It had been a hot day and I was glad to get inside. The sun had seemed almost twice as big in the sky, but luckily the cottage had been expanded to accommodate Dash’s foal, and that included adding air conditioning.
I barely made it to the couch before I plopped down and sighed in relief. This baby must have added forty pounds or something to me, at this point I was surprised my belly didn’t drag along the ground. I rubbed my belly as I felt the foal inside kick, ready to make their own debut into the world.
“Welcome home Dawn,” Fluttershy said. She came over to the couch and wasted no time giving me a kiss.
“Hey Butterflanks.” I hugged her and rubbed a hoof on her flank, eliciting a giggle.
Dash called out from a rocking chair across the room where she was nursing her child. “You given up on working yet? They call it maternity leave for a reason, you’re supposed to leave.”
“Says the mare who went into labor because she just had to bust one more cloud before starting her leave?” I replied.
Fluttershy chuckled and looked at my belly, putting a hoof on it. “I don’t think you’ll be much longer, Dawn.”
“Yeah, did I mention how much I love you, Fluttershy?”
“Only every day,” she quipped. “Now why don’t I fry you up some bacon?”
“Mmm, that sounds good…”
I stretched my legs out and rolled over in bed, slowly waking up from a pleasant dream. By the time I got around to waking up each day, Dash and Fluttershy had usually already gotten up to start their days.
According to the clock Fluttershy would have been up half an hour by now so I headed downstairs to see if she’d made breakfast. As always, she seemed to know just when I would be coming downstairs and had some oatmeal and orange juice made for me. I pictured how perfect some bacon would be with the meal, but kept it to myself.
“Morning, Fluttershy,” I said.
“Hi Dawn, I hope you slept well?”
“Yeah, I had a pleasant dream. You?”
Fluttershy smiled and flew over to sit down and chat while I ate. “Oh, I don’t remember my dream. I’m just glad you and Dash caught up with the train or I’d have been up all night waiting for you two to get home.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just wish we weren’t so exhausted from catching up to the train. I had a chance to talk to Dash, but not to you.”
“Hmm, what about?”
“I’ve decided to be a little more proactive and I realized there’s something I haven’t properly told you yet.” I ate a bite of the oatmeal and took a quick drink of orange juice. “I just want you to know I love you, and I can never repay you for what you did. I thought about it a bit yesterday and I’m not going to get a DNA test… as far as I’m concerned, this is our baby and I want the both of you in my life until the day I die.”
Fluttershy blushed and turned her head, hiding slightly behind her mane. “Oh my… that’s so sweet and unexpected… I love you too, Dawn.”
I took a few more bites of oatmeal and enjoyed watching her squirm and blush, clearly she was excited and I didn’t need to watch her present her wings to know it. “Yeah, you deserved to know it without the whole part where I get overly-emotional over what happened… I don’t know if I’ll be able to just put it all behind me, but somepony told me I should focus on the future instead. I can't think of a kinder, gentler, more loving pony to raise a family with.”
She nodded, face still red from the blushing, and tilted the pitcher of orange juice to pour me some more. “I’d like that. So, you told Dash this too?”
“Well yeah, I don’t really know what the proper customs are but I think we should start a happy family together all three of us and our two foals. I should probably ask Twilight, I bet she has a book titled My Mommy, Mommy, Daddy, and us.”
“Daddy?” Fluttershy asked. “Have you got your eye on Big Mac or something?”
I paused with the spoon halfway into my mouth and then chuckled. “Oh no, my humor is rubbing off on you… I just meant, when I change back. If I change back… but one hoof at a time here.”
Fluttershy nodded and got up to take my bowl, which I’d managed to finish off in record speed. “Do you want some more?”
“No thanks, if I eat too much at breakfast I get queasy, I’ll make up for it at lunch. Besides, I could swear I feel her moving around in there while I eat and it’s just so… odd.”
She cleaned the dish while continuing to talk to me. “Oh, well if that’s odd, you’re in for some more big surprises when you come to term.”
“Don’t remind me, if only they could use a teleportation spell for delivery this would be so much easier, huh?”
Fluttershy nodded and came back to sit down. “I suppose it would. So, you seem to be doing better and I’m really happy, you have no idea how worried we’ve been about you.”
I nodded. “Yeah, maybe a little idea, but I had some trouble focusing on anyone but myself.”
“It’s understandable. You just need a little time without a crisis to get back to normal, which reminds me… the Cutie Mark Crusaders were looking for you this morning. Apparently they needed a hoof crusading, I told them I’d pass the message along.”
I finished off my orange juice and set the glass down, wiping my lips with my foreleg. “Hmm, but I’m trying to avoid a crisis not, cause one.”
“They’re trying to get volunteer cutie marks for picking up litter,” Fluttershy explained.
“Oh, why didn’t you say so? I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong,” I quipped. I turned to look at the clock. “Well there’s a lot to do… I want to ask Applejack about expanding the cottage before the foals get here. Rarity would probably love another visit to the spa to gossip, Pinkie no doubt has a party planned for Soarin’s bail being denied. Twilight could probably use a hoof double-checking her Dewey Decimal System changes. I need to go tell Lyra she was right, again…”
“Oh, you should really write all this down…” Fluttershy offered me a smile.
“Yeah, you can see how it’s easy to get overwhelmed? I have so much to do it’s been easy to procrastinate and ignore problems, like Soarin… I’m really not looking forward to the trial.”
“We will all be there to support you, and there are some things you just can’t get out of. Like it or not, I think his trial is one of them.”
I nodded, “It’d take an act of Celestia to get out of that trial.” I sighed, wondering if it really would have been so bad to give him a one way ticket the sun.
“Any idea what you’ll do first?” she asked.
“Well I suppose I could go pick up some litter.” I smiled and stood up, going over to give her a kiss on the lips and wrap my foreleg around her neck. After a moment her shock passed and she kissed me back. I let go, “oh I could learn to enjoy that.”
“D-Dawn…” Fluttershy blushed and nuzzled against my neck.
“Butterflanks,” I giggled and rubbed her side.
“Oh dear, I hope that nickname doesn’t stick…”
I headed towards the door and grabbed my saddlebag in case I needed any bits today. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure butter is non-stick.”
I wasn’t sure if things were going well because I was in a good mood, or if I was only in a good mood because things were going my way today. I shrugged and decided it couldn’t matter. Today felt like a good day, and until something happened to change it, I decided to treat everything that happened after the hearing like chapter one of my new life.
Is Dawn going to change back to a stallion? I mean, it'd eliminate the weird questions about who the dad is.
"Dawn's the father" instead of "Dawn used to be a stallion, but got captured, turned into a mare, then raped by a psychopathic ex-wonderbolt, then Fluttershy showed up, she drank a potion that gave her a dick, then she fucked dawn to eliminate the chance of you being a rapist's bastard. So Dawn's your mother, and Fluttershy's both your mother and father. Confused?"
7756917
Dawn and Dash are going to tell their foals that their dad died in the same accident that claimed Applejack's parents. It's the perfect cover!
But what gender he 'chooses' and how he decides what is right for him or her will be saved for later. There are good arguments for both and with his reaction to poison-joke it's even more complicated because he pretty much can be whatever he wants. Some things are probably a lot simpler when you can't just flip back and forth!
1. When are changelings?
2. You actually manage to push the story further, so I'm happy for your skills. Yay for herds and staff. Right now I can see 2-3 chapters of Slice of Life, when Trial (some interesting things gonna happen there). "Trial's After-party" in which even more interesting will happen. Slice of life again and ending (Predicting about 15 Chapters here).
3. --> Insert Princess of Books here <-- (Love this meme)
I think is really bad taste to link a gore and or dark story in the suthor notes. You have blog posts and forums for a reason.
Besides that, nice to see this Discontinued. Now I just want Luna to be a responsible mother and adopt Dawn.
I don't think it too late to send Soarin to the sun or perhaps... lock him in the deepest darkest hole imaginable.
I also would like to see Luna plague dear Soarin with nightmares
Nicely done.
Gawd
wow too chapter in a row you are going to spoil us Kaidan.
I am kind of hoping that Dawn can change back for a little bit (after his / her foal is weaned that is) if only long enough for Fluttershy so she can have a little one of her own.
Missing comma.
In this instance, this should be two words.
Missing comma.
Missing comma. Also, I cannot help but feel that there is a "but" coming.
Missing commas.
"Yeah" should be capitalized and missing comma.
Missing comma.
"She" should be lowercase.
This is two words.
Missing comma.
Missing comma.
I am terribly jaded. And every time Dawn says something like:
or
or
It is just setting him up for the You Just Had to Say It and Tempting Fate tropes. I can feel them coming.
But you are not the kind of guy who would do something like that... right?
...R-right?...
~KBO.
So, I just finished binge-reading the hell out of the series, and I gotta say, I'm REALLY glad you picked it back up. Poor Dawn has been through the wringer and could definitely use some good fortune.
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At this rate Dawn will stay a mare. If you remember most of "his" time in Equestria has been as female after all.
I mean, I love grotesque murder as much as the next guy, but this story has only just come back and while I want a happy ending, it shouldn't be all sap and pancakes up until that point. Inject some torment and despair into Dawn's life!
Soarin' breaks out of prison and attacks Dawn, resulting in a miscarriage.
7758459 that is a little TOO far bro. More like sorin escapes after the kids born and kidnaps her to use against dawn.
7758739 I agree, it is too far. But think not of the heartbreaking event itself and more of Dawn and his ladies overcoming this tragedy and coming out stronger for it.
Butterflanks... Still makes me giggle.
7758777 even so. I can't willing condone that kind of situation.
7757960 if you remember, most 'his' life has been as a male
...too sweet, needs some bitter.
*pours black coffee on the story*
Aaaaaah... much better~
It's great to see this update again! Ah, the dilemmas of what one wants versus the consequences.
But yeah, Celestia did give Dawn good advice. Inactivity never really solved anything, gotta take the bull by its horns! And if things really go terribly bad, just use the ace-in-the-hole that is Celestia's offer and make something up. Some things are better gone for good.
Aaaaanyway... this slice of life was nice. I myself prefer this style. Action is good, but too much of it can get old pretty fast. This way you can keep a good pace and fill out any exposition you feel needs to be done.
7759350
That's why I said "In Equestria."
It's great to see this getting updated again!
Just reread the second fic and this one, and I can predict what's gonna happen at the trial. Soarin' realises that his current lawyer isn't worth shit, so he gets a really good one. One better than the one Dawn's got. He wins the trial and gets released.
Then he gets a visit from Celestia.
And Dawn, Dash and Fluttershy live happily ever after, while Soarin' does not enjoy the little trip that Celestia sent him on.
I really do hope Dawn goes back to being a stallion... Then they can pretend he fathered both foals. And I feel like it fits the character better.
7761127
"Where... where am I?" Soarin asked. The last thing he could recall was getting found innocent at the trial, and Celestia visiting him in private to release him from jail...
The bright white lights were hurting his eyes and he felt like he'd been asleep for months. The room smelled of ammonia and... was that a tinge of sulfur? He reached up to rub his aching head and blinked in disbelief.
Instead of a hoof he had five fingers, and on his wrist was a plastic band with the name "Don West" on it.
It finally clicked for Soarin. "Fuck."
Way to go DemonicPeach, giving me spin-off ideas as if I wasn't busy enough.
7761501 I love the dash of humanity series please upload more chapters soon my friend I'll b waiting
7761529
I could write one tonight but to be fair it's been a year and I haven't figured out how to adjust the old outline to a more short-chapter format and stuff... what's that? Just make it up as I go? Okay!
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw4737_small.jpg
The problem with it so long to update is that im sitting here like
"Baby!?"
"Soarin? What did saurin do... i remember him hitting on the main charicter and she got annoyed... or something?"
"They are in a three way relationship?"
I might continue this when i eventually re-read the origenal.
7758459 this story is not fuggin "Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons" gosh darn it!
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I haven't laughed out loud on fimfic in awhile.
please tell me there is going to be a description of what Dash's foal looks like in later chapters? Not knowing is driving my me up the wall.
7758459 Nope... definitely nope...
Just wondering... Lyra is out of the herd/flock for the time being?
Yet another unrelatably relatable Author's note.
Thanks for the suggestion author, but i think I prefer to daydream about it more. More....graphic
I don't really know about this one, it's got the same quality as the other two stories but it really just leaves me wondering why? Like poor fucking Dawn man, he's had the absolute worst luck I've seen in a story since Max from Ringtael's 'A thief's tale'.
He's gone through all that to finally find himself some peace just to have it spat back at him, I understand that life doesn't always just stay happy when you fix a problem, I know this personally myself, but this just feels a bit overboard and borderline torturous.
He's lost so much already, why kick him back down when he just got out of the shit pile?