>Due to incomplete Data from other observations, some parts of this observation will be corrupted. Proper patches will be made once data is complete.<

“Nice show everypony,” Spitfire called out to the assembled Wonderbolts in the locker room, “and I’d say this was a great way to close out the season.” Most of the Wonderbolts let out some cheerful whoops, all except for the most recent addition to the team. Soarin noticed this and made his way over to him.

“Is something wrong Blitz?” he asked and placed a hoof on the rainbow maned stallion’s back, which caused him to jump a little and smile sheepishly at Soarin.

“No, I just have stuff on my mind is all,” Blitz said and looked into the locker and the picture of him and Twilight the day he was inducted into the Wonderbolts. That day was tied with his wedding day as the greatest day of his life. Although that might change in a few days.

“Oh yeah, you and your wife are expecting aren’t you?” Soarin asked as Rainbow put his flight suit in the locker and took out the bomber jacket he had gotten from the team. “When did you say it would happen again?”

“Any day now. I’m so nervous right now,” Rainbow said putting on the jacket and shut the locker.

“I’m sorry Spitfire, it’s just too easy to mess with Rainbow here,” Soarin said and rubbed Rainbow’s back.

“I suppose,” Rainbow said and pushed Soarin’s hoof off, “but it’ll be a huge weight off my chest when this is done.”

“Ah don’t worry Rainbow, it’ll be over before you know it,” Soarin said and led the way out of the locker room with Rainbow and Spitfire following. When Blitz got outside he took a breath of late afternoon air and stretched his wings. “So what are you going to do now that you’re free for a while?”

“I’ll probably spend time with Twilight and practice my tricks until the next season.” A wisp of green smoke caught Blitz’s eye and it formed into a scroll in front of him. Rainbow grabbed it in his mouth before it fell through the cloud.

“What’s that?” Spitfire asked as Rainbow opened the scroll and started reading it. His face was mostly flat until his eyes widened.

“No way,” he whispered and continued reading with a smile steadily growing on his face.

“What’s going on?” Soarin asked. Rainbow rolled up the scroll and barely contained his glee.

“I gotta get home now,” he nearly yelled and took off into the air, “I’m gonna be a dad!” Spitfire and Soarin watched him fly away whooping and hollering before turning to each other.

“Sure, I have nothing planned.” Spitfire and Soarin took off and followed Rainbow Blitz to Ponyville.

‘Oh man, how long ago did this start?’ Blitz though as he flew to Ponyville, thankful for Cloudsdale’s migratory nature. ‘Is it already over? Am I going to get there fast enou- oh who am I kidding, of course I’ll get there fast enough. I’m going to be a dad!’ Blitz did a couple corkscrews and in joy and smiled so hard his face could split open.

“Hey slow down a bit!” Blitz looked over his shoulder at Soarin and Spitfire and slowed down a little so they could catch up. “Jeez Blitz, you don’t have to do everything as fast as possible you know,” Soarin said once he caught up.

“Really, and how long did it take for you to be born Cap?” Rainbow asked. Spitfire thought on it for a good minute or so.

“Pfft, I don’t know, Mom never told me. She doesn’t want to talk about my foalhood at all actually.”

“Every stallion says that,” Soarin said. Ponyville was within reach now and the three pegasi landed in front of the hospital. Blitz was the first one through the doors and noticed all of his friends were there.

“Hi Rainbow Blitz!” Pinkie Pie called over while bouncing over to him, “You got here fast, Spike just sent the le-“

“WHERE IS SHE?!” Rainbow shouted and shook Pinkie a little until Applejack stopped him.

“And birth is a lengthy and complicated process that takes at least a few hours,” Elusive added.

“Yeah, just relax and everything will be fine,” Soarin said and sat next to Applejack.

“Pardon me for being a little antsy at the moment!” Rainbow took a couple breaths to calm himself down and looked at Pinkie, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright, I’d be a little nervous too,” Pinkie said and scratched her chin, “For some reason I’m craving nachos right now.” She didn’t say anything more on the matter and sat next to Butterscotch.

“Well then, if you can sign this real quick I can take you to her.” The nurse held out a clipboard which Blitz quickly signed and was led through a set of doors.

“Guess we’re in for a wait, eh Soarin?” Spitfire asked and sat on a bench.

“Yeah, which is why I brought a book just for something like this,” Soarin said pulling out said book.

“Its part on an anthology series I’ve been reading. I would never have guessed a post apocalyptic series would be so good.”

“We’re doing fine, and hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time with her now that I’m done with the season.” Applejack nodded and settled in for a long wait as Soarin cracked open the book. Spitfire unfortunately had the honor of talking with Pinkie Pie. For some reason Pinkie was staring at her and it was making Spitfire uncomfortable.

“Ah crap, that’s what I forgot!” Soarin moaned, “Sorry Spitfire, we were planning a party for you when your birthday came.”

“Don’t worry, I happened to have stashed a cake here just in case,” Pinkie said and pulled out a box and handed it to Spitfire. Spitfire opened the box to find an orange cake with ‘Happy Late Birthday Spitfire!’ written in frosting surrounding her cutie mark.

“You… wait, you made it this morning and put it here despite not knowing if we would be here, when Twilight would go into labor, or if I would even show up here at all? That doesn’t make any-“

“I can explain this,” Soarin said and set his book down, “I’ve hung out with Blitz’s friends enough to know that Pinkie is some kind of seer when it comes to random things.”

“Really. We have a betting pool going on over whether she was right about it. Personally, I’m going with her.”

Spitfire could only stare at this new revelation until she sighed and looked at the cake.

Several hours later Butterscotch had fallen asleep in Pinkie’s lap and Spitfire had to leave because of business while the others waited for news on Twilight. Soon some double doors opened and Nurse Redheart walked out, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

“Twilight Sparkle?” Nurse Redheart looked over a clipboard and nodded, “I see. Well, you don’t have to worry, the labor went smoothly and both her and her child are fine.”

“They’re both asleep, so I’m going to have to ask you to come back in the morning. I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s alright,” Soarin said and stood up to stretch a little, “I can wait until morning. Later then.” Soarin walked out of the hospital followed by Elusive and Applejack.

“You fell asleep silly. Come on, we get to visit Twilight and the new baby tomorrow.” Butterscotch woke up enough to stand up and follow Pinkie out of the hospital. Nurse Redheart watched them leave before turning back into the hospital. She walked down several darkening hallways until she came to a certain room. A quick peek inside showed Twilight sleeping was soundly along with Rainbow Blitz on a nearby chair, his jacket serving as a makeshift blanket.

Morning came soon enough and Twilight slowly stirred and opened her eyes. She was nearly blinded by the whiteness of the room and after a minute of adjusting to the room she sat up. One of the first things she saw was Rainbow snoozing in a chair.

“Blitzie?” Twilight quietly called over. Rainbow stirred a little but didn’t wake up.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Twilight looked at the door and the doctor walking in, “How are you feeling today?” Twilight moved around a little before answering.

“Oh yeah, I could use something.” Blitz yawned and looked around before freaking out a little and falling onto the floor.

“Don’t worry Rainbow Blitz, your daughter is fine and sleeping,” the doctor said, “I can take you to see her when she’s awake.”

“Her?” The doctor nodded and left the room, leaving Rainbow and Twilight alone. “A… daughter?” Rainbow asked sitting down.

“Just take it in ‘Dad’,” Twilight said with a small giggle, “we’re parents now. I can’t wait to be called ‘mom’.”

“Yeah,” Blitz said and stood up after a minute, “I’m going to get some breakfast, you want anything?”

“Alright babe,” Blitz gave Twilight a quick kiss before walking to the door. “I won’t be long.”

“Ooh ooh, which one is it? Which one is it!” Pinkie nearly shouted and pressed her face against the glass. All of Pinkie’s friends have come to see the new baby along with Soarin.

“Pinkie, the babies are sleeping,” Butterscotch whispered to Pinkie, “You don’t want to get kicked out again.”

“Oh right. Sorry, but I’m just so excited! We’re going to have a new baby to play with!”

“Pinkie can get a little over excited with celebrating sometimes,” Elusive explained, “and when the cake twins were born she almost threw a party right in the ward. She wasn’t kicked out per se, but she wasn’t allowed back for a while.”

“Look, it’s Rainbow!” Pinkie said excitedly pointing through the window at Rainbow and Nurse Redheart. Rainbow looked over to the window and waved at the group as Redheart lead him through the nursery. Nurse Redheart stopped next to a crib and looked to Rainbow.

“Here she is Rainbow,” she whispered to Blitz and nodded at the baby. Blitz hesitated a little and looked down at the sleeping pony. He didn’t know what to expect, but he felt a beat of happiness when he looked at the pegasus, her dark blue coat contrasting with the pink blanket. She let out a little yawn and settled into the crib.

“She is rather adorable,” Elusive said, “I can’t wait to see her up close.”

“I have to throw her a birthday party!” Pinkie said shaking with excitement.

“But you can’t go in there Pinkie,” Butterscotch said, “you’re not allowed.”

“So, have you and Twilight decided on a name?” Nurse Redheart asked. Blitz poked a hoof into the bed and lightly tapped his daughter.

“We were thinking something like Shimmering Dawn,” Blitz answered and smiled at his daughter lightly flapping her wings.

“That’s a nice name. We’ll have to keep her and Twilight in for another day to make sure they will be alright and then they can both leave.”

“Alright, I can’t wait.” Both Rainbow and Redheart were distracted by a new presence in the ward, a specific smiling pink pony.

“Aw, she’s so cute!” Pinkie said looking down at the sleeping baby. She felt a piercing stare drill into her and looked up at Nurse Redheart. “I wasn't going to do anything!” Redheart didn’t say anything and pointed to the window. Pinkie slowly smiled at Redheart and sank beneath the crib to reappear with her friends outside the room.

“I got it,” Rainbow interrupted Nurse Redheart and started for the door, “I’ll be back later ok?” Redheart nodded and Blitz left the room. When he left Nurse Redheart turned her attention to some of the babies that were waking up.

“Thanks for helping me with this, it’s really hard tending to the library with just me here.”

“Especially with your size,” Scooteroll said with a chuckle. Spike would have berated him except that he was right, he had been growing in the past few years and without the usual greed most dragons get with it. Spike looked out to see what the other crusaders were doing, with Applebloom carrying a bunch of books on her back and Sweetie Belle trying her best to sort books with her magic.

“So when is Twilight getting back from the hospital?” Sweetie asked having successfully put a book away.

“Ah actually went to visit her earlier and she said she might be able to come back today,” Applebloom said.

“How was she?” Before Applebloom could answer the door to the library opened and Twilight walked in. She put a hoof to her lips and motioned outside, Spike and the Crusader’s nodding. Blitz then walked in carefully carrying a baby carrier and set it on the floor.

“I heard her stir a little, so she might be awake,” Rainbow whispered to Twilight.

“She?” Spike asked and slightly moved the blanket off the carrier. The Crusaders gathered around the carrier and looked at the baby pegasus as she stretched her legs and opened her magenta eyes to look around the room.

“Why is everyone making a big deal of this?” Scooteroll asked, “it’s only a… oh who am I kidding, she is pretty cute.” While the Crusaders were busy fawning over the foal Twilight looked up at Spike quietly scooting to a corner.

“Aw Spike, no need to be shy,” Twilight said and walked over to the dragon, “Go say hello to Shimmering Dawn.”

“I-I don’t want to scare her,” Spike replied. Twilight smiled at him and pushed him from behind to the group.

“You won’t scare her as long as you don’t do anything too fast. Now go say hi.” One last push and Spike was in front of the baby. She blinked up at the new creature and Spike smiled nervously at her.

“Uh, hi there,” Spike said and waved at her. Dawn blinked again and held a hoof up to Spike who, after getting a nod from both Twilight and Rainbow Blitz, slowly extended a claw to her. Once the claw touched the hoof, Dawn stared at it for a little before grabbing it in her hooves and biting it a little.

“I hope so,” Spike said trying to pull the claw from Dawn’s mouth, but he wasn’t trying too hard. Rainbow glanced over to Twilight and wasn’t too surprised to see she was busy writing something down.

“Whatcha doing Twi?” Blitz asked walking over to Twilight, “Writing to Princess Celestia?”

“No, I took care of that yesterday. I’m actually setting up a schedule for how we can watch Dawn,” Twilight said.

“You’re off from the Wonderbolts for now right? Then that means you might be able to come by when you’re not working weather. Are you going to be working weather? Where are you going to be?”

“I AM CALM!” Everybody shrank back a little from that outburst, though miraculously Dawn wasn’t roused by it since she was still occupied with Spike’s claw. Rainbow very slowly reached for the paper Twilight was using and grabbed it.

“It’s ok Twi, I’m not going anywhere for a while. You know I wouldn’t leave you alone in a time like this. Just take a couple deep breaths.” Twilight did as Rainbow asked and leaned into Rainbow Blitz once she was settled down enough.

“Don’t worry about it, everypony melts down every now and then. So what did you want to talk about?”

“Uh Dawn, you can give me back my claw now,” Spike said pulling his claw from Dawn’s mouth. Once it was free Dawn stared up at him and she started to cry a little. “Oh no, nononono TWILIGHT!”

“A common plant found in the Everfree Forest, Poison Joke is very rarely found anywhere else in Equestria. This may most likely be attributed to the unique biome present in the forest.”

Twilight was absentmindedly jotting down her thoughts as she inspected a Poison Joke flower. Shimmering Dawn, now a month old, watched her mother curiously and walked over to the table.

“Poison Joke has a similar biology to Poison Oak and Poison Ivy in that direct contact with the flower causes an allergic reaction and-,” Twilight put a glass case over the flower when she saw Shimmering Dawn look at the flower, “No sweetie, that’s not for you.”

“That’s where she went,” Spike said when he walked into the room with a bottle, “come on, it’s time to feed you.”

“Oh thank you Spike, I almost forgot about that.” Twilight lit her horn and took the bottle from Spike’s grasp and picked up Shimmering Dawn in her hooves. Dawn’s eyes were focused on the floating bottle and waved for it and grasped it when it was within reach. “Don’t drink too quickly Dawn. Where was I on this?”

“Oh yes, although it is unknown exactly what determines the reaction, it may be tied into a ponies’ special talent. My own experience with Poison Joke affected my horn, rendering my magic useless. Similar symptoms happened to my friends related to their own special talent and- oh are you done Dawn?” Twilight removed the bottle and set it on her desk before shifting Dawn onto her shoulder and lightly patted her on the back.

“You’ve gotten used to this motherhood thing, haven’t you?” Spike asked. Dawn gave a light burp and Twilight set her down with a smile.

“I’m surprised as well, and everypony has been so helpful, you especially Spike. I probably would have snapped on her first restless night.”

“It wasn’t that bad, she was just hungry,” Spike said and yelped a little when Dawn started chewing on his tail, “and I wished she would stop doing that.” Twilight giggled and levitated Dawn off of Spike’s tail.

“You have to stop doing that Sweetie,” Twilight said nuzzling her daughter. She then set Dawn back down and checked the schedule for the day, “Oh, Cadence is going to visit today. She said she might talk Shining Armor into coming too; I hope he does, he hasn’t had a chance to see his niece yet.”

“He hasn’t? He must be very busy with the royal guard.” Twilight sighed sadly, but perked up when she heard somepony screaming outside.

“Second floor north side!” After some quick thinking Twilight set down some pillows in planned positions and waited a few seconds when a blue blur burst through a window, landed on the pillows, and landed in a magic net Twilight put up. Rainbow Blitz fell to the floor and looked up at Twilight.

“Thanks Twi,” he said rolling onto his stomach just as Shimmering Dawn jumped onto his back.

“You do remember that I have a front door right?” Twilight asked and levitated Blitz into a standing position and Dawn off of him, “Even if I do like it when you use the windows.”

“And you’re getting good at not breaking anything when you crash like that,” Spike commented as he replaced the pillows Twilight used.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Rainbow asked and looked back at Dawn who started chewing on his tail.

“It doesn’t mean anything honey. I need your help for a minute while we wait for Cadence,” Twilight moved to the table and Rainbow followed her.

An hour later as it turned out. Cadence, along with Shining Armor, walked through Ponyville waving at the ponies who saw them.

“Do you think Twiley will be happy that I managed to come here?” Shining Armor asked.

“Of course she will,” Cadence answered spotting Pinkie Pie trotting somewhere ahead of them, “It’ll be a nice surprise too. I can’t wait to see Shimmering Dawn, what do you think she’s like?”

“Knowing who her father is, probably incredibly energetic.” The library was fast approaching Cadence trotted the rest of the way there, smiling at Pinkie Pie who was waiting at the front door.

“Hi Cadence, fancy seeing you here!” Pinkie called over with a wave, “and Shiny too! I thought you were busy?”

“My Pinkie sense went off, and since it said somepony was going to experience a flight burst today, I figured I should help.”

“It’s like a magic burst, but with pegasi. Neither are very fun,” Pinkie said with a shiver, “I’ll never forget that night. Anyway, let’s go see them.” Pinkie then turned around and knocked on the door. A few moments passed before Twilight opened the door.

“Hi guys, it’s good to see you!” Twilight said and hugged Pinkie, Cadence, and Shining Armor in order, “I didn’t think I would see you today Shining Armor.”

“I know and I’m sorry I couldn’t come any sooner. How have you been?” Shining asked nuzzling Twilight’s head.

“Excuse me Twilight, but I have business to do,” Pinkie said and let herself inside.

“I’m sorry, come on in.” Twilight moved out of the way to let Shining Armor and Cadence in and shut the door when they were clear. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“No, Rainbow and Spike are watching Dawn upstairs. Do you want to-“ a crash sounded upstairs, causing Twilight to flinch, “What was that?!”

“*sigh* excuse me for a minute,” Twilight said and walked upstairs. “What is going- WHAT IS SHE DOING ON THE CEILING?!”

“I’m trying!” Shining shared a look with Cadence and they both went upstairs to find Twilight and Pinkie underneath a section of ceiling where Rainbow was trying to catch Dawn who was on the ceiling.

“What is she doing?” Cadence asked. Dawn looked down at the new arrivals which allowed Rainbow to grab her and lower her to the floor.

“Jeez kid, you put a scare into me and your mother,” Blitz said cradling the filly, “We’re going to have to keep a close eye on her until she settles down from this.”

“Yes, we will. Do you have any advice on that Pinkie?” Twilight asked turning to Pinkie.

“All I can say is to wait it out. I think Pumpkin and Pound Cake went through their spurts for a couple months or so, but I’ll tell you those were the worst two months I’ve ever experienced.”

“Oh yes, but I’m probably biased on that because I had both Pumpkin and Pound cake to deal with while you only have Dawn here. Where did she go?”

“Aw, she’s so cute Shining Armor,” Cadence said cuddling Shimmering Dawn in her hooves, “I can’t wait to have one of my own.”

“…This is going to be an interesting family relationship, I can already tell.”

“I personally can’t wait to see how our parents react, your mom especially,” Twilight said leaning against Rainbow.

“Oh that would be a sight to see,” Rainbow said and smiled when Dawn bit Cadence’s mane.

Rainbow thought he was prepared for being a parent, and he and Twilight were about as prepared as they could be. It was also a stroke of luck that most of their parent friends were nice to dispense advice.

No amount of preparation and advice could have prepared him for nights like this. Blitz got out of bed and walked to the crib he had set up where Dawn was crying.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Blitz asked lifting his crying daughter out of the crib. He ran through the list of everything he did before bed as he set Dawn on a nearby table. “Ok, I fed you, I’m fairly certain the temperature is fine. What did I forget?” Rainbow soon got his answer when he smelled something coming from Dawn’s diaper.

“Oh, that’s it. Don’t worry, Daddy’s got this.” Blitz was thankful for Twilight’s obsessive foresight as he got a fresh diaper out as well as everything else Twilight said he would need. “If I can do a Sonic Rainboom at will, I can change a dirty diaper,” Rainbow said and steeled himself for the task ahead. Once he was ready, he set about changing the diaper with a speed only he could do and he was done soon enough. Dawn blinked up at her father, more than a little confused as to what happened, while Blitz disposed of the diaper.

“There we go, that wasn’t so bad was it kid?” Blitz asked picking up Dawn and cradling her on the way to bed. “Do you have any other surprised for me before you go to bed?” Blitz tickled Dawn’s belly and smiled at how she laughed, “Alright sweetie, it’s time for bed.”

Blitz gently placed Dawn in the crib, tucked her in, and watched as she yawned and fell asleep. He let out a sigh and walked back to his bed and lay down on it. He loved sleeping on clouds, a love he would be sure to show Dawn once she was able to.

“I say Rainbow Blitz, you look simply dreadful,” Elusive said to a very tired Rainbow Blitz, a stark contrast to his daughter happily chewing on his mane.

“Shimmering Dawn would not go to sleep last night. I still don’t know how I finally got her to go to sleep,” Blitz answered steadying Dawn when she almost fell off his back, “Parenting is hell.”

“I need some of that extra strong tea you have. After last night, I definitely could use something like that- can I help you?” Blitz asked Dawn who was halfway to biting the blue on his mane. “My mane doesn’t have different flavors for each color Dawn.” Blitz watched his daughter stare at him before biting his mane anyway, eliciting a sigh from her father and a small laugh from Elusive.

“I’ll go get your tea Blitz,” he said and trotted toward the kitchen. Once Elusive was out of the room Blitz grabbed Dawn by the neck and lowered her to the floor.

“What am I going to do with you while your mother is out of town?” he asked Dawn, who just tilted her head at Blitz. Blitz then got a weird feeling and heard some voices outside.

“Come on Dinky, I’m sure Elusive has something for you to do,” the familiar voice of Scooteroll said as he walked into the shop.

“I don’t want to be any trouble,” Dinky said following Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in, “Will it be ok?”

“Of course, as long as we don’t enter his work space,” Sweetie Belle said reassuringly. Of course, Scooteroll spotted Rainbow and immediately became excited.

“Rainbow Blitz! What brings you here?” he asked walking over to his idol, barely registering Dawn walking to his side.

“I’m just picking up something from Elusive, so I won’t be staying for long. Dawn no!” Blitz walked over and picked up his daughter with his mouth just as she was about to bite Scooteroll’s tail. He set her away from Scooteroll and sighed, “You’re going to drive me crazy if you keep doing that.”

“She almost bit Scooteroll’s tail,” Rainbow answered, “I hope Twilight figures out how to stop her from doing that.”

“Don’t even try it!” Scooteroll yelled and backed away from the other, very confused Crusaders, Dinky especially.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll grow out of it soon enough. Here’s that tea you wanted and I made it stronger than usual just for you.”

“Thanks, this will be helpful,” Blitz said and watched Elusive put the bottle in one of his saddlebags. “Come on Dawn, let’s go see Uncle Spike,” Rainbow told Shimmering Dawn and picked her up and put her on his back. “I’ll see you later Elusive.”

“Be careful,” Elusive said to Rainbow as he walked out of the boutique. Once his cyan friend was gone Elusive turned to the Crusaders. “So, how can I help you all?” he asked and felt a little nervous at their smiles.

Twilight had just gotten back from Canterlot and she trotted through town toward the library. She waved at some of the passing ponies, including their biggest helps in parenting Harpsy and Bon-Bon, and was soon at her tree home. She proceeded to enter the library to find Spike playing with Shimmering Dawn and a very dead looking Rainbow Blitz lying on a couch.

“What happened in the week I was gone?” Twilight asked shutting the door behind her.

“Dawn was restless, from what Rainbow said,” Spike explained and pointed back to Rainbow with a claw, “it took a toll on him as you can see.”

“She wouldn’t stop crying all night,” Blitz said weakly, “And I couldn’t sleep at all. I’m going to go pass out on a cloud somewhere, but before I do you should know that Dawn said her first words a couple of days ago.”

“She did, oh that’s great news! What did she say, what did she say?” Twilight asked excitedly clapping her hooves.

“Go show mommy what you learned Dawn,” Spike said and gently nudged Dawn toward Twilight. Dawn looked up at her mother and took a breath.

“Mommy… Daddy,” she said. Twilight gave a squeal of joy and picked up her daughter to hug her.

“That’s so cute, I’m so proud of you Sweetie!” Twilight said nuzzling Dawn, “That’s another thing to cross off of your checklist Dawn.”

“I just knew you had something like that stashed somewhere,” Blitz said and stretched his tired limbs. Twilight smiled at him and set Shimmering Dawn down.

“Thanks for watching her while I’m gone, both of you,” Twilight said and nuzzled the top of Spikes head before walking over to Rainbow. “You look like you could use some sleep.”

“I fully intend to get some,” Rainbow said standing up and kissing Twilight, which she gladly returned. Spike looked away from the couple shaking his head while Dawn tilted her head curiously. Rainbow pulled away from Twilight with a smile and said, “I’m off. See you after about a day of sleep.”

“Ok Blitzie,” Twilight answered and watched her husband walk out of the library. Once the door shut behind him Twilight turned to Spike. “I also visited my parents while in Canterlot and they wanted me to give you some gems.”

An interesting part of parenting is visiting grandparents. Sometimes, in what is usually the case for Rainbow’s mom, they would come visit them. Twilight was a little nervous around her at first, but that went away after a while, especially when Twilight realized just how much Rainbow took after his mom.

One such visit happened when Dawn was about a year old. This particular day found Rainbow reading a book with Dawn in his lap while Twilight was busy reorganizing books.

“The latest Daring Do books have gotten really dark,” Blitz told Twilight and patted the top of Dawn’s head.

“Are they really? It seemed like a logic progression to me,” Twilight answered from the shelf she was working on. “And if they’re so dark, are you sure you should be letting your daughter read them?”

“She can’t read Twilight, but when she can I’ll definitely show her these books.” Twilight looked ready to say something when a knock sounded on the door. Twilight and Rainbow shared a couple looks and Twilight went downstairs to answer the door. When she opened the door a pink pegasus with a blue mane nearly pushed her way into the library.

“What’s up egghead, how ya doing?” she asked and looked at Twilight with a large grin.

“Hello to you too Firefly, I’m doing well,” Twilight said shutting the door and picking up an errant book, “So what brings you down here all the way from Cloudsdale?”

“Oh nothing, I just wanted to get some fresh air, get away from the sun. Why do you think I came down?”

“It’s your mom and get ready, her sunny disposition hasn’t changed at all,” Twilight yelled back and turned to Firefly, “Do you want anything to drink while you’re here?”

“I’ll see what I have, so go ahead and make yourself at home.” Twilight didn’t leave any room for argument as she trotted into the kitchen. Firefly shrugged and flew up the stairs into the upper floor of the library. The second she had entered the room Shimmering Dawn struggled out of her father’s lap and ran to Firefly.

“Hey kid, how are you doing?” Firefly asked rubbing Dawn’s mane and barely noticed Rainbow closing his book and getting up.

“Hey mom, it’s great to see you,” Rainbow said and gave Firefly a quick hug.

“Great to see you too Blitz. Tell me, have you gotten soft in your flying? Because I’d hate to be able say I can outfly a Wonderbolt,” Firefly said with a smirk.

“I’d like to see you try Mom,” Rainbow said returning the smirk, “and you know what, you do that I’ll put in a good word with the Wonderbolts for you.”

“Butting heads like usual are you?” Twilight said from the doorway levitating a couple drinks next to her, “You two will never change. I hope tea is alright with you Firefly.”

“It will as soon as I get Dawn here off my legs,” Firefly said lightly shaking Dawn off of her. The filly wasn’t deterred much from this and happily bounced around her grandmother as she took her tea.

“How have you been Grandma? You should have seen when Daddy took me flying yesterday, and then Scooteroll took me for a ride on his scooter! And then Mommy took me to see Uncle %#^&@ and Aunt Applejack! And then-“

“That’s nice dear,” Firefly said taking a large drink of tea and sitting down, “I must be getting old because she exhausts me after just a minute. I never had this kind of trouble with Blitz when he was a colt.”

“You have to tell me about that sometime,” Twilight said sitting down with her drink and pulled Dawn toward her.

“You don’t have to do that,” Blitz said nervously and sat down next to his wife.

“Well, since you both brought it up, I do have some stories to tell you,” Firefly said smiling widely at Blitz. “Have I ever told you about Blitz’s flight bursts when he was a baby?”

While Firefly’s visit’s were exciting in its own way, it was a much needed piece of simplicity whenever Dawn visited Twilight’s parents. They usually stayed in Canterlot where there work was centered, but sometimes one or both of them would spare a day or so to come to Ponyville.

“Now Sweetie, are you ready to see grandma and grandpa?” Twilight asked her daughter as they stepped off the train. Dawn answered with a nod and stuck close to her mother as they walked through the streets of Canterlot.

Twilight had brought Dawn to Canterlot several times before, but this was different since she had business here today. While Twilight would usually leave Dawn with Rainbow or one of her friends, it wasn’t that simple this time since Rainbow was back touring with the Wonderbolts and her friends were similarly inconvenienced; even Pinkie surprisingly enough. Twilight glanced down at her daughter who was staring around the city in awe, like she always does.

“Alright Dawn, we’re at grandma and grandpa’s,” Twilight said steering Dawn to a familiar building. Dawn immediately perked up and ran toward the building to excitedly knock on the door. Twilight had gotten to the door when her mom answered it.

“Hello Shimmering Dawn, Twilight. How are you doing?” the white unicorn asked.

“Great!” Dawn said and scooted in between her grandmother’s legs to go inside.

“I’m doing fine Mom, and thanks for agreeing to watch her for a little while,” Twilight said and nuzzled her mom.

“It’s not trouble at all dear, and your father could use some time with his granddaughter.” Her point was punctuated when Dawn yelled ‘Grandpa!’ followed by a small scream. “So go ahead and do what you have to do and we’ll be here when you get back.”

“Ok Twiley, don’t worry about us,” her father called from inside the house. Twilight smiled and nuzzled her mother again before turning around and walking through the streets. Twilight’s mom smiled at her daughter, closed the door, and walked inside to find Dawn snuggling against her husband.

“So what do you want to do while you’re here?” Orion asked Dawn. The filly shrugged and flapped her wings experimentally in an attempt to fly up to her grandfather’s face. “Well, I think I have an idea. Do you want to see some pictures I worked on?” The prospect of a picture book seemed to appeal to Dawn as demonstrated by her large smile.

There were also the occasions when both grandparents were present. This was interesting since, unbeknownst to both Twilight and Rainbow Blitz when they were dating, both of their mothers knew each other.

“And that’s the Ursa Minor constellation,” Orion said pointing at a part of the picture he was on. Dawn at least was enjoying it, even if she didn’t know what Orion was talking about. He looked up and smiled at Dazzle, who had just come in with a small tray of snacks. She had just set it down when someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Dazzle said and walked to the front door. While she expected Twilight or Shining Armor, Dazzle wasn’t displeased to find Firefly instead. “Firefly, what are you doing here?” she asked and hugged the pegasus.

“Eh, no reason Daz. I was just nearby and decided to drop by,” Firefly answered and returned the hug briefly before pulling away. Dazzle stepped aside so Firefly could enter the house. Firefly motioned a hoof toward the doorway Dazzle came from and asked, “So is there anything I need to know before I go in there?”

“We have Shimmering Dawn over today, nothing else otherwise,” Dazzle answered while shutting the door.

“Oh really? This ought to be fun.” Firefly crouched down and walked carefully to the living room. She peeked into the room and watched Orion and Dawn reading a book while Dazzle just walked past her.

“So are you enjoying yourself Dawn?” Dazzle asked her granddaughter who gave a happy nod as she looked over Orion’s book.

“Who was at the door?” Orion asked glancing over at the door Dazzle came from.

“Just an old friend who came to say hi,” Dazzle answered and watched Dawn look up at her curiously. Dazzle watched her out of the corner of her eye and smiled when her curiosity took over and she wiggled out of Orion’s lap and walked to the door. She slowly peeked in the door when…

“Gotcha!” Firefly shouted as she snatched up Dawn and levitated through the room with Dawn giggling in her hooves.

“Grandma Firefly!” Dawn shouted and hugged Firefly’s neck. Orion closed his book and stood up watching Firefly hover lazily over the floor.

“Hello Firefly, you seem well,” he said to her as he stretched his tired legs, “will you be staying for a while?”

“Sure, I just wanted to check up while I’m in town,” Firefly answered and set Dawn down on the floor, “So did Rainbow or Twilight drop her off?”

“Busy as usual eh? She’s going to drive herself mad from work in a couple years.” Firefly settled down on a couch and let out a small ‘oomph’ when Dawn joined her, “If you ask me, she needs to learn to chill a little, her and Rainbow.”

“I’m not too keen on talking about Twilight’s love life, so if I can be excused,” Orion said slipping out of the room while Dazzle sat down opposite Firefly.

“Grandpa’s funny,” Dawn said smiling widely, which caused Firefly and Dazzle to laugh softly.

“So, what have you been up to Daz?” Firefly asked and stretched out on the couch, forcing Dawn off and toward Dazzle.

“Not much, Orion and I have been busy with our work.” Dazzle looked down at the filly nuzzling against her and smiled as she stroked Dawn’s mane, “and of course there’s Dawn here to liven the days every now and then.”

“That’s one way to put it I guess. She’s way too much like Rainbow when he was a colt.”

Twilight left the castle having finished her business. While she didn’t need to, she liked to deliver some important research in person instead of relying on dragon fire. After all, it wasn’t every day that somepony completed months of in depth research into Changeling biology.

“I still don’t know how they can change their appearance though,” Twilight whispered to herself and sighed, “if only there was a live specimen to study. Too bad they all vanished.” Twilight sighed and looked around at the buildings.

Ponies were walking to their intended destinations along with guards on their patrols. For a second Twilight thought she saw a familiar Captain but shook her head at the notion. Shining Armor had been incredibly busy both with guard work and more personal business. Twilight could remember Shining Armors exact words on the matter.

“I’m still trying to get used to being called uncle, so dad is going to be a new thing for me.”

‘He’ll need all the luck he could get,’ Twilight thought and laughed as she turned onto her parent’s street and didn’t notice anything too out of place when she saw her parent’s house. She increased her pace to a trot and was at her parent’s doorstep in no time and knocked on the door.

“We’re in here Twilight,” her mom called from the living room. Twilight walked to the doorway and was surprised to find Firefly on the couch with Dawn sleeping on top of her.

“Yeah, nopony expects me when I decide to show up,” Firefly said and motioned a hoof at Dazzle, “Ain’t that right Daz?”

“Yes Firefly, I am fully aware of your stealthy tendencies,” Dazzle answered and turned to Twilight. “So how did it go dear?”

“As well as it could have gone, but I can’t really talk about it,” Twilight said and pointed at her daughter, “Do you want me to get her off you Firefly?”

“Who Dawn, nah she’s fine unless you need to be somewhere.” Twilight thought it over for a moment before shrugging.

“Not right now, but we’ll have to go as soon as Dawn wakes up,” she said and sat next to her mother, “so you seem to be doing alright Firefly. Anything new in your life?”

“Actually, she was just about to tell me about this new coltfriend of hers,” Dazzle said with a smile.

“What?!” Firefly yelled and accidentally jerked Dawn awake, which caused Twilight to hurriedly shush her until Dawn yawned and settled back to sleep. Firefly sighed in relief and glared at Dazzle to whisper, “I do not have a coltfriend!”

“You shut it! If you say anything more than that then Twilight will know, then she’ll probably tell Rainbow Blitz, and he probably won’t care and will just fall asleep on a cloud somewhere!”

“It’s nice to know you have such a positive opinion of your son,” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Of course I do!” Firefly said that a little louder than she wanted to so Shimmering Dawn woke up with a low groan. “Oops.”

“Shush. Hi Dawn, did you have a nice nap?” Twilight asked. Dawn yawned and nodded her head before trying to snuggle back into Firefly. “No no, you got to stay awake Sweetie. We’re going home soon.” Dawn curled up into a ball as Twilight got up and walked over to her.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t. You can visit again the next time we come here, does that sound good?”

“…Mhmm.” Dawn uncurled herself and nuzzled Firefly and saying, “Bye Grandma.”

“Bye Dawn, and I should be going too,” Firefly said and stretched her wings a little. Twilight took the moment to carefully lift Dawn magically over to her and set her on her back, her wings flapping lightly along the way. Once Dawn was settled onto her back Twilight carefully walked over and nuzzled Dazzle.

“It was no trouble at all,” Dazzle said, “Now don’t be a stranger dear. You can always come visit us whenever you want.”

“I’m right here,” Orion said having just walked in, “Do you have to leave so soon Twilight?”

“Yes, I have to leave now to get back to Ponyville before nightfall. I’m sorry about that.” Orion just smiled softly and walked over to hug Twilight.

“It’s no trouble. Thanks for coming to visit.” Firefly quickly slipped out of the house as Twilight nuzzled Orion and nudged him away.

“Like I said, it’s no trouble at all. Have a safe trip back,” Dazzle said.

“We will. Goodbye and tell Shining Armor I said hi if you see him.” Twilight opened the front door and walked outside, Orion and Dazzle joining at the door.

“Bye you two, and remember you’re always welcome to visit,” Dazzle said waving back. Twilight waved before trotting away from the house. She had only made it about a block before Firefly started hovering next to her.

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t have a coltfriend. I haven’t for near twenty years and I plan on keeping it that way,” Firefly said irritated. She then sighed and whispered, “Why does Daz feel the need to nag me on that?”

“It’s alright Firefly, I kind of figured that wasn’t the case,” Twilight said with a small giggle.

“I had no intention of that at all, and even if I did I couldn’t. I hardly ever see Rainbow when he’s touring.” Twilight sighed sadly which made Firefly more than a little unsettled.

“Yeah, I guess he would be busy. I, uh, got some things to do, so… see you later I guess.” Firefly took off to the skies, though only Dawn watched her. Twilight sighed a little and looked up at the skies.

‘Not much longer. Maybe I can see one of his shows before the season is over. Dawn will certainly love it.’ Twilight smiled and started to think of how to do it when Dawn asked something.

“Uh, well uh… I’ll tell you later honey.” Twilight glanced back and saw Dawn tilt her head in curiosity. “So, what did you do at Grandma and Grandpa’s?”

>Observation Suspended<

The 63 files

by punisher143

TwiDash- parenting part 1