Conversion Bureau: St George

The Conversion Bureau: St George, Episode 3 part 4:
Foal names, how hard can it be?

Born inside kryxels mind.
Raised by Ray10k.

"Now, what have we learned?" Rainbow Spring said, pacing around Grace.
"Lots of Control," Grace responded.
"Good."
"Screaming and hollering."
"Yes, and most importantly?"
"Passion!" Grace said with a determined look.
"Right. However, just forget about the passion bit. The control is needed, and the screaming slash hollering will come natural," Spring said as she stopped in front of Grace, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Control is key. According to most human doctors I spoke to, most human women get rather... excited and jumpy, when it comes to childbirth. Having a foal while being jumpy or excitable is really dangerous. To you, and to your foal."
Grace studied the unicorn as she talked, not paying a whole lot of attention after having had essentially the same lecture all day long.
"So, what’s with your butt tattoo?" Grace said when Spring stopped talking for a moment.
Spring blinked. "Have you even been listening?"
Grace nodded. "It is not that hard to remember. Lock legs when the contractions come, Foal gets born, lick them to clean them up and then let them nurse. First nursing is important, can be fatal if missed. why do I need to know all this already? It is not like I will be giving birth anytime soon. Besides, I heard that pregnancy lasts a few months longer for ponies, so I guess there will be even less of a rush after my conversion, right?"
"That’s where you are wrong. Conversion severely decreases the time, unless it is performed mere weeks after conception. After you become an Equestrian, you may have a week. At most. But, if you can tell me the name of your foal, I will tell you the story of how I got my cutiemark."
"Hmm.. Names are hard. I have not even figured out my ponyname..." Grace said while tapping a finger on her chin.
"Well, go out and think about one. I’m sure it will come to you," Spring said with a smile, before trotting out heading towards her room.

"Hmm... A name... Why is it so hard to pick a good Equestrian name?" Victor wondered as he laid his head down on a bench, next to where an entrance used to be at some point.
He scratched his hoof against the side of his head, while he used a pencil he held in his mouth to scribble on a piece of paper.
"Rocket Launcher... nonono."
"Healing hoof? Nope."
"Blue Mist? Nah..."
After a few more failed names, Victor was ready to bang his head against the (hopefully sturdy) wall.
"So, how is the name game going?" Colgate said, appearing out of nowhere in particular.
"Quickly going nowhere. That’s the problem," Victor said with a sigh. "I can walk like a pony, talk like a pony, and I am starting to figure out pony magic, but names are as difficult as long divisions."
"Oh, I still have some problems with divisions myself," Colgate said with a smile. "But, if you are stumped I know of somepony who needs help with a similar problem. Rainbow Spring pointed her out, go and say hi."
"Who?" Victor asked, looking at the girls in the surrounding area.
"Grace. She is pregnant, and needs to come up with a name for her foal," Colgate said as she started to walk away.
"Naming a foal. Great. As if this was not hard enough yet," Victor muttered as he walked over to where Grace sat in the lobby. "Uh. Hi Grace?"
Grace looked up from her own paper-and-pencil list, taking a look at the blue and white Unicorn.
"Hello... Victor right?" she asked, sounding a little unsure.
He laughed. "Yeah. I still have not figured out a good pony name yet.”
"Well, it is pretty hard... how about Blue Blood?" Grace said with a hopeful smile.
"Can’t. I asked Colgate about that one, and apparently that name is already taken by a Prince. Not a very pleasant individual from what I heard," Victor said. "But don’t mind me, I am here to help you with your child’s name."
"Well, I just don’t know..." Grace said, looking at Victor with uncertainty in her eyes.
"Let’s start at the beginning. Boy or girl?" Victor said after sitting down on the floor, taking a spot next to Grace.
"Girl. At least, it is supposed to be. I don’t know if conversion will change that."
"Well, let’s assume for now that it doesn’t. How about a flower name? Lilly, Rose, Dandelion, Iris..."
"I don’t want a generic name. I want a more descriptive name."
"Hmm..." Victor scratched his head. "How about Midnight?"
"Midnight? That sounds more like a colt’s name," Grace said, shaking her head.
Victor spent a few more moments thinking, before exclaiming, "OH! Pepper!"
"Pepper? I actually like that one," Grace said as she thought about it, her hand absently reaching up to scratch behind Victor’s ears.
"Glad I could help," he said, gently pushing into her hand.
"I’m sure we could figure out a name for you too. Maybe after I get turned?" Grace said as she stood up.
"Sure!" Victor said with a smile.
"See you later then, Victor!" She said as she started to head back to Spring’s room.
After she disappeared around a corner, Victor caught himself blushing. “Celestia’s sun... I am still attracted to humans?”

*Knock, Knock, Knock*
Spring trotted over to the door and opened it using her magic.
"Hello Grace. What can I do for you?" Spring asked with a smile.
"Pepper."
"Pepper? I think they have some in the kitchen if you need some," Rainbow Spring said as she arched an eyebrow.
"No. My foal will be called Pepper,” Grace replied with a grin.
"Okay. Thanks for letting me know," Spring said with a smile.
"Wait! You promised me your Butt Tattoo story, if I told you the name of my child!"
"Cutiemark dear, Cutiemark. But you are right, I did promise, so I guess I’ll have to deliver on that promise now.
It was about ten years ago. At the time, I was enrolled at the Sugar and Spice Daycare...

It was the rush before Heart Warming’s Eve, when the parents drop the kids off so they could shop for gifts, without the foals knowing what they will get.
Rainbow Spring trotted through the daycare with a few foals riding on her back and one clinging on to her tail.
The snow outside was falling hard and fast, the Pegasi being preoccupied with preventing a storm from rolling into town.

Eventually, the snow piled up, blocking the sun from reaching the windows of the Daycare, plunging the building into darkness.

"What can we do?" Powder the Earth pony asked amid the crying foals.
"Not much we can do," Story Time the Unicorn said, looking over at Rainbow Spring.
Spring scratched a hoof under her chin. "I think I have an idea. Go see if we have some balloons!"
the two ponies ran off, returning a few moments later carrying a small basked with balloons.

Spring took the basket, walking out of the room and returning a hooffull of minutes later, with the balloons now inflated and tied with strings around her horn. The babyfoals quieted down, as Spring smiled and nodded, causing the balloons to bounce gently.

She then moved two behind her ears. In the dim light, it looks as if her ears are as large as her head. "Look! I´m a mouse!" she giggled.

Soon, the foals are laughing, some of them playing with the balloons.

“...I played with the foals, until the Pegasi finally got that storm under control and had dug us out.
When they did, I felt a tickle on my flank and when I looked... there it was. A balloon, in the shape of a heart.
And that is how Equestria got one of the best foalsitters in both worlds!" Spring said.
Grace smiled. "Thank you," she said as she stood up.
"You best get back to your room to sleep. Your conversion is tomorrow, and you don’t want to oversleep on such an important day, right?" Spring said with a smile.
"Okay. And thanks for the wonderful story," Grace said as she left Spring’s room.