How Protective Parental Love Became An Ancient Royal Tradition
“Sandstorm?”
“No.”
“Chaotic Ruby?”
“No.”
Muttered Xerxes in an extremely tired and annoyed tone. But mostly tired. Xerxes’s patience and tolerance for Hamana’s company through the garden was dying off slowly with each guess. He tried at first to walk as fast as he could from her, but surprisingly, the unicorn was fast. Either that or her curiosity made her a quick pony. Even by Keshet’s standards. So, he decided to float as fast he could from her; but, that proved to be a useless tactic as well.
So, he decided to go to the one pony that can handle her. Especially in this state. His beloved wife Esther.
As much as he hated to subjugate his love to Hamana’s current annatics, he had to ditch this pony for the sake of his own sanity.
“Um, Diamond in the Rough?” pondered Hamana aloud.
“Next.” said Xerxes in a distracted tone, his eyes quickly scanning the green foliage for the familiar shades of pegasus yellow and pink.
“Okay, okay. Ummm, I think… I got it!” Hamana realized aloud, “Spirit! Spirit of Saddle Arabia! Quite the resounding and regal name, don’t you think?”
“More like, foolish.”
“Oh c’mon Your Majesty! At least tell me the foal’s gender! If the royal heir doesn’t have a name yet, then it has to be a filly or colt at this point of the pregnancy. With your magic, you should know by now.”
“Don’t you have a garden to attend to? If I’m mistaken, you’re still on parole.”
“Fine, fine. Be that way.” Hamana dismissed casually despite Xerxes’s subtle jab at her past. If he had said that to her at the beginning of her criminal sentence years ago, she would have been absolutely crushed. But after getting to know His Royal Highness for a while now, in a much more laid back setting like the garden, Hamana quickly got used to the King’s moodiness and learned how to handle it. And the only way to handle it, from Hamana’s side of the relationship, was to tease him.
“One way or another,” Hamana teased with a wink, “I will find out.”
Xerxes rolled his eyes as he witnessed Hamana skip towards some of the garden’s statues just on the other side of the vast, ever growing area.
With all the usual spots cleared, there was only one that remained. Xerxes rapidly snapped his fingers and magically poofed himself to the edge of the garden. Where the entire horizon of the kingdom of Saddle Arabia can be fully seen.
A warm smile gently grew on Xerxes’s face as his gaze beheld his precious Esther. Her back was facing him, as she quietly took in the serene peace of this area in the garden. Esther glowed at this moment. Was it that motherly glow? The glow of the beautiful blue sky with that radiant blazing sun? Or was it simply his rosey tinted view of her? Or perhaps all three? It was hard to say for the draconequus at that moment.
The only thing that can force Xerxes’s attention away from Esther was the large belly that her front hooves were holding. She was about ten months along now, and according to Moriyah and the rest of the kingdom’s healers, next month should be the time of the foal’s arrival into this world.
“It’s okay baby,” Xerxes silently communicated to his child, “Take your time. There’s no rush.”
Acting as a protective force field, all of the animals of the garden surrounded Esther in a tight huddle. They were especially protective of her belly and the area that consumed it. Even Gabrielle, the calmest of all of Esther’s animals, displayed this sense of loving, gentle, anxiousness by having her trunk touching Esther’s belly constantly, and using her massive size to shield from the sun. Xerxes couldn’t help but remember the day that Gabrielle and the rest of the animals in the garden noticed Esther’s early signs of pregnancy before he did. The more he spent time with these creatures, the more he began to understand why his wife found them so magnificent in the first place.
As much as Esther needed shelter from the harsh Saddle Arabian sun, Xerxes could see that Esther was shivering slightly in Gabrielle’s shadow.
“Xerxes? Is that you?” said Esther, trying to turn around to face him due to her protective furry barrier.
“It’s me my dear, I’m here!” Xerxes responded with a wave,”I hope that I didn’t scare you. Or your ever vigilant army of garden guards.”
Esther giggled into her hoof before answering with, “Don’t worry you didn’t. I have a feeling that I worry them more than anypony else in the kingdom.”
Then, she announced to all the animals in a motherly tone, “It’s all right everyone, Xerxes can take it from here. Now go on, enjoy the rest of your day.”
The animals whined in protest. But their growls and whimpers soon settled when Gabrielle calmly shooed the animals away with her trunk.
Esther mouthed the words thank you to Gabrielle as the large elephant led the garden herd back into the lush paradise.
Meanwhile, Xerxes poofed himself to Esther’s side and quickly wrapped himself around her. Esther sighed in relief as she cuddled into the warmth of his long, never ending neck. She cuddled as much as she could into the cocoon of coziness that he had provided for her. Despite smoldering heat in this spot of the garden, Xerxes gladly nuzzled and buried his nose underneath her chin. He let out a satisfied moan as Esther’s shivers shiftly seized. Then, he magically summoned a nice shawl for her to wear over her royal gown.
“How are the chills today my dear?” Xerxes asked, “Better I hope.”
“Much better, thank you. I’m so sorry about these last couple of nights. The heat has been so incredibly blistering these last couple of weeks for Saddle Arabia, and yet-”
“You feel like you’re in the middle of a snowstorm. I get it.” He lightly lifted his buried nose away and looked straight into Esther’s eyes kindly, “Believe me.”
Esther then cupped Xerxes’s left cheek with her hoof and thanked him with, “I know you do, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your patience.”
She could help but chuckle and blush when she added, “And your noodle cuddles.”
Discord couldn’t help but chuckle with her, as he silently took in the joy of his wife blushing so innocently because of her subtly flirty remark. Even after all this time, Esther was still sweetly awkward with her sweet nothings into his ear.
His voice became hushed as he brought his face closer to hers, a gesture that Esther welcomed by wrapping her hooves around his neck, “All the noodle cuddles in the world for you and the baby.”
Like the calm waves meeting with a sandy shore, Xerxes and Esther eagerly eased into a kiss. Despite the romantic passion behind this kiss, Esther couldn’t help but notice the careful yet deeply tender intention behind it. Xerxes’s lips did not press as hungrily as they usually would, but rather they like to gently and lightly linger on her lips. Instead of squeezing her tight, his claws were always calculated in their placement. Especially whenever his paws cradled her belly. He was especially cautious whenever his long body and tail swaddled her.
Not that Esther did not enjoy this kind of kiss, mind you, but this kind of kiss has been the only kind that they have shared ever since the start of her pregnancy. So naturally, she was able to conclude the root cause of this behavior rather quickly. It was the same root cause that was affecting her animals. So, she decided to take his mind off for a bit.
Esther softly broke the kiss in order to pet the top of her husband’s head, which he welcomed wholeheartedly. She rather hoped that this gesture would make his tail wag excitedly as usual. Instead, it was a contained but happy tap on the ground.
But with a beaming smile, Esther “Speaking of the baby,...”
“Hmm-mhmm,” Xerxes agreed absent-mindedly, losing himself in the pegasus’s touch. Before Esther could continue further, he began a trail of light kisses starting from her neck all the way down to her stomach. Once he had reached her pregnant belly, his trail had stopped there and proceeded to lightly shower the entire area with his soft smooches.
Esther tried to fight through her giggles, “I had a lot of time to reflect in the garden today, tehee Xerxes stop! Ha ha! And well, I was able to bounce off some names with the animals.”
Xerxes’s shower of kisses immediately halted. He quickly brought his worried gaze to meet hers, and uttered nervously, “N-Names?”
“Mm-hmm,” Esther confirmed with a nod before pulling out a folded piece of paper, “I even wrote them down. Wanna hear?”
“Of coursssee,” Xerxes lied through his forced, anxious smile, “F-Fire away!
As Esther unfolded her list, she cleared her throat. As if preparing herself for a proper announcement. Then, she recited with great glee, “Well, I know this sounds a bit strange, but after thinking about… but I was thinking of a foal named Snowdrop, or Frost, or even Winter Solstice.”
“Really?”
“Yes really, I know it’s a bit unorthodox for royal Saddle Arabian tradition, but…”
“Ha ha! But when have we ever been traditional?!”
“Exactly! This might be silly, but I got inspired by my ‘little’ pregnancy shivers and how… you would always come up to me and give me a nice warm embrace.”
This made Xerxes smile warmly towards her and tightened his squeeze around her body. This caused Esther to smile and blush, “Like what you’re doing right now. And… I want our baby’s name to always remind me of that nice, warm feeling. You know.”
“I know what you mean,” Xerxes whispered tenderly as he nuzzled into her cheek. He closed his eyes and muttered in a hush tone, “And it will because of you. Oh Esther, did I tell you that I love you today?”
“Oh, only for the one hundredth time today. But just the same, did I tell you that I love you too?” Esther answered sweetly before giving him a lingering peck on the cheek.
When Xerxes opened his eyes, he witnessed the small pony eagerly awaiting his answer.
“Sooo, what do you think? Do you like the names?”
With an unease smile, he could only respond with, “Oh, um, they’re all wonderful my dearest.”
“But?” She added, sensing that there was more to be said.
Xerxes looked away slightly hesitantly, and directed some of his attention to the kingdom down below them. He let out a quiet sigh before explaining with, “It’s just… once we pick out a name, do we… have to announce it to the kingdom?”
“I’m not sure. But if I have to assume, I suppose so. However, that really does depend?”
“On what?” He asked curiously, with one of his ears perked up towards Esther’s direction.
With a comforting guide of her hoof, Esther brought his face towards her again and replied, “If you want to announce it to the kingdom.”
A light hot breeze blew through the garden. It tuffled the manes of Xerxes and Esther as silence grew between the two. Xerxes’s eyes drifted towards the ground. Avoiding the pegasus’s assuring gaze.
The queen broke the tension in the air with, “We don’t have to once we’ve decided Xerxes. This is still our baby, not the kingdom’s.”
“We… we don’t?” asked Xerxes so innocently, lifting his hopeful eyes to hers.
“Of course we don’t. We’re untraditional, remember? Plus, you are the king, right?”
Her little tease at the end brought a quick grin to his face before worry consumed hsi expression once more.
“Xerxes, is everything alright? I’m worried.”
“Oh no no, please don’t worry about me my dear. I’m fine, really. It’s nothing.”
“Whatever is on your mind is clearly not nothing.”
“It’s just… I just don’t want anypony to know anything about our baby!”
“What?”
“I know, right?! It’s ridiculous, but it’s true! And the worst part is I don’t know why! Seriously, I don’t know why. What’s crazier is that every night, I keep having this dream where you and I just run away together, have our baby in the middle of the chaos dimension,... “
“There’s a chaos dimension?” Esther asked with her head tilted to the side in confusion.
“Live the rest of our lives in chaotic isolation,” Xerxes continued without properly hearing his wife’s question, “and live imperfectly perfectly ever after!”
“Sweetie?”
“And for what?! All because every pony in the kingdom wants to know my future baby’s name?! And they won’t stop asking us about it?!”
“Sweetie?”
“Ugh, I’ve worked so hard to not be this way anymore and yet I’m back where I started!”
“Honey?”
“I’m so controlling!”
“Xerxes!” shouted Esther, no longer trying to grab her husband’s attention through her quiet interruptions.
“Huh?”
Once Xerxes’s mind was slightly cleared from his previous, intrusive thoughts; he looked down at his partner and saw her face slightly red from her loud little shout. Due to her panting, Xerxes released some of his hold on her baby.
“Oh chaos, I’m so sorry about… I didn’t mean to… make you shout like that. The b-baby, are they alright?!”
“It’s okay Xerxes. I’m alright. We both are.”
And just like that, Xerxes’s beating heart calmed itself once Esther took his lion paw and rested on top of her belly.
“Xerxes, you’re not being controlling. Far from it,” Esther then smiled when she explained simply, “You’re just being protective.”
Then, she giggled when she added, “A very very stressed and extra protective papa. And this baby is very lucky to have you.”
“Stressed? What in Equestria do I have to stress about? You’re having the baby, not me. You’re doing all the hard work.”
Esther took his claws into her hooves and remarked, “We’re both having this baby together. You and me… we’re a team. We’re partners in this. We’re doing this together. Not just me. And you know why?”
Esther then nuzzled into their clasped hooves and claw interine and whispered lovingly, “Because we made this baby together. And we are going to love, protect, and worry about this precious bundle of joy together. No matter what.”
Xerxes kissed her hooves, and then the top of her head before continuing with, “No matter what.”
As Esther lifted her head away from their claws and hooves, Xerxes then promptly brought up, “Which begs the question: what do we do next? What’s the solution to my ceaseless amount of worry over a simple baby name?”
“Well, that depends. Are you comfortable with ponies like Moriyah knowing the baby’s name once we’ve decide?”
“Yes, of course! Absolutely, she’s family.”
“Well, that’s good,” Esther answered with a beaming expression, “that means this stress is coming from strangers knowing about our baby. Ponies that you don’t quite trust.”
“To be honest, I still don’t quite trust Hamana yet. I know, I know she’s trying and she’s getting better! Believe me. But, ugh, you should have heard her baby name guesses today! Simply awful!”
“Well, we can’t keep her in the dark about it forever.”
And with a sigh, the king realized aloud, “And we can’t keep Saddle Arabia in the dark forever either. This isn’t quite a game.”
Ding!
With the magical ring of an enchanted light bulb appearing above Xerxes’s head, he rejoiced with, “Or is it?!”
“You.. wanna make a game out of our baby’s name?”
“Yes! I mean, no. No, no, no. I wanna make a riddle out of it. After the baby is born, and we secretly share the name we’ve picked with ponies we trust like Moriyah, we announce to the kingdom a special riddle for them to solve. And the answer to the riddle is the baby’s name. If one of our subjects solves the riddle, then the whole kingdom will finally know the name. Simple as that!”
“And if they don’t?”
“Oh, don’t worry. They will. I promise to put it on easy mode. Trust me, it’ll be a snap!” Xerxes then ended his quick explanation with a snap of his claws.
“But,... “ Esther wondered in a concerned tone, “aren’t you a little concerned with the number of Saddle Arabians, day in and day out, coming up to us about the riddle?”
Xerxes then sneered with great malicious glee, “Oh, they won’t be coming up to us my dear. Here’s the best part. The pony granted with the prestigious honor of answering every beckoning call of every guesser in the kingdom will be none other than… the royal advisor. And if I’m not mistaken… I believe that is still Hamana.”
Esther chuckled into her hoof and teased her husband with, “So you do trust her after all?”
“Well, I’ll start trusting her after the baby is born in order to fully carry out my revenge.”
“Xerxes,” Esther lightly scolded in her “motherly” tone.
“I mean, in order to carry out my fun… little… jest. Yes, jest. Better?”
“Well again, that depends,” Esther pondered aloud.
“That’s been your favorite phrase of the day.”
“How long do you think it will take for the kingdom to solve the riddle?”
“For our sake, I’m hoping for two months at least.”
Esther sighed before concluding with, “Which will not be good for Hamana’s sake at all.”
Author's Note
Soooo lol, I might be a few minutes or so late in submitting this entry for this specific day in Fluttercord Week, but regardless I'm finished with this entry and that's all that matters to me at this pointXD LOL! But for real, I had so much fun writing this story for Fluttercord Week because, not only do I get to write for The Mare Who Became Queen universe again, but I get to write a fun lovey dovey, soft sweet truly married/solid version of Fluttercord/Xerxes x Esther where the drama is done and they get to just be together and be awesome together basicallyXD And that made it so much funXD I especially loved writing a very protective yet soft and gentle Discord trying to hide the fact he's protective & trying to understand his own protectiveness at the same time. I need to do more fun one-shot sequel like this for The Mare Who Became Queen cause they're alot of funXD At this point with my history of Fluttercord Week, it has become tradition for me to write something TMWBQ related for this event^^ What did you guys think of this story? I hope you enjoyed it and had a grand ole time with it:) Given what the future Saddle Arabian kind looks like in "A Vacation Fit For Royalty" and given how Discord/ Xerxes and Fluttershy/Esther look, what do you think this universe's version of a Fluttercord child would look like? What do you think their name will be? Is it a boy or girl? Do you think it's everyone's fan favorite Screwball or someone entirely new? How long do you think it will take for Saddle Arabia to solve this riddle? Given in "A Vacation For Royalty", the kingdom still hasn't figured their king's name yet and he's an adult, my hopes are not highXD Lol! Just curious, what do you think is the king's name in "A Vacation For Royalty"? Big thanks to Angeles Cajina on twitter for requesting this kind of story for Fluttercord Week:)
