Red Eye

by Fonypan

Session 16 - Like You Never Have Known

Snails shuffled around like a zombie. He’d awoken to the sound of crying, as was typical now. He’d taken care of an early-morning diaper change and feeding. He was about to prepare some breakfast for himself and Twist when he heard a knock at the door. He yawned, and made his way to the front door. He opened it, and found Snips on the other side.

“Hey, Snips. You’re up early.”

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“No. Gumdrop took care of that. Come on in.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t stay. I just came over to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye? Where are you going?”

“I don’t know, yet. I’m going to get on the first train out of Ponyville and see where it takes me.”

“What’s going on with you?”

“I knocked up Sweetie Belle.”

“Already? You’ve only been going out for like three days!”

“Five days. But you see my problem.”

“No, I don’t. You need to do the right thing. That foal is your spawn. You’re a father, now. You have to take responsibility.”

“You don’t get it! I can’t be a dad!”

“Fatherhood really isn’t that bad. Tiresome, but rewarding. If I can be a dad, anypony can.”

“Sweetie Belle deserves a better stallion than I can be. When she finds him, that foal will have a real father figure.”

“She chose you for a reason.”

“She went slumming to get her mind off of her ex-husband!”

“Did she actually say that?”

“It was literally the fourth thing she said to me when we ran into each other at the bar.”

“That still doesn’t get you off the hook. A foal changes things.”

“So, what? She has to be stuck with a scrub like me? If I stay, she has to either marry me or sacrifice her reputation to be with somepony else. But if I run away, then it’s my fault. She’ll be free.”

“So you’re doing this for her sake? Not yours?”

“Exactly.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Don’t you have any faith in me at all?”

“It’s kind of hard when you came over to tell me you’re running away from a pregnant mare.”

“I know this looks bad, but trust me. She’ll meet somepony new. Somepony a thousand times better than me!”

“You’re going to regret this.”

“I already do. Goodbye, Snails. Tell Twist I said goodbye, as well.”

“Yeah, sure. Bye, Snips.”

Snips turned to leave, and Snails closed the door. Snails returned to the kitchen just in time to see Twist come downstairs. She didn’t have her glasses on, and had yet to fix her mane. The two ponies shared a kiss.

“Who was at the door?” said Twist. She had mostly outgrown her childhood lisp, and only the faintest hint remained.

“Snips.”

“This early in the morning? The sun isn’t even up yet.”

“He came to say goodbye. He impregnated Sweetie Belle, and he’s running away.”

“What? How could he?”

“I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“That’s despicable!”

“Yeah, I really thought he was better than that.”

“You think you know a pony…”

----------

Sweetie Belle sat alone at Rarity’s kitchen table. She stared into the immaculately polished surface. The sun had only been up for a couple of hours.

Rarity came down the stairs and smiled. “Good morning, Sweetie Belle. You’re up early.”

Sweetie turned to face her sister, revealing her grim expression. “I’m pregnant.”

“Wh— h—“ Rarity blinked in surprise. “Did this happen here? In my guest room?”

“Is that really important right now?”

“Sweetie Belle, I wash those sheets! You could have asked, or at least given me a warning! I wash my own bedding in the same—“

“Rarity!”

“Oh, right. I’ll freak out later. Does Snips know you’re carrying his foal?”

“Yes, I told him last night after I found out myself. He was gone when I woke up.”

“Maybe he just had an early shift.”

“He left a note.”

Sweetie Belle held up a scrap of paper. It simply read ‘There are better stallions out there. - Snips’

“That low-down, rotten, no good… When I find him, I’ll—“

“Forget it, just let him go.”

“What?”

“You said it yourself, he’s no good. We already know what kind of stallion he is. Hunting him down won’t magically turn him into husband material.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, but I’m done with stallions. There’s no special somepony out there for me.”

“I think that’s a bit dramatic after two bad relationships.”

“Then how many? How many times do I have to deal with the frustration and grief before I’m allowed to give up? How many times do I have to let somepony disappoint and discard me?”

“But—“

Sweetie sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that.”

“I forgive you. So, you’re going to have his foal and raise it yourself?”

“I don’t have much of a choice.”

“There are options.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I’d have two of my own if n—“

“Rarity!”

“What?”

“I can’t believe you’d—“

“My career is very stressful, and that stress is dangerous for developing foals. I had a long debate with myself each time, and decided it was more ethical to terminate early on than risk developmental problems.”

“I could never do something like that.” Sweetie Belle ran a hoof across her own tummy. “If this little one has a chance to live, I can’t take that away.”

“What if you lose the foal? Can you handle that a third time?”

“I don’t know, but I have to try. I need to know I’m not broken inside.”

Rarity hugged Sweetie Belle. “You aren’t ‘broken inside’. You never were.”

“Thank you. I don’t agree, but thank you.”

“You’re a wonderful mare. Don’t ever let anypony tell you otherwise. Even if you can’t have foals, you’re still you. Fertility isn’t what validates you.”

“I know that. I just don’t want to be barren. I don’t want Bebe to be right.”

“Bebe was rude, presumptuous, and self-centered. You’re better off without him.”

“Thank you.”

“If this foal lives, I’ll help you raise it.”

“You don’t ha—“

“Nonsense, I insist. What kind of sister would I be if I let you go bounding into motherhood all by yourself? I helped our parents take care of you, after all. If this little one takes after its mother, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”

“I wasn’t that much of a hoofful as a filly, was I?”

Rarity burst into laughter, but quickly stifled herself when she saw the look on Sweetie Belle’s face. “Come. Let’s get cleaned up, and I’ll treat you to breakfast. I’m going to turn today into a good day for you if it kills me.”

Comments

[Limedog]

Careful about making promises you can't necessarily keep, Rarity.

[xoid]

Oh for fuck’s sake! Does the contrived bullshit KWF insisted on using as filler never end⁉

[Pony Knight]

This is filler. Almost all of these chapters are filler. Where is the meat of the story? Where is the whole Zombie problem this story was found in grimdark supposed to have I'm still reading and hoping to see something that might make me feel something, anything other then bordom