//------------------------------// // 42 - Past is Past // Story: Soaring on Little Wings // by tom117z //------------------------------// Cloudsdale The party cannon erupted in a fountain of confetti, the multicolour avalanche of papers covering just about every surface within the home of Little Wing and Misty Gust, the two mares in question sitting on the sofa as everypony gave a cheer. Except for Little Wing and Misty Gust themselves, anyway, who just gave the stupidly grinning pink mare a deadpan expression. “I hope you’re cleaning that up!” Misty Gust protested. Pinkie Pie gave a snort of dismissal. “Ah, I’ll do it after the party. Enjoy yourselves! It’s not everyday you have a baby!” Pinkie exclaimed, gesturing to Little Wing’s slightly enlarged belly. Little Wing flushed. “I’ve still got months yet!” “Yeah… But now you’re showing the foal will probably start kicking and that means they’re awake and aware which means that they must be so BOOOORED just sitting and doing nothing and then I thought…” GASP! “…the foal would probably love a party and so what better way than to have the foal’s first party be a BABY SHOWER!” Another firing of the confetti cannon, and much more mess to clean up. Still, the couple couldn’t hide their small smiles as everypony else just laughed at the pink party maniac’s antics. And their home had never been so filled. The moment the foal had started showing, and given its first kicks, Rainbow Dash had gone and told all her friends in her excitement and happiness for her little sister. Which, as the said pink party maniac had just explained, inspired her to invite everypony over to their house for a baby shower. And everypony means everypony. Or close enough, anyway. Little Wing’s parents were there, as were Misty Gust’s, standing together behind the sofa with tearfully proud expression on their faces. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were in attendance, as were all of Rainbow Dash’s closest friends. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and of course the unmistakable presence of Princess Twilight. The latter was doing very hard to not impale the roof with her long spikey horn. And Scootaloo, on her part, had also invited her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders. Little Wing wasn’t really all that acquainted with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, far less so than the Element Bearers, but Scootaloo had assured them that they still wanted to wish their friend’s kinda-sister their best. Scootaloo added they may have also been enticed by the word ‘party’ in particular. But still. Oh, and the Wonderbolts were also there. Of course Soarin would come, given his relationship with Rainbow Dash, and the stallion had Sky Dancer standing on her hind hooves on his back with her fore hooves resting on the top of his head, giving all the new faces an adorably cheery smile. But Captain Spitfire was also there, and Little Wing was a little embarrassed at having her superior officer attend, but the fiery maned pegasus had assured the youngest Wonderbolt that she was there strictly as a friend. And then there was Silver Breeze. He had come alone to offer his own congratulations to his friends, and he had awkwardly accepted a few himself considering it was his ‘donation’ that had resulted in all of what now transpired. And despite his awkwardness, he wasn’t doing a good job to hide his own excitement at the prospect of being a father. In all, the living room was packed as tightly as a can of sardines. “Alright, Pinks, try not to give the foal a heart attack or something,” Rainbow Dash said as she nudged Pinkie away to one side. “And breath. That’d be good too.” “So how are you feeling?” Princess Twilight Sparkle asked. “I’ve studied the subject of reproduction, since I have yet to experience the matter myself. Shining Armor has also told me of the intense irritability Cadance suffered during the-” “Princess!” Little Wing interrupted the alicorn. “I’m fine! Really! Please stop!” Misty Gust giggled. “Irritable. Definitely.” Little Wing puffed up her cheeks. “Misty!” Another round of laughter, much to Little Wing’s expense, though the Princess only offered an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Little Wing. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” she said honestly, though with an amused glint in her eyes that she failed to hide. “If you say you’re fine, then you’re fine.” “Of course, Princess!” Wild Ace remarked, patting Misty on the head. “We have our daughter looking after her, after all.” “I think you’ll find that Little Wing is more than capable of looking after herself,” Bow Hothoof challenged. Misty and Little Wing both groaned, bemused by the competitiveness of their respective parents. “Are we gonna get to the presents or what!?” Pinkie suddenly shouted with an impatient edge. “Bwah!” Sky Dancer babbled in agreement. “If Sky says so, then we do it,” Little Wing remarked, smirking at the chosen word. “Or does anypony want to embarrass us more?” “Well, we could get out the foal pictures…” Violet Rain mused with a predatory glance. “Oh! I have the perfect set!” Windy concurred. “NO!” Little Wing and Misty Gust declared simultaneously, moving the topic right along to the gifts they’d brought. The group all decided to concede it to the couple and move things along. Besides, there was plenty more time for ribbing them later… “So who wishes to go first?” Princess Twilight asked. “I would, unless somepony else wishes to.” “Nah, go ahead Twilight. I mean, we all know it’s a book,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. “Wrong, Rainbow Dash. It’s two books!” the Princess announced, levitating up said books from a nearby saddlebag. She deposited the books in the hooves of Misty and Little Wing, who looked at the cover titles with an odd mix of both amusement and bemusement. “Just a little something I picked up for the foal, plus something to help you with the parenting part. You’re welcome!” The title of the former was entitled ‘Pink Fluffy Unicorn Dancing on Rainbows’, while the latter was ‘Parenting for Dummies’. Three guesses which once gave the respective amusement and bemusement. Rainbow jabbed her little sister on the shoulder, whispering: “Don’t worry, Squirt. She gave me the same book.” “Thanks, Princess,” Little Wing said, placing the books to one side. The alicorn rolled her eyes. “You need to stop calling me that. To friends, it’s just Twilight. And I think we’ve been though enough recently to count as friends.” “Well, okay… Twilight.” “Me next!” Scootaloo announced, picking up a wrapped box shaped item. She hoofed it over to Little Wing, giving them a wide-eyed look of anticipation as her tail wagged almost like a dog. Together, Misty Gust and Little Wing got to work ripping open the paper and unveiling the contents it was hiding. Inside was a blue box decorated with clouds and stylised cartoon versions of each of the current Wonderbolts, a clear plastic covering much of the front and showing the Wonderbolt action figures inside. Little Wing suddenly had a very surreal feeling as she stared at a small, lumpy plastic version of herself. “Since you loved the old ‘bolt figures when you were a foal,” Scootaloo explained. “And to show how kickass her mother is!” “Her?” Misty questioned. “Hey, I’m betting it’ll be a filly,” Scootaloo remarked. “Literally betting. Me and the others have a pool going.” “Ah’m thinking it’s gonna to be a colt!” Apple Bloom remarked. “Betting ten bits on it!” “Don’t be stupid, it’s always a filly!” Scootaloo protested. “I’m being wise and not losing my bits either way,” Sweetie Belle muttered. While the three crusaders bickered over the child’s yet to be announced gender, the gifts continued to come. A custom-made crib from Bow and Windy, and a highchair from Wild and Violet. Each of the Element Bearers also gave their own gifts. A stuffed bunny toy from Fluttershy, various baby toys from Rarity, a mini confetti cannon from Pinkie Pie and a few pieces of rustic-looking foal sized plates and cutlery from Applejack. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s gifts were extensions of that of their sisters’. Even Spitfire had gift, a warm looking and completely adorable cotton Wonderbolt outfit to dress the foal up in. Rainbow Dash, Soarin and Sky Dancer had gifts from the three of them, as Rainbow Dash had announced when their turn came. And well, they had a few things. And by a few, they had a lot of things. It seemed that Rainbow Dash was going to be the kind of aunt that spoiled her niece. Maybe she had taken tips on being an aunt from the Princess. But the centrepiece of all the bits they’d bought was the expensive foal carrier, much of their other gifts being held inside it for the time being. Actually, now that Little Wing looked around it seemed that Bow and Windy almost looked offended that Rainbow Dash had bought more than them… Oh dear, Little Wing sensed a lot of spoiling from multiple directions in the future. And that just left Silver Breeze. And as all eyes turned towards him, he produced a colourful book decorated with all sorts of foal related imagery, and with a simple title written upon it. ‘Happy Times’. “It’s a photo album,” Silver Breeze explained. “With everypony else getting all this stuff, I was kinda at a loss of getting something that wasn’t a copy. Then I thought… well, this way you have something to put all the memories you make with the kid inside, you know?” Little Wing and Misty Gust shared a look and a smile, placing the gift to one side before turning back to Silver again. “We have a gift for you too,” Little Wing announced. “Since this is your party as much as ours, really,” Misty concurred. Silver Breeze blinked. “Er, really?” They both nodded, and Misty Gust got up from her seat and retrieved something. When she returned, she held out a small silvery object to Silver Breeze. “It’s a key to the house,” Misty explained. “So you can come and go whenever you please. And so you can see your child anytime, all without even having to knock first.” Silver Breeze stared at the key a moment, before then gingerly taking it into his grasp. He choked back a sob, giving a small laugh. “Thanks…” “You’re our friend, Silver,” Little Wing stated. “And now you’re practically family, too.” It was clear to see that Silver Breeze didn’t know what to say. One who was once their mortal enemy, their childhood rival. Now one of their closest friends, enough so that the couple had entrusted him to father the child they couldn’t have naturally on their own. It was probably as close as friends could possibly get without being anything more. And family? Well, he was just glad to finally have a family who gave a damn. From there, a round of applause broke out for the three parents to be. And then Pinkie Pie called everypony to the buffet table. They weren’t even sure where all that food had come from and were pretty sure it wasn’t there when they were dishing out the gifts. But Pinkie had managed it somehow, and they chose not to question the matter further as they dug into the variety if delightful items the party mare had set out. There was laughter and talk amongst the entire group, further congratulations and gushing about the coming foal and talk of a more trivial nature. And then Twilight gave a serious look at Little Wing, staring at her from across the room even as the party continued, Pinkie Pie dishing out punch to anypony who even glanced at the bowl. Little Wing caught her gaze, and how it had suddenly turned… solemn. Silently, Princess Twilight gave a nod for Little Wing to follow her before exiting into the hallway. What else was the mare to do but comply? With a slight bit of worry, Little Wing followed the Princess into the hallway. The alicorn was silent a few moments, looking left to right before casting a lavender bubble around them. “Bubble of silence,” she explained. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I had to talk to you about this. You deserve to know.” “Know… what?” Little Wing questioned, the worry rising. “I had a visit from Penumbra a couple days ago, in preparation for this part,” she began. “Penumbra!? Really?” Little Wing questioned, shocked. “What did she want. And… how is she?” “She’s fine,” Twilight assured. “Still feeling a little guilty, I think. Though she was typically evasive when I probed about what she’s been up to since Canterlot.” “And her magic?” “Well, I think it’s pretty much the same as the last time we saw her,” Twilight responded. “She indicated as much. She… told me about your parents, too. Your human parents, I mean.” Little Wing froze. “M-my…” “Yes. And apparently, this is something she’s known since before you last resurrection,” Twilight continued. “When she first regained the power to look between worlds, which she has yet to regain since.” “And what about them?” Little Wing asked with a small huff. “Do I even want to know? Just… I thought they were out of my life for good.” “They were terrible people, I know,” Twilight said sympathetically. “But they were still your parents, and so you deserve to know what happened to them. I can’t make you care or not, but… Penumbra also thought you’d like to know.” Despite the disdain she held for her birth parents, she couldn’t hide the small ember of curiosity within her eyes. Twilight took that as a sign to continue. “Well, apparently they at least had the decency to call an ambulance when they finally found out you’d stopped breathing,” Twilight explained. “Of course, it was too late. And Penumbra told me that your death led to an investigation.” It didn’t take much for Little Wing to work out where this was going. “And I’m sure no local school having a record of you, and other obvious signs led to one thing and another,” Twilight stated. “And Penumbra told me that your world’s authorities arrested them. Charged them with child abuse and manslaughter.” “So… they got…” “Prison time? Yes, and the last Penumbra knew they were still there.” Little Wing let that information sink in a moment. Those people had gotten their just desserts… so should she have felt happy about it? Victorious? Relieved? Honestly, Little Wing felt… nothing. Even the disdain she had been feeling a moment before had melted away, and she held no emotion towards the thought of them. “Thank you for telling me, Twilight,” Little Wing said sincerely. “Is that all?” Twilight studied her for a moment, but then released the bubble of silence with a nod. Little Wing thanked the alicorn again, before returning to the living room. “What did the Princess want?” Misty asked her wife as she returned. “Oh, nothing important,” Little Wing replied as she wrapped a wing around Misty, smiling a little as she felt the slightest kick from the foal she carried. “Everything important is right here, and that’s all that matters.”