Chapter 35
Surprise!
“Wake up! Come on, this isn’t cool. GET UP!” My eyes shot open into the face of a particularly familiar gryphon. She looked smaller than I remembered her, which meant I was probably still in the dragon body. That was confirmed when I rolled over onto hard spines instead of soft hair and nearly jabbed myself in the eye. I grunted in irritation before rolling the other way. Gilda did me the courtesy of not so much as snickering at my difficulty. In fact, she just stood awkwardly in the background, shuffling uncertainly.
“So, uh... thanks for coming back for me back there.”
“You came back,” I indifferently pointed out.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I did.”
“Why?” Her explaination was interrupted when the rest of our party arrived.
“You guys okay?” Rainbow was the fastest, and hence the first to arrive, but everyone else was close behind her. I stood so Torch didn’t have to pick me up, and welcomed myself to his open arms. Garble collided with my side, but due to my newly gained mass, I was barely fazed. It turned out that he’d meant to crash when he didn’t let go. I ushered him closer into the group hug, and Blaze slid down from Fluttershy’s back to join us.
“That’s it? It’s all over?” Fizzle disbelievingly wondered.
“I will never diss a pony again!” Vex declared.
“We did it,” I echoed. Then a smile finally broke onto my lips. “We did it! We really did it!” The whole assembly broke out into cheers of victory, but mostly relief. Torchwood wrapped me tighter in his wings, and I squeezed the boys. Garble was gasping for air by the time we broke up. He was mobbed again, however, when the other boys drew him into their own celebratory dog pile. The girls were going to settle for happy neighs and nickers until Pinkie jumped on them all in her excitement. Gilda chose to exclude herself from the celebration, and Luna was apparently too regal for such antics. She allowed herself only the indulgence of a smile as her horn lit up.
My mind filled with white, and when I opened my eyes, I was looking back into the face of pony Torch. I smiled, and leaned against his chest.
“That feels better.”
“You can say that again,” he chuckled. Blaze happily rejoined us, weaving himself in between our familiar pony hooves.
“I like you better as ponies,” he sighed. I giggled.
“Me too, Blaze.” I felt someone tapping my shoulder, and I turned around. It was Garble, beaming ear to ear. Surprisingly, he moved in for a hug to welcome us back himself. I was leaning in to return the embrace when I was suddenly jerked away, leaving Garble to himself in a very awkward stance.
“Whoa! Twilight?”
“We need to talk. NOW. You too, Torch, we might need you.”
“What fo-” The end of his inquiry was cut off when she tugged him along in a levitation bubble of his own. I was too confused to really comprehend what was going on. All I knew was that Twilight was dragging my husband and I further into a rocky wasteland, away from our friends. When I was finally dropped onto the rock, I wasn’t sure what to make of her behavior.
“Come on, Twilight, what gives? Wait, what’re you-?” No sooner had I been released from her magical grip than she replaced it with a physical one, holding me still as she examined every inch of my body.
“You’re not hurt are you? Is the baby okay?”
“Twilight, I’m fi-” I started to roll my eyes, but they bulged mid-cycle as her words sunk in. “Wait, did you just say ‘baby’?”
“I know I had no place poking my nose into your business and you’d tell us when you were ready, but you had me so worried back at our conference with Princess Essence that I did a scan and detected the embryo...”
“Twilight, are you saying that I’m pregnant?!” I pressed my nose to hers, eyes wide and probably crazed.
“You mean you didn’t know?”
“NO!”
“Oh, well, uh... surprise!” she weakly chuckled.
“Acrylic, this is wonderful!” Torchwood was beaming ear to ear.
“No, it isn’t!” I angrily squealed. “You let me go down to fight three rogue dragons while carrying a baby?! What if I hurt her? Or him?”
“Did you?”
“I don’t know! You tell me!” My voice had definitely gone up a couple of octaves in my panic, but I took no note.
“Okay, okay,” she readily agreed, igniting her horn. Now I finally understood why she’d insisted on such a scan when Trixie’s cart hit me, and why she’d focused the scan around my abdomen. She was checking on the baby. It also explained why she’d been acting weird for the past month. Wait, past month? “Everything seems fine,” she finally sighed.
“You said you first found out about the baby during the conference with Essence?” I tried to steady my breathing.
“Yeah,” she blushed.
“Twilight,” I tried to stay calm. “That was over a month ago. How long have I been pregnant? When am I due?!”
“It’s hard for me to tell; I’m not particularly practiced in this,” she raised her hooves, a gesture to either signal for a truce or calm me down. Perhaps both. I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to tell at the moment. “We need to get you to a doctor ASAP.”
“Oh dear! A doctor?” Fluttershy timidly poked her head over the boulder.
“Is everythin’ alright, sugar cube?” Applejack cleared the rock with ease.
“You aren’t hurt, are you, darling?” Rarity anxiously inquired.
“What happened? You didn’t break anything, did you? Should I fly you to the hospital?” Rainbow was hovering over me in an instant. All I could do in such a stunned state was shake my head. Garble pushed through to my side, and tenderly pulled me close. I couldn’t say I wasn’t grateful for the extra support. I felt dizzy with this new knowledge.
“We could throw you a get well party,” Pinkie offered.
“She’s not hurt, guys,” Twilight assured.
“Are ya sure? Cuz she looks awful pale, if ya ask me,” Applejack doubtfully contributed. Torchwood took on my other side, taking me under his wing and forcing Garble to reluctantly loosen his grip on me. My husband was taking the news far better than I, and practically radiated with joy.
“Twilight says we’re having a baby,” he proudly announced. Eyes bulged and jaws dropped all around, but no one said a word for a good long minute.
“Oh. My. GOSH!” Pinkie squealed, seeming to hover in the air where she’d jumped in excitement. My air supply was promptly cut off where she squeezed me in a bear hug. “Baby showers are way more fun than get well parties!”
“Congratulations, you two!” Applejack vigorously shook Torchwood’s hoof, and then mine. I could’ve sworn it kept vibrating even after she let go.
“That’s wonderful news,” Fluttershy quietly put in.
“Wonderful? Try amazingly awesome! I’m so happy for you!” Rainbow was the next to offer her kudos.
“The little tyke wasn’t hurt in the skirmish, was she?” Rarity fretted.
“Nope, all clear,” Twi assured.
“Ya hear that, guys? I’m gonna have another little brother,” Garble boasted.
“Yeah, I bet he’ll look just like you,” Vex jibed, causing the whole group to errupt into laughter.
“Shut up,” Garble snickered good-naturedly.
“Make me,” Vex challenged. Determination sparked in Garble’s eyes, and soon the whole group was entangled in a wrestling match.
“I won’t be the youngest anymore!” Blaze happily cheered, ignoring their antics.
“That’s right, Blaze,” Torch agreed.
“Congratulations,” Luna spoke. “Though had I known that you were with child, I would not have permitted you to undergo the transformation spell.”
“Believe me, I didn’t know either,” I rasped.
“The spell won’t leave any lasting effects, will it?” Torch prompted.
“I have never heard of such a case,” Luna replied. “But I have not heard of this particular situation ever occuring before, either.” He just nodded, the possibility that the transformation may have harmed our baby putting a damper on his good mood.
“Congrats. Hope it turns out alright,” sullen Gilda muttered. She started to walk away, head down and shoulders hunched.
“Wait.” I wasn’t mentally prepared for a baby, but switching gears back to the matter at hoof seemed like stable ground. “You never told me why you came back.” She froze in her tracks, and her whole body tightened as she grimaced.
“I came back because I was the one that took the money.”
“YOU?!” Rainbow was absolutely disgusted, and the dragons were none too pleased either. The wrestling match stopped, the participants frozen as they all strained to glare daggers at her. Luna rigidly lit her horn to hold them back, should things reach the point where she needed to intervene.
“Wait, just let me explain!” Gilda pleaded.
“Let’s hear her out, guys,” I suggested. Anything but go back to thinking about a baby.
“I know it was wrong of me to take advantage of you guys back in the dragon craters, and even worse to take the fundraiser money, but I needed it for my mom.”
“You told me you were an orphan,” Rainbow corrected.
“She’s not really my mom,” Gilda admitted. “In fact, she’s old enough to be my grandmother. But she’s taken care of me ever since my real parents died. Anyway, she got real sick. And she’s real picky about her medical care. I couldn’t convince her to come live with me in Cloudsdale where all the good hospitals are- she wanted to stay at home. So I went to her, but I still couldn’t afford to help pay her bills... I got scared. I didn’t want to lose her. She’s all I got.” I was taken back when a real, genuine tear dripped down her beak.
“I was desperate, so got mixed up with those rogue punks- no bank would give us a loan. But I couldn’t pay ‘em back fast enough, and they came after me. Normally I’d never go low enough to take advantage of anyone like that but... I knew you had friends who’d look out for you,” she bobbed her head in our direction. “But I didn’t have anyone. I’ve always had to take care of myself. Just me and Nana,” she wept. She couldn’t bear to look at us anymore, so turned her back completely. “I’m sorry for what I did. I know I deserve a prison sentence, but please don’t lock me up. That’s not fair to Nana.”
My wing draped over the gryphon’s back. The contact startled her; apparently she hadn’t heard me walk up. I offered a kind smile, and she looked back at the ground. Now that she had a shoulder to cry on, she couldn’t seem to hold it in. The tough gryphon broke down in tears, then and there. I comfortingly stroked her feathered back.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” I crooned. “I forgive you.”
“You do?” she gasped.
“You do?!” the group behind me echoed.
“Just like that?” I had to admit- I’d surprised myself with the gesture. She had threatened my family, but had offered a pretty amazing excuse. She seemed genuine enough, and though I was reluctant to let it go, I felt it was the right thing to do. After all, she’d come back in the end, confessed, and everything had turned out alright.
“What can I say? I’m pregnant and prone to mood swings,” I joked.
“Now you admit it,” Twilight grumbled. That seemed to soften Gilda up a little bit, and she laughed through the rest of her tears. I carefully removed some of the liquid from her damp face. “But I’m not really the one you should be apologizing to.” She followed my gaze to the group of dragons, and caught on. She miserably stood before them, waiting for judgement.
“I really am sorry,” she said again. Garble turned back to get input from his friends. He’d put them through a lot, but the one thing he couldn’t make them do was pardon her. They exchanged glances, and seemed to come to a mutual decision.
“I guess we’ll get over it eventually,” Fizzle finally sighed.
“I think get the whole family thing now,” Soot agreed.
“You guys really forgive me? For real?” She was trying not to break down in relief.
“Forgive is a pretty strong word. For now, I’d stick with ‘tolerate’,” Clump narrowed his eyes.
“Fair enough,” she nodded. “So... you think we could try again with the whole friend thing?”
“I guess we could try and let you hang with us again.” Pierce shrugged.
“But try and steal from us again and you’re dragon food,” Vex warned.
“Believe me, I won’t.” It looked like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
“If I am no longer required, it would be best if I returned to Canterlot,” Luna interrupted.
“We need to go too, Acrylic, and get you to the doctor,” Twilight prompted.
“Just a minute,” I called. I needed to properly bid Garble farewell. He was finally able to give me a proper hug.
“Congrats, by the way.”
“To you too. You’re going to be a big brother... again.”
“Yeah. Now Blaze, you’ve gotta look out for our brother for me, okay?”
“Or sister,” the orange hatchling reminded.
“Or sister,” Garble agreed. “Promise?”
“Promise,” Blaze winked.
“By the way, Gilda,” I turned back to the gryphon, “the next time you get into a tight spot like that, just ask, okay? You have plenty of friends right here.” Even our pony companions smiled back for emphasis.
“Deal,” she chuckled, surveying all the faces aroud her. “And Acrylic? I want you to have this.” She reached around and plucked a small, irregularly shaped ruby from somewhere in her feathers. “It was the first gem I stole from the hoard. I kept it to remind me that I had to keep my distance and refrain from making new friends, if I was just going to turn around and stab them in the back like I did. But it looks like I won’t be needing that anymore. You’re the one that helped us all to put this in the past, so I want you to have it. As a sign of our friendship?”
“Shouldn’t this go back to the hoard?” I half-jokingly prompted.
“I’ll pay them back,” she vowed. “I don’t know when or how, but one day I’ll pay back every last gem I stole, I promise.”
“I don’t think the flock will miss a tiny ruby like that, anyway,” Garble assured.
“Alright, then,” I agreed, taking the little jewel. “Thank you, Gilda. It’s beautiful.” I didn’t even have to hold it up to the light to see it glitter like a rainbow.
“Now let’s go! We have to invite the whole town to the baby shower!” Pinkie interrupted. I waved one last time as I was dragged away. The dragons and gryphon all waved back before going their separate ways.
“I’d say this is one for the journal, wouldn’t you?” Twilight prompted, playfully brushing her wing over mine to get my attention.
“Yeah,” I sighed with pleasure. Not only had I saved my family, but I’d extended it, both by blood and honorary membership. I ran a hoof over my stomach. I was pregnant. That was going to take some getting used to.
Journal Entry #2
xx/xx/xx
When I became the Element of Forgiveness, I thought I would always have room in my heart to look over the mistakes of others. But when those you love have been wronged, that can be a little harder than it looks. It scared me to realize how close I came to holding a grudge when my family became involved. I guess I always thought that forgiveness was a choice to be made by the victim, right? Wrong. Today I realized that choosing to or not to forgive affects more than just the one wronged. Gilda was really and truly sincere in her apology, and I knew that if I didn’t forgive her, the scar her actions created would never heal. That would make me no better than she, and I couldn’t bear to be charged with inflicting that kind of emotional damage. Forgiveness makes both sides feel better, and can spark new friendships in the most unlikely of places.
-Acrylic