The Pirate (Part 2)

The Pirate (Part 2)

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The Grand Crystal Ballroom was where events and parties were held at the Crystal Empire Castle. It didn’t get a lot of usage most of the time, as there weren’t a whole lot of said events or parties to be had for a newly-returned kingdom, but when there were, the place was thoroughly cleaned, decorated, and stocked in all the best the crystal ponies had to offer. The turnouts for these celebrations ranged from small to overflowing depending on what was being celebrated, but tonight, the place was heavily populated with all manner of castle staff and their families.

Everything was decorated in honor of Nightmare Night. A thin mist covered the floor that gave the place a eerie feel, and all manner of pumpkins, fake skeletons, scarecrows, and monster props were scattered about on displays or in the corners. The walls and windows were lined with cobwebs and glowing mystical runes that changed colors, and the tables were covered with intricately embroidered tablecloths and glowing candelabras set with magical light. The ceiling above was enchanted to look like the cloudy night sky, with the clouds parting to reveal a large harvest moon that filled the room with a spooky glow. There was an impressive spread of food on a series of banquet tables on the far side of the room, and up on a stage was a musical band playing a fast-paced seasonal tune.

The ponies in attendance were in all manners of costumes. They ranged from silly ones like clowns, to scary ones like zombies, to traditional ones like fireponies, to fantasy ones like jackalopes. Everypony was laughing, talking, eating, playing holiday games, or dancing to the music, and there was a festive feel to the air that put a smile on your face. The sun had just properly set outside, allowing the stars and real moon to come out into plain view, and ponies of all ages could be seen walking the streets in their quest for sugary treats.

Currently, most of the attention at the party was directed at the group of royals who’d just arrived. Gleaming, Eros, and Spike, all in costume and grinning ear to ear, stood waving at the entrance for a few moments before being escorted to the front of the room. A great many ponies did double-takes upon seeing Eros, and there was even a wolf whistle or two as they passed, which the three of them couldn’t help but smirk at.

“Sorry, I’m taken!” Eros said, earning him a laugh from the crowd.

“Looks like you’re debut’s a hit,” Gleaming said, smiling. She knew she also was getting more than a few jealous looks from mares in the crowd, and she couldn’t help but find it hilarious. “I wonder how many ponies will be questioning their sexuality after tonight?”

Eros chuckled. “By the mix of emotions I’m feeling right now? I’d say more than a few. At the very least, I hope this makes more ponies comfortable with things like this.”

Spike, who was curled around Eros’ shoulders like a scaly cat, frowned at this. “What do you mean?”

Eros hesitated. “Well, erm—you see...”

“Some ponies don’t know what they want in life,” Gleaming said. She shook her mane a bit, the braided gems within making a click-click sound. “Think about this: How do you think you’d feel if you went for years thinking you only liked girls, but then you encountered a boy that completely swept you off your hoov—er, feet? Would you know what to do?”

Spike blinked several times. His face scrunched up as he thought, his eyes going unfocused as he thought. On instinct his tail tightened around Eros’ collarbone, keeping his balance secure.

“No,” he said in a halting voice. “I’d be confused. Like, really, really confused. I wouldn’t know what to think at all.”

Gleaming nodded. “It’s a difficult thing to deal with. So difficult, in fact, that some ponies can’t do it, no matter how hard they try. It can be very aggravating, stressful, and overall just not a very good time.”

Spike cocked his head. “So why would you want ponies to feel like that?”

“Because it’s not healthy to pretend your problems don’t exist,” Eros said. He took a moment to step up onto the platform the guards were leading them to. “Burying them does nothing but make you bitter and angry in the long run, and worse, not only does it make you suffer, but it makes the ponies around you suffer, too.”

Spike digested this with a contemplative look. “I… guess that makes sense...”

Eros looked out over the crowd. “Trust me, it’ll make sense when you’re older.”

Gleaming’s gaze wandered as she made her way up the platform after Eros, her lips pursed as she sucked on her teeth. There were quite a few ponies here that she knew, and she sincerely hoped that she got the chance to talk to some of them. She saw her massage therapist Amber chatting leisurely with somepony with their back turned while nibbling on a candied apple. Lieutenant Steelwing was by the buffet table, arm in arm with a demure mystery mare. By the way they kept sneaking looks at each other, Gleaming had a guess as to who she was. Doctor Talia was also in attendance, off in a corner surrounded by ponies with medical cutie marks, and oddly enough, she was carrying a tiny, bright-eyed foal atop her back.

Gleaming got to her chair and leaned gratefully into the cushions, her profound stomach resting heavily between her legs and taking up most of her lap. She was starting to notice how warm she felt all the time, the heat bathing out into the rest of her body to make her feel like she was glowing. She gently rubbed her big, round belly, feeling the precious lives within stirring and tickling her insides, their movements causing tiny flutters that inevitably made her smile.

“What is it, Gleamy?” Eros asked, noting her serene expression. “They tickling you again?”

Gleaming looked. “Hehe, yeah. They’ve been pretty quiet all day. I think they just woke up.”

Eros’ eyes fell on his wife’s pregnant girth, snugly secured in its maternity brace beneath the adjusted shirt. “I imagine you’ll be getting hungry soon.”

“I haven’t stopped being hungry these last three weeks, dear,” Gleaming replied. She licked her lips, glancing over at the buffet line. “I might just let you and Spike handle the greetings once Twi—er, Dusk, and Rainbow get here.”

Eros considered that. “That... might work, actually. That way you’ll be able to finish before our other special guest gets here. We can’t very well forget about her, can we? She’ll likely want to talk with both of us.”

Gleaming’s eyes lit up. “Right, I forgot about that. I’ll have to indulge quickly once dearbrother arrives.”

“Where did they go, anyway?” Eros wondered. “One minute they were behind us, the next they were gone.”

“Bathroom,” Gleaming replied simply. “I imagine they’re having trouble getting used to their new ‘equipment.’ Hopefully they figure it out soon.”

“They just got here now, I think,” Spike spoke up. “That announcer pony looks like he’s about to make an announcement.”

Sure enough, the herald cleared his throat and said in a loud, hesitant voice, “Presenting, erm... His Majesty, P-Prince Dusk Shine! And his companion, S-Sir Rainbow… um, Blitz!”

The entire crowd turned once more, just in time to see Dusk and Rainbow coming in through the doors. They were both neatly presented in their costumes while standing hoof in hoof, and Rainbow’s suave, cocksure grin was an odd compliment to Dusk’s tentative, shy smile. Yet to his credit, he didn’t shy away or avert his eyes, and he met everypony around him with genuine interest. His dragon costume was modified so that it didn’t look like it was strangling him anymore, but still, it was pretty apparent that the adjustments had been made on the fly.

Murmurs of surprise ran through the crowd. Several sets of eyes (mostly female) about bugged out of their heads at the sight of the two stallions, and a few good-natured laughs rang out from others. The rest remembered themselves and bowed to Dusk as he passed, although many couldn’t help but sneak curious peeks at the same time.

Gleaming stifled a snicker. “Thisis going to make some headlines.”

Eros looked on with approval. “And the right headlines, too.”

“Eh?” Gleaming turned to Eros. “This just for Nightmare Night. It’s not like they’re going stallion full-time.”

“I meant their relationship,” Eros said. He gestured at the ponies Dusk and Rainbow left in their wake, who were staring wide-eyed once they rose and saw their tails. “Looks like they’ve decided to make it public.”

Gleaming squinted. It took a second, but from their higher vantage point she saw what Eros was referring to. Dusk’s and Rainbow’s tails were looped around together in an intimate display—the universal sign that two ponies were a couple, and they weren’t making any attempts to hide or disengage.

“Erm, you should probably go get food now,” Eros told Gleaming in an undertone. “I’ve a feeling we’re about to get mobbed.”

Gleaming couldn’t help but agree. A crowd was already starting to form around Dusk and Rainbow, and it likely wouldn’t be dispersing any time soon.. “Alright. Try not to have too much fun while I’m gone, okay?”

Slyly, Eros used a wing to lift up Gleaming’s tail, running his feathers across her sensitive marehood. “Don’t worry, love. We’ll be having our funlater tonight.”

Gleaming’s pupils shrunk to tiny dots. A flare of even stronger warmth bloomed inside her now, and it quickly radiated southward to develop into a familiar ache.

“Eros?” Gleaming said in a strangely calm voice.

He turned to her with a shit-eating grin. “Yes, honey?”

“Would you like to play a game tonight after trick-or-treating?”

Eros pretended to think about it. “What game were you thinking of?”

Gleaming was having trouble thinking straight, as the stupid sexy bastard was purposely wafting his tail to give her a good whiff of his cologne. He smelled like crushed pine needles on a dry summer day, and it was making it increasingly harder not to pounce on him. “Th-The one from that book Celestia gave us at… at our wedding! Yeah! I think it’s from… erm, chapter five? Or maybe six… whatever! You know the one.”

It took Eros a moment to get it, but once he did, a knowing look crept up on his face. “Ho, ho. It’s been awhile since we played that game. I’m certainly down if you are… that is, if you think you can handle it.”

Spike looked blankly between them. “What game?”

They both ignored him. “Of course I can handle it,” Gleaming said in a soft purr. “And you know that I always play to win. Get ready to lose, pink boy.”

Suddenly, Eros bent down until he was inches from Gleaming’s face. His eyes captured hers with a sultry look, his parted lips only inches away from hers. Gleaming was caught off-guard, and found herself hypnotized by those devious eyes. She was drowning in his cloying, heavenly scent, and before she even knew it, she was leaning in to kiss him...

...and then Eros pulled away at the last minute.

“You can’t win all the time,” he said smugly.

Gleaming’s face reddened. She wasn’t sure whether to smack him, tease him back, or shove her pussy in his face and let him rut her for hours on end. Ultimately she decided on the second option, but a small (albeit loud) part of her wanted to show everypony in this room who exactly this stallion belonged to.

Gleaming made a dismissive noise and walked away, using a bit of magic to pinch his ass. “We’ll see about that.”

Spike watched Gleaming go, utterly clueless and scratching his head. “Ummm, what was that? What game were you guys talking about?”

Eros’ ears turned red. He’d kind of forgotten that Spike was with them. “Erm, it, ah… involves mushy stuff, buddy. Kissing on the lips and stuff. You wouldn’t like it.”

Spike immediately made a face. “Ewww… yeah, definitely count me out on that! It’s bad enough I’ve had to see all the kissing between Twi—Dusk and Rainbow; I do not want any of that! Gross, gross, gross.”

Eros watched Gleaming’s wide, swaying hips as she walked away, suddenly quite grateful that his costume covered his groin. “Give it time, my little dragon. You might change your mind on that someday.”

Gleaming had half a mind to leave her guards in the dust and just teleport over to the buffet, but she knew that that wouldn’t reflect well on her in the long run. She was a little worried that she’d get stopped on the way by somepony as a result of just walking over, but fortunately, most ponies were too preoccupied with Dusk and Rainbow to properly take notice of her. It was an odd feeling; she didn’t often get the chance to blend into crowds these days.

The food selection was impressive. The kitchens always liked to be festive when it came to their holiday meals, and tonight was no exception. There were roasted pumpkin seeds, baked pumpkin bites, a gooey cheddar fondue that looked like webbing, a hot dish with a jack-o-lantern face, a chunky blue cheese spread with pink food coloring to look like brains, bread bowls in the shape of skulls, a huge bowl of steaming mashed potatoes drizzled with ‘blood’, celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, devilled eggs with olives to look like eyeballs, salted squash fritters, breadsticks in the shape of broomsticks, a delicious-looking hay and cauliflower soup, various candied fruits, cookies in the shape of arcane runes, ten kinds of pie, and at the very end, a bowl of bright green punch enchanted to give off smoke. There were other selections of dishes there as well, each of them unique, tasty-looking, and diverse, but these were the ones that initially caught Gleaming’s eye.

“Damn.” Gleaming’s stomach growled in anticipation. “I’m not even sure where to start!” She grabbed half a dozen plates in her magic and proceeded to walk slowly down the line, loading them up generously one at a time. “I think a bit of this... and a little bit of that… some of this… some of that... ooh, definitely some of that… this looks good… that looks GREAT… this’ll go good with the bread… this with the soup… ah, love it when they make this... still need to get the recipe… maybe a little bit more of this… this too, I suppose… do I want some pie? Eh, I’m pregnant, I’m allowed. Running out of plates, though... Sergeant Onyx, go get two more plates, please.”

One of her escorting guards obeyed, retrieving two additional plates and holding them steady for her in his magic. Gleaming dished out three large pie slices on each, but then after some thought, she grabbed a several more and piled them on, as well. Lastly, she took a few cups and filled them up with the mysterious ‘smoking brew,’ then moseyed over to a nearby table.

The guard holding the pie plates glanced at the other half dozen floating plates around Gleaming. He didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t help but be dubious about one mare (even a pregnant one) eating so much. His doubt must’ve shown on his face, too, as Gleaming noticed and suddenly looked a bit embarrassed.

“I might’ve got carried away,” she admitted. She looked at the plates as well and shrugged her shoulders. “Though I am eating for six here, and apparently I’m also a growing mare? Let’s just go with this and see how much of it I get through. I’ll save the rest for later.”

They got to the table and set the food down. Gleaming took a moment to organize things, get silverware, cast a spell on the punch to make sure it wasn’t spiked, et cetera, but finally, she was able to dig in.

She raised a soup-laden spoon to her lips...

“Princess Gleaming, Princess Gleaming!” a familiar, tinny voice said. “Hello, hello, hellooooo~! I didn’t know you were hereeeeee! So good, good, good to see you!”

Damn it.

A duo of ponies emerged from the crowd. One of them was the crystal pony Azure Mist, the owner of the underground day spa. Trailing reluctantly behind her was Amber, who subtly met Gleaming’s eyes with an apologetic look.

Gleaming withheld her sigh and set down her spoon. “Hello... Azzy, was it? It’s been awhile. Enjoying the party so far?”

Azzy tittered. “Almost two months later and you remember my name? How flatteringly flattering! And yes, I most certainly am! Haven’t been to the castle in ages, since we all woke up from the curse, in fact! I was just telling Amber it’s amazing to see how much is all the same, and I love how you and Princess Cadance have tried to mix our traditional styles with the modern era’s! But what about you, hmm? Did you just get here?”

Gleaming’s stomach let out another loud, insistent growl. “I did indeed. And I haven’t actually eaten yet, so you’ll have to forgive me for seeing to that while we chat. ”

“Of course, of course,” Azzy said warmly. “Need to keep those little four fed, after all.”

“Er, it’s five, Azzy,” Amber said, her deep, smooth voice easily heard over the music. “Turns out they missed one on the initial count. I thought I told you that a few weeks ago.”

Gleaming watched Azzy’s jaw fall to the ground. Amber knew, of course as she saw Gleaming twice a week and was up to date on such things. Good thing, too, because Gleaming took Azzy’s shock as an opportunity to begin stuffing her face. The hot, delicious soup was disappearing rapidly down her gullet, and she was only pausing to tear off pieces of the bread bowl and dip them in the broth.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Azzy clapped her hooves and danced in place. “Eeeeeeeeee! You’re having FIVE?! I can’t believe it! That’s unreal! That’s simply, utterly, terrifically splendiferously GREAT! You must be so happy! You must be so excited! Ohmygosh, you must be so HUNGRY! Wow, no wonder you’ve got so much food here! Go on, girl, eat! Eat, eat away!”

Gleaming snorted. She took another hearty gulp of soup and wiped her mouth. “Kind of ridiculous, isn’t it? It never really ends, either, especially with me using magic with the troops. And this meal number four today.”

Azzy’s eyes widened. “Meal number… wow, I can’t even imagine what that must be like. You’re taking it all so well, too! You look amazing, sweetie! Your body’s adjusted to the pregnancy so well!”

Gleaming smiled. “I have a lot of ponies to thank for that. I hit the halfway point next month, and honestly it’s hard to believe how fast the time’s blown by. S’been an interesting ride so far.”

Azzy got a wistful look. “Don’t I know it, hun. One minute you’re finding you’re gonna be a parent, and the next, you’re holding ‘em in your arms. If I might be so bold, my advice is to enjoy the time as best you can! It’s an experience from start to finish, and you’re just getting into the really magical part of it all now!”

Suddenly, Amber, who’d been casually looking around, noticed something on the far side of the room. She nudged Azzy and murmured something, gesturing to something a ways away.

Azzy looked where Amber was pointing and let out a soft gasp. “Oh, fiddlesticks. Your Highness, I’m afraid duty calls, but do come visit me at my spa again soon, alright? And bring the rest of your family along, too! I’m sure they’ll all have a lovely time.”

Gleaming perked up at this. “That’s actually not a bad idea. I’ll have to see what I can do.”

“Fabulous.” Azzy bowed and swept away in a flash, leaving both her and Amber behind. “Take care, you two! And happy Nightmare Night!”

Amber watched her go with a mix of amusement and relief. She made sure until Azzy was well out of earshot, and then she turned to Gleaming with an anxious look. “She can be a bit oblivious at times.”

Gleaming waved off the apology. “No worries.” She finished off the soup as well as the bread bowl, turning her attention now to her first plate of food. “Cady speaks highly of her, and I was hoping to get a chance to talk with you, anyways.”

Amber grinned. She’d become a fast friend since she’d started coming to the palace twice a week for massages, and the older mare had had more than a few nuggets of wisdom to share regarding married life, pregnancy, parenting, and other things.

“I like your costume,” Amber said. She sat down beside Gleaming and looked her up and down with a critical eye. “How’re you feeling? Skin feel itchy at all? Any swelling in your legs?”

Gleaming shrugged through her bite of fruit salad. “The foalsh are growing like weedsh and I feel like there’sh a black hole’n my gut, but ashide from’at, pretty good! Skin is nice and shmooth, no shtretch marks so far, and it’sh not near as itchy ash before. Shwelling isn’t really an isshue, either; my sister saw to that. Oh, and I like your coshtume, as well! Very cute.”

Amber was dressed up as a cheetah. She’d put a bit of lightener in her coat to make it look yellowish instead of brown, and a simple glamour made her look like she was covered in black spots. Her gaunt, crystalline frame and wiry limbs worked well to pull off the look, and she was also wearing a set of fake whiskers, a set of ankle socks that made her hooves look like paws, and her tail was twisted up to look thin and ropy.

Amber seemed pleased with Gleaming’s response. “Good, good. I was worried this growth spurt was gonna be murder on you, but you seem to be doing well. And if the lotions and oils seem like they’re helping, then we’ll keep using ‘em. I assume you’re having Cad—er, Eros, put them on at night for you?”

Gleaming took a swig of the green smoking brew, which to her delight was a tasty mixture of strawberry, kiwi, and lime. “I uh... told you this before, but he really, really enjoys doing it, so we haven’t missed a night yet. You could say it helps us both get to sleep.”

Amber’s reply was a saucy smirk. “You’re quite lucky to have a partner who finds all of this attractive, you know. It’s actually healthy for the mother to stay sexually active during pregnancy. Helps prevent all kinds of problems.”

“Our doctors have said that, too.” Gleaming polished off three breadsticks in a few huge bites and dug into the hot dish. “I’m pretty sure Eros and I would both be going nuts by now if we couldn’t. I’ve heard some couples have next to no sex life while pregnant, but we’ve, uh… well...”

“Been fucking like rabbits?” Amber offered.

Gleaming felt a flare of warmth as her eyes flickered over to Eros. “Horny rabbits on steroids.”

Amber looked over to Eros as well. “So that’s what Princess Cadance looks like as a stallion, eh? Luna almighty, he’s a stud. No wonder you can’t keep your hooves off him! Can’t help but admit I’m a little jealous of you two. You’re gonna have some mighty fine-looking kids.”

Gleaming felt a bit of pride at that. “Thanks. Although to be honest, I’m more concerned about them just being healthy and having all the right parts.”

Amber patted her shoulder. “Oh, honey, every expecting parent is. I know you feel like pulling your mane out here, but if you do all the things you’re supposed to, then there’s nothing else for it. You just gotta let those buns bake and hope they come out right.”

“What an analogy,” Gleaming remarked dryly. She finished off the first plate and immediately went for the second. “I get what you’re saying, though. It just doesn’t make all this any less nerve-wracking. Eros is handling it better than I am, and he’s good at getting me to relax and feel normal, but we’re not together all the time, and that’s when I’ve noticed that I tend to get a little, well… bitchy.”

“Oooh, the dreaded b-word.” Amber giggled. “Now you’re really a mare. Congratulations.”

“It’s true, though!” Gleaming said. “There’s really no better word for it! I get irritated with ponies for no reason, I have next to NO patience, I have to hold my tongue to keep myself from biting ponies heads off and even still I wind up snarking at them… it’s terrible! I’m not normally like that!”

“Eh, sounds about right, to be honest,” Amber said. “It varies from mare to mare, but we all have our highs and lows, and pregnancy throws a wrench in everything to boot. Some days are worse than others, I imagine?”

“Stars, yes!” Gleaming murmured. She ate the last bit of hot dish and started devouring the peanut butter-celery sticks. “It’s manageable most of the time, but about once every two weeks I get so fed up with everything I just want to coop myself up in my apartment with Eros. I’m half-afraid I’m gonna blast some poor sod out into the tundra one of these times!”

Amber laughed. “You sound like me when I was pregnant the first time.”

Gleaming hesitated. “Eh? Really?”

Amber got a far-off look in her eyes. “I didn’t do any blasting, but I certainly did my fair share of ranting and raving. Most of it was directed at my husband, sadly, but he’s a smart pony and knew none of it was actually directed at him, if you catch my drift. Usually he’d just sit there and listen while I screamed that I hated everything, and once I’d burned myself out, he’d hug me and we’d cuddle until I felt better.”

“Awww,” Gleaming cooed. “How cute.”

“It was... nice,” Amber admitted. She snapped out of her memories and propped her elbows on the table. “Look, I know you’re really busy all the time, but if you want to relieve some of that stress that’s building up, my advice is to get a hobby that pulls you away from everything. Something that makes you forget you’re royalty, something that makes you forget you’re pregnant, something that has nothing to do with the military, everything. My hobby is doing jigsaw puzzles, for example, and I get really absorbed in them, to the point that I don’t even notice time passing. I must’ve finished at least twenty of the things while I was pregnant with Ocean Spray, and when Heather came around, I went out and bought thirty-five of the really complex ones so I could stay occupied.”

Gleaming paused in her eating. Amber’s suggestion didn’t sound like a bad idea, and there were certainly more than a few pastimes she could think of. Maybe… maybe she should give it a shot.

“Find a hobby...” Gleaming said thoughtfully. She set the empty second plate aside and started in on the third. She was still very hungry—it felt like she hadn’t eaten anything at all. “I might just do that. Eros and Talia have been telling me a lot lately that I need to slow down, and I haven’t because I just haven’t been sure how I’m gonna fill the time. This might be the answer I’ve been looking for.”

“It’s worth trying, at least,” Amber said with a nod. “Let me know how things go, alright? And if you need any help, just say the word. I’ll try my best.”

Gleaming mumbled her thanks through a mouthful of corn.

Amber snickered. “Well, I can see you’re preoccupied, and I should get going, anyways. I promised my husband I’d take the kids trick-or-treating, though I do hope he’s managed to get them in the right costumes this year.”

Gleaming had to cover her mouth to keep herself from spitting food everywhere. She’d never met Amber’s kids, but she did know she had a colt and a filly. Getting their costumes mixed up must’ve been freaking hilarious.

Amber winked at Gleaming. “Take it easy, alright? I’ll see you next Tuesday.”

And with that, she trotted away.

Gleaming waved as she got over her little coughing fit. She took a moment to catch her breath watching her friend disappear into the crowd before taking a few moments to just eat and take in the whole of the party. A good number of ponies were now mobbed around Dusk, Rainbow, Eros, and Spike, and that number still looked to be growing. Fortunately, ponies had the sense to leave Gleaming be if they happened to notice her in mid-meal, and as a result she managed to get through another three plates without any interruption.

It was on the sixth plate that Gleaming had a stray thought. While she was perfectly okay with eating in peace, there were a few others she hoped to talk to at some point during the night, and now was just as good a time as any to see if she could track them down. However, she really didn’t feel like wading through a dense crowd on a full stomach, and besides, she still had dessert to get through. Fortunately, being royalty came with some nice perks, and now was a perfect situation to take advantage of them.

“Sergeant Onyx?” Gleaming said.

The guard who’d gotten the extra plates turned his head. “General?”

“Are you familiar with Lieutenant Steelwing?”

Onyx thought for a moment. “Dark green pegasus from the Heartguard, right? Think I saw him around here somewhere.”

“Go find him for me,” Gleaming said, turning her attention back to her first slice of pie. She was just about full, but she was pretty confident she could polish off or one... or two... maybe three… okay, she was going to eat them all. “Tell him I’d like to chat when he gets a chance. He can bring whoever’s with him if he’s not alone.”

Onyx saluted. “Right away!” He scanned the sea of ponies for a moment, then went out to the edge of the room to start his search.

A new song was just starting up, this one a bit slower and more somber. The lights dimmed to fit the spooky ambience, and an excited energy filled the room as ponies began doing evil laughs and making faces at each other. Gleaming watched amusedly for a while as a group of unicorns in the corner projected some illusions to fit the mood, and before long there were ‘bats’ and ‘spirits’ flying around the chandeliers.

“Ain’t that something,” said a familiar dry voice behind Gleaming. “You’n Cadance went all out for this shindig, didn’cha?”

Gleaming turned. There on the edge of the crowd was Doctor Talia, meeting her eyes with a patient smile. She was wearing a powder-blue dress with glittering snowflake patterns etched in silver, and a thin veil was over her face that emphasized her azure eyes. Her blue, spindly horn jutted through the veil like an icicle, and her snow-white mane was let down to fall around her shoulders. The infant foal was with her as well, still on her back in a carrier, and the little one was looking around curiously while wiggling her little hooves.

Gleaming waved. “Talia! Wow, that’s a really nice costume. What’re you supposed to be?”

Talia came over and stood beside the table. “Ain’t it obvious? I’mma windigo! Winter is comin’, and I’m here to feed off all the anger and hatred of the Crystal Empire! Ooooooo!”

Gleaming feigned surprise. “What horror! The end of days is nigh! We’ll all be frozen solid!”

“Somethin’ like that,” Talia said. She used magic to remove the straps of the baby carrier, then set both it and its occupant down so she could pull up a chair. “Finally managed to pry myself away from all them medical residents mobbin’ me. I tell ya, they got more questions in ‘em than there are stars in the sky. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind. S’actually kinda refreshin’ to be around ponies that don’t think they know everythin’.”

Gleaming was only half-listening. The little foal was now staring at her with those wide, innocent eyes of hers, and she found that she couldn’t quite look away.

“Who’s your friend?” Gleaming asked.

Talia’s eyes grew warm. “Heh, I thought you’d be curious. This here’s my great-granddaughter, Rosetta. She was born here in the Empire six months ago, and I finally got the chance to meet her when I came up to help ya out. Her parents called me tonight as a last resort to watch her.”

Rosetta was a grey crystal pony with the same color eyes as Talia. Her blonde mane and tail were wispy shocks of hair that had yet to fully come in, and she was wearing an adorable set of pajamas with stars and clouds on them. Her attention was currently fixated on Gleaming, but at the same time, she was also quite intent on trying to eat her pajama sleeve.

Gleaming scooched closer to the baby. “Well, aren’t you a little cutie?”

Rosetta simply continued to stare at her with those wide, azure eyes, her mouth slightly agape in childish wonder. She made small snuffling sounds as she kicked her little legs, a small bit of drool falling from her mouth.

“She’s a mellow one, that’s for sure,” Talia commented. She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a pacifier, which she put in Rosetta’s mouth. “Thought at first I wasn’t gonna be able to come tonight cuz of her, but her momma—my granddaughter, mind—said she’d be just fine taggin’ along. Sure enough, she’s been quiet as a mouse, and by the way she smiles when I hold her, I daresay she’s taken a likin’ to me.”

Gleaming was entranced. She usually didn’t get a chance to be this close to babies (being pregnant didn’t count) and the effect was telling. It was one thing to hear and tell yourself that you were going to have a child, but not even looking in the mirror was quite the same as this.

“I’d have thought being around so many strange ponies would bother her,” Gleaming said distantly. “Not to mention all the music and the noise.”

Talia shook her head. “Ponies descended from herd animals, darlin. Foals tend to be more at ease when they’re with a lotta folks. And as for the noise, well… that ain’t a problem for Rosetta. She’s got pretty serious demyelination in her auditory nerves, so I’m afraid right now, those ears o’ hers are just for show.”

“Demy-la what?” Gleaming said. “I don’t—wait... are you saying that she’s…”

In reply, Talia placed a sad, tender kiss on Rosetta’s head. “We might be able to repair the damage when she’s older, maybe even completely with surgery, but that all depends on whether or not things stabilize. Hard to tell with her bein’ so young yet. She don’t seem to be in any pain, though, so at least there’s that.”

Gleaming’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at the tiny little foal before her, so seemingly normal looking, yet… just, wow. What was her life going to be like? What kind of challenges would she face…?

“H-How?” Gleaming looked up at Talia. “What happened? And how bad is it?”

Talia shrugged. “About ninety percent hearing loss, give or take. We think it was caused by a hereditary condition on her daddy’s side. Apparently it don’t normally manifest this badly, but I guess Rosetta lost the genetic lottery. Like I said, we might be able to get some, if not all o’ her hearin’ back in a year or two, but them hearin’ nerves just might not be able to carry a signal at all. Sometimes these things just come down to a simple roll o’ the dice.”

And here Amber had just said things could go wrong simply because. Even with everything else going right, making all the preparations you could and doing all the correct things, there was still a factor of randomness in reproduction beyond anypony’s control. How did Rosetta’s parents feel about this? Did they blame themselves? Did they love their daughter any less? How were they coping with this?

“I gotta talk to ya about somethin’, Princess,” Talia said abruptly, her commanding gaze drawing Gleaming’s attention like a magnet. “You don’t gotta comment on it right now, but you and Prince Charming over there should have this on your radar at the very least. If ya don’t, you might be in for a nasty surprise.”

Gleaming’s mouth went dry. “I… I think I know what you’re going to say.”

“Prolly, but it won’t sit right with my conscience if I don’t go over it with ya, and I been puttin’ this off as it is.” Talia cleared her throat. “Now, I know you’re hopin’ your kids are born right as rain. Heck, we all are. Nothin’ would make me happier than to give all five o’them little ones a clean bill o’health, but the reality is that that very well may not happen. I don’t say this lightly, darlin, this is comin’ from a mare who’s seen it happen more times than she can count. Plain and simple, ya can’t let hope blind you to reality. No matter how many preparations we make, how many spells we cast, how closely we monitor ya, or how well you take care of yourself, whatever, we ain’t in control of everything here. Granted, ya got a better chance than most with all your resources, bein’ in good health, and my experience to boot, but even still. You need to accept that your kids may be born perfect, they may have a serious, life-changin’ condition, or anything in between. If you’re not... it can damn near break ya.”

Gleaming swallowed hard. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and it wasn’t one she liked dwelling on, but yes, she was aware of it. There was a good reason why she was dealing with stress, after all. The idea that any kind of unpleasantness was going to befall her children? Ugh. Well, to be honest, it made her angry more than anything else. Here they all were, trying to do everything they could, trying to make sure these kids were born right, and even with all that, they were powerless to prevent a good number of terrible things.

“That... was actually one of the first things mentioned in one of the books Eros and I read,” Gleaming admitted. “It might’ve actually been one written by you, now that I think of it.”

Talia made a small huff. “Ya got some good advice early, then.”

Gleaming gathered her thoughts a moment while tapping the table with her fork. “I really hate admitting it, but I do know that there are a lot of risks involved in what we’re trying to do here. And you certainly are right that nothing’s guaranteed with any of this. It’s just hard not to get my hopes up, you know?”

Talia gently stroked her great-granddaughter’s cheek. “Don’t I know it.”

“Everypony’s concentrating so much on the best case scenario,” Gleaming said. “They’re all talking about how excited they are, constantly giving me all these instructions, making plans for things like choosing the Crystallers, ordering baby supplies, hiring a twenty-four hour nanny schedule, making regular time to be with the kids, options for schooling... all of it makes it seem like this is all a guaranteed thing!”

Talia sighed. “Maybe some day we’ll recognize the warning signs of so many disorders it’ll make pregnancy complications a distant memory, but that won’t be for some years yet. We’re gettin’ there, and I’m happy to say that the prenatal field has grown leaps and bounds in the last few decades, but there’s still a lotta stuff out there that we just plain don’t understand.”

Gleaming probably would’ve lapsed into silence following that, as she really would’ve preferred to let such a heavy topic pass. However, there were a few words Talia said there that reminded her of a somewhat pressing issue.

“Er, speaking of growth,” Gleaming said. “I noticed something earlier that I… um, wanted your input on.”

Talia’s ears perked up. “Hmm?”

Gleaming returned to her dessert while she told her what’d happened when she’d tried to put on her costume. She also mentioned Eros’ concerns, as well as what Dusk had thought of the occurrence. Talia stayed silent the whole time, her face impassive as she patiently listened, but her horn did flash a few times as she cast what Gleaming recognized as diagnostic spells.

“Cadance and Twilight are only half right,” Talia said after Gleaming finished. “There’s a lot that could be goin’ on, though, so let’s start with the correct stuff: A rejected magic infusion does manifest in all the ways ya mentioned, and yes, those symptoms show up almost immediately. In you, the provided magic is being absorbed easily, almost greedily, so it’s pretty obvious we don’t gotta worry about incompatibility.”

Gleaming dabbed at her face with a napkin. “Gotcha.”

“However, just because your body’s accepting this new magic don’t mean you’re immune to unforeseen side-effects,” Talia said. “For example, your DNA tests show that you’ve got an unusually high height potential, which, from what I’m told, manifested pretty strongly when you were a stallion.”

Gleaming nodded. “I was tall, yeah. Taller than Cadance, actually.”

“Which ain’t no small feat,” Talia said. “But for some reason, a chunk of that height potential got suppressed when you became a mare, makin’ ya only a touch taller’n most. I’m guessin’ it was caused one of three things: The replacement of your Y-chromosome, an under-stimulation of your pituitary gland which is now making up for lost time, or a third, unknown variable. Now, we know it ain’t the first one, because there’s multiple failsafes on the genderswap spell to prevent that. Even now just to be safe, I double-checked the integrity of the matrix, and it’s perfectly fine. Tighter than the security at Fort Trots.”

Gleaming breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Turning back to a stallion now would be… bad.”

“Very bad,” Talia agreed. “But that’s a non-issue, so let’s not focus on it. Now, the second possibility’s the most likely, and fortunately, is also the most harmless. Basically, the hormone fluctuations in your system mighta signalled your pituitary gland to release a little bit o’ extra growth juice. And if that’s the case, it’ll prolly just result in you gainin’ about two to four inches. Sometimes that can result in problems, but seein’ as your body was already anticipating it, I expect you’ll take well to it.”

Gleaming mulled that over. She wasn’t exactly thrilled, as it would likely lead to increased soreness, possible fatigue, and needing to eat even more, but she supposed there could be worse fates. At least with larger muscles she’d be able to carry the baby weight better.

“That’s not so bad, I guess,” Gleaming said after a time. “D’you think it’ll carry over if I go back to being a stallion?”

Talia hesitated. She slowly turned to Gleaming, her eyes squinted in a searching look.

“...if?”

Gleaming’s blood ran cold. “WHEN! I meant when. Totally meant when! Slip of the tongue, sorry. Don’t think anything of it, please, and—oh, shit. CORPORAL!” she addressed her remaining guard, who unfortunately had been in earshot. “If you DARE mention this to anypony, I’ll have you scrubbing latrines until you’re as old as the good doctor here! Got it?!”

The poor guard blanched. Gleaming’s voice had been like acid, and the look on her face could send a dragon fleeing in terror. With a stiff nod and an audible gulp, he managed to reply in a quaking voice, “U-Understood.”

“Good.” Gleaming went back to her last plate of pie and began chowing down, perhaps with a little more force than necessary. “Tell me about the third possibility, Talia.”

Talia didn’t reply at first. She just stared at Gleaming with that same curious look, as if she were trying to decipher a particularly complex puzzle. She shifted a bit back and forth on her hooves, the only noise between being Rosetta’s soft grunts.

“Gleaming,” she began.

“Tell me about the third possibility, Talia,” Gleaming repeated in a terse undertone.

Talia swished her tail. It was clear that she wanted to argue, but with a sigh, the emotion left her face and she resumed her explanation. “The third possibility could be anything. It could be a coincidence, an isolated incident, a side effect of carryin’ alicorn foals, a symptom of a yet-undiscovered disease, or somethin’ else entirely. You could just be a late bloomer for all we know. I can’t give ya a better explanation without more data points to draw from, and the only way we’ll get those is by continuin’ to monitor ya. If you grow past four inches, then it’ll merit looking further into. Until then, I can’t give ya a better answer.”

Gleaming stared intently at her pie. She didn’t like being testy with Talia, and she’d regretted it almost immediately. Even if it’d resulted in the subject being changed, there was now an unease between them that shouldn’t have been there. She’d have to make it up to Talia somehow later.

“I did have one other thought,” Gleaming said distantly. She chose her next words with care, as she didn’t want others catching wind of this. Celestia only knew what the media would do with it. “When we did the ultrasound a few weeks back, the one with Endo, I mean, you said something very interesting as you were heading out the door. Do you remember?”

Talia regarded her evenly, her face an impassive mask. “I do.”

Gleaming idly fiddled with the tablecloth. “Do you think it could be… that?”

Talia was silent for a long, long time. She pulled back the veil on her face, and with a pulse of magic, she lifted Rosetta out of the carrier and began rocking her back and forth. Rosetta burbled happily at this, breaking into a huge smile when she saw her great-grandmother. The time lapse was so great that Gleaming finished her dessert and stacked the plates beside her, and she was beginning to wonder if Talia would answer at all.

“Lemme put it this way,” Talia said at last. “I don’t believe in fate, destiny, premonition, or any o’ that other baseless crap. I only believe in things that are supported by evidence, and even then, that evidence has gotta be backed up by a reputable source. In your case, Princess, there are a whole lotta unknowns, and any single one of ‘em could be the reason for what’s goin’ on.”

Gleaming exhaled out her nose. A neutral response like that might’ve disappointed or aggravated her in most cases, but she had a feeling that Talia wasn’t finished.

“But then again,” Talia continued. “I always was a bettin’ mare. See, I’m real good at probabilities, and when you can reliably determine the odds of things, well... it’s not hard to know when ya should hold ‘em, and when you should fold ‘em. Drove my wife stir crazy, I tell ya, and if Los Pegasus hadn’t banned me for life, we prolly woulda wound up divorced because of it.”

Gleaming made a mental note to never play a game of chance with Doctor Talia. Or anyone else in her family, for that matter. Heck, even the baby might be a force to be reckoned with.

“So... what would you do here?” Gleaming asked tentatively. “Hold, or fold?”

Talia made of a show of giving it some serious thought. “I dunno, this might be too close to call…. oh! I know. Let’s leave it up to Rosetta, shall we? I’ll pass her to ya, and if she smiles, you must be holdin’ her the right way. If she cries, though, ya must be doin’ the opposite. Sound fair?”

Well, so much for the mental note. Gleaming just stared at Talia, incredulous. “Wat.”

“Oh, come on,” she said with a smirk. “You do wanna hold her, don’cha?”

Against her better judgment, Gleaming looked at the smiling Rosetta, who chose that moment to let out a huge yawn. Her pacifier fell out of her mouth onto the table, and the resulting cuteness snapped Gleaming’s resolve like a toothpick.

“Gimme,” she said simply.

Talia obeyed. She kept her magical grip steady while Gleaming summoned her own telekinesis, enveloping Rosetta in her magenta hue and easily lifting her. She was a light, squirmy little thing, probably only about fifteen pounds or so, and while her crystal coat glimmered slightly at the change in magic fields, she didn’t seem to mind the switch.

Gleaming hovered Rosetta over. She rotated the infant around so that they could meet eyes, and when she did, Rosetta ceased wiggling and looked up at her curiously. There was a tense moment where Gleaming’s heart skipped a beat, and then...

“Ba!” Rosetta said with a laugh. She reached out towards Gleaming’s face, trying to boop her nose.

Gleaming’s heart melted. “Well, hello to you, too!” She leaned down and nuzzled Rosetta. “Do you wanna be friends with me?”

“Awawa.” Rosetta starting chewing happily on Gleaming’s braids.

“Hehe.” Gleaming began rocking her like she’d seen Talia do. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Talia looked on with a rather pleased look. “And I’ll take that as good an omen as any.”

Later-

“Having fun, Dusky?” Gleaming asked as she sat back in her seat on the platform. Now pleasantly full and content, she was ready to greet ponies without being distracted by hunger pangs. Dusk and Rainbow were in seats of their own right beside hers, and while the line of ponies to see them had finally gone down, there was still a decent number left.

Dusk, who was (barely) managing to endure it all, gave her a fake smile that screamed, ‘kill me now.’ Gleaming didn’t grant him any mercy, though. She just smiled back with a playful wink, sticking her tongue out before turning away.

“Hey, Gleam-Gleam!” Spike said. He was still curled lazily around Eros’ shoulders as his ‘parrot’, snacking on a ruby with a contented look. “Man, you musta been hungry! I’m actually impressed.”

Gleaming used a bit of magic to ruffle his ‘mane’. “Did I miss anything?”

Spike shrugged. “Eh, not really. Most everypony wants to talk to Dusk and Rainbow.”

“—first date? Oh, nowhere special.” Rainbow and Dusk had about a dozen ponies currently around them, including two reporters taking pictures. Rainbow was currently the one talking, and he looked quite pleased with all the attention. “There’s this cool little place in Cloudsdale called The Ozone, and we chilled there for awhile before going to see a Wonderbolts show. We got VIP seats, of course, complete with the full-blown royal treatment! It was great!”

Dusk’s ears turned a faint shade of pink. “I really wish they hadn’t insisted on the VIP box…”

Rainbow playfully nudged him. “It certainly made for a good view, didn’t it? And the champagne they gave us was great!”

Dusk suppressed a snort. “That was Marérignon Rosé, Rainbow. A single bottle of that alone is worth more than most ponies make in half a year!”

Something seemed to click for Rainbow. “So that’s why you freaked when I suggested we make mimosa with it. I just thought you didn’t want us to ask for more things when they were already giving us stuff!”

“What led to you two first realizing that you liked each other?” one of the reporters called. “And who made the first move?”

Rainbow and Dusk exchanged a quick look. Rainbow gestured to the crowd, apparently okay with sitting back for this one. Dusk wiggled his leathery dragon wings, but he didn’t seem annoyed.

“Okay, so it probably won’t come as much of a shock to all of you, but I’m not quite the strongest flier yet,” Dusk said a moment later. “I’m still pretty klutzy in the air, and my stamina’s nothing to speak of. I’d initially asked Rainbow for advice and she straight up offered to help me personally, and we’d started going flying together a few times a week for a workout and some experience.”

“But then the plundervine attack happened,” Rainbow chimed in. “After that, we both sorta forgot about the lessons and got involved with other things.”

“Right,” Dusk agreed. “We did remember eventually, though, and we set aside some time and picked up where we’d left off. It was pretty casual at first, nothing too involved or crazy, but we eventually started doing things that would leave me winded towards the end. We were both happy that I was starting to show some real progress, and then finally one time when we were both cooling down, we got to talking, started reminiscing, and well… it just kinda happened.”

The crowd leaned forward, waiting for more. Dusk didn’t say anything more, though, and the silence dragged on for several seconds.

“Uh… what happened?” the other reporter eventually asked.

Rainbow gave him a patronizing look. “The hay do you think? We kissed. Smooched, puckered up, locked lips, sucked each other’s faces, canoodled, made out, whatever you wanna call it! I noticed she was checking me out, I didn’t see any reason to say no, so I decided to catch her off-guard and go for it.”

Dusk awkwardly cleared his throat. “Erm, not to contradict you or anything, Rainbow, but I wasn’t ‘checking you out.’ You just kinda pounced on me.”

Rainbow’s jaw fell. “You so totally were! We’d just finished talking about all the crazy things we’d been through, that silence fell, and when I looked over, you were staring at my wings with that cute, nerdy look you get where your mouth hangs slightly open. You’re not so bad on the eyes yourself, so I figured we should give things a shot.”

Now it was Dusk’s jaw that dropped. “That wasn’t me ‘checking you out’, that was me noticing how out of place your feathers were! I was about to say something, maybe offer to preen you or something, but before I could, you went all casaneighva on me!”

There was a three second pause while that sunk in. You could almost hear the gears turning in Rainbow head, working away to try and understand what that information meant. The crowd watched him intently to see what he’d say, and even the reporters had stopped what they were doing to watch.

Finally, he laughed, a cheeky look creeping up on his face. “I don’t remember you telling me to stop.”

Dusk smiled. He leaned in and nuzzled Rainbow’s neck, giving his reply in a teasing voice. “Now I wonder why that might be?”

Rainbow hummed and kissed Dusk’s forehead. “I can think of a few reasons…”

Gleaming decided she’d heard enough. She looked away with a good-natured roll of her eyes and shook her head. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Eros, who’d been watching as well, made a noise of agreement. “Sometimes things just happen. You don’t really plan it, and it certainly wasn’t something you’d ever considered, but when the ball starts rolling on its own and you see no reason not to go for it… well, why not?”

Gleaming looked down at herself, examining her curves, her slender legs, her smaller frame, and lustrous coat. The growing foals within her wiggled and shifted as they pushed against each other, snugly secured in her sizeable womb. “Why not, indeed.”

“Did you enjoy your meal?” Eros asked. “I saw that you had a few visitors over there. They weren’t bothering you, I hope.”

Gleaming shook her head. “Nah. That was Azzy, Amber, and Talia. We chatted about random things while I ate. Was nice, actually. I was actually hoping I could track down and talk to one other pony, too, but apparently he and his friend left the party.”

Eros shook the hoof of a castle employee who was dressed up as a cactus. After he was gone, he turned back to Gleaming. “I saw that Talia had a foal with her. What’s the story there?”

Gleaming paused. There were a lot of ponies around, so she motioned for Eros to come closer. “That was her great-granddaughter, Rosetta. She was born deaf, and worse yet, Talia says the damage might not be fixable. Poor girl will probably have to learn sign language and all that.”

Eros stiffened. He clicked his teeth a bit, his eyes flicking back and forth. “That… might be a problem. We don’t have a lot of disability specialists up here, and there’s a pretty big waitlist last I heard. She might have to go down to Canterlot or Manehatten for schooling.”

Gleaming frowned. “If we can’t accommodate for our subjects, then we’re not doing our jobs as rulers. If we’re short-staffed on social workers, we’ll just have to get more. I’ll contact universities and let them know we have a demand.”

“Even that may not work. Even if we—” Eros paused to greet a mare and his husband, both of which worked in the kitchens. “Even IFwe reached out to the Equestrian universities, there’s no guarantee that any ponies will bite. Not everypony wants to live in the Crystal Empire, hun.”

Spike, who could hear everything, of course, awkwardly looked between them and cleared his throat. “Erm… why don’t you guys ask one of the other princesses? I’ll bet they’d know who to ask to save some time. AND your request will have some extra weight if one of them backs it.”

Gleaming rankled at the suggestion. A part of her knew there was some truth there, but that didn’t mean she liked it. She was royalty, damn it, and she should be able to solve her own problems.

“I’d rather not get them involved—” she began.

“We might have to,” Eros cut in. “Spike’s got a point; it’d be the easiest and fastest way. They have better networks than we do.”

Gleaming stared at the floor. “Yes, but… ugh. Look, I feel like we need to be careful how often we go to them for help. They have their own kingdoms to run, their own responsibilities, all of that. If we start only contacting them when we have a problem, they’ll think we’re using them or something.”

Eros started gently rubbing Gleaming’s back. “I’ve had that worry at times, too. But they don’t think that, hun, trust me. They know that we care about them, and they’ll definitely be willing to help. Actually, I think that if we don’t go to them, they might get a little offended.”

Gleaming didn’t reply to that. She just leaned into his hoof and focused on some ponies coming up to greet them, contemplating the options while speaking with guest after guest. She was asked several questions about various things, such as her health, the pregnancy, the foals, her morale, her work with the troops, her future plans, her thoughts on Dusk and Rainbow, and even what it was like to be a mare. She politely answered all of these things without issue, dwelling on Eros’ words that echoed in the back of her mind and wrestling with her pride.

“Okay, you’re right,” Gleaming said to Eros some time later. “Let’s talk to Luna and see if she can help us out. She can help us get the ball rolling if nothing else, and if all goes well, we might be able to add this in with the new hospital. Rosetta deserves as much.”

Eros smiled. “Good. We can bring it up after she gets settled.”

Gleaming stood up a little straighter in her chair. “She should be here pretty soon, shouldn’t she? It’s almost nine ‘o clock.”

Eros cast a quick spell to check the time. “A little bit past nine, actually. She should be here any minute.”

And once again, Spike found himself lost. “Uh… who are you guys talking about? I thought Rosetta was—”

Suddenly, all the lights went dark. There was a collective cry of alarm and confusion amidst the guests, and the band stopping playing the festive tunes. The enchanted moonlight from the ceiling and the actual moonlight from the windows was the only luminance, and the spooky ambience was only further accentuated. The fog on the floor swirled as it grew noticeably thicker, and the air became several degrees colder.

“Um...” Dusk said to Gleaming’s left. He ignited his horn and turned to her. “Please tell me this was planned.”

Gleaming feigned innocence. “Mayyyyyyyyybe.”

There was a flare of magic the near the ceiling, emanating from the harvest moon. The crowd turned their heads skyward, all with looks of intrigue.

It was Rainbow who realized it first. “Oh, ho!” He clapped his hooves. “Awesome! Now it’s really Nightmare Night!”

The moon’s orange glow became brighter and more eerie, its corona pulsing like a heartbeat. The enchanted clouds parted to reveal the glittering stars beyond, the magic building and building until everypony got goosebumps. There was an ominous rumbling like thunder, the kind that resonates in your ears and gives you the shivers, and everypony couldn’t help but watch, captivated, waiting with bated breath.

And then the piano started playing.

A familiar silhouette appeared upon the moon. The stars were drawn forward to gather in a shifting, spiralling mass around it, channeling their energy forth in an intricate pattern. The silhouette eagerly absorbed all the energy and glowed ice-blue, fading in and out in time with the moon’s pulsing light. Ominous shapes began to appear within the swirling clouds, flitting and darting just out of sight, but never disappearing completely. The runes on the walls and windows began to shine brightly again, humming loudly like a violin climbing up its strings.

There was a moment of terrifying silence, and then...

“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The sinister laugh echoed throughout the Great Hall as the silhouette disappeared. A beautiful navy alicorn appeared in a flash of bright light, flanked on both sides with a quartet of batponies that sang with the music in a haunting chorus. The alicorn’s regalia was black and silver, etched with fine symbols of the moon and stars, and her ethereal mane sparkled and flickered with dancing nebulae. She was tall and proud, her mighty wings like shrouds of the deepest blue, her elegant horn thrumming with power…

...and her belly was noticeably rounded, as if she’d been eating too many sweets.

“ANNOUNCING!” the herald below said in a booming voice. “Her Royal Majesty Princess Luna, The Dark Lady, Mistress of the Night!”

The crowd went nuts. Ponies began cheering wildly and stomping their approval, hooting and hollering as Luna gracefully descended. She raised her hooves in greeting, and at her command, a dry, chill wind swept through the Hall that smelled of fallen leaves. She and her batponies landed in the center of the room, waving and smiling to all, and when she met eyes with Gleaming, her smile became especially wide.

“Ponies of the Crystal Empire!” Luna said. “It is time once again for the most GLORIOUS of nights! Happy Nightmare Night to all, and let the festivities… BEGIN!”

The lights came back up, the atmosphere went back to normal, and the band kept playing its haunting tune. The mood was now more merry than ever, and Gleaming and Eros looked on as Luna mingled like a pro. Everypony was absolutely overjoyed to see her, and not a single pony seemed taken aback or afraid by her glamorous entrance.

Eros chuckled. “Seems like she was right. It wasn’t over the top, after all.”

Gleaming shrugged. “Seems so.” She tossed a piece of candy to Spike, but it just bounced off his head because was still staring on, dumbfounded.

“Surprise.”