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Celest and Midnight always enjoyed their time with their kids, and they looked forward to the yearly visit from each of them. They would come around after the snow began to thaw and buds were starting to bloom on the trees.

The two lifemates had established a home for themselves in a grove just a short distance from a small pond that would almost always freeze over during the winter. The thick tree line around them gave them plenty of shelter during the winter against the harsh winds and cold air that would blow off the frozen water.

The pond was beginning to thaw, a sure sign of the change of the season. Midnight had just returned from a short walk around the pond to gauge the progress of the thaw. He cleared his throat to announce his arrival as Celest was distracted with tending a small area where she planned to plant some herbs and flowers. Her hooves were dirty and she had some mud on her nose where she had been pulling rocks and tossing them away. "It looks like it won't be long now," he said, moving up beside her to help. "The ice is beginning to thaw. The kids will be here soon." He dipped his head and grabbed a large clump of weeds in his teeth, pulled them out of the ground and tossed his head to throw them into the pile she had already started.

Celest paused what she was doing and looked at her mate. "I had a feeling it might. The birds have been very chatty lately, and the squirrels are already starting to wake up. Spica even came by earlier before going out to hunt, excited that there would be plenty of prey for him to find." She laughed lightly at that thought. Her familiar didn't tend to stay for long, but she was glad for the time he did come around. Any visit from him was always welcome. She turned back to her work. "So it's a good time to get started on this little garden patch so that when it's warm enough, we can get things planted early."

Midnight smiled at the mention of Spica. He had helped him on many occasions with his training and always had fun helping when Midnight would teach the kids. It had been a few years since they'd had any little ones to train, but they would usually spar when the kids came around.

They continued with their weeding and took a break to eat and made their way to the pond for a cool drink and to wash away some of the dirt caked on their hooves. Celest dipped her front hooves into a small pool where some of the ice had melted, gasping at the icy briskness. Her fetlocks floated on top of the water as she swished her hoof back and forth to rid it of the debris. She repeated this method on her other three feet and moved to another spot to take a long drink of the icy cold water. Midnight joined her, taking his time to quench his thirst. When they were done, they decided to take a walk around the pond to see what other signs of spring were beginning to appear.

Dawning Light had the most distance to travel to return home. She had made her home in the mountains that were at least three days travel from her childhood home. She had left three days ago knowing it would take that long to get there, even with flying part of the way. She didn't mind though. It was a nice family tradition that her older sister Eva had started years ago when she had first left to find her own place in the world. Dawn was stuck at home with their three brothers, but luckily they had training most days to keep them occupied. She wasn't allowed to start training until the boys had left to start their advanced training with their uncle Moonlight Sonata. She was grateful for the quietness that brought, and the one on one time with her dad.

After flying for much of the morning, Dawn decided she would probably walk the rest of the way so as not to tire out her wings too much. When she finally arrived and made her way through the treeline, she could see that she had once again been the last one to arrive. She knew that Moon Beam Shimmer and Supernova Eclipse wouldn't be making the trip this Spring, but she hoped to see them in the Fall when the family celebrated the harvest.

As she stepped through the treeline surrounding the family grove, she spotted her parents and two of her siblings gathered near the pond. She wondered if it had already started to thaw or if she might be able to try and skate on it. A quick look at her mother's feet gave her the answer. Her fetlocks were wet and sticking to her legs, which meant she had dipped them in the water along the edge of the pond. She let out a sigh and called out to them, "Hey! Last one here is definitely not a rotten egg!" She laughed at her terrible joke and flapped her wings to propel herself forward to get to them faster.