Featured song:

1. "All the Pretty Little Horses" by Ashley Serena

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Earlier...

Diamond repeatedly continued to perform CPR as best she could. She might have been early in her royal guard training, but luckily for her CPR was one of the first things the guards typically learned.

"Come on! Don't die on me!" Diamond shouted, continuing to press on the human's chest.

Diamond wasn't sure how much longer she could keep doing this, or if it was all in vain. And then...

GASP!

Tech coughed and hacked as water escaped from his mouth before he collapsed again.

"Tech! Tech, can you hear me?!" Diamond said.

But Tech didn't answer. He was very weak, and he couldn't see very well with his glasses missing. Diamond knew she had to do something! Tech needed help, and there wasn't any time to look for the others.

Quickly, Diamond used the magic in the diamond on her forehead to place Tech on her back, using some vines she spotted as ropes to make sure he wouldn't fall off, and she began running as fast as she could to use her shoes to get him to a hospital, only to find something wrong!

Diamond looked at her feet, only to find three of her shoes were gone! They must've fallen off when she and Tech fell and landed on all of those trees and rocky ledges that caught them as they fell toward the river.

"Looks like we'll have to get help the old fashioned way." Diamond said.

Tech didn't say anything, but he was breathing. Diamond used another spell she knew to stabilize Tech for the time being. She had to get home somehow, and then find the others.

And so, Diamond began running as quickly as she could to find any signs of civilization or someone friendly to help them find their way home.

__________________________

Present...

Hunter held Indira's hand as she started breathing heavily, meanwhile the others were also panicking that they'd forgotten Buttercup and Goldie.

"How could we forget two of our friends?!" Emerald face-hoofed.

"Weren't you two supposed to watch them?" Kara looked at Mox and Stak.

"They were sleeping last time we saw them!" Stak defended.

"Can you argue later?!" Hunter said. "We are in labor."

"We Hunter?!" Indira yelled.

"You, you Indira. You're my queen." Hunter said, sounding scared of his wife.

"Geez, are all women this cranky when they have babies?" Mox said.

"Only when you say the wrong things," said Teatra. "You should've seen how crazy it got the day my sister was born."

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The Marauder soon came to land on Pabu, and Hunter immediately rushed out and began frantically running around and shouting for help!

"SOMEONE HELP ME! THE BABY'S COMING!"

A lot of people were woken up or startled by Hunter's frantic behavior, but many were also excited; it wasn't everyday a new baby was born on Pabu.

"Is anyone around here a doctor?" Pinto called. "Anyone?!"

Fortunately, there were some maricambas who heard Hunter's distress, and among them was Dr. Amber Piera, a lovely maricamba with the wings of an amber phantom butterfly, and a skilled doctor.

Hunter led Dr. Amber to the Marauder to see Indira. Dr. Amber took a look at Indira and checked under the blankets.

"It's nearly time." Dr. Amber said. "She has to be moved quickly!"

Dr. Amber whistled and got as many people as she could to help get a stretcher, carefully move Indira from the Marauder and to a safe place inside one of the nearest buildings where Indira could give birth.

Hunter, on the other hand, tripped and fell down a bunch of times in all the excitement.

__________________________

A cool cloth was placed on Indira's head as she breathed heavily, Dr. Amber making sure she was comfortable as the time came for her to push.

"You're crowning!"

Indira screamed loud enough to be heard all over Pabu.

__________________________

Hunter paced back and forth. He wanted to be in there so badly to help Indira, but when Dr. Amber saw how he became nauseous by the smells involved in the medical procedures, she thought it best if he waited outside.

Mona stood by Hunter's side to try and keep him calm, but Hunter didn't seem too focused on anything else.

"Hunter, will you please calm down and try eating something?" Mona said, getting a pomegranate.

"How can I eat at a time like this?!" Hunter exclaimed, pulling at his headband until he pulled it off his head, letting his hair fall into his eyes. "Agh! Great. Of all times for things to get hairy."

Hunter started to get his hair out of his eyes, his worry still not ceasing; he just couldn't stop worrying about his wife.

__________________________

Meanwhile, Kara was about to take the Marauder to go back for the missing girls, when Buttercup suddenly appeared at the scene.

"Forget something guys?" Buttercup said. She didn't look too happy. "You're lucky we didn't get hurt by those slither vines, or my parents would really let you have it."

Everyone was relieved Buttercup was okay; good thing she had her magical horseshoes to get back safely. But Goldie didn't appear to be with her. Except, that was when the others noticed Buttercup did have something on her back; something green and smooth that was shaped like a really big bean.

"What happened to Goldie?" Wrecker asked.

"This happened." Buttercup said.

Buttercup carefully placed the green thing on the ground. Kara and any maricamba in sight knew exactly what this was!

"Goldie's formed her chrysalis!" Kara said. "Of course! That's what was happening!"

Emeraldi looked at Mona and said, "How did you not see this coming?"

Mona shrugged.

"I didn't know those were symptoms of getting wings. I never really got to go through them."

One thing Mona never told anyone even after she got rescued was about the time before she got her wings. She didn't get to experience the symptoms of being ready to form her chrysalis. Mariverde didn't feed her very much, which should've hindered her metamorphic process, so instead, she gave Mona a bunch of shots that contained who knows what in them, and it caused Mona to turn into a butterfly a year early, which also explained why she thought she was a year older than she actually was at the time. She'd overheard her birth mother say that most maricambas changed at age eight, but never once did she say when her birthday was. There was still a lot about her past and her origins Mona really didn't know much about.

"We can take her from here," said a young male maricamba. "We know the best place for new butterflies to hatch from their chrysalises."

For now, they had a new baby about to arrive.

__________________________

It felt like forever since Dr. Amber took Indira in to give birth, and Hunter fell asleep on the porch outside the building. And then, he woke up as someone shook him by the shoulder.

"Hunter!" Mona whisper-yelled.

"Hm? What?" Hunter rubbed his eyes.

"Dr. Amber says you can go in now." Mona smiled.

Suddenly, Hunter remembered what had been going on, and he jumped right up and dashed inside the building.

__________________________

In a small, cozy room, Hunter spotted Indira looking exhausted and elated as she looked down at a small bundle in her arms.

Hunter's eyes went wide with anticipation as well as disbelief. He couldn't believe his eyes. There she was, his wife, holding their new baby in her arms. Hunter was finally a father. Now, he just had to finally meet the baby.

Hunter quietly approached his wife, not taking his eyes off the bundle she was holding.

"Is... is this our baby?"

Indira smiled and carefully passed the bundle into Hunter's arms.

"Hunter... this is your daughter."

The baby girl's eyes were already open. She looked just like Indira, except her hair was the same color as Hunter's.

Hunter chuckled as he caught sight of the baby girl looking at him.

"She's beautiful."

And then, to Hunter's great surprise, Indira pulled out a second bundle.

"And this... is your son."

The baby boy looked like his father, but without the face tattoo, and his hair was the same shade of brown as his mother's.

"Wait.... Two?" Hunter gasped as he got to hold both babies in his arms.

Hunter couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at the two little bundles of joy in his arms. The babies were both so beautiful. Hunter had seen the happy faces of a few friends who'd had babies in the last couple of years, and now he finally fully understood just how magical it felt when the new fathers held their children in their arms for the very first time.

Of course, being that these twins were of a unique type of couple, one of them being a clone, granted, but nonetheless a "normal" human by all other counts, whereas the other was a shapeshifting pegasus human. And, that did have some effects on the babies' formation. They did look like regular human babies, until you unwrapped their blankets and each of the twins was found to have a tail of a horse, and they both definitely had more hair than most newborns did.

It definitely looked like the babies were going to need custom-made clothing, but they were healthy.

Indira initially worried Hunter might freak out that the kids looked so... different. But, Hunter was a defective clone; who was he to see his own children as anything besides miracles?

"Indira, you've given me the two most perfect children ever born." Hunter smiled. "What should we name them?"

Indira and Hunter looked at the babies. They'd discussed names a while back, but it'd been months since they'd seen each other before Indira joined the mission.

The couple thought and thought; the birth of these babies was a time of enlightenment for both of them, and they knew that no matter what was happening in the galaxy, their love for each other and for their babies would only be ever growing. And then, they knew just the names for the new babies.

__________________________

Wrecker, Mona, and Kara were all ecstatic when they were told they could come in to meet the babies.

"Babies?!" They'd all gasped when Dr. Amber came to them.

No one could keep from smiling when they saw the newborn twins.

"They're so little." Wrecker said, starting to tickle the babies.

"Cootchie, cootchie, coo." Mona sang.

"They're so beautiful." Kara said, taking a turn holding the baby girl. "What are their names?"

It took a lot of thought, but Indira and Hunter agreed on two lovely names for the babies. For the firstborn twin, the baby girl, they named her Heather Avya. And for the baby boy, they picked the name Lotus Kumar. Heather and Lotus, the names of Hunter and Indira's favorite flowers.

Back when Hunter and Indira first met, before they even were in love, Hunter could never find a flower that didn't smell so strong to him because he had a very sensitive nose. But then, Indira introduced him to heather flowers, which had a scent that was subtle to most, but just right for Hunter, thus bringing him to choose that first name for his daughter. And because she was the firstborn at the light of a new day, and Indira saw her children as a heavenly blessing, she decided Heather's middle name should be Avya.

Lotus flowers, on the other hand, were a symbol of purity and rebirth, and with the birth of these new babies, Indira was getting a chance to start a real family of her own, and these children, she would never succumb them to a forced marriage or force them to be anything but the people they were meant to be someday. And for his middle name, Kumar meant 'prince,' and Indira loved how much her little prince resembled her Prince Charming. Thus, Indira chose the name Lotus Kumar.

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Hunter smiled lovingly as he looked at the baby twins sleeping in their bassinets. They were as beautiful as their mother, who was sleeping right now. He kissed the babies' little heads, making sure each of them was swaddled up just right.

It was a long and tiring day for everyone. After the babies were born, officially feeding them for the first time, then figuring out how to change the babies' diapers, as well as almost being plant food, Hunter needed a rest.

Hunter climbed into bed with his wife and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her cheek goodnight.

"We're finally parents," sighed Indira, half-asleep.

"I know. It's better than I imagined." Hunter smiled, shutting his eyes, but not to sleep.

Indira and Hunter immediately began kissing, and Hunter got his wife on top of him so they could have some special time together, when one of the babies woke up and started crying.

Hunter got out of bed, insisting Indira rest since it'd only been a few hours since she gave birth, and he approached the cradle to see it was Lotus who was crying.

"Shh. Don't cry, Lotus." Hunter said, picking up his son and rocking him.

Hunter didn't smell a dirty diaper, and Lotus refused a bottle. So, Hunter figured Lotus just needed to be rocked. So, he started rocking him, only for Heather to start crying too. So, he picked her up as well.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay, kids. Daddy's here." Hunter said tiredly.

But the babies didn't stop crying. Hunter sat down and gently bounced the babies in his arms, but neither of them seemed willing to go to sleep.

"Hunter, why don't you let me have one of them?" Indira said.

"You already had both of them. You, my love, need to rest."

Hunter kept on rocking the babies, despite the fact that he was about to fall asleep himself. Unfortunately, every time he tried to put the babies down, they woke up and started crying again.

Hunter began to wonder how Anakin survived when his twins were born.

"Come on. Come on, little ones. Sleep. Sleep, little babies." Hunter practically begged.

And still, the babies just wouldn't sleep unless they were safe in Daddy's arms. But Daddy needs his sleep too. The moment Hunter stopped rocking them, even for a moment, their crying filled the room and hurt Hunter's ears. It appeared even the slightest noise woke them.

"You two definitely inherited my senses. At least my ears." Hunter sighed.

The babies only responded with more crying. By this time, Indira had fallen asleep again; the exhaustion from giving birth finally caught up with her, it seemed.

"Okay, what would General Skywalker do?" Hunter asked himself.

And then Hunter had an idea. He remembered Indira singing a song to her stomach when she learned she and Hunter were expecting.

Hunter began gently rocking the babies again, and this time, he sang a song.

Hunter:

Hush-a-bye

Don't you cry

Go to sleep my little baby

When you wake

You shall have

All the pretty little horses

Blacks and bays

Dapples and greys

Dancing through the sky

When you wake

You shall have

All the pretty little horses

Lotus and Heather's eyes started to slowly drop as their father sang to them. Hunter had a very soothing singing voice, especially to the babies. When he saw it was working, Hunter continued to sing the song.

Hush-a-bye

Don't you cry

Go to sleep my little baby

When you wake

You shall have

All the pretty little horses

Blacks and bays

Dapples and greys

Dancing through the sky

By now, the babies were neck deep in sleep, and Hunter very carefully placed them into their cradles again.

When you wake

You shall have

All the pretty little horses

Hunter gently kissed the twins' little heads and quietly made his way back to bed to finally get some rest. And this time, the babies stayed asleep. At least... until right before sunrise.

__________________________

Fatherhood was proving to be a very difficult task. But that wasn't the only thing Hunter worried about. Omega and the other kids were still out there somewhere. Indira told Hunter he should go out and continue to search for her, and she could take care of the babies herself for a while.

Shep offered to help out too. A father himself, and having a new baby himself, he knew a thing or two, but Hunter was hesitant.

Hunter decided to stay at least for a few days so his team could strategize a plan, and so he could make sure Indira had everything she needed to care for the twins.

__________________________

A few days later, just before the Batch was about to leave, Buttercup came running in.

"Everyone! Come quick!" Buttercup said. "You gotta see this!"

Buttercup quickly led everyone to a tree where Goldie's chrysalis was hanging. The chrysalis was shaking! Everyone watched with anticipation as the chrysalis slowly opened and out came Goldie, who seemed a little tired, but very refreshed.

Goldie stretched with a yawn.
"That was a refreshing nap." Goldie said.

But then, Goldie felt a strange sensation on her back. It felt a little wet and kind of frail, but with a bit of movement, whatever it was started to move a little bit, and then Goldie saw, on her back... a pair of gold and black monarch wings!

"I have wings!" Goldie squealed, jumping excitedly.

Goldie was amazed by this! She had wings. Really for real butterfly wings! This was amazing! It meant she just experienced metamorphosis! She had wings like her sister, her grandpa, and... her mom.

Suddenly, Goldie looked sad. She'd just experienced a huge milestone, and her parents weren't here to see her experience it. She didn't even know where they were now.

Kara held Goldie's shoulder and said, "I'm sure they'd be very proud of you, Goldie."

Goldie knew Kara was right; she would get to show her parents soon, hopefully. But for now, they had friends to rescue.

__________________________

Hunter kissed Indira goodbye for now, and he kissed the babies too.

"Be good for your mama now, okay, kids?" Hunter smiled.

Heather responded by bopping Hunter's nose with her tiny hand.

"Oh! You take after your mother too."

Lotus sneezed cutely.

"Bless you, Lotus." Hunter chuckled, booping the baby boy's nose.

"Come on, Hunter! Time's a wastin'!" Pinto called.

Hunter was reluctant to leave.

"You sure you don't need me to stay? I wouldn't mind sitting it out for a few more days."

"Omega needs you, Hunter. Go save her." Indira said. "She's family too. You go make sure she's safe, I'll stay and make sure our babies are safe."

Hunter knew Indira was a strong woman/mare. She was no stranger to handling things on her own. So, he gave her one last kiss, and left to go and search for his missing sister.