Note: this art is from 2013.

Artist’s description from DA:

-*Sunburst*, the mate of Posey and the father of Fluttershy. Sunburst is a average sized stallion with a large heart and even larger soul. He’s brave, self-sacrificing, and loves to help others. It’s why he took up his dream career of being a firefighter. He was originally going to be a soldier, but I figured firefighters and law enforcers really don’t get the credit they deserve, so firefighter he is. :3 Personality wise, Sunburst isn’t much of a talker, but he isn’t the type to be shy either. He’s charming, gentle, and loves to joke around.

So the way he met Fluttershy’s mother, Posey, is a peculiar story. He actually met her on the job; he was called in when a huge fire broke out in an apartment building when one of the residents forgot they were cooking something. When he reached the destination, most of the residents had managed to get out; all except for two. The frightened ponies said an earth pony mare had ran in when she heard someone’s foal was trapped, but now she was stuck too. Needing no other explanation, Sunburst and a couple of other ponies charged in, the rest fighting desperately to put the fire out.

After some searching, Sunburst managed to find the earth pony mare and the foal; the mare had been trapped underneath some burning debris, having pushed the foal out of the way before the debris could fall on him as well. The little colt was trying to pull her out, but he wasn’t strong enough. Sunburst managed to pull her out from underneath all the rubble and got her, and the foal, out safely. The mare, Posey, suffered some second and third degree burns and had to go to the hospital. Sunburst felt compelled to visit her, sooooo… he did. c:

She was awake and well when he did go to visit, and she thanked him for saving her life. He in turn commended her for her bravery, and they got to talking. From that point, he’d visit her until she was well enough to leave, and even afterward they agreed to continue seeing each other over lunch, dinner, just to hang out. Finally, Sunburst asked Posey on an official date, and she said yes. Aaaaaaaaaand then they got married, and had adorable little Shy. The end. :3

Sadly, Sunburst is no longer living; he sacrificed his life to save the lives of others when a business building caught fire. :C

Between Posey and Sunburst, Fluttershy get’s quite a bit of her looks from her father, specifically his eyes, hair type, and long wings.

-*Rainbow Strike*, the mate of Firefly and the father of Rainbow Dash. He’s a bit taller than the average stallion and has long, powerful legs and short wings that is excellent for diving. Like Rainbow, he’s among the 1-3% of the equine population to have naturally rainbow-colored hair (rainbow colored hair is the pony equivalent to those who have red/ginger hair; it’s the rarest natural hair color, but one of the most beautiful). He’s actually great friends with Sunburst too, and I’m thinking he’d be working as a police officer for his career.

Anyway, Rainbow Strike is the exact opposite of his daughter and wife. He’s very quiet, almost shy, and he likes to keep away from attention. Which is kinda funny, since he chose a career where he’s bound to get some attention for his heroic work. But he’s strong-willed and has a acute sense of justice, and if you do something he feels hurts his moral code (don’t talk bad about anyone based on their appearance, don’t shame the homeless, that sort of thing), he will suddenly become assertive and do what he thinks is right. He’s also an avid reader, and this is where Rainbow gets it from, although she doesn’t really indulge in it until Twilight came along. I also wanted Rainbow to look more like her father than she did her mother, so hopefully I pulled it off. c:

So Strikey and Firefly had been bros-for-life throughout most of their lives. They met when they were foals, and were inseparable ever since. They literally followed each other from grade school to college, and continued to stay in touch even after that. It was around the end of middle school that Strike found he had a crush on the wild mare, and around high school where he began to fall in love with her. About time college rolled around, he was head-over-hooves for her.

The problem was, Firefly didn’t know that.

Where she was widely popular and loud, he was sort of quiet and preferred to stay with his select group of very close friends (Sunburst being his best bro). Whereas she had several dates and liked a bit of fun now and again, he never really dated anyone (he tried once in high school, but they broke it off when he admitted to being in love with Firefly. The mare didn’t take it too well and chewed him out bigtime during school while trying to hit him. Firefly did NOT take kindly to that >.>). He weathered all of her boyfriends and girlfriends and was there throughout everything, good and bad, just as much as she was for him; he was literally her best of the best friend. And she didn’t even know he was crazy about her. He simply didn’t have the courage to tell her.

The only reason she found out was because…. well… she found out. Once she began paying attention to how he reacted toward her, it wasn’t hard to figure out. It really came to a point when he came back from a particularly bad situation where Rainbow Strike was called in to deal with a pair of robbers that ultimately ended in a shootout. The ponies were subdued and no one was seriously hurt, thankfully, but some of them came back with some scratches and wounds. Strike came back with a limp, an attack having left a shallow gash in his left shoulder.

The news of the event traveled like wildfire, and Firefly, once hearing it and seeing Strikey herself, was sick to the stomach with worry and misplaced anger. And in the heat of it all, she ended up laying one right on the stuttering Rainbow Strike, and demanded a date. “Knowin’ a klutz like you, someone should take care of ya.”

They had Rainbow Dash soon after, and soon after that got married. Both parents are still alive and happily together to this day. Of the couples, I think theirs is probably the sappiest. But that’s okay, ‘cause adorably sappy love stories really happen. C:

-*Nightlight*, mate to Twilight Velvet and father to Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. Nightlight’s about as tall as Rainbow Strike, but he has a stockier build, a little bit like that of a draft horse. He is where Shining Armor got his draft horse appearance from, although he took to it more than his father did. Night is also the source of Twilight and Shining’s love for star-gazing, especially since he himself is a accomplished astronomer.

Funny thing, he met his children’s mother when writing a book on astronomy, since a new issue had to be made for college students hoping for the same career. They were to collaborate on the book, and they actually hit it off pretty well. This wouldn’t be the last time they collaborated on a text book, however; they’d do so many times more in the future, and with each time they became better friends. At the time, Twilight Velvet had a boyfriend, so while Nightlight’s attraction toward her grew, he never acted on it. Even still, they continued to hang out and chat and be great friends, and continued to do so even when business didn’t call for it.

One day, though, Nightlight received a telegram from Velvet asking him to meet her at the Canterlot park. He did so, and he was met with a rather teary-eyed Twilight Velvet, sitting on a bench all by her lonesome. He immediately went over to offer comfort and see what was troubling her; turned out that she and her boyfriend broke things off. Nothing bad happened, but it simply wasn’t really working out, so they both agreed it’d be better if they began seeing someone else. They remained relatively good friends though. Even with this info, Nightlight didn’t act on his growing affection for the mare; instead, he offered her supportive shoulder and an ear, and gradually Velvet felt a better.

A few weeks after, it wasn’t Nightlight who made the first move, but instead, it was Velvet. She asked if he wanted to go out sometime, as something other than friends, and he immediately accepted. It gradually built up from there, until maybe two years after that day, Velvet, once again, took initiative and asked Nightlight to marry her. Of course he said yes. 8D And you guys know the rest.

Personality wise, Nightlight isn’t reserved or anything, but he is soft-spoken, despite his relatively deep voice. He likes the quiet, but he loves spending it with friends and family. Like his daughter, though, every now and then he likes to take some time to himself and be alone, preferably stargazing with a cup of hot chocolate with a hint of mint. He’s also quite the romantic, too. :3