Twilight Velvet sat in the bathroom and waited, watching the clock tick by one second at a time. One hundred and twenty seconds could feel like an eternity some times. When it seemed like her husband was dead and the world was going to end, she'd had sex with her son. But the world didn't end for them. At least, not yet. The world continued to spin on. But their own fate remained as undetermined as the pregnancy test on her bathroom counter. She looked at the liquid in the vial. If turned red, it meant that she wasn't pregnant. Otherwise...

When Velvet found out that the world didn't end, and that her husband was very much still alive, they celebrated by having as much sex as they physically could. Velvet had the aid of the Zesper still in her system. But Night Light wasn't a young stallion anymore. He did his best, and did finish inside her. At least Velvet could pass the foal off as his.

In the event of...

Velvet watched the second hand finish making its second lap around the face of the clock. She braced herself and looked at the color of the liquid in the vial...

Shining Armor waited outside the bathroom. The door opened and he looked up, waiting nervously for the result.

"It's blue. I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father, Shining!" Shining Armor rush over and hugged his pregnant wife. Cadance hugged him back.

He had done it. He had sex with Cadance and he was able to cum just fine. Not just once, but repeatedly, again and again as proper newlyweds. Cadance was elated that her husband was finally acting like the stallion she had married. The good stallion that she always knew him to be.

Shining and his mother both agreed that what they had done on the day Tirek attacked was a mistake, and vowed that they would never speak of it again. Not to each other, their spouses or anypony. She told him not to feel bad or blame himself for what had happened in a blind moment of misguided passion. And with things ended with his sister once and for all, Shining was able to stop feeling guilty about carrying on with her behind Cadance's back. He felt free.

"I can't wait to tell everypony!" he said, full of pride.

"Neither can I," Cadance said with excitement, but also with caution, as she broke the embrace. "But before we tell everypony the big announcement, we should probably tell a few ponies in person first," she said.

"Well yeah. I'm sure Princess Celestia is going to want to know," he said.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Cadance said.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"You don't know her like I do. You don't know how protective she can get."

"Hey, I'd be too," he said, stepping to her side and putting his hoof to her belly.

"Yes, but once she finds out I'm pregnant, she's going to want me to never leave the palace until the foal is born. And I'd like to at least be able to tell your parents and Twilight in person before I'm under princess castle arrest."

"Why Twilight?" he asked.

"She's your sister, and my sister-in-law now, too. And not to put too fine of a point on it, but you kind of owe it to her after the whole thing with the wedding invitation," she said.

"But-"

"I know that wasn't your fault. But just the same, I think she deserves a personal touch with this," she said.

"Okay. I'll have them prepare or train," he said.

"Actually, lets just take the Friendship Express rather than the Crystal Empire train so we don't cause too much of a scene when we decide to skip town and visit," she said.

"Okay. So we get to Ponyville and tell her, and then Canterlot on the way back to tell my folks and the Princesses," Shining said.

"We should at least write ahead to let her know that we're coming, even if we're waiting to tell her why in person," Cadance said.

"Okay. Then she can just meet us at the train station and we can tell her," he said.

"Shining, it's almost as if you don't want to see her," she said. "I was hoping to at least stay the weekend. I want to spend more time with her and see more of her new castle."

"No, it's not like that," he said. "We can stay a while if you want."

"We should set up a scavenger hunt for her like you used to do when she was younger," Cadance suggested. "Except instead of a book, it would be the baby as the surprise!" she said.

"How are we going to keep this a secret for eleven months?" he asked.

"Not the baby itself," she said. "The announcement."

"So like, a card?" he asked.

"How about a cake?"

"If everypony sees us carrying around a 'baby' cake, their going to figure it out. And royalty gossip travels faster than a train."

"We could have the Ponyville bakery make the cake and do some of the surprise preparations," she said.

"So the first person we're going to tell is going to be the Ponyville baker?"

"Yes. But we'll tell them that it's a Royal Top Secret," she said.

"You're going to legally bind the Ponyville baker to a Non-Disclosure Agreement for our baby announcement as a National Security Top Secret under penalty of dungeon!?" he asked.

"I wouldn't actually enforce it," Cadance said with a laugh as she penned the letter with the instructions to the bakery, and then the one for Twilight, informing her of their impending arrival. She sent off the letters with her magic. "Ponyville, here we come!"

The train ride to Ponyville was uneventful. Between their early boarding pass, and their private Caboose car, barely anypony else on the train even knew they were on board. Once they arrived, they made a bee-line straight to Twilight's castle.

Shining had been nervous about seeing Twilight again. But now that Cadance was pregnant, everything changed. All the things that he used to worry about and thought were important, became so small.

"We're gonna have an awesome weekend with the best sister-in-law in all of Equestria," Cadance said as they let themselves in the front door of the castle. Shining agreed. It was going to be fine. It was going to be great! They opened the doors the the throne room and saw Twilight and her Ponyville friends.

"We're gonna have an awesome weekend with the best little sister in all of Equestria!" he said.

"Wow Shining, this must be really embarrassing for you," Applejack said. "I'm standing right here."

"Come on Applejack, it's not a competition," Pinkie Pie said. "Because we all know who would win... Me!"

"You guys are lucky Auntie Luna isn't here right now..." Cadance said.

"Shining was obviously referring to me, and meant it as the 'best little sister' in his opinion," Twilight interjected. "And obviously, he's biased." The others nodded. "And besides, I think we all know who the best little sister is. Spike."

"OH COME ON!"

Everypony had a cheap laugh at the dragon's expense. But at least it avoided devolving into a fierce melee of inter-sibling rivalry.

"It's wonderful to see you all again," Cadance said.

"I'm so glad you're here," Twilight said to Shining. "I have a big surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?

Twilight led him away from the others, upstairs to the guest room that she had made up for him. When she found out that he was coming to visit, she collected the things he liked when he was a colt as a surprise. She had been so excited that it had been hard for her to keep it to herself. It was just like his old bedroom from when they lived with their parents in Canterlot.

It has his old bed spread, and book shelf. His train set assembled on the floor and poster of Smash Fortune on the wall. On the dresser was an ant farm. A box of his favorite comic books, mint in bag, along with his old Brutus Force doll that he used to carry around like a baby. It may have been a bit juvenile for castle decor, but he loved it and thought it was very sweet of her.

Alone together, Twilight wanted to take the opportunity to talk to him. But before she could speak, he picked her up in a hug and spun her around in excitement. He laughed, she giggled, and for a bright, happy moment, they were foals again.

"You two are adorable," Cadance said from the doorway. "I hate to steal him away from you, but Shining and I have something we need to take care of."

"Oh, okay," Twilight said.

"Come meet up with us in the town square in about a half an hour," Cadance said.

Shining and Cadance went ahead of the group to set up the clues for the scavenger hunt and then waited at the final destination, Sugar Cube Corner.

"How long do you think they'll be?" Cadance asked.

"Oh, probably only a few minutes," Shining said. "Twilie is really good at these."

"And let me just be the first to say congratulations," Cup Cake said as she wheeled out the giant celebration cake.

"How does it feel knowing that you're going to be a father?" Carrot Cake asked.

"Exciting! But also a little scary," Shining said.

"It's okay. I felt exactly the same way," Carrot said, leaning in close to whisper. "But I tell yeah, nothing makes you feel more like a stallion than finally knowing you can put a bun in the oven. For years, Cup Cake and I tried to have a foal, and eventually I was so sure that I was shooting blanks. Cup Cake said it was the stress of me trying so much. So the next time she went into estrus, she set me up with a long weekend at the spa to relax." Carrot leaned back and beamed with pride. "And then when I came back, all it took me was one try with her and she was pregnant with twins! A unicorn and a pegasus!"

Cup Cake chuckled nervously.

The bell rang as the front door of the bakery opened. Twilight and her friends walked in.

"Surprise!" Shining said. "Twilie, did you like the scavenger hunt?"

"It was perfect!" Twilight said. "Just like old times! Except this time it was even better because I got to share it with my best friends! There's just one thing missing, isn't there?"

"What's that? he asked.

"The book prize at the end," she said.

He chuckled. "There's still a prize, but it's a little different this time," he said.

"Oh. I don't understand," she said.

"All the places we sent you today had something in common," Cadance said. Twilight thought out loud over the locations the scavenger hunt.

"First we went to the school house. And then we read the Foal Free Press. After that we found Applejack's birth certificate. And then the last clue was under a crib." Twilight thought for a moment and then gasped. "Can it be!? Are you two-?"

"We're having a baby!" Cadance and Shining announced together.

Twilight just stood there in shock as the word sank in.

"You mean-" she tried to speak.

Her brother was having a baby. Her brother could have a baby. And it wasn't with her.

Don't cry, Twilight, she thought to herself. Don't get angry. Keep your feelings in check and just act happy for them.

"You mean I'm going to be an aunt!?" Twilight asked. Play along, Twilight. You can still be a part of his life. "This is the best prize ever!" she said, rushing forward to hug him. She made sure to include Cadance in the hug. "I love you guys," she said. "And I can't wait to meet your little foal!"

"Neither can we," Shining said.

The party kicked off properly, congratulations were given and cake was served.

There was so much that Twilight had wanted to say to Shining. So much that had been on her mind since the last time she saw him on that bridge in Canterlot the day that Tirek attacked. She had made a separate bedroom just to show him to have a chance to talk, but that didn't work. And now with the whole party rolling, there was no time for her to get him alone.

Even when he wasn't beset on all sides by excited ponies wanting to shake his hoof or ask 'how excited he was', he never left Cadance's side. He always stood close by, with his body turned inward towards her, always, just subtly creating a barrier between her and everypony else. Even if he didn't consciously realize it, it was a protective, paternal stance for his unborn foal.

She still wanted him. She wanted him so badly that it burned her up. Twilight might have been on even footing competing with Cadance before. She might have even had the upper hoof at times for Shining's affection. Even without the moral high-ground. But there was no way she was going to be able to compete with his unconditional love for his foal. Her rational mind knew that. But her heart still wanted what it wants.

After the party, Shining, Cadance, Spike and Twilight retired back to the new castle. Shining's replica foalhood bedroom was down the hall from the main guest room that had been made up for Cadance. Shining popped into the room for him and indulged himself with the comics for a few minutes. Twilight walked in shortly after.

"Thinking about sleeping in here?" she asked.

"I was considering it," he said, carefully sliding the near-mint comic back into its protective sleeve. "Cadance's seasonal allergies have had given her a bit of a stuffy nose and a snore that you wouldn't believe!" he jested. She climbed onto his bed laid beside him.

"It'd be just like old times when we were younger," she said. "Before we grew up and everything got so complicated. We could stay up all night and read or watch a movie, or tell scary ghost stories," she said. She shifted her position on the bed and gave him a smirk. "Maybe truth or dare..."

"Twi-"

"Shiny, I-"

"No, Twilight." He didn't raise his voice, or even sound angry. "No to whatever it is you're about to say next."

"Shining! Please!" she begged. "I thought it was me for a long time, but then after last time I worried that it was you. But now that I know that you can have a foal-"

"Twilight, stop." He got out of bed and walked to the door. Twilight dove in front of him blocked him.

"Please Shining, I'll never ask you for anything else! I'll never tell anyone and I'll raise it myself. Just give me one too!"

Shining was not one to resort to violence easily, but she was putting herself between him and his foal. He physically shoved her aside and pinned her to the wall with his hooves to show her that he was serious.

"Twilight, tomorrow, I am going back to the Crystal Empire with my pregnant wife. And if you ever want to see me again, you will drop this now, and never mention it again! Things just started going right for me, and it started with me saying 'no' to you."

"But I thought you loved me," she whimpered.

"I did," he said, relaxing a bit. "I- I still do. I'm still in love with you and that's what makes this so hard for me. You know I love you, and you keep taking advantage of that fact."

"I- I'm sorry. Shining, do you think I'm a bad pony?" she asked.

"No... Maybe yeah," he said. She looked away. "But if so, then so am I. Neither of us are blameless in this, Twilight. But I'm going to be a father. I can't just think about myself anymore. You have to understand that." She nodded. "Get help, Twilight. Get professional help. I did." She looked up as his eyes. He looked back at her with sympathy. "Maybe it was the way Mom and Dad raised us. The way they... taught us about certain things," he said. "You were even younger than I was that day, maybe it messed you up. Did you... did Dad ever-"

"No! Never! Shining, it isn't about that. Don't blame them for the way I feel about you."

"Get help Twilight. Get a coltfriend. Just get laid. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes for you to get over me," he said. Twilight began to cry. "Those don't work on my anymore. I'm already having a foal. Stop acting like one, yourself." She sniffed back her tears. "Now I'm going to go to my wife's bed, and sleep there beside her. And I don't want to hear about this again from you unless it's to tell me that you're finally over me. Otherwise, keep it to yourself, and keep it away from my family."

He turned and walked out of the room. She listened to his hoofsteps walk down the crystal corridor and the door the Cadance's room open and shut behind him. Twilight rolled over and cried into her brother's old pillow until she fell asleep.

The next morning Twilight put on a happy face for breakfast and joined her friends to see off the royal couple from the Ponyville train station. In their caboose, Shining leaned against the window and watched Ponyville drift away behind them. Cadance sat across from him.

"You look tired," Cadance said. "Was I snoring again last night?"

"No, it's not that," he said. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"I know it breaks your heart that we have to leave Ponyville already," she said. "You always look so sad after you see her."

"Hmm?"

"Twilight. I can tell how much you love her."

"What? How?"

"Shining, I don't need to be the Princess of Love to see it. It's sweet really the way you two dote on one another. Most siblings can't stand each other."

"Well she is my sister," he said, with a bit of emphasis.

"Well next up is your parents, and then the Princesses," she said. "I'm actually a little nervous."

"Yeah. me too," Shining said.

"I hope they let me go back to the Crystal Empire," she said. "I mean, they'd have to? Somepony has to run the place."

"Why wouldn't they- oh, you mean the princesses," he said.

"Yeah. Why, did you mean your parents? Why would you be nervous about telling them?" she asked.

Telling them the news wasn't the issue. Seeing them might be. Especially if his mother had news of her own to tell him.

"Sorry, I was just distracted," he said.

"Yeah," Cadance agreed. "You look like you're miles away."

Miles away, some time later, Velvet had buried her pregnancy test at the bottom of the trash bin and took the bag out to the barrel at the curb. It was one of many tasks that she had done that day taking care of the house. She just liked keeping a tidy home. The fact that they were to be visited by royalty was of no concern to her. Shining and Cadance were special enough to her regardless of their titles. That wasn't why she was nervous.

She had news to tell her son. News that could not be sent by post. News that could not be said in person. Secret news that had to be whispered, away from everypony else, into his ear only. She started making tea in the kitchen, nearly dropping the kettle when she heard the knock at the door.

"I've got it!" Night Light said. Velvet set the kettle down on the stove and rushed out to the living room to greet them at the door.

"Hi Dad. Hi Mom," Shining greeted.

"Come on in!" Night Light said. "We're just about to have tea!"

"We're actually on our way to meet Aunt Tia at the train station," Cadance said. "We told her we would be on the noon train so we could take the eleven and have time to walk here to see you."

"But we haven't seen you in so long," Night said. "You have time for a cup at least," he said, ushering them inside.

"Alright," Cadance said. "I could use the filly's room anyway."

"You remember where it is?" Shining asked, semi-rhetorically.

"Yup," Cadance said heading down the hallway. "We'll tell them as soon as I'm out."

"Tell us what?" Night asked as he sank back into his recliner.

"The big news," Shining said. The kettle in the kitchen started to whistle.

"Shining, you know how Cadance likes her tea," Velvet said, walking towards the kitchen. "Why don't you come help me make hers?"

Shining walked into the kitchen and his mother hugged him tightly, pulling herself to him and whispering in his ear. She told him what the result of her pregnancy test was. And then immediately went back to what she was doing.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, Shining! I'm certain that you are the only one who knows-" Velvet said as she glared at him, "how to make her tea. We don't need to discuss it."

They poured four cups of hot water and added the tea. Shining added the right amount of honey for Cadance's cup and they brought the tray into the living room just as Cadance was returning. Everypony took a seat and his parents picked up their tea cups to sip them.

"Now then, what is this big news?" Night Light asked.

"Can you guys put the cups down first," Shining asked.

"Why?" Night asked.

"Because I don't want any of us to get scalded," Shining said. They set their cups down.

"We're having a baby!" Cadance said.

"That's great!" Night Light said. "And?"

"And what?" Cadance asked back. "That's the big surprise!"

Night chuckled.

"Sorry. Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy for both of you. But that's not a big surprise, or news," Night said. "You're newlyweds. What other big surprise could you possibly have?"

"Does Celestia know?" Velvet asked.

"Not yet," Cadance said. "We're on our way to tell her next."

"Might I recommend telling her by post?" Velvet suggested. "I just don't want her to... overreact."

"I know Auntie can be a bit, eh, protective sometimes," Cadance said. "But I'm sure we'll be fine. And that's exactly what I'll tell her, too." Cadance sipped her tea and scrunched her nose. For some reason, somepony put honey in it.

"Alright. Just be careful," Velvet said.

"And she will say the same thing, I'm sure," Cadance said, glancing at the clock. "Speaking of, we really should get going. I don't want to be late and make her worry."

"It was good to see you again," Night Light said. "And without some kind of catastrophe."

"Honey, what did I tell you about tempting fate like that?" Velvet chided.

"Sorry Sweetie. Hoof in mouth," Night said, making a zipper motion across his lips.

"Do let us know when you get back to the Empire safely," Velvet said as she walked them to the door.

"We will," Shining said, waving goodbye.

Once they were gone, Velvet closed the door and turned to look at Night Light. He could see the concern in her face.

"..."

"Well you know Celestia will be happy that her plan worked," Night said.

"I know only too well," Velvet said, walking over to water her bonsai tree.

"Celestia can't take her foal away," he said, walking beside her to hold her. "Cadance is a princess. Everypony is about to find out that she's having a foal."

"I know," she said. "I'm still just worried."

"You're their mother. It's your job to worry about them. And Twilight, too. But look how far they've come! And Twilight can take care of herself. You heard about her battle with Tirek. After that, and Chrysalis and Discord, Celestia is the least of our worries. What would she even do?"

"I don't know. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I just have this gut feeling..."

"Maybe it's just gas," he said. She slugged him in the shoulder. He chuckled. "Look, we've been over this. Celestia ultimately wants to marry our grandson. So just think about what she would or wouldn't do to achieve that," he explained. "All she has to do is wait for Cadance's son to be old enough to court him. Until then, she has no reason to interfere with their lives, right? I mean, how would that help her?"

"... No, you're right," she said. "I'm worrying over nothing."

"Shit shit shit!" Cadance said as her brisk walk turned into a hurried canter.

"Relax, we're like five minutes late," Shining said as the reached the station entrance. "What's the worst that-"

The sound of steel being twisted and bent thundered from the station platform.

"Princess!" a royal guard pleaded.

"You already searched it twice! IT'S MY TURN!" Celestia's Canterlot Voice boomed.

Shining and Cadance rounded the corner to see Princess Celestia standing on the train platform. Her escort of Royal Guards stood back, keeping the area clear of civilians. One of the empty passenger cars was levitating, glowing yellow in Celestia's magic as she peeled apart the steel frame and metal fuselage like it was no more than a banana.

"Aunt Tia!" Cadance called out. Celestia turned to see the pink alicorn trotting over to her on the train platform. Sixty five tons of train car dropped in a heap on the tracks with a an earth-shaking crash.

"Princess Cadance!" Celestia greeted, excited, but also a bit angry. "Where were you!?"

"We took an early train to visit Shining's parents," Cadance explained.

"And you didn't inform me!? I was worried sick when the train arrived and you weren't on board!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry! We meant to be back before the noon train arrived, but we ran a little late," Cadance said.

"Ran is right," Shining said.

"Because one of us can't fly," Cadance said.

"But we're here now," Shining said.

Celestia looked over at the crumpled mess that used to be a train car. Her horn glowed and her magic lifted it up to move it onto the open patch of dirt on the other side of the tracks. Then she pulled the two sections of the train together to reconnect them. With her impromptu demolition fit over, her cadre of personal guards rejoined them on the platform.

"Very well," Celestia said. "What was it that you needed to travel all the way from the Crystal Empire to tell me in person?"

"We're having a baby!" Cadance said with glee.

Celestia's head whipped around in a circle so quickly it looked like it was about to twist right off as she scanned the area.

"You're with foal and you're traveling? Un-escorted?" Celestia said incredulously. "How could you be so reckless!? We need to get you back to the castle," she said. She looked at her guards. They moved it to escort them.

Shining was at Cadance's side instantly and knocked them all away with a concussive blast of magic before surrounding the two of them with a shield.

"Do NOT touch her!" he snarled. Cadance's magic flashed and the guards' spears and swords turned into bouquets of flowers.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Auntie, but I already have a guard," Cadance said. "We can take care of ourselves just fine. You taught me as much yourself."

"Cadance, if anything were to happen to you..." Celestia said. "You do not yet realize how important your foal is!" Celestia said.

"Hold right the buck up!" Cadance snapped. "Do NOT tell ME, an expecting mother, how important my own foal is!"

"But I need to-" Celestia tried to say. Cadance cut her off.

"NO! The only thing you need to do, is say 'congratulations Cadance, I'm so happy for you' before we leave to go back home, in the Crystal Empire."

"..." Celestia set her jaw, counting to ten as she took a deep breath. "My apologies, Princess Cadance," Celestia said. "In my excitement... from hearing your good news, I may have..." She cleared her throat. "...overreacted. You seem to- Pardon me. You clearly have your security detail well in order. What I meant to say was, congratulations, Princess Cadance. I am just, so happy for you. And I wish you safe travels home to the Crystal Empire, where I recommend that you stay, for the duration of what I hope is a healthy carry to term."

"Thank you, Princess. We intend to," Cadance said, giving a polite curtsy. Shining bowed and Cadance took three large steps backwards in unison into the passenger car doorway, letting the shield around them dissolve as they boarded. "What is a train without passengers and a conductor?" Cadance asked.

Celestia nodded. Her guards moved aside and opened the doors to the station to let the rest of the crew and passengers board. She watched them walk aft to their private caboose. Once the train was boarded, the engine chugged and it slowly pulled away from the station. The caboose window opened as it went by.

"And do come visit for the Crystalling!" Cadance said. Celestia watched the train travel away until it had shrank to a dot on the horizon.

"Thank you, Princess," Celestia said. "I intend to."

It wasn't until they were back in the Crystal Empire that Shining finally felt himself relax. It was like he had finally let go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"I'm sure that was a bit less cordial than she was used to," he said.

"To hell with 'cordial'," Cadance said. "I'm going to have a baby. Nothing is more important than that."

"Okay..." Shining said. "I'm just saying that maybe, possibly, there might just be the outside chance that somepony might just be the teeniest, tiniest, little bittiest... hormonal."

"That's a cliche!" she said.

"Whoa! Hey, yeah! You're totally correct! Totally a cliche! You're right." he said, putting his hooves up in surrender. "But I'm just saying, that maybe, possibly-"

"Yeah, I get it," Cadance said. "I'll eat some chocolate or something."

"And then...?" he asked cautiously.

"And then..." she groaned. "And then I'll write her a letter to try to smooth things over."

"Okay."

"And speak for yourself," Cadance said. "I'm pretty sure that was assault back there."

"They had pointy swords and spears!" he said. "What if one of them tripped and something happened to- oh my gosh, I'm doing it too," he realized.

"I'm just tired of her always being in control of my whole life. You have no idea what that was like."

"Cadie, I used to be in the Royal Guard. She literally ran my whole life for years!"

"Oh yeah. So you know what I mean. Running the Empire is challenging, but at least we're doing it on our own. We don't need her to watch over us," she said.

"True, but we don't need her as an enemy, either," he said.

"She's not going to be an enemy," Cadance said, rolling her eyes. "She'll forgive me as she always has. And then call my defiant little outburst a fit for my own space, yada yada..."

"And blame it on hormones."

"That is a cliche!" she shouted. The train slowed to a stop at the Crystal Empire station. "And probably exactly what she'll blame it on." They disembarked the train. Cadance's Crystal Guards were waiting for her.

"Your Highness," the ranking officer greeted. "We received advanced word from Princess Celestia that you would like to be escorted back to the Crystal Palace."

Shining Armor braced himself.

Cadance smiled.

"How thoughtful of her," she said. "Please, lead the way."

"Proceeding Ma'am!" he said. "And congratulations on the foal."

Cadance looked at Shining. He shrugged. "Royal gossip travel faster than lighting," he said.

Back at the palace, Cadance's personal assistant was in a tizzy. She had a stack of forms in her hoof as she rushed over to the royal couple.

"Your Majesties," she greeted. "Congratulations on the foal."

"Why thank y-"

"But no time for that," she continued. "Now that you're expecting, I need you to fill these out. Particularly these two on top," she said. She gave one to Shining.

"In the event of..." he started reading. "I name of sound mind and body,"

"You need to fill in where is says name, set up a beneficiary, and date and sign at the bottom after you finish itemizing."

"This is a Will," he said.

"Yes, that's correct," she said.

"I'm not expecting to die any time soon," he said, giving her the form back.

"Nopony does, sir." She said. "Nopony expects it. But you should at least plan on it." She gave him back the form. "Please try to have it filled out and returned to me by the close of business tomorrow. And the rest of these as soon as is conveniently possible." She gave him the rest of the stack.

Shining walked with Cadance back up to their royal chambers.

"Do I really look that old?" he asked, looking in the mirror.

"It's standard protocol to establish transition of power in the the event of the unforeseeable," Cadance said, familiar with the concept.

"Like what?"

"The unforeseeable," she repeated, filling out the forms. "Like if we're both in the same train wreck or something. It just helps officiate who takes over."

"Our foal, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but like, we have to designate a steward to rule the Empire and take care of our foal if they aren't old enough to rule yet." She filled out the rest of the form. "I need you to co-sign this."

Shining joined her at the table and looked over the form.

"Blah blah blah... do hereby assign as caretaker... Twilight!?" he asked. "In the event of the... unforeseeable, you want Twilight to raise our foal?"

"Sure. She did a great job of helping to raise Spike. I love her, and I trust her, with my life and my foal's."

"Yeah, but still, Twilight?" he asked.

"If not her, then who? Celestia?" Cadance asked.

"Fuck no."

"Then who else?"

"..."

"..."

Shining Armor signed his name beside his wife's, designating Princess Twilight Sparkle as steward of the Crystal Empire, and caretaker of their heir.

In the event of...