It was nearing the end of the day for the large city of Manehattan. The sun will soon be setting and in her place, the sister moon will hang up high in the night sky.
Down below in the streets, Uncle Orange has recently ended his shift and was now heading straight for his house. The stallion had a very tiring day at work and he wants nothing more than to go home and relax.
After a couple of minutes of trotting he finally reached his house. As he climbed up the steps, he notices in from the window that the lights were on.
Upon entering his house he called out to his wife. “Honey, I’m home!” He announces his arrival.
Usually he would hear her reply back and come to greet him. However, this time he hears no response from her.
At first he thought he was mistaken that his wife was home, but then he remembered that they both never leave the lights on in the house whenever they went out.
When he got no further response he decides to go look for her. It didn’t take him long to find her as he quickly found her alone in the dining room. The yellow mare sat by herself near the table with the photo album in front of her.
Uncle Orange looked at the photo album and when he did he began remembering all the fond memories he had in those photos. They mostly consist of him and his wife, with some featuring their friends and families as well. However, recently some new photos had been added into their album.
Looking closely he can see a bunch of photos featuring a happy little orange earth filly with yellow hair. This little filly was their niece, Applejack.
Applejack left her home so that she can pursue a glamorous life in the big city with her high class relatives. They were of course both supportive and happy of her decision and that they’ll do everything they can to turn her into a proper Manehattanite.
This however did not come to fruition as Applejack soon became homesick and decided that her place was back home with her family.
He and his wife respected their niece’s decision and they both said their goodbyes. Despite being happy for her, deep down inside they were saddened by their niece’s departure.
A week has passed since then and Uncle Orange has gotten over Applejack’s departure. His wife on the other hoof did not.
“Honey.” He called out to her.
The mare lifted her head away from the photo album and looked at her husband. “Oh hello dear, didn’t hear you coming in.” She said with a smile.
“What are you doing?” He asked, despite already knowing.
“Just looking at some photos of Applejack, dear.” She answered as she turns her head back to the open album.
Deciding he too wanted to look inside the album, he joined in with her. He stood next to his wife and looked down at all the pictures of the little orange filly.
“Hey honey, remember that one.” He pointed to a picture of a blushing little Applejack with her hair done in a beehive style.
“Oh yes I remember that.” The mare replied. “She looked absolutely adorable with that hair.”
Suddenly her eyes spotted something. “Dear, look at this one.” She pointed to another picture.
The stallion looked to where she was pointing and upon seeing it, he smiled. In that picture there was Applejack, slumbering peacefully in her seat.
“Ah yes I remembered that one.” He remarked. “We took her out that one night to see a play, but Applejack couldn’t stay awake and fell asleep.”
“We should’ve woken her up, but she was just too cute.” She commented.
“Remember when we had to leave because her loud snoring was interrupting the play.”
“Oh yes I remember that dear.” She answered. “We should really tell her that story one of these days.”
Both the husband and wife continue to look through all the photos of Applejack, each one bearing a happy memory with the little filly.
While the stallion looked back on the memories with fondness, he looked to his wife and saw the exact opposite. Instead of happiness, all he sees was sadness on her face.
“Honey, is everything alright?” He questioned.
Noticing that her husband was talking to her, she quickly changed her mood. “I’m fine dear.” She lied.
Her attempt to lie fails to persuade him. “Honey, I know you’re lying.” He then pulled the nearest chair towards himself and sat next to his wife. “What’s wrong?” He asked her again.
Knowing that she can’t get out of this, she decides to just tell him. “Ever since Applejack, moved in with us that little filly was quite the lively one. So young and so full of energy, she really did brighten up our days.” She looked to her husband who in turn nodded his head.
“Despite staying with us for a short while, she made a big impact on both of our lives.” After she was done with that sentence, the smile on her face immediately dropped. “But, now that she is gone I feel empty inside. Like something I never thought I wanted, but now that got it I want to keep it.” She turns head away from her husband.
“It took some time, but I finally figured out what that something was.” She then turns her head towards him and gave her answer. “I want to have a foal.”
As soon as those words left her mouth and reached his ears, Uncle Orange was quite shocked. Inside his head, his brain was busy processing the information and at the same time attempting to create the proper response to it.
However, despite all the thinking going on in his head he cannot come up with the proper response, thus leaving him completely speechless on the spot.
Taking his silence as his answer, the mare quickly stood up and hastily trotted out of the room, not even bothering to hide the sad disappointment on her face.
When his wife left the room, Uncle Orange continues to sit on his chair letting the consequences of his action to sink into him.
It was getting late into the night and the mare was getting ready for bed. She had work tomorrow so she needed to get some sleep for the next day. So after brushing her teeth, she got onto the large bed and laid there.
While she was laying there she heard the sound of the door creaking open, followed up by the sound of hoofsteps approaching the bed. She didn’t have to look to see who it was, already knowing that it was her husband.
The stallion got onto the same bed as her and lay next to her. He said nothing to her and she said nothing to him. They both continue to remain silent until the he spoke.
“Honey, are you awake?” He asked, poking her back with his hoof.
“Yes dear, I’m still awake.” She answered back with a flat tone in her voice.
Orange detected the flatness in her voice, hinting him that she hasn’t gotten over the thing from earlier. Taking a deep breath, he spoke to her. “About what happen earlier in the dining room…”
“Forget about it dear.” She interrupted. “It was dumb of me for even suggesting such an idea. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t think about the work and responsibility of raising a foal.”
She formed a sad smile on her face. “It was silly of me to rush into something without thinking it through first. I mean after all how can we possibly raise a foal? We both work full time jobs and when we’re not doing that we are busy attending events with our friends or with some important pony in the city. Honestly what was I thinking, we can’t raise a foal under these conditions.”
As Aunt Orange continues going on, Uncle Orange couldn’t listen to it anymore and interrupted her. He turns her over so that they were both face to face. He looked her deep into the eyes and said: “I want to have a foal.”
Her eyes widen by this sudden surprise. “Dear, you don’t have to do this because I want a foal.” She assured him.
“No Honey, I mean it.” He reaffirms his statement. “I really do want a foal.”
Again she was surprise by her husband. She wanted to ask questions, but saw that he had more to say so she kept quiet and listen.
“It was true what you said earlier in the dining room, she really did leave a big impact on our lives.” He paused for a moment to think back to all good memories they had with their niece before continuing. “It made me realize what we’re missing out on, being a parent.”
The stallion then reaches out for his wife’s hoof, pulling it out in the space between their chests. “If we’re going to have foal, then there are going to be some changes in life. Some of them will be unpleasant, but some could be. However, I do believe that it would be worth it and that we can make this work.” He assured her. “Now the question is, do you still want to have a foal?”
Tears started to fall from her eyes and she opened her mouth. “Yes, of course!” She answered and moved in closer to her him.
For the rest of the night, the two ponies slept peacefully together, locked in each other’s embracement.
Ten Months Later
Uncle Orange sat alone in the waiting room of a hospital, patiently awaiting the news of his wife. Just hours ago she was going into labor and he rushed her over to the nearest hospital. From there the doctors and nurses took over, leaving him to wait for the results.
By appearance he looked calmed, but deep inside he was worrying up a storm. Inside his head many thoughts span around his head, each frightened him to the core.
These thoughts range from if she was going to die from child birth to their foal not making it out.
However, he managed to suppress these thoughts with some rational thinking. While it did work, it still didn’t get rid of them as these negative thoughts linger near the edge of his mind.
Suddenly the door opened and a doctor came out. He told him that they were done and that now he come and see his wife.
As he trots down the hallway leading to his wife, the troubling thoughts he held back begin to break through. His wildest imagination starts to form, imagining what kind of horrible condition he was trotting into.
Was his wife OK? Were there any complications in the birth? Is their foal going to be alright? Many questions like this swarm chaotically in his head, with each second getting worse and worse.
Finally he reaches the room where his wife was and upon entering through the door, all those worrisome thoughts in his head instantly fade away.
Lying happily on her white hospital bed was his smiling wife and a foal in her arm.
The mare then notices the presence of her husband and motion for him to come over.
He silently trots toward her, taking the spot next to the bed. From there he looked down at the face of the sleeping foal, wrapped snugly around in a soft white blanket.
“It’s a filly.” She stated.
“She’s beautiful.” He responded and lifted his arm up to touch their daughter. His hoof rubs gently against the filly’s soft cheeks causing her stir a bit.
Knowing that he was interrupting his daughter’s sleep, he instantly backs his hoof away.
“
Excuse me, Mr. Orange?” A female voice asks from behind.
Turning his head around, he spots a nurse addressing him.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but the doctors want to know the name of your foal.”
The stallion looks to his wife with a smile on his face and she too return with a smile as well. “Babs Seed, our daughter’s name is Babs Seed.” He answered.
The nurse then wrote the name down on the paper and left the room to inform the doctors, leaving the two happy parents the moment to enjoy the newest member of their family.
THE END