Sunset Shimmer ran to find the diaper bag. They kept the fresh ones in a bag that was normally stored in the laundry room. It was missing and she need to change that diaper fast.
“Figures Twilight would be away today!” Sunset cried out to herself. She was alone in the apartment. Not even the guard was present outside the front door anymore. “If I was Twilight and I mistakenly left it somewhere, where would it be?!”
She dashed into the bedroom and looked beside the small bookcase there. Bingo! Of course, Twilight might have left it there by accident when she got the random impulse to read some inane book. Sunset grabbed a new diaper from the bag and was back in the living room with the baby in mere seconds. The remainder of the diaper change was typical. Unpleasant but typical.
After she was done, she set Sunlight back into his safe play area and sat down for a rest. She seemed to be more worn out than usual these days. Maybe that was just how it went with near one year olds. That reminded her. Sunlight’s 1st birthday was this coming Saturday. And their big move just the following weekend. What a ride and a half that would be.
“Gah!” Sunlight babbled while looking up to his mother. Apparently, he found something about her to be fixating. It was indeed true that he seemed to favor her over Twilight.
Sunset smiled down and, in spite of her tired state, got back up to play with him. His cyan eyes were a copy of her own and the way they sparkled when he looked at her made her heart melt even after all the trouble he had put his parents through.
“You’re lucky that you’re worth it,” Sunset commented to her child after getting down to his level on the floor.
“Gooah,” Sunlight stuck his tongue out. Or perhaps he had left it out and hadn’t realized yet. His motor skills were still developing and he had no self-awareness whatsoever. At least he was used to the idea that his own limbs were still attached to him even when they were not in his immediate eyesight.
Sunset twirled her hand in front of him, which seemed to always amuse him greatly. “You have to be the easiest baby to entertain in the history of Equestria,” she beamed as he made a gasp-like sound of awe.
“You mean our planet, right?” Rainbow corrected as she stepped through the front door. She closed it gently behind her. The past year had taught her much about stealth that she had no knowledge of previously.
“Sure,” Sunset smirked at the girl.
“Da!” Sunlight exclaimed, shifting attention to the rainbow-haired woman.
“Yo,” Rainbow said in return, a big goofy grin on her face. “You pick up any dates yet, kid?”
“Goo!”
Sunset groaned. “What are you doing here, Dashie? I thought your team had practice today.”
“They did,” the athlete swung around the room’s adjoined kitchen counter and grabbed an apple. “Short, though. Captain just wanted to make sure our assisting wasn’t slipping. For the record, I wasn’t the one she was worried about. Fast Track’s been getting kind of hoardy with the ball.”
“I sympathize so much,” Sunset responded.
“I hear sarcasm,” Rainbow countered and took a bite of the fruit in her hand. “Before you ask about Dagi, she’s back at the resort. Oxygen Rush wanted her to supervise the new seasonals.”
The married redhead leaned onto her back, letting Sunlight crawl on top of her. “Ahhhhh. It’s all coming into focus now. You wouldn’t bother with us if you had your little siren.”
“She’s not little,” Rainbow insisted and walked up to the gate of the living room’s safe play area. “You’ve seen how big she is,” she added while making suggestive gestures with her free hand.
Sunset’s face deadpanned.
Rainbow stared.
Sunset stared back.
“Oh, come on!” Rainbow crossed her arms and almost lost her grip on her fruit. “You and Twilight compare sizes all the time just for fun! I’ve seen-”
“Seen?” Sunset’s eye widened.
“More like heard. Hey,” Rainbow backed up in defense. “Not my fault. When I was staying here, you two wouldn’t stop. I’ve been wondering, though. Since having the baby has the...you know...”
“It’s not like you spend that much less time here than you used to – minus practice times. And no. What?” Sunset rolled her eyes and paid attention to Sunlight again, who was getting fussy being on Sunset’s chest and not having her eye contact.
Rainbow seemed to finally be thoughtful of having the baby hear what she said. “Starts with S. Ends with X.”
“Why would I tell you about that again?” Sunset finally grinned. She wasn’t going to give Rainbow an inch.
That wilted the athlete’s spirits for only a second until she saw another way to get her information. “Oh. So I was right. Already getting boring in the bedroom.”
The dig was just good enough to get Sunset into a hasty and revealing response. “Not a chance, Dash! Just last night we-!”
Rainbow’s devilish expression of satisfaction made Sunset stop herself short. She would have smacked her own forehead if Sunlight wasn’t currently poking her cheeks with his tiny digits. Perhaps it was unintentional on the baby’s part, but it was hard to tell. He had done a few things in recent months that made her wonder.
“Alright,” Rainbow concluded after swallowing another bite of apple. “I’ve toyed with you. Now I’m bored. Let’s go out and do something.”
“Like what?” Sunset sighed. “It has to be Sunlight Safe.”
“You going to patent that phrase?”
“I’ll patent your behind if you don’t get serious.”
Rainbow rose a brow. “Patent me? That like getting paddled?”
“Yes.”
“Kinky.”
Sunset groaned louder and harder than before. Unfortunately, that made Sunlight shrink back with wide eyes. “Sorry,” she quickly assured him with a smile and softened tone.
“How about the beach?” Rainbow suggested, finally serious even if not for Sunset’s sake.
“Don’t you get tired of seeing it? You go there all the time because of Adagio’s job,” Sunset remarked while entertaining her child again. She got him playing with his favorite block.
“Naw,” Rainbow flipped out a hand and leaned on the gate. “We could also visit the Canterlot-Everfree Botanical Gardens.”
“I thought you hated places like that. Too boring, you’d say.”
“Yeah, well,” Rainbow looked down at her apple. “Dagi’s made me think about some things, you know. Like nature and stuff. Got me listening to Fluttershy some more. Besides, it’s not like we can go to DJ Pon-3’s club with Sunlight.”
Sunset nodded and stuck her tongue out at her baby, who broke out in giggles for it. “No kidding. Never pegged her for the nature-kind, but it’s good to hear that Adagio’s making you think. I never seemed to get through your thick skull.”
“You say that while making funny faces at a baby,” Rainbow couldn’t help enjoying the ridiculousness of Sunset’s expressions.
“Grab some water and snacks,” Sunset looked sideways at the pro athlete. “Gardens it is.”
Sunset Shimmer pushed the stroller gently along the cobblestone path. The path was bumpy for anything with wheels, but Sunset had long addressed issues of shock absorbency. She had taken the stroller initially made by Applejack and added her own shock system. An easy feat now that she had been working for years in the invention shop.
While it had seemed a good day at first to be out, the weather turned out to be chiller than usual for the week. Sunset was now sporting her old jacket to keep her as warm as she wanted, though now she felt a tad too warm. It was an awkward temperature for the weather to be at.
Meanwhile, Sunlight was nestled under an extra blanket in the warm shelter of the custom natural wood stroller. He might have been wondering about the sound of the birds or gasp in awe at the rare garden hummingbirds if he were awake. The extra blanket, fresh air, and natural light had easily put him to sleep, though.
“Are you like the only couple on the planet to have a quiet and well-mannered baby?” Rainbow squinted at the sleeping child and then back to Sunset as they walked along the serene garden path. Her hands were in the front pockets of her rainbow-accented sports jacket she was wearing.
Sunset stopped them beside a lily pond that had a stone encirclement perfect for resting on. “You’re not the first person to think that,” she tried not to respond too loudly. “Haven’t you talked to Pinkie lately?”
“Uh, yeah,” Rainbow replied matter-of-fact while flicking a small dead leaf off her white and blue jogging pants. “So?”
“He’s got a record with everyone,” Sunset explained while looking at her sleeping child. “I’d say he’s most calm around you and AJ. Fluttershy is maybe half-and-half. Pinkie is the worst. With him not throwing a fit, I mean.”
“She never mentioned it.”
“Pinkie likes to be optimistic.”
“That’s an understatement,” Rainbow conceded.
The redhead mother sat down and put her hands on the stone around her to keep herself from falling backwards into the pond. It wasn’t too rough and, in fact, was far warmer than the air since it was had been bathed by the sun since morning.
“It’s not like she bothers him exactly...”
Rainbow took a breath and put into words what Sunset was thinking. “He likes her and so he throws a fit whenever she’s not paying direct attention to him.”
Sunset giggled. “I just hope he doesn’t grow up to be a self-centered attention hog.”
“Wait,” Rainbow’s brows furrowed. “Does that mean he doesn’t really care if I’m around?”
Sunset looked the other way by intent.
“Burned by a baby,” Rainbow sucked in her pride.
The mother couldn’t hide her dark amusement. “He has his likes and dislikes same as most babies. Well, perhaps a bit less random. I blame Twilight for that. But no less troublesome. I could use just one night of uninterrupted sleep.”
A breeze swept by to make Rainbow clutch at her own jacket, which had been open at the front until now. She zipped it and yawned. “Well, at least I can relate to his napping habit.”
“With the way you practice it now,” Sunset remarked, “I do wonder what you were like when you were a baby.”
“Awesome with a dash of radical,” Rainbow answered as if she were telling the most obvious of facts.
Sunlight began to stir in his stroller.
“So what else is new?” Sunset asked her closest friend.
“Death and taxes,” Rainbow replied in a flat jest.
The mother just rolled her eyes and looked back at the respectfully large pond behind them. She had seen frogs here before but it must have been too cold for them. Fluttershy would know.
“Eh,” Rainbow shrugged. “Same old. Soccer’s fine. Probably going to get another medal soon. Not very interesting. Maybe I can convince Fluttershy to have a sleepover with me and Dagi. That could be potentially epic.”
“But what would Fluttershy do with the two of you?” Sunset asked and flicked a stray hair out away from her face. “I don’t recall you having much in common. At least when it comes to pasttimes.”
“I’m sure we could find something,” Rainbow stroked her chin in sudden scheming.
Sunset leaned away from the athlete in concern. “If she comes crying to me or Twilight then I’ll hold you responsible,” she stated.
Rainbow just waved it off and looked to the suddenly crying baby in the stroller. “Time for a bathroom break.”
Sunset followed Rainbow’s gaze and sighed. “And a diaper change. Again.”
“Parenting isn’t easy, is it?” Sunset asked the love of her life. The two of them were playing a game of who could make Sunlight be quiet first. He was crying incessantly for no apparent reason.
“I knew it wouldn’t be from the start,” Twilight replied. She drew up the baby to her chest and laid back with him, making a gentle rocking motion with her body.
It seemed to be working because his crying dropped by two decibels. Sunset joined in by hugging Twilight from the side and rocking with her on the plush floor that had been double softened by baby blankets. Both their mental checklists had been exhausted, which meant Sunlight was crying just to be a pain in the neck.
“Come on, my little Sunlight,” Twilight cooed to her child.
Several minutes later, his tears ran out and rather than be happy or even indifferent, he simply fell asleep. Twilight just shook her head in relief.
Sunset, on the other hand, looked to her wife and exchanged a conversation with her without words that might wake their child.
Today had been a good day for them even though nothing major had happened. Sometimes the world didn’t need saving.
And sometimes the most tiresome things in life were what mattered most.