//------------------------------// // Bring Your Foal To Work Day // Story: One Bolt, Spreading Harmony // by Boltsinger //------------------------------// “LIGHTNING HAS STRUCK!” Came the words. This was the code phrase that Twilight and Boltsinger came up with in the event that his lightning activated while he took care of the baby. It told her to be alert. Be ready. Be the supermom! There was just one problem today. It was a school day. And not just any school day, either. This was a day she was looking forward to, because after a brief three-hour lecture, she was going to take the students on a field trip! But… Life was what happened while the Princess made her plans, and the words were clear. “LIGHTNING HAS STRUCK!” Twilight appeared in the nursery almost in the same instant as her husband's telltale thunderclap, sending her magic to the baby's bed to encompass it in comfortable silence. When the stallion was clear, she dispelled her spell and ran to her colt, lifting him out of bed and holding him upright. He gave her a happy babble, affectionately nuzzling into her. She gently squeezed him in reply, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I'm happy to see you, too, sweetie.” She ignited her horn, lifting a saddlebag full of essentials over her and securing it in place. “Now, how about you and me go see who might be able to look after you while school is in session?” The sound of heaving came from beyond the doorway Sunburst stood in, the Unicorn looking inside and adjusting his glasses. “I'm afraid I can't help today. Starlight's in…” Starlight let out an agonizing groan, prompting Sunburst to light his horn to hold her mane back. “... bad shape. She's going to need my full attention today.” Twilight dejectedly hung her head. “I understand. Starlight needs you.” She gave him a hopeful look. “What about Trixie?” “She's on the road at the moment.” He explained. “It's not a very long tour, but she said something about being gone for a month at most.” The dejection returned once more, bringing a sigh out of the Princess of Friendship. “Alright. Thanks, anyway.” She turned to leave, pausing for a moment to point at him. “Let me know if you need my help with anything. Anything at all!” Sugar Cube Corner was a veritable windstorm of bakers as Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake, and Sugar Belle did their work. Cakes were boxed and piled all over, and the tension in the room was poignantly palpable. After a minute of rush, Mrs. Cake stopped in front of the Alicorn at the counter. “I'm sorry, Twilight. Any other time, I'd love to have the little darling over, but we're just so busy with this catering order that we can barely keep track of the twins!” “That's alright. I understand that you're busy.” Twilight looked around at the growing stacks, reminded of the times when her own work overwhelmed her. She thought for a moment, looking over to Sugar Belle. “Do you think Big Mac might be able to babysit?” Sugar Belle shook her head, lifting a stack with her magic. “Sorry, no. He's helping us with deliveries today.” “Darn.” Twilight spat, turning to leave. “Well, good luck with the catering.” She waved a wing farewell as she trotted out of the establishment. She went on to Soarin's house, where she discovered that the Wonderbolt was in Cloudsdale visiting family. Cheese Sandwich was nowhere to be found, likely in Pinkie's party planning cave, and Maud had taken a trip to the Ghastly Gorge for study purposes. Finally, she resigned herself to the last resort, calling out to the spirit of chaos, only to be met with a note from nowhere, stating that the Draconequus in question had joined Spike on his recent trip. At the thought of her ‘faithful’ assistant, Twilight's brow furrowed. “Uncle Spike sure picked a great time to go visit Thorax, didn't he?” She asked, smiling down at the foal strapped to her side. Looking back to the castle she called home, she took a calming breath. “So, Nova, how would you like to go to school with mommy today?” For the first time since school started, it had become clear to the students that their head-mare did not, in fact, live at school. She walked into the building with her horn alight, its aura wrapped around the handle of a carriage. Its canopy was lowered in its entirety, letting Nova peek over and look around. Both ponies were a common sight around the campus, but the context in which they had arrived was something new. “Wow… I knew Head-mare Twilight was a mom, but… It just hit me. She's really a full-on mom!” Twilight looked in the direction of the comment, rolling her eyes and continuing on. “Wait, doesn't her husband usually have the baby during school hours?” another student asked. “Yeah, normally without all that stuff, too! I wonder what's going on?” “You think it's part of a lesson?” “I dunno. But now I'm kind of excited!” Finally, a pony trotted up to the Alicorn. “Excuse me, Head-mare Twilight?” She met the student with her usual smile. “Yes? What can I help you with?” “Is there a reason you're bringing Prince Nova along today?” The pony asked, getting gasps and comments amidst the crowds. “Oh. Well, my husband had… business, and since I couldn't find a babysitter, I decided it was best to just bring him with me.” She reached forward with her wing, letting the colt take hold of it in his mouth. “You're such a good little guy, I bet you won't be any trouble in class today, will you?” Twilight pushed the carriage into her lecture hall, waving her hoof at the seated students. “Good, morning, class!” “Good morning, Professor Sparkle.” They replied. She moved the carriage behind her lectrum, putting her hooves on it to face the class. “I’m afraid that I have some bad news for you all, given the current situation.” Gallus leaned forward with a hopeful glint in his eyes. “Are we skipping the lecture?!” Twilight sent the Griffon a smirk, giggling and shaking her head. “No, that’s still happening.” A small cry came out from under the lectrum, making the mare pause. She raised her hoof to the class. “Just a second.” She ducked under, giving the class a moment to wonder as some happy baby noises took the place of the cries. Twilight reappeared from under her podium, raising her hoof to her mouth and clearing her throat. “As I was saying… The lecture is totally going to happen. But I’m afraid that my current circumstances are forcing me to cancel the field trip we had planned.” The collective sound of remorse filled the room, sending a wave of regret through the Alicorn. Silverstream proceeded to raise her talon, waving it rapidly back and forth. “So, where were we gonna go, anyway?” “The Castle of the Two Sisters!” The instructor stated, spreading her wings wide. Sandbar brought his hoof to his chin. “But haven't we already been there?” “You six may have, but the rest of the class hasn't.” She motioned around the room, where several other ponies nodded in agreement. “It's all linked to my lecture, actually. The history of the Royal Sisters!” Amidst the sounds of excitement that carried through the room, another student raised her hoof. “So… What teacher mean by ‘circumstances’?” Ocellus put her hoof on her northern friend. “Circumstances refers to a situation that defines your ability to act.” Yona glared at the changeling, pounding her hoof on the desk just gently enough to not break it. “Yak know that!” “I think she wants to know what exactly I have going on.” Twilight suggested, reaching her wings under the lectrum. “I’m sure you noticed the carriage I came in with. If it wasn’t already obvious, I’ve been taking care of some precious cargo today.” She stepped out from behind the lectrum, showing Nova to the class. “Bolt had one of his ‘flights’ this morning, and I wasn’t able to find a babysitter. So, today, Nova’s going to be joining us!” She held him up, letting him get a look at the numerous eyes in the room. His eyes darted all around, finding new faces everywhere. They all held things he didn’t fully recognize, but they reminded him of the feathers his mommy and daddy often held. He found himself with a mixture of nerves and curiosity. He wanted to know more about the things he saw, but all the new faces and voices were a lot to take in. “Oh my gosh! He’s so cute!” Silverstream exclaimed, squishing her cheeks with her talons as she leaned forward for a closer look. “Can we play with him? Please please please please please!!!” “Maybe later.” Twilight said, pulling her son to rest on her back. “For now, we have some learning to do!” She took her spot behind the podium once again, lowering the foal into his carriage. “Now, as you all know, upon Star Swirl the Bearded’s discovery of Celestia and Luna, the only ponies in Equestria who could raise the sun and moon without expending all of their magical power, he took them under his metaphorical wing. It’s never been made clear by either of the Royal Sisters, or Star Swirl for that matter, when they became Alicorns…” She continued on, her voice muffled to the baby by the wood between them. He reached his hooves up, knocking on the wood like he’d seen the older ponies do when they wanted attention. Twilight's ears twitched, sending her eyes downward mid-sentence. Her hoof weaved its way under the lectrum to rest against the baby's belly while she continued. He giggled and grabbed the hoof with all four of his legs, climbing onto the foreleg beyond it and hugging tightly. She made to pull her hoof back up, cocking an eyebrow at the extra weight. “Nova, sweetheart, I need my hoof, please.” She moved her foreleg back and forth, trying to loosen the foal’s grip, only to feel him squeezing harder. She brought the foal out again, balancing him between her wing and foreleg until he was over her back. “Okay, Nova, you can sit on mommy's back for a while, okay?” He let out a happy squee, letting go of the hoof to plop onto her back. “Awwwww!” Silverstream cooed once more, dropping her pencil as her talon hung over the desk. Twilight cleared her throat, making the Hippogriff tense up and return to her seat. “Right! Right, taking notes!” She made to grab her pencil to instead grasp the air. As she looked around for it, Ocellus let out a sigh, taking one out of her bag and passing it over to her. “Now, where were we?” Twilight held her son in place with her wings, returning to her notes. “Ah, yes, Discord. The first threat faced by the Princesses that led to the discovery of the Tree of Harmony…” The lecture continued, and Nova's eyes were beginning to wander. There were lots of scratchy noises buried beneath his mommy's talking, again reminding him of those feathers. Most of it was happening as they moved the things in their mouths. He began to wonder if he could do the same thing. After all, if Mommy and all these other creatures did it so much, it must be fun! He spied another of the things on the floor, narrowing his eyes and lighting his horn. A blue aura wrapped around the object, floating it just barely off of the floor and bringing it closer. He lifted it higher the nearer it got, taking it between his hooves and looking at the pink thing at the end. He opened his mouth wide, chomping down to get a feel for it. It felt different from some of the other stuff he was used to. Wood, then metal, then… Something yucky. Super yucky. He squinted his eyes, letting out a tiny fuss that, once again, made his mother’s ears twitch. “Nova? What’s wrong, honey?” She turned her head to see him, hearing a spitting noise and seeing a speck of black before she jerked her head to the side. The pencil whizzed past, just in front of her eyes, and stuck itself into one layer of the desks in the lecture hall. There was a moment of silence as the pencil wobbled in place, turning all eyes to the pony that fired it. Twilight smiled sheepishly at the students, pulling Smarty Pants out of the carriage and placing her in the foal’s hooves. “Sorry about that. Won’t happen again! I promise!” She straightened herself, rocking Nova with her wings and clearing her throat. “Now, about Discord. While you all know him to be a bit of a prankster…” A pungent smell wafted through the area, forcing the Princess to trail off at the all-too-familiar odor. With a defeated sigh, she sent her notes into her saddlebag, putting Nova back into the carriage. “Okay. I guess it was a little ambitious to try and do this today.” She looked down at the diapered foal, giving him a soft smile. “We'll pick this up again, tomorrow, everyone! Today is an independent study!” “FREEDOM!” Gallus and Smolder cheered as they flew out of the lecture hall. Their friends filed out behind them, the equine of the group eyeing them curiously. “What do you mean, ‘freedom’? We still have to do homework.” Smolder let out a small burst of laughter. “Yeah, right! Professor Twilight said ‘independent study’! That pretty much means we can do whatever we want!” Sandbar looked between her and Gallus, noting a similar expression. “So what do you two plan on studying?” “Oh, nothing. Just something ‘Professor Egghead’ taught us a while back.” Gallus explained, leaning against the wall on his elbow. Smolder joined her Griffon friend with a sly smirk. “The fine art of chillaxing!” “Oh! I remember that lesson!” The Changeling exclaimed, raising a poignant hoof. “Technically, chillaxing is less of an art and more of a refined technique. It’s hard to really do it without--” “Well I wanna play with the baby!” Silverstream cried, jumping into the air with a splay of her wings and forelegs. Her friends all stared up at her, some jaws hanging open, while others simply smiled at her. “I have to admit, Nova is really cute.” Ocellus stated, looking down the hall for a hint of the foal in question. “I kind of want to play with him, too!” The other students sent her a grin, bringing her ears low as she put her hoof on her head. “I mean… It’d be good to do my study on the baby. You know, for homework.” Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Just for homework.” His gaze drifted to the other eagle-hybrid of the room, who was excitedly tapping her hind legs from anticipation. Her mind was most certainly made up, eliciting a sigh from the Griffon. “I guess we're all going to ‘study’ the baby, huh?” Silverstream's only response was a squee that grew progressively louder. “BABY NOVA!” Silverstream screamed, bursting into Twilight's office. The force of her entry made a gust of wind that sent all of the documents and homework assignments in the room flying. Twilight braced herself against the gale, catching the papers with her magic to put them back in place as she looked to her loudest student. “Silverstream? What's going on?” “I’m soooooo ready to do my study project!” She exclaimed, landing in front of the mare. “Professor Applejack has been teaching us all about how family is like the first friends you ever make, and I hear Professor Bolt talk about all of you and say that you’re all his ‘chosen’ family, and we wanted to be like Nova’s chosen family!” She swooped down to the desk, scooping the colt up in her forelegs to affectionately nuzzle him. “Thank you sooooo much for letting us have Nova as our independent study project today! I promise we’ll be good and he’ll be safe and have so much FUN! And, I mean, there’s six of us! We’ll be able to take care of him and show him the best time ever!” Twilight gave the Hippogriff a confused blink, looking to her doorway to find Sandbar, Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, and Gallus entering the room. “I… didn’t say anything.” She thought for a moment on the Hippogriff’s words, looking back up to her. “Wait, you all want to do your study on Nova?!” Gallus stepped up to the Alicorn, rolling his eyes at his friend’s antics. “Well, mostly, they just wanna play with him, but… Yeah” Twilight gave Silverstream an inquisitive look, letting a grin onto her muzzle. Silverstream was holding Nova close, nuzzling his cheek and piling on compliments. “I think I may have a better idea.” Twilight sat in the school cafeteria, settling her little colt into a high chair and looking to the students gathered around her. “Since you've all decided to ‘study’ my son, we might as well turn it into a learning experience for everyone!” Nova smiled at the gathered creatures, rocking forward and back in his seat. “It's almost Nova’s lunchtime, so let's start with that.” She brought forth a notepad and quill, looking expectantly at the youths. “Who'd like to feed the baby?” Gallus rose to his feet, stretching his back and wings. “Might as well get this over with now.” He stepped up to the high chair, bending down to look the colt in the eye. He smiled back at him, still rocking back and forth with his hooves on the table. One corner of the Griffon’s beak turned up at the sight as he patted the foal’s head, turning his head to the professor. “So, what do I do?” “Just give him some food.” Twilight instructed. “Show us how Griffons feed their babies.” “Feeding babies, huh?” He looked back to his friends, then over to the baby. “Okay. I'll be right back.” He gave a flap of his wings, taking off out the door. A couple of minutes later, the door opened again to reveal a soaking wet Gallus with a flipping fish in his beak. He took the fish in his his talon, holding it up for all to see. “Got it!” “Uh… Gallus…” Sandbar began, raising his hoof. “I don't think he's gonna--” Silverstream shot over to Gallus, looking hungrily at the fish with her talons pressed against her cheeks. “That looks so tasty! Can I have some?” The Griffon smirked, walking past her to sit in front of the baby. “Here ya go, kid.” He put the fish on a plate and placed it in front of the foal. “Lunch. Enjoy.” He brushed his chest with his talon, confidently closing his eyes. “That was way easier than I thought it would--” A wet, scaly impact to his face cut his thought short. Gallus opened his eyes, finding the fish flopped against his face. He dramatically recoiled, letting out a scream as the fish fell to the floor. “That was supposed to be lunch.” He picked it up and plopped it back onto the plate, met with a narrow-eyed glare from the tiny pony. “Now eat.” Nova responded with a flare of his horn, lifting the fish and tossing it back with a defiant yell. With a low growl, Gallus caught it, putting it back and gesturing to it. “Oh, come on, kid! It's food! Why can't you just eat it?” He flared his wings, stomping his talon. Nova looked up at the bird creature in front of him, seeing just how imposing he could be. He backed up in his high chair, scrunching up his face with tears forming in his eyes. “Gallus, that's enough!” The professor called. Gallus was soon surrounded by magenta magic, pulling him away from the foal. “Calm down, please.” Gallus blinked, a sensation from the magic feeling like a back rub. His breathing began to slow, clearing his vision to look at the baby. “Oh man… Did I just…?” Twilight stepped up to her son, nuzzling his cheek. “It's okay, sweetie. Gallus just forgot something.” Gallus cocked an eyebrow as the magic around him dispelled. “I did? What was it?” A hoof landed on the Griffon's shoulder, making him look back and see Sandbar smiling at him. “Don't you remember? Ponies are vegetarian! You and Silverstream may see a fish as food, but someone like me or Nova, it's not.” Gallus slumped over, giving Nova a remorseful look. “So I guess I dove into that lake for nothing, huh?” “I'll take it if you don't want it!” The Hippogriff suggested, waving her talon. The blue-feathered friend chuckled. “Go for it.” “YES!” Silverstream shouted, flying past the high chair and snatching up the plate with the fish on it. “And while she's doing that…” Twilight began, opening a jar from her bag and placing it on the table. “Why don't you give this another try?” She floated a spoon over to him with an inviting smile. “You mean it?” Sandbar gave his friend's shoulder a reassuring pat. “Come on, it's super simple! Jist scoop it up and give it to him.” “Okay, I can do that.” Gallus approached the baby again, taking the spoon in his claw and sitting down. He scooped the first of many spoonfuls, smiling at the little pony. “You know, you pretty much did what every Griffon baby does at mealtime. At least from what I've seen.” “Baby Griffons magically throw fish at you?” Ocellus inquired. Gallus shook his head. “Nah, but they sure do put up a fight.” The students and their teacher shared in a laugh as Gallus carefully finished his task, tussling the foal's mane. “Sorry for turning all grumpy on you, kid.” Twilight smiled as the Griffon took a seat by his friends. “Well, I don't know about you, but I found that quite informative!” She patted Nova lightly on the back, sending a small burp out of him. “Now that Nova's had his lunch, he's got a lot of free time. Can anycreature think of something they'd like to do with him?” With a small tremor, Yona jumped to her hooves. “Yona wants to--” “DIBS!” Cried a streak of pink and blue. Silverstream dashed by the high chair, taking Nova in her forelegs. “Dibs dibs dibs dibs diiiiiiibs!” She nuzzled his cheek affectionately, earning herself a giggle. As the Yak’s head began to droop, Twilight stepped forward, putting a hoof on her back. “You know, you don’t have to call who can be with him next. I’m sure he’d be happy to play with all of you!” Ocellus looked up at the foal, raising her hoof with the corners of her mouth. “Really? Then I want in, too!” She raised her shell, flying up to her airborne friend. Yona perked up, charging forward to stop under them. “Yona too! Yaks best at playing!” “Oh, you can count me in!” Sandbar exclaimed, galloping to Yona’s side. “But… how do we…?” Silverstream let go of the baby, booping his nose with her claw as his wings took over. “TAG!” She backed up, flapping her wings excitedly. “You're it!” She zoomed off through the door, eliciting a gleeful squeak from the colt. “Uh-oh, you've done it now!” Twilight announced. She lit her horn, moving the high chair and all of the tables aside to make room. “Why’s that?” Gallus wondered, casting his gaze at the giggling foal. “Tag is one of Nova’s favorite games!” She smiled up at her son, letting out a laugh as he took off after the fleeing Hippogriff. “And he’s fast!” Gallus’ signature smirk returned to his face, spreading his wings in preparation. “Well, now it’s getting interesting!” He shot forward, grabbing Sandbar under his forelegs and shooting after their target. Yona reared up with joy, barrelling after them with Ocellus keeping pace above her. The Princess trotted over to the door, stopping to give an inviting look to the dragon that remained leaning against the wall, arms crossed. “You coming?” Smolder raised an eyebrow, looking at her teacher like she was insane. “And deal with a little kid? They may wanna ‘study’ him, but once dragons reach a certain age, they gotta fend for themselves.” “Are you talking about the molt effect?” “There’s that… And just the way dragons are.” She continued, walking over to the Alicorn. “How can you expect to grow up strong if you’re always being looked after? You gotta make it on your own in the Dragon Lands!” “Well, this isn't the Dragon Lands.” Twilight waved her wing forward, guiding Smolder along. This could be an interesting new experience for you!” Smolder rolled her eyes, shrugging and following her teacher out. Nova was having the time of his life. A bunch of new friends to play with in this big place with a pretty fountain in the middle, all of them wanting to play one of his favorite games, and they’re all so good at it, too! He was zipping around the area like he’d never done before, occasionally landing to gallop around the big brown one. She looked like she was getting lonely there on the ground. The blue one that gave him lunch carried a pony around with him, and he and the pink and the buggy one were doing a great job keeping up with him! He had tagged the pink one back already, and was trying to get away from her with a giddy grin on his face. He made another deft dodge as she charged in, giggling as he went and turning to the main building. There, a sight that always made him smile came into view. He flew towards his mommy with gusto, quickly caught in her forelegs with a mutual laugh. “Hey, there, sweetheart!” The proud parent greeted, nuzzling his nose. “Does this mean Mommy's ‘it’?” Nova shook his head, pointing back at Silverstream with a couple of baby grunts. “Oh! Well, you better get moving!” She unfolded her forelegs, letting him fly freely and look around. And yet another interesting sight caught his eye. Of all of the new friends Nova was meeting today, this one felt the most familiar. It looked a lot like Uncle Spike, but it had the same colors as his big sister, Scootaloo. He flew over to her, poking her shoulder with his hoof to get her attention. Smolder turned her head, getting one look at the baby and recoiling. “Oh, no I’m not gonna…” He inched closer, gaining a pleading look in his eyes. “Come on, that cute stuff will never…” His smile widened, making the dragon’s heart skip a beat. “I mean, you are cute, but I…” She let out a sigh of defeat, looking back at the foal with brighter eyes than before. “Alright, kid, you got me!” She splayed her wings, taking off to join the group. Twilight looked fondly at the young ones in her charge, stepping aside as Silverstream sped by. She skidded to a landing, spinning around and jumping after them. The instructor's rump fell to the ground, her wings fluffing as she revelled in the sight before her. She’d never imagined that bringing Nova to school would result in something like this. She wasn’t surprised, given Silverstream’s excitability, but that Nova took to it so well… That was a surprise. At this rate, she was beginning to deliberate the merits of having a daycare brought into the school. “Gotcha!” Silverstream exclaimed as her forelegs came around the foal. “You really are a quick little guy, aren't you?” She brought her beak close to his muzzle, hyperventilating a bit from all the activity. “So, what do you wanna do next? Hide & seek? Peekaboo?” She continued with her suggestions at a pace that Nova was starting to have a hard time keeping up with. It wasn't that he wasn't used to fast talking. Aunty Pinkie talked fast all the time. No, this time it was something super smelly that was getting to him. Smelled like that thing the blue one tried to give him, but worse. He began to squirm in an attempt to get out of her grip, turning his nose away from her. “Oh? You wanna do something?” She brought her muzzle closer, letting even more of the smelliness eke into the baby’s nostrils. He pushed against her beak, struggling to get his wings free as his cries began. “Aww, what’s wrong, Nova? Did you make a stinky?” The cries grew louder at the last word. He lit up his horn, pulling her forelegs apart so that he could get loose and flap his wings. Once free, he started toward the fountain, where he proceeded to duck and hide from the awful stinky. Silverstream reached out and called for him, thoroughly confused at the foal’s reaction, and slumped onto the ground. Ocellus landed next to her friend, giving her a supportive hoof and a sympathetic smile. “I think I may have a way to calm him down.” She flew over to Nova, kneeling down in front of him. “Hey, little guy! You wanna see some funny faces?” Nova’s cries died down, looking at the Changeling with a curious head tilt. The idea seemed to intrigue more than just Nova, though, as the rest of the group began to gather around them. She grinned at the young pony, activating her innate magic of transformation to appear as Rarity. Nova reeled back, clapping his hooves and fluttering his wings at the familiar sight. She batted her eyelashes, then proceeded to pull her cheeks back with her hooves and expose her gums. With an ecstatic laugh on Nova’s part, she activated her magic again, this time appearing as a small bunny. The shape-changing proved to be a success, as each new form brought out another laugh. Ocellus beamed at the sight, opting to change into more and more elaborate forms. She went from the form of Celestia to a dog, to a slobbery Orthros, and finally to a bugbear. She looked down at the foal with a big, fanged smile. The eyes that looked back, though, weren’t so happy. Nova looked at the creature in front of him with an expression of sheer terror, firing up his horn with an intensity his mother had never seen from him. He closed his eyes, hiding them behind his wings and pointing his horn at her. Twilight’s eyes eyes went wide as the magic activated, sending a beam of magical force straight at the transformed Changeling’s head. Ocellus reeled back from the impact, flailing her arms and falling over backwards with a thunderous thud. Her innate magic fizzled out, turning her back to her natural state and leaving her in a daze. “Oh my gosh…” The Princess began, raising her hooves to her cheeks. “Nova’s first STUN BLAST!!! I can’t believe it! Oh, I wish I had a camera!” The conscious students’ eyes all fell on the purple pony, giving her a look of slight disbelief. After a momentary squee, she remembered who had been the victim of this development. “Oh! Sorry… Are you okay, Ocellus?” Before an answer could come, Nova flapped his wings, flying towards his mother at full speed with his forelegs wide. His eyes refused to open, however, and his ability to judge distance was… WHAM! Hindered. Like her student, Twilight fell to the ground in a daze. Nova landed behind her, looking back to see her lying there with what almost looked like a second horn. Mommy was hurt, and now he didn't know what to do. He tried thinking of as many solutions as he could, but all of them involved either his mommy, his daddy, Cousin Flurry's mommy and daddy, or any of the ones that were usually there for him. He didn't have anyone to help him, and that sent a fresh flow of tears down his cheeks. Sandbar rushed forward, sitting by the unconscious head-mare and waving his hoof in front of her. “Professor? Professor, wake up!” He lightly slapped her cheek, earning no response. “I'll keep an eye on these two.” His attention shifted to the crying Prince, a state of confusion making itself known. “So… Anycreature got any ideas?” Gallus threw his talons up in defeat, scooting back a ways. “Last time I got an idea, I got fish in my face!” Silverstream nodded, drooping her head. “And he doesn't seem to like me very much…” Yona brought her hoof over her heart. “Yona can--” Smolder's claw came over the Yak's hoof. “No smashing, please.” Yona's eyes narrowed at the dragon's comment. She returned her hoof to the ground, digging it in while her friends began to discuss options. “Yak not want to smash…” She walked past the group as quietly as she could, drowned out by the crying and conversing. Finally, she stood in front of Nova, looking down on him with a presence that only a Yak could provide. “Yaks best with babies!” Upon her declaration, the group looked to her. Every jaw among them dropped, Sandbar reaching out as Yona reached forward. “Uh, Yona, are you sure abo--” “Shh!” She interrupted, putting her forelegs around the foal. She slowly sat down, gently cradling him and rocking back and forth. “Everything okay. Yona got you. Mama pony gonna be fine.” The other students’ mouths shut, all of them sitting back to marvel at the event before them. Nova's crying slowly began to die down with the movement. He leaned into the thick, comfy fur, nuzzling her affectionately. “There, there… Nova is good baby. Just got scared.” She patted him on the head, looking to her friends with a smile. “Wow…” Silverstream started. “I guess Yaks are best with babies!” “Twilight…” A warm baritone said. It tugged at the Princess’ consciousness, pulling her eyelids open. There was a blur of orange and blue looking down at her. “You okay?” She blinked a few times, feeling a twinge of pain in her head as her vision cleared. “I think so… My head hurts, but I think that'll pass.” She slowly sat up, finding herself on the couch in her office. “What hit me, anyway?” Boltsinger chuckled to himself, putting his hoof around her. “According to the kids, it was Nova.” “Nova!” Twilight repeated, jumping off of the couch. “Where is he? Is he okay? He was crying when I saw him last!” She cantered to the door, the stallion quickly catching up and putting his wing on her. “Calm down, Mighty Mom. He's fine. Yona's been keeping an eye on him since before I got back.” Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Yona?” “Eeyup.” He confirmed, trotting ahead to guide her along. “Apparently Yaks best with babies.” Twilight let out a short burst of laughter, reminded of all of the declarations she'd heard from the bovines over the years. “Well, I suppose she isn't kidding when she says things like that!” “I guess.” He replied with a shrug. “So what in Celestia's name made you bring Nova to class today?” “I didn't have any other option. You weren't home and there wasn't anypony who could take care of him on such short notice.” She explained. They rounded a corner, coming to the school library. “But it did give me an interesting idea.” Boltsinger gave her an inquisitive smile. “Oh? And what would that be?” Twilight looked to the center of the room, where Yona passed the baby to Silverstream with several other students surrounding them. They carefully observed while the Yak gave quiet and careful instructions, leading the Hippogriff as she proceeded to swaddle the foal. “I'm going to have a daycare put in. We can have somepony on staff to be there normally, but it can also give the students, and us, a chance to learn from the littlest among us.” “I like that idea!” He affirmed, pulling her close. “It'll give all of us some new experiences!” “And it frees up a lot of your time.” She added, smirking at him. “So you can finally become a full-time teacher here at the school!” She nuzzled into him, raising her hoof and putting her wing around him. “Isn't that exciting?” Boltsinger's ears laid themselves flat against his head, a nervous laugh shooting forth from him. “Yeah… Exciting…” He swallowed a lump in his throat, returning the gesture with another nervous laugh.