Something Special in the Wind

by Mereneth

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Spike, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Main 6
Length: 6273

The Cutie Mark Crusaders embark on an adventure destined to mark their place in history as they find themselves drawn into conflict with a foe Equestria has never seen before. Friends are made and lost as the world changes based on their decisions.

Six years have passed since the events at the Tree of Harmony. Time has continued to flow and life has moved on. While the Bearers of Harmony have spread apart with the passage, their friendship mostly remains. However, the time has comes for the heroes of the past to step clear of the path of legends to live normal lives and make way for the heroes of the future.

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom step onto the path's edge as word spreads of a joyous event; one that leads to a long overdue reunion of their predecessors. Memories resurface as they make up for lost time, though some expose the cracks in forgotten wounds.

Among it all, a new danger lurks and spreads; a threat to all lands, even beyond the borders of Equestria.

Join the Cutie Mark Crusaders on their journey as the story unfolds. Magic, love and excitement await as our young heroines undertake an unforgettable adventure to save the world and perhaps make a few new friends along the way.

Cover image used with permission from Dennybutt. Thanks a ton! I hope to be able to commission you for a more specific cover soon!

Thanks to the friends from EditorsRus for their help finding things I overlooked and for their continued help!

Published 2014-01-30 07:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-30 07:50:02 UTC

Little Surprises

Twilight stared at Rarity in shock, unable to grasp what she'd just been told as silence fell over the library. It couldn’t be possible; there was simply no way she could believe her fun loving friend was actually at the Ponyville hospital for that. She blabbered incoherently as she tried to regain the ability to speak, sputtering as her own disbelief fought for control of her voice.

“Pinkie is a wha, a wha? She couldn’t p-puh,”

Twilight trailed off as shock reasserted itself. Rarity nodded, smiling like a fool as she repeated herself to confirm Twilight had heard her correctly,

“Pinkie is going to be a mother. She is in the hospital right now and will be giving birth to what the doctor believes will be twins. Listen, darling, I know it is a surprise but I really must go tell the others! This is simply phenomenal news!”

With that, Rarity spun on her rear hooves and burst from the library at a gallop to continue delivering the message. Twilight stared after her as the doors swung shut, her lips quivering between a smile and a need to let her mouth hang open in awe, the bizarre sensation of it all managing to keeping her stock still and mute until a sleep-addled, scratchy male voice broke her from her reverie.

“Twilight? What-,”

Spike yawned and stretched, drawing onto his hind legs as he rubbed sleep from his eyes and looked at the door that his friend seemed so fixated on before finishing what he had started to say,

“What was all that about? Pinkie did what, with who?”

Twilight turned to look her companion in the eyes and grinned from ear to ear as her wings snapped open in glee.

“Pinkie is a going to be a mother!”

Giggling like a little filly, Twilight pranced in place and took Spike by his claws with her fore hooves and spun in circles, giddy at the announcement. Just as quickly she let him loose, sending him tumbling into a stack of books as she rushed upstairs and started digging through her things.

“She what? Wait, Twilight, who is the father?”

Spike said, flustered and confused as a shower of odds and ends were flung across the library, victims of Twilight's unexplained search. He was happy for her, he had to admit, but when had this all happened? Why didn’t they know about this sooner? Surely Pinkie would have told Twilight about something as important as getting together with somepony that special to her.

As if on cue, a pink scroll bound in lace ribbon bounced to his feet. Dust coated much of the paper, leading to a feeling of guilty dread that seemed to wash over his heart. Tenderly, as if it might fall apart at his touch, Spike picked up the parchment and gave the ribbon a tug. As if to confirm his fears, a puff of confetti showered onto his chest as the scroll unrolled to display fancy text written over a watermark of Pinkie’s cutiemark. Out of habit he began to read it aloud to himself.

“You are cordially invited to the wedding of Pinkamena Diane Pie and-“

He felt a tear slide down his cheek as his heart sank with each word, prompting him to look up to Twilight. With the balcony between them, though, all he could see was her tail as it bounced around as she dug through one chest after another.

Had they really managed to, dare he believe it, miss their friend’s wedding? He knew they lost track of time and events while performing one experiment or another, but how could they have managed to become so absorbed in them that something this important would go forgotten? With a whimper he looked back down at the invitation, only to groan as he realized his tears had managed to make the ink run, leaving the better part of the message illegible.

“Twilight, we-“

A backpack ensorcelled by the telltale glow of Twilight’s magic rapidly descended into Spikes arms, sending the invitation skittering away beneath a bookshelf. Before he could protest, the weight of another added itself to his load, followed by Twilight’s voice,

“Come on, Spike! We have to hurry so we can get there in time for the birth!”

The sound of the library door swinging open and hooves galloping away was all he needed to hear to know she had rushed away already, leaving him to carry whatever mess she’d packed. Despite how long he’d known her, sometimes he didn’t understand the violet mare. As he shouldered the baggage he looked around for the dropped wedding invitation, but to no avail. Heaving a sigh, he slinked out the door and pulled it shut with his tail.

Now he felt worse about the whole thing as he had no idea who Pinkie had even gotten married to.

With the fear of missing out on anything else spurring him on, Spike dropped to all fours and ran after Twilight.

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted up to the front desk of the hospital, all squealing with glee, only to be silenced by a stern glare from one of the nurses behind the desk.

“Pardon, ma’am, butcha mind tellin us where-“

Apple Bloom flinched as the same nurse glared at her again.

“Young filly, you need to keep your voice down. Now, what is it you need to know?”

The nurse leveled her stare at the three of them, focus shifting between the airborne Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as she bounced in place.

“We wanted to know where Mrs. Pie would be, please!”

Sweetie exclaimed, her voice filling the air with melody as she spoke each word in sing song. Her cheeks flushed as the last word left her lips and the bubbling desire to cheer found itself squelched by one of her hooves.

With a smirk the nurse pointed them down a hall, offering up simple directions to the maternity ward. She tried calling after them to keep their voices down as they slipped away, though her words were lost to their ecstatic giggles.

Scootaloo slowed her flight to match Apple Bloom as the filly slowed to a trot, hoof falls filling the otherwise empty hall with a single staccato rhythm as the maternity ward sign came into view. It took a moment to realize the sound only accounted for one set of hooves; somehow they had managed to lose Sweetie Belle along the way.

She briefly considered turning back to look for her, but with equal brevity decided against it. She was in the hospital, at least, even if she was lost. With a subtle nod to herself she decided it would probably be just as well that they just waited for her in the ward.

“What do you think she’ll name them?”

Scootaloo asked, grinning sheepishly at Apple Bloom as they slowed to a halt just outside the double doors to the ward. She settled onto the floor with a light tap and folded her wings, intentionally brushing her feathers across Apple Bloom’s nose, garnering a loving smile from her victim.

“Ah dunno. Hay, we don’t even know what the foals look like yet. We don’t even know if they’re fillies or colts! C’mere, you. Ya don’t get to escape givin’ me ah kiss today. I need this…”

Without another word or warning, Apple Bloom slid up against Scootaloo’s side and locked lips with her friend, closing her eyes as she felt a familiar heat in her cheeks from the pleasure of being in contact with her. She could feel Scootaloo flush hot against her. As the young, orange mare leaned into the kiss and her long, fuchsia locks fell against her snout it sent shivers of happiness down her spine.

“I knew it! I knew you two were together!”

Both fillies leapt apart with a squeak, light blushes darkening as Sweetie Belle stared mischievously at her clearly embarrassed friends. She giggled, watching in amusement as they both idly pawed at the tile, as if that would somehow make her forget what she had just seen.

Scootaloo tossed her head, covering her face with her hair in an effort to hide her emotions. Sweetie waited in silence, taking a moment to stare at the length of Scootaloo’s mane as a memory flashed through her mind of a time when she had kept it shorter. When they were kids…

“Well? What clued you in?”

Scootaloo whispered, snapping Sweetie Belle out of her reverie. Sweetie looked her friend in the eye, her grin gentling into a simple smile.

“Feather Weight. You two had been together for so long; I thought I was going to end up seeing you two married or something at first,”

Sweetie looked over to Apple Bloom as she spoke,

“But then you two broke up. I couldn’t figure out why at first and I didn’t want to bug Feather about it. Then, over the next few weeks, I kept seeing this look in your eyes every time you looked at Apple Bloom when we were hanging out. I just, well, never caught you guys doing anything until now.”

Scootaloo grinned and sheepishly looked back at Apple Bloom to offer a guilty smile.

“Well, don’t let me keep you love birds apart. You two looked cute!”

Sweetie Belle was nearly beside herself with amusement as her friends somehow managed to blush a deeper shade of red as she spoke. Not wanting to hurt their relationship, she pranced over to Apple Bloom’s side and nudged her over to Scootaloo, grinning like a gleeful fool and motioning with one hoof to confirm she was entirely ok with the act she had caught them in.

Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle a skeptical look, tucking her wings tightly against her sides as her embarrassment urged her to simply find somewhere to hide. Sweetie nodded, sharing an encouraging smile between them as she motioned Scootaloo towards Apple Bloom again. She held in a chuckle as Apple Bloom took the initiative by wrapping a fore leg around Scootaloo’s neck and pulling her back into a kiss.

As Sweetie watched her friends return to sharing a kiss, the sound of claws scrabbling on the floor made her own heart rush. Spike! She could feel her cheeks grow pink as he rounded the corner, only to feel her lips draw back in a smirk as he scrambled for traction and promptly slid into the wall as his legs surrendered to the seemingly frictionless surface. Giggling, she trotted to his side and lifted him to his feet with her budding magic, shamelessly stealing a kiss before setting him down, careful to block his vision of her friend’s secretive romance.

“About time you got here! Pinkie is supposed to be a momma soon and we are not going to miss it, are we, girls?”

Sweetie turned her attention back to her friends, raising her voice to bring Spike’s presence to their attention so that they had a moment to break apart before she allowed Spike to see past her.

“Sorry, Sweetie. I didn’t even know Pinkie had gotten married,”

Spike said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, hating that he had to admit such a thing, before continuing,

“I only just found the invitation for the wedding today while Twilight was digging through her chests for all the junk in these bags. It got messed up a little, so I don’t even know who she married.”

Sweetie smiled softly and pecked his nose with another kiss.

“Don’t worry about it, cutie. I know how Twilight gets. She taught me my magic, after all. Anyhow, let me fill you in. Pinkie married-“

Before Sweetie could finish, Scootaloo interrupted her, blurting out something unintelligible in surprise. Spike, Sweetie and Apple Bloom stared in confusion at Scootaloo as she stumbled over words until she finally managed to speak up, staring incredulously at Sweetie Belle and Spike,

“When did you two become love birds?”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom turned to look at their friend, surprise registering in their eyes.

“Where have you been?”

The pair replied simultaneously, only to turn to face each other and giggle slightly at the timing of their response.

“Spike and I have been going out for months, Scoots! I thought you knew!”

Sweetie Belle exclaimed, wrapping her hooves around Spike’s scaled neck, pretending to cling to him possessively as he jokingly protested to being set off balance. Apple Bloom turned to her astonished girlfriend and nodded, then nuzzled her neck encouragingly to show support.

“Ah could swear ya was here when they told me.”

Apple Bloom said, looking forlornly at Scootaloo.

“Ya know I would never leave you in the dark on purpose.”

Scootaloo grinned halfheartedly and leaned into the offered affection, shrugging off the issue and settling for the loving touch of Apple Bloom’s muzzle on her neck. It was enough.

“Aw, I’m OK Apple Bloom. Let’s just go see Pinkie now.”

As the double doors clicked shut, Sweetie Belle and the gang found themselves surrounded by familiar faces. The Cakes were already seated in a waiting area, their children playing at their hooves, while Twilight and Rarity chatted quietly in the hall. Shortly the other Bearers of Harmony showed up, though the halls remained devoid of any sign of Applejack.

Sweetie shot Apple Bloom a sorrowful look, only to have her friend avoid the sympathy by hurriedly turning away and dragging Scootaloo to the now forgotten waiting area as the others dove into small talk to catch up. It almost hurt to know something was wrong, yet not know what the problem actually was or how she could even begin to help.

She thought back to when she had tried to talk to Rainbow Dash about it, how the mare had denied her outright, insisting that when the Apple family was ready to talk about it, they would. But that had been over a year ago, and still nothing had been explained.

Sweetie heaved a sigh and pulled Spike into a hug, the depressing weight of the issue pressing on her heart. She smiled, softly, as he squeezed her shoulders in return.

“Not the time or place, Sweetie. I know what you’re thinking, but let it go. Besides, we should focus on the happy things today.”

Spike said as he ran his claws through her hair. She leaned into the caress, letting her eyes slide shut as she surrendered her stress to the blissful sensation. It wouldn’t make her forget about things entirely, but it did offer a needed distraction. She listened intently as he continued, focusing on his voice among all the others speaking nearby.

“Look at Pound and Pumpkin; this will be the first time they’ve seen something like this. Do you remember when they were born? I do. Twilight took me in to see them while Mrs. Cake rested. I couldn’t believe a pony was ever that small.”

Sweetie nodded, opening her eyes to gaze on the giggling twins. She could remember quite well the day they’d been born. Rarity had held her and Scootaloo up to the glass outside the nursery, pointing them out and cooing over how adorable they were. She felt her smile widen as she watched the mischievous pair vanish behind the others, clearly up to no good.

Spike was right. This was no time for a murky mood. The best thing she could do to help Apple Bloom, right now, would be to make her feel happy for what was happening, not remind her of her family’s situation.

“You’re right, Spike,”

Sweetie Belle said, putting her thoughts to words,

“So, what do you say we go cheer them up with talk of babies instead?”

She looked to Spike for approval, a full, ear to ear grin working its way back onto her face. Spike chuckled and grinned toothily in return.

“It’s a girl!”

A male voice shouted out from down the hall, silencing the rest of the group mid-sentence. Before she could figure out which room the call had come from, Sweetie Belle heard a door click shut, the sound seemingly deafening in the silent hall; almost immediately the adults broke the peace with excited chatter, leaving her only one conclusion.

Pinkie’s first born had arrived!

Sweetie Belle began to bounce in place, the infectious excitement spreading through the group making her giddy, and spun around at the sound of hooves behind her as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hurried over to rejoin her. Comforting warmth flowed through her chest as she noticed Apple Bloom was smiling again, a feeling that was immediately translated into a fit of giggles as she noticed Scootaloo’s flushed cheeks. At least somepony could keep Apple Bloom happy.

Sweetie kept laughing as Scootaloo made a mock effort of avoiding making eye contact with her before the pegasus gave in, looked her right in the eyes and grinned as wide as she could manage before falling into her own fit of giggles.

“I don’t think I’ve felt this happy about something since I got my Cutie mark.”

Scootaloo said as she glanced between her friends and received nods of mutual agreement. Sweetie Belle couldn’t think of another time she’d felt happier herself.

A tap on her shoulder from Spike broke her attention away from her friends as he pointed a claw at Twilight. The mare was motioning him over and pointing with a hoof to her back, apparently in need of whatever the packs held. With a loving scratch behind her ears and a quick kiss on her forehead, Spike hurried over to Twilight, leaving Sweetie Belle with her friends. She stared after him, a mixture of curiosity and pride at his dedication holding her gaze.

Apple Bloom watched silently as Spike left their sides, a forced smile weighing heavily on her cheeks until Sweetie Belle’s gaze turned away from her to follow him. The weight of dried tears slowly pulled her lips into a saddened frown, only deterred slightly as she watched Scootaloo laugh on the floor.

The mare deserved better than to play a crutch to her feelings, but Scootaloo had wrangled a Pinkie Promise out of her to rely on her as much as she needed. She just hated that she felt like she needed her so much that it might scare her away entirely. With everything that was happening, she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle losing Scootaloo’s love.

She hated to admit it to herself, more so to keep it from Scootaloo, that some shadowed part of her being knew that if she lost the orange mare’s affections that she would most likely find some way to kill herself. Even with Sweetie Belle’s constant attempts to help, the tug at her chest at the reminder that she needed it only made her cringe away. Her friends wanted to help her cope and she could only manage to let one of them into what was left unwounded of her heart.

The facts of it all hurt like a gash in her chest. She wanted to scream and cry at the same time as her soul felt like it was howling in anguish, yet she couldn’t bring herself to taint the event, more for Scootaloo’s sake than anything else. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the urge to break down right there with every ounce of will she could scrape from her tired mind.

Apple Bloom flinched, gasping out a slight cry as something touched her back. She felt her muscles go taut along the length of her spine as tears struggled from her eyes and fled to the floor below until she came face to face with Scootaloo’s gentle, hopeful smile. With a sob she buried her muzzle in her lover’s mane.

She realized, then, as fuchsia hair and her own tears filled her vision, that what she had felt on her back had been Scootaloo’s feathers. The wonderful mare had spread her wings wide, Hiding the two of their heads with one and closing out the rest of the world with the other. Despite the onslaught of tears, a smile tried to find its way onto her lips as they left the group again to take refuge in the far corner of the waiting room.

Sweetie Belle watched her friends leave again, though this time she didn’t have Spike to cling to for support. With a little effort she pushed her focus into the pale, creamy-blue aura of her magic and scooped the trickle-trail of tears from the tile. She stared at the little orb of liquid as it hung suspended before her and looked back to her friends, trembling as she fought the urge to barge in. She gulped at the air and swallowed the lump in her throat as she quelled the desire; she had been asked to leave it be and getting involved before she was invited could only serve to drive them both away.

With some effort she pulled her attention back to the floating tears and stared at them. Somehow, the notion of slinging them into the trash only made her feel like she was abandoning her friend. Carefully, Sweetie brought them closer and let the magic begin to dissipate, allowing the tears to patter onto her own shoulder. When Apple Bloom needed her shoulder for support, she could know that her friend had always been there for her; that she needed to only ask for it again.

Offering a small nod to herself, she turned back to the others just in time to watch Rarity vanish through the door to the room the stallion had yelled from. Puzzled, she trotted around the others and pressed an ear against the door to try to listen.

Muffled voices sounded through the wood, though little of it was understandable. Sweetie plopped down on her rump, her curiosity getting the better of her. She figured she wasn’t going to be allowed in, but with her sister in there now she couldn’t so readily fight her interest as to why Rarity would be needed in there at all.

Driven by her curiosity, Sweetie focused her magic again, recalling Twilight’s lessons in shaping spells as she tried to amplify what she what she was going to hear through the door. Spell prepared, she pressed her ear back against the door and applied the magic. As the sound started to gain clarity, she nearly squealed with glee at her success.

She had no idea what to make of most of what the doctor was saying as terms foreign to her filled the conversation within. The volume in her ears steadily grew louder as the magic continued to run its course, though she dismissed it as she flattened the side of her face to the door’s surface.

Without warning, a horrid scream of pain from within the room tore at her ear, sending her scrambling backwards across the hall until she had her back pressed against the far wall. She could feel her breathing quicken as concern pumped adrenaline into her system, urging her to look among the others for some sign they had heard Pinkie cry out too.

Nopony budged an inch and as she calmed down she realized why.

Her own magic had been responsible.

Growling with frustration, Sweetie Belle pushed herself back up onto her hooves and stalked off down the hall, rubbing her hurt ear with one hoof. It had been a bad idea to begin with, but she hated that she’d had to let it sink in the hard way. Why hadn’t she just asked somepony, instead of being a nosey butt about it?

No, she had to be stupid about it and try to get her snout somewhere it didn’t belong. Irritated, she shoved through the doors of the ward and stomped out.

“Nopony needs me in here anyway.”

She pouted as the doors swung shut behind her, unaware of the heartbroken look on Spike’s face as he watched her go, unable to free himself to go after her as Twilight dug through the packs he carried.

Sweetie Belle plodded slowly through the halls of the hospital, head drooped till her nose nearly touched the ground. She knew there was no none to blame in the hospital for her foul mood but herself. There just didn’t seem to be enough good happening to make up for everything.

A sudden stream of nurses poured into a room as she walked by, pushing her aside with no sign of decorum. She snorted in derision and snarled as she stomped back to the door, intent on chewing them out for their carelessness until the sound of a machine emitting a long, flat tone hit her ears. Suddenly the commotion made more sense as she stood stock still, watching helplessly as a grim paralysis gripped her frame. She could barely keep from tearing up as magic shocks were applied to what looked like a young mare not much older than herself.

The clock ticked on, filling her still ringing ear with its rhythmic measure, yet no sound the doctor and her team were making seemed to register. Then, as if a switch had been hit, the ticking stopped. The nurses dropped to their hooves as the doctor shook her head and, despite their obvious control, Sweetie watched as sorrow filled their eyes before they filed out of the room.

Sweetie Belle stared as the doctor pounded the side of the bed soundlessly with a hoof. Anger seemed to flash through the grief in the doctor’s eyes until she took a step back, inhaled deeply, then turned away to the counter where the patients paperwork lay waiting as she exhaled and continued her day as if nothing else was wrong.

As Sweetie walked away the sounds of the hospital flooded back into place. Somepony had died, and the hospital just kept on going. They were sad and angry about it, sure, but they went on with the day. Nopony had died back with her friends and family; quite the opposite. Things weren’t perfect, but there was a reason to be happy. There was more than one reason to be happy and she’d left it behind for selfish reasons.

Spike’s words from before echoed back into her mind; focus on the happy things. She needed to be where the happy things were; where her friends and family and loved ones were. She paused and looked around, slowly realizing she had no idea where she was anymore. How long had she been walking?

Sweetie’s heart pulled blindly towards where she thought the ward was as she rushed to a nurse’s side.

“Excuse me? I’ve managed to get a little lost, where is…”

Sweetie Belle could feel a growing hope and sense of happiness as she pushed open the double doors to the maternity ward. Spike bounded over and pulled her into a long hug before the doors had time to close, followed shortly by Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

“Spike told us what ya said, Sweetie,”

Apple Bloom said softly, voice rough and ragged from crying.

“Now, Ah want ya here. We all want ya here. Ah know ah asked ya for space, an’ ah know it ‘erts fer ya to do it fer me, but,”

Apple Bloom choked down a small sob and took a few moments to breath and steady herself before continuing,

“Doncha ev’r think ah don’t care for ya, Sweetie Belle. Y’all are importan’ ta us, too, jus’ as we are ta you.”

Sweetie Belle watched what she suspected was the first real smile she’d seen on Apple Bloom in ages blossom across her friend’s face, tears and all. The sight made her swell with happiness, the emotion of it all pushing tears from her own eyes until she pulled them all into a tight hug, burying her face in their chests.

As they pulled apart and dried their faces as best they could, Sweetie caught movement in the corner of her eye in the nursery. She turned and stepped slowly toward the massive glass pane and caught sight of a figure stepping through the open door. Her already happy smile warped into a prideful grin as Rarity stepped into nursery, now dressed in scrubs, and gently carried a bundled foal inside. The foal’s blood-orange coat offered a stark contrast to the sterile white color of the room as Rarity placed it into a waiting bassinet.

Sweetie Belle looked up as Rarity stepped back towards the door, careful to not disturb any other cribs as she went. She smiled cheerfully as she noticed Sweetie pressing her nose to the glass and motioned for her to bring the others to the window to look. With a final bubbly smile, her sister vanished behind the door once more.

“Hey, guys, Rarity just brought the little filly into the nursery!”

Sweetie Belle could barely contain her excitement as she called out. The waiting ponies swarmed the window within seconds to coo at the squirming filly, small talk forgotten. Sweetie chuckled as Pound and Pumpkin struggled to even see over the wall, but before she could scoop them up with her own magic, the Cakes themselves had placed the children on their backs to allow them to see in.

"Look at that, Pound. That one there is Pinkie's new baby girl."

Mrs. Cake said, bubbling with cheer as she pointed to the little form.

Sweetie smirked as Pound pressed his nose to the glass of the nursery, scrutinizing what he saw as he watched the foal squirm in its crib.

"It looks like a potato."

Pound said, screwing up his nose in puzzlement. Sweetie could barely contain her desire to laugh at the colt's observation and managed to smother the urge into a snort of amusement. Twilight, however, proved less able to keep her laughter in check as her own attempt to snort turned into a muffled laugh through her nose. Before she could bring both hooves to her snout to silence herself it was too late as chuckles managed to find their way through everyone but the twins.

“What? She does…”

Unable to understand what the adults found so amusing about it he turned his response to Sweetie as the only pony not obviously laughing at his declaration.

Sweetie Belle could only smile and pat his head, much to the muffled mirth of Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She would have to ask Rarity later if she’d said something as silly.

“You thought Pound looked like ‘A muffin with wings’, as I recall it.”

Sweetie Belle managed a squeak as she jumped at the sudden voice, only to realize Rarity had come back out of the room to rejoin them. Rarity’s hair had lost its perfect flat curl and frizzed out in places, but a simple aura of happiness seemed to emanate from her sister. She had to laugh at herself for the ancient observation, though as the twins stared dumbstruck into the window she couldn’t find fault in her or Pound’s childish observations of a newborn foal. She could certainly remember staring through the window at them in the same way when they were that size.

“Pinkie is still in labor with the little ‘potato’s’ twin; should be along any minute now. Their daddy got so excited when he rushed back into the room that he managed to knock himself out cold on Pinkie’s bed, poor thing. He’ll be ok, of course, but they might hold him here longer than Pinkie!”

Rarity said, laughing jubilantly after her joke about the poor father.

Sweetie hugged her sister as she talked, proud of her for helping out. Not that she was surprised to discover she had done so, but it always felt good to acknowledge some of the amazing things she did. That was what siblings were for, right?

Sweetie marveled at her sister’s accuracy as the doctor entered the nursery a few minutes later with a small bundle levitating before him. Gingerly, he placed the rich brown foal into a neighboring bassinet and picked a creamy tan lock of mane out of its face to expose its tiny horn. It was clear he was fairly exhausted, but he took a moment to offer everypony at the window a single sharp nod to indicate all was well on both ends before scribbling a message on a dry erase board for them to see.

“It’s a boy.”

“Taaaasssssste… fehlllllll.”

Borne Heart jerked his head up at the sound, sending his pencil skittering across the counter top as the magic he gripped it with faltered. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, urging the need to sleep from them as he looked back down at the clipboard on the counter before him. It had been a long day, but he couldn’t remember a time that he’d driven himself so hard that filling out paperwork on newborns would prove enough to nearly send him to sleep.

With a thought he wrapped the pencil in his magic and began to levitate it back, only to let it fall again as a yawn forced itself from him. He snorted, somewhat amused with himself for managing to grow so weary. Fighting another yawn, Borne looked to the clock behind Pinkie's bed and stared in surprise for a moment before managing to chuckle at himself. How had he managed to lose track of two hours on such simple paperwork; was he really that tired? He nodded to himself as it dawned on him just how long he'd been on his hooves; magic wasn't the best option to try and finish up what was left of the paperwork. Easy enough to write out the rest manually. With a groan he reached out to take the pencil with his hoof instead and froze at what he saw.

There was a clear hole through his foreleg, just above the hoof, about the size of a bit. Pencil forgotten, Borne held his leg up to his face and peered through the seemingly empty space. It didn’t hurt, he noted, but it wasn’t truly an empty spot; in fact, it felt quite solid. It looked almost as if it had been replaced with glass, but gently prodding the affected area proved it felt like any other part of his hoof. Save, of course, it lacked the tan of his coat; or any color for that matter.

It was fascinating, yet it didn’t make any sense. Medically he should feel some kind of-

“Doctor Borne Heart?”

He blinked a few times before breaking free of his reverie. Putting on a professional face he quickly set the hoof down before turning around to face whoever was addressing him, only to find himself looking at his last patient’s sleeping form.

Pinkie’s chest rose and fell in steady rhythm and, aside from the content smile on her face, there were no signs she could possibly be awake. Borne cocked his head sideways, puzzled, until a tap on his hoof drew his attention downward.

“Are they alright, Doc?”

Borne could only smile at the near cross-eyed unicorn trying to look up at him. He remembered the poor fellow now; Coconut Custard. In all his exuberance at becoming a father, the excitement had made him careless and led to his unconscious state before both foals were delivered. It was touching to see the stallion’s first concern upon waking was for his family and not himself, despite the current impact on his sight.

Borne nodded and laid a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder, ruffling his tan-speckled cream coat before thumping his back slightly.

“Yes, Coconut. All three of them are well. Your second foal was a girl, by the way. She is a unicorn, like you.”

Coconut beamed at the news. With a whoop the stallion leapt to his feet, only to find his mouth bound shut by Borne’s magic.

“Quiet,”

Borne hissed as he dragged Coconut away from Pinkie’s bedside,

“We must let your wife sleep. You two may be bundles of energy, normally, but like most new mothers the process has been beyond exhausting for her. Besides, you should rest, too, given the blow you dealt yourself,”

Coconut’s eyes grew wide as Borne’s words sank in and it dawned on him how loud he had just been. Concerned, he looked between Pinkie and Borne for a moment before slowly nodding to Borne,

“I’ll have a nurse bring you a cot; you can stay in here with her. Just keep it down and try to go to sleep. Your vision should return to normal come morning, if I’m to judge.”

Borne took his hoof from Coconut’s mouth as the stallion nodded again. With a simple nod in return he ushered him towards Pinkie’s bedside. With a yawn he turned back to the counter, grabbed his clipboard and pencil and shoved them in a pocket in his coat before heading out the door.

As he walked down the now silent hospital halls he paused and looked behind him, certain he’d heard something. When nothing and no one showed, he continued on until another yawn gripped him, sending him stumbling. With a sigh, Borne straightened up and took a deep breath before trudging on towards his office, ignorant of the new 'wounds' in his rear legs.

The barely whispered noise behind him no longer mattered; he had only two things left to do on his mind. There was the promise of sending a nurse to Coconut, and finding somewhere, anywhere, to sleep.