Taking a few deep breaths Sunset turned her car off. Today was the day, the day of truth, the day where everything in her life would change. Marrying Twilight Sparkle was the first major step, but now she was ready to do something far more insane, far more drastic, but she needed to if she wanted her relationship with the bookworm to survive.

She hadn’t felt this nervous in a long time, probably since the time she had accidentally turned the frogs in her science class into living jello monsters. It was an accident, but she remembered being sent out of class and told to go see Princess Celestia. She would sit in front of the mare’s study waiting for her wondering what kind of dastardly punishment awaited her for her misdeed. She contemplated what it would be like to be banished or thrown into a dungeon somewhere.

Ironically the thing she was most worried about at that time though was Celestia being disappointed in her.

Luckily for her, none of that happened. She told her plight to the Princess and all that happened was a series of giggles and chuckles. Celestia told her to be more careful from now on and sent the young unicorn on her way.

Remembering that story brought Sunset some level of confidence. A scenario she thought was going to go extremely south ended up working in her favor, so it was a reason to stay positive even now.

Looking around, Sunset observed the school that Twilight attended. It was lavish to say the least. Sunset wondered how big the library must have been, probably large enough to keep Twilight inside most of her time. A school that large had to have an amazing selection of reading material for a read-a-holic like Twilight.

For a brief moment Sunset was reminded of high school, all the fun memories she and her friends shared, all the hijinks they got into and all the fun she had. It seemed like so long ago now, it was hard to believe that they would never be going back. All of those times together were now just memories and Sunset was all grown up.

It was true, Sunset was now twenty-one years old, old enough to drive, old enough to drink and old enough to get married. The child that first appeared in the human world all those years ago was gone and replaced by this grown woman.

Walking across the campus, Sunset stopped and looked at herself in a squeaky clean window, observing her reflection.

She had changed quite a bit since her first arrival. She had filled out in all the right places, and her hair had gotten far longer. Turning slightly she could see it went past her behind now, she liked it though and thus she would continue to let it grow. She couldn’t imagine herself with short hair ever again, long hair was her thing, even though it did tend to get in the way. She couldn’t deny that Twilight tugging on it during certain intimate moments was definitely a plus though.

She smiled at herself and noticed her smile was genuine. Sunset was happy, she was content with her life. She loved a woman enough to make that woman her wife and she loved herself enough to take care of herself. The darkest chapters of her life were behind her now, she could move forward without concern.

She had accepted that Shimmer was gone, accepted that her younger sister was never to return, but that meant she had to try twice as hard now to be happy for her sake; she needed to live for the both of them. Shimmer sacrificed herself so that Sunset could live and she couldn’t allow herself to forget that. In her last moments, she didn’t even blame Sunset. Sunset had heard her last words, talking about how this was all part of something bigger, and it certainly was. Adagio's plot extended far beyond anything Sunset had ever imagined.

With the help of her friends, they were able to bring her killer to justice and save the day. Everything had worked out; at least as much as it could work out, given the circumstances.

“This is it, Sunset…” She told her reflection.

Looking away from the glass she continued down the path heading toward Twilight’s dormitory. She had walked it so many times that she had it memorized.

Twilight had one of the more expensive private dorms to herself. Which was convenient because half of the time when Sunset came over to fetch the girl, she was so sexually starved she would insist they get a round in before they went back to Sunset’s place to do pretty much more of the same thing.

The irony of Twilight’s lack of sexual experience prior to them getting together was she became like a drug addict. Once she had a taste she had to keep coming back for more. Fine by Sunset, she enjoyed their intimate time. They were more compatible than they even realized at first. One of the best parts about their romance was a lot of the time words didn’t even need to be spoken, they could just do what they wanted to do and the other would go with it; it was a rare type of relationship, one that most would envy. They had no reason to hide or be ashamed of their fantasies, the other would act accordingly.

Sunset’s mind wandered to the first time she had visited this campus. Twilight had pulled her into her dorm room and locked the door, not agreeing to leave until they had a bit of satisfying “fun”. She recalled they didn’t get back home until sometime after midnight that night. At that point plans for dinner had to be canceled because they were both exhausted, but they spent the rest of the night snuggling.

The small dorms reminded Sunset of the tiny apartment she once owned, it felt like an eternity ago that she was poor and had not even a one hundred dollar bill to her name. It was hard to imagine she was worth in the hundreds of millions now. Still, the redhead hadn’t forgotten where she came from and regularly made donations to charity and other causes. She didn’t want to become one of those rich snobs who hordes everything to herself and looks down on the lower class. Truthfully, she didn’t really need her money, most of the things she owned were just inherited from Shimmer, much of which she didn’t use, but kept around in honor of Shimmer’s legacy; she didn’t feel right giving away her things.

She couldn’t deny though that there were some luxuries that the rich got to enjoy that had definitely become a part of her, such as owning her own gym at home.

Looking down at her Apple watch, Sunset was reminded to check her activity meters for the day. She had burned a good 800 calories already and she was way ahead of schedule for her fitness goals. Taking a second to feel proud of herself she smiled before letting her arm fall back to her side as she approached Twilight’s dorm building.

The school had about eight dorm buildings and Twilight resided in building number eight, the most recent expansion. This meant that she was in a freshly renovated part of the school (it also meant top dollar, but Sunset wasn’t too concerned about that).

Reaching the door to her fiancé’s room, Sunset stretched and tapped on the door gently. She crossed her arms and waited outside patiently. Within a few seconds, stirring from inside could be heard and after a small wait longer, Twilight opened the door to great her redheaded lover. She smiled politely before reaching forward and pulled Sunset into a tight embrace followed by a quick peck on the lips.

Sunset responded by placing her arm in the crook in Twilight’s back and held the girl there, looking into her eyes. “I missed you…” Sunset said.

“Likewise…” Twilight nodded.

The two stood there just locking eyes for a moment before Sunset decided to speak up. “Hey… I have something I want to sort of talk about… It’s not bad, I promise.”

“Oh, alright… What’s up?” Twilight blinked.

“Maybe I should come in? We can sit down and talk it over.” Sunset smiled.

Twilight gave an awkward face followed by the raising of her brow. “Can’t it wait until we get home?”

“I’d rather get it out of the way if that’s alright… It’s sort of something that I think we should discuss ASAP so it’s kind of out there… While I still have my nerves that is…” Sunset gave a weak smile.

Twilight could tell that whatever she had to talk about was going to be a difficult subject for her, but she decided to just nod and roll with it. Sunset knew herself quite well and if she said she needed to get something off of her chest before she lost her nerve, that was probably for the best.

“Alright… Come on in.” Twilight grinned as she released Sunset and stepped aside, gesturing with her hands for the woman to step into her home away from home.

Obliging, Sunset noted how neat Twilight’s things were kept, there wasn’t a book out of place or a piece of furniture that looked like it had been moved. Twilight prided herself on organization when it came to an area where she read or studied, so it wasn’t that shocking to see her dorm as always was kept neat and tidy. Truthfully, most times when Sunset came over she never really noticed the state of the dorm. They usually were occupied with sex, after all.

Twilight’s dorm was cozy, albeit a bit small. She had a desk with her laptop sitting atop of it, another with a pile of books and a good three bookcases all filled to the brim with novels, textbooks and other various reads for the girl. Sunset suspected that most of them were for entertainment purposes and not educational.

In the center of the room, a single dark purple loveseat sat in front of a television set just next to the entrance. Sunset surmised that this was the place where Twilight kept up on her various shows via Netflix. Twilight was a binge watcher by nature, and Sunset was a bit envious of how the girl always seemed to find the time to fit everything she wanted to do in a day into a schedule. It was remarkable really, Twilight Sparkle could pull time out of nowhere to get tasks done.

Seeing the television and thinking of the shows that Twilight watched on Netflix reminded Sunset that she was behind a season on Supernatural and she needed to make a mental note to pencil that in. The Winchester boys had a unique place in her heart, and she was eager to see how the plotline of the newest season would turn out, even if the show had gotten more convoluted as time went on.

Twilight took a seat on the loveseat and Sunset followed suit by taking the spot next to her. She reached forward and took Twilight’s hand in her own and gave it a few gentle strokes with her other hand as she met the girl’s purple eyes.

“So…” Sunset said.

“So.” Twilight nodded.

Sunset took a breath and composed herself.

“As you know, I was sort of having some issues with cold feet…” Sunset began.

“I haven’t forgotten…” Twilight’s tone was quiet, implying she was a bit concerned about where this was going.

This wasn’t exactly off to the start that Sunset was hoping for, but she rolled with it. “I said it before and I’ll say it again; I still want to get married, I want to do all of that but I’ve decided that I need to push myself so I can avoid talking myself out of it. I know I’m doing the right thing, but my paranoia tricks me sometimes… So I was thinking we should do something that proves I am completely committed, so there’s no doubt, you know?”

“And what might that be?” Twilight blinked.

Sunset took in another breath and then exhaled. This was it. In her head, this plan sounded a lot less ridiculous and she envisioned it coming out so much smoother, but when the real moment came she found herself struggling to speak for a few seconds and feeling quite self-conscious of what Twilight might have to say about this plan.

She braced herself and straightened up as she gave Twilight’s hand a gentle squeeze. Sunset put on her serious face and cleared her throat. “Twilight… I love you more than anything…”

“I love you too, Sunset…” Twilight responded, her face remaining what Sunset would describe as “cautiously optimistic”.

“That’s why I think we should have a child together…” Sunset let out.

It felt good to finally say it out loud like a weight was taken off of Sunset’s shoulders.

Twilight blinked several times in disbelief. “Come again?”

“A child, as in I want to have a baby with you…” Sunset smiled.

“That’s… A huge step… I mean we’re not even married yet…” Twilight blushed.

“I know, but I figure this way I have something that I know I have a responsibility toward something so I can get my head in the right place, you know? I know it sounds crazy but-“ Sunset was cut off as she tried to justify her line of thinking.

“You know how much work that’ll be?” Twilight asked with a raised brow.

Sunset nodded. “Yes. I’m prepared for it…”

Twilight paused for a moment before continuing her line of questioning. “And you’re certain that you want to do this?”

“Positive. I figure we can get married before the baby is born and then we’ll be ready. I’ll do most of the work while you’re in college and then when you graduate we can work together…” Sunset stated.

“Do you know anything about babies?” Twilight asked.

“I bought eight books yesterday and I’m halfway through the first one… I’m going to do this right, Twilight…” Sunset pleaded.

Twilight had to admit she was impressed. It always made her all warm inside to see Sunset do research on a subject.

Taking a breath or two, Twilight thought it over. Sunset was asking a lot out of her, but seeing how much work she had already put in at least made Twilight confident that she meant what she said about not backing down if they went through with this.

“A child… That’s… Just wow… Me… a parent…” Twilight rambled before raising a hand to her forehead to compose herself.

“You’ll do fine, and I’ll be there to help you…” Sunset smiled.

Turning to face the girl, Twilight noted Sunset’s face. “You’re serious then?”

“More than I’ve ever been…” Sunset nodded.

Twilight found the smile on Sunset’s face contagious as one quickly came to her own. “How can I say no? I mean it’ll be difficult at first, and we’ll have to plan this all out, but I’d be honored, Sunset…”

“You mean it!?” Sunset exclaimed, squeezing Twilight’s small hand harder.

Twilight winced at her sudden increase in grip but nodded. “Yes… I wanted to have a family with you anyway, this just… Makes it happen a lot faster, I suppose.”

Sunset nodded. “I love you, and I promise I’m going to be the best parent I can be! I’ll study really hard! We’re going to provide our child with so much happiness, I know it!”

Leaning forward, Twilight rested her head against her fiancé’s. “I know we will…”

While it wasn’t exactly the way that Sunset expected her relationship with Twilight would unfold, she found herself extremely excited about their future. There was no more doubt, no more confusion, she was going to do this, she was going to marry Twilight Sparkle and they would start a family together.

She had spent so much time thinking this over, realizing that she was more or less giving up so much to pursue this, but she didn’t care. She was happy, happier than she had ever been in her entire life. Nothing could spoil that feeling.

Starlight Glimmer yawned and collapsed on the couch without even taking her shoes off as she groaned from the aching feeling in her feet and legs after such a long shift on her feet. “I can’t believe we actually survived that double shift… What the hell were we thinking in agreeing to that? Veil owes us big time…”

Wandering in behind her was an equally exhausted Angel Song. The girl stumbled in and managed to get her shoes off and set them aside. She leaned her face against the wall and allowed her bouncy curly hair to cushion her. Her long blue locks were a wild mess after so much running around and sweating.

“On the busiest night of the year, no less…” Angel replied slowly, trying her best not to just collapse on the floor and pass out right there and then.

“At least we had each other…” Starlight commented as she lifted her head up to view Angel and shot her friend a thumbs up.

Angel returned the gesture groggily.

“Work is always better when you have a friend…” Angel nodded lightly.

“Ain’t that the truth!” Starlight agreed.

“Still, Veil calling out on such a busy night was a big pain in the ass… I am willing to bet she knew in advance that it was going to be crazy tonight and that’s why she called out… It just seems too coincidental to me…” Starlight proposed.

Angel considered it, after all, Veil was known for calling out of work for the simplest of reasons ranging from hurting her foot to her kid got into some kind of altercation at school over some kind of nonsense. Her excuses were often concise and lacked detail, likely conjured with just enough vagueness so that they were not too fantastical to be believed. Veil had a habit of spinning stories at work which most of her co-workers knew were untrue. "A professional bullshitter" is what Starlight called her.

Thinking back, Angel tried to recall a single time that one of Veil’s long stories sounded even remotely believable, but could not think of a single instance. The fact that the girl kept her excuses short and sweet was likely an indicator that she knew her stories were difficult to be believed and thus wanted to avoid something similar when it came to excuses as to why she couldn’t work.

Starlight pointed toward the fridge. “Get me a beer, would you? I think I could use a stiff drink after tonight…”

“You have one almost every night…” Angel rolled her eyes as she wandered toward the fridge, fetching something to appease her roommate.

“Yes, but this isn’t that beer for tonight, this is a different beer… I’ll have my usual one after. Not to mention I used the term 'stiff' sarcastically here as I wouldn't really constitute a beer as a stiff drink.” Starlight winked.

Angel rolled her eyes once more. “So you’re drinking two tonight, basically?”

Starlight nodded as Angel wandered back over and handed her the bottle. Starlight sat up and reached into her pocket and retrieved her keys. On her key ring was a familiar bottle opener that Angel had gifted her. She snapped the top off of the alcoholic beverage with ease and began to suck on the top of the bottle, downing a good portion of the liquid in a few seconds.

“You should drink with me, Angel,” Starlight offered.

Shaking her head and her hands Angel declined. “I don’t really like the taste of alcohol, you know that…”

“Yeah, but you do like spending time with your best friend and roommate don’t you?” Starlight wiggled her eyebrow at Angel.

“I do, but I can do that without inebriating myself.” Angel giggled as she sat down next to Starlight.

A frown came to her friend’s face as she took another sip before speaking. “You’re such a killjoy sometimes…”

“Sorry, Starlight… I just don’t really like drinking that much…” Angel smiled.

It was difficult to be legitimately mad at her when you saw that smile. Starlight found herself quickly forgiving the girl’s lack of taste for alcohol when she saw Angel Song smile at her. Her friend had a smile that no one else had, one that would make even the iciest of hearts melt.

Looking over Angel, Starlight noted that she dressed so innocently like she was completely unaware that everyone thought she was adorable. While she lacked much in the way of a chest and Starlight wouldn’t exactly call her curvy, she was somehow very cute. Her small chest and slightly above average behind somehow worked together. Starlight surmised it must have been her hair and face that did it.

She had a very well made face, one with virtually no blemishes or scars. Not a freckle in sight, and no acne to speak of. She was a rare type of girl who didn’t need much makeup, she had a natural beauty and a youthful look about her. No one would guess that she was twenty-three, many mistook her for a teenager. Often times she was accused of having a fake ID when she went to buy alcohol on Starlight’s behalf.

The thing that Starlight was most envious of though was the girl’s small feet for her height. Angel was a slightly taller girl, just like Starlight, but was at least two shoe sizes smaller than her.

What always caught Starlight off guard was just how innocent Angel Song was at times. The girl had no sexual experience, and she had never even masturbated in her life (unlike Starlight who found herself getting busy with herself one every day at minimum, sometimes two or more if she was fantasizing about a really hot guy she had met).

Angel had admitted she had never even kissed a guy before and found herself far too shy to even consider such a thing. Starlight made it sort of a mission in trying to get the girl laid, but it always ended up failing for one reason or another.

Despite all of that, Angel was natural leader material. At work, she often was the most organized and was able to direct others down the path to success with relative ease.

“It’s fine…” Starlight replied with the shake of her hand. “Drinking alone just makes me feel pathetic is all…” Starlight remarked.

“I thought striking out with guys made you feel pathetic?” Angel blinked in genuine confusion.

“That too… Thanks for reminding me by the way…” Starlight rolled her eyes before taking another sip and leaning back, not quite amused at being reminded of her poor dating prowess. Starlight definitely knew she was an attractive girl, but she often found she said the wrong things which made dates go sour very quickly. She had a bad case of foot-in-mouth syndrome when it came to boys.

Starlight’s chest rose and fell as she sat there breathing. Her breasts were rather easy to notice behind her hooded sweatshirt that she had slipped on before leaving work. She was far from what most would call busty, but she displayed a far more impressive bust than her friend, Angel. Starlight remembered struggling with breast size in high school where she was at the tail end of an A cup, but by the time she graduated she had made it to a respectable C, which she was content with.

The difference between her and Angel though was that Angel somehow always got lucky in what she wore. She seemed to be able to always find that perfect outfit that made her look cuter than usual without even trying; whereas Starlight felt like she often had to make sacrifices to gods just to find something that looked cute on her.

Angel despite her cuteness though made a terrible wingman (or wingwoman as it were). Her adorable nature often distracted guys from even noticing Starlight when they went out. It was like bringing a puppy, but the puppy was far too cute for anyone to even notice the owner.

Still, she was great company and an even better listener. For every minor negative quality one could find about Angel Song there were at least a dozen great qualities worthy of praise.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Angel drooped.

Starlight glanced over at her and shrugged. “It’s fine… Though I really do need to get laid… It’s been like… two months… I’m going to start humping the walls if this dry spell does not stop…”

“Is sex really that important to you?” Angel blinked.

“I wouldn’t say that… I would just say… It’s like if you go without sweets for too long, eventually you just get a serious craving and it doesn’t go away until you finally just engorge yourself with as much as you can get your hands on!” Starlight explained.

“And then hate yourself and run on the treadmill for hours?” Angel snickered as she recalled Starlight doing exactly that the moment she felt she had eaten even a little too much cake.

“Sure… Why not…” Starlight rolled her eyes.

Her friend clearly knew her too well.

“Maybe it’s a good thing that I haven’t had sex then…” Angel smiled.

Starlight couldn’t deny that entirely. Sex was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that it felt amazing, a curse in that once you got even a taste, you wanted more. Starlight had spent most of her adult life since she was seventeen craving sex after going without it for so long. She was far from a horn dog, but she had regular needs. Fortunately for her, masturbating was enough to keep them at bay most of the time.

She remembered they had a co-worker who was obsessed with sex. The girl literally got a little at least twice a day, sometimes she snuck out of work early to go give a hand job or two to her boyfriend at the time (which she went through quickly). There wasn’t a conversation she had which didn’t go back to sex within a matter of minutes.

The girl didn’t last long and frankly, Starlight was glad to be rid of her. She wasn’t dependable and she could not focus to save her life.

Finding a good waitress was an exceptional pain in the ass.

“Probably… Blue balls suck…” Starlight nodded.

“I can only imagine…” Angel giggled.

Deciding it was best to change the subject, Starlight cleared her throat and spoke. “So… Any more strange dreams?”

Angel shook her head. “Sadly, no. And no leads on this Applejack either. There must be thousands of people with that name, so it’s not like Google is much help… I don’t even have a picture of her to reverse search since I saw it in a dream…”

“I guess we need more clues then…” Starlight placed a hand on her chin, keeping the other hand firmly gripped on her beer.

“It would seem that way…” Angel frowned.

Angel’s dreams or visions as they sometimes referred to them as were a common topic of discussion when the two were at home. Her friend had unique magical powers and supposedly some kind of vision came before her about some girls who would hold the answer as to why or how she got such abilities.

Sadly their search hit dead ends fairly often, but that didn’t stop them from trying to dig up just about anything they could find on their days off.

Once they spent an entire weekend following a girl named Applejack only to find that she was actually a he, and Applejack was merely the name they used to do drag. During the day he was Cotton Flower, a businessman of forty-eight and father of two children living a secret life that his wife was oblivious to where he dressed and presented as a woman to have sex with men for pleasure.

While it brought them no closer to an end to their quest, they felt somewhat satisfied in uncovering some kind of mystery.

Together, Angel and Starlight were a regular sleuthing duo, the kind that they wrote books about and got TV series made depicting their adventures. Still, the mystery of Angel Song’s magic powers still eluded them, but they remained determined.

“Applejack… And you said she looked like a country girl right?” Starlight looked over at Angel for confirmation.

Angel nodded. “Mhm, she had long blonde hair, somewhat damaged, I suppose and it was tied at the end in sort of a ponytail… A stetson hat and a red plaid shirt on…”

“Green eyes, right?” Starlight asked.

Angel nodded once more.

A sigh escaped Starlight. “Great… There must be a bazillion blonde hair, green-eyed girls in the world. All of which prettier than me I might add…”

Angel giggled. “I’m sure you’re prettier than plenty of them…”

“Still… We really need to think of more to go off of…” Starlight stated.

Angel closed her eyes and tried to remember something, anything that could help them. She could see the other nameless girls standing around Applejack, she could make out their faces and details somewhat vividly, though her memory was foggy at times. There the blonde girl stood, tall and busty.

Next to her were her friends, all of varying shapes and sizes, but she tried to think of anything that discerned them from anyone else. Her thoughts came to necklaces that they all wore.

That was right, she hadn’t noticed it before, but all of these girls wore some kind of medallion around their neck, similar but all with different emblems on them and different colors. They shined unnaturally and seemed almost unreal in their appearance.

Opening her eyes, Angel blinked before speaking. “They all were wearing… Some kind of medallions…”

“Medallions?” Starlight raised a brow but leaned in with growing interest

Angel nodded. “Yeah, they each had one… They were little circles that looked like they were made out of some kind of gemstone… They all had different emblems but they looked like they were part of a set, each one of them had one… I’m surprised I didn’t notice that before…”

This definitely was an important clue. Starlight stood up and stretched. “If I were to get someone to draw them for you… Would you be able to describe them?”

Angel nodded once more. “Definitely, my memory of them is pretty vivid. I’m confident that I could explain to someone what they looked like…”

Starlight grinned and lifted her beer to her lips, downing the remainder of it quickly and set the bottle on the coffee table. “We can go talk to Quick Sketch… He’s always hanging out at the cafe across the street where we work and I’ll bet he’s there right now.”

Angel blinked. “Right this second?”

“Might as well while it’s fresh in your memory…” Starlight winked.

She had a point.

“What about your second beer?” Angel teased.

Starlight waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll need to keep my mind sharp, we’re back on the hunt. This may be an important clue… While we’re at it, you can have him draw the faces of those girls.”

Angel couldn’t deny that this all sounded like an excellent plan, much like most of the plans that Starlight made. Coming to a stand with her, Angel nodded and grabbed her jacket from the coat rack. “Let’s get going then.”

A good few months had passed since Sunset and Twilight had decided to have a family together. Both were excited but there were weeks of planning before finalizing everything. They needed to decide on the wedding, and of course, they wanted to wait until Twilight was twenty-one so she could drink at her own reception.

The two were going over some wedding planning when Sunset decided to bring up some exciting news. “So, I’m sure you’ve heard, but Rarity is going to give birth soon!”

“Rarity as a mom… It’s weird to think about… But I can… Sort of see it, you know?” Twilight smiled at the thought.

Someone as generous and caring as Rarity would make an excellent mother, the only person she could imagine being better would be Fluttershy, who was already sort of like the mom of their group.

“It’s exciting for sure… I wonder what they’ll be like…” Sunset placed a hand on her chin.

“With Applejack as a parent? Probably hard headed and stubborn?” Twilight suggested.

Sunset let out a laugh which Twilight joined her in. “You’re probably right… Imagine if she had kids with Rainbow Dash? That would be a nightmare…”

Twilight blinked at the thought. “I actually heard Rainbow tell me that the two of them kissed once, but Applejack seemed so flustered and embarrassed that Rainbow couldn’t tell me much more… I tried texting her about it later, but she said it was best left alone.”

Sunset recalled hearing something about that story. It came from middle school days with the two, back when Rainbow had the nickname “Blue Phoenix”. She was called that because she was said to soar above the competition with relative ease or something. In her yearbook, someone had even signed it "to the rising Blue Phoenix, hope you keep kicking ass!" It was a sports thing, so Sunset knew little about it. The name sort of vanished after she entered high school where she got more of a reputation for being the class lesbian.

Still, Sunset tried to picture a phoenix in Equestria clad in blue instead of red, rising into the sky. It was a magnificent image, but likely one that didn’t exist.

“Maybe one day we’ll hear the rest of that story…” Sunset giggled.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah… Maybe…”

There was a short pause between the two girls before Twilight let out a sigh and looked over at her betrothed. “Sunset…”

Sunset gulped. She knew that tone of voice, it was usually followed by difficult conversation.

“Yeah?” Sunset managed to get out without sounding too nervous.

“We still haven’t decided… Which one of us is going to have the baby…” Twilight pointed out.

Sunset shrugged. “I was hoping you’d pitch me a suggestion…”

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. “I think… You should be the one to do it…”

Sunset blinked. She was not expecting that. “Come again?”

“Sunset… I can’t get any kind of donor from your family… The child wouldn’t have any of your DNA… On top of that… You’re the last of your family here, it would be wrong of me to not allow you to carry on your lineage, especially for Shimmer’s sake…” Twilight reached forward and cupped Sunset’s hand in her own.

Sunset winced but tried to stay calm. It wasn’t the thought of being pregnant or giving birth that scared her, it was all the things after that. “Twilight… What if…”

“Our kid is half Equestrian?” Twilight asked with a raised brow.

Sunset only nodded.

Twilight shrugged in response. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The wedding is two months away, we should be preparing now… We can begin the process right before the wedding if that’s alright with you…”

Sunset paused. How did she feel about all of this? Being a mother? Her? She knew nothing about child rearing and while she was reading books upon books, actually having the baby was another thing entirely. Her parents didn’t teach her much and she didn’t exactly have many adult role models growing up. She’d be winging the entire thing.

Her mind wandered to Twilight’s family who had been so supportive of her since she came into Twilight’s life. They approved of their relationship, their marriage, and they said they would help the two whenever they needed it. Cadence and Shining both had experience with children and they likely had plenty of wisdom to offer the Equestrian; shy of anything related to Equestria or magic that was.

The more Sunset thought about it, the more it seemed right. She could make this work, she could be the mother that her mother was not.

Holding Twilight’s hand tightly, Sunset nodded. “Twilight… I’d be honored… With you by my side, I know I’ll make a fantastic mother… Whatever problems arise from my heritage… As you said, we’ll face them together and cross those bridges when they come.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way…”

The road ahead may have been complicated or even had the odds stacked against them, but Sunset knew that they could handle anything thrown at them. Marriage, bringing children into the world, this was what normal people did, and Sunset wanted to give Twilight the most normal life that she had the ability to give. While there would be magical mishaps on the way, she promised herself she would try and live a quiet existence, one where they could raise their family without mishaps.

It was a tall order, and while Sunset found their magical adventures exciting, she knew those days were behind her. She wasn’t a kid anymore, she was over twenty-one, a full grown adult by both Equestrian and human standards. She would hold onto to magic now for one purpose and one purpose alone: to protect her family. She would use it only to keep them safe from now on.

The visit to Rarity and Applejack’s abode was an exciting one indeed. Rarity had finally gotten out of the hospital after giving birth and within a few days, she was already hard at work to lose her gained baby fat (which she didn’t really have that much of, to begin with).

After a good two weeks, Rarity and Applejack were both prepared to share the newest member of the Apple family with the world.

Sunset and Twilight both followed Applejack into their adorable country house and quietly made their way toward a nursery that Applejack herself had built. Her handiwork was as impressive as always, with so much attention to detail. The paintings on the walls of little red apples and clouds she had commented that she had paid an artist to make them, and it showed, they were quite intricately designed and the entire room’s theme matched (likely due to Rarity doing the interior decorating).

There, sitting in a rocking chair was a smiling Rarity holding a creature wrapped up in a blanket with a smile on her face.

Just seeing that smile on her told everything that one needed to know about how she was feeling at that moment. She looked so peaceful, and so content. Pride was another word to describe how she looked, as she looked down at the bundle in front of her with so much love. Sunset had never seen her give a look like that to anyone besides Applejack, yet there as she lived and breathed, Sunset could see her giving it to a child in front of her.

Applejack approached first and kneeled down next to the rocking chair, resting a hand on Rarity’s forearm. The fashionista didn’t even look in Applejack’s direction, instead, her eyes were locked on her baby.

Sunset and Twilight stood at the doorway, afraid to interrupt their little moment together until Applejack gestured for them to enter the room. Nodding, the two women came forward and tried to get a closer look.

Rarity finally looked up at the two and smiled at her friends. “Sunset… Twilight… I’d like you to meet our son… Jasper Apple…”

Twilight leaned in to get a better look and could see right away that the baby had Rarity’s beautiful big blue eyes, but Applejack’s golden blonde hair and rounded nose. He looked up at Twilight with awe in his eyes as Twilight examined his freckled face. He was a very interesting mixture of the two girls in a single person.

“He’s adorable…” Twilight found herself grinning as she stared at the baby.

Sunset came forward and found herself frozen as the child and she locked eyes. Jasper stared at the redhead intensely, studying everything about her face.

The silence between the two was broken by Rarity. “Would you like to hold him, Sunset?”

“I… I don’t know…” Sunset made an awkward face.

Rarity shook her head. “I insist…”

Sunset already knew that it was pointless to argue with Rarity after all she had been through. When Rarity wanted you to do something, you did it, especially after she had just been through the pain of childbirth not that long ago.

Reaching forward, Sunset took the baby in her arms and was surprised at how light he was. She had never held a baby before, but she had no idea they were so lightweight. She cradled his head in her hand and balanced him in her arm and looked down at him, gently rocking the small creature.

She went to brush a strand of hair out of his face only for little Jasper to grab her finger.

Sunset blinked as the baby held on, a smile on his face as he did so.

“I think he likes you, Sunset…” Rarity giggled.

Sunset didn’t know what to say or do. This baby in her arms was so delicate, so precious and so innocent. Despite all she had been through, despite all the times she had done the wrong thing or all the times she had screwed up, this small innocent creature could see the good in her. It didn’t judge her, it didn’t believe she was making all the wrong moves in life and it had no comprehension of all the times she had given into the dark part of herself.

All it saw was a woman, not an Equestrian, but a human woman.

Holding the child brought even more confidence to Sunset. She was already prepared to do what she needed to carry Twilight’s baby, but after holding Jasper and seeing how that child looked at her, she found herself more excited to see how her own child would see her. Would they look up to their mother? Only time would tell, but Sunset imagined that at that moment, Rarity felt about how Sunset was feeling right then.

If this was what being a mother felt like, she was more than ready.

“Thanks, little guy… Just brought into this world and you’re already doing so much good… Just like your mother… She should be proud…” Sunset whispered to the baby who stared up at her, his mouth forming an “o” shape.

Offering the baby back to Rarity, Sunset continued to smile.

Rarity took her son back into her arms and giggled as she looked at the redhead. “I didn’t think holding him would make you so happy, Sunset…”

“It sort of… Makes me think that I have what it takes to be a mom too… I mean… if it means I get to see a child look at me like that… I’m more than ready…” Sunset nodded.

Rarity nodded back. “I think you’ll do wonderful…”

“We already know that you will, Rarity,” Twilight chimed back in.

“I’ve much to learn, but with Applejack here to help me… I am sure that our little Jasper will have two excellent teachers… And of course two more in you two, it takes a village after all…” Rarity winked at the couple.

Sunset found herself blushing at that comment.

The moment of truth was before Sunset. Never in her life did she think such a thing as waiting for lines to appear would be the most nerve-wracking thing she had ever experienced. She had saved the world a few times and battled against enemies that could have turned her and her friends into dust multiple times, but nothing compared to this.

Here she was, two weeks before her wedding and facing the point of no return. She knew if this test came back positive that she had locked herself in for the course that her life would take from then on. From this moment, her life would be Twilight and her family. That was exactly what she wanted though. Normalcy was something she craved now. Magic battles, monsters from other worlds, evil villains hellbent on revenge? She was past all of that, now she just wanted this.

It was hard to believe that Rarity had already been a mother for a good two to three months, but seeing her with Jasper gave Sunset hope, hope that she too would be a great mother.

She closed her eyes to try and make time go faster, but she knew that time moved for no one, not even Celestia herself tampered with such a thing. She could still hear her mentor’s words ringing in her ear.

Good things come to those who wait, and all the best things take time.

It was odd that despite not seeing the mare’s face in so long, Sunset could still picture it so vividly. She had the kind of face that few could forget though to be fair.

Opening her eyes again, Sunset stared at the test eagerly watching as the first line appeared, and then after enough time had passed, a second.

She froze, blinking as she stared at it. It had happened, everything that Twilight and she had wanted all right there on a stick in her hand.

She burst out of the bathroom and approached Twilight sitting on the bed with her arms crossed, clearly trying to contain herself.

“So…?” Twilight asked, her voice was almost trembling like she was afraid of the answer.

Sunset smiled and turned the test so that Twilight could see it.

Twilight blinked a few times before adjusting her glasses to get a better look at the test. Once it had clicked in her head that the results were favorable her eyes moved up to meet Sunset. “That means…”

Sunset nodded.

“Then we’re…” Twilight stammered.

“Going to be parents…” Sunset finished her sentence for her.

Twilight nodded and hopped forward, grabbing Sunset into a tight embrace. She squeezed her so tight that Sunset struggled to breathe for a brief moment, but she patted the girl on the head and held Twilight close.

“I’m… So happy…” Twilight said, tears running down her face, staining her glasses.

“I am too…” Sunset nodded as she spoke in an almost whisper to her fiancé.

“I’ll do everything I can to help, I promise! Once I finish school we’ll be together 24/7, promise!” Twilight stated.

Sunset chuckled and pet her lover’s cheek. “It’s fine… I have it under control, okay?”

“Are you sure? I can drop out of school if you want-“ Twilight was cut off by Sunset’s finger pressed to her lips.

The redhead shook her head in disapproval. “Nonsense. You need to finish school, you almost have your BA, and you’ve worked so hard. I’ll take care of things while you’re in school and when you are home you can take over for me, okay? We’ll do this together. I’m not going to let you throw away your dreams… I have enough resources to where you can follow your dreams and we can still have our family…”

Twilight nodded. “T-thank you… Sunset…”

Sunset giggled. “Your family would kill me if I stopped you from becoming one of the world’s leading scientists.”

“Is it weird that I’m more excited to be a parent?” Twilight asked sheepishly.

Sunset shook her head. “Not at all, because I am too…”

“You’re going to make a great mom, Sunset. I know you will,” Twilight assured.

At this point, Sunset’s self-doubt was all but expunged. She believed those words, but she knew she was going to do more than be a great mom, she was going to do everything she could to be the best mom.

“Do you mind if I write to the Princess really quick, babe?” Sunset asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Not at all, she deserves to hear the good news.”

“Even if she isn’t answering…” Sunset made an awkward face.

“I’m sure she will eventually,” Twilight stated.

Sunset shrugged but released her fiancé as she dug through the drawer on the end table of her bed. Retrieving the journal she used to chat back and forth with Twilight Sunset began jotting down her letter to the princess.

Dear Princess Twilight,

It’s been some time since we’ve talked. I miss you, but I’m sure you’re off doing very important royal duties. Assisting in ruling Equestria probably is really difficult at times, not that I’d know. I hope this letter finds you well and when you get a breather from all that you have to do.

Anyway, I know you are probably sick of these little “updates” by now, but I figured this one was warranted, it’s kind of a big one. I know I already told you that Twilight and I are getting married, but that ironically is not the biggest thing that is happening to me.

I’m going to be a mom. I’m more excited than I’ve ever been in my entire life, however, this sort of comes with a caveat; something I knew was going to need to happen for some time now.

With my child and my soon-to-be wife… I think it’s time I gave Equestria up. While I will always write to you and tell you about my wonderful time here in the human world, I realized that my child will need a normal life, one without the interference of magic and other worlds. I want them to feel… normal. Like I never got to. I’ve made my choice, I want to live here with this girl that I love and this child we are to have together. I can’t do that if I am trying to live between worlds.

Your friendship means a lot to me, Princess, but I need to do what is right for my family. So while we can always be penpals, consider my trips to Equestria… Officially over.

Yours Truly,

Sunset Shimmer

She sighed as she finished her letter and stared at the page next to it, hoping to get some kind of reply. Naturally, there was none.

You may have noticed that the chapters are getting longer. This is because as we get closer and closer to the end of the story, the amount of stuff going on is going to increase. We have a few new characters to meet and a few to learn more about.

And yes! They are going to have a baby! The Shimmer family is about to get a little bigger.

Oh, and say hello to Jasper Apple! The newest Apple family member!

Thanks to everyone who reads this every week, I hope this story makes you smile.