//------------------------------// // The Most Dreaded Word // Story: The New Life of a Winning Pony // by Chengar Qordath //------------------------------// Now that I was almost semi-certain about maybe having the kid, I knew it was time to have a chat with the two potential sires. It was weird to think of Blossom and Eepy as the ponies who’d knocked me up. For that matter, my brain was still kind of adjusting to the idea that I was pregnant. Every once in awhile I’d forget that I was supposed to be freaking out over my condition, and for a bit things would almost go back to normal. Then I’d remember that I had a bun in the oven, and the panic would start again along with wondering how I could ever have stopped being a wreck over it. I was hoping that talking things out with them would finally settle me down a bit. If nothing else, it would give me one less thing to worry about. Plus ... I’d really missed having their support. One of the worst things about this whole pregnancy mess had been that I couldn’t really turn to them for help sorting through everything. When they both wanted me to carry the foal and I didn’t, it made any discussion of the pregnancy ... hazardous. The last thing I needed was a big, ugly fight with the ponies I loved. Now that I’d settled the pregnancy issue, that potential minefield was gone. Getting some unconditional love from the both of them sounded like just what the doctor ordered. Well, would have ordered, if I’d been to see one. Which I probably should do sometime soon. First things first, visit the beautiful, sexy mares who love me, then worry about my health. It was a simple matter of priorities. I stopped by Fluttershy’s cottage first, since I was pretty sure she would be there at this time of day. While she wasn’t as obsessive about sticking to a schedule as Twilight, she did generally try to follow a consistent routine when it came to feeding all her animals. Probably because they all become massive pests if their food is late. Her bear starts scratching on the door and whining if she’s five minutes late filling up his dinner bowl, the birds all hover around the windows, and Angel ... well, let’s not even talk about what that little Tartarus-spawn does. Fortunately, none of her pets would go hungry today, and I actually wound up getting lucky (though not in my favorite way). Not only was Eepy feeding all the animals when I got there, but Blossom was helping out too. Fluttershy’s entire menagerie can consume a jaw-dropping amount of food on a daily basis, and while Eepy’s not quite as weak and delicate as some ponies think, she still appreciates having another set of hooves to help carry all the giant, heavy bags of food around. I trotted up the path towards the two of them, unleashing my most charming smile. “Well well well, if it isn't the two prettiest mares in Equestria. Imagine meeting you here...” Fluttershy beamed as soon as she saw me. “Oh, Cloud! It's wonderful to see you too. How are you? And how’s…?” Her eyes dropped to my belly and allowed me to fill in the blanks.. Thankfully, Blossom didn’t immediately join her in jumping onto the foal train. Instead, she trotted over and kissed me. “Hey, good-looking. As long as you’re here, you can...” she trailed off, then grimaced. “Well, I was going to make you help carry all the food bags, but I guess I can’t do that, can I?” “One of the hidden perks of my condition,” I agreed with a grin. “I have an ironclad excuse to not do any hard labor for just about an entire year.” Granted, from what I already knew about pregnancy after watching other ponies go through it, I would be perfectly capable of doing just about anything other than back-breaking hard labor for the first couple months. However, I didn’t see any reason to volunteer that bit of trivia at the moment. I trotted over to Fluttershy and gave her a quick kiss so she wouldn’t feel left out. “So, how have my two favorite beautiful mares been?” Eepy gently returned the kiss. “Oh, we've been doing fine. Blossomforth was helping me, and we've just been talking about a few things.” I grinned as I teasingly bumped her hip. “Oh yeah? What kind of things? ‘Me’ things?” Blossom grinned and lightly swatted my shoulder. “And you call Rainbow Dash self-centered. But yeah, you did come up. Though in our defense, you can be a lot of fun to talk about.” “I do like to think there are a lot of fun things you can do with me besides talking.” I put a wing around each of them, pulling them in for a three-way hug. “So ... was this a boring talk about my personal life? You two secretly making fun of me and discussing my flaws behind my back? Or was the conversation ... juicy?” Eepy’s cheeks lit up. “Oh, um, a little bit of everything.” She gave me a reassuring little nuzzle. “Don’t worry, we weren’t seriously making fun of you—just sharing a little harmless humor, and we said plenty of nice things too. We certainly didn’t want to do anything behind your back. We just thought that you needed some space, so we were trying to give it to you. From all the way out here. At my cottage.” She scuffed a hoof along the ground, shooting a nervous look my way. I nodded gratefully and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Well, I did need a bit, so thanks.” I chuckled and sheepishly ran a hoof through my mane. “You know, needed a bit to sort everything out. And even though I kinda got more complications tossed at me while trying to sort through my own problems, I think I'm feeling a bit better now.” One of Blossom’s eyebrows shot up. “What kind of complications? Is everything alright? Is there anything you want to talk about?” I grimaced and shook my head. “Nothing too bad, certainly nothing you guys need to worry about. Mostly just family stuff, like the fact that Dad’s dating again.” I sighed, my shoulders slumping down. “I wanna be happy that he's happy, but she’s kinda young for him, and it’s just ... y’know, it’s complicated. Feels weird to see him hooking up with somepony who isn’t Mom, and it’s extra-weird that someday I could end up with a stepmother who I literally went to school with.” Fluttershy started gently guiding me towards her cottage. “How about you sit down and we can talk about it? I can get you a little something to eat and drink if you like.” I thought it over and shook my head. “That sounds nice, but there’s not much to really talk about. I’m a bit weirded out—anypony would be in my situation. But as long as they’re both happy and the relationship isn’t causing problems, I really don’t think it’s something I should be involved in. Dad never stuck his nose into my love life beyond making sure I was okay. Figure I owe him the same courtesy.” I shrugged, following Fluttershy’s gentle guidance. “Besides, we’ve got a lot of other things we need to discuss first.” Blossom nodded, making a quick stop to drop off the giant bag of animal food before joining us inside Eepy’s cottage. I took a seat on the sofa, and Blossom joined me while Fluttershy headed to the kitchen. “So, what did you want to talk about first? I mean, I know the obvious thing that’s on everypony’s mind, but if you’d rather start with—” I gently cut her off with an upraised hoof. “Let’s take care of the elephant in the room first. No way we could focus on anything else while the pregnancy thing is hanging over our heads, and most of the other things we’d talk about are gonna hinge on how we settle that.” “Yeah, no kidding.” She leaned over and gave me a reassuring nuzzle, smiling supportively and taking one of my hooves in hers. “Okay then, let’s talk this out.” “I think that would be a very good idea.” Fluttershy chimed in as she trotted over, setting down three glasses of lemonade and a platter of cheese and crackers. “I know I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and would feel much better if everything were settled.” “I think we all would,” I agreed. “And thanks for the snacks, Eepy.” I sipped the lemonade, quite pleased to discover it was appropriately tart and lemon-y. Way too many ponies make lemonade that tastes more like sugar-water with a couple drops of lemon juice in it. “So I've thought it over and talked to my family about the pregnancy, and I'm leaning towards keeping it.” Next thing I knew, my face was full of Fluttershy’s wings as she shot over and wrapped me in a hug worthy of her pet bear. “Oh, Cloud! That's wonderful. I’m so glad we’re going to have a baby and you’re not going to...” she trailed off, nuzzling me in lieu of saying anything more. Blossom smiled and tried to join in on the hug, but there was far too much Fluttershy wrapped around me for her to squeeze in. Eventually, she had to settle for squeezing my shoulder and smiling. “Glad to hear it. I know you said you didn’t want to be pressured or anything, but ... I think you made the right call.” I hugged Fluttershy back, if only because I didn’t have much choice in the matter. I was a bit peeved that they were both so ... well not exactly pushy, but making it very clear that they thought I’d made the ‘right’ choice by keeping the kid. Sure, they’d respected my wishes and backed off until I decided for myself, but it was still pretty plain what they thought. So despite having two beautiful ponies who loved me in close proximity, I wasn’t exactly feeling very enthusiastic about the whole thing. “Yeah, I guess.” Fluttershy seemed to pick up on my mood, giving me a reassuring little squeeze. “We'll make this work, I promise.” “Yeah,” Blossom nodded along eagerly. “Whatever you need, just name it and we’ll make it happen. Anything at all.” She paused, then amended, “Well, almost anything. I might have to draw the line at some sort of crazy orgy.” “Well there you go ruining all my plans...” They both chuckled at the joke, but in all honesty I hadn’t really planned anything like that. With Blossom and Eepy, things were kinda special, and adding more ponies to the group might throw off the balance. Besides, orgies are kinda overrated in my experience—even I have trouble pleasing or being pleased by more than five ponies at the same time. Plus there’s stuff like ponies getting all tangled up with each other, getting in each other’s way, and the eternal fights over who gets to have access to my fun bits. With a roll of the eyes, Blossom playfully swatted my shoulder. “I'm sure you’ll survive only having twice as many partners as most ponies. But back to the big news: we’re gonna have a kid. That’s ... pretty huge, don’t you think?” “Nah, no big deal,” I shot back, grinning. “I’ll pudge up for a while, but my teats will get bigger to make up for it. Not to mention the chance to find out if either of you have any pregnancy-related kinks. Oh, and Rainbow Dash will dote on me for a bit, which makes me wonder if she has some of those fetishes.” I would have to remember to tease her mercilessly about that once I had a proper baby bump. Blossom chuckled. “And of course, you somehow manage to turn the topic back to sex again. And kinky sex on top of that. And about our boss, too.” She gently bapped me on the nose. “Shame on you, Cloud. I can already tell we’re gonna have a lot of work to do if you’re going to be a proper, non-corrupting mother.” Her teasing grin shifted to a more serious contemplative frown. “Though honestly, I think you’ll be fine. After all, we’re pretty sure Dinky’s still held onto her innocence despite all the time you spend around her.” “Yeah, you can tell by the fact that Derpy hasn’t murdered me yet.” My ears perked up as I remembered what had happened the other day. “Oh, dunno if you guys have heard yet, but little Dinky got her cutie mark. Big news, be sure to go and hug her if you haven’t already.” That prompted a bit of happy chatter and a few questions about her mark and her special talent, but they didn’t stay distracted for long. It was almost like ponies who knew and loved me had figured out my habit of changing the subject when I didn’t want to talk about something. Fluttershy got things back on track as soon as the obligatory commentary on Dinky’s new butt symbol was done with. “You know, Cloud, we should get you a doctor’s appointment as soon as we can. We want to make sure you and the foal are going to be healthy.” My ears fell a bit as I realized what was in store. Doctors’ appointments. Lots and lots of them. I didn’t hate getting an occasional checkup, but from what I remembered from Derpy’s pregnancy, it had pretty much been a weekly thing. I liked Redheart and the other ponies at the hospital just fine, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see them all the time. However, I couldn’t really argue with the idea that I needed regular checkups if I was going to be having a kid. It was just part of the package. “Seeing a doctor seems prudent, yeah.” Blossom frowned thoughtfully. “Did you want us coming with you for that? I mean, we’d be glad to be there if you want us, but some of it might be pretty private.” She wasn’t wrong—Redheart had done most of my exams, and probably knew way more than she’d ever wanted to about both my love life and my mare parts. The whole experience was usually awkward and uncomfortable enough without adding an audience to the mix. “I dunno. I mean, it’s complicated. It’d be weird, but if you guys were there it’d save me the trouble of repeating everything the doctor tells me, ‘cause I know you’ll want to hear it all. Plus, you might think of some good questions I’d miss. Maybe not for the actual exam, but bring you in once Redheart’s done looking under my tail and gets down to telling me the results?” “That sounds like a good idea,” Fluttershy agreed, finally releasing me from her feathery embrace. “Though would she really need to look there during your exam?” I shrugged. “I’m no expert, but I imagine it’ll come up at some point. I mean, a kid’s coming out of there eventually. Somepony’s gonna have to make sure everything’s in working order.” “Thanks for making the miracle of birth sound both disgusting and utilitarian, Cloud,” Blossom deadpanned. “Though speaking of not being an expert, maybe we should get some books from the library.” She paused, her ears drooping. “Oh right, there isn't a library anymore.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “That's gonna be a bit of an adjustment.” “I don’t think it’ll be that bad,” I reassured her. “Twilight's already got fresh shipments of books inbound.” I thought it over for a minute, then amended. “Though I'm not sure if all those books will actually be a library or just her personal collection.” “I can ask her if she wouldn’t mind letting us borrow some of them when it’s not too much trouble,” Fluttershy chimed in. “I have a bit of experience from taking care of my animals, but there’s a big difference between a bunny and a pony. I’d like to do some research. I don’t think Twilight would mind; she’s usually very nice about letting ponies borrow books when they need them, and we are her friends. Not to mention ... well, I don’t think she’d need any books about pregnancy for herself in the near future.” I nodded. “She's nice about it as long as ponies ask first and return them according to schedule.” I’d made the mistake of being one day late returning a book once. For a year after, she’d put tracking spells on any book I borrowed from her, and the book lit up and started shaking the day I was supposed to return it. “And knowing her, she probably already ordered some books on pregnancy stuff once she found out about me.” “Sounds about right,” Blossom agreed. “The question is, did she do it because she wants to learn more, or to get them for you?” I grinned and poked her chest. “You assume it's not both. Five bits says she pulls an all-nighter to speed-read the books herself before lending them to us.” “That sounds like exactly what Twilight would do,” Fluttershy agreed. “Yeah, nopony’s gonna take that bet.” Blossom’s eyes flicked towards the new palace. “She likes being efficient and thorough when it comes to her books. In any case, the good news is that if she hasn't ordered the books already, all we'll have to do to get her to order them is to ask some pregnancy-related questions. She hates not knowing the answer to anything.” I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, nothing bugs her more than knowing that she doesn’t know something.” I grinned as I remembered a chat with my cousin a couple weeks back. “Storm told me she once went without sleep for a week trying to solve the paradox caused by Midnight’s Third Law of Shadow Transmutation and Shadow Conversion when viewed in light of Starswirl’s First Law of Magical Conservation. Or something like that. When Twilight tried to explain it all to me, I got lost after about five seconds, and I don’t think that was just because she was loopy from sleep deprivation. Looking at her blackboards full of notes made my eyes hurt.” “Oh dear.” One of Fluttershy’s hooves flew up to her mouth. “She was alright, wasn’t she?” I shrugged. “Nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a day of proper bedrest and Storm herding her away from her lab until she could sanitize it.“ “Glad to hear it.” Blossom grabbed some crackers off the plate. “Things go crazy often enough in Ponyville without Twilight driving herself into the ground. She could use a little more stability in her life—and maybe somepony to help keep her grounded when she starts working herself into a frenzy.” “Why do you think I’m trying to hook her up with Storm?” I shot back, smirking. “Though admittedly, that’s mostly just because they’re both way too much fun to tease. Twilight flusters so easy, and the giant stick Storm has stuck up her plot makes her a great target. Why do you think Star likes going after her so much?” “Be nice to your cousin, Cloud,” Fluttershy gently chided. “I know you like teasing her, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you’re both having fun, but sometimes teasing that one pony thinks is harmless can really upset the other pony.” “Yeah, of course.” A little twinge of guilt shot through me as I remembered some of Eepy’s past experiences at flight camp. It was why I didn’t tease her very often and was very careful whenever I did. She wasn’t like Rainbow Dash, where the two of us could just spend hours poking fun at each other and tossing out casual insults as a bonding experience. I tried to shift the conversation to something a bit safer. “But anyway, it sounds like we’ve got all the pregnancy stuff settled then. I mean, there’s still checkups with the doctor and everything, but that’s something we’ll have to take care of as we go.” “Um, actually...” Fluttershy nervously pawed at the ground, not quite meeting my eyes. “There are a couple other things that I would like to talk about, if you don't mind. I was just thinking that it might be a good idea if you moved in with one of us, or if we moved in with you. At least while you're pregnant and while the foal’s still young.” Blossom’s ears perked up. “Yeah, considering how bad the morning sickness was for you the other day, it’d probably be a good idea to have somepony else around. Not to mention that once you start getting really pregnant, you might need somepony else on hoof to deal with any medical issues that crop up. I don’t want to end up in a situation where you need help and nopony’s there for you.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “And once you actually have the kid ... well, I’m no expert, but I’ve always heard that taking care of a newborn is a ton of work. Having one or two more sets of hooves around to help with taking care of the baby might be a good idea. If nothing else, it’ll help you get more sleep.” I couldn’t really think of any rational argument to dispute the points they were making, but for some reason I really wasn’t wild about the idea of having them move in with me. It’s not like I didn’t love them or anything, but something about the idea just bugged me. But that wasn’t the sort of answer I could give in the face of a bunch of very reasonable points, so instead my ears went flat and I conceded. “That does make sense.” Blossom nodded along, clearly liking the idea more and more if I was to judge by the smile on her face. And why wouldn’t she like it? She’d wanted to move in with me before the whole pregnancy issue had even come up. “We might even want to look into buying a bigger house as well. Even you've described your house as a bachelorette pad, and there really isn’t anywhere we could turn into a new room for the foal. Not to mention that while your bed has plenty of space for all three of us, your bedroom’s a bit short on closet space if three mares are gonna be living there.” “Well, it’s not like you’d need to bring all your stuff over right away,” I murmured, running a hoof through my mane. “And as far as the foal goes we could probably ... I dunno. I mean, I could fit a crib in my bedroom. It’d save time compared to putting the baby in its own room, which we’d have to get up and go into any time it needed something.” “That's kinda a short-term solution,” Blossom countered. “Our kid is going to need its own room sooner or later.” She shot me a flat look. “Not unless you think having a growing filly or colt sleeping in the same room as us is a good idea. I know parents are supposed to have a less active sex life, but I don’t want to spend the next eighteen years going without, and I’m pretty sure you’d go insane if you tried.” “Point taken,” I conceded. Not even I was stubborn enough to keep digging in my hooves when my plan would’ve forced near-celibacy on me. I wasn’t quite as sex-crazed as my reputation would suggest, and I could probably find ways around that restriction, but the idea of not being able to bang ponies in my own bed unsettled me on a visceral level. “There's always new houses being built in Ponyville,” Fluttershy chimed in, smiling hopefully. “We can see what the prices are like and then make a decision from there.” “Or we could just expand my place a bit,” I offered. “Add on a room for the kid.” Blossom frowned, humming to herself as she rubbed her chin. “We’d need to do more than just add one room on. The living room really isn’t big enough for an entire family, and you don’t even have a proper dining room. Then we’ll need more storage too, and I expect that all three of us wouldn’t mind having some private space. Fluttershy has her animals, I have my workshop, and so on. Plus, with four ponies living there full-time, adding a second bathroom is pretty much mandatory.” She grabbed a napkin and doodled out a crude blueprint of my simple little house, then tacked on several extra rooms to account for all the additions. “We’re not exactly talking about a minor project—we’d be doing so much remodeling it might actually be cheaper and easier to just build a new house from the ground up. Plus it’d give us a lot more flexibility with the design and floorplan.” “Not to mention all the time it would take to get that work done, and how much stress it would put Cloud under.” Fluttershy frowned, her eyes flicking down to my belly. “Stress isn't very healthy for a pregnant mare, and having a bunch of construction ponies going in and out of her house all the time working on things sounds very stressful.” “Yeah, while losing my home is a completely stress-free experience,” I grumbled under my breath. Regardless of the facts, I liked my current house just fine. It was nice and cozy, and just about perfectly sized for me. Big enough to have company over, but not so big that it felt empty when I was there by myself. I’d been living there since I’d moved to Ponyville, and I hadn’t ever really thought about going somewhere else. I felt a sudden stab of empathy for Twilight Sparkle; her new palace might be nice and all, but it wasn’t the home she’d lived in for years. Fluttershy seemed to pick up on my mood, leaning over and gently nuzzling me. “I'm sorry, maybe we’re rushing into planning all of this a bit too soon.” “Yeah, I wasn’t trying to push you into a bunch of stuff you aren’t ready for.” Blossom gave me a quick reassuring hug. “I guess I just got caught up in all the planning. It’s just that ... well, getting a new home is big deal, and it’s gonna take a long time to get everything taken care of. I’d like to have everything squared away and all of us settled in before you get too pregnant.” One of her wings flicked uncertainly. “I'm all for doing a big project, but not until we’re all sure that’s what we want to do. I mean, look at how much time and effort Derpy has put into fixing up her place over the years.” I let out a halfhearted chuckle. “It’s not a perfect comparison, given how much of that is repair work and preventative maintenance. I don't start kitchen fires on a weekly basis.” Then again, I also don’t make muffins as good as Derpy’s... “I don’t think she’s that bad about it,” Fluttershy demurred, flushing faintly. “Though we did have to repair that one wall after she knocked a hole in it. And clean up all that paint after she accidently knocked all the buckets over. And reinforce the frame for her front door. Plus there was the time she...” Eepy frowned, shaking her head. “Oh, it sounds a lot meaner when I say it all out loud. Derpy really is a nice pony, even if a few little things go wrong around her sometimes. While it did take a lot of time and effort to fix her home, Cloud, Rainbow, and I all loved doing it. After all, she’s such a good friend, and she needed our help.” “Yeah, that’s true.” I paused a moment, then hastily amended, “If Derpy offers to help with any of the work on my place to pay me back, let’s very politely turn her down. I love the mare, but she was bad enough just doing a bit of light labor while she was pregnant. I can’t see having Derpy work construction ending well.” “The only question would be whether the house collapsed before or after it caught on fire,” Blossom agreed with a snicker. “So getting back to business, how about if I start asking around and getting some estimates on how much a new house would cost, along with what it would take to expand Cloud’s place? Not gonna commit to anything, just figure out where we stand and get an idea of where we’d go moving forward.” I shrugged, still not too enthusiastic about the topic but in no mood to argue the point. “I guess it doesn't hurt to check our options.” Fluttershy pulled me in for another reassuring hug, slowly running a hoof through my mane and murmuring softly into my ear. “Don’t worry, Cloud. Everything is going to be fine. We still have plenty of time to take care of everything. We’re not going to rush you.” That was a funny thing to say when Blossom seemed bent on doing exactly that. A second after thinking that I wondered if I was being unfair to her, and took a couple deep breaths until I was feeling slightly calmer. Blossom wasn’t trying to push me into anything—she was just trying to be responsible. “Right. There’s no rush. we've got time. And bits shouldn't be too much of an issue, as long as we don't go crazy with the house.” I slowly extracted myself from Eepy’s hold. “I've shopped for a home before, I know how it works. I appreciate you offering to help, Blossom, but I built your cloud-house. I can take care of getting my house ... er, taken care of by myself.” “Um...” Blossom shifted in her seat, her eyes dropping down to the table. “Maybe we should consider making it our house? I mean, it would probably be a lot easier to afford if all three of us were paying for it, and...” “Oh.” Damn, another one of those times when Blossom made a sensible point I couldn’t really argue against. I’d saved up some bits, but not enough to pay for an entire house on my own, especially since I’d burned up most of my cash a couple years ago to deal with the whole West Hoof issue. Sure, I could take out a loan and/or ask my family for help, but those were both obviously worse options than just letting the ponies who loved me help out. Especially since I couldn’t even come up with a good explanation for why I didn’t want their help. Blossom smiled, seeming quite oblivious to my worries. “As long as we’re going to be living together anyway, we might as well split the bills. Besides, I would like to be close to our kid even after it’s born. Kinda goes with being a responsible parent.” Eepy nodded along, smiling as well. Why was everypony smiling? “We are going to have to figure out how we're going to handle raising the foal. There are just so many different things to address. Like what kind of education the baby will have, finding a good pediatrician...” She paused, and her ears perked up. “Oh! And I suppose we’d need to decide on some things related to Cloud’s family, too. I certainly wouldn’t mind the baby being a member of her clan, but some of the things in the Cult of Shadow can be a little scary for little foals...” “Oh.” My shoulders slumped. I hadn’t even considered whether my kid would be part of the clan or raised in the Cult or not. I guess I’d just kind of taken it for granted. I mean, it was my kid growing in my belly, after all. Except that it wasn’t just my kid; it was our kid. “Right. I guess it would be a thing we need to discuss as a group.” Blossom grinned and gave me a teasing poke in the side. “You don't have to do the single mom thing like Derpy, you know. We’re not going anywhere.” I tensed up, my eyes flicking to the door as my brain started calculating how quickly I could get to it. I could guess what she was building up towards, and I really didn’t want the conversation to go in that direction. Eepy shot a worried frown my way, gently draping a wing over my shoulders. “Is everything alright, Cloud? You seem a little upset.” “I’m fine,” I lied. “Just ... thinking.” “About what?” Blossom prompted. “If something’s bothering you, why don’t you tell us so we can help work it out?” I tried to come up with some way to explain it all that didn’t make me sound stupid, or like an insensitive jerk who didn’t appreciate everything the two of them were trying to do to help. “It’s just ... all of it, you know? It's gonna be a huge thing.” Blossom chuckled ruefully. “You're telling me, I'm still wrapping my head around it all. But just like any other big thing, you work on it one issue at a time. There’s a lot of work involved in raising a kid, and the sooner we get started on planning everything out and deciding what we’ll do, the sooner we can get it all done. A bit of planning now will save us a ton of trouble down the road.” “Exactly,” Fluttershy agreed, giving me a comforting nuzzle. “Don’t worry, Cloud. We’ll have a family once we get everything taken care of , and that’s going to be so wonderful.” “Yeah,” I repeated flatly. “Wonderful.” Blossom frowned. “You okay?” “I'm fine,” I grunted out. Her frown deepened. “Well, you don’t sound fine.” Fluttershy shot a look at Blossom, then gave me a supportive smile. “We just want you to know that we're here for you, whatever you need.” Blossom sighed, then nodded. “Right, what Fluttershy said. None of us were expecting this, and if you need some time or anything else to get things figured out, we're behind you, one hundred percent of the way.” I smiled at both of them, feeling a bit better. Maybe I’d misread where Blossom was trying to take the conversation. “Thanks. Both of you. Just ... thanks.” I gave the two beautiful mares on each side of me a quick kiss. “So, now that we’re all here, and Fluttershy’s bedroom is just over there...” Blossom snorted and rolled her eyes. “Of course that’d be the first thing you think of. Not saying no, mind you, just that we’re not quite done yet.” She smiled and kissed my cheek. “You know, now might be a good time to consider our future.” And just like that, I tensed up again. I should’ve known better than to let down my guard. “I thought that was what we were doing?” “I know, I know.” Blossom flushed, smiling sheepishly. “What I mean is...” She scooted a bit closer, reaching over to gently rub my belly. “Now that we have a foal on the way, maybe now's a good time to consider ... making things a bit more official.” Yep, there it was. Fluttershy gasped, her hooves flying up to cover her mouth. “Oh my goodness! That's... You have a good point, Blossomforth. We've been together for two years, now that I think about it. And if we’re going to be raising a foal together, it’s really only proper—not to mention it would give us a more stable home. So I think it would be a good idea for us to consider getting married.” And now it was out in the open. The dreaded M-word. I tried not to panic too much, or at least not let my panic show. “M-m-married?!” Blossom’s smile widened, the blush fading from her cheeks. “Yep, you, me, and Fluttershy.” She leaned against me, closing her eyes and letting out a contented sigh. “All of us going down the aisle to say our vows...” Eepy leaned in from the other side, effectively trapping me between them. “I've always dreamed of having the perfect wedding day. I mean the dresses, the decorations, all of our friends and family being there. It's so romantic, and I know Rarity and Twilight and the others would help give us the best wedding they could—and they did such a wonderful job with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s. Um—the real one—though the one where he almost married Queen Chrysalis was pretty nice too aside from Chrysalis being a horrible evil monster. But nothing like that should happen to us, and then after the wedding we'll get to spend the rest of our lives together...” A shiver ran down my spine, and my stomach clenched up painfully. I tried to take a deep breath and calm down a bit, but my breath came out in short, sharp gasps. It felt like my heart was racing a mile a minute, and I could feel sweat breaking out all over my body. The wave of nausea that hit me was all too familiar. “I ... uh ... I gotta ... bathroom.” I bolted off the couch, drawing startled yelps from the two of them as I nearly knocked over the table in my haste to get out of there. I’d just managed to shut and lock the door behind me when my stomach clenched again, and I barely managed to make it to the toilet as all the crackers and lemonade I’d just snacked on came rushing back out. I knelt on the floor, groaning and clutching my stomach. I was feeling slightly better after getting everything I’d eaten in the last couple minutes out, but from the way my belly was twisting and turning, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be out of the woods until it was completely empty. Blossom rapped on the door. “Cloud, you okay in there? Need any help?” “Oh yeah, I’m just peachy,” I snapped out sarcastically. “Nothing makes my day quite like—” I quickly turned back to the porcelain bowl, clutching the sides as the half-digested breakfast I’d shared with my aunt and uncle came flying back out. I really hate morning sickness. Especially since this was technically the early afternoon, so by rights I should’ve been safe from it by now. The door rattled as Blossom tried to get in. “Um, Cloud? The door’s locked. Mind opening it when you get a sec?” I groaned, wiping my mouth off. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that as soon as I’m done throwing up. Sorry if that’s inconvenient for you.” I knew I was being a bit snippy with them, but I was a pregnant mare in the middle of puking my guts out. I was well within my rights to be grouchy about the situation. The next few minutes were distinctly unpleasant, but once my stomach was completely empty I started feeling slightly better. My stomach’s complaints were dying down, and the shakes, shortness of breath, and the rest of it seemed to be on the way out as well. That had been a way nastier bit of morning sickness attack than usual, but whatever it was, it was over. Fluttershy gently rapped on the door. “Cloud, are you done with your morning sickness? You’ve been in there for an awful long time, but it doesn’t sound like ... well, you haven’t made any noises for a bit. I have the key, so we can come in if you want us to. I’ve got some water and a little bit of plain bread to get that awful taste out of your mouth.” Tempting as the offer was, the idea of going back out there and returning to talk about marriage and lifetime commitments and raising a family together was just ... nope. I couldn’t do it. Another shiver ran down my spine, and my voice came out a lot snappier than I’d intended. “Will you two just give me minute to catch my breath and wash my mouth out without hovering over my head bothering me? Shadow's teats...” Half a second after I’d finished talking, I already felt like a massive jerk. Yelling at ponies who loved you and just wanted to help tends to have that effect. It wasn’t like I didn’t appreciate what they were trying to do or anything. I just ... I really didn’t want to deal with them worrying and fussing over me right now. It was just morning sickness. I’d dealt with it before, and I’d have to deal with it again before this whole mess was done with. I glanced back at the bathroom door. The idea of going out there and talking to them again, having to put up with everything, then going right back to talking about whether or not we were going to get married—another shiver ran down my spine, and my stomach rumbled unpleasantly despite being empty. That was when I noticed Fluttershy’s bathroom had a nice pony-sized window. I was a little surprised neither one of them had tried to come around and slip through it yet. However, that did give me a way out. A somewhat cowardly and dishonest escape, but considering the alternative was going back out to face them again... “Yup, I can live with being a coward.” I managed to make it back to town without Blossom and Eepy catching me. I was still feeling pretty miserable about running out on them, but not quite miserable enough to turn around and head back. Especially since after fleeing the scene things would be even worse. I felt too guilty about acting like a jerk to go back and fix all the jerkish things I’d done. We’ve already got princesses of love and friendship. If Celestia ever decides to add in a princess of bad decisions, I’ve got that thing locked. I had no idea what I was going to do next. I could go home, but that would be the first place Blossom and Eepy would look for me. Not that I would be able to hide from them for very long in any case; Star was in town, and it wouldn’t take them too long to think of asking her for help. And if they told my family and everypony else that I’d just up and vanished from their bathroom it’d probably start an even bigger panic, and that was the last thing I wanted. I’d just ... I’d just needed a little breathing room. I finally found my way out when I spotted Rainbow Dash relaxing on a cloud, watching the weather crews work. I zipped up to her. “Rainbow...” Dash turned around, frowning at me. “Hey, Cloud? You alright? You look kinda...” Considering Rainbow was actually being tactful and not finishing that sentence, I must have looked pretty awful. No surprise, when in the last few minutes I’d thrown up, snuck out a bathroom window, and fled to Ponyville in a half-blind panic. I had no idea what I was doing or how I was supposed to fix this whole big mess, but I knew I had to do something. Right now, the only thing I could decide on was that I really needed a hug, and Rainbow Dash was right in front of me. I latched onto her, and then next thing I knew, I’d started crying. Rainbow hugged back on pure reflex, but when she spotted the tears she let out a worried hiss, her eyes nervously darting around. “Aw geeze, Cloud. Don't ... aw...” She reached up and gave me a very awkward, uncomfortable pat on the back. “Er ... there there. C’mon, don't ... Cloud, please stop crying.” I tried to for maybe half a second, but that just made things worse. I buried my face into her shoulder, sobbing out of control and no doubt soaking her mane and coat. “Aww...” Rainbow hesitated, then slowly reached up and tried to stroke my mane, though her hoof was moving a bit too jerkily to really make it very comforting. “C’mon, Kicker, everything’s gonna be fine. I promise we’ll fix whatever’s got you so upset, so ... y’know ... you can stop crying now.” Her eyes flicked around again, and a hint of desperation entered her voice. “Please?” I sniffled and finally managed to get it under control. “Sorry, it’s just ... I’m ... everything’s turning into a big mess.” “Hey...” Rainbow pulled back a bit, and her shoulders untensed since I wasn’t crying anymore. “Everything'll be okay. You got me and Fluttershy and your family and everypony else. You hear me? We got your back.” I nodded, wiping away the last bits of moisture in the corner of my eyes. “I know everypony wants to help me, and you’re all being really great, it’s just ... everything's changing so much, and I don't know what to do about it.” “You don't have to figure this all out on your own,” Rainbow answered, giving me a confident little smile. “That's why you have awesome friends like me: to help you work things out when you're not sure what to do.” “But my friends are all mixed up in this.” I flopped down on the cloud, staring down at Ponyville below us. “I mean, Eepy and Blossom are ... well, they seem to be teaming up as co-sires to the foal so far. Then Derpy wants more kids, so she’s all for me having one too. And ... and you're the only one who's ... who's...” The words turned into a choked sob, and I could feel tears gathering in my eyes again. “Aw horseapples.” Rainbow settled down next to me, draping a wing over my back and gently covering my face. “Look, Kicker, I...” Though I couldn’t see much between the tears and her wing, I felt her shuffling around on the cloud. “I wish I knew what to say or what to do. But I don't. All I know is that ... well, you have to make the choice that's right for you. Whatever you end up doing, it’s gotta be what you wanna do. Otherwise ... well, it’s gonna suck.” I sighed and nodded along. “I know that. It’s just ... well, every time I think I figure out what it is I want, things go crazy again and I start wondering whether I really know what I want or not. Like with this: I was pretty sure I wanted the kid, but then Blossom and Fluttershy were talking about moving in with me and that I'd have to buy a new house so there'd be room for all of us, and then they started talking about ... you know...” My ears drooped down and the next words came out in a whisper. “Well ... the M-word came up. And I guess I kind of ... well, I freaked out a little bit.” “Yeah, all the crazy crying kinda gave that away.” Ah, there was the diplomatic Rainbow Dash I knew so well. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Look, Kicker, they probably just wanna do right by the kid ... y’know, make sure it’s got a good home and a family and stuff. But if this is all too much to take in at once, then I think you should tell them that. Everypony knows that kids are a big deal, and so far they’ve been really cool about giving you some time and space when you need it. Don’t think they’d stop now.” I leaned over and gently nuzzled her shoulder, wiping my eyes off on her coat. She was right, of course. There was no reason to expect they’d be completely unreasonable if I asked for a bit more time. It had only been ... what, three or four days since we’d gotten the big news? Shadow, had it really been that short? It felt like so much more. How could so many things happen in so little time? Rainbow gave me a final pat on the back and removed her wing. “So, you feeling better now? Got all the crying out of your system?” “A bit, yeah.” I pulled her in for a proper friendly hug that didn’t involve any sobbing or panicked crying. “Thanks, Dash.” Rainbow grinned and returned the favor. “S’what I do. You know, be an awesome friend who helps out her buddies when they’re in a jam.” “Yeah, you do.” I tightened my hug, because I felt like I wasn’t hugging her nearly enough after everything she’d done for me. “Really though, I mean it. Thanks. Dunno what I would’ve done without you here.” She let out a cute little squeak as I squeezed. “Uh ... s’not that big of a deal. I mean, you probably could’ve talked to your dad or something instead.” “Maybe, but you’re the one who was there for me when I needed you.” I leaned over and nuzzled her cheek. “You're such a good friend...” “Uh, well, yeah ... ‘course I am...” Rainbow tried to keep up her confident front, but the growing blush on her cheeks made it plain enough that all the praise was starting to get to her. I took one look at her pink cheeks and knew what I had to do. A little bit of back-and-forth teasing sounded like the perfect way to get things back to ... well maybe not normal, but at least a bit more normal-ish than they’d been lately. “Hey, Rainbow? Have I ever told you that you're really cute when you blush? Totally adorable.” Naturally, that made her blushing get even worse, which only enhanced her cuteness. She gave me a halfhearted swat with one of her wings. “Oh shuddup...” I grinned and went in for the kill. “Cutie pie. I could just eat you up.” I playfully nipped at the air in front of her. Rainbow let out a nervous squeak and held up her hooves, gently fending me off. “Whoa, down, Cloud. Is that ... are you just being you, or are you getting all hormones and stuff on me?” My first instinct was to deny that I was riding the hormonal crazy train, but that would have rung pretty hollow considering what I’d been up to five minutes ago. Besides, teasing Rainbow was only fun if she was playing along instead of actually worrying about me. “Right, fine, backing off.” I tossed out a quick joke so things wouldn’t get awkward. “Could be worse. Here's a real nightmare scenario for you: imagine pregnant and hormonal Rarity.” Rainbow blinked, then shivered. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. I love Rares, but she’s enough of a drama queen without adding a bunch of hormonal craziness to the mix. She’d be crying all the time and screaming at random ponies to stop looking at her while she’s fat and ugly.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Actually, I dunno about the others either. I mean, Pinkie’s awesome, but the last thing she needs is to be even more random. Or Fluttershy having nutty mood swings. Or...” she shrugged. “Come to think of it, me and AJ might be the most level-headed mares to get pregnant. Applebutt would probably just have a bunch of crazy cravings for apples, and I ... well, not being able to fly and do awesome stunts would stink, but as long as I wasn’t totally bored, I’d be fine.” I thought Rainbow might be giving herself a touch too much credit, but I didn’t feel like arguing the point. “That just leaves Twilight. I guess that would depend on how stressful it gets. She'd be fine normally, just overplanning everything, but if something went wrong...” I chuckled and shook my head. “She nearly blew up the moon last time she got overstressed, and that was without any hormonal craziness added to the mix. Though at least she’s got Spike and Storm around to keep her in check and let her know when she needs to calm down a bit.” I chuckled and gave Rainbow a playful little nudge. “Really, as far as pregnancy hormones go, I'm one of the better ones. Worst I'll do is hit on you.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, great. It’s not like you don’t do that all the time anyway.” I held up a hoof. “No, I teasingly flirt with you a lot. Mostly because your reactions are cute and amusing. If I start really riding on the hormonal crazy train, there’s a chance I might hit on you for real instead of just doing it to mess with you. If I do, just be gentle when my sexy charm overwhelms you and you take me to bed. I know you’ll be half-mad with lust and just want to bang me until we’re both utterly exhausted puddles of warm, sticky pleasure, but you have to take things slow and gentle when you’re in bed with a pregnant mare.” Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes. “And ponies say I’m the one who has an ego.” She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “So, did talking to your family help any?” “I think so, yeah.” I shifted around, shooting an awkward look at the palace where they were staying. “I mean, it obviously didn’t fix everything, but I felt better after I talked to them than I did before. Even with some of the extra surprises that came up.” “Cool.” Rainbow paused, then shot a worried look at me. “Er, what sort of surprises are we talking about?” “Dad’s dating again,” I answered. “And a younger mare, too. If he picks up a bad wig and buys a fancy, expensive carriage, I’m officially calling it a mid-life crisis.” I shrugged. “It’s ... well, I’m dealing with it. His new girlfriend seems nice enough, but it’s just weird to think of my Dad going out on the town and playing the field when he was married to Mom for my entire life.” “Yeah, I could see it.” Rainbow gave me an understanding pat on the back. “It’s like how it freaks me out every time you pretend to flirt with my parents.” She paused, then gave me a very gentle whap on the back of the head. “Jerk.” I chuckled and took the smack in stride. “I’d apologize, but we both know I’m not actually sorry at all.” We both snickered and poked each other a couple times, but the good mood didn’t last forever. Eventually I had to get back to dealing with all those massive problems I had. “So, what do I do about the sexy mares who love me and want to do what’s best for me?” Rainbow snorted. “I don't love you ... oh wait, you meant your marefriends, didn't you?” “Yeah, them.” I pouted and fluttered my eyelashes at her. “Though you know you love me.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and booped me on the nose. “Eh, I guess you’re okay. Not great or anything, but alright.” I snorted and bapped her right back. “Love you too, goofball.” I chuckled and leaned back on the cloud. “But yeah, gimme the good advice, Oh Noble and Wise Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow thought it over for a moment, then nodded and shifted her voice to make herself sound like a wise old mare. “Never hold your nose and sneeze with your mouth closed.” I gave her a rather pointed nip on the ear. “Advice about my love life, featherbrain.” Rainbow scoffed. “Sheesh, I go from noble and wise to a featherbrain in ten seconds flat. Make up your mind, Kicker.” She flicked my nose with the tip of a feather, which seemed like a bit of a flawed plan when I would’ve sneezed all over her if she tickled my nose too much. “Alright, so advice on your love life. I guess you better start by telling me what’s been going on with you, Flutters, and Freckles, ‘cause so far all I’ve gotten out of you is that they love you and wanna marry you, and for some reason that made you freak out. So ... well, seems like you like ‘em fine and you’ve been with ‘em for years now. Why don’t you wanna get married?” I sighed and tried to come up with a good way to explain it. “It’s just that ... well, they're moving too fast for me, but I ... well, it’s hard to find a diplomatic way to say ‘I don't think I wanna get married right now.’ It’s kinda hard to turn down a proposal without hurting everypony’s feelings and causing a lot of drama. So I need a way to ... y’know, say it gently.” I had a brief moment of blind terror as I realized that I was asking Rainbow Dash for advice on how to be considerate, thoughtful, and sensitive. To be fair, she was capable of doing those things, but asking her for advice on the subject was kind of like asking Discord for advice on how to be an orderly, sane, law-abiding citizen. Rainbow nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, first things first: are they both on the same page about wanting to get married?” “Seemed like they were, yeah.” My shoulders slumped a bit. “I mean, up Eepy started gushing about how much she loved the idea when Blossom brought it.” “Yeah, they probably talked it over while you were figuring things out on your own.” Rainbow took a few moments to check that the weather ponies were still doing their jobs before getting back to me. “Okay, next thing. If you say no, do you think that'll mean a break-up?” “Probably not,” I conceded. “But it'd definitely make things messy. They’d be upset, I’d be upset that they were upset. You know the drill.” “I guess.” She poked me in the chest. “But there’s one thing you’re missing. It's already messy, and I don't just mean you barfing on Fluttershy. I mean, do you really think they’re gonna be less upset by you running out on them after they brought up marriage than they’d be if you told them that while you love them and stuff, you’re just not ready for the big M-word yet?” She sighed and ran a hoof through mane. “And, well, there’s other stuff to take care of, too. I mean, are you even really sure you wanna keep the kid?” “Yeah.” I hesitated a moment, suddenly less certain of my choice. “Why? Do you think that's a bad idea?” Rainbow blinked and quickly shook her head. “No no, if you wanna have a kid, that’s awesome. I just ... you seemed so upset before and now you’re saying that you want it, but your emotions have kinda been all over the place lately. It’s just ... I just want to be sure. Y’know, sure that you're sure.” I took a long moment to think it over. “I ... I think I'm sure?” Wow. Way to sound confident and sure of your decisions, me. Thankfully Rainbow didn’t push me any further on the issue; maybe she figured that I was smart enough to realize and deal with my doubts on my own. “Alright, so you're gonna have the kid. You gonna find out who the sire is?” I shrugged helplessly. “We didn't get around to discussing that. I kinda think they're trying to just not care about it and both love the kid equally.” Rainbow frowned. “That probably isn't gonna last. I mean, even if they decide not to get a DNA test or something to figure out who’s the sire before the kid’s born, it’s probably gonna be obvious once the baby’s out and running around. The mystery’s not gonna last very long if the kid’s shy and yellow, or has freckles and loves tinkering with things.” “There’s no guarantee it’d be that obvious,” I countered. “Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow conceded. “Kids aren’t always a perfect mix of their parents. I mean, look at the Cake Twins. Or hay, it’s not like you and me are both copies of our parents. But if it’s not obvious who the sire is, then they’ll probably just go back and forth wondering every time the kid does something more Fluttershy-ish or Blossomforth-ish. Might be better to just get it all over.” “I’d rather not force the issue when they both seem fine with how things are right now.” I groaned and ran a hoof down my muzzle. “I’ve got enough problems as it is without poking a sleeping ursa with a stick.” She shrugged. “Your call, I guess. Fine, let's just leave that aside for now. If you're gonna keep the kid, it's gonna be harder for you to say no to them moving in, right? I mean, you’re gonna need help while you’re pregnant, you can't take care of the kid all by yourself, and they'd both want to be close to their kid ... or at least, their marefriend’s kid.” She frowned and scratched her head. “So I guess what I don’t get is, why is getting married such a big deal? I mean, compared to having a kid, it’s pretty much nothing. You don’t wanna break up with them or anything, and you’re not the kinda pony who’d stop loving them so long as they didn’t turn into massive jerks or something, so what’s the problem?” I held up a hoof. “One massive, life-changing event at a time, Dash.” “If you say so.” Her skeptical frown made it clear she didn’t agree. “There's this old saying I heard sometime: ‘You can't cross an abyss in two jumps.’ Might be better to get it all over with at once, like ripping off a bandage.” “That depends on what type of bandage you’re wearing and what it’s covering and stuff. In any case, I’m not sure if bandages work the same way as life-changing decisions.” I flopped down onto my back, staring up at the sky. “Look, my life's gonna get crazy enough as it is. I wanna be able to hold onto something that’s not gonna change.” “Okay, I guess I get that,” Rainbow allowed. “But what exactly are you losing?” “Er, well...” I needed a bit to figure out how to explain it. “I wouldn't have my own place anymore. Or be single. Or—” Rainbow cut me off before I could get any further. “You’re gonna be a mom, Cloud. That's a bit bigger than all that other stuff added together. You couldn't live by yourself with a foal. And ... well, for all intents and purposes, you aren't single. You've been pretty firmly tied to Fluttershy and Blossomforth for years now. What's a piece of paper going to change that the rest isn't?” “It's ... well...” One of my hooves waved about vaguely in the air as I tried to find a way to explain it. “Y'know...” Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “Nooot really, I don't.” “It’s ... I like how things are right now.” I shrugged helplessly. “I mean, up until this whole pregnancy thing started, I’d say my life was pretty much perfect. But now it’s all changing, and if my life’s already perfect then any big change would have to make things worse, right?” “I don’t know if I’d say your life was perfect,” Rainbow shot back with a smirk. “Yeah, you did have a pretty awesome job working for a cool boss, but you still had problems and things that bugged you. You’re just being all nostalgic about the past.” She shrugged. “But, well, that’s the past now. You got pregnant. You decided to keep the foal. Hate to tell you, but you're not going back from that. Stuff’s gonna change whether you want it to or not. All you're gonna do by trying to hold onto the past is make Blossom and Fluttershy wonder why, if you're okay with having their foal, you're not okay with saying ‘I do.’” I groaned and buried my face in my hooves. “Having the kid is ... that's enough for now. Why do I have to go through even more? I’m not saying I never wanna marry them, just that popping the question three days after I find out I’m pregnant is way too soon.” Rainbow sighed and nodded along. “Okay, yeah, I can see that. But why are you telling me instead of Blossom and Fluttershy? ‘Cause that seems like the kind of thing that’s pretty important to discuss with them.” She settled in next to me and wrapped a wing over my shoulder. “Look, Cloud, I'll always be in your corner. If I think they're piling too much on you, I'll tell them so. If I think you're being a big wuss, then I'll tell you that, too. If you want, I can go talk to them once we’re done and let them know you’re fine, but a bit freaked out and need some personal time. If you need my help, you’ve got it. But it's your relationship. I'm not dating them, and I'm not having their foal. Sooner or later, you gotta deal with it yourself.” I slumped against, leaning into her touch. “I guess...” She pulled me in a bit closer. “You just gotta know why they want this so bad. And if it's a good reason, maybe you'll see why you should get hitched. Maybe the reason isn't so great and you can get them to hold off. Either way, it's better than fretting and moping about it, amiright? ‘Cause the last thing anypony wants is for you to twist yourself into knots worrying about your problems when you could be fixing them. S’not healthy for you, or for the kid.” I couldn’t argue with her, which was incredibly frustrating. Being out-reasoned by somepony smart like Blossom or Twilight was bad enough, but I knew I was in a bad place when even Rainbow Dash was being more sensible, logical, and careful about thinking things through. “Yeah. I just ... I guess I freaked out a little. It was all happening so fast.” “So I’ll talk to them about slowing down a bit,” she assured me. “You can talk to them once you’re ready, problem solved.” She poked me in the side. “Well, as long as you’re not a wuss about talking to them eventually. You know I won’t let you get away with that.” She chuckled, stretching out her wings. “So, there we go. I fixed all your problems. Anything else you needed help with?” “I think we covered it all.” Well, probably not everything, but certainly all the stuff that was bugging me at the moment that could be helped by chatting with Rainbow. And I was certainly feeling less awful than I’d been at the start of the conversation. That was close enough for now. “Cool.” She hesitated a moment, then gave me one last hug. “You're my friend. You need me, I’ll be there for you. Anytime, anyplace, anything—just tell me you need me, and I’m there.” “Thanks, Dash.” I leaned into the hug. “You're the best.” She gave me a quick pat on the back, then let go. “S'gonna be alright.” Touching as her words were, I couldn’t resist poking her in the tummy and grinning. “Nothing to say about being the best?” She shrugged and spread out her wings, preening just a bit. “You know I am, I know I am ... figured we were good.” I snickered and planted a kiss on her forehead, drawing a bit of good-natured grumbling from her. “Yup, you're still you.”