When Twilight awoke, she stared up with a daze up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Feeling like she’d run a marathon, as well as confused with many questions buzzing in her mind, she managed to sit up. Blinking the fatigue from her eyes and gingerly rubbing them, she looked upon her arm to see an IV line connected to it.

Looking down at her stomach, not as rounded as it had been before, she squeaked and looked around. Had she really had the baby? Why couldn’t she remember? It was all a blur. All she could remember was going through her tax papers, feeling the contractions, then falling to the floor as her water broke. There was a lot of yelling, probably on her part. No wonder her throat felt a little sore.

“...Hello?” She croaked, finally catching the sight of something red at the corner of her eye. Sitting near the bed was Ascentia, nursing a bandaged hand.

She whipped around, “Oh, you’re awake!”

Rushing over, she hugged her around the shoulders, grinning.

“You’ve been out cold for almost eleven hours,” she said softly.

Twilight returned the hug as best she could, nuzzling her, “Oh wow… Did I have the baby? ...Is she alright?”

“She’s okay,” Ascentia smiled, “A little wonky, but all healthy.”

“Oh, good…” Twilight murmured with relief. She then took further notice of the bandage on Ascentia’s hand, “What happened to your hand?”

“You slammed it in the door on the way here, then squeezed the shit out of it while you were pushing the kid out,” Ascentia remarked, “Two fractures and a broken finger.”

Cringing, Twilight hissed a little and kissed her cheek, “I’m sorry… I’m guessing it was really rough, wasn’t it? My throat hurts… was I screaming a lot?”

“The doctors had to sedate you,” Ascentia said flatly.

“Jeez…” Twilight shivered, “Okay, that’s it, no more pregnancies for me. Let’s just have our Sunny bunny and leave it at that.”

Ascentia laughed and nuzzled her, “Fine, I’ll take the next one.”

The thought of that made Twilight giggle, “Oooh, you being pregnant? Now that I have to see! Then you’d really have me at your beck and call, I’d rub your feet, touch your belly…”

Ascentia squirmed a bit, “Eh… never mind.”

“Oh, so you’re not going to throw books at me and demand pickles and ice cream? With tabasco sauce? And sprinkles? With a side of carrots and chocolate?” Twilight pouted.

Ascentia shook her head, “Sorry, Twi. But the idea of you at my beck and call… I’m not comfortable with it.”

Raising a brow, Twilight snickered, “My goodness. What happened to that badass from high school? You used to be my leader type and I was like your little puppy. Now you’re the puppy and I’m the pitbull! Come oooonnn, I wanna pamper you!” She added in a whiny tone.

Ascentia backed away a bit, her face showing distress, “Twi… stop.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked with concern, puzzled.

“Just… I don’t like that, okay?” Ascentia said sharply.

“I’m really not understanding you right here. What’s wrong with me taking care of you? Couples take care of each other and have each other’s backs,” Twilight said, “If you were pregnant, I would do everything I can to take care of you, just as you took care of me.”

“I don’t know I just…” Ascentia squirmed in her seat a bit, “I’m just… more comfortable being the one taking care of you.”

Still confused by the sentiment, Twilight gave a little shrug, “All right, fine. But can I at least rub your shoulders once and a while?”

Ascentia looked visibly uncomfortable at the idea, but otherwise said “I… I guess…”

“O-kay then,” Twilight squirmed a bit herself, deciding to drop it for now.

This became a saving grace when a nurse walked into the room, “Mrs and Mrs. Sparkle? Would you like to see your baby?”

Twilight immediately brightened, “Oh, yes! Please!”

The nurse wheeled in a hospital bassinet, placing it right next to the bed. She then carefully pulled the newborn infant from it, wrapped in a pink blanket, carefully placing her into Twilight’s waiting arms.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Sparkle, you have a healthy baby girl,” the nurse smiled before she left the room to give the couple privacy.

Amazed, Twilight looked down at the baby, gently pulling back a bit of the blanket to see her face. She couldn’t believe how true it was when mothers reported that they just fell in love with their babies upon first seeing them. Sunrise squirmed slightly, opening her tiny mouth and letting out a little cooing noise, opening her eyes. They were crossed, as she still had to learn to focus, but otherwise looked up blankly at Twilight like she didn’t know what she was.

“Wow…” Twilight murmured, smiling as she offered a finger for Sunrise to play with, “Hi there, sweetheart… Look at you… Oh my goodness…”

Ascentia smiled warmly at the two, “Aw, she’s cute.”

Twilight looked over to her, “That’s it? Just cute?”

Ascentia made a half frowning, half pouting face, “What?”

“She’s perfect,” Twilight stuck her tongue out, “Okay, okay, I know all mothers say that. Despite that, hello baby! We’re your mommies, we’re so glad to finally see you.”

Sunrise let out a gurgling noise, making bubbles.

Ascentia wrapped an arm around Twilight and kissed her forehead, watching with a smile as Sunrise squirmed in her arms.

“Oh, what’s that? You’re hungry? Well, then it’s time for your meal!” Twilight pulled back part of her hospital nightgown, holding her daughter to her breast so she could feed, “Yes, that’s good milk! ‘Thank you, Mommy! It’s delicious!’, yes it is!” Noticing Ascentia snickering, she pouted, “What?”

“Just… you,” Ascentia grinned, “You’re just silly.”

Twilight blushed a bit, “I guess that’s always going to be a given fact, isn’t it?”

Ascentia smiled and kissed her forehead, “That’s good. I like silly Twi more than sad Twi.”

“Well, with Sunny Bunny around, I think there’s going to be room for silly me,” Twilight kissed her cheek, “Not all the time… Let’s get ready for sleepless nights and the next eighteen to twenty-some years! But it’ll be worth it. We’ve come this far, haven’t we?”

“I can do sleepless nights no problem,” Ascentia grinned, “I’ve had a lot of practice with that.”

‘Long hours of work… lying awake in fear I’d hurt you in my sleep...’ Twilight cringed a little, but nodded, “Well, okay then! Because you’re in charge of getting up to tend to her at night! With the exception of feeding, which I’ll provide, until we get a breast pump.”

“I have tits too, Twi,” Ascentia said flatly.

Twilight rose a brow, “So, you’d be willing to take some medication to lactate?”

Ascentia paused for a minute, “...Any side effects of that?”

“It depends on the medication, so you’d have to ask a doctor about what could work,” Twilight said, “But usually you can find a simple sort that increases milk supply whether you gave birth or not.”

“Hmm…” Ascentia pondered, “I’ll ask your doctor about it. He’s downstairs.”

Twilight grinned, “It’ll be nice if we can both nurse her, then.”

“And no sleepless nights for you, sweetheart,” Ascentia smiled, kissing her forehead.

“But if you do need help, you’d better ask,” Twilight smiled.

Ascentia didn’t say anything and just hugged her while Twilight rocked the baby. Sunrise cooed and snuggled close, seeking their warmth. Ascentia wrapped an arm around Sunrise’s blanket, kissing Twilight’s forehead as the nurse came in.

“Mrs Sparkle?”

“Yes?” Ascentia and Twilight both said at once.

“Um… I meant Her Highness…”

Twilight looked up at her, “Yes?”

“Dr Firebrand said he’s available if you wanted to speak with him before he left,” the nurse said, “Did you?”

“Oh! I hadn’t had the chance since I woke up a while ago,” Twilight said, “I’d be happy to speak with him.”

The nurse waved the psychologist in and Firebrand took a seat in one of the chairs, “Hello Twilight.”

“Hi, Doctor Firebrand,” Twilight kissed her daughter’s forehead and handed her to Ascentia to hold, “What an event this has been…”

“Yes, I could hear everything from downstairs,” Firebrand chuckled, “Hello Ascentia.”

“Hey,” Ascentia said stiffly, glaring at him.

“Be nice!” Twilight hissed under her breath, turning back to her psychologist, “So, what brings you here? I guess aside from the obvious.”

“The doctors requested your file when you came in,” Firebrand nodded, not acknowledging Ascentia’s behavior, “So I was only wondering if you wanted to speak with me about anything before I left?”

“There are a couple of things,” Twilight said as she held up two fingers, “For one, we were looking into medication that would increase a woman’s lactation supply. I’m assuming they tend to rework a woman’s hormones to do so?”

“Yes,” Firebrand nodded, “Depending on the doseage, a variety of side effects can occur. Individual women have to undergo a physical and full evaluation before any recommendations are made.”

“Well, Ascentia volunteered to be able to lactate so we could both nurse Sunrise, so that would help,” Twilight said, “We’ll look into setting that up.”

“Of course,” Firebrand smiled, “Anything else I can help you with?”

“Um… yeah,” Twilight said, “Kitten, could me and the doctor speak privately?”

Ascentia looked uneasy, but otherwise took Sunrise and left the room, blowing Twilight a kiss before closing the door.

Take a deep breath, Twilight faced the doctor, “Well, I wanted to say this without her overhearing it at the moment. We were talking earlier and it turns out she is completely uncomfortable with the idea of letting me take care of her. I mean, I can understand being hesitant about being pregnant and all, but she outright refuses to let me wait on her. I just, well, I know it’s perfectly possible to do something for someone and not get anything out of it. But there’s no reason I shouldn’t return the favour. I’m just beginning to feel that I run her like a slave.”

“From what you’ve said, it seems she’s perfectly happy with it,” Firebrand noted, “Ascentia does not work, does she?”

“She works from home, keeping the books for a local company, and is taking leave for a while,” Twilight explained, “I can see her being glad to help me out, but it just, there’s something about her behaviour that bothers me.”

“And what is it?” Firebrand asked.

Twilight wrung her fingers nervously, “She acts completely uncomfortable and even resentful of the idea of me even trying to look after her. She said she doesn’t like the idea at all. And I don’t understand why. She won’t tell me.”

“Well why do you think she might be behaving this way?” Firebrand asked.

“That’s the thing, I have no idea why she could possibly be so against it,” Twilight frowned, “It’s far beyond just the simple discomfort for imposing on someone, I can tell that much. It’s getting me worried of what could happen if she breaks anything again or gets sick.”

Firebrand sat forward, pressing his fingers to his lips as he thought for a while.

“Twilight, how would you describe Ascentia’s behavior with you on a day to day basis?”

“Daily? Well, I guess it kind of depends, but on a basic level… She’s usually very cheerful, makes sure I have everything prepared for going to work, waits on me in some way if I need it, and prepares meals. Okay, that last one is because I’m an awful cook and burn everything I touch… She’s also snarky and makes remarks of the kind, which can sometimes be funny or really, really annoying. Also, she can be childish, which is a bit of an extension of that. When I come home from work, she’s usually running to greet me, like I’d been gone for days. I understand when a dog gets enthusiastic to see you, they have no concept of time like we do. But sometimes Ascentia’s too eager to see me. Like she really doesn’t like being all by herself,” Twilight explained.

“Mmmhmm,” Firebrand nodded, “And how would you describe her behavior when the two of you first started dating?”

Twilight snorted, “Night and day. When I first met her, she was very unapproachable, cold, and would break your arm if you so much as looked at her the wrong way. But when we got closer, she opened up in her way and showed genuine interest in me. I was actually just talking about this to her earlier on, how funny! But yeah, she was kind of this mentor type, this tough woman who led you through the trials of the day and took nothing from anyone. Yet deep down, she was such a pussy cat! It was cute. She had a very sweet side that she rarely showed to anyone except me. Nowadays, whoa… That’s changed a lot.”

“So somewhere along that line, Ascentia went through a shift in not only her behavior but her personality,” Firebrand said, “This is not something that happens very often. In fact it’s quite rare. It takes either intense therapy or intense trauma to affect someone’s personality in such a way. Behavior can be learned and changed. But a personality is not so malleable. At what point to you think she became, for lack of a better word, so submissive to you?”

Twilight frowned slightly, biting her lip, “I honestly have no idea. I mean, she softened up until we got married, but it wasn’t until after that she really had this change.”

“And when did you first notice it?” Firebrand asked.

“Sometime after we got married, after my coronation, after-” Twilight’s colour drained from her face as her heart sank, “...Oh no….”

“Hmm?” Firebrand asked.

“It must have started after I became abusive,” Twilight uttered, bringing a hand to her head, “Oh my goodness. It’s my fault. I-I made her this way! I must have scared her into submission!”

“That would seem the most likely,” Firebrand explained, “The changes and behavior you’ve described are indicative of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Twilight let out a cry of despair, leaning down a bit, “Oh my goodness… What have I done?! Only an evil jerkoff would make the ones they love fear them! I’ve stripped her of who she truly is!”

“Now Twilight, do not get ahead of yourself,” Firebrand said softly, “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not the same thing as fear. Most of the time, the one suffering from it is unaware of exactly what has happened to them. It is a condition where someone has been stretched to their peak, and the nervous system cannot take any more input. The nervous system has either collapsed on itself, or is about to collapse. But it is not a conscious feeling. She doesn’t seem to be afraid of you in any respect. In fact, she is very protective of you judging by the way she was glaring at me.”

“Yeah… About that, she thinks you're a quack and that I shouldn’t be seeing you,” Twilight muttered, “Sure, she can’t stop me, but it gets a little old after a while.”

“Twilight, if I had a nickel for every spouse who said that about me, I wouldn’t need to be your psychiatrist,” Firebrand chuckled, “My line of work carries a lot of skepticism, and people who do not like to see people being changed from who they once were. In fact, Ascentia’s attitude toward me is the most neurotypical thing she has ever done.”

“I guess so,” Twilight shrugs a bit, “She’s also afraid you’re going to tell us to split up. Even though I’ve told her eighty-thousand times that you’ve never said anything like that.”

“Twilight, I will put it as bluntly as I can for you,” Firebrand said firmly, “Your wife is not well. She is showing signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, she is absolutely paranoid of her marriage breaking up, and she throws herself at your feet in a desperate desire to please you. Maybe it’s not intentional, or maybe she does it intentionally. It could be a mix of both. But the question is do you see this becoming an issue in the future? What do you think could happen as a result of this behavior?”

“Absolutely,” Twilight sighed, “I’ve seen this for a while now, especially since I started coming to see you. But I know that if I tell her she needs help, she’d outright refuse. I’m definitely worried it’s going to affect our family and our marriage, moreso than it already is.”

“Now, here is the bad news, Twilight,” Firebrand said, “There is no fix-all treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. It is permanent and will never go away. It can be alleviated, but these scars will be with her for the rest of her life. Possibly the paranoia and slave complex as well. I think on some level you will never be able to stop her from wanting to wait on you and be at your beck and call. It is something the both of you have ingrained within her.”

“That’s what I figured, mental disorders such as that never exactly disappear,” Twilight said grimly, running a hand through her hair, “It’s the price I’m paying at this point. I just hope something can be done.”

“If she refuses to seek help, the safest course of action would be to simply indulge her,” Firebrand said, though his tone indicated the suggestion was not one he found appealing, “Allow her to continue to wait on you, give her the love and affection she clearly seeks from you. You would say that Ascentia is affectionate, would you?”

“Very,” Twilight nodded.

“Then barring any desire to seek therapy, the safest path is the path of least resistance,” Firebrand sighed, “It is clear that, despite the myriad of issues your wife has, serving you gives her genuine happiness.”

Exhaling, Twilight smiled grimly and shook her head, “I guess you’re right. That really is the only thing I can do.”

“Despite all that, I don’t suppose Ascentia would object to me prescribing something to help those scars fade?” Firebrand asked.

“I could probably talk to her about it,” Twilight said, “I think she’d take to it better if it sounds like my idea.”

Firebrand nodded and stood up, “So was that all or was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Just that I’ll be back to see you in a few weeks,” Twilight nodded, “Other than that, it’s all good for now.”

Firebrand smiled and moved to the door, “Alright, your Highness. Enjoy your time with your family.”

Pulling open the door, Ascentia fell through the doorway, having had her ear pressed against the wood. Stumbling, she cradled Sunrise and stood upright, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

“Thanks, Doctor… see you next month…” Twilight twitched a bit, feeling utterly conflicted at the sight she’d just seen.

Firebrand smiled and left, closing the door behind him. Ascentia stepped closer and cleared her throat.

“So everything good?” she asked casually.

“Yes, as fine as can be,” Twilight said calmly.

“I wasn’t listening in, Twilight,” Ascentia said softly, “I went for a walk around the hospital, came back and was just trying to hear if you guys were done.”

“You’re lying,” Twilight said flatly.

“Yeah…”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Twilight crossed her arms over her chest, “It was a bit of an eye opener, as I’m sure you heard. But before you say anything, no. I’m not going to commit you or force you to seek help. I know you would never do well to that kind of thing.”

Ascentia shifted uncomfortably on the spot, shaking her head.

“You can put Sunrise in the bassinet, I think she needs some time to sleep,” Twilight said calmly, “Then sit down, please.”

Ascentia gently laid Sunrise in the bassinet, kissing the little infant’s forehead and softly whispering to her before sitting down in one of the chairs, looking at her apprehensively.

“There’s no two ways about this, is there? Well, fine. I’m an enabler anyway, so I think that the course of action will be to keep things are they are. I’m still getting help, I’m not changing that. But we’ll have to work out with the fact that this is going to be our life,” Twilight said softly, “You’re paranoid and taking the servant’s heart sentiment to the extreme. I love you and I don’t want to leave you. I can’t. If that happens, I just… I’ve done enough damage. This is the price I’m going to pay for my actions.

“But it’s not going to be torture. I’m not here because I feel I have to be, I do still want to be.”

Twilight reached over to touch her good hand, smiling.

“We’ll make it work. Even if you’re crazy.”

“I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested!” Ascentia assured.

Snorting, Twilight patted her hand, “Okay then, Kitten. Whatever you say.”

Ascentia leaned in and hugged her, smiling brightly, “I wuv you, Twiley.”

“And I love you too, Asy,” Twilight nuzzled her.

The door to the hospital room opened, causing Fluttershy to look up as she saw Scootaloo quietly entering. Smiling brightly, Fluttershy invited her to come and sit.

“Hi, sweetheart. Would you like to meet your baby brother?” She asked.

Scootaloo beamed brightly and rushed over to her side, “Yeah! Lemme see! Lemme see!”

Laughing, Fluttershy pulled back the blanket and lowered the infant down into Scootaloo’s view, “Here he is. His name is Spectrum.”

The baby boy yawned, gazing at Scootaloo and wiggling his tiny hands a bit. His eyes were teal, like Fluttershy’s, but he was sporting tuffs of rainbow hair on his head.

“Awww!” Scootaloo grinned, “He’s so cute! Oh, I just know he’s gonna be best friends with Twilight’s kid!”

“I don’t doubt it,” Fluttershy giggled at the notion, “It’s just a shame Rainbow couldn’t he here to see him born… Oh well, at least we can take him to meet her.”

Scootaloo smiled, “You think she’ll like him?”

“Are you kidding? The last time I visited her, she said, ‘Damn it, Shy! Where’s the baby?! I wanna see him already!’,” Fluttershy laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair, “She kept checking to see if my water was broken.”

“Oh, speaking of which, did you hear that Rarity found out what Sweetie Belle did at Rainbow’s?” Scootaloo asked.

“I did,” Fluttershy nodded, “I heard she was grounded for the entire summer.”

“Oh, not just grounded,” Scootaloo winced, “I have never seen Rarity that angry before. And she can’t scream at Rainbow, so… dear lord I thought Sweetie Belle was going to go into hysterics.”

Nodding sadly, Fluttershy brought her son to her breast so he could feed, “Poor thing. I can understand Rarity’s worry for her and getting upset about it. But poor Sweetie, she felt awful enough. She still blames herself for what happened…”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo winced, “And now she’s not allowed to see me or Apple Bloom until the summer is up.”

“What a shame, you two must miss her so much,” Fluttershy pouted sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo sighed, “It’s not the same without her.”

Fluttershy smiled as she gave Scootaloo a one-armed hug with her free arm, “It’s not easy being so close yet so far from the one you love. But at least there’s always that moment you reunite.”

“Oh yeah,” Scootaloo smiled, “Me and AB have been planning it. S’gonna be good!”

Spectrum reached up and bopped Scootaloo in the nose.

“Ah! Alright, alright. We’ll stop talking dirty in front of the baby,” Scootaloo griped.

“Ooh,” Fluttershy laughed, nuzzling her hair and kissing her head, “So, how does it feel being a big sister, now?”

“Feels awesome!” Scootaloo grinned, “I never had any siblings, aside from my cousins but that’s not the same. This is gonna be so cool!”

“Indeed, Spectrum will definitely be happy to have such a great big sister like you!” Fluttershy beamed.

Scootaloo hopped up onto Fluttershy’s lap, “Thanks Flutt… Mom.”

Stroking her hair, Fluttershy kissed her forehead, “Still getting used to it?”

Scootaloo smiled and nodded, “And I like it.”

Squirming a bit, Spectrum began to cry a little, fussing.

“Awww, I think someone needs to rest,” Fluttershy cooed, kissing his cheek, “Would you put him in the bassinette?”

Scootaloo nodded and set Spectrum into the bassinet, tucking him in gently and kissing his cheek, “Aw, I love him already.”

“Me too,” Fluttershy giggled, “I can’t wait to bring him home, now.”

“When are we bringing him home?” Scootaloo asked.

Cringing slightly, Fluttershy exhaled, “They had to perform a little surgery to get him out. So the doctors want to keep me here for a few days. I should be out by the end of the week.”

“Oooh, C Section?” Scootaloo asked.

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, an episiotomy.”

Scootaloo winced, “AH! We just learned about that in school, NO!”

She waved her hands a bit in a disgusted fashion, “No no no no no!”

“Sorry, sweetheart…” Fluttershy said apologetically, looking sheepish, “I didn’t mean to gross you out. But I’m all right now, so don’t worry.”

“I hope so,” Scootaloo shuddered, “Ugh, that just sounds… AH!”

“I know, but it was necessary, otherwise Spectrum would’ve died. His shoulders were stuck and he was a little big, so that’s why they had to,” Fluttershy murmured, “It explains why I was in labour for thirty-six hours… Anyway, we’ll just, um, keep that between us for the time being.”

“Okay, Ma,” Scootaloo snuggled up to her, nuzzling her shoulder.

Smiling more,” Fluttershy brought her arms around her, “Once I’m out of the hospital, once I’m recovered after we take him home; we’ll go bring him to meet his other mother. How about that?”

“YES!” Scootaloo beamed, “All four of us being a family for once? I am so in!”

Laughing, Fluttershy kissed her head, “I know, I can’t wait. It’ll be nice that we can all spend time together as a family when we visit her.”

Scootaloo grinned and cuddled her closer, “Can’t wait.”

Twilight sat at her desk, tapping her quill to her scroll as she anticipated something she hadn’t done since she was just a student: Writing one of her habitual letters to the Princess. She couldn’t tell if everything that had happened to everyone in town in the last year had been a net positive or negative.

“Call it a roller coaster,” Twilight mused, “But a lot of things sure have changed.”

“What are you doing?” Ascentia asked, coming out of Sunrise’s room, wiping her hands clean.

“I’m writing a letter to Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied.

“I thought you didn’t do that anymore,” Ascentia asked, moving behind her and rubbing her shoulders.

Twilight shrugged slightly, “Well, a lot happened this year, I figured it was worth documenting in this way. I can remember writing these letters, they always helped me a lot. I think it’s time I got back into that a little bit. Besides, I haven’t seen her in a while, it’ll be nice to just give her a letter.”

Ascentia nodded, pressing her fingers into Twilight’s tense muscles, “I see. Well Sunny’s down for her nap, so you have all the time in the world.”

“Wonderful,” Twilight murmured, then lay the quill against the parchment to begin writing.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Where do I even begin? A lot came to pass this year, not least of which being that I had a baby. Who would’ve seen that coming? Studious little Twilight Sparkle, a family? Unheard of!

Well, motherhood certainly isn’t easy. Sunrise cries at least twice every night, she needs constant care, but that’s life. That’s just how babies are. It’s tiring, my back is killing me, I have stretch marks all over my stomach, my feet hurt, and I often have vomit on my shirt.

But at the end of the day, when I put her down for bed, when I gaze down at the little miracle that is my daughter; I know all the more that I would be her mother a thousand times over. She’s worth every minute.

So, aside from that, I’m still getting therapy. It’s been going very well, in fact. Doctor Firebrand even suggested I take up Yoga. Or as Ascentia puts it, “The only class that actually tells you to take your head and stick it up your ass”. I know, lovely, isn’t it? I’ve been considering it. That or meditation.

I’ve had to come to terms with a lot of the things I’ve done since Ascentia and I got married. I realize now that all this time, I was hiding behind my anger as a way to block my mind from truly seeing what was happening. It’s no wonder a lot of memories of what I’d done eluded me. But now it all makes sense, it’s a lot clearer and while it hurts, I know I have to face them.

I especially have to pay for my actions, they’ve affected my wife more than I can imagine. Especially since it is my fault she became this way. There isn’t anything I can do to change it, all I can do is live with it, to help keep her at ease. But I love her, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep our marriage. Now that we have a daughter together, I guess it’s one way we can focus and be a team, now that we have to be there for her.

Life won’t be perfect, but what life ever is? Whoever said that life was fair, they better not come our way. I know that I wouldn’t change a thing. As long as we stick together we can take what life may bring. For better or worse.

My friends have gone through a lot themselves, I’d be here for hours trying to sum it up. Maybe I’ll ask them to write you… That’s a great idea, I’ll do that. For now, all I can say is, wow. Just wow. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s like they just won’t quit.

Then again, Ascentia and I are certainly in no position to talk. At the same time, I’m still very proud of them. They’re doing all they can to keep fighting to make it. Good for them!

But as I look back, I can’t help but feel great. It’s really brought us all into a whole new part of our lives. We’re all, in some ways, closer, and a lot more aware of the tough times of life. I’m fortunate to have my friends and my new growing family in my life. They make every minute worth fighting for. We’re still going to hit a lot of hardships and even sad moments in our lifetime. But we can do it. We’ve come this far, way too far to stop, now.

I’ve learned, I think we all have, that to truly be with someone, you have to take the good with the bad. Don’t be a fair-weather friend. Take the one you love at their best and worst, or not at all.

Your former student, Twilight Sparkle

Ascentia wrapped her arms around Twilight’s neck and hugged her from behind, nuzzling her hair, “Good letter?”

Twilight grinned, “I think it’s one of the best letters I’ve written in a long time.”

Ascentia smiled, “Sounds good. Missed writing them?”

“Oh, yes. I definitely have. I forgot how therapeutic it is,” Twilight murmured, rolling it up and tying the scroll, “Yes, I’ll definitely be doing this more often.”

“With the new baby, there’ll be a lot to talk about,” Ascentia grinned, kissing the top of her head, “My little Twilight, learning about the magic of Parenting.”

“She’ll definitely be one proud Godmother,” Twilight giggled.

“Did you tell her you wanted to name her Godmother?” Ascentia asked.

“Mm-hm, I told her some time after I found out,” Twilight beamed, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry like that.”

“She cried?” Ascentia balked, “Really?!”

Twilight nodded, “She had this big smile and all of a sudden, tears were falling. I knew it meant something to her, but wow. It meant a lot to her. More than I thought…”

“Aww,” Ascentia smiled widely, “Celestia can be really cute sometimes. We should give her more hugs.”

“And now she’ll get three times the hugs!” Twilight laughed with glee, “We’re going to have quite a field day when we visit this weekend.”

Ascentia snuggled her tighter and laughed, “Yup. Everything’s going to be just fine.”