A/N: Hello and welcome back. I'm glad so many of you enjoy this story, or at least I hope you do. My beta reader gave me the idea for this chapter, so I thank him for that and for beta reading it.
We rejoin Ditzy a week later.
The day had perfect weather: the temperature was comfortably warm, tempered by a soft breeze, and a few clouds sitting in the air. Ditzy watched her son carefully. He was buzzing around in the air. This was the first time she had let him fly outside. He was doing well so far, but even the soft breeze would blow him off course. He was working hard to keep himself in the air, and Ditzy prepared to catch him when he enviably over-worked his little wings.
He had only been flying a few minutes when he was blown from the air. Ditzy was there to catch him, and she gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "You did well today, Muffin."
She ticked him, and she got a giggle in response. She was happy to see him happy, just like she was happy to see Dinky or Macintosh happy. Carson had been sick the last few days: a shot of whisky was very bad for a young foal, and with Macintosh at work most of the day, she had to deal with their son being sick. After the whisky accident, Macintosh has been trying to help Ditzy with Carson and Dinky as much as he could, but Ditzy was still a bit mad.
Carson rolled around in the grass, having a great time. Ditzy looked off in the distance as she saw Dinky playing with her best friend, Twist. Dinky was playing tag. Ditzy wasn't sure how they could play tag with two ponies, but they managed it.
Carson noticed a mud puddle, and before Ditzy could stop him, he jumped in. He splattered mud all over himself. Instead of getting frustrated, Ditzy let herself laugh. He was having a good time, even if it made him dirty, and she was going to let him have his fun.
His grayish-red coat was quickly becoming covered with mud. After a while, he looked up at his mother and held out his legs to signal that he wanted to be picked up.
"Oh no mister, we got to clean you up before I pick you up." Ditzy giggled, as he crawled towards her, a bubbly smile on his face.
Ditzy saw a shadow pass over and looked up. She saw a dark streak across the sky with lightning coming out of it. The clouds were being led by a pony. Ditzy didn't know that the Wonderbolts were coming to town. While she was distracted, Carson hugged his mother's leg, covering it in mud.
"Heh...I guess you got me." Ditzy let out a sigh. She looked up into the air, and the dark streak was gone. She turned back to look at her son. She reared back when she saw there was a stallion in a Wonderbolts uniform on, with goggles over his eyes.
"Hi Ditzy!" He said. His voice sounded very familiar. He stood slightly taller than her, and from what she could see of his coat, it was a light green, and he had a brown mane.
"Uhhhh...." Ditzy stammered. His mouth formed into an 'O' of realization. He took off the goggles and pulled back the mask. Ditzy's eyes went wide in surprise. She tackled him in a hug. "Peashooter!"
"That's right, kid." The green Wonderbolt said. Carson looked up at him with wide eyed interest.
"Oh this is my son: Carson." Ditzy picked up her filthy son. Peashooter raised an eyebrow. Dinky had noticed the new pony and had started to come over.
"Your son? Is the father... around?" He drifted off; a look of genuine concern was on his face.
"Yes, he is. We're married now." She said, just as Dinky came over, and Peashooter smiled.
"Dinky? Is that you? The last time I saw you were just a foal." Peashooter said. Dinky looked confused.
"This is Peashooter, Muffin. He helped mommy through a very rough time." Ditzy said. She thought back: he had been there for her after she had found out she had been impregnated by the rapist. He had provided her with a place to live, and food to eat. Peashooter had ended up giving her his house, and even got her the mailmare job. They had even dated a little, but they had decided that it was better to just to stay friends; he was more like a brother than a lover. "So you’re a Wonderbolt now?"
"Yep. It took a lot of work, but I did it." Peashooter said with pride. "Sorry we haven’t had contact in a few years, but I've been so busy with training for the 'bolts, and then we were on tour for a long time."
Ditzy smiled: she had forgotten how much she liked his confidence that was never arrogant. "Yeah, I've been busy with Dinky and Carson here."
Peashooter ruffled Dinky's mane, then Carson's. Ditzy saw him register Carson's off center eyes. He asked: "Is it just the eyes?"
Ditzy knew what he meant: was Carson 'special?' Ditzy responded: "We think so… he's a strong flier, he's just a bit clumsy."
Peashooter laughed. "Who is that like?"
Ditzy smiled at his teasing. Dinky left to go back and play with Twist. "Sounds like you."
"Exactly." Peashooter responded to her banter. Ditzy's heart felt light as talking to him brought out old, but good memories. "So, can I meet this husband of yours?"
"Sure, but he's at work right now, so why don't you come over with me now? I have to get Carson cleaned up."
"Alright. What does your husband do?" Peashooter asked.
"He's a farmer. He works at Sweet Apple Acres." Ditzy said as they began to walk home. "Dinky, we're going home. Remember don't go with any strange ponies and be home by 5:30."
"Sweet Apple Acres? Soarin' got a pie from there once, and he still talks about it." Peashooter said. "So how are you doing?"
The change in subject surprised Ditzy, but she said: "Well, I'm doing alright, but I'm a bit tired. Macintosh and I have had a few...um...arguments through the last week about how to raise Carson."
Ditzy didn't want to pour her problems onto a friend that she hadn't seen in a long time. Peashooter gave her a gentle look. He said: "I'm sure you'll work it out."
They walked and talked for a while. It took them about ten minutes to walk to Ditzy's house. "And this is the new house."
"A good step up from what I gave you." He said. Ditzy unlocked the door and they went inside. Ditzy went to the bathroom with Carson, followed by Peashooter. Ditzy ran the bath until it was about a quarter full then put Carson in the water with a few bath toys.
Ditzy washed the dirt off quickly then let him play with the toys a bit.
"You have a cute son. He looks like he could be a Wonderbolt one day." He said, watching Carson splash around in the water.
Ditzy had to laugh at the comment. "If you saw the size he's probably going to grow to, you wouldn't think so."
"Why?" He asked. "I mean he looks about the right size for a 6 month old."
"He's three and a half months." Ditzy chuckled when she saw the look on his face.
"Geeze, he's going to be the size of a large earth pony." Peashooter said. Ditsy pulled the plug, and the water drained slowly from the tub.
"I'll be right back." Ditzy said. She stood and went into Carson's nursery and grabbed a fresh diaper. When she came back into the bathroom, Peashooter was drying Carson off with a towel.
"I thought I might as well wipe him down." Peashooter said considerately.
"Thank you." Ditzy thanked him. She was surprised that he even thought to do that. It just reminded her how considerate he was. "Nap-time, Muffin."
Ditzy picked him up and brought him back to his nursery to put him in his crib. Ditzy smiled to herself. Every time she saw Carson or Dinky asleep, peacefully, it reminded her why she loved to be a mother and how glad she was that she had Macintosh to provide a future for her children. Ditzy made a mental note that she would finally let the whisky thing pass tonight.
"Speaking of muffins...you still make your world's best butterscotch-banana muffins?" He asked, and Ditzy nodded. "Good. I can't tell you how much I've missed them."
Ditzy laughed. "Yes I do still make them, would you like some?"
___________
Peashooter nearly ate a whole muffin in one bite. He groaned in delight at the taste of the muffin. He said: "These...are...great!"
"Oh come on, they aren’t that good." Ditzy blushed slightly at the compliment. She felt kind of strange of blushing at him. Peashooter ate another muffin in one bite.
"This Macintosh fella is one lucky stallion." Peashooter said after swallowing the muffin.
"Speaking of him, he should have been home by now." Ditzy murmured. He was almost never home late from work. They talked for a little while longer before Peashooter gave a large yawn.
"Boy am I tired... I better get back to the hotel: need my sleep, we're preforming a show tomorrow here." Peashooter said.
"You can take a nap here if you want, I have things to do. Then you can meet Macintosh, I'm sure he'll be here soon anyway." Ditzy suggested.
"Thank you, I think I'll take you up on that offer. Umm...where should I put my uniform?" He asked. Ditzy had forgotten that he was still wearing the Wonderbolts clothing.
"You can put it on the dresser." Ditzy told him. He nodded his thanks and walked into the master bedroom.
Ditzy did a few chores before Macintosh finally came home. Ditzy greeted him with a warm smile and said: "Hey Mac. How was your day?"
He halfheartedly returned the smile. "It was long, Applejack took the day off."
Ditzy sighed. She knew how much work it put on Macintosh to have Applejack take a day off, but Ditzy was starting to get frustrated with her sister-in-law: it was the fourth time in the last two weeks she had taken a day off.
"I think you should take a day off, Mac, spend time with the kids...and to spend time with me." Ditzy said softly. He nuzzled her gently, in a very loving way.
"Ah would love to Sugar Cube, but the farm is just about on its feet again, and then Ah can finally get paid." Macintosh said. She saw the gleam of happiness in his eye at the prospect of being able to provide for his family. "Ah'll wash up real quick."
He walked to the bedroom, then stopped, eyes wide with surprise. "Uhhhh... Sugar, ya know there a stallion sleeping in our bed, right?"
"Oh that's an old friend of mine, Peashooter." Ditzy said as she stepped beside her husband. Peashooter looked up lazily from his sleep. Then when he realized somepony new was standing at the door and rolled out of bed and stood up tall.
"Oh hey, I'm Peashooter, an old friend of Ditzy's." He held out his hoof. Macintosh took it cautiously. Peashooter didn't seem to notice that Macintosh stood at least two heads taller than him.
"Howdy...I'm Macintosh; most ponies call me Big Mac or just Mac." Macintosh responded. Ditzy noticed a slight change from his usual relaxed demeanor. Peashooter smiled genuinely at him. "How do ya know my wife?"
"Well, it's a long story, and I'm sure you've had a long day so I'll just give you the short version. Well one day, after a hard day of training, I decided to get myself a treat from Ponyville. I was heading to the newly opened Sugar Cube Corner, but I passed a mare sitting on the side of the road, a basket of muffins and a little cardboard sign that said: 'muffins 1 bit.' So, I decided to buy one, and I ate it. Then I bought another, and another, and before I knew it I had bought them all. So I laughed at myself for ruining my whole day of training by eating so many muffins." Peashooter chuckled at the memory. "Then I said to her: 'You sure have a lot of bits to bring home tonight.' But she looked down and mumbled that she didn't have a home."
Macintosh had relaxed from his tense state. He had an interested look on his face, as Peashooter continued: "I wouldn't be having that. So I offered her a place to stay, but when I did I swear she looked like I was the worst pony to have ever lived. She flew off quickly, but I gave chase. I don't usually toot my own horn but it didn't take much to catch up. I reasoned with her-"
"By reason he means tackle to the ground." Ditzy put in. Peashooter shot her a look of playful scorn.
"Yes, I tackled her to the ground. She tried to struggle, but I wasn't going to let her stay out on the street, not with how well she bakes. Then she told me what happened to her." He said quietly, letting the words sink in. "Needless to say I felt like a jerk, but I wasn't about to let a pregnant mare who could make butterscotch banana muffins like no other go homeless. So I convinced her to come live with me. In the house right next to the post office. Sorry, I've been rambling, I'll let you be."
"Eeyup. It was nice to meet ya." Macintosh said.
"Nice to meet you too, Big Mac. I'm glad Ditzy found somepony she can depend on." Peashooter said. Ditzy gave him a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. I have a show tomorrow; you two should come see it."
"I'd love to." Ditzy said.
"Ah'm sorry. Applejack's takin' the day off to watch that very same show with one of her friends... Miss Dash if Ah recall. So Ah have to take care of the farm." Big Macintosh said. Peashooter looked disappointed as he took his Wonderbolts uniform and left the house with a last quick good-bye.
"Applejack is taking another day off?" Ditzy asked, putting concern in her voice, even though she was annoyed with the situation.
"Eeyup. Ah don't mind, she's young and needs time with her friends." Macintosh reasoned. Ditzy could see past the mask of contentment with his situation, and see that he wasn't really okay with Applejack taking the day off, but she knew he would never say anything.
"Mac, we're not that old ourselves, and we've barely had any time to spend together." Ditzy said. The way he talked it made them seem like an old couple.
"Ah know, Sugar Cube, but Ah promise as soon as Ah get paid again, Ah'll put a day aside just for us." He said. Ditsy nodded slowly. "Now, Ah need to get washed up."
_________
Ditzy sunk into his legs, embracing him in a kiss. She felt hot and cold swirl in her stomach, as she got closer to him. She felt like she wanted, no, needed him. She felt her wings grow stiff, as she straddled the stallion. Her heart fluttered as she looked into his green eyes. The hot passion of love filled her entire being. She was going to let him have her. She looked down on her lover at his wings spread out under him. His confident face and athletic body. His wind swept mane splayed out under his head.
"I love you Ditzy." He said.
"I love you too… Peashooter."
Ditzy's eyes shot open, and she was breathing hard. She thought: Did I just dream about... him? Oh no oh no oh no oh no. It couldn't be. We left that behind long ago. I love Macintosh...I love Macintosh...I love Mac...I love...
She felt Macintosh stir. He wrapped his leg around her, embracing her in a tight hug. "Sugar Cube? Ya alright?"
"Yeah...just a bad dream." She whispered. The thing that scared her was that she wasn't so sure it was a bad dream.
A/N:Thank you for reading. Please review I really appreciate it.