My, Daughter, Maree

Dash forgot most of her dreams. Many ponies did, but she did so more than most. When she did remember them, she attached a lot of meaning to them; why remember this dream, and not others? Among these few, vivid dreams she can recall, she remembers a few distinct, obscure, images; when she was about 13, she had a dream about falling through the sky; she didn't know why, but for whatever reason, she couldn't flap her wings, and she made no effort to call for help. She simply accepted the inevitably fatal fate of falling at terminal velocity, rushing towards the ground as fast an gravity would permit her. The dream happened only once, but it had been so vivid, she swore she could feel soreness in her face from when she landed and awoke. Another dream which she found upset her quite a bit, was that of a recurring image of a white-maned mare she had never met before turning from her, a solemn smile on her face. It irritated her that she didn't know this pony, and that she could invade her dreams so haphazardly regardless, causing her unprecedented emotional fragility.

Today, Dash dreamed about the foal. They were together, years ahead of now, and the little filly frolicked cheerfully, Dash trailing behind; a game of tag, maybe. Throughout the dream, Dash had known her name, and used it often, almost as if to teach her soon-to-be-conscious brain what name she had decided upon. She received a final grade of 0/1, flunking her own test, which consisted of only one question: what is the name of your child? She had forgotten the name by the time she awoke, and if she hadn't been so tired, she'd have been furious with herself.

She found, to her delight, that the little filly was still there, peacefully snuggled up close to Dash under her right arm, right where Dash had left her the night previous. She had expected sharing a bed to be uncomfortable, but it actually wasn't too bad at all; for safety reasons and so on, she planned to get her a crib right away, but at least they had lasted the night. She tried to get out of bed without disrupting the foal, but she got about half way out before it woke up and noticed Dash. It's bright green eyes became even brighter when they locked onto Dash's, and she smiled up at her.

"Mornin' kid," Dash whispered, "how'd you sleep?" The question was, of course, rhetorical; she didn't expect a foal, only 6 weeks old, to respond in anything more than incoherent babbling. She figured she may as well bring her along, since she had no means of getting around herself, and picked her up. They went out to the living room area, where Dash noticed it was just about 10:00am. She hadn't slept as much as she expected to.

As cooking was not a strong point of Dash's, her breakfast consisted entirely of cereal and milk. While she was a it, she whipped up another batch of the foul tasting formula she had been given to her by the Doctor, now down to 4 in reserve, which the foal downed inexplicably, and in-hesitantly.

"You'd think you'd never eaten before by the way you handle this stuff!" Dash exclaimed as she fed the baby. She briefly wondered if that was actually a possibility, but quickly ruled it out, since she must have gotten something to have lived this long. After breakfast, Dash suddenly came up blank as to what she was to do. She had a full day ahead of her, and no idea what to do. She remembered what she had thought of last night: Twilight. She needed to talk to Twilight. She needed some parenting tips, and she'd never be able to pull it off by herself. She remembered how she hadn't even considered food or sleeping arrangements on her own, and decided that help was definitely the best way to progress.

"Alright, then it's settled! We're going over to Auntie Twilight's!" Dash announced to the foal, who had a minimal response.

Twilight Sparkle was amidst a particularly fascinating book. While typically preferring non-fictional texts from which she drew knowledge and information, she had recently engaged herself in a series of fantasy novels called "Extraordinary Maree". She often gave little regard to the fantasy genre, and was initially uninterested, but she had been hooked after she read about one third of the first book, and hadn't stopped ever since. The novel centered around an Earth Pony named Maree, who found that under the light of the full moon, she transformed inexplicably into an Alicorn, and fought against dark entities who sought to sink Equestria into an eternal, moonless night. Based on their goal, it was Maree's original belief that they were followers of Nightmare Moon, but it had later been proven this was not the case. She was now on the third of seven books, and had already pre-ordered the upcoming eighth. She was just getting to a really good part when she heard the knock on her door. She answered the knock, and had a double take at the sight before her. She saw her friend, Rainbow Dash, with a gold-colored foal in her arm, and she could only assume it belonged to her in some way. A half second later, she noticed it was an Alicorn, and did another double-take.

She stood in the doorway for a second, taking this in. She was very interested in what the explanation would turn out to be. "Alright, what did I miss?" She finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, it's a bit of a story, but the short version is that this kid got dumped into a box all by itself, so I adopted it." Dash replied with a shrug, as a nervous smile broke out across her face.

"of... course you did.." Twilight was, understandably, dubious. "Erm, Dash, I don't know if you looked at that foal carefully, but in case you didn't, I just thought it necessary to point out the fact that it has a horn... and wings... like, at the same time..."

"Yeah, and?"

"You didn't find that just a little odd?"

"Well yeah, I guess, but in the end what difference does that make really? She needed my help, I couldn't just turn her away!"

"Well, Dash, the difference it makes is that foal is most likely part of of royal family, she can't be raised here! She ought to be returned to Canterlot at once!" Twilight insisted.

"Twilight, I already said she was abandoned! just left there in a box on some street corner! The doctor had even said she hadn't fed in over a day until then. Whoever did this did it deliberately and wanted nothing to do with her. She ain't going anywhere but with me!" Dash went on to explain as much of the story as she could, and Twilight started to understand.

"..And so now, you need my help in raising her, because you don't know how?" Twilight was summing everything up.

"That's basically it, yeah. So, can I come in?" Dash was getting a little tired of standing up by now, and was leaning on the door frame.

"Yeah, alright, come on in, I'll see what I can do to help.." Twilight motioned them in, and Dash sat herself down on the carpet, setting the foal down in front of her. Twilight took a seat a few feet away.

"Well, I suppose we should start with a few basics," Twilight started. "First off, as you are only an adopted mother, you don't naturally produce milk for the child. Infant formula, although not ideal, should work as an adequate substitute."

"Yeah, I've already taken care of that part." Dash replied.

"Good! The formula acts as both an beverage an a supply of nutrients, so actual food is not necessary. You should be sure to include straight water as well. It won't be a life threatening loss immediately as long as she is fed regularly, but additional water will be necessary. They begin to depend on milk/milk substitutes less and less with time, so ease in normal food items gradually over the next few months.

"Next, sleeping arrangements are important. Developing foals sleep a lot, and will spend much more time in their beds than you or me. I don't suppose you have a crib yet, do you?" Twilight asked, almost rhetorically.

"Not yet, I'm getting one today. I'll be shopping for a few other things while I'm out too." dash nodded proudly. So far, she'd been a step ahead of her.

"Alright, good start. Next item of importance is that you'll need.." She was interrupted by a trickling sound. They both knew where the sound was coming from, and could only hope it wasn't what they both knew it was. A fresh urine stain emerged from under the infant, it's distinctive smell penetrating the air like an arrow. Dash was mortified, and plucked the foal off the warm, drenched splotch she had created.

Twilight sighed heavily with irritation. "..Diapers. You'll need lots of them. Sooner than later."

Dash put the infant down, her face flushed with embarrassment. "C'mon kid! you can't just go and do that anywhere! Twilight, I'm so, so, SO sorry, I can't believe I'm such an airhead!!" She apologized profusely for her own lack of competence.

"Never mind Dash, I'll clean it up in a minute.." Twilight rolled her eyes and continued. She explained the importance of teaching her such things as walking, talking, and learning. and how the sooner she can start to talk, the sooner she can learn through communication, just as she can more easily learn through experience when she could walk. As if noticing only for the first time, Twilight finally inquired about why the foal laid down the entire time.

"Well, she just can't walk yet, is all." Dash replied, shrugging. Then she got worried. "Is that bad?"

"It's odd, I think. Most ponies, as is the case with most quadrupedal creatures, can walk not very long after they are born. Each pony varies, of course, but.... how old did you say she was?"

"The doctor said her birth date was roughly around March 19th of this year, making her about 6 weeks old."

"6 weeks? Really?" Twilight was genuinely surprised.

"Well, she is slightly handicapped. Doctor said something about ingrown muscles and bones or or something, that she might be a little bit behind other ponies at first." Dash explained.

Twilight just sort of nodded, watching the foal carefully. She decided to change the subject. "So, have you picked out a name?" She asked.

Dash remembered the dream she had of them playing together, and how she had called out her name numerous times, but each call was a little black hole of sound in her memory. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the name. (I bet it's really irritating to you knowing what the name is when she doesn't, huh?) Twilight told her about the problem she was having, and she sort of nodded again slowly and understandingly.

"Yeah, I've heard of that happening before, it's actually more common than you think" Twilight started. "Lots of ponies have trouble remembering particular aspects of dreams, sometimes they'll find a face or object conveniently missing from the dream, or sometime in your case, a name. Of course, I don't have that problem. I remember all my dreams." she telekinetically drew the book she had been reading earlier to herself, and began re-finding her page. "Well whatever it was, if it was so significant that it permeated your dreams, then surely, with just the right trigger, it'll come back to you, I'm sure of it." She started reading again, and let out a sad sigh. "Oh, Maree, I wish you'd just ask him out, he totally likes you, He's just to shy to say it..."

The realization struck Dash like a lightning bolt. "Maree!" She exclaimed.

Twilight thought, for a second, Dash was talking about the character in the book. "Maree?"

"That was the name! I remember now!" Dash couldn't help but beam with excitement.

"You named her after a character in a book?" Twilight scrunched her face.

"Dash had honestly no idea what Twilight was talking about. "What? No, it's got nothing to do with your book!" She frowned. "...Actually, now that I think of it, I'm not sure where it came from. It just came to me last night, and I loved it so much.."

Twilight was understanding, but a bit curious. "Maree, huh? (pronounced Mare-E, by the way) I do like the name... interesting."

"What's interesting about it?" Dash asked.

"Well, it's just that, from you, I... well... no, never mind, forget it." Twilight tried to return to her book, but Dash pressed on.

"What, you don't like the name?" Dash seemed a little offended, so Twilight chose her words as carefully as she could.

"No no, don't get me wrong, the name is really nice, I just... well, you seem like the kinda Mare who'd try to... I dunno, name your kid after yourself in some way, like 'Dashie' or 'Dashster', something along those lines." Twilight still held up the book, but had given up on trying to read it while she talked.

"I'm not so egotistical that I'd give my kid some lame name just so people would automatically think of me when they hear it!" Dash was getting more than a little upset, and Twilight didn't know why. She was a little ahead of herself, making such an assumption. This parenting thing was already starting to change her, she could tell.

"I didn't say you were!" Twilight exclaimed, closing her book and setting it down. She put a hoof on Dash's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Maree is a wonderful name, really. It's a great choice that only you could've picked." She said wholeheartedly.

Dash pulled away, snickering a little. "Gosh you're so lame sometimes, Twilight!" She giggled.

"What did I say?!"

"Oh come on, admit it! That is like the corniest thing you've ever said!" Dash prodded teasingly. "Thanks, anyway though, means a lot."

Twilight smiled. "No problem Dash. If you ever need any help or advice, just let me know, alright?"

"Thanks, Twilight, I'll see you around!" Dash turned to leave, collecting Maree, and narrowly dodged the urine puddle. "Erm, maybe you outta get on that pretty soon?"

"Oh right! I guess I should get on that before it starts to dry, or it'll never come out. Let's see, do I have a spell for this? hmmm.." Dash left her to think, said a final goodbye, and was out the door.

While Rainbow Dash was out, she bought a crib, a baby carrier, more formula diapers, and a few groceries as well. When she realized she couldn't simply carry all of this stuff home, she bought a wagon to haul it all in. Luckily, Maree's bladder didn't loose itself all other at any point during the shopping spree, but she didn't hold out for long after the first diaper went on. She finally arrived back home after a full day, and flopped down on a couch. She knew she couldn't rest too long; she had to have the crib up as soon as possible, and that would take forever, she was sure. After that, it would be feeding time, and not long after that, it would be time to go to sleep again! What a hassle, she thought to herself. Before Dash knew it, the day was already over. The crib was up after several re-tries, Maree and her were fed, and it was already after 10. Where had the time gone?

Dash finally set Maree down in her crib, proud of her work. It was very plain looking, and maybe in the future she'd spice it up a bit, but for now it was a sturdy, functional crib all for Maree. She tried to go over to her own bed, but heard a distressed squeaking noise. Maree was reaching out, not wanting to be separate from Dash.

"hey now, come on, I'll be right here okay? I'm in the same room, I can still reach you, there's no need to be worried, alright?" Dash tried to console her but it was no use. Maree's helpless squeaks and moans showed so sign of letting up, so Dash pushed the two beds as close together as she could. She finally crawled into her own bed, holding out one hoof to her adopted child, who had settled down, but still yearned for her touch.

"Little Maree... my daughter, Maree.... we're going to go far, you and me... just you wait..." And just like that, she was asleep.

The next few weeks seemed to go by in a single, swift motion. Dash had no idea how fast time seemed to go by when measured by parenting time. Before she knew it, Maree was already just over 3 months old. Her teeth were just starting to grow in a bit, little white nubs poked through her gums. Dr. Leon advised her to add soft things like apple sauce to her diet, now that she was getting a bit older. Of course, she knew exactly where to go for that. Applejack was always good for it, and gave her free batches whenever Dash needed it, and Dash helped herself to some of it as well. She was surprised at just how much sleeping that kid did during the day, sometimes almost twice as much as Dash. Dr. Leon had told her that this was because she was still developing, more so than most ponies, and so she needed lots of down time so her muscles and bones would grow nice and strong. This gave Dash lots of time to train for her races, which she had finally bought the equipment for, and had it all set up downstairs. whenever a race rolled around, Dash brought Maree along, getting one of her friends to watch over her while she did her job. Maree didn't grasp much of what was going on, but she seemed thoroughly amused by the spectacle, and squealed with excitement almost the whole time she was there. Time was whizzing by, and it was good.

One Evening, Dash was giving the evening meal to Maree, having already given her some formula and now giving her some of the Apple sauce Applejack had made. Dash noticed that Maree was trying awfully hard to say something, the syllables distinct but mostly incoherent. Dr. Leon said that typically, ponies don't learn to speak their first words until at least 8 months of age, and don't assign much meaning to them until 10-11, where they start to grasp language more clearly. But, he also said that speaking often to the child can help speed up the process, and she did talk quite a bit. It was too early for her, she knew, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was different. DO Alicorns learn differently? Could they speak sooner, later, or at the same time?

"Ab-ah, la la, mo mo..." Maree continued in her strange, baby language. None of it meant anything, but the pronunciation of each letter was surprisingly clear for her age. Dash had to at least try. She Decided she'd walk her through a few words, and see if she'd catch on.

"mmmmmmmmmmmm...." She hummed.

"mmmmmmmmmmmm...." Maree hummed back, a big grin on her face. She was very amused by the sound they were making together.

"aaaaaaaaaarrrrr....." Dash continued.

"aaaaahhhhhhhhhh....." Maree sang back. Close enough, Dash thought.

And the last sound, "eeeeeee!"

"eeeeeeeeeeeee!" Maree squealed with delight, beaming at her mother. Dash's heart was starting to race. She might be onto something. She repeated the whole thing very slowly.

"mmmaaaarrrreeee!" She said, pointing to Maree's chest, trying to indicate what the word belonged to.

"maaaahhhrrrreee!" Maree repeated. she had trouble with the 'air' sound her name made, but she was getting it. Dash said it one last time, at full speed

"Maree!"

"Mahree!" This time, Maree's hoof met with Dash's, and she pointed to herself. Dash's heart just about exploded with joy.

"YAAAAAY, you got it, you got it!" She exclaimed, only barely able to keep herself grounded in place. Maree joined in her merriement, and giggled gleefully. Dash had to press on, she had to know why she was capable of. What she was doing right now shouldn't be possible, and yet it was. She had to keep going.

"mmmmmmmmmm..." she had returned to the first humming noise she had made.

"mmmmmmmmmm..." Maree hummed, again grinning uncontrollably.

"ooooooooooo..." Dash's jaw hung long to pronounce the strange sound.

"ooooooooooo..." Maree followed along each step, listening intently.

"mmmmmmmmmmm...." Dash realized suddenly that she probably sounded very goofy, but paid it no mind.

"mmmmmmmmmmm...." Maree hummed again.

Almost, Dash though, almost...

"eeeeeeee!"

"EEEEEEEE!!" Maree squealed again, beaming with simplistic joy. Dash was now trembling with sheer anticipation. She pointed to herself, just as she had pointed to Maree when teaching her her own name, and repeated the new world again slowly.

"mmmoooommmyyy" She said, nodding each syllable.

"mmmmooommmmyyy!" Maree repeated proudly. Dash was so overjoyed, she thought maybe she had misheard. She said it one more time, to be sure.

"Mommy!" She instructed.

"Mommy!" Maree repeated, touching her hoof to Dash's.

Dash could no longer contain her joy. She leaped up from the table and into the air, flying rapid circles around the room. She stopped for a moment to look at her child, Who was giggling merrily, and tried so hard to join her up there; oh how she tried! Her tiny wings fluttered pointlessly, and she bounced up and down in her chair. Dash didn't want to her to miss out on the celebration. She picked Maree up and they flew together all over the house and back again, until the only place they could go was the backyard, where they flew and flew, until Dash's wings just couldn't fly anymore.

The power over language and the skill required for speech was something Dash had always taken for granted. She never knew such a simple accomplishment as speaking 2 words could become the most monumental, exciting day of her life until that point. And at only 3 months old! That was a phenomenal time, possibly a record. A genius, that's what she was! Her daughter, Maree, was a little genius! Almost unable to imagine being able to sleep after such a tremendous occasion, Dash nevertheless started tucking her little girl into her crib and crawled into her own bed. She looked over at her with overwhelming pride. She was going to be something incredible one day, she knew it. She couldn't wait to see what incredible fate was in store for her. Somehow her mind finally got passed this, and she managed, for just a moment before going to sleep, remember what was coming: Soon, she'd be able to take on her dream, and face off against the finest athletes in Equestria. She'd be a spectacle within one of the greatest spectacles in the world. She could show the Wonderbolts what she was made of, along with everyone else. Yes, in just one month, the Pegalympic Games would begin. Her life long dream will finally be realized.