Chapter 2: New Life
Three more months follow, and Gel's bump becomes very visible, though not nearly as big as those of mares. Her cravings still come and go, but they seemed to be for similar types of foods now, so they aren't bad. The couple hasn't had any big issues with the anti-changeling ponies since the day of the rock, a fact they are thankful for. Of course, no matter what, one must always be there for their friends, especially on the big days like this one.
A muffled scream can be heard through the walls of the waiting room in Ponyville hospital. Rhino and Gel look to the door anxiously at the voice of their friend, but they both know there's nothing more they can do but wait.
The nymph looks at her stallion. "...I know she'll be fine, but...w-will it be that painful every time?" She glances at the door, grimacing slightly as another yell sounds out.
He flinches at the scream, though he tries to remain focused on the book he brought to keep his mind from wandering. "It varies with every case, love. Some have it easy, others don't. Judging by the sound though, I think she declined the painkillers. The only thing I know that seems to be a constant for births, is that the husband's hoof is usually aching afterward from how hard the mother grips it when she holds onto him for support."
She looks at him, confused. "Why would she decline painkillers? She knows how much it's said to hurt, right?"
He shrugs as he closes his book at looks toward the doors. "Some prefer the all natural way, or maybe it wasn't a choice and Ditzy's contractions were too close by the time she got here. There could be a number of reasons, but the fact is, she is trying to squeeze something big through something small... it isn't easy."
She gulps quietly, visibly trembling at the very thought. "...um...I-I'll get Luster to make a metal band for you..." She tenderly nuzzles him, trying to distract herself from the cries from inside the room. "...I-I don't want to hurt you, after all..."
He wraps a foreleg around her comfortingly. "Don't worry love... I'm sure soon, we'll hear the part that makes it all worth it."
She nods, her ears perking up as the screams die down. "...is it over?"
Rhino feels his hackles rise up. "Not quite..." A piercing scream louder than any previous one passes through the walls causing all ponies to fold their ears down to deaden it. However, in the tense seconds afterwards, a different kind of cry can be heard, from a much smaller set of lungs. "There we go..."
Gel blinks, tapping her ear with a hoof. "What did you say, love? I saw your lips move, but I couldn't hear you..."
He takes her by the hoof and brings her closer to the doors to Ditzy's room, pointing first to his ear then to the wall next to the door, all with a big smile on his face.
She glances between him and the door, her ears finally recovering enough to hear a faint crying. Her eyes widen in surprise. "...i-is that..."
He nods as the crying quiets down and the door opens to reveal one of the nurses. She looks at the couple, eyes lingering on Gel for a moment before asking, "Are you two friends of the parents?"
The nymph nods, smiling nervously. "Y-yes, we are."
She smiles and opens the door wider for them. "Come on in, but don't be too loud. They're both very tired." She goes back into the room and helps the others medical ponies clean up a bit.
The couple walk inside to a heartwarming scene. Ditzy sits up in the bed, a hospital gown on and her mane frazzled more than it's ever been. Her face however, is smiling as she holds a small pink blanket-wrapped bundle in her forelegs. Turner is leaning with his head next to hers, a few tears making their way down his face as he too focuses on the small form.
Gel smiles, feeling how much love is surrounding the couple and their foal. ...they look so...content... She slowly moves forward, stopping a respectful distance away. She simply watches, finding it difficult to interrupt such a moment.
Ditzy looks up and sees them there, smiling and unfurling a weary wing to wave them over.
She nods and steps closer, looking at the face showing out of the blanket.
The new mother angles the bundle a bit to show a face much the same color as her own, though with a bit of purple tint. The mane is almost the exact same color as her mother's. As she lets out a cute yawn, a horn can be seen amid her mane, and as her eyes barely open, they are shown to be the same gold as her mother's.
Gel giggles softly, turning to Ditzy. "She's so adorable." She looks back to the filly, thinking a bit and letting her fangs hide, not wanting to scare her. She speaks quietly, drawing attention away from her action. "What's her name?"
Ditzy quietly answers as she brings the foal back against her chest. "Dinky... Dinky Doo..."
She smiles warmly, nodding in agreement. "That's a good choice. After all, an adorable name fits such a cute pony." She steps back next to her stallion, entwining tails with him. ...may I name our firstborn? I think I have the perfect one...it may need some minor adjustments, of course...
He nuzzles her lovingly, his eyes soft. Of course, love, but I get the next one.
That's fair. She giggles, watching the scene before them once more. ...I wonder what our other friends feel about this...having a foal of their very own... She takes notice of the pegasus starting to nod off. ...do you think we should leave them alone, for now?
Yes, like the nurses said, they're both tired. He smiles a nods to Turner, who nods back appreciatively. Come on love, let's head home.
She leans against him as they walk, happy for her friends and looking towards the future. She can't help but wonder, however, whether she'd be ready for her own to arrive.
***
The two walk back to their house, enjoying the sun gently warming them on this first official day of summer. However, the stallion notices something slightly off, and comments on this as he shuts the door and they set down their bags. "Is something wrong? You didn't say a word on the way home..."
She blinks as she's pulled from her thoughts, turning to him in confusion. "...what was that, love?"
He walks over and nuzzles her as he repeats himself. "Is something wrong? You were lost in thought the whole way home."
She sheepishly smiles, squirming a bit. "...w-well...I'm just concerned..." She moves over to the staircase, slowly working her way up it. "Ditzy sounded like she was really in pain...w-what if I can't take the painkillers? W-what if I can, but they don't work?" She's trembling by this point, stopping with a forehoof on the sixth step. "I-I don't know if I could handle the pain..."
He walks next to her and pulls her to him. "Hey hey... come on. I looked up everything I could using what you told me, and I found one of the painkillers that should work for you. It'll still be uncomfortable, but it'll still help." He hesitates a bit but decides to finish his thought. "And even if they don't, Ditzy proved you can work through it, and as much as I hate to see you in pain... isn't it worth it?"
She stands in silence, thinking over his words. She recalls the screams of agony, the unimaginable pain that she must've felt. That memory slowly fades away, the image of the three of them together, the love she could feel saturating the air of the hospital room.
It takes a few minutes, but she nods, closing her eyes. "...you're right...I have to handle the pain if our family is to grow..."
"Hey," he cups her cheek so that she is looking at him when she opens her eyes, "like I said, I'm doing my best to ensure you aren't in pain. Only if many things don't work will that happen. Trust me, ok?"
She smiles softly, leaning in for a quick kiss before continuing up the stairs. "I always do."
He stops her from going up to far with a hoof. "Hey, do you want me to levitate or carry you upstairs? I know pregnancy can make backs or hooves sore and we did just walk all the way home..."
She shakes her head. "No, I-I'll be fine. I don't want you to injure yourself on my account."
Taking this as admitting she would like him to, he levitates her onto his back, careful to place her on her side and bracing her with magic so she doesn't slide off. He ascends the steps to the second floor and heads into their room, setting her on the bed as he gets close to it.
She looks up at him, concerned. "...i-is your back okay? I-I didn't put too much strain on it, did I?"
He chuckles. "It's fine love, I'm not as strong as Big Mac, but I'm not just fluff you know."
She sniffles, her eyes tearing up. "...y-you're just being nice...I-I know I'm fat..." She covers her face, crying into her hooves. "I hurt your back, and you're trying so hard not to admit it!"
He blinks at this, unsure of what to think because of how different it is to how she normally acts. After a few seconds though, his reflexes kick in and he crawls onto the bed and gingerly embraces her, stroking her mane to try and calm her down. "You're not fat, love. You didn't hurt my back."
"Yes I am! Just look at me!" She gestures to her body, notably the same from before, aside from her small baby bump. "M-my chitin doesn't even hide the flab I'm gaining!" She collapses against him, sobbing heavily against his shoulder. "I try so hard to keep myself fit! I-I know how much you like me like that!"
He lets her cry and he rubs her back. "Love, you look exactly the same as you always have, except for where the baby is, but you haven't even gained half the weight Ditzy did by this point in her pregnancy. You're fine... why would you think you're fat?"
She turns to him, glaring through her tears. "When was the last time we made love?"
His face goes blank as he fails to find an answer to that. "Ummm..."
She lowers her head, staring at the floor solemnly. "Five months, three weeks, one day, four hours and two minutes. I'd say the seconds, but they're constantly changing..."
His ears fold down. "Ah... it's been a while..."
"...it has..." She leans against him, nuzzling his chest. "...p-please...I just want to feel pretty, again..."
He wraps his forelegs around her and rests his head on her shoulder. "Love, you look more beautiful every day to me."
She gently strokes his back, smiling softly. "...it's sweet of you to say that, but...w-well, actions speak more than words, after all..." She blushes brightly, unable to say what she wants to.
"What else do I need to do? We cuddle pretty much every chance we get, I bring you all your meals, I've gotten pretty good at rubbing your hooves at the end of the day, and I tell you how much I love you countless times..." He lets his voice fade before continuing. "I... don't know what else to do to show you..."
She puts a hoof on his chin, turning his head so they're looking at each other. "...I want us to make love...I want to know that I still turn you on...have that spark which causes you to become excited..."
His face instantly turns regretful as he turns his head away. "I... don't think we should... I don't think it would be safe..."
She whines, clearly quite upset by his words. "Why not? Y-you don't have to...y-you know..." She blushes brightly, tapping her forehooves together. "...I just...want to see your excitement...i-if we don't act on it, that's fine..." Her voice trails off to a whimper, and she closes her eyes. "...I-I'm sorry...l-let's pretend I didn't say anything..."
"Oh..." He looks downward. "Well... I just didn't try anything because I knew the temptation would be there, and I didn't want to hurt the foal... pupa... her. I mean... if we can avoid just that... I guess we can do whatever else we want... I just didn't think it was bothering you because you didn't bring it up..."
She pulls him close, gently kissing him for a moment. "...that's all I want...to feel like the most special nymph in the world, again..." She lets go of him and lays back on the bed, her tail curled around her hip to hide her intimate area. "...in the end...the choice is yours..."
He crawls over her as he dims the lights a little by shutting the curtains. "You know I always have trouble saying no to you..."
***
Two more months pass as the couple watch Gel's stomach slowly get bigger, though nowhere near the size Ditzy's was. That's not all there was to see though, a few changelings had actually moved into town, though they kept to themselves most of the time. Around midday one week into August, the couple are playing a game of chess, something they enjoy doing every once in a while.
Rhino green aura clicks his white queen down decisively. "Checkmate."
The nymph stares blankly at the board, uncertain of what just happened. "...I just...how did..."
The stallion just reaches his forehooves to the ceiling in victory. "Finally won one! I was starting to wonder if it was possible."
She stares at him silently before sighing, letting her lips curl up in a small smile. "...you're lucky these cramps were distracting me...still, good game..."
He walks around the table and puts a hoof across her shoulders, nuzzling her. "Good game indeed love, you are a worthy opponent and I look forward to future games with you." He plants a kiss on her cheek.
She giggles, quickly turning to capture his lips. She kisses him tenderly, a hoof touching his cheek. "And I with you. Next time, however, I plan on winning...and getting a prize from you." She winks at him before she starts to put the pieces away, humming softly to herself.
Rhino chuckles as his horn flares up and he starts to move the furniture back into their normal spots, instead of their currently close position so he and Gel could reach the board easily.
Suddenly she squeaks, her eyes wide in shock and the board with its plastic figures falling to the floor. She trembles, slowly turning towards her stallion. "...R-Rhino?"
He turns to her as he finishes moving the couch. "Yes-" he cuts himself off as he spies a rather large wet spot underneath her.
She nods, starting to panic a little. "M-my water just broke."
Compartmentalizing certain parts of his mind, Rhino puts most of his mental power into logic and comfort. He tries to keep his breaths steady as he holds a hoof up to her. "Ok, we have a plan remember? Hold on one second..." He opens up a nearby cabinet and pulls out at least half a dozen towels he had stowed there for the occasion, as well as a large white box. He quickly covers the nearby chair with a few of the towels and motions her towards it. "Alright love, just like we said: just sit in the chair and breath."
Keeping herself as calm as possible, she does as she's told before looking over at him nervously. "N-now what? M-my mind is blanking, right now..."
Rhino sets the towels and box just to the side of the end of the chair. He walks to her side and takes one of her hooves in his own. "This is the slow part, love. Just lay back as much as you need to, keep your legs spread, and we wait for your contractions to start and get to a certain frequency."
She nods, leaning back in the chair. "...y-you still have those painkillers, right?" She pants quietly, having trouble controlling her breathing at the moment. "A-and what is a co-" Her eyes nearly bug out of her sockets as a sharp pain runs through her abdomen. She shouts in pain, squeezing his hoof tight in response. "D-damn it, that hurts!"
He grits his teeth until her contraction subsides and she lets his hoof go, explaining things to her she should already know, but knowing his voice will do wonders to help her stay calm. "That, was a contraction. You're starting to try and squeeze her out. They'll be slow at first, but they'll slowly get faster and faster until there's only a few seconds between them, what's important is that you keep breathing." He goes to his box and opens the lid, taking out a small bottle.
In preparation for the birth, Rhino had used all his resources as a vet, or as those in his profession liked to call themselves, everything-but-pony doctors, to find some painkillers that would work on his wife and not have any dangerous side effects. Since changelings are naturally covered in chitin though, the usual IV drugs were not an option, and magic isn't supposed to be used on birthing mothers. This left him with pills.
He pops two small pills out and floats them over to Gel, along with a small glass of water. "Here, love, take these. They're the weak ones to help dull the pain a bit for this slow part. I'll give you the heavy duty stuff later. Give it a few minutes to start working."
She happily takes the pills, swallowing them down with a gulp of water. "...t-thank you...anything to dull the pain is a blessing..." She tries to calm her breathing, her horn lighting up and bringing a metal band from a nearby shelf. "...you forgot this...d-don't want to hurt you..."
"Right..." He unconsciously shakes his hoof as he thinks about her grip just from that first round and shivers a little, quickly putting the band on his left hoof since he'll need his right. "Ok, I'm going to get a few more things ready down here," he points to the floor just in front of the chair, "so don't worry, we'll get through this."
She nods and groans, holding his hoof tightly as the next one hits her. To her great relief, it doesn't feel like she's being stabbed anymore. To her displeasure, she feels a strong discomfort as every muscle in her abdomen clench at the same time. "...o-okay, Rhino...I-I trust you..."
He smiles to reassure her as he starts preparing down in what will be his work area. He sets out the extra towels so that he can grab them without having to look for them. Next he gets the disinfecting wipes, a bit of water that he can warm if he needs it, the rest of Gel's pills, set carefully to the side, a pair of scissors, and lastly, a soft pink blanket he sets slightly farther away and with a gentle touch.
She watches him, panting softly. "...what do you...plan on doing..." She sighs, shaking her head. "...already starting to get tired...not g-hngh!" She clenches her teeth, her hoof fiercely gripping the metal around his hoof. "...d-don't like...not knowing when...to expect those..."
"Thank you Luster..." He clears his throat as he looks at her apologetically. "Sorry love, there's no way to predict those." He moves his gaze down to between her legs. "Ok, you've started dilating, that's good."
She looks down at him with unfocused eyes. "...I started...what?" She shakes her head. "N-never mind...w-what can we do?"
He looks up at her. "There's nothing much else to do right now, love. We have to wait until they get closer together." He looks at his watch for another minute before looking back up just in time to see her whole lower body tense up as her bottom half quivers, her hoof gripping the one he has reached up next to her tightly. Her eyes are wide as her breath catches in her chest before the pressure eases off and she gasps a second for air. "Remember, love, breathe. I'd say we still have about half an hour before things really get going." He gets up and walks next to her again, taking his hoof from her a moment to stroke her mane. "You're doing great."
"Really?" She laughs, though it comes out a bit forced. "Then I'd hate to see failing." She closes her eyes, trying to relax and focus on breathing. "Oh, why haven't they come up with magic for those in labour..." She grits her teeth, forcing herself to breathe through the pain. "...whoever does would be famous forever..."
He continues trying to soothe her. "Most really don't want to mess with birth, seeing how important it is and how sensitive foals can be. They would rather let things stay the way they are than risk lives if things go wrong."
She pouts, crossing her forelegs over her chest and, incidentally, bringing his hoof with them. "...why does that have to make so much sense?" She groans, staring up at him. "...half an hour...I wish there was something we could do in the meantime..." She grunts, hugging the leg in her grasp securely to herself as the next contraction hits. "...I-I want to...focus on something other than this..."
He smiles but it looks more forced as the band only covers so much of his leg and she is currently hugging more than it protects. "I don't think much will distract you from this... they're only going to get faster and eventually bigger... She's telling you she wants to come out."
She whines but relents, letting go of his leg to hold onto the band with a hoof. "...I'd like to allow that request...now if only it wasn't so painful..."
A little less than half an hour later, Rhino focuses and stays in front of Gel. Her contractions are very quick now, about every 30 seconds and getting quicker and more painful every time. He doesn't say a word as he levitates the strong pills and another glass of water up to her, keeping his eye on the vital area.
She almost greedily takes the pills, sputtering around the water when another one hits. She groans in pain before swallowing, looking up at him. "...R-Rhino...p-please tell me it's time..." She can feel her heart hammering away, her sweat-slicked chest heaving with every breath drawn.
He nods as he takes his hoof away from her. "Sorry love, but you're gonna have to do this last part without my hoof, I need both of them for this." He gets closer to her birth canal. "Ok, you should be feeling her start to make her way out soon, let me know when you feel that."
She pants heavily for a few moments before suddenly yelping, eyes wide in surprise. "Horn! Horn!"
"Here we go then." Rhino looks up at her eyes seriously. "Alright, love, from now on, whenever you contract, I'm gonna need you to try and push her out. It's going to be hard, and it won't be quick, but you need to push and breathe every time. Ok?"
She stares down at him, incredulous. "H-how do I do that? I don't-" She bites her lip, cutting herself off as another hits her. She takes deeps breaths, trying to do as he says. She quietly gasps as she feels the form within her shift slightly. "...I-I think it's working...d-dunno how it did..."
"It's working because she really doesn't have any other place to go, only out." He keeps an eye on her exit, counting down the seconds in his head. "Alright love, again, push as hard as you can, squeeze her out!"
She grunts, trying to use as much strength as she can to get the filly out. She stops, panting and whimpering. "...h-her horn...s-she might get stuck...h-help her..."
He shakes his head. "I can't, love, she still too far in. Until I can see her, I can't do anything but encourage you. Just breathe and trust yourself to get her out of there safely."
She whines but pushes with the next contraction, sweat rolling down her face. "...p-please...t-tell me she's at least near...w-what about the bump? D-does that help?"
He eyes her bump, measuring with his eyes a moment before replying. "It does, I'd say you're just below halfway there, I should just be able to see her in a few more pushes."
"B-better than I expected..." She works with the next one, finding it hard to concentrate. "...y-you think this would...be easy...considering your little friend..." She laughs playfully before another contraction hits, causing her to groan and push once more. "...p-please tell me she's close..."
He peers into her. "Not yet... a couple more..." He looks back up at her, placing a hoof on one of her legs comfortingly. "Come on love, almost there..."
She whimpers but doesn't give up, trying her best to help her daughter on her way. After a few more times of pushing and questions, he stays silent. She looks down at him, concerned. "...R-Rhino?"
"...I see her..." He sounds awed as he spies a bit of pink within Gel's tunnel of blue flesh. He reaches up and shifts Gel a little and sees that the pink is her mane as well as a lighter horn he can barely see. "She's coming love, come on!" He holds out his hooves just below the birth canal.
Heartened by his words, she finds the strength to push onward. She cries out in pain as she tries to squeeze her daughter free. She whimpers softly, falling back against the back of the chair. "...h-how much more?"
"One or two more!" He pushes his hooves against the side of her canal so that he can grab his daughter as soon as possible. "She's tiny, so she'll come out all at once instead of a bit at a time..."
Gel nods, gritting her teeth and giving it all she's got. "Then be sure to catch her. I know you can do it!" She gasps as she feels her start to slip out. "N-now, love!"
The tiny pink form slides out into her father's hooves, any one of which is bigger than her entire roughly tennis-ball sized body. Rhino quickly takes the scissors and snips her umbilical cord before quickly starting to clean Gel's blue blood off her. His horn works to clean up Gel herself as he works on the newborn out of her mother's sight.
The nymph in question has collapsed on the chair, almost completely drained from the whole situation. ...h-how is she, love?
Rhino doesn't respond, a soft smile and his face as he turns and stands, walking over to Gel's side with a tiny pink cloth bundle in one foreleg. He offers the filly to Gel.
She nervously takes the bundle, peeking at the face of their newborn foal.
Her coat is a pale rose while her mane and tail are two tones of a pinkish-purple, one light and one dark. A tiny horn can be seen poking through her mostly straight mane. Suddenly, the filly lets out a few sounds of discomfort as her little eyes open for the first time and reveal their light green color, gazing up at the two large shapes above her.
Gel's heart melts as she looks upon their filly, a warm smile forming on her tired face. ...Rhino...she's perfect...just like we imagined...
She is... Part of him wonders exactly how they managed to perfectly predict their filly's appearance before she was even conceived, but he's not really too worried about it. He slowly leans down and gently nuzzles the tiny filly as he thinks to Gel. What's her name?
She smiles, watching as their daughter coos in delight at her father's actions. "...Ruby Pinch...her name is Ruby Pinch..." She tenderly nuzzles the cute foal. "...our own little treasure..."
Rhino breaks contact with the tiny filly, though half of him wished to stay, and looks at the scene as she rubs against her mother. "Beautiful..." He starts cleaning up up everything and soon has it all nice and tidy as he brings over a soft blanket and drapes it over Gel's lower half. "If you need to rest, love, let me know. You can keep her with you, or I can hold her while you sleep. Either way, you'll be up again in an hour for another new experience."
She blinks, looking up at him in confusion. "...what do you mean?"
He smiles. "Well, she's gonna be hungry."
She blushes brightly, quickly realizing what he means. "O-oh..." She glances at their filly, then up at him, smiling shyly. "...c-could you possibly...lay with us, love?"
He nods as his horn lights up. "I was hoping you'd ask." He gently floats the changeling and newborn over to the couch, laying himself down, then setting them in front of him.
Gel giggles, carefully moving back against his chest. "...this feels...right..." She looks down at the pink pony once more, watching as she quietly yawns. "...our little family is growing..." Her ear twitches, and she glances down to see the pets sitting in front of the couch, looking up at them in curiosity. She smiles at them, nodding towards the bundle in her hooves. "...would you little ones like to meet the newest member of our family?"
Rhino remarks as he curls around Gel and their foal. "Ah, right. I completely forgot what they would have been thinking that entire time..."
Specter is the first to approach the filly that is smaller than him. His nose sniffs her curiously as he peers at her.
Ruby actually sneaks a hoof out of her wrap and places it on the black squirrel's nose, giggling happily.
The nymph blinks, surprised. "...wow...that's a first..." She turns just in time to see the smirk on Selena's face, quirking an eyebrow at her. "...and what has you so amused, little lady?"
The Russian blue feline mews, stepping over to nuzzle at the filly's hoof.
The filly moves her tiny hoof to be on Selena's nose, letting out a sound very much like a pony looking at fireworks.
Finally, Mercury comes forward to look at the newest arrival, the silver fox's eyes twinkling curiously.
Ruby moves her hoof to his nose now, blowing a small raspberry at him happily before pulling her hoof back and trying to wiggle closer to her mom.
Gel giggles, holding her foal close. "...glad to see you're all getting along..." She looks at the pets, smiling softly. "...there's always room for you three, if you'd like to join us..."
The three young pets smile as they climb onto the couch. Specter takes his favorite spot, half burrowed into Rhino's mane and not far from Selena, who curls up on Gel's shoulder. Finally, Mercury digs under the blanket and settles himself in a spot where he is between the pony and changeling, nice and warm.
After they all settle in, the new-mother sighs happily, closing her eyes. "...this is much better...everyone together..." She yawns softly and slowly but surely falls asleep, much like the filly in her embrace.
Rhino watches until he hears their breaths start to slow down as they sleep. Smiling happily, he lights up his horn as he closes the curtains and dims the lights before closing his own eyes and drifting to sleep... or at least as much as he can get until Ruby wakes them up.
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Hmm interesting way, for sure much better than making some strange hybrids.
Looking forward to what next chapter brings
Man I loved the previous story and this one is off to a great start.
3355839
Thank you very much!
Well time to add another story to my Favorites list! Congratulations on such a fantastic start to a fantastic sequel!
3355923
Glad you like it! I'm looking forward to your comments!
3355924
I don't... what does that series of symbols mean?
Sequel!?! Ahhh!!! I still didn't finish the first one!!(Still chapter 30)
Wait for me this Sequel! I will read your first story with turbo speed now!! (But still slow because I'm fool with English)
<(") <(") <(") Three out of three
3355949
Oh! Thanks!
Rhyno, I hope you know how to do heart transplant, because mine exploded from the beauty of this chapter!
So now you have Ruby Pinch as your adoptive trans dimensional daughter, your personal fan and now your blood daughter. I can't decide which one is more cute, so I'll choose all of them.
Well, someone has a soft side.
I, uh, umm...Oh screw it. Together forever Ruby and Rhyno!
3356051
So the fan interpretation of how his name is spelled is 'Rhyno'? I admit it is only used by the biggest fans as far as I have seen...
I just realized how huge that couch must be to comfortably seat the entire family. I also just realized who the filly in the cover art is! Lots of realization going on!
Keep going! ;)
3356096
Yeah, couch in the cover is really just 'a couch' theirs is a nice big one they can all lay side by side on.
Daw dat cover art
The cover pic is pretty damn cute!
A story about the integration of changlings? yes please!
time to read the first one and see how this love started :3
3356191
At almost 350k words, it should keep you occupied for a while.
I shall follow this story.
I wasn't aware there was a sequel!
Awesome!
Awwww~! That was adorable! I don't care if this comment means my man-card gets revoked, it's worth it!
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/164/259/46001%25252520-%25252520caption%25252520hnng%25252520macro%25252520spike.jpg
>nymph
>husband
But isn't a nymph an infant insect?
3356659>>3356797
Pupa is infant changeling, nymph is female changeling.
3356194 psh is that a challenge?
Naw but it should though, I can't wait 
Just been busy today xP
3356876 Please ignore my stupidity... (Deletes last comment)
Very sweet.
Holy sweet other of Daww that was adorable. It's funny since I have a few more chapters before I include birth in my own story, except of two different mares and at the same time. Oh joy
3356876
Actually, as Wikipedia explains,
On the other hand,
3357701
I was aware of this, and I don't argue it. However, changeling are not insects, and what they call the different sexes and stages of their lives is strictly head canon at this point. This was the head canon chosen by my co-writer, and I agree with it, though I do respect your own opinion.
So, this is what you've been up to! I was wondering where the chapters of The First Steps of the Rest of Your Life were. I'll definitely be checking this new story out~
-Missy
Sequel?!
I put the first one in read later, didn't read it yet.
Better go and read it this instant!
If this is anything like an alternate path you already got my fave and like bro.
I have to say before I read; that is a very cute cover picture.
D'aw
I still like the way how you two are able to write such scenes that describe well without the bulky amount of description walls
And Hybridization for the Win!
fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/296/2/1/cherrie__s_bee_costume_by_tecknojock-d4dr599.png
Okay, the main problem is that she apparently knows nothing about what's happening. Any pregnant couple would already be fairly well informed by their doctor, midwife, or by simply picking up a few books and reading. At the very least her husband should have spent some time early on talking about what to expect when you're expecting.
3358614
He did try, but she did say she blanked when the time came.
3358804
Already answered, check a few comments below.
3358614
Actually, I think my co-author did a much better job of answering this than I did, so here's what they said.
The writing is at a very simple level. Descriptive elements are virtually all one-line tells. There is little in the way of scene-building and mood-setting. There's an over-reliance on blunt basic emotional states rather than the subtlety and complexity expressed by real people. An antagonist shows up for a moment in chapter 1, then doesn't bother them again for months.
And the most pressing question of all 'How is hybridization possible?' is not even addressed, yet half a chapter is devoted to the labor.
3358940
This is a sequel, the question was actually addressed a few times during the original fiction. Yes, it could have been repeated here, but so far, I haven't decided to yet.
3358832 In which case they would have been monitoring the pregnancy even closer. And she certainly wouldn't have gotten past the first month without learning what dilation or a contraction was!
3358940
You hurt my brain.
3359232
As Rhino mentioned:
You're disregarding the character herself in this debate. The only people who could have chosen and known how she would react would be both Rhino and E.
3358940 If you haven't already, I strongly recommend you read the 72 CHAPTERS from Rhino and Enigma's prequel. It should answer most of your questions, but the general idea I think would be that sequals generally have some discrepensies between new and returning readers in terms of 'what's this?'
And from a writer's point-of-view I would be way more tired than Rhino for using emotional expression lines over and over and over just for the sake of descriptional purposes, which in my opinion would take longer for a story's point to get across or to reach a certain arc.
The filly moves her tiny hoof to be on Selena's nose nose, letting out a sound very much like a pony looking at fireworks.
Nose nose? Noseception?
All that stress and pain for something the size of a tennis ball? A softball, maybe...
The only problem I have is due to headcanon. I believe Ruby Pinch is Berry Punch's daughter.
This chapter, as cute as it may be, still leaves me with a slight discomfort as it clashes a lot with my headcanon. Especially the parts about Dinky and Ruby. But I will bear with it, as the background ponies is free to use and abuse when doing fan works.
Im sorry but every time rhino says "Pills", I instantly hear louis of the L4D characters saying "Pills here!". its derping up the storyline for me
.