Luna stared down at the test that lay flat on the bathroom counter. A little pink plus sign stared back at her. Her hooves shook as she tried to process the news. She wanted to squeal with excitement, to dance happily, but she wasn’t sure how her new husband would react; after all, they had just returned to Canterlot from their honeymoon a week earlier. Married life was still so wonderfully new to both of them. Is now the right time? she thought nervously.
“Phoebus, honey?” she called as she brought the pregnancy test into their bedroom. Phoebus peered up from the book he was reading in bed. When he saw the test Luna was levitating, he quickly put the book on his nightstand and looked at his wife inquisitively.
“I’m pregnant.” The words felt new and beautiful as they passed Luna’s lips for the first time. Her anxiety was immediately calmed when she saw the pure, uninhibited joy on Phoebus’ face. He leapt from the bed and grabbed Luna, twirling her in the air as she laughed. After he set her down, he kissed her tenderly.
“I love you so much, my angel of the night,” he whispered, holding her close. “You are going to be the most wonderful mother in the world.” Luna’s eyes filled with tears of relief and joy, and she cuddled into Phoebus’ chest. She had always wanted to start a family, and it was finally happening. She gently moved her hooves down to her belly, and though her stomach was still flat, she swore she could feel a tiny life stirring within her.
The steady, comforting sound of a foal’s heartbeat filled the exam room of the royal gynecologist’s office. Luna heaved a sigh of relief and kept her eyes on the screen of the ultrasound as a tiny, foal-shaped dot appeared, squirming.
“Everything looks good,” the doctor said. “The foal looks healthy, it’s growing normally, measurements are perfectly normal, heartbeat is strong. It looks like you’re around eight weeks along, Your Majesty.” Luna exchanged an excited smile with Phoebus, then gazed intently at the screen.
Luna was jolted awake by a sudden, overwhelming wave of nausea. She galloped into the bathroom and vomited uncontrollably into the toilet. She had to stay in the bathroom for two hours. Finally, when she couldn’t keep any water down, Phoebus insisted on taking Luna to the hospital, and Luna relented.
“Hyperemisis gravidarum,” the doctor told Luna. “Severe morning sickness. You’re extremely dehydrated, Your Majesty. You will need to stay in the hospital for at least another day or two so we can start an IV and get some fluids in you.”
“What about the foal? Is the foal all right?” Luna demanded. The room seemed to spin around her, and dizziness threatened to send her into darkness.
“Yes, Ma’am, the foal is fine,” the doctor assured her. “Morning sickness is quite natural. Most expectant mothers who have your condition deliver perfectly healthy foals. We can do another ultrasound to ease your mind, if you like.” Luna nodded immediately.
“Make sure the press doesn’t find out about this until well after the end of my first trimester,” Luna told her private secretary, Silk Ribbon, who stood by the door of the exam room. “The last thing we need is for the tabloids to announce the pregnancy before our family knows.” The lavender mare nodded and left the hospital hastily. Unfortunately, cameras had already shown up when news had begun to spread that Luna was in the hospital. When a frantic Celestia came to the hospital with her husband Sombra and one-year old daughter, Summer, to visit her sister, the deafening clicking of cameras alerted Luna and Phoebus of their arrival.
“Are you all right, sister?” Celestia huffed as she trotted into the hospital room and plopped down into a chair.
“Just jealous of your seamless pregnancy, Tia,” Luna joked, reaching out to lovingly tickle Summer. “It will be so fun to watch our foals grow up together.”
“How are you feeling?” Celestia asked, her eyes bright with concern. Luna took a small sip of the ginger ale that a nurse had just given her and lay back on her pillow.
“Well, I can finally drink some form of liquid without throwing up everywhere, so that is quite an improvement,” Luna said with a small smile. “You’re so lucky, Tia. You hardly had any morning sickness at all. I greatly envy you.”
“Wait until you’re eight months pregnant,” Celestia groaned. “You’ll have to constantly ask your foal to stop kicking your ribcage—ow, Summer, stop pulling my mane!” Luna laughed in spite of herself and reached out to tickle her niece, this time speaking to the filly.
“Come to Auntie Luna and give your mommy a break,” she cooed. Summer giggled as Luna lifted her and tossed her into the air.
“Well, congratulations, little sister,” Celestia told Luna, kissing the blue alicorn’s forehead. “I’ll make sure to have you babysit Summer all the time. Better start learning how to change a diaper!”
“Lulu,” Celestia called. Luna, now four months pregnant, trotted cheerfully into Celestia’s room and looked at her sister inquisitively.
“Since you’re going to be a mother in around five months,” Celestia said, “Sombra and I thought we could help you prepare.”
“What do you mean, sister?” Luna asked cautiously. Celestia led Luna into the kitchen, where she magically changed into a formal evening gown.
“You’re foalsitting tonight!” Celestia announced. “Sombra and I are going to the opera. It will be our first night out since Summer was born, so you get to watch your little niece for the first time. Isn’t that exciting?” She beamed at Luna.
“Umm, okay,” Luna said tentatively, “but what should I do with her?”
“Well, she’s pretty active right now, so just play with her, give her her dinner and a bath before bedtime, and change her diaper if she has an accident,” Celestia explained. “She loves to run around, so watch her closely. She’ll probably ask for her ‘ducky,’ which is her favorite book. It’s about a duck who’s a princess. Come on, sister, it will be easy. You shouldn’t go into motherhood unprepared; these things take practice. You won’t automatically know how to take care of your foal after you give birth.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Luna admitted. “Don’t worry, sister, Auntie Luna will take good care of Summer!” She waved Celestia and Sombra off, then trotted over to Summer’s room.
“Where’s my favorite little niece?” Luna asked. She knew Summer was playing hide and seek like she always did when Luna came over. A giggle came from Summer’s closet.
“Hmmm,” Luna said, making a big show of dramatically pretending to look under Summer’s bed. “She’s not under the bed.” She looked in Summer’s toy box. “She isn’t in here. Hmmm, where could that filly be hiding?” She looked under Summer’s blanket and said, “Oh, I thought for sure she was under here! Hmmm, maybe she’s—“ she swung the closet door open “—in here!” She grabbed the giggling Summer and tickled the filly, who squealed with laughter. Summer adored her Auntie Luna and always got excited when she saw her.
“Auntie Woona!” Summer squealed. “Awe we gonna pway togethoh some more?”
“Yes, we are, sweetie,” Luna said. “We get to play together for the rest of the night!” She tickled Summer’s tummy, and the foal giggled. The two alicorns played together, then Luna fed Summer and gave her a bath. As Luna was tucking Summer into bed, a terrible smell hit Luna’s nose, and she nearly fainted.
“Whew, somepony made a royal stink!” Luna said, picking Summer up and carrying her over to the changing table. Luna gagged as she began to remove Summer’s diaper, which was filled with runny yellow poop. Summer laughed, and Luna’s stomach lurched.
“Oopsie, sowwy, Auntie Woona,” Summer said quietly. “I went poopy in my diapoh.”
“It’s okay, honey,” Luna assured the embarrassed foal. “Auntie just hasn’t done this before. Let’s get you fixed.” She grabbed the foal wipes and cleaned Summer off, then threw away the wipes with the dirty diaper before patting Summer’s bottom down with powder and magically putting on Summer’s new, clean diaper.
“Yay, we did it!” Luna cheered. She blew raspberries on Sunmer’s tummy, and the foal squealed and giggled. “Okay, what do you want to do next?”
“Ducky!” Summer demanded, trotting over to the bookshelf.
“Ohhh, you want me to read you a story,” Luna said, browsing the shelf. “How about this one?” She pulled out a book about a friendly alligator.
“No! Ducky!” Summer whined.
“Okay, how about this book? Look, it has an alicorn like you on the front!” Luna said, pulling out another book.
“No! Ducky!” Summer cried again, using her magic to throw the book across the room and beginning to throw a tantrum.
“No, Summer, we don’t throw our books,” Luna said. “We will not read a story if you throw another book.” Summer whined in protest, but Luna refused to budge.
“Ducky NOW! I want my ducky NOW!” Summer yelled, throwing herself down on her stomach and banging all four of her hooves on the floor, screaming. Luna frantically scanned the bookshelf until she remembered the book Celestia had told her about.
“Summer,” Luna said sternly, “Auntie Luna will not read your ducky at all if you don’t act like a big filly and stop screaming right now.” Summer stopped crying and looked up at her aunt, startled and surprised.
“Are you ready to act like a big filly and read your ducky with Auntie Luna?” Luna asked her little niece.
“Y—yes, Auntie Woona,” Summer sniffled, “I’m weady.” Luna smiled and picked up her niece, cuddling the filly into her lap.
“Okay, here we go,” Luna said. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful pink duck, who just happened to be a princess. Her name was Isla. ‘Wow,’ said Isla, ‘I hope I fall in—‘“
“No, Auntie Woona, you have to do the voices,” Summer protested. “Mommy always does the voices.”
“Oh, okay,” Luna said. “‘Wow,’ said Isla,” she said in a funny voice, “‘I hope I fall in love with a handsome prince someday.’ So Isla went off on an adventure…”
“…and Isla and the prince were married, and they lived happily ever after. The end.” Luna looked over at Summer and smiled. The filly had fallen asleep about five pages ago. Luna closed the nursery door softly and tiptoed into the living room to watch TV on the couch. About an hour later, the front door opened, and Celestia and Sombra walked into the house.
“We’re home!” Celestia whispered. “Did you have fun? How was she?”
“She was good,” Luna said. “There were some issues at the beginning, but we had a great time!” Celestia smiled proudly while Sombra walked off to check on Summer.
“Out like a light,” he whispered, grinning. “Great job, Luna. When can you do this again?”
Luna lay flat on her back in the bed she shared with Phoebus, who raised his eyebrows as he peeked at his wife over the book he had been reading. She was five months pregnant now, and she was finding it more and more difficult to sleep with each passing day.
“How are you feeling?” Phoebus asked, scooting close to her and stowing his book in his nightstand. Luna’s thoughtful eyes gave him the only answer he needed. He nodded understandingly and wrapped his hoof around her shoulder. “Tell me what you’re thinking, my angel of the night,” he whispered, dropping a soft kiss on Luna’s velvety shoulder. Luna smiled and rested her hoof on her stomach.
“Have you thought about names yet?” she asked him. “I was thinking of Atlas or Saros for a colt, since I have a feeling we’re going to have a son.”
“I like Atlas,” Phoebus agreed. “What about if it’s a filly?”
“You know,” Luna said after a moment, “I haven’t really thought about a name for a filly. I want a daughter so badly that I don’t want to get my hopes up; I mean, I really don’t care if we have a colt or a filly as long as the foal is healthy, but I’ve always wanted a daughter. There are two names that I’ve always liked for a filly: Esme and Neoma.”
“Both names are beautiful,” Phoebus said. “What if we combine them? Esme Neoma has a nice ring to it.”
“I think they sound a bit strange that way,” Luna said, shaking her head, “but what if we flip them around? Neoma Esme.” The name sounded like a prayer as it slipped from the moon queen’s lips. “‘Neoma’ means ´new moon’ or ‘pleasantness,’ and ‘Esme’ means ‘beloved.’ How perfect! Our beloved new moon—our Neoma Esme.” Suddenly, she gasped and grabbed Phoebus’ hoof, pulling it towards her belly. “Honey, can you feel? They’re kicking!” Luna smiled widely.
“Hello, sweetheart,” she said to the unborn foal. “I know we decided not to know if you’re a colt or filly until you’re born, but mommy has a feeling you’re a filly, since you kicked me extra hard when you heard the name ‘Neoma.’ Your daddy and I are so excited to meet you, little one. We promise we’re going to be the best parents ever to you. We already love you so much more than you will ever know, sweet baby Atlas, Saros, or Neoma. We’ll decide what to call you after we’ve met you.” Luna chuckled as her last sentence was punctuated with another little kick from the foal.
The walls of the bedroom next to Luna and Phoebus’ bedchamber, which had once been so plain and white, were now midnight blue and adorned with stars and a full moon. An ornate white bassinet stood in the center of the nursery, and a matching changing table sat against the wall. A silver mobile of stars and a crescent moon hung above the bassinet. Luna hung a collection of onesies in the nursery’s walk-in closet, huffing slightly as she did so. At nine months pregnant, Luna found that activities were becoming more and more difficult for her to do, but as Princess of the Night, she was unable to take maternity leave. As she finished hanging the last few onesies and started to stow some diapers in the cabinet under the changing table, Luna sighed in frustration. She was due to raise the moon in ten minutes. How would she hold night court tonight? Her legs were swollen, her back was killing her, and the foal was extra active tonight, constantly delivering heavy blows to the blue alicorn’s ribcage. Another searing urge to pee suddenly hit Luna as the foal sat on her bladder.
“I love you, kid, but you’ve got to calm down,” Luna groaned as she waddled to the bathroom. “Mommy has a lot of work to do. I know you usually fall asleep around this time, so close your little eyes and drift off.” The foal kicked again, almost defiantly. “Well, you’re definitely my foal,” Luna said with a pained smile, lowering herself onto the toilet. “You have your mommy’s attitude already, don’t you? Please don’t be so disobedient when you’re older.” She sighed with relief as she momentarily relieved herself of the near-constant fullness of her bladder, then she walked out to join Celestia on the main portico of the castle. The brisk chill of the evening nipped at Luna as her older sister lowered the sun. The younger alicorn lit up her horn and slowly raised the full moon, then sent the stars to their places in the cloudless sky. Finally, Luna sent a glowing river into the dark mass above her. The aurora borealis floated upward from her horn, gracing the sky with its watery roads of colorful light.
“Are you all right, little sister?” Celestia asked, gently nuzzling Luna’s shoulder. Luna nodded and grinned at her sister.
“Yes, Tia, I’m fine, just very, very pregnant,” the dark blue alicorn huffed as she turned to walk back inside. Celestia gave Luna a sympathetic smile and followed her sister into the castle, where the two alicorns went their separate ways. The night seemed to hold its cold breath in anticipation as a rush of liquid suddenly fell to the floor from Luna’s raised tail. Fear and excitement filled Luna’s mind, but she pushed those feelings aside to focus on the task ahead. In a few short hours, Equestria’s newest prince or princess would be born.
