• Published 6th Feb 2015
  • 8,318 Views, 781 Comments

The Wonderful Life of Ford Mustang - RoyalRainbow



Shortly after their wedding, Ford Mustang and Rainbow Dash have already made plans to have their first foal together. But when he starts to receive terrible visions about his pregnant wife, can he find a way to prevent them from ever coming true?

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Chapter 16 – Truth and Acceptance

Chapter 16 – Truth and Acceptance

On a dark, cold night, the two married Pegasi are placed on opposite sides of the living room. At the entryway, Ford Mustang, who had just returned from his fruitless journey in the Talos Mountains, is standing in place with a fearful expression on his face. And on one of the couches, Rainbow Dash is staring at her nervous husband with her forelegs crossed and an intense frown that displays her cold resentment for his recent actions, mostly for keeping a secret that he’s been holding on to for far too long.

“I don’t suppose this can wait until tomorrow morning, can it?” he pleads sweetly with an awkward smile.

As expected, Ford receives his answer with Rainbow narrowing her icy glare at him before she responds in a surprisingly calm yet monotone voice, “No, it can not.”

With no way out, he approaches her glaring wife carefully, and he takes his seat on the same couch as her while making sure he gives himself enough space from the expressionless mare. Once he is situated on his side of the sofa, he proceeds to carry on their conversation.

“So… what would you like to talk about?”

“Where were you?”

“I… went out to see a friend.” he answers cryptically.

“Who?”

“Oh… just a friend… who lives far away from here.” he continues to stretch the truth.

“Another mare perhaps?” she emphasizes with a heavy scowl.

Surprised by that shrewd remark, Ford shifts in an unamusing frown as he replies in a low growl, “That’s not funny, Rainbow.”

But then, she snaps right back in full force, “Yeah? Well neither is breaking your Pinkie Promise and leaving me home alone for hours! Now tell me, who was it?!”

“Alright fine, it was Wagner!” he retorts out loud. “I went to see Wagner, alright?!”

“Why?”

“Because… I had some questions that needed to be answered.” he responds with renewed hesitation as he averts his eyes away from his wife’s inquisitive glare.

"Well then, if that was all you needed to do, why didn’t you tell me that earlier?"

“I… didn’t think I would take too long.” he mumbles in shame.

“But you did.”

From receiving that short, spiteful comment, Ford re-looks at Rainbow in the eye before he explains himself with increasingly annoyed eyebrows, “That wasn’t my intention, I swear.”

“Oh, and I take it that keeping secrets from me wasn’t your intention either, huh?” she keeps at it with her sharp, snappy remarks.

Getting really tired of her snappiness, Ford counters with an instinctive, loud gripe, “Look, I have my reasons for keeping them to myself, so just be grateful that I didn’t bother you with my share of troubles! Besides, you have no idea on what I’ve been through--!”

“WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH?!” she screams at the top of her lungs, which was enough for her startled husband to clamp his mouth shut as she carries on with her unrestrained, emotional rant. “Have you even tried to imagine on what I’ve been through?! I’m the one who’s pregnant here and carrying our twin foals for us! Do you have any idea on what I have to sacrifice to go through all of that?! I feel overly lazy from barely doing anything around here, I get weird cravings every now and then, my body is becoming sore and completely out of shape, and to top it all off, I can’t fly at such high speeds anymore without putting my foals in jeopardy! So don’t you dare say that you’re having a worse time than me!”

As Rainbow takes a break from her long-overdue outburst, Ford silently contemplates on what his wife just stated to him. He had no idea that she was feeling this down over the course of her pregnancy. And the fact that he was this oblivious to what she has being going through, it only adds more guilt and shame to that big heart of his.

With the ashamed Mustang looking down in disgrace, Rainbow tilts his chin up with a gentle forehoof. And once he has the nerve to look into her eyes, he is surprised to see a softer expression from her as she continues where she left off.

“But you know what? Even if I had to be grounded throughout my entire pregnancy, I would have been totally cool with it! Do you know why? Because I had you!” she confirms strongly, which causes Ford to go wide-eyed in surprise by her declaration. “Believe it or not, this gave us the chance to spend more time together, and I was really looking forward to that! But since last month… you no longer share the same bed with me every night, you’re hardly at the house anymore, and you’ve put so much distance away from me!”

As Ford Mustang becomes heavyhearted for all he done to her without realizing it himself, fresh tears attempt to break through from her diluted eyes as she presses on with what she had to get off her chest, “I don’t know what’s been going on with you, but I wish you could talk to me about it. I… want to help you in any way I can, Ford. But for you to keep pushing me away like this, it just… makes me feel completely useless to you.”

Her latest act of self-pity causes the figurative knife to twist even further as Ford could barely stand to see her suffer like this while all he is doing is just standing there and gaping like an idiot. But as he struggles with how to ease her immense self-doubt, the melancholy Rainbow Dash continues her emotional breakdown.

“I thought with all the things we’ve shared together, you would trust me enough on what’s been troubling you. But I feel so hurt right now, that I’m starting to doubt if you even love me--!”

Unable to stand this any further, Ford immediately pulls Rainbow in and gives her a big, heartfelt hug if this will stop her from belittling herself like that. Refusing to let go of her, he protests in a firm, yet shaky voice, “Don’t you dare finish that sentence! Not now and not ever! How can you think of such a thing after all we’ve been through… what I’ve been through… for you? I love you, Rainbow Dash! And I love you more than life itself!”

Within the strong, warm embrace of her overemotional stallion, the tearful mare trembles over her conflicting feelings, and she wraps her forelegs around him ever-so tightly while she beseeches to him greatly in a sniveling voice, “Then why?! Why haven’t you been talking to me at all?!”

“…Because I don’t want to scare you, just like it has scared me.”

From hearing that soft yet straight answer from him, Rainbow lifts up her head and is slightly startled to see Ford’s quivering face as pitiful tears leak out of his big, blue eyes. Gently, she strokes his face as she asks cooingly, “What has gotten you so spooked, Ford? You know I would never make fun of you like that.”

“I know, Rainbow. It’s just that… I hoped to resolve this myself without having this discussion in the first place. But as of lately, I’m nowhere close to solving this dilemma all on my own.”

With her left fore hoof, she delicately grasps Ford’s right one, but while doing so, she examines her wedding hoof-ring that is embedded with the shimmering Prismatic Diamond. From seeing her treasured possession, Rainbow shares something in mind with her disheartening stallion.

“You know, Ford… I used to think like that… being a one-pony show. Always believing that I can do everything all by myself. But every since we first found the Elements of Harmony, I’ve learned that not every problem can be solved by yourself. In fact, I’m pretty graceful to share those awesome adventures with my friends. I’d never know where I would be without them… or without you for that matter.”

Then, she takes both of her fore hooves to press against his and steadily lifts them up so both of them can see each other’s ring as she continues, “So on the day we got married, I swore that I will always be by your side. Don’t forget that we’re a team, Ford. And as a team, we’re an unstoppable pair together as long as got each other’s back.”

While Mustang is flabbergasted by her surprisingly heartfelt words, Rainbow gives him a short yet affection kiss before she pleads to him in a sweet, modest tone, “You’ve always been there for me whenever I need it the most. So please, Mustang… let me be there for you this time.”

Reluctant at first, Ford eventually gives in with a subtle nod as he answers in a shaky voice, “Okay, Rainbow. I’ll tell you… I’ll tell you everything.”

Before he begins, he takes a moment to get comfort on his seat as Rainbow Dash slides closer to him as a sign of her support and comfort. With Ford re-positioned on the sofa and his wife wrapping a tender wing around him, he takes one deep breath before he slowly but surely tells her the whole story.

“About a month ago, I… had a terrible nightmare.”

From him mentioning that, Rainbow briefly recalls something like that from that one night when Ford abruptly woke her up with a sudden shriek. Figuring on when it all started, she insists in a delicate manner, “What was this nightmare about?”

“It… it was the day where our twin foals were going to be born. You were on the hospital bed, and I was by your side with my foreleg enwrapping around yours. But that place… it was far different than most hospitals. It was very dark, foggy, and there was a lot of… red. And things got even stranger when I was unable to say anything, and everyone I encountered in that dark room was practically faceless. The only ones who still had their faces were just you and me. It was… far different than any other nightmare I ever had in the past.”

“So… what happened next?”

“Well… soon enough, you went into labor, and you’re making these bloodcurdling screams while you were giving birth. I tried to give you some words of encouragement, but because my voice was cut off, all I could do was just stand and watch as you went through so much pain for the sake of our foals.”

“I hope it’s not too late to say ‘sorry’ in advance for all of the screaming that’s to come.” she chuckles awkwardly as she hopes to ease off some the tension.

“Hey, it can’t be helped, right?” he giggles lightly in response before maintaining a more somber demeanor as he continues his woeful tale. “Well actually… there was a far more worse sound than your constant screeching. It was this really high-pitched beeping sound that was monitoring your heart rate. As you were contracting, the beeping grew louder and chimed faster. But finally, all of the horrifying sounds were replaced by two new sources… when the twins were finally born.”

She gleams with a bright smile over the mention of their newborns as she inquires ecstatically, “Did you get a good glimpse of them?”

“Sadly, no.” he answers much to her dismay while shaking his head. “All this time, there were wrapped in their individual blankets.”

“Dangit!” she mutters briefly in disappointment before she shrugs with a leisurely smile. “Well, at least it all ended well, right?”

But her laid-back attitude is cut short when she perceives the disturbing silence coming from her husband as he remains frozen on the edge of his seat while he stares aimlessly at the carpet floor with wide, trembling eyes. Realizing that his story is not over yet, Rainbow asks of him as she gently shakes him out of his own apprehensive daze.

“Ford… what else happened?”

“I don’t know if I can say it, Rainbow.” he mutters in hesitation.

Despite dreading on what’s around the corner, she implores to her husband once more, “Ford, please tell me. I need to hear this no matter what. What happened in the end?”

“Y-y-you… you… you died.”

After those stuttering words escape from his trembling lips, dead silence fill the room as the two Pegasi let those haunting words sink in. Ford cringes immensely on letting that dark truth come out despite trying to conceal it for so long. As for Rainbow Dash, she’s a bit shook-up by the grim possibility of her dying during childbirth.

Trying to case fears aside, she turns attention back to her shaky husband as she inquires even further, “So… did you have these bad dreams again?”

Once he composes himself, Ford persists from there, “Yes. In fact, I had the same nightmare each and every night. Sometimes our friends would be there, but without their faces. Other times the hospital background becomes clearer. But no matter, it would always end the same way. So I sought help in order to put an end to these sleepless nights of mine. I went to Zecora first. Then Twilight Sparkle, who also brought along Princess Luna. It was from our private meeting that I learned something far worse than just nightmares. The reason why I kept having the same terrible dream every night was because they weren’t just nightmares… they were visions as well.”

“V-visions?”

In response, Mustang nods very coyly before continuing, “Apparently, I inherited Hindel’s gift of foresight through the dragon powers he originally gave me, so what I’ve been experiencing were not just dreams, but visions all month long. Believe me, I turned to every source I can think of so I can prevent them from ever coming true. Twilight, Luna, Celestia, Discord, and finally, Wagner. But no matter what I do, I always ended up with nothing.”

From reaching the end of his story, Ford depresses even further with his strenuous eyes about to break into tears, and he covers his ashamed face with his fore hooves while he expresses his anguish tremendously, “I don’t want to lose you, Rainbow. I’m trying my best to save you from this fate, but I just don’t know what do anymore. What kind of husband am I, let alone a father, if I can’t protect the very pony I love?”

As he weeps over his hopelessness, Rainbow gently pulls her despairing husband in to give him a tender, reassuring hug. Impulsively, Ford accepts her loving embrace and presses his grief-stricken muzzle against her soft chest while she kindly strokes his back. As she carries on with her loving support, she contemplates on all that she has learned from him; and granted, it’s certainly a lot to take in for her. But as she thinks to herself on how to react to all of this, she looks down and examines her stretched-out belly where her unborn twins are still nestled inside. And after a couple smooth rubs against her pregnant belly, one important question does comes to mind as she feels the need to address this to her sulking stallion before she can express her overall outlook in this grave matter of theirs.

“Ford, I need you to honest with me on this one.” she gets his attention softly. “In your vision, did our foals survive in end?”

From being brought out of his gloom momentarily, Ford thinks carefully about his recurring dreams before he timidly shares his honesty with his wife, “Well… I heard them crying, and they sounded very healthy to me. So… yes, I think it’s safe to say that they did survive.”

From hearing that reassuring answer, Rainbow lets a gentle sigh of relief over this before she prepares herself with her ultimate decision. “Then… I’m okay with that.”

“…Wh-wh-what?”

“If they survive through it all of this, then I’m okay with giving my life for them.” she repeats herself with a small yet determined smile this time.

Caught off-guard by the mare’s unexpected resolve, the distressed stallion frantically says to her, “R-Rainbow, don’t say it like that! I’ll find a way someday! I swear, I will!”

With a strangely contented smile, Rainbow dismisses Ford’s worries with a shake of her head before she tries to make him understand her reasoning. “Ford, listen to me for a minute. My mother, Firefly, gave it her all to have me born into this world, even if it costed her very life. It’s one of the reasons why she’s such an inspiration to me. So if I should share the same fate as my mother, then at the very least, my foals will get the chance to experience how awesome life really is. It may not exactly be the way I hope things would end for me, but it will be the kind of sacrifice I will be happy to make just for them.”

Astounded by her surprisingly strong resolve, the sentimental stallion is truly touched by her determination and unquestionable courage, and he praises her ever-so affectionately while caressing her face tenderly, “Oh, angel… you really are bravest, most loyal pony of them all!”

From receiving that heartfelt compliment, Rainbow feels more at ease from husband’s tender stroking, and she happily returns the needed affection by nuzzling against his caressing fore hoof. But then, she ceases her nestling as she halts Ford’s hoof before saying to him a firm, somber tone.

“But Mustang, you have to promise me one thing. Promise me that you will look after our foals no matter what happens to me. And if there’s a choice between me and them, you’ll always pick them before me, okay?”

A bit scared by that difficult decision in mind, Ford hesitates greatly on making such a promise for her while averting his eyes away, “Rainbow, please don’t make me say it! I really don’t want to think--!”

But she won’t allow him to turn away from this important pledge, as she forces Mustang to face her by grasping his face so that his nervous eyes are fixated with hers. “Please, Ford! I know you’re just as scared as I am, but I need you to say it just once for me!”

Indecisive at first, Mustang finally gives in and declares his oath before her, “Okay, Dashie. I promise… I promise with all of my heart and soul to look after them no matter what!” But he doesn’t stop there as he immediately grasps her hooves and holds them up before extending his sacred pledge even further. “But I’ll do more than just that, Rainbow! I’m going to share all of your greatest adventures with them! That way, when they are all grown-up, they will always remember on how awesome their mother truly was! I will always keep you alive in my memories and will see to it that no one will ever ever forget you, Rainbow Dash!”

Moved by his sappy devotion as always, Rainbow could hardly contain herself as more tears seep out of her magenta eyes before she lunges forward and tightly embraces him, which Ford openly accepts. In the midst of their cuddling, the tearful yet joyful mare expresses her appreciation in the form of a whisper, “Thank you, Ford. Thank you.”

Happily, they carry on with their interwoven snuggling in peace… until something truly unexpected happen that is enough to interrupt them out of their blissful moment.

“Oof!”

Alarmed by her wife’s sudden yip, Ford asks with concern, “Are you alright, Rainbow?”

Wide-eyed, the bewildered mare looks at Mustang first, then at her belly, and then back at him before she stutters on the amazing experience she just had, “I… felt it. I felt it. Ford, I felt it!”

“Felt what?”

“The baby!” she beams with irrepressible excitement. “I felt the baby’s first kick!”

Thunderstruck by this astonishing news, Ford eventually reacts with overwhelming excitement, “Y-you did?! Well, was it from one foal or two?!”

“So far just one. Maybe the other one will kick next--!” And right on cue, she feels a second soft kick to her stomach. “Oh, there it goes! I definitely felt it that time!” Then, she endures a couple more subtle kicks after that, which causes her to become positively giddy from this experience. “Hey, I think both of them are kicking at the same time!”

“Does it hurt when they do that?”

“No, not really.” she shrugs if off with a giggling smile. “In fact, it’s kind of ticklish when they do that.” But as soon as she said that, she undergoes another stronger kick that must have hit a funny bone since it causes her to giggle some more. “Oh! Easy on mommy, kids.” she comments with a grin as she gently pats her bulgy belly.

“Can I feel them for myself?” he asks of her with curiosity and eagerness.

Without a word, the smiling mare brings him in closely, and she delicately lays his head against her pregnant belly. With his face pressed alongside her bare stomach, he patiently waits for the unborn foals to start kicking again. And soon enough, he too feels their faint kicking from within.

“Rainbow, I can feel them! I can feel them kicking as well!” he beams ecstatically.

“See, I told you, didn’t I?” she informs with a merry chuckle.

Wanting to feel more of their developing babies’ movements, Ford presses his head against Rainbow’s belly even further. But from doing so, he receives a surprisingly strong hit that momentarily knocks him off of the expectant mother.

With a rub of his chin, he comments with an amusing smile, “Oh man, that was some kick! Would have knocked my jaw off like that.”

“Guess at least one of them will get their strength from their dad, huh?” she kids with a chuckling grin.

Sighing in content, he re-positions his head back on her rounded belly as he remarks with a very dreamy smile, “I… can’t believe it. We’re been through so much in one night, and now… we get to share this moment with our precious foals together.”

Equally thrilled as her husband, she smiles down on him and their twins as they bask in this wonderful moment of theirs. While he tenderly strokes her belly with one fore hoof, Rainbow lays a gentle hoof of hers on top of his as they continue to enjoy this blissful experience for just a little while longer.

After an immeasurable amount of time to themselves, she delicately interrupts their tender moment with a tiring smile, “Well, it’s pretty obvious that these tykes are getting restless right now, so I think it’s high time we get some proper shut-eye.”

Equally worn out as her, he lets out a big yawn before agreeing with a sluggish grin of his, “I’m with you on that one, Rainbow.”

After he gently helps her up from the couch, Rainbow tightens her grasp around Ford’s foreleg as she insists with a witty yet persistent grin, “And this time, I expect my big, strong Mustang to stay in bed with me by the time I wake up tomorrow morning, got it?”

With a clever smirk matching that with hers, he responds without a fuss, “As long as I have my favorite cuddle buddy with me, I’m not going anywhere!”

And after they seal off their deal with a tender kiss, the drowsy yet well-contented Pegasi flutters up the stairs and make their way to the bedroom. At the end of this long, strenuous night of theirs, they have now come to grips with a severe, life-changing event in the near future, but at the very least, they will face this together.

One day at a time.

Author's Note:

Okay, so that's it for the daily updates. For now, I'll update a new chapter as best as I can and try to keep it on a weekly basis.

Maybe bi-weekly at best.

And depending on how much content there is.

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