Chapter 38: Expansion
Chapter 38
Expansion
“How’s it coming out here?” Rarity and I walked out of my house with trays of cold drinks, and deposited them on the card table set out on the lawn.
“It’s getting there,” Torchwood panted, gliding down from the roof to accept an icy glass. I had reached my sixth month of pregnancy, but Torch and I realized that we still didn’t have a room for the baby. After all, we couldn’t keep the crib in our room forever. So, Torch took a few days off and utilized his weekends to do some renovating.
Adding an extra room was by no means a one-pony-job, so we’d recruited the help of our friends to get the job done. The house was cramped and compact as it was, so there wasn’t much space to add the addition. The only way we could squeeze it in was by adding a slender hallway branching off the second floor, adjacent to our bedroom. This posed a few architectural challenges, and made wings very useful. Applejack and Pinkie had insisted on doing their part, however, so we rounded up several ladders and made some special arrangements.
The addition was based on a very basic design off the top of my head. I took the sketches to Twilight, who helped me convert the drawings into blueprints. That was about as much as I had contributed up to this point, though. I was usually left to keep the workers in a steady supply of cold drinks and provide sandwiches for lunch, occasionally with Rarity’s assistance. I had yet to work on the addition myself. We agreed that it would be best if the young dragons stayed clear of the construction work, and since Art Life was closed for maintence, we’d sent them both off to run the library. Heckley wasn’t overly fond of the clamour the contstruction work created either, so he’d gone with the hatchlings.
“No worries. This’ll be the best nursery every built,” Rainbow assured, plucking a cup of lemonade from the offered tray.
“What makes ya say that?” Applejack inquired, selecting a chilled glass of applejuice.
“Duh. I helped build it,” the pegasus smirked, chugging her drink.
“Ha! I bet you’ve never built anythin’ besides buildin’ block towers in your life! I, on the other hoof, helped raise more barns n’ I can count.”
“Not true! I helped Fluttershy build a bird house once,” Rainbow argued.
“I rest my case,” smug Applejack grinned.
“Why you little-”
“Girls! That. Is. Enough,” Twilight intervened, gripping Rainbow’s technicolor tail in her telekinetic grip to prevent an impromptu wrestling match.
“Thanks for coming out to help, everypony,” I started, barely batting an eye at our friends good-natured bantering.
“Oh, no prob,” Rainbow assured, calmly settling back onto the grass. “It’s actually good practice for the Equestria Games coming up. Believe me, we can use all the practice we can get. Right, Fluttershy?”
“Oh, well, I guess there’s always room for improvement,” our shy yellow friend agreed.
“Maybe we should get Bulk Biceps over here next week,” Rainbow thought. “Would that be alright with you guys?”
“I wouldn’t mind a bit,” Torch shrugged, finally downing his glass of water.
“As long as he comes willingly,” I stressed. “And this stays a construction zone and not a practice session. The last thing we need is for somepony to get hurt.”
“You’ll make a good mother. You already sound like mine,” Rainbow chortled. I rolled my eyes as the rest of them laughed.
“You won’t be laughing when somepony ends up in the hospital.”
“Acrylic’s right. Those are perfectly reasonable ground rules,” Twilight giggled, still trying to compose herself.
“Deal,” Rainbow grinned. “Alright, I’ll go tell him.”
“You don’t mean right this moment?” Rarity spoke, giving her the same queer look as the rest of us.
“Before I forget,” she explained with a casual shrug. Before anyone could object, she was gone in her trademark rainbow-colored blur.
“But now who’s gonna hold up the frame?” Pinkie wondered.
“I could do it,” I volunteered.
“You?” they all exclaimed.
“Why not?” I shrugged.
“Why, darling, you’re pregnant!”
“So? Everyone says you can excersize until the last day of pregnancy. I’m sure that includes housework.”
“But if something were to happen...”
“Rarity’s right. Maybe ya should sit this one out,” AJ concurred.
“Come on, guys. I’d just be holding up the framework. That isn’t exactly life threatening.”
“But what if something horrible happened and it fell on you?” Fluttershy shuddered.
“Then I’ll have my best friends here to help me.”
“I’d really rather not take the chance. I rolled my eyes.
“What’s the matter? The chances of a freak accident happening are extremely low. And even if it did, Rarity or Twilight could just catch the frame in their levitation magic.”
“Or, I could simply use my levitation magic to hold the frame,” Rarity stepped in.
“That would make me feel better,” Twilight sighed with relief.
“Guys,” I whined. “I’m not helpless. I’m tired of menial housework. Let me do this.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Torchwood finally spoke, circling around to my side.
“You too?” He just helplessly shrugged, and looking at the worry painted on all of their faces, I realized there would be no bargaining. I slouched, defeated and cross. “Fine.”
“You know, Mr. Cake is out at a dessert fair today,” Twilight spoke. “That means Mrs. Cake is running Sugar Cube Corner all by herself. I bet she’d appreciate some company.”
“Alright, alright, I can take a hint,” I grumbled, slowly rising to my hooves and marching off. Kicked out of my own project. Was I really so incapbable? Rather insulted, I skulked off to town.
“Too incapable to hold up a simple wooden frame,” I grumbled to myself, kicking a pebble in my frustration. “Just because there’s a baby on the way. I guess I can’t hold a paintbrush by myself, either?” The next rock I kicked flew a little too high, making me grimace and pray it didn’t hit anypony. Thankfully, it rickocheted harmlessly off the town hall bulletin board and back to the ground. I was about to close the distance to the well known bakery when a familiar poster caught my eye.
“Settlement of the White Tail Woods Territory by Royal Decree,” I read the title. The reminder of what was to come brought a temporary smile to my lips, and for old times sake, I skimmed back over the fraying yellowed page. The last paragraph was what really grabbed my attention. “Volunteers are greatly needed and appreciated.” Greatly needed and appreciated, huh? That’s more than my friends could say. With a smirk of determination, I turned my back to Sugar Cube Corner and made for the train station.
I’d heard wonderful things about what was being done at the White Tail Woods construction site, but this was the first time I’d seen it myself. I was left gaping in awe at the sheer scale and magnificence of it all. These were rather dense woods, so rather than clearing them, a network of literal treehouses had been put in place, all connected by raised boardwalks and rope bridges. Because the development had originally been intended for thestrals who were used to living in the woods, this worked out just fine. The architecture was a marvel in itself, rustic yet homely, natural but domestic. In a word, it was breathtaking.
The volunteer coordinator was also rather skeptical about letting a pregnant mare work, but I assured him it was fine, so I was finally assigned to the delivery crew. That way I wouldn’t be dealing with any heavy equipment or dangerous tools. The whole project was so huge and well-coordinated that the construction teams required a steady flow of materials. By the time I finished delievering to one, another team would need fresh equipment, so I had my work cut out for me.
There were a few others I recognized at the volunteer site; Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstrings decided to spend their free time here this weekend, and had also been assigned to the delivery team. But since we were constantly moving, I didn’t get the opprotunity to chit chat. I also noted Flitter, Cloud Kicker and Thunderlane assisting on the top levels. I recognized several thestrals from my encampment as well as neighboring sectors, like Earthen Flame and Tanzanite Miner. Many of the Apple family members who were skilled in construction had showed up, though Big Mac and Granny Smith were nowhere to be seen. Even Vinyl had decided to lend a hoof. Meteor Strike and my father usually came out to help, but luckily, Dad had gone to visit Wild Flower this weekend. I wasn’t sure of Meteor’s whereabouts. Lastly, I briefly noted Ditzy Doo and Time Turner working down below, but thought nothing of it at the time.
“Somepony ran out of nails?” I called.
“That’d be me,” a voice rang out. The mass of ponies parted as a large stallion pushed through. I reached back to pull the box out of the canvas saddlebags the volunteer office had left me with. I gave them over to the grateful pegasus.
“There you are. The wood is on it’s way, they just needed to round up a couple extra hooves to get it over here.”
“I ‘preciate it,” he dipped his head. I turned to go, but he made no such motion. Rather, he started to stare. “I-I don’t mean to be rude Miss, but... are you pregnant?”
“I am, in fact,” I plainly stated.
“Beg pardon, Ma’am, but a construction zone is no place for a lady like yourself. You could get hurt. What if something happened to your youngin’ there?”
“Because handing you a pack of nails is such a dangerous job,” I sarcastically chuckled.
“Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he shrugged, returning to his workmates. I also turned to return to the delivery station.
I was leisurely trotting along one of the wooden rope bridges when the stallions carrying the lumber I promised approached. As it turned out, the only extra hooves they had available were those of earth ponies, so they had to use the bridge. It was perfectly wide enough to accomodate us both, and the wood was aligned so that I was in no danger of being hit, so I continued past. The stallions had no problem with it, and even gave me a respectful nod as we began to pass ways. Suddenly, a loud screech rang through the trees. I almost jumped out of my skin, especially because it had come from directly below me.
“DITZY!” Somepony yelled.
“It wasn’t me! It was the dalek!”
“Look out!” I wasn’t sure what was going on, but some sort of electrical whirring was heard, possibly some heavy equipment, followed by the loud *CRACK* of splintering wood. One of the sturdy branches to which the bridge was supposed to be secured had snapped. I instantly felt the limb give way when I lost my hoofing. I instinctively stretched out my wings to catch myself, but I’d forgotten about the construction workers beside of me. Because of the way the bridge tipped, they were sent sprawling my way, and the wood they’d been carrying clocked me in the head.
Everything was suddenly moving in slow motion. A haze filled my head that I just couldn’t seem to get rid of. My surroundings became nothing more than blurry shapes, little dots of color amongst a growing black void. I remembered hitting the ground, and the vague thuds of the other ponies landing around me. I was delirious by that point, because I thought I heard somepony calling, “Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!” in a voice that reminded me of a scratchy, broken record. This was followed by a faint *Vworp! Vworp!* before everything finally faded out to black.
“Acrylic?!”
“I’m up, I’m up,” I groaned, rolling over in bed. I recognized Torchwood’s distinctive sigh of relief before his large wings swallowed me up in a hug.
“You’re safe,” he quietly repeated over and over, more to reassure himself than me.
“Yes. I am,” I agreed, still a little fuzzy. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You just fell two stories and got hit by a four by four!”
“Oh yeah.” The previous events suddenly came crashing back. I had, hadn’t I?
“Acrylic!” Pounding hoofbeats rushed closer, and the door flew open. I looked to see who was coming, and realized for the first time that I was in one of the construction first aid trailers. It turned out to be the rest of our friends arriving, with Twilight in the lead.
“Are you alright?”
“You aren’t hurt?”
“What in Celestia’s name were you thinking?!” Twilight screeched.
“Is the baby okay?” The whole room suddenly went quiet, and my heart stopped. The consequences of my actions were finally crashing down on me. What if the baby had been hurt? It would be my fault, all because of this stupid escapade.
“The baby is fine,” one of the volunteering nurses spoke. “I did a scan just to be safe.”
“You don’t mean a magical scan?” Twilight went pale.
“But of course,” the nurse furrowed her brow in confusion. The whole group went quiet. I felt my stomach flutter with nervousness, and it wasn’t the baby. I couldn’t blame her- she hadn’t known any better. Even so, the ensuing anxiety made me sick. “Well... thank you,” Torchwood stiffly spoke. “You didn’t notice anything unusual by chance, did you?”
“I’ve never examined a thestral baby before, but as far as I could tell, everything seems fine. Though I must say, your kind is far more dragon-like than I thought,” she shrugged. A little more stern-faced, she looked at me. “As far as your wife is concerned, she just bumped her head. We gave her a mild painkiller, but there’s nothing we can do to make the bump go away any faster. Take it easy for the next couple of days.”
“Thanks,” I shamefacedly stared at the sheets.
“What happened to all the other ponies on the bridge? I hope no one was hurt,” Fluttershy nervously squeaked.
“It was strange. I heard a commotion outside, and then a knock at the door. I went to answer it, and found a stallion and that pegasus mare Ditzy Doo. They were carrying all the injured ponies in. I thought the stallion was Time Turner, but Ditzy kept calling him a doctor, so I let him help situate the patients while she explained what had happened. It was a lot of gibberish... something about ballots or decks...”
“Oh, you mean the daleks! They’re aliens from outer space. Ditzy’s always talking about them!” Pinkie helpfully inserted.
“Well, she claimed that one of these daleks broke the bridge they were standing on, and they all fell. I was hoping that doctor would stay and help, but he was gone by the time I turned around.” She rolled her eyes in frustration. “I was left to get things under control myself. They’re all fine now, resting in the other rooms.”
“Then kudos on a job well done,” Torch complimented, hoping to calm the frazzled mare. It worked. The praise instantly brought her out of the snappish mood, and she brightened up a bit.
“Thank you.” She looked as though this were her first time recieving commendation for her work. Her gaze briefly flicked to me, and her expression softened a bit. She even emitted a dry chuckle. “What in Equestria possessed you to volunteer in a construction zone while carrying a baby?”
“I don’t know,” I sheepishly flinched. I felt my ears flatten, and I couldn’t force myself to make eye contact with anyone. “When you guys didn’t want me working on the house, I thought... well... I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t comepletely useless. But I was stupid. I never should have tried anything like that. I was so hard-headed, so set on proving I could do it... I didn’t think of what could happen to the baby. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, darling,” Rarity cooed, “nopony thinks you’re useless.”
“’Course not, sugar cube,” Applejack sympathetically added.
“I never meant to make you feel useless,” Torchwood lightly rocked me. “I only wanted to keep you and the baby safe.”
“We were all trying to be very careful with the baby,” Fluttershy gently put in, consolingly touching her hoof to mine. “They’re just so tiny and fragile!”
“You’re anything but useless,” Rainbow spoke up. “You’re one of the most amazing ponies I know, besides me, of course.” We all rolled our eyes at her boasting. “But sometimes even the best of us have to take it easy.”
“You don’t just have yourself to think about anymore,” Twilight practically advised.
“I know that now,” I remorsefully nodded, eyes still fixed on the sheets. Torch lifted my chin until I was forced to gaze into his eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay. Everything’s okay. No harm no foul. This time,” he quickly added. Then he looked back to the nurse, who had been hanging around the back all this time. “Can we take her home?”
“If you’re feeling up to it, you’re free to leave,” she dismissed.
“I’m fine,” I attempted to shake off the day’s adventure and flipped the blankets aside. I slowly began sliding out of the cot, the movement finally inducing a headache. Torch stayed by the bedside to make sure I was alright, but our friends closest to the door began filing out to make way. They instantly turned back, though, when I stumbled on three hooves, one gripping my stomach. Torch reacted faster than a lightning bolt to steady me.
“Ooh.”
“What’s wrong?” Twilight panicked when she didn’t know what to do, and because she’d been banned from magic scans, her hysteric frenzies had grown far more frequent.
“Are you alright?” I met Torch’s concern with joy.
“The baby’s kicking,” I tenderly beamed. The worry on Torchwood’s face washed away, replaced by pride. I guided his hoof to the spot I’d felt the baby stirring.
“Ooh! Ooh! I wanna feel!” Pinkie bounced up in line, and I soon found myself swarmed by my friends. I couldn’t help but radiate with glee. This was the first time I’d felt movement. Up until now, ‘pregnancy’ had just been a word to describe the unpleasant symptoms I’d experienced for the past six months. Feeling the life we created finally gave me a better understanding of the word ‘mother.’ I was going to be a mother! I’d have a little foal to call my own. A young one to love and cherish, to teach and protect.
‘Charcoal, I promise, so long as I live, I’ll never let anything like that happen to you ever again.’
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Who has seen the Season 8 finale?
5425695 Me! It was great!
Again the fact that there isn't even a implementation of bedroom play for the pregnancy really bumps up my suspension. Get that it's not that kind of story but there isn't even a HINT about it happening. The way the story is set up makes it seem like they both are still virgins....stupid thing to rant about ik but still It's a plot hole no matter how minor.
5425695
Not me