//------------------------------// // Inadvertent Harm // Story: The Accident // by Gabriel LaVedier //------------------------------// The realization of the true nature of the pregnancies of Winona and Opal were not known to their owners. They still thought of them as unexpected but mundane natural things, despite the vet telling them that there were some odd question marks. Another week went along, mostly in the normal fashion, but something was off with many of the pets. “Winona I... I must ask you a question. If it seems too personal please feel free to refuse to answer, though do understand I find the answer vital,” Opal asked. She and Winona were enjoying time outdoors in Ponyville, doing some light walking around Celestia's statue, on the advice of the vet. “Oh sure! I don't mind, especially if it's important,” Winona responded, walking about happily, high-stepping as she followed beside her feline friend. “How is Gummy treating you now that you are both aware that you are with litter, and with his litter more particularly?” Opal inquired, suddenly taking a seat to rest her dainty paws. She was quite unused to such physical exertions. “That's not too personal at all. Gummy has just been so, so sweet. He was always really nice before but now he's even more wonderful. He does more things like pillow fluffing, water getting, belly rubbing, and he even feeds me sometimes,” Winona related with a sigh and a contented smile. She looked aside at Opal and gave her a curious look. “Why do you ask?” “Oh! Oh no reason at all. I was merely curious. You know how we cats are,” Opal said with a high laugh and shifty gaze. “Applejack kinda rubbed off on me. I can tell when there are lies going on, like when Dash stammers over answering if Applejack's haunches are too big. What's wrong Opal?” Winona peered deeply into Opal's face, unable to get the cat to meet her eyes. Opal shifted uncomfortably for a time under the hard, questioning gaze before she slumped her shoulders and let out a groan. “Your owner's perceptiveness has surely passed to you. It is... my dear Angel. I know he was rather surprised by the news, and I suppose it is a hard and confusing thing to try to process. Yet... well...” “What is it?” Winona prompted. “In this passing week he has... avoided me. Despite their closeness Fluttershy is not with Rarity every day. On days when he would normally sneak by for a tryst and a bit of romance there is nothing. He fails to appear at all. And when Fluttershy comes to call, though Angel is there he might as well be a world away. He can barely look at me. Getting him to speak is like trying to get words from a stone. He responds in curt phrases and gives the most terrible false and nervous smiles while he does so,” Opal lamented, slumping slowly to the ground as she spoke. “Oh that's just terrible for you, Opal!” Winona cried, hugging her feline friend close. Opal sniffed, returning the powerful hug. She could take a lot of comfort from the iron-muscled farmdog's sturdy frame. “Thank you, Winona. It is no easy thing to bear, especially in this delicate condition we find ourselves in. Sharing concerns does help to some degree.” “I'm your friend. Of course I'll always be here to help you,” Winona said with a smile. She thought about the situation and said, “Well, have you tried just talking to him about it?” Opal's pupils closed into slits and she turned on Winona. “Well thank you for that suggestion! I never would have thought of such a thing without your brilliant mind! That is exactly my problem, Winona! That was completely useless!” Winona whimpered softly and pulled away, a paw instinctively coming over to cover and protect her swollen belly. “I-I'm sorry, Opal. I mean... I always say to talk first. Applejack does that too. I mean you say that he doesn't want to talk but... it may be mean but you could just keep asking him until he talks. It's how I get Gummy to tell me secrets like anniversary gifts, party dates and things like that.” Opal looked down at her paws, which were flexing her claws in and out. She then looked closely at Winona, guarding her growing progeny from those very claws. Opal's pupils went very quickly from slits to circles and she stepped back in shock. “O-oh my... my most sincere and profuse apologies Winona! Oh I have been so prickly lately. As if the hormones were not bad enough as well as the physical discomfort and the wild ride worrying about the origin of these kittens... Angel's reticence has not aided matters in the slightest.” Opal hung her head and let out a sigh. “I am a wreck...” Winona slowly scooted in and nosed against Opal's side. “You're just upset. Angel's not being a very good father. You need to make him talk to you.” “I suppose you are correct,” Opal mused, leaning against Winona for support, “And you may also be right that I need to get the truth out of him. He must explain his reluctance to speak and take his proper responsibility.” “Glad we figured that out. Want to keep walking?” Winona asked, hopping back to her paws suddenly. “It would do my belly and my mind a world of good to take my thoughts away from troubles. I may focus on the pain in my feet and not my heart,” Opal laughed, getting into place beside Winona and setting off around the statue once again, all her thoughts on her coming task. - - - “Gummy, my dear reptile...” Elsewhere in town, upstairs at Golden Oaks Library, Owlowicious was suffering from a severe bout of insomnia. He was flitting from small mess to small mess, reflexively organizing books or accessories in one fashion and later adjusting them into a different configuration. He was not there alone, Gummy sitting on a divan and watching the nervous activity with his impenetrable eyes. “I wonder if I might have occasion to tickle your ear hole for a moment, as it were.” “But of course. You seem to be in... a bit of a state. You almost seem to have siphoned away the energy of your young charge,” Gummy noted, with a polite chuckle. “Oh if only it were possible to siphon away Peewee's energy, life would be infinitely easier...” Owlowicious said, hooting and settling himself down on a chair back. “I am in a state. Quite a state indeed. All due to... these most recent events.” “Do you mean the impending birthing of Winona and Opal? It is quite a state of affairs. But you should not be burning such energy. You are not the father of either litter, unless we missed something most fundamental,” Gummy said with a light laugh. Owlowicious laughed in return, though the sound was void of any humor. “No... I am not the father of either litter. I am not the father of any litter or clutch, in point of fact, and I never will be. I... I think I may... I have found... there is a certain uncertainty in my nights and a kind of fear grips me when it ought not.” “You are a decently robust specimen of Strigiforme, and occupy an enviable niche in the food web, though I understand you are fed on purchased food. Not that you were an apex hunter in the wild,” Gummy noted. “That's your job, I know,” Owlowicious huffed, puffing his feathers in annoyance. “Were you building to something more positive?” “I live on sweets and supplements. I am the apex hunter of the sweet shop, not the riverbank. And yes, I was building to a positive statement,” Gummy said, walking himself from the divan to the chair where Owlowicious had perched. “You have a good position, socially and biologically. What could frighten you?” “I fear myself, I fear my thoughts. For the thoughts that have been coming, unbidden, are driving me mad,” Owlowicious said, rubbing his wings over his head. “I have been thinking that the life I had embraced as well and good and filled with happiness... might be lacking.” Gummy slowly did his usual winking blink, processing the statement. “What aspect of life do you now question? I have some notion but I should not presume.” Owlowicious slowly turned around on his perch, so he would not have to see Gummy. “I see Winona cheered by this pregnancy, and Opal holding herself with a glowing pride. We all went through this magical spell. All of us. But however much love Tank and I may hold, and however much we may choose to make in our own fashion, we will never be so fortunate as yourself and Angel, nor as fortunate as Winona or Opal. We will never have the pleasure of either side of this happenstance. A fluke, a quirk, an accident though it was, it seems to have been even more of an accident for the two of us. We cannot make anything of it at all. And now my mind, my traitorous, fickle, execrable mind wonders what it ought not. This distresses me more than I could possible say.” “Are you saying... had Tank been a female tortoise and you interested in females, or you been a female owl and Tank interested in females that things would have been... better?” Gummy asked, tilting his head curiously. “I will say something now, which I say most infrequently and with great hesitation...” Owlowicious' head slowly turned all the way around, looking somewhat guiltily at Gummy. “I do not know...” “The truly wise creature knows that sometimes he knows not. All questions can be hard in their own fashion. Social questions and interpersonal questions are the hardest of all,” Gummy said, regarding his avian friend. “There is no shame at all in not knowing, especially when the world is awash in ambiguity on the subject.” “Your comfort offers no comfort, friend,” Owlowicious said, turning his head back around. “I mean no disparagement of your words and do truly appreciate your help. But, and I find this a strange thing for one such as myself to say, cold rationality and the facts of ambiguity make little difference. This is a matter of the heart. This is something irrational which I feel nonetheless to be true. I think that were I a better bird, a better lover, a better match to Tank, I... I think that were I better that I would know.” “You are correct in one respect,” Gummy said, settling comfortably on the chair. “The heart will do as it will. Folk such as we, creatures of the rational mind, will ever stand in awe of the mystery and wonder of that inexplicable organ. I can offer you no other comfort, friend. I am, in some way, part of this problem. I cannot say that I am unhappy with the happening. My impending paternity fills me with a joy I cannot describe. Winona, my darling Winona, carries my clutch in her belly. This is something I never believed possible. If I may, it was inconceivable.” Owlowicious actually laughed and hopped on his perch, settling himself facing Gummy once more. “An appropriate turn of phrase and something I would have expected out of a wit such as you. You are a well-rounded reptile, Gummy. I confess my own education is a trifle dry. It may be why I am such a match as Twilight's helper.” “You do well for yourself, Owlowicious. Your capacity for deep and serious thought may be creating this uncertainty, but your philosophical nature and self-reflective way will surely provide relief,” Gummy said. “You may be right. I need only think it over,” Owlowicious said. “And talk to Tank,” Gummy added. “And talk to... oh,” Owlowicious drummed his talons on the chair, wings flapping a bit. “Yes... perhaps... the solution was simpler than I assumed. I should speak to him. If nothing else he needs to know that above all else I love him dearly.” Gummy nodded and smiled his toothless smile. “That is the most important thing of all. Love. Understanding and love. That will keep you together.” - - - Angel was sequestering himself out at Fluttershy's cottage. He had lots to do, including directing the other animals and keeping the cottage organized. It wasn't his job but he had lots of extra energy to burn and figured that as long as he was going to be spending a lot of lonely time hiding out at home he'd get the place looking nice. He was taking a break outside, nibbling at some clover her had been cultivating. Nice and tender and a little sweet. He wasn't too bad of a gardener. While he stuffed his face he noticed Opal waddling her way up from Ponyville. She looked aloof, disinterested, and haughty. Her usual manner, when she was not among friends. That was not an indication of anything, but there was something about her resolute waddle that made Angel look around for the escape route. But it was no good. He had been spotted and couldn't afford to look more guilty. He smiled a nervous smile, with a piece of clover stuck between his front teeth. “H-hey, Opal... guess you took a long walk like the vet said. I'd stay to entertain but I've got a lot of work. Fluttershy's gone so I'm in charge...” “You can take time off from this endeavor, yes? After all, you are no lowly functionary. You are the Éminence grise of this little duchy, and in absence of your charming caretaker the power to be obeyed,” Opal said, a trifle breathlessly. She also massaged her paws on the ground and occasionally shook them. Angel scratched the back of his head and idly picked the clover out of his teeth with his other paw. “You've been hanging out with Gummy and Owlowicious. It really shows. I guess I could take a break. You took the time to come out here so I ought to stick around.” “After all we have been through and all we have meant to one another you surely owe me more than that,” Opal said with a grumble. She also framed her belly with her paws. “And that is not to mention this matter...” “I know I know...” Angel scootched back a bit, looking down at the belly with a mix of emotions on his face. “I'm serious, though, I was just taking a clover break. I need to get to work.” “Of course, of course. I understand you are very busy. This is... a very sudden activeness, in comparison to all the time before when you were only too eager to rush to town and take time out for a tryst or an outing,” Opal said, with a touch of ice in her voice. “Things change sometimes. That's not bad,” Angel said, a bit too quickly, turning aside slightly. “Changes indeed, like my kitten-swollen belly. Our kittens, Angel. You cannot run away from the fact, no matter how silent and distant you become,” Opal whispered, rubbing the bulge of her belly. “Yea... look, can't we just not talk about this anymore? I promise, we'll go back to completely ridiculous amounts and types of sex and that'll be cool, right?” Angel asked, giving his most winning smile. “You can be so charming, Angel, darling...” Opal cooed with a bat of her eyelashes. Her expression turned hard in an instant and she thrust her face forward into Angel's. “Can be but are not at this moment. I deserve better!” “Don't do this to me, Opal! Come on, this isn't anything big,” Angel said, shooting Opal a scowl. “It's been fine! Things have been cool.” “It has most certainly have not been 'cool' as you would say!” Opal shouted, meeting the scowl with one of our own. “I asked for advice of Winona and she made me aware that I must pester you until you tell me what is the matter.” “You can't listen to her! She's got mush between her ears!” Angel cried. “Angel! She is our friend and as pregnant as me! She understands my frustrations and wants to help! Now, you know I lead a life of leisure and indolence. I have no need to return to Carousel Boutique, and Rarity will find it entirely appropriate that I am here. I can remain here and be your bête blanche until you give in and tell me what has been keeping you a thousand miles away when you are beside me.” “Just let it drop, Opal,” Angel said sternly, crossing his forelegs over his chest. “I don't need this aggravation right now. So, let me just get back to this...” Angel quickly whipped around, preparing to leap away. Opal grasped his shoulder with a paw, pulling hard while she flexed her claws. “No! You are not going to leap out of this! We are going to have this out!” “Ah!” Angel screamed, loud enough to scatter the animals just in front of the cottage and make the chickens start to cluck and flap about. He quickly looked down at his shoulder, and Opal's paw. Her claws were out, digging into his flesh, spots of red showing against the snowy fur. His breath became ragged as he saw the blood beading. The pain wasn't registering, nothing could push past the shock. “O-opal... what..?” Opal's eyes, slitted in anger, flicked down to her grasp of Angel's shoulder. The first sight of blood, and the sudden salty, metallic scent hitting her nose made her retract her claws from the wounds, and sent her stumbling back onto her rump. “No... what have I done?” Angel gingerly touched his shoulder, wincing as he felt the small jabs and smeared the sprinkle of blood. “I knew it... I'm becoming what I thought...” “Darling... oh Angel...” Opal reached a paw out, but drew it back after remembering how she had harmed Angel not a moment before. “I'm so sorry...” “This is all on me, babe...” Angel muttered, hopping forward while looking down at the ground. “I made this happen. I'm the bad one here...” He leaned in to kiss Opal's forehead, lowering his head more to rest his against hers. Opal shakily embraced Angel's lower body, giving him a strong squeeze. “How can you say that? I was the one that hurt you...” “Yea but I fell into the trap. I made this happen, because... I turned into what I was always afraid I might,” Angel said quietly. “My father...”