You ask Book if he knows anything about wedding gifts. He reminds you that you said no gifts on all the invitations. Whoever stole the love for you must have hidden it somewhere. You tear up the house, looking in any place somepony might've hidden a box. Finally, Book calls you down to the basement. It must be there.
 
He shows you a big box with a card on top. You grab the card and read aloud.
"Hey guys, we know you said no presents, but we just had to do this. Everypony pooled together a little money and got you some stuff. Storm even swiped something from that old castle just for you! -- Cara, Stable, and Storm"
 
Inside, you find a wide variety of gifts. Books, framed photos, some kind of sex toy, and the one thing you were searching for. It's a little jar, glowing with the green love energy inside. Book recognizes it immediately. He tells you that it's Queen Chrysalis's love stash. You could live for centuries with the stuff packed in there! No wonder those costumed idiots want it.
 
Shit, you almost forgot! Book has to live as a mare for now. You give him one last kiss, then the changes begin. He tries to look pretty much the same as usual, just female. Hey, he's already showing a little!
 
This is gonna be so fucking weird. How will you explain to everypony why Book is a pregnant mare all of a sudden?
 
Book decides he shouldn't have to explain everything to everypony. Stable (and by extension, Caramel) already has a vague idea of what's going on, so any medical advice you need can come from him.
 
Oh man, Caramel's gonna have a laugh next time he comes over.
 
You've got an idea! You grab your camera and snap a photo of you and Book. On the back, you write a little message along the lines of "Looks like I married a mare, just like you wanted!" He oughta get a laugh out of that when you send it.
 
Book goes to lie on the couch. You walk over and put a hoof on his belly. This is all so weird. You never expected to be a parent, but here you are. It might not be all bad. You can turn that spare room into a nursery, get some baby stuff, maybe buy a few books on parenting. Some of the old changelings can tell you more about how the baby bugs work. Yeah, you're gonna give your kid the best life you can.
 
You rub your forehooves across Book's belly. He just closes his eyes and enjoys it. Despite all the changes, you still know where he likes it. Soon, you have him squirming under you with delight. As you slow down your ministrations, he drifts off to sleep. You bring a blanket down from the bedroom for him, then you're off to bed yourself.
 
You wake up in the middle of the night. Book is there next to you, stroking you with a hoof. He's going a little low. You remind him that you can't be having sex right now.
 
"What about something simpler?" he asks. He crawls down behind you and continues his work. Lower and lower he goes, until he's right up against your flank. It's unbearably slow, and you love it that way. His tongue snakes its way from the base of your rising shaft to your tailhole, then circles around and comes back. You feel his hot breath across your member. Time and time again, he runs his tongue up and down the area. You're at his mercy.
 
He starts focusing more on the shaft. Every vein and contour of your cock gets treated as he moved toward the tip. You don't remember Book being this good at oral. You're constantly on the verge of orgasm, and he knows exactly what to do to make this last. Every time you come close, he slows down just enough. You're begging him to please let you finish, but he ignores you.
 
You can't take it anymore! You scoot back, straight into his face, in the hopes that he'll finally let it end. He sees what you're doing, and stops you with his leg. This time, he's taking control in a whole different way. He casts a stun spell on you, completely immobilizing you for the time being. You don't mind. The spell finally lets you relax. Enjoy the ride, because it's not ending any time soon.
 
Book stops for a moment, then climbs back up to your face. He kisses you, his breath stinking like sex, then wraps you in a surprisingly soft hug. "This is for knocking me up, you asshole," he whispers in your ear.
 
He continues the hug, running his face through your mane. You're just his plaything for now. He teases you for hours, never letting you cum or go flaccid. It's pure torture, but the best kind of torture. You just hope he doesn't fall asleep on you and leave you here, immobilized and unsatisfied.
 
As the night ticks by and Book continues to antagonize you, you begin to wonder if it'll ever end. He pulls out every trick in his arsenal, even magically stimulating you inside. Every time, it seems like he's finally gonna let it end. But every time, your hopes are crushed. He's one patient motherfucker.
 
Some time later, you start to regain your senses. First, you're twitching involuntarily from his ministrations. Then your magic comes back. That's all you need. You telepathically force his mouth onto your shaft. He had you so close, that one move finally pushes you over the edge. Hours upon hours of pent-up cum pour into his mouth. Everything around you seems to fade away, leaving you with nothing but the feeling of Book's tongue around you. You're in heaven. Wait, you're even seeing things! It almost looks like there's smoke pouring into the room!
 
Book recovers before you do. He smells something, then jumps up in a panic. Oh no, he sees it too. He runs out into the hall, then comes back inside. He casts a quick spell, and you're back up on your feet. There's no time to talk, you've got to grab everything you can! You combine your magic to lift as many of your valuables as possible out of the bedroom. You continue to grab everything in sight as you run out into the street. Book drops everything in a pile. You tell him to stay outside, there's no need to risk losing the baby.
 
You're back inside the house. The blaze is completely out of control, there's no way you could put it out. Looks like the house is going down. You run to the basement, set on saving the love before it's lost forever. It's right where you left it. You grab all the wedding gifts and run back upstairs. Just in time, too. The floor collapses as you reach the top. There's no way you're making it out like this. You revert to your changeling form and fly out of the burning ruins of your house.
 
Book is relieved to have the jar of love back. It's worth more to you two than everything else in the house combined. That's good news, at least. That and your insurance policy are the only good things that came of this.
 
You could probably get the Apple family's help building a new house, or just have the Elements Of Harmony rainbow something together for you. But that's a job for another day. Right now, you've got to find someplace to stay.
 
Stable's house is only a few blocks away. Maybe you could go stay with him and Cara. After the fire ponies leave, you start walking there. You float your belongings by your side, because neither of you thought to grab a bag. It's a huge ball of clothes, heirlooms, books, money, and more. You'll have to go through that later.
 
Stable's house looks empty. He must be working overtime again. You knock, and about a minute later, Caramel answers.
 
"Oh, it was YOUR house!" he exclaims. "I was having a dream that somepony's house burned down."
 
"Yeah, lucky us," says Book. Caramel giggles a little at his feminized voice. "Could we stay here tonight?"
 
"Yeah, I guess. Stable might bring his date home later, but you can stay in my room or something." He's obviously a little embarrassed at the idea of you two in his bedroom. Will you accept his offer anyway?
 
You accept his offer. He ushers you inside and leads you down a dark hallway. His room lies at the end. It's pretty bare bones. There's a small bed in the corner, a desk covered in notebooks, and a closet. The walls are completely bare. It reminds you of when you first moved into your apartment.
 
Book sets everything down in the corner. There's plenty of empty space to keep the wad of possessions in. Well, that's that. You're homeless, sharing a bed with your friend and your currently female husband, and there's a bun in the oven. Where did you go wrong?
 
Sleeping in Cara's bed is a little awkward. It's barely large enough for two ponies, let alone three, so you're all smushed up against each other. You end up in the middle, with Book behind you and Cara not-so-subtly trying to be your little spoon.
 
That's it, you have to say something. Your head is right up against Cara's, so you whisper into his ear.
 
"if you like me, you should've said something."
 
Cara tenses up. He tries to reply, but he's too nervous to say anything coherent. You feel him nod. Yes? Yes what? Yes he has a crush on you, or yes he should've said something? Oh, it doesn't matter.
 
"Maybe we should... do something?" you suggest.
 
"But what about Book?"
 
"He'll understand."
 
"Um, okay. Let's."
 
You wrap your legs around Caramel. He responds by grinding his flank against you. As enticing as that feels, you've got something else in mind. A little treat for being such a great friend. You pull him out of bed and get him to sit on his desk chair.
 
Just the idea of you two fooling around got Caramel hard. He tries to cover himself with his hooves, but failing miserably. He's a lot bigger than you expected. Still, it's nothing you can't handle.
 
You brush his hooves aside as you start working up and down his shaft. He's already leaking pre and moaning. Damn, is he that sensitive? You haven't even started using your mouth yet. With that, you wrap your lips around the head of his dick. He's having the time of his life up there as you suckle up all the pre, then make your way down. His swollen balls rest on the seat, just begging for attention. You roll one around in your mouth. The taste is almost as overwhelming as the smell. You're tempted to keep your attention down there, but Cara won't have that. He puts a hoof on your chin, trying to drag you back up the shaft. You obey without question.
 
Your face grinds against his entire length as he lines your mouth up with his tip again. You part your lips, and he begins to hump into you. You never expected Cara to take control like this. He pushes a little farther every time, being gentle, but still pushing the boundaries. It isn't long before he's buried entirely down your throat. He took it slow enough that you avoided your gag reflex, but this is farther than you've ever gone. You should probably take it from here.
 
You magically pull his hooves from the back of your head. Okay, let's review. Keep your teeth away, open throat, bob your head, what about the tongue? Oh, you'll figure it out.
 
You start moving along Cara's shaft, using every trick you have to make this the best blowjob he'll ever get. He's in a whole other world right now. His entire body curls around your head, enveloping you in his fuzzy regrowing coat. You should probably finish him off pretty soon, though. You don't want to reenact Book's torture on him.
 
You speed up your efforts, to his delight. He stopped trying to be quiet a long time ago. His moans echo through the unfurnished room, as do your wet slurps. His pre is a constant flow, foreshadowing the explosion you're about to set off. You have a hard time getting all of it down, but that's alright. Much of it dribbles from the corners of your mouth and runs down his cock. You use it to your advantage, smearing it around with a hoof as you continue suckling on his flared head. Time to end this.
 
You copy one of Book's signature moves, stimulating his prostate with a steady flow of magic. That's all it takes for him. Cara squirms around you, his orgasmic moaning only egging you on further. His extraordinarily large load fills your mouth with every pump. There's no way you can swallow it all. Your face is covered in his seed, and it's just starting to slow. His orgasm continues for well over a minute. By the end of it, you've choked down what feels like a pint of cum. This dude's fucking incredible.
 
Once he's regained his composure, he flops down onto the floor with you. He pushes you to your back and kisses you passionately, not caring that he's smearing his own seed all over himself. He's all over you, licking your face clean, nuzzling your neck, and grinding his spent cock against yours.
 
"I fu-" he starts, then stops for a moment to catch his breath. "I fucking love you, man. I mean it."
 
And you can feel that that's true. He's given you an outrageous amount of love since you got in that bed.
 
Wait a second, this isn't the real Caramel! Who is it then? Book? Stable? A changeling? You push him off you and cast your anti-illusion spell. Nothing happens. This isn't right. You try something else. The trick Book taught you to wake up from a dream. It works, and the world fades to black.
 
You're lying in Caramel's bed, just as you were earlier. Book is sleeping behind you, facing away. Caramel is pressed up against you, his lips on yours. He's asleep, but with a cute little smile on his face. It's starting to make sense now. Did you just have psychic dream sex with him, or is it just your average wet dream? You'll have to figure out how to ask him when morning comes. It's gonna be tough falling asleep again, though. You're hard as a rock, and there's a really loud mare in Storm's room.
 
The next morning, you are awoken by Caramel. He seems unusually chipper. You go to the kitchen together, where Stable is making a big pot of oatmeal for everypony. Book is asking endless questions about pregnancy and getting a lot of "I don't knows" in return. Stable's not the changeling guy at the hospital, so his knowledge is limited to basic health tips. The mare you heard last night is sitting at the counter. She sees you and calls you over to the other stool.
 
"It's me, the zebra changeling guy!" she says through gritted teeth. "I've been dating Doctor Stable. He doesn't know."
 
Ohoho. Wow. This isn't gonna be pretty when Stable finds out. That's probably what he (she?) is getting at. You whisper back and forth during breakfast. She goes by Iced Mocha now, because that's the best identity she could come up with. She's been dating Stable for a couple weeks now, and been trying to find a way to tell him about who she is without driving him away. What should you do to help her? Or should you just leave it up to them?
 
You've got enough problems with your burned down house and Cara's crush on you to worry about their relationship issues. You give her a little tip (don't just spring it on Stable out of nowhere) and wish her luck.
 
"So... what brings you to Caramel's room?" asks Stable. You can tell how weird he feels just saying that.
 
"Oh, our house burned down. Nothing major."
 
He shows a little concern despite your smartass answer. "Well, you're welcome to stay here for a while. You know, as long as you're okay with tripling up on that little bed." He takes a step closer to check you out. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"
 
You assure him that you're fine. The heat barely got to you before you were out with the love jar. Now, about Caramel. You need to have a serious talk with Book and Cara. It's obvious that he has a crush on you, and you have to admit that the feeling is somewhat mutual. The problem is that you're married with a baby on the way, so it's not really the best time. What are you gonna say?
 
You bring Cara back into his room. He sits on the bed, you just stand there.
 
"Cara, I know you have feelings for me. And even though I like you, we just can't. I'm married to Book now, you have a thing with Storm, think about them."
 
Caramel's eyes water, and he continues to stare at the floor. He takes a deep breath. "But I don't like Storm. There's just nothing between us anymore."
 
Shit, this is about their relationship. He's just looking for something better. "We could help you with that, but I don't want to hurt Book. I've already put him through so much shit, and cheating isn't something I want to add to the list."
 
"No, yeah, I get it," he mumbles. "I just don't want to feel alone like this anymore."
 
"What about Big Macintosh? I hear you and him got pretty serious."
 
"I don't know. He was really angry when he heard I got replaced. I think he's still upset that the fake me ruined what we had."
 
That settles it. You can get Cara and Big Mac together again.
 
You decide to take Caramel out with you. There's this really nice convenience store by the smoldering ruins of what was once your life, and you need some supplies if you're gonna set him up with Big Mac.
 
You get your usual carton of strawberry milk and a bunch of magazines that seem like things Mac would be interested in. Cara insists on getting a cheap Lego set, so you lend him a couple bits. He tells you all about Big Mac's hobbies, their relationship, and everything else you need to know to get them back together. He seems pretty excited by the plan. Now you've just got to go to Sweet Apple Acres and talk to the guy.
 
You decide that the best course of action is something so silly it cannot possibly fuck up. Ten buns of rocky road ice cream later, you've created a sort of trail through the orchard. The trap is set, Cara's off to his spot, and you've just got to get Mac out here.
 
It's simple enough to lure him out. You just knock on the barn door and fly up where he can't see you. He immediately notices the empty tubs of ice cream, and the hunt begins. You follow close behind, taking care to move silently between the trees. He's almost at the meeting spot now. Hopefully, Caramel has figured out what to say by now.
 
"H-hey Mac!"
"Howdy."
Their greetings are followed by a long (but strangely comfortable) silence. You guess this is what happens when two really quiet ponies date. Eventually, Caramel decides to speak up.
"I've been thinking about us."
Big Mac just grunts in acknowledgement.
"It's been a really long time since I was rescued from the changelings. And I've made a bunch of new friends. They helped me be myself again."
 
Well that's a nice way to put it. Caramel continues to talk about relationships and everything. You're starting to think it's not working, but then they approach each other.
 
"Big Mac?"
"Eeyup?"
"Let's start things over. You and me."
Letting his actions speak for themselves, Big Mac pulls Cara into a deep hug. Cara catches sight of you and gives you a little wink. That's your cue. You fly back to Stable's house, leaving those two lovebirds to do their own thing. Maybe you should talk to Book about the baby. It seems to be coming along abnormally fast. Well, you're not sure how long a changeling pregnancy is supposed to last, but still.
 
You arrive at Stable's house, but nopony's home. Damn, you should've asked Caramel for his key! Oh well...
 
Wait, there's a note under the door! It's in Book's handwriting.
"Went to hospital with Stable. Don't worry, it's just a checkup. Everything seems fine, but I wanted to get that changeling medic's opinion. See ya soon!"
You remember that changeling he mentioned. He's an older guy who got a job at the hospital as their resident changeling expert. Well, you have nothing better to do than pay them a visit.
 
The hospital is only a short flight away. The staff leads you right inside to a little exam room. Book is there, just finishing up his business. The changeling doctor notices you're here, and begins summarizing everything you need to know.
 
"Well, I've looked over everything. The baby's going to be absolutely fine. It's a girl."
 
A girl. Huh.
 
"What about the love thing?" asks Book.
 
"Oh. That. Well, Book here has ingested a massive amount of love over the last few days. I'm not even sure how a changeling can collect so much so quickly. Surely, that is what is advancing the pregnancy so quickly."
 
Book calls you over to the table. He whispers to you "I didn't take much from the jar. We're still set."
 
The doctor clears his throat to regain your attention. "I apologize for my lack of insight here. Queen Chrysalis banned children between changelings. She was worried that another Queen would rise to power."
 
You thank him for all his help and take Book home. He goes straight to bed. Unfortunately, he's hogging the whole thing. You and Cara will have to make a fort or something.
 
Caramel gets home pretty soon. He's upset about getting kicked out of his own bed, but only until you mention pillow forts. He goes bouncing through the house, collecting every blanket and pillow he can find. You use Stable's coffee table as a base, and quickly build up enough space for two ponies to lie. Book is sleeping, so you have to whisper to each other. It's like you're both colts at a sleepover.
 
Cara brings you up to speed on his brother's relationship. They're getting really serious now. He can sense that Iced Mocha is actually that zebra, but they're happy so he's keeping his mouth shut.
 
Speaking of mochas, you left your drink in the bedroom. Cara follows you out and back into his room. You expected Book to be asleep by now, but he's sitting up in bed. The whole room is glowing green from the love jar's contents. Oh shit, he's taking it all! You go to stop him, but he cuts off the flow when he sees you in the doorway. The jar still has a faint glow, but he's consumed a lot of it. He smiles at you apologetically. You understand why he's giving the baby so much love, but that jar was gonna triple your lifespans!
 
Book screams. Oh no, did something go wrong? Did he fuck up and take too much? Everypony in the house rushes into the bedroom. Stable, Cara, and Iced Mocha all stare at Book as he writhes around on the bed.
 
"Why now? Why is it happening now?" Book asks to nopony in particular. What is it?
 
"We need to get him to the hospital. The baby's coming!" says Stable, sounding almost as freaked out as you are.
 
The run to the hospital is stressful, to say the least. You and Stable levitate Book while Caramel and Mocha try (and fail) to keep him calm. He keeps ranting about how much he hates having a vagina and shit. You just have to tune him out for the next little while.
 
Stable takes Book from you at the front door. The security lets him right through, and you rush behind him. Everypony else will have to wait in the lobby. Book gets set in a gurney and wheeled into a room.A nurse puts him on some muscle relaxants, which stops his whining.
 
Stable turns to you. His usual demeanor is replaced with the professionalism of a Doctor. "Book is in labor now. I don't know how he did it, but he went through all three trimesters in just a couple months. We're gonna try to get the changeling doctor called in, but it'll take a while."
 
And with that, he leaves you alone with Book. The poor guy can hardly speak right now, let alone keep you company, so you just sit there and read pamphlets. That is, until Stable comes back in. But it's not Stable! Caramel snuck into the room in a labcoat. Must be the perks of looking exactly like a Doctor.
 
You're about to ask why he's impersonating a doctor and sneaking into a hospital room when he pulls out a camera.
 
"Thought you might wanna record it."
 
You gratefully accept the camera and set it up by Book's bed. He's having contractions or something, so he's a little too distracted to notice. You and Cara just sit there and wait for a doctor to come by. Eventually, the changeling doctor runs in and congratulates you both. He gets right to business, instructing Book every step of the way. There's a lot of screaming involved, some of it your own, but eventually everything works out.
 
Book is sleeping right now, and your daughter is getting cleaned up and whatever else the hospital does to newborns. You can probably visit her in the nursery pretty soon. Should you check that out, or take a little breather?
 
You decide to go see your kid. It might be interesting, the doctors said something about accelerated growth. The big room of foals is just across the hall.
 
As you approach, you hear a hoof thumping on the glass. There's a changeling filly, about kindergarten age, trying to get your attention. It's her!
 
"Can you let me out. mister?"
 
She can talk! You start thinking about how absurd that is, but then you remember that it's all magical and shit. Maybe this means she really is a Queen.
 
"Can you hear me? Let me out!" She's talking a bit louder now. You open the door before her voice wakes up the babies. She thanks you and starts to look for a way out of the hospital. You stop her. She's right next to you now, and you finally have a good view of each other. She looks a lot like Book.
 
"You're a changeling too!" she exclaims, despite the fact that you're in pony form. "You must be my daddy!"
 
"Yeah, I am. Come on, let's get out of here."
 
She smiles this adorable little smile and climbs up on your back. You take her back to Book's room. He's awake, and finally male again. He is just telling Caramel how much he's missed his cock when they see the filly on your back. You magically lift her onto the bed, right next to Book. He's speechless. They just look at each other for a few moments.
 
Book turns to you, still as dumbfounded as before, and says "It's true. She's a Changeling Queen."
 
You and Book spend the whole night getting to know your daughter. She's about as smart as the average filly, and you come to the conclusion that she's been picking up information from Book's mind somehow. That must mean the hivemind is coming back. Yeah, you can feel it now. It's nothing like Chrysalis's overwhelming control, it is just a feeling of her presence within you.
 
The other changelings must feel it too, because they keep dropping in to see her. She greets every one of them herself. Some leave gifts. Love, bits, food, anything that might gain the favor of their new Queen. She's having a blast trying out her authority, but you warn her about abusing her power.
 
"Don't worry, Daddy!" she squeaks. "I'll be the nicest queen ever! Not like that meanie Chryssi-liss."
 
After a few days of observation and a lot of confusion for the doctors, it's time to take your daughter back to Stable's house. She insists that you three need to sleep in the pillow fort. Looks like Caramel will finally get his bed back.
 
You're about to put her to bed, but a knock at the door stops you all. Another changeling? You get the door. No, not a changeling. Something much worse. Your parents.
 
They barge in as soon as they greet you and go straight for your daughter. There's no time for her to flee, your mother has already scooped her up and started baby talking. She's trying to get her to stop, insisting that she's almost old enough for school already. Your dad comes and talks to you about parenting.
 
"Listen son, I don't really think this is the kind of life a young filly needs."
 
"What do you mean?" you ask. "We've been preparing since the wedding!"
 
"You know exactly what I mean. It's one thing for two stallions to marry each other, but a child?"
 
You know what he's getting at. He thinks he can raise her better than you and Book can. There's no way you'd put him charge of another kid, not after your shitty childhood. What will you say?
 
"I get what you're saying. But honestly, I wouldn't trust you to raise my daughter if you were the last pony in Equestria. You're not a good parent."
 
He's taken aback at your comment. You never really disrespected him before.
 
"And on top of that, you don't know the first thing about changelings. How are you supposed to raise a changeling Queen?"
 
The room is silent. Everypony is staring at your father, waiting for his response. A few years ago he might've threatened you, but now he knows he can't do shit.
 
He turns to your mother. "Come on, we're leaving."
 
She puts your daughter down and follows him out the door. After they're both gone, your daughter flies up onto your back.
 
She makes sure nopony is listening, then whispers "Was that Grandpa? He's a jerk." You've got to agree there.
 
You guys all try to forget what happened. Over dinner, Book talks about plans. Buying a new house, sending your daughter to school, and oh yeah, NAMING HER. Everypony just kinda forgot that she still doesn't have a name. It has to be something befitting a Queen. She'll be using it for centuries, if not millennia, so make it good.
 
Gloriana! It's perfect! You remember the name from an old epic poem. Book loves it, as does your daughter. It's official. She'll be Queen Gloriana.
 
As soon as you name her, she starts bringing up school. She's so eager to go already. Book can take care of all the calls and paperwork. Maybe she can even skip a grade or two with all the stuff she already knows.
 
That day, Twilight Sparkle shows up at Stable's house. Well, it's PRINCESS Twilight Sparkle now. While you were in the hospital with Book, some huge shitstorm was happening all around town. She sorted things out, and apparently that was enough to make her royalty. Equestrian politics are weird. Well anyway, she's an alicorn now.
 
You invite her in, and everypony gathers around to ask her what it's like to be a Princess.
 
"Please, not now. I'm here to see Book's daughter." She glances over at her. "What's her name again?"
 
"I'm Queen Gloriana!"
 
Twilight looks a little nervous at the mention of a Queen. You don't blame her. "Well, I'm glad to meet you, Gloriana."
 
You shoot the shit for a while. She's really curious about Gloriana, and tries to get as much information written down as possible. It's the first time a Queen's early life has ever been recorded, so of course she would jump on the opportunity. You tell her about the almost instant aging, and how she's absorbed a bit of knowledge from changelings around her. But when your daughter mentions going to school, she drops a bombshell.
 
She wants Gloriana to become her assistant. What do you think?
 
"Princess Twili-"
 
"Just Twilight is fine. We're all friends here."
 
"Twilight. I appreciate your offer, but I can't help but think you've got some other motive here. I don't want to rush into this until I'm sure you've got her best interests at heart."
 
She looks disappointed. Maybe she saw a little bit of herself in the filly. "Oh. Okay then. I guess I should get going." She steps outside. "Princess duties and all that." And with that, she flies off.
 
Book taps your shoulder. "Why the..." he looks around to make sure Gloriana isn't nearby. "Why the fuck did you turn her down? This could be the opportunity of a lifetime! Don't you remember how Twilight got started?"
 
Maybe he's right. Twilight was just trying to follow in Celestia's hoofsteps. You decide to call her once she gets home.
 
She picks up on the first ring, sounding more cheerful than ever. "Oh, I knew you'd reconsider! How about we go over all the details, just to make you feel a little better about this. We could do lunch! Tomorrow at noon? The library? I'll tidy up a little." And with that, she hangs up on you. Somepony's excited. She didn't even give you time to speak. Well, you've got a plan.
 
The next day, you take Book and Gloriana over to Twilight's library. She has all kinds of gourmet candy and shit from her coronation, and you all gorge yourselves on it. Her proposal gets laid out like this:
 
Gloriana will become her assistant. She's free to do pretty much whatever she wants, but Twilight will help guide her studies. Nopony is exactly sure what that will entail, but it'll probably be similar to Twilight's education. Your daughter seems to like the idea. So does Book. But in the end, everypony looks to you for the final decision. Will you accept her offer?
 
You tell her you'd be honored to. Gloriana starts bouncing around the room in celebration.
 
Twilight shakes your hoof to seal the deal. "Don't worry about her. I'll take things slow, even though a Queen like her could handle just about anything."
 
That does it, then. Gloriana's gonna get the best education a pony can receive, and probably get in a good position with Equestria's royalty. The future looks bright for everypony.
 
Under Twilight Sparkle's guidance, Gloriana quickly becomes a powerful new Queen. She helps integrate her changelings into pony society, and after a few short years, everything is working just fine. As time goes by, she becomes just as respected as the pony Princesses. The barriers between races have all but disappeared.
 
You and Book eventually get around to rebuilding your house. The love jar has enough energy left to sustain you for centuries, and with it you live out a very long life together. Even after it's gone, your daughter makes sure you two stick around. You're more than happy to go with that.
 
Your parents lived up in Canterlot for the remainder of their lives. You never talked to them much, but that's not to say you cut them off completely. They always came to town for Gloriana's birthdays, and when they got sick, you were right there for them.
 
But what about your friends? Caramel and Big Macintosh got back together, all thanks to your little scheme. Cara moved in at Sweet Apple Acres, and it's only a matter of time until Mac pops the question.
 
Stable found love as well. Iced Mocha revealed her identity to him, but by then he was far too committed to be upset. As far as you know, they're still together.
 
Storm Chaser... is a different story. He left Ponyville right around the time Gloriana was born. You never did find out what happened to him. All he left behind was a letter, thanking you for being a friend, but explaining that he just had to start fresh somewhere. You understand why he had to go. This town held too many painful memories for him.
 
It's a dark, desolate night on the streets of Ponyville. You're on your way home to see Book. It's your fortieth anniversary tonight, and you wanted to run out and get something special. He'll be so excited to see it again. You can't wait to see the look on his face!
 
As you approach your house, there's a strange feeling of wrongness in the air. Are you being followed? No, that's not it. You check your surroundings again. Wait, there's something there. Actually, it's more like something ISN'T here. There's a hole in the side of your house, and it leads to nothing. It's like a hole in reality.
 
Oh no. No, this can't possibly be happening! How long has it been since you last checked? You use Book's dream trick just in case your suspicions are correct. To your horror, the world fades away from you.
 
You're lying in the Everfree Forest. But why? You look around, and see a makeshift camp set up around you. A changeling sleeps under a homemade tent. It's Book, but he looks so much younger. This can't be right. You shake him until he wakes up.
 
"Oh, you're awake. How nice of you to let me know."
 
He stands up and starts moving toward you. Something is different about him. He isn't acting like his normal self. Think. When was the last time you two went camping?
 
"Book, what's going on? Isn't it our anniversary?"
 
He laughs. "Anniversary? Oh, that's rich. You're so desperate, you dreamed we got married! Well, the pods'll do that to ya."
 
Oh Celestia, no. This can't be real. You don't want it to be real. You beg him to put you back into the pods, fix everything, return you to your good life. He laughs harder still, and does just that.
 
-----
 
You shoot up in bed. Book wakes up and asks you what's wrong.
 
"Another nightmare."
 
"That same one?"
 
"Yeah."
 
Tears have begun to well up in your eyes, but there's no need to worry. Book is right there. He'll keep you safe, and make sure you never have to go back to that life again. Why? Because that's what we do for love.