My, Daughter, Maree

Dash waited outside Dr. Leon's office, waiting for his examination of the foal he had found to be completed. Dash was very uneasy as she waited; on top of the fact that she was tired from not getting a full-night's sleep and that she was concerned for the well being of the foal, she just plain didn't like hospitals. They always seemed so cramped and depressing, whereas Dash was usually a carefree kind of person. She was lucky, she had to figure, that she even got service at this hour. Almost no one was on duty during night shifts, and anyone who was on duty was usually irritable over not being asleep at that time. Ponyville didn't have much of a "Night Shift," just people who's jobs were needed 24/7 who took turns staying up extra late doing them. Luckily, she had found Dr. Leon, who was a mild mannered stallion who enjoyed his line of work, and was the sort of pony who'd take on an extra shift if there was no one else willing. He had a white coat (not the clothing, mind you) and an iron-gray mane. He had a slight build not much larger than Rainbow Dash, who wasn't very large at all. He wore round glasses, as many traditional doctors did, and was very soft spoken, with a calm, level voice. He didn't sleep much; he simply didn't need to. He often slept less than 40 hours a week, and was not bothered by it at all. He was the type of pony who was never tired, but never completely alert either.

After what seemed like days, Dr. Leon stepped out of his office, and invited Dash in to see the foal. Dash nearly leaped out of her seat at the opportunity to finally go somewhere after sitting forever. She immediately regretted her enthusiasm when she realized she had left behind a cramped, quiet hallway, for an even more cramped and quiet room. She wondered if maybe she was claustrophobic, and if it was worth her time to have that tested, just to be sure. She'd never considered herself to be claustrophobic, but the evidence seemed more and more compelling as she considered it. Dr. Leon finally interrupted Dash's train of thought.

"Well, Ms. Dash this is certainly a curious case you've brought here." He began. "I've never treated an Alicorn before; in fact, admittedly, I've never even personally met with one before." He studied the foal, who was laying down, watching them both uncomprehendingly.

"So what can you tell me about it?" Dash asked.

"Well, let's see..." Dr. Leon had made several notes during his tests, and began to review them. "Assuming Alicorns have the same or similar growth and development cycles to other ponies, I can say that this one is definitely female, aged about 6 weeks, weighing about 19 pounds." He paused and looked at Dash, to make sure she was paying attention, and continued. "That last measurement in particular worries me.."

"Why is that?" Dash asked "Is that bad?"

"Well, it might mean nothing, but it could support a very troubling theory I have about this one." He walked over to the and gently lifted up one of it's legs. It seemed confused, but didn't fuss. "I took some x-rays of her general bone structure and can see that particularly in the legs, her bones are not very thick, which makes them easily susceptible to harm. Just as well, she also has poorly developed muscle tissue, which coupled with her thin bones makes her appear unusually small. Her weight, at only 19 pounds, is also troubling, as an average sized pony, at birth, is typically between 25-32 pounds. All of these are tell-take signs of a gestation period that did not quite run its full course." Dash could tell that was Dr. Leon was saying was bad, but she had zoned out slightly, and was missing some of this. She snapped back, and proceeded with questioning.

"So, what exactly does that mean, for my sake?"

"What I'm saying is that this foal was born prematurely." Dr. Leon seemed sort of upset by this, so obviously there was problem. Again, Dash, not really knowing much about babies, had to have everything explained to her.

"So, what's wrong? What's gonna happen? what does it mean?"

Dr. Leon paused for a moment, and appeared increasingly distraught as he explained the situation. "More often than not, nothing much. A typical gestation period for a mare is between 320-370 days, averaging about 11 months. Every so often, something will cause a foal to be born early, in the range of 290-320 days. A difference of this amount isn't typically worrisome, however it has been linked to some birth defects, such as delayed or impaired muscle growth and a higher susceptibility  to illness. This one is a special exception however, and by my estimates maybe have been born between 265 and 270 days after conception, a full 50-55 days early."

"That's bad, isn't it?"

Dr.Leon shrugged, and shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I've never had one this early in my office, so I don't know the extent of the damages this could have on her life." He admitted. "We'd have to wait and see." He stroked the foal comfortingly. a truly odd one, he thought to himself. I guess all I can do is hope for the best. "Well, the future doesn't matter too badly right now, what's important is the immediate needs of this foal. She needs food, which I don't think she's had for at least a day, and from what you've told me, she doesn't have any family to go home to."

"Yeah, I can't believe someone would just abandon a helpless little foal like this! Didn't even bother putting it up for adoption... just tossed it into the streets, like they wanted it to die!" Dash was feeling unusually flustered. Sure what this foal's parents had done was terrible, but it almost seemed like she took it a little personally.

"Sometimes financial difficulties and so on can make the burden of an extra child too much to bear.." Dr. Leon offered.

"That's no excuse!" Dash snapped. "If you can't take care of your kid, give 'em to someone who can! Imagine what it woulda been like if I didn't come back! Something terrible could've happened to her.." Dash's mind raced through all of the worst things she could think of. All at once she came to a decision. "Fine, if no one else will take her, I will!" She declared.

"Are you sure?" Dr. Leon was dubious, and a little concerned. "Raising a child; particularly one with special needs such as this one; is an enormous responsibility, an undertaking that's decades in the making, and a life changing event. Wouldn't you rather think about it first?"

Dash shook her head. She was holding the foal now, comforting it in her arms. "What's there to think about? I take her, and give her a good life, or send her away, and risk something awful happening. I might not be the brightest pony in Equestria, but even that seems like a no-brainer to me."

Dr. Leon was impressed by Rainbow Dash's resolve, but remained concerned. He never pictured a professional racing pegasus to be a fitting parent, particularly a single parent. Nevertheless, he could see there was no changing her mind. He looked through some of his cupboards, and retrieved several packages containing a white, powdery substance along with a bottle, and offered them to Dash.

"What's this stuff?" She asked.

"Powdered Infant Formula. Mix it with water, and it acts as a milk substitute. You're not the real mother, so you won't be producing any of your own, therefore you'll need these for feeding the foal. Instructions are on the package." Dash hadn't even thought about milk. "After a few more weeks, she can start to take on other food items, but I'd keep her off solids until her teeth a fully grown in. Normally I'd say she could have solids after about 3 months after birth, but in her case, it might be a while longer." Dr. Leon explained. "Come back whenever you run out of formula, and we can resupply you. They aren't expensive, and this first batch is on me, just because I'm concerned for the child's well being. Good luck, Ms. Dash."

Dash took the packages and smiled. "Thanks a lot, doc. I'll be seeing you around!" With that, she left the hospital and went back home.

In the time Rainbow Dash had become a professional racing pegasus, she had decided on a change of location; there was something awfully dull, she had found, about living in a house made out of clouds. Everything looked the same, and there wasn't much room for customization. She had bought an earthbound house in Ponyville, a fairly small place with one smaller guest room and a master bedroom, as well as a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and dining area on the main floor. The basement had a few spare rooms Dash hadn't found a use for yet, but was considering having an exercise room placed in one of them. The backyard was, she had to admit, very impressive, and was much larger than the house itself, with an impressive view of the hilly countryside. Dash walked in, her arms full and tired from carrying the foal and the powdered formula stuff Dr. Leon had given her, and set them all down on a couch in the living room. After relaxing for a second, she looked at the little foal. It had began to fix its unending, green-eyed stare at her again, waiting for something to happen. Now that she knew what it wanted, Dash responded immediately.

"I know why you're staring at me. You want some food, dontcha?" She smiled at the foal, who seemed to respond positively. Dash took one of the packages and read it over. Doing her best to follow its instructions, she produced something that did look quite a bit like milk, and poured in into the bottle she had been given. Before feeding the kid, her curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to sample it to see how it compared to real milk. She wrinkled her face, unimpressed, and hoped that the baby wouldn't fuss over it. It didn't, thankfully, and downed the white fluid rather swiftly, as Dash held her in one arm, feeding her with the other.

"Boy, you really were hungry!" Dash mused, smiling at the foal. She looked up at Rainbow Dash, her expectant look having changed to one of what Dash interpreted as appreciation, as a slight smile appeared on her face. Dash noticed that she looked tired, and that her eyes were starting to flutter. This reminded her that she, too, was tired, and decided that after that feeding, it was probably about time to go to sleep. She looked over at a clock on the oven she never used, and it read quarter to 6 in the morning. If she went to sleep now, she'd definitely sleep in through half of tomorrow. She didn't have any plans though, so that was alright. She walked down the hallway, the half-asleep foal in her arms, when she was struck with a realization: she didn't how the sleeping arrangements would work. The guest room had never been used; she never had over-night guests, and there weren't even sheets on the bed. Besides, she didn't like the idea of a child this young sleeping alone. As for her bed, well, there were no railings, and she was typically a bit of a fidgety sleeper. She didn't see how she could fix this, unfortunately, and she'd have to risk it. better than sleeping in a box, for sure.

She made the bed quick and tucked herself and the foal into it. Dash put an arm over the foal, in an effort to keep it from rolling around, and to maybe act as a kick-stand for herself.

"Night, kiddo." She whispered in the foal, who had just about drifted off by now. "Tomorrow we'll get you a crib, so you'll have your own sleeping spot, okay? So we won't have to put up with this anymore." She was starting to understand that she really didn't know much about parenting. Twilight. She had to talk to Twilight. She'd help her. But for now, she just had to hope that she'd stay fairly still in the night, so she wouldn't roll over foal in the night and hurt her. Both of them slept perfectly still that night.

And so, Dash has taken on the responsibility of being this little foal's parent. Can she manage this monumental task? Is she fit to be a parent? Find out later!