Scorpion ponies. Scorpion ponies! I don’t... I had no idea what to do there.The first order of business was, what the heck we were going to tell Tulip? I mean, Celestia and Luna needed to know, like yesterday that my secretary was pregnant with a whole new pony race, which could have serious implications. Luna's opinion in this would be critical. After all, she had her bat ponies. I hadn't asked where they had come from, but I knew they were a real race and not just ponies with enchantments in their armor like Celestia's solar guards. For the moment, all we could do was tell Tulip that her foals were unique,, but perfectly healthy. She didn't look completely reassured, especially given that I refused to show both her and Valiant the ultrasound photo, but she accepted it. Probably more because I'm more her god than her prince, which I hated, but I'd take whatever I could get to calm her down.

At my insistence, Celestia and Luna came to my palace immediately. I didn’t tell them exact details, but I told them that there were terrible complications with Tulip's pregnancy; things that would affect Equestria for a long time. So four hours after the revelations of Tulip's foals, Celestia, Luna, and I sat in one of my private meeting rooms with a sound spell around it, the ultrasound picture tucked in my wing feathers.

"Antares, what is the meaning of this?" Luna asked after we were all sitting. "You stated that your secretary has pregnancy complications, but we fail to see why this is a cause for concern beyond the obvious. You have some of the best doctors in Equestria here. I am certain that Tulip will be okay."

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. There are some... unexpected complications, as I said. A lot is going to change, if I understand this right." I unfurled my wing and took the ultrasound picture out of my feathers. Unfolding it, I put it in front of Celestia and Luna, both of whom tilted their heads to get a better look at it. They stared at it for a moment while I watched them, waiting for their reactions. Luna spoke up first.

"Antares, this is... not a prank, is it? Or perhaps We are merely misinterpreting what We are seeing on this page." She squinted and pulled it closer to her. "The foals appear to have the characteristics of scorpions."

"I have to agree with my sister. I am most perplexed by this." Celestia glanced up at me. "But I suspect that this isn't a prank, of course."

I shook my head. "Nope. That's the ultrasound that Tulip had done only a few hours ago. We haven't told her anything yet, but I'm waiting on that until we figure out just what we're going to do with this. I mean... that's an entirely new race of ponies we're looking at." I looked over at Luna. "Tell me: how did your bat ponies come about? Was it something similar to this, or were they always there?"

"Not having the information on how these foals came into being, We cannot say for certainty whether or not the circumstances are the same as my thestrals." Luna continued staring down at the page, unblinking. "We can say that Our ponies were not a kind originally found on Equestria. They came to being a few hundreds years into Our reign as princess of the night. The best Tia and I could discern, some of my soldiers became exposed to enough of my night magic when We were performing such tasks as raising the moon, or creating the night sky. Their seed became infused with night magic, and thestrals came into being."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? But how does that work? I mean, Celestia raises the sun in public every year. How does that not affect her subjects?" I looked over at Celestia. "What would an infusion of day magic into a pony even do?"

Celestia shrugged. "I do not know, and that is why when we discovered the creation of thestrals, I took steps to ensuring that events like the Summer Sun Celebration would not harm my subjects in any negative way."

"But what about when you raised or lowered the sun in private? Luna said that that's where her soldiers were exposed to it."

"Using our day and night magic is a very private event for us, Antares," Luna explained. We would always do it in private." Luna sighed and flattened her ears. "Or at least, We did until We began to feel that nopony appreciated our night. Then we allowed some of Our guards to witness the raising and lowering of the moon. From there they were infused with the magic. The thestral gene, being magically based, is a dominant one. A thestral and a unicorn mating would result in thestral foals more often than not."

"So that explains how you have your bat ponies, but..." I pointed to the ultrasound picture. "That doesn't explain these scorpiponies. I mean, Tulip isn't the first staff member I've had that's been pregnant, but these two are the first scorpiponies."

"She would have had to have been exposed to alicorn magic unique to you for this to occur," Celestia explained, tapping her jaw. "I don't know what kind of magic you would have been performing that would have..." Celestia closed her eyes and quietly exhaled. "Ah, I think I see now."

Luna and I both raised an eyebrow and tilted our heads. "What?" Luna asked. "Tia, what art thou thinking?"

"During the battle when you killed Sinosis." Celestia pointed at me. "You split open the sky and rained fire down on your enemies. You summoned a star unique to you. You didn't know it at the time, but Tulip was in the room hiding behind a pillar."

I made a grunt of agreement and began nodding. "Yeah, I see. And from what she told me, she was a few weeks pregnant during that time too."

"Being exposed to that much of your magic at one time would have had a drastic impact on the foals," Celestia said. "I would not be surprised to find that they have some scorpion-like characteristics once they are born."

"Speaking of..." I sighed and ran a hoof through my mane. "I have to tell Tulip something. Last thing that happened to her was getting the ultrasound, then I get pulled aside by a very scared looking doctor."

"Yes, I think that some explanation is in order," Celestia said. The three of us stood up, and I took the ultrasound photo in my magic. "Would you like us to help you?"

I shook my head. "No, she's my secretary, and these are, for lack of a better word, my ponies. I think it's going to be easier for her if it comes from me, especially given her..." I hesitated for a moment. "Devotion to me. She is kind of a fanatic Antarian. She found out that I have a sister and immediately wanted to start updating church doctrine, despite us being there for her ultrasound." I gave a weak chuckle. "Man, that seems like it was a long time ago, but it's really just been a few hours." I shook my head. "Whatever the case, I think that I can handle it. I'll be sure to call you two if I need anything."

"Of course, Antares. We are always here," Celestia said.

After escorting the two of them out of my palace and seeing them off, after a few quick nuzzles, and a peck for Celestia, I put the picture back in my feathers and trotted back to the infirmary. As I neared it, I started to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Of course I could be all casual about telling Tulip that she had two scorpions growing inside of her while I talked to Celestia and Luna, but now that I actually had to confront her about it? Eheh... That's a whole different ball of wax. Still, I was her prince, and she trusted me with everything. Too much, really, but in this instance it would help. If I told her that she would be okay, she would believe it without hesitation, even if she felt scared.

And she would.

I reached the infirmary and walked in, immediately trotting over to Tulip's bed, where she rested with a nurse and Valiant sitting beside her. When the three of them heard me come up, Valiant and the nurse both bowed, while Tulip straightened up in bed, her eyes wide with fear.

"P-Prince Antares, what' going on? What's the matter with my foals?" She tried to sit up, but the nurse gently pressed her back down. "Are they okay?"

"As far as we can tell they are," I said with my best attempt at a comforting smile. She returned it with a weak one of her own, but it quickly faded.

"But then why did the doctor get scared like that, and why has nopony told me what's going on? What did he see when he did my ultrasound?"

"I'm about to show you." I teleported one of my chairs into the room and sat down on it before taking the ultrasound picture out of my feathers. "But before I do, I need you to be prepared. Again, these foals are completely healthy as far as we can tell. You're not going to have sickly, weak foals or stillborns." I took a deep breath, barely able to meet Tulip's frightened eyes. "Your children are going to be scorpi-ponies."

I unfolded the picture and held it out in front of me where the three of them could get a good look. The nurse gasped and put her hooves over her mouth, her eyes wide. Valiant's jaw dropped, and he alternated between looking at his marefriend and me. But the one that made me the most nervous was Tulip. She didn't say a word. She just stared blankly at the page. Her hoof slowly moved up, gently coming to rest on her bloated stomach."

"Those..." She blinked once. "Those foals look like they're part scorpion."

"That's because they are," I said, putting the picture down in her lap. "The princesses and I have talked, and we've determined that it happened when I split open the sky and summoned the star, which is something you were in the room for. You were hit with a ton of my magic. That's the best we can figure, anyways."

"My foals are..." Tulip took in a shaky breath and looked up at Valiant, who could only stare down at the picture. "Valiant?"

Valiant blinked once, then looked down at his marefriend. "Uh... yeah, those are... they're scorpions." He looked back up at me, and I flinched back slightly at the uncertainty in his eyes. "So how are my children going to act? Are they going to be more scorpion than pony? Are they going to be venomous? Do those..." He motioned to the paper. "Pincer hoof things work?"

I shrugged with my wings. "I cannot say. I have no idea."

"So my foals might be feral?"

I gave him my best smile and shook my head. "No, I don't think so. This is the same way that Princess Luna's bat ponies came to be, and as you can see, they've thrived well enough."

"Then that means..." Tulip smiled and took Valiant's hoof. "That means that we're the parents of an entirely new race of ponies, Valiant. A race of ponies representing Prince Antares!" She squealed and pulled Valiant in for as much of a crushing hug as a pregnant mare could manage lying down. "Can you imagine what an honor this is?! Or foals... our foals are going to the be the first of a new tribe!"

"Yeah..." Valiant took a deep breath and wrapped a foreleg around Tulip's shoulders. "Yeah, that's amazing."

I let out a quiet, amused scoff. I had seen that look on Valiant's face before. The whole scope of this thing was so big it hadn't fully registered with him yet, and likely wouldn't for quite some time. Then he'd be unsure of what to do all over again when the foals were born.

Well, all of us would be unsure of what to do when the foals were born. How we acted around them depended on how they acted to begin with.

I gave the happy couple a warm smile and stood up, teleporting the chair back to its usual spot. "Well, I'm glad that you two are behind all of this, and I'm glad that you're not too worried. We're going to do everything that we can to make sure that your foals are healthy and well taken care of. I'm taking a personal interest in this case."

"Thank you, Prince Antares," Tulip said, bowing her head. "I will take great care of these foals. I will not disappoint you. I'm going to be the best mother for them that I can be."

"I'm sure you will be." I stretched out my wings and gave the nurse a nod. "Keep me posted on any change. I want these foals coming out happy and healthy, understood? This is going to change Equestria forever."

So no pressure.

A couple of weeks go by with no real changes. Tulip gets bigger, as all pregnant mares do, but the foals were completely healthy, as far as the doctors were aware. I found myself quite glad that I could avoid drama there.

Life couldn't have that, could it? Not with a war brewing on the horizon. Things had been pretty quiet on that front since I had turned male. We hadn't heard a peep from Aepnet or Purgle, despite every newspaper on the planet still running stories on the subject, so we couldn't say for sure what they were up to, and whether they had bought my "I was experimenting with the Elements" story. If they did, then they'd be more likely to be calm about it, but if they didn't, and figured out that the action was in direct result to their aggression... well, Purgle would see that as all he needed.

I had just finished up court for the day when Time Keeper walked up to me while I was heading towards my private dining hall for an early dinner, an open letter in his magical aura. I inwardly groaned, knowing that Time Keeper wouldn't have approached me with it unless it was really important.

I really didn't want "really important" right then. I had asked for calzones for dinner. After my last birthday, my chefs had gotten quite adept at making imitation meat that was just like the real thing, but without any of the, you know, slaughter of a living being. I put on my best neutral face and turned around to greet my secretary.

"Good evening, Time Keeper. You have something important?"

"Most important, Prince Antares," he responded. I noticed with some unease that his face was a little paler than usual. He held out the letter for me. "It is a correspondence from the office of King Purgle of Schunie himself."

I instantly snatched the letter away from him and began reading.

To Antares,
We need to discuss recent political developments, including your recent gender change. I must congratulate you on that, by the way. I understand you were born male. Bet it's nice to have it back. Come to Schunie at your earliest convenience. Bring Celestia if you must.

King Purgle.

I read and re-read the letter, hardly able to wrap my mind around all of the potential implications. He seemed to be... friendlier about it. Congratulating me on becoming male, and all. I could sense a little more respect out of him. Maybe I was just being hopeful, but I got the sense Kathyrine's information might be paying off. I also noted "bring Celestia if you must." Letters like this always got sent to the strongest of us in the past, which is why diplomatic letters get sent to Celestia instead of Luna and I. That Purgle sent this to me instead of her seemed telling. It showed that he thought the balance of power had shifted in Equestria from Celestia to me. Charming. I looked down to Time Keeper, who was looking up at me anxiously, and ordered him to send a letter.

"This is not comforting, Antares."

"I know."

"Most of me expects him to declare war by this meeting's end."

"I get that vibe too. Maybe my gambit paid off."

"Maybe..."

Three days later, Celestia and I stood outside of a small, constructed shack on the border between the minotaur lands and Equestria. Both sides came to agree that neither trusted the other enough anymore to have meetings inside their capitals, so we came up with that. Yeah, I didn't feel particularly inclined to go into Schunie when I heard that Purgle had a few Nightmare Weapons offhand. That would be a huge, potentially crippling, blow for us if he managed to kill Celestia and I before he got the war going. We weren't going to give him that chance. Ever.

Having said that, I suspected that we'd soon find out what a war between the two of us would look like.

We didn't need to wait long before the object of our conversation arrived. He came over one of the nearby hills, lounging on a throne carried by four other minotaurs. General Bludworth was right next to him, his usual grim expression on his face. He didn't want this to be going on anymore than we did, but from what I had learned of their culture, he'd give it his all if it came to war out of loyalty for his leader.

Once the procession reached us, the minotaurs carrying Purgle set the throne down, allowing him to step out. He walked up to the two of us, keeping eye contact with me the entire time, tilting his head in a slight bow when he reached me.

"Good evening, Antares. You've changed since last we spoke."

I can't say the same for you. Unless you're talking about you being a bigger, more pompous jerk. In lieu of saying that to him, I returned his nod. "Indeed. The Elements of Harmony did quite the job on me. I am quite happy with being my original gender again, yes."

"Good. I know I would hate waking up one morning to discover that I had turned into a female."

If you go to war with us, I might actually be able to arrange that.

"So, what I would like to discuss with you is how this will affect our business going forward." Purgle motioned to the shack. "We should speak somewhere with a bit more privacy."

"Indeed we should," Celestia said. "We have everything set up inside."

Purgle grunted in response. Celestia opened the door with her magic, allowing Purgle, Celestia, and I to walk into the shack. Well, shack seems like such a simple word. It would have made a pretty decent living space if we added some running water to it and whatnot. All we added were three large chairs, a table, and a smaller table with some refreshments. The three of us sat down; Celestia and I sitting opposite Purgle.

"So," Purgle said immediately. "I take it you want to discuss avoiding a war with my nation, which is forming at a rate faster than you probably anticipated. Within six months, the nation of Minotauria will be created with me as the king. Our standing army would be the largest on the planet with a quarter of a million soldiers."

My stomach dropped at that number, but I forced myself to remember that a united warrior clan culture where minotaur males were trained to fight pretty much from birth would start out with a significant army; one already armed and armored. Gun designs began working their way into my mind, and I filed them away for later.

"If I recall correctly," Purgle continued, "your standing army, including each of your guards, numbers about fifty thousand, correct?" Celestia tilted her head in a nod, and I saw the faintest hint of a smirk form on Purgle's face. "Not good numbers. Aepnet has one of about ninety thousand, correct? Now, the odds are evened a little with Mesud's army of around eighty thousand, and maybe that five thousand strong token security force from the Crystal Empire which hasn't seen battle in a thousand years..." Purgle shrugged. "The odds do seem to be in my favor, do they not?"

"Possibly," Celestia said evenly, "unless you count the fact that we have the terrain as our advantage, not to mention an air force you cannot match, Aepnet fighting a two-front war with Mesud, and magic. I'd say that tips the scale in our favor a touch more, does it not?"

"If Aepnet gets involved at all," I chimed in. "We both know he doesn't want to. What's in it for him? I mean really in it for him? Nothing good. Again, we all know that, and so does he. You want to count on him coming to help you? If he doesn't you have a big problem on your hands."

"But this is all moot in the end, Purgle, for you and I both know that Equestria does not wish for a war, and I beg of you to see that." Celestia sighed. "This will end in nothing but pointless bloodshed."

Purgle stared at the two of us for a moment before turning his head to me. "Antares, how many of your human super-weapons have you created?"

"None," I stated bluntly. "And construction hasn't begun on any, nor would I like that to happen."

"I see." Purgle leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "So, given that our two nations have been a little aggressive towards the other, I propose that we figure out a way to solve this without violence."

Celestia and I exchanged a glance, and the faintest spark of hope flickered in our eyes. Maybe...

"We are fully willing to resolve any conflict our nations may have without violence," Celestia said. "We strive to be a harmonious race."

Purgle looked to me. "And you agree with her statement?" I nodded. "Good, then this should be beneficial to the both of us. So if our terms are agreeable to you, Antares, we can avoid war."

I nodded again. "I would prefer to avoid war, so what are your terms?"

Purgle held up one finger. "One, you recognize Minotauria as a sovereign nation with me as its king upon its formation."

"We have already stated that such is our intention," Celestia said. "That is simple enough."

"Two," Purgle continued, ignoring Celestia, "we are allowed to keep the Nightmare Weapons we both know that I have. This agreement cannot be revoked at any time."

I narrowed my eyes and put a hoof on the table. "I'd really rather prefer that you not do that," I growled. "They're not just some powerful weapon, Purgle: that's black magic you're messing with."

Purgle gave me a look of fake sympathy. "Yes, I can see how you'd be opposed to this particular demand, given that you've been wounded by a Nightmare Weapon in the past and I'm sure it hurt like all Tartarus, but be reasonable here: it's in our best interest to keep them in case you ever go back on your word and attack us. I will not leave my country defenseless to the likes of you."

"You're playing with fire, Purgle," Celestia said with a hint of a glare. "I would highly advise against it. Our demand for peace is that you hand over all Nightmare Weapons at once."

"Our third demand is that reparations are paid to Minotauria for all past wars and war crimes that the Equestrians committed on my people." Purgle's face hardened into a glare. "Some wars you've led against minotaurs have wiped out whole clans, ponies. It is time you owned up for those acts."

"And do you remember the other side of those wars, Purgle?" Celestia said, her glare hardening. "Do you not recall how whole Equestrian towns were razed during some raids? Do you recall the city that used to be where Appleloosa is now? There used to be more than one patch of fertile land there before your ancestors razed the city, slaughtered all of its inhabitants, and salted the fields."

"Only to let you know that attacks on us will not be tolerated." Purgle sighed and stood up. "I can see that you are not willing to make peace, even when I hand it to you. I offered you a chance to make amends for your past mistakes so that our nations could become allies and all bad blood would be removed between us, and we would not go to war. Now I see that you never wanted such a thing." Purgle turned his gaze to me. "I hope that you will see the light, Antares. Our offer is still on the table, but I warn you that it will not be for very long. Your aggression will not be tolerated, and after today's grievous insult..." He shook his head and began walking out the door. Before he left, he stopped and turned his head back to me. "Oh, and next time if you're going to bring your mare, tell her to keep calm. Flaring tempers is bad for politics."

And then he left, leaving me vaguely wondering why I hadn't obliterated him where he stood. Until I remembered that that's exactly what he wanted me to try, of course. He was looking for any excuse. Any at all. I shook my head and looked over at Celestia, who was merely staring blankly at the door Purgle had just left out of. After a moment she sighed and gently nuzzled me.

"I have to say, Antares, I learned a lot from that one. He is foolish, but not quite as foolish as I originally anticipated. He knows how to politically manipulate better than I have seen in a while."

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's going to go straight back to his country and tell his people, whom no doubt know that a war is brewing between our nations, that he met with us to attempt peace. He was the one who suggested this meeting, after all. Now he gets to tell them that we refused all of his, to them, reasonable terms. He gets to spin it however he likes, and we will be the cold, unfeeling aggressors. A perfect excuse to get the rest of the nation behind him, particularly when he uses rallying cries like the destroyed clans he mentioned. He makes them martyrs, tells that we refused to make amends for wiping them out, while conveniently forgetting everything about our side of things. We come out looking truly evil. He'll have all of the support he could possibly want."

"Hmm." I gave a weak chuckle. "I didn't peg him for that smart."

"He managed to become king. He had to be able to manipulate the masses on some level. I suspect he'll use this to gain some support with the griffins too. Not necessarily Aepnet, but maybe some of the dukes."

"Which would be very bad for sure."

"Indeed." Celestia leaned her head against my shoulder, and I leaned back, putting a wing on her back. "Things are starting to look much worse, Antares."

I couldn't argue with that.