Pathways

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."