One Week Later (Week 28)-

“Well, well, well.” Talia hobbled into the examination room with a crooked smile. “I was wondering when we’d cross paths.”

Twilight waved sleepily from her chair. “Hello, Doctor Natal! It’s—” She let out a huge yawn. “—very nice to meet you! Ugh, sorry we haven’t had the chance to meet before this...”

Gleaming snickered beside her. “Twily’s not exactly a morning pony.”

Twilight mumbled something and rested her head on Gleaming’s shoulder.

“Not exactly one, myself.” Talia came over and shook Twilight’s hoof. “The pleasure’s all mine, Princess. I meant to chat with ya when my team ran tests after your ascension, but I never got the chance. Better late than never, I suppose.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “Tests after my—” Her eyes lit up. “Riiiiiiiiiiight. I’d forgotten all about that! Wow, I didn’t know you were running that team.”

“Running it?! Hay, no!” Talia motioned for Gleaming to get up and go to the scale in the corner. “I’m a scientist, honey, not an administrator. The gal in charge of that was the daughter of one of my old colleagues.”

Twilight blinked several times. “But, you’ve run so many other research teams in the past! I’d have thought with your experience, you’d want to be in charge...”

Talia shook her head. “Only did it ‘cause there was no one else better suited. I mighta done an okay job back in the day, but to be honest, I prefer flyin’ solo.”

Gleaming carefully stepped onto the scale eyes still on her sister. “Talia was quite impressed with the spells you cast on me, Twily. Especially the modified transmogrification.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “The one I put together from the Aesclepius Journals?”

Gleaming nodded. “Why don’t you tell her about it?”

Twilight jolted awake. “I’d love to! It—”

“Hold it.” Talia held up a hoof. “Twilight—can I call ya Twilight? How’s about we get coffee after this, then we go talk in my lab? Trust me, I know what it’s like when ponies like us get to chattering.”

You may as well have told Twilight she won the lottery. “YES! Yes, I’d love that!”

Talia snickered. “It’s a date, then. But let’s focus on the present, shall we? I gotta run some routine tests here on your sister, and I might have some questions about your spellwork as I go along.”

Twilight remembered herself. “Of course. That’s what we’re here for.”

Gleaming couldn’t help but grin. “So then, Talia. Remind me how much weight you wanted me to gain?”

Talia put on her spectacles and fiddled with th escale. “Eh, my estimates keep changin’ as time goes on. The rule of hoof is if ya feel healthy, ya look healthy, and them babies are still growin’, you’re good to go.”

Gleaming mulled that over for a moment. “But weren’t you and Endo predicting estimates a few weeks back? Er... or was that more Endo?”

Talia chuckled. “Nah, we were both doin’ it. S’an old habit of mine, and Endo likely picked up on it when he did his residency under me. It’s a by-the-books approach, but problem is multiple pregnancies are rarely by the book. I do tend to start with some base estimates, but eventually, I just end up going with my gut.”

Gleaming laughed. “And what’s your gut telling you now?”

Talia balanced the counterweight and jotted the number down on a clipboard. “That you’re doin’ just fine. You’ve gained eighty-three pounds so far, and based off your pre-pregnancy health, all those fancy spells on ya, and you gainin’ some height to boot, I think that’s about where you should be. If we induce you at fifty-two weeks like I want, I doubt your foals will need much time in the ICU.”

Gleaming sighed. Obviously the goal was for no ICU, but they’d just have to see.

“Fifty-two weeks?” Twilight asked. “Wow, that’s on the latter end, isn’t it?”

Talia bade Gleaming stand over against the wall so she could check her height. “I feel like your fancy transmogrification’s gonna allow for it. Between you 'n me, Twilight, we’re gonna make sure these buns stay in the oven until they’re well and done!”

Twilight whooped. “Yeah! No premature delivery on our watch! We got this!”

Gleaming snickered. If only some random nurse had walked in as Twily had said that...

Talia jotted down Gleaming’s height. “Growin’ like a weed, girl. Go and lay on the exam table, would you?”

Gleaming obeyed. She waited until the table had been lowered a foot or two, then awkwardly eased herself onto her back.

“Oof…” She needed a second to adjust to the full weight of her belly pressing on her insides. But it was fortunately only just a second, as that was when Twilight’s spell kicked in, un-squishing and supporting the smooth tissues, her womb being pushed back outwards to rise back up into the air.

Talia shook her head. “S’like a trampoline in slow motion...”

Twilight looked on with interest. “Part of the spell monitors and maintains pressure levels within the body when external factors are introduced. Redistribution of kinetic energy is throttled to a set point, so no matter how fast Gleamy moves, her internal systems will only reassert themselves at safe speeds.”

Talia adjusted her spectacles. “And I assume there’s another part that monitors elasticity... you’ll have to explain to me how that works later. I’ll admit ya got me right curious...”

Twilight beamed. “Sure!”

Gleaming didn’t have any comment. The inflating sensation was nothing new, and about all she could say was how relieving it was. Being unable to breathe easy, having your circulation pinched, your bladder squeezed, and all manner of other unpleasantries at once was not her idea of a fun time.

Talia flipped through some pages on her clipboard as she came over. “Gleaming, d’ya remember that super sugary stuff I had ya drink last week?”

Gleaming made a face. “The diabetes stuff?”

“Mmhmm.” Talia produced a blood pressure cuff and put it on Gleaming’s arm. “Good news: you won’t have to drink it again. I figured your results’d be clean, but it’s pretty normal to test for that in the second trimester.”

Gleaming looked over at Twilight, who understandably had a blank look. “The two alicorns are starting to outgrow the other three. We wanted to rule out gestational diabetes as a possible reason.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but then closed it with a click of her teeth. “Hmm.”

Talia pumped up the blood pressure cuff. “I might be concerned if the other three were showing signs of malnourishment, but seein’ as they aren’t, I don’t think it’s any problem. Honestly, I think it’s just cause them two are alicorns.”

Twilight screwed up her face. “That’s… possible? It’s true that the four alicorns currently in existence are all larger than normal ponies, but that’s such a small sample size…”

“I know.” Talia turned to a page on the clipboard and showed it to Twilight. “But take a look here. You can see from that data the alicorn placentas are larger, the girlies themselves are talking up more space, they’re absorbing the lion’s share of the magic infusions, all o’ that. All that other stuff is resultin’ in extra mass, so it’s not surprising that those two are on the larger side.”

Twilight took the clipboard in her magic. The page Talia had indicated was mostly medical terminology, but there were a few portions she immediately understood. Of particular interest was the portion about the alicorn infusions.

“Placental aether osmosis… Type: ambrosiac… AliF-A absorption thirty-three percent, AliF-B thirty-two, CryspM eleven, UniF ten, PegaM nine… wait, that’s only ninety-five percent! What’s happening to the other five?”

Talia pulled out a stethoscope and listened to Gleaming’s lungs. “No such thing as a perfectly efficient system, darlin’. The remaining five percent’s been bleedin’ into Gleaming’s magic reserves, which we’ve been tracking on the next page there.”

Twilight flipped the page over...

Twilight continued to flip through the pages. More charts were also depicted that showed things like overall magic levels, height, weight.

Gleaming watched her. “Having fun over there?”

Twilight looked up with wide eyes. “Have you seen these charts?!”

Gleaming yawned. “It’s not even two months worth of data, Twily. Weren’t you just saying something about small sample sizes?”

Talia grunted agreement. “Not quite sure what’s happening yet, to be honest. I got theories, but I’m not callin’ anything out until there’s more data points. All I know is that nothing so far’s been cause for panic.”

Twilight reached the last few pages, which was just an outline of the pregnancy thus far. The first chunk read like a scientific journal, but towards the later part, the writer (and thus writing style) changed: electing for more understandable terms and brevity.

...week twenty ultrasound by Natal and Endo found that pregnancy is a case of quintuplets, NOT quadruplets. Greater Detect Life spell has since confirmed this. Initial assumption of quads made in first trimester by senior ob-gyn nurse Aquamarine via routine ultrasound. No Detect Life spell was cast at that time, although it’s understandable why, as greater versions of the spell are considerably taxing for most casters. This presents a challenge, as other lower-level magic scans on the fetuses have since been found to be grossly inaccurate.

These inaccuracies were first noticed by Doctor Talia when a routine chronology scan was used to determine gestational age. The results list four of the fetuses being conceived at the same time, but the fifth registers as being conceived sixteen weeks later. As all five foals can clearly be seen to be in the same stage of gestational development, this cannot be the case. The mother’s cervix is sealed tightly shut (further reinforced by the spells of Princess Twilight Sparkle), and the mother has shown no symptoms of estrus. There is also no record of superfetation or superfecundation in the family’s ancestry.

This inaccuracy is likely due to gestative thaumic noise (multiple overlapping magic fields in a confined organic space). Because of this traditional methods of analysis will now be favored moving on to acquire data to compensate, with the exception select more powerful spells and procedures that Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance have both graciously volunteered to assist with.

Focus shall next be on the reported occurrence on the father’s sterile seminal fluid being absorbed by the mother’s vagina during intercourse. There have been repeated—

“Okaaaay!” Twilight about threw the clipboard away. “I don’t think I’m as curious about the data as I thought! You don’t need to keep me updated on your findings or anything, Talia. II’ll just stick to the spellwork.”

Talia snickered. “Sure thing, Princess.”

Gleaming at least tried not to laugh. She failed, but an attempt was made. “What’s wrong? Stumble across some squick?”

Twilight gave her a deadpan stare. “Just because I understand a thing is happening doesn’t mean I want the details.”

Gleaming privately noted that if Twilight knew how often said thing was happening, she might give herself a mind wipe. “Right, well... what all did you wanna do today, Talia? I have to oversee a training exercise in a few hours, and I gotta eat before that, so...”

Talia hummed to herself while checking Gleaming’s pulse. “How’s the milk collection been coming along?”

“Pretty good.” Gleaming retrieved the milking machine from her pocket dimension to show to Talia. “This is the brand you recommended, right? We got the biggest one they had.”

Talia gave the milker a perfunctory glance. “Yup, that’s an EZ-Milk. I used to—” She did a double-take. “That’s their biggest model? That thing looks like it couldn’t hold more ’n a liter!”

Gleaming winced. “My mom was surprised, too. She said the pumping unit on her old one was twice this size. This milker would be fine otherwise, but seeing as a week ago I was filling it halfway per time, and now I’m getting closer to three-quarters…”

Talia sighed. “That’s how us mammals are wired, I’m afraid. Your body knows how many foals you’re carrying, so you’re gonna be overflowin’ that thing in no time. Tell ya what—I’ve got some friends at a company that used to make milkers, and theirs didn’t have piddly little pumping units. They used to go up to five liters, if I remember right…”

Gleaming noticed that Twilight was interested in the milker. She gave it over for her to examine. “You.. really think I’ll be putting out that much at a time? Five liters is… w-well, that’s a lot...”

“At a time? Oh, no.” Talia sidestepped past Twilight so she could get at Gleaming’s lower half. “I don’t even expect you’ll be putting out half that at a time, even at your peak! These alicorns of yours are little vacuums, but even they won’t need THAT much.”

Gleaming breathed a sigh. “Scared me htere for a sec.”

Talia chuckled. “I’mma take your bra off, alright, honey?”

“Sure.”

Talia gently pulled the garment off, checking the inside pads for off-color fluids before setting it aside. Gleaming’s breasts bounded free, each one the size of a grapefruit, the firm, warm flesh bare of fur with rosy nipples.

“Ya definitely got a nice set comin’ in.” Talia looked over each breast in turn. “Size don’t indicate much, though… did you cast the Lactation spell, Twilight?”

“Yep!”

Talia nodded. “What were the parameters?”

Twilight tapped her chin. “Just what the spell recommended. I was tempted to hasten the ramp-up time of production, but I figured it was better to just see what her natural levels were.”

“Good.” Talia poked and prodded Gleaming’s underside, looking over the dual mounds with a practiced eye. “Lactation spells work by simulatin’ a localized release of the hormone that stimulates milk production, and if you mess too much with it, it can have all kinds of weird effects. S’usually best to just kickstart the process, set the milk type, then let the body take it from there.”

Twilight turned her attention to the milker. “The right breast is already producing mature milk, but the left’s enchanted to make ten days of colostrum, thirty days of transitional milk, and mature milk from then on. It’s been twelve days, so...”

Talia looked Gleaming’s breasts over for a bit longer before muttering a few spells. Gleaming felt a tingling sensation in her groin, but it faded as quickly as it’d come. Talia stepped away a moment later and gave back the bra.

“I had a meeting earlier with the two ponies who’ve been handling your meals—that royal kitchen gal, and some army bloke with a glossy mane. I left ‘em both instructions to start giving you high calorie smoothies with every meal. Drink as many of ‘em as you can, alright? As if eating for six weren’t enough, the more milk your body makes, the more energy you’ll need. Whenever you’re hungry, stuff your face until you’re full. I don’t care how much it takes.”

Gleaming giggled. “That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing.”

“Can say that again,” Twilight said.

Talia patted Gleaming’s belly. “Them babes still got lots of growin’ to do, so don’t let up. Drink lotsa fluids, keep active, and lemme know if anything weird happens, alright?”

Gleaming saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

Later-

The Crystal Military’s tertiary training grounds were comprised of a strip of land waaaaaaaaaaaaay outside the city by the tundra barrier. It was partitioned off with fences and spells to prevent unauthorized entry, and the training grounds themselves were comprised several dirt fields, targets of various shapes and sizes, and some oddly cheap-looking sheds stored with spare equipment. The place barely looked like anything at all—just a plain, flat slab of land on the edge of the permafrost.

“Lieutenant Steelwing!” A pony beside Gleaming yelled. “You’re up!”

Steelwing stepped into the bare dirt arena, his armor and scythe-like wingblades glinting in the afternoon sun. His eyes were sharp and focused as he dropped into a combat stance.

Gleaming had heard the rumors, but she’d yet to see his abilities for herself. She glanced at the pony beside her.

“I know we’re supposed to be taking turns, Captain Deadeye, but do you mind if I…?”

Deadeye, the rust-red unicorn beside her, looked up from the clipboard she was holding. “I should tell you that Steelwing’s been out with a nasty case of feather flu for the last three weeks, so this is his first anti-changeling field training.”

“That’s what the class instructor was telling me.” Gleaming looked on at Steelwing. “I’d like to make sure he’s caught up.”

Deadeye was about to say go for it, but before she did, she reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a small device comprised of a rubber handle and a meter displaying various numbers.

“You said every three times,” she said.

Gleaming acquiesced. “So I did.”

Deadeye swept the device over Gleaming. There was a sound rapid buzzing and clicking that rose and fell in pitch.

“Well, considering your magic levels weren’t even registering on this thing before...” Deadeye showed the meter’s reading to Gleaming, which was showing at the very highest end of the scale. “Does that seem about right?”

Gleaming did some quick math. “Yeah, I’m still good.”

Deadeye put the device down. “Then by all means.”

Gleaming’s horn flared to life. “Excellent...”

A fraction of a second was all the warning Steelwing had. It was only when the air around him grew thick with charged mana that he noticed it wasn’t the Captain’s horn glowing, but the General’s...

“Shit!” He managed to take wing before…

KR-CCKKK!

...the magenta forcecage where he’d been could finish forming. He managed to get some altitude, but before he could do much else, a construct of pure magic rammed him from the side.

“Hrk!” Steelwing nearly fell out of the air. He righted himself and saw that the construct was shaped in the form of a changeling.

“I’ll be delivering your make-up course, Lieutenant,” Gleaming said through the construct. She made it zip into Steelwing’s blind spot with barely a sound. “Lesson one: changelings favor both traps and hit-and-run tactics. They never attack head-on.”

Steelwing whipped around, his wings flared and blades ready—

—only to find seven more constructs hovering there.

“Eep.”

“Lesson two—changelings ALWAYS attack in groups.” The constructs fanned out to surround Steelwing. “If you ever see just one, it means there’s an ambush waiting nearby. Mind your peripherals.”

Steelwing broke away with a burst of speed. The constructs gave chase behind him like a glittering swarm of locusts. They began firing magic blasts at him in whizzing salvos.

“Holy—” Steelwing swerved and sped up. “She’s not kidding around!”

“Lesson three—all changelings can fly, and use magic.” Gleaming made the constructs match Steelwing’s speed, the foremost literally nipping at his heels. “Drones can only use basic stun spells, but the stronger ones have repertoires that rival a unicorn’s.”

Steelwing grit his teeth. Sizzling bursts exploded all around him like bombs while rays bounced off his armor with metallic pings. He did an aileron roll and veered right, but the constructs moved with him, gathering up in a cluster from the unexpected turn…

Steelwing’s blades snapped out.

SHI—IIIING!

Steelwing slingshotted backwards with pegasus magic to sail towards all of them at double speed. The metal of his weapons turned white as he struck faster than the eye could see.

VWITT-VWITT-VWITT!

There was a split second pause, then...

WUMPH

All eight constructs exploded in a shower of dust. The sparkling magic fluttered to the ground to leave Steelwing alone in the chilly air.

“Ha!” He put his hooves on his hips. “Got ‘em!”

“Mind your ego, Lieutenant.”

Something large and solid smacked Steelwing between his shoulder blades.

“OOF!” He nearly fell into a nosedive. He righted himself and now saw that there were three larger constructs hiding amongst the clouds, these ones with eerie white eyes, curvier horns, and long, forked tails.

“Lesson four,” Gleaming continued. “Changelings will often employ decoys to learn their target’s strengths and weaknesses. If they learn that you’re a melee specialist, they will try to keep you at range.”

The horns of the three constructs glowed bright with a sound like squealing metal.

“Evasive maneuvers.”

CHT-CHT-CHT-CHT-CHT! A flurry of magenta magic missiles rained down on Steelwing. They weren’t strong enough to do real harm, but still felt like being pelted with rocks.

“Fucking—” Steelwing seethed from four spots on his back and wings struck. He swooped into a dive, another salvo already streaming after him. “Gonna be like that, eh? Fine, I’ll play your game…”

He flew low and fast with the missiles hot on his trail. They struck the ground like mortars, chunks of dirt spraying all around him as he serpentined across the field. He eventually began climbing back into the air, his ears filled with the whizzing roar of the General’s magic.

Steelwing concentrated. The magic in his wings pulled in the air around him, building in pressure that focused into his blades. They glowed white again, hot and vibrating against his skin and tickling his feathers. He waited for a pause in the General’s barrage, then looked over his shoulder...

“RAAAGH!” Steelwing whipped around and swung his wingblades, unleashing a trio of air bursts in deadly, scything waves. The attacks were nigh-invisible, but they travelled fast as cannonfire to home in on their targets.

The first attack hit dead-on. It shredded the construct like paper before travelling far, far out into the sky.

The second hit neatly bisected its target in two. The attack sailed out towards the tundra barrier before harmlessly dissipating.

The third, though, went wide...

..REALLY wide.

VSSHHTT! KA-RUNCH!

It suddenly became apparent why the equipment sheds looked so temporary.

Steelwing winced. “Not again...”

A series of laughs and whistles floated up from where the rest of the Heartguard was watching.

“Oh, shaddap!” Steelwing hollered at them. “Like you melon fudges could do better!”

Back down by Gleaming, Deadeye clicked her tongue. “I swear he has a vendetta against those sheds...”

Gleaming shrugged. “Hitting two out of three targets after being sick for so long isn't bad in my book.”

“...True.”

Gleaming cleared her throat and spoke through the remaining construct. “Lesson five, Lieutenant. Skirmishes with changelings will almost certainly be in populated areas. If you can’t execute a technique with pinpoint accuracy, then don’t use it at all.”

Steelwing bowed his head. “Yes, ma’am. Understood, ma’am.”

The construct signalled for Steelwing to land. It followed soon after, and as they both touched down, the construct’s form changed shape to something smaller. Its wings became feathered, its body gained fleshy colors, its horn disappeared, and its mane and tail assumed an oddly familiar shape…

“What the?!” Steelwing’s eyes about bugged out of his head. “F-Frappe?!”

In front of Steelwing was a pegasus with a platinum blonde mane. Her coat was the color of toffee, and her eyes were a deep, pure brown. Her smile made Steelwing’s heart skip a beat.

“Lesson five—if a changeling loses the upper hoof in a fight, they will often try to distract you by assuming the form of a loved one.” Steelwing’s marefriend spread its wings, sprouting wingblades like his with a SNIKT. “Shock is natural, but always remember that changelings prey on the heart.”

Steelwing’s mouth was dry. The likeness was impeccable, down to the fine details. He saw the blades, but when she stepped closer with that same soft smile, the one he could stare at all day...

WHACK!

Steelwing went sprawling into the dirt. His helmet vibrated from the flat of the blade, the taste of copper erupting in his mouth. On instinct he tried to roll away—

—something sharp pressed against his throat.

Steelwing gulped and opened his eyes. ‘Frappe’ was standing over him with her wingblade poised for the coup de grâce, still wearing same smile as before.

“This is how I was captured,” said Gleaming. “A changeling in the guise of my lover, who took easy advantage of my hesitation. Canterlot was nearly sacked for my carelessness.”

The construct withdrew the wingblade. There was a telltale FLASH, and in the construct’s place now stood Gleaming herself.

“We’re more alike than you think,” Gleaming said. “Strong and capable protectors, eager to give our all to defend the ones we love. I never realized that my greatest strength is also my greatest weakness against changelings, and as a result, they fed off me like leeches.”

The sound of ringing metal was still in Steelwing’s ears. “So what do I do?”

Gleaming reached down and helped him up. “Lessons six and seven—never take the changelings for granted, and do NOT engage them alone. There’s a reason why they rely on surprise and subterfuge, Lieutenant. They excel against solitary targets, but in actual battle? They get destroyed.”

Steelwing started to see where this was going. “But they know they’ll get destroyed, so they do everything they can to avoid it. And us getting overconfident is exactly what they want, because then we fall into their traps, and our commanders get frustrated because we can’t use our full strength, which leads to them making rash decisions, which are easily predictable and let them turn things around…”

“It’s all one big trap.” Gleaming nodded. “And if we’re not prepared for it, we’ll get caught like flies in a web.”

Steelwing fixed his helmet and saluted. “Ma’am! Thank you for the lessons, ma’am! It’s a privilege to be taught by you!”

Gleaming looked down at him a moment, then leaned in and spoke under her breath. “Just remember, all it took you to learn this was a few bruises. For me, it took the near-destruction of Equestria.”

The pause that followed was as pregnant as Gleaming.

Steelwing replied in a shaky whisper. “U-Understood, ma’am.”

“General!”

Gleaming’s ears pricked up. Now that was a voice she wasn’t expecting. She turned towards the edge of the field to see Rex beside Deadeye, watching with her eternal stoic gaze.

However, that wasn’t the most surprising thing. Rex was something of a trusted assistant, so she showed up in random places about as often as she was subject to anti-changeling scans.

No, the real surprise was…

Gleaming’s left eye twitched. “At ease, Lieutenant.”

She teleported back over to Deadeye and Rex.

“Duke Night Light,” Gleaming said. “Might I ask what you’re doing out here?”

Night Light, unkempt and nonchalant, stood between Rex and Deadeye like a sore hoof.

“I thought I’d go for a stroll,” he replied. “Care to join me?”

The two of them stared eye-to-eye for a moment.

“Of course,” Gleaming said. “Captain Deadeye, you’ll need to finish the tests yourself. Good work so far—glad to see you’re keeping the Heartguard sharp.”

Deadeye saluted. “Ma’am! Thank you, ma’am!”

“Erm, Captain?” Rex spoke up. “You appear to be... smoking.”

Deadeye suddenly became aware of an extreme warmth emanating from her right saddlebag… along with the smell of burning fabric...

“Ack!” She ripped off the saddlebag and flung it to the ground. The magic reader tumbled out, vibrating and hissing like mad before finally bursting into flame.

“What the...” Deadeye stared at the device. “General, I apologize! I know I left it on, but I’ve never seen—”

Deadeye realized she was all alone.

FLASH!

“I’ll take it from here, Rex,” said Gleaming.

“Of course, General.”

FLASH!

The next teleport brought Night and Gleaming to Gleaming’s office. Gleaming immediately shut the door and locked it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Night didn’t reply at first. He merely looked around the office with the shrewd look he always had.

“I think this is my first time being in here,” he said.

Gleaming swished her tail. “You used the code phrase I gave you and Mom. What’s the matter?”

Night went over to the bookshelf in the corner, taking note of its contents. “Nothing, really. You and I just haven’t had much of a chance to talk these past few weeks, so I’d hoped to fix that.”

Gleaming withheld her sigh. Typical Dad, using the secret phrase meant only for emergencies just so they could chat. “You really couldn’t wait until I was off work?”

Night looked over his shoulder with a sheepish look. “I’m, ah... usually asleep by the time you’re off.”

As an astronomy researcher, Night’s schedule often involved being up late so he could do, well… astronomy things. But even still, though, Gleaming didn’t think he typically slept during the day. The only times she recalled that were when he went full nocturnal, and Mom only allowed THAT when he was working against a tight deadline—

Gleaming laughed. “So that’s why I haven’t seen much of you. I wondered why Mom seemed crabby at the Leaves feast.”

Night gave her a wry look. “She’s crabby because I’m finishing this semester rather than quitting now that we’ve made up our minds to move. The University’s been screwing me over the past few years, and she’s fed up with it.”

Gleaming did recall her mother mentioning something about Night having some kind of issue with Canterlot University. “What’s been going on?”

Night traced his hoof along one of the bookshelves. “This time? There’s a debate happening about the properties of supermassive black holes, and somehow, the notice telling me I’m expected to contribute got ‘misplaced’. I’ve had to bust my butt to summarize my findings.”

Gleaming hadn’t noticed at first, but now she noticed how slumped her dad’s posture was, his messy and tangled coat, as well the circles beneath his eyes. It hadn’t been this noticeable last week, but maybe he hadn’t gotten the notice before then?

“The easy part was I had to finishing my night-to-night observations, then comparing them to my earlier notes.” Night laughed bitterly. “But then I had to summarize my findings, cite everything, prepare a presentation and a speech… I only just got done.”

Gleaming went over to her desk and sat down. “Why haven’t you said anything before this?”

Night gestured to all around them. “You’ve had enough to handle, Bud. You don’t need to worry about the measly things I deal with.”

Gleaming grit her teeth. “Damn it, Dad! You know I hate it when—”

Night silenced her with a look.

Gleaming’s ears drooped. “...Sorry. I hate it, though.”

Night held her gaze a bit longer before looking away. “I was willing to put up with things thinking they were just a rough patch, but my proposals are getting ignored, my funding keeps getting cut, my colleagues have started distancing themselves, my deadlines have been getting shorter, and now, the notices for those deadlines are getting ‘lost’. I may be dense, but even I can read the signs—this is how they get rid of somepony with tenure.”

Gleaming pursed her lips. Her father could be a little socially inept at times, but he was also the smartest pony she knew. She once saw him explain the nuances of string theory to some middle schoolers in under twenty minutes… and they understood it.

“Why would they want to get rid of you?”

“Oh, any number of reasons,” Night grumbled. “You know I’m no good at dealing with office politics. The new dean might just have it out for quiet blue unicorns for all I know.”

Obviously Gleaming she didn’t know what Canterlot U’s higher-ups thought of her father, but they had to know of his influence by proxy. Regardless of what tactics they used, they’d have to be dumb as rocks not to realize aggravating him would in turn aggravate others.

“Well, hay with ‘em,” Gleaming said. “They don’t want you there? Fine! Congratulations, you’re now the Crystal Empire’s Royal Astronomer. Welcome aboard.”

Now Night laughed for real. “I was actually hoping to apply at the Crystal Empire’s University once it got back up and running. Any idea on when that might be?”

Gleaming frowned. “I can recommend you to the hiring committee if you wanna go that route, but you won’t actually do anything until we’ve sorted through all the red tape, and that won’t be for a few years. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but if you wanna, you know… get paid...”

Night made a face. “Arggghh, I was afraid you’d say that…”

“You don’t need a title if that’s too much,” Gleaming said. “You can say you’re an independent researcher, or whatever! You can even do your research at home!”

“Still doesn’t change that I’m working for my own kid,” Night muttered. “There’s really no other jobs up here for my special talent? What about meteorology? Aeronautical engineering? Theoretical physics?”

“Dad, the Crystal Empire’s been gone for a thousand years.” Gleaming gestured to the window behind her. “The whole reason Luna had her freakout was because ponies back then—THESE ponies—didn’t care about the stars.”

Night had to give her that one. “I… ah, don’t know if the Nightmare Moon incident classifies as a ‘freakout’, but—to be fair! It wasn’t just the crystal ponies that ignored her, but I suppose...”

Gleaming’s eyes fell on her father’s crescent moon cutie mark. Out of all the crystal ponies she’d seen to date, not one of them had had a night-themed mark. “I think they feel guilty more than anything else. Could explain why so many of them volunteered for the batpony campaign.”

Night smirked. “I heard about that. I’m sure that’s won you more than a few brownie points with the Sarosian Council.”

Gleaming smiled back, but she could see that her father’s expression remained strained. “Look, I get that you don’t want to be reliant on me or Twily, but if you and Mom are gonna live up here, the only way you’ll have a job is if I make one. Things might changes once Crystal U gets going, but for now...”

It almost looked like Night might refuse. He certainly was having a tough time of it, tossing his head and grinding his teeth.

“Grrrreehhhh, it’s not that I don’t think you’re good enough…”

“I know.”

“...S’just not something I ever expected to happen…”

“Dad, no one expected ANY of this.”

“... just don’t want to be one of those lazy nobles that do nothing but leech off their family’s money…”

“With your work ethic? Seriously?”

“...OR piggyback off your and Twily’s successes without contributing anything myself…”

“Hey, you were pretty gung-ho when we were talking about Sombra during the Leaves feast—”

“—I meant academically.” Night closed his eyes, taking slow, measured breaths. “I want to make a discovery that’ll put me down in the history books! What I said at the Leaves feast was just… heat of the moment.”

Gleaming wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. “Well regardless, you’ll have a hard time making discoveries without funding.”

Night hung his head. “And that’s really what it comes don’t to, isn’t it? The most necessary of evils. You’re certainly able to provide that funding, aren’t you?”

“Along with just about anything else,” said Gleaming. “Academic freedom? It’s yours. Want to set your own deadlines? Done. Need access to the castle archives? Everything but the Forbidden Section. You can do whatever you want, Dad, because I know it’s gonna be amazing.”

The strain in Night’s face melted away. “Aww. Thanks, Bud.”

Gleaming waggled her eyebrows. “And when you do make your revolutionary discovery, you can rub it in the faces of those pricks at Canterlot U! Make those jerks rue the day they took you for granted.”

Night grunted to that. He was silent for a while as his mind shifted gears, now properly looking Gleaming over from head to hoof. Mane and tail in tight braids, fetlocks grown all the way down to the hoof, a barrel like an over-inflated beach ball. She’d given up on wearing armor, instead opting for a periwinkle officer’s jacket with large gold buttons and a glittering insignia on the collar.

“You look good in that,” Night said. “Real professional.”

Gleaming sat up a little straighter. “Thanks.”

Night lingered on the magenta star serving as her chest clasp. “They let you wear the House symbol?”

“I’m General and Princess-Consort,” Gleaming replied. “Who’s going to stop me?”

Night snorted. He looked over at the flag of the Crystal Empire by the window, then at each of the walls in turn.

“You should put some pictures up in here or something,” he said.

Gleaming followed his gaze. “Cady’s said the same thing. I keep meaning to get around to it.”

Night’s hawk-like stare travelled all over. The three armor stands in the corner, the leftmost a gift from him. A full-length mirror with a tiny chip on the top-right corner. A polished mahogany desk free of any and all scuffs. An impressively empty inbox. The slight marks on the crystal floor, set in a single, pacing line. The cold and bare fireplace, not a speck of ash to be seen.

“We don’t have to talk in here if you don’t want,” he said at last. “We can go somewhere more comfortable.”

Silence.

Gleaming examined one of her hooves. “What’s on your mind, Dad?”

Night looked like he was trying to swallow a lemon. He eventually swallowed hard and spoke.

“Your mother told me about the conversation you had when we first got here.”

Gleaming cocked her head. Conversation that they had—

Oh, Luna fuck her with the moon...

Gleaming’s tense up didn’t go unnoticed. “She doesn’t keep things from me any more than you keep things from Cadance,” Night said. “You can’t fault her for telling me.”

Gleaming rubbed her temples. Even fair as that was, she’d really, REALLY hoped to control how her father heard this news. “So you know, then?”

Night sat down in front of her. “Yeah.”

Gleaming waited for him to say more, but he just sat there, watching her. “Annnnnnd…?”

Night shook his head. “I want YOU to tell me what’s going on. Tell me everything that’s led this decision. The whole story.”

Gleaming groaned and ran a hoof down her face. “Fucking-A, Dad… are you really gonna grill me about this?”

“You’re about to be a parent yourself,” Night replied. “Are you not gonna grill them about things like this?”

Gleaming was quiet. She glanced down at the sensitive orb between her legs, heavy, full, and firm.

Night leaned forward. “Talk to me.”

It was frustrating beyond words. Even after all these years and all she’d done, her father’s glare still made her quail. Celestia forbid that edge creep into his voice—that’d make her crack like an egg.

“I’ve decided to remain a mare after the kids are born,” Gleaming said at last.

Night said nothing. Didn’t betray anything, either. Perfect poker face.

“Er, right… the whole story...” Gleaming twiddled her hooves. “I guess it started when I noticed…”

Where Velvet had been mostly quiet throughout the explanation, Night stopped her constantly, asking for more details and having things repeated. He remained agonizingly neutral at all times, his voice never rising or accusing, letting her go at her own pace. The air between them was terse at first, but as time went on, Gleaming fell into a familiar groove, old memories and habits reminding her who she was talking to.

“And that’s pretty much it,” Gleaming finished. “Cady didn’t have any protests, I mentioned it to Spike in passing, and then it came up with Mom. Those are the only ones who know so far.”

Night raised an eyebrow. “Spike knows? What’d he say?”

Gleaming smiled a small smile. “He just wants me to be happy. Doesn’t care about much else.”

Night finally dropped the statue act and chuckled. “I swear, you’d never know he’s a dragon by the way he acts...”

Gleaming laughed as well. “We sure lucked out with him, didn’t we?”

Night’s face suddenly grew grim. He looked past Gleaming out the window, watching the sun hang lazily amongst the clouds.

“Did Velvet or I ever tell you about the fight we had over his foster care?”

The change made Gleaming pause. “Uh, no. You guys never say ANYTHING about your fights. I just remember getting a letter in military school saying ‘You have a new brother’ and that I’d meet him over the holidays. You could’ve at least told me that he wasn’t even a pony!”

Night sighed, long and slow. His eyes grew unfocused as he stared off at something only he could see.

“Your mother had had a miscarriage,” he said. “About ten weeks in, I believe. The pregnancy hadn’t been planned, but Velvet was fine with it because she’d been wanting another baby something fierce. I’d been insisting two was enough, but she had foal fever and… ugh. Anyway, I only found out she was pregnant about a month before she lost it, so I wasn’t too invested. But she, on the other hoof...”

A hole appeared in Gleaming’s gut. Her mother… had been pregnant? Pregnant with a third foal?! She’d never heard once about this!

“Do you know why she lost it? Did she—” ” A terrible thought came to Gleaming. “Oh, oh jeez… please, please tell me it wasn’t because of Twily’s flare.”

Night met Gleaming’s eyes. “The flare was later, but only by a few weeks. The loss was still pretty fresh for your mom.”

And that’s when it clicked in Gleaming’s head. “And then along comes this adorable newborn dragon, freshly hatched and bonded to Twily…”

Night looked down at the floor. “Velvet hid it at first, making up excuses for why she was going to see your sister at the castle all the time. Of course I knew the real reason, but I figured the best thing to do was to let things play out. Sure enough, we got a summons from Princess Celestia in short order asking to ‘discuss some things.’”

Gleaming frowned. “What things?”

Night rolled his shoulders. “You’ve probably already gathered this, but Twily wasn’t actually supposed to hatch Spike. It was a test to see how she’d handle failure, and the fact that she’d actually succeeded presented some pretty serious problems. Celestia could have claimed Spike if she wanted, but Twilight also had a claim since she’d been the hatcher. Except with Celestia running the country by herself and Twily not even a pre-teen...”

Gleaming crossed her hooves. “So, what then? Celestia sees Mom’s completely enamored with Spike, so she calls you both up to talk about foster care?”

“Yessssss, and no,” Night said. “We could all see that your mom and I were the best choices for Spike’s immediate caretakers; that was never really in question. The problem was that Velvet felt if Celestia wasn’t going to take responsibility for underage students attempting to hatch a dragon egg, then she didn’t deserve a say in Spike’s future.”

Night met Gleaming’s eyes. “Velvet didn’t want to talk about foster care at all; she wanted to talk about adoption. She wanted to claim Spike completely and totally so she could get him away from a pony that she felt would be a bad influence. I was trying to make her see reason and keep her from storming off to the castle in a rage, eventually her anger turned on me, and… well.”

That was all certainly news to Gleaming. Her parents hadn’t fought a lot that she recalled, but it was hard to say with them being so secretive. To hear the specifics of an argument now was… weird.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Gleaming asked.

Night noticed a lock of Gleaming’s mane was out of place. He used a bit of magic to smooth it out. “Think about everything I just told you. With all the pressures your mom was under, emotions running high and all that, do you think RIGHT THEN was the best time to be making such an important decision?”

Now Gleaming could see.

“You don’t think I should decide on being a mare right now.”

“No, I don’t,” said Night. “I think it’s okay to talk and think about it right now, but the buck should stop there. You’ve got a LOT running through your system right now, Bud—hormones, foreign magic infusions, experimental spells, and stars knows what else. Can you honestly say with complete confidence that those things aren’t affecting your judgment?”

Gleaming threw up her hooves. “So you think I’m just confused. Loopy from a cocktail of magic and hormones! Gee, thanks, Dad. Sure glad I got that cleared up!”

“Shining, the symptoms of undiagnosed gender dysphoria are nasty.” Night ticked them off on his hoof. “Social isolation, disgust with your own body, anxiety disorders, depression, attempted suicide… you’ve never shown any of those things. I get that you’ve been enjoying this experience, but the way I’m hearing you talk, the reasons I’m hearing you give? I’m not seeing it as gender dysphoria. Gender fluid, maybe—”

“Stop playing armchair doctor,” Glemaing snapped. “Who are you to act like you know what you’re talking about? You’re not qualified to give a mental diagnosis.”

“Neither are Spike, Velvet, or Cadance.”

Gleaming opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Well, something resembling a squeak, but we won’t count that.

“Even still,” she muttered after a time. “I’m not gonna disregard what they’ve all said. You’re the first one who’s been opposed to this.”

“That doesn’t mean you should disregard me, either.” Night squinted at Gleaming. “When you were talking, the uncertainty on your face was plain as day. I don’t think you’re sure what to think right now.”

Gleaming bit her lip. She remained silent and still, save for tracing a small circle on the ground.

Night’s eyes were gentle. “You’re absolutely right that I’m not qualified to diagnose you, but I AM qualified to give you advice as your father. Will you let me do that? Please?”

Gleaming folded her arms and looked away. “I think you’ve already made yourself clear.”

“You want to know what I see in you?” Night scooted closer to the desk. “I see somepony experiencing something unlike anything they’ve ever felt, and is now struggling to understand it. Why’s it all been so enjoyable? Is it because of the spells? The transfusions? The hormones? Your special talent? The change in status? Were you actually miserable as a stallion and just never realized it? Do you like being pregnant? Are you just lucky?”

The stuffy air was getting to Gleaming. Her fight-or-flight impulse was blaring, and it was making her fidget in place.

“Twily’s shown me the whole list of enchantments she’s got on you, and if it were anypony but her, I’d question the safety of all this.” Night shook his head. “I get you and Cadance are pretty progressive when it comes to sexuality, but I doubt even you would’ve gone this far if she’d been able to carry the kids. Just one more thing to blame Sombra for, I suppose… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the advice the others gave you, but I’m worried that they’re not taking situational factors into account.”

Gleaming’s face was twisted into in a grimace. It felt like a bubbling mass was in her chest, volatile and ready to explode on a hair trigger. Her thoughts were caught in a jam, a pressure building between her ears, her heart rising in her throat...

“Hey. Look at me.”

Reluctantly, Gleaming obeyed. Her father’s eyes held no shame, no judgment... just the calm look he always had.

“Here’s what I think you should do. Wait until those kids are out of you, let things go back to normal— including going back to being a stallion—then decide what you wanna do. If months pass and you still feel strongly about being a mare, then I’ll support you all way. But I think you’ve got enough life-changing things on your plate right now, don’t you?”

Gleaming closed her eyes. She took a deep, calming breath, then let it out nice and slow. A habit she’d picked up from Cadance, and kinda startling how well it worked.

“You know, I kinda feel sorry for whoever’s debating against you.”

Night chuckled.

“And… I suppose you’ve got a point,” Gleaming admitted. “Now’s probably not a good time to be deciding on this. I’ve got too much going on right now.”

“Agreed.”

“But I’m not dismissing it entirely,” Gleaming said. “I still think there’s some merit to it.”

Night’s ears twitched, but that was all the response he gave. Whatever more he thought on the matter, he kept it to himself.

Gleaming looked around the office with a curled lip. “You also were right about going somewhere else to talk. This wasn’t the best place for this.”

Night shrugged. “We still can go somewhere else if you want. Got a spot in mind?”

“Anywhere’s better than here...” Gleaming stretched and got to her hooves. “Wanna just go back to the castle for now? I’ve gotta eat pretty soon, but maybe we can do some Hearth’s Warming shopping afterwards.”

Night smiled. “Sure thing, Bud.”

Author's Notes:

Has anyone ever had this happen to them before? This is what the chapter originally looked like when I brought it over from GDocs. I had to do a bunch of find/replaces in Word in order to get rid of all the extra garbage.