Shining Armor strode into Twilight's castle with an easy smile on his face. His sister, practically glowing, smiled back. Resting in one of her forelegs was a contented Flurry Heart, whose eyes bulged wide at the sight of her father. She burbled excitedly, holding her forelegs out toward him.
"Well, hello there, cutie," Shining cooed to his daughter. To Twilight, he grinned. "How was she?"
"An absolute joy, as ever," Twilight replied, bouncing Flurry softly. "If a bit stinky at times."
"Isn't that to be expected though?" Shining leaned forward and kissed Flurry on the forehead, and she squealed delightedly. "So I take it you've packed everything up?"
"Mmhm!" Twilight levitated forward a pile of luggage. "Bottles, formula, stack of diapers, safety pins, blankets, toys, music box, three storybooks you brought with her, four additional storybooks from my personal library, mobile, bassinet…" She paused, frowned, then shrugged, hugging Flurry closer. "I don't think I'm forgetting anything, so... yeah, that about covers it, I think. Bon voyage!"
"Hmm." Shining glanced at his daughter and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you forgetting something, Twiley?"
"No. I'm not." Twilight straightened herself. "I've decided that I'm keeping Flurry Heart."
Shining groaned and facehoofed. "Twiley…"
"I've thought long and hard about this—"
"Twiley."
"And I'm not willing to part with her. You and Cadance will just have to make another one."
Shining glared at her. "For you to steal?"
"It's a fifty-fifty chance," Twilight said blithely, stroking her cheek against Flurry's mane. "Can't beat them odds."
"Twiley." Shining, mindful of Flurry, spoke firmly, yet quietly. "You can't keep my daughter."
"But she's perfect, Shiny!" Twilight whined. She levitated Flurry in front of her. "Just look at those cheeks! Pinching them is like pinching a pair of heavenly marshmallows!"
Flurry, dangling in the grip of Twilight' magic, stuck the tips of her wings into her mouth and babbled into them. Drool ran down and dripped from her feathers.
"I'm keenly aware of how pinchable her cheeks are," Shining said evenly. "Be that as it may, they're not worth starting an international incident over. Unless you want to explain to Cadance, through diplomatic channels, why you're holding her daughter and heir hostage in your magic crystal friendship castle." He held out a foreleg expectantly.
Twilight spluttered, struggling to come up with a rebuttal. Finally, she huffed and levitated Flurry into her father's embrace. "'International incident.' The empire doesn't even have full autonomy."
"You'd start some kind of incident. That's my point." Shining nuzzled Flurry with the tip of his nose and kissed her beside her horn. "Besides, wouldn't you need all these bottles and blankets and whatever if you were gonna keep a baby under your roof?"
"I couldn't just send you home empty-hoofed. Annnd I may have already written Mom to send over Spike's stuff from when he was a baby."
"Didn't waste any time, did you? My sister's got a real devious streak." Shining chuckled, but when Twilight didn't return it, he looked up to see melancholy on her face. "What's the matter?"
"It's…" Twilight pawed at the floor and cast her gaze at her hooves. "I guess I'm just – every time I'm with Flurry, I start thinking about… Spike. He's getting older, maturing, and he's getting less and less tolerant of me treating him like a kid."
"His cheeks do look less pinchable every time I see him," mused Shining as he rocked Flurry gently.
Twilight sighed. "There are times when I miss that little hatchling that liked to suck his tail and crawl into bed with me on stormy nights. He's not gonna be 'widdle Spikey-Wikey' for much longer, and he's not gonna need me to pamper him anymore. After him, Flurry's the closest thing I'll get to a foal of my own." She snorted. "Not like anypony's lining up to bestow one upon me."
"What about Flash?"
"What about Flash?" Twilight said flatly, glaring.
Oooookay. Sore spot. Avoiding.
"I get what you're saying, Twiley," said Shining. He stepped closer and embraced his sister. "To be honest, sometimes I get nostalgic thinking about how tiny and marshmallowy you used to be." He demonstrated with a tiny squeeze on the side of her face, and she smacked his hoof away, suppressing a smile.
"Hard to believe that pinchable little purple chub monster turned into you. Then I think about how that'll be Flurry someday, and…"
Twilight tilted her head. "And?"
"And it reminds me of how important it is for me to cherish these years. They're gonna be gone before I know it, and I want to hold on to them for as long as I can." He smiled. "It'll be hard to do that if her auntie hides her under her skirt every time she foalsits."
Twilight laughed sheepishly. "Alright. Alright, I see your point. I won't make a habit of it."
"Glad to hear it." Shining kissed Twilight's cheek, levitated Flurry's luggage onto his back, and made for the exit.
"Uh, just one thing?" Twilight sounded nervous. "Cadance, she, um… she wouldn't be all that upset if I just… kept Flurry for an indefinite period of time, would she?"
Shining fixed her with a serious look. "Twiley. Favorite sister-in-law or no, Princess of Love notwithstanding, if you got between Cadance and her baby, she would wreck you. And, of course, I'd be expected to join in." He shrugged. "It's best for everypony if we avoid that."
He nuzzled his daughter again and exited the castle, enjoying a private laugh at the ashen look on his sister's face.
