"Sweet Seasons," called a nurse that wore a sherrif star despite not being one of those. "Ready?"

They, Winter, Summer and Maple had agreed to take that on as a family name. Less of a mouthful than all their names together. As that family unit, they rose and advanced towards the back. "It'll be fine," assured Winter, nudging left and right against either of them as they went. "I'm here."

"Happy ya are." Summer smooched his cheek and nodded to the doctor as he came into view. "Mornin', doc."

The doctor inclined his head at the two heavy mares that entered his office. "Forgive my saying, but it needs to be said. A question, are you--"

Maple fixed him a look. "We're not trying to show off. And we're not about to burs' just yet. 'Least ah don't think?" She reached back to run a hoof over her bloated belly. "That's what we're here to find out."

"Hm." He wheeled over a flat panel. "Now, as you may know, pony mares typically remain fairly slender the entire time. This has important survival benefits, as our ancient ancestors took advantage of. Some even say it helped shape our society." He moved the panel up next to Maple, obscuring much of her form behind it. "Since the mares were always ready to throw down as much as any stallion, neither side could get any ideas." The mares chuckled at that.

Summer grunted. "But that isn't us. We did get big, and we have slowed down... And other things..." She looked ready to hop, but aborted the idea, instead climbing up onto the examination bed there. "Not to be crude or nothin', but ah ain't never even seen a mare with teats this... big."

The doctor took a moment to consider Winter, but he was a boy, no matter how girly he could look at times. He had precious few hints as to why it would happen, other than being a kirin in the first place. "Is this typical of... kirin was it?"

Winter swallowed nervously. Letting his emotions out meant being nervous, and visibly so, more often. "I don't know. I didn't see any heavy kirin when we visited... Maybe it's just this... combination."

The doctor considered that with a rub of his hoof on his chin. "Maybe. We'd need to see more than one family to know for sure. Either way, let's have a look."

He flicked a big switch on the side of the panel and they could suddenly see into Maple's insides, though for most, it was a mess of pony organs and such, difficult for the untrained eyes to make much sense of. The doctor knew what to look for, adjusting the panel closer and further to get a better look at specific parts. "One... Yes, one healthy looking foal in there... Did you want to know if it's a colt or a filly?"

All three of them smiled so joyfully. One healthy foal, theirs. The room was quiet for a time, and the doctor gave them a moment to soak in the good news.

Summer recovered first. "No thanks. We'll find that out when they're in our arms. We'll love 'em fierce, no matter which they are."

Maple giggled from behind the screen. "Maybe they'll be like Winter, be a bit of both dependin' on how ya look at it."

The doctor resumed moving the panel slowly. "The foal looks fine, but let's inspect the mother. Hm... You weren't spinning any yarn. Those are impressively large." He could see Maple's udders, the milk showing up on the pony medical device clearly. "A mare doesn't typically express this much milk, and this way... Is it uncomfortable? Are you experiencing any pain?"

Maple's cheeks warmed up, doing her best to stand still behind the panel. "It gets full, but I... They help."

"They..." The doctor trailed off, figuring out how others might help. "I see." He sat. "Do you know how a mother normally feeds their foals?"

Summer frowned from the bed. "Wit' milk, obviously. We ain't short on that."

The doctor nodded at Summer. "Of course, but there's more to it." He reared up and grabbed a dangling cord in his teeth, pulling down a hanging picture of a proud mother. The mother was curled around a fresh young foal, a bottle in their face. The foal was nursing, caught in that moment of feeding. "A mother pony can create these." He pointed to the bottle. "And feeds their young with them."

Maple cocked a brow up high. "Then what're these for?" She pointed back at her teats, her arm and hoof visible on the panel with her pointing.

"A holdover." The doctor pointed to Maple's visible, thanks to the screen, udder. "When we were animals, we used teats the old fashioned way. At some point, as proper ponies, we started doing it with bottles. Same mother's milk, different delivery. I'm curious, if you'll oblige me. Since you have the milk, can you make a bottle? Imagine a foal, your foal. You want to feed them. Reach for the bottle."

Summer waved a hoof in the air with a frown.

"Don't be discouraged. Teaching a mother how to start is one of our jobs. Draw the hoof back. Imagine the bottle was already there. You're just pulling it out," gently coached the doctor, patient and kind in the instruction. "You're not making a bottle. You're pulling it free."

Maple gasped with a little jump. Attached to her right hoof was a bottle, filled with warm milk, ready for use. "Wow! Ah... did it." She angled the bottle left and right, making the milk slosh. "What do I do with it? We don't got no foals just yet."

Summer quickly got her own out, not ready to be outdone. "That weren't so hard... But... We still..."

"You still have those." The doctor nodded. "Which presents you with an option. While you're in public, I strongly recommend the bottle. It is... taboo... for a mother to be seen feeding anything, foal or not, like that." He coughed softly. "If you don't mind my musings, I would imagine that's because ponies can make bottles in the first place. The idea of a foal having to make such intimate contact stopped being such an obvious thing."

"Ah get it..." Summer waved her bottle at Winter. "You want it?"

Winter lit up bright, and the doctor joined in the embarrassment. "Some ponies enjoy pony milk, even other products. Pony milk is a fine milk, and you can use it for almost anything. Cheese, baking, ice cream if you felt like it..."

Winter peered at the doctor, imagining the milk he'd seen in the stores. "Is that where all the milk comes from?!"

"No! No..." The doctor waved that off. "Most milk you'll find comes from other fine creatures and critters that are willing to give it up. Milk from a pony is a niche market, at best. Still... Back to our inspection. Our mother looks fine, if a bit burdened, which is understandable. Summer? We should have a look at you now."

Summer slid down to her hooves. "Thanks for bein' good 'bout this."

The doctor wheeled the panel, meeting Summer halfway. "I do my best, but about what?"

"This." She waved at Maple, Winter, and herself. "We ain't 'xactly a traditional family, ah know that..."

"Some might argue you are extremely traditional. Old-fashioned." He began to examine her insides, eyes on the source of her bulk. "But not very standard in this day and age. But I'm a doctor. It's my job to make sure you're all healthy and happy, not to judge who you found love with. You all seem to be doing fine on that count, so I don't need to shove my nose into it."

Winter leaned against Maple, no longer behind a screen anymore. "We are very happy, together. How does it look?"

"Well... I can't say you have a healthy foal." He waved from one lump to another. "Because you have two."

Summer paled around her snout with a delirious laugh. "It ain't just ah'm ahead?!"

"Afraid not." He tapped at the screen. "Two, moving... Healthy..." He moved the screen around for better looks. "Two lovely foals. One of them..." He glanced at Winter with an unspoken question.

Winter inclined his head, not understanding a moment, but it came. "Oh! Does one of them have a horn, sir?"

"They do." The doctor nodded slowly as he turned his attention to Summer, inspecting her for issues. "The others didn't. All I'll say, promise."

Summer danced a little in place in nervous fidgets. "Ah get two, an' one of 'em has a horn... Lucky me!"

"Now now." The doctor made patting motions, but wasn't touching her. "I'm happy to say the horn doesn't usually cause any problems. It's the shoulders that slow things down. Front or back, the horn will get out of there without any trouble."

"Easy fer you to say." Summer gave Winter a glare. "But this ain't a unicorn horn, ah'm bettin'! Kirins have fancy horns, more places to get caught on things..." She shivered, not wanting any part of her insides to get caught on anything. "Do ya know anythin' 'bout kirin foals an' how they get out?"

"Not my specialty..." The doctor leaned the screen carefully. "How does your back feel?"

"Sore?"

"Makes sense," he mumbled to himself, continuing the inspection. "I'll dig into it and get back to you, just to be sure, but if you got it in, you can get it out. Pony mothers are not built for that to be untrue. You're a healthy mare, you can finish the job.

Summer let out a slow breath. "Right... Right! Got it in... Get it out." She glared at Winter anew. "You owe me." He hurried to her side and she got to nipping at him. "Damn your virility..." She buried her face in his shoulder and went still. "Lemme know when you're done."

"I think... the advice I have, you're already following, so just keep on doing what you're doing." He flicked the screen off. "Your family's growing, and you're growing with it. Now, to give you some good news, you should return to normal, once the foals are out of you, especially if you remain physically active. Even now, if you can, try to get some motion in." He turned to Maple. "I mean that more for you. You have little reason not to get out and feel some wind."

Maple saluted sharply. "You got it!" The same hoof lowered at Summer. "But what about her? She's a bit..."

"--Larger, yes," finished the doctor. "It would be unreasonable to expect her to move a lot right now... And I don't expect you have a pool." All three looked at him with wonder. A pool wasn't a common thing in that town. "I didn't think so. A pool she can submerge in would relieve her spine and let her get some motion in at the same time. Failing that, an elliptical device may be low impact enough to let her get some movement."

Summer sighed, imagining it. "That sounds really nice... But we don't got that... A nice tub's the closest we got, and that ain't gonna do what yer suggestin'."

Winter was already running numbers, but he lacked the most important one... "How much is a pool?" Heads turned to him. "How many bits?" he expanded. "To get one."

The doctor shook his head. "You'd want to ask a different pony for that. I treat ponies, not dig pools. Now, lovely as you all are, you seem to be healthy, both the adults and the new ponies hurrying to join us. Don't hesitate to come back if you'd like a new check or if something else comes up."

Summer nodded to the doctor. "Thanks fer the time, right 'ppreciate it. Maple, Winter?" She led the two out of the office and began the trek home. "Ah doubt a pool's cheap..."

"Three," giggled out Maple. "Three almost at once!"

Author's Note

Three! At the same time!

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