Absolute bliss.
For the first time in weeks, the both of us had never felt more relaxed. Even the red glow of the clock on my bedside table wasn’t disturbing me. The sound of the crickets and the nearby streams echoed quietly through the wooden halls of our cottage. My body was depleted of energy and my mind was drained. Sleep would come to us both early for a change.
“Unnng...”
Peace was broken.
“..aaanngg...Aaahh!”
The rapid lighting of the LED’s said it all, our sleep would have to wait. I felt a nudge on my back and groggily turned my head to see Sarah jabbing me with her elbow.
“...your turn...” she moaned without even opening her eyes.
I yawned loudly and stretched my aching limbs. “Alright...” I swiped the covers off myself and set my feet on the cold wooden floors. “We really do need to buy a rug...” The monitor continued to emit cries and gurgles as I exited the bedroom and made my way towards the next room.
I set the light to a dim setting and approached the cause of the noise and also the lack of sleep. There, in his cot, lay Glen, shuffling around making all manners of noises. “What are you doing up, eh?” I leant down and placed my arms around him, picking him up and holding him to my chest.
Yawning again, I began to pace up and down the room, rocking Glen gently as he continued to gurgle. I glanced at the clock on the wall which read 2:43 AM and groaned. Myself and Sarah both knew that there would be midnight feedings and such but with so many consecutive nights where our sleep was broken, it was starting to wear on us.
I walked out to the kitchen, feeling the cold touch of tiled floor as I opened up one of the cupboards. I reached in a pulled out a familiar bottle and a tub of formula powder. Sarah didn’t want to breastfeed so we resorted to this instead. Glen was starting to settle down a little as he rested his head on my left shoulder. Even through all of these countless nights of restless sleep, through all the stress both me and Sarah have been through, I can never get tired of seeing my son’s face.
After making some formula milk, I sat myself down in the armchair and gave Glen his feeding. Everytime he gets fed, I swear his eyes just scream happiness at me. He quietly suckled at the rubber nib of the bottle as I tried my best not to fall asleep. I smiled as my mind drifted back to that fateful day three months ago. It was a warm day near the end of July...well, it was warm before that bloody storm arrived. How Celestia arrived with Luna and helped us during probably the most important event in our lives. I also remembered being slightly scared at one point. Not of my family’s safety...it was how Haywick shouted at his team! Terrifying! Chuckling softly, I thought back to the conversation I had with Twilight about what was to come for us - Glen’s first steps, first words, school.
I leant down and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Love ya buddy.” Soon enough, Glen finished the bottle and slowly shut his eyes, letting the world of slumber take him. Grinning to myself, I rose from the leathery chair and made my way back to his room. Placing him down, I whispered goodnight to him and placed his blanket over him.
Returning to my bedroom, I climbed back into bed and looked at the clock - 3:17 AM. “He’s asleep again...should last the night...” I said with a yawn.
“...k...” Sarah sleepily responded. I was surprised she wasn’t asleep already...although I might have just woken her up. Didn’t matter anyway, tomorrow was Saturday. No set time to get up and no work at all. At least for once we could try and have a quiet day. Well, I say quiet day, our quiet days consist of normally doing housework and going shopping.
As I tried to sleep, the cool October air blew through the open window keeping the room’s scent fresh. The sounds of the river and nightlife were normally enough to send me to sleep in a split second...but not tonight. Something was wrong. After around another ten minutes, I got out of bed again and went to the bathroom.
Turning on the cabinet light, I looked at myself in the mirror. Hair all over the place, bags around the eyes and I looked half dead. Lack of sleep. These nights were taking a toll on both myself and Sarah and we were starting to show wear and tear. My boss mentioned to me once or twice that I looked ready to collapse on the spot. My excuse was the same as always - hard work looking after the family.
Over the past three months, I don’t think there has ever been two nights in a row of perfect sleep. The only time that happened was when Sarah’s mother took Glen for the night to give us some well needed rest. I splashed some cold water over my face and turned the light off walking back to my bedroom. Sitting back down on the bed, I thought about what we could do.
“I’m sure Mary will look after him for a day or two...no...she’s gone to Benidorm.” I rubbed my eyes and looked at a picture frame on my bedside cabinet. “Oh Mum...you would have been the best grandmother in the world...” Looking down at my drawers, I saw my mobile phone in there next to something else. An idea came to me. “Maybe she’ll give me some advice...”
Princess Luna’s moon reigned over the night sky as the residents of Equestria slept in their homes. The cool night air provided the much needed perfect environment for a good night’s sleep.
In the castle of Canterlot, Princess Luna sat upon her throne talking with one of her regular nightly visitors. Since her acceptance into society during Nightmare Night, more and more ponies have started visiting the Princess of the Night during her time on the throne. Most of the ponies were there to discuss matters as they would with Princess Celestia but there was one who was always there, every night, just for a chat.
“Surely your brother would pay you the bits...wouldn’t he?” Luna asked with a smile.
“Aw, I don’t know about that. He tends to spend them on chocolate!” answered her visitor. “Remember I told you about that cake at Hearth’s Warming with the chocolate glaze? I tell ya, he has a serious problem!” he said with a laugh.
The Princess joined in with the laughter. “Oh Streamer, I do enjoy our nightly talks. They seem to get better every time you visit.”
A sudden ringing noise sounded in the throne room, catching Luna’s attention. She breathed heavily and smiled. “Dawn.”
“Then I shall take my leave. See you tomorrow night Princess?” Streamer asked.
“Of course. Farewell!” She watched Streamer walk out of the throne room and watched the doors close. Focusing the magic to her horn, she teleported to her balcony and latched onto the large satellite, lowering it beyond the horizon. The night sky soon turned to a burnt orange as Celestia’s sun slowly rose, bringing daylight with it’s presence.
Teleporting back to the throne room, Luna awaited her sister’s arrival. Soon enough, Celestia appeared and greeted her sister.
“Good morning Luna. How was Night Court?” she asked.
“Very well, thank you.” She then noticed something held in Celestia’s magic. “What is that, a scroll?”
“Indeed. From our dear friends.” Celestia answered with a frown. “It seems they are in need of advice.” She unrolled the scroll, which Luna took from her elder sister’s grasp and read.
Celestia and Luna,
Forgive me for writing to you so early but I am seeking advice from you both. First off, allow me to apologise for not writing to you sooner but our lives have been non-stop since we returned back home with Glen.
And that’s the main problem. Over the past three months, our sleep pattern has been broken nearly every night due to our child waking up, needing to be fed. We knew this was going to happen but we were NOT prepared for it. And because of this, we’re starting to feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Myself and Sarah are being short with each other and I fear it may get worse.
We’ve been looking for advice everywhere on how to reduce stress or on anything to help us but it seems no matter what we try, nothing seems to change. This is where I ask you...do you have ANY advice for us on how we can better this situation?
All the best
Jason
Luna looked up from the letter and frowned like her sister did. “Sounds bad...I do feel for them.”
“As do I.” Celestia summoned a scroll and a quill. “I do believe I have some advice for them. Something I actually helped a couple in Ponyville with when they had twins.” She began to write on the scroll. “Dear Jason and Sarah. I am sorry to hear that you are both struggling. What it sounds like you need is a night off...”
Celestia stopped writing and smiled. She scrunched up the scroll and threw it behind her. “Sister? What is wrong?” Luna asked.
“Nothing. I believe I may have the best solution.” Celestia stomped her hoof and a guard immediately rushed to her side.
“Good morning my fellow guard. I request something of you.” she asked sweetly.
Celestia’s grin grew wider. “I need you to bring me Equestria’s finest foal-sitter.”
CANTERLOT
The evening in Canterlot came sooner than expected for the regal sisters as they went about their days. Celestia had taken her place on the throne to commence day court whereas Luna was helping the guards track down a certain pony.
Listening to another subject seek advice from her, Celestia quietly groaned and tried to suppress a yawn. ‘Surely this pony has more important things to do...’ She was barely listening at this point. The last thing she remembered hearing was something about how tall somepony’s hedge was.
“What do you think Princess? Do you think I have a claim?” the visitor, a black maned pegasus stallion, asked.
Celestia’s attention was now fully on this pony. ‘A claim about what?!’ She cursed herself mentally for not listening but put on her best faux smile and kept calm. “My dearest subject. There are no laws against how tall somepony’s hedge can be.” She just hoped she’d got it right.
“Are you certain, Your Highness? Nothing at all?” the pegasus asked.
‘NAILED IT!’ She giggled softly and nodded. “Absolutely. As long as it is tendered to and cared for, I am afraid there is nothing I can do.”
The pegasus frowned and sighed. “All I wanted to do was see the sunrise every morning…” he mumbled as he walked away from the throne.”
A pang of guilt welled up inside the solar Princess which she wanted expelled as soon as possible. “Wait!” The pegasus froze and turned around to see Celestia approaching him. Her horn glowed once and a scroll materialised in front of the pegasus. “One admission to the observatory. You may use to witness the sunrise like you never have done before.” she spoke with an awe-inducing voice.
The pegasus beamed a huge smile and bowed before her. “Thank you, Your Highness!” He laughed and galloped away out of the throne room.
Celestia sighed and let out a breath. “The things I do for some ponies…” Turning back around, she trotted back to her throne and sat herself down. She looked to the left to see the sky getting darker. “She’s been gone all day. I wonder if she was able to find her.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, the throne room doors flung open and a few guards approached and bowed. “Your Highness. We have retrieved the pony you asked for.” They motioned to who was behind them.
At seeing this pony, Celestia’s smile grew tenfold. “Oh it is so good to--”
“Sister! I have found the perfect candidate!” called Luna from the balcony. The lunar Princess galloped over with another pony following close behind. “I believe you will find THIS is the best foal-sitter in all of Equestria!”
Celestia looked at both of the ponies repeatedly, switching from one to the other. Groaning, she brought a hoof to her face and dragged it down. “I can’t decide this!”
“Did we not bring the right pony?” asked one of the guards.
“Yes. Is this not the pony you were after?” Luna added.
The two visitors remained silent as the Princesses queried about who should be right for the job. The two ponies looked at each other before smiling and giving each other a quick hug. It had been a long time since they last saw each other.
“I believe that is the most viable option, dear Sister of mine.” Luna said with a nod.
“Then it shall be done.” Celestia looked at her two visitors and smiled. “You will both remain here whilst I contact one of my friends. In the meantime, Luna?” Said pony turned her head at the call of her name. “Can you take our visitors somewhere and explain our friend to them?”
“Of course. Please follow me.” With that, Luna and the two ponies exited the throne room, closing the doors behind them.
“I do hope they’ll be understanding.” Celestia summoned a scroll and a quill and began to compose a letter. “Maybe I should leave out something here…”
EARTH
One VERY tired human sat at his desk and twiddled with a pencil, held in his left hand. On the screen in front of him lay a spreadsheet with a variety of details on it. Yawning, he continued to type.
“Cross-check customer details...cheers Dave, thanks a bunch.” Jason mumbled under his breath. The wake-up call last night wasn’t exactly the best way to start the day. Turns out, no more sleep was to be had after he finished writing his letter to the Princesses. As for Sarah, oh, she slept like a log.
“Jason? You got a minute?” came a familiar voice.
Jason looked up to see a friendly face. “Oh hey Steven. How can…” He yawned mid-sentence. “...I help you?”
“Well, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to go over these budget plans but…” Steven leaned in closer and shook his head. “Jason mate, you can’t continue like this. Take some time off.”
“I can’t, you know that. I need to support my family and I’m the only one working.” Jason replied.
"Haven't you tried to hire a baby-sitter?"
“Yeah we have but we’re quite secluded so no-one will come out.” His sentence was cut short by the ringing of the phone. “I’ll just grab this.” He picked up the receiver. “Hello, Jason--”
“Honey, you’ve got to come home, right now!” shouted Sarah from the other end.
“Whoa, calm down. What’s the matter?”
"We've got a reply! You know...from her?!"
“I’ll be right there.” Jason shut the phone down. “I’m off home, something’s happened.” he said to Steven as he grabbed his coat and escaped the hell-hole known as work. Jason quickly unlocked his bike and began to pedal home as fast as he could. Jason smiled as he couldn’t wait to see what Celestia had written to him. All he could think about was a restless night.
Within half an hour, he made it back to his cottage and parked the bike up. Entering the house, he found Sarah sat on the sofa with the scroll in her hand. “I haven’t read it yet as I wanted to wait for you.” she said with a smile. She leant over to the side of the sofa to gently rock Glen as he slept in his cradle.
Jason approached the cradle and every so softly stroked his son’s cheek before sitting down next to his wife. “Go on...open it. This could be the start of a perfect night’s sleep.” Jason replied with vigour. Sarah unrolled the cream-coloured parchment and passed it to her husband who began to read the stunning calligraphy.
Raising a child is a devilishly difficult task and one that can make or break someone. It seems it is starting to break you both and I am sorry to hear that you are struggling.
After a lengthy conversation with my Sister, we have come to an agreement. Unfortunately, we can only offer advice that you know already. But there is something we can do…”
I turned the scroll over to continue reading...but there wasn’t anything. “Was there another scroll?” Jason asked.
"No..." Sarah sat down next to the cradle. "But at least they were truthful."
Jason slumped onto the sofa and sighed. “Yeah…” He dragged his hands down his face and shook his head. “But...what did it mean by something they can do?”
“I’m not--”
Sarah’s sentence was cut short by a blinding flash of light. They both knew what and WHO this was. The light died down to reveal Celestia standing there with a big smile on her muzzle.
“Something that can give you peace for a while.” the alicorn said.
The humans’ mouths dropped as she answered their question. “You heard us...from Equestria?!” Jason asked.
“Magic scroll. Allows me to hear whoever reads it.” She planted herself on the floor. “And yes, I do have a solution to your problem. Albeit, temporary but it will give you peace for a few days at least.”
“Great!” Sarah exclaimed, before slamming a hand over her mouth and checking she hadn’t woken her child. She didn’t. “That was close.”
Celestia craned her head over the cradle to observe the sleeping human child. “Still as adorable as the day he came into this world.” Her horn lit up with a soft glow. “May I?” she asked to which Sarah nodded. Ever so gently, Celestia wrapped Glen in her yellow aura, lifting him slowly out of his cradle and into her hooves. She carefully held him, using part of her wing as a makeshift blanket.
“Not even a gurgle…” Sarah said in astonishment. “How do you do it?”
“When you’ve lived for as long as I have, you pick up a few tricks. I’ve never been a mother myself but I’ve cared for so many ponies in my life.” Celestia softly spoke, reminiscing about her past. The faces of many ponies she had come to love and lose flashed before her eyes.
“You must miss them.” Jason whispered. Celestia nodded and gave a sad smile. “So...what was your plan?”
Celestia nodded and gently handled Glen back into his cradle. “I hate to see you in this condition. I mean no disrespect but...you look dreadful.” They both nodded but said nothing. “So I have an idea which would benefit all of us.” Celestia rose to her hooves and held her head high. “I propose that you let Glen spend time in Equestria, in the care of one of my most faithful foal-sitters.”
“...”
“Are you...interested?” Celestia asked with a curious smile as both of the humans said nothing. She slowly approached them and cautiously raised a hoof, prodding the still silent male in the shoulder. “Jason?”
Jason turned to Sarah and smiled. She replied by doing the same. “We travelled to your world and our baby was even born there.” Jason replied. “I think the trust has been gained, don’t you?” he added, talking to his wife.
“I do.” Sarah turned to Celestia. “It’s a fantastic idea but…”
Celestia noticed the change of Sarah’s facial expression. “But?”
“Will the ponies know how to take care of him?” she continued, looking down at Glen. “I trust you with all of my being but I need to know that my baby will be safe.”
Sarah felt a wing encircle her shoulders as she continued to watch the sleeping form of her child. “You have my utmost promise that Glen will always be top priority in his time in Equestria. Besides, you will have C…” Celestia shook her head and laughed. “Of course! You haven’t met her yet! Just hold on for one minute.”
With that, Celestia vanished in another flash of light, leaving the humans alone. Jason shuffled up to his wife and put his arm round her.
"What do you think?" he asked hesitantly.
“It is a good idea but...I know I’m just going to worry the whole time. What if something bad happens to him?” Sarah replied.
“Look at me.” Sarah did so, sighing slowly. “She has never steered us wrong. She has always treated us with the utmost respect and friendship. She helped us when we had nowhere else to turn.” I gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “Everything will be fine. Besides! We’re getting the best foal-sitter!”
Two flashes of light illuminated the room, blinding the humans. When the light cleared, two ponies were standing in front of them. Celestia had returned but it was who stood next to her that took their breath away. Standing there, with a pink body, wings and horn, tri-colour mane was none other than…
“Princess Cadance!” Jason exclaimed.
The pink alicorn smiled in response as she witnessed a brand new creature address her by name. “My Auntie has told me so much about you.” She approached them both on the sofa and put a hoof around each of their shoulders. “It’s so good to meet you!” she exclaimed in her cheery voice.
The humans returned the hug, a bit hesitantly but friendly nonetheless. Releasing the hug, Cadance stepped back and looked over at the cradle. Walking over and peering inside, she gasped and squealed in delight at the sight of the human child.
“Is this who I’m foal-sitting?” she asked in delight. At the nod of the humans, she smiled even more and looked back at the child. “He’s so adorable!”
Whilst she was d’aawing over the child, Celestia approached and knelt down in front of the humans. “Now that you know who will be looking after your child, will you allow us to give you some well earned rest?” she asked with that infectious smile she has.
Both Jason and Sarah didn’t need to think twice about this. “She foal-sat Twilight and look how she turned out. Of course she can look after him!” Jason said, trying his best not to yawn.
“Excellent.” Celestia replied. “We have all the supplies we need at the castle so nothing will need to be brought there from here.” She looked over at Cadance who was still fascinated over Glen. “Cadance sweetie, I think the parents want to say goodbye to their child.” she said with a giggle.
Cadance immediately stepped back with a sheepish look. “Oh, I’m...sorry.” she replied with a small laugh.
Jason leant down and picked up Glen from the cradle, holding him tight. “See you in a few days, alright buddy?” He kissed him on the forehead and then passed him to Sarah who did the same.
Celestia’s horn glowed, enveloping herself, Cadance and the cradle in her yellow aura. “Have a pleasant rest. We will return in two days.” The glow grew brighter before they all disappeared, travelling back to Equestria.
Jason and Sarah stood there, motionless as the house was eerily silent. The clock read 14:34. Jason said the only thing that needed to be said.
“Bed.”
CANTERLOT
Arriving back in Canterlot, Celestia immediately ushered Cadance and Glen to one of the many private bedrooms the castle had to offer. Setting the cradle down ever so gently, Celestia lay a hoof on Cadance’s shoulder.
“Do you think I did the right thing? By not telling them about the other pony?” she asked.
“Oh I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Cadance replied. “As a matter of fact, where is she?”
“RIGHT HERE!” came a voice from the plant pot in the corner of the room.
“SHHHH!” the Princesses hushed. “The baby is asleep!”
Celestia approached the plant pot and pulled the pony out of it. “Listen, you have to be careful with this child. You are one of the best foal-sitters in Equestria so I trust you will do well to look after him?”
The pony saluted and smiled greatly. “Don’t you worry Princess! I’ll do my very best!”
The smell of candy floss and sugary snacks filled the air as she bounced around the room, mouthing off all the fun she’s going to have. “I’m sure you will Pinkie, I’m sure you will.”
