Author's Note
I couldn't not post something to commemorate the occasion of MLP: FIM's last episode. The plot came at random, but it was very sweet.
Still goes within my universe canon of Shiny having developmental delays because of being born premature, for anybody new to my stuff.
Rated T because of the mention of breastfeeding, as mentioned in the long summary.
Enjoy the Sparkle Family feels, guys!
Running To Stand Still
Twilight Velvet awoke, as per usual, at three in the morning to the sound of wailing. Night Light stirred in the bed beside her, grumbling something, before she patted his back and he settled down to sleep more. Much as she would have loved the extra help, it was feeding time for her daughter, and he couldn’t do much for that. Besides that, her husband actually had to go to work in the morning. She was the stay-at-home mom. Night duty was her job. Night Light was more than happy to help her in the day, but at night, he needed to sleep, and she knew that.
Velvet padded down the hall, forehooves sliding across the carpet as she went into the nursery of her daughter, Twilight Sparkle. The tiny bundle of joy she’d happily brought home a week ago was now squalling in her bassinet.
“There, there, Twilight. Mommy’s here.” She promised, picking her daughter up and settling down in the rocking chair with her. “You’d best not wake your brother, little filly. It took Mommy two hours to make him go to sleep.” She said.
Twilight gave no response other than to latch on and begin nursing from her mother.
Twilight Velvet sighed as the old tingling-pinching-nirvana combination came through her at the start of that. She’d nursed Shining and felt that way too. The tingle at the milk beginning to flow, the pinch as it came out, and the nirvana sensation that was greater than any one she’d ever felt because of the incredible bonding it brought. Though she was well beyond exhausted, and barely holding it together emotionally, moments like these propelled her forward to the next day.
“Mama?” A voice from nearby caught her attention.
Velvet looked over to see her son standing in the doorway, clutching his favorite toy named Brutus Force, and obviously awakened from sleep. “Yes, Shiny?"
“I had an accident.” His voice was higher and more babyish than usual.
Velvet fought the urge to sigh in her frustration. She knew he couldn’t help it. Being born three months premature came with developmental delays, and one of them was in regards to potty training. Still, his accidents during the day and night seemed to have increased ever since Twilight was born. “I’ll be there as soon as I finish feeding your sister, Shiny.” She promised.
Shining walked in. “Sissy’s getting feeded?” He asked.
“Fed.” She corrected automatically, and nodded. “That’s right, sweetie.”
“How?”
“Well, Mommies make milk to feed their babies.”
“Like cows?” He asked, moving closer.
She had to make an effort not to grimace at the question that reminded her that she still had a lot of baby weight to lose. “A little bit, yes.”
“Can I try some, Mama?” He asked.
The gears in her head were beginning to turn. Shining had been showing signs of regressing ever since his sister was brought home. The accidents during the day and night were becoming more frequent, She’d caught him trying his sister’s pacifiers more than once, and he’d been clingy with her and particularly fussy when his sister was being cared for by her in a more intimate way than he was. He hadn’t asked for this though- and she hadn’t even imagined he’d ask her. She had to formulate a good response and quickly.
“I don’t think you’d like it, Shiny.” She said, shaking her head.
“Why?”
“Because, there’s not enough milk in there for somepony like you to get strong. Your toys need a strong colt to protect them, don’t they?”
He nodded, wide eyed.
“Well, you need more milk than Mommy could give. But if you like, Mommy can give you a glass of milk to drink in her lap while your sissy gets hers?”
Shining thought about it a moment. Then, he nodded. “‘Kay, Mama.”
She smiled, getting up from the rocker and going to the kitchen to pour him some milk in a sippy cup (there were a few issues with coordination that tended to worsen at night, so she always kept a few handy so he wouldn’t spill whatever drink he needed.). When that was done, she sat at the kitchen table, cradling Twilight in one arm, and Shining in the other. Despite her exhaustion, this was a precious moment of peace in her currently tumultuous world, and she fully intended to savor it. With the chaos of her everyday life, caring for a newborn and a somewhat jealous toddler, it was a rare moment when her household was still.
The stay-at-home mother’s life often felt to her as though she was running to stand still. She worked hard every day to take care of her children and often had nothing substantial to show for it, and the next morning all of her duties piled up again. She could very well understand why the expression “Going Postal” could relate to mail ponies. Having to shoulder heavy saddlebags of mail and unloading them all day only for them to fill up again the next day was not unlike how she felt. But in these moments of peace, it seemed worth it.
Shining and Twilight both seemed to finish at the same time. Velvet moved a burp cloth over her shoulder and burped her daughter While Shining seemed very sleepy for the moment. She picked them both up before heading back to Twilight’s nursery to set her in her crib for a few moments while she tended to Shining. The colt seemed asleep on his hooves by that point, unused to his sleep being disturbed so consistently.
“Stay awake a few minutes more, Shiny. Mama needs to get you new sheets and a pull up.” She said. He seemed to nod against her chest. Seemed to.
She stripped his sheets off of his bed and put them in the laundry basket near his door before pulling a new set of linens from his closet and making the bed in her magic. That done, she pulled out the package of pull ups from his closet, wiped him clean with a wipe, and helped slide one on him. She didn’t bother to ask if he wanted to do it himself. She knew that he was too tired to, and he would have asked her to anyways considering how much he was regressing.
“If you keep having potty accidents you’re going to have to go back into baby diapers.” She said, as her son gave her a very slow and sleepy nod.
She’d done a lot of research about toddler regression in the months leading up to Twilight’s birth. The birth of a new sibling with a toddler around usually coincided with regressive behavior for the toddler. The toddler isn’t used to sharing attention and therefore acted like a foal to gain that attention back because it seemed to be working for their sibling. This had been the case with Shining. He’d emulated cooing and babbling at points, had taken to crawling around the house on more than one occasion, had multiple accidents after being fairly far along in his potty training, and had enjoyed the usage of a pacifier or sucking his hoof, which she’d thought she’d broken him of the year prior. The book had also mentioned that sometimes toddlers might make resentful remarks to their new sibling. Mercifully, that had not been the case with Shining. He adored his baby sister, and loved to cuddle with her or give her kisses. He just wasn’t used to sharing his parents’ attention.
She’d tried several things at the book’s recommendation to help with this. She’d kept his routine as normal as possible, pointed out all the things foals couldn’t do because they were too little and the benefits of being a big boy, scheduled a bit of time for him to indulge in this behavior each day (and promptly ended it at the same time to make it a part of his routine) at the risk of ignoring it making it worse, and given him plenty of extra hugs and kisses. It seemed to be helping for the most part. The only area in which it wasn’t was the potty training, but considering he hadn’t been fully potty trained to begin with, that didn’t surprise her much.
Velvet picked up her son and tucked him back into bed, making sure Brutus Force was safely in his grasp. Shining hadn’t slept a night without him since he’d been born, and certainly wasn’t about to start now. She gave him a gentle kiss. “Sweet Dreams, Shiny-WIney.” She cooed.
“Nini, Mama.” He said softly, and was asleep within seconds.
She smiled at that, picking up the laundry basket near his room and putting the sheets in the washer for the morning. Then, she returned to Twilight’s nursery.
“Let’s get you all ready for bed, Twily.” She cooed, checking her daughter’s diaper and finding it in need of a change.
She picked up her daughter and took her to the changing table, getting her out of her sleeper and beginning to change her diaper with the quickness and speed of a seasoned professional. Her daughter wasn’t too active yet, thankfully, but there was a certain level of squirming that she found mildly annoying in her sleep-deprived state. Still, it was done in a few moments. With her daughter changed and fed, it was time to get her to sleep.
Velvet carried Twilight to her bassinet, and laid her down gently, humming softly to her. From the moment she’d opened her eyes her little filly had seemed so curious about everything that it was somewhat difficult to get her to calm down and sleep. Mercifully, humming seemed to do the trick. Soon, her little girl was fast asleep, and Velvet carefully left the nursery before making a hasty retreat back to her own room.
The darkness and quiet beckoned to her in a way that only a sleep deprived mother could appreciate. She stumbled back to bed, and was soon wrapped in the sweet embrace of her bed and blankets.
Night Light turned over in bed, seeming to wake a moment. “Everything okay, Baby?”
She nodded. “It’s fine. Twilight needed a feeding and change, and Shining had an accident. I took care of it. Go back to sleep.”
He grumbled, before turning back over.
She sighed, and let her eyes finally close so she could be in sleep’s sweet embrace.
It was another day of running to stand still.
