Chapters I poked my head in the bedroom at wife, who had been on bed rest for the last two weeks, and let her know I was leaving for work.
"No goodbye kiss?" Sunny teased.
I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. "Promise that you'll call me if you go into labor," I told her before giving her a smooch on the lips.
"Twi, I've made this promise to you every day since having false labor two weeks ago," she said with a smile.
I gave her another kiss on the lips and gently rubbed her rounded stomach. "I know but I just want to make sure I'm there for you when you go through this."
"Babe, you'll always be with...nnngh...me," she said, wincing slightly.
"Was that-?"
"No need to worry. It was just a Braxton Hicks contraction," she interrupted.
"Are you sure? I can still call off and have Cadence take us-"
"Yes, Twilight. I'm sure. It only lasted a couple of seconds," she said, interrupting me again. "Babe, just go to work and if something happens, I'll call you. Okay?"
"Alright. But on one condition..." I leaned down and kissed her one last time. "I get to steal more kisses after work."
Sunny giggled at my remark before we said our goodbyes and I headed outside where Mom was waiting for me.
"Twily, when are you going to get over your fear of driving?" she asked as I buckled my seatbelt.
I looked down at the floorboard and quietly answered. "I don't know, Mom. The accident was just so bad that every time I get behind the wheel I freeze up."
"Have you brought that up with your therapist?"
"No, mom. I haven't. I suppose it would be a good idea to bring it up," I answered.
We rode in silence for a few minutes as the radio put out an old country song. As it finished up, a small giggle escaped my lips.
"What's so funny?" Mom asked as my giggle evolved into a small laugh. "What?"
I finally lost it. I started laughing like I haven't laughed in a while.
"Twily, what is so gosh darn funny?" She repeated.
"A year ago you wanted me to see a therapist because you thought I was pleasuring myself too much," I said, trying my best to keep my laughter under control. "Now I am seeing a therapist for something totally different."
"Oh my gosh," answered mom as she shook her head slightly. "Really? That's what's so funny?"
Her reaction caused my laughter to go up to an eleven. I had tears running down my face, blurred vision, and my cheeks were beginning to hurt. I had to take my glasses off to so I could wipe my face.
"I really didn't think it was that funny," she remarked.
"I...I'm sorry. It...it's just…your...reaction...ha ha ha," I said as my sides began to hurt.
Mom let out a loud sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Take me...to...to work," I replied.
Four and a half hours later, I was sitting in the break room when my supervisor came in.
"Twilight?"
"Yes?" I answered.
"You have a customer asking for you," he said.
"No offense, but you do realize I'm on my lunch break," I told him.
"I know that and I tried explaining that to the customer but she insists that it's important."
I started to object once more but he cut me off.
"Tell you what. However long it takes to deal with this woman asking for you, you can have your lunch break extended that many minutes," he offered.
I groaned in annoyance before agreeing to his deal. Grabbing my cane, I headed out to the sales floor only to have my workday ruined.
"How can I help you?" I asked, feigning happiness.
"I'm sorry to bother you at work," said Wordy Whispers, sheepishly. "But there's something that's been bothering me for the last couple weeks. You had every reason to be pissed at me and you still do. I was wrong to attempt to blackmail you and your wife. The rumor mill has gotten slow over the last couple months and I was afraid of losing my job.
"But as an apology, I would like to show you the final draft of the story I'm going to be handing to my editor tomorrow," she said as handed me a small packet of papers, stapled at the corner. "It's a story of you and your wife and your current situation."
My anger toward this woman continued to simmer just below boiling point, as I skeptically accepted the papers. I heard the telephone rang behind me as I unfolded the papers to read what she had written. I only got a chance to read the headline - Local Celebrities Expecting Baby - before my attention was needed for the telephone.
I took possession of the receiver to answer whoever was kind enough to interrupt this exchange with Wordy.
"Hello?"
"Sunny? Are you okay?"
"Uh-huh."
"How far apart are they?"
"Let me call mom and have her pick you...okay that works too."
"Alright. I'll meet you there as soon as possible."
"Love you too."
I hung up the phone and handed the papers back to Wordy. "You may want to change your story," I said, still slightly annoyed.
"Really? Why?" She asked.
"Because Sunset is in labor," I replied before pausing to address the tension between us. "Listen, I'd like to apologize for my attitude and actions a couple of weeks ago. I was still holding ill feelings toward you for something that happened years ago and I'm sorry." I shook the packet beside my face. "While I haven't read the story, the title itself has let me know that you're apology was indeed sincere."
I offered a handshake which she accepted - hesitantly - before I excused myself to let my boss know about Sunny being in labor. Before I called my mom to pick me up from work, though, I got a completely unexpected offer.
"Mrs. Shimmer, would you like me to give you a lift to the hospital?" I heard Wordy ask.
"Sure, " I answered. "And you may call me Twilight if you'd like."
Author's Note
For the backstory with Wordy Whispers' relationship with Twilight, check out The Long Road: Recovery
I released my iron grip on the door handle of Wordy's car as the tires screeched to a stop in front of the hospital.
"Thank you for the ride," I said. "Can you please do me a favor?"
"Sure."
"If you ever give me a ride again, can you please not drive the car like you stole it? I have...issues with fast driving and the sound of tires squealing," I requested. "I was in a near fatal accident three and a half months ago. Since then, I've developed PTSD anytime I get into a vehicle to the point that I can no longer drive."
"Oh wow. I'm so sorry about that," she told me. "I never would've driven like a crazy person if I had known that."
"It's fine. It's partially my fault for not telling you about-"
"As much as I'm enjoying this friendly conversation with you, shouldn't you be going to Sunset's side?" she interrupted.
"Huh? Oh, right," I said with a sheepish grin. "Thanks again for the ride, Wordy."
I got out of the car and entered the hospital lobby. After checking with the receptionist to find where they placed Sunny, I slowly made my way to the elevator and then to the maternity ward.
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where room three fourteen is?" I asked one of the nurses.
"Yes, ma'am," she replied. "It's at the very end of the hallway on the right."
"Thank you."
My nerves were on edge as the clicking of my cane on the tile floor mingled with the sounds of the heart monitors beeping and families cooing over the newborn babies. Here it goes, I thought nervously as my shaking hand pushed the door open.
"Twi? That was pretty quick," Sunny said excitedly as I walked to the bed and hugged her. "I would've thought that'd be another hour before you got here."
I kissed her on the cheek and told her about my reconciliation with Wordy and the ride she gave me.
"The best part is that she's going to write an article about us for the paper," I said smiling.
"I'm so glad you got that worked out, babe," said Sunny as she winced. "Oooo...ouch. That was a strong one."
"So how's everything going here?" I asked, placing my hand on her belly.
"Well, the contractions are consistently about fifteen minutes apart. Dr. Brio was here a little while ago and said that I was five centimeters dilated," she reported.
"Did your water break?"
She blushed slightly. "Yeah. I was in bed playing on my phone when it happened," she said, chuckling. "And Spike may have been curled up beside me when it happened."
I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of Spike being soaked from Sunset's amniotic fluid flooding the bed. I know it was mean to think about - especially since he was my only friend for the longest time - but I just wish I could've seen his reaction to what was happening.
"I will say this much babe, I will never complain about menstrual cramps ever again."
We both laughed as I wiggled up onto the bed to cuddle with her. I held her right hand as we talked about who we wanted to be the godparents and watched some cooking show on TV.
About forty-five minutes later, Dr. Brio made paid a visit to check on Sunny's progress.
"How far are we doc?" Sunny asked as the doctor made a note in the chart.
"I'm sorry to say but I feel that you're going to be a while. You're dilation only increased by a half of a centimeter in the last hour," she replied.
"Please tell me that you're kidding," Sunny whined. "This hurts like hell."
"As I explained earlier, I can't give you the epidural until you're fully dilated."
A noise that sounded like a cross between a groan and an angry snort from a horse escaped Sunny's lips as the doctor left the room.
"What was that?" I asked, stifling a giggle.
"What was what?"
"That noise you made a second ago," I said as the smile on my face slowly grew. "It was like a horse snorting out of anger."
"Did you forget that I'm actually a pony?" Sunny asked.
I leaned in close to whisper my answer to her. "No, I did not forget. Especially since you're such a sexy pony to begin with."
"You little-" she said, landing a playful punch on me. "Owww…"
"Getting stronger?"
"Mhmm."
"Scoot over and lay on your side, facing away from me," I said as I sat up and moved away from her slightly.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
She did what I asked and I shifted her gown so that her entire back - including her cute tush - was exposed to me.
"Enjoying the view?" she asked playfully.
"Oh, hush," I said as I began to massage her lower back.
After a couple of minutes, Sunny began moaning in relief of her pain. "That feels awesome, babe. Can you go a little higher?" I happily obliged as she continued to enjoy the impromptu massage that she was receiving. "Thanks, Twi. You have no idea how wonderful this feels."
I leaned in and kissed the back of her neck. "I read about this online and figured I'd give it a try." She giggled at me while I continued to knead my thumbs into her spine.
As I enjoyed the bonding between us, I realized that this day was far from over. By this point, Sunny had been in labor for a little over three hours and when the doctor last checked, Sunny was only halfway there. This is going to be a long night, I thought.
Sunny lay in the hospital bed, her hair a frazzled mess after being in labor for nearly ten hours. It was almost nine o'clock in the evening and I knew the family had to be getting restless in the waiting room by now.
"Are you sure that you're up for visitors?" I asked Sunny.
"Yeah, they're probably getting antsy waiting to come in," she replied.
"Come on, little one," I said as I took Gleaming tightly in the crook of my right arm.
"Be back in a few minutes."
I slowly and carefully limped my way down the hallway to the waiting room. Along with a couple of other families, Mom, Dad, Shining, Cadence, and Azure Glide - Cadence's adopted brother - were anxiously waiting for my arrival.
"I know it's late in the evening but it'd like you to meet Gleaming Dusk," I said as they all gathered around me.
"She's adorable," Mom said.
"Thanks, Mom," I replied.
"Is she okay?" Cadence asked. "She seems a little on the small side."
"Dr. M. Brio assured us that she was okay due to Sunny being at thirty-eight weeks."
"You know, even though she has blue skin, she actually looks a lot like Sunset," Dad remarked.
I chuckled softly at him. "So who wants to carry her back?" I asked.
"I do," Azure volunteered.
After passing her off, I lead everyone back down the hallway to Sunny's room. Mom and Dad continued to coo over Gleaming while Cadence began to pick on her younger brother. I knocked on the door and lead the family in.
"Hold on a minute," Shining said. "What's going on?"
Latched onto Sunset's right breast was a pale yellow baby with orange hair, accented with blue and green streaks. Sunny looked at us and put her finger to her mouth.
I walked over to Sunny's side and drew attention to the other baby. "Everyone, this is Solaria Radiance," I said softly, "she's Gleaming's twin sister."
I could tell that Mom and Cadence wanting to hold Solaria but out of respect for Sunny's exposed breast, they stayed next to me. I happened to notice Azure's eyes as he passed her over to Cadence. "So this is what it takes to get my big, bad brother-in-law to cry," I said playfully.
"No. There's...something in the air," he deflected.
"Uh-huh," I deadpanned.
"Hey, Twily. I think someone's hungry," Cadence said with a small laugh.
"What makes you say...oh." I looked to see that Gleaming was fussing and trying to find a place to latch on to, so to speak. "Does somebody want some num-nums?" I asked Gleaming. I cradled her tightly in my right arm once again and headed toward the bed.
"Gimme a minute, babe," Sunny said. "Solaria is almost done." A minute or so later, Sunny and I switched babies. "She still needs to be burped," Sunny reminded me as she changed breasts.
"I know," I said as I walked over to the family with Solaria. "So...who wants to be the first to burp her?"
For whatever reason, Azure's hand shot up faster than Pinkie Pie. He took her and the burp rag from me and began rubbing her back.
"How big are they?" Mom asked.
"Gleaming weighed in at five pounds, ten ounces. Solaria is five pounds, four ounces," I said. "Both of them are nineteen and a quarter inches long."
"Solaria looks a lot like you did as a newborn," Mom said as a short but loud burp came from Solaria.
"Sounds like you're going to have a tomboy on your hands," Dad said in response to Solaria.
We all had a small laugh at dad's comment before Cadence spoke up. "Seems like babies think that you're a pillow," Cadence teased. "First, Flurry Heart when she was born, now Solaria Radiance."
"I guess I just have a magic touch when it comes to newborns," he responded.
"We'll see how good that touch is whenever you finally decide to settle down with Celaeno," Cadence continued to tease.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Azure asked.
A fiendish smirk crossed Cadence's face. "Well, me and Shining have Flurry. Twily and Sunset have Gleaming and Solaria. You're the only one here still a virgin."
"What?! I'm not a vir-"
"Okay, let's all settle down," Shining interrupted. "This isn't the place to be having this discussion."
I couldn't help but laugh at my family as Dad and Shining tried to get the two siblings settled down so they didn't wake up Solaria. With all the silliness going on, there was one voice I that didn't hear.
"Sunny, you're awfully qui-" I started to say before I saw the scene in the bed. Sunny was fast asleep with Gleaming still suckling on her teat.
"I think we should see ourselves out for the night," said Mom, looking over my shoulder. "Everyone's had a long day and could probably use some sleep."
Azure gently passed Solaria back to me so that I could lay her in the crib. "Thanks for coming," I said as I gave everyone a goodbye hug. "Will any of you be stopping by tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I might swing by if I have time," Azure replied. "I'd kinda like introduce the twins to Celaeno if that's okay."
I let out a long yawn before answering. "I don't foresee that being an issue," I told him.
After they had left, I went over to Sunny and gently shook her awake so that she could finish feeding Gleaming. "When did everyone leave?" she asked groggily.
"A couple of minutes ago. We noticed that you had nodded off and Mom made an executive decision to leave," I told her. "Whenever Gleaming gets finished with her dinner, I'll set her in the crib."
"I'll do it. I've got to use the bathroom, so I can lay her down on my way," Sunny said.
"Fair enough. Do you want to send them to the nursery for the night?"
"Probably should. They can always come and wake me up if either of the girls needs feeding," she replied.
I called the nurse's station and let them know that the girls would be spending the night in the nursery. A few minutes later, Sunny had finished nursing Gleaming and laid her in the crib. While she was in the restroom, I called once more for the babies to be picked up. The last thing we did before laying down was to give each of the girls a good night kiss as they were wheeled out.
Author's Note
Please use the spoiler boxes for comments on this chapter.
For a pic of Azure Glide (an OC by my friend, TheWingman ) and his full bio, click here .
[The next morning]
"It's about time you woke up, sleepyhead," Sunny teased as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
I groaned slightly as my back pain was about twice as bad as it normally was. "What time is it?" I asked as I knocked my glasses off the small table beside me.
"It's half past time to hold the baby," she continued to tease.
"Oh funny," I said. "Seriously, what time is it?"
A giggle escaped her lips before she answered. "It's quarter after nine."
"WHAT?!"
"Shhh. I just got Gleaming to sleep," she fussed. "Relax, Twilight. It's not a big deal that you slept late."
"But, but…"
"Twilight. Chill."
I reluctantly calmed down, then got up to use the restroom, wash up in the sink, and change my clothes. While I was putting my clean clothes on, I heard our first visitor of the day.
"Whoa! You had twins?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Sure did," Sunny replied.
"That is freakin' awesome," said Rainbow excitedly. "Hey, where's Twilight?"
I opened the bathroom door and stepped out, pajamas in hand. "Right here. I figured I should freshen up before anyone showed up."
"Nothing wrong with that," she said. "Don't wanna be stinking up the joint while your friends are hanging out with you."
"Speaking of which," Sunny started, "could you hand me my deodorant out of the suitcase?"
I reached into the suitcase and grabbed her deodorant, which was then snatched up by Rainbow and tossed across the room. "Rainbow, be careful," I fussed.
"What? It wasn't near either of the babies," she replied.
"That's beside the point," I said.
"Hey, it's fine. I caught it. Nobody got hit. Nothing got broken. Everyone just calm down," Sunny interrupted, causing Rainbow and I to call a truce.
"So which one is the cooler one?"
"They're both the same as far as coolness goes," Sunny said.
Rainbow clapped hands and did a fist pump. "Sweet! That means I can hold both of them!"
"Umm, you could've held both of them even if one was cooler," I deadpanned.
She shrugged her shoulders and sat down in the recliner as Sunny carried Gleaming to her. Rainbow looked at our daughter and I noticed a tear roll down her face.
"Are you okay, Rainbow?" I asked.
"Yeah it's just...this is the coolest thing I've ever done."
[Later, around lunchtime]
"As much fun as its been hanging out with you guys, I've gotta go home and get ready for work," Rainbow said.
Sunny and I both thanked Rainbow Dash for her visit and gave her a hug when we heard Applejack and Rarity talking in the hallway. Rainbow quickly tried to escape before Applejack came in, but her attempt was met with failure.
"Rainbow Dash," Applejack said.
"Applejack," Rainbow answered back.
"Still whoring yourself out to the Wonderbolts?" Applejack quipped.
Rainbow didn't answer. Instead, she glared at Applejack - with a noticeable amount of emotional pain in her eyes - for a couple of seconds before walking away.
"Applejack, that was uncalled for," Fluttershy said. "Especially in here."
Applejack let out a huff and replied somewhat angrily, "She started it."
"Fluttershy's right, darling. This is not the time nor the place for that."
Sunny and I just looked at each other as Applejack got the riot act read to her.
"Alright, alright. Fine," Applejack stated.
"You guys ready to visit or are you still going to argue with each other?" Sunny asked.
Applejack took off her hat and held it remorsefully against her legs. "Sorry, y'all."
"I know you still have some ill feelings toward Rainbow Dash, and it's understandable," I said. "But you probably should make up with her. I'm not talking about the two of you dating again. I'm talking about just being friends with each other once again."
An awkward silence filled the air momentarily before Sunny broke it. "Wow, Twi. You almost sounded like me there for a minute."
"Now that the arguing is over with, where is the little darl-" Rarity said. "Oh! Oh my!"
"Well this sure was unexpected," said Applejack.
"So how do you like our little surprise?" I asked.
"Um, I do wish you would've told me about it," Rarity said. "They are quite the beautiful dears but I only made one outfit to wear home."
"Hey don't sweat it," Sunny said. "We won't be leaving until tomorrow at the earliest, so you'll have plenty of time to make a second one."
"Um, can I, uh, hold one of them?" Fluttershy asked from behind Applejack.
"Of course you can, Fluttershy," I said. "Which one would you like?"
"Oh, I...I'm not sure."
I scooped up Gleaming Dusk and carried her to Fluttershy, who was waiting patiently in one of the chairs in the room. "Here. This is Gleaming Dusk. She might fuss a little bit because she just woke up a little while ago," I told her.
Rarity, meanwhile, had taken Solaria and sat on the sofa bed. "Sunset, darling, how are you holding up?"
"I'll be honest, I'm sore," Sunny said with a laugh.
"Well, whatcha sore from?" Applejack asked.
"Well, my stomach hurts from all the contractions. My boobs hurt from the milk stored inside of them," Sunny paused as she turned a slight shade a pink, "and my coochie is hurting for obvious reasons."
"You birthed both of them naturally?" Rarity asked.
"I sure did," Sunny said proudly.
"Why do you ask, Rarity?" I asked her.
"One of my distant cousins had twins and the second baby was delivered via cesarean," she explained. "I just assumed that was how all twins were delivered."
"Shucks. Y'all are gonna have yer hands full whenever these little ones start moving on their own," said Applejack as she booped Solaria's nose.
"They are really cute," Fluttershy said quietly. "If you ever, um, need a babysitter, I can do it."
"Thank you, Fluttershy," I said. "Well be sure to keep that in mind."
"So...which one of y'all got the first dirty diaper?" Applejack asked with a slight chuckle.
Sunny reluctantly raised her hand. "I did. I was nursing Solaria when she...you know."
The rest of us got a small laugh at her expense as a small blush crossed her face. "Darling, it's the first of many, many dirty diapers."
"Well, it's like Granny always says. It's gotta go somewhere," Applejack said, eliciting a small laugh from the rest of us.
[Later]
"Knock, knock," said a male voice from the doorway.
"Hey, Azure," I said. "Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity...you remember my brother-in-law, Azure Glide. He was also the first officer on the scene when I was in my accident."
"Pleasure to see ya again, Sugarcube."
"Um, hi. It's nice to see you again," said Fluttershy, who had a slight blush on her face.
Rarity nodded in acknowledgment of Azure as she studied his face.
The sound of a woman clearing her throat behind him caused his face to become scarlet.
"Sorry, Celia," Azure said. "This my girlfriend-"
"Ahem," the woman interrupted.
"Excuse me. This is my fiancé, Celaeno," he said as his blush became brighter. "She's, um, Captain of the Canterlot City Police Department."
"Captain?!" Applejack said, surprised. "Boy, you sure aim high."
"Darling, I did not mean to be rude when you arrived - as I am a lady, after all - but whatever happened to your face?" Rarity finally asked.
"Well, you see, I was on this one case in a very high-profile neighborhood and this uppity crook that I was tracking smacked in the face with a bag of razor blades," he said before getting flicked in the ear. "Ouch! Alright, alright."
"Didn't we talk about stretching the truth to impress people?" Celaeno asked as the rest of us laughed.
"Fine. I was tracking a crook. However, it was in a slum," he explained. "I did finally catch up with him, but he wasn't uppity. He was a complete psychopath. We got into a brawl and he cut my face a few times."
"Azure. Celaeno. It was nice making y'all's acquaintance but we gotta get going," Applejack said. "Fluttershy's got a date with Vinyl later and me and Rares have, ahem, plans for later tonight."
"Plans?" Sunny asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ah, ah, ah. A lady never discusses her sex life," Rarity said just before slapping both hands over her mouth and turning a bright shade of red.
"WHOA!" I shouted, waking Solaria. "Since when did you two start dating?"
"A few weeks ago," Applejack said. "We were planning on keeping it a secret for now."
"Celaeno, would you like to hold one of the girls while Applejack and Rarity finish making asses of themselves?" Sunny asked.
"Sure," the green haired woman answered. Sunny then handed Gleaming to Celaeno. "She's even cuter than Azure described."
The girls finally left, which left Azure and Celaeno in the room with us. For whatever reason, Celaeno had a warm smile slowly grow across her face. Her smile was nearly identical to the one that Sunny had when the nurse handed Gleaming to her for the first time.
I cleared my throat to get Azure's attention. When he looked at me, I nodded in Celaeno's direction. He turned to his fiancé and she looked up at him with that facial expression.
"What?" he asked her.
Rather than answer, she looked down at Gleaming and then back at him.
"What?" he repeated. "What is it that you're trying to tell me?"
"Ohhh...nothing," she said, sing-song.
As Celaeno began playing with Gleaming, Azure came up to me with a worried look on his face. "Honestly, I wore a rubber," he whispered to me. "I mean, I just proposed this afternoon in front of all of our fellow officers. Had I known she was pregnant, I would've proposed sooner. Dad is going to kill me when he finds out."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Azure," I whispered, pulling him into a hug. "At least you proposed to her before the baby bump appeared."
"What are you two whispering about?" Celaeno asked us.
Azure went back over to her, knelt down on the floor, took her hand and explained what was going on. Almost immediately, she burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Sunny asked.
"I'm not pregnant," she said after calming down.
"You're not?" Azure responded.
"No, silly. I was trying to tell you that I hope we have a daughter as beautiful as Gleaming Dusk someday," Celaeno said, laughing a little more.
"Oh," he said with a nervous chuckle. "I hope we do as well."
Sunny and I smiled at the couple as Solaria began fussing in her crib. "Well, someone's either jealous or hungry," I said.
"Probably hungry. It's been a few hours since she had anything," Sunny said. She walked over to Solaria and brought her back over to the bed. "It feels odd not waddling like a penguin when I'm walking," she joked as she began nursing Solaria.
"It looks odd not seeing you waddle like a penguin when you walk," I laughed.
"Funny."
I turned my attention to my brother-in-law. "So have you told anyone else yet?"
Author's Note
A more detailed explanation of Azure Glide, beginning with his childhood can be found here: The Life And times Of Azure Glide .
