Birthday Boy Blues

Everypony in the room started at the sudden cries.

“What in Equestria happened?!” Twilight asked, alarmed.

Cadence didn’t have time to formulate an answer before Flurry began to sob, feeling her father’s distress.

Velvet reacted immediately, putting her hooves around him. “Shiny, what happened? What’s wrong, sweetheart?” She asked, trying to soothe him. He didn’t seem to register her voice, to engulfed in his own emotions. She held him close. It was only because she was so close that she heard the broken whimpers coming from his mouth.

“Mama… Ma-ma…” He quietly sobbed.

Several clues clicked into place for her at once, like the last few twists of a rubiks cube. He’d been slipping all day and she hadn’t realized it. His reaction downstairs when Twilight tried to greet him, the nervous undertones in his voice, and the hug she gave him that lasted too long to belong to his bigger self. That alone should have tipped her off, and she felt awful for not seeing it. However, there was something calming in the realization, because now that she knew what the issue was, she could fix it.

Her posture shifted slightly, and she seemed to command more authority but without losing her gentleness. She used her magic to pull a chair up beside him, sitting down, and then pulling him into her lap. He reacted immediately to it, wrapping his hooves around her neck and burying his face in her neck as he wept. She wrapped her hooves around him, rubbing his back and hushing him gently.

“Oh Shiny… It’s okay, sweetie. Mama’s here. Mama’s got you, baby. It’s alright now.” Her voice gained the crooning lilt it only took on with him. She kissed his temple, and his body seemed to sag in relief against her. She hadn’t realize how tense he’d been until right then, and it was heartbreaking.

It was much easier for Cadence to calm Flurry down than it would ever be for Velvet to calm her son down. Shining’s sobs were dying down due to his mother’s efforts, but they had nowhere near stopped. Flurry, meanwhile, had seemed to quiet. Cadence was more than a bit shocked by his outburst of tears. She’d seen him upset before, even seen him upset in this mindset before, but this was unprecedented. It was more than a bit concerning to her. However, she had her hooves full with Flurry right now so she couldn’t go to comfort him as she had done a few times in the past. Still, she was confident in her mother-in-law being able to handle things.

That left Twilight, who was utterly bewildered at the scene before here.

“What just happened?” Her voice didn’t sound like hers. It was almost disembodied, as though somepony else were speaking through her. Cadence and Velvet shared a glance, before Cadence nodded.

“Come with me, Twilight. Let’s talk.” She said.

Twilight followed in a sort of daze, and Velvet turned her full attention back to Shining.

“I see you, sweetie.” She crooned, kissing him again. “Mama’s here, and you’re okay. Were you upset, baby? Were you sad?”

Shining peeked out a little from her, eyes wide and spooked as though was going to be swallowed whole by a monster, and nodded.

“I’m sorry you felt so sad, baby. But why didn’t you tell Mama?” She asked, stroking his mane.

The very thought of his failure to live up to expectations today sent him spiraling into full blown tears again. He ruined everything! Everything Twily had tried to do, he’d ruined today because he was a baby. And now she wouldn’t be happy. He started wailing again.

“I sorry!” He wailed.

Velvet was taken aback by the response. This was completely out of character for him. When they were talking, and he was bothered by something, he calmed down enough to talk about it with her if it was an immediate issue. Clearly this was much deeper than that.

“Okay sweetie, calm down. Take a big breath for Mama. It’s alright.” She crooned. But he couldn’t seem to stop. She got an idea, suddenly, and looked at him. “Shiny, Mama has some things of yours in her room. You want to get them with me and we’ll get you comfy?” She offered.

The wailing didn’t stop in the slightest, but she felt him nod.

“Okay. Can you stand up? Mama’s going to take you there. I’ll be with you the whole time.” She promised.

He sniffled. He didn’t want to let go, but he also wanted to see what she had for him. Giving up comfort for more comfort. In the end, he wouldn’t lose, but it was frightening to think about.

Velvet didn’t rush him. He’d clearly had enough on his mind already. Hopefully she’d find out what had caused all this, but when he was calmer.

Slowly, cautiously, Shining got up from her lap. Carefully, she took his hoof in hers as was their custom in these times, and she led him to her room. She went slowly, matching his pace rather than setting one as she usually did with whatever walks they took. He needed her to meet him where he was at the moment. He looked so frightened and upset that it took everything she had not to grab him into her arms and hold him and kiss him until he was okay. But she couldn’t. Both because her back would protest it, and because there were things that needed to be done now, ministrations that needed to be performed in order to calm him down.

Pulling out a box under her bed, she got out diapering supplies for him, a pacifier, and a perfect replica of Brutus Force, who she duplicated while he’d been napping one day. She slipped the pacifier in immediately, and he snatched Brutus from her magic, cuddling the stuffed friend that had always given him such comfort. Velvet smiled, laying out a changing mat for him on the floor and putting powder, wipes, and a fresh diaper beside it, as she saw him slowly calming down. The pacifier frantically working between his lips at first was gradually slowing down, and his vice grip on Brutus seemed to loosen a bit. She gave him a reassuring smile as the final piece of the picture had yet to be painted. She patted the changing mat to have him come lay down, and spoke.

“Okay sweetheart, let’s get you changed."