In a small log cabin in the countryside of Equestria lived a happy unicorn family of two parents and their young son, Nightwatch. Nightwatch was a gifted unicorn that excelled in magic quite well for his age and got the highest grades in his class. He didn’t have his cutie mark yet, but he had a strong feeling it would have something to do with magic or science: his two greatest strengths. He would normally spend nights reading books and studying magic. He was a night-owl for sure and would sometimes stay up too late and sleep in.
One sunny morning, Nightwatch woke up to the chirping of birds outside of his bedroom window. He didn’t set his alarm to wake him since it was a Saturday, but it was past ten o’ clock and he didn’t want to worry his parents. He sat upright in his bed and yawned deeply before using his unicorn magic to brush his black and purple hair. Today was his tenth birthday and his mother told him she would have something special for him when he got up. Mindful of this, he hopped down from his bed, stretched for a few seconds, then left his bedroom to head downstairs to meet his father Midnight Hue and his mother Aurora Shine.
“Nightwatch, sweetie,” called his mother below. “We have a little surprise for you!”
“Hey Mom! Hey Dad!” he said as he made it down into the kitchen.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” they both said.
He watched as they stepped aside to show a little cupcake on the table. It was made of pink cake with yellow frosting and a lit candle.
“Mom, you made me one of your buttercream frosting cupcakes?!” Nightwatch said as he rushed over to the table and stared at the cupcake with wide eyes.
“We knew you loved those things, dear,” said his mother as she patted him on the back.
“Make a wish before that candle melts, buddy!” his father told him.
Nightwatch closed his eyes for a few seconds and then blew out the candle as his parents cheered for him.
“YAAAAY! Gosh, I can’t believe you’re already ten years old. You grow up so fast!” his mother said as she hugged him.
“So what did you wish for?” asked his father?
“I wished for a new sister!”
Nightwatch’s parents glanced at each other nervously, but did their best to keep smiling. It wasn’t unusual for him to make such a wish. A while ago, Aurora was to give birth to a female unicorn, but the baby did not make it. This affected Nightwatch badly, and his parents were scared of having another miscarriage. He was looking forward to being a big brother, but this loss didn’t keep him from wishing for another one.
“Aw, sweetie…” his mother said. “We know you really want a sister, but maybe you should wish for something that’s, how shall I put it…a little easier for us to get you?”
“Like a telescope?” his father blurted out as his mother glared at him like he was giving away a secret.
“I know you guys might not be able to give me a little sister someday, but I’ll keep wishing for one,” Nightwatch said, cheerfully.
“Well, okay then, honey. Never hurts to be optimistic,” his mother said, petting him on the head.
“We’ll get the cake ready tonight and then open your presents after we eat supper,” his father explained as he went to sit back down at the couch to read a newspaper.
“Can’t wait!” he said.
“In the meantime, you’ve got the whole day to yourself to see if you can work on those magic spells you’ve been practicing,” his mother told him as he walked to the front door.
“I think I’ll try the magic spells later. Can I go for a walk by the forest, Dad?”
“Yeah, just don’t go too deep into it.”
“Alright, I’ll be back. Thanks for the cupcake, Mom!”
Nightwatch nuzzled up to his mother and she gave him a kiss on the forehead. He then picked up the cupcake with his magic and munched on it, while walking out the front door. After the door closed, his mother appeared somewhat upset.
“Midnight, should I tell him I’ve been having trouble getting pregnant?” Aurora asked.
“I don’t know, honey. I don’t think he’ll take it so well,” Midnight responded.
“I hope there’s nothing wrong with me. We’ve been trying so hard ever since we lost Twinkle. I just wish I could give him a sister.”
“I know. We’ll keep trying. We should still be thankful to have him.”
“I am. Even if he’s the only one, he’s still my precious baby.”
Aurora looked out the window as she saw Nightwatch walking across the yard into the forest by their house.
Nightwatch trotted along a path in the forest as he finished eating his cupcake. He listened as the birds continued to chirp and the light breeze shook the branches of the trees around him. He walked on slowly, trying to guess what he might get for his birthday later that night. He walked a bit further into the forest where there was more shade. He didn’t want to go too far, but he loved being outside on beautiful days like this. As he looked around, marveling at nature, something caught his eye. He noticed something shiny in the distance about a hundred yards away. He didn’t think too much of it at first but was curious enough to walk on till he got closer. It could have been a fallen branch seen in the sunlight, but it was too bright and small. As he got closer, its shape appeared more round and smooth, almost like it was a stone. Once he got close enough, he could finally make it out clearly. It was a yellow egg sitting in a patch of grass with a single ray of sunlight beating down on it.
“Huh? Is that an egg? What kind of egg is it?”
Nightwatch walked closer to the egg and examined it. He wasn’t sure if it was a large bird egg or a reptile’s, though the large darker yellow spots on it seemed to indicate it could be a dragon egg like the ones he had seen in a book he had. He wondered what a dragon egg was doing out here in this climate all by itself. According to the book he read, dragons would usually dwell in mountains and volcanic areas and would keep their eggs together in the same spot. No dragon would keep its egg in an area like this. It was too cool for it to be incubated in the forest, but the sunlight might have made it warm enough. He reached over with his hoof and gave the egg a light tap. Suddenly, it wiggled and made a sound. He thought it may be ready to hatch but wasn’t strong enough to break the egg yet.
“Uh…hello? Is this somebody’s egg?” he called out.
He waited for a few seconds and there was no answer. He was so eager to know what was in this egg; he decided to try hatching it since it was clearly ready to break open. He charged up his horn with some magic and zapped the egg. The egg sat still for a few seconds. The top began to bulge until it chipped open and a small yellow tail with a pink heart-shaped tip emerged. Right next to it emerged two legs, revealing a small female dragon that had hatched upside down. She flapped her tail about and finally turned herself upright. The rest of her body was yellow and she had a lighter yellow underbelly. There were rounded pink spikes on her head and going down her back to the end of her tail. The pink fins on the side of her head were also shaped like hearts. She rubbed her eyes and then opened them to reveal bright blue irises with slit pupils. She stared curiously at the little unicorn and then smiled. Nightwatch stared with his mouth open. He wasn’t sure how to react. He knew this dragon didn’t belong to him and her parents were probably wondering where she was, but perhaps she had been abandoned or dropped during a migration. Something seemed so charming about this little dragon and Nightwatch couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Uh…hey there, little one. Where did you come from? Are your parents around?” he said, nervously.
The dragon opened her mouth and laughed as she pushed forward on the egg till it fell down on its side. She crawled out of it and hugged his leg. She had clearly already taken a liking to him. Nightwatch was a bit shocked at first, but he remembered the wish he had made earlier. Perhaps this was the sister he had been wishing for all this time and now he finally had one. He couldn’t just leave her out in the wild, so he decided to take her back home.
“Aw, it’s okay,” he said, petting her on the head. “I can take care of you. Maybe I’ll ask my parents if it’s okay. I always did want a little sister.”
The dragon walked to his side and looked like she was trying to climb up on him. She was still too weak so he used his magic to place her onto his back.
“I wonder what I should name you,” he said, looking back at her as she continued to giggle. “You kind of look like the buttercream cupcake my mom gave me earlier… You know what? I’m gonna call you that from now on: Buttercream.”
Before leaving to go back home, Nightwatch used his magic to lift the egg and all it's pieces to take as a memento. He then began walking back on the path and was in front of his house in no time. Buttercream kept cooing and giggling as she took in her surroundings. Nightwatch stopped in front of the door to think a bit before opening. He wasn’t sure how his parents would react to this, but they were both very kind and accepting. He had no doubt they would be okay with him keeping Buttercream around. He had already made up his mind that he wanted this little dragon to be his sister anyway, so there was no stopping him. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Inside, Aurora was cleaning some dishes while Midnight was still reading his newspaper. They both heard he door opening and the sounds Buttercream was making.
“Nightwatch, is that you?” asked his mother.
“Mom, Dad, come see what I found,” he said.
“Uh oh. Did you find another one of those salamanders under the…” Midnight began to say until he saw his son.
Aurora walked over towards the front door and saw Nightwatch standing there with something on his back and a big yellow egg shell on the floor next to him. She couldn’t make it out at first but then noticed a little yellow head with big cute eyes behind him. At first she thought it was a pony until Nightwatch turned to the side. She saw that it had digits and a tail with little spikes. Midnight walked over next to her with his mouth hanging open. For a few seconds they stared, unsure of how to respond.
“Can we keep her?” Nightwatch asked.
“Is…is that a dragon?” asked Midnight.
“Awww, she’s so cute!” said Aurora.
“I found her out in the forest. I even brought her egg.”
“What is a dragon doing around here anyway?” Midnight said as she walked over to get a closer look at Buttercream. “Eh, buddy, I’m not sure if we should keep her. Are you sure her parent’s aren’t around?”
“Well the book I read said they don’t nest around here, so I’m guessing she was dropped or something. Either that or maybe one of those giant birds was carrying her and dropped her in the forest.”
“Oh, you mean rocs. Yeah, those things do like to go after young dragons.”
“Oh, Midnight, I don’t see the problem with keeping her,” Aurora said. “We can’t just leave her in the forest by herself.”
“Well hold on now, dear,” Midnight said, as he turned to his son, “Nightwatch, if we keep her in this house, you have to promise to help us take care of her. She’s going to be a bit of a hassle, especially since we don’t know much about dragons. Understood?”
“Yes, Dad. I’ll take care of her just like I’d take care of Twinkle if she were still around. I did wish for a sister after all.”
Midnight and Aurora looked at each other and smiled after hearing their son say this. Perhaps this was meant to be and this little dragon would be a blessing to their family after all.
“I guess you’ve got a point,” Midnight said. “So have you named her yet?”
“I named her Buttercream cuz she looks like Mom’s cupcakes.”
“Aw, that’s just precious! Speaking of which, she looks like she’s hungry, sweetie. Do you know what dragons eat?”
“The book said they like to eat gems, but they’ll eat just about anything. Maybe we should see if she actually likes one of your cupcakes?”
“That sounds like an idea!”
Nightwatch walked over to the table and hopped up into a chair while holding Buttercream with his magic. He then placed her on his lap while his mother brought out another cupcake. She placed it in front of Buttercream who stared at the cupcake for a few seconds and sniffed it.
“Give it a try, Buttercream. It’s delicious!” Nightwatch told his little sister.
Buttercream then licked her lips as if she already knew the cupcake would taste good. She lunged forward, grabbed the cupcake and stuffed it in her mouth. She chomped away as crumbs fell onto the table and she left icing all over her lips.
“Whoa! She’s a real eater already!” Midnight said.
“Her first meal!” Aurora added.
Buttercream giggled and licked the icing on her lips with her forked tongue.
“Do you like it?” Nightwatch asked.
Buttercream’s cheeks puffed up. She opened up her mouth and burped loudly. Everyone was silent for about one second before they burst into laughter. Buttercream laughed with them and flailed her arms around, bobbing up and down in Nightwatch’s lap. Nightwatch cuddled up to her and she nuzzled him back.
“You’re gonna be a great sister, Buttercream!” he said.