One Week Later (Week 21)-

October was Gleaming’s favorite month. She wasn’t sure what it was—the changing of the seasons, the slowly shortening days, the comfort of school routine after summer break, the promise of holidays right around the corner, it could’ve been all those things and more. But the latter half of October never failed to make her feel giddy when it came around regardless, and this year was no exception.

“Mmm…” Gleaming was munching away on a fruit platter while she and Cadance sat on a raised platform. They were clad in full regalia sitting on thrones of cerulean crystal while the banner of the Crystal Empire waved above them in the wind. It was early afternoon, the sky was perfectly clear (as always) and a crowd of thousands had gathered along the sides of the streets as soldiers worked to keep the roads clear.

Crystal ponies of all ages milled around in large clumps, either mildly curious about what was going on, trying to go about their day, or just trying to get a view of the Princesses. The guards kept a mindful eye out for any troublemakers, but it was otherwise a calm and peaceful scene.

“Are you sure the platform was necessary?” Gleaming asked. “Spike might like it, but I don’t think Twily will.”

Cadance sighed. “If they’re going to be here for over half a year, we have to give them a proper welcome. It comes with the territory.”

Gleaming made a face. “But Twily hates this kind of stuff. So do you!”

“Sure dooooo~” Cadance sang. “But it wouldn’t look good if a princess and a national hero just showed up here for a few months without any warning, would it? Ponies will think they’re trying to hide.”

Gleaming looked out at the crowd. It was difficult to hear any of conversations among the dull roar, but she was catching snippets of either ‘Princess Twilight’ or ‘Sir Spike’ a lot.

Gleaming popped the last bit of fruit into her mouth and set the platter aside. “Did we bring any more food?”

Cadance glanced over at the empty plate. “Wow, you really demolished that thing.”

Gleaming rubbed her rapidly-expanding waistline. Now that her first real growth spurt had started, it seemed like all she’d done the last week was eat, eat, eat. It felt like there was a hole in her stomach, one that absolutely demanded to be filled at least every hour and a half or so, and the result was that she’d been gaining a whole pound a day. They’d asked Doctor Talia just in case the sudden change was normal, but she’d just laughed and given them a list of her favorite recipes.

“They kick harder when they’re hungry,” Gleaming said. “I need to keep ‘em happy so they don’t use my insides as a punching bag… particularly our crystal colt. Boy’s got some legs on him.”

Cadance cocked her head. “You can tell them apart?”

Gleaming shrugged. “For the most part. They all more or less stay in the same spots.” She began pointing to different spots on her stomach. “The alicorns are always up top, the pega-boy’s right smack dab in the middle, the uni-filly’s towards the bottom, and the crystal colt’s near the middle on my right side. He’s almost knocked the wind out of me a few times, the bugger.”

Cadance fidgeted in her seat. Gleaming was only twenty-one weeks pregnant, and she already looked overdue with one foal. It was getting to the point that even a stranger could tell she had more than one in there.

“Fortunately, it’s seeming like everything’s going straight to them,” Gleaming went on. “Twilight’s spells have certainly been a big help, lemme tell you. I’ve been able to eat as much as I need without feeling sick or like I’m about to explode, and—oh, for Luna’s sake, now I have a craving for something both sweet and salty! How does that even work?!”

Cadance grinned. She could comment on the randomness of pregnancy cravings, but instead she signalled to an aide, who nodded and set off for more food.

“Here.” Cadance reached into a bag beside her. She pulled out a pair of apples and floated them both over to Gleaming. “Something to tide you over.”

"Oh!" Gleaming snatched them and chomped away. “Thanksh!”

Cadance fought to keep her wings folded. The discovery of a fifth foal meant that Gleaming was that much more fertile, that much more pregnant. She’d actually spent most of their private time as a stallion the last week or so, but that was actually a good thing, as Talia had informed them that regular exposure to the father’s seminal fluid was good for the mother’s immune system.

“I wonder if we could get away with a glamour so we could sneak in a quickie,” Cadance mused, speaking just loud enough for Gleaming to hear. “D’you think the smell would give us away?”

Gleaming paused, swallowing her mouthful before looking over. “Well, I did say I wanted something salty…”

Cadance feigned surprise. “Hmm? Oh, sorry Gleamy, I was just thinking aloud! I wasn’t actually serious...”

Gleaming met her eyes with a familiar gaze. “What, you weren’t implying you wanna make up for our morning sexytimes getting cut short?”

Cadance wet her dry lips. There was that damn look again, the one that she could never say no to. “W-Well, but we still got, um... two rounds, I think it was? I-I know we’ve been going more, but...”

“My poor Eros, not able to take me like he normally does…” Gleaming’s horn was glowing from holding the apples, so nopony noticed it shine just a teensy bit brighter. “His balls must be so full…”

Cadance squeaked. She realized she was gaining muscle mass, her frame growing several inches taller.

“...and here I am, so very empty…”

The air around them shimmered. A projection of Cadance and Gleaming sitting on their seats appeared as the real ones faded out. The illusions did normal idle things like swish their tails, flick their ears, their eyes blinking steadily with bored looks on their faces.

“G-Gleamy…” Cadance said in a deepening voice. “Are you sure y-you want to—”

Gleaming’s eyes were glued to Cadance—now Eros’—groin. She licked her lips as his’ privates switched, the delicate slit becoming a hefty sack. His testes formed and began producing seed, more productive than ever and swelling up extra large. His smooth, velvety dick sprouted out from his former clit as well, lengthening and thickening like a veritable fifth leg.

Gleaming looked up at Eros with fierce eyes. “Yes.”

Male hormones slammed Eros like a brick wall. The familiar scent of Gleaming’s arousal was noticeable to him now, like wet leaves after a heavy rain. A rumbling growl escaped him as he watched his naughty wife, who merely smirked as she closed with his twitching pride.

“You missed this morning’s infusion, too,” Gleaming whispered. “Those little alicorn fillies won’t grow up big and strong without that, you know. You do want them to be big and strong, don’t you?”

They were in the center of the platform while thousands stood oblivious around them. Eros was at full mast, wings splayed, already twitching as his lovely pregnant mate advanced, heavy with his foals and purring like a kitten. His breathing grew shallow as she gave him a look that made him twitch even harder.

Gleaming pushed Eros onto his haunches. His stallionhood bobbed and bounced off his own barrel, leaving a wet splotch on his lowermost ribs. Gleaming licked it off in a long swipe, then closed her eyes to inhale his dry scent. She took several lungfuls before looking up into his eyes.

Eros made no move to stop her as she put her hooves around his base. He tensed from her hot breath on his tip, shivers racing down his spine as she softly kissed it. He thrust his hips on reflex, but Gleaming laughed and teased him still, a trail of pre on her lips. She then went further down and to nuzzle his precious testes, baseball-sized and churning with his essence. She licked and suckled each of them while Eros nickered and whined, relishing how they bloated further in her mouth...

“Gleamy,” Eros panted. “Gleamy, please...”

Gleaming returned to his towering spire. She admired it for a bit before looking up with a grin like a wolf’s.

“Please, what?”

Eros grit his teeth. “P-Please don’t make me beg...”

Gleaming winked. She planted one final kiss on his twitching tip, then took in the first third with a muffled slurp. She made a tight seal and rolled her tongue back and forth, savoring how his warm length throbbed around her lips.

Eros threw his head back in a wordless cry. He shoved a hoof in his mouth, his body locking up as Gleaming buried her face in his crotch. Almost immediately he put his other hoof on her shoulder, gripping her tighter as she tongued his glans, relentless as she gulped down more of his length.

Gleaming widened her stance and bobbed her head, every fresh pulse that hit the back of her throat like heaven. Eros was so big that she could barely get around him, but that’s exactly how she liked it. She got to his medial ring and paused, letting the softness of her mouth and tongue drive him wild for a time. He was so very warm, almost hot, and she could feel every little delicious errant move he made. Her favorite spot was the pulsing vein on the side, and she licked over and over as it throbbed in time with his racing heart.

Eros was sweating, face contorted in a silent shout, breathing ragged. Gleaming was relentless in her efforts, the wet, lewd sound of her smacking lips the only thing he could hear. She really was trying to milk him, ceaseless in her efforts to suck down his reserves. She just wouldn’t stop licking, wouldn’t stop swallowing, eager and tight and ravenous...

“Ahhhhhh…” Eros’ eyes flickered with white light. The air around them became thick and heavy, and blue waves enveloped them both in a sparkling aura that flowed into Gleaming in quick bursts. Gleaming’s eyes went wide at first, but quickly rolled into the back of her head as the power seeped into her. Each one was pure adrenaline, lancing through her body like raw lightning, and combine all of that with the delight of a long, thick cock in her mouth, the whole experience was almost as good as being rutted...

Almost.

Gleaming was positively dripping. Her tail swished back and forth, front legs bent low, her burgeoning womb only inches away from the ground. A part of her idly wondered what the crystal ponies would say if they saw her like this, but the thought only made her wetter. Eros bucked his hips and pushed Gleaming down hard, thrusting as the tingling in his balls morphed into a pressure. He poured magic into her with reckless abandon, his eyes brilliant white as he gave her and their foals the energy they needed. The pressure kept rising even as as he tried to gasp out that he was about to peak, but all he got out was an odd-sounding grunt.

Gleaming heard, but she only picked up her efforts. The rush in her body swirled faster, faster, spurring her to keep sucking, licking, slurping, bobbing. Eros’ nuts were now the size of softballs now, until at long last...

But he never did catch her off guard. She was prepared for the first hot jet when it filled her maw, and she pushed his length down more and gulped, groaning even as his second spurt went straight down her throat. His next ones were even stronger, his balls twitching again and again, each burst more than what a normal stallion produced in days. Gleaming gripped Eros’ ass and pushed all the way to his base, lips mashed into his coat, squeezing and relishing the way he thrashed and bucked. She held onto him while he filled her, and she could feel it pooling inside, hot and heavy and potent. His massive loads came in torrents for a whole minute before he finally, finally, finally appeased her, and when it was all done, Gleaming could only hum as she got every last bit.

Eros went limp. He let go of Gleaming and rolled to the side, his coat cold and damp with sweat, fireworks going off in his mind. Gleaming let him be to enjoy the high, sighing happily as she rubbed her taut stomach.

“I can taste the pineapple.” She wiped her mouth and cast a quick spell to remove residual evidence. “Definitely keep eating it.”

“Buh,” was Eros’ only response. His limbs were unresponsive as his dick slid back into his sheath.

Gleaming smiled. He’d need a moment to reboot after that, but nothing was really going on right now…

...save for the aide coming back with food.

“Shit.” Gleaming made her way back to her seat and sat inside her illusion. She made it mimic the pose she was currently in, then dispelled it while keeping Eros/Cadance’s intact. She’d change him back in a little bit.

“Here you are, Highness!” The aide wheeled the cart up to Gleaming. “Lots of goodies for you and the kiddies. Think this’ll keep ‘em satisfied?”

Gleaming examined the spread. Cheeses, oats, granola, a loaf of bread, several ingredients for sandwiches, crackers with peanut butter, and some kind of lettuce salad with alfalfa and purple cabbage.

Gleaming adjusted her now-snugger maternity brace and grabbed a fork. “At least until lunchtime.”

“Announcing!” the herald boomed. “Her Royal Majesty Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship!”

The crowd applauded as Twilight stepped from the train. She was wearing a set of golden horseshoes and peytral emblazoned with her cutie mark, along with a pointed crown with magenta tips. She waved haphazardly while trying to walk down the carpet.

Cadance chuckled. “Not quite experienced with the shoes yet, I see.”

Gleaming examined her own with a grimace. “To be fair, they’re not exactly easy to get used to.”

Cadance tapped a hoof to her chin. “Maybe she’s going through a growth spurt of her own, and it’s messing with her balance. Did you notice that she could almost look me in the eye the last time she was here?”

Gleaming snorted. “You’re both humongous to me. Still can’t believe how much smaller I am like this...”

Cadance laughed. “You’re actually pretty tall for a mare, hun. You just happened to be a giant before, and we alicorns have stilts for legs.”

“Announcing!” the herald yelled next. “Sir Spike the Dragon, Hero of the Crystal Empire!”

The crowd went nuts. A small purple dragon with green spines hopped out of the train car, jumping up and down and waving at everyone he saw. He gave high fives to the nearest ponies before scampering after Twilight.

Gleaming laughed. “Same old Spike.”

“When was the last time he was even up here?” Cadance asked.

Gleaming frowned. “Erm… the Equestria Games? Yeah, the Games.”

Cadance shook her head. “That long? Sheesh, we need to get out more.”

The herald stomped his hooves along with everypony else as Spike and Twilight walked down the carpet, but then did a double-take at his sheet. He straightened up quickly and cleared his throat.

“Annnnnnnd announcing! Ser Rainbow Dash, Paladin of the Knights of Harmony!”

A cyan pegasus clad in mystical armor stepped out from the train. The color of the metal was periwinkle blue, shining in the sunlight like a reflection of the sky. The crest on her chest was a ruby-red lightning bolt within a hexagonal crystal, and long trails of enchanted runes spread out from it like branches on a tree. Her sabatons were inlaid with ivy-like designs that crept up her legs like vines, and her chamfron was an elegant thing that curled around her eyes to cover the top of her muzzle. The same ivy designs were all around the helm as well, and the very top was a three-pronged set of spikes reminiscent of Twilight’s crown. The magic of the armor was almost palpable, and even from the platform, Gleaming could sense the telltale efficiency of Twilight’s spellwork.

Cadance and Gleaming exchanged a look.

“Paladin?” Cadance mouthed.

Gleaming just shrugged. She recognized the name as one of Twily’s friends, but why she was here…

Rainbow Dash drank in their crowd’s dumbstruck faces like the sweetest nectar. She spread her wings wide, saluted, then leapt off the ground and flew down the carpet in a blur.

“Erm, well…” Cadance put a hoof behind her head. “That’s certainly something.”

Gleaming watched Rainbow’s every expression and action, from her posture to her expression to her flight formation. She wasn’t proper military, but there were signs of something there…

Gleaming and Cadance rose as Twilight ascended the platform stairs. The crowd applauded as three of them embraced.

“Brought a friend?” Gleaming whispered.

“Had to,” Twilight whispered back. “I’ll explain later.”

“The herald called her a knight,” Cadance said from Twilight’s other side. “Is she really?”

“Induction ceremony and everything,” Twilight said. “She’s also in the Wonderbolts Reserve, if that matters at all.”

They stepped back as Spike and Rainbow arrived. The two smiled brightly at Cadance, but when they saw Gleaming, they had somewhat different reactions.

“...Welp,” said Spike.

“What the hay, Twilight?” Rainbow elbowed her. “First you never mention your brother, but now you have a sister?! How many siblings do you have?!”

Twilight gave her a wry look. Rainbow just laughed though, and before long Twilight was joining in.

“My fellow princesses,” Twilight began. “I believe you know Ser Rainbow Dash. She's here as representative of the recently-formed Knights of Harmony.”

Rainbow waved. “Hiya.”

Cadance nodded. “Congratulations on your promotion, Ser Rainbow.”

Gleaming looked Rainbow up and down, noting how new her armor looked. “I hope you know how to clean and polish that equipment.”

Rainbow smirked. “If there’s one thing I know how to do, Princess, it’s how to look awesome.”

Gleaming couldn’t help but snicker. “Glad to hear it.”

Twilight nudged Spike forward, whispering something.

Spike stumbled forward on unsteady legs. His eyes were glued to Gleaming, staring at her like his brain was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

“Hey, little bro,” Gleaming said. “How’ve ya been?”

The voice registered in Spike’s eyes. He frowned and scratched his head, looking Gleaming up and down.

“...You look weird.”

Cadance stifled a snort.

“Spike!” Twilight snapped.

“He does!” Spike said, pointing at Gleaming. “Er… she does! Whatever! I mean I know you warned me, but just… Gah! It’s different, you know?!”

Now Rainbow was giggling.

Twilight blushed furiously. “I-I’m sorry, Shiny—Gleamy! He’s just confused! I’ve tried to talk to him, but—”

“Oh, I look weird?” Gleaming bent down to Spike’s level and booped him square on the nose. “Well, at least I don’t smell like a nasty ol’ butt.”

Spike squawked and covered his nose. “I do not!”

“Pew-wee!” Gleaming waved a hoof in front of her face. “A big, smelly poopy butt! Man, I’ll bet the whole Empire can smell you.”

The others just stared. There was a moment where you could’ve heard a pin drop...

Until a goofy smile crept up on Spike face. “Yeah, well… you have a pretty-pretty girl face!”

“And you have fart breath,” Gleaming shot back.

“Your voice is squeaky!”

“Your spines are squishy!”

“You look like Gramma Starlight!”

“You look like a dumpster with teeth!”

“Mare!”

“Whelp!”

“Fatty!”

“Brat!”

Spike laughed and glomped Gleaming tight. “Shine-Shine! It really is you!”

Gleaming gave him a noogie. “Of course it is, dummy.” She used magic to lift him onto her back. “Who else would it be?”

Spike giggled and gripped her mane, marveling at how soft and full it felt. “Aww, I missed you. Twilight never wants to play the insult game with me.”

Gleaming winked at Twilight. “That’s because she’s bad at it.”

Twilight ran a hoof down her face. “I will never understand boys…”

Cadance cleared her throat. “Erm, right…” She cast a quick spell, now speaking in a loud, amplified voice. “Princess Twilight Sparkle! Sir Spike! Ser Rainbow Dash!! The Crystal Empire has not forgotten your assistance in times past. We welcome you back with open hooves, and may your stay with us be a joyful one.”

Whoops and hollers were heard all around, the ground shaking from multitudes of stomping hooves.

Twilight, Spike and Rainbow waved to the crowd. They were a bit clunky about it (okay, Dash wasn’t) but the smiles on their faces were genuine.

Rainbow spoke to Twilight out the corner of her mouth. “Would be nice if we got this kind of welcome everywhere, eh?”

Twilight spoke out the corner of her mouth. “Right?”

“I still can’t believe you’re having five.” Twilight stared at the ultrasound pictures. “And two of them being alicorns? And here we were thinking you’d be lucky if you just got one regular foal!”

They were all back in Gleaming and Cadance’s apartment after the welcome ceremony. They’d all had a chance to shed their fancy attire and get settled, and now Twilight and Cadance were on one couch going over the ultrasound pictures. Rainbow was looking over their shoulders from the air, and Gleaming was laying on the other couch munching on chocolate-covered pretzels while Spike poked at her belly.

“You can say that again!” Cadance said. “I about fell out of my chair when we found them!”

“It’s still hard to believe,” Gleaming said. She popped another pretzel into her mouth. “It’s been a whirlwind trying to prepare, but our new doctor’s been a huge help—ah! Spike, be gentle around my navel! It’s sensitive.”

“I felt one of them kick there!” he said.

Gleaming grunted. “They do that.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up at the mention of Doctor Talia. “Oooh, can you please, pleeeeeaaase introduce me? Her discovery for the occurrence of monozygotic and dizygotic twins alone was revolutionary!”

“Egghead,” Rainbow whispered in a sing-song voice.

Twilight stuck out her tongue at her. “Princess Egghead to you.”

Rainbow saluted in mid-air. “Of course, Your Nerdiness.”

“Erm, I’m sure you’ll get a chance to meet her at some point or another,” Cadance said, looking between them. “She’ll probably want to talk to you about the spells you’ve cast, so you two can discuss all the magic-babble.”

“You’ll really like her, Twily,” Gleaming added. “She’s a lot like you.”

Twilight squee’d and clapped her hooves. “Oh, I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait!”

“So… can we ask now?” Cadance gestured to Twilight and Rainbow. “This is the first we’ve heard about a knighting.”

Spike bit back a laugh. “Oh, you guys’ll love this.”

Rainbow and Twilight glared at him, but didn’t refute his statement.

“...It’s complicated,” Twilight said at last.

Gleaming laughed. “Things are never simple with you, are they?”

Twilight smiled weakly. “If only.”

“I got it.” Rainbow landed beside the couch and gestured to Twilight. “There’s a law-thingy that says a princess can’t go to another place for a long time without somepony going with her, and that pony needs to be either military or some kind of advisor. Twilight didn’t wanna have some random stranger tailing her for half a year, so she knighted me and the girls, then we drew straws to see who’d keep her company.”

Gleaming and Cadance thought about that for a few moments.

“I... think I recall Auntie Tia mentioning something along those lines at one point or another...” Cadance shuffled back and forth. “It’s been awhile since I’ve looked up the laws, but it certainly sounds familiar.”

Gleaming put a hoof behind her head. “I’m pretty sure they talked about that a bit in officer training? Something about having a witness for posterity or along those lines. Don’t quite remember the details, though.”

“It makes sense when you think about it,” said Rainbow. “We all have that Rainbow Power thing together, and we basically do everything together anyway.”

Meanwhile, Twilight was staring at Rainbow.

Rainbow noticed her gaze. “What? Did I get it wrong?”

“No, actually!” Twilight said. “I couldn’t have explained it better myself!”

Rainbow elbowed her. “I pay attention sometimes, you know.”

“But do you have to do anything special?” Cadance asked Rainbow. “Or do you just have to be around?”

Rainbow shrugged. “If Twilight wants me, I’ll be there. If she wants me to buzz off, I’ll go take a nap on a cloud or something. We’ve got ways to contact each other.”

“I hope you don’t mind her being here,” said Twilight quickly. “I know I should’ve contacted one of you beforehoof, but everything just happened so fast and—”

“It’s fine, Twily.” Gleaming ate some more pretzels and leaned further into the couch. “Even if you didn’t have to have somepony with you because of royal red tape, I’d imagine you’d still want somepony to hang out with. You can only be around family for so long.”

“Not true!” Spike said. “Twilight never gets tired of me!”

Gleaming used magic to flick the top of his spines. “You can be a real booger sometimes, Bud.”

Spike blew a raspberry at her. “Nuh-uh.”

“It’s not a problem, Twilight,” Cadance said. “Really! The more, the merrier.”

But Twilight didn’t seem reassured. “Funny you should say that…”

Cadance and Gleaming blinked. “Eh?”

Twilight looked away and rubbed her forearms. “This isn’t really how I wanted to broach it, but… Mom and Dad got a hold of me before we came up here. They have a proposition to run past you two.”

Gleaming didn’t reply right away. Their parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet, were both more or less content to live their own lives. They weren’t on bad terms with anypony in the family, but it was unlike them to abruptly contact anyone.

“What kind of proposition?” Gleaming asked.

Twilight chose her words carefully before speaking. “You know how normally we go to their house for the holidays and everything? They wanna, erm… come here, instead. They think it’ll be easier since we’re all up here, plus it’d also mean you won’t have to travel.”

Gleaming sucked on her teeth. She was getting around pretty well right now, but that wasn’t going to the case much longer. Although if her parents were coming to the Crystal Empire, then that meant figuring out all the logistics of hosting...

Gleaming looked to Cadance. “What do you think?”

Cadance wiggled her wings a bit. “We certainly have the space and resources to accommodate them.”

Gleaming noted her wife’s guarded tone, but that was understandable. She turned back to Twilight, who still was looking very pensive. “I’m getting the sense that there’s more.”

Twilight grunted. “They dumped this on me just as we were all heading out the door.”

Gleaming sighed. “Sounds like them.”

Twilight’s gaze fell to the side. “It’s probably more Mom’s idea than Dad’s, and I’m still getting over what it’s going to mean, but they’re both in agreement on it, and with them getting older they’re probably just trying to think about the future, and it affects you more than me but even still—”

“Spit it out!” Rainbow drawled. “Jeez, Twi, only up here half an hour and you’re already working yourself up into a frenzy.”

Twilight looked like she was trying to swallow a lemon. She played with a lock of her mane and looked at the ceiling until finally, she met Gleaming’s eyes.

“Mom and Dad don’t want to just come up here for the holidays. They want to move up here... permanently.”

Silence.

…

…

…

…

…

It was an odd thing, taking in what those words truly meant. Emotions ran through Gleaming rapid fire, but fortunately, none of them stuck. It felt like she’d been flashed with a bright light, and it took a few moments for the spots to clear, idly munching on pretzels and floating a few down to Spike.

“They say why?” she finally asked.

Twilight made a grumbling noise. “Probably because they don’t wanna be sitting around in Canterlot while you and Cadance are starting a family. I’m in Ponyville and travelling around, so it’s not like they see me much.”

Cadance furrowed her brow. “That’s not actually what they said, is it?”

“Not exactly,” Spike said. “They said was there wasn’t much keeping them in Canterlot, so they wanted a change.”

Twilight gave him a flat look. “The subtext on that is clear as day.”

Spike just laughed. “Well, yeah! Even Rainbow picked up on it, and she doesn’t even know them!”

Rainbow shuffled back and forth. “Twilight, I already told you—”

“—to stop taking it so personally, I know.” Twilight made a noise between a whine and a grunt. “But I hate it when they do this! Why can’t they just say what it is they really want?! I shouldn’t have to read between the lines trying to find out what they mean all the time!”

Rainbow gained a far-off look in her eyes. “Pride.”

Twilight turned to her.

Rainbow rolled her shoulders with a long sigh. “Your folks may beat around the bush, but I could tell right away they have a stubborn streak in them. It makes you do weird things sometimes.”

Cadance nodded. “Velvet and Night are good ponies, but they’ve got pretty big egos. For Pete’s sake, Twilight, why do you think they hired me to be your babysitter?”

But Twilight just kept glaring at the far wall. “They never give us a straight answer about anything, they’re always guilt tripping us, and everything always, always has to be about them. I’m sick and tired of it!”

Gleaming didn’t comment. She agreed that was get aggravating when you always had to read between the lines with somepony, but the rest of those things only applied to one of their parents.

“We’ll talk to them when they come up,” Gleaming said at last. “If they’re really serious about moving, then making arrangements shouldn’t be difficult.”

Twilight grumbled something Gleaming only barely caught. “Just can’t win...”

“Let’s change the subject, shall we?” Cadance put a wing around Twilight. “I’m sure you’re eager to brainstorm some alterations for the alicorns, not to mention plans for the fifth foal!”

Twilight smiled. A good bit of tension left her posture, and when she spoke again, her voice didn’t have that edge. “Have you started the alicorn magic infusions?”

Cadance nodded. “Twice a day. They seem to be going well—er, at least on my end.”

“Me, too. They—hold on.” Gleaming hesitated, as Spike was trying to crawl onto the couch. She scooched back to let him sit between her forelegs. “They feel better than I thought they would.”

Twilight chuckled. “It is nice, isn’t it? That tingly rush like a bunch of tiny bottle rockets racing through you.”

Gleaming cocked her head. “How’d you know?”

“Celestia, Luna and I gave her the mother of all alicorn magic infusions when Tirek was on his rampage,” said Cadance. “I imagine the high you get is nothing compared to what she had.”

Twilight shivered. “You have no idea.”

Rainbow laughed. “Down, girl.”

Gleaming sucked on her teeth. “Right… forgot about that.”

“I’d like to be there next time you do one,” Twilight went on. “Have you noticed anything odd so far? Magic surges, negative reactions, changes in how you usually feel?”

Gleaming idly scratched Spike’s neck while she thought. “I’ve definitely had more energy, that’s for sure. I was starting to get winded just by walking, and my usual exercises were getting harder and harder to do. But since then, things have been a breeze!”

Twilight produced a quill and some parchment. “So you’ve had more stamina? Or do you mean something else?”

“Stamina and everything else,” Gleaming said. “I sleep better, get around easier, feel stronger overall, and my magic comes on a whim. I was starting to feel more and more sluggish, but now I can stay alert, no problem! Mood hasn’t been fluctuating as much, either… it’s annoying that I’m a living vacuum right now, but I otherwise feel like a million bucks!”

Twilight’s face was hidden behind the floating parchment, her quill flying back and forth with a furious skritch-skritch-skritch. “How about you, Cadance?”

Cadance looked over at Gleaming. “I’ve felt fine, but pretty much everything Gleamy just said I’ve noticed, as well. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know she was pregnant if not for the baby bump.”

“And what a bump it is,” Spike teased.

Gleaming bent down and made a loud snort in his ear. He giggled as she hugged and tickled him.

Twilight sucked on her teeth. “What kinds of things has Doctor Natal said she’d like to measure as time goes on?”

Gleaming thought for a moment. “Just normal stuff. Height, weight, blood pressure, stuff like that. For the foals, though, she wants a whole bunch of other things. You’ll have to check with her on that.”

Twilight wrote that down. “I’ll work something out so we’re not measuring you twice, but I’d like to start getting weekly readings on a few other things. I wanna make sure we’re not missing anything.”

Rainbow moved behind the couch to look over her shoulder. “What’cha thinkin’, Twi?”

Twilight stared at what she’d written, adding notes here and there. “I... don’t know yet. Everything is just conjecture for the moment.”

“Humor us,” said Cadance.

Twilight tilted her head from side to side. “Well… the alicorn magic infusion I received was temporary, so I can’t be sure on what any long-standing effects are. But in the short term, I experienced an exponential increase in magical and physical ability, as well as boosts in endurance and… well, ‘toughness,’ for lack of a better word. I could fly faster than Rainbow, teleport to anywhere in Equestria, I got punched through a mountain with no harm done, I raised the Sun, and most importantly of all, I fought Tirek to a standstill. But whether I’d have been able to do those things indefinitely had I kept the magic? I don’t know for sure.”

Gleaming was quiet. It was hard to get a read on anything right now, and Twilight was right that they were flying by the seat of their pants. Things were going well so far, but for how long...

“What was that about getting punched through a mountain?” Cadance said.

Twilight waved her off. “I’m fine. Wasn’t even really a punch, anyways.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow said. “Was more like a charging headbutt.”

“Not helping,” Twilight whispered.

“We’ll let you know when we do another alicorn infusion,” Gleaming said to Twilight. “We’ve only done one today, and Talia wants us to do them twice daily. Heck, you can do them yourself here and there if you want.”

Twilight brightened. “We can see if there’s any difference in response between my magic and Cadance’s! How about we do it after dinner?”

Gleaming checked the clock. “Sure, but that’s not for a few hours. What do you want to do ‘til then?”

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other, something silent going between them. Rainbow yawned and gestured to the door.

“I think I could use a nap,” said Twilight. “It’s been a long day of travelling, and I didn’t sleep at all on the train.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “Some Z’s before food sounds nice.”

Twilight gave Spike a pointed look. “I know you slept most of the way here, so I imagine you’re not tired right now.”

Spike folded his arms and sighed. “I’ll stay up here with Cady and Gleam-Gleam.”

Gleaming snickered. “Gleam-Gleam, eh? That your new nickname for me?”

“Yep.” Spike wrapped his tail around her foreleg. “Like it?”

Gleaming’s heart melted. She nuzzled him while she enjoying the warmth of his scaly body. It was like holding a tiny little heater. “I think I like you as a cuddlebug.”

“I think I like you so soft and fluffy,” he replied.

Twilight smiled at them. “You don’t need to worry about his magic bond. My range still isn’t as large as Celestia’s, but—”

“Twily,” Gleaming said. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “Right! Right, sorry. Jeez, it really has been a while…”

Gleaming chuckled. “And here I thought you had a photographic memory.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Cadance patted her shoulder. “It’ll be nice having you here.”

“What’s this about a bond?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight turned to her. “Did I never tell you?”

Rainbow shook her head.

“Oh! Well, in that case…” Twilight straightened and cleared her throat. “Different species of young dragons need special things to stay healthy. Spike needs to be directly linked to a strong source of living magic at all times to develop properly, and he can’t go more than a few days being away from a bond. Fortunately, the range is directly proportional to the strength of the magic in question, and he can be linked to multiple sources at once.”

“I can’t even remember the last time I was this close to so many bonds.” Spike snuggled deeper into Gleaming’s chest. “Mmm, I feel all warm and fuzzy.”

Something seemed to click for Rainbow. “That’s how he’s able to send and receive messages from Celestia, isn’t it?”

Twilight smiled. “Yes. Although it doesn’t have to be a unicorn or alicorn to work. Any strong, non-corrupt source of organic magic will do.”

Rainbow thought on that. “Is it a big deal to do? Like, draining or whatever?”

“Not if you’re strong enough,” said Twilight. “The ambient energy a living creature gives off is proportional to how much your body creates, and before you ask, yes, you do qualify.”

“Though it is a pretty big sign of trust,” Gleaming said. “Usually only family or mates do it.”

Cadance nodded. “Even I wasn’t a bond until after Gleamy and I got married.”

Rainbow appeared very thoughtful at this. Gleaming was surprised, but then remembered that she already had a magical link of sorts with Twily. She probably didn’t think much of such things.

“Welp! I’mma crash.” Rainbow stretched and made for the door. “Good to see ya Cadance, and you too, Gleaming! Try not to fill up on junk food before supper, heh...”

In reply, Gleaming dumped the rest of the pretzels into her mouth and tossed the bowl away, floating over a glass of apple juice to wash it down. “Challenge accshepted.”

Twilight followed after Rainbow, her pace a little slower. She waited until Rainbow left, then dragged a hoof to and fro.

Gleaming noticed. “What’s up?”

Twilight looked up, her mane askew. “...I feel like Cadance is right, y’know? The reason I’m here may be unorthodox, but it’s going to be nice spending time with you guys again. I know I don’t say it enough, but I really have missed both of you, a-and…”

Twilight looked away, her voice falling to a whisper.

“...there’ve been a lot of times where I wished one of you could’ve been there to help me.”

In that moment, Twilight looked less of like a multi-time savior of Equestria, and more like a quiet, book-loving filly that got forced into a destiny she could barely wrap her head around. She was strong, smart, wise, a beautiful young mare in the prime of her life, but yet there was a tiredness to her posture, a lingering shadow to her guise.

“You do know we’re here for you, right?” Cadance said to Twilight. “All you need to do is ask.”

Twilight’s wings twitched at her sides. “It’s just… hard at times. Almost feels like I’ve failed in some way… guess what Rainbow said about pride applies to me, too.”

“Pretty sure it’s a family trait,” Gleaming said dryly. “I know I can certainly be pig-headed at times. Right, Cady?”

A smile tugged at Cadance’s lips. “No comment.”

Twilight chuckled despite herself. “I’ll see you all at dinner.”

And with that, she left.

There was an awkward silence in her wake. Gleaming wanted to still be optimistic about things, but with a greeting and news like that…

“Oh, little sister mine,” Gleaming muttered. "You really haven’t changed."

Spike squeezed Gleaming tighter. “Can you please, please get her to stop going a million miles an hour? I’ve tried talking to her, but she doesn’t listen! She’s become even more of a nervous wreck than usual!”

Gleaming looked down at him. “What started it?”

Spike hesitated. “Uhhhhhhhhh...”

Gleaming rested her chin atop of his head. “Spiiiiiiike…”

“I can’t tell you!” Spike blurted out. “I was half-afraid she was gonna put a geas on me as it is!”

“We can’t help if we don’t know what’s wrong,” Gleaming pointed out. “Right, Cady?”

Cadance didn’t reply. She was squinting at the door with an odd look in her eyes.

Gleaming looked over. “Erm… Cady?”

Cadance smirked. “I think I know what it is.”

Spike groaned. “I told her it wouldn’t work…”

Cadance turned to Spike. “Tell you what, sweetie. I’m gonna go for a little walk, and if I just happen to notice anything on my way, that’s no fault of yours.”

Spike bit his lip as Cadance made for the door. “At least tell me you noticed it before I said something!”

Cadance snickered. “Oh, I did. Twilight’s clever, but she’s never been very subtle. I’ll give her props on hiding it, though. Almost had me fooled.”

Gleamng frowned. “What’re you thinking it is?”

“Hold that thought,” Cadance replied. “Be back in a bit.”

Spike buried his face in his claws. “Not even a minute after Twilight gone and I spill the beans. I’m so freaking dead...”

Gleaming floated down her apple juice to him. “You could always live up here with Cady and me. You can help us babysit the foals!”

Spike took the glass and grunted. “Long as I don’t have to change diapers.”

The nature of love is a complicated thing. It can be an intense feeling of deep affection, an object or individual that one feels attachment to, a fixation that clouds the mind, a kinship, a friendship, or even the very essence of what makes someone who they are. Countless books have been written on it, millions of studies have been made, and scholars for ages have devoted their lives to it. Wars had been fought over love. Ponies did amazing things because of it. It was quite possibly one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and yet what frustrated so many was that they understood so little about it.

Even Cadance, the crowned Princess of Love, found it difficult to explain. To her, love was a tangible thing, ever-present amidst all creatures in some way or another. It presented itself in many forms: A link, a tether, an aura-like mist, a tiny little tie, a bond denser than diamond, even a very fusion of two souls. The world was swimming in love at all times, swirling, flowing, dancing like a stream, and its power was something that was not so much controlled, but rather guided.

If she wished it, Cadance could see any and all ties a being had with others. She called this ability Soul Sight, and while it wasn’t something she used often (the barrage of colors gave her a headache) she always felt little nigglings as to how ponies felt about one another, like a compass needle pointing at its target of affection. She could tell the intensity of said attraction by how hard it tugged on her, and stronger the pull, the more love was travelling back and forth.

Cadance hadn’t felt a thing between Twilight and Rainbow. Not a tug, not a twinge, not a tickle or a twitch. Not even the platonic love of friendship had been there, and that should’ve been there in spades. It was an oddity that’d immediately drawn Cadance’s attention, but mental shielding wasn’t uncommon in spellcasters.

“But that doesn’t mean you’re not hiding something,” Cadance murmured.

It was nearing the end of the workday. The castle workers were just getting ready go home, and the evening shift was starting to filter in. Nopony took much notice of Cadance moving down the halls towards a particular hidden laboratory, although they did take note how unusually focused she was… like a bloodhound tracking a scent.

Cadance stopped in the hall of the Secret Lab. She’d been trying to see if she could get any lingering nudgings from her Soul Sight, but she hadn’t felt a thing. Should she barge right in and demand answers? Should she be up front and just ask about it? Or should she be subtle and coax it out of them? There were many different options to go about this, but which one would actually yield a result?

“Doubt they're going to be honest with me if I just straight up ask,” Cadance muttered. “Don’t wanna make them even more paranoid if I’m wrong, either. And they’re both going to be careful with drinking if they really are hiding something… blegh. Well, if they’re sneaking around, then fair’s fair...”

But not just any old spell would fool a magical genius like Twilight. It’d have to be something Twilight didn’t know much about… even if she’d recently discovered she had the ability herself.

“Should’ve taken some aspirin.” Cadance concentrated hard, and the world shifted from a palace hallway to a three-dimensional plane with no floor, ceiling, or walls. It stretched off into the distance with no visible horizon, and the constantly shifting magic of love became visible to her in full.

It was like a multicolored jungle. Tethers of love ran every which way like chaotic vines and tree branches that linked ponies’ souls together without any heed for distance or perspective. The tethers varied in colors, thickness, and density, and the souls they connected shone brightly like blazing stars that illuminated the dark silhouettes of their bodies.

The first thing that always struck Cadance was how jumbled everything was. Tethers ran every which way in giant tangled strands, and while she could see how they were connected, it always looked so inefficient . Finding ponies in this mess was always hard unless they were relatively closeby, and she had to stay still lest she smack into something she couldn’t currently see.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to move to locate the ponies she was searching for. Just a short ways away (and in a rather… compromising position) were Twilight and Rainbow, bound together by VERY strong ties of love. They were encased in some kind of aura that made their profiles blurry, but even with whatever spell it was, their positions didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“A-ha,” Cadance whispered. “Twilight, you sneaky little filly. But why are you hiding it, hmm? Are you not sure what you want?”

It looked like the ties had only recently evolved from a pre-existing bond of close friendship. But they had all the makings of a serious relationship, and if that weren’t enough, there was also another kind of magic linking them together, one that had a prismatic glint. It was almost like it was strengthening their connection even further...

“Interesting,” said Cadance. “I wonder if they’re even aware…”

She watched them go at it for a moment, but when it became clear that they weren’t stopping, she deactivated her Soul Sight and let the world return to normal. As she did, a telltale pressure behind her eyes made itself known, one that she was all too familiar with.

Cadance turned and headed back the way she came. She had a wife to inform and a little brother-in-law to spoil, and the sooner she could do both, the better. She wasn’t sure if Gleaming would confront Twilight about this, but if Cadance had her way, she’d just let things develop on their own.

After all, a bond this strong couldn’t be hidden for long...