Summer had come to Ponyville and with that all its glory and caveats. The whole year had passed by so quickly, and the sun was shining brighter than when they had gotten to Ponyville back in the early fall. Karl at the moment was taking it in with some gusto as he rode on his bike to the Corner.
If there was one thing he had to give credit to this place was that even though the weather was faked since they made it all, at least they had the courtesy to actually keep things organized for convenience. Like how they actually cleared the roads in the winter so that he could actually ride his motorcycle safely for a good deal of it, or like today where they had warned of scorching heat so that he could dress lightly. That was probably just him looking for anything to keep him and Karyn occupied throughout the year. She was a bit more clingy to her, and him to her, ever since he had... “vented” to Emmé.
However the two were stuck in a corner of sorts when it came to how to handle all this. Though as the days passed it felt more like a dog’s cage with what else they realized would be happening. At least the ass-bitch wasn’t there to watch them at every turn- and she definitely fit the use of those words.
When the solstice and Christmas – or Hearths Warming Day and Winter Moon Celebration – had come by it was a huge hit to Karl in that he wouldn’t be visiting family any time soon as there was the issue of them wanting him to come visit. His only excuse for the moment being he had to be there for Karyn and… their child. Now it had been years and he dreaded seeing any kind of message from them cause of what excuse he had to conjure next.
At least he got to learn some more of what was going on with his siblings. His sister as he guessed was dating a special kind of individual before, and recently it was nothing but confirmed she was really committed now. Now if only he got the chance to tease Claire over that now while he could.
As for his brother… well he had apparently been on quite an adventure here on Alter-Earth and it explained how he hadn’t barged in to visit. The biggest evidence being a claim he had hooked up with someone and his last known location being someplace called ‘Elkwood,’ which also meant still no tech to actually get real-time updates. If he remembered Sean though, that would be no problem for him.
For his own parents though, they of course showed concern for himself and Karyn to which he was thankful they were still there in a way. Then there was the part that they were still there in a way when his mother had said ‘when your grandfather had said to you three be well to the Alter-Earth folk, I don’t think he meant to this extent.’
The subsequent facepalm Karl did was hard enough to hide his embarrassment for a good while. At least they still were his parents despite all he was forced to do.
After all the celebrations were said and done, things had returned to… this new normal of theirs. Karl worked, Karyn designed, and they both just tried to console each other. With Pinkie and Sugarcube Corner, the only things that had changed were a few new hires that were added. Almost enough to get it back to a full restaurant status according to her. It certainly felt that was though that didn’t stop Karl from being the center of attention since he was still the only human there.
Though he himself was still trying to find other work despite the possible benefits of being in good graces with someone like Pinkie. It was just only a restaurant job and he wasn’t sure if he could make a career out of it, but so far nothing else had come. He wondered at points if Emmé was somehow making that impossible for him.
He shuddered at the thought. Even if he never saw her again it wouldn’t be long enough. He wanted to perhaps get Faust involved to get her on a leash of sorts, but decided that she didn’t need to be bothered on something like this. Can’t just casually call the Not-So-God of ponies and ask her to tell her Definitely-Is-A-Psychopath friend to stop. Who knows what she was dealing with on top of having her own family? Maybe she had some points, but she didn’t have to be a bitch about it.
Entering Ponyville proper, his mind went back to Karyn. It was almost time. Every time he held her close it was a reminder their future was also being held. Now it was near that late summer time again when all this started, which meant it any day now.
Karyn shifted herself on the couch they had recently added to the living room. If it wasn’t apparent before to anyone else, it was now easily spottable that she was with foal. She predicted right in that she wasn’t exactly “bloated” due to her almost-unique physique, but that came with some complications still.
For one, even though she didn’t really do it much anymore, trying to walk or let alone stand on two legs was impossible. She found the added weight threw off her balance and was giving her spine the wrong kind of workout. In fact, she read that Equestriani doctors had said that doing that would not be a good idea during this time for your back. Also that ‘you could legally walk on four legs on Human-Earth’ even though she was sure that was a precedent and not a law.
Yet you did it anyway even though it made you look fucking weird, and you have telekinesis, a voice in her head said. Pushing it away, her mind wandered to the thought of if someone like DJ Martinez had done it through the pain anyway. Karyn had to admit that maybe she didn’t need to, but it was perhaps a way to seem normal back then. But after all the hell DJ went through, Karyn wouldn’t be surprised if she did just to show how human she was.
Oh ancestors help me, I’m back to DJ again, she thought. There was no denying DJ was a heroine to herself, but would she actually like to meet her? Maybe if they were still back in the USA, but now in Ponyville? That would be a very bad sign for both of them. It was a miracle so far they’d only ran into one of the Six, her children, and husband; and the husband and daughter of another one of them. Guess it was true They were all busy these days. Busy probably running Equestria into the ground given how they were the wrong kind of people to put in the government before First Contact and especially after.
The ringing of her phone brought her out of her inner ranting. Floating it up to her, it was a number she wasn’t familiar with. Accepting the call anyway, she floated it up to her ear as the speaker antenna extended out and downward. Maybe it was a potential new client.
“Hello, this is Karyn,” she said.
“Oh praise Luna-heika, it worked!”
Karyn instinctively moved to sit herself up, but after quickly realizing she shouldn’t do that, she merely replied, “Oji-san?”
“You betcha Karyn-chan!” he cheered. “I finally got one of these things! Well I did back at Hearths Warming, but I now finally got the whole plan thing set up! Heck I believe the Family back in Inari will have theirs soon… even if Inari itself still won’t have it for a long while.”
“Plan?” she relaxed back into lying down. “Y’know… I could have helped you with that. Could have gotten Otō-san or Okā-san to let me know.”
“I… okay, maybe I could have. But between dealing with these sorry excuses for people known as the nobility, and also trying to keep track of things in Inari: Time just flew by.” He chuckled a bit before he added, “Sometimes I wanna just buck the weather schedule here and create a blizzard over Canterlot just to get these guys to chill.”
Despite the smile on her face from that line, Karyn rolled her eyes. Ugh, no one says that anymore! “I’m sure you would, especially with the weather now?”
“Oh for sure yes. But enough about me, Stoney-kun’s filled me in on some interesting details about you guys down there in Ponyville. Is it true Karl-kun got a job working right under Duchess Vanner-sama? And the house you live in she owned before?”
Karyn choked a bit. “Uh…”
“Sorry, Pinkie Pie-dono. I still have to follow decorum. Or in this case I think ‘respect’ is more appropriate cause these bakas here have none.”
“I… yes. He did, and we did.”
“So he wasn’t joking! He told me around Hearts and Hooves Day and I thought he was messing with me! I know it was months ago, bit like I said: tied up. In fact I’m pretty sure your mother’s been busy with her drills, and your father’s going back to Zhanguo again in a few days.”
“Wait, he’s going there again? Does it never get across the fire he plays with?” Karyn groaned.
“I know pandas don’t exactly have the best opinion of ponies, but given that he’s been there so much to the point of being completely fluent in both the Pandarin and Canternese dialects of Zhuongganese, I don’t think he’s in much danger.”
“I was more referring to the part of why he gets a lot of business,” she deadpanned.
“Oh, that? Hey, it’s only been just a few pandas… in each of the twelve separate times it’s happened.”
“Wait, it’s twelve now? Did something happen back last fall?”
“Yeah, they came and— wait, why are we on this? I called to talk about you!”
Karyn grinned. With all that ice of yours, it’s no wonder you slip and slide into tangents. “Still, I wonder if he should get protection status or something.”
“Well that’s his business, and I’d rather not think what happens to those that have… crossed paths. But enough about him and me already, I still wanna know about you guys!”
“Uh… there isn’t much more to it really for us.” She looked off to the ceiling, letting her eyes wander. “I mean, still in this house, still going by, just us two doing our work and spending our nights together.”
“You don’t even get out of the house?”
“I… not exactly. Unless you count… me meeting up with a… sort of friend I made.” Bracing herself, she quickly explained what was going on between her and Big Mac and by extension his daughter.
“Wait… you’re friends with Duke Consort Andalusia-sama?” he asked, some of his breath leaving him.
“Hang on, Oji-san. Yes, I am… sort of. But he’s just really friendly, and was there to reach out to me. That and… it’s just fun to talk with his daughter sometimes. Last time I talked to her about some American history. I’m sure it’s nothing special to be talking with him. Heck, Karl has talked to Pinkie’s husband Thunderlane but it just seems like anyone can do so with no problem.”
“Either way though, it’s just good to hear!” The sound of a door opening on the other end sounded. “One moment,” he said, before it sounded like he was covering the receiver with his hoof. Karyn was able to pick up pieces of his voice and what sounded like someone else, before the shuffling sound happened again and he spoke, “Sorry dear, going to have to cut this short. Duty calls again.”
“It’s fine,Oji-san. Maybe I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Hey, don’t forget we’re all here for you guys. Kimono no megumi wa watashitachi no naka ni eien ni sonzai shimasu,” he recited.
“I know, have a good one.” The call was promptly disconnected, and Karyn heard the whirl of the antenna retracting back into her phone. With a sigh she placed it on the table in front of her and sat herself back up, or at least as much as she could. Scrolling through her tablet a bit, she realized she was actually between projects for once. She glanced toward the back of the house, and stood herself off the couch and starting to make her way toward it.
After passing through the kitchen, she opened the door to the back and leaned outside. Despite her being in sweatpants along with her fur, the heated air still felt like a relief. Breathing in the fresh air, the tightness in her head seemed to loosen. It almost made her want to walk around, but decided against it since she was already so settled.
“I miss our porch…” she muttered, wanting to just perhaps relax outside. She missed it all. If they wanted they could easily so much more back home, but this was Equestria and not the USA. They had to get permits and go through outdated government regulations to do these things. Even though they were the only house for a quarter-mile they couldn’t do what they wanted with their own property. Plus given how condense Ponyville is compared to suburbs, their home was basically the only place they could be together in peace.
Closing the door, she looked to a crystal that was placed on the counter nearby. Given how far away they were from the town, they had been given these to alert Ponyville General if Karyn was caught alone when it was… time. It was at Pinkie’s insistence no less. If there was another thing Karyn had to admit from all these months, it’s that despite what Pinkie displayed before: she was probably the most sane out of all the Six, and she’d never thought they in some way would be helping her.
Big Mac and Cinnamon certainly helped to that idea. That filly practically was looking forward to any time Karyn happened to stop by, or when they caught each other at the Corner. Though with the passage of time, came with Cinnamon herself figuring out the “truth” of what was going on with their foal. To Karyn’s surprise, despite her crying her eyes out for their “plight,” she recovered quickly enough. That filly was tougher than she let on.
Making her way back to the couch and laying herself back onto it, she started to stroke her swelled barrel. Every once in a while there was a kick, a literal one from the foal and also a metaphorical one reminding her of what was coming. She didn’t admit it, and maybe it was a natural reaction; but she was hoping she herself was tougher than she was letting on for what was to come. Right now she wished she could roll back time three days and devour Karl’s 4th of July barbecuing all over again. Maybe they shouldn’t have turned down the offer for a baby shower – foal shower – by all the others. But it was too late for that. All that was really left now was to wait.
“Soon enough…” she whispered to both herself and their child.
Karl strode into Sugarcube Corner, taking his helmet off with an overdramatic sweep like he always did. A quick glance around showed that the tables were already set and ready to go, a bit more tables than when he started.
He looked to the back wall, seeing only Pinkie for now who was busy getting the front counter ready. He wasn’t sure if anyone else was here yet, but even if it was the rare day of Pinkie, him, and maybe just one or two others; the days still went by just like when the kitchen was chocked full. Of course they were rare for a reason given what this place was.
“Morning, Karl!” the twins greeted over toward his left.
He shot them a smile. “Morning to ya also.” Karl wasn’t sure why or how, but the two had flipped some kind of switch and were a lot quieter around him now. They never yelled, nor did they try to spring one of their crazy ideas on him. He remember back in winter on his birthday that when they found out it was so, he thought they would try some kind of surprise party. Instead the two baked him a birthday cupcake when he stepped out and gave it to him upon his return with the only surprise being Surprise herself and the act of presenting it so mildly.
“Hey! How’s my favorite human employee?” Pinkie called to him. He was about to open his mouth when she added, “And you may be my only human staffer, but the notion stands!” she said with a wide smile.
“Doing as well as I can to be honest, both Karyn and I,” he said as he made his way over to her. Stopping in front of her, he knelt down to be closer to Pinkie’s level. “Any day now,” he whispered to her.
“Hey, keep your spirits high! Don’t wanna get sick or something now of all times!” she whispered back.
He stood back up, walking through to the back. “Wouldn’t worry about that.” It was true in a way. From what his (new) doctor had told him, he was in a perfect bill of health. Or in the doctor’s exact words: ‘one of, if not the healthiest patients I’ve seen period.’ It almost got Karl to consider perhaps start doing some exercise regularly to go with this new state, but he didn’t exactly want to test that area just yet. He was still thinking about how to explain exactly the changes compared to his medical records if that was brought up.
Just little things like that around every corner that told him what he wasn’t able to do. Hopefully he could avoid having Emmé be the one to do it and—
“Fucking banshee…” he whispered under his breath, far under his breath. Which was good as the door opened with Pinkie following him in.
“Right then, you’re the first here so let’s get ready for the breakfast rush!” she declared, trotting past him and over toward the walk in pantry.
“Huh, I get to actually cook solo for once? Usually I’m called back just for cake decoration or assisting,” he joked as he hung his helmet up.
“Hey, like I said: those hands of yours are more precise than anything we got,” Pinkie said back.
“Well… they are,” he agreed. “So what’s—” he stopped as suddenly Pinkie began to shake. Not like she was cold, but more like she was feeling an earthquake unique to herself. “What… are ya doing?”
“Doozy…” she whispered.
Karl only blinked, and then his phone started to ring. “One sec.” Pulling it out, he read the number and suddenly all concept of merriment went out the window as he answered. “Hello? Yeah this is him.” He listened for a moment, and then drew in a sharp breath. “WHAT?! I— yeah, I’m on the way!” He ripped his phone from his ear, slamming it back into his pocket.
“What’s going on?” Pinkie asked.
“The hospital!” he yelled, hands started to shake. “Karyn is— she— it’s time!”
Pinkie’s eyes widened immediately, the way her pupils and irises were dilated showed that she understood exactly what he meant. “Go! Get going now!” she ordered.
“I know! I know!” he yelled back, hands clinging to his head as he started to make his way back up front.
“You need to go!” she emphasized. “Get on your bike, take a left and—”
“I know where the hospital is!” he yelled back to her. “I fucking know where it is!” He turned back around and practically shoulder charged the door open as he grabbed his helmet before he leapt over the countertop. Out of the corner of his eye he vaguely saw the twins starting to walk back down the stairs to see him throw his helmet on before he barreled outside.
Pinkie watched as almost instantly as he disappeared from view, the engine of his bike started and the engine roared in a way she hadn’t heard before. She giggled a bit. Wonder if that was like Thundie when our glorious gobstoppers were given to us! she thought as she watched the two in question trot up to her in confusion.
“Uh… Mom?” Bubble asked.
“What’s going on?” Surprise followed up.
“Well… let’s just say that Karl and Karyn are about to receive a gift from Faust, just like when I got you two!” It took a moment, but both of them gasped aloud, smiles returning to their faces and they were practically jumping off the ground where they stood. “Surprise? Can you get the flamefax papers from my office?” Right away a small gust of wind was made as she darted up the stairs, half-running and half-flying. Pinkie turned to Bubble, “Well we’re a set of hands down for now so that leaves just us. So how about we start breakfast together?”
“Yeah!” Bubble cheered, as they both bolted back into the kitchen.
Karl lept off his bike the millisecond he felt it stop completely. Keys in hand and helmet still on, he resisted the urge to scream as ponies on the stairs leading up to the door of the hospital got out of his way. Some of them literally jumping or flying out of the way. He saw an open door, and immediately charged through it. He heard some yelps as he stomped his foot to come to a halt as he surveyed the room.
His eyes immediately landed on the front desk, with a somewhat trembling earth pony stallion who had a pure white coat and orange mane behind it. He practically leaped forwards as he positioned himself to take up the stallion’s field of vision completely.
“Uh…” the stallion started.
“Karyn O’Donnell,” Karl growled. “My wife, she’s here, and she’s about to give birth!” He leaned all the way downward to slam his hands on the deck, Karl’s whole body bobbing up and down with heavy breathing as they threatened to go through it.
“Sir please, you’re causing a scene here…” the stallion trembled.
“A scene?!” Karl yelled. “Listen up….” he knelt down and forward, flipping up his visor and staring toward the stallion’s outfit. “Boldheart,” he read. “I’ve heard about Discord, and the things he did. If ya don’t tell me where my wife is, I’ll make him look like a child in comparison! Without magic!” Boldheart’s pupils shrank to pinpricks as Karl leaned in more and more.
“I…”
“Mr. O’Donnell?” another voice came. Both males turned toward the direction of the voice, seeing a mare nurse approach, light purple coat and pink mane. “If you’ll follow me, I can direct you to your wife.” Karl right away snapped back to a standing position, and the mare quickly added, “Calmly and quietly please.”
Both of Karl’s fists became clenched, but a deep inhale following that had them relax after. He reached upward and pulled off his helmet, taking a few steps forward. “Okay… okay… calm…”
“Right this way then. We can skip the ID bands for now.” The mare turned herself around, Karl following about two steps behind her.
“Wait!” a voice called. Both turned to see another mare enter the room, one that Karl really didn’t want to see. “Sorry, just in time!” she said to them.
The nurse looked to Karl. “Is she with you?” she asked.
He wanted to say no, but considering who it was, she’d have a way to make sure she would be involved. “Yeah… friend of mine,” he answered with a huff.
Emmé trotted up to them, “I’m… Emerald Road, and he sent me a message with the news.”
“Then let’s not waste another minute,” the nurse said. “I’m Careheart by the way.”
“Got it,” Karl said, trying his best not to look at Emmé. The next agonizing minutes were spent with them walking through the halls. As they passed into what looked like the Infirmary, Karl couldn’t help but asking, “Ya’re awfully calm there, nurse.”
“You’re not the first father to cause a scene here,” she answered, surprisingly nonchalantly. “Maybe I’d put you at perhaps at the fifteenth biggest scene – sixth in terms of volume, first in terms of angry look – but I think Ponyville is used to it.” She turned around to look at him over her shoulder as she added, “Once we get there we’ll just have to administer some antiseptic spells. Do you want scrubs?”
“I just want to get to my wife,” he answered, pushing the knot in his stomach down. That and his breakfast. The stench of hospitals always got him sick to the point where he thought they did that on purpose to keep patients in. Somehow ponies did it even worse.
“Before we enter, just a general summary,” Careheart started. “The doctor will be handling the foaling, and I’ll be there in case anything goes wrong. The room itself you’re going to notice will be devoid of odor due to spell work and some recent tech installations, so don’t panic about that.”
“Got it,” he said back. Karl though glanced at Emmé out of the corner of his eye. The way she was stone faced… he knew she was planning something.
Another stretch of elongated moments later, all three arrived to the room. An orderly was there waiting, a unicorn stallion. “Everything ready?” Careheart asked.
“Yeah, Doctor Stable Eyes is in there already getting it set up,” the orderly said, before looking up to Karl and then to Emmé. “A friend?” he asked. “Not just the father?”
“It’s what he wants,” Careheart said to him, opening the door. “No need for scrubs, just get them ready,” she ordered, quickly filing herself in.
The orderly shrugged, before his horn began to glow yellow and form a ball at the tip. “Okay, I just ask that you hold still for one moment. You might feel a slight wind of sorts at first.” Before either could speak, the ball jumped into the air over them, and with a pop, showered the both of them in a wave of magic. The way it dispersed reminded Karl of those hallways that pumped the gas to clean you off before you entered a secure area from movies he saw. “Alright, head on in,” the orderly said, before turning to trot away.
Karl watched him walk off, but pried his eyes away from him as he opened and then walked through the door. His eyes landed squarely on Karyn and the bed she was on, and much worry was plastered onto her face.
Though a second look made him amend that to be more like forcefully embedded on with a car crusher. The way she was breathing, the fact that it looked like they would have to bind her legs with how they were fidgeting around…
I’m about to become a dad… he realized, starting to share Karyn’s reaction. Holy shit holy shit holy shit holyshitholyshitshitshitshitfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…
“You’re doing fine, Mrs. O’Donnell. Just keep breathing,” a unicorn stallion said to her, presumably Doctor Stable as Karl took notice of him at the foot of the bed. The white actual coat over his lime green coat, and a pair of glasses tucked on his head and into his orange mane definitely added to that assumption.
“Looks like everything’s ready,” Careheart added, looking over some equipment. Karl decided that was the hint to perhaps fulfill his duty of being a husband by making his way over to Karyn, almost dropping his helmet to the floor.
“Hey, I’m here, dear,” he whispered to her.
“K-Karl?” she coughed out, veering her head to him. As he knelt down, she gave a forced smile. “I knew it was going to be painful… but it really doesn’t prepare you for… for…”
“Just remember I’m here for ya…” with his left hand he began to stroke her cheek, his right one holding her forehoof.
“Wait, doctor…” Careheart spoke up. Causing all eyes to look to her, as she was looking all over the equipment. “Where’s… oh, Celestia don’t tell me they forgot…” she suddenly ran over to the door. “I need an orderly, stat!” she said aloud, before she opened and stepped out.
Meanwhile, Stable looked on with a gaping mouth. “What? What’s she doing?!” he cried. Stepping away from the foot of the bed, he looked over at what she apparently found wrong. “What is she even talking about? She’s going to just leave right before a foaling?! Is she mad?!” He turned himself around, hoof clutching his head. “Of all the… of the…” He slowly dropped his hoof down, eyes half-lidded.
“Doctor, what’s wrong?” Emmé asked.
“I… don’t… feel... ” Suddenly his eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed onto the floor.
“What the shit?!” Karl yelled, frozen in place as he stared down at him. Emmé meanwhile leaned down to him.
“Doctor? Doctor?!” she yelled as she shook him with a forehoof. Despite raising her voice, her face remained even. She quickly snapped upward and moved toward the door, opening up an emergency box and hitting the intercom button inside. “Hello? We need some help here!” Emmé said. “We have somepony about to give birth and… hello?” She tapped the console, but no reaction came about. “No way, why isn’t this working?!” she yelled. “Is there another button or something?!”
“What the fuck is going on here?!” Karl yelled.
“AAAAHH!” Karyn screamed. He turned his attention back, seeing Karyn curling up in pain, eyes clamped shut.
Emmé meanwhile looked back to the two of them “Someone needs to deliver this foal.”
“Wait, what?!” Karl exclaimed.
“I’ve delivered plenty!” she reassured, running over to them. “Keep breathing, Karyn, keep breathing,” she ordered.
Karyn couldn’t respond; all her willpower was being used just to stay awake. All her other senses aside from of course her sense of touch were just dulled out, and aside from the pain she felt the only other thing she could really feel was her heart racing.
Through all of that though, she still felt something clamp around her forehoof. Something she remembered just happened a moment ago, but regardless it still helped. “Karyn, listen to me,” she heard. She managed to calm down ever so slightly, like Karl’s voice was enough to suddenly ignore what was going on even if for a few seconds. “I’m here, and I’ll always be here.” She opened her eyes, and found herself greeting Karl’s face. She watched him managing to put a smile on. “And I don’t care what Queen Bitch of the Universe over there says, or even if she’s hearing what I’m saying right now at the moment.” He gave a quick glance over to Emmé with a quick turn of his head. As he looked back he added, “We’ll have a kid… we’re ready… we’ll be happy.” He brought her hoof up to his chest, hugging it against him. “Ya’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been before. And I’m sure I’ve made ya happy.”
“More… more than I can measure,” she squeaked out, before another wave of pain hit her. She vaguely heard Emmé say something, maybe instructions. However all she could do was to take both of her hooves and pull Karl close.
A maelstrom of images flew by her, with waves of pain constantly shooting up her form. She saw images of foals, swaddled in cloths. But she also saw ones brimming with energy, with Karl’s own being filled with magic.
Karl… suddenly she just saw his time with him flash before her. From that random guy on the street who show her the most kindness she’d ever seen. That guy who became both her savior and lover, to husband who she always looked forward to being in his loving embrace… suddenly the fear seemed to ebb away.
“I’m here for you,” she heard, also feeling his head rest next to hers and his lips on her cheek. Although her eyes were sealed shut, the smile she made was nothing but relaxed and contented.
At the sound of a foal’s cry, she snapped her eyes open.
The first thing she saw was Karl, or at least the top half of his body pressed against her own in a vice grip of her own forelegs. Despite the pain swimming across her body, she managed to look to Emmé, seeing a swadling float over to her, which she bundled in her hooves. Her heartbeat quickened as Emmé gazed toward it, a neutral expression on her face.
It was in that moment that the door was practically slammed open, Careheart bursting in. “What’s going on?!” she demanded. Her eyes locked onto Stable on the floor, and then looked to all of them. “Wha? What did—” she stopped as she looked to the swaddling in Emmé’s “hooves” and her ears twitched at the crying foal. “The foal! Let me see!” she ordered.
Emmé offered no objection as she handed the bundle over to Careheart. At that moment, Stable started to stir, all eyes looking to him. “Oh… oh my, what happened?” he asked.
“Doctor!” Careheart quietly barked, getting his attention. As he looked at the scene, and hearing the cries in the air, he ripped himself from the floor and trotted over to her.
A flash of his horn on the bundle, and said after, “Cleaning spell… I hope this won’t hurt the parental bonding…” he cleared his throat and turned to Karyn and Karl with a smile. “Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell. You two are now parents of a unicorn colt.”
A warmth seeped across Karyn’s body, tears that were a mix of pain and joy started to creep into her eyes. As she managed to free Karl from her grip, she just wanted to muster the will to reach out and just see her son.
Careheart trotted herself around to Karyn’s left and handed the bundle over to her. Karl pushed himself out of the way, eyes locked firmly on the bundle as he readjusted himself to a kneeling position again.
Both of them looked in awe at the crying foal that was presented to them: he had a steel blue coat, and there was a tuft of black hair with a small stripe of rust brown. As Karyn pulled him closer, the crying began to slow and his head began to turn. She nearly cried even harder with delight as his eyes opened, a mix of green and brown at the same time along with a couple dots of brown placed at seemingly random being presented. Hazel.
Karyn looked to Karl, seeing him slowly reach a hand up to his own eyes as his own tears threatened to break out. Both of them silently could see the resemblance, both of them knew in that moment that this was truly their child. Karl’s arm joined Karyn’s forelegs in caressing the new life, his finger stroking their son’s cheek. A small gurgle came from him, and a smile began to form.
Careheart meanwhile gave a heavy sigh as she stepped away to let them have their moment and of course that precious newborn bonding between parents. Her face became crossed though as she got near Emmé and Stable. “So… do you mind telling me what the buck happened here?” she growled but kept at a low volume.
“I…” Stable started. “I don’t know, I just… suddenly collapsed right after you left the room?” he admitted, hoof rubbing his head.
“When I left the…” Careheart blinked, looking around. “Wait, I left the room? I wasn’t here before though.” She looked at Emmé. “What happened here?”
“Well…” Emmé started. “You were here. You made it sound like something was off with the equipment and you left to fix it. Right after the doctor collapsed. I tried calling for help, but nopony came.” She shifted one leg over the other. “I just… did what I thought I had to.”
Careheart was shocked still. Her mouth slowly opening as disbelief was pouring out. With a shake of her head, she went over to the emergency intercom, examining it. “Just our luck. This thing’s not working,” she groaned. “And I have questions for you later,” she directed to Emmé.
“Understood.”
“I believe I need to get examined myself,” Stable added. “Passing out just like that? We need another doctor for this foal’s immediate tests.” He shook his head, stepping slowly to the door. “Keep an eye on them while I send for somepony else,” he ordered.
“Yes, doctor.” As she watched them leave the room, she turned to look back to the scene at the bed, smiling at bit. No matter who or what the parents were, it was always fulfilling to see the joy of new parents welcoming their newborn.
Karl and Karyn were taking it all in. Their son had fallen asleep suddenly, and in that moment Karl had taken to holding him. “He’s… so perfect,” Karyn whispered, gently stroking his mane with one hoof. “Hey little guy,” she said to him. “I’m your mommy,” she cooed. “And I love you.”
When his eyes opened again, they looked to Karyn and he started to giggle slightly. Karl shifted his head to be next to her, and when both sets of hazel eyes locked, a little neigh was sounded from him.
“Hi there,” Karl whispered. “Daddy’s here.” Karl reached a finger out to him again, this time he started to lean into a bit. Like he was already starting to learn to nuzzle like most ponies did. “I’ll always be here for ya.”
“Just like he is for me,” Karyn said, leaning to nuzzle Karl.
Karl lost track of time since the new doctor had come in to do examination on... their son. He had been asked to leave while they tend to both Karyn and… their son.
That word… that one word kept ringing in his head: son. He had a son now, he was a father now. Even when he looked into the nursery to see him, Karl still couldn’t believe it despite it being in front of his eyes. He wish Karyn wasn’t tied up with her own exams to help console him.
He sighed as he walked back to the waiting room from the nursery for what must have been the sixth time since they gave him lunch. Or was it seventh? He lost count of that too. And Emmé hadn’t shown up since she left before, which was a blessing to him. Maybe he should—
“Hi Karl!”
“Jesus Christ almighty!” Karl in turned yelped, jumping and turning to the source to his immediate left. Said source was both Bubble Berry and Surprise bouncing up and down wildly. Pinkie Pie with a wide smile was just behind the two, and a somewhat annoyed Thunderlane next to her.
“Surprise, Bubble,” Thunderlane started, whose voice seemed to match his contained emotions. “Don’t forget where we are.” He gave a glance around the room, wondering if they were in trouble already.
“Scare me half to death why don’tcha?” Karl shot back immediately, holding a hand over his rapidly breathing heart.
“What?!” Surprise yelped, not quite as loud as before and also no longer with a smile. “You mean to say that you want us to—” She stopped as she was suddenly engulfed in a hug from Pinkie. Bubble and Thunderlane both looked toward the two, with Karl mentally cursing himself that he exploded like that in front of them.
“Don’t you worry your cutie wootie little head my little flying pack of joy!” Pinkie said, also bouncing Surprise in her forelegs. “Karl is just excited because he’s a daddy now! Now you can really go all out with that party you and Bubble were planning!”
“We can?!” Surprise replied with another wide smile.
“They can?” Karl said back.
“Yep! Of course, you don’t have to come if you don’t want. I figured that since the twins might be excited, we’d throw a ‘Congratulations on behalf of Karl and Karyn!’ party!” Pinkie and the twins smiled widely after her statement. Karl meanwhile stood dumbfounded. He gave a quick glance to Thunderlane, who merely smirked and gave a shrug of his withers.
“I believe I’m going to be busy for that, or at least too focused on other things,” Karl answered. He took another breath and allowed himself to rest against the wall. “Ya know… with… everything coming basically.”
“Heh, you remind me of a younger me,” Thunderlane said, stepping up to Karl. “Imagine my surprise,” he looked to the literal Surprise, “figurative surprise, when I found out that I was the father of twins.”
“Haven’t seen ya in a while, Thunder,” Karl greeted, managing a small smile. The two didn’t meet much due to Thunder’s job, but the rare times they did they got along well. “But… what are all of ya doing here by the way?” he asked finally.
“We’re here for you, silly!” Pinkie said. “Isn’t it obvious?!”
“Too busy with all this… revelation going on,” he muttered back. “What about the Corner though?”
“Aw don’t worry about that! This is your extra-super-duper-extravagantistic-expialidocious moment!”
“Mr. O’Donnell?” a familiar voice called. Karl looked over his shoulder, seeing Careheart trotting up to them. “Your wife has been cleared for all her tests. She and your son have been move to—” she stopped as she looked to see who was with him. “Oh my… your grace! I mean your graces! I didn’t… see you! I…” Karl looked back to Pinkie and the others. She herself was still smiling away, but he saw Thunderlane looking… embarrassed?
“Hello, hello, hello!” Pinkie greeted.
“A-are, are you with Mr. O’Donnell here?” Careheart asked, all her composure gone.
“Well we did come to congratulate him! And Karyn too!”
“They’re… they’re with me,” Karl said. What the fuck. I’ve seen some customers be nervous around her, but this is something else.
“V-very good! R-right this way!” Careheart directed. The group followed her through the halls, and a minute later they arrived to the room. “Before you all come in though,” Careheart stated, her professionalism back. “Doctor Stable wants to speak to the parents alone first.”
“Right,” Karl acknowledged, as Careheart escorted him inside. Eyeing Stable right away, he asked, “Feeling okay, Doc?”
“Everything appears to be in order with me,” Stable replied. “Though I believe I’m taking a vacation after this. Might have been a sudden incident, but given they can’t find anything I’m just going to go relax for a bit.” He cleared his throat, straightening himself. “Now I believe you wanted to be with your wife and son again?” he said gesturing toward the bed.
At the sight of Karyn’s smiling form with that familiar bundle, he gladly did so. There was now a chair for him to sit on, which he graciously took advantage of. “How are ya feeling?” he whispered to Karyn.
“Still a little sore… but otherwise I’m just happy,” she replied. Looking back to the bundle, Karl also, she said, “Both of you are here… heh… both of you.”
“Before we let your… guests in,” Stable spoke to both of them, earning their attention. “There’s just one issue we have to discuss. While your son is healthy, there is just… one thing odd about him that we’ve seen.” When both gave him puzzling looks, he added, “It’s nothing serious, but something you deserve to know. It has to do with his eyes.”
“His eyes?” Karl asked.
“While you might be excited over him having hazel eyes, Mr. O’Donnell, it’s something to discuss since… hazel isn’t a natural eye color for ponies.” Stable explained.
“Huh?”
“Ponies can have so many different eye colors. In fact inheriting eye colors directly is considered a rare occurrence. Heterochromia is extremely rare, and even then it’s only cases of complete heterochromia. Your son seems to have segmented heterochromia with an odd mix of central heterochromia which makes it appear he has hazel eyes.
“For clarity purposes, and that it’s hard to tell what’s the actual color, we’re considering it’s hazel. However we should consider looking into this in case there’s an issue with perhaps some chemical distribution. At the same time though, this could just be a case of a rare mutation like a mare having her hooves change color from their coat like how 50% of stallions do.” He adjusted his glasses, taking in a slow breath. “That is all I have to contribute for now. I’ll let the… others in.” With that, he bowed his head in a farewell before walking to the door and opening it.
A moment later, Karl and Karyn watched as Pinkie and her family all trotted in, the twins clearly restraining themselves as everyone was staring at the bundle in Karyn’s hooves. “Hey, folks,” Karl greeted again. “Well… he’s here.”
“A colt?” Pinkie asked.
“It’s a colt!” both Surprise and Bubble squeaked, thankfully not loud enough to wake up the foal in question.
“Can we see?” Surprise asked.
“Can we?” Bubble followed.
“Can we?”
“Can we?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Easy there, kiddos,” Thunder calmed.
“Just go slow, he’s napping at the moment,” Karyn cautioned as she turned the bundle toward them. The twins half-dashed to the bed, rearing themselves and leaning their forehooves on the edge of the bed to look. Pinkie and Thunder followed behind, all looking at the sleeping joy inside.
“Wow…” they both breathed out.
“You’re not kidding,” Thunder commented. “There’s so much of Karl despite— OOF!” he yelped, holding a hoof to the opposing foreleg as Pinkie put her forehoof back to the floor. Karl himself kept his eyes from glaring death at Thunder. The way he spoke his mind was almost as bad as his own parents.
“Does he have a name?” Pinkie asked.
“We picked out a name a while ago,” Karyn said. “And it was Karl’s idea to what their name would be, now him.”
“Am Ah interruptin’ anythang?” All heads turned to the door, seeing Big Macintosh walk in.
“Mac?” Thunderlane spoke. “Nice to see you, but what are you doing here?”
“Here to see Karyn and her child o’ course,” he answered. “Felt like Ah should do so considerin’ she an’ Ah talk sometimes. Plus Pinkie here let me know.” He turned his head out “Well, us actually.” A small eep! sounded as he said that.
“Cinnamon!” Both Surprise and Bubble Berry yelped, thankfully not agitating the foal. The twins both darted away from the bed and toward the door, before they could slip out however, Big Mac quickly stopped their advance with an outstretched foreleg. “Awwww!” they both cried.
“Cinnamon wants to see the foal first.” Big Mac turned his head out the door. “Yah ready now?” There was a small whisper and he turned back in, ushering the twins away from the door. Cinnamon slowly eased herself in, peeking her head into the doorway. Her eyes slowly scanned over to the bed from the door, but the instant she looked to Karl she let out squeak of surprise and ducked back outside.
Karl groaned, hand going up to his face to massage his eyes. “Okay, I am really that scary?” he asked.
“Yes! Yes you are!” Cinnamon shouted from outside. “I’m sorry, but you are scary! I don’t know why, but you are!”
He dropped his hand, staring forward off into space. “That was a rhetorical question…” he deadpanned.
“I’m well aware! I’m sorry! I couldn’t help but answering anyway! Please don’t be mad!” she yelled. Big Mac in response gave a sigh and walked back out the door to comfort her.
Karl looked to Pinkie Pie. “Do I really look that scary? I mean, what am I doing?”
Pinkie Pie meanwhile stared blankly, her ears falling back against her head. “Eh…” She looked back and forth between the door and Karl, before giving a shrug. “I got nothing.”
“It is Cinnamon,” Thunder offered in a whisper. No one else spoke as they watched Big Mac trot his way back in, Cinnamon next to him. As she slowly walked in though, she had her head lowered and curled away from everyone else. Whether it was shame or more fear was anyone’s guess. Coming to the bedside, Big Mac had to gently ease her up to get her to stand up in order to get a good look. As she got to her hind legs, she slowly turned to look at the foal.
“Oh he’s so cute!” Cinnamon squeed, immediately loosening up, her wings even popping outward. “Does he have a name yet? Wait, it’s a ‘he’ right?”
“He is, yes,” Karyn answered, stroking his mane. “As for a name… he’s—” She stopped and her eyes widened, looking to do the door.
“Hmm?” Cinnamon and everyone else turned to look as well, seeing two new visitors standing there. Karyn smiled as she saw them trot in with smiles on their face.
“I hope we’re not too late now,” Featherlight said.
“I think we arrived at the perfect moment here,” Stone added, following right behind.
Karyn pushed herself up slightly. “Mom… Dad,” she breathed. “How did…?”
“Her grace, Duchess Vanner, gave your father and I transport. And allowed me come over here,” Feather answered. She turned and gave a quick salute to Pinkie. “Lieutenant Colonel Featherlight, REAF; your grace, dukes, lord and ladies. It’s an honor.”
Stone locked his legs before he gave a bow. “Diamond Stone, your grace, dukes, lord and ladies.”
“Hey, no need for all that fancy schmancy title stuff now!” Pinkie cheered, but giving a slight bow of her head to them regardless.
“I… I don’t think I should, your grace,” Feather said.
“At ease there!” Pinkie exclaimed back, trotting up to her and giving a pat on her withers. Feather seized up for a moment, and her eyes snapping out of their hardened state for a split second. “I did grant you some official leave for this!”
Wait, Pinkie can actually do that? Karl wondered.
“Now don’t let me keep you waiting! You got a grandfoal to see!” Pinkie put her other forehoof onto Stone, and suddenly pushed the two of them forward toward Karl and Karyn. Both of them almost tripped, but managed to catch themselves.
Stone was the first to snap to. “How are you holding up, my little Hōseki?” he asked.
“So much better now that you two are here,” Karyn said back with a wide smile. She adjusted her hold on the bundle, slowly moving it away from Cinnamon as her eyes were locked square on their son. As she moved the foal toward her parents, Cinnamon turned her head around to see Karyn’s parents standing behind her.
“Eep! I’m sorry!” she quietly yelled, leaping off the bed back to the floor where she ran to cling to Big Mac.
“No harm, little one,” Stone laughed. He and Feather focused as Karyn tilted the bundle carefully, showing the foal in plain sight to them both.
“Oh heaven’s above,” Feather whispered.
“He’s…” Stone looked between the foal and Karl, words unable to come out.
“May I, Spirit?” Feather asked. Karyn nodded, and Feather took the foal into her forelegs, standing to two legs, with Stone doing the same to look. “Hey, little fuzzball…” she cooed.
“Yōkoso, little gem,” Stone contributed. “Do you have a name for him?”
“We have a name for him, Karl and I talked it over,” Karyn said. She looked over to him, who nodded back to her. “Kane, his name is Kane.” Everyone looked on in silence, as if no one dared to make the next move.
“Yes, it’s a human name,” Karl spoke up, all eyes turning to him. “K-A-N-E, Kane. That’s what we decided on, for both how and what to name him. ‘Kacie’ if it was a her.” At that moment, Kane decided – as much as a few hour old infant could – to start to stir and wake up. When he opened his eyes to look at Feather and Stone, they both gasped at the sight.
“Oh… oh… my… something,” Feather whispered.
“It’s a Celesti– no, Faust-ue blessed miracle,” Stone commented.
You have no freaking idea, buddy, Karl noted. At that, Cinnamon and the twins shuffled themselves over to them. As Feather and Stone dropped from their rearing to show them, the younglings all looked to Kane, seeing his eyes. Each of them followed his example and open theirs wide.
Cinnamon meanwhile looked between Kane and Karl. And again. And again. And again. All Karl could do was smile and shrug a shoulder.
“Hey there, little guy,” Feather greeted. “I’m your granny, how are—” Kane meanwhile didn’t seem to approve of so many looking at him. So he did what came natural to an upset newborn: start wailing. “Oh dear…” Feather tried to calm him by rocking him back and forth, but that didn’t seem to work.
Karl though, despite the wince he was showing, instinctively reached out and wordlessly took Kane from Feather. Relaxing him in the crook of one arm, he brought his other hand to Kane’s face. “Don’t… don’t worry there!” he cooed. “Daddy’s here! Dad’s….” I have no fucking idea what I’m doing. He gently patted his fingers against his back, tried rocking him like Feather did, but the wailing kept coming. Oh fuck… He stroked his face with his free fingers, that worked before right? Oh God… I’m not ready for this… I— he stopped as the crying stopped. He refocused his vision, seeing Kane looking to him, and his mouth gravitated to his fingers.
Kane gave a little squeak and brushed his muzzle up and down Karl’s fingers. “I think he knows who his dad is,” Stone said.
“Reminds me of you, Spirit,” Feather said to Karyn. “Couldn’t stand being out of either of your father or mine’s hooves.”
Karyn blushed. “Mom….”
“Er… beg yer pardon there,” Big Mac spoke up. “But uh… ‘Spirit’?”
“Oh! Uh… just… name complication. She’s still my Karyn, but also my Spirit,” Feather explained.
“Have I seen you two before somewhere?” Thunder asked. “I swear at one of the triple G’s.”
Stone was the one to blush next. “Uh… well I’ve only been to one Gala where I would be noticed. It was old year 1479, or 2011 modern year.”
“1479… wait, was that with that statue of Queen Faust?”
Stone forcibly scratched the back of his neck. “Spent a good month making sure it was perfect for Duchess Lipizzan-sensei to present to the Princesses.”
“And then… well…” Thunder trailed off, looking away to the air.
“It was Feather here who got me out in time. Literally swept me off my hooves.” With a quick laugh, he curled his hoof around Feather’s withers and pulled her close. “We found each other, and I’m pretty sure that landed her straight from Skylark Squadron into the Wonderbolts.”
“Wait, you’re that Diamond Stone?!” Thunder turned to Pinkie. “How’d you know they were Karyn’s parents too?”
Pinkie smirked. “Helps when you have a sister interested in rocks that won’t stop fanfillying about a top sculptor. If not the top sculptor.” At the remark, Stone visibly blushed even more.
“It’s a small universe after all,” Thunder commented, giving Pinkie a quick hug.
You ain’t kidding there, Karyn thought. Looking over the scene, she felt a familiar constriction coming across her. Right here in this room were all of them they had met so far, and of course there was the ones that her parents had met that thankfully weren’t here. Then again, in a way, it was thanks to one of them that Karyn was where she was now thanks to her parents’ positions now. It was a thought she would revel in if it wasn’t for the fact they were… them.
“Mrs. O’Donnell?” Karyn looked down to see Cinnamon peeking up right next to her. “How… do you feel by the way?”
She shifted herself, pushing away her personal melancholy. “I’m happy, isn’t that obvious?”
“I know, but… with what happened… and how Kane looks…” Karyn blinked. She was going to go there? She looked over to Big Mac, who give a silent, reassuring nod.
“Even if he didn’t look like this, I’m still happy. He’s precious, and we’re going to hold him close. He’s our son no matter what anyone says. The fact he looks like that… it is just like a gift from Faust herself.” And I guess you guys here are too in a way.
“And he’s gonna be in ah good pair of hooves and hands,” Big Mac said as he trotted up to them. “And Ah can see ye’r not done wanting to see him, Cinny.”
Cinnamon jumped slightly, blushing and crossing one foreleg over the other. “I… no. But he’s just so… cute!”
Big Mac chuckled, looking to Karyn. “Top things that’ll get her attention: foals, learning, and that band HUFSTOMPR.” He stepped to the side to Karl, who was still drawing Kane’s attention given all the gurgles and squeaks. As Karl took notice of Big Mac, the latter whispered something in the former’s ear. Karl’s smile and nod after got Cinnamon’s attention.
“Dad, what are you— EEK!” she yelped as Big Mac scooped her off the floor. A moment later she was deposited on Karl’s lap. When she realized where she was, her wings snapped upward in fright. “Oh my! This is—” she stopped upon seeing Kane literally inches away from hers, wings retracting.
“Best seat in the house, kiddo,” Karl said to her. However Cinnamon didn’t seem to acknowledge him as she leaned to Kane, taking Karl’s place in keeping him entertained. He looked up from her, looking back to Karyn who was presenting a wide smile. Then he looked over to her parents, who were busy talking with Pinkie and her family. Karyn’s happy… that’s the most important thing. He looked back to Kane, who was poking at Cinnamon’s hoof with his snout. We’ll get through this together. To the end.
It was nearly late night that same day as Karl, Karyn, and Kane arrived home. According to Doctor Stable, Karyn was well enough to be released which she gladly took. Karl took an easy guess as to why she had the willpower to walk, but held his tongue. Probably everyone else in the room as well.
The moment he let his own parents know about the news, they had almost made him deaf in both ears. Perhaps them not being able to come over and visit was a silver lining in that regard, but then there was that hanging issue of when next he could see them.
Karyn’s parents had said they would stay in town for a couple days, heading to a hotel while Pinkie and all the others went off to their homes. Karl still felt semi-queasy about the whole thing, and Karyn was probably still fighting off some fatigue and her own pain. Despite that she was still close to him when she was able to do so.
I fucking love ya, dear. Don’t forget that, he thought instead of spoke as to not wake Kane. Slowly getting out of the car, he then walked around to assist Karyn out as she handed Kane to him, and then she got to all fours. “How ya holding up?” he whispered.
“Tired… but that’s nothing compared to how happy I feel,” she whispered back. “Are you doing well?”
“I’m okay if ya’re happy.”
“Are you doing well?” she repeated.
He hesitated for a moment, letting out a breath before he spoke. “I… I’m holding up. I’m going to be okay.” He looked down to Kane, holding him close. “When I saw him, I saw he was our son. Our son… the second I saw him I just… wanted to hold him. Does that sound weird to ya?”
Karyn reared herself up, hugging him close while also joining him in cradling Kane. “It means you care. There’s nothing weird about that.”
“All a part of embracing life.” Both broke their sights from each other, setting them on Emmé who was leaning against a tree near the front door.
“You,” Karl stated. “Where have ya been?”
“Letting you two have your time together with your son. That and also making sure to give them a believable story for their reports and whatnot,” she answered.
“Ya did something back there, didn’tcha?” he accused. Karyn in that moment silently took Kane away from Karl, standing still as she kept switching her attention between Kane and the other two. “All those things… ya cause something to happen.”
“I might have… cast some spells to compel the staff to leave the area, the nurse to suddenly leave and forget she did…”
“And knock the doctor out and the other shit?” he finished as he strode up to her. “Ya know… let’s just forget all that. Ya did it because of the magic, magic we haven’t seen any of.”
Emmé’s eyes looked past Karl, over to Karyn and Kane. “I… sense it in him. I thought it was normal pony magic until I really looked and it felt human. But it wasn’t like a desert arctic wind, it was like a sea breeze before a sunrise.”
Karl threw up his arms. “So that’s that then! Ya don’t need to be here! He’s fine, I’m fine! We’re all fine!”
“Hang on now!” she raised her voice, holding out her own hand. “He may be fine now, but Faust informed me about pony kids and fluctuation of magic! Who knows what can happen?”
Arms fell back to his side, hands slowly balling into fists. “...what?” he pushed out, staring hard.
“We don’t know what he can do yet!”
“Are ya fucking serious right now?!”
“We went over this! Just think of what can happen if all of Equestria finds out your son is a current magic and physical impossibility. And what if his magic does turn out to be dangerous?! Heaven forbid some others find out how to actually repeat your antics from that and cause more rampaging monsters on this world or the other!”
“I thought ya said ya took care of that!” Karl yelled back, getting within arms reach of Emmé. Karyn tucked Kane closer to herself, silently hoping that she would be able to somewhat muffle the argument from him.
“Only in the sense that they said they’ll look into it! And last month they actually did a recall on all current genderstones to fix what caused what happened with you!” Emmé’s arms recrossed, and she stared hard at Karl despite the good amount of height he still had on her.
He brought one hand to his face, clawing it downward. “So yau’re just going to keep hounding us? Should we expect ya to pop up every time he shows he’s growing up?!”
“Listen, I’d gladly let you two go and just live your life!” She looked away, trying to hide her own frustration. “But I’m not doing that because of—” Emmé didn’t finish a she felt a sharp pain across her cheek, and she found herself suddenly meeting with the ground violently. She had to take a moment to refocus her vision, and process what had just happened. She looked back up to Karl, seeing him breathing heavily, and hunched over with a fist hanging low. That could only mean one thing.
“Fuck… you…” Karl whispered. Emmé just stared; he knew full well who she was. Was he out of his mind? Emmé blinked though as he opened his eyes and stared – no, glared – down at her. It wasn’t so much as glaring daggers at her but a full on armory. Perhaps even the entire nuclear stockade. “Fuck... you... ya fucking dogmatic cunt fucker. There’s a place for ya in hell alongside my grandmother.” Karl turned and began to storm back to the house, passing by a wide eyed Karyn.
As Emmé watched him slam the door – both halves. She brought a hand up to her face to feel where the pain was. It hurt, but not just physically. Her attention was brought back forward as she heard Karyn walking away, opening the door at both halves and stepping in before closing them behind her.
“I really mean it when I say if I could let you guys go I would,” Emmé whispered. She looked blankly off, remembering what had happened before that was more relevant than ever.
Emmé and Faust walked into the main bedroom of Faust’s Noumea house, leaving Karl and Karyn to their own talk. With a snap of Faust’s fingers, Emmé saw the telltale shine of a noise cancellation spell to give them privacy.
“So… what do you think is going to happen?” Emmé asked.
“They’re definitely going to keep the foal,” Faust answered. “But that’s actually not what I wanna talk about.”
“Before we get to that, I need to ask.” Emmé sat herself down on a desk chair, while Faust took the bed. “You can’t work that creation magic of yours to fix this? That timeline stuff?”
Faust shook her head. “There’s nothing that can be done here. I tried, but I couldn’t do anything. Guess this was meant to happen.”
Emmé gave a surrendering nod. While she herself was Queen of Sorceresses and held raw power, Faust’s dominion was the fabric of reality given her charge as the Avatar of Creation. With that she had the ability to rewrite time… to a small degree. Because the same cosmic Rules that kept Faust and Kuzu from going home also kept her from doing what she willed.
“However, we got a bigger problem though,” Faust spoke up. “Our… associates at the Convocation got a hold of me while you were drinking away.”
That caused Emmé to snap to attention even harder. The Convocation was an old group of still magic humans who behind-the-scenes protected all the other billions of humans from the horrors of their magical past. Something Emmé would have been willing to be a part of if not for their methods and other things. Some of those things being their treatment of Faust and Kuzu, given how they saw them as threats first and a resource for help second.
“What did they say?” Emmé asked.
“They’re… not happy about what’s occurred. In fact because – to quote them – ‘Alter Earth magic was involved’, they’re extra upset and concerned.”
“How upset?”
“They want to basically scorch the earth of where it happened. Literally. And with those two in it.” Faust stared blankly, showing no sign of exaggeration.
“My kingdom for… well, to have my kingdom back so they would listen to me. Then again they rose up after I tore it down to stop this stuff.” Emmé leaned forward, almost tempted to get up, but kept herself still to focus. “Do you think we can do anything?”
“Maybe if we see this to the end ourselves, something to get them to calm their asses down.”
“I’ll do what it takes to keep them safe.”
“Even after you almost did the opposite yourself?” Faust threw back.
Emmé choked a bit, turning her gaze away. “Look, yes. I lost it back there, and I almost stooped to their level. Old, old habits never die after all. But you know that me standing with you also doesn’t go away either. I just didn’t think he could have been saved, but you proved me wrong. But who knows what could happen going forward?”
“Considering it’s going to be a foal with human magic, we can only wait and see.”
“Then perhaps I should see it first hand then,” Emmé stood up, none of the reservation from before. “They want assurance it’s being watched? I’ll be right there to see it myself. Perform some damage control so it doesn’t happen again too.”
Faust’s head tilted slightly. “Are you sure about this?”
“Positive. As long as I’m right there, every step of the way, that should be enough to tell them that we’re keeping it under control.” Emmé looked to the door. “They won’t like it though.”
Faust stood up, walking over to Emmé and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Please promise me you’ll try to keep it together. They’re already emotional enough as is.”
Emmé looked her in the eyes, and gave a sigh. “I’ll try, Horseface. But I can’t promise anything. Handling this is my kryptonite. I might even mess up in the next few minutes. I’m still ticked that you taught Greg magic.”
Faust shook her head. “I’ll help you where I can across the portal, but it’s up to you to try and get yourself under control. Otherwise they’ll blow the whistle on us.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“So much for my best and trying…” Emmé muttered, picking herself up off the ground. She massaged the side of her head, it was like a reminder that they weren’t gods. Sure she could make it go away with a thought… but perhaps for now she would let it sit. “Seigneur pardonne moi,” she whispered, teleporting away.
Meanwhile inside, Karyn slowly trotted herself over to Karl who had dropped himself on the couch. She kept Kane steady in her foreleg, though the sight of Karl wasn’t helping to keep steady. He was hunched over head in hands, hair a mess like he attempted to tear it from the scalp but mercifully stopped himself. Which considering he was pushed to mention his grandmother of all people said a lot.
“Karl?” she spoke up.
“Can I see Kane?” he spoke through his hands. “I need to see him.” Karyn sat herself next to Karl, passing Kane over to him as he straightened himself up. “I’m going to be here for you, boy.” He slowly stroked Kane’s tuft of a mane with a finger. “I’ll be here for both of you. No matter what happens, not after all this. Or what’s going to come.”
Karyn laid herself down, and rested her head against his shoulder. “I know you’ll be there, you don’t have to saying that for yourself.” Karl looked at her, and she beamed back a smile to him. After a quick kiss, both of them slowly made their way upstairs. As they tucked Kane into his crib, both of them didn’t let each other go as they proceeded to bed themselves.
The next day, Karl and Karyn rode into town. The sun was overhead near noon, and they were all in need of supplies for the upcoming battle of early parenthood. They should have done this sooner, but a trip into town for more than just the normal necessities was something neither was particularly interested in. So with both of them there it would make it more bearable.
Karl pulled the car to the side of the street in front of the supermarket they shopped at. They were in the newer part of Ponyville, though despite this the crowd around they weren’t exactly going into or out of the store. The older part near them apparently still had a farmer’s market which ran into here, and Karl guessed with that most ponies had no reason to goto a full-on supermarket.
As they stepped out, Karyn cradling Kane, they both looked over the flow of people walking to and from. Already there was some stares – which told him they were Old Ponyville ponies – but Karl ignored them as he looked to Karyn. As she trotted around, she immediately got next to him.
“Ya okay?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured. “Let’s get this over with.” Karyn took the first step, Karl following behind. He looked down to see Kane looking around, and his forelegs were poking around now that they weren’t wrapped in his bundle. “You like the sunlight, Kaney?” Karyn cooed to him. “See anything you like?” His response was to stare blankly to Karyn. “Hi there! You want anything? We can get you a pacifier! Maybe some—” she stopped right in her tracks, looking over her withers. “Oh… crud, I left my purse in the car.”
“Do we need it?” Karl asked.
“Do you remember our whole list?” When he gave an unsure frown, she only gave a slight nod back. “Take Kane, I’ll be back.” Taking him in both arms, Karl watched her turn and practically run back to the car. He looked down to Kane, who was looking at him now.
“Hey, boy,” he said to him. Right away, Kane’s response was to start wailing outward. “Oh… cmon…” He brought him close, trying his little finger tricks. “Shh… cmon, don’t worry. I’ll—”
“What in the hay are you doing?!” Karl almost jumped at hearing someone yell at him, but kept it down as he held onto that steady cradle. Looking over to who said it, he felt his blood begin to heat up.
The first asshole he met here. Some cook whose place smelled like he was burning it down. That dark gray mane and orange coat with a lack of a horn and wings hadn’t left Karl’s mind since, and now was not a good time to be reminded of it. “Excuse me?” Karl deadpanned, still trying to tend to Kane.
“What are you doing with that foal?!”
“Trying to calm him down, which ya aren’t helping with!” Karl growled through gritted teeth, trying to keep his voice low.
“Me?! You’re obviously the cause of it because he’s not with his parents!”
Karl glared to him, which actually got him to slink back in some fright. “He’s my son, you piece of garbage.”
“He obviously can’t be! He’s no more your son than that traitor Sandalwood is family to monsters like yourself! And I don’t understand why Duchess Vanner doesn’t see that! And we will not support her if she continues to do so!”
Karl wanted to scream, wanted to even get his hands around a windpipe that should be closed. However doing so would make Kane more upset, that and the police wouldn’t take kindly for him going postal on this idiot. Fortunately Kane, in his infantile decision making, decided to calm down by poking at Karl’s fingers with his forehooves so both his hands were occupied.
“What’s going on here now?” Both Karl and the waste of cells looked to see a pony approaching. Not just any pony though, based off the hat and uniform he looked like law enforcement. Which helped distinct him out since his light goldenrod coat and brown mane didn’t make him stand out otherwise.
“Sheriff Caramel!” the oxygen depriver exclaimed. “This… human is terrorizing one of our own foals! I demand—”
“Blackened Sauté, shut your muzzle before I put a literal one on,” Caramel interrupted, causing him to freeze into a statue Karl wished was a real one he could smash. “You and Salad Toss pester my office day in and day out about anyhuman that comes here. And don’t try to pull that horseapples about ‘one of our own’, especially cause you know full well that foal is with this man here. I got that report from Foal Protection Services for a foal that wasn’t even born yet!”
Karl blinked. Only the touch of Kane keeping him still. Even when Sauté spoke, “I won’t stand by while a foal is brainwashed—”
“Can it, now,” Caramel ordered, jabbing a hoof to Sauté’s barrel. “Did you know you almost got Duchess Andalusia herself involved? It was only because of Duchess Vanner that she didn’t show up here! I already got enough bogus reports from about a good third of Ponyville here that I file away in a cabinet I have just for ponies like you!”
“What the hell is going on here?!” Everyone turned to find Karyn stomping up to them, stopping at Karl’s side.
“Just trying to defuse a situation, Ma’am,” Caramel answered, before turning back to Sauté. “So open up those ears of yours so you can actually hear me, cause I’m not gonna tolerate any more of your reports! Unless someone, pony, human, or other is causing trouble: do not try to get me involved! Got it?!”
Sauté’s ears fell back against his head. He gave one glancing but hard look to Karl and Karyn before answering, “Yes.” After that one word, he wheeled himself around and half-ran off from the group.
Caramel sighed, hoof going to his forehead. “I apologize, folks, but Ponyville never seems to end with disasters. Whether from outside or from its own ponies.” He moved his hoof upward, giving his hat a tip. “You two have a good day now.” As Karl and Karyn gave their goodbye gestures back, they looked to each other. Silently, both of them moved even closer to each other and gave Kane a reassuring look.
Marching through the crowd, the two were like a magical katana cutting through an ancient evil as they parted out to give them room to go forward. From that day, one rumor began to stir: don’t mess with the papa timberhuman and the mama ursapony.