Chapter 3
Primary Care Giver
“She is underweight and mildly undernourished,” Nurse Redheart finally announced. “There are some signs of developmental problems, but that should fade with proper care and attention.” The white Earth Pony nurse set the young, skinny foal back into her basket. “It was a good thing that you came to the hospital as quickly as you did. A few more weeks and she would have certainly caught an infection, and that would have ended very poorly”
“Underweight? How could you know that? I though you didn’t recognize the breed of pony she was? Earth Pony foals are a lot stockier than Unicorn foals, which are heavier again than Pegasus foals.”
“I don’t, and I still don’t.” The nurse replied. “Nonetheless, I do know foals. There are certain proportions that all foals have no matter the breed. Wisp didn’t put on enough weight while she was in-utero.” The white Earth Pony mare shook her light pinkish mane. “I’ve seen some hard cases in Fillydelphia, but I never imagined seeing one out here in the country side. Given the state of the foal, her mother must have been caloric deficient for much of her pregnancy. I am almost surprised she carried to term.”
“Chrysalis was starving?”
Nurse Redheart nodded her head. “You know the mother?”
Twilight looked away. “We met briefly.” She answered simply.
“If you can meet her again, please tell her to go to the nearest hospital right away. She can get aid from Luna’s Royal Aid Foundation for Disadvantage Ponies.”
“I don’t think she…”
“If she won’t accept charity, please convince her that she is doing this for herself as well as for her foal. Her health is in jeopardy.”
“I’ll try.” Twilight answered, but she truthfully she knew there was very little chance of that happening. Twilight glanced at the changeling, a foal that was likely her niece. “How old is she?”
“Given that Honeydew Wisp still has her umbilical stump. I would say no more than a week old.”
“About the right time,” Twilight whispered.
“I take it you know more than you are letting on.” It wasn’t a question. “It’s rare for a mother to abandon her foal, but in every case which I have read about, she tends to leave it to a close friend or…. family.” Nurse Redheart stated.
“I…” Twilight stuttered as she tried to think of a convincing lie on the spot that didn’t involve her brother or a changeling queen and somehow explain the foal’s odd appearance.
“You don’t have to say anything, I won’t ask any further.”
“Thank you.”
“Shall I list you as her primary care provider?”
“Her what?” Twilight Sparkle asked. The question seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Her legal guardian,” Nurse Redheart clarified. “From the state of the foal, I would imagine her birth was clandestine. No medical professional would have allowed Wisp or her mother out of their sight.”
Legal guardian? Her? Twilight was as shocked as any pony could be given the circumstance. In her own estimate, she was certainly responsible enough to care for a foal, but to raise one; and to do so by herself, without a helping herd or a stallion? She didn’t feel all that mature… although there was Spike, and he was quite mature for his age. But that was not the crux of the problem, well not all of it. She couldn’t raise a changeling foal. “What if I can’t? What if I don’t want to? What if I return her back to her mother?”
“Returning Wisp to her mother would be a very cruel thing to do, Twilight Sparkle. Wisp would almost surely die.” Nurse Redheart shook her head and sighed. “In cases of foal abandonment, I have to inform the Royal Equestrian Foal Services in Canterlot. They will take Wisp in, and place her in an orphanage, where, hopefully, somepony will adopt her and give her a good home.” The nurse regarded the young, confused mare for a long moment.
“If you have any love for this foal, please consider taking her in. I know it is a big decision, but you don’t have to make up your mind immediately. Please give it some thought. Her mother must have left her foal to you for a reason.”
‘Because she would have been caught the moment she entered Canterlot’ Twilight Sparkle kept her thoughts to herself.
“A foal thrives better when she’s in a loving environment of friends and family. Not that I am maligning the good work of the Foal Services, but the numbers they handle simply preclude the kind of emotional stability that a dedicated care provider can give.”
“Okay, I’ll give it some thought.” Twilight finally promised and turned to leave.
“Twilight, how do you intend to feed Wisp?”
That small question stopped her mid stride. ‘Find the most loving pony in Ponyville and have my niece leach off said pony’s love like the parasites her breed of pony she is?’ Apart from that sarcastic thought, she had to admit between the hospital wait and the worry that true nature of the foal would be discovered, she had forgotten the original reason for being here in Ponyville General Hospital.
“A wet nurse has already fed and burped Wisp, but we usually encourage the primary care giver to nurse the foal on her own. It helps build a bond to the foal.”
“I… don’t know,” The uncertainty in her voice was apparent.
“The lactation spell is a simple spell, and nursing a foal is perfectly natural.” Nurse Redheart assured.
It was decision time for Twilight Sparkle. The purple Unicorn mare glanced at the changeling foal sleeping in the basket. Her thoughts were troubled. Could she freely give something of herself to a breed of pony that threatened to steal so much from her? The logical answer was no. She shouldn’t. She should be half way to Canterlot ready to throw... what? A foal into irons? This foal was likely her niece, her brother’s daughter. Its only fault was to have been born the wrong pony breed.
“Okay.” She said once. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
In the end the spell itself was rather simple compared to the troubled decision of performing it. She nearly backed out twice, but managed to convince herself to continue each time. It took hardly any magic to perform, as a mare’s body was built to care and feed her own foals when the time came. But it was still a strange feeling. It left her feeling bloated down below. Her udder were heavy and full.
“You should lie on your side when nursing Wisp.” Nurse Redheart advised.
“Is that normal? I thought all foals could stand and walk hours after they’re born.”
“Usually that is true. But Wisp is in such a poor condition, she simply does not have the strength to stand for long. I would also recommend keeping her indoors until she has a chance to put on a few pounds of weight. I wouldn’t risk an illness for a foal in her state.”
Dang Twilight just, I don't even want to talk about.
This is getting quite akward, I wonder what her friends will think if they find out about this.
this is just getting dam wired and award
I agree it is getting awkward, but yet I can't stop reading.
its not that weird.
An error: “A wet nurse has already feed and burped Wisp..." - 'feed' needs to be 'fed'.
659997
I completely agree. I mean-*shudders* It just sounds...WEIRD
Well...
Heh, I have read and made up worse. But I mean really who has the heart to let a foal
die.
Twilight is sure a brave one... but I have to wonder why they didn't just use cowmilk. We know there's a herd of bovines near ponyville that could help... unless there's a medical reason for it considering the half-breed nature of this little individual...
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There is no way this is going to end well.
703934
Each species' milk contains different vital nutrients, and the milk you buy at the grocery has most of those filtered out due to being potentially harmful to adults. There's a reason babies are either breast fed or given formula for the first few years of their life.
771414
Well, not all of them. Cow milk is still more fattening.
703934
It really depends on what niche the animal will fill later in life.
Arctic seals have fattening milk because of the polar clime they live in.
Cattle milk is made for building up the power needed in a bovine body.
Human milk contributes to the development of the brain, the nervous system, and the immune system.
Logically, being horses, their milk wouldn't be for fat, power, or smarts, but speed.
Despite the comparisons that will certainly be made with Past Sins (and which have been metafictionally anticipated by the author), this story is going a very different way - at least, in the details. I am eagerly looking forward to reading more of this.
This is getting incredibly awkward, but I can't stop reading.
Why is everyone acting so disgusted by the notion of nursing? Grow up.
This fic surprises me, because it handles the day to day and also mature subject matter that most fics just ignore. That, and it's incredibly accurate and thorough so far- gestation periods for horses are 11 months, meaning that the foal really is newborn. I can tell that the author has a sense for actual pony anatomy and physiology, which as a veterinary student I can relate to.
This isn't awkward at all to me, I must continue to read this, interesting story.
i keep on telling myself...
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but i cant stop reading
Maybe I've read too many fanfics, but I don't find this awkward at all.
To all those who do, welcome to the world of adoptive childcare!
WANT
773845
My uncle once told me it's because men are terrified of lactating. I don't know about that since I've never had a problem with it. But in this case it's a pony.
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So... her friends are going to discover a lactating Twilight with a foal.
...I wonder if they're going to wonder how Twilight Sparkle managed to hide her pregnancy for so long.
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771590
Hold it right there. They aren't horses. They are Ponies. Not "miniature horse" ponies, I might add, but "Unique Species" Ponies. As such, their milk needs to be geared towards brain growth, as well as endurance, be it magical (Unicorns), physical (Earth Ponies), or aerobatic (Pegasi).
I was very impressed with Nurse Redheart's competence, and keen senses of observation and deduction. Nice to know that Twilight won't be able to keep Wisp's existence under wraps. The ponies in this rfic actually have common sense!
That is all.
773845 Its not so much the physical aspect that is upsetting to people here, I think, so much as the emotional and psychological aspects that this is
1. by way of her brother, Twilight's newborn niece, who is also
2. the child of the latest and possibly, save for a freshly released Discord, greatest enemy that the E.o.H girls, and the whole of Equestria has faced in at least many centuries, and finally,
3. the one that is most possibly giving Twilight herself the shakes, is that she is a young lady, who while certainly old enough to marry and mate and start a family, would in all normal circumstances have some serious time to consider and prepare, but instead has been dealt a heavy hand that is "I'm having to care, feed, and provide for the illegitimate child of my brother and Queen Chrysalis like she was my own."
Now, I'm sure I have either glossed over or misinterpreted, and even passed over more relevant points, and can even think of more as I sit here and type, but would rather avoid the hour long multiple paragraphs long listings that just these two chapters have brought to mind.
I've only got one thing to say to Twilight - You're right to be worried but Wisp is not her mother and, most importantly, her future is not determined by her species.
The sheer oddness of all this has got me hooked. And I have a fucking test tomorrow I need to study and review for. I blame you and my weak focus PonyBlue!
Twilight Sparkle! Stop being cruel to something so adorable!
Poor Wisp, and congrats Twilight! You made a good decision, I think. I wonder why Nurse Redheart didn't recognize Chrysalis's name. I guess the news of the changeling invasion didn't spread far and wide... Chrysalis isn't a common name in Equestria, is it? Who would name their child Chrysalis?
2311878
Given how pony names tend to be prophetic in regards to their cutie marks, probably someone who had a foal who would grow up to have a cutie mark related to insects?
659997what did you expect from a story with a sex tab?
This....
This is win.
No proper transitions or scene setting. That's bad. But the premise is still good.
Also needs more explanation on twilights decision to make herself be able to feed the foal. It was sudden and felt like a paragraph was removed that explained the conception of the idea.
Look out for that.
Why is everyone getting grossed out about the breast feeding? It is not gross at all, I think it's cute.
3115487 I concur
booooring
2318845
Well, there was actually no sex involved. Just implied but whatever
Its not so much the act of breast feeding that is awkward to me. Its the fact that she's breast feeding a foal that is not hers and the fact that its not natural, its spell induced.
I find it funny that people feel awkward. I seems that some people cannot think about this in a mature way.
3179913
I concur as well.
3800097
Are baby bottles not a thing in this version of Equestria? Feels kinda forced.
Guess ponies never invented Simulac, huh?
how would she know that? shes not a unicorn
9353523
Probably experience
9353523
you imply that a professional medical pracitioner, who is more often than not shown to be the head/lead nurse, in a kingdom where a rough third of them have horns would not be knowledgeable of "simple" magic directly related to her field. given that healing spells are not a thing she would not know much but if they have a unicorn on the staff it would likely be a spell she has seen be put to use. Especially when she implied that she worked in other areas meaning that the pool of medical unicorns that she has had personal experience with has doubled or even tripled.