Twilight Sparkle closed the door to her castle behind her as the sun was setting over the horizon. She yawned from lack of sleep, she had woken up very early in the morning to help Rarity with some stress she was having about how she was not making as many suits as she normally did, she had been to focused on dresses to notice. Yet instead of going to bed afterwards to catch up on sleep, Pinkie Pie had stopped her to help her set up a party, which turned out to be for her, which meant she had to party until now. She laughed while thinking about how Pinkie had swung the bat at the pinata too hard, and how much candy flew everywhere. She thought she heard another laugh but thought it was just her echo, the Castle was very large, and empty. She and Spike were the only ones who lived in there, yet there was room for many more, maybe 8, or 12. She wished someone else lived with her, perhaps a nice stallion to start a family with, she liked the sound of that, she especially wanted kids, she loves young colts and fillies. She was cut short of her thoughts about a family by another sound, she was sure that it was not from her unless she had been talking out loud, but she did not recall making a sound such as the one she heard. “Spike? Was that you?” She called, it did not sound like Spike, but she was not certain.
“No, I-I thought that was you.” Spike said nervously, popping his head around the corner of the large room to her left.
“Did anyone come in?” Twilight asked, but before Spike could answer they heard another odd sound, a babbling gibberish of some sort, however the source did not seem to be coming from inside the castle. Spike rushed over to Twilight, wearing an apron and holding a saucepan with soup it seemed like, he was making dinner beforehand. Twilight opened one of the large doors of the castle and was greeted with excited babbling from near her hoof. She looked down and saw a small human child wearing a mask that only covered his face, it was on it’s back and was wearing a diaper. Twilight looked startled and confused, Spike was more scared than startled, yet confused as well. “A human? But I thought that if you came through the portal to our world you became a pony? Why didn’t it change?” She asked, she was scared to touch it, the mask made her think that it might be contagious in some way, she saw that there was a piece of human notebook paper next to the baby, she hesitated for a moment then picked it up with magic. It didn’t look like it was written by anyone she knew, but she was able to read it.
“Dear Princess of Magic:
I hope that you have found this before you have rested, and I hope that my child is well and as healthy as he can be. I have heard that you are kind to everyone that you encounter, and I am hoping that you share that same kindness to my child. I have sent him to you in hope that he will be safe and unharmed. If you wonder why he is a human and not one of your own kind, it it because we did not go through the portal you use, but instead through a different one that will close and can not be reopened after I re-enter it. Do not take off his mask unless it is to feed him., it will grow with him and it will not rust. It is there to hide him from the damage his father dealt to him. Please make him feel normal. He is only 2 months old. Thank you.”
She finished reading the note with a few tears in her eyes, ‘who would harm such a small child?’ She asked herself. She picked up the human and looked into his eyes, the only visible part of his face, the mask did not seem to bother him, but it bothered her. She looked at the note again, to find a good reason for him to wear the mask. She said the part about “the damage his father dealt to him.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, then she took off his mask and was met with a sight that scared her almost to death, he had many scars across his face, some looked like they were from a knife cut, others looked like burn marks. They were nothing more than scars now, white lines everywhere. She didn’t want to put his mask back on him, but then she thought about what would happen if he was older, what would she say? She didn’t want to tell him that his father did it, because then he would ask where his father was, and-
“Twilight, Twilight!” Spike said, shaking her a bit.
“Yes Spike?” she asked, she was too lost in thought to notice anything around her.
“What should we do with it? There is an orphanage near by, should we drop it off there?” he asked, he was worried that she would be stressed, and that she wouldn’t be able to do her duty as princess and watch over a child.
“Well, the person left him here, and addressed me directly, she thinks that with me he will be happy. So I think it is only right for us to keep him and help him grow.” She said, however she left out a reason, but she didn’t want to tell Spike, he might feel bad if she said it. She had wanted a child and now she had one, she doesn’t have a stallion to marry, yet, but she had Spike, who would help her no matter what.
“But what about your duties as a princess, and your friends, and what will the town think, what about Lyra?” He asked, he was a bit jealous and thought that she would pay more attention to the baby then to him.
“My duties as a princess aren’t much, just to go where there is a friendship problem, and he can come along with me on those. My friends will understand, and I can take him with me when I hang out with them as well. The town will be be fine with it, they are welcoming to anyone and everyone. Lyra won’t cause much trouble, and she can be the babysitter if I ever need one.” she said, she thought that this would work out fine, but Spike was still jealous, but he could deal with it if it made Twilight happy.
“Alright, well, dinner's done if you want some.” He said, referring to the liquid in the saucepan. He was quite proud of himself, his cooking had gotten much better after cooking for Twilight and her friends enough times.
“Not right now, I need to get the baby some food as well, we can’t let him starve.” She said, smiling down on the baby he held in her hoof, he smiled back up at her and giggled a bit. “I need a way to carry him, I don’t want to risk him falling off my back, and he might be scared if I carry him with magic. Do you have any ideas Spike?” She asked Spike, he put a hand to his chin and thought about it.
“Oh! Doesn’t Pinkie Pie have a baby carrier?” He asked, he thought he remembered Pinkie Pie wearing one to carry the Cake’s twins.
“Great thinking Spike! Here, you watch after him while I go and get it, I would get the baby food while I’m out but I want him to be able to come with me.” She said as she placed the baby carefully on the ground. She smiled at both Spike and the baby and then left to get the baby carrier from Pinkie Pie. Spike looked at the baby and wondered what it’s colours would be if it were a pony. It’s skin colour was not of any human or pony he had seen, except Doctor Whooves,
“Wait, is he the son of Doctor Whooves?” He asked himself out loud, but he discarded that thought, “No, Twilight said something about someone wanting to hurt him, the Doctor wouldn’t let anyone harm his son if he had one, and he seems to only like Derpy, but she’s too nice to harm anyone, even if they’re mean to her.” He said, “Must not be anyone here in Ponyville. Well, Twilight decided to keep him, so I guess it doesn’t matter anymore now does it. I wonder how old he is?” He asked out loud, then he saw the note that was with the baby. He picked up the note and read aloud, “2 months old? Wow, whoever harmed him must really hate him.” At the word hate the baby started to whine a bit, then he started to cry. Spike looked at the baby in shock, he picked the baby up, when he did he noticed how skinny he was, he felt extremely light and looked as though he hadn’t ate in a long time. He felt extremely bad for he felt responsible for making him cry, even though he didn’t mean to, he hugged the baby as he held him and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry, I don’t hate you, I could never hate you.” He said, hoping that he would make the baby happy again, and it worked. The baby seemed to have understood him and calmed down. “That was easy, I guess you just wanted to know that you’re cared for.” He said, the baby yawned and started to fall asleep, but before he did Twilight returned from Pinkie Pie’s house with the baby carrier on.
“I got it! Now I can take the baby with me while I get his food! Maybe he can pick it out himself!” She said happily, she used magic to put the baby in the baby carrier on her chest and then she left the castle again.
“I’m eating this soup, I didn’t make it for nothing, and I’m hungry.” He said, with an agreeing rumble of his stomach.