I wake up with a sense of urgency, with something telling me today is important. After a moment to try and figure it out it hits me: today is Vinyl's birthday. A smile reaches my lips when I think of that and a rush overcomes me as the plan for the day unfolds in my mind. Tavi left to pick up Vinyl at the train station early in the morning while I prepare a lovely meal; by which I mean A lot of pizzas. What can I say? It is her favorite meal. For dinner I plan to make her third favorite meal: broccoli and cheese soup with a Caesar salad. While I prepare the food from scratch, Tavi will take Vinyl out on the town, taking her to get a manicure and pedicure, as well as pick out the carriage and baby bed she would like. After talking with the other guests Pinkie had invited, we find that we were the only ones buying her baby equipment. I had picked up my personal gift the day before, having purchased and payed extra to get it done quickly.

Tavi's plan was to pay for her manicure pedicure, then bring her home for the pizza where she would give the DJ the other half of her gift. It is more of a gag gift: it's a wrapped up box that, when opened, launches fake semen out of a line of dragon dildos. She would definitely get a laugh out of them. Sadly, one of the dildos would end up not being used. Tavi and I 'experimented' with her taking both a dildo and me for a test run the day before. I think she came five times before I could go once. I put the thought away when a knock on the door grabs my attention. In the days prior Luna had said she wished to attend, to try and get some new friends and introduce her latest friend who was supposed to show up early to help me prepare for the event.

I open the door to find who I assume is Luna's guest. Standing at about 6' exactly, he's nowhere near as intimidating as Shining Armor, nor is he built as strongly. From what Luna says he is her personal guard, meant to be more lithe and agile. Even if he is a unicorn, he's supposed to be more physical in his abilities than magical. Apparently he works well with limited space, fighting very easily in confined spaces, and possesses amazing reactions and planning. Basically, if Shining Armor is an iron wall, this guy is a dagger. His coat is beige, his mane and tail have three colors, the only pony I have met besides Cadence with such a color scheme. The colors are ice-blue, a bluish-purple, and a deep red. His eyes are light sky-blue.

His cutie mark, unlike most ponies, is on display, proudly showing on the back of his right hand. This is one of the things that I always found interesting about ponies: their cutie marks. Usually they're in a place covered by their clothes, either intentionally (wearing clothes to cover the mark), or unintentionally (on a location not easily visible due to clothes). His are two fencing swords crossing over an hourglass. What he has, however, is a bit more important: it's a gaming system. Recently trade had opened up for these to be produced and shipped into Equestria. They had to be specially adapted to run on magic currents, but were otherwise unchanged. It was certainly something that was interesting.

"Hello, I am Princess Luna's friend: Second Lieutenant Chaotic Note. I brought the stuff Luna requested, where should I take it?" I nod and show him into the living room. The wiring is quickly and easily set up, but the equipment requires a certain touch to install. After a few minutes of work, Chaotic is done. I still have three and a half hours 'till I was expecting Vinyl, and Chaotic has the perfect plan to spend some time.

"Ever play a video game before?" Chaotic asked.

"Plenty. I have been playing since I was seven; I especially liked games similar to Battletoads." At this his grin widens considerably.

"Well, this here is an altered Wii. I also modified it to be able to play certain cartridge games through an emulator. Up for a Battletoads race?" His smirk is obvious. Certainly not the kind one gives when defeat is possible.

"You're on. Hope it isn't broken to give infinite lives or continues, that wouldn't be fun." From the way his smile never falters, I know this is going to be fun.

Two and a half hours later we stop. After the very quick Battletoads race, which I lost, we race in a gameboy game, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.] I had narrowly won by three seconds. Truly, this guy knows what he's doing when it involves video games. In fact, it was games that had started his friendship with Luna. It was a game of Portal 2: she had gotten stuck on the area of the game, where she had to stare down several turrets. She looked at him and saw that, unlike what was expected of him, he had a little smile on his face. Luna then challenged him to beat this puzzle, which he did with surprising ease. After that she had decided to test his skills in many games. After all was said and done Luna took a liking to him personally. From there the friendship they had blossomed. It was interesting to say the least; not interesting enough for me to get delayed by four seconds, but interesting all the same. As we finish our run through the Zelda game, I get up and head towards the kitchen.

"Hey Chaotic, I am going to make pizzas for the party, want to help?"

"Sure thing. Let me just look around one more time and I'll join you." As I leave the room I turn around and speak.

"Also, be sure to take care with Luna, her passionate moments can be really exciting." His reaction is immediate, and funny. He turns around with eyes wide and jaw dropping. "Yeah, don't be so surprised. She joined Tavi and I for her first heat with me. I can say this: if she likes you enough to have you be that lucky stallion, you will walk funny for a week." The blush on his face is priceless. I smirk as I turn out the door and walk to the kitchen. I have pizza to make, and dough does not knead itself (sadly). As I finish making the first pizza, a lovely four cheese pizza, Chaotic enters the kitchen.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"I have a specific recipe for pizza dough on the counter there, I wrote it up before I started. Mix the ingredients as it says and hand the results to me. I should be able to prepare a pizza to cook at about the same rate you can make the dough. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me." As I finish Chaotic nods at me and begins the work of mixing ingredients to make the dough. Ten minutes later and the last of the pizzas are ready to go in the oven. While waiting for the oven to finish heating, I decide now is a good time to talk with Chaotic.

"So, I heard from Luna that you became friends thanks to Portal 2 and a few other games."

"Yeah, it was fun to play against her and with her. She seemed to be fond of one MMORPG in particular, the one that is being developed, Equestrian Earth. She heard about it and decided to play the game it is based on, World of Warcraft. Seems to me that she thoroughly enjoyed it so she preordered the game and has begun searching for a computer powerful enough to play it." I laugh a little at this.

"Trust me, getting a computer powerful enough to play the game is easy. Getting a good computer capable of playing just about everything is even easier. The only problem is cost. I used to play a few games, but as I wanted to save money for my future I rarely purchased a video game. And the whole time with Mariana..." The memory stops me in my tracks. Not for the fact that it was that bad, not this time. This time, it is the lack of emotion I can attach to it.

"Sensitive subject?" Looking at him, I am greeted by the poker face of a guard.

"Not really, not anymore. She ruined my life for a long time." I chuckle a little. "Thanks to Tavi, Vinyl, and Luna I got my life back together. I owe the three of them a great debt." A smile covers my face as the words leave my lips. It's at this point that the door slams open, with the sound of hoofsteps pounding in the house. Chaotic and myself prepare for the worst as Tavi comes around the corner.

"Sam, come quick, we need to get to the hospital, now!" She yells.

"What's going on? Is Vinyl hurt?" I ask, dread filling me over the possibilities.

"No, she is going into labor." At this my eyes went wide. It's about two weeks earlier than expected. Not beyond the realm of possibility, but it is certainly strange. Thinking quickly I put my priorities in order.

"Ok, Chaotic, help me get the pizzas out of the oven and turn the ovens off; I don't care if we just leave them sitting out but last thing we need is a fire going on here. After that I will leave a note on the door for anypony that comes by after we leave. Let's move it!" I yell. In a flash Chaotic moves the pizzas and turns off the oven. I write a quick note to explain that Vinyl went into labor early when a thought crosses my mind. "Which hospital?"

"Canterlot Regional." She said, clearly wanting to get over there as quickly as possible. I finish writing the note and do a mental check of everything that needs to be done. The only thing that comes up is the oven, which is securely turned off.

"Alright, everything is ready. I'll get this on the door and we can go to Vinyl." Tavi and Chaotic nod at this as we rush out the door, nearly running into Luna.

"Good heavens, is everything alright?" She asks, seeing our rush to get out of the building.

"Vinyl went into labor early. She is at Canterlot Regional right now and we are on the way. I just need to put this note on the door and we can go." I say, attaching the note to the door.

"Gather around us then, we will teleport us all to the hospital!" Luna says as she spreads her wings slightly. We gather around her as she summons her power out and surrounds us in a blue glow from her horn. I have never teleported before, and I suddenly find out why that is a good thing. The sensation is otherworldly. It feels like I am being torn apart, and then put back together thousands of times. The sensation of spinning is also present, but which way I don't know. All of it happens in an instant, and as soon as the feelings rush into me, they leave as the image of the hospital materializes in front of me. We're just outside of the hospital. The sight of Tavi running ahead is all I see before the green of the ground covers my vision, followed by the sight of my own vomit.

Tavi comes back, seeing that I am losing my breakfast all over the lawn. I try to wave her forward, but she refuses to leave me. After a moment I feel good enough to move. I find a water fountain and wash out my mouth before heading to the hospital. Almost immediately half the staff in the entryway look up when they notice me, and I swear the nurse at the desk prepared to call a doctor specifically for me when Tavi approaches the front desk.

"Where is Vinyl Scratch, the mare brought in for labor?" Tavi asks, desperation in her voice. Most of the staff go back on their merry way, the exception being the nurse behind the counter.

"Maternity ward, third floor, room 319." We nod and quickly make our way to the stairs. We're in a rush and no visitor elevator was on the first floor. As we climb the stairs I swear I can hear the sounds of a very unhappy Vinyl. We quickly reach the maternity ward, and are soon set up in the waiting room, the clock on a nearby wall ticking away until the birth of Vinyl's little foal. We wait for an hour before a few more faces join us. Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and a few ponies I recognize from the birthday guest hunt a few days prior show up to await the news. Five hours later, and a doctor walks out of the room, and allows us in. When we enter, Neon is having his hand bandaged; apparently Vinyl had squeezed so hard that she broke his hand. Vinyl, however, was busy holding a blue bundle.

In the bundle is a little unicorn colt. His eyes are a striking and vibrant red; and his coat is a delicate yellow with a mane of a rich blue. He struggles to move for a moment as tears start to fill his eyes. I wonder why when suddenly Tavi, Rarity and Pinkie rush passed me to see the little colt. They absolutely smother the little guy in attention, and the sudden invasion of privacy from those he does not recognize as his parents frighten him into crying. Vinyl tries to get the little guy to calm down, but her exhaustion must have left her a little too drained for it. Then Luna approaches, magicking away the mares who were overcome by the little foal's cuteness. She swiftly picks up the little colt and starts a gentle sway while humming an interesting tune.

By the end of it the little colt drifts back off to sleep. As she hands off the little colt back to Vinyl, the rest of the room can only stare in amazement. Upon noticing that all of us are staring she becomes quite flustered.

"Is there something wrong?" she asks, seeming frightened. I start to reply, only to be cut off by Chaotic Note.

"That was perhaps the most divine thing I have ever heard." At this, Luna blushes slightly, and it spreads as the room starts to fawn over her ability to be so...motherly. Eventually Luna regains her composure and sums everything up as simply as she could.

"Well, I have experience helping Equestria both before and after my banishment, so I think it should be no surprise that I know how to handle foals." She says with a slight smirk. A few moments later and discussions are abound throughout the room, mostly questions to Luna and Vinyl about being mothers. Neon, Chaotic and myself simply pull ourselves to the side to let the mares talk. It seems as if everything is going fine until a couple of the night watch arrive into the room. They quickly come up to Luna and begin a report.

"Your majesty, a fire was set in the residential district. At 426 Platinum Drive." I instantly freeze as the words reach my ears. After a moment I look over at Tavi, who is looking over at me just as shocked. The rest of the room seems to get a hint that it was important, but they didn't seem to fully get it. Suddenly I feel compelled to ask the question I hope would prove me wrong, but Tavi was one step ahead of me; she's bolting out the door as fast as her hooves can take her. The room looks on in awe as I speak up.

"That...that is our home."

Author's Notes:

Chaotic Note is the OC of the author ChaoticNote. This character is used with the permission of the author. If you don't know the author, or haven't given his works a try, go and read a few of them. I even linked one in the story itself.

You race in games like 'Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past' by having two or more people start at the same time and see who beats the game first. example.

As for the gag gift Tavi got for Vinyl, well, let's just say I had a lot of explaining to do on April fool's when a friend did that joke on me in front of my family...