//------------------------------//
// Birth 
// Story: Oh no, they're Goddesses now! 
// by James Pwyll 
//------------------------------//

While most mornings in the village would have started with the sound of a cockerel ringing across the sky, today the silence of the previous night was broken by a far less comfortable one. A scream. But this was not a sign of attack or invasion, but one of sheer pain for a young mother. Everyone in the village knew it, and all of them, when they stepped outside of their homes, looked in the direction of the small house it was coming from. None could help, even though they all wanted to, and so most simply took on a look of worry as they prayed that all would be well for the new family within. And speaking of whom, the expectant mother-to-be, Muffins, was upon her bed, her screams coming with every contraction. Yet she was not alone here today, as Flash stood beside her as always, holding onto her hand and speaking to her in an effort to help her through this as best he could. "Muffins, don't worry, I'm here."

Muffins tried to smile, but the agony of this experience was getting to her too much. "Flash, I'm...I'm scared!"

Flash patted her hand as he held it, and he knelt down to bring his face closer to her. "I know, my love, I know. But I don't know what to do. The village has no midwives. We...all we can do is try to make it through this."

A tear crept down Muffins' cheek, and she groaned massively with another push. Flash was beside himself with concern for his wife, but before he had the chance to say anything, he was stopped by a sudden knocking upon the door. Both of them looked to it with confusion, even more so when the thing creaked open. On the other side, entering with a small smile upon her face, was an elderly woman, clad in a simple grey robe and hood, her long hair a faded pink. "I'm sorry, dear ones. I was just passing through, but I heard you needed aid today?"

Flash, knowing the pain his wife was in, looked to the old woman with hope in his eyes. "You're a midwife?!"

The woman bowed her head slightly. "That I am. And just in time too, I see." She walked over to the other side of the bed, taking hold of Muffins' other hand and speaking gently to her. "You needn't fear, my dear. Help is here now."

Muffins looked to her as though she were a godsend. "Th...thank you."

The crone made her way to the foot of the bed, kneeling down in a similar fashion to Flash, before looking up where she needed to. "Yes, yes, it all seems to be coming along well. You just need to hold on now."

But Flash, while grateful to the help being offered here, narrowed his eyes. There was something about this woman. A feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. A sensation that seemed all too familiar to him. Then, as if a sudden jolt of inspiration had come to him, his eyes widened. "L...Lady Cadance?!"

The old woman looked to him with surprise. "I'm...sorry?"

Slowly, Flash assumed a more relaxed and even confident look about him. "Trust me, I've been around enough gods to know one when they enter my home."

Realising that there was no longer any need to keep up the façade, the old woman was engulfed in a bright flash of light, which the two mortals shielded their eyes from. When the light faded, they looked on in awe as Flash had, correctly, assumed who this newcomer was. Cadance, Goddess of Marriage and Family, now stood before them in her true form, her pink robes billowing behind her despite there being no actual wind in the house. Looking to the young man, she smiled. "I am impressed, Flash. But compliments can wait. Right now your love needs my help."

Flash nodded firmly, but Muffins, rather expectedly, was dumbstruck with who now stood in front of her. "But...but...but..."

Cadance gently raised a hand, subtly silencing her. "Worry not, child. Your husband has earned himself a great deal of goodwill from the heavens. And today, it was decided that we repay him where we can."

Muffins, calming down, looked to her with both concern and hope. "Can...can you help?"

Cadance turned to her with determination. "No mother in this realm has had a failed childbirth on my watch, and none will today."

Muffins looked to her husband, who again clasped her hand. Both looked to one another with love, which of course was something Cadance smiled to. But she had important matters to attend to, and so again got to one knee as she spoke to the pained mother. "It's almost here now. You need to push."

Muffins took several sharp breaths, readying herself for what had to come. Flash held her hand tightly, knowing well that it would get tighter in turn. Then, the moment came, and Muffins screamed louder than ever before. Cadance reached out, preparing to guide out the new life that was coming. And all the while, Muffin's final scream echoed through the house and out across the village. However many minutes it lasted, none could say, but eventually there came a time when her cries faded, and soon Flash was right next to her, his face barely an inch from hers. "My love! Are you alright?!"

His wife panted heavily, as though all the energy had been taken from her. But while she was gladdened by her husband's concern, her attention was on what was happening down where she could not see. "I...I...I can't hear anything. Is...is the child...?"

Then, after just a moment of silence, they heard it. A crying. Together, Flash and Muffins watched as Cadance stood tall once more, and in her arms was a cloth bundle, inside which could be seen a tiny face. Cadance, smiling as a mother would to the newborn, looked to the parents and gave a single nod. "It's a girl."

The joy on Flash and Muffins' faces could not be overstated, and they reached out together, Cadance herself carefully offering the bundle to them. They took it, and looked down upon their child, their daughter, as though they were the happiest people in the world. Nobody said anything for almost a full minute, and through the sound of their child crying, Flash eventually worked his way over his initial shock of this successful birth to finally speak. "She's...she's beautiful."

The girl herself, ever so slowly, began to open her eyelids, though it was uncertain if she could actually see her parents at this early stage. Muffins, for her part, was simply happy to see her. "Thank the gods...she has your eyes."

They both laughed together and Cadance clasped her hands together as she took a single step forward. "I'm happy for you both. To be here, helping to bring a new life into the world is the greatest privilege of my role. Today is no exception, and by the power vested in me, I promise you, your daughter shall grow happy and healthy."

Tears were in the parents' eyes now, and they looked to their deity and midwife with both reverence and gratitude in equal measure. "Thank you, Lady Cadance," Flash said through his now-sobbing voice.

"We don't know how to thank you," Muffins added.

Cadance gave a slight bow of her head. "Love her and raise her well. That will be thanks enough."

Flash bowed right back. "I give you my word. She will have nothing less."

After just a moment, Cadance looked to the child, who had finally ceased crying, and became just a touch curious. "Tell me, do you have a name planned for her?"

Flash and Muffins considered that, looking to one another, then smiled before turning to the goddess in unison. "Dinky," Muffins answered. "Her name is Dinky."

Cadance's smile widened, and she again bowed to the new family. "Then I bid both her, and you, farewell."

To that, Flash stood. "Wait! Do you...want to stay for tea? It's the least I can do!"

Cadance giggled a little. "A generous offer, but I fear I am needed elsewhere. Your patron goddess has been watching this as well, and I fear I may be needed to hold my sister-in-law back so she doesn't come down here and spoil your child rotten."

Laughing along with her, Flash nodded. "In that case, give her my regards."

Cadance gave one final bow, which Flash reciprocated, giving her a silent farewell. Cadance, satisfied with her work here, exited the way she came. And as she crossed the threshold of the Sentry homestead, she resumed her disguise of an elderly woman, lest she arouse shock and awe in the other villagers. Once outside, she turned to see the rising sun illuminating the land, before finally breathing in a cold lungful of the fresh morning air. "Yes, a good start to the day...and a good start to a life."