Two months had passed since the wedding; Celestia and Lavender were enjoying their newly married life. It seemed like only yesterday Celestia approached him for a sudden massage which led to a surprising conclusion for Lavender. Most would have viewed that as just a one night stand, a quick romp in the bed to satisfy a sexual urge, but instead it grew into something more. A serious relationship formed which eventually led to marriage. Although Celestia was worried about having to watch Lavender grow old and die when the time came, she relished her decision to marry him. He was special and really meant a great deal to her.

Lavender, on the other hoof, was savoring the fact that he was married to a princess, but was still getting used to Celestia’s lifestyle. On more than one occasion, he accompanied her to one of Canterlot’s high society parties for the rich and famous. It wasn’t like a party he was used to back when he was a bachelor, which usually consisted of loud music, plenty of alcohol, awkward dancing, and then capping off the night with some drunken sex with a random mare he met at the party. Instead, he and Celestia had to dress up in formal attire and mingle with the many guests, who all seemed more than happy to get a chance to converse with Celestia. It reminded him of that lunch date he went on with Celestia a couple of months back and the uncomfortable feeling he had like the other ponies there were judging him, but didn’t have the gall to say anything in front of Celestia. He didn’t really like those parties, but went anyway just so Celestia wouldn’t have to go by herself. She knew he didn’t really like those formal parties, but was too modest to say anything about it. Normally, she tried to do something nice for him every time he went with her, which of course seemed like she was bribing him. Lavender didn’t mind, and despite that fact, it sure beat sitting in the castle all day doing nothing. All in all, everything was going good for the newlywed couple.

Celestia was now beginning to show the physical signs that she was carrying a foal. Soon, their new colt or filly would be born, making Lavender and Celestia parents officially. Since Celestia was entering the final stages of her pregnancy, she had to take on lighter work and couldn’t travel long distances as much. Odds are no harm would come of it if she did; she was a tough old mare, but she wanted to be safe rather than sorry. It was an easy transition since her job mainly consisted of meetings and clerical work anyway. Lavender also helped out where he could; although, with him being an Earth pony, he couldn’t do much when it came to tasks that required magic. Since they were officially married now, Lavender moved into Celestia’s suite in the castle. It was a nice upgrade to his staff housing apartment, and snuggling up next to Celestia’s warm body every night was a nice bonus. He couldn’t be happier with where he was in his life.

Today was a day like any other day, but also different at the same time. Lavender had some business to take care of at the Canterlot Tax Office which he had been putting off for quite some time now. Normally, he had breakfast with Celestia every morning after she raised the sun for the day, but on this particular day he had to pass on it to get to the tax office early so he could get this over with as pain-free as possible.

This morning, however, Celestia wasn’t feeling too well, which came as a surprise to Lavender because he never once witnessed her being sick. Naturally, he was concerned, but she assured him that it was probably nothing more than just a stomachache and that he shouldn’t worry about it. Of course, when she told him not to worry about something, it made him worry even more. Again, she assured him that she was fine, and that he needed to take care of that tax related business before it was too late.

Forcing that worried feeling to the back of his mind, he kissed Celestia goodbye and grabbed something quick to eat as he headed out. Something was indeed different about today as he stepped outside; the wind sounded different, the birds chirped differently, almost as if nature herself knew something that Lavender did not. Something was definitely off about today, but he couldn’t put a hoof on it. His mind wandered back to Celestia. No, she said it just a stomachache; if it was anything serious, she would know since she knew her body better than he did. Again, he forced those bad feelings aside to focus on the business he needed to take care of.

The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, casting its brilliant, golden light over the city of Canterlot. There was a slight nip to the air as the autumn season nearing its end. Soon, the unicorn ponies would use their magic to officially change the season to winter, turning Canterlot into a winter wonderland of sorts. Lavender trotted along one of the many streets of this grand city at a brisk pace. He arrived at his destination, a rather dull looking building that housed everything tax and financial related for this city. After a deep breath, he pushed open the front door to address his task at hoof.

It had barely been an hour; Lavender sat in a small office going over some tax related documents with the lawyer pony. It was boring, menial paperwork, but he had been putting this off for too long now. He needed to take care of it now so it didn’t come back and bite him in the flank. His train of thought was broken when sharp knock came at the office door followed by a lone royal guard entering the office.

“I have a message for you, from Princess Luna,” the guard spoke rather urgently. “She requests your presence immediately at Canterlot Hospital.”

At the mention of the word ‘hospital’, Lavender took off at full gallop, almost knocking the guard down as he went.

Lavender knew that if Luna had requested his presence this more than likely had something to do with Celestia. He didn’t know what had happened and that’s what worried him the most, not knowing. His mind wandered back to the bad feeling he felt earlier this morning. Could it be? Mother Nature was trying to tell him something was going to happen to Celestia? Worry turned to panic as he pushed his legs to run faster.

“I knew it! I knew it wasn’t just a stomachache,” he mentally berated himself. “I should’ve suggested that she go to the doctor to get checked out. Why didn’t I say anything!?”

Lavender arrived at the front desk of the hospital almost out of breath from sprinting the entire way.

“Princess Luna requested my presence here; I’m Lavender Bloom,” he spoke to the secretary pony after catching his breath.

“Luna’s talking with the doctor right now. Please wait in the lobby; she will be out shortly,” the pony replied in a calm tone.

Without a reply, Lavender turned and trotted to the lobby which was nearby. He hated waiting, and that’s exactly what he was doing right now. It wasn’t making him feel any better, nor was it quelling his imagination as disaster scenarios ran through his head. Each scenario that entered his mind, he quickly thought of a reason to dismiss it, until he thought of the foal she was carrying. His heart sank at the thought of anything happening to his foal. He hoped and prayed that Celestia and his unborn foal were alright. They meant everything to him.

In the lobby, a few other ponies were scattered about, most likely also waiting on news of loved ones who were in the hospital. It was quiet, so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. Nopony was talking or even whispering. Everyone was in the same boat as Lavender, waiting on some news, any news. Every so often the occasional doctor or nurse trotted by, or an announcement over the building’s PA system would break the silence of the room.

His focused thoughts were broken when he saw Luna slowly walk into the lobby. Hope welled up inside him at the sight of her until he saw the expression on her face. She wasn’t in her usual happy-go-lucky, joking around mood. She seemed sad about something.

That brief feeling of hope soon ebbed away as Lavender slowly approached Luna. The look on her face was heart wrenching.

“It’s about your foal,” Luna fought her back emotions for what she was about to say next. “Celestia’s in the emergency room. I’m sorry, your foal is…,” she didn’t want to say it; she couldn’t say it.

Lavender already deduced what Luna was trying to tell him; his worst fears were confirmed. It felt like someone had stabbed him in the heart and left him to bleed to death. All the emotions and energy was sucked out of his body leaving nothing but a hollow shell. His whole body felt paralyzed. He couldn’t move; he couldn’t speak; he couldn’t even breathe. His and Celestia’s foal, no more? He didn’t even want to think about it. This didn’t seem real. Like a bad dream he wished he could wake up from.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Luna broke the silence, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “The doctor will be here shortly; he can explain everything.”

Lavender finally regained the strength to move even though he was still in shock. His head was spinning with the numerous questions that were bouncing around inside of it. Luna explained what had happened in as much detail as she could, but she was no medical expert, and was only repeating what she was told by the doctor earlier. Lavender had to fight back the emotional battle that was going on inside of him. He didn’t want to break down right there in the hospital lobby, in front of all those other ponies, not until he knew exactly what happened to Celestia and that she was alright.

After what seemed like an eternity, an older looking unicorn stallion entered the lobby, the same one from when Celestia broke the news of her pregnancy to Lavender. His look mirrored Luna’s; this wasn’t a good sign. He motioned for the two to follow him to his office where they could have some privacy.

The three entered an office room that was like a typical office in the hospital. A large desk sat at the far end of the room, shelves filled with books lined the walls on the left and right sides, and a single window adorned the far wall. The doctor suspected Luna already broke the worst of the news to Lavender. He spoke as soon as the door was closed.

“It happened earlier this morning,” the doctor explained. “Probably shortly after you left,” he looked over at Lavender. “She teleported to the emergency room so we could assess her as quickly as possible. Celestia is fine; we just moved her to a recovery room. However, her foal was…,” he paused for a moment for what he had to say next. He wished he didn’t have to. “The foal was already dead before she got here. There was nothing we could do. I’m sorry.”

Lavender still didn’t want to believe it. This all felt like a cruel joke. Who would play a joke like this on him? Luna? No, she wouldn’t dare joke around about something as serious as this. Great advances have been made in the field of using unicorn magic for medicine, but it wasn’t perfect. It was just the way the world of magic worked; it couldn’t be used to heal everything.

“Was it a colt or a filly?” Lavender asked, finally breaking his silence.

“I’m sorry?” the doctor asked.

“The foal, was it a colt or a filly?”

“A filly.”
A daughter. He would’ve had a daughter. His mind flashed to how his life would have been having a daughter of his own to raise. He and Celestia, a family. They would have watched their daughter grow up into a fine, young mare, and then eventually go off to start a family of her own, making Celestia and Lavender proud parents and grandparents. The images dissolved back to the harsh reality.

“I want to see her.”

The doctor looked down slightly. He knew Lavender was her father and he couldn’t deny him that.
“Are you sure? The foal is…,” the doctor asked, looking at Lavender.

“I think I should see my daughter at least once,” Lavender interrupted, meeting the doctor’s gaze with a look of determination.

“Okay. Follow me,” the doctor surrendered. Lavender shared a sad look with Luna as he followed the doctor. He didn’t want to imagine what Luna was going through right now with Celestia being her sister.

“Celestia’s in recovery room seventy-seven if you want to see her,” the doctor said to Luna as he stopped himself at the office door.

Luna nodded her head in acknowledgment. She wanted to head there immediately to make sure that Celestia was alright. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe the doctor, she just wanted to see her sister with her own two eyes.

Lavender and the doctor left the office and came to an elevator at the end of the hallway. The doctor punched the button for the floor that was simply labeled, ‘Morgue’. It only served as a bitter reminder of the whole situation. The elevator ride down was in complete silence, neither of them wanted to talk.

Down in the morgue, metal doors lined the wall all the way to the end of the room. Fluorescent lights lit the room and gave it a sterile look. The whole room smelled of death, a smell that Lavender would never forget, and it was cold, the type of cold that chilled you all the way to the bone. It was like death itself was waiting here to ferry the souls of the dead off to the afterlife. The doctor stopped in front of one of the metal doors. He hesitated for a moment before using his magic to open the door and pull the metal tray out.

On the tray was a white sheet covering up a small bulge in the middle. Hesitating once more, the doctor pulled back the sheet. Lavender flinched as he gazed down at the lifeless foal on the metal slab. A few more weeks and she would have been born into this world, instead her life was cut short, too short. He spotted a small horn beginning to form on her forehead which meant she would have been born a unicorn. A few tears escaped his eyes. What did he do to deserve this?

Without warning, he collapsed to the floor; his legs could no longer bear the weight of his body. He finally broke down; his emotional barriers shattered. The doctor instinctively thought something was wrong. Lavender was fine, at least physically; his emotional state was another story. Tears were now streaming down his face as he slammed one of his hooves into the concrete floor. The impact cracked his hoof; the pain of which was blocked out by the emotional surge welling up inside him. It didn’t matter; a cracked hoof was nothing compared to the crushing sadness he was feeling right now.

The doctor couldn’t help but feel sad for Lavender. This was the part of the job that he hated, seeing ponies react to losing a loved one. It was never easy watching someone break down like this, and it even made him a little teary eyed as well. He helped Lavender up to his hooves, comforting him in what ways he could. Rather than try to do anything else, the doctor offered Lavender a shoulder to cry on and waited for him to let it all out. It was the only thing he could really do right now.

After a couple of minutes, Lavender regained his composure. His face was soaking wet from all the tears, his eyes hurt from all the crying, and a pounding headache was beginning to form.

“Thank you,” he muttered to the doctor.

“Anytime,” the doctor comforted. “I know this is hard and I am truly sorry for your loss.”

Lavender responded with a small smile. He was glad that there was such a nice, caring doctor looking after Celestia. As Lavender brushed some of the tears out of his eyes, the doctor slid the tray back in and shut the door; he figured they were done here. As the two began to leave, Lavender cast one final look back at the metal door that his daughter’s corpse was behind.

“Goodbye. You’re in a better place now,” he whispered.

At slow pace, the two walked toward the recovery ward section of the hospital. The doctor figured that’s where Lavender would want to go next. Two guards stood watch outside the room that Celestia was inside. They looked oddly like the same two who came to get Lavender when Celestia revealed to him that she was pregnant. Although, it was hard to tell; they all looked alike to Lavender.

After a quick once over by the guards, the unicorn of the duo used his magic to open the door for Lavender and the doctor. Luna was already in the room, not really to Lavender’s surprise since he figured she would want to check up on her sister. Upon entering, Lavender shared another sad look with Luna. It pulled on Luna’s heartstrings when she noticed that it looked like Lavender had been crying.

Inside the room, Celestia lay in a lone bed on one side of the room. Flanking the left side of the bed was a heart rate and a blood pressure monitor keeping steady watch on Celestia’s vitals. On the right, was an IV bag steadily feeding its nourishing liquid into Celestia’s bloodstream to prevent her from becoming dehydrated. Two windows sat at the far wall letting in the brilliant sunlight.

Once Lavender was close enough, Luna suddenly threw her forelegs around him, pulling him into a hug. It was the least she could do right now to comfort him. She didn’t want to let him go and was fighting the urge to break down herself. Lavender didn’t want to let go either; he knew this was hard on Luna to see her sister go through this. Despite Luna’s best efforts, a few tears managed to escape her eyes.

“Thank you for being here,” Lavender uttered. “We’re going to get through this.”

Luna released him from the hug, wiping her tears as she did.

“You are most welcome,” she spoke. “I don’t think Celestia could have asked for a better stallion than you.”

Lavender smiled, happy that Luna thought so highly of him.

“Are you going to stay here with her?” Luna asked.

“Yeah,” he cast a gaze over at Celestia. He was going to stay by her side until she woke up; he felt he needed to since this was going to hit her as hard as it hit him.

“As much as I hate to, I need to get back to the castle,” Luna admitted.

“Okay, I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

Luna took one last look at her sister before walking out the door to attend to any royal duties in Celestia’s absence.

“If you need anything, let me know. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to check up on her,” the doctor said.

Lavender nodded in acknowledgment as the doctor left to attend to the other patients that were under his care.

A few hours had passed since Luna went back to the castle. The room was quiet save for the beeping heart monitor, the ticking clock on the wall, and Celestia’s gentle breathing. Lavender opened one of the windows to let some fresh air in the room. The cool autumn breeze brushed passed his mane. He gazed out the window which looked out over the vast wilderness that was Equestria. The sun was setting, no doubt Luna’s doing, and the night was beginning to take hold. Lavender occasionally glanced over at Celestia to check if she was still asleep.

A million and a half things were going through his head; all of them centered on the question: why? Why did this happen? Why do bad things happen to good ponies? He was far from a saint, but at least he tried to do some good with his life. He thought back to his first night with Celestia; how he thought if it was a dream he didn’t want to wake up. Now, he wished this was all just a dream, a nightmare, which he could wake up from. It wasn’t; this was all real and he had to deal with it. Beating himself up over this wasn’t going to make him feel better, nor was it going to bring his foal back. Nothing would. He had to be strong for both Celestia and himself.

Wanting to get his mind off things, he took a moment to examine his hoof that he slammed into the floor earlier. It had a visible crack and stung a bit, but hardly unbearable. He cleaned the wound in the sink in the bathroom and applied some antiseptic ointment that he found in one of the room’s cabinets. It was enough to stave off an infection, and could be completely remedied with a simple unicorn healing spell.

Once that was out of the way, his mind wandered back to Celestia; the sad thoughts crept back in. He couldn’t help it.

As the hours went on, tiredness eventually began to take over. He pulled a chair up close to the bed in an attempt to get some sleep. He maneuvered around trying to get into a semi comfortable position. Slowly but surely he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Author's Note

Originally, I didn’t want to take the story in this direction. It was going to be a “and they lived happily ever after” story. The idea of Celestia losing the foal crept into my mind one day. At first, I thought, “No, I can’t do that to them”, but as I thought more about it, I realized that it would make a good story, even though it would be a sad one.

The part about Lavender wanting to see his foal, I modeled that off of something similar that happened to a guy that I knew in the Navy. He was telling me about one time he was stationed on a ship that was out on deployment, leaving his pregnant wife at home. While he was gone, she gave birth, but the baby died in childbirth. Because the ship was out on deployment, there was nothing he could do. The thing that I will always remember from that story was he said “I never even got to hold my daughter”.

I don’t have children of my own, but I can’t imagine a worse kind of pain for someone to go through.