Two Weeks Later (Week 27)-

It was around six a.m. when Gleaming’s eyes fluttered open. She sighed. It seemed that even on holidays, her body was hard-wired to wake up at a certain time. She supposed she could try to fall asleep again, but almost always that lead to her feeling sluggish for a few hours—

An uncomfortable pressure made itself known.

Never mind.

“Mmmm…” Gleamng’s movement made Cadance turn over before going still. A gust of air escaped the covers as Gleaming crept out of bed, heavy with the scent of last night’s activities. Cadance was an early riser as well, but Gleaming guessed she was gonna be out a bit longer after the romp they’d had last night.

Gleaming made her way to the master bathroom, her steps soundless on the cushy carpet. She swayed a bit thanks to her misplaced center of gravity, fighting the inertia of the hefty round mass between her legs. It didn’t help that her hips had continued to widen, but a few of the books she’d read mentioned that the trick was “to move with a slow, heavy grace, almost as if you’re underwater”.

The master bathroom was one of the few things in the apartment that could be called luxurious. It was a space as large as the living room with polished crystal floors, intricate light fixtures of gold, and cream-colored walls with patterns like waves. There was a bathtub, a sauna, and a jacuzzi, the first being your standard size, the second medium-sized and made of sweet-smelling wood, and the third an immense heart-shaped recess carved into the floor. There was also a giant walk-in shower with multiple sprayers, two opaque sinks marked with Gleaming and Cadance’s cutie marks, multiple medicine cabinets and drawers, and various towel racks with fuzzy towels of all sizes. Finally, in the far corner there was an unusual inclusion—a full-sized refrigerator, shiny and new, its lulling hum loud in the silence.

Oh, and there was a toilet beside the bathtub, which Gleaming made a beeline for.

After relieving herself, Gleaming flicked on the lights. The spots in her vision faded to let her see the pony in the mirror.

A tall pregnant mare stared back. Her coat was matted where she’d drooled in her sleep, her eyes were red from the sudden light, and her mane and tail were a tangled and crusty mess. And of course her blooming belly remained ever-present, bigger and more prevalent than ever.

“Morning, kiddos.” Gleaming admired herself from straight-on and her profile. “Hehe, you’re all still sleeping, aren’t you?”

Her barrel resembled the lower half of a pear, weighty and full and vibrant. She was certainly getting wide… wide and round, and while she’d never been much of a vain pony, there was something to be said about liking how one looked.

Gleaming reached in a drawer and pulled out a cloth measuring tape along with a notebook and quill. She felt around for her pubic bone before unrolling the tape, then stretched it along her underside.

“Four and a half centimeters…” Gleaming marked the measurement on a page labeled ‘Weekly Fundal Height’. “S’about right...”

She next stood up straight so she could hold the tape to her withers. There were a couple ways to measure a pony’s height, but most typically went with the earth pony way.

“Another quarter-inch?” Gleaming double, then triple-checked the measurement, but each time it was the same. “Same as last week! Jeez, I’m gonna catch up to Twily at this rate.”

She flipped the page and jotted down her findings, this one marked as ‘Weekly Standing Height’. She had a few other things marked here—her height as a stallion, her starting height upon changing genders, the heights of everypony in the family, the amount Talia had forecasted at the party in big capital letters…

“Hmm.” Gleaming stared at the ‘TWO TO FOUR’ before examining her reflection. She didn’t think she looked any taller, but there had been a lot comments lately on how ponies needed to look UP at her...

Gleaming eyes unfocused. In her mind’s eye, a ghostly pair of appendages spread wide, their span broad and angelic—

A second pressure in her crotch flared.

“Ugh.” Gleaming squinted and looked around the bathroom. “Where’s that thing…”

It took her a minute to remember that Twilight had taught her the spell for making a pocket dimension. Muttering, Gleaming floated out a device comprised of tubes, nozzles, suction cups, and a segmented large container with measuring lines. The logo ‘EZ-Milk XL’ glinted in the light as Gleaming set it down.

When Gleaming had brought up the milk discussion with Talia, the simple response had been, “More’s better than less.” It essentially meant a couple things, the most obvious being the need for the recently-purchased bras, but there were also some extra accessories to get, some schedule alterations to make, and most of all, Gleaming needing to up her caloric intake again for the energy to produce milk.

Gleaming took the suction cups and used the mirror to align them with the newest change in her anatomy. Her breasts, once just starting to fill out, were now firm and orb-like, taut and ample as they hung between her hind legs. Her engorged nipples were a deep pink, a stark contrast to her white coat, and she could see they were already on the verge of dripping, a tiny, tiiiiny droplet visible on their left side.

Gleaming brought the suction cups closer, feeling a tingling sensation as they floated near...

SHHHPP! The suction cups leapt forward.

“GAH!” She bit back a string of curses. She managed to keep silent as the device flared to life, the jolt of energy tickling as the—fucking frigid suction cups goddammit why were they always so blasted COLD—cleaned each of her breasts. There was a sudden, firm tugging...

“Mmrrhhh…” Gleaming’s muscles went slack. Her eyelids sank as each one of her teats sputtered before expressing two different-colored fluids. Her left was enchanted to produce thick, yellowish colostrum, but her right contained thick, creamy milk. Her drowsy mind sank back into a dull haze as the cups gradually warmed, her head dipping to rest on the cool bathroom counter...

Ding!

“Ugh...” Gleaming lifted her head. Damn it, she’d zoned out again. She looked over at the… ‘pumping unit,’ she thought it was called? She detached the tubes and lifted it up to see the precise amounts.

“Two hundred fifty milliliters each? Not bad.” Gleaming returned to her notebook and flipped to the back, where a chart labeled ‘Daily Colo/Milk Production’ had been started. She noticed that she’d been producing more as her breasts got bigger, but that was a good thing. She wasn’t sure what the upper limit was going to be, though.

Gleaming wrote down the date and amount she’d ‘expressed’ (she was still getting used to calling it that) then floated the container over to the refrigerator and pulled out several sturdy-looking jars. The precious fluid was transferred with a bit of magic, with a little more shutting the jars nice and tight with a special spell.

“Moooooo.” Gleaming chuckled and she etched the time and date on the lids. She pressed the ‘Self-Clean’ button on the milking machine before putting it back in hammerspace, knowing she’d be needing it again about three hours.

Now it was time to weigh herself. The bathroom scale was propped up against the bathtub last she checked… ah, it was still there. She retrieved it and clambered on.

Eiiiiiight… no, nine pounds. A bit more than last week, but gaining a quarter-inch and the extra breast tissue was likely the culprit. Stars alive, everything about her was growing...

“Oh, my!” Gleaming rubbed her womb. “You’re all getting so big!”

She really wasn’t sure why she’d dreaded weighing herself at first. Maybe it was because seeing the increasing numbers would feel like a bad thing, but the numbers actually felt like progress. Weight gain alone wasn’t a good indicator of the foals’ health, of course, but it was a necessary piece of the puzzle.

Gleaming flipped back to the front of the notebook and logged the data in the final chart marked ‘Weekly Weight Gain’. She then put everything back and gave her reflection one final nod.

“Shower time.”

It was the absence of warmth that roused Cadance. She wasn’t sure how long her eyes were open—one minute she was in la-la land, the next she was staring into the dark shadows of her bedroom. She reached out to her right for Gleaming... but found nothing but a slight imprint. That was when true wakefulness came, and she sat up to stretch out her six limbs with a series of snaps and cracks.

Cadance checked the clock and looked around. She noticed that the bathroom door was closed, the light within pooling onto the bedroom carpet. Ugh, of course. Why was even she surprised at this point?

“Not even pregnancy slows that pony down...” Cadance took her time easing herself out of bed, reluctantly separating herself from the satin sheets. As she did though, she suddenly became aware of a certain something enjoying the friction more than the rest of her. She gasped as that something swelled to its full, turgid length… followed quickly by its twin, ALSO becoming fully thick and erect in seconds.

“A-Ah…” Cadance found herself laying back down, her hooves straying beneath the covers to the dual-pronged tent she was pitching. A quick pulse of magic tossed the bedspread and blankets away while pulling the sheet tighter around her, a pair of wet spots seeping through.

“Nnngh...” Cadance lay flat, her six limbs fully splayed. She rubbed against the delectably tighten sheets while spurred on by thoughts of Gleaming. Her thick, juicy rear, so firm you could bounce a bit off of it. Her gorgeous eyes and face, sultry and confident without even trying. Her full, fertile belly, heavy with their foals. Her bouncing, overfilled teats, now producing so much fresh milk, and stars above, her tight, moist cunny, molded to the perfect shape, squeezing and pulling Cadance deeper as the room echoed with their—

Cadance sucked in a breath. She thrust faster, harder. The wet spot was now a wet patch, and a musky scent filled Cadance’s nostrils, dry and earthy and laced with stale sweat. It only made her more eager, and she wanted nothing more than to bury herself in Gleaming’s needy, willing folds…

Cadance paused. Satin sheets were wonderful, but the silky feel of Gleaming’s marehood, so tight and squeezing, the scent and heat of their entwined bodies accompanied by the demands for more, one orgasm rolling into another as they went again and again, trying to outlast each other, fondling and kissing and nibbling and tugging and nipping and groaning and licking and pulling and pushing and sucking and thrusting and biting and fucking and—

She was up in a flash. Cadance’s groin was left exposed to the air, revealing the smooth, dual-shafted marecock she’d given herself last night. Its bulbous twin heads throbbed as she trotted to the bathroom door, pushing it open to encounter a wave of heat and steam.

She didn’t bother to muffle her steps. She could hear Gleaming humming amidst the shower sprayers, her song accompanied by dull splashes. Cadance poked her head inside the shower and saw Gleaming with her back turned, slowly rocking back and forth as she enjoyed the massaging bliss. Gleaming’s tail was lifted and to the side for washing, leaving her hindquarters on full display. Trickles of water ran down and around her freshly-cleaned plothole and vulva, flawless and inviting, her engorged teats swaying with her movements.

Cadance got even harder. She took a loud, clacking step inside the shower, but Gleaming didn’t react. She just kept humming to herself, eyes closed with a serene smile.

Cadance took another few loud steps, but still Gleaming didn’t move, vapor and steam swirling around her like a fog. Her soaked mane was plastered around her neck and shoulders, the three tones of blue blended together. As Cadance neared, she could smell the tantalizing sweetness of mint and rosemary cloying around Gleaming...

“Well, hello there.”

Cadance stopped. She realized Gleaming had turned her head, smirking at the prowling pony princess.

“And here I was hoping I could shower without any gorgeous mares coming up and fucking me with giant, two-headed cocks.” Gleaming’s eyes grew hungry. “I sure wouldn’t want that...”

Cadance didn’t reply. She was a mare on a mission, and her objective was in sight. Without further pause she closed the distance to Gleaming’s marehood and began lapping her honey.

“Mmmnnhh…” Gleaming’s eyes fluttered shut. “You better not stop...”

Cadance nosed Gleaming’s outer lips while flicking her tongue in and out. She started licking in circles, tasting Gleaming’s walls while flicking her clit, pressing deeper and harder and delighting in the sweet taste. Gleaming leaned into Cadance’s efforts, letting her explore to her heart’s content, revelling in the now third pressure swiftly rising.

“Cady…” Gleaming nickered low. “Cadyyyyyyyyyyy…”

Cadance’s dicks were bigger and harder than ever. The heated spray dampened her coat and wings to warm her body even more than the lusty fire inside her. She wiggled her tongue in time with Gleaming’s moans and pants, then put her hooves on Gleaming’s cutie marks and squeezed, her hooves barely sinking into those muscled flanks.

Gleaming moaned even louder. She arched her back and bent her front legs, but Cadance didn’t mount her just yet. She focused her attention on those full, heavy teats, still so very new and exotic. She started at their tops and worked her way down, licking and nibbling, her slippery tongue and moist breath making Gleaming shudder.

Cadance tugged at a nipple, the breasts almost hypnotic in their movements. She wrapped her lips around them one at a time to taste the dregs within.

“A-Ah,” Gleaming cooed through the heady rush. “Yes… ”

Cadance buried her face between Gleaming’s breasts to feel the soft flesh slide against her cheeks. Her hard, fluted horn was pressed up against Gleaming’s marehood, its tip tantalizingly close. Her muzzle brushed up against the underside of Gleaming’s belly, and soon she was smooching it with light pecks, its heat apparent even amidst the steam.

They remained like that for a minute, playful, yet needy... until Cadance lit her horn with a whum.

Gleaming groaned. The magic and vibrations tickled as the energy surged into her. She was lighter than air, soaring amongst the clouds and still rising to new heights, but all she wanted was more… MORE...

Gleaming mewled. She crouched lower, grand ivory belly brushing the ground, her heart-shaped rear high in the air. That familiar ache was throbbing—a half-hunger, half-clench that only intensified as seconds passed. Her wet mane spilled halfway over her face, eyes staring at nothing, the dull pounding in her ears mixed with the roar of running water.

Cadance doubled the magic she gave Gleaming. Her own reserves felt robust, and it made her want to give that much more. The tingling tightness inside was screaming at her not to stop, and eventually she pulled back and reared, twin cocks primed, wings spread wide as she settled atop her pregnant mate. Cadance enveloped them in an angelic embrace, her downy feathers stroking and playing with Gleaming’s navel like she was kissing it. She used magic to slather Gleaming’s plothole with pre, then pushed both her shafts forward...

Gleaming’s moan started soft, then raised a whole octave into a pleasured cry. Pain and delight, panic and euphoria, it was a cocktail of endorphins that blanked out her thoughts. There was a stretching burn in both tunnels accompanied by a glorious tingling and fullness, and it made her want to squeeze and relax at the same time. Gleaming thrust back hard against Cadance’s advancing rods, addicted to the electric jolts accompanied by that wonderful weight pinning her down. Cadance’s hooves and wings were rubbing her all over, and even in separate holes Gleaming could feel the twin shafts pressed against one another. Alicorn magic was suffusing her more and more, making her eyes take on a slight glow, but even so empowered...

Cadance snorted in Gleaming’s ear. She pushed and slid further into the thrall of her mate’s velvety snugness. She bit Gleaming’s scruff and sank deeper, groping and fondling, in love with the round, taut firmness of Gleaming belly, the supple skin tight as a drum. Seconds later Cadance felt the telltale signs of the point of no return, that coiling tightness starting to boil over...

Gleaming felt it, too. She neared her own first peak as Cadance’s pushing became frenzied, emerging from the fog like a charging manticore. Her voice cracked when it hit her like a mass of fireworks, and she was still flying high when Cadance’s lengths started twitching, not even halfway inside.

Cadance yelled long and loud. Her medial rings slurped inside with a lewd POP as she coated Gleaming’s tunnels, and Gleaming greedily took it all in, her body flashing as it absorbed each load. Cadance kept pouring magic into Gleaming faster and faster, but Gleaming just crooned as the glow in her eyes brightened...

Yet even with all that, Cadance didn’t stop. She began thrusting in a steady rhythm, twin spears hard as steel and plunging further into Gleaming’s moist depths. That insistent urge was still buzzing and building up as fast as before, and Cadance’s goal was to be fully hilted before it broke again. She started nibbling Gleaming’s ears, licking and sucking on their tips, whispering sweet nothings that Gleaming barely heard. She was more focused on the feel of Cadance’s hot breath, fast and filled with grunting gasps and accompanied by those hard teeth. She squeezed and kneaded with all her might, welcoming every inch and every spark of magic she could have, and as if that weren’t enough, the foals now started to shift and move around, their fluttering kicks tickling both Gleaming and Cadance.

There was a meaty slap as Cadance achieved her intended goal. Just in time, too, as a few seconds later she went over the edge again, yelling loud and flooding Gleaming’s depths. Gleaming screamed as her walls drank in the fresh waves of seed, taking the power it held. The sensation made own orgasm leap forth all at once, so intense it made her see white..

If Cadance kept fucking her beyond that, Gleaming didn’t remember. All she knew was that she was riding a prolonged high powered by the cumulative sensations that fueled both their lusts. Her world was a cloud of warmth, weight, and fullness, accompanied by occasional bursts of wet, sticky heat deep inside her. Her mind was swimming in the best kind of way, her muscles were so relaxed from the warm water, and her legs were standing on autopilot...

“...love you, sweet Gleamy, “ said a voice. “Come back to me...”

Gleaming blinked. She was gently being coaxed to stand by a nuzzling, cuddling Cadance, who’d dismounted and removed her extra bits. She was standing in front of Gleaming with a huge, dopey grin on her face.

Cadance smiled. “Welcome back.”

Gleaming chuckled. She stood back up and straightened, the rivulets of water cascading off her in sparkling sheets. “That’s one way to start a morning.”

Cadance pressed their foreheads together, letting their horns cross with a click. “One of the best ways.”

“Mmmm.” Gleaming stifled a small yawn. “We’ve certainly made good use of this extra-large shower, haven’t we?”

Cadance giggled. “I knew we would.” She stepped away and summoned shampoos, conditioners, and a loofah. “Remember all those shower sexytimes we had at your parent’s house?”

Gleaming’s face turned pink. “I still can’t believe we never got caught...”

Cadance slathered shampoo on the loofah and started washing Gleaming’s back. “We did cover our tracks well. Soundproofing, vibration cancelling, odor removal, cleaning the shower extra well, one of us teleporting in and out each time...”

Gleaming couldn’t help but laugh. “This is the third time this week you’ve wanted to wash me. You really like touching me, don’t you?”

“I just can’t stop.” Cadance’s gentle scrubbing went lower, the loofah moving in tight, slow circles along Gleaming’s left side. “It’s all so hot—how your body’s changing, how well it suits you, what it all means, everything. I’ve never seen a mare take so well to pregnancy, but damn if it doesn’t push ALL my buttons.”

Gleaming rolled her eyes. “You’re incorrigible.”

Cadance stuck out her tongue. “And yet, you still married m—MMMMM!”

Gleaming darted forward to pull Cadance into a ravenous kiss. She swept Cadance off her hooves in a burst of magic, twirling her around and gripping her tight.

Gleaming broke the kiss and pulled away to stare into Cadance’s star-struck eyes.

“Even if I’d known I’d get mind-controlled by a changeling queen, have to fight an evil sorcerer, put up with endless bullshit politics, become a mare and get pregnant, and whatever else is in store for us, I’d still marry you in a heartbeat. Wanna know why?”

Water fell around Cadance as she breathed hard and heavy. She gulped as she looked up at the vision of loveliness above her.

“W-Why?”

Gleaming kissed her again, hard and fierce as before.

“You know why.”

That Afternoon-

Each year in Equestria, on the night before the annual Running of the Leaves race, many communities had high-carb meals for ponies who were participating to ensure they had energy for the next day. These feasts were so common and widespread that they were considered to be part of the holiday, so much so that certain dishes were even practically synonymous with the pre-race meal. Many ponies looked forward to this dinner whether they were running in the race or not!

Except that the Running of the Leaves wasn’t celebrated in the Crystal Empire. Gleaming and Cadance still thought of it as a holiday, but having no change of seasons meant that there was no point in holding a race. They’d been running polls to come up with some actual Crystal Empire-themed traditions (they were toying with the idea of being thankful) but until then Gleaming and Cadance just had the yearly pre-race feast in the castle, complete with all the dishes they knew and loved.

They two of them were now side by side in their private dining room down by the kitchen. Spike, Twilight, Rainbow, Velvet, and Night were also there, as they’d been invited to share in the holiday meal. The normal table had been switched out for a big round one that could easily seat seven, and they were all chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the food to be brought out.

“You should totally still have a race!” said Rainbow. She gestured out the west window where the sunny plains could just be seen on the horizon. “You have lots of room for it.”

Cadance looked out to where Rainbow was pointing. “It’s not a matter of room, Rainbow. A race that’s basically preparing the land for winter wouldn’t go over well up here.”

Gleaming folded and unfolded her napkin with magic. “Winter is death to the crystal ponies. Declaring today a holiday alone garnered us some funny looks. The race would be seen as macabre.”

Rainbow winced. “...I suppose it wouldn’t go over very well if you tried to gloss over that little tidbit? Just had a race for kicks?”

Cadance shook her head. “Our critics would have a field day.”

Twilight frowned at this. “Wait. You guys have critics?”

Gleaming gave her a funny look. “Of course. Would be odd if everypony agreed with everything we did all the time.”

Twilight went eerily silent.

Gleaming blinked. “Do you not?”

Spike laughed. “She’s the Princess of Friendship, Gleam-Gleam! She even turns her enemies into her friends half the time!”

Twilight suddenly became very interested in the floor. “There’s only been a few times I’ve met someone who was truly irredeemable.”

Rainbow let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like *Tirek*.

Twilight flicked her ears. “Not for lack of trying, mind you. But I do realize that not everypony can be brought to the light. It’s always my last resort, but sometimes, you have to meet force with force.”

“And that force is a giant LASER BEAM!” Rainbow’s eyes flashed with a glint of power. “Pchoooooo!”

“Sounds like you should sic these two on your naysayers,” Velvet said to Gleaming. “Might get more things done that way.”

You may as well have told Cadance that Hearth’s Warming was coming early. “Oh my gosh, that’s a GREAT idea! Twilight, Rainbow, would you? You’ve no idea how much you’d be helping us!”

Twilight put a hoof behind her head. “We could… try? I mean, if it’ll help you and Gleamy...”

Rainbow shrugged. “I’m down.”

Night spoke up. “But would that count as… erm, what did you call them again, Twily? ‘Friendship Problems’? From what you were saying earlier, those seem to be all you and your friends can influence.”

Twilight chewed on her lip. She exchanged a quick look with Rainbow, who leaned over and whispered something.

“I wouldn’t say ‘influence’, Dad,” said Twilight. “I get what you’re asking, but saying we influence Friendship Problems makes it almost sound like we’re forcing ponies to get along. That’s not how it works.”

Rainbow sat back in her chair. “Not to mention it wouldn’t do squat for what’s causing the problem.”

Night conceded the point. “In your own words, then.”

Twilight looked over at Cadance. “I think it’s a lot like how your power works. When we encounter a Friendship Problem, we’re able to see what exactly is causing it, who it’s affecting, and how to solve it. The solution isn't always cut and dry—”

“—because the ponies never wanna do things the easy way,” Rainbow grumbled.

“Right,” Twilight said. “So we have to either come up with something else or work out some kind of compromise. It’s usually the latter.”

Cadance smiled. “That’s exactly how my power works—er, one aspect of it, anyway. I can sense those kinds of problems, but only if the bond between the ponies is deep enough to be classified as Love. If it’s more platonic...”

Twilight smiled back. “You know, I think that Love and Friendship are very similar. It’s just that my domain’s more towards the middle of the spectrum while yours is on the deeper end.”

Cadance nodded. “There’s a lot of crossover between Love and Friendship. So much so, that one can quite easily turn into the other.”

Rainbow put a wing around Twilight. “Yup.”

Twilight hummed and snuggled closer. “No comment…”

Gleaming was quiet. If Love and Friendship were just different expressions of the same overarching concept, than said concept was most likely… Harmony? Boy, now THAT had some interesting implications. Would either Twilight or Cadance eventually become sensitive to the other’s domains? Would Twilight become an empath? Could Cadance learn to use Rainbow Power? Could Twilight could attune herself to the Crystal Heart? Could Cadance wield one of the Elements of Harmony?

Or, wait... maybe the Crystal Heart itself was actually…

No, no, no. That was just silly.

“I think you two should look more into this,” Gleaming said, adjusting herself with a grunt. “It sounds like you might be onto something.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Night turned to Gleaming, that old eagerness in his face. “There’s a lot we could learn by studying the connection between Love and Friendship! If these two domains are so closely aligned, then it stands to reason that their foils are closely aligned as well! That could have huge implications for treating magical curses!”

But before Gleaming could reply, Cadance cut in. “You’re not wrong, Ni—Dad. There’s a connection between Hatred and Enmity, but it’s not quite the same. Enmity is just a weaker version of Hate. That’s all.”

Night furrowed his brow. “How do you know?”

Cadance’s face grew grim. “My... predecessor was quite interested in the connection between the two, not to mention their relation to all the other aspects of Entropy. I have his research notes in the Forbidden Section of the archives.”

Night’s eyes about filled his head. “Really?!”

“We can’t let you see them,” Gleaming said quickly. “I don’t think I need to say why.”

Night regarded her coolly. “Can you at least tell me what you found?”

Gleaming’s eyes flicked over to Cadance before answering. “We determined his research is only good for revising our laws on forbidden magic and bolstering our national defense. Nothing else.”

Night pressed his lips in a thin line. “You didn’t see a way to repurpose his work? I understand what he was researching was vile, but—”

“Spells to level entire cities,” said Cadance. “An irreversible mind wipe hex. Mass mind-control enchantments. Instant death curses. Advanced necromancy. Soul dissection. We found some practical application for the stuff he researched, but…”

Gleaming put a hoof around Cadance. “It was bad enough just hearing a report on it. We had to put memory loss charms on the entire research team who gave us the initial report… at their request.”

Cadance looked away. “I had to read through his work myself after that. To put it simply, Sombra wasn’t interested in healing or helping other ponies. He only wanted to conquer, enslave, and destroy. If we hadn’t stopped him when we did, I truly believe Equestria would still be at war with him.”

Silence fell. The dull sounds of clanking pots, sliding pans, and ponies moving in the kitchen were all that filled the void, as well as the smell of cooling food.

“In that case,” Night said in a soft voice. “My only regret is not getting a shot at him, myself. Good job putting him down, everypony. I know it must’ve been hard.”

“Hey!” Spike put his claws on his hips. “I helped, too!”

The ghost of a smile flickered on Night’s face. “And I’m proud of you.”

Cadance bowed her head. “Believe me, there’s a long line of ponies who would’ve liked to be the one to take him out. But only an alicorn... maybe an INCREDIBLY powerful unicorn could’ve gone head to head with him! Anypony else wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

Everyone looked away from Night.

Cadance looked up. “...What?”

BAM!

“Zut alors!” said a mare inside the kitchen. “Ah, apologies, Madames! Ze door was just oiled zis morning!”

Out rolled carts upon carts upon carts piled high with Running of the Leaves Feast favorites. Cheesy potatoes with hash browns and sour cream. Green beans drizzled with soy sauce. Devilled eggs with nutmeg. Pasta with white alfredo sauce. Homemade stuffing. Jellied cranberries. Yams with brown sugar and marshmallows. Hoofolulu rolls and spinach dip. Caesar salad with thick slices of provolone. Sauteed brussels sprouts with onions. Mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. Steamed wild rice with almonds. It just kept on being wheeled out by various crystal ponies in chefs hats and aprons, all being directed by a small mare with a black bushy mane.

“Oh, look!” Twilight said loudly. “The food’s here!”

“Alright!” Spike grabbed his fork and knife. “Let’s chow down!”

“Place the extra plates by Madame Gleaming,” the mare said. She watched as the first few carts were unloaded and placed on the table. “But where are ze gemstones? Are zhey—ah, merci, Frappe. Give those to Monseigneur Spike. He mixes zem with his meal...”

Velvet watched as five extra carts full of food were placed in an orderly row beside her eldest. The amount on them was far more than what could be placed on the table, but nopony seemed to be worried.

“Honey…” Velvet eyed the carts. “How much did you have them make?”

Gleaming licked her lips. “Enough.”

Cadance grinned at Velvet. “Trust me, it won’t go to waste.”

Velvet just sighed. “Eating for six, I suppose...”

“While nursing,” Gleaming added. “Plus a bunch of other things going on.”

Velvet pursed her lips. Her eyes drifted down to Gleaming’s prominently protruding belly, profound in all its pregnant glory. Its firm mass rose and fell in a steady rhythm, snugly wrapped in an extra-large maternity brace and complete with a matching bra. She’d had to scooch her seat back several inches just to fit at the table, and even with that, the curve of her womb was grazing it.

Velvet shrugged. “As long as you can handle it...”

Gleaming’s stomach rumbled like a train engine.

“No worries, Mom.” She leaned back on her padded haunches, smiling and waving at the chefs. “Just relax and enjoy the show.”

“Bon appetit!” the main chef said with a bow. “Just call for dessert!”

Cadance rubbed her hooves together. “Let’s dig in!”

There was a flurry of magenta as portions were distributed in magical globs. Velvet helped Spike with his, and Twilight helped Rainbow with hers.

“Ha! Neat!” Rainbow watched the glow around her. “Your magic’s all the same color! I never noticed before.”

Twilight, Velvet, and Gleaming laughed.

“The hues are pretty close.” Twilight helped herself to the wild rice, picking out the almonds as she did. “Mom’s is the darkest, mine’s in the middle, and Gleamy’s is the lightest.”

Rainbow squinted at their glowing horns. “Uh… if you say so.”

“It was a sore spot for a while,” said Night, whose own magic was pale blue. “But at least NOW we’ve got someone in the family with the right color.”

Cadance’s horn flashed blue as well. “Hopefully with more on the way!”

Velvet glanced over at Rainbow. “We’re not really—more than just rubies, Spike. You need beryl in your diet—not really sure WHY it happens, but it’s not an uncommon thing. It’s just one of those things.”

Gleaming might’ve commented on this, but she was already eating with gusto. She’d skipped a meal to prepare for this, so she decided let the others chat while she gorged herself.

“Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Twilight looked to Cadance. “Have you and Gleamy thought about foal names?”

Cadance finished her bite of cabbage salad before answering. “We’ve agreed on two so far. We’ve gone through some books and got a list of favorites from those, but we’re having trouble deciding.”

“Oooh! Ooooh!” Spike said. “You should name one of them after a superhero! Like Radiance or Saddle Rager! That’d be so cool!”

Cadance winced. “We’ll… consider that, Spike. No promises, though.”

“Care to share the names?” Night asked. “I’d like to hear what you’ve come up with.”

“Me too,” Velvet said.

“Me three!” said Rainbow.

“Pleeeeease?” Twilight asked with puppy dog eyes.

Cadance reeled. She turned to Gleaming, but Gleaming just motioned for her to continue.

“I… suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Cadance said. “We’ll tell you the two, but no others after that, alright? The rest will be a surprise.”

There was a murmur of agreement at this.

Cadance gave Gleaming a smooch on the cheek. “You tell them the boy, and I’ll say the girl, okay?”

Gleaming, realizing that she needed to speak, took a moment to separate her face from her plate. She said one word before diving back in.

“Vanguard.”

Night and Velvet brightened. “Oh!”

“Vanguard...” Twilight murmured the name a few times, tilting her head back and forth. “Prince Vanguard… yeah! I kinda like that!”

Spike was indifferent. “Not as cool as Prince Saddle Rager.”

“Saddle Rager’s a mare,” Rainbow pointed out.

“It could be a boy’s name!”

Cadance decided not to comment on that. “Erm, yeah. That’s the pega-colt’s name. The crystal-colt we haven’t named yet, and we’re still working on the two alicorns. The uni-filly’s the other one we’ve decided on.”

Everypony’s smile grew wider.

“We were originally going to go with a two-parter with the first being Twilight.” Cadance looked at the other two Twilights in the room. “But having three mares in the family with the same first name would be a bit much, so we went with a similar one instead.”

Twilight and Velvet’s reactions were mixed. Velvet looked thoughtful at this, while Twilight seemed… relieved? Perhaps the same had occurred to her.

“Eventide,” Cadance said. “Princess Eventide, that’s our little unicorn filly. What do you think?”

Velvet went starry-eyed. “Ahhhhhh!”

Twilight smirked. “Knew it. So you finally get your way, Gleamy.”

Gleaming donned a faux-innocent look as she chewed.

Spike, noticing Rainbow’s confused look, leaned in and spoke low. “Eventide is what Mom wanted to name Twilight at first. But Dad vetoed it. Gleam-Gleam’s always wished they’d stuck with it.”

“I’d a feeling you were going to choose that,” said Night. He smirked despite himself. “I suppose it was inevitable.”

Velvet swatted him. “It’s a pretty name, Nighty! I’ll never understand why you didn’t like it.”

“Because it doesn’t sound like a unicorn name,” he said. “It’s more of a pegasus name.”

Velvet huffed and sipped her wine. “Well, phooey on you. I think it’s delightful, and good on you for advocating it, Gleaming. I look forward to meeting little Evie.”

Gleaming saluted in between bites.

There was a lull in conversation after this. Everypony was more concerned on eating than anything else, and Gleaming in particular had been looking forward to this for weeks. She ate so much faster than anyone else that by the time the others were halfway through with their plates, she was almost done with her second.

Velvet paused as Gleaming sucked down plate two like a living vacuum. She now went for the cabbage salad, baked beans, some kind of rigatoni dish, and mashed potatoes, not skimping out on the portions of any. The edges of her muzzle were stained with crumbs and sauce as she tucked back in.

“For pete’s sake, Gleaming!” she said. “You’re going to choke.”

Gleaming ignored her. She demolished the cabbage salad in seconds and moved on to the baked beans, not even noticing (or caring) that all eyes were now on her.

“It’s the alicorns,” Cadance explained. “They’re taking up a lot of energy, far more than the other three. Gleamy’s handling it fine, but as you can see...”

Rainbow frowned. “I thought that was why you were doing those infusion thingies.”

“That’s for their magic,” said Twilight. “We’ve found they also need extra nutrients and calories to boot. It’s been a challenge to balance out their needs with the other three, but they all seem to be getting along so far.”

In the time it took to say this, Gleaming had finished the baked beans and stared snarfing the rigatoni. The edge of her hunger had been sated, but the familiar grip of her stomach was still there...

“What do you mean they’re ‘getting along’?” Spike asked. “How does that work?”

Cadance thought how best to answer that. “I’d... rather not get into that. It’s icky.”

Rainbow shuddered. “Can say that again.”

But Spike just laughed. “I’m not asking for a biology lesson. I just meant how do you know they’re getting along!”

“Oh! In that case...” Cadance pushed her bun around her plate, soaking up the gravy from her potatoes. “Basically, food and stuff passes from the mare to the baby through a special organ that only forms during pregnancy. If there’s more than one baby, you want each one to develop their own special organ, but that doesn’t always happen. Fortunately, we got lucky.”

Gleaming pumped her hoof at this.

“As for how they’re ‘getting along’...” Cadance motioned to her horn. “A big problem with more than one baby winds up being that they don’t all have enough room. We realized this early on, so that’s what most of the spells we cast are for. Not fighting for resources means that they’re all pretty content.”

“You’d be surprised how many problems that solves,” Twilight muttered, half to herself.

Spike nodded as he crunched on an emerald. “Makesh shense.”

Gleaming was only half-listening. She was more focused on the yummy food in front of her, and plate number three was devoured in short order. Now with a clean plate, she decided to go for the devilled eggs, wild rice, hoofolulu bread and spinach dip, another helping cheesy potatoes, maybe some more of that cabbage salad, too. That really hit the spot…

It became something of a spectacle. Everypony at the table chatted about random topics, but the primary interest was on Gleaming. Gleaming was considerate and only went for the food on the carts beside her, but she started grabbing food from wherever when it became clear everyone had gotten their fill.

It was about halfway through the second food cart that Gleaming felt her belly pushing against the table rather than just grazing it. She scooched back to accommodate her growing bulk, feeling the heavy mass of food shift in her gut. Not in a bad way, mind you, just enough to inform her that quick movements were a bad idea right now. She also felt a series of little nudges and twitches from the foals, almost as if they sensed their impending meal and were growing impatient. The sensation just made Gleaming want to eat more...

Velvet and Night were in awe. Gleaming had to have eaten as much than the rest of them combined and yet wasn’t slowing down. She was still plowing through the second food cart at breakneck pace, shovelling as much she could into her ravenous maw.

“Well,” Velvet said to Cadance. “I can see you weren’t kidding.”

Cadance giggled. She nuzzled Gleaming while rubbing her belly with the frog of her hoof.

It took another twenty minutes of non-stop eating before Gleaming started to slow down. She’d just finished the fourth food cart with a flourish, suppressing a belch as the latest plate clattered beside her. She’d started a second stack to avoid the first from getting precarious, and honestly she’d lost count of how many she’d gone through. All she knew was that a warm, sleepy contentment was starting to fill her, but said contentment wasn’t quite as much as it could be. Her stomach was still egging her on, as if to say, ‘keep going, the foals still need more’...

Gleaming stretched her back with a hum… then hesitated. There was a rigidness, constricting feeling around her middle that she didn’t like. She knew what it was, but a part of her couldn’t believe this was happening again.

“Hmph.” Gleaming wiggled and shifted, fumbling with her ‘extra large’ maternity brace. Extra large, her ass. She was going to have some words with the Royal Tailor about this... and they were ALSO going to have words about the zipper, because it was really jammed on there!

“What’s wrong?” Cadance said as Gleaming eased herself onto her hooves, squirming and grumbling. “Are you—oh. Here, lemme…”

It became obvious that Gleaming’s brace hadn’t kept up with her binge. Not only was it just barely containing her, it left absolutely nothing to the imagination, the fabric clinging tightly her curves like a second skin. Even Gleaming’s bra looked tight, the edges of white breast flesh threatening to spill out the sides.

“Just teleport,” Twilight said, looking on. “It’s gonna rip if you keep on like that.”

Cadance and Gleaming exchanged a look, then laughed.

“Right,” Gleaming said. “One sec…”

FLASH!

A second later, the overstretched brace was lying crumpled on the ground.

“Ahhhh.” Now free of its fabric prison, Gleaming’s belly surged free, her insides gurgling as they un-squished and pushed outward. Her gluttony had only added to her girth, her wide, gravid gut round and full like an oversized medicine ball of life. The foals had been getting rowdy from the lack of room, but now they went back to their placid and lazy norm.

Gleaming carefully walked back up to her pillow, measuring the feel of the new weight before settling—and immediately cursed upon feeling the crest of her womb against the table again. She pulled the pillow even farther back and got a fresh plate.

“Don’t mind me,” she said, mostly to herself. “Keep talking about whatever.”

She assumed that that’s what they did as she resumed eating. The fifth cart was mostly filled with chilled fruits, flowers, and herbs, although there were some plain vegetables arranged in assorted platters. Sweet cantaloupe and juicy honeydew, tangy oranges and giant raspberries, tart kiwis and sour green apples, crunchy carrots and sliced peppers. Her stomach was never quite satisfied even as it gradually filled up more of her lap, so she kept right on going, seemingly insatiable, delighting in the myriad of flavors assaulting her tongue. Next were the flowers and herbs—sweet chamomile and mild peppermint, daisies and daffodils sprinkled with oregano, catmint and rosehip. Finally, she finished off the tray with a few slices of watermelon, salting them lightly for that extra zing…

...which is when she realized she was the center of attention.

“Erm…” Gleaming swallowed with a loud gulp. “Something on my face?”

After a brief silence, it was Spike who spoke first.

“Holy hay, Gleam-Gleam!” He actually started clapping. “That was nuts!”

“No kidding!” Rainbow clapped alongside him. “You can eat like a champ!”

Cadance and the others started clapping as well.

“Unless I’m mistaken,” Twilight said slowly. “You just consumed a fourth of your own body weight in food. A fourth… in a single sitting, in only a half hour.”

Gleaming smirked as she reached for a toothpick. “I could still go for dessert, too.”

Twilight was nearly lost for words. “Have… have you been eating this much at every meal?”

“My metabolism’s crazy right now,” said Gleaming. “In about twenty minutes, this extra belly’s gonna be completely gone to feed the kids.”

Cadance leisurely stretched out her wings, wiggling them one at a time at Twilight. “Alicorns, girl! They’re hungry little munchkins! Haven’t you spoken with Doctor Talia at all? I’d have thought she told you about this.”

Twilight shook her head. “I haven’t had the chance.”

Cadance thought for a moment. “You should go with Gleamy to her next appointment, then. It’s next Thursday, first thing in the morning.”

Twilight groaned. “Why does everything always have to be in the morning?”

“Because that’s when normal ponies do things,” Velvet chided. “I swear, between you and your father…”

Night kissed her cheek. “Love you, Dear.”

“Mrhghgh…”

Gleaming was starting to feel that familiar fuzziness creeping in. She gave her head a shake and willed herself to focus.

“Let’s call Cuisine,” she told Cadance. “I think she has pie and cheesecake.”

Cadance nodded. “That and more, I’ll bet. You gonna zonk out afterwards?”

Gleaming rubbed the back of her neck. “Y-Yeah. Food coma always hits me hard...”

“I know.” Cadance summoned a silver bell out of thin air, which she rang in a few clear notes. “It’s fine, we didn’t have anything planned for today.”

A moment later, Cuisine appeared from the kitchen door again, albeit more gentle this time. Trailing behind her were more food carts, these ones laden with desserts like pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, and candies.

Rainbow leaned in and whispered to Twilight. “Wanna place bets on how much Gleaming eats?”

“What?! Rainbow!” Twilight whispered back. “What a thing to do!”

Rainbow just gave her a look.

Twilight chewed on her lip as she looked to the desserts, then over at the wolfish gaze of her sister.

“...Five bits says she can eat three pies on her own.”

“Only three?!” Rainbow said. “Puh-leeze. More like she can eat another whole CART! You saw her just now; she’s a one-mare eating machine!”

“Fine, that’s your bet.” Twilight extended her hoof. “Deal?”

Their hooves touched with a quiet clack. “Deal.”

“Hey!” Spike scooted closer. “Can I get on this?”

Author's Notes:

-I'm aware of the differences in milk production between humans and actual horses. For the sake of this fic, I'm going with human amounts.
-I already have the other kids' names picked out. I just wanted to give you a sneak peek.