hold him. "It'll be okay. Shhh." She was right. It had been an exhausting time for both of them since the wedding. She could feel him wearing himself out against her shoulder. She led him over to the bed, and helped him into it. "Come on. Have a nap. I'll let you know when it's time for dinner."

"You take such good care of me," he said.

"Damn right," she said with smile. "Every stallion needs a mare when his life is a mess. Because just like in the game of chess, the queen protects the king."





"How is it looking?" Princess Luna asked, joining her sister on the castle balcony that evening.

"Hmm," Celestia said in a neutral tone, looking through her telescope at Ponyville. Luna nudged her aside and bent over to look through it, herself.

"The Ponyville apple orchard is covered in a thick sheet of ice in the height of summer," Luna said. "Yes, I'd say Discord is free."

"Any other indicators?" Celestia asked, from behind her, brushing her sister's tail aside with her hoof. Luna quickly turned and slapped Celestia's hoof away, looking about for any nosy pegasi before glaring at her. "I guess not," Celestia said with disappointment, finding that her sister was still exactly that, and not her 'brother'. Luna looked back in the telescope again. A bright flash caused her to avert her eyes.

"Ow," Luna groaned. Even with the unaided eye, they could both see Sweet Apple Acres returning to normal.

"Well I'd say that looks like a mission accomplished," Celestia said.

"Or they turned him back into a statue again," Luna said.

"Hmm. Well in either case..." Celestia leaped over the edge of the balcony, down to where her chariot was waiting on standby. 

~

A short flight later, Celestia disembarked in Ponyville, pleased to see that Discord was neither stone, nor wreaking havoc. "I take it that things went well?" she asked the assembled ponies.

"Yes, Princess, I'm ready to use my magic for good instead of evil," Discord said, before muttering, "Most of the time."

"Congratulations on your success, ponies," Celestia said. "I definitely sense a big change in Discord. I'll leave the Elements of Harmony with you, Twilight. Just in case."

"Fluttershy was the one that found a way to reform Discord," Twilight said. "By treating Discord as a friend, she got him to realize that friendship is actually important to him. And something that once he had, he didn't want to lose."

"Go on. Say it," Fluttershy said to Discord.

"Oh, alright. Friendship is magic," he said quickly.

"See? He can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him," Fluttershy said. Everypony else, including Celestia, looked away in visible discomfort.

"Whh-chish!" One of the pegasi guards made a 'whipped' sound.

"As it so happens, I would like to get to know him," Celestia said. "Discord, if you would?" She motioned for him to walk with her away from the others. Her pegasi guards moved to follow her. "You stay here," she commanded of them. She and Discord walked for a time until they were far enough away from the others to not be heard.

"Did you miss me, Discord?" Celestia asked rhetorically, mocking him from the last time they had met. "I missed you."

"So, Celestia, when you said 'get to know me'..." Discord rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "What do you mean by that, exactly?" he asked. "Because you see, um, Fluttershy called me her friend, so I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious."

"I can't imagine you being serious about anything. Though I am flattered." Celestia said with a light blush. "Anyway that's not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway."

"Okay."

"I must admit, I was a bit hurt the last time we met and you accused me of being 'grim' and 'boring'," she said.

"I'm... sorry?"

"Oh, that's quite alright. I didn't plan for you to be reformed just so I could come here seeking an apology. Do you really think me so petty?" Discord knew better than to answer that. But it did make him curious about her true motivations.

"Then what was your plan?" he asked.

"I don't think anypony would deny that you are the undisputed champion of pranks," Celestia began, buttering him up with a compliment.

"Go on."

"Well, it may come to you as something of a surprise, but I'm a bit of a prankster myself," she said. Discord stopped in his tracks.

"That does come as a surprise."

"Well, as it just so happens, my sister, Luna has a date tonight. And I think it would be just riotous if you were to give her that little, hmmm, 'addition' you did last time you were a draconequus about town."

"..."

"..."

"You... are an enigma, Celestia."

"High praise, coming from you."

"No. I mean it. You orchestrated my reformation just for a prank on your sister?" he asked. "What's your real plan!?"

"Who's to say that I have one?" she asked.

"I do!" Discord said, tapping his chest with his thumb. "I know you better than anypony. Well enough to know that even I could learn a thing or two about puppeteering from you. You always have a plan.  You don't so much as take a dump without a plan!" he said. Celestia didn't bother to hide her smirk. 

"Being turned to stone doesn't keep me from hearing every word you say," he told her. "Although I'll admit it does make rolling my eyes a challenge." His head shifted into looking like hers. "I have use for Discord's magic, if it can be reformed to serve good instead of evil," he said to her in her own voice. His form returned to normal. "Your exact words."

"So they are," she admitted.

"So what is it, Celestia? What's you're big plan for Discord?" he asked. Her smirk didn't budge.

"Oh, I forgot how grim you can be, Discord. It's really quite boring," she said, trying her best to imitate his voice. Discord remained unmoved. "Now if you will excuse me, I must return to Canterlot. I'm expecting some male. So why don't we just keep it at the one prank for our first date, hmm?" she teased and gave him a quick smirk before patting him on the cheek with her hoof and flying away.

"It's not a date! I'm friends with Fluttershy now! I- oh, forget it!" He huffed as she flew out of range of his voice. He stood there, alone, at the edge of the forest and resigned himself to his fate. For now. 

"Alright... Alright.... Let us find out where this goes."

Discord snapped his fingers.





Princess Luna leaned on the balcony railing, looking down at Ponyville in the valley below the mountain. She awaited her sister's return with good news. Though, to be truthful, she did not hold out hope for good news. She would have been quite happy with the simple absence of bad news. That, at the very least, Discord returned to stone and the Elements had not be compromised. The fact that the sun and moon were not zipping up and down from the horizon, and the absence of chocolate rain seemed promising.

"I guess it went better than I expected," Luna mused to herself. A quick flash of light behind her grabbed her attention. She turned to look, but instead felt something else become her more-pressing concern. A new weight beneath her tail. Luna lifted one of her hind legs and glanced under herself at the darker shade of blue that was her sheath. She lowered her leg again. "Oh." She braced herself for what she knew was surely coming next.

A second, larger, brighter flash of light heralded the arrival of her teleporting sister. Before Luna could react, her sister's hoof was upon her leg, lifting it again urgently. Celestia smiled so wide that one could almost tie her lips behind her head. Luna pulled her leg away from her hoof. 

"Brother mine," Celestia said in a meek, yet seductive tone, tugging at the dominant side of her younger sister, "Would you kindly... ravage me?" By the stars, it was like Luna had been waiting all day to hear those words. Something inside her changed even more than her genitals. She shuddered with a rush of emotional power directed at her sister. She picked up Celestia with her magic and literally, not figuratively, but literally threw her inside the bedroom, onto the bed. The large alicorn hit the bed with a full force belly flop. Sturdy as it was, the frame still broke in half under her.

Celestia lifted her head to use her magic to fix the bed only to feel Luna land on top of her, her hoof slamming Celestia's face down into the pillow and she lifted her alabaster ass up with her magic. Celestia felt a rush of adrenaline. Luna knew that Celestia, being immortal, liked feeling like she could die. Not that Celestia had a death wish.

The simple fact was that Celestia loved being dominated in bed. That she, after having to be in charge for so long, to be in control for so long, wanted to feel some kind of risk. She didn't want to die, but she just didn't want to be sure that she was going to live. It was something that only Luna could truly understand about her, and why Celestia's suitors in centuries past could never truly satisfy her. Even by her command for the stallions to spank her, the paltry slaps they gave her ass, and the apologies that followed their assurances that they respected her, left her feeling so unfulfilled. She knew that they respected her. Which was why she needed them to abuse her.

The weight of her sister's hoof on the back of her head thrilled her, filled her with fantastic terror that made her take deep, panicked gasps into the pillow. Each stifled breath giving her less of the oxygen her burning lungs needed. The deprivation gave her head a dizzying high and made her wet with excitement. An effect that did not go unnoticed by the blue alicorn standing over her lewd display.

The smell of her sister's arousal brought her new appendage to life. The tip of her cock emerged from her sheath. Luna leaned forward and rubbed it against her sister's hot wetness. The contact made her twitch a bit harder, but she held her hips against Celestia's, giving it no room to grow as it got firmer. 

Celestia's leg twitched and jerked in an involuntary spasm. Luna understood and released her hoof from the back of Celestia's head. Her face shot up from the pillow and inhaled so hard it was like an inward scream. Luna's wings sprang open at her sister's display of mortal weakness. Her hoof joined her other, holding Celestia's hips hard against her own and her cock was forcibly trying to extend against Celestia's pussy. Luna ground her hips against hers, smearing more of her sister's wetness and spreading her pussy's lips. 

There would be no foreplay this time. Luna did not know for how long they had for this. This fucking. There was no pretense of making love. No tenderness. This was simple breeding. As raw and desperate as the very survival of a species from the dawn of time. With just a bit more movement and luck, the tip of her cock slipped inside Celestia's entrance.

Celestia nearly cried out but for Luna's weight on top of her pushing back down against the bedding. It was only a few inches of Luna's semi-hard shaft. But in the new enveloping warmth it grew quickly, in both length and girth. Luna remained motionless, resting her balls against Celestia's winking clitoris. But Celestia could feel her sister's throbbing cock getting deeper with every beat of her heart. The moment she felt Luna completely fill her, the very instant she was at full mast, she began to move. 

Luna immediately went from zero to sixty with such haste as to put Rainbow Dash to shame. She at first pulled back so rapidly that Celestia feared that she might pull the rest of her organs with her. That is, if Celestia had even the time to form such a thought before Luna thrusted back in fast enough to make Celestia's heart feel like it was in her throat. When the tip of her cock bumped against Celestia's cervix, it was like when she tripped and fell, and for a brief instant, her stomach felt like it was flipping. She felt something that she thought she would never feel again during sex: pain. Her sister rutted her with such wild abandon that Celestia could do nothing more than simply hold-the-buck-on to the sheets.

Princess Luna, for her part, was doing her best to multi task. Her first priority was to cum just as fast as she could before anything else happened. But it didn't preclude her from making the most of her time.

In the bygone times before her banishment as Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna was heralded alongside her sister as a deity. But while Celestia enjoyed the prayers of church-going worshipers during the day, Luna's reverence came the the private prayers in the bedrooms, praising her as, among other things, the Goddess of Fertility. Not to be confused with love. True to her title, Princess Luna knew an entire suite of spells for the arena of sex. Her horn glowed with blue light.

Tonight, she would use them all.

First, Luna cast an estrous spell on Celestia. Her emotional desire for sex turned into a very real physical need, the likes of which any mortal mare had never before witnessed. Luna followed that quickly by an arousal enhancement spell, as if Celestia could possibly be any more aroused. Celestia's pussy practically gushed with juices. The wet sound of their hips smacking together sounded like the rhythmic slaps of a steam boat's paddle wheel. The next volley of Luna's magic was directed at herself.

Discord's magic did not skimp on Luna's generous proportions. But Luna could be more creative than that. Her next spell made it vibrate. Celestia struggled to even breathe. She had wanted Luna to fuck her, and Luna obliged in spades, intent to leave her sister as a quivering mess by the end. Luna's balls swelled a bit larger with Luna's prodigious spell. A stallion her size would have a hefty load to begin with. Her spell would increase that volume at least four fold. The extra weight swung like a pendulum against Celestia's constantly winking clit. 

Luna brought her hoof down across Celestia's ass hard enough to leave a red outline, and then with her other hoof. She wrapped them both around Celestia's waist and rapidly humped her with all the speed of a rabbit. Discord's affinity for pranks might yet pull this rug of bliss out from under her, and she would not be denied this time. She fucked Celestia just as fast as she could.

Celestia's orgasms chained together. The peaks of pleasure stretching out into a constant plateau of euphoric ecstasy. She couldn't talk. She couldn't even think. As much as she normally deplored the expression, she literally could not even.

Luna made no attempt to postpone her own climax. She felt herself nearing the point of no return. She only pushed harder and deeper. Celestia felt Luna's cock flare wide, deep inside her, stretching her depths like she had never felt before. Luna felt herself going over the edge as her balls tightened and her shaft began to twitch and throb. She pulled Celestia tight to her body and held herself deep inside.

Celestia saw stars when she felt the first bout of Luna's hot cum burst inside of her. And then again, and again. Volleys of Luna's semen flooding her pussy. Luna's pillow was damp with Celestia's tears of joy. They'd finally been able to do it.

Celestia's pussy quickly filled to the brim even as Luna continued to cum inside her. The snug seal of her flare caused the pressure of her cum to begin to push her out. Luna held Celestia's hips tighter and pushed herself back against the rising tide. Celestia felt like she had vertigo when she felt the strange sensation of her forcing her cum through the tiny opening in her cervix to her womb. Luna continued to cum, refilling Celestia's pussy, and pushing Luna's thick cock out. When she finally finished cumming, she repeated the motion, pushing the rest of her load deep inside her sister's uterus, leaving only a few ounces that managed to dribble out around her shaft.

Luna panted in exhaustion as she held herself there, keeping Celestia's marehood elevated, and plugged with her cock, intent on keeping every last drop that she could inside. In spite of her best efforts, her shaft began to soften and wilt. Celestia felt it slowly retreat from her until the tip slipped from her marehood, even as Luna kept her sheath pressed against it.

"Luna... my neck..." Celestia groaned. Luna saw the awkward way Celestia was pressed downward against the bed.

"Oh. Sorry," she said, getting off, and laying down beside her. With the deed complete, Luna's male anatomy vanished in a flash of chaotic light, leaving behind her original, mottled-blue princesshood.

Celestia adjusted herself enough to get out of the stressful position. She did her best to keep her lower half elevated. But as the pleasure of the event wore off, Celestia felt a sharp pain. The battering that her marehood had taken would surely leave her a bit bruised. And she felt her belly stretched to a degree that would normally take a couple of months with foal. She clutched her belly and keeled over onto the mattress. The impact forced a significant amount of cum to rush out of her, soaking the bedding and her tail, leaving it not-so-wavy.

Once the worst of it passed, Celestia's pained clutching of her stomach became a gentle rubbing as she dreamed of what would soon be. The two sisters laid there on the stained bedding, in the room reeking of sex. 

~

"Oh, to be a fly on the wall," Discord said inaudibly to himself, disguised as a tiny fly on the wall. He made good his unseen escape through the parted window.





Luna saw Celestia off to her own bedchambers before returning to her own to carefully collect her bedding to be brought down to the laundering room. Carrying the linen in her magic, she opened the door of her bedroom to leave.

"Your Highnesss," Echo greeted with a slight hiss.

"Gah!" Luna dropped her bedding. "What are you doing!?"

"Reporting for duty," Echo said, motioning to the clock on the wall. Luna quickly gathered up the linen again and pushed her way past the batpony to head downstairs. Echo followed after her. "Was he good? Kekekek," she asked with a snicker.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Luna said a bit too quickly.

"Oh please. I was a filly once, too," Echo teased, following Luna into the washroom. "I know what it means when somepony is hastily bringing their own linens down to be washed themselves. Especially when they have servants for that. Not to mention the..." Echo sniffed the air. "That delightful aroma of... 'Eau de Shame'." Luna quickly shoved the bedding into the soapy water. "Not all of that was just a mare'sss delight." Luna glared at Echo. "So how was he?" Luna narrowed her eyes and walked past her

"I've work to do," Luna said.

"Yes, yes. Of course," Echo said, walking after her. Luna paused just outside of the throne room.

"Actually, there is something you can do for me," Luna said. "But it will require the utmost secrecy!" Echo's slit eyes lit up.

"You have my attention, Highnesss."

"It's a caper. A heist," Luna said. "You will need to break into a facility and acquire something for me without being detected at all."

"Ooh. Go on."

"I've worked it out in my head. But we are going to need about nine more ponies to pull it off..." Luna spent the next several minutes laying out the plan to Echo, the item, the place and time, everything. "... and it needs to be as soon as possible."

"Well you've got the right mare for the job," Echo said. "This will be a piece of cake."

"Echo, I am serious. This absolutely can NOT come back to me. There can be no connection between this, and myself," Luna said. "If you are caught, I will disavow all knowledge of you. Do you understand?"

"Keep calm, Princess," Echo said. Back upstairs, she let out a shriek that was just barely in Luna's range of hearing. The alicorn felt it in her teeth more than she heard it. Sunshine and Meadowlark flew down from the Belfry to report for duty. "Alright you two," Echo said to them, "stay here and keep guard..."


"... I need to go pull off the heist of the century."







The Heist of the Century


Echo flew to the Canterlot Apothecary and walked in through the front door with the 'open' sign on it. She walked over to the 'family planning' aisle and grabbed a pregnancy test and brought it up to the front counter.

"I would like to purchase this pregnancy test," Echo said to the clerk. "I'm going to bring it home and pee on it to see if I am pregnant from the sexual intercourse that I had."

"What a coincidence," said the stallion in line behind her. "I'm buying this box of condoms. I'm going to put one on my penis to prevent pregnancy and sexual transmission of disease during intercourse."

"I applaud your responsibility," Echo said to the stallion.

"And I see these kind of purchases all day," said the store clerk, "by all kinds of ponies, all the time. I make minimum wage and I literally do not give a shit about what anyone buys from here. So there's never any need to ever feel embarrassed about buying either of these items." 

Echo then paid the clerk for the pregnancy test and left. She flew back to Princess Luna to secretly deliver the goods that did not require eleven ponies and crawling through air ducts. "Some ponies..."
> Games, and Ponies Played
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Usually it's you who's helping me get dressed," Princess Cadance said to Shining Armor, as she helped him into his royal regalia in front of his mirror.

"I can dress myself," Shining groaned and she helped him with the buttons of his dress shirt.

"I know," Cadance said. "But I want to. Hopefully it will help you relax about the Games Inspector coming. As a prince, you have to look the part."

"I don't feel the part," he said. "What am I even supposed to do? She's going to want to see you and I'm just going to... be there, smiling and waving."

"You're a prince. You'll play your part. Just try to be diplomatic about it."

"I felt like I was doing fine as a Captain of the Royal Guard. I was good at yelling at ponies under my command and getting things done. Being there for when the diplomacy of princesses failed," he said. Cadance paused and walked to the bedroom window, looking at the stadium across the way.

"You know what? You're right!" she said. She unbuttoned his shirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Putting you to good use!" she said, pulling the silly prince suit off of her Royal Guard. "You're right. You're not a prince. Not at heart. Maybe that time will come later but for now, let's treat you like the pony you are."

"And that is?" he asked.

"A stallion of action!" she said, pointing to the window. "That's the stadium where I hope to hold the Equestrian Games. But leave that to me. You need to go out there and make sure that our crystal ponies will be the ones that win, regardless of where the games happen. That's what you are! A leader of the ponies in the trenches. A motivator! You were never meant to be some haughty prince sitting in a dining hall sipping tea while discussing foreign relations. It was silly of me to try to force you into a box that you were never going to fit. That's not the stallion I married." She walked over to him and kissed him on the lips. "That's not the pony I fell in love with."

"Okay... Yeah. Yeah, I can do that!" he said. The light returned to his eyes that she hadn't seen in far too long. "What should I wear?" he asked.

"Wear something comfortable. I imagine you'll be out there on the field leading by example," she said. He rummaged through the last box of his civilian effects and pulled out an old hoofball cap and a whistle. He looked back at her. 

"Are you sure it will be okay if I'm not there?" he asked.

"I am the princess of the Crystal Empire," she said with emphasis. "I will make it okay."

"But what if-"

"HEY!" Cadance silenced him, and took a deep breath, holding her hoof to her chest. He did the same, taking a deep breath, and holding his own hoof to his chest. Each of them breathed out slowly, and 'pushed their worries away' with their hooves, just as she had taught him. "Keep calm. I'm going to go to the empire spa anyway to have my mane done up with the Ceremonial Headdress, and greeting the welcoming committee there. I'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"Keep calm," he repeated.

"I love you," she said, kissing him again.

"I love you too." He smiled and left to go motivate the athletes in the stadium.





A short while later, Twilight Sparkle and her friends disembarked at the train station and they made their way to the spa. "We're here," Twilight said.

"Oh, there are my girls!" Cadance said, getting up from her massage. She trotted over to Twilight and as if on cue, they both danced together.

Sunshine sunshine
Ladybugs awake!
Clap your hooves
and do a little shake!

Rarity fawned about the spa.

"It's all complimentary for the welcome committee," Cadance said to Rarity and her friends. "Go ahead and try whatever you want." Twilight panicked that Cadance had said that with Pinkie Pie in the room. Pinkie Pie proceeded to try to do a cannonball into the crystal mud bath.

"Pinkie, no!" Twilight yelled at the airborne mare. The pink pony struck the non-Newtonian liquid and it slowly absorbed her, and the impact without so much as a splash. This time, physics defied Pinkie. "I can't take you anywhere!" Cadance put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, gaining her attention. Then she moved her hoof to her own chest and took a deep breath. Twilight followed suit. Each of them breathed out slowly and 'pushed away their worries'.

Keep Calm

It was the mantra that Celestia had taught Cadance, and then Twilight. And now, along with their memories of Cadance as her foal-sitter, it was one of the things they shared. For a brief moment, Twilight thought about her brother, Shining.

Among many things they shared.

The time and distance since the incident with King Sombra had given Twilight the opportunity to begin to compartmentalize those intrusive thoughts. She had made a silent promise to herself that she would be able to get through this trip without thinking about him. At least, not in that way. 

"Go ahead, have a good time while I get my ceremonial headdress done," Cadance said. Twilight winced with the thoughts of Shining Armor on her mind, and the words 'have a good time' in her ear.

"Ceremonial headdress?" Rarity asked.

"When meeting with important guests, it was tradition for rulers of the Crystal Empire to weave crystals into their mane in a very specific way. The Games Inspector is known for doing her homework. She'll certainly be expecting my look to reflect the importance of her visit." The door to the spa opened.

"Princess," the crystal mail pony greeted with a bow, "if I may have a word, I have two pieces of news for you. First is that your mane stylist has the flu, and won't be able to make it for fear of you catching it, too."

"Oh, well I hope she's better soon. Do any of the other stylists here know how to do the royal ceremonial headdress? " Cadance asked. Murmurs to the negative came from the rest of the staff.

"I suppose I could give it a shot," Rarity said.

"Oh? Is there a lot of overlap between dress making and mane-styling?" Cadance asked.

"Well, uh-"

"Maybe one of the other mane stylists who are already, you know, mane stylists, could 'give it a shot'," Cadance said. "I do have the written instructions."

"Besides, we need you for the dance sequence we rehearsed," Rainbow Dash said. "We can't do a six-pony pyramid with just five ponies."

"You said you had a second bit of news?" Cadance asked the mail pony.

"Yes, quite. The Games Inspector, Ms. Harshwhinny, will be arriving on the next train, fifteen minutes from now." Shocked gasps went through the group.

"Quick, to the train station!" Twilight said. The six of them left, leaving Cadance to get her mane done. "Everypony just be on the lookout for the pony with the flower-print luggage." They arrived there just in time for the train to pull into the station. Twilight scanned over the ponies stepping off of the train, spotting a flower-print bag in the hooves of a casually dressed mare. "There!" Twilight pointed.

"Psh," Rarity scoffed. "Darling, look at that thing. It's simply gaudy and it has a gash in it that had clearly been there for some time! Hardly the bag of a mare of such high stature. Really darling, you must have an eye for fashion for these sort of things." 

"Well then I'm glad you're here and not trying to be a mane stylist," Twilight said. 

"But I just wanted to touch her mane," Rarity whimpered. Another mare stepped off the train with a much finer flower print bag and business suit. "That's our mare," Rarity said with confidence.

"Alright everypony..." Twilight whispered to the group, "like we practiced."

~

After a well-rehearsed greeting, the welcome committee brought Ms. Harshwhinny back to the castle. Cadance was there to greet her with bells on, and crystals in her mane. Ms. Harshwhinny gave and received cordial platitudes. She looked behind Cadance at... nothing.

"It was my understanding that there was a prince as well?" Harshwhinny asked. She didn't say it out loud, but her tone and expression made it clear. Is he too good to be here?

"He'll be here soon to join us for lunch. He's seeing to the athletes... in the stadium," Cadance said, making hard eye contact with Twilight. "He already has his ceremonial attire from his bedroom," she added.

"I should assume so," Harshwhinny said. "It seems strange that you would say that, unprompted." Twilight got the hint.

"If you would just excuse me a moment," Twilight said, quickly removing herself from the group. She ran upstairs to the royal bedchambers. Shining's outfit was laid out on the bed already. She gathered it up and turned to leave. Her hoof clipped the corner of a box under the bed. The top slid slightly ajar. Twilight knelt down to put it back, catching a glimpse of the contents. A variety of marital aides. "Oh my." Her hoof moved to open the box. "I shouldn't..." She bit her lip. "I shouldn't for very long."

Twilight looked at the many objects, but one thing stuck out most. It was an open 'clone-a-willy' kit box. Twilight picked up the box and a silicon replica of Shining's penis slid out. She hadn't seen many in her life, but Twilight knew that every penis looked unique. And she had seen his close enough to recognize the familiar vein that ran along the underside that looked like a perfect bolt of lightning. She picked it up, feeling the weight of it in her hooves. A shiver ran down her spine that made her tail twitch. As much as she wanted to...

"There's no time," she scolded herself. She put everything back and grabbed Shining's clothes. She made haste through the castle and headed out to the stadium.





Shining Armor stood and waited for the Crystal Empire Track and Field team to finish stretching. Everypony was so happy and excited that their crystal fur was in full, translucent luster. One of the more limber athletes leaned back and pulled her hind leg up to nearly behind her head.

Shining gulped. Even their crystal uniforms were see-through. And the way she was positioning herself... If he was a bit closer he'd be able if the mare was still a virgin for pony's sake. Shining felt his loins stir. With all the excitement surrounding the games, he and Cadance had been too busy or tired to see to each other's physical needs. Nor had he seen to his own. Not that he had felt it since Sombra, and the top of the spire with... Twilie.

The married stallion mentally berated himself. He had just gotten done getting over his self-confidence issues with Cadance. He didn't need another bout of temptation feeding his guilt. From the corner of his eye, he spotted temptation trotting down the stadium stairs.

Fuck.

He knew Twilight was going to be in the empire today. He knew that it was extremely probable that he would see her at some point. He had mentally prepared himself earlier for the encounter. But the oh-so-limber crystal ponies stretching out nearby had him caught off balance. He tried to do the calming exercise that Cadance had taught him. Keep calm.

"Twiley!" he called out, trying not to sound like he was greeting the pony with whom he'd had adulterous incest.

"Hello there," Twilight replied, trying not to sound like she'd just had just a replica of her brother's penis in her hooves only minutes earlier. Once she was close enough, her concern came through. "Shining Armor, you've got to help me-" Shining Armor panicked, unsure of what Twilight had come all this way to talk about with him, away from her friends, and his wife. He blew the whistle, starting the track team running.

"Everything okay?" he asked nervously.

"I left the other ponies behind giving the Games Inspector the worst castle tour ever." 

"Come on gang!" Shining shouted at the ponies running around the track. "Are we gonna gallop, or are we gonna trot?" He looked back at Twilight and grinned. "The whistle makes me their god," he joked. "So a castle tour huh? I'm pretty sure I can give you a hoof with that," he said. "Let's move! Move! Move!" he shouted.

"Luckily, Cadance was there," Twilight continued, "but Ms. Harshwhinny was expecting to see you, too, for the castle tour," Twilight explained, showing him the clothes that she brought. Shining sighed.

"I figured she might," he said, taking the whistle off from around his neck. He turned to trot away from Twilight. 

"Hey, the castle is this way," Twilight said.

"Yes. But I've been running around. I'm a sweaty mess, and the locker room showers are closer." Twilight followed after him with his clothes. In the empty locker room, Twilight looked at the rows of lockers.

"Which one is yours?" she asked, looking for a place to hang his formal wear.

"None of them," he said, walking over to the showers. 

"Well I can't just leave these on the floor," she said, standing there impatiently with his clothes in her hooves. He ignored her and turned on the water. He grabbed a bottle of shampoo and quickly washed his fur, taking care to not get his mane or tail wet. He glanced over at Twilight. She was just standing there watching him bathe.

"Can you... not watch me?" he asked.

"Nothing I haven't already seen," she said matter-of-factly.

"It's just-" he tried not to think about it. He remembered being in the barracks at basic training with fifty nine other guards all showering after PT. It wasn't that he was self conscious. He was just afraid that after seeing those crystal ponies stretching... and Twilight right there... "Can you just turn around or something?" he asked. Twilight rolled her eyes and did an about-face. Shining resumed his shower, scrubbing as quickly and efficiently as possible. He glanced over at Twilight again. Her flank was turned to him. Her tail swished from side to side, showing off her-

He felt his loins stirring again. No-no-no! he cursed. Of all the times to get an erection, now was not the time. He tried to ignore it, to will it away. But as soon as the warm water hit it it was game over. His penis slid out of his sheath in a smooth motion and hung under him. He looked to see if Twilight had noticed, only to see her marehood once again looking back at him. His shaft throbbed to full mast. There was one last thing he could try.

He braced himself and turn the shower knob. The ground water of the frozen north blasted through, dousing him with arctic water that was just barely above freezing. He couldn't stifle the yelp as he leaped out from under the water. His hooves slipped out from under him on the slick tile and he ended up on his back. Twilight turned around from the noise to see what was wrong. His problem was obvious. She practically salivated.

"Really!?" Twilight said, trying to mask her own desire with an annoyed tone.

"It was the water!" he said defensively, quickly getting back to his hooves.

"These are form-fitting!" she said of his clothes. "There's no way you can get dressed with that."

"I know!" He forced himself back under the frigid spray. But it didn't matter how cold the water was. With Twilight there, his erection could have fucked a hole into a glacier. There was no time for games or being coy. His horn glowed and he started stroking himself with his magic.

"What are you doing!?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm dealing with it!" he said.

"Right in front of me?"

"Nopony is making you watch," he said. Twilight quickly closed and locked the door to the locker room before anypony else came along. 

Twilight had a thought. It was am impulsive thought, and she knew it plainly well. But just as stallions were prone to act on impulsive thoughts, so too, could mares. So too, could Twilight. Twilight just had the presence of mind to be aware of the fact that it was an impulsive thought. And that made it okay. Twilight mentally cursed him for putting her in this position. She mentally cursed herself for not being strong enough to resist it. For not being smart enough to think of a better alternative.

"There's a faster way," Twilight said, turning her rump to him and lifting her tail. Her marehood was like the most powerful magnet in the universe. And his eyes were cheap metal. His head twisted so fast it almost snapped his neck.

Which was exactly what Cadance would do if she ever found out.

"Twi, no!" he said. "We can't! I told you-"

"I know, I know! Shine, this doesn't have to mean anything," she said as she bent over lower. "This isn't about you, or me. This is for the sake of the Equestria Games! For the empire! We're out of time! It's an emergency!"

This is crazy, Shining thought

This is crazy, Twilight thought.

"Fuck!" he cursed himself as he walked over to her. She just stayed in the same position, face down, ass up, not looking at him. "This doesn't change anything!" he said sternly, rearing up to mount her. Twilight grunted as she felt him push into her surprisingly-wet entrance. She kept her mind focused as he started to hump her. Her magic grabbed a couple towels. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Multi-tasking," she said as she started to towel his fur dry while he fucked her. "Now hurry up!" Not that he needed any further instruction. He was fucking her just as fast as he could, the white blur of his body could have been mistaken for a very large bunny. There was no intimacy in the act. It was simply a means to dealing with a need. That's what he kept telling himself. It was an emergency, for the games, for the empire. That was why he had to do it. That was why he has to fuck his sister. That was why he had to fuck Twiley... deep inside her hot, wet... pussy.

"Hng," Shining grunted. Twilight felt him flaring inside her. He went to pull out but her magic wrapped the towels tightly across the back of his hips, holding him against her. "F-fuck!" he cursed as he started to cum. It had been so long since the last time he had actually ejaculated. His resistance evaporated as soon his first shot burst inside her and it was too late. He just gripped her hips and pushed himself deeper as he came. "Twiley!" he moaned. As quick as it was, Twilight didn't expect herself to climax, though she had been close. But hearing him moan her name just as he came inside her struck her so unexpectedly that it sent her over the edge. Her pussy quivered and milked him as he continued to cum. 

"Fuck. Fuck, you're safe right!?" he asked. Twilight just shuddered at the question's implications in the aftershocks of her orgasm.

"Yeah, of course I am," she lied. "This just saves a mess," she said, letting him finally pull out. Shining staggered back for a moment. Twilight shook the haze of her climax and got back to her serious task. She started dressing his upper half while his erection finished retreating into his sheath. She combed his mane with her magic while he got into the rest of his ceremonial outfit. She looked at the clock. They still had fifteen minutes. They made haste back to the castle.

"I think that was a record for you," she said quietly with a smirk.

"Yeah, well it's been a while," he said absentmindedly. Twilight's smile vanished.

"Oh... Sorry," Twilight said. Shining froze. His words registered in his head after he heard himself say them. He felt ashamed for admitting such a thing as a newlywed.

"I mean- I just mean, we've been so busy and- and..." he trailed off. He wanted to try to explain it to her. He tried to explain it to himself. But the words of his excuses sounded hollow, even to him. "It was nothing. All that... back there was nothing. I'm- I'm still a good pony!"

"I know that!" Twilight said with a worried expression. "Who ever said that you weren't?" He didn't answer. "Shining!?"

"A pony that cheats on his wife... with his own sister..."

"That doesn't make you a bad pony. You're still a good pony. Everything's going to be okay," she said.

"Everything's going to be okay," he repeated. He took a deep breath and put his hoof to his chest. Twilight did the same. Each of them 'pushed away' their worries. 

"I'm not worried," Twilight said, finding that she actually felt it in her heart. Cadance's de-stress meditation method worked. "I'm not worried! It worked!" Shining nodded.

"Come on," he said. "We've got a Games Inspector to impress."



 

The next morning, Princess Celestia sat on the throne. Not the one in the throne room. The porcelain one. Princess Luna stood by the doorway of the royal washroom. On the counter beside Celestia sat the test kit. She watched and waited by the dawn's early light. Time did not pass any more quickly for an immortal being than anypony else. Two minutes was a long time for any mare in her position.

"What about Sunspot?" Celestia said.

"No way. Nebula. Princess Nebula!"

"It's going to be a colt. What about Solar Flare?"

"Any name with 'flare' in it sounds sexual," Luna said. Besides, how do you know it's going to be a colt?" Luna asked. "What about Nyx?"

"Ugh! Who would name a pony that!? And it is going to be a colt. I can tell," said with certainty.

The solution in the kit changed color. Celestia read the back of the pregnancy test box again.

"How does that expression go about counting your foals before they hatch?" Luna asked. Celestia just stared at the tile floor and sighed in defeat. It was negative.  "So what now?" Luna asked.





Fluttershy answered the knock at her cottage door.

"Oh my! P-Princess Celestia!" she squeaked and bowed quickly. "T-this is such an unexpected honor! W-what can I do for you, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"Hello Fluttershy," Celestia greeted. "Congratulations on helping the Crystal Empire become the host of the Equestrian Games."

"Oh... well, thank you," Fluttershy said.

"Though as for the social call, I was actually just wondering if... he was here."

"Oh, you mean Discord?" she asked. At the mention of his name, Discord appeared with a flash of light.

"You called, Fluttershy?" he asked and then looked at Celestia. "Oh. Is this pony bothering you? Do you need me to rough them up a bit!?" he asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh, goodness no!" Fluttershy said. "In fact Princess Celestia was just asking about you."

"Is that so?" Discord asked.

"Indeed," Celestia said. "Discord, is there someplace you and I could speak?"

"Oh, someplace where nopony will hear us? Certainly!" With a snap of his fingers the two of them vanished. An instant later, they reappeared. "Here we are!" Celestia fell to her knees and clutched her throat. She could see the whole world from where they were. It was very far away. "Someplace where nopony can hear us," he announced with pride. "The moon!"

Celestia flailed her hooves.

"I'm sorry princess. I can't hear you either. You see, there's no air on the moon. And your spirit isn't magically trapped in the moon, like your sister was. So I imagine your experience must be a little different right now."

Celestia's panicked tears froze into ice at the corners of her eyes.

"If you'd like to return to Equestria, just turn blue with asphyxiation, and I will take that as your sign for your wish to depart." Celestia began to do exactly that. "Oh, all right. You're no fun at all." He snapped his fingers. The two of them reappeared on the top of Canterlot Mountain. The air was thin, but life-giving all the same.

"GAAHUUUUUH!" Celestia inhaled so hard it was like an inward scream.

"I believe what you're trying to say is 'thank you'."

"Thank you!?" she gasped angrily.

"You're welcome!" he cheered. "Now you were saying?"

"I'm going to kill you!" she growled between gasps.

"Such ingratitude! And just after I saved your life."

"I could have died!"

"Yes, that's what I meant by saving your life. And really, I would never do anything to kill you, Celestia. There's nothing more boring than a corpse. Though perhaps a zombie Celestia could be fun..."

"Discord!"

"Fine, fine. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked. Celestia took a second to compose herself.

"I want you -"

"Whoa there!" Discord cut her off. "I'm friends with Fluttershy now. So I'm going to have to ask you to stop flirting with me!"

"I want you to..." Celestia huffed, "Could you do that prank on Luna again?"

"That poor mare. She has such a conniving sister. After being sent to the moon by, isn't being twice-made a stallion enough punishment too?"

"It's... it's not, uh, like that," Celestia said.

"Oh? Then what is it 'uh, like'?"

"She... her marefriend-"

"Ooh! Luna has a marefriend? Saucy!" he said. Celestia took a deep breath and counted to ten. Stay calm.

"Her... marefriend... wants to have a foal. And they tried the last time you... did that to Luna. But it didn't work."

"Hm hmhm..." A low laugh bubbled up from within Discord. It started so low and quiet it almost sounded like indigestion at first. It came out as a chuckle but then quickly boiled over into a fit of full-bellied laughter. "HUAHHAHAHA!" Discord fell over onto the ground. "OH HAHAHA OH MY SIDES! OH! OH this it TOO MUCH! AHHA HAHAHA! Priceless!"

Celestia waited.

"Are you quite finished?"

"OH HAHAAHA! Look how serious you are! So haughty and coy! Like you're so sure that I don't know!" he laughed harder.

Celestia's poker-face cracked.

"Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when she had your face shoved into that pillow!"

Celestia's hoof moved in a flash and gave him an uppercut so hard that his head came clean off of his neck. But that didn't stop it from laughing. She stomped it into the snow until it was a crimson slushy.

"Really, now," the freshly appearing head on his neck said, "Don't you think that's a bit much?"

"NOT A WORD!" Celestia screamed, kicking his legs out from under him. "Not a word to anypony about anything!" she yelled, stomping the rest of his body until her fur was likewise stained. A face formed in the puddle of... Discord.

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it," Discord said, reforming into his normal self, creating a zipper over his mouth. He unzipped it with his paw to speak. "And really, who would believe me? Remember, you're the perfect princess, and I'm the evil draconequus. And besides-" he snapped his fingers, making several books appear in his arms. "... these guys have already done a much better job of it." He showed some of them to her. A Tail of Two Sisters. Princest. Lunestia. Eclipse. And more. 

"You really should visit the erotic section of the bookstore more often," he said. "Some of these are just positively inspired! Eclipse, where the moon comes in front of the sun! I mean, you just can't beat wordplay like that!" Celestia's cheeks turned redder than her hooves. Another snap of his fingers and the books vanished again.

"What do you want?" Celestia growled.

"What make you think that I want anything?"

"You're blackmailing me."

"I'm not. And besides I already told you that my word isn't worth much in this realm. And any evidence I could produce would be regarded as fabrications. A downside to being able to do almost anything is a complete loss of credibility like that. And I think the more relevant question here is what you want. Which I find hilarious."

"Fine then," Celestia said. "Laugh it up. But can you still do it?"

"Of course I can. But that's not the point. It's not about what you want me to do, but why," he said.

"The why is none of your concern,"

"Oh, but it is!" he said. "Because Luna can never give you a foal!" The words struck Celestia like a swift slap across her face. Her last shred of poise melted away.

"W- what!?" she asked in sad desperation.

"I can do almost anything, Celestia. But as much as it pains me to admit it, I'm not an omnipotent god. I do have limits. I could give her a penis that would give you cider, or even confetti... But never a foal."

"..."

Celestia felt her throat tighten. She failed to sniff back her tears. He hadn't expected to make her cry.

"I- I'm... sorry," Discord apologized, as the smile ran away from his face. "I guess it's really not that funny after all." He snapped his fingers and cleaned the snow and her fur of stains. He held his fingers up, ready to snap them again. "Can I offer you a ride home?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. Thank you. I think I'll fly. I... need some time to think." Celestia turned and jumped off the edge of the mountain.

~

Back at the castle, Luna was waiting in Celestia's bedroom. She reared up onto the edge of her bed and idly thrusted her hips while she looked at herself in the mirror until she heard Celestia land on the balcony. She opened the door and walked into her room.

"So...?" Luna asked. Celestia shook her head.

"It's not going to happen," she said. Luna hugged her. It looked like her sister needed it. Celestia hugged her back. She was too tired to cry. "Go on, I know you're tired. I'll see you at sunset," Celestia said and then kissed her farewell.  Celestia watched her leave. Her eyes drifted across her room to Starswirl's unfinished spell book on her desk. 

"Back to Plan A."
> Liquid Pride
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A unicorn feverishly worked in their laboratory study, trying different combinations of spells and potions long into the night. There had to be some way, some way to do it, they thought.

"Still at it?" Celestia asked.

"Celestia!" they said, surprised to see her up so late.

"Were you expecting my sister?" Celestia asked.

"I wasn't expecting anypony. I work alone down here."

"Have you yet learned nothing of the value of friendship?" Celestia asked. The unicorn scoffed. 

"Friends come and go. But enemies accumulate. What we need now is something that can combat our greatest enemy."

"And what is our greatest enemy?" Celestia asked. 

"Time, Your Highness." The bells of his hat jingled as Starswirl the Bearded turned to look at Celestia with his old, tired eyes. The deep lines in his aged face were canyons in his mortal flesh. "Time is always against us." He looked at the perfection that was her ageless beauty. "Most of us, anyway." He looked down at his wrinkled, gnarled hooves, ravaged with arthritis. "It's not fair," he said with a sort of moan. "It's not fair that we should grow old and die."

"Star,"

"I know. I understand why ponies need to be able to die because of population stability and yadda yadda! I know! But even as a pony of science... it still feels unfair." He shuffled through his notes and opened another book. "I'm close, Tia," he said with an edge of excitement. "I'm close to creating a new magic. One that could allow me to... combat time. There is something to the magic of cutie marks. There has to be a reason why normal unicorn magic can't make a cutie mark appear before its time. Some vital piece of information that we don't yet understand. If I can tap into the magic of cutie marks... of powerful mortal ponies like the Pillars-"

"Don't drag your friends into this nonsense!" Celestia said.

"The Pillars," he said with emphasis, eschewing the word 'friends' "they could be the key to making this work! By combining their strengths, their talents, the magic in their cutie marks, I could use that power! I could be able to ascend!" Celestia put her hoof on his.

"Starswirl, you need to stop this!" Celestia said. "Many a mage have gone mad, or worse, treading this path you are on."

"I know. I've read their works," he said motioning to the names on the books. "Standing on the shoulders of giants."

"Taking the magic of others... there was another who thought like that," Celestia said. Starswirl glared at her.

"Do NOT compare me to him! I am nothing like Tirek. He was a monster. Even his own brother, Scorpan could see that! I am not stealing anypony's magic." He looked over the spell he was working on. "Just... borrowing it. They'll get it back just as soon as-" 

"As soon as you're an alicorn?" she asked.

"That has always been the goal. Hasn't it? An alicorn stallion for you to have as your suitor?" he asked. Celestia looked over his shoulder at the spell.

"It was never about time, was it?" Celestia asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's not fair..." Starswirl repeated. "It should be me. I should at least have a chance! I-" Starswirl felt himself choking up.

"What would your sister say?" Celestia asked.

"She wouldn't say anything. My sister has been dead for years and I'm not a necromancer. All I know is that I loved you," he said.

"And you already know how my sister feels about that," Celestia said.

"She still hasn't let that go?" he asked.

"You know her," Celestia said. "Luna is not one to part with a grudge easily. Particularly when it comes to her sister stealing away her special somepony."

"You didn't steal me away," he said. "She simply had an academic difference of opinion regarding our... program."

"Oh, you mean the one where I breed you and your pegasus sister?" Celestia sarcassed. "And breed your descendants until one of your unicorn colts comes with a pair of wings? Yes. I recall she was quite vocal about her 'academic difference of opinion' on the matter." 

"Ancient history," Starswirl breathed. He walked over to another table where a large tome laid. He flipped through the pages to the beginning branches of a family tree. There was still a blank spot at the top where his name was supposed to be, beside his sister's. He still wavered on whether or not he wanted his name attached to this project. He had experimented with inbreeding with the short life spans and high reproduction rates of mice. He knew what would happen soon. 

"She was right to be upset," Starswirl said, looking over his notes. "It will get worse before it gets better. Offspring born blind. Stillborn." He poured himself a glass of wine. "My... grandson just got his cutie mark... I imagine you'll be reintroducing him to his sister in a few years time."

"Just as we planned," Celestia said, noticing that the sun began to rise outside. "It's a little early to start drinking wine."

"Who stops?" he said, finishing the glass. He read over his latest spell again.

From one to another, 
another to one.
A mark of you're destiny,
singled out alone fulfilled.

"You're terrible at writing spells when you're drunk," Celestia said. "That doesn't even rhyme."

"I'm not drunk," Starswirl defended. "I'm so close." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Not to being drunk, but to figuring out this spell. I could prevent so much heartache. So much pain... and deceit. I could become an alicorn! I know I can! But it's... just beyond my grasp. Soon. I'll figure it out soon, and then... and then you and I..." he yawned.

"You need to get some rest. You can't be pulling these all-nighters anymore. You're-"

"Too old!?" Starswirl snapped. "Well soon it will no longer matter."

"Okay, okay," Celestia humored him. "But not right now. Please get some sleep."

"Well if you're inviting me..." he said with a coy smile.

"You know that I'm not," she said firmly. Starswirl's smile vanished.

"But if I were an alicorn?"

"Star-"

"Does that big, royal bed of yours not get lonesome, Tia?" he asked. "Even my own, modest bed feels far too large without another pony beside me."

"..."

"..."

"I think you are drunk," Celestia said. "Get some sleep. There will be time later."

"No time for rest," Starswirl said. "But then I shouldn't expect somepony like you to understand the concept of having a finite amount of time!" he growled as he looked through the mess on his desk for his journal concerning the Pillars. "Now where is that damn journal!?" The door to Starswirl's study opened. It was the earth pony, Rockhoof, one of the other Pillars.

"Starswirl!" he said in his thick, regional accent. "Stygian has taken my shovel and the other Pillars' items! Do ya still have your magic book?"

"He must have taken my journal some time yesterday!" Starswirl fumed. He closed the book with his ascension spell and readied himself to leave. "Go! Gather the others! We must confront him at once!" Rockhoof turned and ran to do just that. Starswirl looked at Celestia again.

"Stygian is a gifted mage. If I'm this close to learning the power of the Pillars' magic, he may be as well. And he may be less than gracious in 'borrowing' our magic without the intent to return it!"

"Do you really think he would do that?" Celestia asked. "He's the one that gathered you all together as a force for good."

"I do. I have always sensed an air of envy in him," Starswirl said.

"He envies your friendship!" Celestia said. "If you would be but more inclusive-"

"Friendship is fleeting!" Starswirl spat. "I wouldn't expect you to understand the machinations of a mortal mind. He's a pony with power. And he desires what all ponies with power want; more power." He grabbed his cloak and reached for the door.

"Starswirl!" Celestia called out. He paused and looked back at her. She walked closer to him. He waited, hoping beyond all hope for a kiss for- "Good luck," she said. No kiss came. He was not lucky enough for that. Starswirl huffed.

"In my experience, there is no such thing as luck." He left and shut the door behind him. Celestia looked back at his desk, running her hoof along the edge of his ascension spell book's bindings.

"...Only the intersection where hard work and opportunity meet," she said, finishing the saying.





1000 Years Later





Spike was relaxing in his bubble bath when there came a knock at the bathroom door.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Spike, are you done in there?" Twilight asked. "If you're not out of that bath soon I'm just going to come in there and pee in the tub." Twilight huffed and trotted back downstairs in the Golden Oaks Library.

"Don't threaten me with a good time," Spike muttered under his breath.  

There was a knock at the front door. Twilight opened it. "Special delivery from Princess Celestia," the mail pony said. Twilight accepted the package and opened it. It was a very old book, with a letter attached.



Dear Twilight Sparkle,

The spell contained on the last page of this book is Starswirl the Bearded's secret, unfinished masterpiece. He was never able to get it right, and thus, abandoned it. I believe you are the only pony who can understand and re-write it.

- Princess Celestia



"Ooh." Twilight opened the book and flipped to the last page. 

From one to another,
another to one.
A mark of you're destiny,
singled out alone fulfilled.

"That doesn't make sense. It doesn't even rhyme," she said. She heard Spike getting out of the bathroom and set the book down. It was a puzzle that could wait until morning.





"Do you think that she'll figure it out?" Princess Luna asked her older sister.

"I think so," Princess Celestia said. "She's a clever filly. I'm confident that she'll work it out."

"I'm surprised you didn't ascend her the way you did Cadance," Luna said.

"Who says I didn't try?" Celestia asked. "You were there. You watched me put that same piece of the Crystal Empire in Twilight's hooves. But she already had her cutie mark, the mark of the Tree of Harmony, and her connection to the Elements. Cadance, on the other hoof, was still a blank flank pegasus. As soon as she touched the shard she got her cutie mark and... well, I was just as surprised as anypony would be when I saw her horn sprout from her forehead."

"The Crystal Princess," Luna said dramatically.

"A portent of things to come," Celestia replied.

"You really think his spell will be the key for Twilight?" Luna asked.

"If she can channel the inherent magic bound up in her friends' cutie marks into herself..."

"Or the Elements themselves," Luna suggested.

"Possibly. In either case, it should be enough to give her the magical nudge she needs to ascend."

"You mean for you to give her the genetic nudge she needs to ascend," Luna corrected.

"But the magic has to be from within her."

"If his spell works." Luna said.

"It will. He knew he was onto something," Celestia said.

"Yes. My sister," Luna quipped.

"Luna,"

"And his sister," she continued.

"Are we going to fight about this again now?" Celestia asked. Luna looked at her and sighed. Just remembering the old conflict tired her.

"... No. You just seem so confident that his spell will work, even though it never did before."

"It was never going to work for him. He was nowhere near enough an alicorn. If I were to try such a modification on him, I would have been just as likely to turn him into a frog."

"Better than nothing," Luna muttered.

"You know I had nothing to do with their disappearance," Celestia said. Luna said nothing and moved to look into the telescope on their balcony again.

"The library is dark. I imagine she must have gone to bed," Luna said.

"I suppose I should do the same," Celestia said. "Let me know if anything happens." She turned to leave. 

"Tia," Luna said, pausing Celestia's departure. "I'm... sorry. I guess it's still a sore subject for me. But as you're so fond of saying, time heals all wounds." Celestia just stood there for a moment.

"No. Not all of them," Celestia sighed. Luna walked over to her and gave her a kiss goodnight.





The next morning found Twilight's Ponyville friends sporting each others' cutie marks and feebly attempting each others' vocations. Rarity was messing with the weather. Rainbow Dash was squatting in Fluttershy's cottage. Fluttershy, meanwhile was at Sugarcube Corner.

"Twilight, please get rid of her," Carrot Cake said. "She doesn't know how to bake and she's ruining our business with her terrible comedy act."

"I never in my life thought I would say this," Cup Cake said, "but we miss Pinkie Pie."

Twilight and Spike went to Sweet Apple acres.

"Twilight, I'm scared," Applebloom said. "Pinkie has my sister's cutie mark and keeps calling me her sister."

"I know she ain't my sister!" Big Mac said. "That isn't the sister I love!" Twilight and Spike looked at him. Big Mac turned a darker shade of red. "AS as sister!"

"Well, by process of elimination..." Twilight said as she and Spike made haste to find Applejack at the Carousel Boutique.

The horror.

The horror.

Twilight and Spike ran just as fast as they could from that nightmare.

"There's not enough alcohol and therapy in the world that's going to let me un-see Applejack trying to make dresses!" Spike cried.

"This is bad. This is very, very bad," Twilight said.

"What's going on? Why is this happening?" Spike asked.

"Last night, while you were taking one of your seven-hour bubble baths, I got a special delivery from the princess!"

"Princess Luna?" Spike asked.

"No."

"Princess Cadance?" 

"No! Princess Celestia!"

"Okay, well, I'm just saying, there are three of them. So when ponies say THE princess, referring to Celestia, it's a little presumptuous."

"You can kiss Luna's dappled ass later, Spike. We have bigger problems right now. I cast the spell she sent me to find out what it was." Spike raised his eyebrow.

"Is that how you check if something is poisonous too?" he asked. "By eating it?" She ignored him.

"But nothing seemed to happen. But something did happen! The spell has changed the Elements of Harmony!" she said, motioning towards the glass case with the Elements inside. The Elements had changed colors and their associations with each bearer. "That must be why their cutie marks are all wrong!"

"So just cast a counter-spell to switch them back!" Spike suggested.

"There is no counter-spell!" Twilight said, double-checking the book.

"So again, just to be clear, you knew there wasn't a counter-spell and you still just cast it!?"

"Spike!"

"Why don't you just use that memory spell you used to fix everypony when Discord was here?"

"It's not their memories, Spike. It's their true selves that have been altered."

"Well, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe our friends will grow to like their new lives."

"No, Spike. They're not who they are meant to be anymore. Their destinies are now changed. And it's all my fault." 

"Well I think THE princess is partially to blame too for sending the spell to you."

"She trusted me!" Twilight said.

"And considering your track record with this sort of stuff, one really has to question her judgement."

"Spike!"

"Okay, what about Zecora's cure for the cutie pox?"

"That won't work either." Twilight turned to go upstairs.

"Wait! Cast the spell again!" Spike said.

"What? Spike, if you're just going to make stupid suggestions, then just leave me alone!"

"I mean it! Cast the spell again! If it changed the Elements, it can change them again! It can change them back!" he said.

"Spike, that is..." Twilight stopped and seriously thought about it for a second. "That just might be stupid enough to work!" she squealed. "And even if it doesn't, it can't make things any worse."

Spike shuddered at the memory of Applejack trying to make dresses. "No," he agreed. "It' can't."

"Come on," Twilight said. "Let's go gather up the others and bring them back here!"





Prince Shining Armor sat in the waiting room at the doctor's office. The ticking of the wall clock seemed overbearingly loud in the relative silence of the room. He shuffled through the magazines on the table to try to find something to distract himself from the noise of the clock. And his thoughts. The events of the last few days replayed in his head. 

~

"Shining, I don't understand what the problem is," Cadance said.

"Well I don't either," he said. "I've just been tired."

"Shining, I get that you were tired after the wedding. I get that you were tired during the honeymoon tour. I get that you were tired after dealing with Sombra, and stressed out from moving to the Crystal Empire, and then the Equestrian Games inspector. But we've been here for two weeks now, and I cleared your schedule for the last three days in a row. You're making me run out of possibilities."

"..."

"... Is it me?" Cadance asked nervously.

"No!" Shining answered immediately.

"What is it then?" Cadance asked.

"..."

"Shining, please! Talk to me!" Cadance begged.

"Look... I don't know why I... can't. I want to. I want you! You are beautiful and sexy, and... Cadance, I love you!"

"I love you too. But, well... maybe you should see a doctor about it," Cadance suggested.

"What?"

"Please? For me? So I can stop worrying at least?" she begged.

"Okay, okay."

~

"Good morning Your High-" the doctor greeted.

"Shining, please. Titles make my fur crawl."

"Alright then. What brings you in today?" she asked.

"I'm... fine," he said. She just stared at him for a moment and blinked.

"... Well this was a short appointment!" she said, slapping her pen down on her clipboard. "I think I'll take an extra-long lunch."

"Wait! I mean, I do have a problem, but it's not an emergency," he said.

"Yeah. I figured that. We have a whole room for emergencies. We call it the emergency room. Catchy name, I know. And since you're here, and not there..."

"I have a problem... down there."

"Oh no! Not your hooves!" she teased.

"No, I mean-" he huffed "It's embarrassing."

"Look, I actually do want that long lunch. So what is it, do you have a carrot stuck in your butt?"

"I- what!? NO! Wait, does that actually happen!?" he asked. She nodded.

"Oh yes, I've seen it all. I assure you, you're not going to shock me. So what did you get stuck in there?"

"It's- it's not my butt! It's my di- my penis," he said, trying to use the proper word to make it sound less embarrassing. But once he heard himself say it, it had the opposite effect. "Sometimes I can't... it doesn't..."

"Do you have trouble getting an erection? Ejaculating?" she asked as bluntly as she could.

"...Yes."

"Okay. Well, you're a little young, but it happens. When was the last time you had an erection?" she asked. 

"This morning and... well, every morning, really," he said. She made a note.

"Well, what I mean is more from stimulation. Either physically, visually or thinking about something arousing." He remembered when the Games Inspector was visiting. When he was coaching the crystal ponies were stretching...

"Last week," he said. She made a note.

"And when was the last time you ejaculated?"

"The same time," he said trying to keep his answers simple and his mind from wandering.

"Now was this by masturbation or intercourse?" she asked. He tried not to remember the look of his white and blue mottled penis sliding in and out of his little sister's perfect little purple pussy. 

"Intercourse," he said. He really tried not to think about it. But the more he tried, the harder it got. 

Literally. 

"Oh," she said as he got hard sitting in front of her on the exam table.

"Sorry! Sorrysorrysorry!" he blushed and covered himself.

"It's okay. It isn't the first time this has happened. Let me just update this note about 'most recent erection'." She made some more notes and put on her exam gloves. "Alright, let's have a look."

"..."

"Move your hooves, please?" she said. He did as he was told and put his hooves to his sides. She looked him over, keeping it brief and clinical. "Well from what I can tell, everything seems normal for a stallion of your age and... *ahem* the lucky princess."

"Not exactly," he said.

"So what exactly is the nature of the problem?"

"I'm fine. It's fine. I just can't... with her. It's been weeks since we've done it."

"Weeks? Plural?" the doctor asked. He nodded. "But you said you had intercourse last week." Shining Armor's fur somehow turned whiter as his eyes shrank to pinpricks.

"Fuck!" he panicked. "No. I mean, yes, but uh, I uh-!" She put her hoof up to stop him.

"Sir, I am under oath that nothing discussed here leaves this room. My only concern is how you are doing, not with whom." Shining started to cry. She started filling out two slips. She gave them to him. He couldn't read them through his blurry vision.

"What... are these?" he asked.

"One of those is a prescription for Neighagra that you likely don't need. The other is a referral."

"A referral?" he asked.

"For an analyst," she said.

"I told you I don't have a problem with my butt," he said. 

She chuckled.

"A psychoanalyst, Mr. Armor. A therapist. I suspect that your problem is psychological in nature. But this is where my job ends and hers begins. If you really believe that you have a physical dysfunction then you can take the Neighagra and I'm confident that it will work. But if you think that it could be something else... then go see her."

"Thank you... doctor."

Shining stopped by the pharmacy and nervously gave them the prescription slip. The pharmacist barely looked at him. He barely looked at the slip. He looked like he was barely awake. He moved on autopilot as he filled the prescription and gave it Shining in an unassuming brown paper bag. He left and headed back to the castle.





"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight read aloud to her friends in her library home. The color of the Elements that they were wearing, and their cutie marks, shuffled around.

"Twilight, darling, is this really necessary?" Rarity asked. "I have a town that I need to make smile."

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight read aloud again. The Elements' colors and their cutie marks shuffled around again.

"And I need to harvest my apples," Fluttershy said.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight repeated. More shuffling.

"And I have animals that I need to feed..." Pinkie Pie said, "to other animals."

"Oh no," Spike cried in terror.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight repeated, growing frustrated.

"I have clothes that I need to make twenty percent cooler!" Rainbow Dash said.

"OH NO!" Spike cried louder.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone FULFILLED!" Twilight yelled.

"And I need to buck clouds..." Applejack said. "But I have no damn clue how I'm going to do it."

"Why isn't it working?" Spike asked.

"The princess-"

"Celestia," Spike interrupted.

"Would you drop it!?" Twilight snapped. "Princess Celestia said that Starswirl was never able to get the spell right and he abandoned it. So there must be something missing," Twilight said as she looked over the spell again. "Or something wrong with the spell... itself..." Twilight trailed off as she stared at the spell. She blinked. And then she blinked again. She looked at it as though she were just seeing it for the first time. The color drained from her face.

"No..." Twilight breathed. "It can't be! Not Starswirl!" She read it again and again, hearing the words in her mind. But she still couldn't believe it. It had been right in front of her the entire time. But she had been blind to the solution. It was so obvious that it hurt.  "Not Starswirl!" she yelled through angry tears. 

"What!? What is it!?" Spike asked.

"I understand now. I know how to fix the spell!" Twilight said.

"You don't look too happy about it," Spike said as she grabbed her quill and ink. 

"He was my hero, Spike," Twilight said as she fixed the spell. "There is no joy in this for me." With the correction made, she read the spell one last time. The Elements and cutie marks were restored to their proper places. 

And then each of her friends' Elements fired a beam of magic at her. 

In a flash of blinding-white light, Twilight disappeared.





"Hello?" Twilight's voice echoed into the endless void of the pocket universe. "Where am I? What is this place?" 

"Those aren't the questions you should be asking," a disembodied voice answered back. Her eyes strained to focus in the nothingness of it until a pale, blurry figure shimmered into existence. As it moved towards her she watched it take the shape of a pony. Princess Celestia.

"Congratulations Twilight. I knew you could do it," Celestia said.

"Princess! I don't understand. What did I do?"

"You did something today that's never been done before. Something even a great unicorn like Starswirl the Bearded was not able to do. Because he did not understand friendship like you do. The lessons you have learned here in Ponyville have taught you well." 

"Here in Ponyville?" Twilight asked, looking around them. "But we're not in Ponyville."

"Yes. We are. It's just an inch away from your face," Celestia said. "You've created a pocket dimension. When I felt it happen, I came to join you in it."

"A pocket dimension? Like where you keep your Bonsai tree? But I thought only Alicorn magic could do that," Twilight said. Celestia could only smile.

"That's true," Celestia said, her smile only growing wider. "You've created new magic, Twilight. A means of channeling the magic in cutie marks, and the Elements of Harmony themselves. The very magic of friendship, itself."

"But I just thought that was a cheesy expression," Twilight said.

"Perhaps it was, once. But not any longer. The figurative magic of friendship has been made as real and tangible as any other... by you. You have proven that you're ready."

"Ready? Ready for what?" Twilight asked. Twilight's horn did not glow. But the magic appeared all the same from within her. The raw magic of the Elements and in cutie marks, shaped by the power of friendship, and guided by Celestia. The magic surrounded and permeated the body of the unicorn, giving a billion tiny pushes to the genetic coding in each of her cells.

"To fulfill your destiny!"





"Okay, okay. We need to get our story straight," Rainbow Dash said as she and the others put the Elements back in the glass case. "We sneak out of here, go home, and never speak about this again. We were never here!"

"Surely you can't be serious!" Applejack said.

"I am serious," Dash said. "And don't call me Shirley. I'm on probation! I already have two strikes. And Fluttershy can't go to jail! They'll rape her! They'll rape her good!"

"Oh... my," Fluttershy squeaked.

"But everypony saw us come here today!" Pinkie said.

"We can say it happened some time in the night," Rarity said, also not wanting to wear a gaudy prison uniform. The five of them walked outside into the dark town. It was quiet, and most ponies were asleep. "All we have to do is sneak out of here without drawing any attention."

A bright flash of purple light in the sky was followed by a booming report, waking everyone in the town. A giant image of Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark appeared in the sky and moved down towards them, drawing an enormous amount of attention to the five ponies. The cutie mark dissolved into a blinding white light. The shape of a pony emerged.

"Twilight? Is that you?" Applejack asked. The light slowly faded, revealing the pony returned. Twilight spread her wings.

"She's an angel now!" Fluttershy said.

"Oh shit! Her ghost did not waste any time in haunting us!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm not dead!" Twilight said.

"Darling, you've become an alicorn!" Rarity said. "I didn't even know that was possible."

"Alicorn party!" Pinkie Pie cheered, swinging in from the top of the TV screen.

"Wow. You look just like the princess!" Fluttershy said.

"A princess," Spike said, "She looks like A princess."

"That's because she is A princess," Celestia said, drifting down to the ground.

"A princess!?" Twilight gasped. Celestia put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Since you've come to Ponyville, you've displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and of course the leadership of a true princess," Celestia said.

"But does this mean I won't be your student anymore?"

"Not in the same way as before," Celestia said. "I'll still be here to help an guide you. But we're all your students now too. You are an inspiration to us all, Twilight." Celestia bowed to Twilight. The other ponies followed suit.

"But... what do I do now?" Twilight asked. "Is there a book about being a princess I should read?" Celestia couldn't help but chuckle.

"There will be time for all of that later," she assured her. "But for now... there is much to be done."





"Fuck. Fuck!" Shining Armor cursed as he struggled to deal with his erection in his Canterlot Castle guest suite. But he was accustomed to dealing with the unexpected.

When he had gotten home from the doctor's appointment the previous evening, he didn't expect Cadance to have packed his bag for him. He didn't expect them to have been urgently summoned to Canterlot. He didn't expect them to be on the very next overnight train. He didn't expect it to be a super-formal wear coronation, of his sister, no less. But he promised himself that the moment he saw her, he would tell her how proud he was of her.

He didn't expect himself to have left his prescription in his saddlebag. Despite all that, he was never one to waste an opportunity. While Cadance was in the shower, he took one of the Neighagra pills. He'd have quite the surprise for her once he snuck into the shower with her. 

But there came a frantic knock at the suite's door. He opened it.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, my Prince," the messenger pony said. "Princess Celestia has asked to see Cadance as soon as possible to have her ceremonial dress fitted."

"I'll be right there!" Cadance called from the bathroom, quickly drying her mane and fur. A few moments later she was on her way out the door. "Shouldn't take more than an hour or two," she assured Shining, kissing him before she closed the door and left him alone. That was when the pill started to kick in.

~

"Fuck," Shining cursed at his raging boner. He looked at the clock. Shouldn't take more than an hour or two, she had said. By then he'd have to be getting dressed as well. And by the feel of it, his stiffy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He realized he would have to deal with it himself. "Fuck!"

Shining walked into the bathroom and reared up to lean over the toilet. He wrapped his hoof around his shaft and started jerking himself off as quickly as he could.  He closed his eyes and tried to think about Cadance. He tried to think about the sexiest thing possible. The two did not overlap. He looked at himself in the mirror, jerking off in the bathroom in secret like some disgusting colt. "Fuck it." He allowed himself to think about Twilight. He let himself revel in the fantasy. He could feel himself getting close. He felt his balls tighten. His cock began to flare as he imagined himself on top of her, fucking her while she moaned out his name. 

"Shiny!?"

Shining's eyes snapped open and he turned to look at the bathroom doorway. As he did, his body turned with him, and along with that, the aim of his trajectory.

"Twilie!?!" he cried out in equal parts moan and surprise. It was all the warning she got before the first massive blast of sperm rocketed from his cock, hitting her squarely in the horn, and everything around it. They were both frozen in shock as the second load splashed across her cheek.

"SHINING!" she shrieked, shielding her face with her hoof. He quickly directed the rest of his prodigious load to the toilet. 

But he had rehearsed telling her how proud he was so many times for when he first saw her. He tried to say "I'm proud of you." 

"Did you really just jizz on my face!?" she asked, scarcely able to believe what the fuck did just happen. His mind registered a question being asked.

"Of course not! It's- it's liquid pride! Totally different thing," he said.

"Aww, well then it's okay, big brother."

"... Really!?"

"NO! Fix it! Fix it fix it FIX IT!" she screamed. He tried to wipe it off her, but it was everywhere. In her fur, in her mane. The paltry sink basin was not up to the task. "I need a shower. Now! And so do you!" She said as she got into the shower. She was right. A lot of it had gotten into his fur as well. If it dried it would discolor and get crusty. He would need time for his mane to dry too. Time that he wouldn't have if he waited. He got into the shower with her. "You can help scrub my back while you're in here," she said, getting the last of his baby batter out of her mane. She passed him the soap.

"So... wings huh?" he said as he carefully washed her, well practiced with cleaning Cadance's wings.

"Yup," she said back, unsure of what else to say in the current situation. The panic of protein stains in her fur had passed.

"Wait, why are you even here?" he asked.

"I saw Cadance, and she sent me to tell you her fitting was going to take a little longer than she said. And I wanted to see you before the ceremony anyway. But I didn't think you'd be..." she trailed off and looked back at him. Shining looked down at himself. Even after just cumming, the effects of the pill were still coursing through him.

"This erection still isn't going anywhere," he said in frustration. He looked up at her, catching her eyes looking back at him and his problem. She smirked and wiggled her hips.

"Oh, I think we both know exactly where it's going," she said.  Between her eyes and her hips, she gave him the double barrels of persuasion. And in that moment, another hoof-full of guilt added to his existing mountain mattered little.





After a thorough 'cleaning', they each dried themselves off and Twilight left to go get into her ceremonial dress and get ready to be in position for her big arrival. Shining also got dressed and headed out to the ceremonial hall to be among the VIP spectators and join back up with Cadance as soon as the ceremony was over. And it was a beautiful ceremony.

"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion," Celestia began. "My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has done many extraordinary thing since she's lived in Ponyville. She even helped to reunite me with my sister, Princess Luna. But today, Twilight did something extraordinary. She created new magic. Proving without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned as Equestria's newest princess. Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Princess Twilight Sparkle made her grand entrance and walked up to the stage to stand before the attendees. Twilight's parents were among them. Her father beamed with pride and mother dried her tears of joy. Twilight walked with the other princesses out onto the castle balcony to the cheers of the city crowds below.

"Say something," Celestia said.

"A little while ago, my teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia, sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship, which is something I didn't really care much about. But now, on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for the friendships that I've made with all of you. Each one of you taught me something about friendship. And for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, everypony!"  

While Twilight Sparkle made her speech, Princess Celestia turned her gaze to another 'Twilight', catching the attention of Velvet in the audience. The 'we need to talk' expression on both of their faces was clear. But it could wait until later. Today was Princess Sparkle's day.

"Twilight," Celestia said. "Oh, I mean, Princess Twilight," she said, making her student blush. "I really am so proud of you," she said with a smile. "But I'm quite curious as to how it was you managed to solve Starswirl's spell." Twilight focused her magic. It came more easily to her after her ascension. She teleported the book from her distant library with relative ease. She opened it and showed it to Princess Celestia. She read over the spell. Her alabaster face turned a whiter shade of pale in abject disbelief. Her smile vanished.

From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're your destiny singled out alone fulfilled.




> Princess Twilight Sparkle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia sat at the breakfast nook table in her private study. Before her was the checkered pattern of the chess board. Upon it, the many pieces that had been carefully moved over the course of the match. Celestia took a small, polite sip of her morning tea as she regarded the board. Her eyes glanced up at her opponent. The other pony moved a black piece to defend some territory in the center of the board.

Celestia moved her piece to counter. It could easily be taken, but as the pony tried to take it out with their queen, Celestia chided her.

"Ah ah, Twilight," Celestia said, pointing at the exposed king. "That move would put you in check." She moved the piece back and made a different, less favorable move. The white rook in the center was unassailable for now. Celestia counted the steps in her mind. Twilight made a steeple of her hooves in front of her nose as she tried to anticipate her mentor's move. Celestia moved up her bishop to fork the black king and queen, putting her in check. Twilight couldn't retaliate with her own queen without leaving herself in check from the other rook now. All she could do was move to block with her knight.

Celestia's hoof made just the tiniest nudge of her pawn into the back rank, promoting it into a queen. She didn't even have to say the words. Twilight could plainly see it. Check mate.

"Mate by promotion. How appropriate. But then you always were the chess master."

"With time and planning, pawns can become anything. Even queens," Celestia said with just the hint of a smile. "One mustn't underestimate them."

"No... One mustn't," Twilight Velvet said. "So now that you have two queens in the game..." she trailed off and took a sip of her tea. "What do you plan to do with them?" Celestia gathered up the pieces and regarded the promoted pawn.

"I suppose I never really needed a second one," Celestia said. "But you and your brother presented me with an opportunity too good to ignore."

"Lucky you," Velvet said.

"In my experience, there is no such thing as luck," Celestia said. "Where ponies see luck, I see the meeting of preparation and opportunity." Celestia glanced over at her desk. Upon it was her journal pertaining to Twilight Sparkle, emblazoned with her student's cutie mark. The mark of the Tree of Harmony. "Where others see coincidence, I see... providence."

"You haven't answered my question," Velvet said. 

"Quite right."

"What do you plan to do with my children?"

"Do?" Celestia asked with faux indignation. "I don't need to do anything more. All the pieces are already in place. Twilight has proven to be a valuable asset to Equestria, even without wings. Her ascension was just a bonus. I've already given her some 'royal princess duties' for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. Pretty much the same stuff as last year, but now she get's to make a cameo on the stage during the sunset. Shining and Cadance are married. Their foals are simply a matter of time. A colt, sooner or later." 

"What's your endgame, Celestia?" she asked with a stern expression. Celestia's soft smile never wavered.

"Velvet..." Celestia said as she swept the rest of the pieces off the board. "You disappoint me." She leaned down to pick up two. "Still haven't figured it out, have you?" She placed the white queen in the center of the board. "Still using all the muscles accept the one that matters?" She placed the black king on the board beside the white queen.

"The end game... has already begun."





Twilight Sparkle's heart pounded in her ears, thundering over the huffs and puffs of her labored breathing.

"Faster! Harder! Keep going! Almost there!" 

Twilight did as she was told, focusing on the effort she was putting into her movements.

"Harder! Just a little more before the big finish!"

"I'm coming!" Twilight cried out. She flapped her wings as hard and as fast as she could, trying to gain a bit of height up to where Rainbow Dash was coaching her flight lesson.

"You gotta really flap 'em hard!" Rainbow said. Their friends watched from the ground as Twilight put a sudden burst of effort into her wings, sending her careening into a tree. "Maybe not that hard," Rainbow advised. Twilight tried again, but ended up crashing semi-gracefully into the ground.

"Looking good up there Princess Twilight," Applejack said.

"Applejack, you know you don't have to call me that," Twilight said.

"Why do you protest so?" Rarity asked. "You've already given up wearing your crown all the time. The least you can do is embrace your new title." 

"If other ponies want to address me that way, I suppose it's fine. But not my friends. It just doesn't feel right. And neither does all this flying business. The Summer Sun Celebration is only two days away. And I'm never going to be ready to perform my part."

"Not if you spend all your time down here, you wont!" Rainbow Dash said. "Now get up there and show everypony the big finish!"

Twilight took off into the air again. It was getting easier with practice, but it was not easy by any means. One of the things she failed to anticipate was interacting with clouds. Before she would move right through them as if there was nothing there. But with her new pegasus magic, she struck the cloud as soft, yet, semi-solid objects, sending her reeling through the air in a tail spin before crashing again with much less grace.

"Wow, that was a big finish!" Pinkie Pie said. Twilight groaned and got up to dust herself off.

"To be fair, the air is a bit thinner up here on Canterlot Mountain," Fluttershy said. "I'm sure it will be a lot easier for you to fly around back in Ponyville."

"I think that's enough flying lessons for now," she said. One of the castle staff trotted out to the group.

"Princess Twilight," he greeted with a curt bow before delivering his report. "The artisan is finished."

"Thank you," Twilight said. He excused himself and she looked at the rest of the group. Rarity was doing her best impression of Pinkie Pie, grinning from ear to ear as she hopped up and down in excitement. "Fine," Twilight huffed. "Let's go look at it." 

They all walked together to go inside Canterlot Castle. They walked through the main hall leading to the throne room. The walls were lined with stained-glass windows depicting the major historic events. The window that once had the scene of Celestia banishing Luna had been removed. Celestia was only too happy to destroy it herself and never again have to look at it. In its place was a new frame of Twilight Sparkle, complete with her crown and new wings.

"You look amazing, darling!" Rarity said. "They've really captured your regality."

"I suppose."

"Don't be so modest," Rarity said. "It's everypony's dream to someday wear a crown and a coronation ceremony preserved in stained glass for all to see."

"I don't know if its every pony's dream," Dash added.

"We better get going. We don't want to miss our train," Fluttershy reminded everyone.

"If the mayor wasn't so desperate for our assistance, we would most certainly stay here in Canterlot," Rarity said. "And of course we do understand that your royal duties must come first."

Twilight accompanied her friends to the train station and made their farewells. Returning to her castle suite, she and Spike went over their Summer Sun Celebration checklist. Spike was pleased to find that they were actually ahead of schedule. Twilight was being her usual ball of anxious, obsessive compulsiveness. 

"These are the first royal duties Princess Celestia has given me. I can't risk letting her down!" Twilight said.

"And I'm sure you won't," Celestia said from the doorway.

"Your Highness!" Spike said giving an exaggerated bow. Twilight followed suit with a bow of her own, if only out of habit.

"No need for that now, Princess Twilight," Celestia said. "I must admit that it is wonderful to actually be looking forward to the Summer Sun Celebration."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"For my subjects, it has always been a celebration of my defeat of Nightmare Moon," Celestia explained. "But for me, it was just a terrible reminder that I'd had to banish my own sister."

"I guess I never really thought about it that way," Twilight said.

"But now it has become a wonderful reminder of her transformation back into Princess Luna, and our happy reunion. I am so pleased that you'll be playing a role in the festivities. You may no longer be my student, Princess Twilight, but I hope you know that I will always be here if you need me. Just as I hope that you will always be there when I need you." Celestia nuzzled her cheek against Twilight's, assuaging the new princess of her worries.

"Spike, where were we?"

"About to call it a night?" he suggested.

"We should probably go over the checklist one more time," she said.

"I knew you were gonna say that," he groaned.

"I'll leave you to it," Celestia said, excusing herself. 

She walked back to her own bedchambers feeling yet another weight lifted from her shoulders. Not only that the holiday was no longer about the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but now that Twilight was stepping up to take over more responsibilities, she would be all the more ready when the time came for her to assume the rest of her work. Her mind wandered as she fantasized about what it would be like to retire one day. Within the safe walls of the castle, she let her guard down.

Celestia shrieked when something seized her leg. What she thought at first was a snake was actually a sentient vine coming up through a crack in the floor. She easily incinerated it with her magic. But another one quickly grew in its place. She dove through the hallway window and took off into the sky to escape its reach. 

From outside, she could see another tendril of vine wrapped around Luna's tower. She flew up to her sister's balcony. Inside, Luna was likewise handling the intrusive vine with ease, if also with annoyance.

"Tia! Is this you?" Luna asked accusingly. She flew outside along with Celestia. Another blast of Luna's magic vaporized the rest of the vine down to its roots at the base of her tower. "I can appreciate a good prank, but Plunder Vines are dangerous!"

"This isn't me, I assure you," Celestia said, looking at the rest of the castle, which appeared to be untouched. They flew away from Luna's tower and landed on a different spire. New vines began to sprout at the base and creep up towards them. "They seem to be specifically coming after us." 

"Coming from where?" Luna asked.

"I don't know yet. But until we find out, we have to lead it away from the castle, and Canterlot."

They flew away from the castle, out to the edge of the city. They each went in opposite directions, circling Canterlot mountain. Luna spotted it first, and called to her sister. She pointed at the long vine running up the side of the mountain. Together, they burned it away with their magic, following it backwards to find its source. Deep in the heart of the Everfree Forrest.

"It's coming from the old castle," Luna said, as they flew toward the familiar location.

"No, not the castle," Celestia corrected once they arrive. "From under it."

"But that means-" They flew down to land in the cavern under the castle. Plunder Vines had wrapped themselves all around the Tree of Harmony. "The vines are suppressing its ability to control the Everfree Forest. It will soon start to encroach on the nearby- Gah!"

One of the vine wrapped itself around Luna's leg while another vine attempted to 'pollinate' her, plunging into her marehood and thrusting vigorously. With a flash of magic, Luna vaporized the vine, and lofted back into the safety of the air with a beat of her wings. Her horn charged up for another volley of arcane fire.

"Together we can eradicate this menace once and for all!" she said, looking to her sister for support. 

"Well, let's not be too rash." Celestia hesitated for a moment, as her eyes scanned over the many phallic flora below them. "After all, this could be a teaching moment for the new princess. We can't be saving the day for her all the time now, can we? And... remember that vacation we always talked about?"

"Sister, surely you are not suggesting that we abandon Equestria in it's hour of need!"

"Not abandoning, no. Just... delegating. And besides..." Celestia landed on the ground beside the Tree of Harmony. Several vines wrapped around her, holding her in place. Two began to probe into her marehood and anus, thrusting in opposition. "I've had less cordial captors," she moaned, enjoying the attention. "I'd say we've earned an evening off."

Luna was dubious at first. But she knew that either of them could easily destroy the vines at any moment with their magic. So there was no real danger. And she could not deny that it looked like her sister was enjoying herself as she watched the thick vines moved in and out of her. She landed on the opposite side of the tree. She winced as she felt the vines snake up her legs again. She gasped as one slipped into her marehood again, twisting and curling inside her. It was as though the vine could sense what was giving her pleasure and focused on those movements. Luna glanced at the entrance to the cavern.

"You should at least set the sun before it gets too late," Luna shouted. Celestia's horn glowed as she struggled to concentrate amid being ravaged so thoroughly. Luna joined her with her own magic. Celestia had the sun halfway down as Luna's moon was about to pass on the way up. Vine wrapped around each of their horns, grounding out their magic with its secretions. The sun and moon halted together in the sky. Luna tried to blast away the vines to right it, but it was no use. The vines absorbed whatever magic she could gather. "Tia!" she shouted. A flower bloomed in front of her, spraying her face with a mist. Luna's vision faded to darkness as she fell unconscious.





Far away, in the Frozen North, the position of the sun and the moon had little bearing on the land of eternal twilight. The Crystal Empire was it's own temperate light and climate amidst the barren tundra. It was the same time of 'evening' there as in Canterlot, but one would only know by looking at a clock. Time passed no more slowly there. But for some, it felt that way.

Prince Shining Armor sat in a waiting room in a long coat, hat, and sunglasses. He was dressed incognito as he did whenever he was out without his personal guards. It was both for his safety and to avoid unwanted attention. Especially when it came to personal matters. He sat there, nervously turning over the appointment card in his hooves. 

Dr. S. E. Dink. Psychoanalyst. 

Shining hated waiting rooms. He hated waiting in general. It was a relic from when he was in the service. 'Hurry up and wait' was a common occurrence there. The commander would call for everypony to be in formation at 0900. So the master sergeant would tell the staff to have everyone there by 0830 to be ready. And then the staff sergeant would tell the everypony to be there by 0800. And of course, everypony would get there by 0730 to be early for the formation. Which resulted in standing around for ninety minutes just to have the commander pop in for 30 seconds to let everyone know that weekend leave had been cancelled. 

Shining hated waiting. In the service it was because it made him feel indignant. But now... it was because it gave him time to think. About himself, his life, everything that had happened, and was still happening. He was a married stallion, having an affair. Bad enough on its own. He was fucking his sister nearly ever time she saw him. Something he knew was illegal in Canterlot. And now that he knew that Tartarus was a real place, he feared that he would surely be going there if it ever got out. 

He was a prince now, married to an alicorn princess and he was banging his alicorn sister. It was taboo enough without all of the notoriety. But together, the stakes were just so much higher. It just seemed so unreal at times. Like a massive house of cards just waiting to collapse at the slightest mistake. It was enough to make any pony feel like they were losing their mind. Sitting in a physiologist's office felt particularly appropriate in that moment.

"Maybe I am going crazy," he wondered. The receptionist opened the door to the office hallway. 

"Doctor Dink will see you now," she said. He followed her inside and she directed him to walk inside the open door at the end of the hallway. The office was simple. A few pieces of practical furniture. A couple filing cabinets a filled bookshelf, and a desk. On the wall above the desk was a framed doctorate in psychology: Dr. Shrink E. Dink. Behind the desk was a rather plain-looking earth pony mare. Her fur was a color that of faded denim. She looked up at him with brown eyes from under her olive green bangs.

"Good morning Mr. A," Dr. Dink greeted, getting up from behind her desk to shake his hoof.

"Morning," Shining replied. He remained standing there in the middle of the room after she returned to her desk.

"Please, have a seat," she offered, motioning to the plush, upholstered chair. He turned on his hoof and sat down and she looked him over. Even with the disguise, there was much about him that was telling. 

"Royal Guard?" she asked.

"Former. Retired, I guess. Why?" he asked. 

She smiled.

"The way you went to parade rest at exactly two paces from the exact center of the front of my desk was the first clue. And the precise execution of that little about-face when you turned to go to sit... Suffice to say I've seen enough service ponies come through that door to know one when I see one."

"Huh. So what else do you know about me?" he asked, nodding at her file folder.

"Not much." She opened the folder for him to see. There was only the referral slip inside for 'Mr. A'. "I only got a referral from your primary care physician, and made an appointment for a 'Mr. A'. Not uncommon as many ponies prefer to not make it know that they are seeking psychiatric help. It is unfortunate that such a stigma exists. So to be clear, Mr. A, I know only that you are- or were a royal guard pony because you just told me so." She held up her notebook. There simple read 'royal guard', and that was all.

"Now then, what brings you here today?"

"I... I think I might be going crazy," he said. She smirked.

"It's a mad, mad world, Mr. A. We all feel like we're 'going insane' at some point. But I like to keep things a bit more precise than overarching hyperbolic terms like crazy or insane. No problem is so large that it can't be broken down into manageable-size pieces. So, if I might ask, what was the initial problem that you had gone to your doctor about, for which she referred you here?" she asked. Shining Armor had learned his lesson from the last time he was in a doctors office.

"I've been having trouble getting an erection," he said plainly. She made a quick note in her notebook.

"And what made her think that this was not simply and physiological issue?"

"Well, I can get hard just fine. But... just not with my wife," he admitted. He winced as he felt his throat choke up. It hurt to hear himself say that. Dr. Dink's expression remained neutral and she wrote.

"Do you not find your spouse physically attractive?" she asked. Shining felt a pang of indignant anger, but held his tongue. She was just doing her job.

"No, it's not that. She beautiful! She the most beautiful and sexy pony in the world!"

"Is it a matter of your orientation?" she asked.

"My what? No! I'm not gay!" he snapped.

"There's no need to get defensive. If you're having trouble with... that, then we need to eliminate the basic trouble-shooting issues. You would be surprised how many homosexual ponies are living in a sham hetero marriage due to family and social pressures."

"Really?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yes. Now then, ruling those factors out, we can safely assume that you do indeed find your partner sexually arousing?"

"Yes."

"But this doesn't give you an erection?"

"No."

"And this is specific to her? You can get physically aroused from other sources like pornographic magazines and other attractive ponies?" 

"...Yes," he muttered. The nature of his response did not go unnoticed.

"And how does that make you feel?"

"Bad."

"Ashamed?"

"Yes."

She tapped her notebook with the end of her pen as though she had just finished a crossword puzzle.

"Shame, Mr. A, is a powerful force. It is a behavioral stressor more potent than physical torture. Stress can erode the will of your psyche, and coincidentally, the functionality of 'Mr. Happy'."

"So I can't get hard because I'm ashamed that I can't get hard?"

"To over-simplify, yes."

"Well that's fucked!" he said in frustration. She gave him a soft smile to try to comfort him.

"I know it may seem like the key lay inside the safe. But I assure you, no problem is insurmountable. Do you recall when this problem first started?"

"A couple months ago," he said. "When we got married."

"Is the fact that you are married a turn off?" she asked.

"No, it's not that. I'm glad we're married! But the wedding..." He shuffled his hooves below the chair. "It went badly."

"How badly? On a scale from one to changeling invasion?" she asked. He blanched. "A hat and sunglasses only go so far." He looked over at the office door nervously. "I assure you, whatever you tell me is safe within these walls. I'm legally bound to-"

"Yeah yeah, confidentiality. I know." He took off his disguise.

"Your Grace," she greeted the prince.

"Please don't."

"As you wish. So, the wedding. I wasn't privy to the details of the events aside from what little was in the newspaper. 'Changelings invade Canterlot during royal wedding. Repelled by newlyweds'. What about it led to this? Was it the tramatic stress of the event itself or something else?"

"Something."

"..."

"..."

"Mr. Armor, this doesn't work unless you talk to me. What happened?" she asked. Shining swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"Before the wedding, the changeling queen trapped me in a cave under Canterlot and took my place. She was going to- she was feeding off Cadance's love for me to gain strength."

"Did that make you feel helpless?" she asked directly.

"Yeah. Kind of."

"Impotence literally means 'without power'. That feeling of powerlessness can translate to physical impotence when it comes to intimacy. What you need to do is work on moving past what happened and focus on the end result. You did manage to escape after all and save the day."

"Actually I was rescued."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I had been down there for almost three days without food or water. I was certain that I was going to die down there near the end."

"A harrowing experience, I'm sure. One doesn't not easily forget such an ordeal quickly."

"No, but it's more than that. Worse than that. When she lured me down there, the queen, she was disguised as Cadance. And we-" he swallowed. "We made love." 

"Intercourse."

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"No. You said 'make love'. And there is a difference, yes? You make love with somepony that you care about. You have intercourse when you rent a prostitute, or when you're raped. There is no love involved."

"But it was! I loved her when we had sex."

"You love your wife, Mr. Armor, the concept of her, her image in your mind. Not the bug that was wearing that image when she raped you."

"Raped..." he muttered. 

She looked at him over her notebook. She put it, and her pen down on her desk and waited. She waited for the term to sink into him.

"But I- I did the... intercourse-ing- fucking! I did the fucking! She didn't fuck me. I fucked her! She didn't do anything! She looked like Cadance and just stood there while I did it."

"Did you give informed... consent to have intercourse with a changeling queen?"

"No! Obviously."

She raised her hoof in an implying motion. She spoke softly, slowly, and purposefully.

"Mr. Armor... Sex without consent... is the very definition... of rape."

"But I- But how can it be if- if I-" he stopped himself. He realized that he was crying. 

She waited. He grabbed a couple of tissues from the box on the table beside the chair. He wiped his eyes quickly and composed himself.

"How can it be rape if I enjoyed it?"

"Enjoyment notwithstanding, sex without consent is rape."

"But I enjoyed it! It was amazing sex! The things that she made me feel! Everypony thinks that I was under a spell, and that it wasn't my fault. But I wasn't. It was me, and I enjoyed it."

"And how does that make you feel?" she asked.

"... Horrible."

The clock chimed the hour. The poor stallion looked like he had been put through the wringer, utterly deflated.

"I'm so sorry, But I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. But I think we've made a lot of progress towards treating your neurosis. I'd like to see you again soon." She flipped through her appointment book. "I can pencil you in for two weeks from today."





The next morning, things were going badly for Princess Twilight Sparkle. Although 'badly' was a relative term, compared to being ravaged by vine tentacles or having an existential psychological crisis. But if one were to ask her at the time, she would have preferred either to waking up to the sun and moon both being stuck in the sky, and the Everfree Forrest invading Ponyville. With Princess Cadance in the Crystal Empire, Twilight was the ranking Princess, and she wasn't taking any chances with the fate of Equestria at stake. Taking a page from her past experience, she gathered up her friends in Ponyville and armed them with the Elements of Harmony.

"Half day, half night. Strange weather patterns. Out-of-control plants. I think I'm starting to get a pretty good idea of who we're up against," Twilight told her friends. Amid the town under siege from the vines, the six friends formed a circle and used the Elements to summon the Spirit of Chaos himself, Discord. Discord was his usual self. Which was to say, less-than-helpful.

"Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love what you've done with the place," Discord said. "But I couldn't possible take responsibility. I'm reformed. Don't you remember?"

"This has got your cloven hoof prints all over it!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Such accusations. And here I thought we were friends. Would I lie to you?"

"Yes!" they answered instantly. Even Fluttershy gave a dubious "Maybe."

"What if he really is telling the truth?" she asked everypony else, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"If you're not the one responsible, then help us figure out who is." Twilight said.

"I suppose I could. But after all the hoof pointing, and besmirching of my good name, I just don't know if I'm up to it. Why don't you ask your zebra friend."

"Why are you saying it like that? Putting so much emphasis on the fact that she's a zebra?"

"Because that's what she is."

"And? What do you have against zebras?"

"Ponies who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Twilight. Just last year all of you were terrified of her, and thought that she was a cannibal. So don't even try to high-road me on this one!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes at him.

"You win this round, Discord."

Twilight and her friends trotted over to help Zecora with her things.

"From my home, I've had to flee. 
The forest has grown too wild, even for me."

"Any idea why all this is happening?" Applejack asked.

"I'm afraid it is a mystery to me as well.
But I may have something that, if combined with a spell..."

Zecora took from her cart an ornate potion flask with a purple liquid sloshing around inside.

"I do not dare to use it myself, the result would be tragic.
It only responds to alicorn magic.
Princess Twilight, you can turn the potion from purple to white.
After a sip, you may see why the sky is day and night."

Twilight's alicorn magic did exactly that. She regarded it for a moment as she held the flask in her magic. One of the first things she learned in potions class at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was that you never drank a potion that you didn't make yourself. It was a lesson that the nerdy bookworm had learned the hard way, as the butt of many a practical jokers. Unfortunately, she was out of time, ideas, and options. A potion prank that gave her a funny voice, polka dot fur, or a floppy horn for a few days was the least of her concerns. But she would still have some choice words for her striped acquaintance that was nudging the flask closer to her muzzle. She drank the potion as Zecora looked on with what could be described as a sinister smirk.

The white potion was still warm from her magic. It was thick, creamy, and suspiciously salty. And most telling of all-

"It doesn't seem to be working-"

Twilight's words were cut off as her wings went stiff and her eyes turned into pools of iridescent white. She began mumbling to herself. After a few moments she started sobbing. An impressive feat given that her glowing eyes remained unblinking. 

One of the town locals stumbled by. Berry Punch was a dark purple mare with grapes and a strawberry for a cutie mark. She made wine for a living, and taste-tested it thoroughly for a hobby. The sun and moon both being in the sky were of little consequence to her. She was in that weird part of her day when she would find her way home from wherever she woke up. She looked at the potion flask, and then at Twilight's glowing, crying eyes.

"Yikes. And ponies think I get weird when I drink."

A minute later, Twilight snapped out of her trance and looked at her friends staring at her.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Twilight asked.

"It's just, you were mumbling to yourself..." Applejack said.

"Ooh, and don't forget the uncontrollable sobbing," Pinkie Pie added.

"We were really worried about you." Fluttershy said.

"I, for one, found it delightful," Discord said. "Sort of a one-pony theater piece if you will. You should really consider taking it on the road." 

"Did you find out whose rump we need to kick, and where we can find them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I saw something from a long time ago, but it didn't explain what's happening now," Twilight replied.

Zecora presented the potion to Twilight again.

"Perhaps farther back still are the answers you seek.
Another sip of the potion will give you a peek."

"Are you sure about this?" Spike asked. Twilight nodded.

"Oh I do hope she breaks out into a song this time," Discord said as Twilight drank some more of the potion. 

Twilight stood frozen as before with her eyes glowing, sans the crying this round. Much to Discord's disappointment, there was no song.

"Fine. Next time I'll sing a song then," Discord said.

"So what did you find out?"

"I still don't know what happened to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. But I think I know why the Everfree Forest is acting this way. Something's happened to the Tree of Harmony."

"The Tree of what now?" Rainbow asked. 

"It's where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna found the Elements. I think it's in danger," Twilight said.

"Well alright then. Let's go save a... tree," Applejack said. "Uh, where is it, exactly?"

"I think it's in there," Twilight said, pointing at the Everfree Forest.

"And that was how they all died..." Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Seems like only yesterday we were heading into the Everfree Forest to get the Elements of Harmony," Rarity said as the group headed down the familiar path into the woods.

"Seems like only yesterday I was foolish enough to think I should go after them on my own," Twilight said, happy to have her friends by her side. Discord stayed behind in Ponyville, enjoying the chaos. 

"It may be some time before these vines go away.
Might you have a place for me to stay?" Zecora asked him.

"Look, just because I gave you that alicorn flashback potion doesn't mean that we're buddies," he said. "It was just a Deus Ex."

"I do not know what will come next.
But I'll never say no to a day o' sex."

"Are you- flirting with me... in rhyme!?" he asked. She smirked. 

"The flask you gave me, packed in my trunk,
purple or not, it smelled like spunk.
You can claim you were helping some.
But you just wanted her to drink cum."

"And it would have worked just fine. I already cast a spell on the flask to give her the flashbacks. I turned it purple to make it not as obvious."

"I doubt to trust a chaos demon,
but which stallion's is that semen?"





"Shining Armor," Princess Cadance greeted, whispering into his ear. "Good morning." Shining Armor blinked awake, still in bed. Cadance was laying on top of him with the covers draped over them both. 

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You seemed really tired when you came home last night from your appointment, so I figured I'd let you sleep in a bit. But now that you're up..."

"Not yet," he said, still laying in bed.

"That's not what I meant," she said as her hoof slid down along his chest to his belly and then to his... "It would be an awful shame to waste this morning wood."

"Cadie, I just woke up."

"It's okay. You can just lay there. I'll do all the work." 

"You don't have to-"

"Shining! I need this!" she said, taking his dick in her hoof and rubbing the tip of it against her marehood. She was already dripping wet with very-evident need, indeed. She made no pretense at foreplay or pacing. Just as soon as it it was even barely wet enough, she slid herself down onto it. "F-fuck!" She threw off the blanket and sat upright on his lap. Shining looked down at wife's pussy, wrapped snugly around his erection as she bounced up and down on top of him.

"Fuck!" Shining echoed. He was hard. It may have been involuntary at first. But he was hard for her now. It had been far too long since he had properly fucked this pony he loved. His hooves moved to her hips and he began thrusting up into her, meeting her rhythm.

"Oh my gosh!" Cadance cried out, feeling her husband taking control. This was the stallion she married. 

He thrusted aggressively, venting his frustrations. This was all they needed, just one good session to break the dry spell of disappointment, regret, and shame. One good opportunity of fortunate timing, and Cadance had seized it quite literally. They'd fuck, put this whole chapter behind them, and finally have their happily ever after. 

Cadance grunted and leaned back. His erection was an unyielding iron rod, hitting hard against her g-spot, and making a bulge in her abdomen. Her pussy gripped him as she started to cum, spurting her wetness out from between them as she bottomed out against him.

"Cadie, I- ah!" Shining could barely breathe, let alone speak. He felt himself tensing and his back arched as his hips bucked up into her one final time. "Cumming!" His cock pulsed and throbbed as he pumped into her as hard as he could. It felt like he was cumming harder than he ever had before.

Cadance collapsed on top of him, waiting to come down from her climax. She laid there, panting along with him as she was lifted and lowered on his heaving chest.

"Good morning to you, too," he said with a smile as wide as a mile.

"I think you needed that even more than I did," she said. He could feel his fur was matted with her marecum.

"I think we both needed that a whole lot," he agreed. His eyes flittered a little.

"No, no. Don't go dozing back off to sleep. We still have things we need to do today, and you've already slept in," she said.

"Can we just stay like this for a bit?"

"No. We need to take a shower. Especially once I..." Cadance started to lift herself off of him. They both knew what was coming next. Cum. Shining was always a prodigious stallion. They looked down between them and braced for a pint of sticky jizz to pour out of her and make a mess of their sheets and fur. He pulled out of her with an audible 'plop' and then... 

Nothing.

Cadance didn't say anything. She didn't want to call him out on it. She knew it would only make the issue worse. If he couldn't cum, she could understand that. But it hurt her that he would fake an orgasm with her. She climbed out of the bed and headed to the bathroom without another word. 

Shining just sat there and looked at his own dick in shock. He had cum. He felt it. He had felt it hundreds of times before. He had cum, and yet he didn't. Where was the spunk? It didn't make sense.





"What fun is there in making sense?" Discord chuckled at the several fresh ounces that materialized in the flask. He may have been reformed, mostly, but he had since come to realize that one needn't turn an entire town into absolute havoc to create chaos. Sometimes all it needed was just a rudimentary teleportation hex on a very specific set of testes and an enchanted flashback artifact. He glanced over at the Zebra loitering alongside him amid the vines. There was one last loose end to tie up.

"Can't have you blabbing to Twilight about my little prank now can I?" She looked at him to say something, but with a snap of his fingers, her eyes glazed over and went unfocused for a moment as all memory regarding the flask evaporated from her mind. She looked at him after a moment, as though meeting him for the first time that day, and headed into town with her things.

The vines he was lounging on evaporated from beneath him, presumably from Twilight and her friends saving the Tree of Harmony. He fell to the ground in surprise and brief disappointment. He'd have gone either way with Twilight's success or failure. It was of little consequence to him. Letting Plunder Vines take over the entire town of Ponyville, in the long run, was just peanuts. He watched the sun and moon get corrected after Celestia and Luna were 'saved' from their consentacle vacation. 

There were much bigger gears in motion. And he was looking forward to throwing a wrench into them.
> Three's Company
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you not coming?" Princess Cadance asked Shining Armor. He blushed in embarrassment. She realized the sore subject of her double entendre. "I meant- accompanying me to Ponyville? Twilight's invitation was to both of us."

"I know- I know what you meant," he said. "I want to come- come with you- to Ponyville. But it's on the same day as my appointment for..."

He didn't elaborate. He didn't want to say it out loud. She didn't want him to either. Nopony wanted to talk about the elephant in the room.

Shining Armor hadn't cum in weeks. Which wasn't to say that they hadn't been trying. They had managed to have sex a few more times. And each time it sure felt like he was cumming. But she could only take him at his word for so long when there was clearly no evidence of it afterwards.

Cadance felt like there was something wrong with her, a failure of a wife that couldn't get her husband to climax. Shining felt like there was something wrong with him, a failure of a husband that couldn't cum for his wife. As much as he tried to reassure her that it wasn't anything to do with her, his words were sounding increasingly hollow, even to him.

"You should go, even without me. I'm sure you and Twilight will enjoy having some time together. I just can't miss this appointment," he said. "I want to get... this fixed as soon as possible."

"Yes," Cadance agreed. "That is more important. I'll write Twilight back and let her know that I'll be there and that you have a... prior engagement." Shining's ears drooped. "Hey, whatever this is, we'll get past it. Together. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Cadance sent her letter by post a day ahead of her departure so that it would arrive the same morning as her train from the Crystal Empire.





Twilight was excited to see that Cadance was able to come visit, but disappointed that Shining wouldn't be able to make it. It was just as well, Twilight reasoned. There wouldn't be any time for her to do anything with her brother that she wanted. This would be good, she decided. It was a chance for her to re-connect with Cadance, without Shining there to remind her of the guilt she felt. She was not proud of the fact that she was sleeping with the husband of her former foal-sitter and good friend.

And after all, three was a crowd.

Twilight and her Ponyville friends waited at the train station to see Fluttershy off for her expedition to see the Breezies. They waited at the platform after the train departed, as Cadance would be arriving on the next train. Train technology was not terribly new. It had been around since before the Crystal Empire vanished. But where the Friendship Express train was designed for practical utility, the Crystal Empire train was a reminder that one needn't sacrifice form for function. 

The crystal locomotive looked just as aggressive as a train possibly could without having teeth painted on it. The jagged facets of its bow all but screamed to move and get out of the way, because this train was stopping for nopony. It pulled up to the station platform with a long screech of its brakes.

Princess Cadance disembarked and greeted Twilight Sparkle. The two princesses greeted each other as formally as two princesses would. After a pause, they laughed off the formal greeting. 

"I'm teasing, Twilight. We're sisters-in-law. There's no need for us to be so formal," Cadance said as she began to walk with her along the platform. "Knowing you, you've made some plans."

"Boy, have I!" Twilight said. "For one day only, right here in Ponyville, the Starswirl the Bearded traveling museum! We can spend the whole day looking at artifacts." 

Behind Twilight, Rainbow Dash grumbled and passed Applejack a pouch of bits.

"What was that about?" Twilight asked.

"You gals didn't do your ladybug dance, when she arrived," Applejack said.

"So I lost a bet," Rainbow Dash muttered. Twilight gave them a stern glare, but Cadance just laughed it off. The two of them walked to the Starswirl Exhibit. Once Twilight and Cadance were gone, the rest of them talked among themselves.

"So what now?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"We could always day-drink."

"It's Monday, darling," Rarity said. "I need to go open my boutique."

"And I need to head back to Sweet Apple Acres to resume my lifetime of manual labor."

"Don't you have to go to work for the Weather Patrol?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Nope! Last Thursday my boss told me that if I didn't show up on Friday, to not bother coming in on Monday," Rainbow explained. "And I was like, 'woohoo! Four-day weekend'!" 

"Oh dear..."

"So what about you Pinkie? Are you throwing a party I can crash?" Dash asked.

"Actually no," Pinkie said. "There is no holiday today, and there are no birthdays anywhere in Equestria. It's like 11 months ago is a cursed day when nopony was having sex."

"Speaking of-"

"I'mma stop you right there Dash!" Applejack said.

"Since Fluttershy isn't here-"

"Dash, seriously! No."

"Do you guys think that she-"

"No."

"and Discord-"

"Stop."

"have ever-?"

"Dash, seriously! Shut up! Nopony wants to talk about Fluttershy's personal life, with or without... him!," Applejack yelled.

"Discord?"

"Yes! Now stop saying his name!" Rarity pleaded. History would show that this was the wrong thing to do, as everypony knew that Rainbow Dash was less a pony, and more a jackal in a clever disguise. As soon as one gave any indication that something she was saying or doing was of any measure of irritation, she would surely tug at that thread until the breaking point.

"Discord," Rainbow Dash said, for no reason at all.

"It's showtime," came a familiar voice from nowhere. A wild blue blur came hurtling from the wild blue yonder, doing its best impression of Rainbow Dash as it crashed into a nearby tree. The tree promptly burst into blue flames, leaving behind a charred skeleton of branches and-

"Discord!" everypony said in unison.

"Remember my name, you'll be moaning it later," Discord said.

"I think I just threw up a little in my mouth," Applejack said.

"Why are you blue?" Rarity asked.

"What do you have to be sad about?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You could just snap your claws and have anything you want instantly, like a cider, or two ciders!"

"I meant 'why is he physically blue in color'," Rarity said, remarking on his striking hue. Rainbow Dash squinted at the draconequus. 

"I'm afraid I'm sick," Discord said. "Blue flu."

"Blue flu?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes, and I'm in need of care. Where is Fluttershy?"

"On her trip to see the Breezies," Rarity said.

"Ah yes, I had forgotten that was today. Well, while she's gone, you ponies can take care of me. Isn't that what friends are for, taking care of each other?" Discord asked, gathering up all the ponies in a big group hug. "Let the healing begin."

"Do ya mind!?" Applejack said indignantly as she tried to squirm free.

"Sorry. One of the symptoms of Blue Flu is being extra cuddly," he said.

"Not it!" Rainbow Dash screamed, ejecting herself from his grasp and accelerating to mach 2 for the horizon.

"Don't worry Discord," Pinkie Pie assured him. "I'll give you my full, undivided att-" A red balloon floated by. "Ooh, shiny." She bounded off after it.

"Well I guess that just leaves you two to take care of me," he said to Rarity and Applejack. "And at such peril. Blue Flu is highly contagious!" Discord sneezed, making no attempt to shield it with his paw. Applejack and Rarity each turned a similar shade of blue.

"Oh no. I've gotten you sick too!" Discord said. "At the very least I can get you to bed before I seek aid from elsewhere." With a snap of his claws, they vanished, and reappeared in Rarity's bedroom. The two mares already in Rarity's queen-size bed.

"Mah own bed is fine for me," Applejack said.

"Oh no no!" Discord said. "You mustn't give the Blue Flu to the rest of your family! The two of you need to be quarantined together. It's a matter of public health!"

"No if you'll excuse me, I need to go to that crowded Starswirl exhibit and find Twilight." He snapped his claws and vanished.

Applejack rolled over towards Rarity and held her, feeling 'extra cuddly'. 

"Symptom of the Blue Flu," she said as she wrapped her hooves around her midsection. 

Rarity turned and cuddled her back, pressing her nose into the earth pony's apple-scented mane as she whispered.

"Yes... the Blue Flu."





At the Traveling Starswirl Museum, almost everypony was dressed up in a Starswirl costume. Twilight scoffed at the technical inaccuracies of the others. She might not have had the seamstress aptitude of Rarity. But she had an eye for details. And while it took her quite a long while, her own, hoof-stitched costume was by far the most accurate. It was not lost on Cadance, who noted as much when she saw it. But then only Cadance and Twilight had bore the tutelage of Princess Celestia's personal-protege Starswirl curriculum, and all of the inane details there-in.  

"A whole day to celebrate Starswirl the Bearded! What could be better?" Twilight said with unnatural glee. 

"Absolutely nothing," Cadance said diplomatically. Twilight was barely more than a year out of Celestia's school. All of the trivia around Starswirl were still fresh in the poor mare's mind, desperate for a conversational outlet. Shining Armor had bore the brunt of it from both of them. He had become an amateur expert on the subject by proxy. Cadance now did her best to recall what she could. "Is that the candlestick he used to light the way when he was exploring the caverns of Maretania?"

"It sure is!" Twilight said excitedly.

"Oh, I can't believe I'm getting to see it in real life!" Cadance said, trying to match her energy. It was hard to find awe in a thousand-year-old relic when the entire empire that she lived in was one. Still, the candle stick was an irreplaceable piece of history. Absolutely priceless.

The candlestick burst in a flash of light, leaving a blue Discord in its place. The two mares screamed in surprise.

"Discord, what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to say that I'm sick. Blue Flu. I fear I've already given it to poor Applejack and Rarity," he said, bracing himself for another sneeze.

Cadance cast a quick shield spell, blocking the incoming mist.

"Magic health bubble," she said.

"Good thinking," Twilight said.

"Indeed. How would you nurse me back to health if you were sick, too?" he asked, imagining the sisters-in-law being extra cuddly. But by Cadance's quick thinking, it was not to be. "You will be letting me stay at your place until I'm all better, won't you?" he asked Cadance.

"Stay? With me?" Twilight asked in shock, mistaking the target of his query. "Now is not really the best time. But I'm sure you already knew that." She motioned to Cadance with her. Cadance breathed a sigh of relief. She would have said the same thing, but for very different reasons.

"But isn't helping something that friends do for friends? Unless you're saying that you're not my friend."

"No. That is not what I'm saying."

"Oh, how elated I am to hear you say that. Shall the three of us head back to your place?"

"I guess we don't have much of a choice."

The Golden Oak Library wasn't very far. They managed to get him there without incident and tucked into Twilight's bed. With the task done, they were ready to leave him there and resume their day out.

"Oh, just before you go, just a little, small request," Discord said. Twilight huffed in frustration.

"It's going to be fine," Cadance assured her. "We'll just get him what he wants and be back to the exhibit in no time." She turned to Discord, "What was it that you needed?"

"A little glass of water please. A fresh-pressed hanky if I sneeze. Some tea with honey from the bees, whenever you can brew it. And while I get a little rest, a teeny tiny small request: Some codfish oil for my chest poured from a crystal cruet. My goodness, I'm a nincompoop, because I fear I've got the croup! I need a vat of pumpkin soup, and scarves made out of zinnias! Did I say zinnias, I meant silk, or something shiny of that ilk, and then I'll need some nice warm milk, and pastry from Abyssinia. And since my stomach's feeling crummy, why not give my aching tummy something soothing, something yummy, piled up with noodles! Add a slice of homemade rye, with stacks of Swiss way up high, served with sides of sweet mince pie. More basil; I need oodles! I'll be grateful for your charity until the bitter end, because I've heard that tenderness is what you lend an ailing friend. Tenderness, isn't that right, friend? So, who's ready for my big reprise?! I'd like that glass or water please. Some magic spell to cure disease! A firm gesundhoof when I sneeze. A fresh bouquet of roses! Some lozenges will soon appease my wheezing when I start to sneeze. A wig to keep me from the breeze, and blankets for my toeses! Take tweezers out of my valise and then massage my knobby knees! A bowl of peas, some extra cheese, a cuddle with a Pekinese, a singing harp who's named Loiuse, a goat on skis, a new trapeze, and more, and more, and more, and more of these! And just because I 'oughta: make sure I'm drinking in the right amount of fluids day and night. I wish I may, I wish I might, have just one little thing: Oh would you please finally bring me that tiny glass of water!"

"You just had to fucking ask him," Twilight said to Cadance. "Here's your water." She gave Discord a glass of water. He dropped it.

"Oops. Sorry."

"Alright, this is ridiculous. There must be some way to cure you. There must be a spell or a remedy." 

"There is," Discord said. "On a hill, at the very edge of Equestria, there grows an exquisite, magic flower. Pick the flower as it drops its petals at sunset. Then you can make a magical, soothing elixir to cure the Blue Flu."

"Why didn't you get it yourself?" Twilight asked.

"I'm in no condition to travel."

"So, where exactly are Cadance and I headed?"

"It would be much easier if I took you there myself."

"I thought you were in no condition to travel," Cadance said.

"I'm not. We'll need to make some arrangements."

It turned out that 'arrangements' was a chariot for Discord, pulled by the two flying princesses, and a day's journey to the very edge of Equestria.





Shining Armor was on a journey of his own. A journey, not of sight or sound, but of mind, through a door unlocked with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension, a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.

"Mr. Armor?" Dr. Dink asked. Shining shook his head and came back to reality, sitting on the couch in the psychologist's office.

"Sorry. I was miles away," he said.

"Well, I need you to focus on the task at hoof, if we are to have any hope in treating your neurosis." 

"I know. I've just been under a lot of stress lately," he said.

"Because of the Empire getting ready to host the Equestria Games?" she asked.

"No. Shit, I actually forgot about that. Okay, now I'm worrying about that too."

"Well why don't we focus on something smaller, for now? Why don't you tell me how things have been since we last left off? As I recall you were having intimacy issues with your spouse after the traumatic events of the wedding."

"You could say that."

"And has there been any development on that front?"

"Yes. We've had sex."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Well, yes and no. I had an erection just fine. But I don't know if it counts. She caught me in time for my morning wood."

"Baby steps, Mr. Armor. Even if you didn't get hard for her, you were still able to maintain it for intercourse?"

"Yes, but I didn't cum."

"Well one needn't orgasm for it to count for sex," she said. "Many mares will have numerous bouts of intercourse without orgasm."

"No, what I mean is... I didn't cum. I didn't ejaculate. It felt like I did. It felt great. But nothing came out."

Dr. Dink tapped her pencil to her chin. 

"Hmm. That alone may be an actual medical issue for you physician. But given the context... I suspect there might still be an underlying psychosomatic cause for your symptoms. I'm sure it is doing you no favors for your guilt over the performance anxiety."

"Ya think!?"

"Tell me, Mr. Armor, do you you recall the last time you successfully ejaculated?"

Fucking Twilight on the day of her coronation.

"Yes."

"I would suggest trying to replicate the situation where you last ejaculated. And if the problem persists, then we can rule it out as an issue."

"I- I'd rather not."

"Oh? Oh! Oh, my apologies! Was the last time... with the Queen?"

"What? No! No it's... it's just..." he trailed off.

"Something you're ashamed of?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Armor, if I may; you need to let yourself be free of guilt when you masturbate. You may think of things that you would never actually do, things that you might otherwise abhor. But I assure you, there is no wrong way to fantasize. And I will remind you that nothing you tell me will ever leave this room."

"I wasn't- it wasn't masturbation..."

"But it wasn't intercourse with your wife?" she asked. He nodded meekly. "Ah. Well that is something, isn't it? Not the princess, not the queen, but some other pony? Am I to assume that it was a pony?" He nodded again. "And this is a source of guilt, yes?"

"Yes."

"Was this a one-time thing or more?"

"More."

"And... why is it, you think, that you can cum with this other pony, and not your wife?"

"I don't know."

"Is it somepony that you are emotionally detached from? A professional?"

"What? No, she's not a whorse."

"So it is somepony that you care about? Somepony that you love?"

"Yes."

"Well, that does complicate things, now doesn't it?"

"So what do I do?" Shining asked.

"That is up to you. I'm not advocating infidelity, but it seems like you have two choices. If you know for certain that your problem is entirely physical, then its a simple matter of seeing a physician to treat the symptom. But if there is even a chance that there is an underlying psychological factor due to the partner... well... I wouldn't want you to go through, what could be, something as serious as surgery for nothing."

"Dick surgery!?"

"Well, that general region, yes, possibly. That may solve the symptom. But the larger problem is this extra-marital relationship of yours and the stress that the guilt is causing you. And let's not dance around it; the unfairness to your spouse."

"So if I break things off with... her, and come clean with my wife, that'll solve everything?" he asked.

"This isn't some simple problem in a waiting-room-magazine advice column. These sort of interpersonal issues are seldom so cut-and-dried. I can't hazard to know the princess's temperament on such a matter. It may be the case that such a naked truth may not be in your collective best interests. Despite what we were all raised to believe, honesty is not always the best policy. While she may deserve to know the truth, to tell her only to assuage your own guilt is a bit self-serving. If you can commit to putting this sordid chapter of your life behind you without burdening her with the knowledge of it, and be a better pony for her, that may be the best thing you can do in this case. As much as I hate to make exceptions, you are in an exceptional position. You have a responsibility not only to your spouse, but also your subjects."

His shoulders slumped as the world weighed a little heavier on them.

"In short, Mr. Armor, I don't want to be responsible for a royal divorce. Make whatever choice you will. But the choice is yours, and yours alone. But for the sake of your mental health, for the sake of your wife, and, not to exaggerate, but for the sake of Equestria, I would strongly recommend that you at least break things off with this other mare, in no uncertain terms, and never see her again."

Shining sat there and thought about his sister. Everything about everything felt wrong. Like his whole world was upside down and had been shaken into a pile of cluttered bits. Twilight was at the center of it all. She wasn't the cause of it. But there she was, entangled in the middle of the mess. There was no hope of even starting to clean things up with her there. But the idea of removing her completely pained him as fiercely as anything else possibly could.

"Never see her again?" he asked. She nodded. "That is not going to be easy."

"Because you love her?"

To the ends of Equestria.





At the very edge of Equestria, there grew an exquisite, magic flower. It was plucked at sunset as it dropped its petals by two ponies that hoped to brew it into an elixir for Blue Flu. But the flower was guarded by a giant tatzelwurm. It lashed out at the ponies with it's long mouth tentacles. The ponies had heard enough horror stories from the mares of Ponyville during the Plunder Vine invasion to know what was coming next.

By might and magic they beat back the tunneling beast into its hole, and buried it beneath boulders. It bought them enough time to make good their escape and with something to show for it. They carried their prize, the giant flower, back down the hill to the waiting draconequus, who seemed to have miraculously made a full recovery in their absence.

"You. Were. FAKING!?" Twilight yelled. 

"I was," Discord admitted. "But I had a very good reason."

"We're listening."

"I said to myself, 'Discord, your friend Twilight says that she's your pal.' But how was I to know if I was still friends with one of the most important ponies around? By seeing if you would go to the ends of Equestria for me. Which you did, literally. Congratulations, Twilight, you passed my friendship test!" Twilight glared at him. "Why the angry eyes? you love passing tests. It's not because my little visit put a damper on you little visit with Princess Cadance, is it? Made it so that there was no time for you to focus on your friendship?"

"You didn't put a damper on our visit at all," Cadance said.

"He didn't!?" Twilight asked.

"Spending the day at the Starswirl exhibit would have been more relaxing. But to be honest, relaxation is the last thing I need. Don't get me wrong. Life in the crystal empire is... wonderful. But it's become a little... predictable. I enjoy a little excitement now and then. Getting to face all these challenges today is just what I needed. And getting to face them with you just reminded me how lucky I am to have you as a friend. We may not see each other very often, but I know you'll always be there for me when I need you. Just like she was there for you, Discord."

"Yeah, she's a real sweetheart. We're all so lucky to have her in our lives," Discord grumbled.

As they returned home, Cadance nudged Twilight.

"Just as an aside, when you're dealing with those like Discord, it's best not to let on that they are actually bothering you. They thrive on the anguish of those they seek to torment. If you react in the opposite way, it kills them inside. That's how you beat them, Twilight. You kill them with kindness."

"That's crazy," Twilight said. Cadance shrugged.

"So is Discord. Sometimes you have to fight crazy with crazy," Cadance said.

"Yeah, but I just wish it didn't have to involve so many ponies I care about. Oh! That reminds me! We need to cure Rarity and Applejack of his fake illness when we get back to Ponyville!" 





Rarity pulled herself closer to the earth pony in her bed, pressing her nose into Applejack's mane. "I wish I could quit you, darling."





Twilight and Cadance proceeded onward in silence for a long while. It had been some time since the sun had set, and the stars were staring to come out. Questions were gnawing at Twilight's mind, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get the answers she wanted tonight. But she could settle for some tangential information.

"How's Shining?" she asked. Cadance didn't let her discomfort of question show.

"Twi, I don't want to fall into this cliche," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Two girls getting together to talk. And all we talk about are guys. First Starswirl, then Discord, and now Shining."

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"He's fine, by the way. He just wasn't feeling well for this trip. Just a little under the weather, is all. It's been a little stressful for him getting the empire ready to host the Equestria Games in a few weeks. You'll be there for that, right?"

"Of course!"

"Well, you'll get a chance to see him then."

"I'm looking forward to it!"





Shining Armor was not looking forward to it.

The Equestria Games, he was looking forward to, sure. He was even looking forward to seeing his sister. He'd be lying if he said otherwise. But what was to come next, he was not looking forward to, breaking things off with her, permanently.

He had been naive to think he could have it both ways, to be able to have the two mares in his life. But something was going to give sooner or later. Somepony was going to get hurt. It had been him being hurt long enough. He would not let it be Cadance, too. She didn't deserve that. And as much as he didn't want to hurt Twilight, she was hardly blameless in her role in all this. The time had come for him to make the choice. And really, it wasn't a choice at all.

Leave it to the poets and writers to wax philosophic about war. You'd never hear the soldiers pondering about what was right and wrong while they were in the trenches. There was only the here, and now, doing their duty as they were commanded.

And make no mistake, Shining Armor was at war. A battle between virtue and vice. He was at once the battlefield, himself, and a soldier in it. And as a soldier, he hadn't the luxury the ponder the meaning of it all. There was only his immediate duty to carry out. There was a quiet comfort in it, keeping his head down and focusing on the task at hoof, and not worrying about tomorrow. In war, or peace, tomorrow was a guarantee for nopony.

On the morrow, the Equestria Games would be coming to the Crystal Empire. And with them, the royal contingent from Canterlot. His wife would see to the delegations and formalities. It suited her. That was her arena. Shining Armor was in his arena, down on the field of the Crystal Empire Stadium. Down in the trenches, there was only the now.

It was quiet now. The stadium was empty. There was a strange sense of dissonance being in a place that was silent when it was normally loud and busy. It was eerily spooky, like a ghost town. 

Shining Armor inspected everything, making sure that it was ready for the big day. It was an excellent excuse to not be in the palace. The athletes for the games would be arriving tomorrow, along with the Canterlot Royalty. But a certain somepony had arrived earlier evening, to spend the night. He knew he would need to face her, sooner or later. Even if he didn't confront her about things, he would still have to see her in a professional context, if only out of courteous protocol.

He walked across the field to the entrance for the athletes' shower rooms. He walked inside, standing where he did the last time he had been in there. It was the day he had been training the Crystal Empire team, when the Games Inspector had come to visit. But that wasn't what he was thinking about. The only thing on his mind was what he had done the last time he had been in there; his sister.

Visions flashed before his eyes of him and his sister having sex in the very place where he now stood. He wanted so much to be disgusted by the memory, to be ashamed of it. And while he did feel guilty regarding Cadance, he could not deny that he did find pleasure in the memory. It was a strange and terrible fate that he should be a stallion with everything, and thus suffer for it. A price for everything, he lamented. He knew he needed to end things. 

He ran his hoof along the inspirational banner above the lockers. The message read, You can do it!

"I hope so," he said in the darkness.

"Shining?"

He turned to the voice in the doorway behind him. It was Twilight. He wanted to ask her what she was doing there. He wanted to ask her how she found him. He had so many questions. But he never got the chance to ask any of them. She rushed over to him and wrapped her hooves around him. She kissed him as they embraced. He had been so terrified of this meeting, but she met it with such ease. He felt like a coward. 

"I missed you so much!" she said as she pressed her face into his mane, taking in his scent. She brought her lips back to his, kissing him again. A small voice of reason protested in the back of Shining's mind. But it was drowned out by the thunder of his heartbeat in his ears. He should have been stronger, but he melted into her kiss. He wanted this just as much as she did. He felt weak.

"I've been thinking about you every day since last time," she said in a breathy whisper. "I've been looking forward to seeing you again. A lot. Can you tell?" She turned on her hoof and flagged her tail at him. Even in the dim moonlight streaming through the window, he could see her marehood glistening with her wetness. "Please, Shiny, don't make me wait any longer!"

His hooves trembled with nervous excitement as he felt his erection quickly growing stiff. He had rehearsed the things he was going to say to her. He had said it over and over in his mind a hundred times before. But now here she was, and he was lost. His practiced speeches gave way to emotional rationalizations. He had gotten away with this so far, he could make it work a little longer. He licked his lips as he erred closer, getting ready to mount this mare he loved. He glanced just beyond her, at the banner above the lockers.

You can do it!

Shining grit his teeth in a flash of anger. He was angry with his situation, with her for tempting him, but mostly, with himself for letting her so easily. He hated himself for being a slave to his lust. But he was stronger than that. He knew he was strong, because Cadance told him so. And that was who he was doing this for, he reminded himself.

"Twi, I- we can't!" he said. Twilight quickly turned back to face him.

"No, it's okay! Nopony knows we're out here. We won't be bothered!"

"No, I mean we can't keep doing this! We can't keep doing this to Cadance!"

"Cadance doesn't have to know."

"You can't keep doing this to me, Twi! You can go back to Ponyville, but I have to see Cadance every day. I have to live with the guilt of this. And it's eating me alive! I can't- it's been making me sick!"

"Sick?"

"I've been having trouble with... with getting hard and cumming," he said. "It's from all the stress and anxiety. I'm worried sick about what would happen if we got caught. And I can't live with the guilt of doing this anymore! It hurts too much!"

"Shiny I- I'm sorry! I didn't know it was that bad." She looked under him. "Though you don't seem to be having any trouble getting hard right now."

"It's when I'm with Cadance."

"Is it because you love me more than her?"

"The fuck? Why would you even say something like that!? This isn't funny!"

"Nopony's laughing, Shining. It's a serious question."

"I- " Shining stammered, flustered with the way this conversation was going. He dug in his heels and stuck to his guns. This needed to be like ripping off a bandage. It was going to hurt like hell, but it was ultimately for the best. "No! I don't. Okay?" 

The words struck Twilight like a physical slap across her face, the stinging burn they left felt just as real. She knew she should have expected that response as a possibility, but nothing could have ever really prepared her to actually hear those words from her brother's lips, in his voice. She couldn't keep the tears from leaving her eyes.

Fuck. She was crying. But what did he expect? There was no way she was going to take this well. Even so, her tears were like emotional blackmail. 

Shining's every weakness, thine name be Twilight.

"I love you both the same," he said after a moment, buying back his remark. He was disappointed with himself for not following through with breaking it off with her as cleanly as possible. But the words left his mouth before he could think it through.

"Really?"

"Yes, I love you both the same. And if it were legal, and socially acceptable, I'd have married you instead. But I couldn't, and I married Cadance. But that doesn't make her some kind of consolation prize. I married her because I loved her, just as much as I loved you. And I still do. And this hurts just as much for me as it does for you, but we need to stop! We are stopped. We are over! It's over!" he said with finality. Twilight's eyes glistened again. He turned his back on her. "No! Don't you start crying again! I won't look at it! You're not a little filly anymore. You are a grown-ass mare. A princess! Act like an adult, for fuck's sake!"

"I'm sorry," Twilight sniffled, wiping away her tears. "You're right... and I understand. I shouldn't have expected this to be able to last. I guess I always worried that any time we did it might be our last time, but... I didn't think that our last time would be a hurried quickie in the shower at my coronation."

"Yeah, well... too bad."

"I guess I just wish our very last time ever could be special," she said. "We could go back to my suite..."

"No way! With the games starting tomorrow, there's already extra security. Not to mention the fact that you're a princess now. There's no way I'd be able to sneak into your room without somepony noticing something."

"I guess you're right. This will have to do then."

"What? Here, now, fucking in the locker room showers like the Wonderbolts?"

"At least I would know that it's our last time," she said. Shining scoffed, ready to reject her outright. He had already put his hoof down. There was no way he was going to let her undo his hard work by persuading him with pouting eyes. He already had enough problems with his dick without letting it think for him, too.

Twilight's scent hung heavy in the air of the enclosed space of the locker room. Shining's dick slapped insistently against his belly, just as hard as it has ever been. She was right about one thing, he certainly had no problem getting it up for her. Which begged the question...

Dr. Dink's words echoed in his mind, "I would suggest trying to replicate the situation where you last ejaculated. And if the problem persists, then we can rule it out as an issue."

"Okay. Fine," Shining said. "One last time."

Twilight's eyes lit up. It was still bittersweet. But she would take what sweet she could. Shining motioned with his hoof for her to turn around. She did so and flagged her tail again as she raised her rump to present to him. Shining mounted her. He didn't even need to use his magic to guide him. He slipped into her marehood with the practiced ease of familiar lovers. It didn't hurt that he was as hard as an iron spear, and she was already dripping with arousal.

She hadn't seduced him this time, her strong scent or not. He was doing this on his terms. He was doing this to find out if he even could; if he could cum with her or not. If he couldn't, it meant that there was a serious problem with his dick. If he could, then it meant that there was a serious problem with him. Neither outcome boded well. 

But in that moment, it didn't matter one way or the other. In that moment of passion between him and his sister, all his problems seemed so far away. It was just them, together. For that bright, happy moment, he felt truly free for the burdens of his life tying him down from joy. It was bliss.

Beneath him, Twilight was enjoying it as much as she could. But her worries were instead magnified. She didn't want to trick him into continuing to be with her. And she didn't want to keep making him worried sick about them. She had meant what she said about always fearing that any one time might be their last. And he seemed pretty adamant that this would be it. But she had been prepared for this.

That was why she made a quick detour to the palace alchemy lab, to mix up a fertility potion for herself. They had somehow missed the mark every other time together, but this time she wasn't taking any chances. She needed only this one last time with him to finally have his foal. Just the thought of it-

"Ngh!" Twilight moaned as she came. Her already wet pussy gushed with fresh wetness out from around his plunging cock. His movement start to lose its pace, and his legs shivered. She could tell he was getting close too. His shaft swelled thicker inside her. She felt his flare stretching her depths. He went to pull back one last time. Fearing the worst, she backed up against him, pinning him to the lockers behind them. It forced him as deep into her as he could go, with his broad flare pressed against the entrance her fertile womb. 

He grunted from being pinned so, but then from his climax. They both recognized the familiar sensation of him twitching and throbbing deep inside her, pumping his seed with each pulse.

Shining couldn't keep the goofy grin from his face, enjoying the sweet release of orgasm. Likewise, Twilight's grin was a mile wide, both in her own physical satisfaction, but also in the knowledge of a mission accomplished. Even so, Twilight held herself there against him, ensuring that as much of him stayed inside her for as long as possible, even as her muscles began to ache and cramp. It was to the point that Shining was starting to lose circulation to his legs.

"Twi, c'mon. Let me go."

"Okay," she relented. She took comfort in that she had done the best that she could. And that would have to be enough. Still, she was not looking forward to see all of her hard work go spilling out of her in white rivulets running down her lavender legs when he pulled out, as it always did.

That is, almost always.

Shining sighed as he looked at her pussy, with nary even a drop of white from it.

"Well, at least I'm not crazy," he said. 

"Wait! What happened!? What does that mean!? " 

"It means that there not a problem with my brain. There's a problem with my dick. And it's not you."

"But I felt-"

"Yeah. Me too. And yet..." he motioned to her (relatively) clean backside. "I can't cum. But at least I know that it's not dependent on you. And that's one less problem. And you need to do the same for me, and be one less problem for me." He turned to walk out of the locker room.

"Shining!"

"I love you, Twilight. Truly, I do. I hope to see you at the Games tomorrow. But as my sister. Or not at all." He left and closed the door behind him without another word.

Twilight didn't return to her suite right away. She waited in the locker room for a long time, alone in the dark. The conviction in his voice had her fairly certain that this really was it for them. This would be the last time for her. A brief rut in a locker room like a groupie whorse. And she couldn't even get him to cum for her. It was just salt in the wound.





In a flask, in a trunk, in a zebra's hut in the Everfree Forest, the level of white liquid had increased a little more.
> Kingdom Come
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Duke and Duchess of Maretonia had visited The Crystal Empire. Princess Twilight Sparkle had been called to be present at their arrival, along with Princesses Celestia, Luna, and of course Cadance. Twilight was relegated to unfurling a banner, smiling, and waving. But she wasn't needed to be present at the meeting between the visiting dignitaries and the other three princesses. On the balcony of the Crystal Empire Palace, Twilight felt left out, even after the other three assured her of her place and purpose as a princess.

"Your time will come," Celestia said to her, with that same absolute confidence she always seemed to have about her. She and the other two elder princesses turned to leave. Celestia needed to be up early to raise the sun. And even though the diplomatic meeting was schedule as late in the evening as possible, and Luna was already running a sleep dept and needed to start her twelve hour shift for the night. Cadance turned back to speak with Twilight after the two sisters left.

"Twilight, believe me, I know how you feel," she said.

"How can you? You already know your role. You've been an alicorn for a long time. You have your crown, palace, the whole empire and... a prince." Twilight said, leaning against the balcony railing. "All I seem to be is the princess of smiling and waving."

"Well, yes. That is true, now," Cadance said. "But you know, the Empire has only recently returned. For a long time I was a princess of nothing. I was just 'Celestia's niece', just as you were once 'Celestia's most faithful student' or 'protege'. I felt the same way about things as you when I was the 'princess of foalsitting'."

Twilight lifted her chin from the railing. That was true, she realized. Cadance was already a princess when she was Twilight's foalsitter. 

"And, like you, I wasn't born an alicorn," Cadance added.

"Yeah, I know. You were a baby pegasus that was found in the woods by earth ponies, who took you to their village. When you grew up you reversed a love-stealing spell cast by Prismia. Prismia wore a magic-enhancing necklace that amplified her evil and jealousy, but when you confronted her, the necklace amplified your love. Once Prismia changed her horrible ways, you were surrounded by magical energy and transported to a strange place where you met Celestia, who adopted you as her royal niece, and you got your horn."

"That is the official story, Twilight," Cadance said. "And it's a fine bedtime story. But like so many bedtime stories, it's not entirely true."

"What!? What part?"

"Most all of it," Cadance said. "Being found in the woods, the village, Prismia, all of that. For as long as I can remember, it was always Aunt Tia. I have no memories of a life without her. In fact, the earliest memories I can recall was her teaching me how to fly in the Canterlot Castle courtyard. As a pegasus."

"Really!?" Twilight asked in astonishment. Cadance nodded.

"I remember the day I got cutie mark. It was at the same time I got my horn. Celestia had started teaching me about the history of the Crystal Empire. At one point she showed me a piece of the crystal from the empire that had been gifted to her from the empire's royal family before King Sombra took over. As soon as I touched it, I was surrounded by magical energy and transported to a strange place. Celestia found me there and then the magic within me gave me my horn."

"So that was why Celestia sent you to the Crystal Empire when it returned. You were destined to be the Crystal Princess!"

"Yeah, but at the time that I got my horn, I didn't know any of that would happen. I became an alicorn, but I didn't know what the crystal heart on my thigh meant, other than love magic was my special talent. I still only felt like a princess in name only, being made to foal-sit." Twilight frowned. "Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I was your foal-sitter! But it didn't help me feel like a princess with a purpose. I struggled for years not knowing what my destiny would be. Do you understand what I mean?"

"So you think I'm destined for greatness, and to be the princess of something more than just smiling and waving?"

"I don't think so, Twilight. I know so! Besides, with the way you handled things defeating Discord the first time around, and Chrysalis, and saving Ponyville, Luna, and Tia, I'd wager that you'll be the princess of being a badass!"

"Princess Badass?" 

"Who knows. Three years ago, if you had told me that I would be the princess of a crystal empire that reappeared after having vanished for a millennium, I would have thought you were crazy. But here we are. Even Celestia can't see into the future. My point is that there is really no way of knowing for sure what exactly your destiny is, except that you are destined! It's just a matter of time." Cadance placed her hoof on Twilight's wing. "And I think now, time is something you have in abundance."

"That's true." 

"But for the time being, you should get some sleep," Cadance suggested before she excused herself to retire for the night.

Twilight remained out on the balcony for a while longer. Despite how important it had been made to be for all four of the princesses to be there, the prince was markedly absent. Twilight didn't know if he was just busy elsewhere or if he was deliberately avoiding her. As much as she wanted to see him again, the wounds from their last encounter still hurt terribly. The closest she had seen him after that was from the stands of the Equestria Games stadium, while he was down on the field, announcing the different cities' athletes. Cadance was right, though. Twilight had time. It would be best to let the dust settle first before trying to talk about things with Shining.

In fact, she found herself thinking more about Cadance. She hadn't ever questioned the story about Cadance's origin before. But now that it turned out to be a fabrication, it had her wondering what else she had taken for granted to be true. The fact that even Cadance herself didn't know where she came from could only mean two things:

Either Celestia never told her where she came from, 

or she didn't know.

Both possibilities troubled her.

Although it occurred to Twilight that there was a way for her to find out what had happened in the past. All she needed to to was speak to a certain Zebra once she got back to Ponyville. 





Twilight crept through the dark hallways of the Crystal Palace. From the end of the corridor, she could see the guards posted outside of the royal bed chamber. With a quick flash of her magic, she was able to sneak attack them with a sleep spell, knocking them unconscious. She stepped over them and opened the door. Inside, Candace and Shining were in the massive bed. She walked inside and closed the door behind her. Cadance was sound asleep. Another spell from Twilight ensured that she would stay that way. She cast a fertility spell on Shining strong enough to make a stallion's corpse viable. He was immediately hard and already on the verge of cumming from his over-full balls. If he would not give her a foal, she would take it for herself. She pulled the covers away and climbed on top of him, startling him awake.

"Cadance?"

A pussy that was already very hot, very wet, and very much not Cadance's slid down onto his dick. He blinked a few times to focus his eyes on the mare on top of him.

"Twilight!?" he shouted. She made no effort to quiet him. Her only focus was on fucking him as fast as she could. In a panic, Shining turned to see Cadance sleeping peacefully beside them, mere inches from their rutting. Even with a panicked start, he was still groggy from sleep. He hadn't the magical or physical strength to stop his sister. She could tell he was close to ejaculating soon. "Twilight, you need to cum quick!" he said.

"Speak for yourself!" She said with a coy grin.

"Twilight! Come quick!"





Twilight opened her eyes to see Spike shaking her in her bed.

"Twilight! Come quick! Princess Celestia said it's an emergency! The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance!"

"When does it ever not?" Twilight grumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She sat up at the edge of her bed, feeling the dregs of her dream slip away from her memory. She shifted where she sat, hoping the sheets would be enough to make her appear decent without time to visit the restroom. She concealed the damp stain with the covers and followed after Spike to see what the emergency was about. 

Twilight joined Celestia and Luna who were still waiting for Cadance. Twilight looked across the table at Luna. If the princess of sleep had seen anything of Twilight's dream, she didn't show any indication of it. Cadance arrived a moment later. As soon as all four of them were in the meeting room, Celestia began to brief them

"Luna and I had shared a vision last night. It seems that Tirek has returned!"

"Tirek? Who's that?" Twilight asked, looking toward Cadance who seemed equally clueless.

"Long ago, Tirek and his brother Scorpan came here from a distant land, intent on stealing Equestrian magic," Celestia explained. "But Scorpan soon came to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard."

"Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans," Luna said. "When Tirek refused, Scorpan alerted us to Tirek's intentions."

"Scorpan returned to his own land, and Tirek was sent to Tartarus for his crimes. But it appears he has found a way to escape," Celestia said.

"We believe it happened when Cerberus left his post at the gates," Luna said. Twilight recalled the event of the three-headed guard dog's escape, and his subsequent return.

"But that was a long time ago. Why is he just now starting to steal magic?" Twilight asked.

"His time in Tartarus left him very weak. He has just now gained enough strength to use his dark powers."

"But with each passing moment, he grows stronger still!" Luna said.

"And I know just the princess who can stop him!" Cadance said.

"Yes! I'll find him and-"

"No Twilight!" Celestia cut her off. "I'm afraid I must call on another to stop Tirek... Discord."

The other princesses gasped.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" Twilight said. "I must have had something crazy in my ear, because it sounded like you said Discord."

"Discord can sense when there is a magical imbalance. The next time Tirek steals magic, Discord will be able to track him down," Celestia explained.

"So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing. Return to Ponyville and await the good news of Tirek's defeat. With Discord on the job, it should be short work."





Twilight decided that she would return to Ponyville. But she would make a little detour to the Everfree Forest on the way. When they changed trains in Canterlot, Spike accompanied her other Ponyville friends. Twilight insisted on 'flying home' from there, since she 'needed the practice.'

It also meant that she would have a good hour's head start on the Ponyville train departing Canterlot. More than enough to navigate her way to Zecora's hut, retrieve the past-seeing potion, and bring it back to her lab beneath her home in the Golden Oaks Library. Zecora was happy to see Twilight again, still grateful that she had stopped the Everfree Forest from taking over.

"I need that potion again," Twilight said. "The one that let me see into the past," Twilight said.

Zecora showed her to the boxes stacked in the corner of her hut. They had been hastily packed when she evacuated with her cart, and she hadn't yet unpacked all of them again. They went through them together until they came to the trunk they were looking for, with the flask of white 'potion' inside. Twilight lifted it out with her magic. She was certain that there was less in it when she had last seen it.

"Did you make more potion for this?" Twilight asked. Zecora shook her head.

"These trunks I have not unpacked 
since the day the vines attacked."

"Where did you even get this potion from?"

"I- I actually can not seem to recall.
I have no memory of getting it at all."

Twilight regarded the potion in her hoof. It was a flashback potion after all. And that was related to memory. Zecora did say that if a non-alicorn used it it would be tragic. Perhaps instead of bestowing a memory, it would take one from her.

"I should get this back to my lab for study," Twilight said. Zecora only nodded, still looking troubled that she could not remember anything about the flask.

Flying back to Ponyville, Twilight could see the train from Canterlot arriving at the station in the town. She flew as fast as she could, which was still a modest pace as a rookie pegasus. She got back to the Golden Oaks Library and brought the potion to her laboratory in the basement. 

It sat there on her lab bench while she dug through a few of her books, looking for anything that might help explain how the potion worked. The flashback effect felt more like a spell than a potion effect. There had to be something in one of her books to explain how the flashback potion worked, and why it didn't affect her memory, but it did affect Zecora's.

Magic that affects memory, other than restoring it, was borderline-dark magic. It didn't surprise her when she couldn't find anything about the potion in her personal library of books. But it occurred to her that the ancient library in the Castle of the Two Sisters might have something.

"Uh, Twilight?" Spike said from the top of the stairs. "Are you down there?"

"Yeah."

"Everypony is here. Outside. They just wanted to make sure that you made it home alright."

"Okay, I'll be right out." Twilight set her work aside and when outside to greet her friends.

"So if Discord is the one looking for Tirek, what are you supposed to do in the meantime?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nothing. Unless of course one of you needs me to smile and wave," Twilight replied, turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked.

"To the Castle of the Two Sisters," Twilight answered. "I'm not really needed anywhere else. Might as well catch up on some of my reading."

"You want some company?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It has been a while since we visited the Castle," Applejack added. "Might be fun."

"Maybe I could use a little company right now," Twilight said.





Back in Canterlot, Princess Celestia sat at her coffee table in her breakfast nook. Across from her, sat the spirit of chaos, Discord. Celestia poured herself a cup of hot water from the kettle to make tea. Far below them, Luna watched from the floor, witnessing Celestia's inverted tea party on the ceiling, courtesy of Discord.

"Is this really necessary?" Celestia asked, motioning to themselves.

"I just think that is was thematic to the situation, don't you think?" Discord said. "The world, turned upside down. You, coming to me for help. I, a former villain that you turned to stone for a millennium." Discord tossed a tea bag into his mouth and poured in some boiling hot water from the kettle before swallowing it, bag and all. "You know, a lesser being might have held a grudge." Celestia took a long sip of her own, scalding-hot cup of tea.

"We are not lesser beings," she said quietly.

"We?" he chuckled. "If that were true, you wouldn't have to come to me for help."

"I don't have to," Celestia said. "We have defeated Tirek without you before. We could do it again if we must. I am choosing to ask for your help. Because you could solve this problem in a literal snap. Tirek is too dangerous. I'm not taking any chances but to deal with him as swiftly as possible. That's why you're here." 

"Yes, I suppose you don't want another Marelantis incident," he said. Celestia bristled.

"It has been a long time since I've heard that name," she said.

"Ah, yes. What do they call it now? Seaquestria? Makes it sound like it was always there, and not the result of a cataclysm."

"I don't hear the seaponies complaining. Besides, the loss of Marelantis, while tragic, is small compared to the destruction of all of Equestria. Grogar had to be stopped."

"By any means necessary?" Discord asked.

"Yes."

"And now, with stopping Tirek?"

"I am asking you after all. It would be hard to argue to the contrary," Celestia said. Discord sighed, growing bored with the tedious discussion, even if it was upside down on the ceiling.

"Very well, Celestia. By your command, I will find Tirek and kill him as soon as possible," Discord said. He said it loudly. Celestia looked at her sister down below them, hoping to keep the details of this discussion privy to just Discord and herself.

"You will do no such thing. Do not engage him. You are to locate him, and then alert Luna and I to his position. We will deal with him."

"Kill him, you mean?"

"Securing him back in Tartarus will be enough," Celestia said.

"Do you believe that is the benevolent choice?" he asked. "You clearly have never been to Tartarus. Killing him would be a mercy compared to that." Celestia set her jaw and growled at him, quietly. 

"We don't kill, Discord."

"Tell that to King Sombra," Discord muttered.

"We are not responsible for the magic of the Crystal Heart. He was a monster that chose his fate. I have no sympathy for him."

"A few years ago you would have said the same of me."

"..."

"Don't deny it."

"Fine. Yes. But even so, we didn't kill."

"Only turned me to stone."

The tea in Celestia cup began to boil.

"Would you have preferred being turned to ash?"

"Temper, temper," Discord chided. His ears had come aflame. "Don't be too proud of yourself," he said, pointing at his ears. "This isn't your doing. I'm being spoken about in the Everfree." He snapped his fingers and vanished. Celestia's world lurched as gravity resumed it's pull on her. The table, chairs and tea set plummeted to the floor with a crash. Celestia righted herself with her wings and gently flittered down.

"Why do you let him get to you like that?" Luna asked. Celestia didn't answer. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Are you really sure that this is wise? Do you really trust him?"

"Of course not," Celestia said. "But this isn't like last time, with the small populations of the old villages. Tirek is in Canterlot. He will be able to start consuming power in mass if we don't stop him as fast as possible. And I don't want to just throw Twilight at him. She's not ready for his... tactics," she said. Luna frowned.

"No. You're right. He would use her friends against her. And she-" 

Celestia embraced Luna, cutting her off.

"Twilight wouldn't sacrifice his hostage either."

"I'm glad you didn't incinerate me with him like I told you too."

"I'm just glad the Pillars got there when they did."

"We got lucky. He wasn't yet at full strength."

"I don't like to rely on chance," Celestia said, turning to leave the room. "That's why I'm not taking any."

"So what's your contingency plan?" Luna asked, walking alongside her out into the hallway.

"Cadance. Between the three of us, we can overpower him. And this time, we are ready."

"It will take time for Cadance to get here from the Empire," Luna said. Celestia stopped outside of the guest suite.

"I instructed Cadance to come to Canterlot on the next train, before I ever contacted Discord." Celestia opened the door. Inside, Cadance was just finished helping Shining Armor get dressed. "Are you ready?"

"Always," Cadance confirmed.

"Commander?" Celestia asked of the recently promoted stallion. He went to attention. She nodded at his uniform armor. "How is the fit?"

"Good. It feels good. And... it feels good to be back."

"It's good to have you back," Luna said. "Hopefully we won't keep you from your retirement too long."

"Are you clear on your mission, Commander?" Celestia asked.

"Aye, Ma'am."

"Good luck," Cadance said, giving him a kiss. Shining departed the group to head down to the barracks.





"Alright you smooth-brained chuckle-fucks! Pucker up your assholes! We have a prince coming!" Sea Cay shouted across the  Royal Guard barracks. "Get that head clean enough to drink out of!"

"The water cooler will suffice," Shining Armor said.

"Royalty on deck!" Sea Cay shouted. Everypony went to attention.

"As you were!" Shining yelled, letting the troops carry on.

"Your Highness," Sea Cay greeted.

"Stow it. I'm not a prince today," Shining said. He flicked the new brass on his uniform's lapel.

"Commander," Sea Cay amended his greeting.

"Captain, now, eh?" Shining greeted his old friend, noting his promotion as well.

"Well somepony had to fill your horseshoes," he said. 

Aegis joined the familiar group.

"Commander," he greeted. "You got fat."

Shining chuckled.

"Speak for yourself, Sergeant Major is it now?" Shining asked. "Whose dick did you have to suck to get that stripe?"

"Mine," Capt. Cay said. "And you, Commander?"

"My wife's dick," he said. All three of them laughed. "Fuck, I've missed you guys. Sergeant, gather the troops. I have a briefing to deliver from the princesses." 

"Aye, sir!" Aegis turned from the group and addressed the room. "Alright you shit-fucks! Fall in!" The entire barrack formed up with practiced precision on command.

"Alright gentlecolts, listen up!" Shining shouted.

"Uh, sir?" Sea Cay tapped his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"We're a mixed unit now. We have females." He pointed out a few of the mares in the formation, distinguishable only by the slightly softer features in their face.

"Whose dick was thinking for them to make that decision!?" Shining asked.

"That would be your... wife's dick, sir," Sea Cay said. "The Cadenza Initiative, for equal opportunity employment in the Royal Guard. 'If the Crystal Empire could do it, so can we'," he quoted.

"Fine. Whatever. Listen up, troops!" Shining shouted. "We have a mission from the tip top! We are to locate a target within Canterlot city: A centaur named Tirek. He is considered to be extremely dangerous. We are to immediately report his position directly to the princesses. We are to avoid direct engagement with the target. Any questions?"

"What are they going to do? Get your little sister to save the day for you again?" a guard asked. The rest of them snickered.

"Camisa! You better shut your mouth before I fuck it!" Aegis yelled. Shining squinted at the brazen guard, surprised to see that Camisa Roja hadn't yet gotten himself killed in a grease fire, or something equally ignoble.

"Are there any real questions?" Shining asked. None came. "Alright then. You have your orders. Spread the word to the other squads and fan out. No way we're letting Discord get the credit for this over the Royal Guard! I want this guy found by the day's end!"





The day's end came and went. Tirek was still at large.

That night, under the cover of darkness, he resumed his feeding frenzy on the magic of the citizens. He snuck up behind his latest victim, ready to consume his power. The pony turned at the last moment. His head morphed to reveal his true identity.

"Tirek, I presume?" Discord greeted. Tirek squinted and then recognized the misshapen creature before him.

"Discord? You're free?" he asked.

"As a bird."

"I commend you on your escape."

"I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual," Discord said, snapping his fingers. Cuffs appeared on Tirek's wrists. He reflexively fired a destructive beam of magic at Discords head, splitting it in half. The result was less fatal than he had hoped. The halves of Discord's head recombined unscathed.

"I should have know you would want Equestria all to yourself," Tirek said.

"Oh I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for my friends. Just between the two of us, it's mostly for Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy!? You're not saying that you're friends with ponies!?" Tirek spat the word out as though it tasted awful in his mouth.

"Surprise!"

"I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces," Tirek said. 

"I have done nothing of the sort."

"Please. I've seen this before. But he was always weak-minded. You are Discord. You are legend. You can not fall into the same trap that claimed my brother. Help me to grow strong, and be rewarded with something far greater than friendship: Freedom! Once I have stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the Master of Chaos, himself!? Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness! Unless, of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world."

Discord considered it for a moment. Tirek's offer sounded good on the surface. But Discord knew that Tirek was a betrayer through and through. That would never change about him, even after a thousand years in Tartarus. As soon as he had enough power, Tirek would cast him aside just as he did his brother. 

Tirek was defeated before he even got started. His prisoner, ready for delivery to Tartarus. They might make a stained-glass window for him, or maybe make him an alicorn princess. He thought about his crown and his throne and kingdom and... ruling. Signing legislature and tax codes and zoning ordinances. It all sounded so boring. But perhaps letting Tirek try to take over would prove entertaining. Right up until he got his flank kicked. It would be a boon for Princess Twilight's confidence. And then maybe he wouldn't have to listen to Fluttershy worry about her so much at his next tea party with her.

But...

In order to let that happen, he'd have to make her think that he had betrayed her and her friends. That would break her heart. It would crush her. He decided that if he were to go along with Tirek's plan he would keep her out of harms way. Tirek wanted to steal Equestrian magic. But he wasn't a killer. If that changed, it was something Discord simply wouldn't allow. Death had such a boring, un-chaotic finality to it.

"What say you, Discord?" Tirek asked. It would be fun, Discord reasoned. Fluttershy would forgive him. Eventually. She always did. Discord snapped his fingers, making the cuffs on Tirek's wrists vanish. Tirek grinned. "A wise choice, friend."





Twilight hung on her brother's shoulder as they walked down the Canterlot avenue. It was the day of their big anniversary date, and he had promised to take her out to the theater. Not the movie cinema, but the actual theater with a stage and live actors.

Today's presentation was the story about the Kirin who hid below an opera stage, and fell in love with this opera singer, and he wore a freaky half-mask thing, and he played the organ a lot and got all broody 'cause the singer was in love with another dude, so he took her away on this underground gondola. I mean, who doesn't love musical theater?!

Arriving at the Canterlot Playhouse, they presented their tickets to the usher and he directed them to their seats. They settled in and Twilight went through her bag. She pulled out a small prescription bottle and showed it to her brother.

"Zesper?" he asked, reading the label. She nodded.

"It should kick in a couple hours from now, when the play ends. Just in time for us to head home and..." she trailed off, giving him her best bedroom eyes as she took the tablet.

"You little minx," he teased, nudging against her shoulder. The lights started to go down in the theater.

"Ooh! The show is about to start!" she said.

The curtain parted. But instead of the troupe of pony actors the audience was expecting, it was the infamous draconequus, Discord. The audience gasped. Most ponies had never seen Discord in person. His odd figure and imposing height was enough to be intimidating by itself. But most who did recognize him, knew him for the villain he was. News of his reformation hadn't traveled as far or as fast as Ponyville being turned into the chaos capital of the world. It mattered little in that moment.

Discord, dressed as a magician, produced a top-hat and a wand. Setting it on the stage, he gave the hat a tap with the wand. From beneath the hat emerged Tirek, who grew into his normal size. He tossed aside the hat and his cloak, revealing himself. The crowd hadn't any time to react before he consumed their magic. 

Twilight and her brother could only hold each other in terror as they felt the magic being torn from their bodies. They could each see it leaving the other's horn as the cutie marks vanished from their flanks.

"Get out of here! Go!" he shouted.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to go warn the Princess and the Royal Guard!" he said.

"What about me?" she asked. He turned and looked into her eyes, dulled from the loss of her magic.

"Run home as fast as you can! I love you!" he said, kissing her. She kissed him back before he turned to leave with all haste.

"I love you, too!" She shouted after her brother. As soon as he was out of her view, Twilight Velvet ran home.





Night Light reached the castle perimeter. The former Guard officer entreated entrance, imploring audience with the princess immediately regarding the imminent danger. The bedraggled stallion was brought before Princess Celestia, barely able to move himself under his own strength. What strength he had left, he used to relay the message of how Discord had betrayed Equestria and joined forces with the evil centaur.

"It seems I've put too much trust in Discord, and the effect that friendship would have upon him." Celestia said.

"I need to get home to Velvet," Night Light said. He turned to run home but stumbled over his own hooves from fatigue. He barely saved his fall and wheezed against the lush carpet of the throne room floor.

"Lieutenant, please!," Celestia said, addressing his former rank out of habit. She rushed down to his aid. "You're in no condition. If Twilight is safe at home, please, stay here until this is resolved!" She motioned for a guard to help him to a guest room. He shoved them away.

"Princess," he called out. She looked away. She knew what Tirek could do. What he would do if they didn't stop him. She didn't want to see the dull grey of Night Light's lifeless eyes. The fate that would befall her, and all she loved if she failed. He hadn't the strength to repel the guards twice as the held him.

"Celestia! Look at me!" he demanded. She did, finally. Weak as he was, dull as his eyes were, the resolve in them was a strong as ever. "Promise me that you'll look after my family!" The emphasis he put into the word 'family' was more than enough for her to understand his meaning.

Celestia sent for each of her guards to summon Princess Luna, and Cadance, leaving the two of them alone.

"I promise," Celestia said with absolute seriousness, "that Twilight means at least as much to me as she does to you. And I know that right now, with her magic stolen, home is the safest place for her. And I know that she wouldn't want you running around the streets of Canterlot with Tirek on the loose." She walked with him out into the hallway. "We have defeated him before. And this time we are ready for him."

A guard returned, escorting Luna. Celestia directed him to show Night Light to a guest room. Just as soon as they left, a guard from the Pegasi Air Corp came bursting into the room. He looked like he had crashed into a tree and hit every branch on the way down.

"Your Highness! We just got a message from Cloudsdale! A monster is stealing flight magic from the pegasi! The Air Corp and the Wonderbolt tried to intercept, but-" His disjointed wing tried to flex, making him wince in pain.

"Tirek is stealing flight magic already!?" Luna asked.

"Discord has betrayed us," Celestia said. "With him teleporting Tirek all over Equestria, the is no limit to how fast he will gain power!"

"Discord betrayed us?" Cadance asked as she trotted into the room.

"It seems so. I've just had two other eye witnesses."

A flash of magic light materialized a scroll in front of Celestia. She picked it up and read it.

"The mayor of Appleloosa has broken the emergency seal!" Celestia said, looking over the scroll. It detailed much the same events. "Tirek is stealing magic from earth ponies with Discord's help." 

"Earth ponies too!?" Luna gasped. "But that means-"

"Yes. He will move against us next, seeking alicorn magic. And with Discord by his side, we will not be able to stop him from taking it." 

"What do we do!?" Cadance asked.

"What we always do," Celestia said as she hastily wrote a letter to and sent it off. "Let Twilight handle it." 

"..."

"..."

"Okay, but how though?" Cadance asked with dubious concern.

"I have a three step plan," Celestia said. "Step one, we rid ourselves of our alicorn magic. Step two-"

"Wait! What!?" Cadance balked. "We rid ourselves of our magic!?"

"Yes. So Tirek can't steal it," Celestia said.

"Okay, but again, how though?" she asked. "One of the first lessons you ever taught me about magic is that it can't just disappear into thin air."

"That's correct. We will need to transfer our magic to Twilight," Celestia said. 

"Or-" Cadance interjected. "Or, and I'm just spit-balling here; we could not do that!"

"No. There is no other way. Between transferring our magic to Twilight, and the Elements of Harmony, it will give her the edge she needs to defeat Tirek and Discord."

"But I thought the Elements needed to be returned to the Tree of Harmony to prevent the Plunder Vines from taking over," Cadance said.

"And they did. She can borrow the Elements from the Tree again, just as Luna and I did before. With the magic of friendship, they'll be able to turn them both to stone and return all the magic that was stolen from the ponies.

"And what do we do in the meantime?"

"I'm thinking... a nap?" Luna said with a yawn.

"How can you be thinking about sleeping right now!?" Cadance asked.

"I just got off a twelve-hour shift!" Luna said.

"But how can you be so sure that Twilight will be able to handle it?"

"Because it works every time! Trust me," Celestia said. "Everything will be fine. Twilight can defeat both of them with just the Elements. Giving her our magic is just to prevent Tirek from getting it. Okay?"

"Okay."

The doors the the throne room opened and Twilight Sparkle galloped in. "I came as quickly as I could! Is something wrong? Is it Tirek?"

"I'm afraid I put too much trust in Discord, and the effect that friendship would have upon him," Celestia said.

"Discord has betrayed the ponies of Equestria and joined forces with Tirek," Luna said.

"How could he do this!?" Twilight cried. "I thought our friendship meant something to him. I thought he had changed."

"Tirek has stolen enough magic that he now has the strength to steal flight as well," Celestia said. "Without pegasi to control the weather, there will be no rain in Equestria. There is word he has gone after earth ponies as well. Without their strength, they will not be able to tend to the land."

"Ponies will no longer be in control of their world," Luna said. "That power will belong solely to Tirek."

"There is no doubt that Tirek is after alicorn magic," Celestia said. "With Discord by his side, we will not be able to stop him from taking it."

"Once it is in his possession, his power will know no bounds," Luna said, "and all hope will be lost."

"But there is one solution," Celestia said. "It is only by making this sacrifice that Equestria and the lands beyond it might be saved. We must rid ourselves of our magic before Tirek has the chance to steal it from us." Twilight gasped.

"Tirek is set on possessing alicorn magic," Luna said. "When he comes for us, we can not have what he is looking for."

"I'm more than willing to do my part and give up my magic," Twilight said.

"You misunderstand," Luna said. "Our magic can not just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe."

"That somepony is you, Twilight," Cadance said.

"Why me?"

"We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth alicorn princess exists in Equestria," Celestia said. "If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone."

"Do you understand what we are asking of you?" Cadance asked.

"Yes. It's just- I'm only now learning how to control my own alicorn magic. To take on even more-"

"Twilight, you represent the element of magic. If there is anypony who can do this, it's you," Cadance assured her.

"Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I will ever do. This is the role I am meant to play as a princess of Equestria. I will not fail to do my duty!"

"Then we must begin at once!" Celestia said. The three princesses surrounded Twilight and expelled their magic from their horns into a massive orb of light. As soon as they were done, it funneled down into Twilight's horn.

Far away, in Fillydelphia, Discord felt the magical imbalance like a shiver up his spine. He knew what it felt like, but it simply couldn't be true. Celestia wasn't that reckless. "That can't be right," he muttered. It might make for a greater spectacle later, he thought, but ultimately it would be of little consequence. 

Back in Canterlot, Twilight composed herself from the magical transfer. She rushed over and embraced her old mentor, who was fatigued from the act. Celestia and the other two alicorns were blank flanks.

"It is done," Celestia said. "You need to get out of here before Tirek arrives. But before you go, Let me show you how to lower the sun."

"And raise the moon," Luna added.





Under the cover of the night, Twilight returned home to the Golden Oaks Library. By the time she got home, it was so late at night that it was early. Spike was fast asleep. The sound over her hooves on the floor stirred him from his sleep.

"You weren't gone very long," he said. "Does that mean everything's okay?"

"Yup. Everything's fine," Twilight lied.

"In that case I'm going back to bed. The sun's not up and neither am I."

"That's strange. The sun should be up by now. The sun should be up by now!" Twilight said, realizing that she was now responsible for that.

~

Shining Armor was getting ready to go on his morning patrol in Canterlot. They had a new mission. Not only to locate Tirek, but also now, with news of his treason, Discord. "That's strange. The sun should be up by now," he said.

"On top of everything else, Nightmare Moon is back?" Captain Sea Cay asked.

"I hope not."

There was no dawn. The moon plummeted out of the sky and then back up into it again, chased by the sun, dipping up and below the horizon several times as Twilight Sparkle struggled to control her new magic.

"Geez! Has Celestia been up all night drinking?" Sea Cay asked.

"Probably having another one of her 'let Twilight handle it' parties," Sergeant Aegis said with a chuckle.

"Go ready the others," Shining commanded them, sending them off. He headed out of the tower onto the city overpass bridge as the the sun settled into a noon-ish position in the sky. His helmet vanished with a flash of light, only to reappear on the head of his target beside him.

"Shining Armor! Why, whatever are you doing here?" Discord asked, appearing beside him in a flash. He was genuinely surprised to see the stallion-prince, former-royal-guard, back in Canterlot. Discord had hoped that Shining and Cadance would have stayed in the Crystal Empire during this little lesson for Twilight's confidence. As amusing at it would be to him for Celestia to be sent to Tartarus for a time, he didn't wish such a fate for Cadance. The poor mare was blameless in all of this.

"Back off, traitor!" Shining growled.

"The only one Discord betrayed was himself," Tirek said, appearing at the far side of the bridge. "Abandoning his true nature to make friends with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!"

You are to locate the targets and report directly to the princesses. Do not engage!

With the centaur in front of him and Discord behind him, Shining Armor had no escape. He put everything he had into it as he blasted a bolt of magic at Tirek. Tirek caught it in his hand like it was no more than a ball of crumpled paper and ate it like a snack. He grabbed the stallion by the face and inhaled the rest of his magic from his horn, leaving the pony to collapse on the bridge.

"How could you do this?" Shining whimpered to Discord.

"Why don't you go and have a little fun. I won't stand in your way," Tirek said to Discord, before he left to raid the rest of the city. Discord glanced at the stallion laying there, motionless, on the bridge. This wasn't very chaotic. This wasn't his idea of fun at all. But he didn't want to be too far from Tirek. He needed to make sure that the centaur didn't do anything too permanent.

As soon as they were gone, Shining got up and headed to the castle. He needed to warn the princesses that Tirek would be coming for them soon. He needed to save his wife.





The castle shook with each heavy step of the massive beast approaching. A former Royal Guard gathered up the rest of the civilian staff of the castle and herded them all down into the bowels of the castle, to hide away from that monster. It was like the old 'dragon attack' drills they used to do. The castle dungeon hadn't been used as such in centuries. Most of it served as long term storage. Some of it had been converted into a wine cellar, or a pantry of the kitchen a floor above. But there was plenty room enough left to serve as a shelter for the non-combatants. 

Night Light could't know for sure if he had managed to find everypony. He closed the door and locked it. He barricaded it as best as he could along with the others inside the shelter. All they could do now is pray that whoever was still up there in the castle, had run very, very far away. Upstairs, the three princesses waited in the throne room. 

"I want to go on record as saying that I still think this is a stupid plan," Luna said, sitting beside Celestia and Cadance in the throne room. Their usually wavy manes hung limp devoid of magic.

"It will work," Celestia assured her. "We've bought Twilight plenty of time to get back to the Everfree forest with her friends and get the Elements of Harmony. With them, they will be able to easily defeat Tirek and return them to the tree before the forest has a chance to grow feral again."

"We... did tell her to use the Elements again... right?" Cadance asked, thinking back to when Twilight was with them, unable to recall if they had mentioned that bit.

"Yes... We must have. Right?" Celestia asked, also unsure.

"I... I don't know. But I mean... it seems obvious, right?" Luna asked. "They've solved everything every time before. Why wouldn't she immediately use those?"

"You're right," Cadance said. "And Celestia's right. Everything will be fine."

"..."

"..."

As the sound grew closer, they braced themselves for what was coming next. The throne room doors exploded into splinters as Tirek stomped through the broken frame, easily thrice the size of Celestia's height. He held Celestia in his magical grasp and opened his mouth. He had been looking forward to this moment for a millennium. He anticipated the taste of alicorn magic. 

None came.

"What have you done!?" He bellowed. Celestia just grinned at him with that same smug confidence she always had. He grabbed Luna and Cadance, trying to drink each of their magics in turn. It was gone. "Where is your magic!?"

"We got rid of it so that you can not take it from us!" Celestia said. He tossed them aside onto the floor and took thier place on the throne.

"Getting rid of your magic so that I can not take it from you? That was your plan?" Tirek asked. Celestia just smirked at him. "That has to be the stupidest plan I have ever heard!"

"Called it," Luna muttered.

"How does it feel," Tirek asked, "knowing that soon, every pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony will bow to my will and that there is nothing that you can do to stop it?"

"You will not prevail, Tirek," Celestia said. With each passing moment that Twilight and her friends didn't rush into the room with the Elements of Harmony, Celestia felt her hope fading. Her words sounded increasingly hollow, even to her.

"Give my regards to Cerberus," Tirek said, opening a portal to Tartarus, and casting the princesses into it.

A lone Royal Guard pony watched in horror from just behind the broken frame of the throne room doorway. With the princesses gone, things had gone from bad, to catastrophically worse. He ran as fast as his hooves could carry him. He turned the corner at the end of the hall and collided with the Guard Commander. Shining Armor tumbled along with the poor guard, both landing on the lush red carpet of the castle floor.

"Sir! We have to get out of here! Sound the evacuation!" the young stallion cried. "The princesses are gone!"

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" Shining asked in terror.

"Tirek sent them to Tartarus! He opened a portal and sent them through! They're gone! I'm out of here! I need to get home to protect my wife and family!"

Shining grabbed him by his collar.

"What about MY wife!?" he yelled. "What about Cadance!?"

"She's gone! All of them!"

Shining Armors gripped on the pony failed him. His legs went limp. The guard scampered away and ran out of the hallway.

Cadance was gone. The royal sisters were gone. He looked down at the brass armor on himself. He was a Royal Guard. But there was no royalty to guard. There was no reason for him to be there. Except to kill Tirek. He wanted to charge in there and vaporize him. But without his magic it would have been suicide. And even with his magic... It wouldn't have gone any better that the last encounter with Tirek. The only thing that awaited him here was death or worse. He turned on his hoof and fled. He had never run from a fight before in his life. He had stood up to Sombra in the frozen north.  He felt like a coward. But what else could he do? He ran home. 

Once he got outside, Shining Armor realized that the Crystal Empire was a long damn jog away. And that was really only his home with Cadance. It never really felt like home to him. For years, home was in the barracks, with his fellow guards. But now that wasn't his home any more, either. There was only one place left. One last stand, worth fighting for. His last home. His first home. Much had changed in the city, but he knew the way well.

He hadn't been a prince long enough to grow fat and lazy. He was still in great shape. But the magic that Tirek had taken from him was more than just his abilities as a unicorn. His cutie mark was gone, and along with it, a piece of himself. One might call it a soul if he were inclined to believe in such a thing. Shining was starting to. He didn't have his usual strength, speed, or endurance. It was like his legs were filled with cement. But he persevered.

Strangely, when he arrived at his foalhood home in Canterlot, he didn't feel tired. Or rather, not any more tired than when he'd had his magic drained. He wasn't panting or wheezing from physical exertion. His muscles didn't ache. Losing his magic to Tirek just made him feel slower, but his body didn't lose any of its conditioning. 

He rapt on the door with his hoof. There was no answer. He felt a wave of dread wash over him. He knocked harder. He stepped back from the door and looked at the house. There was a flicker of movement in the second floor window curtain. "Mom!? Dad!?" Shining shouted through the door. "It's me!" He strained to hear the hoofsteps coming downstairs. He heard the loud scraping of wood on wood as furniture was shuffled around inside. The locks on the door were unlocked one by one with clumsy hooves. At last the door opened.

Twilight Velvet stood inside, standing shakily as she leaned against the pile of furniture. Her eyes had the same dull glaze as his. She'd had her magic taken as well. "Mom!" He rushed in to her and hugged her. She hugged him back. He hadn't noticed to at first, but he could feel it now. She was sweating. Her eyes, dull as they were, were red and puffy from crying.

"I thought you were guarding the princesses," she said.

"They're gone," he said, not letting go of her.

"But- what about Cadance!?" she pleaded.

"She's-" he tried to say it but the words caught in his throat. From the moment the guard told him what had happened, he had been running on instinct, relying on his training, to protect what he could without thinking of himself. But now, the reality of it hit him like a train. "She's gone!" he cried. 

Twilight Velvet felt the pain in her chest as the air left her. Her throat had gone so tight that she couldn't even form a sound to cry. It just rushed out as a long, dry wheeze. Like the icy grip of death itself had reached into her and crushed her lungs. She gasped for a breath.

"She's gone?" she cried.

"A guard saw it with his own eyes," he told her as tears streaked down his cheeks as well. Just as it had happened to Shining when he heard, her legs gave out from under her. He hadn't the strength to hold her up and could only do his best to make their fall to the floor a controlled one. She couldn't believe that her daughter was dead.





"Am I alive or dead?" Cadance asked.

"You're dead," Celestia replied.

"Nine," Luna said.

"Would I be in history books?" Cadance asked.

"Yes," Celestia answered.

"Eight," Luna counted down.

"Am I from before the founding of Equestria?"

"Uh... yes."

"Seven."

"Am I a unicorn?"

"Yes."

"Six"

"Am I a princess?"

"No."

"Five."

"I'm Clover the Clever," Cadance guessed.

"You got it." Celestia confirmed.

"With four left," Luna said. "Not bad."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So what now?" Cadance asked, giving a futile tug at the cuff chain keeping her hoof bound to the floor of their cell in Tartarus. It was the same as the chains on the other two alicorns. "How about 'I Spy'?"

"How about no."

"I spy something black."

"It's Cerberus."

"I spy something white."

"It's Tia."

"I spy something blue."

"It's me."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"How about 'Twenty Questions' again?"

"How about we take a nap?" Luna growled.

"Wait, what time is it?"

"It doesn't matter here. Time has no meaning in Tartarus," Celestia said.

"I just realized that I haven't eaten today. But I don't feel hungry," Cadance said.

"That's part of the magic of Tartarus," Celestia explained. "You don't get hungry, or thirsty. You can't starve. You don't even age. When you're here, you're here forever."

"Wow. That sucks," Cadance said. "But how long are we going to be here?"

"Just until Twilight has enough time to find the Elements and use them against Tirek," Celestia said. "Until then, our magic is safe with her."

"Unless Tirek finds her first," Luna said.

"He doesn't know about her though," Celestia said. "That was the whole point of the plan."

"..."

"..."

"Yeah, but, how though?" Cadance realized. "I mean, Twilight's coronation was national news. And even if he never picked up a newspaper, there is the image of her in the throne room stained-glass window. Not to mention the fact that Discord is working with him now and he obviously knows about Twilight being an alicorn princess."

Celestia opened her mouth to retort something, but nothing came out. Cadance could see the gears turning in her head as Celestia arrived at the only obvious conclusion.

"Fuck."





Shining locked the door to the house and did his best to help his mom restore the barricade by hoof. As they finished, he realized that it would have been a lot easier with more help.

"Wait, where's Dad?" he asked.

"You haven't seen him?" she asked. He shook his head. "We were at the theater for our anniversary date when Tirek attacked. I barely managed to escape. He ran to the castle to warn the Princesses. I haven't seen him since. I fear the worst!" She cried again and wiped her eyes. Shining hugged his mother again. He led her over to the couch and sat down beside her. They just held each other. It was all they could do.

As he held her, he realized that he hadn't seen her since Twilight's coronation, and his wedding before that. He realized how much he had missed her. After losing his wife and father, and pony-knows-who else, it made him cherish that which he had all the more. And the same was true of her as she held her son. 

Shining had heard the horror stories of Royal Guard ponies that had fallen in battle. In their last moment, as the bled out, crying for their mothers. He could only have the barest of understanding about it without experiencing it himself. But with the rest of the world outside on the verge of destruction, it felt very much like it could be the end for him. But unlike those poor bastards dying in the trenches, he actually had his mother there to comfort him.

She was no creature of physical strength, and her magic was gone. And she was even more broken by loss at that moment than he was. But in her hooves, he felt a glimmer of hope. Some absurd, unfounded feeling that somehow, someway, it would all be okay. Perhaps it was the familiar scent of her fur. A perfume of hers that he recognized that made him feel better somehow. Something. Or something else. 

She got up from the floor to go sit on the couch. He followed after her. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air around them. This did not escape her notice. She realized that her tail was flagging involuntarily. She forced it down to cover herself before she sat on the sofa.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"What?"

"It was for your father, for our big date today," she said.

"Big date?"

"Yes. For our anniversary."

"Oh. Oh! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot!"

"Well, things have been a little crazy the last couple days for you, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but I still should have sent a card at least. I can't believe I forgot!" he apologized. 

"It's okay. It... it doesn't matter anymore," she said. 

He smelled the scent in the air again without trying to be too obvious about it.

"So that's... you?" he asked.

"Yeah." She blushed. "I took Zesper to... well, you know what it does. But without him to deal with it, it's just uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry." Shining felt like an ass for even bringing any attention to it. Zesper was a medication for older mares who were approaching menopause to stimulate a heat cycle. It helped to put them in the mood to mate, and make it easier for them to achieve orgasm. But without doing any of those things, the effects of Zesper, much like being in heat, itself, could become quite irritating.

"I'll be fine. It'll pass in a day or so. I've been through worse heats," she assured him. Shining felt a twinge of stirring in his anatomy, reacting on instinct. But the combination of the grave situation, and his will, kept his body firmly in check as he sat down and nuzzled against her.





In Ponyville, Discord had trapped Twilight's friends in a cage, including Fluttershy. It broke his heart to see the betrayed look in her eyes. But he needed to maintain the ruse for just a little while longer. Tirek consumed her magic, along with the other ponies.

"You really think she'd do anything for them?" Tirek asked.

"If Twilight has magic to give, it will be yours," Discord said. "There won't be a pony who will be able to stand up against us."

"Who said anything about 'us'?" Tirek said. "You helped me grow strong. You've provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight's magic. And now you are no longer of any use to me."

Oh, Discord thought. This is the part where he betrays me. This is sooner than I was expecting. And here I was thinking that Twilight would have rainbow-magic-beamed him first. Or if in the outside chance he managed to defeat the elements, I could have just snapped him out of existence and saved the day. Oh well. Discord prepared to snap his fingers. Although, it would be worthwhile to see what Twilight could do if she really really thought there was no other help coming. If she believed that even a god of chaos had been beaten by Tirek. If her friends' lives were at stake. What happens, I wonder, when a good pony goes to war?

Discord feigned helplessness and let Tirek consume 'his magic'. The thing about infinite magic is that you can always spare a little. He even made his given bit of magic plaid, just for fun. Tirek tossed him onto the ground like a rag doll. Discord held up the amulet Tirek had given him.

"But you said this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty. A gift from someone close to you," Discord said.

"My brother who betrayed me. It is as worthless as he is."

"Surely you saw this coming," Applejack said.

"I didn't," Discord lied.

~ ~ ~

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT!" Tirek's voice boomed across the town of Ponyville. "YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME!"

Twilight only needed to do two things that day:
1. Gather her friends and arm them with the Elements of Harmony.

And until then,

2. Avoid Tirek to keep him from getting the alicorn magic. 

She had already screwed up the first part. As a purple streak flew across the sky on a direct intercept course with the massive centaur, she was well on her way to screwing up the second. Coming to a screeching halt in front of him, all she managed to do was demonstrate that she was an inept flier. 

"You're going to give me what I want!" he said. He opened his mouth to consume her magic. She teleported away before he could. But rather than go someplace remote, she teleported into her home in Ponyville, in the center of a densely settled civilian population. She rushed to her telescope to see where he was. His gaze followed along her teleportation wake. He could sense her powerful magic. Through the lens of the telescope she could see him charge up a magical beam to attack. She had only a fraction of a second to react. She grabbed her pet owl and teleported out of the tree library an instant before the blast struck.

In the blink of an eye, her home exploded into a billion shards of burning wood embers, leaving little more than a charred stump. Her owl flew away to safety as burning books fell from the sky all around her. She looked down at the ashen pages of her library scattered all over the ground. Many were first edition. Some were one-of-a-kind printings. Words that would never be arranged in quite the same way ever again. The greatest thoughts of ancient minds, lost forever. Like teardrops in the rain.

Ordinarily, Twilight Sparkle was not a pony prone to anger. Twilight Sparkle was not one to succumb to hatred. Ordinarily, Twilight Sparkle was a mare of logic, and reason. As such, she always knew that there was a reasonable response to resolve conflict. Even for a crime as unforgivable as this. Twilight would not go into a blind rage and resort to m u r d e r.... ordinarily.

But these 

were 

~ extraordinary ~

times. 

~

When asked later about the reports of Armageddon happening in Ponyville, Twilight's memory from that point on was a bit hazy.

The force of the explosion shattered everything made of glass nearby. All of her neighbors' windows and everything in their cupboards. Nothing inside Twilight's home survived. Not even in the depths of her basement laboratory. Not even an enchanted flask that had been in a trunk in Zecora's hut just a day ago. It shattered, releasing the spell it held, and the hex on the stallion ensnared by it. The contents of the flask didn't spill everywhere, however. In the snap-back of the spell being broken, the accumulated contents of the flask were...

... returned to sender.





In Twilight Velvet's Canterlot home, she had stirred from her sleep. They were both so exhausted from everything that had happened that day that Shining had fallen asleep right there on the couch as she held him. She let him lay down and she joined his nap shortly after, her body draped over his. It didn't seem to bother him any. They were both quite comfortable in the position. At least, she was as comfortable as she could be, despite the ever-present itch in her nethers. She noticed the ground shake beneath them. It was a minor tremor, like a piece of heavy furniture being dropped upstairs, or something very big had happened very far away. 

Immediately after, something very big happened close by. She hadn't put any mind to their specific position until she felt a bulge growing in his sheath under her pelvis. She tried to shift away from it but it grew so unnaturally hard and fast it was almost beyond belief. She felt the blunt tip of his shaft emerge from his sheath and push up along her backside. It parted her pussy lips, smearing her copious wetness. It nearly caught the entrance to her vagina, barely pushing inside of her before glancing away. Her son's shaft continued to grow longer past her anus and pressed into the dock of her tail, firmly propping it upwards behind her as his medial ring brushed past her winking clitoris.

Shining's eyes shot open as though he had just awoken from a night terror. Velvet was mortified to be in such a compromising position by him. She was certain that it was because of her state from the Zesper. She moved to lift herself off of him. His hooves moved in a flash to her hips and gripped her flanks and he thrusted his hips upwards and the rest of his body just kept going up with it. His back arched to a degree that would impress both a gymnast and exorcist alike. His eyes screwed shut and his mouth was open in a silent wail, stretched so far it was like his jaw had unhinged like a snake.

With the spell on the flask broken, all of his semen had returned to his scrotum. All at once. Shining was in the throes of the worst case of blue balls anyone had ever experienced ever. They were so blue, they were beyond blue, beyond purple, they went right off the end of the visible spectrum. He had Ultra-Violet balls.

He had never known such a need before. It was a need more severe than a starving pony's need for food. More desperate than a drowning pony's need for air. He needed to cum immediately if not sooner. His conscious mind was chemically shocked into submission as the instincts of his animal brain took over. It no longer mattered that the mare on top of him was his mother, or even a mare, or even a pony.

Velvet could only hold on as she was suddenly lifted into the air on top of him. His entire body broke into profuse sweating. Even his eyes. The muscles in his back relaxed and they fell together on the couch. His hooves gripping her hips kept her privates pinned firmly against his own. She couldn't keep her face from pressing against his chest, damp with sweat. The flood of excess testosterone reintroduced into his system saturated his sweat with potent pheromones that filled her nose and absorbed into her skin. Pheromones crafted by eons of evolution to start a chain reaction in her brain, the chemical precursors to signal the onset of an emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason. An emotion that was already blinding her from the simple and obvious truth: This stallion was her son.

Less a second later, he thrusted upwards again, nearly as high as the first time. His dick only just hitting the dock of her tail and rubbing against the outside of her marehood. Not that it mattered to him. At that point, he could have fucked a hole through a concrete wall. But even on the brink of cumming instantly, it wasn't enough to get him there. It wasn't nearly enough for Velvet to get there, either. His body needed it. Her body wanted it. And neither of them had the state of mind to resist their desires.

Velvet mistook the sweat rolling down his cheeks as tears. Shining wasn't really crying, although he was absolutely in enough agony to justify it. But Velvet only saw tears of remorse. Perhaps in the moment, she was projecting her own self doubt. But it was a moment only. Maybe it really was pain. He had gotten so hard, so fast, and it was her fault. Damn that Zesper! She did this to him, she thought. But she would make it right. She would make the boo-boo all better. They flopped onto the couch again. She shushed him and cooed to try to calm her baby.

"It's okay. Mommy is going to make it all better," Velvet whispered. She reached back to help aim him.

Her hoof on his penis was light a bolt of lightning. As though he had already cum for the eighth time in as many minutes, and the world's best whorse had just gone into super-suck mode on his ultra-sensitive dick. He made a very undignified cry. His hooves on her flanks faltered.

"Shh, it's okay," she said, able to lift her hips now. She aimed his tip at her needy vagina. "I want this too," she whispered. 

She lowered herself onto him, her dripping pussy easily allowing his penetration. The instant his tip was inside her, his hips bucked again. Saved by her quick reflexes she was able to stand on the sofa cushion fast enough. His blunt tip still hit her cervix with an appreciable force, making her vision go white in a flash of visceral pain. The Zesper had made her innermost barrier more pliable, but even so, there were limits.

Shining's hips bucked and thrusted wildly, without finesse or rhythm, trying desperately to just get off as fast as possible. His hooves pawed at her flanks, but could never get a good purchase on her to pull her down to him. Fortunate for her given the length and girth of the spear she was currently riding. It was enough for her just to have her son's medial ring slipping in and out of her, brushing across her winking clit with each pump. 

She could feel the knot in her tummy getting tighter and tighter with each thrust, begging to snap free and release. Her wetness dripped down his shaft as it made wet, squelching noises with its textured surface sliding into her tight pussy, stretched completely around him. He must have gotten the very best parts of his father, because his sheer size put even her husband's beast to shame. 

"Shining I- I-" Velvet's voice hitched in her throat. The knot in her belly snapped and her entire body trembled and shook as her pussy quivered around the penetrating cock, still fucking her silly. Shining didn't slow down. If anything, he went faster. Velvet's legs gave out and she felt onto him, trying to fall as far forward as she could, pulling herself up toward his shoulders while he continued to fuck her.

She felt the depths of her pussy stretch as his tip began to flare. He was about to cum. He wrapped his hooves around her and held her tight, trying to shove her back downwards onto his dick as deep as he could. She felt his flare push against her cervix. It wasn't a blunt impact like the first time, but a firm, constant pressure, as though he was determined to push his dick right into her womb. He was already flaring, so she was certain that there was no way. But he seemed determined. She was actually getting scared that he might succeed.

He made a series of noises that she could only describe as inward screams as he gasped for air. She felt his body stiffen and shake. He was about to cum. His hooves pushed down on her his even harder. He was in such intense agony and ecstasy. He didn't think he was dying.

He hoped he was.

His eyes opened for the first time since he had awoken. Even with massive, panicked breaths for oxygen, he had tunnel vision. It was like what ponies with near-death experiences had described. Ponies, dying on the battlefield, screaming out. The last image their brains saw before they died. Was it the face of god, herself? He looked up at the terrified mare on top of him.

"M- Mommy!" he cried out.

And then Shining Armor came.

Velvet knew the sensation. She felt the stallion's cock flex even harder, straightening itself, and her on it, forcing her to sit upright on top of him. She caught herself from falling backwards. Looking down, she could see the bulge it was making in her stomach as his tip flared wider. 

He throbbed and pulse inside her. She could feel the first massive blast of his semen pelt against her cervix, instantly filling what little space there was left in her vagina. His second and third rope of cum only added to the pressure inside her. His hooves pushed down on her hips. His wide flare making her cervix part just enough to alleviate the pressure. His cum began to flood into her uterus. His balls churned and his shaft pumped more and more. Pumping more into her faster than she could take.

Every time he had tried to have sex with Cadance. The dozens of times he had jerked off in secret, alone with his shameful thoughts. And even the attempt he had with his sister. All of his cum finally came. All of it. And it just kept cumming. On average, he could fill a couple shot glasses. But Velvet looked down at the bulge in her stomach as her womb filled with ten-fold of her son's potent seed. It wasn't an absurd inflation to the point of looking any degree of pregnant. But it certainly felt that way. And even as impressively wide as her son's flare was, nothing could stop the deluge of cum to come.

White baby batter spurted out of her tight pussy from around his cock, entire ounces at at time. Velvet couldn't see it from her angle. But she could sure feel it. If it was spurting hard enough to make any lewd noises, she was deaf to it. All she could hear was the ring of tinnitus. All she could see was Shining's gaping mouth. She realized he was screaming. He had been for a while. 

Shining came and came until his simply could not, any longer. It did not, what he would classically call, feel 'good'. It was like a hospital patient in horrible pain getting Milk of the Poppy. It was pleasurable, only in that it was the removal of pain. After so, so long, he finally came. His balls, once full beyond capacity, were now empty. He was utterly, literally, drained. And, much like a patient getting Poppy Milk, his eyes flittered, skirting the fringes of consciousness.

Velvet felt her son go limp. In both sense of the word. His body fell slack as he passed out, and she felt his erection inside her begin to soften. It slowly retreated from her and into his sheath. It stalled a bit as his remaining flare was stuck just inside her. She tried to lift herself off. The simple flexing of her muscles was enough to squeeze him out, followed by a thick rush of his semen flooding out of her, soaking his fur, and her own, and a decent portion of the couch.

She was too exhausted to care, flopping back onto him, laying with him on the couch, drenched in their own mess. If Tirek didn't destroy all of Canterlot with a Mega-Spell by tomorrow, she would deal with it then.
> Until Such Time as the World Ends...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh... I had the craziest dream," Shining Armor groaned with his eyes still closed. He was still feeling weak from whatever it was that was ailing him. He rolled over and snuggled against the mare next to him, kissing her. "I dreamed that Tirek took over Equestria and sent you to Tartarus, and I went home, and Mom..." he trailed off and blinked his eyes open at last, looking at the mare he was kissing and stopped immediately. "Mom!?"

"Huh!?" Twilight Velvet woke up next to him on the couch. Shining climbed off the couch in a panic, finding that he, she, and it were all covered in a sticky mess. The whole room reeked with the heavy musk of sex.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! It wasn't a dream! That really happened!" he panicked. "Tirek! Cadance!" The shock of losing Cadance hit him again. The looming end of the world barely registered to him. He stumbled and lost his footing for a moment. Velvet shifted on the couch, moving to help him not fall. As she rolled onto her side, her belly shifted and several more ounces of her son's semen gushed from her marehood.

"I can't believe I did that!" Shining blanched. "I don't know what came over me! Mom! I'm so sorry!" He staggered and fell to his knees. She caught him as he stumbled and held his head in her lap, stroking his mane.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," she cooed, calming her scared colt. "I love you, Shining. It's okay."

"What? How?" he asked. "Tirek won. Cadance and Dad are gone. And I- I'm literally a motherfucker! How is anything about any of this okay?" He was nearly in tears.

"Well, I don't know about Tirek, the princesses, or your Dad," she said, trying to stay calm for her son's sake. "But you're okay. We're okay."

"But I- we-" he stammered.

"I know. But if this is the end of the world? What does it matter?" she asked.

"Mom, am I going to go to Tartarus?" he asked.

"No, Shining. You're a good pony," she said. "And this... neither of us were thinking clearly. We were both scared and... I don't know. But if it makes you feel any better, it's not like this is the first time we... you know."

Shining looked at at her, and then looked away again.

"Yeah, I know..." he said. "Hey Mom, there was something that's been bothering me for a while," he said. "I know me and Twilight were home-schooled, but... but I know that isn't how home school teaches sex ed."

Velvet looked away this time.

"No, I don't imagine that's how it's usually done," she said.

"Why did you... and Dad do it like that?" he asked.

"I don't recall you complaining at the time," Velvet said.

"I was a colt! I didn't know any better!" he said.

"You weren't that young," she said.

"But you and Dad definitely did know better!" he said.

"Yes. We did," Velvet said. "Maybe we were wrong. But we had our reasons. At the time. But... what does any of it matter now?" She looked at her son. He looked back at her. "Maybe we are all going to Tartarus."

Shining felt a new wave of conviction rush through him. It might have been too late for his wife. But he would be damned if he would let his mother befall the same fate. Damned if they were just going to hide in their home, waiting to be snuffed out like bugs. He cleaned himself up and got dressed in his armor.

"What are you doing?" Velvet asked.

"If we're all going to Tartarus, there's one I'm going to send there first," he said. "I'm going to kill Tirek!" He moved the barricade aside and opened the door.

"Shining! Don't go!" she begged.

"I'll see you soon, Mom. One way or another."





Meanwhile, in the Everfree Forest, Tirek had managed to acquire Alicorn magic and was in the process of carrying out his 'no tree left behind' plan, laying waste to the area.

It was a gambit that paid off as Twilight Sparkle got her friends back, and the sixth key from Discord. Without magic or flight, it had still been a decent trot to get to the Tree of Harmony, and the magic, six-lock chest. They opened the chest and rainbow magic came out.

"Rainbow magic," Discord said, watching from off to the side. "Wow. Groundbreaking."

The rainbow magic activated the Elements of Harmony, still sitting right there in the Tree of Harmony, as they had been the entire time Tirek was running amok. The magic reflected back from each of the Elements to each of the corresponding ponies. Together, they levitated up into the air to face down Tirek, now roughly the size of a castle.

Tirek fired an arcane blast at them, but to no avail.

"How is this possible? You have no magic!" he yelled.

"You're wrong Tirek! I may have given you my Alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!"

"Oh, oh! She's gonna say it..." Discord said. "The magic of friendship." He snapped his fingers to give himself a beer for when the drinking word was said. But Twilight never said the last part. She and her friends just focused their rainbow magic on the centaur and blasted him. They took back all the magic he stole, causing him to shrink back down to his original size, and then they sent him back to Tartarus. 

"Looks like he just got... Ti-wrecked!" Discord said. The six ponies had already flown away to redistribute the Equestrian magic. "Great job, Discord," he grumbled to himself. "The funniest thing you'll say all day and nopony was around to hear it."





Shining Armor headed back into the castle. He would need weapons to slay the centaur. On his way in, he was back on the bridge where he'd had his magic stolen. The concussive blast of magic that defeated Tirek shook the very foundations of the world. Shining stumbled and fell onto the bridge walkway. 

When he stood back up, he found that he was stronger. His eyes were no longer cloudy. He felt his magic return to him. Tirek had been defeated. He regretted not being able to do the deed himself, but he was relieved nonetheless. But who could possible have defeated Tirek when three alicorns together could not? He looked behind him. Twilight Sparkle was standing there.

Of course it was her.

Thank goodness she was still alive, let alone the savior of the world. Again. His sister was standing there, along with Rarity. He couldn't help but smile and laugh at how ridiculous she looked. The elemental magic made her mane wavy with bright streaks of glowing color running through it. Rarity's looked similar, but that mare made it work.

"Twilight! Cadance and the other princesses-" he said.

"We're saving them next!" Twilight said as Rarity flew off on their way to returning unicorn magic to the world. "But I wanted to save you first," she said. She leaned in to kiss him but he stopped her. Her smile faltered.

"Twilight, I haven't changed my mind about us," he said.

"I- I know," she said, looking down at her hooves. "I love you." 

"I know," he said back. "And I'm grateful for you, you know, saving the world and all. Again. And me. But could you please go save my wife now?" She nodded and looked away as he walked past her. She took of and flew after Rarity to help finish restoring magic to the rest of the world.

Shining Armor ran as fast as he could back to the castle throne room. The princesses weren't back yet. It had been quite a while by that point.

"Where are they?" he asked out loud.

"Probably down there," another guard said, standing by a window. Shining walked over and looked out the window, down at Ponyville. The was a new, massive crystal castle that seemed to have just sprouted up out of the ground.

"Huh. On any other day that might seem strange," he said. He trotted down the hallway to Celestia's chambers.





Princess Twilight toured her new castle with her friends and the other princesses. 

"... so then I said, 'Looks like he just got... Ti-wrecked'!" Discord said to Celestia. She didn't find it as funny as he thought. In fact, she still looked fairly steamed about the whole thing. He gave her a bouquet of flowers. "Sorry about the whole, you know... treason thing," he said. "I promise, I was planning on betraying him all along." Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. "I mean it!" Discord said. "What kind of fool do you take me for to trust Tirek the Betrayer?" Celestia opened her mouth to answer. "That was a rhetorical question!"

Spike belched a green flame and a scroll materialized. It was one of Celestia's scrolls, but Celestia was standing right next to them.

"Who could that be from?," Twilight asked.

"It's addressed to Cadance," Spike said, giving her the scroll. Cadance opened it and read.

"Oh, wow. I gotta go," Cadance said. "Shining is sending me some pretty high-maintenance stuff. He's worried sick." Cadance vanished with a flash of magic.

"And apparently, sending my enchanted scrolls from my chambers," Celestia said, also teleporting away, leaving behind Luna with Discord. He looked at the six and a half thrones in the central room of the castle.

"Seriously, where's my throne?" Discord asked.

"OH! Don't even get me started about who does and doesn't get a throne," Luna said.

"Oh geez, here we go," Twilight muttered.

"Even Spike gets a throne!" Discord said. "What did he have to do, show up!?"

"Hey!" Spike objected.

"You can always just make your own," Luna said. "I can't. I have to time-share the one in Canterlot. Unless I'm needed during the day. Then Celestia let's me stand next to hers."

Twilight moved between them to deescalate things.

"Guys, the world almost just ended. Are we really doing this right now?"





Cadance appeared beside Shining Armor in Celestia's chambers. He practically pounced on her and they tumbled together onto Celestia's bed.

"I thought you were dead!" he said, hugging her tightly and kissing her all over her face.

"Not yet," Cadance gasped. "But if you keep squeezing me I might be." With a flash of magic, Celestia teleported behind them. "Or you might be."

"Whoa! No no no!" Celestia scolded. "I applaud the newlyweds' effort to produce an heir, but not on my bed! Out out!" she yelled, shooing them out of her room like cats.  

Back out in the hallway, Shining and Cadance kissed back and forth as they tried to walk together.

"I missed you so much!" he said.

"I was only gone for like, a day," she said.

"It has been... a hell of a day," he said.

"Let's just go back to the Empire and take some time off," Cadance said.

"I like the sound of that," Shining said with a playful grin. "When we get back, I am going to bend you over that bed and-"

The two of them bumped into a crowd of ponies emerging form the basement stairs. At the head of the group was Night Light.

"Dad!?" Shining said.

"Shining! I'm glad you're okay!" he said, hugging him.

"Me too, Dad! I thought you were dead! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to the castle to warn the princesses about Tirek but by the time I got here, it was already too late," Night Light explained. "So I took everypony down into the castle dungeons- er, basement to shelter in place." 

Shining smiled. "Once a guard..."

"Always a guard!" Night finished. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get home and check on your mother," he said.

"Oh shit!" Shining gasped.

"What?"

"I forgot about Mom!" Shining said. "Cadance, can you teleport me over there to check on her?"

"Sure!" Cadance said. "We can all go."

"Wait-!"

In a flash, all three of them were outside the Canterlot house. Shining practically tackled his dad out of the way and rushed to the front door. He threw it open and looked inside, ready to incinerate the couch. Night Light trotted in behind him.

"Hey, I missed your mom too, you know. But there's no need to shove!" Night said. "Ah, there you are!" he greeted Velvet. She was on her knees, scrubbing the last bit of the couch clean. She got up and rushed over to him, hugging him tightly. 

"I thought you were dead!" Velvet said.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately," Night said.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "The world almost ends and your first instinct was to clean? I told you to barricade the house."

"I did!" Velvet said. "But when I moved all the furniture, I noticed how dirty everything was. So when I got my magic back and I realized that the world wasn't ending, I started cleaning things. And you know me once I get started on a cleaning spree!"

"You started cleaning the house... but you thought I was dead?" he asked. Velvet glanced at Shining briefly. He stood still in shock, looking whiter than usual.

"Maybe I was just coping," she said. "But until such time as the world ends..." Velvet said, prompting her husband.

"... we will act as though it intends to spin on," he said. She hugged Night Light again and waved away the other two. 

"You know, that Zesper is still in my system," Velvet whispered into her husband's ear. "What do you say we make the most of it?" Cadance smirked and led Shining outside to head home themselves. 

Sitting in their private caboose car on the train ride back to the Crystal Empire, Cadance leaned over, kissed Shining while she whispered, "So... you were saying something about bending me over the bed?" Cadance asked.
> In The Event Of
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Two pony mares in estrus bred.
With and without the colt they'd wed.
Now having done as directions read.
Waiting for what the results said.
One with hope... the other, dread.
Both with a wish within their head
One for blue... the other red.






Twilight Velvet sat in the bathroom and waited, watching the clock tick by one second at a time. One hundred and twenty seconds could feel like an eternity some times. When it seemed like her husband was dead and the world was going to end, she'd had sex with her son. But the world didn't end for them. At least, not yet. The world continued to spin on. But their own fate remained as undetermined as the pregnancy test on her bathroom counter. She looked at the liquid in the vial. If turned red, it meant that she wasn't pregnant. Otherwise...

When Velvet found out that the world didn't end, and that her husband was very much still alive, they celebrated by having as much sex as they physically could. Velvet had the aid of the Zesper still in her system. But Night Light wasn't a young stallion anymore. He did his best, and did finish inside her. At least Velvet could pass the foal off as his.

In the event of... 

Velvet watched the second hand finish making its second lap around the face of the clock. She braced herself and looked at the color of the liquid in the vial...





Shining Armor waited outside the bathroom. The door opened and he looked up, waiting nervously for the result.

"It's blue. I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father, Shining!" Shining Armor rush over and hugged his pregnant wife. Cadance hugged him back. 

He had done it. He had sex with Cadance and he was able to cum just fine. Not just once, but repeatedly, again and again as proper newlyweds. Cadance was elated that her husband was finally acting like the stallion she had married. The good stallion that she always knew him to be.

Shining and his mother both agreed that what they had done on the day Tirek attacked was a mistake, and vowed that they would never speak of it again. Not to each other, their spouses or anypony. She told him not to feel bad or blame himself for what had happened in a blind moment of misguided passion. And with things ended with his sister once and for all, Shining was able to stop feeling guilty about carrying on with her behind Cadance's back. He felt free.

"I can't wait to tell everypony!" he said, full of pride.

"Neither can I," Cadance said with excitement, but also with caution, as she broke the embrace. "But before we tell everypony the big announcement, we should probably tell a few ponies in person first," she said.

"Well yeah. I'm sure Princess Celestia is going to want to know," he said.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Cadance said. 

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"You don't know her like I do. You don't know how protective she can get."

"Hey, I'd be too," he said, stepping to her side and putting his hoof to her belly.

"Yes, but once she finds out I'm pregnant, she's going to want me to never leave the palace until the foal is born. And I'd like to at least be able to tell your parents and Twilight in person before I'm under princess castle arrest."

"Why Twilight?" he asked.

"She's your sister, and my sister-in-law now, too. And not to put too fine of a point on it, but you kind of owe it to her after the whole thing with the wedding invitation," she said.

"But-"

"I know that wasn't your fault. But just the same, I think she deserves a personal touch with this," she said.

"Okay. I'll have them prepare or train," he said.

"Actually, lets just take the Friendship Express rather than the Crystal Empire train so we don't cause too much of a scene when we decide to skip town and visit," she said.

"Okay. So we get to Ponyville and tell her, and then Canterlot on the way back to tell my folks and the Princesses," Shining said.

"We should at least write ahead to let her know that we're coming, even if we're waiting to tell her why in person," Cadance said.

"Okay. Then she can just meet us at the train station and we can tell her," he said.

"Shining, it's almost as if you don't want to see her," she said. "I was hoping to at least stay the weekend. I want to spend more time with her and see more of her new castle."

"No, it's not like that," he said. "We can stay a while if you want."

"We should set up a scavenger hunt for her like you used to do when she was younger," Cadance suggested. "Except instead of a book, it would be the baby as the surprise!" she said.

"How are we going to keep this a secret for eleven months?" he asked.

"Not the baby itself," she said. "The announcement."

"So like, a card?" he asked.

"How about a cake?"

"If everypony sees us carrying around a 'baby' cake, their going to figure it out. And royalty gossip travels faster than a train."

"We could have the Ponyville bakery make the cake and do some of the surprise preparations," she said.

"So the first person we're going to tell is going to be the Ponyville baker?"

"Yes. But we'll tell them that it's a Royal Top Secret," she said.

"You're going to legally bind the Ponyville baker to a Non-Disclosure Agreement for our baby announcement as a National Security Top Secret under penalty of dungeon!?" he asked.

"I wouldn't actually enforce it," Cadance said with a laugh as she penned the letter with the instructions to the bakery, and then the one for Twilight, informing her of their impending arrival. She sent off the letters with her magic. "Ponyville, here we come!"





The train ride to Ponyville was uneventful. Between their early boarding pass, and their private Caboose car, barely anypony else on the train even knew they were on board. Once they arrived, they made a bee-line straight to Twilight's castle. 

Shining had been nervous about seeing Twilight again. But now that Cadance was pregnant, everything changed. All the things that he used to worry about and thought were important, became so small.

"We're gonna have an awesome weekend with the best sister-in-law in all of Equestria," Cadance said as they let themselves in the front door of the castle. Shining agreed. It was going to be fine. It was going to be great! They opened the doors the the throne room and saw Twilight and her Ponyville friends.

"We're gonna have an awesome weekend with the best little sister in all of Equestria!" he said.

"Wow Shining, this must be really embarrassing for you," Applejack said. "I'm standing right here."

"Come on Applejack, it's not a competition," Pinkie Pie said. "Because we all know who would win... Me!"

"You guys are lucky Auntie Luna isn't here right now..." Cadance said.

"Shining was obviously referring to me, and meant it as the 'best little sister' in his opinion," Twilight interjected. "And obviously, he's biased." The others nodded. "And besides, I think we all know who the best little sister is. Spike."

"OH COME ON!"

Everypony had a cheap laugh at the dragon's expense. But at least it avoided devolving into a fierce melee of inter-sibling rivalry. 

"It's wonderful to see you all again," Cadance said. 

"I'm so glad you're here," Twilight said to Shining. "I have a big surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?

Twilight led him away from the others, upstairs to the guest room that she had made up for him. When she found out that he was coming to visit, she collected the things he liked when he was a colt as a surprise. She had been so excited that it had been hard for her to keep it to herself. It was just like his old bedroom from when they lived with their parents in Canterlot. 

It has his old bed spread, and book shelf. His train set assembled on the floor and poster of Smash Fortune on the wall. On the dresser was an ant farm. A box of his favorite comic books, mint in bag, along with his old Brutus Force doll that he used to carry around like a baby. It may have been a bit juvenile for castle decor, but he loved it and thought it was very sweet of her. 

Alone together, Twilight wanted to take the opportunity to talk to him. But before she could speak, he picked her up in a hug and spun her around in excitement. He laughed, she giggled, and for a bright, happy moment, they were foals again.

"You two are adorable," Cadance said from the doorway. "I hate to steal him away from you, but Shining and I have something we need to take care of."

"Oh, okay," Twilight said.

"Come meet up with us in the town square in about a half an hour," Cadance said.





Shining and Cadance went ahead of the group to set up the clues for the scavenger hunt and then waited at the final destination, Sugar Cube Corner.

"How long do you think they'll be?" Cadance asked.

"Oh, probably only a few minutes," Shining said. "Twilie is really good at these."

"And let me just be the first to say congratulations," Cup Cake said as she wheeled out the giant celebration cake.

"How does it feel knowing that you're going to be a father?" Carrot Cake asked.

"Exciting! But also a little scary," Shining said.

"It's okay. I felt exactly the same way," Carrot said, leaning in close to whisper. "But I tell yeah, nothing makes you feel more like a stallion than finally knowing you can put a bun in the oven. For years, Cup Cake and I tried to have a foal, and eventually I was so sure that I was shooting blanks. Cup Cake said it was the stress of me trying so much. So the next time she went into estrus, she set me up with a long weekend at the spa to relax." Carrot leaned back and beamed with pride. "And then when I came back, all it took me was one try with her and she was pregnant with twins! A unicorn and a pegasus!"

Cup Cake chuckled nervously.

The bell rang as the front door of the bakery opened. Twilight and her friends walked in.

"Surprise!" Shining said. "Twilie, did you like the scavenger hunt?"

"It was perfect!" Twilight said. "Just like old times! Except this time it was even better because I got to share it with my best friends! There's just one thing missing, isn't there?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"The book prize at the end," she said. 

He chuckled. "There's still a prize, but it's a little different this time," he said.

"Oh. I don't understand," she said.

"All the places we sent you today had something in common," Cadance said. Twilight thought out loud over the locations the scavenger hunt.

"First we went to the school house. And then we read the Foal Free Press. After that we found Applejack's birth certificate. And then the last clue was under a crib." Twilight thought for a moment and then gasped. "Can it be!? Are you two-?"

"We're having a baby!" Cadance and Shining announced together. 

Twilight just stood there in shock as the word sank in. 

"You mean-" she tried to speak.

Her brother was having a baby. Her brother could have a baby. And it wasn't with her.

Don't cry, Twilight, she thought to herself. Don't get angry. Keep your feelings in check and just act happy for them.

"You mean I'm going to be an aunt!?" Twilight asked. Play along, Twilight. You can still be a part of his life. "This is the best prize ever!" she said, rushing forward to hug him. She made sure to include Cadance in the hug. "I love you guys," she said. "And I can't wait to meet your little foal!" 

"Neither can we," Shining said.

The party kicked off properly, congratulations were given and cake was served. 

There was so much that Twilight had wanted to say to Shining. So much that had been on her mind since the last time she saw him on that bridge in Canterlot the day that Tirek attacked. She had made a separate bedroom just to show him to have a chance to talk, but that didn't work. And now with the whole party rolling, there was no time for her to get him alone.

Even when he wasn't beset on all sides by excited ponies wanting to shake his hoof or ask 'how excited he was', he never left Cadance's side. He always stood close by, with his body turned inward towards her, always, just subtly creating a barrier between her and everypony else. Even if he didn't consciously realize it, it was a protective, paternal stance for his unborn foal.

She still wanted him. She wanted him so badly that it burned her up. Twilight might have been on even footing competing with Cadance before. She might have even had the upper hoof at times for Shining's affection. Even without the moral high-ground. But there was no way she was going to be able to compete with his unconditional love for his foal. Her rational mind knew that. But her heart still wanted what it wants.

After the party, Shining, Cadance, Spike and Twilight retired back to the new castle. Shining's replica foalhood bedroom was down the hall from the main guest room that had been made up for Cadance. Shining popped into the room for him and indulged himself with the comics for a few minutes. Twilight walked in shortly after.

"Thinking about sleeping in here?" she asked.

"I was considering it," he said, carefully sliding the near-mint comic back into its protective sleeve. "Cadance's seasonal allergies have had given her a bit of a stuffy nose and a snore that you wouldn't believe!" he jested. She climbed onto his bed laid beside him.

"It'd be just like old times when we were younger," she said. "Before we grew up and everything got so complicated. We could stay up all night and read or watch a movie, or tell scary ghost stories," she said. She shifted her position on the bed and gave him a smirk. "Maybe truth or dare..."

"Twi-"

"Shiny, I-"

"No, Twilight." He didn't raise his voice, or even sound angry. "No to whatever it is you're about to say next."

"Shining! Please!" she begged. "I thought it was me for a long time, but then after last time I worried that it was you. But now that I know that you can have a foal-"

"Twilight, stop." He got out of bed and walked to the door. Twilight dove in front of him blocked him.

"Please Shining, I'll never ask you for anything else! I'll never tell anyone and I'll raise it myself. Just give me one too!"

Shining was not one to resort to violence easily, but she was putting herself between him and his foal. He physically shoved her aside and pinned her to the wall with his hooves to show her that he was serious. 

"Twilight, tomorrow, I am going back to the Crystal Empire with my pregnant wife. And if you ever want to see me again, you will drop this now, and never mention it again! Things just started going right for me, and it started with me saying 'no' to you."

"But I thought you loved me," she whimpered.

"I did," he said, relaxing a bit. "I- I still do. I'm still in love with you and that's what makes this so hard for me. You know I love you, and you keep taking advantage of that fact."

"I- I'm sorry. Shining, do you think I'm a bad pony?" she asked.

"No... Maybe yeah," he said. She looked away. "But if so, then so am I. Neither of us are blameless in this, Twilight. But I'm going to be a father. I can't just think about myself anymore. You have to understand that." She nodded. "Get help, Twilight. Get professional help. I did." She looked up as his eyes. He looked back at her with sympathy. "Maybe it was the way Mom and Dad raised us. The way they... taught us about certain things," he said. "You were even younger than I was that day, maybe it messed you up. Did you... did Dad ever-"

"No! Never! Shining, it isn't about that. Don't blame them for the way I feel about you."

"Get help Twilight. Get a coltfriend. Just get laid. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes for you to get over me," he said. Twilight began to cry. "Those don't work on my anymore. I'm already having a foal. Stop acting like one, yourself." She sniffed back her tears. "Now I'm going to go to my wife's bed, and sleep there beside her. And I don't want to hear about this again from you unless it's to tell me that you're finally over me. Otherwise, keep it to yourself, and keep it away from my family."

He turned and walked out of the room. She listened to his hoofsteps walk down the crystal corridor and the door to Cadance's room open and shut behind him. Twilight rolled over and cried into her brother's old pillow until she fell asleep.





The next morning Twilight put on a happy face for breakfast and joined her friends to see off the royal couple from the Ponyville train station. In their caboose, Shining leaned against the window and watched Ponyville drift away behind them. Cadance sat across from him.

"You look tired," Cadance said. "Was I snoring again last night?"

"No, it's not that," he said. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"I know it breaks your heart that we have to leave Ponyville already," she said. "You always look so sad after you see her."

"Hmm?"

"Twilight. I can tell how much you love her."

"What? How?"

"Shining, I don't need to be the Princess of Love to see it. It's sweet really the way you two dote on one another. Most siblings can't stand each other."

"Well she is my sister," he said, with a bit of emphasis.

"Well next up is your parents, and then the Princesses," she said. "I'm actually a little nervous."

"Yeah. me too," Shining said.

"I hope they let me go back to the Crystal Empire," she said. "I mean, they'd have to? Somepony has to run the place."

"Why wouldn't they- oh, you mean the princesses," he said.

"Yeah. Why, did you mean your parents? Why would you be nervous about telling them?" she asked.

Telling them the news wasn't the issue. Seeing them might be. Especially if his mother had news of her own to tell him.

"Sorry, I was just distracted," he said.

"Yeah," Cadance agreed. "You look like you're miles away."

Miles away, some time later, Velvet had buried her pregnancy test at the bottom of the trash bin and took the bag out to the barrel at the curb. It was one of many tasks that she had done that day taking care of the house. She just liked keeping a tidy home. The fact that they were to be visited by royalty was of no concern to her. Shining and Cadance were special enough to her regardless of their titles. That wasn't why she was nervous. 

She had news to tell her son. News that could not be sent by post. News that could not be said in person. Secret news that had to be whispered, away from everypony else, into his ear only. She started making tea in the kitchen, nearly dropping the kettle when she heard the knock at the door.

"I've got it!" Night Light said. Velvet set the kettle down on the stove and rushed out to the living room to greet them at the door.

"Hi Dad. Hi Mom," Shining greeted.

"Come on in!" Night Light said. "We're just about to have tea!"

"We're actually on our way to meet Aunt Tia at the train station," Cadance said. "We told her we would be on the noon train so we could take the eleven and have time to walk here to see you."

"But we haven't seen you in so long," Night said. "You have time for a cup at least," he said, ushering them inside.

"Alright," Cadance said. "I could use the filly's room anyway." 

"You remember where it is?" Shining asked, semi-rhetorically.

"Yup," Cadance said heading down the hallway. "We'll tell them as soon as I'm out."

"Tell us what?" Night asked as he sank back into his recliner.

"The big news," Shining said. The kettle in the kitchen started to whistle.

"Shining, you know how Cadance likes her tea," Velvet said, walking towards the kitchen. "Why don't you come help me make hers?"

Shining walked into the kitchen and his mother hugged him tightly, pulling herself to him and whispering in his ear. She told him what the result of her pregnancy test was. And then immediately went back to what she was doing.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, Shining! I'm certain that you are the only one who knows-" Velvet said as she glared at him, "how to make her tea. We don't need to discuss it."

They poured four cups of hot water and added the tea. Shining added the right amount of honey for Cadance's cup and they brought the tray into the living room just as Cadance was returning. Everypony took a seat and his parents picked up their tea cups to sip them.

"Now then, what is this big news?" Night Light asked.

"Can you guys put the cups down first," Shining asked.

"Why?" Night asked.

"Because I don't want any of us to get scalded," Shining said. They set their cups down.

"We're having a baby!" Cadance said.

"That's great!" Night Light said. "And?"

"And what?" Cadance asked back. "That's the big surprise!" 

Night chuckled.

"Sorry. Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy for both of you. But that's not a big surprise, or news," Night said. "You're newlyweds. What other big surprise could you possibly have?"

"Does Celestia know?" Velvet asked.

"Not yet," Cadance said. "We're on our way to tell her next." 

"Might I recommend telling her by post?" Velvet suggested. "I just don't want her to... overreact."

"I know Auntie can be a bit, eh, protective sometimes," Cadance said. "But I'm sure we'll be fine. And that's exactly what I'll tell her, too." Cadance sipped her tea and scrunched her nose. For some reason, somepony put honey in it.

"Alright. Just be careful," Velvet said.

"And she will say the same thing, I'm sure," Cadance said, glancing at the clock. "Speaking of, we really should get going. I don't want to be late and make her worry."

"It was good to see you again," Night Light said. "And without some kind of catastrophe."

"Honey, what did I tell you about tempting fate like that?" Velvet chided.

"Sorry Sweetie. Hoof in mouth," Night said, making a zipper motion across his lips.

"Do let us know when you get back to the Empire safely," Velvet said as she walked them to the door.

"We will," Shining said, waving goodbye.

Once they were gone, Velvet closed the door and turned to look at Night Light. He could see the concern in her face.

"..."

"Well you know Celestia will be happy that her plan worked," Night said.

"I know only too well," Velvet said, walking over to water her bonsai tree.

"Celestia can't take her foal away," he said, walking beside her to hold her. "Cadance is a princess. Everypony is about to find out that she's having a foal."

"I know," she said. "I'm still just worried."

"You're their mother. It's your job to worry about them. And Twilight, too. But look how far they've come! And Twilight can take care of herself. You heard about her battle with Tirek. After that, and Chrysalis and Discord, Celestia is the least of our worries. What would she even do?"

"I don't know. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I just have this gut feeling..."

"Maybe it's just gas," he said. She slugged him in the shoulder. He chuckled. "Look, we've been over this. Celestia ultimately wants to marry our grandson. So just think about what she would or wouldn't do to achieve that," he explained. "All she has to do is wait for Cadance's son to be old enough to court him. Until then, she has no reason to interfere with their lives, right? I mean, how would that help her?"

"... No, you're right," she said. "I'm worrying over nothing."





"Shit shit shit!" Cadance said as her brisk walk turned into a hurried canter.

"Relax, we're like five minutes late," Shining said as the reached the station entrance. "What's the worst that-"

The sound of steel being twisted and bent thundered from the station platform.

"Princess!" a royal guard pleaded.

"You already searched it twice! IT'S MY TURN!" Celestia's Canterlot Voice boomed. 

Shining and Cadance rounded the corner to see Princess Celestia standing on the train platform. Her escort of Royal Guards stood back, keeping the area clear of civilians. One of the empty passenger cars was levitating, glowing yellow in Celestia's magic as she peeled apart the steel frame and metal fuselage like it was no more than a banana.

"Aunt Tia!" Cadance called out. Celestia turned to see the pink alicorn trotting over to her on the train platform. Sixty five tons of train car dropped in a heap on the tracks with a an earth-shaking crash. 

"Princess Cadance!" Celestia greeted, excited, but also a bit angry. "Where were you!?"

"We took an early train to visit Shining's parents," Cadance explained.

"And you didn't inform me!? I was worried sick when the train arrived and you weren't on board!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry! We meant to be back before the noon train arrived, but we ran a little late," Cadance said.

"Ran is right," Shining said.

"Because one of us can't fly," Cadance said.

"But we're here now," Shining said.

Celestia looked over at the crumpled mess that used to be a train car. Her horn glowed and her magic lifted it up to move it onto the open patch of dirt on the other side of the tracks. Then she pulled the two sections of the train together to reconnect them. With her impromptu demolition fit over, her cadre of personal guards rejoined them on the platform.

"Very well," Celestia said. "What was it that you needed to travel all the way from the Crystal Empire to tell me in person?"

"We're having a baby!" Cadance said with glee.

Celestia's head whipped around in a circle so quickly it looked like it was about to twist right off as she scanned the area.

"You're with foal and you're traveling? Un-escorted?" Celestia said incredulously. "How could you be so reckless!? We need to get you back to the castle," she said. She looked at her guards. They moved it to escort them. 

Shining was at Cadance's side instantly and knocked them all away with a concussive blast of magic before surrounding the two of them with a shield.

"Do NOT touch her!" he snarled. Cadance's magic flashed and the guards' spears and swords turned into bouquets of flowers.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Auntie, but I already have a guard," Cadance said. "We can take care of ourselves just fine. You taught me as much yourself."

"Cadance, if anything were to happen to you..." Celestia said. "You do not yet realize how important your foal is!" Celestia said.

"Hold right the buck up!" Cadance snapped. "Do NOT tell ME, an expecting mother, how important my own foal is!"

"But I need to-" Celestia tried to say. Cadance cut her off.

"NO! The only thing you need to do, is say 'congratulations Cadance, I'm so happy for you' before we leave to go back home, in the Crystal Empire." 

"..." Celestia set her jaw, counting to ten as she took a deep breath. "My apologies, Princess Cadance," Celestia said. "In my excitement... from hearing your good news, I may have..." She cleared her throat. "...overreacted. You seem to- Pardon me. You clearly have your security detail well in order. What I meant to say was, congratulations, Princess Cadance. I am just, so happy for you. And I wish you safe travels home to the Crystal Empire, where I recommend that you stay, for the duration of what I hope is a healthy carry to term."

"Thank you, Princess. We intend to," Cadance said, giving a polite curtsy. Shining bowed and Cadance took three large steps backwards in unison into the passenger car doorway, letting the shield around them dissolve as they boarded. "What is a train without passengers and a conductor?" Cadance asked.

Celestia nodded. Her guards moved aside and opened the doors to the station to let the rest of the crew and passengers board. She watched them walk aft to their private caboose. Once the train was boarded, the engine chugged and it slowly pulled away from the station. The caboose window opened as it went by.

"And do come visit for the Crystalling!" Cadance said. Celestia watched the train travel away until it had shrank to a dot on the horizon.

"Thank you, Princess," Celestia said. "I intend to."





It wasn't until they were back in the Crystal Empire that Shining finally felt himself relax. It was like he had finally let go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"I'm sure that was a bit less cordial than she was used to," he said.

"To hell with 'cordial'," Cadance said. "I'm going to have a baby. Nothing is more important than that."

"Okay..." Shining said. "I'm just saying that maybe, possibly, there might just be the outside chance that somepony might just be the teeniest, tiniest, little bittiest... hormonal."

"That's a cliche!" she said.

"Whoa! Hey, yeah! You're totally correct! Totally a cliche! You're right." he said, putting his hooves up in surrender. "But I'm just saying, that maybe, possibly-"

"Yeah, I get it," Cadance said. "I'll eat some chocolate or something."

"And then...?" he asked cautiously.

"And then..." she groaned. "And then I'll write her a letter to try to smooth things over."

"Okay." 

"And speak for yourself," Cadance said. "I'm pretty sure that was assault back there."

"They had pointy swords and spears!" he said. "What if one of them tripped and something happened to- oh my gosh, I'm doing it too," he realized.

"I'm just tired of her always being in control of my whole life. You have no idea what that was like."

"Cadie, I used to be in the Royal Guard. She literally ran my whole life for years!"

"Oh yeah. So you know what I mean. Running the Empire is challenging, but at least we're doing it on our own. We don't need her to watch over us," she said.

"True, but we don't need her as an enemy, either," he said.

"She's not going to be an enemy," Cadance said, rolling her eyes. "She'll forgive me as she always has. And then call my defiant little outburst a fit for my own space, yada yada..."

"And blame it on hormones."

"That is a cliche!" she shouted. The train slowed to a stop at the Crystal Empire station. "And probably exactly what she'll blame it on." They disembarked the train. Cadance's Crystal Guards were waiting for her.

"Your Highness," the ranking officer greeted. "We received advanced word from Princess Celestia that you would like to be escorted back to the Crystal Palace."

Shining Armor braced himself.

Cadance smiled.

"How thoughtful of her," she said. "Please, lead the way."

"Proceeding Ma'am!" he said. "And congratulations on the foal." 

Cadance looked at Shining. He shrugged. "Royal gossip travels faster than lighting," he said.

Back at the palace, Cadance's personal assistant was in a tizzy. She had a stack of forms in her hoof as she rushed over to the royal couple.

"Your Majesties," she greeted. "Congratulations on the foal."

"Why thank y-"

"But no time for that," she continued. "Now that you're expecting, I need you to fill these out. Particularly these two on top," she said. She gave one to Shining.

"In the event of..." he started reading. "I name of sound mind and body,"

"You need to fill in where is says name, set up a beneficiary, and date and sign at the bottom after you finish itemizing."

"This is a Will," he said.

"Yes, that's correct," she said.

"I'm not expecting to die any time soon," he said, giving her the form back.

"Nopony does, sir." She said. "Nopony expects it. But you should at least plan on it." She gave him back the form. "Please try to have it filled out and returned to me by the close of business tomorrow. And the rest of these as soon as is conveniently possible." She gave him the rest of the stack. 

Shining walked with Cadance back up to their royal chambers.

"Do I really look that old?" he asked, looking in the mirror.

"It's standard protocol to establish transition of power in the the event of the unforeseeable," Cadance said, familiar with the concept.

"Like what?"

"The unforeseeable," she repeated, filling out the forms. "Like if we're both in the same train wreck or something. It just helps officiate who takes over."

"Our foal, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but like, we have to designate a steward to rule the Empire and take care of our foal if they aren't old enough to rule yet." She filled out the rest of the form. "I need you to co-sign this."

Shining joined her at the table and looked over the form. 

"Blah blah blah... do hereby assign as caretaker... Twilight!?" he asked. "In the event of the... unforeseeable, you want Twilight to raise our foal?"

"Sure. She did a great job of helping to raise Spike. I love her, and I trust her, with my life and my foal's."

"Yeah, but still, Twilight?" he asked.

"If not her, then who? Celestia?" Cadance asked.

"Fuck no."

"Then who else?"

"..."

"..."

Shining Armor signed his name beside his wife's, designating Princess Twilight Sparkle as steward of the Crystal Empire, and caretaker of their heir.

In the event of...
> The Crystalling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Eleven Months Later





"I swear, this foal is going to end up being a kick-boxer," Cadance moaned, clutching her gravid belly. After a particularly aggressive kick, her belly rumbled and it felt like her inside were on fire. "Or a dragon!" she cried. "Get this foal out of me already!" 

"I'm trying!" Shining said. Cadance was a mare well past her due date and it showed. But it didn't deter her husband from loving every extra inch of her. It was well known that sex was a good way to induce labor. And damned if he hadn't been trying just as much as he could. At first he was nervous about hurting the foal. But with the green light from the doctor, he let himself be free to fuck her as vigorously and as often as he could manage. The exceptionally horny mare was loving it. But now, Shining was doing his best just to stay hydrated.

"Come on," Cadance pleaded. "Sixth time's a charm!"

"Cadie, please!" he whimpered. "We've been trying all night. It's almost dawn. I'm tired. I'm- it's chaffed! Can't we just try to get some rest and try again after a good sleep?"

"Fine," Cadance groaned. "Can you at least give it a kiss goodnight?" she asked.

"Sure," he said. Even if his penis was chaffed, he could still get down there and please her where her hooves could no longer reach. He had to admit, while she was pregnant, her pussy had a very distinct flavor that was different from her usual. It was less tart and bitter. Almost sweet and more mild. Perhaps affected by her indulgence in a sweeter diet to sate her pregnancy cravings. He wouldn't say that he preferred her pregnant pussy's flavor. At least, he wouldn't say it out loud to her once she was done being pregnant.

Cadance shifted and squirmed on the bed. He was doing a good job of pleasing her. But more so, it was nearly impossible for her to find a comfortable position in which to lay. She had been so excited about having a foal. But the concept had long lost its novelty to her and she only wanted to be free of this enormous mass in her belly.

Shining quietly delighted in her maternal body. Especially her teats. Once no more than a pair of tiny nipples hidden in the fur of her belly, now swollen full, and heavy with milk for the coming foal. She didn't even need to ask him to help her relieve the ache. He happily drank unprompted from each one in turn, draining both of them of her delicious, life-giving milk.

Onto the main course, his head dipped lower, licking and kissing her swollen pussy. It wasn't his goal to bring her to an earth-shattering orgasm. Just to give her enough pleasure to counter the generalized ache of carrying a foal. Cadance's gentle coos and moans were indication that he was doing well in the task. Cadance adjusted herself a bit and flopped onto her pillow again, causing a bit of dust. 

She sneezed. 

Shining had gotten his wife to squirt before, but his face got a deluge of liquid that drenched his entire mane. He stood up, dripping wet, and looked at her. She wasn't lost in the ecstasy of orgasm. She just looked back at him with worried eyes.

"I think my water broke," she said.

"Ya think!?" he said, wiping off his face.

"The scroll!" Cadance said.

There was a scroll that Celestia had given them on the desk beside the bonsai tree. After Cadance and Celestia had patched things up between them from the train station, they each realized that their respective behaviors were unbecoming of ponies of their station. Celestia did make subsequent visits to check in on things during Cadance's pregnancy, but she did give them space as promised, with one request: The scroll. Celestia gave them an enchanted scroll and only asked that Cadance always keep it close and break it if anything ever went wrong, or for when the time had finally come.

And the time had come.

Shining grabbed the scroll and broke open the seal. It fell out of his hooves. Several things happened very quickly.

The world around them lurched as an arcane hole was torn open. It sounded like a bed sheet being ripped in half. A sleeping Celestia appeared in the room in a bright flash. A white cloud of alchemy powder appeared in front of her and smacked into her face. Her sleeping mask vanished and her eyes shot open, her pupils grew until the color of her irises became a barely-visible sliver of a ring around deep pools of black. Her body righted itself in mid-air from her reclined sleeping position to flipping over. Her peytral and crown appeared upon her and she landed on all fours into her golden horse shoes before the two halves of the scroll seal even hit the floor. 

"The best part of waking up!" Celestia shouted. Luna appeared beside her and crashed onto the floor in a heap.

"Tia! What the fuck!" Luna yelled. She orientated herself and focused her eyes. Cadance panting on the bed. Shining Armor drenched. Celestia with her powdered nose. "Oh shit, here we go..."

"Here we go!" Celestia said, donning a face mask and hoof gloves, giving a set to everypony in the room that wasn't currently giving birth.

"I'll get the rest of the nurses and message Kibitz to let him know we're in the Crystal Empire," Luna said, excusing herself.

"HNNG!" Cadance groaned as her contractions started. "Yup! The foal's definitely coming!" she growled. The bed frame began to shake and creak.

"Shining, the ring!" Celestia said. Shining grabbed the arcane inhibition ring from the nightstand and put it on Cadance's horn. He had been thoroughly warned about the dangers of a birthing unicorn. To say nothing of what an alicorn could do. "Thank you Shining. It's a lovely palace. I would have hated to see it disintegrated."

Luna returned with the team of nurses and midwives.

"I messaged Canterlot. Kibitz knows we're going to be here for a while, and I lowered the moon," Luna said.

"Okay," Celestia replied, not even looking at her.

"And I lowered the moon," Luna repeated louder.

"Okay," Celestia replied.

"So it might be a good time to raise the SUN?" Luna suggested.

"Right. Got it," Celestia trotted out to the suite balcony and brought forth the dawn.

"You're welcome," Luna muttered. Celestia trotted back inside and resumed tending to Cadance.

"Shining, as we rehearsed!" Celestia said. Shining took his place by his wife's side to hold her hoof. "The gauntlet, Shining! If you value the bones in your hoof!"

Unsure of what a foaling alicorn was capable of, the Canterlot engineers in Celestia's lab cooked up a special piece of armor. A hoof gauntlet forged from bizarre materials that Shining had never even heard of before. An enchanted alloy of adamantium and vibranium, and hailed as indestructible. He put it on and held Cadance's hoof. Her next contraction struck as she began going into labor in earnest.

Dr. Celestia parted Cadance's birthing canal with her magic and peered inside by the illumination. "You're fully dilated. On the next contraction, start pushing."  

The next hour was filled with shouts between the birthing staff, commands from princesses, screams from a foaling mare.

A blast of magic erupted from Cadance's vagina, striking Celestia in the chest. It incinerated a hole through her medical smock and was absorbed by the protective wards in her peytral.

"ACTIVE FOAL!" Celestia shouted. "Keep clear!"

"Well that explains the heartburn!" Cadance wheezed between contractions.

An 'Active Foal' was code for a newborn unicorn uncontrollably casting raw magic before, during, and for a short while after, being born. It was rare but dangerous. A newborn's horn was still developing and an arcane inhibition ring could damage it, leaving the foal magically impotent. It was up to everypony else to simply be on guard. Directly in the line of fire, Celestia redoubled the wards on her peytral while the nursing staff did the same to the walls. The head appeared.

"The foal is crowning," Celestia said. "You're almost there! Just a few more pushes!" Cadance groaned and screamed. Shining could hear the metallic groans of his gauntlet getting squeezed like a diving vessel at crush depth.

The horn came first, and of no surprise. Another push, then the rest of the head. Celestia cradled the precious baby's head in her hooves as it emerged. She hoped and prayed.

Please.

Another push and Celestia moved her other hoof under the foal's back. There, pinned against her back, she felt them. 

Yes! Wings! It's an alicorn!

Celestia was euphoric. Just a bit more.

"One last push Cadance!" Celestia coached. 

Please!

The lower half of the foal emerged. 

"It's a colt!" Shining said as he looked on, swelling with pride. "And WHAT a colt!"

"That's the umbilical cord," Celestia said. "It's a filly." Behind her face mask, her smile faltered. But she didn't let it show in her eyes.

"A filly!" Cadance breathed, exhausted, but delighted. 

"A little girl!" Shining squealed.

Celestia quickly toweled cleaned the foal and wrapped her in a clean blanket. 

"Would the father like the honors?" Celestia asked, levitating the umbilical cord. Shining took the surgical sheers in his magic and cut the cord. She carefully passed the filly to her mother.

"Point away from face," Celestia said, putting her in Cadance's hooves. Cadance looked at the tiny foal and smiled.

"Hey you," Cadance said. "Welcome to the world."

"Can we get this off of me now?" Shining asked, extending his hoof with the gauntlet crimped onto his wrist. The foal hiccuped and a bolt of magic ricocheted off of his armored hoof and deflected into the absorbent ward in the wall. Shining moved his hoof out of the line of fire. Celestia teleported the gauntlet off of his relatively unharmed hoof. "Well at least now that the foal is born, the hard part is over," Shining said. Everypony just stared at him. "Right?"

Some time later, Cadance felt another contraction.

"What is it? Twins?" Shining asked. Cadance and Celestia both rolled their eyes. Unlike him, they knew what to expect when one was expecting.

"Yeah Shiny," Cadance said. "Why don't you go ahead and deliver this one?"

Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, 
former Captain of the Royal Guard, 
and stallion husband to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, 
did then on that day, 
witness what came 
after the birth.

The horror

The horror

~

Screaming.

Crying.

And a crash-course in reproductive anatomy later:

"I can't believe nopony told me about that," Shining wheezed.

"I can't believe you didn't know about the placenta," Celestia said, shaking her head.

"I can't believe you actually thought it was a foal that you messed up by having sex too hard and you 'scrambled my eggs'," Cadance said, trying hard not to laugh at him again.

"I can't believe you cried so much," Luna said, smirking shamelessly.

"I honestly thought that I killed my son! Ohhhh! Oh my gosh! There is not enough alcohol and therapy in the world to unsee that," Shining groaned.

"Well at least most of your vomit made it into the trash can," Celestia said. Once all the excitement had passed and the nursing staff left, all that was left in the room was royalty.

"Now that everypony else is gone, there's something you need to know," Celestia said. Her magic glowed, pulling open the blanket around the foal. The tiny filly's wings sprang open.

"Wings and a horn?" Shining said.

"The foal is an alicorn!?" Cadance said.

"The first natural born alicorn in millennia," Celestia said.

"What does it mean?" Shining asked.

"It means that she has wings and a horn," Celestia said. "She can presumably fly and use magic. It means that Cadance is capable of having alicorn foals. Beyond that..." Celestia shrugged. "Any other higher meaning derived is entirely speculative. An alicorn giving birth to an alicorn shouldn't be that surprising. There is a first time for everything. Even this." Celestia said, disrobing out of her puke-stained smock. "Now then, it has been a crazy morning. Those of us who still have an appetite, let's have breakfast. And then I'll send out the invitations for tomorrow's Crystalling." She looked at Shining. "Could the new father interview the honor guards, choose the Purity Crystal, and pick a Crystaller by then?" she asked.

"No problem!" Shining said.





Shining Armor waited at the train station for his sister to arrive. He was exhausted and barely able to stand. He heard a commotion behind him. He turned just in time to see the assassin leap over the crowd with the dagger. Shining tried to put up a shield, but his magic was too weak from him being so tired. He couldn't stop the assassin from plunging the blade deep into his heart.

Shining opened his eyes. The baby was crying again. The clock next to him said it was just after three in the morning. He had been asleep for all of twenty minutes. For a minute he just laid there next to his wife as they both stared up at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes.

"I had the most wonderful dream where I died," Shining said. 

"Oh no you don't!" Cadance said. "Not until she's graduated from Magic College and married off!"

"And then we can die?" he asked.

"Yes Shining. Then we get to die," she groaned. "But for now, can you just bring her over to me?"

Shining climbed back out of bed for the dozenth time that night and lifted the filly from the crib. Her diaper was clean. He carried her to the bed to lay with Cadance and suckle. He leaned over to suck on the other one. Cadance slapped him away.

"Those aren't yours no more," she said. He groaned and laid back down while he waited for their daughter to finish one and then moving to the other until she was full and dozed back to sleep. Shining placed her back in the crib and then layed back down in the bed. He closed his eyes. 

The baby cried again. The clock said it was quarter to four. He got up and changed her diaper. He went back to bed. He closed his eyes.

The baby cried again. He got up and tended to the baby. He went back to bed. He closed his eyes.

The alarm went off. The clock said it was eight in the morning. 

There was a gentle knock at the bedroom door. Princess Celestia poked her head inside. "You need to to head down to the train station to meet your sister when she arrives in an hour," she said. Shining would have cried if his eyes weren't already completely dry from lack of sleep.

"No," he whimpered. Princess Luna walked in past her and brought a small cup over to Shining's side of the bed. She leaned in close to him.

"Don't worry. You're not the first father to dream of dying," Luna said.

"But if you die, you will be in a world of shit," Cadance said.

"Because Royal Guards are not allowed to die without permission!" Celestia said.

"Sit up," Luna said. "Drink this."

"Is it a potion?" he asked.

"Better," she said. He sat up and she held it in front of him. He could smell it.

"Coffee. Okay. Why the dinky cup though?" he asked.

"Drink it. You'll see," she said. He drank it. The effects entered his bloodstream in seconds through his stomach, throat and even his gums. Shining's eyes were wide open. His body was still tired, but he was very much awake.

"By the stars!"

"Espresso. A little invention of mine," Luna said. "Helps me with the twelve-hour overnight shifts after Celestia insists on involving me with her diurnal affairs." 

"Speaking of," Celestia said from the doorway, reminding them of the time. Shining got to his hooves to head out while Celestia and Luna stayed behind to help Cadance.





Shining Armor waited at the train station for his sister to arrive. He was exhausted and barely able to stand. He heard a commotion behind him. He turned just in time to see the assassin leap over the crowd with the dagger. Shining tried to put up a shield, but his magic was too weak from him being so tired. He couldn't stop the assassin from plunging the blade deep into his heart.

Shining opened his eyes. He was still at the train station. He had fallen asleep on his hooves. The espresso had gotten him this far, but the caffeine jolt could combat his sleep deprivation only so much. Shining Armor waited at the train station for his sister to arrive. He was exhausted and barely able to stand. He heard a commotion behind him. He turned just in time to see the assassin-

The whistle of the arriving screeched and shook him awake again. He slapped himself in the face with his hoof. Twilie was here and he needed to be lucid. He downed the second shot of Espresso in his to-go cup. The train came to a stop and he recognized Twilight's Ponyville friends as they disembarked.

"Step one: Head to Sunburst's house and get you two started on the right hoof." Twilight said as she exited the train. "Step two: Get to the castle with enough time to visit the bab-" Twilight walked straight into her barely-conscious brother. She gasped in surprise. "Shining!"

"Twilie!" he greeted her. They hugged.

"I didn't know you were meeting us," she said.

"Oh course I am," he said as the second espresso kicked in. "It's me. Right here. Here I am. Why wouldn't I come meet my sister? Though we have met before..." he laughed nervously as he trailed off.

"Are you alright?" Twilight asked.

"Never better!" he quite obviously lied. "Being a father is amazing! And wonderful. And amazing. And confusing. And amazing. But surprising, too. You know? I mean, not that you'd know. You wouldn't know. I know. You know?"

Everypony looked at him like he was high.

"Sorry, I haven't really slept since Cadance had the baby. Come to think of it, she hasn't either. It sure would be great to get a break."

"Wow, of course! I don't know what I was thinking," Twilight said. "You two probably need all kinds of help." Twilight turned to the new pony beside her. "I'm sorry Starlight. But I guess combining you first friendship lesson with this visit wasn't such a good idea."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Starlight said. "You're an aunt now. That's way more important than some friendship lesson."

"I just wish there was a way to do both," Twilight said.

"Maybe there is," Spike said. "You've already done the work for Starlight's lesson with this list. All we have to do is follow it."

"Spike, do you just not want to see the baby?" Twilight asked.

"No. Because this is exactly how it starts," Spike said. "Now that I'm not a baby anymore, everypony will want to spend time with the new baby and just start ignoring me."

"Spike, that's not true," Twilight said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "We already ignore you."

"Dash!"

"Kidding!"

"Fine. You can go with Starlight," Twilight said. Spike and Starlight left. "Alright Big Brother, let's go see this amazing baby pony!" Shining was exhausted and barely able to stand. He heard a commotion behind him. He turned just in time to see the- "Shining?" Twilight asked. He blinked awake.

"Wha?"

"Let's go see this amazing baby pony!" she repeated.

"yeah... Yeah! Yeah let's go!" he said. He walked beside her as they headed back to the Crystal Palace. He looked back at the other ponies, looking for that other new pony and- "Where's Spike?" he asked. "Wasn't he just here?"

"He's helping out Starlight."

"The new pony?" he asked. She nodded. "Okay, good. I was worried that I was the only one who saw her. So what's with her?"

"I've taken her on as my friendship pupil," Twilight said.

"To what did she do to get such an honor?" he asked. The rest of Twilight's friends exchanged nervous glances.

"Well you know how my new castle came with a map table?" Twilight said.

"No," he said.

"My new castle came with a map table," Twilight said.

"Okay."

"And the map sent us on a mission to this village that she was running like a cult," she said.

"A cult?"

"Yeah, and she was taking away everypony's cutie marks and talents."

"How?"

"Magic."

"Why?"

"Eh... she had this whole traumatic foalhood where her friend got his cutie mark before she did, so she set out to take away everypony's cutie mark."

"Um... okay."

"Then when we got to her village she tried to do the same thing to us."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But we were able to stop her and liberate the village."

"And so you made her your student?"

"Well, not yet. She got away and she was missing for a long time. But then she came back and tried to use Starswirl's old time-travel spell in combination with the Tree of Harmony's magic to go back in time and undo our friendships, and nearly destroyed the world in the process. But I was able to stop her and save the world," Twilight said.

"Okay. Par for the course," he said, barely even impressed anymore. "It's sounds like you've been busy."

Twilight lowered her voice. "Shining, I haven't seen you in almost a year. Not since you came to Ponyville and made the announcement. It's as if-"

"I didn't want my pregnant wife traveling," he said. "I wasn't trying to avoi-" He stopped mid-sentence, mindful of the  ponies following them within ear shot. "So anyways, you saved the world from this crazy mare that tried to destroy it. Then what?"

"And so I decided to make her my student," Twilight said. Shining opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again thinking about the series of words that she had just said. 

"Twi, I... I realize I'm not completely awake right now. But how does trying to take away everypony's cutie marks and nearly destroying the world net one an apprenticeship with a princess, and not, like, a permanent stay in Tartarus?" he asked, continuing before she could answer. "I mean, I get that after stopping Nightmare Moon, and freeing Discord, Celestia has you with this mindset that you can just try to reform everypony. But given her recent... eh, track record, is that really the model you want to base yourself on?"

"Well her throne isn't in my castle, which means it's my house now and I get to make the rules and decide what's right and wrong," Twilight said, giving him a pointed look. He narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring her implication as they arrived at the Crystal Palace.

"Well this is my house," he said as they walked inside. He led them upstairs through the castle corridors and finally to the door to the royal bedchambers. "Before we go in, I should probably tell you that seeing the baby might be a bit of a shock."

"Come on, Big Brother. I've met babies before. I expect meeting this one won't be any different," Twilight said as she walked in. Cadance, Celestia and Luna were all gathered around the crib. Twilight walked over and looked at the sleeping newborn foal. Her fur was white, like her father's with just the slightest tinge of pink from her mother. Her horn poked out through the blue and purple swirls of her mane. Her turquoise eyes blinked awake and Twilight smiled at how adorable she was. The foal squirmed in her blanket wrapping and threw it off as her wings sprang open. Twilight gasped. "Of course I could be wrong. The baby is an alicorn!?"

"It looks that way," Cadance said.

"The birth of an alicorn is something Equestria has never seen," Celestia said, technically not lying, given that the founding of Equestria was long after the rest of the alicorn race had vanished.

"Wow, a unicorn and a pegasus!" Pinkie Pie said. "So she could be a super strong flier, and have crazy baby magic!" Pinkie spoke from experience after helping to raise the Cake twins.

"Well I know all about super strong flying," Rainbow Dash said.

"And I can help keep tabs on her magic," Twilight said. 

"Are you sure about that, Twilight?" Cadance asked. The alicorn foal sneezed and, unlike the walls, the blast of magic vaporized a hole through the unwarded ceiling and several floors above them. "Are you sure about that?"

"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn," Celestia said.

"Thank you, Tia," Luna said. "I'm glad we keep you around in case our eyes stop working." She looked out the window. "The crowds have already started to gather for the Crystalling."

"Do you think we should call it off?" Cadance asked.

"In light of the little one's abilities, this Crystalling might be more important than ever," Celestia said. "Perhaps you should address your subjects and remind them of that." Cadance nodded and she headed out to the balcony with Celestia and Luna.

"Shining?" Twilight tapped the sleeping stallion, leaning on the edge of the crib. He blinked awake and looked at her. "Do you have everything you need for the ceremony?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh NO!" he freaked out. "I still have to interview the Honor Guards, choose the Purity Crystal, and pick a Crystaller!" The rush of panic adrenaline had him wide awake but his legs gave out from under him and he fell trembling onto his haunches. 

"Alright, take it easy," Twilight said, trying to comfort him. "Pinkie can stay with me and keep an eye on the baby."

"And we'll all help you with everything else," Applejack said.

A short while later, Cadance reunited with Shining in the large foyer under the Crystal Palace archways.

"Okay, I chose the Honor Guard, picked a Purity Crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our Crystaller!" Shining said, giving his wife a full update. "So all we need is..." he trailed off, trying to think of what he might have forgotten.

"The baby?" Cadance said. Shining panicked.

"We're here!" Twilight said as she arrived with the foal and Pinkie Pie together inside a magic bubble. The filly was having a fun time flying around inside it with Pinkie. 

"I'm so glad we can spend time together without some big catastrophe," Cadance said.

"Why, Cadance?" Twilight asked in exasperation. "Why would you say that? Why would you even put that though out into the universe?" Cadance used her magic to separate her foal from Pinkie. The baby screamed with supernatural strength, shattering the Crystal Heart.

"I'm guessing that's gonna make it hard to do the Crystalling," Applejack said.

"I see Lieutenant Obvious has been promoted to Captain," Twilight grumbled. "It's worse than that! Without the Heart, the Crystal Empire is about to be buried under a mountain of ice and snow!"

"So not only can we not take part in the ancient fabulous ceremony, but we're also about to be frozen solid?" Rarity asked.

"What the hell!? Is there a 'stupid question contest' going on right now?" Twilight asked. Everypony looked at her. "Dammit, now I'm doing it! Look, without the Crystal Heart's magical protection, the entire city's about to become a winter wasteland!" Twilight said.

"I'm afraid Twilight is correct. And the storm clouds are already forming!" Celestia said.

"Ten-out-of-ten observation skills, Tia," Luna muttered. "Ten out of ten."

"I can totally fly up there and bust those clouds no problem!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I wouldn't advise it, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said. "Those storm clouds are not like the ones you know."

"No no, let her go," Twilight said. "We all know Rainbow Dash. The only way she'll learn is by hurting herself."

"This far north, the weather has a will of its own," Luna said. "And now it will only grow stronger, enveloping everything in its path."

"Including the Crystal Empire," Cadance said. 

"And us along with it!" Twilight said. "There must be a spell that can restore the Crystal Heart."

"Perhaps," Celestia said.

"But it isn't something that either of us know," Luna said. Celestia glared at her.

"The library here is nearly as extensive as the one in Canterlot," Cadance said. "There's a good chance we can find something there."

"Can you hold off the storm?" Twilight asked Celestia and Luna.

"Yes, for a time," Luna said. "But even our magic will eventually succumb to the power of the frozen north."

"We will do what we can, but you must hurry!" Celestia said as she and her sister flew off and they began fighting the clouds. "What the heck was that back there?" she asked once they were far enough away.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"It isn't something that either of us know. Speak for yourself!" Celestia said. "Just because you didn't know it doesn't mean that I didn't!"

"Yeah, because 'perhaps' is the response you give when you know something. This is hardly the time to be coy!" Luna said. "Do you know a spell to restore the Crystal Heart?"

"No, but I was trying to be vague about it! You don't need to make us look incompetent," Celestia said.

"No. You do that quite well enough yourself!" Luna said. They slayed more clouds. "I hope you're happy."

"What do you mean?"

"You got your wish," Luna said. "Centuries of planning and manipulating and you got your wish at last. Even after I tried to warn you. You got your natural-born alicorn. And the first thing it did was doom the Crystal Empire."

"Oh, I bet you are just loving this!" Celestia said. "You get to be the mayor of 'I Told You' town!"





Starlight and Spike returned to find and everypony else searching the library.

"What is going on!?" Starlight asked.

Pinkie Pie gave her the short version. "The baby's an alicorn and she accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart so we're looking for a spell to put it back together to save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow."

"Well that's... certainly not ideal," Starlight said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't think so," Twilight said. "I'm just sorry about your lesson."

"That doesn't matter now," Starlight said. "Sunburst and I don't have anything in common anyway. He's a big important wizard."

"If he's an important wizard you should bring him here," Cadance said. "Maybe he'll know what to do."

Starlight ran to fetch the wizard that turned our to just be unicorn with an extensive personal library of exotic spells and  severe enough obsessive compulsive disorder to organize and memorize all of them, if without the magical clout to actually cast them. They returned just as Celestia and Luna had to retreat from their battle with the weather, along with Rainbow Dash who looked more frosted than a sorority mare. Sunburst looked at the shattered Crystal Heart.

"The baby did this?" Sunburst asked Twilight.

"I tried putting it back together with-"

"The Spell of Relic Reconstitution. That won't do it," Sunburst said. "The Crystal Heart's been around for millennia. Restoring a relic like this is magic way beyond one spell. You need to combine it with something else. Something unique to the relic itself. Something that strengthens it, and provides it with power...?" he said, leading her on.

"Sunburst, we're not all massive nerds like you," Cadance said. "The entire empire is about to be consumed in a blizzard and we're all about to freeze to death. Is this really the time to be glib?"

The other massive nerd figured it out. "The Crystalling!" Twilight said.

"Combining that spell with the light and love of everypony gathered for the ceremony, together with Somnambula's Weather Abjuration to clear away the snow, a little Fledgling's Forbearance for the parents. That should curb the little one's power fluctuations," Sunburst explained.

"I had planned on asking Twilight to be our Crystaller," Shining said. "But since it seems like she'll be busy..." he passed his infant foal to this new pony he had just now met.

"I'd be honored!" Sunburst said.

"Well what are we waiting for!?" Twilight said. She got into position with Celestia and Luna to restore the Heart. Starlight, added her spell into the mix. Cadance and Shining cast their spell together as Sunburst carried out the Crystalling. 

"Citizens, may I present the newest member of the Crystal Empire!" Sunburst announced, collecting the love and light from the citizens into the Purity Crystal and combined it with the Crystal Heart, restoring it. The magic of the Heart blasted away the storm and turned everypony translucent. 

"For a pony who isn't great at magic, you did pretty well," Starlight said to Sunburst. 

"Indeed," Celestia said. "I'm glad to see you found a way to share your unique gift, Sunburst. You may be more of a wizard than you think."

Celestia walked over to speak with Cadance and Shining.

"Do take care of that little parcel now," Celestia said. "Pony knows what greatness awaits her destiny."

"Oh, we will," Cadance said. 

Celestia leaned in closer. "And it should go without saying, that as one who is capable of producing an alicorn foal, it would behoove you to continue to do so."

Shining grinned at what was basically a thinly veiled royal decree to have as much sex with his wife as possible. "I promise I'll make every effort!"

"I'm pleased to hear it," Celestia said, heading back inside the palace with Luna.

In the distance, Twilight could hear the whistle of the arriving train. "Oh that's right! Our parents were coming!" she said excitedly to Shining. "We should go meet them at the station! If we hurry we might be able to greet them before the crystal coat effect wears off."

Shining was not in a hurry. Just as with Twilight, he hadn't been in touch with his mother since he had last seen her and she told him the result of her pregnancy test. He steeled himself to see her as the rest of the group ushered him along with them. To Rarity's vocal disappointment, the crystal coat effect wore off along the way.

They arrived at the station a short while after the train. Night Light was already on the station platform claiming their things from the baggage car. Shining braced himself to see his mother exit the train carrying, what he presumed, would be referred to as their new little sibling. Velvet stepped off the train, empty hoofed. Shining presumed that they'd gotten a foalsitter. Velvet joined her husband and they walked over to Shining and Cadance.

"You would not believe the crazy weather that delayed our train," Night Light said. "Came out of nowhere!"

"But it was all worth it to see this peaceful little angel!" Velvet said. "Aww, so sweet! Come to your grandmare!"

"Yeah, peaceful now anyway," Applejack said.

"I suppose that spell really did the trick," Twilight said.

The baby sneezed without any kind of magical outburst.

"We have sunburst to thank for that," Shining said.

"I hope he takes his role as Crystaller seriously," Cadance said. "Something tells me the baby will need a pony like him to look to for magical advice."

"Cadance, darling, aren't we going to name the poor little dear, or are we going to spend the entire visit just calling her 'the baby'?" Velvet asked.

"We were thinking: Flurry Heart," Cadance said.

"You know, to remember the occasion," Shining said.

"Goodness, how could anypony forget?" Rarity asked.

"I think it's lovely," Twilight said. She gave Flurry a kiss on the cheek and boarded the train back to Ponyville along with the rest of her friends. Sunburst waved goodbye to Starlight from the platform.

"What occasion?" Night Light asked. "The Crystalling?" Shining and Cadance just gave each other knowing looks and smirked. 

"Flurry Heart accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart so we had to use a combination of spells to put it back together to save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow," Sunburst said, looking at Shining and Cadance. "I don't know why you guys were trying to be coy about it. They're gonna read about it in the news tomorrow."

"Oh," Night said, grabbing their bags to follow them back to the palace. "Well I'm glad you guys got it all sorted out."

They reached the palace and walked inside, passing by Celestia and Luna. Shining looked at his mother. She looked back and forth between her spouse the other princesses, and Flurry. As did Night. As did Cadance. A lot of ponies were giving each other looks. 

It was painfully obvious to Shining that there was a lot not being said. 

And he got a very strong feeling that he was not the only one who noticed.





Shining and Cadance showed his parents to their guest room.

"Take some time to settle in," Cadance said. "We'll be having dinner downstairs in about an hour." 

Shining and Cadance headed down the hallway. Celestia was walking from the other direction. The princesses exchanged polite nods as they passed each other. Before they went downstairs, Shining looked back over his shoulder to see where she was going.

It was not to her own guest room.

Night Light answered the knock at the door.

"Your Highness," he greeted.

"Oh, I think we're well past that," Celestia said, stepping inside.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Velvet asked. Celestia closed the door behind her and laid a soundproofing spell on the room.

"No. I assure you, the pleasure is very much mine," Celestia said.

"I'm sure that it is," Velvet said. "A natural-born alicorn foal. You must be very proud."

"You as well, my dear Velvet," Celestia said. "None of this would have been possible without your help. Both of you. And look at all we've accomplished! Mother to a prince and two princesses, grandmare to the first natural-born alicorn in millennia. A filly, though she may be." 

"Is this the part where you ask us to help convince them to give her to you?" Night asked. 

Celestia scoffed.

"Quite the contrary!" Celestia said. "Our work is done. Cadance needs only to have a colt. Something that Shining Armor has given me his enthusiastic assurance that he intends to do." Celestia wore a smug grin. "A colt. Sooner or later. It is only a matter of time."

"So is that what this visit is about?" Velvet asked. "For you to gloat?"

"Come now, Velvet. Do you really think so little of me?" Celestia asked. "This is an occasion to celebrate! Not just for me, for all of us! I just wanted to assure you that I have no intention of interfering them, or their desire to produce more foals."

"I will sleep easier," Velvet said.

"As will I... knowing that you also have no intention of interfering," Celestia said. 

"Of course not," Velvet said.

"No, of course not," Celestia said. "Why would you? Everything has gone so well for your family. And... I trust that your 'retirement' pensions are satisfactory?"

"Yes, more than generous," Night said.

"Splendid! I do so love making my little ponies happy," Celestia said. "I look forward to seeing you both at dinner." 

Celestia removed the spell from the door and left herself out, closing the door behind her.

Velvet sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You okay?" Night asked. Velvet shrugged.

"Yeah. No. I don't know," Velvet said. "I'm not sure how I feel. I mean, I feel happy for Cadance, and Shining. But it just feels... tainted." She got up from the edge of the bed and walked over to the door.

"Where you going?" he asked.

"I'm just going to step out for a minute to get some air before we head down to dinner," she said. "I'll just be a few minutes."

Shining walked upstairs and saw Velvet step out into the hallway and walk down to the end of the corridor. She opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside. He followed after her.

"Hey Mom," he greeted as he leaned on the railing beside her.

"Hi Shining." She leaned over and hugged him. "How's parenthood?"

"Oh, you know," he said with a yawn.

"Yeah."

"What did Celestia want?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just, congratulating the grandparents."

"Oh. Okay," he said. He looked over at her. "You look well. Really well, actually. I thought you were..." he trailed off, looking at her belly.

Velvet sighed. "I was, Shining. For a little while, I was," she said.

"Did you...?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," she said.

"Then what happened?"

"Shining, I'm forty six. I'm surprised it happened at all in the first place."

"Did you tell Dad?"

"No. He never knew," she said.

They stood there for a minute in silence. There was one last thing he needed to know. 

"Whose...?" he tried to ask, feeling his throat tighten. "Whose was it, do you think?"

"It doesn't matter now," she said.

"But do you think it was..." he pointed at himself.

"Yeah, probably," she huffed in irritation.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she said, taking a breath. "Everything's fine. Everything would've been fine."

Shining wasn't too sure that he believed that. But she was right, it didn't matter now. And he had enough to worry about.

"I need to head downstairs. We're going to be eating soon," he said.

"Go ahead. I need to fetch your father," she said.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetie. Go on. We'll be right down."
> Midnight Feedings and Changeling Diapers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been two days since the Crystalling. The dinner had gone well, and Shining's parents had gone back home to Canterlot along with Princess Luna via the portal she provided the following day. Only Celestia remained, pleading with Cadance to let her help them.

"We are not going to be those kind of parents!" Cadance said in a huff. "Always too rich and busy to pay any attention to their foals!"

"Nopony is asking you to be," Celestia pleaded. "But please try to be reasonable! You have an entire Empire to look after as well."

"We can do both!" Shining said with a yawn.

"How well?" Celestia asked. "For how long? I have no doubt in your abilities, but you've had four hours of sleep in the last three days."

"Flurry will not be raised by nannies and maids," Cadance said.

"You were helped raised by nannies and maids," Celestia said.

"You weren't my moth-" Cadance shouted, but stopped herself. She didn't say it, but Celestia still winced. "I'm sorry," Cadance apologized. "I know you did raise me and love me like a mother. But I never knew my real mother and it always left a hole in my heart that can never really be filled."

"I know Cadance," Celestia said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "I know what it's like." Cadance looked up at her. The myths and legends of Celestia's origins varied wildly, and she was never forthcoming about her own past. But it was never mentioned anywhere of Celestia's mother. "You don't need to apologize. You will be the mother in Flurry's life. You know I wouldn't let you out of that!"

"Perish the thought!" Cadance chuckled. She had gotten enough stick from Celestia when she tried to get out of doing magic homework.

Celestia's eyes glistened. "You may never know just how much I pushed aside to prioritize you," she said.

"I know."

"And even with others helping me, you turned out wonderfully, no?"

"Yes."

"And Shining Armor, even your parents accepted help with raising you and Twilight," Celestia said. "A certain foalsitter as I recall." She gave Cadance a smirk. "And look how wonderfully it turned out for all of you."

"Yeah..." he agreed.

"I'm simply suggesting that you accept a few of my personal foalsitters, and embrace the miracle that is wet nurses," Celestia said.

"Okay, a couple nannies to help with keeping an eye on her and changing diapers is one thing," Cadance said. "But I won't have Flurry taking another mare's milk!"

"Cadance, you need your sleep if you mean to rule. The midnight feedings-" 

"I'll pump into bottles," Cadance said. "They can feed her with that."

"Have some consideration for your poor teats!" Celestia said.

"I don't care what it takes! I will not have Flurry bonding to another mare's milk!"

Celestia sighed, knowing it was futile in getting Cadance to budge on this. She opened her bag and took out a vial wrapped in a scroll. "I was hoping I wouldn't need this," she said, giving it to Cadance. "This is a potion what will aid your milk production, and the recipe. Take it once a day and you'll never run dry."

"Is it safe for Flurry?" Cadance asked. "You always told me 'no potions while pregnant'." 

Celestia scoffed and sneered. "Do not take me for some amateur alchemist peddling stallion enhancement! I would not have even mentioned it if I didn't have absolutely certain confidence in its safety for the foal."

"And me?" Cadance asked.

Celestia pursed her lips. "All the usual side effects of nursing will be a bit magnified with the extra milk production," Celestia said. "Tenderness, leaking. With the increased swelling, your teats become a bit larger."

Shining's ears perked up. "I'm on board."

"It's for Flurry, Shining!" Cadance scolded. "You can help pump and bottle it. Not drink it!"

"Aww!"

Princess Celestia opened the door of the bedroom and leaned out into the hallway, motioning for other ponies to enter.

"Princess Cadance, it is my esteemed honor to present you my, and now your, personal foalcare Secret Service," Celestia introduced. A half dozen unicorn mares stepped inside the room and lined up behind her. "Nannies second to none! Top of their class in foalcare, food prep, and first aid. Highly trained in defensive magic, weapons, and hoof-to-hoof combat. And wet nurses all." All six of the mares turned in unison at an oblique angle extended a leg like a dog marking a tree and presented their heavy teats to the couple before returning to attention.

"Thank you ladies," Cadance said. "But Flurry will be having my milk only." Cadance drank the lactation potion in her hoof.

Celestia looked back at them. "Keep up on your lactation potion regiments for another week just to be sure. You may pump and dump if she doesn't want to accept it."

"Princess Cadance, I'm hurt," one of the nannies said. "You quite enjoyed my milk when you were a filly."

Cadance looked at the older mare. Her eyes lit up at last in recognition. "Cherry!?" she asked. "Cherry is that you!?"

Cherub Whine gave a polite curtsy. "It's good to see you again, little Candy."

"Matron Cherub is a veteran nanny, and your ranking Secret Service mare commander," Celestia said. "Rest assured that her familiarity to you gave her no edge in her selection. She is every bit as qualified as her younger peers in the care and protection of little Flurry."

"And ancillary nourishment," Cherub added.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. But I'm quite sure Flurry will not be partaking."

"It just seems like a waste," Shining said, looking at the row of full teats.

"And I'm quite sure SHINING will not be partaking, either!" Cadance said.

Content that Cadance accepted her elite squad of nannies, Celestia finally returned back to Canterlot. Over the course of the day, Flurry Heart drank her fill, barely draining Cadance of milk before she was full again that evening. As promised, Shining helped her pump her teats into a pair of bottles set by the crib to be given to Flurry over the course of the night by their nanny staff.

"Anything else for the Flurry?" Cherub asked.

Cadance shook her head and nodded at the bottles. "She should have enough milk for tonight."

"And if not?" she asked, lifting a leg.

"Wake me, please," Cadance said.

"As you wish." 

Shining watched from the bed as Cherub and her nannies took out their personal pumps out and milked themselves, each filling a bottle and setting it into a rack on a cart, offering it a final time before they disposed of it.

"No thank you," Cadance said.

"The prince, then?" she offered bottles of milk to Shining. Cadance glared at him.

"Well come on. It's not like I'm sucking their tits!" he said. She rolled her eyes and sighed in resignation. "Thank you!" Cherub gave him a bottle and he drank it. 

"Candy Cane?" Cherub asked, holding out the bottle she filled to Cadance. "The princess needs to make sure she is taking care of herself as well."

"Cherry..."

"It would honor me to feed the princess again," she said. Cadance gave a soft smile and accepted the bottle, taking an experimental sip. "Candy, you need to finish your milk if you want to grow up into a big strong candy cane!"

"Yes, Auntie Cherry," Cadance said, drinking the rest of it. She gave the empty bottle back to her and she put it in the rack with the other five now empty bottles that Shining drank.

"Ooh, somepony was a thirsty little colt! Who's a thirsty little colt?" Cherub asked, tickling Shining's belly.

"I am!" the full grown stallion giggled. The sheets in front of him tented and bobbed.

"Such a big colt," Cherub teased.

"Shining!"

"Does the royal couple need us to take Flurry for a walk in the stroller and have some alone time?"

"Yes."

"No," Cadance said. "That will be all for tonight unless Flurry wakes." Cherub and the others curtsied and exited the room, leaving the royal family to sleep. "Seriously, Shining?"

"I have no control over it, you know that! But now that we're alone..."

"I don't know how you can be thinking of that. I'm exhausted," she said.

"It's okay. I can be on top."

"AND it still fells like that baby turned me inside out! I need a few weeks to recover, you know." He pouted. "I'm going to sleep. You can go in the bathroom and 'milk yourself' if you need to. Everypony else is doing it."

Cadance was asleep quickly, and Shining shortly after. Flurry Heart cried, stirring them awake, but one of the nannies popped into the room in an instant and saw to the foal, silently changing her diaper and lulling her back to sleep. Shining and Cadance also quickly fell back asleep. 

Flurry cried again some time later, waking her parents again. Another nanny was at the side of the crib, giving Flurry a bottle of Cadance's milk before they could even focus their eyes. Flurry was fed and burped and back asleep in a few minutes. Her parents were asleep even sooner.

Flurry cried again. Her parents woke, but didn't even open their eyes. Flurry was tended to and asleep again in minutes. Shining and Cadance slept through the rest of the night.

The next morning, they felt refreshed and revitalized. They had the energy to be the ponies they were meant to be. And that meant that just as they promised themselves and each other: that unless they were explicitly needed as the prince and princess of the Crystal Empire, they were being doting parents to their beloved filly. A bit of help from their nannies didn't change that. Their days were filled with Shining playing with Flurry, and Cadance feeding her directly from her teat for that all-important mother-foal bonding. It was bliss.

At least for a while.





Their little filly had just turned two weeks old. Cadance was able to keep up with her foal's appetite and the nannies had stopped taking their lactation potions, to Shining's silent disappointment. The proud parents snuggled together in bed, sleeping in just a little while longer. Flurry cooed in her crib as she slowly woke. Cadance levitated her over into the bed between them and they snuggled together as a happy family.

...

The door to the royal bedroom was kicked in and Cherub dove inside, looking first in the crib and then in the bed, spotting the foal. "GET THE FUCK INSIDE!" Cherub screamed at the other nannies. "Panic Protocol One! Get the fuck inside, NOW!" The other five nannies were inside the royal bedroom in seconds as Cherub slammed the door shut and locked it. "Secure this fucking room!" 

Her blessed foalhood precluded Cadance from ever seeing this side of her beloved Cherry. A far cry from the coddling mare that had tickled Shining's belly the week prior, the older mare barked orders and smashed the wooden dresser with her magic and barred the door, as the other nannies did the same to the windows. Shining Armor already had his family surrounded in a shield as little Flurry Heart cried in Cadance's hooves. 

"What the hell is going on!?" Cadance asked, her horn glowing at the ready.

"We have a situation Ma'am! Possible Code Black!" Cherub reported. "Get those fucking wards up!" she shouted at the others. "Arcane! Elemental! Temporal! Dimensional! Seismic! Optic! Psychic! NOW LADIES!" The horns of the other nannies glowed iridescent and singed their manes. They grit their teeth and clenched their eyes, grunting in pain as heavy waves of magic pulsed from their horns. They laid spell after spell into the walls, ceiling and floor. "I want this room fucking MegaSpell-proof yesterday!"

"What's a Code Black!?" Shining asked.

"Changeling spotted in the empire!" Cherub reported, grimacing as her horn glowed brightly along with the others redoubling the wards.

"Changeling!?" Shining asked. His shield thrummed harder.

"Room secure, Matron!" the nannies reported. The air smelled of burnt hair and o-zone.

"Fall in!" Cherub commanded. The six of them surrounded the bed, outside of Shining's shield. "I admire your preparedness, sir. I won't ask you to lower your shield, but I need your help. I need you and your wife to love your foal. Love her just as hard as you can!"

"Of course we love her!" Cadance said. "She the most important thing in our world!"

"We would die for her!" Shining said.

The room practically hummed with love energy. Cherub and the other nannies stepped back into a defensive stance and drew arcane swords. The six of them all eyed each other suspiciously and waited. "Fucking try it BUG, I'll gut you where you stand!" After a tense minute, they let their weapons evaporate and everypony relaxed.

"What the hell was that about?" Cadance asked.

"In the presence of powerful love, changelings go into a feeding frenzy, causing them to lose their disguise," Cherub said. "We needed to make sure everypony in here was who they are. Now we need to establish a Sign/Countersign." She looked at the royal couple. After the Canterlot Wedding incident, Shining and Cadance were familiar with the concept of a Sign/Countersign. A secret, pre-agreed-upon pair of seemingly random words used to know who could be trusted or not.

"Sentry," Cadance said randomly.

"Lane," Shining added.

"Sentry," Cherub said.

"Lane," the other nannies answered.

"As of this moment, in this room, we are the only ponies we can trust," Cherub said.

"I need to get a message to Twilight!" Shining said, lowering his shield to grab a scroll from the remains to the nightstand.

"There's no way to get a message out," Cherub said. "The room is sealed." Shining finished writing the scroll and lit it with the dragon candle. It turned into green smoke and headed towards the boarded window. It struck the ward and fizzled out. 

"The room is sealed!" Cherub repeated. "Nothing in or out. No magic messages, no telepathy, no portals! We have a dozen detection wards up ten meters in every direction. Nothing is getting near this room without tripping something! We're a hole in the universe. Discord himself would be hard-pressed to get in here!"

"So what do we do now?" Cadance asked.

"The Crystal Guard alerted us," Cherub said. "A Panic Protocol One puts the royal family on safe-room lock-down for four hours after the first alert, to give the guards time to do a preliminary sweep, and an Empire-wide lock-down for the citizens to stay indoors, which is being broadcast as we speak. After four hours, we'll effect an exit. The guards should have the hallway clear. Otherwise anything on the other side of that door is going to have a really bad day."

"Twilight is going to be here for lunch," Shining said. "She has no idea what she's walking into."





In the wake of devastating defeat invading the Canterlot Wedding, Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army had been scattered to the winds. Social hive creatures, each changeling, isolated and alone, struggled to survive. Most made their way back to the changeling hive at the fringes of the Equestrian badlands. Many starved. Some were discovered and destroyed. Many that did manage to make it home were dangerously emaciated. A few managed to gain scraps of love along the way. After almost a year, no more changelings returned. The rest that were still missing were presumed dead. And they were right.

Except one.

Thorax had been part of the Canterlot invasion as a last-minute addition. A humble hive drone, he was not an infiltrator, or a soldier, and had wanted no part of the invasion. But after a giant shield surrounded the city, reinforcements had to be called in to throw themselves against it until it finally broke. Thorax, for his part in it, had been little more than a battering ram. From where he hovered and watched, the battle looked like it was going well, until the magical blast wave sent them all flying to the ends of the world.

When he came to, he found himself partly embedded in a snow drift near the summit of Mt. Everhoof. He used a bit of his reserves to turn himself into a yak, to better withstand the cold. He made his way down the side of the mountain. On the way down, he passed by the remains of one of his kin, splattered, and frozen, where they had collided against the sheer rock mountainside.

A bit further down, Thorax spotted a small cave in the mountainside. He staggered inside. It was still bitterly cold, but at least he was out of the elements. He huddled in the corner and rested. He slipped into a deep sleep and hibernated for months, his vitals barely keeping him alive.

In the recesses of his mind, he could feel the Queen's thoughts, broadcasting her return to the hive through the changeling hive-mind, and her command for all those still alive to return. But even if he had the strength to carry on, the changeling hive was very far away, with the entire wasteland of the Frozen North in his way. He laid where he was and waited for the last shreds of his life force to leave him.

The return of the Crystal Empire, with the light and love of the crystal ponies in the defeat of King Sombra sent out a surge of energy across the Frozen North. By the time it reached Mt. Everhoof, it was barely a scrap of affection. But to the starving changeling, it was a sumptuous banquet. He awoke and peered out of the mountain cave. The Empire, massive as it was, was still barely a glitter of light on the distant horizon. But it was there.

He bid his time and waited for the capricious weather. After a couple weeks, the seemingly-perpetual storm let up. He made his way down the mountain and across the arctic tundra. He was close enough to make out the Crystal Palace when suddenly the light surrounding it went dark, and the storm that had been calm came rushing back in. He managed to take cover in a crevasse. Within a few hours, he felt another revitalizing burst of love energy from the Empire, but the storm outside of it was still raging. It was another waiting game before he could make his final approach.

He was able to make it inside the border of the Empire a couple weeks later. The Empire was a bubble of comfortable, warm, pleasant spring weather. Though he was hungry, he was just happy to be out of the cold and storm. There were numerous ponies. He turned himself into a small crystal prominence, like the many others that dotted the landscape. He waited there and absorbed the latent love in the empire. It was enough to survive. But he would need more if he were to have enough to make it back to the hive.

He moved carefully by the night, getting closer to the palace. He could feel it. The source and recipient for the love of an empire. It was just after dawn. A nearby door opened and he quickly turned himself into a shrub. 

A couple of early risers exited their homes, conversing as they tended to their flowerbeds.

"Did you hear that Princess Twilight is coming today to visit?" one mare asked.

"Yes! That means that Princess Flurry might be making a public appearance!" the other mare said. A patrolling street guard passed by.

"That's right," he said. "There will be visiting hours shortly after lunch."

"Ooh I can't wait!" she said, smiling.

"She's just so cute and adorable!"

Being so close to so much love after so long, Thorax couldn't stop himself from going into a feeding frenzy. Although that is what it was, a feeding frenzy was a less accurate description than a hissy fit. He lost his focus on his disguise and revealed his true form, hissing at the ponies as he feasted on the love. Their love vanished and transformed into terror, giving him back his wits.

"Changeling!" the mares shrieked. Even the guard was startled but likewise screamed 'changeling' as loud as he could, not just in fear, but also as a call for backup. His horn fired off a blast off magic. Not at the changeling, but into the sky as a signal flare, in a burst of black smoke.

Thorax took the opportunity to change into a cheetah and flee as fast as he could, back to the tundra crevasse outside of the empire. The alarm raised across the neighborhood and back to the castle, alerting the Secret Service.





Cherub Whine took Flurry's favorite toy, a stuffed snail, and created a magical duplicate. She gave the fake one back to her. Flurry loved it just as much as the real one, and her parents just kept right on loving her as much as a parent could. The fake toy acted like an empath sink, absorbing their love energy and concentrating it for the better part of the four hours they were sealed in the room.

"T-Minus two minutes to panic-exit, Matron," one of the nannies said.

"Peytrals, ladies!" Cherub said. They all put on their warded necklaces. Cherub exchanged the fake toy and gave Flurry her real toy back. "Your shield, Your Highness," she directed as she took a step back. Shining Armor surrounded his family on the bed in a magic shield. Cherub looked through the translucent, magenta aura.

"What are you doing?" Shining asked.

"If everything out there is okay, the guards will have the hallway cleared out," Cherub said. "We're going to adjust the ward to think that the door is trying to break in. After the door..." She smirked. "... interacts with the ward, we will exit the room and clear the hallway." The other five nannies got into position by the door. 

"The entire changeling army might be on the other side of that door," Cherub said. "But not for long. It shouldn't be anything we can't handle. But, in the event of..." she trailed off and looked at Cadance. "It has been an honor."

"Fifteen seconds!" the other nanny said. 

"Oh, and close your eyes, Your Majesties." Cherub said as she grabbed the fake toy in her hoof and took her position with the others, all with their horns glowed brighter and brighter. She clenched her eyes, took a deep breath and screamed.

"BREACH AND CLEAR!"

A lot happened in a fraction of an instant. Their six horns cast in unison at the door, excluding it from the ward. The ward snapped shut through the door. The door interacted with the ward and it was propelled off of its hinges at a significant fraction of light speed. 

In crossing the mere twenty-foot width of the hallway, the door super-heated the atmosphere like a meteor to temperatures usually reserved for the sun, instantly dissociating the very matter of both the door and the air into nuclear plasma, bathing the entire hallway in concentrated neutron radiation, and instantly vaporizing everything unlucky enough to still be in the hallway.

The heat pulse sent out a shaped, thermobaric blast wave at hyper-sonic speed down the hallway in both directions, blowing out the windows at either end, along with the molten slag of whatever, or whomever, had been in the hallway when the door was breached.

Like a bolt of lighting, the super-heated air had rapidly expanded, and then collapsed back on itself in a mighty thunderclap as air rushed back into the hallway through where the windows had been. 

From inside the bedroom, behind the ward, it looked like the door had silently vanished in a camera flash.

Then came phase two.

In a Panic One protocol, the Royal Guards were trained to keep the hallway to the royal bedroom clear for four hours, even after the threat had been eliminated. After four hours, they were to re-enter the hallway after they heard a 'bang'. That was what the manual said. A 'bang'. The Royal Guards had been waiting outside the hallway, listening for the 'bang'. They were not expecting the world-ending thunder of Ragnarok to send them tumbling to the floor. They recovered quickly and opened the doors, flooding into the hallway from both ends.

The hallway didn't look scorched like it had been burned. It looked clean. It just had the top layer of atoms stripped away. It shined like polished metal. The door to the royal bedroom was missing. They converged on it.

"FRAG OUT!" Cherub screamed, throwing the replica stuffed snail through the ward. It landed on the hallway floor.

And then it detonated.

In a flash, it released all the concentrated love energy, hitting everypony in the hallway. They fell to the floor, overcome with rapturous euphoria. The love in every goodnight kiss they had ever gotten, in every birthday party, in every passionate evening with their special somepony. All the love of a lifetime, in an instant. If any changelings were present, they would be revealed. As for each guard pony... it meant instantly ejaculating in his uniform. Not even with enough time to get hard first.

The Secret Service nannies dissolved the ward and sprang into the hallway, weapons and magic at the ready. Only to find the floor littered with stallions writhing in sticky ecstasy.

"See!" Cherub said. "This is why you get gelding guards!" The mares secured the hallway as Cherub addressed the lieutenant. "Status report!?"

"Mommy's kisses..." he groaned. Cherub struck his helmet with her hoof.

"Wake up! Give me a status report! Has the threat been eliminated?"

"No, we-

"Form up!" she barked. The guard ponies staggered into formation.

"Matron, my uniform-"

"I don't give a fuck!" Cherub yelled. "There is a changeling on the loose in the empire. You've had four hours and you still haven't found it! So after this is all over, IF you're still alive, then you can go take a shower, grab a mop, and become a damn janitor to clean up your SHIT performance! As of this moment, we are the last line of defense! So open your ear holes all the way and listen up!" 

Cherub walked to the bedroom doorway and waved. Shining Armor walked into the hallway, dressed in his old Captain of the Royal Guard armor. Cadance was behind him, staying inside the doorway with Flurry. Shining cleared his throat.

"The sign/countersign is: Sentry... Lane." He paused. "Sentry?"

"Lane," they replied.

"Take a good look around this hallway," Shining said. "Know these faces. Use the buddy system. If you give a sign, and you get back anything other than the countersign, detain them! Even if it's me."

"Princess Twilight will be arriving soon," Cadance said. "We need to secure her and confirm her identity. She has more experience than anypony combating these face-stealers."

"How will we know it's her?" the lieutenant asked.

"Leave that to me," Cadance said. "Summon the Royal Crystaller." 

A pair of guards were dispatched to Sunburst's home.

"The Royal Crystaller has been summoned!" they told him and escorted him back to the palace. The rest of them had moved into the throne room. The guards posted at the door stopped them, leveling their weapons at them.

"Sentry," the guards said.

"Lane," Sunburst's escorts responded. The others kept a close eye on him as he was brought before Flurry Heart. All the love around her permeated the room. Sunburst did not transform into a changeling. The whole room relaxed a little, especially Sunburst once everypony stopped pointing their spears at him.

"Your Majesties," he greeted with a bow. "What is going on? Why was I summoned?"

"A changeling has been spotted nearby," Cadance said. "The rest of the Royal Guards are searching the empire. We've devised a plan to flush it out, but Shining and I will need our magic to be ready in case things go sideways. And that is why we need your help."

"Of course!" Sunburst said. "I'll help however I can! What is it you need me to do?"

"We need you..." Shining took a deep breath, "to carry Flurry's bassinet."

"I- I can certainly manage that," Sunburst said.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle's train has arrived!" a guard reported.

"Send two guards down to the foyer to greet her," Shining said. "The rest remain at battle stations in case it's an ambush. Get the Pegasi Division on-"

"Already in position on the roofs," the winged guard reported. "The bug won't get away this time!"

Cadance looked behind her at her Secret Service mares. "Cherry?"

"We'll be close by," Cherub assured her.

"Alright," Shining said. "Let's do this."

Outside, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer and Spike approached the palace. They reached the guards who stopped them at the checkpoint.

"Halt! Who goes there!" he said.

"Um, you don't recognize the Princess of Friendship?" Starlight asked, still working on her issues with her blatant disregard for authority.

"Of course we recognize her," the guard said.

"But that doesn't mean it's really her," the other guard said.

"It's okay guys," Spike said. "They're with me. And any friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious is a friend of the Crystal Empire. Am I Right?" Twilight put her hoof on his shoulder.

"Spike, I know you enjoy having your little ego trips when we come to the Crystal Empire," she said. "But how about you reel it in a little bit?"

"Hmm... It does look like him," the guard said.

"Well it would, wouldn't it!?" the other said. "I'm sorry, but we'll need to see some proof of identification!" 

"We'll take care of things from here," Cadance said, walking out with Shining and Sunburst with Flurry in tow.

"Cadance, thank goodness! What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"We can explain Twilie," Shining said with a frown. If a changeling had really taken the place of his sister, he'd have it begging for death before the end. "If it... really is you." He nodded to Cadance and she approached her.

"Sunshine, sunshine. Ladybugs awake!" Cadance began dancing.

"Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight replied, joining the dance. Confident that it really was her, Cadance hugged her.

"What the fuck did I just witness?" Starlight said.

"It's okay everypony," Shining said. "It's her."

"Of course it's her," Starlight said. "What's all this about? Is that the standard Princess greeting?"

"A changeling's been spotted nearby," Sunburst answered.

"A changeling!?" Twilight asked.

"That's not good," Spike said.

"No, it's not!" Cadance said. "Changelings fucked up my wedding, they fucked up Canterlot and they fucked my husband!"

"N- no! That last part didn't happen!" Shining said.

"Okay, but seriously, are we just going to gloss over the fact that two grown-ass adults greeted each other like preschool fillies?" Starlight asked.

"It's an inside joke that only Twilight and I know," Cadance explained. "After Queen Chrysalis invaded Canterlot with her army, we're not taking any chances," Cadance said. 

"I mean, aside from this," Shining said, motioning at the assembled group. "Meeting you out here, exposed in the open foyer, all the royalty in one place with our infant daughter. This is a massive gamble. But you know, other than this, we're not taking any other chances."

"Changelings feed off of love," Sunburst said. "And ever since Flurry Heart's Crystalling, the empire is filled with more love than anywhere in Equestria. It's possible they've come for the baby."

"That's why we posted the extra guards," Shining said. "And why we're checking everypony's identity. And for Twilight and Cadance, that means..." he sighed. "The ladybug dance."

"I'm sorry for all of this," Cadance said to Twilight. "Flurry Heart has really been looking forward to see you." 

Twilight walked over to the bassinet. "Oh, she's gotten so big!" 

"So, at what age does saying, 'she's gotten so big,' go from being a compliment to an insult?" Spike asked.

"Starlight and I will do whatever we can to protect her!" Twilight said.

"To be honest, having you here is already a big relief," Cadance said. 

One of the guards whispered to Shining. 

Shining smiled. "The Royal Guards were wondering if Spike the Brave and Glorious would like to join in the search for the changeling."

"Really!?" Spike asked.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Spike," Twilight said. "It sounds dangerous."

"Come on Twilight, this is Spike the Brave and Glorious you're talking to. Have you ever known me to run from danger?" he asked. 

Twilight opened her mouth. 

"That was rhetorical!"

"He'll be safe with our guards," Shining said.

"Or will your guards be safe with me?" Spike asked. 

Shining opened his mouth. 

"That was also rhetorical!"

Spike accompanied the search team into the frozen tundra while everypony else went back inside the castle. 

"I know it's bad that there's a changeling around, but is all of this really necessary?" Starlight asked.

"If there's one changeling, there may well be a whole army on the way," Cadance said.

"True. But Starlight has a point," Twilight said. "This is getting a little out of hoof."

"I understand, but I don't know what else we can do," Cadance said.

"So... I realize this whole lockdown thing kinda throws a wrench in our visit plans," Starlight said. "But we could still do something fun while we're cooped up indoors."

"Like what?"

"We could always day-drink."

"Starlight!"

"Ugh, I could kill for a mojito right now," Cadance said.

"Cadie, it's not even noon," Twilight said.

"Alright, a mimosa then, geez!" Cadance groaned.

"Aren't you still nursing?" Shining asked.

Cherub popped into Cadance's field of view, brandishing her own lactation potion.

"No alcohol for me," Cadance resigned.





Spike led the search party into the arctic tundra. "Spike the brave and glorious, you've faced evil changelings before. What can you tell us?" a guard asked. 

"Well they are changelings, so they can... change," Spike said.

"You hear that? These monsters can look like any of us. So be on guard, guards. Even more than normal."

"And they could be anywhere, so we should cover as much ground as possible." Spike said. "You search that way, and you search that way."

"Wait, do you mean for us to split up?" a guard asked. 

"Wouldn't that be the first thing that a doppelganger would want us to do?" another asked.

"Yeah, that's like, horror movie 101," another said.

"It does seem pretty stupid. It would be like walking right into a trap," another said.

"Yeah but... it's a trap for the changeling!" Spike said. "We all know the sign countersign, so when we all get back together at the Crystal Palace, if the changeling tries to take our place, they won't know the countersign! And we'll have caught them!"

"That actually might work," the guard said.

"Yes," Spike said. "You see? I was only pretending to be retarded!"

The search party split up and left Spike on his own. He then immediately nearly died when nearly fell into a crevasse. But he managed to get himself back out.





Some time later they all regrouped at the Crystal Palace. Shining Armor stepped out of the throne room and closed the door behind him to address the assembled search party.

"Sentry?"

"Lane," they all replied.

"Do you have anything to report?" Shining asked.

"I do!" Spike said.

"What do you mean?" a guard asked. "Did you see the changeling?" 

"Did you defeat the evil creature?" another asked.

"Defeating a changeling would be brave, but do you know what would be glorious?" Spike asked.

"Defeating two changelings?"

"Defeating all the changelings?"

"Not having to fight the changeling at all, because I made friends with him!" Spike said. The guards all laughed.

"Wow! For a second I thought you were serious!" a guard said.

"Could you imagine? Friends with a changeling!" another said.

"I am serious! He wants to be friends!" Spike said.

"I get it!" a guard laughed. "You're only 'pretending' to be retarded!"

"Not only are you Spike the Brave and Glorious, you're also Spike the hilarious!" another guard said.

"I'm not joking! The changeling is nice!" Spike said.

"I don't think it's funny!" Shining Armor said. "There's no such thing as a nice changeling! The changeling Queen, Chrysalis, kidnapped me and cast a spell on Cadance!"  

The rest of the guards removed themselves from the room to continue the search. 

Shining walked closer to the small dragon. "You're still young, so I'll spare you the graphic details of what Chrysalis did to me and Cadance before she left me to die in the caves beneath Canterlot! But I have a daughter now and will be DAMNED if I let anything like that ever happen again to my family! Never again, Spike! Do you understand? NEVER AGAIN!"

"You're right, Shining," Spike said. "I'm sorry. That was a... bad joke." 

Spike left the castle to resume searching for the changeling and Shining ended his brief separation from his family and returned to the throne room.

"We could still do something fun while we're cooped up indoors besides day-drinking," Twilight said, glaring at Starlight. "I was thinking more along the lines of working on a protection spell for Flurry Heart," Twilight said.

"Yeah, but you said do something fun," Starlight said, glancing at Sunburst. "You know, like spin the bottle?"

Cadance glared at Starlight and shifted closer to Shining.

"Spell-craft can be fun!" Twilight said. "Spike, take notes for us."

"..."

"Uh, Spike is out searching for the changeling," Starlight reminded her.

"..."

"..."

"So Cadance, you said they had mimosas?" Twilight asked. 

Cadance sighed. "There's an ice machine downstairs."

Twilight walked down the hallway towards the stairs to get ice but she found something almost as good coming the other direction, carousing with one of the locals.

"Spike, if you're done searching for the changeling, Starlight and I could use your help. We're working on a protection spell for Flurry Heart. And nopony takes notes like you!"

"Uh, actually Twilight, I uh, wanted to introduce you to my friend, eh, Crystal...hoof. Crystalhoof! My good friend Crystalhoof," Spike said.

"Nice to meet you," Crystalhoof said.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, too. How do you know Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, Spike and I go way back," Crystalhoof said.

"To the Equestria Games," Spike said. "That's when we met. We've been pen-pals ever since." 

"Oh, well you can come along if you like," Twilight said. 

"Crystalhoof promised to take me around the city," Spike said.

"But everypony is supposed to be on lock-down. What are you going to do, tour the vacant streets?" she asked, waving for them to follow her. "Come on." They followed her back to the throne room. "So... your name is Crystalhoof. What happened, did your mother not like you or something?"

"Yeah I definitely have issues with... my mom," Crystalhoof said.

"Every colt does..." Twilight sighed. They returned to the throne room and went inside. "Everypony, Spike is back. This is his friend, Crystalhoof."

"Any friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious is a friend of mine!" Cadance said, waving them closer. Crystalhoof looked at the foal in the bassinet.

"Oh she's so beautiful!" he said. "There's so much love around her! I- I-" Crystalhoof transformed in a burst of green magic, the disguised changeling revealed his true form. "I- I'm so sorry!" he hissed. "I can't stop!" 

"Spike get away from the changeling!" Twilight yelled.

"Wait, no! You don't understand!" Spike said.

Shining Armor shoulder-checked Spike out of the way and grabbed Thorax with his magic, pressing him flat against the floor.

"Gotcha NOW asshole!" he growled. He slammed the changeling with a dark hex he learned from King Sombra, causing black crystals to form on the changeling's horn, keeping him from transforming or using magic.

"Good job, Spike!" Cadance said. "The plan would never have worked without you!" 

"What plan!?"

"The plan where we lure the changeling out by letting you wandering off on your own and being too trusting," Twilight explained. "And then when you came back with a new friend during a city-wide lock-down, it was obvious that it worked! That was the only reason why we would  allow a total stranger enter the throne room during a time of changeling panic, so the love would force the changeling to reveal itself. Don't you see Spike? We were only pretending to be retarded!"

"This thing replaced your friend to get close to the baby!" Sunburst said. "What other explanation could there be? 

"No! He's not a thing! His name is Thorax. And he's my friend!" Spike said. Everypony gasped. 

"You're friend!?" Cadance said. "Spike, when Chrysalis was disguised as Shining, she used magic to make me think it was him. Psychic magic. You know, the kind that affects your thoughts and perceptions?"

"He's my friend! He's good, I can prove it!" Spike said and then started singing.

♫ "Would you say I'm a hero, glorious and brave-" ♫

"Spike, I will give you exactly one chance to explain, if you stop singing right now!" Shining said.

"But I already rehearsed this sweet ballad and everything!" he said.

"Spike!"

"Alright Shining, let me put this in terms you can understand," Spike said. "You know how when Tirek first came to Equestria, he wasn't alone? He came to Equestria with his brother, Scorpan."

"Uh..."

"Yes, I paid attention in history class," Cadance said. "What's your point?"

"Tirek and his brother Scorpan came here from a distant land, intent on stealing Equestrian magic," Spike explained. "But Scorpan soon came to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard. Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans. When Tirek refused, Scorpan alerted Celestia and Luna to Tirek's intentions."

"Scorpan the Defector," Shining said. "Okay I yeah, remember. "Are you saying this... thing intends to defect?"

"Ask him yourself."

"Starlight, check Spike for enthrallment," Twilight said. Starlight scanned Spike.

"He's clear. No psychic spells on him," Starlight said.

Shining Armor leaned down so that only Thorax could hear him whisper. "Thorax, your queen... raped me... and my wife... and led an invasion against Canterlot. So you'll have to forgive me if I don't trust you. Now I'm going to ask you some questions. And if I don't like the answers, or my lie detection spell goes off, I'm going to cut something off of you. And believe me when I tell you, they will be things that you will miss." 

Thorax gulped. 

"Are you here alone?" Shining interrogated.

"Yes."

"Is there an invasion coming?"

"N-No."

"You seem... unsure."

"I don't know! I haven't been back to the hive since the battle in Canterlot!"

"Is it your intention to defect?"

"I don't even know what that means!" Thorax wheezed from under the pressure of Shining's magic.

"Do you renounce your hive, and swear to embrace the ways of Equestria?"

"I do!" Thorax said. "I swear! It's all I ever wanted!"

Shining Armor stood up and looked at Spike. "You say he's your friend. You know what's at stake. Do you swear on your life, on my family's lives, that he really is good?"

"Yes," Spike said.

Shining looked at the Princess of Friendship. "Twilight?"

"Do we not destroy our enemies by making them our friends?" Twilight said. "Think of all we could learn!"

Shining Armor looked at his wife. Of all of them, Cadance had the most reason to want this thing dead. All she had to do was say the word and he'd incinerate the bug right then and there. She pursed her lips for a moment but eventually nodded. Shining grit his teeth and released Thorax. He picked him up off the floor and gently shoved him to Twilight and Spike.

"He's your baggage, Twilight" Shining said. "Keep him in your custody. And keep him out of the Empire." Shining looked at Thorax. "Maybe we can be friends one day. But trust must be earned, Thorax, and that takes time. This you understand?" he asked.

"Yes," Thorax answered.

"Come on, let's get you back to Ponyville," Spike said. Twilight and Starlight went with him as they went back to the train station to leave the empire.





"Do you think we did the right thing?" Shining asked as he settled into bed that night. "Letting him go?"

"Just look at Trixie, and Starlight. Even Discord! If anypony can make a friend of an enemy, it's Twilight," Cadance said, tending to Flurry Heart in her crib.

"And extract information..." Shining added.

"That too," Cadance said, lulling Flurry to sleep. 

She climbed into bed beside him. 

He rolled toward her and snuggled. "Cadie... I..." He felt his throat tighten. "I still have nightmares sometimes... about the queen."

Cadance wrapped her hooves around him and held him tightly. "I know. We won't let it happen. Never again."

"Never again."
> Call Me Twilie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You know, at the time when I recommended you as a friend to Starlight Glimmer, I thought you and Octavia Melody were an item," Twilight Sparkle said, sitting at the dining table in her Ponyville castle. Across from her was Vinyl Scratch. A white-furred unicorn mare with a two-toned blue mane, known more famously as DJ-Pon3. "That's why I was a bit hesitant to ask you out. It never occurred to me that you two were just roommates."

"It's complicated," Vinyl Scratch said. "Tavia's in a bit of bi-denial. Sometimes we're together, but then she goes through these phases where she thinks she's straight, and then we're effectively 'on a break'. Right now she dating one of the ponies from her Canterlot Quartet, Parish Nandermane. But I know exactly how that's going to go. She'll remember that stallions don't know how to please a mare the way another mare does, and she'll eventually come crawling back. Like I always said, 'once you go mare, the rest can't compare!' Plus, she's gonna find out the hard way why you don't mix work with pleasure. The others in her group will get jealous and accuse her of favoritism, and then when they inevitably break up, he won't be able to stay in the group and she'll have to get a new tromboner."

"Wow. I never took you for such a conversationalist," Twilight said.

"Yeah, well the whole 'mute' act is part of the DJ-Pon3 persona," Vinyl said. "It adds to the mystique of the image, you know? But there are a lot of times when I get swarmed by fans and groupies and I just want to break character and tell them to fuck off, you know? I mean, you must know what that's like. You're a princess. There must be tons of times when you have to deal with ponies you don't like but you can't tell them off because of the whole 'public image' thing." Vinyl finished the rest of her sandwich and wiped her mouth with the napkin. "So are we doing this or what?"

"Doing what?" Twilight asked. 

Vinyl looked at her over her sunglasses and cocked an eyebrow. "Please, there's no need to be coy. We're not out where we can be seen together in public. You invited me here, to your private castle. We could be served by castle staff but the place is empty. So you're still in the closet about being a mare-muncher."

"I-"

"Hey, I'm not judging. Or complaining. It's nice to be on a date and not having to sign autographs while I'm eating. But this obviously isn't a business lunch. You're not trying to book me for a show. You know my orientation, and you know I'm not available for a long-term relationship. And even if I was, I'm not really somepony you could seriously date, as a princess. So you're just looking for something casual. Am I right? Oh, and you don't need to worry about me, I know how to be discreet," she said with a sly grin.

"You are direct, aren't you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm just a pony who knows what she likes, and knows what she wants," Vinyl said. "We're both busy mares, so I'm just saying let's skip the bullshit."

"..."

"..."

"Okay. Fine," Twilight said. She stood up and waved for Vinyl to follow her. She led them back to her bedroom. "First rule: Yes, obviously don't tell anypony about this," Twilight said.

"Bedding a princess? Who would even believe me?" Vinyl grinned. 

"Second rule: You will be wearing this," Twilight said. She opened a trunk at the end of her bed. Inside was a Royal Guard uniform.

"Ooh, a bit of roleplay? I dig it!" she said as she put on the helmet. Twilight helped her put on the rest of the uniform. At the bottom of the trunk was a strap-on dildo, complete with a cum-lube tube. "Oh, is the Prince going to be having himself a little affair with the obedient guard mare?" Vinyl asked, shaking her flank.

"No, this is for you to wear," Twilight said, strapping it onto her.

"Ah. The new guard stallion dutifully servicing his princess with a good hard rutting!" Vinyl said. "Yes, You Majesty,"

"No, no. You're not new. You've know me for a long time and you've always secretly been in love with me. It's not a hard rutting it's... it's intimate. It's making love. And lastly, please... call me Twilie,"

"Um, okay... Twilie. When you're done with the straps, why don't you get on the bed and make yourself comfortable?" Vinyl suggested. Twilight finished adjusting the straps on Vinyl for the strap-on dildo harness. With her magic, she guided the narrow tube into Vinyl's urethra. "Whoa WHOA! What are you doing!?" she shrieked.

"Putting the catheter in," Twilight said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's supposed to be for a cum-lube pump," Vinyl said, "You attach it to a whoa-o-oaah! that feels weird!" she moaned as Twilight finished inserting the tube. Vinyl shuffled her hooves, getting used to the strange sensation while Twilight settled onto the bed. 

"Now then, you said you needed to speak with me privately about something?" Twilight asked. Vinyl shifted her hips on last time.

"Ngh, yeah, uh, Twilie, I uh, I've know you for a long time, and I've always secretly been in love with you" Vinyl said.

"Ooh, I can see that," Twilight said, looking pointedly at the strap-on dildo. "Is that for me?"

"Yup!"

"Ooh, but we shouldn't," Twilight said. "You're my... my guard. And you're married. If anypony found out..." Twilight playfully flicked her tail. "You must want me pretty badly to have come forward like this."

"So badly!"

"Hmm, care to show me?" Twilight asked, letting her leg fall to the side, showing off her wet marehood.

"Yes Princ- Twilie!" 

Vinyl walked over to the edge of the bed and lowered her head between Twilight's legs. The territory was familiar enough to the veteran muff diver. Twilight smelled lovely. She gave her a nice long lick. Her flavor was good as well. Not the best mare she'd ever had, but still, good. She set to work with her patent-pending mare-pleasing technique

Twilight looked down along her body at the white unicorn licking her pussy. With the two-tone blue mane sticking out from under the helmet, she could squint her eyes a little and it looks just like him.

"Shiny..."

"Hmm?"

"Uh y- your helmet is so shiny!" Twilight said. "Captain... Sun Shine."

"Captain Sunshine... That's me."

"Tell me how much you've been wanting this."

"I've been wanting this so much," Vinyl said. Twilight cleared her throat. "I've been wanting this so much, Twilie!"

"Mmm, yes!" Twilight purred. She reached down and gently stroked the horn protruding through the hole in the helmet. Vinyl moaned into her pussy as she stroked her horn and she kept licking. "You're so good at this!" 

Vinyl took it as a point of pride, pleasing a princess. She worked a tendril of magic into Twilight's vagina, flexing and curling it as she moved it in and out of inside her. She made a special effort to press against her g-spot. She hit it harder and faster, matching her rhythm with her tongue on her clit. Twilight's hoof on her horn faltered as her whole body started to quiver. The knot in her belly pulled tighter and tighter, teetering on the brink of her climax.

"S-Shiny!" Twilight cried out as the know snapped. She came with a gush of marecum against Vinyl's tongue. For a minute, the princess was reduced to a quivering mess of a mare in climax.

"The Princess Twilight cometh! Behold!" Vinyl said with a smug grin.

"Princess Twilie wants that cock!" she moaned, sitting up and pulling Vinyl onto the bed. Twilight started sucking the strap on dildo. "Tell me how good I am at this!"

"So good!" Vinyl said.

"Better than your wife?" Twilight asked.

"Uh- yeah!" Vinyl said. "So much better." Twilight kept sucking as she looked up at her. "Um, I hate to break character, but this is doing nothing for me."

"Okay, okay just fuck me!" Twilight said. Vinyl used her magic to like up the strap-on with Twilights vagina and pushed it inside. Twilight pulled her towards her until she was all the way in and then wrapped her hooves around her, hugging her tightly. She pressed her cheek against Vinyl's neck and looked down along her back, where her white fur showed from under the guard armor. The two-tones blue tail waving as she felt the dick moving in and out of her in a steady pace for as long as she would want. She could almost swear it was like the real thing.

"Cum inside me!" Twilight moaned.

"Um, Princess this is a nice bed and-"

"I need to feel it! Please cum inside me!" Twilight begged.

"As you wish." Vinyl pushed it all the way inside and focused on relaxing her muscles. 

With one last grunt and flex, Twilight felt it. It wasn't the feeling of powerful bursts of cum from a stallion. Just a steady stream of warmth inside her. Without a flare to the tip, the modest diameter of the dildo wasn't the tight seal she expected and it started gushing out around the shaft. Vinyl reflexively backed away a little. It stemmed the flow for a moment, leaving more room inside before that too filled and leaked out. She pulled out at last and the dildo sprang free, arcing the stream onto Twilight's belly.

"This is actually pretty cool," Vinyl said, looking down at herself relieving as a stallion through the dildo. "I can't believe nopony has ever thought of doing this before."

Twilight grabbed it with her magic and put it back inside her, and pulled Vinyl back on top of her, hugging her tightly to feel the rest of it inside her. It didn't feel the same. Nothing about it felt the same.

Vinyl felt her crying into her mane. She pulled herself away.

"Hey, are you okay?" Vinyl asked. Twilight nodded but was still weeping. "Was it because I-"

"No, it was nothing you did. It's not you," Twilight wiped her eyes. "I just- I'm sorry. Did you want me to lick you?"

"I mean, yeah, normally that would be courteous," Vinyl said as she started to undress. "But the whole... crying thing kinda killed the mood. That and-" She looked down at her stained fur. "So I hope you don't mind me using your shower," she said as she undid the strap-on harness and pulled out the tube.

"No, go ahead," Twilight said, waving her off to the bathroom.

"Listen, I meant what I said about being discreet. So you don't need to worry about... all this," Vinyl said. 

Twilight looked at back at her with eyes as red as Vinyl's. "Thank you."





"... and you just put on the Royal Guard uniform for a little while, for pretend," Twilight said.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I'm simply not comfortable with this," said the white-furred stallion with a two-toned blue mane.

"It's not illegal. You're not impersonating a guard. It's just role-playing. I'm just saying, I'm a princess, and you're practically aristocracy. It wouldn't be that strange for us to date," she said. 

"I'm afraid I already have a partner, Your Highness," Fancy Pants replied.

"It could just be a one-time casual thing. Nopony has to know," Twilight begged.

"It's not solely a matter of desire, Your Grace," Fancy Pants said. "I'm not a young stallion anymore. It has been some time since I've, *ahem*, how shall I put this... risen to the occasion?"

"I have a potion for that! Or a spell!" Twilight pleaded.

"I really am sorry. I had only heard rumors that estrus was especially trying for alicorns. And you have my sympathy. But unless you intend to force yourself onto me, I'm afraid I will be taking my leave now."

"O- Okay," Twilight said.

"Thank you for dinner," Fancy Pants said as he got up from the table. "And I will do my best to forget about your little... indiscretions this evening."

"Yes. I'm sorry. Thank you," Twilight said as Fancy Pants left the castle.

Twilight got up from her seat and cleared the table. It didn't take long to clear dinner for two. She sent out a message to the rest of her Ponyville friends, and then she headed downstairs.





Thorax didn't like the crystal hex that Shining Armor had put on his horn. It kept him from bring able to use his magic or transform. It made him feel vulnerable. But it also severed his connection to the hive-mind. No longer did Chrysalis's voice crawl within his skull. No longer was he a slave to the queen's will. He realized that it was only once he had lost everything that he was free to do anything.

But for now, that mostly meant sleeping in a cage, in the basement of Twilight's Ponyville castle. So the residents of Ponyville don't worry, Twilight had explained. But at least he wasn't freezing or starving. And he had Spike.

"Twilight's actually really nice, usually," Spike said. "So is Shining."

"I'm sure," Thorax said from inside of the bars, reaching a hoof through to move one of the checkers on the game board. "All I wanted was some friends."

"Well you have me," Spike said. Thorax smiled and his wings shimmered. "Starlight doesn't have a problem with you either. And Twilight has been warming up to you over the past couple weeks, too. In fact..." Spike looked back over his shoulder. "I think she might even be removing that hex on your horn soon."

"Oh, she doesn't have to do that," Thorax said. "It doesn't hurt or anything. And I've actually gotten used to it."

"Yeah, but then you would be able to change," Spike said. "We could have a lot of fun with that!"

"I don't think she would want me doing that," he said.

"Who's to say? History and politics aside, she's an academic first." Spike said. The door at the top of the stairs opened. The academic walked downstairs. "Oh, hey Twilight! Is your meeting with Fancy Pants over already? I thought you said you were going to be a while."

"Yeah well..." Twilight tried to say. "The meeting finished early."

"Is everything okay? You don't look too happy," Spike said.

"I'm fine. Wrap up your game. I need to talk to Thorax once your done." They quietly finished their game. Thorax won. "My my, aren't we a fast learner?" Twilight mused. "Meet up in the throne room after you put that away." Spike picked up the board and pieces to bring back upstairs. Twilight opened the door to Thorax's... accommodations, and they went upstairs. 

"I sent out a message to the rest of my friends. They will be here soon." Twilight said, leading him into the throne room. She took a seat in her throne and looked at him across the large table. "I can only apologize for the nature of your stay here thus far. But I made a promise to my brother that I would ensure your fidelity before granting you my trust."

"I understand," Thorax said.

"But you have been very cooperative so far, and honest," she said. "I am prepared to trust you as a friend. I would only ask one last thing of you."

The door to the throne room opened and Spike walked in with the rest of their Ponyville friends. Spike walked over to give Thorax a hug while the rest of the ponies stood on Twilight's side of the table.

"Obviously I've had to keep you from being privy to many Equestrian secrets," Twilight said. "But as a show of faith, I am prepared to give you this one as an opportunity for you to do the same." She motioned for her friends to sit down. Once they were all seated, the table in the middle came to life, revealing a map of Equestria.

"Wow," Thorax breathed, looking over the map. He recognized many of the major landmarks, and was able to figure out most of the rest.

"Thorax..." Twilight addressed, "Show me on the map where the changeling hive is."

"What are you going to do?" Thorax asked.

"Hopefully nothing," Twilight said. "You said that you want to bring the concept of friendship back to your hive, so that you might be able to share love instead of stealing it. And after having gotten to know you, I am inclined to believe you. I trust you." She leaned back in her throne.

"However, at this junction, I have no reason whatsoever to trust your queen," she continued. "If, after your return, it remains her intention to bring about her war, I just want to reduce the asymmetry. Her knowing of where our capital is without us knowing where hers is, gives her a strategic advantage with which I am... uncomfortable."

Thorax looked at the other ponies sitting silently at the table. They looked back at him, waiting to see what he would do.

"I'm not a strategist, Thorax," Twilight said. "I'm not a general or a politician. Warfare does not interest me. I'm an academic. I just want to know." She pointed at the map. "So if you would, please?"

Thorax looked at the map and then back at her.

"If I tell you, I won't be able to go back," Thorax said. "When Chrysalis finds out, I'll be branded a traitor. She'll-" He shuddered.

"Nopony said you had to go back," she said. "If you tell me where the hive is..." she looked at the black crystals protruding from his horn, "you'll be free to choose what you want to do, stay or go."

"And if I refuse?"

"I'd respect that choice. And I'd understand." She sat up straight in her throne. "Although I hope that you understand as well, that it would become... difficult securing your release."

Thorax considered his choices, if one could even call them that. He looked at the map and tilted his head, orientating himself. He walked over to the south-west edge of the table, standing between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. He touched the edge of the table and estimated the distance in his head. He took a step back, pointing at a spot in the air about a half-radius off the edge of the map.

"About here," Thorax said. 

Twilight nodded. "Thank you, girls." The other five ponies stood up, disabling the map, and they left. "And thank you, Thorax. I am a mare of my word, after all." Twilight's horn glowed and dispelled the black crystal hex on his horn.

Thorax braced himself for the return of Chrysalis's voice in his mind. It didn't come. He could feel a generalized, tenuous connection to his brothers and sisters in the hive. But it was a diffuse, quite din. Barely-perceivable whispers rather than the sharp commands of the queen. It was different. And that was scary enough. Ironically, change was frightening to a changeling.

"So what now?" Thorax asked.

"That, is up to you," Twilight said. "You can go back to your hive and try to bring friendship to the other changelings, to try to share love rather than stealing it. Or go somewhere else, provided that it's not the Crystal Empire."

"Or stay here," Spike suggested.

"Thanks, Spike. I think I will," Thorax said. "At least for a little while."

"I thought you might," Twilight said. "I already have a guest room made up for you. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. Spike, why don't you go ahead and show him where it is?"

"Okay! What are you going to do?" Spike asked. 

Twilight took out a scroll and quill. "Oh, you know. Boring princess stuff." Spike led Thorax to the guest room. Twilight remained behind and made navigational calculation notes of the approximate location of the changeling hive.

"So this is your room," Spike said, leading Thorax inside. "This is your bed. The kitchen is down the hallway to the left. I don't know if you really need that. The bathroom is down the hallway to the right. I don't know if you really need that, either. Do changelings go to the bathroom?" 

"Only if we go to the kitchen," Thorax said. "We can eat food to keep up appearances, but it just gets passed through. All changelings need is love."

"Hey, everyone needs love," Spike said. "Even dragons."

"Thanks for sharing, friend!" Thorax said, giving Spike a hug.

"You're welcome," Spike said. "But you know, if you really want to thank me, there is something we could do."

"Like what? Did you want to play checkers some more?" Thorax asked.

"Actually, something that you could help me with," Spike said.

"Anything! You saved my life in the Crystal Empire after all!"

"Okay. Well I have a secret to share with you," Spike said. "But you have to keep it between us."

"Sure."

Spike leaned in close to whisper, "I have a crush on Rarity."

"..."

"Remember? The white one? From the throne room earlier?"

"Okay."

"I want to ask her out on a date."

"Okay."

"But I'm too nervous."

"Why?"

"Because she's the most beautiful mare in Equestria! Why would she ever want to date me!?" Spike asked.

"... Because you asked her to?"

"It's not that simple!"

"Is it not?"

"She's a pony, and I'm a dragon."

"... And?"

"And since I'm not a pony I can't just ask her out."

"Okay but why though? Is that illegal or something?" Thorax asked.

"No."

"So what's the problem?"

"I- I'm still nervous! I wouldn't even know what to say." 

"Well you know her better than I do," Thorax said. "So I don't know how you expect me to help."

"Well I was hoping that maybe I could practice asking her out with you," Spike said. "You know, with you disguised as her."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, if that would be alright with you."

"I suppose," Thorax said. In a flash of green magic, he transformed into Rarity. "How is this?" he said in Rarity's voice.

"It's... perfect!" Spike said trying his best not to drool as his eyes practically turned into hearts. 

"Oh, wow." Thorax felt a rush of love pouring out of the dragon.

"How... how does it feel?" Spike asked.

"What do you mean?"

"How does it feel to be a pony, to be a mare?" Spike asked.

"About the same," Thorax said. "Changeling don't really have strong sense of gender. To me it's just like wearing a suit, or changing a costume. I know how it feels to be a mare without actually feeling it."

"I don't understand," Spike said.

"It's like... the difference between me telling you that fire is hot, and you burning yourself. You get the same information."

"Huh. I guess I get it." Spike reached out to touch Rarity's mane. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Go ahead."

Spike ran his hand through the violet hair. His nostrils flared. "Wow. You even got her scent right. How do you do that?"

"I'm not totally sure," Thorax said. "It's just how changeling magic works. To be able to perfectly simulate someone inside and out."

"Inside and out?" Spike asked. 

Thorax nodded. "Yup. So this is how she would smell. Unless she was in estrus. Then she would smell different."

"Wait, can you do that?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. One second." There was a brief shimmer of magic. "There we go." 

"You... you don't look any different," Spike said.

"Oh, all the difference in back there," Thorax said, turning and flagging his tail at him. 

Spike swallowed nervously. "Hey, um, can I call you 'Rarity' for the rest of the time while we do this?"

"Sure! That's how you practice, right?" Thorax said, still in Rarity's voice.

"So if I were to kiss, her lips would taste like hers?"

"Yes."

"C- can I check?" Spike asked.

"Sure!" Rarity leaned down and kissed him on the mouth. "One thing I need to be careful about is behavior though. I would need to know how she kisses, for example. Like does she use a lot of tongue?"

"Yes! She does!" Spike said, pulling her in for another kiss, this one much more passionate and sloppy. "Oh Rarity!" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her mane. "Can I touch your tail?"

"Sure, you can touch her wherever you like."

"Her?"

"Yeah, this isn't me," Thorax said in Rarity's voice and then touched the side of her head. "I'm just riding along. Go ahead and have fun practicing with her."

Spike's hand moved down along Rarity's back, past her shoulders to her rump. He grabbed her tail in his fist, brushing it against his face and then pulling it aside. Spike greedily stared at Rarity's marehood. It winked at him and glistened with moisture. "Spike wants!"

He reached out and ran his fingers up and down along her marehood, prodding one inside her vagina. She just stood there as calm as if she were waiting for a train.

"She would be feeling that, wouldn't she?" Spike asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely!" she said.

"Well this should be practice for you too, right?" Spike asked. "Act like she would." Spike stuck two fingers back unto her pussy.

"Oh yes, Spike, that's it!" she moaned.

"She calls me Spikey Wikey," Spike said.

"Oh Spikey Wikey!"

"Get on the bed," he directed. Rarity did as he said. He rolled her onto her back.

"Such a big strong dragon!" she said.

Spike pulled her to the edge of the bed. He dove in and started licking her pussy. He took Thorax at his word that this would be how she tasted. Spike knew he would likely never know for sure. But he could settle for this. His long forked tongue probed deep inside her, flicking against her cervix.

"Oh Spikey! That tickles!"

Spike pulled his tongue out and stood up. "Spike WANTS!" His barbed hemipenis stuck out from the scales of his belly. He pointed them at Rarity's pussy, but opted to put one in her ass as well and thrusted forward.

"Oh Spikey Wikey! I didn't know you had two!"

Spike started pounding away. All the years of unrequited longing and pent up frustration came pouring out of him in the aggression of the act. He would take what was rightfully his. "Mine!" And she was his at last. "Mine!" He would use her body to please himself. "MINE!" He fucked her quickly, wanting only to get off as fast as possible. "Hng, hng, HNG!" 

Spike grabbed her face with his hands and kissed her hard as he bottomed out into her, spurting his hot dragon cum into her ass and vagina at the same time. He throbbed and pulsed until he got it all out and then fell onto her chest, panting and heaving. His dicks slipped out of her and vanished back into his scales. He rolled over and flopped onto the bed beside her.

"I love you!" he panted.

"I can tell," Thorax said. Spike blinked and the changeling laid where Rarity had been. "You looked like you really needed that. I hope you enjoyed it."

"I did," Spike wheezed. He looked at Thorax. "Um, I know this is kinda weird to ask, but did you?"

Thorax shrugged. "Eh. It's like... What's your favorite food that is good for you?"

"For me? Well I'm a dragon so that would be gems. Like a nice aged ruby."

"And what is your favorite food that isn't good for you?" Thorax asked.

"Probably ice cream," Spike said. 

"That was like ice cream for me, then," Thorax said. "Lust is nice. But it's not very nutritious for a changeling the way that love is."

"I get it."

"So now that you've gotten to do that, does it mean you aren't going to pine after Rarity anymore?" Thorax asked.

"No, I still want the real thing," Spike said. "But she would rather date a pony like Trenderhoof," Spike said.

"What if you could disguise yourself as Trenderhoof, and then go on a date with her?" Thorax asked.

"I'd rather she want to date me," Spike said. 

"That's how I feel." Thorax looked down at his natural form. "I want to be loved for who I am, rather than who I can be."

"I understand. And I do," Spike assured him. "That's why you're my friend. Not just because you can turn into Rarity."

Thorax's wings shimmered. "Thanks."

"But if we still did this... once in a while... that'd be okay too, right?" Spike asked, walking over to the bedroom door.

"Yeah."

"Okay cool. I'm gonna head back to my room and-" Spike opened the door. Twilight was on the other side, about to knock.

"Oh, hi Spike! Would you mind sending these off for me?" she asked, passing him a pair of addressed scrolls.

"Sure, no problem." He took both scrolls and ignited them in his magical dragon breath, sending them off to their destinations.

"Thank you, Spike." He smiled and left. Twilight waited until he was gone and closed the door. She looked at the changeling. "Have fun, you two?" Thorax looked away nervously. "Don't try to be coy. Even if the bed wasn't completely messed up, the aroma of... eau de estrus is unmistakable. Rarity, I assume?"

"His idea," Thorax said.

"Oh, I'm sure it was. But you didn't mind a free meal, did you?" Twilight asked. He shrugged. "Thorax, now that you have fully regained your... functionality, I was hoping you could help me with something downstairs in my laboratory," Twilight said.

"Okay." He followed after her. 





She spoke to him once they headed downstairs. "Last time when we talked, you said that there were aspects about you that I wouldn't be able to study while the crystal hex was in place. Well now that it's gone, I'd like to finish our session from last time." 

In the lab, Twilight picked up her notebook and reviewed. "You said that the ability for a changeling to change is integral to reproduction. Is that because of the parasitic nature of changelings, or because you're hermaphroditic?" she asked.

"We're not really hermaphrodites," he said. "We can change genders. And we have to in order to reproduce. Normally," he said.

"Okay. Explain the process."

"Well a changeling is normally genderless unless they are disguised," he explained. "But the queen will select an infiltrator to be disguised as a female to collect the sperm of a male."

"A male changeling?" Twilight asked.

"No. A male anything-else. Then once their eggs are fertilized, they become a male and lay them in a female of the same species."

"So you have to use other creatures?" she asked.

"Not always. An infiltrator could return with the fertilized eggs to lay them in the queen. She's a universal host. Or the queen can use her pheromones on a changeling to change them into a fertile male to breed with her directly. She only picks the very best warriors or infiltrators to be her breeder."

"And then?"

"And then after they fertilize her eggs, or she gets them from an infiltrator, she lays them in a- uh, an incubator," he said. She looked at him strangely. "Um, that's what she calls non-changelings." 

"Mhmm." She pursed her lips.

"But sometimes, she doesn't have any captives and she has to use a changeling. Not a warrior or an infiltrator. A useless drone She uses her pheromones to make them change into a female broodling and then she... makes them... incubate." He grimaced and looked away.

"I have experienced Chrysalis's notion of romance," she said of her own personal encounter with the queen. "Just before the invasion, she... forced herself onto me. I was barely able to escape."

"When then you know what she can be like," Thorax said. "So as you can imagine, changelings are not keen on failing to keep her supplied with incubators." He scratched his head for a moment. "Strange. She wouldn't have taken a breeder just before an invasion. She must have used another male to fertilize her in Canterlot. Probably the prince," he reasoned.

Twilight felt her heart jump at the reference to her brother. The memory of Chrysalis raping her still haunted her. But the thought that they might have been her brother's eggs gave her pause. She pushed the thought away and focused on the present.

"So... does that mean that the queen is the mother to all of you?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. More or less."

"But that means she would be taking her son to breed with her."

"Yes." He answered. She just looked at him for a moment. "And?" he asked.

"Um, nothing," Twilight said. "So what if something happens to her?"

"I shudder to think," he said. "A power vacuum like that would have the warriors battling for rights to the royal jelly."

"The royal jelly?"

"It's a special jelly that lets a changeling morph into a new queen," he answered.

"And then if she would take on a breeder, it would be one of her brothers?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And that doesn't strike you as strange?" she asked.

"No."

"Interesting." Twilight finished writing and set her notebook down. "Alright then. Turn into somepony for me. Somepony I would know." In a flash of green magic, he turned into her. She chuckled. "Okay. That's fair." Twilight walked around him, inspecting his details. "An uncanny likeness, I'll give you that. But you know me very well. You've seen me every day. What about somepony that I know but you haven't met?"

"I would have to have seen them at least once," Thorax said in her voice. Twilight smirked.

"How about... Shining Armor then?" she asked. In a flash he changed into her brother. She felt her heart flutter once more. She walked around him again. He looked just like him in every detail. "How did you know what his cutie mark was? He was wearing his uniform when you met him. You never saw it."

He shrugged. "I'm not completely sure how changeling magic works," he said in Shining Armor's voice. "But it manages to account for all the detail of a creatures we meet. Even the ones we don't see."

"Fascinating." She eyed the heavy orbs hanging just behind the stallion's sheath. "And how well can you simulate a stallion's... functionality?" she asked.

"Completely," he said. "We have to, in order to be able to properly collect love."

"So you would have the appropriate response to being stimulated?" she asked. She reached underneath him before he could answer and rubbed his sheath with her hoof.

"Princess Twilight-"

"Shhh," she hushed him and cooed as she felt the bulge forming in his sheath. He groaned when her hoof cupped the tip of his penis as soon as it emerged. She leaned over and whispered into his ear. "Lay down." He did as she said and she rolled him onto his back. The soft rug spared him from the hard crystal floor of the lab. She was over him immediately with her hoof still on his dick, now nearly fully erect in her hoof. She leaned down to look closely at it. It had the exact same blue mottling as she remembered. She rested her cheek against its warmth. She could smell the masculine scent of his balls. "You really did get every detail right."

"Th-thank you Princess Tw-"

"Shhh... Call me Twilie," she said. She shifted herself over him to straddle his body. "Let's see just how much of a stallion you feel like," she said. She lifted her tail and squatted down above his penis, guiding it with her magic. She was already incredibly wet just from thinking about finally doing this. She lowered herself down and rubbed his tip against her pussy, smearing it with her lubrication. More than ready she pushed herself onto it. 

She felt her brother's penis inside her again at last. It was just how she remembered it. She took more of it, feeling his medial ring slip inside her just as she expected it to. She sat down on his hips just as the tip met her cervix, perfectly filling her like a puzzle piece that was meant to be in place.

"Oh, Shiny," she moaned. "Tell me how much you love me."

"I love you," he said.

"Twilie."

"Twilie," he repeated. "I love you, Twilie." Twilight quivered hearing her brother say that.

"Fuck me, Shiny," she said, lifting her hips just enough to give him room to do so. He thrusted upwards into her. "Tell me how much you've missed me!" she said.

"I've missed you, Twilie!" he said as he continued to fuck her.

Twilight felt euphoric. It was even better than she thought it would be. She had been so afraid that it would feel weird or sad like last time with Vinyl. But she felt amazing. Her whole pussy was tingling. She rubbed herself with her hoof or alternated with her magic as she rode him. Every aspect of her pleasure was heightened. 

Though that was probably from his changeling precum, a powerful cocktail of muscle-relaxing analgesic, and aphrodisiac.

His changeling instinct took over. His disguised penis transformed into an ovipositor. The head changed from being rounded and blunt to a narrow tip. His precum started by numbing and relaxing the muscles of Twilight's cervix. As he continued to thrust, the tip extended into the small opening. Once inside, it swelled thicker, prying her open in preparation for the delivery of his eggs. Twilight felt no pain, only the tingling from the changeling's potent secretion. For the mare, it was like the pleasurable sensation of a small, but continuous orgasm. He felt his eggs shifting inside him, ready to be implanted into the mare.

"I- I'm gonna-" he tried to say.

"Yes!" Twilight gasped. Her head was swimming from the effects of the changelings nectar. "Yes, do it inside me Shiny!" She all but begged for it. Her addled mind would have made her agree to anything in that state. She pressed her hips down hard onto his and bottomed out, holding herself there. He felt the pressure building inside himself, signaling his imminent delivery.

Fresh changeling secretions melted any potential pain away, leaving her with only with the mind-dulling pleasure. The tip of his ovipositor stretched her cervix open completely, letting the rest of his shaft inside. The head blossomed open like a flower, ready to release his eggs deep inside Twilight's womb. His pelvic muscles flexed and the eggs began to move into his ovipositor. Twilight felt her brother pumping and throbbing inside her as each pulse pushed more and more into her, filling her womb. 

It was his first time laying. He could feel each one moving through his shaft, plopping out of his tip inside her. One after another, stuffing her uterus full with his clutch. He counted each one as the bulges pushed through her tight cervix. Ten, eleven, twelve eggs inside her before he finally stopped. His blossomed tip wilted closed again and spurted a final bit of numbing secretion before it pulled out, letting her cervix close behind him with his eggs sealed inside.

Twilight felt him wilting under him and rolled off, onto the floor beside him. Her head was still swimming, but she felt her senses start to come back to her. She laid on her side to snuggle up next to her brother. She reached down with her hoof to idly stroke his sticky cock. He groaned. She blinked and looked at it. His ovipositor bloomed again and one more green, glistening egg spurted out onto his white fur.

"What the fuck!?" she shrieked.

"Ooh," he moaned. "It must have been a baker's dozen." 

"Wait- WHAT!?" Twilight reached down and palpated her abdomen. She could feel the irregular lumps inside her uterus. "Did you lay eggs inside me!?"

"Um... Yes?" She started flailing on him with her hooves. His disguise failed and he turned back into Thorax. "Hey! You told me to! I thought you wanted to know what happened!" 

"Why? What's going to happen!?" She asked in a panic as she got to her hooves.

"Nothing!" he said.

"There are EGGS inside of me!"

"And you're not a dragon!"

"What?"

"You're not a dragon!" He repeated. "Spike fertilized those eggs. I thought you knew that. And since you're a pony and not a dragon, they won't be developed."

"So what IS going to happen then?" she asked. 

He pointed at the egg on his fur. Already exposed to the air, the integrity of its soft shell began to rapidly deteriorate. It rolled off as he stood up and it landed on the floor as soft mush. "If they were unfertilized eggs, your body would just naturally break them down in a few days. You would have never even known they were in there... Unless a stallion were to fertilize them while they were inside you. But since these are fertilized, but by a different species, you'll just pass them in a few days."

"What do you mean, pass them?" she asked.

"Well, since they're not viable, they won't attach themselves to the lining of your womb. Your cervix will relax again and you'll lay them in the next day or so."

"And then?"

"And then... I dunno... quiche?"
> Green Eggs and Fam
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle shuffled across the kitchen floor and set the plates on the dining table in front of Spike and Starlight Glimmer. Spike looked at his breakfast. "What is this?" he asked.

"Quiche," Twilight said with a huff.

"What's quiche?" he asked.

"Eggs," Starlight said, poking her breakfast with her fork.

"... Why is it green?" he asked.

"I added green peppers," Twilight said. Which was technically true.

Starlight gave the dish a sideways look. "It doesn't look very appetizing," 

Twilight glared at her with tired eyes. "You have no idea what I went through to make this," she growled. 

Spike looked up at her. She looked tired and cranky. She sat down at the table with her own plate and ate her green quiche. Spike picked up a bit on his fork and closed his eyes. It tasted like any other omelette.

Starlight also ate, trying her best to not look at it. "There was a shipment of the new books you ordered for the library this morning," she said. 

The mere mention of new books visibly brightened Twilight's demeanor. She paused between bites. "Well then you know what that means," she said. "We have to move the older books to the reference section. Gotta keep the new books front and center."

After breakfast, they did exactly that. Despite being able to levitate an Ursa Minor, and an entire orchard worth of apples, Twilight still had Starlight and Spike move a few boxes of books to make them feel useful. It wasn't the first time Spike had to move a box of books. But he still insisted on filling a box as big as he was full of heavy books. As if the day wouldn't be complete without Spike getting injured somehow, he tripped on the stairs leading down to the reference section and nearly broke his neck. 

Luckily, Twilight caught him and the box with her magic. She would not have any harm come to her books. And it would have been really inconvenient to have to install ramps everywhere in the castle just because Spike was in a wheelchair.

Once all the boxes were moved, Spike walked over to stare out the window. "What's that?" he asked.

"It's the sun. Try not to stare," Twilight said.

"No, that!" Spike said, pointing at the figure in the sky. 

"Is it a bird?" Starlight asked.

"Is it a gryphon?" Spike asked.

"I'll ready the ballista!" Starlight said.

"Don't be racist, Starlight," Twilight scolded.

"No, wait!" Spike said. "The mailmare's coming!"

"Phrasing," Starlight said.

"Duck!" Twilight shouted as she shoved everypony out of the way with her magic. Derpy, the mail carrier pegasus, crashed through the open window and landed in the heap of unsorted books. "Taking flying lessons from Rainbow Dash, I see." Derpy presented the envelope. "Oh. I usually get letters by dragon," Twilight said. 

"It is the fastest way to get mail," Spike said with all the pride of a fax machine. Derpy shook her head and gave the letter to Starlight.

"For me?" Starlight asked. "Who would be sending me a letter?" Derpy gave her the letter and flew away. Starlight opened and read it. Her eyes went wide in horror. "It's the ponies from my old village. They've invited me to the annual Sunset Festival!"

"Okay, so why do you look terrified?" Spike asked.

"I'm afraid to go back to the village for the celebration," she said. "After everything that happened, having to face them again would be traumatizing."

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. "Alright, just slow your roll there, girl. You forcibly stole my cutie mark and tried to brainwash me and my friends that weekend, so let's not forget who traumatized who, m'kay? But as an introvert myself, I totally get where you're coming from. Social obligations, am I right?" Twilight asked as she rolled her eyes. "Just because they invited you doesn't mean you have to go. So just don't."

Spike burped up a scroll with his green dragon-fire breath.  "The fastest way to get mail!"

"Yeah, we heard you the first time," Twilight said opening the scroll. "Oh, for buck's sake!"

"What is it?" Spike asked.

"It's a royal summons to Canterlot," Twilight said with a huff. "We have to leave tomorrow."

"You were saying about just not going?" Starlight asked.

"Every day I hate these wings a little more," Princess Twilight Sparkle muttered. "This is different. I don't have a choice." Twilight put on her tiara of office. "I swear it's like a hoofcuff for your head. For your life."

"It's an All-Call. It must be important," Spike said.

"What's an All-Call?" Starlight asked.

"It means all the Elements and the royalty will be there," Spike said. "Cadance, Shining and Flurry too,"

Twilight read over the scroll again. She would get to see Shining. Deep down, she truly desired to see him very much. But her rational mind knew it would only serve to frustrate her even more. Whatever joy she might have felt turned to anger.

"You know what?" Twilight asked Starlight. "I think you should go to that festival."

"But I don't wanna!" Starlight whined. "I'd end up being the center of attention one way or another. What if I end up making myself look bad?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure as long as you don't try to enslave the town again, you'll be in the green. But if you're really worried, just bring your marefriend, Trixie, along. If anypony can make you look better by comparison, it's her." Starlight glared at her. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Starlight grumbled. "Yeah, it's true. But it's still not nice to say it."





Princess Cadance huffed with irritation as she and her spouse packed for their trip. "How many times do I have to tell you, we will be fine, Cherry?" she asked.

"At least one more time, Princess," Cherub Whine said. The nanny matron stood by with the other guard mares, pleading to accompany the royal family.

Shining tried to reassure her. "The only other ponies on the train will be our guards. And the Canterlot Royal guard will be escorting us the entire time we're there."

Cadance grabbed her bag and Flurry Heart. "We will be fine. You don't need to worry about us."

Cherub stood a bit taller in stubborn pride and followed after the royal family. "It is my task and purpose to worry about you!"

"That was never your job," Cadance said.

"It is!" Cherub said. "It always has been! From the day I was presented to you when you were just a little foal. Because Princess Celestia entrusted me with that which was most precious to her in the whole world!" Cherub followed Cadance and her family to the train station. As Cadance said, the station and train had numerous guards. Shining boarded the train with Flurry and their luggage. Cherub put her hoof on Cadance's shoulder. "If anything were to happen under my watch-"

"I know," Cadance said, brushing her hoof away before boarding. "You would never forgive me." The door closed and the train pulled away from the station. 

Cherub stood and watched as the train became smaller and smaller in the distance. "I would never forgive myself," she whispered.





Celestia and Luna oversaw the preparations for the big meeting. The meeting was to take place during the day, of course, so Luna was swaying a bit on her hooves trying to stay awake during her normal sleeping hours. 

The grand dining  table in the royal hall had places made up for all of the visiting guests. Cadance's family, Twilight, and her friends. The trumpets outside heralded their arrival. Each of them filed in to the familiar hall and took a seat at the long table. Celestia and Luna sat at one end. Cadance and her family sat closest near their end. Twilight sat across from Shining. 

There was so much that they each wanted to talk about with the other. They both knew it perfectly well. But neither of them let it show in their faces. Twilight briefly considered just how well she had become accustomed to this mask she had been wearing for so long. She looked over at Celestia. The picture of stoic perfection. It made her wonder what was going on behind those eyes of calm. 

The wait staff began going around serving drinks with tea, wine, cider, and a sippy-bottle of juice for the little one. 

Twilight looked back at Shining and Cadance. "So... how's Flurry?" she asked them. 

"She keeps out hooves full," Cadance said, literally cradling the foal in her hooves. "She's growing fast. We've started weaning her." Cadance gave Flurry some grape juice from the bottle. "I am so glad to be done with nursing."  Cadance drank some grown-up grape juice from her glass. 

Shining waited for his cider and took a sip before he cleared his throat to talk to his sister. "How is..." He tried to think of a word beside 'monster', 'prisoner' or 'hostage'. "... your guest?"

"He has been very cooperative," Twilight assured him before she had a bit of her tea.

"So our scouts have confirmed," Shining said, referring to reconnaissance mission that the pegasi division had carried out. The goal was to ascertain the location of the changeling hive with the information provided by Thorax. A success though it was, Shining looked none too pleased.

"What's the next step?" Twilight asked.

Flurry Heart dozed off as Cadance rocked her gently in her hooves. "I presume that is what this meeting is about," Cadance said.

Celestia waited for everypony to have their drinks before she indulged herself with her wine. "Now that everypony has their drinks, let's talk about why we are here."

"..."

"..."

"And that is...?" Shining asked. 

Celestia looked at Twilight, who just shrugged. "I thought you called this meeting," she said.

"I thought you did," Twilight said.

"I thought you did," Shining said.

There was a thud as Luna finally passed out and slumped over onto the table.

"Hey Twi-ligghhh-" Fluttershy slurred. "This-sizz sum bomb-ass tea..." The words dribbled out of her mouth. She dropped her tea cup before falling out of her chair.

"Alright, who let Fluttershy drink on the train?" Twilight said as she got up to help Fluttershy. As soon as she stood, the room around her spun and she tripped over her own hooves. She was unconscious before she fell into a crumpled heap on the floor.

Shining looked at everypony falling unconscious. He looked at his wife, next to him. Her eyes were closed and her head was nodded over in with their sleeping daughter in her hooves. The edges of his vision began to get dim. In his peripheries, he could see the wait staff began to surround the table. The forms of the waitresses and buss ponies flashed in green flames and turned into-

"No." Shining felt his blood boil at the sight of the changelings. He tried to rise to fight. But his limbs felt like they were filled with sand. 

"Yiss," one of the changelings hissed at him as the others began to cocoon his wife, sister, and the other princesses while he sat there, paralyzed, helpless to stop them. The changelings each took the form of the ponies they were cocooning.  Shining felt chitinous hooves on him. "Sssleep now," it hissed at him. The changeling took his form, the last thing he saw before darkness took his sight.

Never again, he had sworn.  He had promised himself. He had promised his wife and family. And he failed them. In his final moments of consciousness, he seethed in anger.

~

Princess Luna opened her eyes some time later. It was night now, and her usual waking time. She looked at the dining room table on the ceiling. The room was upside down and everything was green. She realized that it was she, that was upside down and hanging from the ceiling inside a changeling cocoon. Everypony that had been at the dinner was hanging around her, similarly cocooned. She tried to use her magic, but found that it was grounded by the fluid she was suspended in. She needed to get a message out somehow. Twilight's pupil was the first pony she could think of. Her eyes glowed as she entered the dreamscape to get a message to the mare.

"We've got a live one!" the changeling wearing Princess Luna's appearance shouted to the others. The changelings grabbed Luna's cocoon and pulled it from the ceiling. They ripped it open and pulled her out, keeping her horn submerged. They began to lick her all over, coating her with changeling venom. Especially where it could be absorbed quickly through the skin inside her mouth and her marehood. In the dreamscape, Luna could feel her body being molested, but she needed to get the message out to Starlight Glimmer.

The changelings only stopped when the light faded from Luna's eyes. She heard the changelings hiss, "I'm gonna fill thisss one with ssso many eggsss!" 

"Remember the queen's orders!" the commanding changeling said. "We need to bring them back to the hive, alive and unspoiled!"





The next day, Shining Armor's consciousness returned to him the moment his cocoon broke open and he spilled out of it onto the floor beside his wife and foal. He defensively held them both in his hooves and his vision adjusted. The others from the dinner had been freed as well, presumably by the colorful creatures around them. They were atop a tall tower amidst a wasteland in a region of Equestria he didn't recognize.

Cadance looked at him with pleading eyes. "Let's not tell Cherry about getting captured like this. She'll be pissed."

Starlight Glimmer helped Twilight Sparkle out of the broken remains of her cocoon. "Starlight? What happened?"

"Princess Luna got a message to me in a dream about the changelings returning. Thorax told me about their plan.  We defeated the changeling with no magic at all, they found a new leader, and they're all kind of... good now." Starlight explained.

Princess Luna joined them. "Well done, Starlight Glimmer! It seems as though you've learned a great deal since we last spoke."

Queen Chrysalis burst from the rubble of her throne room and hissed. Shining Armor's horn flared with brilliant light, ready to volley his magical attack. He was not alone. His wife, sister, Luna, and Princess Celestia were ready as well. Shining stepped forward, ready to grab the bug with his magic and rip her in half right there. "Cover Flurry's eyes."

Starlight Glimmer blocked his line of sight to speak with the queen. "When Twilight and her friends defeated me I chose to run away and seek revenge. You don't have to. You can be the leader your subjects deserve." Starlight extended her hoof to her.

Chrysalis slapped her hoof away and snarled. "There is no revenge you can ever conceive of that will come close to what I will exact upon you one day, Starlight Glimmer!" She backed up to the edge of the tower and jumped off.

A white blur rushed past Starlight and jumped off the edge after the queen.

"Shining!" Twilight screamed, jumping after him.

Queen Chrysalis started to spread her wings to control her descent. Shining Armor had no such reservations. He reached out in front of him with his hooves, shaping his body into a spear to close the distance. He would catch up to her, rip her wings from her back, and pile drive her body into the jagged rocks below. If he had time, he would surround himself with a shield. Maybe he would survive. Maybe. But she wouldn't. He would make sure of that.

Never again.

Under him, he felt the flitter of her insect wings just graze his hoof. His whole body jerked to a stop, surrounded in purple magic. Chrysalis flew down away from him and pulled out of her dive to flee to the forest.

The magic placed him gently on the ground and Twilight landed beside him. As soon as she released him he elbowed her in the ribs hard and ran in a dead sprint after the queen.

"Some gratitude for saving your life," Twilight wheezed, chasing after her brother into the woods. She was hardly the athlete that he was and he was getting away from her. There was no space in the forest to fly and even if she could, the pain in her side would have made it very challenging. It was all she could do to follow the flashes of white fur in the dark green of the forest.

"Shining!" Twilight finally caught up to him in a small clearing. He stood there, just outside the entrance of a dark cave. Twilight panted loudly, both from the physical exertion and her bruised ribs. He was breathing heavy also. But he stood still as a statue, never taking his eyes off the cave.

"She's in there," he said. There was no emotion in his words. There was no anger, or fear. Just an eerie calm in the statement.

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. 

He nodded. "Hiding."

"She could be disguised as a rock in there," she said.

"No. She won't. She's too proud," he said.

"It could be a trap," she said.

"Not this time. I'm ready," he said. "She's trapped." He took a step forward.

"Shining-"

"Wait here."

"Shining-"

"I said, wait. Here."

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Conduct diplomacy." Shining walked into the cave. 

Twilight watched light from his horn get dimmer as he went deeper inside. 

~

She waited, like he asked her to. She waited for a long time. Occasionally she would hear a noise of some kind or another coming from the bowels of the cavern. It was going to start getting dark soon. She contemplated going in after him. Then she saw movement coming out of the cave. Twilight readied her horn and prepared for the worst. It was her brother. Or at least, it looked like him.

"Shining?" she asked cautiously, keeping her defenses up.

He looked at her. His eyes looked dark and tired. "I'm not gonna have to do the fucking ladybug dance am I?" he asked with a groan. She shook her head and he just stared off into the woods, like his mind was a thousand miles away.

"What... what did she say?" Twilight asked nervously. His attention turned back to her.

"Hmm? The queen? Lots of things. Some of them were even true..." he trailed off, standing there in silence once more.

"... and then?" Twilight asked.

"And then..." 

Shining calmly reached into his bag. It was then that Twilight noticed that the white fur of his hooves were stained green with changeling blood. Shining grabbed something out of his bag and tossed it at her. The severed horn of Queen Chrysalis clattered across the stone ground and came to a stop in front of Twilight's hooves. 

"Well, then she died."
> Peace and Quiet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Babies didn't sleep this well.

For the first time in a long time, Shining Armor didn't wake with a panicked start from a bad dream. He stirred slowly from his slumber. His ears were greeted to the gentle coos of his wife, Cadance. She was laying in bed beside him, with their daughter in her hooves. Little Flurry Heart was fast asleep. Cadance's soothing noises were for her husband as he awoke. He blinked and looked at her in the narrow streak of sunlight seeping through the heavy curtains of their bedroom

Cadance smiled. "Welcome back to the land of the living," she greeted. He looked over to the clock on his nightstand. It was nearly noon. "You've been asleep for nearly eleven hours. You must have really needed it after last night." She smirked.

The gentle, content smile on Shining's face spread into a full grin as the memories of the previous evening came flooding back.





As soon as they had gotten back to the Crystal Empire, Shining and Cadance received a stern scolding from Cherub Whine for not allowing her to accompany them and prevent their capture. It didn't matter that they were prince and princess. That nanny made them both feel like a inch tall. 

Though it was just as well. The changeling infiltrators that tried to take their place in the Empire stood no chance against detection by Cherub and her trusted cadre of elite guard nannies. After that, they were little more than greasy stains for the janitorial staff to tend to while Cherub panicked about the wellbeing of the royal family. 

"Don't ever scare me like that again you two!" she scolded.

"We're sorry, Cherry," Cadance apologized. "We should have listened to you."

Cherub's stern glare melted in a moment and she hugged Cadance and then cradled Flurry in her hooves.

"Would you mind tending to Flurry this evening?" Shining asked. "This whole ordeal has been just... so exhausting."

"Of course!" Cherub said. "Take all the rest you need. I will see to it that you are not disturbed." 

"Thank you," Shining said, leading Cadance into their bedroom. As soon as they were inside, he closed and locked the door, using his magic to soundproof the room. Then he practically threw his wife onto the bed, and himself after her.





"By the stars!" Cadance purred in the bed beside her husband. "You were practically... primal last night! You haven't been that carnal since before we were married!"

Shining just smiled in pride. She was right. Shining was a father who was fast approaching middle age. And with everything that had had happened to him and his family since the wedding, he couldn't be sure if it was all the stress and anxiety, or if it was just him getting older. 

Part of him wished it was the former. That it was the circumstances of his life. And that there was something he could do about it. Part of him wished that it was the latter. That is was just the course of life and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

But mostly, he feared that it was the circumstances of his life, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was powerless to do anything about it. That thought made him feel the most weak, the most helpless. The most impotent.

Until he did do something about it. He took back control of his life. He felt alive. He felt free. 

The instant they hit the bed last night, they proceeded to destroy it. They didn't make love. The didn't have sex. They fucked. They fucked in every position that had a name, and even invented a few. Not once, not twice, but repeatedly. Cadance lost count of how many times she came. And Shining came as well. But he had an erection that would not quit. They fucked, and fucked, and continued to do so until it was so late in the night that it was early. The entire bed was a sticky mess and he had simply become too chaffed and dehydrated to go on. 

Even laying in the bed now, his fur and mane were plastered with dried pony-knows-what. For a moment, he feared for his daughter in the bed, but found that there had been a clean duvet pulled over their shameful sheets, keeping her separated from the filth of their passion. Cadance, likewise looked immaculate.

"I took a shower earlier," Cadance said. "Goodness knows I needed one. You do too."

"I would have liked to join you," Shining said.

"I know," she said. "But you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you." 

Peaceful indeed.

"What in the world brought that on last night?" Cadance asked.

Shining shrugged. "Nothing like a near-death experience to help align your priorities," he said. She seemed to accept that.

But in truth, it wasn't that at all.

He was at peace.





The Previous Day





Standing outside the forest cave, Twilight Sparkle hit her brother with a changeling-reveal spell in a bright flash of magic. It buffeted off of the stallion and did nothing but hurt his night vision.

"Was that really necessary?" Shining Armor asked in mild irritation, blinking away the spots in front of his eyes.

"I should ask you the same thing!" Twilight asked indignantly, levitating the severed horn of the late Queen Chrysalis in front of him. "I needed to be sure it was you, and I still don't believe it!" He turned and started walking back to the changeling hive. "Shining!" She said trotting after him. Her brother ignored her as he kept marching briskly forward. "Shining! Are we really not going to talk about this?"

"I really don't see what the point would be," he said.

"This isn't you! This isn't the brother I know!" she said.

"You haven't known me for a long time, Twilight. Times change. Ponies change." He looked at her wings. "Yourself included."

"What are we going to do about this?" she asked. 

He took it from her with his magic and put it back into his bag. "I imagine Cadance will want to destroy it, herself. Just knowing that the queen is dead will bring her peace just as much as it will for me."

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet," Twilight said.

"You're arguing semantics," he said.

"No. I'm not! Shining, you murdered her!" Twilight shouted. Shining turned on his hoof and faced her.

"She raped me, Twilight," he said. "I've had nightmares about her ever since then."

"She raped me, too!" Twilight said.

There was a twinge in the corner of Shining's eyes. At first, a pang of sorrow and anger that it ever happened in the first place. Balanced with a glint of righteous vindication. The two canceled each other out, leaving his face a strained neutral. "You of all ponies should be sympathetic, then."

"Shining, I understand why you did it, but that doesn't mean I agree with it! Yes, we have terrible enemies who do terrible things. But if we fight evil with evil, how are we not just as bad?" she asked.

Shining let out a cynical snort and kept walking "You sound like Cadance," he grumbled. "Two days ago I might have agreed with you. After the wedding, I was ready to scour the world to find Chrysalis and..." his eye twitched. "...mete out some justice. But Cadance helped me get over that. It took a long time for me to get over what happened. Her too. But as long as Chrysalis was gone, I was willing to just forget and move on. At least, I hoped I could, eventually."

They stopped at a small stream so he could wash the changeling blood from his hooves.

"But she crossed the fucking line when she came after my daughter," he said. "I wouldn't let that stand. I couldn't. You saw her back at the hive. Starlight gave her every opportunity. But she was unrepentant. As far as I was concerned, in that moment, she signed her own death warrant."

"We have a place for creatures like that," Twilight said.

Shining rolled his eyes. "Yes. Cadance told me about Tartarus. If you think that's any more merciful, I have a bridge to sell you. And that's all well and good until they swear revenge and escape again like Tirek did. Even the stone statue spell on Discord broke after enough time." 

"But Discord has changed!" Twilight said.

"Has he?" Shining asked with a dubious eyebrow.

"Yes, I think so! And in time, Chrysalis could have changed as well."

"Hmph... Maybe." Shining looked at his washed hooves. His fur was pristine white again. "But it hardly matters now. Hate me if you must. But I will not apologize for protecting my family." He dried his washed hooves on the grass. They exited the forest and trekked back across the barren wastelands back to the hive.

"I don't hate you, Shining," Twilight said. "I love you. I care about you. I just don't want you going down a dark path out of some kind of righteous justification."

"I appreciate that. But someday you'll understand when you have a foal of your own," he said. 

Her ears perked up. "Is that a promise?" she asked.

Her meaning didn't land right away. He looked over at her and she had that hopeful look on her face. He just snorted and looked up at the top of the hive before looking back at her again. "Mind giving me a lift?" he asked.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Twilight said, watching three figures descending towards them. Princess Celestia and Luna landed in front of them, followed shortly by Cadance with Flurry in her hooves. Cadance looked at them nervously.

Shining looked back at them. "I'm not going to have to do the ladybug dance am I?" he asked.

"No," Luna said. "We know you're not Chrysalis."

Celestia shifted her hooves. "Thorax and the other changelings said that they- felt it, when the queen..." she trailed off.

Cadance cut in. "Is it true?" she asked insistently, giving Flurry to Celestia to hold. "Is the queen truly dead?"

"Yes," Twilight answered simply.

"Are you sure?" Cadance asked with an edge of desperation as she took a step closer and looked Shining in the eyes. "Are you sure!?"

Shining opened his bag and tossed the severed horn of the queen at the ground in front of her hooves. For a silent moment they all just looked at it. There was an alien stillness in the barren wasteland air around the changeling hive. Devoid of all life, there was not even the sound of evening crickets. It was perfectly silent.


The silence was shattered by the deafening report of thunder from the gout of magic erupting from Cadance's horn. The fiery blast narrowed into a focused beam at the severed horn on the ground, engulfing it in an arcane conflagration. She incinerated it instantly and yet kept it held together with her magic, not even letting the ash escape her wrath. 

Her lips peeled back in a viscous snarl as she poured more and more magic into it, making it glow white hot. The others there had to back up and look away, shielding their bodies with their magic, and their eyes with their hooves. But Cadance never took her eyes off it. She stared directly into the brilliant white light of the tiny sun she had created on the surface of the world and she didn't stop. The ground beneath it turned to molten slag, and then into boiling lava. The once-solid stone began to evaporate as a volatile gas around the atomized changeling horn.

The magic shields of the others shimmered and sparked as waves of thermal energy buffeted of them. The gold of Cadance's shoes and crown began to soften and deform. Her mouth went dry. She was screaming. She realized she had been for a while. Even over the thunderous roar of her spell fire. She poured a final wave of a world-ending amount of magical energy into the queens horn. She ripped apart the very atoms of it, dissociating them into their elementary particles, unable to prevent them from escaping at last as photons. The entire region was bathed in the light of a second sunrise.


When the fires of Ragnarök had at last died down, Shining hazarded to look at his wife. She looked back at him from under her half-melted crown. Tears streamed down her cheeks, fell to the glowing ground, and flash-boiled into steam. She growled through her clenched teeth. "Never again!" She stepped out of her shoes, fused to the stone, and ran around the glowing crater to hug Shining.

"Never again," he whispered as he hugged her back. She bawled into the fur of his chest while he held her. Shining sighed.

Ah, dames. Sometimes they just need to let it all out. And a few buckets later they're right as rain.

Cadance looked up at him with puffy red eyes. "Can we please go home now?"

"Yes. Let's," he replied. Cadance took Flurry back from Celestia and headed back towards the outskirts of the wasteland, where Celestia's summoned chariots would be arriving soon to bring them back to Equestria.

"And the others?" Twilight asked Celestia and Luna.

Luna answered, "Discord offered to bring Starlight Glimmer and everypony else to her Sunset Festival in her old town. Celestia and I waited behind to begin diplomatic relations with the new changeling king."

Celestia added, "And to wait for the return of you and Shining, of course."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you come after us?" she asked.

"We were looking after Cadance and Flurry," Celestia said. "We couldn't just abandon them, here, in this strange place. And besides..." Celestia trailed off again, looking at the smoldering crater in the ground. "Even we were not foolhardy enough to come between Shining and the queen."

Twilight frowned. "Don't tell me you condone this."

Celestia pursed her lips. "In an ideal world, no. No creature should have to die. But some times, some creatures are unable or unwilling to listen to reason." She looked at the departing couple. "Had things gone differently, I myself would have struck down the queen on the day of their wedding. We ponies have the luxury of living in a society of laws and rules. But there are some laws that are older than even my rule. Unbreakable laws as old as the sky and stone, birds and beasts. The law of the jungle. Shining Armor claimed the ancient right of a husband and a father to protect his family from a monster. It could be argued that as a mother, Chrysalis was doing the same. But the jungle cares not for the righteous. In the jungle, might makes right. And make no mistake, Twilight..." 

"...it's a jungle out there."

> High Hopes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the grand hall of the Ponyville crystal castle, Princess Twilight Sparkle was the master of ceremonies, presiding over the awards to be given to the unlikely heroes of Equestria. "Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord were brave in the face of danger. Resourceful when things got challenging. And proved that the bonds of friendship, no matter how unlikely, are stronger than any adversity. By stopping Queen Chrysalis, now only did they save Equestria, they set the changelings free from her reign!"

Princess Celestia stepped forward. "And that's why we are proud and honored to give them the Equestrian Pink Hearts of Courage!" Princess Luna had the silent task of placing the medals around each of the recipient's necks with varying degrees of difficulty for the different creatures.

Once they were all on, Twilight concluded the ceremony. "We are so proud of you all!" The crowd cheered and the reception music began to play. Food and drink were had by all that would have it. Many did not partake, as they were reformed changelings. The new strategy to passively feed on the latent love of the creatures around them was proving to be every bit as effective as taking it by force, without any of the risk. It would have been a sumptuous banquet even without the alicorn of love radiating the emotion into the very same room.

Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor were in attendance for the ceremony. Flurry Heart was back in the Crystal Empire, in the exceptionally-capable hooves of Cherub Whine and her cadre of elite nannies. Cadance and Shining loved Flurry, but were happy to have a short break from her to attend the ceremony.

It was the first time Twilight had seen either of them since the reformation of the changeling hive. Shining looked... happy. Happier than she had seen him in a long time. He approached Thorax. Thorax tried not to appear nervous, but was pensive all the same before the former Captain. 

Shining extended his hoof. "I didn't think I would ever find myself thanking a changeling, but... thank you, all of you, for saving my family." Thorax extended his hoof and shook his. Shining took him aside. "I know our first meeting was..." Shining chuckled, "less than cordial. But I am a stallion of my word. And I meant it when I said that trust is earned. And I would say you have earned mine."

"Thank you," Thorax said with a polite nod. "For your trust, and for... freeing us from being in Chrysalis's thrall. But..." Thorax trailed off, trying to find a diplomatic way to say it. "When you- when she... died, we all felt it." Shining's polite smile shifted into a neutral expression and he pursed his lips into a thin line. "Not that any of us blame you for that," Thorax added. "She was angry, and hateful, and cruel, but-"

"But now she's dead," Shining said, grabbing a glass of Champaign and toasted to Thorax. "Long live the king."

Thorax did not share in the toast, not the least of reasons being that he didn't drink. "But..." he continued, "she was still our mother."

"..."

"..."

Shining drank his glass of Champaign. "I can tell from your tone that you're expecting me to apologize."

"No, I shouldn't expect that you would," Thorax said.

"I did what I had to for the sake of my family," Shining said.

"So did she," Thorax countered. "Fault her methods if you must, but she did care for us. I'm just asking that you understand why she did what she did."

Shining turned and looked out the window for a moment before looking back at him. "I do," he replied. He could see the conflicted emotions in Thorax's eyes. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that it had to happen."

"So am I," Thorax agreed. "I suppose that will have to do."

~

Twilight Sparkle finished congratulating Starlight on her graduation, Princess Celestia strode across the main room to take a seat at Cadance's table. "Exciting day, isn't it?" she asked her.

"Exciting is subjective," Cadance mused. "It's been an exciting few years."

"Quite right," Celestia agreed. "Still, it's a break from parenting," she added, remarking on Flurry Heart's absence. "I hope she isn't still being too much for you."

"Oh, not at all," Cadance said with a smile. "Ever since the Crystalling she's been quite manageable."

"I assume we have Ms. Whine to thank for that," Celestia teased.

"Oh yes," Cadance sighed.

Celestia pursed her lips. "I... hope Flurry's challenges haven't dissuaded you two from having more foals."

Cadance blushed. "We're certainly trying."

"... But?" Celestia pressed.

"But," Cadance motioned to her slim, very not-pregnant belly. "And I know it's not Shining. He has a very high sperm count."

"Oh?"

"We had a count done when we were having trouble conceiving Flurry. Plus..." Cadance looked around them to check if anypony could hear them before she whispered, "I have to chew before I swallow."

Celestia chortled, but her levity quickly passed. "So if you know it's not him, you think it's you?" she asked.

Cadance shrugged. "I don't know. I guess."

"Well you know, I am a doctor," Celestia said.

"And a dentist, and a surgeon and every other possible degree from your school," Cadance droned. "It's a wonder what somepony can accomplish over a millennium."

"Well, let's take a look," Celestia suggested, leading Cadance out of the main room. 

They walked down the hallway until they came to one of Twilight's many, many studies. She directed Cadance to lay down on one of the couches. Using her magic, Celestia scanned Cadance's abdomen.

Laying where she was, Cadance could not see what exactly Celestia was doing. She could only watch the intent expression on her face as she worked. "So, do you see anything?" Celestia didn't respond. Normally no news was good news. But Celestia looked worried. And that made Cadance worried. A tear rolled down Celestia's cheek. It was never a good sign when the doctor starts to cry. "Auntie!?"

Celestia blinked back any more tears and sniffled until she cleared her throat and regained her composure.

"Your... womb has ablation scarring," Celestia reported, still looking at Cadance's belly, unable to meet her eyes. "From Flurry Heart's magical fits during pregnancy. The lining of your uterus is... destroyed."

"Oh. Well that explains the heartburn all those weeks," Cadance said. "So how long until it... you know, gets better?" she asked.

Celestia looked at her, and could not stop herself from crying now. "I'm so sorry."

The realization dawned on Cadance and she covered her mouth with her hooves before she too, wept. "I need to see Shining," she said.

"Stay here, I'll bring him," Celestia said. Her horn glowed. In a flash of light Shining Armor vanished from the main hall and appeared beside Cadance. His brief confusion evaporated in an instant when he saw his weeping wife.

"Cadance? Cadance, what's wrong!?" he cried as he knelt beside the couch to hold her in his hooves.

Cadance told him. He looked at Celestia who only nodded in confirmation. He looked back at his wife. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? What can anyone say to someone who just found out they'll never be able to have children again? Celestia herself had no answer. She knew the pain all too well. Shining just held his wife in his hooves as she cried. Celestia left them to console each other in their grief.





Celestia's disappointment was immeasurable. She had such high hopes. She had been so, so close to finally completing a millennium of work, only to have the ground fall out from under her hooves at the finish line. But Celestia made a very clear distinction between being disappointed and being discouraged. This was a setback, yes. Devastating though it may be, 'surrender' was not in the princess's vocabulary. And she always had a backup plan.

Under the cover of darkness, the princess, in concealing, plain dress, knocked on the door of a familiar Canterlot home. A familiar stallion opened the door. Even under the hood, he could recognize Princess Celestia. From a tiny foal to a spry colt to middle-aged stallion, the four words she said to him never ceased to terrify him, "We need to talk."

Night Light bowed and moved aside to invite her in. 

"Dear, who is it?" Twilight Velvet called from the other room. She walked in as Celestia shed her cloak. "You're Majesty!" Velvet quickly curtsied. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit this late evening?"

"I'm afraid there has been a development," Celestia began. "While Cadance was pregnant with Flurry Heart, the foal's magical outbursts during the pregnancy irreparably scarred the lining of her uterus. I'm afraid she will never be able to have another foal."

"Oh my goodness! That's awful!" Velvet cried.

"Poor Cadance!" Night said. "We should do something for her."

"Indeed, there is something you can do," Celestia said to Night Light. "As you can imagine, this throws quite the wrench in our plans. With Cadance out of the picture, I'll need you to give me another foal."  

"There's no way," Velvet said. "I'm post-menopausal. I haven't gone into estrus for a couple years now."

"Not with you, I'm afraid," Celestia said. "With Twilight."

Night Light clenched his eyes. The burden of his evening with Cadance still weighed heavy on his conscience. He was assuaged only by the fact that Cadance didn't know that he was her father. But Twilight was completely different. "Please don't ask this of me!"

"There is no joy in me asking this of you, Night," Celestia said. "But I am running out of options. At least with you I know you have no problem with... keeping it in the family." She cut a look at the mare sitting beside him, his wife, and mother of his three foals, his sister.

"That is different and you damn well know it!" he snapped. "Velvet and I were unaware. Shining and Cadance are unaware. How can you possibly expect me to- to do that with Twilight!?"

"The 'how' does not concern me, Night," Celestia said flatly. "My mission has always been the 'why'." She reached into her bag and produced an envelope. She passed it across the coffee table to them. Velvet opened it. "Five tickets for a zeppelin cruise," Celestia said. "For the two of you, Twilight, and of course Shining and Cadance to have the whole family for a vacation cruise. You can tell them that you won them in a contest, or something. And don't worry about Flurry. Foals fly free. Split between two rooms, Twilight just happens to have to share a room with you. Velvet goes off look after Flurry while Shining and Cadance do some cruise activity. Leaving just you and Twilight alone in the cabin. And, oh, what's this? A mini-bar? A few drinks later, the inhibitions of a lonely young mare get lowered-"

"I REFUSE!" Night Light shouted. "How dare you suggest that I date-rape my own daughter!?" 

"Now now," Celestia chided. "There is no call for such strong words. I'm not saying you have to do it in any such way. You're a resourceful stallion, Lieutenant Light, I'm sure you can find a way to do this that won't compromise your morals. After all, it's not unprecedented for a mare to be attracted to her father. She might not need much convincing at all." 

"Absolutely not! This is outrageous!" He yelled.

Celestia remained calm. She simply picked up the envelope of tickets. "Very well. As I have always said, I've never made anypony act against their will. But just because I'm running out of options doesn't mean I don't still have options. I am a patient mare, after all. In eighteen years, I'll see if Shining has the same resolve as you, regarding his own daughter."

"He wouldn't dare!" Night yelled.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

Night Light was about to shout again but Velvet put her hoof on his shoulder. "Dear, please!" she begged. "Just give me a moment, Your Highness," she said. 

"Certainly," Celestia said as Velvet pulled her husband into the other room.

"Velvet, don't tell me that you're actually on board with this," he said.

"Keep your voice down!" she whispered at him. "Of course I'm not! How could you think that of me!?"

"Then why are we even discussing this?" he asked.

"Because we can agree to go along with it, without actually doing it, you dolt!"

"Well I think she's going to figure it out when Twilight doesn't squeeze out a foal next year," he said.

"That doesn't matter! The point is we can figure this out, but need more time than none at all if you yell at her and flat out refuse here and now! I don't want her getting her claws into Shining and Cadance any more than she already has. And we can protect Twilight."

"How?" he asked.

"I don't know! I need more time! That's the point! Now for fuck's sake, just play along, okay?"

Velvet walked back into the living room with Night Light in tow. They sat down on the couch across from Celestia again. Night Light slowly extended his hoof to the princess. Celestia placed the tickets envelope in his hoof. He went to pull them away, but she held them firm for just a moment.

"Do we have a deal?" Celestia asked.

Night Light let out a defeated sigh. "It would certainly appear so."

Celestia let go of the envelope. "You're quite the negotiator, Velvet. I could use a mare with your talent back in my court."

"I'm flattered," Velvet said.

"The cruise is in two weeks, Lieutenant. That should give you enough time to acquire some comfort with your task. I don't think I need to remind you of the price of failure in this mission. Certainly, we would all prefer to not involve Flurry in this sordid little business, no?"

"No, we certainly don't," he agreed.

"Excellent!" Celestia stood up and donned her cloak once more. "I will await the good news." She turned and left out the front door. Velvet and Night sat there on the couch in silence.

"..."

"Well she has the cloak part," Night said. "Now I'm worried about the dagger."

Velvet looked at the tickets envelope in his hoof. "I think you're holding it."
> Cat's Cradle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Shining Armor asked as he finished packing his bag for his trip to Canterlot from the Crystal Empire.

Princess Cadance sat on her sofa in the Crystal Palace, cradling little Flurry Heart in her hooves. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "I've got Cherry and company."

Shining sat down beside her. "No I mean about..." He put his hoof on her belly. 

She gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Yes. I'll be okay. It's been tough, but I've come to terms with it. And... it just makes me cherish Flurry all the more."

Shining looked as his daughter and smiled. "Yeah. Me too." He leaned down and kissed them both.

"Go on. You don't want to be late for auntie Tia. Remember what happened last time?" she asked.

Shining gulped. "Yeah, she peeled that train car apart like a damn banana."

"Besides," Cadance added, "maybe you can take whatever security measures you help her develop and apply them here."

"I was thinking that, too," he agreed.





Prince Shining Armor's arrival in Canterlot came with the full fanfare of arriving royalty that he could never really get used to. His Canterlot liaison guided him through the familiar hallways of the very castle that he used to patrol. Arriving at the Council Room, his liaison opened the door for him. Inside, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna awaited him, as he expected. Though he was surprised to find the new King Thorax with them as well. Thorax gave a subtle nod to the senior royalty, and he returned it to his junior royal peer and to the princesses, who did the same, like a polite pecking order.

"Excellent, we are all here," Princess Luna said. "King Thorax has been most forthcoming with insights regarding how we might improve the security of Canterlot after the recent incident with his- *ahem* former leadership."

"Is that so?" Shining asked. "Not to look a gift changeling in the mouth, but might I ask, why?" he asked Thorax.

Thorax smiled. "In exchange for changeling magic, and fealty to Equestria as an ally, Princess Celestia has extended us Equestria's umbrella of Elemental protection against foreign threats." 

"Changeling magic?" Shining asked.

Princess Celestia smiled. "As a gift in good faith, King Thorax has given us the broken remains of the former queen's throne. We intend to integrate it into the castle's security."

Shining raised an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, that would be the Dark Stone that soaks up outside magic the same way that changelings soak up love. The stone that only allowed changeling magic to work near it. And your plan... it to have this stuff in Canterlot castle?"

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Well of course it sounds stupid when you say it like that."

"The stone isn't intrinsically a changeling artifact," Thorax explained. "Now that it has been destroyed, the pieces can be re-enchanted to absorb, or allow, whatever type of magic you want."

"Oh. Well that is useful," Shining said.

"We have a couple other innovations as well," Luna said. "But we are eager to hear what ideas you might have."

Shining sighed. "I'm afraid you have the wrong Sparkle. I'm a tactician. If you want a strategist, somepony who knows games and theory, you should really be asking Twilight. And besides, it would be more helpful for me to know exactly what or whom we are trying to defend against. Know thy enemy." 

"Straight from the oldé  texts," Luna commended the former captain. "In this case, the answer is your sister."

Shining balked. "Excuse me!?"

Celestia interjected. "To be clear, there is no specific enemy we are trying to defend against. But Twilight Sparkle will be the one to test whatever defenses we devise. If anypony is capable to test them, it's her. But that is why she isn't here as part of the security development."

Shining Armor sat down at the meeting table and looked over the castle schematics. "If it's Twilight... she'll probably enlist the help of her friends."

"Almost certainly," Celestia agreed.

Shining rubbed his chin with his hoof. "If she and her friends have been able to overcome the threats to Equestria in the past... and we can defend against their strengths, then by extension, the castle will be perfectly defended against anything."

"Very good reasoning," Luna said. "And you know your sister better than anypony else here. Any idea where we should begin?"

Shining grinned. "Yes. I can think of a few ideas... And I know just the thing to entice her."





Twilight Sparkle and Spike arrived at Canterlot Castle a few days later. She was greeted by Celestia, Luna, and Shining in the throne room. Twilight looked at what her brother had on his head. "You're wearing it!?"

Shining grinned. "Look, I know you've always held a grudge because I left home with this." He tapped the toy crown on his head.

"Grudge?" Twilight scoffed. "What grudge!? Just because you've had it way longer that you should have and I never got a chance to win it back."

Celestia explained the reason for Twilight's summons. "With the return of Chrysalis, Princess Luna and I felt it was time to reinforce the castle's defenses. So I asked our old captain of the guard to handle the job."

"I've taken the security here to a whole new level!" Shining said excitedly. "The only thing I need now is somepony to test it."

"You want me to break into Celestia's castle?" Twilight asked.

"Celestia's castle?" Luna asked. "This must be embarrassing for you, Twilight. I'm standing right here."

Shining explained the setup. "If you can get past my defenses, steal the crown, and get out, you'll be Sibling Supreme, forever!"

Twilight practically salivated. "Forever!"

"But if you fail," Shining continued, "I keep the crown."

"Deal!" Twilight agreed, shaking his hoof.

Shining gloated about his work. "I've designed a multi-tier, impenetrable, triple-backed-up line of defense. The castle is surrounded by shards of Queen Chrysalis's throne. It's anti-magic powers are now tuned to stop any creature from using a spell to get inside. You can't fly in either. Giant fans keep any creature from flying too close to the castle. Plus the entrances to the tunnels below the castle have been sealed. So there's no underground access. And even if you could get in, which you can't, I've double the ranks of security. Ponies protect every hallway and door, which can only be opened with royal guard medals. Even if you brought an army, the throne room is the safest spot in Equestria. I rigged a floor tarp to activate at the slightest touch. But say you avoid the floor. Still no luck! Because I've employed nature's alarm system."

Birds perched up on the throne room buttresses began to honk obnoxiously. "Geese?" Spike asked.

"You can hear their honks all the way in Ponyville!" Shining said. One of the ornery birds snapped at him. "Plus they bite."

"Attack geese!?" Twilight blanched. "Shining, this is crazy! You were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, that you never stopped to ask if you should!"

"Crazy like a fox!" he cackled. "Do you want to win back the crown or not?"

Celestia cut in for a moment. "Twilight, I really do appreciate your help with this matter. Though I am curious as to why exactly this toy crown is such a big deal to you. After all, you have a real crown, two actually, and you never even wear them.

Spike just grinned, because he knew exactly what Twilight was going to say, and he said it at the same time as her. "It's the principle of the thing!" Twilight glared at his mockery. 

Luna said, "You have forty eight hours to make any preparations, and attempt to take the crown from the throne room."





Twilight returned to Ponyville to enlist the help of her friends. She gathered them up in her castle map table room and briefed them on everything that Shining had told her, complete with display boards of maps and diagrams.

"So that's what we're up against," Twilight said.

"Of course we'll help," Rainbow Dash said. "But how?"

"We play to our strengths," Twilight said, "and defeat all of the security measures. That way if one of us fails, the others will still have a shot at winning the crown. Pinkie, you distract the guards with a surprise party. Applejack, you buck your way into the sealed tunnels. Rainbow Dash, if anypony can outfly those wind turbines, it's you. Rarity, you sew us guard costumes to sneak past security. And Fluttershy will charm the attack geese in the throne room."

Spike burped up a scroll. "It's from Shining Armor." He started reading, "Dear Twilie, I hope your plan isn't just..." He read the rest of the letter silently. "He guessed your whole plan!"

Twilight balked. "What!?"

"Twilight, darling, nopony knows you better than your own brother," Rarity said. "Of course he would know what to expect of a plan made by you. We have to do the opposite of what he expects! Which is why you can not mastermind the plan. But I CAN!"

"So what's your plan?" Twilight asked.

"My plan is for everypony to do the opposite of what they are good at!" Rarity said. "Applejack will bluff a distraction, Fluttershy will out-fly the fans, Pinkie Pie will pilot an aircraft, and Rainbow Dash will charm information out of ponies. We'll even involve Spike! That's the opposite of what we normally do."

Spike groaned. "It hurts because it's true."

"What about you, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, well I'll still sew the guard costumes, darling. I'm not a savage."

"I don't know," Twilight sighed. "Just because a plan is unexpected, doesn't mean it's good."

"We should just do your plan," Spike suggested.

"What, you mean do exactly what Shining expects?" Twilight asked. "Has everyone been taking stupid pills?"

"Well, he sent us this letter for a reason," he said.

"Yeah, to gloat!" Twilight huffed.

"No! To bluff! By calling out this plan, he knew that you would do anything else! Because if we play to our strengths, like you said, he knows that we can overcome anything! We always have!"

"You really think he's playing 4-D chess by sending this letter?" she asked. Spike nodded. Twilight rubbed her chin. "You know what, Spike? That's just stupid enough to work!"

"It's also clever," Spike said. "It can be clever, too."

Twilight addressed the room, "Alright everypony, we're going to use Spike's stupid idea to use my brilliant plan!"





The next morning, Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash hid in the bushed outside of one of the secret entrances to the underground tunnels. It had been bricked up and was being guarded by-

"Zephyr Breeze?" Rainbow Dash groaned.

Twilight tried to calm her. "Rainbow, I need you to try to get that badge from him, and distract him long enough for Applejack to buck through those bricks to get me into the tunnels."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Applejack said. "Maybe just give him a little-" Applejack stuck her tongue in her cheek and made a suggestive motion with her hoof. 

Rainbow Dash threw up a little bit in her mouth.

"You don't have to do that!" Twilight said. "Go think of something!"

Rainbow Dash slowly walked over to Zephyr Breeze.

"Raaainbow Dash!" Zephyr purred. "I knew that was you! I could smell you from a mile away! You know, nopony's heat smells quite like yours!"

Rainbow sneered. "What!? No! I'm not even in estrus!"

Zephyr leaned closer. "It's okay Rainbow. You can be honest with me. As soon as you went into season, you came a running to the one stallion who you knew could douse the flames of your heat with his baby batter! So what do you say? Ready to go for a ride on this cum canon? It may not be the longest, but it is definitely the thinnest!"

"Oh, jeez, how can I refuse?" Rainbow deadpanned. "Can I at least have a kiss first?"

"Of course! I am a gentlecolt after all!" Zephyr pursed his lips and closed his eyes. Rainbow Dash turned and kicked him in the head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

Twilight ran over "Rainbow! What the shit!?"

Rainbow knelt down and picked the badge off him. "What? I got the badge, and he's distracted."

"You didn't have to kick him!" Twilight said. "He's unconscious!" 

Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, same thing. Getting to kick him was just a bonus." The pegasus took off into the sky. 

Applejack walked over to the brick wall covering the entrance to the tunnels. It was clearly government work, hastily constructed by the lowest bidder. She was able to kick through it and let Twilight in after she had dragged Zephyr into the bushes.

In the sky, Rainbow Dash met up with a big, pink balloon to drop off the badge. It drifted into Canterlot, lowering itself down into the commons just in front of the castle before it exploded. Because as Pinkie Pie would say, "If it doesn't have the capacity to explode, what's the point of building it?" 

In true Pinkie Pie contraption style, from the explosion burst forth a self assembling party complete with presents and a cake. Despite being specifically warned to the contrary, the guards were enthralled by the simple ruse. From one of the presents, Fluttershy stepped out, wearing a replica guard uniform, complete with an authentic guard badge, and walked inside the castle. Normally impersonating a guard would be a felony, but all was fair in love and war games. Once inside, all she needed to do was wait for Twilight to give her the signal.

Meanwhile, Twilight was navigating the tunnels under the castle. The castle was old, and these tunnels were older still. They had been ripped up and rebuilt so many times that they were now a labyrinth of dank darkness, disease, and pony-knows what else. They were perilous enough to be their own deterrent to any would-be spelunking castle infiltrators. Even Twilight was starting to doubt her chances of success.

Her internal navigation system was getting thrown off by the interference from the Dark Stone fragments in the castle above her. Her mental compass was still functional, but it was like the room was slowly spinning back and forth, like the rocking of a ship at sea. It was making her dizzy and disoriented. 

She followed the pipes running along the ceiling of the tunnel. That castle had been constructed before the advent of indoor plumbing. The invention of which had been a boon for the the city's sanitation, providing both a supply of clean water, as well as a sewage system that was a massive improvement to chamber pots.

The installation of the plumbing within Canterlot castle was a feat on a par with the construction of the castle itself. And it was becoming increasingly clear that there was no real 'plan' during the installation. The layout of the pipes and fixtures all screamed improvisation that grated on Twilight's OCD. The largest group of pipes headed deeper into the tunnels for a good ways before making an abrupt turn upwards.

The light from Twilight's horn flickered. The Dark Stone shards was making the otherwise simple light spell require a bit more effort. She peered up, her eyes following the pipes vertically into the gap in the tunnel ceiling. It was just barely wide enough who whoever the pony plumber was that installed them ages ago.

"This must be the main wet wall," Twilight said to herself. She stepped up onto the ledge and grabbed onto the pipes to climb into the narrow gap. It was unbearably cramped. She wondered to herself if this plumbing had been done long enough back when foal labor was still permissible, because she couldn't imagine a grown pony being able to work in such a a small space.

She climbed as fast as she could, knowing that she was racing against the clock. Fluttershy would be waiting for her signal. The castle had a wine cellar, which used to be a dungeon. She needed to get past that. And then there was the service floor with the kitchen, and laundry, and then... Twilight wasn't sure if there was another floor or if that was the ground floor. In either case, it was hard to gauge just how high each floor was inside the wall. "The standard room height, plus the floor, plus the ceiling... and if there's a crawlspace..." Twilight tried to estimate the amounts as she went. "What the hay?"

The narrow space in the wall opened up above her. She stepped up onto a wide ledge. It was still narrow, but it was definitely a passageway. The walls has ancient sconces that were covered in cobwebs. One direction led back down to the sewers, and the other led to a spiral staircase heading upwards.

It was a great deal easier to take the stairs than to keep scaling pipes inside a wall. And she was a slave to her curiosity. The top of the spiral staircase led to a dead end. Just a brick wall with another sconce. Though this one was clear of cobwebs.

"I wonder..." Twilight pulled at the sconce. The wall in front of her opened, leading into a small, dark room, lined with shelves filled with books and all manner of magical artifacts and trinkets. She stepped inside and the wall closed behind her.

In the center of the room was a chest. The magical lock on it was undone. The urgency of Twilight's mission vanished from her mind and her curiosity got the better of her. She opened the chest. Inside was another smaller, locked box. It's magical lock was likewise undone. She opened it and. Inside was two ancient books and a scroll as thick as a bed post. 

She carefully removed the binding strap from the scroll and began to unroll it. It was a map of ponies' names. It was a family tree. In each generation it split and came back on itself. Some had branches that diverged with other ponies' names. But the main trunk of brothers and sisters went all the way down like woven strings. She didn't recognize any of the names until they got to the bottom.

Twilight's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Her heart dropped in her chest and her blood ran cold as ice. She looked around the room in fresh terror, overcome with the feeling of knowing that she was very much someplace that she should not be, and that she needed to get out immediately. She hastily rolled the scroll back up and redid the binding on it before stuffing it into her bag. She closed the box and chest, and walked over to the small door at the far side of the room. She opened it ever so slowly and peered through.

She was in the closet of Princess Celestia's private study. She had only ever seen it once before, but one thing that she recalled was that Celestia study was off limits without Celestia accompanying her, and the very closet that she was standing in was explicitly forbidden. It was obvious now why. Celestia was almost certainly downstairs to oversee the war game. But another thought occurred to Twilight. She was inside Celestia's chambers. The ward should have atomized her, or at the very least, gave her a thorough zap when she tried to cross into the threshold.

"The Dark Stone fragments!" Twilight realized. It was the reason why the magical locks were undone. She tiptoed out of the closet and closed it behind her. She peeked through the door of Celestia's private study into her main chamber. It was likewise vacant. But she could hear a pounding. Like somepony trying to break through the front door from the hallway. It was loud and getting faster. Celestia was coming after her! Twilight's legs locked up under her. Any second now and she would be incinerated for trespassing. But the door never broke. The pounding continued. Twilight realized it was her own heart thundering in her ears.

She stepped forward on shaky hooves, crossing the main room. She reached out to open the front door to get out into the main hallway. She froze at the last second. "Shit!" she cursed under her breath. There was guaranteed to be two guard ponies standing outside her chamber. Twilight couldn't teleport within the castle, and she had to get past them somehow. She walked over the the window and opened it. The ledge outside was narrow, and fans were everywhere. But she could just barely shimmy over to the next room and enter through there. She climbed out and closed the window behind her, taking care to leave no trace of her presence, aside from the absent scroll.

The warding of the other room was gone as well and Twilight was able to open the window and climb inside. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck!" Every instinct inside her was telling her to run, fly, just as fast and as far as she could. She paced in the empty guest room. "Shit! SHIT!" She continued to hyperventilate. "No, stop!" She tried to calm herself, yearning for a paper bag to breathe into. "I- I can't just run away," she realized. Everypony would be worried sick! They'd be looking for me. They'd want to know why!" Twilight sat on the floor and held her head with her hooves. "I- I need a plan! I need time- I need-"

The clock on the wall chimed the hour. "Oh shit! Fluttershy!" Twilight took three deep breaths. "I need to just play along. Finish what I came to do today. And then when I can get Shining and our parents together, I can tell them. But right now I need to get out of here!" 

Twilight walked over to the door of the guest room, and ever so slowly, cracked it open. There weren't any guards posted at the vacant room, but down the hall, there were indeed two outside of Celestia's royal chambers. Twilight focused with all her might, but she couldn't manage an invisibility spell on herself. A distraction would be much simpler. She focused on the banner at the far end of the hall. The corner of it sparked and ignited. Flames started to race up along it. The guards posted at Celestia's door ran over to extinguish it while Twilight ran in the opposite direction.

As Twilight ran through the halls, a million million things ran through her head. Her hooves moved on their own, navigating the familiar halls on their own as her imagination ran wild with the infinite possibilities of what could happen after this day. She all but crashed into Fluttershy outside the throne room.

"Twilight! There you are! I didn't think you were going to make it!"

"I still might not," Twilight gasped.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

Not even remotely.

"I'm fine," Twilight lied.

"Alright, let's do this!" Fluttershy opened the throne room doors and Twilight followed her inside. The geese were alerted to their presence and were about to honk a ruckus, when Fluttershy calmed them. "You've been glaring so hard! Who wants a feather massage?" The geese calmed down and Fluttershy began petting each of them. "Now's your chance, Twilight! All you have to do is fly over the trap door and get the crown."

"Not exactly," Shining Armor said as he walked out from behind the throne, followed by Celestia and Luna. "I've got to admit, Twilie, it was unexpected for you to do everything exactly how I thought you would. But you should know by now, there's no way to beat the true Sibling Supreme!"

"I am sorry, Twilight," Celestia said. "But it looks as though Shining Armor has truly won the crown."

"Okay, cool," Twilight said as calmly as she could. "Good game. No rematch."

"Wait, that's it?" Shining asked. I thought you would throw a hissy fit when I won, like when we were younger."

There was so much Twilight needed to tell Shining. But she couldn't do it here. Not now. She just tried to say whatever she could to remover herself from the room as quickly as possible.  "Oh, no. It's just that I realized that I don't need a stupid tin foil crown, I have a real one. I'm an alicorn princess and you're a prince by marriage. I cared so much about this stuff as a filly. I guess it took re-experiencing it as an adult to make me realize how trivial the whole thing is."

"You know what? You're right," Shining agreed. "Here, why don't you take this anyway?" He said, giving her the crown.

"What, you mean now that we've decided that it's basically worthless?" she asked. He shrugged. She looked at it. "Actually, I think I know just who would appreciate this. Hey, since we're both in town, why don't we go visit Mom and Dad?" she suggested.

"I'd love to, but I promised Cadance I'd get back to the empire as soon as this was all finished. Flurry is getting to that age where she could be having her first words any day now and I don't want to miss that."

"Right," Twilight sighed. She needed to talk to her parents, but she needed a chance to talk to Shining first. "Well maybe we can all come up to the Empire and visit you, soon."

"Yeah, that'd be great too!" Shining turned to leave out the back to get his things and take the Crystal Express back to the empire. The mission to test the castle defenses was still a success, insofar as they now knew that they worked. 

Twilight and Fluttershy headed back outside to regroup with everypony else. She gave the crown to Spike. "Here you go, Spike! You deserve this!"

Spike was elated. "This means so much to me!"

"I know." Spike walked a little bit taller as they headed back to the Canterlot train station. He was so happy he looked like he was going to burst. Once he was finally far enough away from the dark stone in the castle, he hiccupped and burped up a scroll. 

Twilight picked it up and started reading it. "It's from my parents!" Twilight said. "They won a zeppelin cruise and get to take the whole family!"

"Twilie!" Shining yelled from behind them. "I just got a letter from Mom and Dad-"

"I know! Me too!" Twilight said. "But what about Cadance?"

"She's already on her way here!" he said. "She'll be arriving on the next train. I got her message right after theirs. It was delayed because of the interference from the Dark Stone in the castle. I'm going to meet her at the train station and then we're supposed to all meet at the zeppelin dock in West Canterlot at five!"

Twilight read the rest of her message and then looked up at the city clock tower. "That's soon! We should hurry!" What had been ample time to catch the next departure to Ponyville became a hurried rush to greet the preceding arrival from the Crystal Empire. But they managed to arrive in time to catch their breath and greet Cadance and Flurry.

Shining helped to collect Cadance's bags, letting them wait at the station long enough to see off the rest of Twilight's friends going back to Ponyville.

"Have fun you guys!" Pinkie Pie said as she and the rest of her friends waved from the train window while it pulled away from the station. 

Having Spike with her would have made it challenging enough to get Shining alone. But with Cadance's arrival, there was even less opportunity. Cadance had a right to know about what Twilight had discovered as well. But it would have to wait until after Twilight told Shining and their parents.

Twilight's heart hadn't stopped pounding since she found the scroll. The weight in her bag made her every step frightening, like she was carrying a bomb.

In many ways, it was.





Night Light and Twilight Velvet waited nervously at the zeppelin dock.

"They should be on their way," Velvet said. "Celestia made sure that they would all be in Canterlot today."

"Have you decided what we're going to do?" Night asked her.

"We're going to have a nice, family vacation," Velvet said.

"And...?"

She turned to look at him. "Don't tell me that you're seriously considering going through with Celestia's plan!?"

"Of course not!" he said. "But we need to do something! I can't just not, and say I did. Celestia is no fool, she'll figure it out!"

"I hate this. I hate all of this!" Velvet groaned. "We should never have agreed to this in the first place. I can't believe our parents talked us into this!"

"Vel, we never would have had Shining, or Twilight," Night reminded her. "Do you regret them?"

"No, of course not, but-" she tried to calm herself. "But I hate all these lies and secrets and manipulation."

"..."

"..."

"... What if we told Twilight," Night suggested.

"What!?"

"What if we told Twilight the truth? About everything."

"Do you think she would even believe us? She practically worships the ground Celestia walks on! And you know her, she skeptical of everything. She'd go straight to Celestia to try to confirm it and we'd be fucked! And she'd be-" Velvet's stomach dropped and she felt breathless for a moment. "I don't even want to think about what would happen to Twilight if she tried to interfere!"

"Shit, here they come!" Night said, spotting their approaching children. Velvet took a deep breath and put on a brave face, smiling and waving at the rest of their family walking towards the dock.

"Hey Mom and Dad!" Shining greeted, hugging each of them. Shining held Flurry's basinet while Cadance did the same. 

Velvet hugged Twilight. "Twilight dear, you're shaking. Is everything okay?"

No. Things were not okay. Things were pretty fucking far from okay.

"Everything's fine," Twilight lied. "I'm just excited."

"Me too," Night lied. "I have everypony's tickets. They've already started boarding." He gave everypony their tickets and they made their way across the gangplank. "Don't worry about Flurry," he said. "Babies get on free."

"Oh, gee, I am really looking forward to a relaxing vacation!" Twilight Velvet said, grinning as hard as she could manage.

"Watch out," Night Light whispered to Twilight, "Your mother won't admit it, but when she says relaxing vacation, she means doing something crazy. Last time, she ended up bungie jumping over Luna Bay!"

"What was that, hun?" Velvet asked.

"Nothing, sweetie."

"Oh I can't wait to get on this Zeppelin and fly like a pegasus!" Shining said with genuine excitement. At first it was Cadance, then Twilight, and then Flurry. Each one only made his wing-envy run deeper.

"Really? I remember you getting air sick on Admiral Fairweather's Wide Ride at Pony Island!" Twilight said, trying to give herself some much-needed levity.

"Please!" Shining scoffed. "I grew out of air sickness a long time ago!"

"Oh really?" Cadance asked with a coy grin.

They reached the ticket gate and they each gave the porter their tickets. Spike didn't have a ticket. The porter stopped him. "Where's his ticket?" he asked.

"He's a dragon," Twilight said.

"Yes I can see that."

"Does he look like an adult dragon?" she asked. "Have you ever seen an adult dragon? I have! They're the size of this whole entire zeppelin! The former Dragon Lord is the size of a small mountain!" She pointed at Spike. "Does he even remotely look like a small mountain? Or would it be more accurate to say he looks like a baby dragon?"

The porter was not being paid nearly enough to pick a fight with a princess. He waved them through.

"Wow. You really need this vacation," Spike said.

"Sorry," Twilight apologized. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

Spike and Twilight joined the rest of the family on the deck of the zeppelin bow as the shore ponies released the mooring ropes. The engines engaged and they took off higher into the sky.

Shining Armor went up to the front of the bow where there was nothing in front of his view but the sky above and clouds below. He reared up, spreading his hooves out to either side of him. "I'm flying! I'm Fl-mmffh!" Shining gagged and covered his mouth with his hoof in air sickness.

Twilight rushed over to him. "Hey listen, I know you're totally not airsick right now," she humored him, "So can you help me bring everypony's bags to our rooms while they take the tour?" she asked. He nodded very carefully. "We'll catch up with the rest of you at dinner," she told them. He carried his bag and Twilight carried the others with her magic to the suite.

Inside he dropped off his bag and flopped onto the bed. Twilight put down the other bags and joined him in the bedroom.

"Shining, I need to talk to you!" she said urgently.

"Wha- what about? Twilight, I told you, I'm not airsick!" He sat up. "I just- *urp* it's just a little indigestion." He nudged the trash can a little closer to himself with his leg.

"It's not about that! It's about us!" she said.

Anger supplanted his disgust. "What? Twi, no! Not this again!" he groaned. "Did you not take your medicine this spring? Dammit, I knew I could smell it! You know estrus makes mares crazy! You're not thinking clearly!

Twilight glared at him as she shuffled off her bag. "Do not ever question my clarity of thought!"

"No, I'm sure that you're sure about this, but I already told you-"

"Would you shut up and listen to me!?" Twilight snapped. "This is about us, but this isn't JUST about us!" She fumbled with the clasp on her bag, breaking it with a snap in frustration and tearing it open.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

She pulled the large scroll out of her bag. "I'm talking about THIS! Look at this!"

"O...kay, what is this?" he asked.

Twilight could barely hear her own thoughts over her pounding heart. "THIS is our family tree!" she said, unfurling it across the surface of the bed.

"Oh what now? Are you going to try to tell me that I'm not your brother? That I'm adopted? And that since we're not biologically related it'll be okay?"

Twilight looked at him with wide eyes and just shook her head. Her words trembled along with the rest of her. "Quite the contrary!" She unrolled it all the way to the end, and pointed with her hoof, intensely shivering like she had just been pulled from arctic water. She could no longer disguise her hyperventilating. 
"Shining, our family tree looks like a cat's cradle!"

Shining's eyes grew wider as he looked down along the branches, repeatedly forking and coming back on themselves. His jaw fell open when he saw the most recent entrees at the bottom, names that he recognized. His face turned a white shade of pale. "No- No this- this can't be- This can't be real!"

"I swear on my life this is real!" Twilight said. "I found it in Celestia's private study!"

"How?"

"When I was trying to break into the castle! I accidently found a secret escape tunnel that led back to her private study! And this was in there!"

"But this is impossible! I mean, look-!" Shining pointed at their parents' names. "This would mean that they were brother and sister! How could they not know that!?"

"Dad was adopted, remember!?" Twilight said.

"But what about Cadance!? She older than me and-"

"Cadance was adopted by Celestia!" she said.

"And Celestia obviously knew!" he yelled, pointing angrily at the scroll. "She's the one that's been keeping track of it! But how could Mom not know about it!?" Shining asked. "It's not like you can just forget about having a foal!"

Something broke inside Twilight's brain. "Oh fuck. You're right! How could she not!? She must have! Gram and Grandpa must have known about Mom and Dad, too!" 

"And if Mom and Dad are-" Shining started to turn green again. "Then that means you- and me and Cadance- and Flurry are-"

"Products of incest," she finished. Shining grabbed the trash can and retched. Twilight didn't know whether to feel insulted, or similarly ill. For as long as she could remember, she had wanted a foal with her brother, Shining. But being faced with the stark reality of it pulled at deep down primal stings of disgust.

Shining vomited until there was nothing left. Not even the air as he dry heaved into the pail. Twilight passed him the box of tissues from the nightstand.

He took a few and wiped his mouth until it was clean enough. He chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" Twilight asked.

He shook his head and chuckled again. "I don't know, Twi. I think at this point if I don't laugh, I'm gonna cry." He chuckled again, even as he cried anyway. "The irony... All this time I judged you for being attracted to me. I tried to tell you how bad it was. I beat myself up for years in guilt, feeling like a degenerate pervert... and a hypocrite. I pushed you away! I thought I was doing what was right-" Shining sucked in a breath and bawled out. "And this whole time- I've been fucking my sister, Cadance. Married her. Had a foal with her!" He looked at her again. "I love you!"

"Oh, Shining! I love you too!" She turned his to face her and leaned in to kiss him. "Oh, blagh-!" Twilight gagged. "Go rinse your mouth real quick!"

Shining laughed through his tears and covered his mouth with hoof. "Yeah, sorry. I'll be right back." He dipped into the bathroom to use some mint mouthwash while Twilight rolled the scroll back up. He came back and sat back on the bed next to her. 

"We never seem to catch a break do we?" She asked, leaning against his shoulder.

"To be fair, I'm a prince and you're a princess," he said. 

"I meant we, you and I," she said. "I was so- damn envious of your fairy tale wedding," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean with the invasion, mind rape, and literal rape?"

"Not that part, obviously," Twilight huffed. "But just seeing you up there at the altar, marrying... not me."

"Twi-"

"And then when you announced that you were having a baby-"

"I remember," Shining said. "I could tell how much that hurt you. Nopony else could see it, but I could tell."

"I'm not angry about Flurry. She's wonderful and I love her." Twilight couldn't keep back her tears. "But Shining, all I've ever wanted was to have a foal with you!" He held her closer.

"I know," he said.

"Shining, if things were different, would you have married me? Would you have had a foal with me?" She looked up at him.

Shining wiped her tears away with his hoof and kissed her. "In a heartbeat."

She looked over at the scroll in her bag on the floor. "I'd say things are pretty damn different now."

Shining's eyes followed hers and he sighed, "I can't argue with that."

"Shining?" Her hoof turned his cheek to look back at her. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered. Twilight wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him with her as she laid down onto the bed and she kissed him again. "Twi- Are you sure about this? What are we going to tell Mom and Dad? Or Cadance?"

"I don't know," Twilight said. "Shining, I don't know anything about what's going to happen after today, and I'm terrified. All I know is that I love you and I'm sure that I want this! I've never been so sure about anything before in my whole life! Please!"

Shining Armor closed his eyes and leaned down to meet her trembling lips with his own. He kissed his sister, Twilight Sparkle. He loved her. He was in love with her. He always had been. The very notion of it was a fantasy that he had kept buried deep down in a place that he never wanted to admit to, least of all to himself. He had mentally flagellated himself for years over it, drove himself to mental sickness in self-disgusted shame. He had hated himself for so long... just for loving somepony else. Just to kiss her, and be able to allow himself to enjoy it.

Twilight moaned into his kiss and she felt the bulge in his sheath grow against her belly. Shining moaned as well. His erection grew so hard and so fast that it hurt. It was like he was sixteen again, and he had just taken a Neighagra tablet. Like he had just taken a whole bottle of them.

When he had said 'no' to Twilight for the first time years ago, he thought that he was strong. He had been able to stand up to her, and say no. He thought that would assuage his guilt, and be true to his love for his wife. He thought that when he exacted his revenge on Queen Chrysalis, that he would be rid of her power over him. No longer would his dreams be haunted with fear and doubt.

Twilight never broke the kiss as her horn glowed, guiding his penis downward between her legs. She would have had an easier time trying to bend a titanium beam. She brought her legs back and arched her back as best as she could to accommodate him. She was very, very ready for him. Even if he could have taken it slowly, she wouldn't have wanted him to anyway. The moment she had him lined up, he slid into her, and her legs wrapped around him to pulled her back against him even harder.

Shining thought he was free after killing Chrysalis. But he was ever still a slave, shackled by his shame. Captive to his own conscience, brutally beating him with every waking moment that he denied his true self, stabbing pain into his soul at entertaining the very thought of being in love with Twilight. Shining Armor had lived in a prison of fear. He was trapped inside a shell, an imposter, walking around in his fur, calling himself 'Shining Armor'. Calling himself a 'good pony'.

Shining's penis filled her perfectly, like lock and key, two perfect halves of an estranged whole. Her warm, silken embrace on his stallionhood was wonderful. As his hips moved and he slid in and out of her, it felt familiar. Not just in the basic, tactile sense, but emotionally. It was returning home after a long journey abroad.

Maybe it was wrong, but it felt so right. Maybe the imposter was right. Maybe that mask that he wore, that pony he pretended to be, was a good pony. A better pony than he was. Maybe Shining Armor, the real Shining Armor, was not a good pony. Maybe. He didn't know for sure. All he knew was that he loved Twilight. Of this, he had no doubt.

Their labored breathing came in hot blasts from their nostrils against each other's cheeks. Shining broke the kiss to pant out the only words that mattered in that moment. "I love you, Twilight. I'm sorry-" he cried. "I'm sorry I was too afraid to admit it before."

"It's okay. You're here, now. That's all that matters!" Twilight said. "This is all I've ever wanted! I love you, too-" she said between sobs, "Shining! Shining I'm-!" She didn't even have to say it. He could tell. He felt his sister cumming underneath him. It seemed almost effortless. He didn't need any special angle or technique. He didn't need to do it particularly fast, or hard. It just needed to be him. Twilight's tears of joy ran freely down her cheeks, and his dripped from his chin, dotting her cheeks, before he kissed her again.

Shining tried to hold off as long as he could. He didn't want this to ever end. But he could feel the point of no return coming on. And he had denied her this for long enough. He had denied himself for longer. To finally surrender to his desire after so many years was cathartic beyond words.

"Twi-" She cut him off, pulling his face in to kiss him as her legs wrapped tightly around his hips, keeping him locked as deep into her as he could go. She felt his whole shaft twitched and throbbed, pumping load after load of his potent seed deep inside her. His wide flare giving no exit as her legs desperately gripped him harder, pushing him in just a bit more, forcing his cum into her fertile womb. Shining saw stars. It was like he had just been concussed, and the peripheries of his vison closed in on him into a darkened tunnel. It felt like his consciousness had ascended above and beyond this crude, mortal plane, into a realm beyond comprehension. It was as close as a pony could get to heaven while his heart was still beating.

Shining gasped like a fish out of water and his vision returned to him. The darkness of the tunnel rushed away and he could see what was at the end. His eyes blinked and focused. His vision was filled with the face of Twilight. Was this his Elysium?

"Hey," Twilight whispered. "Welcome back." Shining's chest heaved as he panted. He felt like he has just sprinted to Canterlot all the way from the Crystal Empire. He realized he was laying on top of her. He was no small mass of stallion muscle, and he tried to lift himself up. "It's okay," she cooed. Her hooves held him still where he was. He was heavy on top of her, and it made it hard for her to breathe, but she didn't want him to go anywhere but where he was. She didn't want this moment to end. Not ever. Not yet.

"Twi-"

"Shhh, just stay with me a little longer," she begged, "Please."

"Twi-"

Her hooves and legs held him tighter, like he might be pulled away from her at any moment, like he was her only rock keeping her from being flung into the cold void of space. "Please! I don't want this to be the end!"

"This isn't the end," Shining said, hugging her back.

"You promise!?"

"I promise."

"Shining, I'm so scared!" she cried. "All those other times, when you told me it was the last time-"

"I'm sorry."

"What if this is it? What if this is really it!?" she cried.

"I won't let it be," he vowed. "I swear it, Twilight. I will never let anything come between us again. Especially not my fear." He kissed her again, and pulled himself out of her, and her grip. He flopped onto the bed beside her and rested for a moment while his penis retreated beck into his sheath. "I love you." He grinned. "It never stops feeling good to finally say it. Like, really say it, and mean it."

"Oh? Did you not mean it before?" Twilight asked, slowly rolling onto her side.

"I mean- being honest with myself about it."

"So what now?" she asked.

"I don't know what will happen next," he said. "But I'm sure about us." He said, rolling to face her and give her another kiss.

The door to the suite opened. "Shining, are you feeling better, dear?" Velvet called into the suite. Twilight dove under the covers and Shining scrambled out of the bed just before Velvet reached the bedroom. "Oh, there you are," she said as she saw him. Then the smell hit her nose, stopping her in her tracks. She looked past him at the lump in the bed. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh uh, nothing," Shining said.

"Nothing? Shining, this room reeks!" she scoffed. "Don't act like I don't know what sex smells like."

"Oh, well, um- Cadance wasn't feeling well, er, she was, and we- um-"

Night Light stepped into the room behind Velvet. "We'd be inclined to believe you if she and Spike weren't with Flurry, playing with the other foals right now."

Velvet's magic grabbed the corner of the blanket and peeled it back, revealing Twilight, smiling sheepishly. "Hi, Mom."

"I think we all need to have a talk," Velvet said.

Twilight's smile vanished. "Funny. I was thinking something similar." She sat up and grabbed her bag from the floor and pulled out the scroll, and placing it on the (clean part) or the bed.

Velvet did a double take. Her face turned even whiter than Shining's and Twilight hadn't even unrolled it.

"Twilight, where did you get THAT THING!?" She said in equal parts scolding and abject horror.

"Recognize it?" Twilight asked. "I thought you might." She unrolled it to the end and pointed at their names, and their connections. "I take it you are aware of this!?"

Velvets eyes never left Twilights. She didn't need to look at the scroll. She knew full well what it said.

"Answer me! Where did you get this!?" Velvet demanded.

"You know where."

"You stole it?"

"I did."

"Twilight Eventide Sparkle, what have you done!?" Velvet's eyes watered and her mouth gaped like she was about to cry out loud, but no other sound came. 

Night Light leaned over the scroll. It was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes, but from Velvet's past descriptions, he knew what it was. The true, complete Sparkle family tree. "You stole this from Celestia!?"

"You have no idea what you've done!" Velvet cried. 

"When were you going to tell me!?" Twilight demanded. "Or Shining, or Cadance for that matter!?"

"You were never meant to know!" Velvet said. "Cadance was supposed to be the end of it!"

"Mom," Shining cut in, "Is Cadance my sister!?" he asked. Velvet couldn't bear to look at him.

"She is," Night Light said.

"And you two!?" Twilight asked. "You're siblings!?"

"We are," Night confirmed.

Twilight's face twisted up in confusion. "But- But WHY!?" she asked. "Why do this!?"

Velvet caught her breath and composed herself, looking at Twilight with equal confusion. "Do you not know?" she asked. "Did you not read the other books in the trunk?"

"No. Sorry. This one rather caught my eye and I hadn't the time to stick around and read the other two tomes," Twilight deadpanned.

"Twilight, our whole family lineage has been to bring about the resurrection of the Alicorn race!" Velvet explained. "Celestia has been working on it for centuries. You, Cadance, Flurry Heart, you're all the results of it!"

"Where's my wings?" Shining whined.

"It's not a precise science," Velvet said. "But this was supposed to be it, the end of the lies and deceit! Once Cadance had an alicorn colt-"

"She can't," Shining interrupted.

"We know," Night said.

"Wait, what?" Twilight asked.

"Flurry's magical outbursts fried Cadance's womb," Shining said. "She can't have any more foals."

"And I'm too old to have any more foals." Velvet explained. "So Celestia's plan changed. It was down to Twilight to have an alicorn colt, but..."

"But unlike Cadance, you already knew that Shining was your brother," Night Light said. "So Celestia sent us on this cruise for me to..." he made an implying motion with his hoof. "... with you. But it looks like somepony beat me to it. Who would have guessed that you would have been attracted to each other even though you knew you were related?"

"I knew," Velvet said. Everypony looked at her with surprise. "Well, I didn't know for sure, but I strongly suspected."

"Dad, were you really going to try to- fuck me?" Twilight asked.

"Of course not!" Night said. "But it was what Celestia wanted me to do, because I was aware of the plan and Shining didn't need to be."

"You were both aware of the plan, and you just went along with it?" Twilight asked. "Why?"

"At the time it seemed like we had a choice," Velvet said. "But looking back now, we never really did. If Night didn't agree to this, she would have gone after Shining and Flurry."

"She wouldn't dare!" Shining growled.

"I assure you, she would."

Twilight put her hoof on her belly. "So what if I do have a colt? Is that it? Will she leave us alone?" 

"Not exactly," Night said.

"An alicorn colt would be Celestia's prize in all this," Velvet said. "Cadance's, yours or Flurry's, it makes no difference to her. She would take him for herself."

"Over my dead body!" Twilight snapped.

"And mine!" Shining said, moving to her side.

"I fear that will not be an obstacle to her," Velvet said.

"So what do we do now?" Shining asked.

"Well, we could play along," Velvet suggested. "We could pretend that- this..." Velvet waved her hoof at the sticky mess between Twilight thighs, "is Night Light's doing, as Celestia wanted." 

"And then what?" Twilight asked. "Just wait for Celestia to come and claim my foal for herself!?"

"I'm just trying to buy us some time," Velvet said. "But once she finds out that you stole her scroll... I don't know how she's going to react. But it almost certainly is not going to be well." 

"Twilight, come back to the Crystal Empire with me, we can protect you," Cadance said from the doorway.

"Cadance!?" Shining yelped. "How long how you been standing there?"

"Sorry, one of the other foals threw up in the ball pit so we had to leave early." 

"How much of all this did you hear?" Shining asked.

"Enough."

"I'm sorry!" Shining apologized.

"Shining, I'm the Princess of Love, I can tell when it's going to somepony else."

"I'm sorry!" Twilight apologized next.

"Don't you start now," Cadance said. "A room full of 'sorry' isn't going to fix this. And if anypony should be sorry, it's Tia. Come back to the Crystal Empire with me and Shining. We can protect you."

"No, Twilight," Velvet disagreed. "If you're going to openly defy Celestia, she can't know where you are. Not even the Crystal Empire."

Shining groaned. "Mom's right. Celestia has agents everywhere. We need to disappear!" 

"We!?" Twilight asked.

"I'm can't let you go on the run all alone," he said.

"What about Cadance and Flurry?" Twilight asked, looking at them.

"I'm of no use to her program anymore," Cadance said. "And without Shining, she has no need to go after Flurry. There would be no reason for her to go to civil war over her."

"Civil war!?" Twilight asked.

Cadance's expression became deadly serious. "If Celestia tries to come after my daughter, that is exactly what she will get."

"What if we died?" Twilight said. Everypony looked at her like she was crazy. "I mean, what if we faked our deaths? Then Celestia wouldn't come after us, and she would have no reason to go after Flurry."

"Maybe, but how though?" Night asked. "Like, she's going to want to see some proof. In what way could you do that that won't leave a body for her to expect?"

Twilight say and thought for a bit, rubbing her chin. She looked at the far wall of the cabin, and the ceiling. She turned in place all around the room. "What about this thing?" she asked.

"What?" Night asked.

"This zeppelin?" Twilight suggested. "The twisted burning wreckage of a zeppelin crash wouldn't leave much evidence behind."

"You're going to crash an entire cruise zeppelin just to fake your own death?" Velvet asked.

"Under the circumstances, I'd say is proportionate to what's at stake," Twilight said.

"I can't argue that," Velvet conceded. 

"Okay, but how?" Night asked.

"Well the first cruise stop is Manehattan," Twilight said, looking at the schedule. "Once everypony disembarks, Shining will pretend to get stupid drunk, and demand to fly the zeppelin."

"Just pretend, huh?" Shining asked in disappointment. "Fine."

Twilight continued, "I'll get on board to try to stop him, and it will fly out over the harbor and explode. Lots of witnesses to say we were on board, and saw it explode. Meanwhile, I'll have teleported us both to safety."

"And then?" Night asked.

"And then-"

"Actually, don't tell us," Velvet said.

"What? Why? I need to know," Night said.

"What if Celestia suspects a ruse?" Velvet said. "We have to think two steps ahead of her. What if she interrogates us?"

"We'll deny knowing anything," Night said.

"What if she doesn't ask nicely?"

"Are you suggesting that she would torture us?" he asked.

"I don't know for sure that she wouldn't."

"Come with me to the Empire!" Cadance said. "I'll protect you both."

"No, if we flee Canterlot, then she'll definitely know something is up," Velvet said.

"So that's it then?" Shining asked. "We just hide forever?"

"No. We just hide for now," Twilight said.

"And then?" Shining asked.

Twilight looked at everypony in the room, and then back at Shining. "I can't tell you here."

Twilight and Shining hugged their parents, and sister farewell. Shining held Flurry Heart and kissed her on the cheek. "I hope you remember me in a good way," he whispered as he held her close. She nuzzled into his mane. "I'll come back to you. I promise."





Once everypony has disembarked the zeppelin at the Manehattan dock, Shining made a ruckus and 'accidentally' spilled his cider all over himself. "I WANNA FLY THE ZEPPELIN!" He yelled as he ran back up the gangplank. At the top, he broke the plank with his magic and severed the mooring ropes.

"Shining No! You're drunk!" Twilight yelled, loudly, and flew onto the zeppelin with him as he ran inside the wheelhouse. The Zeppelin listed away from the dock and drifted out over the harbor as a crowd of onlookers watched a future royal-gossip headline about to unfold.

The entire zeppelin exploded in a massive fireball, scattering bits of burning debris in all directions, but all of it landing harmlessly in the open water.

There was no sign of Princess Twilight Sparkle, or Prince Shining Armor. After a search of the water, they were both declared dead. It was a national tragedy that left all of Equestria in mourning.





A stallion sat at the tiny table in his tiny kitchenette in his tiny Manehattan apartment. Looking out the tiny window, he had a great view of the train track that went right past the apartment. But just beyond the train track, under the bridge beyond it, through the narrow alley between the two buildings that blocked most of the sunlight, he could see a glint of the blue water of the harbor where the crash had happened. That was what made the apartment advertised as 'harbor view'. It mattered little, as it was all he could afford on his salary as a lowly dock worker. 

His fur was dark grey, and his close-cropped mane and tail were mud brown. It was matched by the cabbie hat he always wore. He didn't used to be a 'hat' stallion, but it was growing on him. Any passer-by wouldn't even think there was a horn under it. Whatever his cutie mark was, it was hidden in the workpants he always wore.

The mare standing at the stove had dark burgundy fur, with a jet-black mane and tail. She always had it styled up into a beehive bun big enough to hide a horn inside. And she always wore a dress, even at home, making dinner. Sometimes it was something simple, but sometimes it was more elegant. But it always had slack in the back to conceal her wings and cutie mark under it. 

"You want me to help?" the stallion offered.

"No, I've got it," she said. "You've been at work all day."

"Yeah, but you don't need to keep being on your hooves," he insisted, taking over cooking for her. "Give your back a rest." She sat down at the tiny kitchen table. He looked back over his shoulder at her. "You always look great in that dress," he said.

"Yeah, well it needs to get let out again," she said, feeling the tightness of the dress around her gravid waist.

He finished cooking and filled two bowls, giving her extra. "After all, you're eating for two now." The name on his work badge said Brawn Dough, but she never called him that.

"Thanks, Shining."

"You're welcome, Twilie."




> Everything's Fine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The memorial service was held in Canterlot a short while after the search efforts were called off in Manehattan Harbor. Everypony was there. And that was no exaggeration. The entirety of the Royal Guard marched by for the fallen Captain, Shining Armor. Everypony that Twilight Sparkle had ever met was there. Creatures of all walks and races came. Every life that she had touched, even briefly. For three days and nights, the precession of those coming to pay their respects was endless. The loss of the two of them left a hole in the nation that could never really heal.

Equestria mourned for the loss of Princess Twilight Sparkle. The Element of Magic, and the Princess of Friendship. The Crystal Empire mourned for the loss of Prince Shining Armor. Husband to the Princess of Love, Cadance, and father to the young filly, Princess Flurry Heart. Even if, deep down, she knew better, Cadance's tears were real when she had to sleep alone in her much-too-large royal bed.

Twilight's friends mourned in Ponyville. Her castle was now a mausoleum. A cenotaph to a Princess lost without even a body to bury. Her throne sat empty in the castle's map room. Twilight's friends had been all but certain that the alicorn would have outlived them all. They were shaken to their very cores.

For all that she had joked about wanting Twilight's throne, Starlight Glimmer had wanted to earn it. Not like this. In time she'd return to her old village with her marefriend, Trixie. Only Spike remained behind, declining even Rarity's invitation to cohabitate with her. It was not something he wanted out of pity. Besides, the castle needed guarding. The books of the library still needed dusting. After all, a horde of knowledge was still a horde, and he was, irrevocably, a dragon.

For days after the zeppelin disaster, Princess Celestia did not hold court. The last vestiges of her grand plan lay shredded apart. So much of her work was gone in a single, horrific instant. Her hope hung by a single, precarious thread. Her plan, her backup plan, and her backup backup plan were all in ruins. She was out of options. 

And time marched ever onward. Sunrise to sunset. The days turned to weeks. The weeks stretched into months. Ponies from top to bottom all did what they could to move on with their lives. Twilight's friends went back to their day jobs, and the princesses resumed holding court.





Princess Celestia sat in her private study, mourning a loss too devastating for anypony else to even fathom. "How had it come to this?" she asked herself. She had been so careful, so thorough for so long. She had accounted for every outcome, every possibility. She had trained Twilight so well in magic and defense- she had stood up to Tirek. Only to be brought low by such an ignoble end. It made no sense.

Celestia looked at the door to the closet of her private study. Amendments needed to be made. Plans needed to be adjusted. She would adapt, improvise, and overcome even this setback. She did not relish the notations she would have to make, but it needed to be done, and she had put it off for long enough.

She stood up and walked over to the closet and opened the door. The protective wards of her royal chambers would automatically part for her like a curtain. She never even noticed them anymore. Nor did she notice their absence in the presence of the introduced Dark Stone to the castle during the new security testing.

But the magical lock on her storage chest being left undone was not something she could overlook. She reached out with her intention, feeling for her wards now, finding them missing, absorbed by the Dark Stone. It was a side effect that she hadn't anticipated.

"Heavens to bitsy, if anypony knew..." she mused, making a mental note to correct it as soon as she was finished with her task in there. She opened the lock box inside the chest to update the Sparkle Family Tree scroll.

The corner of Celestia's eye twitched, and her jaw clenched hard enough for her to chip a molar. The scroll, the Sparkle family tree, her most closely-guarded royal secret, was missing. She could count the list of suspects on her two front hooves. It would soon be time for her to set the sun. "Alright... Alright. Let us see where this leads."

"Did you take it?" Celestia asked, sitting at the dinner table.

"I'm quite certain that I have no idea what you're talking about," Luna said as she ate.

"Do you not?" Celestia pressed. "I think you might. And if you do know what it is, then you know how important it is, and you know how unwise it would be of you to lie to me right now."

"I'm sure that you're right," she agreed. "Just as I am sure that I have no idea what you're talking about. And I don't much care for the accusatory tone. I'm not really feeling the trust here, sister," Luna said.

"The list of ponies who could have know about it, or could have accessed it, is perilously short, I'm afraid."

"Am I the only one on it?" Luna asked.

"No. There is another."

"Then I assure you, it must be them."

Celestia knew her sister better than anypony. Luna was an adept liar when she needed to be, but she could always see through her. And even in calculating all the possible moves and motives, Celestia couldn't think of a logical reason for her to want to betray her for this. Though she couldn't know for certain that Luna hadn't taken the scroll, she didn't want to force the issue yet. Not after she had worked so hard to rebuild their relationship. Not without irrefutable proof. And not without confronting another pony first.

Under the cover of night, in plain clothes, Princess Celestia paid a visit to her former protégé. She knocked on the door of her home.

"Princess Celestia!" Night Light greeted in surprise, the pitch of his voice had jumped up a scale. He attempted a bow before she pushed her way past him.

"You may dispense with the pleasantries, Lieutenant. I'm here to speak with your wife."

"She's in the dining room," he said, his voice still cracking. He tried to clear his throat as he trotted after her. "We were just about to make dinner."

Princess Celestia strode through the humble home, turning the corner at the end of the hall into the dinning room. At the other side of the dining table, Velvet sat and made no effort to rise at the Princess's appearance. Were it anypony else, the alicorn might have taken offence. She looked at the stack of three dinner plates on the table.

"Expecting me?" Celestia asked.

"Always be prepared," Velvet recited her former mentor's lesson.

"Then I assume you know why I'm here."

"Well, we know what happens when you assume," Velvet pointed at the chair in front of the princess, inviting her to sit. Night Light trotted past the princess to sit beside his wife.

"Forgive me for being curt in your time of mourning, but a personal item of mine has gone missing," Celestia said. "Something that I believe you have some familiarity with."

"Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?" Velvet quipped.

"Do not be coy with me, Velvet!"

"You first."

"It was your family tree scroll." Celestia said. "You're the only pony alive who knew about it. And one of only two ponies who could have possibly accessed it."

"The other being...?"

"Not your business."

"I don't have time to waste with these games. I have a casserole in the oven. So if you're going to ask me, ask me," Velvet said.

"Did you take it?"

"Yes," Velvet lied.

"Why?"

"For two reasons. One, you wanted to bring Twilight into the fold. You said..." Velvet theatrically rubbed her chin in thought. "How was it that Her Majesty said it...? You did not care about the 'how'?"

"I was referring to impregnating her," Celestia growled as politely as she could.

"Ah. My mistake. The price you pay for vagary," Velvet feigned apology. "Though I suppose it hardly matters now."

"And the other reason?" Celestia asked through her grit teeth.

"Leverage." Velvet said.

"Leverage!?" Celestia balked. 

Velvet gave her a look that was somewhere between a smirk and a sneer. "I'm surprised that you're surprised. Did you think I learned nothing from your years of manipulation? Is this the moment when you realize that the student had surpassed the teacher."

"Such arrogance!" Celestia hissed.

"Speak for yourself," Night Light said. Celestia cut him a stern glare. She extended her hoof to Velvet. It was not for a hoof-shake, and it was not a request. Velvet's magic plucked a panel out from the ceiling, and levitated the hidden scroll into Celestia's waiting hoof. The princess quickly inspected it, grateful to find that it was unaltered. She carefully placed it in her bag. She could amend it later once this matter was resolved. As there was still one more issue left.

"This little, indiscretion aside..." Celestia looked across the table for a long, silent moment. "You're a smart mare, Velvet. Surely you can deduct the position in which this turn of events places us. Cadance's infertility. Your foal-bearing years behind you. And the loss of Shining..." Celestia's eyes drifted over to Night Light. "Lieutenant, this obviously isn't ideal, but once Flurry is of age, your time will come again."

Night Light gave no reaction. After what happened last time, she had expected more protest. Anything other than nothing. She stared at him. Night Light just stared right back at her. "Vel?"

Velvet got up from the table and grabbed something from the fridge. She sat back down and placed a jar on the table. By the look of it, a couple pickled eggs. With a flick of her hoof, the jar slid across the table to the princess. Celestia looked down at the jar, reading the label on the lid.


The Good Colts Gelding Clinic
Patient: Night Light


"No." Celestia looked through the side of the jar. Indeed it was a pair of testes in formaldehyde. "NO!" She yelled. Though it was less a word than a guttural roar of rage as she flipped over the table and smashed it against the wall, shattering the jar, the dinnerware, the table, and the wall itself in a thunderous crash. 

Celestia's magic grabbed the both of them and held them in front of her, enveloping whatever magical counter-attack the mere unicorns could ever hope to offer her. Inspecting Night Light, she found that indeed, the stallion was without his defining coin purse.

"You've failed, Your Highness. I will not be your tool anymore!" Night Light growled.

The fire in Celestia's eyes burned as her anger seethed. They had planned for this possibility. They swore to each other to protect their children at all costs. Even if it meant their lives. Night Light would have never done anything to harm Flurry. But if Celestia got to him, if she got into his mind, or convinced him somehow, he couldn't be sure. There was only one way for her to be protected. And now it was out of their hooves.

"There she is," Velvet said. "There's the real Celestia." They felt Celestia's magic closing tighter around their necks. "Are you going to kill us now, Princess?" she asked with calm acceptance that the words may very well be her last. After all, they were in on Equestria's biggest secret, and dead ponies tell no tales.

Celestia's expression of rage faltered into heartache. "I will not be denied from claiming what I am owed! What I was promised!" Her magic dropped them both in a heap amid the debris of the destroyed dining room. A concussive blast of her magic smashed their front door to charred splinters on her way out and she vanished into the night.

"Tartarus hath no fury..." Night Light groaned as he helped Velvet up. They dusted themselves off and Velvet ran to her study to quickly write an urgent message. Velvet broke the crystal seal on the enchanted parchment, speeding it away with all haste. The jig was up and they both knew that there was only one place that Celestia would be heading next.





It was a rare event when Princess Luna was asked to oversee Day Court. Her envy of the position felt laughably quaint to her in hindsight. The reality of it was far less glamourous or easy than she had envisioned. At shift-change she lowered the moon to make way for the dawn. However, she was greeted not by her sister, but by her assistants, Kibitz and Raven. The sun rose on schedule from wherever Celestia was. Her assistants began to brief her on the situation, and the day's schedule of tasks. 

She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof and shuffled past them to the brunch cart. She took hold of the coffee pot with her magic and drank directly from it, foregoing a mug entirely while they prattled on about this task and that. She could already tell it was going to be one of those days. Entering the great hall of Canterlot Castle, she looked to the vacant seat at the far end. Luna did not relish the imposition. 

But a kingdom could not abide an empty throne.

From the posh comfort of the royal caboose, Princess Celestia watched the moon set right on time. Her horn glowed in turn, bringing forth the sunrise. It glowed faintly in the distant, southeast horizon. But the warm colors of dawn brought no appreciable warmth to the desolate wasteland of the Frozen North. The tinges of yellow and orange paled against the endless white expanse of the snowfield, with naught but the distant mountains and the lone railroad for landmarks. 

From the north came the iridescent glow of the Crystal Empire. A beacon of hope to even the modern traveler that they were near their destination, a safe haven from the cold and storm. As was customary practice, she had messaged ahead to the Empire to inform them of her arrival, so that they could make all necessary preparations. Visiting dignitaries didn't need to be mobbed by the commoners, after all. Celestia took a deep breath and focused on calming herself. She was no stranger to foreign visits, and the spectacle of her arrival. But this particular visit would not be easy.

It would take years to find a gifted-enough stallion to court Flurry one day. And after enough convincing, it would take years more for her to breed with her sons. Celestia didn't want to humor the number of generations it would take to make up for so much lost time and effort. Time enough to bring Flurry into her way of thinking. Of this, Celestia had no doubt. As alicorns, she and Flurry would have time in abundance. 

The train neared the boarder and began to slow down. It began to slow down exceptionally early. The train came to a stop at the old station, outside of the protective ward of the Empire. Princess Celestia waited patiently. One did not live as long as she had without expecting the occasional unexpected. An obstructing snow drift, perhaps, or a passing herd of yaks. 

A few minutes passed. There came a knock at her cabin door. She opened it and was greeted by a pair of crystal royal guards, their armor caked with frost.

"Your Majesty," they greeted her with a bow. "By order of the Crystal Empire, I'm afraid we must ask you to disembark here."

"Is there a problem, Sergeant?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I do not know. I am only instructed to inform you that you must disembark here."

Celestia nodded. "Very well. Lead the way." She knew that a simple soldier carrying out his orders needn't earn her ire.

The train car opened to the icy platform of the derelict train station. Celestia winced away from the cold wind. It wasn't the first time she had encountered the Frozen North and combated its wrath. But she never acquired any fondness for it.

"This way," the guards directed her, pointing along the path of the clearly-unobstructed train track. They trotted ahead of her, making haste to get out of the cold. Ever one to maintain her poised appearance in the public eye, Celestia did not allow herself to trot.

As she approached the protective barrier, the blue aura became transparent. She could see the warm greenery of the Empire within as she got closer. And what looked to be a gathered attendance to meet her arrival. 

Quite a large one.

Quite a very large one.

And standing there, front and center, just inside the barrier was the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Mi Amore Cadenza herself. When Celestia was not more than two steps from the border, her hostess raised her hoof.

"That's close enough," Cadance said.

Celestia stood there in the snow and looked at her through the shimmering barrier. 

"Is there a problem, Your Highness?" Celestia asked. "I thought we were on good terms with the changelings now. Are you really going to make me do the ladybug dance in front of everypony?" She looked at the assembled crowd, a good distance behind Cadance.

Cadance took a small step closer to the border, and spoke only just loud enough for Celestia to hear her. "I know."

"Pardon?"

"I know," Cadance repeated in the same emotionless tone as before.

"What do you know? That we are, indeed, on good terms with the changelings?" Celestia asked.

"I know everything," Cadance said. Celestia bristled. "I know all about your little plan," Cadance continued as her head slowly tilted to the side. "The truth about me. My family. My brother." Celestia's nostrils flared. "Your plans for Flurry Heart." There was an edge to Cadance's voice at the mention of her daughter. She nodded at the towering Crystal Palace in the far distance behind her. "Take a good look. Because this is the closest you will ever get to her!" Her anger was only barely restrained behind her teeth, keeping her voice down.

"After everything I've done for you, you- Insolent bitch!" Celestia growled. She stepped forward, face-first into the shield, creating a shower of sparks and massive arcane ripples in the barrier. In the blink of an eye the spears of ten thousand crystal soldiers were brought to arms. All of them pointed at Celestia.

Cadance didn't so much as flinch.

Celestia's eyes scanned the assembled battalions. "Told them, did you?"

Cadance's pursed lips smiled only just barely enough to show a sliver of her teeth. "While not enemies of the state, due to irreconcilable, personal differences, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are no longer permitted within the Crystal Empire hence forth," she recited.

"And what of my army?" Celestia asked.

"Tsk, tsk, Auntie," Cadance chided. "Having the train stop at the old station was a courtesy for you. As amusing as the thought of it was, I didn't want your discovery of the shield's change to be when it flung you through the back of the caboose. Now we can be civil about this. Or we can have ourselves a civil war. How many, Auntie? How many ponies will have to die for your selfish little desires? How many will even want to once they find out why they've been sent to war in the Frozen North?"

"It's treason, then," Celestia muttered.

Cadance shook her head. "No... No, not yet." She reached into her bag and brandished a sealed scroll. "But if you'd like to make it official, I've drafted and signed this Declaration to Secede from Equestria."

"You dare!" Celestia's horn arced against the barrier. But the shield powered by an entire Empire's magic utterly dwarfed even the veteran alicorn's arcane clout.

Cadance dangled the scroll in front of Celestia's face like a dog treat. "I mean, if you really want things to get nasty, I can serve this to you..." Cadance spoke in the teasing, patronizing voice that she usually reserved for talking to her foal while making a goo-goo face.

If looks could kill, Cadance would have been a corpse.

"Why the long face, Auntie?" she asked. "Your plan was a success after all. You've resurrected the alicorn race! Mission accomplished, right?"

"This isn't over!"

"Oh, yes it is!" Cadance assured her. "Flurry Heart will have a life of her own, free of your influence. One day she will date, marry, and even have foals of her own. I mean- unless she ends up being a lesbian." Cadance smirked. "Ooh, wouldn't that just be a kick in the teats for you?" Cadance's smile vanished. "Honestly, I don't give a fuck who she chooses to date. It could be a stallion, mare, earth, unicorn, pegasus, or a damn zebra for all I care! As long as it's her choice. Not. Yours!"

"Do you really think this bubble will keep me out forever?"

Cadance shrugged. "For as long as you live."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a threat."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?" Celestia asked.

"Know better?" 

Celestia narrowed her eyes at her and glanced at the massive army behind Cadance. "It will take more than that."

"I'm sure you're right," Cadance said dismissively. "Your train is waiting for you. I mean, unless..." she wiggled the scroll at her again.

Celestia took a small step back, and gave a forced bow, with a smile to match. Cadance returned the posturing in kind.

"Your Highness."

"Your Majesty."

The two rulers parted ways.

Celestia turned to walk back to the train, cursing herself and seething in anger. She was one iota away from her mane bursting into flames. In two days she had just foolishly revealed her cards to everypony and had nothing to show for it. And now things were worse than they had ever been. The arctic snow cover melted away from her hooves and flash-boiled into scalding steam in her wake.

The silhouette of the elder alicorn slowly vanished into the sudden cloud. Cadance tucked the blank scroll back into her bag. It wasn't until she heard the whistle of the train departing did she realize that she was still holding her breath. She panted and wobbled on her hooves, feeling faint. One of her captains broke rank to rush to her aide.

"Princess, are you okay?" he asked.

Cadance fanned herself with her hoof, grateful that she hadn't yet had breakfast, lest the captain would have been wearing it in that moment. Raised from birth into the world of politics to be a ruler one day, Cadance had a mastery of bluffing, and told more than her fair share of lies in her time. Some lies were quite big. But there could be none bigger.

"Yes, yes... Everything's fine."
> On the Case
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Tender's bar was closed for a private event. That being, a family event. They'd had a couple since the tragic zeppelin crash. And given how distraught Night Light and his wife seemed, he suspected it was going to be another 'Lyrish wake' of a gathering. Mage Star was his usual fifteen minutes early to everything.

"The only time anypony will refer to you as 'late', will be at your funeral," Air Tender said with a smirk to Mage. "And the way you keep rushing through life, I bet you'll be fifteen minutes early to the grave, too."

Mage was accustomed to his brother's dark sense of humor. But he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of even an eye roll. "Between the two of us, you'd be the one early to a grave with that mouth. Night said it was important."

"Yeah, yeah."

Night Light and Velvet came in the front door of the bar and closed it behind them with a click of the lock. Velvet sat at the bar with them while Night Light bee-lined it past them to the restroom. "I need to tell you guys something, but you have to keep it the utmost secrecy," Velvet said.

"What is it?" Air Tender asked, as he wiped a glass dry. "Night likes it when you're on top? Because it ain't no secret."

"Inappropriate!" Mage Star chided. 

"But also true," Tender said.

Velvet rubbed her forehead. "For fuck's sake... Night," she muttered. "No, I mean, Twilight and Shining are alive! They're hiding out in Manehattan."

"Oh- no..." Tender's smile vanished. He was always quick with a joke. His humor was his way of helping ponies cope with pain, including himself. Working at a bar, he saw it a lot. And he recognized what this was. "Vel, no... don't do this to yourself," he said. "Don't give yourself that false hope. Denial is just a step in the grieving process to accept loss. You're smart enough to know that."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Tendie on this one," Star said. "You can't go on thinking that they're still alive out there somewhere."

"I don't think! I know!" Velvet said. "They had to fake their own deaths."

"Now why would they do that?" Tender asked.

"Because they knew Celestia would be after them," Velvet said.

"Why? Did they break the law?" the retired city guard pony asked.

"It's complicated," Velvet said.

"Then explain it," Star said. "We have time."

"I can't."

"Can't? Or won't?"

Velvet nervously looked back and forth between them. "I'm afraid that if I tell you, it would put you both in more danger."

"Hell's bells," Tender said, "What did they get themselves into? Or you? What are you getting us into?"

"I really can't tell you, but I need your help," she said. "Especially you, Star."

"Me? What for?"

"I want you to try to find them," she said.

Tender scoffed. "In Manehattan? It'd be like looking for a needle in a stack of needles!"

"I know it's crazy of me to ask this of you, but I need to know," Velvet begged. "You've been saying your whole life how you wanted to be a private investigator-"

"Vel, I'd have to be on a retainer for weeks, if I'm lucky. Probably months of searching. Even with a family discount, you wouldn't be able to afford a case this size," Star said. "Not on a retired guard's pension." The restroom door opened.

"You and I have very different pension plans," Night Light said, coming back from the restroom.  "How much did you tell them, Vel? Did you tell them about us?"

"What about you?" Tender asked.

"Nothing!" Night and Velvet both said.

Mage Star looked at Night Light. "Do you think Shining and Twilight might still be alive?"

Night sighed. He knew that the more ponies who knew, the more danger they would be in. "Yeah."

Star looked back at them. "Hiding out from Celestia because of a dangerous secret? One that you know but won't tell us. And here I thought retirement was going to be boring." He groaned and rubbed his forehead. "It's not going to be cheap."

"We can afford it," Night assured him. He took a pouch of bits from his bag and slid them across the bar to Mage as a down payment.

"I'm a cop first and a brother second, Night. I better not find out that your money isn't above board."

"Same old Star..." Night groaned.

"And what about you two?" Tender asked. 

"We're going to be moving to the Crystal Empire as soon as possible," Velvet said. "And I suggest you do the same."

"What, you don't really think the princess would...?" Tender trailed off. The looks on their faces were those of ponies who had looked down the barrel of death. "But why would she come after you? Or us?"

"To use as leverage, to flush out Twilight and Shining," Velvet said.

Mage huffed and crossed his hooves. "This is outrageous. You're acting like there's this big conspiracy surrounding Celestia and our family. Some big, royal secret that can, and just may get us killed, whether we know about it or not! You're acting like we're on some kind of need-to-know basis. Well I am telling you, right now, we need to know!"

Night Light looked at Velvet. Velvet looked back at him. After a moment they just nodded. He was right. They needed to know.

Velvet told them everything. The history of the Alicorns. Celestia. The truth about Cadance, and Flurry. About Twilight and Shining. About herself and her brother, Night Light. Their parents. Everything. It's not everyday you find our you're part of the biggest secret in Equestria. They took it pretty well.

"I feel like I'm gonna throw up," Tender groaned. "You mean to tell me Dad was in on this too?"

Night Light nodded. "I'm pretty sure, yeah. I don't think he knew the full extent of all of it, but... enough."

"Shit. I'd have drank myself to death too," Tender sighed. "After a thousand years, to have her plan fall apart one step away from the finish line like this... No wonder she's pissed. After her little social call at your house, I can see why you'd want to skip town."

"But not yet," Night said. "We'd look for them ourselves, but we don't want to draw Celestia's attention. That's why we're asking you, Star. Once we can get in touch with them, we can tell them to go to the Crystal Empire too. Cadance might be able to protect them."

"Why didn't they just go straight there?" Tender asked. "Why do all this?"

"Because they know that you can betray anypony else and disappear. But if you betray Celestia, she will find you, unless she thinks you are dead. But Twilight and Shining won't be able to hide forever. And when she finds out about them, they are going to need all the help they can get. The princess is a mare accustomed to getting her way. And she will find a way, or die trying."

Mage put his old cabbie cap on, setting his horn through the hole in it. He looked back and forth between her and Air Tender, who was giving him a doubtful expression. 

"So let me get this straight," Mage said to her. "You want me to look for two ponies in a city of four million. Two ponies who, assuming that they even exist, are doing their damnedest to not be found? Is that - a fair assessment - of your request?"

Velvet nodded.

Mage sighed and finished his drink. "... I'll be on the next train to Manehattan."

As the visiting ponies departed the pub, they were watched by a trio of shadows from the rooftop across the street. With a silent flap of leathery wings, they followed after them.





Two ponies crowded into a small bed, in a small bedroom, in a small apartment, in a big city. Not that either of them minded the closeness. He didn't mind that her belly was taking up more and more of the bed's real estate with each passing week. To him, it only made her look more beautiful, knowing that she was carrying his foal. They were only too happy to finally be free to sleep wrapped in each other's hooves. But sleep was the furthest thing from either of their minds as their bodies comingled in carnal bliss. Their lovemaking had become decreasingly desperate since they had first arrived in this place, but it was no less earnest in their heartfelt passion for one another. It was a honeymoon that never ended, for a wedding they never got to have.

"I missed you today," she said with a breathy whisper, laying on her side to offset her belly and turning her head to kiss him. 

"I missed you, too," he said back between panting and returning her kiss. 

"I can tell." She purred in enjoyment of feeling him inside her. 

He rutted her with restrained fervor, despite her assurances that he needn't hold himself back. Her growing womb stretched her belly, but didn't encroach on the depth of her ability to take his entire length. When he hilted into her, his tip only just lightly kissed the back of her vagina. Like lock and key. Ever a perfect fit for each other.

Like so many that had come to the city seeking a new life, they lived in self-imposed exile. Professional prisoners trapped in a place with no fences, nor walls, nor barred windows, nor guards. But they were prisoners nonetheless. Trapped, cornered into an existence they laughingly called their lives. In a tiny cell of an apartment, surrounded by the imposing enclosure of the monolithic building all around them blotting out the sunlight. But strangely, in a bed far too small for the both of them, held in each other's hooves, it was the first time either of them had felt truly free.

But laying there in the afterglow of their love-making, Shining knew better than most that freedom wasn't free. Theirs, least of all. His service in the Royal Guard was a paltry price compared to what they had to pay now. In hiding, they had to use fake identities and glamour magic, wear disguises and makeup. And even in the privacy of their home, they still had to take special precautions.

He yawned at the end of a tiring day.

"Ready to go to sleep?" Twilight asked.

"Mhmm," he nodded into the nape of her neck, wrapping his hoof around her.

Twilight's horn glowed and a halo of her magic surrounded each of their heads, warding their dreams from being seen by the Princess of the Night. A few moments later, Twilight grunted as Shining felt a small movement in her belly, under his hoof.

"Somepony is feeling restless," Shining mused, feeling their foal kicking inside her.

"You'd be upset too if you were getting poked in the head with a dick," she teased.

"That's a myth and you know it!" he said. She giggled and tried to reposition herself, but ended up back where she was.

"Must be anxious to get out," she groaned.

"Any day now, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Are you scared?"

"I'm terrified," Twilight admitted. "It's all I've ever wanted for so long. And now that it's almost here..." He hugged her closer. "It's just... not quite how I imagined it. I mean, I know I was a home-birth. But it's still... what if- what if something-"

"Shhh..." he hushed her. "No more of that. You know as well as I do that IF is the middle word of 'life'. We've been through so much. We've overcome insurmountable obstacles." He glanced at well-worn copies of What to Expect When You're Expecting, an OB/GYN medical textbook, and The Practical Mid-Wife Guide on the bookshelf. "We're as prepared as we can be."

"I know. I'm still scared, though," she said.

"... Me too."





Once the sun was set, Princess Luna raised the moon. There would be dreams to be looked after soon. But they would have to wait. She was expecting guests. In a silent flutter, a batpony took perch from one of the buttress rafters of her balcony's canopy.

"Princess Luna, as you instructed, we've been following your sister on her little evening constitutionalssss," Echo reported with a hiss. "After her violent social call to the Sparkle residence, we lost track of her movementsss. But we followed after the residentsss. They went to his brother's pub, the cripple pegasussss. They went home after, but his other brother, the city guard pony, boarded a train to Manehattan."

"Why?" Luna asked, putting the tips of her hooves together in front of her nose in contemplation.

Echo shrugged her wings. "I could only offer speculationsss."

"Find out. Follow him," Luna commanded.

Echo snickered. "Sunshine and Meadowlark are already on the case."

"Very good."

"Shall I resume my surveillance of Celestia when she returns from the Crystal Empire?" Echo asked.

"No. Return to your stakeout of the Sparkle residence. Leave Tia to me."

"By your order, Princessss." Echo flapped off into the night.

Luna returned to her chambers. The recent events weighed heavy on her. After the tragedies of Cadenza's fertility, and the zeppelin disaster, she had hoped that her sister would abandon her clandestine scheme. But Luna was wise enough not to trust to a hope. And she knew her sister was not one to ever give up. Even so, there were still pieces in motion that she did not yet fully understand. But it would do her no good to worry, until she knew more of what to worry about.

She pushed her anxieties from her mind, and settled into her meditation pose, to carry out her duties to protecting her subjects of the dream realm. She closed her eyes and focused her magic to enter the Dreamscape. The room around her faded away into an inky darkness of empty space. Like the coming of night, itself, the darkness became speckled with points of light as that of twinkling stars.

Luna drifted weightlessly through the starfield. As some passed by closer, they were tiny spheres, like bubbles in water. Each was a tiny pocket dimension of a pony's dream space. Within each she caught glimpses of the dreams. Most were benign, such as a pony replaying the events of a day. Some dreams were pleasant. Some were less so. The majority of her night was spent in the aiding of foals having nightmares. But there were a few that she always visited first.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's familiar dream shined brightly as that of an alicorn. As was the preoccupation of her wakeful mind, so too did her daughter, little Flurry Heart, fill her dreams. Orbiting close by, Flurry's alicorn dreams also shined brightly, and were that of her mother. Each dream had flittering visions of the Prince, Shining Armor, now missing from their lives. Luna applied a slight bit of magic to ease their restless heartache.

Luna moved on through the Dreamscape, coming to a hover over the other bright orb. Its aura she knew better than any other. It was her sister's, Princess Celestia. In darker times, Celestia had warded her dreams to be hidden from Luna's realm entirely. But now it appeared before her. Though it was an opaque white, obscuring Luna's view of the content within. If she wanted to, she had the magical means to pry past the barrier. But she respected her sister's privacy. That, and she was almost certain that Celestia would be able to detect the tampering. She passed it by with mild melancholy. Duty called.

She sorted the stars of the Dreamscape into constellations. Each star had an aura that shimmered with a unique color that had no name, that were beyond the description of words. Like so many impossible things, they could only exist here, in this place beyond reality. 

Celestia would be quick to say that there is no wrong way to fantasize. But as Luna glided over the ocean of adolescent wet dreams, she could beg to differ. Not to be a pot calling the kettle black, considering she was regularly consorting with her own sister. But if she could go a whole night without seeing a colt dreaming of fucking his own mother, it would be a first.

She flew towards the constellation of foals without cutie marks, seeking out the trembles of dreamers in peril. In a flash, her constellation was scattered like leaves in the wind. At the center was a new star, glowing so brightly with incandescent light she could hear it in her eyes. It assaulted her every sense. She could smell the scent of o-zone in the ionized light. Her mouth was filled with the acrid taste of electricity. Her entire body felt jolted and tingled with pins and needles as though she had been struck by lightning. But as a mare that had actually been struck by lighting, Luna knew this was a greater, and even more terrible arcane force. 

The force of the blast knocked her out of the Dreamscape and threw her from her bed. Her head throbbed and her ears were ringing with tinnitus. Her entire body ached. 

But drowning out her tinnitus was the overbearing knowing. 

She struggled to get to her hooves as she regained her senses. Her tinnitus faded along with her thundering heartbeat in her ears, until all she could hear was her own panting breath as she stood alone in the darkness of her room. The aura she felt, the imprint it left was entirely new, but somehow familiar to her. The answer stared her in the face but she could scarcely bring herself to believe it, even as her shaking voice whispered the words aloud.


"Sparkle's foal..."

> Young Hearts Be Free Tonight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle shrieked awake and lurched upright. She knocked Shining Armor out of the bed with the motion. It was barely big enough for one pony, let alone two and a half. She clutched her sweaty belly with her hooves as she panted in panicked breaths.

"What is it? What's wrong!?" Shining asked in frightened concern.

"I- I just remembered that prenatal foals can dream," Twilight said.

Shining Armor turned a whiter shade of pale as realization washed over him. "Oh shit! Do you think... Luna...?" he trailed off.

"I- I felt..." she nodded "Yeah. I think it's a good bet that she knows about our foal."

"W-what do we do? Does she know where we are? Do we need to leave?" he asked. "You're in no condition to travel!"

"I don't think she knows where, but-" Twilight grimaced as she shifted in the bed. The wet sheets clung to her legs "Oh no, I think I wet the bed."

"It's okay, I can get the spares." Shining said. He reached out to help her up. His nostrils flared, not detecting the acrid ammonia smell of urine. "Uh, Twi, I don't think-"

"HNNGGG!" Twilight doubled over, feeling the first contraction. She had read as much as she could to know what to expect. But nothing could ever really prepare her for the reality of it. She had never had a foal before. And these new sensations were so unfamiliar. She felt scared. But instinct took over. Her body knew what to do. And it was time. "The foal is coming!"

"Oh shit- OH SHIT!" Shining scrambled. They had rehearsed for this moment so many times. He knew where everything was. He knew what needed to happen. And the exact order. An arcane pulse hit him, leaving him feeling queasy and disoriented. All the preparation crapped out of his brain as he was floated into the air and tossed against the wall. Not hard. But it was enough to surprise him.

His eyes uncrossed and he saw her horn glowing erratically. Despite being switched off, the filaments in the light bulbs around them started to glow. He dived onto the emergency foaling bag and gripped it tight as he rooted around inside it. "Fuck, FUCK! Where is it!?" he cursed. He upturned the whole bag and dumped it out. His quarry rolled out across the linoleum floor. He snatched it up in his hoof and returned to his sister's side, showing her the magic inhibition ring. "Twi, we need to put this on your horn!"

Twilight was sweating harder, and tried to talk though her, literally, labored breathing. "If you- put that- on me- I can't- hide us- from her!" 

The charged air started to swirl around them. The lightbulbs started to flash and blow like popcorn. The drinking glasses in the sink and cupboard began to shatter. Cracks started to spider across the plaster walls as Shining could feel the steel frame of the high-rise shuddering. "And if I don't the whole city will know you're here!"

Twilight laid there, helpless to control herself, or to stop him. The fetlocks of Shining's hoof singed away as he reached out to put the ring on her horn...





Mage Star had wasted no time getting to Manehatten and setting to the arduous work of tracking down a pair of ponies that were, if they were even alive, trying their damnedest to not be found. Makeup and disguises worked for most. But there were still other ways to find a pony than with just one's eyes.

He had made haste departing the busy city train station after the red-eye trip. For this to work, he needed to be as far away from everypony as he could manage in a city of four million. And he knew just the place. Gathering his bearings he headed to the center of Central Park. He found a level patch of packed dirt and unrolled his toolkit.

Most unicorns were comfortable with the magic basics, and the ease of evocation. Some specialized in the marketability of specialized potions, infused with magic that the earth ponies couldn't produce by just mixing reagents together alone. Wards were a popular trade, as were a few other arcane disciplines. Hell, even the mundane scholars of the archive outnumbered his specialty.

His peers at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns had dismissed him as anything other than a properly talented mage that deserved to be there. Some claimed nepotism for his father's former position in the guard. In light of recent events, he suspected that may have been true. At least partially. It may have been what got his hoof in the door. But he never lacked in effort.

With a broken branch, he carefully drew a sorcery circle and, once aligned with due north, began inlaying the runes. He went over the grooves in the clay soil with pure grain salt. He had hurried to the city, and to this specific place. But now that he was here, this could not be rushed. Such was the work of Thaumaturgy. The underappreciated, precise science and exact art of working smarter, not harder, with magic.

He remembered the teasing he had gotten in school, for his choice of study. It was a splinter in his mind that he actively ignored. Instead he remembered the voice of his mother. Her soft, soothing melody, as she sang him to sleep the night he came home from school crying. He hummed quietly to himself as he worked. But her voice was clear in his memory.

♫ "What fruits might come of your labor,
From the garden of your soul?
Will you reap the whirlwind,
From the seeds of wind you sow?

What talents will you water?
What skills will you grow?
Nurture the land with kindness?
Or salt the earth below?

What fruits might come of your labor,
From the garden of your soul?
What fruits might come of your labor,
Only you shall know." ♫

Mage Star firmly believed that, with enough time and the right preparation, any unicorn could do what Celestia does. It's simply that none have the patience or focus to concentrate their effort as such. After all, 'Why reinvent the wheel?'

Mage Star's creation looked much like a wheel drawn into the ground. Perfectly circular concentric rings of salt, adorned with runes within and without the seven-pointed star. In the center, his divining quartz crystal pendant, tied with locks of the missing ponies' manes, on the end of a silver chain.

Fortune smiled on him. In spite of the sudden call to task, he could not ask for better conditions. It was a new moon, and the air was still as he lit the candles around the circle. Ever the modern, pragmatic mage, he drew from his bag not a ritual dagger, but a sterile hoof-prick intended for diabetic ponies to test their blood sugar. With a quick *snap* he was able to squeeze a single drop of blood onto the salt ring to activate it.

When ponies hear 'blood is thicker than water' they usually think that 'family is stronger than adversity' or something similar. But what it really means is that the bonds of blood, of "brotherhood" (in the oldest sense of the word), were stronger than the water of the womb. Those that you call your friends by choice, and family by love, are stronger than simple biology. Mage spoke the words of the spell.

"Blood of blood of brother mine,
The family that I choose
Guide me so that I might find
That which you did lose."

The ring thrummed with energy and the crystal spun in place as the ponies' hair was infused into it, completing the spell. The crystal leaned and nudged against the pebbles and large grains, like it had an itch it was trying to scratch. Mage Star picked it up by the chain and held it aloft. It leaned, very weakly, towards the north east. What mattered is that it was working.

He quickly scuffed up the ground to erase the circle and his work as he put the rest of his tools back in his bag. holding the crystal's chain, he made a mental note. He would have to take several readings from different locations to triangulate their exact position. And that depended on a lot of factors. Assuming they were in the same exact place, together. Otherwise the readings would be fuzzy and diffuse. And assuming they didn't move too much. Or else he'd have to start over.

It was hard work, but precise. And it cut through stealth wards in a way brute magic simply couldn't.

Mage wore the smallest hint of a smile, taking pride in his work as he used the protractor to measure the angle the chain was hanging away from vertical, and a compass to note the direction. A few more good readings like this and he'd have them narrowed down to a city block by the end of the week. He put his pencil to his notebook. As he wrote, his hoofwriting trembled. He was excited, but not that excited. 

The ground around Mage Star tremored for a moment, but only a moment before, on the other side of the city, Shining Armor placed the ring on Twilight's horn.

The quartz pendant yanked at the chain wrapped around his hoof so hard it nearly broke his wrist. He cried out as it pulled itself out straight, at a dead horizontal. "ARGH! Stars and Stones!" He galloped on three legs while he held onto it like the leash to a wild dog chasing a carriage. 

Even though he knew exactly which direction to go, it didn't tell him how far away he was going. Everything is far away when traveling by hoof. And the city was not small. As he ran, his eyes flitted back and forth from the crystal, and the way in front of him, taking care not to run into anypony or anything. It took all of his focus. A boon for any bat ponies that would care to tail the otherwise very-alert former guard.

The crystal fought against him as he moved laterally to navigate around buildings. The closer he got, the harder it pulled. He was not out of shape by any measure, but he hadn't done a proper marathon since before the return of Nightmare Moon. And the city air was doing no favors for his lungs. Sweat poured out of him as he ran, what he presumed was about to be, a thaumaturgy speed-run record.

He passed under the Elevated Rail bridge and the quartz started to gradually point upwards. It made sense. Wherever they were, he didn't expect them to be on the ground floor. He ran down the street and watched the crystal point higher and higher. He passed by one apartment building after another. The horn of a passing carriage kept him from narrowly getting run over. 

He took his eye off the quartz just long enough to pass another apartment building. The pendant wrenched itself backwards hard enough to almost dislocate his shoulder. The silver chain slipped from his grip and he watched the glittering pendant rocketed upwards through a glass window. He counted thirteen windows up to the broken pane and ran inside.

Thirteen damn flights of stairs.

Mage Star wheezed as he staggered out of the stairwell and into the apartment building hallway. The broken window was at the end of the hall. On either side were a row of apartment doors. 13A. 13B. 13C had a crystal pendant hovering against the front of it like a fridge magnet. 

"Bingo!" He walked over to the door and touched the handle. The fur on his hoof stood up.

A dark figure dove in through the broken window at the end of the hall. The window at the other end of the hall smashed as another figure did the same. They dusted off the broken glass and smirked at him with slit eyes.

"We know this was just supposed to be a surveillance Op..." Meadowlark said as he flourished his Night Guard regalia.

"But this was an opportunity too good to ignore," Sunshine Smiles finished, grinning from behind his eye-patch as the two batponies closed the distance to Mage Star. "I never took you for a bounty hunter, Star."

"Too bad you won't be the one to collect," Meadow said.

The wail of a foaling mare came from behind him. Mage stood between them and the door as he dropped into a defensive stance. "No. But neither will you."

The two bum-rushed him from opposite directions. He threw up a barrier to one and turned to block the other. He didn't slow down one bit and leaned into a shoulder-check. Pegasi, and by extension, bat ponies, were generally lighter in frame than their unicorn, and earth pony counterparts. Though it mattered little as Meadowlark's obsidian pauldron struck Mage through his simple canvas tunic. Sunshine's enchanted gauntlet absorbed the paltry magic barrier like wet tissue paper. They were both trained in dealing with unicorns before.

Mage Star loosed a flash-bang spell, only able to partially shield himself from the effects as he tumbled away in a roll towards the stairwell. He was no combat mage, and he was quickly realizing that this was a fight he was not going to be able to win. Dazed himself, he squinted and saw the slit eyes of the batponies vanish into razor-thin lines before quickly dilating back to full night vision. 

They screeched back and forth at each other while their large ears twitched and twisted like radar dishes, receiving the echolocation information. In an instant, both of their heads snapped to look at him with a predatory glare. In a synchronized pounce they were on him again. "RUDE!" Meadowlark snarled, grabbing the telescoping baton from his belt and striking Mage in the horn, causing him to see stars. 

Mage would have sooner taken a kick to the jewels than that. He had to settle for a kick in the jaw followed by a few to his ribs that laid him out in the hallway. He felt the cuffs on his hooves behind his back before he was grabbed and slammed back against the stairwell wall, cuffing him to a steel standpipe. He winced and tried to use his magic.

"Uh uh!" Sunshine chided, pressing the baton to Mage's forehead. "Try anything and I'll break it clean off next time!"

Mage slumped against the wall and coughed, making his, almost-certainly-broken-ribs sting with fresh pain. His tongue licked at the blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. He craned his head out into the hallway, watching the two batponies get ready to kick the apartment door in.

"Sow the wind," Mage said as he ducked back into the stairwell just in time to avoid the blast from the ward on the door. The one that had made the fur on his hoof stand up. And what made the fur on their hooves stand up too, briefly, before it turned them both into a fresh coat of red paint for the hallway.

Mage grit his teeth and winced harder at he forced his magic through his sensitive horn and into the tumbles of his hoofcuffs. It felt like he was jacking off with sandpaper. He fought through the pain until one of the cuffs came loose. He staggered out of the stairwell and crawled down the hallway through the pony-salsa. "Reap the whirlwind," he groaned.

He looked through the charred, smoking, apartment door frame into a... vacant apartment. Which wasn't to say it was empty. He inspected the apartment as the sound of sirens approached. It looked well lived-in. Like the hallway, there was blood. But it was of an entirely different sort, judging from all the foaling literature. The counter was strewn with makeup supplies and wigs. Among the many things missing were several cans of foal formula. Mage was pleased that in all the commotion there was still a foal to feed. 

The commotion of hooves coming up the stairs got closer as he looked in the middle of the bedroom, his quartz crystal spun and trembled. He picked up up by the chain and watched it lean away horizontally, sharply dropping in discreet increments as the distance increased. As they teleported further and further away. In seconds they were beyond the city limits. He dropped it to the floor and shattered it under his hoof.

Mage Star let out a full, belly laugh as the police ponies rushed into the apartment and seized him, cuffing him again, and fitting him with a horn ring. He laughed against the dirty floor as they read him his rights. He laughed as they dragged him downstairs and threw him into the back of the paddy wagon. 

He laughed in knowing the funniest thing in the whole world.

They were never ever going to find them!





Refugees pack differently. It's not like a vacation, where you know you'll be coming back to your home, and your things, safe and sound. It's not like going camping where you are packing light, taking only what you need to survive to go 'roughing it' in a leisurely way.

When you are saying goodbye to your home, and know that you will never see it again. It's not like moving, where you have the luxury of taking all your things with you. Things are just... things. And you know that the place you are going to should have the things you need to survive. But there is more to life than survival.

No. Refugees pack differently. 

Refugees pack their identities, their memories, their lives.

Night Light's suitcase was all their important documents. Twilight Velvet's bag was their family photo albums. They took one last look at the interior of this house they called home for so long. They shuffled through the debris of their literally broken home, leftover from Celestia's last visit. 

"Come on. We don't want to miss the train to the Empire," Night said, ushering her out of the house. They left through the hole where their front door used to be.

A mail pony passed by and gave their house an odd look with her not-lazy eye. "Doing a little remodeling?" she asked.

"Something like that," Night Light sighed.

"Well hopefully this can cheer you up," she said, holding out a string to a party balloon.

"What is this?" Velvet asked.

"It's a balloon-a-gram!" she said. "Look, it's full of confetti so it's like a party when you pop it!"

"Thank you?" Night said.

"You're welcome!" she replied and went on her way.

Velvet looked at the bits of paper inside the translucent, sky-blue balloon. Her eyes went wide in recognition and she popped the balloon immediately, making a confetti mess of their front porch.

"Vel, what are you-"

Velvet ignored Night Light as she gathered up the scraps of paper off the ground and arranged them carefully. The ripped shapes fit back together again like a puzzle. The almost illegible chicken-scratch she recognized as none other than Shining's hoofwriting. The piece of paper was small. Barely the size of a cocktail napkin. Her tears stained the letter.


We're both real sorry that it had to turn out this way. 
But there ain't no point in talking when there's nopony listening, 
so we just ran away. 
Twilie gave birth to a ten-pound baby colt.

> Boys In Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon returning to Canterlot, Princess Celestia mentally berated herself. She had let her emotions get the best of her and she had acted brashly, taking the direct, and decidedly unsubtle approach. She had become complacent in holding all the cards, and now it had come crashing down like a house made of the same. Now she was at the disadvantage and she was becoming desperate. But she could not allow herself to behave like a desperate, cornered animal. Not anymore.

Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart were beyond her reach for now, but only in the direct approach. But there was always more than one way to get to somepony. Celestia was nothing if not pragmatic. Nopony was untouchable, or beyond her reach.

"Leverage." Celestia spat the word. She was no stranger to the concept by any means. But to hear it said to her by her former protégé... She could not deny the sting of her anger. But even she had to respect her student's skill in simply playing the same game as she. Had the student surpassed the master? Celestia mused. No. But Celestia was admittedly taken aback at the degree to which Velvet had acquired a comfort with the craft. But she could never hope to surpass the master. She was about to teach Velvet a very powerful lesson in leverage. 

Though... perhaps not.

Celestia walked through the gaping hole in the front of the Sparkles' Canterlot residence. Or rather, former residence by the looks of things. Key personal effects were markedly absent. Photo frames missing from end tables and walls. Broken glass crunched under her golden horseshoes as she walked through their dining room. The only recent change was a burn barrel with nothing let inside but cold ash.

Celestia snorted. She could hardly be surprised. After what had happened, why should she have expected any different? She turned and left. On her way out, the princess did not take notice of the shred of sky-blue balloon latex stuck to her horseshoe.

Celestia's flight back to Canterlot Castle had her touch down onto her balcony just in time for her to usher forth the dawn, after her sister lowered the moon from the opposite spire. Princess Luna shirked away from the bright sunlight and walked back inside her private quarters. With a mighty flap of her wings, Celestia lofted herself across the space between them, landing on her sister's balcony.

"Luna," she greeted her younger sibling.

"Tia," Luna replied. "What news from the north?"

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, taking a moment to carefully choose her words. "Cadance is... setting some boundaries." She spoke of the national leader as though she were an adolescent filly.

Luna did not share Celestia's condescending attitude of such. "Oh?" she asked.

"Mhmm. She's having a little bit of an independence streak," Celestia said, maintaining the euphemism.

"Independence!? Boundaries!? She's the princess of the Crystal Empire! Speak plainly, Tia! What does this mean for us? For Equestria?"

"It's of no consequence to Equestria, but... Well... for the time being, it would be best if you and I refrained from visiting the Empire."

"What!? Why? What happened!?" Luna asked.

"It's just a phase," she assured her. Luna knew her sister well enough to know when she wasn't being completely honest. "And what of you? Any significant developments in my absence?"

Still freshly-seared into Luna's memory was her dream realm encounter with the new foal alicorn. "None to report," she said. It was neither explicitly false, nor entirely true.

Celestia sensed far more nervous tension in her sister than was typical of the mare coming off a twelve-hour night shift. Though she reasoned that perhaps she was merely projecting her own anxieties. "Very well. No news is good news. Sleep well," she said, departing without further inquiry.

The sun princess strode with confident poise through the grand hall towards the throne room. Had she not been bespoke into a life of politics and leadership, she oft fancied the dream of pursuing the thespian trade. She had always wanted to be an actress in a stage play. As she walked down the hallways, smiling and nodding to everypony as though nothing was wrong, her practiced talent as a convincing actress was not lost on her.

Straight ahead of her was the grand doors to the throne room, sitting at the intersection of the wings' hallway running perpendicular to her path. In synchronized routine, Raven and Kibitz flanked her from each direction as the guards opened the throne room doors.

"Your Highness! Welcome back!" Raven greeted, trotting along to keep up with Celestia's long strides towards the throne. "How fairs the Empire?"

"The Empire is splendid," Celestia reported.

"What of your meeting with Princess Cadenza? Any significant developments?" Kibitz asked.

"None that need concern the kingdom," Celestia said.

"And yourself?" Raven asked.

"I'm perfectly well," Celestia assured them, a bit more terse in her tone than she meant as she took her seat.

Raven nodded. "Would you like some tea?"

"What I'd like, is my ledger, please," Celestia said pointedly looking at Kibitz.

"Yes, of course!" Kibitz said, holding his clipboard. "Parliament is requesting your approval on these line items for the re-zoning bill. I have the requisition from the Cloudsdale irrigation department to source their water from Lake Posterior this year. You'll need to select a delegation for funerary services for two royal guards that died in Manehattan, and preside over the trial for Mage Star... The delegates from Gryphonstone-"

"Wait, what was that?" Celestia asked. "About Mage Star?"

Kibitz flipped back one page. "You... You'll need to select a delegation for funerary services for two royal guards that died in Manehattan."

"Why were they in Manehattan? Were they off duty?" she asked.

Kibitz adjusted his glasses and examined the details of the report. He reached into his bag and pulled out the supplement scroll. "No, Your Majesty. They are believed to have been on duty."

"Who were they?"

"Their identity is... yet to be confirmed," he said. "The local authorities strongly suspect foul play. Apparently there wasn't much left of them aside from their obsidian armor." 

"Night Guard then," Celestia said.

"It would appear so."

"Has Luna been informed?"

"No, Your Majesty. This report just came in while I was on route."

"And Mage Star?"

"Retired Royal Guard... He is... currently the prime suspect in the investigation."

"..."

Princess Celestia was not blind to the intelligence network her sister orchestrated. She just pretended to not know about it. And Luna pretended to believe that Celestia didn't know about it. But Luna knows. And Celestia knows that Luna knows. Everypony knows.

Consequently, Celestia knew that this information would not be able to be kept from Luna's ears, and it would do Celestia no good to attempt it and be caught. But though likely a mere coincidence, Mage Star's involvement was something she could not ignore.

Celestia rose from her throne. "I need to go to Manehattan."

"What? Now!? But you've only just returned!" Raven said.

"Reschedule."

"Your Highness, no!" Raven said. The diminutive pony blocked the princess's path. "These have already been rescheduled from when you absconded for the last two days! These can't wait!" 

The corner of Celestia's eye twitched for a moment, but only for a moment. She sat back down. Duty came first, of course. "What... absolutely... can not wait?"

Raven grabbed the Parliament items from Kibitz. "You need to pass or veto these now. And-"

Celestia gave the bills a cursory glance and signed two out of the three, nixing the last. Just enough to keep parliament content.

"And the Gryphonstone delegation will be here shortly regarding the gum tree subsidies, and they want to renegotiate the export rate for our wheat to them."

Celestia reviewed the trade agreement. Gryphon greed was the stuff of legend, nowhere else more so than in the economics of international trade. But Celestia was equally shrewd. She knew she could talk them down to fifty percent of their asking rate with the right pressure applied. But it would take time. Time that the immortal alicorn did not have.

"Offer them seventy percent," Celestia said, getting up again to leave.

"But, Your Highness-" Raven called after her.

"They can have seventy percent or nothing at all!" Celestia said, walking faster. "They'll take the seventy percent."

"But Day Court-"

"Let the Prime Minister arbitrate it for once, see how she likes it," Celestia huffed in frustration.

"He," she corrected. "Parched Mint retired four months ago."

"See how he likes it, then! Or don't. I don't care right now. Day Court will keep until tomorrow. Two Royal Guards are dead and I intend to find out why."

Kibitz yelled after her, "The local authorities have the situation well in-" Celestia slammed the door behind her. "... hoof."

There were few forces that even the Princess could not bend to her will. In the modern age of logic and reason, the locomotive industry bowed to no princess or deity other than the one true god; Father Time. And what schedule time had for the trains was no more flexible than the steel rails upon which they rolled. Even if it didn't suit the princess's schedule.

The next train to Manehattan was not nearly soon enough for Celestia. She took a short little walk into eternity and plunged off the edge of the city into a steep dive down the mountainside. She picked up considerable speed before leveling out and flying east into the rising sun. Manehattan was still a couple hours away as the pegasus flies. Celestia's horn flashed and she teleported with all impatient haste to the horizon.





It wasn't everyday that Princess Celestia herself showed up at the precinct unannounced. She quashed the pleasantries and commandeered the lieutenant investigating the murder case, whose name she had already forgotten. At her urgent behest, he led her to the scene of the crime in the apartment building.

"The suspect likely made his way up the stairs. Unicorn, so maybe teleported," the earth pony recited to her as they walked upstairs to the thirteenth floor. "The two night guards intercepted him here." He pointed at either end of the hallway. "The pegasi- er, batponies effected ingress here and here. The glass indicates both windows were broken from the outside in. The suspect entered apartment C, and from within, cast a fatal spell through the door, killing the two guards."

Celestia walked down the hallway. The carpet and walls were stained an unnatural shade of orange that came from blood being washed out. She inspected the scorched door frame as she walked through it. She felt a chill of energy run down her spine as she did. The char on the door frame had a razor's edge to it, bisecting the frame exactly, burning only the outside half. If he had cast a spell through it, there would have been burns on the inside as well.

"No, this was a ward," Celestia said.

"He's a unicorn, so that tracks," he said. Tracks. Celestia looked at the orange stains leading in from the hallway. "Apartment was registered to a... Brawn Dough. No record of any such pony. Probably a pseudonym. Paid in cash."

"You said you found him in the apartment?"

"Yeah. Covered in their blood."

"Well then he must have been in the hallway when they were killed. Tracked the blood in." She pointed at the stains on the floor. "Who was chasing who?"

"Well he definitely had a scuffle. And it was before my officers found him. He had a dent in his forehead matching the night guard insignia from when one of your boys shoulder-checked him." He and Celestia looked back and forth from the hallway to the apartment. She looked at the holes in the hallway wall where their armor had been embedded. "So..." he started to reason out loud, "The three of them cross paths in this hallway. Duke it out. Then the bats open the door. They get made past-tense by the ward. And our guy shuffles into the apartment looking like a modern art masterpiece. But why?" 

"Where's the foal?" Celestia asked.

"Hmm?"

Celestia pointed at the opened packages of diapers and formula. "I mean, unless you think this was for him. Or did you just not notice these?"

"Forgive me. I was a bit more concerned with the pony-paste in the hallway than diapers and canned milk in the pantry."

"So let's consider that this wasn't his apartment. Where are the residents?" she asked.

"Fake name. Paid cash. Maybe illegals. Probably skipped town. A couple ponies exploded outside their door and they didn't want to get caught up in a murder investigation."

"But if Mage Star was still in the hallway, why were they so bent on breaking in?" she asked. The lieutenant didn't have an answer. "So what did Mage say in all this? The word of a former Guard must have some weight to it."

"Normally yes. But he's been very uncooperative." 

"I'd like to speak to him, myself."





Mage Star sat in a standard Manehattan jail cell. A basic cot and rudimentary toilet for amenities. For their meeting, he was given a simple folding table and a couple chairs. He sat in his standard orange jail jumpsuit, disheveled and already missing a button. The inhibition ring was firmly locked onto his horn. 

Princess Celestia appeared on the other side of his cell bars.

"Your Highness," he greeted, standing and then taking a bow. "To what do I owe such an esteemed court-appointed attorney?"

"You may place some flowers on your father's grave at your next opportunity," Celestia said. "This is a favor to him, more than you. I did promise to look after his family."

"Like Night Light and Velvet?" he asked.

"..."

"Yeah, they told me."

Celestia's nostrils flared for a second. "What were you doing in Manehattan?"

"I'm a private investigator. I was investigating."

"For who?"

Mage smiled. "Well, you see, that would be the private part of private investigator."

"Who, or what, were you looking for?"

"Hay fries."

"You were looking for hay fries?"

"Offer me. Hay fries."

"Excuse me?"

"You want information? Bribe me. Offer. Me. Hay fries."

Celestia glanced at the guard behind her. "Yeah he's been asking for those."

She looked back at Mage. "I've got a better deal. You answer my questions and I'll see about that royal pardon."

Mage shook his head. "Hay fries."

Celestia snorted. "You drive a hard bargain." She looked at the guard. "Could we? Please?" Celestia asked.

"I'll see if anypony ordered food downstairs." He walked away to get the fries.

"There. Now that he's gone, you can tell me," Celestia said.

"I'll wait."

"You're on the hook for a double-homicide and you're really going to dick me around like this!?"

Mage smiled. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Looks like you're in luck," the guard said, returning with a grease-stained paper bag. He plopped it on the table in front of Mage. 

Mage carefully ripped it open and ate one of the fries. "Do these come with salt?" he asked. Celestia glanced at the guard.

"I'll grab a shaker from the cafeteria."

"You got your damn fries. Now answer my questions!"

Mage nodded. "Fire away."

"Did you kill those night guards?"

"No. They died from stupidity."

"The ward on the door," she said. He nodded. "Yours?"

"I wish. That thing was a work of art."

"So if the ward wasn't yours, neither was the apartment. Whose was it?" she asked.

Mage pointed at his fries. "That question needs extra salt." 

"Yeah, yeah, here it is," The guard said, returning with the salt shaker.

Mage lightly salted his fries and took a bite. "Ah. That's better."

"I'm going to ask you nicely one last time," Celestia said. "After that, I'm going to stop asking nicely."

Mage sighed. "I know." His shaky hoof dropped the salt, spilling a bit on the table. "Oops. Bad luck. He picked up the shaker and unscrewed the cap, pouring a liberal amount into his other hoof, tossing it over his right shoulder. "And I need all the good luck I can get right now."

"You got your salty fries. Answer me! Who sent you? Who were you looking for?" she growled. Her face was turning red.

Mage started laughing. "You know why those bats exploded? They saw a picture of you when you're angry, and you were so ugly they died."

Celestia brought her hoof back and punched him square in the nose. If it wasn't already broken before, it definitely was now after the sickening crunch of cartilage snapping under her gold horseshoe. She had hit him hard enough for it to go flying off her hoof. Mage just kept on laughing even as his nose pissed blood everywhere.

"I'm done asking!" Celestia bellowed. "Tell me why you were in Manehattan! You went right after you met with Night Light and Velvet! They sent you didn't they!? Why did they send you? What were you looking for? ANSWER ME! Answer me before I rip the memories out of your skull!" Her magic grabbed him. He spit blood in her eyes and she dropped him. He scrambled and flipped over his cot, revealing the runed circle he had etched into the floor with his button, now freshly sprinkled with salt. Blood dripped from his face as he leaned over it.

A cylinder of yellow light screamed up out of the circle, enveloping his head. An instant later he flopped over onto the floor, looking up at her with dull, white eyes. Celestia grabbed him and put her horn to his head and broke into his mind.

A vast, empty, black void. At the center of the infinitely large, black room with no edges, in a tiny island of light, sat a young colt with a watering can at a tiny garden while he sang. 

"Will you reap the whirlwind,
From the seeds of wind you sow?
What fruits might come of your labor...?"

The little colt looked back over his shoulder at Celestia.

"Only you shall know."

The light flickered to darkness and Celestia found herself holding Mage's lifeless body in her magic. She brought her hoof back to punch him again, but thought better of literally beating a dead horse. She dropped him like a sack of potatoes. 

"By the stars!" the guard whimpered. "Did he just- is he...? What a way to kill yourself." Celestia sighed in tired frustration. "You know, Your Highness, when you showed up here, I thought is was to plan the memorial service next month. Not this!"

"For what?" she asked.

"For the anniversary of the zeppelin disaster. Hard to believe it's already been eleven months."

Eleven months... Celestia picked up her horseshoe. She found stuck to the inside of it, a shred of balloon latex that was sky blue.

Or rather,

Baby blue.
> By Any Means Necessary
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Tender dutifully stood behind the bar of his Canterlot pub, toweling dry the last of the pint glasses from the night and placed it on the shelf with the others. As he wiped down the shellac on his mahogany bar, the bell on the entrance jingled. It was long after last call. The sign on the door said that the bar was closed, and he was quite certain that he had locked it. It hardly mattered as he looked up at his visitor. He sighed. "Of all the cider joints in all the towns in all of Equestria... she walks into mine."

Princess Celestia wordlessly strode across the floor and took a seat at his bar. She waited for him to stop trying to towel away the stain in the wood that was nearly as old as he was. He had been expecting her, sooner or later. He knew why she was here. And she knew that he knew. Neither of them had any inclination to pretend otherwise. He laid the rag over his shoulder and looked at her with tired eyes.

"Good evening, Air Tender," she greeted.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was so late that it was early. "Morning." His reply was a shrewd correction disguised as a greeting eschewing any formalities.

"There's no nice way to say this, so I'm just going to say it: Your brother is dead." Air Tender's breath hitched in his throat. "Mage Star," she specified before he asked.

That, he was not expecting, genuinely taken aback. "He's dead?"

She nodded. "I just wanted to tell you about it before it ended up in the newspapers."

"How?"

"He killed himself in a jail cell. He had been arrested for killing two Royal Guards in Manehattan."

Air Tender scoffed. "Fiction can be fun, can't it? But I find the reference section much more enlightening. Mage would never hurt a fly."

Celestia looked him over, remembering all the times she had seen him in the past riddled with scrapes and bruises. "I find it amusing of you, of all ponies, to say so of your brother. Your tussles together were practically famous."

Air Tender looked away from her, catching his reflection in the bar mirror. He tongued the gap of a tooth missing from one such bout. She was right. He caught his brothers hooves more than anypony. He spat out a bit of lodged popcorn kernel. "Mage ain't never hurt nopony that didn't have it comin' to 'em!"

"I'm sure you're right," Celestia agreed, skirting the edge of being patronizing in her tone.

"But I'm sure this ain't just a social call on you to come by and tell me that my brother's going down as a suiciding cop-killer and you're here to give your condolences."

"No?"

"No." He nodded at the entrance of the bar. "Ain't nopony come walking through that door because their life is going so good."

"Quite right." Celestia reached into her bag and slid the shred of baby-blue balloon latex across his bar.

"What's a matter? Your coltfriend's condom break and you need a swift kick in the stomach?" he asked.

"If I wanted shit from you, I'd squeeze your head."

"Is that how he died?" he asked.

"Are you suggesting that I killed him?"

"I ain't suggesting shit! I'm saying, out loud, that I think you did!"

"Why would I do that? How, at all, would that profit me?" she asked.

"Because he knew something you didn't. And when he didn't tell you, you-" Tender made a hanging motion with his hoof, pantomiming a noose. "And he obviously didn't tell you, otherwise you wouldn't be here, dealing with my lame ass," he said with a flex of his wing nub.

"I did have some questions for your brother. I did ask nicely."

"And then, let me guess; You asked not-so-nicely?"

"No. He didn't give me the opportunity. He put his face into a rune that turned his brain into pourage. I believe it was his intention to erase his memories. But I fear his math was a little off."

"Is that the official story?" he asked.

"That's the truth. Take it or leave it. It makes no difference to me."

"So what now then? Are you going to give me the same treatment?" he asked.

"No. Not that I think you're any tougher than Mage. But you're smart enough to know that talking might actually save you."

Air Tender let out a dubious chortle. "Heh. So you want to know what I know, huh? Yeah, okay. That's about as nicely as I'd have expected you to ask. With a thinly veiled threat." He walked over to the back of his bar and opened the false wall to the  hidden distillery. He dipped a pitcher into the bath-tub vat of alcohol and carried it back over to set it down on the bar with a pair of shot glasses.

"Moonshine?" Celestia asked, knowing full well that it was. "I know you don't have a distillery permit. I could arrest you on the spot." He ignored her as he grabbed a bottle of Sweet Apple cider and Canterlot Reserve wine from the fridge and the appropriate drinking vessels. He poured two shot glasses of moonshine and opened the bottle of cider.

"You know how long I've been sober?" he asked her without waiting for a guess. "Twenty two years, eleven months and eighteen days. They say that quitting drinking is a twelve step process. Well, losing a wing was a one-step process. Mage thought that me owning a bar was the dumbest thing I could'a ever done." Air Tender opened the bottle of cider, looking wistful. "Eh, maybe he was right. But I don't think so. I've done plenty worse life choices." His hoof touched the lobe of his ear where his wedding earing used to be.

"Are you referring to your wife?"

"Ex-wife, thank you very much. And yeah. We were never gonna last. She was in love with the old me. Or rather, the young me. The party-till-dawn me. She'd of had me back to drinking long before working here ever would. And then all likely it'd be my dad putting me in a box rather than the other way round. But I've come this far. So I was doing something right. Near twenty three years sober. And you know what?" He held up the shot glass. She did not return the gesture. He quickly swallowed the shot of moonshine and chased it with cider. "Ah. Still tastes fucken great!"

He refilled his shot glass. "Look, I know you got questions. So now you can arrest me for moonshining, interrogate me, and suicide me in a cell just like Mage. Or we can skip all that bullshit and be civil about it here. Then you can let me drink myself to death like everypony said I would for the last two decades."

Celestia nodded. "As you wish." She tapped the balloon scrap on the bar. "This. I retraced my steps. I found the confetti. A balloon-a-gram delivered to Night and Velvet's house. Baby Blue."

"You wanna know what I know? Fine. I'll tell ya. You know why?"

"No. But I imagine you're about to tell me."

"Because it's fucken funny!" he said, throwing back another shot. "And because I think they would want you to know."

"They?"

Air Tender just started giggling. "No, no! Don't ruin the punchline yet! A good joke is all in the setup. And... hoo hoo this one is a doozy! The jig is up, Princess. Mage knew, I know, Cadance knows, Night and Velvet know. The truth about their family and your big plans..." He took another swig of cider.

"You know nothing!" she snapped. "My goals are beyond your comprehension!"

"Bullshit. You think I've never dealt with an entitled mother before!?" he asked. "Even if you win, you'll lose." He reached behind the bar and grabbed one of the bananas that he uses for daquiris. "Let me ask you, do you like bananas?" She gave no response as he peeled it. "I used to love bananas." He took a bite. "Not these though. I'm sure you remember what bananas used to taste like. Actually-" He grabbed a bottle of banana liqueur and poured a little bit into his shot glass. "Ah ha! Fake banana flavor! That's what they used to taste like. But then, because that strain of bananas lacked genetic diversity, they were all wiped out by a fungus! Now they're extinct!"

She raised an eyebrow at his academia.

"Yeah, that's right. Just because I run a bar doesn't mean I don't occasionally pick up a book. And you could learn a lot from the doomed banana. Because your precious alicorn race was the same way. Fragile. Just look at how hard it's been for you to try to breed one again. One little nudge in the wrong direction..." He flicked her shot glass off the side of his bar, causing it to smash on the floor, splattering moonshine everywhere. "And it all comes crashing down like a house of cards. And I think that's exactly what happened."

He opened a small tin of cigarettes and offered her one. "No? I don't blame you. Takes years off your life." He put one in his mouth and lit it as he smirked at the immortal alicorn. "That wingless alicorn that showed up all those eons ago? Just a regular ol' unicorn. But they must have seemed exotic to your race." He flexed his wing nub. "And lemme tell yeah, some ponies like exotic. I don't think it was some plague that wiped out the alicorns. It was evolution. Your fragile, recessive genes got buried by the survival of the fittest. All from being bred out of the population."

He took a long drag of his cigarette. "Your whole race, everypony was a bunch of whorses! Probably had competitions to see who could take the most zebra dicks! And your mother-"

A flash of golden shoe was all he saw before her hoof socked him in the jaw. His body spun around barely fast enough to keep up with his head from getting unscrewed as he was sent sprawling on the floor. Celestia snarled at him, "You keep her name out of your fucking filthy sewer!"

A life of fisticuffs had taught Air Tender to take a punch well. He just spat out the blood in his mouth and picked himself up, laughing as he did. "But the best part- the best part is..." He picked up the bit of latex. "The pony that did the most damage to your big plan... was you!" His smug chuckle erupted into a full belly laugh. He flicked the bit of balloon on the bar at her. "All you had to do was literally nothing, and you would have gotten what you wanted!"

Celestia slammed her hoof on the blue shred. "It's been eleven months since the zeppelin crash. Eleven months since Shining and Twilight vanished without so much as a trace. And now, to the day, this shows up at their parents' home!"

He laughed at her with a blood-soaked grin. "Well, shucks. It sounds like ya have it all figured out. But it was never about an alicorn colt, or being a mother, or even bringing back the alicorn race, was it? It was about power! And control! And as soon as you felt that slipping away, you flipped. And everypony saw you for what ya really are." He laughed. "But you won't win. Not even with another millennium and a whole new family tree. You know why? Because ponies don't like being controlled. Oh sure, you can dangle something shiny in front of them and fool them for a little while. But sooner or later, their freedom will be more valuable than anything you can offer them. Even if it means a choice between their freedom... and their lives." He put the cigarette back in his mouth and took one last look at his beloved tavern. "Here's looking at you, Princess." He flicked the hot cigarette into the tub of moonshine.

The explosion shattered all the windows in the city block and the fireball rising into the sky could be seen from Ponyville. Princess Celestia stepped out of the charred, skeletal remains of the pub littering the small crater in the wake of the blast. Her saddlebag had been incinerated, aloft as ash along with much of the rest of the structure. Her fur and golden regalia was blackened with soot, but was unburnt. She grit her teeth as she shifted her jaw from side to side, trying to get the ringing out of her ears. Glass from all the broken neighboring windows littered the streets. 

"This is why residential zoning within the city limits does not permit distilleries," she muttered. By the time the ponies in the surrounding area staggered out of their homes to see what happened, she was long gone.





The charred badges of office clattered across Luna's desk.

"They're dead?" Luna asked. Echo nodded. "That's unfortunate. I liked Sunshine and Meadowlark. What happened?"

"The official report is that Mage Star killed them and then himself in his jail cccell," Echo said.

Luna cocked an eyebrow. "The official report? Do not be coy! Why are you saying it like that?"

Echo smirked. "My sources tell me that your sister was there when Mage became deceasssed."

"You think she executed him?" Luna accused.

Echo shrugged. "I have no opinion on the matter. Though it should be of some interest to you that the printing room was a tizzy when she returned from her little... absenccce," she hissed. Echo took a rolled paper from her bag. The smell of fresh ink emanated from it. "One thousand of these will be distributed across Equestria as sunrissse."

Luna read over the document, "She's renewed the bounty for information on Shining and Twilight's whereabouts!"

"She thinks they've been captured, or kidnapped perhapsss," Echo added.

"What do you think?" Luna asked.

"I've read the Tirek incident reportsss. Any pony stupid enough to try to kidnap Twilight Sparkle would have to be more powerful that you and your sister combined." Echo pointed at the badges. "Or else they'll end up as a greasy stain just like these two idiots."

"You think that's what Mage Star was doing in Manehattan? Looking for them?" Luna asked.

Echo flicked her ear in speculation, "It would certainly make a lot of these pieces fit. If he was looking for them with Sunshine and Meadowlark tailing him... That old bounty was all they talked about for weeks after the crasssh."

Luna turned over the badged in her hoof.

"Do you think we'll find them?" Echo asked.

Luna sighed. "I think what we will find... will be a lot more bounty-hunter-shaped scorch marks. And Tia will only be too happy to follow the trail."





"Let the bounty hunters hunt," Celestia said to the darkness. "Hunting is a fool's game. Too much left to chance. The lancer tracking a rabid boar can, with one misstep, become the hunted, run through with a tusk. No. The truly cunning hunter is not a hunter at all, but a trapper! And what good would a trap be without the right bait?" she asked.

"Is that why you've come here?" the darkness asked. "Am I meant to be your... bait?"

"Do you really believe that I've so little respect for you?" she asked. "No, no. You will deliver the bait to me."

The darkness growled, "And you claim to respect! I am not your puppet!"

"As you wish," Celestia said. "If that be your choice, then enjoy the void for the rest of eternity."

Smoke poured from the darkness and gathered together into a unicorn as black as ink. "What do you offer?"

"The Crystal Empire is shielded to keep me out," Celestia said. "But not you. Not anymore. You will go there, and you will deliver to me the alicorn filly, Flurry Heart, by any means necessary. However, she is to be unspoiled! That is not negotiable! Do this, and you may keep the Empire for yourself. But if you betray me-"

"What? You'll kill me again?" he asked, mocking such a threat.

"Oh no, my dear Sombra... if you betray me, you'll wish that was all I did to you." 





Shouts rose up though the Crystal Palace. "She's back! She's back!" 

Princess Cadance ran through the hallways towards the shouts of the nanny matron. "Who? Princess Celestia!?"

Cherub Whine slammed the doors behind her and sealed them with her magic. "No! HE is back! The Dark King! Get to the safe room! The others are holding him off! I'll get Flurry from the nursery!"

Cadance felt her heart drop as she ran past her. "Cherry, no! I'm coming with you!" Cadance screamed, running after her. Cherry turned to corner to the nursery and was immediately thrown back by a massive dark crystal thrown through her. She was dead before her body even hit the ground. Cadance had her shield fully at the ready as she charged into the nursery. King Sombra stood over Flurry's crib, holding the young filly in his hooves. Cadance's horn glowed bright white.

"Ah ah," Sombra chided. "No unless you want the last thing you ever see to be her, dead."

"Please don't hurt her!" Cadance cried. The words sounded so weak, but she couldn't stop them any more than her tears.

"I've no intention to hurt her," Sombra said. "IF you submit!"

"Swear it! Swear on your magic you won't hurt her!" Cadance demanded. Sombra was evil. As evil as they come. A lying, cheating murderer that was never to be trusted. But words still had power in magic. And none, not even he, were beyond their consequences.

"I swear on my magic, that I will not hurt her, IF YOU SUBMIT!" he growled.

Cadance knew he could kill Flurry instantly if he chose to. But she had no time and no other bargaining chips. It was as good a deal as she could hope for, for the sake of her daughter. Cadance lowered her shield and bowed before the king. In an instant, he struck her horn with dark crystals, disabling her magic. Manacles appeared, binding her wings and hooves. Bound by his word, Sombra placed Flurry back in her crib, unharmed. Cadance, however...

The king slapped her face and sent her tumbling across the floor. His magic enveloped her and placed he in front of himself, prostrated, with her face to the floor and her hind end in the air. He grabbed her tail in her hoof and pulled it roughly to the side. Cadance dared to look back as the king unsheathed his weapon to plunder his prize. He grabbed her mane with his other hoof, pushed her face into the floor harder and snarled into her ear. "This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your prince!"






Screams echoed across the Empire

Noises that no pony should ever make

The sounds of nightmares 

That would make a pony's blood run cold

Colder than the Frozen North.






Night Light and Twilight Velvet ran through the mayhem of the Palace, past terrified ponies towards the tortured shrieks.

By the time they got to the nursery, the whole floor was covered in blood.

Flurry Heart sat in the middle of the room, slapping at the pools playfully like it were mud puddles.

In the corner, Princess Cadance sat, shaking in terror with her hooves over her eyes. The manacles and dark crystals were gone.

Night Light looked around the room while Velvet rushed over to Cadance. "Cadie! Cadie what the hell happened!? Where's Sombra?" 

Cadance looked up from her shaking hooves, across the room of viscera at tiny Flurry Heart. "D-do you know any memory spells?" she asked.

"What?"

"F- Flurry... she" Cadance tried to say. "She... when she saw him- When he tried to r-r- When she saw him hurt me, she- her magic!" 

Flurry just giggled as she drew doodles on the floor like it was hoof paint. 

Cadance turned away and gagged. She wiped her mouth and looked back at Velvet with horrified eyes. "Velvet, she peeled him apart like he was a fucking orange! Pieces at a time! And she- she kept him alive the whole time. I don't even know how! And then she went to work on his damn ghost, until there was nothing, nothing left of him to even send to hell!"

Night Light swallowed and kneeled down to close Cherub's eyes. "Well... I guess he got what he had coming to him."

Velvet gingerly scooped up the foal in her hooves. "If it's of any comfort, at least we know she can defend herself now. But she could still use a bath. If that's okay with you, Flurry." Flurry giggle with glee and nuzzled against her grandmare, marring her fur with crimson stains. 

Night Light helped Cadance to her hooves to follow Velvet to the washroom. "Let's... just be glad she's on our side."
> A New Star
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re quiet this morning,” Princess Luna noted, sitting at the breakfast table across from her older sister. “Usually you jump at the opportunity to chat with me when I join you for breakfast.”

“Hmm,” Celestia barely responded, not even lifting her eyes from her plate. The only other sound was the faint ticking of the clock, and the scratch of silverware against ceramic as she cut another piece of her pancakes. She glanced at the time, awaiting her morning report. The sun had been up for twenty nine minutes. On cue, Kibitz trotted in with the usual documents, detailing the coming and goings, both domestic and abroad, including an envelope among the scrolls. Finished with her meal, Luna took the tray of paperwork, opening the conspicuous envelope first. Her eyes went wide in shock.

“Tia! The Crystal Empire has been attacked! King Sombra returned!”

Celestia put down her utensils and asked insistently, “And!? Is Flurry okay?" She asked in genuine concern.

Luna read the rest of the letter rapidly. “There were casualties... but Flurry and Cadance are okay… Sombra was defeated! But this… this happened last night! Why didn’t she call for aid?”

“You’re welcome to ask her on our behalf,” Celestia said, taking the letter from her and looking over the details of the report. “Though I suspect it may be some time before she gets over her independence phase. Besides, what need does she have of us? Especially considering Sombra was defeated without us or the Elements.”

“And what of Cherub and the other guard mares that died?” Luna asked.

“They died in the line of duty. They’ll be given a memorial service with full honors, of course.” Celestia wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Now if you’ll excuse me, this matter has soured my appetite. And I must go prepare for Day Court.”

“Yes, sister, I understand,” Luna said as Celestia got up from the table to start walking away. “But there is just one more matter…” Luna produced a scroll from her bag. “You renewed the bounty for Shining and Twilight?”

Celestia stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “Just because Cadance has abandoned us does not mean I will do the same to my hope for them,” She said before returning to her study in haste. 

“How magnanimous of you...” Luna muttered.

Celestia entered her study and locked the ward on the door behind her. She drew together her magic to open the portal.

“Another trip to the void for you?” Discord’s voice asked from the bust of Starswirl the Bearded on her desk. The face morphed into his, complete with a smirk before he leaped out of it to stand in front of her in his true form.

Celestia jumped back in surprise but stood her ground. “From your tone, I suppose you expect me to refute that.”

Discord shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me, either way. But I think we’re a bit beyond subtlety at this point.”

“What do you want?”

“Oh, I just thought I’d save you a trip,” he said. “You won’t find him there.”

Celestia shook the letter in her hoof. “It said he was defeated. Did they capture him? Where is he?” she asked.

Discord laughed, “Where is he? Oh ho! He was all over the nursery floor and a fair bit on the walls too! It was really quite impressive to watch. Though I do pity the janitorial staff.”

“But his spirit-“

“That, my dear Celestia, nopony will be finding anywhere.”

“Impossible.”

“You sound so certain of it,” Discord teased. “Scour the Void for yourself if you don’t believe me. It hardly matters. Though the more relevant issue now is you. What is next for Celestia and her grand scheme? I mean, aside from alienating everypony that matters to you. First Velvet and Night Light-”

“They abandoned me! Betrayed me!” Celestia snarled. “After everything I did for them for years, they turned their backs on me.”

“Please,” Discord mocked. “You straight-faced asked Night Light to rape his own daughter. And then allowing Sombra to nearly do the same! Even to a guy like me, that’s just cold! You couldn’t really expect Night Light to put your desires ahead of his regard for his own children, did you? Of course he was going to conspire against you to help them go on the lam.”

“So they are alive.”

“Was there ever a doubt in your mind?” he asked. “You’ve known Twilight her whole life. Believing that she could make friends to save Nightmare Moon was a leap of faith. But to think that a simple blimp crash could kill her when even Tirek could not is just downright gullibility! But now they’re gone. Their parents are gone with Cadance and Flurry now that you’ve lost those ties. Sombra has been annihilated. And now you’re even lying to your closest confidante, Luna. It would seem your list of allies wears thin.”

“Luna is still my ally! Where else would her loyalties possibly lie but with me?”

“And yet you will never tell her just how Sombra managed to free himself from the Void, will you?” Discord asked, already knowing the answer. “Is it shame? Or is it fear that she too would turn against you?” She glared at him. “Does it ever bother you, Celestia, knowing just how truly alone you really are?”

“What do you want?” Celestia snarled. “Clearly you wish to extort something of me to keep your silence.”

“Oh, ho, ho!” Discord let out a full belly laugh. “Oh no, no, no, Celestia, you have it all wrong! That, you do not need to buy from me! I have no intention of telling Luna your plans, or anypony for that matter!”

“Why not?” Celestia asked. “You seem to enjoy torturing me.”

“You misunderstand,” Discord wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. “I’m enjoying watching you suffer from your own misdeeds. Karmic retribution is always so amusing! But I haven’t a paw in any of it!” Discord thought, wistfully. “I mean, aside from giving one of you a little extra equipment to play with in the bedroom. But that was entirely inconsequential. But so long as you don’t get my dear Fluttershy caught up in your schemes, then I have no reason to interfere with this spectacle you’ve orchestrated. It's the most entertainment I've witnessed in eons! Goodness Celestia, you could teach me a thing or two about chaos! The way you just throw yourself at problems-”

Celestia grabbed the letter opener from her desk and stabbed Discord in the chest. He cried out as she stabbed him again and again. “Ow! Ouch! Oh, I’m in so much actual pain right now, I might surely perish from your impotent rage!” He feigned, looking at her and waiting. “Are you quite finished?” She threw the letter opener at the floor in a huff. Discord dusted himself off as the holes in his chest morphed closed like clay.

“Tell me where Twilight and Shining are!”

“Oh, I can’t do that. You know how much I hate spoilers!”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Does it matter? What would be the fun in that?” he asked without waiting for an answer. “Though I’ll tell you what. Since you’ve been so... amusing, I’ll see about giving them a nudge in your direction should the opportunity arise.” He patted her on the head with his paw. “Just be patient, my dear. After all, you have all the time in the world.”

Discord vanished in a snap, leaving her standing alone in her study. She needed to hurry to make it to Day Court. She focused on her breathing to calm herself. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Everything that had gone wrong had done so because of her mistakes and rash impulsiveness. There was no real reason for her to rush, after all. She had come this far through the centuries because of her patience. It was a marathon, after all. Just because the finish line was within sight was no reason to sprint. She had only herself to blame for stumbling. Things were less than ideal at the moment, but even these obstacles were not insurmountable.

The tension between her and Cadance was not between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. As far as the common citizen was concerned, nothing was amiss. Sombra’s mysterious skirmish notwithstanding. Though perhaps she could use even that failure to her advantage, to bring Cadance back into the fold under the protection of the rest of Equestria. A quandary for another time. For now, there was Day Court to see to.

Celestia held her head high with regal poise and walked with purpose in her stride. 
She was still in control. 
She had time to wait. 
After all...






...

Time was a luxury that Celestia had in abundance.

...







“Happy birthday, Princess!” the royal guard said, presenting the gift with a courteous bow.

“Thank you, Sergeant Sleet!” Princess Flurry Heart said, graciously accepting the oblong box from the last in a long line of presenting citizens. She felt the weight of the box in her hooves and looked to her mother with excited eyes. “May I open this one now?” she asked, not wanting to merely add this one to the receiving table.

Princess Cadance looked to the guard at the throne room door. “If there are no more…?” The guard shook his head. “Very well, Flurry, you may.”

Flurry excitedly pulled off the ribbon and the wrapping paper and then very carefully lifted the lid to reveal, laying in a felt lining, a pristine sword and scabbard. “Yes!” Flurry grabbed the sword out of the box and unsheathed it. She jumped off her throne to start swinging it around.

Cadance balked, “You can’t give her that! It’s not safe!”

“It’s a sword, Your Highness,” Sleet said. “It’s not meant to be safe.”

“She’s a child!”

“It’s educational.”

“What if she hurts herself?”

“That will be a very important lesson.”

“Flurry, do you even know the first thing about sword fighting!?” Cadance asked.

“Hit ‘em with the point end!” Flurry said.

“… Yes, I suppose that would be the first thing.”

“You’ve used the wooden one long enough,” Sleet said. “I felt it was time for you to have the real thing now that you’re old enough.”

Flurry spun the hilt in her hoof and dropped into a crouch before leaping into the air with a mighty beat of her wings. She bounded off the wall of the throne room and dove back down into a tumble before springing back up into a leaping flip. She came down with the sword in a sweeping slash with a proud battle cry, stopping just a hair’s breadth from Sleet’s neck. He didn’t so much as even blink. Flurry carefully put the sword back in its scabbard.

Cadance huffed indignantly. “So these have been you ‘dance’ lessons?” she asked. Flurry smiled with guilt.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” Sleet said with a bow of deference. “I take full responsibility. I was under orders to not tell you.”

“On whose authority!?” Cadance asked. He glanced at Flurry. “Of course.”

“Even mages run out of spells,” Flurry said, quoting her teacher.

“I guess this explains why I was never asked to any recitals. I can’t imagine that your father would approve of this.”

Sleet stepped forward. “I’m afraid I must object, Your Highness.” He turned over the scabbard in the box to show the backside. Flurry looked at it and then up at the portrait above the throne that had been done of her family shortly after she was born. “Yes, that’s your father’s mark. This was his sword of office when he was Captain of the Royal Guard. He kept it in the armory to one day be given to his foal. I believe it was his intention to give it to his eldest son, once he graduated officer school, but…”

The corner of Flurry Heart’s lips trembled for a moment, but only a moment. She blinked quickly and swallowed any whimper and nodded. “Thank you, sir. It’s an honor.”

Sergeant Sleet bowed lower. “As always, Your Majesty, the honor is mine.” He bowed again to Cadance. “Your Majesties." He took two steps backwards away from the throne and turned to dismiss himself.

Cadance’s eyes followed him out and she nodded to the guard at the door to dismiss him. He bowed as well and stepped out to his post in the hallway, closing the door behind him. She looked at her daughter, sitting next to her.

“Flurry, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m not a child! I have my cutie mark!”

“I know that.”

“Then why did you call me one!?” Flurry shouted.

“When-?“

“Just now!” she said, holding the sword box. “I earned this! I worked hard to earn this and you called me a child!”

“I’m sorry Flurry. You’re right. But you must understand, you’ll always be my child.” Flurry’s pout did not improve. “Where’s the anger coming from?” She didn't answer. “Flurry, where’s the anger coming from?”

Flurry looked over her mother’s shoulder at the giant painting. “When’s Dad coming home?”

“I don’t know, sweetie.”

“I miss him.”

“I miss him too. I miss him so much. And I know he misses us too.” Cadance hugged her daughter and they both looked at the painting together. “And he will come home. Someday. When there are no more monsters left to run from. No more monsters left to fight.”

“I’m not scared of monsters. I can help. I can fight!” Flurry said.

Cadance faced her daughter and kneeled down to look at her, face to face. “I know. I know you can fight." She put her hoof to her daughter's cheek to dry her tears. “But it’s our wits that make us better than the monsters.”





The foal watched Twilight Sparkle close and lock the bedroom window. “Can’t I sleep with it open tonight, Mom? It gets so stuffy in here at night.”

Twilight frowned. “You know we can’t.” Her horn glowed, along with the window frame as she sealed it with protective wards. The concentration of magic made the fur stand up on her foal’s legs. “I know you don’t like them, but it keeps the monsters out.”

“I’ve never seen any monsters!”

Twilight smiled and tucked her foal in. “Then that means the wards are working.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them.”

“I know sweetie. I can feel how cloying it is too,” Twilight said. “It makes it hard to fall asleep. But it’s a lot better than worrying all night about you.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I am your mother,” Twilight said, giving a kiss goodnight. “It’s my job to worry about you. Now try to get some sleep.” She closed the door and went back to her bedroom, climbing into bed with her brother.

“How’s our little pony?” Shining Armor asked.

“Still sensitive to the wards,” Twilight said.

“Aren’t you?” he asked, also feeling the static sensation in his own fur. Twilight pretended not to notice the discomfort, as though her skin was too dry. “Maybe if you didn’t use so many or didn’t make them as strong-“

“No!” Twilight snapped. “I won’t chance it. Not after last time.”

“Twi, it’s been almost a year since the last time we saw a bounty hunter. They’ve probably given up by now.”

“If our foal went missing, would you have given up by now?” she asked, rolling over to look at him. “Would I?”

Shining frowned. “No. Of course not.” Shining shifted against his bedding, trying to ignore the itching sensation after it had been brought back to his attention again. “I know it’s not as bad for you, since they’re your wards. But you could let us cast our own. You know we can. Hell, by now I’m probably outclassed as a teacher.”

“Being an alicorn does make magic easier,” Twilight admitted. “But it still takes just as much discipline. Maybe more. You know magic is a sword that cuts both ways. Being an alicorn just makes it a bigger sword. Bigger mistakes.”

“Don’t you have any faith in yourself as a teacher?” Shining asked. “They’re your magic lessons after all.”

“Of course.”

“Then have faith in your student. Even Celestia gave you that freedom.”

“I wasn’t Celestia’s foal.”

“I know. But she sure treated you like it. I mean- back before everything went sideways.”

Twilight closed her eyes and reminisced about those late winter nights in Celestia’s private study reading ancient tomes alongside her mentor with a couple mugs of warm cocoa. It was easy to romanticize the past when looking through those rose-colored glasses. Opening her eyes, she was at once confronted with present circumstances, looking at her brother beside her in bed. The three of them in hiding, on the run. She asked him the same question that was plaguing her own mind, “Do you regret it?”

Shining rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. Her question was vague but he knew exactly what she meant. “I regret that it had to happen. But we would have been here no matter what.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if we kept us a secret. With Mom being too old and Cadance being barren, Celestia would have set her sights on you. If not with me, then Dad. She would have made us… do it. And even if you ran away, there would have still been Flurry. We would’ve had to leave if only to protect her.”

“Cadance would have protected her.”

Shining snorted “I should hope so.”

“I mean, Dad is with her…” Twilight glanced over at the scrapbook on the nightstand. It was filled with pictures and stories from newspaper clippings of the Crystal Empire. It was how Shining watched his daughter grow up into a beautiful filly. Flurry's Cute-ceañera and her most recent birthday celebration, posing with her mother and grandparents.

“Cadance would protect her,” Shining agreed, saying it out loud as much for himself as her. Especially now that Flurry was at that age.

“And Dad too,” Twilight assured him. “Her ward is powered by the entire Empire. It’ll keep Celestia out of his head. But if we were to just show up there…”

“You really think Celestia would declare civil war?” he asked.

"That would be if we were lucky," Twilight said. "An army you can see coming. But no. I’d be more worried about everypony else at that point. Just because the shield keeps her out doesn’t stop bounty hunters, assassins or other opportunists.”

“I’d be worried about that too,” Shining admitted. “Though I remember what things were like when we first met Thorax. The security measures that were in place, and there’s only been more added since the Sombra incident. I’m sure she could teach you a thing or two about paranoia.”

“Hmm. Maybe you’re right,” Twilight said. Reuniting with the rest of her family in the Crystal Empire was a tremendous temptation. “But we can talk about it more later. For tonight I have enough on my mind.” She kissed him and rolled over. A moment later he snuggled up behind her, presenting a more pressing matter. “Really? I’d have thought all this talk of doom and gloom would have robbed you of your desire.”

“It would take more than that to rob me of my desire for you,” he whispered and nibbled on her ear.

Twilight smiled and purred as she melted into his embrace. “Hmm, it’s not a good week, Shiny.”

“I know,” he said, pressing his nose into her mane to drink in her musky scent. “I’ve been cooped up in this place with you, with all the windows closed. How could I not notice?”

“I didn’t enjoy being pregnant while on the run.”

“Hopefully we won’t be on the run much longer.”

“What? Do you intend we raise an army ourselves?”

He kissed his way down along her neck. He rolled her onto her back and moved over her, between her legs. He smiled and showed off his visible excitement for her. “Maybe just enough for a Buckball team, for now.”

Twilight rolled her eyes sighed in both frustration and relief as he shifted forward. It always felt too good to say no to. It would not have been the first time it got them in trouble. “I wish I could quit you.”





Oh, to be a fly on the wall…

Or to be a firefly tapping against a foal’s bedroom window, catching the attention of the restless pony. Hot, stuffy, and itchy from the ward, it took little other motivation for the hooves to undo the latch and open the window.

The air of the summer night was warm, but the moving breeze was a relief to the stagnant air in the room. The firefly darted away into the darkness of the night. The foal’s genuine fatigue outweighed any curiosity to pursue the incandescent insect. Refreshing though the air was, it only made it easier to fall asleep.

The firefly laughed to its tiny self. "Chaos is a lot like gravity. All it needs is a little nudge in the right direction."





Princess Luna trotted among the twinkling stars of the dreamscape. Constellations of dreamers in little bubbles, each a pocket dimension of their own crafting. The tiny lights blinked on and off as each dream began and ended. She flittered among the dreams of the foals, on the lookout for anypony in distress.

A new star appeared in front of her, so bright and terrible with its awesome power she could hear it in her eyes. Every single hair of her fur stood on end as the taste of electricity spread through her mouth and the smell of ozone filled her nose. She had felt a force like this before. The last time it happened it threw her out of her own province. And though it still caught her off guard, she held fast within her realm and faced it. She pushed through the blare of power to the familiar presence. Like the violent shore-break of ocean surf, she forced her way through the power radiating from the bubble, parting the curtain of its borders to the calm waters of the unwarded dream beyond of Twilight’s foal.

The little foal sat in the bedroom window, looking up at the moon in the night sky of dreamscape. The face of the moon shifted and morphed into the shadow of Luna, turning to look back down. In a flash, she emerged from the moon and drifted down to the small window, causing the foal to scurry back in fear. In a flash of magic she blinked from outside and reappeared in the small bedroom. The foal dove onto the bed and held a blanket up in a futile attempt at defense.

“Hello there, little one,” Luna greeted. “There is no need to be frightened. I will not harm you.” Frightened eyes peered over the top of the blanket shield. “There you are. What’s your name?”

“My mom says I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”

“Ah, yes. Apologies. Where are my manners? My name is Luna.”

“Like, Princess Luna?”

Luna smiled, seeing the pony lower the blanket. “I see my reputation precedes me.” Her horn glowed and she flourished her wings.

“I read about you in a book. You have wings and a horn, like my mom.”

“So do you, I see. That makes you a very special colt,” she said. 

“I know.”

She looked him over. His eyes were the same rich, amber hue of his grandfather's. His mane was a darker shade of lavender than his mother's fur with a streak of indigo running through it, and conversely, his horn, wings and fur were the bold blue of his father's mane. It made his cutie mark especially striking. The six points of a yellow star, broken apart.

Luna looked out the window for any identifiable landmarks. There was naught but the tree line of a deciduous forest. Like one of any number that dotted Equestria's vast landscape. "Where are you?" she asked. His thoughts could betray him, but even the colt did not rightly know where he was beyond 'home'.

~

Twilight Sparkle was normally a sound sleeper after a round of coitus with her brother. But something caused her to stir awake. Some instinctive gut feeling that only a mother could have. It was never rational and most often a false alarm, but it was never something she ignored. She got out of her bed to go check on her son.

~

“Your mother, Twilight Sparkle is a princess. That means you’re a prince.”

“Really!?”

Luna nodded and extended her hoof to shake his. "Now then, what shall I call my prince?"

~

Twilight walked into her son's bedroom. His window was open, and the sleeping colt was bathed in light of Luna's moon. Twilight could feel her presence. "NO!"

Luna saw the ghostly figure of Twilight Sparkle charge into the dream. A blast of magic slammed into Luna and threw her out of the dream as Twilight snapped the ward closed again. The bright light of the dream bubble vanished before Luna's eyes.

~

Twilight shook her colt until he blinked awake with bleary eyes. "M-mom? Wh- what hap-"

"Did you see her!?" Twilight asked in terrified desperation. "Did she see you?"

"Wha-?"

"Princess Luna! She was in your dream!?" Twilight asked again.

"Y-yeah," he said.

"What did she want? What did she say? What did she do to you?"

"She... she tried to shake my hoof."

"Did she touch you? Did she touch your hoof?" she asked, inspecting it for any harm. He shook his head. "What did she want?" Shining Armor rushed in to the sounds of shouting.

"She asked me my name," the colt said.

Twilight Sparkle held his face with her trembling hooves. "And...?"

His parents both looked at him with worried eyes, waiting for an answer.





Sitting across from Princess Celestia at the breakfast table, Princess Luna smirked from behind her coffee mug. This did not escape Celestia's notice, "Somepony had a good night. You're looking like the cat that got the cream."

"A good night indeed, sister," Luna said. "I visited the dream of a certain prince."

Celestia cocked an eyebrow and sipped her tea. "Oh? Is Blueblood still entertaining his infatuation with his aunt?"

Luna just shook her head. "A different prince."

Celestia's demeanor shifted to all seriousness. "Shining Armor!?"

Luna's grin was the very picture of smug. "No. His son."

Celestia's tea cup shattered against the tile floor. "How!?"

"Somepony forgot to ward their dream."

"You know where they are?" Celestia asked, already out of her seat.

Luna shook her head. "I didn't have enough time. But I did glean one little nugget of information that might be of interest to you." She paused to tease her sister's anxiety. "His name. Nova. Nova Sparkle. In Olde Ponish, it means the appearance of a new star in the night sky."

Celestia slumped back into her seat and felt a chill run across her flank. She put her hoof to her own cutie mark. 
"Or it could mean the death of one."
> Going Rogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia flew up to the peak of Canterlot Mountain. So near the height of summer it was one of the last places outside of the Frozen North that still kept its snow. Hooves just as white touched down in the packed powder for just a moment before lofting into the air again. With her magic, she brought forth the dawn.

As the sun crested the horizon she set it on its path across the sky and then she drifted back down onto the snow. She turned in a slow circle looking to the horizon in all directions, and the endless stretch of the mountain's shadow to the west. She looked and she wondered, with the same question that had been plaguing her mind for years.

Where are you, Nova?





"Where are you, Nova?" Twilight Sparkle asked, waving a hoof in front of her day-dreaming son's face. He blinked at the bright light cutting through the trees from the rising sun in the east. "Come on, focus."

"Ugh, it's too early for this!" Nova groaned.

"Still not sleeping well?" she asked. He shook his head and yawned, stretching his hooves out from under the plain cloak he was wearing over his wings, the same as his mother's. "It doesn't matter," she continued, "If a monster wakes you out of a dead sleep, you need to be ready to defend yourself!"

"You know I can!" he said. One of the nearby tree's snapped and fell over towards him. Nova screamed, but the trunk was stopped at the last moment with a purple aura as Twilight caught it with her magic. The same magic that cut the tree in the first place.

"Awake now?" Twilight asked, tossing the tree aside. Nova glared at her, but he couldn't deny that the adrenaline rush did the trick. "That should have been your magic stopping it!"

"My guard was down!" he said. "This is supposed to be a safe environment," he motioned between them.

"Never assume that!" Twilight scolded. "No place is safe. Only safer."

"Yeah, well, if I was ready-" Nova's magic picked up the tree and shattered it into perfectly-sized firewood and stacked the hundreds of pieces neatly in beautiful choreography beside the small cabin they were able to call home for almost two years.

"But you weren't!" Twilight said. "That's the point!" 

Nova looked her in the eyes. He saw the reflection of a bolder the size of a cannon ball sailing towards them. In a flash he teleported to turn around in place with his magic shield already up. Before it even reached his shield he caught it with his magic and shattered it, sending it flying back at their attacker like grapeshot. The pieces shattered into flaming sparks of the brown unicorn's shield.

"He was ready for that one," Shining said, stepping out of his shield.

"Hey, Dad," Nova greeted.

Shining's fur was the color of mud and his mane was dyed black as charcoal. He set down his bag and tossed away the straw hat that was covering his horn. "Twi, do you mind?" he asked. Twilight's magic lifted a pail of water out of the well and warmed it before dumping it over him to wash out his disguise for traveling into town.

"You're late," Twilight said.

"Yeah, well, when the whole world is looking for you, traveling by night is safer. But it's never safe. Especially these woods."

"Well maybe next time I should come with you," Nova said.

"No!" Twilight said.

"You always tell me to never be out here alone," he said.

"Yes, you! That's why I stay behind. Your father and I can handle ourselves."

"So can I!"

"No. Your mother's right. I'm fine on my own."

"Come on, let's finish the lesson," Twilight said. "Then we can do flying practice."

Nova looked at the flower in the grass and focused. He closed his eye and the flower glowed along with his horn. The petals closed back up into a bulb. He looked at his mother. "There. Happy?" He threw off his cloak. Twilight quickly put it back on him.

"A cloak or a hat!" Twilight said. "Always wear at least one or the other when outside of the house!"

"Yeah yeah-"

"Do not blow this off, Nova!" Twilight scolded. "You are too important! We have been hiding your entire life because of what you are. If anypony saw this, all of that would be undone!" Nova snorted at her. "Now go get your flying helmet."

"I don't need a helmet to fly!" he shouted. 

"Lower your voice!"

"I can fly fine! I don't need flying practice, and I don't need magic lessons! You're always telling me what to do, what to wear and where I can't go! I'm like a fucking prisoner!"

"Language!" Shining scolded. Nova pulled his cloak back off and stormed away with a huff. He went inside the house and slammed the door.

Twilight sat in the grass. She sighed and put her face into her hooves. "A prisoner is exactly what I'm afraid of for him. A prisoner or worse."

Shining sat down beside her. "He's right, you know. This... this is no life for him. He hasn't even seen another living pony in years. How much longer are we going to do this?"

"I don't know. But all that matters right now is our survival," Twilight said.

Shining gave her a weak smile. "There's more to living than just surviving." He looked at the flower bulb beside them "He's on age spells now? That's pretty high level stuff."

Twilight nodded. "He was right about that, too. He doesn't need any more magic lessons. I've taught him everything I can. His abilities are... beyond me now."

"Just plants, though? Not animals yet? Ponies?"

Twilight looked at him and ran her hoof through his mane, trying not to look at the grey hairs starting to appear. She shook her head. "No. Not yet. He just needs more practice, and to work on his-"

"Attitude?"

"Yeah." Twilight grabbed Shining's saddle bag. "Did you get everything we needed?"

Shining blushed. "Yeah, and-" 

Twilight pulled out a few magazine issues. "Oh? The swimsuit edition of Buckball Illustrated? Vanity Mare? PlayColt?  I'm sorry, Shiny, am I not enough for you?"

"They're not for me."

"Well my barn door doesn't swing that way..." Twilight paused. "At least, I don't think so."

"They're not for you, either."

"What, you don't mean Nova, do you?"

"We he is at that age." Shining said. "His attitude is probably stemming from a lot of pent up frustration. And he clearly needs an outlet. I mean, you don't think he was actually 'studying' all those times he locked his door do you?" Twilight shrugged. "You don't do the laundry, Twi. I do. And believe me, that colt turns his sheets into a modern art masterpiece every week! And you've certainly only made things harder for him this season. Probably literally."

"But Shining, we-"

"Yeah, we did. And just because I put your flames out doesn't mean you're not still in heat. Even if you can't smell yourself, I can. And if I can, he can. And you know what that does to a colt."

"But I'm his mother."

Shining raised an eyebrow at his sister. "Are you really going to play that card?" She rolled her eyes. "Trust me. The same thing happened with me and Mom before I went off the Royal Guard. Happens to every colt. It made me super horny and I had no idea why."

"Do you think that's why you- why we-"

"No. You were still my choice, always," Shining assured her. "But that did make it a little easier."

"Hmff."

"But I'm serious Twi. It's not like he'll ever be able to have a regular marefriend. You are the only mare he has ever known. And to be fair, he is older than I was when Mom and I-"

"Yeah. I remember. I was there."

"So unless you want to offer yourself up to him..."

"Shining!"

"I'm not judging. And I wouldn't be jealous... I don't think. But Twi, you and I know we were never going to have normal lives, being a part of all this."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll- I'll just give him the damn magazines. And I'll do the wash from now on if it's such a big problem for you." She grabbed the magazines and went inside. 

Nova's door was closed. Twilight knocked.

"I'm studying!"

Twilight winced. She liked it better when she didn't know what that was code for. "May I come in?"

"Gimmie a second." She could hear the frustration in his voice. After a moment she heard the door unlatch. "Okay."

"Okay, I'm... opening the door now..." Twilight opened the door. She hadn't noticed it before, at least she wasn't consciously aware of it. But now she couldn't ignore his room drenched in the musk of a stallion. Nova was on his bed with his cloak draped over his body and his Equestrian Civics book that he was pretending to study. "I'm, uh... sorry to interrupt your... studying. But, uh... your father, he uh... got you some... *ahem* study materials. So I'm just going to... leave these... here... over here... on your desk. For you to... study."

Nova got up to see what they were. The corner of his cloak got caught under his book, pulling it off him.

Twilight averted her eyes. He certainly inherited the best parts of his father.

Nova quickly grabbed his cloak to cover himself, sending the civics book onto the floor. It flopped open to where he had bookmarked it. 

The pages with pictures of Princess Celestia.

Twilight was naïve, but she was no fool. It took her all of a second to connect the dots.

"No..." She snatched the book up with her hoof. He tried to take it back. "NO! If you want smut, have it!" She swept her hoof across his desk and practically threw the magazines at him. "Feel free to study-" she grit her teeth and dropped the euphemisms. "Clop off to anypony you like! Clop off to me if you want!"

"Mom-"

"But NOT HER! Do you understand me!? This mare ruined our lives! How many times have I told you!? She's the entire reason why we are in hiding! She doesn't deserve you, and she definitely doesn't deserve your affections!"

"Okay Mom. Okay. But just give her- just give it back..."

And then Twilight did something that she never, ever thought she would ever do, not in a hundred lifetimes. She destroyed a book. She ripped out every page with Celestia's image and incinerated them with her magic.

"Mom! Why!?"

"I assure you, she deserves far worse!" Twilight spat. She turned to leave. "There'll be no flying practice. You're grounded. Stay in your room today." She closed the door behind her.

"FINE!" he screamed at her through the door, "Like this place couldn't be any more of a FUCKING prison!"

Twilight closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. The venom in his words stung her heart. But she would get over it. He would get over it. In time he would come to see her wisdom. But for now, it stung.

"Well that sounded like it went well," Shining sarcassed from just outside, getting a cooking fire started. "Are you sure you didn't want to yell louder? I don't think the next town over could quite hear all that."

"You won't believe what I just caught your son doing."

"Why is it whenever he fucks up he's suddenly my son and not our son?" Shining scoffed. "And yeah, I can take a guess what he was doing. Every colt does it."

"Yeah, clopping off. But guess to who?"

"Don't you mean to whom?"

"Shining, I swear-"

"Fine! Sorry! Whooo was he clopping off to?"

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight said. Shining snickered. "What, you don't think that's a problem?"

"Easy Twi, don't get your teats in a tussle! I'm pretty sure every colt in Equestria has yanked their crank to Celestia at some point." Twilight opened her mouth. "And before you ask, yes, that includes me."

"But not him!" Twilight said. "After everything she's done to our family?"

"Twi, who gives a shit what he churns his nut butter to? I used to rub one out to pictures of Nightmare Moon back in the day from that old book of Predictions and Prophecies. It didn't matter if she was evil. And to be fair, Celestia is objectively hot."

Twilight grumbled.

Shining held his sister and kissed her on the cheek. "Look Twi, you know as well as I do that our attractions aren't grounded in anything based on logic or reason." She rolled her eyes. "But he knows better."

"Yeah, well, you and I knew better, too."

Shining shrugged. "Just give him some time to cool down. He'll get over it."

~

That evening, Twilight called Nova out of his room for dinner. He sat in silence on the thatch rug next to his father while Twilight brought in the bowls from the cooking pot. She set one down in front of her brother and the other in front of her son. "Nova, I'm sorry about earlier. And to make up for it, I found some extra blueberries while I was out gathering, so I went ahead and put them in your oatmeal!"

Nova stared at the bowl of brown oatmeal with blue dots.

Shining prodded him with his hoof. "Nova?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Twilight said. "You know, your father didn't just go into town for magazines. I had him pick up some flour and sugar and a few other things to make..." Twilight paused. "A cake! A birthday cake! With candles! For the birthday colt! Nova? It's your birthday in a couple days!"

He didn't even look up at her. "... Is it?"

"Yes! Aren't you excited?" she asked.

Nova shrugged. "Same as any other day. Same as every day. Every day is exactly the same here. Wake up. Train. Chores. More training. More Chores. Eat. Sleep. Do it again. Some days are warmer. Some are colder. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes it snows. But it doesn't matter. It's all still the same. Every day is exactly the same." Nova ate his slightly-less-awful oatmeal and went back to his room without another word.

Twilight moved to go after him but Shining put his hoof on her shoulder to stop her. 

"But I'm worried about him," she said.

"I know. But like I said, he's at that age," he assured her. "You show me a pony his age that didn't have mood swings and I'll show you an actual sociopath." 

"I know, but still..."

Shining sighed. "Look, he's been cooped up in here all this time. Ponies like you and I thrive on comfortable routine. But him?" Shining shook his head. "He's bored, and frustrated, and he needs an outlet."

"Are you seriously suggesting that again?"

"I'm just saying, maybe next time he's studying, you go in there and lend a hoof-"

"Shining-"

"On maybe just offer to sleep with him in his bed and help him 'deal' with his morning wood."

"Could you do that?" Twilight asked. "Do that to your own foal? To Flurry!?"

Shining gave her a confused look. "... Deal with her morning wood?"

Twilight's hoof smacked his forehead. "No, you idiot! I mean having sex with her!" 

Shining blanched and his stomach did a flip "That- that's different."

"How? How is that different?" she asked.

"This is a mom helping out her son, not a father forcing himself on his daughter."

Twilight rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You're not forcing yourself on her, it-" Twilight tried to think of an apt comparison. "It would be like, if you caught her mashing her button to pictures of Sombra!" Shining somehow turned a whiter shade of pale. "And you're out in the middle of nowhere, and you're the only stallion in her life. So it's down to you to... fuck some sense into her."

"In that incredibly unlikely scenario?" he asked.

Twilight balked, "Seriously!?" 

Shining shrugged. "Look, I get where you're coming from. Really. I do. And ordinarily, I'd agree with you. But these are... extraordinary times." Twilight crossed her hooves and glared at him. "Listen, how about I take him into town tomorrow? I'll do my disguise again, and he'll have his hat and cloak on the whole time. It'll be fine."

Twilight grimaced and rubbed her forehead.

"It'll be fine." he assured her. "He'll be so excited he'll forget about this whole day."

"... Fine, just-" she took a deep breath, "I know you'll be careful."

"It'll be fine. I promise," he reassured her.

Twilight got up from the table to go check on Nova. She knocked on the door. There was no response. It was unlocked. She nudged it open. "Nova?"

He was laying in his bed on his side, facing away from her. He didn't turn to look at her. He didn't even move. "...What?"

"Make sure you set your ward before you fall asleep," she reminded him. 

Nova's horn glowed and the walls of the room thrummed for a moment with arcane energy, shielding from physical attacks and... psychic espionage.

Twilight lingered for a moment. She felt a pang in her chest. She wanted to do something, anything to make things right between them. She could just lay in the bed next to him and rub his back with her hoof, like she used to, until he fell asleep. Maybe she'd fall asleep there too and then the next morning her hoof might just lay in the wrong place, and maybe she could pretend she mistook him for his father... 

She winced and pushed the idea away. "Goodnight."

Nova pulled the blanket a bit closer to himself, but did not return the words to her. Twilight frowned and closed the door on her way out. She could only hope tomorrow would be better.





Nova laid in bed and stared at his wall. He had just seen her picture that day, but now he felt like the image of Celestia that had been so clear in his mind was starting to falter. The shape of her body. Every line and curve of her contours. The colors of her mane, and her eyes. It haunted him. He had seen her for so long as something to fear. He didn't know exactly when that feeling changed into... something else. But the inescapable truth remained that they lived as they did because of her.

He spent his whole life under house arrest for the crime of existing. But he knew there was more to the world beyond this small clearing in the forest he called home. He knew because he had read about it, heard about it, learned about it. He couldn't decide if that made his life better or worse. Part of him wished for the bliss of ignorance. But a bigger part of him knew it had to be this way. He couldn't live like this forever. His parents wanted to prepare him for the day they'd be able to return to the world. Sooner or later. But it would never be soon enough.

His mother said he wasn't ready. But he knew he was, even if she wasn't. He was performing spells that even she could not do, and he knew it. Now all they were doing were twiddling their hooves, waiting in vain for an immortal princess to expire. The memory of his mother's shouts still rang in his ears.

She's the entire reason why we are in hiding!

Nova punched his hooves against his pillow in frustration. He was tired of waiting. Tired of always having to look over his shoulder every time a twig snapped in the woods. Tired of always having to be 'ready'. Tired of his parents always being afraid. Tired of being told that he should be afraid, too.

When he was a foal, his parents were fond of telling him bedtime stories about each other. His mother would regale him with tales of his father's bravery, facing monsters like the dark unicorn king, Sombra, and the evil changeling queen, Chrysalis. 

And his father would tell him such riveting stories about his mother facing Nightmare Moon with her friends, and squaring off against ancient monsters like Tirek. For a time, he believed them. Then he came to doubt their outrageous claims. Until he read about the battle with Tirek that scarred the land for years. Forces that could destroy mountains. And his parents came out on top. And yet they were still afraid of Celestia.

Deep down, buried in a place he didn't want to talk about, Nova knew he was afraid, too. But he remembered what his father told him about being brave.

Being brave doesn't mean being fearless. If you charge into battle without fear, you are a fool. Being brave means being afraid of what you must do, but doing it all the same.

Nova remembered reading about the time just prior to Sombra's subjugation of the Crystal Empire. There was a revolution among the crystal pony commoners, fighting under the banner that they would rather die on their hooves than live on their knees.

Nova was tired of his family living in fear. For as long as he could remember, his birthday wish was always wishing that would change. That anything about this life would change. He rolled over and looked through the window. But he knew what he had to do for that to change. The prospect frightened him. He kept saying he was ready. But being ready meant being brave. Brave enough to be afraid, but to still do what must be done all the same.

A firefly passed by outside his window. If it was lucky, the insect would live for the summer and die with the first frost. Living not even for a whole year. But free. Nova had survived longer. But there was more to life than just surviving.

He climbed out of bed and packed some essentials into his saddlebag, including his paltry bits pouch, along with his hat and cloak. With a practiced focus, he brushed aside the ward on his room and unlatched his window. He climbed outside and turned around to close the window behind him with his hoof. He tried to pretend it wasn't shaking.

With the straps of his bag and hat secured, he stretched his wings and took off into the night sky. He hovered for a moment, high above the forest. His mother hadn't indulged him much in night flying. The small clearing that he called home was right where he left it. The surrounding landmarks were familiar, but looked strange in the eerie, pale moonlight. He flew higher and looked to the east, at the valley pass in the mountain range where the morning dawn would slip through. And far, far beyond that was the tiny black silhouette of a lone mountain on the horizon against the deep blue of the night sky. It was a long way, even as the pegasus flies.

Nova glided down from the wooded plateau towards the foothills of the mountain range. He looked back one last time. He didn't have to go far for the small clearing with his cabin to vanish in the dense forest. It worked to keep prying ponies away, but made for tough travel by hoof. Nova had traveled far and wide in his life. This he knew. But at this moment, it was the furthest he had ever been from at least one of his parents. He steeled his resolve and pressed on towards the valley.

One could be forgiven for missing the sleepy town nestled amid the valley floor. Without any street lights or anypony awake in their homes, it was as dark as the surrounding wilderness. The only glimmer of light came from a couple of lanterns under the awning of the modest train platform. But what did manage to catch his eye was the glitter of moonlight reflecting from below him. What he took to be a winding river was actually the tin roofs of train cars moving eastbound along the steel rails of the track. 

He had vague memories of seeing a train before as a foal. And plenty of pictures in book pages. He glided down silently on the wind, letting it move out from under him until he flapped to match its speed. He touched down quietly on the aft car, the caboose, as he recalled. The metal roof was smooth, making hoof traction difficult. He crouched to stay under the wind and made his way to the back.

Peering over the edge, he could see a small platform in front of the rear door surrounded by a railing. He carefully gripped the edge of the roof and swung down in a deft parkour to the railing and then the floor. It wasn't silent, but he was unheard amid the metal-on-metal cacophony of the train wheels rolling on the tracks.

He glanced inside the window. The car looked vacant. He tried the door handle. It was locked. He considered just staying where he was. The train was heading east and that was good enough. But he didn't want to nod off without knowing just where it was going. Geography was one particular subject his mother neglected to teach him. Intentionally, most likely, given how fast she quashed his amateur cartography efforts. East was his only clear goal at the moment, and he didn't want to wake up even more lost than he already was.

He weighed the risks and decided to enter the train to get more information. As Twilight was fond of saying, Knowledge is power. Under his hat, his horn glowed and his magic felt the inside of the door lock, adjusting its tumbles. It was trivial compared to the ones his mother had trained him on before.

His thoughts dwelled on his mother for a moment. Had she noticed he was gone yet? Was she still asleep? Should he have at least left a note? It would not have mattered, he reasoned. They never would have agreed to this in the first place, and it would only have them after him that much faster. 

He pushed away his anxieties to focus on his task. The lock clicked and the door slid open. He slinked inside, keeping his wits about him. It was as it appeared, unoccupied. Moving forward through the train he could see into the next car. Nothing but wall racks and some checked luggage. The doors between them were unlocked. He moved through the luggage car to the next. There was rows of seating and the large windows of an observation car. Again, it looked empty. He walked into the next car and the door latched behind him, locking him out of the secured luggage car.

He moved quietly up the aisle between the seats and nearly jumped when he happened upon a pony in the car with him. The earth pony have been unseen, laying down in their seat, sleeping. Nova took a few steps back, making sure the straps on his hat were secured and he took his cloak or of his bag, draping it over his back to cover his wings and cutie mark. The humps of his wings under the cloak vanished with his saddle bags.

Just another earth pony, going for a walk to stretch their legs, Nova mentally rehearsed. He walked quietly towards the front of the car to look through the next door. A placard next to the door said, 


Next Stop: VanHoover 


Nova's mental map was a collection of scraps, scattered pieces of information he had gathered in his readings. He glanced out the window at the rising moon. The train was surely still going east. But everything he knew told him that VanHoover was on the west coast of Equestria.

Motion in the next car caught his eye. A rather official-looking pony in a uniform was making his way through the train. Nova retreated, moving to the back of the observation car in case he needed to make a hasty escape. The door at the front opened and the porter pulled the city tag off the plaque and updated it with a different one. He looked at Nova standing in the back and just gave him the slightest of nods before leaving to go back to the front of the train. Nova walked over to the sign again. Now it read,


Next Stop: Sire's Hollow


Nova had never heard of such a place. He turned in place trying to remember any reference to it in anything he read. His eyes drifted up above the large windows to the train car's frame. On it was a continuous line with dots. The first was labeled VanHoover, next to it was Sire's Hollow, after that was Ponyville, and there at the end of the line, all trains lead to-

"Canterlot."
> Return of the Prince
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train pulled away from the Ponyville station. After a couple stops, the other seats in the train car gained a few more passengers. The lights of the car were turned down low. All of the passengers were content to sleep on the overnight ride to Canterlot. All except one. Nova Sparkle shifted in his seat, and leaned against the window of the train car, watching the scenery zip by. Canterlot was still a ways away, but he was surely going there. It was simply a matter of time. 

He was beyond tired. It had been a long day, and it had already been an exhausting evening. But he was too nervous and excited to sleep. It was some sick combination of the two feelings. Surely there was a word for it. But there was one thing he was certain about, he wouldn't be sleeping this night. His eyes had been open for so long they were starting to itch. Even sitting in the light of the full moon was irritating. He pulled the brim of his hat a bit lower. Still, it wouldn't hurt to just rest his eyes for a minute.

He closed his eyes and once they stopped burning he opened them. A tall, blue pony was sitting across the aisle from him. There was something powerfully familiar about her to him. She had a horn and wings like him. Her mane and tail swirled and billowed in an ethereal wind. She was leaning against her window like him. The landscape outside streaked by in an unidentifiable blur. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Long time no see, my prince." She moved over to sit beside him, looking at the blurred text on the wall. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Nova opened his mouth to answer but it was drowned out by the screech of metal on metal.





Nova jumped awake and fell out of his seat as the train wheels squealed to a halt. He picked himself up and got back into his seat, trying not to make his panicked breathing too obvious. He could barely hear anything over the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

A disembodied voice came over the intercom, "Now arriving at Canterlot."

The lights of the car flickered on, waking the other passengers and they all collectively shuffled off the train. Nova moved with them, doing his best to blend in. The Canterlot train station was much larger than the others he had seen. The platform was filled with an eclectic mix of ponies of all races in various combinations of apparel. It was easy for Nova to vanish in among them.

Nova thought he had prepared for everything. He thought he knew what to expect. But nothing could have prepared him for the sensory overload that was the big city. There was so much to see all at once he felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. Buildings and signs and ponies everywhere. The acrid smell of the city, so dense he could practically taste it on his tongue. And the noise! The noise of the train running along was irritating after living in the quiet woods for years, but the unending din of the city was almost debilitating for him.

He made his way though the crowd in the station. Ponies bumped into his from behind, and on either side, knocking him off balance, bumping into the pony in front of him. It was all too much, too many too close. He jumped off the edge of the platform and ran away from the station to the far side of the tracks, in the small field of grass near the edge of the cliff. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing to calm himself. He just needed a moment to meditate.

The clock tower chimed the hour and the train whistle screeched as the locomotive's engine roared, pulling away from the station. Nova clenched his jaw. He knew he would find no peace here. He opened his eyes and was almost immediately blinded as the sun rose above the eastern horizon. He squinted and shielded his eyes with his hoof. It was strange. The sun seemed larger somehow, as though he was closer to it here.

In a very real way, he knew he was. It was impossible to miss Canterlot Castle towering above the rest of the buildings in the heart of the city. He was at once confronted with his current circumstance. He turned in place to follow the shadow of the Canterlot Mountain, pointing west, back to whence he had come. Home.





A streak of the dawn's sunlight slipped through the curtains of Twilight Sparkle's bedroom window, tickling her eyelid. She slowly blinked awake and shifted in her bed a little. The stallion laying behind her wrapped his hoof around her and pulled her closer, pressing himself against her.

"I'll just keep poking her with it," Twilight mocked. "That'll get her in the mood."

"Works more often than you'd like to admit," Shining whispered, nuzzling against the back of her neck and gently nibbling on her ear. Twilight shifted again and groaned. Shining could tell it was a groan, and not a moan. "What's wrong?"

"I'm still worried about Nova," she said.

"Yeah, well, he's probably got morning wood too, just like this."

Twilight remembered what she saw the day before. "You're more right than you know."

"Have you though about what I suggested?" he asked. Twilight scoffed at him. "Look Twi, I'm not looking forward to the idea of you getting railed by anypony other than me. And I'm not about using sex to control somepony. Believe me, I know what that was like with Chrysalis. I'm just saying that you've been giving him a whole lot of stick, and not much carrot. You know as well as I do that positive reinforcement works better than negative. So instead of grounding him for doing something bad, when he does something good-"

"What? I should let him rut me?" she asked.

Shining shrugged. "Speaking as a former colt, I know we follow that thing like a divining rod more effective than any leash. And I guarantee it would get his mind off Celestia."

"I can't believe I'm actually considering this..." Twilight climbed out of bed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I will talk to him about this. Let him know that it's an option. But it'll be up to him if anything actually happens."

"Yeah, of course!" Shining got out of bed and followed her to Nova's room. His door was still closed.

Twilight knocked on the door. "Nova?" she called through the door. "Nova!?" she repeated louder, confident that he had heard her. "Still don't want to talk to me?" she asked. No response came. "Listen I know that you're upset. You're still mad about yesterday and I'm sorry. I know I overreacted, and I was making a big deal out of the wrong thing. I was only seeing the symptoms and not the main problem. I know you're not a little colt anymore. You're a stallion now, and you have certain needs. And I know it would be impossible for you to have a marefriend without her finding out what- without her finding out who you are. So..."

Twilight took a deep breath and continued, "So your father and I have been talking about it and... if you want me to help out with those needs..." she trailed off. 

"Your mother's right," Shining cut in. "We've been talking about it together. So it doesn't have to be a secret. She wouldn't be cheating on me. So I don't want you to feel bad about that, okay?"

"I'm here for you," Twilight continued. "It can be whatever you're comfortable with. I could use my hoof, or wing or... my mouth, if you want."

"She swallows!" Shining said. "I know you don't really have a frame of reference for it, but you have no idea what a big deal that is!" Twilight slapped him and composed herself.

"And Nova, if you don't mind losing your virginity to your mother, then we can- we can have intercourse too. You don't have to worry about getting me pregnant. I don't think I can even get pregnant again."

"Twi, don't scare him," Shining whispered. "Nova, I know you think you have it all figured out with your hoof, or wing, or even your magic. But there is nothing, nothing else in the world like finishing balls-deep in a mare!"

"Shining!"

"And take it from me, your mother is a really, really good lay! Oh, buddy, let me tell you, she's been doing these pelvic exercises..." Shining bit his lip just thinking about it.

"Shining, you're drooling!" Twilight whispered. "Of course consent is very important, Nova! There's a lot I can teach you, but you don't have to do anything that you don't want to, okay? And if you'd rather just keep on taking care of things yourself, we respect that, and your privacy. And we can all just pretend this conversation never happened, okay?" Twilight listened to the door. No response came.

"Maybe he died of embarrassment," Shining whispered.

Twilight put her hoof on his door handle. "Nova? I'm going to open the door now, okay?" Twilight slowly opened the door. The bedroom was vacant. "OH, THANK THE STARS! He's already outside!" she turned around and slapped Shining. "I can't believe you talked me into almost seducing our son!"

Shining rubbed his cheek. "Oh yeah, like it was my dream for you to get railed by another stallion!" he sarcassed. He pointed at the window. "Maybe you scared him away."

Twilight put her hoof on Nova's bedding. "His blankets are cold. He's been up for a while."

"Probably got up early to pick mushrooms," Shining suggested.

"As long as he doesn't accidently get the ones that make you hallucinate. You taught him how to tell the difference, right?" she asked. Shining rubbed the back of his neck. "Right!?"

"Yes! Absolutely... unfortunately."

"What do you mean?"

"Twi, it gets boring around here. So sometimes, when you go into town... we'll forage a couple Boolo Caps and-"

Twilight put her face into her hooves. "I can't believe I'm hearing this right now!"

"But we always bring them back and eat them here, in the cabin! He knows better than to trip out in the woods, alone!"

"Oh, sure, because you never did anything reckless when you were angry, right?"

The memory of plummeting off a cliff chasing after a changeling queen flittered through his mind.

"... Fuck."

Twilight and Shining ran outside, shouting their son's name as they fanned out to search the surrounding forest.





Outside the castle gate, Nova felt his ears burning. Even in the early morning, the air was hot, humid and muggy. Even the light, straw hat he was wearing was sweltering. The three-seasons cloak was even worse. But he would soon need neither. All he needed to do was get inside. Preferably with as little bloodshed as possible.

Looking upward, he could see the pegasi in brass Royal Guard uniforms patrolling the air space. Which meant he couldn't fly in. Several unicorn guards patrolled the top of the exterior wall surrounding the castle, keeping watch for anypony that might try to scale it by hoof.

He walked toward the castle wall's gate. The two posted guards crossed their spears.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

"I... have a meeting with Celestia," Nova said.

"Ha! Nice try! Move along, peasant!"

Nova looked at the space beyond the guards, crystalizing the image in his mind. He turned and walked away. To be fair, he didn't actually expect the direct approach to work. Fortunately, he paid attention to his father's lessons on subterfuge. Nova focused his magic and in a blink he disappeared, and then instantly reappeared in the same spot with a blinding headache.

"Ow, that stings!" Nova groaned, rubbing his horn through his hat. He shuffled over to put his hoof against the stone wall surrounding the castle. It wasn't enough to make his fur stand up, but it was there. A ward keeping him from teleporting inside.

A coach carriage approached the gate. The curtains of its windows were drawn to keep out the prying eyes of the public and paparazzi. "Presenting Lord Haakim and Lady Amira, delegates of Saddle Arabia," the driver announced. Nova watched as the guards uncrossed their spears and the carriage entered. Nova felt the ward in the wall ripple, parting like a curtain for the carriage. A solution presented itself.

Nova watched and waited, biding his time for the perfect opportunity. He would not have to wait long for another carriage to approach. Nova focused his magic to teleport into the carriage, and was again, painfully rejected. The signature was similar to the one for the castle wall. The two wards complemented each other like a lock and key, nullifying each other briefly when they interacted. Which meant he had to time it perfectly.

"Presenting Prince Blueblood!" 

A prince!? Nova couldn't see inside the carriage, but he realized that it would mean that he was an alicorn too, like him. Probably even more adept at magic and combat. But Nova still had the element of surprise. The carriage entered the gate. As soon as Nova felt the wall's magic ripple he cast his spell again.

The instant he appeared inside the carriage, Nova immediately cast a spell to stun the other pony. He grabbed a pouch from his bag, stabbing it onto the other pony's horn, and put his hoof over the mouth of the panicked prince.

"Shhh," Nova hushed him and whispered, "It's sonic putty. Any loud noise, or magic from you, and it'll explode, taking off your horn, and probably most of your head. So no spells or screaming, okay?" Prince Blueblood nodded quickly and Nova pulled his hoof away.

"Are you an assassin!?" Blueblood whispered in terror. "Just take whatever you want, Please don't kill me!"

"I'm not an assassin, or a thief," Nova said quietly, peeking through the carriage curtain.

"You're here for... me then?" Blueblood asked. "Can you please take this off my horn? You don't have to worry about me screaming or using my magic. I'm rubbish at magic, really. I'm completely helpless. I couldn't defend myself if my life- or anything else of mine depended on it. I'm so helpless I probably wouldn't even fight back. And this carriage is sound-proofed, so nopony would even hear me if I screamed. Why, if somepony were to try to overpower me, well, I'd be so weak that they could totally bend me to their will and make me do whatever they wanted."

"..."

"Just about anything, really."

Nova cast another spell at Blueblood. "Sleep! Sleep... and forget." Once the carriage was inside the gate, he teleported out of the carriage, leaving the sleeping prince to be found by his concierge later with a wad of inert beeswax on his horn.

The outside of the castle looked massive. And the inside seemed even bigger. The vaulted ceilings in the hallways looked like they were made for giants. There were no indications inside for directions. Likely by design for this very situation. Nova kept to the shadows, moving between alcoves, behind drapes, potted flora, and tapestries. He timed his movements between passing patrols. From what he saw outside, the central keep was further north. Moving forward, deeper into the castle, he kept the sun on his right.

The patrols grew denser. It was both a good, and bad sign. Simple stealth would only get him so far. He needed to change tactics.

A couple guards passed by up ahead. "That coffee is going right through me. I'm gonna hit the head, real quick. I'll catch up to you." He walked into a small service door. Once the other guard turned the corner, Nova made his move. He darted across the hall and through the service door. There was a row of toilets stalls with one of the doors closed, and the sound of a stallion relieving himself. "I said I'll just be a second."

Nova lunged forward and kicked the stall door in, slamming into the guard caught unawares. Nova didn't stop for even a second, jumping on top of him and shoving the guard's head in the toilet bowl, keeping his horn submerged in the water, grounding any magic he might try to conjure. The guard tried to kick him, but Nova had the superior position and he pressed his knee against the guard's coin purse. Not too hard, but enough to make a point.

"Where's Celestia!?" Nova demanded.

"Asshole!"

"Where's Celestia!?"

"In the throne room, dipshit!"

"And that is... where?"

"Fuck! You have any idea what'll happen if I betrayed her? She'd have my balls in a vice."

"What do you think I'm going to do? Worry about me!" Nova's knee applied a little more pressure.

"Argh! End of the hall!" The guard yelped in a higher-pitched voice. "Make a left then your first right! Can't miss it. Biggest doors you've ever seen."

"Thanks. I'm gonna borrow your uniform now."

"Fuck you! Even if you make it to the throne room alive, the Princess will fold you in half like a fucking lawn chair. You're dead, you hear me! You're making a big mistake, buddy."

"Yeah? Well you've already made a pretty big mistake yourself. You didn't flush." Nova pushed the guard's face into the yellow water just long enough to hit him with an amnesia-sleep spell. He lifted the unconscious guard up to undress him. The helmet was fine, fitting perfectly around his horn. But the chest piece was very snug without accommodations for his wings. He strapped on the sword scabbard and picked up the spear that was leaning against the wall. He looked at himself in the mirror. "Fuck it. Good enough."

He walked out of the restroom and marched down the hallway. He saw enough guards to know how to mimic their movements close enough to pass off as a guard with a hangover. It was almost concerning how easy it was to penetrate the castle's defenses. He passed by other guards that barely gave him a second glance. Turning right into the last hallway assured him that the guard wasn't lying. The throne room doors were as massive as the main gate outside. Nova carried forward with the same air of confidence in his stride that had gotten him this far.

Before he reached the door, one of the guards stopped him, putting his hoof to his chest. "Hey, where do you think you're going, Corporal!? Are you drunk? You can't just walk in there, Day Court's in session. Half of Parliament's in there right now." 

"I have a meeting with the princess."

"No you don't," the other guard spat. "I already got Inkwell's briefing this morning and I didn't see any Guards listed on it. Especially not any piss-ant corporals!"

"It's important. I need to go in there." Nova took another step forward. 

The guard shoved him back. Hard. The other guard grabbed his sword. "Are we gonna have a problem here?"

Nova sighed.





"... item number twenty seven on the docket," Raven Inkwell recited, "re-zoning parcels thirty three through forty four of Fillydelphia precinct nine from agricultural industry to residential. All in favor?" A chorus of yeas came up from the Parliament benches. "All opposed?" A smaller chorus of neighs.

"The measure passes," Princess Celestia picked up her gavel to strike the sound block. A loud thud came from the throne room doors, and then another. In a flash, the massive doors were smashed off their hinges and the two guards posted outside were thrown in. Held in a magical aura, the doors swept across the floor like a plow, parting the aisle and sweeping all the ponies aside, pinning them to the walls behind their desks, clearing the way for a lone pony to walk up the middle.

"Princess Celestia! I've come to bargain!"

The two pegasi bodyguards on either side of the throne charged forward with their spears. "You've come to DIE!" They were both stopped in mid air, held in a magic aura as their armor was stripped- literally stripped into brass ribbons and braided into metal rope and tying the two pegasi together and gently placed aside with the other ponies.

"Princess Celestia! I've come to bargain!"

Responding to all the noise, an entire battalion of the Royal Guard gathered in the hallway outside the throne room, forming an inescapable phalanx of shields and spears at the ready. The ceiling above the throne room doorway glowed and the stone crumbled into a neatly stacked pile of rubble blocking the doorway. 

"Princess Celestia! I've come to bargain!"

Princess Celestia regarded the situation. She looked at the ponies to the left, and to the right, pinned, bound, or unconscious, but otherwise unharmed. She looked at the pony standing before her. She sipped her glass of water and rose from her throne.

"You have my undivided attention. However, there are more appropriate channels to bargain for a promotion, corporal...?"

"Prince!" he shouted.

He slid the helmet off his head and cast it aside. 

He undid the clasp on the scabbard, letting the metal weapon clatter on the stone floor.

He shuffled out of the brass armor and let his wings flare open.

"Prince Nova Sparkle!"

"..."

For a moment there wasn't a single sound in the entire throne room above the distant, muffled digging efforts outside the rubble wall in the hallway. There came a low rumbling that bubbled up out of Celestia's throat. Her stoic expression broke. Her lips stretched into a wide smile and she fell back into her throne, unable to contain herself as her stifled chuckle erupted into full-belly laughter. 

She held her sides with her hooves, losing herself to her hysterics, as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Still laughing, she struggled to regain her senses as well as her footing and stood up again. Celestia walked down the stairs from her throne to floor level with the other pony. Only then did she finally compose herself as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"My sincerest apologies, my prince!" She curtseyed before him, bowing so low to placing her horn to the floor before standing back up with her usual, regal poise. She kicked aside a small bit of debris. "You'll have to forgive the state of my... stateroom. I wasn't expecting such an esteemed guest today! Please, allow me to make it up to you! Have you had breakfast? You must be simply famished from your travels!"

"I've not come to eat at your table!" He said sternly. "I've come to bargain! For the lives of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor! Rescind the bounty!"

Celestia scoffed. "Oh, that trivial little thing!?" Celestia quickly snatched some writing tools from a senator's desk and hastily scrawled on a parchment, signed and sealed it. "As good as gone! Raven, be a dear and expedite this decree?" The terrified unicorn peeked out from behind Celestia's throne and nervously walked down to her side.

"And a royal pardon for both of them!" Nova demanded.

Celestia gave him a genuinely confused look. "I'm afraid I simply I don't know what you're talking about. Princess Twilight and Prince Shining Armor are guilty of no crime that I'm aware of. The bounty was simply for information pertaining to their whereabouts. They had gone missing and I was concerned. Any privateers who overstepped the wording of the bounty have only themselves to blame for their fate. Princess Twilight was my protégé after all."

Celestia held the scroll a moment longer. "I'm still quite interested in their whereabouts. Before I rescind the bounty, I don't suppose you would care to collect on it?"

Nova scowled. "No chance."

"Hmm. Just as well, I suppose. It is comforting enough to at least know that they are alive. Honestly, this was all just a grave misunderstanding. I have a passing interest to know where they are, yes. But my primary concern was always about you."

"Me!?"

Celestia nodded with a smile. "Of course! Though if I had only known you were going to just deliver yourself to me, well, I wouldn't have expended so much effort to find you in the first place." She placed the scrolled decree in Raven's hoof, who looked at the mountain of rubble blocking the doorway. "Ah, let me just..."

Celestia gathered up the rubble with her magic, crushing and churning it into a large ball that glowed hotter into molten slag. The radiative energy from the giant ball of lava should have cooked everypony in the room, but it didn't so much as even singe the nearby banners. She spread it back out into the ceiling hole like clay, and then cooled it at once into one solid piece. "There. Even better than new!"

The Royal Guard battalion outside watched as Celestia reassembled the parliament furniture and placed everything and everypony back where they were. She unraveled the metal 'rope' binding the two pegasi guards. The splintered parts of the throne room doors melded back together and were bolted back into the wall mountings, leaving them open. Raven Inkwell ran out, along with the rest of Parliament fleeing in terror. The Royal Guard in the battalion with the most decorations on his chest galloped in.

"Ah, Commander," Celestia greeted as she stood beside Nova, "Just the pony I wanted to see!" She looked at the two recently-freed pegasi. "These two are to be commended! They fought bravely and without hesitation."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The both bowed.

"Before you go..." Celestia gathered up the two unconscious throne room guards and gently placed them together into a cuddle puddle. "Get these two to sick-bay. They've earned some much-deserved leave." The two pegasi carried the two unicorns out. "As well as..." Celestia turned to Nova. "Were there any other ponies that you... *ahem* encountered on your way in?"

"Uh, yeah. There's one taking a nap in the restroom a couple halls over," Nova said.

"Ah." She glanced at the armor on the floor. "His uniform, I take it?" she asked. Nova nodded. "Resourceful! Well, a vacation for him as well. Overall, Commander, I give this exercise a tentative D+."

"Exercise, Your Grace?" the commander asked.

Celestia nodded. "A surprise Counter-Infiltration Drill, courtesy of our esteemed guest here! I'll have a full debriefing for the Royal Guard some time later this week, once I have time to discuss all the details." Celestia looked at Nova again. "Perhaps over a lavish dinner banquet to celebrate the return of the Prince!" Celestia walked back up to her throne and tapped the gavel. "Day Court adjourned!" The commander and the other guards left the room as dismissed.

Alone at last with her guest, Celestia walked back down to regard Nova once again. "Now I would ask if you are to be heading home as well, with your mission accomplished, but I know that you'll say no, truthful or not. I could assure you that I have no intention of having you followed, but I'm quite confident that you wouldn't believe me. Without your trust, your return home is quite the conundrum while we both yet draw breath."

Nova remained on alert, but kept any reaction from his face.

Celestia continued. "Though I imagine that if it were your intention to assassinate me, you would have at least attempted to by now." She glanced around the room that had been destroyed moments earlier. "And in not quite such a direct fashion. I can't imagine my protégé would have raised a fool."

Nova didn't reply. A pair of guards in the hallway passed by throne room, carrying the unconscious guard from the restroom to the barracks sick bay.

"I am pleased to see that my protégé didn't raise a murderer," Celestia added. "But if it was your plan to just stand here and wait for one of us to expire, then I really must insist on brunch first. This way, please." She motioned for him to walk alongside her out of the throne room.

Nova was incredulous, but followed after her nonetheless. In the hallway, a cadre of ponies from all different directions descended on them with a barrage of questions for the princess regarding the loud commotion and the schedule disruption. 

Celestia waved her hoof to quiet them. "Day Court has been adjourned early. Clear the rest of my schedule today. For now, I'd like everything for brunch."

"I beg your pardon?" one of them asked.

"The brunch menu," Celestia repeated. "One serving of everything in the Gala hall. Now, if you would please?" The poor assistant blanched and turned on her heel, running to relay the message to the castle kitchen staff. "Have the royalty guest-suite done up as well. As for the rest of you, please, give me space to host our esteemed guest! Today is to be a holiday, to celebrate the return of the prince!" Only then did they even notice the stallion behind her with both a horn and wings. She waved them away before they could ask any more questions. Alone once more, they walked down the hallway together.

"Did you really come all this way with naught but the fur on your back? As an alicorn, I'm actually surprised that you weren't accosted on your way here."

Nova pointed back in the direction he had come in. "I stashed my things in the restroom ceiling tiles." She followed him to where he had gotten his guard disguise. He went into the restroom to retrieve his bag. She leaned in through the doorway, admiring his plan.

"You really must regale me with the tales of your exploits! After all, I did promise my security chief a briefing on your little... surprise visit."

Nova donned his cape and hat. Celestia put the tip of her hoof to the brim and cringed. Is this... thatch? Did you craft this on the way here or-?" Nova shook his head. Celestia balked. "I can't very well have my royal guest parading around looking like he's been living in squalor..." She paused and gave him a sympathetic look. "Even if it is true." She waved for him to follow her faster. "I'm sure my nephew will be more than happy to share his wardrobe for the day. And then we can put my tailors to task for your new clothes."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Nova asked with increasing suspicion.

Celestia frowned. "Twilight was always academic minded, and a mare of science. For good or ill, she questioned and doubted everything. But it led to her anxieties controlling her. While I am pleased that she raised you to be a moral pony, it pains me to see her having imprinted her insecurities onto you."

"You haven't answered my question."

"Quite right. And thank you for making my point," she said. He narrowed his eyes at her. She just smiled back. "As I said, you are my guest here. But moreover, you are a prince! You ought to finally be treated as such."





The massive bay windows of the castle's Gala hall overlooked the royal gardens. The hall itself was a hurricane of activity as a buffet constructed itself. Table sections were carried in, and covered in cloth to form one long table, and servers began to carry out platters of food, fresh from the kitchen. At each end of the comically-long table was an ornate chair and dining set.

Nova walked along the length of the table, looking at everything. It was more food than he had ever collectively seen in his whole life. And such variety of colors and aromas. Some things he didn't even recognize from any book. He sat in one of the chairs and grabbed a fork.

"You DARE!" the maître d' scoffed emphatically, glaring at Nova and then looking at Celestia. Celestia laughed out loud and dismissively waved her away with her hoof, leaving just the two of them.

"What was her problem?" Nova asked.

Celestia chuckled and shook her head. "She's a real stickler for rules. Usually nopony sits down before the princess." She pointed at herself. "And usually, they don't sit in my seat."

Nova looked at the over-sized chair he was sitting in. "Oh. Uh, sorry."

"It's alright. A chair's a chair." She walked over to the other seat.

Nova grabbed a spoon and the closet bowl of food and took a scoop. He stopped an inch from his mouth and looked at her.

"Yes, waiting for the princess to start eating first is a rule too, but you don't have to-" Celestia realized that it wasn't a sudden bout of etiquette that had struck him... "Ah, I see. Still working on those trust issues?" She dragged her chair over to sit beside him at his end of the table. She took the spoonful of pistachio yogurt from his hoof and ate it herself. She smiled at him again. 

"Poison is the tool of a coward, Nova. Believe me, if I wanted to kill you, I would have by now. And you had best believe I would not have ruined all this wonderful food to do it. But I'm well aware that trust is something earned, not given. Therefore, if you still don't trust me, please, point at anything here that strikes your fancy, and I'll be happy to have the first bite for you."

Nova took the spoon back and started eating, nervously at first, and then with increased desperation. He pointed wildly at several of the other items close by. "Might I recommend this lemon curd streusel next? It's one of my favorites." Celestia took a piece for herself and ate politely with her dessert fork, taking small bites and chewing with her mouth closed, as a proper princess should. She passed the rest over to him. Nova exchanged his breakfast fork for the large salad bowl serving spork and he shoveled the sweet pastry into his wanton face hole, chewing loudly with his mouth open, sounding like an unbalanced washing machine. His eyes watered. He had never known food to be such ecstatic bliss.

Celestia looked up from her small serving and watched in morbid curiosity, wondering how long it would be before he abandoned the cutlery altogether and start eating with his bare hooves. "Please, eat as much as you like, my prince. It's all for you." He followed coffee cake with pound cake with blueberry crepes with cinnamon buns with cream cheese danishes. The young stallion ate like he had a hole in his neck. She actually started to get concerned. "Just to be clear, Nova, when I said this was all for you, that doesn't mean you actually have to eat everything."

Nova make a grunting noise in acknowledgement. 

"I imagine you must have come from a 'clean your plate' household, living as you did. I promise, the staff will make sure that nothing goes to waste. I find that when they know they'll get to eat what they make, the kitchen staff never skimps on quality."

Nova didn't slow down.

"Don't feel like this is your only chance, either," she assured him. "I promise, it'll all be here for you again, tomorrow."

Nova looked up a her. The fur at the corners of his mouth were stained purple with blueberry syrup.

"Also, I was hoping we'd have a chance to talk," she continued. "I must admit, my mind is positively swimming with questions, as I'm sure yours must be as well. I can't imagine that it's easy, coming from a life of... surviving," she said.

Nova gave a non-committal "Hmf."

"Your mother has a castle. Did you know that?" Celestia asked. That gave Nova pause. "It's true. You can ask anypony about Twilight's Castle. You ought to have been able to grow up there, rather than..." Celestia trailed off, but glanced at his makeshift garments. "... wherever those were made. But instead- instead of the life she earned for herself, and for you, she chose exile. All because of a misunderstanding."

Nova set his fork down and sat back with a hearty belch from a good meal. "Pardon me."

"Better out than in, I say," Celestia mused. "Like the truth, it comes out sooner or later. And in both cases, I prefer sooner, because later on, it stinks."

It was the first time that Nova smiled since he had arrived. Celestia smirked back. After over a thousand years, she knew that all the riches in Equestria were in dick and fart jokes.

"You ate quite a lot. Can you walk?" she asked. Nova nodded and pushed out his chair to get up. "Good. There's something I'd like to show you." They walked together towards the exit. "Oh, before I forget-" Celestia's magic rang the bell on the table, indicating that they were finished. The kitchen staff and several others came out to approach the table to feast on what remained. Which was a lot.

Nova and Celestia walked through the castle hallways and up the grand staircase. They walked into the hallway of the royal chambers. There was a four sets of doors, three were flanked with guards. They went into the one without. Celestia pushed the door open and led Nova inside. Everything was larger than life. The palace room was, appropriately, palatial. The main room of the suit was larger than the entire cabin he had come from. It had a massive vanity dresser, bureau,  armoire, and ornate night stands. The bed itself was larger than his bedroom. There was a massive window overlooking the city. 

Nova pressed his hooves into the duvet covering the silk bedsheets. They sank into the cloud-like softness of the mattress. The smoothness of the sheets felt almost alien against the coarse frogs of his hooves. The hooves of a rural mud pony. He leaned over and pressed his cheek against the silk sheets. His "sheets" back home were rough canvas. His pillow and mattress were little more than sacks of straw hay. This- this was like sex against his fur; or at least it was what his virgin mind imagined sex was like. He looked back at Princess Celestia, waiting by the doorway. 

"It would honor me if you would stay the night, Nova." Celestia said. "But you are no prisoner of mine. I won't force you to stay against your will. But these would be your accommodations if you should so choose. I can only hope that you can forgive me for this humble offering on such short notice. Otherwise..." she waved for him to follow her.

With all his willpower, he pulled his face away from the silken bedding to follow her. She walked with him further down the hallway to the largest set of doors. The guards immediately moved to either side to allow them through. Celestia opened the doors and led Nova inside.

At first, it looked like and office of some sort. A massive desk, with an inbox of scrolls, and shelves of books. Beside it was a pair of large floor pillows in front of a fireplace. Behind it was a door. Through it was her royal-suite proper. 

"So this is me," Celestia said as they walked through her private quarters. Everything was somehow even larger. The bed, the bedroom furniture, and the rest of the... everything! The open floorplan of the space included a study nook and a massive built-in bathtub beside a larger fireplace. Beyond it was a pair of doors leading out to the balcony.

Nova's head was spinning as he looked around at everything, only vaguely aware of where he was walking as he followed after her. But eventually Celestia could feel his eyes settle on her posterior. She opened the doors of the balcony and walked out, leaning on the railing to overlook the city below. She shifted her hind legs as she flagged her voluminous tailed a bit higher and to the side. After a long moment, she glanced back at him. As her eyes drifted down along his body she could see that her display had achieved the desired affect in him. "Enjoying the view?" she asked.

Nova pretended that he hadn't just been staring under her tail and tried to subtlety adjust his cape, failing to cover up the not-so-subtle truth of the matter. The best he could do was walk forward to stand close enough beside her at the railing to keep it out of her line of sight. It was a more intimate closeness than he had intended as they looked out over the city. Celestia interpreted it as she pleased as she extended her wing and draped it across his back, shimmying closer to press her flank against his. He winced and reflexively tried to move away.

"Is something wrong?" Celestia asked.

"This... this has not gone at all how I had expected when I arrived in Canterlot. I expected a battle. I expected a dungeon, or death, or worse. But definitely not this. Nothing about any of this," he answered.

"Is it possible that you were mistaken in your expectations?" Celestia asked. "You're a pony of science, like your mother, yes? She prided herself on her logic and reason, I suggest you apply it. I'm not asking for your trust. I intend to earn that. I ask only that you trust what your own eyes report." Her hoof motioned to the city below them. "You experienced this city for yourself. Tell me, is it the dystopia you imagined? Are its citizens crushed beneath the cruel, oppressive hoof of a malevolent dictator? Did you find it a city ruled by fear?" she asked. She looked at him directly. "Have I offered you any reason at all to be afraid?"

Nova looked at her and then looked away. "No."

"Is it at least possible then... that perhaps, it is at least conceivable, that your mother may have been potentially... mistaken?" she asked.

Nova huffed. "...Perhaps."

“There are more things in the heavens and Equestria, Nova, than are dreamt of in your mother's philosophy," Celestia said. He looked at her strangely. "Please understand that there is no joy in me making you doubt your own mother. She is a pony that I continue to care deeply about, as though she were my own daughter. She is as much a victim in all this as you are over this little... misunderstanding."

"Why?" Nova asked. "Why did all this happen?"

Celestia took a deep breath and nodded. "That... is a big question. It's one I've been wondering about, myself. I've known your mother a long time. You've known her your whole life. You know how... spirited she can be when she believes in something. She'll follow her beliefs to the ends of Equestria. Even if it's in the wrong direction. Hasn't her steadfast adherence to her rules ever clashed with your sense of logic and reason?"

Nova scoffed. "Only every day."

"I don't want you to answer me right now, but I do want you to think about this..." Celestia said. "Have you ever asked yourself what you want? Independent of your parents' wishes, what do you want? What do you really want?"  Celestia stood in a long silence with him, leaning against the railing of the castle balcony, listening to the distant din of the city, far below them. After giving him time to think about it, she asked, "Nova, let me ask you something... How would you like to be the second-most-powerful pony in Equestria?"

The question slid off Nova's mind like one of those crazy, immediately-dismissed, hypotheticals about what he would do in the event of winning the Equestrian lottery. She felt him shrug. "I'dunno..."

"Did you not hear me?" she asked. "Or was your mind... elsewhere?" The leading edge of her wing traced across his back, down along his flank to his-

Nova jolted with a start, and readjusted his cape. "W-what!?"

"I asked, how would you like to be the second-most-powerful pony in Equestria," she repeated calmly. 

"I- I..." Nova didn't even know how to reply.

"You are a prince," Celestia said. "A prince deserves whatever he wants." She turned and walked back inside her royal suite. "Whomever he wants." His eyes followed after her as she strutted. "And you, my prince, deserve a princess, no?" She laid onto her bed and rolled over, letting her leg fall to the side, inviting him to gaze upon her nethers. "Does this please you?"

Nova opened his mouth to answer but no words came. He no longer tried to pretend to be looking anywhere else as she plainly put herself on display for him.

"Don't be shy. Look well upon me. There are stallions that have died for this opportunity. Ponies have killed for it. Entire wars have been waged over it. Many have tried to take it for themselves. But for you, I offer it freely." Her magic parted her pussy lips slightly, revealing her glistening wet, pink interior. 

"What of you?" she asked. "Will you take me as your mare, my prince? Will you have me bear your foals, and make me your queen. Will you do this, and claim your rightful crown to rule Equestria at my side!"

Nova moved to the edge of her bed, standing between her spread legs. Guided by a primal force older than Celestia, the castle, or the very mountain it was built upon. He reared up and placed a hoof on either side of her body. His erection was painfully hard. He pressed the tip against her hot, wet vulva, parting the lips. Held in place with his pressure, he needed only to push a bit more to finally penetrate her, and seal the ancient pact. She looked up into his hungry eyes.

"Will you accept this great honor that I have offered you, Nova?"

Nova answered only in grabbing her hips and pulling himself forward into her. He took what he wanted, and in return, Celestia took his virginity. Hilted into her, Nova just laid still on top of her, savoring the sensation. He'd had some idea of what to expect, but nothing could truly prepare him for it. His hoof, wing and magic were paltry imitations of the real thing. The warm, wet, velvety embrace of a marehood wrapped around him. It was a sensation that was at once the most fundamentally basic, and transcendentally sublime.

Celestia ran her hoof through his mane patiently. 
The had waited a millennium for this day. 
She could wait a few moments more. 

Celestia rolled her hips ever so slightly. Not expecting the stimulation, Nova made a sort of whimper. She stayed still again and cooed, "Whenever you're ready, my prince."

He started moving slowly, making only the smallest movements at first. Even so, it was almost over-stimulating for him. It took him a moment to become accustomed to it. He gradually made bigger movements, and increased his speed.

As well-endowed as he was for a young stallion, he lacked both the length and girth that Luna once wielded. As an alicorn, Celestia was bigger than the largest living stallions. And with Nova's head resting against her chest, the difference between their sizes was only more apparent. It was of no matter to her. She smiled, confident in the knowledge that he would grow into it in time.

His erratic, frantic humping lacked finesse, but it was a skill that could be refined with some training. She had eschewed any pretense of foreplay, firstly as she would not risk him spilling his precious seed into her mouth or anywhere but where it was meant to be. And secondly, she meant to spoil him. In time, he would come to appreciate her as a partner and a lover. He would become willing, eager even, to please her with oral sex. But all of that could wait until after she was with foal. For now, all that mattered was doing exactly what they were doing to that end.

His panting turned to grunting and his thrusts became faster and more desperate. She shifted backwards on the bed and pulled him with her. Her magic lifted him along with her butt and wedged a couple pillows under her. With increased leverage, he fucked downward, drilling into her with his full weight, trying to somehow get even deeper. The breeding press angle was awkward and uncomfortable for her, but she would leave nothing left to chance, employing even gravity to assist in his delivery getting as deeply as it possibly could. 

Celestia felt him start to flare inside her. She locked her legs together behind him and held him tightly as her magic gently caressed his heavy balls, coaxing out every last virile sperm. 

"Mine," Celestia moaned. Nova's entire body spasmed and jerked in time with his orgasm, as though each throb and pulse of his ejaculation were a bolt of lightning to his spine. 

"Mine!" she cried out, feeling rope after rope of his thick seed flooding her pussy. 

"MINE!" Celestia roared. Nova's entire body vibrated like a plucked guitar string. His vision flashed white as every nerve, every cell, every fiber of his being was poured into the primal effort of procreation. It was ecstasy. It was euphoric bliss. It was as close to heaven as a pony could get while his heart was still beating. That was what it felt like for the stallion, Heaven.  

For Celestia, it felt like victory. A hard-won battle of the longest war. After everything she had suffered, after all that she had lost and sacrificed. After so many years of fear and doubt, she had won at last. Her alicorn stallion was panting on top of her, and her pussy was thoroughly flooded with his potent seed. His shaft still twitched weakly as his orgasm subsided. His wide flare kept any cum sealed inside from leaking out. Her yoga pose ensured that it would find its way into her waiting womb. What was done could not now be undone. Her hoof gently stroked his mane. Victory was assuredly hers.

"That was- amazing!" Nova panted, struggling to catch his breath. "Just, like- the best thing ever!" 

"So amazing!" Celestia said. In truth, the sex itself was mediocre and embarrassingly brief for her. But she could forgive the virgin. He would learn in time, and gain stamina with practice. She was looking forward to his sexual training.

His stupor haze faded after a moment as his post-orgasm sobriety struck him. An expression of worry washed over him. "Can we do that again!?" he asked, his tone bordering on begging.

Celestia let out a mirthful laugh, stifled a bit from being nearly folded in half. He hadn't even gone soft yet, still hilted inside her, and he was already anxious to go again. "Of course, my prince!" she said. "You deserve whatever you want. I'm yours to be claimed as often as you please, day or night."

"Really!?" Nova asked. She nodded. "Okay! We are definitely doing that again! Like- A LOT!"

"I look forward to it," Celestia purred. "You are welcome to sleep with me, taking my bed as your own if you choose. But for now, might my prince lay with me for just a while longer?" Nova nodded and laid his cheek against her chest with a content smile. Celestia's legs held him fast, keeping him hilted inside her as long as possible while he dozed off. Celestia couldn't keep the smile from her face. She had her prince at last.


"Mine."

> The Empty Throne
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle called out her son's name down at the trees as she glided over the forest. She yelled even as her throat burned from shouting for hours. She circled back around to pass by her cabin, catching a flash of movement. She swooped down to intercept. It was her brother, returning from his ground patrol. He was no survivalist expert, but his time in the Royal Guard gave him enough tracking skill to find a wandering pony in the woods. "Anything!?" she asked with anxious desperation.

Shining Armor shook his head. "He's not here, Twi," he said.

"No!" Twilight turned on her heel and punched him in the chest with her hooves, flailing on him in impotent frustration. "No, don't say that!"

Shining caught her hooves with his own and just held her as her strength failed her and they fell together into the grass. "We've been looking all day and it's getting dark," he said.

"What if- what if a bounty hunter found him? What if Celestia-?"

"Twi, we would have felt the ward popping off last night. There was no signs of forced entry in his room. He had to have left on his own. But he's not out here in the woods. If he went into town, we need to go look there now."

"But what if- what if he comes back while we're out?"

Shining went inside and hastily scrawled a note and posted it prominently in the middle of the cabin.

We went into town looking for you. 
If you read this before we get home, STAY HERE! 
We will be back tomorrow.

"There," Shining said. "If he gets back before we do, he should stay here."

"But what if-!"

Shining put his hoof to her lips. "I don't know, Twi. I don't know anything. I'm just as scared as you are. But we can't afford to lose our heads right now. Let's just do what we can."

"I could teleport us-" Twilight winced as she tried to focus her magic. She had been trying to track Nova all afternoon, same as Shining, and a teleportation attempt for such a long distance made her see stars. "I could carry you-" Twilight started to say, but her wings ached from flying all afternoon in her searching.

"Have you even eaten anything today?" Shining asked. She didn't need to tell him, he already knew. He hadn't eaten either. "It's okay. Let's grab something quick and then we can walk. I know the way through the forest."





In a day's span, Nova Sparkle had been showered in a lifetime's decadence. He and Celestia never left her bedroom once they entered it. The rest of his day and a good portion of his night was virtually non-stop carnal bliss. And while no one session was breaking any records for stamina, even Celestia was taken aback by his raw endurance for him to come back and come again and again.

They stopped only for the occasional room service. Each visit was a sumptuous buffet of all manner of food and drink for him to choose from. He tried to sample as much as he could without over-eating to feeling bloated. Mostly he just tried to re-hydrate for the next session of rutting. Celestia was only too happy to oblige him. She spent more time with her ankles above her head than a roosting batpony.

Her only call for a break came for her duty to lower the sun. Even then, Nova insisted to 'ride along', his hooves wrapped around her, rutting her senselessly as she lofted into the air above her balcony. The sun set a bit more abruptly than usual that evening and they made haste back to the bed, and bath tub, then the plush rug in front of the fireplace, and on top of the room service cart before it was returned to the staff.

It was less that they slept and more that he eventually passed out from sheer exhaustion. Even Celestia slept more soundly than she had in decades, satisfied in both body and spirit. She savored the sweetest fruits born of the hardest labors. She actually found it quite challenging to rise from her bed for the dawn. But duty called, and it was one she answered with pride.

Walking back inside her suite, she watched the dawn's light stretch across her room to her prince, asleep in her massive bed. His face squinted against the sunlight kissing his eyelids before stretching into a wide yawn. He rolled over onto his back, his morning wood making a tent in the silk sheets.

Celestia slinked under the sheets at the foot of the bed and wiggled her way up to him. She moved up between his legs and stuck out her tongue, licking his balls and then up along his shaft before taking the tip into her mouth.

Nova moaned, still half asleep. "Mom-"

Celestia popped her head off him and pulled the sheets back. "Mom?" she asked. Nova blinked awake at her voice, scarcely aware of what he even said. "It's okay. You can call me 'mommy' if you want," she added. 

He realized what he had said out loud, and blushed. "Wha-? No, I- I was just having a dream, I think. My mom-" The sobriety of wakefulness hit him like a bucket of ice water. "My mom! She's probably freaking out right now! I-" He tried to sit up, but Celestia placed her hoof against his chest to calm him. "She doesn't even know where I am! I never even told her I was leaving!"

"Running away from home? Tsk, tsk. Naughty colt," Celestia chided. She shimmied up along his body, moving her belly against is penis, sandwiched between their bodies. "But your mother is a smart mare. She will figure out where you are soon enough." She sat upright on his lap, pressing her marehood against the side of his shaft, moving back and forth on it, gaining a new moan from him. 

"I imagine she will come to try to rescue you. In fact, I'm sure she will try. And when that time comes, you will have to decide..." Celestia shifted backwards onto her legs into a squat, holding his shaft with her magic before lowering herself back down onto it. "... if you really want to be saved from all this."

Barely awake, Nova tried to focus his eyes through the haze of pleasure coursing through his body. But the question struck him with an acute shock and he looked her in the eyes. He tried to say something but she shushed him again.

"You don't need to answer that now," she chided. "For now... Now is the time to be- whatever you want to be! Lover. Prince. King?" She rode him slowly, but purposefully. "Let's just get this morning wood of yours sorted and then we can have a bath before breakfast." They both looked at the massive whirlpool bathtub set into the floor beside the fireplace. "After that..." she trailed off, feeling him flaring inside her again. Suddenly all the responsibilities of ruling a nation felt very far away.

~

After a bath to get clean, and then dirty, and then clean again, they headed down to the dining hall. As before, breakfast was a sumptuous feast. Nova was able to have a just small bite of everything he hadn't tried the previous morning and it was still a very filling meal. Celestia assured him that there would be plenty of opportunity for him to try everything in time. Several dishes clattered onto the floor from the buffet table as Celestia found that the eclairs would not be the only thing getting a cream filling that morning.

After breakfast, Nova found himself standing in front of three large mirrors as the royal seamstress took his measurements. 

"You're a prince! You ought to at least dress like one," Celestia said. "A nice, tailored suit, for a start."

"Can't I just have a cape?" Nova asked. "I've never been that big a fan of pants-hey-HEY now!"

"She's just getting your in-seam," Celestia said.

"Apologies." The mare with the tape measure gently lifted his scrotum with her magic to get the measurement, inadvertently giving him an erection. "Uh, sir...?"

"This is why you need pants, Nova," Celestia said. "A mare's tail is sufficient to hide her modesty. But as a stallion, until you learn better self-control, you'll need concealment if you are to be a public figure with me."

"Sorry," Nova tried to apologize.

"Now, now," Celestia said, "You needn't apologize. She should feel flattered that you find her attractive. Isn't that right, miss?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness." The seamstress worked quickly to finish her task, trying her best to ignore his shaft bobbing against her cheek, reeking of Celestia's pussy from post-breakfast sex.

"Here, let me," Celestia said, holding Nova's shaft out of the way in her magic, gently stroking it.

A moment later, Nova grunted and spurted on the poor seamstress in several quick ropes. Celestia did her best to aim it at her surprised, open mouth, but most of it ended up a sticky mess in her mane.

"I'm sorry!" Nova said with a panicked guilt.

"What did I just say?" Celestia asked. "It's a privilege for her to wear the seed of a prince! Isn't it? Those are my future foals you've stolen from me after all!"

"Y-yes, Your Grace. You honor me," she said nervously. "Forgive my greed, Princess." The mare brushed her sticky mane out of her face. "Your dressage shall be ready some time this evening." With a quick curtsy, she scurried away.

"Now then..." Celestia perused the collection of royal garment racks. Among them was a cherry-red floor length cape with fuzzy white trim. "This should suffice for the day's coverage." 

"I feel kinda bad about that mare," Nova said.

"The only thing you should feel bad about is spilling your seed anywhere but inside your princess!" Celestia said. "You've many, many heirs to yet sire with me. I won't have you wasting another drop. Unless you want to go back home to using your wing..."

"Of course not!"

"I'm glad to hear that." Celestia opened a few dresser drawers and looked back and forth between Nova and the contents. "Let's try..." She placed a modest circlet on his head with an amber gemstone in the center of a flourished sun as the adornment. "Matches your eyes. It will suit you until we can get you fitted for a proper king's crown for our wedding."

Nova looked at the circlet on himself in the mirror. He almost didn't recognize the pony looking back at him. The word 'wedding' echoed in his mind. "This all feels like it's happening too fast."

"Quite to the contrary!" Celestia objected. "This is almost two decades late! We've so much time to make up for!"

"Two decades?"

"You mother abandoned her station as princess. Misguided though her actions may have been, her duty was to the realm, first! A kingdom abhors an empty throne. If she intends for her son to rule her kingdom in her absence, then by all means, come along, and learn how. Please!"

Celestia led the way through the castle towards the throne room and Nova followed after her. "Day Court?" he asked.

"You would be right," Celestia confirmed with a nod. "A royal life is one of decadence, but it comes at a price. Just as your mother, we are beholden to serve the realm we rule."

Entering the throne room, Nova caught side-eye from the posted guards when Celestia wasn't looking. Inside, he saw that a second throne now accompanied Celestia's per her orders. Unlike the warm golden colors of hers, it was cool in tones of blue, like his own coat. However, "It's smaller," Nova remarked.

Celestia smirked to herself upon hearing this familiar complaint. "It's proportionate," she corrected him. "I would love for your throne to be the same as mine, but it would only serve to make you look shorter by comparison. And I don't want your importance to be played down in any way when the world meets you," she said as she took her place on her throne.

"The world?" Nova asked as he sat beside her.

Celestia nodded. "Indeed. An alicorn prince appears one day in Canterlot. That is not something that can be kept secret for long." Her words were punctuated by a knock at the throne room's massive doors. 

They opened just enough for Raven Inkwell to nervously step inside at the sight of Nova again. "Your Majesty, the press are waiting."

"Give us just a couple minutes, and then send them in," Celestia said. Raven acknowledged with a curtsey and back out of the doorway, closing the door after her. Celestia turned to Nova and took a deep breath. "Show time."

"What do I do?" Nova asked.

"You will do nothing. Say nothing. You are not ready to handle the press yourself yet. They can be vultures! They will try to twist your words, and use them against you! You must treat this like an interrogation. Answer any questions as succinctly as possible, and do not volunteer any additional information. Just follow my lead, and only speak when I prompt you, otherwise allow me to speak on your behalf. Understand?"

"But what if-"

Celestia held up her hoof to quiet him. "Yes or no will do. Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Be ready for the cameras. Stand up tall, and smile, but keep your mouth closed. It's uncouth to show off your teeth."

The doors opened a minute later and the journalist ponies filed in with their steno pads, microphones, and of course, cameras. Their questions came in a loud flood. With practiced poise, Celestia raised her hoof to quiet them. "Have we forgotten our manners!?" she asked. Every pony that had a question raised their hoof. Which was everypony. Celestia started from one end and worked her way across.

"An alicorn stallion!?"

"Clearly."

"A prince!?"

"Naturally."

"What's your name?"

"His name is Nova," Celestia answered for him. "Prince Nova."

"Where are you from?" they asked him.

Celestia interceded once again, "Well you see, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much..." she teased with a coy smirk, gaining a few chuckles.

"Who are your parents?"

Celestia spoke once more, "The prince's details will all be in the official press release that I will provide for you later," Celestia said. "What is important is that Prince Nova, the once and future king of Equestria, has returned as Consort to the princess until he is properly coronated as king at the wedding."

"Wedding!? When!?"

"To be announced," Celestia said. "Be assured that it will be the event of the millennium. My fiancé is looking forward to it just as much as I am. Isn't that right, Prince Nova?" she prompted.

Once again, all eyes were on Nova, including Celestia's, bidding him to answer her simple yes-or-no question. He looked back at the journalists and spoke clearly. 

"I am."

"For the front page?" the photographers asked, brandishing their cameras.

Celestia draped her wing over Nova's back to pulling him close against her side. She smiled for the cameras and Nova tried to not look too nervous.

"Herald the news from the mountaintops!" Celestia told them. "Get it printed and on every doorstep in Equestria! Spread the word to every corner of the world. The prince has returned, and we are soon to be wed as king and queen!"

A fresh cacophony camera shutters and flashes were followed by questions begging for more details but Celestia waved them away with her hoof. "That will be all!" The guards minding the entrance opened the doors, signaling for the journalists' dismissal.

Alone once again, Nova turned to ask Celestia, "Why not tell them about Mom?"

"Knowledge is power, Nova. Your mother taught you this, yes?" He nodded. "Every bit of knowledge that the common ponies get regarding us, no matter how minor, is power gained over us. Even something as simple as a photograph of me eating a slice of cake. And then suddenly ponies have this idea that I have some fetishistic love for cake."

"Do you not like cake?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course I like cake. Who doesn't!?" Celestia said. "But that's not the point. Something as simple as that can come to be perceived as some major aspect of your personality."

"I don't understand. What does that have to do with my parents?" he asked.

"Do you know who may parents are?" she asked. He shook his head. "Of course not. Nopony does. And that is what makes that information valuable. But it's the mystery that endures, not the answer. It's why parents still tell their foals the legend of Santa Paws. More than a crown, magic or wings, power comes from knowledge, and lost in the same way. That is the value of secrecy. Remember that."

"I will."

The doors opened again and staff began to bring in the parliament desks. "And now the real fun begins..." Celestia mused, making no effort to veil her sarcasm. "The necessary evil of ruling; bureaucracy."

"But if you're the princess, why need a parliament? Can't you just say what to do?"

"You mean like a dictatorship?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nova blushed. "No, I- I just meant it more as an academic question."

Celestia smiled. "Frustrating though it may seem on the surface, Parliament plays a very useful role. Even if it were merely a delegation of my will. But more than just power filtering down, it's a channel for grievances of the citizens to come up to my attention. The citizens report to their local leadership, like the mayor or governor, and that gets passed on to their representatives here, to then bring to my attention to be resolved. And that resolution works its way back down the same channels. As powerful as I am, I can't be everywhere at once."

"Makes sense."

"Just sit with me and observe for today. They need to get used to the idea of you, just as much as you'll need to learn procedure. It's not the most exciting part of leadership, but as I said-"

"Necessary."

"Precisely. If you want to be more than just consort to the princess, these are things you'll need to know."

"But I still want to be consort, too," he said with a smirk.

Celestia grinned and whispered as the senators started to file in, "Anytime, anywhere. You just tap my hoof to let me know." 

~

Hours into Day Court, one of the senators droned on, "...and the governor of San Palomino has requested fifty additional studding licenses for the registry to combat the intense heat occurring there this summer. All in favor?"

"Aye!" came the overwhelming approval from the majority female Parliament.

Celestia struck her gavel. "The measure is vetoed."

"But your majesty, the San Palomino mares are in agony," the Prime Minister pleaded. "The licensed studs can barely keep up as it is."

"I've reviewed the measure, Madam Prime Minister," Celestia said. "If I'm to pass this, it'll need a Rider to allocate the licensing revenue to subsidize Beat The Heat potions and contraceptives distribution. I know those Palomino studs couldn't pull out of a parking space." Chuckles rose up from the rest of parliament. Celestia looked at the Palomino senator. "I won't have you back here in eleven months pleading for more orphanage funding just so your district's population can get you another electoral point!"

The senator made the requested amendments to the bill and resubmitted it. Celestia stuck her gavel to pass it. Then she felt a hoof tapping her. She looked over at Nova beside her and whispered, "Now?". He nodded and looked down at his crossed legs beneath his cloak.

Celestia struck her gavel again. "Recess!"

"But your majesty, there's still the matter of-"

"Did I stutter!? Recess! Get out!" Celestia commanded. The senators filed out with haste. "You two as well!" The door guards exited and closed the doors behind them. Celestia locked the doors with her magic, sealing them with a soundproofing ward. "Now, where were we?" Nova stood up and shifted his cloak aside to flourish his erection. "Ah, I see. Did her talk of mares in heat get you all worked up?"

"Yeah. Maybe," Nova admitted.

"So, what? Right here on the throne?" Celestia asked. 

Nova walked down the steps to the floor. "Actually, I had this in mind."

"You want to fuck me on top of the Prime Minister's desk!?" Celestia asked. Nova couldn't keep the grin from his face. "Oh, that is just delightfully wicked!" Celestia flopped herself onto the desk, scattering the folders and papers. "Take me! Take me now, my prince!"

Nova was only too happy to oblige his princess.





Twilight Sparkle weaved her way through the quiet town in the mountain foothills. Like Nova, before her, she kept her hat pulled low over her horn and her wings stayed hidden under her cloak. She and Shining had split up to cover more ground. The town wasn't huge, but it was by no means small, and Twilight wanted to be thorough. It took all of her willpower to not just rip every structure apart piecemeal to know for certain if her son was inside or not. But she could make no such scene, unsure of who else might be searching for him, or her.

The mid-day sun had long since passed overhead and the dwelling shadows began to grow long once more. A pair of pegasi flew into the town center from overhead, unburdening themselves of their delivery. A crowd began to assemble, which Twilight was keen to avoid. The murmurs of the crowd's excitement rose into an incompressible din. But a single word struck out above the noise. "Prince!" "Prince!" 

Twilight only knew of one prince in town. She felt her heart leap into her throat, fearing that Shining Armor had been discovered. Doing her best to keep disguised, she pushed her way into the crowd to rescue her bother, but saw no sign of him. The delivery pegasi stood at the center of the mob. Copies of newspapers flew off the delivered stack in a blur. Twilight looked to her left and right but everypony was moving so fast, grabbing the hot sheets and scurrying away. What was so damn important!? Twilight grabbed at the closest newspaper, pulling it from another pony's hooves.

If Twilight's heart had leaped into her throat, it fell like a meteor into the pit of her stomach. The entire front page was a massive photo of Princess Celestia standing beside Twilight's missing son, Nova. The other pony grabbed her copy back and a brown hoof grabbed at Twilight's shoulder. Twilight spun around to strike her assailant, but could see behind the makeup and disguise, her brother, holding a news copy of his own. 

Streaks of white appeared on Shining's brown cheeks where his tears washed away his makeup. He opened his mouth to say it, but nothing came. Twilight said it for him. "She has him." In an instant, all their doubt and uncertainty came into crystal clear focus. She grabbed the collar of his cloak and dragged him with her away from the crowd. "We're leaving!" Just as soon as they were out of sight, Twilight focused her magic.

"Twi, wait!"

"GAH!" Twilight cried out. Shining grabbed her burning hat from her head and stomped out the flames. The hair around her horn had been burned and smelled awful.

"Twi, we can't teleport all the way there! And even if we did, you'd cripple yourself! We can't face Celestia like that!"

"She has him!" Twilight yelled. 

"And we're gonna get him back!" Shining said. "I swear it, Twilie! I promise! We'll get him back! But not by rushing into things without thinking!"

"My head..." Twilight sat in a heap and held her aching head in her hooves.

"Come on. You've barely eaten at all today," Shining said as he helped her up. "Let's catch the next train to Canterlot. We can get something to eat on the way and... figure out what we're going to do."

Twilight and Shining did their best to keep their profile low as they bought tickets and boarded the train. Not that they needed to. They could have fully revealed themselves and fucked right there in the middle of coach without getting anypony's attention away from their news papers and gossiping among themselves about this new 'prince'. Even so, they kept to themselves away from everypony else, and kept their voices to a whisper.

"Okay," Twilight breathed, "when we get there, I'll grab her with my magic and you stab her."

Shining raised an eyebrow. "Just, like... stab her?"

"Yeah."

"Okay Twi, I know you're excited, but how about we make that our Plan B, and work on a Plan A that's a bit more sensible? Remember all those years ago when you were gung ho about taking on Nightmare Moon on your own? But you learned that you didn't need to take on these things alone?" He held her hoof with his.

"You're right!" Twilight said. "I can use the Elements of Harmony on her ass!"

Shining rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof. "Well I was thinking more along the lines of going back to the Crystal Empire and getting Cadance to help. It would be nice to have another alicorn in our corner. And she does command the entire Empire's army. They'd follow her without question."

"It would take time to mobilize the army..." Twilight trailed off, doing the math in her head. "But the Elements would be faster."

"You'll need your Ponyville friends to be on board with that. Are you sure they'd be so willing to turn on Celestia?"

"I would make the situation clear to them," Twilight assured him. "But the more relevant issue is which plan should we do?"

Shining shrugged. "Why not both? Ponyville is on the way. You can do that while I continue on to the Crystal Empire. If your plan works, then it won't have to come to all-out war."

"You mean... splitting up?" she asked.

Shining sighed. He didn't want to say it out loud. But desperate times called for desperate measures.





At the Ponyville train station, Twilight and Shining parted ways. Like so many other lovers on the platform, they parted with a passionate kiss, each pony too engrossed in their own departures to give much notice to the other public displays of affection. Least of all to the incognito couple shrouded in clothing, hoods and hats.

He had told her that he loved her so many times before. After kissing one final time, he said simply, "Good luck."

Part of Twilight expected herself to bristle at the sentiment and remind him that luck was not a factor. She was not a superstitious pony. She did not believe in luck, chance, fortune, or destiny. The very concepts flew in the face of empirical science. It robbed her of a sense of agency in her life.  For these reasons, she hated luck. But mostly, it was because Luck had not been on her side for a very long time. But for this final, great confrontation, she would accept any ally.

"Thank you."

Twilight stood there on the platform as Shining got back onto the train bound for the Crystal Empire. The past two days had not been especially stellar for Twilight. But as she watched his train roll away to the horizon, she felt that pit of dread in her stomach get just a little bit deeper. She forced herself to look away. Time was not a luxury she had.

Walking into Ponyville felt like something out of a surreal dream. It was familiar but felt strangely foreign all the same. Much like the very first time she had arrived, it didn't feel like home. Nevertheless, the castle that was once hers loomed on the far side of town, and there was much to be done. A pink blur bounced down the main avenue to greet the new pony in town.

"Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! Welcome to Ponyville! What's your name?"

Twilight's eyes watered as she was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. She was pleased to see that some things, and some ponies, never changed. Twilight knew she would have to do it sooner or later, and now was as good a time as any. She shook her hat off her head and shuffled off her hooded cloak. Though her colors were muted for want of a good bath, it was still her. 

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Ooh! You're good!" Pinkie said. "Is that you, Thorax? Or some other changeling?"

"No Pinkie. It's me. The same pony that stood beside you against Nightmare Moon. Saved Ponyville from an Ursa Minor, helped wrap up winter the first year I was here, and doubted your Pinkie Sense."

"Wow! You really know your Twilight trivia!" Pinkie said. 

"Pinkie, who are you talking to?" Rainbow Dash asked as she flew in from overhead. The prismatic pegasus landed beside Pinkie and gave Twilight a stern glare. "What the hay is this about?"

"Some 'Ling that really knows his Twilight trivia!" Pinkie Pie said.

"I'm not a changeling," Twilight said. "It's me. I got sixth place when I raced against you and Applejack in the Running of the Leaves. We defeated Discord together the first time he returned. I introduced you to the Daring Do series!"

"See?" Pinkie Pie said. "I told you he was good!"

Rainbow jabbed Twilight in the chest with her hoof. "Look bud, I don't know what game you think you're playing, but you're opening some old wounds for me right now, and it's pissing me off!"

"Consarn it, Rainbow! I ain't chasing you all the way from the farm every time we go into town!" Applejack yelled as she galloped after the pegasus to the group. "T-Twi!? N-no! My friend is dead! What are you doing!"

Twilight turned to her with pleading eyes. "Applejack, I trusted you on that cliff when you told me to let go on the night of Nightmare Moon's return! Please trust me when I tell you that it's me! Or are you still the stubborn pony that didn't believe me when I told you you needed help during Applebuck Season? Do you still not trust me because I used magic to plow snow during Winter Wrap Up?"

"Twi..?" Applejack teared up. She clenched her eyes and looked away. "Dash, if this is some kinda prank, I swear..!"

"I'm not in on this!" Dash said. 

"How can we be sure it her?" Pinkie said. "None of us are unicorns. We can't do the changeling spell. We need to go see Rarity. She should be able to do that."

"Fine," Rainbow said. "While you do that, I'm gonna go get Fluttershy." She glared at Twilight. "You better not be a changeling. Because if you break Fluttershy's heart, Discord will snap you in half!" Rainbow turned and took off to fly to Fluttershy's cottage at the edge of the Everfree forest.

Applejack led the way. "The Carousel Boutique is-"

"I remember where it is," Twilight said indignantly, walking ahead of her. Applejack walked after her, with Pinkie Pie bouncing along at pace. Twilight glanced back at them. "Don't you guys want to know where I've been?" she asked.

"Yup!" Pinkie said.

"Of course I do," Applejack said. "I've got lots a questions, actually. Just as soon as I'm sure it's you."

Twilight pushed open the door to Rarity's shop with a jingle of the bell. The proprietor was somewhere in the back. Her voice called out, "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifi-" The white unicorn stopped in her tracks and turned a little bit more pale. Understandable for a pony seeing a ghost.

"Rarity, it's me," Twilight said. "You and Applejack almost ruined my first slumber party. I didn't appreciate the first Gala dress you made for me and I demanded that the stars be technically accurate! You begged me to keep your jealousy of Fluttershy's modeling career a secret."

"Hey! You broke a Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie interrupted. "I mean, Twilight did!"

"And I couldn't make a bird nest to save my life during Winter Wrap Up!" Twilight said to Rarity. Rarity eyed her with suspicion.

"Can you just use that changeling spell?" Applejack asked.

Rarity nodded and charged her horn. She fired the spell at Twilight and it washed over her harmlessly, leaving her as she was. Rarity gasped and could scarcely believe her eyes, convinced instead that she must have fouled up the spell. She repeated it with the same effect.

"It's me," Twilight said.

Rarity's jaw fell open and the muscles of her mouth tried to articulate a word, but no sound came forth. She could only lunge forward and embrace her old friend with a stifled cry. Pinkie and Applejack did the same, smothering Twilight in the group hug.

"We thought you were dead!" Applejack cried.

"You've been gone for years!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Where have you been!?" Rarity asked.

"It's a long story, and I'll have time to explain it all later," Twilight said. "But for right now, I need your help. All of you. We need to go retrieve the Elements of Harmony."

"What about Spike?" Pinkie asked.

"What about Spike?" Twilight asked back, assuming that he was with her parents.

"Does she not know?" Applejack asked.

"I only just got here," Twilight said.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked to Rarity. "I take it you haven't been home yet, darling?"

"You mean the castle? That hasn't been home for a long time," Twilight said.

"Maybe not for you, sugarcube..." Applejack said.

Rarity grabbed a pouch of spare gems and walked with them across town to the crystal castle. Once there, Rarity opened the pouch. "You probably don't want a reunion with him while he's hungry," Rarity said, pouring the gems in through the book-return slot beside the door. "I've been doing this once a week ever since..."

"Since what..?" Twilight asked. The other ponies exchanged nervous glances.

"After you disappeared, everypony thought you were dead," Pinkie said. 

"Except Spike," Applejack said. "He was in denial for a long time. After everything, he couldn't believe a zeppelin crash would kill you."

"I mean, he was right," Pinkie said.

"But ever since then, he's been holed up in the castle, guarding the place until you returned," Applejack said. "For years. Alone."

"He's probably sleeping," Rarity said.

"How do you know?" Twilight asked.

Rarity motioned to the column of smoke coming out the chimney. "Well unless he's running the fireplace in the height of summer, I'd assume that's a dragon snoring, yes?" 

"That's a lot of smoke for a baby dragon," Twilight said.

"He ain't no baby no more, Twi, that's for sure," Applejack said.

"That's why we keep him well-fed, and undisturbed," Rarity said.

Twilight looked at the door. "I'm going in."

Applejack blocked her way. "Twi, listen, that dragon that's in there? It isn't Spike! Not anymore! He's changed. He's uh, a-"

"Monster?" Pinkie offered. Applejack cringed at the word but didn't correct her.

"He's changed," Applejack just repeated.

Twilight shoved her way past. "I'll talk to him."

"Pinkie, go call the fire brigade!" Applejack instructed before galloping away herself to warn the rest of the town. Even Rarity with her magic shield backed far away to give the castle a wide berth.

Twilight's magic undid the lock on the door and she pushed the door open. Stepping inside, she could smell the stench of brimstone as the door closed behind her. To the side, she saw a large pile of uneaten gems overflowing from the book return bin. She didn't see the fine thread across the entryway. Her hoof broke the thread and set off several loud party poppers.

The very foundation of the castle shook as the creature inside slowly stirred awake and the air vibrated with the deep growl of the massive beast.

"Hello?" Twilight called out. The heavy thuds of steps approached. Peering into the darkness, the shine of two massive eyes peered back at her.

"YOU PICKED THE WRONG CASTLE, FOOL!"

The front of his face split open into a massive maw as big as the doorway she had entered. The floor and ceiling of the cave mouth was lined with razor-sharp stalactite and stalagmite teeth. Staring down the barrel of the cannon into his gullet, she felt the wind rush past her as he took in a mighty breath. The back of his throat glowed bright yellow and he spewed forth with a mighty roar of dragon fire.

Twilight was at the ready with her magical shield. The fire engulfed her tiny bubble of magic completely, surrounding her in blinding light. Her magic held, but his fire was relentless. Twilight screamed out his name at the top of her lungs, but it was drowned out by the deafening inferno rushing past her.

When at last it stopped, Twilight screamed, "Hey! Hey, Spike, it's me! Twilight! Chill! Chill!"

"YOU HAVE A LOT OF DAMN NERVE WEARING HER FACE!"

The second volley of flame was even stronger. Twilight kept waiting for it to end, to taper and slow, but if anything, it only became more intense as she held her ground. Twilight was beginning to regret her decision to enter.

"It's me!"

"MY TWILIGHT IS DEAD!" Spike took another massive breath.

Twilight spoke quickly. "When you were a hatchling your first word was mommy! But when I told you I wasn't your mommy you cried yourself to sleep! But Mom- Velvet, she told you she was your mommy!"

"Mommy?" The fire in Spike's throat faded and came out as white smoke when he spoke.

Twilight stepped through the smoke and looked at him. His massive slit eyes dilated and focused on the tiny purple pony. Below his eyes, steam evaporated off his cheeks. He moved closer, but she seemed to drift away. With each step away from abandoning his greed and anger, he shrank, until his steps got him closer to her once more, as a drake only a bit larger than a stallion. Smaller though he was, Twilight still had to look up a bit to meet his gaze.

He nervously reached out to touch her. "Is it really you?" he asked.

Twilight held his hand with her hoof and put it to her cheek. "It's me. And you? You sure sprouted!" Spike looked down at himself and shrugged. For all the reflective surfaces inside the castle, he hardly recognized himself.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked.

"It's a long story. And I need everypony's help," Twilight said. "Is it alright if I have the others come into your castle?"

Spike shook his head. "It's your castle, Twilight. It always was." Twilight hugged him.  

~

Opening the front door, Twilight saw her  waiting friends, including Fluttershy. Behind them was the fire brigade with hoses at the ready.

"Twilight!?" Fluttershy asked in disbelief.

"It's okay everypony. He's back to his old self," Twilight said, waving her friends inside.

Inside, Spike was working frantically to try to make it not look like the castle had been without activity for the better part of two decades. Twilight and her friends walked into the throne room. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust and soot from dragon snoring. Of the circle of thrones, only Twilight's had a cloth draped over it.

"We still had friendship council meetings for a while," Spike explained. "It was more of a group therapy thing to help us cope after you- well, after we thought you died. But we couldn't bear to look at the empty throne."

"But life went on," Rarity said. "I had my boutique to run."

"And the farm."

"And the bakery."

"And the woodland critters."

"And the Wonderbolts."

"And this place felt more like a mausoleum," Spike said. "Coming here was bringing everypony down. So eventually we stopped. And only I stayed to look after the place and guard it... That was a long time ago." He looked at everypony. "I'm... sorry about how I've been." He dusted off the other seats, pulled down the drapes covering the windows to let light in, and at last, pulled away the drop cloth on Twilight's throne. It was the only thing in the room that looked untouched by time; Herself and friends included. They all took their seats, except for Spike who had outgrown his diminutive throne. All eyes were on Twilight.

"Well Twi, y'all said it was a long story..." Applejack said.

"You disappeared for almost twenty years and just trot back into town like nothing happened!" Rainbow Dash said, crossing her hooves in a huff.

"We all thought you had died in the zeppelin crash," Fluttershy said.

"And to be clear, darling, letting somepony you care about think that you are dead, when you are in fact not, is exceptionally cruel!" Rarity said.

"I know I owe you all a heck of an explanation. So here it is..." 

Twilight laid it all out. The truth. The truth about her parents' relationship, and her relationship with her brother. Celestia's great plans. And most importantly, her son. All of her darkest secrets laid bare. It's not everyday that you find out that one of your best friends is part of the biggest secret in the history of Equestria; The super-powered alicorn product of a long line of incest.

They took it pretty well.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Rarity groaned.

"Oh... my," Fluttershy winced.

"So wait, if your mom and dad are brother and sister, does that mean that your dad is your uncle? Or that your mom is your aunt?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. Either? Both? What does it matter?"

"That must have made things weird growing up. Did they get really into it, like, oh, yes, harder brother!" Rainbow asked.

"No!" Twilight said. "At least, not that I know of. I told you, I only just found out about it before the zeppelin incident. And they didn't find out until after they were married and had a foal already."

"But if you weren't in on Celestia's plan, why did you start bucking Shining?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. The heart wants what it wants."

"For crying out loud, Rainbow, at least TRY to hide your wingboner!" Applejack said.

"Hey, I'm not judging," Rainbow said. "If Shining was my brother, I'd hit that like a speeding train! I just never suspected Twi would actually do it. I always figured it'd be you and Big Mac doing something like that."

"I don't appreciate the stereotype, Dash," Applejack growled.

"For fuck's sake Dash, I don't care if this is your kink!" Twilight said. "Can we please focus on the fact that Celestia foalnapped my son!?"

"Hold on a second!" Pinkie Pie cut in. "You have a foal!?"

Twilight pulled her copy of the news from her bag and threw it on the table. "I assume you've seen this?" The headline showcased Princess Celestia next to the young, alicorn stallion.

"Your foal is Prince Nova!?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded.

"You've had a foal this whole time and you never told me!? Do you have any idea how many birthday parties I have to make up for now!?"

"Yes, I do, Pinkie. And I'll be more than happy to help you throw all of them AFTER we get my son back!" Twilight reiterated.

"I assume you have a plan," Rarity said.

"I do," Twilight assured her. "We go into the Everfree, get the Elements back from the Tree of Harmony, go to Canterlot and rescue my son. If Celestia tries to stop us..." Twilight trailed off.

"What? Are we going to banish her to the moon?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Or would it be the sun?"

"I don't know, exactly," Twilight said. "It's meant to be a bluff. Hopefully it won't come to that. But if it does... the Elements will decide her fate."

"I ain't one for bluffing," Applejack said.

"It's not that we don't believe you, darling," Rarity said. "But are you absolutely sure about all that terrible stuff you said about Celestia? Again, we trust you. But before any of this leaves the room, and before we trot into her throne room Elements blazing, I just want to be absolutely, positively sure before we do something that could be considered... treasonous."

Twilight looked at her with complete seriousness. "I'd bet my life on it."

"But what about mine, darling?"

"Or mine, sugarcube?"

"Or Fluttershy's!?" Pinkie asked. "And mine too, I guess."

"..." 

Everypony looked at Rainbow Dash wearing a goofy grin. "Wha-? Oh, sorry. I was still thinking about Shining getting Twilight pregnant."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "The point is, you're putting more lives than your own in harms way with this plan, darling. And I know that I for one would feel much better about it if we had some kind of back-up plan."

Twilight shuffled her hooves and glanced at Rainbow. "Well, speaking of Shining..."





The train inbound to the Crystal Empire was filled with ponies. Many were crystal ponies returning home. Many others were from all over Equestria, and several creatures from even beyond its borders.

Sitting in the car second from the last was a lone was a dirt-brown unicorn clutching his bag with naught else but the clothes on his back. The train breached the barrier to the empire, protecting it from the cold and storm of the Frozen North.  When Shining Armor passed through the barrier, it screamed.

For a brief instant, Shining felt like he had been punched in his soul. From the window, he could see concentric rings of iridescent light spread out from the point in the barrier where he had passed through. The entire thing rang like a massive bell at a frequency so low that he felt it more than he hear it. The entire world around him vibrated like a plucked guitar string and it made him feel nauseous.

A flash of light came from the Crystal Palace and it streaked through the air like a burning meteor towards him in a shallow arc. It arrived before the sound of it did, striking the the broadside of the train with a deafening sonic boom. His car lifted off the rails in a eerie silence, as it started to disassemble itself piece by piece. The other ponies in the car scampered out and ran to safety as bits of scrap showered around him to the ground until only his seat remained.

Magic struck him with a changeling nullification spell, not once but repeatedly. His ragged clothes and the coloring in his fur were stripped away. Even his seat beneath him evaporated away into cold ash like blackened snow, leaving him as bare as the day he was born, held aloft in her blue aura. There was no other sound but the beat of her wings.

Princess Cadance looked... everything. Her expression bore every emotion as she stared at him. Furious, morose, heartbroken, and elated. All at the same time. Her angry-sad-happy eyes streaked tears of joy, sadness and rage. She inspected him until she knew with absolute certainty that it was indeed him. They drifted down to the ground and he was set onto his hooves.

There was so many thing he wanted to tell her. He could spend the next two lifetimes telling her how sorry he was and he wasn't sure if it would be enough. More than anything, he just wanted to tell her that he loved her. All of this, she already knew. It went without saying. Which was just as well as Shining's words hitched in his throat. There was nothing else to say.

Cadance slapped him. Once and then again with her other hoof. And then she hugged him.

She had so many questions. He had much to answer for. There was so much that he had missed. And there was so much she needed to tell him. But it could all wait until later.

They each cried into the shoulder of the other.

For now, it was enough.
> The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Mares...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prince Shining Armor's return to the Crystal Empire was met with little fanfare. Consort to Princess Cadance and father to Princess Flurry Heart, he sat as Prince to the Crystal Empire throne for a few brief years before he vanished and was thought dead. Aside from the throne room tapestry, he now only appeared in history books. An entire generation had grown up in the Empire without him.

Including his daughter.

"How is she?" he asked his wife as they walked back to the Crystal Palace together.

"She's doing well," she answered, knowing perfectly well to whom he was referring.

"That's good," he replied. "Is she... are you... I- I have so many questions, I don't even know where to begin!"

"One at a time," Cadance said simply.

Shining Armor had been watching their lives closely through the newspapers. He knew most of the who, what, and when. But very little about the why. "You never remarried."

"No. I wouldn't do that to you," she said. "I knew you would return one day."

"How? It's been years."

"I don't know how..." Cadance trailed off, putting her hoof over her heart. "But I just knew in here. I knew you were out there somewhere."

"And Flurry?" Shining asked as they passed by the spinning Crystal Heart.

"She thinks Daddy has been off fighting monsters to keep her safe."

"Is that what you told her?"

"It was her favorite bedtime tale."

"You must have given the poor filly nightmares!"

Cadance smirked. "Clearly you don't know your daughter at all." Shining's face fell. Her flippant remark cut him deeper than she intended. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I meant that... you'll find out." They entered the palace. Inside the foyer, a concussive blast of magic energy struck the floor between them, tossing them in opposite directions.

Shining was barely back on his hooves before a second blast struck him, sending him flying onto his back. A blur dropped down from above, landing on him. Shining's eyes crossed as he looked at the blade against his cheek. He looked up along the polished metal to the familiar hilt of his own cutie mark emblazoned on his Sword of Office as Captain of the Royal Guard.

"You had better take off my father's face, bug, before I do it for you!"

Shining Armor had seen her face so many times in the newspapers. The photos could never do her beauty justice. But he recognized her just the same.

"Flurry!" Cadance yelled as she ran over.

Flurry's eyes didn't waver as she cast the changeling nullification spell at him. The result shocked her and she cast it again just as fast. Shining could feel the tremble in her hoof through the sword against his cheek. An instant later Cadance was beside her, pulling the sword away.

Cadance started shouting something that sounded like scolding but Flurry couldn't hear anything over the sound of her own heart thundering in her ears. She just stared at him like she was looking at a ghost and he just looked back at her. She stepped off and Cadance helped him up, but neither of them looked away from the other. Both were too terrified to even blink and let this vision slip away like a dream. The other palace guards rushed in but Cadance waved them away without a word.

"I- I have a... a picture of you," Flurry said nervously.

Shining smiled. "Well, I have a picture of you, too."

"You- you've been gone my whole life."

"I know. I'm sorry." Shining's words hung in the air for a long moment. "I- I know that's not enough. But I am sorry." He shuffled his hooves nervously standing across from her. "Flurry, I... don't have a great deal of time here. But I'll be coming back! And uh, maybe we can..."

"What? We can what? I barely even know you."

"That's what I want to change!" Shining said. "I've rehearsed this speech a thousand times for the time when we would meet. Here we are, and I'm lost."

"Well I don't know how I'm supposed to be feeling either."

"Flurry, I'm not an evil pony. If you can believe that, then it is a start," he said.

Flurry nodded. "Okay." 

Shining extended his hoof to her and she stepped closer. He held her in his embrace and she hugged him back, pressing her face into his mane. She had been told her whole life that she was safe. She had trained hard under the best swordspony and mages to be able to defend herself. She lived in a palace surrounded by guards, in her empire enclosed in a massive shield. She had been told her whole life that she was safe. In her mind, she knew it was true. But here, now, enclosed in the hooves of her estranged father, smelling his scent, it was the first time she ever really felt safe.

"I remember you," Flurry said with her cheek against his neck.

"Flurry, you were barely three-" Cadance tried to object.

"I remember this," Flurry said, hugging him tighter. "Dad."

Shining hugged her tighter back, "And I never forgot about you."

"I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too!"

Cadance joined the hug and enclosed them in her wings, feeling her family being one step closer to being whole again. "Why don't we head upstairs. We have a lot to talk about."

Walking through the castle, Shining didn't see any other familiar faces. Most of the Crystal Guard was barely older than his daughter. Cadance led them past guards stationed outside Flurry's royal chambers, and past her own to the suite on the far side.

Pushing the door open, Cadance led Shining inside. An elderly unicorn was sitting on a couch, reading a familiar headline. She glanced over the top of the newspaper at the ponies walking in and set it down on the coffee table. She slowly stood up and held onto her walker as she shuffled over to them. Standing in front of Shining, she squinted at the stallion and adjusted her glasses.

"You've got some salt in your pepper there," Twilight Velvet said.

"Hi Mom," Shining greeted, giving her a hug. 

She groaned. "Easy there, son. You're gonna break this old mare."

"Where's Dad?" he asked. Velvet nodded toward the urn on top of the mantel. "When?"

"Last summer," Velvet said.

"How?"

Velvet raised an eyebrow at his surprised expression. "Shining, look at me. You should be more surprised that I haven't been chucked into a clay by now, too."

Shining frowned. "I know, but still... how?"

"Bungee jumping," Velvet said.

"Really!?"

Velvet laughed so hard it made her brittle ribs hurt. "Goodness, no! No, no, he uh, he had an unsafe drop in blood pressure from a medication he took."

"Oh?"

"A little blue medication," Velvet said in an implying tone.

"Oh? Oh!"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

Velvet shrugged. "I imagine your father would say that he died doing what he loved."

After a moment, Shining nodded. "Well... good for him."

"I take it you're here about this?" Velvet asked, as her magic held the newspaper. The front page had the massive photo of Celestia beside his son, Nova.

"You would be right," Shining said.

Cadance sidled up beside him. "I didn't think that it was any mere coincidence that you showed up less than a day later."

"Celestia foalnapped him," Shining said.

"I'll have to pass along my congratulations," Cadance said. Shining gave her a sideways look. "Being able to actually find you. She wasn't the only pony looking, after all. I must commend Twilight on her wards."

"Speaking of Twilight...?" Velvet asked.

"She's in Ponyville, gathering the Elements, working on her half of the plan," Shining said.

"Her half?" she asked. Shining nodded. "So what's your half?"

"My half of the plan is Plan B. Tomorrow I'm going back to Canterlot to prevent Plan C."

"And that is?" Cadance asked.

"If Plan B fails..." Shining looked at her nervously. "How's the Empire's military looking?"





Twilight Sparkle and her friends walked through the Everfree Forest to the Castle of the Two Sisters, and the Tree of Harmony beneath it to retrieve the Elements of Harmony. Even Rainbow Dash, who insisted on flying everywhere, was forced to walk. Her stiff wings were not cooperating.

"So what did it feel like when he was inside you?" Rainbow asked.

"Honestly, Dash, do you just have no shame at all?" Applejack scolded.

"I just mean if it feel different than other stallions," Dash added.

"I don't know how wide of a field of experience you think I've had," Twilight said indignantly.

"Yes or no will do."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Okay. Yes. But not for the reasons you think. It's not about him being my brother. It's... sex is just better when its with somepony you love."

"I could have told you that, darling," Rarity said.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip to stifle a moan.

"Oh, what now?" Applejack asked.

"I just remembered when Cadance kissed Shining at the wedding. And she's his sister! Just remembering seeing that-"

Rarity sneered. "Rainbow, darling, if you're going keep walking around with your tail up like that, you can stay in the back."

Rainbow Dash ignored her. "She had Flurry, and you had Nova- WAIT! Does that mean if my dad fucks me I'll have an alicorn foal!? He'd probably go for it now. He's been pretty lonely since Mom died."

Twilight was getting exasperated. "I told you, it doesn't work like that! It takes a long line of planning. It doesn't just happen from one case like that."

"Yeah I guess you're right. Otherwise Sweet Apple Acres would have tons of alicorns."

"Again, I don't appreciate the stereotype!" Applejack said.

"Plus my dad would probably have a heart attack. He's like... sixty something."

"He's sixty nine," Applejack reminded her.

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Nice!"

"We're here," Fluttershy said, pointing at the castle in the forest clearing.

"Oh, thank the stars!" Rarity exclaimed. 

They trotted down into the ravine to retrieve the Elements from the Tree of Harmony. Once they all had their element, they headed back to town before it got dark.

"So Twi, how big is Shining's-"

"Dash! No more talking from you, okay!" Twilight snapped. "Pinkie, sing us the song of your people!"

"Nine hundred and ninety nine bottles of pop on the wall! Nine hundred and ninety nine bottles of pop! Take one down pass it around..."





"It's so big!" Cadance gasped. In the Crystal Palace royal chambers, she and Shining Armor were making up for lost time. He rutted her in earnest desperation, making wet slapping noises of his hips against hers. His length and girth filled her completely in just the right way. "I can understand why Twilight was jealous."

Shining paused. "Can you not mention my sister right now?" The novelty of his taboo with Twilight hadn't entered his mind in a long time. But it was the first time he had done this with Cadance since she had found out about... everything.

"Your sister?" Cadance scoffed, and pointed at herself, "In case you forgot..?"

"Right..." Part of him actually had forgotten. In his mind, Cadance was always just his wife. "Does that make this weird to you now? Knowing that I'm your brother?"

Cadance shook her head. "No. I've had a lot of time to process it. But you're my spouse first and my sibling second. Why? Is it weird for you?"

"No- I mean, obviously no!" He looked down at where his very hard erection was still balls-deep inside his sister's pussy.

"Good. Because that would be awfully hypocritical of you. Now come on! It's been far too long since I've had a dick this big!" she purred, feeling his full length sliding in and out of her. 

Shining paused. "Wait, why did you say it like that?"

"What?"

"A dick this big? Have there been others?" he asked.

Cadance shrugged. "I'm a mare of flesh and blood Shining, and you weren't here." Cadance felt his erection wilting inside her.

"How many?"

"How many what?"

"How many dicks!?"

"Just the one!"

"Once?"

"No, like, a lot. But just the one stallion."

"Who!?" Shining demanded.

"Oh come on, isn't it obvious?" Cadance said. "You don't honestly think he was taking Neighagra for your mom, do you?"

"You fucked my dad!?"

"Hey, he was my dad too!" Cadance said. "Are you really going to judge me for fucking a family member behind your back?"

"... Touché."

"You should be grateful after all," Cadance said. "After you were declared dead, there was no shortage of suitors lining up at the palace doors. Dad was doing you a favor, keeping me from breaking down and getting remarried when the summer heat came around! Honestly I didn't know how I was going to get through this year without him."

"Huh..."

"Yeah, so, you're welcome!"

"Okay... Thanks."

"Don't thank me."

Shining snorted and smiled, looking up at the ceiling. "Thanks, Dad."

"Don't forget to thank Mom the next time you see her. It was her suggestion after all."

"Really?"

Cadance nodded. "She told me that it was only fair that he got to fuck your wife in return."

"In return for what?"

Cadance raised her eyebrow. "Shining, we don't keep any secrets from each other. We know better than anypony how damaging secrets are."

Shining looked away in shame. "Okay... That's fair."

Cadance put her hoof to his chin to turn him back to face her. "If it's of any consolation, Mom and I agree..." She whispered into his ear, "You're bigger." Shining grinned and she grinned back, feeling him throb back to full mast inside her. Even Shining groaned, becoming painfully hard from the compliment.





Twilight Sparkle and her friends sat in the overnight train and watched the sun rise the next morning with bloodshot eyes as it approached Canterlot station.

"... One bottle of pop on the wall, one bottle of pop! Take one down, pass it around, no bottles of pop on the wall!" Pinkie Pie finished. The six ponies sat in blessed silence for a minute.

Rainbow Dash put her hooves up in front of her a decent distance apart. "So is he like... this big?"

Twilight didn't even turn to look at her as she rubbed her eyes with her hooves. "Sure, why not."

Rainbow's eyes lit up. "AJ, is this bigger than Mac's?"

"For the last time, Dash I wouldn't know!"

"At this point, I don't care if Celestia kills us," Rarity muttered. "I no longer fear death."

Twilight groaned. "Pinkie... coffee." When Twilight opened her eyes there was a cart with five small cups.

"Why the dinky cups?" Dash asked.

"Espresso!" Pinkie said. "Try it!" Dash threw back the shot like Applejack Daniels and her pupils dilated. "What do you think?" Pinkie asked.

"I feel like I can do anything!" Dash said. "I bet I could fly!"

Pinkie opened a packet of white powder.

"What's that?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's uh... powdered creamer," Pinkie said before snorting a line of 'powdered creamer' off the cart tray. "Oh, BUCK YES let's do this!"

Dash's voice trembled, "I can feel my mane!"

A voice came over the train's intercom, "Now arriving at Canterlot station."

Twilight and her friends disembarked and started walking through Canterlot. It was just after dawn so they were among only a few ponies awake in the city that early. They still got plenty of the odd looks. Even after being gone for nearly twenty years, Twilight was, irrevocably, an alicorn. And it didn't help that she was wearing her ostentatious tiara. They approached the front gate of the castle.

"So what are we going to do about the guards?" Fluttershy asked.

"They'll let us in," Twilight said.

"Are you sure?" Applejack asked.

"One way or another," Twilight muttered. She led the group towards the gate.

The guards crossed their spears. "Halt! Who goes there!?"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Element Bearers," Twilight said.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle is dead," the guard said. 

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Twilight asked.

"No. Now back away or else-"

"Or else what? You'll hit me with that... fish?" Twilight's horn flashed and their spears turned into fish. The guards looked at her in shock.

Twilight spread her wings and rose into the air. "I am Princess Twilight Sparkle! And I will ask you nicely one final time to let us pass. After that, I will stop asking nicely."

"Is... is Princess Celestia expecting you?"

"She would be a fool not to be." The guards moved aside to let them pass. Twilight drifted back down to the ground to walk inside the castle with her friends. "Just to be clear, our only objective is to rescue my son," she reminded them. "Preferably, I'd like to do that without violence. But... if it comes to that..."

"I have a knife!" Pinkie said.

"WHY do you have a knife!?" Twilight asked. Pinkie opened her mouth. "Actually, no, don't answer that! I don't even want to know."

"You know the castle better than any of us," Applejack said. "Where to?"

"Celestia should be holding Day Court in the throne room," Twilight said. "We'll confront- er, talk to her there."

On the way to the throne room, a mob of senators came walking from the other direction. Twilight did a double-take. Had Celestia dismissed Day Court this early? Cancelled it? 

Arriving at the throne room doors, four guards stood watch. The usual two, and the two that were usually posted inside. Again, Twilight approached them.

"Halt! Celestia has called a recess and has given orders not to be disturbed."

"Is there nothing I can say to get you to belay that order?" Twilight asked as politely as she could manage through her grit teeth.

The guards leveled their spears at her. "Princess Celestia will not suffer an intrusion under any circumstances!"

Twilight's horn glowed. "She will suffer me."

The guards scattered in armor-turned-pajamas wielding former-spears-turned-pool-noodles. Bent over the Prime Minister's desk, Celestia looked up at the rending of her warded doors being torn asunder. Twilight's magic threw them open and she strode inside with a shout.

"Princess Celestia, I've come to bargain!"

Nova Sparkle's head popped out from behind Celestia. "MOM!?"

"Nova! Son! You don't need to hide! I'm here to rescue you!" Twilight said.

"Uhhh... yeah, that's cool and all, but... can you give me a minute?" Nova asked. "I was kind of in the middle of something here."

"Release my son!" Twilight demanded.

Celestia smiled. "As you wish." Celestia said. Her horn glowed and Nova bit his lip as his eyelids twitched.

"She's mind-controlling him!" Twilight shouted.

"No, I believe that's an O-face, darling," Rarity said.

"What-?" Twilight looked again at his face, his position behind Celestia, and cringed. Twilight realized that Nova had the same O-face as his father. "She's raping him! She's raping my colt!"

"Wait, what!?" Nova perked up in post-orgasm clarity. "First of all, she's not raping me!" Stepping out from behind Celestia, his fifth leg flopped free under him. Twilight's friends averted their eyes. "And second of all, I'm not a little colt! I'm an adult!" Twilight's friends un-averted their eyes. 

Rainbow smirked, "He's right about that."

"Shut up, Dash!" Twilight snapped. "Nova, come on, let's go! We're leaving."

Nova remained unmoved. Princess Celestia got to her hooves and walked over beside him. As she did, a bit of Nova dribbled out behind her. Actually quite a bit. 

"Well, you heard her," Celestia said. "I suppose you must do as your mother commands, since you are merely her foal with no free will of your own."

"I am not!" Nova shouted. "I am an adult! I am a prince, and I can do as I please!"

"She foalnapped you!" Twilight said.

"I came here on my own!" Nova said.

"You infected his mind!" Twilight yelled at Celestia.

"I have done no such thing," Celestia said. "He is right here, see for yourself. He is under no spell, no enthrallment. If anything, the prince has enchanted me." Celestia leaned over to kiss him. He kissed her back with sloppy enthusiasm.

"ENOUGH!" Twilight separated them with her magic and focused on Celestia as she lofted into the air with her Element.  "Girls! Formation!"

"Are you going to banish me now, Twilight?" Celestia asked, putting her hoof to her belly. "If you do, then you damn your grandfoals as well."

"So be it." Twilight muttered.

The other ponies remained on the ground. "Twi, the Elements aren't working..." Applejack said.

"Darling, you don't have to like your son's marefriend, but this!?" Rarity said.

"This isn't friendship," Fluttershy said.

"This isn't magic," Rainbow Dash said.

"This is a knife!" Pinkie said, brandishing the blade. "Also, this isn't harmony."

"Fine! I don't need the Elements!" Twilight said. She glared at Celestia and her horn glowed.

Nova put himself between them with his own horn glowing just as brightly. "Do NOT threaten her!"

"Now, now, my prince, we mustn't escalate the situation," Celestia chided. "Your mother is a reasonable mare. Surely we can resolve this with our words like civilized ponies. Isn't that right, Princess Sparkle?"

The light of Twilight's horn dimmed but her sneer remained. "Fine!"

With her hoof on his shoulder, Celestia nudged Nova aside from between them. "My prince, why don't you go take your rightful place on the throne while I have a chat with your mother? After all, I've known her a good deal longer than you have." Nova begrudgingly nodded and did so. Celestia looked past Twilight to her friends. "I'm sorry that you ladies got caught up in all this confusion. But if you wish to head home, I hope we can all just put this little misunderstanding behind us. Twilight will be joining you shortly after we have a little chat."

"Thank you princess!" Twilight's friends turned and departed.

Nova watched with a stern expression from the throne at the far side of the room, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.

Twilight seethed, glaring at Celestia in front of her. 

Celestia just smiled back and spoke quietly for only her to hear. "Come now Twilight, is it really so hard to just be happy for us?"

"You won't get away with this!"

"Twilight, dear, I haven't gotten away with anything. This is simply the natural course of events that were destined to happen," Celestia's expression soured. "In spite of your misguided meddling!"

"What did you do to him!?"

Celestia's smug expression returned. "I simply gave him everything he ever wanted. Everything that you could not." Celestia tilted her head a bit at the mare who she knew had knowingly engaged in incest. "Or would not, I suppose." Celestia put her hoof to her belly again. "Only fair, I feel. He has given me everything I've ever wanted. So go home with your friends. Equestria misses you dearly. And a kingdom abhors and empty throne." Twilight snarled. "You have a choice, Twilight. You can either be happy for us, or pout. Frankly I don't give a damn either way. However, I will extend to you this curtesy; you won't have to wait for an invitation to hear about our wedding." 

"This isn't over!"

"I quite agree," Celestia said. "This is only the beginning of something wonderful. Go home, and await a happy announcement." Celestia could hear Twilight's teeth grinding. Celestia smiled and whispered, "You want to strike me now, don't you? Go ahead. Do it. Push your son further away." Twilight turned on her heel and stormed out. Celestia shivered. She wasn't sure if it was an orgasm aftershock, or the feeling of complete and utter victory.





Twilight and her friends rode the train back to Ponyville in silence. 

"So that's it?" Applejack asked.

"Of course not!" Twilight snapped.

"What else can we really do, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Celestia hasn't actually done anything evil," Fluttershy said. Twilight glared at her. "At least not according to these," Fluttershy corrected, flicking her Element necklace with her hoof.

"I don't like Maud's coltfriend," Pinkie Pie said, "But I can't banish him to the moon just because of that."

"And plus, I'm pretty sure it's every stallion's dream to nail Celestia," Rainbow added. "So, you know, good luck turning him off of that." Twilight rubbed the bridge of her nose. She could feel a migraine coming on. "So did he inherit the best part of his dad or what?"

"SHUT UP, DASH!"





Flurry Heart vaulted off the throne and bounded off the wall into a flip through the air with her sword, coming down to cleave the training dummy in twain.

Shining clopped his hooves with pride. "Impressive! Most impressive. But what if-" His magic surrounded the next dummy with a shield. Flurry charged at it and put her weight behind the blade, stabbing it through the ward, causing it to tear. With a second thrust, she found her mark in the dummy's throat.

Flurry brandished the sword. "Disenchantment hex," she said. "It can cut through anything under a level three." Shining nodded. Flurry smiled. "I was worried. Mom thought that you might not approve."

"Well, of course I don't," Shining said. "But that doesn't make it my place to stop you. And my goodness, look at you! It's not like I even could stop you now. I don't ever want my little filly to be in a combat situation. But it is of some comfort you know that you can defend yourself."

"I'm not a little filly anymore, Dad."

"You'll always be my little filly," he said, hugging her.

Flurry wrapped her hooves around him and leaned into the hug. "I don't want to be your little filly. I want to be your mare." She kissed his neck.

"Uh, Flurry..."

She kissed his mouth. Shining pushed her away.

"Flurry, stop! I'm your father!"

"So!? When has that ever stopped you before!?" she asked. Shining blanched. "Oh don't act so surprised. Mom told me about you and Auntie Twilight, and Granny Velvet."

"That- that's immaterial! You- you're just confused!"

"No, I'm not! I've thought about this a long time. For many lonely nights alone with a history book, and your picture."

"Well... I need to go have a talk with your mother!" Shining said.

~

"Cadance!" Shining shouted as he stormed into the royal washroom. "We need to talk!"

Cadance turned her head toward him from her lounge chair. "Oh?"

"Our daughter just tried to flirt with me!"

Cadance lifted one of the cucumber slices off her eyes. ".... And?"

Shining was speechless. "And? AND!? What else does there need to be said!? That's the whole problem! That's not okay! I'm her father!"

Velvet snorted from the hot tub. "You're one to talk."

Shining was ready to pull his mane out. "Fine! Then I'm a fucking hypocrite! But has everypony around here lost their damn minds!?"

"Wait, does he not know?" Velvet asked.

Cadance smacked her forehead. "Oh my gosh! You're right! We didn't learn about it until after he left."

"What are you talking about?" Shining asked.

Cadance sat upright to properly explain it. "Before the Crystal Empire reappeared, it had been gone for a thousand years, along with all of its citizens. When it came back, they came back with it as though nothing had happened. And they still had all of their old traditions that had remained unchanged in the last thousand years, including certain things being made taboo."

"What are you trying to tell me? That incest is legal here?" Shining asked.

Cadance laughed. "Legal!? Shining, it's practically an institution! It's the entire founding of their race! You should read The Origin of the Crystal Species. A fantastic book. It talks about the first crystal pony born. He was said to have been the most attractive pony in all the land. As soon as he was able to breed, he was tasked to, as much as possible with every mare he would have. He sired many, many foals, but none were crystal like him. They were all like their mothers."

"And then one day, his sister bore a crystal foal, like him. When it came out that her brother was the father, they were implored to provide the world with as many beautiful crystal foals as they could. And she did! Fourteen crystal foals in all! Their family wanted for nothing. They were treated as celebrities, as royals. They were provided with everything they ever needed. Later, the marriages between the siblings were celebrated. And so on for centuries until one family became an entire Crystal Empire!" 

"I've seen plenty of regular ponies around here, too," Shining said.

Velvet rolled her eyes. "Well, out-breeding isn't illegal either, Shining!"

"But traditionally, they prefer to not dilute the gene pool," Cadance said.

"And Flurry knows all this?" Shining asked.

"Mhmm," Cadance nodded.

Shining's face turned whiter. "Wait, so Flurry... Did Dad-"

"No!" Cadance answered quickly. "Flurry never propositioned him for that. Not that there hasn't been prospective suitors expressing interest. She's been keeping herself for just you."

"But still..." Shining said. "I used to change her diapers!"

"You remember that. She doesn't. To her, you're this idealized stallion of legends. You may be her father, but you haven't been a dad to her in years." Shining winced. "I know that hurts to hear, but you have to look at this from her point of view."

"I don't know if I can..."

Cadance helped Velvet carefully get out of the tub and helped her towel off. "Shining, look, nopony is going to make you do anything you don't want to. So if the answer is no, it's no. Just... try to let her down easy, okay?"

Shining sighed. "Right..."

There was a knock at the door. Flurry Heart poked her head inside. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey," Shining greeted.

"I'm sorry about... that downstairs."

"It's okay. I- you just caught me off guard is all."

Cadance and Velvet walked past Flurry out of the washroom. "Flurry, you've been training. You need a bath!"

"I know, Mom." She closed the door behind her and looked at her father. "Again, I'm sorry. It's just been especially hard these last couple summers. I would spend every night hoping you would come home and-"

"I know," he said. Flurry walked passed him to the tub, flicking his nose with her tail. Beneath the sweat of her workout Shining could smell the powerful pheromones of a mare in the height of her cycle. Flurry made no effort to hide the fact that she was strategically positioning herself in front of a water jet. Though it was unclear if it was actually helping her situation or exacerbating it. From the way she was biting her lip, it looked to be both. "Really?"

Flurry nodded. 

Shining rubbed his forehead. "Flurry, listen, I'm not unsympathetic to your plight. I don't know know it feels, myself, but I understand the agony it must be. Especially for an alicorn."

"Mhmm."

"And after talking with your mother, she... She made me aware of the Empire's history and, really, my own hypocrisy." Flurry's eyes lit up. "But that doesn't mean I'm ready to just jump into bed with you, okay? I'm just saying that I'm not... completely against the idea of it maybe being a possibility. Someday."

Flurry looked like she was about to cry.

"No. Do not! Crying is emotional blackmail!"

Flurry composed herself.

"Listen, I can try to get past what we are, but more than me being your father, I've only been here a few days! We hardly know each other! I wouldn't want you rushing into that kind of a relationship that quickly with anypony, regardless of their relation. Do you understand?"

Flurry nodded.

"I love you, Flurry. But as your father. For now at least. I just- I think we just both need time. To process this."

"Okay, Dad."

Cadance opened the door with her hoof over her eyes. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she teased.

"Ha ha," Shining deadpanned. 

Cadance passed a scroll to him. "It's from Twilight."

Shining opened it and read quickly. He frowned and looked at Flurry again. "I'm afraid time is something we don't have right now."

"What's wrong?" Cadance asked.

"Twilight's plan didn't work. She returned the Elements to the Tree of Harmony," Shining explained.

"So what now?"

"Ready the troops."

"You're going to declare war on Canterlot!?"

"Not yet," Shining said getting up from his chair. "I'm going to make one last attempt to prevent it. I have to go to Canterlot. But if I fail..." He trailed off. "She can't keep getting away with this."

Cadance set her jaw and nodded.

Flurry was out of the tub. She ran over and hugged him. "I only just got you back! I don't want to lose you again!"

Shining held her and his wife. "I'll see you again. I promise." His words were of some comfort, but not enough. Such as it was in these hard times, he didn't expect them to be. 





Princess Celestia shuffled the deck of flash cards and drew one for Nova sitting in his throne beside her. "Okay, next question; so who is the current steward of Gryphonstone?"

"Argh! I know this..." Nova wracked his memory. "Well it begins with a G, obviously..."

The door guards opened the door for the unicorn wearing his full Captain of the Royal Guard regalia.

"Princess Celestia," he said simply.

Celestia almost did a double take. "Captain Armor!? Welcome back. We've missed you. How did you ever manage to fit into that smashing uniform again?" Shining didn't answer. "Let me guess, you're here to bargain?"

"No. No more bargaining. I'm here for my son. He's leaving with me today."

"He's free to leave," Celestia said.

"I don't want to go!" Nova said.

"It matters not. You do not understand what is at stake. You are coming home with me, Nova." Shining looked at Celestia. "By any means necessary."

"Are you threatening me, Captain Armor?" Celestia asked.

"You will know when I am threatening you. I am simply telling you what is going to happen next. My son is coming home with me. In peace, preferably. You can decide if you want this to get messy. This is your last chance. Surrender my son, or die."

From her throne, Celestia looked down her nose at the mere unicorn before her. "I refuse."

"So be it." Shining Armor drew his sword. That was a threat.

"No!" Nova ran down the stairs. "Dad! Just leave!"

"Not without you!"

Nova's magic plucked a sword from the wall display and pointed it at his father. "Leave now!"

"I don't want to fight you, Son!"

"I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to fight me either if I were you!"

Princess Celestia watched from her throne as Nova lunged at his father. Shining Armor easily parried the sloppy swing, sending Nova's weapon clattering across the floor.

"Oh, so now you want to practice your swordplay!?" Shining mocked. "Where was all this enthusiasm back home?"

Nova grabbed his sword and another from a display, "This is my home now!" He attacked again. Twice the blade meant half the focus for each. Shining deflected the attacks with ease.

"Stop this!" Shining growled. "You have no idea what this mare has done to your mother and I! To our families!"

"Because you never tell me!" Nova yelled, swinging again in growing anger. Shining only stepped back, staying on the defensive. "You lied to me about everything! You never even let me have a marefriend!"

"You know we couldn't!"

"Bullshit!" Nova swung again. The edge of Shining's sword hit the broadside of his, breaking it in half. Nova's magic grabbed one of the display shields and hurled it at him like a discus. 

Shining's magic grabbed it and he shoved it against Nova hard, sending him sprawling backwards onto the steps. "You are beaten! Now stand down!" he shouted. "Can't you see that she has poisoned your mind!?" He glared at Celestia. "You turned him against me!"

Celestia stood up from her throne. "You have done that yourself!"

A tear cut down Shining's cheek. "Hate me if you must for this, Nova. In time you will understand." Shining's horn glowed an iridescent white as he poured his Soulfire into his death spell.

"NO!" Nova shouted. Before he even realized what had happened, the spell had already left Nova's horn and struck his father. 

Shining Armor looked down at where his body began to turn to stone, spreading along his limbs and up his torso. He looked at his son one last time. "I love you." His final words before his head turned to stone.

"I know."

Celestia ran down the stairs to him. "Nova Sparkle what have you done!?"

"I saved your life... and his. He was going to cast with Soulfire."

"I would have been fine!" Celestia said.

"And him?" Nova asked.

"You need to undo this! Now!" Celestia said.

"I don't know how! I don't even know how I did it in the first place!"

"Nova! We don't do this! When we don't like ponies, we send them packing. But we send them back alive!"

"He is alive. Sort of."

"Don't be stupid! The Crystal Empire isn't going to want their prince back sealed in a stone spell that only you can undo!" Celestia began pacing nervously. "This won't do. This will NOT do! You mother won't stand for this. And Cadance! Her wrath will be terrible, her retribution swift!"

"I can fix this," Nova lied. "I mean, I will. I'll figure out how. Can he-" He looked at the statue. "Can he hear me?" 

Celestia nodded. "Discord said that while he was trapped in stone he could still hear what was happening around him."

Nova put his hoof to his father's stone cheek. "I promise I will fix this." The statue wobbled precariously on Shining's hind legs. Nova held it with his magic. He pried his father's armor off with his magic and shredded it. He fashioned in into a brass, reinforced wicker base to steady him. Nova could not bear to think what might happen if the stature were broken or damaged in any way. "I want him kept someplace safe until I can figure this out!"

"Our royal chambers are-"

"No! I've seen the guard open the doors! I want some place only you and I can get to!" he demanded.

Celestia nodded. "As you wish, my prince. I do know of such a place."





"Back away!" Nova barked at anypony in the hallway as he walked step-by-cautious-step, following after Celestia's lead. He carefully carried his father's statue in his magic, giving it a wide berth from the walls, ceiling and floor. Sweat started to trickle down his forehead from the effort, but he repeatedly refused help or a break.

Celestia's eyes echoed Nova's words and the hallways were kept vacant in every direction he could see until they arrived at their destination. At the end of the hall was a lone doorway that was left unguarded. It was ornate, but it had no handle, or and visible means of opening, save for a round hole in the center. 

Celestia bowed her head, and placed her horn into the hole. She unlocked the door with a spell that only she could cast. The gold relief etching of the door glowed to life. A seam materialized up the middle of the door and it split open on its own. Bright sunlight filled the hallway as the door opened. Nova squinted and followed Celestia through the doorway, stepping outside into her garden. They walked through the doorway, into a jarring transition from the marble tile of the castle to a course cobblestone pathway leading to a solitary tree amid a sea of rather plain field grass.

As soon as they both were through, the door closed behind them. Nova looked back at the exterior of the castle. There was no visible sign of a door having existed in the wall at all. His eyes traveled upwards along the ancient architecture to one of the spires, to the window of Celestia's royal chambers. He orientated himself within his mental map of the castle. He'd been in that very window up there. He had looked out at the very ground that they were standing on. But it did not look like this. He'd never seen this stone path or tree before in her life. 

His mind struggled with the geographic dissonance. Celestia watched the familiar confusion dance across his face. She had seen it so many times before. She had planned on bringing him here one day. She just didn't expect it to be so soon. 

"We're here," she said.

"Here!?" he asked, carefully setting his father's statue down on the ground. "How is this at all secure!? We're outside! Wherever we are!"

"We... are nowhere," Celestia said. "This is my private garden. It exists outside of our reality, in a pocket dimension.  This is the West Castle Courtyard. And it is not. For example, the topiaries are missing." Celestia began to explain. "This... place, exists in the same space, in the same time, but layered, superimposed on top of what is already there. Like pages in a book. It's a bubble in the world, like a bubble in water. The world is like the sea. Even if there is a bubble in it, the sea is still the sea, and the water moves around it as though it were not even there. So too, does the bubble exist, without regard for the water around it. But this is a bubble of space, of reality, of my design. Technically, it does not exist. It is unable to be measured, observed, or reached from the outside but by my spell to access it. Without it, that door leads nowhere." 

Nova followed her gaze to the bare wall where the door had been.

Celestia draped her wing over him. "If all the forces of the world were aligned against us, and Canterlot Mountain were obliterated, this place would remain, untouched. I trust it's secure enough for your father."

Nova nodded. It would do. He put his hoof to his father's stone cheek. "I will fix this. I promise."

Celestia took note of her massive bonsai tree. It had been years since she had tended to it. It had grown unwieldy and unkempt, with errant branches going in undesirable directions without her guiding hoof to control them. But it was no matter. She smirked. The undesirable branches could be... eliminated in time. She took her gardening sheers from her tool basket. Unlike the tree, they were untouched by the passing of time. She cut a sapling from the trunk and placed it into a pot with some soil. She gave it to Nova.

"What's this?" he asked.

"A gift," Celestia said. "I had hoped to give it to you on the day of our wedding but..." she trailed off and motioned to the statue before they began to depart the garden. "I consider you a part of my family now. Just as I did for your mother before you. She had one as well. As did her mother." Her horn glowed and the door reappeared in the castle wall. Back inside the castle hallway, the door sealed behind them once more.

Nova looked at the potted tree in his hoof. "I don't remember her having one of these."

"You wouldn't," Celestia said. "It was destroyed along with her Ponyville home in her battle against Tirek. Did she ever tell you about that?" 

Nova shook his head. "I read about it."

"It scarred the very land. Once all this... messy business with your father is settled, I was hoping to take you on a tour of Equestria to show you. And to introduce you to those you mean to rule one day." 

"Show the world your new beau?" he asked.

Celestia smiled. "That too."

They stopped in front of Celestia's royal chambers and she opened the door.

"Not the library?" he asked.

"We can search for a counter-spell in the morning," she said. "But for tonight you need your rest." He followed her inside and she stepped out onto her balcony to set the sun. Coming back inside, she joined him on the bed. "There's also your- princely duties to see to." She winked at him and wiggled her hips.

"Actually, I think I'll just sleep. It's been a long day, and turning my dad to stone, and the whole, 'looming war' thing kinda has me not in the mood right now."

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"No. That's quite alright. Goodness, we've probably done it more times than my wings have feathers since you've arrived. I'm actually surprised you're not suffering from dehydration!"

"Heh."

"Tomorrow is another day. We will get all this sorted out. You'll see. Get your rest, my prince."





Sleep did not find Nova that night. Celestia's bed was a dream to sleep in and his body was satisfied in every way it possibly could be. But his mind was wracked with guilt and worry. It kept him from his lover's warm bed. Exiting her royal chambers, he walked past the night guards in the hallway at either side of her door.

"My Liege?" one asked. "Where are you off to at this hour?"

"The library," Nova said.

"Your Grace, the library is closed for the night."

"Is it?" Nova asked sternly.

The guard bowed. "Forgive me, Your Majesty! I'll escort you there at once." He took a torch from one of the wall sconces and walked with Nova to the castle library. The guard unlocked the entrance and Nova stepped inside. The guard waited at the entrance.

"Not coming?" Nova asked.

The guard lifted his burning torch. "Not with this, Sire. And somepony needs to mind the entrance."

"Ah, right." Nova's horn glowed with arcane light. He looked around inside the massive library. "I don't suppose you might happen to know where the counter-spells section would be?"

The guard bowed again. "My apologies, Your Highness. They did not verse us with the castle library's organizational system at the Royal Guard academy."

"I'm sure I'll be alright," Nova said. The guard nodded and took his place just outside the doorway while Nova searched the library. He would never have admitted it to his mother before, but Nova actually did like reading. He just didn't like how effusive she was about it. The library's organization was a bit disjointed. It was more of an archive sorted by publication time first before category. And without knowing when the spell he was looking for was written, he was figuratively and literally blundering around in the dark.

Grabbing a few promising tomes, he set them down on the reading table and started going through them. As he pored over the ancient, barely-decipherable texts, he discovered that they had a remarkable quality... for curing insomnia.





"Ah, there you are."

Nova picked his head up off the reading table and looked around to see who was talking to him. "Hello?" he asked the darkness, wondering if perhaps he had simply imagined the voice. He lit his horn again but saw nothing. He looked back at his books but found them to be unreadable scribbles. He blinked and tried to refocus his eyes, but the harder he tried to read them, the more illegible it became.

"You're a hard pony to find," the voice said again from the darkness. This time he was certain he heard it.

"Who's there!?" he asked. A pair of teal eyes looked back at him and moved closer. The rest of her blue body emerged from the shadows. He recognized her but his memory struggled to place from where and when. "I know you, but..."

"Has your lover not told you about me?" she asked. His vapid expression told her all she needed to know. Her lips parted into a sly grin as she took a step closer. "Was she the only one your mother warned you about?" Another step closer. "Did you really think that second throne was meant for you?" Her blue wings unfurled behind her as the glittering stars in her voluminous mane twinkled in the light of her horn. "I am Princess Luna."

The mention of her name parted the veil of fog in his memory. "I remember you now! I- I dreamed about you!"

"Yes. I've dreamed of you as well."

"Why couldn't I remember you?" he asked.

"It's like trying to remember a dream," she said. "And, perhaps, because you had not been allowed to."

"Not allowed?"

Luna nodded. "Just as your mother did, before. So too now does your sleep continue to be warded. Part of the reason she was so quick to invite you into her bed."

"Celestia?"

"She always was a bit possessive of her playthings," Luna said, walking a slow circle around him. "So unwilling to share."

"Yeah, well, I'm not a toy, okay? I'm a prince!"

"Maybe the circlet on your head makes a difference, but from where I stand, you look more like a puppet dangling from her hoof. Doing only as she says."

"I'm free to do as I please! I'm a prince!"

"So you've said. But anypony that has to keep saying that they are a prince is no real prince."

"I don't need a crown to prove it!" he said, pointing to his horn. "I have this! I have these!" He flared his wings and reared up in front of her. "I have THIS!"

Luna licked her lips as he flourished his erection at her. "Mmm, I can see why she likes you. A pity that you are only ever allowed to do what she wants with it."

"I am a prince! I can do as I please!"

"Whatever you want?"

"Yes!"

"Whomever you want?"

"YES!"

"Prove it."

In a fit of anger, Nova's hoof punched the reading table.





Nova blinked and found himself standing in front of a door with his hoof against it. At either side of the door were two sleeping Royal Guard mares in cobalt armor. Their wings lacked feathers and instead were webbed with a leathery membrane, like bats.

The door in front of him opened. Princess Luna stood inside her royal chambers. "You knocked?"

Nova looked around himself. "How- how did I get here?" he asked.

"My, my... It seems you've suffered a bout of sleep walking."

Nova was still trying to orientate himself. "I- I had a dream about you. Just now."

"Yes, I know. I was there," she said, glancing under him. "So, are you here to 'prove it'?"

Standing in front of her doorway, Nova felt his nocturnal erection throb beneath him. "May I come inside?"

Luna smirked. "Oh, I insist!" She stepped aside to entreat him into her royal chambers, closing the door behind him.

Nova's nostrils flared. The air inside the room was heavy. His nose was flooded with a scent that was strange and yet somehow familiar. Like the scent of a bakery far away, where one might not know what exactly is cooking, only that it is delicious. Quite in fact, Nova found his mouth literally watering. His heartbeat raced and he began to pant, drawing in more and more of the heavy scent, sending it quickly to his brain... and elsewhere. Despite Celestia regularly milking him, he was harder than ever.

"What... is this?" he asked.

"Oh, this?" Luna asked as she walked in front of him, swishing her tail against his snout, giving him an especially potent blast of her pheromones. She smirked as she watched the sapience drain from his eyes. "Have you never experienced a mare in heat?"

Nova felt his head spinning and he stumbled back a bit. But he was drawn forward once more by a hunger so raw and feral that it would have frightened him, if he could even think at all. In that moment, all he could do was feel. And what he felt was pure, undiluted desire. 

Luna led the way towards her bed and Nova followed his dick like a divining rod. She flopped onto her bed and rolled onto her back, parting her legs. The dampness between them was plainly evident, as was her invitation. His nose closed in on the source of her scent, pulling his face down to her princesshood.

He grabbed her thighs with his hooves and dove face-first into her pussy. It was his first time ever going down on a mare. Celestia had not wanted to sully his spoiling in asking him to return the favor of her fellatio. But this was not foreplay for the sake of her pleasure. His technique was sloppy and urgent; licking and sucking and drinking of her nectar with the desperate thirst of a stallion that had just wandered out of the desert. He wanted nothing more than to just get as much of this flavor of an alicorn mare in estrus into his mouth as he possibly could. His vision began to go dark. His instinct for survival just barely edged out his lust, forcing him to finally come up for air. 

The rush of fresh oxygen made his vision clear. His only conscious thought was the urgent presence of his painfully-hard erection making it self known. He looked down at it, and at the sopping wet mare laying on the bed in front of him. His hooves pulled her hips to him as he drove his forward, sinking his full length into her hot, receptive vagina.

He didn't make love to her. They didn't even have sex. He fucked her like an animal, with the extreme biological imperative to reproduce. His eyes were locked onto where his dick was plowing in and out of her dappled, blue pussy. She wasn't even a mare anymore. She was merely a fertile vessel to receive his seed. To ensure the proliferation of his genes.

All Luna could do for her part was just hold-the-fuck-on as he rutted her. She was only too happy to let him. Estrus was unpleasant for all mares. But for alicorns, it was especially agonizing. Her orgasms came easily despite his amateur cunnilingus. But it was hard for her to enjoy them as no more than background noise to the pervasive ache of her heat. It was a fire, a blaze, an inferno that she desperately needed him to douse with his seed. 

And douse he did. 

Luna felt him thrusting just as fast, and hard as he could. With a final heave, he hilted her and held himself there. She felt his thick flare stretch her depths and his shaft throbbed and pumped, delivering his potent seed as deeply inside her as possible, ensuring the greatest chances of impregnating her.

Luna barely had a moment to rest during his nearly-nonexistent refractory period and he was right back to rutting her again. Not just once more, but repeatedly. Long into the night until it was so late that it was early. He stopped at last only when his muscles were simply incapable of moving anymore.

~

The cold, post-sex sobriety washed over Nova some time later. That, and the cool night air blowing in from the open doors of Luna's balcony, clearing all the stank out of the room. He looked at the blue silhouette standing in the moonlight, leaning against the balcony railing. He tried to call out to her, but his voice came out as a raspy squeak.

"On the nightstand," Luna said without even turning to look at him. Sure enough, there was a cup next to a tall pitcher of ice water. Nova ignored the cup and guzzled directly from the pitcher until it was empty. Some ran from the corners of his mouth. He set it down and shuffled over towards Luna. "I figured you'd be pretty dehydrated after... all that."

"Yeah, uhh..." Nova rubbed his face with his hoof, trying to shake off the feeling of a bad dream. "Sorry about that. I don't know what happened to me."

"No apologies." Luna looked over her shoulder at him. "I feel much better now."

Nova looked at the stained bedding, soaked in sweat and pony-knows-what else. A dotted trail of alabaster lead from the bed to between her hind legs. Her thoroughly-fucked marehood was splattered with more of the same, stuffed with a bejeweled plug to keep the rest of the mess inside. She nudged him towards her washroom with her hoof. "You had best bathe before heading back. You stink."

Nova protested and nuzzled against her neck. "I like this stink."

"And I look forward to covering you in it again soon," Luna said. "But we can't have Tia smelling you like this. Now run along. I need to lower the moon in about an hour."

"No, I can't imagine Celestia is going to be happy about this," Nova said.

"Celestia will not care, for she will not know. As long as you keep giving her what she wants. Unlike her, I am willing to share. I don't mind being your little secret. After all..." Luna turned and kissed him. "A prince should be able to have whatever he wants, yes?" she asked with a smile. Nova smiled back and nodded before heading into her washroom to bathe. 

On the balcony, Luna looked across the night sky to the aurora in the far north. "Tia has much bigger things to worry about now."





"I will return with my son by the dawn of the third day, or die trying."

Shining Armor's parting words echoed in Princess Cadance's mind as she looked to the east from her Crystal Palace window. She hadn't slept a wink since he had left. She watched and waited for any sign of his return. Any possible indication that he was okay. From the southern horizon, the last redeye train from Canterlot approached and passed through the barrier into the Crystal Empire without fanfare.

Several more silent minutes passed and the dull, reddish glow on the eastern horizon broke into the crisp white light of dawn. Cadance clenched her eyes and looked away as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her prince was dead. Sitting beside her, Flurry Heart leaned over and hugged her. Cadance wiped her cheeks with her hoof and choked back the rest of her tears with a sharp breath.

"Your Highness?" The Commander of the Crystal Army and his assembled officers stood by, awaiting her orders. "Our sincerest condolences. If there is anything-"

"How many?" she asked, cutting him off.

"Three hundred thousand, Your Highness! Assembled and ready to depart at your word! And we've mustered another two hundred thousand conscripts in reserve that can be made battle-ready in one week's time!"

Cadance stood and faced them with a nod.


"Let slip the diamond dogs of war."

> ... Oft Go Awry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia sat pensively on her throne. Not the ostentatious, golden throne in the eponymous room. Her porcelain throne in her private washroom. As she sat there, she turned over the simple kit box in her hooves reading the instructions once more for lack of something else to help her pass the time. For an immortal alicorn, time had been something that she'd had in unlimited abundance. But now it felt like she had so little of it. And two minutes passed by agonizingly slowly.

"Come on... come on," she whispered her pleas to the cup on her basin countertop. Praying to whatever divinity might hear her. Begging for the activator solution mixed with her urine to turn blue this time. "Please."

It turned red, just as it always had before. Negative. She was still not pregnant. She knew it wasn't Nova. She had seen his sample under a microscope. His swimmers could outmatch the sea ponies in the Equestrian Games.

Celestia glared up at the ceiling and sucked her breath through her grit teeth, willing back the tears. Tears were for quitters and those who were defeated, and she was neither.  No, she would try again. But the clock was rapidly counting down. She discarded the kit and flushed. She freshened herself up and exited her royal chambers into the main castle hallway.

Not more than a few hoof steps from her door, Raven Inkwell strode to her side. "Your Majesty, you presence is urgently requested in the War Room."

"It can wait," Celestia said.

"But, Your Highness, the Crystal Army-"

"Is not here yet! It can wait!" Celestia shouted.

Raven took two large steps back and let Celestia go on her way. The same thick tension pervaded the whole castle. It was no secret that The Crystal Empire was on the warpath towards Canterlot. Everypony was on edge. The guards flanking the library entrance moved aside and avoided eye contact with Celestia as she shoved open the door a bit louder than was strictly cordial for a library.

"Give me some good news!" Celestia demanded of the colt.

Nova Sparkle frantically looked back and forth between a scroll as old as the castle, and a tome large enough to wallpaper the whole interior with its pages. He quickly double checked his notes. "Okay, I- I think this is it! I learned a lot from the last attempt and I think I have it now!"

Celestia strode around the table to look over his shoulder. She read over his notes. The stone statue counter-spell was amateur and crude. It was like trying to take a pocket watch apart by smashing it with a hammer. But it might work. But it was also just as likely to kill the prince, Shining Armor, trapped in stone. Unfortunately, they were running out of time. Trapped in stone as he was, the prince might as well be dead as far as the Empire was concerned. She sighed. "It will have to do."

Celestia led Nova with all haste through the castle hallways to the entrance of her private garden. She opened the door with her horn and they entered the pocket dimension. She waited by the giant bonsai tree, motioning to the statue as she looked at Nova. "At your will..."

Nova looked at his father's stone form and focused his magic. His horn glowed and his magic hit the statue, washing over it harmlessly. He tried again, with no effect. "I- I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"You look exhausted," Celestia said. "Have you not been sleeping well?"

Nova rubbed his tired eyes. His secret nocturnal dalliances with the Princess of the Night for the last couple of weeks were starting to catch up with him. "Well, you know, with this impending war and all," he said. He was not exactly lying about it adding to the mountain of his stress. The stakes had never been higher, and it was all resting on his shoulders.

Celestia shook her head in frustration. "We can try again later. But for now, we're already late!"

Nova put his hoof to his father's lithic cheek. "I'm going to fix this," he promised the statue before they left. Back inside the castle they walked quickly towards the stairway leading downwards to the Canterlot Wine cellars, formerly the dungeons. They passed by several cells that were now filled with shelves and racks of wine bottles that were older than most of the buildings in the city. At the far end of the dim hallway, two guards stood outside of a heavily armored vault door. The door opened from the inside and the Canterlot Army Corps commander stepped out with a small nod of a bow.

"Your Majesty- Majesties," he greeted, stepping aside to let them inside. "They're all ready for you."

The War Room was a bit better illuminated than the rest of the castle cellar. The large oval table in the center of the room had a detailed map of Equestria. Several markers and figurines were positioned on it, along with pins with pennants and connecting red string. The lapels of every pony present was bedazzled with the stars and bars of high ranking officers. Upon Celestia walking inside, they were all on their hooves. Celestia waved the gesture away with her hoof. 

"What's the situation?" Celestia asked with curt brevity.

"Same as before," the commander reported, using the pointer stick on the various figures on the map. "The Crystal Army is steadily moving south. This was their approximate position this morning, and they've advanced down to here."

Celestia looked at the scale distance. "That's it? They sure are taking their time. Perhaps their heart isn't into attacking an elevated, fortified position."

"Our pegasi reconnaissance teams came back with this," he said, taking some photos from his folder. "This is probably what's slowing them down." He pointed at the large blurry shapes among the troop formations.

Celestia looked at the aerial photographs. "What are those?"

"Siege weaponry, most likely," he answered dryly. "Catapults. Trebuchets. Mobile battlements. The sort of things that can reach out and touch a city on top of a mountain. But they're bulky. Slow to move."

"Why did they go this way?" Celestia asked, pointing at the army's tracked path circumnavigation the Neighagara River. "Why not take the main road's bridge above the falls?"

"We suspect they've avoided the Neighagara City to keep a low profile. Perhaps trying to maintain the element of surprise."

Celestia shook her head. "Princess Cadenza is no fool. They've been on the warpath for almost two weeks. She can't possibly think that her hundreds of thousands of troops marching south are just going to go unnoticed. She has to know that we can see her coming. There's no reason for her to not take the fastest, shortest, most direct path."

"Maybe she's just trying to not be a dick." Nova looked at everypony's eyes turn to look at the young prince in the room.

"You've something to add, Prince Nova?" Celestia asked in mild annoyance.

Nova gestured vaguely at the table. "Well, I just- I mean, she's not trying to invade Neighagara City, right? So like... why piss them off if she can avoid it? And plus, they've got that hydroelectric dam, right? If she wants to try to capture Canterlot, she'd probably still want the lights to work."

Celestia rubbed her chin with her hoof. He had a point.

The commander nodded. "The long-term preserving of the infrastructure makes strategic sense, though it's at the cost of tactical initiative. Even so, they'll reach Canterlot Mountain within two days. Maybe less they pick up any speed."

"We can't rain them out?" one of the unicorn generals asked. "And some well-placed lightning could easily take out those siege engines!"

The senior pegasi commander shook her head. "Cloudsdale is staying staunchly neutral for now. They have strongly allied ties with the Empire just as much as Neighagara Falls and the other providences. They won't initiate a first strike until the Crystal Empire actually attacks. Until then, this could still be seen as a massive military exercise."

Another colonel spoke up, "With how far they've over-extended, we could send in the Canterlot Wonderbolts reservists to easily intercept the supply lines from the west."

"No," Celestia said quickly. "Keep them on standby for now. Cadance has avoided the cities because they don't need to sack them. Cutting off their supplies will only make them desperate sooner, and it will be the civilians that suffer. I will not be the one to make the first strike."

"And when they do?" her captain asked.

"If they fire first..." Celestia set her jaw. "Unleash hell."





That evening, after lowering the sun, Princess Celestia placed her crown on her nightstand along with her peytral, kicking off each of her golden horse shoes last. Given how little the pieces served to cover anything remotely intimate, to Nova it still had the strange effect of making her look naked without them. She walked out onto the balcony to stand beside Nova, unsure of what else to say to try to reassure him. "It'll be okay?" she wondered. Her words were beginning to sound increasingly hollow, even to her.

He leaned against the balcony railing, looking towards the aurora of the distant north. A storm was coming from just beyond the horizon and everypony knew it. Most ponies slept at night, but in modern Equestria, there was always somepony awake in the cities. Manehatten was especially the city that never slept, and some part of Canterlot was always active at any hour of the night. But not this night.

"It's so quiet," Nova said.

Celestia draped her wing over him. She could sense his anxiety. "It's the deep breath before the plunge," she said.

"I don't want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse." He looked up at her. "Why didn't you tell the general about my dad?" he asked.

Celestia sighed. "For what purpose?"

"The Crystal Army isn't coming for Equestria, or even Canterlot. It's coming for me!" he said. Celestia snorted. "What's funny about that!?"

She pursed her lips. "Don't think too highly of yourself," she said. "Do you know how long it takes to raise an army? To arm them? To train them? Months at the bare minimum! You've been here barely a few weeks. Believe me, this is an invasion that Madam Cadenza has been preparing for years. You were simply a catalyst to give her an opportunity."

"But why!?" he asked. "We're allies!"

"I imagine that she'll try to paint me as the villain in her own narrative," Celestia said. "Make it look like she had no choice. But the first casualty in any war is always the truth. Remember that."

Nova nodded. "So what does she want then?"

"What do all mares with power want? More power," Celestia said simply.

"And you?" Nova asked.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm the Princess of Equestria. What more could I want?" she asked before adding quickly, "Besides your foal."

"Well, if that's what you want then why don't we just leave!?" Nova said. "I know a thing or two about living in hiding. We can run away together, just you and me!"

Celestia looked at her own, towering frame. "And how well do you think I'm going to blend in?" she asked. "I don't think they make disguises in my size. And besides, I quite like the life we have here. There is more to living than merely surviving. Do you really want to go back to bowls of oatmeal, hoping for a blueberry treat?"

Nova shrugged. "No, but I mean- at least it wouldn't be putting the whole city at risk."

Celestia softly patted the top of his head with her hoof. "I think you overestimate their chances. This isn't my first rodeo. And Cadenza isn't the first upstart that has tried to invade Canterlot. You don't get to rule Equestria for a thousand years without knowing all the angles."

"I guess..."

"Come on. It's late. Let's get some sleep," she said, leading him to her bed, patting the mattress beside her.

"How can you sleep at a time like this?" he asked.

"With my eyes closed."

"How can you be so cavalier about this? You know what I mean."

Celestia sighed. "I find that worrying is a lot like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. I assure you, I have the exact right amount of concern for the situation as called for in this moment. Everything that can be done to prepare has been done. And now there is nothing else to do but wait. And if there is to be a battle, I won't be fighting it with a sleep debt."

"As easy as that?" he asked dubiously.

"It's an acquired skill, but one you can learn with experience."

"Yeah, well..." he trailed off, unconvinced.

"Well, if you need something to take your mind off things..." she said, rolling onto her back to spread her legs for him. "There's always your other princely duties to see to."

Nova snorted. "At this point we've done it so many times we'll probably end up drowning the poor thing." Celestia's cheery façade broke. "Sorry, I- I know it doesn't actually work that way."

"No, it's not that," Celestia said. "I... I took another pregnancy test this morning and... it was still negative."

"Oh."

"Nova, when I said that I wanted a foal more than anything, it wasn't a flippant remark. It really is what I want most in the whole world. But I need your help, you're the only pony who can." Celestia shifted over to his side of the bed, pulling on him to roll onto his back. She pressed her nose into his sheath to tease him out. "Surely you can find it within yourself, to find yourself, within myself."

Her stimulation drew out his tip and she began to lick and suck. It was practically witchcraft how quickly his cares and worries about the current events in the world began to feel very far away. She moved over top of him and sat down to the familiar feeling of his shaft inside her. She started to ride, hoping, praying that this time would be the one.





In the small hours of the night, Princess Luna's head bobbed up and down on Nova's dick. He ran his hoof through her mane and gripped it as he gave her a hot load to swallow. A moment later her eyes went wide and she bolted to her washroom. She fell to her knees at the porcelain altar and sang the ancient, technicolor hymn as she vomited. 

"Okay, I get it! I'll eat more pineapple!" Nova said.

"It's not that!" Luna said between heaves.

"Well, I tried to warn you! I didn't have time to shower, so it was going to taste like Celestia's-"

"It's not that either!" Luna said, wiping her mouth and digging through her cabinet.

"Well, what is it then?" he asked, peeking into the doorway. Luna squatted over her toilet and started to urinate into a cup. "Uh, listen Luna, I know I said I was thirsty earlier, but I'm not really up for any more kinky stuff tonight."

Luna ignored him and opened her test kit on the counter added the indicator solution to her cup of urine. After a couple minutes she turned back around and retched again. She wasn't sure if it was because of, (or merely further evidence of) the test kit result on her washroom counter. The indicator solution was as blue as her fur. Nova grabbed the kit box and read what a blue result meant.

Luna was pregnant.

A hoof gently rubbed her back. "This is good news, right?" Nova asked.

Luna looked up at his reflection in her washroom mirror. "Is it?" she asked, unsure herself. "What are we going to tell Celestia?"

"That she's going to be an aunt!" Nova said. "This is what she wants, isn't it? To have foals? She'll be happy for you. For us."

"I don't think she'll be happy about you being the father," Luna said.

"She'll get over it. Listen..." Nova sat down beside her on the tile floor. "This morning, I was worried sick about being in a battle. All I could think about was trying to free my dad from stone and prevent this whole mess. And I still want to do that." Nova rubbed his forehead with his hoof. "Before- when I stood up to my dad, it wasn't about Celestia. I was being foolish and angry. I understand that now, and I wish I that had done things differently. But now..." Nova put his hoof to Princess Luna's belly. "Now I have something that I would actually fight for."

"I don't want to fight. Not anymore," Luna said. "Yesterday I was ready to battle alongside Celestia for Canterlot. For you. But now..." Luna cried, "I'm just scared shitless for my foal. I just want to run away to Thestralia."

"There doesn't have to be a fight," Nova said. "There doesn't have to be a battle or a war. We will tell Celestia about this in the morning, together. It'll give her hope. And I'll present myself to the Crystal Army with my dad's statue, explain what happened, and put a stop to all this madness. All I want to do is protect you-" Nova's eyes lit up in epiphany. "And my dad! I wasn't trying to kill or imprison him! He was burning his soulfire, and I was trying to protect him! I get it now! I know how to undo the spell!"

"You do!?"

"Well, I mean I will, now that I know what I'm trying to counter," Nova said. "But I need to go back to the library!"

"I'm coming to help," Luna said. "We don't have a minute to lose!"





Nova's eyes felt dry and itchy, but he was too excited to sleep when he was so near the end.

Princess Luna brought over another book, "I cross-referenced the inverse-aura charge for protection spells and petrification spells. The last part you need should be in here." She kissed him on the cheek.

Nova turned to meet her lips with his to kiss the mother of his foal. "You're a life saver!" Nova pulled open the book and jumped to the index. Like the other books, it was hoof-written and the script looked like it was written during an earthquake.

"While you finish up here, I need to go lower the moon," she said.

"Morning already!?" Nova's eyes darted up to the clock on the wall. Even in the low light he could see how late it had gotten. Celestia would be awake soon. Nova quickly put together the final parts of the counter-spell when Luna walked back inside. Sunlight glowed outside the library windows. The entire castle vibrated around him, and he felt it ringing his name inside his skull. The fur on the tips of his ears singed. "Shit, shit..."

"Ooh. Somepony is calling your name hard," Luna said. "Let's not keep her waiting. We have an Equestria to save!" Luna accompanied Nova to the castle's grand hall outside the throne room.

~

"I WANT HIM FOUND!" Celestia roared at her improvised search party of royal guards. "Immediately! If not sooner! I don't care what it takes! Comb the city! I want you to search every warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, doghouse, clearinghouse, boardinghouse, meetinghouse, packinghouse, customshouse, coffeehouse, schoolhouse, summerhouse, greenhouse, powerhouse, lighthouse, courthouse, roundhouse, statehouse, smokehouse, whorehouse, guardhouse, and sugarhouse in the area!"

"Your Highness-" her captain tried to interrupt her but she ignored him.

"Get out there and search every single clubhouse, playhouse, penthouse, workhouse, gatehouse, firehouse, townhouse, boathouse, roadhouse, jailhouse, dollhouse, birdhouse, bathhouse, cookhouse, poorhouse, longhouse, bunkhouse, almshouse, bakehouse, deckhouse, flophouse, tollhouse, wellhouse, millhouse, backhouse, washhouse, and treehouse!"

"Your Majesty-"

"I mean every last  hothouse,  alehouse, madhouse, icehouse, teahouse, cathouse, gashouse, nuthouse, pothouse, funhouse, baghouse and-"

"TIA!" Luna shouted at her. Celestia stopped and looked at her. "He's right here!" Celestia looked from her sister to the young prince beside her. She took two swift steps towards him and grabbed his hoof, making him drop the books he was holding. 

"Where were you!?" She asked him with desperate worry.

"The library!" he said truthfully, trying to pull his hoof away from her grasp. She looked at him and the books on the floor. Of course. He was working on the counter-spell. "We think we've figured it out!"

"We!?" Celestia asked, looking from him to Luna.

"Luna and I!" Nova said. "We think we figured out the counter-spell last night! If you can arrange an envoy escort for me, I can get my dad back to Crystal army to-"

"It's too late for that," Celestia said in urgency. "They are here!" 

The the deep, echoed bass of war drums rose up from the valley floor below the mountain. Nova rushed over to the window and looked down at the battle formations moving the siege weaponry into place. "But how!? I thought they were days away!"

"I don't know," Celestia said. "Perhaps the reconnaissance photos were old, or the reported location was inaccurate. Maybe it was counter-espionage, seeding false intelligence. But it hardly matters now!" She looked at the rest of the officers standing around them. She shouted at them, "Are we blind!? Deploy the garrison! And somepony bring me my armor!" The rest of the ponies scattered, leaving the three of them alone.

Nova gathered up his books from the floor. "Celestia, wait! This is important!"

"I just told you it's too late! War is upon us!"

"It's not about that! There's more! Luna is pregnant!"

...

Princess Celestia froze in place. In all her long years, she had heard her ponies describe the feeling of a heart attack, but it was never something she knew for herself. But this felt about as close to it as she could imagine. The pressure in her chest that felt like an elephant stepping on her. The radiating pain. It felt as though his words had run her through like an icy dagger. She turned and looked at Luna. 

Luna was suddenly looking more pale of the two. She had hoped for Nova to not broach that information in this moment. Not that the news was bad in and of itself. But the implications were devastating. Outnumbered nine to one, there were still millions of stallions across Equestria. But Celestia knew instantly that there was only one possible suspect.

Celestia's eyes glistened as she looked at Nova. "No, no no. You can't do this to me! I built this castle- this city! Your entire existence! Do you know how much I've sacrificed!? You were my prince!"

"And you said a prince should be able to have whatever he wants!" he countered.

"And you!" she glared at Luna. "You probably put him up to this! You were always jealous!"

"Turnabout is fair play!" Luna snapped. "You stole Starswirl away from me first!"

"That was not the same and you fucking know it!" Celestia yelled. "I've worked for centuries, not for you to snatch my prize out from under my hooves at the finish line! This isn't fair!"

"All's fair in love..." Luna said as the Crystal army's horns blared outside the city, "... and war."

Nova frowned. "Luna, did you really use me just to get petty revenge on your sister?"

"No!" Luna denied. "I mean, maybe at first but- but it's not like that now! Tia, look, I'm sorry about being a bitch. But this is good news, right!? Wasn't this always the plan? For us to have a foal?"

"For ME to have a foal!" Celestia yelled, shoving Luna away. 

Nova moved between them in a flash and shoved Celestia away much harder. "Do NOT lay a hoof on the mother of my foal!" he shouted.

Celestia stepped back and glared at the two of them standing close together before turning on her hoof to storm out of the room, smashing the door to splinters on her way out.

...

Luna's mouth went dry. She could hear nothing more over the thundering war drums, were it that, or her pounding heartbeat in her ears. "We need to leave." 

"And go where!?" Nova asked. "The city is surrounded!"

"Anywhere but here!" Her voice was shaking.

"What!? Why!? You don't think she would-" Luna grabbed his hoof. He looked into her eyes and saw pure, abject, terror.

"You don't know Tia like I do, Nova. You don't know what she used to be like, what she's capable of!"





In her royal bathroom, Celestia filled another cup with urine and added testing reagent again. "Come on, come on!" she growled. It was no longer a prayer. It was a command. She had done everything right. It was the height of summer. They'd had more intercourse in the last two weeks than most married mares have in a lifetime. She had done all the best positions to conceive, she ate all the right foods, and made sure he had the same. She had done everything right. She had earned this. She had worked so hard for so long. She had earned this. The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly. "How could she possibly have gotten pregnant when I haven't!?" Celestia yelled. "This doesn't make sense!"

"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?" the brass winding of the shower rod asked before it morphed into a draconequus, slithering down to the marble, tile floor. Celestia glared at him. "You seem surprised, again, to see me, Celestia! That's the difference between us. I've been expecting this."

"What do you want, Discord? Come to gloat?" Celestia asked.

"Not at all! I've come to give my congratulations! You did it! You brought back the alicorn race! You're going to be an aunt!" Colorful streamers fired off and a Mission Accomplished banner appeared behind him. "Isn't that enough? Aren't you happy?"

Celestia frowned at the testing cup. "Why not me? Why her and not me!?" 

"Oh? Still haven't figured it out, have you?" he asked her. "Celestia the Wise? Celestia the All-Knowing? Still using all the muscles except the one that matters?"

Celestia grit her teeth. "I have neither the time nor the inclination for your riddles!"

"Oh, but whatever happened to Celestia the Patient? Celestia the Kind?" he teased. "Goodness, Celestia, you've gathered so many names over the centuries. And not all of them were so... kind. Ah, but who remembers those? Certainly not those who dared speak them. After all, history is written by the winners. And the dead tell no tales."

Celestia stared at the cup of urine and did her best to ignore him.

"I do so love the tale of Hearth's Warming," Discord said. "It is a tale after all. A delightful work of fiction, based on history. Or rather, her-story. Your story. But then they don't make holiday pageants about nations founded on brute force, do they?"

"The tribes were freezing and starving! I did what I had to do!"

"Yes, yes, of course you did. Then the tribes were brought together with the power of friendship, and not under the heel of ~Sol Diabla~"

"Do NOT call me that," Celestia growled.

"The history books you had written may not remember, but I do. And so does your sister."

"I am not that pony anymore."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you might actually believe it one day. Then what would you wish to be called? Mommy?" he asked. "You know, I didn't mince words when I told you years ago that I couldn't give Luna a penis that would give you a foal. Even if I could..." he trailed off. "Come now. You must have figured it out by now. Did you really think that you just had such good control over your estrus aches that you simply didn't even notice them anymore, while Luna bemoaned her alicorn heat every summer since her return? Luna wasn't trapped on the moon, but within it, in ageless stasis for a thousand years. But not you..." 

"No..." Celestia wept as her cup began to turn red.

"No, my poor, dear, sweet, post-menopausal Celestia. You simply don't have any eggs left in your basket."

"NO!" The tears running down her cheeks turned to steam.

Through the thick stone walls, they could hear the battle horns sounding throughout the castle.

"If there are any survivors after today, I wonder what they will call you... Regina de las Cenizas?"

Celestia's crown dripped off her head into puddles of molten gold.

"Look down your nose at me all you please, Celestia, and tell yourself that you and I are so different. Put as much distance between you and the truth as you want. It changes nothing. Pretend to be everything you are not; Teacher, Sister... Mother."

She glared at him with eyes glowing red as embers.

"But there is one unavoidable truth you will never escape, that you can not change. Beneath your poised façade, you will always be..."

Daybreaker's mane erupted into billowing flames.


" ... a m̜̪̬̯̺͇͓͎̜̟͚̻̥̞̹̤̲̥̠o̬̩̤̰͓͕̞̭̭͉͕̫̦̻͙n̜̤̮̱̥ͅs̬̤̤͍̣t͉̳̫͓̘̲̠̮͉̰͔̬͇͕̩̯̼͙ͅe̳̠̝̣̻̞r̲̖͔̙̼͓̘̤̞͚̣͉. "

> Queen of the Ashes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance tucked the young foal into bed and gently stroked her mane.

"Cadie, can I have a glass of water?" Twilight Sparkle asked her foalsitter.

"You already had one," Cadance told her.

"Can you tell me a bedtime story?" Twilight asked.

Cadance smiled. "Okay. One story. And then to sleep with you." Twilight nodded. "How about the tale of Hearths Warming?"

"Is that the one with the Windy-goes?" Twilight asked. Cadance nodded. Twilight hugged her blanket closer to her chin. "It's just a story though, right? Just make believe? My mommy always said there were no monsters. No real ones."








Princess Mi Amore Cadenza stood in the dark on the front lines of her assembled army. The clatter of metal weapons and armor was all around her. With her eyes closed, she meditated, and focused on her breathing. She lost herself in a happy memory, from a simpler time. It was much-needed nourishment for her tired soul. She smiled. If this was to be her final meal, she could do worse.

Princess Cadance opened her eyes and lived, deliberately, as her former charge imparted on her. Away from the commotion of the troops, she could hear the sounds of songbirds just starting to wake in the tree line at the edge of the meadow. She could smell the petrichor of the morning dew. Her tongue ran over her lips, tasting the remnants of contraband hooch the troops shared with her the night previous. Their song of revelry echoed in her memory. 

Eat, drink, be merry my Guard,
tomorrow we may die.

Cadance knelt down and took up a small bit of soil, feeling the texture of the granules in her hoof. Her legs were stained with dried mud. The colors of her fur and mane muted with grime from days on the road without amenities. Her golden regalia had been replaced with steel armor, helmet, greaves and peytral. 

Cadance looked at the pony standing beside her, likewise armor-clad, and looking no better. Like everypony else, her neck was craned, looking upwards at the city atop Canterlot Mountain.

"My mother always told me that there were no monsters. No real ones..." Princess Twilight Sparkle said. "But there are."

The pegasi scouts reported that the second western battalion had continued south, and completed the encirclement of the city, cutting it off from Ponyville for a protracted siege. Every road, bridge and train rail in and out of the city was covered. Her instructions were clear. Nopony goes in, and nopony leaves. And absolutely, positively, under no circumstances, was anypony to attack first.

All the pieces were in place. The board was set. 

The golden fields of barley glittered with morning dew in the first light of the daybreak.

Princess Cadance looked up at the city on the mountain. 

"Your move."





Princess Luna grabbed Nova Sparkle's hoof. He looked into her eyes and saw pure, abject, terror. "You don't know Tia like I do, Nova. You don't know what she used to be like, what she's capable of!" She pulled him along as she ran through the castle hallways.

"What the hell are you babbling about!?" Nova asked. "I get that she's pissed about me cheating on her, but she wouldn't-"

"This isn't about just you and me! It's about her having a foal."

"It's not like I haven't been trying!"

Luna shook her head. "While I was trapped in the moon, time didn't pass for my body. I never felt that carnal ache until I returned. Celestia puts on a face of perfection for everypony else, but I've been her confidant for years. Even if simply her hooves ached, I was the one that she vented to. But in all the years since I've returned, I've never once heard her complain about estrus. Most mares stop being able to have foals once they reach forty. Long-lived alicorns might have a different biological clock, but even so, Celestia is over a thousand!"

"So she should be even more happy for you," he said.

"No. This is bigger than you can possible fathom!" Luna said. "It's everything! It's literally everything!" She pulled him into a stairwell. "Now listen to me closely, because this bit is important: Your entire family has existed by her design. She adopted your mother and all your grandmothers to raise as her own protégés. She built a fortress on top of an unassailable mountain to protect them. It grew into a castle that she surrounded with a village to support it. A village that became a city, surrounded by farmlands to feed it. She founded, built, and ruled a nation for centuries! And she obliterated anything that threatened it. There's a reason why you don't read history books about Moosepotamia, Cariboonia, or the primate tribes of the Palomino Rain Forest."

"You mean the Palomino desert?" Nova corrected.

"It is now," Luna said. "Nova, you have to understand that Equestria as you know it, in all its glorious form and exquisite splendor, functions solely on one single, solitary principle; that Celestia wanted a foal. And if she can't have that... well, Tartarus hath no fury like a mare scorned." They exited the stairwell and headed towards the main castle foyer. 

"And none of this occurred to you when you were fucking me behind her back!?" he asked.

"Oh, don't you high-road me on this! Like you've never done anything impulsive when you were horny!"

"So, what? She just going to kill us!?"

Luna shook her head. "She won't stop there, Nova, she can't. She won't stop until there is nothing left at all."

Nova stopped and turned around. "Then I have to stop her!"

Luna grabbed his hoof. "You can't face her alone. Maybe together we could-"

Nova placed his hoof against her belly. "No chance! You need to get out of here for our foal! You need to-" Nova put his hoof to her cheek. "Luna, are you okay? You're sweating!" He wiped his own forehead. He was dripping sweat too. They hadn't even jogged for very long. But the air inside the castle felt stiflingly warm. 

Luna looked outside the castle entrance. The Canterlot Royal Guards were holding up their bucklers to shield themselves from the sun. "She would see the world burn to be but queen of the ashes, Nova. Now there is nowhere left to run to. It has already begun." 





Princess Cadance watched her shadow shift quickly across the dirt to hide underneath her as the sun moved swiftly overhead to high noon and stay there. The morning dew in the fields around them quickly evaporated into a dense fog that became a sweltering sauna. Cadance felt like she was baking inside her own armor. The infantry around her held their shields above their heads.

"Her doing, you think?" Twilight Sparkle asked beside her.

"Is there even a doubt in your mind!?" Cadance replied. She turned to her officers. "Pegasi, round up this fog before we lose it, and get us some cloud cover, fast! Scouts, tell the other divisions to do the same! Double time it!"

The officers relayed their orders to their squadrons, and the pegasi moved quickly to get some cover. 

Twilight watched the clouds start to burn away almost as fast as the pegasi could gather them. "It will take more than that..." Some of the battle mages broke rank to levitate the large pavise shield emplacements as improvised cover for their battalions. But even that would not be enough to shade everypony.





Nova and Luna charged back through the castle towards the throne room. Each time they passed a window, it felt like an open oven. With the grand doorway just ahead, she stopped and looked at him.

"Nova, the two most important days of your life are the day that you're born..." she looked at the cutie mark of an exploding star on his hip, "... and the day you find out why."

Nova looked into her eyes and tried to think of a profound reply. "Try not to die."

Nova put his hoof to the doors which were quite warm to the touch. He pushed them open and stepped into the throne room which looked to be empty. The sweat on his fur and mane evaporated in the dry air. Just breathing drew more of the heat inside his body.

The banners hanging on the pillars beside the throne burst into flames, and then the ones next to those, and the pair after, followed quickly by the lush red carpet on the floor. Dark smoke billowed up towards the ceiling. The upholstery of the throne burned away and the golden throne itself began to deform and melt like butter. From behind it, a fiery demon stepped through the puddle of molten slag, her alabaster hooves splashing it like water. 

Where her golden accoutrements once were, arcane armor formed, growing like crystals into a peytral, greaves, and a jagged helm, all a deep, glowing orange of hot coals. And all around it swirled an iridescent pyroclasm of her flaming mane and tail. It hurt the eyes to look at her too long. It was like looking directly at the sun itself.

"Tia-"

Her horn flashed white with a thermal pulse. The entire room was flooded with blinding light. Anything that wasn't already on fire burned. The heavy wooden doors evaporated into ash. The very air itself combusted and rapidly expanded in every direction. The stained-glass windows shattered and exploded outward in a shower of molten glass shrapnel and burning embers.





Like a distant firework, the flash of light was seen from below, followed by the resounding boom. Everypony who wasn't already looking, looked up at the explosion in Canterlot Castle.

Princes Cadance tuned and glared at the ponies minding the artillery. "Who did that! Who fire that SHOT!" she screamed.

The artillery commander looked at the catapults that hadn't even been loaded yet, "It wasn't us!" 

Cadance looked back up at the flames pouring out of the castle windows. She wasn't the only one. The Canterlot soldiers were looking at the castle as well. Officers ordered the defending troops to begin loading the ballista. Battle horns rose up across the city perimeter, signaling the counter-attack.





The bare stone walls of the throne room glistened, whatever carbon was in them turned to diamond. Daybreaker walked down the steps from where her throne once was. Each slow step of her hooves resounded through the foundations of the world like an earthquake. She bared down on the two survivors of the blast, behind a shield they had put up just in time.

"Celestia, I will not fight you!" Luna cried. "You must stop this! To save our citizens! It is your royal duty!"

"Celestia!?" she growled. Her lips peeled back into a toothy grin of sharp fangs. "I am Daybreaker! And I have but one royal duty now; To destroy you!"

Daybreaker fired her magic again, this time in a focused beam at them. Nova redoubled his shield. It held against her attack, but began to warp inward under her relentless onslaught. His shield reached the edge of his mane, causing it to singe. From behind him, Luna helped hold the shield with her magic, rebounding the attack back at Daybreaker. But fire begets fire, and she shrugged it off easily enough. It managed to do little more than stun her just long enough for them to fall back into the hallways.

"And where do you think you're going!?"

Nova's entire body felt like it had a sunburn, and the light pouring through each window they passed felt like sandpaper against it. He formulated a plan as they ran, and tried to tell it to Luna, but it came out sounding like, "OhfuckohfuckohfuckohshitohFUCK!" He couldn't think straight in his panic, and all he could smell was his burnt hair.





The ponies outside fared no better. The last shreds of clouds over the crystal army were rapidly melting away. The Canterlot soldiers struggled to load their artillery. The ropes on the ballista smoldered and snapped in the heat. Archers tried to fire from the shade, but their arrows burned up before the could reach the ground. The falling embers started wildfires that began to rapidly spread through the parched fields. The paltry attempts of the battle mages to summon water only wore down their strength.

So much for a protracted siege. "FALL BACK!" Princess Cadance commanded from under her shield, moving her army out of range of the city's counter-attack, and away from the spreading smoke and fire.





Luna and Nova ran through the halls, shielding and dodging Daybreaker's attacks. Nova fired back with a blast at the ceiling, bringing down the roof onto her. He harbored no illusion that it would do anything more than piss her off. But it bought them a few seconds.

Outside, he could see the battlefield devolving into chaos. "Luna, you have to get out there and stop the battle! You have to save them!"

"How!?" Luna cried. "She has control over the sun!"

Nova spanked the cutie mark on her ass. "And what do you have, a fucking Cuisinart!?" The pile of rubble exploded and Daybreaker leaped out, launching another fireball at them. Nova's shield held as he screamed over his shoulder. "GO!"

Luna sprinted away from the fight and focused all her magic.





A shadow moved across the continent as the Luna's moon joined the cosmic ballet in the sky, blotting out the sun in a solar eclipse. Everypony looked out from under their cover at the eerie spectacle.

"What the hell is going on up there!?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Princess Cadance was not one to squander an opportunity. "Now's our chance!" she shouted. "Charge!"

The mages were able to focus their efforts on extinguishing the nearby wildfires, and the troops rallied behind the mobile battlements, bringing the base of it against the mountainside. They released the cantilevers and a series of gears and pullies began to extend the battlements like a fire ladder to create a gangplank up to the city with a circulating rope escalator to pull troops up en masse with great speed.

Daybreaker saw the darkness descend upon the land and roared with renewed fury. From behind the moon, the sun's corona erupted in a massive solar flare, creating a ring of fire in the sky. The land baked even hotter than before and the wooden siege structures began to smolder and break.

"Get clear!" Cadance screamed as the battlements began to collapse on itself. The offensive was thrown back into disarray as everypony scattered to find cover. The eastern division began to retreat to regroup with the northern encampment. Even the bulk of the Canterlot forces has abandoned their battle posts to get indoors. "Twilight!" Cadance screamed. "Gather the southern battalion, and regroup with the western front! You need to get a shield over them!" Twilight nodded and vanished in a flash of light.





Nova caught up to Luna. "Can't you do something to make the moon bigger?"

She shook her head. "I could only do that by bringing the moon closer, but the tide would pull the sea ashore and flood the coastal cities! I'm sorry! There's nothing else I can do!" The could hear Daybreaker roar behind them.

"Help me stop her then!" Nova said.

Luna winced and sweat dripped down her forehead. "I can feel her trying to wrestle it away from me! It's taking all I have to keep her sun eclipsed!"

The wall behind them collapsed in a gout of fire.

"Go! Just run!" Nova yelled.

Luna made good her escape while Nova held off Daybreaker. He had his work cut out for him as she bore down on his shield in a barrage of elemental strikes. Fire, arcane, lightning, kinetic, and all manner of combinations, like flaming rocks. He could barely hold his ground against her assault. Anything he got lucky enough to counter back with at her barely registered to her as more than a nuisance.

She fired a blast of force at his hooves, smashing the floor out from beneath him. His wings barely caught his fall before she brought down the ceiling above him with a second blast. He was able to deflect most of it, but not all of it. A buttress timber toppled from behind him and sent him tumbling in a daze as a chunk of rubble fell on his wing. His head ached worse than any hangover. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurred. 

Daybreaker drifted down to the lower floor and sauntered towards the pinned stallion. She cackled in victory and the mane billowed larger, making the tips of his tail burn. The ring in the sky burned brighter.





To the south west, Cadance could see a massive purple shield covering the far half of the army, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle. Regrouping with the northern forces, Princess Cadance saw the banners on the royal carriage burst into flames and she screamed. 

"FLURRY!" She rushed over to pull the door open as the flames began to spread to the baked, wooden frame. Inside, a guard pony was bound and gagged. She pulled him out before the carriage went up in flames.

"Your Majesty!" her commander screamed, the wooden shield he was holding for shade was starting to burn. Cadance focused her magic into a massive, shielding dome. It was still swelteringly hot beneath it, but it was enough to prevent things, and ponies, from burning. She pulled the gag from the mouth of Flurry Heart's bodyguard. "Where's Flurry!?" she screamed.

"Forgive me, Your Highness!" he cried, "She ambushed me and escaped last night!"





Daybreaker towered over Nova, running her tongue along her fangs, savoring the sweet victory at hoof. The armies below were in full retreat beneath flimsy magic shields that would not possibly be able to last forever. Not once she eliminated her sister and brought the full wrath of the sun to bear on the rest of this pathetic world. But first... She grabbed a broken wood beam and pointed the jagged end at Nova Sparkle's neck.



"Good night, sweet prince..."



The castle was struck with... another piece of castle hurtling through it like a cannonball and striking Daybreaker's broadside, sending her flying down the hallway, buried in a mountain of debris. Magic lifted the rocks off Nova and put him back on his hooves. His eyes uncrossed and he looked up at the blurry, winged seraphim descending down from the heavens. Daybreaker rose up out from the pile of rubble and regarded the newcomer.

The mare unsheathing her sword with her magic and pointing it at her. "Hello. My name is Princess Flurry Heart. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Daybreaker laughed. "Do you really think that paltry toothpick will do anything but melt before my might!?" She unleashed a gout of flame at her and it splashed off her here-to-yet invisible ward like water. She focused her flames onto a narrow, incendiary beam. Flurry's ward met it with equal measure. Each of them seemed to have inexhaustible reserves of energy. But of the two of them, Daybreaker was now the one that started to strain.

Daybreaker shifted her attack to Nova, saved by a reflective ward that he didn't even know was there. It was such a clean counter-attack that even Daybreaker was caught off-guard by the trap, rolling away to dodge it at the last moment. Nova had enough sense to finally call his magic back into a shield for himself. And none too soon as Daybreaker fired back another fireball. It was met with Flurry's shield once more. But in the splash of it dispersing, Daybreaker loosed another thermal pulse.

Nova's shield was able to take it, but Flurry's was soaking the fireball. Her armor saved her, but her saddlebags burned in a flash, spilling their contents.

Nova recognized them at once.

"The Elements of Harmony!?"

"Nicked them from the Tree last night," Flurry said. "Apologies. Don't tell my aunt." Flurry Heart levitated the Elements around her and looked at Daybreaker, who actually looked nervous. "Element power, go!" Flurry yelled. 

Element power did not go.

"So much for Plan A," Flurry said.

Daybreaker cackled. "You can not defeat me!"

A massive shadow moved over the castle with the thumps of heavy wingbeats.

"No, but he can," Flurry said.

The mountain shook as the creature landed.

"What the hell is that!?" Nova asked.

"Plan B," Flurry said simply.

"SPIKE SMASH!"

A purple fist the size of a street trolley ripped away the roof. An instant later, Daybreaker's hallway was flooded with green dragon-fire. When it cleared, she was gone. Nova and Flurry could feel their hair burning in the sunlight. Spike extended his massive wings to shield them. The scorching hot sun meant nothing to the drake that routinely bathed in magma.

"Is she dead?" Nova asked.

"No, she escaped!" Flurry said.

"After her!" Nova yelled.

"Brilliant strategy, champ," Flurry quipped, already giving chase across the gap in the ceiling. "Spike, go help Twilight!" The massive dragon sneered, but nodded and flew down to help his surrogate sister.

"Nova, by the way," he introduced himself as they ran through the castle.

"Yeah, I know who you are. I may have glanced at a newspaper."

"And the dragon!?"

"Spike. I made a little stop in Ponyville on my way back from the Everfree forest. He didn't take kindly to the news that Celestia killed his brother," Flurry explained. She continued to carry the Elements in her magic. "If I can't get these to work soon, he'll be back for her. And only one of them is going to survive." 

"How do they work?" he asked.

"I don't know," Flurry said. "They didn't work last time with Twilight and her friends. Before that, Celestia and Luna used them. And the only time anypony was able to use them alone was when Celestia banished Luna to the moon. Speaking of-"

"I have no idea where Luna is," Nova said. "She's busy maintaining the eclipse for us."

"At least she's on our side." She looked at the intersection in the hallway ahead. "Which way did she-"

The wall beside them exploded inward, peppering them with rocks and stones. Shielded as she was, Flurry still took the brunt of it, sending her reeling onto the floor, and the Elements scattering, as Daybreaker pounced through the hole in the wall with her magic at the ready to attack.

"NO!" Nova dove over Flurry to shield her with himself.

Daybreaker's attack came, but never landed. Nova stood and helped Flurry up within the shield of the Elements swirling around them. Standing beside one another, three encircled him and the other three swirled around Flurry in a blur of rainbow magic.

Daybreaker watched the six Elements surrounding the two of them and staggered away. "Oh, fuck." She turned and ran again, for the castle intersection neither left nor right. Another explosion ahead of them and Daybreaker dove through the floor to the one below. 

They got up and dove after her as she sprinted down the hallway and rounded another corner to keep out of their line of sight. Nova's mental map of the castle was spinning until he realized where they were now. "I know where she's going!"

Daybreaker skidded to a halt at the end of the hall. There was a lone doorway that was left unguarded. It was ornate, but it had no handle, or and visible means of opening, save for a round hole in the center. She bowed her head, and placed her horn into the hole. She unlocked the door with a spell that only she could cast. The gold relief etching of the door glowed to life. A seam materialized up the middle of the door and it split open on its own. Bright sunlight filled the hallway as the door opened.

She turned and saw her pursuers behind her. "Mark my words, foals, and mark them well! I have thrice survived the apocalypse, and I will survive you!"

"Survive this, cunt!" Flurry Heart threw her father's sword at Daybreaker. Daybreaker's magic shield was ready, but the enchanted sword cut through the ward like paper. Flurry's aim was true and it struck Daybreaker in the forehead. It deflected off her helmet and cleaved the base of her horn.

Daybreaker's vision flashed white with searing pain. The Elements of Harmony aligned around them and fired a chromatic beam at her. She screamed as her billowing mane exploded in a final blast of fire before it was snuffed out. The blast sent her reeling backwards through the door as it closed behind her, sealing her inside the pocket dimension without her magic. 

The sword, Elements, and Celestia's horn clattered onto the stone floor of the quiet hallway.

"Dad!" Nova ran to the door and put Celestia's horn into the hole to no effect. He pounded fruitlessly on the door with his hooves and cried. "DAD!"





The sun's burning hot corona faded and vanished behind the moon's silhouette. Princess Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice boomed from on high. "CEASE THIS BATTLE, ALL! STAND DOWN!" The blue Alicorn flew down present herself before Princess Cadance to bring about an armistice. Twilight Sparkle appeared beside Cadance ready for anything as Luna arrived. Especially a trap.

Luna landed a safe distance away and bowed her head. "We surrender."

"Where is Celestia!?" Cadance demanded.

A massive, angry dragon landed beside them, also interested to know the answer.

"She's dead," Luna answered.

"You know this for certain?" Twilight asked.

Luna looked up at the eclipse. "I no longer feel her magic fighting mine."

Two more ponies flew down from Canterlot.

Princess Flurry Heart landed and walked forward to face her mother.

Princess Cadance slapped her in the face with her hoof, before she pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, young lady!"

Nova Sparkle couldn't bring himself to look into his mother's eyes. He gave her a makeshift pouch and she opened it. The Elements of Harmony spilled out. She looked at him in shock. "How- How did you get these?" she asked. His eyes stayed down on his own hooves as he nodded towards Flurry. "And they worked?" she asked.

He nodded. He reached under the sleeve of his pauldron and pulled out a white unicorn horn, too long to belong to anypony but Celestia. The massive dragon sniffed at the horn with both satisfaction and disappointment that he was not the one to do it himself. With a might beat of his wings, he took off and flew back south to Ponyville.

Princess Cadance glared at the horn, satisfied with it enough as evidence. She escorted Flurry back through the ranks of the army to start arranging the trip back north. 

"So that's it then?" Twilight asked Nova, partially rhetorical.

"I... I know this was my fault, Mom," Nova said. "You and Dad tried to warn me, tried to save me but I- I didn't know what was at stake. I was stupid. I- I thought I knew better. "

Twilight pursed her lips. "Yeah, well... now you know better." She took a deep breath and sighed. "You've made a real mess of things today, and I expect you'll be helping clean it up?" He nodded. "You know, as your mother, I love you unconditionally. But sometimes..." She lifted his chin with her hoof to look him in the eyes, "You can be a real pain in the ass." She cracked a smile. He cracked one back and she hugged him. "But I'll tell you right now; if your father was still alive-"

Nova stepped back and held up Celestia's horn again. "Yeah, about that..."






Celestia sat, trapped in her pocket dimension with the stone statue of Shining Armor. The blast from Daybreaker's defeat had set everything inside ablaze, turning her flower beds to ash all around her, and engulfing her bonsai tree in fire. Each of the meticulously sculpted and pruned branches crackled with flames that her tears of regret were powerless to stop. All of her careful centuries of planning going up in smoke.
> The End of the Beginning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A prisoner sat in an infinite room, with no walls, no ceiling, and no clocks. Only a single, locked door that they could not open, and an artificial sun in the sky that never moved. Here, in this place, time had no meaning, it did not pass, it was only felt. An hour felt like a day. A day felt like a year. And the years felt like an eternity. The only one in the world, at once both a princess and a pauper. Ruler of all, and queen of naught but the ashes. Alone with her own thoughts, with nobody to speak to but a facsimile of a companion, a rock that looks like a pony. 

"Good morning my king," she greeted the statue after she awoke. "Or evening. Or night." How long had she been asleep? A night? A day? An hour? Ten minutes? It hardly mattered. She had been very excited when she had last laid down in the dirt. "Big day today!"

As was her routine, she  got up from her dirt bed and walked over to her dirt calendar. She etched a mark in the dirt with the edge of her hoof. It looked like a tiny furrow tilled into the field of a tiny farm. She made them in sets of nine, with the tenth as a line through them. She made those in rows of ten. After she made ten rows of tens, she drew a big box around them.

"Ten, times ten, times ten..." she sang as she made a tick mark in the dirt and then drew a big box around the set. "And that is one, two, three, four, fix... SIX boxes!" She laughed. "This calls for a celebration!" She turned around and walked past the charred stump of a once-massive tree, to her vegetable garden that stretched to the infinite horizon. She grabbed some beans, some broccoli, and a variety of other vegetables, and piled them into her cabbage-leaf bowl. Lastly, she took not one, but two tomatoes for her salad today, (since it was a special occasion.)

"I had that dream again that I was a princess," she said to the mute statue. "You know those dreams that feel so real- like a memory?" she asked. The statue made no sound. "I still don't know if I like those dreams. Because then when I wake up, I wonder if it was real. Or if it is real, and this is the dream. But if this was a dream, you'd tell me right?" she asked. The statue made no sound.

"I dreamed that I ruled the world. Moved the sun and tides. I put fear into the eyes of my enemies. I blew down the doors and shattered windows to the sound of drums. I remember when the crystal ponies sang after the defeat of the dark pony. The king is dead, long live the princess! But then ponies couldn't believe what I'd become. Now I sleep alone, and I wake up to my castle of cards, built upon a mountain of sand."

She looked over at the locked door. She reached up to touch the nub on her forehead and winced. "In my dreams, it doesn't hurt." She put her hoof to the ache in her chest. "In my dreams it does hurt."

...

A glowing blue seam appeared splitting up the middle of the door and it parted in magical light. Beyond it, a colt stood with a metal box held in his magic. it was covered in all manner of lights, buttons switches and dials. Hanging from it on a pair of wires was a mount, fused to the base of a familiar-looking severed horn. The young stallion had pale blue fur and a purple mane. His turquoise eyes lit up and his wings sprang open in excitement.

"Ha! I told you it would work!" he said. "All I had to do was match the resonance of the magical signature and-"

The colt was shoved aside and a much taller pony stood in his place. The denim-blue stallion stared at the prisoner with intense focus. He had his magic at the ready as he walked through the door with slow, measured steps, never taking his amber eyes off her.

"Nova, is the statue still in there?" a mare's voice asked from behind him. She walked in beside him. Her light pink fur was framed with long curls of her purple mane, streaked with turquoise that matched her eyes. Her eyes followed his to the prisoner. She was at once surprised, frightened, and saddened. But like the stallion, she had her horn glowing with her magic ready. "Oh my gosh! She's still alive!"

"Move aside! MOVE ASIDE! Let me through!" another mare yelled. She shoved the two ponies out of her way and looked at the prisoner. Her teal eyes watered as tears ran down the deep blue fur of her cheeks. "Tia!?" she cried. 

"..."

"Celestia!?" she cried out again.

"Ce-les-tia...?" the prisoner mumbled, looking back at them. "Celestia..." she repeated thoughtfully. "That was my name. I- I was..." Celestia looked down at her hooves. Her once pristine white fur was marred grey and brown with dirt and grime. Her wings were frail, atrophied from disuse. Her feathers were tattered from lack of preening. Her filthy, muted-pink mane hung limp in tangled snarls about her shoulders. She was a broken mare without her horn. But her bright, yellow sun cutiemark, and her magenta eyes, those she kept.

"Auntie Tia!" "Auntie Tia!" a pair of fillies came running past the adults. The two girls were twins, mirror images of each other. One with white fur and a blue mane, the other with blue fur and a white mane. Both with deep purple eyes looking at Celestia.

"Eclipse, Penumbra, get back!" Nova scolded them. But they ignored him.

"Auntie Tia! Mom said you went away a long time ago, but Dad and Aster said you might be in here with Grampa Armor!"

"And I was right!" the colt with the box said, pointing at the statue as he walked inside to stand next to Nova. "Wasn't I right, Dad?" He looked up excitedly at older stallion.

Nova never took his eyes off Celestia. "Yes you were, son."

"Auntie Tia!" the other filly said, "Mom said you used to be a princess too, like her. But you had to have a time-out because you were naughty." Celestia looked at the filly, and then at the mare standing behind her. Their mother. Her sister, Luna.

"I was," Celestia admitted.

"Can you come home now?" the filly asked. Behind the others, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Cadance, walked in through the doorway, but stood guard at the exit with their magic ready.

The other filly said, "We learned about forgiveness in Princess Twilight's School of Friendship."
"Mom says that it's okay to forgive ponies, as long as they're sorry," the first said.
"Are you sorry about the bad thing you did?"
"If you are, you can come home!"
"We'd really like that! Mom says she misses you a lot."
"And we'd really like to be a family again!"
"So are you sorry?"
"...?"

"... I am," Celestia said.

The fillies cheered and ran to hug Luna. "She can come home now, right!?" Luna answered only with a weak smile and ushered them back out through the doorway.

"Aster, you go with them," Nova commanded. The colt did as he was told and left. Now only Nova, Flurry, Twilight and Cadance stood before her. The young eyes had been sent away. Nova's horn never stopped glowing.

Celestia sat, kneeling in the dirt. She closed her eyes and bowed her head as silent tears ran down her cheeks. She knew what was coming next. "Are you going to kill me now?" she asked.

"That will not be for me to decide," Nova said sternly. His magic undid the brass supports for the statue, and his carefully-practiced counter-spell washed over it. The stone peeled away and Shining Armor was freed, without looking a single iota changed from the day he had been trapped. He fell forward, but was caught in the waiting hooves of the mares. Cadance, Flurry and Twilight all held and hugged him.
"Shining!"
"Shiny!"
"Dad! Are you okay!"

Shining Armor clenched his eyes in the brightly lit room and sucked in a deep breath before shoving them all away and screaming out. He lunged forward and slapped Celestia in the face. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up! ARGH! Shut your fat, fucking mouth! Just because you had to go insane didn't mean you had to drag me with you, you crazy bitch!"

Shining wound up to take another swing at Celestia but Nova pulled him away. "That'll do, Dad." Shining pulled at his own ears and held his head in his hooves, bemoaning what looked to be a terrible headache. "Dad?" Shining rubbed his eyes and squinted, adjusting to the light. 

He looked at his son. "Nova!?" He looked slightly up at his son. "You sure sprouted!" Shining gave Nova an uppercut.

Nova rubbed his jaw with his hoof. "Yeah, I know I deserved that. I'm sorry, Dad. About everything."

"Daddy!" Flurry all but tackled him from behind, squeezing him in a hug.

"Flurry, sweetie-" Shining wheezed in her embrace, "I might not be stone anymore, but Daddy is still feeling very brittle." Flurry set him down and he turned around to look slightly up at his daughter, sister and wife (and sister). "What the hell? Did you all grow or did I just shrink?"

"There will be time to catch up later," Twilight said.

"But for now..." Nova said, getting his attention back, "We need to know... You've been in here the whole time. You could hear everything she said. We need to know; Can Celestia be redeemed?"

"Well, shit, son," Shining sighed. "You know as well as I do that redemption needs to be earned. So I guess it's up to you guys to decide whether or not to give her that chance."

"Can we?" Nova asked.

"What? Are you asking if she's still a threat!?" Shining scoffed. "Look at her!" He shoved Celestia and she fell over into the dirt. "There's a thin line between evil and crazy, and she went right over the deep end in here! The only thing she's a danger to is herself at this point." He turned and screamed at her, "That, and my fucking sanity!"

"Alright, Dad. Alright," Nova patted him on the shoulder, pulling him away.

...

Celestia lifted herself back up out of the dirt to sit upright, looking at Nova and Flurry while Twilight stayed by the doorway.

"So what do you think?" Nova asked Flurry. "Do you trust her?"

"Of course not!" Flurry pulled her father's sword from its scabbard and swung it at Celestia's neck, stopping close enough to split the hairs of her fur. "Of course I don't trust her! But Luna's foals do." She brought the point of the sword under Celestia's chin, drawing a drop of blood. "Recognize this?" she asked, making her look up the blade that cut off her horn. "If you ever- EVER betray the trust of your sister, her foals, or mine, this sword WILL be the last thing you ever see."

"Trust is earned," Nova said, a bit more calmly. "Redemption is earned. So until you have earned it, every day that you draw breath after today- is a gift. This, you understand?" he asked. Celestia didn't move. "Flurry-?"

Flurry put her sword away. "This you understand?" Nova asked again. Celestia nodded. Nova sighed. "Alright, get up. Your family misses you."

Flurry tapped him on the shoulder, "Nova, what about-"

"Oh, right. Mom, go ahead and bring her in," Nova said. Twilight Sparkle walked out the door. He looked back at Celestia. "Sorry, there's uh, one last pony to see you before we try to, uh- reintegrate you. As you can imagine, not everypony will be so quick to forgive you."

"Forgiveness is divine," a very, very old mare said from behind them. Nova and Flurry moved aside as Twilight Sparkle walked back inside pushing a wheelchair. A very, very old mare sat under a lap blanket. She adjusted the very thick glasses on her nose and looked up at Celestia. Both mares were just as surprised to see the other was still alive. "But I ain't pretending to be no goddess!"

"MOM!?" Shining Armor rushed over to ~carefully~ hug his mother.

"Oh, Shiny! You look so handsome! Did the big, mean princess hurt you?" Twilight Velvet asked. "All right then, let me go. Mama Bear wants a piece of this action!" She cracked her hooves, along with the rest of her joints as she threw her blanket off and climbed out of the wheelchair to stand in front of Celestia. Velvet reared up put her hooves up in front of her.

"Alright Celestia, I'll let you take the first swing. And if you don't put me down, I'll beat the living shit outta you until my arthritis kicks in... And I just took my Humira!"





Everypony, including Celestia, walked out. Except for Velvet. They wheeled her out with two shattered Radius bones. One from each punch she landed. For her efforts, Celestia had little more than a bruised ego and jaw. 

"Worth it," Velvet cackled in a haze of pain killers on her way back to the hospital.

The door to the pocket dimension closed behind them. Without Celestia's magic or presence, the door along with the rest of the frame, crumbled to dust, leaving only the bare wall as though it had never existed in the first place. In the hallway, they handed over custody of Celestia to Luna.

"Get her washed up and bring her down to the dining hall for dinner?" Nova asked. Luna obliged and headed back to her royal chambers with her sister.

Shining Armor looked around them as they walked. "Wow. This place looks different."

"I'm surprised you even remember what it looked like after all these years, Dad." Nova said.

"Yeah it's weird," Shining said. "I definitely sensed the years passing. But my memory always stayed sharp as a tack."

"Yes, it's like that," one of the castle banners said before turning into a draconequus. "But hey, now we can be stoner buddies!" Discord said, offering his fist for a hoof-bump that went unanswered.

"And then there's this asshole!" Shining shouted. "You could have prevented all of this with a snap of your fingers!"

"Oh boy, here we go again..." Discord rolled his eyes. He pulled his own tail and rolled himself up like a window blind before vanishing altogether.

Cadance put her hoof on her husband's shoulder, "Yeah, we already had this discussion with him."

Twilight added, "He's been staying uninvolved in equine affairs, since, in his words, we ponies make enough chaos without his help. And Fluttershy has him on the path of pacifist."

"On the path of the lazy," Shining muttered.

"I heard that."

Nova continued, "Anyway, to answer your question, yes, a lot has changed around here while you were away. There was quite a bit of..." He looked over at Flurry who was smirking. "... Restructuring."

Shining looked back and forth between them. "Well, don't keep me in suspense by being coy! I've already been waiting... how long?" he asked, seeing the snow falling outside the windows.

"Grampa Shining! Grampa Shining! Look it!" a young Stallion came trotting up the hallway to show off the device in his hooves.

"Grampa!?" Shining Armor scoffed. "I'm sorry, who are you!?"

"Dad, this is Aster," Flurry Heart said. "My son."

Shining Armor turned a whiter shade of pale. "Your son!?" Flurry Heart nodded. "Who's the father!?" Flurry looked at Nova. "Really?" Nova nodded. "You know, you guys do realize that-"

Flurry put her hooves over Aster's ears, and covered Shining's mouth with her magic, giving him a stern glare.

"Aster, why don't you go put your toy away and see if Auntie Luna needs a hoof?" Flurry said.

"It's not a toy! It's an arcane attenuator! And it rescued Grampa!" he said.

Twilight Sparkle tussled his mane. "And we're all very proud of my Protégé!"

"You can tell us all about how it works at dinner," Cadance said.

"Okay, fine!" he turned and walked away.

"..."

Shining waited until they were out of earshot before looking at Flurry again with a terse whisper. "You do realize Nova is your half-brother!"

"Yes, but Aster doesn't know that," Flurry said, "And neither does the rest of Equestria."

"As forward-thinking as the Crystal Empire is, the rest of the nation is still warming up to it," Cadance said. "So the truth about me being your sister is also still a secret."

"As is you being my father," Nova added.

"As far as Equestria is concerned, Nova is my son." Twilight said. "And his father is a mystery."

"The popular theory is that it was Prince Blueblood," Cadance said with a chuckle. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"But even so, it was still tough enough for the general public to accept first-cousins getting married," Nova said.

"Married!?" Shining blanched.

Nova smacked his forehead. "Right, my bad. Queen Flurry Heart is my wife now, which means..." he pointed at himself, "King Nova Sparkle. Just so you know the etiquette at dinner time tonight."

"So how did..." Shining waved at the two of them, "this happen!?"

"That, is a long story," Nova said. "I didn't know she was my sister at first, because you never told me about her!"

"That one's on you Shiny," Twilight said.

"AND YOU!" Shining shouted. Twilight just smirked. "And you, Flurry! You knew!" Flurry also smirked.

"Yes. She did," Nova said, cutting a look at Flurry. "Oh, it was quite the whirlwind romance after the princess rescued the prince in distress during the battle of Canterlot. Once the dust had settled and Princess Luna took over the stewardship, we started dating in secret, away from the public eye, the celebrities that we were. Though whenever she referred to her 'father', she very ~carelessly~ neglected to mention his name, despite me telling her on multiple occasions that my father's name was Shining Armor."

"It was just like we used to be," Twilight said to Shining. "Right down to the unexpected pregnancy."

Nova snorted. "Mom and Aunt Cadie were no help, either."

"Flurry asked us to keep it a secret," Cadance said with a giggle.

"But I figured it out," Nova said. "Eventually."

"When we visited Mom in the Crystal Empire," Flurry said. "To make wedding plans after our announcement about my pregnancy."

"So I get to the Crystal throne room and see the giant tapestry with Flurry, her mother, and her father. Well lo and behold, do I see your mug up there, Dad. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had been nailing my half-sister the whole time and now she was pregnant with my foal!"

Shining looked over at Cadance. "I think I can imagine it pretty well."

Nova waved his hoof in exasperation. "Oh- OH yeah! And then I found out all about that too, about you and Mom, and Aunt Cadance!" The mares all grinned. "Yeah, the ladies thought it was a riot."

"You should have seen the look on his face!" Cadance laughed. "We thought he was going to have an aneurism right there in the throne room!"

"Hey, just helping a girl get that brother D," Twilight said with a wink, giving Flurry Heart a hoof-bump.

Shining looked back and forth between them. "I missed a lot haven't I? So when you got married, who gave the bride away?"

"Spike, actually," Twilight said.

"Oh. Where is Spike now?" he asked.

"Probably railing his consort in Draconia," Nova said.

"Spike is the Dragon Lord now!?"

"Married to the Dragon Lord, actually," Nova said.

"And you already have a foal!" Shining said to Nova in exasperation.

"Well, three," Nova said.

"Three!?"

"Yeah, Luna had twins. Eclipse and Penumbra," Nova said. "It's... kinda what kicked all this off."

"So I missed getting to watch them grow up, too?" Shining asked.

"Don't worry, Dad. You'll get another chance," Flurry said, putting her hoof to her belly. Only now did he notice a bit of roundness to it.

"You're pregnant again!?" Shining asked.

Flurry put her hoof to her lips. "Shh! We haven't made the official announcement yet. But yes."

Shining looked at Nova. "Well, obviously the big reveal didn't put you off, if you two are still..." He made an implying motion with his hoof.

Nova shrugged. "I mean, yeah, at first. But like, only a little. And I got over it fast. Because I mean, come on," he motioned to Flurry "Look at her! And not for nothing, but she's really good at it."

Shining rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I bet."

"No, I mean it," Nova said. "She really puts the effort in!"

"Yeah, Dad," Flurry added with a side of sass, "You missed out!"

"Actually..!" Cadance said, sidling up beside Shining, "We have some time before dinner. And we have a lot of catching up to do!"

Twilight sidled up against the other side of him. "Yes. WE do!"

"In MY bed!" they both said at the same time.

"Oh, geez..." Shining muttered as they carried him off.

"Have fun, Dad!" Flurry called after them. "And as for you..." She pulled Nova along to their royal chambers with a smirk. "Before you lower the sun and I get the moon up, mama want's some pampering..."





Luna ran the sponge over Celestia's back. The first bath got most of the grime off and turned the water black. The second bath was getting her fur back to actually looking white. The washroom was quiet except for the dripping of water from the soapy sponge as Luna worked.

"So I'm semi-retired now," Luna said, trying to break the tension.

Celestia just sat there in the water, looking at the mirror across from her. It had been so long since she had seen her own reflection. But that wasn't why she didn't recognize herself. It wasn't her missing horn, either, though she was now more acutely aware of that.

"Flurry handles the moon now. Nova takes care of the sun. They picked it up pretty quickly, actually. Which was good, because I had to pull double duty for a while after you- after your little... episode. And of course it's a full time job raising two-" Luna cut herself off.

Celestia's expression of dissonance was briefly tinged with a grimace before it vanished just as quickly.

"T- Two celestial objects every day and night. But you already knew that," Luna said as she finished with Celestia's back and ran the sponge down along the leading edge of her wings. "After this bath we'll get you preened. I'll preen you. Just like before, remember?" Celestia said nothing. Luna worked some shampoo into Celestia's limp, pink mane and used a pitcher to rinse it. She picked up one of Celestia's hooves and scrubbed it with a bristled brush. "Somepony needs a hooficure badly."

Celestia looked at her, "Is this a dream?"

"What? No."

"I- I used to dream about this," Celestia said. "About getting out and everything just... being okay."

"Is it?" Luna asked. "Are you okay?" Celestia just looked away. "Sorry. That was a stupid question. But this isn't a dream. Trust me, I would know. I still handle that part of my job. Like I said, I'm only semi-retired. But I think Penumbra will be able to pick it up in ten years or so. She's already showing an aptitude for it. And she wasn't lying when she told you I missed you," Luna continued. "Not a day has gone by when I haven't thought about you. When I didn't hope and pray to get my sister back. My partner. And the girls- Well, as soon as Aster told them that you might still be behind that door, it was all they wanted him to work on. Especially Eclipse. She's still your biggest fan. After me of course."

Celestia looked over at Luna's abdomen. "Were they- when I-"

"Yes, they were from my first pregnancy. That one."

Celestia looked away. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

"How can you- How can you even look at me?" Celestia asked.

"Because I know exactly how it feels."

"How did you get over being... a monster?" Celestia asked.

"Nopony is calling you a monster."

"I am."

"Tia-"

"How?" Celestia asked again. She turned and looked at her sister's eyes. "Nothing I do will make up for the atrocities that I've committed. I sit here, and I cannot imagine the day when I will forgive myself."

Luna frowned and put the brush down. She sat on the tile floor beside the tub. "Because that day will never come. One day others may try to convince you that they have forgiven you. That is more about them, than you. For them, imparting forgiveness is a blessing. But you will never forgive yourself. Accept it. You hurt others, many others, that cannot be undone. You will never find personal retribution, but your life does not have to end. That which is right, just and true can still prevail. If you do not fight for what you believe in all may be lost for everyone else. But do not fight for yourself, fight for others, others that may be saved through your effort. That is the least you can do."

"Nopony is meant to live forever," Celestia said. "I realize that now."

Luna nodded. "Ponies say death is the high price of living, but you pay a price no matter what."

"Do you think Mom knew that?" Celestia asked. "Were alicorns destined to go extinct?"

"I can't claim to know Mother's mind," Luna said. "But nopony lives forever. Whether it's by plague, by sword or by choking on a sandwich, we will all meet our end one day. Whether it's one year or one thousand years, we all get the same thing. We all get a lifetime."

"..."

"Tia, we don't get to decide how much time we have. All we have to decide is what we do with the time we get."

"So what do I do now?" Celestia asked.

"For now? Keep your head down. It helps ponies forget," Luna said. "Being in your time-out room already gave you at a head start on that. Also, I took a page from your playbook, from when I was Nightmare Moon. I covered up this whole Daybreaker thing harder than a cat burying a turd on a marble floor."

"What do you mean?"

"The official cover story was that the sun went haywire while I was training to move it. Many ponies suspected Discord's meddling, and I didn't exactly dissuade that theory. Plus, with everypony preoccupied with the battle, there were very few actual witnesses for Daybreaker. And everypony blamed the castle damage on the dragon attack. Plus it helped everypony move on that, amazingly, nopony was seriously hurt." Celestia's hoof touched the nub on her forehead. "I meant- nopony else."

"And what about my disappearance?" Celestia asked.

"I told them we were switching roles for a time. It explained why I was "practicing" moving the sun and whatnot. A day became a week, became a month."

"And they believed that?" Celestia asked.

"Of course not," Luna said with a weak smile. "There was no shortage of gossip about you absconding for quiet retirement with Twilight Sparkle's return. The Battle of Canterlot being the final straw that made you quit."

"And none thought that it was because I had become a monster that needed to be eliminated?"

Luna shook her head. "Nopony suspected it," she said. "Everypony who knew you, loved you." Celestia cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, aside from the Sparkles when you gave a reason not to," she sighed. "But before too long, Nova and Flurry announced their wedding, and then it was bye-bye spotlight, especially once they assumed the Canterlot throne."

"Not the Crystal Empire?"

"That's still Cadance's dominion. And Twilight has retaken her place in her Ponyville Castle. I'll be curious to see which one Prince Armor spends the most time in."

"No country left for old mares, eh?" Celesta said.

Luna smiled. "I still have my royal chambers here, in Canterlot castle, with a bed plenty big enough for the two of us. Your place is by my side. It always has been. Just as my place has always been by yours."

Penumbra poked her head in, "Mom, are you almost done?"

"Almost, sweetheart," Luna said.

"Can I braid Auntia's hair?"

"Auntia? Is that my name now?" Celestia asked from the tub.

"Can I braid your hair?" Penumbra asked again excitedly. "I'm really good at it!"

Celestia gave a weak smile. "Sure. Why not?"

"We'll be out in a little bit," Luna said. "Go find your sister and make sure she stays out of trouble!"

"Okay!" Once she was gone, Luna looked at Celestia again.

"She's being polite, calling you that," Luna said.

"Oh?"

Luna nodded. "Yes. I've told them a great many stories about their other 'mommy'. And they would very much like to call you that. But I told them to wait, until you were ready for that."

Celestia looked away.

Luna swallowed nervously. "I know it isn't exactly what you wanted, what you planned and worked for. I wished so hard for you to have a foal of your own. I wanted that for you more than I did for myself. And I feel awful for my part in what happened. Your goal was noble, even if some of your methods were villainous when your hoof was forced. But I can't help but wonder how things might have been if they had gone differently. If Shining and Twilight didn't feel like they had to keep their love a secret. If you could have courted Nova freely. If you could have-"

A tear ran down Celestia's cheek as she put her hoof to her belly. 

"I love you, Tia. I think you would have been a wonderful mother. And I think you still could be, to my daughters. I hope you could. I hope that it might be enough for you... one day."

Celestia leaned over and closed her eyes as she rested her head against her sister's shoulder. Luna hugged her. Celestia hugged her back and nodded.

"It's enough."





"Eclipse?" Penumbra called out, searching the castle hallways for her sister as her mother asked. She went upstairs and saw her sister with Aster. He used his magic box to open the magic lock on the door to Grandma Twilight's royal quarters and they went inside. They way they were behaving had Penumbra thinking they were getting up to something. She quietly trotted down the hallway and followed after them inside. 

In the back of Twilight's room, Penumbra saw Aster opened Twilight's closet and he went inside with Eclipe. Sneaking closer, she peeked inside and saw Eclipse kissing Aster. Penumbra blanched, "Eclipse! He's your brother! What would Dad say if he saw you two like this!?"

They jumped apart at the intrusion, and Eclipse glared at her sister with a defensive huff, "Okay, first of all, he's only my half-brother!"

Aster opened the trunk in the back of the closet that he had found a some time ago while snooping for Hearth's Warming gifts. Just as he did before with Eclipse, he took out the large scroll inside to show it to Penumbra. "And besides, have you seen our family tree..?"

"... it looks like a Cat's Cradle!"