Firefly sat on the couch in their living room, flipping through a copy of the latest Dr. Whooves book. Clay had introduced her to the series and she was, for lack of a better word, hooked. As she read she felt a small jab in her stomach, making her grunt slightly.
“Whew, you are a kicker aren’t you?” she said, looking at her large belly. She gave it a small rub and smiled before returning to the book. No sooner had she re-commenced reading when the front door opened; she didn’t have to look to know Clay had come home. Firefly set the book down and, slowly and with some difficulty, got off the couch. “Hey honey. I didn’t expect to see you home so…” She stopped when she saw the bundle in Clays mouth. “Clay…what is that?” Her husband walked over to the couch and placed the sleeping baby down gently.
“She’s a baby I found in the forest on my way home.” He looked to the baby unicorn as she gave a small yawn.
“Was she by herself?”
“I didn’t see any sign of her parents… she might be an orphan.” Firefly looked at the sleeping foal as she sucked her hoof.
“Poor thing,” she said sadly.
“She’s going to need a family.” Firefly looked at Clay and gave him a sympathetic look.
“Clay… I know what you’re thinking. We can’t keep her.” Clay looked at Firefly, somewhat startled.
“Why not? The filly needs loving parents, and I think we can be the family she needs.” Firefly shook her head.
“Clay, we have a baby of our own on the way right now. We can’t take care of two foals.”
“Sure we can! We make good money between your Wonderbolt salary and me working at Sweet Apple Acres.” Firefly shook her head.
“Clay… I understand how you must feel, what with you being adopted, but…between me going back to the Wonderbolts and you on the farm we won’t have enough time to look after both of them.”
“That’s why we have my aunts, isn’t it? And my mom and uncle can help too. To be honest I think my mom misses having a baby around the house.”
“But Clay, what if she feels…misplaced, like you did? She’s going to have a brother to live with; they could get jealous of each other or feel like they aren’t getting enough attention.”
“They won’t…because I’ll never stop letting them know how much I love them both.” Firefly placed a hoof on his shoulder.
“Clay, maybe we should consider… the orphanage, so she can find a loving family.”
“We are not putting her in an orphanage,” Clay retorted with a hint of anger. Firefly glanced away, considering, then looked back at her husband.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Absolutely.” Firefly sighed.
“Okay.” Clay smiled.
“Sweetie, I promise she’ll be one of the family in no time.” Firefly smiled back at her husband.
“I’m sure she will, with you around.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips, then winced slightly.
“Bolt kicking again?” Clay asked.
“Y-yeah… the little guy is just full of energy.” She smiled weakly and then looked to the baby gurgling on the couch. “So…what should we name her?”
“Well I don’t know anything about unicorn names. Maybe we could ask my Aunt Twilight tomorrow.” Clay and Firefly smiled at the baby as she shifted under the blankets.
“She’s so beautiful, like a bright star on a dark night.” Firefly cooed.
“Night star…I like that,” Clay muttered.
“Like what?” Firefly asked him.
“Night Star, as her name.”
“I like it too, but it sounds a little harsh. Why don’t we change it a little?” Clay thought tapping his chin.
“What about… Evening Star?”
“Perfect,” Firefly replied, nuzzling his neck.
“I agree… fits her perfectly.” Firefly yawned, looking tired. “Why don’t you go to bed and I’ll put Star to bed right now?” Firefly nodded, her eyes only half-open.
“Don’t take too long.” She yawned and started walking upstairs, while Clay picked Star up and placed her in the crib that was meant for his son Firebolt. Star whined slightly as she was placed in her new bed.
“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe now, and you have a new mom and dad that will love you forever.” Star looked at him with half-opened eyes and yawned, just like her new mother had; Clay brought his face closer and kissed her forehead, careful to avoid her horn. “Goodnight Star… welcome home.” Clay turned off the lights and walked upstairs, eager to get to bed. He trotted to the bedroom and found Firefly lying in their large bed, looking as if she could fall asleep any second. She gave him a dreamy smile as he went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth; he returned to find Firefly sleeping soundly, a rare sight since she had been impregnated. Clay pulled the sheets back with his mouth and got settled into the bed; next he turned off the light and kissed Firefly’s cheek.
“Goodnight Clay,” she muttered, barely awake.
“Goodnight honey.” Clay rested his head on his pillow and slowly shut his eyes, a smile forming on his face as he drifted off to sleep.
Clay awoke to the sound of a crying infant as he slowly opened his eyes and groaned.
“Ughhh, I’m not ready for this.” He pulled the sheets from his body and slowly slid out of bed. Clay looked back at Firefly and saw that she was, remarkably, still sleeping on her side. He made his way down to Star’s crib and, sure enough, she was crying loudly. Clay picked her up and cradled her in his forelegs, trying to calm her down. “How can she still be sleeping?” Clay said aloud as he looked back up the stairs; he then looked to the kitchen and remembered that they had bought some baby formula so that they would be ready for when Bolt was born. Clay placed Star back in the crib and went into the kitchen to prepare the formula; when it was ready he walked back to the crib and gave Evening Star the bottle, which she sucked on vigorously. “I guess you were hungry after last night, huh?” Clay walked back to the kitchen, remembering that Firefly would be just as hungry when she woke up. He began making a traditional breakfast and a few odd items like pickle and kumquat slices, just in case Firefly was in an odd mood from her cravings. Clay heard the sound of hoofsteps coming down the stairs and instantly knew that Firefly was awake; she sat at the table slowly, being careful not to let her belly hit the table. Clay walked over with several dishes and placed them before her.
“This sure looks delicious Clay.” She began eating and Clay walked back to check on Star; he found her squirming slightly and knew that she had to be burped. He picked her up and patted her back until she gave a small belch. “How did you know about that? You’ve never taken care of a baby before.” Clay set Star back in her crib and then walked back to the table.
“Mom told me about the things I would need to do. As soon as I told her you were pregnant she started telling me all the baby ‘rules’ I would have to follow.” Clay began cutting into his pancakes.
“Well at least she’s still looking out for you.” Clay suddenly stopped eating. “What’s wrong?” Firefly asked him.
“Mom. We have to tell her and Comet that they’re going to have two grandkids… she’s going to flip.”
“That will certainly surprise them,” Firefly giggled. They finished eating and then prepared to leave the house, which included Clay putting on a foal pack and placing Star into the side pouch. “Aww, don’t you two look cute,” Firefly teased playfully.
“Well as soon as Bolt’s born you’re going to be the one carrying them.” They left the house and began making their way to see his mother and uncle. As they did Firefly winced. “Are you okay?” Clay asked, slightly worried.
“I’m fine, I think Bolt just kicked a little too hard that’s all.” Clay wasn’t convinced, but they continued walking. After ten minutes they had made their way to Twilight’s library, which meant that they were getting close, however Clay noticed that Firefly was looking tired and flushed.
“Do you want to rest?” he asked, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
“I…I think…I could use a glass of water.” Firefly smiled, trying to hide how tired she was. Clay helped her sit down under a tree and left to find her a beverage; he knew that his Aunt Applejack had a stand close by so he figured he would try to get some apple juice. He was about half-way to the stand when he heard a stern voice.
“Hold it right there citizen!” Clay froze as he recognized the usual challenge of a Royal Guard. “Just what are you doing with that foal?”
“Please sir, I was just going to get my wife a drink! There’s no need to…” He stopped when he turned around and saw a dark blue pegasus with striking yellow eyes and a white mane and tail intersected by a single blue stripe, and dressed in golden armor. “Sky Tearer?”
“That’s Private Sky Tearer.” He approached Clay and stared him down briefly before his frown turned into a smile. “But for you I’ll make an exception.” He chuckled and swept Clay into a tight embrace.
“Sweet Celestia, you scared the crap out of me Sky,” Clay sighed.
“Sorry, I was just having some fun… but seriously what’s with the filly? I thought Firefly wasn’t due yet?”
“She is; I found this little one in the Everfree Forest last night and I’m taking care of her until I sign the papers or somepony claims her.”
Sky looked at the filly and smiled as she reached for his face. “What’s the cuties name?” he asked.
“Evening Star.”
“Aww…aren’t you just the cutest thing?” Sky said in a silly voice, tickling Star’s tummy and making her giggle.
“What’s with you? I thought you were against unicorns and earth ponies.” Sky looked at Clay, slightly insulted.
“Come on Clay, I told you I’m not like that anymore. I joined the army so that I could help all ponies out there, whatever they are.”
“I know, it’s just strange seeing you like that.”
“Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Hey, why don’t you head back to Firefly and I’ll get her that drink, sound good?” Clay nodded and walked back to find Firefly passed out in the shade. Clay sat down next to her and nuzzled her face as she slept. Something was off about her today and it worried him. Soon however, Sky arrived, landing next to him and passing him a bottle of cold Apple juice.
“Thanks, she looks really tired.” Clay nudged Firefly awake and gave her the beverage; she eagerly guzzled it down in seconds.
“Do you two need any more help?”
“No I think we’ll be fine thanks,” Clay replied; Sky said goodbye to them both and flew off to return to his patrol. When Firefly felt rested enough they continued making their way to his mother’s place, and soon Clay was greeted by a familiar house. It was the home he had been raised in for most of his life since his mother had found him. Clay had always thought that after he was old enough and moved out to live with Firefly that his mother would find another cloud palace, like the one she had lived in when she was younger. To this day however she had never even mentioned moving to Clay, and was still living in the house that he had grown up in; the thought made him smile. Clay knocked on the door and soon was greeted by his uncle Comet; he was similar to Clay save for being a pegasus pony and his blue eyes, but other than that Comet had the same coat and the same brown mane and tail as Clay did.
“Clay, Firefly, didn’t expect to see…” Comet spotted Star who had fallen asleep. “Do you care to explain?” he asked.
“That’s why we came over.” Clay and Firefly trotted past Comet and inside the house. “Mom! Your son’s home!” No sooner had the words left his mouth than Rainbow Dash came rushing down the stairs.
“Clay! Oh my gosh I can’t believe you actually came to visit me!” she said, bursting with joy.
“Mom, you saw me last night,” Clay replied, blushing slightly.
“I know, but that was a party. This time you came over to see me.” She gave Clay a hug and he returned it with his own; Star began to whine and Dash immediately took notice. “Clay…what are you doing with a baby?”
“That’s what we came over to tell you - we’re going to adopt her.” Dash’s eyes widened.
“You two are adopting? When did you decide on this?”
“It was a little unexpected. I found her in the forest on my way home last night and well… I thought she could use a good home.” Dash smiled as she brought her face next to Star, who started giggling and reaching for Rainbow’s mane.
“Well she is cute, and I think you two will give her a good home.”
“Thanks Rainbow Dash, that means a lo- ugghh.” Firefly winced as she felt a wave of pain run through her stomach. “Um…do you mind if I use your bathroom?” Comet led Firefly to the downstairs bathroom and shut the door.
“Is she okay?” Rainbow asked with a worried frown.
“I don’t know, Mom. She keeps telling me that it’s the baby kicking, but… I don’t think that’s the problem. I think she…” Before Clay could finish they heard Firefly screaming from inside the bathroom.
“Clay! I need help!” Clay ran to the bathroom and rammed the door open to see Firefly huddled on the floor with clear fluid pooling around her hooves.
“What happened?” Clay asked, beginning to panic.
“I…I think my water just broke!” Clay’s eyes widened in horror.
“Mom!” Within seconds Dash was by his side “Mom, fly to the hospital and tell them to get ready.” Dash nodded and left the house. “Uncle Comet, help me get Firefly to the hospital.” Comet and Clay helped Firefly to her feet and walked her out of the house.
Hours later, after a long and painful labor involving lots of cursing at Clay for putting her through the stress of birth, Firefly was finally at peace. She rested in a hospital bed in a side room, cradling a small colt in her front legs. Clay sat by her side as Dash and Comet waited outside watching over Star. Clay looked at his son Firebolt; he was a crimson red pegasus with a dark blue mane and tail. He slept quietly on his mother’s chest while Clay stroked Firefly’s mane.
“You did good honey; the doctor said it was a healthy birth.” Firefly scoffed weakly.
“Healthy and painful, never put me through that again.”
“Hey, it was your fault. You were the one in heat and you teased me with that Wonderbolt jumpsuit of yours.”
“You could have refused.”
“With those eyes and that flank…how could I?” Firefly chuckled as she looked down at the sleeping colt in her arms.
“I never thought I could love something as much as flying. I never want to let him go.” Clay looked at Bolt as he beat his wings as if trying to fly away.
“Takes after his mom,” Clay chuckled. As he looked at Firefly he saw how tired she was, as evidenced by her dishevelled mane and drooping eyelids. “Why don’t you get some sleep and I’ll hold Bolt?” Firefly nodded weakly and passed her son to Clay, who held his newborn son in his front legs, warmth filling his insides as he gazed at his tiny but perfect features. “So this is how Mom felt,” he whispered as he slowly rocked Bolt. “I hope I’m not making a mistake taking on two foals at once.” After a few minutes of quiet contemplation the door opened and Dash walked in, with Star on her back.
“Sorry, but I think the little squirt was missing her dad,” she whispered as she offered Star to her son. Clay looked down at Star and Bolt as they rested in his front legs, and a warm smile grew on his face.
“No, this isn’t a mistake. This is how it should be…this is my family.” Clay held his two foals closely, never wanting to part with them for as long as he lived.