I walked into the kitchen feeling a little bit groggy and extremely queasy. It was still dark outside, my ShitBuck (patent pending) said it was around 4 am. I groaned, whatever was going around the town it was a nasty piece of work. I opened the fridge and grabbed a Popped Cherry, a little soda drink that Cherry Bomb and I made a few years ago. It was a favorite for the local traders. It was a shame he was born in this hell hole if the world hadn't gone to hell he would have given the Cola company a run for their bits. I took a sip of the sugary cherry drink. I tried to calm down my stomach, this was the fourth day in a row that I had been sick in the morning. I was going to head to the base today to get myself checked up. I yawned and rubbed my eyes before taking a swig of the sugary cherry drink. I looked down at my gut I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or not, and I didn't want to worry Cal until I knew for sure, but I had my suspicions. Either I was pregnant, or I was just getting fat. There was the soft sound of hooves on the floor my ears perked up and I looked over my shoulder to the little light orange filly.
"Good morning Peace did I wake you up?" I asked as she came over to the table. She shook her head.
"No I had a bad dweam." She walked up to me. I picked her up with my wing and sat her on my lap. She was a lot smaller than most ponies her age were. "I don't know what it was though."
"It's okay Peace it was just a dream." I rocked back and forth in the chair being sure to keep he nice and secure in my lap. "Today we're going to the base to visit your auntie Ivy, uncle Rainbow, and Good Friday. That'll be fun right?" She nodded softly as she lay on top of me.
"Why arwe you up so eawly mommy?" she asked looking up at me.
"Just feeling a little queasy sweetie." I petted her soft brown mane as I rocked in the dinning room chair. In only a few minutes she was out like a light, softly snoring as we rocked in the dinning room chair. A few minutes later Cal walked in from our bedroom. He walked over to the table and sat down opposite from me.
"Good morning," he said softly. "Is Peace okay?"
"Yeah she just had a bad dream," I answered just as soft. He nodded and gave me a soft smile.
"And you?"
"Just a little bit queasy." I answered. "You?"
"I wanted to finish your pistol before we left for the base today," he answered. I looked at my blaster. Cal had working on it since the last attack. Some stupid as fuck raider got a lucky shot with a shot gun and fucked up my gun. I sighed. The gun was kind of like a marriage ring for me. I looked over at all the parts watching as Cal put my gun back together, as I rocked back and forth holding Peace Maker close.
"Hey wasn't that suppose to be a ruby?" I asked pointing to a small blue diamond.
"Yes." He nodded. "But This will make it a lot better, and a lot more unique." He gave me a smile. "It'll be a lot more you." I gave him a soft smile. The soft rocking had helped sooth my stomach's queasiness, and some time later I fell asleep in the chair, as Caliber worked on my laser pistol.
The alarm clock on my Shit Buck (trademark) woke me up two hours later. I put my wings around Piece to keep a good hold on her as I stretched and yawned. Cal was completely engrossed in his work. He didn't even look up from my custom laser pistol which was nearly finished. I sat up and cut off the alarm as Peace Marker started waking up.
"Morning sweetie. I'm going to get Cherry up you get something to eat and make sure that you dad gets food to. We're going to be heading out soon okay?" She nodded rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Good filly." I gave her a soft nuzzle before helping her slid off of me. I walked in to the Cherry's bedroom. "Cherry come on time to wake up." I nuzzled him softly. "We're heading to the Steel Ranger Base today, for check ups."
"Okay mom," he groaned and started rubbing his eyes before sitting up "Can we take some Cherry Bombs too?" he asked. "Space Dude really likes that stuff."
"Uh, I'm not sure if Elder Prickly Pear would want us giving that stuff to her look out." I thought back to my time of being high on his Star Stuff I shivered a little bit. "And I don't think Space Dude needs to be drinking that with his regular supply. They don't mix well. Now come on get up." He slowly rolled out of his bed. The two of us headed back out into the main room of our dugout.
Caliber was still working on my laser pistol still dead to the world. Peace Maker was eating 200 hundred old preservatives in the shape of cereal, and drinking some Popped Cherry. "Good Mowning Bwother." She offered him a bowl and the box of preservative flakes. He pulled up a chair next to his sister, and poured his bowl. I sat down next to Cal and poured us both our breakfast after thirty minutes I decided to pull him out of his work and back to reality.
"Cal. Come on Breakfast." He didn't look up from his work. I knew better than to take it personal. Cal's work was always his kind of special world. He could work in the middle of a battle field and not even notice. I sighed as I watched him work the pistol was done and all he was doing was polishing it. I rolled my eyes it was only going to get dust on it. "Cal. Come on I might not use it a lot but it is going to be used eventually. So don't bother polishing it." I leaned in and kissed him. That brought him back to reality quickly. A kiss always did the trick.
"Huh?" He looked around after I pulled away from the kiss. Our two foals giggled. I gave him a playful smile.
"Time for food Caliber," I said. The two of us finished our breakfast and then the whole family headed out. Nevada following slowly at our side. We headed out of the gate. My Deputy, Deputy; convenient I know, waved as we headed out. Cherry and Peace waved back to him as they rode on Cal and my backs respectively.
***
It was a couple of hours past sunrise when we made it to the base. Rocket Man just gave us a little nod as we made our way in. "No Cherry Bombs today little dude?" Space Man asked as we trotted into the gate.
"Sorry Night Light, but mom said that it wouldn't mix well with the moon stuff."
"What no man that stuff goes great with moon stuff. You just can drink to much of it. Everything goes good with moon stuff. Just don't try to mix your highs, Little Cherry."
"Careful Rocket Man, boss mare is coming," I lied trying to derail the conversation before Space Man tried to give my kids a free sample of his moon stuff again. That shit just wasn't kosher.
"Yeah I saw Boss Mare walk out of the bass." I looked around my and to my surprise Prickly Pear was leaving the mess hall with Ivy, Rainbow Code, and Good Friday.
"Huh. Damn good eyes there Rocket man." Cal and I headed over to the group. Hopefully Prickly Pear wasn't in one of her bitchy moods, though even after she took a chill pile, bitchy still seemed to be the default for her. "Come on you two why don't you go play with your cousin. My check up is first. I'll get you when it's your turn." Cal and I let them off of our backs. The two of them ran off calling to Good Friday. "Make sure Space man doesn't share his stuff with them."
"Will you ever tell me why you don't like Moon Stuff? It's not a bad drug."
"I just had a bad experience. That stuff just doesn't agree with me any more." The two of us head to the other group. Ivy was talking with Prickly Pear, while my brother was coming up to the two of us. Peace Maker and Cherry Bomb were playing around with Good Friday.
"Your here early," my brother said as he came up and greeted Cal and me. "I didn't think you'd get here until around lunch."
"Yeah, well I thought we'd stop by and surprise you," I said as a deftly dodged a hug from the big goof. "I need to go talk to the Doc. I'll catch up after I've been checked up okay?" I asked waving as I headed to the base's clinic. I knew my way around the base pretty well even if they moved a lot of things around since they rebuilt the base after the Enclave attack nearly a decade ago. I walked down several halls until I walked into the clinic. Then my whole day went south.
It took the damn doctor about three minutes to find out that I was in fact pregnant. This caused them to panic and insist on doing an immediate abortion, of course, I did the only civilized and sane thing I could and punched their ass out cold. Things escalated pretty quickly, as the other doctors and nurses pulled me off the fucking fucker, as I attempted to beat him to a bloody pulp. The next thing that I know they stuck me with a fucking needle and I slipped into unconsciousness as three or four of them held me on a cot. I had a hell of a dozy of a nightmare, but when I woke up I couldn't remember what it was about. Which was a good thing because I woke up to my brother scowling at me.
Now some would say that I can be very pragmatic when it comes to people fucking with my kids. And I have to agree with them they aren't wrong. It's a really simple lesson that a lot of ponies have learned, traders, drunks, gangsters, the occasional decently behaving raider, they've all learned that very valuable lesson. 'Do. Not. Fuck. With. My. KIDS!' And now the clinic doctor has also learned that very valuable lesson. I attempted to explain this to both my brother and Prickly Pear, but neither of them seemed to want to listen to me. I don't think either of them were listening to each other either. Because where my brother was trying to lecture me about how horrible it was that I was pregnant again. Prickly Butt was yelling at me for k.o.ing her asshole of a doctor.
I sat by quietly as the two of them continued to rant at me each one going on and on about whatever it was that I did wrong, and how I needed to fix it, or whatever. Honestly after I told them why the dumb-ass doctor had gotten himself k.o.ed I started tuning them out. I was now thinking about good baby names for my future son or daughter. I was thinking that it should be something with flare, and given that the name made the pony I decided that it should be big. After all, if you’re going to do something you might as well commit to it. I was stuck trying to decide if emperor trumped god king or if it was the other way around when my brother asked me a question that wasn’t rhetorical. “Yeah whatever,” I said trying to get back to the real dilemma.
“Atom, I asked you the name of your dog.” My brother frowned at me.
“Have you been ignoring me this entire time!” Prickly Pear rubbed her temples.
“Yep,” I answered with a nod. “I’ve been thinking of good names for the baby. And to be a hundred percent honest if you two had ever paid attention I don’t do lectures. You both should have known that all you were doing was wasting your breath and my time.”
“You shouldn’t even be having a baby, or was Dad wasting his breath when he explained the iron deficiency to you. I’ve learned to let you be an adult. But that was running under the assumption that you weren’t suicidal or insane.”
“There’s nothing suicidal or insane about it. It wasn't exactly planned. I was taking a pill and Cal had plastic on. To be a hundred percent honest he had talked me out of actively trying to get pregnant again. But it wasn't in the cards and if I get the chance to have a third kid I'm gonna take it. And that stupid, retarded, st-"
“Stab happy, suicidal, insane, dumb-ass, excreta. I heard you call him every name in the book.” Prickly Pear sighed. “I just hope this pregnancy kills you and not the baby.”
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I said through a clenched jaw. "And I'm going to live if only to spite you. I'm having the baby at Ten Pony Tower. Cal insisted, and they supposedly have enough high tech medical stuff that it shouldn’t be a problem."
"Ten Pony Tower. You know they don't do charity. It'll cost you at least ten thousand caps to get in." Prickly Pear looked at me with a bit of concern, first time for everything, I guess. "You understand that and actual delivery would cost more, and that's not even counting the trip up there."
"We've got at least five months to get that together," I said. "Besides we've got most of that already stashed up. I think." I grimaced. Sure, Cal and I had saved up a good bit of caps. Being two of the most important ponies in Isotope City we had a good number of caps between us, but I had been hoping to use most of them to expand our dug out a little bit, or at least add on an extra bedroom. That plan was thoroughly shot now, and we were both quite a few caps behind.
"How many caps are you short by?" my brother asked.
"Eh, a few thousand, but both of us can make that before the 9 months are up."
"You're an idiot," Prickly Pear sighed.
"Where the fuck did that come from?" I stood up on my hind hooves with my front hooves on her desk. "If you want to fight then we can head outside, mare to mare, none of that power armor."
"While I'd love the chance to beat your ass, you have more pressing concerns." Prickly Pear leaned forward I didn't back down. We were nearly muzzle to muzzle. "You're assuming you have the full nine months to get your caps and run like hell to Ten Pony Tower."
"Yeah no shit. That's normally how long a pregnancy lasts," I said to her face.
"You had Peace Maker two months early," she answered. At that my face went pale. I was thinking that we'd have six months to get the caps we'd both have to work extra shifts but it was doable. Now we'd have only four months to get it done. Not easy still doable but it would be a really shitty four months especially as the pregnancy started to show.
"Four months will be tough but we can still do it," I said admittedly less cocky than before.
"Four months?" She raised an eyebrow. "After you k.o.ed doctor Sterile I had the nurses read me your medical reports. You never fully recovered from giving birth to Peace Maker. Two months early is if you're extremely lucky," Prickly Pear said. "This one will likely be two and a half months to three months early." This revelation hit me like a brick wall.
"Do you get it Atom. An abortion is the best option not just for you but your kids you already have, Cal, even this one might not make it longer than a few weeks." Rainbow Code softly put his wing on my shoulder.
"I just want them to have a fighting chance. I want another one." I was frozen in place trying to figure out how to salvage this.
"You can count this as a thank you, wedding gift, birthday gift, Hearths Warming gift, Nightmare Night gift, baby shower gift, and you owe the Steel Rangers a favor that we can call in at any time," Prickly Pear said. "But I'll give you the caps that you need." I could have kissed her. I did. It wasn't hard since we were still nearly muzzle to muzzle from our stand off. "Ahg-Damn it Atom what the fuck." She pulled back and spit on the floor.
"You’re just a big old softy aren't you? This whole time you were playing me."
"Whatever Atom, it's more a favor to Ivy, Code, and Good Friday than to you." Prickly Pear wiped her mouth. "Besides I'm calling in that favor right now."
"Wait? now?" I asked.
"Yeah I need you to go back to Manechester."
"Wait, what?" Rainbow Code was as clueless as I was.
"But isn't that about three months in the other direction from where I need to be? If I went now I might make it back to have the baby delivered here." My eyes narrowed. "There's no way I could make it from there and back!"
"Atom calm down!" Prickly Pear put her hoof on her desk snapping me back to attention. "We've been given two specially enchanted gems from the Steel Rangers over there. One will get you there the other will get you back. They have no range limits. As far as we know, so once you get there, we'll get the other one as close to Ten Pony Tower as possible. Now both of you get out of my office. I want you back here at 20:00 tonight if your taking my bargain."
"Fine," I said after a moment of composing myself. I left, and headed back to my family. If I was expected to deal with some bullshit back at Manechester then I was going to spend the rest of the day with my kids.
"Atom, wait." My brother stopped me in the hall. I turned around. "I didn't mean any of it like that it's just. You’re playing roulette with a machine gun. And I’m concerned that you’re not taking this seriously enough." Even at Ten Pony Tower the odds aren’t in your favor.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said before turning back around and heading down the hall. “Honestly I scared as fuck that this is going to be the last one that I can have.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “But I’m going to have it. I know you can’t understand. I don’t need you to. I need you to be the loveable goof that you are, and give me some encouragement.” I said as we headed down the hall. He started chuckling a little behind me. “What?” I asked turning around.
“You’re just like Mum used to be.” He patted my head and started messing up my mane.
“Agrh. To much lovable goofball go back to being angry with me.” I swatted his hoof away. “And thanks.” I tried to redo my mane. “While I’m back at Manechester I’ll probably visit the old stable. Not like a give a raider’s ass about any of those jerks down there, but I want to show her I turned out all right.” I sighed as I made my way outside whether my goofball brother followed me or not, I didn’t really care. “Not like she’s there to see that.”
“She’d proud of you Atom. Even if you are stubborn as a mule, and dumb as a rock sometimes.” He said as we got outside.
I stuck my tongue out at him. “What’s not to be proud of I’m me?” I made my way to the Mess Hall.
“Wait aren’t you going to go get ready for heading back to Manechester?” he asked as I made my way toward the Mess Hall.
“No if they’re calling me to Manechester it likely means that they have some stupid and inane.” I rolled my eyes. “Honestly they can’t seem to do anything by themselves. It’s a miracle that they managed to make what little they actually managed to make. I guess to many of them are too closely related.” I sighed. “That or it’s a total shit show, and I managed to be the lesser of two evils, or at least 16-year-old me managed to be the lesser of two evils. In which case I really don’t want to know what kind of shit is going on. Either way I want to spend the rest of my day with my family.” I walked and sure enough Cal and the foals were enjoying their lunch. Nevada was laying under the table between Cherry and Cal.
“Hey Mom.” Cherry Bomb waved.
“Hey Mommy ovew hewe.” Peace Maker jumped up and down in Cal’s lap. “We’wre ovew hewe Mommy.” I just smiled and made my way over to them and Ivy and her kid. My brother following behind me and we took our seats opposite our spouses. Nevada lifted his head before laying back in his paws again.
“Hey, Cal,” I said as before starting to eat the salad that was in front of me. “So, good news, better news, just a little bit of bad news.” I gave him my best winning smile. “So, uhm, Cherry and Peace are getting a new little brother or sister.” Caliber’s ears flopped back as his eyes widened. Cherry and Peace’s reacted with cheers.
“What?” he asked.
“Is Ms. Ditzy delivering them here tomorrow?” Cherry asked.
“No, we’re going to have to go up to Ten Pony Tower to get them,” I said. “Better news,” I said seeing Cal was beginning to look like he was about faint. “Prickly Pear is paying the rest of the caps that we’re off by so that we don’t have to worry too much about it. And if you kind of think about it, they’re also paying for our trip too, sort of.”
“That’s oddly generous of her,” Ivy said.
“Yeah, well here’s the not so great news.” I was now trying to keep Caliber calm. It was times like this when he was prone to revert back to the puppyish self. “So, I have to do a little favor for the Steal Rangers back in Manechester.”
“Manechestew, has Silly Wasckles too?”
“Yea.” I rested my head on my hoof. “I worked with them before.”
“Isn’t that in the other direction?” Caliber asked. Cherry Bomb didn’t seem happy about this revelation. “Like 3 months in the other direction?”
“They have two magic things one will get me there ASAP and the other one that does the same thing. And they’re going to be going up to Ten Pony Tower. Get it as close as they can and when I’m done poof. There I am.” Caliber sighed and seemed to be calming down.
“You will be coming back, though right?” Cherry asked. I frowned. I thought that we had already had this discussion.
“Yeah I’m coming back.” I picked him up and put him in my lap, and put my wings around him. “Honestly I doubt that it will take me longer than a few weeks tops to deal with whatever nonsense that they need my help with. Did you already forget our talk?”
“No,” he said.
“Good.” I smiled and messed up his mane and put him back in his seat. “So, I’ll be gone for a couple of weeks a month tops before popping back over here. I’m going to spend the rest of the day with all of you. Before I need to head off tonight.” I took another bite of my salad. “So, think about stuff you want to do today okay.” After lunch the two of them both wanted me to fly them around the base. I did so, but after that happily went into the air-conditioned base.
I wasn’t looking forward to having to go back to Manechester, but one of the things I was looking for was the rain and the cold. Sure I’d probably change my mind as soon as I got there but cold and wet sounded really good after flying around the Ranger’s base twice while giving us piggyback rides. We went to Code and Ivy’s place, which were three small connected rooms in the base. I flopped down on the couch that nine years ago had been my bed. The heat had taken a lot out of Cherry and Peace as well.
“I’m not going to miss this heat.” I said laying down.
“Can we go with you Mom?” Cherry yawned as he lay down on the love seat. I thought about it for a bit, sure it wouldn’t hurt, at least I didn’t think it would. But, on the off chance that there could be a serious issue there or if the magic had a weight limit. I shook my head.
“I’m sorry Cherry sweetie, but I don’t know if that’s going to work. Come over here you can sleep with me.” He got up and slowly came over. I picked him up. It was a little crowded on the couch, but I needed him to understand that I was coming back. Cal was asleep in the arm chair with Pease. Nevada was asleep under the inn table. Both Rainbow and Ivy were working and Good Friday was asleep in her room. “Just the two of us are awake right now Cherry,” I said softly. “Are you still worried that dad or I are going to run away.”
“Yeah, and now you’re going away,” he answered softly. I wrapped my wing around him. “You say coming back.”
“I am, it’s complicated, but I need to do this. Pear is paying a lot of caps to help us out. Remember before Pease came home with me how I got kind of fat?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded and yawned again. I started to yawn to, damn those things were highly contagious.
“And you know how when we came home with your sister I wasn’t as fat right?” I asked him softly as I started drifting off to sleep. He nodded but didn’t answer. “Well that’s because foals come out of Mommies.” I said hoping that he was to sleepy to think too much about this.
“So, mommies poop foals out?” he asked. I chuckled a little bit.
“Not exactly no.” I patted him on the head. “But something like that. And you know how small your little sister was when she came home right?” He nodded. “Well mommy was sick when I gave birth to your sister, and I didn’t get one hundred percent better, so I need to go to Ten Pony Tower to have your new brother or sister.”
“So why do you have to go?” He sounded like he was half asleep. I was starting to drift of too.
“Because dad and I don’t have enough caps to make it there in time, and I need to get there as soon as possible in order to make sure that me and your new little brother or sister is going to okay. Okay?” I waited for an answer that didn’t come as his soft rhythmic breathing from sleep lolled me into sleep as well.
I woke up with wet cheeks and the sound of my heart beating like crazy. I wiped my cheek I knew I had a nightmare, a really shitty one to, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember what it was. “Fucking dream.” I stretched and woke Cherry up doing so. “Hey Cherry what time is it?” I asked.
“Two.” He got down, and I sat up.
“Well let’s get dad and Pease up I’m sure you don’t want to sleep the rest of you play date with you cousin. I need to get things ready before I head off.” Cherry and Peace spent the rest of the day playing with Good Friday and a couple of the other colts and fillies that lived on the base. I spent the rest of the day getting ready for what ever it was that I was being called back to Manechester for. Cal and Ivy spent the rest of the day working on my Crapbuck TM. The sun had just set as all of us made our way back to Prickly Pear’s office.
“Are you ready to head out?” Prickly Pear asked me, two glowing sapphires on her desk.
“Just a second.” I gave Peace a small kiss on her forehead. “Be a good filly for your dad while I’m gone.” I then gave Cherry a small kiss on his forehead. “And you too. Also bring some Popped Cherries along for me to drink as we head up north. Okay?” Cherry nodded trying not to cry. I ruffled his mane. “I’ll be back in a month tops.” I patted Nevada a few times. “Be a good boy and take care of them.” I then gave Cal the biggest kiss I could, and you try not to get into trouble.”
“I’m pretty sure that I’m the one that should tell you that,” he said.
“Probably, but you know me sweetheart.” I smiled. “I’ll try to be good though. I promise.” I gave him another hug before turning back to Pear. “Now I’m ready.”
“Alright just give the sapphire two taps and you’ll be there in a flash.” Pear pushed one of the sapphires toward me.
“See all of you in about two weeks.” I tapped the sapphire and picked the other won up. “Cherry here you go.” I tossed him the other sapphire, and was tapping the sapphire the second time as Nevada fetched the sapphire in his mouth biting down twice. My eyes went wide as my family flashed away.
Author's Note
Trigger Warning this triggered one of my prereaders.
Putting this at the bottom may be counter productive. 
