The Beauties of Youth, the Adventures of Parenthood

How Daybreak had managed to do this, Twilight would never understand...then again...there were alot of things about her husband she doubted she'd ever understand. Somehow, he had managed to balance a book on Aurora's horn, and if that wasn't hard enough to believe...he had it standing on the very utmost edge of its spine. Twilight would not have trusted anypony else to do this, or even think about doing this to her daughter...but Daybreak seemed to know just what to do to entertain their little bundle of chaos every time. The green haired filly bounced happily in place as she continually attempted to tip the book off her horn to no avail. Thus her giggles of joy only continued increasing until she was rolling about on the wooden floor, laughing hysterically as the book continued to glue itself to her horn tip, unmoving.

"Book! Book book booooooook!" Aurora squeaked, attempting to reach above her own head to grasp at the thick spined monster now perched atop her head. She wiggled her hooves at the just-out-of-reach object, continuously feeling the very tips of her tiny limbs brush against the smallest piece of its fabric. Daybreak sat with his back against the wall, legs sprawled out in front of him as he played with a propeller hat by balancing it on his nose. He still had yet to figure out how these things managed to keep on spinning for eternity without ever stopping, twas a mystery that eluded him to no end.

Twilight giggled at her pair of goofballs, sometimes she wondered if she was the only serious one in this family...yeah...she probably was. Aurora certainly took after Daybreak when it came to maturity. Even at such a miniscule age, Twilight could see the similarities between the two in how they played. She almost feared what her daughter would be like in a few years...a mare with Daybreaks personality and her brains...all modesty aside, it was a very scary thought.

Aurora suddenly stopped reaching for the book and looked towards the table in the center of the book room. She stared hard as though she could see some kind of invisible object there. Daybreak too, suddenly shifted from his resting position and stood up on his hooves, causing the book held in place by his magic, to fall from Auroras head. A light but very visible, shiver, ran across Daybreaks body as he turned to face the same spot as his filly. Twilight raised an eyebrow

"What-"

Bang!

Before the words had fully left her lips a loud popping sound, followed by blinding white light erupted across the room, forcing all three ponies to shield their eyes with their hooves. The sound of the popping was extremely high pitched, having the effect of a flash bang spell on the trio. A quick moment later and it was over, leaving the ponies seeing stars in their eyes...but Daybreak didn't even have to guess who was responsible for such an annoying entrance. He spoke before the brief smoky cloud that the magic had created vanished

"Nice to see you father"

"Graaaaaaandpa!"

Daybreak saw a brown blur fly past his eyes tackling the outline of his father (with a surprising amount of strength) to the floor! The sound of several ponies hitting the ground afterwards could be heard finally forcing Daybreak to rub the stars from his vision.  Once he could properly see he noticed Twilight had done the same and was already moving towards the scene before them. Sprawled out over the floor was Aurora on top of Discords chest with Button Mash and Sweetie Belle tangled a few feet away.

Despite Discords unruly entrance, Twilight was actually glad to see him for a change. Daybreak had managed to put off his temple trip for this long due to various situations and his own unwillingness to go. With Discord here, Twilight would finally be able to convince him to go spend some quality time with his father. Adding to that, Daring Do had requested Daybreak check out the temple in her letter anyways. So it was for the best that she make him go, even if he complained and whined about it later.

Twilight watched as Discord scooped up little Aurora into his arms and began tickling her tummy with a single claw. She squeaked loudly and squirmed in his grip, begging for her parents to rescue her, but both merely stood on and chuckled as their daughter was tickle tortured by her grandpa. Daybreak shot a glance at Twilight hoping to catch her eye, she looked his way and nodded. He understood and moved in to join the fun, while Twilight went to assist Button and Sweetie. Daybreak galloped towards his father and dove through the air, catching him full in the chest taking him to the ground. Immediately upon impact, both Daybreak and Aurora jumped on Discord and began attempting to wrestle him into submission all the while, all three were laughing hysterically.

Twilight couldn't help but smile in spite of herself as she attended to Button and Sweetie Belle (without really paying much attention to what she was doing)...Discord had really grown on her in the past year. He seemed to have truly found the magic of friendship in his own way, through a family. Although he still remained mischievous as ever, recently Twilight found herself more and more tolerant and even happy to have him around. It seemed having a son and granddaughter who cared and loved him, along with Fluttershys close friendship, was just what he needed to put aside his old ways for good. For the first time ever, Twilight really felt like she could trust Discord and consider him a real friend. Who knows...she might even accidentally call him her stepfather one of these days...

The sound of loud crashing, and shattering glass brought Twilight back from her daze. She looked back at the trio feeling a surge of annoyance flare up in her belly, in their horse play they had knocked over and shattered a lamp. Twilight turned away from Button and Sweetie Belle (not that she had really been much help anyways as they were still tangled in each others limbs and Buttons suit). She sighed and lit her horn, preparing to repair the damage, but Discord raised his hoof with a chuckle signaling her to stop.

"Oh come now Twilight, what kind of a friend do you think I am? I broke it so I'll 'fix' it."

He spoke while also trapping Aurora on the ground with his pawed hand, and head locking Daybreak with his free arm. He winked at Twilight, then snapped the toes of his non-hoofed foot as though they were fingers. The broken pieces shot back together with lightning speed, but the object they formed was not he same lamp as before and caused Twilight to shoot Discord an annoyed glare. He merely chuckled

"Why the angry eyes? It's sooooo much better looking than it was before" He was grasping his stomach while he pointed at the restored lamp. It had become a lamp again, that was true...but it was now a statue of Discord holding the lamp light, almost exactly accurate to the one he had made for Fluttershy back when she was reforming him. Discord levitated the new and improved light back over to its place on Twilights desk and allowed it to rest nicely there.

"Just look at that handsome devil, why I think this place looks better already with a little bit of me in the décor"

Discord thrust out his arm in enthusiasm, allowing Aurora time to escape and dash away from her grandpa. Twilight sat rolling her eyes while Discord released Daybreak from his headlock, then slithered after his granddaughter pretending to chase her like a hungry snake. That look fit Discord all too well, however Twilight noticed Daybreak subtly sneak behind the couch once he was free, with a quick flash of light following shortly after.

Discord was closing in on Aurora with his hands held above his head to snatch at her, while she ran screaming with pretend fear and glee from the "monster" chasing her. Discord made a swipe for Aurora, but she avoided it with a quick burst from her miniature legs and rounded the couch to escape. Discord skidded to a halt mere feet before the turn, he slowly slithered to the corner and pressed his ear to the couch, listening. He knew this trick, for a little filly it would seem clever, run around the couch so that she could do one quick circle, then run back to Daybreak for help. Well he was not falling for that, he would wait for her to round the other corner, then pounce on his prey. He waited for a few moments, expecting any second for a small green and purple maned filly to come sprinting around the couch...but she didn't. Maybe she was just hiding behind the couch after all?

If she hadn't run around the other side, then he would just jump over the small furniture and grab her himself. After all, he was only slithering around on his belly to make it more fair for her in the first place. Discord chuckled to himself, slowly placing a hand over the top of the couch and taking a firm hold. With a yell of "Surprise!" Discord jumped over the couch, intent on tackling his granddaughter to the floor!

Discord cleared the top of the furniture...and froze in midair, fear griping at his heart. There, in front of him... sitting with her face mere inches from the grip of his outstretched paw and claw...was Princess Celestia herself, and sitting behind her was Aurora, smiling in victory. Discords body rapidly started cycling through several different colors as though he were a color wheel while he attempted to contain his shock! For a moment they both just stared at each other, each one seemingly waiting for the other to move. Then...there was a loud pop...then Daybreaks face appeared on Celestia's body!

"Surprise!"  Daybreaks face yelled with a smirk.

Discord yelped aloud as Daybreaks face popped out from within Celestia's. Visibly surprised, Discord fell back onto his rear very ungracefully and began giving Daybreaks head a sour, pouting, glare.

"No fair..."

"Oh please how is that not fair?"

The rest of Daybreaks body morphed back to normal with a  quick flash leaving everypony, except Discord, giggling at the small prank. Even Twilight couldn't help but purse her lips, desperately attempting not to burst out with the others. Button and Sweetie Belle joined in on the laughter as well, but their situation was still the more humorous of the two. Looking at the pair, Sweetie's back left leg and front right hoof were stuck inside the fabric of Buttons suit. It would be unlikely that the two of them could remove themselves from the predicament they were in without ripping the suit in some way or another. So, now satisfied that he had one-upped his father for a change, Daybreak trotted over and resumed where Twilight had supposedly left off with them.

Several firm tugs from his teeth on both their bodies assured Daybreak that they were definitely not getting free without some magical help. He couldn't help but wonder how they had ended up like that though...

"How could you two possibly get stuck like this? I can't even think of a reason Sweetie Belle would be in a position like that on you Button."

That was actually a bold faced lie, he had a very good idea of what could cause that...or at least a reason why Sweeties face and body might be so close to Buttons. However he kept that detail to himself to save them both some embarrassment. Instead Sweetie Belle opted to answer him herself, shooting a very annoyed glare in Discords direction as she spoke.

"It's his fault!" She gestured at Discord with her face, attempting to turn her horn at him as though she was aiming.

"He just appeared out of nowhere when we were...um...talking...and grabbed us up, then teleported us in here. We weren't even like this until we appeared in the library! Honest!"

Judging by the small twitch on the edges of Discords lips, Twilight was ninety-nine percent sure Sweetie Belle was telling the truth. She looked in Daybreaks direction and saw him staring back at her with the same expression, then he nodded. He caught it too then...

"It's alright Sweetie Belle, it's not like you'd be in trouble either way. Although it's pretty easy to believe Discord is responsible." Twilight looked over at him accusingly while she spoke, he merely looked back with the most innocent face he could muster. He even had the gall to have a halo appear over his head to try and show sincerity.

Daybreak was about as amused as Twilight this time, lighting his horn, he enveloped Sweetie and Button in his field, then separately teleported them to opposite sides of the room. When they both reappeared, they were free...but Buttons shirt had still ripped anyways. Sweetie Belle must have been magically stuck to it to prevent her from freeing herself. Daybreak looked to the opposite corner and saw she was indeed pulling pieces of the tux from her fur like it was super glued to her coat.

Shooting him another knife-like stare, Twilight found Discord unphased by her annoyance with him. He simply laughed like he always did, then attempted to change the subject. He vanished and reappeared next to Daybreak, a backpack and camping gear suddenly covering most of his serpent-like form.

"So tell me Daybreak, are you as excited for our little father son camping trip tomorrow as I am hm?" he gently poked Daybreaks horn with each word as he drew out the phrase 'father son camping trip'. Daybreak shooed Discords paw away from his horn, the poking causing him severe irritation.

"What do you mean dad? We don't have a camping trip planned."

Grasping his chest right above where his heart was located, Discord attempted to look hurt as he lowered his ears and head

"I am shocked you could forget about something so important Daybreak...I mean I was sooooo looking forward to exploring that temple with you. Guess I'll have to do it myself.

Daybreak could hear the chuckle behind his last word, he knew he was serious. If there was any clue in that temple to where Shining Star was and what he was doing, Daybreak certainly didn't want his father finding it before he did. He wouldn't condemn that poor white pegasus to being found by his father of all people. Knowing it was exactly what Discord wanted, Daybreak sighed in defeat

"Fine...I'll pack my stuff...see you tomorrow morning I guess"

"Can't wait" Discord waved with a sneer as Daybreak ascended the stairs to his and Twilights room. Moments later there was a bright flash of light from within the room and the sound of several objects being moved around inside.

Twilight prepared to fire another glare at Discord, but he was already making his exit.

"Well, that's it for today, see you ponies later...especially you Button"

Grasping an unseen handle in the air, Discord flung open an invisible door and walked through it, disappearing immediately once it shut behind him. Twilights curiosity and concern leaked through her voice

"What did he mean by that Button?"

Sweetie Belle cut him off before he could get the words free from his lips "Apparently Discord likes Button"

Twilight could hear the malice behind Sweeties response, she certainly didn't seem happy about that.

"Does that bother you Sweetie Belle?"

"Hm? Does what bother me Twilight?"

Twilight was baffled Sweetie would fain ignorance, but she took the bait anyways

"That Discord seems to like Button?"

A slight bit of surprise was evident on Sweetie's face then, her eyes widened slightly and she raised one of her eyebrows as though to question Twilight.

"Why would that bother me?"

Twilight too was surprised, Sweetie had clearly been upset when mentioning Discord, if it wasn't that he wanted to befriend Button, then what was it?

"Well...it's just you seemed kind of...I don't know...upset when you mentioned Discord liking Button?"

Letting out a huff of held in air, Sweetie Belles face dropped back into its annoyed look. She glared at the spot where Discord had made his exit with such a ferocity, Twilight began to worry it might burst into flames as Sweetie spoke.

"He interrupted me and Button before he dragged us back down here."

"Interrupted you two doing what exactly?" Daybreaks voice came from behind the couch, catching Twilight off guard. She could have sworn he had gone upstairs to pack...

Twilight looked over to in time to see Aurora fly up above the couch for a brief moment, flailing her limbs as she soared several feet into the air, then sink back down behind the furniture. This repeated several times before Twilight decided she had to see it for herself. She flew to the couch, landing on the closest cushion and peering behind it. She instantly needed to suppress several giggles from escaping her lips... Aurora was bouncing atop Daybreaks belly as though he was a trampoline. Each time she pushed on his stomach he magically charged her legs to push her into the air.

Seeing the look on Twilights face, Button raced over and hoped on the couch as well, followed almost immediately by Sweetie Belle. The trio watched as Aurora flew up...then back down...then flew up...then went back down. Each time landing on Daybreaks belly and causing him to exhale sharply. It was clear that even though Aurora was still barely over a year old, it was clearly unpleasant for Daybreak having her land on his chest ever two seconds. Nevertheless the trio watching found the sight too humorous to ignore, and the previous conversation was almost forgotten entirely. Until Daybreak spoke again.

"So Sweetie Belle oof!...What is it that Dis-ouch!-cord interrupted you and Button doing again?...Ouch!"

He was forced to talk in between Auroras jumps to avoid being cut off by her landing on him as he spoke. But she still managed to cut him off regardless of the speed which he talked, landing on his stomach without mercy and jumping right back up into the air again. Despite this pain, Daybreak was still able to turn his head enough to see the bright red flushes now adorning Sweetie Belles cheeks. As he looked to Twilights left, he saw Button was indeed blushing as well, though perhaps not as much...definitely not as much. Sweetie Belle had a minor panic attack

"W-well we...umm...we were j-just sitting on the a...roof...ya know cause that's where I go when I...uh...wanna be alone. That's it! Yeah!"

Twilight dismounted the top of the couch, ceasing watching Daybreak to clearly look at Sweetie Belle. She wasn't normally the type of filly to tell an outright lie like that, which meant that it was either too embarrassing for her to mention, or the fate of Equestria rested on her not telling the truth...given the fact that she was dealing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders both situations seemed likely enough. However despite that fact, Daybreak did not give up quite as easily, grasping Aurora in a magical field after her next bounce, Daybreak stood up and dusted off his coat.

"If that's where you go when you want to be alone, then why was Button Mash up there with you?"

Lowering his eyes into an almost penetrating stare, Daybreak focused his attention solely on Sweetie Belle as he released Aurora back to the floor. The little filly was gone in flash, darting into Twilights study as though in hot pursuit of some elusive creature. A small crash was heard a second later causing Twilights hair to stand on end, wings flared out in a panic!

"OhCelestianotmystudyroom!" She screeched, flying after Aurora fast enough that she left a small smoke trail behind her leading into her study. Yells could be heard within, followed by several more crashing sounds...Daybreak was sure she could handle it, so back to the matter and hoof.

Returning his attention to Sweetie Belle, he found that Button Mash had worked his way across the room and was now by her side. They seemed to shrink under Daybreaks gaze as though they feared for their lives or something. He raised an eyebrow to them, not really sure why they looked so terrified...nevertheless he pressed on

"So tell me again Sweetie Belle...If you wanted to be alone, why was Button Mash up there with you? And now that I think about it...why did you run off like that anyways? While you're here me and Twi are responsible for you two, your sister and Buttons Mom would kill me if we lost track of you two."

Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor, pretending to find a particular interest in the floor boards below her hooves. While she did this, Button Mash began to sweat profusely, his propeller hat seemed to be working overtime as though it were trying to keep him from overheating from fear. For a second they both looked at each other, then immediately looked away with bright blushes attached to there cheeks .Daybreak could not grasp what was wrong

"What is the matter with you two? What happened?...Sweetie Belle?"

Spotlight on her, Sweetie Belle swallowed loudly and attempted to speak, her legs started shaking wildly giving of the impression she had the shivers.

"W-well...I went up to the roof to be alone like I said. I...I suppose I left because I was really upset. My magic practice hasn't been going the way I want it to and it seems like everypony else is so much better at it than me...I cant get my Cutie Mark...and I can't even improve with my unicorn magic. Yet Aurora is only one year old, and she's doing all this amazing stuff with her powers...I can't even fix a shelf"

As emphasis she gestured to the dust pile where the bookshelf now rested, then dropped her head to the floor again. Daybreak at least understood now why Sweetie was feeling so down about herself, it couldn't be easy being surpassed by a baby filly, even if she was his...still he felt he should say something. Walking over to them, Daybreak reached out a hoof and placed it on Sweetie Belles shoulder affectionately, then he gently moved his hoof to her head, and ruffled her mane playfully. He sent her pink and purple curls curling up even more, so much so that her mane began to resemble Pinkie Pies. After a few shorts ruffles, and some eventual giggling from Sweetie Belle, Daybreak looked down and pulled the young filly into a warm hug.

Button looked up at him as Sweetie Belle snuggled against his chest. Daybreak caught his eye and nodded, motioning for him to join them. Slowly but surely, Button came over and allowed Daybreak to wrap his hooves around him as well, pressing him up next to and against Sweetie Belle. The two shared a blush, then quickly looked away from each other until Daybreak released them a moment later. After back away a few paces, he looked back down at them. Both Sweetie Belle and Button looked considerably calmed, no longer bordering on the edge of tears or a panic attack. Though he was certain that Sweetie Belle could still use some comforting words

"Listen Sweetie Belle..." He began softly

"I know it has to be frustrating for you, seeing Aurora do what she does and hardly ever have difficulty, while you practice and only advance at paces..."

He paused, waiting for it to sink in, when it did Sweeties face dropped again causing Button to wrap a hoof around her in a small hug. After a moment Daybreak continued

"But you're not giving yourself enough credit. Aurora is the foal of me and Twilight, it's only natural that her magic should excel at an alarming rate. And even though she still surprises me and Twilight all the time, we both know that's just how she's gonna be. Sweetie Belle, instead of comparing yourself to filly like Aurora, whose parents are a half-draconecus and an alicorn, why not compare yourself to other fillies and colts your age? How many other unicorns your age do you know that can even attempt the spells Twilight lets you practice in here? You had that shelf levitating in the air before it shattered I bet?"

Sweetie nodded slowly, obviously confused "Yeah...for like...a few seconds...then I dropped it and made it explode trying to save it..."

"That's even more impressive!" Daybreak cut across her with a grin

This took Sweetie by surprise, even Button seemed shocked to hear that, or maybe he was just confused. The tiny colt scratched the back of his mane, giving a small cough of discomfort which Daybreak did not fail to catch

"Something the matter Button?"

He shifted uncomfortably on is back hooves, his eyes darted around quickly inside his skull desperately working out what he should say.

"Y-yeah...Umm not to sound mean or anything...but how is it more impressive that Sweetie blew up the shelf when she was trying to lift it?"

Tapping a hoof to his chin, Daybreak thought for a moment on how best to explain this concept to two ponies so young. A standard explanation would probably bore them, not to mention they wouldn't understand most of it anyways. In fact...trying to make his point without actually showing them at all would be almost impossible, so he decided he'd go with the alternative...he would demonstrate his point while also explaining it as simply as possible. He motioned towards himself with his hoof, indicating they should come closer. After the dup exchanged glances, they shrugged, stepping forward.

Daybreak ignited his horn, radiant green energy flowed from tip to base as he began charging it with juice. He shut his eyes, focusing hard on the very tip of his horn...slowly, little bubbles of pure magic began to drip off and float into the air without much effort from him at all. The magic wasn't just one color, it was several and constantly changing. Daybreak continued to release these tiny bubbles of magic for quite awhile, over time he began to increase their size as well, changing from tiny bubbles to large globs, all of which were converting above the three ponies into an even bigger bubble of raw energy.

Button reached out with his hoof, unable to suppress his curiosity, and gently poked the smallest of the bubbles that had just freed itself from Daybreaks horn. The moment he made contact, there was a bright flash of light and Button aloud, pulling his back abruptly from the magic. There was a slight singe mark on his fur, which had tiny bits of green electricity jumping around it. Along with that, his hat was working some major overtime, spinning at speeds that made it seem more like he was wearing a fan on his head than a hat. The little bits of green plasma remained only in the vicinity of the small burn and never traveled anywhere else on Button, nevertheless he didn't feel safe touching that hoof to the ground so he kept it up and stood on three legs for the time being.

Although Button returned his attention to watching Daybreak, who was now beginning to sweat from the strain, Sweetie belle was still in awe at the sparks on Buttons hoof. She stared as the little bits of lightning jumped around his burn, causing it to continuously shrink over time. After a few minutes the mark was gone completely. When Sweetie Belle pointed this out to Button, he freaked out...

"Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! What happened!? Where did the burn mark go...oh my gosh! Do I have super powers now!? That would be soooooo coooool...maybe I have the power to heal really fast now! Quick Sweetie Belle...punch me!"

As tempting as it was to give Button at least one good whack just cause she could, she was thwarted before she could consider the idea.

"No Button you don't have any super powers now" Daybreaks eyes were clenched shut, but he was still managing to barely move his lips, even though it looked like he had to really work just to move that much right then.

"You just got zapped by raw magic, the burn was the magic trying to free itself from you, it was moving so fast that it appeared to change the color of your coat for a moment...nothing to worry about"

"Ummm Daybreak...Are you ok? You don't look so good."

Sweetie Belle was right, Daybreak did in fact look slightly more pale, as though the color from his coat had drained a little. He managed a smile, but they could see he was clenching his teeth through it

"Y-yeah *pant pant* I'm fine thanks...this is just harder than it looks. I'll explain in a moment, but it was necessary to make it this big to give a proper demonstration."

"Make what big?" Sweetie Belle asked almost too sincerely. But Button had the answer, he tapped on her hip and pointed to the ceiling. The large bubble of magic that had been forming from all the smaller ones had grown enormous. It now took up most of the ceiling space above them, it was fortunate they lived in a two story tree (three for those of you who count that weird telescope pad outside or the roof) or it might have taken up the whole room!

Finally Daybreak stopped the flow of bubble from his horn, almost immediately afterwards he began panting loudly and had trouble standing upright. But when Sweetie Belle and Button tried to help he shooed them away and pointed above them, where the massive power bubble was floating.

"Just give me a minute to catch my breathe..." He was almost exactly accurate with his statement, he took a whole minute to stand back upright and stay that way. He took several deep breaths to reignite his horn, while also pointing his hoof at the large cloud above them

"OK, so here's the thing, magic lesson 101...this cloud right above us is a cloud of raw magic. It has no set shape or mass, it's color is constantly shifting, but for most ponies stays within only a few certain shades depending on the pony. But for me it will cycle through all existing colors randomly, just like it would for Discord...my father. Our magic is special and so this rule does not normally apply to us. However as I'm in the form of a unicorn right now, it should follow most of the same principles as normal magic does. At least...that's how I set up my body changing spell, when I take pony form, normal magical laws should apply to me until I change back. But never mind that, what we are here to talk about is why Sweetie Belle is truly an exceptional unicorn, even if she doesn't understand it herself..."