Chapter 12: The Seed of Family

(Spike’s POV)

The moment we arrived at the station I could see the difference between here and where we had been. There was at least two people working in the kiosks and it didn’t have a weird smell to it. Michelle held on to me as we waited for a moment.

“Babs!” a very familiar voice called out.

I looked to see Apple Bloom running toward us. She gathered Babs up into a hug and lifted her into the air.

“Ah missed ya cousin! What happened? Why’d ya git on the wrong train?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I don’t know cousin, we was all set to come here with you, but something happened to our tickets,” Babs said.

“Spike? Who’s that with ya?” Apple Bloom asked.

“T… This is my special somepony,” I replied.

“W-what? Ya have a special somepony? What’s her name?” she asked.

“I’m Michelle,” Michelle replied.

“Howdy, Ah’m Apple Bloom, that’s Big Macintosh, ma brother,” she said

She looked at the large red stallion and smiled.

“Hi,” Michelle said.

“Babs that’s yer coltfriend right?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“Is he still touched in the head?” she asked.

“No, not that I know of. I have been taking my pills…” I said.

“Well, that’s good. Ya was kinda actin’ weird at the weddin’,” she said.

“Well, I’ll re-introduce myself. Jacob, Jacob Cromwell.” I said, holding out a hand to Apple Bloom.

“Well okay, Ah’m Apple Bloom, and it’s a pleasure to meet ya. Ah know that Babs sure likes ya, and that’s good enough fer me,” she said.

I turned to big mac and did the stupidest thing i had ever done.

“Eeyup.” I said in my best Big Mac impression.

“Eeeenope, Ah dun’t sound like that,” he said.

“Fuck.” I replied.

The six of us walked out to the wagon they had brought. Big Mac hooked himself up to it, and before long we were heading out of town.

“How far did you guys travel to get here?” Spike asked.

“About six hours,” a woman said.

I turned to look at a very pregnant woman and remembered that she was Big Mac’s wife.

“We thought about renting a car, but Mac said he wanted to get all of y’all like he would any member of the family, so we took the wagon,” she said.

"Wagon as in a station wagon or an actual old fashioned wagon?" I asked

She raised an eyebrow and looked at me before indicating the wagon Big Mac had hooked himself up to. It was an old fashioned wagon, something that had been from late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds.

“A regular wagon,” she replied.

"Woah, where did you get it?" I asked.

She smiled and touched the polished wood on the walls of the wagon.

“It’s been in my family for years. This belonged to my great, great grandfather. It was used for the farm up until my grandma died, and Big Mac helped get it and the other wagon ready for use. We’ve been using them to make our delivers for some time,” she replied.

"Grandma as in Granny Smith?” I asked

"No, actually my grandmother," she said with a small sigh.

"Oh." I said. "Well, is there room for all of us to fit in there?"

“Just look at it. This wagon is easily eight foot long, four foot wide, and about four foot deep. Yeah, we’re all going to fit without a problem,” she said.

“Jessica, y’all feelin’ alright?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Our unborn foals have been kicking my kidneys, and it’s making me a little cranky,” she apologized.

"Alright, let's all get in there!" I said

Apple Bloom lowered the back gate of the wagon and helped Michelle and Spike into the back of the wagon. I saw the footholds on the gate and climbed in and then reached down to give Babs a hand. I helped her in and then Apple Bloom set the gate back and climbed in over the side of the wagon.

"Hey, you alright, Jake?" Babs asked. "You look kind of sad."

"I dunno, Babs. I'm still hung over the whole Collin and Sunflower thing."

"C'mon, that thing was days ago."

"I know, but I just feel that Collin's going to bring back my depression."

"I know what will make you feel better." Babs said, nuzzling me.

"What, snuggling?" I asked.

"You know, our little deal." Babs winked at me.

"Oh, right." I blushed.

"Hey, I love you." Babs said, briefly kissing me.

"I love you too."

The sounds of the city around us made me kneel on the hay bale I was on and look out over the side of the wagon. Everyone had heard about San Diego. At one time it had been a major hub for fans of comics and animation, but over the years the locations had changed, and while there was still a few conventions that came through, there wasn’t anything as big as Comic Con here anymore.

Still, the city had survived, and with a few exceptions it looked amazing. We stopped near a side street.

“Okay, we’re heading out toward the the rural areas. We’ve still got another thirty minutes of city to go through, and then we’ll hit the corporate farms area. If you guys are hungry or thirsty we have a cooler, and we can stop before we get too far, but we won’t be dealing with the Corporate Farms at all,” Jessica said.

"What's in the cooler?" I asked.

Apple Bloom opened it to reveal about half a dozen bottles of Classic Coke, another half dozen of Rootbeer, several bottles of water, and then there was the food. Peach pie, a container of baked beans, and pimento cheese.

“We’ve also got bread, some paper plates, and some plastic forks. If you’re hungry or thirsty go ahead and help yourselves,” Jessica said.

Babs just grabbed a Classic Coke while I grabbed a water bottle. We sat down, chugging the things. We haven't had any fluids on the train besides my jug of water, and I finished that early.

Spike looked at what was there, and then asked for a paper plate. I watched as he got a piece of pie for him and Michelle and then grabbed them both a bottle of coke. Once we were through Apple Bloom closed the cooler and we listened to the sounds of Big Mac’s hooves clopping against the pavement.

“Sweetheart, do you need to rest before we get out of the city?” Jessica asked.

“Nope,” he said.

“Mac, I’m serious. Do you want to take a chance, get a bite to eat, and rest your hooves for a few minutes?” she asked.

“Ya ain’t asking, right?” he asked.

“You’ve gotten good at this,” she said.

He breathed out a low groan and looked around. A moment later I watched as he pulled us over to a small park.

“Okay,” he said.

The park was actually pretty nice. The grass was real, the flowers seemed nice, and there was a few small black tubes sticking out of the ground. I checked my phone and noticed that there was wi-fi available. I clicked on it and realized that the city had set up wi-fi hotspots throughout the park, which was neat, I guess. People can check their emails and stuff without worrying about being able to connect to a local tower.

I noticed Babs was standing next to me, looking at Big Mac and Jessica.

“Aren’t you going to talk to your cousin?” I asked.

“I’m going to, but look at them,” she said motioning toward Big Mac and Jessica, “Look at how they’re acting. It’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, and he’s being so gentle with her. Is that what we’re going to be like? I mean are you going to be that gentle when I’m that fat with foal?” she asked.

“Of course, sweetie.” I said, leaning my head on her shoulder. “Barbara, I love you so much.”

“They’re plum sweet. Ah’ve caught ‘em kissin’ and being all lovey dovey in the kitchen a few times. Big Mac sur does love her,” Apple Bloom said.

“When is she due?” Babs asked.

“Ah heard that fancy machine of hers say that she could be do anytime in the next two to three weeks,” Apple Bloom replied.

I lifted my head. “Why don’t you two go catch up over there? I gotta make some phone calls.”

“Yer kinda snippy, ain’t ya?” she asked.

“Snippy? Nah. I just want you two to talk about stuff. I don’t want to intrude.”

“Babe, you’re not intruding,” Babs said sweetly before she kissed my cheek, “But if you’re wanting a moment alone that’s fine.”

She and Apple Bloom walked a little ways away from me and I looked back at the phone.

Since the wedding, my contacts have been changed. I deleted Paul’s contact and gained quite a few others, like Celestia and Rarity.

I don’t know how me and Celestia and connected. I guess she’s a mother figure to me, someone that guides me through troubles and bad times, while also keeping my life in check.

I presses the call button on her contact and held the phone to my hand, going to a park bench and sitting down on it, watching Babs and Apple Bloom.

“Rider Resident, Both the master and the madam are busy at the moment….” an aristocratic voice says.

“Alphie, please, let the call through,” Celestia’s voice replies.

“As you wish madam, but this is calling from one those horrid hand held devices. The things are barely worth a paperweight,” Alphie replied.

“This is the lady of the house, how may I help you?” she asked.

“G-good afternoon, Princess Celestia. This is Jacob, Jacob Cromwell.” I said to the princess.

“Oh, you the one who has been with one of my little ponies. It is a pleasure to hear from you again, but I have a feeling this isn’t a mere social call,” she replied.

“Actually it kind of is.” I said. “Unless you have anything to say about me and Babs.”

“Actually, no, I have nothing to say that I’m certain you haven’t already thought of, but it is unusual to receive a call for no reason. Very seldom has anypony just contacted me to contact me,” she replied.

“You never had a social phone call before?” I asked.

“Very few. Most of the time anypony came to see, or contact me, it was because of a dispute that they wished for me to settle. I haven’t had a time or moment where somepony just wanted to talk,” she said.

“Well, here I am, talking to you, socially. How has your stay on Earth have been?”

“It’s actually been quite nice. Thomas has been a gentlecolt, and I’ve been given a chance to help out so many ponies. We’ve recently helped the employees of Rider Farms into better housing, giving them insurance, and even supplying an on sight doctor that will see employees and immediate family of employees for free. It feels so good to help so many lives,” she said.

“Man, if you’re doing all those things, you should run for president someday.” I said, joking.

“It’s something that I’ve been considering, but we must wait for some of the laws to change. Still, tell me, is there something bothering you?” she asked.

“Yeah. I feel like Babs is going to be in some sort of trouble. I just feel a sense of danger sometime.”

“A danger sense? If you feel that she is going to be in danger than what have you done to keep it from happening? Have you talked to her, expressed this worry, and possibly talk about what the both of you should do to keep it from happening?” she asked.

“No, not really. I thought if I talked to her, it would make her worried and scared.”

“It’s noble to want to protect her from harm, but sparing her feelings could be worse than sparing her life. Consider talking to her,” she said.

“Alright then.” I said, “Anything else you want to talk about?”

“Actually, I was going to ask how you are doing in your work. Are you comfortable enough, and comfortable enough to support the foal that I’m certain you know is coming,” she replied.

“Yeah, of course!” I said. “We’re probably going to prepare for our foal in a few weeks.”

She smiled at me. “Very well then. I suppose that you’ve set aside enough to ensure that your foal will be comfortable.”

“Of course.”

We talked for a few more moments before Celestia said she had to leave. We both hung up and I looked over at Babs as she happily talked to Apple Bloom.

Author's Note

After weeks of procrastinating, here is the chapter!

I do have some bad news: the rest of the chapters on this story will be done entirely by me. Ron Jermy Pony has decided to leave the project. So except the next few chapters to be extremely short, padded, and shitty.