The moon ascended slowly into the black sky, raised by Princess Luna’s magic. Its soft light reflected off of the princess’ sparkling horn, and her glossy blue coat gleamed with its luster. As she finished her work, Luna dimmed her horn and sighed, tired from the surprising amount of effort that her daily task, as well as everything else she did, now required. Luna glanced down at her enormous belly, which had grown so large that it nearly touched the ground. With every step she took, the princess of the night was reminded of the result of a wonderful meeting, a beautiful souvenir from a union between lovers, which she would soon bring into the world.
Luna allowed her thoughts to drift to the foal’s father. Theirs had been a carnal, lust-filled affair. She had toyed with the strapping young solar guard like a cat with a ball of yarn; to her, he had been nothing more than an eye-catching but disposable plaything, a distraction from the mantle of perpetual boredom that so often seemed to rest upon her shoulders during the day when she couldn’t sleep. He had warmed her bed and scratched every itch she’d had, ultimately impregnating her in the process. Though she had never loved the stallion, she harbored no ill will towards him. When she had informed him of her pregnancy, he had decided not to stay in the foal’s life, a choice that Luna respected; after all, the soldier was far too young to settle down, and Luna couldn’t blame him for wanting to enjoy his early twenties. Furthermore, she knew that keeping a bastard foal would have shameful consequences, both for Luna and for the foal. If anypony ever learned about this, Luna would never be trusted as a ruler, and should she one day marry, there would be endless speculation about the legitimacy of all of her future heirs. This foal could never have a place in the line of succession. Luna knew that if Celestia had discovered the truth, she would have been forced to terminate the pregnancy, a course of action that she had considered but could not bring herself to take. This left one other option, and though it broke her heart, Luna knew she needed to do what was best for the little one growing within her.
As soon as she had learned of her condition, Luna had asked Celestia if she could take a year-long sabbatical at The Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest, where the two princesses had grown up. Much to Luna’s surprise, Celestia had happily agreed to her younger sister’s request without so much as asking for an explanation; after all, most of their precious family heirlooms had been abandoned with their former home as Celestia and her sister fled from the castle to avoid suffering the same horrific fate as their parents so many years ago. Neither of them had been able to bear the thought of returning to the charred skeleton of the once-imposing fortress. If she knew the truth, she would never forgive me, Luna thought.
Luna shuddered as the foal delivered a staggering blow to her ribcage. A torrent of liquid burst from her womb, and Luna braced herself for the inevitable, imminent effort of labor. As powerful and skilled at magic as she was, though she had searched obsessively for spells with which she could quickly and painlessly speed up the birthing process without putting her foal at risk, Luna had not been able to find anything; however, she had discovered one spell that would partially numb her from her hindquarters down to the soles of her hind hooves. The spell was strong enough to take away her discomfort and alleviate the agonizing pain of labor, which Equestria’s lack of advanced medicine forced non-alicorns to endure; at the same time, though, its magic would not relieve her of the hard work for which labor was so aptly named. The magic would provide just enough sensation for her to feel all of her foal’s movements as it made its way through the birth canal. This sensation would allow her to let nature take its course and encourage her to instinctively follow her body’s natural urge to push when the time came. Luna quickly cast the spell and fell to her side. As if on cue, she felt a wave of pressure and then a sensation of opening up as her cervix began to dilate and the foal moved downward slightly.
“That’s it, little one,” Luna cooed, rubbing her belly. “Just take thy time. Do not rush. Mommy only wishes for thee to be healthy.” Tears moistened the corners of her eyes as the word “mommy” left her lips. It was the first time she had referred to herself as “mommy”; she had refused to allow herself to use the nickname to avoid becoming attached to the foal, but now, as she fought for every breath and caught sight of the foal’s emerging head, Luna realized that this little one would always be a part of her. She could already tell that the foal was a unicorn with a coat that was a slightly lighter shade of blue than Luna’s. With one final push, Luna delivered the foal, who announced her arrival with a piercing cry. The princess of the night immediately folded her legs underneath her and sat up, craning her neck to get a better look at her foal. She immediately noticed that it was a filly. Luna instinctively leaned over and nuzzled the newborn foal, then began to lick her clean. The filly instantly stopped crying, opened her beautiful, deep purple eyes, looked up at Luna, then cooed and touched her nose to the alicorn’s. Luna’s eyes overflowed with tears as she returned her new daughter’s greeting. She remembered an old Equestrian saying: “A healthy foal who is born crying loudly with its first breath is a future warrior sounding its first battle cry to the world.” Luna smiled at this idea and inhaled her foal’s scent, that sweet, milky fragrance possessed by all newborns.
“Welcome to the world, little one,” Luna whispered. She rose to her hooves. swaddled the foal in the blanket that she had bought months ago, then put her into the foal carrier that matched the blanket. The filly giggled as Luna levitated the carrier onto her back. Luna shook her mane and released a sad, tired sigh. It was almost time for the moment she had dreaded since she had learned she was pregnant.
“The least we can do is name thee,” the princess admitted. “Perhaps we should give thee an Old Equestrian name. Wouldst thou like that?” The filly cooed happily in response and gave Luna a smile that nearly tore the princess’ heart from her chest. Luna took a deep breath that turned to a gasp as she realized what this little one’s name would be. Her name would serve as a secret connection to her mother so that Luna could find her one day. The princess of the night sighed and gazed up at her moonlit sky. She begged whatever unseen force controlled the future to someday reunite her with her daughter.
“Beatrix,” Luna proclaimed. “It means ‘warrior princess’ in Old Equestrian. We think we shalt give thee a last name, too: Lulamoon, which is Old Equestrian for ‘daughter of the moon.’ Nopony understands Old Equestrian now, except for us and our sister.” She sniffled and continued, “Beatrix, we promise that we shall return for thee when the time is right; until then, we shall meet only in thy dreams. We love thee with all our heart.” A sob shook her body.
Though she was incredibly sore, Luna magically secured the foal carrier to her back, spread her wings, and forced herself into the air. After she had landed in front of the orphanage, Luna gently placed the foal carrier on the doorstep, magically conjured a pen and paper and hastily scribbled a note:
Please take good care of this foal. Her name is Beatrix Lulamoon. Do not adopt her out. Her mother will return soon.
Before she left the property, Luna kissed her daughter’s temple, hid behind a nearby tree, and sobbed quietly until somepony took the filly inside.
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