Twilight gave one last glance over the bountiful tray of food. ‘Pancakes with blueberries… check… haybacon, extra crispy… and finally a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice… check.’ Confident that Soarin’s breakfast was ready her horn flared as she lifted the wooden tray off the counter. Twilight found the one con of being pregnant was that it was tiring. Today was going to be Soarin’s day, her day to thank him for everything he has done for her, but most importantly it was going to be a day to celebrate their love and their family.
Twilight quietly trotted up the back stairs in the library towards her room. Soarin’ is usually up by now; but Twilight fixed that. She turned off the alarm on his clock. She entered the dim bedroom and found her husband soundly asleep. His body still lying securely under the covers and his muzzle buried deep into Twilight’s pillow which filled his nostrils with the sweet scent of lilacs, which reminded him of his wife. Twilight smiled at the sleeping stallion before placing the tray of food down on her nightstand. She gently climbed into bed, careful not the wake her husband, and wrapped her forelegs around his body. She let the warmth of his body invade her and she felt her muscles relax under the comfort of her husband.
“Soarin’… Soarin’ it’s time to wake up,” the mare gently cooed in his ear. “Wake up honey…”
Soarin’ slowly began to awake from his slumber. He could hear the soft, angelic tones of his wife’s voice, and he could feel her hooves wrapped around him. He responded by burying his muzzle into her lilac scented mane and lightly nuzzled her neck. Soarin’ was very much an affectionate pony, unlike what his fans would have expected. He loved cuddling with Twilight and took every chance to do so. ‘I love the smell of Twilight’s mane,’ he thought filling his nostrils with the sweet scent. ‘I love the warmth of her coat… I love everything about Twilight… especially the smell of haybacon… wait!’ Soarin’s eyes shot open as he propelled himself up in his bed. He quickly examined the room, his head snapping back and forth. He saw his wife lying next to him, giving a confused look. He looked over to his clock and saw it was 11:00. ‘Good going Soarin’ you slept in… There are chores I need to get done…’ He quickly tried to hop out of bed, but found himself restrained to the soft, pillow-like surface.
“Where are you going Soarin’?” Twilight asked.
“I slept in; I need to get started on today’s chores,” he answered quickly.
“Can’t you stay just a little longer…”
“Why?” Soarin’ asked. ‘While I would love to stay and cuddle with Twilight, the library isn’t going to run itself.’
Twilight pouted. “Is it so wrong that I want to spend some time with my stallion,” Twilight said in mock disappointment.
‘She has a point…’ Soarin’ gave up trying to fight his wife and he laid back down on the comforting mattress. He felt the mare snuggle into his body, her head resting on his chest. He allowed his muscles to relax with the affection from the mare huddled into his body. “Twilight have you eaten breakfast yet?” Soarin’ asked.
“No, but I made you breakfast,” Twilight said rolling over and pointing to the tray of food sitting next to the bed.
Soarin’ mouth started to water as he stared at the golden-brown stack of pancakes and the perfectly crisp plate of haybacon. ‘That food looks so good right now… but wait… what’s Twilight going to eat?’ Soarin’ watched as Twilight levitated the tray over and placed it near the foot of the bed. “What are you going to eat Twilight?” Soarin’ asked with concern.
“I was just going to have a bowl of oats I guess,” the studious mare answered nonchalantly.
Soarin’ looked the steaming hot plate of food, and then turned his head to his wife. ‘She’s probably hungry…’ Soarin’ looked at the plate and back to Twilight. She was nudging him to start eating, but something didn’t feel right. He didn’t like the idea of gorging on a plate of hotcakes while his hungry mare watched. “Uh, Twi,” Soarin’ said getting the mare’s attention. “Do you want to share this… I don’t think I could finish it all,” Soarin’ lied. Anypony, who knew him, knew he could easily scarf down a meal twice this size.
Twilight could see through Soarin’ lie. She knew the day he couldn’t finish a meal is the day she forgot how to use magic. That doesn’t mean she was opposed to sharing with him; she was hungry and those pancakes do look tasty. “Well… I guess I wouldn’t mind sharing,” Twilight said pretending to go along with Soarin’. “I wouldn’t want you to get a stomach ache of your special day.”
Soarin’ was confused. “What do you mean by ‘special day’?” Soarin’ asked. ‘It’s nopony’s birthday… not our anniversary…’
Twilight facehoofed. “Do you know what day it is?” Twilight asked. She knew Soarin’ wasn’t the most organized pony, but she expected to know what the day was.
“Uhh… it’s Tuesday…” Soarin’ said slowly. Soarin’ could still feel his wife’s penetrating gaze. “Uh… uh… it’s Ponyville History Day… no, National Read-a-Book Day,” Soarin’ spat out, hoping one of them was right.
Twilight placed a hoof on Soarin’s mouth, silencing the babbling stallion. “It’s Father’s Day Soarin’,” Twilight said in shock that her husband didn’t know. ‘How could he not know it’s father’s day, unless… he probably never really celebrated it with his dad.’
Twilight removed her hoof from Soarin’s muzzle, to allow him to respond. “Ohh… but I’m not a father yet,” Soarin’ said.
“You are going to be, and this a special day for you,” The mare said running a hoof along her husband’s back.
“So, why are you doing this?” Soarin’ asked.
“For the past seven months you have taken care of me and I want to thank you,” Twilight explained. “Today I want to take care of you, so go ahead and eat…” Twilight stated, her free hoof pointing to the plate of food.
Soarin’ stared at the steaming, stack of pancakes. His head slowly lowered towards. He took a hearty bite of the fluffy piece of heaven. Soarin’s taste buds were overwhelmed with a wavy of flavor; the tartness of the fresh blueberries and the sweetness of the maple syrup. Soarin’ swallowed the food, sending it to his hungry stomach. He turned his head, and saw his wife sitting there watching him. He nudged the plate towards her, telling her to take some.
Twilight responded by taking eating a chunk. The two ponies simply sat and enjoyed their meals together. It has been awhile since they have eaten breakfast together. For the past few month it has been Soarin’ waking up and eating before making Twilight’s breakfast. While she ate he would be working on chores, but now they just reveled in each other’s company. Not to long after, the once bountiful tray of food become a pile of empty, dirty dishes.
“Thank you, Twilight,” Soarin’ said. His lips meet hers in a short, yet loving kiss; the taste of maple syrup still present. After her pulled out of the kiss he wrapped his hooves around Twilight and let her head rest on his chest. “You never have to repay me for anything Twilight. I’ve done these things because I love you and I want you to be happy, and our foals to be healthy,” Soarin’ said. “When I married you I made a promise to support you, to respect you, and most of all to love you with all my heart and I never intend to break that promise.”
“I know that Soarin’, that is one of the reason why I love you,” Twilight said, as she tenderly nuzzled her stallion’s chest. “Over the past seven months you have taken care of me; every morning I would wake up with a hot breakfast waiting for me and you would always greet me with that loving smile. I appreciate it. I appreciate that you put up with my weird cravings, my morning sickness, and most of all my mood swings,” Twilight a pang of guilt in her voice. Her cravings weren’t too bad, the weirdest thing was an apple pie topped with haybacon and covered with ranch dressing, and her morning sickness didn’t last too long. The worst was the mood swings, they only lasted a month, but they were bad.
She remembers one particular incident. It was five months into the pregnancy. Soarin’ had woken up early to reshelf the books in the library. ‘He worked most of the day and only stopped to make a meal for me, to eat, or to check on me.’ She had just finished dinner and Soarin’ had completed putting the last book away. That was when she found that Soarin’ accidently placed ‘The Complete Works of Starswirl the Bearded’ in the magic history section and not the magic theory section. ‘It was so trivial, but I went off on him. I don't even know why I was so upset... I said some pretty bad things to him…’ That was before she forcibly removed all the books from the shelves and told him to start again and to do it right. The next thing she remembered was crying herself to sleep. She was sure that she just ruined her marriage and that she would wake up with a letter from Soarin’ telling her he wanted a divorce. She wouldn’t have blamed him. She woke up and what she found shocked her. Soarin’ was in the bed lying next to her and she was in his embrace. His eyes, those amazing pools of emerald, didn’t express anger or disgust like she expected, but love. Pure love. He was telling her how much he loved her, how she was going to be the mother of their foal, and that he would never leave her. ‘I tried to apologize, but Soarin’ said I didn’t need to. That I couldn’t control my mood swings and he wasn’t mad.’
“Twilight… Twilight, are you ok?” Soarin’ asked trying to get his wife’s attention.
Twilight shook her head out of her trance. “Yeah Soarin’, I’m fine,” Twilight said. “I just got lost in thought.”
“So, what do you have planned for today?” Soarin’ asked. If he knew his wife, and Soarin’ did, Twilight would have a detailed schedule for the day.
“Well I was thinking we could go to the park together,” Twilight said. “If you want to do something else that’s fine.” Twilight knew Soarin’ loves going to the park on a nice summer day and he would never say no.
“That sounds great Twi. I’ll go get these dishes cleaned…” Soarin’ could feel the gaze of his wife. “I mean you’ll get the dishes cleaned and I’ll pack our saddle bags.”
“Ok Soarin’…” Twilight knew this was going to be a good day. It was a bright summer day and she was going spend it with her husband. ‘I just hope the Princess shows up on time and Rainbow remembers our plan,’ Twilight thought trotting towards the kitchen with the tray of plates. No matter what Twilight was going to make sure this is a memorable day for Soarin’.