It may have been rather early in the morning, but the Crystal Empire was abuzz with excitement as a large crowd formed around a particular street corner. While several of Shining’s Guards were posted around the perimeter to keep commoners at a safe distance, a large red ribbon was draped out along the outside of a corner building. The top of the newly-built establishment had a beautifully-painted sign hung over the open entrance, which read, “The Early Bird Brunch Cafè.”

Meanwhile, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were standing in front of the restaurant side-by-side with infectiously-cute smiles on their faces. The Princess had her horn lit to better hold Flurry Heart with one of her forelegs, while Shining was busy holding a massive pair of metal scissors with his magic. Beside the happy couple, two young stallions in matching sweater-vests were looking excitedly giddy upon seeing the massive crowd in front of their business.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” spoke Shining in prideful and boisterous tone of voice. He smiled wide as he motioned a hoof out towards the two stallions and said, “It is with great pleasure that on this day, Cadance and I are able to help welcome a new business into our beautiful city. And with the wonderful dedication of this cafè’s founders, Chinois and his husband Brunoise, we’re both more than honored to open a new addition to their multi-city franchise.”

The flashing lights of multiple cameras fluttered from the crowds as Crystal Ponies applauded to Shining’s kind words. Even though the Empire’s rulers were a little surprised that a Brunch cafè could carry so much buzz, neither of them could blame a city of time-transplanted ponies to be curious about a recently-popularized meal trend. So because of that, Cadance kept her smile for the cameras until the applause died down so they can continue the unveiling.

Unfortunately, the Princess tried to contain the slightest wince as she felt a sharp bout of nausea out of nowhere. Her eyes clenched shut for only a split-second as her muzzle clenched inward, but it was noticeable enough to make Shining look at her with slight caution. However, Cadance then breathed in deeply before reopening her eyes, and exhaling smoothly to begin speaking. “A-And furthermore… Shining and I couldn’t be happier to also make this day a landmark in our wonderful Empire’s history. For with this business, Chinois and Brunoise will be also be the very first same-sex couple to become business-owners in the Crystal Empire.”

That addition caused another round of lovely applause, which made the two stallions hold each other close with touched blushes on their faces. Despite how jarring a lot of changes may have been for the Crystal Ponies, Shining and Cadance were beyond grateful that their citizens were able to embrace the progressiveness of a modern-day Equestria so naturally. Shining motioned for the couple to come over as he held out the scissors, and let each of them take hold of the larger handle with their hooves. Meanwhile, Princess Cadance suddenly froze for a second as her head dropped down, and a strained grimace tried to emerge on her face; fortunately, the Alicorn was smart enough to cover her face with Flurry Heart in her magic, just in case any camerapony tried to take a poorly-timed picture of her queasy expression for a tabloid.

Luckily for her, most of the cameras were flashing on Shining and the new business owners as they got the scissors in place. As soon as the two oversized blades were open with the ribbon between them, Shining looked out to the crowd and announced, “I, Prince Shining Armor, hereby announce the Early Bird Brunch Cafè to be officially open!”

He then held the top half of the shears firmly while the stallions closed the blades shut, eliciting a satisfying snip that cut the ribbon in half. While the crowd of Crystal Ponies cheered and got ready to enter the new restaurant, Shining floated his scissors over to a nearby Guard so it could be safely put away. Unfortunately, just as the stallion was about to turn off his horn, he was taken by surprise as Flurry was hastily shoved into his forelegs. Without warning, Cadance bolted from the entrance of the cafè, and rushed away from the crowds towards a nearby alleyway.

Despite several of the Crystal Guards running off to check on their Princess, Shining kept his daughter firmly grasped in his magic as he ran off as well. The sudden exit caused a few confused murmurs and whispering, but not enough to halt the influx of ponies who made their way through the cafè doors. Meanwhile, a wall of soldiers formed a barrier to cover the side of a nearby business, and had their backs turned out of politeness while Cadance was leaned against the wall with her head hunched down.

“Mmmmphhh… Nnnnghhh… Urk…”

“Cadance!?” shouted Shining as he ran towards the Princess with a worried look on his face. The closely-knit line of Guards immediately opened up a gap for their leader and Flurry to pass through, but then quickly closed back up before any of the cameraponies could get a candid shot of the Royal couple. As soon as the father and daughter got within sight of Cadance, both of their eyes widened when they saw her hunched-over and struggling not to vomit.

Fortunately, despite how audible her strained gags may have sounded, it seemed like the Princess was able to keep from throwing up on the street. Flurry Heart whimpered with a pertified look on her face, clearly worried that something was wrong with her Mommy. But for Shining, who had stopped in his tracks the instant he saw what Cadance was doing, his eyes were as wide as frisbees while he stood in stunned silence.

After a moment to catch her breath, Cadance had her eyes tightly shut as she made a sharp sigh and pulled her head back up. “I… I’mfine,” she blurted in an out-of-breath voice, almost as if she was struggling to only allow words to come out of her mouth. The Alicorn took a couple more deep breaths before she reopened her eyes, and grew a more natural-looking expression beneath her strained blush. “I… I just got a little nauseous, that’s all…”

Cadance was grateful the Guards were all looking away from her and Shining, since it was clear from her widening eyes that she was looking just as overwhelmed as he did. Flurry Heart may have looked confused, but there was no denial what was running through Cadance and Shining’s minds when she finally glanced back towards him. The Princess had a profoundly deep blush that was radiating off her face, and no words were coming out of her mouth despite it being hung open slightly. As for Shining, his left eye twitched a little while his face carried a look that bordered between petrified shock, and withheld enthusiasm.

Neither of them said anything, but both of them knew exactly what they were thinking in that moment. As Cadance looked down at herself, one of her hooves went beneath her barrel to gently touch the underside of her belly. Since Flurry Heart was still in one of his forelegs, Shining had to sit on the ground as his other hoof came up over his mouth. His heavy breaths were slightly muffled from that action, but the thick fetlocks around his foreleg weren’t enough to fully cover the deepening blush that grew across his cheeks.

When Cadance was finally able to look back up at Shining, all she could do was huff with a nervous smile before saying faintly, “We… W-We should head back to the castle…”

Despite trying their hardest not to eavesdrop, several of the Guards protecting the two had their faces covered to hide their overwhelmed smiles upon realizing the obvious news. Even though it would’ve been absolutely devastating if any of them knew the truth of the matter, Shining looked just as pleasantly stunned as the Princess as he nodded back at her with a weak smile of his own. “I… I agree…”

Back at the Crystal Castle, Sombra was comfortably seated on Shining’s couch and reading a newspaper. While the stallion’s beddings were laid forgotten on the ground after the Prince kicked them off, Sombra chuckled with a cocky grin as he eyed the front page of the Canterlot Times. He may have seen the various pictures countless times from every publication he could get his hooves on, but he was still immensely proud of himself over a week after the presses went out. On the front page of the paper, a stunning photograph of Sombra and Cadance covered most of the space while the two were in the middle of their lovely tango routine. Above the photo, the boldly-fonted title read, “Sombra and Princess Cadance make a surprising smash at Canterlot’s Garden Social.”

“Oooohhhh…” Even though he read that title dozens of times already, Sombra still shook his head with a devilish snicker before saying to himself, “Ohhh, you silly naive ponies… You have no idea how much of a ‘Surprise Smash’ we have~”

While the dark Prince cackled to himself in delight while re-reading the article itself, the bathroom door was closed shut just a couple feet away. Inside of the lavish and spacious restroom, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were sitting anxiously in silence on the edge of the bathtub. Both of them tried to keep themselves relaxed while breathing heavily, but neither of the ponies could ignore what was resting on the edge of the vanity sink. Even though the item was bought less than a day after Sombra’s first night with the Princess, it was obvious that neither of them were prepared to actually need to use it.

Much like when the two were trying with Furry Heart, Shining Armor wasn’t above helping Cadance when it came to properly taking her pregnancy test. Even though the Alicorn’s magic would’ve allowed her to hold the stick herself with relative ease, both of them knew that this sort of endeavour should’ve been a joint effort. So instead of waiting outside next to Cadance's husband, Shining used his own magic to hold her stick while she went. He was absolutely certain that Sombra thought it was just some extra way for the stallion to further demean himself, but Shining honestly didn’t see it like that at all; not only did he do the exact same thing with Cadance before Sombra came along, but it also gave them some time to really discuss their plans while the stick dried over the sink.

Shining’s legs pressed together tightly, and he tried to look around anywhere else in the bathroom besides that stick. Even though the directions clearly said it would take at least ten minutes for the results to show up, it felt like it was going to last hours while the two sat in awkward silence. Cadance bit her lips tightly shut while she fidgeted her hooves, and had her muzzle pointed down towards her waist. Fortunately for the two, despite how intense and controversial that moment may have been, it didn’t seem like either of them were actually upset or remorseful about everything that lead them to this moment.

In fact… Shining and Cadance seemed a little optimistic, judging by the faint smiles both of them had on their blushed faces.

After letting out a sharp exhale, Shining finally looked back at her as he tried to speak over his nervousness. “Well, ummmm… I… I guess this had to happen eventually, huh?”

Cadance made a brief huff that came out slightly hiccuped, almost as if she was trying to chuckle to that statement. The Princess had a million different thoughts running through her head, and her heart may have been racing in a mixture of worry and anticipation, but she was able to breathe out somewhat calmly to reply, “Yeah, I… I can’t say it’s too surprising nowadays…”

In retrospect, Princess Cadance honestly seemed a little shocked as she thought back to everything she was able to embrace so far. Even though she and Shining agreed to try cuckolding as a joint curiosity, neither of them would’ve predicted that somepony like Sombra would’ve made such a significant impact on both of their lives. Not to mention, it wasn’t until fairly recently that Cadance was actually open to the idea of something as serious as pregnancy; while she was sure that the Cadance from a few months back would’ve been downright stunned, or even appalled that she was going beyond fantasy nowadays, she couldn’t necessarily say she was regretting it while waiting for the results now.

Shining let out a hasty sigh, and placed a hoof on Cadance's thigh as he asked, “So… Wh… What were you thinking?”

When Cadance looked back at him, she was happy to see that Shining had a hopeful (albeit fairly weak) smile on his muzzle. Because of that, Cadance smiled back with an exhale before shrugging her shoulders. “Well… even though it might be a bit soon, I… I was kinda hoping we’d discuss possible names…”

Shining’s eyes widened quite a bit, and he needed a second before tilting his head and asking, “Wait, r… really?”

Cadance nodded her head, and added with a more casual tone of voice, “Well, to be fair, Sombra told me he was unsure about providing names himself. The best ideas that came to his head were stuff like ‘Gloomy Heart,’ or ‘Solemn Sabre.’ And, uhhhh… considering how obvious those choices may sound from the Crystal Ponies’ point of view, he figured that we should pick the names to avoid any suspicion.”

Considering how risky things would get if that pregnancy test turned positive, Shining was grateful enough to nod his head in agreement with Sombra’s points. Even if Cadance's foal wasn’t his, the stallion appreciated that Sombra was respectful enough to allow him such a high responsibility alongside the Alicorn. Of course, as soon as that reminder went through his head, the Guard’s cheeks blushed tremendously while he crossed his hind-legs.

“Y-Yeah, that… That’s probably the best idea for all of us…” Shining had to open his mouth as he exhaled sharply, almost like he was hoping that would cool down his face somehow. Fortunately, that breath did help clear his head enough to think logically on the matter. “Well, ummm… Con… Considering how the baby might look, we… we might wanna try and name it after something night-based. Or… maybe even astrological.”

Cadance considered that idea over for a second, and gave a light shrug while her muzzle made a thoughtful pout. “Honestly, I… I can see that working pretty well. I mean… your father has a pretty dark coat, so I doubt many ponies would be skeptical of that gene skipping a generation.”

“Yeah, exactly!” Shining stated with a more natural smile. He turned himself towards Cadance while still sitting on the bathtub’s side, and added, “Not to mention, we can get some good name ideas from Twilight on the matter, since she’d probably help us best given our situation.”

“I couldn’t agree more~” Cadance turned herself towards Shining as she got in the same seated position. While the two ponies remained on the side of the tub, it seemed that the pee-stick was completely forgotten while they conversed with more upbeat tones. “So, speaking of Twilight… do you think she should be our Crystaller for this one?”

“Wait, really?” he asked in slight confusion as one of his brows raised. “I mean… wasn’t the fact that she’s a Princess a big reason why we chose Sunburst for Flurry Heart? I mean… it might be better to find somepony whose schedule won’t be so hectic.”

Cadance shrugged her head before retorting with, “Well… while that might be true, we also need to consider finding a pony we can trust. And unless Sombra ever gets a loose tongue and tells somepony about us, which I highly doubt he will, I feel like Twilight is our only option.”

Shining paused briefly enough to skew his closed muzzle, and look away from the Princess to process that thought. Given their predicament, he was just as aware about the risks of a possible foal as Cadance was. Even if they were in the perfect living situation to raise another child, the fact that it’d be Sombra’s meant they had to be overwhelmingly cautious. However, despite the fact that Twilight was the only pony who knew of their arrangement, Shining still seemed apprehensive as he pondered the option.

Just as Cadance was about to glance back at that pregnancy test, she saw Shining’s brows raise sharply to a new thought. “You know…” The stallion turned back towards her with his eyes widened significantly, and caught her attention when she saw his newly-intrigued expression. “... If we were needing to find a Chrystaller we can really trust, couldn’t we… Couldn’t we appoint Sombra?”

Cadance's head reeled back as she quickly grew a baffled look. “W-What?!” she asked in a stunned tone, although it wasn’t clear if she was treating Shining’s idea as a positive or negative. “You… You really think that could work?”

“Well, why not?” asked Shining as he brought his hooves up and shrugged innocently. “I mean… due to his house arrest, Sombra will always be nearby, won’t he? Not to mention, it’d be a great way for him to spend time with the foal without arousing any suspicion. He could be just as involved with the child as either of us, and nopony would try to question it, right?”

Cadance had a hoof up as she opened her mouth, but nothing came out of her muzzle for a couple seconds. After blinking a couple times in silence, the Princess turned her head away as she stared off wide-eyed and considered such an idea. Shining may have not been a mind-reader, but he couldn’t help smirking when he saw how easily that idea was turning the gears in her head. By the time Cadance put her hoof back down, she was able to grow an impressed smirk before glancing back at him. “That… That might actually be feasible…”

After another moment, the Alicorn huffed with a widened smile as she added excitedly, “Plus! Could you imagine the good publicity he’d get from that?! Like… I bet he could be able to walk around the Crystal Empire freely if we made him Crystaller! Ohmigosh, this could be a dream come true for the public’s view of his reformation!~”

Shining and Cadance made a couple of winded giggles from such a thing, and pulled each other in for a tight hug to seal that agreement. Even though he was happy that Cadance was so accepting of his idea, Shining’s smile still seemed a little uneasy when they finally pulled back. While the stallion looked away and rubbed his foreleg with a hoof, Cadance's smile weakened before she asked, “Is… is something wrong, Shining?”

“N… No, not really…” Despite trying to give that response genuinely, Cadance didn’t need to be a detective to know something was amiss. Fortunately, she also knew that Shining wasn’t one to keep his thoughts secretive for too long. Heck, if the stallion was that type, there’s a good chance that Sombra never would’ve been invited to their bedroom on that first fateful night. So while Cadance waited patiently with a reassuring smile, Shining only needed a moment before he took a breath and tried to speak up. “I just, ummm…”

The stallion didn’t want to appear too timid while alone with Cadance, but he couldn’t help looking down at the bathroom floor between them before he could continue. “... I… I know I shouldn’t be, like… feeling upset about everything by now. And I’m not, I swear. But I… But now I can’t help but feel weird about… about not feeling upset…”

Cadance needed a second to process what Shining was trying to say, but eventually raised her brows in understanding before opening her muzzle. “Ohhhhh… So, you… you feel weird because you think you should feel weird? Even though you’re not?”

Shining huffed with a flustered pout, but still gave a meager nod while his head was pointed away from her. “I… I dunno. It’s stupid.”

“Oh, no it’s not!” assured Cadance with a carefree roll of her eyes. She quickly pulled Shining in for a comforting hug, and held him close to her as the two remained over the thin lip of the bathtub. While the stallion blushed hard from feeling such a close contact again, the Princess waited a couple seconds before saying casually, “Honestly… given what we’ve been doing the past few months, I think a LOT of stallions would’ve stopped everything before it even began. But with you, it… it seemed like everything suited you near perfectly, didn’t it?~”

Even though he knew she wasn’t trying to be teasing, Shining still blushed hard while he nodded his head weakly. “Y-Yeah, I… I suppose I am a bit different in that regard…”

“Exactly~” Cadance then pulled back to stare at Shining directly, and stated with a sincere smile on her face, “And that’s why you’re such an amazing stallion, Shining Armor. Even when you had the Princess of Love all to yourself, you went out of your way to make sure I received as much affection as you could offer me. And in the end, I… I can’t say I could think of anypony who would give so much without asking for anything in return…”

Shining’s muzzle trembled a little as he smiled faintly back at her, and he blinked repeatedly to try and keep his eyes from welling up from the sentiment.

“And I just want you to know,” the Princess continued while smiling at him with nothing but the purest admiration in her expression, “that you have absolutely nothing to feel weird about. You’ve given me such a wonderful life, and a daughter that we’ll always cherish as our own. And even if this new arrangement is a bit… controversial in multiple ways… I want you to be just as accepting of yourself as you have for me enjoying it~”

Shining knew that the Princess meant that dearly, and was also aware that she would never judge him if he were to be honest with her. But at the same time, the stallion still needed to close his eyes as he breathed out shakily and thought over her kind words. After a few seconds, Shining sighed with a weak shudder before he looked back at her and asked, “So, ummm… what do you want me to do specifically?”

Cadance smiled at him warmly before taking his hoof, and bringing it in to rest on top of her stomach. “I want you to be honest with me~”

Shining’s eyes widened a little, but he stayed silent while his mouth hung slightly open from his conflicting emotions. Meanwhile, Cadance maintained her calm and comforting tone as she looked him directly in the eyes and said, “Shining… After all that the two of us have done together, you never once tried to complain or stop what we’ve been doing. You’ve allowed Sombra to give me so much, and even sacrificed many things yourself for the sake of both of our enjoyment. And even now… when there’s a very strong possibility that I’m carrying his baby…”

Even though that thought was making his heart race before, hearing her say it out-loud made Shining bite his bottom lip hard. As he squirmed a little in his seated position, Cadance kept her smile as she finished her reply. “... you just told me that you didn’t actually feel weird about that fact. Most stallions definitely would, but… you feel differently about the idea… don’t you?~”

Shining wasn’t sure if Cadance was trying to tease him or not, but he knew that he couldn’t deny how truthful she was being. And considering how she wanted him to act the same in regards to this moment, the stallion only needed a second before sheepishly nodding his head. When he looked back up at her with a hopeful smile, Shining was happy to see that the Princess looked just as content as the stallion himself wanted to feel.

“So, I want you tell me…” Cadance placed both hooves over Shining’s while it was gently held against her belly, and she looked at him with an enamored gleam in her eyes as she asked, “If… it turns out that I am carrying Sombra’s foal… How will you really feel about it?~”

Shining let out a brief huff as he looked down between them for a moment, and needed to close his eyes while collecting his breath. While he knew that he had to answer accordingly, the Guard could feel just how wildly his nerves were tingling in anticipation. Despite knowing clear as day that the answer shouldn’t have been right, he knew deep down in his heart that it somehow was. So after breathing out in a calm and quivering exhale, Shining finally looked up at her to say with a devoted smile on his face, “If… If you were carrying another child, I’d… I’d feel…”

His pause lasted only a second, but it was enough to help him breathe out and say truthfully, “... I’d feel proud.”

Cadance's smile grew wonderfully wide, and she pulled Shining in for another much-needed hug. The stallion clutched her in return with a smile of his own, and tried his hardest not to tear up while his eyes were clenched shut. After a long and loving moment spent in silence, Cadance was the first to pull back as she said with an excited huff, “Well then! Do… do you… think it’s ready?~”

Shining already knew what she meant, even before she motioned over to the pregnancy test still laying over the sink. The Guard smiled as he nodded his head in optimism, and helped Cadance off the tub after getting up himself first. The two waited just one final moment as they stared at each other with genuine smiles, neither of them seeming regretful or scared in the slightest. Instead, Shining and Cadance shared one final kiss on the lips for good luck, and then walked over towards the test together.

Meanwhile outside, Sombra was laying on Shining’s couch length-wise with a bitter groan. He tried to squirm and shuffle himself into a good position, but was clearly uncomfortable enough to mutter under his breath, “Jeeze, is this what he really sleeps on? I swear, I should get him a futon for his birthday or something…”

But before he could start thinking too hard about Shining’s bedding, Sombra jolted up from the couch the instant he heard a sharp gasp through the bathroom door. His red eyes widened as he shot back up on his hooves, and he stood with an expectant look as he stared over at the still-closed door. He could overhear a couple hushed whispers, as well as other noises that could either be crying or laughter. But despite how taxing it felt for him to need to wait for the news, Sombra tried to maintain his composure while his hooves fidgeted against the floor.

After what felt like an eternity, Shining and Cadance bursted from the bathroom just moments after seeing the results. Cadance had a wide and excited grin on her face as she stood on the brink of tears, her horn brightly lit to hold her pregnancy test with her magic. Meanwhile, Shining was trying his hardest to cover his overwhelmed expression with a hoof over his mouth. Even though it would’ve been obvious to Sombra what the result was, he still felt the need to ask in a quivering tone. “C… Cadance, are… are you…”

The Princess’ mouth clenched tightly shut while she kept smiling, almost like she was trying to conceal the secret for a little longer. But instead of saying anything to him, Cadance let out a quick breath before turning towards her Guard. “Shining, I…”

The stallion glanced back at her for a moment, and his eyes widened when he saw the expectant grin on her face while motioning towards Sombra. “I… I really think you should tell him yourself~”

Shining’s heart felt unbelievably heavy from hearing such a request, but his head still turned back towards Sombra to see his wide and waiting grin. He wanted to feel embarrassed about saying such a thing (especially in context of their taboo relationship), but he could tell that Sombra was just as graciously hopeful as the two of them were. So instead of feeling fidgety or worried about his apprehensions, Shining closed his eyes as he took a breath. And as he looked back at the waiting Prince, Shining felt all of his previous apprehensions drift away from his conscious as he said with an excitedly prideful smile:

“P...P-Prince Sombra… C… Cadance is pregnant with your baby!!~”

Cadance squealed in elation, and held out the pregnancy test so Sombra himself could see the Plus Sign clearly displayed on the stick. Sombra brought both hooves over his mouth as he gasped, and he looked like he was about to cry in utter joy. “I… I… I’M GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!~”

Sombra’s face was lit up brighter than a Hearth’s Warming tree as he lunged in unexpectedly, and grabbed both of the ponies with his forelegs to lift them from the ground. Unlike his usually sadistic or teasing demeanor, Sombra looked absolutely overjoyed now as he spun around the room on his hindlegs and laughed in utter glee. Shining and Cadance couldn’t help giggling as they tried to hug the Prince back, even though their hind-legs were swinging several inches off the ground from Sombra’s enthusiastic spins.

When Sombra finally let the two go and finished laughing in delight, he took Cadance with both hooves to kiss her deeply on the lips. The Princess was more than happy to return the gesture as she kissed him back, which didn’t seem to bother Shining in the slightest. While he stood with a teary-eyed and proud expression on his smiling face, he only blushed a little as he watched the two share that long and lingering kiss. After the two finally pulled apart with a wet pop, Sombra shuddered antsily before taking a quick breath and turning back towards Shining.

“Guard,” he addressed formally as he brought out his hoof, and gave a respectful smile to Shining Armor, “I want to thank you deeply for all of your help~”

Despite Sombra’s ever-present grin meant to tease the stallion, Shining was too happy to really care as he shook Sombra’s hoof firmly. “I-It’s not a problem, my Prince. A-And, ummm… Let me be the first to congratulate you for becoming a father.”

Sombra’s grin widened even more, obviously loving the fact that he got Shining to say something so nice after knocking up his former spouse. But instead of pushing any buttons, Sombra kept himself respectful for the occasion after letting go of Shining’s hoof. “Now then!” he said with a giddy clap of his hooves. “Since we have confirmation, I think now is as good of a reason to hold a celebration!~”

“What!?” shouted Cadance with a surprised look on her face. “Wait, do… do mean a party?! Like, today?!?”

“Why not?!” asked Sombra with a raise of his hooves and an antsy smile. “Cadance, you’re pregnant! Again! I highly doubt that any Crystal Ponies are going to mind throwing an impromptu celebration for that!”

Shining couldn’t help shrugging his shoulders as he added reluctantly, “Honestly, I’m… kinda with Sombra here. I mean, ponies might get suspicious if you weren’t excited for this, wouldn’t they?”

Even though she knew Shining was right, Cadance still seemed more than a little flustered as she held a hoof over her chest and breathed heavily to the thought of celebrating her pregnancy publicly. She wasn’t necessarily against the plan, but it seemed like she needed a moment to fully process it first. “... Ohmigosh… I… I can’t believe this is happening~”

“Just take some time, okay?” assured Sombra while resting a hoof on top of her shoulder. When she looked up at him, he carried a warm and affectionate smile as he said, “I promise you, everything will be alright~”

Cadance took a second while her lips were pursed shut to let his promise sink in, but she was able to nod with a look of trust before breathing out pertly. Sombra then turned his attention back to Shining Armor, and stood in a more dominant stance as he acted as his superior. “Personal Guard Shining!”

“S-Sir, yes Sir!” blurted Shining instinctually as he stood upright himself and gave a salute to the former Tyrant. Even though Sombra would’ve usually laughed at how quickly Shining responded like he did as a Royal Guard, the Prince knew there were more pressing matters at hoof.

“Shining, I expect you to go around the castle and get a celebration organized immediately! Get whatever decorating and catering services you can arrange, and be sure to let every staff member know the good news! I want this party to be absolutely perfect! Do I make myself clear?”

Given how excited he was himself, Shining wasn’t the slightest bit embarrassed by the order as he gave a salute and a sincere, “Sir, yes Sir! I’ll send a memo out to Twilight and Pinkie Pie right now!”

“Excellent!” cheered Sombra with a sincerely pleased smile, which almost made him look innocent despite his peeking fangs. Shining looked equally as giddy as he went in to give Cadance a congratulatory nuzzle, and then rushed off towards the bedroom door. However, just before the stallion could open the door and leave to start the party, he was stopped by the sound of Sombra’s suddenly domineering voice. “WAIT… I have one last request…”

Cadance and Shining both looked back at Sombra in confusion, with the stallion’s hoof just inches from the doorknob. Sombra’s eyes were locked onto him as he grinned maniacally wide, and tilted his head in a sinister way that made Shining shudder. “Guard?” he said in a low and venomously gleeful tone that was practically dripping from his Cheshire smile. “When you tell the staff that Cadance is pregnant… Tell them it’s mine~”

Shining and Cadance both gasped in absolute shock, their eyes as wide as dinner plates with looks of absolute terror. The Princess went pale as a ghost, and looked like she was going to have a heart attack on the spot. Shining looked mortified enough to do the same, and he nearly fell to the floor from how badly his legs trembled from such a request.

Luckily, Sombra only managed to last about three seconds before his grin broke, and he started laughing haughtily. “I’M KIDDING, I’M KIDDING!” he quickly shouted with a hoof up in insistence. “I’m seriously joking, Shining! Do NOT do that!”

Shining let out a heavy and deeply-relieved sigh as he collapsed beside the door, needing a moment to come down from that terrifying feeling he experienced. Unfortunately, Cadance wasn’t nearly as approving of Sombra’s humor as he would’ve expected; before the Prince could start laughing to himself from that poorly-planned joke, Cadance grew an intense glare on Sombra before punching him on the shoulder. Hard.

“OW!!” Sombra faltered back from the pissed-of Princess as he rubbed his arm, and winced from the surprisingly-strong sting she left. “Okay, I’m sorry! I’m sorry for doing that!” he said sincerely, which was just barely enough to make Cadance step back with a peeved pout on her face. By the time Shining could finally get himself back up, Sombra groaned painfully and said, “Wow, you… You’re scarily strong for a pregnant mare, you know that?”

While Cadance huffed bitterly and looked away from him, Shining awkwardly stood by the floor for a moment before saying, “Uhhhh… I… I’m gonna go get the party ready…”

Sombra sighed with a hoof over his face, and nodded as he let the Guard leave. “Yes, carry on, Shining. Do what you think is best…”

After giving a confirming nod, Shining finally exited the bedroom before locking the door behind him. About a minute of silence passed between the Princess and her husband, with Sombra feeling increasingly guilty with each second that went by. Even though he knew he shouldn’t have done such a thing while she was pregnant, Sombra was hopeful the moment could pass before the night’s celebration. The Prince skewed his muzzle in thought for a second, and gave a meager shrug before suggesting jokingly, “Do… Do you want to use this as an excuse to try angry sex?~”

Cadance turned back to gawk with a dropped jaw, seemingly offended that he would even think about such a thing. However, her expression froze briefly enough for Sombra to notice, and her eyes peered upward for a second so she could think it over. Even though she was still rightfully mad at her husband, the Alicorn eventually relented as she shrugged her head, and replied, “Well… I suppose it’s worth trying once~”

Sombra motioned over towards the bed, and said with a hearty grin, “Thaaaaat’s the spirit~”