An Affliction of the Heart: Volume Two

by Anonymous Pegasus

Epilogue

Warden huffed, delicately twisting the aurora fruit from its stem and letting it drop gently into his good hoof, before he passed it carefully to one of the guards behind him.

There were a total of four royal guards assisting him in the harvesting process, taking the fruits from him and placing them into velvet-lined cases designed to keep the delicate fruits from bruising and spoiling.

Warden was in a hurry, trying to be fast and be careful at the same time. He had already dropped one fruit when he tried to use his bad hoof to speed things up. The resultant magical ‘firework’ explosions had forced Warden to slow down and be more careful. Not to mention he owed one of the guards a new chest piece as his was now tinted a bright, vibrant pink instead of gold.

The reason Warden was in such a hurry was because he had received word that morning that Kuno was having the foal!

The previous night, Kuno had complained about stomach pains, and Warden had immediately dosed himself up with Greenswathe and basically dragged the heavily-pregnant pegasus changeling to the Ponyville hospital. But then Warden had to leave. He knew the growing timetable, and for optimal results, the aurora needed to be harvested that day.

And then the messenger had shown up and told him that Kuno was having the foal.

And thus, Warden was in a hurry: moving as fast as he could without risking more fruits. The swollen yellow-and-red fruits were being packaged away, and Warden was on the last few. The guards, somehow, lacked the ability to remove the fruit from the stems without ‘coring’ the fruit. The swollen flesh was actually very fragile, and it required a very specific twist and yank to get the stem to break without tugging the core and seeds of the fruit out in their entirety.

Kuno had been, for want of a better term, a ‘hormonal bitch’ throughout the entire pregnancy. As Warden soon found, changelings were largely unable to deal with hormonal emotion changes. Kuno had gone from an amorous horny ‘I want you right now!’ attitude, to ‘why are you so useless?!’ and ‘I don’t even know why I love you!’ to ‘please forgive me, I love you and I’m sorry’ in the amount of time it took Warden to get her bloated form into the bath.

But, when Warden had his wife curled up in bed with him, with him snuggled against her back and a hoof gently rubbing at her swollen stomach, it was impossible not to forgive her.

And now, he was missing the birth! He had tried his best to promise her that he would be there to hold her hoof throughout it. Kuno hid it well, but she was scared.

But then he had to go and harvest the aurora or risk it all spoiling.

Warden gave a weary sigh as he tugged down the final fruit and passed it off to one of the guards.

“I’ll be back... erm... later!” Warden said, as he turned on his hooves and hobbled as fast away down the ravine as he could.

---

Dosed up on greenswathe powder, Warden landed heavily in front of the hospital, sprawling out for several long seconds and gritting his teeth. The powder was losing its effectiveness as his body gained resistance against it. Pretty soon, it wouldn’t even be enough to allow him to walk on his bad hoof properly.

Panting, face pink from the pain, Warden hobbled through the front doors of the hospital and then immediately bolted up the stairs to the second floor, bounding down the hallway, dodging a nurse coming out of a room, and skidding to a halt in front of one of the rooms.

Looking in, Warden saw his wife laying in bed, a blue bundle in her hooves as she stared down into the bundle with such a look of love on her face that Warden couldn’t bring himself to step into the room and disturb her.

Warden wasn’t sure how long he stood there, watching his wife staring down into the bundle. Eventually, Kuno looked up, and caught sight of him, beckoning to him urgently.

Warden slipped into the room, skidding to a halt in front of the bed, leaning over carefully.

“L-look Warden... w-we have a f-foal,” Kuno whispered, her voice breaking, tears of happiness in her eyes as she held out the bundle.

Gently, Warden took the bundle from her, pulling aside a fold of cloth to reveal the young pegasus within. She was a soft, powder blue from nose to hooves, with a blonde mane and the most beautiful green eyes staring up at him as she quietly observed him, cooing faintly.

Warden swallowed hard, staring down at his daughter with a rapt expression. A giggle broke him from his reverie, and he looked up sharply, cheeks flushing.

“She’s mesmerizing, isn’t she?” Kuno whispered.

Warden nodded wordlessly, pulling himself up onto the bed with his wife and pressing his cheek against her own lovingly. “Sorry I wasn’t here for the birth, Kuno... I have no excuse.”

“I forgive you,” Kuno whispered, kissing his cheek gently. “Warden... we have a daughter.”

Warden smiled, leaning against his wife and wrapping a hoof around her middle, holding her close as they both stared down into the bundle that held their daughter.

“She’s like me,” Kuno said, smiling and spreading the bundle slightly to show him the bell she had affixed to the foal’s tail with a red ribbon. The bell jingled, and immediately, the foal curled around slightly, chuffing at the bell and nudging it with her nose, seemingly enjoying the high-pitched jingle it made.

Warden smiled, feeling his heart melt, a lump rising in his throat. “Just like her mother...”

The foal nudged the bell again, and then sneezed violently, rocking the bundle with the violence of the motion, blinking rapidly and shaking her head. Kuno giggled softly, motioning with her nose towards the baby.

Warden blinked, his brows furrowing. When she sneezed, the foal’s eyes had changed from vivid green to a vibrant, lovely pink.

“J-Just like her mother,” Warden murmured past the lump in his throat, smiling and kissing Kuno’s cheek. “So... have you got any ideas for a name?”

Kuno looked away, biting her bottom lip, and then gave him a long stare, looking slightly nervous. “I-I... I was thinking that... m-maybe... ‘Swarm’?”

Warden’s ears pinned back at that, and he felt tears rising to his eyes as he pressed his cheek against Kuno’s gently, staring down at his daughter. His heart seemingly swelled to twice the size and melted simultaneously, and he shuddered, feeling a strange, joyous warmth in his chest. His voice wavered and broke with emotion as he stared down at his daughter, and whispered,

“Welcome to the family, Swarm.”

Comments

[Seether00]

Next sequel please. Kuno and Warden raise a family.

[DaDarkWolf]

BWAAA

Im sad it's over but happy it happened

[kingtiger666]

Well, I think my heart just exploded.

[Lelouch Vi Britania]

D'awwwwww

[DungeonMiner]

Daws.

Daws, everywhere.

[Marvelous Cheshire]

Too cute.

[hollowhoofer]

wooooooooo they had a foal im so happy

[Charcoal Quill]

I have no proper way to express all the heartwarming-ness of this. Nope, not even in emoticons. Well done!

[catsan]

WHAAAAAAAA ITS OVER NUUUUUU

I really loved this story and am sad to see it end.

[Greenfang Neverclear]

My heart would have exploded if I hadn't had it removed at the Think Tank. But, DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[SteampunkScootaloo]

2110132 raising a changeling "swarm"? sounds dangerous

[VGFanatic20]

i hnnged so much. this needs to be made into a freaking comic so the daws can increase 1000 fold

[Metroid Prime]

Yesyes YES

[Agrith]

I'm clapping like an idiot I'm so happy.

[Resurgent Wanderer]

Oh look, the end is coming, no more feels right...
~~~
And I'm crying

God, that was a beautiful story, and that final plot twist made this ending all the more satisfying.

[Triv_]

Hnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!!

[RadBunny]

10/10

Well done.

[Avid Reader]

Commence read.

And in the end Swarm returns into Warden's life.

[Mane 6]

I am... sad. Yet... Happy.
This calls for pondering the state of fanfics on fimfiction.

[Georg]

*sniff* To EqD with thee, so more manly sniffles might rend the air, making mine less visible...

[Heavy Weapons Guy]

HNNNNNNGGGGG DOCTAR I NEED HELP

[thedarkprep]

Sequel?
Sequel??
Please???

[Anonymous Pegasus]

2110230

I gave up on EqD a long time ago. Feel free to try submit it if you'd like. Lemme know how BS the rejection letter is.

[CoAlFire]

Hey there, AP.

I know you probably won't read this, but I figured I'd give you a critique.

I love your work, and it's really, REALLY fun to read, but I feel like you rushed through this bit. I think it would have been better in the long run for you to have wrapped up volume two with that last chapter and continued the rest of this in what I presume will be volume three.

Going from conception last chapter to the birth this chapter was a little bit too fast, and it felt, for lack of a better phrase, a little like whiplash. Also, for me, I'm left wanting to know more about Kuno and Warden's experiences during the pregnancy. There's just so much potential there that I feel is missed by not giving that period of time its dues.

From your blog entries, I get the feeling you'll be revisiting all of that in the form of flashback sequences, but I don't think that does Kuno justice, to be honest. This story is great, and it's a pleasure to read. I can't wait for the next installment. I just feel like this story ended a little bit flat.

Regardless, it's a pleasure.

On the off chance you're reading this, well done.

CoALFire

[OttOPilot]

This story should gave the gore tag on it. Not because it has gore in it but for the fact that your heart leaps out of your chest and flops around on the desk like a fish.
the dawwwwwwws

[Star Origin]

Anonymous... You have officially given me diabeetus and I want you to pay for me medical costs else I'm gonna find you and k-

HHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!

*drops dead*

Yeah, cuteness was the death of me.

[Archivist Nightwatch]

Glad the last scene took place in a hospital I think I might need to be admitted for being put into a coma from the pure daw behind thisstory. But yeah Sequel with them raising the kid. Maybe let the kid be little bit changling or something can change mane and body color?

[Zoom zoom]

Must nuke heart before orders from brain reach it.....ah damnit it didn't work.

[Anonymous Pegasus]

2110267 I read ALL comments. Comments are my payment, and my crack.

There is not a single comment on my work I have not read. Srsly. Well, except those few that are deleted before I get to them.

Either way... I just didn't feel that the trials and tribulations of pregnancy would stand for their own chapter, to be perfectly honest. Not without getting cliche, making people hate Kuno for being a hormonal bitch, or any other number of reasons. I'm just... not that good a writer.

Maybe if I knew how to write that sorta stuff.

[Kaille]

2110189

If I had the skills to do so, I totally would. Give me time to study and practice.

[CoAlFire]

2110305 Fair enough, I can see your perspective.

As I said, the story is absolutely fine. It was a pleasure to read. I think you have what it takes to have been able to do something really good with her pregnancy, but ultimately it's your call. This fic ended a little anti-climatically, but it also contained the best chapter of fanfiction that I've ever read. Period.

So I think it all evens out.

Well done, AP, I look forward to seeing this story continued.

[Trigger Happy]

Another great ending~ I just noticed your avatar changes again just like last story after an epilogue? Who drew it for you?

[LupusStriker]

BEHOLD!!! The birth of a brand new plot device! I mean foal!

[Fluffershy]

Theres...there's gunna be a volume three, right? Right!?!

[DiscoShepherd]

2110262

Yay! I just gave up on them the other day so i'm not alone anymore!
Seriously though, it was a great story and even if you chose not to continue it would still be a satisfying end.
I will ask however, wasn't there supposed to be a plot involving Daggertail that you teased a while back? Or did you say that you dropped it? Eh, it was still a great story and I look forward to whatever you do next!

[Swift As Lightning]

D'AWWWWWW
and that's all I have to say about that

[Comet Burst]

WAH HA HAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Damn it Anon, why does it have to be over?! I love this story too damn much!

[Shpoople96]

D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

[FireStorm2247]

Ah what an ending. Cheers to the new family! This series has been a good read thus far. Hope another will come in the later future.

[Anonymous Pegasus]

2110337 Someone commissioned a picture of Kuno and Warden, and it was done by someone on deviantart... it's in my blogs somewhere!

[andmos]

The cuteness is overwhelming.

[Blue Streak]

If there is no sequal to this story, this was a great ending.

[fim016]

beautiful man just beautiful

[mana285]

need pics of this nowNOWWWWWWWW...plz

[Vynn the Ocarinist]

welp...time to break out the trusty defibrillator

[Starknight619]

OK THAT WAS PERFECTION!

Please make another sequel, it would make sense right? I mean COME ON!!! Their HAS to be something in that beautiful brain of yours *Grins*

Lets see if we can't find that Sequel in there!

Seriously though Great Job you deserve EVERY and I mean EVERY thumbs up and favorite.

Have a Stache x9999

[Orrianna Dyre]

Another epic chapter Anonymous! It's so beautiful... I have no words to describe it. so all i'm gonna say is D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! I hope to see a sequel to THIS story too! This is too good of a story to stop! Must have "An Affliction of The Heart: Volume 3". Once again great job, I have no complaints to this story at all.

[vren55]

DAT ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

has anybody told you how awesome you are?

[gryphon88]

I'm with everyone else on this. Maybe a moving to Ponyville sequel.

[Lunar Brony]

Eeeee!! IT'S SO ADORABLE! IT'S a CUTE LIDDLE FING! LIKE A CHIKKIN, BUT A PONY WIF WINGS!!