//------------------------------// // Incoming // Story: Scarlet Foal // by Collins4112 //------------------------------// A/N:Hello and welcome to another chapter. Thank you for your fine ideas on the foal, I'm pretty sure I know what the foal is going to be, but if you still have ideas, that would be nice. We rejoin Ditzy a few months after she sent her complaint letter to the Princess. Ditzy felt a pang of satisfaction as she looked at the newspaper. The headline read "Mayor Mare removed from office." Ditzy wondered what would happen to her now, not that she really cared. Ditzy took a sip of milk from a glass she had sitting by her and sighed. Ditzy struggled to pull herself up from the couch. The foal had grown a lot in her womb. The size of it further provided evidence that the foal would be a lot like its father. Ditzy thought of Big Macintosh: the farm had started to get back on its feet, and she hoped that Macintosh would start getting paid again soon. Ditzy walked out the front door. She had taken to going for a walk during the day to keep herself healthy, and since being late in the pregnancy kept her from doing odd-jobs, she had a lot of time on her hooves. Ditzy didn't walk very fast; she took it at a leisurely pace. She was dreadfully bored all day: Big Macintosh refused to let her do anything that required the slightest bit of labor. Ditzy walked around Ponyville, going nowhere in particular. Ditzy thought about going to find her daughter, but she was busy running around with her little friends during the summer, and there was no way she could keep up with the little filly’s energy. Ditzy eventually came to the market square. She spotted Fluttershy in the distance. After the bachelorette party Ditzy had started to talk to Fluttershy more often. She walked as quickly as she could over to Fluttershy. "Hey Fluttershy!" Ditzy said happily. Ditzy must have surprised her because Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her mane. "It's just me." "Oh...sorry. You surprised me." Fluttershy said quietly. Ditzy somehow always managed to surprise her. "What are you doing here?" Ditzy asked. "Oh. Angel wanted a special dish out of a cook book, but I didn't have the ingredients I needed." Fluttershy explained. Ditzy decided that she would spend as long as she could with Fluttershy to stave off boredom. "What do you need?" Ditzy asked the shy pony. "I have almost everything on my list, but I still need a cherry." Fluttershy said. Ditzy looked and saw the cherry stand was nearby. "Well, why don't you go buy one off that stand?" Ditzy asked. Fluttershy shrank back. "Last time I tried to buy a cherry off that stand, he wanted to charge me 10 bits." Fluttershy said in almost in a whisper. Ditzy was surprised: she would never pay over one bit for a cherry. "Do you want me to go and get one for you?" Ditzy asked: it would have been better to convince Fluttershy to do it herself, but that was a lesson for another day. "Thank you." Fluttershy nodded. Ditzy trotted over to the cherry stand. "I'll give you a bit for a basket of cherries." Ditzy said. She knew how to haggle after many years of having to support herself and Dinky, and she knew how to get a good deal on almost anything. "You'll give me three bits for two baskets." The stand owner obviously knew how to haggle as well. "I'll give you one and a half bits for two baskets." Ditzy rebutted. She was working it so she was getting the better deal. The stand owner thought for a bit then responded: "You'll give me two bits for two baskets… and I'll throw in some cherry jam." "Deal." Ditzy said, and paid the stand owner. She brought the two baskets back to Fluttershy. "I only needed one cherry." Fluttershy said timidly. Ditzy smiled, she knew Fluttershy only wanted one, but she couldn't imagine paying a whole bit for just one cherry. "Well, I got you two baskets." Ditzy said. "Why don't you take one home?" Fluttershy suggested. Ditzy nodded: she knew Dinky loved cherries, so when she got home there would be a nice surprise waiting for her. Ditzy quickly returned home to put the cherries on the dinner table. She returned to Fluttershy, who was still standing in the market. "So, do you need anything else?" Ditzy asked. Fluttershy shook her head no, causing her long mane to sway. Fluttershy started towards her house, and Ditzy did her best to keep up, but the extra weight she had was making it hard to keep up with the graceful movements of Fluttershy. "Can you..." Ditzy huffed out a breath. "Slow down...extra weight here." "Oh I'm very sorry." Fluttershy said. Ditzy looked at the timid pony and saw that she really did want forgiveness for outpacing a very pregnant mare. "It's fine Fluttershy..." Ditzy took in another deep breath. "I just need to catch my breath." They stood in silence for a minute, Ditzy regaining her breath. To Ditzy's surprise Fluttershy asked: "How is the foal doing? "It's doing well." Ditzy said as they started to walk towards Fluttershy's house again. "Although I'm afraid if it gets any bigger I'm gonna explode." "That can happen?" Fluttershy gasped in fear. "No, no it can't. I meant that this foal definitely got it's dad's size." Ditzy said, and Fluttershy calmed down. They arrived at Fluttershy's quaint little cottage. Fluttershy held the door open as Ditzy walked inside. The cottage seemed cozy on the inside, perfect for someone like Fluttershy. One thing that separated this house from others Ditzy had seen was that there were animals all around; one of them, a white bunny, hopped right up to Fluttershy with a cute, yet somehow angry look on its face. "Oh, I'm sorry it took so long, Angel." Fluttershy explained. Ditzy thought it strange to be apologizing to a rabbit, but she really wasn't one to judge. "I'll make your food right now." Fluttershy rushed into her small kitchen, and started to make the special dish for the bunny. Ditzy, unsure of what to do, made herself comfortable on the couch. Small animals gathered around her as she sat down. It was odd to her, since she never really gotten close to any 'wild' animal before, but she supposed that if they were being taken care of by Fluttershy they would think most ponies were like her. "Umm...hello?" Ditzy said questioningly, unsure of what to say to animals. They just stared at her with big adorable eyes. Fluttershy came back from the kitchen with a large plate of food. Even though it was for Fluttershy's bunny it looked really good. "There you go, Angel." Fluttershy said as she placed the plate of food in front of Angel. The bunny ate happily, as Fluttershy took a seat next to Ditzy on the couch. "So... You certainly have a lot of animals here." Ditzy said, looking at the many animals that had gathered around. "Yeah, I just love them all so much." Fluttershy exclaimed. Ditzy saw that glitter in her eye and knew that she really meant it. "So...um...how do you know when you’re... um...pregnant?" Ditzy found this a strange question, but she answered anyway: "Well, sometimes feel really sick, or have cravings for stuff that's really strange. Like, I once had a once craving for pickled onions… they tasted great at the time, but I tried them again...and let's just say the toilet was my friend for the next few minutes. Why do you want to know?" Fluttershy's eyes dilated and she hid behind her mane. Ditzy felt awkward for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then a knock came from the door that broke the awkward silence. Fluttershy was too busy hiding to answer it, so Ditzy struggled up from the couch and went to the door. She opened it to see Applejack with the Cutie Mark Crusaders under hoof. Applejack's face registered surprise as she said: "Howdy Ditzy. Is Fluttershy home?" Ditzy looked back at Fluttershy, who hadn't moved from her spot on the couch. Ditzy said: "Fluttershy, Applejack's here." Fluttershy moved from her spot and came over to the door. "Hello Applejack." "Howdy 'shy. I was wonderin' if ya would mind watching the fillies. Rarity is too busy with her new clothing line and Ah'm too busy with the farm today to watch them." Applejack said. "We don't need Fluttershy to watch us." Apple Bloom complained. "Yes ya do. Cutie Mark Crusaders barnstormers?" Applejack reminded the three fillies. They slumped down. "Ya almost killed your brother." Ditzy was surprised by this: Macintosh hadn't told her about almost getting killed. She felt like it was something she ought to know. "Sure, I'd be glad to take them for the afternoon." Fluttershy responded, coming out from behind her mane. "Thank ya." Applejack said quickly before the trotted off back to the farm. The three fillies stepped past Ditzy and into Fluttershy's home. They wore disappointed expressions, like their fun had been ruined. "Alright girls, who wants to play the silent game?" Fluttershy asked. The Crusaders didn't look too thrilled by the idea. "Alright, let's start." The silence lasted about three seconds before the Crusaders were running around. Fluttershy sighed: "That's not how you play girls. Um...would you rather do some chores? I have lots to do." "We'd rather get cutie marks." Scootaloo complained. Ditzy was going to say something, but suddenly she felt liquid run down the inside if her leg and she froze with fear. Ditzy thought to herself: Oh no oh no oh no! Please no! Ditzy stood, unable to look at the liquid running down her leg: all that filled her mind was sheer terror. Apple Bloom was the first to take notice. She stopped and stared at Ditzy with a questioning glance. "Uhhhh...ya alright?" When Apple Bloom mentioned it, the other Crusaders and Fluttershy looked at her. Fluttershy said: "I...um...have a bathroom, you know?" Ditzy was confused for a moment. She looked back at her leg, expecting the worst, but she saw it wasn't blood. It was clear liquid, like water, and realization hit Ditzy like a train: she was relived, but now she had a new problem. "Crusaders...go get Macintosh." Ditzy commanded. The Crusaders looked confused. "Cutie Mark Crusaders messengers yay!" They said in unison. "Just go get him..." Ditzy groaned. "Please hurry." They ran out the door. Fluttershy looked at Ditzy with a face of confusion and concern. She asked: "What’s going on? You know...if that’s okay to ask." "I'm going into labor..." Ditzy said, and the first contraction hit her. She went back to the couch and laid down: it helped the pain of the contraction a little. Fluttershy eeped. "What do I do?" Fluttershy asked: she looked very nervous, like she was going to faint. "I just need Macintosh...to get me to the hospital." Ditzy explained. Fluttershy looked sort of sad that she couldn't do anything, so Ditzy said: "Some water would be nice." Fluttershy quickly went to the kitchen and fetched a glass of water. Ditzy took the water and gulped down the liquid. She felt the first contraction retract which would mean she would have a while before the next contraction. Fluttershy looked pale, and Ditzy was pretty sure she would faint pretty soon. "Okay, Fluttershy, I'm going to need you to stay awake." "Oh...okay." Fluttershy said nervously. Ditzy looked at the clock: the fillies should have gotten Macintosh and gotten him back to Fluttershy's by me. She had planned out the labor: Macintosh would come and get her to the hospital quickly, but in his own gentle way. She had planned it for when she was at their house, and hopefully Macintosh would be home, but she supposed that at least she was indoors. "They should be back by now..." "You think they got lost?" Fluttershy gasped. Her eyes dilated again and she panted with fear. "No...Calm down Fluttershy, I'm sure they'll be back soon." Ditzy assured her shy friend: she found it strange that she was the one going into labor, and she had to comfort Fluttershy. Ditzy sure hoped that they would be back soon: it wouldn't be too long until the next contraction started, and from there the space between contractions would be getting shorter. Too late. Ditzy winced as the contractions started again. Fluttershy eeped again, and this time she fainted. Ditzy looked over at the unconscious pegasus. "Fluttershy?" Ditzy was stuck on the couch, unable to move with the pulsing pain of her contraction. Okay stay calm. Macintosh will be here soon. He'll get me to the hospital. Just think of the new foal you'll have in a few hours. Ditzy thought to herself. The thought calmed her, a new foal. One that she bore from her love. Ditzy laid there for a while. She was starting to think the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten lost; somehow Ditzy knew that being massagers would not be their special talent. She groaned with pain. The animals had long since cleared out of the house, so Ditzy was all alone. She turned to look at the clock: it had been almost two hours since the Crusaders had left to get Big Macintosh. Finally, the door swung open. Big Macintosh stood on the other side with the three little fillies sitting on his back, eating ice cream. "Oh yeah...that was why we needed you." Sweetie Belle said through mouth full of ice cream. Ditzy almost face hooved. "I guess we forgot." "Ya forgot that?" Macintosh's eyes were wide as he galloped to Ditzy, and shook the fillies off his back. "Sorry, Sugar Cube." He pulled Ditzy on to his back, as Apple Bloom said: "Well, we got hungry on the way, so Ah guess we forgot that she was here. Hey! What happened to Fluttershy?" "Y'all stay here and make sure she's alright." Macintosh commanded the fillies as he shifted Ditzy on his back to make it comfortable for the both of them, then he broke into a gallop as soon as he hurried outside the home. "What took you so long?" Ditzy managed to sputter out. "The girls came to get me about two hours ago. They couldn't seem to remember why they came to get me, so Ah took them to get a treat, and then after that Ah was gonna go on home, but then Dinky came along and wanted my help with getting a kite out of a tree. After that I brought the girls home with me, and see how ya were doing, and that's when Apple Bloom remembered..." Big Macintosh explained. They reached the hospital in mere minutes. As soon as they arrived, Ditzy was taken into the room where she would wait in labor until the time for her to give birth. A/N:Thank you for reading. This chapter to a while to write due to a headache but I did get it done, but this is the last chance to voice any ideas about appearance or names, I would really appreciate it. But anyway I thank my Beta reader BlackRoseRevan.