Twilight Sparkle felt comfortable. She didn't feel like thinking right now, though she wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel like thinking about why she wasn't sure either. It's a strange feeling, yet at the same time she feels like it's the most normal feeling in the world.

She hears a voice far-off, but decides to ignore it. She is comfortable right now after all, and wants to stay being comfortable. Or perhaps that's not the right word for it? Though she didn't feel like it, she momentarily thought about a better word that would describe her current situation, and decided on 'snugly'. Yes, she was snugly. This was nice.

Again she hears a voice, a bit clearer now, and again decides to ignore it. She is snugly right now, and wants to stay snugly, thank you very much.

There seems to be a thought floating around her, trying to make her think it, but she really doesn't want to.

Why can't she just stay snugly? It's nice, being snugly, not being bothered by distant voices and thoughts trying to be thought.

And yet, the voice keeps coming closer, keeps becoming clearer. Twilight could even start to see a faint form now. And the thought wanting to be thought isn't leaving her alone either, what a bother.

"Twilight, can you hear me?" She hears now. Well obviously she can hear the voice, how else would the voice know if she could hear it? The voice is stupid. She wants to remain snugly, not thinking about anything.

Thinking about not thinking anything was enough for the thought she did not want to think to slowly enter her thoughts.

"Twilight, I need you to respond, please." The voice and form became clearer again, and Twilight thought she recognized her. Her? The thought she did not want thought but forced itself into her thinking it anyway also involved her. How curious. Does Twilight know this her?

Ah, she does.

It's Princess Luna, how could she forget? But why is she disturbing Twilight when she is so snugly? That's rather rude.

"Twilight, I need you to wake up. You are dreaming right now." Princess Luna said, voice and form crystal clear now to Twilight. Ah, so she's dreaming right now? That explains things. Not the thought she desperately, she now realizes, did not want to think, that is not yet explained. Why does she not want to think it? How curious.

Paying attention to Princess Luna again, she noticed that she looked... embarrassed? That's no surprise, considering what Twilight discovered. Hmm, what Twilight discovered? Did Twilight discover something? Was that what the thought was about? But why would she not want to think it if it involved Princess Luna?

Twilight turned her head towards Luna, something she didn't feel like doing because it was less snugly for her, but she felt she needed to do it all the same.

"Why are you here, Luna?" Twilight asked.

"Ah, you responded, finally. Twilight, you're shortly going to wake up." She replied, not answering the question. That was not nice of her.

"But I don't want to wake up, I want to stay snugly!' Twilight whined. Luna raised a brow at the mention of 'snugly', but continued on all the same.

"Twilight, when you wake up, I need you to remain calm, alright?" Luna asked, again ignoring what Twilight had said. Rude. Still, why would she need to remain calm? Did she have a reason to be not-calm? At that thought, the thought she is still not trying to think tried harder to be thought, and she faintly started to understand why she is sleeping in the first place.

She had been doing something. Or trying to, at least. And she had gotten tired while doing this thing she was trying to do. So she fell asleep.

She wanted someone to help her? No, she wanted... to help someone instead, yes.

The more Twilight starts to think, the more the thought starts to be thought, the less snugly she feels. But she feels this is... important. She needs to think this thought, she realizes.

"We will be there, ready to explain any questions you may have." Princess Luna said again. We? But she is a she. So who is we? No, wait, she knows who we is, the thought is trying to make her think it.

"Now, wake up." Princess Luna says, and she expectantly looks at Twilight. Twilights looks back at her, conflicted. One the one hoof, she wants to stay snugly. She likes being snugly. On the other hoof, she needs to help Blueblood, and-

Ah, so that was it. Princess Luna and Blueblood. They are the who. They are waiting for her to wake up.

Right then, the thought finally makes Twilight think it, and she thinks it, and she thinks about Princess Luna and Blueblood, and she thinks about what they were do-

Twilight shakes awake with a sudden jolt, shivering, feeling hot and dripping with sweat. She was covered with a large blue wing, nestled against a large expanse of blue, and realized she had been laying against Luna's side all along. So that's why she had been so snugly.

Though she wished to stay like just for a few moments longer, she noticed the wing started to move, and slowly her vision was filled with light again, her eyes involuntary squinting. Blinking once, twice, she forced herself to adapt to the land of the light once again, and started to see her surroundings better.

Slowly but surely, while her vision was adapting, the memories started flowing back. How Blueblood had started acting weirdly, her discoveries in the library, and what she saw behind that door...

She looked around, and she discovered she was in a different room, a sitting room, rather than the bedroom she... yeah. Twilight was happy about this.

She wasn't happy for long though, as she soon saw Blueblood sitting a fair bit away, who seemed very interested in the wall away from her, and she started feeling... what, exactly? What was she even supposed to say?

Luna beat her to it. "Good evening, sleepyhead. You've been out for a while. Feeling better?" She asked, a gentle smile on her face.

Twilight wasn't sure, looking down. She was still shivering a bit, and unusually hot as well. She took a moment to wipe away the wetness on her face. Did she somehow get sick?

Luna seemed to understand her thoughts, and raised a hoof to her head. Twilight was surprised at the sudden touch, but did not pull away.

"Hmm, the fever is less high than before, BB, but still too high for any health pony. Do you wish to continue to sleep, Twilight Sparkle, until you feel better? Or..." she said, but Twilight understood what she wanted to ask.

Or do you want to talk about how we were going at it like rabbits?

"No, no, I'll-" her throat was dry, and she had trouble speaking. Thankfully, Luna had already prepared a pitcher and a few glasses of crystal clear water and offered a glass to her, which Twilight eagerly accepted. She drank it down in one continuous gulp, felt a bit refreshed now, and continued.

"I'll be... fine." Twilight managed to blurt out, though still not without some effort. She wanted to sleep, Celestia yes, but her curiosity demanded answers right now, so staying awake it was. Luna and Blueblood exchanged a glance at this, nodded, and Luna got up, moving to sit next to him.

"So, where do you want to begin?" Luna asked, a smile still on her face. Twilight had no idea how she could say that without any embarrassment, but that suited her just fine.

"Why him?" Though it was an obvious first question, Twilight did not mean to make it sound so harsh. Even if this relation still somewhat counted as incestuous, Blueblood even regularly calling her and Celestia "aunts" despite how much removed they are, Twilight could clearly see from how they were sitting next to each other that they loved each other.

Well, the rather rough sex she observed also confirmed that conclusion, but she didn't want to think about that yet. Actually, did he even... no, that's for later.

"I mean, why Blueblood? I mean, I get that... he is desirable, yes. But he has always rejected everyone even before... before you returned. And Blueblood, why Luna?" She said, starting to get the hang of talking a bit again a bit more even with her raging fever, more carefully choosing her words.

Luna pondered for a bit, before answering with a slight blush.

"Because he was the first to accept me, I suppose." She replied, "Where everyone still saw Nightmare Moon, only he saw.. Luna. Lulu. Me. And he never did any other way."

Blueblood responded in kind, still visibly embarrassed, but seemingly determined to prove his love for Luna.

"And I met a pony that did not try to win me over because of my family name, my accomplishments, or my influence. To Luna, I was not a Prince, a diplomat or a personal student of Celestia, I was just Blueblood. BB. She too was the first to ever do so. Does that sufficiently answer it?" He finished, and Twilight nodded. Good, they are being open and honest, Twilight can wrap this up quickly and go to sleep again.

"Why keep it a secret? Rather than simply walking through those doors with some very embarrassed guards, why the need to leave the castle, go all the way to the Library of Magic, enter the forbidden section and use the crystal mirror to end up here again? Yes, I understand that the teleport ban inside your quarters necessitated the use of such an incredible tool like a crystal mirror to circumvent that, but I still don't get why ." She finished, frustration clear in her voice.

Luna and Blueblood seemed surprised at what Twilight had said, though she wasn't sure if it was because of her audible irritation, or that they didn't know the guards outside could hear little 'love' sessions.

The growing blushes on both of their faces confirmed the latter.

A few moments later, Blueblood spoke up first.

"We are... well, related. Even though the Prince family split of so long ago from the Princess family, that is still not enough for some people. Some very important people. If the media ever found out that a Prince and Princess were in a relationship, they would viciously hound and attack us, perhaps Celestia as well, and I would personally lose most if not all credibility as a talented diplomat, accused of sleeping my way to peaceful relations."

That was certainly a possible reality, Twilight sadly realized. Blueblood continued.

"So that's why we absolutely need to keep this a secret. Can we trust you to keep this a secret as well, Twilight?" he asked, genuine concern in his eyes. Luna seemed a bit more relaxed at this, probably already fully trusting Twilight in this. So how could she refuse?

"I... yes, of course, You have my promise, though I wish this could have gone another way. Does Celestia know this? Anyone else?" At this Blueblood breathed more easily, and Twilight realised he had been tense up until this point.

Luna continued. "Yes, Celestia knows, as does Cadance. I do not know if your brother, Shining Armor, knows as well. Counting you, only seven ponies on this planet know this secret of ours, the other four being the castle's most trusted staff members. And if I may, perhaps a bit unrelated, I have to congratulate you on actually discovering the entrance to the forbidden section all by yourself, as well as figuring out how the crystal mirror worked. You gave us quite the fright when you collapsed at the entrance to this side's crystal mirror, afraid of having been found out, so imagine our surprise when we found you knocked out cold with a high fever. It's a small surprise you even reached the door at all."

Any other day Twilight would have gladly appreciated the praise, from an alicorn no less, but her fever was still not going down and she wanted to go to sleep already, damned be her endless curiosity.

"It wasn't a big deal, really. I wouldn't even have thought to search that area if Blueblood hadn't been vanishing there in the first place." She said, and Blueblood could only respond with a sheepish smile.

"Okay, next point, and I really don't want to ask this, but... were you not using contraceptives just now? I really don't want to recall it, trust me, but I can't really, eh, remember Blueblood wearing a... well, condom. Please tell me you're practising safe sex at the least?"

At this, Luna suddenly showed a sad smile, which surprised Twilight, who hastily corrected herself. "I mean, even if you're both clear of STD's, and even if you're an alicorn, being blood-related even to such a small degree could still mean a higher chance of birth defects, not to mention actually trying to keep this relation a secret would be..."

Twilight broke of her reasoning, as Luna only shook her head while keeping that sad smile, Blueblood simply nuzzling into her, as if Twilight is misunderstanding something. Somehow, Twilight has the feeling she does not want to know what their reply will be.

They both looked at each for a few seconds, their eyes silently darting about, before surprising Twilight by the sudden kiss between them, as if to reaffirm their love for one another. Luna looked back at Twilight, took a deep breath, and utterly shattered Twilight's world.

"I'm sterile, Twilight. I can't bear foals." She replied.

Huh?

No, that can't be right.

Twilight looked between Luna and Blueblood in turn, clear disbelief in her eyes. No, it's not that she couldn't belief it, it's that she didn't want to belief it. And then she remembered. The page with the wet marks.

"To defy mortality... give up... on life itself?" She said out loud, not realising Luna and Blueblood were still there, who were both surprised to hear her say that.

"Hmm, Clover the Clever? 'for one to defy mortality they must give up on life itself' I believe the line was? Pray tell, however did you learn that phrase" Luna asked, unsure where this suddenly came from.

But Twilight understood now. Blueblood didn't spill water on it, nor did he want to become an alicorn. No, he bookmarked that specific page not because it detailed how one becomes an alicorn, but because it warned one of the price on had to pay for doing so.

"Give up on life itself". Biological immortality, in exchange for the ability bring forth life at all. And the wet marks, well... tears, just like the ones that were now forming in Twilight's eyes. Blueblood was crying when he read those words, just as Twilight was crying now when she realised the pain he and Luna must have been going through, and she realised... something else.

"What about... what about Celestia? And Cadence? Are they..." She could not finish her question, and tears started flowing down her face. Upon seeing this, both Luna and Blueblood flew forwards, holding Twilight in a tight embrace. They too could not hold their tears, and the three of them became a snivelling mess.

They held the embrace for seconds, maybe minutes, until the sniffing stopped, and only then did she hear Luna speak up behind her head. The effort to say it with a clear voice was obviously difficult, and Twilight gripped a bit tighter.

"Yes, yes they are. We all knew the price we had to pay, Twilight, and we all decided for ourselves to pay it. We wanted our little ponies to continue being happy, so we took it upon ourselves to continue providing for them, to be their shining lights in the darkness and make the world go round."

Luna pulled back now, as did Blueblood, their tears still visible on their faces.

"But you do not have to worry about it, Twilight, nopony has to. We accepted this a long, long time ago, and you could not have changed a single thing about our decision. This is an irreversible change, and we can bear it for the rest of our lives. Do you understand that?" She asked, wiping off her face, as did Blueblood. Twilight wanted to do the same, but something didn't add up. And then it did. And the final piece fell into place.

Twilight looked to Blueblood with understanding eyes, who was pleading her not to speak up. But Twilight knew.

"So that's what all the research was about then, right, Blueblood?" She said, throat still hoarse from her snivelling, but Twilight pressed on regardless. Her fever was starting to flare up again, and she needed to finish this now. "You weren't distant and anxious because you were afraid of being found out. Well, partly, but that wasn't the major reason."

Now it was time for Luna to look confused. She looked to Blueblood as well, not understanding what was going on. "BB, what's going on?"

Blueblood looked like he wanted to speak, but had difficulty in finding the right words, so Twilight decided to answer for him.

"You asked earlier how I knew that specific line, about defying mortality and giving up on life by Clover?" Twilight asked, and Luna could only nod in response. "I found it on a table full of books and scrolls on alicorns in the forbidden section. Somebody had been compiling research on them, and I had the hardest time figuring out what for. But now I do." Twilight looked at Blueblood, who only looked defeated at this, while Luna was still not understanding where she was going this.

So Twilight continued.

"Blueblood has been researching all on his own, without you knowing, because I can only guess he didn't want you to know if he failed or not."

Luna still seemed to not be catching on, so Twilight decided to just tell it to her straight before she passed out again.

"Luna, Blueblood is trying to figure out a way to give you a foal."

Luna was stunned in silence, seemingly frozen at what she heard. But then, just as fast, she took Blueblood's head into her hooves and gave him a deep kiss, not even caring that Twilight was but a few inches away from them.

Not that Twilight minded. She finally had all the answers now, so she decided to get up, find a nice bed; not the one she had seen being 'used' before; and jumped on it, instantly falling into a deep sleep.

It was a good sleep.

Author's Note

I wish I could be as snugly as Twilight felt.