Always There
A/N
This is the third and final story in my Twilight/Shining Armor trilogy. I think I'm going to make AJ and Big Mac versions too, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see if I can crank them out. Anyway, enjoy!
A two year old Twilight Sparkle sat up in her crib, crying. Her parents were at some kind of political event, and Shining Armor had volunteered to watch her for the night. He had put her to bed about an hour ago, and then curled up on the living room sofa to read. He turned on the stove to heat milk for a glass of cocoa. Suddenly, he heard a filly's cry, and went upstairs to check on her. He picked her up out of her crib and took her downstairs to the kitchen to get her some juice in order to calm her down.
Halfway to the bottom of the staircase, he smelled smoke. "Oh shit. The house is on fire." Sure enough, the kitchen was engulfed in glowing orange flames. Twilight started to cry even harder. Shining Armor teleported the two out of the house, into the front yard. He stroked the crying filly's mane. "Shh, Twiley. It's okay, I'm here for you."
21 years after that
(thumb up this story if you like pie)
Twilight Sparkle sat in a big, comfy armchair in the Canterlot Palace library. She had a dusty old book levitating in front of her. Her niece, a pink, blue haired alicorn named Twitterheart, had curled up and fallen asleep in the chair next to her.
She sighed and tussled her niece's mane. She had spent all of her nephew and nieces' lives with them and their parents, her brother, Shining Armor and sister-in-law, Cadence, in the Palace. She herself had practically grown up inside it, and it was like her third home. (Her parent's house being first, and the Ponyville library the second.) She had helped raise them, and felt that she was ready for her own foal. Yes, Twilight Sparkle, element of Magic, Ponyville librarian, and former student of Princess Celestia herself, was pregnant. Five months to be precise, and she always was.
It had come as a shock. She and Orion, the now former Manehatten librarian, had only been married for six months when they discovered that Twilight was expecting. Shining Armor had almost been ready to kill him. Twilight chuckled at the thought, and then wiped a tear from her eye. She was very glad he hadn't, because after that, she had only had another week to spend with him.
The pair had been on their way to a Doctor's appointment when they were in a buggy crash. Twilight had barely made it. Orion did not. Twilight was too young to be a widow. She was only 23. It wasn't fair. Why was he taken from her?
Twilight started crying. Twitterheart awoke from her nap and looked to her crying aunt. Her sad eyes, almost exactly like Twilight's own, looked at her, wondering what was wrong. "Auntie Twiley, whassa matter?"
"Nothing Twitter, go back to sleep."
"But something's wrong. Please tell me what it is."
"I was just thinking about Him."
"Oh, will a hug make you feel better?" Twilight chuckled lightly as the filly practically dived on to her, grasping around her neck. Twilight's brother, Shining Armor appeared from the doorway, and smiled at the scene. He asked Twitterheart to join her brother in another room, and then sat down next to his sister.
"You've been crying."
"You never miss a beat, do you?"
"Please Twiley, will you talk to me? Please? Please? Please? Please?" He pleaded with puppy dog eyes that rivaled his daughter's and Twilight's.
"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?"
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't."
"Fine. I was just thinking, what if I'm not ready to do this on my own? I was expecting him to be there. To help me. I've read every book on single parenting ever written, but I just don't think I'm ready. What if I screw the foal up so badly that he or she hates me forever? What if I neglect it? What if I-"
"Twilight, stop right there. First of all, you don't need to be ready yet. You've still got six months before the foal arrives. It'll take time to get used to the idea, but you'll be ready. It's not a process, it's something that just happens. It's impossible to hate you forever, and you can't neglect it because Celestia knows, you'll schedule when it needs a diaper change. You already know what being a parent holds, you literally raised Spike as your own son when you were EIGHT. And you will never be alone."
"Yes I will! He's not here! I won't have him to help!"
"He may not be here, but I am. And so are Cadence, and the Princesses, mom, dad, your five best friends, Spike is just a letter away, and hell, a whole guard squad! You'll never be alone, and I'll always be there for you."
Twilight snuffled and clung closely to her brother. He had always been there for her in the past, and she realized that he always would be in the future.
6 months later
Twilight Sparkle sat upright in the hospital bed, screaming in pain. Shining Armor was there to help her, to be there for her. I the waiting room down the hall, Celestia grimaced from the screaming. Luna tried not to cry. Cadence covered her foals' ears to keep them from hearing the cussing. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Apple Jack kept getting up to help her, only to have the nurse usher them back down. Fluttershy, like Luna, was on the verge of tears, and Pinkie Pie kept humming away, trying to plan a welcome party for the foal.
Two hours later, Shining came out to the waiting room. All eyes were on him. "It's a filly. Both of them are fine. Just my eardrums aren't. Ladies and son of mine, if you would come with me." Everypony walked towards Twilight's room. She held a tiny pink bundle. Inside was a light blue, mauve haired filly, with dark green eyes. Twilight smiled.
"Meet Lilac Sky."
Everypony instantly cooed. She was such a sweet, tiny thing.
After almost two hours of visitors, everypony filtered out and went home. Twilight beckoned for her brother. "Thanks for always being there for me."
"Hey, no problem. It's my duty." He saluted her and walked out the door. Twilight smiled and drifted to sleep.
