Here we are with the midpoint of the series! I can't believe we've made it this far into the series, but it wouldn't have been possible without you and your continued loyalty to this series.

Sub-Volume 3 - Song of the Comet

Chapter 7 - One (Starr, 1998)

Written by Zack Wanzer and Rachel/TobyandMavisforever

FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Everyone hurried to the train station, and Twilight was in particularly high spirits.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this will be the best day ever!"

"What's the best day ever?" asked Vincent.

"Cadance is coming to visit the school," Twilight explained. "Not only is she the best sister-in-law ever, she was once the best babysitter in the history of babysitters."

"You sure it's a good idea for her to be visiting?" asked Vincent. "What if something goes wrong?"

"What could possibly go wrong, Vince?" asked Song Cue. "There's not a cloud in the sky."

"Aaagh! ...but there's ice on the ground," Vincent groaned. Heartsong, Twilight and Song Cue quickly helped Vincent up.

"Good for ice-skating, not so good for standing on," Heartsong sighed.

"No kidding," sighed Vincent.

"I hope no one breaks their leg while slipping on ice," said Comet. Just then, everyone heard the sound of a toot ringing through the air.

"That'd be us," said Orange.

"At least it'll be warmer inside," said Vincent. Everyone jumped into the carriage.

"The day's just been freezing," said Pinkie Pie. "It made Limestone crankier than usual."

"Then again, when isn't she a grump?" asked Lemon Hearts.

"She has her moments when she's sweet," Pinkie admitted. "But I didn't tell you that," she added in a whisper.

"I hope it doesn't end up snowing inside," Minuette joked.

"It shouldn't," said Vincent, a bit more bluntly than intended. "I hate cold weather."

"That's what happens when you live in northern Jefferson," said Twilight.

"Hmph."

"I think snow is magical," smiled Fluttershy. "It can bring out the good in people."

"I have to agree with you, cous," said Song Cue. "Just like when Donald and Douglas proved themselves and were allowed to stay on Sodor."

Later, at school, Twilight saw Cadance at the entrance.

"Cadance!" she smiled, hugging her.

"How's my favorite sister-in-law?" asked Cadance.

"I'm your only sister-in-law," Twilight giggled.

"And pretty soon, you'll be an aunt," Cadance added. "You excited to meet your niece or nephew?"

"Oh, I sure am!" said Twilight. "When's the baby coming?"

"Should be any day now, Twilight," Cadance replied.

"What brings you down to Canterlot High today, Cadance?" asked Heartsong.

"I'm helping Celestia and Luna figure out ideas for the Valentines' Day Formal," Cadance explained. "It's coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's on a Saturday," said Heartsong.

"Do you have someone to ask to the Formal?" asked Cadance.

"W-well... there's one guy I met in middle school," Heartsong stammered. "We had a good dance at the Fall Formal."

"Sometimes love can come up when you meet as kids," chuckled Cadance. "I know that happened with me and Shining."

"I guess it's pretty common around here," Heartsong admitted. "Vincent and Sunset are another example. And Soarin and Rainbow."

Zephyr had overheard the last comment.

"What does Rainbow see in Soarin anyway?" snapped Zephyr.

"At least he doesn't embarrass others when making comments about Rainbow's rear," said Fluttershy firmly.

"Thank StarClan I wasn't there to witness that," Song Cue sighed.

"You two are still sour over that?" Zephyr retorted. "I said I was sorry."

"Only whilst Dashie screamed in your face," said Fluttershy.

"You sounded worse than Blossomforth when she was pinning after Vincent," Heartsong put in.

"You don't get it, do you?!" snapped Zephyr. "I had my reasons, alright?!" Zephyr raced off, angry at his cousins and sister.

"Oh dear," sighed Cadance.

"Rejection does hurt," Fluttershy admitted. "I know how it feels."

"You handled it pretty well though," Song Cue told her, giving her cousin a hug. "You and Big Mac are still good friends, and you're friends with Sugar Belle too."

"Thanks." Just then, you guessed it, the bell rang.

"Oh my, we're going to be late!" cried Twilight.

"What is it with bells interrupting conversations?" asked Heartsong, rushing off to class.

"Well, we did kind of lose track of time," said Sweetie Belle.

"Good point," said Heartsong. "You have music now, right?"

"Yep. And by the looks of things, so do you!" Sweetie Belle and Heartsong made it just in time for roll call. Among their class were Song Cue, Comet Tail, Chip Mint, Pipsqueak and Fluttershy.

"I know Cadance coming is a good surprise," said the teacher, "but I recommend you be a bit quicker next time."

"Sorry, ma'am," said Heartsong.

"That's alright," the teacher then went on. "I want you all to sing in pairs today. We're doing a little singing contest. The best pairs of each class will sing at the Valentines' Day Formal."

"That'll be so romantic," Sweetie Belle gushed.

"D-do you want to be my partner?" asked Pipsqueak shyly.

"Yes!" Sweetie Belle said quickly, grabbing his hand, then blushed bright red.

"Can you imagine what Rarity would say if she saw this?" asked Fluttershy to Song Cue.

"I think she'd be in 'shipper on deck' mode," giggled Song Cue.

Heartsong and Chip Mint had chosen each other as partners, Song Cue and Comet chose each other, naturally, and Fluttershy was asked by boy named Silver Shill to be her partner.

"Sure," she had said. "It's better than nothing." The day might have been going well so far, but it was the calm before the storm - both literally and figuratively.

When it came time to present their songs, Song Cue and Comet Tail had gone first with "Time After Time".

"Song Cue gave that song to me when we were freshmen," Comet had said. "Despite some, er... shall we say, attempts at sabotage."

The older students and Heartsong nodded in understanding, but Sweetie Belle looked confused.

"We'll tell you later," whispered Heartsong.

Sweetie Belle and Pipsqueak went next with "Eternity", a song from the soundtrack of the movie The Swan Princess.

"Aww, this song is breathtaking," Song Cue whispered.

"I love watching that movie," said Comet.

Heartsong and Chip Mint sang "I Love You, Always Forever", a song which Heartsong had practiced countless times with Song Cue at home.

Meanwhile, unknown to the students, Celestia and Luna were with Cadance organizing things in the teachers' lounge.

"Who do you think will sing at the Valentines' Day Formal?" asked Cadance.

"Well, Sprinkle Melody says that Song Cue, Sweetie Belle or Heartsong along with their partners have a strong chance," Luna said. "Song Cue's been at the top of the singing class since she was a freshman, Heartsong shares her sister's voice, and Sweetie Belle is said to have a singing talent too."

"Something tells me that Sweetie Belle's rather shy about singing in public," said Celestia.

"I think that Pipsqueak could break her out of her shell a bit," said Cadance. "She really likes him."

Just then, Celestia saw some snow falling.

"The weather's bound to get worse," she said worriedly.

"I'm sure a few snowflakes won't hurt anyone, sister," Luna assured. "The students would just want to play outside when breaks come."

And indeed Luna was right. Everyone rushed outside to play in the snow.

"Snowball fight!" cried Orange, tossing one on his twin sister.

"Great, more cold weather," grumbled Vincent. "Why can't we go somewhere where it doesn't snow?"

"Oh, lighten up, Vincent," Song Cue replied. "This is fun!" She threw a snowball at Scootaloo.

"Pah," muttered Vincent.

"I'll get you, First Base!" Scootaloo called, but she hit Rumble by mistake.

"Hey!"

"Oops. Sorry about that, Rumble."

"Payback time," he chuckled, and threw a snowball back at Scootaloo.

In the mist of the snowball fight, Heartsong noticed the snow was starting to gradually fall faster and faster.

"Guys, the weather's getting worse," Heartsong announced.

"Bless my butterflies," cried Fluttershy. "You're right, cous."

"I hope that doesn't mean classes will be cancelled," said Orange.

"At least I'll be warm," said Vincent.

"It could mean we'd be trapped at the school," Song Cue pointed out. "We'd better tell any students we can find to get back inside, right now."

The group split up and found as many students to get back inside as possible. Around the same time, the teachers were looking around for students too.

"This blasted weather's getting worse by the minute!" cried Octavia. "I can barely see beyond my feet!"

"It is looking very bad, aunt Octavia," sighed Silver Spoon. "I hope everyone will get back inside safely."

"Phew!" sighed Celestia. "That's every student present and accounted for. We'll tell your parents that the blizzard has blocked the way out of the school."

"Some of us already have parents that do know," said Solar Crystal.

"Or aunts and/or uncles, in my case," said Silver Spoon.

"And in some cases, it's both," said Nyx.

Celestia was sending out a text message to the parents' phones, when everyone heard a loud cry. She nearly dropped her phone in shock when she realized who that was.

"Cadance!" she cried.

"The baby must be coming," Twilight realized. "We have to an ambulance here, now!"

"In this weather?" asked Vincent. "There's no chance! They might get into trouble on the way here!"

"But if there's no way an ambulance can get here, what should we do?" asked Orange. Heartsong was quiet for a moment, then an idea struck her.

"The school nurses could help," she suggested.

"That's a great idea, sis!" cried Song Cue.

"The nurse's office is that way," said Fluttershy. "Twilight, Song Cue, Heartsong, Orange, let's get Cadance there."

"On it," said Twilight. The small group started to lead Cadance there, who was groaning with pain every step.

"It's alright, Cadance," said Twilight. "Just focus on breathing."

"It really hurts!" she panted. "Why'd it have to be now, of all times?!"

"The nurses will know what to do," Heartsong assured. They soon reached the nurse's office.

"Cadance has gone into labor!" cried Heartsong. "Does anyone here know what to do?"

"I used to work in a hospital before changing jobs," said one of the nurses. "I had to deliver a few babies."

"That's good," said Orange. "You'll be a big help." The nurses told Orange, Song Cue, Heartsong, Fluttershy and Twilight to leave the room.

"I'll call Shining Armor," Twilight said to her friends. Thankfully, he was on break.

"Hey, Twily," he said. "Dad just got a message that you're snowed in. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Twilight. "But Cadance... well, she went into labor. She's about to have her baby!"

"What?!" Shining cried. "Is there an ambulance nearby?"

"She's in the nurse's office," Twilight explained. "One of them used to be at a hospital before transferring to the school." Shining breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll be down there as soon as I can," he told his sister.

"Alright BBBFF," said Twilight. "Hopefully the weather clears up soon and you'll be able to see your son or daughter."

"I hope so too, Twily. Love you." The call cut off.

"I think you may have a niece, Twilight," Song Cue said. "That was Mystic Light's prediction, at least."

"How'd she know?" asked Twilight.

"It's a myth we heard about," said Heartsong. "If a baby or toddler pays attention to an unborn child, it's the opposite gender. If they leave it alone, it's the same. And Mystic Light didn't pay attention to Cadance's child."

"I'm going to have to remember that one," said Twilight. "That's pretty interesting. How is Mystic Light anyway?"

"She's doing great," said Song Cue. "She's learning to crawl on all fours."

Twilight giggled. "Crawling already? She must be a real handful now."

"She is a bit," Song Cue admitted. "She found one of our old children's books, one I had based on the TV show, Numberjacks. While she can't read, she likes the pictures."

"It'll help her with her counting as she gets older, as well as some other basic math skills." Heartsong went on.

"I'm glad to hear," smiled Twilight. After some considerable time, one of the nurses came out.

"It's a girl!" she announced.

"Shining Armor and Cadance are parents, I'm an aunt!" cried Twilight. But then she remembered. "Oh, Shining's not here to see his new daughter."

"Who says I'm not here?" came a familiar voice. Orange and the girls turned to face Shining Armor.

"Shining!" Twilight gave her brother a hug. "You made it."

"But how?" asked Heartsong. "The weather's horrible."

"I couldn't let that stop me from being with my wife and child now could I?" Shining replied. "And did I hear that my child is a girl?"

"You did," said Twilight. "Looks like Mystic Light was right."

"Mystic Light? How'd she..."

"Long story, Shining Armor," chuckled Song Cue.

"You can come in to see your wife and child," said the nurse.

Cadance was resting on a chair and the little baby was in a blanket in her arms.

"Hello, my love," said Shining. He leaned over to kiss Cadance on the lips.

"Shining," Cadance said quietly, "it's so good to see you."

The baby daughter cooed up at Shining, as if saying "is this my papa?"

"Hello, little one," said Shining, stroking his newborn daughter's head. She giggled in reply and tried to grab Shining's hand.

"Hey there, little one," smiled Twilight. "I'm your father's sister, your auntie." She covered her eyes. "Where's your auntie Twilight?" she uncovered them again. "Peek-a-boo." The baby just waved up at Twilight in excitement.

"Are you going to give this baby a name, or are we going to keep calling her 'the baby'?" asked Heartsong.

"Well, given the events that happened today," said Cadance, "there was a flurry outside which stopped any ambulances coming up here, and you, Heartsong, managed to save the day. So... Shining, I think we should we should call our baby Flurry Heart."

"You're... naming her after me?" gasped Heartsong quietly. "I'd be honored!"

"Just don't let that get to your head," chuckled Song Cue.

"I won't, sis," she giggled. "Flurry Heart is adorable, by the way." Shining then decided to take his wife and new daughter home.

"I've got the old booster seat we used for Twilight when she was little," he explained.

"Attention, all students," called Celestia. "Due to this freak storm, everyone is to go home early. All your parents have been made aware of the change."

"Oh," Shining said just after he heard the announcement. "Want me to drive you home, Twilight?"

"Sure," said Twilight. "It'd be nice to know little Flurry a bit more." Flurry tried to reach out for her aunt again.

"I think she wants you to hold her, Twilight," chuckled Cadence. So Twilight did.

"We're going to be the best aunt and niece duo you've ever seen, Flurry," Twilight said, tickling her hand. "You wait and see." The baby squealed in reply.

"Speaking of babies, Orange, Heartsong, we'd better find Comet and get back to Mystic Light," said Song Cue.

"Good point," agreed Heartsong. "Who knows what little Mystic Light's been doing at home with mom?"

At home, the quartet found out.

"Oh dear, Mystic, don't try and climb down the stairs on your own," Sweet Song said, picking her up and walking down. Mystic Light whined with protest as Sweet Song picked her up.

"It's alright, sweetie," she said. "Look, Comet, Song Cue, Orange and Heartsong are back from school."

"What did she get up to, mom?" asked Song Cue.

"Getting into everything," Sweet Song replied. "Boxes of toys, bookcases, the staircase, you name it. I was on my toes all day."

"She's definitely reached her 'adventurous' side," Comet chuckled. "You were just trying to see what big kids do, weren't you?" he added in baby talk. Mystic Light giggled.

"Come on, why don't I show you those pictures in that book again?" said Song Cue as her mom handed her Mystic. The baby gave eager nods as Song Cue sat down with her on the couch and got the Numberjacks book.

"Okay, Mystic, which picture do you want to look at?"

Song Cue flipped a few pages before Mystic pointed at one.

"Yes, I love it when Three gets to go out too."

"We should introduce Mystic Light to Flurry Heart someday," said Heartsong, and she quickly explained to her mom about the day's events.

"Well done, my daughter," praised Sweet Song, giving Heartsong a hug. "And congratulations to Shining and Cadance. I think introducing the babies to each other would be an adorable idea."

"We'll let Cadance and Shining know as soon as we can," said Comet.

But what was important for now was giving little Mystic Light all the attention she needed, which was becoming increasingly difficult for the young couple...

FOOTNOTE

Silver Spoon's father is Hoity Toity, who is one of Octavia's siblings. Her mother is Photo Finish.