If you were to ask any pony of Ponyville where, in their view, the most peaceful and tranquil place in their small town was, they'd all give you the same answer. That being a small cottage just on the outskirts of town, just a stone's throw away from the edges of the Everfree Forest. For this was the home of Ponyville's resident animal carer, a notoriously timid yellow pegasus by the name of Fluttershy. This mare had gained an accurate reputation as being among the most kind-hearted and friendly ponies you could meet, and her home was a veritable paradise for all creatures great and small, and a welcoming place of calm, even when the rest of town experienced hectic times.

It is important to know this to fully appreciate just how much of a contrast this place usually is with how ponies would see it now. For today, the peace and calm that was usually associated with this tiny cottage had been shattered by a near-constant barrage of pained screams, all coming from within the building itself. The animals, who were usually never afraid of venturing close to the place, now all looked upon it from a fair distance, as if in fear of what their beloved keeper was going through within.

And they had good cause to worry, for Fluttershy was currently experiencing a great deal of pain and stress, all of which was something she had been expecting for a long time now. She lay on her bed, upon all four of her knees, taking deep breaths whenever she could. Her usually well-kept mane was today bedraggled, a clear sign that she had been strained for a fair amount of time. Beads of sweat rolled off her forehead as she continued her efforts, but she knew that more was inevitably going to come.

Because today was the day that she had gone into labour.

Her belly was swollen with the child she carried, and though she would never say she didn't want children, she had not been prepared for just how difficult the actual birth was. She was not facing this ordeal alone though. Behind her, standing beside the bed and facing the part of Fluttershy that the usually-quiet pegasus would usually never think of showing, was Ponyville's resident medical expert, Nurse Redheart. This was not the first delivery the nurse had experienced in her time, nor would it be the last, so unlike Fluttershy, she was dealing with this matter in a far more professional manner.

Fluttershy meanwhile had been through this for a great number of hours, almost twelve by her count, and though she knew that this was, perhaps, the greatest pain she'd ever known, she took solace in the fact that she was with the one she loved. For on the other side of the bed, looking Fluttershy in the eyes, was a young dragon male. Almost three times her length and purple in his colouring, this was one she had known since he was but an infant. And, more importantly, he was her mate, and the father of the child she was now giving birth to.

"Spike! I'm...I'm scared!"

The young dragon had been kneeling beside her through this entire situation, never leaving her for anything. He looked upon her with great affection, but also worry.

"It's alright, Fluttershy. I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."

Even in spite of how tired she was from all this, she still had strength enough to give him a warm smile, which he promptly returned. It had been just over eleven months since Spike had experienced something he never thought he would, as his dragon instincts had kicked in after his eighteenth Birthday. Those instincts had caused him to subconsciously mark his six closest friends, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy, as his mates. It had been, as you might expect, a strange and uncomfortable situation for all of them, but in the end, they'd all adjusted to it, eventually resulting in Spike consummating his relationship to all of them.

However, Fluttershy had been in heat at that time, and as expected, that resulted in her becoming pregnant with his child. And now, here they were, eleven months later, to witness that child's birth. Spike knew that this sort of pain happened to every mare when they had children, but even knowing that, he couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty about this. It had taken a while after the initial shock of first getting together with them, but he had grown to love each and every one of his six mates, and as such, he never wanted them to be in pain like this. All he could do was comfort her, and hope that would be enough.

Seeing the exhausted and pained look on her face, Spike frowned as he looked over to Redheart.

"What's happening back there? Is the baby alright?"

Redheart peered over Fluttershy and looked to Spike, her face that of uncertainty.

"I don't know. Births don't usually take this long in mares. It might be because of the child's...er..."

She looked at Spike, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing, but nevertheless said what was on her mind.

"...mixed parentage."

Spike's frown deepened at that, not liking the fact that she was clearly implying that the child's birth would be difficult because it's father was a dragon. However, although he'd never say so, there was a part of him that had been worried about the same thing. He began to open his mouth, ready to ask her if there was something else they could do to help things along. But he was prevented from saying so by the sudden change in expression on Redheart's face. Her eyes widened with shock as she lowered her head back towards Fluttershy's nether-regions for a few moments before looking back up at Spike.

"Wait! It's coming!"

Spike and Fluttershy's own eyes widened at that, and the latter stood tall with this revelation.

"The baby?!"

The nurse nodded her head frantically at that before focusing her attention back to Fluttershy. Spike though got back to his knees and reached up with his hand, holding one of Fluttershy's hooves.

"It's okay, Honey. The foal is coming. We're on the home stretch now."

Fluttershy nodded at her mate before taking a few deep breaths, preparing herself for the final stage of this incredibly painful experience. Redheart placed her hooves upon the bed, ready to guide out the newborn, and Spike kept his hands on Fluttershy's hoof. After a few moments of calm and quiet, it happened, as Fluttershy's eyes shot open and she let out an ear-splitting scream. The strain of her final push translated to her hoof, which now clamped onto Spike's hand with tremendous force.

Spike's own eyes shot open with the sudden pain his mate was inflicting on his hand, but he put up with it, knowing that Fluttershy had endured far worse today. He silently thanked the fact that he was a dragon, because if he'd been a pony right now, he did not doubt that Fluttershy would have left him with a crushed hoof after this. So, he stayed close to her, watching her heavy breathing and strained face as she pushed as hard as her remaining strength would let her. As the two mates stayed together during this, they hear Redheart's voice.

"The head is almost out! Keep it up!"

Fluttershy said nothing at that, but merely took it another breath before shutting her eyes tightly, just before she pushed even harder than before, her face that of great strain. Spike had never seen her or anypony else go through anything like this, but he couldn't help but admire her for just how much she'd been through today. Even so, his attention, as well as hers, was diverted as they both heard an unmistakable sound. A sound of crying, loud and gurgling. The two looked at each other, their faces showing that they didn't quite believe what their ears were telling them. Spike craned his neck to see over his mate's body, looking to where Redheart was still working.

"Well? Is...is the foal okay?"

There was a brief moment of silence from Redheart, which neither Spike nor Fluttershy appreciated in the slightest. His face growing angry, Spike called out even louder.

"Is our child alright?!"

It was here that Redheart finally reared back from where she'd been, looking up at Spike with an uncertain expression before speaking.

"Um...yes. The child is fine. It's...a colt."

There was a deafening silence when Spike heard those words, his face becoming a complete blank as his mind tried to grasp what he'd just been told. But, as the moments passed and those words began to truly sink in, a small smile crept onto his face.

"A colt...a son."

His smile widened as he knelt back to Fluttershy, who was still panting from her experience.

"Fluttershy...we have a son!"

The exhausted mare looked up at her, her eyes widening and her mouth forming into an affectionate smile. However, before either of them could say or do anything about that, the tender moment was interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared. Looking up, Spike looked upon Redheart, whose face bore a look of uncertainty.

"I...think you should see this."

Spike's own expression became one of worry as he stood up and began to make his way around the bed. Fear began to grip his mind as all sorts of scenarios began to pop up in his imagination. What the child unhealthy in some way? Was it's life in danger? Those worries were soon answered once he reached the other side of the bed. And there, lying on the soft bed just behind his mother, was Spike's son. The section of the bed where the child lay was stained with the blood that had come from Fluttershy during all this, but that was not what shocked him most, for his eyes widened when he realised what Redheart had been concerned about. The child before him was no pony, but neither was it a dragon.

Months ago, when this whole matter of him and his six friends had started, Twilight had told him a tale of a union between pony and dragon from long ago, and that from that union was born the race of Thestrals, or "bat-ponies" as most called them. It seemed that there was truth to the legend after all, for that was exactly what his and Fluttershy's child appeared to be. If he had to describe it, he would have to say that it was, in essence, a miniature version of Fluttershy back when she had been affected by Twilight's magic into becoming, where friends had dubbed, "Flutterbat". The only difference was that the child bore a set of tiny green spines down it's back, clearly a trait he'd inherited from his father.

Spike's eyes drifted downwards to confirm what Redheart had already told him. Yep, definitely male. Then, as Spike approached the newborn, the child's eyes widened. They were dragon eyes, but their colour was a light blue, the same as his mother's eyes. The moment they locked onto his father, the child began to let our a gurgling sound. If Spike had to venture a guess, he would say that the child was trying to laugh, a notion which brought a smile to the new father's face.

"Hey there, little guy."

Before he could say another word though, Nurse Redheart coughed again, gaining his attention.

"Would you...like to cut the umbilical?"

Spike's eyes darted back to his son, at the fleshy cord that still connected him to his mother. Looking back to Redheart, he could see that she was holding a small pair of scissors, no doubt made for this purpose. Spike though, raised a hand and shook his head, refusing her scissors. Although initially confused by this, Redheart soon understood as Spike raised a single, sharp claw, which he then lowered to the child's cord, slicing with one swift motion. With that done, Redheart began to work on what remained on both sides, which, thanks to her extensive experience in this matter, didn't take long.

The child was now fully separated, and thus, Spike was free to hold his son for the first time. As he picked up the child, the first thing he noted was how small he was, more so than he was expecting, only just fitting on Spike's two hands. But, there were more important matters to deal with now, as Spike took the child around the bed, kneeling on the other side before offering him to Fluttershy, whose eyes had been closed this whole time because of how tired she still was. However, they soon opened once they heard the gurgling sound of the child, and then widened with surprise once she saw him, much like Spike had done when he had first seen their offspring.

"Fluttershy...this is...our son."

But Fluttershy said nothing, merely staring at the child as he squirmed within Spike's hands. In Spike's mind, a pang of worry began to form. What if this child wasn't what she was expecting? What if she was worried about it's mixed blood, or something else? Thankfully, those fears vanished in an instant as Fluttershy's face morphed into a wide smile, and her eyes began to water. Spike smiled at her, having never remembered seeing her this happy before. As the first tears began to fall down her cheek, she moved her head forward, gently nuzzling the child.

"He's...he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

In this one moment, every single thought of doubt, fear and worry that Spike had been feeling about this situation his instincts had demanded of him all shattered, and all there were in his mind was him, Fluttershy and their son. This one moment was, to him, nothing short of perfect. He never wanted this moment to go, and he vowed that he would remember it for as long as he lived. And given that he was a dragon, that would undoubtedly be a very long time. It was here that the child's eyes opened and looked upon his mother for the first time. Instinctively, he raised his two tiny hooves and placed them on Fluttershy's face. Although, at this early stage, it was unlikely that it's sight was that good, Spike knew deep down that this child knew it's mother all the same.

As Fluttershy kept nuzzling her son, tears still falling. Spike gently placed the child down upon the bed. Fluttershy briefly looked up at him, looking a little confused, But Spike gestured to the door of her room with his hand, and Fluttershy smiled and nodded at that, understanding immediately what he was planning. Turning from them both, Spike opened the door of the room and began to make his way down to the ground floor of Fluttershy's cottage. There, all waiting together, were Twilight and the rest of their friends. The moment Spike came down, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him expectantly. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"It's a colt."

The silence that had been there remained for only a few moment longer, as the room suddenly exploded into a frenzy of high-pitched screams, with all five of the mares rushing towards him. Twilight was the first to speak.

"Congratulations, Spike! You and Fluttershy must be so proud!"

Spike smiled widely at that, but then a thought popped into his head as he gestured to the upper level of the house. The five mares all looked at one another, all understanding immediately what he was suggesting, and they nodded enthusiastically in response. So, with Spike leading, they all headed upstairs to Fluttershy's room. Once inside, they all looked upon both her and her child. Although still tired, Fluttershy had nevertheless begun to nurse the child, with the colt placed down near her lower belly where her nipples were. It was already feeding once Spike and the others had entered. Fluttershy looked up at them, her face still one of absolute joy as they all broke out into massive smiles once they saw the colt.

Spike meanwhile approached Fluttershy and knelt down beside the bed, his eyes never leaving either her nor his son. Raising his hand, he gently patted the little tuft of pink mane on the colt's head as he fed, before looking up at his mate with a look of utter affection, which she promptly returned. As the three stayed together, Twilight and the others approached, albeit slowly and quietly so as to not disturb the young foal. They all exchanged glances at each other, some happy, others excited, but Twilight was the only one who knelt down next to her number one assistant, giving him a smile before looking at the colt. Spike and Fluttershy's son, and, in truth, the stepson of both Twilight and the other five as well by way of their relationship to his father.

As she looked from Spike, to Fluttershy, and back to the colt, she gave a small smile.

"Welcome to the world, little one."