//------------------------------// // chapter 1: Not the smoothest ride (edited) // Story: A Parents Legacy // by Lunar Flarion //------------------------------// *Scratch scratch scratch* Stringy’s eyes softly opened from his sleep as he heard the scratching. He was tired since Viper wasn’t the easiest to put to bed, more so since she is pregnant. He sat up and stretched, giving off a low yawn and a slight shudder. He looked around the room, and in a rather tired voice, he said,” Viper, I think we have mice...” “It’s not mice you dolt,” came Viper’s voice. Stringy looked down at the bed to see that Viper wasn’t there at all, he looked over to the closed door and found where the scratching had been coming from. There stood Viper as she scratched wildly at the door with her hooves, a large pout on her face. Her mane was all tangled and messy... It had been a month since Viper had gotten pregnant, and some days it was alright, nothing too bad, others were like this one, Viper woke up cranky and demanded to eat the flowers of the cacti that grew in the desert, which he had bought and planted outside. In truth, he only found the plant because he had to follow her too where she got them, though that trip didn’t end well... but at least he got two of the cacti. He shuffled off the bed and stood up, he gave a soft yawn as he walked over to the bedroom door. He turned the knob, and as soon as Viper sensed an opening large enough for her little body, she bolted through it, like a little filly or colt running to see what they got for Hearth’s Warming. The quick hoofsteps echoed throughout the silent house as Viper ran for the back door. Stringy opened the door the rest of the way and walked into the hallway, just in time to hear Viper bump into the glass backdoor. He sighed as he followed the noise. *Scree Scree Scree* Viper now pawed at the back door, ever once in a while, she slammed her hooves against it. She was tired of these doors for they stopped her from getting what she wanted. With a sad and angry bellow, she roared,” CURSE THESE DOORS! STRINGY! WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAVE DOORS!?” “To make sure you don’t run off to Puppeteer knows where!” Stringy replied as he turned the corner. That earned a pout from Viper as she sniffed the reinforced glass door. Last time this fragile glass stood in her way to her rightful flowers she had smashed through it, somehow, she did not sustain any cuts, but only meer bruises from the impact into the glass. So, to her dismay, Stringy had gotten much stronger glass that absorbed magical attacks and such, so nothing would work. Viper, being too focused on the flowers, didn’t notice Stringy as he stood above her until he opened the door. With a small squeak, her hooves slipped as her front half nearly hit the floor. Though, she was caught just in time by a dark purple aura. “Just for that, your head is going into the fridge for an hour,” Viper mumbled as the purple aura let her go. Viper readjusted herself then full on sprinted to the cacti, each one has an abundance of flowers for her to eat. Stringy would let her eat all of them, but Redheart was coming over soon and she needed some of them pronto. Also, Twilight was also coming over, her weekly checks on Viper’s development with the foal, or, as Viper wants to put it, her kit. So, with all of this, Stringy once again had to stop Viper from reaching the flowers. “Grrrr,” Viper growled,” THAT IS STRIKE TWO STRING CHEESE! ANOTHER ONE AND YOUR BODY IS SLEEPING ON THE COUCH ALL NIGHT!” “Viper,” Stringy said as he walked out to the cacti garden,” I would love for you to eat these flowers, for you to feel better, but you can’t eat all of them you know.” “Grr...” Viper growled as her back legs started to wiggle as if she was trying to escape. “And you know why, Viper,” Stringy said calmly as he walked over to the floating mare and pulled her into a small hug her up,” Tell me, why can you not eat every one of these poisonous flowers?” “They’re not poisonous unless cooked...” Viper grumbled. “Not the answer,” Stringy said softly as he used his magic to suspend her back into the air so that he could walk over to the gardens. “Because Twilight said that I would get sick and it would mess up the data results,” Viper huffed as she crossed her hooves, her muzzle now scrunched up. “And~?” Stringy said as he stopped. “And that Nurse Redheart needs them for medicine...” Viper huffed once more,” Can I have at least five now?” Stringy chuckled as he used his magic to pick up five of the flowers. He floated them over and gave them to the mare, who happily ate them whilst he looked for a basket. Once the basket was located, Stringy picked the flowers off of the cacti and placed them inside it, all while Viper ate the last flower and gave a slight hum at the fact her stomach was now settled. She looked at Stringy, then at the basket, then right back at Stringy, with a firm voice, she said, ”Let's head back inside so I can eat most of those... while you aren’t looking” Stringy chuckled as he nuzzled the mare. He walked back inside with Viper on his back and the basket floating behind them and out of Viper’s reach. With the clank of the backdoor being shut, Stringy put the pregnant mare down and walked off to the kitchen to place the flowers in a place where Viper, nor a step ladder could reach. He then looked for ingredients to start breakfast. As he searched for the eggs, he heard the sound of a very aggravated Viper as she hissed at something. Quickly, he ran out of the kitchen to see what it was, tripped and then fell facefirst onto the floor. He grumbled and got himself back up and walked the rest of the way to the living room. Viper stood at a window sill and hissed at... dogs. To be more specific, two dogs. The owners looked at the window in confusion as Stringy appeared behind the hissing mare. He grabbed the string to pull the curtains down, give a smile, and waved at the owner before he pulled down said string. He looked down at Viper with a slight frown,” Why are you hissing at dogs that aren’t even in the yard?” “Cause they can get into the yard!” Viper said as she pressed her nose against the glass. “We have a chainlink fence around the yard, the only way those dogs could get in is if the owner chucked them over the fence!” Stringy argued. “I don’t like the big woofers,” Viper said as she jumped down,” You have to fortify the house, I’m going to hide.” “I-you...,” Stringy said as he looked at Viper with a deadpan expression,” I can’t just “fortify” this house because of a poodle and a CHIHUAHUA!” “STRIKE TWO IN A HALF SOMETHING!” Viper yelled back. “If anything could kill me, it wouldn’t be the Puppeteer, it would be this mare,” Stringy muttered as he facehoofed. *Later after doing chores around the house* “Alright, everything is nice and clean, Twilight and Redheart should be arriving soon,” Stringy said as he threw away some trash,” Now all I have to do is find Viper.” Stringy sighed as he looked around,” And it is going to be harder than finding a needle in a large haystack...” Stringy thought for a moment, maybe he would check her normal hiding places... so anywhere that was dark... this was going to be fun, wasn’t it. Though he had a cheat, since Viper liked snacks, he would make some to help in his search! “But first!” Stringy said as he looked at his hooves,” I need to wash my hooves.” Stringy entered the kitchen and turned on the sink. The rushing water blocked some noise around him, but before his hooves even went for the soap, he heard a weird tapping noise coming from under the sink. Stringy, now curious, leaned down and opened the cabinet below the sink. Once opened, he saw a familiar pink and pregnant mare as she batted lightly at the pipes that were connected to the sink. “What...” Stringy said as he looked at her,” Well I guess I didn’t need to make snacks...” This caught Viper’s attention as she stopped batting at the pipes and said,” What snacks? Where are they?” “ I was going to make some to lure you out so that Twilight, well, when she gets here, could check up on you and the fo-” “I said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times,” Viper said as she got up and booped Stringy’s nose,” HE is a kit!” Stringy gently met Viper’s hoof with his own and lowered it and stated calmly,” Alright, to check up on the kit.” “... Where are the snacks?” Viper asked. “I said I didn’t make them yet,” Stringy said. “What were you going to make?” Viper asked as she walked out from under the sink. Stringy turned and looked at her, saying,” Well, maybe a sandwich or take out some of the cookies that were leftover in the fridge.” Viper sniffed the air and turned to look at the fridge,” Can you make the sandwich? I’ll get the cookies.” “I can’t back out of this, can I?” Stringy asked with a deadpan expression. “Nope~!” Viper smiled as she hopped up and walked over to the fridge to grab the cookies. “Of course...” Stringy said as he smiled and followed her. Stringy grabbed the peanut butter and jelly, then grabbed the bread, and finally made the sandwich, though he decided to make two more for the guests. He handed Viper one of the sandwiches, who had to grab it with her tail since she was carrying a cookie with her mouth. When all that was said and done, Stringy put the two sandwiches that remained down on a plate and put them out for when the guests arrive. While he waited, Stringy grabbed Viper and sat on the couch. Viper happily accepted and ate her cookie and sandwich while curled up next to him. They only had to wait a few minutes before there was a knock at their door. Stringy got up and answered it, revealing two mares, Twilight and Redheart. Twilight looked alright but Redheart looked to be on the verge of passing out or slapping a pony so hard they are sent straight through the sun. Stringy let them in, Twilight asked for the whereabouts of Viper and Redheart asked about the flowers. Stringy answered both in kind and told them to grab a sandwich if they felt hungry. What he didn’t expect was Redheart, who grabbed the flowers, shoved a sandwich in her mouth, gave him the bits, then left without another word. “Shes... busy,” Stringy said with a confused expression as he walked into the living room. Apparently, the strange actions of Redheart had gotten the attention of Viper and Twilight... and Twilight held an empty needle. Stringy saw that Twilight took this chance and quickly poked Viper in the foreleg with the shot, earning a near instant reaction for the small pink mare as she started to hiss. Stringy quickly held the mare down as Twilight took some blood. Stringy let off a low growl and asked as Twilight removed the shot from Viper’s foreleg,” WHAT THE HECK!? I THOUGHT YOU SHOWED UP TO CHECK ON VIPER’S PREGNANCY!” Twilight flinched and nearly dropped the needle, with a shaky voice, she said,” Sorry! I’m sorry I lied but I needed a blood sample from Viper!” Stringy grumbled as he walked over and sat next to Viper. Viper scrambled up onto his back and laid down on it, her eyes firmly planted on Twilight. “Well, to see if there are any normalities between pony blood and scorpony blood!” Twilight said,” Also! It could help, just in case any scorponies came to town and settled down like Viper!” “That still doesn’t mean you steal my blood!” Viper hissed. “Sorry,” Twilight,” But... I do have some questions, may I ask them?” “One,” Viper said as she narrowed her eyes,” Or else.” “A-alright...?” Twilight said as she pulled out a notepad,” The question, I guess, is that, did you two know you were compatible?” “No,” Viper answered honestly,” I just wanted to get rid of my heat. Though I did want a kit of my very own.” Twilight scribbled it down, then faced Stringy. Stringy answered,” I didn’t know either, though I wasn’t expecting a fo- kit, I did want to be a father one day.” Twilight nodded, then wrote it down. Since she had used up her only question, she bid the two farewell and left, leaving the two alone. Stringy sat back and sighed. Viper, though still on his back, curled up and looked at him. Stringy knew that the mare was going to give him another call and ask if she could come back again to check up on Viper. Viper most likely would say no and go off somewhere in the house and dig a hole in the carpet, then proceed to lay down in it. Stringy sighed once more, he grabbed the small mare gently with his magic, pulled her down to his chest, and hugged her. She squirmed in his grasp a little, but soon melted into the hug but not without a small snort. Stringy knew she was going to be a challenge, but he accepted it completely.