It was four in the morning, the sun still a couple hours away from peeking over the horizon. Solaris and Trill slept soundly, the alicorn holding his wife close as he subconsciously nuzzled her. He was having a really good dream at the moment, though it didn't involve Emerald as an older filly this time. Just him and Trill on a secluded island, no one to bother them as they enjoyed each other's company. Unfortunately, he was snapped out of his romantic dream when the sound of their baby's crying through the monitor woke him up. Groaning in slight irritation that his dream was interrupted, his daughter's needs came first as he climbed out of bed.

He left the room and entered the nursery, hearing Emerald crying in her crib. "I'm here, Emmy." He scooped the filly up in his hooves, quietly shushing her as he held her over his shoulder and rubbed her back. "Daddy's here. Daddy's got you." It took a while for her to calm down, nuzzling her gently to relax her. "Now, what's got you all upset? You made a stinky?" Solaris sniffed around Emerald's bottom, thankfully not smelling the scent of a diaper needing changed. "Nope. Maybe you're hungry."

He pressed an ear up to her belly as she lifted her up, purposefully twitching it around as the tip tickled Emerald's nose, making her giggle and try to nip his appendage. Her stomach did rumble, which gave him his answer as to why she woke up. He carried her over to the magically built in sink he had installed to easily fill up Emerald's bottles of formula so he wouldn't walk through the castle to the kitchen just to feed her. Solaris grabbed a clean bottle nearby, turning on the faucet and filled it halfway up with water. He grabbed the baby formula and poured some in to mix with the water.

Luckily, he didn't need a bottle warmer; he levitated the bottle over his hoof, then lit it up with green flames, letting the formula heat up so it would be warm enough for Emerald to drink. The infant stared in awe at the green fire her daddy made in his hoof, thankfully held close to him so he doesn't accidentally burn her. After a while of simmering the liquid, he let it sit for a minute before splashing a few drops on his hoof, right at the perfect temperature for her to safely drink.

"Ok. Here we go, sweetie." Solaris gently brought the bottle down to Emerald's lips, the filly quickly latching her mouth around the tip and began suckling. She really was hungry and began sucking down her very early morning breakfast really fast. He had to pull it away before she could choke or spit up. "Hey, easy, Emmy. Not too fast."

He brought it back to her before she began to whine, this time learning no to drink too fast or else have her bottle be taken out of her reach again. Solaris yawned, smacking his lips as he had only a couple more hours left of sleep to get before the day begins, though if Emerald was going to stay awake, he wasn't going to be heading back to bed anytime soon. Once she was done, he burped her, earning another gross belch as he swore her table manners came from Trill more than him and tried to get her back to sleep. Sadly, that wasn't going to happen as he predicted.

"You're not going to go back to sleep, are you?" he asked rhetorically, the infant tilted her head to the side as she had no answer to his question. "Nope. No you are not." Solaris gently lowered Emerald down on her back, levitating her new stuffed bear off the shelf. "Well, since I'm going to be up anyway, might as well kill time until the sun rises."

Using his magic, he made animated the doll into moving, the teddy bear walking up the filly and plopped down beside her. She stared at it with intense curiosity, watching it crawl toward her little by little comically. He reared it up and land down on her tummy, tickling her hooves with its furry paws, making her giggle and hug onto its arm. While Solaris made the toy panic as it was "captured" by the baby, as happy as he was to see his little filly having fun, he grew upset as he wished he had any time with his own mother. He couldn't change the past, and even if he could, that would mean he would have never met Trill, or had Emerald.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he smelt the inevitable scent of a diaper needing changed. "Ugh. Somepony left me a present after I gave her one." He lifted Emerald up, bringing the toy with her, levitating her to the changing table and undid her little pajamas. "I am really glad I wasn't born an earth pony. Any fathers or mothers who can change a diaper without the use of magic, you all deserve a medal for your bravery."

Grabbing the items he needed, he undid the filly's diaper, grabbing a wipe and cleaning her behind of the mess she made. He threw the diaper away in the waste basket, thankfully magically enchanted to prevent odors from seeping out, pulled out a fresh one and sprinkled some baby powder around her rump and the diaper to keep her from getting a rash. With the new diaper firmly wrapped around Emerald's underside and put her PJs back on, he lifted her up and nuzzled her.

"There. Nice and clean." While Emerald booped Solaris's nose with her little hooves, he just realized that he was the only one who had woken up when Emerald had. "I know Trill's not that much of a heavy sleeper...How come she didn't even stir when you cried, hmm? Let's go and see mommy."

Solaris left the nursery with Emerald in tow, holding onto her new toy, and walked into his bedroom. He found the changeling still asleep where he last saw her, barely even budged when Emerald cried out for them. Curious, he wondered how she could sleep through a baby's cry, approaching the bed and looking down at his wife. Grinning, the alicorn lowered the filly down on her belly, making Emerald rest on Trill's side. Her squirming woke her mommy up, Trill groaning as she woke up from her sleep.

"Wha...? What's happening?" She looked down at Emerald, squirming happily as she woke her mommy up. "How did you get in here?"

"That would be me," Solaris said, though she didn't seem to hear him. As she levitated Emerald up with her magic, she pulled out a pair of earplugs she had in her ears. He knew something was up, putting those in after he went to sleep so she could sneak out of getting their baby after he fell asleep first. "Earplugs? Really, Trill?"

"Hmm?" Trill looked up at Solaris, seeing the disappointed glare he gave her as she held her earplugs. "...Uhhhhhhh..."

"No earplugs." He snatched the small pieces of rubber away from her. "You thought you could skip out on alternating taking care of Emerald and let me do all the hard work."

"I was going to use those just for tonight," Trill explained. "I'm still really sore from pushing this one out of me, and I ran around trying to chase Flurry Heart when Emerald wanted you to hold her more than me. So excuse me if I want some more sleep."

"Then tell me that next time before she wakes up again and cries for half an hour before she finally gets taken care of," Solaris chided.

"Ok. Sorry." She rubbed her eyes and looked at the time, noticing the sun wasn't even up yet. "And you woke me up to punish me for my earplugs?"

"Not at first. Emmy wanted to see her mommy." Trill looked down at Emerald again, the baby looking back as she began nibbling on her bear's paw.

"...Sure it was. Welp, mommy's going back to sleep. Night night." She laid on her back and placed Emerald on her stomach, snoring loudly as she faked going back to sleep.

Solaris rolled his eyes at the fake snoring, picking Emerald up as she too began to doze off. "Alright, time to take you back to bed." The filly yawned, curling up into her daddy's chest as he headed back to the nursery. He lowered her back in her crib, placing her teddy bear beside her as she held onto it the moment its soft fur brushed against her. "Sleep tight, Emmy."

He leaned down and gave her a little kiss, absorbing the love her daddy gave her as her horn sparked a little. The alicorn headed back to their room, unable to go back to sleep and decided to take a shower before he began his duties for the day. He didn't want to smell like baby powder in front of his council if they had a meeting today.

A month had passed after Emerald had been brought home to the castle, and the first month raising her was a lot more tiresome than the new parents anticipated. At least she wasn't as wild as her cousin Flurry Heart, but with her wings and magic, she could cause some trouble once she figures out she can use them. Every morning was exhausting for Solaris and Trill when their daughter wakes up and cries early in the morning, though Solaris is the most exhausted since Emerald doesn't calm down unless she's held by him. The alicorn only hoped she doesn't get too clingy with him when she grows up and panic if he has to leave Canterlot or Equestria for an important event he's required to be at and he can't bring her.

Right now, he was in the middle of a meeting with his council as they discussed the plans for the Summer Sun Celebration and where it will be held in the next couple months. It was still celebrated, only this time it was held in Solaris's honor for saving Equestria from Lucifer, as well as preserving the memory of the late princesses who couldn't stop him. The alicorn unfortunately kept dozing off, Emerald having woken up a few times last night, and even though he and Trill alternated tending to what she was crying about, she always wanted her daddy.

"As Fillydelphia hosted the Summer Sun Celebration last year, we have several other locations that are perfect for this year's. Where would you like it to be held, Your Highness?" As the council waited for Solaris to make a decision, they noticed he had passed out in his seat, leaning his head against his hoof. "Prince Solaris?...Your Highness!"

Solaris snorted awake, looking around and held his hooves up to defend himself as if he were under attack. "What happened!? Something evil coming!?"

"No, Your Highness. You fell asleep." Slightly embarrassed that he wound up passing out, he lowered his hooves and shook his head. "Are you ok? You've been...dozing off for the past hour."

"Sorry, everypony," Solaris apologized, letting out a yawn. "I barely got any sleep last night."

"From your wife?" one of them asked.

"No. Something else actually." The alicorn rubbed his eyes, slapping his cheeks to keep himself awake. "I figured now would be a good time to finally let what the press had found out almost a month ago after Trill and I left the hospital."

"The hospital?" The sophisticated ponies in the council all looked at each other in confusion, wondering what they were both doing at a hospital.

"No! Emerald Sparkle, get back here, little missy!" They heard Trill's voice outside in the halls, along with what sounded like a filly giggling as she escaped from the changeling.

The doors to the room slammed open as little Emerald Sparkle, now figuring out how to use her wings, barged in, surprising everyone as she flew inside. Her target was Solaris, the stallion sighing a little as he grabbed his daughter just as she was about to tackle him.

"Emmy, what are you doing?" he asked her, her answer a giggle as she reached her hooves out to him, asking him for a hug. Solaris looked up at the shocked stallions and mares as they got to see his daughter for the first time. At least the guards and servants who saw her first kept their lips sealed until he and Trill decided to show their daughter to Equestria. "Well, I guess now's a good time as ever. Mares and gentlecolts of the council, I would like to introduce you all to Emerald Sparkle, my daughter."

"D-Daughter!?" one of them gasped, all of them both somewhat elated at the arrival of a new princess, though seeing how she looked, they questioned how it was possible that she was born as a pony and a changeling.

"Yes, I know it sounds a bit strange. But long story short, Trill and I found a spell that made it possible for Emerald to be born." He turned Emerald around for the others to get a better look at her, the month old filly looking around at the new ponies in the room curiously.

"...Well...she's definitely...different," a stallion said as they looked at her horn and legs.

Trill ran into the room, panting heavily as she was unable to keep up with Emerald. "There you are. I am so sorry, Solly. She just flew out of the nursery and figured out how to open doors with her magic."

"Oh boy. I might need to make a special inhibitor for her that can negate the use of her horn, but keep her ability to absorb love." Solaris held the filly back up and turned her around to face him. "You're in a lot of trouble, little filly. I'm really busy and I can't be bothered right now." She couldn't process what he was saying as she continued to reach out and get more hugs, the alicorn giving in and giving her some attention, peppering her giggling face with kisses. "You're so darn needy for attention, aren't you?"

Trill walked down the room to her husband, snatching Emerald to her dismay. "Come on, sweetie. Daddy's got royal business to do. We'll see him later when he's done."

She gave an apologetic grin to the others while Emerald tried to squirm away from her mother to be with her daddy. Using his magic, he called her stuffed bear in front of her, keeping it animated to entertain her. The distraction worked, sensing his magic in it and clutching it in her hooves as she nuzzled it. As soon as they left, Solaris closed the doors and sunk into his seat.

"Sorry for that," he said. "She can't stay away from me for more than a second. Now, where were we before the interruption?"

The next couple months rolled by as the Summer Sun Celebration came around, where the sun stayed up longer in the sky, making it the longest day of the year. Solaris had decided on choosing Ponyville this year so he could see his cousins, their families, and show Emerald around the small town. All of the kingdom heard of the new princess, word spreading from Equestria to the other kingdoms across the land as a pony/changeling filly was born. Just like when the royal couple brought Emerald Sparkle home from the hospital, the press were all over them, trying to get good pictures of the filly while she was shielded by the flashes from the protective father.

The family began to head out from Canterlot to Ponyville, settling themselves in the golden chariot to be escorted by their pegasus guards pulling it. Emerald had grown a little, her mane also growing in, looking a lot like Twilight's with her green hair with a gold streak running down the middle. Solaris made sure that he and Trill had everything they needed for Emerald while they were in Ponyville: diapers, baby food and formula, and some toys if she gets fussy.

"Ok, we're all set," he said. "To Ponyville, guardsponies!"

Emerald babbled as she mimicked him, waving her forehooves around as she went on her first chariot ride. Trill kept a firm hold on her so she doesn't fly off, and they didn't have to worry about her magic going out of control. She had a specially made inhibitor ring around her horn that was colored gold, preventing her from having magical surges while still retaining her love absorbing, which she still needed to be watched over so she doesn't wind up stealing love from other ponies.

Emerald looked down as soon as they had taken off, watching the scenery below them, but also a little frightened, curling up in her mother's lap for protection. "You're scared of heights and you have been flying for the past couple months inside the castle. Solly, your daughter is weird."

"Well, your daughter has your unbridled energy, so of course she'd be weird." They both laughed, Emerald whimpering as she held her hooves out to Solaris. He grabbed his little filly and held her close. "Don't worry, Emmy. You'll get used to flying high when you get older."

As they got closer to Ponyville, they could see the whole town was decorated for the day, and knowing his surrogate cousins were in charge of the preparations, he knew it was going to be a fun day. The chariot touched down and rolled to a stop in the center of the square, everyone in town bowing in respect for the royal family as they stepped out.

"Solly! You guys made it!" Cherry shouted as she bounded up to them. "And right on time too! Now we can begin the festivities!" She gasped when she saw Emerald, the filly staring at her, or more specifically at her cotton candy looking mane. "And there's little Emerald! Come here, cutie! Let Auntie Cherry Pie hug you!"

Cherry snatched Emerald out of Solaris's hooves and hugged her, but the baby was a bit too busy trying to grab her mane and see if it really was made out of cotton candy. "Try to be a bit careful, Cherry. Emerald could end up sucking out love from you."

"Oh she's fine! How much trouble could a baby half-pony half-changeling do!?" Cherry got her answer as Emerald's horn began glowing, sapping away some of her energy while stealing her love. She began to feel woozy, Solaris taking her back as the teenage earth pony slumped down to the ground. "Boy I feel tired all of a sudden..."

"I warned you," he said.

"Then how come you aren't affected?" Cherry asked, her words slightly slurred from her drained energy, quickly pulling out a chocolate bar and munching on it to get back some energy via sugar rush.

"...Huh. I never noticed that." Solaris looked down at his daughter, the filly looking back at him with a confused look. "I guess, because I give her a lot of love, she doesn't need to steal any from me."

"Lucky," Cherry grumbled, quickly getting back on her hooves as she regained her strength. "Everypony's down at Sweet Apple Acres having brunch! You'll never guess what we're gonna have!"

"Let me guess: apples, apples, and more apples?" Trill responded.

"No, oranges," the red earth pony said. "Of course it's apples! Maybe we should have pineapples too, which have the word 'apple' in it, but they aren't really apples...Why is that?"

"A mystery nopony will probably solve for a long while." Cherry lead them across town and past the other ponies to the apple orchard.

On the walk to Sweet Apple Acres, Emerald looked around as her curious nature scoured the new place. It was unlike the large city she saw whenever she looked out a window in Canterlot, seeing all the clean streets and buildings with ponies walking about down below. This was the first time she had seen very little buildings and lots of foliage, especially when they reached the farm and saw all the apple trees in the orchard. At a picnic table set up in front of the farmhouse were the rest of the group: Solaris's other non-blood related cousins, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Button Mash, and Virtuo.

"Hey! There they are!" Scootaloo pointed out as Solaris, Trill, Emerald, and Cherry walked onto the property. "I thought you guys would have come here earlier, but it seems like you're slacking, Sol."

"Yeah, yeah. Look who's talking, Miss Naps-A-Lot," Solaris said. "We could have gotten here sooner, but a certain somepony wanted to play hide and seek with us this morning."

He held Emerald up, the filly giggling as she was held out for the rest of the family to see. "Wow. I thought she'd look more like a changeling."

"Oh my goodness, she's so adorable," Sweetie Belle said as she held her two-year-old son. "Maybe our kids can have themselves a play date every once in a while. Since Gemstone's old enough to take care of herself and taking up Rarity's boutique, Button and I are planning on moving to Canterlot."

"You're moving to Canterlot?" Trill asked. "What for?"

"Well, the both of us have certain careers that would fit better in a city than in a small town," Button explained as he kept his gaze down at a pile of papers as he wrote something down on each one. "Sweetie Belle's got some gigs she accepted to sing for the theater there. And for me, with technology getting advanced today with ponies able to watch movies and shows in their homes, not only do I have new ideas for future games, but new video game devices that's revolutionize the gaming industry and make it grow."

"I don't really see the purpose of those things. That...what's that handheld called again?" Solaris asked.

"A Joyboy. And the whole purpose of video games is entertainment, just like movies, but you interact and become one with the game." Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes as her husband got back to work.

"At least he'll have somepony to play with when he gets a bit older instead of pestering me. Right, Virtuo?" The colt looked up at his mother, receiving a kiss on the muzzle. "And now you have somepony you can play with in the future around your age, too."

"I guess a play date could be a good idea. Emerald can have some fun and make her first friend." Sweetie Belle lowered VIrtuo down to the ground, the unicorn nudging her son forward as Solaris gently placed Emerald down on the ground in front of him.

"Go on, honey," she said. "Say hi to her."

The brown colt looked up at his mother for a moment, then back to Emerald as she looked back at him while sucking on her hoof. Virtuo seemed a little nervous as the older ponies were watching him, slowly walking up to the hybrid baby in front of the alicorn.

"Can Viruto talk yet?" Trill asked. "I'd think he'd be speaking at his age, though not as much as Emerald with her baby gibberish."

"He can, but he can be a little shy," Sweetie Belle said.

The timid colt sat in front of Emerald, looking back at his parents for guidance. The filly took the initiative and crawled up to the colt, babbling happily and nuzzled him, which wound up surprising Virtuo. She already took a liking to her new friend, toppling him on his back and crawled on top of him.

"Aww. That's cute," Solaris said.

"I have to take a picture of this. Button, where's the-" The distracted stallion lifted up a camera from his wife's saddlebags, Sweetie taking it in her magic. "Thanks, hon."

"You're welcome," Button said.

"I have no idea how he's able to multitask with his nose buried in his games or game ideas, but he really knows what I'm thinking." She levitated the camera, aiming it at the two foals, Emerald hugging the nervous Virtuo underneath her, and snapped a picture. "This is definitely going in the album."

"Send us a picture, too," Solaris said. "I knew we should have brought our own camera, but Trill always keeps it hidden from me." He leered at Trill, the changeling looking away and whistled nonchalantly. "Better buy my own camera if she wants to hide the one we already have for baby pictures."

"I have a feeling I know what she's using it for," Sweetie muttered under her breath with an amused grin. She looked down at the foals, seeing how uncomfortable Virtuo was as Emerald nuzzled him. "It's ok, Virtuo. She's not gonna bite...She doesn't bite, right?"

"I'm sure her fangs will grow in, but I hope her teething doesn't wind up giving anyone puncture wounds," Solaris said with worry. "But it's best not to let anyone else hold Emerald or be around her since she can't control her love stealing magic."

"But...she isn't stealing any from Virtuo." As Trill pointed it out, the alicorn did notice that Emerald wasn't using her magic and stealing any love from the colt.

"Huh...Maybe she stole enough from Cherry today to satisfy her..." Solaris began figuring out how his own daughter behaved when it came to consuming love, only to shake his head. "I guess we won't know until she's old enough to control her magic. But we'd better be cautious in case she suddenly gets hungry." His stomach rumbled loudly, everypony present able to hear it. "Speaking of, I was so focused on getting Emmy ready and making sure we had everything for her while we're here that I forgot to eat anything. Let's eat."

They began to celebrate the holiday as the ponies began to eat the huge variety of apple recipes laid out on the picnic table. As they began to eat, Solaris wanted to see if Emerald would like to try some applesauce made fresh in the Apple family's home. After coaxing her to open her mouth, pretending the small spoonful of applesauce was a pegasus trying to find a place to land, she happily ate the sweet and delicious apple mush. No one could resist the sweet taste of Sweet Apple Acres apples, not even foals as Emerald wanted more of her yummy meal.

The adults talked about their days with their work, anything that was new or hilarious, while the teens played with Emerald and Virtuo, keeping them busy until they wanted their parents. Solaris was a little bit disappointed to know Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart couldn't come over and enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration with them, but with Shining Armor's front legs and his limit to travel with his injuries and the amount of pain he occasionally gets in, he completely understood. At least he had fun with his other relatives and aunts, even getting a bit of conversation with his Aunt Applejack's older brother Big Macintosh, even if he didn't speak all that much.

After the long day of relaxing, spending time with family, and playing a lot of different games Cherry set up that were fun for both the foals and everyone else, evening was starting to set in as the Summer Sun Celebration came to a close. Solaris and Trill headed back home to Canterlot with Emerald sleeping in her daddy's hooves, the filly having had a good time with her new friend and the other older ponies. Once the chariot landed at the castle, Solaris dismissed his Royal Guard escort as he and his wife made their way through the castle.

"Well, that was fun," Trill said. "And Emerald made a new friend. I think she and Virtuo might end up being a couple in the future."

"Hey, we're not going into that subject until Emmy hits puberty," Solaris chided. "I will not have dozens of colts try to get close to her unless I can trust them."

"You're already becoming an overprotective father and she hasn't even been a year old yet." The alicorn sighed, the two of them walking into Emerald's room to lay her down in her crib.

"I can't help it," he said. "I just don't want anypony hurting her. Plus, being a princess, there are bound to be colts who want to try to ask her out, then use her to get everything they want. As friends, maybe, but if they think about asking her on a date, they have to go through me."

"Just don't intimidate them with fire," Trill said. "It gets old pretty fast when you threaten to burn them and you can't do it if they try to push your buttons."

"...I hate when you're right." The two left the nursery to continue their conversation without disturbing Emerald, entering their own room. "But I can still kick their plots if they think they can butter me up by getting too friendly with me."

"And no violence, either," she said as she booped his muzzle. He grumbled, only to be caught off guard by a kiss on the lips. Trill back away, teasingly brushing her tail against his muzzle as she headed for the bathroom. "You don't look all that relaxed just yet. I'm gonna hop in the shower. Care to join me?"

"Trill, don't even think about it," he said. "Emerald's across the hall."

"And she's sound asleep with a soundproof spell so nopony outside of the room disturbs her when she naps," she responded, swaying her hips, smirking as she felt his eyes gaze at her rump. "She's out like a light after having fun with the others, and I doubt a storm will wake her up. We won't make that much noise, and it has been a while. Plus, anything I want to do, you promised to do it after going through my pregnancy to make it up to me."

Solaris groaned, knowing full well he made that promise, and it was a Pinkie Promise too. Not to mention, with all the stress of ruling Equestria, attending events he needed to go to, dealing with delegates visiting the kingdom, and raising Emerald, he needed more relief from all his hard work than ever. And it didn't help the fact that his wife was teasing him and his testosterone began to override his restrained urges. His legs made the decision for him as he followed Trill, ignoring the winning grin on her face.

"Why must you keep tormenting me like this?" he asked.

"Because it's been a few months since Emerald was born and we haven't had sex for a bit longer. I've got a bad itch, and only you can scratch it." Solaris shoved a hoof against her lips as he groaned in annoyance.

"Please stop with the dirty talk and get in the shower," he commanded, his magic turning on the shower head as he closed the door behind him.

The summer season passed, as well as fall, heading into winter as the land began to cool down and snow began to fall. The months that came and went were the same as the first few with Emerald in Solaris and Trill's lives: giving her constant care, waking up in the middle of the night when she cried, and when she felt mischievous, chasing her throughout the castle to avoid getting a bath or into a diaper after her bath. But aside from the tiring job as parents, there were some fun moments during the autumn season, especially when Nightmare Night came by.

Canterlot had been decorated with spooky decorations, fillies and colts all dressed up in costumes and running around to different houses for free candy. Solaris dressed Emerald up in a little dragon costume, taking several pictures of her looking like the adorable little monster she was dressed as. During the time, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash had moved into a nice house in the city and joined the prince and princess as they went trick-or-treating with Virtuo. The colt wore a green tunic and cap with a small wooden sword fastened around the belt around the tunic, obviously from some video game Solaris didn't bother to care about despite how much Button gushed over how good his son looked. Several more pictures between the two foals were taken during Nightmare Night, both of them in their costumes that will sure to embarrass their children as they get older.

Within the first couple weeks of winter, it started to get a bit stressful. With the colder weather, Emerald didn't have much of a tolerance to the cold just like Trill, unable to leave a warm environment without bundling up underneath a couple layers of clothing. That also means she couldn't play in the snow like Solaris had wanted to do with his daughter, and she couldn't visit the Crystal Empire and see her grandaunt, granduncle, and cousin.

What made the start of her first winter horrible was when she got sick. Solaris made a house call with Dr. Joy when Emerald got a fever and began coughing a lot. The doctor looked her over, knowing full well that the baby's monthly checkups would have her being at the castle due to the colder weather.

"Mhmm. She's definitely caught a cold," Dr. Joy said after checking Emerald's temperature. "Just keep her bundled up, give her some cough medicine before bed, and a lot of rest. Other than that, she's doing pretty well."

"Thanks again, Dr. Joy," Solaris thanked. "I know bringing you down a bit earlier than we scheduled isn't-"

"Prince Solaris, don't worry about schedules when it comes to health," the mare assured. "You never know what can happen. Though, it is a shame that she can't stay in the cold."

"Yeah...There goes any fun winters outside, playing in the snow and seeing Hearth's Warming lights around Canterlot." Emerald began coughing again, whining out for her daddy to help make the cold go away and stop her coughing. Solaris picked her up and held her, unable to do much but comfort her. "At least there's a lot we can do during spring and summer."

"Well, you might be able to come up with something for her, seeing as you made this special inhibitor ring that seals her magic but allow her to absorb love." Dr. Joy packed up her medical kit and levitated her coat over to her. "Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming, Your Highness."

"Same to you." The mare exited the nursery and made her way out of the castle, back to the hospital to see more patients for the day.

Emerald began to cough again, Trill walking in to see how it went. "She sounds pretty bad."

"She's got a cold. I'm going to give her some medicine to help alleviate her fever." Solaris levitated the liquid medicine over to him, along with a measuring dropper to easily give Emerald her medicine. After checking the label to see how much to give to her, he sucked a little bit of the strong smelling cough syrup and placed the end in the filly's mouth. As soon as he squeezed some, she squirmed at the horrible taste, but swallowed it, crying in disgust with a few coughs, wondering why her daddy gave her something so disgusting. "I know, Emmy, I know. It's icky. But it'll help you feel better."

"What a perfect way to start the holiday," Trill said. "Our baby sick, the both of us unable to leave the castle until Winter Wrap-Up, and lots of boredom."

"That means you have a lot of time to take care of her instead of lying around in bed all day." Trill opened her mouth to speak, only to come up with nothing and shrugged, having something to do when Solaris was busy. The alicorn gently rocked Emerald, now calmed down after being given her medicine, slowly falling asleep from the drowsy effects of the cough syrup and her daddy rocking her to sleep. "Not to mention when she has to go to school. If it gets too cold, she won't be able to leave and take part in her classes."

"You're already looking into schools for her to go into?" Trill asked.

"No, not yet, but we will when she gets old enough." Emerald soon fell asleep, gently lowered down into her crib. Solaris tucked her into her warm blanket and lowered her bear down beside her, both parents quietly leaving the room. "Though, school does concern me a little bit."

"It's about how the other foals her age would think of her, right?" He nodded his head. "Well, maybe they might like her. What's the worst foals can do to each other?"

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were picked on constantly by a pair of bullies, now friends of theirs, because they were made fun of for not having a cutie mark after their other classmates had one." Trill was shocked at what the three former members and founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been through as fillies. "Yeah. Surprising, isn't it?"

"And they became friends with their bullies??? How?" Trill asked, desperate to know how enemies like that resolved their differences and became friends.

"I think it had something to do with some sort of school election for student pony president, one of the bullies pushing her friend too far and blackmailing and brown-nosing their classmates...and one of their mothers pressured her to being better than everypony..." Solaris scratched his head as he tried to remember everything about that story. "I heard it a long time ago when I was a colt, but I don't know all the details that well. You can ask Sweetie Belle when she's not busy."

"...Weird..." Solaris nodded in agreement as he found that strange to befriend a bully who constantly teased them.

"Glad I didn't go to a public school, though I kind of wanted to know what it was like..." He shook his head, brushing that thought aside before it reminded him of his memories with his family. "We still have a few years before she goes to preschool to worry about that. I'm going to get something to snack on. You want anything?"

"Hot chocolate," Trill said as she licked her lips.

"Of course. Should have guessed." She giggled, the alicorn leaning forward to kiss his beloved wife on the lips. "I'll be right back with your hot chocolate."

He soon left down the hall as Trill headed inside the bedroom, climbing up into bed and laid down with her legs splayed out. She heard Emerald cough over the baby monitor, but she remained asleep as she didn't cry out for attention. There were going to be long winter nights if Emerald cried out whenever she got too cold and wanted her mommy or daddy to warm her up. Hopefully things won't get worse as the years pass when winter comes, otherwise the little filly would end up being bored stuck inside the castle for three whole months.

The whole season of winter was a boring season. Emerald had gotten better from her cold after a few days and was back to her happy, giggly self. Needless to say, she was always bored inside the castle, her toys slowly wearing out their entertainment value as she was curious about the snow outside when she saw out the windows. It still pained Solaris to know his daughter wouldn't be able to play outside in the snow, even if she wanted to when she grew older. Whenever he wasn't busy taking care of her with Trill or with his duties, he would try to figure out weaving a spell into a small piece of clothing or an accessory to keep her warm in the cold without having to stuff her in three different sets of warm clothing.

Now, it had been exactly a whole year since Emerald was born. Even with all of the early morning cries for attention, the dirty diapers, her energetic chases flying around the castle, and even a few mishaps with her love stealing powers from her changeling heritage, Solaris and Trill were already used to them after this year. And today, everyone they knew was invited to the castle to celebrate her first birthday, decorated accordingly by Cherry Pie and her trusty, hoof-made party cannon. Even Chrysalis had come to visit, though mostly from being begged to come so much that Solaris had to get Discord involved, threatening to teleport her to random locations for the next month if she didn't show up.

"Happy birthday, Emerald Sparkle!" everyone cheered as the birthday filly sat in her little high chair, wearing a party hat and giggling happily.

"One year down and many, many more birthdays to come!" Cherry said, blowing a party noise blower as she bounded around the dining hall where the party was held.

"The first few months were the roughest, but you two had it a bit easier with Emerald than we did with Flurry Heart," Cadence said. "It's too bad you can't bring her to the Crystal Empire. Flurry wants her to come over and help me foalsit her. Which, by the way, I'm still waiting to do so for my grandniece."

"Whenever you're not too busy in the empire, come on down so Trill and I can spend an evening together and take a little break," Solaris offered. "I think Uncle Shining can take care of the boring royal duties on his own."

"I'm free for my schedule for this week. How about tomorrow, Flurry and I stay here while you spend the whole day with Trill?" He thought about the proposal, even though being away from Emerald for a whole day would make the filly worry if she didn't know where her parents were.

"Well, Emmy could be a problem with her love stealing...You sure you can handle that if she winds up doing that?" Solaris asked.

"She can't be as bad as raising an alicorn filly with barely any control of her magic the moment she was born. I can handle a bit of random love sucking." Cadence chuckled and pushed her nephew forward. "Now, go and tell your wife you two have a full day of fun to plan out."

Discord appeared in a flash, holding a tray with a lone green and yellow frosted chocolate cupcake with a candle in it. "Time for the birthday cake! Or, more specifically a cup cake. The real one will appear on the table in just a few minutes. Need to wait for the frosting to cool down on the bigger cake."

"What kind of frosting requires to be heated?" Chrysalis questioned, unsure if she even wanted to try it if it was completely chocolate.

"Relax, Chrysie. It's not made out of lava or poison. I have my own chaotically normal cake mix I like to use and make my own frosting." The draconequus placed the tray down in front of Emerald, the tray disappearing as the cupcake rested on the small tray attached to her high chair. "Oh darn. I forgot to bring matches. Does anypony have a light?"

"Very funny, Discord," Solaris said. "I'll light the candle." He walked up to the birthday filly, Emerald trying to reach out to the chocolate cupcake as she was given a kiss by her daddy. The alicorn took in a small breath and blew out a small puff of green fire, lighting the candle as the stared in awe at her daddy's fire breath. "Ok, sweetie. Blow out the candle and make a wish. Go like this."

He let out a breath, keeping his hoof around his mouth so he didn't blow it out by accident. Emerald seemed to understand and looked at the green flame on the candle. She followed his example and blew out the candle in one go. Everyone cheered and praised her as Solaris pulled out the candle sticking out of the frosting, gently pushing her cupcake closer to her. While she began digging into her birthday cupcake with her hooves, Discord suddenly began shaking as a timer went off around him.

"Sounds like the cake is done!" He snapped his fingers, a large cake appearing in the center of the table. It was decorated just like Emerald's already being devoured cupcake, green and golden yellow frosting with the words "Happy Birthday Emerald Sparkle" written on the sides of the triple layered chocolate cake. The draconequus grinned when she saw Trill, and even Chrysalis, drooling at the highly chocolaty scent that came from it. "Now, let's follow Emerald's example and dig into some cake!"

Discord sliced several pieces, placing them on plates as he hovered them over to everypony in the room. As Solaris grabbed his slice, he looked down at Emerald. He couldn't help but laugh at how messy she looked, half her cupcake eaten, though most of it and the frosting was all over her hooves, muzzle, and bib.

"That some good cake, Emmy?" he asked, her response placing her frosted hoof in her mouth and licked some off. He soon heard Trill across the table, watching her scarf down her slice, moaning in delight as her chocolate addiction was sated. "LIke mother, like daughter. Surprisingly, you're a lot more cleaner than her."

Solaris gently rubbed Emerald's head, earning a coo from her, smearing his hoof with frosting from her own hoof as she reached out to touch him. "Dada."

He quickly drew his hoof back, looking down at Emerald in shock as she just spoke her first word. "W-What was that, Emmy?"

"Dada," she said with a giggle.

Solaris nearly dropped his plate, hearing his filly starting to talk, and her first word was "Dada". His shock turned into a small grin, tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he quickly made his way over to Trill. He dragged her over to their daughter, surprised as she was suddenly pulled away before she could sneak a second slice of cake.

"Solly, what are you doing?" she asked in irritation.

"Emmy just said her first word!" he said excitedly, leaning down to eye level with the filly.

"She did?" Trill asked as she too grew a little excited.

"Dada!" she said, reaching her hooves out to get a hug from him.

"See!? She called me 'Dada'!" Solaris kissed Emerald on the head, her horn glowing as she giggled, being praised by her daddy for saying his name.

"Oh my gosh!" Trill leaned down as she looked at her. "Can you say 'Mama'?" Emerald looked at her, tilting her head in confusion. "Come on, Emerald. Say 'Mama'. You can say 'Mama', right?"

"...Dada," she said as she turned her head back to Solaris.

Trill groaned and slumped over. "Or not..."

"Maybe she'll start saying 'Mama' in a while. But isn't this exciting!? She's starting to talk!" Seeing Emerald was done "eating" her cupcake, Solaris grabbed a napkin and began wiping off the sticky frosting off the filly's hooves and face. He took off her messy bib and lifted her out of her highchair, giving the giggling filly plenty of kisses. "Daddy loves you, Emmy. You're such a big filly now."

"And, like I predicted: daddy's little girl," Trill stated, slightly disappointed that she didn't hear Emerald call her name, but her first word was a start for more later on. "Hopefully, if mom starts visiting more often, she'll start calling her grandma to irritate her."

"That actually would sound funny." Solaris agreed with a laugh, holding Emerald over his shoulder as she nuzzled him.

While her parents talked, Emerald looked across the hall, staring curiously at a glowing lavender light shining by one of the windows. No one else seemed to notice but the filly, tilting her head curiously as the light began to form a lavender alicorn. She slowly approached the filly, her green eyes staring at the gold halo over her head. The translucent mare giggled at her curious nature, making it obvious she didn't know who she was, at least not yet.

"Happy birthday, Emerald," she said, gently pressing her hoof against Emerald's cheek.

She giggled and reached out to the mare for her to hold her in her hooves, her movements making Solaris curious as to who was behind him. "What are you doing, Emmy?" He turned around to look, but didn't see anyone. The guardian angel stared sadly at the confused gaze of the stallion, staring right past her as he was oblivious to her appearance. "Was Discord pulling a prank on me, sweetie?"

As he looked down at Emerald, who turned herself around to see the mare again, the angel stepped closer and gave Solaris a small kiss on the cheek. Even though he couldn't see her, he felt something as he felt a small chill brush against his cheek where she kissed him. It also felt familiar to him, but he couldn't put his hoof on it.

"You have a beautiful filly, Solaris," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed me. But I'll be by her side for as long as she lives, and I'll see you when you're with her."

"Solly, you alright?" Trill asked, snapping Solaris's attention away from the empty space he was trying to look at.

"...Yeah...I thought I felt something." As he turned around to face Trill, Emerald watched as her guardian angel waved goodbye and disappeared in a flash of purple light. "I'm sure I'm just imagining things..."

"Well, ok." He saw the confused and somewhat pained look on his face, quickly hugging him to help distract him from whatever depressing thought came to his mind. "It wasn't another little episode you were about to have, was it?"

"No...but...my cheek felt cold for a moment, and I thought I smelled...something..." While he tried to ponder what had just happened, his face scrunched up when he smelt something else, far less pleasant than what he sensed earlier. "Whoof! It certainly wasn't that!"

"Well, 'Dada', you can change Emmy and give her a little bath so she doesn't get all sticky from that frosting," Trill chuckled as she backed away, avoiding the smelly mess Emerald made in her diaper. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I want a second helping of that cake."

His wife skipped back over to the table to grab another slice of cake, Solaris shaking his head as he began to make his way up to Emerald's room. "Alright. Let's get you changed after a warm bath, and then we can open up your presents. Won't that be fun, Emmy?"

"Dada," Emerald said, taking that as a yes as her daddy carried her upstairs to get her cleaned up before she opened her gifts everypony got her.