I looked down and smiled at my new daughter. She laid peacefully in her bassinet, swaddled in a nice warm blanket. Antares and Celestia stood beside me, and I could tell that they were also joyful at this wonderful gift I had been given. A foal of my very own. I reached into the bassinet and gently put my hoof on her back. She was every bit as wonderful and perfect as I had imagined. She twitched slightly as she slept, no doubt dreaming of something. It would be a while yet before I would walk in her dreams, if ever. As her mother, it might be awkward if I walked into her dreams, especially during her... teenage years.
I had long since stopped dream-walking in the dreams of ponies going through puberty.
"I'm happy for you, Luna," Antares said, looking down at his daughter. I admit that there would be some complications in the matter. Regardless of how wonderful this matter was, Maia's relationship with both Antares and Nymeria would likely be... complicated, to say the least. Would they view each other as sisters, or cousins? We would get to that matter when necessary. For now, I pushed it out of my mind and basked in the wonderful experience of the first few hours of my daughter's life.
"I am happy for you as well, Luna," Celestia said. She lit her horn and lifted Nymeria off of her back, positioning her above the bassinet to get a good look at her new sister/cousin. "This is Maia, Nymeria. She is Aunt Luna's daughter!"
Nymeria tilted her head and looked over to me before putting her hoof in her mouth to suck on without any other reaction to speak of. Celestia chuckled and put Nymeria back on her back. "Oh well. The two of you will get to know each other very well in the coming years. I look forward to seeing how well the two of you get along."
"Hopefully at least as well as Aunt Kristen and I got along," Antares said, playfully poking Celestia's shoulder. "Though neither of us could use magic in our arguments, which was probably for the best, considering how heated our arguments could get."
"Yes, I do think that we will need to strengthen the wards around their rooms so that their arguments do not level half of the castle," Celestia agreed.
"Something we know from experience," I said with a slight smirk. "I seem to recall that some of our arguments did not end well for the castle. Mother and Father did not appreciate our anger toward each other."
"That comes with being siblings, I guess," Antares said. "In any case..." Antares looked out the window to see the position of the sun in the sky. "We should get going. I have court in a few hours, and I've got to find Kristen before then. You, uh, freaked her out a little bit when you were in labor."
I grimaced and flattened my ears. "Forgive me. I was in... quite a lot of pain."
"Yeah, I get it," Antares said with a wave of his hoof. "She'll get over it fairly quickly, especially now that everything has calmed down a bit. She'll be fine and will come to see Maia shortly. I'll go see where she's hiding and probably come to see Maia with her tomorrow."
"That sounds lovely, Antares," I replied. "I would like the opportunity to apologize to her for..." I grimaced and pointedly looked away from the two of them. "Punching her through the floor. And I suppose that I should apologize for the things I said and did to you while I was in labor. I did not handle the pain very... gracefully."
Celestia's mouth creased into a slight frown. "I would agree with that assessment, yes, particularly the part regarding what you wish to do if you desire another foal."
I blushed and turned my attention back to Maia. "I... did not mean it. I will, of course... be better about it should I have to endure labor again. I did not know such pain was possible."
"Very well," Celestia muttered. "For now, Antares is correct: we need to begin our court. Get some rest, Luna. When Maia awakes, she will be hungry."
"I hope that she will not be colicky," I said with a smirk, putting my hoof on her back again. "Perhaps she shall be at least as calm as Nymeria."
"Even Nymeria has her moments," Antares replied. "A foal can be calm normally, but when they're hungry, all bets are off."
"I shall ensure that she is well fed," I insisted. "She need not worry about me taking care of her. In the meantime, I agree that I must get some rest. Tomorrow we will present her to the nation. Before that, a good day's sleep will benefit us both."
"If you say so," Antares said. I noted the barest hint of a smirk in his expression, but I thought nothing of it. Maia would doubtlessly be as tired as I was and would sleep through the day. I could not wait for her to wake up so that I could get to know her. I knew that as a newborn foal her personality would not come through this early, but we would doubtless have some connection. No doubt she would nestle close to her mother, content that I was there and she was safe.
With one final goodbye, I closed the curtains, darkening the room for the two of us to sleep.
* * * *
11:00
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh."
I opened up one eye and looked in the direction of the bassinet. Ah, Maia was hungry. It was time for our first feeding! Our bond as mother and daughter would be strengthened by this time together. I sat up and lit my horn, lifting Maia out of her bassinet. Her jaw was wobbling and she squirmed in my magical grasp, but I rolled onto my side and placed Maia near me to being feeding. She opened her mouth and clamped on, but she almost instantly slid off. I smiled at her and moved her closer to latch on better.
"That's it, dear Maia," I said softly, adjusting her as needed so that she could get a good latch. "Mommy is here. Mommy will feed you."
Maia grunted and continued trying to latch on. It took her a minute, but she finally achieved her goal an began feeding. I draped my wing over her and laid back down on my pillow, basking in this beautiful moment between the two of us. Once Maia unlatched, her eyes started closing, and she leaned her head on my stomach. I gently lifted her up and put her back in the bassinet. I looked forward to many more feedings. She would recognize me as her mother soon, if she had not already.
Content with that thought, I allowed myself to fall asleep once more.
12:04
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh."
My eyes snapped open and I raised my head. Hmm. Perhaps I had not adequately fed her the first time around. I got into a more comfortable position, then lifted Maia once more and placed her in a feeding position. Once more it took her a few tries to get a good latch, but once she did, she began eating as though I had not fed here a mere hour before. I chuckled and gently patted her head as she sucked with the fervor of a pony that had never eaten anything before.
"I hope you are enjoying that, dear Maia," I said softly. "Mommy will always take care of you."
1:11
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh."
I frowned and glanced at the clock. It had not been long since I had fed her last. Perhaps in her exhaustion she had failed to take all she had needed. I brought her closer to me for another feeding.
"Please, my wonderful daughter. Do not sleep until you have eaten your fill."
Maia merely responded by continuing to feed. I was encouraged by the fact that she had successfully latched on with less effort this time. Maybe her previous issue was that her poor latch meant that she could not drink her fill."
2:03
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
I raised my head and grimaced. Perhaps she... needed a midnight... two in the afternoon snack. This time she would certainly sleep through the night. She would drink her fill very shortly, then we could both get the rest that we needed.
Yes, she would get more rest after this.
3:15
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
This time she would stay asleep. Her hunger would soon be sated, of that I was sure. She could not keep this up forever.
4:19
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
"Oh Maia, you... ah, should..." I briefly considered casting a sleeping spell on her, but if she was crying, she needed to be fed, yes? I checked to see if she needed to be changed, and found that to be the case. Ah, yes, that was the issue! She would be more comfortable and sleep through the rest of the night.
5:16
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
Very soon.
6:04
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
Perhaps not. I needed to... something. There were certainly issues beyond mere hunger, of that I was certain. Maybe being in the world frightened her, and she needed her mother to comfort her. Yes, that was the problem. I lifted Maia out of her bassinet and brought her over for yet another feeding. As she latched on, I stroked her back with my wing.
"All is well, my daughter. You are safe. I understand that you are likely frightened of this big world, but I will guide and protect you through it. Nothing shall harm you." Once she had finished feeding, I gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and rocked her back to sleep.
7:12
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
I groaned and briefly put a pillow over my head. Perhaps she was simply being cruel. I hoped that this was not a consistent issue.
8:08
"Weeh, weeh, weeh, weeh!"
No. Just stay asleep.
I let out a frustrated grunt and brought her over to me for another feeding. As she was eating, I glanced at my clock and sighed. Perhaps I should have slept with her cuddled up to me. Then she could have eaten at her leisure without waking me up. As it was, I--
Beep, beep, beep, beep!
Maia jerked and immediately began crying as I turned off my alarm with my magic. I sat up and took her in my forelegs, gently rocking her as she wailed.
"Shh. That horrid noise is gone, my daughter. All is well. You may go back to sleep as Mommy..." I let out a pained sigh. "Begins her job."
Maia nuzzled into my chest, but stopped crying, though I could hear her sniffling. I rocked her for a few more moments, swaddled her, then put her back in her bassinet once she had fallen asleep. I let out a breath I did not know I had been holding in, then cast the usual foal monitor spells around the room before quietly walking out of the room. I closed the door behind me and groaned. That had not been the most pleasant night I had gone through, but it was worth it to connect with my daughter through feeding.
I let out a spectacular yawn and dragged myself to the dining room so that I could at least have something before beginning court. When I arrived, I found Celestia having her usual dinner meal while simultaneously feeding Nymeria some foal food. Celestia smiled at me when she saw that I had entered, while I collapsed into the nearest chair.
"That was not the most pleasant of nights," I mumbled, thunking my head on the table. "It is a wonder that I got any sleep at all."
Celestia chuckled and nodded. "Yes, the early period of a foal's life can be taxing, but it is certainly worth it."
"I can imagine, dear sister," I said with a strained smile. "In the meantime, I must have my coffee before court."
Celestia frowned and put the spoon she was using to feed Nymeria down. "I would not advise that, Luna, seeing as how you are feeding her yourself. What you eat and drink can affect your milk, and I would not advise you drinking your coffee. Normal coffee is fine in small doses, but with the strength of your particular blend..."
I whimpered and began rubbing my forehead. "Y-yes. Very well. I understand, of course. Yes, we all must make sacrifices for our children. This is one of mine. I shall endure. Out of curiosity, how long does this phase last? She certainly cannot do this every night throughout foalhood."
"Oh no, she'll grow out of it," Celestia confirmed as she screwed the cap onto the bottle of foal food. "Nymeria here only wakes up two or three times in the night now. Maia will grow out of waking up every hour or two in about, oh, two or three months."
I squeaked and sat up. "You are jesting," I groaned.
"I am afraid not," Celestia said with a sad smile. "It does take some getting used to, but like I said: they grow out of it."
I thunked my head on the table once more, causing Nymeria to giggle and clap her hooves at me.