Daughters of Time

Princess Luna's moon was high in the sky, the stars were burning bright in a beautiful array, the ponies of Equestria were all asleep in their beds, and all was at peace. Luna was performing her routine sweep of the dreamscape, seeking any ponies whose dreams may not be so peaceful, but even the dreamscape was quiet on this night. With a sigh, Luna brought herself back to the physical world.

"Is everything okay Luna?" came a voice from the darkness.

"Yes, Cloud. Equestria has never been so peaceful, even the dreamscape is quiet this night," replied Luna, as she turned to her consort and faithful companion, Sir Cloud Twist, on the bed next to her.

"Good, that means I get to spend more time with you tonight," he said, rolling on top of his alicorn princess and giving her a kiss.

Luna looked up at the pony in bed with her, looking him up and down with a smile. A dark blue stallion with with a black mane, his cutie mark a tornado with crossed swords to indicate his great skill at in-flight combat. A quite handsome stallion to be sure, and utterly in love with his alicorn princess. She smiled at him as she remembered the events leading up to this moment. They had just reintegrated the Children of the Night into Equestrian society, and upon returning to the castle in Canterlot, Cloud confessed his feelings for Luna, and they had been a couple ever since.

"More time with you is always a good thing my valiant knight," remarked Luna as she returned his kiss.

The night passed too quickly, and before she knew it, Luna had to leave her bed to lower the moon and greet her sister good morning. With a final kiss, she left her lover to perform her royal duties. Cloud Twist returned to the bed and closed his eyes. There was nothing he enjoyed more than spending the night with his beloved, though she was often too busy with her nightly duties to spend more than an hour or two with him. He had always admired her, since he was a child growing up in Trottingham. It's why he joined the Night Guard and rose so quickly through the ranks to become the youngest pony to ever be Captain of the Night Guard. Now that he had everything he wanted, he passed his nights in a state of bliss, looking forward to the moments he could spend with her.

"Good morning sister," Luna greeted her sister in the courtyard with a cheerful smile.

"Looks like someone had a good night," teased the sun Princess. "I'm happy you found someone Luna dear. Just be careful. When the time comes, he may not understand, he may take it the wrong way. If you get too close, he'll just end up breaking your heart, just like the last one."

Luna frowned at the reminder. "How could I ever forget?" she asked. "Why couldn't I have just been born normal? It would have saved me a lot of heartache."

"I know sister, but we all have our burdens that we must bear. And if things go wrong, I'll still be here for you, as I always have been. Now, let us do our royal duty and prepare for the new day."

With that, the two princesses rose into the sky. One lowered the moon and hid the stars, the other raised the sun and Equestria woke to a new day.

Luna returned to her quarters to find her lover asleep in the bed. She walked over to the bookshelf in the corner of her room and pulled her latest diary from the end of the shelf. She and her sister had kept diaries since they were kids, though her sister had filled many more volumes during the last 1000 years. Immediately upon her return, and the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Luna had started a new diary. She wrote in the diary everyday and it had helped her to reintegrate herself into the royal life. It contained many secrets, including one that, if it ever got out, could cause her a lot of problems. That's why every one of these diaries had a magical seal to prevent anypony from opening it without her permission.

The diary also told of all the lessons she had learned and adventures she had had since returning. It detailed the defeat of Nightmare Moon and her feelings upon returning, it told of her first Nightmare Night and the lesson Twilight Sparkle helped her to learn. Most importantly, it told the tale of the Children of the Night, who fought bravely to protect her memory, and to keep her followers safe from those who would have wished them harm.

Luna began writing in the first blank page, telling of the wonderful and peaceful night she had just shared with her lover. The entry took a turn, however, when Luna remembered her sisters warning. Luna reached back into the bookshelf for a very old diary bound in leather. Removing the seal, she opened it right to the entry. Her last lover, 100 years before her banishment. When he had learned... the nation was almost torn into civil war because he couldn't handle it. What if Cloud Twist is the same? What if he reacts the same way? Luna wondered. She looked over at her lover and feared the worst.

It was then that a thought struck her, a thought that terrified her. She looked back over the past couple months and gasped. This couldn't be right! It's too soon! Flipping rapidly through the pages, Luna began to panic. She read through every page carefully, to make sure she wasn't mistaken. As an alicorn it was normal for there to be a little fluctuation, but it's never this long of a time span. Luna found the entry that indicated her last heat cycle, almost two moons ago. There was no doubt about it now. She was pregnant!