Royal Consanguinity

PROLOGUE (15 years ago)

The cerulean-maned unicorn pranced back and forth in the hallway just outside the castle’s medical ward, leaving hoof marks on the velvet red carpet that ran through it. Biting his lip, he barely noticed the cold sweat streaking down his white coat and Royal Guard uniform.

It felt like the longest time, waiting for any news to emerge from behind the ebony double doors of the ward. So when they swung open just in the slightest, Shining Armor rushed to the opening.

“How is it, Doctor Healinghorn?” he asked with a slight brashness that did not befit the Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. But he didn’t care. He noticed that the front of doctor’s white medical coat was smeared with blood. Cadance’s blood. But that was okay, right? Childbirth always involved blood. It’s... it’s normal.

He bit on the strap of his uniform and tightened it, something he tended to do whenever he was nervous.

The doctor gave a quick bow to Shining Armor. “Congratulations, your highness,” he said with an air of excitement. “You have a son! You can come in and see yo–”

A nurse came up from behind the Healinghorn and whispered something into the doctor’s ear. His eyes widened. “Oh... I see,” he replied the nurse. He smiled nervously to Shining Armor. “Give me a moment, sir, we have something unexpected.” And with that, Healinghorn stepped back into the ward and closed the doors once again on the white unicorn.

Shining Armor could hardly contain his ecstasy. But he was kept from dancing on his hooves by the possibility that something still might go wrong. What could have happened to Cadance? Or the baby?

Finally, he could take it no longer. He pushed through the doors and galloped to Cadance’s bed. There he saw his smiling wife, wrapping in her light blue magic two tiny baby alicorns, one the color of white day and the other as dark as the night.