As silently as I could, I closed the door to our shared guest room, leaving a sleeping and satisfied mare behind. Maybe I had been a bit too aggressive, but Applejack hadn't complained. Not that I gave her much opportunity to do so, I now realized. I headed to the bathroom to wash my face, staring at my reflection in silence. Feeling somewhat stifled, the desire to get fresh air gripped me. From the ballroom, I had seen the beautiful gardens around the castle, and since sleep eluded me tonight, it was a convenient time as any to explore them. Feeling the tendrils of humidity cling to me, I didn't put on any of my clothes. One couldn't live without clothing for years and not become something of an exhibitionist.

The guards, mostly mares, I encountered as I slowly walked down the hallways didn't acknowledge me, but I could feel their eyes on me. It didn't faze me as I took the time to admire the architecture of the castle itself. The solid slabs of the ancient walls almost seemed to exude its reputation as almost impenetrable. Its spires seemed to pierce the heavens and the hallways were littered with enough ancient paraphernalia to make my history professor weep. It apparently also came with a built-in labyrinth as well since I was pretty sure I had walked past the same guard twice now. It was a bit unsettling how they strongly resembled each other.

“Excuse me, Ma’am.” The mare in question glanced up at me but remained silent. “I wanted to take a stroll in the gardens. Can you give me some directions?”

“Of course, Lady Williams,” she murmured. Ah, right, ponies and their sense of hearing—I had forgotten. I hoped that I didn't wake anyone with my question. “Just down the hall to the right, you will find the stairs. One floor down and then just take a right turn.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

She saluted. “No problem, Lady Williams. I would advise you to not enter the garden labyrinth at this hour, however.”

“The castle is enough of a maze for me. Thank you again,” I whispered back and continued on my way, now with an idea of where to go. Sure enough, following the guard’s directions, I found my way to the gardens not five minutes later. The trees and other plants were illuminated by torches, and as soon as my naked feet touched the grass, I heard a bird chirp not far away from my position. I looked up, catching sight of the bird and the stars that framed her. It was a beautiful sight, something that I felt branding itself in my brain for eternity. The golden eyes of the red and yellow bird seemed to glow as it looked back at me, and for a moment, I thought I saw flames as it ruffled its wings.

“Hush, you little pest,” a deep feminine voice suddenly chided, nearly causing me to jump out of my skin. This was the second time I didn't hear a pony sneaking up on me. “Go back to your cage before you singe even more trees.” The bird squawked in indignation, which sounded nothing like the chip I had heard before, and flew off. I looked to my left where no one else but Princess Celestia’s sister, Princes Luna, stood. She wasn't alone. Next to her was a blue-coated stallion, Twilight’s father, if I remembered correctly.

Seemingly satisfied that the bird was gone, the princess turned her gaze on me and smiled. “Good night to you, Melody Williams,” she greeted.

“Your Highness.” I bowed slightly. “Night Light, right?” The stallion nodded, but averted his gaze from me. Had I said something wrong? “Can I help you somehow?”

“You can indeed.” Luna nodded towards her right where two benches stood opposite of each other. “Let’s take a seat.” Slightly confused, I followed both ponies. Luna was the first to take a seat and Night Light sat himself immediately next to her, leaving me the only option to sit across from them. “First, I must apologize. It’s our fault that sleep didn't find you this night. We wished to speak with you on a very personal matter, and believed doing this at night would be the best.” She glanced at the stallion next to her. “Did I say that correctly?”

“Yes, you used the pronouns correctly, your Majesty,” Night Light answered, still without really looking at me. Now that I had heard more than one or two syllables from him, I noticed the slight accent in his voice. It was barely noticeable, indicating that he had been speaking Equestrian for a significant time. I could even pinpoint where the accent originated, having heard it in Germany during a trip to the Oktoberfest.

I leaned slightly forward. “So, you two have something to discuss? Is it about the thing with Twilight? I thought we cleared up that misunderstanding.”

“Yes and no,” Night Light answered again. His eyes glanced at me for a moment and then darted away. Now that the area around us was illuminated, I noticed his blush. I was making him uncomfortable, most likely due to my nudity. My skin flushed as I crossed my legs and held my arms in front of my chest, all while leaning back against the backrest. “It’s about her heritage and about yours.” He pointed at my stomach.

“What does Twilight have to do with my child?” I asked, hearing the bemusement in my own voice.

“So much.” Night Light sighed. “So, so much.” He shook his head slightly.

“Maybe we should wait for yon wife?” Luna suggested.

“Your wife,” a new voice called from the castle’s exit. “And no need, I’m here.” The alabaster-coated mare I knew as Twilight’s mother joined us. Luna instantly made room for her by joining me on my bench. The mare sat down next to her husband, pressed a small kiss on his check, and nuzzled into his neck.

“You all really know how to make a girl nervous,” I stated, swallowing the lump in my throat caused by my rising anxiety. Someone needed to be thick-skulled not to notice that they had something heavy to say, their prolonging the issue only served to make me more worried.

Luna cleared her throat and turned to the couple. “May I?” Glancing at each other, both nodded. “Lady Williams, I’m sure my sister has told you by now of the other humans?”

“Yes, about a week ago,” I confirmed. “Applejack and I originally came to Canterlot to look at the diaries of Amelia Earhart. She’d left them for the next human who would find themselves here.” I cast my mind back to the conversation. “Twilight called her Airheart though.”

“I know,” Night Light muttered darkly. “Bei dem Allmächtigen im Himmel, ich weiß.”

“It’s alright, honey,” Velvet interjected gently.

“Twilight wasn't wrong, Miss Williams,” the stallion continued, his muzzle twisting slightly. “The woman known as Amelia Earhart became the pegasus known as Airheart. It eventually happens to all humans.”

“What? How do you…” I looked at him again, at his wife, and then at Luna. My mouth opened and closed dumbly as I searched for the right words. They never came, so I had to make do. “You were a human,” I finally managed to croak out as I stared at the blue stallion. Now I understood why he felt uncomfortable about my nudity. He didn't confirm my words in any way. He didn't need to.

“It’s already started with you. That’s how you could become pregnant in the first place. Your body adapts, and I estimate that in a few more years, the changes will start to manifest in a more… noticeable ways.”

“How? Why?” I managed to say. A cold numbness seemed to have settled over me, but my body refused to react.

“You probably know about cell regeneration, right?” I just nodded again. “So you know that every seven years or so, every cell in your body would have been replaced, built from what you've ingested. You literally are what you eat. All the food, the air, everything in this world—I guess dimension would be a more accurate term—is infused with magic. After seven years, you’re just as magical as any other being here. Then you start to absorb magic. It’s a thing all humans do, from what I've researched.”

My face felt like it had been carved out of stone as I stared at the stallion. “And because I don’t have any of my own and don’t filter it out…”

“It stays with you, shapes you. In my time as a human here, I remained in Canterlot. I absorbed a lot of magic from the large number of unicorns living here. A few years later, I could cast spells. Another year later, a horn grew out of my head and my right hand turned into a hoof.” Night Light gripped his wife in a hug. “Without Velvet here, I think I would have gone mad at the time.”

“And it didn't help that I was pregnant again with my little Sparkle at that time,” the mare added.

“What I’m trying to get at,” Night continued, “is that there can be… complications. Shining had two tails when he was born. It was removed very early and no other deformations were found. My daughter didn't have such luck.” He seemed to expect me to say something, his ears folding against his head when I remained silent. “It’s because your genome is only partially compatible at the moment. Enough to get pregnant, but eventually not enough to get everything… right.” His eyes widened. “T-That doesn't have to mean that it has to be like that!” he quickly spluttered. “But you should be prepared, nonetheless.”

I felt something warm and wet hit my thigh. “Why? How did you keep yourself a secret?”

The stallion shook his head. “I didn't. I was just a student when I was transported here. To cope with the loss, I did what I do best: I studied. I buried my nose in the books Equestria had to offer. It’s where I met Velvet. She was the librarian’s assistant at the time. I was there, but always in the back. After I married Velvet and Shiny was on the way, Princess Celestia offered me the diaries as well. I refused. I didn't believe in destiny at the time; I didn't want to. I couldn't stomach that I was meant to lose everything. Even when I held my son for the first time, I refused to believe, even though I had been handed something so much better.” Velvet smiled at that. “And then it was too late.”

There was a moment of silent as I rubbed some of my tears away.

“We normally wouldn't have burdened you with such knowledge, but unlike my sister, I don’t believe that allowing destiny to run its course is the best solution. I, for one, would have much welcomed somepony warning me before I took the dark path I chose.”

I took a shuddering breath. “So you don’t think we’re here for a reason?”

The dark alicorn ruffled her wings. “Perhaps. Who knows? I do not, and neither does my sister. However, she was always the optimistic one between the two of us. She is right in one regard. Every human who has come here contributed something invaluable to our world, whether it be flight for everypony, a cure for a disease that plagued us for hundreds of years, or simply siring a very talented filly into the world.” She looked at Night Light at her last sentence. “Still, in a community as ours, one can argue that everypony contributes something worthwhile. What about the doctors and nurses who save numerous lives every day? Or the matrons at all the orphanages across our fair land? Our very own royal guard who protect us, or even the small taxi pony that brings you home after a long day at work. Everypony is doing their part. So did you, Night Light, and I’m sure you will too, Melody Williams. I know you’re currently making a certain pony very happy, one who undoubtedly deserves it. Let your mind be at ease. We will be with you and with your child. Should your offspring have any illness or complications at all, we will help in any way possible.”

“We will too,” added Twilight Velvet. “My little Sparkle told me about the problems you have with money. My husband and I had a talk this evening, and we want to help you in that regard. We have more than we could ever spend in our lifetimes, or our great-grandchildren’s for that matter. It wouldn't hurt us in any way to send some your way to help you out.”

I felt the tears coming again. “Just like that?”

She nodded. “Just like that. Well, maybe you could come over once in a while to chat a little, especially when the little one is born. I so miss the sound of children in the house.”

“I think I can do that.” I smiled at the white blob through my tears. I stood up and hugged the mare. She knew it was coming since she had opened her hooves for me even before I was near her. “Thank you,” I whispered over and over.

“You have a very troubled time ahead of you, Miss Williams. As someone who experienced it myself, I wish to help. I can offer advice and, like my wife said, money, both in a vast amount. If you ever need another human mind to talk to, just pay us a visit. We’ll always have an open door for you, a warm drink, and if needed, a warm bed.”

“The same goes for me,” I heard Luna say from behind me. “If you ever need help, our door is open as well.”

“My door,” whispered Night Light.

“Tis what we said!” Luna exclaimed loudly and cleared her throat. “I mean, that’s what I said.” The stallion rolled his eyes.

It has been some time, hasn't it? I can only say that I'm sorry and the next chapter is already on the way.

Thanks to JBL for editing this chapter.