And Marshmallow Makes Three

Chapters

Sleeping Troubles
Shopping for Baby
Baby's Milestones
Little White Skunk

Sleeping Troubles

Chapter 2: Sleeping Troubles

"Go to sleep," Fluttershy pleaded. "Please? Pretty please?" Instead of obeying her pleas, the child only continued to wail, kicking her stubby, chubby legs. The yellow mare let out a stressed sigh. She was at her wit's end. She had tried everything: feeding, holding, cuddling, rocking. The child simply didn't want to go to sleep. Perhaps she should do something like reading to her in order to make her fall asleep. Oddly enough, the milk hadn't had any effect on her. The child was still as active as ever, much to the mare's distress. "Please go to sleep." She rocked the basket back and forth in hopes that the tranquil rocking would lure the child to sleep. She had yet to get the child a crib or a substitute such as a cradle. She would be able to get all the necessities tomorrow when she went shopping with the girls.

She sighed and picked the child up in her hooves, holding her out. She looked at the child as she continued to cry. "What do you want me to do? Hmm? What do you want?" She received no answer, only more crying. "Hmm, I wonder . . ." She set the child over her shoulder and gently patted her back. After only a few seconds the child let out a soft burp and all fell silent. She smiled to herself, holding the child out again. "There? All better? Now will you go to sleep?" She set the child back down into the basket and covered her up. "Now, get some sleep, okay? We've got a big day tomorrow." She suddenly stopped as she headed off towards her bed, remembering that she had yet to find anyone to watch after the baby as she and the girls went out shopping.

She shook her head. She would figure something out. She hopped into bed, snuggling into her covers, Angel curled up by her side as always. The rabbit didn't like sleeping alone. Like a dog, he preferred sleeping with his owner. She smiled down at him and she gently stroked his head before closing her eyes and beginning to fall asleep, Marshmallow's soft breathing filling the room.

***

Fluttershy woke up in the middle of the night, quite baffled that Marshmallow hadn't stirred all night. While she was new to parenting, she was sure that the child should have woken up at one point in the night, needing to be fed or changed or . . . something! Worried as to why the child hadn't stirred all night, she went over and gently nudged Marshmallow. The baby didn't react. Okay, don't panic just yet, she thought to herself. She studied the baby's chest and noticed that it wasn't rising and falling. Naturally, this got her concerned. She lifted a hoof and felt around on the baby's neck until she found the spot where the pulse should have been. Only, there was none. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Marshmallow, hoisting the child onto her back and bolting out of the cottage, waking up Angel in the process. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, being careful not to let Marshmallow slip off in the process.

She thought about where she could go. If anyone would know what to do, it would definitely be Twilight. Oh, but she didn't want to bother Twilight, especially when it was so late in the night. The hospital was her best option. Surely the hospital would be open. They had to be. They were open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, weren't they? Sure they were!

Her baby wasn't breathing! She had to do something, anything. If only she'd gone and asked Twilight for a book on parenting, she wouldn't have been dealing with this dilemma. She would know what to do and wouldn't be belting towards the hospital so early in the morning. Nonetheless, even if she did know what to do, she figured she would still have to get emergency help anyway.

In spite of the fact that she was hurrying towards the hospital, she yelled for somepony, anypony, to help her, screaming that her baby wasn't breathing and she needed emergency assistance. Nopony came to help her. If they did, she probably couldn't see them properly due to the fact that her eyes were swimming in tears, making it hard to see. It was a miracle that she hadn't crashed yet. She didn't know what was wrong with her. After all, she barely knew the child and yet she was calling it "her baby." Why? She and the child had only known each other for a couple of hours, and even then their bond wasn't that strong. Still, she had an oath to keep, an oath to help others in need, even if she didn't know them very well. She was certain that her friends would do the same.

She suddenly stopped, realizing that she was still running. What am I doing, she asked herself. Her wings flew open and she took to the skies, soaring past the fluffy clouds, the wind stinging her eyes, making it all the more difficult to see properly through her tears. Luckily, her wings acted as a shield to protect her baby from falling off and falling to her death. She was at least thirty feet or more in the air and a fall from any height would do untold damage to the baby, and that was the last thing she wanted. The wings seemed to be keeping her firmly in place, so her fears were, for the most part, dashed.

By flying, she was able to reach the hospital much faster than had she just walked. She burst through the emergency entrance and thrust Marshmallow onto the counter, panting, trembling with trepidation. Breathlessly, she tried her best to explain the situation and the nurse immediately took the white skunk and began walking down a hallway that had various rooms on either side. Fluttershy followed her, only to be stopped by the nurse and told that she had to wait in the waiting room. Unfortunately, the yellow mare didn't take this too well and demanded that she be allowed to stay in the room as her baby to ensure that her baby would be all right. While the nurse reassured her that her baby would be fine, this didn't help to convince her. Continuously she pleaded to be let in the room to watch over the operation so she would know what to do if the event should occur again, and to know what was wrong with her baby. Sadly, her demands were not met and she had to forcefully dragged to the waiting room while she kicked and screamed for them to let her watch over her baby.

Minutes later, she sat in the waiting room, a cup of water in front of her and a warm light green blanket draped over her body to keep her warm. One of the doctors that had dragged her to the room sat in front of her for two reasons. One, to make sure she didn't try to get in the room where her baby was being held. Two, to reassure her that everything would be all right. His words so far were having no such effect. She had yet to drink from the cup of water that he had given to her. She sat, still trembling, her mind overwhelmed with worry and fear of what was wrong with her baby. She whimpered and allowed a stray tear to fall from her eye at the thought that her baby might be dead. But how? She didn't know. She had never heard of someone just dying during sleep from some unknown cause.

She jumped as she heard the door to the waiting room hit the wall and she looked up to see all five of her friends entering the room, Rainbow Dash leading the pack, the rainbow streak that flowed behind her leading them even if they couldn't completely see her. The doctor who sat in front of her turned his head to look at them and he realized that they were friends of hers based on the surprised expression on her face.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"Making sure you're all right, dear," Rarity replied.

"You were yelling so loud we thought something terrible had happened," Rainbow Dash declared.

"Is everything all right, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

The yellow pony shook her head sadly, looking down at her hooves.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy lifted her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "My baby," she said softly. "Something's wrong with my baby."

The others, aside from Rainbow Dash, blinked. "Your baby?" they all asked in unison, all utterly baffled at what was going on.

"Rainbow Dash, what in the Sam Hill is she talking about?" Applejack demanded, gazing up at her friend.

"You didn't tell them?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "When I went to go check up on Fluttershy about why she wasn't at the picnic earlier today, she was busy watching after one of her forest friends."

The others stared at the yellow pony.

"What?" Fluttershy asked.

"You're not going to get overly attached to this friend, are you?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're not going to spend all your time looking after it, are you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Don't call her an 'it,'" Fluttershy demanded, glaring. "'It' has a name."

"A name?" Rainbow Dash lifted an eyebrow.

"Marshmallow," Fluttershy answered simply.

The others snickered, particularly Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy glared. "And just what is so funny?"

"'Marshmallow'" Rainbow Dash repeated. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Well, I think it's a rather cute name," Fluttershy replied.

"But going back to my question," Twilight said. "You're not going to spend all your time looking after . . . uh . . . Marshmallow, are you?"

"Well, that depends," Fluttershy replied. "She's just a baby. She needs me. I can't just look after her for one day and then just dump her in the middle of the forest."

"So find someone who to look after the kid," Rainbow Dash suggested. "Let her be somebody else's problem." The others, particularly Fluttershy, glared at her. "What?!"

Fluttershy shook her head at Rainbow Dash's suggestion. "Oh, no, no, no, no. I could never do that. You guys all know how passionate I am about my work, like Twilight is with studying, or you, Rainbow Dash, with flying."

"But this isn't going to become a problem, is it?" Rainbow Dash wanted to know.

The blanket draped over Fluttershy's body went up and down, indicating that she didn't know the answer. "I don't know. I might just decide to become her permanent guardian."

"But, Fluttershy, surely her family is looking for her," Twilight suggested.

Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sure they are, but until they arrive on my doorstep, someone's gonna have to look after her, provide for her, take care of her."

"And how are you gonna deal with that?" Applejack said. "How are you going to handle it when you have to give the young'un back?"

Once again, the blanket heaved up and down. "I don't know. I'm sure Rainbow Dash has already mentioned this to you all, but would you girls mind helping me tomorrow with shopping for her? There are a lot of things I need to get."

Applejack smiled. "Of course, sugar cube. We have all afternoon."

Fluttershy smiled in return. "Thank you."

A sound of somepony clearing their throat got their attention. Upon seeing the doctor, Fluttershy nearly ran over to him and demanded how her baby was doing. "I'm afraid your baby has sleep apnea," he said simply.

Though she had no clue what the condition was, Fluttershy still felt her heart drop into her stomach. Based on the distressed look on the doctor's face, she could tell that the condition wasn't anything good. Fear seemed to overwhelm her once again and she took off down the hall, her eyes darting to and fro as she struggled to find the room where her baby was kept in. She spotted it not too far down the hall and she burst through the door. Immediately, a nurse began pushing her out, stating that she shouldn't be in the room and that she had to leave. "I need to know if my baby's all right," she cried. She pushed against the nurse, struggling to get to the bed that her baby was lying in. "I need to know if my baby's all right!!" She jumped backed, caushing the mare pushing her to fall onto her stomach. Seeing her chance, she trotted into the room and looked down at the white skunk lying in the hospital bed before glancing up at the doctors surrounding the bed.

Once again, she was dragged to the waiting room where the doctor spoke to her about Marshmallow's condition and what she could do to help.

"Your baby's gonna be fine," the doctor stated once Fluttershy had calmed down. "Sleep apnea is simply a sleeping disorder where one stops breathing during sleep. It's mostly prevalent in premature babies. Luckily, there are several things you can do to help."

"Like?" Fluttershy asked.

"You could try having her sleeping in a different position. For some babies, lying on their backs causes this problem. Try having her sleep on her side, if you can. Though, I should warn you, this can be dangerous. Lying on her side could cause her to roll onto her stomach, and that could cause her to fall into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome."

Fluttershy yelped at this and covered her mouth with her hooves.

The doctor continued as if there was no interruption. "Other things you could try would be a breathing mask. Her nasal cavities could be congested. There are a number of things you could try, but all the solutions might not work. You might have to go through a number of them before you find the right one. Here," he handed her a few pamphlets, "read these. They'll help you better understand the condition, as well as list more solutions to the problem. And if there are any futher problems, come see me."

Fluttershy nodded to show that she understood. She swallowed hard, clearly trying to fight back her emotions that semeed to be getting the better of her. "May I . . . may I please see my baby now?" She blew her pink mane out of her face, revealing her right eye.

The doctor nodded. "Of course." He turned, revealing a nurse pushing a carriage that contained the baby white skunk.

Fluttershy instantly grabbed her and held her close, letting out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Celestia . . ."

"You should all go home and get some rest," the doctor advised. "You wouldn't want to spend the night in the hospital, would you?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Of course not. Thank you, doctor. Please excuse me for my behavior tonight."

The doctor shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I have a kid of my own, you know."

***

"I'm so embarrassed," Fluttershy said quietly, looking down at the ground as she walked. Marshmallow was saddled onto her back. She looked at the others out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash flying ahead of them. "Could we please not mention this night ever again?"

"Whatever are you talking about?" Rarity demanded. "You have no reason to be embarrassed."

"But I acted like a maniac."

"No," Twilight replied. "It only shows how much you care, and that's the important thing." She smiled.

The yellow mare smiled back. "Thank you, Twilight."

Applejack smiled down at Marshmallow. "She really is quite adorable." She nuzzled the white skunk with her nose, watching carefully to make sure that the skunk was breathing.

"Really cute," Pinkie Pie added gleefully, hopping. How she could be so perky so early in the morning, the others didn't know. Must have been the sugar she constantly consumed, they reasoned.

"Yes," Fluttershy agreed, turning her head to look down at the baby skunk out of the corner of her eye, "and she's my baby."

"Are you sure you can take care of a baby?" Twilight asked. "It's a big responsibility, after all."

"Oh, I'm sure I can handle it," Fluttershy replied. "It shouldn't be any different than taking care of any other animal I've looked after, right?"

"Uh . . ." Twilight mumbled.

"You guys wouldn't mind looking after her every now and then, would you?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack smiled. "Course not, Fluttershy. Since me and Rarity have experience with babies, we'd be happy to look after her."

"Me?" Rarity questioned. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I don't do diapers."

Fluttershy chuckled at her friend's objectiveness. Typical Rarity.

"But we'll help out any way we can," Twilight reassured the pegasus. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Fluttershy suddenly looked down, a frown on her face. "Are you sure it's all right? I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage."

"Nonsense, sugar cube," Applejack replied, smiling. "We'd be happy to help."

"But who's going to watch her while we're all out tomorrow?" Fluttershy asked. "I can't leave her at home by herself? And I'm going to need some help renovating my bedroom to make it into a nursery. It's just as well. I barely use it except for guests. I usually sleep on the couch. It's much more comfortable."

"We'll find someone, don't you worry none," Applejack replied. She turned to Twilight. "Is Spike busy tomorrow? Or have you given him the day off?"

"I'm pretty sure he won't be busy," Twilgiht replied, "what, with us being in town. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with watching her."

"And if all else fails," Rarity replied, "you can always have Mr. and Mrs. Cake watch her."

"They already have Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. I don't want to burden them with another kid, especially someone else's. Besides, I turned down their offer to babysit for them. No way would they want to babysit for me."

"Honey, you're thinkin' too hard about all this," Applejack interjected. "Relax. We'll find someone."

Fluttershy smiled. "You're right. I shouldn't be stressing about this so much. She attempted to check on Marshmallow, but turning her neck at such a degree hurt her neck. "Is she all right?"

"She's just fine, sugar cube," Applejack replied. "Don't worry. I've got my eye on her. If anything should happen, I know CPR."

Fluttershy sighed in relief. "That's good. Maybe you could teach me some time."

Applejack nodded. "Of course."

***

It was near dawn by the time Fluttershy got home. Nonetheless, she still wanted to get as much as sleep as she could before she had to go shopping. There was no way the girls would be in the mood to go shopping so early in the morning. They would more than likely head off on their shopping trip a little after lunch, so that gave her all morning and the early afternoon to look for a babysitter.

To keep another incident like earlier from happening, Fluttershy allowed Marshmallow to sleep with her. She held the infant close, the baby skunk snuggled warmly within her mane. Of course Angel didn't take too kindly to this and he reluctantly retreated to the foot of the bed and went to sleep, once Fluttershy had used the stare on him in order to get him to obey orders, of course.

Shopping for Baby

Chapter 3: Shopping for Baby

"Oh, Mr. Piggy, you've been so good to me over these past few years," Fluttershy stated as she stroked her beloved piggy bank with one hoof. "Keeping my bits safe and whatnot, but now it's time to give it all back!" She smashed the piggy bank against the floor, only to find that there was nothing but thin air now among the broken pieces of the pink piggy bank. She frowned. "Oh, no." She jumped and yelped as she heard a sudden knock on her door. Tentatively, she opened the door, just a crack, so that only one side of her face was showing. When she realized it was Rainbow Dash, she opened the door all the way and smiled at the pegasus.

"You ready to go?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I want to hurry up and get this over with. Sorry, but I'm not much into shopping. You're lucky I'm even going."

The yellow pegasus smiled sweetly. "And I appreciate it very much. Thank you." She leaned forward and gently licked Rainbow Dash's face.

"Eck!" Rainbow Dash wiped her face. "Don't ever do that again!"

Fluttershy smiled. "Sorry."

"So, are you ready to go or what?"

Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at the broken remains of her piggy bank. She looked back at her friend. "Sorry, but, no. I don't have any bits to buy anything."

"Don't worry about it. We've got it covered."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no. I could never ask you guys to do that."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Don't try to talk us out of it. We've already decided. Besides, that's what friends are for, right?"

"I . . . I guess."

Rainbow Dash. "Great! Now come on! The others are waiting!"

"Would you guys mind if I brougth Marshmallow along? Sorry, but I couldn't find a babysitter on such short notice."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I guess that would be okay."

Fluttershy smiled as she picked Marshmallow up from her basket, waking her up in the process, and hoisted her onto her back. She walked out of her cottage, making sure that the door was locked before she went any further. She walked below Rainbow Dash, who had to fly slowly due to the fact that Fluttershy walked at such a normal pace. Besides that, she didn't want anything bad to happent to Marshmallow, such as Marshmallow accidentally falling off and hurting herself. Luckily, the child knew well enough to hold on tight to prevent such a thing from happening.

Every now and then, Fluttershy would turn her head to make sure that Marshmallow was all right. The child would simply smile at her and she would face forward once again, assured that the white skunk was fine.

Eventually, the three of them arrived at the store. At the front entrance the other five were waiting, Pinkie Pie hopping up and down as usual, a giddy expression on her face.

"Sorry we're late," Rainbow Dash apologized. "Fluttershy here just had to take her sweet little time."

Fluttershy said nothing.

"Well, the important thing is that you're here," Twilight stated. "Now, I've compiled a list of things that we need. I've made copies so that we can split up and each get what's required." A series of papers, illuminated by a purple aura, floated out of her saddlebag and floated in front of the others. "We'll meet up for lunch around noon."

"Sounds good to me," Applejack said.

Twilight smiled. "Okay then. With that said, let's get started."

The group walked in the store, each one taking a different path. With Marshmallow, Fluttershy walked down the aisle that contained diapers, pacifiers, baby bottles, baby powder, and baby wipes. The piece of paper that Twilight had given her suddenly fell in front of her eyes. She turned her head and smiled up at the white skunk. "Thanks, Marshmallow." She turned towards the list. "Now let's see . . ." She looked around the aisle. "Everything I need is right here in this aisle. How convenient." She spotted a cart a few feet in front of her to her left beside the shelves containing the diapers. She held one in her mouth while Marshmallow grabbed the items that were needed, dumping them into the crate below. On some instances, the baby had to stand on Fluttershy's head in order to get some items, resulting in a headache for the yellow pegasus.

Once Fluttershy had all of her things, she searched for the others to see if they needed help with anything. She spotted Rarity attempting, but ultimately failing, to get a crib down from a high shelf, supported by a ladder somepony was holding steady for her. She finally managed to get the box down, but it landed with a loud thud on the floor. The white unicorn glared down at the box and moved down to the floor.

"Oh, Fluttershy," Rarity cried, smiling at the pegasus, "be a dear and help me with this, would you?"

Fluttershy nodded and helped Rarity load the box into her cart. "Have you seen the others?"

"I think I saw Rainbow Dash helping Applejack get some baby food," Rarity replied. "Walk with me?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Of course."

The two of them walked down a few aisles before spotting Rainbow Dash tossing a few jars of baby food into Applejack's cart, the two treating it like a game, as if the task of shopping bored them. After tossing a few dozen jars of baby food in the cart, Rainbow Dash landed by Applejack's side and both looked over what was next on the list.

"The next we gotta get is a changing table," Applejack announced. She looked around. "Where the blue blazes are those?"

"Aisle eight, I believe," Rarity piped up.

The group of four, plus Marshmallow, walked down to the aisle specified and each worked together to look at different changing tables. All of them seemed to agree that one with crates for storing wipes and diapers would be best. The look of the changing table wasn't particularly important to Fluttershy, just as long as it was sturdy to where it could support Marshmallow's weight and had crates where she could store supplies. They finally setlted on an oak changing table that they all felt would go nicely with the interior of Fluttershy's cottage.

"Now can we go home?" Rainbow Dash asked once the box was loaded into the cart.

"Not just yet, sugar cube," Applejack replied. "We still need a crib, blankets, pillows, and maybe some stuffed animals and toys."

"I think Twilight and Spike are taking care of all that," Rainbow Dash remarked.

***

"Okay, next we need . . . blankets," Spike remarked, smiling.

"Check," Twilight replied, trotting down a row of aisles before turning into one of them. She observed the different blankets. "Which one do you think she'll like?" She turned her head to look at her number one asssitant.

"Does it really matter?" the dragon asked. "I mean, she's a baby. She's not going to care about what blanket she gets."

She nodded. "You're probably right." Using her mouth she grabbed a blanket and dumped it in the cart. "What's next, Spike?"

The purple dragon observed the list. "Hmm . . . pillows, toys, and a crib."

She nodded. "Where are . . ." She turned to see such items resting on the shelves opposite of her. "Oh." She chuckled to herself and began retrieving pillows and various toys and dumping them in the cart. She spotted one crib that she liked and requested that Spike get it down for her. The dragon succeeded in his task, but ended up falling on his back, the box on top of him. The box was lifted of him by Twilight using her magic and dumped in the cart.

"Thanks," Spike replied. "Now, can we get some lunch? I'm starving."

Twilight smiled. "Sounds good to me. Come on, let's go find the others."

The others were located at one of the checkout lanes. They stood in line, each one with their cart packed with baby items. Up ahead, Twilight could see Marshmallow riding on Fluttershy's back, and the thought of Fluttershy giving Marshmallow a pony ride popped into her head and delighted her. One by one, each of them dumped their items onto the counter and the total was tallied up. The total cost came to three hundred bits, a fact that didn't surprise Fluttershy in the list. True to Rainbow Dash's word, though, she and the others collected all of their bits together and handed them over to the cashier before loading their things in their carts again.

While the others ate, Fluttershy was left with feeding Marshmallow. Trying to eat while doing this proved to be futile, so she ended up discarding her lunch and concentrated solely on feeding Marshmallow instead. Luckily, Rarity fed her from time to time while she fed Marshmallow, even though Fluttershy looked quite embarrassed about being put in such a position. The others didn't make a big fuss about it and even offered to care for the child once she was done feeding Marshmallow so she could enjoy her lunch properly. She gratefully handed Marshmallow over to Applejack, who held her close and tight, while she went about eating her lunch, which was just as well since Spike and Pinkie PIe weren't done eating.

Once lunch was over with, they each walked to Fluttershy's and went about setting up Marshmallow's nursery in a spare bedroom that Fluttershy rarely used. The room was right next to Fluttershy's bedroom and so it would be easier for her to get to Marshmallow in case anything happened. However, at the suggestion that they set up the nursery in the spare bedroom, Fluttershy suggested that they set it up in her bedroom so that if Marshmallow ever stopped breathing in the middle of the night, she could get to the baby and faster. The others agreed that her idea made sense and so they set about setting up the nursery, helping each other put the various furniture together. To keep her occupied and so that she wouldn't get in the way, Spike took Marshmallow down to the first floor and began playing with her, along with Angel. It wasn't long, however, when the others decided to take a break, feeling tired from their constant working, and Fluttershy led them down to the kitchen for some refreshments, which was just as well since Marshmallow began crying upon seeing the yellow pegasus, reaching out for her. The yellow pegasus lovingly picked her up and carried her into the kitchen, setting her down on the floor and asking Rarity to look after her while she got the child something to eat, suspecting that Marshmallow was hungry.

The high chair had yet to be built, but this didn't concern any of the others seeing as Marshmallow could easily be fed without it. Spike, being the only one with actual fingers besides Marshmallow herself, offered to feed her and Fluttershy agreed to the idea, seeing that the skunk seemed to get along with him. He had a hard time getting the jar of baby food open and had to have Twilight open it for him. He was taken aback when Marshmallow actually accepted the food that he proposed to her, not expecting her to take it. Fluttershy reminded him that it had been at least an hour and a half since her last meal, so of course she would be hungry.

After everything was set up, the others went home and Fluttershy put Marshmallow to bed. The baby skunk seemed to be happy that she finally had a bed and didn't have to sleep in the basket anymore. Still, Fluttershy decided to keep the basket so that it could serve as Marshmallow's bassonet and stroller when the two of them were out for a walk among the residents of Ponyville. Fluttershy gave her her bedtime bottle and went over to her bed. Angel hopped up by her side while she retrieved a book from the shelf above her bed. While she wasn't as enthusiastic about reading as Twilight, one of her bedtime hobbies was snuggling up with a good book and doing a bit of light reading until she got too tired to read another sentence. She set her bookmark down by her side and began reading the last chapter that she stopped on. While reading, she would look up peridoically to make sure that Marshmallow was all right. At least she knew what to do if the child should stop breathing again in the middle of the night, thanks to the many pamphlets she'd read on the topic.

At around midnight, she let out a yawn, an early sign that she was growing tired. She placed her bookmark at a good spot to stop reading and she put the book back on the shelf, snuggling under her covers and holding Angel close while she rested her head on the pillow.

***

Fluttershy was actually kind of grateful that Marshmallow had woken her up in the middle of hte night with her wailing. At least she knew that Marshmallow hadn't stopped breathing. She guessed that it had something to do with the fact that she had changed the position that Marshmallow slept in. It seemed to be working so far. Once the railing was down and she picked Marshmallow up, the child calmed down significantly, though she was still letting soft sobs escape her mouth.

The two of them went downstairs to the kitchen, the baby skunk holding her bottle limply in her paw. By this time the high chair had been made, but Fluttershy wasn't about to feed her baby food. She guessed that the child wanted a bottle of milk. She set Marshmallow on the counter, taking her bottle and filling it with fresh milk before placing it on the pan on the stove. She stood in front of Marshmallow to catch the skunk if she should suddenly fall. The child simply sat, grinning while she sucked on her thumb, swinging her legs back and forth, the heels of her feet banging against the cabinet doors beneath her. Leaning forward, Fluttershy took a whiff of Marshmallow, to see if the child needed to be changed or not. Her nostrils were met with the somewhat foul stench of urine and she nodded her head, concluding that the child needed to be changed.

She waited until the bottle was hot to take it off the stove. This would give her enough time to take Marshmallow upstairs and change her without the bottle losing any of its warmth. The two of them headed back up to Fluttershy's room and Fluttershy gently set Marshmallow down on the changing table, bending down to retrieve wipes, baby powder, and a fresh diaper. She set the items beside Marshmallow. While she skunk happily sucked on her thumb and played with one of her feet, Fluttershy went to work giving her a change. Even if she was new to parenting, she knew how a diaper change was administered. It was common sense, really. Once she wiped down and the wet diaper was disposed of in the diaper pail by the changing table, Fluttershy taped a new, clean diaper on Marshmallow. The child sat up, her diaper rustling audibly as she moved.

Fluttershy chuckled and nuzzled her nose with Marshmallow's as she said, "You look so cute." She smiled at Marshmallow and the skunk climbed onto her head and slid down her neck, turning around so that she was facing forward, gripping Fluttershy's mane gently so as to prevent herself from falling off. "Now, let's go get you fed."

The bottle was still warm enough to be consumed. She handed it to Marshmallow, who began sucking eagerly while the two of them went back upstairs to the bedroom. Marshmallow climbed into Fluttershy's lap and sucked happily on the nipple of her bottle while Fluttershy held her close, rocking her back and forth. The child looked so happy that Fluttershy couldn't help but smile herself.

Marshmallow took her time with drinking the entire bottle of milk, wanting to enjoy it as much as possible. Of course, Fluttershy didn't mind, knowing that it would take a while for the child to drink the whole bottle. Besides, the baby needed more sleep than her. While she only needed three hours of sleep, the baby would need several, so it was no surprise that Marshmallow would sleep for much throughout the day. This wasn't a problem for Fluttershy until she realized that if Marshmallow was sleeping a good amount of the time during the day, then this would prevent her from interacting with her friends as much as she would have liked. She just hoped that her interactions with Marshmallow didn't do any untold harm to her relationship with her friends. She loved them all, but Marshmallow needed her and she couldn't just abandon the baby during its time of need.

It took at least a half-hour for Marshmallow to completely drink the bottle of milk, after which she was burped and then placed back in her crib and Fluttershy gave her a stuffed animal to cuddle wtih before she herself turned in for the night. She hoped that Marshmallow wouldn't wake up until morning.

***

Rainbow Dash flew back and forth in her bedroom, her mind clouded with thoughts. She finally stopped, hovering in the air, scowling down at the floor below her. She lifted her gaze and stared at the ceiling in thought. Why does she remind me so much of . . . him, she thought to herself. She had yet to grow comfortable around Marshmallow. Anytime she was around the kid, she was reminded of what had happened the last time she was around someone else's kid, a memory she tried her best to forget about it. She had thought that she had pushed it aside out of her memory, but Marshmallow had suddenly brought it back full force, and she couldn't stop remembering what had happened that fateful night. The only question was, if Marshmallow was left in her care, would it happen again? She hoped not.

She glanced down at her bed, where a plate that contained some crumbs of chocolate cake and a empty, stained glass rested: her dinner for the evening. She had needed some comfort after her long day of being near Marshmallow. Being around the skunk, albeit she was very young, frightened her. It did nothing but bring back negative emotions and bad memories. If Fluttershy ever asked her to babysit, she would flat-out refuse. While she hadn't refused to babysit Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, she had made up an excuse to avoid babysitting, not wanting another mishap happening on her part.

She shook her head. Now that she thought about it, she realized that it hadn't entirely been her fault; it had merely been an accident, though she supposed that she should've been looking after the child a little more closely. Then again, it had been her first babysitting job and so she was still new to the whole parenting thing. Somehow, she had been able to maintain her patience while feeding and caring for the child, even succeeding in doing a diaper change without any harsh side effects such as her eyes watering or passing out from holding her breath for too long.

She groaned and put a hoof to her head. All this thinking was giving her a headache, which unfortunately meant that she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. She sighed and decided that she might as well try to get some sleep, even if she knew right off the bat that she wasn't going to get any. She set the plate and glass down on her bedside table and climbed into bed, the covers bringing her some comfort and warmth, but unfortunately wouldn't ultimately aid her in her quest to get some sleep.

She stared up at the ceiling, her mind seeming to become more and more clouded by the minute. She let out a sigh and turned onto her side, her eyes falling on a photo of her and her friends that was taken last summer at Sweet Apple Acres, the ten of them (Spike, Big Mac, Applebloom, and Granny Smith included) just getting together to have a good time, just for the hay of it. She smled as the memory floated through her mind. Spike had set up the shot, jumping in at the last minute so he could get in the shot. All had had a wonderful time. She frowned, wondering if such good times lay ahead of her and her friends if Marshmallow was included in the bunch.

She wondered how Fluttershy was doing with looking after the child. No doubt due to the other night's situation, the yellow pegasus was taking extra caution with Marshmallow to ensure that another incident like that never happened again. She couldn't help but wonder if the others would be helpful in taking care of Marshmallow whenever Fluttershy needed to go somewhere and couldn't take Marshmallow with her. If so, she hoped Fluttershy wouldn't ask her to watch over Marshmallow. Then again, she probably would need to. With how expensive diapers and other baby supplies were, it was common sense that Fluttershy would need to get a job. Given that she loved helping people, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile as she thought about Fluttershy getting a job at the hospital, and Pinkie Pie could also get a job there keeping the patients entertained and upbeat. The two of them would make a great team together.

With her worries behind her and a smile on her face, she pushed one hoof underneath her pillow and closed her eyes to go to sleep, no longer fearing that she wouldn't be able to get a good night's rest. WIth such great friends like hers, they were always there to help, even in her subconscious when she couldn't get to sleep.

Baby's Milestones

Rarity was fuming! She was just so . . . so . . . Ooh, she was so mad that she could just strangle something. How dare she! How dare Fluttershy even think about missing one of their spa appointments! Thsi the third time--the third time, mind you--that Fluttershy had missed their spa appointment, and Rarity wasn't about to take that lightly! It was the thing that they did together, where they could bond and dish and just be themselves with no one else around. Fluttershy had always loved their spa dates, so why in Equestria would she choose to miss out on it three weeks in a row?

Rarity supposed that she should have been more understanding of Fluttershy. After all, the poor dear had a baby to take care now and that ate up a large chunk of her time to where she had no free time to speak of. But, honestly, surely she could have gotten somepony, anypony, to watch the kid while she went out for a while, at least for a couple of hours. There was little to no doubt in Rarity's mind that waiting on the kid hand and foot, day and night, was exhausting for her, so surely Fluttershy would like at least one day to relax and forget about her worries, about her baby. It just didn't make any sense to Rarity why Fluttershy would choose to exhaust herself caring for her baby than spend a couple of hours pampering herself.

She crossed the bridge that led to Fluttershy's cottage. She tried to relax herself, but that was hard to do when every muscle in her body was tense. Was she really that upset that it was having a negative effect on her body? Surely she couldn't have been that upset with Fluttershy! Then agian, she supposed that Fluttershy herself would have been disappointed if she, Rarity, had missed three of their spa dates. Regardless, Rarity was going to give that pegasus a piece of her mind!

She took a deep breath as she stood outside the door. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, thinking long and hard about her approach. She didn't want to come across as so mad as to never want to have anything to do with Fluttershy ever again. That certainly was not the case. But, she also wanted to make her point bold and clear to where Fluttershy got the message and understood why she was so upset. "Right then." She lifted a hoof and rapped on the door a couple of times.

"Just a minute," a timid voice came from inside the cottage.

Within only a couple of seconds, the front door was opened and Fluttershy found herself standing in front of Rarity, smiling, looked tired. The mare looked as if she hadn't been getting much sleep over the past couple of days, and why wouldn't she with a child that needed tending to? It was quite obvious to Rarity that she was doing her best to act as if she wasn't tired in the slightest, putting on a fake smile. "Oh, hello, Rarity."

"Hello, darling," Rarity greeted, trying to be as polite as possible. "May I come in?"

Fluttershy nodded and stepped aside, allowing her friend to enter the cottage. She shut the door and trotted until she was standing beside Rarity. "So what brings you here?"

"Fluttershy, do you happen to know what day it is?"

Fluttershy blinked for a moment before tapping her hoof to her forehead, thinking hard. She looked up at her friend shortly afterward. "M-Monday?"

"It's our spa day, dear," Rarity corrected.

Fluttershy's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry, Rarity! It's just that I've been so busy taking care of Marshmallow that I've lost track of time."

"Clearly." Rarity looked around. Seated in the kitchen, in her high chair, was Marshmallow. The baby skunk was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, a bib covering it. The child's mouth was a mess, baby food smeared all it and her face. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She turned back to her friend. "I see I've interrupted lunch."

Fluttershy walked back over to Marshmallow and sat down, taking the spoon in her hoof and scooping up some more baby food, proposing it to Marshmallow. "Open wide." She smiled warmly as Marshmallow leaned forward and accepted the food, chewing the mushy baby food slowly before finally swallowing. "Good girl."

Rarity's expression hardened. "Darling, do you realize that this is the third time you've missed one of our appointments?"

Fluttershy looked up at her, a worried expression on her face. "Is it?" Her friend nodded. "Oh, dear, now I see why you're so upset. I'm terribly sorry, Rarity. I was just so busy taking care of Marshmallow that I guess I wasn't paying attention to anything other than her needs."

"But what about your needs, Fluttershy? Wouldn't you like to take a break from all this . . . parenting that you're doing?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no. Taking care of others is my passion, you know. I couldn't just stop."

Rarity nodded. "I understand that, darling, but you do need to take a break every now and then. Relax, unwind. That's the whole purpose behind our spa dates. You've not had a problem taking a day off from your work before."

"Babies are different from animals. They need constant care. Besides, I wouldn't be able to find a babysitter on such short notice. That's why she had to come shopping with us."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of that, darling, from having taken care of Sweete Belle for so long. I'm sure we can find a babysitter in advance if we tried hard enough."

Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement as she fed Marshmallow another spoonful of baby food. "I'm sure we could. Oh, but I just couldn't stand being away from her that long. You see, I've become quite attached to her over these past couple of weeks."

Rarity smiled. "Yes, I can see that."

"I suppose I could give a try," Fluttershy went on. "Of course, the babysitter would have to be notified two weeks in advance. Maybe when she gets older, she can join us."

"Perhaps."

"But for the time being she needs to get fed." Turning back to the baby she fed Marshmallow another spoonful of baby food. She looked over at Rarity. "Would you liket o stay and keep her company while I run out and run some errands?"

Rarity shook her head. "Sorry, but I can't. I have some deadlines to meet. I'd better get going."

"Oh, okay then. So I guess I'll be seeing you around."

Rarity smiled. "I'm sure you will. Ciao." With that, she trotted out the door.

Fluttershy turned back to Marshmallow just in time to see a glob of baby food headed for her. Unfortunately, she didn't have any time whatsoever to react, causing the baby food to land directly in her mane. "I take it you're no longer hungry." She set the jar and the plastic spoon aside and used one of the napkins lying on the dining table to wipe her mane clean. "Well, al that food surely made you thirsty. What say we get you a nice warm bottle of milk and put you down for an afternoon nap?" She didn't wait for any response from the baby as she got up and trotted over to the fridge.

***

Fluttershy smiled down at Marshmallow as the white skunk slept in her crib, the soft sounds of her sucking on her pacifier being the only sound in the room. She began pacing back and forth, her head down, her pink mane hiding the left side of her face as always. She closed her eyes and shook her head in frustration, gritting her teeth. Oh, what to do?! What to do?!

She had always wanted a daughter, a baby to call her own. She'd always been jealous of both Applejack and Swette Belle and the relationships that the two of them had with their sisters. They were all like mother and daughter rather than sisters, especially Applejack and Applebloom. In Rarity and Swette Belle's case, they fought more like sisters. With Applejack and Applebloom, they were more like mother and daughter due to the fact that their parents had died and Applejack, with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh's help, had raised Applebloom since she was a foal, just a little bitty filly.

She let out a heavy groan, falling flat onto her stomach on the floor, rubbing her head. She was so frustrated, so overwhelmed with indecision. Why was this so hard? It certainly shouldn't have been. All she had to do was find a babysitter for Marshmallow and then go with her friends to the picnic. How hard was that? It was considering the fact that many mares in Ponyville weren't mothers. The only other mother that she could think of besides her was Derpy.

Her eyes shot open and she sat up, a small smile coming to her face. That was it! That's what she'd do! She'd interview Derpy and ask her if she was interested in babysitting Marshmallow. Oh, but with how busy she was (hopping from job to job, a child to raise), did she really need another thing weighing her down? The last thing Fluttershy wanted to do was put more stress on the poor mare. She supposed she could always ask.

***

"So, it'd only be for a little while," Fluttershy said to Derpy. She took a sip of her tea. "It wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

Derpy shook her head. "No. I'd be happy to watch her."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel obligated. I know how much you have to do around here." She turned her head to see Dinky playing with a little red ball, and she smiled.

"Really, Fluttershy, it's no problem. What day do you need me to watch her?"

"Well, as long as you're sure. I'd need you to watch her on Sunday. That's the day we're going to the spa."

"This Sunday?"

Fluttershy frowned. "That's not a problem, is it?"

Derpy shook her head. "Not at all. Just making sure." She studied her friend closely. "Are you all right?"

"I'm not so sure if I even want to do this."

Derpy smiled, understanding where Fluttershy was coming from. "I know what you mean. When Dinky was just a foal, I never wanted to be away from her. If I was, I worried about her constantly, wondering if she would be all right."

Fluttershy grinned. "Sounds you'll fit the job perfectly."

"Well, I do have a lot of experience." She reached a hoof to take the cup that Fluttershy held out to her. Her hoof bumped against the tea kettle, spilling warm, sweet tea all over the table cloth.

"Oh, my goodness!" Fluttershy grabbed several napkins and began mopping up the mess along with Derpy.

Derpy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. You didn't get any on you, did you?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I'm fine." She trotted into the kitchen and dumped the wet napkins in the trash bin before walking back over to her seat. "What about Dinky? Do you think she'll be all right with having Marshmallow around?"

Derpy nodded. "Of course. She doesn't have many friends, you see. When Marshmallow gets older, they can regular play dates."

Fluttershy smiled. "You're such a good friend."

"It's no problem, Fluttershy." She pushed a plate of muffins towards her. "Would you care for a muffin? They're blueberry."

***

"Thank you for watching her, Pinkie," Fluttershy said as she entered her cottage. She blinked. "Why are you covered in flour?"

"It was the only way I could get her to stop crying," Pinkie said with a grin.

"Um . . . okay." She walked over to Marshmallow and nuzzled her. "She wasn't any trouble, was she?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope!"

"That's good."

"Maybe we can make this a regular thing, you know, while you go out and do whatever."

Fluttershy suddenly felt guilty for appointing Derpy as her primary babysitter, seeing as how Pinkie also had experience with watching after babies. She grinned, looking up. "Maybe." She nodded towards the door. 'Well, you should get going, I suppose."

Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement. "Yep! Those cupcakes aren't going to bake themselves!" She hopped out the door, gleefully laughing to herself.

Fluttershy closed the door and walked over to Marshmallow. "Well, Marshmallow, what say we fix some dinner, huh? You're probably hungry anyway."

***

Before Fluttershy knew it, Sunday had arrived. Reluctantly, she dropped Marshmallow off, second guessing her decision when she heard Marshmallow crying and reaching out for her as she flew away. She hoped that leaving Marshmallow with Derpy would give the skunk a better chance to get comfortable around other people.

Within a few minutes after, Fluttershy landed outside the spa. She smiled as she entered, seeing Rarity in the waiting room. She walked over and softly cleared her throat. She received no resposne, so she tried again, slightly louder. Rarity didn't look up. Sighing, she resorted to speaking. "I'm here."

Rarity looked up from the magazine she'd been reading and smiled. "Oh, there you are, Fluttershy. So glad you could make it. Well, let's not waste any time." She turned to Aloe. "The usual, please."

The steam room was where they went first, where Rarity began talking excitedly about a new design for a dress she'd been working on. Fluttershy listened intently, only giving her input every now and then. She was more a listener, not a talker, and Rarity was just fine with that. With Fluttershy, she could go on and on about whatever topic she wanted and Fluttershy wouldn't object to the topic that she wanted to discuss. However, Fluttershy found it odd that Rarity never asked about how Marshmallow was doing. Fluttershy, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about how her baby was doing with Derpy.

***

Derpy was off for the day, thankfully. No mail to deliver today. All she had to do was watch over Marshmallow. She just hoped that she remembered how. She currently had Marshmallow lying on her bed, playing with her feet, her toes in particular, making the baby skunk cackle all the while. It had taken her a while to get Marshmallow to calm down and stop crying. All she had to do was cuddle with the child, thus soothing her.

At the moment, Dinky was in the kitchen preparing lunch. Ever since her mother had nearly caught the house on fire, she hadn't been trusted in the kitchen again. As fate would have it, Dinky seemed to be a better cook than her mother.

Derpy kept tickling Marshmallow, blowing raspberries on the skunk's belly, making her laugh. Their playtime was suddenly interrupted when Dinky called them to the kitchen for lunch. Marshmallow was scooped up and carried to the kitchen and set in Dinky's old high chair. She reached into Marshmallow's diaper bag and took out a jar of baby food.

***

"She wasn't much trouble, was she?" Fluttershy whispered quietly. She crept into the room with Derpy.

"No," Derpy replied.

Fluttershy smiled in relief. "Good." She bent down and gingerly picked up Marshmallow by the scruff of her neck with her neck, turning her head and placing her on her back. She turned to Derpy. "Same time next week?"

Derpy nodded. "Certainly."

Fluttershy trotted over to the front door, but suddenly stopped as if she had forgotten something. She nuzzled into her saddlebag and pulled out a couple of bits. "Here. Thanks for helping me today. I really appreciate it."

Derpy seemed reluctant to take the money. She shook her head and eventually took the bits being presented to her. "Thanks, Fluttershy. Have you ever thought of how you're going to get money to pay for everything that you need? Clothes, diapers, food . . ."

Fluttershy looked worried. "Gosh, I never thought about that. Um . . ., what do you think I could do for money?"

"Well, you're very good with helping others. Maybe you could get a job at the local hospital."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no. My area of expertise is with animals, not with other ponies, and I wouldn't feel right charging my friends for money for the services I give."

Derpy smiled. "I understand. I could provide you with any supplies that you may need."

"Oh, no." Fluttershy shook her head quickly. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Really, Fluttershy, it's no problem."

"Well . . ., okay, as long as you're sure." She finally left the house, gingerly flying until she reached the ground.

Maybe Derpy's right, she thought as she walked home. Maybe I could get a job at the hospital. It would give me something new and exciting to do.Oh, but what if I mess up and make somepony worse? I just couldn't live with that. I took an oath to help ponies, not make them worse! I suppose I could start asking for money for helping my friends, but again, I wouldn't feel right doing that. Oh, what can I do in order to earn some bits?

She stomped her hoof in frustration. Celestia above, give me a sign or . . . or something! She was suddenly knocked to the ground. Instinctively, she instantly looked over her shoulder to make sure that Marshmallow was all right. She let out a sigh when she discovered that Marshmallow, surprisingly, was still sleeping. She finally turned her head to discover a brown bag lying on its side, bits spilling out in front of it. How convenient, she thought, shaking her head. She looked around and noticed that no one seemed to be acting as if they'd lost something, thus giving her the advantage to take the money in run. But, she couldn't do that. It wouldn't be right. It would be very dishonest. Oh, she wished Applejack were here to give her an honest opinion on what she should do!

Then again, she did need the money and she didn't really have another way of getting money besides either applying for a job at the local hospital or charging her friends money, and either option was out of the question for her. She sighed, deciding that taking the money would be her best option. Finders keepers, losers weepers, she thought.

She stashed the money away under her pillow when she got home, then gently placed Marshmallow in her crib, gingerly tucking her in and placing her pacifier in her mouth. She ran a hoof down Marshmallow's face, smiling sweetly at her before turning and heading downstairs to prepare herself something to eat and also prepare Marshmallow's dinner.

***

Fluttershy stared down at the application form in front of her, a pen in her mouth. I suppose I could give it a try, she thought. Surely they have classes that I can take so I at least sort of know what I'm doing. She began filling out the form, but she was suddenly startled by a high-pitched, cheerful voice, losing the pen to the floor in the process. She looked up to see Pinkie Pie bouncing in front of her, her mane and tail going up and down in the complete opposite direction of her body. "Hi, Pinkie. What are you doing here?"

"I'm working here, silly," Pinkie replied.

Fluttershy blinked. "You're working here."

Pinkie nodded. "That's what I said."

"What do you do around here?"

"I keep the patients entertained and smiling."

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. It was only natural that Pinkie Pie would be the one to be the entertainer at a hospital. She watched as Pinkie picked up the pen with her mouth and gently slid it into hers when she opened it. She mumbled, "Thanks," and went back to filling out the form. She looked up once again as a thought struck her, grateful to see that Pinkie hadn't gone anywhere. "Say, Pinkie, they offer classes here, don't they, so they know you know what you're doing."

Pinkie nodded. "Uh-huh! They offer night classes at the schoolhouse."

"Good." She went back to filling out the form.

"So if you're here, then who's watching Marshmallow?"

"Derpy. I dropped her off this morning before I came here." She looked around, noticing that there were several doctors and nursing talking and sipping coffee, whereas others were hurriedly running down corridors and zipping into rooms to care for the patients.

"Oh, good! You wouldn't want her getting hurt or anything!"

"Oh, I couldn't stand the thought!"

"So, whatcha doing getting a job here?!"

"I need the money. I can't raise a baby without supplies."

"Well, why didn't you just say so, you silly filly? I could give you some money."

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that. You earned that money. You deserve it."

"But you need it more than I do."

"Well, true, but . . ."

"So, it's agreed then! We'll split whatever money we make from now on!"

"But, uh . . ."

"Deal?" She held out a hoof.

Fluttershy sighed. "Deal." She gently smacked Pinkie's hoof with her own, making Pinkie all the more giddy!

"Yay!" Pinkie hopped off, leaving Fluttershy to her work.

***

A few months had passed and Fluttershy was actually exceeding very well at her job. Alongside the other doctors and nurses, she was learning so much about anatomy and biology and the right tools to use to get the job done and various other things that helped her in her nursing.

At the same time, she was striving to be the best mother that she could be. She still had a lot to learn about parenting if she was going to be the best mother that she could be. While she could have seeked Derpy's advice, she decided against it and instead went to the library to see if Twilight had a book on parenting. Oddly enough, Twilight did have one such book: Parenting 101: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Parenting but Were Too Afraid to Ask. The book was over three hundred pages long, detailing everyhing from babies to teenagers. The first two sections detailing babies and toddlers went on for over one hundred twenty pages, amazingly. Twilight assured Fluttershy that she could keep the book since she didn't need it and it really had no business being in her library to begin with.

Whenever she got the chance, Fluttershy read the book, making notes of her own so she wouldn't have to constantly reference the book just in case she forgot something. From her constant reading, she learned that she didn't need to fret if Marshmallow was a little chubby. Unless her weight gain was having an overall negative effect on her health. Because of this, she kept feeding Marshmallow every two hours until she was certain that Marshmallow was able to move onto solid foods.

Fluttershy wasn't too surprised by Marshmallow's aversion to solid foods, given that the baby got a majority of her nutrition from her baby bottle. Marshmallow simply couldn't get enough of the mik that Fluttershy fed her. Oftentimes she would get a bottle of milk at bedtime to help her fall asleep. Other times she would wake up in the middle of the night just because she wanted to be fed. After some patience, Marshmallow eventually moved on to solid foods. She seemed grateful that she no longer had to eat any mushy baby food and could actually eat real food for once, though she still loved a bottle of milk a majority of the time.

As agreed, she and Pinkie Pie split their money amongst each other, Fluttershy's half going towards Pinkie Pie to pay her back for giving her money to pay for Marshmallow's supplies. She made sure to keep the cabinets well stocked with baby food and the nursery well stocked with diapers, wipes, and clothes. The clothes didn't really need to be bought from a store, however, as Rarity had taken it upon herself to proclaim herself to be Marshmallow's clothes provider.

Marshmallow was needed for Rarity to take proper measurements. She needed to do this anytime that she wanted to make a new article of clothing for Marshmallow due to the fact that Marshmallow was growing constantly due to her seemingly insatiable appetite for milk.

Due to the fact that Fluttershy fed her every two hours or so, Marshmallow had gotten extremely chubby. In Fluttershy's eyes, this only made Marshmallow cuter, but the downside to her weight gain was the fact that she needed bigger diapers and her constant feeding meant more diaper changes, not that Fluttershy minded. Oddly enough, over the past few months, she'd come to really like the smell of a dirty diaper in the mornings, and it seemed that Marshmallow really loved the smell of a fresh, clean diaper, as Fluttershy had discovered when she'd walked in the nursery and discovered Marshmallow rolling around in a pile of diapers, hugging them and sniffing them like crazy. A little odd for Fluttershy's taste, but cute nonetheless, and Fluttershy couldn't really deny the fact that she liked the smell of a fresh, clean diaper as well.

During the past couple of months, Marshmallow had slowly but surely been growing in her mobility. Fluttershy was utterly delighted when her baby had learned to crawl, so excited that she had invited her friends over to watch as Marshmallow crawled around. Rainbow Dash was the only one less interested. She kept her distance from Marshmallow while the others congratulated Marshmallow on her learning a new skill and wished Fluttershy the best of luck in her parenting.

Fluttershy quickly began wishing that Marshmallow hadn't learned how to crawl due to the fact that Marshmallow kept getting into things. She mostly got into the cabinets and began digging around, messing with the spices and herbs that Fluttershy used in her cooking and other items. Because of this, Fluttershy often found herself keeping Marshmallow in her playpen. She kept the playpen in the kitchen whenever she was cooking so Marshmallow wouldn't be lonely, but kept the playpen a good distance away so that she was out of the way. Luckily, Marshmallow busied herself with playing with her toys, taking a nap, or cuddling with one of her stuffed animals, giving Fluttershy the time to work on whatever she needed to or to tend to one of her animal friends.

Fluttershy was overjoyed by how well Marshmallow had gotten along with her forest animals. They seemed to like her and she seemed to enjoy playing with them, although Fluttershy had had to stop letting her do so due to the fact that Marshmallow either kept yanking on their tails or outright stuffing them in her mouth. Fluttershy knew that Marshmallow meant no harm, but for the animals' own safety she put Marshmallow in her playpen whenever she was tending to them to keep such incidents from happening ever again.

On one such day, Fluttershy was busy was trying to cook herself something to eat for lunch when she heard a creak. She let out a groan of annoyance and rolled her eyes. Turning around, her suspicions were proven correct as Marshmallow was trying to, once again, get into the cabinets. Marshmallow had just gotten her black nose inside when she was suddenly snatched up and placed in her playpen. "No, no, Marshmallow. Bad girl." Fluttershy handed her a toy car. "Here. Play with this." Her face suddenly grimaced upon smelling something foul. "Mommy will change you as soon as I'm done cooking her lunch, okay?" She nuzzled her baby with her nose and went back to the stove. She cringed when she heard Marshmallow whining. Turning back to her, she said, "Mommy can't play right now, Marshmallow. Mommy has things to do." When she saw that Marshmallow stuck the toy car in her mouth and began drooling on it, she smiled and added, "You're hungry, aren't you? Mommy will feed you in a minute, okay?"

Unfortunately, Marshmallow didn't seem to very much care for this response because she fell onto her soggy, messy diapered bottom and began bawling. Fluttershy gave her a bottle of milk to calm her down. She fell on her back, happily sucking on the bottle, holding it in her paws while she wrapped her legs around it. Satisfied that she was content for the time being, Fluttershy went back to cooking her lunch.

Fluttershy jumped while Marshmallow squealed in happiness as Rarity entered the cottage. Fluttershy turned while Marshmallow held out her paws, wanting to be picked up. Unfortunately, Marshmallow was ignored while Fluttershy and

Rarity began making conversation.

"So, tell me, darling, how has work been going?" Rarity inquired.

"Oh, it's been going wonderfully," Fluttershy said happily. "I've been able to pay for everything that Marshmallow needs and enough left over to buy myself something."

Rarity smiled. 'Oh, I'm so glad everything has worked out in your favor. Considering all you do, you deserve to splurge on yourself every now and again."

"No. Whatever money I have left is spent on food and any other necessities I need, like bird seed, food for Angel, things like that."

"You should buy yourself something nice every now and then. Be good to yourself. Buying myself something always makes me feel better."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I don't live for myself. I live to serve others."

"A very nice philosophy to live by, dear, but, really, you need to learn to treat yourself good every now and then. It's not like it's morally wrong or anything."

Marshmallow backed up until her diapered bottom hit the wall behind her. She wiggled her diapered rump before taking off, heading head-first towards the wall of the playpen in front of her. The force of the blow wasn't very strong, but strong enough to make the playpen sway back and forth. As it swayed forward, she pressed her diapered bottom against it, tipping it until she stumbled forward onto her back. She let out a happy sigh and rolled over onto her stomach, pushing herself up onto her feet.

"I'm just saying, dear," Rarity stated, "that-" She stopped upon seeing Fluttershy's shocked expression. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's . . . Marshmallow," Fluttershy breathed.

"What's wrong? Is she all right?" Rarity looked behind her to check on how Marshmallow was doing and adopted the same expression as Fluttershy. "Oh, my . . ."

Fluttershy let out a gasp, followed by a happy squeal as she began bouncing up and down wildly, doing a grand impression of Pinkie Pie. "Oh, my gosh, Rarity! Look at her! She's walking! She's walking! She's-" She heard a thump and looked down to see that Marshmallow had fallen on her hiney. "Oh, poor dear." She picked up Marshmallow and held her out to Rarity, Marshmallow dangling from her mouth. "Would you mind changing her, please? I have to check on lunch?"

Rarity cringed at the very thought. She gave Fluttershy a nervous smile and said, "Sure . . ." She gingerly took Marshmallow in her mouth and carried her upstairs to the nursery.

"You do know how to change a diaper, right?" Fluttershy called.

"Of course, dear," Rarity replied. "It's not like I haven't cared for a baby before. But, really, why can't you do this? I could check on your lunch for you." She set Marshmallow down on the changing table.

"I know I'm asking a lot, Rarity, but I don't suppose you've had much experience in the kitchen, have you?"

Rarity cautiously removed one of the tapes of Marshmallow's diaper. "Well . . ., um . . ., no, dear. Good point." She kept her eyes on Marshmallow, slowly removing the second tape until the front of the diaper was loose. Biting her lower lip, she pulled back the front of the diaper, cringing.

Fluttershy hummed to herself as she stirred the pot of soup. She was beyond ecstatic that Marshmallow was slowly learning to walk, even if it meant that she would get into more mischief. But, Fluttershy couldn't wait to document the event in Marshmallow's baby book, where she documented everything, from Marshmallow's first burp to her first stage of mobility. She couldn't wait until Marshmallow actually started talking so the two of them could have conversations. Oh, what wonderful, intellectual conversations they would have! She couldn't wait!

She heard Rarity curse loudly and she cringed, hoping that Marshmallow was okay. She turned to look upstairs and called,

"Rarity, is everything okay up there?"

"Yes, perfectly fine, dear," Rarity replied. "She just won't sit still."

"Oh. Well, try puttig her pacifier in her mouth or try giving her the bottle in her crib."

Rarity nodded and placed one hoof on Marshmallow's chest, holding her still if only for a moment, and grabbed her pacifier and popped it in her mouth. Unfortunately, Marshmallow spat it back out, hitting Rarity between the eyes. Rarity let out a groan of annoyance. I never had this much trouble with Swette Belle, she thought. She sure is a feisty one, I'll give her that!

After disposing of the diaper in the diaper pail and cleaning off Marshmallow, albeit agonizingly slowly due to Rarity being uncomfortable about the whole ordeal, Rarity finally succeeded in getting a fresh, clean diaper on Marshmallow, although there was now baby powder everywhere. Rarity did take notice of the fact that Marshmallow took a big whiff of the diaper and the baby powder as she went about the activities and Marshmallow let out a soft, contented sigh as Rarity taped up the diaper, and Rarity herself couldn't help but smile at how content, how happy Marshmallow looked.

"Now then," Rarity said, setting Marshmallow on the floor, "go on and play, darling." She delivered a soft, swift smack to Marshmallow's diapered rump and Marshmallow giggled at this, then wiggled her diapered butt at Rarity, taking the latter by surprise. It was clear to Rarity that Marshmallow had enjoyed the action and honestly didn't mind doing it again. After gently smacking her diapered bottom, Rarity gently eased Marshmallow forward by way of pressing a hoof against her rear, causing Marshmallow to fall forward as the seat of her diaper was pressed against her butt, and Rarity was surprised to hear Marshmallow let out a happy sigh at this. Sighing, Rarity picked Marshmallow up and carried her downstairs. "This kid is odd, let me tell you," she mumbled. She set Marshmallow down on the floor and pushed her forward with her head, sighing happily as Marshmallow crawled away.

"She has been displaying some odd behavior, I admit," Fluttershy stated. She turned to Rarity after turning off the burner.

"How did everything go? Did the diaper change go okay?"

"I had a little bumps along the way," Rarity admitted, "but I got through it."

Fluttershy smiled. "Wonderful. After lunch, we can try getting her to walk some more. Would you care to join me?"

"Not at all, dear. What are we having, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Soup, if that's okay with you."

"Well, certainly." She looked down at Marshmallow, who was currently cuddling with Angel, much to the rabbit's annoyance.

"What about Marshmallow?"

"She should be able to eat this without much problem. Would you mind getting her ready while I fix bowls and drinks?"

Rarity nodded and scooped up Marshmallow in her mouth, carrying her over to her high chiar and strapping her in. "Where's her bib?"

"Oh, it's in the drawer where I keep the dish rags, third drawer."

Once everyone was seated at the table, they began lunch, Rarity and Fluttershy taking turns at feeding Marshmallow. Of course Marshmallow's meal wouldn't be complete without a warm bottle of milk.

"So, have you thought about when you're going to start potty training her?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know. She seems to really like her diapers and she does look really cute in them."

Rarity smiled and gave a nod of agreement. "Yes, she does look cute in them, but you can't keep her in them forever."

"Why not? I'd be the only one changing her."

"What about when she starts school? What if she comes home from school one day crying because the other kids are making fun of her because she still wears diapers?"

"If that does become a problem, I could always homeschool her."

"No, that'd be too much work for you, between taking care of her and working at the hospital and working here taking care of all your little animal friends."

Fluttershy nodded. "You do have a point." She bent down and lapped up some of her soup. "So, what would you suggest?"

"Well, you could always say it's a medical condition, that she suffers from incontinence or something. It wouldn't be too hard to believe."

"You know how Applejack feels about liars."

"What in Equestria does Applejack have to do with any of this?"

"I just wouldn't feel right lying just to protect my daughter from school bullies like Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. I could always transfer her to another class of Cheerilee's if they pick on her."

"Darling, bullies come in all shapes and sizes. Chances are there'd be a bully picking on her no matter what class you put her in."

"I suppose that's true."

Rarity shook her head. "Why are we thinking about this now? She's only a baby, not even one year old yet. You still have plenty of time to think about what you're going to do when she starts school."

"Yeah, you're rght. Don't worry about it until it happens."

***

"Okay, Marshmallow, come to Mommy," Fluttershy said.

Marshmallow sat in front of Rarity, happily sucking on her thumb. A few feet in front of her sat her mommy, Fluttershy. She was nudged forward by Rarity and she suddenly got the message. She fell onto all fours, giving Rarity a nice view of her diapered hindquarters, and slowly got to her feet.

Fluttershy gasped. "That's it! Now, come to Mommy!"

Marshmallow only got a couple of feet in before falling onto her bottom. She needed comfort in having failed and encouragement to keep trying. Once she had been calmed down by her caregivers, she got up and attempted to walk again. It took a while, but she eventually reached Fluttershy and the two embraced one another, Marshmallow burying her face in her mother's chest and hugging her tight.

Fluttershy laughed joyously. "Good girl, Marshmallow. I'm so proud of you!"

"Yes, well done, Marshmallow, dear," Rarity agreed as she joined them. "Good job." She lifted a hoof and playfully scratched Marshmallow underneath her chin.

"Oh, this is so exciting! Where's the baby book?" She hurried off to the next room, leaving Marshmallow alone with Rarity.

Rarity pulled Marshmallow close and snuggled with her as she began crying, feeling abandoned by her mommy. Rarity shushed her gently, rubbing her back and lovingly nuzzling her. "Look, your mommy's back."

Fluttershy walked back in the room a book and a pen in her mouth. She dropped the items on the floor and flipped to a blank page and began writing, starting with the date. After writing the event done, she tossed the pen and book aside and beamed at Rarity. "This is so wonderful!" She clapped her hooves together in glee. "Oh, I can't wait until she starts talking!" She bounced up and down.

Rarity smiled. "Yes, won't that be grand! But, I'm afraid I can't stick around any longer, dear. I must be going. I have a lot of dresses to make, you know." She pushed Marshmallow towards Fluttershy. "Goodbye to you both. Try to keep Marshmallow from getting into too much trouble."

Fluttershy chuckled and cuddled Marshmallow. "Yeah, that's going to be hard."

Little White Skunk

And Marshmallow Makes Three

A/N: This is my first story for MLP: FIM, so please no harsh reviews. If you find something that I can improve on in the next chapter (or if you have an idea or just want to let me know about something you'd like to read in the upcoming chapters) PM me or leave a review.

Chapter 1: Little White Skunk

Fluttershy exhaled as she stood in front of her door. She wasn't usually one to venture off out of the comfort of her home unless it was absolutely necessary, like if she needed something or if she just wanted to visit her friends and see what they were up to, although more often than not they dropped by her house to see what she'd been up to as of late. She turned and smiled at Angel, her pet bunny who gave her a worried look. She walked over to him and patted him on the head. "I'll be back soon. I shouldn't be gone long."

And with that, she opened the door and prepared to go outside, only she was stopped when she noticed something on her doorstep. She leaned down and gasped upon seeing what appeared to be a little white creature nestled in a little basket, comfortably wrapped up in a bright blue blanket. Looking down she noticed that the creature had a striped tail, and being that skunks were the only animals that she could think of that had striped tails, she concluded that the creature must have been a white skunk. But as to why it was on her doorstep, she didn't know. Carefully, she searched the basket but could find no note or anything that would answer her question as to why the skunk had been dropped off at her home. She supposed she should have answered the door earlier when she heard a knock, but she had dismissed it, thinking it only to be the wind.

Just to be sure, she looked around the area only to discover that no other person was in sight. She looked back down at the baby skunk and smiled sweetly at it while it merely sucked on its thumb. Taking the handle in her mouth, she turned back and entered her house, shutting the door with her hoof before setting the basket down. The others were going to have to wait.

She pulled back the blanket to reveal the skunk's upper and lower body. From here she could get a closer look at the skunk. The skunk was clearly female. One oddity about the skunk was that she was completely white, although she did have silver-gray stripes, starting at the base of her nose and running all the way to the tip of her tail, splitting at her upper back and reconnecting at the base of her tail, only for them to get separated once again. There was a tuft of silver-gray fur on top of her head. She had gorgeous golden brown eyes and a black, albeit small, nose.

The skunk suddenly gripped one of its feet with both paws and began sucking on her toes. Fluttershy took this to mean that the skunk was hungry and began looking around in her kitchen for anything that could be edible for the tiny skunk. Luckily, she had a nice collection of baby bottles for when she was nursing her woodland critters friends back to health. Better yet, she had a jug of milk in her fridge. Unfortunately, she would have to heat up the milk via her stove. Thankfully, Angel helped her with pouring the milk in the bottle and getting other materials that she would need, such as a pan. Doing any kind of work with hooves was hard enough.

The fire from the burner lit up in a dark shade of blue and yellow before settling and hovering underneath the pan, heating up the milk that was in the baby bottle. The baby skunk watched the bottle curiously, sucking on its thumb while sitting on Fluttershy's back, the only place the yellow pony thought she would be safe. She didn't want to run the risk of the child getting hurt.

She yelped and jumped upon feeling a sudden tug at her pink mane. She looked up to see the white skunk snuggling with it and she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure what it was, but she, for whatever reason, felt a strong connection witht the child. She felt a strong connection with all of the creatures she looked after, but unlike all the others who would eventually scurry off back into the wilderness, she knew that this one was different. She couldn't just let her scamper off after a hot meal. If no one was going to look after the baby, then she would.

"Hmm," Fluttershy pondered, "I suppose if I'm going to be looking after you, you'll need a name." She turned her head so that she could look at the child; luckily for her, the baby skunk was doing most of the work by leaning forward and turning its head so that they were eye-to-eye. "Now let me see . . ." Her face scrunched up in concentration until her eyes lit up and a smile crept upon her face. "How about Marshmallow?" She paused to glance at the child's reaction, only to see that there was none. "Would you like to be called Marshmallow, because you're all white?" She got her answer by the child laughing and she gently nuzzled the skunk's nose with hers. "I guess it's official then."

At long last, the bottle was warm enough to be consumed. Once she had turned off the burner and retrieved the bottle, Fluttershy set Marshmallow in her lap and proposed the bottle to her. Almost instantly, the baby snatched the bottle and began sucking on the nipple, a warm smile coming across her face as she drank. Fluttershy gently rocked her back and forth, humming a merry little tune to keep the baby calm and to make it feel more comfortable. The skunk's tail curled up and began stroking Fluttershy's side, making the pony giggle with delight in response. She lowered one hoof and used it to tickle the skunk's somewhat distended belly and the child smiled up at her. Fluttershy didn't feel like she was going to let the skunk scurry off anytime soon.

***

Fluttershy jumped and spun around in mid-air. Given that she wasn't expecting any visitors, she was quite taken aback to see Rainbow Dash entering her house. Couldn't she have at least bothered to knock? If she had, Fluttershy must have not heard her.

"Where have you been all day?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "We've been waiting on you for half an hour."

"Oh, sorry, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy apologized. "I, uh, kind of got . . . a litle distracted."

"What do you-" The iridescent pony suddenly stopped and looked down to see an albino baby . . . something or another cuddling with one of her hooves. "What is that?" Her head shot up at Fluttershy, demanding an answer, her other hoof that was being cuddled with pointed at the baby skunk.

"Well, it's a baby-"

"Yes, I can see that."

"It's a baby skunk."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "You'll let anything in your house, won't you?"

"Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash. I can't just kick her out in the middle of the forest. She has no one to look after her." She brought the baby skunk over to her, much to the child's content, she could see.

"Well," Rainbow Dash looked down at the floor, "I suppose you're right. So," she slowly lifted her head, "no picnic with us this afternoon?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm afraid not. But, I will need to pick her up a few things. I get the feeling she's going to be staying with me for a while. If you and the others won't to come up with, that'd be fine."

"Shopping?" Rainbow Dash blinked. She snorted. "You'd have a better chance of getting Twilight to go a whole day without reading or to get Pinkie Pie to go on a diet or-"

Fluttershy chuckled. "I get that shopping is more Rarity's department than anypony's, but, it won't be so bad."

"Who's gonna watch the kid while we're doing all of this?"

"Spike did a decent job watching my pets while we were facing down that big, scary dragon. Maybe he'd like to look after her."

"You're going to entrust a dragon, who's a baby no less, with a baby?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Now that you mention it, it does sound somewhat silly, doesn't it?"

"You could probably get Mr. and Mrs. Cake to watch her. Or, better yet, Princess Celestia."

Fluttershy shook her head at this suggestion. "No, Princess Celestia has too much to focus on with her being a princess and all, but maybe the Cakes wouldn't mind watchig her. I'd ask Pinkie Pie given that she's had some experience with baby-sitting, but we all now how distracted and hyper she is." She shook her head. "Bad idea."

"Well, think of somepony fast, 'cause I'm hungry."

Fluttershy blinked. "You didn't eat anything before coming over here?"

"It's only a five-second flight."

Fluttershy blushed once again, forgetting how fast her friend could fly. "Right. Sorry."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Ah, don't worry about it. I'll leave you alone so you can figure out what to do with the kid. I'll see you around, okay?"

Fluttershy smiled and gave a nod. "Right." She watched in amazement as Rainbow Dash took off like a cannon. She watched her friend until the rainbow streak flowing behind her was out of sight. However, she wished that Rainbow Dash would have stayed given her current dilemma: finding someone to watch Marshmallow while she and the girls went shopping.