The great hall was filled with the Stable of Representatives and a select audience of ponies chosen for this historic event. The air was filled with a subdued hopefulness, tragedy had happened, hope had been restored, and now this long awaited event was finally happening.

Princess Twilight Sparkle approached the podium where she was about to give her address, her movements a little slow and jerky as she drew near. Twilight Sparkle, now tall, long, and gangly, was still trying to become accustomed to her new body.

At the podium, she turned to look out at the crowd, seeing the faces of those she knew, those she loved, those she trusted, and those who were going to do all of the hard work required to make this work. Ninety ponies to begin the process of creating a government that will rule the day to day goings on of Equestria. She saw the faces of her parents and of her brother Shining Armor.

“Um, hello. Well, that was quite an opening ceremony. You’re probably wondering about the geas spell that I cast upon the stable members. I can summarise that a bit, for a full list please go to any Crown funded building and request a list, you can find them in any library or post office. The geas is there to protect the public trust. A Stable member cannot lie, cannot receive money in exchange for political favours, cannot intentionally mislead, misdirect, or otherwise harbour dishonest thoughts, motivations, or intentions. The geas compels them to do their job, honestly and earnestly, to serve the public trust and the good of the nation. These ponies voluntarily took the oath of office and willingly submitted to the geas. Nopony was coerced or otherwise forced. And thankfully, nopony backed out at the last minute,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said, addressing the crowd.

Waiting patiently, Princess Twilight Sparkle waited for the sounds of applause to die down before she began again, and she nervously licked her lips. Her wings twitched at her sides and Twilight felt a feeling of gut churning fear made her insides clench, her stomach spasming and guts gurgling.

“Work will begin soon upon the Stable House, a building dedicated for our Stable of Representatives. Some of the now empty land here in Canterlot will be put to good use. The Stable House will be a public building where a pony can come to watch the workings of our government, have a voice, address the Stable of Representatives, and a large museum and public library is planned within the structure as well. Within that building all ponies will be seen as equals, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all coming together for the greater good,” Princess Twilight Sparkle continued, her voice cracking into a bit of a squeak at times.

Over the roar of applause, a lone voice could barely be heard as a small green figure darted towards the stage, a spotlight quickly homing in on the figure as it ran.

“Slippy! You little wiggleworm!” Rainbow Dash shouted as one of her foals took to the stage, running up to her other mother.

Glass Slipper, running across the stage, bolted for Twilight Sparkle. “Mommy!” she cried out as she crashed into her mother’s legs and then squeezed tightly, hugging her mother’s foreleg and rubbing her cheek against it.

“Hello Glass Slipper,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said as she scooped the foal up and set Glass Slipper upon her back.

“You sounded scared, so I came to rescue you. I just rescued a princess,” Glass Slipper explained, her voice amplifying through the microphone.

The crowd roared, cheering for the foal that had just rescued a princess. Hooves clopped together, whistles filled the hall, and the overwhelming feeling of good cheer flooded the room.

“To be honest, I was a little scared. Crowds have always made me nervous,” Twilight confessed as the sound died down. She cleared her throat and then felt a little better as she felt two little legs hug her neck. “Speaking as a mother, as a wife, as a mare, as an equine, I feel that we have taken a great step ahead for our nation. Our Crowned Confederacy is a bold move towards a bright new future. My littlest foal, Glass Slipper, she will grow up in a different world than I did. She will grow up only knowing the tyranny of the Noble Houses as a chapter in a history book. It will be her generation that will be responsible for the creation of this new future,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said, tossing out her speech and making stuff up as she went, feeling the warmth of the foal she loved so much against her. She felt warm tickly tingles as Glass Slipper breathed on her neck and ruffled her mane.

“Between mare and equine, you forgot sexpot!” a raspy voice shouted from the front row.

Glaring down at Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle felt her cheeks suddenly burning with embarrassment and a bit of arousal. Twilight blinked several times, her ears swiveling forward as she continued to look at Rainbow Dash, the source of her embarrassment. Swallowing, Twilight realised that she had to keep talking for at least a few more minutes.

“We are going to make a lot of mistakes. Please be forgiving of those who work tirelessly to serve you and protect your interests. We’re probably going to make some awful mistakes as we try to figure out what to do first, then what to do next, and how to correct the mistakes that we make as we try to fix those mistakes,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said and then let out a nervous laugh.

This time, the laughter from the crowd was subdued.

“Recently, we were struck with a hurricane and then tragedy. We thought we lost the Crystal Empress. Our nation’s most devoted and dutiful protector had to go to Tartarus to fetch her, and she is now like the Royal Pony Sisters, an immortal who will defend and serve the great nation of Equestria. Buckminster is one of many protectors and I would like for all of us to spend a quiet moment offering thanks to those who serve us. I would also like for you to think about our first big issue that we are facing as a nation, the one question that remains in the papers. Should mares be allowed to serve in active combat roles in the guard? When we hold the first assembly tomorrow, this will be the first item brought up for discussion and we have a number of speakers on both sides of the issue. I ask that everypony that can attend to be there tomorrow when we hold the first assembly,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said, still nervous about addressing the crowd, but feeling a little better about it now that she had Glass Slipper with her.

Tucked away into the corner of the room, Bucky held his well protected position. Ripple’s Raptors were all around him, as was Lugus, Sunset Shimmer paced about nervously, Witching Hour and Tiddlywinks were sitting together, and Lyra sat on the floor with Cadance, who was laying upon a blanket, wearing a little yellow flannel onesie. Derpy also sat on the floor, smiling, and occasionally waving at a pony that had stopped and stared.

“No flash photography!” Gofannon the griffon shouted as he saw a camera being readied.

A tall figure pushed through the crowd, the ponies stepping aside as she drew near. Princess Celestia had a worried smile upon her face as she approached. She waded through the crowd of ponies only half her size, her eyes only seeing one pony as she approached.

“How is my niece?” Celestia inquired, looking around the group camped in the corner.

“She is holding up well. We had to take Harper and Peekaboo off to our private room. The crowds were giving them fits,” Derpy answered, looking up at Celestia. “Cadance wasn’t happy about losing her siblings, but she’s quieted down.”

Turning to look at Bucky, Celestia’s brow furrowed. “You look unwell,” she stated, taking a step towards Bucky. Her ears perked forwards and her nostrils flared.

“I still feel it,” Bucky said in a low voice. “The hook I mean,” he clarified.

“I am sorry Bucky,” Celestia replied in a gentle voice.

Shifting his weight slightly, Bucky looked up at Celestia. “I don’t mind really. I regret nothing,” he said in a low soft voice.

“As soon as Shining Armor is done speaking with our friends from Mustangia, I do believe he will be by to say hello to Cadance. Also, you need to stop avoiding the Crystal Empire delegation. They just want to speak to you. They know that you are not Sombra and they just want to get to know you,” Celestia said as she lowered her head to look at Bucky at eye level.

“I told you so Bucky,” Derpy said, shaking her head softly.

“It feels too awkward… Hi, I’m the recognised heir of the necromancer tyrant that enslaved you and cursed your nation for one thousand years,” Bucky grumbled as he gave a sour look to Derpy.

“You are raising their Empress,” Celestia stated as she held back a smile. “You change her little diapers and she spits up on you. The delegation just wants to have a few words with you,” she said, unable to hold in her teasing tone.

“Where is Tourmaline?” Bucky asked, looking around.

“Raven took her off to your room to spend time with your foals,” Celestia answered.

“Where is Twilight? Shouldn’t she be working the floor?” Bucky questioned.

Clearing her throat, Celestia blushed faintly. “I do believe that Twilight Sparkle dragged Rainbow Dash off to a private room to punish her for the ‘sexpot’ comment.”

“Eeeeeeugh,” Derpy grunted, her nostrils crinkling. “Somepony made a stinkie.”

“Code brown!” Lyra announced, jerking her head away from Cadance. “Raptors, we have a code brown!”

Rolling his eyes, Lugus sat up on his haunches, unfurled a blanket, spread his forelegs wide, and then held the blanket up to shield Cadance from public view.

“Blech! Cadance!” Celestia cried, stepping back.

“Ugh, it’s yellowish green!” Lyra cried from behind the blanket that was being used as a curtain. “It’s eye watering!”

“Sort of looks like pistachio pudding mixed with cottage cheese and mustard,” Derpy casually remarked. “Harper had different poos. Cadance is an enthusiastic eater, she swallows more air, that is what makes these poos look so frothy,” she explained to Lyra.

Her eyes narrowing, Celestia looked concerned. “Swallowing a lot of air leads to a lot of excessive flatulence.”

“Oh we know… trust us, we know,” Bucky said, shuddering with disgust.

“Oh no… she wasn’t done… we have a containment breach!” Lyra cried in panic.

“What is going on behind that blanket?” Celestia questioned.

“Right now I wish I did not have nostrils,” Lugus announced.

“We’re in trouble!” Lyra warned.

“Oh dear,” Celestia gasped.

“Yuck, it is all over the blanket,” Derpy muttered. She sighed a patient motherly sigh. “Just keep going Cadance. Let it all out. That’s my good girl.”

“It’s got bubbles in it,” Lyra said from behind the blanket.

“We need to get Cadance in the tub. There’s no two ways about it,” Derpy announced.

“And here comes Shining Armor,” Celestia announced. “I will distract him for as long as I can. Take Cadance and get her cleaned up,” the alicorn commanded.

His eyes brimming with tears, Shining Armor offered a weak smile to the foal being held in the wash basin. “Hi there Cady Bug,” he greeted in a wavering voice. Reaching up his right foreleg, he swiped at his right eye with his fetlock and then slowly placed his hoof back down upon the ground.

“She likes baths,” Derpy said in a low comforting voice.

“She always liked bathing. It was where she did most of her thinking. In the tub. Usually while playing naval commander. She had a fleet of boats,” Shining Armor murmured, spilling out a personal and unknown detail about Cadance’s private life. “She always made these ridiculous explosion sounds… she made them one way and I made them another and we used to tease each other about being wrong.”

“When she gets older, we’ll get her a few boats,” Derpy promised.

“I still have her boats,” Shining Armor whispered. “We don’t even know if she will remember. She’s Cadance, but she might not be the Cadance we know.”

“I’m sorry Shining Armor,” Derpy said, casting a glance at Lyra.

“I’m not,” Shining Armor said in a strained voice. “I’m happy for her. She’s alive. She will be young and beautiful forever.” The stallion offered a grim smile to the foal in the wash basin and his ears drooped down to the sides of his face. “She has a stuffed animal that Twilight gave to her. I’ll see that you get it. She… she… she loved toys. She was a big foal really. She loved toys and loved playing on the playground. I think she enjoyed being a foalsitter just so she had an excuse to play and look silly.”

“Our door is always open Shining Armor. Come and visit us whenever you get a chance,” Bucky offered, unable to look at Shining Armor and looking down at the floor instead.

“Princess Luna says that we enter a new era and now we have a new immortal alicorn to mark the occasion. She says that Cadance will aid the new push towards global unity,” Shining Armor said, sounding distracted and looking sorrowful as he stared at Cadance.

Unconcerned about global unity, Cadance giggled as she farted in the tub.

Author's Notes:

Sorry parents everywhere. I'm sure a number of you are cringing right about now.

Sorry for typos too.