One Week Later (Week 9)-

The Amethyst Platform was the primary train station for the Crystal Empire. Originally a single building with barely any accommodations, the increased flow of traffic had required the station to expand. A dozen platforms now stood amongst the grassy plains outside the city, with plans in the coming year to build another four.

Cadance and Gleaming were snuggled together in a private room within the main station while munching on some snacks. They were each quietly reading a book while occasionally glancing at the clock.

Knock, knock, knock.

Cadance and Gleaming perked up. They got to their hooves with shared grins.

“Come in!” called Cadance.

Rex walked in with all her usual stoic demeanor. She was carrying a set of heavy-looking lavender suitcases and a pair of bulging saddlebags emblazoned with pink stars.

“Announcing Princess Twi—”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A lavender blur sped into the room in a rush of fuzz and feathers. The blur leapt into Gleaming and Cadance’s arms and hugged the living daylights out of them.

“Foalsfoalsfoalsfoalsfoalsfoalsfoals!” Twilight Sparkle let out a whoop. “Yesyesyesyesyesyes!”

Gleaming and Cadance hugged her back just as tight.

“I take it you’re excited?” said Gleaming.

Twilight gasped at Gleaming’s voice. She leaned back to take a proper look at her brother-turned-sister.

“Oh… my gosh.” Twilight smiled wide. “You look like those old pictures of Gramma Starlight when she was young! You even have—what the... why is your coat so soft?!”

Cadance stifled a snort.

“Seriously!” Twilight ran her hooves along Gleaming’s withers. “Ugh, and your mane! Do you have any idea how hard I have to work to make mine like this?!”

Gleaming gave her a patient look. “Twily, I’m pregnant.” She held a lock of her mane up to the light. “Thick and healthy hair kinda comes with the package.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh, yeah… heh-heh.”

“It’s great to see you, Twilight!” Cadance gave her sister-in-law another hug. “It’s been far too long.”

Twilight nuzzled her. “I keep meaning to get some time to come up, but something comes up every time I try! There’s always an event of some kind, or I have to attend some government thing, or Equestria’s suddenly on the verge of annihilation…”

Cadance snickered. “Don’t you just hate that?”

“Really!” Twilight threw up her hooves. “Why can’t the world just stay safe for a little while? All I’m asking for is one peaceful weekend! Is that too much to ask?!”

“Absolutely not!” Gleaming’s voice was stern. “You must be on guard and watch over Equestria twenty-four seven! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

Twilight smirked. “Of course, Princess. I’ll develop a spell immediately to monitor every pony in Equestria at all times! No villain shall escape my sight!”

Gleaming smirked as well. “It’s the only way Equestria will be made safe! It must be done… for the greater good!”

“The greater goooooood!” Twilight waved her hooves back and forth in the air.

“Ooooooh!” Cadance raised her hooves like a zombie.

Rex resisted the urge to facehoof while her three superiors made funny faces at each other. “Royalty…”

“But anyway!” said Twilight. “It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get the spellwork done, so we’ll have the whole weekend to talk about future stuff! It’s gonna be so great—I have all sorts of ideas to modify the spells for a multiple pregnancy!”

Her suitcases floated over at her command. They snapped open with a sound like rushing wind, and dozens upon dozens of thick spellbooks poured out like a waterfall of literature. Soon they were in the eye of a gently-spinning cyclone of books.

“Uh… Twilight?” Cadance said, eyeing the revolving tomes.

“I couldn’t decide which books to bring when you told me the news, so I just decided to bring every book on reproduction and anatomy I could find!” Twilight said in a rush. “And of course I brought the spellbooks to augment the spells we’ve already cast, but then I got to thinking there might be some other spells we might think of when we start so I brought my whole arcana section! And then of course I had to have some reading material for the trip, so I brought the first ten books of the Daring Do saga, but then I wanted to read the Ahuizotl Chronicles so I figured—”

“Twily.”

Twilight turned to Gleaming. “Hmm?”

Gleaming gestured to the inter-spatial tear in reality floating within both suitcases. “A pocket dimension? Really?”

Twilight was undeterred. “Why not? I have all these books marked with spell tags, so I can have them unshelved and reshelved in seconds! Took me fifteen minutes to pack all this!”

Gleaming rolled her eyes. “We have libraries here too, y’now.”

Twilight stared at her. “Your libraries don’t have a copy of The Asclepius Journals. Your libraries don’t have the genealogy of our family going back ten generations, Professor Helix’s thesis on biological transmogrification, or a manuscript of Starswirl the Bearded’s notes on alicorn anatomy—oh, speaking of which, have you considered the possibility that one of your foals might be an alicorn? If they are, we’ll need to give you a magic infusion of magic so that their magical fonts will develop properly. Do your libraries have any information about that, Smarty Pants?”

Gleaming opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She thought about saying quite a few things, but instead she looked to Cadance.

“Thanks for covering our bases, Twilight.” Cadance smiled. “Especially with bringing all those rare books! I suppose it makes sense that you’d just grab a bunch of stuff in bulk with you coming up on short notice.”

Twilight beamed. “I’m glad somepony understands my thought process.”

“Your ‘thought process’ can make you over-prepare and freak out over nothing,” said Gleaming. “Remember when you were seven and got electrocuted?”

“One time!” Twilight snapped. “One! Freaking! Time! And it wasn’t even that bad! The burns didn’t even leave marks or scars!”

“Can’t say the same for the floor,” Gleaming grumbled. “Or the wall… the door… the ceiling... the tree outside your window…”

“Ugh, if it’s not Mom reminding me of that one, it’s you.” Twilight’s horn flared again, and all the books flew back into her suitcase at blinding speed. “I have one little chain reaction of opposing spell wards, and it’s a holiday dinner topic for the next fifteen years.”

She floated the suitcases back over to Rex, who wisely took them without comment.

“But let’s focus on what’s important!” Twilight said, rubbing her hooves together. “Come, my pink apprentice, and you as well, my precious pretty specimen.” She spread her wings with an odd gleam in her eye. “Let us be off… to the Secret Lab!”

Twilight cackled and cantered out the door.

Gleaming and Cadance shook their heads as they watched her leave.

“Our children have those genes,” Gleaming muttered.

The mention of genes gave Cadance a sudden thought. “Your fire thing’s hereditary, right? The element affinity you, Twilight, and your mom have?”

Gleaming blinked several times. “Uh… yeah. Think Mom told us the chance of it being passed on is fifty-fifty.”

Cadance bit her lip. “So, empowered fire wards on the whole castle, is what I’m hearing.”

Gleaming snorted. “We can just put ‘em on the kids’ jammies. But you still might be relying on alicorn resilience if one of them has a tantrum.”

Cadance groaned.

“I said stop fidgeting, Shiny!” Twilight scowled from behind the trio of floating spellbooks in her grasp. “We’ll have to start over if you keep this up!”

The three of them were in one of the alchemical laboratories adjacent to the Crystal Athenaeum. It originally was the one Twilight liked to use whenever she visited, but seeing as nopony else ever used it (and there were twelve others in the castle) Cadance and Gleaming decided to restrict its use so Twilight could leave things there. Twilight had actually taken to this idea with gusto, so much that she’d requested that they move in a bed and other furniture so she could have her own personal guest room.

Add a few spells to prevent somepony from stumbling in on accident, and you suddenly had something that could very well be called a secret lab.

The room was lit by warm crystal chandeliers that glinted with blueish-white light. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with ancient grimoires and modern day textbooks, and tables with various alchemical instruments were neatly set up and organized in alphabetical order. The Crystal Mirror was off in one corner, dormant and plain-looking, and Twilight’s personal effects were up in a cozy loft above.

Gleaming was standing (again) in the center of a magical array with complex magical symbols. However this once was different in both shape, design, and intent. Twilight’s magenta glow was emanating from Gleaming’s entire body, and while this was expected...

“I’d like to see you try this,” Gleaming grumbled through clenched teeth. “Do you have any idea how much this itches?! It feels like ants are crawling around my insides!”

“Good! That means it’s working,” said Twilight. Her horn flared bright as she muttered another part of the spell. “It’s either a little bit of itching, or you suffer through some, very, very unpleasant things down the road. Take your pick.”

“Urghghghgghhh…” Gleaming ground her teeth as the tingling intensified. “Cady, distract me. Remind me of all the spells we’re using, or something.”

Cadance, who’d been poring over a scroll that stretched all the way down to the floor, looked up and cleared her throat. “The first that we’re doing right now is a modified version of the Irongut spell. It’s mostly to help with the nausea and heartburn right now, but it’s also going to strengthen your bladder, cervix, intestines, and other internal organs. Twilight’s also making it so it helps with oxygenation and circulation, so you shouldn’t have problems with cramps or swelling or compressed nerves.”

Well, that certainly explained the maddening itching, but it didn’t exactly make it any easier to endure. A part of Gleaming knew she’d appreciate all of it down the line, but right now, the magic just made her want to squirm.

“What else?” she asked.

Cadance hummed and went down the scroll. “Next is a big one—a combination of four spells Twilight found in the Aesclepius Journals, all entwined into one matrix. The names of the spells are Old Equuish, but their literal translations are ‘body, to heal,’ ‘body, to stretch,’ ‘body, to refine’, and ‘body, to enforce.’”

“We’re basically trying to make your skin and squishy parts stronger and healthier while letting also them shift as your uterus gets larger,” said Twilight. “You can kinda think of it as we’re modifying your anatomy so that it’s better suited for gestation.”

Gleaming frowned. “Four spells in one matrix? Crying out loud, Twily. If it was anypony but you trying to trying to cast something like that, I’d call them off their rocker! Those spells must be pretty potent if you’re trying to combine them like this.”

Cadance nodded. “The Asclepius Journals is one of the oldest and most powerful spellbooks in Equestria. Aunt Celestia gave us permission to use it when we told her what we’re trying to do, but she insisted we be very careful. The Ovulation spell came out of there, too.”

Hmph. Careful, indeed. “Anything else?”

Cadance moved to the bottom of the page. “There’s one other spell we were going to ask your opinion on. You’ve been eating five meals a day all this week, but I’ve noticed you’ve been having trouble getting through them. It’s a lot to eat, isn’t it?”

Gleaming made a face. She had a caloric minimum she had to meet every day, and it couldn’t be just any old food because there were nutrition needs to consider. It translated to eating a full-course meal every few hours, and while it was all really tasty…

“Doctor Endo recommended an Appetite spell to deal with the discomfort,” said Cadance. “And Twilight’s found one that’ll synergize with the other magic we’re doing, so it shouldn’t cause any serious side effects. What do you think?”

Gleaming didn’t even need to think. “I’d rather be hungry all the time than feel like I’m about to explode.”

Cadance set down the scroll and floated over a small tome with a bookmark. She opened it to the page and began to softly chant under her breath.

“Yesssss, gooooood,” Twilight murmured. “Excellent, my pink apprentice—your skill is improving greatly! Cast that while I finish these incantations, and remember to weave the manathreads into her stomach lining...”

Cadance adopted a raspy voice, hunching over slightly. “Yes, Masterrrrr, thank you, Masterrrrrr. Soon all will fall into place, yes… our specimen shall be readyyyyy...”

Gleaming sighed. She decided right then and there that next time they decided to play Mad Scientist, one of them would be the experiment. “Are you sure everything’s gonna be okay? This kinda seems like a lot, even for you.”

At this, Twilight stopped casting. She looked over at Cadance a moment, then turned to Gleaming with a calm look.

“I think that’s best answered by showing you something.”

Gleaming hesitated. “Uh… okay?”

Without warning, Twilight’s body shimmered. The ambient energy in the room spiked as a wave of harmonious energy emanating out from Twilight’s very core. Her hooves glinted with sigils, the tips of her wings shifted colors, and a streak of yellow appeared in her mane and tail to give it four tones instead of three.

“The power of the Elements was changed in the battle with Tirek.” Twilight’s voice was louder, her eyes dancing with light. “And the way my friends wield it was changed as well. We call this ‘Rainbow Power’, and while we can activate it at any time, a portion of it leaks through no matter what.”

Goosebumps ran all along Gleaming’s body. Pulses of energy passed through her like a refreshing wave, and she couldn’t help but stare as she sensed her sister’s magic, the sheer power difference... She’d heard reports of the fight with Tirek (as well as the sudden castle in Ponyville shortly after), but she hadn’t heard anything about THIS.

Twilight quelled her magic and returned to normal. “I tested everything threefold on the way here. You’re right that I wouldn’t have been comfortable doing something like this alone before, but now, well… let’s just say my confidence is at an all-time high. You’re in good hooves right now, Shiny.”

Cadance gave her a pointed look. “So long as you stop complaining and stay still so the superpowered alicorn can cast her mega-spell.”

Gleaming gulped. “Shutting up now.”

It took the greater part of three hours for Twilight and Cadance to finish the spells. Gleaming had managed to stand completely still the entire time, but the effort was a test of willpower that she’d rather not endure again. Fortunately though, the three of them were now breaking for lunch in one of the private dining rooms.

“Oh, thank Celestia,” Gleaming said. Their food had just been served to them on a series of steaming silver platters, and the sheer smell alone was enough to make her drool. She snatched three of the trays and hovered them over to her plate—one had some kind of casserole, the second was wild rice and cooked spinach, and the third was mostly chilled fruits. She took ample portions of all and began eagerly chowing down.

“Appetite spell working?” Cadance asked.

Gleaming mumbled an affirmative through her mouthful. Without even looking up, she magicked over a fourth platter to load up a second plate with nuts and cheeses.

Twilight smiled. “With that and the other spells, it should be much easier for you to eat for five now.”

Gleaming wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Thinksh sho?”

Twilight shrugged and nibbled on some raisins. “For eight or nine months, at least. There’s a few extra things we were planning on doing once you’re closer to your due date, but nothing major.”

“Like what?” Cadance asked.

Twilight examined her spoon as it revolved in her magic. “Some things to ease the discomfort of foaling, but that shouldn’t affect your appetite any. Although I was thinking we’d use a Lactation spell so you’ll produce extra milk, and that will affect it.”

Gleaming cringed. “Y-Yeah… we thought of that a few weeks back. We’re thinking we’ll use enchanted bottles to save as much as we can once my body, uh… kicks into gear.”

Twilight hummed. “And you’ll need to be eating even more once it does. I still need to do a bit more research, but there are variations of the Lactation spell depending on what’ll work best. We can decide which one to use once we get closer to that time.”

Gleaming resumed her eating. “I supposhe we can jusht use formula if we run out.”

“What about the magic infusions you mentioned?” Cadance asked Twilight. “You said something about that if one of the foals is an alicorn. How soon will we be able to tell?”

Twilight thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure species development and identification of crossbreed offspring is done at twenty weeks. We won’t need to do anything until then, but as soon as you find out, you need to let me know, okay?”

Cadance cocked her head. “Any particular reason why? Aside from the obvious, I mean.”

“Because it’ll require additional safety precautions like those magic infusions.” Twilight took a deep breath. “Annnnnd if it gets that complex, I’m thinking I’ll need to be up here for at least a year.”

Silence.

Cadance heart skipped a beat. “A… year?”

“What are you saying, Twily?” said Gleaming.

Twilight gave them both a level stare. “Naturally-born alicorns are uncharted territory. The only documentation on it is from Starswirl the Bearded’s manuscripts, and even that isn’t much. Cadance can do the alicorn magic infusions, but what if more’s needed? What if you have more than one alicorn and it gets to be too much? I know I’m being a worrywart here, but I’d honestly feel a lot better if I was close by just in case—”

“So would we!” Gleaming burst out. “Yes! Stay! We’d love to have you!”

“Yes!” Cadance said just as loud. “You’d be so much help! An extra set of hooves alone would be great!”

Twilight blushed. “I-I don’t want you to think I just want to for science or anything—”

“Of course not!” Gleaming said. “You just want to help out!”

“You’re always welcome to stay!” said Cadance.

Twilight smiled. “Thank you. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to make sure everyone is safe through all this. Never fear, Auntie Twilight is on the case!”

“But what about your duties as Princess?” Gleaming asked. “I hate to say it, but you can’t just drop everything to come up here. You have responsibilities.”

Twilight made a very unladylike grunt. “I’ll think of something. I’ll need to look through the old bylaws, but I’m sure there’s something that’ll let me come up here.”

Cadance winked. “You’re good at figuring out problems like this.”

Twilight’s gaze fell to the floor. “I guess...”

“Oh, don’t pretend like you won’t enjoy the challenge.” Gleaming polished off her second plate and dove into her third. “You’re not happy unless you’re solving a problem that’d make most ponies pull out their manes.”

Twilight snorted. “Guess I’m preventing premature baldness in the pony population, then. I’d seriously love to see the analytics of that if it was a thing.”

Gleaming smirked. “You would.”

“I really would!” said Twilight. “We could make a side-by-side comparison of the before and after, the effects on the pharmaceutical market, the economy as a whole, maybe even—”

Twilight realized Cadance and Gleaming were looking at her with identical grins.

“Uh…” Twilight looked back and forth between them. “What?”

Gleaming laughed softly. “Never change, Twily. Never change.”