Chapter 5: The New Foal
The music slowly died down in the room, when it did, a mare clapped her hoof gently to the floorboards. "Alright students, that's it for today, see you next Friday, don't forget to practice."
All the foals started to move away from their positions in the room, and started to pack away their instruments. Nicholas was among them, his mother wanted him to learn to play an instrument and have a hobby that did not involve him sitting alone for hours on end.
"Hey Nicholas."
He heard somepony say from behind, he turned around and smiled. "Hey Octavia, something the matter?"
The dark filly with her big purple eyes shook her head with a friendly smile. "Nu uh, just wanted to say good practice. You've really gotten good at the violin."
"Thank you." Nicholas smiled and looked to the violin. "It's fun playing it, but I think it is a bit easier for me since I have fingers." He let out a small chuckle and looked at her. "I don't think I'll ever get as good as you though, you really sound great on your cello."
Her smile brightened a bit. "Thanks, but it's just practice practice practice." She turned around. "Anyway, see you next Friday."
"See you then." Nicholas smiled and closed up the small violin case before walking towards the door. He did not get very far however, because he soon spotted a large, panting workhorse. He recognized him as Applejack's dad, but what was he doing here? As far as he knew, neither Applejack or Macintosh had any activities here?
"Mr Bright Mac, sir?" Nicholas said and walked over to the large pony. "Is everything alright?"
"There ya are, Nicholas.." He said panting. "Ya better come with me, ya mother is in the hospital."
"Wh-what?!" Nicholas almost dropped the violin case.
"Yes, she is giving birth, come on now, you do not wanna be late, do ya?" He smirked and turned around, lowering himself. "Get on my back." Nicholas didn't hesitate for a second as he quickly got up on his back and held his arms around the big neck of Bright Mac. "Hold on tight." And with that, he took off with great speed.
~~N~~
They arrived at the hospital only 15 minutes later, Bright Mac simply ran through the reception, ignoring the calls and protests from the nurses. Nicholas soon spotted his dad, and he in turn spotted them as he heard the heavy farmer gallop down the halls.
"Nicholas!" He called with a smile and looked at Bright Mac as he came to a stop. "Thanks for picking him up, Bright Mac."
"No problem, Cutter. I’m happy to help." He smiled and let Nicholas slide down from his back. "Good luck." He added and the two stallions shared a hoof bump.
"Is mom gonna be alright, dad?" Nicholas asked a little worried, looking at the door.
Cutter moved Nicholas closer and hugged him. "Everything will be alright, I promise you."
~~N~~
Time passed by, neither Cutter or Nicholas noticed it though. They simply sat in silence, listened to whatever sounds they could pick up.
Both of them were rather nervous, and unfortunately, Nicholas could not stay awake. He slumped against his seat and started to snore, just a little. A nurse had been so kind to bring a cup of coffee for Cutter, and a blanket for Nicholas.
"Thank you.." Cutter said and took a sip from his coffee.
The nurse shook her head. "It's nothing." She looked to the door. "Are you nervous?"
"About my child? No, I'm just.. This is her first time giving birth, and that is what worries me.." He said and then looked over at Nicholas. "But, I think we got our parenting skills quite sharp by now."
The nurse smirked. "Is he a hooffull?"
Cutter chuckled and took another sip from his coffee. "In his own ways, yes, he is a very kind colt, always helping me and his mother out.. To be honest, he has brought a lot of joy into our lives..." He smiled gently and glanced at his sleeping son.
The nurse smiled back and was about to reply when suddenly the door opened. Cutter put the cup down onto the table and stood up. The doctor, a white coated unicorn, smiled at him. "Mr Cutter, congratulations, the birth went well despite our fears. Your wife is ready to see you now."
"And the foal?" Cutter asked nervously.
"Well, she wanted to tell you herself, but don't worry, your foal is healthy. You can go in now." He looked to Nicholas who was slowly opening his eyes, rubbing them a little with his hand. "Both of you."
"Thank you doctor, thank you so much." Cutter smiled and walked over to Nicholas. "Come on, time to say hello to your new sibling."
"Mmmh.. 'kay.." He mumbled, still a little sleepy, but he quickly got out of his drowsiness when he remembered where he was and why. "Is ma okay?" Nicholas asked, a bit worried.
Cutter nodded. "She's fine, come on, she wants to see us."
Nicholas quietly got down to the floor and started to walk into the room beside his father. The room was lit with few lights to give a relaxing atmosphere, it helped, as Rose hummed lightly with a warm smile on her face. She sat up in the bed, holding a light blue blanket, rocking it gently back and forth.
When she saw her boys her smile grew. "Shhh, don't wake him.."
Cutter felt like his heart was gonna explode, he had a son? He quickly, but still silently moved over to her side and looked down into the bundle of blankets. Inside was a tiny light blue unicorn colt. "We have a son..." he whispered, wiping some tears from his face, he moved his hoof around Rose and hugged her very lightly from the side. They shared a moment before he looked towards the door. "Nicholas come over and... Nicholas?"
He was gone.
~~N~~
It was not often Applejack was allowed to go to town by herself, but this evening was an exception, and since the sun was still setting, there was still plenty of light. She wanted to go and see Nicholas, and deliver a message from her parents, since Rose and Cutter might be a bit busy, maybe he should sleep at their place.
She went to the reception desk and told them who she was here to see. The nurse tilted her head. "Nicholas, the human boy? Well, he just left."
Applejack tilted her head. "Left? Where did he go?"
The nurse shrugged. "He was probably sent home, I would not worry if I were you."
The nurse provided no help, and Applejack knew well enough Nicholas would have been sent home alone, not at this time when his mom was giving birth. Turning around she quickly ran outside and looked around. "Nicholas..?" She saw no sign of him.
She was a little worried, Nicholas was not one to disappear. Sure, sometimes he was a bit secluded in his room when he worked on something. Sometimes he would even go to the woods and be gone for some time, but right now? No, that was not like him at all.
Going through all she knew about him, she concluded quickly he had probably not gone very far, and so, when she looked over at the park across from the hospital, she figured that was the most likely place he would be.
She quickly walked over the small dirt road and entered the park area. Thankfully the park was rather small, it was used for families who waited for some results inside the hospital, or just to relax and talk about things when it got too stuffy inside. Applejack kept looking around, nopony was here, but when she came to the small playground she finally spotted him.
He sat on one of the swings, alone, looking rather, sad? That was a new emotion, she had never seen Nicholas cry, be sad or anything of the sort, so seeing him like this kind of stung her.
Carefully she started to move closer, when he finally noticed her, she simply sent him a small smile, but said nothing. For now she simply walked over to the swing right beside him and got up. Then, and only then did she speak. "Howdy Nicholas.."
"Uhm.." He looked away from her for a brief moment, but only so he could wipe something away from his face. "Hey Applejack.." Nicholas looked at her, his eyes were a bit glassy and he tried to smile, but she could tell it was forced.
She frowned. "What's wrong sugarcube?"
"N-nothing.." He tried, but looked away from her when he replied.
Applejack raised an eyebrow, then giggled lightly. "That's the first time ya tried to lie to me, and you're bad at it.. Come on, it's me."
Nicholas was silent for a few moments, feeling ashamed as he had never tried to lie before, and she was right. This was her, his best friend, he could not lie to her. "It's just.." He sighed and looked to the ground beneath them. Swinging his legs back and forth lightly, trying to get his emotions to settle and find the right words.
Finally, he let out a sigh. "I don't know.. My little brother was just born, I'm really happy about it, I really am.." He said making sure she knew that, and she simply nodded, believing him. "My dad, he was so happy I saw him cry.. My mom, she was so happy, so when I looked at them, all three of them, together.. It just looked so perfect.."
He held up one of his hands, looking it over, clenching it into a fist, then opening it slowly. He moved his fingers a few times, as if to test them. "But, but i'm not like them.. It reminded me how different I am.." He sighed and placed the hand back to hold the rope of the swing. "I guess I'm just afraid they will stop loving me, since they now have a real son... It's jus-Bonk-Ow!"
He felt a small hoof hit him on top of the head and he turned to see Applejack frowning at him.
"What was that for?" Nicholas asked as he rubbed the place where she had hit.
Applejack gave him a stern look. "That is just the silliest thing ah think ah have ever heard." She said, with a tone he had never heard her use before. "Ah may not be the good at math, or do those fancy carvings you can do, but ah know a thing or two about family."
Nicholas could only look at her in slight awe, Applejack had never seemed so mature before. Sure, he knew she wanted to work hard, and she always did her best in whatever work she could do back on the farm, but she had never talked like this to him.
"Listen sugarcube.. I know that your family loves ya, of course they do. They don't see you as a human or a pony, they simply see you as their son.. If they did not, why would they build you such a nice room? Why help you with hobbies, teach you things and look after you for such a long time?"
He could not answer, what could he say? She had a point.. All of these years, ever since he was a baby, they had been looking after him. There was not a happy moment in his head where they or Applejack were not in them. They always smiled, always took care of him and made sure he was safe and happy. How could he be so stupid and think they might forget him.
A small smile crept onto his face, and Applejack smiled in turn. "See? Told ya."
Nicholas chuckled and leaned his head towards her. "Maybe give me one more to make sure I don't forget." Applejack giggled and tapped his head with her hoof, but it was much softer now. With that he got off the swing and turned to her. "Thanks Applejack." Before she could respond he closed the gap between them and gave her a big hug. Kinda took her off guard, but then she smiled and hugged him back.
"Any time."
He chuckled once more and turned towards the hospital. "I'm going to see my little brother, see you later!" He called out as he started to run.
Applejack laughed and waved back at him, though when he vanished and she let her hoof drop she remembered something. She forgot to tell him he could sleep at their place tonight. She turned the hoof on herself and hit herself on the head. "Dang It!"
~~N~~
Slowly Nicholas opened the door to his mother's room, he felt a bit bad for simply going without telling them. He peeked inside, seeing his mother gently rocking his little brother, she seemed to be frowning. He could not spot his dad however, but before he had a chance to wonder where he was, someone cleared their throat behind him.
He jumped a little by the sound and quickly turned around. He saw a dark grey earth pony, his dad. He looked at him with a frown. "Nicholas? Where did you go?"
Nicholas looked down at the floor, the look on his face, it made him feel even more guilty. "It's just..." He had not really planned for this, he simply felt his eyes watering up again, a mix of emotions running through him. He was upset, mostly at himself, he was ashamed for worrying them both when this was supposed to be a happy day. "I was just worried that I was going to be alone, and.. You would forget all about me.."
Now the tears started to run down his cheeks, but he did nothing to stop them. He felt so bad for making this all about him, this was his little brother's birthday, and here he was, ruining it. That was what he felt at least. He sobbed a little, trying to get a grip of himself, trying to explain, but he couldn't, his throat would not allow more words.
Cutter frowned, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Hey, lad.. Your mom and I love you, you won't be alone.. We will always be your parents, no matter what. Your brother will also always be your little brother, so you need to look after him too, okay?"
Nicholas continued to cry lightly, and simply nodded. "Mmhm.."
Suddenly before either of them could say or do anything, Nicholas felt himself getting wrapped in a light blue glow and levitated into the room behind him. He saw his mother with tears in her eyes as she levitated him closer. When she did get him to her, she reached up a hoof and hugged him.
"We love you Nicholas, don't you ever doubt that." She whispered soothingly.
Nicholas nodded, hugging her back, sobbing a bit a few times, but already felt better. Cutter had closed the door behind them, then walked over and joined in the family hug.
They stayed like this for maybe a minute or two before they pulled away. Nicholas smiled a little, wiping his eyes. Rose smiled and then looked at the little foal in her arms. "Nicholas, this is Star Tail, your little brother.." She looked at him again. "Do you want to hold him?"
Nicholas was a little hesitant, but then nodded carefully. Cutter went over and gently lifted Star Tail into his hooves, showing quickly how to hold the foal before handing him carefully to Nicholas who held out his arms.
He took the little foal, making sure to support his head. He looked down at the sleeping infant, smiling faintly. "Hey.." He whispered. "I'm Nicholas, your brother... Happy Birthday Star Tail.." The small eyes started to open, looking directly into Nicholas's own.
And just like that the little foal giggled and squealed, holding up it's tiny hooves for Nicholas. He chuckled in response, hugging the little foal lightly, happy to have a brother. His parents looked on, both of them smiling, letting small tears of joy run down their cheeks.
None of them noticed the door had been opened slightly, nor did they notice the little filly poking her head inside and smiled at them. "Told ya.." She grinned and left them to get some alone time.