From that moment on, Carbon Skies and Quillflower were a couple that expressed total adoration for each other. It was enough to warm the heart of anyone who witnessed the affection they shared. They became engaged about a year after Carbon Skies proclaimed his love for Quillflower and in due time, their wedding finally took place. By the time they did marry however, Carbon Skies had recently passed the prime of his youth. He was just in his thirties although he appeared somewhat older, most likely due to the stress of his work; all to invest in what would become the Blight Mill. During their engagement, Quillflower managed to finish one of her stories and Carbon Skies, just as he promised, helped her make arrangements with a publisher. Her story was about a young stallion who decided to go on a journey in his hot-air balloon, and travels so high into the sky he lands on the moon, discovering life and civilisations unlike any known in Equestria. The book was a moderate success, having sold well and garnered a great amount of appeal and became often talked about among readers. Quillflower seemed pleased with her work.
Although Copper Springs offered, as father of the bride-to-be, to pay for the wedding and help pay for their house, Carbon Skies insisted on waiting until he had more money of his own to support the family he and Quillflower hoped to become. In the end, Quillflower persuaded Carbon Skies to allow both their fathers pay for the wedding. Even then, while he was truly grateful for Copper Spring’s offer, Carbon Skies wished to at least pay as much as he could for the property that he and Quillflower had chosen.
When they finally married, with a new home in their possession, Carbon Skies promised to his wife, ‘My flower, I can assure you this house will be a fine enough, no, better… a perfect place for our family! The children can grow up with everything they need here. They shall grow up to become greater minds than this city probably ever deserves!’
Quillflower simply wished to take up writing her stories, all of which she would eager to share with the children she hoped for when she and Carbon Skies finally settled down in their new home.
Even as rich city housing goes, the Carbon Skies and Quillflower estate was a modest one. Its rooms weren’t necessarily numerous compared to others but they were certainly all impressive in size. There was enough room for the essentials – bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and dining area – as well as the sort of comforts a wealthy homeowner would probably expect to have, including a decent sized servants quarters. They had a modest number of servants around the house. There were two house-servants, both Earth Ponies, a young stallion named Beckon Call and a mare who went by the name Clean Sweep. There was also a cook, Secret Recipe, who was a Unicorn and an Earth Pony named Spokes who worked as a chauffeur. Out of the three bedrooms, Carbon Skies and Quillflower both agreed to make the largest of them a guest room. They then claimed one of the other two, which were beside each other and of equal size. The other room was to be for their awaited addition to the family.
There was also a magnificent library to house all the books Quillflower had ever owned, with plenty of room still for any more she would hope to acquire in the near future. There was another room, which functioned as a lounge, where Carbon Skies used to entertain his male guests with rounds of billiards and fine liquors and the chance to carry out their evening banter. Finally, there was the study, a room much smaller than either the library or the lounge where either Carbon Skies could sort out his business plans and finances, or where Quillflower could write her stories.
Their home was located close to the central area of Birminghoof and yet, the sky never seemed dulled by the city smoke. The back of the house had a small garden that also faced a park, the entrance of it looked like the opening to a small area of woodland. The garden itself was predominantly filled with roses. They brought on a splendid flourish of colour to the greenery. There were roses in white, yellow and blue but most of all they came in wondrous shades of pink and red. At the side of the garden opposite to the park entrance, there was a small wooden structure. It was a bench bleached with white paint and its arched frame overhead covered in leafy crawling vines. The vines appeared to have wrapped the structure in such a way they appeared as if they were caressing it.
When they were expecting, Quillflower made sure to ready some shelves in her library, not only to bring together the books she remembered reading and having read to her as a foal but to prepare a space for her own stories. If she wasn’t in the study writing more for her stories, Quillflower was out in the rose garden reading. She began writing more and more as her pregnancy progressed to the point Carbon Skies would see her at the study desk, jotting away well into the night. He grew concerned for her health and insisted that she give herself more time to rest, at least until the baby was born. Surely, Quillflower conceded into not letting her enthusiasm get the best her, not only putting her husband at ease but also herself. Instead, she made do with her usual nightly activity every time she put herself to bed; Quillflower would always have a book at her bedside to read through for a good hour before she finally let herself fall asleep. It was certainly more comfortable and relieving for the mind than slaving one’s self away at a dimly lit desk every night.
However, not long before the date of their child’s birth, Quillflower came down with a fever. She felt increasingly uncomfortable, especially during the last few weeks of her pregnancy. In that time, Carbon Skies had employed one of the finest doctors in the city. As much as he dreaded the thought of it, Carbon Skies wanted to be prepared for the worst.
Eventually that time had come, when the longest twelve hours fell upon the house. Carbon Skies waited most anxiously outside the room. Knowledge of Quillflower’s most recent condition made it difficult for him to stand still for even a moment. He was afraid for her, desperate to rush in but he knew that there wasn’t anything he could really do to help and he never wished to disrupt the doctor or the two mares that he had brought over to aid in the delivery. The maid Clean Sweep had also come to aid. She rushed into the bedroom, along with bundles of towels and a basin filled with warm water. All the while, Carbon Skies stood aside all this never fully observing what was going on, only being aware that nothing he knew or was capable of would be of any use. He understood all this but it tore at him nevertheless. He never believed he would have slept for a moment that night.
Carbon Skies shook himself when he felt the sunlight of the next day broke through the horizon, peering into the front windows. As he woke, Carbon Skies caught himself in an awkward slumped posture where he had fallen asleep while sat on the chair he set up just beside the bedroom door. Grogginess stabbed at his brain. Even if he had slept at all, he knew it must not have been for long. A quick look at a large mirror in the living room revealed his bloodshot eyes, with intense lines underneath them. However, what was more disconcerting to him than his current appearance was the realisation that there wasn’t a sound to be heard from anywhere in the house.
A short moment later, the doctor stepped into the room and called to Carbon Skies. When Carbon Skies approached him, the doctor spoke in a solemn tone, ‘You can see them now.’
When Carbon Skies entered the bedroom, he could see that the maid had been dismissed though the two mares who worked through the night as midwives were still present. They would leave shortly after Carbon Skies entered the room. The bedroom was dark, with just a small glint of sunlight coming in from the edges of the windows. There was enough light coming in though to see Quillflower lying there, cradling a small bundle of sheets in her forehooves. Early into her pregnancy, Quillflower seemed fuller and had a heart-warming glow about her. Earlier still, she always had such a delicate appearance, her white body like a porcelain doll in its bell jar. During that moment when Carbon Skies saw her in their bed however, she looked more fragile than ever.
Despite the concern clearly seen on her husband’s face, Quillflower remained beaming. She held herself upright by leaning against the pillows behind her. Her body still awkwardly slumped down against the bed frame. She held up the newborn foal as closely as she could to Carbon Skies when he approached the bed. Even then, he had to lean closely to see its face, or pick them up in his own hooves.
‘It’s a girl…’ Quillflower murmured weakly. She seemed to struggle holding her own smile more than the baby.
Carbon Skies held and looked at the foal as if in great awe, ‘Oh!... She looks so beautiful! And healthy too, thank Celestia!’
The tiny filly had a fur coat that was pale, creamy beige. The mane clung to the top of her forehead, some strands hung over her face softly like wet petals of a vermillion orchid. Her eyes more often than not remained shut. Though, when they did squint open, a small glimmer of emerald green could be seen.
Both Carbon Skies and Quillflower were overwhelmed. Joy welled up in their chests so much it hurt, as tears ran from the corner of their eyes.
‘…Bliss!’ Quillflower called out while exhaling, her hooves brought together under her chin as if she was in prayer. Carbon Skies looked to her, neither of them showing any signs of their smiles fading. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘She truly is! That shall be her name.’ Quillflower slowly nodded in approval.
Finally, more of the sunlight came into the room as the sun rose higher into the sky. Now, the whole house seemed to be flourishing with the light. The house’s garden near the woods appeared to sprout up in the sun’s rays, like a pulse of the heart, as the roses swayed to the gentleness of the wind.
It was the happiest this family ever was.