Butterflies In Her Tummy

by Hivemind


Part 6

“B-but a-are you sure? You’re the only one with a paying job, and I-I’m sorta afraid that something bad’s gonna happen...”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Fluttershy. I’ve got everything taken care of.”

“But what if there’s an emergency? What if one of us gets hurt, or what if you have an accident at the hospital? How would we be able to pay--”

“Fluttershy, please! I promise you, I’ve got everything under control, don’t worry. We haven’t even...well, you know...”

“It’s just something we’ve got to plan ahead for.”

“I know, but look on the bright side! At least it won’t be the two of us anymore. We’ll be a family!”

~~~~~

The smell of fresh hay and apples wafted through the morning barnyard air. Big Macintosh could awaken to such a sweet smell any day. He dug his head out from underneath his blankets and lifted his nose to the sky, taking it all in. Another hard day of work was ahead of him, but at least the sweet smell of home was there to greet him.

He released a pent-up yawn as he rose from his straw mattress bed, throwing the quilt blankets off his body before slipping down to his hooves on the cool, hardwood floor. He rubbed his eyes and looked to a nearby wall clock.

Six-thirty in the morning. A half-hour past his usual wake up time. Maybe he should have turned down those few extra glasses of hard cider last night.

*knock knock knock*

“Hey, Big Mac! You up yet, sugarcube?”

It was Applejack, his beloved sister, coming around to make sure he was awake. Usually, it was Big Mac who was the first to rise every morning, right behind Granny Smith, who somehow manages to wake herself up two hours before anypony else to fix breakfast, and when it came to Granny Smith’s cooking, it was never something you wanted to miss out on.

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” he groaned, stretching his legs.

“We got us a big ol’ batch of breakfast down here, and Granny Smith’s got somethin’ special cookin’ in the oven. I don’t know what it is, but I just know it’s gonna be good!” exclaimed Applejack.

“Mhmm...”

“So...you comin’?”

“Eeyup. Be there in a minute.”

“You OK, Big Mac?” asked Applejack, worried. “You sound a little...down.”

She couldn’t be anymore right.

“I’m fine.”

Liar.

“Great! See ya’ downstairs!”

Big Mac waited until Applejack’s hoofsteps were a good ways out of earshot before trotting around the bed to his nightstand and opening the top drawer. Nicknacks and various pieces of junk completely stuffed the drawer, leaving little room for much anything else. Digging through the drawer by hoof was going to take a while, and he didn’t want to be late for breakfast, on top of raising Applejack’s suspicions.

Quickly, he yanked the drawer out of his nightstand and dumped its contents onto the bedspread, kicking up a small layer of dust that had accumulated over the years. After an annoying fit of coughing, he sifted his hooves through the many pieces of metal, toys, and scraps of paper, rushing to find his most wanted item. Minutes flew by as he hastily checked and rechecked the assorted pile.

Come on, come on, where is it?

*knock knock knock*

“Umm...Big Mac? Applejack sent me up here to get’chu...”

It was Applebloom, and that only made things worse. When it comes to suspicion, she was even worse than Applejack!

The red stallion sighed, looking over the mess he made with sad, hopeless eyes.

I know I put it somewhere. I just know it!

“Big Mac? You in here?” asked Applebloom as she pushed open the door and entered the room. Alarmed, Big Mac stood to attention.

“I’m here, I’m here,” acknowledged Big Mac, nodding his head.

“What’s with all that junk on your bed?” asked Applebloom, curiously scrutinizing her brother’s weird behavior.

“It’s nuthin’. I’ll clean it up later.”

“Well then come on, slowpoke! I’m not about to miss out on the apple fritters!”

Big Mac straightened his mane with his hooves before following his exuberant little sister into the hallway.

“Today’s gonna be great!” exclaimed Applebloom as the family pair went down the hallway. “The girls and I got somethin’ big planned. A way for us to get our cutie marks!”

“Eeyup,” replied Big Mac, plain and simple as always.

“We’ve spent all week puttin’ it together. I think it might actually work this time!”

“Mhmm.”

“Don'cha think so too, big brother?”

“Ee--”

Woo howdy! I can smell Granny Smith’s cookin’ already!” As quick as a flash, Applebloom bolted down the rest of the hallway before skidding to a halt at the top of the stairs. “Race ya’ to the kitchen!” she yelled before speeding down the creaky steps, laughing all the way.

Big Mac sighed, but kept an unnerving smile. Some fillies are just too much to handle.

I’ve got to find that photo. I had it layin’ around here somewhere. I just know it!

~~~~~

“Yes! Another perfect batch!” you say to yourself having just synthesized another parcel of pain remedies. Your test tubes hissed and blew steam as your lowered each of them into a nearby tub of water to cool. You were on a roll today. All of your experiments were going well, nearly half the current month’s orders were filled, and thankfully, nothing was on fire!

Successful ventures aside, you felt that the hospital was in desperate need of some new equipment. You weren’t exactly Equestria’s greatest chemist, but the field of medicine doesn’t exactly run on lantern oil. There were sick and injured ponies coming in everyday with some of the most bizarre cases you have ever seen. Everything from purple, elephant-shaped warts to the more common cases of appendages getting stuck in unpleasant, and sometimes embarrassing places filled the beds faster than aphids on nitrous oxide.

But nevermind that for now. You still had orders to fill, and with new ones pouring in every day, you couldn’t risk any delays.

Suddenly, just as you were starting to prepare for another order, a loud buzzer went off at the door, followed by a series of knocks on its hard metal surface. Curious to see who was knocking, you set your equipment aside and moved to the door’s porthole.

Peering through the tiny glass window, you saw Nurse Redheart waving to you, signalling you to let her in. After going through the tedious process of unbolting the doors several locks, you tugged the heavy steel door open and invited the nurse inside.

“Now, just for safety reasons, I’m gonna need you to put on this lab apron,” you instructed, digging your hooves into a nearby sterile chest and yanking out a clean, white apron. The white-haired nurse glared menacingly at the pinafore in your hooves before turning her gaze up to you. “I know it seems a little strange, but due to lab safety regulations--”

Suddenly, Nurse Redheart swiped the apron out of your hooves and tossed it to the floor, kicking it away before taking a step closer to your face. Shocked, you rear back, surprised at the caring mare’s outburst.

“N-n-nurse?” you stammer.

“So, when were you going to tell me about this, hmm?” she questioned you, scowling.

“T-tell you a-ab-bout what?” you ask, sweating nervously.

“I think you should know...” she hissed, taking another step forward, forcing you to take two steps back.

“Kn-kn-know about what?”

“You heard me!” she snapped. “I know I don’t get to see her often, but Fluttershy is my sister, and as her sister, I think I’m entitled to the right to know when she’s planning on having a baby!”

Already you could tell that this wasn’t going to end well. You had to act fast; act quick!

“Umm...surprise?”

Smooth. Idiot.

The white-haired mare’s eyes started to twitch, and the look on her face, while priceless, was one so baffling that would make even the most masculine of stallions turn tail and flee. Strangely, you thought the worst was over, but by the way she was staring at you, you felt that it had only just begun.

The nurse backed down and put a hoof to her forehead, rubbing it softly.

“Surprise...” she groaned, rubbing her forehead harder.

“Err...”

“Is that all you can say? Surprise?!” Nurse Redheart yelled, pressing her muzzle up against yours.

Ladies and gentlecolts, the devil has entered the building.

“W-well, I figured--”

“You figured what?! That you were just gonna wait until the last minute to tell me? That when it actually happened, everything was gonna be all fine and dandy? Is that what you figured? We’re co-workers for Celestia’s sake! Heck, we’re more than just that! We’re family!”

You didn’t know what to say. Each one of her outbursts gradually spelled the word, ‘Doom’ in bright, flaming letters. You knew that she would find out about this sooner or later, but you never expected her to be so angry about it!

“So, what do you have to say for yourself, hmm? Come on.”

Fluttershy isn’t going to like this...

“Good grief, just say something!” she yelled, grabbing you by the shoulders, shaking you like a leaf.

You sighed, feeling defeat slowly crawl over you.

Nurse Redheart was right. While it wasn’t immediate, she was still part of your family. Well, technically, she was part of Fluttershy’s family, but that was beside the point. You felt guilty for having been so careless these past few weeks. You don’t get out much, instead choosing to spend most of your time with Fluttershy and not with your friends and relations. You pieced it all together, and somehow, it clicked.

“Look...” you sighed, gently sweeping Redheart’s hooves off your shoulders. “I know you're upset and all, but to be honest, we’re still just a liiittle bit on the bench about the whole baby thing. Nothing’s set in stone just yet.”

“Oh really?” Nurse Redheart groaned, rolling her eyes.

“...really?”

Rolling her eyes again, Nurse Redheart reached behind her and retrieved a crude piece of notebook paper, torn at the edges and stained with dirt.

“So how would you explain this?” she snapped, shoving the paper up close to your face. Knowing that there was no way out of this, you gave the page a quick once over, daring to look nowhere else.

“Nurse?” you said in a questionable tone, curiously reading the messy signature at the bottom of the page.

“What?” she replied in an angry tone.

“Err...call me a liar, but I doubt that Fluttershy’s hoofwriting involves this many...squiggles.”

“And? So what?” she angrily replied, throwing the paper to the ground. “I know bad news when I see it!”

“Bad news?” you asked, confused.

The good nurse sighed, backing down from her temper tantrum. You hoped and prayed that the worst was over. Thankfully, your prayers were answered.

“Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you. I haven’t taken all of this in yet. Just say yes when I ask you to please stay by her side during her...time. Fluttershy has a little...history when it comes to these things, a rather unpleasant one at that.”

Redheart’s final words didn’t sit well in your stomach. It was common for couples to share bits and pieces of their life before marriage. Occasionally, you and Fluttershy would share a past memory or two with each other just to pass the time, but knowing that your own wife may be hiding something unnerving from you put a bad feeling in the pit of your gut.

“Well,” Nurse Redheart started, backing towards the door. “This was certainly...eventful. Congratulations and all, I-I think, aaand it was nice talking to you! C’ya tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow? But--”

Before you could stop her with a flurry of questions, the pink-haired caregiver dashed out of the room and hurriedly cantered down the hallway. You watched from the doorway as she turned the corner at the end of the long tile stretch, bewildered by her sudden change in behavior.

As you step back into the lab, you looked up at the wall clock nearby. It read ten minutes after eight-o’clock, well past closing time; closing time for the lab anyway. You retrieved the paper from off the floor and gave it a quick once-over. After tossing it into the nearest trash bin, you quickly swept the floors and deep cleaned the lab countertops. Feeling relieved after your hasty work, you switched off the lights and made sure that the door bolted-shut properly before stepping lively down the hallway.

As you entered the main lobby, you found that Nurse Redheart wasn’t at the front desk. From the look of the light coming from an open patient room door down the next hallway, you assumed that she was just tending to a patient and not secretly plotting your demise. You decided to put off searching for her and instead headed straight for the door, walking out into the cool, near-night air. However though, as you left the premises, you couldn’t help but question yourself about what Nurse Redheart said earlier. These thoughts, along with her earlier pleas, kept you thinking as you followed the streetlamps to the road back home.