Several weeks had passed since Hearth's Warming, Trill in the middle of her eighth month as she sat around in her and Solaris's bedroom. Their little filly was becoming a little more active, but she could get a bit fussy whenever her daddy isn't around to let her know he's there. Unfortunately, today was one of the coldest days of the winter, so Trill needed to stay inside a warmer climate so she doesn't shiver and wind up going into a cryogenic sleep from the freezing temperatures. It didn't help that Canterlot was built on the side of the mountain and it was colder because of the altitude, but at least it wasn't as bone chilling as the north beyond the Crystal Empire.

The changeling sat around on the bed, bored out of her mind as she rubbed her belly. Today was supposed to be their monthly meet up with Dr. Joy, and since Trill couldn't leave the castle because of the weather, and the scheduled snow storm, they needed a house call. But with how bad the storm was, it didn't look like anyone would want to go outside in this dangerous weather. She figured Solaris could stand on top of the castle and take the brunt of the blustering winds, his dragon fire able to keep him warm even if the temperature dropped below freezing.

"I am so bored," Trill grumbled. She looked down at her pregnant belly, the baby's kicking confirming she was just as bored. "I know you are. You're always happy to see Solly, but I'm the one carrying you, you know. What about some gratitude for the changeling mare who's going to give birth to you in a couple more months?" She didn't feel any movement, which meant the foal didn't like her already. "As soon as you're born, your grounded to your crib for a month."

A moment later, Solaris walked into the room, letting out a sigh as he carried in some lunch for the two of them. "This blizzard hit Canterlot pretty hard. It's just us and a few of the guards and servants who stayed in the castle for the evening shifts." The alicorn climbed up onto the bed, laying out the plates of simple daffodil and daisy sandwiches for the two of them. "Sadly, none of the chefs were around, so we'll be having sandwiches I made for lunch. I made sure to sprinkle enough love essence for you, even though you don't use it much for anything."

"I think I'd prefer a little of your special sauce to go with it." Solaris thankfully withheld himself from taking a bite of his sandwich, glaring at his wife with a huge blush. She grinned and licked her lips, easily getting under his skin with another terrible sex pun. "You reacted a lot quicker than I thought you would have after I said that."

"I don't know who I'm going to end up punishing more; you or the baby." Trill giggled, snatching up her lunch with her aura, slowly taking a bite with a moan, mostly to get Solaris riled up with her sexy teasing. He ignored her, lightly smacking one of her back hooves to get her to quit. "Speaking of, how are you two doing? Is it too cold in here?"

"You put a protective spell around the room to prevent any sudden rise or drop in temperature coming from outside these walls, so we're both good on being nice and toasty." Trill took another bite, pointing her hoof down at her round belly. "This one, on the other hoof, is being disrespectful to her mommy by loving you more than me. Definitely going to be all over your hooves when she gets older."

"Well, I do have enough love to give to you and our baby. That would make sense." Solaris stopped eating as he gently rubbed Trill's belly, feeling their daughter's hoof try to press against his. "I just hope she doesn't become a troublemaker like her mother."

"Hey, I am not a troublemaker," the changeling argued.

He shook his head and gently brought it down to her belly, feeling her hooves kick out to touch his cheek. "Hi, sweetie. You miss me?" She responded with a light kick to his hoof, meaning yes to him. "We can't wait to see you. Just a little while longer, ok?"

"Oh boy. Did you lose your mind already?" Trill teased with a playful grin.

"Ha ha. Funny." He crawled up to her, keeping his hoof on her belly as he leaned forward, giving his love a soft kiss.

Trill kissed him back, grinning at the loving affection he gave her as she licked his lips. He deepened the kiss, pressing closer while his tongue met hers as the two organs playfully wrestled each other for dominance in each other's mouths. Her hoof met his on her pregnant stomach, both hooves connecting as they enjoyed the romantic passion they shared. They broke away, bumping noses gently together as they looked in each other's eyes, emerald green staring into sky blue.

"So?" Trill asked.

"What?" Solaris asked at the question.

"Did you come up with a name for the baby yet, or do I have to do that for you?" she specified.

"Oh..." The alicorn looked down, but unfortunately, his brain wasn't able to come up with a perfect name for their little filly. "...Well...You know, with all the work I do...All the names of dignitaries and guests I meet all the time-"

"You don't have one, do you," she interrupted, knowing what his rambling translated to.

"No I do not." Solaris groaned, leaning his head against Trill's shoulder. "I just can't think of anything. I tried to think of the perfect name for her, but it's harder than it sounds."

"So, in other words, we're going to be like Shining Armor and Cadence with Flurry Heart, have a disaster happen that she winds up causing, then give her a name matching the events that happened like 'Apocalyptica' or something like that?" The alicorn growled at the horrible idea. "Well, I at least came up with a name I made up on the spot."

"There's no way we're calling her that," he muttered. Solars looked down at Trill's belly, gently rubbing it with his hoof as he tried to think of a name again. The past couple weeks of brainstorming left him with nothing, even as he spoke with his dream daughter and tried to guess her name. The latter didn't help much, always getting a no or a shake of the head from the little filly. He had some idea for the last part of her name, but the first was what kept stumping him. "I kind of want to name her after my mother..."

"You want to name her Twilight Sparkle?" Trill questioned. "That won't get confusing."

"Just the last name, Sparkle," he corrected. "The dream daughter I always see looked almost like her, just being part changeling with a white coat and a green mane with a gold streak in the middle...Or, maybe I'm seeing my mom as a filly and I'm losing my mind after all."

"You were right so far when we got a look at her for the first time. Maybe you could be right about how she'll look." Trill gave Solaris a peck on the cheek, wriggling in her spot as she felt their foal move about as well. "We have plenty of time to name her."

"And it feels like there isn't enough time." He rolled over onto his back, looking up at the ceiling while Trill rubbed his chest. "You nervous about when the time comes?"

"...A little..." Trill grimaced, remembering every detailed description when she ends up going into labor. "Is it really going to be as painful as it sounds? I doubt it'll feel better after it's all over."

"You could have asked Aunt Cadence when she was here," he said. "...But, considering you're more insect than mammal-"

"Ahp bap bap! Stop! Don't make it sound worse!" Trill exclaimed, groaning in annoyance. "NOW I'm going to be stressed. Thanks for reminding me."

"I just want you to be prepared for when you go into labor," Solaris calmly explained. "If I end up going to another to deal with personal matters between our kingdoms and your water breaks, you're going to have to go through with it alone...And I know you don't want to go through all that by yourself." She nodded her head, shivering a little at the scary thought of going into labor on her own. "You've been practicing the breathing exercises Dr. Joy taught you?"

"Yeah...Even though I already know how to breathe." Trill tried to get the thoughts of when the time comes out of her mind, snuggling into Solaris as his body helped warm her up a little. She felt more relaxed as he wrapped his hooves around her, being careful of their foal inside her. As his abdomen pressed against hers, the unborn filly kicked happily, feeling his presence close by. "Well, at least one of us is excited. Somepony has to be between the three of us."

"Yeah. I just hope she doesn't end up being a little ball of endless energy like Flurry Heart." The couple grimaced at the thought, giggling nervously. At least having their baby kicking around managed to distract them from the eventual date where they'll be expecting her. "We're going to be very busy by then. Which means I'm going to have to juggle ruling Equestria and being a father and you need to pull your weight too."

"I'm carrying the weight already. And with all the crappy symptoms I had to go through, you owe me big time, mister dad." Trill poked Solaris's chest as she smirked, but he knew he was going to do a lot for her after the tortuous year of going through a mare's pregnancy.

"Whatever you want to do when we have time for ourselves, I'll do it no matter how much I want to say no." Solaris brought a hoof and crossed it over his chest, flapped his wings, then placed his hoof over his eye. "Pinkie Promise."

"Hmmm...So, any time when we're both alone? Both of us having nothing to do? Nopony to bother us?" Trill asked. "Like...right now?"

"...Yes." Solaris began to grow worried, seeing the familiar glint in his wife's eyes that told him she had something wicked planned for him. "W-Why?"

"Oh, no reason," she said, gently rolling him on his back and carefully straddling him, keeping her belly pressed down against his so their daughter won't get too fussy. Her horn lit up as she levitated a couple fuzzy hoof cuffs, the alicorn's cheeks lighting up, knowing exactly what she had in mind. "Gonna have ourselves a bit more fun before the baby decides we do this or not."

"Uhhhh..." Solaris couldn't voice his complaints, knowing full well he made a Pinkie Promise, and regretted doing so. He tried to find an excuse to try to change her mind without breaking it and risk getting haunted by his party pony of an aunt while Trill began to attach the cuffs to his forehooves. "W-What about lunch? Shouldn't we keep eating and...do this later?"

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this, Solly. After we're done, I'll make you something better than a simple sandwich a two year old could make by themselves." Solaris grumbled, his forelegs now forced to stretch out along the bed as the other ends were cuffed around the posts. Trill leaned closer, flashing her fangs as he squirmed underneath his pregnant lover, feeling somewhat excited despite being bound underneath the sexual predator he was married to. "You comfy?"

"Y-Yeah," he said with a nervous grin.

Even though he was able to use his magic to escape, his brain couldn't process it as he was stared down by his changeling wife, tied down and completely helpless as he let her have her way with him. Her predatorial gaze paralyzed him as she leaned closer and give him a gentle kiss, her teeth grazing against his lips, warning him not to fight back or else he'll get bitten. As terrifying as it was, especially after sending her into a magically injected heat cycle and being dominated by her in that state as they began to conceive their daughter, it only turned him on as he was now her prey. She pulled away with a giggle, moving down to his neck and laying a few kisses around his throat, feeling him tense up and whimper as she gently scraped her teeth against his skin.

"I never thought you would have a kink of getting dominated by me." Trill sensually dragged her tail against his thighs and groin while dragging her tongue from his neck to his jaw. She pressed her lips against his as he let out a moan, snaking her tongue into his submissive maw into a deep kiss, feeling him buck his hips into her ticklish tail. She pulled away and licked his snout, grinning lasciviously as she moved her hips lower. "Shouldn't have made a Pinkie Promise, because I'm going to want this every moment we have together."

"...Yipe," Solaris whispered as his blush deepened, both regretful and grateful for the strict rules made up when making a Pinkie Promise.

The next couple months went by as winter was about to end as Winter Wrap-Up arrived, cleaning up the snow and frost to bring spring back upon the kingdom. Trill was really grateful for winter to be over, needing some fresh air after being cooped up inside the castle the whole season. As fun as it was to torture Solaris whenever he was free from his duties, which were quite often from the many storms they had this year, she had to give him a break every once in a while. Even he had his own limits compared to her hormonal urges more frequent from her pregnancy.

Once winter was wrapped up in Canterlot and the warm weather finally arrived, Trill sat outside on the balcony of their bedroom as she looked out upon the land. She was able to see Ponyville in the distance, finishing wrapping up the winter around the town on time, hearing the ponies there usually have a lot of trouble when they do it the old fashioned way. She took in a deep breath, smelling the spring air as the sun shone down, warming her chitin skin.

"Finally free!" she cheered. She looked down at her belly, now a lot bigger as she could wind up giving birth any day now. "I hope you don't have the same terrible tolerance to the cold as I do. The snow's pretty and fun to play in, but it would suck if you had to stay indoors with me."

The unborn filly kicked in agreement, also wanting to be freed from her mother's womb. Trill looked back up at the scenery, leaning up against the railing as she stretched out her thin, see-through wings. Appearing from the bottom of the balcony, Solaris popped up and surprised the changeling with a peck on the lips, making her leap back in surprise.

"Hey, honey!" he greeted, flapping up onto the balcony with his wife. "Happy to have spring come back?"

"Yes, thank goodness," she said. "I was about to go insane if I didn't go outside."

"I know. But luckily, that won't be an issue for another several months when winter comes back around." Solaris draped a wing around Trill, hugging her tightly as he gently rubbed his hoof over her belly, feeling their still unnamed foal touch his. "I just checked Ponyville's progress with Winter Wrap-Up and they made it on time. I can understand why they prefer to do it the old fashioned way instead of with magic because of tradition, but they don't have any organizational skills to make sure everything goes smoothly for all the teams."

"And you do have the brains to keep things in line," Trill said, kissing the alicorn's neck as she leaned against him. "Though, with me, it takes more than that to stop me."

"Yeah. I usually have to pin you down on the bed just to get you to stop being so perverted." She giggled as the feathers on his wings tickled her sides. Solaris gently cupped her cheek, tilting her head up to look at him. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Solly." They both joined together in a kiss, filled with joyous bliss as nothing could ruin this romantic moment between the two of them.

Sadly, it was interrupted as one of Solaris's messengers entered their room. "Prince Solaris?" he called out, Trill growling in irritation as they pulled away from each other far too soon. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have urgent news."

"What is it?" he asked as he took the scroll the stallion pulled out from his saddlebags. Unfurling the message and reading it to himself, he grew confused after going through what was written. "A summit with all the kingdoms? Right now?"

"It was handed to me by a griffon, though how he knew I was your messenger and managed to make it here and leave while he was blind baffles me," he said.

"Gale was here?" Solaris asked. "Should have come in and said hi after I last saw him."

"Oh boy. A boring meeting where royals from the other kingdoms want you to marry their daughters and not grow that herd you don't want." Trill took the scroll and read it herself, her eyes growing wide at how long it would take. "You have to stay there for a couple weeks!? Why that long!?"

"I guess after Lucifer took over Equestria and nearly caused a world war, the rest of the kingdoms want to make sure there's no chance of causing bloodshed over any trifling reasons," Solaris pondered as he took the scroll from his shocked wife's hooves. "And keeping tabs on the others in case something bad does happen, we'll find some kind of agreement before it gets too drastic."

"Solly, I could be going into labor by the time you're gone!" Trill exclaimed. "I don't know if I can do this on my own!"

"I know, Trill," he said, grabbing her forehoof and rubbing it to calm her. "This worries me too. But I have to go to the summit. I can't skip out on this and make the other kingdoms think I'm doing something wrong. Do you want me to tell anypony to come to the castle and keep an eye on you?" Trill nodded her head, even though she was still panicking. "Ok. I'll write up some letters and send them out...You think I should send one to Chrysalis?"

Trill hesitated for a moment, knowing her mother wouldn't respond or come over, but she nodded her head. "Y-Yes...please?"

"Alright." He gave her a kiss on the forehead, nuzzling her affectionately. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it." Solaris gave Trill another short kiss, on the lips, then hurried over to his desk. "Tell my guards to ready the chariot and show them the coordinates for the summit's location. We leave as soon as I arrive."

"Yes, Your Highness," the messenger said with a bow, taking back to important notice as he left the royal couple.

Solaris quickly wrote down three letters, all with the same message to arrive in Canterlot as soon as possible, blowing a plume of green flames over each one, sending them in three separate locations. As the letters were magically delivered, it didn't take long for one of them to arrive within minutes. Discord popped in, wearing a safari outfit and holding a croquet mallet.

"What's the emergency, Solaris?" Discord asked, neither alicorn nor changeling bothering to ask what he was doing with that outfit and mallet. "Your writing looked so urgent it made it seem like you're on the verge of dying!...Are you?"

"No. I have to leave for an important summit and I don't want to leave Trill alone when she's close to giving birth within the month." The draconequus nodded, looking over at Trill and her worried expression. "I also asked the gang in Ponyville and Chrysalis to stop by to help watch her. You think you can manage, Discord?"

"Oh, please! I'm the Lord of Chaos! What can I not do?" Discord stripped out of his outfit and swung the croquet mallet over his shoulder, making a squeaking sound as it hit the wall. "But, to make things easier, I'll just bring the others around if they're up for staying here for a while." He snapped his fingers and teleported away. A few minutes later, he reappeared, along with Cherry Pie, Apple Seed, Gemstone, Prism, Butterscotch, and Chrysalis. "The gang's all here! It took a lot of convincing to get old sourpuss to leave her hive, but I managed to win her over."

"You teleported me here whether or not I said yes," Chrysalis growled as she leered at the chaotic deity.

"Don't be like that, Chrysie. Your daughter's going to give birth soon, and I believe with you as a mother, you should help her in the bit of crisis she has." Discord turned the changeling queen's head over to her daughter, forcing her to see the terrified look on her face. "Learn to have a heart for once in your miserable life. Besides, you don't really seem to be doing anything in your hive anyway. It'll be good for you to get out of your rocky abode."

Chrysalis grumbled, even though Discord was right. "Fine...But you stay far away from me."

"Deal!" Discord held out his paw to shake the queen's hoof, an obvious joy buzzer resting in his hand to shock her.

"...I am not shaking your paw," she said.

"You should learn to make friends," the draconequus said with a scowl, pulling his arm back. "The rest of your hive has gotten used to it, but not you. Why don't you visit Shining Armor and jump his bones since you obviously like him?"

"I'm ignoring you. I don't even know what you're talking about anyway." Chrysalis turned away from everyone, hiding the light blush growing on her cheeks.

With his cousins, Discord, and Chrysalis here to help Trill, knowing she won't be by herself if the baby comes while he was gone, Solaris was about head off to go to the summit. He gave Trill a comforting hug and another kiss, easing the scared changeling and assuring her he'll return before she goes into labor. She stood out on the balcony and watched as the golden chariot pulled by Royal Guard pegasi flew off toward the important summit the alicorn had to attend. Even with her mother, her husband's surrogate relatives, and Discord, Trill still felt alone as she worried about what will happen to her when the time comes. Even their daughter was upset, kicking her hooves against her mother's womb, wanting her daddy to stay with them.

Within an hour, Solaris and his pegasus guards pulling his chariot reached the location where the summit would be held. It was in the center of the continent where all the kingdoms connected, a large building that looked recently built, where he could see many of the other kingdom's royal leaders and their guards arriving and making their way inside. The alicorn's chariot landed down before the building with several others from any dignitaries that could fly, dismissing his guards as he climbed out and made his way inside.

"Hey, pony boy." Solaris turned around, spotting a griffon he hadn't seen in a long while. The lion body had brown fur, the feathers of his wings brown as well, a griffon soldier's uniform worn over his body, and the feathers on his head were white, his fringe drooping down over his left eye. What made him stand out among other griffons were his dulled eyes, making him blind, but the alicorn knew he was in no way handicapped. "Finally got that message I had to deliver to you, huh?"

"Gale!" He approached the blind griffon, catching him off guard as he hugged his friend/comrade from the Resistance forces.

"Ok, get off. I don't do hugs," Gale said, punching Solaris in the shoulder to get him off of him. "You've been pretty busy after all these years. You wearing the pants or is your changeling wife taking charge?"

"Hey, mock me all you want, Gale, but I'm pretty happy being married to Trill. And you could have given me the message and said hi while you were in Canterlot." Gale chuckled as he messed with his fringe.

"I had to be quick," the griffon explained. "We already arrived and some of the other kingdoms neglected to send you a message about this summit. And most of them think we griffons are hard-headed money grubbers who care about our greedy pockets than anything else."

"So, no luck on finding the Idol of Boreas, huh?" Solaris asked as Gale shook his head. "Well, you guys don't need a lucky trinket. You all just needed to pull your heads out of your plots and focus on making your kingdom better."

"You're lucky I can't beat the crap out of you since you're a royal from a neighboring kingdom, but you did help us a little bit." The two friends laughed as they caught up with each other after the last couple years. "Well, might as well give you a tour of the place and show you where the higher ups sleep." Solaris nodded and followed Gale inside. "So, how's Trill doing?"

"Running me ragged, but she's great," he said. "In fact, in just a couple weeks, we're officially going to start a family."

"You're going to adopt some foals?" the blind griffon soldier asked.

"Well...Not exactly," the alicorn admitted. "It's a pretty long story, and what I'll tell you is definitely going to shock you or anypony else who hears me."

A week had passed after Solaris had left for the summit, and Trill had tried her hardest to stay calm and not panic. Unfortunately, it didn't help as she continued to cross off the days until she would eventually go into labor. Each "X" grew closer and closer to the estimated due date of their baby ready to be born, but it only made her more anxious and scared of what pain she'll end up experiencing. The changeling slowly breathed, calming herself as best as possible as she began to slowly pace around.

"Ok. Don't panic," she told herself. "You'll be fine. Just another week until Solly comes back." She stopped as her legs began to shake, both from fear and standing on her hooves for too long. She sat down and whimpered, looking down at her belly, sensing she'll end up going into labor at any moment. "I'm not fine. I'm gonna panic."

Before she began hyperventilating, Apple Seed walked into the room, pushing in a cart with trays full of apple-based breakfast foods. "Mornin' Trill," he greeted, his grin fading as he saw the nervous wreck she was in. "Ya alright?"

"Yes! Fine!" she blurted out, giggling maniacally as she pulled her mane. "Just...dandy! Gonna have a baby soon, and my husband isn't going to come back for another seven days! What makes you think I'm not fine!?"

Her bout of panicked insanity melted as she frowned, tears welling up in her eyes as she felt like crying. "That's more of a no than a yes." Trill sobbed, burying her face in her hooves. Apple Seed walked up to her and hugged her. "It's alright, Trill. It's gonna be ok."

"Not it's not," she said. "I'm in a full blown panic. I can't do this without Solly. I read all those books on what it's like for a mare to give a live birth. It's going to be very very painful, and I don't know if I'll live through it."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Apple Seed asked, which made the changeling glower at him.

"Described in full detail for stallions, it's like getting kicked in the groin several times, having your gonads chopped off than painfully reattached while it felt like tiny needles constantly dig into them and crawl through every single sensitive nerve in your body." The teen grimaced, instinctively pressing his tail down between his legs while also crossing them. "Yeah. Painful. To infinity. Not to mention, I'm a changeling going to give a live birth, so that pain is doubled!"

"Ok, Ah get it. Let's try to change the topic." Trill groaned as she rocked back and forth, Apple Seed trying to keep her still so her stress doesn't hurt herself or her foal.

Butterscotch entered the room after hearing the pregnant changeling yell out in frustration. "Is everything ok, Trill?"

"No!" she screamed.

"Ok then." The pegasus teen walked in to help Apple Seed calm her down. "Trill, you have to relax. I know it's hard to, but the less stress you have, the easier your final stages of your trimester will go."

"Why am I getting advice to be calm by stallions who have no idea how difficult a female's pregnancy can be?" she questioned herself.

"Well, I do have some experience with some of my animal friends during the mating seasons," Butterscotch said. "It can be really stressful for the females when it comes close to giving birth."

"And ya won't get much help from Prism, Cherry, or Gemstone: Prism is still clueless about reproduction despite all of us havin' the same class about it in school last year, Cherry would only get ya more stressed with her randomness, and Gemstone will probably be grossed out if your water breaks, scream in disgust, then pass out." As the farm stallion listed out the reasons why their friends wouldn't really be helpful for Trill in her current state, she sighed and nodded her head in understanding. "Your ma might help ya out."

"I doubt she will," the changeling sadly said. "She was the only one out of all of you who was reluctant to like it...I haven't even seen her all week in the castle, like she's deliberately hiding from me."

"She's probably scared, too," Butterscotch assured. "Mothers can sometimes worry about their daughters when going through something like this...Although, instead of eggs, which isn't all that much painful and more exhausting, you're birthing a live foal."

"...Gee, Butters, I appreciate you reminding me that," Trill sarcastically stated. "Now I'm more scared, starting to get mad at my mom for not being helpful, and the longer I have to wait for Solly to return, the more freaked out I'm going to-!" She suddenly gasped as her stomach began contraction, along with a sudden rush of liquid coming out from her. Trill looked down, sitting over a wet spot that stained the floor's carpet, now beginning to panic more. "Oh my gosh...I-I think my water just broke..."

"What!?" Both stallions looked down and saw the small puddle being soaked up by the carpet underneath her.

"No. No no no! It's too soon!" Trill panicked, clutching the two teens' hooves as she hyperventilated.

"Trill, relax and do your breathin', or else it's gonna get worse," Apple Seed commanded, the changeling struggling to control her breathing as she began to feel the baby kicking hard, making her contractions more painful as she groaned. "Butterscotch, we gotta tell the others!"

"I'll call Discord!" The yellow pegasus pulled out an odd looking whistle from between his feathers, bringing it to his lips as he blew into it.

It didn't let out a sound, but within minutes, Discord magically appeared, wearing a party hat while covered in streamers. "What's happening!? Fire!? Earthquake!? Wild manticore you can't tame!?"

"Trill's gone into labor!" Butterscotch said, the draconequus gasping as he immediately got rid of the random party supplies on him.

"Oh boy, that is bad news!" He snapped his fingers, teleporting Chrysalis into the room while also creating a floating bed for Trill to rest on.

"Why do you keep teleporting me everywhere without me asking to be taken elsewhere!?" the queen shouted.

"Your daughter's going to have the foal! Like now!" Discord pointed at the younger changeling, Apple Seed and Butterscotch helping her climb onto the floating mattress as she took deep breaths.

"You have got to be kidding me," Chrysalis said in disbelief. "Can't you tell it to wait?"

"Mom, the baby's a she, and she can't wait!" Trill groaned as another big contraction wracked her body.

"You of all ponies should know the feeling after...oh, how many children have you had in your life?" Discord asked.

"Just take her to the hospital, you freakish chimera," Chrysalis growled.

"There's your heart! It just had to be dug out of that bottomless pit of a chest cavity," he teased.

"Discord, quit bantering with mom like a married couple and get me to the bucking hospital!" Trill shouted.

"Right! Baby on the way!" Discord levitated the magical mattress and hovered her out of the room through the balcony. "As much as I want to teleport us there so we'd be there within seconds, even I don't trust teleporting a pregnant mare as a good idea."

He and Chrysalis flew Trill down to the hospital while Butterscotch and Apple Seed alerted the other three mares. Discord was careful not to move too fast or too recklessly as he moved the mattress as they finally reached the building. Chrysalis barged in, alerting some of the patients and hospital staff as she approached the front desk.

"We need a doctor!" she exclaimed as Discord carried Trill inside.

"What in Equestria?" one of the nurses asked.

Dr. Joy walked into the waiting room after hearing the commotion. "Who needs a-?" She spotted Trill and saw the pained look on her face as she held her stomach. "Oh boy. Get a wheelchair!" she ordered one of the nurses, quickly obeying her as she approached the laboring changeling. "How are you doing, Your Highness?"

"I'm in pain and terrified! How do you think I'm feeling!?" she shouted, groaning again as another contraction hit her. "The baby's coming too early!"

"Don't worry. Sometimes the baby decides to come out sooner or later than expectedly planned." The doctor brought her stethoscope up to Trill's belly, hearing the filly ready to be born. "And with a couple weeks early, it's normal for it to happen around the final month."

The nurse came back with a wheelchair, Discord gently lowering Trill down as she tried to control her breathing. "C-Can my mom come with me? Solly's away for some political stuff, and I'm scared to go through with this alone."

"Of course she can," Dr. Joy said, to Chrysalis's dismay.

"Great. I get to see my hybrid granddaughter come out of my daughter," the queen said, feigning her enlightenment.

"Don't worry, Trill! I'll tell Solaris the news, and hopefully get him an excuse to leave early to see his daughter!" Discord snapped his fingers and teleported away to find the alicorn.

"Alright, Princess Trill, just keep on breathing through your contractions while we get you set up." Dr. Joy pushed Trill down through the corridors of the hospital to the delivery room, Chrysalis following after her and other nurses. Before they walked into the room after rushing to the empty room, the doctor and her assistants began putting on sterile surgical gear, handing a set to the changeling queen. "Put those on. We don't want to risk getting you or the baby infected."

"We changelings are not germ infested parasites." Chrysalis scowled as she took offense to Joy's choice of words.

"It's standard procedure and I said nothing rude about changelings," she said. "We don't want to risk getting the patients or ourselves sick from anything that could be harmful."

"Just put the stupid gown and cap on, mom!" Trill shouted as she breathed heavily, already starting to sweat from the exertion of her contractions.

Chrysalis grumbled as she put on the surgical gown and hid her mane in the cap. "Unbelievable. This is absolutely ridiculous." Dr. Joy placed a surgical mask around her muzzle to protect her mouth and nose, making her leer in disdain. "You know, we changelings can give birth easily without having any problems with diseases."

"That's because you lay eggs and they're protected by the shell until they hatch," Dr. Joy explained, the queen rolling her eyes as she knew the reason. "Live babies can be prone to any airborne illnesses the moment they exit the womb and breathe their first breath. It's a precaution so we can ensure the mother and the baby are healthy during the birthing process."

"Alright, I get it. I don't need a lecture on how it all works. Let's just get this over with." Chrysalis walked inside as she followed Dr. Joy, the other nurses helping Trill up on the bed to prepare her for the birth of her baby. "So, is this going to take a few minutes, or an hour?"

"Possibly, or maybe a few hours, days, or even a week." The changeling queen blanched at the possible time frame for a pregnant mare to go into labor.

"Greeeat," Chrysalis mumbled, already feeling sick to her stomach if the latter of the possible amount of time it'll take for Trill to pop her half pony, half changeling granddaughter out of her.

Solaris yawned as he took some time outside to get some fresh air after the early morning conference they had today. Even though his presence was mandatory for the important discussions between his fellow leaders, it got a bit boring to him after the first few days, and there was still another week left he had to endure. That, and the fact he always grew restless before bed didn't help, always worrying about Trill and their baby. Gale went outside and found him, along with Cadence as she also took part in the summit as the princess of the Crystal Empire.

"Told you he was outside," the griffon said to the pink alicorn.

"Wow. That's really impressive," Cadence complimented. "No wonder you're the griffons' best soldier."

"Showing off your sixth sense to my aunt, Gale?" Solaris asked as they approached him.

"She still didn't believe me after I was your best griffon back at your wedding. So, she bumped into me, felt her coming but didn't tell her on purpose, and after asking where you were, I told her you were out here when I didn't even 'see' you today and brought her out here." Cadence rolled her eyes as Gale laughed. "And being blind has its perks, especially when it comes to the ladies."

"And you remain single because of that reason alone," Solaris teased, letting out another yawn.

"Did you even get any sleep last night, Solaris?" Cadence asked.

"Barely...I'm just worried about Trill," he said. "She could go into labor at any moment, but what will the rest of the kingdoms think if I up and left if she does?"

"I think they can understand if a changeling, who you married, gets magically pregnant and is going to give birth to a living, breathing baby." Gale shuddered, still surprised after being told how his alicorn friend and his wife managed to conceive a baby while they were incompatible for reproduction. "That's going to suck for egg laying species since it's not natural."

"Did I also mention that the stallion who made that spell fell in love with a griffon and impregnated her to have their child?" The griffon's jaw dropped, Solaris leaving that bit of information out of their conversation on the first day of the summit. "I should thank a member of your kind for making my future family possible."

While Gale tried to put his shattered brain back together, Discord popped up in front of them in a panic. "Solaris! Thank the stars I finally found this summit! I had no idea where it was located, so I had to ask for directions, but someone managed to show me the actual summit of a mountain, not a meeting place where all the dignitaries across the world come to and speak about boring politics between nations!"

"Discord, what's going on?" Solaris asked. "Is Equestria in trouble?"

"No, but there's even bigger news: Trill's gone into labor and is in the hospital as we speak!" The white alicorn gasped, not expecting the baby to arrive this early.

"Right now!?" he asked, the draconequus nodding his head rapidly. "Oh no. I need to get back to Canterlot! Aunt Cadence, tell the other kingdoms I can't stay any longer due to a family medical emergency!"

Solaris exhaled and let out a breath of fire, engulfing himself as he turned into a wisp of magical energy, transporting himself back to Canterlot with the power of his dragon uncle's magical flames. Cadence, Gale, and Discord watched, the pink alicorn slumping over in disappointment.

"No fair," Cadence whined. "I'm not going to see my grandniece until a week from now..."

Back inside the hospital's waiting room, Apple Seed, Cherry Pie, Prism, Gemstone, and Butterscotch sat down in the many seats after arriving. They heard Trill was already in the delivery room, unable to do much to help her as they had no choice but to wait outside. A moment later, the doors slammed open as Solaris barged in, the stallion running up to his cousins as he began to panic.

"What happened!? Is Trill ok!?" he asked.

"Wow. Discord took a while to find you," Prism said.

"She's already being tended to and Chrysalis is with her, and no one else can go inside." Solaris looked at the emergency doors, biting his hoof as he began to worry, unable to help Trill in one of the most painful experiences a mare could go through.

"Sooo...how was the summit?" Cherry asked. "Were there snacks?"

Solaris didn't listen as he began to pace about, too focused on any negative outcomes to stay still as he was forced to wait outside. Would Trill die from the complicated birthing process she had to go through? Would there be something wrong with their unnamed daughter? Would something happen to the both of them? He tried to get rid of those thoughts, but after what he had gone through in the past, that possibility always kept rearing back into his head.

Hours had passed as they waited, Discord arriving a couple hours later after helping Cadence explain to the rest of the leaders for the summit why Solaris had disappeared on them. The alicorn still paced about as the draconequus explained that he was excused until he saw his wife and newborn child, though they were all surprised at how it was possible for him and Trill to conceive a foal despite their difference in species. The others waiting tried to get Solaris to calm down, but he refused to sit or even eat lunch or dinner. By then, it was already late into the night, a couple hours past midnight, the younger ponies passed out on the chairs while Discord stayed up to keep an eye on the nervous alicorn.

After several long hours, the doors opened up as Dr. Joy stepped out with Chrysalis, the changeling queen wide-eyed and horrified. "...You...are not...having anymore children..."

She soon fell unconscious, landing on the hard floor beneath her both from exhaustion and shock. The unicorn doctor rolled her eyes as she approached the stunned alicorn.

"It didn't go as bad as she claimed it was," Dr. Joy assured. "Your Highness, are you ready to see your daughter?" It took Solaris a minute to process the good news, a joyful smile slowly growing on his face as he could only dumbly nod. The mare giggled at his expression and lead him through. "Then let's head off to Trill's room."