Putting Her Dreams Aside

Fluttershy and Scootaloo looked eagerly through the glass window at the many newborn fillies and colts. Some were sleeping, some were crying, and some were simply awake and content. The two pegasi had been sent to the room outside the newborn nursery to see if they could find any indication that at least one of Rainbow and Soarin's twins had already been born. So far, they had only seen about ten newborns. Half of them were earth ponies, three were unicorns, and only two appeared to be pegasi.

When Fluttershy and Scootaloo had arrived outside the nursery, they noticed an earth pony mare, who appeared to be Nurse Redheart, leaving the room while pushing a small cart. They only caught a short glimpse of the foal that was on it. They couldn't tell if it was a filly or a colt, nor could they tell if it had wings, a horn, or neither. All they remembered seeing was a faint hint of sky blue and white on its mane. When Scootaloo noticed those colors, and how the shade of blue looked like Rainbow Dash's fur, she asked Fluttershy if maybe that foal was one of the twins, but Fluttershy told her that she was unsure if a foal's mane color could be reminiscent of the fur coat of at least one of their parents. This made the orange filly slightly disappointed, as she was as eager as ever to meet the twins.

The younger pegasus sat atop the back of the elder pegasus, both of them concentrating on figuring out if any of the visible newborns were those of their blue friends. They focused solely on the two baby pegasi that were in the room, but neither seemed to resemble Rainbow or Soarin in any way. One had a dark green coat with a brown mane, and the other had a white coat with a pink and light purple mane. Out of the two, the latter had the bigger advantage of possibly being one of Rainbow and Soarin's foals, but Fluttershy and Scootaloo couldn't know for sure, as the nametag on the padded plastic bin the foal was in was not entirely legible to them.

Fluttershy and Scootaloo stayed in the room for about fifteen minutes, not getting any further with their search as no new pegasus foals came into the nursery. Since neither pegasus knew of any earth ponies or unicorns in Rainbow's or Soarin's family trees, they came to a conclusion that they weren't going to find the foals they were looking for anytime soon.

"Think we should head back to the waiting room?" Scootaloo asked, a sad look on her face as the yellow mare she was sitting on turned her head around to face her.

"I guess so..." Fluttershy replied, her tone suggesting she was equally as disappointed as the filly.

With that, Scootaloo hopped off of Fluttershy's back, and the two of them made their way back to the waiting room. Once they arrived, they were greeted with twelve eager faces. All of their friends, plus Rainbow's and Soarin's parents, wanted to know if they had found anything in the nursery. However, their happy looks began to fade, as Fluttershy and Scootaloo didn't look too excited.

"We couldn't find them," Fluttershy said, "Sorry."

"We only found two pegasi, and only one of them seemed to be a distant contender, but we couldn't know for sure if it belonged to Rainbow Dash and Soarin," Scootaloo said.

"Well, that's a shame..." Applejack said.

"Too bad," said Twilight.

"Do you suppose something may have gone wrong?" asked Rarity.

"I don't think there's any way we can know at the moment, Rarity," Fluttershy replied.

The large group then heard a loud sigh. It came from Grey Nimbus, and it was clear that he was the most disappointed out of all of them. At some point after his accident, he vaguely remembered Rainbow Dash telling him that she was sure he would have fully recovered by the time his grandfoals were born. However, seeing that there wasn't a sign of any news, he was growing rather distressed. He had already pulled through the troubles he had faced since the incident, and he didn't want to come all this way and find out something was wrong.

Wind Glider noticed her husband's distress, and she was quick to comfort him. "Don't worry, honey," she said while wrapping her left foreleg around his neck and rubbing his forelegs with her right, "Everything's going to be fine. Things may be taking longer than we initially thought."

The grey pegasus stallion smiled at his wife's words, but he still felt that until he received some news, he wouldn't be able to feel well.

"Hey, come on!" Firefly said to Grey, nudging him playfully with a hoof, "You're a tough guy, aren't 'ya?" Her tone was very similar to her own daughter's competitive, thrill-seeking one, though she had a completely different voice altogether.

Several ponies giggled at the mare's actions, and Grey couldn't help but smirk at his son's mother-in-law. "Hey," he replied, "I nearly got my head knocked off at the cloud factory. How tough do 'ya think I am?"

Everyone in the group, except Firefly, who was blushing slightly, laughed quite audibly at the stallion's comeback. It wasn't long before the little conversation boosted his spirits, and he stopped worrying about how long everything was taking.

All of a sudden, the doors to the waiting room opened, but not the ones that AJ, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had entered through earlier. These were the double doors on the other side of the room, and they led to the adjacent hallway of hospital rooms.

Everyone's full attention was instantly focused on the doors, as they saw Soarin standing there. After the doors closed, the stallion stood in place for about ten seconds in silence, wanting to build some suspense. He had a rather ordinary expression on his face that didn't seem to show any emotion, and this made the others slightly worried. Fortunately, their worries were put to shame as Soarin's face brightened up immensely. He then proudly said, "We've got one of each!"

Instantly, all of the females in the group squealed in delight and made a beeline for the stallion, giving him several small mini-congratulatory remarks as they hugged him. Meanwhile, Spike, Rainbow Blaze, and Grey Nimbus simply exclaimed, "Woo-hoo!" at random points. The three of them shared a quick bro-hug before walking over to where the rest of the group was. Once there, Grey Nimbus hugged his son, and all his worries were permanently washed away.

As Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders began bouncing in excitement again, Soarin said, "Don't worry, you're all gonna get to meet them. Family first." With that, most of the group backed away, and Wind Glider, Grey Nimbus, Firefly, and Rainbow Blaze began to follow Soarin back through the doors. Scootaloo decided to stay behind, as she knew that she wasn't a sister by blood to Rainbow Dash, even though the cyan mare accepted her as one. The orange filly had already stopped bouncing and had a slightly disappointed look on her face, but she remained hopeful that she would be meeting the foals very soon.

"Hey, aren't you coming, Scootaloo?" Rainbow Blaze asked as he turned around to face the filly.

"Wait...Huh?" Scootaloo asked in response.

"Well, don't you think Rainbow Dash has told Firefly and I by now that you're her new little sister?"

Blaze's words shocked Scootaloo. She had no idea that Rainbow's parents were already aware of their newfound sisterhood, let alone accepting of it.

"Go on, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said, giving her friend's rump a gentle push forward, "I thought you were excited about this!"

The orange filly instantly beamed. "Totally!" she replied in excitement, "See you guys later!" With that, Scootaloo joined the crowd, and they were off to see two of Equestria's newest ponies.

Rainbow lay back on her hospital bed, sighing contently. Bright Skies and Stratosphere had already fallen asleep, and Nurse Redheart had re-swaddled them and put them each in their own crib, which were essentially the padded plastic bins that every foal ended up laying in at some point after they were born. Rainbow was very tired and wanted a nap herself, but she knew that Soarin had left to announce the good news to everyone, and she wanted to be awake when he got back. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait very long.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Soarin was the first to walk in. The other five pegasi eagerly followed him inside, and they were delighted to see Rainbow looking rather decent. "Rainbow Dash!" Firefly eagerly said, hugging her daughter gently. Despite her excitement, she knew that her daughter may very well have been in some residual pain; however, the eagerness in which Rainbow returned the hug with proved her otherwise.

Dash next received a hug from her father, and then one from each of her in-laws. Finally, it was Scootaloo's turn, and as Soarin directed the other adults elsewhere, the filly leapt onto the bed. "Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, hugging her new big sister.

"Hey there, kid!" Dash replied, returning the hug.

After separating slightly, Scootaloo asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Eh...I've been better..." Dash replied. Both she and her new little sister giggled at that. "Well, physically, at least. Other than that, I'm just so happy that this is all over and that they're finally here." Dash and Scootaloo then looked over at where Soarin was.

Soarin led his and Dash's parents over to the two makeshift cribs, where two tiny heads could be seen, each containing light smiles and closed eyes. Rainbow Blaze and Grey Nimbus smiled warmly upon seeing their grandchildren for the first time, and Firefly and Wind Glider had two of the most awestruck looks Soarin had ever seen.

"Oh, they're precious!" Wind Glider said, bringing a forehoof up to the side of her mouth.

"Wow...I'm so happy for you guys, Soarin!" Firefly said, looking her son-in-law in the eye.

"Thanks," Soarin replied. Back on the bed, Scootaloo couldn't quite see what was happening, due to the others blocking her view of the foals completely. She didn't complain, however, as she was content with being by Dash's side until it was her turn to meet her new niece and nephew.

"Anyway, this is our daughter, Bright Skies," Soarin continued, gesturing to the crib on his left before pointing to the other, "And our son, Stratosphere."

Wind Glider gave a genuine, "Awww..." upon hearing the names of her grandfoals. "Soarin, honey, may I hold one of them?" the light blue mare asked.

"Absolutely, mom," Soarin replied. He then handed his son over to his mother, and both she and Grey Nimbus stared lovingly at their new grandson. At the same time, Soarin allowed Firefly to hold Bright Skies for a while, whom she eventually handed over to Rainbow Blaze. They were elated as they each held her for the first time.

As they were held, the foals were slightly jarred awake, and they each became a little fussy at the unfamiliar ponies holding them. This was quickly resolved, however, by Soarin leaning in and comforting them both, allowing them to see a much more familiar face. It worked, and the older pegasi were able to hold their grandchildren without any trouble.

Once Grey Nimbus held Stratosphere for a little bit, he handed him over to Firefly, while Rainbow Blaze gave Bright Skies to Wind Glider. Eventually, each grandparent got the chance to hold each grandchild at least once. At about the same time they were finished, Rainbow Dash said, "Hey, bring 'em over here!" With that, Blaze and Grey floated over to the bed, and Dash was handed one of her foals, whom she held in her forelegs.

Scootaloo looked on in amazement as Rainbow Dash held one of the foals. She figured it would be forever before her favorite pegasus in all of Equestria would become a mother, but the fact that she already was made her heart flutter with pure joy. "Who's this?" Scootaloo asked, moving in a little closer to Dash.

"This is Stratosphere," Dash replied, moving her son a little to her right to give Scootaloo a better view. The small movement caused the colt to open his eyes, and Scootaloo smiled at their resemblance to Rainbow's.

"Wow...He's got your eyes," Scootaloo whispered.

"I know, right?" Dash replied, "Isn't that awesome?"

"It sure is," the orange filly finished.

"Hey, Scootaloo," Grey Nimbus said, still holding Bright Skies in his forelegs, "Wanna hold your niece?"

"R-Really?" Scootaloo asked, a small hint of timidity evident in her voice. Despite her excitement, Scootaloo had never held a foal before, and she was worried something might go wrong.

"Sure!" Grey replied.

It took a while for Scootaloo to reply, but she eventually said, "Yes."

With that, Grey hovered over to the other side of the bed and held his granddaughter out for Scootaloo to take. The orange filly shakily held out her forelegs, and the dark grey stallion gently lowered Bright Skies into Scootaloo's embrace. Scootaloo's forelegs weren't big enough to cradle the foal, so she improvised the best way she could by keeping her forelegs generally pointed outward, Bright Skies' head resting on her left foreleg while her rump rested on her right. The ends of Scootaloo's forelegs were curled upward, gripping the foal as best she could.

Right as Scootaloo held her niece on her own, Bright Skies opened her eyes, and it was clear to Scootaloo that the newborn filly had the same eyes as her father. She mentioned this to Dash, to which she confirmed the filly's theory.

Bright Skies was a little taken aback by Scootaloo's presence, but right as she started to cry, a familiar smell calmed her. Rainbow Dash gently stroked her daughter's mane, and Bright Skies sensed her mother nearby, and the fact that she was being held by somepony other than her parents no longer concerned her. Closing her eyes, Bright Skies leaned her head slightly to her right, resting it against Scootaloo's upper foreleg and chest as she fell back asleep.

The sight of her newborn niece falling asleep in her embrace nearly brought Scootaloo to tears. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, even more beautiful than getting her cutie mark at the same time as her friends. The orange filly looked up at Dash, who was already giving her a warm smile. Dash then held Stratosphere with just her left foreleg, reaching around Scootaloo's neck with her right and pulling her close.

The other five pegasi looked on as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo sat next to each other in an embrace with the twins. "Now, isn't that just adorable?" Wind Glider asked nopony in particular. The only immediate response was her husband wrapping one of his forelegs around her neck and leaning the side of his head in until it touched the side of hers.

After a while, Scootaloo took another look at Stratosphere, then back at Bright Skies, and it was then that she noticed something. "Hey," she began, "I just noticed that both the foals have a white stripe in their manes!"

"Yeah!" Soarin replied, "I was just about to bring that up!" The stallion then turned to his father and asked, "Hey, dad, didn't your grandpa have a white stripe down the middle of his mane, too?"

Grey took his foreleg out from around his wife's neck and placed his respective hoof on his chin. "Well, let's see, now..." he said, going into a somewhat deep thought. To Soarin, it seemed like his father was taking longer than normal to remember something as simple as a question about his own family. It made the Wonderbolt grow worried, as he started to wonder if he had underestimated any decrease his father's recalling capabilities since the accident. Fortunately, after about ten seconds, Grey slowly said, "I...believe so, Soarin. His name was Cirrus, after all, and a thin line of white like that on his mane would make anypony instantly think of a bright, white, cirrus cloud fresh from the factory."

"Well, looks like these two picked up their great-great-grandpa's genes!" Rainbow Dash said.

"So it appears, Dash," Grey Nimbus replied, warmly, "So it appears."

After the stallion finished speaking, everypony in the room remained quiet for a short while, then Scootaloo broke the silence as she asked, "You guys think it's time for the others to come and meet these little guys?"

"Absolutely!" Rainbow Dash immediately replied, "You wanna go get them?"

"Sure!" Scootaloo replied. She then carefully handed Bright Skies over to Dash, whom the cyan mare took in her right foreleg. After that, Scootaloo darted out of the room, eager to get everyone else and have them meet the foals.

"Boy, she's an energetic one, isn't she?" Grey Nimbus asked.

"Usually," Dash replied, "There's times where she tries doing what I do, and most of it's usually being active and...well...I guess, awesome!" This earned Dash a chuckle from her father-in-law. Right after that, Dash set her foals down to the left of her, scooting over to her right to allow them room to rest.

It hadn't even been fifteen seconds since Scootaloo left when she came back with everyone else from the waiting room. The door opened, and Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack all exclaimed, "Rainbow Dash!" at their leisure. As they shared hugs with the cyan pegasus, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle carefully hopped onto the foot of the bed, keeping their distance from Rainbow and the foals. Spike tried to do the same, but he ended up needing a little help from Sweetie Belle and her magic to get himself onto the bed.

Once Rainbow's friends had finished hugging and congratulating her, they looked to her other side and noticed two tiny bodies wrapped snuggly in blankets. When Rainbow noticed her friends looking at her foals, she picked them back up, bringing them into full view for her friends to see. Bright Skies was in Dash's left foreleg and Stratosphere was in her right as she introduced them to her friends. They had mixed reactions, but they were all wonderful in their own respects.

"Awww!" Starlight said, breaking the brief silence.

"Oh, Dash!" Fluttershy began in a slight whisper, "They're so cute!"

"They're simply darling, Rainbow!" Rarity followed up, thinking about the day Sweetie Belle was born.

"Dash, I'm so happy for you and Soarin!" Twilight said.

"Aw..." AJ began, reaching up to pull her younger sister into a hug, "This reminds me of the day Apple Bloom was born," she said in a loving tone, hugging her sister tightly and giving her a light peck on the cheek.

"Applejack..." Apple Bloom whispered in a bemused tone, her face still sporting a happy look.

"Sorry, sugar cube. I can't help it. I just remember you bein' the cutest little filly I ever saw..." AJ finished as she closed her eyes.

"Wow, Rainbow!" Spike began, "Congratulations!"

"Yeah! Congrats!" Sweetie Belle said.

Pinkie Pie had yet to comment on the foals, but she had a good reason for staying silent. The party pony thought the foals were so cute that she was close to literally bursting with excitement, her body nearly blowing into a million pieces of confetti and reassembling itself without any scientific reasoning whatsoever. Twilight noticed this and soon lit her horn, forming a translucent, pink bubble around the pink mare. "Okay, Pinkie," the princess said, "Go ahead and let it out!" With that, Pinkie immediately began bouncing off of every inner surface of the bubble, her mouth moving at a seemingly unimaginable pace. However, neither her bounces nor her voice could be heard. Also, the bubble itself was not moving.

Rainbow Dash, along with Soarin and all their parents, grew quite confused as to what the purple alicorn had done. "Uhhh...Twilight," Dash began, "What did you...?"

"Oh, I had a feeling Pinkie would go helplessly berserk upon seeing the foals," Twilight replied, "So I told her that once she saw them for the first time, I'd encase her in a soundproof bubble where she'd be able to do whatever she wanted and make no noise whatsoever. That way the foals wouldn't get scared by such hyperactive, reckless behavior."

Though she had to admit it was a good idea, Rainbow didn't quite know how to respond to such a spell being put on her friend, but when she saw Pinkie going absolutely bonkers inside the bubble, she couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! Good one, Twilight! Thanks!" Rainbow finished.

Twilight smiled. "Noooooooo problem..."

For the remainder of the afternoon, everyone stayed in the hospital room, each pony, and dragon, getting to hold both of the foals once each. Pinkie Pie was the last to do so, as it took her nearly two hours to release her energy inside the bubble before Twilight set her free. At around 7:30, Princess Celestia lowered the sun for the day, and Rainbow told her friends that she desperately needed some rest. They were all too happy to oblige, and so everyone left until Rainbow and Soarin were once again alone with their two new children. They ultimately decided to spend the night at the hospital, just in case they needed any last minute help from Nurse Redheart before going home.

This day had been one of the most hectic in both Rainbow Dash's and Soarin's lives, but in the end, they couldn't be happier, as their daughter and son had finally made it into the world, forever changing their lives.