BPT: The "Second" Second Life of Midnight Blaze

by Wolven5


Chapter 2: Family

“...five ...six ...seven ...eight… nine… ten!” I heard Shiny finish counting before he called out, “Ready or not, here I come!”

I hold my hoof over my mouth, trying to stop myself from giggling `cuz I didn’t want Shiny to find me.

I’m now three, and playing with my bestest friend, Shiny. His real name is Shining Armor, and he’s like the big brother I never had (he’s the big brother since he’s four). We’re playing hide and go seek in his backyard, and I’m hiding in the bushes.

“Where arrrre yoooouuu, Nighty?” Shiny calls as he looks around.

From my hiding spot in the bushes, I see him look around. He first checked around the corner of his house, then he looked in the fort Uncle Night Light made for us, then he looked behind the woodpile, and I can tell he’s getting confused.

He’s too close to the tree, which is home base. If I can touch home base before he catches me, I win and he’s still it. But if I try to run to the tree, he’ll get me. He always wins when we play tag.

I duck down in the bushes as he looks towards me. Oh flooie, did he see me?!

“I’m gonna get you, Midnight...!” Shiny calls out, smiling as he looks around but he’s coming my way. Oh no!
“And when I get you…”

He’s getting too close, and if I stay here he’ll find me for sure! I do my best not to giggle, but my chest starts thumping, and it’s getting hard to stay still-
“YAUGH!!!”

I burst out of the bushes, scaring Shiny a little as I rush past him, and hurry for the tree! I’m gonna make it! I reach out and-

Oof!

Shiny tackles me and we roll over each other, laughing and trying to hold the other down, but since Shiny’ a little bigger than me, he pins me down, and as we catch our breath, I sigh, “You got me again…”

“And here comes… the tickle monster!” Shiny smiles with a sneaky grin.

“NOO! Not the tickle monstAH-HAHAHAA!!” I howl in laughter as Shiny starts tickling me, and I try to get loose but he’s got me good.

“Boys! It’s snack time!”

Shiny stops tickling me and let’s me up, as I pant and giggle, trying to calm down my bumpity chest, and we look to the backdoor where Shiny’s dad, my uncle Night Light, is waving us in.

“Coming, Dad! C’mon, Nighty!” Shiny hurries forward while I follow a little slower since I’m still catching my breath.

Inside, Uncle Night Light leads us into the kitchen where Shiny’s mom, my auntie Velvy, is setting up the table. I can smell fresh baked cookies, and while Shiny is able to hop up onto his seat. I try to get onto mine but I’m too small and almost fall!

...only to feel myself lift up and set nicely onto the chair and I see it was Uncle Night Light as he smiles at me.
“There we go, little guy, comfy?”

“Uh-huh! Thank you, Uncle Night Light!” I give him a smile while Auntie Velvy sets plates onto the table.

“OK, sweethearts, what kind of sandwiches would you like?” she asks.

I smile at Auntie and notice her tummy, how big it is. I asked my mommy and daddy why auntie’s tummy got so big, and they told me she’s gonna have a baby, and I had no idea what that had to do with Auntie’s tummy. When I asked where babies come from, daddy just patted my head and said he’d tell me when I was older.

Shiny asks for peanut butter and jelly, while I ask for peanut butter and honey. But when Auntie Velvy opens the cupboard with her magic, she groans and rubs her tummy. Uncle Night Light hurries over to her, asking, “Are you okay, Vel?”

“I’m fine, dear,” Auntie Velvy tells him, “just getting tired.”

“Well, how about I fix up the boys’ snack and you go lie down?” Uncle Night Light suggests.

Before Auntie Velvy can say anything-

*DING-DONG*

“I got that,” Night Light declared as he hustled to the front door.

I look at Shiny and ask, “I still can’t believe you’re gonna be a big brother!”

“I know, I can’t wait to meet my baby brother or sister,” Shiny smiled happily. “I bet the three of us will have lots’o fun together.”

“I wish I was gonna have my own little brother or sister,” I sulk before thinking a moment. “Mmm, baby brother, definitely.”

“Then I guess I’m gonna wind up with a sister,” Shiny teased, and we both laugh.

“Midnight! Your folks are here to pick you up!” Uncle Night Light called.

I smile and run to the front door, calling, “Mommy! Daddy!”

Mommy and Daddy are there, and Mommy catches me with her magic as I jump to them, and she floats me up to her cheek, where she nuzzles me.
“Hello, sweetie, did you have fun today with Shiny?”

“Uh-huh! We played hide-and-go-seek, beat a firebreathing dragon, I was almost gobbled up by the tickle monster,” I say, all excited, “and Auntie Velvy was about to make a snack for us but she seems tired.”

“Well, sounds like your imagination took you on quite an adventure today, my little warrior,” Daddy chuckles as he blows my mane, tickling the back of my neck.

“Velvet, I’m sorry if we interrupted the boys’ snack time,” Mommy says to Auntie as she waddles over, with Shiny beside her.

“Oh it’s okay, Faerie Tail,” Auntie assured. “I love having my little nephew over, especially since he and Shining Armor have so much fun together.”

“Should you really be up and about?” Daddy asked, sounding worried before he looked at Uncle Night Light.
“You said the baby’s due any day now.”

“Oh Ignitus, I’m fine,” Auntie Velvy spoke up before Uncle Night Light can say anything. “Just because I’m having another baby doesn’t mean I stop making my two favorite little colts a yummy snack.”

“Well, we’re sorry to cut this visit short but we have to go now,” Daddy replied before saying to me, “What do you say, Midnight?”

I look at Auntie and Uncle and Shiny and say with a happy grin, “Thanks for having me over, everypony!”

“Always happy to have you, kiddo,” Uncle Night Light reaches up and ruffles my mane, and I laugh as I push his hoof away.

“Since you didn’t get your snack, Midnight, I’ll make you and Shiny sundaes the next time you visit,” Auntie Velvy promises, making me and Shiny cheer.

“YAY! ICE CREAM SUNDAES!”

Mommy places me on Daddy’s back and I look down at Shiny who smiles and says, “See ya soon, Midnight!”

Later at home, Mommy and Daddy sat me down for dinner and we were having my favorite! Spaghetti and Wheatballs, with garlic bread! Yummy!

But before I began to eat, I noticed Mommy and Daddy using their magic to hold their forks to eat their spaghetti. Mommy’s magic was yellow like a sunflower while Daddy’s was a bright reddish orange, like fire.

They’ve given me… man..ip… tion shoes? Special shoes on my hooves that lets ponies grab things with their hooves. They told me that once I could use my magic I wouldn’t need them as much, but seeing them do it, I looked at my fork and concentrated.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, but I thought of my horn lighting up and my fork lighting up. Nothing happened.

“Baby, are you trying to use magic?”

I looked at Mommy and Daddy, both of them giving me soft smiles as I sulked.

“I wanna use magic too,” I answered sadly.

“Oh, my boy,” Daddy lifted me with his magic and set me on his lap, “You’re not old enough to use magic yet. When you’re a little bigger, you’ll be using magic all over the place, just like you did when you were a baby.”

“Huh?!” I gaped at Daddy, and Mommy laughed.

“It’s true, sweetheart. See, baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go. You had a few when you were a baby, and my goodness were you such a bouncing ball of trouble!”

“I was?!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Hoo boy, I remember all that crazy you put us through,” Daddy laughed, “I’d rather face a hungry manticore than go through all that again.”

I sunk in my chair, feeling bad, which Mommy must have noticed, since she came over and hugged me.
“Oh, we didn’t mean it like that, baby. We just meant it was quite an exciting time when you had your magic surges.”

“Well… if I caused so much trouble when I had magic.... sooges?” I didn’t quite get the word.

“Surges, son,” Daddy corrected me.

“Surges… Well, if I did so much when I had them, how come I can’t do magic now?” I asked.

“Well, honey, after baby unicorns come along, they build up magic inside themselves and they also soak up ambient magic in the air,” Mommy explained, “kinda like a sponge.”

“But then the magic they gather up needs to get out,” Daddy added, “so they have surges where the magic they have comes out in ways that behaves in a way to give baby unicorns something they want.”

“And once the magic surges stop,” Mommy finished, “it’s because the baby unicorn has… gotten used to how much magic they can handle at the time until they grow older, and the magic builds up again, which is when they learn to be able to do magic whenever they want.”

“Ohh…!” It sounded complicated but somehow I got the idea. “I didn’t know magic was so… so....”

“Complicated?” Daddy offered. When I looked at him, not knowing what he meant, he explained, “Complicated means… hard, like there’s a lot more to something.”

“Yeah, compicaked,” I tried, which made Mommy and Daddy laugh, as they came over and we all hugged.

“That’s right, sweetie,” Mommy said, her hug so warm, “‘compicaked’”

After dinner, Daddy and I played with the toy guards and dragon stuffy he got for me for Hearth’s Warming but before we could save the princess, Mommy said it was bedtime.

After I brushed my teeth and went potty, Mommy tucked me in, Daddy turned on my lava lamp (they told me it wasn’t real lava, which I was actually glad to know). Then, while Daddy stood by the door, Mommy sat by my bed, saying, “Would you like a story, dear?”

I yawned and shook my head no, “No, too sleepy…”

“Well, then, how `bout this?” She took a deep breath. Then she began to sing.

It’s the end of the day

I’m here for you, Midnight, no need to cry

Here’s your mama’s lullaby

Let sleepy foals lie

No more time for play

Rest up and dream, sweetie, where you can fly

Here’s your mama’s lullaby

Let sleepy foals lie…

I was smiling, my eyes so sleepy before they closed, and I felt Mommy kiss me on the head, and heard her leave. Before the door closed, I heard Daddy, “Sweet dreams, son.”

"Night-night, Daddy…” I mumbled before I drifted away.

The next morning, Mommy had woken me up, washed my face, and we had breakfast. Her waffles are sooooo yummy!

Then Daddy opened the front door, looking excited. Normally, Daddy is gone before I wake up, since he has a big important job as the Captain of the Princess’s Guard. Normally, I wouldn’t see him to later in the day.

Mommy and me looked at him as she asked, “Ignitus, what’re you doing-”

“Night Light and Twilight Velvet!” Daddy announced. “The baby came late last night!”

Mommy gasped and smiled, and bounced in my chair, “Shiny’s a big brother now?!”

“Yes he is, sweet boy!” Mommy levitated me into her hooves and hugged me, and I laughed.

“Can we go see the new baby?”

“Sorry, buddy,” Daddy shook his head, “but Auntie Velvy and the new baby have to see the doctor for a while first. Once the doctor is sure they’re both healthy, they’ll go home and bring the baby with them.”

“So we gotta wait even longer.?” I whined, “No fair!”

“Midnight, you want your auntie and her baby to be okay, don’t you?” Mommy asked in a way that made me think.

I wanna see the new baby but I want for Auntie and the baby to be alright, too. I lowered my head, my ears pressing backwards, and Mommy hugs me closely, and I say, “Sorry…”

“It’s okay, buddy,” Daddy comes over and ruffles my mane. “To be honest, we want to see the new baby too, we don’t even know if it’s a filly or a colt.”

“I’m sure Uncle Night Light will let us know when they’re coming home, and we’ll go check on them then, okay?” Mommy suggested, and I nod, smiling a little.

I hope it won’t be long.

It was long. The sun was already starting go down, and I was fidgety, muttering, “I wanna see the baby….!”

As I lied on my back in the middle of the living room, Mommy was looking through a folder on the table and jotting something down while Daddy was reading his paper. I’d played with my toys, looked at my picture books, had lunch, taken a bath…

“WHEN CAN WE GO SEE THE NEW BABY?!”

Mommy and Daddy both startled, Mommy’s pencil flying out of her magic, Daddy accidentally tore his paper in half. They both gave me a look, and I pressed my whole body to the floor, ,”Um, sorry... “

Daddy sighed as he bunched up his torn paper and threw it into the trash and was about to say something-

*DING DONG*

Saved by the bell.

He looked towards the front door, then at me, and then sighed as he shook his head before going to answer it. Phew!

I heard the door open and Daddy say, “Night Light! Whoa, you look exhausted!”

I looked at Mommy, and she gave a smiling sigh before gesturing me to go ahead, and I hurried to the door.

There stood Uncle Night Light and his eyes looked baggy underneath.

“Hello, all,” he said. He did sound tired! “We got home about an hour ago, Velvet’s resting and-”

“The new baby!” I hopped up and down, smiling, “Is it a filly or a colt?!”

Uncle Night Light seemed to brighten up when he saw how excited I was, “Heh-heh, it’s a filly, little guy. I guess you want to go see her?”

“Can we, Daddy? Please, please, can we?!” I looked up at Daddy and made the most saddest eyes I could.

Daddy just gave me a look, “I dunno… You know you’re not supposed to yell in the house, and I was so startled I ruined my paper.”

“I’m sorry!” I made a show of bawling. I did this once before when Mommy and Daddy took me to a place called Restaurant Road, where everypony noticed, and it got me a big ice cream cone.
“I promise never to do it again, just let us go see the new baby-hee-hee...!!!

“Alright, alright!” Daddy waved his hooves, trying to calm me down, Mommy coming out to join us.
“We’ll go see the baby! Oy…”

“Sorry, I taught him that trick,” Mommy whispered to him, and that caused him to glare at me.

I just pretended to ignore him before asking, “Can we go see the baby now, Uncle Night Light?”

“Uh…” Uncle Night Light looked at Mommy and Daddy.

Daddy sighed while Mommy just shrugged and smiled.

“I… guess so! C’mon, everypony,” Uncle Night Light started walking, “Time for you all to meet my daughter!”

At Uncle Night Light’s house, he opened the door, and whispered, “Now, Velvet’s resting, and so is the baby. No loud noises.”

Somehow, I felt Mommy and Daddy both giving me looks from behind.
“I’ll be good, promise!”

Uncle Night Light smiled at me, and led us in. We went down the hall, all the way to his and Aunt Velvy’s room. He quietly opened the door, and we saw Auntie lying in bed, and what looked to be a crib set beside it. Shiny was there, looking into the crib, smiling.

He noticed us and smiled as he quietly waved me over.

For some reason, I felt nervous and didn’t move.

“Go ahead, son,” Daddy whispered before nudging me forward by pressing his muzzle to my bottom.

I looked at him and Mommy, and they both smiled and gestured me to go ahead.

“Nighty, come over here,” Shiny whispered, “I want you to meet my new baby sister!”

I slowly came forward, and reared up to get a better look as me and Shiny peered into the crib.

The baby filly was a unicorn like her mommy and daddy and big brother. She was wrapped up in a soft yellow baby banket. Her coat was a very soft purple or… lavender? I don’t know how I knew that word, but somehow it fit. Her mane was a really dark blue with dark purple and magenta, and she was sleeping so quietly.

“She’s… so small,” I whispered.

“Well, she is my little sister,” Shiny whispered, sounding proud and happy.

“You were that small at one time, Midnight.”

I looked and saw Auntie Velvy looking at us, sounding so happy. Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Night Light came closer, and Mommy gasped when she saw the baby, “Oh, Night Light, Velvet! She’s just adorable!”

“Congratulations, my friends,” Daddy shook hooves with Uncle Night Light.

“What’s her name?” I asked.

“Well, when she was born, the first thing I noticed about her was her sparkly eyes,” Auntie Velvy said.
“And so… we decided to name her Twilight Sparkle,” Uncle Night Light declared with a proud smile.

“I like it!” Shiny whispered, sounding excited, as he looked at his sister again. “My little sis, Twily!”

I looked at baby Twilight, feeling so happy for Shiny and his parents. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a little… jealous. Then, as I looked at Twilight some more, I couldn’t help but feel like… I already knew her.

“Mommy, Daddy? Can I spend the night with Shiny? Please!” I brought my hooves together, looking at them with the biggest saddest eyes I could.

“Oh no. I’m not falling for that again,” Daddy crossed his hooves.
“I don’t think so, sweety, Auntie Velvy’s really tired and her family’s got a lot to do,” Mommy whispered.

“We don’t mind, Faerie Tail,” Auntie Velvy whispered, making me smile. “As long as the boys are quiet.”

“We’ll be quiet!” I agreed, “so quiet you won’t even know we’re here!”

I looked at Shining, pleading for his help, and he shrugged, “Yeah, Midnight can sleep with me in my room. It’s upstairs!”

“And we are keeping Twilight here with us tonight,” Uncle Night Light added, “Haven’t quite finished up the nursery yet.”

“Well…” Daddy and Mommy looked at each other, unsure, but then they noticed everypony’s faces smiling at them to say yes.

“Alright…” Daddy sighed.

I hurried over and gave him a big hug!

Uncle Night Light led us into the kitchen where they discussed the sleepover, while Shining led me to his room.

“I can’t believe you’re finally a big brother!”

“It’s pretty cool, yeah,” Shining said, but he sounded… worried?

“You okay?”

“I’m… just hoping I’ll be a good brother to Twily,” he said.

“Are you kidding, Shiny?!” I smiled at him. “You’ll be a great brother to her! I mean, c’mon! You’re practically my big brother, and if you were I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

Shiny smiled at me and held out his hoof, which I gladly met in a brohoof, and he said, “Thanks, Midnight.”

“Always,” I smiled.

The next morning, Uncle Night Light set up a playpen and Auntie Velvy placed Twilight inside it. Twilight was awake and wearing a diaper, sitting up thanks to a baby pillow propped up behind her back, with a blanket and stuffies and a pacifier to keep her company. Not that she needed them since me and Shining were peering over her playpen and Shining was making silly faces while I waved a rabbit stuffy at her.

Twilight laughed, and it was such a sweet little sound, that I couldn’t help but smile. It was like she just loved all the attention she was getting.

“She’s just the sweetest little filly,” Shining gave me a big smile.
“And she’s got us looking out for her,” I added.