A steady thumping started, it was an easy base-beat for most of Vinyl's dance songs, but for some reason it seemed to vibrate even more than usual. Nopony noticed, of course, their hooves were too busy moving to the music.

Vinyl looked to her left; words wouldn't reach Octavia, but neither of them needed them. Gesturing to the disc before the earth pony, Vinyl leaned over and gave her wife a nuzzle and a nod. Octavia knew what time it was, she tapped the control and set the record turning. The cross-fade glowed with Vinyl's magic and slid from one side to the other.

"Let's get this beat LOW!" Octavia's voice, recorded at the start of the track, heralded the first drop of the track. Pony voices in the crowd lifted, screaming their delight and relief of being themselves again. The track was a cello remix, but unlike many of Vinyl's mixes, this time the cello line was written specifically for the track. It stuttered, it ground through the body, searching for hooves and forcing them to tap, to move.

Nopony was immune to the song, not even Vinyl herself, she grabbed Octavia and pulled the mare out onto the dance floor. Swaying, bouncing, the song had hold of the unicorn and pulled her wife into the movement too; even though Octavia was the song's creator, she was not immune to it.

A young mare's eyes passed over the two musicians. "Wow they are really into this." Apple Bloom had been cut a concession by her sister and was allowed to attend the normally adult party. She let the song play through her body and the Tree enhanced it in her head. She looked at Tender. He hadn't heard her, of course. Dancing was the young stallion's "thing" and this was pure perfection. The music poured through Tender, and poured through Bloom.

The young couple couldn't ignore the more base undertones in the song, but they didn't let themselves be carried away in that, it was fun just to move and to be together. Their eyes met, again and again, and before Tender Taps and Apple Bloom realized it the song ended and their snouts were pressed together. Apple Bloom had kissed Tender before, boy had they kissed before, but this was much deeper. She closed her eyes and let the feel of the moment soak in.

"He's not a farmer." Twilight caught her wife's look, Applejack was trying to enjoy the party, but at the same time worried about Apple Bloom.

"What's that got ta do with it?" Applejack looked back to Twilight and Gel. She looked down. "Ah just want her to not get hurt."

Gel leaned over and nuzzled at Applejack's neck, not stopping until his wife looked up with a half smile. "You think he will hurt her? I see a stallion… almost a stallion, as trapped in Bloom's eyes as she is trapped in his."

As the beat of the music stopped, the cross-fade just a little slow, everypony felt another rumble. "What'n tarnation is that?" Applejack got to her hooves and looked around. She looked to the DJ booth and saw Vinyl cutting the music. The rumble came again, at about the same time the previous song would have hit its fourth beat.

"Are we under attack?" Gel started to trot for the front door.

Twilight wanted, needed, to be the first. She spread her wings and "wooshed" past her husband. Everypony had stuck their heads out, the whole town was in the castle and they all saw what happened when Twilight crossed the threshold of the castle.

Gel froze in place. "By Celestia…" The sentiment was echoed. Twilight's mane seemed to stretch and glow as she passed the open doors, magic poured into her and, with her eyes suddenly going pure white and glowing, she exploded in a "dark bright" wave of magic.

She had been grabbed up in a force so powerful, so "right" that Twilight couldn't have tried to fight it. She saw webs of light among all the ponies, stretching between even Princesses Celestia and Luna. Her magically enhanced sight even saw the power stretch from two vamponies and all of it, every strand, poured back into her. "Friendship."

The word was soft, but somehow everypony in the castle heard and felt it. Twilight seemed to charge even more with power. "Friendship!" She shouted the word this time, and back, from every throat in the castle—even the tiny foals—a reply came.

Twilight Sparkle's mane and tail flew backwards with the blast of raw power, the power of friendship. Every pony was linked to everypony else, and every one of them linked to Twilight. She could see the web now, the bonds of friends. The power released her and set her slowly down on her hooves.

"Gel? Applejack?" Twilight had to look down a little more than usual, then she brushed a stray lock of evening sky from her cheek. She froze and looked back. Her mane and tail were boiling with magic, with the muted purples and dark light of the in-between time, when night met day, and vice versa.

"Princess." Applejack smirked, looking up at Twilight. Her heart swelled with delight for her partner.

"My Princess." Gel dropped to a knee, he knew he really didn't need to, but this was too big a "thing" not to show how much he loved his family.

"If'n you think Ah'm gonna scrape my knee for ya…" Applejack pushed forward, wrapping her forelegs around the mare crowned Princess of Friendship by destiny itself. "C'mere, sugarcube."

"Well, this is interesting." Twisty's eyes danced as she watched her brother get up and hug his wives. "She has pushed herself in leaps and bounds. So, bet on who is next?"

Celestia and Luna both blinked at the changeling. Luna recovered first. "What?"

"Well, Princess Cadance or Princess Shining?" Twisty nuzzled both her mares. On the queen's back sat a little earth pony filly, looking out over everything, wearing the cutest smile.

"That…" Rainbow Dash was never lost for words, not when she could call something, "is so awesome!" She danced from hoof to hoof, the fillies and colts around her and Muffins clambered to see past the rainbow-maned pegasus.

"Mommy!" Two little voices exclaimed together, Apple Seed and Winged Pattern bouncing in place and staring at their mother. Winged continued. "So pweety!"

The two knights had happily volunteered to care for those too young to be at the party, but that hadn't stopped them holding their own little party. When the thumping had risen beyond what the music could account for, they had come to the top of the big stairs to find out what was happening. And had been at the perfect moment to witness Twilight's element fully manifesting. "Will mommy get a mane like that? She would be so pretty!" Cuddle flashed with green and flew up onto Muffins' back. "It would be awesome. I could ride around on your back and nuzzle into it and-"

Muffins was blushing from the declaration and reminder of what she was. "I… I don't know." Her horn lit and tried to lift the boisterous little changeling from her back. Of course, Cuddle was having none of it, she clamped down with her legs and stuck out her tongue.

"Of course you will, it will be so awesome!" Cuddle was so full of excitement in the magically charged castle that it was hard for her parents to take their attention away from her, but they did when Gel called out in surprise.

"Twilight, behind you." Gel's words had no urgency of danger, only wonder. He looked past his wife and was amazed at what he saw. "The castle has… it has grown… a wall!"

Sure enough, from each side of the castle, a great crystal wall had pushed out, as if the Castle of Friendship itself had extended limbs out to hug the town. "Hardly a 'ville' anymore, Princess Twilight." Celestia advanced on the family, staring out at the town and the substantial defensive wall around it. "I must say it is about time, how often did you get monsters in here?"

"Every other day." Applejack turned to look at Princess Celestia and froze. Every time she saw the filly, the result of her and Celestia's tryst, she blushed. "Dang but she is cute…"

Celestia actually glowed a little with delight. "Twisty, let her father see her." It didn't take Celestia's words to encourage the changeling queen to carry the foal closer to Applejack; Twisty could taste the anticipation and love in Golden's father.

"She looks just like Apple Bloom did… maybe a bit leggier." Applejack marveled at the filly, leaning in to nuzzle the little foal. She wuffed into Golden's belly and watched as she squirmed and giggled. "Ah darn it, Ah'm gonna have to come visit her."

"Ponies will suspect." Celestia was beside Applejack, pressing against her a little. "They will quickly realize that only one pony regularly-"

"And darn them too. Ah don't care, Ah want to know how my filly is." Applejack felt the indirect lie cast from her back and it felt good. "Honesty is as honest ponies do." She nosed and licked at the filly some more. "Will she ascend, like Twi?"

"She doesn't even have her cutie mark yet, and you are asking if our filly will become a princess?" Celestia gave a chuckle. "I do not know, it is one of my failings. I can read portents about Equestria, and the world around, but of myself, Lulu… and apparently Twisty and Golden, I am blind."

"You'd want to know?" Applejack shared a grin with the Princess.

"No, it would take all the surprise out of life." Celestia nuzzled first the filly, then Applejack, surprising the other mare. "I have a boon to ask."

Applejack sensed something she might not be okay with. "If it involves lying…" Celestia shook her head, her snout held closed with an amused smile. "Then ask."

"Lulu wants a foal," Celestia lifted a hoof and gently tapped Applejack's snout, "not yet, but eventually. You are the only pony who has begotten a foal onto an immortal alicorn, in history." The full ramifications of what Golden was, sank in for AJ. "She only needs one night with you, if you could spare this I swear the sun and the moon would shift at your wish."

There was silence, broken only by the soft coo's of Golden Dawn.

"Well now, Ah don't think the weather pegasi would like it if'n Ah wanted the perfect growing season, all year round." Applejack inhaled deeply, smelling the filly, smelling Twisty, Luna, and Celestia to a lesser extent. "But Ah think Ah could do that." She nuzzled in against the yawning foal's belly, giving Golden a kiss.

Celestia smiled widely. "Wonderful. When you visit next, we-"

"It will need to wait a little longer than that." Applejack snorted and turned to the Princess of the Sun. "Ya see, Ah have a little complication of my own. Go on, cast it."

It took a moment for Celestia to wonder at what the mare meant, then realization hit. The simple spell that let a mother have confirmation was cast. An oval panel appeared, glowing above Applejack. Gel's face appeared in it. "Congratulations!" Celestia spread a big wing around the father of her foal, squeezing tightly.

"Is that…" Gel pushed up, stopping as he saw Princess Celestia hugging his wife. The magic display was clear. "Applejack!" Celestia gulped and let go of AJ, backing away. "Come here." Gel met Applejack halfway, however, wrapping her in a hug with his forelegs. "You suspected?"

"You did too, Ah told you Ah was at that time." Applejack bore Gel's weight easily, her body literally built for holding up under hugs. She leaned in a little closer, pressing her snout to Gel's. "Princess Celestia propositioned me." She nibbled at Gel's ear. "Princess Luna wants a foal. I told her we would have to wait a little while."

Gel giggled at that. "And what of Golden Dawn?"

"Huh?" Applejack drew back a little, still hugging. It meant she could kiss the stallion, however; and she did.

"She is your foal too." Gel returned the little, pecking kisses. "She is adorable and just about the fourth cutest female I know."

"Fourth? Oh!" Applejack let go of the stallion and bopped him on the shoulder. "I am going to go visit her, regularly. Anypony who wants to take issue with that can go buck themselves." Without the filly quite so near, Applejack let her real feelings be felt about that little lie-by-omission.

Author's Note

No questions? The cast can take a break!

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and ~~I~~ they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, ~~I~~ They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! ~~I~~ They will pick one question per chapter.

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