//------------------------------// // Family (Part 2) // Story: Midwife Crisis // by starshine_dash //------------------------------// The very next morning, Dinky slammed open the door to Fluttershy's main bedroom and pounced on the two sleeping mares. Fluttershy shrieked with all the volume of a particularly quiet mouse and tried and failed to get out of Derpy's hooves. The little filly hugged her mom and her hostess tightly and then started dancing around the bed as her mother woke up slowly. "Muffin... What's going on?" she asked, blearily blinking her eyes around the room. "It's a bee-ootiful day out! I wanted you two to wake up so you could enjoy it as much as you could!" Derpy giggled while Fluttershy quivered in her legs, "Sh-she's very energetic." "That she is, 'Shy... Muffin, why don't you and Sparkler get started on breakfast, then we'll head into town and get you two some separate beds." "Are you getting separate beds for you and Miss Shy too?" Fluttershy just blushed and hid herself behind her mane when Derpy smiled and told her daughter the truth, "No, I'm going to be sleeping here with Fluttershy from now on." "Oh! Okay! Hurry up then, Mommy! I wanna go see Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom!" Derpy nodded and Dinky scooted out of the room, shouting for her sister. The two mares stayed in bed for a moment before Fluttershy tried to untangle herself from her ... marefriend? Could she use that word now? The thought bounced around in her head for a while before Derpy kissed her softly on the neck and nuzzled, refusing to let go, "I love you so much, Fluttershy... I just don't know what I'd do without you. Now that Muffin and Sparkler are here... It just feels like home." The yellow mare in her arms turned around and gave the pegasus a soft kiss. Wrapping her hooves around her marefriend, Fluttershy snuggled up close as the two fillies started clattering around downstairs. It felt so comfortable to be here, snuggling Derpy like this. Oh, but she had to take care of all the animals and make sure the girls got their beds and there was just too much to do! Sighing, she extricated herself from the other mare's grip and stood, "We, um, should go eat..." "What? You don't love me too? Why? I thought you did!" Derpy said with tears beginning to fill her eyes. In an instant the tears were gone replaced by an angry glare, and then by a shocked stare, "I... I don't know what just happened." Fluttershy helped her up, "It's just hormones, sweetie. It happens to some mares. You'll have these mood swings. It's nothing to worry about." Derpy nodded, her pregnancy now easily visible to anypony who looked and made her stance a little more awkward. As with every morning, she tried to lift off, but finally found herself unable to gain air, "I... I guess I need to stop delivering mail now." Fluttershy nodded as the two made there way to the kitchen, where breakfast smelled delicious and nothing looked broken. Sparkler turned out to be a rather accomplished chef. Turned out that she had been tutored in Las Pegasus by a five-star chef. After a delicious breakfast, the group made their way out into Ponyville and over to a small furnishings shop to procure two beds for the fillies. The old guest bed would be moved to an unused room or given to the cutie mark crusaders for their clubhouse sleepovers. Fluttershy just smiled and hid behind Derpy when she was asked a question. After they had the beds ordered, the group went over to Rarity's for some sheets and comforters. "Well hello everypony! Dinky, it's good to see you again. Sweetie Belle has been talking about you all summer." "Hello Miss Rarity!" the little unicorn filly said with all of her usual cheerfulness. Fluttershy stepped forward and greeted her friend, "H-hi Rarity. The girls need some bedclothes and I thought you would be the pony to ask, if, um, that's alright with you." Rarity's eyes sparkled, "Oh, some sheets and a comforter then? Wonderful! I think I have just the fabric. Will you be wanting matching dust ruffles as well? What size are the beds?" Derpy giggled, "Oh, Rarity, you don't need to go and make anything special. Just whatever you have on hand!" Rarity turned towards the wall-eyed pegasus and smirked, "That would be if I kept anything on hand, darling. Everything I sell is produced per client. I suspect you should know that by now." Fluttershy smiled a little at that, "You don't need to go all out, Rarity, honestly." "Fluttershy, I insist! Dephina is a good friend and your marefriend. Her fillies deserve the best Rarity has to offer!" the unicorn said, posing much like another unicorn who had once visited Ponyville and made a foal of herself. The fashionista levitated over some fabrics and began making some measurments, "Now, bed sizes, please?" After an hour of being shown fabrics, patterns and more designs for dust ruffles than anypony thought possible, the foursome finally escaped Rarity's clutches and made a break for Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie greeted them all as soon as they entered and stole Sparkler away to the kitchen almost immediately. There was quite the commotion and Fluttershy began to worry. Some unintelligible shouts filtered through the door before the unicorn filly came running out, trailing flour and a pastry chef. "Wh-what was that all about?" Fluttershy asked, barely above a whisper. Sparkler just sat down next to her mom and sister with a small grin on her face before whispering something to the mailmare. Derpy nodded with a soft smile and Pinkie placed a few drinks at their table before vanishing back into the kitchen. Poor Fluttershy just looked around confused and sipped her drink softly. It was cranberry juice, with a little ginger ale splashed in to cut the tartness, her favorite. She posed a questioning look to each member of the Doo family sitting across from her. Dinky just sipped her juice obliviously while her mother looked innocent and Sparkler just looked off at the pastry showcase, taking a drink from the cup levitated in front of her. The confused pegasus sighed and simply waited. Pinkie never took her order, because she always ate the same thing when she came here. One raspberry strudel with a "little extra" powdered sugar. The party pony always took the opportunity to shape her strudel like her cottage for some reason the pegasus couldn't quite fathom. Eventually though, Pinkie reappeared with a tray of treats. They all dug in with gusto as talking to Rarity about fashion was incredibly taxing. Soon enough, though, Fluttershy found something hard in a bite of her strudel. Thankfully, she always chewed as delicately as possible and still call the act chewing so none of her teeth were chipped. She spit it out daintily into her hoof and looked. Unable to be truly sure what she saw, the mare took a napkin and began to wipe the object clean. In her hoof she held a small clip, meant to go on a pony's ear. It had a small pink gem, shaped like her cutie mark. As she looked at it quizzically, Derpy cleared her throat. "Fluttershy?" "Y-yes?" "Marry me?"