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FOALCON CLOP CHAPTER, SEXUAL THEMES ABOUND FROM HERE ON, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED #####

You worry too much, Lulu.

You may have faith in your student, but she has yet to prove herself without the elements.

Trust me, she is more than capable of handling this task.

Are you sure you don't want me to go as well?

Yes, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are already there. The others will be joining them soon.

The empire's magic is powerful. It cannot fall again, my sister.

She will succeed at her task. And when she does, we'll know that she is that much closer to being ready.

Ahem.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The filly laid in her bed, not wanting to get up. She felt horrible, even after apologizing to those two fillies, who she learned were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. How could I let myself get carried away like that? Why didn't you warn me?

You needed to experience it for yourself. Besides, you wouldn't have listened to me even if I did. Emotions can be very powerful, both for good and bad. I don't disapprove of what you did, but others see it differently. A balance must be struck between what is desirable, and what is acceptable.

"Somnia, are you gonna get up? I was really hoping we could practice today." Spike poked her with his wooden sword. The past couple of days they had been practicing sword fighting since Somnia wasn't allowed outside the library. They were getting decent at handling the swords, although that only made the impacts all the more painful.

"Ugh!" Somnia lifted herself from her bed, following Spike to the lower level. Once wielding the wooden sword in her teeth, she closed her eyes and focused on the task at hoof. No more moping, no more regrets, there is only the fight.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Spike taunted, hoping to get her to make the first move. Opening her eyes, she went in for a swipe only to be stopped by a purple aura.

"Not today, you two. We're going to be seeing the other princesses later, and I don't want to answer questions why you two are all bruised up." Twilight turned from her desk to look at the two stuck in combat stances. Letting them go, they both put their swords down on the small towel Twilight set up for them.

"But there's nothing to dooooooo!" Somnia whined, pushing against Twilight. "Can I plllleeeeeeeaaaasssseee go outside?"

"You're still grounded until after the Princess Summit, missy." Twilight pushed aside some mane that had fallen in front of Somnia's eyes. "If you hadn't scared those two fillies, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"I didn't mean to!"

"Yet you did." Twilight countered. "Actions have consequences, even if you had the best intentions standing up for your friends."

"Can I at least have acce--"

"For the last time, no!" Twilight spun back around, not willing to entertain another plea to have access to the restricted section of the library. For a such a young filly, she certainly was more 'adventurous' than those her age, likely due to being exposed to such things every night as she unfortunately had learned. If only I had a spare bedroom...

"Aww." Somnia walked over to the fiction shelf, picking out a few picture books to work through. While she still didn't know a whole lot about how to read Ponish, the pictures helped move her along.

Moving up to her bed, she plopped down and began working through the first book. Halfway through, she turned over to look at a particular part of the wall. Slowly making her way over, she carefully opened the secret compartment. Her smile turned to a frown as she discovered it was empty.

"He hid his stash elsewhere. Nice try, but after the second time we both caught on." Twilight called up.

"Oh come on! You read them too!"

"No I don't. It's disgusting." Twilight turned in her chair to look up to the annoyed filly. "And you shouldn't either. It's not healthy. I tolerate Spike because he at least doesn't make a mess."

"It's not that bad!"

"You make the whole room reek and I have to wash your sheets every day! I have to sleep up there too, you know!" She shook her head. "And I don't want to give Spike any ideas. You're both too young for that."

"But I did it with my cousin! I'm old enough!"

"Somnia..." Twilight rubbed her eyes. "Too much information..."

"Give me access to the restricted section and I'll go to the bathroom!" She demanded, a wicked grin on her face. "Or I'll give you all the dirty little details from when we--".

"That's it!" Twilight levitated a key over. "Make sure to lock it back up when you are done and put the key in that secret drawer. I don't want to deal with this."

"Thunk you!" Somnia mumbled as she happily carried the key over to the restricted section. Opening it up, she entered the small closet, looking through the various books. There it was, the book she was looking for.

Taking the book with her, she didn't go to the bathroom, but instead Twilight's desk. Dropping to book down on the side of the table, she smirked to her mother.

"Somnia! I thought... you..." She saw the title of the book and blushed. "Was this in the restricted section?"

The filly nodded. "I'm off to have my fun, unless you wan--"

"No! Go!" Twilight pointed away from her desk, the filly happily trotting off back to the restricted section to pick out her material of choice. Turning her attention to the book, Twilight opened it up and flipped through it, making sure it was still in good condition. Sighing, she opened her desk and put it away, she'd deal with sorting it later. How did she know it was--

"How's 'A Diamond in the Rough'?" Somnia called out, sending shivers up Twilight's back.

"I-I wouldn't know." Twilight went back to her letter, hiding a blush.

"I think I'm going to read th- Oh, what's this?" Somnia trotted back, a small booklet in her mouth.

"Somnia, if it's anoth--" She stopped as soon as she saw the cover, or lack thereof. "GIVE ME THAT!"

The filly jumped backwards. "I'm goin' to Rarity!" She tried running to the stairs but was stopped by Twilight's magic.

"How long did you know that was in there?!" Twilight demanded, taking the booklet from Somnia's mouth.

"Since Spike accidentally put in in there yesterday. I must say, it's quite the inspired read." She smirked, having read bits and pieces the previous day when Spike accidentally left the cabinet unlocked.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Tell. Nopony."

"Let me outside, and I'll consider not telling Rarity."

"She'll never believe you."

"I'll find it again unless you destroy it. Alternatively, if you want to keep your great work..." She gave her cutest smile.

Twilight bit her tongue. "Go have your fun."

"I just did. Thank you!" Somnia trotted back over to the restricted section, locking it up without taking anything out.

"But I thought--"

"I get enough material from my dreams. Real stuff is better than fake stuff." She shrugged, putting the key away in the secret drawer. "See ya for lunch!"

Once the filly had left, Twilight opened the booklet, making sure the devil hadn't tampered with anything. Everything was just as she left it, but since she had time to herself...

"...I love you, Charity. I wish we could stay like this forever." Somnia giggled as she approached Carousel Boutique. Hopefully Sweetie Belle would be home, or at the very least that Rarity would know where she was. Entering into the boutique, she didn't spot anypony attending the front room, so she decided to have a look at the dresses while she waited for Rarity. If one thing could be said about Rarity's work, it's that she really did put a lot of care into making them the best possible. A tired Rarity exited the backroom, work glasses still on and mane messy.

"Welcome to Caros- Oh, Somnia? I thought you were grounded?"

"I was, but mom and I came to an arrangement." She smiled knowingly.

"Ehhh, right." Rarity said uncertain what to make the devious filly. "If you're looking for Sweetie Belle, she's at school right now."

"Oh..." Somnia thought of what else she could do. She still needed to see Isirilas, but that could wait until after the summit. Although, she did want to speak with Fluttershy about how she knew them. "I guess Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are also busy..."

"I'm sorry. If you would like, you can model for me." Rarity opened the door to her backroom, smiling hopefully.

"Hmm... I have nothing better to do, so sure." Somnia happily trotted into the backroom.

"Just stand on that platform." Rarity motioned to a small elevated area. Hopping onto the platform, Somina had no method of seeing what exactly Rarity was doing at her desk. She brought over some fabrics and sheets of paper with designs on them. "I've been dying to try these designs for fillies but Sweetie has been too busy lately to help me out. Hold still while I work and tell me if you feel uncomfortable."

The two worked for what felt like days to Somnia, her legs ached from standing still so long, but at least Rarity always had something to talk about.

"Hmm..." Rarity examined the pseudo-dress on her model, carefully studying it. "Would you like to move around a bit?"

Somnia got down from the pedestal, taking a brief walk around the room. The dress had a bit of extra room for her wings that rubbed a bit too much for her liking. When she got back onto the pedestal, she gave her answer: "Still rubs the wings too much."

Taking off the extra pouches, Rarity took a closer look around the wings. "Yes, I see why now. Your wings don't have feathers."

"What do you mean they aren't feath- EEP!" She shrieked as Rarity carefully touched her wing. "S-Stop!"

"Darling, your wings aren't entirely made of feathers. There seems to be--"

"P-Please s-stop..." Somnia panted out, Rarity ran her hoof between the 'feathers' with absolute fascination, getting the filly to the point where her legs shook.

"Hmm?" Rarity looked up from the wings she was examining to see the panicked expression from the filly. "Oh. OH!" She backed away. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot! I didn't know it was that bad. Scootaloo always let me--" Her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Rainbow Dash."

"J-Just no more touching!" Somnia took deep breaths while Rarity took off the mock dress.

"Um..." Rarity looked over the dress. "I really am sorry." She put the dress into a basket on the other side of the room filled with other materials that need washing. "I didn't realize you were that sensitive."

Shakily stepping down from the platform, Somnia finally noticed the droplets, giving a disappointed sigh. "I probably should have taken mom up on that offer."

"Pardon?" Rarity raised a brow suspiciously.

"It's nothing, we made a deal about when I have to, well, you know?" She blushed.

"Oh dear..." The fashionista went over to give Somnia a hug. "I didn't realize she was into that sort of thing."

"Huh?"

"You really should deal with your needs on your own. Other ponies think poorly on parents helping their foals with those sorts of feelin--"

"What?! I'm talking about clopping!" Somnia stared at Rarity. "She didn't want me doing it in my bed."

Rarity blushed, looking away from the filly. "I-I thought- Nevermind, let's forget this conversation ever happened."

"Agreed."

WAKE UP!

"Huh?" Somnia opened her eyes, seeing she was being carried mid-air in a purple aura. She looked around, spotting her embarrassed mother carrying her through the train car.

"You're awake?" She asked, opening a door to a private compartment.

"Um, yes? Why are we--"

Twilight set her down on the bed in the room and closed the door behind her. "Exactly how often are these urges of yours?" She sat next to Somnia. "I know I said I didn't want to know, and I still don't, but I don't want you to..."

"To what?" A confused Somnia asked her embarrassed mother.

With a sigh: "You were clopping in your sleep, and Rarity said you made a bit of a mess at the boutique when she was touching your wings."

"Oh, um..." Somnia thought back to her time in Excalicorn, a bit embarrassed at the repeat of the other time she was invited to a royal summit by her mother. "Daily? Twice a day?"

"Ugh!" Twilight put her head in her hooves. "You're as bad as a stallion."

"Sorry?" She shrugged uncertainly. "I usually had somepony to help out."

"Just... do what you need to. I shouldn't have to tell you that it isn't appropriate to do things like that in public." Twilight got up to leave.

"Yeah. I know." Somnia turned down to the floor, waiting until her mother left. Once she had, she pounded her hooves on the pillows angrily. Buck you, buck you, buck you!

Excuse me? You're the one who has these fantasies.

I wouldn't if you hadn't bucked up!

It was an entirely intentional feature of the gene-writing, as I've told you.

Like that makes me feel any better!

Would you have liked one of the other sacrifices to be with you? How about the serial killer from Troti? Or the foal rapist from the border territories? Admit it, I'm the best choice.

Buck you! She slammed her head into the pillow. He was right, out of all the ponies and creatures used in the experiment on her, he was the only one who hadn't committed a severe disharmonious offense, other than sacrificing thousands of ponies in his brutal experiments. It still didn't sooth her nerves though.

Look on the bright side, at least siring heirs to assist with royal duties won't be difficult. Speaking of--

"Ugh, I'm not going to try getting pregnant again!" She got up from the bed, marching her way back to the royal car. She opened the door to embarrassed looks from the other ponies inside, Spike even had a pillow on his lap. The smell still was noticeable through the perfume Rarity used to cover it up.

The filly walked over and sat on the blanket where she had previously sat, staring out the window hoping to forget all of this. Twilight wrapped her wing around Somnia, putting her own head on the filly's so that the two could look out the window together.

"Hey, I got something for you." Twilight whispered in her ear. Passing a small bottle over her shoulder, Somnia took a brief look at it. Many of the words she didn't really know. "It helps. Take one whenever it gets too bad, okay?" She kissed the top of Somnia's head.

"Thanks." Somnia whispered back, turning the bottle in her hoof.

"Look's just like it used to!" Somnia's eyes shimmered as she stared up at the massive spire in front of them.

"It was made back then? But why?" Twilight traced the filly's gaze to the Crystal Heart, spinning slowly at its place on the base with the black crow hopping around it searching for food scraps.

"It wouldn't even be standing if it wasn't for me. Remember that time I saved the Crystal Empire from King Sombra?" Spike not-so-humbly bragged.

"We know. Ya tell us every time we come here." Applejack rolled her eyes. The group walked over to where the Crystal Heart gently spun, crow flying away.

"Hey, Twilight, it's pretty awesome that your attending your first Princess Summit. Ya feelin' the pressure?" Rainbow Dash nudged her friend.

"Oh, I am excited. But, to be honest, I'm a little nervous too." She answered.

"You're 'nervicited'! It's like you wanna jump up and down and yell 'YAY ME!' But you also wanna curl up in a teeny-tiny ball and hide at the same time!" Pinkie acted out her response. "We've all been there!"

"I'm there almost every day." Fluttershy added.

"You've got no reason to fret, Twi. Everything's gonna be just fine." Applejack reassured the princess.

"Twilight, darling, why don't you wear your crown?" Rarity questioned, giving a glance to the filly donning the large jewelry piece.

"Just feel a little self-conscious about wearing it. There's been a lot that has happened the past week and I haven't gotten accustomed to all the change yet." She smiled to Somnia. "Though, it does look good on her." The two giggled.

"You are a princess now, Twilight. Embrace it!" Rarity wrapped a leg around Twilight's withers. "I'm telling you, if I had a crown like that, I would never take it off. Why, I'd sleep in the thing."

"The queen slept with her amulet on every night!" Somnia chimed in. "I don't know how she ever got used to that though."

"Sounds dangerous." Fluttershy included as they began making their way up the steps into the castle. The occasional guard bowed to the group, and the patrolling guards gave quick salutes before continuing on their way. The guards to the throne room opened the doors to the fanfare of horns.

One guard stood out compared to the others, a single pegasus guard with luscious orange fur, accented by gorgeous blue hair that shimmered in the beams of light that came from the large, vertical windows. His muscles were lean, but not--

Twilight was brought from her thoughts as she collided directly into him. He looked briefly at the blushing princess before clearing his throat: "Her highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Cadance laughed as she trotted over to the embarrassed purple princess. "Twilight! It's always good to see you!" They embraced, the filly approaching the orange guard curiously.

"We have so much to discuss." Celestia cut in, approaching from the throne. "But it can wait until tomorrow. You all look tired from your journey. The guards will show you all to your rooms. Sleep well, everypony!"

"This way, your majesty." The orange guard led the group down the hallways. He assigned the rooms for each of the other elements before reaching Twilight's room a ways around the corner. "And here is your room, your highness. Princess Cadance had three beds setup for your family."

"Thank you, sir." Twilight nodded to him approvingly.

"But I'm not tired!" Somnia complained. "Hey, wanna play a few board games before bed?" She asked the three others present.

"My apologies, but I must be finishing my duties." The guard gave one last bow, leaving the other three.

"Hmm... We have time for one game before bed." Twilight opened the door, going over to the closet to see what they had available. There wasn't really anything in the room to play, but she heard giggling behind her. Turning, she saw a blanket draped over Spike like a robe, Somnia wielding a longer pillow she grabbed from her bed.

"Get back, foul wizard!"

"You cannot beat me, filly!" He gave a gravelly voice. "For I have turned those you love against you!"

At her cue, Twilight levitated another blanket around her, approaching Somnia from the other side. "Somnia~ Please, join us, sweetie!"

"Never! I shall free you from the taint of darkness!" She leapt at Spike, putting the pillow against him as he tried to grab her. Grabbing the sheet in her mouth, she ran around Spike, tying him to the pillow in a prison of his own robe. "Release her!"

"You don't understand, Somnia~" Twilight approached. "I'm with him willingly..."

"But mother, there is so much more to the world!" Somnia tried convincing her, meanwhile Spike slowly unwrapped himself. "The path of disharmony leads to sorrow and pain!"

"Some pain is good~ If it means others don't hurt, then I'll gladly accept the suffering." She dipped her head down to Somnia's level. The filly blinked a few times as she recalled their time at Sugar Cube Corner. Closing her eyes, she side-stepped the swipe Spike made at her with the pillow, hitting Twilight on the face. "Oof!"

"Ha! Didn't like that, now did--" She tripped over the blanket on the ground as she backed up, falling onto her back. "Ow!"

"We have you now, filly! You will never be able to escape my grasp now!" Spike jumped onto her, the two wrestling on the floor for dominance.

Twilight watched on in amusement, at least for a minute. "Spike! That's enough!" She commanded, noticing a slight change in the way they were playing.

"But... Spike... wins..." He struggled out as Somnia held him down.

"I wasn't expecting reinforcements." Somnia giggled, giving Spike the chance to flip her over back onto the floor. He now laid over her, both panting as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I... win?" He panted out uncertain. She was smiling, her eyes longingly staring into his own.

"Spike! Off!" Twilight lifted him off of Somnia with her magic grasp, putting him down on his bed. He saw the look of disapproval in Twilight's eyes, and disappointment in Somnia's. Then his gaze went downward. Quickly, he grabbed a pillow and covered himself.

"Aww... It was about to get really fun!" Somnia complained, getting up to go over to her own bed.

"Take the pills! That's an order, missy!" She turned to Spike. "And no more wrestling for either of you!"

Twilight floated the blankets back over to their respective beds, hoping that this would be the end of it. She placed her crown on her nightstand then settled in for bed, a bit more tired than she was before. Sleep should have come easily, but like the previous couple of days, her wings refused to comply.

"Twi, something wrong?" Spike asked from his bed at the grunts coming from Twilight.

"Can't... tuck...!" Her wings sprung up out of the sheets. "Ugh!"

"Stiff wings?" Somnia turned over, and if Twilight could see her she would have probably seen a smug grin on her daughter's face.

"Just trying to get comfortable!" Twilight managed to get her wings to calm down briefly, right before they shot back up. "Ugh!"

Both Spike and Somnia laughed at Twilight's misfortunes. "Oh yeah? How do you deal with stiff wings then?"

"Oh, you know, this and that." Somnia made a licking noise.

"SOMNIA! Not in bed!"

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SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU DON'T LIKE FOALCON! IT'S COMPLETELY OPTIONAL! #####

Spike couldn't get to sleep. He was too worked up and embarrassed about what happened. What was Somnia to him? His sister? Niece? Sure, they weren't related but it still felt weird. She wasn't proper like Rarity, or on the edge of messy like Applejack. She was simply messy, and very energetic.

"Hey, Spike." A quiet voice whispered next to his ear.

"Yeah?" He asked uncertain of why she was so close.

"Mom's asleep. I can't sleep, and clearly you can't either."

"Okayyy..." He whispered as he felt her climb onto his bed, getting underneath the sheets. He felt warmth right where--

No, he can't do this. She's like a sister, and far younger than him. Even so, his body responded where his mind refused. She giggled. "Wanna? Just have to be quiet so mom doesn't wake up."

"Somnia, w-we shouldn't. She--"

"She's not awake to stop us. Come on~" Her breath against his neck excited him further. "The little guy just wants a friend to play with, and I haven't had somepony inside in weeks~"

Moving her hips back and forth, she enticed him to come out of his scales completely. His breathing became more inconsistent as she excited his shaft with her dripping pussy. Her breath against his neck felt better than he ever imagined.

Her hoof grabbed his shaft, positioning it towards her open maw. "I don't hear a no~"

"Spike... want..." He growled, grabbing down on her pushing himself into her. A squeak came from her but she kept quiet as he slowly thrust in and out of her. Thrust after thrust he filled and emptied her snatch, both panting onto each other's necks.

His member didn't take long to start approaching climax, being the first time he had sex with somepony, and by the muffled moans from Somnia, she wasn't too far off either. Both of them desired release, even if that meant it was quick.

"Where..." He panted out erratically. She grabbed onto him tightly, whispering:

"Inside~"

His mind went blank as his body tightened up at the single word. The filly gave one last good thrust against him before digging her face into his neck to muffle herself. His shaft pulsed steaming hot semen into the filly's pussy as she rode out her own climax, occasionally giving another thrust against him extracting even more out of his dick. It took a minute before either could make anymore movements.

The two panted in the darkness of the room for a few more minutes, both basking in the afterglow of each other's embrace. The filly rolled off of him as his shaft retracted, laying her head on his chest.

"Thanks." She whispered back still partially out of breath, kissing him on the cheek. "I really needed that."

"Yeah... Not a problem..." He closed his eyes satisfied, sleep drifting into the forefront of his mind.

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END OF FOALCON SECTION #####

Bliss. All those weeks without somepony to cuddle, to fulfill that itch. Somnia didn't care if she had to stoop down to a dragon, she just wanted release. Even so, she couldn't fall asleep, unlike her partner that laid next to her. There was still too much running through her mind.

Bits-and-pieces were understandable, but with the sudden change in hormones came the other things. The sadness, the anger, the happiness, old memories drifting in the ethereal plane that was her mind. It was terrifying and beautiful to see it all float around aimlessly. All the horror, all the joys, all the sorrow. It brought tears to her eyes recollecting everything that she remembered.

A small creak spooked her from those thoughts. Turning over to face Twilight, she could see that it wasn't from her, but from the door. A cloaked figure carefully stepped into the room, taking caution not to make any noise.

"Psst!" The figure stopped dead in their tracks, slowly looking over to see the filly waving to come to her. The mare panicked. Quickly grabbing the crown from the nightstand, she stuffed it into her bag just as the lamp fell to the floor. It shattered and she made a run for the doorway, or she would have if she didn't trip on her own cape.

"SHIT! FUCK!" She cursed out as she face-planted the floor.

"Wha- What was that?" Twilight shot up in her bed, taking a moment to wipe her eyes which gave the mare time to recover from her tumble. Twilight's eyes focused on the crown poking out of the saddlebag. "My crown! She's got my crown!" The two rushed out of the room, not casting another glance back.

"Huh? What?" Spike mumbled out, sitting up. "Twilight?"

"I'm going back to my bed. This never happened." Somnia stated seriously, getting out of his bed.

"Wait, what?! That wasn't a dream?!"

"Shhh..." Somnia put her hoof to his mouth, replacing it with her lips. "None of this happened."

"O-Okay." He whispered back as she trotted back to her own bed.

Settling down into her bed, she made sure to position her tail carefully so the bed didn't show any signs of their secret act, closing her eyes and trying going to sleep with all the thoughts running through her. After some time, she didn't know how long it had been other than it felt like all night, Twilight reentered the room.

"Somnia? Spike? Are you two alright?" She turned on the light and looked between the two tucked into their respective beds. A servant entered with a dustpan and brush to clean up the remains of the fallen lamp.

"You were gone when I woke up." Spike got back up, rubbing his eyes. "What happened?"

"A pony stole my crown. Princess Celestia said she will tell us more in the morning." Twilight collapsed down onto her bed. "Somnia? You awake?"

The filly kept quiet, hoping to trick her mother into thinking she slept through the event. The castle servant left the room and the three settled into their own beds, although none would get much sleep for the remainder of the night.

"Sunset Shimmer. A former student of mine. She began her blah blah blah..." Somnia tuned out the oldest alicorn as she stood waiting for this entire meeting to end. She hadn't had time for a shower yet, and it was really bothering her. Twilight managed to spot the mess in Spike's bed, but assumed he had done it on his own, giving him a stern talking to and, unfortunately, letting him use the shower after her. Looking absently between the alicorns, her eyes locked with Cadance's. The princess flicked her gaze between her and Spike, making Somnia turn to the dragon who promptly turned away.

"...know more about this place than even I do." Princess Celestia finished, walking through the group towards the exit. The group followed along, Princess Cadance falling to the back of the pack where Somnia trailed. She took a single sniff of Somnia's mane, smirking at the filly.

"Have fun last night?" Somnia cringed at her voice.

"Tell. Nopony." She mimicked her mother from the previous day.

"My lips are sealed." She giggled. "It's not polite to interfere with other pony's love lives, now is it?"

Somnia found an interesting repeating pattern on the crystalline floor of the castle. Her own thoughts on the matter fought each other for dominance. On one hoof, the royal family always messed in each other's love lives, often to a ridiculous degree. The memory of when her own mother tried setting up one of her uncles with a mare, literally doing so by seducing him into a threesome. That was after her brother had been born, too. On the other, she felt embarrassed for being found out. Is it a strangers place to judge a pony for their love life? Is it a family's place? What if it is for the greater good of Equestria? Does even a romantic partner's wishes submit for the betterment of all creatures?

The group entered into one of the side rooms, a mirror facing the door on the far side of the room with little else around. The princesses took their places at the side of the mirror to tell Twilight all about her assignment. Falling to the back of the group, Somnia, Spike, and Rarity were absently watching, all three seeming to be having their own thoughts.

"You understand the importance of your task?" Celestia finished.

Twilight nodded. "Of course."

"Good. Then you must go at once."

With a sigh, she approached the mirror, saddlebags on her back. Rainbow Dash sprung up and landed in front of Twilight. Rarity muttered something before going to stand next to her.

"Woah, woah, woah! She's going, we're going with her." She exclaimed, Pinkie Pie letting out a squee. "Right girls?"

"Oooh! I'm so 'nervicited'!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"You do realize that's not a real word, right?" Applejack remarked.

Princess Celestia stepped in. "I'm afraid I can't let you go."

"What?! Why not?!" Rainbow demanded.

"Sending all of you could upset the balance of this alternate world, creating havoc that could make it impossible for Twilight to get the crown back from Sunset Shimmer. This is something Princess Twilight must do alone."

"Time is of the essence." Luna continued. "On the third day, when the moon reaches its peak in the night sky, the gateway will close. And once it does, it will be another thirty moons before you will be able to use it to return."

With one last look to her friends who called out words of encouragement, Twilight stepped into the mirror.

"Spike?" Somnia whispered to him as he held his claws in his mouth. Without warning, he charged the mirror.

"Spike, NO!" The elements called out as he dove into the mirror.

Celestia sighed. "Now that is settled, let's go to the round table so that we may begin this summit."

"Um, Celestia?" Somnia nervously spoke up. "Can I have a shower first? Spike hogged it this morning."

"The rest of us will go to the round table then." Luna rolled her eyes. "We'll have a guard waiting to escort you outside your room. Try to make it quick, you will want to hear what we are discussing."

Stepping from the bathroom, Somnia made her way over to the door. Opening it, she saw a certain pink princess waiting for her.

"Aunt Cadance? What are you doing here?"

The larger alicorn smiled down to her. "Soooo, who was it?"

"Who was--" Somnia considered her next words carefully. "Who do you think it was?"

Cadance put a hoof to her chin. "There are a few guards and servants that would probably obey such an order, a few that would even enjoy it." She walked up next to the filly. "Did you at least use a protection spell?"

The filly blinked at her, the smile disappearing from Cadance's face. "Condom?"

Somnia started walking. "Sweet Celestia, Somnia! Did they even pull out?!"

"It was Spike, alright!" She finally answered.

"Knew it." She smirked, catching up with the filly. "Honestly, how he was feeling towards you in the throne room gave it away."

"Really, how was he?"

"He wasn't exactly subtle staring at your tail. Even Rarity seemed to notice." She remarked, a little disappointed. "Even without my gift of love, I could see he really thought differently about you."

"It was one time!"

"That's all it can take." Cadance put a wing around her. "But Twilight probably already told you that you shouldn't be doing things like that. You're young, your hormones are running wild, plenty of colts and stallions would take advantage of you. You're lucky that he's a dragon and not a pony, otherwise you would have an even bigger problem."

"It's not like it's easy to get pregnant." Somnia mumbled.

"What do you mean? One time can be all it takes, especially for a young and healthy pony."

"Have you tried having a foal with Uncle Shining?" Somnia stopped, glaring Cadance in the eyes. "Honestly, have you? How about my cousins? No children in over a thousand years?"

"They swore an oath of celibacy, they wouldn't have foals anyway." Cadance swallowed, feeling that she knew where Somnia was headed. "What are you saying?"

"Alicorns have trouble conceiving! It's why my mom only had three foals in thousands of years!" She stomped on the floor, her eyes growing wet. "Grar told me I needed to start early, because every foal is precious!"

Cadance looked around the hallway, there was a single guard at the end they were headed towards. Lowering her voice: "Are you saying I might not be able to get pregnant?"

"I'm saying it's hard! Really, really hard!" A few tears fell to the ground. "We had one major settlement of alicorns in the Harmonic Empire, and nearly every alicorn lived there so that the chances were increased to have another alicorn! There was even a festival for that thing, but mom kept me inside every year!"

"B-But what about non-alicorns?" Cadance held out hope that she would at least be able to have a foal with somepony like Shining.

"Not the same. If you want to have a non-alicorn foal with a non-alicorn, magic can help you." She mumbled. "But alicorns need too much magic to create a new one from birth."

Breathing a sigh of relief. "So Shining will be able to have foals with me?"

"Yeah, I guess, if you don't care if they are an alicorn or not." The filly trudged forward. "I don't have a choice. Only alicorns can be royalty."

Cadance followed after her. "Who says only alicorns can be royalty?"

It is the natural order of things. The plan left no room for exceptions. Although, with Somnia being our only option forward, an exception can be made for her sake.

"And you didn't tell me I could get pregnant with any foal until now?!" She angrily yelled out, the guard shuffling nervously as they passed.

"Guard, disregard what you just heard." Cadance regally ordered. "It's to the right." Cadance and Somnia continued there walk around the corner. Two guards stood outside of the meeting room at the far end of the hall.

I thought you understood that you wouldn't face that problem in the future. I also never said that you had to start early, only that the royal family needed to start early. I'm sorry if you mistook my approval for an order.

"So all those times my cousin and I--" Cadance put a hoof over her mouth.

"We can talk about this later." She turned to the guards sternly, them opening the doors for the two alicorns. A large round table in the center of the room was surrounded by the regal sisters and the elements. Four seats were empty. Moving to the seat next to Cadance, Somnia laid her head onto the table disinterested about all of this boring royal stuff.

"I'm glad you could make time in your busy schedule for us." Celestia shook her head. "We have much to discuss, the least of which is your behavior."

"Auntie, she's been through a lot. Leave her be." Cadance tried to defend, hoping not to get Somnia feeling worse.

"Oh, we've heard." Luna sat back, giving her biggest and smuggest grin. "Something about clopping in front of everypony on the train ride over? Threatening two fillies on a playground to the point where Twilight received a legal request to show up before court? Causing an E.U.P. mobilization and costing the crown three-hundred thousand bits?"

"We get it! I'm a public menace!" Somnia angrily turned to the regal sisters. "What else? Ruined my mother's life? Sexually confused Spike?"

"Sexually what-now?" Rainbow raised a brow at the filly.

"I'm certain neither of those are true." Rarity reassured her. "Twilight is just under a lot of stress and Spike has always had a thing for ponies."

"Yeah! He's always chasin' somepony's tail." Rainbow snickered, failing to get a rise out of Rarity.

"In either event," Celestia interrupted, "you will need to be taught the proper way to handle yourself if you are to be Queen of Equestria."

"Woah, hold on now. That's somethin' we need to talk about." Applejack interjected.

"I agree. She's just a filly, and she's still new to Equestria." Fluttershy added.

"And Equestria doesn't need a queen!" Rainbow blurted out.

Celestia gave her best smile, floating over a stack of paper in front of each pony. "The plans are already in place. Given Somnia's unique potential, Luna and I talked about proceeding with the plans our mother put in place if Somnia returned."

"As for your concerns, Rainbow Dash, I assure you it is completely justified." Luna continued. "Having a strong pony capable of taking down threats before open war at the head of the nation will do wonders for Equestria's internal and foreign policy. The dragons wouldn't dare raid a nation who's leader could render them extinct without breaking a sweat."

"Extinct?" Fluttershy warily looked at the stack of papers. "That's horrible! Why would you expect Somnia to do that?"

"We don't. It's the threat that matters." Luna answered. "Having Celestia and I on the throne certainly gets a lot done, but we simply won't be able to compete with her when she's fully developed."

Celestia cleared her throat. "Not even considering the loyalty we will garner from creatures by having an unbeatable leader that treats them with integrity and respect. It is an opportunity for world peace, an end to all wars."

"Sounds too good to be true." Applejack grazed over the papers. "An' how do we know she's all that and a bag of crisps?"

"Remember your hair standing on end?" Luna and Celestia rotated. "The oppressive feeling that something was wrong." "The sparks from your horns, your wings extending involuntarily?"

"That was her." Celestia finished, letting it sink in for everypony. "One layer of magical protection was repealed at Ponyville General Hospital. A single layer that was repaired after a second. You all felt it. We felt it from Canterlot."

"We even lost a good vase too." Luna smiled to her sister.

"We lost the entire lab, Luna. Years of work destroyed because of one small slip-up. If it wasn't for those magical protections, I doubt Ponyville would still be standing."

"Nopony is that magically powerful. Not even the Elements of Harmony did something like that." Rainbow sat back skeptically.

"And yet, here she is." Luna gestured to Somnia. "If what our father spoke of is to be believed, she could harness the power to pierce the veil itself into the universe at large."

"There's more ponies?!" Pinkie excitedly jumped up onto the table. "How many other worlds? How many, how many?!"

"More than there are stars in the sky." Luna answered. "In fact, each star is like our own sun, with it's own planets. What you see is merely an illusion of what the real universe looks like."

"So who controls those suns?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"Nopony. It's natural outside of Equus. Our own sun is engineered to respond to our world. Perhaps Grar can go into more details." Celestia finished.

Not right now, everypony seems to still not be fully understanding the depth of their ignorance about reality. I'm afraid I will break their minds if I told them the complete truth.

"Which is why we want to discuss this proposal with you." Luna opened each copy to a particular page. "We would like to form a regency council until Somnia is old enough to take the throne. Each of you were made nobles of Eques--"

"We're nobles?!" Rarity excitedly squealed. "When?! How?! Why wasn't I told?!"

"Didn't Twilight tell you?" Celestia was a bit confused by the outburst. "I included it in that crate I gave her."

"Legally, you are all greater nobility, which will pass to your descendants should you choose to have any." Luna continued, slightly annoyed at the interruption. "Since each of you are nobility and element bearers, we believe it would be a good idea to include you on the regency council. That way you will have a say on what happens within Equestria. If Somnia finds our services useful after her coronation, she can choose to enact the clause to convert it into a new Council of Equus."

"But the council was booooorrrriiiinnnnngggg." Somnia whined. "Mom took me to it so much. They only talked about stupid stuff like money."

"That's government for ya." Applejack chuckled.

"Somnia, you must understand there is more to ruling than giving orders." Celestia smiled down to the would-be queen. "It requires a strength of character to push on in spite of your own desires. Everypony included on the council will give you reports on developing situations which you will need to decide what to deal with based on the information provided."

"Sounds like a solid plan to me." Fluttershy cheerfully agreed.

"So I'll be one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria?" Rarity stared wide eyed to the princesses, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

"Indeed, Duchess Rarity of House Belle." Luna snickered. "It'll grow on you, I assure you."

"I'm already liking it. A lot." She sat back in her chair, contented. "Does this mean I outrank Blueblood?"

"That's another thing." Celestia flipped a few more pages in everypony's stack. "The old treaty is going to be revised."

"Are any of you familiar with the Treaty of Unicornia?" Luna asked receiving shakes all around the table except from Cadance. "The Treaty of Unicornia outlined the conditions of the monarchy of Equestria and the aristocracy surrounding it. Princess Platinum's lineage would receive the highest titles in-name-only besides the queen herself. It is by this treaty that my sister and I have been restrained. All our royal decrees are derived from that treaty."

"Breaking it will be no easy task. It effectively devolves the powers of the nobility within Equestria. My suggestion is to replace it with a new treaty, one which keeps some of the noble privileges while removing their actual power from the higher levels of our government."

"Why not just get rid of the nobles altogether? They don't seem like they are contributing anything to Equestria." Rainbow countered.

Celestia looked between the attendants. "Nothing I say leaves this room, understood? That is the plan. When Somnia assumes the role of queen, we would like her to eliminate the aristocracy however she sees fit. They are too dangerous to the security and prosperity of Equestria going forward."

"Eliminate them? I take it back, I don't want to be a noble!" Rarity called out.

Celestia sighed while Luna chuckled at the response. "The queen will decide what to do with each noble. You five will probably be fine to continue your lives as normal."

"And what about the Crystal Empire?" Cadance asked concerned. "Will we lose our autonomy?"

"Partially." Luna replied. "You will become a vassal of Queen Somnia and the new Harmonic Empire. The local affairs of your domain will still be for you to handle, however the queen may choose to act according to the interests of the nation within your territory without restraint."

"I don't like the idea of answering to a foreign power." Cadance turned down to Somnia who was still laying her head on the table. "I guess it will give me good reason to try influencing you for the better."

"Now you understand, it is in all our interests that Somnia grows up to be a kind, compassionate, and strong leader." Celestia grinned, flipping the pages back over to the main article.

"Let's start from the top..."

"How much?" Rainbow squinted her eyes.

"My first allowance. Twenty bits minimum." The filly smirked, knowing she would totally win the bet. It had been several days since Twilight and Spike had gone through the portal, and everypony was anxiously waiting in front of it for their return. There was a bit of a scare on the third day, one which Celestia had explained was due to how time ran differently between the two realities.

"You're on!" They turned back to the portal, silently waiting to see who would be right. Less than a minute on their side translated to nearly two minutes in Equestria. Fluttershy was keeping track of the time while they both watched anxiously. Sweat rolled down Rainbow Dash's forehead as her time came and went. All she could do was hope the Somnia overshot, but even then it would be too close for comfort.

Then the portal shimmered, Twilight stepping out on her two hind-legs as she corrected her orientation. Fluttershy hit the stopwatch and rushed over with the rest of the elements to greet their friend, Spike following close behind from the portal.

"Twilight!" "Ah, you're back!" "You've got your crown!" "I knew you could do it!" "Oh, we were so worried."

Celestia approached behind the group as they hugged. "Sunset Shimmer, is she alright?"

"I think she's gonna be fine. I left her in good hands." Twilight proudly said.

Rainbow shrugged. "What are hands?"

Somnia picked up the stopwatch, looking at the time. One second off, but still enough to win. "I win!" She declared, the rainbow mare flying over to take a look at the stopwatch.

"Aww, no fair!"

"You two bet on when I'd be back?!" Twilight glared at them, but with a shake of her head she let it slide since she was too tired to deal with their antics. While the group walked down the hallway towards their rooms, Somnia pulled Spike back a bit to have a word with him.

"Hey, um, you alright?" She whispered, making sure not to get too close.

"Y-Yeah. W-Why wouldn't I be?" He stuttered out nervously.

"You're acting weird, that's why. Are you okay?" She asked again. "Is it really that bad?"

"I-I, uh, oh wow, it's getting hot in h-here?" He ran ahead of her, the filly unamused with the disengagement.

"Dancing?!" The elements exclaimed just before Twilight bumped back into the orange guard she had before.

The guard smiled to her. "We've got to stop bumping into each other like this." He stated before resuming his patrol.

Twilight's eyes lingered on him for several seconds too long before asking: "Who was that?"

"He's a new member of the castle guard. Flash Sentry, I think." Cadance smirked at Twilight knowingly. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Not exactly." Twilight kept walking, slightly smiling to herself.

"Oooh! Somepony's got a crush on the new guy!" Applejack teased as the other elements swarmed around her.

"No. No, I don't!" Twilight denied unconvincingly.

Rarity gasped. "She does! She absolutely does!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't even know him. He just--"

"He can help you with your stiff wings!" Somnia blurted out. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie fell over laughing while Applejack and Rarity suppressed their own laughs, a stunned Fluttershy stared at the filly.

"SOMNIA! NOT IN-FRONT OF EVERYPONY!"

You're getting grounded again.

Worth it!

Author's Note

I hadn't expected that opening 2000+ words, it just sorta happened and I thought it was amusing.

In case you were wondering, I take the early maturation of ponies interpretation, meaning that despite being far too young by human standards, by pony standards she is only a bit young. It fits with the timeline too. Season 1 CMC I considered to be around 6~7, with Season 9 CMC being about 14~15, just before their growth spurt.

For specifics: Talking and walking by 1.5, school and sexual capability by 6 (in the case of high-magic unicorns, seaponies, or alicorns, a bit later on sexual capacity for the others), sexual urges by 8~10, growth 14+, fully grown by 17~18. Changelings and kirin have different age thresholds, being shorter and longer respectively.

General maturity by the time they start school is higher than with human children. Let's be honest, humans don't start getting that apex intelligence until their teenage years (or their twenties in most cases).