It had been about eight months since Rose Petal and I got married. We had our wedding in Canterlot and our honeymoon in the Crystal Empire. Four months after that, we moved to Ponyville. Most of the time between the honeymoon and moving was spent looking for a place in Ponyville, cutting through the red tape and gathering enough bits to hire ponies to help us move.
The house we picked was nice. It was a three bedroom ranch style house with a full basement; sat on a fifty foot by fifty foot lot which meant lots of running space for animals or children; the lot was mostly flat, which was good for a potential half-pipe and the place was across from the park.
It felt like a dream come true for me. Not because I was in a cartoon world with talking horses, dragons, griffons, minotaurs, etc... but for more substantive reasons: no one treated me like a child here; work was plentiful and employers didn’t discriminate against me about lack of experience or whatever, Thunderlane was teaching me how to control the weather and I did the occasional window cleaning at the town hall and Twilight Sparkle’s castle; I certainly was a lot healthier being here and since I was turned into a pegasus, my epilepsy was nonexistent and flying became the easiest thing in the world for me to do which meant no more acrophobia.
What really got me emotional whenever I thought about it, was the fact that Rose was pregnant... three months pregnant to be accurate. Not with just one foal, but with two. She was carrying twins. We didn’t know exactly what was going in there yet, but I hoped for fraternal twins like the Cake twins. If I were human, that would mean my mother’s genes were dominant. Maybe some genetic aspects remained? Regardless, I never expected to be a father, but Discord’s “gift” proved to be a gift worth having.
What would they be? A unicorn colt and pegasus filly, or the other way around? Maybe both would be pegasi or unicorns? Not knowing had been getting me more and more anxious. I could probably ask Twilight to spoil it for Rose and I, but Rose adamantly told me that she wanted the surprise.
I shook my head and tried to clear the questions out of my mind as I circled our home for a landing. Some pegasi wondered why I did that instead of just land. To be honest, I didn’t know why I did it either, it just felt like a natural thing to do for me.
As I landed, I already heard the dogs barking. I saw my wife’s magical aura surround the door and it opened, letting our chocolate labs out, followed by Rose herself. “I’m home. And I’ve got mail.”
She smiled as she cantered up to me. “Welcome home.” She said as she hugged me. “I trust the pegasi didn’t bother you much.” She let me go and used her magic to lift the mail bag off of me.
I shook my head. “Nah. They were all too busy with their own sections to bother me. There was one thing though.” Rose gave me a curious look. “When I was at the post office, I was asked if I’d be interested in doing mail runs across Equestria.”
Rose raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “What about the weather?”
I grunted. “I can still do it, just not every day. If I take this, I’d do the deliveries once a week. The money’s good and I figured we could use the extra bits.”
I did not get paid by Celestia after we left Canterlot. The money I got from maintaining the weather in Ponyville and her job at the flower shop was good enough to keep us afloat with some extra on the side.
Rose thoughtfully nodded. “I suppose. I just don’t want you to overwork yourself. You’ll be a father in eight months, remember? I don’t want you to be too tired to play with your foals.”
I chuckled as I rubbed the back of my neck. That was a harsh reminder of my own childhood as my own father was always exhausted from work to do anything with my brother and I. “Yeah. I still can’t get over that. Reality just keeps slapping me in the face with a fish.”
She gave me a peck on the lips, turned around and opened the door. “Come on. Lunch is almost ready.”
The rest of the day was uneventful and we spent hour and a half stargazing that night. Rose and I went to bed afterward. Since being married to her, I felt more relaxed. I had never been in a relationship before meeting her, and our relationship was a privilege that I did not want to abuse, especially with foals on the way.
Rose snuggled closer to me and quietly moaned as she read a book that Cadence gave her One Thousand Spells to… something or other. “Don’t forget we’re going to town hall tomorrow afternoon. Twilight has a speech.”
I actually did forget about that. “What do you think it’s about? It won’t be another friendship lecture, will it?”
She groaned and shrugged and rolled to face me. “She is the Princess of Friendship, after all. It just might be.”
I quietly chuckled at the thought. “I wonder what valuable friendship lessons two married ponies can learn?”
She put her book down and kissed me on the lips and smiled before straddling me. “Not as much as they could learn from Princess Cadence.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what did you learn from the Princess of Love?” Rose’s horn lit up, the table lamp powered off and she rolled off me. “You are such a tease.” I groaned.
She giggled. “Good night.”
Morning came and I swear I heard the Sweet Apple Acres rooster. I patted the bed, hoping to find Rose, but she was already out of bed. I clambered out of bed myself and slowly walked out of the room.
I entered the hallway and the sweet music of joints popping filled my ears as I started stretching. After my stretching exercises, I rolled my neck clockwise, then counter-clockwise. “That oughta do it for now.” I thought aloud as I continued toward the kitchen.
The smell of breakfast filled the air. Hash browns, eggs and pancakes were some of the things being cooked up. I shook my head and sighed. “I wish you’d let me cook once in a while.”
Rose looked back to me with a raised eyebrow. “The last time you tried cooking, you set my apartment on fire.”
I chuckled nervously and groaned. “Yeah… thank you for reminding me.” If only I could turn into a human so I can cook. “I still need more practice with my wing dexterity.” I noticed the corners of her mouth moving upward. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She laughed. “Of course I know, I just like seeing you get flustered.”
I hung my head and sighed. “I guess ponies have more in common with humans than I thought.”
I heard some knocking at the door and I looked back to Rose. “I’ll see who it is.” I said before fluttering to the door and opened it. It was Derpy. “Derpmeister. What’s goin’ on?” I approached her, gave her a quick hug and backed up. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the office right now?”
Those eyes freaked me out at first, one was pointed right at me, and I think the other was pointed at the ceiling, but I got used to it… kinda.
Derpy nodded. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Pen Pal wants you to deliver a package to Fluttershy’s cottage.”
What? Me? “Why me?” Why not Derpy? Or maybe even Pen Pal herself?
“It’s a fragile package,” she explained, “and Pen Pal said that she knows nopony else who is ‘as precise’ as you.”
Pen Pal got me there. While still living in Canterlot, I moved a piano onto the third story of an office building. It was quite windy that day, but I managed to keep the piano steady and gently got it to where it needed to be with the help of a couple of unicorns. “Please tell me Fluttershy didn’t order a piano.”
Derpy shrugged and fluttered off the ground. “Dunno what it is, but Pen Pal needs you to deliver it.” She reiterated as she took off.
Pen Pal was my boss at the post office. A unicorn mare; light blue coat; two-tone blue mane and tail styled like Spitfire’s. Like most ponies in Ponyville, she was very nice, but when she’s provoked, she can be as mean as a snake. King Cobra mean. One time I witnessed her chew out Spoiled Rich, Filthy Rich’s wife, over her holier-than-thou attitude. It got so bad that I thought Pen Pal was going to literally bite her head off and I thought I was going to lose my boss. Spoiler alert: I didn’t.
I hung my head and groaned. “I’ll be right back.” I said to Rose. “I don’t suppose I can take breakfast-” I stopped because Rose was ahead of me and floated a feeding bag across my neck. “What would I do without you?” I gave her a quick kiss, put on my delivery bag and fluttered off the ground to the post office.
I made my way to the post office and Pen Pal herself was standing outside, waiting for me. I landed in front of her and smiled. “Good morning, boss. I hear you want me to make a special delivery.”
She nodded and turned around. “I certainly do, Scotty.” She opened the door behind and trotted inside toward a small package, lifted it with her mouth and brought it to me. Anticipating what she was going to do, I opened up one of my delivery bag’s pouches. “This is going to Fluttershy’s cottage.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god it’s not a piano. Is there anything else?”
She rolled her eyes back in thought for a moment. “Yes. I also have a letter for Princess Twilight Sparkle.” She said as she quickly went back inside the building and brought out an envelope. She put it in my bag and I fastened it. “That’s it for now.”
I nodded and pondered my route. “I’ll deliver the letter first, then head to Fluttershy’s.” I told her before flying off the ground. “It shouldn’t take me long.”
On the way to the castle, I came upon Thunderlane, who decided to flank me on the left. “What’s up, TL?”
He looked to me with a small smirk. “Not much. I asked Flits out last night and she said yes.”
I smiled and nodded. “Congrats, man. How’s Rumble doin’?”
He chuckled. “Doing good. The little rascal’s at that age, you know?”
Oh yeah. Puberty’s hitting him hard. “Who’s he got his eye on?”
Thunderlane shook his head. “I don’t know yet. He doesn’t talk about her and I haven’t seen him looking for her when we’re out.”
I smiled. “What makes you think it’s a her? It could be another colt.”
Thunderlane let out a curious hum. “You could be right. I didn’t think about that. Anyway, I have some cloud busting to do, I’ll catch ya later.”
I saluted him. “Later, TL.” He returned the salute and broke away.
I made it to the castle and I gently landed at the door. I knocked a few times and stepped back a bit. “Coming!” A not-so-familiar voice said. A few moments pass before the door is enveloped in a turquoise aura. The door opened and a strange mare was on the other side. “Can I help you?”
I cocked my head back and raised an eyebrow. “Are Spike or Princess Twilight Sparkle around?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re out right now.”
I slowly nodded. “Okay...” Should I give the letter to her? What if she was an uninvited guest? What if she was? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I suppose. I opened the pouch and pulled out the envelope with a wing. “I have a letter for the Princess.”
The mare took the envelope with her magic. “I’ll make sure she gets it.”
I nodded. “Have a nice day, ma’am.” I said. I turned around and flew off the ground. As I started toward Fluttershy’s, I took a glance back and saw the door slam shut. My gut was telling me that mare was up to no good. I hoped I was wrong.
I made it to Fluttershy’s cottage and landed on the sidewalk a ways from it and cantered the rest of the way. I did a special knock to let her know that it was me. The door slowly opened and there she was. “Hey, Fluttershy. I have that package you asked for.” I opened the pouch and pulled out the package with a wing and passed it off to her. “May I ask what’s inside?”
She giggled. “You can see for yourself.” She said as she gently set it on the ground. She then called for her mouse friends and they rushed over. One of the mice tore open the wrapping.
I couldn’t believe what I saw. “Are you kidding me?” It was a mouse-sized piano. “Are you freakin’ kidding me?!”
Fluttershy smiled. “I know. Isn’t it cute? It was quite difficult to find a piano small enough for mice.”
I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. “Yeah… sure. I uh… I’ve got to report for weather management.” I lied as I took off like a rocket and left Fluttershy’s.
Stupid pianos.
I flew over near town hall and I heard a familiar whistle. I looked down and Rose was waving at me. I landed next to her and noticed more ponies were entering. “Oh yeah. Twilight’s speech. After you, babe.”
We entered the lobby and the mayor greeted everyone and was ushering ponies to another room. One by one, we entered a small auditorium. I could see Twilight and Spike prepping the speech. Rose and I took our seats and I found myself sitting right next to her, the mare who was at Twilight’s castle.
She looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows. I looked to Rose who was glaring at the strange mare, then at me. “Please don’t. Not right now.” I whispered to her. “Wait until we’re outside.”
Rose nodded. “Yeah. After we’re outside…”
Twilight stepped in front of the podium and tapped on the microphone. Here we go…
About halfway through this boring friendship lecture, the mystery mare who I met at Twilight’s castle up and left. At least she had the option to, as Rose wouldn’t let me budge. Twilight concluded the lecture and everyone started filing out.
Rose and I had taken our time heading back home. We stopped at Sugarcube Corner, picked up some cookies and continued.
“So, who was that mare who eyeballed you?” She asked me, in a rather possessive tone.
I shook my head. “No clue, but I do not trust her.”
We were pretty close to the house, when reality started to have a seizure. I looked to Rose, who looked oblivious to the situation. “Rose?”
She gave me an odd look. “-c-? Are y- alri-?” She was talking, but with the way things were, I couldn’t hear much of what she was saying.
The world around me continued flickering as if there was interference in a cable feed.
Everything started fading in and I found myself in a battlefield. I darted my eyes all over the place, looking for someone familiar. Bodies of ponies were strewn about and the land was soaked in blood. Some ponies were missing limbs, eyes… it was a nightmare.
Finally, I saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie… I could imagine Dash being the warrior type, but Pinkie Pie? I had to find out what the hell was going on.
I saw Twilight and Spike racing off to who knows where, so I started to take off. I soon found myself being pulled back to the ground and flipped onto my back. Then he stepped over me.
“Sombra? But you’re dead.” I said, unsure if I was going insane or not.
Sombra pressed a hoof on my chest and pressed down. “No. But you will be.” He raised his hoof to crush my chest under it. He started bringing his hoof down and I rolled to the side. I quickly stood up as his hoof hit the ground and I went for a headbutt.
I connected with the headbutt and left him in a daze. “Not today, asshole.” I said before turning around and used my hind legs to kick him in the face, knocking him out cold. I looked around, hoping to find Twilight, and I did. She was way out there by now. I tried to open my wings again, but was unable. “Crap...”
I galloped as fast as I could, hoping to reach Twilight. I eventually made it to where her castle normally would be and Spike saw me and got Twilight’s attention.
Twilight gasped and ran up to me. “Scott! What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. What is going on?”
She turned back to the table and sighed. “A rogue unicorn named Starlight Glimmer traveled back in time and prevented Rainbow Dash from creating her sonic rainboom.”
I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Wait, what? Dash did that, which united all of you, right?” Twilight nodded. “If Starlight prevented that, then none of you would’ve been friends. If that didn’t happen, then Nightmare Moon would’ve taken over.” She nodded again. “Then why did I just knock out Sombra? Shouldn’t we be fighting Nightmare Moon?”
Twilight let out a thoughtful hum. “I haven’t thought about that, but you’re right. We should be fighting Nightmare Moon, unless...”
I nodded. “Unless she allied herself with Sombra, Discord and Chrysalis, forming her own legion of doom.”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. In any case, I need to go back and figure out how to stop Starlight.”
Her horn lit up and I put a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re not doing it alone, Twilight. Besides, I need someone to disable whatever spell Sombra put on me that’s got my wings locked up.”
“THERE HE IS! GET HIM!”
I looked back and there was Sombra, with his army. “Twilight. Get us out of here first, then work on the wings.”
Twilight’s horn lit up. “Hold on!”
After the magical zap from Twilight, all was darkness again, if only briefly.
Twilight and I found ourselves somewhere else. I look around, we were up in the sky. “Twilight? Is this…?”
She nodded in confirmation. “This is the Cloudsdale flight camp. Now, to see about those wings.” Twilight surrounded me with her magic, then it popped. “There. All taken care of.”
I flapped my wings, breathing a sigh of relief that I was able to use them again. “Thanks, Twi. Now… where’s Starlight?” Twilight pointed to the mare I saw at her castle and at town hall. “That’s Starlight? I met her twice.”
Twilight looked at me and nodded. “I met her once before. For some reason, she hates cutie marks. She actually removed ours when my friends and I visited her town.”
I lifted off the cloud I stood on. “It sounds like she’s more powerful than you, Twilight.”
Twilight sighed. “I know. I’ll confront her, and you try to come up from behind.”
I gave her an affirming nod. “Right. Good luck.”
I flew away and waited for Twilight to get close to Starlight. I really hoped she knew what she was doing. She approached Starlight, but remained at a comfortable distance and the two started talking. I was too far to hear what was being said, but I could see the smugness radiating from Starlight… metaphorically, of course.
Starlight lit up her horn and aimed it at Twilight. No… don’t... I couldn’t take it anymore. I flew as fast as I could toward Twilight. As I did, time seemed to slow down.
A beam shot out of Starlight’s horn. I was getting closer and I hoped I could intercept the beam.
I did, and I found myself encased in some kind of magic block, unable to move.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight run up to me. Behind her, Starlight looked surprised, shocked, like she remembered something.
She cantered up to Twilight and started speaking. The block I was stuck in muffled what was being said, but Twilight turned around and started speaking as well.
There was a flash of light… rainbow light, in fact. Rainbow Dash did it, she was able to create a sonic rainboom. I saw Starlight sigh and her horn lit up again, and moments later, I was freed.
I slowly got up and walked toward her. “What the hell were you thinking?” I whispered to Starlight. “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened if Rainbow Dash didn’t do what she did?”
She shook her head. “No… but seeing you risk your safety for Twilight reminded me of a friend.” I cocked my head in curiosity. “Let me show you.”
Starlight brought Twilight and I somewhere else. She walked up to a window and waved us over. We came up behind her and she pointed inside. “Look.” Inside was a young Starlight Glimmer playing with a colt. “That’s Sunburst. He was a friend of mine. Not just any friend, he was my best friend.
I shifted my gaze from Starlight to Sunburst. “What happened?”
Starlight closed her eyes. “Watch.”
Twilight and I watched. The two were playing, then young Starlight bumped into the bookcase. It was about to fall and my instincts kicked in, but Starlight stopped me. The scene unfolded and Sunburst used his magic to stop the bookcase from falling. After that, he reorganized the bookshelf. There was magic all over the room, and suddenly, his butt flashed. “He got a cutie mark.”
Starlight nodded happily and started walking away. “He did.”
Twilight and I followed her. “So, what happened?” Twilight asked.
Starlight sighed. “He was taken to Celestia’s school. The School for Gifted Unicorns.”
I grumbled under my breath. “Let me guess, you got jealous.”
She nodded sheepishly and looked at. “Yeah. Big time. For a long time, I thought cutie marks ruined friendships, but you came along.” We stopped and she turned around. “You don’t have a cutie mark, and you have a lovely wife.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Thank you…?”
Starlight shifted her head and let out a curious hum. “How did you end up coming back with Twilight, though?”
I shrugged. “No clue. Time travel is a hazy subject at best. I could speculate, but those speculations would probably not make sense after a while.”
Twilight put a hoof on Starlight’s. “Come on, Starlight. Let’s go home.”
Starlight smiled and slowly nodded. “Right. I’m sorry, Twilight.” She said before her horn lit up. She built up some energy, then pow!
Brief darkness.
I found myself back in the same area I was in Ponyville before things went south. Rose stood in front of me and looked worried. “Scotty? Are you alright?” She asked.
I darted my eyes around the town, then let out a sigh of relief knowing that everything was back to normal. “Good. We’re back.” Rose tilted her head. “Let’s go home.”
Rose and I took our time walking back home. I told her what happened, the strange mare, Starlight Glimmer, had taken Twilight back in time and I was somehow pulled into an alternate timeline, followed Twilight back and all that. She gave me an odd look the whole time, that was until she saw Starlight and Twilight in front of our house. And Spike rode on Twilight’s back.
Twilight and Starlight approached us, both with warm smiles. I pointed to Starlight. “I like the new ‘do, Starlight.”
Starlight’s smile grew. “Thanks, Scott.”
Twilight glanced at Starlight, then to me. “Meet my first pupil.” She shifted her gaze to Rose. “Rose Petal, I’d like to introduce you to Starlight Glimmer.”
Rose glared at Starlight. “You were the one ogling my husband at town hall earlier.”
I noticed that Starlight was becoming a bit agitated. Not angry, just very uncomfortable. I raised a foreleg in front of Rose and looked at her. “Easy Rose, Starlight’s learned her lesson.” I looked back to Starlight. “Right?”
Starlight nodded. “Definitely. Twilight here even gave me my first assignment.”
Twilight giggled. “Which reminds me. Cadence is almost ready to deliver her foal, so we’ll be going to the Crystal Empire, where I learned that Starlight’s foalhood friend resides.”
I gave Starlight an impressed nod. “So you’re going to see Sunburst after all this time? I’d say you must be nervous, but that word would be an understatement.”
Starlight chuckled sheepishly as she dug at the ground. “You could say that.”
Spike laughed. “Yeah. She’s been throwing up since they got back. The last time I saw somepony puke like that, it was Mrs. Cake when she was pregnant.”
I noticed Starlight dry heave a little bit and I grimaced. “Starlight, if it’ll make you feel better, Rose and I could accompany you to Sunburst’s.” I looked to Rose. “What do you think?” Rose thought about the idea for a few seconds, but she nodded in agreement. “That’s settled then.” I looked to Twilight. “When are we leaving?”
Twilight crouched as Spike hopped back onto her. “We’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks. Cadence will be happy to see both of you again.”
Rose hit me softly in the barrel. “Don’t you go kissing her hoof, Scott.”
I shook my head as I laughed. “No promises.”
Twilight gave Rose and I a quick hug, then she smiled at me. “Thanks, Scott. I’m lucky you were able to be with me. Who knows what would’ve happened if I was at it alone?” Her and Starlight started trotting away.
Now it was just Rose and I. “It was an interesting experience, to say the least.”
Rose hummed quietly as she nodded. “Right.”
A week had passed since Starlight’s incident. Rose and I had been looking for something to give Cadence and her foal the following week, but we came up empty-handed. Seriously, how hard should it be to find a gift for a princess and her kid?
I made my way to the hayburger joint and sat at a bench. I set my face on the table and groaned. “Hey there.” a familiar voice said. I looked up and saw Twilight. “Mind if I join you?”
I shrugged. “Not at all.” She sat across from me. “What’s up?”
Twilight groaned in boredom. “Not a lot. I think Starlight’s avoiding me.” I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “It’s about next week. I think she’s afraid to see Sunburst.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I can relate. There’s plenty of people back on Earth I’d be afraid to see after not seeing them for years.” I shrugged the thought away. “You want me to talk to her?”
She shook her head. “Would Rose like that? She seems to be pretty possessive over you.”
I shrugged. “I’m a one-mare guy, Twilight, and Rose is my one mare.”
Twilight smiled and nodded understandingly. “She’s lucky to have you. May I make a suggestion about gifts?” I nodded. “Why don’t you pick up something from your world? I’m sure you’d be able to find something there.”
I slowly nodded, taking in her suggestion. It was a great idea. “I think I am going to do that. Thanks, Twilight.”
A server approached us and floated out a notepad with his magic. “Good afternoon, what can I get for you?”
I entered our home, trotted to the coffee table and set the bag containing our hayburgers. “Rose?” I called. “I ran into Twilight at the hayburger joint and she gave me an idea on what to give Cadence and her foal.”
Rose came out to the living room and used her magic to take a hayburger from the bag. “Really? What’d she say?”
I pulled out the other one and opened the wrapper on the table. “She suggested we go to Earth and get something from there.”
Rose took a bite of her hayburger and chuckled. “That’s actually a brilliant idea.” She said before swallowing her food. “Besides, it’ll give me a chance to use my masking spell.” I laughed and she gave me a weird look. “What’s so funny?”
I took a small bite of my hayburger and swallowed. “I was actually thinking of having Discord turn you into a human.”
She looked shocked. “Would that be okay?” She asked with a concerned tone as she pressed a hoof on her stomach. “How would that affect our foals.”
Ah shit… that completely slipped my mind. “Right. I’m sorry, Rose. It probably would be best if you used your masking spell.” I cleared my throat. “Discord, Discord, Discord!”
Rose and I were back on Earth. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to be precise. Discord turned me back into a human during the teleportation process and Rose was still a pony. I kinda wanted to see what she would look like as a human, but we should hold off until after the foals were born. I was a bit worried that the teleportation alone might affect them, but so far, so good.
Before leaving, I suggested that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked after the house. At first, Rose and their respective sisters were not too keen on the idea, but we eventually came to an agreement. Of all the worries, Rose’s was the likeliest: she was worried they’d bring colts into the house. I was pretty sure they would not do that, or else their sisters would be furious. Rose would probably be angry too, but I would get a laugh out of it.
While I was gone, my parents decided to get another dog. My mom had to deal with empty nest syndrome one way or another, and I’m glad she decided to get a second dog. This new one was pretty awesome: a spaniel mix with a hunter’s instinct as well as a snuggler. She’s quiet and timid when she’s not trying to chase squirrels.
I was browsing the internet on my old computer and thought about what to get for Shining Armor, Cadence and their foal. I learned through Spike that Shining Armor was into pen and paper role-playing games, so I got him the rulebooks for one that I think he’d find familiar. Cadence on the other hand was a bit more difficult though.
“Having trouble, Scotty?” Rose asked as she entered the room. She floated over a root beer float over to me. “Can I help?”
I grabbed the float and set it on the coaster next to me after taking a sip. “Thanks.” I reached for the TV remote and turned on the TV near the room’s entrance. “I found something for Shining Armor, but nothing for Cadence yet. The foal should be pretty easy.” I said, moving the browser onto the TV.
Rose looked at the TV and let out a hum. “Well, considering that she’s the Princess of Love, why not get her a romance novel?”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose. I mean, they do exist in Equestria, but this would be from an author no one out there knows about.” Rose nodded in agreement. “Alright. You convinced me.” I browsed through the books and picked a random one with a high rating and put it in the cart. “I hope it’s not too raunchy...”
Rose giggled. “Okay, that’s two down. What do you plan on getting for the foal?”
I shrugged. “Either a toy or maybe a music box. Something big enough not to choke on.” I let out a quiet hum. “I’ll probably end up getting a music box.” I opened up a new tab on the TV and started an image search for music boxes with a ballerina on it. “What do you think? Something like this?”
Rose’s mouth opened slightly and her eyes widened. “That’s beautiful. I’m sure they’ll love it. It’s a nice representation of your species, too.”
I was not too sure about that claim, but it would be a unique thing in Equestria. I went back to the online store on my monitor and added two of them. Now that I got everything I could think of, it was time to check out, and I was thankful for the free two day shipping, the delivery will be here before Rose and I went back to Equestria.
I looked to Rose and sighed in relief. “So what do you want to do? Want to get a pizza?” She gave me a weird look, as if I was nuts. “You can use your masking spell.”
She nodded. “Right. I was kind of surprised though. Want me to teleport us there?”
I cringed. I was still worried that teleporting will affect the foals. “Think it’s a good idea? We could wait until my parents get back, then we can all head out.”
Rose curled up on my bed and hummed. “I suppose we can wait. Besides, this bed is too comfortable to get off of right now.”
I chuckled as I got out of the chair. I walked to my bed and laid next to Rose on the bed. She laid her head on my stomach and I ran my fingers through her mane. “I also want to pick up a few things at the store before we leave.”
She gave me a smile. “More of your human liquor?”
Really? She could not be serious. “Come on, Rose. You can’t have any alcohol while you’re pregnant.” I shook my head and groaned. “I was actually thinking of some magazines for Twilight and her friends.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How about subscriptions?”
I slowly nodded. “I suppose I could. I’d like to know what they think of them first.”
She snuggled closer to me and let out a content sigh. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy them. Hey, Scotty?” I let out an acknowledging hum. “Why do I have to keep using the masking spell? Wouldn’t your kind accept me?”
I sighed. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to talk about it. “Well… humans are the only sapient life forms on this planet, unlike your world. There’d be a lot of people who would be curious and open-minded if they met you, but there’s also a lot of people who would freak out if their bubble was burst.” Better not tell her about those who would want to dissect her for study.
She let out a disappointed hum. “You don’t like this world very much, do you?”
I stifled a laugh and shook my head. “Nah. I like it enough. It’s the only world I’ve known for thirty years. People here can be assholes, sure, but in what world won’t you find one?” The dogs started barking, that was a clear sign that my parents were home. “Come on, let’s get some grub.”
After helping my parents put groceries away, we decided to eat in and I ordered up a few pizzas: one vegetarian, one cheese and one with pepperoni. My dad and I went to pick up the pizzas and came back to find Rose and my mom playing with the dogs. “Food’s up!”
Rose had taken the liberty of setting up the table. I set the pizzas on the island and took them out of their paper bags. My mom pulled out some cups and pulled some milk out from the refrigerator while I pulled a few paper plates out and set them on the island. “Alright, who’s first?”
Rose trotted up and lifted a plate with her magic. “I’ll go first.”
She also used her magic to lift a slice of the cheese pizza and two slices of the vegetarian; my mom was next and she took one vegetarian and one pepperoni; I took one slice of each and my dad took one pepperoni and one slice of cheese.
After we all sat down, my mom glanced back and forth at Rose and I. “So? How much longer until we’re grandparents?”
Rose smiled. “About eight more months. This is so exciting.”
My dad scratched his head. “Are they going to be human-pony hybrids?”
I laughed. “No. Remember Discord saying he gave me a gift?” My mom nodded and my dad looked like a deer in the headlights. “We won’t have to worry about centaurs, they’ll be full pony.”
My mom nodded in excitement. “Congratulations, you two.” She lifted her cup. “Here’s to two wonderful grandchildren.”
The rest of us lifted our cups as well. “To two wonder foals.” I said.
My dad put his cup down. “When are you two going back?”
I took a sip of my milk and put the cup back down. “After my order arrives. We should be back in time for Shining Armor and Princess Cadence’s baby shower.”
The words ‘baby shower’ made my mom shudder. She hated them, mostly because she didn’t know what to get, let alone what she could afford. “Say hi to them for us.”
I nodded in agreement. “Will do.”
Alright, so a couple of days passed, my order arrived and I picked up some magazines: Popular Mechanics for AJ; Popular Science for Twilight; National Geographic for Fluttershy; Sports Illustrated for Rainbow Dash; Vanity Fair for Rarity; and, it’s not a magazine, but I got Pinkie Pie a dessert recipe book. I also decided to get a comic for Spike. He enjoyed reading the Power Ponies comics, so I got him the first volume of an X-Men comic.
With everything ready to go, I cleared my throat. “Discord, Discord, Discord!”
Discord popped into my parents’ house, sitting on the island. “Ready to go back?”
Rose and I nodded. “We are.”
Rose picked up the stuff and with a snap of his talon, Rose and I left Earth.
We were back in our house in Equestria. Rose still had the stuff and I was back in my pegasus form. I flew toward Discord and hugged him. “Thanks, man!” I let him go and hovered backward. “I’m glad you’re around.”
He bowed. “Til we meet again!” He said before teleporting away to who knows where.
We heard some excited screams and some barking. The Crusaders galloped to the living room along with out dogs. “Hey, kids!” I said, greeting them with a big hug. “Anything exciting happen while we were away?”
Rose started cantering toward our bedroom. “Nothing that ended in you three being covered in tree sap, I hope.”
The three shook their heads. “No tree sap, we promise, Missus Bloom.” Sweetie Belle said.
Rose let out a scream. “Rose?!” I flew past the Crusaders straight to our bedroom and found not one, but three colts and they ran out of the room screaming. Probably running out of the house. I landed and turned around, seeing looks of embarrassment on the Crusaders.
Scootaloo let out a nervous chuckle. “It’s not what you think.”
Rose gave them a scornful gaze. “Oh? And what do I think it was?”
Apple Bloom’s mouth opened wide. “What? No! Not that.”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “If it was that, we’d be at the clubhouse.”
I nodded understandingly. “No harm, no foul. You three should probably run along now before Rose does something that’ll get her prison time.” The trio nodded quickly and took off. I looked back to Rose. “I’ll take a look around the house, but so far it looks like nothing was disturbed.”
Rose calmly nodded. “Right. I’m going to find a good spot to hide this stuff.”
I fluttered around the house, making sure nothing was missing or out of place. Room to room… nothing jumped out at me. Satisfied about the findings, I made my way back to the bedroom. I knocked on the door a few times, letting Rose know I was there. “We’re all good.”
She turned toward me with a smile. “Same here. I should probably apologize to the colts and fillies. I overreacted.”
I slowly shook my head. Of course you did… “I’ll see if I can find them.”
I left the house and not too far away, I saw the Crusaders. “Hey!” I shouted as I flew toward them.
They stopped and turned around. “Scotty!” Sweetie Belle said, lowering her head and sighed. “Is she still mad at us?”
I shook my head. “Nah. In fact, she wanted to apologize to you and the colts for overreacting. Speaking of whom, I recognized Rumble, but who were the other two?”
The fillies giggled. “The one with the helicopter beanie is Button Mash and the other one was Tender Taps.” Apple Bloom explained.
I nodded, still hovering next to them. “Cool. Could you bring them back to our place?”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “They took off pretty fast. They might be scared of her.”
I grunted. “Understandable. Tell them what I told you. I’ll wait for you at the front door.”
The Crusaders brought the colts over, with their mothers and Thunderlane. Rose apologized, everything was okay, blah blah blah. With all that taken care of, it was time to get ready for the trip.
I was setting my suitcase near the front door when I heard some knocking. I opened the door and Starlight stood outside. “Starlight, hey.” I back away from the door. “Come in.”
She dug at the ground nervously. “Sorry. I can’t stay long. Are you and Rose are still going to join me?”
I almost forgot about that. “To see Sunburst.” She slowly nodded. “Of course.
Starlight gave me a quick hug then backed away. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” And with that, she took off toward Twilight’s castle.
Scotty and I were on the train with Twilight and her friends as well as Starlight Glimmer who sat by a window, looking out nervously. I felt a nudge from Scott and I looked at him. “Go talk to her.” He whispered.
I was caught off guard, so I guess I gave him a weird look. “Talk to her about what?”
He shrugged. “Mare stuff?” Seriously? Was that the best you could come up with? “She’s obviously disturbed.” I looked to her and I agreed. She could use the distraction.
I cantered toward Starlight and sat in the empty seat across from her. “Hey. You alright?”
Starlight let out a quiet hum. “I suppose. I haven’t seen Sunburst since I was a filly.” She turned her gaze back outside. “I wonder what he’s been up to? Did he get married? Does he have foals of his own?”
I laid a hoof on her lap and she looked back to me. “Take it easy, Starlight. Who knows, maybe he’s still a bachelor.” I said with a wink.
She blushed and smiled. “Maybe. I’m a little envious of you and Scott. You two seem to have a good relationship.”
I looked toward him and saw he was talking with Applejack, then I looked back to Starlight. “It’s not perfect, but we make it work.”
We arrived at the Crystal Empire’s train station and got off the train. Scott, Starlight and I stood in front of Twilight. “We’ll go find Sunburst’s house and we’ll meet you at the castle later.”
Twilight nodded. “Okay. We’ll see you later. Have fun.”
Twilight and her friends cantered away toward the castle and the rest of us headed in the direction Cadence gave us to get to Sunburst’s.
The walk to his house was not too far, but the awkward silence made it feel like it took forever to get there, and once we did, Starlight began hyperventilating. I looked to Scott. “Knock on the door, I’ll take care of her.”
Starlight was sitting on her haunches and I wrapped a foreleg around her as Scott knocked on the door. “It’ll be okay, Starlight.” Scotty glanced back to us with concern.
The door opened and a unicorn stallion popped his head out. “Can I help you?” He looked at Starlight and his eyes widened. “Oh dear! Is she okay?”
Scott rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you Sunburst?” He asked.
The unicorn nodded. “I am, but who are you?”
I stood up. “That’s my husband Scott, I’m Rose Petal and this is Starlight Glimmer.”
It took him a moment before the gears in his head started turning again. “Forgive me. Please, come inside.”
His place was a bit small, but he cleared a spot for us to sit down at and brought us some tea. He smiled like a foal on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “It’s been a long time, Starlight. How have you been?”
Starlight mumbled something and I rubbed her back with a hoof. “It’s okay, Starlight.”
Scott took a sip of his tea and set the cup down. “What do you do, Sunburst?” He asked. “Starlight heaped a bunch of praise on you, so I assume you’re an important pony here.”
Sunburst shifted his glasses and blushed. “Really?” He chuckled. “I wish I was important, but I’m not.”
I giggled. “Well, we know one pony who you’re important to.” I said, shifting my eyes toward Starlight.
Starlight nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Sunburst.”
I looked to Scott and he nodded at me. I then cleared my throat and we stood up. “I think we’ll leave you two alone for a while. If you need us, we’ll be at the castle.”
Scott was ahead of me going to the door. He opened it and before we left, I felt a hoof on me. I turned around and Starlight gave me a hug, thanking me for helping her find the courage to reunite with her foalhood friend.
Scott and I cantered side by side toward the castle. “I wonder if the gifts are in our room yet?” He mused. “I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they open them up.”
Hiding them from Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends was easy, and he let me have mine early. I would wind it up every night and we would listen to it when going to bed. It was sort of a new tradition for us, and I was sure our foals would enjoy it as well.
‘Our foals’. I never expected to be a mother, but I imagined no new mother expected it. I talked to various mothers around Ponyville, some with only one foal would say that it was the most painful thing in the world and that had me a little worried.
Fortunately, there was a procedure that unicorns knew where they could teleport the foals out of the womb if things started going wrong, but it was common for mares to have the procedure anyway, as was the case with Missus Cake for her twins.
I was glad I was not going to be on Earth though, Scott’s mother’s tales of C-Section were terrifying, but his species lacked an alternative procedure.
We arrived at the castle gate and the crystal guards saluted us. “Welcome back, Mister and Missus Bloom. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor are awaiting your arrival.”
I looked to Scott and he nodded. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
I smiled. “Agreed.”
Our gifts were definitely in our room, and two of the guards offered to help us bring them to the throne room.
We approached the throne room. The guards who stood on either side of the doors opened them. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence turned their attention away from Twilight and her friends to us. They smiled and approached us.
Cadence and I gave each other a quick hug. “Rose. It’s always a pleasure to see you.” She said and looked to Scott, who was getting a noogie from Shining Armor.
The guards hauling our gifts stopped behind us. “Where do you want us to put these?”
Shining Armor let my husband go. “I got it from here. Take five.” He said as he wrapped the gifts with his magic. The guards bowed and started trotting away. Shining levitated the gifts toward a pile of other gifts. “Come on in, have a seat.”
Scott and I sat down and he chuckled. “Looks like we might be here for a while.” He said, noting the large pile of boxes near the other end of the room.”
Cadence nodded. “We certainly will. I can’t wait to see what you got us.”
I nodded. “Neither can we. Scotty got everypony a gift from his world.”
Spike perked up and looked at us. “Even me?”
Scott nodded. “Yeah. Even you, buddy.”
Cadence smiled and looked around. “How about we get to the gifts first.” She looked at me, maintaining her smile. “Would you like to help Twilight and I sort them out?”
I nodded. “I would love to.”
The gifts were passed around. Cadence and Shining Armor were the first to open theirs. The first one they opened was the music box. The three gasped and looked in awe. Flurry Heart was especially curious about it. Cadence set the music box on a table next to her daughter, winded it up with her magic and let the music start playing.
Cadence cantered to Scott and hugged him, then me. “Thank you.”
We heard some tearing and saw Shining Armor opened his gift. “Dungeons and Dragons?”
Scott nodded. “Yeah. Pretty much Earth’s equivalent to Ogres and Oubliettes. There’s a bunch more books I can get if you’re interested.”
Shining Armor chuckled. “That’d be great. Thanks!”
Cadence made her way back to her gift and opened it. “A romance novel?” She asked, looking at us. Scott nodded slowly. “How saucy is it?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t read it. I just hope it’s not too bad.”
Cadence smiled. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
Finally, Twilight and her friends opened their gifts. Scott got magazines based on their interests and Spike was given two comic books. I looked at Scott and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were going to get him one?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t figure out if he’d like the Avengers more than the Justice League, so I picked up one of each.”
Twilight giggled as she rubbed Spike’s head. “Thanks. We can’t wait to get into our magazines.”
As I looked around at everypony, I glanced at Flurry Heart and it looked like she was about to sneeze.
“AHCHOO!”
Oh no! Not only did Flurry Heart sneeze, but she shot a beam of magic and it started bouncing around the room. “Scotty!”
We galloped to each other, the beam barely missed us as he held me. “We need to get out of here.”
He nodded in agreement then yelped in pain as the beam hit him straight in the barrel. “Scotty!”
The others circled around us. “Scotty?”
I felt a hoof gently touch me. I looked and saw it was Princess Cadence. “Shining Armor is getting some help.”
I sat on my haunches and started crying. I lost one mate, I did not want to lose another…
But then, I heard him groan. “Rose… are you alright?” He asked as he rolled onto his back. “Christ, that hurt!”
I heard some whimpering. I looked to my right and saw Flurry Heart was trying to escape her mother’s hold, pointing a hoof at Scott. “Princess Cadence?” I called, and she looked at me. “I think Flurry Heart wants to apologize.”
Cadence let go of Flurry Heart, who immediately flew to Scott. She landed beside him, laid a hoof on him and baby-babbled. It was adorable.
Scott stroked her cheek and smirked. “It’s okay, kiddo.” He assured her. “I’m not mad at ya.”
Flurry Heart gave him a gentle squeeze before flying off to Cadence. I watched as the filly clung to her mother’s neck. “You’re a lucky mare, Princess.”
She smiled and nodded in agreement. “As are you.”
Shining Armor returned with a couple of guards. “Is he alright?”
Scott groaned as he raised a hoof. “I’ll live.” He said. The guards helped him up and took him to a sofa. “I just hope nothing bad comes out whatever spell she cast.”
Twilight fluttered toward him. “I’ll keep an eye on you. Most newborn unicorns can only fire raw energy beams, but obviously Flurry’s not most unicorn.”
I glanced toward the hallway and saw a guard with Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst behind her. “Starlight! Sunburst!”
As I trotted toward her, Sunburst gave her a quick kiss. “I’m going to introduce myself to the Prince and Princess.” He said, leaving us.
I glanced behind me and back to Starlight. “So? How did it go?”
Starlight blushed. “I don’t think there’s an appropriate word for how well it went.”
I giggled. “Alright. Give me all the juicy details on the ride back to Ponyville.”
Starlight lowered her head and dug at the ground. “I… I’m not going back to Ponyville. At least not for a while. Sunburst asked me to stay.”
“Starlight! Get over here quickly!” Sunburst shouted. I turned and he was over by Scott. My heart sank as Starlight dashed ahead of me. After a moment, I caught up to her.
Starlight exchanged glances between Sunburst and Scott. “What’s going on?”
The spotted unicorn shook his head. “I need you to confirm the magical signature on him. I think it’s an age spell.”
Starlight nodded, closed her eyes and began concentrating. Her horn powered up. It may have been seconds that passed, but it felt like an eternity. Did he really get hit with an age spell?
Finally, after a moment, the aura around Starlight’s horn dissipated. “It is an age spell… but this one’s different.”
Scott’s eyes widened, as did mine. “How different are we talking here?”
Starlight shook her head. “Instead of aging normally, it’s been reversed.” She looked to Sunburst. “I’m sorry, Sunburst, but I think I’m going to have to go back to Ponyville with him.”
Princess Cadence approached us. “I think he should stay here until the spell can be nullified.” She stated out of concern.
We looked to Scott and he nodded. That was it then, our stay at the Crystal Empire has been prolonged.
It was about a week since Flurry Heart accidentally blasted me with the age spell. Whenever I came across the foal, she would cower, but when I smiled at her, she felt better. It always surprised me that she acted more mature than her appearance would let on. She knew she did something wrong, but she could not control her powers yet.
Starlight and Sunburst canceled out the spell Flurry put on me so my age would not regress further and were working out some kinks on their tests to reverse it. To say the two got along well would be an understatement. Their room was across from me and Rose, and I wished I was deaf. Starlight was quite the screamer.
As for me… well… I was a colt. Everyone who knew what happened still treated me like a stallion, but sometimes they would pretend I actually was a colt. Even Rose got in on the fun and when we went out, she would insist I called her “Auntie Rose” or “Aunt Rosie”. It was degrading, but she was having fun and I had to admit, even I thought it was nice to be a kid again.
So there I was, in our room. Rose was out and the Crusaders were with me. “So...” I said in a higher-pitched adolescent voice, “what do you girls want to do?” That did not sound creepy at all.
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Well, we haven’t really seen the Crystal Empire and you’ve been here a few times. Maybe you can take us on a tour?”
Scootaloo fluttered excitedly. “Yeah! Isn’t there going to be a celebration for Flurry Heart?”
I placed a hoof on my chin and hummed quietly. “Yeah. The Crystalling is supposed to be later this afternoon. I suppose we could talk to Cadence and Shining Armor about when it’ll be.”
I approached the door and opened it. I forgot about the guard standing outside. He was there more for the Crusaders than me though. “Excuse me, sir.” The guard looked down to me. “Could you take us to Shining Armor and Cadence? The Crusaders are itching to tour the city and I don’t want them to miss the princess’ Crystalling.”
He shook his head. “No can do, buddy. The Prince and Princess are both out right now. I can take you to Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer though.”
That was if they were not busy getting it on. “Lead the way.”
The guard took us to where Starlight and Sunburst were working, and thankfully, they were actually working. “Sir Sunburst, Miss Starlight, Mister Bloom is here to see you.”
Starlight perked up, looked toward me, smiled and made her way over. “Scotty!” She exclaimed, perhaps a little too excitedly. “Hey, Sunburst and I have been a little busy with Flurry Heart’s Crystalling, so we haven’t had too much time to work on getting you back to normal.”
I nodded. “That’s okay, Starlight. The Crusaders wanted a tour of the city while we waited for the ceremony. When do you think it’ll start?”
Sunburst approached and fixed his glasses. “Can’t say for sure, but Starlight and I can give you something to let you know when we’re ready.”
Sunburst’s horn lit up and his magical aura surrounded an object on the table. It floated over to us and hovered it front of him. It was a gem made into a makeshift necklace and he fastened it around my neck. “Awesome! Thanks, Sunburst.”
He chuckled and looked to Starlight. “Starlight did all the work on the gem. You’ll know it’s time to come back when it starts to glow.”
I glanced at the gemstone that was hanging around my neck. If my time with Rarity and Maud taught me anything about gemstones, this was a topaz. I looked back to Sunburst and Starlight. “Thanks, guys.”
I turned to face the Crusaders, and they looked like they could run around all over the Crystal Empire. “Are we ready?” I asked them as I walked past them. “Let’s have a little bit of fun.”
We left the castle and started making our way around the city. I would have flown above them, but I remembered how sensitive Scootaloo was about not being able to fly. She insisted that I did, but I chose to stay on the ground.
Apple Bloom looked at me and smiled. “Hey. The girls and I are kicking around the idea of starting a camp to help ponies get their cutie marks.”
Oh crap. “Sounds like fun. Do you want me to join?”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Sure, only if it’s something you’d want to do.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “Right, ‘cause no one’s forcing me to join.”
Scootaloo laughed. “Totally not forcing ya.” She said with a wink.
I shook my head and sighed. “I’ll make you a deal: if Sunburst and Starlight don’t have me fixed before we head back to Ponyville, I’ll spend a week at your camp.”
“There you are, mister!”
I jumped with a start and turned around. “Rose! You about gave me a heart attack.”
She smiled as she skipped toward us. “And what are you doing with these fillies?”
Apple Bloom walked up beside me. “We are on a date.” Was everyone out to kill me today? “He’s takin’ us on a tour of the Crystal Empire.”
The others nodded and so did Rose. “Well, I guess I’m going to be your chaperon. I don’t want the four of you to have too much fun.”
I groaned. “Is that really necessary? I bet fifty bits that they have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Then I guess you owe her fifty bits. Missus Bloom, we had no intention on… using him that way. Not without permission from both of you, anyway.”
What the hell? Since when did these fillies get all pervy?
Rose chuckled, obviously getting a laugh out of my current misery. “Remember, he may look like a colt, but he is a stallion. Now let’s get moving.”
As we started leaving, I noticed snowflakes were starting to fall. “What the-?” I looked up and around and clouds began surrounding the city and were closing in. “Something’s wrong. I think we should think about hightailing it to the castle.”
And so we galloped as fast as we could. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were exhausted before we got to the castle, the former rested on Rose’s back and the latter on mine while I flew. Apple Bloom did pretty well.
We occasionally saw Luna and Celestia trying to hold back the clouds as we approached the castle, but they weren’t having much luck as the clouds seemed to regenerate.
We got closer to the castle and saw a large crowd of ponies coming our way with Shining Armor in the lead. He stopped as the others kept going. “Alright everypony, make sure you get home safe and stay warm!” He ordered. He then looked to us and smiled. “I’m glad you’re safe. Get inside the castle.”
Before any of us could say anything, he took off. “What’s going on?!”
Pinkie Pie bounced past us. “Flurry Heart destroyed the Crystal Heart.” She said nonchalantly.
We entered the castle and Rose took Scootaloo with her magic. “I’ll take the fillies to their room, you go find Starlight and Sunburst.”
I nodded. “Right. I’ll be right back.”
So I flew. I flew throughout the castle, looking for any sign of trouble, then I heard Flurry Heart’s giggling. I knew I was close, and it wasn’t long before Flurry and I crashed into each other.
We landed hard on the ground and I groaned. Flurry and I looked at each other and she started tearing up. “No, sweetie, please don’t.” I said, getting close to her. She hugged me and started crying. Damn it. I stroked her mane and let her get it all out. “It’s okay, Flurry.”
Eventually, Cadence and Twilight found us. Cadence looked overjoyed to see that Flurry Heart was okay. “Oh thank goodness you found her.”
Cadence enveloped Flurry with her magic and pried her away from me. Flurry was reaching out to me and was giving me those sad baby eyes. “Everything will be fine Flurry.” I assured her. I hoped everything would be fine, anyway. Cadence helped me up as well and I dusted myself off. “Where’s Starlight and Sunburst?”
Twilight stepped forward and stroked Flurry Heart’s mane. “They’re at Sunburst’s place trying to figure out how to fix the Crystal Heart.”
I nodded. “Glad to know they’re okay. It’s getting real bad out there.” I started walking back to my quarters. “Here’s hoping that they can get it fixed soon.”
So I took to the air and flew to my quarters. The idea was to tell Rose that I was going to Sunburst’s and see how they were faring on the issue. I got to the room and saw that Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were comforting the Crusaders. “Hey, Rose!” I shouted, getting her attention. “I’m going to Sunburst’s. He and Starlight are trying to figure out how to fix this mess.”
She nodded. “Right. You be careful out there.”
Rainbow flew up to me. “Yeah. The wind’s gotten really gnarly since you came in. I’ll help you get there.”
I smiled. “I appreciate it, Rainbow. Let’s get going.”
We made it back to the entrance, but before we left, Starlight and Sunburst teleported inside. I breathed a sigh of relief. The two cantered up to us and he nodded. “Hey, Scott! I think we figured out how to fix you and the Crystal Heart at the same time.”
I let out a sigh of relief again. I really didn’t want to go to the Crusaders’ camp. “Hit me, Sunny.”
Sunburst used his magic to adjust his glasses and he gave me a weird look. “Why would I want to hit you?”
Starlight chuckled. “He means tell him what the plan is.” She looked at me with a smile. “Well, we found a spell that’ll get you back to your old self...”
I raised an eyebrow. “I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
Sunburst nodded in acknowledgment. “But it’s tied to the same spell to repair the Crystal Heart. In essence, your life would be tied to the Heart and as long as the Heart is charged-”
I grumbled. “I’d be immortal.” This sounded too much like Eternal Warrior, except I wouldn’t be protecting the world and its speaker, I’d be protecting the Heart and by extension, the Crystal Empire. “Is there any other way?”
Starlight lowered her head. “If there is, we haven’t discovered it yet.”
I shook my head. “No way. Between the two of you and Twilight, I’m sure you’ll find something. There was another time that the idea of immortality intrigued me, but that was before I got married.”
Sunburst nodded. “Of course. We’ll look for an alternative.”
Starlight nodded as well. “In the meantime, we’ve got a heart to fix.”
The snowstorm raged on, but Shining Armor needed everyone in front of the castle, and everyone was there. Unbeknownst to the ponies outside, Luna, Celestia, Twilight and Starlight were busy holding the Heart together.
Sunburst was given the honor of performing the Crystalling for figuring out how to repair the Heart. He held Flurry Heart high in the air, Rarity presented him with some shards from the Heart and he took one and displayed it for everyone to see.
The ponies around me were getting emotional. They cried tears of joy as they began kneeling. The Crusaders to my left and Rose to my right knelt down. Well, when in Rome…
I knelt down and felt a surge of positive energy flowing into the very foundation of the castle. I looked up and saw the energy flowed to the shard Sunburst held with his magic. Once the transfer was complete, he made a mad dash inside the castle, assuming to shove the shard into the Heart.
After a minute, a wave of energy blasted out of the castle, turning me and everyone around me into crystal versions of themselves. It was an odd experience the first time, but it was a pleasant one this time. Everyone looked up, the clouds were dissipating and sunshine began pouring into the city once again.
It was a beautiful sight, but I was still a foal. I did promise the Crusaders I would check out their camp, and it looked like that was what I was going to do when we returned to Ponyville.