1

Chapter 1

“AAAAHHHH!”

The pony screamed in pain. Her contractions had begun, the moments she had dreaded and eagerly awaited since she had found out she was pregnant once more.  Her husband sat at her side, holding her hoof between his,  while three nurses rushed about the hospital room. One came toward the mare with a hypodermic needle. “Ma'am,” she began. “Please try to hold still. This will lessen the pain a small amount.” The stallion gripped his wife as she released a held breath and tried to relax. The nurse inserted the needle into the crook of her elbow, pressed down the syringe, and then pulled it out. She wiped the area with a sanitizing pad, and drew back to check the mare's heart rate on the monitors.

Another spasm shook the mare, and she cried out again. The pain was not as severe, but it still hurt. Several minutes passed before it happened again.

One of the nurses checked a computer screen. “It is nearly ready. Ma'am, please try to relax for a moment. Sir, if you would exit the room, we will tell you when it is over.”

Hours later, the nurse exited the room. She looked at the stallion, who had spent the time pacing back and forth, back and forth, across the waiting room. “It is time,” she said. “Come in.” Something was off about her voice, something that seemed grave and despairing. The stallion took a deep breath and followed the nurse into the birthing room. Inside, one nurse was holding a small bundle, and another was gathering several rags that were soaked in blood.

“Dear,” the mare on the bed called to her husband. “Come to me.” the stallion sat, speechless, as the mare weakly held reached out her hand.

“Why?” he asked her.

“They can't do anything for me. This is where it ends. Take care of her.”

the stallion began to breathe faster, frantic. He jumped up, grabbed the nurse who wasn't holding anything, and held her close to him. “Do something! She can't die!”

The nurse began to shed tears. “I'm sorry...” she choked out the words. “We can't do anything.”

The stallion released her, and took his wife's hoof between his. “I...I can't live without you...” he whispered.

“I know. But I will always be here. Watch our child, watcher her grow up.”

“What shall I say to our firstborn?”

The mare drooped her head. “Tell her we have a miscarriage. She must not know.”

“But...but that's wrong! We have to tell her!”

“No....don't....take my baby to....” the mare coughed, and blood sprayed from her throat onto the blankets. “...take her

to...my sister...in...Cloudsdale...” the mare dropped her head against the head of the pillows, her breathing shallow.

“No! Don't die on me! NO!” he jumped again, yelling at the nurses. “Do something!” he shouted. The second nurse shook her head, tears spilling over her face, and she held out the bundle in her arms. The stallion took the child, his arms shaking. The vibrations caused the blankets to shift, and they tipped over his arms, revealing a tiny pegasus filly. Little wings fluffed out, as the baby turned in her sleep.

“Dear...” the stallion said to the baby. “I will let nothing happen to you. For your mother...” he clutched the filly close to his chest, and dropped to the floor, letting his tears spill onto the floor. His dead wife lay on the bed, the nurses stood silently.

Night fell over Canterlot.