I bolt upright as those words sink deep into my ears. I look at Tavi and say, "So I'll assume, from the actions you have taken, that you are only doing this for our child."

"Foals. Our little ones will, according to the data from other mares that have gotten pregnant, take on the characteristics of the mother to decide which species it will be."

"Alright, foals then, ho--." I stop mid-sentence as I back track, my mind finally focusing on one fact in particular. "We are going to be parents."

As she does I can see in her eyes, for the first time, conflict. Sorrow, joy, uncertainty, and many other emotions cross her face as she speaks again. "Yes, we will soon be a family in the most intimate of ways."

I look at her, and I now fully understand why she wants to do all of this. With two foals, we won't be able to keep up with them and the orchestra. It would be unfair for the orchestra and our foals. I barely have had the time to perform with them since joining, having multiple issues lately; namely how I almost died and all that. I only recently got to play a bit for practice, so I will have to inform them that, due to this incident, I will have to quit the orchestra. I will do so for Tavi and our unborn foals. I know for a fact I could play with the orchestra and keep pace with Tavi and the foals, but I would have no time to be a good father or a devoted husband. I want to be able to at least do what I know is right.

"Alright Tavi. I will inform Maestro tomorrow about the events transpiring and that I will have to quit."

"He already knows; I told him myself on the way home. I hope you didn't think I was giving you a choice in this." Tavi's ears lower, her voice shaking as she tries to keep herself together. Looking closer I can see the trails of tears upon her cheeks and dress.

"Tavi, what else is wrong? Something is bothering you that you aren't telling me."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Tavi, I love you, and I know this isn't you. So please, tell me what's wrong."

"... I don't want to quit, but I have to. I have to give up everything I know and love before I met you because you are more important than any of it. I am...conflicted. I want to be a good mother, and I want us to be happy, but to do so means giving up so much. I don't know if I can handle it." She begins to break down. I knew the orchestra meant a lot to her, but to see her having to quit, this isn't good. Thanks to the money we got paid from various sources we wouldn't have to worry about money for a while, but this is like tearing out her soul.

"I hate that I have to quit, but I love us too much." She rolls into my lap as she cries. Seeing her like this, it is heart wrenching.

"I will promise you this Tavi: no matter what, I will always be here for you, and we don't have to stop playing. You are already so willing to make such sacrifices for us, I will make sure to keep up with you. I once promised I would never let you cry, yet here I am unable to truly console you. I want to do everything I can to make you happy, so I have an idea. Let's move to Ponyville."

'Why Ponyville? I was thinking more along the lines of Manehatten. What makes you think of that little town?"

"Well I talked to Vinyl earlier and she plans to move there herself. We also have the Elements of Harmony there so we'll feel safe. It is a lovely town from what I hear. Finally, Lyra and Bonbon live there as well, so plenty of friends live in that town. Other benefits include the most tolerant town in the country, lower costs of living, and it is not that much further away from Canterlot, so your parents can easily come visit. I honestly think we should look into it and see if we can't get anything there before looking at a city like Manehatten. Especially Manehatten."

"Well, I can't say I blame you, but what would we do there, what jobs would we get, how would we support our family?"

"That is something I will begin looking into. We only just recently had our family start growing didn't we?" She smiles a bit at this, holding her belly in her hand. As I look at this, my hand moves to join hers. Her eyes join with mine and I lean forward, ensnaring her in a kiss. Time seems to move with a will of its own as we simply enjoy the taste of each other, our lips opening as our kiss becomes more intimate. After what feels an eternity, we part again. It is only now that I look back and reflect on the time we have spent together.

We only got together eight months ago, and we didn't even spend most of it together, yet I feel our bond has grown exceedingly strong. We come from different worlds, we come from very different family lives, and yet here we are, holding each other as our lives begin to move forward together, as we start a family together. I hold her close as a familiar sensation falls over me. A complete and total calm. We sit there, holding each other close, for hours. Finally, a noise breaks the mood as the great clock of Canterlot tolls for six in the afternoon.

We part, holding hands, as we walk into the kitchen to prepare a small dinner for ourselves. We have a salad with cucumber sandwiches, sitting at our table eating them away. After a time Tavi and I decide that we would play a little together, then we would cuddle for the rest of the day until sleep takes us into the land of dreams. Upon our arrival Tavi takes a different place than usual: she takes her place not with her cello, but with the piano.

"I have been practicing and learning to play the piano from Frederick, that way you can play other instruments. I started a few days after I was discharged from the hospital. I was hoping to surprise you on your release but, even including the extra time you were in the hospital I was unable to master it in time. A few days ago I finished my lessons so, would you mind playing with a different instrument today?" She asks this with a smile, while my chest fills up with warmth. She loves me enough to learn another instrument, just so I can play something else. I smile at her with all the love in my heart on display. I walk over to the guitar, pick it up, and prepare to play with the other beat in my chest.

As we finish, I put my guitar down and walk over to her, remembering something Vinyl told me earlier that day.

"So Tavi, I heard you owned my record." She blushes when I say this. "If I remember right, this is a song you said you liked from my conversion portion." Her eyes light up as I raise up my hands and begin to play.

As I finish we hear the Canterlot clock chime for the last time that night. Eight pm, time for us to go cuddle on the bed. She takes my hands in hers as she leads me back to the bed room. But when she does, I watch the floor drop out from underneath her. Everything fades away into darkness. I turn around, and see Mariana standing there.

"Welcome back, my little fucker."

"...fuck."

Author's Notes:

Original plan was for Octavia to learn to play the guitar, but... my plans.
A somewhat dark chapter coming up, but it is not like the previous one, it is a lot more regular sex, but with dark undertones.
Also, I may have hit submit on something earlier today!