• Published 26th Aug 2013
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The Rogue and the Mare - darkangel_31314



The life of the Rogue Stallion, the Broken Mare, and their filly, Moonlight.

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Chapter 1 - Meeting the Family

Chapter 1 - Meeting the Family

Morning in Ponyville.

There is a typical way for things to work in this small village in the shadow of Canterlot Mountain. The Sun-Goddess works with her sister to lower the moon and raise the sun. This causes birds stir in their nests and begin chirping, which in turn wakes up the variety of ponies to start their day. After morning rituals are taken care of, they eat breakfast, and then move about to do whatever is they do: Shop owners place out their signs, the mayor's office starts sorting through the mundane paperwork of running a small town, and farmers are setting up their stalls in the market if they aren't already up at the crack of dawn to inspect their fields. The happiest of this morning ritual is the foals whom are are running rampant in preparation for school.

All except one... who is running rampant... but not because of school...

"Watch it!" A stallion's voice called out.

"She's going for the bookcases!" Another male voice.

"Spike, can you-" A mare started to call out.

"Sorry, still tied up here!" The second male replied.

"Twilight, I'll cut her off on the right!" The first male was on the move.

"Got it!" The mare replied.

*CRASH!*

"Oh, Celestia!" The second male moaned.

All things considered this morning is par for the course, especially when the child of two of the most powerful Unicorns are involved.

"The Cavalry's here!" A second mare barged in.

"Rainbow!" The first mare sounded quite happy with this developement.

"Got'cha you little, squirt!" The second mare elated.

"Bay-bow!" A foal's voice cried out in response.

Not a week has passed since the move. Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the Element of Magic, Student of Princess Celestia, and new Mother, has resumed her job as town Librarian and part-time troubleshooter. This is all in an effort to put behind her and her friends the past year of pure hell resulting from and attempt by Nightmare Moon to be reborn. The good thing the result of which was the troublesome little filly; one Moonlight Sparkle. The month-old filly in question smiled, her dark silvery-blue fur and lighter silver mane framed ice blue eyes that shined innocently up at the one to finally catch her.

Enter the cyan blue Pegasus mare in Royal Guard armor, holding said foal. After failing to protect Twilight from the Nightmare over a year ago, Rainbow Dash gave up on her dream to join the Wonderbolts and entered an Officer Training program for the Royal Guard. If she couldn't protect Twilight, she'd go out of her way to protect her friends, and she did. "Here ya go, Twi. One hyper-active bundle of joy."

"Thanks, Rainbow. Janus, help untie Spike, I'll get this little bugger settled down..."

Cue her fiancee, Janus Key. Formerly of the Germane Guard, fellow prisoner of the Nightmare, and father of Moonlight. His horn glowed as he worked to untie the purple and green dragon from the sheets he got twisted in trying to chase his stepsister. The unicorn's coat was a darker shade of blue than his daughter, his mane a two-tone silver and blue. Blue eyes he shared with his daughter narrowed in concentration as he tried to figure out just how Moonlight had managed such a feat with her blanket.

The baby dragon wasn't helping matters. Spike, hatched from an egg during Twilight's exam to enter into the prestigious Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, had spent pretty much all of his life as Twilight's brother-slash-adopted son. He was used to her eccentricities... but getting used to his niece/half-sister, on the other hand, was a whole different game.

Twilight sighed as she dropped Moonlight onto her back, trotted across the main floor of the Ponyville Library, her home once again. The place was a mess from the morning's scuffle to restrain a unicorn filly whom was discovering that her little nub of a horn could do all sorts of things... like throw daddy across a room...

Rainbow Dash settled once again to the floor with a smirk. "Well, at least we know she's definitely your kid."

"Oh, Ha-Ha, I do laugh." Twilight smiled, setting the filly into a playpen tucked into a corner. "Now, my little moon, it's not nice to throw things."

"At least throw them at somepony who deserves it." Janus called out from his on-going attempt to untie Spike. "... easy there, stop wriggling!"

"There's nopony around here that deserves it right now. She needs to learn." Twilight replied smugly, giving Moonlight a gentle tap on the nose with a forehoof.

"I bow to the mother's ... uh... wisdom... how in Celestia's name?"

Twilight glanced over her shoulder with a frown discovering her fiancee had not only failed to untangle Spike... but was now partially tangled himself...

There was a moment of silence, before Rainbow's face scrunched up as she tried to hold back the inevitable reaction. That lasted for exactly a second before she fell onto her back, laughing.

"Rainbow, you're not helping..." Twilight gave another sigh. She shot a glance at Moonlight whom had joined the mirth. "... and you neither..." Ignoring the cackling of the two, she trotted back across the room, her horn glowing with a spell that sent the blanket uncurling from the two males, levitating off of them, and neatly folding itself up off to the side. "There!"

"Thanks, Twi..."

"Um, yeah... thanks..."

"Now then." Twilight's voice took on a commanding town. "Back to the morning checklist. Spike; get breakfast ready."

"Right!" The little dragon saluted.

"Janus; you keep an eye on your daughter."

"Yes, Ma'am!" He snapped off a crisp salute in turn.

"And ... where's Pinkie?"

"Right here!" The pink blur emerged from her peripheral vision, causing the purple mare to jump with a 'GYAH!' "Sorry, Twi! But since Spikey-Wikey was taking so long I went ahead and did both my chores and his chores so now the nursery is all clean and sparkly and we got pancakes and waffles, but I didn't know which ones to make first so I just started making them at the same time that way we'd have both now... and I tossed in some hay fries and-"

Twilight shoved a hoof in the pink mare's mouth. "Uh... Of course... Thank you."

Now here's another newcomer to the home of Twilight Sparkle and family. Pinkamena Diane Pie, better known as Pinkie Pie, had been released from the Ponyville General Hospital's Mental Health Ward some time prior after suffering a nervous breakdown after Twilight's abduction. She had since been spending her time recovering as well as acting as a live-in foalsitter for Moonlight as well as Twilight - refusing to leave the other mare's side for more than a couple hours at a time.

"Now, Rainbow..." Twilight produced a scroll from nowhere. "Uh... You're not scheduled to check in for another two hours."

"Hehe... ah, yeah." Rainbow nervously rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, come on, spill it. I gotta know what I need to move around in today's schedule.

R.D. sat up, looking rather confused a moment, before deciding to just blurt it out. "Got a message this morning. Your parents will be here in an hour."

Twilight stared at her friend a moment. Her eyes shifted down to her daily schedule, back to Rainbow, and back to the scroll. "Oh bother..." She finally rolled up the schedule and tossed it in a nearby trashcan.

Janus muttered from over by the playpen, glancing down at his daughter. "... that's what I was thinking..."

.....

"Come now, why do you still insist on resisting me?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you gave yourself to me. I'm here to love and care for you. Just... give in..."

"No!"

Twilight shivered, squeezing her eyes shut as the black cloud-like tendrils caressed her flanks.

"You couldn't resist me, why would you resist me? Me and you... we are meant for each other..."

"You... You're lying! This isn't real! I defeated you!" Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You know that isn't true, my love... You can't destroy a part of you...

She heard a soft crying. A young voice calling for her.

Twilight's eyes shot open. She was laying on her bed while soft, ice-blue eyes stared into her own in concern.

"Ma-ma?"

The crying mare wrapped her forehooves around her daughter. "Oh, my little Moon... thank you..." She sniffled. "Such a horrible nightmare..." She let out a soft sigh and glanced at a clock beside her bed. She nearly bolted upright at the time it displayed.

"Oh no! Your granparents were supposed to arrive nearly an hour ago!"

She quickly flew into action, Moonlight giving a soft squeek as she was levitated up and onto her mother's back.

"I wonder if they brought your aunt and uncle too... or one of the Princesses! Princess Luna said she might be bringing them..." She nearly flew into a panic...

... that was, until Moonlight poked the back of her head before nuzzling into her mane.

"Huh?" She glanced back at the disapproving look on her daughter's face. "Oh... I am worrying a tad too much, am I?"

The filly gave a cute pout and nodded.

"... Okay..." She nodded. "Deep breath..." She smiled as Moonlight joined in on it. "Now... let's go see why your daddy let me nap far too long..." She headed for the door.

.....

She had half expected a disaster area to greet her on the main floor of the library. To her surprise, that wasn't the case. Her fiancee sat flanked by Rainbow Dash and Luna, across from her parents, Cadence, and Shining Armor. Spike sat at hand, sampling from a small bowl of gems on the table where a tea set was already in use.

"There she is!" Her mother, Twilight Velvet, greeted them. "Spike said you were taking a nap. I know from expirence how motherhood can be."

"Hi, Mom." Twilight smiled, giving her mother a nuzzle, then turning aside. "And here's Moonlight Sparkle. Say 'hi' to your Gramma!"

"Ma-Maw!" Moonlight smiled, reaching up to tap her grandmother's nose.

Smiles spread througout the room as Velvet picked up the filly and sat back with her husband, Night Light.

"I'm honesty surprised."

"About what?" Princess Luna took a sip of tea with an arched eyebrow.

"Nopony's fighting. I half expected a 'How dare you knock up my daughter/sister' or something to that effect."

"You were asleep, Moonlight was with you, and nopony wanted to risk waking either of you up." Janus selected a cracker from the tray.

"I gave that warning when they showed up." Rainbow shrugged.

"Ah." She found the space beside Janus vacent and claimed it. "What have you all been talking about so far?"

"The usual. How I met your daughter, running from the bad guys..."

"Sucker-punching a Princess..." Rainbow grinned.

"Running from the law..." Luna fired back.

"I figured he already got the talk from Princess Luna." Night Light shrugged. "She told us that he had already been read the riot act."

"My sister." Luna smiled smugly. "She is quite protective of her protege`."

"Among other things..." Twilight rolled her eyes. This was turning out to be a more polite meet-and-greet than she anticipated.

Janus had been looking from one speaker to another; "I still feel I was honestly justified in my actions."

"You're the only one, buddy." Rainbow crossed her forehooves. "You won't believe the paperwork I have to fill out on you to keep the Princesses informed of your activities. I gotta three-page report to put in every time you step outside for a breath of fresh air."

"That's an exaggeration, Rainbow."

"Nope. I insisted he be monitored." Luna poured herself more tea.

"He is really that dangerous?" Cadence spoke for the first time, having been joining her mother-in-law in tickling Moonlight. She shot a glance at Janus.

"No." Twilight shook her head. "I think it has to deal with the way he proposed to me, as much as him having punched a Princess."

"Oh?" Velvet's ears perked, her eyes shifting briefly from her grandaughter's babbling.

"I believe he did it in the same sentence as when he told Princess Luna to 'get lost'..."

"Did not!" His cheeks began to shift from blue to red.

"He did." Luna nodded. "Most unbecoming of a former Guard to insult a Princess."

"And disobey an order from one." Rainbow's magenta eyes grinned at the now seriously blushing unicorn.

"You were threatening me with severe bodily harm!"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "We didn't know, you didn't know, so I think we're even in that respect."

Luna smirked. "Until you decided to run."

"Twilight grabbed me!"

"You forget I was chasing you." The rainbow-maned pegasus smugly replied. "You had her on your back the entire time."

"She told me to!" He pointed at Twilight in his defense.

Twilight, meanwhile, was watching her parents who simply shook their heads and turned their attention to something more important in their eyes - Moonlight. Inwardly, she was sighing in relief. This could have gone so much more worse. She was half imagining her father threatening Janus with bodily harm.

Of course, he had already gotten something akin to that from Celestia when they moved from Sweet Apple Acres back into the library. She wasn't exactly sure what the Solar Diarch had said, but the unicorn was nearly as white as she was when he walked away.

To do so to a stallion whom had been tortured and abused both physically and mentally by a literal Nightmare for over a year, that is quite an accomplishment.

For the next hour, most of the attention of the group was on the month-old filly who simply bathed in all of it. There was more idle chat, as well as the constant under-their-breath threats from Luna and Rainbow Dash in reguards to Janus.

The stallion simply sighed and shook his head, accepting it. He knew full well that should he actually try to harm Twilight or even risk breaking her heart, they'd only be able to enact their threats on what Twilight left of him. He was quite sure a unicorn whom could pound an Alicorn into near-submission - while weakened - would be more than capable of reducing him to component atoms without breaking a sweat.

Besides... he had a daughter to love and care for...

Twilight was enjoying herself, honestly. Her schedule was shot for the day, but she was slowly learning not to rely constantly on them. A foal required a lot of undivided and - often unscheduled - attention. It was still a big responsibility. The cute little bubble of joy was now even more unpredictable that she had discovered magic. The random bursts were going to become less frequent as she grew older, and then will come the training, the schooling, and then - Celestia Forbid - colts.

Despite the occasional nightmare, much like the one she had earlier during her nap, things were indeed looking up.

And with her friends and family... perhaps she could even enjoy it.

Author's Note:

And here we go. An ireggular slice-of-life featuring Twilight, Janus, and their little bundle of joy.