Two Weeks Later (Week 40)-

“And there’s been a ninety-eight percent success rate thanks to the compatibility spells,” said Apogee. “We’ve also seen a large uptick of new volunteers the last month, putting the total number of Crystal Empire surrogates at just over seven thousand.”

“That’s wonderful!” Luna said. “The Council will be delighted!”

The dream realm had manifested once more as a lake within a mountainous valley. Apogee, Luna, and Shining were all gathered by the calm water’s edge, the latter once more a stallion due to the dream he’d been pulled from. Luna was emanating a deep violet aura that was flowing into Apogee, who lay securely beneath the Princess' large navy wing.

“It gets better, Mistress.” Apogee looked up into Luna’s face. “The General’s publicness with her own pregnancy has caused several stallions to ask about volunteering. We’d need approval from the Mage’s Guild, but feasibly—”

She was cut off by Luna laughing.

“Truely?” she said. “Even stallions are volunteering?!”

Shining laughed as well. “It wouldn’t lead to many more volunteers, but if we start promoting it as an option...”

Luna shook her head, still smiling. “To think such spells were invented in my absence. That our society has such possibilities, let alone become commonplace?”

Shining shifted atop his glowing mushroom. “I wouldn’t say genderswapping is common. You might meet a pony here and there that can switch back and forth, but it’s too advanced for most.”

Apogee scooted a little closer to Luna. “There have also been families interested in adopting the foals. The Council was hesitant without a lux field over the city, but they very much approve now that one's in place. There’s even been talk of establishing a northern thestral settlement.”

Luna gasped. “Really?”

Shining nodded. “The weather barrier’s large enough. Though it doesn’t have to be separate from the city—it could easily be integrated into one of the districts. Would be easier than putting in new utilities like well and sewer.”

Luna rubbed her chin. “I’ll admit a thestral-founded town is tempting. Perhaps when their kind isn’t facing extinction, we can address it more seriously.”

Apogee leaned into Luna’s side. “A good goal to work towards.”

Luna gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’ve done well, Apogee. I must speak with the General alone now. That means you must wake up.”

Apogee’s ears drooped. “...Just a little longer?”

Luna kissed Apogee’s brow. “I’ll visit your dreams this afternoon. Open your eyes, dearheart.”

Apogee made a soft chirp. She nuzzled Luna one last time, her body flickering before dissolving like dust in the wind.

Shining watched Apogee go with pursed lips. “When you said they were drawn to you in this place like magnets, I didn’t think you meant literally.”

Luna’s eyes lingered where Apogee had been. “I must ask you not publicize this. Most thestrals don’t realize they act like children in the Dreamrealm, let alone that they seek such intimate contact with me. I allow it because it simplifies the rejuvenation process.”

Shining had to wonder what those first days of ‘treatment’ were like years back. The words ‘batpony-pile’ came to mind. “They all act like that?”

Luna stretched out like a cat. “All but Maria. Though even she falters far sooner than she should. When this next generation is born, even the weakest of them will be stronger than her.”

Shining winced. “Yeesh.”

“But we should not dwell on such things.” Luna rose to her hooves. “We did not call for you to sit in on Apogee’s report, after all. We wish to speak on two things—the situation with your father, and your letter on Princess Amore.”

Something told Shining that Luna wasn't using the royal 'we'. "Are you expecting some—"

Suddenly, there was a glimmer of golden light. It was the size of a firefly at first, but it crept out larger, growing wider as if it were burning a hole in space. It spread until it was the rough shape of an archway... whereupon a familiar white alicorn stepped through.

“Finally.” Celestia smoothed out her mane. “I hate astral projection...”

Luna winced at the charred rift. “I’d… have included Mi Amore and Twilight Sparkle, but hosting multiple strong souls over long distances proves taxing. It's hard enough communicating with one of you.”

Celestia paused. She looked more closely at Shining, a smile soon playing on her face. “Well hello, Shining Armor. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Shining blinked several times. He looked down at himself, then felt his muzzle and barrel. “Oh, right. This again.”

Luna chuckled. “Few resemble their physical selves in the Dreamrealm. Fewer still realize when such changes occur. Perhaps I’ll teach you the art of lucid dreaming in the coming years, hmm? A nicely balanced soul like yours should pick it up easily.”

Celestia snorted at her. "Your definition of 'easy' baffles me, even to this day."

Shining looked between the two sisters. Speaking of changes, he noticed that Luna had made herself taller. She was the same height as Celestia, and with them side by side, it was easy to spot little things indicating they were kin. Their eye shape and jawlines were similar. Their wings were the same shape. Their coats grew in the same direction. 6.0Their body types were quite similar—

Wait.

Celestia seemed to pick up on what Shining had realized. “Why don’t you show Shining your progress, Lulu? I’m sure he’s curious to see how he compares.”

“Luna rolled her eyes. “I was trying to gloss over that.”

“Oh, as if you weren’t going to show him anyway.” Celestia tickled her with a wing. “You’ve enjoy showing off and you know it! I haven’t seen you in such good spirits since we lived in the old castle.”

Luna couldn’t help but giggle. “Fine, fine. I suppose I can take my true form now, if you actually are curious, Nephew. We are family, after all.”

Shining snorted. “I’m curious now.”

Luna closed her eyes, and her body rippled like water in a pond. The violet aura she’d been emanating swelled threefold, the air wavering like a wispy veil. For Shining, it didn’t look like anything about her had changed, but rather that she’d always been this way.

Celestia came over to sit by Shining. “Makes it look easy, doesn’t she? Always was the graceful one.”

The magic faded, and where a Celestia-sized Luna had stood, there was now a giant Luna. She was twice and some the size of her sister, the very definition of hierarchical scale. Her legs alone were longer than Celestia was tall, thicker than cider barrels and bulging with limber muscle. And said muscles were needed to support the weight of her incredible pregnancy—twice as wide as her frame and the size of a massive boulder. Her thick womb was so great her navel brushed the ground despite her dizzying height, yet her flawless skin and plush coat held a soft sheen that bloomed with healthy color.

“I believe I’d just moved to my new quarters when you came for the Revel?” Luna gestured to herself. “As you can see, the relocation was quite justified.”

Shining was at a loss for words. Luna’s flowing mane glittered and glowed, her eyes shone bright, and the soft smile she wore was positively serene. Combine that with the soothing aura she still exuded, and he was starting to why the thestrals were drawn to her.

“She’s been growing like mad since a week a half ago,” Celestia said. “First it was an inch taller a day, now she’s up to several inches a day. Hopefully things’ll slow down soon, or even her new room will be too small.”

Luna gave her pregnant belly a fond pat. “I’ve not seen signs of slowing, Tia. If anything, there’s been evidence to the contrary. Mac and I have started looking at caverns on the mountain’s north side.”

Shining was suddenly very glad he hadn’t actually made that bet on Nightmare Night. “What fertility spell did you use again? Because I’m pretttttttttty sure it’s not what Cady and I used.”

Luna laughed. “We’ve learned this particular spell is only so reactive in alicorn mares. Seeing as Mi Amore is the sire of your children, and you have yet to ascend...”

Celestia gave Shining a pointed look. “Twilight tells me you’re planning on more foals. I don’t know why you’d use fertility magic considering your domain, but unless you want to head the alicorn repopulation campaign...”

Shining smirked. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

“I think we should begin with the lighter of the two topics.” Luna eased back down, laying on her side with her front half sitting up. She still loomed over the both of them. “When I spoke with your father, he echoed your same concerns in revealing himself. We spoke of the lengths he’d gone to suppress his power, as well as the precautions he took every day to stay hidden. He was confident nopony outside of the family knew of his secret, but when he mentioned his troubles at Canterlot University, I suspected that was not the case.”

Celestia shifted in place. “Shining, I mentioned to you at the Revel that I wasn’t surprised the chancellor of the Scholar’s Guild has been giving you issues. We’ve reason to believe he knows of Night Light’s abilities.”

Shining did a double-take. “What?!”

Luna’s face was grim. “Ever since his appointment, Chancellor Neighsay has voiced more and more radical views on intercultural and interracial matters. We’ve heard mutterings he even refers to the sub-tribes as ‘freaks’. There’s evidence to suggest he considers your father to be part of a unicorn sub-tribe.”

“He’s been nothing but trouble since day one,” grumbled Celestia. “Shutting down study abroad programs, cutting scholarships, bogging down your university’s accreditation... I’m convinced he was the one preventing Lulu’s campaign from gaining traction.”

Shining made a mental note to become more involved in Guild Chancellor elections. “Why, though? What’s his deal?”

“He’s a…” Luna trailed off. “What did you call him, Tia?”

“A power-hungry xenophobic isolationist.”

“Yes, that.” Luna gestured with a hoof. “We’re not sure how he learned of your father, but my sources have managed to confirm two things: the orders to inconvenience Night came piecemeal, and they all came from the same place—an anonymous higher-up in the Scholar’s Guild.”

Shining crossed his hooves. “Interesting as that is, that’s not quite enough to pin this on Neighsay.”

“No, it’s not,” said Celestia. “But we’ve also learned Neighsay started looking into your family’s ancestry after Twilight ascended. Combine that with the Crystal Empire being annexed, Twilight advancing intercultural relations, and now you and Mi Amore supporting the thestral repopulation effort, Neighsay has plenty of grounds for motive.”

Shining made a second mental note to get more involved in Guild elections. “So the head of the Scholar’s Guild is some kind of closet racist, and it’s possible he’s been meting out petty revenge through Dad because he doesn’t like the way we’re running things. Fabulous. Sounds to me like the Vice Chancellor’s in line for a promotion.”

Luna got a prim look. “I agree. Tia, however…”

“You said it yourself, Shining,” Celestia said. “These are correlations, not causations. I want concrete evidence before we make a move, otherwise we risk something slipping through the cracks. Even worse, there might be someone else pulling the strings here, and whoever it is might be looking to spring a trap.”

Luna fidgeted from a few of her foals kicking. “If you’d just let me search his subconscious—”

“I already lost you to a monster that preyed on your mind once,” Celestia snapped. “I’ll burn before I lose you again.”

Luna fell silent. A heavy pause followed, neither sister meeting each other’s eyes. Shining twiddled his hooves between them while trying not to stare.

“Soooooo,” he finally said, “More to follow?”

Celestia grunted. “What’s important is we’re aware something’s going on. Your—our family is out of harm’s way, so we’re free to get to the bottom of this without snags. Don’t worry.”

Luna cleared her throat and sat up straight. “Now, on to our second topic. We regret not immediately answering your letter about Amore, but we’ve been debating on the best way to respond. We finally decided there’s only one place the late princess would’ve wanted this information shared—where time holds no sway.”

Celestia nodded. “The Dreamrealm exists outside of time. No scrying spell can invade it, and only Luna and her chosen can navigate it. We couldn’t risk putting this in writing.”

Shining cocked his head. “What does time have to do with anything?”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other.

“Amore was… many things,” Celestia said at last. “A scholar, a protector, a teacher, a ruler, a mentor, a confidant… and a dear friend. But additionally, she was something both a curse and a blessing—a seer. Her gifts of foresight allowed her to see many possible futures, but not always how to bring them about.”

“She was the wisest pony we’ve ever known.” Luna waved her hoof, and the Dreamrealm changed. They were now on the side of a street of a Crystal Empire, watching as tall Princess Amore walked at a gentle pace. Trailing just behind her were Celestia and Luna, both bright-eyed teenagers. “Our teacher, Starswirl the Bearded, was apprenticed under her for many years learning the secrets of time and space. Her power was one of the few things Discord feared, so much that he only dared make a move after she was gone.”

A familiar calm fell over Shining. His eyes and ears sharpened, his gaze never wandering once. “So you knew her pretty well. Was she an alicorn?”

Celestia hesitated. “No, but…”

There was another heavy pause.

Luna ran a hoof down her face. “Any day now, Tia.”

Celestia threw her a sour look. “I haven’t talked about this since she swore us to secrecy. Excuse me if I have trouble spilling a millenia year-old secret.”

“Then allow me.” Luna met Shining’s eyes. “Are you familiar with temporal theory?”

Shining shrugged. “Familiar enough to cast Twily’s Time Snap spell. Why?”

Luna rolled her own shoulders. “Explain what a ‘fixed point’ is.”

Shining thought for a moment. “Fixed points are... events that have to happen. They’re focal areas where many, many futures depend on a certain thing coming to pass. It’s easy to scry them because time gets really dense around them, but you can’t actually see what’s going on because of that.”

Luna nodded. “Nor could you change much about them even if you could. Even if you were to try with a spell, your actions will have already been accounted for, and the event will happen anyway. The past is immutable, the present is immutable and infinite, and the future is immutable, infinite, and indefinite. This is the foundation of time magic.”

Shining watched the image of Amore and the young sisters fade away. “Starswirlian relativity in a nutshell. I remember reading he was the first to develop spells with the theory.”

“For non-seers, yes.” Luna looked towards Crystal Empire Castle in the distance. “He applied Amore’s teachings in ways she’d never thought of because her gifts came naturally to her, but she didn’t always have such control.”

“When Amore was young, she had a vision that she’d live far into the future due to the event of something she couldn’t see,” said Celestia. “She had little knowledge of her gifts in those days, so she didn’t know the unknown event was a fixed point. The only clue she could glean was a single image—herself, alone and starving out on the tundra in a blizzard, frantically carving a heart out from a chunk of crystal.”

The dream changed again. They were now in a whiteout winter storm, the snow so deep it came up to Shining’s chest. There were no signs of civilization anywhere, and on the edge of his hearing beneath the howling wind, there was a bloodchilling screech the likes of which Shining had never known.

“She became so obsessed with the vision that when the three pony tribes travelled south for warmer lands, she volunteered to stay behind to as a diversion for the windigoes,” Luna shook her head. “She wandered for weeks with the beasts hot on her tail, but at last she found a place where they wouldn’t follow… though she knew not why.”

Celestia looked out into the relentless storm. “She’d soon learn it was because of the wild and extreme weather of the area.”

Shining could now see outlines of strange outcroppings in the snow. Said outlines glowed eerily even through the white, stretching off into the horizon like stars in a second sky. He didn’t see Amore, but then remembered they weren’t actually in her memory.

“Amore lost her way fighting for her life before finally starting to freeze.” Luna’s voice grew somber. “That would’ve likely been her end, but just then, she stumbled across a particularly large vein of blue crystal, jutting out of the snow like an obelisk. Remembering her vision, she ran to it, hacked off a large chunk, chiseled it into the shape of a heart, then waited for something to happen… but nothing did.”

Celestia looked down at Shining. “Tell me—what unique properties do the Crystal Empire’s natural crystals have, even to this very day?”

Shining felt a chill. “They’re... overly sensitive. Most ponies can’t use them as foci because they overload and explode. It’s something to do with how they absorb magic—like they’re sucking it out of you.”

Celestia nodded. “So what do you think would happen if a dying pony found the only known crystal of the region that wouldn’t overload, and in desperation, they used it to boost an innate power they didn’t realize stemmed from their very soul?”

Shining took a step back. “O-Oh…” He put a hoof over his chest, a phantom pain lancing through him. “Oh, sweet mercy…”

The snow stopped falling. The wind halted, the clouds parted, and the snow melted to leave them on an empty plain. All that was left was the crystals poking out of the ground like a giant’s fingernails, and Shining could now see the Himaneighya Mountain Range dominating the northern landscape, Mount Everhoof itself stretching far, far up into the sky.

“To speak of Amore, one must also speak of the Crystal Heart, for they are one in the same.” Luna waved her hoof again, and the relic in question appeared between them. “It was an accident, but in Amore’s numb and dying state, she never even felt her soul be torn in two. The incident didn’t kill her... somehow, but nor was she the same after that, either.”

“The crystal she’d used began to take on her soul’s natural traits,” Celestia said. “Her love and kindness... her warmth. It refined all these things and amplified them a millionfold, even gaining some of her time affinity. It’s not a proper phylactery, not in the traditional sense, but even Amore admitted there were similarities.”

Shining’s world was spinning. He wouldn’t have believed it had he not heard it from these two. The Crystal Heart, believed by all to be a holy relic, actually a…

The scene around them faded. They were now back in Luna’s lakeside grove, the stars and moon watching over them. Luna had fashioned herself an oversized bed of clouds to lay upon, her belly somehow now looking even bigger.

“Your letter said you found conflicting reports on how Amore fared during the theft of the Crystal Heart.” Luna conjured up the letter in question. “One report said she worked to keep up the spirits of the Empire, the other said she fell unconscious. Both these accounts are true. While Tia and I travelled to reclaim the Heart from Ashmaw the Cruel, Amore used the rest of her soul to support the weather barrier and prevent her citizens from panicking. Doing this required her to temporarily abandon her body.”

“You can see why she kept this a secret,” said Celestia. “Not only was there potential for misunderstanding, even worse was the risk of another trying to copy her. The Crystal Heart is a beacon of love and hope because Amore was a beacon of love and hope. What do you think it’d be if she was something else?”

Of all reactions, Shining started to laugh. “Y’know, it’s funny. I was going to ask the obvious how a seer gets anything stolen from them, but you said Amore’s visions could be vague, didn’t you? I’m guessing she either wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was gonna happen, or that it needed to happen in order for something else to come to pass. Another fixed point, essentially.”

Luna and Celestia grunted at the same time.

“Her actions were quite baffling at times,” Luna said. “Her mind was hidden from my sight because she didn’t actually dream, but I was just as hard for her to divine.” Luna chuckled. “Many prank wars were had.”

“But she was always trying to bring about the best future for the most creatures,” Celestia said. “She rarely spoke of things yet to happen, but if you got her in the right mood, she’d tell you about the things she’d prevented. Some of the things she spoke of...”

Shining could see where this was going. He didn’t like it, but he had to voice it anyways. “And if the best future required her to die...”

The valley fell silent. A gentle wind blew in from the south, ruffling their manes and making waves on the lake. The only sound was the splashing of waves against the shore.

“A part of Amore will always live on through the Crystal Heart,” Luna said at last. “She truly was a beautiful soul, and her touch lingers in the hearts and minds of those who call the Empire home, even now. But the part that contained her consciousness, that was well and truly her… I fear that is long gone.”

Celestia put her hoof on Shining’s shoulder. “This information is dangerous. If it becomes public, there’ll be a stampede of those seeking to prolong their lives. Your land will be stripped of every crystal in the search for one able to house a soul, and countless spirits will be ripped to shreds in the process. Amore warned it could even lead to war.”

Shining gulped. “O-Okay, but… please, please tell me Sombra didn’t know about any of this. Tell me the reason he was obsessed with the Heart really was because he didn’t want it used against him. He was enduring pretty well there without a body—”

“His shadow form was his own doing,” said Luna. “In our battle with him, he employed the use of clones to confound us while he sought an opening. We turned these clones against him, but realized too late he’d enchanted them with some form of vile magic. The result was the apparition you saw.”

“We believe he had… suspicions,” Celestia admitted. “Though we were able to stop him before he learned the truth. I shudder to think what he might’ve done with a dark Crystal Heart.”

Shining pursed his lips. “So we’re one hundred percent sure he’s gone.”

Luna wiggled her wings. “Unlike Amore, Sombra’s soul had no connections to time, and thus was able to be scryed through the Dreamrealm. I watched myself as his very essence was obliterated... with great pleasure, I might add.”

Shining exhaled out his nose. “Alright, then.”

“You’ll need to be careful how you tell this to Twilight and Mi Amore,” said Celestia. “It’d be all too easy for the information to be scryed by someone in the past or future, and then the secret would be out. There’s a room in your castle where Amore placed several powerful divining wards—the Silver Sanctum. Do you know where it is?”

Shining’s eyes lit up. “THAT’S what that room is for.”

“Indeed.” Luna rubbed the side of her belly, her fetlock lovingly stroking her coat. “We trust that you’ll keep this to yourselves otherwise. Your father’s secret for this secret—a trade, as it were.”

Shining laughed. “I’d say we getting the better deal here, but if you want to look at it that way.”

Celestia opened her hooves for a hug. “Take care of our old friend, won’t you? And apologize to Mi Amore for us. We were always going to tell her about this; we were just waiting until things had settled down.”

Shining hugged her with a laugh. “That’s Cady for you. Always trying to do as much as she can, fast as she can.”

Luna laughed as Shining came over as hugged her as well. “I suppose there are worse flaws.”

That Afternoon-

“And over here’s where the sofa will go,” said Night. He pointed to the empty eastern wall. “We’ll have the two easy chairs alongside, and the piano will be in the corner.”

Gleaming looked around the empty room. The walls were a soft cream color, the floor was carpeted, and the ceiling had faint wavy patterns. A large bay window took up most of the west wall to provide a view of Crystal Empire Castle a mile away. “Where are you thinking of putting the fine china cabinet, Mom?”

Velvet gestured behind them. “In the hallway to the kitchen. No sense having it too far from where it’ll be used.”

The house Velvet and Night had settled on was much, much bigger than they’d been planning. They’d been hoping for something modest, preferably one, maybe two floors, but when word had gotten out the parents of the Princesses were looking at houses, they’d gotten an offer they couldn’t refuse.

“We’re going to have as much on the first floor as possible.” Night’s eyes flickered to the door to the entrance hall, where a set of wide-mouthed stairs led to the upper levels. “No sense scattering stuff everywhere.”

Gleaming shrugged. “It’s your place.”

Neverwinter Manor was the largest and finest estate aside from the castle. It was traditionally occupied by those most favored by the Crown, and the stories went that the four-story mansion had originally been shaped of crystal by Princess Amore herself. It had twenty-eight bedrooms, thirty bathrooms, ten balconies, five studies, six dining rooms, four kitchens, two galleries, a sparring room, an apothecary, a winery, a full basement, a finished attic, three elevators, six dumbwaiters, an enormous deck and courtyard, a walled-off grounds with tall oaks and white pines, six gardens, a waterfall, two swimming ponds, a greenhouse, and a slew of other things that bordered on the ridiculous.

Velvet sighed and turned to Gleaming. “I still think we should’ve turned this down. It’s too much for only two of us! For pony’s sake, this place is so big it could house our entire family! On both sides!”

Gleaming wiggled her eyebrows. “Our entire family now, maybe.”

Velvet opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her gaze fell on her daughter’s foal-filled belly, a tightly packed pear shape bigger and heavier than Velvet herself. She wasn’t sure what was more impressive these days—the growing baby bump, or the growing mare sporting it.

Night snickered. “I wonder if there’s any secret passages we can find? I always did like exploring places.”

It was certainly possible given the size of the place. Night and Velvet’s home in Canterlot was twenty-three hundred square feet. Neverwinter Manor was two hundred fifty-five thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five. They’d need an entire staff just to help with the upkeep.

They walked down a cavernous hallway to another room. This was one of the studies, the ceiling stretching up all the way to the second floor. Tall dusty windows with old curtain rods took up the western wall, a fireplace and sitting area was in the corner, and a door leading out to one of the balconies was on the upper walkway. The walls were lined with empty bookcases, a few bits of old furniture were covered with white sheets, and four spiral staircases of crystal led to the upper level.

“Not sure if we’re going to use this room yet.” Velvet gestured around to them. “It’s pretty, but we don’t have enough books to fill even a quarter of these shelves! Let alone the furniture!”

“Ehhhh, we can fill a quarter of the shelves,” said Night, looking around. “I don’t think you realize how many books I had at work. Combine that with our personal collection, we can fill half of this, easy.”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “Half of one study. Great! What are we going to do with the others, Nighty? Or the other stars-knows-how-many rooms? We couldn’t fill them all if we owned ten times as many things!”

“Sounds like we need to go shopping then,” Night said. “Gleaming will pay for that too, won’t you?”

Gleaming smirked. “I’ll give you another blank check.”

Velvet narrowed her eyes at them.

But Night just laughed and nuzzled her. “We’ll make it work, don’t worry.”

Velvet pouted at first, but eventually relented and leaned into him with a sigh. “Maybe you don’t worry enough.”

Gleaming sucked on her teeth. “I really am sorry about all this. I didn’t think announcing your decision to move north would create an outcry for you to take this place. I didn’t even bother telling you about Neverwinter because I know it isn’t your style.”

Velvet suddenly looked very tired. “We know, Sweetheart. We’re not annoyed because you didn’t offer us this place, we’re annoyed because of ponies’ assumptions. As if all this excess weren’t enough, it all feels so… so...”

Gleaming raised an eyebrow. “So what?”

It was Night who answered. “This house may be huge, but you can still tell it’s supposed to be lived in. Every room has character, every hall has a story. It needs more than two ponies and a maintenance staff.”

Velvet nodded with hollow eyes. “It’ll be like living in a museum. What’s the point of cleaning rooms that’ll never be used? Decorating areas that’ll never be seen? This is a house for a family, and a BIG family at that. Nighty and I aren’t the type to host parties, and we spend most evenings relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.We’re just a boring old couple in their fifties— it’s not the same as when you kids were around.”

Gleaming said nothing. She could sense her parent’s health, of course—in her mother, two past broken bones, one concussion, three moles removed, a tree pollen allergy, a sluggish digestive tract, farsightedness, hemorrhoids, and a benign heart arrhythmia. Her father had had one torn leg muscle, a nasty bout of mono, a tonsillectomy, two passed kidney stones, and several ear infections. The roots of her parents manes were gray, their color of their coats was starting to fade, and as she’d spent time with them the last few months, she’d noted they didn’t move as fast as she remembered.

“We’ll likely just pick one corner of the house and just stay there.” Velvet’s eyes flickered to the window, where the expansive grounds stretched out despite being in the middle of the city. “The crystal ponies want us live here? Fine, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to use all of it. Your father and I just aren’t up for that.”

Gleaming shifted. “Look, I don’t want you guys to be unhappy. If you guys really don’t like this place, then the public can go soak their heads! I’m sure we can find something you like better—”

“If a year goes by and we still feel the same, we’ll definitely hunt for something smaller,” said Velvet. “But we said we’d give this a try, so we have to keep our word.”

Gleaming pawed at the carpet. “Just saying, the offer’s out there…”

Night patted her shoulder. “We’ll keep it in mind.”

They spent the next few minutes walking around the study. There wasn’t much to see but dust and things covered in sheets, but Night and Velvet were chatting on what they could potentially do with the room. Gleaming was only half listening—the room smelled like old books and stale air, a scent ingrained into her memory from when she’d visited her father’s old workplace. His office at Canterlot U was between the observatory and one of the science libraries, and his shelves were always lined with whatever books he was using for his research. He always kept the shades pulled and the window shut so the wind wouldn’t blow his papers around, as well as the sun’s glare that’d get into his eyes. Gleaming could still remember the slightly-confusing pathway to the top floor where the room was located, and she had many fond memories walking with her mother up there to pry him away.

“Did you get everything mailed to you from work, Dad?” Gleaming asked suddenly. “Or are you still waiting on some things?”

Night halted mid sentence. “Eh?”

Gleaming tilted her head at a bookcase. “You mentioned your books from work. I take it you got them all? What about everything else?”

There was a long pause. The three of them stopped, the only movement the bits of dust dancing in the sun’s rays.

Velvet’s face twisted. She didn’t answer Gleaming’s question, but she did lean in to whisper something in Night’s ear. Gleaming watched as she sidled even closer to him.

“Guys?”

“...I got everything, yes,” Night said at last. “But I didn’t get to pick who packed it all up for me, and… erm, let’s just say whoever did it wasn’t my biggest fan.”

Gleaming noticed that her mom was scowling. Gleaming knew that scowl well, and she pitied whoever it was meant for. “What happened?”

Night’s ears drooped. “We got a message from the shipping company bringing my work things to the Empire. They sent a picture of what the school gave them—boxes were smashed, stained, tossed around, filthy, soaked… and not soaked with water, either. The company was kind and repaired most of the damage for cheap, but some things were too complex for mending spells.”

Gleaming’s heart sank. “You’re kidding.”

“Rotten little scumbags,” Velvet spat. “It wasn’t enough they ran him out of there, they had to kick him one last time on the way out! They broke his work telescopes, flat-out stole of them, tore up his books, ruined his pictures, poured ink on his papers—”

“Vel,” Night said.

Velvet fell silent with a growl. Her horn sparked and popped, but said nothing more.

“Are you sure it wasn’t the shipping company that damaged them?” Gleaming asked. “I know it’s unlikely, but—”

Night shook his head. “We’ve been using that company for years. This was far more than wear and tear from transport.”

Gleaming grit her teeth. She hadn’t mentioned anything about Celestia and Luna’s suspicions for fear of misinformation, but now... “How much did you lose?”

Night looked away. “The pictures and paper things were mendable, but the telescopes were totally smashed. Looked like someone had taken a hammer to them.”

Now Gleaming’s wrath was kindling. “Dad...”

“It’s not worth it,” Night said.“Whoever wanted me gone has got their way. It gave us incentive to move up here, and I think that’s best in the long run. Let’s just focus on the future.”

Gleaming wanted to protest, but Night’s look brooked no quarter. She would’ve turned to her mother if it weren’t obvious which side she’d take. So Gleaming grunted and pinned her ears back, tail swishing like she was trying to swat a fly.

Night ended the topic by going over to examine the fireplace. Gleaming worked her jaw a few times as she hung back, the waves of warmth rolling off her now turning to waves of heat. She was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice her mother sidling over to her.

“Please tell me you’ve been looking into who’s caused this,” Velvet murmured.

Gleaming about jumped out of her skin. “Jeez… didn’t even hear you.”

Velvet rubbed Gleaming’s back. “Your father worked at that university for over two decades. They never had a problem with him until a few years ago, and I refuse to believe it’s just because someone there didn’t like him. Something deeper’s going on.”

Maybe Gleaming hadn’t known which side her mom would take, after all. “I’ve heard others come to similar conclusion. What’re you planning?”

Velvet’s eyes flickered like candles. “Not sure, but you can guess what it’ll involve.”

“Mother.”

Velvet’s mouth twitched. “The justice system, of course.”

Yeah, justice with a trial by fire. “I’ve heard mutterings this is only a symptom of a bigger problem,” Gleaming admitted. “Celestia and Luna have gotten involved now.”

Velvet curled her lip. “The Negligence Sisters. Manipulative Celestia, master of not taking responsibility for her actions, and Airhead Luna, the useless psychic who couldn’t detect that a changeling had replaced her niece, mind controlled my son, AND raped the both of them.”

Gleaming knew better than to open that can of worms. “Look, I know you don’t like them—”

“The only thing I like less is the parasite that violated the both of you. What I would give for a piece of her...”

“But they have connections in Canterlot we don’t,” Gleaming said. “If we want to figure out who blacklisted Dad, we have to rely on them. There’s not much Cady and I can do from here.”

Velvet muttered something Gleaming couldn’t hear. “...Fine, fine. So long as I don’t have to interact with either of them, I don’t care. Let them snoop around to their heart’s content; just let me know if they DO find something, because I want to know whose house to burn down.”

Gleaming gave her a flat look.

“You’re welcome to help, of course,” Velvet went on. “The only one without any fire immunity’s your father, so even Spike and Twily could—”

“We’re not turning arson into a family outing.”

Velvet got a dark grin. “What are those things that hide your magic signature? Scramblers? They’d never even know it was us! It’s perfect!”

Gleaming ran a hoof down her face. “And you wonder why strangers are nervous around you.”

“Is your mother talking about burning things again?” Night called.

“Yes!” Gleaming shouted back.

“No felonies, Vel!”

“Are misdemeanors okay?” she yelled back.

“Only if you don’t get caught!”

Gleaming groaned. “Please… please don’t say things like that when you’re foalsitting the kids. I don’t even want to think how they’d take it.”

Velvet giggled. “Oh, don’t be a stick in the mud. I can’t help it if some ponies can’t take a joke! Besides, I’m a little old to be starting a life of crime. Don’t quite have the spring in my step I used to.”

Gleaming didn’t comment on that. She took a long, deep breath, then let it out smooth and slow. “I wish Dad would stand up for himself more. No matter what happens, he’s so calm and calculated. It’s so hard to get him riled up about anything.”

Velvet watched her husband trot over to one of the covered pieces of furniture. “He has his moments, just like the rest of us. He may not stand up for himself, but he’ll move mountains to defend his family. You know that.”

Gleaming’s thoughts became filled with flying pine bark. She recalled the WHUM of impossible power, the smell of sulfur and smoke, the quiet fury in her father’s voice that’d chilled her to the bone. “Yeah, I do.”

“Hey, come over here!” Night called to them. “Let’s see what this is!”

Gleaming and Velvet sauntered over. The thing he was by was a narrow, pony-sized object that almost resembled a column. Upon getting closer, Gleaming realized it was a dais of some sort, although what was on the dais was unclear. All she could see was a pointed crystal tip poking out the highest point.

Curious, Gleaming enshrouded the sheet in magic and carefully lifted it off.

It was an ancient crystal carving of a unicorn bust. It’s luster and sheen was long gone, but the detail could still be seen in the sunlight. It was a mare, haughty and proud, her windswept mane blowing back behind her, her thin face hard and strong. Her expressionless eyes stared through them as her fluted horn jutted out like a spear.

Night scrunched up his brow. “Oho…”

Velvet circled around the carving. “My, this is fancy. Almost as nice as the carvings we saw at the Faire! I wonder who made it?”

Gleaming squinted at the dais. The sculptor typically left their signature somewhere near the base of a carving, but she didn’t see anything. She moved a bit closer to examine. “Not sure. Considering how old this place is, it could’ve been any—ow!”

She’d tried wiping at some grime, and an errant edge of crystal had bit deep into her pastern. She yanked her leg away in a flash.

“What’s wrong?” Velvet rushed over. “Did you—ahhhhh-tut-tut-tut. Shoot, you got nicked good…”

A deep red was already spreading from the cut like a blooming flower. Gleaming’s white coat made it look worse than it actually was, but it still was pretty deep.

“That’ll need bandaging,” Night said upon looking. “I can port us—”

“Wait,” said Gleaming. “It’s fine. Don’t bother.”

Night frowned. “You really don’t want to risk infection—”

“I’m not.” Gleaming held out her leg. “Watch.”

It took about a moment, but as the seconds dragged on, Night and Velvet realized the bleeding wasn’t spreading anymore. Gleaming’s coat matted as the red caked and dried, and they watched as the cut knit together, the skin reforming and sealing without so much as a mark.

“Oh! So you can do that, too?” Velvet smiled. “No worries, then.”

Gleaming hesitated. “‘I can do that, too’? What?”

“Your sister,” Night explained. “She mentioned it was an alicorn thing, so I guess you’re that much closer to joining the club.”

“We about hit the ceiling when she showed us.” Velvet shuddered. “Granted, if she’d warned us instead of just demonstrating…”

Gleaming paled. “Demonstrating?”

Her parents’ only reply was a grim look.

Gleaming facehooved. “Twily, Twily, Twily...”

They gave the unicorn bust a wide berth and moved on. They were starting to be curious about the upstairs balcony, so Night and Velvet squeezed up one of the spiral staircases. And they did indeed have to squeeze, as not only were the stairs narrow and steep, Velvet and Night were taller-than-average ponies. They wound up having to duck low to avoid hitting their foreheads (and their horns) and it wasn’t long into the ascent before they were both muttering about renovations.

Gleaming, meanwhile, opted for the easier route.

FLASH!

“I guess it’s true what they taught us in history,” she said as she met them at the top. “Ponies really were smaller before Equestria was founded.”

Night nodded. “Countrywide famine, Bud. In the words of one of my former colleagues—malnutrition’s a bitch.”

Velvet came up just behind Night. She straightened her mane out and turned to Gleaming… only to immediately frown. “I’m not sure it’s a great idea for you to be up here.”

Gleaming cocked her head. “Why?”

Velvet pointed at Gleaming’s rounded barrel. Her left side was nearly grazing the bookcase on the wall, while her right was only a hair’s breadth from the railing. She was going to wind up grazing the sides with every step.

Gleaming laughed upon realizing. “Oh! Heh, didn’t think it was that narrow. Definitely won’t be fitting up here in a week or two, that’s for sure!”

Velvet wasn’t quite as amused. “I imagine getting around has become more and more of an issue for you.”

Gleaming replied by flexing one of her legs. “Around? No. Through? Yes. But that’s what happens when you’re carrying six big, healthy babies, right? I like to think of it as progress.”

“Go and port over to the balcony,” Night said to her. “Spare the kids some jostling.”

Gleaming relented. She disappeared in another flash, reappearing out on the awning with a wave. Night and Velvet made their way over to her.

“I guess it’s good we decided to give you the tour before you got much bigger, eh?” Night said as they opened the door. “Oooh, not a bad view…”

The sprawling backyard opened up before them. The grass was tall and patchy with wildflowers blooming here and there, particularly around one of the overgrown gardens on the west side. The areas around the white pines were completely bare save for needles and a few fallen branches, and the bases of the oak trees were surrounded by acorns. An old fountain, half-filled with stagnant rainwater was in the courtyard just beneath them, and planted around it were three weeping willows, their lowest branches dangling down to touch the water.

Gleaming took a deep breath of the cool spring air. “Meh, either or. If all else fails, I teleport around like just now.”

But Velvet wasn’t so laid back about it. “I know you’re used to being tall, but you still have to be careful, especially with how fast you’ve been growing. I’m half surprised I haven’t heard about you knocking more things over.”

Gleaming laughed. “Oh, I’ve knocked things over. Armor racks, lamps, weapon stands, cups, plates, Cady...”

Velvet rested her hoof against Gleaming’s warm belly. She could feel the fabric of the blended in maternity brace, supportive yet stretchy enough for Gleaming to grow. “Have you and her decided on how many you want yet? Or are you still thinking you want to wing it?”

Gleaming almost replied it was hard to put a number on how many kids a pair of immortals would have. “All we know is we don’t want the kids to be more than a few years apart. We’re gonna hold off until we get experienced with the sextuplets, but once we feel confident, we wanna keep going. We could stop after one more time, we could have a few more then hold off for a century… or maybe one of us will always be pregnant for untold years to come. Who knows?”

Night snorted. “An eternity of foalrearing… most ponies would consider that to be Tartarus, you know.”

Gleaming ignored him. “As soon as Sombra’s curse is gone, the only thing up in the air will be whether Cady or I carry the kids. I know I can get that stupid magic out of her—I just need to be stronger. There’ll be nothing holding us back then… especially with us being able to control how many we have per time, heh...”

Velvet stroked her daughter’s stomach. “I... know we’ve talked about this, but I’m still worried you and Cadance aren’t realizing the reality. You’re caught up in the excitement now, but how excited will you be when you’re up at four a.m. feeding fussy babies while also trying not to wake Cadance? Or when your garbage is overflowing with dirty diapers, you just ran out of clean ones, and now three of them need a change? How about when you lose track of time and suddenly you have to work while smelling like vomit and foal pee? Think you’ll strike many trade deals with neighboring countries then?”

Gleaming made to speak, “Mom—”

“Let’s talk about quirks,” Night said. “Let’s say it’s been long enough that you’re starting to really notice the differences between them, and none are easy to deal with. One of them cries if they’re not held at all times. Another has to be bathed a special way or they’ll get sick. One screams bloody murder if they so much as see a quesadilla. One has random magic surges. Another has Vel’s fire affinity. And the last one is the most mellow… but you can NOT get them to sleep at a normal hour no matter what you try. How are you going to deal with all that?”

Something seemed to click for Gleaming. “All those things… everything you guys just said... that’s what you had to deal with raising the three of us, aren’t they?”

Night and Velvet nodded.

“Having a foal is two things,” said Night. “The most rewarding thing you’ll ever do… and the most difficult. Regardless of yours and Cadance’s powers, you’re still going to face challenge after challenge. Your patience will be tested, your nerves will be tested, your marriage will be tested… everything. You’ll do things you’d never do, say things you’d never say, things you never thought would be an issue in a million years will suddenly become the norm.”

“We wouldn’t give you three up for the world,” Velvet added quickly. “But Honey, hearing you talk about this without knowing what having foals is really like… for crying out loud, you’re having SIX at once! Nighty and I could barely handle one of you at a time!”

“Alright, alright, alright.” Gleaming held up a hoof. “Every time we have this discussion, you seem to forget what Cady and I have available to us. We have a round the clock team to help us so we can sleep, work, or just need a break. We’ve had Twily teach us her Time Snap spell so we can be in multiple places at once. We have an entire castle’s worth of space even bigger than this manor. We have all the money we could ever need and more. We have so many resources available to us it’s nuts!”

Velvet shook her head. “We’re not talking about physical resources—”

Gleaming shushed her. “I’m getting there. What you’re talking about here, and what you’re concerned about most, is the head stuff. Burnout. Getting overwhelmed. Misconceptions. You’re worried Cady and I will get a few months into it and realize we don’t like being parents, everything we’ll have planned will be for nothing, and we’ll get frustrated because we’ll have to admit we were wrong.”

Gleaming’s parents didn’t reply, but their silence spoke volumes.

“I get having kids can be insane,” Gleaming said. “There’s a lot of gross stuff, crazy stuff, stressful stuff, and it’s never the same experience twice. I wish there was something I could say that’d make you guys not worry, but this still keeps coming up. I don’t know what else to tell you besides that despite everything Cady and I have heard, seen, felt, read, gone through, tried, practiced, watched, you name it… we still want kids. We still want a LOT of kids. We don’t care about the diapers, the crying, the time investment, the stress, the lack of sleep, the preparation, the cost, the complexity… We want it all. We want it to go through it together, her and I, and we want to go through it again and again and again and again. ”

Velvet searched Gleaming’s face. Memories of past discussions filled her mind, all of them going this same exact way. Even the grossest and most harrowing tales she’d regaled hadn’t dissuaded her daughter. “So you two want to fill that giant castle with your sons and daughters, using magic and money and your domains to keep up with it all.”

Gleaming noded. “Yes.”

“And then what?” Night asked. “Are you going to fill it right back up again once the kids get old enough to move out? Are you two going to have so many foals over the centuries that all of northern Equestria will be able to trace their ancestry to you?”

A tiny shiver ran through Gleaming. “Take off the ‘northern’ part, and you’re pretty close.”

Velvet didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. “I’m starting to think you might be part rabbit.”

The three of them laughed.

Velvet cast a quick spell to check the time. “It’s almost two. Your doctor’s appointment is soon, isn’t it? Are we still coming along?”

Gleaming had forgotten all about that. “Right! Uh, yeah. Talia wanted to run a few tests on you two, so we should probably head over there.”

Night stretched with a small yawn. “Should we be worried about what these tests entail?”

Gleaming chuckled. “She might want blood, but a needle’s probably the only thing she’ll stick in you.”

Her parents did double-takes. “...Probably?”

Author's Notes:

I wanted to have this as one chap, but experience has taught me that Talia scenes are time-intensive, regardless of their length. This one was running a little long anyways, so I figured here was a good place to break.