Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Dead or Fred

You look around your the room as you begin to bite at your hoof, you don't know if biting at your hoof is something a pony dose but at this point you want anything to keep your mind off of your thoughts.

Your eyes click to the clock that hangs behind the empty reception desk, it’s only been two minutes but each small second feels like an hour, you know if you had toes they would be culled...you can't even imagine what your hai-mane looks like after you rubbed your damp hooves through it. The bittersweet hospital drenched in worry, stress and happiness is not helping either as the clock slowly chips away at your minds ability to hold your body back from running to the room and bursting through the doors...I should get a medal for thinking, you smile a little as you bite down on your hoof again.

The door to your left opens with a squeak but you don't turn to it.

"Hello."

Your ears twitch at the chiming royal voice behind you...oh god...

You turn your face to the large bright white pony standing in the entrance of the hospital.

"I most certainly did not expect to find you here." Her bright smile pierces your mind as you freeze not knowing what or how tell her to talk.

She looks away from you as she walks around the room stopping almost directly in front of you, "I came as soon as I heard about Discord, could you tell me where Twilight is?"

You swallow hard as you look over her almost flowing long brightly colored mane... you look down as you're too tired and stressed to try a lie, "Twilight is here..."

She is silent for a moment before she talks, "Twilight...Twilight is here?"

You bring you head up to her face at her shocked tone, "T-Twilight is pregnant..." You hold steady as you wait for the god ruler to strike down upon you. But she doesn't...

Celestia holds her smile to you as you bring your face back up to hers.

You blink at her, oh crap I have stunned the Princess into a standing coma!

Celestia gives a very low giggle as she talks, "No you haven't."

Your eyes widen as you stare at her still a little shaky, I could have sworn I thought that?

Cleastia looks down the hallway as she talks in her unchanged royally low voice, "You don't think I sent you both home to study love and tolerance again for no reason do you?"

You feel your face start to lighten as her words hit you, "Y-you knew?"

She nods her head as she talks, "And from the looks of what remains of Discord teaching you that transfer spell was a good idea, wouldn't you say?"

Your mouth hangs open a little as the words stun you. But your new found sense of relief and confusion is quickly exchanged as you get a burning question in your mind, "Cleastia, how could you let her do the spells if you knew!" You feel proud and dumb at yelling at her.

She stares at you with a changed expression, "You two did not know?"

You shake your head as you talk in a building voice, "We did not find out until she was in the hospital because of a spell backfiring!" Your voice shakes a little as you continue, "...A-and now the foal could be hurt because of you not stopping her!" You hold you shaking hoof to her as you feel yourself starting to break down.

Celestia smiles as she looks past you.

This only makes you angrier as you wait for her.

Celestia gives a low response as she talks, "Because, life and love are two things that cannot be told...they have to be felt and learned." She looks back to you with a sweet and calming smile.

"...Sir..."

Your mind is put on hold and your body almost stops all functions as the nurses voice creeps into your ears from behind you.

You turn to the pink pony, who seems more focused on the Princess behind you. But she stammers as she talks, "...Sir, you need to give us a name."

Your body shakes and you feel your eyes building up as these words hit your ears, "W-what?"

The pink pony hold a paper to you as she talks again, "Sir, the spell worked... Ms. Sparkles said to ask you for the name."

Your stance becomes wobbly and you have to sit down as you hold your hooves to your head, your mind can't think your body is wallowing in sweat, joy and a quacking queasy feeling all over your body...you try to calm yourself as the ponies voice to your right becomes nothing more than a blur of sound....A name... You bring you tear filled eyes up to her as you talk in an almost inaudible voice, "W-what is it?"

She holds the paper to you.

You look over the paper as you read its weight and height...your eyes meet the blank space for a name and right next to it the sex. You look back up to her in a shaky voice, "Can I see her?"

The pink mare nods and begins to walk towards a door near the end of the waiting room, "Yes."

You can't bring yourself to stand for a moment as your legs feel more like spaghetti and you feel the cupcakes in your stomach beginning to stir.

Celestia walks ahead of you into the room, after a few moments of paralysation you bring yourself up and follow after her.

The room you enter is a big room with a glass window separating most of the room.

The pink mare stops at the window and looks inside past the glass, Celestia follow her motion and holds a soft smile as she looks on.

You’re shaking too much to go to the window and your voice is low as you stare to the ground, "Is she ok?"

The pink mare turns from the window as she talks, "Well at first she didn't want to stand but after we got her up her steps seemed normal."

You give a tear filling laugh as you talk, "First steps?"

The mare nods her head, "Yes, it's common for a labor induced foal to be a little weaker than other newborns, but she doesn't seem to have that problem. Although she didn't cry as loud as we thought she would, but that could just mean her vocal cords need to be worked a little more. You and Ms. Sparkle should do some exercises with her everyday until she responds."

You nod your head tentatively at her statement, "H-how does she look?"

Cleastia turns to you with a sweet smile, "Why don't you see for yourself?"

You slowly bring yourself to the glass, as you peer through your eyes focus on the only occupied crib in the room. ...You hold your eyes to the small wrapped up filly that has her eyes closed. Your hooves are spread across the glass and your muzzle is pressed up against it, you give a tear filled chuckle as you look over the small pony, I didn't know they could be so small...You try to take her sight in through the hot breath that is accumulating on the glass. You rub the film off as you walk your eyes over her, her coat is a lighter color than Twilight's and her mane has the same purple tone but with streaks of your own mixed throughout it. Your eyes focus on her tiny horn that sits above her tightly closed eyes as she sleeps.

You feel a tap on your side as the low voice hits you again, "We still need a name."

Your eyes are still teared up and your mind is completely blank as you try to think about the list you made so many weeks ago...your mind stops as you stare at the sleeping filly, "She's beautiful..." You back away from the glass as you stagger backwards, "I'm a dad."

Celestia giggles to herself as you sit you back side on the ground with your hoof up to your mouth, "I feel like I’m going to be sick." You hold back the cupcakes that are trying to work their way out of you.

The nurse smiles to you as she hoof you the paper.

You take the paper in your hooves as you stare at the blank name slot. You give another tear filled sniffling laugh as you shake your head, "I-I can't even think right now."

You hover the pen in your purple grasp as you place it to the paper.

The pink mare call out to you as you do this, "It needs to be in hoof writing please."

You stand back up with another laugh as you lean against the glass and think staring at the paper and the small filly, for you...I’ll make sure I spell it correctly.

You carefully stroke out each letter as you concentrate on the paper. You bring your shacking hoof to the pink mare as you finish the paper.

She talks again as she takes the paper, "That’s a wonderful name."

You smile to her as you look back through the glass with your head held up proudly.

The nurse continues to talks as you look through the glass, "Ms. Sparkle has not started producing milk yet, Doctor Stable says she will in the next few weeks. So in the meantime you will need to feed her a special formula."

You nod your head silently as you don't take your eyes off the sleeping filly, “How is Twilight?”

“Ms. Sparkle needs to rest for now, but the foal and her should be ready to go in the morning.”

Celestia giggles a little as she leans her head to you, “I think I will visit you two in a few days, Twilight needs not to worry about me.”

The pink mare pauses as Celestia finish her sentence, when she does the nurse’s sweet voice tightens up a little as she talks now, "Make sure you do not use any magic around her. Baby unicorns should develop their own magic and introduction any new kinds could have a negative impact on later development."

You make mental note of what she said. As you press your face back up to the glass, your voice is low and more for your own ears as you talk, "I promise you...I won't let anything happen..." As the words hit against the glass you watch as the little filly beings to stir, for a brief moment you can see her eyes blink open at you, they are a soft blue and purple color...you smile big as you stare at her, "Hello Violet..." The little filly's eyes are still half shut but her eyes stare right back at you.

End of chapter 4

Maybers are not always...