Working with both hooves full, you tended to the wilted spinach as you scrambled a half dozen eggs together. Not to brag or anything, but you had become a pretty darn good cook lately. It was a bit of an adjustment for a colt that was raised on take out food. Fleetfoot had been pretty insistent though. A good family should have dinner together every once in a while at least. Sure seemed funny coming from her.

Finishing scrambling the eggs, you added fresh mushrooms to the pan, sautéing them all together before carefully adding the egg. A few minutes later, the bottom had set. Sprinkling a liberal amount of cheese on top, you popped the whole thing into the oven.

Glancing at the clock, you sighed. There was work to do for your math test the next day, and you had to go over the new flight course still with Spitfire. There was going to be flight test for the cadets tomorrow, and you needed to improve your time.

Looked like another long night.

As you sat down at the table with your textbook, Fleetfoot let herself in. Her mane was windswept and frizzed, the exhaustion of the day evident as she smiled gamely at you. You knew she’d taken on some private flight students to make up for the loss of her pay from traveling shows. Between her time training and instructing at the academy, her days were long and hard.

“That’s what I like to see my colt doing!” She exclaimed, inspecting your work.

“If I want to pass I figured I better…”

“Don’t be so gloomy. You’ll be fine tomorrow. You’ve been getting better at your math problems every day, I can tell.” She said, dropping her saddlebags near the door. She sniffed the air. “Hey, you started dinner too, huh?”

“Mmhm.”

Walking past, she ruffled your mane playfully. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say my little colt is growing up. Time to throw out your Under-Roos and action figures?”

You just gave her a deadpan look.

“Okay, okay! Hey, I’m going to take a shower real quick. I’ll be out soon for dinner. I can’t wait to taste it!” She said, smiling as she retreated to the bathroom.

Glancing at the clock, you got up and turned the oven off. Peering in, you could see the frittata had risen nicely, with the cheese bubbling and slightly browned. You grinned. Looked pretty good!

Setting the pan on the stove to cool, you could hear the door quietly open. Glancing over, you saw Spitfire walk inside, look over at your dinner and give you a big grin. She looked so tired lately. She normally looked so confident and authoritative in her uniform. But now she seemed so run down. Her hair was slightly frayed, and her officer’s coat was unbuttoned. You could see the foal so clearly now. Smiling, you walked over to her, reaching over and smoothing her errant strands of mane into place. She didn’t say a word as she moved against you, resting her head against your side.

It had been only five months since the Festival, and things had changed quite a lot. Fleetfoot had been really great since you talked to her. She suggested you all move into a different apartment in Spitfire’s building; one with two bedrooms and a lot more space. It was a little weird having your mom living with you and Spitfire, but it was much better than nothing. Being able to just be with her every day was worth it.

You just stood there for a few minutes, cradling your head against hers as you stood in the dull heat of the afternoon sun. This was always the highlight of the day. You wondered if she felt the same way. Spitfire nuzzled you intimately, meeting you with her blazing orange eyes.

She always seemed stronger when you looked her in the eyes.

“That really smells good.”

“We better taste if before we say anything else.” You replied, smirking at her.

“I’m sure it’s going to be awesome. I could eat a manticore after today.” Spitfire strutted over to the sink, getting a large glass of water.

“How are you feeling?”

She plopped down in the leather sofa before answering. “Oh, just about the same. You try leading Wonderbolt cadets in formations when you’re carrying an extra thirty pounds!”

“Well just don’t over exert yourself. If we followed the doctor’s advice you would be staying at home by now.”

“A doctor isn’t going to keep me away from the academy.” She replied smugly. “Besides, are you saying I’m not pony enough to keep those trainees in line and carry this foal at the same time.”

“Hm. I would never question the Captain.” You said, settling down next to her. Reaching out a hoof, you rubbed her exposed belly.

Spitfire sighed. “I’m getting so gigantic.”

“You’re still more sexy than any other mare.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

Spitfire put her hoof on yours, gently holding you close to her. Rubbing her gently, you could almost feel your foal inside. No matter how many times you did this, you always felt a strange rush of excitement and joy. Every time you fell in love with her all over again.

“Who says I’m lying?” You smiled at her as you held her closer, meeting her muzzle with yours, kissing her.

As you heard the bathroom door open, you both broke away, slightly shuffling away from each other. You couldn’t see behind you as Fleetfoot shuffled by softly, a towel wrapped around her flank and a gigantic smirk on her face.

If there was one thing you had learned in the past months, it was that life can be hard sometimes, but getting through those tough times makes the good all the better.

It wasn't long before Spitfire had gone into labor. She played it off as no big deal, as usual. You knew better. She was stressed and worried with her first pregnancy. You tried to be as helpful as you could, but still ended up feeling like a third wheel for most of the delivery.

But when you saw Sunny Skies for the first time, all the worries and all the bad in your life seemed far away. Your chest tightened up and vision blurred with tears as you held the small foal. She nuzzled into your side, sleeping contentedly. A pale blue coat, and the trademark fiery mane of her mother.

She was perfect.

As you sat down next to an exhausted Spitfire, she held your hoof gently as you both enjoyed the moment in silence. She gave a faint smile as you smoothed the stray strands of damp mane from her face.

“I probly look terrible right now, don’t I?”

You shook your head. “You’ve never looked more beautiful.”

A short time later, you sat together with Spitfire watching the city wind down for the day. She rested her head and mane on your chest as she held Sunny. Every time you stroked her mane she nuzzled against you closer. It hadn’t been the best day.

Spitfire finally had to step down from her post at the Academy. Everything had just been too much for her to cover up. The fight with Fire Streak was under investigation, and there were all sorts of rumors going around about the father of the foal. Most of the ponies from the Academy knew it was a cadet, and possibly an underage one. But no one knew just who it was.

You hadn’t even been asked to attend the trial. As far as the Academy was concerned, you were never there. Even though you avoided the trial, you could tell she had shielded you from harm. Facing accusers questioning her morals and her sex life, she had defended you as best she could. Spitfire had told them about Fire Streak’s ‘initiations’ but had refused to tell them who the cadet was. Coupled with her reluctance to talk about her pregnancy, the council overseeing the Academy had little choice. They allowed her to take a temporary leave, but their intention was clear.

It hurt so bad. Sitting here, still a cadet, still with your mare and your foal. Even though it was a perfect evening, you couldn’t ease the knot in your gut. You felt so damned selfish.

Looking over, you could see Sunny yawn, and yet she didn’t wake. Spitfire fussed with her a moment, rocking her slightly in her arms.

“It’s my fault. All of this is.” You said quietly. Spitfire lay still against you for a while, looking out the window and avoiding your eyes.

“Don’t be stupid, rookie. You really are dense sometimes.”

You were both quiet for a long time. Spitfire lost in thought and you wondering what the hell to say after that. You’d learned over the past couple years not to test her if she was in a bad mood.

“It wasn’t just for you, you know.” Spitfire finally said. “You realize what kind of life Sunny would have if the truth came out. You’d be tossed out of the Academy and I’d probably be in jail. Not to mention what might happen to Soarin’…”

She looked over at you finally, her eyes wild and defiant. Spitfire could see the confusion on your face.

“You didn’t know? He’s been covering for you and I. He knew the whole time. Soarin’ is a good friend, and I wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”

“I guess I sound pretty pathetic, blaming myself for everything.” You replied meekly.

“It’s alright. I can forgive you for it.” Spitfire gave you a little grin. It was the first time you’d seen her smile in days. It helped push some of the gloom from your heart.

“What are we going to do now?”

Spitfire sighed, resting her head on your shoulder as she glanced casually up at you. “I’m not sure. I’m not going to get paid while I’m on disciplinary leave.”

“I could work somewhere. There’s always jobs available at the Academy for running deliveries.”

She glared at you when you mentioned it. “Absolutely not. You have one job right now, and that’s school and your classes at the Academy. That’s quite enough for a colt.”

“I’m not going to be a colt forever…” You mumbled.

She couldn’t help crack a smile at that. “So, you think you’re a grown up stallion now, huh?”

“I’m almost 16!”

“Wow! Practically a lady!” She retorted, giggling.

“C…cut it out. I’m not a kid anymore.”

“That’s your problem, rookie. You still are. I….” Spitfire froze up a bit, averting her gaze from you. She went back to fussing with Sunny. “I’m sorry for that. Sometimes I think I made you grow up too fast. No colt should miss their own youth.”

Your mind raced when she said that. Had she really blamed herself for this all these months? You felt a sudden sadness well up inside as you held her closer, cradling her head against your chest as you stroked her soft mane.

“I did what I wanted to do. I was really a horrible mess when I came here, Spitfire. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve grown up a lot because of you, but it’s only been for the better. You make me want to be a better pony. You’ll always be my little Firefly.”

She froze a moment when she heard that. “You know, he always used to call me that.”

“Yah. I think it suits you though.” You said. “Do you mind it?”

“N…no. It’s okay when you say it…”

Spitfire craned her neck around, rubbing against your cheek. Leaning down, you kissed her gently, careful not to wake up Sunny. As she kissed you back, you wrapped a hoof around her neck slowly, stroking her mane and neck as you enjoyed the intimate contact. It had been far too long.

She broke away slowly, and you could swear you saw a blush on her face as she looked away. “We should put Sunny to bed. It’s getting late.”

“We’ll figure it out, okay? As long as we’re all together, we’ll be fine.”

Spitfire nodded, trying her best to give you a brave smile.

You hoped you could actually back up those words.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait guys. I'm still working on this. There will be a Part 2 coming soon.