The Ward

I sometimes feel like I have no right to complain about how much pain I’m in.

It’s always been a personal belief that no matter how hard you have it, somepony else out there is much worse off than you are.

However, one day I felt so miserable that I began contemplating what could possibly be worse than having every bone in your body shattered; unable to talk, barely able to breathe.

…How silly of me to forget an answer to such a simple question…

She invited me over to her home for the first time one day. I remember her saying it wasn’t very big, and she was right. It had only had a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom. It wasn’t a part of an apartment or anything, either; just a small hut by the Everfree Forest. My house happened to be on the other side of town, so it took a while to reach there. I didn’t really care; I was excited to see her again.

Plum Pudding and I had been seeing each other for about a month. I never paid much attention to her physical appearance during that time. She was beautiful, no doubt; but it was her personality that kept me so attached. I was always so focused on her eyes and face and voice that I never paid much attention to her body.

I knocked on the door, and after a couple of minutes she answered the door.

“Omigosh I didn’t know you were going to be here this early, I don’t look decent and the house is a mess and I don’t even have dinner started yet and-“

I interrupted her speech with a kiss. It was unexpectedly brief; she pulled her mouth away almost instantly. She spoke after breaking up that failed attempt at a romantic moment.

“Not in front of my kid!” She snapped.

My first thoughts were that of utter surprise. Never once did she mention she had a foal. I was completely off guard, but regained my composure and began scanning the room. Right behind Plum Pudding was a little yellow Pegasus colt. He was playing with a toy train set, but turned around and was staring at me. After the way Plum Pudding reacted, I prayed in my head to Celestia that he did not catch me kissing her. He seemed to not have noticed, for he did not react in any clear way.

Then it struck me: She has a foal!? When was she going to tell me? Why didn’t she tell me already? Who’s the father!?

I opened my mouth to speak; but as usual she knew what I was going to say just by the look on my face and interrupted me.

“Ohmigosh! I never told you, did I?! I’m so sorry! Please don’t be mad, I was going to tell you sooner or later. I know I should have told you sooner but I… but I…” She began to sob. At risk of being yelled at again, I put my hoof up to her lips. She looked up at me, there were a few tears streaming down her face. I gave her a warm smile to show that I understood. I wasn’t upset at all about it, in fact. I was merely curious about the little colt. She cut off my thoughts.

*Sniff* “Anyways… This is Spark Plug,” she said as the young yellow Pegasus walked slowly to his mother’s side. “Spark Plug, this is a very special friend of mine,” She continued. The little colt looked at me nervously for several awkward moments. His eyes bolted around as he surveyed my person. After thoroughly studying me, Spark Plug’s face lit up.

“Mommy, he has wings just like me!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, honey, you already know that there are others like you with wings,” she said; after which she let out a nervous giggle. I guess she thought I thought the boy wasn’t very bright after hearing him say that.

“No, mommy, I mean his wings look just like mine!” He said eagerly. My eyes roamed to the little colt’s midsection to examine his wings, which were flared from excitement. I then craned my neck and spread out my own wing. Sure enough, they were strikingly similar in design and looks. In fact, they were nearly identical barring the color difference.

I smiled at the young foal’s brilliant observation. He turned around and began to walk away suddenly. Plum Pudding looked from him back at me.

“Isn’t he smart? I can’t wait to see him start school. I’ll bet he’ll make the top of his class!” She said and let out a joyful sigh. “He’s right; your wings look just like his. You could almost be his father.”

“Here!” Spark Plug called from the other side of the little room. He was headfirst in his toy box, digging around for something. He threw his head up and out came a ball. It rebounded against the wall, but the colt bounced it back up as it descended. After a few moments he was skillfully dribbling the ball on his head. Enough so that he was even able to walk back towards us whilst doing so.

“Here, catch!” He said, then head-butted the ball in my direction. I didn’t expect it and threw my head forward, hitting the ball with a decent amount of force. It flew forward and bumped Spark Plug on the forehead. At least it would have if Plum Pudding had not stopped it with her magic.

“Spark Plug! How many times do I have to tell you not to play ball in the house!” She scolded. The young foal lowered his head in disappointment momentarily, but then trotted into another room.

“Bye, Mister!” He called back.

“I’ve never seen him warm up to somepony like that. He must really like you,” said Plum Pudding, “Maybe it’s a sign of good things to come; especially with number two on the way!”

I blankly stared at her for several seconds, and then looked at her body. For the first time, I noticed her belly was slightly distended.

It didn’t take me long to put two and two together…