Chapter 2 - New Pup on the block...
Author: Netherweaver
MLP © Hasbro. Thanks for giving us the freedom to do this stuff, Hasbro.
As the mare looks down at Monochrome, she notices something about his eyes. They aren’t the small beady eyes normally buried deep in a Diamond Dog’s face. They are larger, and they aren’t the trademark pure black irises of a Diamond Dog. His irises are a light green, with a brown line circling the border with the whites of his eyes. His eyes dart around, aware of all that goes on in the room, such as the slowly rotating fan and the brightly coloured fish in a tank to one side. She’s confused by this, as her dog Crowley was interested in only the food cupboard. She chuckles as he snuggles closer to her, and shifts slightly to make him more comfortable.
“We’re going to have to get you to the doctor’s soon, aren’t we?” she says, moving him onto the seat next to her and going to get a blanket to wrap him in. When she leaves the room, Monochrome looks at his surroundings some more. His gaze lands on the fish again. He is entranced by their intricate patternation and colours, and as they swim around, he’s gently lulled to sleep. The mare returns to find him curled up against the side of the bay seat, sleeping soundly. She smiles as she lifts him in her hooves and gently wraps him in the blanket, being careful to not wake him. She sets him in a small basket that was sat in the room doing nothing, and takes it in her mouth, being gentle as always. She walks through to the door, and opens it with a nudge from her head, as she didn’t lock it after bringing Monochrome indoors. She pulls it shut with her magic, and sets out into town for the first time in weeks.
As she carries Monochrome down the main road to the surgery, she sees a flash of pink off to one side. Cursing, she casts a quick veil of invisibility and speeds up, being careful to keep the basket steady. She sees the pink mare walking away from them, and sighs with relief. As she passes through the crowds and makes her way closer to the surgery, she overhears the conversations of Ponyville’s residents. There was talk of Diamond Dog Alphas who disagreed with the peace attacking the dens of packs moving above ground. She arrives outside the surgery, and pushing the door open with a hoof, she enters tentatively. As she looks around tentatively, she spots the pony she is looking for, Dr. Muffin Top. She trots towards him, weaving in and out of the ponies in the room, all of whom seem to be couples who will be having foal soon. The young doctor sees her making a beeline for him and walks over to an unoccupied corner to give them some room to talk. He waits patiently for her to set the basket down so she could talk.
“Hello miss, can I help you with anything?” he asks in the universal ‘I’m a doctor and I’m here to help.’ tone.
“Yes, actually. Could you have a look at this little fella?” she replies, pointing towards Monochrome who is soundly asleep in the basket. The doctor nods, and gently lifts the little pup from the basket. As he gets a look at Monochrome’s face, his expression becomes serious.
“Do you mind if we move into my office?” he asks, setting Monochrome back down. The mare motions for him to go ahead, and the doctor picks the basket up. They proceed into his office, where the doctor gently places Monochrome on the desk up against the rooms wall. “This little pup is... strange, if you haven’t guessed.” the doctor says with a sigh. He gestures to Monochrome’s eyes. “He is obviously an Omega, a thinker, but his body is nothing like what it should be. His muscle structure is too wiry, even Omega dogs make Celestia look like a pipe cleaner. His eyes wouldn’t look out of place on Fyrefly. His ears don’t respond sharply to sound. I could go on, but I don’t think you care.” The doctor glanced up from Monochrome to the mare. “He’s basically an Omega dog with Pony genes.” The doctor gave an exasperated sigh. “I don’t even know what is going on anymore.” he said as he started to run all the usual tests. Reflexes, sound response etc. “Everything is normal... for a pony.” the doctor conceded. The mare stood before him, eyes ablaze with love.
“Look, I know you don’t have a clue what he is, but is he stable and healthy?” she demands, leaning dangerously close to the doctor. The doctor, feeling intimidated, just nodded quickly. “Good. We’re going home.” she says bluntly. She takes the basket with Monochrome in it and trots briskly out of the surgery, ignoring the looks from the other patients as she cloaks herself once again for the trip home.
---
The mare kicks open her front door, and places Monochrome on the floor as she turns to lock it. She slides the key into the lock, and with a sharp flash of magic turns it until the lock clicks into place. She turns around, and picking monochrome up she trots upstairs to her bedroom.
“Now sweetie, where are you going to sleep?” the mare asks out loud, knowing that her question would go unanswered. She looked around the room, and to her dismay, not a single spare piece of sleeping furniture was to be found. “Dang it, looks like we’re going to have to share tonight sweets.” she sighs, meandering back downstairs after lifting Monochrome onto her back. He was looking around with wide eyes as they made their way downstairs, and his little arms were wrapped around her neck. She once again made her way into the kitchen, only then realising that Diamond Dogs don’t eat vegetation. Then, she realised that the doctor had said that Monochrome had pony genes. Thinking about this, she reached out with her magic and took a single leaf of alfalfa and held it up to Monochrome. He looked at it for a few seconds before tentatively nibbling the leaf. He proceeds to take a large bite of it and gives a satisfied burp. The mare laughs at her new son’s cute antics, and the rest of the day flies by...