The train's whistle blew as it disembarked from the station in Canterlot. It began its scheduled route heading to the north, transporting goods and passengers from the kingdom up to the Crystal Empire. Attached to the end of the train was a private car meant to be used by royalty or ambassadors from across the world, and inside that car was the prince of Equestria, along with his princess. Solaris decided to take some time to relax and get away from his duties for a while, especially after finally getting rid of the stallion always halting his and his council's progress.

Solaris sat by the window, watching the scenery pass by in the luxurious car. It was decorated as if it was a smaller scale of the castle: royal silk drapes for the windows, lush carpeting, a soft mattress for long rides across the country to other kingdoms, and a stocked fridge with some vintage wines as an optional beverage. He wasn't really fond of drinking, even though he was legally old enough to. He tried some during his wedding, and after only a few drinks, he was already staggering on his hooves before he went to their bedroom after the reception to consummate his and Trill's marriage. Trill, on the other hoof, loved to drink alcohol, though Solaris always had to cut her off before she got too wasted.

"It's such a beautiful day for a ride up to the Crystal Empire," he said. "Perfect weather for the tundra, so it won't be that cold, or too hot. Right, honey?"

He looked back at the changeling, Trill pouting as she wore very thick winter clothing in anticipation for the cold air they'll run into in a few hours. "I hate the cold. You know that." Solaris grinned and shook his head. He knew she wasn't all that smart when it came to being prepared, but she was a bit too early to prepare herself for the northern end of Equestria, already sweating underneath the thick jacket, scarf, beanie, and boots, all of them a dark green like her mane and tail. "Why can't your aunt and uncle just come down to the castle? They can take a break from their duties, too."

"Well, if you recall a few months ago, they did come over to see us. So we're going up there to see them this time." He walked up to the bed the pouting mare was sitting on, taking off some of her clothes so she wouldn't suffer from dehydration before they reached any sign of snow. "So, let's take these off before you get too sweaty and get even more cold once we reach the tundra."

"I don't wanna be cold!" Trill whined, swiping back her scarf and beanie. "I nearly froze to death when I tried to find you after you ran away, and I didn't think about wearing anything warm. I'm not taking any chances."

"...So, you're thinking I'm going to run off again after something emotionally traumatic happens to me?" She nodded her head, placing her cap and scarf back on. Solaris still remembered what had happened when he had run away after losing Rainbow Dash after one of his trials. He was emotionally and psychologically broken at the realization of what his tests were meant to do once he completed them. The worst bit of it that snapped him out of his shock after watching one of his aunts die, only making it worse after what he did to Trill when she found him. He surprised her by giving her a soft embrace, Trill confused by the hug until she felt an emotion from him she hated to see from him: sadness. "That won't happen again...I swear."

She wrapped her hooves around him and hugged him back, knowing it would be hard for Solaris to forget everything that happened to him years ago. "You're thinking about what you did to me in that cave, aren't you?" He nodded his head, holding her tighter as his ears pressed down to his head hard, practically hearing the sickening smack that could have fatally killed her. She nuzzled him as she began to feel his guilt for accidentally hurting her, calming him down before he broke down. "Solly, I'm ok. I didn't suffer from any brain damage, and every single doctors appointment you gave me to check my skull all came back as perfectly fine. Changelings have really thick skin, and my head's the thickest out of my entire hive."

"I don't ever want to hurt you like that again," he said. "I don't want to lose you."

"I know, and you won't." Trill kissed Solaris on the cheek, slowly moving up to his ear and giving it a light peck. "You can't get rid of me anyway. I always find some way to come crawling back, then bite you when you least expect it."

Solaris snorted, knowing that was entirely true. "I can't, even if I try." He pulled back and gave Trill a small kiss, pressing his snout against hers as he looked into her emerald eyes. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Even when I annoy you?" she asked.

"Even when you annoy me." Trill giggled, squeaking as he pulled her into another kiss, which she gladly returned in kind.

The changeling soon began to get uncomfortable, her warm clothing a bit too hot for her and sweating from the increased temperature. "Ok, you're right about the clothes. Too soon to wear them." Solaris chuckled as Trill broke the hug, plopping onto the bed as she took off her warm gear. She sighed in relief as her skin met the slightly cooler air in the royal car, tossing her clothing haphazardly all over the floor. "Maybe I don't need them when I have a husband who can breathe fire and alter his body temperature with that fire."

"You do tend to forget some things. Like my birthday a couple years ago?" Trill groaned at that awkward moment that day.

"It's hard enough for me to remember the birthdays of the other changelings in the hive!" she exclaimed. "How was I supposed to know!?"

"I did give you subtle hints, though they flew over your head like everything I say," Solaris said.

"I am the master of subtlety. You do a terrible job giving away those hints." She stuck her tongue out at the alicorn and rolled on her stomach. Solaris just shook his head, watching the changeling crawl across the bed and lay her head down on the extra soft pillows, perfectly fluffed for royal passengers to use. "Well, this is gonna be a boring few hours until we get to the empire. And I don't really like to read any of those books in that big library in the castle."

"You could probably use some book smarts." The stallion climbed up on the bed and crawled over to Trill, laying down next to her as he pulled out one of the few books he did bring along with him. "Besides, there's some really good fictional stories you can try to read. Genres ranging from adventure, romance, mystery, horror...Egh. Not a fan of horror stuff after that movie we watched back in the Crystal Empire."

"Horror, eh?" Trill hummed in thought, curious to know what kinds of other creepy and gory stories there were. "I might have to take a look at that section when we get back. But, for now..." She scooted closer to Solaris and snuggled up next to him as he began to read what looked like an old adventure series, the book titled "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone". Trill looked at him with and fluttered her eyes. "I'm just gonna cuddle with you while you read to me."

"You're not planning on doing anything lewd while I'm reading the words off the page to you, are you?" Solaris looked at her, seeing the cheeky grin on her lips as his answer was given to him. "We're on a train, where other ponies can see and smell what happens in this car when we disembark. Only in the privacy of our bedroom back home."

"Fine. No snuggling with you, then. I'm gonna take a nap." Trill rolled over and laid on the other side of the bed.

As Solaris began reading where he left off, Trill slowly scooted back toward him, failing to give him the cold shoulder. The alicorn extended his wing and wrapped it under his "sleeping" wife, pulling her closer as she snuggled against his soft feathers. Hearing her snore as she really fell asleep, Solaris chuckled softly, always entertained by his lover's antics. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, hearing her sigh in content as she shifted comfortably under his wing.

"I'll wake you when we're about to arrive, ok?" he whispered in her ear, hearing her mumble something, taking it as an agreement and getting back into his book.

With the train arriving in the northern region of Equestria, it arrived at the station, thankfully inside the barrier protecting the Crystal Empire for creatures like Trill who can't survive in the cold. As the passengers exited the cars, Solaris and Trill left their car as well. Waiting for them were a couple stallions in the Crystal Guard, both soldiers saluting to the prince and princess.

"Your Highnesses, we are here to escort you to the palace by Prince Shining Armor's command," one of them said.

"Oh boy. We need protection from all the mares that want to try to jump Solly. Oh, how cruel fate is for him to look devilishly handsome and want to make a herd with him," Trill dramatically said, leaning against the alicorn as he rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. "I wouldn't mind that, but I'm the alpha of all the other mares you're gonna court, hon."

"That's still not going to happen." Solaris lightly shoved Trill off of him, ignoring her persuasion to add more mares in his already busy life. "And I appreciate the escort, gentlecolts. This is supposed to be a family visit, not an official one, and I don't want to bring too much attention."

"Good luck with your golden locks and that horn of yours making you stick out like a sore hoof." Trill brushed her hoof through her husband's golden mane, emphasizing her point.

The guards lead the way as the couple followed. Their attention was noticed by many of the crystal ponies, especially all the mares as soon as they saw the alicorn. His bravery defeating the dreaded unicorn that nearly brought the world to a deadly war, his power far exceeding those of the princesses, made Solaris a world-wide name to remember. Known as the Prince of Hope, or Prince of Light with his power to use holy light, even changing the fire he can breath and summon in his hooves from green to white. Everyone had begun to lose hope for over fifteen years after Celestia, Luna, and Twilight were killed by Lucifer, but that changed when he made himself known in Canterlot, taking the dark unicorn head on and winning by the skin of his teeth.

Once he became prince, dignitaries from other kingdoms had expressed their gratitude once they heard his name, thanking him for keeping their kingdoms from suffering an inevitable end to Lucifer's dark power. Ironically enough, some of them had offered to allow him to one day marry their daughter, or daughters, but Solaris declined them and didn't accept any other gifts they wanted to give him. He didn't want to be treated like a god being offered tribute for his deadly battle, and he preferred just to be thanked without being rewarded, just knowing the world was safe was plenty rewarding for him.

After reaching the crystal palace, with a few stops from some eager mares who wanted to show their appreciation for saving Equestria and all the other kingdoms, but kept at bay thanks to the guards, they entered the grand castle made entirely of crystal. The guards left to head back to their posts, leaving Solaris and Trill to themselves as they made their way to the throne room.

"As much as I hate the freezing cold air and snow outside of this city, I can never get enough of this castle," Trill said. "Why can't we get a crystal castle?"

"Do you want to wake up every morning with the sun shining through the window and have the light reflect off everything until it shines in your eyes?" Trill opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, not thinking about the drawbacks to having a building made out of crystal. And she liked her beauty sleep when having a lazy day. "I thought so."

They found the throne room and walked through the doors to meet with Cadence and Shining Armor. Inside were the prince and princess of the Crystal Empire, but there was someone else inside, and it came rushing at them in a light pink blur.

"SOWWY!" The blur rammed right into Solaris, sending him flying back into the wall of the hallway, knocking the wind out of him as he slid down to the ground. Hugging and nuzzling his chest was a light pink alicorn filly, her wings far bigger than a normal pegasus foals for her size, her mane and tail a mix of light pink and purple with blue highlights. "I gotted you!"

"Hi, Flurry," Solaris greeted with a wheeze, struggling to catch his breath from the harsh tackle. He patted the filly on the head, letting out a cough as he felt like his ribs had cracked, lifting the excited little alicorn in his hooves. "Wow, you're insanely strong. And you got a bit bigger since I last saw you."

"I missed you, Sowwy!" Flurry said, reaching her hooves out to hug him again.

"Me too, little cousin." He pulled her close to let her hug him again, this time not while she tackled him into the wall with the intention to break him and the wall.

Solaris carried his cousin back to the door, Trill wearing an amused grin as she watched him get pinned to the wall by a filly five times smaller than him. On the other side of the throne room, Cadence stifled her laughter at her daughter's excitement. The pink alicorn met up with her nephew and niece-in-law halfway, Shining slowly limping his way over as well, his forelegs mended, though hindering his movement.

"Flurry, next time, don't fly into your cousin when you want to say hi to him," Cadence lightly scolded, the filly giggling innocently as she nodded her head. She hugged Solaris, the stallion purposely squeezing Flurry between them to get some playful payback for ramming into him. "How was your ride up?"

"Boring, and I wished there was something we could have done for the last five hours," Trill replied with a huff.

The filly squirmed out of Solaris's hoof and flapped her wings, flying up to the changeling princess and landing on her snout. "Hi, Twill!"

"Oh, now you notice me, you little love tanker." Trill levitated Flurry off her nose and randomly flipped her around, gently placing her down on the ground in a headstand.

It was a really big surprise to everyone in the world when Flurry Heart was born an alicorn, just like Solaris. Cadence and Shining Armor didn't tell their nephew about her pregnancy until a few months after conceiving the little filly. He was excited and couldn't wait to see his first blood related cousin, and it was also a grand occasion for the empire itself. After she was born, they performed a special ritual for newborn foals within the Crystal Empire called the Crystalling. This ritual also strengthens the Crystal Heart as the crystal ponies release light and love, which is absorbed by a pure crystal picked by the parents. And since it was a royal Crystalling, Flurry was given two honor guards that would be her guardians, along with a Crystaller, a pony deemed trustworthy by the parents to help care for her when Cadence and Shining were busy with their royal duties.

But, it wound up nearly turning into a disaster with baby Flurry flying around, teleporting all over the place, and sneezing while unleashing massive beams of magic that nearly destroyed the castle. Solaris was forced to keep his cousin occupied while his aunt and uncle got things ready, and even he had trouble taming the wild alicorn foal with his own magic. He didn't have this kind of level of uncontrollable magic when he was little, but that might have been due to growing up in a mountain with his dragon uncle, Spike, or he did and was never told about his magical surges as a colt.

What was worse was what had happened to the Crystal Heart. Flurry was pulled away from her cousin while having too much fun with him, crying a loud super sonic wail that managed to shatter the magical artifact, destroying the barrier and the empire's protection. Without the Crystal Heart, not only would evildoers easily invade the land, but the worst of it came from the harsh blizzards it was meant to protect the empire from. Luckily, they found a way to fix it and perform the Crystalling all at once, bringing the barrier back to protect the ponies from the disaster.

"Princess Flurry Heart, it's time for your lessons!" At the entrance of the throne room was an orange unicorn stallion, his fetlocks white along with a stripe of white starting underneath his horn down to the tip of his snout. His mane and tail were a darker shade of orange with a lighter shade in the middle, looking like he had just gotten up or constantly overworked and messy, also sporting a goatee and a pair of spectacles. He also wore a blue cloak designed with lighter blue stars, dressed as a scholar along with the glasses he adjusted on his muzzle. "Oh! Prince Solaris and Princess Trill!"

"Sunburst, good to see you again," Solaris greeted as the older stallion approached them and bowed respectfully to him.

Sunburst is Flurry Heart's Crystaller, and the stallion who helped figure out how to restore the Crystal Heart. Before he ever met the stallion, Solaris had gone through many files of ponies who had once been in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, finding reports on every student's grades and specialties. Along with his mother, Twilight having perfect scores on every magical lesson given to her, Sunburst was pretty knowledgeable with his studies, though executing them was a struggle for him. He was currently living in the Crystal Empire once it had reappeared and Sombra was dealt with, though he never really saw him in the city. And with his specialty more around learning and memorizing what he's read, he knew a lot about the Crystal Empire more than anyone else, even the crystal ponies.

As the magical blizzard struck after Flurry Heart accidentally shattered the Crystal Heart, Solaris entrusted Trill, Cadence, and Shining Armor to find him while he alone tried to push back the magical clouds with his power. His flames managed to push them back to some degree, but the overwhelming magical power wasn't enough to keep them away for long. Thankfully, before the Crystal Empire was frozen over, Sunburst found the right spells to fix the Crystal Heart, needing Cadence and Solaris's aid to keep the pieces together as it was formed, became Flurry's Crystaller as they performed the Crystalling to execute repairing the artifact, and saved the empire. He even found a spell to ease the filly's magical surges so nothing like that could happen again.

"What brings you to the Crystal Empire, Your Highnesses?" Sunburst asked.

"Just a family visit. I needed a break from my duties, and I didn't want Flurry to think I was avoiding her." The alicorn filly flipped on her back, looking up at the adults around her.

"Well, I'm going to have to take Flurry Heart for a little while," the unicorn said, using his magic to pick Flurry Heart up and carry him toward him. "It's time for your lessons, princess."

"Awww. Noo! I wanna be with Sowwy!" she whined, pouting angrily as she puffed out her cheeks and crossed her forelegs against her chest.

"I'm going to be here all weekend," Solaris assured. "When your done with your studies, which are important, we'll play together. Ok?"

"...Ok," Flurry reluctantly said.

As sad as it was for the filly to have to be taken away from her cousin, he promised he would still be here and she did have important study lessons she needed to learn. Flurry Heart and Sunburst left the throne room and headed down the hall, Solaris wincing as soon as his cousin was out of sight, rubbing his chest as he began to feel it bruise up.

"Wow, she's still as strong as she was as a newborn," he said. "You sure the Fledgling's Forbearance spell is still being used?"

"She's learning some basic magic spells, like levitation, so I've been trying to lower the level of the spell so she can use some of it without restraining it too much," Cadence explained. "But she still has her alicorn strength, and it's been hard enough for me to try to chase her down by myself."

"Sorry I can't really do much, Cadence," Shining said, sounding guilty as he looked down at his forelegs. "I'm starting to get old, and my forelegs aren't able to let me move around much anymore..."

"Shiny, I'm just happy you're still alive." The pink alicorn nuzzled her husband, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "And I'm glad you've finally settled down and gave us a loving and highly energetic little filly."

"I kind of wish I wasn't forced into early retirement," the stallion groaned. "I get bored too easily, I'm barely able to exercise, and I can only walk around for such a short amount of time before pain starts shooting up in my legs." Shining began to wince as he felt a spike of pain in one of his legs, rubbing the burning limb, hoping it would stop hurting. Using his magic, his aura pulled out a bottle of pain medicine, taking out a couple pills and swallowing them whole. "And because I can't run, I won't be able to have fun with Flurry when she wants me to play with her."

"Honey, she's a smart filly. She'll understand why her daddy can't play with her as much as she wants to." Cadence gently rubbed Shining's leg, her horn glowing as she cast a spell to help reduce the pain he was feeling. "I've been able to handle her erratic flying and hide and seek games while she was still in diapers. All she needs from you is your love and being there for her every step of the way."

"You sure about that?" he asked.

"I know so." She pressed her lips against his in a soft, passionate kiss, Shining kissing back as his loving wife assuaged his fears of being a terrible father. Cadence hugged him after breaking their kiss, whispering something in his ear that got him a bit flustered. She pulled away and looked at their nephew and niece-in-law with a grin. "Well, let's get on with the chatting! It's been a while since we've seen each other, and we're in need of some family time. Too bad Chrysalis can't come over."

"I don't think she'd want to be caught dead somewhere in the middle of a frozen wasteland, or hang out with family," Trill said. "I'm kind of surprised I saw some members of the hive here, despite the cold weather. Is it because of the Crystallings? Because Flurry's was pretty powerful stuff."

"It could be." Cadence and Trill began to leave the throne room, the two mares having some girl chat as they left to find a private room for the family to relax in.

Solaris walked alongside his uncle as the unicorn limped along, feeling the effects of the pain medicine he took finally kicking in. "Five years old, and Flurry Heart is still as wild as ever. And she gets her strength from you."

"She really is a hoofful, but I am pretty proud to be a dad." As they walked, Solaris looked down in sadness, wondering how great it would have been if his life was different. Having both his mother and father raise him, having fun as a family, no insane villain threatening the kingdom to split them apart. Shining Armor noticed the alicorn's depression, still very worried about his mental state after all he'd gone through. "You doing ok, Solaris?"

"...Y-Yeah. A lot of hard work running a kingdom, but I got the hang of it thanks to you and Aunt Cadence," Solaris said with a fake grin.

"Do you still have any relapses over...you-know-what?" Shining asked, the alicorn shaking his head.

"No...Well, not as often, but they're going away. I'll be fine." He took his nephew's word, though he seemed to be hiding something else from him. He didn't press him, not wanting Solaris to overreact and panic as if he was being questioned for a crime he didn't commit. "So, what did Aunt Cadence tell you earlier?"

"Uhh...She...reminded me I still needed to...make up for the years I've been away," Shining said with a light blush.

"Does that mean I'm going to be expecting another cousin some time in the future?" Solaris asked, somewhat hopeful to have another relative.

"I don't think so. Flurry Heart is enough for me right now, and I don't think either of us could handle two foals at the moment." He bumped his shoulder against his nephew's, making sure not to put too much pressure on his front hooves to bring the pain back. "So, how have you and Trill been since we last saw you?"

"Oh goodness. Trill's libido is worse than a teenage colt's. I want to just put her on a leash so she can quit trying to find ways to have sex with me, but I'm pretty sure that would make her want more with all the wild fantasies she thinks up." Solaris continued talking about him and Trill's evenings as he and Shining Armor walked down the hall to try to catch up with Cadence and Trill.

The hours passed into the evening, the sun setting behind the mountains outside of the Crystal Empire, bathing the kingdom in an orange glow. Up on the balcony outside the dining area, the family decided to sit out there as they ate dinner and watched the sun set. Flurry Heart squinted her eyes, deeply focused as she looked at the checkerboard in front of her, Solaris sitting on the other side with an amused grin on his face. Her pieces were red, while his were black, and with checker pieces laid out in favor of Solaris with more of his pieces out on the board, the filly had to think real hard as she sipped on her juice through a very swirly bendy straw.

"Tick tock, Flurry," Solaris teased.

"I'm thinking, Sowwy!" Flurry shouted. "I am in the zone..." She stuck out her tongue and lit up her horn, levitating a red checker piece to an empty space on his side. "Princess me!"

"It's 'King me', and fine." He placed a captured piece over the one red checker on his side, making it a king and allowing her to move that piece anywhere now. The others watched in amusement, include Sunburst, despite being only a family friend as Flurry Heart's Crystaller. "Doesn't look like you're going to win this time, Flurry." The alicorn stallion grabbed a piece and hopped over two of her pieces, leaving only her king remaining, but not realizing he had set himself up for a deadly finish. "One piece left, and your king will soon be taken in one more move."

"The princess shall prevail!" Levitating her last piece, Flurry hopped over all of Solaris's pieces in one move. His jaw dropped, not even noticing he had set all his pieces up to give his cousin an incredible comeback, giving her the game by accident. "I win!"

"Augh! Darn it! You set me up, you little stinker!" Flurry giggled and pranced around in her victory, holding up her triumphant "princess" piece. "Come here, you show off!"

Solaris dove onto Flurry and trapped her in his hooves, pulling out a loose feather from his wings with his aura and began tickling her mercilessly. He cackled menacingly as she laughed uncontrollably, unable to squirm out of his grip as the feather tickled her exposed belly. Trill, Shining, Cadence, and Sunburst watched, the pink alicorn giggling at their playing as Solaris acted more like an older brother to Flurry Heart than a cousin.

"Solaris is really good with foals, huh?" Shining asked as he sipped on a wine glass filled with a crystal wine made from crystal berries grown in the kingdom.

"Have you seen the colts and fillies that were around him during his coronation and wedding? Those five practically look up to him." The stallion thought back to his nephew's wedding, remembering the five young ponies who danced around with him at the reception Cadence mentioned. "They look so much like Twilight's other friends. I don't know how they managed to cope when they heard the horrible news."

"Apple Seed didn't want to believe it and didn't want anything to do with Solly when he found out," Trill said. "They were all pretty upset, but I think they got over it...sort of. At least they mourn as much as he had." The changeling looked at Solaris, the stallion giving his cousin a breather from the tickle torture he gave her, resetting their checkers game for another round. "He still kind of blames himself a little for what happened. Earlier on the train, he also brought up hurting me in that cave when he ran away. He's still shaken up over that, and I've been to the doctor several times just to reassure him countless times over that I'm perfectly fine."

"Oh dear..." Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other, hoping that Solaris wouldn't end up having anymore freakout episodes when he begins to worry about anyone's safety. "Let's just hope he doesn't suffer from a worse case of post-traumatic stress disorder."

"With all of the stress coming to him from ruling a kingdom after experiencing so many deaths, especially from those he knew like the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, his mother, and her dragon scribe, it might be possible he has PTSD," Sunburst said, the royals glaring at the unicorn at his analytical assumption. "...Sorry, but his behavior seems likely to be possible."

"Are you a psychologist, Sunburst?" Trill questioned as she continued glaring daggers at him, the stallion shaking his head no. "Then I suggest you keep your diagnosis to yourself. I can take care of him if he has a nervous breakdown, and I'm not going to let him spiral into a dangerous case of depression. And I've seen what he's been through, so I understand perfectly well how upset he is, and as his wife, I will make sure he stays happy."

Sunburst gulped, keeping his mouth shut, heeding the warning in Trill's expression, not wanting to buy a new pair of bifocals after his old pair got smashed by a changeling hoof. She looked back at the two alicorns playing their game, Solaris in full concentration mode as he looked at the board while Flurry did the same, sticking out her tongue as she pressed her hooves against her head. After a while watching them making a few moves in their game, Cadence had a question on her mind she was dying to ask.

"So, Trill. At any point in the future, do you two want to have foals one day?" Cadence's question caused Trill to choke on her crystal wine, sputtering her drink, coughing heavily as she swallowed it down the wrong pipe.

After catching her breath, Trill stared at the alicorn in utter shock. "Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa, Cadence! Foals!? Us!?" Cadence nodded in curiosity, even Shining was a little curious as well. Trill chuckled nervously, pressing her hooves together, utterly flabbergasted by the topic. "Uhh, I'm not sure if you realize this, but with all the wild...events we sometimes have during the night, whenever Solaris decides to have some fun, it's kind of impossible for us to have any kids because of our different anatomy."

"Oh I know about that. Changelings are more insect than pony, and you lay eggs instead of live birth. Shining and I went to see your home...Quite a lovely place there." Shining cringed as he recalled going to the changeling hive to see Chrysalis and what their home was like. With the changelings now living peacefully with Equestria, they set up a railroad system to the location where the hive was, setting up trade and travel with their new allies. It wasn't a fond experience to see what it was like inside their home, especially with the eggs Chrysalis showed them in the incubation room within her palace. "But I was thinking more on the lines of adoption. You think you're interested in that?"

"...Uhh...I don't know..." Trill was still nervous about the topic of taking care of foals. She looked at Solaris, knowing one day, he'll wind up bringing it up with her about taking care of a foal or foals and have a family they can raise. Unfortunately, she didn't think she was the right pony to ever be a mother or mother figure, given how immature and irresponsible she can be. "I mean, we're both still really young, and pretty busy. I don't think we would have any time to take care of a foal at all."

"Doesn't Solaris do all the hard work back in Canterlot while you just laze around in the castle?" Shining asked. "Sounds like you've got plenty of time to me."

Trill leered at the crystal prince, the stallion smirking as he guessed right. "Solly's able to handle everything fine on his own. He's a born leader and makes good decisions."

"And he also told us when you two met, you failed to sneak up on him and catch him as your first prey." The changeling princess growled in annoyance, never living down that accidental stumble.

"Ok, let's not fight," Cadence scolded. "This is family time. If they aren't ready to start a family, that's their decision to make when they're good and ready. Plus, you and Solaris are still young, and he deserves to have a lot more fun after being hidden away most of his foalhood with nowhere to go and no new friends to be with. But when you do, I expect to see my grandniece or grandnephew every so often and be the first to foalsit them when I'm available. Deal?"

"Yeah, yeah. Deal." Cadence squealed in excitement as she clapped her hooves for the awaited grand relative in the future, though Trill was a bit apprehensive about that moment when it comes.

She was thankfully distracted from her thoughts when she heard Solaris groan in agony, facing another loss from his young cousin. "How are you this good at checkers!? Am I losing my touch?"

"Nope!" Flurry said. " You aren't good at this game, Sowwy!"

"Or maybe you're a little cheater and deserve another bout of tickle torture!" Flurry squealed and flew around the balcony, staying far away from her older cousin to avoid getting tickled again.

"No! Mommy! Daddy! Help!" the filly cried out as she giggled playfully, the others laughing as they watched Solaris chase her around on the balcony, even flying around near the castle not too far from where Cadence and Shining can keep an eye on their hyperactive daughter.

It was now late in the night as it was time for everyone to head for bed. Solaris was exhausted after he finally wore Flurry Heart out, the little filly holding too much energy in her system to barely show any sign of exhaustion. The family split up to get some sleep, Cadence and Shining Armor tucking in their daughter in her room before heading off to theirs, while Solaris and Trill shared a guest bedroom not too far from theirs.

Trill sat on the bed, fidgeting worriedly as her brain was wracked with what she discussed with Cadence. Solaris was in the adjacent bathroom taking a shower, having worked up a sweat trying to catch the energetic filly after losing his second game of checkers with her. She didn't know if he went easy on her or legitimately lost on purpose, but they were at least having fun. Even though she wanted to have some fun of her own with him and join him in the shower, the topic of foals bothered her too much to think about anything else.

A while later, Solaris exited the bathroom, rubbing his wet mane with his towel. "Ugh. Flurry is still as wild as she was as an infant. I think Aunt Cadence and Uncle Shining need to cut back how much sugary sweets she eats if she winds up getting a sugar rush." After making sure his hair was dry enough, he levitated the wet towel back inside the bathroom and approached the bed. He climbed up and let out an exhausted groan, sinking into the mattress as he laid his head down on the pillow. "I think I'm getting out of shape, too busy sitting on my plot and going through so many meetings and documents every day."

"Mhmm," Trill mumbled.

He looked at his wife, finding her behavior odd as she kept looking down at her hooves. "...You know, this is usually the time you try to seduce me in some random way before I go to sleep, hoping for a chance I'll give in and release some of my pent up frustrations from the boring work I do. And you aren't doing anything."

"...Oh! Uhh, right!" Trill snapped out of her daze and flapped her wings, plopping down on his stomach while failing to try and be seductive. "So, you wanna do it?"

"...That's it?" the alicorn questioned with a raise of his brow, knowing something was wrong with her. "'You wanna do it?' No innuendos or teasing?"

"...W-Well, I can run out of ideas after a while, ok? So...Do you?" she asked again, seeming desperate as she grinned suspiciously.

Solaris sighed, wrapping his around Trill's waist as he sat up. "What's wrong?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Whenever you get upset about something, you look miserable and you fail to hide it. Case in point, your horrible question to want to 'do it' with no seduction whatsoever." She couldn't hide her facade any longer, sighing sadly and laying her head against Solaris's shoulder.

"Am I really that predictable?" Trill asked.

"Since day one," he said, making the changeling groan. He gave her a light kiss on her neck, gently rubbing his hooves against her hips. "What's been on your mind?"

"Mph...It's...kinda dumb." Trill wanted to talk about her thoughts, but at the same time, she was afraid to know what he'll think about what she wants to ask. His loving kisses along her neck, cheek, and shoulder, along with the gentle caress of his hooves rubbing her back and sides coaxed her to do the former, knowing he wouldn't be mad at anything she would say to him. "...It's something Cadence brought up earlier...and it freaked me out a little."

"What was it?" Solaris asked, wondering what his aunt could have said that worried Trill so badly.

"Well, while you were busy playing with Flurry Heart, your aunt and uncle saw how well you were around foals...And, you are really good at being a role model to them, especially your other cousins in Ponyville." The alicorn shrugged his shoulders, never really finding his interaction with younger ponies that impressive, even though it was fun to play around with his cousin. "Then...the question that scared the living hay out of me was...if we would one day...raise a family?"

"...You mean...raising a foal of our own?" Trill nodded, anticipating his absurdity to the whole idea.

"Yeah, stupid idea, right?" she asked, giggling nervously. "Cadence just loves talking about foals, and she even considered asking us to foalsit a future kid of ours when she has time on her hooves. Your aunt is crazy."

"Do you want to?" Solaris's question made Trill's ears perk up, pulling her head away from his shoulder to look at him. He was serious about the concept, which only worried her more. "I've actually been thinking about that for a while, but I didn't know if I wanted to bring it up to you."

"...Y-You...really?" Trill asked. "...Uhhh...Usually, wanting kids is something a mare wants, not a stallion."

"Yeah, it's odd, but I couldn't stop thinking about it after I had finally begun to relax after learning how to run Equestria." Solaris hugged her, resting his chin against her shoulder, unable to hide his sadness from her as she felt the emotion around him. "I never knew my parents that well, except for what I was told by my family...I only knew mom for a little bit, and I wished she didn't have to go so soon after I finally met her for the first time. No one has any clue who my dad was, and I don't know if I'll ever see him if Lucifer had killed him...I guess...I still feel a bit lonely and wonder what my life would have been like raised by my parents, not others who were like family to me.

"Uncle Spike was like a father to me, but I know he isn't my real dad." Solaris grimaced at the odd thought of Spike and his mother, Twilight, in a romantic relationship. "I would have been mortified if that actually was true, but thank goodness that isn't true..." The alicorn sighed as he held Trill tighter, laying back on the bed. "If I had my own foal, I want them to have both their parents to raise them, and I would experience how fatherhood would be like just to see what it would have been like."

Trill sat up and looked down at her alicorn husband, seeing the sad expression on his face. "This has been bugging you for a while?" she asked, the stallion nodding his head. "And...are you also envious of your uncle, or anypony else who's raising foals?"

"Maybe a little..." Trill had no idea this was bugging him so much.

After everything he had experienced in Equestria, he had lost more family than anyone in the world. Five mares who were friends of his mother's and one dragon were the only family he knew, having witnessed a majority of them die in horrible ways, and he felt like desperately clinging onto the ones who matter to him. They both had opposite feelings to their thoughts on starting a family, but Trill was willing to stomach her own fears on any future failures she'll have as a mother if it will help fulfill her husband's wishes.

"...Alright." Her response made Solaris look at her in surprise. "Let's raise us a family..."

"R-Really? Are you sure you want to start a family?" Trill hesitated, but nodded her head. Excited, Solaris pulled her down and gave her a deep, loving kiss, surprising the changeling before she could react as he pulled away. "This is amazing! Trill, I know we're going to be good parents! I just know it!"

"Heh. Yeah," she uttered. "So, we're going to look into a few places, hopefully considered qualified with my horrible behavior-"

"As soon as we get back to Canterlot, I'm going to find us a spell in the archives to help us conceive our first foal!" Trill's words were unheard by the excited stallion, making her jaw drop in confusion as he mentioned creating a baby of their own.

"Wait, what?" Before he got too hopeful, Trill squirmed out of his grip and stood over him,, pressing her forehooves against his cheeks to bring him back to reality. "Did you just say we're going to make our baby?"

"...Uhh, yesh?" he answered.

"Solaris, you know that's impossible," Trill reminded, moving her hooves and waving them across her body. "We're not exactly compatible to make one. Even if we did, after the hundreds of times we've romped and finished in me, which I enjoy heavenly, we would have probably had a few sets of hooves wandering around ours by now."

"Yeah, I know that," he said. "...What were you suggesting?"

"I was thinking more on adoption, or, if any of us are willing, find a mare willing to carry your foal until then or find a breeder in the hive to knock me up." Trill shuddered at that last thought, more out of going through the birthing process for her kind. "And I know you don't want that to happen, or else have fifty or so changeling babies to take care of." The alicorn's face went pale, shaking his head as he didn't want the latter option to happen, for him or her. "But, then again, changeling breeders are pretty big."

"Ok, you're not helping with that topic," Solaris muttered.

"Then why do you think we can have our own baby with a magic spell?" the changeling asked. "Is there something that actually exists that can do that?"

"There has to be something in the archives...I just know there is..." Trill could see he was sounding desperate, and he didn't want him to get too hopeful, only for it to come crashing down when the reality of their anatomies and the lack of a magical spell could get him what he wants. "Don't you want to have a foal born from the both of us?"

"...Maybe...but it's impossible right now, or even if we find this spell that can make it possible." Solaris averted his gaze from Trill and turned to his side. He knew it was impossible, but he felt like she was trying to break that sliver of hope with the possibility the spell would end up failing or was nothing but a hoax. Trill sighed, not meaning to hurt him, but she was only reasoning with him on the worst case scenario. "Solly, I just don't want you to get your hopes up. You want to start a family, and I'm willing to go with this decision, but the only reasonable way is adopting a filly or colt."

"I know," he sadly said. "I don't want to come off as selfish to foals who never knew what having a family is like...I want our first foal to have both our DNA, our blood..."

"And I feel the same way." She laid next to him and wrapped her hooves around him, nuzzling his neck to help console him. "You know I don't mean to hurt you by saying all that. I'm just trying to be realistic." She kissed the back of his neck, gently gripping her hooves over his. "I want you to be happy. Even if your search fails, or the spell doesn't work, would you consider adoption as a plan B?"

Solaris grabbed Trill's hoof as he thought about it. As sad as it was to have a child born from him and Trill could end up as a lost cause, adopting would have to be a second option to take. Even though the foal they'll take in won't be their own flesh and blood, he will love and care for them unconditionally like they were his own son or daughter. He rolled over and looked at his beloved mare, waiting for his response.

"...I'll consider it if we can't find anything." Relieved to hear him say that, Trill hugged Solaris and pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss.

He kissed back in kind, holding her close as he deepened the kiss. Sadly, Trill broke the kiss before they got too intimate, the mare looking down as her own negative thoughts plagued her mind.

"Solly?...Do you think I'd be a good mom?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?" he replied with his own question.

"You know what kind of pony I am," she said. "Irresponsible. Immature...I don't think I'd be the kind of pony who could be trustworthy enough to raise a foal..."

"We won't know until then," Solaris said, trailing his hooves down along her hips as he gently rubbed his nose against hers. "I think you'd be a great mom. You're a lot more fun than I am."

"You sure?" she asked, her answer given to her in the form of a light peck on the lips.

"I'm sure." Trill relaxed a little, Solaris believing she would be a good mother.

She squeaked as she was back to locking lips with him again, moaning blissfully as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and closed her eyes. Solaris shifted them on the bed, Trill laying underneath him as her body quivered, feeling his hooves move down and grip her flanks. She gasped in his mouth after feeling him kneed her cheeks under his powerful, but loving hooves, she moaned even more as his tongue snaked itself inside her maw, tracing every single detail inside from her teeth to her submissive tongue.

Solaris's horn lit up, moving the sheets over them as he continued making his mare shudder and moan from his ministrations alone, feeling her tongue against his as the two organs shared an intimate dance. As much as Trill loved sharing an intimate evening with him as they rutted each other senseless, the slower, more romantic lovemaking was even better as she was also feeding off his love for her. Sadly, oxygen was important for both of them, both lovers pulling to breathe as a string of saliva connected to their lips broke apart.

She licked her lips, staring at her stallion with half-lidded eyes. "I thought you said only in the privacy of our room back in the castle was the only acceptable place for this."

"Yes, I did say that," Solaris said, letting out a low growl, nipping Trill's neck and making her yelp. "But sometimes, I bend my own rules. Right now-" He licked the spot where he gently bit down on the changeling, hearing her sigh, moving up to her ear and gently nibble on it, making her squirm and whimper as he brushed his lips against her sensitive appendage. "I want you."

She giggled as he slowly licked her ear, grinning lustily as she wrapped her hind legs around his haunches, pulling his lower body closer to her and wanting him as much as he does. "Then take me, you sexy stud."