Artemis smiled at Celestia “Not that I’m unhappy to see you, sister, but I’m confused. I thought you weren’t going to be back until it was time for us to lower the sun and raise the moon.”

Celestia returned his smile and gestured to the trays of food on his desk. “I know. That was my original plan. However, I thought the two of you would be hungry, so I brought more food.” Then she nodded to the unnamed bat pony stallion, clearly a member of Artemis’ Night Guard “Also, it seems that there is somepony here that wants to ask you to do something special. It has been many years since anypony has made this particular request, so there was no way that I was going to miss it.”

Artemis turned to the guard that Celestia nodded to. “Steel Night, is something wrong? I thought I granted you leave to be with your wife as she gave birth to your first foal. I wasn’t expecting to see you back here for another week.”

Steel Night nodded “That is correct, my prince. Everything is fine, my wife gave birth to a healthy colt.” He nodded to the doorway and the mare standing in it.

Artemis smiled and gestured for the mare to enter his room before turning back to Steel Night. “Congratulations, I’m happy to hear that. Though, that doesn’t explain why you are here and not at home with them. And Celestia said something about a request?”

Steel Night smiled as his wife walked up next to him. “The request is my wife’s idea, so I think she should ask you.” He paused, looking at Twilight “But first, I have a couple of questions of my own, if that’s alright with you, my prince.”

Artemis nodded “If it’s about yesterday’s trial, everything said there was true.”

Steel Night’s eyes widened, before he narrowed them and let out a growl, surprising his son, who looked up at him. “That was one of my questions, my prince. The other one concerns Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight gave him a questioning glance but said nothing.

“If everything said at the trial is true, she saved you twice more in the last week. I have also heard that you are courting her. Is all of this also true, my prince?”

Artemis’ answer was a mischievous smile before he pulled Twilight in for a kiss. “Does that answer your question?”

Twilight let out a squeak of surprise while everypony else laughed.

“Yes, it does, my prince.” Steel Night responded, smiling, as Silver Shadow stepped closer and whispered something in his ear. Surprised, his eyes widened for a moment before his smile became a grin and bowed. “Thank you, my princess, for saving my prince.”

Twilight’s eyes widened before she looked at Silver Shadow and understood. “So that’s what you told him.” Silver Shadow just grinned at her while everypony else laughed. She turned back to Steel Night “I will say the same thing to you that I told the Night Guards present when we brought Blaze, the pony that attacked us in Ponyville, to Celestia.”

Steel Night looked confused “What was that, my princess?”

“Of course I did. He’s pretty important to me, too.” Twilight smiled “It’s nice to meet you, Steel Night.”

Before anything else could be said, Steel Night’s son began to whimper and squirm, before he fell out of the baby sling. Everypony in the room gasped. Steel Night and his wife flinched, expecting their son to hit the floor. After a moment, he wondered why his son wasn’t crying, looked over at his foal and just stared. The little bat pony colt was suspended in mid-air, caught in a field of magenta magic.

Steel Night, and everypony else, looked at Twilight to see her horn glowing as she set the little foal down gently on the floor, in front of his mother.

She sighed “That was close” She heard tiny hoofsteps and looked down as the little colt walked over, staring up at her. She smiled and lay down in front of him.

“Quick reflexes, Twilight” commented Artemis

She looked up at him “You’ve met Pound and Pumpkin Cake. Pinkie likes to bring them to see me when she foalsits them. So I get a lot of practice.”

“That certainly explains it.” Artemis shook his head with a smile before turning to Steel Night. “Steel Night, what is your request?”

Steel Night smiled and nuzzled his wife. “This is my wife, Cherry Blossom. Go ahead, honey.”

Cherry Blossom blushed and looked at her son, who was batting at little sparks of magic that Twilight was releasing from her horn. This made her smile and calm down a bit. “I know this has not happened in a long time, but we have decided not to name our son. We have talked it over and we would be honored if you would chose a name for him, Prince Artemis.”

Artemis’ eyes widened but, before he could respond, he felt the pull of the moon and raised his head before looking at Celestia “Sister, it’s time”.

She nodded, lit her horn and lowered the sun. He stepped next to her and lit his horn. The moon rose and a flash of his magic brought out the stars.

As he finished, he heard Twilight giggling and turned towards her to find that the little foal had climbed onto her back and was stretching up, trying to touch the moon. Artemis just stared at him for several moments before he heard Steel Night speak up again.

“This is why we thought it would be appropriate to ask you to name him, my prince. He is only a week old but already reacts like this every time he sees the moon and night sky.”

Artemis looked over to find Steel Night smiling at him. Suddenly, he heard Twilight laughing again. Looking over at her, he saw that she was waving her tail around. The little foal was pouncing on the moving shadow that her tail was creating.

Twilight looked up, still laughing, as she let the foal catch the shadow. “It’s your call, Artemis. However, if I could make a suggestion,” she paused and waited for him to nod “I would name him “Moonlight Shadow”, or something similar, based on his actions and the fact that he clearly loves the light of your moon.”

Artemis’ jaw dropped as everypony else gasped. He walked over to Twilight and lay down next to her.

Immediately, the foal stopped playing with Twilight’s tail and looked at him. As soon as he saw Artemis’ cutie mark, he pounced on that too. Steel Night and Cherry Blossom were horrified but Artemis just laughed, lit his horn and brought the little foal in front of him. The foal giggled and reached out to bop Artemis on the nose.

“I think you are right, Twilight. Moonlight Shadow seems like a good name for this energetic little one.” He nuzzled her before looking up at Steel Night and Cherry Blossom. “What do the two of you think?”

Cherry Blossom just stared “My son was given his name by Prince Artemis and Princess Twilight? W-what an honor! Thank you!”

Steel Night nodded, nuzzling his wife “I like it, my prince. Thank you.” He watched as Artemis put his son back on the floor before kneeling down. “Come here, Moonlight.”

Everypony watched as Moonlight Shadow looked up at his father and walked over to him. Steel Night picked up his son and nuzzled him before setting him back down.

It was then that Artemis noticed something strange about Moonlight Shadow.

“Steel Night, you said your son is a week old, right?” asked Artemis

“Yes, my prince. Why do you ask?”

“Has he tried to fly or move his wings yet?”

Cherry Blossom looked down “No, my prince. The doctors say that there is nothing to worry about and that he is fine, but I am worried. I know he shouldn’t be a great flier yet, but he should have at least tried by now.”

Artemis and Celestia exchanged glances, worried. Before they could comment, they were distracted as Twilight spoke up.

“May I try something? I promise it won’t hurt him.”

Cherry Blossom nodded “Of course, princess”

Everypony looked on as Twilight used her magic to bring Moonlight Shadow to her, causing him to giggle. Her horn flared and a wave of magenta magic swept over his body, specifically focusing on his wings and the muscles around them. Once she was done, she set him down on the floor in front of her.

Twilight nodded “The doctors are correct. There is nothing physically wrong with his wings.” She paused as Steel Night and Cherry Blossom sighed in relief, her head tilted as a particular thought came to her. “I wonder . . .”

She laid herself flat on the floor and looked Moonlight Shadow in the eye. He giggled and bopped her on the nose. She giggled as well before flaring her wings. “Can you move your wings like me?” She smiled as he spread his wings and began to flap hers. “Good! Can you flap them, like me?” He giggled again, thinking it was a new game, and flapped his wings. “Great! I’m going to make something for you.” She used her magic to create a little ball, made of plastic that had a magenta magic light flickering inside it, and bounced it around in front of him. “Can you catch it?” With surprising speed, he did just that. She used her magic to bring it a couple of feet into the air, still bouncing it around. “Can you catch it now?” He paused for a moment before flapping his wings faster and rising unsteadily into the air.

Twilight let him catch the ball and watched as he landed again. He began rolling his new toy around and running after it.

She nodded again “I thought so.”

Celestia walked over to Twilight and sat next to her. “Twilight, how did you know what to do?”

Twilight looked at her as she sat up “I spent most of my life, aside from the last three years, as a unicorn. When I first ascended and gained my wings, I was uncomfortable with them and didn’t really fly that much. It wasn’t until something came up that made me want to fly, that I began to do it more often.” She shrugged “I thought that, if I presented him with something that he wanted to get, he would fly. It was a little under hoofed of me, but at least we know that he can fly.”

She looked over at Cherry Blossom “He can keep the ball that I made. I made it for him, after all. If you bring it into the air and make him come get it, he can use it to practice his flying.” She paused, looking at Artemis as a thought occurred to her. “You know, if you put a bit of the light from your moon into the ball, I bet he’d be even more motivated to get it.”

Artemis chuckled, nodded and lit his horn. Suddenly, the ball began to glow as the magic inside it became a swirling mix of moonlight and Twilight’s magenta magic. He used his magic to lift it into the air, so that it hovered over Moonlight Shadow.

Moonlight Shadow batted at it a few times before Artemis let him knock it out of the air. As soon as it landed on the floor, he picked it up in his mouth and walked over to his mother. Cherry Blossom picked him up and put him back in the baby sling. He promptly fell asleep, clutching his new ball.

Steel Night smiled, watching his son, before turning to Twilight and bowing. “Thank you, my princess. Without your experience, we never would have known why our son wasn’t using his wings, let alone what to do to get him into the air.”

Cherry Blossom looked over and smiled “Not to mention that our son’s name was your idea.”

Twilight opened her mouth to respond but a yawn came out instead. Artemis joined her. They looked at each other for a moment before Twilight turned back to everypony else. “I’m sorry”

Artemis yawned again “Me too. We’re still tired, I guess.”

Celestia laughed “Of course you are. Yesterday was very stressful for both of you. Come on, eat your dinner so that you can get some sleep.”

Twilight and Artemis looked at each other before heading for the trays of food on his desk. They didn’t inhale it this time, but they did eat rather fast. When they were done, Celestia nudged them towards his bed with a sly smile.

Artemis gave his sister a look “At least wait until the company leaves before you start with that, sister.”

Celestia laughed “Oh come on, little brother. They all either know about it already or just had a foal of their own. You’re not getting out of giving me a little niece or nephew. Maybe two.”

Twilight turned bright red as everypony, except her and Artemis, laughed. “Celestia! We’ve only been dating for a week!”

“So?” Celestia countered “You’re his only really close friend in all of Equestria, Twilight. You two have been meeting up and/or visiting each other for more than three years now. You may have made it official last week, but you’ve really been together for three years.”

Artemis yawned again “I’m way too tired to argue about this right now, so I’ll keep it simple. Twilight’s right, we need to wait a while before starting a family. What would the citizens say?”

Celestia’s eyes flashed “Nothing, if they know what’s good for them.”

Twilight looked at her “What’s the rush? Why are you pushing us so hard?”

Celestia shrugged “I want a large family. I want foals in the castle again. I want you in the family, little sister. Take your pick.”

Twilight smirked “Why don’t you have a couple of foals yourself? And you’ve been calling me “little sister” for almost a week. That’s not enough?”

Celestia shook her head “No, it’s not enough, Twilight. I can call you “Little Sister” all I want, but it’ll be true only when you two get married and/or have a foal. That will really make you my little sister.” She paused “I’m a ruling figure of Equestria, I can’t be a pregnant princess.”

“So you want me to be one?” Twilight fired back, making everypony laugh.

Celestia sighed “Fine. I’ll leave it be for tonight and let you sleep. But you two are not getting out of this.” She watched as Twilight and Artemis yawned again and pointed to his bed. “Go lay down, before you both fall down.”

Artemis and Twilight shook their heads, sighing in resignation, walked over to his bed and climbed under the covers. Everypony watched as Artemis pulled Twilight close. They tried to stay awake but, within a few minutes, they were both sound asleep.

Celestia turned to Silver Shadow “When was the last time they- oh, last night, right?”

Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang nodded

Celestia’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to her.

Silver Shadow looked at her, confused “Princess?”

Celestia smiled “Twilight was my personal student for many years, starting when she was a small filly. I know when her cycle starts.” She paused and laughed “It was easy enough to figure out, she would always shut herself in the library or her tower as soon as it started and wouldn’t come out until it was over.”

Cherry Blossom asked “What do you mean, Princess?”

Celestia’s smile became a grin “I doubt she has noticed, with everything as crazy as it’s been lately, between the attack and trial. However, Twilight was supposed to go into heat on Wednesday, the day of the attack.”

Silver Shadow, Midnight Fang and Steel Night’s eyes all widened “You mean that she . . .?” asked Silver Shadow

Celestia nodded, still grinning “She may already be pregnant.” She paused, looking at the guards and Cherry Blossom “Don’t say anything to either of them, or anypony else, about this and don’t change the way you treat her. At least, not until we’re sure, and that may take a couple of weeks.”

Cherry Blossom turned to Steel Night “Honey, you have to make sure she stays safe. After everything she’s done, she deserves the same protection that you give Prince Artemis.”

Steel Night opened his mouth to respond, but Silver Shadow beat him to it. “It’s alright, Cherry Blossom. We have already sworn to protect our princess as we protect our prince. Prince Artemis knows about this and approves. So, you don’t have to worry.”

Cherry Blossom sighed in relief “Good” She turned to her husband “Make sure you let me know when you find out if we are going to have a royal foal soon.”

Celestia smiled and was about to comment on that when a noise made them all look to the bed. They watched as Twilight began shifting restlessly in her sleep, causing Artemis to instinctively wrap a hoof tighter around her and pull her closer. As soon as she felt the increased body heat and the embrace, she calmed and snuggled closer to him.

“We’d better go” Celestia whispered “We don’t want to wake them. Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang, I’ll see the two of you in the morning.”

They walked out into the hall and closed the door to Artemis’ room.

Celestia paused “I will come check on them, first thing in the morning. If they fall into a deep sleep again, Artemis may not wake to the pull of the moon. If that happens, I will lower it and the stars. My brother needs his sleep to recover from the stress of the last few days.”

She looked back at the door to Artemis’ room and shook her head. “I have never seen my brother this content or sleep this deeply, except for those first couple of days when he first returned. The effect Twilight has on him is amazing.”

Midnight Fang nodded in agreement “She doesn’t see it that way, though. Our princess has said that she hasn’t done anything special.”

Cherry Blossom and Steel Night just stared at him while Celestia snorted and shook her head “If this is “nothing special”, I would like to see what she considers special. My former student is, and always was, such a perfectionist and overachiever.”

Celestia turned to Cherry Blossom and Steel Night “You two should get your little one home and put him to bed. Have a good night.”

They both nodded and bowed “Good Night, princess.”

It was time for the moon to be lowered and, once again, there was no change. There was a flash of golden magic in front of Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang. They looked over to see Celestia standing there and shook their heads. “There has been no sound from inside, princess.” Silver Shadow reported

Celestia smiled “Good. Let’s go check on them anyway.” She opened the door to her brother’s room and the three of them walked in, looking at the bed to see that Artemis and Twilight were still in a deep sleep.

Celestia walked to the bed and nuzzled Artemis and Twilight. Neither of them responded or moved at all. She smiled and shook her head, looking down at her brother. Artemis had shifted in his sleep, tucking Twilight’s head beneath his chin and was still holding her tight.

Celestia lifted her head and lit her horn, lowering the moon before raising the sun. She closed the curtains so that the sunlight wouldn’t wake them before turning to Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang and gestured to the hallway. They nodded and followed her out.

“I have a couple of my Day Guards coming up in a few minutes. Go get some breakfast and sleep.”

They both nodded again and saluted “Yes, princess.”

Around two in the afternoon, Twilight woke up and tried to roll over. She squeaked as she felt Artemis tighten his grip on her before raising her head to look at him. She found that he had his eyes open and was looking down at her.

He smirked “You weren’t going to get up without me, were you?”

She laughed “No, I just need to use the bathroom and didn’t want to wake you.”

He laughed as well as he released his hold on her. “Fine, I suppose I’ll let you up.”

She stood, stretched and headed into Artemis’ bathroom. A few minutes later, she walked back out to see Artemis standing at the window, looking outside. Walking up next to him, she looked out as well and saw that he was looking towards an inner courtyard. The girls, Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor were playing some kind of game.

Twilight walked to the door and opened it, surprising the pair of Day Guards stationed there. Before they could say anything she said “Artemis and I are going to the courtyard. Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor and my friends are all there. Could you please have some food brought there for the two of us?”

They both bowed “Of course, princess”

Twilight smiled “Thank you”

Twilight and Artemis walked out onto his balcony and took flight, soaring over the courtyard. Their shadows caught the attention of everypony on the ground, causing them to look over at them as they landed.

Celestia walked over “What are you two doing up and why are you out here?”

Artemis nuzzled his sister “We just woke up, sister.”

Twilight laughed “As soon as we saw what was going on out here, of course we wanted to come join in. It looks like fun.” She paused as Celestia gave her a look and rolled her eyes. “I already talked to the guards you stationed outside Artemis’ room and asked them to have food sent here. We’ll eat as soon as it gets here. Besides, we can’t sleep all day. I don’t know about Artemis, but I need to get out and move a bit.”

Artemis nodded “We’ve been sleeping for much of the last two days, sister. You would want to get out and move a little, too.”

Celestia sighed and nodded “Fine” I can’t tell them that I think Twilight’s pregnant and shouldn’t be playing these rough games. I’ll just have to stay out here and calm things down when they get too rough.

Everypony looked over as Apple Crunch walked out with a covered tray on his back. He walked over to Artemis and Twilight, placed the tray on the ground in front of them and lifted the cover. They saw a couple bottles of Apple Family apple juice, a large salad for them to share, a couple of smaller plates and a large bowl of blueberries.

Artemis and Twilight looked at each other, lay down, and pulled the tray closer. Twilight separated the salad onto the smaller plates. They both quickly devoured their salads before Artemis separated the blueberries, putting half on his plate and giving Twilight the bowl with the rest.

As Artemis and Twilight finished eating, Rainbow and Shining Armor got back into their training. It somehow morphed into a wrestling match rather quickly.

Rainbow gasped as she was flipped onto her back by Shining Armor. “Applejack, come help me!”

Shining Armor laughed “Only if I get to call in a teammate as well!”

Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other and nodded.

Shining Armor grinned “I want Artemis on my team.”

Applejack stared “Why would you-?”

Shining Armor gave Artemis a knowing grin. “He’s probably going to be my brother soon and I want to spend some time getting to know him.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped

Artemis laughed “Of course, I would love to. Besides, after almost two days of sleeping, I could use some exercise.”

With that, the wrestling match was restarted.

Next Chapter: Chapter 30 Estimated time remaining: 32 Hours, 18 Minutes