Shining Armor stepped back from the door to Princess Celestia’s private apartment on which he had just knocked, and hurriedly brushed a few errant strands of mane out of his eyes - he wanted to look at his best after all.
He had received a mysterious letter from Cadance, in which she had invited him to meet her in Canterlot where she wanted to give him some rather special news, in the presence of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This had to be something really important, and the fact that the meeting was to be in Princess Celestia’s private apartment just confirmed to him that the expression “really important” probably wasn’t going to do it justice.
He had noticed her recently eyeing herself in the mirror from different angles, more and more frequently, as if to see if she had been putting on weight. He was prepared to take a guess, but wanted to give her the pleasure of allowing him to find out about it in her own way.
“Could it be a foal …?” he thought, and right on cue, a goofy smile worked its way across his muzzle.
He had been a little surprised when Cadance had told him to travel down from the Crystal Empire alone and incognito, but knew she enjoyed playing scavenger hunts and other games, so humoured her. He had to admit that it had been fun, leaving behind his uniform and adopting the disguise of a travelling salespony carrying a case that, instead of a range of samples, actually contained his tuxedo ready for the evening.
Dressing up was fun, but he had decided to go a step further and complete the deception by adopting a Manehattan accent. Mercifully, his self-proclaimed talent for mimicking accents had not been put to the test; he looked so obviously like a travelling salespony, that nopony wanted to strike up conversation with him in case he tried to sell them something. He therefore travelled for the entire journey without any of his fellow travellers even coming close to guessing his true identity.
Even when he had arrived at the Royal Castle, he had not come in through the main entrance, but instead had been surreptitiously smuggled in through the servants’ garbage exit. On reflection, it had all been a bit of a lark, and raised his expectations for a very special evening indeed.
The door opened and he was greeted by a pair of purple eyes twinkling mischievously at him.
“Hello handsome” greeted the familiar pink pony, extending her horn to rub his gently in greeting, before their lips touched fleetingly, and she invited him in.
“How’s your journey been?” she asked, a hint of humour in her voice.
“Honestly, I feel like a secret agent” he shot back, “James Bronco, perhaps?”
“I don’t think I’d love him as much as I love you” she affirmed, fixing him with a coquettish look.
“So, what’s this all about then?” he asked.
“All in good time, my love” she replied, showing him to a sumptuously upholstered seat.
He sat down, but couldn’t relax, so expectant was he that the purpose of the clandestine meeting was about to be revealed to him.
“Where’s Aunt Celestia?” he asked, “I can’t believe she gave you her private apartment; I’ve never even set hoof in here before, like ever!”
“Well”, she said with an easy smile, “would you like to hear about her, or possibly my news instead?”
“Oh, yours, definitely yours!” he stumbled, tripping over his words.
She reached over to him and gently picked up his forehoof in hers, directing it onto a sensitive part of her body, never breaking eye contact.
He allowed her to lead him until he was touching her softly, and after a few seconds felt something move.
His mouth fell open and his eyes went wide.
“Are you …?” he began, his words fading.
She nodded, a soft smile gracing her muzzle as he noticed a slight reddening on her cheeks.
“I – I’ve never felt a foal move inside a mare before …” he gasped.
“Not one” she corrected.
“What?” he choked in surprise, "Twins?"
She simply raised a single eyebrow as he stared at her speechlessly.
At that point, two more ponies came in; the larger one white and the smaller one midnight blue.
“Congratulations!” beamed Celestia.
“We are so proud” added Luna, “Thou hast done well, Shining Armor.”
“Hey, it wasn’t just me” he chipped in, “Cadey played a pretty big part in it too!”
“Yes” agreed Celestia, “you have both worked to create a legacy that will set the course for Equestria for the rest of time.”
“Whoa now!” he interjected, “this is really important to us, but that’s a pretty bold statement right there.”
“No exaggeration” said Cadance, “that’s why we have invited you to a celebratory feast tonight.”
“Just as well I wore the tux, huh?” he preened.
The Royal Sisters stood quietly, one to either side of Cadance, saying little, almost as if they were subservient in some way.
“Would you like to know how many babies are inside me?” asked Cadance.
“What?” replied Shining Armor, “there can’t be more than one or two at most, surely?”
“If I was a pony, yes” came the answer that stopped him in his tracks.
Celestia and Luna suddenly became more alert and adopted stiffer, more resolute poses.
“Did you never stop to question the relationship between me and the other ruling alicorns” she enquired, eyeing his startled expression, ready to react if he moved suddenly, “Ever?”
“You’re their niece” he floundered, “right?”
“That is what we told you. It’s what we told everypony, so naturally everypony believes it. If I was their niece, then that would have meant there were at least two more parents floating around in the past. Surprising that there's no record of any of them, don't you think? In fact, history does not even mention alicorns at all before the unification of the three tribes. Come on Shining Armor, work it out!”
The white stallion’s brain was in a whirl and he made to get up, but found himself restrained; a quick glance showed that he was being held in place by a pair of auras, one blue and one yellow.
“What – what’s going on?" he growled, struggling against the magic that held him fast, "are you Chrysalis, come back to try and finish me off? We beat you before, and we’ll beat you again!”
“That bug” Cadance dismissed contemptuously, “she very nearly spoiled our plans by alerting Equestria to the presence of insect based equines. Even now, nopony has guessed that the country was being ruled by two of them!”
He struggled again, pulling with all his considerable strength, but was still held tightly. Now he knew, he was not among friends and was definitely not in control.
“You aren’t the real Princesses! What have you done with them?” he demanded.
“Oh, but we are the real Princesses and always have been” said Cadance, circling around him slowly with a deliberate air of detached menace, the other two still resolutely solemn as prison warders.
“Equestria is home to a number of equine based beings. On the one hoof are earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi; none of whom are alicorns. Then, on the other hoof are the insectoid based ponies, which include the changelings and ourselves. Although we do not share quite the same lineage, we do have one thing in common; we're all alicorns. Surely you must have noticed that even the most mundane changelings have wings and a horn? You're not very observant, are you darling?” she whispered in his ear, gently running a forehoof up his throat to his muzzle as he strained to pull his head away from her, trying desperately to free himself.
She pulled away and threw her head back, laughing pitilessly at him as Celestia and Luna looked on, scrutinising his every move. He relaxed fractionally, although his heart continued to pump furiously and turned his head back to take in his captors, feeling a wave of nausea wash over him.
“You mean, I’ve been sharing my bed with something that is more insect than pony?” he spat, looking visibly shaken.
“Oh, you've shared more than that, haven’t you darling?” purred Cadance seductively, "I must thank you for your frequent and copious contributions. In fact, that movement you felt inside me is my first clutch of eggs. You see I’m a Queen, and you have kindly provided me the means to produce offspring for centuries to come. Congratulations, you're a father!”
Shining Armor looked visibly sick.
“Celestia and Luna are in fact my sisters” Cadance continued, “You see, in our race there is one Queen who lays the eggs and all other grubs become workers; infertile creatures whose role it is to protect the hive and nurture the young. We all hatched at the same time, but because of the complexity of my reproductive organs, it has taken me longer to reach maturity. In the time I was developing, my sisters prepared Equestria for my arrival. They met every threat and now rule unopposed; the perfect conditions in which my hive can thrive. All I needed to do was to find a mate, and you were so very eager.”
Shining Armour could not clear his mind of the image of a bellyful of eggs hatching into wriggling grubs, and blanched at the role he had inadvertently played in helping to create the most potent threat Equestria had ever seen. Without leaders of their own to rival Celestia and Luna, the ponies he knew and loved would be overwhelmed; it would be carnage.
“There is now only one more act to perform” said Cadance, “I believe you are aware of the praying mantis. Do you know what the female does to her mate once having mated successfully?”
Shining Armor knew all too well the fate of a male praying mantis and struggled against his magic bonds as if his life depended on it, but the grip still held him tight.
“I’ll be missed!” he blurted in desperation, “There’ll be questions!”
“I don’t think so” said Cadance eyeing him hungrily, “You see, nopony knows you’re here. They all think you’re in the Crystal Empire, and that is where the search will be conducted.”
“There will be a state funeral, of course” said Celestia, moving towards him with cold detachment in her eyes.
“With an empty coffin” added Luna, closing in.
“Goodbye darling” said Cadance, “and thank you for everything.”
