Author's Notes:

I’m pretty sure you can figure out what you’ll see here by the title alone. That said, Warning: Potential cuteness incoming, make sure to have medical assistance nearby in case of heart problems brought on by cuteness. Also, some potentially cute shenanigans might be present in this chapter.

That all said, I think I’ve done a decent job giving the baby features that are a bit more distinct than your usual pony/dragon hybrid.

Also, I did warn some chapters would be uncharacteristically out of season, this is one of them.

Daring had felt like she had gone through Tartarus when the baby was finally born, the doctor’s at Canterlot’s finest medical facility had come close to being almost useless with the whole thing. It just a week out from Hearth’s Warming and had suggested just a few days prior they go to Canterlot for a Hearth’s Warming celebration with Celestia and Luna. A good call, all things considered, chances were what medical staff they had back in Fetish would have been possibly more clueless than the doctors in Canterlot, despite one of them actually having been from Canterlot.

And when she came around she was the most beautiful thing Daring and Spike had seen; she was actually strongly expressing more unicorn traits than pegasus traits. Her body was covered in lilac-gold colored fur-like scales and she had a pair of proto-dragon horns at the sides of her head that had smooth curving arcs along her forehead that connected with a horn more in line with what you would see on a unicorn. She had what looked near duplicates of Spike’s eyes, her hands were what looked like a cross between those of a pony’s and a dragon’s and her hooves had a bit of sharp jut that was similar to the clawed toes of a dragon.

Spike wasn’t very good at names, seeing as he just wanted to name with the most uncreative gem-inspired names that seemed to just jump out of him. Daring decided to call her Lilac Alloy, in honor of her coloration. Was it lazy? Most likely, did anyone object? She didn’t hear any objections. Since she had some aspects of a unicorn she might also be capable of magic. Regardless, Celestia and Luna were more than a little ecstatic to see the newest addition to the family, Celestia even teasingly joking that they should put a bit more thought into the name for the next one.

Luna was the most excited, mostly due to her love for foals. She absolutely adored the baby, even with the random spurts of flame she put out when a bit too overstimulated. Lilac was just barely a week old when Hearth’s Warming officially rolled around, and Celestia was more than busy trying to find the perfect gift for her new granddaughter, Luna was a bit less occupied with such thoughts and just focused on having as much fun with the filly as she could without exciting her too much.

Celestia was out at the royal tailor’s shop, making sure to get a new special wardrobe for the baby that was appropriately fireproofed. Thankfully for Daring and Spike, Twilight had thought ahead with the crib at home and went a little crazy on the fireproofing charms the whole thing. Luna was on the ground, in her bedrobe, playing with Lilac as she said, “All foals cute, but you are the most adorable little filly I have ever had the pleasure of meeting,” she tickled the filly’s belly and earned giggles from the infant. “You’re one of the most special little fillies ever, yes you are.”

“Pity Twilight couldn’t join us,” said Spike, “but she’s a little busy showing around/dating that new foreign dignitary. Where did she say he was from again?”

“She said he’s a dragon from Neighpon,” said Daring as she half watched the sight of Luna playing with her baby and half scarfed down massive handfuls of gingersnaps.

“Looks like we can’t give the baby your favorite toy just yet,” said Spike, “besides, you’re planning on having more and think giving one your old toy might send the wrong message.”

“True,” said Daring, “but on the plus side, we got our home security up and running.”

“The construction ponies were somewhere between amused, annoyed and excited when we told them about all the modifications,” said Spike with amused reverie.

“The looks on their faces was pretty great too,” said Daring. “But it looks like our regular routines are going to be a bit hectic for a while. Just in this past week, we haven’t quite slept the way we usually would.”

“Nightmares,” inquired Luna as she continued the adorable display.

“Maybe for her,” said Spike as he gestured to the infant, “but for us, it’s more a case of she wakes us up because of a need for food or diaper change. You know, typical newborn stuff.”

“Yes, well the maids, sister and I assigned to keep an eye on her when we all have no choice in having to be away from her...”

“Which has only been a few hours on two separate days so far,” interjected Spike.

“Yes,” said Luna, “have reported a few cases of magic surges.” As if on cue Lilac’s horn lit up a greenish gold for a few seconds and Daring found herself and the furniture she was on in a reversed gravity zone.

“Duly noted,” said Daring, “I’m unsure of how to feel about my current situation. I suppose we could have Flurry and Twilight give her some magic lessons; I’m sure Twilight would absolutely adore that.”

“Assuming Celestia and Luna don’t beat them to the punch,” Spike said nonchalantly as he gestured to the midnight alicorn still playing with the infant. “We’re gonna be here for a while; the trains won’t be back up and running until next week. In other words, we’re stuck in Canterlot for a while.”

“Why is Celestia so hung up on getting Lilac the perfect gift,” inquired Daring, “Lilac isn’t even a month old yet.”

“That may be,” said Luna, “but she’s never genuinely had a foal to spoil before, and she wants to take the spoiling grandparent thing to its absolute limit. Besides, her attempts at starting a family of her own haven’t really gone that well. There was that time she dated Discord, believe it or not, but it didn’t even last two full years. All her other dating attempts barely last two months, and with Spike being her legal son...”

“Still having trouble with that one,” said Daring as she fluttered down from her position on the ceiling, along with her with her tray of treats.

“Sister wants to indulge herself in some of the familial archetypes for a bit. Also, she wants to cash in on some of the sibling rivalries we missed out on during my...absence.”

******************************

Almost a full hour later Celestia returned with a wide assortment of bags in her arms and magic. The bags had everything from the unordained bags that clearly were intended for those in the castle, to the bags of every high-end store in Canterlot that caters to young foals. The ivory alicorn returned just in time to catch lunch that was made and being served by Spike.

Among the other things made, Spike had whipped up some oatmeal with a liberal sprinkling of gem dust mixed in. Daring and Spike found out very early on that their new daughter was attracted to gemstones and, unlike most infants when drawn to anything sparkly, made very real attempts to eat the gems themselves. Since she had yet to grow any strong teeth, she had actually taken to scraping flakes and powder off gems she came across with her somewhat blunt claws and sucking up the powder and flakes in her hands. And since she had already proved she could consume gems in some capacity, Spike made sure to grind a few small gems into dust and mix it well into the oatmeal for his daughter.

“So, what did I miss while I was out?”

“She had a powerful magic surge that part of part of the common area we’re using for the family gathering into a reversed gravity zone,” said Daring, “the effects haven’t worn off yet.

“Although, it was amusing to see Daring sitting on a couch on the ceiling,” said Spike. “Thankfully, she’s a pegasus and could easily move out from her position on the ceiling. That said, the Hearth’s Warming tree is currently on the ceiling with the couch and gifts we all labored to put under the tree.”

“That’s still true,” said Daring as she dug into her salad, “just in a different sense,” she began chewing her food a bit more gracefully than usual.

“The tree rotated around the gifts after they lifted up about six feet of the ground,” said Luna, “my magic couldn’t relocate them but doing it the old fashioned way did for some reason. So whatever caused gravity to be distorted is also interfering with teleportation and levitation spells.”

“She’s that powerful, at only a week old?” Celestia responded in surprise.

“According to the emissary from Neighpon,” said Spike, “a pony/dragon hybrid is called a kirin, and their magical potential and capabilities are immense. Of course, they’re also exceedingly rare occurrences. They might get a bit more populous in the coming years. Just think, if one born from a pegasus is this powerful, then what would one born from an alicorn be like?”

“Oh dear,” said Celestia, “Twilight is one of the most magically gifted ponies in over two-thousand years, a kirin born from her would possibly make any feats of magic Lilac does look quite tame.”

“And considering she just turned inverted the gravity for a quarter of a very large room, that is concerning,” said Daring. “So, what did you acquire to try and ‘buy’ Lilac’s favor?”

Celestia put down her bags and brought out a variety of items, “First,” said ivory alicorn as she pulled out a small collection of pajamas designed for a foal Lilac’s size, “an assortment of bedtime outfits fitted for her and enchanted to never catch fire.” She put the pajamas away and pulled out a collection of what looked like metal toys, “these toys have been enchanted to be as soft as a pillow and immune to fire that is hopefully nowhere near as hot as her flames can get.” She proceeded to go through a variety of other items, including dining utensils and various sheets, which included a small collection of blankets perfectly measured for the crib they had back home.

Lilac had no interest in what was going on, until she noticed a dawn green blanket adorned with geodes that had been split open. It seemed the blanket was her new favorite item, judging by how tightly she held onto the blanket. “I find it amusing that the one item she liked has more to do with Luna than you,” said Spike to Celestia. The ivory alicorn just banged her head against the table in defeat, all her attempts to be an over giving grandmother either got almost no response or were immediately blowing up in her face.

“She’s only a week old,” said Daring, “the likelihood she’ll remember any of this is extremely low. You’ll probably have better luck next year.