//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Total Eclipse of the Heart // Story: The Foals of Harmony: Equestrian Rhapsody // by Rainy Meadows //------------------------------// WARNING: This chapter is not recommended for those with weak hearts, unless you want to die of a heart attack from D’AWW overload. Don’t say you weren’t warned! Without a word, Hex passed the newborn foal over to his mother, who stroked his face with a trembling hoof. “Oh my... gosh,” she whispered. The baby’s coat was pale blue, identical to that of his father, and also like his father his mane and tail were both navy blue. However, this navy was complimented with strips of brilliant red and yellow, and he looked out at the world with deep pink eyes just like his mother’s. “He’s adorable,” said Twilight. “I mean, I know that all babies are cute, but...” She trailed off, feeling that these kinds of comments were not really necessary in a situation such as this. “Twilight,” said Hex, “I think we’d better let these three have some time on their own, don’t you?” “You may be right,” said Twilight, and the two unicorns left the new pegasus family alone on the upper floor of the library. When they got downstairs, they found five pairs of eyes staring up at them in nervous anticipation. “Well, how’d it go?” asked Applejack. “They doin’ okay?”’ Hex smiled. “It’s a colt,” he announced, “and he’s absolutely adorable.” This was met with smattered applause from the assembled crowd, much to the brown unicorn’s apparent surprise. “What’s that for?” he asked. “What do you mean, what’s that for?” asked Twilight. “You were fantastic, Hex. I bet any other pony would have freaked out completely if Rainbow Dash suddenly went into labour. I know Spike did.” “What?” said Spike in angered protest. “No I didn’t!” “Spike,” said Hex, “I bet that if we hadn’t got you to round everypony up you would have just stood in the library for the rest of the day saying ‘oh my gosh’ over and over again, because you were certainly heading that way!” Everypony else laughed while Spike turned a furious shade of red. “How’s Rainbow Dash?” asked Fluttershy. “C-can we go and see her?” “I dunno about that,” said Twilight as she sat down with her friends. “Celestia knows how exhausted she must be. Soarin’ too. I don’t think anypony’s ever flown all the way here from Canterlot alone before, or made a Sonic Rainboom in the process. I think we should leave it until tomorrow morning.” “You should have seen the disarray he caused in your library, Twilight,” said Rarity. “He slammed Applejack, poor Spikey-Wikey and Pinkie Pie into the bookcase over there!” “Huh,” said Twilight, “I was wondering why it looked a little disorganised.” She immediately got to reshelving the bookcase. “So Hexie, what does the baby look like?” asked Pinkie, excited as she usually was. “Is he blue, like Dashie, or blue like his daddy? Ooh, with a pretty mane? Does he-” “Wait a minute, wait a minute, back up,” said Hex. “Did you just call me Hexie?!” “Sure!” said Pinkie. “I give all of my best buddies nicknames, like Dashie and Jackie!” “Jackie?” Applejack raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Ah never heard ya call me that.” “Well no wonder, silly, because I just made it up!” Pinkie squeaked happily. “I for one believe that Rainbow Dash is extremely fortunate to have found a stallion who was willing to surrender his career to be with her,” Rarity commented. “Heaven knows that my romantic endeavours have thus far proved entirely unsuccessful.” “Well if you ask me, that jerk deserved every bit of cake he got,” said Spike, and grumbled “Messing with my Rarity, why I oughta-” “What was that?” “Nothing!” “You don’t have anything to worry about, Rarity,” Fluttershy said meekly, “I’m positive you’ll find a stallion who’s right for you. That is, if it’s what you really want, after all...” “Thank you darling, that is most uplifting,” said Rarity, “but unfortunately I daresay that all of the most eligible males in Equestria either already have lady friends of their own or are otherwise uninterested in a personal, intimate relationship on that level. I fear that even if I search every corner of the world I may never find the right stallion for me.” “Oh yeah?” Applejack said slyly. “Then would ya mind explainin’ the looks y’all kept shootin’ at mah crazy cousin that time we all went out to visit him in Appleloosa?” “Wh-what are you talking about?” Rarity stuttered quickly as her friends started giggling. “I-I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about!” “You’re blushing!” Pinkie sang, as her fashionista buddy glowed like a tomato. “I have by no means in my life had those kinds of thoughts about Braeburn, of all ponies!” said Rarity objectively. “He was simply far too motor-mouthed for my liking! Not to mention that dreadfully unfashionable hat and vest that he insisted on wearing for the entire duration of our stay – one would think he would clothe himself more formally for a visit from his own family – and of course it must be taken into account that he had the most spellbinding eyes and oh, sweet mother of Celestia, that MANE! Those glossy, careless golden locks that perfectly framed that oh so astonishingly handsome face...” She trailed off. Everypony was staring at her. “Y’know, he is single,” said Applejack with a wry grin. After a few seconds more of awkward silence, Pinkie Pie burst out laughing, apparently for no reason other than she could. When nopony else joined in, she hid behind her forehooves and muttered a quick “Sorry!” Hex cast another cursory glance upwards. “You know what I think?” he said. “I think Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ are gonna make a great mother and father. I know I would have wanted a mother and father like them when I was growing up.” After another moment of thoughtful silence, he got to his hooves and said “Well, best be making tracks,” before starting to head for the door. “Huh?” said Twilight. She glanced around, having finished her reshelving, and ran over to him as he reached the exit with a cry of “Hex, wait!” “What is it?” asked the inventor. Twilight gulped – carefully, in case anypony else saw it. “Stay here tonight,” she said. “In the library.” “Really?” asked Hex. “The new family’s already upstairs, where are we going to sleep?” “There’s... always the couch.” “You say ‘the’ implying that there’s only one.” By now you could have roasted an egg on the unfortunately mortified purple unicorn’s face. “I was kinda thinking we could... share,” she said. She fleetingly looked at the rest of her friends, all of whom were watching the unfolding events with unfathomable fascination. “Okay,” said Hex. “What?” “I said okay! Besides, Dash and the kid are probably gonna need somepony to keep a proper eye on them during the night.” Twilight smiled in a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment, and then to the surprise of everypony in the room (Hex especially) she stood up on the tips of her hooves and kissed him on the cheek. Everypony else in the room gave an appreciative “Ooooooh!” “I knew it!” Spike shouted. “I knew you fancied him! You’ve liked him ever since you first met!” “You what?” Twilight and Hex demanded at the same time. After that they could only stand there and blush while their friends all laughed at their misfortune, Twilight making a mental note to take away Spike’s ice cream privileges for the rest of the week. Even though it had already been hours, Soarin’ could hardly believe what was happening. He had a son. The tiny colt yawned and looked up at his father with his big rose coloured eyes, which shone like flawless rubies in the soft orange light of the setting sun outside. He had a son. “Hey,” said Soarin’. “Hi, little guy! It’s me! Your dad!” He nuzzled the foal’s stomach, causing him to giggle delightfully, and the infant pegasus hugged his father’s muzzle with his tiny pale blue hooves. Soarin’ couldn’t help but laugh himself. He had a son! “Well, damn if that isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Rainbow Dash, her voice noticeably strained with exhaustion. She placed a hoof on Soarin’s shoulder and leaned on him, tickling her son with her other hoof. “You should get some sleep,” said Soarin’, “after everything you’ve been through. You deserve it, and I don’t want you forcing yourself to stay awake just because of me.” Dash yawned. “You... really think so?” she asked. “I know so,” Soarin’ said, and his lover settled herself down upon his shoulder, sighing contentedly. “He’s perfect,” the stallion remarked. “You know, it’s-it’s hard to believe that a guy with a life like mine – my parents dying with nothing I could do, alcoholism, salt addiction – could be the father of somepony so...” He trailed off, unable to find the right words to express his joy. “Rainbow?” Her eyes were closed, and her breathing had become slow and quiet. She was clearly in as deep a slumber as any new mother could be. With her asleep upon his shoulder, Soarin’ turned once more to the infant he cradled in his hooves. “I never wanted any of that, you know,” he said. “I know... I know you probably can’t understand a single word I’m saying, but I promise you, I’m not gonna let you have the life I did. I’m gonna- I’m going to be there for you, kid. You and your mother are the best things that have ever happened in my entire life, and I-” The baby reached up and placed a hoof on his father’s muzzle, effectively shutting his mouth. The ex-Wonderbolt found himself tearing up against his will, and he smiled more blissfully than he ever had in his entire life. “I love you,” he said. “I swear it. I love you and Rainbow Dash with all my heart, and I’m gonna be there for you!” The baby gurgled happily and started giggling. It was the single sweetest thing any new father could experience. “We’re gonna have so much fun, you and me,” he said. “Me and your mom – we’re gonna teach you how to fly, and how to do stunts, and it... it’s going to be amazing. You... you are going to be amazing.” “He sure is.” Soarin’ turned to the sleepy young mare that was resting on his shoulder. She gazed back up at him lovingly through her exhausted rose-coloured eyes. “I thought you were asleep!” he said. “I never thought you could be so adorable,” said Dash, “but you’re right. He – we – are going to be amazing together.” The stallion couldn’t help but smile, and he passed the infant back to his mother, who took him and cradled him, and gently gave him an affectionate nuzzle. The baby reached up and hugged his mother’s face, as he had done to his father beforehand, and Soarin’ reached over and stroked his tiny mane, which just made him smile all the more. “So,” he said, “what should we call him?” “I don’t know,” said Dash. “In the past hour I’ve gone over a billion names in my head, but none of them seem to sound right.” She looked at her lover. “Do you have any ideas?” “Well,” said Soarin’, “there is one that I can’t get out of my head, but... nah, you’d think it’s stupid.” “Try me,” Dash said, smiling mischievously as if she was daring him to disappoint her. So he told her. She was quiet for a moment, running the name around in her head and trying out the sound. “I like it,” she concluded. “And... and it suits him, don’t you think?” “Yeah,” said Soarin’, “it actually does. I just- it came into my head, and now I can see what he looks like, it-it really does suit him.” Dash hugged her child close, making it clear that she loved him with all her heart. The stallion of her dreams wrapped his hooves around her and kissed her on the forehead, before looking back at their baby. “You were right,” said Dash, “he is perfect.” “And it’s thanks to you,” said Soarin’. “You’re the most incredible mare I’ve ever met, Rainbow Dash.” “And you’re the most incredible stallion, Soarin’.” “I love you.” “I love you too.” When Twilight woke up the next morning, it took her a moment to remember what had happened yesterday, and why she was lying on her couch with a terracotta hoof draped over her body. And when she did remember, she blushed so furiously that she had to get up in case the heat from her face accidentally set her friend’s coat on fire. She saw him lying there, dead to the world; glasses askew, every hair in his mane standing almost vertically, with a small dangly string of drool slowly dripping down from the corner of his mouth and almost touching the fabric of the couch. She giggled – quietly, so as not to wake him up – and used a handy tissue to wipe away the drying drool. He had been so incredible yesterday; so calm and together despite the panicky situation when he was usually so energetic and... Twilight wasn’t really sure she had a crush on him anymore. It seemed to have almost gone beyond that. She had looked through every book on emotions that the library had in store, and now she was absolutely convinced about one thing: For the very first time in her entire life, Twilight Sparkle was in love. Ever since she had first met Hex, she’d had this... feeling about him. Like he was special. It had turned out she was right, of course – he was an alien from one of ninety nine alternative dimensions, and a rather handsome one at that – but it was more than that; a different kind of special. She could see now why Rainbow Dash had befriended him: he seemed to have a certain charm about him, an aura of charisma which was hard to resist. She’d liked him from the moment she’d seen him, obviously, and she was pretty sure everypony else had too, but it wasn’t until recently that she’d started to not just have feelings about him, but feelings for him as well. But that wasn’t really too important right now. Twilight then cast her eye around the rest of the library, and shoved a hoof into her mouth. She had to try very, very hard not to laugh. Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity had steadfastly refused to leave the library while Rainbow Dash was still there, and so now they were all strewn haphazardly around the main library area – Pinkie easily taking home the Most Unusual Position award for balancing on her head with her back leaning against a bookshelf. Fluttershy was curled up on a table, cuddling Spike like a soft toy, Applejack was laid on her back near the stairs, and Rarity was slumped over the farmer, stroking her mane affectionately. “Ooh, Braeburn,” the fashionista cooed in her sleep. It took all of Twilight’s self control not to burst out laughing, so she allowed herself a quiet giggle and decided to leave it at that. Rarity would have one heck of a surprise when she woke up! As quietly as was possible, she climbed the stairs up to the second floor of the library, and what she saw almost made her heart explode. Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ were huddled together, fast asleep, supporting their newborn child between them. Rainbow Dash had her muzzle buried deeply into the side of Soarin’s neck, and the stallion himself was smiling in the way that clearly said ‘I’m okay with this’. Their son was curled up in a tight ball, snoozing gently between his mother and father. Again, Twilight summoned up herself control, but this time to not squee so loudly she brought the whole building crashing down. Behind her, she heard the telltale *click* of somepony taking a photograph of the scene. “I’ve seen stars explode,” whispered Hex, “I’ve seen planets made up of nothing but unconnected rocks, I’ve raced on dragons and giant flying motorbikes, and I’ve even piloted a spaceship which basically looks like nothing more than a blue box (which was bigger on the inside) but I have never, ever, in all my years, seen anything as adorable as that.” “They must be so proud,” said Twilight, “and with everything that’s happened in both their lives, I think they deserve a little bit of happiness.” She looked at the camera he was supporting before him in a bright green glow. “One thing I learned during my travels,” said Hex, “is that you never know how long a good thing is going to last, so you’ll want to make the most of it while it’s happening. I wish I’d known that when I was a kid, but then again, I might not be here today if I had. I... I’d never have met you.” For a moment they did nothing but admire the cuteness of the three pegasi as the sun grew ever higher in the sky outside. ‘I wish I knew what he was thinking,’ Twilight thought, and hoped that Hex wouldn’t see her looking at him out of the corner of her eye. ‘When I was living in Canterlot, I never made time for any kinds of relationships, whether they were with classmates or with colts, or even colt classmates. I wonder what exactly I was missing out on...’ “You never expect it to happen, do you?” said Hex. Twilight looked at him and said “What do you mean?” “Stuff like this,” said Hex. “You never expect it to happen. I mean, we all knew it had to – Dash couldn’t just keep getting bigger, could she? – but still, you never expect it to just... happen, do you?” She knew what he meant. If you expect something to happen, and keep waiting for it and letting the anticipation build up, that just makes it all the more shocking when it does. It was like undertaking a dare to sleep in a haunted house for a night: you know that there’re ghosts there, and you stay awake all night just in case, but that just makes it scarier when/if the ghosts did show up. Not that Twilight believed in ghosts, of course. She was far too sensible for that. Mind you... In the time she had known Hex, she had started to call into question everything she had thought she knew about the supernatural. She knew for sure now that aliens existed, having almost been killed by them more times than she would like to count, and if they were real, who was to say that ghosts and zombies and things like that were as out of the question as she had previously believed? It was like the guy had waltzed right up to her with a pin and popped the bubble she had been living in since she had started studying under Princess Celestia. “You know,” she said, “I’ve never met anypony like you, Hex. You’re like me – intelligent, obsessed with science, kinda antisocial – but at the same time, you take all of that in stride and turn it into something fantastic.” “You...” the lightning-flanked scientist seemed to be working out what to say. “You really think I’m antisocial?” “You live on top of a mountain with a dog that you constructed yourself,” said Twilight, “how can you call that anything except antisocial?” “Hey, that was just a project!” Hex objected. “During my travels through the multiverse, I kinda wanted a companion who wouldn’t call me a nerd every few minutes, and so I built the Canine Artificial Intelligence or CAI for short. I considered calling him K-9 but that name was already taken by a dog in dimension 63. I do admit that he behaves exactly like an ordinary dog would – I have to take him out a couple of times a day to get rid of the waste produced from his fuel supply – but apart from that he’s just a robot.” “Shhh!” Twilight raised a hoof to her lips and pointed at the slumbering pegasi who, thankfully, had not been awakened by the annoyed unicorn’s rant. “I really admire you, Twilight,” he whispered. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life (I think I said that already) but I could never do half the stuff you do.” Twilight smiled and said “I could say the same about you.” “Hey,” said Hex, and now he sounded mischievous, “did you see Applejack and Rarity on the way up?” “Of course!” said Twilight. “Who could miss them?” “It’s just that when I was coming up here, Rarity was lying slumped over Applejack, sucking on her ear and occasionally talking approvingly about somepony called Braeburn.” And then... “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” ...said Rarity. “APPLEJACK!” she cried as she tried to clamber as far away from the farmer as possible, “WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME THAT I WAS SALIVATING UPON YOUR EAR?!” “Well, Ah dunno if you noticed, but Ah was asleep!” Applejack pointed out. “And Ah couldn’t tell ya y’all was suckin’ mah ear because Ah was asleep!” “What the- Fluttershy?!” Spike hurriedly leapt out of his captor’s hooves. “Oh my, I’m so sorry, Spike,” said Fluttershy, “it’s just that I usually sleep with Angel Bunny, he gets so scared of the dark.” “You guys looked ridiculous!” said Pinkie. “And it was sooo funny because Fluttershy was hugging Spike sooo tight and it was sooooooo adorable and Rarity was cuddling Applejack and it was cute and hilarious at the same time because she was asleep and dreaming which meant she thought that she was cuddling Braeburn!” “What? Pinkie!” “What? You did! And it was so super-duper cute I thought my heart was gonna explode!” “What in smeg’s name has been going on down here?” All eyes turned to the brown unicorn who had poked his head out at the top of the stairs, and everypony tried desperately to regain their composure and act like nothing had happened. “Do you always sleep like that, Pinkie?” Hex asked. “It’s actually rather, well, bizarre. I’d almost go as far as to say unnerving. I don’t think I’ve ever met a pony who slept standing on their head.” Pinkie giggled. “Silly!” she said. “You can’t stand on your head because then you’d have to take it off and you can’t take your head off because it’s attached to the rest of you! Except if you were a magician of course, then you could cut ponies up and they would be absolutely fine!” Hex just stared. “Anyway,” he said after a while, “Rainbow Dash was wondering if the rest of her honorary family would like to meet their newest member.” “REALLY?!” Pinkie shouted, and she zoomed straight past the bewildered Hex. “EEEEE he’ssoadorable!” she squealed from out of sight. “Come and look guys, come and look, quick! Quickly!” Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike took this as their cue to follow their overly excitable friend to the upper floor of the library and meet the new baby. Rainbow Dash, with dark shadows of fatigue circling her eyes and a contented smile playing on her lips, was holding her son in her hooves as Soarin’ tickled his stomach, causing him to giggle in the cutest manner possible. Dash looked up, her exhausted pink eyes illuminating as she saw her friends. “Hey guys,” she said. “Everypony – and Spike – I’d like you all to meet my son, Lightning Strike. Pieface here picked the name.” She gestured affectionately to Soarin’, and to the baby she said “Lightning, I want to introduce your aunt AJ, aunt Rarity, aunt Fluttershy, aunt Pinkie, aunt Twilight, uncle Spike, and your uncle Hex. I know, it’s a lot to take in, but... you’ll get used to it.” “Well Ah’ll be,” said Applejack. “Soarin’, he looks just like you!” “Indeed,” Rarity added, “he does seem to favour you in an extraordinary fashion.” “Except for his eyes!” Pinkie chirruped. “They look just like Dashie’s, all pink and rosy and shiny! And his mane is prettier as well and oh my gosh he’s just so CUTE!!!” “Lightning Strike,” said Hex. “That’s an interesting name. How did you come up with it?” “I dunno,” Soarin’ confessed. “It just sorta popped in there.” “I’m just asking because I heard of a guy named Lightning Strike,” the scientist explained. “He was a fighter, one of the best around in his dimension; that is, until he got betrayed and killed and his kid had to take up the task.” “That’s not gonna happen to our Lightning,” said Dash. “He’s gonna have a good life. The best there is.” It was at that moment that Pinkie Pie exploded up between her friends and the happy couple, sporting a party hat on her head and a large cake balanced on one hoof. “You need to celebrate your birthday, Lightning, ‘coz you were just born yesterday!” she cried ecstatically, and waved the cake in front of his face saying “Quick, blow out the candles on the cake, which is easy, because there are zero candles! You are zero years old after all!” “Simmer down, Sally,” said Applejack, and she dragged the peppy pink party pony back by her tail. “Don’t wanna scare the kid on his very first day in the world, do ya?” “He’s...” Fluttershy had been keeping quiet for the entire time she was there, as if she were searching for the right words to express what she was thinking. “He’s just... perfect.” The words had the right effect, as everypony was plunged deep into thought while Lightning Strike gurgled happily. “You said it,” said Dash. “Perfect.” “Spike, are you okay?” asked Twilight. “You haven’t said a word all morning.” The dragon in question had not taken his eyes off the baby the entire time had been in the room, and it could not have been clearer that he was in need of a tissue if there was a big neon sign over his head reading “THIS DRAGON IS CRYING!!!” in flashing multicoloured letters. “Oh, it’s nothing,” he said, hurriedly wiping his face. “It’s just- I had something in my eye, and-” “Something in your eye, huh?” said Hex. “Then tell us: which one?” “Huh?” “Which eye do you have that something in?” “Oh, well, it’s-” But it was too little, too late: everypony had already cracked up laughing. It was such a wonderful moment, Twilight thought later. All of them gathered together in one place, not a care in the world between them. And the night before, she had kissed Hex. Well, on the cheek, anyway. He was clearly starting to get suspicious of her, and she knew exactly what the reason was. All she had to do now was to wait for the correct moment, and seize the opportunity as soon as it arose... In hindsight, she shouldn’t have been so quick to drop her guard. Because if she hadn’t, every detail of what happened next could have never even transpired. NEXT TIME: Holding Out for a Hero part 1 “Hey, who are you? What do you-?” “Sedate her, quick!” “Spike! Dude, are you okay?” “Look, all I want is to go home! Just tell me what you want from me and I’ll be happy to give it to you!” “Oh, I know that, Little Miss Purple, but I hardly think you’ll be willing to give up what I want...” Author's Note: If you are reading this, then I can only assume that you managed to avoid dying of a heart attack, so good on you for survival skills! As you can probably tell, the dark tag is about to come into effect... because