Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw Dahlia’s attack head directly for her. Suddenly, instincts that she didn’t know she had kicked in. She spread her wings, wrapped them around her barrel and dropped to the floor, curling into a little ball.

Artemis instantly put himself between the attack and Twilight, also dropping to the floor, curling himself around her and spreading a wing over her head before lighting his horn. Suddenly, there was also a midnight blue barrier around Twilight. An extremely bright flash of light lit up the entire throne room as he panicked and poured far more magic into his spell than it required.

A split second before the attack hit, a black dome appeared over them both. Dahlia’s attack bounced harmlessly off of it. Celestia lit her horn and, flash of sunlight later, the attack was gone.

Dahlia gasped in surprise as she found herself caught in a field of magenta magic and levitated into the air. She looked to down to see that Prince Shining Armor’s horn was glowing as he glared at her. She looked over in time to see Princess Cadance light her horn as well, casting a spell of some kind, but felt nothing. Shrugging, she attempted to free herself from Prince Shining Armor’s levitation spell but suddenly realized that she could no longer reach her magic. Princess Cadance opened her eyes, smiled and nodded at Prince Shining Armor. She blocked my magic?! Why?!

Looking at the dais, she saw that the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony had placed themselves between the barrier that now covered Prince Artemis and Princess Twilight and the rest of the ponies in the room. The five of them were glowing as they glared at her. A young dragon was standing next to them, also glaring at her, with green flames coming out of his mouth. Royal guards, both Day and Night, stood in front of them in order to form another level of protection between Princess Twilight and everypony else. Why are they stopping me? Don’t they understand that I’m trying to protect Equestria?!

Everypony looked at the space where Artemis and Twilight had been standing and saw the barrier.

“Are they alright?” asked Cadance, worried

“There is no need to worry, they are both unharmed.”

Everyone, other than Dahlia, sighed in relief before Celestia spoke. “Thank you, Night, for protecting Artemis, Twilight and their foal.”

“Of course. I promised that I would help protect Twilight and I intend to keep it.”

She nodded and smiled “It’s safe to let them out, now.”

“Celestia, are you certain that there is no one else present that wishes to harm either of them or their foal? Has the attacker been apprehended? I will not release my barrier until those two questions are answered satisfactorily and I am sure that they will be safe.”

Cadance decided that she wanted to be the one to answer Night’s questions. “Shining Armor has the attacker restrained and I have cast a spell making it impossible for her to use any of her magic for the rest of the day.”

Sapphire Wing flew up and placed hoof-cuffs on Dahlia before nodding to Shining Armor. Shining Armor returned his nod and placed her in front of Celestia.

Cadance lit her horn, sent a wave of magic through the room and, using her abilities as the Princess of Love, tested the emotions of everyone in the room. “There are no other ponies that hold any negative feelings or emotions towards Uncle Artemis or Twilight in the room.”

“Very well”

Everypony watched as the dome faded, revealing that Artemis was still protecting Twilight.

Celestia walked over and nuzzled him. “It’s alright, Artemis. Shining Armor has her restrained and Cadance has blocked her magic for the rest of the day. She can’t harm either of you.”

Slowly, Artemis folded his wing and stood, glancing at Shining Armor. Only after he saw Shining Armor nod, did he release his barrier. Then he turned to Twilight and nuzzled her. “It’s OK, Twilight. She can’t hurt you. Your brother has her restrained.”

She nodded and slowly folded her wings before standing. She didn’t say anything and stayed very close to Artemis.

Celestia nuzzled Twilight and gave her a hug before turning to glare at Dahlia. “You are under arrest for the Attempted Murder of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Sapphire Wing, please take Dahlia to the Royal Dungeons and place her in an anti-magic cell. Effective immediately, none of the ponies in the Royal Dungeons are allowed to have any visitors at all unless I personally authorize it.” I may decide that any visits need to be monitored as well.

Sapphire Wing nodded “Of course, princess. Prince Shining Armor, please levitate her into the air and I will take it from there.”

Shining Armor nodded and transferred Dahlia to Sapphire Wing before turning to see Cadance, Celestia and his parents run over to Twilight and Artemis. They were quickly followed by Spike, Mayor Mare and the girls. He raced over to join them. “Twily! Are you alright, little sister?”

She was trembling, obviously terrified, but nodded as she leaned into Artemis’ side, his wing wrapped tightly around her.

Applejack looked confused “Why did Twilight react like that instead of putting up a barrier? Ah know her magic is strong enough to block that attack.”

“Twilight is an alicorn. Like Aunt Celestia, Uncle Artemis and I, she has the instincts of all three races.” Cadance responded “What you saw was the instinctive reaction that a Pegasus has to an assault on her unborn foal. Uncle Artemis had a similar reaction. However, his was a combination of the instinctive reactions of a Pegasus and a unicorn. Neither of them stopped to think, their instincts took over in order to protect their foal.”

Every Pegasus and unicorn in the room nodded, knowing exactly what Cadance was talking about.

Cadance nuzzled Twilight before continuing

“What you see now is the instinctive reaction of a pregnant mare to danger. She will likely not allow herself to leave Uncle Artemis’ side for the rest of the day, maybe longer.” She paused “It doesn’t matter how far a mare is into her pregnancy. These instincts kick in almost immediately, anytime there is danger, to keep the foal safe.”

Cadance turned to Celestia “I’m setting up a trial for Dahlia today. As well as conducting an investigation to make sure that there is nopony else that is connected to this case that can, or wants to, attack either of them.”

Shining Armor nodded “I will help her, princess.”

Celestia nodded “I agree and will be helping you as well. These attacks on my family must stop!”

“Princess Twilight”

Everypony turned to see Arctic Breeze standing in front of the Royal Family.

He bowed so low that his head was almost touching the floor. “I am so sorry, I promise that I had no idea that she was going to attack you!”

He raised his head “She simply told me that she had an urgent petition that was for the safety of Equestria to present to the court.” He looked at Celestia “It may take longer for petitions to be available for presentation to the court, princess, but I will now be screening them myself.” He turned to Artemis “I’ll ask Ice Blossom to do the same with Night Court, Prince Artemis. This will not happen again.

One of the ponies in the room, another unicorn mare, stepped forward. “Princess Twilight, Prince Artemis, I am so glad that the two of you are unharmed. However, I have a question, if you don’t mind. Why did you choose to have a foal this early in your relationship?”

Twilight looked at her for a moment. Why does she seem familiar? Ah, that might be it. “Are you River Glow?”

River Glow looked at her in surprise. “Yes, princess. How did you know who I am?”

“I heard about your engagement. Congratulations on that.” Twilight responded as she gave her a small smile “As for your question, I would like to ask one of my own first, if that’s alright.”

River Glow nodded “Of course, princess.”

“Imagine that the pony you love was under attack and you seriously thought you were going to have to watch him die, right in front of you. However, you were able to save him before serious harm was done. What would you do the next time you two are alone together?” Twilight asked

Before River Glow could answer, a unicorn stallion walked up next to her and kissed her. “Princess, I can’t speak for my fiancé but, if it were me, I would take her as my mare immediately. After escaping death like that, I would make her mine. Public perception, or opinion, be damned.”

River Glow and her fiancé paused, glancing at each other, as they suddenly realized that they had answered their own question. Looking up at Artemis, they both could only say one thing. “Oh”

Artemis laughed and kissed Twilight before looking at River Glow and her fiancé. “Yes, that is exactly what happened. We were so focused on the fact that I had nearly died, that we were only thinking of one thing, and it wasn’t a contraception spell.”

Twilight blushed “Does that answer your question?”

River Glow nodded, blushing as well. “Yes, Princess” She replied as everyone else laughed.

Artemis looked around the room “Unfortunately, Twilight and I have to leave now. We need to get some sleep so that we can be awake for Night Court. This announcement needs to be made there as well, hopefully without the attack. I think we’ve both had enough of those.”

Everyone nodded “Enjoy your day, your highnesses.”

Celestia nuzzled first Twilight, then Artemis. “Sleep well, you two.” She put her head close to Artemis’. “Make sure you calm her, little brother.” She whispered in his ear. “You’re probably the only one who can.”

Artemis nodded and lit his horn before he and Twilight vanished.

Celestia turned to Artemis’ guards “You should get some sleep as well. I’m sure my brother wants to see you at moonrise.” Steel Night and Midnight Fang nodded and left the room.

Midnight Fang went to his quarters in the barracks provided for members of the guards that chose not to live in Canterlot. After eating an early lunch, he decided to go to bed. I want to make sure that I’m rested for tonight’s shift. If there is another attack, on either of them, I want to be ready.

Steel Night flew to his house at the edge of Canterlot. Landing in the front yard, he opened the front door and walked inside. A sudden movement in the air caused him to look up. A smile came to his face as he saw Cherry Blossom chasing Moonlight Shadow around the living room, both of them flying in circles. Princess Twilight’s idea worked better than I thought it would. It’s amazing how quickly he has improved. He was torn from his thoughts as Moonlight Shadow saw him, flew over and landed on his back. Steel Night turned and nuzzled his son. “Were you a good boy for Mommy today, Moonlight?”

Cherry Blossom laughed as she landed in front of her husband. “He was no more rambunctious than he usually is.” She walked over to give him a kiss. Her smile vanished as she saw how tense and angry he was. “What’s wrong? How was your night?”

Steel Night shook his head “I have good news and bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first.”

Cherry Blossom nodded as she and her husband walked over to the couch and sat down. Moonlight Shadow went over to the toy box in center of the living room and pulled out the ball that Twilight and Artemis made for him. He began to roll it around the floor, chasing after it.

Cherry Blossom smiled as she watched her son play before turning to Steel Night. “The bad news is?”

“There was another attack today.” He responded

“What?” she asked “Prince Artemis was attacked again?”

Steel Night shook his head and growled “No. It was Princess Twilight that was attacked.”

“What?!” Cherry Blossom asked, shocked “Why would anypony do such a thing?!”

“As odd as this sounds, the reason for the attack is also the good news.” He replied

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused

“Princess Twilight went to the doctor in the castle yesterday afternoon. Apparently, she hasn’t been feeling well for the last couple of days.” Steel Night looked at his wife with a smile “It turns out that Princess Celestia was right, Princess Twilight is pregnant.”

“That’s great news!” Cherry Blossom exclaimed, smiling, before she paused and frowned. “Wait, why would anypony attack her for that?”

“The wife of one of Blueblood’s conspirators, a unicorn named Dahlia, came into Day Court today with a petition demanding that Prince Artemis not have any foals because she believes that our prince can pass on the Nightmare to a foal. As soon as she heard the petition, Princess Twilight told Dahlia that it was denied before announcing to everyone in the throne room that she is pregnant. Prince Artemis immediately claimed that the foal she is carrying is his. As soon as she heard that, Dahlia shouted that she wouldn’t allow the Nightmare to be passed to the next generation and attacked Princess Twilight.”

Cherry Blossom thought for a moment “I thought Prince Artemis’ Nightmare form was purified and bound to his body. Isn’t that what he told you and the rest of his Night Guards when he first returned?”

Steel Night nodded “You’re right on both counts. In fact, Prince Artemis protected Princess Twilight and his Nightmare form, Princess Celestia called him Night, protected them both. He put a barrier over them and refused to lower it until Prince Shining Armor restrained Dahlia and Princess Cadance blocked her magic before confirming that nopony else wanted to hurt Prince Artemis or Princess Twilight. There’s no way he would have done that if he wasn’t purified.”

“Good” Cherry Blossom sighed in relief “So she’s alright?”

“Yes” Steel Night replied “She’s not hurt, just terrified.”

Cherry Blossom nodded “I’d be surprised if she wasn’t. I remember when I was pregnant with Moonlight Shadow, everything that could be taken as an attack terrified me. It’s instinct to be afraid of anything that could harm your foal.” She smiled “How close did she stick to Prince Artemis afterwards?”

He looked at her, surprised “As close as possible, unable to stop trembling in fear. Princess Cadance said that Princess Twilight’s reaction was an instinctive reaction of a pregnant mare to danger. Why did you ask?”

Cherry Blossom smiled “Princess Cadance was right. When a mare is pregnant, she instinctively turns to the father of her foal for protection. In dangerous situations, she will stay as close to him as possible. Even after the danger passes, she will remain close to the father of her foal for several hours, in case of further danger. There usually isn’t time to think about it, so it’s become an instinct that kicks in almost as soon as a mare knows she’s pregnant.”

Steel Night stared at his wife “That’s almost word for word what Princess Cadance said.” He shook his head and smiled “There is another bit of news that I have for you.”

Cherry Blossom glanced at him “It’s not more bad news, is it?”

He shook his head again “Prince Artemis has reassigned Midnight Fang and myself to protect Princess Twilight whenever she isn’t with him or another member of the Royal Family. Prince Shining Armor will be testing and training us this weekend before he’ll allow us to guard his sister. I’ll be on day shift, starting Monday.”

Her eyes lit up “That’s great news!” She paused, suddenly nervous “So, you may be spending a lot of time in Ponyville?”

He nodded “Princess Twilight made a request that involves you and Moonlight.”

She looked confused “Really? What could she want from us?”

He laughed “She won’t make us move our family but specifically said that she expects you and Moonlight to visit her in Ponyville. When we’re in Ponyville, she said that she’ll provide rooms for us in her castle. She told us that she doesn’t want to separate those guarding her from their families.”

Cherry Blossom’s eyes lit up “Of course we’ll visit her! I already have plans this weekend but we can go with her the next time she goes to Ponyville.” She wants to make sure that he can still spend time with me and Moonlight. It’s very sweet that she would even consider the families of those protecting her.

She looked at her husband “Is Princess Twilight going to be in Night Court tonight?”

He nodded “Princess Twilight and Prince Artemis told them last night that they had an important announcement to make tonight.” He smiled “I think you can guess what the announcement is going to be. She wanted to tell her family and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony before they told the rest of Equestria.”

“We need to do something for her.” Cherry Blossom said, determined “I need to talk to a few ponies so I will be going out for a while. I need you to stay here with Moonlight Shadow.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked

She smiled “I have a plan to cheer up our princess.”

With that said, she stood and walked out the front door.

Back in the throne room, Celestia used her magic to send the lesson plans to her room. I’ll give them to Twilight later. I don’t want her to even think about working right now, she needs to relax. I just hope Artemis can calm her down. She looked up at the assembled ponies. “I hope everyone understands, but I am cancelling Day Court for the rest of the day. This matter must be taken care of. Please bring any petitions or concerns to Day Court on Monday.”

Everypony nodded and left, none of them upset at all at the early end to Day Court. Instead, they were trying to think of what they could do to cheer up Princess Twilight. They knew that she would probably be terrified for a while.

After the throne room emptied, Mayor Mare turned to Celestia. “Princess Celestia, is it alright if we return to Ponyville? There is much we need to do to prepare for the return of Princess Twilight and Prince Artemis tomorrow.”

Celestia nodded “I’ll have a chariot prepared to take you home immediately. Thank you for coming.”

Before they could reply, Celestia lit her horn and the rest of the royal family vanished. The girls and Mayor Mare followed Spike to the side entrance to the castle and, once the chariot was ready, they headed to Ponyville.

In Artemis’ room, there was a flash of light as he and Twilight appeared, not far from his bed. Artemis felt something at his side and looked down to see that Twilight had pressed herself as close as possible to him and was trembling again. They walked over to his bed and lay down before he pulled her into his hooves her, holding her tight.

It took over an hour of him nuzzling and just holding her before she was able to stop trembling and calm down enough to fall asleep. As much as he knew that they needed to get some sleep, he didn’t dare to cast a sleeping spell on her. I’m pretty sure that none of them are safe to use on a pregnant mare. However, the moment she fell asleep, he used one on himself.

In his dream, Artemis opened his eyes and looked around to see that he was standing among the stars again. This only happens when Mother and Father visit. But it’s way too soon to see them again, they were just here. What’s going on?

“Artemis, can you hear me?”

Surprised, Artemis looked up “Yes, Mother. Is something wrong?"

“That’s what I would like to know.” Sundance replied “Not long ago, a shockwave went racing through the stars.”

Artemis bowed his head “I’m sorry”

“You did that?” Sundance asked, surprised “You’re usually so careful with the stars. Did something happen?”

“I overreacted to the attack this morning.” Artemis replied, head still bowed

“What?” Midnight Armor asked “You were attacked again?”

“No, Father” Artemis answered, shaking his head “It was Twilight who was attacked.”

There was a moment of stunned silence before . . .

“WHAT?!” shouted Sundance and Midnight Armor at the same time, both in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Artemis had his eyes squeezed shut, both ears pinned flat to his head and was sure that he had just lost a bit of his hearing. I haven’t heard them do that in over a thousand years. I forgot just how loud they can be!

After his ears stopped ringing, Artemis took a chance and raised an ear. Not hearing any further yelling, he breathed a sigh of relief and raised the other.

“We’re on our way”

“Mother, you were just here. There’s no way you have enough magic for a visit this soon.”

“Yes, there is, Artemis. I gave them mine.”

Artemis’ head snapped up, eyes wide “Star Swirl?!”

“Yes, Artemis, it’s me.” Star Swirl replied “It has been a long time, my old friend.” He paused “Before you ask, I’ve been saving my magic for centuries and have given each of your parents enough to visit you for a week. I have enough left over for a visit of my own in a week’s time.”

“I’m looking forward to your visit, old friend.” Artemis replied, smiling “However, I am confused. Why the sudden interest in visiting me?”

“Your parents have been telling me about Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Star Swirl answered “I would like to meet her.”

Artemis laughed “You will like her. Did you know that she was born a unicorn? She earned her ascension by completing your final spell.”

“She did what?!” asked Star Swirl, in shock “I worked on that for years and was never able to finish it! You have to bring her when I visit next week, I must ask her how she did it!” He paused “I will see you in a week, Artemis. Your parents have arrived.”

Before Artemis could reply, they were both standing right in front of him.

“Where is she?!” asked Sundance, looking around “Is she alright?!”

Artemis nodded “She’s fine. It took me over an hour to calm her, but she’s finally asleep.”

“What happened?!” demanded Midnight Armor

Artemis looked at his parents. “I’ll show you what happened, but I want to do it before bringing her into my dream. She’s terrified enough as it is and I don’t want to make her relive the attack.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor nodded and turned to look at the large sphere of magic that he summoned. They watched as the four Alicorns walked into the throne room to begin Day Court.

“Who is the alicorn with the pink coat?” asked Sundance, causing Artemis to pause the playback.

“That’s Cadance, the Princess of Love and co-ruler of the Crystal Empire. Celestia took her in as an adopted niece at some point during my banishment.”

“Do you see the unicorn stallion over there with the blue mane and tail?”

“Yes” they both replied

“That’s Twilight‘s older brother, Shining Armor. He is Cadance’s husband and the other co-ruler of the Crystal Empire.” He used his magic to show them an image of Flurry Heart. “This is their daughter, Flurry Heart.”

“She had an alicorn foal?” asked Sundance, surprised

Artemis chuckled and nodded “We were just as surprised, trust me.”

He let the playback continue, showing them what happened with Fire Fly.

Sundance shook her head “A teacher was doing that on purpose?”

Artemis nodded “He thought it would be a fun way to make his students understand that the creatures of the Everfree Forest are dangerous but ended up driving them to nightmares instead.” He shook his head “I’m just glad I discovered it before it went on any further.”

Midnight Armor nodded “Your sister is right, Twilight does seem like the perfect one to teach those foals.” He laughed, watching the ponies cheer and stomp their hooves. “It appears that the citizens agree.”

“Why has that mare been glaring at the two of you?” asked Sundance, gesturing at Dahlia.

“You’re about to find out.” Artemis replied

Sundance stared at Artemis “She brought in a petition demanding what?”

They heard Twilight’s, and Artemis’, response and hugged him.

“Yes!” Sundance shouted “I knew it!”

“W-what?!” asked Artemis, stunned, as he hugged them back. “Twilight just discovered that yesterday! How could you have figured it out before we did?”

“I performed a magic scan of Twilight the other night.” Sundance answered, laughing

Artemis groaned and just shook his head before letting the playback continue, showing his parents the attack on Twilight.

Midnight Armor and Sundance were both horrified as they watched Dahlia’s attack head straight for the mare that was now their youngest daughter and carrying their grandfoal.

They smiled, watching the way Artemis protected Twilight.

Sundance saw the flash of light as Artemis overpowered his barrier. So that’s where the shockwave that raced through the stars came from. I don’t blame him for that, I probably would have done the same thing.

When the black dome appeared over Twilight and Artemis, Sundance and Midnight Armor were surprised and confused. Before they could ask, they heard Night speaking.

“Whose voice is that?” Midnight Armor asked before he paused “Oh, it’s his voice, isn’t it? His magic as well?”

Artemis nodded before showing them how Shining Armor and Cadance apprehended Dahlia.

Next, he showed them the response from everypony else.

“Her brother called her “Twily”? Is that some kind of nickname?” Sundance asked

Artemis nodded “She calls him “Shiny”.” He paused “Come to think of it, so does Cadance.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor laughed

Artemis laughed as well and shrugged “Her friends and Spike, he’s the young dragon standing right there, call her “Twi”.”

They shook their heads, smiling, as Artemis continued the playback.

His parents heard River Glow ask her question and both fell over laughing at the way Twilight gave her answer.

“Smart girl” Midnight Armor commented as he finished laughing “Asking a question that made them figure out the answer themselves.”

Artemis nodded, laughing as well. He lit his horn and the sphere vanished before a flash of light signified the successful merging of his dream with Twilight’s.

The three of them looked around, confused.

“Where is she?” asked Midnight Armor

“Ah”

They glanced at Artemis to see that he was looking up. Following suit, they saw a large cloud above them. Artemis spread his wings and flew up to it, knowing that’s where Twilight was. Sundance and Midnight Armor spread theirs as well and followed him. The three of them smiled, seeing Twilight curled up on the cloud, sound asleep.

Artemis landed next to her, lay down and nuzzled her. “Wake up, Twilight.” he whispered “There are a couple of ponies here who want to see you.”

“Hmm?” She mumbled, turning her face into his shoulder. “It’s not time for Night Court already, is it?”

He chuckled “No, we’re both still asleep. My parents want to see you.”

That got her attention. She raised her head, yawning, and looked at him before moving over and snuggling as close to him as she could. “What? They were just here. I thought they could only visit once every three months. Isn’t that what you said?”

“Normally, that is the case. However, I didn’t expect Star Swirl to give them enough magic to come back so soon and stay here for a week.” Artemis replied

“He’s a star in your night sky, too?” asked Twilight, shocked

He nodded “He’s coming for a visit next week. Apparently, my parents have been telling him about you and he wants to meet you.”

Twilight stared at him “W-what?!”

Artemis laughed “I was talking to him earlier and told him that you earned your ascension by completing his final spell. He practically demanded that I bring you into my dream when he visits.”

Artemis saw Twilight’s confused expression and laughed harder. “He worked on that spell for years, Twilight. Can you blame him for wanting to meet the one that finally finished it for him?”

Twilight stared at him for a moment, mouth open, before shaking her head in disbelief. “Why are Sundance and Midnight Armor coming back so soon?”

Artemis sighed “The attack this morning.” His words had the exact effect on her that he thought they would.

Immediately, she shuddered and pressed even closer to his side, if possible. “W-what about it?”

“When I put my barrier over you, I panicked and overpowered it. So much so, that I accidentally sent a shockwave through the stars. After I fell asleep, they asked me what happened. When I told them about the attack, they headed this way.”

Twilight was about to ask when they were going to arrive when she suddenly felt a weight against her other side. Immediately tensing, she looked up and saw Sundance smile at her as she lay down before reaching down to give her a gentle nuzzle. Sighing in relief, Twilight relaxed slightly.

“As soon as Artemis told us what happened, we had to come so that we could see for ourselves that you are alright.” Sundance told her

“Did you think we would do anything less for one of our daughters?” asked Midnight Armor, laying down across from them.

Twilight looked at him, surprised, before turning to Artemis. “Did you already-“

He laughed “They already knew.”

“H-how . . .” Twilight started, before her eyes widened as something occurred to her. “Wait, that’s what you did the other night, isn’t it? A magic scan of my body?” She asked, looking up at Sundance.

Sundance laughed “Yes” I’m impressed she figured it out so quickly. She saw that Twilight looked nervous and gave her a hug. “I know both of you are worried about the short amount of time that you have been courting. However, when we were here the other night, I said that I didn’t care about the length of your courtship and I meant it.”

Midnight Armor leaned over to nuzzle Twilight. “I don’t care about that, either. We have waited a very long time for him to find somepony special and start a family.”

Sundance laughed “Yes, it only took him over a thousand years to finally find somepony to settle down with and give us a grandfoal.”

Artemis laughed “I’m not sure who was going crazier about that, you two or Celestia.” He shook his head “I think the only reason she never pushed me towards Twilight was that, though the two of us have been friends for years, we kept our feelings hidden, even from each other.”

Midnight Armor looked at Artemis “Why didn’t you approach her?”

Artemis shrugged “When I first returned, everypony except Celestia, Twilight and a few of my guards would either cower or run screaming whenever I approached them. Several ponies did come to Day Court, asking to court me. However, they just wanted to have access to my power and throne. Twilight was different, she helped me learn to fit in and catch up on some of the things that I missed over the thousand years that I was gone. After that, we became friends. It didn’t take long for me to feel more for her, but I didn’t want to risk losing the only friend I had, other than Celestia.”

Sundance shook her head, smiling “What about you, Twilight?”

Twilight glanced up at her “At the time, I was still a unicorn. I was also still Celestia’s student and a librarian in a small town. I had heard about all of the ponies that were approaching him and didn’t think I had a chance, so I kept quiet. When Blueblood tried to force Celestia to banish Artemis to the moon again by angering him to the point that he lost control, I sensed the trouble and came to help. Celestia noticed my actions and asked me about the feelings behind them, right in front of Artemis. I’m not complaining now but, at the time, I was so embarrassed.”

Midnight Armor laughed “She gets that from you, Sundance.”

Sundance laughed as well, nuzzling Twilight. “I know, but I’m certainly not complaining. Her actions got us another daughter and a grandfoal on the way.”

Twilight returned Sundance’s nuzzle and sighed “I was afraid that ponies wouldn’t like it that we’re starting a family.” She shuddered, remembering the attack, and pressed herself further into Artemis’ side. “I just wasn’t expecting anypony to attack me, trying to kill our foal.”

Midnight Armor stared at Twilight for a moment before nuzzling her to get her attention. “I think I can guess how Celestia reacted to the news. What about your parents and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony?”

Artemis laughed and lit his horn. First, he showed his parents what happened the day before, right before dinner. Midnight Armor and Sundance laughed as they watched everypony’s reactions.

“Do you see the three Unicorns in the room?” Twilight asked

Sundance and Midnight Armor nodded, already recognizing Shining Armor.

“The stallion with the blue mane and tail is my older brother, Shining Armor. The other stallion is my father, Night Light, and the mare next to him is my mother, Twilight Velvet.”

Sundance turned to her, surprised “You’re both named Twilight?”

Twilight nodded “My mother says it’s a family tradition. Every generation, one of the fillies is named Twilight. Shining Armor didn’t name his daughter Twilight, so our mother expects me to do it, if Artemis and I have one.” She paused, thought for a moment and laughed. “She told me that it’s either that or Shiny and I each have to have multiple foals until one of us carries on the tradition. Personally, I think she’s hoping for the latter.”

Midnight Armor and Sundance laughed as Artemis lit his horn again. The scene changed to right before Day Court. They watched Twilight tell her friends and laughed as they saw the pony pile the girls and Spike buried Twilight in, as well as their reactions.

Sundance looked from Artemis to Twilight “These girls bear the Elements of Harmony?” After they both nodded she asked “Which one bears which Element?”

Twilight smiled “The one with the rainbow colored mane is Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. The bouncy pink one is Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. The only unicorn in the group, now that I’ve ascended, is Rarity, the Element of Generosity. The quiet one with the yellow coat is Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. Finally, the one wearing the hat is Applejack, the Element of Honesty. You already know who the Element of Magic is.”

They both nodded

Midnight Armor smiled “You know how your family and friends feel about your pregnancy, Twilight.” He paused, making sure that Twilight was looking at him. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Sundance and I are very happy about this and can’t wait for our grandfoal to be born.”

Sundance nuzzled Twilight “Midnight’s right, Twilight. Both of our children are over a thousand years old and we’re finally going to be grandparents. It seems like we’ve been waiting forever for this. Besides, after everything you’ve done for our family, I am extremely happy that our son chose you.” She laughed “Don’t forget, I did ask you two for grandfoals the last time Midnight and I were here.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 39 Estimated time remaining: 29 Hours, 29 Minutes