If, back when he had first joined the royal guard, anypony had told Flash Sentry he would form a close emotional bond with a baby alicorn, Flash would have laughed in their face. Even if he was stationed to help guard the Crystal Empire and thus had close contact with Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, Flash considered himself a nice, average guard. Why in Equestria would that ever happen?
Through a chain of events that involved skipping breakfast and running in to the wrong room, Flash had wound up in a childbirth class. After long sessions of guard duty, the last thing Flash felt like doing was learning how to help a foal enter the world. But Flash felt a tug at his heart that compelled him to stay.
After he received his Certificate of Midwifery, Flash hung it proudly next to his bed. He purposely did not mention his new "talent" in his monthly letters to his parents and sister back in Ponyville. His rambunctious sister would no doubt find a renewed source of teasing in that revelation.
A couple months later Flash's had just finished his station when the head doctor, Ms. Fleur De Verre, pulled him into the room and demanded he help when Cadence delivered her foal.
"M-me?" Flash protested. "Shining Armor would have my hide if anything went wrong?"
"Please." Fleur rolled her eyes. "You're only an auxillary midwife. You're perfectly capable of handling the baby's birth."
And so Flash donned the appropriate sterile masks and ran in to help Cadence.
"She'll be alright, right?" Shining Armor asked, a crazed look in his eyes. He stood by Cadence's bedside, his dark mane frazzled. The better half of the couple was panting heavily; her cascading mane was pulled back into a messy bun and her crown had been placed on the bedside table.
"Don't worry, Captain," Flash reassured him. "Princess Cadence and your little prince or princess will be safe and sound." To Cadence, he added, "You're doing wonderfully, your highness. Keep going."
"You call this wonderful?" Cadence's voice rose an octave as another wave of pain hit her.
"Shh," Fleur soothed as she opened the bag of medical supplies she had brought.
Flash switched between helping Fleur and offering Cadence words of encouragement. And then suddenly, it was time. Flash's ears were wringing with Cadence's shrieks of agony as her pulled out a sopping wet mess. Yes, he was holding a royal baby, but he'd rather not. The amniotic fluid surrounding the foal dripped onto Flash's gloved hooves.
The baby's wails and shrieks replaced Cadence's as Flash lay it down gently and checked it over.
"Female," he reported. "Unicorn."
"Just like her dad," Cadence muttered.
Flash held up the filly, about to pass her to her mom, when something large and feathery hit him in the face.
"Ow!" Flash cried. His eye stung, and he quickly passed the baby to Cadence. "She's an alicorn?"
"Oh my." Cadence's words were cautious, but she and Shining looked at their daughter with a light of pride shining in their eyes. Cadence spoke again, "I certainly wasn't expecting my filly to be an alicorn, but it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Then Flash, eye throbbing from impact of the foal's wing, fainted.
As informative as his class had been, Flash wasn't sure how to feel about the feelings he had acquired in the weeks following Flurry Heart's birth. He had barely seen the little princess after her birth, since her Crystalling had been somewhat eventful.
You should see her wings, Flash wrote to his kid sister in his latest epistle. If you met Princess Flurry Heart, you'd be so jealous. I know how you want to fly like Miss Rainbow Dash.
And after he had sent the letter off, Flash pondered again the urge he felt to meet again with the baby princess. It was, in the least satisfying way he could describe it, a maternal feeling. He had helped bring Princess Flurry Heart into the world, and now he wanted to continue helping her grow.
Is this atypical? Flash wondered as he worked his way through the daily routine.
Should I tell someone? he asked himself as he ate his dinner of crystal corn.
Maybe I should take a babysitting class, Flash thought as he glanced at the Certificate of Midwifery that hung upon his wall.
Shining Armor would have me sent away to the farthest corners of Southern Equestria, he reminded himself as he fell asleep.
In the morning, Flash resolved to find Princess Cadence and reacquaint himself with Flurry Heart. Today was a break for him, so he wouldn't miss anything important. Flash flew down the castle corridors. He knew where Flurry Heart's room was; everypony did. Her nursery was located right underneath the castle kitchen.
When Flash reached the door, he landed on the ground and folded his wings. He hesitated, wondering if Princess Cadence would be fine with his visiting.
Buck up, Sentry, he told himself, and promptly rapped on the door.
"Hmm?" Princess Cadence pried the door open. "Oh, hello Flash Sentry."
Flash's ear flicked nervously as he requested, "Hello, your majesty. I was wondering how Princess Flurry Heart is doing."
Princess Cadence smiled. "She's doing fine, Flash. She's about to wake up from her morning nap, actually."
"That's good." Flash smiled. "Give her my regards when she wakes."
Cadence regarded Flash with a queer smile on her lips, as if she was knew why he was here. "You can come in and see her, if you'd like."
Flash's ears flicked again. "I wouldn't want to intrude, Princess..."
"It would be no problem." Cadence flashed Flash a reassuring smile. "Just make sure to be quiet." Cadence opened the door further, and Flash followed her inside.
Flurry's room was unusually messy for royalty who had servants at their disposal. When Flash inquired about this, Cadence chuckled softly.
"I'd rather not have cleaning ponies alone in Flurry's room," she told him. "Shining takes care of the cleaning. Usually. Well, he tries."
Flurry Heart's bassinet was on the other side of the room. The little filly lay nestled under layers of bedsheets, sleeping peacefully.
"She looks lovely, your highness," Flash said.
"Oh please, just call me Cadence," the tall pink alicorn whispered. "You helped deliver Flurry, and you're on very good terms with my sister-in-law, so I hear." Cadence winked.
Suddenly, Flurry Heart opened her large eyes and stared up at them. She gurgled: "Bwah?"
"Hello little jewel!" Cadence gently picked Flurry Heart up. "How's my little queen?"
Flurry Heart giggled. She squirmed around in her mother's hooves and stared at Flash. "Fwaba fwut?"
"That's Flash Sentry," Cadence informed Flurry Heart. "He's a guard here. And he helped when you were born!"
"Wash wentre," Flurry cried, goggling at Flash.
"Hello, Flurry Heart," Flash said, extending a hoof. "Pleased to meet you."
Flurry wrapped her pale hooves around Flash's orange one. Cadence let go of her daughter as Flurry spread her large mutant wings. It was a bit like holding a butterfly, Flash figured. Flurry Heart held onto his hoof as an anchor.
"Wash wentre," Flurry repeated. Flurry dragged him over to the toy castle on the side of the room.
"I didn't expect her to be able to lift my weight," Flash commented before Flurry Heart let go of him and sat on the floor.
Cadence chuckled. "Flurry is full of surprises."
To prove her mother's point, Flurry burped. A few snowflakes burst forth from her horn.
"How cute," Flash commented, grinning.
Flurry grabbed a toy pony and placed it in Flash's hoof. She then grabbed another doll for herself and looked at Flash expectantly.
Flash blinked, realizing what the little princess wanted. "Neigh," he said, making his doll gallop past the castle gate. Flurry spluttered her approval and sent her yellow-colored pony galloping after Flash's.
Flash pretended his doll was a prisoner. Flurry tracked him down and sent him to jail. Enter Shining Armor, the prisoner's accomplice. (For the record, Flash did not find it unusual Flurry had dolls of her own parents.)
Flash and Flurry Heart weaved an intricate plot as their playtime continued; at least, that's what Flash told himself. Flurry giggled and shrieked whenever Flash's character would stage a coup. Flash wailed in horror whenever he failed, vowing to try again when he was released from prison. At some point, the rebel found himself a marefriend, somepony to fight for.
"Whoosh!" As playtime wound down, Flash sent his character soaring across the sky in a display of triumph.
"Hmmph!" Flurry crossed her stubby hooves, disappointed that her dictatorship had been overthrown.
"Don't be that way," Flash teased, gently picking up the little princess. Flurry Heart's large, feathery wings brushed against his hooves as he did so.
"Fwash N-tree," Flurry purred, picking up another doll and gently placing it on Flash's shoulder.
Cadence giggled. "You play with her so well, Flash Sentry!"
Flash's heart skipped a beat. So engrossed in his playtime had he been that he had forgotten the Princess of Love had been watching!
"C-cadence!" sputtered the young orange colt, turning around to look at her. "Er, you can have your filly back now." Flash gingerly rose and carried Flurry over to her mother. Meanwhile, Flurry drooled some spittle down Flash's back.
"Did you have fun with Flash Sentry?" Cadence cooed as she took Flurry from Flash's arms.
Flurry babbled happily and began sucking Cadence's shoulder.
"Sorry you had to see me act so unprofessional," Flash apologized meekly, wiping Flurry's saliva off his shoulder.
"Flash Sentry, I wouldn't call entertaining a rambunctious alicorn foal unprofessional," Cadence remarked. Winking, she added, "You were simply guarding Flurry Heart from boredom."
"I..." The words of protest died in Flash's throat. If Cadence didn't mind the playtime, why would he convince her otherwise?
"It's time for Flurry to have a snack," Cadence informed him, drawing nearer to the room's door.
"Fwash!" Flurry cried.
"I'll speak to Shining Armor," Cadence decided.
Flash swallowed. "About what, may I ask?"
"Why, to ask if he's okay if you become our go-to babysitter when we're out of town," Cadence answered breezily. In the next moment, the pink alicorn had disappeared around the corner.
Flash blinked as his mind raced to process the princess's parting words.
"Yipee!" he squealed. In a burst of energy Flash flew out of the room and down the corridor to his room. This would make an interesting letter!