Pathways

Chapters

Death of Innocence
Stolen innocence
The Dam Breaks
The End

Death of Innocence

Celestia once again brought the sun above the horizon for another beautiful day. The flowers were blooming, the birds were chirping, and a young alabaster colt was woken up by an errant ray of sunshine. "Ugh, stupid sun, can't Celestia just... sleep in for once?" Shining Armor grumbled before lighting up his horn and enveloping his curtains in his magenta magic.

With a flick of his head, his room was once again in darkness... only for his little sister to barge into his room and start bouncing on his bed. "Shiny! Shiny! Guess what? Guess!" Twilight demanded as she narrowly avoided stomping on Shining's sheath.

"Did you finish a new book or something," was his half awake response.

"No silly, I did magic! I actually used my magic to move something!" Twilight announced, puffing up her chest floof in pride.

That got Shining's undivided attention. "Wow Twilie, that's great! Did you tell mom and dad?"

"Not yet! I wanted you to be the first pony I told," she said with a sheepish grin. "You are my BBBFF, so I thought you'd want to know right away." Before she knew what was happening, Shining Armor had enveloped her in a bear hug.

"Thanks Twilie, that really means a lot," Shining said before letting up on the embrace. Twilight just giggled as she returned the hug. Leaning down to nuzzle her, he caught a whiff of some subtle pheromones in her mane. Without really knowing why, he inhaled deeply once again before realizing what he was doing. "S-so, we should probably tell mom and dad the good news huh?" Shining asked as he pulled away from the hug.

"Oh, you're right! Come on Shiny!" Twilight eagerly zipped to his bedroom door before looking back. "You coming or what?"

"Yeah, go on ahead, I'll be right behind you," Shining reassured her before she zipped off, presumably to wake up their parents. Meanwhile, Shining waited in bed, taking deep calming breaths, and waited for his morning wood to go down. "Good enough," he said to himself once it was mostly back in his sheath. Following his sister to their parent's room he saw the door ajar, and just made his way inside where he was greeted with the sight of his sister. She was predictably 'sperging out at their parents as they slowly joined the land of the waking.

"Mom! Dad! Get up! I got something important to show you!" Twilight kept bouncing on their bed until her mother had enough focus to grab the purple ball of excitement in her magic. Her new shimmering purple confinement didn't seem to bother the filly.

"What is it Twilight? Did you finish another book?" Night Light yawned as his wife place their now slightly more subdued daughter on the floor

That made Twilight giggle. "No daddy! Shiny already asked me that!"

"She taught herself how to use magic, believe it or not." If looks could kill, Twilight's would have at least bruised Shining's ribs.

"Shiny! I wanted to tell them!" Twilight decided to demonstrate her newfound magic prowess by throwing a small pillow at her brother's face.

Twilight Velvet gasped as Night Light's eyes bulged. "Twilight! That's incredible! We've got to enroll you in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns!"

"Dear, do you really think she's ready for that?" Velvet started to look worried. "The entrance exams can be harsh. It's been decades since I first went there, but I know the admittance rates aren't great."

"Nonsense! The exams wont be until next year, that's plenty of time for our little prodigy to learn any more basic magic they would test her on!" Night Light's confidence was infectious. Twilight seemed elated just to be allowed to study more magic.

"What should I learn next? Transfiguration, teleportation, thaumaturgy?" The purple filly was bouncing all around her parents room before she was picked up in a magenta aura similar to her own.

"Woah there Twilie, just start with the basics for now. In fact, how about I show you some simple shield spells?" Shining armor gently placed his sister back down near the door to their parents bedroom. "I can give you some pointers while mom and dad get up and ready." Gently nudging Twilight out with his muzzle, he closed the door behind them. "C'mon, lets head to the back yard where we can have more open space." Twilight didn't need to be told twice. She bolted past Shining and down the stairs, her older brother tight on her heels.

"That was good Twilie, just try to pump a smidge more energy into your spell and it should make a little bubble shield." Shining had been coaching his sister on basic magic manipulation beyond telekinesis for the past hour, and while progress was slow at first, Twilight was quickly learning from her mistakes.

Gasping for air as sweat ran down her muzzle, Twilight scrunched up her face in concentration, and mentally constructed the simple spell matrix Shining taught her before pouring all her available magic into it. What resulted was a rapidly expanding bubble of light magenta magic that knocked her back after popping like it was made of gum. "Owie..." Twilight moaned in pain as she lay splayed out on the grass.

Meanwhile, Shining was frozen in place. Before his eyes, he saw something he never really noticed before. He'd seen something like it in public, and around the house. A nudist society tends to leave little to the imagination, but he never paid attention before. Now though, he was paying very close attention, to his sister's puckered fillyhood, just laying out in the open.

As if in a trance, Shining inched closer to the ever so slightly parted lips. Eyes wide as if afraid his sister would disappear if he blinked, he leaned his muzzle down an inch away and inhaled deeply. He wanted more. He wanted to smell this all the time, wanted to taste it, his body was demanding he close the gap, even as his own conscience was screaming for him to stop in his tracks.

"Shiny, can we take a break? My horn hurts." That voice managed to cut through all the haze and bring Shining Armor back to reality. Quickly backing away and on the verge of hyperventilating, Shining looked down to Twilight who still had her eyes clenched shut in pain and rubbing her temples.

"Sure Twilie, that's enough practice for today. You did good." Shining was sweating bullets as he gave his sister a forced smile. "I'll meet you inside, I wanted to try practicing some of my own shield spells." Still half out of it, Twilight just grunted in agreement before slowly limping back inside on three legs, the fourth still clutching her head.

As soon as she was inside, Shining put up a rather thick barrier around him. "Hey! Can anypony hear me?" Turning to look around within his bubble, he got no response. "Hello! Mom, Dad Help!" With no response, Shining sighed in relief before turning away from his home, planting his hooves in the grass below him, and letting out the loudest and longest shout he could muster.

Once he was confident he got everything out of his system, Shining let his sound dampening shield fizzle out before going back inside for some water. He needed to make sure he didn't loose his voice, or explain why he lost his voice. In any case, he was going to have a long day ahead of him.

"A party?" Shining was understandably perplexed at his mother's suggestion.

"Well of course! It isn't every day your foal teaches herself magic! It won't be anything too big, just some friends, some backyard barbecue, maybe Twilight could show off her magic a bit." Twilight Velvet was already cleaning up the place, levitating various nick-knacks, dusters, and chairs as she tidied up the whole house. "Don't worry Shining, I know you don't like these gatherings as much as your father and I. You can hull up in your room for the night if you want."

"Thanks, I guess. I mean I don't totally hate parties, I just get kinda awkward around ponies I don't know." Shining rubbed his legs together self consciously. "Will there be any colts my age at least?"

Velvet perked up and looked over her shoulder at Shining. "Oh, yes! Your father invited his brother Flash Break and your cousin Star Hunter."

Shining couldn't help but smile. "Star's coming? Well that's some good news at least. I guess I should go clean my room then?"

"You read my mind sweetie! Make sure Twilight does too. It'll be a great way to stretch her magic muscles!" As Velvet went back into 'the zone' cleaning the house, Shining made his way back upstairs. He was about to go strait to his room, when he saw Twilight's door was open with the light off.

Peaking in to pass along his mother's message, he spotted Twilight curled up on her bed, still clutching her head. He was about to leave her be until she peaked an eye open. "Oh, hi Shiny. Did you need something?" She sounded utterly spent, and looked half asleep.

Not wanting to disturb her rest, Shining just shook his head. "Nah, just wanted to check in on you after that practice. You feeling okay Twilie?"

"Yeah, I think so. The headache went away and now I'm just sleepy." Shining decided he'd rather get an ear full from his mother than disturb the exhausted little filly.

"Well, just take it easy. I'll come wake you up in a couple hours if you're still asleep." With a sigh of acknowledgement from Twilight, Shining backed out of the room and gently closed the door. Once he crossed the threshold of his own bedroom, a thought managed to bubble its way to the forefront of his mind. I wonder if she would notice if I peaked at her filly bits while she was asleep.

After physically slapping himself with his hoof, Shining took a moment to banish the intrusive idea from his head. Taking a deep breath, he regained his composure before starting his task of cleaning his room. "What is wrong with me today?" Muttering to himself while making his bed with his magic, he tried pinpointing the problem. "It's not like looking down there is wrong. I've seen dad's sheath and moms mare bits before, not to mention half the mares and stallions I walk by on a daily basis. So why do I want to see Twilight like...that?"

It took a minute before Shining realized he had made his bed to perfect military regulation. "Huh, I guess the bed's made as much as it can be." Focusing on the rest of his room, he levitated all his comics back onto his book shelf along with his text books. Devoid of anything else to busy his mind, Shining found himself replaying the events of the morning. Being woken up, hearing about his little sister once again proving her prodigious abilities, trying to teach her how to make a magic shield and almost not failing and then...

Shining was broken out of his rumination by his member once again making itself known. With a groan in frustration at his own body, he tried thinking of anything other than what triggered the growth. With an ever waning patience, he waited for his body to cease its betrayal. I should ask dad about this. He's a stallion, so he should know why this is happening, maybe even a way to get rid of it quicker. Unfortunately for Shining, his father was busy inviting his relatives over and then setting up the grill, likely planning to make those gross pepper kabobs that give him indigestion.

Ugh! I hope Twilight doesn't get too overwhelmed tonight. At the thought of his sister, he remembered she was still napping. Not having anything else to do, and already feeling preemptively exhausted just thinking about the house full of his boisterous relatives, he made his way to Twilight's room. Not wanting to mess up his own bed after making it so thoroughly, Shining figured his sister wouldn't mind sharing a bed for a couple hours.

Opening the door, Shining spied Twilight stirring on her bed, her sheets splayed out haphazardly. As soon as the door was closed, he heard a small and tired voice. "Shiny? Is it time to get up already?"

"Nah, I just finished cleaning my room and was wondering if there was room for one more on that bed."

Twilight blinked and perked up a bit. "Oh, sure. You feeling tired after your own magic shield practice?"

Shining made his way to the other side of the bed before responding. "Sorta. Plus I'm gonna need all the rest I can get to deal with the party tonight."

"What party?" Twilight rolled around to face her brother with a questioning look.

"Mom and dad are throwing a little party with our relatives to celebrate you learning magic." Shining yawned as he got comfortable lying on his stomach while keeping a healthy distance from his sister. Don't need to freak her out with my dumb fifth leg.

"Oh, okay. I hope dad doesn't make those gross pepper kabobs. They make my tummy hurt," Twilight mumbled as she closed her eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Shining just smiled down at his sister before he managed to reach down and nuzzle her mane with the tip of his muzzle.

"Me too Twilie, me too."

"Shining! Twilight! Are you two awake?" The shouts of their mother managed to wake the pair up as they groggily rolled out of bed. With mild curiosity, and more than a bit of relief, Shining noted he wasn't sporting an erect member before shouting back down in reply.

"We are now mom! We'll be down in a bit!" Shining frowned when he saw Twilight wince from the volume of his voice. Idiot, just trot out and call down the stairs. Twilie doesn't need me yelling in her ear right after a nap. "Sorry about that Twilie."

"It's fine, just still waking up. Mom probably wants to make sure we're up to say hi to everypony." Twilight let out a yawn before opening her door with her magic.

Shining perked up at the magenta glow. "Dang Twilie, you're getting good. It took me at least a week to stop using my hooves to open doors."

Twilight blinked up at her brother in bemusement. "Huh? Oh yeah, I guess I just wanted the door open but didn't want to reach my hooves up." She frowned in confusion. "It took way more concentration to turn a page in a book the first time."

"Yeah well, the first time is always the hardest, but it gets easier the more you use it." Following Twilight downstairs, he was pleasantly surprised to see his favorite cousin. "Star! How you been feather brain?"

Star Hunter's wings fluffed a bit in surprise before he smirked at his younger cousin. "Better than you I bet, bone head." After exchanging hoof bumps, the deep blue pegasus craned his neck to see his other little cousin. "Sup Twi, you been driving Shiny up the wall?"

Twilight was taken aback before she hardened her gaze. "Wha? No way! Shiny is my BBBFF! I'd never wanna upset him." Despite her attempts at leveling as serious a glare as she could manage, the older ponies around her only found the display to be adorable.

Star Hunter smirked and tasseled her mane. "Ha, just kidding squirt. I know you two are like peas in a pod." Unfurling his left wing, he gave her a quick side hug before turning back to the older of the sibling pair. "Hey cuz, how about we head up to your room for a bit to catch up? I know how socially awkward you can get."

Shining's face felt a bit heated before he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Not like you're much better."

"Hey, it's not like we have a ton of cousins in town to hang out with. Plus I do fine at parties, just not family gatherings like this." Hunter suddenly lost his smirk for a deadpan glare. "You know how grandma Twinkle gets." The two young stallions shared a shudder of revulsion.

"Fine, you win. Let's go. I got some new O&O figurines I wanna show you anyways." Shining was about to turn back to the stairs before a tiny purple hoof caught his attention.

"You're not gonna hang out down here? I thought you could try helping me make a shield for everypony." Twilight's pleading eyes were misted up as she gazed up to her brother.

Stiffening up a bit at his memory of the last time he tried that, he clenched his eyes shut and shook the images out of his head. "Sorry Twilie, I'll teach you that later when there aren't a ton of ponies around to mess with your concentration. Plus, I haven't seen Star in ages."

Disappointed that her puppy dog eyes failed to persuade Shining, Twilight hung her head in resignation. "Okay... will you at least come down for dinner?"

"Don't worry Twiggles, I'll make sure your big bro makes an appearance." With a wink and a pat of Shining's back with his left wing, he almost dragged the white unicorn up the stairs until he got with the program. Nopony really noticed the exchange, being too busy catching up with each other. Nopony except Twilight Velvet, but she knew her son wouldn't be showing his muzzle much tonight. Instead she decided to focus her attention on her daughter.

As soon as the pair of colts were alone in Shining's room, Star Hunter closed the door and let out a relieved sigh before relaxing his right wing. As he did so, what looked like a comic book fell to the ground, except Shining didn't recognize the cover. Before he could get a closer look, Star scooped it up in his hooves with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

"What is that Star? And why are you looking at me like that?" Shining eyed his cousin with suspicion and backed up a step.

"This, my dear cousin, is my most prized treasure, pilfered from my father's personal stash." His grin only grew in intensity until he started resembling a mental patient.

"Okaaaaaay? So what, is it?" Shining's suspicion turned to annoyance and curiosity as he took a single tentative step closer.

"Take a look for yourself," Star said, offering the item in question as he sat on his haunches. Looking from his cousin to what he could now make out as a 'Wing Boner Magazine', he picked it up in his magic, taking note of the lascivious pose the pegasus mare on the cover was in. "Go on, open it!" Star sat on his haunches, looking at Shining like he just gave him the best birthday present in the world.

Doing as he was told, Shining's eyes immediately bulged at the sight of two pegasus mares showing off their genitals mid wink as their tongues bulged in each other's mouths. "W-what is t-this," Shining breathed out in reverence, not even noticing his member flopping out of his sheath as he sat back in astonishment.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of porn little cuz. Now, you gonna share the view?" While not having the same view as Shining, Star Hunter's dick was already out of his sheath as he played with it. When Shining noticed, he was practically paralyzed. Star just rolled his eyes before moving to sit next to his younger cousin.

"I didn't know two mares could do that." Shining's own penis was throbbing at this point, but he didn't know how to deal with it. At least I'm not thinking of Twilie.

"Oh yeah, that's nothing. Notice something about those mares though?" Star gently nudged Shining in the shoulder. Squinting, Shining took a closer look. He noticed the mares had inverted teal and orange coat and mane colors, and their cutie marks were both a pair of wings with the colors of the other. Shining's eyes shot open in realization.

"Are those twins!?"

Star Hunter shoved a hoof in Shining's muzzle. "Shush! You want the whole house to hear?"

"Sorry, it's just... I thought siblings weren't supposed to kiss like that. I mean, mom and dad don't even kiss like that," Shining explained, pointing at the mares in the picture.

"I know, it's hot right? Imagine getting to bang both of them at once!" Star's shit eating grin made a comeback.

Shining tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean by 'bang'?"

"Oh, wow. Okay, I guess now is as good a time as any to give you the sex talk." Star shrugged his shoulders before continuing. "See that thing between your legs is called a penis, dick, cock, fifth leg, etc. Mares have a vagina, pussy, snatch, cunt, the list goes on. Point is, when you put your dick in a pussy, it feels REALLY good, and when you cum inside, it can make a foal if the mare is in estrus."

"What's cum and estrus?" Shining was still confused, but from the fact his dick grew when he saw Twilight's... vagina, and seeing these mares, it made sense.

"Cum is the stuff that comes out after you orgasm. Estrus is the time of year when mares get super needy for dick."

"Whats, an orgasm?"

"Wow cuz, you really are sheltered. I know when I was your age, I was learning this from my buddies at flight camp." Rolling his eyes, he pointed to Shining's still erect penis. "You can orgasm if you rub your dick with your hoof long enough. I use my wings sometimes, but it's a bitch to clean them afterwards, so I usually just use the frog or crook of my hooves."

Tentatively, Shining reached out and grasped his hard cock in the crook of his hoof and started rubbing. It felt good, so he kept gently stroking it until Star brought his attention back to his surroundings. "Yo, Equestria to Shining, you there?" Blinking back his confusion, he cocked his head. "Look, can you at least hold up the magazine so we can both enjoy it?"

"Oh sorry, sure. Hows this?" He levitated the magazine up to eye level for them as he continued to stroke himself with both hooves. Occasionally Shining would glance over to his cousin to make sure he was doing it right, but for the most part he just did what felt good. As the feeling of pleasure increased, so to did his pace.

Soon, he was zoned out, not even focusing on the image in front of him, but thinking back to earlier that day. He remembered the smell from between Twilight's rear legs, seeing something he'd seen who knows how many times, yet this was different. As his mind wondered, he kept thinking of his sister. Sleeping next to her, smelling her mane in the morning, taking baths with her.

Twilie... Before he could tell what was going on, his mind was wracked with pleasure as a white liquid spurted from his and Star's dicks at the same time. It was only after he managed to catch his breath that he took stock of his situation. At some point he had dropped the magazine which lay half folded on the floor. Star Hunter was reclining against the foot of his bed, eyes gently closed as he lightly panted.

Shining let his eyes settle on the small stain on his bedroom carpet. "Star... what was that?"

"Your first orgasm li'l cuz. Felt good right? We should probably clean that up before it dries tho." Standing back up, Star made sure to grab his magazine and scooch it under Shining's bed. "Can you grab all that liquid in your magic? Or do we need to do this the old fashion way? I usually just let it fall through the clouds, but your floor is a bit too solid for that."

"I can get a bit with magic, but if any soaked in, I can't take it out." That being said, he focused his telekinesis on the cum and picked up what came out to be a couple hoof fulls of the stuff. "What should I do with it?" Star gave him an evil smile.

"Dare ya to swallow it." Shining nearly dropped the load when he did a double take.

"Why would I do that? Gross!" The midnight blue pegasus looked taken aback for a moment before recovering.

"Shiny, you've never tasted cum have you?" With a stiff shake of his head, Shining started glaring. "Cuz, you gotta at least try it. I taste mine sometimes, and it actually taste pretty good. I just wanted to offer that up to you cause I thought you'd like it." Star was giving Shining a pleading look with a hoof over his chest as he spoke.

Shining raised a single eyebrow. "Then why were you making that face when you dared me to eat it?"

"Because that's the face I make when I have a great idea, and that idea was 'Shiny would love to taste this. I should offer it to him'." Shining furrowed his brow in contemplation. "I swear it tastes really good, even if it was on the floor, we eat grass and that grows directly from the ground. Can't be too dirty, plus if you don't like the taste, I'll let you keep the wing boner mag. I can get another one from my dad anyway, not like he keeps track of the things."

With a suspicious look back and forth from his cousin to the floating blob, he weighed the options in his head. After a moment, he came to a conclusion. "If you're pranking me, I keep the magazine and get to kick your flank."

"Deal!" Star held out a hoof and Shining bumped it. Without further fan fair, Shining opened wide and guided the whole glob into his maw. As soon as he closed his mouth around it, Star had his hooves around his muzzle, clamping it closed. "Swallow cuz!" His grin was manic. Shining was furious, but did as he was told since he didn't see another option. All being said, it didn't taste horrible. A bit salty and sweet, but it felt like swallowing a glob of snot.

While Star was laughing his flanks off, Shining decided to collect on their deal immediately.

"Dude, you're so lucky my coat is a dark color, or there would be tons of questions." Star Hunter was standing outside the Sparkle Household after most of the guests had left, his father was still taking forever to tell his aunt and uncle goodbye.

"If anypony asked, I'd just tell the truth." At Star's horrified expression, Shining elaborated, "my mule of a cousin pranked me so I kicked his flank."

"Don't scare me like that cuz. We might not get in that much trouble, but I'd at least get chewed out for taking that magazine, and corrupting my little cousin!"

Shining looked contemplative for a moment. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was already corrupted. You just made it worse."

"Oof! You wound me Shiny! I'm hurt that you would belittle my roll in your life!" They both shared a laugh before devolving into a comfortable silence. A few minutes later, Star Hunter's father came out of the house and bid his son follow as he took off for the sky.

As Shining made his way back to bed that night, he couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the newest stain to his bedroom carpet. Even after scrubbing it with soap and drying it with a combo of his magic and Hunter's pegasus wing power, it was still a small dark spot on the otherwise pristine floor. I should get a rug to cover that up, he thought. But that's a future Shining problem. Current Shining is hitting the hay.

Author's Note

This is not a clop fic. This is cursed horse shit that got stuck in my head one day and wouldn't leave until I write it. That being said, I and most authors appreciate feedback.

Stolen innocence

It had been a month since Shining Armor's eyes had been opened to the pleasure of masturbation. While he often used his hard won wing boner magazine to aid his stimulation, his mind continued to wander ever more towards thoughts of his sister. He hadn't bathed with her since he got his cutie mark because his parents said so, but they didn't explain why. So besides the one time a month ago, he hadn't gotten more than a glimpse at those strange smelling lips between her hind legs.

All that was about to change one fateful day. It started like any other, but this would mark the beginning of the dark descent of Shining Armor's life. Waking up as he did most days, he found himself faced with his new favorite activity. A month of experimenting with various methods helped him hone his magic to pleasure himself better than his hooves ever could. On top of that, he had all but perfected the art of catching his cum right as it spurted out.

His carpet had suffered a few more small stains due to trial and error, but all of them were conveniently covered by a nice rug he convinced his mom to get him. She was pleasantly surprised to hear her son was interested in sprucing up his room from the usual minimalist style his father taught him to hold to. She likely wouldn't approve of his true motivation, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Not even bothering with the magazine this morning, Shining simply lost himself in the pleasure of stroking himself, freely allowing his mind to conjure up all sorts of fantasies. Many of them involving his sister's foalsitter Cadance, some were focused on his mother Velvet, but most of the time, including this morning, Shining Armor thought of his sister Twilie.

While his fantasies about his mother and Cadance tend to feature them in similar poses to the mares in the magazine, when it came to his sister, he only ever thought of his memories. Sometimes it would be the hypnotic image of her purple slit, but more often, he just let his wholesome memories of playing together flow through his minds eye.

Something about the innocent nature of his sister just excited him for reasons beyond his comprehension. He'd always been close to Twilight, he even got his cutie mark protecting her from a runaway carriage. He loved her more than anypony else, and would do anything to make her happy. Sure, Cadance and his mother were beautiful, but relatively speaking, he barely knew Cadance and Velvet is his annoying mother who makes him do his dumb chores.

Twilight is the cutest filly he knew, and she trusted him implicitly. He could tell she loved him more than any other pony. She always came to him when she had nightmares. He was the first one she shared good news with. The way she looks at him whenever he comes home from school, any time she finishes a new book, or the morning she taught herself magic. At that moment, Shining's ministrations finally coaxed out his first orgasm of the day. With practiced ease, he caught his load in his magic and floated it over to his dirty laundry hamper to soak it into the dirty towel near the bottom.

After a moment of basking in the afterglow of orgasm, Shining managed to roll out of bed just as his penis started retracting back into his sheath. Making his way downstairs, he was met with the sight of his mother putting on her saddle bags. "Hey mom, are you heading out?"

Twilight Velvet turned back to face her son. "Oh, Shining! Glad I caught you before I left. I was going to leave you a note, but I guess I'll just tell you I've got some errands to run. I'll be gone most of the day, but I should be back in time to make dinner. Can you make sure Twilight gets breakfast and lunch? She's been forgetting to eat during her magic practice."

Shining nodded and gave off a small yawn. "Sure mom, no problem. Did dad already leave for work?"

"Oh, yes. I should be home before him tonight though. Love you sweetie, see you tonight." With a kiss to Shining's forehead, Velvet made her way outside.

"Love you too mom, have a good day." Shining waved his mother off before closing the door and heading to the kitchen. I hope Twilie doesn't spend all day in her room. There's only so many more days of summer left and I've barely seen her since she figured out magic. After pouring them both some oat cereal, Shining went upstairs to wake up his sister, and or drag her downstairs for breakfast.

While Twilight was currently awake, pouring over her magic primer, she was less than enthused to have her concentration broken by a magenta aura and being levitated out of her room. "Ah! Shiny, I was reading that!"

"Yeah, but you've read it at least three times and you need food. Come on, as soon as you finish your oats, you can go back to reading." Shining merrily trotted downstairs with the filly in tow.

While squirming in the familiar levitation field, Twilight cocked her head at her brother. "Hey Shiny?"

"Yeah Twilie, what's up?"

"I just noticed we have the same magic color."

"Huh, you sure?" Shining gently placed Twilight at the table before levitating out some spoons.

"Yeah, take a look." As Twilight lit up her horn, she overtook Shining Armor's magic aura around one of the spoons. Sure enough, the color stayed constant as Shining let go and it floated over to his sister.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. Think it means anything special?" Shining just sat on his haunches as he started eating his mildly soggy cereal, just how he and his sister like it.

Twilight shrugged. "Probably just means we're close siblings. Or I might end up with a cutie mark similar to yours."

Shining perked up at that. "Huh, you wanna practice making shields again today? There's more than just bubbles ya know, and they aren't just for blocking attacks. You can bounce stuff off 'em and even use them as platforms if you can maintain concentration long enough."

"Maybe later Shiny, I'm still trying to figure out some basics like light spells, or holding more than one thing at a time. I may have read that magic primer a bunch of times but it still helps to read through the exercises when I try them."

Shining shrugged as he went back to eating his oats. Not having anything else to say, he let his mind wander as he zoned out. Occasionally glancing over to his sister, he couldn't help but notice how she had quickly downed her cereal and was now just lapping up the milk with her muzzle. Wonder if she'd notice if I came in her cereal. As his eyes popped wide at the intrusive thought, Shining nearly choked on his latest bite of breakfast.

"Shiny! Are you okay?" Twilight was at his side in an instant trying to pat his back as Shining sputtered and coughed.

"Y-yeah Twilie. Ahem, sorry I just swallowed too much at once. I'm good now." Giving off a few final coughs, Shining managed to offer his sister a reassuring smile.

Twilight furrowed her brow for a moment before relenting and floating her bowl to the kitchen sink. "If you say so Shiny. I'm gonna go back to reading now. I'll let you know if I wanna try practicing shields again."

"Sounds good Twilie. I'll let you know when it's lunch time." With that, Shining downed the rest of his bowl in a few gulps and followed Twilight's example. While she left to go back upstairs, Shining just made his way to collapse on the living room couch to ruminate. Am I doing something wrong? Rubbing my dick feels really good, but... I always feel bad about thinking of Twilie while I do it, but I can't stop thinking of her.

Shining sighed as he rolled onto his side and stared down at himself. As he furrowed his brow, he got an idea. Before he could go through with it though, he needed to double check something under his bed. Jumping off the couch, he galloped upstairs to his room, nervously biting his cheek as he opened his door and quickly levitated out his wing boner magazine. While he was visibly excited, this time was very different from how he usually felt when digging out his stimulation material.

As he masterfully made his way to the section of the smut he spent the most time on, his pupils dilated as he once again beheld the sapphic twins. However, instead of focusing purely on their initial featured page, he turned to the next, revealing them in various lewd poses. It wasn't long until he found the short article where they talk about their taboo relationship.

Scanning the blurb, he sought out what he had read once before after one particularly vigorous session of jerking off. 'We were always close as foals, but when we started experimenting around the time we got our cutie marks, we just grew closer.' If it worked for them, why can't it work for me and Twilie? I'd love to grow closer with her, and Star teaching me about this stuff helped us grow closer as cousins... even if he pulled that dumb prank.

"Hmm. Hey Twilie?" After not receiving an answer, Shining made his way over to his sister's room for the second time that morning. However, with his illicit material resting on his back, this journey seemed to stretch on much longer as he wrestled with his conscience. Twilie doesn't have her cutie mark yet, and I've had mine for a while, and I was her age when I got mine. I wonder if this was the reason mom and dad said not to take baths with Twilie. But it's not like I'm doing anything actually bad right? Mom and dad get mad about lots of stuff like not eating all my alfalfa, or tracking mud in the house. So if they find out they'd just yell at me right?

Shining was broken from his deep thoughts when he bumped into a door. He found himself standing outside his sister's room. Breathing heavy, nostrils flaring, hooves shaking, mouth dry, and beads of sweat forming on his brow. "H-hey, uh.... Twilight? Y-you in there?" His heart was pumping in his ears as he tried to think of what to say. When he realized Twilight didn't answer, Shining lightly knocked on the door. Still no answer. Not trusting his magic, he lifted his hoof to the door handle and turned it before pushing the door open. He winced slightly as it released a faint creak, but his attention was stolen by the sight that greeted him.

Laying on her back as she levitated her book above her head, Twilight's tail end was pointing directly at the door, totally exposed and showing off her fillyhood. As if in a trance, Shining slowly shuffled forward until his muzzle was a hoof away from the slightly moist slit. As his breath disturbed the purple fur in front of him, he noticed a slight twitch before he was snapped out of his reverie. "Shiny? What are you doing in my room? It isn't lunch time yet."

Shining quickly backpedaled and sat on his rump before he started stammering out an answer. "W-well, I w-was just wanting to ask you s-something." He tried to force a relaxed smile, but it just ended up as a rictus grin.

Twilight furrowed her brows as her ears drooped. "Shiny, are you okay?"

"Oh, totally, yeah. I just, ya know, thought of something and I wanted to ask you about it because I thought you might be interested." Shining's tail was twitching from his nerves and he could feel the magazine that had slid off his back.

Twilight's ears perked back up as she tilted her head in confusion. "Okaaaaay? What did you want to ask me?"

With his heart nearly pumping out of his chest, Shining had to force himself to take multiple deep breaths. How did Star do this? He didn't seem nervous when he showed me the magazine.

"Shiny? You sure you're okay?"

After one last deep breath, Shining closed his eyes and cleared his mind. When he opened them, his blue irises met purple and his nerves were replaced with a sudden calm. "You know I love you, right Twilie?"

Twilight blinked a few times before giving her brother a bemused grin. "Yeah, I know you love me Shiny. You're my BBBFF."

"Good, because I do, and I am. I love you more than any other pony Twilie. More than mom, dad, Star Hunter. I would do anything to make you happy." Shining's face finally relaxed to a serene smile as he poured out his heart.

Twilight smiled broadly as she stared into her brother's calming eyes. "I love you too Shiny. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me. You make me feel safe." Not wanting to just sit there awkwardly, Twilight jumped off her bed and nestled between her brother's front hooves, and burring her face in his chest floof.

In response, Shining wrapped a hoof around her back and held her tight. It felt good to be close to her, better than he remembered her hugs feeling. When he leaned down to nuzzle her head, he took in a deep whiff of her lavender scented mane.

Twilight suddenly backed up ever so slightly and looked up. "Uh, Shiny? Are you poking me with your magic? Did you not want a hug?" When she looked down to see if there was a magenta glow, she noticed something strange. Before her eyes a mottled black and white shaft was gradually growing out of her brother's sheath. "Shiny? What is that?"

Scooching back on his rump while grabbing the magazine in his magic, he spread is front hooves a bit more to show off his growing member. "That is part of what I wanted to talk to you about." With a small twinge of nerves, he once again took a deep breath before continuing. "To answer your specific question, this right here is my penis. I recently learned about it from Cousin Star."

"Huh, is that where you pee?" Twilight's eyes went wide for a moment. "Do you need to pee right now? Go to the bathroom! Quick!" Before she could start shoving her brother out of the room, Shining held up a placating hoof.

"No, no. I don't need to pee. It just gets like this when I'm... excited." Twilight decided to sit a bit farther away from Shining and eyed him dubiously, but didn't protest further. "My penis is where I pee from, but it isn't just for pee. There's something else it can do, but before I tell you anything else, I need you to promise me something."

"Uh, sure Shiny, what is it?"

Shining looked his sister dead in the eye with a look of intensity that made Twilight shrink back a bit. "Whatever I tell you or show you today, you can't tell mom and dad about it."

Twilight gave a confused frown. "Why not? Is it bad?"

Shining's mind went back to another part of that article about the twins. 'It wasn't always easy. When our parents finally caught us, they freaked out, said it wasn't right. It didn't stop us though...' "Some ponies might say it's bad. Mom and dad might get mad if they find out, but what I want to show you will help us grow closer than ever before. Does that make sense?"

"I guess. But what is it?"

Shining's intense stare once again bore down on his little sister. "Twilight, I need you to promise me you won't tell anypony, ever! Not mom and dad, not anypony at school, not any guards, not even if Princess Celestia asks. This is a secret between you and me. We have to keep it that way. Otherwise, somepony might try to separate or hurt us."

Twilight was practically shaking as she stared up at her imposing big brother. "O-okay Shiny. Please don't be mad at me."

Shining Armor blinked before he realized he had stood up and started glaring. Shaking his head, he sat back down and relaxed his features. "Sorry Twilie, I didn't mean to scare you, and I could never be mad at you. I just need you to understand that this is super serious. But it's worth it if we can grow closer. I just want to show you just how much I love you instead of just saying it."

Twilight inched closer to her brother and put a hoof on his. "It's okay Shiny, I understand. I promise I won't tell anypony. I want to make you happy too. You protect me all the time, you keep me safe when I'm scared. I want to do something for you too."

Shining gave a wide smile which caused his sister to return the gesture. "I'm glad to hear that sis. I've been thinking about this for a while, and there's still a lot I don't know, but I'm gonna be teaching you about sex."

Over the next hour, Shining explained everything he knew to Twilight. Everything Star Hunter taught him, everything he found out from experimenting, and the various nuggets of "wisdom" from the wing boner magazine. He made sure to highlight the twins specifically and how he came to the idea of sharing everything with Twilight. Half of the time was spent fielding questions, but he was happy to answer them to the best of his ability.

For her part, Twilight seemed to absorb all this knowledge like a sponge and gave her brother her undivided attention. At one point she tried taking notes, but Shining warned against it, not wanting to leave any trace of what they were doing. If their parents found the magazine, he would get in trouble. If they saw notes made by Twilight, either both of them or just Twilight would get in trouble and Shining wouldn't risk that.

Once he had imparted all the knowledge he could, he just let Twilight look through the magazine and read all the articles. He hadn't read all that much of it, and she seemed interested in learning all she could about this subject. "Huh, so apparently, when family members have sex, it's called incest. I wonder why more ponies don't do it?"

Shining Just shrugged "I dunno Twilie. Maybe lots of ponies do it, but they just hide it because grown ups made dumb rules against it. But if Star thought it was okay, it couldn't be that bad right?"

Twilight finally looked up to her brother. "I guess. From everything in the magazine, it sounds like some ponies just have different things they like. Maybe it's just rude to talk about this stuff with other ponies?"

Shining Slowly nodded as he thought it over. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Plus Star was acting all secretive. Maybe there's an adult conspiracy keeping this knowledge from fillies and colts."

"That would explain a lot of mom and dad's behavior. Like how they can take baths together but we can't anymore." Twilight's ears drooped as her body sagged.

Shining's eyes shot wide as he gave a broad smile. "Ya know Twilie, mom isn't gonna be home until later today. We could take a bath together while she's out."

Twilight looked up at her brother, clearly confused. "But mom and dad said not to."

"Did they ever explain why?"

Twilight had to think about that for a moment. "Huh, not really no. They just said it wasn't right for fillies and colts our age to do that."

"But mom and dad do it all the time. Why can't we?" Shining's wide smile had relaxed into a knowing grin. "In any case, we're probably gonna need baths today. We might as well take them together."

Twilight tilted her head as her ears perked up. "What do you mean? Did you want to teach me more about shield magic?"

"Nope. I wanted to help you orgasm. If yours are anything like mine, it will probably make a mess," Shining said, still grinning.

Twilight blinked in surprise. "Huh, well that does sound kinda fun, but how do I do it? I don't have a... penis." She barely whispered that last word, but Shining was close enough to hear clearly.

"Well, those twins are both mares but they can still make each other orgasm, we just have different bits." Thinking back to the magazine in question, the alabaster colt got an idea. "W-why don't we just, ya know... start with a kiss and go from there?" As he felt heat rise to his muzzle, he noticed a mild crimson hue come to Twilight's otherwise purple coat.

***Sex incoming. Go to the next chapter to skip the sex scene***

"O-okay Shiny," Twilight whispered as she closed her eyes and parted her lips. Meanwhile, Shining armor was sweating bullets as his heart was beating out of his chest. Not wanting to keep his sister waiting, he licked his suddenly dry lips and slowly leaned down, gradually shutting his eyes. Right as their lips met, his eyes closed and he felt a shiver run down his spine.

A small jolt of pleasure raced through his mind and in his eagerness, shot his tongue into his sister's mouth. "Mpf! Shiny! What was that?" Twilight suddenly broke the kiss and backed off a step, eyes wide in panic.

Shining threw up his hooves in placation. "Sorry, sorry! I got a bit excited. I thought we were supposed to do that. Are you okay?"

Twilight grasped her chest as she forced herself to breathe deeply. "Y-yeah, I j-just... yeah. I just wasn't expecting that." Once she regained her breath, she looked back up to her brother. "Actually, I kinda liked it... I think. Do you think I could try doing that to you?"

Shining just gaped a moment before he could answer. "Y-yeah! Of course, that sounds great!" He couldn't help but smile before remembering the severity of the situation, but even as he regained his composure, he couldn't stop his tail from wagging. "You ready?" With a nod from his sister, she fixed him with a half lidded stare as she opened her mouth a bit wider this time with her tongue barely poking out.

Once again, Shining slowly made his way down to meet those purple lips, making sure to keep his mouth open and tongue out of the way. This time however, he kept his eyes slightly open as Twilight did the same, just barely peaking out of her hypnotic eyes, they engaged in a sensual staring contest as Shining egged on his sister's tongue. He poked and prodded it with his own, gently sucked on, and wrestled with it. Once their curiosities had been sated, they began exploring each other in earnest.

Shining began fighting back, but just enough to keep evenly matched with Twilight's tongue. As their eyes finally closed once again, Shining pulled his sister in close and began groping her flanks with one hoof as he dragged a hoof through her mane. All the while, Twilight was just holding onto him for all she was worth, wanting to be as physically close as possible. Soon, their dry humping lead to Twilight rubbing herself on Shining Armor's rock hard erection, throbbing between them.

Twilight was the first to break the kiss, but Shining was the first to speak. "Twilie, can we... can I?" With glazed over eyes and a string of saliva between their lips, Twilight fixed her big brother with a dazed look of half understanding. Not wanting the pleasure coursing through her body to cease, she was prepared to agree to just about anything to keep it going. To that end, she gave a resolute nod before reconnecting their lips.

With as much consent as he needed, Shining grasped Twilight in his magic and peeled her away from his body slightly, causing a whine to escape his sister before he once again broke the kiss. He planned to do as his instincts were screaming at him to do, but first, his curiosity would be sated. Laying Twilight down on her bed, face up, he took in the sight of her virginal fillyhood. After gulping down what little saliva he had in his mouth, he took a deep whiff of that glistening slit.

"Shiny? W-what are yo-EEP!" Twilight was cut off as a tongue lapped at her outer folds. "Sh--sh-shiny! W-wha-AH!" Her words melted into moans as her brother's tongue explored the inner walls of her vagina. As he continued exploring every nook and cranny of the pink hole, Twilight could feel a pressure building up all throughout her body, but especially in her groin. Shining's enthusiasm was only bolstered by his sister's moans of pleasure. Before he knew what he was doing, a small nub made itself known to him, brushing against his nose. Without thinking, he latched onto it, and sucked on it like it was the last sugar cube in Equestria.

Twilight's moans turned into screams as her mind went blank with pleasure. "Yes! Shiny! Yes, yes, yes yes yes yes yes yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes YEEESSSSSSSSSSS!" As her vision went white, she could feel all her muscles relax at once and she faintly noticed a wet spot on her bed sheets.

Before she could fully catch her breath, her lips were enveloped and a tongue once again invaded her sovereign mouth space. However, instead of pulling away, she fought back with her own tongue before her eyes went wide in a gasp. Shining Armor had penetrated her with his cock, and was slowly inching himself inside. "Buck, Twilie, you feel so good!"

As the siblings continued in their illicit affair their lust addled minds and primal instincts drove them forward down a path of no return. As Shining's movements picked up in tempo, his moans began to match those of his sister. "Shiny! Faster! Please!" Not wanting to disappoint, the young stallion accelerated his hip thrusts ever faster, heedless of the consequences.

For a single split second, he was granted a sobering moment of clarity. I'm about to cum inside Twilight. That's how foals are made. I shouldn't do this... but I can't stop now. It feels too good! Once the instant of clarity was lost, his will was fully given over to his animal instincts to breed. As his cock head flared inside Twilight, he kissed her and gave out a reverberating moan, perfectly matched by his sister.

As ropes of his virile seed shot inside the young purple filly, the siblings exchanged half lidded gazes as they panted from the exertion and euphoria. "I love you Shiny."

"I love you too Twilie." As his strength left him, Shining collapsed to the side of his sister as his dick slowly softened and returned to his sheath.

The Dam Breaks

Twilight and Shining Armor awoke in each other's embrace, the early afternoon sun gently rousing their minds from their shared afterglow. Twilight was the first to speak up. "We should probably go take that bath soon, I feel kinda sticky after... well, ya know."

Shining nuzzled the purple filly in response. "It's okay Twilie, you can say it. We had sex, and it felt good right?"

"Yeah, it felt really good but... didn't you say fillies and mares get pregnant from sex? I can't have a foal Shiny." Twilight was starting to sound frantic, but Shining calmed her with a gentle hoof rubbing her barrel.

"It's okay Twilie, you're not in heat so you can't get pregnant. We can have as much sex as we want until you go into heat. Then we just need to wait for it to be over to have sex again." Shining gave his sister a quick peck on the lips before he extracted himself from the soiled bed sheets. "As long as mom and dad don't find out, we can do whatever we want. Including taking baths together."

At the reminder of the bath her brother promised hours before, Twilight perked up and followed Shining across the hall to the bathroom. While the siblings cleaned each other, they explored each other's bodies more thoroughly without actually stimulating each other. Both having came twice that day, their mutual curiosity was all that was sated in the steamy waters of the tub.

Once they had purged all evidence from their bodies, Shining ran a load of his laundry along with Twilight's soiled sheets. "Remember Twilie if mom or dad asks, we have to lie to them. It might feel wrong, but they just wouldn't understand."

Twilight nodded with a somber look. "I know Shiny. I don't want you to get in trouble. When we grow up, I wanna live with you forever, just like those twins in the magazine."

"Hehe, me too sis. Now, lets get some lunch. I don't know about you, but having sex kinda made me hungry." With that, the pair left their laundry to dry on the clothes line, all evidence of their deeds scrubbed away.

Over the following months, Shining made sure to take advantage of every opportunity he could to have sex with Twilight. While she was receptive most of the time, he often had to convince her to drop her studies for a few minutes. More and more, Twilight seemed to be loosing interest in sex, but she didn't want to disappoint her big brother.

So, she went along with his increasingly frequent demands for release. Sneaking away to a back ally during Nightmare Night, sharing a bed to save space when visiting grandma Twinkle for Hearth's Warming Eve, until finally, the day came that Twilight was dreading. Winter Wrap Up. The first day of spring would mark the beginning of the fertile season, and Twilight was just old enough for her first heat cycle.

Despite already knowing what it was, she had to play dumb when her mom finally sat her down to explain estrus to her. However, to her surprise, Twilight's mom actually told her something she didn't know. "When you start your heat cycle, you have to avoid Shining Armor as much as possible. No sleeping in the same bed, we also can't let him watch you alone so we'll be hiring Cadance to watch you again and help you through your first heat."

Twilight tilted her head in genuine confusion. "But why mom? Why do I have to avoid Shiny? I know he would never hurt me. Can't he help me through my heat?"

Twilight Velvet was taken aback as she cringed at the unintended double entendre. "Absolutely not!" When she noticed Twilight cowering from her outburst, Velvet relaxed her posture and voice. "Sorry honey, but you have to understand. When fillies and mares go into heat, we give off pheromones that make stallions lose control of themselves. I can be around Shining because your father can help get rid of my heat without getting me pregnant."

"So... why can't... Shiny, or some other colt help me and not get me pregnant?"

Velvet furrowed her brow in concentration, trying to think of an appropriate response. After failing to find a way around it, she sighed in resignation as she hung her head. "Okay, I guess if you're old enough to go through heat, you're old enough to know about sex." Velvet looked her daughter in the eyes before replying. "After you were born, your father had a surgery called a vasectomy. It means we can have sex, but he can't get me pregnant. Thankfully, it still helps quench my heat."

Twilight thought that over for a moment before she got an idea. "Why can't dad do that for me?"

Velvet was visibly flustered and sputtering for a moment before she regained her composure. "Because that's incest! It's disgusting and wrong!"

Twilight was on the verge of tears at this point. "W-why though?"

Velvet blinked in confusion for a moment. "Why what?"

"Why is it wrong?" Twilight was curled up in a ball, quaking in fear of her mother.

Velvet wasn't sure why her daughter was so distraught, but she knew her filly needed comfort. Before replying, she drew little Twilight into her forehooves and nuzzled her head. "Sweetie, if a father took advantage of his daughter like that, he would be abusing his relationship with her. He's supposed to be there to protect her, not use her. It causes all kinds of issues aside from unwanted pregnancies."

Twilight perked up at that news. "Wait, so what about sibling incest? Is that okay?" The slight twinge of hope in her daughter's voice concerned Velvet, but she decided not to comment on it. "Well no... but I guess it depends on the situation. If two related foals without cutie marks have sex, it is generally either seen as harmless curiosity. It's still not okay, but you don't need to worry about that."

"What about twins? And what if the siblings are the same gender?" Twilight's tone had once again fallen back into her default curiosity about the world that Velvet was relieved to hear.

"Well... I suppose those are special cases, but it's still wrong to do that. A bond between family is special and it shouldn't be perverted with sex." Velvet let Twilight go, finally confident her daughter was just sating her academic curiosity. However, instead of the satisfied smile she was expecting, her daughter looked deep in thought. "Sweetie, are you okay? Did you have any other questions about your upcoming heat?"

The younger Twilight shook her head in response. "I'm just thinking about something, thanks for answering my questions mom." In an afterthought, she tried selling her answer a bit more. "Do you have any books on the subject? I think I'd be more comfortable reading about it than talking about it."

"Oh, that's understandable, and yes." Velvet promptly levitated a well worn paper back over to her daughter. "My mother actually gave me this book when I was your age. I was planning on doing the same, but I thought I'd at least try to talk it over before I pass the buck off to a book." She gave out a dry chuckle as Twilight took the book in her own aura and trotted off to her room to read.

"Hey sweetie?" Her mother's words froze Twilight in her tracks. She turned back with a questioning look. "You know you can ask me anything right? I won't judge or make fun of you. Even if you just want to talk, I'm here for you. You know that right?"

"I know mom, and I appreciate it." Twilight smiled back at her mother, genuinely happy to have such a loving parent. Sadly, the one thing she wanted to talk about, she was sworn to never tell anypony, especially her mother.

"Okay sweetie. I love you." Velvet couldn't help the slight wobble to her tone, but if her daughter noticed, she gave no indication.

"I love you too mom." She really did, and she hated lying, but the truth would hurt her brother, and she couldn't let that happen.

"Hey Twilie, can I come inside?" The muffled voice of Shining Armor rang from the other side of the filly's door.

"Sure Shiny, just don't make a mess like last time," Twilight shot back before returning to pouring over her newest book.

Hearing the door open and close behind her, Twilight instinctively raised her tail before she even realized she was doing it. "Whoa, a bit eager today huh? I won't turn down a quickie."

"Huh?" Twilight blinked herself out of her daze. "Oh Shiny? Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my tail like that. I don't think sex is a good idea right now though, I'm supposed to go into heat soon. Plus, I was really into this book mom gave me. It has a lot of info about estrus cycles and facts about what I should expect from puberty."

Shining visibly sagged. "Aww, come on Twilie, one last time before I gotta go back to my hoof for a month? Please?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and went back to her book. "Fine, but I'm gonna keep reading." That perked Shining back up real quick.

"Heh, cool with me. I always thought 'reader style' was pretty hot." He smirked before pulling his sister's tail fully out of the way. After giving her slit a single cursory lick for lubrication, he got straight to mounting her.

Twilight braced herself. With so much practice, she was able to maintain her concentration through the disappointingly short rutting. While she wasn't particularly interested most of the time, she found it irritating that Shining had become much less attentive to her, just calling on her when he was horny. Whatever happened to my big brother best friend forever I always loved? Maybe after my heat, I'll be more interested in sex and we can go back to being close loving siblings instead of just rut buddies.

Twilight's musings were interrupted by the feeling of semen coating her insides and the sound of her brother panting above her. "I love you so much Twilie, you're the best sister ever." With a kiss on her cheek, and a nuzzle on her head, Twilight actually felt a bit of emotional closeness she'd been missing.

"I love you too Shiny. I hope I can get over whatever's bugging me after my heat. I miss making love with you." Turning her head, Twilight was met with the worried face of her brother.

"Sorry Twilie, I guess I haven't been a very good lover lately huh?" Twilight answered him with a peck on his lips.

"I understand Shiny. You just have a stronger sex drive than me. I still love you, I just sometimes wish we could cuddle instead of, ya know, have sex. I miss how things were before. I miss my BBBFF." Twilight's ears drooped and her eyes were downcast.

"Hey, we can still do stuff like that. Especially with your heat, we'll only be able to do regular sibling stuff. Not to mention we'll have Cadance looking over our shoulders for the month." Shining rolled his eyes and snorted at the idea before brightening up. "But hey, it's always a good time when she comes over. She's almost like a big sister at this point."

Twilight's eyes went wide at a sudden implication she never thought of before. "Shiny... are you and Cadance...?"

Shining shook his head vehemently at the question. "No, we're not fucking, or dating. I wouldn't abandon you like that Twilie. You're the only filly I want. I was just saying, she acts like an older sister some times. Especially to you." Shining offered a gentle smile at the thought. "She really cares about you. If we weren't doing this, I would probably try asking her out, but I already made my choice."

Twilight gave a meek smile in return. "Thanks Shiny, now if you made a mess, can you please clean it up? I don't want to have to do laundry today."

Hopping off the bed, Shining acquiesced to his sister's request. "Sure thing Twilie." With practiced ease, Shining grabbed hold of as much cum as his magic could reach before carefully removing it from his sister's cunt. "Huh, I just realized something." Twilight turned her ears back to listen while she kept reading. "We don't have to stop doing all the stuff we do. I mean, I can still use my mouth. It might even help with your heat. Even if not, I'd be happy just to make you feel good while you go through that."

Feeling the last of Shining's spunk leave her, Twilight turned to sit on her haunches and face her brother with a furrowed brow. "Are you sure you can handle that Shiny? You won't be tempted to go further than that?"

Shining just gave her a cocky grin. "Twilie, give me more credit. I have more self control than that, however..." Shining trailed off as he tapped his hoof to his chin in exaggerated contemplation before looking down on his sister with a lascivious smirk. "If you're that worried, you could always return the favor."

Twilight fixed her brother with a tired stare. "Gee, what a perfect gentle-colt," she deadpanned as she rolled her eyes. "It's taking all my willpower not to swoon at your generosity."

Shining narrowed his eyes slightly before shooting back. "Oh man, Twilie. Careful, I might need to go again if you keep talking like that. You should know by now, sarcasm is my biggest turn on." They both kept up their poker faces for a good ten second before devolving into snorts and giggles.

"Seriously though, Twilie," Shining said as he got his laughter under control. "I'd be happy to lap up your heat juices. I can just deal with myself the old fashioned way if it comes down to it." His eyebrows curled in concern as he kept up a gentle smile. "I just hate the thought of you having to deal with your heat on your own. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask."

Twilight returned his smile before she leaned forward and kissed his nose. "Thanks Shiny, I really appreciate it. I don't know if we'll have any time alone, but if we do, I wouldn't be opposed to you helping out a bit. If it's anything like what I've heard from mom, or this book says, I'm gonna be miserable all month." Her ears drooped, but she kept her smile up. "Honestly, I know it's not that big of a deal, but... it's still kinda scary. I'm glad I have such a good big brother to help out."

Shining Nuzzled his sister before booping her on the snoot, causing her to scrunch up her muzzle. "I'm glad I have such an awesome little sister to take care of."

The following day, Twilight couldn't help but deflate at the lack of a white hoof curled around her as she woke up. "Stupid heat, stupid rules saying I can't sleep with Shiny." She would have kept grumbling her discontent, but there was a gentle knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"Your favorite princess, can I come in?"

Twilight smirked at the door with a mischievous grin. "That's weird, you don't sound like princess Celestia!" Twilight did actually prefer her foal sitter to her monarch, if only because she'd never actually met the elder alicorn. Still she wasn't about to admit that without a fight.

If the voice behind the door was offended, she gave no indication. "Huh, I didn't realize Celestia already brought you homemade cookies. I guess I'll have to give these to Shiny instead."

Twilight's face fell as she desperately scrambled to the door before she remembered she had magic and nearly yanked the door off its hinges. "I take it back! Cadance is best princess!"

The pink alicorn on the other side of the door blinked in surprise as she looked down at the excitable filly, a warm smile growing on her face. Crouching down, Cadance initiated their shared greeting. "Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Before she could make another move, she found herself glomped by a purple ball of cute.

"It's so good to see you Cadance, what have you been up to?" Twilight loosened her grip to look up to her foal sitter.

Cadance stroked Twilight's mane while she thought of an answer. "Well, I've kept up my magic studies, aunt Celestia has started giving me some official royal duties, and I've been foal sitting for some other fillies and colts. Now I'm back to keep an eye on my number one favorite filly."

Twilight's eyes went wide. "Wait, really? I'm your favorite?"

Cadance giggled at the filly's reaction before she leaned down for a nuzzle. "Yes, really. Now how would you like a cookie?" At the mention of the treats, Cadance levitated in a plate of chocolate chip cookies to sit on the floor. Twilight wasted no time letting go of Cadance to ogle the sweet treats.

She was about to dig in, but hesitated. Looking back to Cadance, Twilight showed desperation in her eyes. "Mom says I can't have cookies for breakfast though."

Cadance gave her a wry smile before speaking in a stage whisper. "Well then, I guess this will have to be our little secret." With only a moment before indulging, Twilight hesitantly levitated a cookie to her mouth... and ate it! Once the filly had finished her first cookie, Cadance cleared her throat to get her charge's attention. "So Twilight, how are you feeling today?"

Swallowing her last bite, Twilight beamed up at her foal sitter. "I'm doing great! I was a bit tired this morning because, well, I stayed up past my bed time last night." Twilight scuffed a hoof on the carpet and avoided Cadance's amused stare. "I was reading the book mom gave me and I wanted to finish reading it... for the third time." Twilight cringed at her confession, but when she didn't receive any admonishments, she braved a glance up.

Cadance was just smiling back with those patient, caring eyes. "Hey, it's alright Twilight, I know how important it is for you to make sure you got every last bit of information from a book." Her smile curved more into a concerned frown. "That said, I was more wondering about how you felt, you know, physically." It was Cadance's turn to look away, her face a bit redder than it had been a moment ago.

Twilight wracked her brain for a moment before it clicked. "Oh! I'm okay. I don't think my heat started yet. At least, I'm pretty sure. I don't feel any different, and the book mom gave me said I'd start feeling weird." Satisfied with her answer, Twilight started up on another cookie.

"Huh, well I guess everypony experiences estrus differently. I started mine early, so I guess it's understandable that you'd start yours late." Cadance rubbed her hoof under her chin before shrugging. "In any case, I'll be here all month. So, what would you like to do first?"

The days passed by quickly for Twilight as she enjoyed her ever increasingly limited time with her foal sitter. All the while, Cadance kept up a veneer of her usual upbeat and cheery disposition. Internally though, she was panicking with every day Twilight went without any sign of starting her heat cycle.

"Cadance, sweetie, calm down. Take a deep breath." Twilight Velvet tried coaching the princess through some basic relaxation practices while Cadance just kept pacing across the dining room floor.

"I just don't get it Velvet. I've heard of fillies starting their cycles late, but not three weeks late! What if something's wrong with her?" Cadance rushed over, getting in Velvet's muzzle. "What if she got pregnant! I've been keeping an eye on Shining but..." instead of finishing that thought, she winced, cowed by Velvet's icy glare.

"You really think my Nighty is even capable of such a repulsive act?" Velvet's tone was saturated with barely contained rage. She opened her mouth to continue that thought, but stopped herself. As she took a breath, Cadance followed her example.

Once they were both calmed down enough to think rationally, Cadance broke the silence before it could get awkward. "No, no, I'm sorry Velvet. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry." She bowed her head as she slumped on the floor. "I'm just so worried about her Velvet."

For her part, Velvet gave the pink alicorn a tired smile. "I understand Cadance, but have you considered she's just a late bloomer? Not every filly goes through heat at her age. Honestly, I'd more than welcome another year before my baby girl started to grow up."

Cadance let out a deep sigh. "You're right. The most simple explanation is usually the right one." She finally looked up, catching Velvet's gaze. "Just, promise me you'll take her to a doctor if anything happens? I can't imagine what I would do if something happened to her. She's like the little sister I never had."

Velvet nodded solemnly. "Of course, and we'll let you know if something happens." Her tired smile visibly brightened as she got a slight glint in her eye. "After all, you're a part of the family." An instant later, Velvet was glomped by a pink blur and her ribs felt like they were being given a stress test.

"You have no idea how much that means to me Velvet." She eased up on the embrace, but still held Velvet in a loving hug. "I know I have Celestia, and I love her, but... never mind. Just, thank you." Velvet finally returned the hug, gently stroking Cadance's mane. It was around the time Velvet started feeling a bit awkward to be cradling an alicorn in her hooves that the pink princess disengaged the hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. You still have me for another week... well unless Twilight starts her heat really late. I'll just have to stick around a little longer." With that, Cadance took her leave.

That last week passed by much the same as the last three. Cadance showed up bright and early, she spent the day with Twilight until Night Light or Velvet returned home. One novel oddity she did notice however was Shining Armor. While he seemed more withdrawn than usual since she showed up, the final week foal sitting Twilight, he started acting more hostile. It started with small things, like ignoring her when she asked him to do his chores, then the occasional cold stare her way when he thought she wasn't looking.

By the end of the month, Shining had become outright aggressive, no longer hiding his scowl, refusing to speak to Cadance, slamming doors. If it wasn't for the fact he still treated Twilight the same, she would have thought he was at risk of hurting somepony. It was a Saturday, so Shining was home all day. It was during lunch when Cadance finally decided to confront him about his behavior.

"So Shining, how's school been this year? Make any new friends?" The only response Cadance received was side eye glare and a neutral grunt. Not willing to back down, she tried a new tactic. "Twilight told me you taught her some basic shield spells. Do you think you could show me sometime too? Celestia taught me some basic spells she knows, but her special talent isn't making shields like you."

That at least got a multiple word response. "Sorry, my spells are a family trade secret. But I'm sure Celestia's spells are more than strong enough to keep a princess safe." With every word he spoke, venom dripped off his tone as he turned his hateful glower her way. "Any more questions princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Shining spit out her title and name like a slur, and smirked when she winced.

Much to the surprise of both older ponies at the dining room table, Twilight chose that time to pipe up. "Shiny? Are you okay?" Shining Armor flinched when his sister gently placed her hoof on his. While Cadance readied a spell to protect Twilight from anything Shining might do in anger, she was baffled to see him immediately calm down. Eyes soft, ears splayed back in contrition.

Cadance swore she saw his eyes tear up until he shook his head and looked down to his sister, as gentle and loving as she ever saw him. "Sorry Twi, I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I'll be okay, promise." His voice was almost a whisper, as if afraid talking too roughly would shatter the filly in front of him.

In response, Twilight nuzzled his chin and kissed his cheek. "Okay Shiny, but if you wanna talk about anything, you know I'm always here for you right?"

Shining Nuzzled her back and wrapped her into a hug. "I know Twilie, thanks." He then whispered something into Twilight's ear that Cadance couldn't quite make out before releasing her from the embrace. "Wanna practice magic after lunch? We gotta burn off all those sandwiches you love scarfing down."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but smiled regardless. "If you say so BBBFF. Maybe this time I'll actually manage to make a bubble shield bigger than my hoof." Twilight levitated her empty plate to the sink before bounding off to the back door.

Shining was about to do the same when Cadance reached out to lay a hoof on his shoulder. "Shining, can I talk to you for a bit?" At Shining's withering death glare, Cadance hardened her tone. "It's about Twilight." To Cadance's surprise, Shining's eyes went wide for just a moment before his glare returned, much less intense this time.

"W-what about Twilight?" Despite his best efforts, Shining couldn't help but let a wobble into his voice.

Cadance relaxed slightly and let her hoof fall to her side before continuing. "Shining, you've been acting strange lately. I feel like you're on a hairpin trigger, and any little thing might set you off. Did something happen? Did I do something to upset you? Please, just talk with me Shiny, I thought we were friends."

"Don't call me that. Only Twilie gets to call me that," Shining growled, much to the surprise of the princess in the room.

"Whoa, okay okay, sorry Shining." Cadance lifted her hooves in placation. "Thank you for telling me that bothered you. I'll be sure not to do that again." At Cadance's reassurances, Shining finally relaxed his glare to a flat stare. "So, is there anything else bothering you? If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it."

"You could leave," Shining deadpanned. That took Cadance aback, but the white unicorn didn't even blink.

"But, why? I thought you and Twi-" hearing a low growl from the colt across the table, she erred on the side of caution, "-light always liked it when I came over to watch you guys. What changed?" Cadance's tone was soft, almost pleading.

Shining bristled before replying. "What changed? Well for one, I grew up. I don't need somepony to watch me, and I'm old enough to take care of Twilie. We don't need you, and I don't want you. I know the only reason you're here is because mom and dad said Twilie was gonna go through her first heat this year. Well, estrus season is ending, and nothing happened. So why are you still here? Why do you insist on inserting yourself into my family? You may be a princess but that doesn't mean you can have everything you want. Twilie is my sister, not yours. Even if she had gone into heat, you think I'd hurt her? Think I'd be a slave to my instincts to rut any mare in heat I come across? Well guess what? I pass mares in heat on the street every estrus season and I don't go around fucking in public!"

Cadance's jaw opened and closed, searching for words, but failing miserably. Eventually, she bowed her head and splayed her ears back. "S-shining, I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you fee like I was forcing myself on you and Twilight. You two are the closest thing I have to real friends. Most ponies are too intimidated by me to treat me like a pony." When she lifted her head, there were tears in her eyes.

Shining had to suppress a wince, but he at least softened his gaze before taking a long breath, holding it, and letting it out. "I'm sorry too Cadance. You didn't deserve me blowing up at you. I'm upset, but it's not you, or at least not entirely you." He paused a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "Look, I just get mad at the idea that I would hurt my sister. I love her more than any other pony."

Cadance smiled as she felt the true sincerity of those words. While she had yet to master her powers, she could still sense a pony's love for another. While Shining held no love for the princess, he did genuinely love his sister more than she'd seen any other love a pony. She'd sensed siblings, parents, lovers, but none of their love shone with such intensity as the love shared between Shining and his sister. "Well, you better not leave Twilight waiting. Oh and Shining?"

The young stallion was just about to leave before turning back. "Yeah Cadance?" He managed to suppress his frustration, but he couldn't help but furrow his brow at the final interruption.

"Just... thanks, for being honest about your feelings. Most stallions wouldn't have opened up like that. Twilight is really lucky to have such a good big brother." Shining managed to smile at Cadance's remark before galloping off to the back yard.

The month of Twilight's heat had come and gone without any fan fair. While Velvet was sleeping easy with the assumption her little filly had at least another year before she had to grow up, the junior Twilight was wide awake, anxiety flooding her mind. What happened? I was supposed to go through heat, but I didn't feel anything all month! According to that book mom gave me, I'm practically overdue for a heat cycle! I measured, checked, double checked and triple checked my own measurements, and compared them to the average time periods I should go into heat. Heck, technically I was supposed to start my heat-

Twilight's eyes went wide at her realization. "My heat was supposed to start a week earlier than average..." The filly's heart was racing, her breaths came in quick and panicked. Without another thought, Twilight bolted from her bed, ran across the hall, and jumped into her brother's bed, waking him from his sleep.

"Whoa, where's the fire! W-" Shining managed to calm his racing heart at the sight of his sister whimpering and crying into his messed up sheets. "Twilie? What's wrong?" Before she could answer, their parents barged in, wide eyed.

"What's wrong son? We heard yelling!" Night Light lit up his horn and summoned his namesake, lighting up the room as if it was mid day. As the two other ponies not curled into a ball flinched back from the sudden light, the deep blue stallion relaxed upon seeing a lack of threats to his family. As he let out a sigh of relief, the orb of blinding light dimmed to a gentle candle light. "Okay, no fire, no intruder, what happened?"

Shining looked to his quivering sister then back to their father. "I think Twilie had a nightmare so she jumped in my bed, but I guess I wasn't quite ready for her. Sorry for freaking out and waking you guys." Shining gave a sheepish chuckle as he rubbed his hooves together nervously.

Twilight Velvet gave the two stallions bemused looks before shaking her head. "Well, I'm glad everypony's safe. I'm going back to bed. Love you dearies." With one last cursory glance around the room, Night Light double checked Shining's window was locked before following his wife.

Shining just sat and stared at his sister, patiently waiting for her to explain the problem. According to his alarm clock, he sat there in silence for a good ten minutes after their parents left before Twilight finally mumbled into her pillow. "I think I might be pregnant...."

Shining blinked in confusion. "Uh, say again Twilie? I couldn't catch that." However, instead of repeating herself, she just sat up to face him and sighed.

"Sorry Shiny, you were right. I just had a nightmare," Twilight lied, unwilling to burden her brother with a paranoid delusion she was only ninety five point six percent sure of. After all, crazier things have happened than her being wrong. "Can I stay with you tonight Shiny?"

Shining smiled down at his lover and wrapped her in a hug. "Of course Twilie. You're always welcome in my bed, you know that." Leaning his head down, Shining took a long whiff of Twilight's mane and let his hooves wander down to grope his sister's flanks.

Twilight curled her tail tight around herself in response. "Shiny... please, don't. Just... please hold me Shiny, I'm really scared." Her voice came out raspy and fragile, punctuated by quick sobs. Shining halted his advances immediately, though his cock would take a bit of time to go back in his sheath.

"Hey, I'm here, it's okay. If you're not feeling up for it, lets just get back to sleep, okay?" Shining kissed Twilight's forehead before pulling back enough to look her in the eyes. "I'm not just your lover, I'm your big brother too ya know."

That finally got a smile out of the purple filly before she squeezed him in a hug of her own, nuzzling his chest fur before making herself comfortable in her big brother's bed. Shining quickly followed her example, spooning her, keeping a protective hoof over her barrel. "Good night BBBFF."

"Sleep tight little sis." While Shining had his suspicions that Twilight wasn't being totally honest, he wouldn't push her. Not tonight at least. It was late, they were both tired, and in any case, she clearly needed the comfort.

The next day greeted them like any other. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping their morning songs that many ponies, the Sparkle siblings especially, loved hearing first thing in the morning. Little did either of them realize, this would be the last peaceful morning either would ever know. Sadly for Twilight, hers was a rude awakening as she bolted to her brother's bathroom and puked her guts out.

Shining was by her side an instant later, holding her mane and rubbing her back in comforting circles. "You okay Twilie? Did you eat something weird last night?"

Once Twilight had finished her latest round of spewing chunks, she managed to gasp out a reply. "What... does... it... hurk! look like, you dumb mule?" That's all she managed before her stomach once again curled in on itself and ejected the remains of whatever else was inside. Even then, Twilight was forced to wretch and dry heave, a mixture of saliva, snot, and stomach acid dangling from her lips, barely gasping enough between muscle spasms to catch her breath. By the time her body finally got the message about her empty stomach, Twilight collapsed into Shining's magenta aura before she could hit the tile floor of the bathroom.

"It's okay Twilie, I got you," Shining cooed as he embraced his sister.

"Four point four percent..."

Shining's ears perked up. "What was that Twilie? Are you doing mental math to calm down?"

Twilight tried to take deep breaths, partially hampered by her brother's coat fur. The scent of her brother, her lover, her best friend once a soothing balm to her soul now only filled her with dread. "Sh-shiny?"

"Yeah sis? What's up?" Shining loosened his grip to hear Twilight better. His heart nearly broke looking down into his sister's bloodshot eyes.

When Twilight spoke, her voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. "Shiny... I think I might be pregnant."

Shining's eyes went wide at that simple declaration. With an nerving blank stare and a small shaky grin, he said the first thing that came to his head. "Sorry, could you say that again? I think I had something crazy in my ear." He instantly regretted his words when the filly in his hooves winced and started tearing up again. "Shh, sorry, sorry. It's just... are you sure?"

"Ninety five point six percent sure... scratch that, ninety eight point three now." Twilight's tone was flat, lifeless. "What should I do Shiny?"

Before either of them could say another word, their mother spoke up from behind them, startling the pair. "Shining? What happened?"

"Oh, h-hey mom. Twilie just threw up. S-she thinks it was probably something she ate yesterday. No big deal!" Shining gave his mother a smile that was just a bit too wide as sweat poured down his muzzle. Velvet, however was in no mood to play games this morning.

Twilight Velvet gave her son a flat stare before levitating Twilight out of his grasp and inspecting her daughter with a basic diagnostic spell. When she got a ping back for a foreign object in her body. Velvet's attention immediately switched to her daughter, her face contorting in worry. "Sweetie, you're sick. Maybe you did eat something off last night. I'll get your father up and we'll go straight to the doctor!" Without another word, Velvet teleported the pair of them out of the bathroom, leaving Shining armor dazed, confused, and more than a little panicked.

Horse apples! Pony feathers! Buck buck buck! What am I gonna do? What can I say to get out of this? As Shining ran through various scenarios, he tried and failed to come up with any sort of alibi. Celestia's teats on a stick, mom and dad are gonna be so mad when they find out! Shining began hyperventilating at the thought of his parents finding out he was rutting his sister. Calm down Shining. Even if they ground me until I move out, or even if they kick me out of the house and disown me, I'll still be okay. I can crash with one of my buddies, maybe get a part time job at Donut Joe's!

Shining's ruminations were interrupted by two pairs of heavy hooves bounding down the stairs and a door slamming shut. After taking a deep breath, he made his way out of the bathroom, finally freed from his panic educed paralysis. "Okay Shining, game plan. I don't know anything! There's also a chance Twilie isn't pregnant, and even if she is... if she is, I can't let her take the blame for it." Shining began to pace back and forth in his bedroom, a pang of guilt running through his nerves every time he trod over the rug that hid his shame.

"I convinced her to do this. If I have to, I'll marry her, I'll support her any way I can. We might have to move somewhere nopony will know us, or maybe I'll just have to move away. Whatever, I'll do whatever I have to to keep Twilie safe." With that final deceleration, Shining went about his morning as if nothing was wrong. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. His mantra rang throughout his mind all morning as he completed his various chores, made breakfast, and finally settled on the living room sofa to work on his homework due the next day.

On the other side of town, Night Light and Twilight Velvet bolted into the reception of urgent care, Night Light checking in while his wife got their daughter settled and comfortable on a waiting room sofa. For her part, Twilight Sparkle tried to pretend the outside world didn't exist, hooves covering her face as she was finally released from her mother's telekinetic grasp.

"It'll be okay sweetie. I'm sure doctor Blue Cross can get you a proper diagnosis and we can get you feeling better." While Velvet stroked her daughter's mane, Twilight only whimpered as she was once again reminded of the reality of her situation.

They're going to find out. Me and Shiny are gonna get in so much trouble. Why was I so stupid? I should have known better! I already knew about how unpredictable heat cycles could be. Why did Shiny have to ask me for sex so close to spring? He should have known better too! While her parents were oblivious to the reason for her hysterics, they both did their best to comfort their panicking daughter.

As soon as Night Light returned to his wife's side to fill out the check in sheet, he joined her efforts to soothe the nerves of his little filly. Much to their dismay, nothing the parents did seemed to calm Twilight, and if anything, she seemed to tense up even more when they tried. So, Night Light returned to his task of filling out paper work while his wife helplessly watched their child suffer. Even when attempting to gleam some answers about her condition, all they got were jerky nods or shakes of her head. As he filled in the last row of information, Night Light finally sighed in relief at having accomplished something to help before returning the sheet to the front desk.

"It's only a matter of time now," Twilight whined not caring who heard, but unable to muster anything louder. Her parent's saw this as a sign of relief on the filly's part. Internally, she was screaming until her mind just went blank in resignation. "It's only a matter of time."

The End

Night Light's eyes were glazed over as he lay on the cool tile floor of the hospital. His mind was blank, his mouth dry as a desert and slightly agape. Twilight Velvet was hyperventilating into the 5th paper bag a doctor gave her in the past three minutes. Code Blue was prepping another paper bag to hand to the mare when her current one burst from over use like the others. The filly Twilight Sparkle was silently leaking tears as she lay on the examining table, curling up as tight as possible and wrapping her tail around herself.

While this wasn't the first case regarding a blank flank foal the doctor had seen, it was still a rare enough occurrence. One that while he wasn't as deep in shock as the parents in front of him, the only thing keeping him on his hooves was the five minute window he gave himself to regain his composure before delivering the news.

"How long?" Night light breathed out his question like the wind was knocked out of his lungs. That didn't stop everypony in the room from hearing the whisper that finally broke the silence. "How long doctor?"

"We would have to run a more thorough blood analysis, or bring in an expert on life detection spells, but from what we found, it is within the first trimester." Code Blue's response was detached, clinical, devoid of emotion. This was the only defense he had against the breakdown he would surely suffer the moment his shift ended. Same as the last two times, it never got any easier.

The next pony to speak up was the last any of the others expected to. It came out as a fragile whimper, but everypony in the room could hear it clear as day. "Do you know who the father is?" Twilight Sparkle was still curled up, face hidden behind her hooves, mane, and tail. Yet her question rang out like a siren's call in the cramped box the hospital called an exam room. While nopony else could tell, Twilight managed to peak through her defenses to see the faces of her parents and doctor.

"Ahem, yes well, that would fall under the same purview of those extra blood tests or specialist mage. These wings of mine might help get around quickly, but they're useless for casting spells." While her parent's faces darkened, Twilight's heart fluttered slightly at the thought that she still had a chance to keep her true secret safe. "That is, unless you happen to know already?"

Twilight's mind raced as she swore the alabaster pegasus doctor made eye contact with her. "N-no! I-I mean... no, I don't know."

That got both her parents' attention as three pairs of eyes bored their way into her soul. "Twilight, it's okay. You can tell us. You won't be in trouble, and we won't let anypony hurt you." Night Light made sure to control his tone, but even so, his only response was a shaky whimper.

Code Blue's face twitched ever so slightly before turning to the other stallion in the room. "Sir, perhaps it would be best if you and your wife stepped out for a moment."

Velvet's eyes dilated as she scowled at the doctor. "Are you trying to insinuate something doctor Blue?" Her voice was cold, holding a warning edge as she got up from her haunches.

Code blue held up a wing to forestall any protest. "It's just standard procedure ma'am. Nopony is pointing any hooves, and as soon as I know what I need, I'll call you back in. Please just wait in the hall for a few minutes." It took all his will power to keep up his calm professional demeanor. It wasn't until Night Light nudged his wife out the door before nodding to the doctor that Code Blue finally allowed himself to relax.

After taking a few deep breaths to reassert his professional mask, he turned to his shivering patient, clearly trying to shrink into nothingness by sheer willpower. It wasn't working too well. "Twilight, it'll be okay. I won't hurt you or get you in trouble. I know you're scared and upset, but I'm only here to help." While that got the filly to stop shaking, she was still curled into as tight of a ball as she could manage on the exam table. "I promise I won't freak out or get angry, no matter what you tell me. But if you know who the father is, it would at least help us know the best way to treat you."

Code blue sat on his haunches so his muzzle was eye level with Twilight's obscured face. "You're gonna be just fine. You have two parents who will do everything they can to help you through this and I'm sure your brother Shi-" At the mention of her big brother, Twilight tensed up before she started shivering again. Code Blue's eyes went wide at the filly's reaction.

"T-Twilight?" The room fell silent as the stallion's eyes bored directly into Twilight's soul. She finally made eye contact. While her tail was still obscuring most of her vision, the moment she peaked her eyes out from her hooves, her pupils locked on to Code Blue, unable to look away. Her shaking intensified and tears began falling down her muzzle.

"Please..." Twilight wasn't sure what she was asking for or who she was asking. To wake up, only to realize this was all a nightmare? For the doctor not to realize her secret? For him to keep the secret if he already knew? Why couldn't I be better at controlling my emotions? Why did I let Shiny rut me that last time? Why did he rut me in the first place? I only ever wanted my big brother! Twilight's fear morphed to anger in the blink of an eye.

Standing up for the first time since she arrived, Twilight hopped off the examination table and started pacing the room, only able to take more than a few steps thanks to her smaller stature. All the while, her doctor just sat on his haunches, worry etched on his face. "Twil-"

"It's all his fault!" Twilight blurted out without thinking, a flash of regret on her features before resolve took over. "It's his fault. I just went along with it because he said it would bring us closer. It felt good, but he always wanted to do it more than me. He stopped caring for me... did he ever really care?"

"Twilight are yo-" Code Blue was once again interrupted by the irate filly in his care.

"Don't play dumb doctor! You already know who," Twilight growled between clenched teeth, tears once again falling from her face. "I thought..." she trailed off as she slumped down on the cold sterile floors of the exam room. "My... my-" Twilight's voiced hitched as she let out a half sob. "M-my... B.B.B.F.F. Shiny." She shut her eyes tight, letting her tears flow freely. "There! I said it! A-are you h-happy now? I... my big brother, we..." Twilight was sure her parents could hear that, but she didn't care anymore.

Code Blue was speechless. He half expected Twilight's parents to barge in any second. The door wasn't even locked, but nothing happened. "T-t-t-Twilight, a-are you sure?"

Twilight rounded on the stallion, fury in her eyes. "What, you don't believe me? You think little innocent baby Twilight could never do something... like that? Well guess what! We've been doing it for months! I was more than nighty five percent sure I was pregnant ever since last night! I knew this was going to happen, I knew I was going to be taken away, I would never see Shiny again, but I can't take it anymore! So lock me up, or banish me, or lock me up in the place you banish me to, I don't care anymore!" Having said her peace, Twilight promptly collapsed into a splayed out heap on the floor. "I just... don't care."

It was at that moment the exam room doors creaked open. Code Blue was too stunned to stop anypony, let alone take his eyes off the filly in front of him. To nopony's surprise, Twilight's parents shuffled back into the room, mouths agape and bloodshot eyes. Velvet was the first to recover, making her way to the defeated filly on the floor. Twilight didn't protest when her mother lifted the filly in a telekinetic field. However, when she felt the soft, firm embrace of her mother, when she smelled the faint vanilla scent in her mane, when she heard the steady, familiar heartbeat, Twilight looked up.

Velvet managed the ghost of a smile as she looked down at her filly with sad eyes. "You're not going anywhere Twilight. This isn't your fault, you're not in trouble. Everything will be just fine." Velvet held her daughter tight to her chest as her husband finally broke out of his stupor to join her in the embrace.

While Velvet's mind was entirely focused on comforting her daughter, Night Light began to process the full implications. Their daughter was hurt, yes. He had failed as a guardian, and the pony... no, the monster wearing pony flesh that had done this... was his own son. Externally, he was calm, comforting, resolute. Internally, he was raging, bucking and screaming, desperate for a target to blame. But it all came back to him. What had he done wrong to let his own son think anything like this could ever approach being considered okay? Did somepony else corrupt him, or was he just born wrong? Cadance clearly had feelings for Shining, why wouldn't he reciprocate?

None of them could tell how long they had been sitting there. After what simultaneously felt like an eternity and an instant, Night Light felt a hoof tap on his shoulder. Focusing his eyes on the pony in question, he was met with the stoic face of his second lieutenant. He managed to peel himself away from his family long enough to fill out an initial report. Everypony involved managed to go about their business. Velvet scheduled a followup appointment with Code Blue before meeting back up with Night Light.

Twilight rode on her mother's back, muzzle hidden in her alabaster and violet mane. Meanwhile her father walked close enough to rub coats with his wife, periodically checking on his daughter to make sure she was still there, still breathing, still softly sobbing. Twilight felt bad for getting her mother's mane and coat wet and messy. Velvet didn't mind in the slightest. It was a reminder her little filly wasn't gone. She had been damaged, shattered, broken, but she was still alive.

As their home loomed in the distance, their hooves increased in weight until they felt like led by the time they reached their front porch. For a moment they just stood there, not knowing exactly what to do. That is until Twilight let out yet another sob. That's all Night Light needed. "Vel, wait out here for two minutes then come inside. Take Twilight to her room, tuck her in, and place a sound dampening spell on her door before joining me in our bedroom."

Velvet felt no hesitation, only grim understanding and resolve. "Right. I'll meet you inside." With that, Night Light opened his front door, exuding an aura of determination.

As soon as he walked in, he heard hoof steps coming from the stairs. Shining bounded down to meet him, worry and guilt written all over his face. "Dad! Where's Twilie? Is she okay?" Night Light was almost impressed with the way the monster imitated pony emotions. If he hadn't known better, he might have entertained the idea his son was a changeling. While their existence was highly classified, S.M.I.L.E has managed to apprehend a few specimens for study. However much he wanted it, that wasn't the case. If it were, Twilight would have birthed a clutch of green eggs by now if her timeline was accurate, and Night Light had no reason to doubt his daughter.

"My bedroom. Now." He didn't yell, didn't raise his voice at all. If anything, Night Light spoke softer than usual. However, his tone made any yelling redundant. It broached no arguments, and warned of the dire consequences should his orders not be carried out immediately.

Before his last hoof hit the bottom step, Shining was already backpedaling. He managed to reach the bedroom at the end of the hall in record time. Meanwhile, his father drew out each step taking his time, letting Shining stew in his juices just a bit longer. After a full minute passed, Night Light finally made his way to his bedroom and closed the door. The whole room as well as Night Light's horn briefly flashed the same dull yellow before he sat at attention facing the door while ignoring Shining Armor who was standing at attention, facing towards a wall, perpendicular to the captain of the royal guard.

They stayed like that, neither talking. One too afraid to break the silence and bring the wrath of a guard captain down on himself. The other using what little he knew of psychological warfare to keep his prey on the tips of his hooves. They were both counting the seconds, for different reasons, but after an agonizingly eternal minute sitting alone with the stallion radiating murderous intent, Twilight Velvet poked her head in the door. While she greeted her husband with an affectionate nuzzle, one he returned, her gaze mimicked that of a dragon greeting an intruder to its hoard. This was not his mother and father. This was his judge and jury.

Night Light finally turned to face him. "Sit." Shining sat. His heart racing. His mind desperate for some way to get out of what he knew was inevitable. "Speak." While his mouth worked, opening, closing, like a fish out of water, no words came out. Night Light's face showed the slightest hint of annoyance. That terrified Shining more than anything he's ever seen. Sweat poured down his body in buckets. "I said speak, mutt!"

"I-I-I'm not a dog! I'm a pony!" Silence fell for another moment after Shining had finally spoke.

Velvet's eyes narrowed. "You have one chance Shining Francis Armor. What did you do to my daughter?"

Shining's eyes went wide as his mind went into overdrive. His pupils darted all around the room landing on everything except his irate parents. The book shelves on either side of the door, filled with titles he's never touched. The beige painted dry wall held no answers in its random patterns of specks. Glancing over the various family photos lining the walls, all that granted him was a further twist to his stomach. The mid afternoon sun seeping in from the curtain covered window provided no solace.

Did Twilight tell them? No, no, she wouldn't do that! She knows how much trouble we would get in, or at least what I would get in. They might not actually know what happened for sure. Maybe they just think I did it. Yeah, they can't prove anything. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he lied. "Are you trying to tell me I had something to do with Twi-"

Night Light finally raised his voice as his face contorted in rage. "DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO US!"

"I'M NOT LYING!" Shining's heart rate skyrocketed. So they know, or at least they think they know. Doesn't matter, they can't prove anything.

"YES YOU ARE! WE KNOW YOU RAPED OUR DAUGHTER!"

That accusations stole the wind from Shining's lungs. "What." His world fell out from under him. Unable to stand, he collapsed back on his flank, staring blankly ahead, his vision going in and out of focus.

"Oh don't play innocent, she told us everything!" Velvet finally decided to chime in. While she was clearly angry, her eyes never stopped pouring out tears.

Fuck, they must have pressured her into it."She's lying! I never touched her! You want me to swear to Celestia? Swear on the stars themselves? I'll do it if that's what it takes to prove I'm not lying!"

Night Light barged up to Shining, horn alight. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO LIE TO US! Your word clearly means nothing if you're not willing to admit what we already know! YOU RAPED MY DAUGHTER!"

Shining had tears in his eyes at this point. Regardless, he was committed to his course of action, and only dug his hooves in further. "I'M NOT LYING AND I'M NOT A RAPIST!" He was shaking now. Be it from rage or fear, he couldn't tell. All he knew was he couldn't admit the truth.

"YES YOU ARE, SHINING!" Night Light's voice was almost pure rage. Almost. There was a slight hint of pleading to his voice now. His face had relaxed slightly, most likely from exhaustion rather than actually calming down.

"Shining, you raped my filly! My baby! How could you do that?" Velvet only had a modicum of rage in her tone. While she too was pleading, Shining could parse what else she was trying to convey.

At this point, Shining's mind was just going blank. What else can I do? There's gotta be a way out. Something I can say, some way to fix this! "Get it through your thick skulls! I never raped her!"

"The guards will be arriving at sunset." While he was no longer yelling, and his voice was hoarse, Night Light was no less intimidating.

"Wait, what? Why are the guards coming?" Shining was genuinely dumbfounded.

"I wrote out a report at the hospital Shining. They're coming to do a follow up investigation, question us, then arrest you for consanguineous rape of a minor."

"I never raped her!" I'm not a rapist! I'm not. I might have had sex with my sister, but she wanted it.

"Shining, lying at this point is not only useless, it will actually hurt your case. You'll get a trial, but you would be an idiot t-"

Shining actually interrupted his father this time. "No, you're right. Fine, I had sex with Twilight! I admit to that! It felt good, she felt good, she asked me for it, she enjoyed it! We love each other! I. Did. Not. Rape. Her! Plus, what does consanguineous even mean? Some dumb legal jargon they love adding on everything?"

Velvet shot him a deadpan glare. "Shining, it means you raped your little sister. I know you aren't as bookish as my filly, but you really should have been able to piece that together."

Something finally clicked in his head. "Why do you keep calling her that?"

They both cocked an eyebrow, curiously. "Calling her what?"

"Our daughter?" Velvet raised a single eyebrow, challenging anypony to contradict her.

Shining scowled. "Yes, that. She's not just your daughter. She's my sister! I'm still your son!"

Night Light picked up Shining in his telekinetic field, fury flickering fervently from his eyes, his coat flashing white as his mane caught on fire for just a moment before dropping the overgrown colt unceremoniously on the floor. Night Light looked him dead in the eyes before snarling through clenched teeth. "You're no son of mine. The only reason you're still alive is thanks to my years of training in the guard keeping my emotions in check. However, if you come within spitting distance of my baby girl again, I will take a rusty knife to your sheath and balls, and let you bleed out in a ditch." At that, he turned about and left the room. Shining heard another spell discharge as he faced his mother.

Any glimmer of hope he may have had for comfort from the mare that gave birth to him was shattered upon making eye contact. Her features were grim as she looked down on him like he was a pile of shit. "You will go down to the living room. There, your father will keep an eye on you while I continue to comfort my daughter."

Shining couldn't help but think that emphasis was specifically meant as a jab at him. "Can I at least see Twi-" An off white hoof struck him across the muzzle.

"Don't you dare speak her name. She is not your sister! You gave up the right to call her that the moment you stole her innocence. Now get out of my sight before I take it upon myself to carry out my husband's threat." Velvet practically growled at the threat to her family in front of her, bearing her teeth and taking a predatory stance.

Mind fully blank, expression unreadable, Shining marched his way down to the living room where his father was waiting with a dull grey ring in his hoof. Without protest, Shining lowered his head and felt his magic being cut off by the cold iron band. He barely registered the feeling of emptiness. Why were things still happening? Why is the world still turning. Shining Scowled at the floor, refusing to sit or lay down. How can the world keep moving when the world just shattered two minutes ago? How can ponies keep going about their day, fall asleep, wake up, chat with their neighbors, when the world already ended?

As he continued to wallow in his misery, he internally raged at the world for daring to continue moving. Should I just kill myself? I mean what do I have to live for? I'll never see Twilie again, even if I don't get life in prison, nopony will ever trust me. I'll never be able to join the guard. I'd be lucky to be their janitor.

Shining was stuck in his rumination until he fell asleep that night. By that time, he had been arrested, booked, processed, and taken to the Canterlot dungeons. Other than a single guard, he was alone, laying on a pile of old moldy hay, a magic suppression ring secured around his horn. The last thing he clearly remembered was wondering how the world could keep turning when it already crumbled to dust. That night, he tossed in his sleep, tormented by nightmares of his awaiting punishment.

He wasn't sure what time it was other than late night, but he was rudely awoken by the shout of the guard on duty. "Wake up vermin, you got a visitor."

Shining blinked in confusion for a moment until he caught sight of a silhouette he recognized. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, he took shallow breaths, his heart started up again. I wonder if I'll just get a heart attack before they can even do the trial. "C-c-c-c-Cadance?"

"That's Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to you son of a mule!" The guard clanged his spear on the cell bars.

"No, don't call him that." The familiar melodious voice called out in the darkness. For a second, he entertained the thought he might have found an ally. Then that second passed and his hopes were shattered. "Don't insult Night Light or Velvet." Shining's face fell, he felt like he'd be bucked in the gut. He would have preferred that actually.

"I-I-I" Shining tried. He really tried to stammer out some kind of answer. He failed.

Cadance raised a hoof to cut off any further attempts at speech for the time being. "Guard?"

"Yes, your highness?" The guard's tone managed to come off as a gentle base instead of the harsh bark he used on shining.

"Leave us. I wish to speak with the prisoner alone." She was firm, commanding, giving no room for dissent.

The guard hesitated for a moment, glancing between the princess and the prisoner, but in the end, he relented. With a quick bow, he trotted up the carved granite steps. Cadance's regal splendor contrasted with her dreary surroundings. The damp repurposed cave lit by scant torch light granting the young princess a malefic aura. While usually Cadance barely stood a hoof above Shining Armor, at that moment the young stallion felt as if he were in the presence of the solar monarch and her impossibly tall stature.

The steady drip of moisture off of stalactites clearly marked the flow of time. Even so, Shining was sure the time it took Cadance to speak up again spanned at least an hour, and not ten seconds. "What did I do wrong Shining?" With that one question, all illusions were dropped. This was not a demon seeking vengeance, nor an angel seeking justice, not even a royal alicorn. No. Slumped on the dank, dirty floor next to the bars of his cell sat a broken mare. "What's wrong with me?" Shining wasn't sure who she was asking. He just lay on the floor, ears splayed back in submission, eyes betraying concern and curiosity.

Despite his best judgment, Shining decided to speak up for the first time since he was taken from his home. "Nothing is wrong with you." His voice was a bit hoarse from crying himself to sleep his first night in the dungeon. Still, it rang out in the cavernous cell block. A moment after speaking up, he almost regretted it as Cadance's fury came back with a vengeance.

"Really? If there's nothing wrong with me, then how did I manage to fall in love with a rapist?" She didn't raise her voice, her face remained impassive, yet Shining was instantly cowed as if she'd just used the royal Canterlot voice. "If there's nothing wrong with me, why didn't I realize the colt I was pining after was raping his own little sister? How could I not notice that same filly I had watched over all month had been defiled by the one pony who was supposed to protect her!" While Cadance's tone rose, she still wasn't yelling.

"You want to know the worst part Shining?" Cadance only got a pathetic whimper in response, but she continued anyway. "The worst part, the absolute worst part...." she trailed off, needing to regain her composure. "The worst part of this, at least for me, is that I... I still love you. You're a disgusting, inequine, monster, and I still love you damn it!" Despite her best efforts, tears ran rivulets down her muzzle as she bowed her head, refusing to make eye contact. "Some delusional part of me is still hoping you'll get off easy, that you won't be banished to the other side of the planet. What's worse, is that I could make that happen. I could advocate for you, but if I did that... if I helped you, it wouldn't be for my sake."

As Cadance finally raised her eyes to examine Shining, she saw tentative hope in his eyes as his ears finally perked up. He still looked like a mangy caged animal, but Cadance could see into his soul. See how broken he was, just like Twilight. She winced at that thought, but she refused to look away. "Despite what most ponies would think, I know you aren't pure evil. I read the full report. Ignorance of the law isn't a defense, but it does provide context." She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and held her hoof to her chest. After three seconds, she slowly exhaled and pushed her hoof away before opening her eyes again.

At the risk of angering his only hope of any kind of mercy, Shining spoke up. "So, what happens now?" He was still laying on his stomach, but he worked up the courage to lift his head from the grimy floor. He was not reprimanded, nor did Cadance show any further hostility.

Cadance cleared her throat and ruffled her wings a bit before responding. "Now, I go make a case for your rehabilitation."

Shining's lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile. "Good luck." Having said her peace, Cadance promptly left and called the guard back in. That night, Shining managed to fall asleep without drying out his tear ducts.

True to her word, Cadance spoke to her aunt in defense of the pony she loved. Nothing overt, there were no direct confrontations or pleas for mercy. Cadance would drop subtle hints here and there, over meals, in between her royal and magic studies, making it known any time she was visiting the current sole occupant of the Canterlot dungeons. Slowly she hoped to sway her aunt. Plant an idea in Celestia's head and make her think she came up with it.

Celestia of course, was fully aware of all these manipulation attempts. However, seeing the effort her niece went through on behalf of that sick colt did manage to soften her ire. Once the full investigation was concluded, she had reached a final decision and ordered Shining to her throne room for sentencing. It had taken just nineteen days to gather all relevant information, mostly due to the need to track down some extended family members to question them. Right at the appointed time, the massive double doors to the throne room opened without fanfare and Shining Armor made his way inside.

While he was provided two daily meals of hay and oats and given weekly showers, he still looked like he'd been to Tartarus and back. As he was led to the foot of the throne's dais, his chains clinked and clanked until his designated guard forced him into the seating position. Despite regular visits from Cadance, Shining's eyes looked devoid of hope, no doubt from Cadance's waning confidence in her own abilities and sharing her insecurities with him. Regardless, Celestia lit her horn, peered into his very soul.

In truth, it had been corrupted, broken, ruptured. What little Cadance managed with her visits merely staunched the hemorrhaging of his will to live. Still, even without any magical insight, it was clear this was a broken pony. No punishment, be it banishment or life in prison could do anything more than what he had already done to himself. He may recover some semblance of life given enough time, but he would never be the same.

"Shining Francis Armor of house Twilight, I have ruminated on your crimes and reviewed all relevant details of your case, and heard every argument for your defense and prosecution." At the mention of a defense, Shining's eyes momentarily darted to Cadance who was sitting off to the side behind her aunt. "That said, I hereby pronounce you guilty of sexual assault of a foal, and consanguineous intercourse."

Shining didn't know what that last charge was supposed to translate to, but he guessed that was just legal speak for incest. "These crimes would normally lead to banishment or petrification." His ears splayed back as he flinched at the mention of banishment. "That being said, you yourself are also a minor, and therefore cannot be dealt such harsh punishment. This is also your first offense, and multiple ponies advocated for your defense." Multiple? I thought Cadance would be the only one, but maybe one of the royal advisors spoke to her about it? "Henceforth, you are sentenced to four years of probation and service to the crown.

"Furthermore you will be required to attend and graduate a specialized rehabilitation program. You will be kept in housing provided by the crown, and compensated for your work. You will not be permitted to visit any of your blood relatives unsupervised, and you will not come within fifty pony lengths of Twilight Sparkle. Your suppression ring will track your every movement and will not be removed until you have served your full sentence. Once your sentence is served, your record will be sealed barring any further convictions."

It was leagues more lenient than expected, more lenient than Shining thought anypony in his situation deserved. Yet, actually having his judgement being passed down still took the wind out of his sails. Any hope he may have held in the deepest depths of his mind of a full pardon was crushed. His world wasn't shattered, that already happened. Still, he was numb to almost everything around him as his shackles were unlocked and he was guided out.

For the month following her initial hospital visit, Twilight Sparkle was catatonic. No matter what anypony did, she found herself unable to do anything more than lay on her side, breathe, and blink. Her parents had to feed her, roll her over to avoid bed sores, bathe her, they even got her a bed pan when it was made clear she wouldn't be snapping out of it. No amount of cajoling, pleading, shouting, or magic stimulus could get Twilight to do more than blink and breathe. The day Shining Armor's fate was announced, a single tear dropped from her muzzle. Weather it was from relief of knowing she would likely never see him again, or the final shred of hope of ever seeing her big brother leaving her, not even she could tell.

It was weeks later when Twilight finally moved of her own volition. By that point her muscles had atrophied so walking was difficult, but she got the hang of it after falling on her face no more than three times. Still, while her mind decided her legs could be used once again, her face maintained a sunken dullness even as a small trickle of blood dripped off her muzzle.

Peaking her head out her bedroom door she looked down the hall to the stair case. After looking just a moment longer than she probably should have, she turned the other way, toward her parent's room. She didn't know what time it was, but she knew they would come to their room eventually, so that was her destination. Once at the threshold of the closed door, she sat on her haunches and waited. She had no clue how long she just sat there, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours because she didn't get hungry. Either that, or her body was still catching up to her suddenly active mind and couldn't process hunger yet.

In any case, the next stimuli Twilight registered was the door to her back opening up and the sound of gasps coming from behind. Turning around, she saw her parents faces, contorted in emotion she was currently incapable of processing. What she did know was her mother had tears in her eyes. Her father's gruff voice came out first. "T-Twilight! What are you doing out of your bed? I mean, it's so good to see you up and moving! What do you need?"

The next thing Twilight knew, she was engulfed in off white fur as her mother clutched onto her for dear life. "It's gonna be okay baby. Oh thank the stars you're up, we were so scared sweetie." Velvet continued blabbering as Night Light wrapped his own gentle hooves around the pair.

"The entrance exam is coming up soon right?" Twilight's monotone was muffled by her mother's fur, so she let up slightly on her death grip and prompted her filly to repeat herself. "The entrance exams. For Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Entrance exams are coming up soon right?"

Velvet's already pale complexion drained of what little color it still had. "W-what are you talking about Twilight? You're in no shape for an entrance exam."

Twilight blinked slowly, and slightly out of sync. "You filled out the application forms right? That was one of the things you said to try to get me out of bed. Was that a lie?" Her near lifeless voice unnerved her parents but this was the sole reason her mind decided to leave her bed. She wouldn't be dissuaded. "Dad, you asked me what I need. I need to go to an entrance exam. I need to learn magic. It's all I have left." Twilight was still facing forward, staring into her mother's chest fluff.

She didn't notice her parents glancing at each other then down at her abdomen. After a heated silent conversation between the two adults, Night Light finally spoke up. "It wasn't a lie Twilight. We did fill out the application. If that's really what you need to.... keep going, we'll support you. Your exam is scheduled for two weeks from now, but-"

"Then I guess I have two weeks to brush up on my magic. Thanks dad." Twilight made her way out of the room. Velvet's shock at the abrupt dismissal left her limbs incapable of holding her daughter in place. While her parents tried to process her esoteric behavior, Twilight once again gazed longingly at the staircase. It would be pretty easy, wouldn't it?

Before that train of thought could go any further, Twilight set her jaw and walked down the stairs. She took it slow, didn't want to fall and hurt something would she? Before she realized what she was doing, the bookish filly found herself in her father's study, surrounded by various scrolls, tomes, and treatises on magic. Better get reading Twilight. You've got work to do if you ever want a chance to fix this mess.

Two weeks came and went. Twilight traded her bed for her father's reading cushion. In all that time, she slept a maximum of twenty eight hours. She was as prepared as she possibly could be. All that was left was the final test to determine her future. The actual day of the exam was fully overcast. Some nobles complained about the weather getting too hot and demanded a day of cloud cover to cool off. While Twilight was still suffering from ennui, her body refused to falter as her parents led her through the hauntingly empty halls of Celestia's school.

In the back of her mind, a part Twilight couldn't help but criticize whoever designed the building. It was just a giant rectangular prism with a slanted roof. She would have thought Celestia had better taste. In any case, she wasn't there to study architecture, she was there to study magic.

As she took her place in the exam room, Twilight's eyes seemed to burn with determination. It was the most lively her parents had seen her since her world shattered. Now, she was brimming with an inner strength nopony had ever seen in her. It was definitely keeping ponies attention off her distended abdomen. A minute after she entered, a cart was wheeled in. Atop it was... a purple on purple spotted egg the size of Twilight's head. A brief hint of confusion passed by her expression before locking back to its default scowl. "Miss Sparkle, for your entrance exam, you will be tasked with hatching this dragon egg. Proceed when ready."

With a curt nod, Twilight made her way to the egg. Alright, dragon egg, dad had a book on dragons. They just need heat to hatch so a fireball should do it. Focusing her will on the egg, she attempted to surround it in magic fire. Instead all she got was a fizzle. Her eyes opened in confused anger before she put more effort into her spell. Why is this thing resisting me so much? Hatch already!

Out of desperation, she tried casting from different angles, switching up her spells, she tried everything she could think of, but nothing worked. The dragon egg refused to be touched by Twilight's magic. As she glanced at her examiners, they appeared bored... no, not bored. They were impatient, indignant that this filly still hadn't hatched one simple, stupid egg. That's it egg! You messed with the wrong filly! I refuse to let you keep me from my goal!

She dug deep down through all she had learned, every spell she practiced, elemental alteration, levitation, sound manipulation, barriers.... barriers. Shields. "Shiny." In a flash of grief and rage, Twilight focused every last scrap of her will on the egg in front of her and created a magenta bubble shield... inside the egg. The next thing she knew, Twilight, as well as the rest of the exam room, was covered in dragon embryo. A fully developed dragon embryo. Blood, amniotic fluid, as well as a plethora of tiny purple scales mixed with sporadic green frills and spines.

A bit of blood got in her mouth. After ten seconds of silence, only interrupted by the squishing liquid of dragon guts falling from the cling, there was a deafening boom. The window behind Twilight lit up as the clouds of Canterlot were torn apart by a rainbow shock wave. By the time it reached the school, Twilight's vision went dark. While the last fragments of her soul retreated inward, the darkness born of her rage and grief was let loose.

Her eyes turned green as purple smoke emanated from the sickly green orbs. Her horn lit up with a wrenched malevolent aura of purple green and black. Her fur turned the color of a moonless midnight, as her mane and tail erupted in a violet flame. Various chaotic beams shot out of her horn, blasting everypony in the room. She could have killed them all, instead she opted for pain. She would force all who dared approach her feel the anguish she was forced to suffer because everypony who was supposed to protect her failed. The one pony she thought she could trust above all else betrayed and abandoned her.

Dark waves of magic started radiating, reaching the surrounding classrooms, then encompassing the whole school. While there were only a scant few staff and extra dedicated students present, the sphere of agony continued expanding. Ponies on the streets dropped to their hooves. It soon reached Canterlot Castle and the guard barracks. Within one particularly disgusting latrine, an alabaster unicorn with a magic suppression ring on his horn scrubbed the toilets with his hooves until it hit him.

Shining Armor did not cry out in agony. He did not feel physical pain. He felt her pain. He thought he understood heartbreak. He thought he understood fear. He thought he understood what it felt like to have his world shattered. He knew nothing. As he lay on the disease ridden floor, catatonic as Twilight had been for a month, all he could do was breathe, and leak enough tears to flush one of the toilets he was cleaning.

Despite the utter agony he was in, he could only feel thankful. He knew where this was coming from. Even if it left him in a coma, it would be worth it just to feel a connection to her one last time. Then, just as fast as it came, it was gone. Shining could have sat up. He could have gotten back to work. He could have gone out to check on everypony else. He chose to stay exactly where he fell. Exactly where he belonged. Some officer or even just a grunt would come in and read him the riot act, maybe kick him around a bit, and he'd apologize and get back to work, but for now, he chose to not move more than breathing and blinking.

Back at the exam room, a purple filly lay as catatonic as Shining Armor. Twilight Sparkle lay, writhing in silent agony as she clutched onto her last hopes and dreams as they evaporated into the ether. Princess Celestia sat on her haunches, visibly exhausted, Shielding the filly with her wings. "I'm sorry Twilight. I'm so sorry." Everypony in the school had passed out from the pain, so did most ponies nearby out in the streets. "This wasn't supposed to happen, I'm so, so sorry."

Twilight Sparkle, the sole heir of House Twilight, shed tears she didn't realize she still had while clutching her horn to her chest. Princess Celestia, Sol Invictus, wept. She wept for the stolen future of the pony who would have rescued her sister. It was clearly printed on her flanks. The element of magic surrounded by five sparks, except the star burst was shattered. The six points of the central magenta star were separated, broken.

Twilight did not go back to her mattress. She didn't stare longingly at tall staircases. Twilight did not live either. She lost all her reasons to live, but she kept surviving. She survived because the ponies around her seemed to care about the thing growing inside her. She saw it as a parasite, but she didn't have any worth as a hornless unicorn so she kept it alive as well as herself. She went to every doctor appointment, she answered all their questions, but the spark and drive she had for most of her life was gone. She was a living corpse.

There were times she thought she saw Shining out of the corner of her eye walking down the street, but every time she looked to check, he was nowhere to be seen. On the occasional nights where she could actually get a few hours of sleep, Twilight was either tormented with nightmares or she dreamed of Shining. Playing with him, reading with him, cuddling with him... fucking him, begging for more. She preferred the nightmares, at least they hurt less when she woke up.

Time lost meaning. A month before winter wrap up in Canterlot, Twilight felt her first contraction. Eight agonizing hours and a panicked ride to the hospital later, Twilight was holding a foal. An earth pony colt, born with a half formed useless lump on his head and two barely visible lumps on his back. His coat was a deep blue like his grandfather and his mane consisted of various strands of light blue and lavender that alternated between light and dark strands. "Nova," Twilight croaked out. "Nova Sparkle."

Author's Note

I have an epilogue planned. Not sure when I'll release it. Until then, here's a personal nightmare of mine. I hope you hate it as much as I do.