Outbreak

Ponyville.

Ponyville, the Equestrian Mecca of chaotic, antagonistic, and over-the-top cataclysms and travesties, had never been in a more peaceful state. Ever since the banishment of The Nightmare, the halt of the Changeling invasion, the reformation of Discord, the restoration of the tree of harmony, and finally the fall of Tirek, the small and joyous hamlet had hailed its resilience and success as a city as a direct result of one individual. Sure, the Elements of Harmony had to be unified to defend Equestria, but now almost none doubted that the world would be the same without the addition of a single mare to their community. In the truest sense of the phrase, this mare certainly was the glue which held the land of Ponyville, nay, Equestria, together.

This beautiful, talented, and influential young pony certainly couldn’t have it any better in life. Not only was she the prized student of Princess Celestia and the embodiment of the Element of Magic, clearly the most important and powerful of the elements, but she had all of the friends and loving family she could hope for, near infinite knowledge and learning capacity, and stood as the Princess of Friendship to boot.

Now, Twilight Sparkle was never one to be greedy, never one to wish for more than she had. She had always valued humility and solitude since her foalhood days. But her desire for companionship in knowledge had its own cost. Quite simply put, before Twilight had begun her studies on the most powerful magic of all- the magic of friendship, she had been a complete train wreck of a child. Even with her loving family and the fellowship of Princess Celestia, co-ruler over the land and embodiment of the sun, her lifestyle of sitting indoors for the majority of her life, pouring over vast tomes of literature, and her awkward, antisocial mannerisms transformed her into a shut-in, too experience-deprived and socially retarded to function in a larger society.

Her life had changed dramatically on that first day in Ponyville on the annual Summer Sun Celebration. It was there where she had met the five mares who would expose her to a whole new world of laughter, loyalty, honesty, generosity, and kindness toward others. With chaotic event after chaotic event, Twilight Sparkle would grow each and every day into a stronger and better mare, eventually being coroneted as princess. Twilight had broken through her thick outer shell with the help of her friends, family, and the city of Ponyville. She had tackled and conquered both demons from her mind and threats from the outside world. She had been reborn- reborn as a better mare, a mare able to laugh, live, and love the world she was in.

Yet with every blessing she had, and was truly thankful for, Twilight Sparkle and all of her infinite wisdom could not seem to shake a peculiar feeling, the feeling that something was missing in her young life…

Chapter I

Same Shit, Different Day

The day had begun just as any other winter day in the now peaceful town. It was mid-afternoon in early February, snow coated the sides of the street, lovingly plowed into piles by the town’s earth pony workers and weather patrol. Icicles hung from a few eaves in the wood-frame thatched houses as a cool wind blew water droplets caused by melting snow in the afternoon sun. Ponies of every race, color, age, and creed bustled about snuggled in their warm, fluffy saddles, coats, and boots as they went about their afternoon activities.

In a nearby building named Honest Abe’s Fresh Produce and Grain Outlet, several of the townsfolk were situated around the checkout aisles. The storefront was filled with a couple of dozen ponies or so, each waiting their turn for assistance by a friendly counter worker. Among these ponies stood Twilight Sparkle- the town figure of royalty, a bouquet of white and yellow flowers wrapped in her purple aura, struggled with a trivial bit of modesty at the front of the line.

“Your highness, please…” begged the clerk. “…I’ve been such a huge fan of you ever since you moved into Ponyville! Why don’t you take these flowers for free, as a sign of admiration for everything you’ve done?”

“Oh, no… I couldn’t.” Twilight hastily but respectfully declined. “I’d feel much more comfortable if I had paid for them.”

“Are you sure, your highness?” the swooning colt behind the counter questioned.

“…Please, just call me Twilight.” Twilight insisted, still not exactly used to everyone calling her by her more prestigious title. “I’ll just pay with cash today, if you don’t mind.”

“…As you wish.” the counter attendant complied, smiling back to her as he rung up the young princess. “Your total comes to four bits.”

Using a wing to clumsily grab the side of her saddlebag, Twilight sifted through the fabric to find the coins she needed to pay for the floral arrangement she had placed on the counter. Finally locating her stash sealed in a small purple coin purse, the alicorn popped the pouch open and brought the coins to the table- a generous ten bits.

“You can keep the change for your… very kind offer.” Twilight spoke, earning an adoring expression from the bashful colt. As the young stallion began to sputter gibberish, Twilight closed her coin pouch and placed the flowers in her bag.

The colt remained in a sort of trance.

“…Um, are you alright?” she kindly but nervously asked.

“…I WILL NEVER SPEND THESE SIX GOLDEN TOKENS FROM HER MAJESTY.” the colt finally announced in a monotonous tone, ogling almost religiously at the change before him.

“Ooookay… Thanks, I guess.” Twilight feigned a wide smile, the corners of her lower eyelids turning up. “I think I’ll just be going now… have a nice day, sir…”

As Twilight began a brisk retreat from the situation, she heard the colt call after her in a nervous bark.

“I-I LOVE YOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE…!”

With those odd words buzzing in her head, Twilight exited the store, mumbling under her breath while rolling her eyes.

…Creepy…

Twilight Sparkle had learned over her several months as an alicorn princess that such adoration from citizens in Equestria would be quite commonplace. Case and point, the grocery store assistant. But who could blame them when having both wings and a unicorn horn denoted you as a goddess among mortals- a symbol of beauty, purity, and great importance. Not her of course, while she continued to adjust to having a greater role in society rather than just sitting in a musty old library all day. While her friends and new position of power had helped her break out of her shell, she still at times carried the social aptitude of a seabed sponge.

“…Ugh… I just wish that people would stop referring to me as a political figure.” Twilight sighed, walking home through the icy streets with groceries in tow. “Whatever happened to ‘Librarian Twilight’? Or ‘Book Council Twilight’? Or ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Twilight’? Nope… just Princess, Princess, Almighty Princess…”

Twilight often found it frustrating to be revered by so many, even in her favorite city in Equestria. Everywhere she went, she was greeted by at least a few townsponies who had been completely taken with her. Oftentimes, the most stable-minded of ponies mistook her for a miracle worker- frequently mistaking her old oaken library as a hospital, a business center, even a regal palace. Not to mention the many adoring stallions, and even a few mares and children who had fallen head over heels for her just because of her status and great national importance. And then, of course, was the odd stalker or two who followed her to every important event, eager to spend even a moment in her presence. Those who searched each trash bin outside of the Hayburger for her discarded napkins to place in their shrines. Just typical reverence stuff.

Nevertheless, she had no time to worry about such trivial matters and mentally scolded herself for even succumbing to these thoughts. She had business to attend to. Soon she would be reunited with her mother, Princess Cadence, and her brother, Shining Armor for lunch at a quaint local restaurant. She had bought the flowers in her bag to surprise her mother for the occasion, knowing that she preferred daisies over almost any other floral arrangement. It was on her way home from the store, actually, that she would meet her lunch companions. Flowers in tow and confidence returning in her mind, Twilight Sparkle headed for her favorite higher-end local eatery.

Twilight Sparkle was not at all amused. It had been nearly forty minutes, and still so sign of her lunch companions for the day had shown hide nor hair. Twiddling an empty glass of lemon-water in her hooves, the violet princess violently plotted to ensure that the suffering she had experienced would be doubled back on her family- in a rational and non-violent manner, of course.

“…Chew me out at the wedding? Fine. Constantly pester me with eerie personal and relationship advice? Go ahead.” She fumed. “But if there is ONE thing I cannot bear, its tardiness!”

Twilight grasped the fresh lemon slice on the corner of her glass and squeezed it into the last of the water at the bottom, downing the soured drink as though it were a shot of tequila from Appleoosa. In frustrating times like this, the mare would typically prefer red wine to satiate her irritability, but she figured it best not to drink in front of her mother. But the length of her wait was slowly beginning to cause her to think otherwise.

Fortunately for her, she wouldn’t need to cling to this growing desire as a familiar voice called out to her, seemingly in a hurry to meet the princess.

“Twilight, honey!” called the voice of Twilight Sparkle’s mother, Twilight Velvet. The sudden vocal summons caused the young alicorn to turn and meet her gaze. “So sorry we’re late!”

It’s about time…

Soon, the three empty chairs at her table had been filled by her mother, and her brother and his wife. Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence took the chance to greet and coddle their favorite other family member with hugs, nuzzles, and a few kisses.

“Fashionably late again, are we?” Twilight sighed as her brother rummaged through her mane with a strong hoof. “You’re lucky I’m not Princess Luna.”

“Oh, hush now Twiley.” Shining laughed. “We got held up at the train station.”

“Oh, did you now?” Twilight played along.

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Princess Cadence explained. “We had to rush over here just to make sure you wouldn’t leave us. We know you’re probably very busy.”

“Yeah, busy… let’s put it at that.” Twilight mumbled. “So, we all ready to eat?”

“Oh hell yeah!” Shining Armor cheered. “I haven’t eaten anything since that corndog deluxe at the train station back home!”

“Oh, Shiny…” Cadance sighed.

After a good twenty more minutes, the party of four was happily chowing down on their meals. Twilight had decided upon an expertly-toasted Panini sandwich stuffed with green olives and daffodils, while her brother and her sister-in-law shared a large platter of sizzling stuffed bell peppers. Her mother decided that the best course of action was a wine-seared dish of vegetable-kabobs with white wine. The family had made small talk for the last several minutes, but nothing too serious had popped up in conversation just yet.

“Twilight, dear, thank you so much for these flowers!” Twilight Velvet thanked, ogling the bouquet she had set on the table next to her. “You know how much I love daisies… They’ll look great in that new vase I got- the colors match just right.”

“Well, I just was in the store…” Twilight spoke in all modesty. “I guess I decided to pick them up while I was there.”

“Well, either way, that was very thoughtful honey.” her mom concluded.

“Well, you were worth every bit.” Twilight laughed. “You know, some fan-boy of mine tried to give me those flowers for free as a sign of admiration. I thought it was more like a sign of obsession, though.”

“Oh? An obsessed fan-boy?” Cadence inquired.

“Oh you wouldn’t believe what some of the stallions, and mares, do in this town.” Twilight explained, sipping at her re-filled water. “That incident at the store was only a mild case compared to them. These ponies see me as a goddess now, even when they knew me as a unicorn. It’s a bit stressful… and a little disheartening to know that I’m just a political figure now.”

“Well, who could blame them for thinking that, Twiley?” Shining laughed. “You are quite possibly the most revered pony in all of Equestria! Everypony knows you, and for good reason. You’re a practically our savior.”

“Shining, please…!” Twilight begged. “You’re making me blush!”

“Well, perhaps it’s you who has the problem, not the town…” Cadence began.

“Huh?”

Cadence nodded her head and continued explaining to her favorite little alicorn.

“Twilight, you need to learn how to switch off every once in a while.” she spoke. “When I became a princess, I felt a lot like you’re feeling now. I wanted to go back to the days where everypony loved me for me, not my title.”

“Exactly my point!” Twilight protested. “Just because I have wings doesn’t make me any different of a pony, right?”

“Of course not…” Cadence consoled. “…But it does mean that ponies will naturally look up to and revere you as divinity. Being immortal has a certain sort of appeal to it… plus, look at everything you’ve done for Equestria: Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings, Tirek, Equestria in all sincerity owes itself to you and your friends… but mostly you, you know?”

“…I just want to have everyone love me for me, like you said.” Twilight sighed. “But being this figure of almighty power and wisdom really doesn’t help that.”

“Twilight, sweetie, I know your pain and frustration…” her mother interjected. “But it’s time for you to move on from that. You’re smart… you know that this royal treatment won’t stop, don’t you?”

“…I guess not…”

“So then, why worry about something you can’t change?” Shining questioned.

Twilight Sparkle pondered the question. In truth she knew the answer, but she didn’t know how to pin it down with words. Every time she tried, they slipped right through her hooves before she could grasp them. So naturally, only one response would suffice for now.

“…It’s complicated.”

After a few moments of awkward family silence, Twilight attempted to start a lighter conversation with her visiting relatives.

“…So, Cadence…” she asked. “On a lighter note, how are your plans for the foal coming along?”

“Well, unfortunately, we did get the results of our struggles back.” she explained. “It pains me to confess that we can’t have a biological child.”

“Oh, gosh…” Twilight apologized. “I’m so sorry…”

“Yes, it’s definitely sad.” Cadence sighed. “However, we have been thinking about adoption. And I must say, the idea to give a poor foal another chance at life with a loving family seems very appealing, especially considering the alternative.”

“Other options?” Twilight questioned.

“Well, you see, the reason behind our inability to conceive is the fact that Shining here is infertile. We don’t know why, but his… stuff… just doesn’t work. Don’t get me wrong, I love him with everything I have…”

“But no matter how many times we try, even when the act is complete…” Shining interrupted. “My genetic material is just… defective.”

“I never knew that… I’m sorry big brother.” Twilight again apologized.

“Twiley, it’s nopony’s fault.” he explained. “It’s just the way it is. And even still, we’re going to start a family. That’s all that matters in the end.”

“Right.” Cadence affirmed, kissing her husband lightly on the cheek. “And with the other option being a surrogate father, we’ve decided that adoption is the best means of achieving that end.”

“Oh, I see.” Twilight stated, now aware of every alternative to her married brother’s plight. “Have you… found the right one for yourselves?”

“Well, no.” Cadence confessed. “You see, the wait list for a healthy baby is quite long. Sometimes it takes up to ten years before the finalization and actual adoption can be placed. There’s just such a high demand for healthy babies that even us princesses can’t speed up the process by much.”

“So given that disheartening information, Cady and I have been thinking that we should give some poor foal with a disability a fighting chance. Being at our status, we don’t believe there should be any problem with giving our adopted child all of the things he deserves.”

Twilight Velvet turned to respond to her son and her daughter-in-law.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!” she cheered. “It must be such a humbling experience to take in a hopeless little foal, to give somepony so young and vulnerable a chance to grow up in a loving setting.”

Twilight Velvet grasped her adult son’s cheek in a strong pinch of light-purple magic, twisting it from side to side.

“I always knew my little Shiney-Winey would grow up to be such a charitable and loving father… biological or otherwise.”

“Mom…” he groaned. “I’m thirty-one…”

“And you’re still my baby boy, aren’t you?”

“Hrmmm…”

Twilight actually felt good about the day. Something about being with her family in these cute, but embarrassing moments was one of the things she lived for. To see that her mother was still the same aging mare she knew as a unicorn, to see that her brother was still so fun to pick on in public. The discomfort of being an alicorn princess seemed to fade away when she spent time with her family, only a little, but just enough.

“Hehehe… you all are so amusing…” Cadence giggled at her husband’s embarrassment.

“Oh, trust me, dearie…” Twilight Velvet laughed with the pink alicorn, shortly before turning a sinister smile to her daughter. “There’s much more child embarrassment where that came from.”

“What now?” Twilight questioned her mother before taking a nervous sip from her glass.

“Oh come on, Twilight.” she responded. “Surely you aren’t planning to go on forever without finding some nice stallion, are you?”

Twilight Sparkle gagged violently on an ice cube, causing her to cough it out onto the table. Regaining her senses, she immediately began her protest of such an idea after her coughing fit had died down.

“Ulp! MOM…!” she exclaimed. “Please, not THAT topic again!”

Cadence was soon to join her mother-in-law in her efforts to humiliate Twilight.

“Oh?” she mused. “Having a hard time finding that special somepony, are we Twilight? I can certainly help you out.”

“Oh no, not you too…”

“You know dear, you need to switch off that big brain of yours sometimes!” Twilight Velvet chuckled. “How else do you think you’re going to find that lovable hunk of stallion to keep you warm at night?”

“GROSS!” Twilight gagged once more. “I don’t need you putting images into my head!”

In all truth, Twilight Sparkle was one of the few mares who really did find the act of love an unnecessary waste of time and energy, at least for her. There were just so many things that could throw away everything a lover had worked to earn, so many complicated protocols to learn about such a ridiculous social expectation. A love life was simply something that the studious princess believed firmly that she could do without. The fact that she found the act of sex incredibly awkward didn’t help the mare break free of her still relatively sheltered lifestyle either.

“Come on, you surely have your own urges to take care of, don’t you?” her mother asked. “It’s perfectly normal for a mare your age to…”

“No, mom!” Twilight defended. “I’ve never had anything like that!”

“Sure, Twilight…” Cadence sighed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever you say…”

“Uuugh!” Twilight groaned. “Why must you all insist that I find some random stallion to bend me over and rut me? Who do you think I am, some… cheap whore?!”

“Twilight, you’re being ridiculous.” her mother calmed. “I’m trying to say that you can tell us anything. It’s perfectly natural to be feeling the need to be mounted at your age. Why, that’s when your father and I met! I remember just weeks after that night, oh we were going at it hard enough to…”

“MOM!” Twilight complained. “I don’t want to have to imagine that!”

“Okay, okay!” Twilight Velvet stopped herself. “Sheesh, you’re worse than your father was…”

“Ugh… I’m sorry.” Twilight apologized, still straining to erase the unpleasant images that her mother had planted in her mind. “It’s just… I don’t need anything like that. I’m perfectly happy with where I am right now!”

“You’re not fooling anyone, Twiley…” Shining dismissed. “I’ve seen you making googly-eyes at that orange guard in the crystal palace.”

“Flash… what, NO!” Twilight continued to refute. “You’ve got it all wrong! I mean, he’s kind of cute, and he’s really nice… I’ll grant him. But I hardly even know the guy… he’s just some nice colt who helped me get my crown back. That’s all!”

“Honey, the most estranged of companions can make the best lovers, you know…” Twilight’s mother chuckled. “The new scenarios, the anonymity, the…”

“NO, MOM!” Twilight yelled. “Okay, I am done with this conversation. End of story!”

“Twilight, I’m sure if you just gave a bit of romance a try, you’d love it.” Cadence spoke. “Besides, I think that old Flash Sentry would be a great place to start! You know, he’s rather taken with you. He likes to talk about the time you two danced together at the fall formal in the human world more than anything.”

“…What?” Twilight questioned, now confused and a bit worried. “Oh great… the one guy I could see as a great friend has a crush on me now?!”

“It would appear so, Twiley.” Shining Armor confirmed. Surely you’ve caught him staring on at least a couple of visits to the crystal empire, haven’t you?”

“OKAY, ENOUGH!” Twilight declared. “…I’m sorry, but I really didn’t need to know that… now I’ll never be able to look at poor Flash the same way ever again. I really don’t have any feelings for him, but now I’m afraid that if I tell him, he’ll be hurt. And I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship… not after everything he’s done for me.”

“Twilight…” Cadence reasoned. “We just want you to be happy. We all thought you might be, you know, lonely at your age. But it seems that this whole subject is something you are defensive about. We never meant any harm by it.”

Seeing the faces of her loved ones twisted in concern, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t bring herself to feel too angry at her family. With a light sigh, she began an attempt to apologize for her grouchy demeanor.

“…Look, mom, Cadence, big bro…” she apologized to her extended family. “I’m sorry if I seem so cross with all of you. I just was going through a tough time this week with ponies worshiping me wherever I go. The last thing I need is to talk about a love life that… just doesn’t interest me.”

“…I guess I understand.” Twilight Velvet spoke up. “Honey, we’re sorry that we’ve tried to rush you into something you clearly aren’t ready for yet…”

Cadence nodded her head as her husband began to speak to speak to his sister.

“Twiley…if you’re not ready, we shouldn’t push you into starting a relationship with somepony.” he explained. “We’re sorry to have caused you any discomfort.”

“Here, here.” Cadence added. “It was wrong of me to jump into your mother’s wagon in an attempt to start you on a road that you’re not comfortable with as well. I’m sorry about Flash Sentry, too.”

“…Well…” Twilight sighed. “I guess it’s alright. I can’t stay mad at you all… I know you all just want me to be happy. But I’m just not exactly ready for such a thing as romance, at least not yet.”

“…I just never knew you felt so uncomfortable about romance.” Cadence added. “I guess I should have expected as much, given your personality.”

That one added sentence was enough to send the recently apologetic alicorn into another fit of anger. “Nice Twilight” was officially out the window now.

“…And what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight questioned, glaring intensely at her former foal sitter.

“Well…” Cadence explained. “…Oh Twilight, you know we love you. But we all know that you aren’t exactly the most… subtle of mares. At least, when it comes to your social skills.”

“Oh, come on!” Twilight argued. “I thought I said that I was done with this topic!”

“Twilight, you're twenty-two years old. Most mares are either dating or married at your age.” Twilight’s mother added to Cadence's explanation. “If they have, then they’ve usually been dating for a few years… if not longer. I’m saying that something just seems off about you.”

“Uuuuuughh…Mom, there’s nothing wrong with me!” Twilight protested. “I’m just… not interested in stallions at the moment.”

“Not interested in stallions?” her mother questioned. “Twiley-baby, you know you can tell us anything… if you don’t swing for stallions, we completely understand. Lots of mares nowadays are playing on the other…”

“MOM!”

“Look, even if you aren’t interested in male companionship… we still love you all the same. We could never look at you any differently than…”

“I am NOT a lesbian, either…” Twilight groaned. “I don’t believe this! You tell me that you’re sorry to make me feel uncomfortable, then you turn around and just… continue!”

“Twilight, please…”

“That’s it. I’m leaving.” Twilight grumbled, tossing some bits on the table. “Meal is paid for. I’ll talk to you all later.”

With a huff of grumpiness, Twilight Sparkle ran from the table and quickly faded into the scenery of the town. Twilight’s mother and brother sighed in disappointment.

“…Oh Twiley…” Shining grumbled, mentally smacking himself out of guilt. “…So, now what?”

“…I’ll go find her.” Twilight Velvet declared rather hastily whilst getting up from the table. “I’m sure we can talk this out if we just…”

“No.” Cadance commanded, gesturing for Twilight’s mother to sit back down.

“But Cadance, we need to…”

“Listen, she’s just having a bad day. She’ll come around sooner than later.” the princess of love explained. “The best thing we can do for her is to just let her calm down. Until then, we don’t want to put any more pressure on her…”