AUTHOR'S NOTE: I HAVE BEEN SEEING REVIEWS MENTIONING THE WAY MY STORY JUMPS AROUND A BIT AND I JUST WANT TO ADDRESS THIS. I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH SEVERE ANXIETY SINCE BEFORE I STARTED WRITING THIS STORY. I HAVE DONE MY BEST TO MAKE THIS STORY FLOW BUT I WILL REWRITE IT ONCE FINISHED. HOPEFULLY I CAN DO BETTER. ANYWAYS ON WITH THE MAGIC!
I woke up back in my own bed with two warm furry bundles beside me. Cindra was snuggled against my left side snoring lightly as she smiled in her sleep. I ran my fingers through her freshly brushed mane but stopped when she shifted and snorted. On my right side I felt my fiancé sleeping peacefully with her head on my shoulder and chest. Her hoof was draped across my stomach a few inches from the mysterious stab wound.
I didn't get stabbed, I thought as I pulled my ponies closer. So what the hell happened to me?
The sound of my door opening drew my attention to the side and I looked at the doorway without moving my head. I could just barely make out the little nurse's outline as she stared at the three of us in the bed and shook her head.
"Only out of the hospital three days and they're already at it", she muttered to herself. "That colt's going to permanently injure himself."
"We didn't do anything", I murmured, causing the nurse to jump.
"Oh, you're awake", she gasped. "How are you feeling, Prince Jackson?"
"Just Jackson, please", I sighed quietly. "Was I seriously asleep for three days?"
"Yes, P- I mean, Jackson", she replied just as quietly.
"The doctor said Shadow is pregnant", I asked and sighed when she nodded. "What the fuck?"
The vampony snorted and jerked her head up looking around in terror but relaxed when she realized I was still beside her. She yawned cutely and stretched before she laid her head back on my chest with a happy smile. Her smile faltered when she saw the look on my face.
"What's wrong, Liebsche", she asked as she traced a hoof across my cheek.
"So you're pregnant", I asked calmly.
"Y-yes", she stammered. "Are you mad?"
"Am I mad", I repeated evenly. "No, I'm perfectly fine with my fiancé getting pregnant by some other stallion."
"What are you talking about", she gasped as her eyes welled up. "I've only been intimate with you!"
"Last time I checked I wasn't compatible with ponies' genetics", I said heatedly. "So how else would you be pregnant?"
"Jackson, I swear to you that I have been faithful to you", she said with a trembling voice as tears leaked down her face.
"Shadow, I can't procreate", I said as I sat up in the bed. "I'm a completely different species!"
"I'm telling the truth", she choked out.
I sighed and shook my head trying to decide if I believed her when I got an idea. I sent what magic I could into my hand and held it up in front of me as it stopped glowing.
"Tell a lie", I sighed.
"What", she sniffed and cocked her head to the side.
"Just tell a lie", I repeated. "It doesn't matter what, just lie so I can see if I did this right."
"Your mom hates cake", she said quietly and flinched when my hand lit up.
"Good, it works", I smiled and turned to my fiancé. "Let's get this over with."
"Okay", she whispered.
"When did you find out you were pregnant", I asked.
"During the two weeks you were in the hospital after the changeling hive", she replied.
"How did you know you were pregnant?"
"I didn't", she answered quietly and my hand stayed dark. "I thought it was food poisoning because I started throwing up one morning."
"She did come to us about nausea and vomiting", Nurse Redheart supplied.
"Thank you", I nodded before turning back to Shadow. "Who have you been sexually active with lately?"
"Only you", she replied but my hand lit up. "Okay, Cindra too."
My hand lit up as I stared at her.
"Fine, Rainbow Dash as well", she shouted and the light faded from my hand.
"Nopony else?"
"No", she whispered.
"What the fuck", I muttered and nudged Cindra awake.
"Huh whazzit", she snorted as she woke up.
"How did Shadow get pregnant", I asked the changeling as she yawned.
"After everything we've done you're asking where foals come from", the changeling mumbled sleepily.
"This isn't possible", I whispered and fell back against the headboard of my bed.
I yelped in pain and jolted forward. Shadow gasped as she locked her eyes on my back. I asked what was wrong and she told me to see for myself and pointed to the mirror. I shimmied out of bed and stepped to the mirror taking a deep breath before I turned to the side. What I saw made my jaw and heart drop.
"What the fuck", I muttered again as I stared at my reflection.
I reached behind me and touched the feathery tip of my left wing in disbelief. I unfurled my wings and stared at the mismatched sight behind me. I began cursing loudly as I paced around the room. I summoned a scrap of parchment and scribbled a note requesting my mother's presence and sent it on its way. As an afterthought I looked out the window and grimaced at the full moon high in the sky.
"Jackson, what's wrong", my mother shouted as she appeared in my room.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she caught sight of my unfurled wings. A shadow of fear slid across her face as she stared at me and began to tremble slightly. The opening door announced another visitor and I turned to face a wide eyed aunt. I ducked as she launched a fireball at my head and shouted for her to chill.
"FOUL BEAST", my aunt bellowed. "HOW ART THOU FREED?! NO MATTER! I SHALL END THY REIGN OF TERROR BEFORE IT BEGINS!"
"Princess Luna, don't", Cindra begged as she dove face first to the floor at my aunt's hooves.
"STAND ASIDE", she shouted. "IF THY LOYALTIES LIE WITH DISCORD THOU SHALT DIE AS WELL."
"That ain't Discord", Shadow hissed as she jumped in front of me.
"Aunt Luna, it's me, Jackson", I shouted.
A light seemed to blink on in her eyes and she shook her head to clear it. She looked around the room and gasped when she saw a pair of pissed off ponies glaring at her from in front of me. I slowly stepped forward as she blinked in confusion.
"Two different wings", my mother muttered with a distant look in her eyes still. "Just like his father."
I walked up to my mother and lay my hand on her cheek startling her. She flinched and looked into my eyes as a single tear trickled from her eye. She sniffled once before she began to weep freely as she dropped to her knees. I knelt down and held her tightly despite my protesting injuries.
"Mom, it's okay", I whispered in her ear. "My wings are fine, I'm fine and you're gonna be a grandma."
"But what will other ponies think of y- wait what", she gasped. "Which one is pregnant?!"
"The only pony I'm marrying", I chuckled.
"I didn't know vamponies could get pregnant", mom whispered quietly.
"You knew", Shadow asked in shocked terror.
"Yes", mom smiled. "Shadow, we are not defined by what we are but by who we are."
"You're not going to kill me", the vampony asked nervously.
"Why would I", she smiled. "I'm proud to call you my daughter-in-law, even if you two aren't married yet."
I stood and began walking toward the bathroom but stopped when my fiancé asked where I was going. I informed them that my bladder was screaming at me and they laughed as I kept walking. Once I was out of sight I leaned against the wall and slid to the floor as my mind raced.
I'm going to be a father, I thought to myself. What in the hell is happening in my life?! In six months I became a golem, prince, alicorn, fiancé and soon a dad.
Quiet hoof steps broke me from my thoughts and I stared into the worried face of the most beautiful female I had ever seen. I smiled weakly but her expression didn't change. When I made a move to stand she launched herself into my arms weeping silently. I slid back to the floor and simply held her.
"Jackson", she whispered. "I'm sorry."
"What is there to be sorry for", I asked as I stroked her mane. "I'm the one that should be apologizing."
"Why", she sniffed.
"Because I'm a horrible person", I whispered.
"Why do you say that?"
"I hurt everypony around me", I replied as I felt tears well up in my eyes. "I crushed Fluttershy's heart. I cut off Cindra's leg. I stabbed her in a rage fueled fury. I slapped my own mother. Most importantly, though, I hurt you by thinking you cheated on me."
"You had no idea you were capable of impregnating me", she urged quietly. "If I was in your place I would have thought the same thing."
"It still doesn't make it right", I sighed as I turned my face away from her.
"No", she said quietly as she turned my face back to her, "but it shows me you care."
"I love you, Shadow", I whispered. "I love you and want to marry you. But are we ready to be parents yet?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there", Shadow smiled at me.
"I'm terrified", I uttered. "What if our foal turns out to be… like me?"
"Then our foal will be very lucky", she smiled then laughed as she saw my confusion. "Don't give me that look. You're a better stallion than you give yourself credit for."
"I doubt it", I mumbled.
"Jackson, you truly are", she urged. "I thank my lucky star that I get to wake up beside you. You're a compassionate soul."
I laughed as she said the last word and hung my head.
"What's so funny", she asked as she cocked her head to the side.
"I don't have a soul", I smiled ruefully.
"I don't believe that ", she whispered.
"Believe it or not I'm nothing but a puppet", I sighed.
"Jackson if you didn't have a soul you wouldn't be able to love us the way you do", she argued. "I felt your soul when I changed you. I know it exists."
"Shadow, I'm a puppet without a soul", I said loudly as I got perturbed. "I'm just waiting for the day Discord returns and just clips my strings with no warning."
"Until that day we have each other", she smiled. "If Discord ever returns we'll find a way to stop him from hurting you."
"Just look what he managed to do already", I mumbled.
"He brought the love of my life to me", she urged as she kissed me.
"He brought me a sense of purpose", Cindra said from the doorway startling us.
"He brought me a son", my mother smiled as she edged into the bathroom.
"He brought his own downfall", Aunt Luna grinned from behind her sister.
"Master, we all love you", Cindra said softly as she dropped to her knees beside us.
"How could you love somepony that's caused so much pain for you", I whispered.
"So you cut my leg off, big deal", she scoffed.
"Cindra, I killed you", I shouted. "You died in my arms for fuck's sake!"
"What", she gasped in shock.
"When I tried to kill Chrysalis", I explained. "I had her on the ground with my sword to her throat. She used her magic to make you jump on me and in my rage I blindly ran you through."
"What", she repeated quietly as tears streamed down her face.
"I held you in my arms as you were dying", I shouted. "You asked for one last kiss and breathed your last against my lips! I fought to bring you back!"
"That would explain it", my aunt mumbled.
"Explain what", Shadow asked.
"Jackson took Cindra's injuries into himself", the dark ruler sighed before turning to address me. "You gave your own life to save hers, but that doesn't explain how you're alive right now."
"Only the Grim Reaper himself could answer that", mom said, sparking a hint of recognition.
"I killed him", I said quietly as the memory of that encounter floated through the fog.
"WHAT", my mom and aunt shouted in unison.
"I killed him", I repeated calmly. "He tried to stop me from saving Cindra, attacked me and I killed him."
"You killed the Grim Reaper", my mother asked in disbelief.
"I had to save Cindra", I said quietly and looked down.
"Sister, do you suppose-"
"Yes, Luna, I do", mom gasped.
"What is it", I asked nervously.
"By killing the previous Reaper in combat, the right of succession is yours", my mother uttered in disbelief. "You are the new Grim Reaper, Lord of the Dead."
"Well, fuck."