Butterflies In Her Tummy

by Hivemind

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Fluttershy, Slice of Life
Length: 38841

(2nd Person x Fluttershy) A special surprise is about to enter into your life. Sequel to another story.

(2nd Person x Fluttershy) After the wedding, you and Fluttershy now live a happy, relaxing life. You love each other like nopony ever could, and you treat your new wife with the same level of kindness and respect that she is accustomed to.

But very soon, a very big change is about to occur in your marriage, and from the looks of things, it may not be just the two of you anymore.

Published 2012-04-03 11:54:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-14 02:59:58 UTC

Part 1

“Tent?”

“Check.”

“Erm...toiletries? Sorry...”

“Check.”

“Blanket and pillows?”

“Check.”

“Great, that’s everything!”

After ticking off the final check boxes on your list, you set your pen aside and pocket the list in your saddlebags, which were already stuffed full with plastic bags of vegetables and a few bags of marshmallows. In the next room, you could hear Fluttershy struggling under the weight of the a piece of luggage that she was carrying. Being the gentlecolt that you are, you let your saddlebags drop from your back and set them off to the side before leaving the kitchen and moving to the living room.

When you enter, you silently laugh to yourself when you see Fluttershy trying at her best to lift the heavy tent bag onto her back. With each new attempt, the bag refused to leave the ground as if it was stuck to the floor with super glue.

You giggle for a few moments more before strolling over to your wife’s side.

“Here, let me get that for you. You take the saddlebags in the kitchen.”

Fluttershy took in a deep breath and smiled before exhaling. To exhausted to speak, she replied by simply nuzzling your neck as she passed by you on the way to the kitchen.

With a bit of effort put into it, you finally manage to hoist the heavy tent bag onto your back. Fluttershy re-enters the room with the saddlebags full of food draped over her back.

“Are you ready?” Fluttershy asks as she does a quick once over of the saddlebags before turning to you and smiling.

“Sure,” you reply, “but you forgot something,” You said with a sly grin on your face.

“Oh? What did I forget? We have everything on the checklist...I think, and I made sure that the animals had plenty of food while we’re away...” Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin and silently pondered to herself for a moment. You lightly chuckle under your breath and step up to her side. You unhook one of the belt buckles on the saddlebags and poke your head inside. After a quick moment of searching around, you pull your head out and let the golden necklace of your bonding droop down from between your teeth.

“You forgot this!” you wiggle your head back and forth to emphasize. Fluttershy turns to you and blushes.

“Oh, thank you! How could I have ever forgot to put it on this morning?” Fluttershy leans her head forward to take the wedding necklace from you, but you pull back and insist that you put it on for her. She says nothing and instead smiles while she bows her head low to the floor. Taking extra care, you slowly and gently lower the diamond ring necklace over her ears, down to the base of her neck.

You step back and admire your wife's figure as she lifts her head.

“That looks great on your Fluttershy!” you comment on your wife’s appearance.

Fluttershy’s face turns into an even deeper shade of embarrassed blush at your kind words.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy kisses you on the cheek before walking towards the door, with you following behind her. “C’mon now. We don’t want to be late. Twilight is kind of serious about these friendly get-togethers...”

You open the front door and allow Fluttershy to walk out first. She purposely brushes past your face as she walked by. Getting the signal almost immediately, you quickly walk out and shut the door behind you.

“It’s going to be beautiful tonight! Who knew that so many other ponies in Ponyville loved looking at the night sky?” questioned Fluttershy as she gazed up at the growing line of dark blue sky intermixed with the orange horizon.

“It’s going to look even more beautiful when a certain somepony is there with me,” you replied as the two of you walked through the tiny front gate of the cottage grounds.

Fluttershy moves closer to you and leans her head on your neck like she did before the two of you were married. It has been a while since she had done this, and the welcoming feel of her warm breaths against your face always made you crack a smile. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, enjoying the cool night air as the gentle breeze swept through her pink mane.

Neither of you said a word as the two of you reached the path that led to the outskirts of Ponyville, nighttime owls and a frog or two sounding out your way.

~~~~~

“Look at em’ all Fluttershy...”

“I know. They’re beautiful...”

“Not as beautiful as you!” You playfully poke Fluttershy in the side of her chest, which sends her into a rough fit of giggles. You then deeply kiss her in the same spot where you poked her, savoring the delicate texture of her supple flesh. She did not giggle, but instead moaned in bliss.

“I’ve always wondered as to why you’re so ticklish,” you comment while you retract your neck.

“I don’t really know...” Fluttershy leans her head against your neck again, “But that felt nice,” She ends off her words with a kiss to your chin.

You turn away from your relaxing wife and poke your head out through the unzipped tent flaps. You take notice to the plethora of mixed conversations happening around the campsite. Twilight was discussing the sciences of flying with Rainbow Dash, who was looking as bored as ever, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were sharing a small basket of sugary treats and giggling whenever one of them told a joke, and Applejack was busily reading through a farming magazine while eating an apple and tending to the small fire in the middle of the circle of tents.

You look at the hoof watch on your leg. It read twenty minutes past eleven-o'clock at night.

“How much longer until this meteor shower, Twilight?” you asked. All of the girls stopped what they were doing and looked to you with questionable faces. “We’ve been out here for almost an hour and nothing’s happening.”

Twilight smiles and pokes her head into her tent. She comes back out with an astronomical star chart on her mouth, which she then lays out onto the ground in front of her. Everypony moves closer to the chart and stares at it with wonder in their eyes.

“According to the observations I made earlier today,” Twilight drags the tip of her hoof over a red dotted line that was drawn out over a series of constellations, “the shower should be happening right about...now!”

On her words, everypony looks up to the sky just in time to catch the first meteor zip across the night sky, followed by two more. Fluttershy pokes her head out of the tent and snuggles up to you. Three meteors appeared this time, each one side by side as they raced towards the darkened horizon.

Fluttershy bent away from your neck and moved closer to your ear.

“I...I need to talk to you about something. Something important,” Fluttershy whispers in your ear. You reply by tilting the side of your head closer to her mouth, keeping your eyes on the starlight spectacle.

“I’ve been doing some thinking lately...” Fluttershy starts, “a-and this is something that’s been on my mind for the past few months. I’ve thought about it for quite a while and...” Fluttershy moves away from your ear and looks off to the side, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Yes?” you said, “What is it Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy turns back to you and takes one of your legs in her hooves while looking deep into your eyes.

“What if...”

“Yes? Go on.”

“What if we had-”

“Fluttershy, look! It’s starting!”

Twilight’s excited voice forces you both away from conversation just as the first wave of bright and colorful stars rained down from the heavens. Everypony cooed in awe and wonder as the mini-fireballs came down in droves, completely illuminating the dark landscape. Fluttershy leans off to the side and wraps one of her wings around your body, enveloping you in a soft blanket of warmth. You then take one of her hooves between your own and wrap her leg around yours as you lean against her head.

After a full five minutes of awe-inspiring wonder, the show stopped just as the last meteors fell into the horizon.

In an act of passion, Fluttershy wrapped her arms around your neck and held onto you in a tight hug. You smile and gently nuzzle her in return. She then moves back to the side of your head and whispers into your ear again.

“I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow, OK?” she asks. You nod your head in reply.

Twilight and the other girls spent the whole night commenting about the show, but you weren't listening. Your eyes and ears were focused on your darling pegasus the entire time. When she loved on you, you loved on her back, no matter how far she went. Sadly though, it had to come to an end eventually. After all the girls said goodnight to each other, the campfire was put out and everypony retreated to their respective sleeping tents. Fluttershy coaxes you into the tent with a kiss. You happily follow her inside.

Everypony else usually slept in uncomfortable sleeping bags that were either too small or too hot for the night, but tonight, you would have none of that. You wanted Fluttershy to feel as comfortable and as relaxed as possible, so you took a few steps forward and carried the extra weight to set up a tent that was slightly bigger than the others. This tent allowed you to lay down a few layers of soft blankets by which you and Fluttershy could use to cuddle on.

Just as you had done several times before, you fluff Fluttershy’s pillow and tuck her in before climbing into bed yourself. You blow out the lantern hanging above you and leave some room for your wife to move closer to you. After kissing her goodnight, you poke your head underneath the topmost blanket and allow the chirps of the nighttime cicadas take you away to a land of pleasant dreams.

Part 2

You grip the door handle in your front hooves and turn it, opening the gateway to your home sweet home. You enter the cottage and step aside, pushing the door towards you to allow Fluttershy to walk in without difficulty. She was carrying the same heavy load full of camping supplies on her back, which she immediately let slide off when her hooves touched the soft, furry mat laid out next to the door. She roughly rubs her hooves on the mat to scrape off any dirt or grass that may have gotten stuck in the sole of her hoof. When she was finished, she came up behind you and gently pushed you aside while keeping one hoof in front of the door. Quickly, you rush outside and drag in the final set of saddlebags along with the tent bag. You place both bags on top of the first bag that Fluttershy had brought in, wiping your hooves on the soft mat afterward.

“Well, that was pretty fun huh?” Fluttershy asks as she closes the door and slowly makes her way over to your side near the saddlebags which you were already beginning to unpack.

“Very,” you reply, “I never knew that you could cook in the outdoors so well.”

“You know that I get a lot of practice.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Sorry to ask this Fluttershy, but can you lend me a hoof over here?” you ask with a pang of guilt in your voice.

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy moves closer to you and assists you with emptying the saddlebags.

A few minutes into unpacking, Fluttershy’s mind starts to drift away to the memories of last night, mostly towards how gently her loving husband treated her, but as quick as the memories came, they left her inner mind to be replaced by the memory of the awkward moment where Fluttershy was about to ask one of the most difficult questions of her life.

“Fluttershy? Fluuutershy?”

The conscious yellow pegasus was instantly pulled from her short trip down memory lane by a familiar voice and a hoof waving in front of her face.

“You were starting to doze off,” you said with a worried look. Fluttershy rubbed her eyes for a moment before turning to you. “Are you tired? You can go get some rest if you want while I unpack.”

“Nonono! It’s fine. I’m fine. I was just thinking about something for a moment...”

“Oh, ok,” You shrug your shoulders and return to unpacking the saddlebags. You notice Fluttershy turn away, her head turned off to one side while looking down at the floor.

Sooner than you think, you take out the last few items in the saddlebags and set them aside into a pile to be put away later. Satisfied with your work, you move to place the laced up tent bag over your shoulders.

“C-can...I ask you a question? It's pretty important...”

You are stopped by Fluttershy’s simple, but ever-deserving request. Lowering the tent bag down to the floor, you turn and meet the questionable eyes of your gorgeous wife. You nod your head once to acknowledge her.

Your presence in front of her face made Fluttershy assume that you were listening, so she continued on with her words. “Do you remember the...talk that we nearly had last night? The one that got delayed by the meteor shower?”

“Of course,” you reply, “Speaking of which, we haven’t picked up on it yet.” You lower your haunches to the floor and sit in a comfortable position in front of your naturistic beauty. “So, what’s it about?” you ask.

Fluttershy too lowers herself to the floor and crosses one of her hooves over one of your own. She then proceeds to gently rub against it. Deep inside, you felt like something was up. While it was normal for Fluttershy to be very sensual around you, something about that disturbed look in her eyes made you feel uneasy.

“A-as I said before, I’ve been doing some thinking, and it’s all come down to me saying...well...”

“Yes? Go on Fluttershy.”

Before she continued, Fluttershy took in a very deep breath before releasing it through her nose. “What if...what if we had a foal? A foal all our own?”

Words could not describe how surprised you looked.

“A-a foal?” you whisper. Fluttershy forces a smile before slowly nodding her head.

The only way to describe the feeling of the question was like having your brain smashed down by a slice of sweet, yet sour lemon partridge wrapped around a large golden brick tied to the front of a freight train made of cotton candy. The description itself made you both shutter where you stood and smile in ambalescent joy.

“Are you sure that we’re up for it?” you silently whisper while moving closer. Fluttershy nods her head and mirrors your actions with a tiny smile. “Are you sure that we can handle the responsibility of being parents, and are you really sure that we...well...if we really do decide to go through with it...”

Suddenly, Fluttershy places a hoof over your mouth. Using the obstructing cover of her brightly colored appendage, she leans forward and plants a kiss on your right cheek.

“I know that...part sounds strange, and I know that it will feel strange when...you know, but with love like ours, I’m sure that you would make a great father!” Fluttershy happily exclaims.

“And I’m sure that you would make an even greater mother,” you compliment while you playfully nuzzled Fluttershy’s nose, whom giggled silently at your gesture.

“Well...” you slowly start. Fluttershy looks to you with hungry eyes and ears, awaiting an answer. “That actually sounds...lovely.” Fluttershy’s face lights up even brighter, “I mean, we can’t just remain a loving couple forever right? Best to leave a bright and wondrous mark on the world. Besides, the guest bedroom upstairs is looking pretty lonely,” you add with an awkward smirk and an embarrassed chuckle under your breath.

Immediately after you finished speaking, Fluttershy leans forward and draws you into a deep kiss, filled to the brim with passion and delight. The kiss deepens as you both move nearer to each other, eyes closed while breathing deeply. You felt a hoof plant itself onto your right leg, your lover moving it up and down in a rhythmic cycle as if she were massaging it. Wanting to treat Fluttershy the same way, you mirror her soothing actions by placing a hoof onto one of her legs, having to feel around at first to get your bearings, where you then rub against it in the same up and down pattern.

Oddly, you both decide to take it a step further by moving your hooves up to the sides of each other’s necks. Your hooves however reach around Fluttershy’s neck and slowly massage the area above her neck line. Once again, she mimics your actions. You pull away from the kiss for a moment and catch your breath before Fluttershy pulls you back in.

Taking it just a tiny step further, you move your hooves down to her folded wings and begin to caress them softly out of kindness. You have only done this one other time, which was before you two were married, and while you were hesitant at first to continue, a reassuring nuzzle to the underside of your chin made you think otherwise. You run your hoof tip down the plush feathers, savoring in the softness of each and ending off at the end by playfully flicking the wingtip with each pass, making Fluttershy giggle under her breath, an adorable sound that was only matched by the most heavenly of bird calls, some of which, to your current knowledge, she already knew.

The loving motions of caress continued for a few minutes longer, making the choice that you had just made a few minutes ago seem like the greatest decision of your life, of which it was for a fact. With each new motion, you were rewarded with a gentle nuzzle to your neck or to the side of your face, some of them usually ending off with a light peck on the direct spot of her emotion. You wanted to make her feel like a million bits, like the happiest filly in all of Equestria, a goal of which you had been striving for since day one. You hugged and kissed her neck several times over, each instance turning into the usual reward of a gentle nuzzle, which you were both quite fond of.

Fluttershy pulled away from your neck to catch her breath, causing you to pull away as well. Just before she could pull you into another kiss, a nearby crash of objects onto the floor startled you both. Your eyes quickly scan the room, searching for the cause of the sudden jolt. Fluttershy starts to laugh next to you. You look to her and follow her line of sight until your gaze falls upon a large pile of puzzle books and storybooks in the middle of the living room floor. Angel stood next to the pile, eyes wide in surprise with both paws cupped over his mouth. Remi lay underneath a small stack of open book pages, head and eyes spinning. Embarrassed, Angel blushes and steps in front of the dizzy ferret in an attempt to hide his folly. The sight being too much to resist, you join Fluttershy in giggling the afternoon away.

Part 3

You walk down the stairs of the cottage having just gotten out of the shower, your coat now shiny and clean. Scanning the bottom of the steps, you found your name tag laying on a nearby end table as well as a long piece of black string next to it through which you can thread through the name tag to hang around your neck. Next to the name tag was your wallet with a tiny square picture of Fluttershy poking halfway out. You smile at your wife’s cute gesture. You then move to the end table and lash the name tag around your neck and deposit your wallet in your work saddlebags marked with a big red cross with a medical syringe overlapping the middle of the cross.

As you move towards the front door, you look up high at the wooden ceiling and take in the sights of the many birds, squirrels, mice and chipmunks rising to the early morning as they step out of their tiny, hoof-made homes to stretch their legs and wings.

You were drawn in by the rising of the animals for so long that you failed to notice the twin car bullet train that was Angel and Remi rocketing towards you. They intertwine through your legs back and forth several times, causing you to lose balance and fall to the floor face first. Annoyed and confused, you quickly heave yourself up onto your legs and regain your hoofhold.

You look on with disapproval as you catch Angel and Remi sword fighting with two large, pointy carrots. They played it out as if it was a dramatic scene in a storybook. While still annoyed, you were somewhat impressed by how well they played the part. When one of them jabbed his carrot forward, the other parried the blow and struck back with lightning speed. They sidestepped and circled each other like two crabs battling for dominance in an epic territorial war.

After taking in the fact that they could get seriously hurt, you decide to step in and halt the sword play before anything bad would happen.

“Alright you two. That’s enough,” you say while placing one hoof in between them, causing them both to quickly glance up at you. Red faced with embarrassment, they both took a few steps back and made a somewhat silly attempt to hide the long carrot sticks behind their backs.

“Where did you two get those anyway? you ask while scratching the back of your head.

Suddenly, you felt somepony press up against the side of your head. Taking a quick and startled glance to your side, you find Fluttershy looking up at you from below your chin.

“I gave them the carrots,” Fluttershy confessed, “I know that it’s far from lunchtime, but Angel and Remi are the only two animals here that eat them.”

“Really? That’s nice of you, but then again, what part of you isn’t nice?”

“The other critters weren’t interested when I asked them if they wanted any. I just didn’t want them to go to waste,” Fluttershy continued as she moved out from underneath your chin. “Do you want anything before you go to work? You don’t have to travel hungry you know...” she said with slightly worried eyes.

“I’ll be fine. Trust me,” You move a bit closer to the front door and open it. Before you could take another step, Fluttershy pulls you back in a hug and kisses you once on the lips. Having completely forgotten to do this earlier, you embrace her with the same amount of loving kindness just the way she liked it.

After pulling away from the hug, you kiss her once again on the nose -which made her blush a little- to finalize your goodbye.

“I’ll be back home as soon as I can, alright?” you said.

“Alright,” Fluttershy replied.

After being drawn into another quick kiss, you walk through the front door and set off down the path to the Ponyville town square, Fluttershy watching you as you went from the doorway.

~~~~~

It always seemed like there was something completely different about Ponyville every time you walk through the crowded social district. Ever since you took up a job at the Ponyville General Hospital, you have made several new friends along your commute, mostly shopkeepers, and have seen several new faces from creatures of all kinds. Sometimes on your walk to work, you would catch eye of one of Fluttershy’s friends and stop to give a friendly hello and maybe even have a little chat to pass the time. You were glad that you were offered the job in the first place when the head nurse took thought as to how you and your wife would support each other during your marriage.

You merrily walk through the sliding front doors of the Ponyville hospital and move up to the front desk, where Nurse Redheart was sorting through a pile of patient records kept on file.

“Hey there Nurse Redheart!” you greeted the white mare with a short wave. The busy nurse looked up from the mountain of paper and ink and smiled once she saw your face.

“Hey there to you too,” Nurse Redheart replied. “How’s it going? Still treating my sister well I assume?” she asks with a playfully raised eyebrow.

“Of course. Same as always, not a thing missed,” you reply. Taking your eyes off of the tired looking mare, you look down at the mass mountain of paper and file folders, which were strewn out onto the small desk like lily pads in a muddy pond.

“Is any of that work for me?” you ask, “I wasn’t given any advance notice on what the hospital needs today.”

“I took care of that,” Her words made you smile knowing that there was a chance that you could leave early today. “There’s a list on a clipboard pinned up to the wall in the lab. It isn’t too much work, but with three certain fillies with a mind for mischief running rampant around the town, it would be best that we’re prepared just in case another they decide to try to get their ‘balloon cruising’ cutie marks again,” said Nurse Redheart as she rolled her eyes.

“Riiiiight,” you faintly reply to break the moment of silence that came after. “Well. if you need me, I’ll be in the lab.”

“Alright dear. Good luck,” said Nurse Redheart as she lightly waved you away while she continued focusing on the mountain of extra work hours staring her in the face.

Making your way down one of the many white washed corridors-making several turns in the process-you finally reach the entrance to the medical lab, which was probably the most safe and secure part of the hospital, if not in all of Ponyville. The door to the lab was steel bolted four massive rivets into concrete wall posts with a spinning valve wheel on the front that opened the door. Carefully positioning your hooves around the valve wheel, you push down on the shortest corner will all of your might until the pressurized seal gave way. You push the door open and immediately close it once you are inside the lab.

Taking in the somewhat pleasing smell of rubber hoof gloves and face masks, you turn your head towards a small section of unoccupied wall with a clipboard hanging from a tiny nail hammered into it.

Only three types of herbal painkillers were listed on the assignment paper held by the clipboard. Your eyes went wide at such a low listing of requested medical supplies.

“Wow, slow week I guess,” you said to yourself.

With years of animal interaction experience backing you up, along with a few lessons on the basics of medicine that Fluttershy had taught you in her spare time, safety was still a number one concern for you. There was a reason why the door to the lab was bolted directly into the wall, reasons which mostly implied crazed junkies and escaped mental patients, and you took no chances when it came to your line of work.

You went to the nearest storage closet and retrieved a white satin apron, a white felt cap, a fresh pair of rubber hoof gloves, and a face mask. After clothing yourself in the usual hospital attire, you make your way to a nearby apothecary table, carrying with you a large batch of multicolored plants that you had retrieved from a dry storage closet.

You arrange the herbs into groups and reach for a nearby directory book bound by rings. You open the book and flip through the pages until your hooves stop on a picture of a bowl full of blue and grey fine dust.

“Alright, let’s see here...” you quickly skim through the specific processes listed and close the book when you reach the end. After adding a small assortments of leaves and a few stalks of herb to a clean mortar and pestle, you calmly start grinding away.

~~~~~

Fluttershy tossed the soapy dog brush aside and went for the water bucket. Carefully heaving it over her head, she tipped it over her forehead, letting a large wave of cool water flow down onto Winona’s furry head. Winona barked once and wagged her soaking wet tail in the pit of the wash bucket, sending pelting drops of mildly soapy bath water left and right. Fluttershy giggled when some of the drops impacted the side of her face.

“All done, Winona! Applejack should be here any minute now. Let’s get you dried off.” Winona wiggled around in the wash bucket before leaping out of it to shake around some more. Fluttershy dried the sweet smelling pooch with a soft and clean towel nearby.

“Well would ya’ look at that. Clean as a whistle,” Applejack commented as she approached the pegasus caretaker, her hooves coated with a thin layer of dried mud. When Winona turned and caught sight of her owner, she wiggled away from the cover of the towel and ran over to Applejack, where she then pounced onto the workpony’s side and proceeded to lick her face.

Applejack stammered several times in between laughs as she tried to get the words out. “T-thanks for watching Winona F-Fluttershy,” she said as Winona continued to warmly greet her owner. After a short while, Applejack patted Winona down, coaxing her to stop, which she eventually did.

“You’re welcome Applejack!” she happily replied with a little trill in her voice. “I’m always happy to help.”

“Well now, somepony sure is happy today,” Applejack pointed out with a sly smile.

“I’m always happy! Why wouldn’t I be?” Fluttershy replied.

“Ah’ know that. I’ve just never seen you express it so much.”

“I just have some good things going on, that’s all.”

“Good things? What do ya’ mean?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fluttershy looked left and right before coaxing Applejack to move closer.

“Well...” Fluttershy whispered, “Something wonderful is about to happen..."

~~~~~

Somewhere in the nearest treeline, a curious and annoyed white rabbit lay hidden behind the cover of a clump of leaves on a tree branch, binoculars in his paws. Angel held his ears up high to try and listen in on the conversation happening between the two pony friends nearby.

While it was somewhat difficult to hear the exact words they spoke, Angel could tell just by the expressions on Applejack’s face that Fluttershy had spilled the beans about the very private matter that she and her husband had discussed yesterday afternoon.

In the tree branches on high, Remi was scurrying along the thin sticks of wood, occasionally stopping to stare at a colorful leaf or peek his head into a tiny hole in the tree’s trunk.

Angel squints his eyes in disapproval when he hears Applejack utter a certain set of words to Fluttershy. His frustration levels rose to near new heights. He pondered to himself for a moment, trying at his best to come up with a scheme that would prevent his worst fears from coming to life.

Suddenly, a small, hard object clonked Angel directly on the head, sending him face first into the leaf pile. He recovered from his recent moment of pain only to feel another sharp sting on his skull. He looked up with a scowl to find Remi hanging low from a tree branch with a small pile of freshly picked cherries in his paws. When he reached for another, a loose cherry fell from his grip and Angel stepped out of the way just in time before it could hit him again. Rolling his eyes, he returned to his binoculars and continued to listen in.

~~~~~

“Ya’ll sure about that sugarcube? Are ya’ sure that you can handle something like that?” Fluttershy nods in acknowledgement. “That seems like a mighty big decision for you to make after all.”

“Applejack, trust me. I can handle it all when...that times comes. You don’t have a thing to worry about,” Fluttershy smiled as she quelled her friends worries.

“Well, alright then Fluttershy. I won’t trouble you with asking you about it anymore,” Applejack turned and whistled Winona back to her side. “Thanks again for watchin’ Winona Fluttershy!” she said as she walked away, her energetic dog trailing behind her.

When Applejack was out of sight, Fluttershy gathers up the damp wash brushes and throws them into the brown wash bucket, which she then balances on her back. She suddenly hears a rustle in the trees behind her. Before she could turn to identify the source, the trees had stopped shaking and a few leaves fell the top branches of a wild cherry tree nearby. Ignoring the disturbance, she moves the water bucket over to the nearby water pump before heading inside to light a fire for the coming night.

Part 4

Applejack continued down the long autumn forest pathway that lead back to Ponyville, alone and with several questions on her mind. She allowed Winona to run ahead of her so she could have some peace and quiet to think. It was only until a few minutes later that she noticed that Winona was nowhere to be seen. Applejack quickly assumed that her cherished canine knew her own way home and continued on with her tranquil stroll.

Fragments of her recent conversation with Fluttershy still floated around in her head like swamp water in a glass of water. While Applejack was not one for superstition, she felt as if her own conscious was trying to tell her to take caution in expressing her thoughts and feelings.

“Maybe I should stop worryin’ about it so much.” said Applejack. “It’s Fluttershy’s choice and not mine! She’s married now, it’s her choice, and I’ll sure as hay respect that!” Applejack felt as if she was scolding herself, and she knew for a fact that she was, but after remembering the outcomes of several times before when Granny Smith would scold her for accidentally lying or stretching the truth when she was a filly, she also knew that there were some lessons in life meant to be learned from past experiences.

Unfortunately for her, one of those lessons was about to be broken when Applejack noticed Twilight Sparkle gleefully trotting towards her from the path up ahead.

Oh horseapples, not now. Celestia please not now! Applejack thought to herself while she stepped off to the side opposite of where Twilight was coming from. The lavender bookworm unicorn must have noticed this, for she put on a wide smile and quickened her pace.

Well, so much for trying to avoid conversation. Applejack thought.

“Hey, Applejack!” yelled Twilight, who was now shifting her course and trotting up to meet up the orange cowpony.

C’mon darlin’, nothin’ to worry about. Just say hello, see what she wants, and walk away, nice and easy.

Applejack did her best to hold a casual smile as Twilight stopped in front of her. With her nerves riding high, Applejack figured that a quick how-do-you-do followed by a runaway gallop to safety would prevent her from having to reveal what she was nervously trying to hide, but she soon resented against it as it would go against her good moral values of honesty and trust that was practically guaranteed at birth.

“What’s going on, Applejack?” Twilight asked. Those words alone practically gave the orange cowpony a headache.

“N-nothin’, nothin’ much. Why?” Applejack stammered. Twilight suspiciously raised an eyebrow at her friend’s suspicious behavior. Applejack replaced her sheepish grin, which only succeeded in making her look even more foolish.

“Is there something on your mind, Applejack?” Twilight asked. “I’ve never seen you act like this before.”

“Well, it’s just a little sumthin’ that Fluttershy told me today...” Applejack slowly replied. Her eyes shot open in realization of her folly.

Nice goin’, partner. Reeeal nice. Applejack mentally berated herself.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it...”

“Why not? C’mon Applejack, it’s me, Twilight, your best friend! You can trust me.”

Applejack turned away for a moment before turning back to meet Twilight’s pleading gaze and gleaming eyes. She rolled her eyes and blew a hot puff of air through her nose in despise, as rude as it may have been.

Twilight looked a little hurt at first, but her forced frown soon turned upside down with understanding.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but if there is something bothering you, and if you feel like talking about it, I’m here for you.” said Twilight.

Applejack begrudgingly tapped a hoof in the ground, trying to force a slew of bad thoughts from the inner spaces of her mind. Twilight continued to stand there, smiling awkwardly while she held a calm stare.

Applejack couldn’t take it anymore. It was now or never for this honest cowpony, and keeping her troubles bottled up wasn’t going to make her feel any better. She took in a deep breath before releasing it all as one big, pent up sigh of relief before sulkingly turning back to Twilight.

“Well...” she started, “Might as well get it all out in the open ah’ guess. No sense in keepin’ my worries locked up tight inside.” Applejack dropped to her haunches, keeping her head low to the ground. Twilight lowered herself to her haunches too. She patted Applejack’s shoulder out of kindness, making the sullen orange mare lift her head back up to Twilight’s level.

“Ok, here goes...” Applejack sighed while she brushed a stray lock of her hayneedle hair away from her eyes.

“I’m all ears.” Twilight replied. “Just do whatever you need to do to get those feelings off your chest.”

“Alright. Well, do you know how long Fluttershy and her husband have been married for?” Applejack asked.

“Of course! A little under a year if I’m correct. Why?”

“W-well...it’s kind of like a...sort of like a...” Applejack painfully stammered to try and get the words out, but her slightly guilty conscious kept her vocal cords at bay.

“Is something wrong, Applejack?” Twilight worryingly asked.

“Well, I just...doh’ horseapples...” Applejack swiftly turned her head left and right, scanning to make sure that nopony was around. When the coast was clear, she motioned her hoof towards her, beckoning Twilight to come closer. The purple unicorn leaned forward and tilted her left ear towards Applejack’s mouth. After taking one final look around, the embarrassed cowpony let it all out.

Word by word, Applejack spilled the beans about what Fluttershy had told her not even an hour ago. Twilight’s cheeks flared up, blushing with a bright pink hue as her friend spoon-fed her ears the whole story and then some.

~~~~~

Somewhere in the thick bushes nearby, lay a very stubborn, and very frustrated Angel bunny, lying in silence with his tiny pair of field binoculars held up to his eyes and an angry scowl stretched across his fluffy cheeks. Remi stood upright behind him and watched the two mares whisper silently to each other through a small hole in the thicket of pointy leaves. He suspected that Angel could hear what they were saying, because by the time that the two mares pulled away from each other, Angel was practically foaming at the mouth with some form of pent up rage, his teeth noisily grinding together to express it all.

Angel leaped to his feet, threw his binoculars to the ground, and turned to face Remi, his scowl now formed into a sneer of disgust.

Remi smiled sheepishly and moved to pat Angel on the shoulder, but the stubborn bunny refused his gentle pro-offer and instead shoved his brown paw away before moving one of his own tiny arms behind his back and pointing a single finger towards the two mares who were still deep in conversation.

Remi scratched the top of his head in confusion. Angel furiously emphasized his backwards gesture. Clueless, Remi just shrugged his shoulders and let his tiny arms fall limp to his sides.

Like so many times before, Angel slammed a paw against his face, shaking his head from left to right in disapproval. He looked back up at Remi, who only smiled coyly and shrugged his shoulders again. Angel slammed his paw against his face again. This time, it stayed there.

~~~~~

“Well, that’s certainly...something.” said Twilight as her blush continued to hold deep on her face.

Applejack looked as if she was about to fall flat on her face in embarrassment. When it comes to keeping secrets, she was certainly no stranger, but when it came to life-changing, friendship-altering bits of news like the one she had just blubbered out like a dimwit, this was a whole new level of regret.

“Yeah, yeah. Ya’ happy now?” Applejack sighed with disapproval. “Just please don’t go blabberin’ that out to everypony, ok?”

“I don’t think I would want to...” Twilight replied with a blank expression on her face. “Ok, Applejack. I’ll...see you tomorrow, or something...”

“Alright. See ya’ around, Twi’.”

The two mares set off down the road in the same, opposite directions that they had used before, not another word spoken between each other save their goodbyes.

Hoh’ boy. You’ve done it now, Applejack. You aint’ never gonna live this one down...

~~~~~

Angel paced furiously around the hollow center of the bush with his paws behind his back and his head hanging low, fuming with a terrible mix of rage and frustration. Remi stood off to the side of his pacing, worrying for his long-time friend. He stepped forward on several occasions in attempts to state his opinion, but his attempts were met with the front face of a white bunny palm, making him fall back into line as Angel would resume his pacing.

Remi shook his in woe for the state of his friend. With nothing else to do other than to sit and wait for Angel to calm down, he scanned the walls and the roof of the bushes, searching for something interesting to stare at.

His eyes fell upon a darkened, discolored patch of foliage spread out into a deformed circle next to him. He slowly stepped forward and noticed a tiny, oddly-placed protrusion of leaves sticking out of the middle of the discolored patch. Being both curious and cautious, Remi slowly reached forward and lightly tapped on the protrusion, which had a very surprising soft and plushy feel to it.

The entire bush tremored and the ground shook violently, sending both Angel and Remi on their backs to the hard ground. High pitched roars of laughter echoed in their ears as the bush was suddenly uprooted from the ground and tossed aside like it was nothing more than a loose piece of newspaper.

Like something out of a horror film, Angel and Remi looked up to the sky with terror stricken faces at the shadowy figure of a large, four-legged, fuzzy manned creature covered in dirt, cackling like a mad hyena.

Terrified beyond belief, Angel shot up to his feet, slung his binoculars over his head, and speed off down the road towards Fluttershy’s cottage with Remi trailing behind him, kicking up a small cloud of dirt as they went.

~~~~~

“Whoo-hoo! Hahaha! Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard before, haha!” Pinkie Pie’s laughter simmered down a few giggles while she attempted to recover from the outset of her previous prank.

“What’d ya think, guys?” Pinkie Pie asked out loud, her question being met only by a stiff breeze, followed by utter silence. When she heard no other answer, Pinkie turned her head left and right, confused. “Guys? Angel? Remi? Anypony?” Pinkie continued to call out to nothing.

“That’s weird. Never knew that my pranks would be so good that they actually made somepony speechless!” Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders. “D’oh well! I’ll look for em’ later! What was that about...Fluttershy and...”

Pinkie Pie’s hyperactive brain finally slowed down for a moment, allowing her thoughts to catch up with the rest of her. Remembering what her ears caught without her noticing while she hid in the bushes just minutes before, she leaped into the air and let out a loud gasp, leaving her lower jaw to hang wide open mid-surprisement.

“I know just what this means!” said Pinkie Pie as she turned and bounced down the side of the road leading to Ponyville.

Part 5

“You know something, Fluttershy?”

“Hmm?”

“For as long as we have been together, I’ve never noticed how soft your belly is...”

“I’m just happy to have you by my side. Being shy is what kept me from meeting anypony special, anypony caring, but now...”

“Shh...you don’t say it. Your perfect just the way you are...”

~~~~~

“Ohoho! Look at you, my little pretty!” Spike cooed with unbridled anticipation as he rhythmically tapped on the precious sapphire in his claws, flicking away strands of drool that dripped from his hanging tongue. “My, my, you are a pretty...delicious-looking gemstone, oh yes you are...” If there was any sort of boundary between hunger and love, Spike must have broken through it faster than Pinkie Pie on nitrous-oxide. All it took was the sight of a simple gemstone to lead his thoughts away from his real quest of playing it sweet with his beloved Rarity, a well-known fact to most pony scientists on how envious dragons were for precious gems, making them completely forget everything for a few brief moments after scarfing it down.

“What’s that?” said Spike as he pressed his ear against the glittering morsel. “You want me to do what?” Spike continued, hungrily licking his lips. “Well, my precious, if you say so!”

Spike brought the gemstone into the air with one hand and tilted his head back with the other, opening his mouth wide, taking his time lowering it inside as if it were a gift from Rarity herself. Of course it was only mid-afternoon, and Twilight had already given him his daily scolding about spoiling his dinner, so he already had an idea about the consequences. But what consequences could there be? It was just a little snack; a very little snack in fact that he was sure could never get him into any sort of trouble with the keen-eyed unicorn.

Just before the gemstone could touch his outstretched and awaiting tongue, the door to the library creaked open and then slammed shut moments later. Panicking, Spike threw open the lid to the cookie jar and stuffed the gemstone inside before rushing out of the kitchen with his tail between his legs.

Twilight dragged her hooves across the floor as she walked into the parlour, head low to the ground in a sulk. Spike watched from afar with worried eyes as the somber unicorn hoisted herself into a chair at the dinner table, resting her forehead on the tabletop. While it was rare to see Twilight in such a state, even Spike knew that he couldn’t just stand by like he usually does, letting the lavender unicorn he cared for solve her own problems; problems with no solutions save the comfort of a friend. He knew he had to act; show some caring for his caretaker.

The confident baby dragon took in a deep breath before releasing it and calmly strolled over to the table, climbing up into a chair beside Twilight and putting on an understanding smile.

“Twili--”

“Spike, I know what you’re trying to do, but please, I just need to be alone for a little while...” Twilight cut in.

“Why? You can talk to me, Twilight. I’m your best friend!”

“...fine.”

Her eyes peeked out through stray locks of hair over her face as Twilight lifted her head and criss-crossed her forelegs over the tabletop before resting her chin on top of them.

“Well, today, I just got some news from Applejack today. She told me that Fluttershy, and her husband, are having a foal...” Twilight slowly explained.

“Aaand...that’s a bad thing?” Spike questioned as he scratched his chin.

Twilight’s head shot up from the table in panic. “Nonono! That’s not a bad thing at all! It’s just that...” Twilight rested her head back on top of her forelegs. “The girls and I have been friends for years. Our bond of friendship is literally eternal, according to Celestia anyway. When Fluttershy got married, we expected change, but I never thought that there would be a change this big! It hasn’t even been that long in Fluttershy’s marriage, and already she decides to make a life-changing decision that could possibly break our bond of friendship?” Twilight was starting to get angry. Her brow formed her face into a frustrated scowl, spitting out strenuous words that would only spell trouble for herself should she decide to do something rash.

“I think you’re getting a little worked up about this, Twilight. So what if Fluttershy decides to take a step forward? It’s not that big of a deal, at least not to me anyway,” Spike replied.

“Not that big of a deal?! It’s a very big deal, Spike! Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash don’t even know about this yet! How do you think they’ll react to this?”

“They’ll be happy I guess? Just let it go, Twilight! This isn’t something that you should be getting worked up about.”

The painfully pointless argument was getting her nowhere. Feeling defeated for reasons unknown, Twilight slumped back into her chair and sighed, letting her legs hang limp like vines.

“Besides,” Spike continued, smiling. “It’s not like she’s moving away from Ponyville. The two of you are still gonna be best friends. The least you could do is be happy for her. I’m sure she’ll find time to be with you gals, just give her some time to plan it all out.”

Feeling revitalized by Spike’s promising words, Twilight smiled lightly and sat upright in her seat. feeling acceptive of the choice that Fluttershy made, as sudden of an acceptance it may have been. There may even be benefits to this. Opportunities to study the life and matters of parenthood started to fill the most barren of crevices in Twilight’s mind, all sorts of ideas for research bringing with them frantic imaginations of successful ventures. Now that she looked back on, the possibilities were endless! Discoveries were to made!

“Uhh...Twilight? You feeling OK?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow at Twilight’s over-excited, toothy grin and sparkling eyes.

Deeply embarrassed, the daydreaming bookworm clamped both of her front hooves over her mouth, the colorful cover doing a poor job of hiding a thin line of red blush heating up above her lips. This wasn’t the first time she was caught like this, for daydreaming was sort of a side activity meant for breaking away from the countless hours of studying that her much-beloved mentor assigned her. She didn’t hate it, but it always did get a little irritating to finish one assignment, only to have Spike deliver another assignment straight Her Royal Highness. She felt as if, somewhere, right this moment, Celestia was snickering to herself in secret.

“Problem, Twilight?” the purple-haired unicorn imagined what her mentor would say if she started complaining about her study schedule. Just the thought of seeing Celestia’s trademarked “cool face” made Twilight mentally slap herself across the face for suggesting such a foalish, resentful act.

“You know, Spike, you’re right. What’s there to worry about?” said Twilight as she stepped down from her chair and started walking towards the door.

Spike breathed a sigh of relief and casually wiped his brow. “Phew! Glad to hear it’s off your mind, because if--”

“Nothing, that’s right! Because an opportunity for research like this simply can’t be wasted!” The candlestick front door of the library was lit up in a veil of violet magic as it creaked open. “You mind being alone for a few hours, Spike?”

“I uhh...”

“OK, see ya!” As quick as a flash, Twilight slipped through open door, carrying with her a notepad and quill pen that Spike could only be baffled by.

The annoyed purple dragon huffed angrily through his nose. Being alone isn’t exactly pleasant when you're the personal assistant of a studious, overworking private student to one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. It was understandable that she had work to do, but dragons have feelings too! What if some dragons wanted to go out, have a night on the town, meet some friends, and maybe have an exciting adventure or two? Who’s going to stop them? They’re big, strong...

...and then there’s Spike. Small, weak, and cooped up in a library with an owl that barely keeps his mouth shut.

“Oh, and Spike?”

The chafe baby dragon snapped out of his moment of realization having heard Twilight call to him.

“Yeah, Twilight?” he replied, grunting.

“Thanks for being such a good friend.” Twilight complemented with a smile.

“N-no problem, Twilight.” The lamellar child dreaded what he was about to say. “That’s why I’m your...” He swallowed a hard lump in his throat before choking out his last words, “...number one...assistant.” He put on a massive, toothy grin and clapped his hands together, making his eyes sparkle like a mirror ball to hide his displeasure.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but soon lowered it having realized how much time she had wasted already, resorting back to her cheerful smile.

“Thanks, Spike! Why don’t you take the day...no, the next three days off. Sound good?”

“I-I...”

“Great! I’ll be back home later!”

Before Spike could stammer out a response, the door slammed shut, shaking the doorposts and rattling nearby windowpanes, leaving Spike standing in the middle of the library, speechless.

~~~~~

Never before has the ceiling of your beloved’s home been so interesting before. If only everyday could be this perfect. Cool, sweet-smelling air, comfortable new couch, beautiful pegasus muzzle-deep into your neck, sleeping soundly and cooing sweetly in her dreams. It’s times like these when you feel like you just want to project yourself away from the moment, and look down at such a beautiful sight, like an eagle flying above a forest. Maybe there’s a spell for that sort of thing. You make a mental note to ask Twilight about it later.

You hear Fluttershy mumble while she slept. You wanted to shimmy closer so you could hear what she was saying, but you didn’t feel like waking her. Moments like this are rare, and you were certainly not going to risk interrupting it. Each warm breath that came out of her nose brushed against your chin, adding to the peace of the moment. Times like these should last forever. Why would you want to be away from such a beautiful, innocent pegasus? But then again, why would you question it? You come home everyday for moments like these, and the new couch was certainly worth paying for, as cuddling on the old couch was getting difficult.

You suddenly hear a rustle from high above. Curious, you tilt your head back and notice that one of the hanging birdhouses was swinging back and forth; probably just one of the residents stirring about. Paying no mind to it, you return to staring up at the ceiling, feeling your heart leap with joy when Fluttershy suddenly decides to drape one foreleg over your chest, her hoof of which you massage softly and hold tightly in your arms, making the canary pegasus smile.

~~~~~

Angel, heart still racing, slowly turned his head and peeked around the corner of the open hole of the birdhouse, keeping his ears folded back to keep as much of himself as invisible as possible. The two ponies were still laying on the couch, his caretaker curled up and asleep next to the stallion. He scowled as he watched the stallion rub Fluttershy’s right foreleg, longing for that kind of attention. It’s been months since Fluttershy had treated him to such pleasures. All this time, she’s been preoccupied with this...”true love” of hers. Never making time for anyone else, except the other animals of course, but the histered rabbit used to be the one that she cared for the most, and now, with plans for a newborn on the way, Fluttershy would pay absolutely no mind to him and his needs. That kind of future would be a bleak one indeed.

He wanted attention, and nothing, especially not a baby was going to stand in his way.

*Clonk!*

But then, there was Remi. The little ferret of many wonders, who spent most of his time hanging from branches or poles while munching on whatever foods he could find. To Angel, he was like a brother to him, but he most certainly had his shortcomings, most of which only annoyed the stubborn bunny. He agreed to follow Angel in his quest for attention, but only to help Angel himself, since his caretaker paid him constant attention whenever Fluttershy wasn’t around or when he was not working at the hospital.

Angel covetly picked up Remi’s dropped acorn shell and tossed it aside, the hard nut clanking off the wall before tapering to the floor. He gave a quick, scowling glance at Remi, who just smiled sheepishly, before returning to his spying.

Part 6

“B-but a-are you sure? You’re the only one with a paying job, and I-I’m sorta afraid that something bad’s gonna happen...”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Fluttershy. I’ve got everything taken care of.”

“But what if there’s an emergency? What if one of us gets hurt, or what if you have an accident at the hospital? How would we be able to pay--”

“Fluttershy, please! I promise you, I’ve got everything under control, don’t worry. We haven’t even...well, you know...”

“It’s just something we’ve got to plan ahead for.”

“I know, but look on the bright side! At least it won’t be the two of us anymore. We’ll be a family!”

~~~~~

The smell of fresh hay and apples wafted through the morning barnyard air. Big Macintosh could awaken to such a sweet smell any day. He dug his head out from underneath his blankets and lifted his nose to the sky, taking it all in. Another hard day of work was ahead of him, but at least the sweet smell of home was there to greet him.

He released a pent-up yawn as he rose from his straw mattress bed, throwing the quilt blankets off his body before slipping down to his hooves on the cool, hardwood floor. He rubbed his eyes and looked to a nearby wall clock.

Six-thirty in the morning. A half-hour past his usual wake up time. Maybe he should have turned down those few extra glasses of hard cider last night.

*knock knock knock*

“Hey, Big Mac! You up yet, sugarcube?”

It was Applejack, his beloved sister, coming around to make sure he was awake. Usually, it was Big Mac who was the first to rise every morning, right behind Granny Smith, who somehow manages to wake herself up two hours before anypony else to fix breakfast, and when it came to Granny Smith’s cooking, it was never something you wanted to miss out on.

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” he groaned, stretching his legs.

“We got us a big ol’ batch of breakfast down here, and Granny Smith’s got somethin’ special cookin’ in the oven. I don’t know what it is, but I just know it’s gonna be good!” exclaimed Applejack.

“Mhmm...”

“So...you comin’?”

“Eeyup. Be there in a minute.”

“You OK, Big Mac?” asked Applejack, worried. “You sound a little...down.”

She couldn’t be anymore right.

“I’m fine.”

Liar.

“Great! See ya’ downstairs!”

Big Mac waited until Applejack’s hoofsteps were a good ways out of earshot before trotting around the bed to his nightstand and opening the top drawer. Nicknacks and various pieces of junk completely stuffed the drawer, leaving little room for much anything else. Digging through the drawer by hoof was going to take a while, and he didn’t want to be late for breakfast, on top of raising Applejack’s suspicions.

Quickly, he yanked the drawer out of his nightstand and dumped its contents onto the bedspread, kicking up a small layer of dust that had accumulated over the years. After an annoying fit of coughing, he sifted his hooves through the many pieces of metal, toys, and scraps of paper, rushing to find his most wanted item. Minutes flew by as he hastily checked and rechecked the assorted pile.

Come on, come on, where is it?

*knock knock knock*

“Umm...Big Mac? Applejack sent me up here to get’chu...”

It was Applebloom, and that only made things worse. When it comes to suspicion, she was even worse than Applejack!

The red stallion sighed, looking over the mess he made with sad, hopeless eyes.

I know I put it somewhere. I just know it!

“Big Mac? You in here?” asked Applebloom as she pushed open the door and entered the room. Alarmed, Big Mac stood to attention.

“I’m here, I’m here,” acknowledged Big Mac, nodding his head.

“What’s with all that junk on your bed?” asked Applebloom, curiously scrutinizing her brother’s weird behavior.

“It’s nuthin’. I’ll clean it up later.”

“Well then come on, slowpoke! I’m not about to miss out on the apple fritters!”

Big Mac straightened his mane with his hooves before following his exuberant little sister into the hallway.

“Today’s gonna be great!” exclaimed Applebloom as the family pair went down the hallway. “The girls and I got somethin’ big planned. A way for us to get our cutie marks!”

“Eeyup,” replied Big Mac, plain and simple as always.

“We’ve spent all week puttin’ it together. I think it might actually work this time!”

“Mhmm.”

“Don'cha think so too, big brother?”

“Ee--”

“Woo howdy! I can smell Granny Smith’s cookin’ already!” As quick as a flash, Applebloom bolted down the rest of the hallway before skidding to a halt at the top of the stairs. “Race ya’ to the kitchen!” she yelled before speeding down the creaky steps, laughing all the way.

Big Mac sighed, but kept an unnerving smile. Some fillies are just too much to handle.

I’ve got to find that photo. I had it layin’ around here somewhere. I just know it!

~~~~~

“Yes! Another perfect batch!” you say to yourself having just synthesized another parcel of pain remedies. Your test tubes hissed and blew steam as your lowered each of them into a nearby tub of water to cool. You were on a roll today. All of your experiments were going well, nearly half the current month’s orders were filled, and thankfully, nothing was on fire!

Successful ventures aside, you felt that the hospital was in desperate need of some new equipment. You weren’t exactly Equestria’s greatest chemist, but the field of medicine doesn’t exactly run on lantern oil. There were sick and injured ponies coming in everyday with some of the most bizarre cases you have ever seen. Everything from purple, elephant-shaped warts to the more common cases of appendages getting stuck in unpleasant, and sometimes embarrassing places filled the beds faster than aphids on nitrous oxide.

But nevermind that for now. You still had orders to fill, and with new ones pouring in every day, you couldn’t risk any delays.

Suddenly, just as you were starting to prepare for another order, a loud buzzer went off at the door, followed by a series of knocks on its hard metal surface. Curious to see who was knocking, you set your equipment aside and moved to the door’s porthole.

Peering through the tiny glass window, you saw Nurse Redheart waving to you, signalling you to let her in. After going through the tedious process of unbolting the doors several locks, you tugged the heavy steel door open and invited the nurse inside.

“Now, just for safety reasons, I’m gonna need you to put on this lab apron,” you instructed, digging your hooves into a nearby sterile chest and yanking out a clean, white apron. The white-haired nurse glared menacingly at the pinafore in your hooves before turning her gaze up to you. “I know it seems a little strange, but due to lab safety regulations--”

Suddenly, Nurse Redheart swiped the apron out of your hooves and tossed it to the floor, kicking it away before taking a step closer to your face. Shocked, you rear back, surprised at the caring mare’s outburst.

“N-n-nurse?” you stammer.

“So, when were you going to tell me about this, hmm?” she questioned you, scowling.

“T-tell you a-ab-bout what?” you ask, sweating nervously.

“I think you should know...” she hissed, taking another step forward, forcing you to take two steps back.

“Kn-kn-know about what?”

“You heard me!” she snapped. “I know I don’t get to see her often, but Fluttershy is my sister, and as her sister, I think I’m entitled to the right to know when she’s planning on having a baby!”

Already you could tell that this wasn’t going to end well. You had to act fast; act quick!

“Umm...surprise?”

Smooth. Idiot.

The white-haired mare’s eyes started to twitch, and the look on her face, while priceless, was one so baffling that would make even the most masculine of stallions turn tail and flee. Strangely, you thought the worst was over, but by the way she was staring at you, you felt that it had only just begun.

The nurse backed down and put a hoof to her forehead, rubbing it softly.

“Surprise...” she groaned, rubbing her forehead harder.

“Err...”

“Is that all you can say? Surprise?!” Nurse Redheart yelled, pressing her muzzle up against yours.

Ladies and gentlecolts, the devil has entered the building.

“W-well, I figured--”

“You figured what?! That you were just gonna wait until the last minute to tell me? That when it actually happened, everything was gonna be all fine and dandy? Is that what you figured? We’re co-workers for Celestia’s sake! Heck, we’re more than just that! We’re family!”

You didn’t know what to say. Each one of her outbursts gradually spelled the word, ‘Doom’ in bright, flaming letters. You knew that she would find out about this sooner or later, but you never expected her to be so angry about it!

“So, what do you have to say for yourself, hmm? Come on.”

Fluttershy isn’t going to like this...

“Good grief, just say something!” she yelled, grabbing you by the shoulders, shaking you like a leaf.

You sighed, feeling defeat slowly crawl over you.

Nurse Redheart was right. While it wasn’t immediate, she was still part of your family. Well, technically, she was part of Fluttershy’s family, but that was beside the point. You felt guilty for having been so careless these past few weeks. You don’t get out much, instead choosing to spend most of your time with Fluttershy and not with your friends and relations. You pieced it all together, and somehow, it clicked.

“Look...” you sighed, gently sweeping Redheart’s hooves off your shoulders. “I know you're upset and all, but to be honest, we’re still just a liiittle bit on the bench about the whole baby thing. Nothing’s set in stone just yet.”

“Oh really?” Nurse Redheart groaned, rolling her eyes.

“...really?”

Rolling her eyes again, Nurse Redheart reached behind her and retrieved a crude piece of notebook paper, torn at the edges and stained with dirt.

“So how would you explain this?” she snapped, shoving the paper up close to your face. Knowing that there was no way out of this, you gave the page a quick once over, daring to look nowhere else.

“Nurse?” you said in a questionable tone, curiously reading the messy signature at the bottom of the page.

“What?” she replied in an angry tone.

“Err...call me a liar, but I doubt that Fluttershy’s hoofwriting involves this many...squiggles.”

“And? So what?” she angrily replied, throwing the paper to the ground. “I know bad news when I see it!”

“Bad news?” you asked, confused.

The good nurse sighed, backing down from her temper tantrum. You hoped and prayed that the worst was over. Thankfully, your prayers were answered.

“Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you. I haven’t taken all of this in yet. Just say yes when I ask you to please stay by her side during her...time. Fluttershy has a little...history when it comes to these things, a rather unpleasant one at that.”

Redheart’s final words didn’t sit well in your stomach. It was common for couples to share bits and pieces of their life before marriage. Occasionally, you and Fluttershy would share a past memory or two with each other just to pass the time, but knowing that your own wife may be hiding something unnerving from you put a bad feeling in the pit of your gut.

“Well,” Nurse Redheart started, backing towards the door. “This was certainly...eventful. Congratulations and all, I-I think, aaand it was nice talking to you! C’ya tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow? But--”

Before you could stop her with a flurry of questions, the pink-haired caregiver dashed out of the room and hurriedly cantered down the hallway. You watched from the doorway as she turned the corner at the end of the long tile stretch, bewildered by her sudden change in behavior.

As you step back into the lab, you looked up at the wall clock nearby. It read ten minutes after eight-o’clock, well past closing time; closing time for the lab anyway. You retrieved the paper from off the floor and gave it a quick once-over. After tossing it into the nearest trash bin, you quickly swept the floors and deep cleaned the lab countertops. Feeling relieved after your hasty work, you switched off the lights and made sure that the door bolted-shut properly before stepping lively down the hallway.

As you entered the main lobby, you found that Nurse Redheart wasn’t at the front desk. From the look of the light coming from an open patient room door down the next hallway, you assumed that she was just tending to a patient and not secretly plotting your demise. You decided to put off searching for her and instead headed straight for the door, walking out into the cool, near-night air. However though, as you left the premises, you couldn’t help but question yourself about what Nurse Redheart said earlier. These thoughts, along with her earlier pleas, kept you thinking as you followed the streetlamps to the road back home.

Part 7

“How long will it take before it gets here?”

“I’m sure it won’t take that long. I still have to clear out the spare bedroom upstairs before we can even move anything in there.”

“Oh, d-do you need any help?”

“I can get it all, Fluttershy, don’t worry. Besides, you need to relax a little, or whatever Twilight’s book told us to do...”

“Well...alright. I’m just glad to hear that you’re planning ahead.”

“I promised I would, didn’t I?”

~~~~~

Big Macintosh scooped the pile of dusty memorabilia off his bedspread and into the nightstand drawer. Sighing with defeat, he slowly pushed the drawer back in and leaned his head against the bedside, exhausted.

“Big Mac?” spoke the voice of a certain cowpony.

Big Mac looked up from his sulking and found his beloved sister Applejack standing in his bedroom doorway, rubbing her groggy eyes.

“Hey, sis,” said Big Mac.

“What’s with all the ruckus goin’ on in here? It’s nearly midnight!”

“Ah’m just havin’ some trouble. Just somethin’ on mah’ mind is all.”

“Somethin’ on your mind?”

“Eeyup.”

“I know you were actin’ a little strange this mornin’, Big Mac, but this--”

“It’s aaalright. It’ll go away with some sleep.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?” asked Applejack, raising an eyebrow. “Granny Smith and I do it all the time. It’ll make ya’ feel better!”

For a moment, Big Mac considered taking up his sister’s offer, but whatever was on his mind was meant for the business of one pony and one pony only; himself. This was something he needed to deal with personally, and hopefully, for the last time.

“Ah’m fine, AJ, but ah’ think ah’m gonna go out to the barn. Clear mah’ head and whatnot.” stated Big Mac as he got up and made his way to the bedroom door before stepping out into the hallway.

“Well...alright, if it’ll help ya’ any better I guess...”

“Night, Applejack.”

“Goodnight, Big Mac. Sweet dreams, partner!”

Big Mac made his way down the stairs and stepped out into the cool night through a back door in the kitchen. He strolled around the outside of the house in silence and walked through the wide open doors of the Apple families ages-old, big red barn.

Ah’ can’t just keep hiding from her. It’s been a looong time since we even spoke to each other... thought Big Mac as he climbed the rickety stairs up to the loft of the barn. When he got to the top, he found a nice, soft pile of unbound hay to sit on right by the open loft window. He laid down flat on his stomach and looked up at the moon through the open gap, his thoughts swimming in a sea of hopelessness among the stars.

As far as I know, she forgot about the whole thing...but ah’ don’t deserve her. Ah’ don’t deserve anypony...

~~~~~

Twilight Sparkle angrily slammed her book shut and tossed it over the bedside, drained of all energy. Hours of late night studying had brought her frustration with a certain subject up to a boil. Her eyes were bloodshot, and they stung with intense pain from reading for so long.

Still angry with herself, she looked up at her bedroom wall clock.

Midnight. Well past her usual bedtime. Spike however was fast asleep, happily snoring away without a care in the world in his plump little basket next to her bed.

“All of these books and still nothing happens!” exclaimed Twilight. “No special feelings, and no special thoughts! I did everything Rarity told me to do! Everything! But nothing just...connects like it should!”

The lavender unicorn grabbed her pillow and stuffed it over her face, groaning under the strain. It’s been over a week since she started her research on the everyday lives of dating or married couples, and her days of researching the subject of her interests has yielded no significant results. Field research faired no better. It took days just to find couples who were willing to answer her questions. Some lucky, and some not. Mr. and Mrs. Cake weren’t of much help, Lyra and Bon-Bon were out of town, and every other couple she tried asking were either not interested, creeped out, or had an excuse to find something else to do.

The sting of defeat never felt closer. Twilight looked up at the moon from her bedside window, straining her brain for answers while the sight of Luna’s glowing white orb kept her imagination running.

“I’m not gonna get the answers I need just by sitting around like this!” Twilight grunted. “There’s nothing I can do! I can’t draw a solid conclusion with what I have! Well, with what little I have anyway...”

~~~~~

Maybe ahm’ just lookin’ at it the wrong way. Ah’ was an idiot back then, and ah’ never should have been with her...she deserved better...

Big Mac shifted in place and rested his head against a nearby bale of hay, keeping his gaze locked on the lunar surface high in the sky.

But ah’ can’t stay like this for the rest of mah’ life. Ah’ need somepony special, otherwise, I’ll just be another dead stick. Ah’ don’t even care about that photo anymore. Who cares if I lost it?

The red stallion rubbed the tired from his eyes, trying his best to stay awake.

She wasn’t the one for me, but ah’ did it anyways, and after all these years, ahm’ still all alone...it just ain't fair. Ah’ know what ah’ did was wrong, but ahm’ past all that now! Ah’ need a fresh start, a better start. Ah’ need somepony...somepony special...somepony to love...

By now, Big Mac was barely able to stay conscious. Too tired to walk back to the house, the fatigued young stallion curled up against the hay bale, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

~~~~~

I can’t just sit at a dead end like this. There’s got to be an answer! Something simple. Should I ask Cadance? No, she’s on her honeymoon...Princess Celestia? No, no that either! She’ll just turn suspicious, then I’ll never hear the end of it! And Rarity? Cut me a break. She’s been in too many relationships to even count, and I don’t see a wedding ring on her, so that’s that....

Twilight growled into her pillow under the sheer amounts of frustration and stress she was putting herself under. There was just no easy way to solve the confusing, teeth-grinding puzzle that was the mystery of love between two ponies. She had exhausted every possible theory, and yet she was still without a conclusion. Is that even possible? Exhausting every theory you have, even the illogical ones? It didn’t even matter anymore. Books were of no use, and magical experimentation was far too dangerous to try out.

There was nowhere else to turn. For one of the few times in her life, the studious unicorn would have no choice but to slap a big, red X on the project and call the whole thing a massive--

“Wait a minute...” Twilight whispered to herself, feeling the onset of a sudden eureka. “Big...red...ohmygosh!” Twilight gasped, pulling her head out of the pillow with wide eyes.

That’s it! That’s why nothing ever works! I’m not looking at this from the wrong way! I’m looking at this from the wrong perspective! I need to be where they’re at! I need to see it for myself!

I need to feel what they feel; see what they see; do what they do!

I need a coltfriend!

“Twilight Sparkle, you are a genius!” Twilight squeaked. “And I know just who I need...”

~~~~~

The beautiful pegasus of your nightly dreams snoozed quietly next to you in bed. You looked upon her gorgeous face with a soothing warmness building in your heart. Even while she slept, you saw that she was even more beautiful than you ever imagined; a pegasus unlike any other. Why didn’t you notice this before? You couldn’t help but blame your job, but what really got you thinking was what sort of ordeals your happy canary pegasus went through while you were away each day. There are a countless number of animals that live at your cottage home, like the tall and the small, the quick and fierce, the sick and needy, and the poor and the homeless, and having to keep up with them and care for them all each day was a chore that not even the boldest of ponies would undertake.

You worry about her everyday when you’re away, and she worries about you as well. Only at the end of the day when you come home do you get to see her smiling face again, except for Saturday, when Nurse Redheart allows you to leave the hospital early.

You could hear Fluttershy mumble in her sleep. It was beyond adorable. You felt extremely lucky for having her as your wife, but there was still something that bothered you; something that you couldn’t seem to figure out just yet.

What did Nurse Redheart mean by Fluttershy having a ‘history’? Those were words of ill omen if you’ve ever heard them. Fluttershy is the most kind and caring pegasus in all of Equestria! There was no way she could be hiding terrible secrets from you! You both made a promise long ago to each other to never do anything that could possibly harm your marriage.

Fluttershy halted her mumbling and rolled over next to you, wrapping one of her forelegs around your neck to pull herself closer to you. You smiled a hearty smile, pushing away all negative thought when you felt your darling mare snuggle up to your neck. There was no way in Equestria Fluttershy could be hiding something from you. She was much too kind to do such a thing, especially to the one she loved.

That was it. You doubted Nurse Redhearts warning with every feeling in your body. No such history could ever exist. How could you have believed such nonsense?

Suddenly, you opened your mouth and let out a great yawn. It was getting late, very late, and you had to get up early tomorrow to fill a bulk order of medication at the hospital. You were the breadwinner in the family after all. Somepony has to keep Fluttershy in the life she’s accustomed to, right? Feeling slightly more relaxed now, you plant a kiss on Fluttershy’s forehead before nodding off to sleep with your hooves in hers.

Part 8

It was all starting to come together. His plan was flawless; perfect in every way.

He executed each and every part of it up to now to the letter. Everything from slipping that note into Nurse Redheart’s desk, to setting up a perfect little surprise for his caretaker back home. There was nothing standing in his way, not even his caretaker’s husband, and the best part about it was that nopony would ever expect a bunny to be behind such an elaborate string of events. The time he spent piecing it all together was well worth it. Soon, Angel Bunny would be the sole center of attention in the whole house once again. No foals, no intimate romance, no nothing!

Angel Bunny’s soft, furry feet pitter pattered across the hospital floor as the white rabbit darted from dark corner to dark corner. Nighttime has fallen on the town of Ponyville, meaning that there was less staff traffic in the whitewashed hallways. He enjoyed the still silence and peaceful atmosphere that was brought with it. At the home of his caretaker, even the shortest moment of noiselessness was a luxury.

The gaudy snores of the fat chipmunks or the bold woodland rats nearly drove him to madness each night. The only thing that kept him from stuffing a pillow over their faces was the keen eyes and ears of his loyal friend, Remi, whose acute senses were more of an annoyance than a helpful tool.

From his newest shadowy hiding spot in the corner of the main lobby, Angel Bunny was startled by the sudden clopping of hooves on the hard tile floor. He froze, shrinking himself further into the dark corner, hoping to Celestia that the blackness would provide him with reliable camouflage for whatever was coming his way.

From around the bend of the left hallway, a teary-eyed Nurse Redheart emerged. Her face was stained with the grey creases of recent tears of sorrow. In her mouth, she held Angel’s crudely written note, also damp with the marks of weeping. The little bunny still could not believe that the nurse thought the note was real.

The grim, somber mare slowly moved up to the front desk, opened one of its drawers, and let the note fall loose from between her teeth, but instead of landing in the drawer, the thin parchment drifted through the air, twisting and gliding far away from the desk before coming to a rest on the polished floor beside her.

The white coated nurse stared down at the still note. Not a word, not a sound tearing through the silence, save the faint beating of Angel Bunny’s heart. The nurse stared down at the note for what felt like hours, looking down upon it as if it were a poor, deceased house pet.

Suddenly, the mare broke down, releasing the flood gates once again from her bloodshot eyes. Hospitals usually had strict rules governing noise levels, but the broken nurse seemed to care less. She turned tail and ran, speeding down the nearest hallway with her tears trailing behind her. Angel Bunny dare not move a muscle after witnessing such a saddening sight. A few moments later, he heard a door slam shut, giving him the all clear. Angel Bunny fled the corner and bolted towards the front door. He employed all of his strength to pull the heavy glass door as far open as he could. When a sizable gap was made, the white rabbit quickly slipped outside and dove into the nearest bush, his heart racing like a stag horn.

His mission was complete, and despite having deeply upset his caretaker’s sister, he congratulated himself with a mental pat on the back. Hopefully, his caretaker had not noticed that he was gone the whole day, but after such a hard day of work, he definitely needed something to eat. His stomach rumbled, and the thought of reentering the hospital to steal from its porous, tasteless food stores was out of the question. From the look of the moon’s position high above, it must have been near midnight, giving him plenty of reason to sneak into the cottage kitchen and swipe a few of his favorite carrots from the fridge.

But just as the thoughts of an enjoyable, hefty dinner flooded his mind, Angel’s tiny heart stopped dead in its tracks as a new worry suddenly popped in his head.

Remi.

He had forgotten all about his slithering companion. While they did not hang out as often as they used to, Angel cringed at the thought of seeing his ninja-like ferret friend wide awake and awaiting his presence at home.

In a strange twist, he noticed that Remi was starting to become awfully suspicious lately, despite his agreement to assist him in his quest for attention. Sometimes, the little ferret would question him about his day, most times out of curiosity, and other times with a cynical eyebrow raised in his general direction.

It was going to be difficult for him to explain to Remi what he had been for the last twelve hours. Of course, telling him the truth was way out of the question, and Remi’s outstanding senses would most certainly reveal where he had been recently. Even sterile had its own unique scent.

Oh well. Even if Remi had even the slightest sneaking suspicion of his misdoings, Angel could just offer him a few of his carrots and let the power of Remi’s constant hunger wipe his own mind free of all doubt. Either way, Angel was sure of it that his plans would succeed, unless Remi decided to blab out everything he knew to either of their caretakers, but then again, who speaks ferret anyway?

~~~~~

Nurse Redheart retreated deeper into herself, curling up into the fetal position on the soft sheets of the previously empty hospital bed she now lay on. Her face was stuffed deep into the soft cotton pillow as she continued to whimper, trying her best to hold back another tidal wave of tears.

“Never again…never, ever again…”

The nurse lifted her head out of the pillow, letting her chin move to rest upon it. She looked up at a nearby wall clock. It read ten minutes past midnight. All the patients were fast asleep by now, leaving only the late interns and a few of the other doctors to tend to the nighttime duties. Her shift was over, and she was free to return home at any time, but the sadness that came over her kept her weighed down.

“…me, and now…her?” Redheart murmured, shaking like a leaf. “What’s next? I know our family has a history of this but...it just needs to stop. I swear, if that stupid, dumb, big-headed pony breaks Fluttershy’s heart…”

Nurse Redheart sighed, too full of wild emotions to allow her inner thoughts to get the better of her. She let out a great yawn, her eyelids becoming heavy and sore from having been crying for so long. She tried her best keep them open, but her efforts soon failed her, and the very moment her eyes were shuttered, the white mare fell fast asleep, snoozing quietly on the slightly damp bed sheets.

~~~~~

Darkness had overtaken the cottage living room, and every animal in the house was happily sleeping the night away, save one.

The wooden pole from which Remi hung from creaked softly as the brown, slithery ferret swung back and forth on it using his tail. Over the years, Remi found himself to have become extraordinarily skilled when it came to swinging on things. Tree branches, hoof tacks on walls, and even a delicate grape vine all held him aloft with ease. What started as a simple party trick his caretaker had taught him turned into somewhat of a hobby for him, where so long afterward he continued to curiously test his natural ability to hang off of high places.

What really made climbing and hanging by his tail such a grand enjoyment for him? Was it for the marvelous views? Originally, yes, but there was another, more special reason why he adored it so much.

On the ground, he was seen as a small, miniscule creature, forced to look up at those who were bigger than him; stronger and smarter than him. He didn’t mind being the little guy at times, but eventually, he became quite annoyed with it. Sure, there were animals much smaller than he was, but that doesn’t make him anymore skillful. Every animal is unique in its own special way, and despite his unchanging features, possessing an outstanding ability to ascend all things big and tall made him feel like a million bits.

From such great heights, he could look down at the world below him and see what the bigger and taller ponies and animals saw. Was he doing this to judge others just because he was now the one looking down upon them? Of course not!

Well, expect for one. A bunny to be exact, and one of his closest friends, even though he felt as if calling him a ‘friend’ was going too far.

When Remi responded to Angel’s sudden pleas for help on his strange quest, the little ferret expected nothing more than a simple, one day, easy scheme for just a little bit more attention, but when Remi was told of the ‘harmless truth’ , what that devious little bunny had in store was just taking things way too far.

It might not seem like it at the moment, but even though she had her mind set on a baby, Angel’s caretaker, Fluttershy if Remi remembered correctly, still loved her ‘little angel’ very much. Remi chuckled silently at the thought of their being any sort of angelic good within Angel’s cold, impish heart.

It perplexed Remi’s mind knowing that he was friends with probably the most ill-behaved animal in existence. Why did they become friends again? From what he could remember, it all happened when both of their caretakers moved in with each other. Angel seemed like a nice and polite young fellow at first, showing him around and introducing himself to the other animals in the cottage and whatnot. When both of their caretakers got married, nothing much changed afterward. Angel remained his friend, and they continued to do what they normally did as best buds. It was only when Angel’s caretaker mentioned the word ‘foal’ did it all go downhill from there.

Remi remembered it like it was yesterday. Only a day after Fluttershy’s little announcement, Angel Bunny called him to a private meeting. Angel explained his dilemma to him in great detail, showing that he had become use to a lifestyle of constant attention. Before the marriage, and if Angel was telling the truth, there was never a time in his caretaker’s cottage when Angel Bunny would not be by Fluttershy’s side.

Truth be told, Remi felt a little sympathetic when Angel presented his case with such emotion and ill-mood, though he still took to thinking it over first. There wasn’t much harm in wanting to be noticed every once in a while, right? Remi had no desire for such attention, mostly because he was fine with the level of attention he was receiving already, so what did he have to lose?

Eventually, they settled on a friendly agreement; Remi would offer his help, in exchange for a few extra snacks from the kitchen pantry, if Angel would keep quiet about his participation in his plans.

It has been nearly two weeks since they made that agreement, much longer than he had expected it to last, and already Remi could tell that things weren’t going to end well, despite his lack of involvement in whatever Angel has been doing lately. Most of the time, he would just stay at home and munch on a few peanuts or some other tasty morsel until Angel came around and called for his assistance. With the way he has been behaving lately, Remi couldn’t help but feel that his furry little friend was doing more than just finding ways to get his daily attention fix.

Curious as to how long he had been waiting in the dark, Remi snapped out of his deep thinking trance and looked towards a nearby coo-coo clock. Even though everything looked upside down to him, he could make out a full half-hour past midnight, well beyond the normal bedtime for the animals in the cottage. Angel should have been home over an hour ago. What on earth could be keeping him behind?

Remi could feel his eyelids getting heavy. He let out a quiet yawn, scratching the back of his head as drowsiness began to overtake him. Desperate to stay awake and wait for his friend’s return, Remi tried pinching himself, one of the oldest tricks in the book, or even slapping himself across the face, but alas, the dream fairy was calling him to rest.

Defeated by drowsiness, Remi slipped off his wooden pole and carefully leaped down to the ground, landing on nimble feet. As he sluggishly made his way to his little bed in the corner of the living room, Remi’s mind continued to flood with wild accusations and thoughts of worry. He cared for Angel deeply, as a friend anyway, but what should he do if Angel decides to do something really brash? Sleep deprivation kept him from thinking this no longer as Remi climbed into his tiny ferret bed and collapsed onto his tiny pillow, falling asleep instantly just as the front door of the cottage slowly began to creak open.

Part 9

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” Fluttershy cooed into your ear only moments after the first rays of the morning sunshine beamed through the bedroom window, striking your eyes harshly and forcing to rise from your pillow. The air around you felt uncomfortably humid, and your skin underneath your disheveled coat felt like pasty rubber. Your mane was tossed all over the place atop your head, matted into a finely messy bedhead, but you were much too groggy to care. You just wanted to fall asleep again, just slam your face into the pillows again and rest for days upon end, but Fluttershy was giving you that special look again; a look so alluring that you just couldn’t keep your eyes off of it.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” you mumble, putting on a little smile when you looked upon Fluttershy’s adorable countenance.

“Good morning,” Fluttershy giggled. “How did you sleep?”

“Well, I guess.” You shrug. “At least you were by my side the whole time.”

Fluttershy blushed, the cute smile on her face seemingly growing wider at your kind words.

“I…need to get ready for work, don’t I?” You ask nervously.

“Aww! Can’t you just stay at home for a little while?” Fluttershy asked, leaning her head on your shoulder. “It can get awfully lonely here all by myself sometimes.”

“I would if I could, but your sister would kill me I were late again.” You chuckle, rolling your eyes playfully.

“Redheart would never do such a thing!” Fluttershy gasped, rearing back in shock.

“Relax, Fluttershy. It’s just an expression.”

“Oh, sorry…” Fluttershy whispered, looking away nervously.

“It’s alright,” you reply, throwing the bed covers off your body and slowly sliding down onto the floor. “Listen, I’m gonna grab a quick shower before I head to the hospital. Sorry to ask this, but is there any way you could—“

“I’ll have a quick breakfast waiting for you downstairs when you get out.” Fluttershy smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna let you go hungry, working hard at the hospital and all.”

“Thanks Fluttershy. I can always count on you!”

“And with good reason,” cooed Fluttershy, putting a hoof over her heart, blushing.

You felt a strange, but relaxing warmness rise up deep inside you. Of course, being married to the most gentle pegasus in Ponyville, you were certainly no stranger to the feeling of pure, loving bliss. You smiled back at Fluttershy before climbing back onto the bed and planting a quick, but heartfelt kiss on her cheek. She returned with a kiss of her own, on the lips this time, doing whatever she could to stretch it out for as long as possible. The feeling you get each time your lips met with hers was indescribable, a true joy to behold. You wanted the intimate moment to last, but there would be plenty of time for that later. Deeply reluctant, you pull out of the kiss first. Fluttershy appeared to be a little upset, but she seemed to understand.

“…soon, right?” cooed Fluttershy, giving you a hopeful look in the eyes.

“Soon,” you reply, smiling back at her. “And it will be the best time of our lives.”

You give a quick hug to Fluttershy before dashing off to the bathroom with a fresh towel between your teeth. Fluttershy sighed happily before sliding off the bed herself and gracefully trotting out of the bedroom.

~~~~~

Angel Bunny was on the verge of tearing on his own ears off. He couldn’t take it anymore. He had been in this stressful situation since the crack of dawn, and it was far from getting better. No matter how much he begged, pleaded, or demanded, Remi would simply refuse to budge. The ferret’s opinion seemed to be set, leaving him little he could do about it.

Several hours ago, long before any of the house animals were awake, Angel Bunny awoke bright and early, and had planned on beginning the next phase of his attention scheme, but, in order to pull it off, he needed an extra set of paws to help him with some of the more complex tasks involved, but, with his skepticism already at a major high, Remi outright refused to support him, turning the blind eye and completely ignoring his rants to follow.

Up until now, he had done nothing but argue with the stubborn length of fur. The two made furious gestures and shouted nasty swears at each other, neither side refusing to give up until the other gave up first.

Suddenly, the bunny and ferret pair halted their fiery quarrelling when they heard a soft voice coo from the top of the stairs nearby.

“Angel? Remi? Are you two awake down there?” asked the voice of Fluttershy.

Angel and Remi exchanged a surprised look at each other, trying their best to remain as silent as possible.

“Oh, you two must be hungry…Don’t worry! I’ll be down there in just a second!”

Extremely alarmed, Angel and Remi tore away from each other and frantically searched for a place to hide, but the ruckus they had caused had awoken most of the living room’s now-angry house guests, who only sneered at the indifferent two and retreated into their shadowy dens. Taking a desperate move, Remi scurried to Angel’s side and gestured at him hastily, as if to say “Quick! Act natural!”

~~~~~

You toss your used, damp towel into a whicker basket beside the bathroom sink and brush your mane neat and proper with a slick comb. You check and recheck your handsome appearance, smiling at your well-groomed figure and fresh, shiny coat. When you were finished gawking at yourself, you quickly brushed and flossed your teeth before rushing out of the bathroom.

As you walk down the stairs, you could smell a heavenly aroma drifting up from near the bottom and straight up into your nostrils. You quiver with delight and hasten your walking until you reach the bottom steps and step into the living room. All around you, business in the sanctuary that was the cottage living room went on as usual. Birds were chirping, squirrels and chipmunks were chasing each other back and forth across the floor, and little butterflies nestled on the sunny windowsills, their bright and colorful wings reflecting in the gleaming sunlight.

The sight of animals at play was always a joy to watch, but you were on a tiring schedule, and the only reason you haven’t dashed out the front door already was the delightful smell of your wife’s home cooking nearby. You follow your nose to the dining table, where a small, steaming bowl of hot soup and a plate of bread slices awaited you. Upon taking a seat in front of the delicious gift from heaven, you take notice of a small piece of parchment sitting beside it. Hesitant to waste another few precious seconds, you quickly pick up the note and read from its finely printed text.

Heading down to the beaver creek. Have a good day at work!

-Fluttershy

You smile brightly after reading the note once more, knowing that you get to come home to such a delightful mare at the end of each stressful work day. You lay the note face down on the table before diving into your breakfast, hastily gulping it down but taking just a few moments to savor the enchanting flavors of homegrown vegetables, herbs, and spices as they ran across your awaiting tongue.

After finishing off the last of the soup, you quickly set the bowl in the kitchen sink before dashing out the front door, rushing to get to the hospital before your relative boss can chew you out like a wad of old gum again for being late.

~~~~~

You arrive at the hospital in just a few minutes time and quietly enter through the glass front door, making as little noise as possible so you don’t alert Redheart to your late arrival. Carefully closing the door behind you, you tiphoof to the front desk and are surprised to find that is in a complete state of disarray. Patient records and other various papers were piled high on the wooden countertop, unsorted and unfiled like an accountant’s worst nightmare. It was unlike Nurse Redheart to just leave her front desk in a complete mess like this, but as you thought about helping her out a little bit, mostly because you figured your help would make up for your tardiness, you started to wonder as to where she was. Curious, you look around the desk and check underneath it, but found that she was nowhere to be seen.

Yet like the speak of the devil, you suddenly hear Redheart’s voice key up nearby.

“Oh, it’s you…” murmured Nurse Redheart as you turned your head towards her, slightly alarmed for your boss’s sudden appearance.

“Oh! S-sorry that I was late, Redheart,” you apologize with a nervous look on your face.

“It’s alright…” Redheart whispered. “Just…just get to work. I need to be alone for a few minutes.”

As you look upon Redheart’s face, you take notice of thin, grey streaks running down from her eyes to her chin. Has she been crying lately, and if so, what for?

“Are you ok, Redheart?” you ask, concerned for one of your relations. “Because it looks like—“

“No I was not crying!” Redheart snapped, making you rear back in shock. You could see sadness in the emotional mare’s eyes as they, along with her lips, began to quiver. Redheart took a step back and shielded her eyes from view with one hoof. “Just…go.”

“But, Redheart—“

“I said go!” Redheart yelled, keeping her eyes shielded.

Getting the message that Redheart wanted a few minutes of peace, you nod and start walking down the nearest hallway. Behind you, you could hear Redheart sniffle and sob to herself. You desperately wanted to go back and ask her about what was troubling her, but she was your boss after all, not to mention that you yourself have seen other mares and their need for private moments. You chose to respect Redheart’s wishes and continue onwards towards the medical lab.

~~~~~

He didn’t need Remi. He didn’t need anypony anyway for what he has in store!

Angel Bunny stormed furiously away from the cottage, fuming with red hot anger and a newborn hate for the stubborn, frustrating ferret he couldn’t even bare to call a friend anymore. Hours upon hours of heated arguing in the cottage got them nowhere, so Angel just upped and left mid-quarrel, and all he had asked for was just a little bit of help, but no! Not even the most agile animal in the whole house could spare just a few moments for a poor, small rabbit. What a lovely friendship this had turned out to be…

But no matter! Even though he lacked sufficient aid, Angel still had a plan to accomplish. From what he could guess, Nurse Redheart was probably soaked in a barrel of her own sadness by now that will probably last for weeks on end, and as with the natural way with his caretaker’s family, emotional moments like these affected both Redheart and his caretaker heavily, and even if Nurse Redheart manages to calm down, he could just sneak into the hospital again and plant another disturbing note in the front desk drawer to kick start the water works once again.

So far, everything was going according to plan. Redheart was an emotional wreck, and Fluttershy has yet to find out, but that only left him with the rest of the day to execute the next stage in his elaborate plan.

He looked off in the distance towards the tiny town of Ponyville. Somewhere beyond the humble parish of ponies lay its esteemed apple orchard, the site of his next target. If all goes well, Angel Bunny would be one step closer to the lifestyle of his fantasies. Oh how he dreamed of the day when he could wake up feeling truly relaxed for once.

Yes, it was true. Some ponies would have to suffer, but just for a little while! One less infant nuisance in the world wouldn’t hurt anybody, right? From what he’s heard, mostly from gossip from a few back alley rats, this kind of stuff happens in big cities like Manehatten all the time. Ponyville may be a tad smaller, but it was certainly no exception.

His heart and stomach had brewed up a fresh batch of determination, fueling him mentally as he suddenly took off down the dirt path, charging on his paws as he speed his way towards the tiny township in the distance.

Part 10

Remi repeatedly pounded against the hard, wooden wall with his tiny, furry fists, causing quite the noisy displeasure in the cottage living room. He was so furious right then that all he could do to relieve his bursts of anger was to punch the toughest, most solid object he could find. Angel Bunny can be such a stubborn old mule at times. Was there ever a time when bunnies were just the normal, sweet, innocent creatures they were supposed to be? Out of all the animals in the cottage, in the nearby woods, or even in all of Ponyville for that matter, why did he have to get stuck with this one for a “friend”?

Thankfully though, he would never have to worry about that white ball of hot-headed fur ever again. The dispute they had only minutes ago, debating why he always had to assist Angel with every little task that seemed too “hard” or too “tasking on his poor little legs”, had led to an ultimatum, resulting in an unfriendly breakup. They were no longer friends, and Remi could have never felt happier.

The venting brown ferret felt a tug on his back leg. He quickly whirled around and sneered down at the face of a nervous and frightened young chipmunk, who politely squeaked at him, asking him to cease his noisy blows.

Normally, his polite nature would most certainly cause him to keel over to the little guy’s plea, but his anger was far from cooled down. Remi crouched low to the floor, glaring at the terrified, striped rodent with piercing eyes. He expected the chipmunk to flee immediately, but that only prolonged his fit of inner rage when the chipmunk decided to take a stand, gathering up whatever courage that was left in his fragile form and outright refusing to leave. The little pest even had the rough nerve to stick his bright pink tongue out to emphasize his demands.

Bad move.

Remi’s eye started to twitch, and the hairs on his back began to stand up on end. Determined to send a message loud and clear to not just the chipmunk, but to all the other animals in the house, he released a great, screeching snarl directly at the chipmunk’s face, bearing his teeth and grimacing like a feral feline. Fearful for his life, the little chipmunk squeaked and scurried back into the living room. It dove underneath the couch, cowering behind one of its slightly larger relations for protection. All around the living room sanctuary, the birds, the owls, the mice, the squirrels, and all other sorts of small, defenseless creatures had gone quiet and fled to their respective dens in fear.

Satisfied with this aggressive ploy, Remi rose onto his back feet and wiped white spittle from his lips before turning back towards the wall again, still filled to the brim with sweltering ire.

As he resumed his brutal punching, still somehow ignoring the fact his paws were in terrible pain, a strange, new feeling began to rise deep from within Remi’s pumping heart; a feeling he had never once felt before. On the inside, truly, he felt terrible for what he had done to the poor chipmunk, but the anger that caused him to do it made him feel so…good.

He had seen Angel do this once before, about a month or two back when he was stating his authority with one of the owl folk after he refused to share some of his favorite carrots. Of course, Angel was the victor of the dispute, which would have gotten ugly had the bantam devil not threatened the larger beast with brutal violence, leaving him to his dinner of champions. The days that followed after the inimical quarrel became mysteriously quiet. None of the animals left their shadowy dens while the big-eared predator was out and about, emerging only when it was dinnertime, or when their beloved pegasus caretaker was in the same room with him.

A sudden, jarring sensation struck Remi. Was this the reason why the animals were always mysteriously hidden from view for most of the day? Now that he thought about it, there was no doubt about it. When he moved in with Angel all those years ago, the animals openly introduced themselves with polite gestures and smiling faces, and Angel did so as well, but when his caretaker announced the incoming arrival of an infant, everything went backwards. Angel’s once simple, joyous attitude suddenly vanished, leaving behind only a disturbed husk of unexpected anger and other negative emotions that caused his tiny, petty brain to go haywire.

It all made sense now! The irritation, the frustration, and even the whole of Angel’s devilish little scheme, which thankfully he was no longer a part of.

Angel was once a nicer bunny, but he was once a nicer bunny who was in control. The animals did not fear him, until now anyway, because he was not only polite, but was also his caretaker’s favorite animal. They must have figured that he had some sense of general authority alongside the gentle pegasus who cared for them all. Angel must have been living a pretty good life as second in command, and he had enjoyed it for so long that he had become accustomed to his life of luxury, and thus could not live a single day without having some sense of power and special attention, but with the announcement of a new arrival to the household, he feared of losing his superior position, hatching a plan that led him to the mud hole where he is today.

Remi grinned like a cheshire cat, overjoyed that he had finally pieced it all together. He began to regret ever agreeing to help that insipid, vile rabbit, along with ever being his friend to begin with.

Oh the things he could do with such juicy information. Good thing he had opposable thumbs.

~~~~~

Angel lay low behind a tall apple tree as he waited for his target to pass him by. A massive, red coated pony with a needle of hay between his teeth slowly walked through the expansive orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, toting a wheeled cart behind him while he whistled a jaunty tune. The little bunny thought about striking now, but knew that it would be too dangerous. A pony of that size and girth would probably not be the most attentive or alert pony around, but one wrong step and Angel could get squashed by the stallion’s thunderous hooves.

But striking right there and then wasn’t part of the plan, not anymore anyway. Since Remi was officially no longer his friend, Angel had no way to ascend into one of the apple trees to pounce onto his target and used what he believed to be the ancient art of “rabbit-foo” bestowed upon his tiny, adorable form by the bunny god in the sky to subdue the lethargic, muscle bound pony faster than one could blink.

Or maybe he just needs to stop sniffing his caretaker’s husband’s dirty lab coat when he comes home from work every afternoon. He didn’t know why, but there was something about the smell of strange, sweet smelling perfumes on polyester that seemed to take the edge right off. One minute, he would have nose buried in the fabric, and the next minute he was out in the garden trying to swordfight a intimidating-looking pumpkin with a sharpened carrot stick, his fur in a ragged mess, and splotches of war paint smeared all over his face.

…wait, what was he doing again?

Before he could recall, the voice of a certain country cowgirl off in the distance caught him off guard.

“Hold your horses, granny! Ahm’ just gonna check on the mail, nice and quick!”

It had been years since he heard that voice. It was Applejack, one of his caretaker’s best friends and the very same pony that made delicious apple cider, bucked apples, and…was headed straight for the mailbox!

Angel Bunny went into an alarming panic. He searched all around for his big red target, but in a land of similarities, even a giant can be lost from sight. He looked down at the sealed letter in his paws, then looked to the barn-shaped mailbox at the front gate near the farmhouse. With no time to lose, he gripped the letter between his tiny teeth and scurried through the apple trees, speeding through tall tufts of grass in order to conceal himself as he went.

He arrived moments later, panting and out of breath. Angel jumped up as high as he could to reach the mailbox deposit door. After a few successful jumps, he slipped the letter into the mailbox and sped away as fast as he could, far away from the farm and the approaching country mare.

~~~~~

Overtime? You hardly knew the meaning of such a word.

The last orders for today in relation to needed medication were all filled in, and in a little less than three hours of work, but you kept your lab coat on just in case Redheart’s sorry state kept her from delivering the next batch of order forms, yet it’s been over an hour since you finished the last order. Your lab equipment was all cleaned and sterilized, the floor was swept and mopped, and you even took some extra time off to polish the stained, metal countertops.

With five, solid hours still left in the work day, you had no idea what to do. There were no magazines or books to read, and loud music in the hospital was strictly forbidden.

Perhaps you should just take the risk and go ask Redheart if you could leave early. You knew she wasn’t in the best of moods, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least ask, right?

You hang your partially used lab coat on a wall hanger nearby. You then grab your hospital ID tag and move towards the big metal door that sealed you off from the outside world, but as you reached for the handle to unbolt it, you hear somepony knock three times on the door from the outside. Curious, you peek through the glass porthole in the door only to find a somber-looking Nurse Redheart staring down at the floor. Her eyes were red and stained with what appeared to be the results of hours of crying. She looked worse than you thought.

Being the good gentlecolt that you were, you unbolt and open the door and greet the white coated mare on the other side with a big smile.

“You were…about to leave, weren’t you?” asked Redheart, looking up from the ground and into your wide eyes.

“Oh!” you exclaim. “Did you not want me to leave, or are there more orders that needed to be filled? Because if you want—“

“No…you’re free to go. Go…spend time with Fluttershy…please.”

“Is something wrong, Redheart?”

You felt like a jerk for asking such a blatant question. Of course there was something wrong with her! You just hoped she didn’t take the wrong way and lash out at you with another emotion-filled outburst.

The caring nurse fell silent, returning her gaze down to the ground. A few seconds later, she began to walk towards you. Being just a teensy bit on the cautious side, you began to step back, but the white mare just kept on coming closer. You felt mildly afraid as your back bumps against the far wall of the lab room. Redheart was now within mere inches of your face. You could only hope and pray that the good nurse doesn’t try anything…uncomfortable, allowing whatever the hay she was feeling to take control of her actions.

Suddenly, the mare lunged forward, not for your lips like you had feared, but for your chest, wrapping her forehooves around it like a giant stuffed teddy bear. Somehow, that must have triggered the waterworks again, for she was now openly releasing yet another wave of tears, burying her face into your chest fur.

“R-Redheart?!” you gasp, baffled by the mare’s impulsive move.

“Please don’t leave her!” cried the nurse.

“Leave who?”

“What do you mean ‘leave who’? Fluttershy! I’m talking about Fluttershy!”

“Alright! Alright! I hear you! I won’t leave her, I promise!”

Redheart forces herself away from you, stumbling back a few feet before bumping against another wall close by.

“Go home…” Redheart grunted, pointing her hoof towards the open door.

“What?” you reply, taking a step closer to Redheart.

“I said go home! Go home and stay there! Right now, and don’t come back for another week!”

“A-a week?! How am I supposed to support—“

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll send you your pay in the mail…” Redheart’s tone of voice dipped down into a more calming state. The broken mare slowly slid down the wall until she came to a soft landing on her rump, leaning against the white stone as her breathing slowed to a smooth crawl.

“Just go home, and be with Fluttershy…ok?”

Too nervous to continue an argument with her, you nod your head in agreement.

“Good,” said Redheart. “Go home, be with Fluttershy, and let her know that you’ll be there for her, no matter what. Don’t ask questions. Just…do it.”

You nod your head once again and move slowly towards the door to take your leave. You worriedly glance at the gloomy mare one last time before slipping out into the hallway, maneuvering through the hospital up to the front desk, where you drop off your ID tag and walk out through the front door, your eyes still as wide as dinner plates and your face contorted into a silently bewildered, blank stare of astonishment. You had absolutely no idea what had just happened. It all went by so fast and so quick that your mind could not piece it all together in time before Redheart put you on an early leave.

Speaking of which, why was Redheart crying so much in the first place? What could have possibly happened to her? It has been days and you have yet to find out. Was it the death of a patient, or some other saddening event in her life? You think back to the day when Redheart first found out about you and Fluttershy’s plans to have a baby. Every day before that was smooth sailing, with no problems of any sort. Why she was acting like this now, and with so much emotion so suddenly? These were just a few of the things that truly perplexed you.

On a normal day, you relied on the street lamps to guide you back to your awaiting sweetheart back home, but with so much time still left in the day, you thought about doing something special for her. The farmers market was still open, and the flower sisters always had their floral specials during the daytime. A nice, romantic gift would be a surefire way to surprise her, and thinking ahead of your own excitement, you had the entire week off to spend time with her! It was about time you got rewarded for all your hard work. Could this day get any better?

Part 11

“Hey, everypony! Mail’s here!” yelled Applejack through paper-clenched teeth as she trotted into the family farmhouse kitchen. The country mare’s loud voice roused Granny Smith from her snoring slumber, who sat in a rickety arm chair in the corner of the room. The old mare looked around with dreary eyes and mumbled something about timber wolves before immediately falling asleep again, wheezing like a freight train.

“Oh, granny.” Applejack chuckled. She took her seat in a chair at the kitchen table and started to go through the new arrivals, silently murmuring to herself as she did.

“Let’s see…junk mail, junk mail, bill…letter?”

While mail was usually the only way the Apple family received important information, receiving a letter from somepony outside of Ponyville was quite uncommon, as anypony in the quaint, little town could just pay them a visit right where they live.

The hoofwriting on the strangely dirt-covered envelope was slapdash, messy, and had a faint odor of carrots, but with a keen eye Applejack was able to make out Big Macintosh’s name, along with the name of the sender.

“Angelica?” said Applejack. “What kinda’ name is that for a pony? Do ah’ even know an Angelica?”

As she quizzically stared at the envelope, the red stallion himself strolled into the kitchen from the living room after hearing his sister’s calling cry. His forehead was damp with sweat having just stepped inside the house after working outside in the heat for so long.

“Mail?” said Big Mac, with a voice as plain as ever. Applejack nodded.

“Right here.” The orange mare passed the dirty envelope to her brother, who took a few seconds to look over it before gently grasping it with his teeth.

“I’ll take care of the rest of this,” Applejack continued. “Is tha’ harvest all in?”

“Eeyup.”

“No problems?”

“Eeyup.”

“Bugs?”

“Nope.”

“Dead trees?”

“Nope.”

“Critters?”

Big Mac put a hoof to his chin, faintly recalling seeing a smiling, white rabbit running through the fields, but it must have been his eyes playing tricks on him, so he put it clear out of his mind.

“Nope.”

“Well…alrighty then! Thanks for ya’ help, Big Mac!”

The red stallion gave a respectable ‘You’re welcome’ before trotting into the living room, where he turned towards the creaky staircase and began ascending to the top floor. After moving across the hallway, he walked into his cozy bedroom and placed the letter onto his nightstand drawer. He thought about opening it now, but his coat and mane were beyond filthy, and were in dire need of a good cleaning. He could feel a layer of dirt and stenchy musk coating his skin underneath his coat, and he hardly believed that his dear grandmother would approve of his dirty, stinking look at the dinner table tonight, for the Apple family was celebrating yet another successful harvest with a big, hearty meal like they always do.

The letter could wait. The shower was calling to him.

~~~~~

Angel Bunny wiped his forehead free of sweat, weary and out of breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his legs felt stiff and uncomfortable.

But still he managed to power through the pain and fatigue with the fact that his plan was going better than he ever thought it would. Originally, he expected it to fail from the start, what with all the complex espionage and trickery needed to get through each stage.

He watched in silence from the cover of a wild rose bush as the orange mare walked through the farmhouse front door. When the door slammed shut behind her, he could rest easy knowing that his master plan was completed!

…almost. Almost completed.

He had one final objective; one more letter to deliver, this one being addressed to none other than Ponyville’s favorite librarian and the key focal point in his plan, Twilight Sparkle.

The devious bunny turned and set his sights on the arboreal library. Victory never felt so close. He could see it now. When the scene was set, when the elements were prepped and ready, it would nothing but smooth sailing. He could sit back, relax, and munch on his favorite carrots while the world in which he knew morphed into hell-on-earth. Cruel? Maybe, but his mind was set.

~~~~~

The warm feeling of Fluttershy’s kisses on your cheek still remained on your lips long after you arrived home. As soon as you walked through the front door, you found the shy pegasus standing there in the living room; watching, waiting for your return. Though a tad eerie, she explained that the winter months were on their way, and the number of animals she had to take care of was starting to decrease, so she had less work to do each day.

The year had gone by so fast it seemed. Hearth’s Warming Eve was practically waiting around the corner. It would only be a few months more before the town was covered in snow, streamers, and tidings of good cheer.

As you lay flat on the living room couch, all around you, the many residents of your humble home began to gather around. To celebrate your new time off, Fluttershy thought it delightful to spend the rest of the evening watching a favorite movie of hers. A movie projector, generously provided by Ponyville’s own librarian, stood tall on the coffee table in front of the couch, and a large, white sheet hung from the rafters above to act as the viewing screen.

You could smell the succulent, delightful smell of salted butter in the air. Your highest hopes came through for you, and Fluttershy gracefully skipped out of the kitchen with two large bowls of fresh popcorn on her back; one for the animals, the other for the both of you to share. She wore a bright, joyful smile as she frolicked towards you. After placing the bowl of the animal’s snack on the floor, she turned and passed the second bowl to you, where the two of you exchanged a kiss before the canary mare laid down in front of you on the couch, resting her head upon your neck.

“Shall we get started?” you ask, smiling down at her. She nodded in reply, keeping her gaze firmly focused on yours.

You reach forward towards the projector and press a red button before flicking the starter switch. Within moments, the gentle hum of the projector fills the room, and a bright, white light beams out through the glass porthole, aimed directly at the hanging screen. The film reel starts to spin, showcasing the movies stylish color imagery, not like the dull black and white films of the older days. The words, “Faux Pas of the Heart” fade in from the lavish background; a popular romance novel expanded into a feature film by none other than its author turned producer: Howie Show.

As the main intro to the movie kicks off, Fluttershy turns to you and gently nudges you with her muzzle. At her call, you turn your head towards her, acknowledging her with simple nod of your head.

“Mind if I ask you something?” she asks with a smile.

“Of course,” you reply, pressing the tip of your own muzzle against hers.

Fluttershy blushes, her smile growing even wider. “You know that the winter months are coming soon, right?”

“Right. What about it?”

“Well…th-this was something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, but--”

“We?”

“My mother and I. She wants to come to Ponyville for a visit.”

You could faintly recall meeting Fluttershy’s mother at the wedding long ago. With the wedding long past, her physical appearance was bleak in your mind at best, though you do remember that she was just as kind, if not more so, than Fluttershy. You seemed to remember her mother’s voice as well, which was just as calm and just as soothing as hers.

“W-well, it’s more of a casual move-in,” Fluttershy added. “She was supposed to move to a new home in Cloudsdale today, but rogue weather coming in from the Everfree forest delayed the move, but we’re not sure how much longer it will take, and it can get pretty chilly near the mountains where she used to live. She needed a place to stay for a few weeks, so I offered that she stay with us for a little while.”

“Oh…” you sigh.

“I-is something wrong?” Fluttershy asks, worried.

“N-no!” you quickly retort. “But don’t we have…plans?”

“Plans? What plans?”

It finally dawns on you. You had forgotten to make plans, romantic or otherwise, with your new time off, but then again, it hasn’t even been a full day yet, and you could never say no to Fluttershy.

“Nothing…” you say. “When is she arriving?”

“Umm…tomorrow, actually. She’ll be arriving at the train station sometime in the afternoon, I think. Do you mind coming with me to pick her up? I’m sure she’d love to see you again!”

Though so sudden and so unexpected, the arrival of your mother in law hardly mattered to you at all; within reason anyway. Even when you were at home, you seldom received any company, and it would be nice to have the mother of Equestria’s sweetheart stay for a little while.

“Of course!” you reply, a bright smile adorned upon your face. “But who’ll watch the animals while we’re gone?”

“I’m sure that Angel could do it.”

“Actually, Fluttershy, I haven’t seen Angel around in days. I figured that you’d know where he might be since I was always away at work.”

“Th-there’s no need to worry.” Ironically, you could sense the worry in Fluttershy’s voice, but she kept a confident smile. “I’m sure he’s just out in Ponyville somewhere. He’s a grown bunny after all, and he always finds his way back home.”

“Oh…well, what about Remi?” You suggest as you started to scan your eyes around the room. “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”

~~~~~

Remi paced pensively behind the cover of a tall stack of empty boxes brought home by Fluttershy after she went out shopping earlier that day. Thought after heated thought bombarded the tempered ferret’s mind. He felt alone, and rightfully so. After his little display of threatening force earlier that day most of the animals in the house strayed far away from him, both of out anger and fear.

Though the loneliness was depressing, he found that he could care less for what the other animals thought of him, for his mind was in a completely different state. He had a problem to solve; a bug to squash, or in this case, the devious doings of a certain white rabbit to stand against.

Angel has done some pretty strange things since they became friends, but what he had in mind was just pushing it to a dangerous, intolerable limit.

Before, his plan “seemed” reasonable enough to participate in, but when put to some serious thought, his desiring path to remain king of the jungle was found to be paved with the soulless torture of others. He had to find a way to stop him, but blind anger kept his train of thought anchored to the ground.

Once again in need to release pitted fury, Remi looked for the closest thing he can land his fist on. Good thing there was a soft wall behind him. He whirled around and went at it, landing blow after hard blow on the colorful cardboard plating. While his mind was slowly being vented, the tower of boxes began to lean back and forth, shaking and wobbling as the slithery mammal abused it like a punching bag.

~~~~~

“Hmm…where is the little guy?” you say as you continue to scan your eyes around the dark room. “It’s not like him to hide all of a sudden…”

The question of Remi’s whereabouts still floated around in your mind, but you would find your answer sooner than you think. In the corner of the room, you are taken by surprise as a loud ensemble of crashing thuds fills your startled ears. You and Fluttershy both turn your heads towards the source of the noise, and find Remi standing in the middle of the disaster, his head poking out from within a pile of empty boxes, and a pink plume of embarrassed blush on his cheeks. The other animals just sat and stared with blank expressions, not one of them making a move to aid him.

Remi raised one of his paws and waved sheepishly. Seeing your ferret friend in such a silly situation, you join Fluttershy in a feeble fit of laughter.

While their caretakers were turned away, the animals quickly reformed their monotone faces into angry sneers of disgust before turning away themselves. Remi frowned, dipping his head into a shameful sulk.

The night dragged on as the movie neared its end. Fluttershy had fallen asleep next to you hours ago, snoozing peacefully with her head leaning on your shoulder. The other animals also became tired sometime around the climax of the movie, and retreated to their respective huts and houses to rest. Your beloved Remi however stayed by your side, yet he too was fast asleep, curled into a ball on your other side.

When the finale rolls around, when the scene of the mare and stallion kissing fades to black, the film reel runs out, and the projector shuts down automatically, blanketing the room in darkness and dim shadow. Moonlight shone in through a nearby window, beaming down onto Fluttershy’s head. The silvery light shone off her lavish pink locks beautifully, and you emphasized your feelings with a kiss to her forehead. The mare of kindness smiled and turned over in her sleep.

Midnight was on the rise, and you too were starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. The thought of awakening Fluttershy to go to bed upstairs was practically nonexistent, as you had already planned ahead for such a comfortable situation.

Behind you, a large quilt lay draped over the tall couch banister. You gently pull it down towards you and cover yourself with it, of course making sure that your delicate darling received her share of the warmth. The couch was small, but you figured you’d manage for at least one night.

As you lay there, staring up at the ceiling and awaiting the moment when your eyes would cave in and whisk you away to dream land, you feel a minor disappointment start to creep up on you. You felt very fortunate to receive some time off from work, yet despite its unexpectedness, you still had a few special ideas in mind as to how you would spend it. Of course, you were going to spend it with your all-deserving wife, but even with her mother’s abrupt arrival, you knew, wholly and truly, that if she was happy, then you were happy, no matter what.

Part 12

The next day, you and Fluttershy arrive at the Ponyville train station during the warmness of the afternoon and take a seat on a bench in the ticket room, patiently awaiting the arrival of Fluttershy’s mother. The station was mostly quiet, with only the occasional passerby roaming about the area. The ticket sellers sat behind her countertops, flipping through the daily newspaper while a well-dressed conductor wearing a fancy bell cap stood by the open doorway to the train platform, staring down at the floor, musingly.

While the two of you passed the time with idle conversation, a loud steam whistle blew in the distance. The conductor standing by the doorway looked out onto the train platform. He put a hoof to side of his mouth.

“Train incoming! Route from Trottingham to Ponyville incoming!”

Fluttershy smiles as you both step down from the bench and move past the conductor and out onto the platform. Steam whistles through the air as the train’s brakes squealed to a halt.

The conductor shouted a few intelligible commands to the head of the train. He then proceeded to each of the passenger carriages and opened their exit doors. Immediately, the platform was flooded with ponies, relieved to have finally arrived at their destination after such a long journey. Fillies and colts dashed alongside their parents, excited to have more space to play around in. Business ponies and other various figures stepped off as well. Among them, you make out a patch of bright yellow. You turn to Fluttershy to ask if she can see it, but find that she is no longer beside you. You turn back towards the crowd and find Fluttershy eagerly waiting at the front. When the crowd dissipates, the only pony left standing is a tall, bright yellow figure that took quite some time to even remotely recognize as Fluttershy’s mother, Tenderheart.

The grown mare hasn’t changed in the slightest since you last saw her, which was only once, on the day of the wedding. Every feature, from her coat to her mane she passed down to her daughter flawlessly. To your amazement, you found it slightly difficult to tell the difference between the two, save their heights.

The mother and daughter pair greeted each other with a big, warm hug. Fluttershy whispered a few words into her mother’s ear before they strolled over to where you were standing.

“Hello, Tenderheart,” you say as you shook the older mare’s hoof. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you again as well,” replied Tenderheart in a soft voice. You were deeply surprised. Even the mare’s voice sounded almost the same as Fluttershy’s. “Thank you for allowing me to stay with you on such short notice.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” you reply.

Nearby, a unicorn conductor walks up to you and the girls, towing a cart full of luggage. Suspended in the air above him is a pair of bright yellow saddlebags with three crudely stitched butterflies sown onto each side.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but are these yours?” asked the conductor, looking at Tenderheart.

Fluttershy gasped, turning to face her mother. “You still--!”

“I still use them, yes,” Tenderheart cut in. “You made them for me, after all, back when you were just a filly. Such a lovely mother’s day gift…”

Tenderheart politely took her saddlebags from the conductor and thanked him as he walked away to assist the off-going passengers. Afterwards, you, Tenderheart and Fluttershy leave through the crowded turnstiles and proceed to a café nearby for lunch.

The three of you take your seats at a table outside, order your food, and sit quietly as the waiter walks away. You look away from Fluttershy’s mother nervously as silence continues to hold around the table. The minutes pass by quickly, and before you knew it, the waiter returns with the food, passing three plates to each pony before quietly slipping away again. With some food on the table and your eyes on the delicious prize, the silence is finally lifted when Tenderheart decides to speak up, but you’d soon discover that you’d surely wish she hadn’t.

“So…” started Tenderheart, softly, looking down at her plate. “About this…foal.”

On the inside, you groan with agitation, but when you heard a shocked gasp escape Tenderheart’s lips, you yourself went wide-eyed having realized that you accidently expressed your distasteful emotion out loud.

“I-I’m sorry!” Tenderheart apologized, stammering. “I-I shouldn’t have asked that if it made you feel uncomfortable…”

Fluttershy looked to you with worry in her eyes. You reassure your wife’s nervousness with a gentle smile before turning your attention back to Tenderheart.

“No, it’s ok,” you say. “You did nothing wrong. It’s just that there have been so many ponies bothering us about it, asking questions and stuff.”

“Now why on earth would they do that? There’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, I’m quite overjoyed actually knowing that you and Fluttershy decided to take such a big step.”

“We’re still…planning for it,” Fluttershy whispered, smiling sheepishly.

“Speaking of planning, I was planning on paying your sister a visit during my stay here in Ponyville.” Tenderheart smiled at Fluttershy. “Does she still live here?”

“Y-yes, but I haven’t spoken with her in a while.”

“I…don’t think you’d want to,” you speak up.

Tenderheart raised a curious eyebrow.

“Why not?” asked Tenderheart. Fluttershy bit her lower lip and looked towards the ground with a pang of sadness in her eyes.

“She’s…been having a lot of emotional trouble lately,” you say. “I don’t know why, but she’s been in such a terrible mood lately.”

“Oh dear…” murmured Tenderheart, covering her mouth with one hoof.

“But I think it might be…my fault that she’s acting this way. At first, Fluttershy and I were just going to keep things quiet and let our friends warm up to the idea, but when she somehow found out about it, everything just went south. She became really depressed and stayed that way for a couple of days. Eventually, she just…snapped!”

Tenderheart gasped, her ears falling flat around her head and her eyes blowing up as big as dinner plates.

“N-no! Not like that!” you quickly continue, hoping to calm the mare. “It’s kind of the opposite of what you were probably thinking...”

“What happened?” asked Tenderheart, her face continuing to hold her expression of deep shock.

“She…well…gave me the whole week off! I know it sounds crazy, but one day, while I was working, she just…came into where I worked, broke down, gave me the week off, and ordered me to leave the hospital. I didn’t want to upset her any further so I just…did!”

“Oh…” Tenderheart breathed a sigh of relief through her nose. “B-but surely she just wants comfort, right? M-Maybe I can—“

“I’m sorry, Tenderheart, and I’m no real doctor, but I think that it would be best if we just let her calm down a little before we visit her. For all I know, it could be the stress that’s gotten to her. Working day and night at a crowded hospital is no easy feat.”

“H-he’s probably right,” Fluttershy cuts in, turning her head to look at her saddened mother. “You and I both know how she acted when she was little.”

Tenderheart sighed, and it appeared as if she would never regain her happiness knowing that one of her own daughters was in such a grieving state, but surprisingly, her miserable frown reformed into a short, comforting smile.

“Yes…” whispered Tenderheart, looking up from the table and turning to face Fluttershy. “She wasn’t the easiest filly to raise, what with her wild temper tantrums and all, but she always pulled through with one of those adorable little smiles of hers at the end of each day. She’ll pull through. I’m sure of it.”

As a part of her deeply caring nature, Fluttershy leaned in close and hugged her beloved mother. Tenderheart did not hug back. Instead, she sat still and accepted every bit of her daughter’s full embrace with an open, motherly heart. As the intimate moment went on, the waiter came by with the billing check, placing it on the table in front of you. He kept his eyes directed away from the family pair and honed them in on you as you took out the necessary number of bits to pay him. After messily signing the check in pen, the waiter slinks away once again.

“Well, we should probably head home and let you get settled in,” you say as the three of you walk away from the café. “I already have the guest bedroom set up, so feel free to make yourself at home.”

“Thank you for your kind hospitality,” said Tenderheart. “Although I truly do wish to see Redheart before I leave.”

“I’m sure we’ll see her soon, and there’s no need to thank us,” you reply with a smile. “It’s the least we could do. After all, you are the mother of…her.”

You shoot Fluttershy a romantic wink and a grin. Immediately the yellow pegasus’s face flared up with pink blush. Tenderheart giggled and turned to get a glimpse at her daughter’s face, but Fluttershy quickly looked away towards the ground, not wanting to embarrass herself openly as the three of you walked into the main part of the bustling town.

~~~~~

All it took was three knocks on the door for Angel Bunny to take flight, hopping away as fast as he could towards his hiding spot in a bush he had picked out earlier. The Ponyville Library was without a mailbox, and he could not wait any longer for his scheme to finally unfold, so he opted to perform the classical ding-dong-ditch prank on the librarian’s home to speed things up.

Angel leaped into the bush and poked his out slightly through the wall of leaves so he could get a good view. Seconds later, the front door opened, and a small, purple-skinned baby dragon with green scales stepped outside. The little rabbit felt mildly annoyed at the fact that it wasn’t the librarian herself that answered his trick call.

“Hello?” the dragon called out, looking to the left. “Hellooo?” the dragon called out again, looking to the right this time. No response. The dragon clenched his fists and huffed angrily through his nose.

“Darn pranksters…” mumbled the dragon. Before it could walk back inside, the infant dragon stopped dead in his tracks and looked down, just now catching a glimpse of the envelope at his doorstep. Angel held his breath as the dragon picked it up, turning it over and examining it carefully.

“To…Twibright Sparkle?” said the dragon as he read off the front cover of the envelope. Angel closed his eyes and shielded his ears, hoping for the best, for him of course. “This better not be another prank…”

Moments later, Angel heard the front door slam shut. His slowly reopened his eyes and peeked out of the bush again, smiling brightly when he saw that the envelope was gone, and that the dragon was nowhere in sight. Full of relief, he fell backwards onto his rump, wiping his forehead with one paw as he settled back onto a clump of leaves.

At long last, everything was ready. The right keys were in the right place. All he had to do now was just watch and wait for each pony to turn their keys, opening the door to the inevitable. It will be a sweet, sweet memory he will cherish in his life forever; a hidden Armageddon unlike anything ever seen before.

It was only a matter of time.

Your Hearts and Hooves in Hers

Everything had to be perfect.

Everything.

Especially for the mare you loved.

Hearts and Hooves Day was by far one of the most anticipated times in Equestria. Love was in bloom at every turn, from small-time crushes to joyous, lifelong commitments. Love was one of the greatest feelings in the world, and even though you still felt like the luckiest stallion in the world you could not help but think of those who had to spend such a holiday alone. Empathy was all you could give them. There was always somepony for everypony out there though. They may find their true love soon enough.

You hear a door upstairs in the cottage close shut, causing you to spring off the living room couch and up to your hooves. You swiftly grab a lovely bouquet of yellow roses, their color enchanted by magic, off an end table beside you and speed to your spot at the bottom of the stairs. You hold the bouquet in between your teeth as you straighten your mane into a presentable fashion. Using the precious few seconds you had left, you scan the room around you to assure yourself that everything was in order.

Firefly lanterns? Check.

A lit fireplace? Check.

Living room vacated of animals? Check.

The scene was set and the ambience could not have been better. Finally, you turn your attention to your own self for a brief run-down of how you looked. Your mane was nice and neat and your coat fared just as well. A quick check of your breath revealed it to remain minty fresh. Your handsome figure was just like you planned it.

Before you could relax, you move on to examining your lavish, formal dressage. Everything seemed to be in order, except for…a stain! A small, dark, and fruity-smelling blemish was clearly visible on the fabric on your right shoulder. You immediately regret partaking in a leftover jelly pastry you brought back home from Sugarcube Corner only mere minutes after you clothed yourself for the evening ahead of you. This somehow added up to be a big problem in your book. You start to panic slightly and begin vigorously rubbing the stain in hopes that some invisible force will just make it all go away. It was only until you heard a soft giggle break through the air did your vying heartbeat grind to a halt.

“You look cute when you’re nervous,” murmured Fluttershy, giggling. You return your gaze to your front to find Fluttershy sitting flat on the second to last step, clad in the most beautiful outfit you have ever laid eyes on: a green and blue dress that made Rarity’s wares look like fashion season rejects. The mare sat on her haunches as her personal merriment continued to flow, her lips stifled only by the most adorable hoof-over-mouth pose ever.

You smile an embarrassed smile at your darling dearest and hold out one hoof to her. She blushes and gladly accepts your gesture, resting her chin over it as she took the final steps down onto the hardwood floor. The timid pegasus scanned her eyes across the outstanding backdrop behind you, her mouth agape and steadily lowering with each and every sight she sees. The dim lighting and fresh scents of all things delightful added so much more to the atmosphere of the romantic night.

You lean forward and bow to her, closing your eyes like a gentlecolt and pointing a hoof in the direction of an empty floor space you cleared earlier that day. Fluttershy continues to hold her tongue as she gracefully strolls past you and into the area you pointed out. You turn around and give her some time to observe the décor, with each element she sees delivering a special appeal to the glow of the firefly’s light in her eyes.

You offer her the bouquet after you trot up to her side. She looks up into your eyes as she gratefully accepts it with a soft ‘thank you’ whispered out. She then closes her eyes and takes a relaxing whiff, releasing every blissful breath she gathered in a peaceful sigh through her nose. She sets the bouquet aside and returns her wanting gaze up to yours.

It was time for the moment you’d been waiting for all night. You extend your left foreleg out to a tripwire mechanism beside you, purposely triggering the simple device that causes a gramophone in the far corner of the room to start up and play. The soothing sounds of a concert hall ensemble of various string instruments, wind chimes, and bells slowly filled the room, staring it all off with a leisurely zealous ascendance.

You each rise up on your back legs and place a hoof on each other’s shoulder and side, keeping a firm grip on each other and never letting go. You hold a deep, passionate kiss with your beloved as you performed a slow dance with her, cherishing every second of it as if it were a part of your very being. The feeling was indescribable as ever. The sense of mind you were in was like a thousand dreams coming true all at once. Nothing in the world had even the slightest chance of being comparable to this.

Your heart and hers were warm and in tune, and your hooves exchanged the gentle caresses of true lovers. There were once-in-a-lifetime moments, and then…there were moments like these. You break the kiss and lean in close to her ear.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Fluttershy…”

Author's Note

SURPRISE!

Eeyup. This story is not dead and neither am I. Surprised? You damn well better be.

This is just a little short and sweet Valentine's Day gift for you all. I had some time to kill and a certain hand to lotion up so I thought, "Why not?"

After waiting so stupidly long to build up the interest and confidence again I have restarted writing for this tale of mine and will hopefully continue to write it without another agonizingly long period of hiatus. I can't make any promises though! ^.^

Thankfully, I still remember what I had planned for the main plot of the story and will continue to follow this trainwreck all the way to the end!

Thanks for sticking around, guys. (I hope) You won't regret it!

-Hivemind :twistnerd:

Part 13

“Who in Equestria just decides to leave mail at our front door in the middle of the day?” Spike asked himself as he walked back into the library foyer, curiously inspecting every square inch of the envelope and the hasty, scrawled hoofwriting on its surface. As the personal scribe of the smartest unicorn in Equestria, it irked Spike to have to look upon such despicable penmanship. Firstly, her name wasn’t “Twibright Sparkle”, and secondly, did the sender even know how to properly address an envelope, let alone write? A two-year old could do better than this! Whoever wrote this must have been a real animal to compose one this poorly.

Thankfully, there was a return address, or rather a return stick figure. It was a pre-schooler’s equivalent of a big, red, muscle-bound stallion with some sort of straw-like hairdo. Its legs were nothing but straight lines of red crayon while its head, neck, and body were drawn to look as big as balloons. Spike rolled his eyes, still thinking this was all just a prank.

“Twilight! We got a letter!” Spike called out after having ascended the library steps up to Twilight’s bedroom. He strolled inside and found the lavender mare hard at work assembling the elements of what appeared to be a field study session. It didn’t look like any field study session he had ever seen, though. What did flowers and fancy perfume have to do with things like science and astronomy? Unless she taking up botany, Spike sensed that something was definitely up.

“Not now, Spike,” Twilight huffed, looking over her shoulder at the pages of a large blue book floating behind her head, its title reading off the words all too-well known to the “lovey types” as ‘The Oversized Omnibus for All Things Romantic.’

Suddenly, the lavender mare perked up, looking over her shoulder once her brain finally caught up with her ears.

“Wait, a letter? From who?” asked Twilight.

“Err…somepony with a red coat wearing a dirty wig made of weeds?” replied Spike, squinting at the pathetic scribble on the face of the envelope. Twilight raised a confused eyebrow.

“A whatnow?” The unicorn’s magic levitated the envelope out of Spike’s hands and up to her face. She observed every inch of it, her observations resulting in a bewildered expression. “Huh…you’re right. That is err…something, I guess.”

“Well? It’s addressed to you!” exclaimed Spike, regaining a smile. “Go ahead! Let’s hear what it says! This has got to be something funny if somepony really writes like that!”

“Easy there, Spike.” Twilight giggled, magically unfolding the flaps of the envelope. “You aren’t exactly gifted with the greatest penmanship in the world, either.”

Spike crossed his arms, grunting. “Yeah, well…it’s better than whoever wrote that at least!”

With careful magical precision, Twilight fully opened the envelope and slid the folded parchment out, keeping its carrier held aloft next to her head. She unfolded the letter and, after pretending that the absolutely appalling hoofwriting she was looking at wasn’t even there, began to silently recite the letter’s message to the best of her ability.

Despite her struggles, Twilight could hardly read what she was looking at, but a few words were clear enough to make out. It seemed that Spike was right about everything. The condition of the envelope itself was bad enough, but the letter itself was the stuff of an Equestrian language teacher’s worst nightmare. There was simply no excuse for hoofwriting this bad. Even the results of a foal’s first coloring book were better than this, and that was saying quite a lot. Bits of dirt and a strange, orange material were stuck to the page, several words were misspelled or illegible altogether, and…was that a paw print?

Just as her sensitive suspicions began to arise, Twilight managed to decipher a small assortment of words within the letter’s memorandum.

Sunset.

--gazer’s Hill.

From.

Secret Admirer.

Twilight’s jaw dropped after she read those last two words to herself, over and over again, allowing the combined and distinct meanings of the twin terms slowly make its way into her thought process.

“I-I…B-Bu…” Twilight started to murmur.

“You ok, Twi’?” asked Spike, raising one claw.

“I have a secret admirer?!” Twilight suddenly burst out, leaping into the air with joy, her purple eyes sparkling in unison with a grin on her face that stretched from cheek to cheek. The objects she magically handled around her dropped to the floor like bricks. The excited, grown-up pony landed on her haunches and giggled like a giddy schoolfilly who had just been asked out on a date.

“A…secret admirer?” said Spike after recovering from the aftershock of the mare’s outburst. “What’s that?”

Spike was knocked to the floor when the excited unicorn suddenly sped past him as quick as a flash, kicking up a tuft of dust in the crevices of the floorboards. She stopped on a dime at a small bookshelf at the far side of the room and levitated a pocket-sized, ring-bound journal down from in between the concealing cover of two larger books. She opened it up and flipped through the pages, ceasing her over-zealous cycle that was her body’s overreactions to certain events once she found what she was looking for.

“Aha! Here it is!” exclaimed Twilight, holding an old piece of parchment above her head in triumph after retrieving it from within the worn pages of the journal. She tossed the tiny booklet aside and skipped on the tips of her hooves in utter exhilaration, all the while muttering the word ‘yes’ to herself in various pitches of feminine squeaks.

“Uggh…what’s that?” asked Spike, groaning as he sluggishly rose to his feet again.

“It’s a note I found in my bedroom back in Canterlot when I was just a little filly! I can’t read much of it anymore, since the ink is mostly worn away and all, but I can still read the name of who sent it! My secret admirer !”

The blue book Twilight was reading previously was levitated off the ground and into the air riding on a cloud of purple magic. It then took off, speeding towards the mare after accidently smacking into the back of Spike’s head, slamming the little dragon face first onto the floor once again.

“Let’s see, let’s see…” Twilight murmured, flipping through the pages at a breakneck pace. “Secret…secret…secret…secret admirer!”

Twilight’s hoof slammed down onto the page entry. She kept her cheeky grin as she brought the book closer to read.

“Secret admirer. One who disguises their true identity in order to achieve the goal of discreetly expressing their feelings of love or adoration through a note or other form of physical or social contact.”

“So…what’s all of this supposed to mean?” asked Spike, scratching the back of his head as he slowly rose to stand again.

Twilight beamed.

“I just told you, Spike! I have a…” a faint squeak escaped the mare’s throat. ”Secret admirer!”

Spike was surprised to find that he had never heard of such a term. He was, after all, the most handsome dragon in Ponyville, and by far the most romantic. If he could woo the lovely Miss Rarity then he can do the same to anypony in Equestria!

Or that’s at least what he keeps telling himself…

“Oh! Ok…but what about the letter?” Spike walked over and picked up the slightly-crumpled parchment, examining it with distaste and giving it a good read before passing it to Twilight.

“Hmm…you’re right…” Twilight took the letter and ran through what it said, taking special note of the five words she made out earlier. “Who could it be?”

“Isn’t that the whole point of a secret admirer?”

“Oh, I know!” Twilight giggled. “That’s the fun of it! I never did get to meet who my first secret admirer was, so this’ll be like a dream come true! It gives me the perfect opportunity for me to start conducting my research!”

“Well, it’s nice to see that somepony—“ Suddenly, Spike’s speech was halted, his brain having finally caught up with him. “W-wait. Did you say…research, Twi?”

“Oh yes, Spike!” Twilight replied. “It was more of a personal matter at first, but starting tonight I’m beginning a special extent of field research to look into the inner lives of couples, married or otherwise! It’ll be a lot of work, I’m sure, but it’ll be the first time I, or anypony else for that matter, has ever taken the science behind the concept of love and companionship into account! No one has ever succeeded as far as I know, though. Not sure why, but that’s not going to stop me!”

“Err…not to be a buzz kill here, Twi, but since when did you become the…lover type?”

“N’oh, Spike,” Twilight guffawed. “It’s not like I’m gonna establish a full-blown relationship with this pony. That’s not the point. I’m just going to get in there, take the usual steps I learned from my reading, collect the data, and I’ll be done. Simple!”

“B-but, Twilight! That’s not--!”

“Oh, I can’t believe this is really happening! I can’t miss an opportunity like this!”

On these words, Twilight’s horn flashed a bright purple, surrounding Spike in an ornate aura that swiftly carried him out of her bedroom and onto the floor just outside her door.

“B-but, Twilight--!”

The excited unicorn appeared in the doorway after casting a short-range teleportation spell in her excitement.

“Sorry, Spike! No time to talk! I need to get ready for tonight!” Twilight squeaked again. “This is going to be great! Celestia will love my findings! Haha! Get it? I said love!” She looked down at her irritated dragon associate, who was put off by both her friend’s cluelessness and the execution of her cheesy, overdone joke. “Mind staying home by yourself for a few hours while I’m gone, Spike?”

For a third and final time, Spike opened his mouth to try and talk some sense into the unicorn, but once again he was met with the mindless banter of an overly-studious mare who thinks she can solve the mystery behind one of the most complicated emotions in existence. You can’t just “solve” the riddle of love without experiencing it firsthand. Before he could get another word in, Twilight thanked him for “offering” to stay and slammed the door in his face, leaving the little purple dragon with an aggravated sneer on his face and a heated temper to boot.

~~~~~

Big Mac hung his damp bathroom towel on a hook after he stepped out of his bedroom shower and dried himself off. After grooming his mane back into its original barnyard hairstyle, he clambered into his bedroom and retrieved the letter off of his nightstand. It was one of the most bizarre things he had ever seen. His name was mere chicken scratch on the front of envelope, colored with red crayon and smelling faintly of mud and pond water. There was no return address. Only a name plainly (and messily) reading ‘Angelica’ with a purple splotch of color right next it. It bore a slight resemblance to a unicorn, only with stick-thin legs and a bulbous, pointy horn attached to the body of the abomination.

Big Mac sighed, figuring that he might as well take a gander at what was inside. For all he knew it could have been one of his younger, distant relatives who sent it. He tore off the folds of the envelope and retrieved the folded paper from within, which was surprisingly…in an even worse condition than the envelope itself. He put the messiness of the letter out of his mind and began slowly scanning its text. He found it frustrating to have to read such small and barely legible words, but all of his complaints were thrown far out of the window by the time he finished reading its concluding, appalling message.

“Oh mah’ word…”

~~~~~

“Angel! Lunchtime!” Fluttershy called out from the cottage kitchen.

Speeding through the house on feet of greased lightning, Angel Bunny zoomed from the living room into the kitchen and to the standing hooves of his pegasus caretaker. Fluttershy peered down at him and giggled sensationally.

“Wow, Angel! I’ve never seen you this excited for lunchtime before!” Fluttershy complimented his unexplainable behavior whilst rubbing his fluffy ears. He happily rubbed his head against his caretaker’s hoof, rapidly stamping his soft foot on the wooden floor to emphasize his enthusiasm for a good petting.

Fluttershy lowered a big, steaming bowl of carrots and various vegetables in front of her favorite animal. She rubbed his ears once more before gracefully trotting out of the kitchen and into the living room. All the while, the little bunny continued to hold a bright smile. His ears were trained on any background noise. He waited for the distinct sound of the cottage’s creaky stairs, followed by the groaning of a door’s hinges as it was closed.

Then, Angel Bunny sprang into action. He lifted his food bowl over his head and ran into the living room, throwing both himself and his bowl onto the soft, comfy couch, leaning back against one of the pillows with a smug grin on his white, cheeky face while he munched away on the greenery so effortlessly provided for him.

Now this was the life Angel had been waiting for. Not a life of selflessness towards his caretaker, but a life of luxury where he remained the top rabbit; the head honcho, the king of the cottage. Yes, it was a lonely life, what with every animal in the house living in perpetual fear underneath the bulk of his iron foot, but he had total control, and that’s all that mattered to him.

Of course, there were always exceptions, even in the most perfect societies. Remi, the vile rodent, was all that stood between him and dominance. But who was he to stop one such as Angel Bunny? One was cunning and the other was dimwitted. From what he heard lately, Remi was the newest object of ridicule amongst the creatures of the household, thanks to a violent outburst against one of the smaller animals that had occurred not too long ago. This gave Angel’s plan an even greater chance at success. Remi had no allies, and thus no one to turn to for help. He was now one less pawn in the way between him and a triumphant checkmate.

The real spectacle in his plan had yet to be revealed. Just one, little nudge in the right direction by a certain somepony was all that was needed. Ponyville will never be the same again.

Part 14

It didn’t make any sense. Receiving a letter from your supposed secret admirer only a short time after the wanting realization that is the hunt for love? Unless Lady Luck was content enough to smile down upon you, the odds are as astronomical as Luna’s night sky: big, dark, and impossible to reach.

The sky above Big Mac’s head had begun to shift through varying shades of orange and yellow, with the remaining blue ahead of him yielding to the daily cycles, and the furthest skies behind him transitioning into the early night. Tiny, very dim stars started to appear upon the face of the heavens as well.

The big red stallion didn’t know what to think at the moment. The sense of nervousness that befell him was more than evident, but it came in all sorts of flavors, and distinguishing one from the others by feel alone was impractical, as if he ever knew how to react to each one of them in the first place. Most common emotions were a bit of a puzzle to him. Besides being nervous, however, Big Mac was teeming with excitement, but meeting his secret admirer for the first time in his life required a calmer approach. Whoever she was, she may probably expect her date to act with at least some good manners. In respect to this, he put a cork on his easily-expressed enthusiasm.

The hilltop he was on gave way to a nice, expansive view over all of Ponyville. The view of the sun setting added on to it, though why his secret admirer couldn’t have just chosen the park or the town hall to meet up at was beyond him. Perhaps it was for the romantic setting, but if there was anything in the world Big Mac was more clueless about the concept and inner workings of love and ardor took the first place position on the champion’s stand.

However, he wasn’t completely clueless about love. It was a concept everypony learned when they were young. He remembers Granny Smith telling him about all of her wild coltfriend stories when he was only a few years old. He remembers each of them fondly, only because she would never, ever stop talking about them, no matter how silly or over-exaggerated they were. It was only when she got older did the stories finally cease to be told.

Celestia’s sun had nearly set over the distant horizon. He had been sitting up here for nearly an hour with a single daisy between his teeth and a heartbeat as speedy as an avid Wonderbolt. Where in Equestria could his secret admirer--?

“O-Oh my goodness!” The stallion suddenly heard a voice whisper behind him. “This…this can’t possibly be right! Can it?”

Astonished by what he had just heard, Big Mac quickly looked over his shoulder, his jaw nearly dropping like a dark matter rock when he noticed Equestria’s own Twilight Sparkle, standing on the edge of the hill reading from a rather dirty-looking scroll.

Twilight looked up from her note, causing Big Mac to gasp and look away. The startled and confused mare returned to her note, checking and rechecking every last detail with every symptom in the nervous category on her face as apparent as the stars above her. Several tense minutes went by, and after gathering her mind she took in a deep breath with her eyes closed and released it in a calming manner, sweeping one hoof out in front of her to provide her thoughts with a yoga-like gesture.

“It’s ok…it’s ok,” the unicorn whispered to herself as she softly stepped up to the top of hill. “Just do as the letter asked you to. No immediate reactions, no books. Just calm and collected…”

Big Mac looked as if he were on the verge on a nervous meltdown, though the exact same thing could be said for the mare approaching him.

Twilight Sparkle?

His secret admirer?

Impossible, he thought. Impossible to every end.

Never once had he nor anypony in Ponyville ever considered Twilight Sparkle, a bookworm with the brains of Equestria’s brightest, the romantic type, if ever one to even begin to study up on the concept of love. Granted, he didn’t know much about love to begin with, but if anything he knew more about it than her. He could feel the discomfort in the air. Neither he nor she had even the slightest idea as how to pull this off.

Twilight finally made it up the hill and sat down on the grass right beside him, their bodies only a mere foot apart from each other. The mare appeared tranquil and poised, staring off into the distance and watching as the immense star of life began its slow descent over the low peak. Big Mac on the other hoof could barely keep himself together on the inside, but he did find solace in a few…rather surprising details. He could faintly smell the trace scents of a sweet perfume in Twilight’s mane, like the kind Granny Smith puts on her coat by the gallons for special events. He grew to loathe the profane odor over time, but the mare beside him seemed to have gotten it just right. She had been preparing this meet up, which undoubtedly made him even more nervous.

The mind of the red stallion begged his lips to open and strike up a conversation, just to ease the highly uncomfortable tension in the air, but he ignored his inner self and turned to look ahead at the fading horizon alongside Twilight. It seemed that the questions in both of their minds were innumerable. This was more than apparent on their faces alone. Neither pony dared move a muscle as the last glimpse of the sun gave way to the coming night. The cicadas and awakening night owls brought with them ambience, which helped ease the stallion’s nerves a little. It was right there and then, after a drawn-out, peaceful sigh that Twilight suddenly produced a bouquet of assorted flowers, shoving them in front of Big Mac’s face with her magic without even so much as a glance at his face.

“H-Here…” murmured Twilight, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead. “These are for you.”

“Oh…” Big Mac spoke plainly, surprised by the commonplace romantic gift. He figured it was the other way around, where the stallion gifted the mare in order to gain her favor, but he supposed the principle could work if it was switched. “Thanks.”

He took the bouquet in his mouth and set on the ground at his hooves, returning his attention to the now blackened horizon. He decided to leave the daisy he had amongst them, feeling that it would confuse the mare and send her into a panic.

“So…” Twilight spoke up again with a forced, cheery tone in her voice. “How are you?”

“Ah’m…well,” Big Mac replied, remembering to use his one-tone-only voice. “How ‘bout you?”

“I’m…faring.”

“That’s… mighty nice.”

“Yeah…nice. Hehe…”

~~~~~

“Oh, what a lovely home you two have!” Tenderheart complimented after her winged daughter reappeared upstairs in the guest bedroom.

“Sorry. I had to feed Angel before he got cranky,” Fluttershy apologized from the doorway.

“Oh, it’s alright, dear. You have many animals here, all of them in need of your love and care.”

You arrive upstairs and move into the guest bedroom after having stopped to check the mail a few minutes ago. You weren’t in the best of moods, especially not after eyeing the ever-malicious bills that came in this morning. Still, you put on a smile and step up next to your wife, who smiled back at you upon hearing your hoofsteps beside her.

“I hope the place suits you,” you say as Tenderheart places her single piece of luggage onto the bed, which took up a sizable portion of the floor space.

“Sorry that it’s a bit…small,” Fluttershy continued. “It’s going to be the baby’s room, and we haven’t moved any of the furniture out yet.”

“Even better!” exclaimed Tenderheart with a smile. “It feels so cozy and comfortable. Just like home. I will most certainly enjoy my stay here.”

Suddenly, the three of you hear a triplet of knocks at the front door downstairs. Fluttershy perked up, what with it being in her nature to be easily startled.

“Oh? Who could that be?” asked Tenderheart, raising an eyebrow.

“I-I don’t know…” Fluttershy replied. “I wasn’t expecting anypony else today. It’s probably just one of my friends.”

“I’ll go see who it is,” you offer with a smile, trotting out of the door with haste in your step, making your way downstairs after passing by a familiar, lounging white bunny with a bulging stomach and a half-eaten carrot in one paw.

Upon opening the door, you were immediately shoved to the ground by an unknown force. Dazed, you could hear the frantic, nervous passing grunts and moans of a troubled pony nearby.

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!”

You immediately recognize the intruder by their voice as none other than your pink-maned boss, Nurse Redheart. Curious why she was here, you rise from the floor and scan for her whereabouts after rubbing away the pain you felt on the back of your head. Moments later, the frantic nurse speeds out of the kitchen, none of her features differing from the norm save an immensely nervous expression on her face.

“Redheart?” You say, catching the attention of the nurse across the room. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the hospital?”

“No!” Redheart harshly replied, sneering at you only for a moment. “W-Where’s Fluttershy? I need to talk to her. It’s important!”

You suddenly hear the cottage stairs creak under the light weight of a certain descending pony. Both you and Redheart turn towards the stairs and find Fluttershy, along with Tenderheart, conversing as they descended, their eyes focused on each other’s smiling faces.

“Finally…” Redheart sighed. “Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy gasped softly, turning to face the newcomer upon reaching the bottom.

“Redheart?” said Fluttershy, mildly surprised.

“Y-Yeah!” replied the nurse, putting on an inviting smile as she stepped towards her sister. “I just came to tell—“

“Redheart?” cooed Tenderheart from behind Fluttershy. The older mare stepped out from behind her daughter with her curious eyes wide. “Is that you, dear?”

Redheart stopped dead in her tracks, astonished by what she had just heard. Her gaze transitioned to Tenderheart’s face, her mouth now slightly agape.

“M…mother?” murmured Redheart.

Tenderheart smiled.

“Oh, dearie, it is you!” Tenderheart replied excitedly, rushing to her other daughter and enveloping her in a hug. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you!”

“I-I…I am too.” Redheart waited a few seconds before returning the hug, replacing her smile when her mother broke away.

“Oh my. You’ve grown since I last saw you!” Tenderheart exclaimed, looking over her daughter’s figure. Redheart chuckled lightheartedly.

“Yeah…” The nurse’s smile grew to appear more nervous and awkward as the happenings of her mother’s secret appearance continued to slowly sink in. She did her best to shake off her anxiety before continuing. “A-Anyway, what are you doing here?”

“Oh?” Tenderheart giggled playfully. “Can’t a mother pay an occasional visit to her grown-up sweethearts?”

Redheart looked away, embarrassed.

“I’m just messing around, dear. I’m actually moving into a new house, though unexpected events have kept me in a hotel for more than a week!”

Fluttershy stepped forward, smiling.

“I…umm, offered her to let her stay here until she gets moved in,” said Fluttershy. “We have a spare bedroom upstairs, so it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“Oh…alright,” said Redheart, striving to maintain a believable smile.

“W-Weren’t you about to tell me something earlier?”

“Oh…it was nothing,” Redheart sighed. “It was nothing…”

“I’ve been meaning to visit you during my stay here in Ponyville,” implied Tenderheart. “Though Fluttershy insisted that we wait because you seemed to be acting a little…strange lately.”

“Strange?” said Redheart, raising an eyebrow, her inner self frantic with worry. “I’m not…acting strange. Really!”

“A-Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?” Tenderheart frowned worryingly. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Fluttershy looked at you with a worried frown of her own.

“Didn’t you tell me earlier that she was upset about something?” asked Fluttershy. “Like really upset?”

“Everypony, I’m fine,” Redheart sighed. “Yes, it’s true, I’ve been having some…troubles lately, but they’re all work-related, just the usual grind at the hospital. Nothing more.”

Both you and Fluttershy looked to Tenderheart, who questionably rubbed her chin with a hoof whilst pensively staring at her daughter. It seemed as if she shared the same traits with Fluttershy too, delivering not just her strikingly beautiful looks, but her intelligent, scrutinous concern for others that caused her to examine the ones she cared for from every angle to be absolutely certain that they were alright.

“Hmm…well, alright. I’ll take your word for it, dear. We’ll leave it at that.”

“Thank you,” Redheart sighed.

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Tenderheart then turned to Fluttershy with a smile, in turn replacing her daughter’s frown with its inversion.

“I don’t suppose you have any tea, dearie?” asked Tenderheart.

“Oh, of course! All kinds!” replied Fluttershy. She turned tail and started off towards the kitchen. “Have a seat on the couch if you want. I’ll go get some started for the four of us and then--”

Just then, a loud, rumbling burp rose up from the furnishing’s general direction. Caught off guard by the strangely thunderous belch, the four of you turn and stare at the sight of Angel Bunny, his beady eyes wide and his belly rumbling while his cheeks turned red with embarrassment. You join the relative triplet in a fit of good-mannered laughter, completely oblivious to the sound of the front door creaking shut.

~~~~~

And such were the ways of being a ferret. Clever, but powerless to all but the smallest of creatures. After viewing the arrival of his caretaker’s mother-in-law, he felt relieved knowing that the presence of a buffer to Angel’s plan would aid both of his caretakers, but she won’t be here for long, and not even he knows when the plans of that fierce, white rabbit will be set in motion.

Remi’s blood had been at a boil for days, and the fires of anger inside of him only continued to burn away as he stomped heatedly away from the cottage front door, traversing over the small wooden bridge and turning a blind, disrespectful eye to any creature or crawler that so much as looks at him funny.

That pompous, fat rabbit, he thought. Just sitting there on the couch without a single smidgen of caring sense for what is to soon befall his own caretaker. That poor mare…

Fluttershy is the sweetest, most caring pony he had ever known, and they both knew it. Her heart was like solid gold, and the care she put into each and every animal she met had no equivalent to come by. She was the pinnacle of all things nice. Only a tragedy could bring her down…sadly, Angel is just that.

A little, white bunny hell-bent on remaining the unrivaled king of the animals. Such a fruitless task of little reasonable purpose paved with emotional suffering on a titanic scale.

One could only turn to guessing as to what lay behind that face of white. What sort of dreams could sustain such visions of cruelty?

Part 15

Something bigger was going on, Remi believed with a strong thought process accumulated in power over his weeks of observing his ex-friend’s behavior. Angel’s motives were perfect, as harsh as they were, but some things just did not seem to add up. He knew Fluttershy had a sister, learning this only through eavesdropping on remote conversations that occurred in the living room between his two caretakers, but had never actually seen her until just nearly an hour ago. She appeared very worried about something, maybe even scared. To what he could recall, Redheart was not a part of Angel’s original plan for cottage-wide domination.

…or was she?

That bunny was as full of secrets as he was full of shameless immorality! He needed good, hard evidence to convince his caretakers that the vile ingrate would be better off somewhere more suited for a monster of his type. The Everfree Forest looked quite nice this time of year. He would get along well with all things small, defenseless, and half-eaten by timber wolves. Remi’s face was so red with anger that steam could practically shoot out of his ears at any minute. Where Angel was going there were no fields of golden carrots as far as the eye as could see. Remi could do nothing but think about Angel’s torturous ways of mental manipulation and just how vile they were as he approached Ponyville’s homely medical center.

He arrived at the twin glass doors of the front entrance after justice had been served in the form of a wild daydream consisting of a boiling cauldron and an audience of hungry owls. Usually he would just slip underneath any doors he had to move past, but these doors had no such bottom crevice, not like it was a problem, anyway. He managed to let himself in by carefully slipping one paw through the separating slit and obtaining a grip on the other side, pulling one door open and quickly slithering inside.

Not wanting to cause a panic, although the main lobby was bare-bones empty at this time of night, he hugged the walls and moved lowly along the floor. When it was in range, he found that nopony was crewing the front desk. A quick inspection underneath it, as well as down both hallways that branched off further into the building nearby, gave him the assurance that he was all alone. He sharpened his senses just in case and then went to work.

He darted back to the front desk and scurried up the legs of the rolling chair behind it, leaping onto the desktop from the birth of the chair seat. The whole of the workspace was neat and tidy. Even the pens, each topped with some sort of fake flower, were arranged in a perfect row in a holster off to the side. Folders bulging with patient records, and even various amusing knickknacks were in their own tidy arrangements as well. He hunched over, aggravated knowing that he wasn’t going to find the dirt he needed among this spotless wooden landscape.

Just then, a partially opened desk drawer caught his attention. A ray of hope was left after all! He climbed down from the desk and pushed hard against the chair closer to where he needed to be before allowing his nimble physique to take him back up. With both paws, he gripped the drawer handle and pulled hard, opening the compartment with ease. He held no intention of wasting time for the sake of wanting to bring Angel to justice. He climbed inside and found himself standing amongst a firm pile of various portions of junk paper and empty tubes of lipstick and hoof polish. He growled under his breath, crossing his arms in distaste.

What a mess, he thought. Would it kill someone to move just a few extra inches to the left to properly reach the waste bin?

With a hefty sigh he commenced digging, plowing through the debris and tossing out whatever hindered his progress. Besides the fossilized make-up casings and papers jam-packed with faded doodles, probably the product of one really bored desk clerk made several years ago, he kept his spirits bright with hopeful insights for the future, just like in his most recent of pleasant dreams that he often kept on a mental standby.

It would be wintertime again, with pillow-soft snow falling outside of the warm, cozy cottage and occasionally tapping against the window to then melt and trail alongside their brethren to the landscape below. He himself would be curled up in front of a roaring fireplace while his caretakers, more than happy to have gone through with their decision, would be cradling their newborn on the couch. He would not care for the attention the little one received, for he would feel happy enough knowing the ones who loved him were happy as they were. Then, should one of his fellow animals ask, he could rightfully respond with ‘What bunny?’

Yes…what bunny? Remi grinned deviously. A malevolent thought indeed, but well deserved.

Remi had reached the back of the drawer, and was still without even the weakest sort of convincing evidence to prove that Angel was behind Redheart’s sudden influx of gloom while common in Fluttershy’s family, as far as he knew, was taking things way too far. He had emptied the whole compartment, leaving a tall pile of rubbish just outside, yet there was still no sign of any sort of special document he could use to put an end to this, like a note, a planner, or maybe even…a photograph.

The little detective suddenly recalled seeing a large, blue binder on the desktop above with the words ‘Hospital Memories’ scrawled onto the plastic spine in black marker. He was not about to let his flame die out just yet. Ignoring both the mess and, temporarily, his manners, he quickly climbed out of the drawer and scampered to the surface. It did not take him long to find what he was looking for. To him, the album weighed as much as a sack of lead potatoes with all that it held within its folds, but a worthy bit of force from his lean figure aided him in dragging it to the center and laying it down gently on its side.

Upon opening the cover, he was greeted immediately by a large picture of all the hospital staff including the doctors, surgeons, nurses, and a few fillies wearing junior nurse caps who were all lined up in curved rows that spanned the length of the hospital lobby where they stood. He found Redheart smack in the middle of the crowd alongside her colleagues. Something about her smile told Remi that she hasn’t aged a day. It disappointed him greatly knowing that such an innocent mare was the unfortunate victim of Angel’s ailments.

The pages that followed displayed tedious, but otherwise heartwarming photos of patients, bedridden or otherwise, smiling alongside the ones that took care of them and kept them comfortable in this sanctuary. What surprised him was the fact that Redheart was included every one of them. One picture in particular was too adorable for common words. It displayed Redheart standing beside a bed in the colorful space of the children’s ward, sharing a hug with a young, orange-coated filly with a bandaged foreleg. What was he looking at? A photo album or a dummy’s guide to tear-jerking?

Much page-flipping ensued afterward. He sped through each photo, some cheerful, some depressing, but this wasn’t the time to get all mopey. Before he knew it he was at the back of the book and still without the material he so desperately needed. Frustrated, he lifted the back cover and prepared to slam it down when, at the last moment, he caught eye of a slip of paper taped onto the back of the last page, hidden from first-glancing view. Curious, he set the cover down and carefully peeled the tape away, retrieved it, and flipped it over.

He was not prepared for what he saw, and his whole world suffered for it.

~~~~~

“That. Was. Disastrous!” Twilight moped after returning to the library later that night. She slammed the door hard behind her as she walked in, startling Owlowiscious from his perch in the library proper, who greeted his horned caretaker with an all-too common coo that continued to puzzle all who tried conversing with him, though some part of Twilight’s extensive collection of knowledge seemed to know what he was talking about.

“Sorry, Owlowiscious.” Twilight apologized. The simple owl responded with another coo and then proceeded to preen his feathers.

“Spiiike!” Twilight called out while going to hang her saddlebags.

The pitter-patter of sharp claws on hardwood signaled the baby dragon’s approach. Spike sluggishly walked down the stairs, yawning and stretching his arms behind his back. A pink towel was wrapped around his scaly head, and the heavy scent of herbal bath mix quickly filled the room. He stopped halfway down, scratching his back and turning to face the goaded mare.

“Can’t a dragon get a little sleep every once in a while?” Spike asked, yawning again.

“Did you fall asleep in the bathtub again?”

“Probably…” Spike mumbled, removing the towel from the top of his head and using it to wipe his face.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I’ll just sleep down here tonight…right after I finish studying.” Twilight sighed, starting off towards her writing desk with the hopes of a cure from her disconcerting infirmities to arise from the pensive-to-paper workings of Clover the Clever and her marvelous studies on concealment spells.

“Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!” Spike’s grogginess vanished in the blink of an eye after he tossed his towel aside and hurried down the stairs and up to Twilight’s side. “How’d it go? Was it everything you hoped it would be?”

“Of course not!” Twilight snapped, staring him down. “It was one of the worst dates I’ve ever been on in my entire life!”

“Geez, Twi’…” Spike took a few minor steps back. “Sorry for asking…and I think you’ve only been on one date.”

“And it’ll be the last one I ever go on!” Twilight stormed over to her bookshelf and tore a small stack of books right off the nearest shelf. She slammed them down on the writing desk, once again startling Owlowiscious, picked one out and began reading, burying her furrowed brow and uptight cheeks deep within the sheets of ink and venerable parchment. “And that’s that!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can’t just give up that quickly. ”

“I already have, Spike,” Twilight spoke sternly.

“It couldn’t have been that bad.” Spike waved off Twilight’s hasty decision. “What happened out there?”

“Nothing.”

“Err…nothing?”

“Nothing. At. All.” Twilight lifted her head, still very much grumpy. “You should’ve just seen me out there, Spike. I just sat around like an inconsiderate foal while Big Mac made several attempts to move closer to me for some reason and—“

The sudden mention of the red stallion caused Spike to gasp with astonishment.

“Big Mac? As in AJ’s big brother? That Big Mac?” He asked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight went wide-eyed, and her cheeks were beet red in moments. She covered her mouth in embarrassment before then trying to conceal her face again only to be suddenly grabbed by the shoulder and spun around in her seat.

“C’mon, Twi! Spill the beans!” Spike shook his fists in excitement. “Was it really Big Mac you went on a date with? Huh? Huh?!”

“I-I…w-well, yes and no, err…maybe! Yes, maybe!” Her facial temperature soared, and Twilight knew there was going no getting out of this one, let alone the eventual questionings born of the gossip soon to follow should the word get out. A stern talking-to could keep anypony’s cake socket sealed shut for a few hours, or a day is she was lucky. She still had so much to research on the cosmic puzzle that is love as well as dating techniques, and it hasn’t even been a full day since her first date, which was a failure from the very beginning. She feared that if the word reached Big Mac he may never want to go out with her again, and only Celestia knows what would happen if Applejack picked it up.

“Hey, you feelin’ alright, Twilight?” Spike asked, pointing to the student’s rosy, stretched cheeks and dismissive stare off into space. Having noticed this, Twilight sat up tall and cleared her throat, which thankfully did the trick in pushing aside her young fears of what was meant to be a field study turned complicated relationship.

“Spike,” Twilight plainly started, staring down at him. In his mind, Spike geared up for another lengthy, boring lecture about secrecy and the importance of a balanced friendship, but was surprised to discover that his ears were laden with only two words of well-aged, solid wisdom that seemed to have worked in every troubling situation personal or private since the birth of Equestria itself…and the art of lying.

“Tell. Nopony.”

Part 16

“Oh, you should tell everypony, darlin’!” Granny Smith exclaimed from her rocking chair before Big Mac in the parlor room of the farmhouse.

“Hush, Granny!” Big Mac swiftly retorted in a sharp whisper after cupping a hoof over the old timer’s mouth. Angered, Granny Smith slapped his hoof away.

“Don’chu tell me to hush now!” She leaned back and chuckled while the stallion rubbed his hoof. “Oh mah’ stars! Mah’ own youngin’s got himself a little love interest!”

Not a soul in Ponyville was to know about it, but thanks to his own idiocy, Big Mac’s secret admirer letter, which he had left on a table in the parlor by mistake, put his whole future at stake. Now that Granny Smith, probably Equestria’s most untrustworthy source of information on love since the invention of the dating service, had a hold of it, he feared the word would reach all of Ponyville in a matter of days. The letter was literally just out of his reach with the old coot herself reading it over and over again before her dimly-colored eyes with a big grin on stretching from both sides of her wrinkly face.

“…Granny? Can we just—“

“Let tha’ family know that there’s gonna be another apple on the tree in a year er’ two? Well sure thing!”

“No, Granny! Ah’ wanna keep this secret-like!”

“Now why would ya’ wanna go an’ do that, honey? Ah’ don’t see Applejack puttin’ her eye on any stallions lately,” the old mare chuckled, nudging him on the shoulder. “Maybe you can git’ ahead in tha’ competition!”

“This ain’t no contest, Granny. This is serious!”

“Well of course it’s serious, darlin’! It’s about time somepony took an interest in ya’! Yer just wastin’ away in the orchards all day with barely a soul or two knowin’ ya’ still exist.”

Frustrated, Big Mac swiped the letter from Granny’s hooves and moved towards the front door.

“Where ya’ goin’, darling?”

“Ah’m goin’ for a walk,” Big Mac plainly replied.

“A walk, eh?” Granny Smith raised an eyebrow, smirking cheekily. “Oooh, ah’ see now! Off ta’ find tha’ lucky lady, right?”

“No. Just ta’…clear mah’ head is all,” Big Mac opened the door and slowly walked out.

“Be sure ta’ flaunt them strong legs of yours! Whoo we! All tha’ girls used ta’ love that when I was younger! Why, I remember doin’ it myself when I met this nice--”

Maybe if legs were the main attraction in the eyes of today’s mares, I just might understand, thought Big Mac as he closed the door behind him. He could still hear Granny Smith ramble on about her younger, more…awkward years. He rolled his eyes and strolled over to a metal trashcan nearby and lifted its lid, taking one last meaningful look at the letter before dropping it in.

The morning he awoke to just an hour earlier was as pleasant as always. He left for town with a lot on his mind. A lot to rejoice in…and regret.

“A storm’s a-brewin’…ah’ just know it.”

~~~

Snoring, snoring, and more snoring. Could a morning in a library be any lazier than this? What was strange about it was that it wasn’t coming from a certain resident dragon slumping down the stairs in his blue-spotted pajamas, but rather from an unconscious unicorn whose drooling, open mouth heaved like a snorting pig among a pile of messy books on her writing desk.

“Mornin’, Twi…” Spike yawned, stretching his arms and tail on his way to the kitchen. Receiving no reply, he turned and admired the state of his studious friend. When he saw that Twilight was out cold, he sighed, strolled over to her, and gave her as firm smack on the back of the head. “Twi! Wake up!”

“Gagh!” Twilight screamed, nearly leaping out of her seat in shock. “Wha? Huh? What is it?”

“Geez, sleep much, Twi?” Spike pointed to a puddle of icky saliva near the books. Alarmed, Twilight swiped her precious books with their irreplaceable pages of valuable text off her desk and set them aside. The sight of her own drool was nothing new to her, nor had it been since her early years as Celestia’s student, and cleaning it up over the years soon became a sort of routine chore for her.

“Uggh, what time is it…” Twilight groaned while she levitated a clean cloth out from one of the desk drawers and proceeded to wipe up the disgusting spittle.

“Err…afternoon…ish.”

“Perfect…just perfect,” Twilight tossed the now dirty rag aside and planted her forehead on the desktop.

Unsure of what to do himself, Spike’s stomach gave him the answer with a deep, gurgling growl. He turned and resumed his trek towards the kitchen.

“Uggh, I’m starving! I haven’t a thing to eat in…a little over an hour.”

“Help yourself, Spike,” Twilight lazily replied while rubbing her temples in frustration.

“I’m getting a ruby sundae. You want anything while I’m in the kitchen, Twi?”

Impossible, thought Twilight. It was impossible for such a commonplace subject to be this difficult to understand. Love was everywhere, literally! Quite so in fact, what with all the romantic adaptations of books, movies, poems, and even spells easily accessible by the general public. She even once considered using a spell to enhance her knowledge of love, but its effects would only be temporary, and whatever knowledge she gained from it wouldn’t remain with her forever like most of Equestria’s couples. Besides…she also considered it cheating, one of the few things in the world she despised with every part of her being. There was no hope for her, she feared. Not a single paragraph in any of her books could explain to her the identifiable cameos of love’s open source of knowledge. She couldn’t blame them though. Not even on her first date did anything feel natural.

“Wait…” Twilight murmured to herself, lifting her head as if she felt the potential onset of clarity coming into view. “Feel natural…natural…” Suddenly, she gasped, a moment of eureka striking her square in the brain. “That’s it! Spiiike!”

The little dragon was just inches away from the lid of a tub of cold, sugary ice cream when he was summoned by Twilight’s voice. Grumbling, he put the ice cream back in the kitchen freezer in annoyance and rushed back into the parlor.

“Yeah, Twi?” He replied unamusedly, but was then thrown to the floor by the impact of a roll of parchment and an ink well slamming him in the chest. He moaned with a tinge of pain when he rose up from the floor, rubbing the back of his head before sighing with dread when he saw and felt a quill pen delicately land on top of his head like the ends to so many comical climaxes.

“Take a letter, Spike,” Twilight smiled. “Address it to Royal Castle in Canterlot!”

“What for?” asked Spike, slowly unrolling the parchment and dipping the tip of his pen in the ink.

“Don’t you see, Spike? I’ve been missing something all along! Something that I can’t learn from all these books here in the library!”

“And that would be?” Spike asked, genuinely curious to know.

“Well…I’m not entirely sure what it is, but I definitely know how to find it!”

“Really? That’s great new, Twilight!” Spike smiled.

“Yes it is, Spike! What I’m looking for is right in the heart of the royal archives!”

“…say again?” Spike asked, bemused.

“In the Canterlot Royal Archives, Spike,” Twilight giggled. “What I’m looking for isn’t in any of the books we have here. If anywhere, the answer to all my problems has got to be over there!”

A scaly, ashamed palm landed on Spike’s forehead. He frowned and hung his head low, disappointed in his ever-so clueless pony friend.

“Twi, I know you’re dedicated to learning this stuff and all, but like I tried to say before nopony in Equestria can just study—!“

“Not now, Spike. I’m on the verge of a great discovery here! It just might alter the very structure of pony interaction itself! Who knows what I might uncover!”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Spike mumbled to himself while Twilight smiled herself silly.

“Ready, Spike?”

“As I’ll ever be…”

“Great! Let’s get started!” Twilight cleared her throat and began pacing from left to right to help straighten out her thought process. “Greetings Board of the Royal Equestrian Archives…actually, wait. Let me start over.”

~~~

Curious animals from all edges of the cottage gathered around a tall stack of cardboard boxes tucked away in a corner of the living room. A few of them remained open and emptied on the living room floor, where the smallest of Equestria’s furry critters scurried up, around, in and about them. The front door suddenly opens, catching their attention, and causing them to scurry away as a muscle-bound delivery pony carries in another hefty box, slamming it down on the floor next to the other ones.

“Oh my!” says Tenderheart, looking over the pile of boxes while Fluttershy signs a number of pages on a clipboard procured by the beefed-up stallion. “What is all this for?”

“Just the baby stuff we ordered,” You say, strolling into the living room after checking up on the resident animals outside.

“Baby stuff?” Tenderheart scans the pile from top to bottom. “Good heavens. There certainly is a lot of it.”

“We’ll be keeping it all down here for now until you can get back home. We just have to make sure none of the animals play around it or accidentally break anything until then.”

After Fluttershy signed the last of the papers, the delivery pony smiles and sends a subtle nod of thankfulness her way before taking his leave.

“I-I could just sleep down here if you want while you assemble everything in the baby’s room,” Tenderheart offers, catering to her daughter’s similarities with a worried frown.

“Oh, nonono!” Fluttershy speaks up in a hurry, stepping to her mother’s side, laying a hoof on her shoulder and giving her a warm smile. “That won’t do at all! You stay as long as you need. I’m not even…well, you know.”

“W-Well, if you insist…but surely there must be something I could--!”

“Mother, it’s fine,” Fluttershy glances over at you. “We can take care of everything.”

“Yeah! The only thing you have to do is relax for a few days until you get moved in at your new house. Simple!” You say with enthusiasm.

“Oh, dearie,” Tenderheart sat down, staring at Fluttershy. “I can’t just stay here under your kindness and generosity and not be expected to give anything back.”

“B-But…I learned it all from—“ Fluttershy starts.

“No buts, dearie,” Tenderheart interrupts, smiling. “I won’t stay if I can’t repay you for your hospitality, especially on the short notice I so impolitely arrived with. I’m your mother, dear. I can easily handle whatever needs to be done around here.”

“But…”

And thus, ‘The Stare’ was initiated, though in a much more toned down version direct from the birthmother of the champion herself. The grown mare’s eyes were not widened, and her facial features lacked the disturbing scowl of pure revulsion that was meant to drive any sort of animal, or even any sort of pony, to such otherworldly levels of drone-like obedience that made Fluttershy’s very thoughts command the unfortunate gazer and dictate their every move. However, it was a stern look nonetheless, perhaps the sternest in all of Equestria, leaving Fluttershy to finally take the hint and cease with her worrying. She hid her face behind her mane in a bid of minor shame, causing her mother to smile, break the stare, and pull her into a warm hug. She smiled back at her and hugged her back, breaking it when an unseen clock somewhere in the room began to chime loudly.

“Oh, it’s past lunch time!” Fluttershy gasps, referring to an important time of day with her senses alone. “Those poor animals. They still need to be fed!“

“You leave that up to me, dearie.” Tenderheart speaks up, already on her way to the kitchen. “I’m sure I can…figure something out. It’s just vegetables, isn’t it? Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Oh, w-wait! Some of them have specific diets and…uhh…oh pony feathers.” Fluttershy squeaks and shies away, turning to face you. “I’m…gonna go in there and give her a helping hoof. Would you mind going out and rounding up Angel and Remi? Angel’s in the garden if I remember right, and I think Remi may be somewhere nearby. Probably up in that tree he likes to climb so much. You remember the one, right?”

You nod in approval, smiling at her assuringly. “Of course,” you reply, nuzzling her on the cheek. She giggles softly, blushing while she returns your gesture with a dainty, but always-meaningful peck of her lips. You kiss her back and head for the front door, opening it and stepping through to the rays of the sun outside and the twitter of local songbirds.

“Now, where could those two rascals be?” You ask yourself, beginning your search of the cottage grounds.

~~~

Oh how tempting a simple mould of green-colored glass and decades-old craftsmanship could be when put to the awaiting lips of various crowds of ponies. Redheart idly fumbled around with a half-empty bottle of wine she kept in a locked drawer at the hospital front desk, but found its alluring presence to be nowhere near as satisfactory as she had hoped it would be. She figured she could swallow her sadness with a swig of fine wine, but something in her mind made her feel more degraded than she was already for having even considered such a lewd thought. Bits do not buy happiness. Sighing, she stowed the bottle in its drawer and locked it away, tossing the key aside and laying her head down on the desk top.

She had known no moment of peace ever since the news of her sister’s future plans for a pregnancy were broken to her by an anonymous letter she received that fateful morning. The magnitude of the news made her recall every detail. Partially crumbled and covered in what appeared to be a matted mixture of dirt and food stains, a poorly written note, mostly composed of erratic scribbles, foretold of her dear sister’s future plans to start a family and just how excited she was about her decision. What sealed the deal on its legitimacy was an attached picture of her dear sister and her signature at the bottom of the scrambled mess of a letter, which Redheart assumed was the fault of Ponyville’s resident delivery mare whose clumsiness had yet to find an equal. It was a proud, dedicated moment for the gentle pegasus, her sister, the sweetest in all of Equestria. How could she not be happy?

…well, she couldn’t be happy. Not for the life of her she could show even the slightest bit of excitement for her. As shown by her past outburst towards Fluttershy’s lover, Redheart was more fearful for her one and only sister than anything else in the world, though even she felt that she was overdoing it a little. Fluttershy had never been this happy in all her life. Things were going well for her, and as her sister it was just plain rude to not feel happy for her as a result.

She needed to know what happiness felt like again; otherwise she’ll only turn to be another dull statistic in the hidden world of weary souls. Her photo album was only a short reach away, and within it lays a memory; a special memory, forever frozen in a single stance on the face of a square sheet of photography paper. If there were anything in all the world that brought her more happiness other than the sight of her beloved sister, it was the memory in the middle of that aged sheet of white print. By the time she was convinced she could surpass her sorrowful phase, she was already flipping hastily through the spiral-bound book, eager, whilst managing a short smile, to be reminded of just how happy she once was, back when her position as a nurse meant more than just sorting files and…delivering babies.

However, when she reached the back of the album, her fragile emotional state was hit with a crushing, costly blow.

“It’s not here…” Redheart whispered, beginning to whimper out of shock. “No…nonono! It’s not here! It’s not here! No! Please no!”

The pages of the album turned as fast as her hooves could flip them. Time and time again she scoured the book’s innards, all the while denying that the loss of her only remaining memorial. Desperate after the fifth pass, she started to tear entire pages out, throwing them to the floor in a fit of rage and overwhelming sadness. She was hyperventilating out of shock throughout the entirety of the ordeal. But, no matter how many times she murmured prayers to Celestia under her breath, she was soon left to face the seemingly endless list of ill-fated facts.

“It’s gone…it’s really gone.”

Like the eye of a hurricane, Redheart fell calm as the unbearable winds inside her were reduced to a gentle breeze; a period where her mind was capable of producing reasonable thought. A more alien sensation than usual.

“Calm yourself, nursey. Calm yourself…” Redheart murmured, shivering while looking over the damage she had caused, eyeing page filled with past memories of her friends and the ones she so deeply cared for in her service. “M-Maybe you just misplaced it somewhere. You’ll find it…yes, you’ll surely find it soon. N-No need to panic…”

Redheart looked up at a nearby wall clock, noting the number of hours left in her shift and the common emptiness her day was usually left with where the hospital lobby was all but full of visitors. She could not recall there being any sort of scheduled appointments today either, which left her with some time to kill before she could clock out. Surely my manager wouldn’t mind if I took just a short walk through town to clear my head, she thought after leaving a note on her desk revealing her whereabouts and strolling out the medical center with an aim to retrieve her forgotten peace of mind.

Part 17

The interior of the cottage was swarming with the resident animals within minutes. Tenderheart somehow managed to keep up with the pace, whipping up fairly simple vegetarian dishes with the accordance and aid provided by none other than Fluttershy herself. She didn’t even flinch at the sight of commonly known predators when they skulked into the living room with growling stomachs. More or less, she enjoyed their company, taking the opportunity, and the adorable, dog-like tongue licks she received as sufficient payment for her effort.

In all the years you have been together, you have never seen Fluttershy work at such a feverish pace. The seemingly-gentle pegasus barreled through orders necessary for proper animal nutrition, excluding meat of course. She gave the primary meat-eaters a special substitute of her own creation prepared for their respective species. When had anypony ever seen a fully-grown grizzly bear devour a giant rice cake rather than something more or less…living, like a deer or a rabbit? To what you could recall, never.

“Oh! H-Hey there, dear!” Fluttershy exclaims after just now noticing that you had returned while she clumsily walked into the crowded living room with a tableware platter on her back. “Did you find Angel and Remi yet?”

“Sorry, Fluttershy,” you apologize. “I searched high and low. I couldn’t find those two anywhere!”

“Angel and Remi?” says Tenderheart, following Fluttershy out of the kitchen while wiping her brow with a clean rag. “Who are they? More friends of yours, dearie?”

“Oh yes! They were our first real pets! Angel is mine, and Remi belongs to him,” Fluttershy smiles, gesturing between the two of you. “Angel is a white bunny. I’ve had him as long as I can remember. And Remi is a long ferret, kinda playful. Did you happen to see them anywhere?”

“A…ferret?” Tenderheart raises an eyebrow, confused. “I’m…not sure what a ferret looks like, dear. I’m not too keen like you are when it comes to exotic animals.”

“Oh…”

“But if you’re looking for a certain white bunny…” Tenderheart giggles, turning to expose her side. “Then look no further!”

Both you and Fluttershy shared a fit of good-natured laughter when you discovered Angel’s plump, little self snoozing and snoring on Tenderheart’s back. His furry belly was stained a light orange, leading to no other conclusion but the one you had in mind from the start.

“I found this little guy in the pantry a few minutes ago,” Tenderheart continued, stifling her giggles whilst carefully setting Angel on the soft living room rug. “He has quite the appetite!”

Suddenly, Fluttershy felt something tug at her front left hoof. Everypony’s gaze was redirected to the attention of slender female squirrel with slightly matted red fur. Grey bags were visible under her eyes, and she slumped over as if she had yet to have a good night’s rest for days.

“Oh! Hello there, Melina!” Fluttershy chirps, bending down to greet the withered rodent with a warm smile. “How are the little ones doing, hmm?”

“Little ones?” You and Tenderheart say in unison, briefly glancing at each other afterward.

“Oh, yes! Melina here gave birth to triplets a few days ago. She hasn’t left the cottage since, and she only comes out into the open when she’s hungry.”

The mention of food catches the attention of the young mother. She tugs harder on Fluttershy’s hoof while giving her a pleading stare.

“Aww…” Tenderheart coos. “That’s adorable!”

Fluttershy picks a few large vegetable leaves from one of the bowls on her platter and passes them down to the squirrel, who smiles and scurries away towards a corner of the room near the fireplace sheltered by a layer of tiny patchwork blankets.

“Would you like to see them?” asks Fluttershy, rising up.

“See who, dearie?”

“The babies of course!” Fluttershy replies. “Oh, they’re just wonderful! They’re only a few days old, but they’re sooo cute!”

“Oh, of course, dearie! I’ve never seen a…well, come to think of it, I’ve never seen the babies of any land animal before!” Tenderheart’s wings jitter with excitement for a moment. “This should be quite the delight!”

“Alright, but be very careful. Stay close to me and don’t make any sudden movements. We don’t want to startle her when we get up close,” Fluttershy cautions as she leads the three of you towards the corner. Carefully stepping past various sizes of animal all taking a breather after a hearty meal, you all finally reach the nest of the woodland community’s newest members. After giving the signal to remain silent, Fluttershy instructs both you and Tenderheart to duck down low while she slowly but surely lifts up one of the blankets, pouring light into a small, darkened chamber and revealing the three little infants curled up together in a tight circle, fast asleep while their mother harmlessly nibbles on one of her vegetable leaves, keeping close vigil over her young ones.

“Aren’t they just the cutest?” Fluttershy whispers, sharing the peaceful moment beside her own mother. Melina, as you trusted Fluttershy had named it, didn’t seem to mind the company, but scooted closer to her newborns as a precaution.

“They’re adorable, dearie!” Tenderheart excitedly whispered back. “Oh, I wonder what it would feel like to hold one of these little cuties!”

“I could try…but she wouldn’t like that,” Fluttershy responds, watching as the mother squirrel carefully steps over her pint-sized infants and inspects their calm faces.

“Looks like that’ll be you in a year or so, yes?” Tenderheart giggles.

“I can’t possibly handle triplets, mother!” Fluttershy giggles back, recovering the squirrel shelter and rising from the floor. “Just…one for me, thank you.”

“It’s at least good to know I’ll be getting a grandchild soon.”

“I think you’ll be waiting quite a while, mother. You…do remember that I’m not--?”

“Yes, yes, dearie. I know. I remember. Speaking of which, do you remember Floral Breeze? Your old babysitter?”

“Floral Breeze?!” Fluttershy grins, turning to face Tenderheart. “Oh, yes! I adored her when I was younger!”

“You did, didn’t you?” Tenderheart smiled. “In fact, just a few weeks ago, she was over for tea and she shared with me the strangest story…”

You were drawn away from the girl’s conversation with the startling realization that the noise in the cottage had suddenly died down to normal levels. You turn and look around to find that most of the animals had already vacated the living room, leaving the smaller residents to go about their day as usual within the comfort of the cottage walls.

Thinking of one animal in particular, you recall that you still had neither eye nor ear’s sense as to Remi’s whereabouts. You were starting to get worried sick about him, your beloved pet of many years was suddenly nowhere to be seen for several days at a time. He was a smart ferret, but you hoped that wherever he ran off to was someplace safe.

~~~~~

I know I had it right there! Right there! In the back of the book! I know it was supposed to be there! thought Redheart as she nervously trotted through the various districts of Ponyville.

That photo meant…so much to me…where could it have gone? I can’t take this anymore. I just can’t!

A pony’s mood is weighed in smiles, as Pinkie Pie once told Redheart during a visit to the hospital’s children’s ward one warm summer day. She herself wasn’t smiling much that day, and she sure wasn’t smiling now. Her whole life was a mess and her fiber of her body teemed with worry. A dark cloud of the ill feeling loomed over her head, its ilk falling like rain. Positivity was but a figment that not even the world’s greatest pleasures could return to her. All she had was its shadow as it fell behind her, joy for her sister’s next big step in life as fleeting as the wind. Her job wasn’t much of a discussion piece, but the things she had seen in her lifetime were enough to fully categorize pain itself, physical or mental.

She ambled through the fairly-busy market district like an aimless fly, not even the sweet scent of freshly-picked flowers or exotic fruits to tame the feelings inside her. Every so often somepony would turn their head and curiously eye her restless expression. Clearly, some of them knew her, be they a long-time friend or just a one-time face in the hospital lobby. She paid no attention to their stares and went on, her clouded mind having been long adrift.

This is hopeless. I am hopeless. I’ll never find that picture…

Redheart looked up.

I just don’t understand. What did I do to deserve to feel such—

Then, out from behind one of the buildings ahead, Redheart noticed a bulky, red stallion trudge out into view and take a turn into the market district. In descriptive favor to the average mare, he looked to be everything one could imagine: Tall, strong, and strikingly handsome from his straw-like hairdo to his muscular neck. At first glance, one might expect such a stud to strike a pose and bath in the sea of fainted mares soon to follow like so many comical movie scenes.

Alas, Big Macintosh, while full within the description, was not that kind of pony. He was Ponyville’s own Shy Sebastian.

Redheart was mortified by his presence.

…pain.

Redheart slowly backed away, suddenly catching the attention of Big Mac, who, when his eyes met with hers, jolted in shock. He watched with a strange sort of disbelief in his eyes as the mare began mumbling to herself before suddenly turning and fleeing down the street.

Redheart did not know how far she ran before her legs started to hurt. Every muscle in her body ached with pain, but she continued to charge on, determined to get as far away from Ponyville as possible. She sped past carts and passing ponies without even the slightest care for social decency. She sped past the hospital and even cursed it under her breath.

I’ve had enough of this! Redheart thought angrily, intermixing it with grief. I just can’t take it anymore! I just…can’t! I have to be there for her, just to make sure! Just to make sure!

The humble woodland home of her dearest sister was the only sanctuary she knew of where her past could not follow her. After what she had been through, all of Ponyville was dead to her now, at least that’s how her mind felt towards it. The hospital where her once most treasured memories were made was nothing but the root of all her problems; where they began…and where have yet to end.

She came to a traveler’s junction and took the main path that led to the front door of her sister’s cottage, slowing to a stop upon arrival. It was like nothing had changed about it even through all these years. The birds sang and the bees paid a visit to every flower in the vicinity, while the squirrels and chipmunks went about their business of food-collecting as per usual, squeaking and scampering among the uncut grass and lofty trees. It relaxed her a bit, but nowhere near enough to stave was what about to come. With new breath fresh within her, she raised a hoof and moved to—

*WHAM!*

…knock.

Rather than politely knock on the door, Redheart landed a rock solid punch directly in the middle, rattling its ancient hinges. The sole of her hoof turned red quickly, her earth pony muscles throbbing with new pain, pain of which she paid no mind to other than her emotional cataclysm. She stared meaningfully at her swelling appendage for a moment before slowly pulling it back. Her mind went blank, and she caressed her hoof softly while listening to confused voices rise up from within the cottage. Seconds later, the door was cracked open just an inch or two, leaving enough room for somepony to peek out and see who it was that came around and began beating on their door.

“H-H-Hello?” whispered the frightened, tender voice of her sister.

“…Fluttershy…it’s me,” Redheart replied, sniffling.

“Redheart?!” Fluttershy gasped. The door slammed shut then reopened, fully this time. Fluttershy stood silent in the doorway, shocked by what she was seeing. “R-Redheart?” She continued softly. “Are you…crying?”

“…yes,” said Redheart with a whimper, wiping a row of tears from her left eye.

“Who is that? Redheart?” Tenderheart came running to the door, gasping at the decrepit state her flower-prone daughter was in. “Oh, Redheart, dearie! What on earth happened to you?!”

Hearing the commotion at the door as well, you abandon your task of cleaning up the animal’s leftover food and woodland refuse, trotting to the door in a hurry. You were the third to discover your boss stricken with tears, standing outside and heavy with sorrow. It looked as if she had finally broken down.

Redheart stepped closer to Fluttershy before, to the amazement to each of you, leaned onto her sister’s shoulder, burying her tear-laden face within her yellow coat.

“I don’t want to go back…” Redheart whispered, sobbing. “I don’t ever want to go back…”

Fluttershy and Tenderheart could only stand there and exchange confused glances with each other. The length of an eternity felt within a new light, Tenderheart stepped forward and pulled Redheart away and into her motherly embrace.

“There there, dearie…” Tenderheart whispered into the white mare’s ear. “It’s ok…it’s all ok.” She patted her back softly, rubbing gently at her shoulders in an attempt to sooth her weary soul.

“I don’t want to go back…” Redheart repeated, now openly crying tears of sadness. Fluttershy stood by and looked at her mother, deep concern in the shape of a frown perfectly molding the situation at hoof. Tenderheart briefly met her gaze with the same expression before returning to comforting her miserable daughter.

“Come here, dearie. Let’s get you to someplace comfortable,” said Tenderheart, signaling Fluttershy to help walk Redheart over to the living room couch where they help her up and lay her head down on a throw pillow. “There we go. Nice and easy.”

You follow them over, but feel that there is nothing you can do to help. Redheart’s standard makeup was now smothered and plastered all over her cheeks where her salty tears cleaved a path through a hell only one pony in the entire world would know.

“W-What’s wrong, Redheart?” asked Fluttershy in the most sincerely fretful voice she could muster.

“…Fluttershy…please…” Redheart murmured with each new word, fragmental tones of inner suffering convincing her present family that she was far from well. Tenderheart turned to Fluttershy, exchanging her emotions through eyesight alone. It didn't take long for the mother of two to realize the sudden change in her directive. They may have grown up over the years, but they were still her beloved children. She had to support them no matter what. She took on a serious expression, mellowing it out just enough to fit within Fluttershy’s comfort zone.

“I’m sorry, dearie, but there’s been a change of plans,” Tenderheart spoke sternly. “It looks like I’ll be staying for longer than I thought.”