Month 1 - or, Unexpected Arrivals

This summer had been amazing.

The head honchos up in Cloudsdale had finally recognized Rainbow Dash’s awesomeness and put her in charge of Ponyville’s weather team. She had been trying since early May to convince the review committee to watch her in action. As much as Rainbow hated cutting time away from practice, she’d written letters, dug up performance reviews, and begged nearly everypony she’d worked with for a recommendation to compile into her request to the weather team review board.

After months’ worth of paperwork, dozens of interviews, and a demonstration of clearing the nastiest lightning clouds Rainbow had ever dealt with, everything finally fell into place. The committee representative had pulled her aside at the end of the day and told her she’d made the cut. She had looped-the-loop for the entire flight home, cheering all the while.

She was settling onto her cloud-couch for a celebratory nap when she heard the subtle foomp of somepony landing on her front porch. Rainbow rolled off and onto her hooves to relieve the mailpony of the hefty bonus she knew was coming her way when a mischievous grin crept onto her face. She flew back over her couch to a nearby window, and from there out and over the top of her cloud-house, silently touching down on top of her porch awning with pinpoint precision. She pressed her body low against the cloud structure, holding her breath as she listened to the approaching hooffalls.

Four steps away ... three ... two ... one ...

Rainbow poked her head through the cloud and bellowed, “How’s it going, Stamp!?”

The pony below scrambled backward and fell with a yelp, tumbling off of the porch and landing in a puff of clouds. Rainbow rolled with laughter for a moment, enjoying a moment of schadenfreude at the expense of the grey pony below. Something nagged at her in the back of her mind, and when she looked down from her perch it occurred to her that Postal Stamp had been blue the last time she saw him. Plus he wore a mailpony’s uniform and he was—well, a he. Rainbow’s laughter died down as she fluttered down to her unintended victim.

“Heh ... sorry about that.” She grinned sheepishly and offered a helping hoof to the pony she’d unintentionally pranked. “I was expecting somepony else. You okay?”

The other mare stood back up and shook her head to bring her golden eyes back into alignment. “At least I know I found the right house. Good to see you again, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow squinted, trying to put her hoof on why this mare seemed so familiar. Grey coat, blonde mane, bubbles cutie mark—

“No way! Ditzy Doo?” She helped the grey mare to her hooves, brushing away a stray puff of cloud from her mane. “Sorry again about that. Jeez, it’s been forever since I saw you! How’ve you been?”

“Not too bad.” Ditzy gave a nervous little smile and didn’t quite meet her old friend’s eyes. “How about you?”

Rainbow Dash’s smile fell slightly; she wasn’t exactly talented at reading body language, but something seemed a bit off about the way Ditzy was holding herself. Her wings more or less drooped off of her back, and the bubbly cheerfulness that Rainbow remembered from Flight Camp had been replaced by a half-smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She’d probably just had a long flight, Rainbow thought to herself. Give her a good nap and a hearty snack, and she’d be back to her old bubbly self in no time!

Before Rainbow could say anything else, a blue figure burst over the cloud line and landed on the edge of her porch. The real Postal Stamp laid his ears back in apprehension.

“Um, hey there Rainbow Dash. Looks like you’re not going to get to prank me today—unless you’ve already got something set up and you’re just waiting for me to set it off.” The postal pony nervously looked over the clouds around Rainbow’s doorway. Once he was reasonably certain there weren’t any nasty surprises in store for him, he trotted over and retrieved a thick envelope from his saddlebags. “I think this is the paperwork from Cloudsdale. I guess that makes it official. Congratulations.”

Ditzy’s ears perked up with interest. “What’s going on?”

Rainbow smirked and tapped a hoof to her chest. “You are looking at Ponyville’s new head weather pony! Old Breezey Wind finally retired, and they gave me her job ‘cause I’m the only pony awesome enough for it.”

Ditzy shook her head at Rainbow’s antics. “I see your ego’s still doing just fine.”

“It’s not my fault I was born twenty percent cooler than all the other fillies,” Rainbow shot right back.

“Right.” Postal Stamp shuffled his wings in the pegasus equivalent of a shrug. “I’ll leave you two be then.”

“See you tomorrow, Stamp!” Rainbow waved goodbye to the mailpony. The stallion groaned as he imagined what traps she would have ready for him the next day.

“C’muu en.” The envelope in Rainbow’s mouth words muffled her words. They went inside, and Rainbow absently spat her mail onto a table. She reached into the floor beneath her and pulled up enough cloud to make a vaguely couch-like lump. As Ditzy took a seat, Rainbow made her way to the kitchen and reached into a grey patch of cloud; a chill shot up her foreleg as her hoof searched the ice-cloud for the bottle of apple juice contained within. She grabbed one for herself and another one for Ditzy, and returned to the living room to join her friend on the impromptu sofa.

“Sooo,” Ditzy began, drawing the word out. “You live in Ponyville now?”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty cool little town.” Dash grinned enthusiastically. “Best part is it’s not just me here. Fluttershy moved here right after we graduated to work with all the animals, and Cloud Kicker came here a couple months back—some sort of thing with her family and her not wanting to join the Guard. We’ll have the old gang back together again now that you’re here. This is gonna be so awesome!”

“No kidding? That’s great, I haven’t seen either of them in years! Well, I saw Cloud Kicker around Canterlot once or twice, but we never really had a chance to talk. I’ll have to say hi while I’m in town.” She took a sip of her juice as she leaned forward in her seat. “I’m kinda surprised you and she get along after what happened at Flight Camp."

“Eh, we had a lot of time to talk to each other after... Well, after.” Rainbow cleared her throat and changed to a happier topic. “Besides, once I realized there was nothing more those slowpokes at Flight Camp could teach me anyway, I went and joined the Junior Speedsters. That was pretty cool, and it helped me figure out what I wanna do with my life. The weather thing is just temporary—something to pay the bills until I’m good enough to make the Wonderbolts. What about you, what've you been up to?”

Ditzy smiled, pleased to see that her friend was still aiming for the stars. “Well, nothing nearly that exciting. After Flight Camp my parents sent me to a finishing school and then it was off to Duke Polaris University until…” She looked away and idly dug at the cloud with a hoof. “Say, what about Cloud Kicker and Fluttershy? What have they been doing?”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at the sudden and very obvious change of subject, but she decided not to press the matter just yet. “Well, Fluttershy moved down to the ground and took some classes in animal care, and now she spends all day feeding bunnies and stuff. Seems kinda boring to me, but she enjoys it. Cloud Kicker’s on the weather team with me. Said she went to military school for a while before she decided she didn’t wanna join the Guard. Can’t say I blame her; the armor is cool and all, but I’d go nuts if I had to spend all day getting bossed around by other ponies.”

“Yeah, I remember hearing about her dropping out of West Hoof, everypony was gossiping about it for days afterwards.” Ditzy gave a nervous little giggle. “That’s actually how I knew to find you; I’d heard she ran off to Ponyville and you’d helped her out. I guess I was hoping you could ... well, never mind.”

“Sheesh, ya make it sound like I’m running a charity here or something.” Rainbow decided that she’d danced around the subject long enough and cut to the chase. “What brings you to Ponyville, anyway?”

Ditzy shifted uncomfortably on the cloud-couch. “It’s a bit of a story.”

Rainbow smirked at her. “My attention span’s gotten a little better since Flight Camp, you know. Paperwork’s nowhere near as cool as my old comic books but it’s part of the job.” She held her smile for a minute longer, but it faded as Ditzy remained silent. “You’re not just in town to say hi, are you?”

“No, I’m not. I um ... I needed some space after a fight at home.”

Rainbow blinked. Ditzy had been the easiest pony to get along with in Flight Camp, second only to Fluttershy, and she doubted that some stuffy finishing school could have changed that. Alarm bells rang in her mind as she tried to imagine what could set Ditzy off badly enough to leave home. “C’mon, families fight all the time. Did your brother wake you up singing in the shower or something?”

“No, things are actually pretty good between me and Cirrus. Me and my parents, on the other hoof ...”

Rainbow shrugged. “Okay, so you got into a fight with your parents. Big deal. I did that all the time after I quit Flight Camp. It was never anything big enough to leave home about, though. What happened?”

Ditzy drained her apple juice. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Alarms kept going off in Rainbow’s mind. ‘Tactful’ was too close a word to ‘subtle’ to apply to Rainbow, but even she knew when to change the subject. Sometimes.

“Okay ... so, you’re in the area for a few days. That’s cool! You’ll have to stop in town to say hi to everypony.”

“Actually, I haven’t found a place yet. Are there any hotels around that—”

“Hotel schmotel.” Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively. “I’ve got a spare room that needs to do something better than hold my dust collection.”

She suddenly found herself unable to breathe as Ditzy hugged her. “Thank you so much.”

“Jeez, it’s just a room.” Rainbow patted her on the back awkwardly. Ditzy wiped her eyes and pulled back with an awkward laugh.

“Sorry, sorry.” Rainbow didn’t miss the subtle slump in her wings as Ditzy sank back to her hooves. “It’s been a really long day.”

“Sounds like it. Anything I can get for you?”

Ditzy thought for a second. “Actually, could I borrow some paper? I need to write a letter.”

“Yeah, no problem. Just leave it on the table when you’re done—I’ll drop it off on the way to work tomorrow.”

Rainbow’s first day as Ponyville’s weather manager required a bit of adjustment. Being the boss is a lot more complicated than anypony ever told her. Ponies kept coming to her, expecting her to think and make decisions and stuff. It had been so much easier when her job was just to go do whatever Breezey Wind said and the toughest decision she had to make was whether to focus on being awesome, cool, or radical.

Being the weather manager had its perks though. Now, she could tell other ponies to go do all the boring stuff she didn’t want to bother with herself. Plus there was the whole ‘being the boss’ thing. Breezey Wind had been a pretty hoofs-off manager, but Rainbow Dash was a free spirit. Not having to do what somepony else told her was very satisfying.

As she landed on her doorstep, another adjustment sprang to her mind. Sure, Ditzy was just staying here for a couple days until things with her folks got sorted out, but it was still a bit weird having another pony living in her house. Rainbow had just gotten used to living on her own after she’d moved away from home, and now she had to get used to living with another pony all over again. Well, it was only temporary and Ditzy was pretty easy to get along with. A lot easier than Rainbow Dash herself, in all honesty.

Rainbow Dash strode through the door and was about to announce herself when she heard it: the sound of somepony crying. The pegasus took off like a bolt of lightning. “Ditzy! Are you okay? What happened!?” If somepony had gone and made Ditzy cry, they were in for a serious flank-kicking. Nopony made her friends cry.

Rainbow found her curled on the floor, sobbing. Ditzy tried to answer her question, but Rainbow couldn’t make out anything beyond unintelligible blubbering. However, she saw Ditzy motion a hoof at an open letter on the ground. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together, so she grabbed the letter and started reading.

August 22, 994

Ditzy,

You have no idea how relieved I was to get your letter yesterday. I’m glad that you’ve found a place to stay for a while. Honestly, I thought you’d be coming back home, but for once I’m glad I was wrong. Dad’s been on the warpath since your fight with him and Mom. He’s mad, madder than I’ve ever seen him. And Mom, well...

Mom cut you off.

It’s over-the-top, I know, and feathering stupid on top of it. You all said some pretty harsh things the other night, but that’s going way too far. I’ve been trying to talk some sense into her since you left, but you know how she is when she gets something in her head—it takes things exploding in her face twice before she’ll admit she’s wrong. Now that I think about it, things already did.

I won’t lie to you Dee, I don’t know what’s going to happen next—and that scares me. Ever since you sat us down for that talk, things have gone to Tartarus in a saddlebag. But I will tell you this: I’m your brother, I love you, and I’m here for you. You are not alone.

I’ll keep trying to smooth things over on this end, but I’ve sent you some money to keep your head above the water in the meantime. Don’t spend it all in one place, all right? Also, try to remember to watch your diet. Don’t overexert yourself either, and above all take it easy! Remember, it’s not just about you anymore.

Your loving brother,

Cirrus.

Rainbow immediately flew over and wrapped her wings around Ditzy. Admittedly, touchy-feely stuff wasn’t her area of expertise, but even she knew when a pony needed a hug. Ditzy clutched Rainbow like a drowning pony, sobbing into her chest.

After a few minutes of awkwardly trying to impersonate Fluttershy’s soothing tones, the worst of Ditzy’s tears passed. “What does he mean, ‘it’s not just about you anymore?’ Is he coming out to meet you or something?” Why had Rainbow Dash even asked that question first out of all the questions that could have sprung to mind? Maybe just because it seemed so much easier to wrap her head around than the fact that Ditzy’s parents had just completely tossed her aside. “And what’s all this about watching your diet? Why do you have to take it easy? Are you sick or something? What’s going on?”

Ditzy mumbled something into Rainbow’s chest, and when the weathermare broke the hug she saw the naked fear in Ditzy’s eyes. She started to speak and cut herself off several times before finally whispering her reply.

“I’m pregnant.”

“You—you’re—what?” The blank shock on Rainbow’s face slowly transformed into an angry grimace, and there was a hint of budding fury in her voice. “Your parents threw you out and cut you off from them knowing you’re pregnant?”

“Um...” Ditzy had enough experience with her old friend’s moods to recognize a brewing storm.

Without another word, Rainbow flew up to her room. "A few seconds later Ditzy heard several whumps that could only come from solid objects hitting cloud, occasionally followed by an angry mutter.

“Rainbow Dash?” Ditzy followed her friend into her room. There was an open suitcase on Rainbow’s bed, and the weather manager was shoving everything she could lay her hooves on into it. “Rainbow, what’re you doing?”

“Packing,” she answered tersely.

“Packing? Where are you going?”

“Canterlot.”

“Why?”

“So I can kick your parents’ sorry flanks!” Rainbow exploded. “By the time I’m done with them, they’re gonna be begging you to come back!”

“No, Rainbow Dash!” Ditzy flew around in front of her furious friend. “I understand that you’re mad at my parents, but you can’t do that! You’d get in trouble, and it wouldn’t fix anything!”

“It would fix their attitudes!” Rainbow snapped.

Ditzy snatched the handle of Rainbow’s suitcase in her mouth. “I said no, Rainbow!”

“Let go, Ditzy!” Rainbow clamped her teeth onto the other end of the suitcase. The two mares each tugged stubbornly, but they were stuck in a stalemate; Rainbow had more raw muscle, but Ditzy had a better grip thanks to the handle.

“Leggo!” Rainbow insisted around her mouthful of suitcase.

“No, you leggo!” Ditzy countered.

After a few seconds of deadlock, Rainbow came up with a particularly devious idea. Right as Ditzy was giving a particularly strong tug on her end of the suitcase, Rainbow Dash let go. Ditzy immediately overbalanced and fell onto her back.

After reveling in her victory for a brief moment, Rainbow’s smug grin melted into a horrified expression when she realized what she’d done. “Oh Celestia! I’m so sorry, Ditzy! Are you okay? I was just—I didn’t think—oh please be okay!”

Ditzy got back to her hooves and gave Rainbow Dash a reassuring smile. “Relax, I’m fine. I’m only a couple weeks in. Besides, I fell on my back. Onto a cloud. I’d be in more danger if I rolled onto my stomach in bed.”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “Okay, good. Jeez, when you fell down and I remembered you’re ... I’m just glad you’re okay.” She took a couple more deep breaths to calm herself; she doubted that Ditzy had meant to scare her, but the fright had effectively ended Rainbow’s bout of explosive rage.

Ditzy put her hooves on top of Rainbow’s and looked her friend in the eyes. “I really appreciate what you were trying to do, Rainbow Dash, but right now the last thing I need is for one of my friends to get herself into trouble on my account. I understand that you’re mad at my parents—I’m not happy with them either—but can you promise me you won’t go and do something foalish? Please?”

Rainbow grumbled. “Fine.” Despite her promise, she couldn’t resist tossing out one final barb. "Your parents are still a bunch of stuffy nobles with their heads so far up their plots that they're shagging themselves with their own horns."

Ditzy snorted at that mental image. "My parents are pegasi, you know."

"Pssh.” Dash waved a forehoof. “Details. Besides, if they’re going to be this un-cool they don’t deserve their wings."

Ditzy helped Rainbow clean up the mess from her hasty attempt at packing. Half an hour passed before they had put everything back in its place. As she unpacked, Ditzy increasingly wondered how Rainbow had planned to intimidate her parents with a suitcase full of quills, Wonderbolts posters, irrigation requests from the weather team, and a picture frame. Though she didn’t mean to pry, she couldn’t help but notice that some of the forms were unsigned paychecks. Her ears perked as a thought struck her.

“I guess I’m going to need a job, huh?”

“I can make room for you on the weather team,” Rainbow told her.

“You can do that, just give me a position?”

“New manager, remember? I’m the boss now, I can hire anypony I want.” Which was true enough; as long as her team got the weather taken care of, nopony in Cloudsdale would get too bothered about how she ran things.

Ditzy let out a long sigh. “When can I start?”

“Tomorrow morning, bright and early.”

“Thank you, Rainbow.” Ditzy gave her friend one last squeeze. “I’m ... really glad I have you as a friend.”

“I am pretty awesome like that. C’mon, I’ll fill you in on what to expect over dinner.”

The two mares trotted downstairs, and Rainbow pulled up a cloud-cushion for Ditzy before going to the kitchen. She didn’t have much in the way of food—just what she kept on hoof for her activities: granola, protein bars, and muscle supplements. She preferred meals that were quick and easy to put together so as not to take away from her practice routine. It took a bit of digging, but she found a loaf of bread and some day-old daisy buds that she cobbled into a passable specimen of a sandwich. She grabbed a pair of bottles of apple juice out of her ice-cloud and laid everything out on the table, pulling up a cloud-cushion next to Ditzy.

The two of them ate in silence for a few minutes, the promise of explanation tactfully forgotten. Rainbow occasionally shot a glance at her friend or opened her mouth to speak, only to cut herself off with another helping of her meal. Eventually though, she finished her meal and decided to ask something which had been nagging at the back of her mind.

“So ...” Rainbow let the word hang poignantly in the air as she picked up her drink. “How’d it happen?”

“The usual way: I had sex.”

Rainbow snorted and sprayed apple juice across the table, and Ditzy’s hoof shook from laughter as she tried to hand her a napkin. Rainbow had forgotten about her friend’s dry sense of humor.

“I mean, what brought you here? How’d you find out you were knocked up?”

Ditzy’s smile wavered. “It started with an end-of-summer party. I don’t really remember much about it—just that somepony snuck in some hard drinks and that this really cute unicorn I’d seen around campus was there. He and I stayed late to help clean up, and eventually it was just the two of us. We’d both had a lot of cider and, well ... you can guess.” She nudged the sandwich in front of her. “I started feeling odd about two weeks later—tired, nauseous, moody. I put two and two together pretty quickly and went to one of the University doctors. Classes ended two days later, and the first thing my parents did when I got home was ask me if anything interesting had happened over the semester.”

Rainbow snorted. “Somehow I don’t think that was the update they were looking for.” Ditzy looked away and uncomfortably shifted her hooves, and Rainbow put an apologetic hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Aw jeez, Ditzy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean...”

Ditzy cleared her throat before looking back to her friend. “It’s okay. Hoof-in-mouth syndrome is part of the Rainbow Dash experience.” She nudged her friend playfully. “You’re right, though: ‘I’m pregnant’ was a pretty big bombshell. Mom tried to shoo Cirrus out of the room, but by that point he’d heard enough that there wasn’t any way to put the manticore back in its cave. Not remembering who the father was beyond ‘some cute unicorn’ didn’t do me any favors, but things didn’t really go to Tartarus until Dad reminded me that I didn’t have to have the foal.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide as she whistled. “Yikes. Wrong thing to say, huh?”

Ditzy nodded glumly. “I pretty much exploded at him after that. I didn’t even mean to really, but I hadn’t thought about being pregnant as anything more than a condition until he said that. When I thought of it like that … it’s my baby, Dash.” Her wing absently stroked her belly as she spoke. “Celestia ... something not even the size of a grain of sand and I cut him to ribbons over it. If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t say some of the things I said to him. He and I have always been really close, and I know I chose words that would hurt him. Then Mom jumped on me for what I said to Dad, and I blew up at her too. Cirrus tried to defuse things and told us all to take a break, so I went up to my room, grabbed my coinpurse, and flew out the window. Then I came here.”

Rainbow draped a wing around her friend. “Look on the bright side Ditzy: your parents are jerks anyway. You’re gonna be fine; you and me will have an awesome time doing ... um ... foal-having preparation-type stuff.”

Rainbow’s pep talk had a less-than-optimal effect. Ditzy shot her a halfhearted smile before turning her head away, and Rainbow heard her cut off a sob. Open mouth, insert hoof. Time for a change of topic. “Anyway ... what do ya want to do next? I could give you the two-bit tour of Ponyville, or we could go visit—”

Ditzy held up a hoof. “Actually, if you don’t mind I’d really like to take a nap. I was a bit burned out even before the mail came.”

“Go ahead, I’ll clean this up.” Rainbow nodded and plastered a smile on her face as she watched Ditzy make her way up the stairs. Once her friend was out of sight, Rainbow smacked a hoof against her forehead with an audible wop. One of these days she’d learn to think before speaking.

The next day, the two friends were off to the town square. By the time they arrived, the rest of Rainbow’s regular weather staff was already there, so Rainbow Dash wasted no time getting down to business. “All right everypony, this is Ditzy Doo.” She pointed a hoof at her old friend. “She’s gonna be working with us from now on.”

Ditzy hung back a little behind Rainbow, giving a bashful wave of her hoof to the collection of new pegasi.

Rainbow Dash frowned as a problem came to mind. Normally she would’ve handled Ditzy’s on-the-job training herself, but being the manager meant she had to spend time actually managing the rest of the team. She couldn’t afford to spend all day showing a newbie the ropes.

What was it the old boss had told her to do in situations like this? Oh yeah, delegate. But who could she trust to take care of Ditzy? It’d have to be somepony who knew what they were doing and capable of explaining everything in a way Ditzy could understand. And then there was her condition to be considered...

Lucky for Ditzy Doo, Rainbow Dash had an awesome idea for who to put in charge of her training. “Cloud Kicker! Need ya for something!”

The pegasus in question flew up to her. “Heya Rain—er, boss. Lemme guess: I get to show Derpy the ropes, right?” Cloud Kicker grinned as she looked over at Ditzy.

“Yeah. I’d do it myself, but I’m gonna be busy handling all the manager stuff today.” Rainbow silently congratulated herself on the solution she’d found; one of Ditzy’s old Flight School buddies would be perfect for the job. Plus, since Cloud Kicker had that whole thing with her family that got sorted out, maybe she could give Ditzy some advice—or at least say something to cheer her up.

Well, Cloud Kicker was perfect with one catch. “Ditzy’s going through a lotta stuff right now, so don’t even think of trying your usual thing on her. If you do I’ll fire your flank so fast your head’ll spin, and then I’ll kick your flank too, just for good measure.”

Cloud Kicker gave a understanding smile. “I guess that would make us even, then. Don’t worry, boss—Derpy’s in good hooves. Not like that!” she added quickly, feeling the heat from Rainbow’s glare. “Derpy’s one of my oldest friends, I’m not gonna mess with that. I’ll show her how we do things up here and nothing else.”

“Super.” Rainbow held a smile for a moment. “Just remember: I’m gonna be watching you.” She pointed a hoof to her eyes, then Cloud Kicker to emphasize her point.

“Yeah, yeah.” Cloud Kicker indignantly blew a tuft of her blonde mane out of her eyes. “Gimme a little credit, boss; banging her would break about half my rules.”

“You put one hoof on her and I’m gonna be breaking something else,” Rainbow warned.

“Sheesh, I get it already. Besides, we both know I could take you in a fight.” Before Rainbow could warn her yet again, Cloud Kicker flew past her and over to Ditzy. “Hey, Derpy! Haven’t seen you in a while. Don’t worry, I am most definitely not going to attempt to bang you. Promise. At least not until the boss’ back is turned.”

Ditzy chuckled when Cloud Kicker broke out the nickname she’d given Ditzy back in Flight School and embraced her old friend. "You've changed a lot since Flight Camp."

The pegasus shrugged and gave an easy grin. “Well, a lot of stuff happened. You know hot it goes” The two pegasi took to the sky. “So, what brings you to Ponyville anyways?”

Ditzy hesitated for a moment before she answered; the wounds were still fresh enough that it hurt to talk about what happened with her parents, especially after the letter she received yesterday. “I got into an argument with my parents. I ... I needed some space.”

“Oh, gotcha.” Cloud Kicker threw a lavender hoof over Ditzy’s shoulders and pulled her into a one-legged hug. “Don’t worry, I got into a real nasty one with my folks a while back. Give it a couple weeks for everypony to cool down a bit, and it’ll all work out.”

Ditzy grimaced. “I think it’s a bit worse than that.”

Cloud Kicker pulled Ditzy a little closer and gave her a gentle nuzzle. “Wanna talk about it?”

Ditzy leaned into the hug for a moment before gently freeing herself. “Later. It’s ... it’s a long story. Can we just focus on the weather for now? I’d like to have something to take my mind off everything.”

“You got it.” Cloud Kicker spent the next couple hours showing Ditzy the ropes. She knew Ditzy well enough to stick to the basics; throwing out anything too complicated wouldn’t end well, especially on her first day. Still, there was plenty of stuff that even Ditzy couldn’t mess up.

“Alright, time to teach you about ... kicking clouds. Imagine that.” Cloud Kicker and Ditzy shared a laugh at the ironic appropriateness of her name. “Good thing my dad’s not teaching the class or you’d be learning about kicking tornadoes. Anyway, you might think busting up clouds is pretty easy, but there is a bit of a trick to it. You gotta hit it hard enough to actually disperse the cloud, but not hard enough that you bust it up into chunks that go flying all over the place. It’s easy once you get the hang of it. Just watch me.”

Cloud Kicker stretched her rear legs a couple times and bucked a cloud, scattering it into a puff of rapidly dispersing water vapor. “See? Nothing to it. You try.”

Ditzy flew up to a cloud and did her best to follow Cloud Kicker’s example. She cocked her legs and kicked it with a moderate amount of force. Everything went exactly the way it should, right up to the point where a lightning bolt shot out of the cloud and struck Cloud Kicker. Ditzy squeaked a string of apologies as her friend crash-landed back first on a larger cloud a short ways below them.

Two seconds later, Rainbow Dash abandoned the clouds above them and frantically flew down to the scene. “Ditzy! You okay?”

Cloud Kicker’s mane stood comically on end as she raised her head off of the cloud. “Is she okay?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t pay the other pegasus any mind. “Do you want to take a break? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

“I’m fine, Rainbow,” Ditzy reassured her friend. “Really.”

“I’m fine too, thanks for asking,” Cloud Kicker quipped. “You know, it’s not like I just got zapped by lightning or anything!”

Rainbow Dash continued ignoring Cloud Kicker’s complaints. “Oh jeez, if something happened to the foal I don’t know what I’d do ...”

Cloud Kicker’s wings flared in shock as the full meaning of Rainbow’s words sank in. “What!?” she screamed. “Foal? You—Derpy are you ...”

Ditzy nodded hesitantly.

“Oh. That’s ... well that’s ... huh.” Cloud Kicker recovered from her initial shock–both of them–and rounded on her boss in a fury. “You let her work with a lightning cloud while she’s pregnant? Are you out of your mind!?”

Rainbow flared her wings. “There wasn’t supposed to be any lightning in those clouds! That was a training nimbus, the most boringly safe thing I could lay hooves on!”

The two mares turned to stare at Ditzy, who smiled sheepishly and waved an apologetic hoof. “My bad.”

After finishing up with work for the day, Ditzy and Rainbow Dash needed to pick up a couple things before they could head home. Having a new pony move in did create a few unexpected complications compared to Rainbow’s single life, especially since Ditzy had left Canterlot in such a hurry. Remembering to pack a toothbrush is rarely at the top of one’s list of priorities after a painful and emotionally draining shouting match with one’s parents.

The two pegasi managed to get most of their shopping done when the event Rainbow Dash had been dreading ever since Ditzy arrived in Ponyville happened. It had been foolish to hope she could hold it off forever, but she had hoped it would at least be a couple more days before she struck.

“Oh my Celestia! New pony!” A distressingly cheerful pink earth pony bounced over to Ditzy. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I’ve never seen you before and I know everypony in Ponyville so if I’ve never seen you before then you must be new! What’s your name?”

Rainbow Dash groaned into her hoof while Ditzy smiled at the energetic pony. “I’m Ditzy Doo.”

“Nice to meet you, Ditzy Doo!” Pinkie’s grin was so wide that the two pegasi were somewhat amazed it could actually fit on her face. “Anyway, if you’re new in town you must not have very many friends yet, so how about—”

“Actually, Rainbow Dash is an old friend of mine.”

“Oh, that’s just super-duperiffic!” Pinkie cheered. “If you’re one of Dashie’s friends, I’ll have to throw you the biggest and bestest welcome party ever!” Pinkie let out a huge gasp. “Wait right here, I gotta go get the Welcome Wagon!”

The pink pony sprinted off. The instant she was out of sight, Rainbow put her hooves against Ditzy’s rump and started pushing. “C’mon, hurry! We gotta get out of here before she gets back!”

Ditzy frowned at her friend. “What are you talking about?”

“Trust me, you don’t know her like I do.” Rainbow Dash frantically looked about making sure that the insane mare was still out of sight. “If you don’t watch out, that crazy pony will latch onto you and she will never, ever leave you alone. When I first got here, she spent an entire week following me around trying to become my friend. I finally had to tell her yes just to get her to go away for five lousy minutes!”

“You’re exaggerating.” Ditzy glowered at her friend, just a bit annoyed with her.

“I wish I was.” Rainbow grumbled under her breath. They turned the corner to come face-to-face with the single strangest wagon Ditzy had ever seen. Somehow—impossibly—Pinkie Pie was right beside it, bracing herself while balancing on her hind legs.

“Oh Dashie, now’s not the time for hide-and-seek! I mean I love hide-and-seek, but you would not believe how hard it is to move the Welcome Wagon around to surprise you!”

“Not hard enough, apparently.” Rainbow sighed. Ditzy was impressed that this strange pony had somehow lugged such a massive wagon around so quietly.

Pinkie tapped a button on the side of her wagon, and music blared as she broke into song:

“Welcome welcome welcome,
A fine welcome to you!
Welcome welcome welcome,
I say how do you do?
Welcome welcome welcome,
I say hip-hip-hurray!
Welcome welcome welcome,
To Ponyville todaaaaaaay!”

Pinkie knelt down as a compartment in the front exploded open with a metallic ding, sending a cake flying out at high speed. She caught it with practiced ease, not even flinching as a set of barrels built into the back of the wagon thundered and sent confetti streaming into the air.

Ditzy clapped her hooves in delight. “That was all for me? Aw, thank you!” It was then that she noticed ponies emerging from cover nearby. “Were you all part of this too?”

“Well no,” Pinkie admitted with a smile. “Sometimes I get the compartments mixed up on the Welcome Wagon and load the cake batter into the confetti cannons. It’s a bit messy, but I got it right this time! And speaking of cake—” she held out the cake in her hooves. Somehow, the words Welcome to Ponyville New Pony I Don’t Know! were flawlessly spelled out in green icing. “Here you go!”

Ditzy set the cake down on the table at a nearby cafe as Pinkie retrieved plates and napkins from the Welcome Wagon. Once they realized that the danger had passed, the townsponies hesitantly joined the impromptu gathering. Pinkie divvied out slices of cake, giving Ditzy the piece with “New Pony” written on it. “Usually I give the new ponies the slice with their name on it, but I wasn’t able get yours since I wanted to surprise you out here. I hope you don’t mind!”

Ditzy slid her plate in front of her on the table. “It’s okay! I’m still surprised anypony threw me a welcome party at all.”

“Ditzy, are you sure you should be eating that?” Rainbow sat down next to her, a slightly smaller piece of cake on her own plate.

Ditzy smiled at her friend. “It’s fine, Rainbow. I can have a bit of sugar every now and then.”

Rainbow sighed. “You’re supposed to be watching your diet now, remember?”

Pinkie immediately shot over to Ditzy’s side. “What’s wrong? Is the sugar too sugary? Is the cake too cakey? Too much frosting? Not enough? Too much frosting in some places and not enough in others? Did Gummy get into the cake batter again? Wait! Gummy’s not inside the cake now, is he? Don’t eat him! Gummy’s not cake, he’s an alligator!”

“There aren’t any alligators in my cake,” Ditzy answered hesitantly.

Pinkie let out a relieved breath. “Well why didn’t you just say so? Anyway, if you’re not worried about getting alligators in your cake, then why are you watching it? Cake doesn’t do anything except sit there, silly. You should try eating it instead. That’s what I always do.”

After a moment of consideration, Ditzy decided to tell Pinkie the truth. If she was going to be staying in Ponyville, it wouldn't stay secret for long anyway. "I’m eating for two now."

Pinkie Pie let out a cheerfully oblivious giggle. “Mr. and Mrs. Cake always say that I eat as much as two ponies too!”

Rainbow glowered at her. “She’s got a bun in the oven.”

Pinkie let out an excited gasp. “You’re a baker? We should have a baking party!”

“She’s expecting,” Dash clarified.

“Expecting what?” Pinkie asked. “Didja order something really cool in the mail? Wait! You’re expecting a really big ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’ aren’tcha? Well don’t worry, Pinkie Pie’s gotcha covered there! This is gonna be the best ‘Welcome to Ponyville Old Friend of Dashie’s’ party since Cloud Kicker moved here!”

“She’s pregnant!” Dash shouted in exasperation. When Pinkie stared at her in surprise, Rainbow added, “That means she’s gonna have a baby!”

“Well duh!” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “That’s what happens when a pony gets pregnant. Sheesh, Dashie, I thought you were smart.”

Rainbow’s eye twitched as the maddening party pony bounced away. A few seconds later, she stopped mid-bounce and gasped with enough force to stagger a passing unicorn before rocketing back to Ditzy.

“Ohmigoshyou’regonnabeamommy!” the pink blur squealed in delight. Due to the combination of the sudden hug and Pinkie’s rapid fire speech, Ditzy only caught part of her congratulations. To make matters worse, Pinkie broke into song again.

“Dashie’s friend Ditzy’s gonna be a mommy, mommy!
Soon she’ll have a super-cute foal whoopee, whoopee!
And when that happens we’ll have a super-duper fun party, party!
‘Cause everypony loves new babies yippeeeeeeee!”

Rainbow facehooved at the party pony’s antics. Ditzy wiggled a hoof free from Pinkie’s hug and patted her on the back. While she did that, she craned her neck until she faced Rainbow. “I like her!”

“Thanks! I like you too!” Pinkie let go of Ditzy, who watched the hyperactive mare bounce around the table as she ad-libbed a second verse.

“Is Pinkie always like this?”

“Pre’y mush, yeh,” Dash answered through a mouthful of cake.

Ditzy shrugged. Pinkie’s high-octane attitude had caught her by surprise, but on the other hoof it was nice to have somepony unconditionally welcome a complete stranger to town. The mother-to-be sat down and took a bite out of the most delicious slice of cake she had ever eaten.

Month 2 - or, Friends Old and New

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The Ponyville Clinic wasn’t terribly impressive, at least not by Canterlot standards. It was a small squarish building tucked into the maze of buildings at the center of town, so unassuming that only the Equestria-wide cross-and-heart symbol over the entrance made it stand out from the surrounding houses. Ditzy paused indecisively in front of the glass double doors, then walked in. A white earth pony mare behind the counter greeted Ditzy with a smile.

“Good afternoon! I’m Nurse Redheart. How can I help you today?”

“I need to make an appointment. I’ve starting working with the weather team, and one of their requirements for new hires is a checkup.”

“Of course.” Redheart ducked her head under the desk and retrieved a clipboard, which she set in front of Ditzy. “Go ahead and fill out this form; once you’re done with that, we can go in the back to start the exam.”

Redheart fished out a pen for her, and Ditzy was about to begin filling out the paperwork when the nurse interrupted her.

“Sorry, just one other thing: would you like to have your prenatal checkup as well while you’re here?”

Ditzy nearly swallowed the pen. “How did you know about—I mean—”

“Pinkie ‘borrowed’ my table for your welcoming party,” Redheart admitted. “I didn’t mean to pry, but sound carries for quite a ways in the downtown.”

Wonderful. Literally everypony in the area had heard Pinkie’s songs. “I guess that’ll save me some explanations down the road.”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it,” Redheart said. “Pinkie’s just a bit … overzealous about her celebrations.”

“You have a talent for understatement.” Ditzy shuffled her wings again. “Anyway...who do I talk to about prenatal care? I get the feeling that that’s not just a walk-in appointment.”

“I could take care of that for you as well. My studies centered around gynaecology and reproductive health—I’m actually here for my residency.”

“Oh. Okay.” Ditzy sat down on a nearby cushion and began working on the medical form. Name, date of birth, and the like were easy enough, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember her insurance information. It occurred to her that being separated from her family meant that she probably wouldn’t be covered anymore regardless, so she checked ‘Bits’ as the preferred payment method. Drug use was easy enough to check off as a string of negatives, but family medical history was a bit trickier. Her father’s side of the family suffered from migraines, but she was less certain about allergies and cancers. She left those boxes blank and made a mental note to write to Cirrus about it later.

When she finished, she handed the clipboard back to Redheart, who led her into one of the back rooms. Ditzy sat down on the examining table as Redheart gathered her supplies and sat down across from her, clipboard in hoof.

“I see not all of the family history information has been filled in.”

“Yeah, I came to town with a bag of bits and not much else. I didn’t think I’d be here longer than a few days, so having my medical file sent over didn’t really occur to me until today.”

Redheart made a note on the form. “If you can have it sent over, that would be a lot of help. You really should try to stay on top of these kinds of things.”

Ditzy laid back her ears. “Sorry.”

“What?” Redheart looked up in surprise. “No, I didn’t mean that as an admonishment. It’s just better for me as a healthcare provider to have the right information on hoof rather than guessing.” Her eyes scanned back over the questionnaire. “Now you indicated that you have a family history of migraines. Have you ever experienced migraines yourself?”

“No, but it’s something I know could crop up. Is that something I should tell my boss?”

Redheart shook her head. “Not unless you get one lasting longer than four hours, or else a string of them over a period of several days. If that happens or you come down with one that leaves you unable to function, come see me and we’ll try to work out a treatment.” There wasn’t anything else on the questionnaire that caught her eye, so she moved onto the physical examination itself.

She donned a stethoscope, and Dizty obligingly lifted a wing, gasping when the ice-cold instrument brushed her side. Redheart’s recently-washed hooves were a little warmer against Ditzy’s neck when the nurse checked her lymph nodes. She drew the blinds before shining a light into Ditzy’s eyes, taking extra time on the left one and making another note on the clipboard. After checking her blood pressure, Redheart had Ditzy perform a series of wing movements ranging from normal flapping to rotations, carefully watching each set. Once the nurse was satisfied that Ditzy’s range of movement was unhindered, she had her extend her wings out to the sides. It was a little awkward having another pony run a hoof across her open wings, but Redheart explained that it was necessary to check for any anomalies in the structure of her wing bones.

With the physical completed, Redheart moved on to the gynaecological portion of the visit. Even in the privacy of the examining room and Redheart’s assurances about professionalism, Ditzy blushed profusely as she sat back and exposed herself for the examination. She resigned herself to the pokes, prods, and awkward questions, knowing that this was an experience she would go through frequently in the coming months. Mercifully, she was able to excuse herself to the bathroom to fill the cup, and the appointment concluded shortly thereafter.

Ditzy slid off of the table and waited for Redheart to put her instruments away. “Okay, you’re all set. Just a few things before you go: first off, you’re eating for more than just yourself now, so it’s important you watch your intake. Sugar is okay once in a while, but make sure you balance that with lots of fruits and vegetables. Bread, cheese, and processed foods are fine as well, but fresh foods are going to have the most vitamins and minerals. And obviously, you should hold off on drinking alcohol until after the foal is born.”

“I’m not old enough to buy it yet anyway,” Ditzy remarked offhandedly

Redheart tried not to think about the implications behind that. “Well that takes care of that then. Be sure to get plenty of sleep as well, and try to have at least a light snack whenever you feel hungry. I’ve had to remind more than one mare that their figure is less important than what’s growing in them.” She gently tapped Ditzy’s side. “If you’ll come up front, we can schedule your next appointment.”

The two mares cantered to the front of the clinic, and Redheart flipped through an organizer. She marked a date in the next month and handed Ditzy her bill for the day’s visit. Ditzy’s eyes went wide when she saw the number and she tried not to think about how light her coinpurse became as she counted out the bits. With everything in place, Ditzy turned to go. She was halfway out the door when Redheart called to her.

“Wait, just one more thing!” The nurse smiled at her. “Congratulations.”

Ditzy returned her smile. “Thanks.”

Ditzy made her way to the center of the town square on hoof rather than by wing; over the past few weeks, her sense of direction around town had improved dramatically, meaning she no longer had to try to spot her destination from the air. The voices of vendors and customers mingled together as they echoed down the line of buildings, and Sugarcube Corner’s distinctive pink rooftop served as an unofficial marker guiding Ditzy towards the center of town.

“Okay, so fresh fruits and vegetables. Not too hard to find in an open-air market.” The entire square was lined with carts, each peddling a different foodstuff. Collard greens, flowers, potatoes, bread, cheese, and more were all on display, and Ditzy’s stomach rumbled at the feast laid out before her. After a quick round of eeny-meeny-miny-mo, she settled on carrots as her first purchase of the day. Manning the stand was an appropriately-colored earth pony, a yellow mare with a curly orange mane.

“Hello!” Ditzy trotted up to the stand with an easy smile. “How much for three carrots?”

“Nine bits,” the earth pony answered neutrally.

Ditzy nearly tripped over her own hooves at that. She didn’t have much experience with shopping for her own food—her parents had somepony to take care of that back home, and at college food was taken care of by the school cafeteria. Still, nine bits seemed like an awful lot for three carrots. If that was the price though...

Ditzy reluctantly pulled out her bits and set them on the stand. The earth pony looked down at the coins, then to Ditzy. For a second her mouth was half-open like she was thinking of saying something. After several long seconds, the pony silently took the coins and passed her the carrots. After another second, the pony reached under the stall and grabbed a slice of carrot bread and added it to the pile. “Um ... no extra charge.”

“Oh!” Ditzy beamed gratefully at the earth pony. “Thank you so much!” The earth pony nervously shifted on her hooves and mumbled something about it not really being a big deal, but Ditzy immediately shook her head. “No, I really appreciate it. Everypony’s been so nice to me since I moved here! Ponyville is full of such friendly ponies.” The pegasus extended a hoof. “I’m Ditzy Doo, by the way.”

The earth pony hesitantly reached out to shake her hoof. “Carrot Top.”

“Nice to meet you!” Ditzy stowed the food into her saddlebags and shot one last smile at the carrot seller. “I hope we can be friends; you seem like a really good pony.”

“Um...” Carrot Top self-consciously scuffed a hoof on the ground. A second later, she looked down at the bits Ditzy had given her and pushed one back. “You gave me an extra bit.”

“Oh, sorry.” Ditzy picked the coin up and put it back with the others. She’d been sure she’d only put down nine bits, but if Carrot Top said she’d overpaid, then Ditzy wouldn’t argue. “Thanks again!”

Ditzy trotted off to the next stall, happily munching on her slice of carrot bread—it was nice to not be shopping on an empty stomach anymore. She was feeling good about her food shopping so far. Sure, the food might have been a bit more expensive than she’d expected, but at least the vendors were nice. She trotted up to an apple stand opened her mouth to speak to the vendor and found herself mute, facing the largest pony she had ever laid eyes on. The massive red stallion greeted her with a nod, and it occurred to her that she had come to do more than gawk. “What’s the price for a half-dozen gala apples?”

“Twelve bits,” the stallion answered.

Ditzy gulped. If these prices were any indication, food was going to be a larger part of her budget than what Cirrus had outlined for her in his last letter. She suddenly felt guilty for how quickly Rainbow’s cloud-cupboards had emptied after she moved in.

“Um, in that case I’ll just take three.”

The sprig of hay in the stallion’s mouth bobbed slightly. “Yer new t’ town, aincha?”

“Is it that obvious?” Ditzy asked with a laugh.

“Eeyup. Don’t worry ‘bout it none—most city ponies ain’t too familiar with how a grower’s market operates. ‘Course, they usually ain’t around longer’n a few days, so they just buy everythin’ at face value.”

This struck Ditzy as a rather strange observation. “Isn’t that how shopping works?”

“In th’ cities, maybe. Th’ thing t’ remember at a grower’s market is that ya don’t have t’ buy yer produce at the first price th’ seller asks fer.”

“Bwuh?” Ditzy felt her mind go for a loop.

“Most o’ the growers overcharge a little t’ make a few extra bits. It ain’t too much, but ya have t’ know how t’ talk ‘em down a bit if ya want t’ have anythin’ in your coinpurse the end o’ the day.”

“Huh.” Ditzy scratched her chin as she tried to wrap her mind around this revelation. She had rarely bought anything for herself back in Canterlot, much less something as basic as food. Then again, Canterlot had enough stores that vendors had to be more competitive with their pricing or risk losing customers to another store. Furthermore, many shops carried a variety of items of varying quality; narrowly-focused sellers like the stalls in the farmer’s market were something new to Ditzy, though she couldn’t deny that everything around her was fresher than anything she’d ever eaten at home. Asking them to adjust their prices for a high-quality product felt dishonest.

The stallion seemed to follow her train of thought. “Are ya gonna be in town fer th’ long haul?” Ditzy nodded, and he placed a sign that read ‘Out fer a few’ on his stand. “Ma’am, why doncha come siddown a spell? Ah’ll teach ya a bit about hagglin’.”

She followed him to a nearby table. “What’s that?”

“A dyin’ art, apparently. Ah’m Macintosh Apple, by th’ way.”

Ditzy shook his proffered hoof. “Ditzy Doo.”

Haggling was surprisingly easy for her to pick up. Macintosh patiently explained that the best way to lead into a sale was to ask whether a vendor had a product on hoof rather than jump right to pricing. It still felt a bit backwards to Ditzy, since everypony had their wares clearly on display, but Mac told her that asking for a product was a lead-in to a negotiation—only ‘shoppers’ asked for a price up-front. She also learned how to pick up on a vendor’s tells to determine how close she was to the final price, as well as how much most types of produce were really worth.

When Ditzy was satisfied that she could remember Macintosh’s advice, he led her back to his stall and patiently allowed her to practice. Her wings fluttered in excitement as she worked him down to seven bits for the apples, plus another five for a jar of spiced apple jelly. She knew he was only humoring her and probably wouldn’t give her these prices again, but the elation of getting extra food for the original price left her floating.

Literally, in fact—she paused long enough to look down and thank Macintosh before gliding over the crowd, sights set on the flower stand. She landed with catlike poise and beamed at the scarlet mare behind the counter.

“Hi there! Do you have any good teas?”

By mid-afternoon, Ditzy was quite satisfied with her first experience at the market. Her saddlebags were a little heavier than she was used to, but so was her coinpurse. True, she had still spent more than she’d wanted to, but she would have had significantly less left over had it not been for Macintosh’s advice. She smiled and waved at him on her way out of the town square, though he was busy enough that he couldn’t offer more than a nod in response. Ditzy didn’t mind—he’d gone out of his way to help her, so she was glad to see him making up for lost time.

Ditzy wove through the crowd, easing her way past the myriad of ponies around her as she searched for a clear stretch of pathway. With her saddlebags as loaded down as they were, she would need a running start to get airborne. She rounded a corner past a gaudy purple-and-white building and saw a back alley that was clear for several blocks. She flapped her wings as she broke into a gallop,

She was almost clear of the alleyway when her right foreleg clipped a dumpster. Though not overly painful, the sudden impact was enough to knock the precariously-balanced pegasus out of the air, and Ditzy scrambled her limbs in a futile struggle to remain upright. Her forelegs gave out beneath her, sending her sprawling head-over-hooves and rump-first into an earth pony.

The dark blue stallion shook his his greasy brown mane out of his eyes and glared at her from the ground. “Careful, Derpy,” he snapped at her. “I have enough trouble telling which end is your plot already.”

“Sorry about that.” Ditzy gingerly got back on her hooves and gave the earth pony a sheepish smile. “I’ve always been a little clumsy.”

“Naw, you’re not really clumsy,” his companion drawled. Ditzy was about to thank the yellow earth pony until he added, “She was just spreadin’ for you, Stones!”

Ditzy’s eyes went wide. Surely she must have misunderstood him. “Beg pardon?”

“Ah c’mon, Sticks.” Stones made an exaggerated gagging motion. “I don’t go for preggers, especially a whorse of this caliber.”

“Yeah, good point, you dunno where that’s been,” Sticks agreed with a nasty little chuckle. He thoughtfully scratched his close-cropped black mane. “I wonder how much she spent on paternity tests before giving up?”

“I-it’s not like that.” Dizty’s wings drooped in shock. How could anypony even say such a thing? “It’s really not...”

Stones eyed her venomously, smelling blood in the water. “Man, that search would leave a noble house broke.”

Sticks nudged him. “You think she taught Cloud Kicker a thing or two? Hay, I bet they never figured out who knocked her up ‘cause they didn’t think to include the biggest—well, now second biggest—whorse in all of Ponyville.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me in the least—she’s so loose her legs’re about to fall off her flank.” Stones smirked down at his victim. “Two whorses having a little whorse-foal. Sounds about right.”

Ditzy covered her head with her forelegs, sobbing into the ground beneath her as she did her best to block out the slew of insults. Sticks and Stones’ laughter was all-consuming, echoing through her hooves and down into her ears. Ditzy curled up as tightly as her saddlebags would allow. How could these ponies be so cruel to a complete stranger? She just wanted it to end so she could go home. Why wouldn’t they stop?

After what felt like hours, the voices faded. Ditzy whimpered against the ground, too distraught to appreciate the silence. She felt rather than heard hooffalls nearby, but only peeked out from beneath her hooves when somepony laid down next to her and stroked her back.

“There there now, it’s okay. They’re gone now, and they won’t be mean to you anymore.”

Something about this new arrival sounded familiar to Ditzy. She peeked at the newcomer from behind her hooves. There was something familiar about that pink mane, those green eyes, that soft-as-silk voice...

“F-f-fluttershy?” Ditzy whimpered. The green eyes narrowed momentarily, then went wide in recognition.

“Oh my goodness, Ditzy Doo! I thought that it was you, but with your saddlebags covering your cutie mark I couldn’t … oh, are you okay?”

“Better, n-now.” Ditzy blinked away another round of tears. Fluttershy gently cupped her friend’s chin with a hoof and used her other foreleg to clean dirt and tears away from Ditzy’s muzzle.

“Are you hurt? Should I go get somepony?” Fluttershy nervously flitted around Ditzy, checking the rest of her body for any sign of injury.

“No, I—I’m okay now.” Ditzy staggered under the weight of her saddlebags as she stood up, but Fluttershy was right beside her and braced her with a wing. “Thanks, Fluttershy, I ... thanks.”

“Of course, I could never just leave anypony like that. None of what those bullies were saying is true.” She looked to the grey pegasus. “Right?”

Ditzy flared her wings in angry exasperation, disheartened that Fluttershy of all ponies could think her capable of such behavior. “No, Celestia dammit! It was just the one stallion the one time! I didn’t mean to—”

Fluttershy let out a frightened squeak and backed away, hiding behind her mane. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that wasn’t what—I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Ditzy cut herself off mid-rant, laying her ears back. “No, I’m sorry. Here you are helping me, and I bite your head off over some random question.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Fluttershy pawed at the ground. “Um—I was wondering ... if you wouldn’t mind of course, but would you like to come to my cottage for a snack? Please?”

“Well, I—” Ditzy began.

“Oh, that’s fine.” Fluttershy’s ears drooped, and the timid pegasus began backing away. “Sorry to bother you. I really shouldn’t have—”

“Fluttershy,” Ditzy cut her friend off with a giggle. “I was going to say that I would love to.”

“Oh.” A tenuous smile formed on Fluttershy’s face. “That sounds good, in that case.”

As they walked out of town Fluttershy opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking again. “What I meant to ask earlier was … well, are you really going to have a foal?”

Ditzy nodded. Of course Fluttershy wouldn’t have been in town to hear Pinkie’s song: large crowds had scared her even back in Flight Camp. Actually, just about everything had scared her back then.

Fluttershy smiled and hugged her friend with her wing. “Oh that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you, I really am.”

The grey pegasus nuzzled her back. “Thanks. It’s kinda weird, really. Part of me is still waiting for a notice from school reminding me to buy my textbooks.” She used a wing to adjust her saddlebags. “Hay, if I didn’t have to go to work in the mornings, I could almost convince myself I’m on vacation at Rainbow’s house.”

“Is that bad?”

“Not really, it’s just … different. I’ve spent almost my whole life in Canterlot, either going to school or being with my family. Now I’m out here working alongside friends I haven’t seen in years. I mean, it’s nice to see everypony again, and the weather team is kind of fun, but...” Ditzy’s smile faltered. “Sometimes I get homesick or stressed. That … those two didn’t really help, either.

She felt Fluttershy’s wing tighten around her again. The physical contact was a welcome anchor for Ditzy, and she pressed herself into the hug. Silence hung in the air like a raincloud, overshadowing the happy atmosphere of their reunion. Fluttershy’s gaze alternated between the path and her friend, apparently searching for an opening to speak again. After a while, Ditzy cleared her throat and returned her gaze with a newfound smile.

“So … Rainbow tells me you live on the ground now. How long have you been groundside?”

“Um, ever since I moved out of my parents’ house. I miss being with them some days, but there are just so many wonderful creatures here that I couldn’t help but enjoy it.”

Ditzy tried not to focus on the stark reminder of her own separation. “Isn’t it a little dangerous being this far out of town? Rainbow warned me about the Everfree Forest when I joined the weather team.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Well, it’s not too dangerous so long as I don’t go into the forest itself. Besides, most of the creatures there know I’m not dangerous.”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, I can communicate with animals. It’s my special talent. It’s not like an actual conversation,” she hastily added. “We just kind of … understand each other.”

Ditzy stared at her friend with newfound awe. “I didn’t think anypony could do that! How did you find out you could talk to them?”

“It all started on the day I got my cutie mark. You remember that day, don’t you?”
Ditzy didn’t think anypony from camp would forget that day. The rush of excitement from seeing a sonic rainboom quickly turned to panic when Rainbow Dash realized she couldn’t find Fluttershy. The camp councilors had suffered a collective heart attack when they realized she had fallen.

“We were just really happy to see that you were okay when the camp counselors finally brought you back. And when we saw you had your cutie mark, I think everypony was so excited that we never really asked what it meant.”

“That’s okay,” Fluttershy murmured understandingly. “I guess it took me a while to really understand it myself. But once I moved down here and spent more time with all of these wonderful creatures... Well, I know it may not seem like much to a pony who has spent most of their life on the ground like you have, but it really is a wonderful place.”

“Actually, I’ve had to get used to living in a cloud-house,” Ditzy said with a laugh. “I forget that things can fall through the floor if I’m not careful!” She shot a glance over her shoulder. Hopefully Rainbow wouldn’t miss that stack of plates.

“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy nodded emphatically, missing Ditzy’s guilty look. “You're lucky you live with Rainbow Dash: now that she's been promoted, she can afford to have a bit less cloud in her home. It actually took me quite a while to get used to the idea that things wouldn't fall through the floor, or that I needed actual furniture.”

“I imagine! Still, it is kind of nice to be able to scoop a chair or a couch right out of the floor.”

“Well, yes, but if I still lived in the clouds, most of my friends wouldn't be able to visit me.” She waved a hoof at a squirrel as it scampered across the road.

In spite of what Fluttershy had just told her, Ditzy was still shocked when it stopped and waved back. “You don't mind them just coming into your home like that?”

“Of course not. What else would I use a house for if not to have a place for all my friends to come?”

Ditzy chewed her lip pensively. She'd never thought about it like that.

“Um–I know you probably prefer staying with Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy continued, “but if you had–that is–well I would've been happy to help too.”

“You mean it? You don't mind if I come by from time to time?”

“Of course not, you're welcome to come visit anytime. I'd actually like that.” Fluttershy perked her ears as a thought struck her. “Maybe you and Rainbow Dash could both visit?”

“I think she'll be a bit busier now that she's the weather team manager, but I'm sure she'd love to come by too.”

Fluttershy frowned. “You’re right. I shouldn’t impose when she's got so many other more important responsibilities.”

“It's okay! I'll just make up for it by coming by twice as much.”

Fluttershy suppressed a happy squee. “I’d like that”

Any further response from Fluttershy was cut off by a long, low growl. Ditzy glanced at her stomach in embarrassment. “Sorry. I only had a light snack at the market.”

“It’s okay, my house isn’t much further ahead. I’ll fix you something to eat when we get there.”

A painted white fence wound around the path, separating it from an orchard of neatly-spaced rows of apple trees. It eventually trailed off around around a bend, on the other side of which was a brook crossed by a small bridge. To Ditzy’s mild surprise, the cottage at the end of the path looked like it had been carved into a large tree, which had somehow survived the its transformation into a ground-house. A hint of yellow tinged the leaves, which rustled as birds flitted in and out of the canopy.

Ditzy slowed her pace, drinking the sight in. No wonder Fluttershy had chosen to live on the ground—this place was gorgeous! Fluttershy gently pulled her closer as they negotiated the bridge, keeping the grey pegasus from falling off as she looked around. Her wing receded from around Ditzy as she opened the door and walked inside.

“Now, what would you want to eat? I have soup, bread, and I think there’s even some apple jam left over, if you’d like.”

Ditzy’s stomach grumbled again, and she thought the question over as she unstrapped her saddlebags. “If it’s not too much to ask, I have this odd craving for celery soup and a dandelion sandwich.”

Fluttershy helped Ditzy lower her heavy satchel to the floor. ““That's no trouble at all. It'll take a bit of time since I need to make the soup from scratch, but I'll try to finish as fast as I can.”

“Oh, that's fine! Do you want any help?

“I couldn't possibly ask you to. Just relax and make yourself comfortable, and I'll bring your soup and sandwich as soon as they're ready.”

“Okay. Thanks!” Ditzy was about to step out of the mudroom when a small white rabbit hopped in front of her and pointedly sat down between her and the rest of the house. She smiled and knelt down. “Aw, what a cute bunny! Is he your pet?

The rabbit glared at her, as if intelligent enough to feel indignant at being called a pet.

Fluttershy’s wings gave a nervous twitch. “Not exactly. This is Angel Bunny.” She knelt down beside Ditzy and gave Angel a pleading smile. “Angel, this is my friend Ditzy. She’ll be staying for lunch, all right?”

Angel huffed and rolled his eyes, then gave a quick nod as he bounced away. Ditzy stared after the rabbit curiously.

“Was it something I said?”

Flutershy stood back up. “I'm sorry, Angel's just a bit ... it takes him a while to get used to new ponies.”

“It’s okay,” Ditzy smiled understandingly. At least, until she saw where Angel had disappeared to. “Hey! He’s in my saddlebags!”

Angel shot a defiant glance at her before returning to the bags, coming up a few seconds later with a slice of carrot bread in his paws.

“Angel!” Ditzy instinctively jumped back at the sound of Fluttershy’s voice, and took another step away when she saw the expression on her friend’s face. To see a look of such unbridled command on anypony’s face was unnerving, but on somepony as passive as Fluttershy... Ditzy actually felt sorry for the rabbit that had been stealing from her.

Angel in turn jerked where he stood, as if trying and failing to force himself to look away from his owner’s withering gaze. He sank lower and lower against the ground with each step Fluttershy took towards him.

“Angel Bunny!” she scolded. “Stealing food from other ponies is never okay, mister, and especially not from a pregnant mare! Now you apologize and go outside to think about what you've done!”

The rabbit held his forelegs above his head pleadingly. He put the half-eaten slice of carrot bread on the ground and ran out the door, only pausing long enough to kiss Ditzy’s forehooves on the way. Ditzy stared openmouthed as the scene unfolded in front of her. Only the sound of the door slamming jolted her back to reality.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Fluttershy sighed as she picked up the now-inedible bread with a hoof. “Angel has never done that before to anypony. I really don’t know what got into him.”

Ditzy shook her head, still not quite believing what she had seen. “Wow... That was incredible! No wonder you’re so good with animals!”

Fluttershy blushed as she put the bread slice onto a nearby table and birds descended on it from the myriad of birdhouses strung up around the living room. “Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of other ponies who are better than me. It’s really nothing special.”

“I doubt it! Not everypony can stop a rabbit from stealing food just by looking at them.” Ditzy’s stomach growled again, eliciting a sigh from her. “Sorry.”

Fluttershy covered her mouth with a hoof. “Oh, no, I'm the one who should be sorry! I forgot all about the food. Please, just have a seat on the couch, I’ll bring your meal right out.”

“Okay. Thanks!” Ditzy settled onto the well-worn but surprisingly comfortable couch in the middle of the living room. The mismatched flock of birds stared at her curiously from the rafters, the carrot-bread long since devoured. Cardinals stood side-by-side with sparrows, finches, robins, and even the odd parakeet as they all tilted their heads in curiosity at the newcomer. Fluttershy paused midway through the arch leading into her kitchen and flew back to Ditzy.

“Now everybird,” she cooed gently, laying a hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder. “I’d like you to meet my friend Ditzy Doo. She’s had a very stressful day today, so I want you all to be extra nice to her, all right?”

The birds looked at one another momentarily, then descended on the grey mare. Ditzy squeaked, but Fluttershy kept a reassuring hoof as a legion of tiny feet made contact on her back. She giggled at the tickling sensation, then settled in as dozens of beaks began preening her mane, wings, and tail. She settled her head against a pillow with a contented sigh, and from the corner of her eye she saw Fluttershy smile as she made her way back into the kitchen.

Having somepony—or somebird, as the case may be—preen her was a bit strange for Ditzy, especially since she rarely preened herself more than she absolutely had to. Still, she couldn’t deny that it was also very relaxing. Insistent pulls traced the barbs on her feathers downwards, and several of the larger birds gently tugged at knots and debris on her mane, no doubt left over from her encounter outside of the marketplace. Her ear twitched involuntarily when a goldfinch landed atop her head, but otherwise Ditzy forced herself to lie still. Fluttershy’s birds were being so nice to her, she didn’t want to scare them...

Once or twice, she caught herself as she started to doze. The smell of soup boiling wafted through the house, and several birds started as Ditzy’s stomach complained yet again of its empty state. One of them flew into the kitchen and chittered noisily with Fluttershy, who spoke back in a low tone for several minutes. Eventually, hooffalls echoed as the yellow mare emerged from the kitchen.

“Ditzy? Lunch is ready.”

“Great! Thanks!” Ditzy blinked away another wave of sleepiness and rolled on the couch. The entire flock shrieked in protest and took off, chirruping angrily at her from the rafters. Ditzy cringed and offered an awkward smile. “Heh... Sorry. I got a little excited.”

She cantered through the archway under a myriad of disgruntled stares and joined Fluttershy in her kitchen. The muted aroma of spices wafted from a nearby cabinet, and Ditzy’s mouth watered at the smell of the newly-baked bread Fluttershy had used to make the sandwiches. Plates were laid out at an oval table, stacked with sandwiches and accompanied by a cauldron of soup. Ditzy took her seat and waited for her friend to sit down across from her before serving herself, digging in like she hadn’t eaten in days. Daffodil sandwiches had always been one of her favorite meals, but the bread Fluttershy used took them a step beyond; sunflower seeds and rosemary had been baked into it, giving an extra crunch and aftertaste that mixed wonderfully with the daffodils themselves.

Fluttershy hadn’t spared any effort on the soup, either. She had somehow found the perfect balance of pepper, salt, and lentils to offset the bland taste of the celery, which in turn had been stewed long enough to heat up without becoming limp and soggy. Ditzy went through half her bowl before the heat started to overwhelm her, and she took a sip from the glass of milk beside her, in which Fluttershy had helpfully put a straw when preparing the meal.

It didn’t occur to her quite how much she had eaten until she went to scoop another bowl of soup. She was surprised to hear the ladle scrape across the bottom of the soup tureen, and when she looked towards the middle of the table Fluttershy froze, her hoof above the serving plate.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want the last sandwich?”

Ditzy stared for a moment, then shook her head. “No, you go ahead and have it. I’ve probably eaten more than my fair share already.”

“It’s all right.” Fluttershy pushed the serving plate away from her. “You’re eating for your foal now, as well as yourself. I’m just glad you were able to have some food after all, you must have been really hungry!”

As guilty as she felt about it, Ditzy helped herself to the last sandwich. She heard rather than saw Fluttershy at her side, and when she looked back her milk glass had been refilled. Once she finished that off as well, she heaved herself to her hooves and started to take her plates to the sink, only to be beaten by her hostess. Feeling too full to argue, she let Fluttershy clear their places. While Fluttershy filled the sink to let the dishes soak, Ditzy idly glanced at a cuckoo clock next to the window. She almost fell out of her seat when she saw that it was almost three in the afternoon. She had been at the cottage for over two hours.

She hoisted out of her seat with more than a little difficulty and made her way back to her saddlebags. Fortunately, nothing she had purchased had begun to spoil yet, but she realized that most of her groceries would need to go into Rainbow’s ice-cloud within another hour if they were going to keep. Hooffalls echoed behind her as Fluttershy joined her in the mudroom.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how long I’d kept you here! How much of your food to you have to throw out? Oh, I’m such a terrible friend—I’ll pay for new groceries, I promise!”

Ditzy laughed at her nervousness. “It’s all right, Fluttershy, nothing’s gone bad yet. I just need to put it away.”

“Oh, good. I’d feel terrible if you had wasted money because of me.” She watched for a minute as Ditzy struggled to put her saddlebags back on. “Um, is everything all right?”

The grey mare huffed, struggling to find enough slack to latch the bags around her middle. “These—fit earlier! I—rrg—know they did!”

“Well, you did have a lot to eat.” Fluttershy clapped her hooves over her mouth. “N-not that I’m saying that you’re fat! I mean, you’re in great shape for somepony who’s two months along and I—I’ll just stop talking now.”

Ditzy laughed in triumph as she finally secured her saddlebags in place. “Got it! Oh yeah!” She pumped her foreleg and promptly stumbled, overbalanced by the sudden weight of her groceries. Under other circumstances, she would have been shocked by Fluttershy’s sudden burst of speed as she leapt forward and caught her. “Heh, thanks.”

“You’re quite welcome.” Her friend pawed the ground nervously. “Do you want me to come with you, in case you lose your balance again? It’s perfectly fine if you don’t, I know you can take care of yourself...”

“Sure! I’d like the company.” Fluttershy opened the door for her, and they began their trot back into town. They walked in silence for a minute, reaching the apple orchards before Ditzy spoke up.

“So, what’s it like living in a town? Aside from Flight Camp, I’ve never lived anywhere other than Canterlot.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked at the inquiry. “It’s very nice. I’ve only lived in Cloudsdale before moving here, but Ponyville is a lot quieter. There aren’t as many crowds ... or noises.”

Ditzy nodded in agreement. Even in the upper echelons of Canterlot, her house hadn’t entirely escaped the busy noises of the capital. “It’s really great that you get to live in the same town as the rest of the gang.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy quietly agreed. “It’s so wonderful to see Rainbow Dash every day.”

“Cloud Kicker too!” Ditzy said with a smile.

“Um ... yes.” Fluttershy flinched and shrank back a bit as she fumbled for the right words. “That’s ... nice too.”

Ditzy’s smile faded. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you two had worked things out.”

“We tried to sit down a few months ago, but Rainbow Dash … well, she tried to sit us down and make us talk. She didn’t do a very good job.” Fluttershy gasped softly. “Oh, I shouldn’t have said that! I mean, I know she just wanted to help, it’s just that—”

“She’s Rainbow,” Ditzy offered. “She tried to force a solution and it didn’t work, then she tried to make it work and things ended up worse than ever.”

The yellow pegasus nodded sullenly, and Ditzy shuffled her wings in frustration. She hadn’t meant to reopen old wounds, but judging from Fluttershy’s sudden refusal to make eye contact, it was still a pretty raw injury.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shadow passing over the path in front of them. Ditzy looked up to see the pegasus in question high above them. She waved and called out to Cloud Kicker, who waved back before calling out to somepony in the distance. Cloud Kicker made her descent, followed soon after by a familiar blue figure who came in fast enough that Ditzy could see the faint outline of a Mach cone forming. In spite of starting significantly farther away, Rainbow Dash touched down seconds after Cloud Kicker did so, barely missing the pregnant mare.

“Where—the hay—have you been?!” Rainbow yelled between breaths. “Been looking—for hours!”

“I’m sorry.” Fluttershy cringed slightly as she warily eyed Cloud Kicker. “I invited her to lunch after—”

“—meeting me at the marketplace!” Ditzy interrupted, stepping up to Cloud Kicker. “I was really hungry after a day of shopping, so we caught up over lunch.”

Rainbow glowered at the two grounded mares but nodded, accepting Ditzy’s half-truth at face value. Cloud Kicker, however, frowned.

“And what happened before that? C’mon, Derpy, what are you not telling us.”

Ditzy shifted uncomfortably, forcing herself to maintain an innocent smile. “Nothing! Really.”

“Except for Sticks and Stones,” Fluttershy murmured from behind her. Ditzy traded an awkward look with Rainbow and Cloud Kicker as they went silent, letting the implications sink in. Fluttershy had contradicted somepony. That in and of itself was groundbreaking, but it raised extra flags when the Ponyville residents considered who Fluttershy was talking about.

“What did those punks do?” Rainbow shouted. “I swear, if they so much as laid a hoof on you—”

“Really, it’s okay.” Ditzy blinked away tears as the bullies’ words resurfaced in her mind.

“Eepysqueak?” Cloud Kicker half-whispered her old nickname for Fluttershy as she approached the timid mare, and actually knelt on her forelegs as she spoke. “What did they say?”

“Well, um, what they were saying to her wasn’t very nice.” Fluttershy pressed herself into the ground, speaking so softly that Ditzy almost didn’t hear her repeat Sticks and Stones’ hurtful words. “They called her a whorse.”

“They what?!” Rainbow flared her wings and stomped the ground, as if preparing to charge the bullies. “When I get my hooves on those two...”

Cloud Kicker stood up and wrapped her wings around Ditzy in a gentle hug. “Oh Derpy... Look, don’t let those punks get to you. What they were saying was complete horseapples. You know that, I know that, and everypony who knows you knows that.”

Ditzy leaned into the hug, fighting back tears memory “I know, I know. What they said doesn’t matter. It was just words.”

“They’ll be eating those words,” Rainbow Dash snarled. “I’m gonna make ‘em eat them. With my hoof. By hitting them in the face. A lot.” She hovered above the ground, trading warm-up jabs with an unseen opponent.

“Boss? Boss!” Cloud Kicker took a mouthful of prismatic tail and yanked Rainbow out of the air. “Chill out, all right? I think you should take Derpy home.”

Ditzy sniffed and shook her head before facing her friends once more. “I do need to get these groceries put away,” she conceded.

Rainbow landed with a huff, clearly far from through with her tirade against Ponyville’s resident bullies. “Fine. Let’s go put this stuff away. And then I’m gonna—Cloud Kicker? Where are you going?”

“Oh, there’s just one quick little errand I need to take care of,” Cloud Kicker answered lightly. She took off without another word.

Rainbow frowned after her rapidly-departing employee, then turned to Ditzy. “Where’s she going? We were supposed to double-check the storm cloud cache after we found you.”

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy’s voice brought her back to the present. “Um, now that you’re here, would you mind taking Ditzy’s things? She really shouldn’t be doing a lot of heavy lifting...”

“They’re just groceries,” Ditzy argued. “Besides, I’m two months along. I don’t have to worry about that sort of thing yet.”

Fluttershy wasn’t having any of it. She reminded her as adamantly as she could about how any kind of strain wasn’t healthy for a developing foal, and for once Rainbow sided against Ditzy—she didn’t quite understand the medicine-y stuff involved, but she wasn’t about to let Ditzy take a chance like that.

The grey pegasus sighed in defeat, and even though she wouldn’t admit it she was secretly relieved when Fluttershy insisted on helping her take her saddlebags off. They had been digging at her a little bit … she’d have to adjust them later. Fluttershy casually placed her saddlebags on Rainbow’s back, dropping the speedster to the ground. Rainbow huffed, and it took her a few seconds to regain her footing.

“Jeez! What’d you buy at the market, wing-weights?”

Rainbow’s complaints went unheard; Fluttershy had taken off, gently guiding Ditzy towards the cloud-house in the distance. Rainbow grumbled as she struggled to follow them, her wings beating like a hummingbird’s as she struggled to leave the ground.

The passing of several weeks helped Ditzy put the hurtful incident from her mind. Her appetite, however, was not as easily satiated, and more than once she had to stop herself from devouring her purchases at the market right after buying them. She knew from talking to both Fluttershy and Redheart that she should expect this, but she quickly became annoyed with the increasingly random cravings—that and the awful timing with which they struck. They became especially annoying, and thus prevalent, on Friday afternoons.

Today was especially bad. She could feel a little less guilty about being a clock-watcher on the last Friday of the pay period, as she was hardly alone. Everypony wanted to get off of work and go home to the paychecks waiting in their mailboxes, and given the ever-present rumbling in her stomach Ditzy knew exactly where she wanted to go with hers: Sugarcube Corner. In spite of Redheart’s insistence, she’d been eating just a bit more sugar than she probably should have. She told herself it didn’t count as fudging her sugar intake unless she actually ate fudge. Which she did. So that shoots that down.

“Fudge,” she mumbled to herself, mouth watering at the thought of the thick, chocolatey—

“Equestria to Derpy,” Cloud Kicker quipped, sitting down next to Ditzy with a muted foomp. “Equestria to Derpy, please come in, Derpy. Just a reminder that during the process of cloud clearing, one is generally supposed to clear the clouds.”

Ditzy looked at her friend, then down at the cloud the two of them now occupied. They shared a laugh as they cleared off of it, and Cloud Kicker retreated to a minimum safe distance as Ditzy braced herself for a kick. Once the area had been cleared, the two pegasi took off in search of the next stray.

“Everything okay, Derpy?” Cloud Kicker asked. “You looked pretty out of it back there.”

“Fine, fine. Just a little hungry, is all.”

She snuck a guilty look at Sugarcube Corner before turning back to the task at hand. Cloud Kicker, for her part, looked around them. There were only a dozen or so small clouds left to clear away. “Go ahead, Derpy, it’s close enough to quitting time. I can get the rest of these on my own.”

Ditzy waved appreciatively. “Thanks, Cloud Kicker, I owe you one.” The grey pegasus circled around with an aileron roll and made her descent into town. Her first stop was at the weather team’s office, where she clocked herself out for the day and went to the payroll office. With crime almost nonexistent in Ponyville, she was able to collect her bits in cash rather than taking a piece of paper to a bank, and she enjoyed the sudden weight when the paymaster gave her coinpurse back. With her money comfortably secured around her neck, she took off and looped over the city hall. Ordinarily she would had just walked around, but today there was fudge to be had!

A sudden downdraft forced her towards the ground faster than she had anticipated, and her wings buzzed in an attempt to keep her airborne. Unfortunately, this meant she kept moving forward—right towards Sugarcube Corner. She tried to pull up, but there was no way she could break her momentum.

Speaking of breaking things, that door looked rather solid.

Impossibly, it flung open seconds before Ditzy would have impacted it, and she found herself cushioned by a surprisingly soft pink blur as she tumbled head-over-hooves into the bakery. She and her impromptu landing pad narrowly missed a set of tables and halted abruptly as they slid rump-first into the counter. Mrs. Cake was by Ditzy’s side in an instant.

“Goodness! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Ditzy rolled off of her back and stretched a twinge out of her wings.

Mrs. Cake clicked her tongue as she helped the grey pegasus up. “You need to be more careful, dear. I don’t think your little one can take very much of that.”

Pinkie bounced back to her hooves. “I totally could, though! Being a Pinkie Pie Pegasus Plantation Pad is super-fun, ‘cause you were all ‘Waa!’, and I was all ‘Whoa!’, then you were all ‘Wham!’, and I was like ‘Whee!’”

Ditzy laughed as Pinkie played out her dramatic interpretation of events, happy that nopony had been hurt. However, the pegasus’ nose wrinkled in confusion as a thought struck her. “Not that I don’t appreciate the save, but how did you know I was coming down in the first place?”

“That’s easy!” Pinkie said as she put a table back upright. “My tail was twitching.”

The pegasus waited for further explanation, but she realized that none was forthcoming when Pinkie continued resetting furniture. Ditzy was about to ask exactly what made a twitching tail so important when she saw Mrs. Cake frantically shaking her head and making a slashing motion across her throat. She took a hint and closed her mouth, shifting her wings in resigned confusion.

“So,” Mrs. Cake trotted back behind the counter. “Is there something I can get for you?”

Ditzy scrutinized the selection of sweets in front of her. “Do you have anything that doesn’t have a lot of sugar? I’m supposed to be more careful about that sort of thing.”

“We do need some muffins for the display case,” Mrs. Cake told her. She looked around, and seeing that nopony else was in Sugarcube Corner she nodded for Ditzy to come closer. “We’re really busy with today with a large order, so if you’d like to help you can have your share free of charge.”

“I don’t know a lot about cooking,” Ditzy admitted.

“That’s okay!” Pinkie joined Mrs. Cake at the register. “Aunt Pinkie can walk you through every step. It’s an easy recipe, and everything you need is right at your hooves!”

“Isn’t she older than you?” Mrs. Cake asked. Her question went unanswered, as Pinkie was already halfway to the kitchen. The older mare rolled her eyes and gestured for Ditzy to follow her assistant. The pegasus thanked her and followed the bouncing baker into the back of the building.

Wait, why was she thinking in alliteration now?

The two mares entered the heart of the establishment: a massive counter made up two sides of the room, covered in pans, cookingware, and loose ingredients. The counter continued to the right and wrapped around, coming to a massive sink overflowing with suds and dirty dishes; beside this in the corner were a pair of massive iceboxes. The entire left wall consisted of ovens, spaced just far enough to allow for easy access to each of the racks of baking goods. Mr. Cake hummed to himself as he kept watch over an assortment of saucepans on a six-top stove nestled in the middle of the counter on the far wall. He turned when he heard Pinkie humming along with him.

“Pinkie m’girl, good timing. Can you take over here with these saucepans? I need to get these cakes out of the oven and—oh, hello.”

Ditzy smiled. “Hello, Mr. Cake. I’m here to lend a hoof.”

The yellow earth pony arched his eyebrows. “Well, I won’t say no to some extra help—somepony placed an order for over a dozen large cakes, and Cup’s been busy up at the register all day. Pinkie, would you take over with these funnel cakes?”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie traded positions with Mr. Cake with practiced ease, the ladle still spinning when freed from his grasp as Pinkie balanced on her hind legs and resumed stirring. Ditzy gave him room to pass her and joined Pinkie near the stove. The pink mare grabbed an extra whisk and held it in front of her like a microphone.

“And today on Cooking with Pinkie, we have a very special guest helping with our baking project. Tell me, Ditzy Doo, what is the key ingredient in banana-nut muffins?”

Ditzy backed up a step when the not-a-microphone was thrust in her face. “Um … bananas and nuts?”

“Correct!” Pinkie jabbed at the ceiling with her other hoof, coating the wall and ceiling with a trail of molten chocolate. She glanced over her shoulder, but Mr. Cake has his back to the stove. She returned the whisk to the saucepan and redoubled her stirring.

“Aaaanyways...bananas and nuts, yes! And flour, and eggs, and shortening too! But first, the bananas. Put them in a bowl and mash them into a fine gooey goo.” Ditzy tore bananas off of a nearby bunch and peeled them as Pinkie counted them out in a cheesy Transylneighian accent. “Vun, vun banana! Ah-ah-ah-ah! Two, two bananas! Ah-ah-ah-ah! Tree, tree ba—”

“She gets it Pinkie,” Mr. Cake interrupted from across the kitchen. Clearly, this was not the first time his hired help had taken liberties with her baking process. Ditzy didn’t mind, though she imagined that it would get old quickly.

Pinkie hardly seemed discouraged. Her stirring slowed to a melodic bob as she hummed a tune and, to Ditzy’s amusement, broke into song.

“Peel six bananas and mash ‘em down until they’re good and smooshed,
Crack an egg or four and add a cup of shortening to the mush.
Two teaspoons baking powder also go into the goo—
Two pinches of salt and a half cup chopped walnuts go in there too!

Muffins! So warm and tasty
Muffins! Better than pastries
Muffins! A good meal or snack
Muffins! You’ll keep coming back

Next up is the sugar—and you’d think that that’s the easy part!
But if you do it wrong they’ll come out icky, bland and tart.
You need a half cup sugar for extra sweetness in this recipe.
The trick is to mix it up, brown and white sugar equally.

Muffins! So warm and tasty
Muffins! Better than pastries
Muffins! A good meal or snack
Muffins! You’ll keep coming back

Last to add is the flour, sift three cups into the mix.
Spray the pans before you pour the batter to make sure nothing sticks!
Three-seventy-five is the temperature—bake for half an hour.
Don’t burn yourself—let everything cool before you chomp and devour

Those muffins! So warm and tasty
Muffins! Better than pastries
Muffins! A good meal or snack
Muffins! You’ll keep coming back.”

Ditzy hummed along as Pinkie repeated the song, following the tempo of the music as she mixed the ingredients. By the end of the third rendition, the batter was thick enough that Ditzy’s neck was becoming sore from stirring. She greased the pans and carefully poured the the batter into them. Pinkie turned to take the pans from her and promptly burst into laughter, and the pegasus heard Mr. Cake choke back a snort from across the room. A glimpse of her reflection in the window showed why: her grey coat was a mishmash of white and yellow, so caked with ingredients in various stages of readiness that made her look like she had dipped her head in the mixing bowl.

Mr. Cake graciously took over for her, allowing Ditzy to excuse herself to the sink. There was a conspicuously muzzle-shaped niche over the far sink, along with hoof-operated water controls built into the floor below. It made sense, really—even as experienced bakers, cooking without magic meant that Pinkie and the Cakes would be a bit of a mess by the end of the day. Ditzy held her breath as a spray of warm water cascaded over her face, and once she was satisfied that her muzzle was clean she took her hoof off of the pressure panel, blindly groping for a towel. She dried off and shook her head, sending her mane in all directions. She jumped as something banged against the sink beside her before disappearing into the suds with a splash.

Pinkie’s apologetic giggle echoed in the confined area near the stove. “Sorry about that. I’m not used to having somepony near the sink while we’re baking.”

“It’s all right. I’m in your way, really. I can wait in the lobby if that would help.”

The earth pony shook her head. “Actually, you wanna get me another whisk? This funnel cake needs be to be stirrific before it can be terrific.”

Ditzy cocked her head. “What about the one you just had?”

“Are you crazy? That’s my oatmeal whisk!” Pinkie turned off one of the burners and moved the saucepan on it to a cooling rack. “Besides, I’ve been singing into that thing for the last twenty minutes. It’s not sanitary anymore, you silly filly.”

Ditzy couldn’t really argue with that. She retrieved a whisk from the drawer and was about to give it to Pinkie when a thought struck her.

“‘Oo min’ e—” she gently spat the whisk on the counter and started over. “You mind if I try? This seems like fun.”

“Righty-o!” Pinkie helped her stand on her hindlegs and showed her how to stir with her hooves. Pinkie kept a supporting hoof on her back. Ditzy flared her wings to help balance and jerked a bit as she re-oriented herself, spilling a bit of oil over the side of the saucepan.

The oil exploded into flame as it came in contact with the burner. Ditzy shrieked and pulled her limbs back, emptying the entire pan adding even more fuel onto the fire. She crab-scuttled away from the inferno as it licked the wall and ceiling, blackening everything it touched. Mr. Cake abandoned the half-iced cake in front of him and grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher, taking aim and biting down on the release handle.

The world exploded into white. Ditzy gagged at the taste and shook her head to try and clear eyes. When her vision finally cleared, she wished it hadn’t; Mr. Cake’s haphazard attempt to contain the fire had covered the entire back half of the the kitchen with the the fire-retardant foam, covering ovens, ingredients, metalware, and finished products alike. Ditzy was honestly surprised one fire extinguisher could hold so much material. Somepony gasped behind her, and she turned to see Mrs. Cake standing at the doorway, a hoof over her mouth in shock.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cake … I’m so sorry.”

“It was totally an accident!” A white mass quivered as Pinkie stepped backwards, somehow leaving behind the goop that had covered her seconds ago. “Ditzy didn’t mean to start the fire, she just had to get out of the way when it fwooshed up! I mean, fwooshing is bad!” She helped Ditzy to her hooves and offered her a towel. “But everypony’s okay, and that’s the main thing. Right?”

White foam floated away from Mr. Cake’s mouth as he sighed. “I’m glad nopony got hurt, and we do have fire insurance well in hoof, but … well, we lost a lot of time and effort on the food. That’s a lot of orders that we’ll have to cancel.”

Ditzy gulped as she asked, “How much?”

Mrs. Cake shook her head. “Ditzy, dear, that’s very sweet of you to offer but—”

“This is my mistake and I’ll own up to it. How much?”

Mr. Cake shared a hesitant look with his wife, but when Ditzy opened her mouth to ask again he cut her off with an upraised hoof. “Almost seven hundred bits.”

Ditzy’s stomach felt like somepony had poured molten lead into it. That was how much a day’s worth of labor was worth to a bakery? Still, she had made the offer and she was committed to it.

She followed the earth ponies out of the kitchen. Pinkie vanished into the bathroom while Mrs. Cake flipped the sign on the front door to ‘Closed.’ Her husband gave Ditzy a hooftowel and sat down at one of the tables in the front, reviewing a stack of sales ledgers with an abacus and pencil close at hoof. Ditzy dabbed at her ear to try and clear out the fire suppressant, allowing Mr. Cake to make his calculations in silence. After several minutes, he sighed again and sat back.

“Okay, factoring in labor, materials, ingredients, and the post-fire inspection, we’re going to be out six-hundred and forty-nine bits. Are you still sure you want to try and cover that?”

Ditzy tried to force her eyes to remain neutral as she nodded. Mrs. Cake handed her coinpurse back from its hiding spot underneath the register, and the pegasus began counting out bits; she knew that she needed some money to tide her over until her next paycheck. She counted out enough money to cover her next visit with Redheart, plus thirty bits for herself, and pushed the rest towards the Cakes. What she had to offer wouldn’t even cover a fifth of the cost, but after several minutes of debate she convinced them to take it as a down payment while she took a few days to budget the rest of the expenses from her income. All three of their heads turned as a timer went off in the back of the kitchen.

“I’ll get it!” A pink blur shot past them, and a few seconds later Pinkie Pie emerged with a shallow pan in her mouth, curiously untouched by the foam in spite of her trek through the kitchen. She set the steaming tray onto the front counter.

“It’s okay, everypony! The muffins made it!”

They had let her keep the muffins at no charge. That had been a bonus, but the small favor was ultimately lost upon Ditzy when she found how bland they tasted when she returned home. Not that they were bad by any stretch—she’d eaten Pinkie’s muffins several times since first discovering the wonderful bakery she worked at, and there was little doubt in her mind that the recipe the party pony had taught her was the same one she used for her own baking.

The issue was that stress and guilt can ruin the taste of just about anything. Ditzy had put the rest of the muffins away in Rainbow’s ice-cloud after the first one, amazing though it was, tasted to her as bland and unappetizing as the pencil currently in her mouth. She shook a bead of sweat away from her eye, accidentally scoring the check stub in front of her. Grumbling in annoyance, she nudged the beads on her abacus as she glanced back at the check stubs in front of her. Even though she received her money up front, the Equestrian Revenue Service required her to have a paper copy of her earnings on hoof for tax purposes; before now, she had thought the measure a bureaucratic annoyance, but today it had proven itself a blessing in disguise.

It had taken her from the time she returned home to just before dusk, but after careful analysis, she realized that she would be able to make good on her promise to the Cakes. Her income, combined with the money Cirrus was sending her, would just cover the damages while leaving her money left over; best of all, it wouldn’t take her more than a few pay periods. Realistically, she could have spaced it out over a longer period of time—after all, they weren’t charging her interest or anything like that—but she wanted to clear this up as quickly as she could. She’d have enough debts soon enough without having outstanding damages owed to Sugarcube Corner.

Ditzy wrapped the abacus and pencil in the papers and pushed the bundle down into the cloud table, then flapped over to the ice-cloud and reached into it. She ignored the chill crawling up her foreleg and held that pose until the front door opened. Shaking the cold sensation away from her hoof, she withdrew a pair of muffins and nonchalantly cantered back to the table.

“Oh, hey Rainbow! Care for a muffin?”

Rainbow stared at the confection for a minute, eyebrow raised. “Sounds good, but first I’d like to know: how the hay did you set Sugarcube Corner on fire baking that!?”

“Technically, it was a funnel cake,” Ditzy offered weakly. She cut off Rainbow’s response with an upraised hoof. “All right, all right. I accidentally set the Cake’s kitchen on fire.”

“That’s not even what surprises me!” Rainbow stomped a hoof, sending puffs of cloud around her legs. “You offered to pay for all of that, Ditzy! You have a foal on the way, in case you’ve forgotten—you’ve got more important things to spend your money on!”

“I burned up their kitchen!” Ditzy shot back. She walked back to the table and pulled the papers out of it. “Besides, I’ve been crunching the numbers. Between the money that Cirrus is sending me and my income from the weather team, I can pay the Cakes back after just three checks. I’ll even have some money left over!” She motioned Rainbow over to the table and tapped the paper in front of her. “You see? If I’ve done the math right—and I think I have—I can cover their losses and still have eighty bits to myself at the end of the week.”

Rainbow’s eyes darted from side to side as she looked over the lengthy set of calculations. Ditzy sat back to give her a better view, like a student making room for the teacher to lean over and check their work. Her optimistic smile fell when Rainbow picked up the pencil and wrote out her own calculation. When she finished, her expression was grim.

“You carried an extra zero.” She tapped a hoof against the paper. “If you go with this plan, you’ll have eight bits left over from your paycheck.”

“Oh...” Forget knots, it felt like somepony had tied her stomach into a balloon animal.

“Ditzy, I’m telling you: write. To. Cirrus. If you’re so bound and determined go through with this, you need the extra money.”

Ditzy shook her head. “He’s already sending me more than he can afford. I’ll figure something else out.” She bit her lip. “Maybe pay them back over five pay periods instead of three? That’d give me a little more breathing room.”

Rainbow looked back at Ditzy’s calculations and found the result of her earlier estimate. “And that would leave you with a whopping twenty-four bits in between checks. That wouldn’t be a lot to live off of even if you weren’t pregnant, and it’ll sure as hay leave you out to dry if something else goes wrong.”

“Oh,” Ditzy said again. She bit her lip until she tasted blood. “Tell you what. I’m gonna go and think about this for a bit, okay?”

Without waiting for a response, she stood and trotted upstairs. Closing the door behind her, Ditzy laid down and scooped as much of the cloud-mattress against her stomach as she could, vainly hoping it would somehow cool the burning pit which had formed in her stomach.

Month 3, Part 1 - or, Baby Mine

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Ditzy awoke to the smell of haybacon sizzling somewhere in the cloud-house. It had been one of her favorite meals back when she could afford really good foods like that regularly. Muffins and other baked goods had replaced it as a more budget-friendly alternative, and while she was just scratching the surface of what she could mix and pour into a tray, it just couldn’t compare. Rainbow, Celestia love her, had grabbed a pack just for this morning--and by the smell of things, actually wasn’t doing a half bad job.

And for the life of her, she didn’t want any of it.

The greasy, slightly-salty smell which used to send her (quite literally) flying to the kitchen was not agreeing with her at all. She tried to bury her head into her cloud-bed, but soon even the cloud mattress couldn’t block out the odor forever. She gave up and rolled out of bed with a moan and trotted down the hallway to the bathroom.

The faint scent of leaves and grass greeted her as she walked in, immediately securing the room as her favorite place in the house. A window carved out of the cloud wall fed a small breeze into the room--a necessity to keep the air fresh. Ditzy relieved herself and thanked her lucky stars that she had found a job in weather rather than sanitation--she did not envy the pegasi responsible for disposing of septic clouds.

As she kneaded her hooves to dry them from washing up, she felt something strange embedded in the cloud. Fabric. And not just any fabric, but something enchanted to not fall through the clouds that hid it. Whatever it was, it was fairly expensive--given the water-absorbing properties of the clouds they lived in pegasi didn’t have much use for towels.

She briefly pondered leaving whatever it was in place--after all, Rainbow was going well out of her way to help her, and digging up something she’d hidden (however badly) in her bathroom was a pretty big invasion of her privacy. Doing so in Cloud Kicker’s house would’ve ended with the discovery of some fairly interesting … devices. While Ditzy really doubted that she would find anything of that nature here, her curiosity got the better of her.

Whatever she was expecting, this certainly wasn’t it. She was at once surprised and not when the fabric in question turned out to be a Wonderbolts costume--and a pretty high-quality one at that. Ditzy giggled to herself as she remembered occasionally hearing Rainbow giving herself pep talks in the early morning--but the thought that those pep talks included a uniform was enough to push her over the edge into outright laughter.

It also explained the encompassing size of the bathroom mirror. The entire thing was one solid piece of thunderforged steel, one of the few pegasi-crafted materials imbued with the cloud-walking magic of its makers; it had been polished to a mirror-smoothness and was large enough that the bathroom had probably been built around it, stretching for almost two thirds the length of the room. She had always wondered why a pony as unconcerned about her appearance as Rainbow would want one so large, but now everything made sense.

As she turned to put her find back in its not-so-secret spot, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The costumed fluttered to the ground, banished from Ditzy’s mind as she scrutinized her reflection. She looked herself over from every angle--left, right, front, back, even balanced on her hindlegs for a moment. Then she flitted over to the other side of the mirror and checked herself again.

No matter what angle she looked from, she could still see the slight bump in her stomach.

It was barely there, and could almost be mistaken for normal weight gain. Hay, if she hadn’t spilled the beans at her ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, she might have been able to pass herself off as a normal mare for a few more weeks. Up to now, her mind had still only half-accepted what was going on with--or rather in--her body. Even facing the fallout from her decision to leave home, the entire reason why seemed only half-real.

Now that she was beginning to show, it was almost impossible for her mind to lie to itself. Ditzy idly examined herself again, tracing her wingtip over the small bulge. It was ... her. And not her, at the same time.

A small growl emanated from her stomach a little in front of the bulge, bringing her out of her reverie. That, at least, had been a constant reminder of the changes taking place. Hunger quickly overpowered her desire for fresh air as she stepped out of the bathroom, still idly stroking her belly. Her stomach turned as she was greeted once again by the overpowering smell of grease, and she forced a smile onto her face as she flitted into the open foyer of the main room.

Rainbow stood guard over a metal pan, which sizzled on an angry-looking black cloud. She gave it the occasional kick to jostle another miniature-sized lightning bolt out of it, which in turn arced for the inverted lightning rod built into the bottom of the pan. Ditzy could hear her meal from across the room whenever Dash did so, as thunderforged steel has a knack for dispersing the heat from lightning.

“G’morning, Rainbow.” Ditzy scooped up a section of cloud and formed a seat in front of the table, unofficially claiming the place further away from the source of her latest torment.

The other mare absently waved back with a wing as she transferred a few strips onto a waiting plate. “Mor’ig!” She spat the spatula onto a waiting cloud of dirty dishes. “How are ya?”

“Fine,” Ditzy answered instinctively. She resisted the urge to facehoof; of course she wasn’t fine, why did she still insist on saying that? Her whole situation aside, she was feeling less than spectacular--the dull ache in her stomach hadn’t ever really faded since she had promised herself to stick with her new budget, and Rainbow’s offers to either rework her payments to the Cakes or help cover it herself had gone from well-meaning to a bit annoying. It was her mistake and she’d make up for it.

Beyond which, that smell … she found herself swallowing back bile again, vainly hoped the sensation would pass. She was hungry, if her growling stomach was any indication. Even her midnight raid of the ice-cloud hadn’t completely sated her; she also really hoped Dash didn’t have any plans for that last slice of cake... Either way, the ice-cloud was far cleaner than it had been, and her plundered food still hadn’t been enough.

It was harder keeping Redheart’s advice in mind than she had previously thought; her belly had the first hints of a bump, and the last echoes of her pride told her that her intake was to blame as much as the foal growing inside her. Fortunately, the more logical part of her mind had already assumed control, and she found an apple slice halfway to her mouth before she realized that she had picked it up.

“Eating for two now,” she chided herself. The too-sweetness of a gala apple overpowered her tastebuds, giving some relief from the heavy air of grease. It lasted about as long as the slice, and she scarfed down a few more in rapid succession to try and ease her nausea.

“I hope he likes bacon.” Rainbow kicked the cloud again, causing the pan in front of her to hiss again. Ditzy held her breath and flapped her wing to try and force the scent away from her.

“He?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow pointed a free hoof in the general direction of her stomach. Oh, right. Her foal.

“Well...” She swallowed. “Yeah, I mean--it’s my favorite too, y’know. I really appreciate it.”

Rainbow rolled her shoulders in a casual shrug, not even taking her eyes off the sizzling pan of haybacon. “No prob, Ditzy. You still like your haybacon extra-crispy, right? ‘Cause back in Flight Camp you always said it wasn’t crispy enough.”

Of course she had. It actually worked to her favor a bit, as it gave her a few more seconds to stall and try to think of a way out. “You got it!” Another apple disappeared down her muzzle, and she briefly pondered just going back to bed until her appointment.

“Awesome.” Rainbow gave the pan a quick toss to flip the bacon over, agiley dodging the grease that particular maneuver sent flying. “So, I got you haybacon just the way you like it, picked up some muffins from Sugarcube Corner, and Fluttershy gave me some eggs. Your appointment with Redheart is today, right?” When Ditzy confirmed that it was, Rainbow continued. “So yeah, I figured you should start things off with a bit of a bang.” Rainbow froze and gave a slight shudder. “Not that kind of bang ... dammit, Cloud Kicker.” She chomped down on the rubber handle and set the pan on a less volatile cloud. “Ya probably gotta cut down on this stuff before much longer, so I figured one more—waddaya call it, indulgence, would help out a bit.”

Ditzy fought back the sudden pressure in her throat as she looked at the plate coming her way. She couldn’t decline now, Rainbow had that look in her eye whenever she was really aiming to please--like when she’d shown off her routine for one of the instructors back in Flight Camp. Just getting the bacon had been an out-of-the-way trip for her, since most of her usual foodstuffs revolved around fruits and granola--her dedication to her Wonderbolts’ training meant that she avoided any kind of ‘fat flyer foods’ as much as she could.

Rainbow put the plate down in front of her, a proud smile on her face. Ditzy took one good look at the hellish food which had been tormenting her since she woke up, felt her stomach churn, and turned to the side to avoid vomiting on her breakfast.

Rainbow scrambled back. “Eew, Ditzy!”

Ditzy’s apology was cut off with another heave. She sincerely hoped nopony was out for a walk beneath Rainbow’s house at the moment. After emptying her stomach, she pushed the plate away from her and into the cloud, not daring to look at the food on it.

“S-sorry.” She wiped her muzzle, nearly heaving again at the smell.

Rainbow chuckled weakly. “C’mon, I’m not that bad of a cook anymore. Kinda had to brush up after my parents … well, Awesomom got over it really fast, and she’s a really good cook anyway.”

“Yeah, I know.” Ditzy’s giggle was cut short as she realized Rainbow was waiting for her to retrieve her plate from the cloud-table. “Um... don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m really not in the mood for haybacon. I’ve, um... the smell’s been making me sick all morning.

“Oh.” Ditzy knew from the slight crack in her voice that she was really trying not to be hurt. “Yeah, um … no worries then. Probably that morning sickness stuff Redheart toldja about, right? It’s just more for me, then.”

Ditzy nodded glumly as she stood up to go brush her teeth. “Sorry, Rainbow. I appreciate the effort, but...”

Rainbow shrugged and fished the plate out of the cloud-table, checking it over very carefully before digging into it. “Meh,” she said through a mouthful of haybacon. “Eh happesh.”

The tiny flecks of food which flew from Rainbow’s mouth as she spoke drove Ditzy over the edge, and she put a hoof over her mouth as she made a three-legged gallop for the bathroom. This time, at least, she made it.

An hour later, Ditzy still found herself feeling queasy. It probably didn’t help that she was muzzle-deep in a trash can, or that all she could smell right then was her own sick. She only vaguely felt the pressure of somepony’s hoof holding her mane out of the way as she heaved one last time, breathing heavily and hoping the pressure in her stomach was nothing more than a cramp.

After a few more seconds had passed, Ditzy allowed herself to be pulled away from the (mercifully contained) mess and guided to a sink, where a cup of mouthwash had been set out on the counter. She gratefully gargled, spat, and repeated when Nurse Redheart refilled the cup for her. After several cycles of this, the pegasus was satisfied that she had removed all hint of the awful taste and trotted back to the examination table.

“Sorry about that,” she offered with an awkward smile.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Redheart told her as she washed her hooves. “Remember what my practice is--that’s not the first time morning sickness has struck in the middle of an examination. You at least made it to the can.”

Ditzy sincerely hoped the earth pony mistook her awkward laugh for a cough. “It got really bad earlier.”

Redheart dried her forehooves and trotted back to her patient. She knelt as onece again Ditzy lay before her with her hindlegs spread. “Has it been unmanageable, or painful? Or bloody, for that matter?”

“No, and it wasn’t even really bad until today.” Ghostly odors of bacon grease caused Ditzy’s stomach to grumble yet again, and Redheart instantly removed herself from between her patient and the trash can. Ditzy waved her off, forcing herself not to think of the treat Rainbow had worked so hard to put together for her. “It’s the weirdest thing, it’s my favorite breakfast that set it off...”

The earth pony resumed her half-completed examination. “Let me guess: something unhealthy and overflowing with sugar and/or grease?”

Ditzy nodded, though the gesture was lost as Redheart’s focus was decidedly lower on her body. “How’d you know?”

“Comes with the job.” Redheart tapped a hoof to her temple. “So, what was it?”

Ditzy fought down a small wave of nausea--honestly, was this going to happen every time she thought about it now? “Haybacon. I used to go nuts for it, and now … well, it still drives me nuts. Just in a totally different way.” She shot a rueful glance at the soiled trash can.

“Mm,” Redheart grunted. “I’m not really surprised by that. A lot of mares’ usual preferences go out the window when they start eating for two.” She prodded Ditzy one last time in such a way that she briefly wondered if she owed the other mare dinner, then went back to wash her hooves again. “All right, you’re set. See you again in two weeks!.”

The pegasus quite gratefully closed her hindlegs, and was about to ease herself off of the table when a thought occurred to her. “Before I forget...” Ditzy sheepishly stroked her belly with a wing. “I’m kind of showing by now. Um, about how long will it be until I can see … y’know...?”

Redheart chewed her lip as she thought. “If you’re three months in... Your foal would only just be beginning to take shape, but we could certainly take a preliminary sonogram.”

Dizty’s heart skipped a beat as she nodded. Something instinctive demanded it as much as her mind wanted it--a first glimpse, a justification for everything she’d gone through in the last, what had it been? Twelve weeks? Thirteen?

Redheart excused herself for a moment, and returned a brief moment later with a green unicorn stallion in tow. “Ditzy, this is Code Blue--he’s one of our generalists from triage.”

Code Blue shook her hoof. “Good to meet you, ma’am. I’ll be performing your ultrasound today.”

Ditzy cocked her head as she looked the stallion over. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t get it.”

Code Blue blinked. “Beg pardon?”

“There’s nothing about you that’s blue.”

Redheart couldn’t suppress a snicker. “That’s because they’re covered by his tail.”

A hasty cough didn’t quite cover up Ditzy’s mirth.

“In front of the new patient?” the unicorn huffed. “Really, Red?”

Redheart’s expression was one of complete innocence. “What? You live in a world dominated by mares--I’m just saying you should get out more.”

“I have a job to do.” Code Blue rolled his eyes, waiting for the two mares to finish their laugh at his expense. He stood in place until silence finally fell. “Like Red said, I’m Code Blue,” he said as if he had never been interrupted. “My special talent is magical imaging and diagnosis, and I’ve been working here for the better part of a decade.”

Ditzy apologetically forced a resurgent giggle into to a polite smile. “So this sonogram process--how does it work?”

“It’s pretty straightforward, really.” Code Blue’s voice took on the air of a professor about to launch into lecture. “All you need to do is lay back and hold still; I’ll cast the sonography spell and project the image.” He pointed to a conspicuously large blank area on the wall. “From there, Redheart will take a couple of pictures--most of them for your file, but a few for you to take home as well.”

As he spoke, Redheart was setting up a tripod near the head of the examination table. “You don’t have to worry about powder residue or vapors, either. I invested in luminescent-bulb cameras a little after I started my residency.”

Ditzy craned her head towards the unicorn as she laid back. “And the spell--”

“Totally harmless--this spell’s the latest and safest medical magic has to offer. It looks inside and does nothing else.” He droned on with the patient monotone of one who had answered such questions many times before. “High-level spells like this are only useable in triage when they have no effect on the patient. I promise, it’s perfectly safe.” He paused briefly. “Um, if you’re ready to start, would you mind moving your wing?”

Ditzy started a little--at no point in preparing for the sonogram did she remember covering her stomach. She grinned sheepishly and forced her wings against her back once again. Code Blue stepped up to her, and waited for her to nod her approval before casting the spell. The lights dimmed as a soft white beam emanated from his horn and homed in on the bulge in Ditzy’s abdomen. She closed her eyes and fought the sudden instinct to curl into a ball as she felt the magic pass through her midsection several times in rapid succession. It wasn’t a sensation she could describe--not a tingling or a buzzing, just a feeling of something both there and not there at the same time.

After a few seconds, another beam of light projected from Code Blue’s horn and expanded into a square, forming a black-and-white image against the wall. The spell ran its course through her a few more times before stopping almost perfectly aligned over her belly button. Ditzy knew the spell had run its course when the blinding glare of a lightblub burned through her eyelids as Redheart took her pictures. Ditzy turned her head for her first glance at the results of the scan.

It was so small that, at first, she couldn’t see it at all. White-and-black lines crisscrossed the wall, forming an (ironically) organic pattern that she couldn’t make out beyond a few outlines. She saw the slight shifts of the patterns, lines mingling as she rolled on her back for a better view.

And then it moved.

It was … barely visible, even now. Just a series of bumps and shapes in a whole image of bumps and shapes, a small little creature curled up on itself. Two large grainy blobs, and a few small ones, were all that Ditzy could make out. But when they moved on their own, even just the fractions of inches that they were capable of, that was all she needed.

“Oh.” Ditzy’s hoof went to the wall of its own accord, tracing around the foetal outline. No. That was the wrong word for it. This, here, now... “Hi, sweetheart. Oh my goddess, that’s really...”

“This part never gets old.” Redheart patiently waited for Ditzy as she ran her hoof around the projection. “We won’t be able to tell if it’s a colt or a filly for a while yet, though.”

Ditzy didn’t care in the least. When she asked for the procedure, she’d been hoping for--she didn’t know anymore. Some sign that everything she’d gone through so far was worthwhile. What she saw now went so far beyond that it was almost past words. She moved her hoof to let Redheart continue taking her pictures, sitting back and looking at her foal in utter contentment.

A troubled ‘hmm’ from the nurse finally broke her trance. “What is it? Is something wrong?” A familiar burning reignited in her stomach.

“No--goodness, no.” Redheart instantly put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Your foal looks perfectly healthy, it’s just that … by this point, it’s limbs have started to form.”

“So how’s that a...” The question died on her lips as she checked back over the projection. The foal wiggled again, and this time she could see what the nurse was referring to--or rather, she couldn’t see them.

Redheart removed her hoof from Ditzy’s shoulder to stroke her chin. “If there aren’t any wings, that leaves two options. Code Blue, focus on the cranium would you?”

“Got it.” The stallion lowered his head slightly, bringing the tip of his horn directly onto Ditzy’s belly as the image on the wall zoomed in. “Beg your pardon.”

“S’okay.” Ditzy’s eyes came together in a rare moment of dual focus, looking over the image with an intense concentration she hadn’t felt since finals. After a few seconds she accidentally shifted in place, moving her body enough to reveal a small conical bump.

“It’s a unicorn, then,” Code Blue murmured. He pulled his head back just a little, zooming out just enough to show the entire body and the bud of a horn. He let Redheart take one last picture and backed away, popping his neck. “Red, I can get those developed while you finish up here, if you want.”

“Would you mind?” Ditzy blurted out. She rubbed the back of her head and gave an embarrassed little laugh. “S-sorry, I um … if you don’t mind, I’d like a copy of that last one.”

Code Blue chuckled as he and Redheart helped Ditzy back into a sitting position. “You’d be surprised how often I get asked that. I’ll get a copy made for you while you two finish up here.”

Ditzy was more than a little surprised. “You can do it that quickly?”

“Unicorn,” the stallion said, knowingly tapping a hoof to his horn. He levitated the camera around his neck and left the room.

Ditzy stretched her wings for a moment, then decided to lay down on the examination table, curling her legs beneath her. Redheart sat down next to the table, clipboard in front of her again.

“I just have a few more things and then we’ll be done. I know I’ve said it before, but you do need to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet.” She held up a forestalling hoof. “Haybacon or something along those lines is fine once in a while, so long as you balance it out with healthy foods.”

Ditzy nodded. “I’ve remembered. Pinkie Pie’s been teaching me to bake in her spare time. Though, um, it’s mostly just been recipies and mixing techniques. I don’t think the Cakes are really keen to let me near their kitchen again.”

The earth pony covered her mouth with the clipboard and very hastily turned a giggle into a strange cough. “I heard about that. I’m glad nopony got hurt.”

“Yeah.” Ditzy’s face fell slightly, but things had finally gotten to the point where she could think back on it and laugh.

Redheart didn’t miss the slight shift in her tone. “Everything okay? You did make it out of there unscathed, didn't you?”

Ditzy tried to wave her off. “Yeah, yeah, we’re all fine. It’s just been a little hectic, y’know? Paying ‘em back for that and saving for these visits has … eh, you don’t wanna hear about that.”

“Wait, you’ve been paying for these visits out of pocket?”

The pegasus nodded meekly. “When I left home, I got, um... Well, I don’t have insurance anymore. I kinda have to.”

Redheart frowned. “You’ve spent far too much time in the capital. From what I remember from school, insurance in the upper circles is privatized because some of the ponies there invest heavily in vanity work--tummy tucks, face-lifts, and other procedures that wouldn’t be covered by the Celestial Mandate. Reconstructive surgery is one thing, but anypony getting it just to improve their looks would have to pay out of their own coinpurses.”

Ditzy groaned and facehooved, the feeling of having overlooked something very, very obvious wearing on her. “That … would have been really nice to know a few months ago.”

“You didn’t know you didn’t need to pay for everything out of pocket?” Concern washed over Redheart’s face as she scooted herself a little closer to her patient. “Please tell me you’ve at least set aside enough money for food.”

“Of course I did! It’s just...” She stroked the bump in her stomach. “Rainbow’s put up with me for more long enough already, and a unicorn can’t exactly walk on clouds. Between paying the Cakes back and these appointments, I wasn’t totally sure if I could look for a new place.”

Redheart tenderly ran a forehoof over her the bump as well. “Well, now you know you can. You have another eight months to sort things out, and Rainbow doesn’t strike me as the kind of pony to just leave a friend hanging.”

“Yeah. She’s helped more than enough already, I really don’t wanna overstay my welcome.”

Redheart nodded again and helped Ditzy off of the examination table. The two of them finagled her saddlebags back in place around her, taking great care not to make them too tight around her womb, before turning to go. Ditzy opened the door to show herself out and found a hoof inches away from her eyes, shaking in place.

“I’m so sorry about that!” Code Blue instantly pulled his hoof back. “I came back from developing the pictures and was just about knock--”

“It’s fine. Really, you missed me,” she said with an almost entirely natural smile. A second later, she finished processing the rest of what he’d said. “Wait, you’re already done with the pictures?”

The stallion tapped his hoof to his horn. “Unicorn,” he said again. “I put a rush job on that last picture, since I figured you’d want your copy sooner rather than later. Even gotcha a frame, on the house.”

He levitated a small silver frame to her. Inside it was a black-and-white still of the foal, the bump on its forehead clearly visible. Ditzy stared for a moment, still not quite believing that this--this--was growing inside her.

Redheart came up alongside her, a soft smile playing on her lips. “Good timing, Blue. Is that one a thunderforged frame?”

He nodded. “Even though you’re probably not gonna be airborne much longer, I guessed you’d want that close at hoof.”

“I--” Ditzy shook her head, offering the frame back. “I’ll just take the picture, I know thunderforged steel’s expensive.”

Redheart put a hoof on her foreleg, pushing the picture back against her chest. “You’ve more than paid for it, Ditzy. It’s on us, okay?”

The pegasus cleared her throat and pulled both of her doctors into a wing-hug. “Thank you both so much, this--this really means a lot to me.”

Code Blue awkwardly patted her on the back. “You’re, um welcome?” He gave a quick awkward cough. “Y’know, your friends are out waiting for you. I bet they’d like to see this as well.”

Ditzy nodded and shifted the picture to her wing, then allowed Redheart to walk her down the hallway, her eyes not rising once from her picture for the entire journey. The occasional soft nudge from her guide kept her from getting too far off track--she only dinged an IV rack once on the way to the front. Even when they stopped, she only realized that they’d arrived when Redheart nudged her.

There were a few ponies waiting in the main lobby, but only three pegasi: Rainbow Dash had taken a seat-cushion near the middle of one section of wall, with Cloud Kicker and Fluttershy on either side of her. Fluttershy looked halfway ready to bolt, given who she was only one ponylength away from, but when the door opened she hurried forward to meet Ditzy. Cloud Kicker, for her part, got up to join them as well, allowing Fluttershy to keep Rainbow between the two of them.

Ditzy balanced her picture on her back to give her friends a wing-hug. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy instantly started looking her over, putting a hoof to her forehead and looking into her wall-eye. “I was so worried when Rainbow Dash told me you were sick! Is the foal okay?”

Ditzy giggled as her friend checked her. “I’m fine--really. It’s just some morning sickness. Just comes as part of the package.”

“I told you two it wasn’t anything to get worked up over,” Cloud Kicker said, an amused smile playing on her lips as she watched Fluttershy be--well, herself.

The smile fell a little when Fluttershy meeped and shrank back. “Sorry.”

Rainbow gave them both a look and kept her body between the two of them. “I wasn’t worried,” she said in a none-too-subtle attempt to change the subject. “I knew Derpy would be cool.”

For her part, Ditzy gave Fluttershy a reassuring nuzzle. “It’s sweet of you. I appreciate it, but really--I’m okay.”

“Okay. If you’re sure...”

“I’m sure.” Ditzy paused as she remembered her recent experience, her eyes misting slightly as she smiled. “In fact, I’m better than sure. I, um ... I got to see it. My foal, I mean.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide. “Whoa! Really, you can see it already? I mean, you--um, totally look, like not-at-all pregnant.”

For her part, Fluttershy instantly switched gears, instantly coming out of her shell and bouncing around Ditzy like a filly on Hearth’s Warming Morning. “Did you take pictures? Please tell me you took pictures! Was it adorable? Oh, of course it was adorable--it’s your foal!”

“Nice,” Cloud Kicker said with a grin. “So ... any idea what it is?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It’s a foal. Duh. What else would it be?”

“Well of course it’s a foal.” Cloud Kicker gave her a playful smack on the back of the head. “But what kind? Colt or filly? Horn, wing, or hoof?”

Ditzy proudly retrieved her picture frame and pointed to a certain spot. “It’s gonna be a unicorn. You can just make out a bump right … there.”

In a rare moment of assertiveness, Fluttershy pushed her competitors out of the way and--very, very gently--took the frame into her forelegs. “It’s so adorable!”

“Hey!” Rainbow was just a little indignant at the sudden marehandling. “I wanna see too!”

Cloud Kicker frowned as she looked over Fluttershy’s shoulder, her eyes never leaving the barely-a-bump on the tiny skull. “Uh, Derpy? Did you just say it’s a unicorn?”

“Y-yeah,” Ditzy answered, her smile faltering a little. “Um...at that party, he was...” She laid her ears back and found she couldn’t quite finish the sentence. A sudden pressure on her back caught her off-guard, and she turned to see Rainbow and Fluttershy each draping a wing over her.

Cloud Kicker gingerly accepted the picture frame from Fluttershy. “I guess you’ll need to find somewhere else to stay before ... you know. Since it’s not a pegasus.”

“Oh yeah, huh?” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck, leaning against Ditzy slightly to balance herself. “I guess ... you can’t really stay at my place when the foal is born. Not that it hasn’t been totally, one-hundred-percent cool that you’ve been crashing at home, ‘cause it is. Ya just can’t really get thunderforged steel shoes for a foal.”

Ditzy blanched at the thought of hammering horseshoes onto a foal’s hooves. She cleared her throat and hastily changed the subject. “Thank you again for letting me stay, Rainbow, you’ve been a godsend so far. But, yeah, um, I’ve gotta start thinking about … heh, long-term. Gotta go groundside sooner or later.”

“Wanna go halfsies?” Cloud Kicker offered. “I’ve been saving up for a ground-house anyway.”

“Or you could stay with me,” Fluttershy added. “I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Ditzy forced herself not to meet Fluttershy’s enthusiastic, hopeful look--there would be no saying no to her if she met the pleading gaze she knew was plastered on her friend’s face. “I know you both have your own lives, and I really don’t want to step on your hooves. Especially when the foal comes, that’ll be a pretty big... deal...”

Cloud Kicker passed the picture off to Rainbow. “You’d be saving me money on a new place too, so it wouldn’t be the that bad. Besides, having somepony else around to help take care of the foal would be a good idea.” She grinned as she recalled some of the antics from her family’s compound. “Hay, sometimes back home it took the entire clan to handle things.”

“I’d love to have you all around when--well, when it’s more than me, but I know this is gonna be... big. Like, long-nights and stuff big. Even before then I don’t wanna be in the way.” Ditzy looked her friend in the eye. “You’ve got an entire clan to deal with, this’d just be me. I wouldn’t say no to having you around, but I’m not gonna ask you to let me get underhoof.”

“And what if Eep—er Fluttershy,” Cloud Kicker quickly corrected herself. “I mean, what if we want to have you underhoof?” She hardly seemed surprised when Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

Dizty let go of Rainbow to hug the other mares. “It’s not just wanting me underhoof, it’s--having a foal around, too. Everything’ll change--your visits, Cloudy, or Fluttershy’s animals, they’re all gonna have to work around our needs.” My needs, food, job stuff, and when it’s born, feedings, late-night stuff...” She quickly found herself leaning against them for support as her legs turned to jelly. “Goddess, I don’t even know what else yet. I haven’t even started thinking that far ahead.”

Rainbow put the picture aside as the three of them walked Ditzy to a seat-cushion. “We’ll help you. You know we’ll be there whenever you need it.”

“Damn right we will,” Cloud Kicker said with a nod. “You think we’re gonna stop being your friends just because it’s a little inconvenient?”

A pair of grey wings pulled them all close. Ditzy fought back tears as she hugged her friends, overwhelmed by just how much they were offering her. “Th-thank you so much.”

Cloud Kicker let Ditzy rest her head on her shoulder, gently nuzzling her. “No problem, Derpy.”

They remained like that for a while as Ditzy held them. She didn’t say anything beyond the occasional sniffle or cough, nor did anypony else. They didn’t need to. Redheart eventually came by once with a box of tissues, which Ditzy gratefully accepted.

“S-so, um...” She broke the hug to wipe her eyes. “Now that, um ... I’m gonna try to figure something out, okay? I really, really appreciate what you’ve all offered here, but I don’t wanna step on your hooves unless I really need to. Not on my own, but I gotta start owning up to this.”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Wanna try to make your own way? Alright, I guess I can understand that.”

“Yeah, I can respect that too.” Rainbow didn’t quite hide her own tissue in time, earning a knowing chuckle from Cloud Kicker. “We just want what’s best for you and your foal.”

Fluttershy, however, wasn’t quite as sold as the rest of her friends. “But... it’s going to be so hard! Are you sure I can’t help out? I have a bed I’m not using, as long as I sleep on the couch.”

Ditzy tried her hardest not to giggle. “Thanks--really, thanks. You’re always welcome, all of you. At my house.”

Fluttershy shook her head, still not quite convinced. “But how would you pay for it? Not to say you’re not capable of fending for yourself but a house is a lot of money.”

“It turns out I, uh, didn’t need to pay for this medical stuff out of pocket.” Ditzy ran a tired hoof across her forehead. “It’s a--a stupid thing I didn’t think of. Still, I can start saving for a ground-house now, right?”

“Yeah, you could,” Cloud Kicker said, “but they aren’t cheap. Even with the bits I’ve got from months of work and what I had saved up from before, I’m only about halfway there myself.”

Rainbow cocked her head. “Like, how much would it cost for a ground-house?”

“The place I’m looking at runs about sixty thousand bits, and it’s pretty much just bachelorette pad. Not really a lot of room for raising a foal.”

“And that’s one bedroom...um....” Ditzy’s eyes went wide as she tried to sort out the math behind that. “Oh feathers.”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “S’why I was willing to share. Picking up a three bedroom place would be cheaper than both of us getting our own house.”

“Sheesh, that is a lot, isn’t it?” Rainbow rubbed her chin. “Makes me glad I stuck with clouds, ground-houses are expensive.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Cloud Kicker offered Ditzy a sympathetic look. “Sucks to not have any of that family money, doesn’t it?”

“I can make it work.” From her tone of voice, not even Ditzy could say she believed herself.

“We can at least look and see what’s out there, right?” Rainbow offered. “Maybe there’s like a sale somewhere.”

Cloud Kicker shuffled her wings and nodded again. “I’m already keeping an eye on the market for myself. Wouldn’t be hard to look for for something for you as well.”

“It can’t be much different than finding an air lot to park my house,” Rainbow said.

“It’s far more than air rights,” Fluttershy replied. “There’s furniture to consider, as well as bills and rent, and... Ditzy? Are you okay?”

Ditzy tried to nod, shaking in her friend’s grasp. “Oh goddess, I really didn’t think this through... That’s a lot of stuff to pay for.”

Cloud Kicker instantly sat down beside her. “Look, you’ll be fine Derpy.” She took a deep breath, and then very slowly added. “Worst case, I could always make up with my folks in exchange for getting you some help.”

“I won’t ask you to do anything like that for me.” Ditzy let out a long sigh, extending a grateful wing to rest on Cloud Kicker’s shoulder. “My brother’s still talking to me, I’ll write him and see what we can work out.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the housing market too,” Fluttershy offered. “I use a lot of newspapers for the birdhouses anyway, I’ll just double-check them before I change them out.”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, we have months to figure things out. We’ll find something that works for ya.”

Ditzy’s grateful reply was cut off by a low growl from her stomach. Stupid morning sickness. So far she hadn’t been able to eat anything. Still, now that she was well away from the smell of (ulp) haybacon, she might have a chance of keeping something down. “Y’know, um, Cloudy … I know you and Rainbow have weather stuff to get back to, but if you girls can spare a little more time, I’m kinda hungry again.”

Rainbow shrugged away Ditzy’s apologetic look. “Sure, no prob. We’ll just take an early lunch.”

Cloud Kicker went ahead of the group and opened the door for them. “So, foodward bound, then?”

“Mmm, definitely.” Ditzy wrapped a wing around Fluttershy and Rainbow both, taking care not to pull them too tightly against her stomach. “I wonder if Pinkie’s finished working on those apple-and-kumquat muffins yet?”

“I’m sitting on the opposite side of the table from Derpy if muffins are on the menu.” A small smile played on Cloud Kicker’s lips as she spoke. “Makes life less complicated.”

“I only ran you over the one time,” Ditzy grumbled, though she couldn’t quite suppress a grin of her own.

Rainbow smirked at the memory. “It was only the one time too, ‘cause after that nopony ever sat next to you when they were having muffins.”

Ditzy was about to reply when she saw a pair of ponies coming their way. She moved aside to let them pass and froze as she recognized them: Sticks and Stones. Cloud Kicker and Rainbow Dash glared at them as they passed by, and Fluttershy protectively stepped in front of Ditzy.

Sticks limped past them, his back right leg stiffly working to propel him towards the hospital. A faint odor of burn cream emanated from his flanks, which were liberally wrapped in gauze down to his knees. The yellow stallion kept his gaze on the ground, ears pressed against his skull as he shuffled past. His companion wasn’t in much better shape, but he glared at all four mares as he passed by, matching Cloud Kicker’s gaze as he hobbled past.

For her part, Cloud Kicker ‘accidentally’ stuck out a hoof, sending him sprawling to the ground. “Sorry about that, Stoney. Here, lemme help you.”

Stones didn’t quite bite back a whimper as she hauled him up by his bandaged rear.

“Cloud Kicker!” Ditzy shouted.

Cloud Kicker put on a look of perfect innocence. “Just helping him out. It’d be a shame if he went and got himself hurt doing something stupid, wouldn’t it?” Sunlight glinted off of her horseshoe as she gave him a helpful smack on the rump.

“Yes, goddess damn you!” Stones screamed, wiggling in her grasp. “I already told you we’ll leave her alone!”

Fluttershy looked away, pretending not to hear anything while pointedly stepping in front of Ditzy’s line of sight. Rainbow, on the other hoof, looked eager to offer Stones her own ‘encouragement.’ Instead, she just whistled and joined Fluttershy as they waited for Cloud Kicker to finish. Cloud Kicker, for her part, pulled Stones aside and whispered to him before sending him on his way with another spank.

With the two bullies well on their way, the four mares resumed their trek. Ditzy cast one look backwards, feeling a bit put off. “What happened to them? Did I smell burn cream?”

Cloud Kicker pulled her a bit closer with her wing. “Remember that lightning cloud that went rogue the other day?” she asked. “Well, now we know where it went.”

“Huh.” Rainbow shuffled her wings. “So that’s where it went.”

“I hear those clouds can be awful mischievous when they get loose,” Fluttershy agreed with a small nod.

Ditzy shot a horrified look at Cloud Kicker. “You didn’t!”

“Dunno what you’re talking about there, Derpy,” Cloud Kicker shrugged. “You know me. Not a thought in my head other than who I’m gonna bang next.”

Her growling stomach cut off any attempt from Ditzy to make her worries known, but as the four of them made their way to Sugarcube Corner, she reminded herself yet again to never get on Cloud Kicker’s bad side.

A good meal and a hard day of work went a long way to help Ditzy bury her concerns. Sugarcube Corner was back in business, the worst of the damage having already been repaired a few days after the incident, and the day’s workload was a fairly light one. Since the local farmers were in the middle of their harvests, the need for irrigation had largely passed. As such, most of the weather team’s responsibilities fell to dealing with the feral weather blowing in from the nearby Everfree Forest, though the wild climate seemed to be in a cooperative mood.

Ditzy had spent most of the day with Rainbow, idly cruising over the western border of Sweet Apple Acres, where the farm and the forest were separated by a familiar dirt path. She idly wondered how Fluttershy managed on her own, living as far away as she did; Ditzy could only just make out part of her cottage from the air, right at the edge of the weather team’s workzone. In fact, she was fairly sure that a certain manager had extended the region just for that one cottage...

Speaking of Rainbow, Ditzy turned in time to watch her tackle the last cloud in the area. She circled around it in a multicolored blur, packing it in on itself tighter and tighter before taking off into the sky. Ditzy just lost sight of Rainbow when her warcry reached her ears. A sudden blue bolt shot down from on high, a Mach cone forming around it as Rainbow picked up speed. She slammed into her target hard enough to vaporise it, sending grape-sized puffs of cloud in all directions. Dizty giggled as little cloudlets pelted her, dispersing with a series of pifts as they made contact.

Rainbow kept going, doing far more aileron rolls than a pony probably should have at those speeds and pulling up with a flourish that belied the literal gravity of the situation. If she had been groundside or seated on a cloud, Ditzy would have stomped her hooves in applause. Since she was airborne, she instead banked right and made her way over.

“Nice one, Rainbow!” she called out.

Rainbow waved back to her, corkscrewing a few more times before leveling out alongside her. “Made that one up myself a bit after I started here. I figured, why send a whole team of ponies when ya just need one?”

“So I was here because...?” Ditzy gave her a knowing look.

“Just wanted to let ya know what you can do when you’re in better flying shape.” Rainbow took the lead, heading back into town. “That stuff’s way too rough for a pregnant mare, but maybe later I could teach you how to do it.”

Ditzy humored her, not entirely sure that Rainbow hadn’t just wanted an audience for her awesomeness. “Maybe, yeah.”

Rainbow waved to a tan earth pony down in the orchards as they passed overhead. “So I was thinking--”

“I thought I smelled something burning,” Ditzy interrupted with a smirk.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Oh laugh it up … anyway, what I was trying to say is that we probably need to figure something out for dinner. I was gonna do chili hay fries, but since greasy stuff seems to set you off...”

Ditzy cleared her throat, the mere mention of grease bringing unwelcome smells to mind. “Yeah, I probably needed to lay off of it anyway. Maybe a fruit salad or something?”

If Rainbow was disappointed by the lack of greasy goodness, she didn’t show it. “Sure! I needed to stop by the office to pick some stuff up, so we’ll just grab everything at the market while we’re in town.”

Ditzy nodded and banked slightly to correct her course. She’d left her saddlebags at the city hall anyway, so it would all be an easy round trip. The two of them flew in silence, occasionally waving to the ponies below them as they headed back into town.

The Ponyville City Hall wasn’t too hard to spot even from a distance, and once the two mares were overhead it was just a question of landing. Enough weather ponies came and went that the architects had designed a small runway at the back of the building which by law had to be clear of any non-pegasi during working hours. Rainbow made a precision insertion just outside of the door, while Ditzy gave herself the entire length of the runway to slow down for a landing. Ever since her quite literal run-in with Pinkie Pie, she’d been careful to give herself more room than she thought she’d need.

This time around, though, she was able to bring herself to a stop well short of where she thought she’d be, and hastily cantered to her friend. “Sorry about the wait.”

“Ah, no worries.” Rainbow stretched her wings, then went to get the door for her. One of the stallions beat her to it. “Oh, cool. Thanks, ‘lane.”

“Thank you!” Ditzy chirped, following Rainbow in as far as the main hallway. Rainbow took a left to head to her office, while Ditzy turned right to head to the mares’ locker room.

She stepped under one of the the shower heads and pressed a tile in the wall to start the water. A gasp escaped her lips as icy-cold water sprayed down, hastily pulling the temperature lever towards the ‘Warm’ side of the selection. The water quickly adjusted, and before long Ditzy let out a contented sigh as her soreness ebbed and washed away. She stepped up and closed her eyes, feeling her coat and feathers plaster against her body.

Several minutes passed in relative silence as she circled in place, working the kinks out of her back bit by bit. Her wings opened instinctively for further relief. She wasn’t out of shape by any stretch, even with her recent increase in appetite, but life amid the noble families in Canterlot was far more sedate than the blue-collar lifestyle Ditzy found herself in. Her muscles has been less and less sore at the end of the day as time passed, but she still had a ways to go to catch up to even Cloud Kicker or Raindrops.

After groping blindly for a moment, she found a hoof-sized panel alongside the temperature lever and pressed it. Given the torrents already coming down on her body, she smelled rather than felt the soap mix in with the hot water--a subdued but pleasing scent of sage. The main door opened several times as mares entered and left, but the water held Ditzy’s attention until she heard Rainbow call out to her. “Hey Ditzy. You doing okay?”

Ditzy wiped her eyes and turned to see Rainbow set her saddlebags on a bench. “Yeah, I’m good.” She closed her wings to let her friend-cum-boss use the showerhead beside her. “Bit tired, though. The area near Fluttershy’s place didn’t seem that far away last time around.”

“Getting a little weighed down?” Rainbow teased, though a hint of concern flashed in her eyes.”If you want, I can post you someplace closer to the office. You know, so you don't have to fly as far.”

“I already told you I'm okay, Rainbow.” Ditzy let the pressure off of the shampoo pedal and started scrubbing the bugs out of her mane. “Mares can keep going until a few days before they give birth, from what Redheart's told me. 'sides, I still gotta exercise.”

“I guess. But the second you feel like it's too much, tell me.”

“I will, I will.” Ditzy braced again to step up towards the showerhead. “I swear, you’re as much of a mother hen as Fluttershy some days.”

Rainbow flicked a wingful of water at her. “You take that back.”

“Oh don’t you start with that!” Ditzy said, flicking her in return.

“Oh yeah, whatcha gonna do about it? Rainbow took the challenge to heart and stood on her hindlegs, flapping in place and--well, showering her friend.

Ditzy tried to respond in kind, but she couldn’t match the volume of mist Rainbow’s well-toned wings could generate. Instead, she thought back to a trick from Flight Camp and opened her mouth under the spray, collecting water until her cheeks bulged out like a chipmunk. She closed an eye and took aim, smirking at Rainbow’s look of horrified recognition before taking the entire mouthful of water to the face.

“Gotcha!” Ditzy grinned triumphantly and reached a hoof upwards and tilted her showerhead, further drenching Rainbow.

Still sputtering, Rainbow reached up and returned the gesture. Before long, the two of them were laughing like schoolfillies, heedless of the increasing number of mares staring as their waterfight intensified. Rainbow tilted her showerhead just a little higher, arcing the stream right into Ditzy’s face; Ditzy brought a hoof up to shield herself, leaning against the wall to brace herself. Unfortunately, she happened to lean right against a particular lever, sliding it until the temperature marker was firmly in the blue.

“HOLY FEATHERS--COLDCOLDCOLD!!” Rainbow yelped, her wings snapping shut against her sides. “You wanna play that way? All right bubblebutt, take this!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Ditzy cried in a doomed attempt to save herself. “That was totally an accidAAAAHAOOOHOHOO!!!” She dropped to all fours, shielding herself with her wings as she cut off her water flow. “Aaah! Gaaaah that’s cold, no more!”

Rainbow grinned triumphantly, holding the stream for a few seconds longer before she suddenly felt the disapproving look from every mare in the locker room. Even as Ditzy’s friend, apparently good-natured teasing could only go so far when a pregnant mare was involved. It was like one vast, silent, X-chromosomal agreement that she’d missed. Probably because she’d slept through it or something like that. She hastily killed the water flow and was about to offer Ditzy a towel when the door burst open. Cloud Kicker’s wings were already unfurling as she cantered into the locker room.

“And there I go getting my hopes up about all that shrieking when it’s just you two having a water fight.” She shook her head good-naturedly even as her wings straightened out. “For shame, leading a mare on like that.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Not everything’s about your kind of fun, you know.”

“For shame,” Cloud Kicker said again. “Anyway, I remembered to grab a few papers on the way back from the Carrot property.”

“Anything new?” Ditzy asked, her question partially muffled as she dried her mane off.

“A few things, yeah.” Cloud Kicker reached into her saddle bags and pulled out a stack of papers.

“Ooh, thanks!” Ditzy’s mane stood on end as she pulled the towel off of her head. “I haven’t had a lot of luck yet with the ads I’ve looked at.”

“I've got ads for a couple of places too,” Rainbow reminded her.

Cloud Kicker smiled. “Cool. Maybe we can both find something today. ‘Cause that’s kinda the point here, boss.”

“I still found more of ‘em,” Rainbow muttered.

“Deflate that big head of yours, Dash,” Cloud Kicker chided.

Ditzy rolled her eyes at them, tapping a hoof impatiently. “Did any of the places look big enough for me?”

“All of ‘em, really,” Rainbow said. “You’re not going to need the ‘wide load’ entrance for a while.”

Cloud Kicker cuffed her on the back of the head. “Real sensitive, boss. Look, keep an eye out for some stuff for me, okay? I’ll be with you two in a bit.”

“‘A bit’?” Ditzy arched an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with now?”

Cloud Kicker jerked her head towards a mare who smiled at her from a half-enclosed shower stall. “Medley’s been eyeing me since I got here. I’ll join you two later.” She winked at them and trotted away, giggling loudly as a teal hoof shot out and dragged her inside.

Rainbow blushed and cantered towards the door, Ditzy close behind her. “C'mon, let’s see if we can finish up before she does, for a change.”

“Might not be hard at this rate,” Ditzy said as several other mares followed Cloud Kicker into the steamy confine.

Rainbow groaned and hurried out. “C’mon, it’s your turn to make dinner. Once we’re done here, muffins await!” She laughed as Ditzy wiped a bit of drool from her mouth. “Jeez, at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if your foal ended up being half-muffin, with how many of them you go through.”

Ditzy smiled and stroked her side as she walked. “Heh, you say that as if it's all I eat. I get fruits and veggies too.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but most of those are crammed into muffins.”

“Well I'm still getting them,” Ditzy shot back. She felt a friendly wing on her back.

“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow gave her friend a gentle squeeze. “I’ll tease ya, but you’re really taking care of that little filly or colt.”

“It's nice to have help. Even if you are a bit of a mother hen,” Ditzy added with a playful wing-nudge.

“I am not!” Rainbow said, said, though she didn’t nudge her back.

“Says the mare who won't let me near the stove-cloud.”

“Because I've seen you set clouds on fire.”

“Technically the cereal was on fire,” Ditzy countered. “And it was just the one time. And I was in a hurry to get out the door.”

“Uh-huh,” Rainbow shook her head. “Tell you what, I'll help pay for some cooking lessons after the foal's born. Either that or sign the kid up for emergency fire-fighting lessons.” She bit her lip thoughtfully. “Probably both, given who it’ll be taking after.”

Ditzy snorted. “Thanks, but you've spent way more than enough on me already.”

“It's what friends are for,” Rainbow said, giving her another squeeze.

“Yeah, banks too.” Ditzy’s smile froze ever so slightly. “Seriously, I know I've gone through a lot of food since you let me crash at your place.”

“You needed it, I had it, end of story,” Rainbow said in a firm tone.” You don't owe me a thing.”

“It's still not fair to you,” Ditzy insisted. “Even with what I chip in, I've cleaned out your ice-cloud more than a few times.”

“Look, drop it. It's just food--if you didn't eat it, it'd just stay in my ice-cloud until I threw it out.”

“It's bits too! A lot of them.”

Rainbow thought for a moment, and when she spoke again her words came out a lot more deliberately. “Bits come and go. Friends are more important. 'sides, I woulda just spent them on Wonderbolts shows and stuff. Spending them on you and your kid … that's a way better investment.” She looked around to make sure to make sure nopony was in earshot. “And … honestly? It feels a lot better spending it on somepony else than just doing stuff alone.”

Ditzy choked and smiled at her friend through misty eyes. “Thanks again, Rainbow. I know you're not the type of pony to give up on a friend, but hearing that still means a lot to me.”

Rainbow gave her one last squeeze as they trotted up to an empty table, then let go and grabbed a seat-cushion for Ditzy before she let her sit down.

“Mother hen,” Ditzy teased again, though she couldn’t deny to herself how nice it felt to have the extra padding. “C'mon, I wanna see some of the places you've found!”

Rainbow sat down on the other side of the table and split the pile of advertisements between them. She sorted out the ones that were obviously outside of Ditzy’s price range and passed the rest her way. Ditzy occasionally reached for them while working through her own pile. Her eager smile quickly gave way to a neutral frown as she tossed more and more on the floor beside her. Finally, she held onto one long enough to give it a second lookover.

“This one isn’t too bad.”

Rainbow accepted the advertisement from Ditzy, wincing as she read the description. “C'mon--that place?”

“It's a--it's a fixer,” Ditzy offered weakly.

Rainbow’s eyes focused on the phrase ‘Mild issue with load-bearing wall(s).’ “Fixer-upper? You're kidding me.”

Ditzy tried to smile. With that kind of rent, I'd have money left over for home projects.” She glanced back at the paper in her friend’s hooves. “A lot of them.”

Rainbow sighed. “Let's just keep looking.”

“Yeah.” Ditzy gingerly took the paper back from Rainbow and put it in her small pile to her right. “Wow, um, real estate's doing pretty well in Ponyville, huh?”

“It’s a growing town,” Rainbow said as she set another application aside. “S’close enough to Canterlot to make travel easy, but far enough that it isn't too crowded or expensive.”

The two mares sifted through the papers in silence for a while, their respective pile of rejects growing ever larger. Rainbow saw Ditzy’s frown grow a little more as she tossed aside yet another application. “Sooooo...” she drew the word out, simultaneously trying to distract her friend and buy time to think. “You thought about a name?”

Ditzy shrugged, only partially paying attention. “Well, I was just gonna call the place 'home'--it's not exactly the Doo Manor.” She realized from Rainbow’s stifled laugh that she hadn’t been talking about the house.

“I’m sure ‘Doo Manor’ will look great on the birth certificate,” she said with a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah.” Ditzy reached a wing across the table to nudge Rainbow, but then sat back to think for a moment. “I really don't know... there haven't been any non-pegasi in my family for a long time, and I can't really choose a name anyway if I don't know if it's a colt or a filly.”

“Rainbow's a good name. Nice and gender-neutral too--you could always go with ‘Blitz’ if it’s a colt.”

Ditzy giggled and shook her head. “You’re totally shameless. Besides...” she bit her lip pensively. “What if it's white, like him?”

Rainbow frowned. “Oh, yeah. You ever think of trying to get in contact with that guy?”

“...I don't know who he is,” Ditzy admitted after a moment’s pause. “Before that party, I’d only seen him a few other times on campus.”

“Surely you know somepony who knows him or a friend of his or something. A teacher or...” Rainbow stopped herself mid-sentence. “Do you … y'know, want him to be part of this?”

“No idea.” Ditzy shook her head, then forced a grin onto her lips. “And, uh, don't call me 'Shirley.'”

Rainbow could help but snort at that. “That was terrible, and you should feel terrible.”

Ditzy’s smile became less forced, and even grew a little bit as she found another one for her small pile of acceptable offers. “This one's a bit small for me, but Cloud Kicker might like it.”

“Huh,” Rainbow offered neutrally. “Were you seriously thinking of sharing a place with her?”

“Well, she offered, so maybe for a bit. Y’know, keep us both on our hooves until she can find her own place.”

Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane, casting a poorly-hidden backwards glance. “Hope she doesn't bring company home too much.”

“I was thinking that too. I don't wanna get in her way, but I dunno how well that would work out for the two of us.” Ditzy’s gaze also traced back to the locker room, where a large group of stallions had gathered outside the door, ears eagerly pressed against the wall. She shared a small smile with Rainbow, then went back to the papers in front of her. Paper after paper was flicked aside until she another one briefly caught her eye. This one’s kinda--oh, that's … wow, never mind.”

“What?”

“Well...” Ditzy reluctantly showed her. “It's nice, but the down payment is massive.”

Rainbow whistled at the figure. “Yeah but … it's nice.”

“It's not bad for a fixer.” She pointed to the description. “Really good, actually, from what it says here.”

Rainbow sighed and rubbed her chin. “I can always put in a little overtime, and I know Cloud Kicker’s good for it.”

Ditzy instantly shook her head. “You've both already given me a lot more money than is fair, and I can't keep going off of hoofouts forever. If I’m gonna support this foal I gotta start supporting myself first.”

“Don't you want the nicest place possible for your foal?”

“I can do a lot of work to the place,” Ditzy argued. “I've got another eight months!”

Rainbow gave an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, and if you stress yourself out doing it that's not good for the foal either, right? So just let us do this and make it easier on all of us.”

“I gotta find a place before I can fix it.” The paper fluttered to the side of the table, and Ditzy reached for another one only for her hoof to scrape across the table. “...feathers. Was that really everything from the last three weeks?”

“Everything I could find plus Cloud’s stuff,” Rainbow said with a nod.

Ditzy dug through her miniscule pile of options and fished out the first one she’d looked at. “It could be homey.”

Rainbow snorted in disbelief. “I think the word is ‘homely.’”

“That too.”

“C'mon, let us help you.” Rainbow gently pushed the advertisement out of Ditzy’s hooves. “That other place is perfect and you know it.

“I can't keep accepting charity, Rainbow. If I'm going to do this I need to be able to support my foal without mooching off of my friends, and you girls don't exactly have my family's funds.”

“This isn't charity--and so what if we're not rich? Big deal,” Rainbow snorted angrily. “We're here for you and they're not.”

The instant those words left her mouth she wished she could take them back; Ditzy whimpered and looked away. Rainbow reached out to her, but drew her hoof back. “Ah, jeez … I’m sorry, that was stupid.”

“Ya thu-think?” Ditzy snapped. She cleared her throat several times before turning back to her friend. “I know you didn’t mean it like that, but … just shut up next time, okay?”

They sat together for a moment, Ditzy’s sides quietly heaving as she worked to force a neutral expression. “I wanna go home, Rainbow. But I can’t.” Her hoof traced across the papers in front of her. “So I have to get a new one. That hurts.”

Rainbow got up and sat beside her friend, stroking her back. “I’m sorry, okay? I’ll … get food ready tonight, or something.”

Ditzy wiped her eyes before speaking. “I didn’t think we had a lot left, after the haybacon.”

“Oh yeah, huh?” Rainbow’s ears perked as a thought hit her. “Wait, how are we out of food again? We just stocked up three days ago!”

“Yeah, well I’m not the only one raiding the ice-cloud at night,” Ditzy said with a chuckle. She hadn’t meant to burn through a week’s worth of food so quickly, but thus far the closest she’d gotten to stopping herself was when she passed up a jar of pickles. Although that may have been due less in part to her self-control and more because of Cloud Kicker’s alternate suggested uses for them.

Cloud Kicker had a tendency to ruin food like that.

Ditzy reached for her saddlebags, only to see Rainbow buckling them in place around her. “You know I can carry groceries too, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Rainbow murmured, either ignoring or oblivious to the fact that she looked like she’d been packed into a very large haydog bun. “I also know you’re not supposed to strain yourself.”

“It’s just food,” Ditzy grumbled, although she could tell from the way Rainbow was politely ignoring her that there was no changing her mind.

“Really? You think you can carry that much food by yourself?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to argue back, then scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Since you put it that way, there actually is something you can do for me.”

Ditzy instantly perked up. “Yeah?”

“I need you go find Fluttershy or Cloud Kicker to lend me a hoof. And walk or fly really slowly when you go get them, ‘kay?”

Ditzy’s frustrated groan followed Rainbow all the way to the door.

Month 3, Part 2 - or, Going Groundside

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The search for a ground-house went about as well as Ditzy thought it would.

It had been an exercise in frustration: most of the houses for sale were well outside of her price range, and what she could find that came close usually didn’t last long on the market. Things quickly fell into an ugly, infuriating cycle: stay up late writing notes to potential sellers, wake up early and eat breakfast on the fly, swing by whatever houses she could find on her checklist and drop off the notes, go to work, nap through lunch, head back to Rainbow’s house to see if anypony had replied to her notes.

On a good day, nopony would reply to her, leaving her evenings open to sort through the new housings notices Rainbow brought home after she got off work, and—if any of them fit her price range—write more notes asking for a tour. Sometimes she’d get a few replies, which meant trying to set aside time from work and her appointments with Nurse Redheart for a tour. She quickly learned to temper her excitement about getting a reply with a healthy dose of realism; four times out of five she showed up only for the seller to tell her that somepony else had already closed a deal. The fifth time usually ended with a crushing sense of disappointment at the disparity between description and reality, only barely hidden under a bubbly smile. Happy as she was to see her new hometown growing, she was getting tired of being left in the dust.

As the month wore on, she found herself becoming increasingly frustrated. As the days began to grow shorter and shorter, she had less and less time after work to look over real estate, and her body’s demands for rest seemed more insistent once Celestia laid the sun to rest. For a few days, she tried powering through her lunch break to tour a house, but ended up so drained from the lack of rest that her supervisor had sent her home early.

After that, she and Cloud had started pooling their efforts. Ditzy would take care of applicant letters for both of them while Cloud Kicker would inspect the houses for both of them. It didn’t occur to her until later how relieved she was that she didn’t have to go through them herself. In addition to the sheer time commitment, she was more than a little wary of some of the ponies selling the properties as much as the properties themselves. Cloud Kicker could more than take care of herself, and even if she didn’t need the extra rest, Ditzy felt more than a little apprehensive about looking at empty houses with strange ponies on her own.

Finally, their efforts paid off. Ditzy noticed that almost a dozen of the houses she had been looking at were all owned by one pony and decided to cut out the middlemare by writing to him directly. It took a few days, but she finally got a letter back from him: the stallion, a pony by the name of Idle Rich, agreed to hold the one remaining property in her price range for an extra day—if she could manage a lunchtime tour. She put the reply in his mailbox that evening, then turned in early to give herself a little more energy for the next day.

After a morning shift which, appropriately for a Monday, casually violated the laws of time to stretch on endlessly, Ditzy finally clocked out for lunch and bolted into the air. The property in question was only half a mile out by air, allowing her to get there with time to spare.

...which turned out to be something of a mixed blessing. She fished her checklist out of her saddlebags and checked it over twice, then gave the property a quick once-over. Thick grey shades obscured the interior, but even from a cursory glance, she could see the wood rotting out from under the chipping paint. She idly weighed replacing the fence versus tearing it out entirely before remembering that the property wasn’t hers to worry about one way or the other. Yet. She tapped her hoof, eager to see the place and decide one way or another.

Finally, after almost twenty minutes, Idle Rich cantered up to the property, simultaneously confirming his name and eliminating any self-image issues Ditzy suspected she would face for the next few months. The tan earthy pony held up a placating hoof, leaning against the gate as he wheezed. A sharp crack sounded as the flimsy picket fence gave way, the ornate lounge chair on his flank wobbling like a gelatinous billboard as he briefly went head-over-hooves.

Ditzy managed to bite back a giggle as the hapless stallion scrambled back to his hooves, adjusted the tie around his neck to cover where the buttons had popped off of his long-suffering shirt.

“Yuh … you ...” he huffed, “must be Ditzy Doo. Sorry … ‘bout the wait.” He took one last gulp of air before plunging his head into his saddlebags, pulling out a clipboard. “I’ll just … mark that … as preexisting, then.”

“Right.” Ditzy raised an eyebrow as he scribbled something on his clipboard. “So, can I see the house?”

“One second, please … okay, got it.” He bent down and gingerly moved what was left of the gate off of the pathway, half-setting it back into place once Ditzy set hoof onto the property. Grass padded their hoofsteps as they made their way to the front door, the once-tightly-packed cobblestone loose and overgrown with grass high enough to tickle their fetlocks. She waited patiently as he fumbled with a large keyring, trying several keys before one finally fit the lock, audibly groaning. Ditzy watched him pull against the door while jiggling the key for a few minutes before it snapped in the lock. Idle swore under his breath as he leaned against the door in defeat.

He stumbled a little bit as the door swung inward, groaning in protest. “Right. After you.”

Ditzy stepped forward and gingerly pushed the door, which swung open with a piercing metallic groan. She shuddered at the sound, laying her ears flat on her head to try and block out as much of it as she could. Finally, mercifully, the rusty hinges fell silent. Ditzy paused in place until she heard Idle scribbling on his list again, grumbling to himself about maintenance. “This place is an old rental I’m looking to sell,” the stallion murmured, as if that would excuse the neglect. “Tenants really made a mess of the place. You know how it is.”

Technically, keeping the place up was his responsibility while still on the market, but she decided not to say anything so long as Idle marked down the damage. Ditzy merely made a mental note to be very, very thorough in checking the list before signing her name to anything.

As she stepped into the house, it quickly became apparent why something so large had been listed for so little: most of the floorboards in the mudroom squeaked under her hooves, and a few puffs of dust billowed up from the gaps. A quick glance around further indicated Idle’s level of dedication to the premises. The wooden trim in the main living room was so coated with dust that it almost blended with the cream-colored walls. A large sliding door leading to the back patio was in a little better condition, though Ditzy did notice that the shade seemed to have been in place for a while. The carpeting itself seemed to be in fair condition, but one look at the tiling in the kitchen revealed a large stain where an icebox had obviously once stood.

The window frame above the sink and counter beneath it had both seen happier days. Faint stains from the previous owner almost blended in with the faux-granite material, and a close examination of the stove revealed food flecks blocking the main burner. By the looks of things, it might not have taken more than a good scrubbing to clear out, but since it was directly connected to a gas line, Ditzy asked Idle to make a note to have that burner replaced.

Once they had taken the time to mark down the damage—or rather, Idle marked it down with a huff whenever Ditzy pointed something out to him—they went back through the living room and down the hallway. This was the least affected part of the house so far. The carpet had a bit of a grimy feel to it, but compared to replacing floorboards, scrubbing down a hallway seemed like it would be simple.

The first room to the left was either a fair-sized storage room or, judging from the coat closet, a modest bedroom. It actually looked like it was in reasonably good shape—aside from a few empty boxes tucked away in a corner, the only thing she could see that needed work was a broken hanger bar in the closet. That would have to be replaced, but that could wait for later.

A trot across the hall revealed a more pressing concern: the window in the master bedroom wasn’t properly sealed. The windowsill itself seemed to be in pretty good shape, but the whole frame would need to be re-sealed and repainted. The attached bathroom was largely intact, though a faint odor of mold from the oversized bathtub made Ditzy suspect that a thorough application of bleach wouldn’t go amiss for the tub. Or the sink. Or the toilet, for that matter.

With the tour complete, Idle very, very hastily escorted Ditzy out of the building, cutting two fresh trails of hoofprints through an increasingly-disturbed layer of dust. Ditzy felt the dust work its way into her sinuses, but somehow managed to stifle a sneeze until after she got outside. Idle wasn’t in much better shape--he grumbled to himself as his eyes watered, causing his pencil to scratch wildly on the clipboard in his hooves.

When her head finally cleared, Ditzy shook her head and trotted next to him, watching over his shoulder and tapping a hoof while ignoring the increasingly-demanding rumbles from her stomach. It wasn’t easy; the stallion’s hoofwriting was atrocious. More than a few times Idle would hem and haw as he tried to decipher the words he’d just put to paper.

“Mil’ew … in ... ‘ashroom,” he murmured, filling in the last bit of blank space on the long-suffering list. “All right, I believe that’s the last of it.” Feeling Ditzy’s eyes watching his every stroke of his pen, he carefully double-checked his math and didn’t quite keep his face from falling as the deposit amount continually shrank. Idle licked his lips as he flipped the pages of the purchase contract over; there were more notes than white space on most of them, and the few gaps left belonged to areas set aside for signatures. The concessions and price cuts he had to make left him with an offer that was barely a third of what he had started with. He half-tucked the pencil into his coat pocket with a growl, not noticing when it slipped out.

“If you do decide you’d like the property, come back to me with the down payment and the signed contract.” He puffed out his chest slightly, adding even more strain to the long-suffering buttons on his shirt. “I do have a few other ponies looking into this house, though.”

Ditzy nodded politely, ignoring the subtle-as-a-Rainboom attempt to press for a decision. “It looks like it could be a really nice home,” she offered, tucking the contract into her saddlebag with a flick of her wing. “There are a couple other places I’ve had my eye on, but I’ll hang onto this and let you know.”

She shook Idle’s hoof and turned to go. Ditzy had flashbacks to her old Daring Do novels as she waded through the suburban jungle, feeling rather than seeing the cobblestone path in front of her despite the path she and Idle had carved earlier. Getting past the gate was a little less hazardous, though only because it had slid down and out of the way sometime during her tour of the house. She idly stepped over the long-suffering wood and turned down the street. A quick gallop gave her enough speed to get off the ground and back on her way to Rainbow’s cloud-house.

The flight up wasn’t a long one by any stretch. In fact, she suspected that it was due to more than her imagination that the trip seemed a little easier every day, but between the growing shadows beneath her and the fact that she had already passed up her afternoon nap waiting for Idle Rich, her wings ached for relief. Even after Rainbow’s porch came into sight, it felt like she would have had an easier time flying back to Canterlot. Hay, even dodging and weaving the rooftops to the Doo Manor seemed easy.

A quick shake of her head banished that though. Her wings flapped harder than ever, as if trying to push the thought behind her like an air current. She wasn’t going on a trip, she was going home to go take a nap.

Finally—mercifully—she made it back. Ditzy didn’t even bother with the door, instead heading straight through a window. Remembering her close encounter with Pinkie Pie from the beginning of the month, she flared her wings and cut her speed as soon as she cleared the wall, her hooves scrambling beneath her to come to a halt just a ponylength away from the kitchen table.

Rainbow put aside a bottle of cider, idly stepping over a small rut worn into the clouds behind her seat as she got up. “Took you long enough,” she grumbled, helping her take off her saddlebags. “Was everything alright with the place? That creep didn’t make you kneel down to check everything yourself did he? ‘Cause he seems like the creepy kind of pony that’d do that.”

“Everything went fine, Rainbow. Honestly, that was probably the best place I’ve looked at so far.” She gently pushed Rainbow aside to dig out the heavily marked contract. “It’s still gonna take some work, but I think it could work out.”

Rainbow stepped beside her, her eyes darting over the mess of hoofwriting. “Jeez, another one from Idle Rich? You think he’d get off that airship of a plot of his and actually do something with the places he owns in town.”

Ditzy cocked an eyebrow. “He owns more places like that? I guess that’d explain a bit about it...”

“Lemme guess: run-down?” Rainbow didn’t wait for an answer. The paper in her hooves told her everything she needed to know about the state of the building. “Don’t kid yourself thinking he’s running ragged trying to keep up with all of the places he has. Idle deals with the places nopony else wants. He’s just smart enough to know how to make them presentableish without putting too much effort into it.” She snorted as she flipped the contract over, bringing it rightside-up. “You’d think he’d at least take the time to learn to write.”

“I noticed he spells ‘mildew’ with two Ls,” Ditzy agreed with a nod. “It’s only a few times, but it’s still not really good for a legal contract.”

Rainbow blinked. “You can read this mess? It looks like something a foal put together, or else one of those butt-ugly paintsplosions ponies pass off as art.” She put a thoughtful hoof to her chin. “Hmm... actually, that’d explain a lot about modern art.”

“Postmodern,” Ditzy corrected, stifling a yawn.

“Eh, same difference.” Rainbow shrugged. “I mean—c’mon, it’s so boring you’re bored just thinking about it.”

Ditzy shook her head and giggled. “I just need a nap, is all. The tour took a little bit longer than I thought it would.”

“Seeing how much work that useless lunk’s left for you would take that outta anypony. Tell ya what, I’ll pick over the paperwork. You go park your pregnant plot with a plate of pickles.” Rainbow blinked. “Aaand I’ve gotta stop hanging around that crazy pink pony. Anyway... what I mean is, go chillax. I’ll see how much of this I can read over for you, okay?”

“You really want to read over a contract?”

“Eh, it’s no big,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “I’ve gotta read legal stuff anyway, ‘cause of liability stuff that the weather team’s gotta stay on top of. It keeps us all from getting in trouble if somepony just up and lightninged a building while goofing off, or something like that. I’ll get this, you just go take a nap.”

Ditzy nodded and got up, grabbing an apple from the ice-cloud before making her way up to Rainbow’s guest room. Rainbow stared at the contract for a few minutes, then got up and pulled another bottle of cider out of her ice-cloud. She went back, set the bottle on the table, and spread her wings to head upstairs. She casually trotted past the guest room, as if taking a quick break to head to the washroom. Turning right at the end of the hall, she instead went into her bedroom and pressed an ear to the permeable cloud wall. Usually, the only time she spied on her friends was when she was setting them up for a prank; this time, though, it was a lot more personal.

There were several brief, juicy crunches as Ditzy finished off her apple, followed by a few muffled flops and grumbles as she settled into place. She didn’t quite snore, but the slow, steady rhythm of her breathing was hard to mistake. Rainbow listened for another minute to make sure her friend was out for keeps before she went to her own bed, reaching into it and carefully fishing out a small vinyl case. Her prize in hoof, she quietly bolted out the window and back down to the kitchen, choosing not to go past the guest room a second time.

She glanced left, then to the right, then back again before pulling open the case to pull out a tiny pair of reading glasses. Her vision was totally super-awesome and stuff; it was just that some ponies needed to re-learn how to write. Especially when the best they could do was the kind of chickenscratch Idle had left them with. eyes just had a hard time making out hoofwriting--especially Idle’s hoofwriting. It made her eyes hurt. One eye more than the other.

Rainbow instinctively glanced upstairs again, then pushed her glasses into place. Why didn’t anypony make reading sunglasses? That way she’d be able to read stupid hoofwriting while still being radical. Not that there was much radicalness in a real estate contract, but still.

Rainbow woke up the next morning feeling a little off. She couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, at first. Wrapped up in a comfortable cloud? Check. Well rested after a good night’s sleep? Check. Plans to extend said sleep into several revitalizing power naps through the day? Check. Joints primed and ready? She took a second to arch her back, then extended her forelegs out in front of her, carefully popping her vertebrae from her tail to her neck, then back up her wings. Aaah, check.

With that out of the way, her higher functions started kicking in. The skies were clear enough, so it looked like the feral weather from the Everfree Forest had stayed put over the night, and a quick glance at the sundial she’d sculpted into the wall told her that she had plenty of time before she had to be up. Or at least, she was pretty sure she did—she couldn’t quite remember if the Solstice Timesavings Day had come yet, and … was it spring back, fall forward?

Eh, feather it. She had the day off today anyway to go—and she couldn’t help but cringe a little bit at the thought—shopping. Still, it wasn’t all bad; she wasn’t getting dragged to some prissy clothes boutique or anything like that, thank Celestia. Nah, they were grabbing stuff for Ditzy’s new ground-house. It was … kinda strange, when she thought about it. Really, having a house where she couldn’t just pull grab a chunk of cloud and and make it into whatever she needed, like a seat or something, was just weird. Instead, Ditzy’d have to go out and spend hard-earned money on a seat-cushion, money that she could be saving for important stuff like cider or Wonderbolts tickets or whatever other cool thing happened to catch her eye.

Or maybe stuff for her foal, too. That could also be important.

But, details. Ditzy’s bouncing baby was barely a bump in her bubble-belly, so she had plenty of time to stock up on the important stuff before she needed to worry about the other important stuff. Like food, for example. Rainbow heard a small gurgle come from her stomach, and suddenly realized what had woken her up in the first place. She scratched her flank with a wing as she clambered out of bed, idly heading towards the washroom. She waved to Ditzy, who was standing guard over the lightning cloud Rainbow used for cooking. By the time her higher functions caught up to the fact that Ditzy and lightning clouds had thus far not mixed very well, it was already too late to scramble for cover.

“Morning, Rainbow!” Ditzy called out. “Go on back to bed—I’ll bring this to you!”

“Uh, I kinda gotta take a leak, Ditzy.”

Ditzy paused, then shrugged and turned her attention back to the food cooking in front of her. “Well, take care of that, then go back to bed. Oh, and don’t forget to wash your hooves!”

“Yes, Mom,” Rainbow said under her breath. It didn’t really make too much sense to her, since she pretty much walked on her hooves everywhere anyway. Seriously, she got Celestia-knew-what on her hooves every time she put a hoof down on the ground, so what was one more buncha gunk anyway?

Either way, Rainbow took extra time to wash off her forehooves after relieving herself. Ditzy was going out of her way for her, so she guessed that it made sense for her to go the extra step for her. Hay, Rainbow even hovered the whole way back to her bed, just to make sure her hooves stayed clear of the clouds. She settled back into place on her bed, pulling a little bit of cloud over herself before tucking her forelegs behind her head. She wasn’t quite sure what had prompted the breakfast-in-bed treatment, but whatever it was, she hoped to do it at least one more time before Ditzy moved out.

Speaking of whom, it wasn’t long before a certain houseguest let herself into Rainbow’s room. Ditzy had somehow managed to balance a large, somewhat-dusty tray on her back that Rainbow had no idea she’d even owned. The fact that it didn’t fall through her cloud-bed meant that it was definitely thunderforged steel, but she couldn’t remember the first thing about it. She could kind of see an old, old, old emblem etched into the tray—a symbol from way back when, back when it was just more than Ditzy and Cloud’s families as the two big names in pegasi clans. Come to think of it, Rainbow was pretty sure it was an emblem from her family, or at least some crazy-distant branch of it on her mom’s side. Which mom it was didn’t really matter at the time, as her brain scrambled to place the name that went the long-forgotten symbol: Cello, Cheering, Chengar, Chargin... Charger! That was it.

As much as the crazy-old piece thunderforged steel had stood up to already, Rainbow quietly hoped it’d last one more breakfast with her friend. Plates clattered haphazardly as Ditzy arranged things in front of Rainbow. “I know you usually like your granola-and-protein stuff for breakfast, but I wanted to do something nice since you’ve really gone out of your way for me.” All it took was one glance at those hopeful, derpy, golden eyes, and Rainbow knew there was no way she could weasel out of it. Not that she really wanted to anyway, but again. Details. “I’ve got pancakes with two kinds of syrup, milk, juice, toast with that really good jam from the apple stand, coffee on the way—ooh, and muffins, too!”

Rainbow found herself at a loss for words for the feast before her. The rare occasions when she actually took time to make her own breakfast, it was almost never anything bigger than a smoothie or homemade granola bar—if she wanted grub like this, she’d have to drop in on Applejack and family, or else make the flight back to Cloudsdale to her family. And... Rainbow hated to say it, but outside of holidays or really special events, she could only take her parents in small doses. She shook her head, instead focusing on the massive smorgasbord laid out for her. Everything looked awesome, from the flapjacks to the toast to the … wait a minute. Hadn’t Ditzy mentioned muffins too?

A quick check for crumbs came up empty, which meant that if she had succumbed to a sudden craving on the arduous journey from the bottom floor to the upper one, she’d scoffed every last bit. More likely, she’d just run out of room and left them downstairs. “Check out these muffins,” Rainbow said, pretending to pick one up off of the tray. “The legendary Air Muffin. So light and smooth you’d hardly know you ate anything at all.”

“Yes, yes.” Ditzy nudged her good-naturedly with a wing. “I didn’t get those in until last. Well.... I got them in first, and were actually really nice!”

“‘Were’?”

Ditzy nodded. “‘Were.’” She stroked her belly with a wing. “Somepony got hungry along the way.”

Rainbow tapped her chin thoughtfully, jutting her chin out in faux deliberation. “I guess I’ll let you off the hook. This time.” Her ears perked as another, more serious thought occurred to her. “Muffins are still on the menu, right?”

“You bet!”

“So there’s another batch on the way?”

Ditzy nodded.

“In the oven?” Rainbow pressed.

“Well, in the little cooker that you use on a cooking cloud, but yes.”

“Right now?”

Ditzy opened her mouth to speak, paused, then nodded. “I should probably go check on it, huh?”

“Yeah, probably.” Rainbow doubted that Equestria even had fire insurance for clouds, but if there was ever one pegasus that could provide a market for it...

“It’s okay!” Ditzy said, hastily clearing food off of the old tray. “The coffee’s probably ready anyway!” With the last of the food safely balanced on Rainbow’s bed, the grey mare bolted out of the bedroom and back to the stove. She came back in a moment later, laden once again with breakfast—this time, a batch of slightly darkened muffins and a percolator. “I’m pretty sure the smoke in the kitchen’ll clear out by the time we’re done.”

Rainbow waved a hoof. “S’long as the coffee’s okay, I think I can let it pass.”

Ditzy nodded in sage agreement. “Daddy always said that coffee wasn’t ready until a horseshoe could stand up straight in the pot.” A metallic clang echoed through the room as she filled a mug for Rainbow. “Which reminds me--I should probably take it out of the percolator now, huh?”

Rainbow sighed with pained resignation, vowing to try and make the most of the breakfast forced upon her.

After cleaning up from the surprisingly uneventful breakfast, Rainbow and Ditzy took off and made their way groundward. The two mares bobbed and weaved through the clouds, careful to stay well above the rooftops until they drew closer to the downtown hub. The myriad of brightly colored houses had become easier and easier for Ditzy to navigate as she spent more and more time in Ponyville. By now, she was familiar enough with the landmark buildings to be able to keep her bearings, even when on the ground.

Rainbow banked left and angled downwards, with Ditzy trailing close behind in her wake. “Hey Ditzy!” she called out. “I can see your house from here!”

Ditzy followed her friend’s hoof as it singled out a neighborhood a few blocks from a large tree near the center of town. A low brown roof was nearly engulfed by the taller houses around it, and even from this distance she could see the weathered look of the tiles compared to the adjacent buildings. In spite of this, and the memories of the other projects she’d need to take care of, her heart beat just a little faster in excitement: it was going to be her house. Something about that just sounded … right.

Their flight path brought them to a city block several streets away from her soon-to-be home. Shops and stores lined both sides of the streets as they converged on the main town square. Ditzy ignored her growling stomach as they circled over the ever-present apple cart set up at the edge of the square, and was about to land when Rainbow made a sideways chopping motion with a foreleg—the in-air signal for the other fliers behind a lead pegasus to wait and circle. While Ditzy couldn’t hear what she was saying, she watched her nosedive to the ground and start shooing ponies out of the way.

“Awright, move it!” Rainbow barked, zipping from one end of the street to the other as she ‘helped’ merchants and customers alike step aside. She braced her head against one stallion in particular and tried to push him out of the way. “Got somepony comin’ in for a landing, so get outta the way!”

Big Macintosh looked behind him, a smile on his lips as Rainbow’s hooves dug trenches into the ground while she tried to push him aside. He stood in place for a moment longer, then quietly shook his head as he trotted to his cart. It wasn’t until he was back behind his stand that Rainbow let up.

“Okay, Ditzy!” Rainbow called out, scanning the air for her friend. “I got things cleared for you!”

“Thanks, Rainbow!”

From that day forward, Rainbow maintained that Macintosh suddenly appeared beneath her, and that she in no way jumped onto his shoulders at the sound of Ditzy’s voice. Rainbow found it a little strange to suddenly be looking down at Dizty, all four hooves firmly planted between Big Macintosh’s shoulder blades as she hastily regained her composure.

“Um, you’re welcome!” she said, flaring her wings to help balance on the stallion’s back. “I was just up here making sure you had a clear path for landing. ‘Cause, y’know, you needed, um … space? To land, I mean?”

Ditzy looked up at her, frowning slightly. “Are you calling me fat?”

“What? No!” Rainbow leapt to the ground, instantly in front of Ditzy as she placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “I’d never say that about you. I mean—you’re not even showing yet! Except where you’re showing.”

“Smooth,” Big Macintosh muttered. Rainbow shot him a look, but he had already turned to greet a customer. She turned back to Ditzy, who was already making her way to the store, wings spread wide to either side.

“Gangway, everypony!” Ditzy called out mock-seriously. “Wide load, coming through!”

Ponies in the vicinity chuckled and nodded to her, though they did clear a path with an encouraging smile when she passed by them. Rainbow cantered after her, her cheeks burning as she caught up.

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled good-naturedly. “I thought pregnant pegasi needed space to land.”

Ditzy closed her wings and let Rainbow trot up next to her. “That’s an old mares’ tale, Rainbow. I only need the extra room to take off or land if I’m weighed down, like any other pegasus.”

Rainbow cast a glance at Ditzy’s side. “Well, you are kinda weighed down already—and that’s only gonna get bigger as time goes on.”

“Now you are calling me fat,” Ditzy accused with a smile.

“And you’re just putting words in my mouth.” Rainbow rolled her eyes as she opened the door to the local furniture store.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s a door handle.”

Rainbow groaned, but held the entrance open for Ditzy. The store was largely barren of customers, with only a few ponies gathered in one corner. A tan earth pony stallion excused himself from the gathering and hurried over to greet them.

“Welcome to Davenport’s Sofas and Quills,” he said with a smile. “My name is Davenport, and I’m the proprietor of this shop. I understand you’re looking for furniture for a ground-house?”

Ditzy shook the proffered hoof. “Um, yeah. How’d you know?”

Davenport waved a hoof at the other ponies in the store. “Your friends have been here for a few minutes already. They told me to expect you.”

Both mares were more than a little surprised to see Fluttershy trot up alongside him. “That’s right. Mr. Davenport’s been very helpful to us already.”

Rainbow was the first to recover. “Hey—um, nice to see you again, Fluttershy.”

“Yeah.” Ditzy shook her head to clear the cobwebs. “Not that I’m complaining, but what’re you doing here?"

Fluttershy tried not to glance behind her. “Well, for the moment, I’m trying to have you two look at me for just a few more seconds.”

“Why?” both of her friends asked simultaneously.

“Well, I’m supposed to be distracting you.”

“Eepy...” Cloud Kicker’s facehoof was audible from across the room.

“Distract me from wha—?” Ditzy’s question died half-formed on her lips when she saw who else had come to the store with them. A grey pegasus stallion peeked over Cloud Kicker’s shoulder, his blue eyes briefly darting around before locking onto her.

“Cirrus!” Ditzy shot between Davenport and Fluttershy, covering ground in record time as she tackle-hugged her brother, sending him stumbling back a step as she wrapped her forelegs and wings around him.

“Careful, Dee!” he chided, though he hugged her back almost as tightly. “It’s more than just you now, ya goof.” A few warm, wet droplets fell onto Ditzy’s neck. “I’ve m-missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, bro,” she sniffed, strands of blonde mane tickling her nose. “I’ve missed you, too.”

The other ponies shuffled away from the store to give them a moment together. The two siblings just held each other, each shaking in the others’ embrace. Each of them extended a wing to hide the other’s face, allowing them a moment of relative privacy.

Ditzy nuzzled Cirrus’s mane one more time and stepped back, keeping her wing around him. She turned to the other ponies in the room, giving her brother a small squeeze. Fluttershy wiped her eyes with a wingtip, while Rainbow’s wings snapped back to her side. Cloud Kicker watched them with a neutral expression, her gaze not leaving the stallion.

“S-so—” Dizty cleared her throat. “Um, Fluttershy—Cloud—I guess you’ve met my brother already?”

“We’ve met,” Cloud said coolly.

If the underlying acid in her tone bothered him, Cirrus didn’t let it show. “Yeah, we’ve been talking a bit ‘fore you two got here. Good to see you again, Rainbow.”

“Hey, Cirrus. Glad you could drop by.”

“You and me both.” He idly looked around the store at the many, many items clearly not meant for a cloud-house. “What all are we picking up today? Your letter about the house was a little sparse.”

“So’s the house.” Ditzy reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her list. “I dunno what happened to the last tenants, but the only thing that they left was the kitchen table and the icebox.”

“That’s how it is when a pony’s on a budget,” Cloud Kicker said, shrugging her wings.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “What do we need to look for?”

“A lot. The table’s still good, but the seat-cushions and sofa are a total loss—”

“On it!” Rainbow was off in a flash, leaving the other ponies’ manes trailing in her wake.”

Ditzy glanced at the paper in her hoof and continued as if nothing had happened. “There’s also plates, diningware, sheets, a bed frame and a mattress.” She frowned at the last item; getting a used mattress sounded dubious, budget or not, a new one could be pricey depending on the size of whatever frame was available.

“I know a decent place to go to for the plates and flatware,” Cloud Kicker offered. “I’m guessing we want cheap and sturdy?”

“This stuff’s gotta last me a while. Fine china’s not really an option.”

Cirrus gave her a playful, though careful, nudge. “It never really was with you, anyway.”

Any retort was cut off by Rainbow’s reappearance. “Ditzy, you’re gonna love these!” She flew back in, a pair of seat-cushions tucked in her forelegs which she proudly displayed for the group. One of them was a loud, cushy rainbow-colored affair, while the other was more of a bean bag design with a faded logo from a long-dissolved pegasus racing team. Ditzy opened and closed her mouth several times, searching for the right words for such a find.

Cloud Kicker beat her to it, facehoofing audibly. “Really, Rainbow?”

“What? They were twenty percent … off. Also, cool. And this one,” she zipped back and returned with a cream-colored cushion, “has a coffee stain the exact shape of the Wonderbolts’ starburst maneuver!”

Cirrus picked up the cushion and gave it a tentative sniff. “Are you sure that’s coffee?” He asked through a gag.

Rainbow wagged a wing. “Eh, fifty-fifty.”

“Uh, thanks Rainbow,” Ditzy said slowly. “But ... were there any more?”

“Yeah but, they were boring.”

“Boring’s fine,” Cloud interrupted. “We’re looking for substance over style. Derpy just needs something comfortable to park her plot on.”

Rainbow snorted. “What would you know about either, Kicker?” The good-natured tease earned her an annoyed grimace from Cloud Kicker. “Fiiine. “I’ll get something boring. And, uh, sturdy. Ditzy’s plot needs a lotta support.”

“Your empathy knows no bounds,” Ditzy said dryly.

“Comfortable too,” Cloud Kicker added as Rainbow turned to continue her search. “Make sure the cushions are actually still cushion-y.”

Rainbow waved a hoof back at them as she flew off again. “Yeah, yeah, cushion-y. Got it.”

Ditzy shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. “Cirrus, you wanna see what bed frames are in stock here? I’d rather avoid a used mattress, so I need to know what size I’ll be picking up.”

Cirrus nodded and started heading towards the back of the store, though he paused to let Fluttershy pass him. She pulled a box out from under her wing and offered it to Ditzy. “I found this box of flatware. I think it’s good, but I can put it back if you don’t like it.”

“Let’s see.” She fished out a small, earth-red plate. It was a far cry from the tarnished steel in Rainbow’s house or the pristine white dining ware from the Doo Manor, but a closer examination showed it to be made from high-grade ceramic. “Wow, how’d you find a whole box? These are really good!”

“So are they you-proof?” Cirrus called to her.

She snorted and put the box to one side. “They’re at least as thick as you!”

The stallion grinned. “You’re in good shape, then.”

Ditzy put the plate back with the rest and gently set the box to one side. “Thanks again, Fluttershy.”

“Yeah, um...” Cloud Kicker hesitantly stepped forward. “Nice work, Eepy.”

Fluttershy blushed and turned away, mumbling something about seeing another box somewhere nearby. Cloud Kicker bit her lip, and after a second’s thought stood up to follow her—

“Hey, Kicker! Catch!”

—only to have a high-velocity cushion plow into her face. She took a string of deep breaths before pulling the pillow off of her muzzle.

“Ha! Too slow.” Rainbow trotted back into the room, a half-dozen seat cushions of varying sizes and fabrics balanced on her wings. She hefted a truly hideous tassled specimen of silk, testing its weight. “Okay, I got some really cushion-y cushions. They’re in pretty good shape—nice, soft, bouncy. Also either frilly or boring as heck.” She hurled the monstrosity in her hooves at Cloud Kicker, who effortlessly batted it aside with a wing.

“At least you know which ones to throw out this time around.” She motioned for Ditzy to join her as she looked over the rest of the selection. The two of them made quick work picking through them until only two dark red cushions were left. Cloud Kicker flashed a knowing grin as she put the survivor in her hooves onto Rainbow’s back once again. “These two seem pretty good, but there’s only one way to make sure. Care to take them for a test-sit, Derpy?”

“Sure!” Ditzy winked back, her wall-eye giving the impression she was staring at the ceiling. She briefly circled in the air before coming in for a precision landing. Onto Rainbow’s back.

“You could wait until I get them off my back and on the floor,” Rainbow grumbled, once breath returned to her lungs.

“What’s the matter, Rainbow?” Cloud Kicker asked, not even trying to hide her smile. “Too much for you to handle?”

Rainbow glowered at her. “Hey, there’s nothing I can’t handle! But, uh, you know it’s just manners not to sit on another pony’s back without permission and stuff.” She coughed and shifted her wing to center the cushion on her back. “And um, I’d rather not have Ditzy’s pregnant butt on me.”

“So you’re just going to make big ol’ me stand all day?” Ditzy stuck her tongue out, though she carefully flitted off of Rainbow’s back.

Cloud Kicker stepped out of the way to let Davenport pass her. “It’s fine, Rainbow. Some ponies just can’t handle another pony’s weight like that. Nopony is gonna think less of you for being a wuss.”

Rainbow snorted and opened her mouth to retort, but paused and instead offered a scheming grin “Soo … are you calling her fat?”

“Nah,” Cloud Kicker said with a nonchalant shrug. “I bet you couldn’t carry a feather around on your back all day, let alone Derpy.”

“I could too!”

“Prove it.”

Rainbow stomped and pawed the ground. “I betcha I can carry all this stuff back!”

“Stuff. Cute.” Cloud Kicker rolled her eyes and pointed to the mare between them. “The challenge was Derpy.”

A call from the back of the store interrupted them. “Hey, Dee?” Cirrus shouted. “You have a second?”

Sensing an opportunity, Rainbow looked around and snatched the cushion out of Ditzy’s hooves, setting it it between her wings. “Then I’ll carry Ditzy! You just see if you can carry the shame of your defeat!”

Needless to say, Ditzy was less than prepared for what happened next. “Can I wait a tic? I’ll be right baAAACK Rainbowputmedown!” She suddenly found herself much closer to the ceiling as Rainbow slid underneath her and used her wings to guide her rear end onto the cushion.

“Chillax, Ditzy, I got ya.” There was only a brief pause as Rainbow shifted to balance her load. “So … we got cushions and flatware checked off. Next up is a bed frame, right?”

Ditzy nodded as her ‘mount’ began to move. “Bed frame, couch, and maybe a coffee table if one’s around.”

After a few hesitant steps, Rainbow settled into a steady pace, actually managing to skirt a few sharp turns rather easily. “Aww, yeah! Eat it, CK!”

Cloud Kicker shrugged. “You’re okay for now, but the challenge was for the rest of the day.” A wicked grin played on her lips as an old memory resurfaced. “You never got used to lugging around a hundred pounds of kit and armor.”

“I got used to lugging your sorry weight during our pranking missions. Principle’s the same.” Rainbow’s shrug was largely muted by the mare on her back, doing little more than jostling Ditzy in place.

Fluttershy had somehow appeared alongside them, watching Ditzy like a particularly fretful hawk. “Um, Rainbow Dash? I’m not sure this is a good idea...”

“Relax, I’ve got her.” The small film of sweat on her forehead was totally due to how hot it was in the store. “She’s light as a feather! A really, really big feather. With another feather in it.”

Cloud Kicker looked up. “I think she just called you fat, Derpy.”

“I think she did too,” Ditzy agreed.

“Nuh-uh! I just said you were ... um,” Rainbow bit her lip, searching for the right word. “Really, really big.”

Cloud Kicker shook her head, avoiding a metal rack that Rainbow’s tail ‘accidentally‘ flicked in her way. “Smooth, Rainbow. Real smooth.”

“She is a smooth ride.” Ditzy scooted aside and patted a bare section of cushion beside her. “You should try it.”

The two mares traded a knowing smile before Cloud Kicker turned to Rainbow. “You up for it, Dash?”

Rainbow’s gulp was inaudible. Almost. “Y-yeah, totally!”

“I dunno, Cloud, she might not be able to handle being ridden by both of us at the same time.”

“Hey!” Rainbow’s head snapped around to face her passenger. “I could totally take both of you!”

Cloud Kicker cocked her head, sensing a rare opportunity that would likely not present itself again. “So, you want us both to ride you. At the same time. ‘Cause you could totally take care of both of us at once.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow made a show of puffing out her chest, causing Ditzy to rebalance on her back. “And I could even handle Fluttershy too!”

“Ooo, Kinky! Mind if I head back to my place to get some toys before we get started?”

“Toys? What the hay are yo—” Rainbow’s face flushed deep crimson as everything fell into place. “CLOUD KICKER!!!”

Laughter erupted from Ditzy like a dam. “Took you long enough!”

Cloud Kicker idly flitted onto Rainbow’s back, taking a fair bit of time to settle into place beside Ditzy. “Well, we don’t love Rainbow for her brains. Now hyah, mule!”

Rainbow started as Cloud’s hoof smacked her rump. “I’d so buck you off if Ditzy wasn’t back there too.”

“Anything would be an improvement over what you’re doing right now. This is the least-sexy pony ride I’ve had in a long time. Just saying.”

“Nopony’s...” Rainbow had to pause and take a few deep breaths. “Nopony’s making you stay on, cloud-for-brains.”

Ditzy settled in a little closer against her companion. “I dunno, Cloud, I’m having fun. This is the fastest she’s let me travel in weeks.”

The two of them dodged as Rainbow didn’t quite clear the doorframe leading into the back. Cloud Kicker let out a giggle and idly swatted Rainbow’s rump with her tail. “Oh, don’t be like that, Dash. It doesn’t have to be a sexy pony ride to be a fun one.” Cloud Kicker shot a sultry smile at Ditzy and ran a hoof over shoulder. “Though really, the sexy ones are the best kind. Maybe you should come by my place sometime, and let me—” She caught herself, withdrawing her hoof and letting out an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, force of habit.”

Rainbow tried to offer some commentary of her own on the matter, but her brain was having a bit of difficulty focusing on anything other than how incredibly heavy the two full-grown mares on her back were. Even if her mind hadn’t been so preoccupied, she couldn’t spare any breath for talking at the moment. Cirrus, however, had been close enough to hear his sister getting hit on, and as an older brother he was genetically obligated to disapprove. The stallion very loudly cleared his throat and shot a rather pointed look at the mare who dared to speak to his sister that way. For her part, Cloud Kicker made a point of politely ignoring Cirrus Doo’s existence.

Ditzy nervously looked between the two ponies, struggling to think of some way to prevent the budding confrontation from spilling over. Salvation arrived in the most unlikely form imaginable, as Davenport tactlessly announced, “Huh. Never thought that dream would actually happen.”

Cirrus shifted his attention to Davenport. “Hey now—s’my sister you’re talking about there.”

Davenport’s ears when flat as he let out a very sheepish chuckle. ‘Um, right. Sorry, sir.”

Though she would never admit it, Rainbow had finally reached the furthest she could go with two ponies on her back. She shook her back gently, hoping to hide her trembling knees. “Hokay, last stop. Everyoponyoffthankyou!”

Cloud Kicker snorted as she helped Ditzy to the ground. “Didn’t even last five minutes, Rainbow. I’m disappointed—usually only stallions have that problem.”

“Oh shaddap,” Rainbow grumbled, leaning against a nearby table.

Ditzy grinned and shook her head as she trotted past. “Hey, Cirrus. What’d you need?”

The grey stallion shifted to give her some space amid the maze of furniture. “How big’s your bedroom?

“Decent-sized. Why?”

Cirrus nodded to a large, disassembled bed frame in front of them. “This thing’s the only one left, and it’s … fairly large.”

Ditzy’s eyes went wide as she got a better look. The frame was an old, large structure; the back headboard came up to Cirrus’ wing-joint and was at least a fully bodylength wide, carved from a dark wood that sounded fairly solid when she experimentally tapped a hoof against it. The rest of the frame was made up of the same material, assembled into a near-perfect square that barely came up to their knees. A quick glance at the price tag made her heart leap into her throat. She briefly wondered how much more it would have cost if it was new.

“At least it’s going to be sturdy,” she murmured to herself. “We’ll have to take it apart to get it out the front door, though.”

“This is going to be a three-pony job, at least for a bit,” Davenport confirmed, digging through a toolbag.

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Well, that’s what I—”

“I’m sure between me, Rainbow, and Davenport, we can handle getting it to the cart,” Cirrus interrupted. He ignored Cloud Kicker’s disgruntled glower and instead turned to Fluttershy. “First things first: Rainbow, you wanna grab an allen wrench?”

For her part, Rainbow shot Cirrus a dubious look. “You named your wrench Allen? Seriously? What kind of a name is that, anyway?”

Cloud couldn’t help herself. “Every stallion has a name for their tool, Rainbow.”

Davenport tactfully ignored her and withdrew his hoof, tossed Rainbow a small, L-shaped piece of metal. Rainbow juggled it with her wingtips for a moment and caught it effortlessly, then held it in front of her eyes. “So... Is this Allen?” She shook her head and looked over the many, many openings that it might fit into. “I dunno, I still think a cloud bed is best.”

“Yeah, you just have to hope you don’t move around a lot when you sleep,” Cloud Kicker chimed in, idly looking over an old couch across the room. “Accidentally dispersing your own cloud bed is not fun.”

Everypony but Davenport nodded in agreement—that was a lesson young pegasi learned fairly quickly. Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, how comfortable could a bunch of springs and fluff and stuff be?”

“Good enough?” Ditzy said hesitantly. “I mean, we’ve got—” She caught herself. “I had some pretty good ones back in Canterlot.”

Cirrus briefly looked up from his work on the frame. “Those were like a thousand bits, Dee. Each.”

Rainbow looked between them like they’d just grown horns. “You guys spent a thousand bits on a bed?! Do you know how many Wonderbolt shows you could go to with that kind of money?”

“All of them?” Ditzy asked, a sheepish grin on her face.

“Augh!” Rainbow threw up her hooves, sending her tool flying. “Some ponies … no sense of priorities at all.”

“You’d understand if you ever tried one,” Cirrus explained, grumbling in annoyance as the tiny projectile whizzed by his ear.

Rainbow looked over the frame suspiciously, running a hoof across the horizontal slats before unceremoniously setting her rear down on it. “Huh. Not feeling it.”

“It helps if you get the mattress first,” Cirrus pointed out. “And box springs. And whatever else kind of support a frame needs, depending on the bed.” Rainbow waved a hoof and muttered something about details before flying off to find her lost allen wrench.

Ditzy’s eyes darted around the room in sudden realization. “Feathers, I knew I’d forgotten something.” She took off and scoured the room for a few minutes, then finally landed back near Davenport. Is this ... everything you have in stock for beds?”

“Sorry.” Davenport shook his head. “I don’t have anything in stock for a bed that large.” He bit his lip contemplatively. “The Tress Brothers’re having a going-out-of-business sale on the other side of the city square. Try talking to Mat.”

Cirrus stopped and looked up incredulously. “Really? Who comes up with these names for their kids?!”

“You should meet the Mayor,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “She’s gonna have to change her name if she ever loses an election.”

Ditzy sat down, and watched them work for a while, occasionally shifting or moving to try and find a more comfortable seat. Conversation was largely muted, with talk largely limited to either gathering screws or the occasional, annoyed grunt when an allen wrench inevitably fell from their grasp. For some reason, she thought back to watching her father work on his model airships, in silent concentration as he put every tiny piece into place.

She murmured something about dust in her eye and excused herself to the washroom, hurriedly going to one of the sinks. Cool water traced over Ditzy’s face and down her muzzle as she let out a shaky breath. A few minutes passed before she felt collected enough to try and reach for a towel. She was almost done drying off her muzzle when it registered that somepony had actually given it to her.

She jumped in place with a small yelp, prompting a similar response from the other pony. Fluttershy ignored the fallen towel, instead sitting down next to Ditzy. “Um, is everything okay?”

Ditzy’s cheeks strained to force a smile. “Yeah! My friends are here, my brother’s here, we’re picking stuff out for my new house... Just...” A quick pass of the towel over her face bought her a second to think. “Hormones. Yeah.”

Two green eyes narrowed as doubt mingled with concern. Ditzy’s smile faltered slightly to try and keep up the facade. “We’re all here. So it’s ... nice?”

“If you’re sure about that.” The skepticism in Fluttershy’s voice was about as well hidden as Rainbow Dash’s ego.

Ditzy let out a shaky sigh. “I’ve finally got everypony I wa—almost everypony here I could want,” she quickly corrected, feeling her eyes sting again. “But it just … feels like another mess I’ve made.”

“Oh Ditzy, it really isn’t that bad.” A yellow hoof stroked her back encouragingly, but Ditzy remained unconvinced.

“Cirrus and Cloud’re pretty much ignoring each other, and it’s just a matter of time before that stops. I don’t get why they’re so snippy with each other.”

“Did something happen between them?” Fluttershy asked. Her face furrowed in thought for a moment before turning a deep crimson. “Um ... they didn’t...?”

A familiar sense of nausea surged through the grey mare that was in no way related to her foal. “Aaaaaaaugh, ew ew ewew eeeeeew!” That was a side of her brother Ditzy never wanted to think about! She rubbed her face with a hoof, willing away the thoughts. “No, they haven’t.”

“Oh. That’s ... good.” There was something in Fluttershy’s voice that Ditzy couldn’t quite put her hoof on... Relief? Satisfaction?

She took the safer route and decided not to dwell on it. “I don’t get it. Though the only time they’ve ever met before was after … well, you know.”

“What happened?”

A few minutes passed in silence as Ditzy idly twisted the towel in her hooves. That whole period of her life was one she had put a lot of effort into forgetting—or, at least not thinking about. Even now, so so long after Camp, thinking about it... She shook her head, trying to will away the old memories.

She was more than a little surprised when Fluttershy gently nudged her out of her reverie. “Ditzy?”

There was no way out of it if she of all ponies wasn’t going to let it go. Ditzy sighed, and didn’t quite meet her eyes. “After I knew everypony was okay, I just ... wanted to forget about that whole mess. Rainbow got so hurt, and hearing her say something like that about Cloud shook me. I didn’t want to believe her, but after I heard you and she had done that at your ages, some nagging, stupid part of me wouldn’t let that go.” She held up a forestalling hoof as Fluttershy opened her mouth. “Yeah, yeah, she didn’t do that to you, I know. But something about me wouldn’t let that go, so when Cloud came by one time, I rather—uh, didn’t take it too well.”

She scuffed a hoof awkwardly, feeling rather than seeing Fluttershy’s disapproving frown. “Mum and Dad didn’t want me to have anything to do with her, and when I heard it was Cloud ... everything just came flooding back to me. I panicked, Cirrus went to answer the door for me, then came back and … said...” Ditzy sighed and facehoofed as everything fell into place. “He said she’d changed her mind. Which Cloud didn’t, knowing her, so he probably just closed the door in her face. I didn’t even think about it again, or her, for that matter, until I came to town.”

“That might explain why they don’t like each other,” Fluttershy offered neutrally.

“It’s a miracle they haven’t taken things outside already,” Ditzy grumbled, running a hoof over her face. “I’m an idiot.”

“No you’re not, Ditzy. It’s my fault she got hurt—and even after she moved to Ponyville we don’t ever really...” Fluttershy squirmed uncomfortably in place.

“You don’t?” Ditzy wasn’t able to keep the surprise out of her voice. “But you’ve been around her a lot lately.”

“Well, when you’re around, it’s...” Fluttershy pawed the ground, biting her lip. “We both want to help you.”

Ditzy chewed her lip as she led the way out of the washroom. It wouldn’t have meant too much coming from anypony else, but for her of all ponies, spending time around ponies she’d rather avoid... Maybe, maybe there was a chance of fixing this whole mess after all.

The rest of their time at the store flew by fairly quickly. Ditzy and Fluttershy only had a few minutes to finish picking through the assorted seat cushions, setting aside most of what they found in favor of a pair of nice, dark red (and more importantly, clean) pillows that they brought to the front. They put them with the rest of the odds and ends the group had found for her new home.

The bed frame was in three separate pieces when the two of them rejoined the group. Davenport scoured the floor for any loose screws, while Cloud Kicker patiently waited for him to finish.

“Somepony up front want to get the door, please?” Cirrus’s voice was a little strained as he carefully stepped out of the back, awkwardly balancing the large headboard with Rainbow Dash on the other end. Rainbow nodded to Ditzy and Fluttershy as she passed them by, no doubt unable to resist drawing her head up to show off her incredible bed-frame-carrying abilities.

Davenport and Cloud followed behind them with another part of the frame balanced between then. “Did anypony here bring a cart?”

Cirrus stopped short at the door, and lightly thudded his head against the bed frame in his forelegs. “Um, kinda slipped my mind. I only got in an hour ago.”

“Lucky for us, I thought to plan ahead,” Cloud snapped. “I have a cart out front.”

Ditzy didn’t miss the condescension in her voice. She opted to ignore it to try and salve things, hurrying to the front to get the door. She nodded to each pony as they passed her. Cirrus and Rainbow were the first ones out and strained a little bit to get their section of the bed frame onto the wide, two-pony cart. Her ears perked at the sound of things already inside it being shuffled around, and she moved to help.

Unfortunately, not everypony had cleared the doorway yet. Cloud Kicker winced as the door smacked her in the rump, and she ignored at Ditzy’s attempts at an apology.

Rainbow snickered and glanced back. “Got banged again, Kicker?”

“Not in the mood, Rainbow,” Cloud grumbled. Fluttershy tried to hide a worried look by hastily moving paint cans, buckets, and cleaning supplies around to make room for the furniture.

Ditzy’s mind raced, scrambling to find a way to salvage things. Here she had the happiest day in her life in months, and old history was tearing it apart in her hooves. “Um... Cloud?” She licked her lips, hoping not to set her off. “Is this going to be big enough for a sofa too? There’s a pretty nice one in the back I was looking at.”

“I rented one big enough to handle furniture.” Cloud offered her a weak grin. “Kinda need to get one that big when we’re furniture shopping.”

Ditzy held up a placating hoof. “Just making sure.”

“Hey, I’m the planner of this little group.” Cloud sighed and put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “S’my job to think of stuff like that ahead of time. So, let’s get this stuff loaded up.”

Rainbow nodded “Cool. I’ll get the plates and stuff!”

Cirrus bit down on her tail as she revved up to head inside. He spat out a few multichromatic hairs before speaking. “Pthew. You wanna grab some of those sofa cushions instead?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get those too.” Rainbow waved a hoof.

“First?”

“I could get the cushions instead,” Fluttershy offered.

Rainbow wasn’t having any of it, though. “Chillax. I can get it all faster’n you can blink!”

Ditzy grinned. “Rainbow’s zooming will make for a good stress test, at least.”

Cirrus adamantly shook his head. “Yeah, no. Could somepony else grab the dinnerware, please? I’m not sure I want the stabbity stuff coming my way at Mach 5.” He ignored Rainbow as she blew a raspberry at him.

“Really, I could get it,” Fluttershy insisted. “It’s no trouble at all.”

Ditzy nodded. “Thanks, Fluttershy.” She and Cloud accompanied their friend back into the store and gathered up the last of their purchases. It only took a few minutes to secure everything in the back of the cart before heading to the front.

Cloud went to the front of the cart, only to stop short when she saw Cirrus already strapping himself into it. She watched with a neutral expression as he finished, then looked around to see who would take the other half of the yoke, casually examining her hoof when his gaze fell onto her. Cirrus grumbled quietly, then looked over his shoulder.

Rainbow had sprawled herself out on top of the jumble of furniture, cushions, and boxes while somehow not disturbing a single thing. She arched her back, popped her neck, and settled into place. A few seconds passed before she felt Cirrus’s eyes on her. “What?”

Cirrus arched an eyebrow. “Think you could help me out here?”

“Oh, I know I could.” Rainbow tucked her forelegs behind her head, grinning. “I just wanna watch you try to get it by yourself.” Cloud didn’t quite conceal an amused snort.

The stallion’s eyes narrowed at the two of them, then closed as he heaved against his harness. Ditzy’s eyes narrowed and actually came together in a rare moment of alignment as she glowered at her friends. She was about ready to go and push when Fluttershy finally spoke up.

“I could help.”

The self-amused smirks on the other mares’ faces died down a bit. Ditzy chewed her tongue as she tried to find the gentlest way to let her down. “It’s all right, Fluttershy, you—you’ve been so much help already.”

Fluttershy shuffled on her hooves in a way that would have come across as false modesty from anypony else. “Oh, I haven’t done anything that important. Rainbow Dash and Cloud Kicker did so much more than I have.”

“You’ve done a lot. You’ve, um, helped me with the cutlery, and the seat cushions, and...” Ditzy sighed and put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder to bar her from the yoke. “And I don’t think you’re strong enough to pull it.” She looked around to find something Fluttershy could do to feel appreciated. “You can still help! We’ll need to make sure there’s enough room ahead.”

“Which would be great if the cart could, y’know—move,” Cirrus grumbled.

Ditzy didn’t think he’d mean to come across as angrily as he did, but even she was starting to get fed up. “Rainbow? Do you think you could help Cirrus?”

Rainbow shifted on top of the pile of furniture, not unlike a cat forcing itself to be comfortable in order to inconvenience its owner. “Sorry Ditzy, I’m on inventory control. Make Kicker do it.”

One of Ditzy’s ears flicked in annoyance. She turned to Cloud Kicker with a forced smile that she suspected would get a lot of use once her foal came into the world. “Please? It’s just for a few blocks.”

“Only for you, Derpy.” Cloud sighed with the resignation of a pony being led to the gallows and strapped herself into the other side of the yoke without a word. Cirrus seemed content to return the gesture, all but ignoring the mare beside him until she finished. The two of them traded a look, as if waiting for the other to give first and check whether they were ready.

Rainbow rolled her eyes at the pair of them, more bored than anything else. “If you two go at it any more, I’m gonna make you get married. Now let’s get moving. Hyah mules, hyah!” She cracked an invisible whip at Cloud Kicker, grinning at the chance to throw her words in her face.

Both ponies shot her a glance that could have frozen the sun in place, then shook their heads in almost comical unison and began pulling. Ditzy and Fluttershy fell into step alongside the cart, as much to trade a worried look as to make sure that nothing fell off.

The journey itself presented a welcome break; even if the tension was thick enough to pave the road with, they were at least making some kind of progress. Still... if every visit was going to be like this, Ditzy almost wished that fewer ponies would come to see her next time around. This didn’t feel like flitting near a thunderhead so much as poking a sleeping manticore. They hadn’t insulted each other openly yet, but she knew from experience that quiet resentment could be more damaging in the long run. She’d only seen Cloud this agitated once, back when they’d passed Sticks and Stones at the clinic—and while she doubted that Cloud held quite the same kind of contempt for her brother, it wasn’t too much of a stretch that she was waiting for him to say or do just the wrong thing...

She willed that thought away. Things were tense enough already, and the last thing she wanted to do was jinx things by thinking about how bad they could get. Given her luck, she might reignite the old Doo/Kicker feud before lunch.

In spite of her concerns, the five of them managed the entire trip without incident. They also managed it without a word between the two cart pullers, but it was a small price to pay if it meant some level of amicability. The journey wasn’t terribly long, as it was late enough in the morning that the streets were largely clear of crowds. The only pony who wasn’t either in a rush or working on the cobblestone road was one green mare that waved at Cloud Kicker as the party passed her, and Ditzy couldn’t help but wince at the out-and-out odd way she leaned against the back of the bench. Even if she hadn’t been pregnant, she very much doubted that her wings would even let her try sitting like that.

When they stopped in front of the house, Ditzy wasn’t surprised to find the ruined gate on the ground, still in place where she’d left it after the tour. She saw her brother open and close his mouth several times, then settle on a wing-shrug that was slightly obstructed by his harness. Fluttershy’s eyes drank in the scene as well, quietly looking over the telltale signs of work that needed to be done to make the house liveable. Finally, they both settled on the kindest assessment they could:

“It looks … nice,” they said together. Ditzy knew she’d gotten her house at a good price, but that judgement told her just how much work she had ahead of her. While nowhere near as spoiled or stuck-up as some of the other nobility, neither she nor Cirrus really had ever wanted for anything growing up and didn’t really have a point of comparison, but Fluttershy was a more—well, down-to-earth pony. Calling something ‘nice’ was about the closest she’d come to saying something negative about it.

“Home sweet home, I guess?” Ditzy chuckled awkwardly, trying to put a better spin on things.

A soft snore from the cart helped break the tension. Ditzy’s laughter was much less forced this time around: Rainbow had fallen asleep during the trip. She gently shook the stacked furniture with a foreleg. “Rainbow, we’re here.”

“Five more minutes...” Rainbow grumbled, somehow rolling over without losing her balance.

Cloud Kicker’s sigh was slightly muffled as she hurried to unharness herself. “Fluttershy? Do me a favor and smack Rainbow.”

“Oh dear...” Fluttershy brought herself face-to-face with the sleeping mare and tentatively poked her. “Um, Rainbow? I know that’s probably really comfortable for you … somehow … but we’ve stopped at Ditzy’s house. Could you please get up so we can unload?”

A blue hoof flailed around momentarily, searching for the source of the unwelcome disturbance. It founds its mark dead between Fluttershy’s ears “Snooze,” Rainbow mumbled. “Stupidclock.” She rolled over and gave a tiny little snore. “Hmm, yeah? Yeah Spitfire, you bet I’m the best you’ve ever seen...”

Ditzy shook her head incredulously. “I’ve lived with her for two months, and I still have no idea how she gets to work on time.”

“My guess?” Cloud offered. “Somehow, against all odds, her sense of duty overrides her laziness.”

“My guess was time travel,” Ditzy said with a shrug.

Rainbow rolled over again, still mumbling to herself. She yawned and arched her back, popping her joints one at a time, from her wingtips to her neck. Once done, she glanced around. “Oh, hey. We’re here. Why didn’t somepony wake me?”

Fluttershy sighed and walked to the pathway, mumbling something about making sure it was clear.

Cloud finally unhitched herself from the cart and walked away from the yoke at a brisk trot, quite happy to put some space between herself and a certain stallion. Cirrus, for his part, wiggled out of the harness and made a quick flight around the house. A frown grew on his face as he checked over the small lawn, and he jerked around to land on the roof. His demeanour brightened a little bit after he checked it over, and he flew back to start unloading.

“Esh looksh ... ‘omely,” he offered through a mouthful of rope.

“Best place Derpy could afford,” Cloud said neutrally, spotting the cargo beside him.

Cirrus spat out the rope. “With some help.”

Whether through providence or simple luck, Rainbow corkscrewed down and landed between the two of them. “Yeah, I helped her find the place. Not too shabby, huh?”

“Welllll...” Cloud offered a weak smile. “Technically it is a little shabby. Nothing we can’t fix up, though.”

“Well, I still found it. So that counts for something.”

Cloud nodded her agreement. “Yup. It earns you one public display of affection. Derpy, care to do the honors?”

“Sure thing!” Ditzy trotted over and wrapped her forelegs around her friend in a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you, Rainbow!”

“Careful, Dee,” Cirrus said. “I think she’s turning blue.”

Cloud raised an amused eyebrow. “She’s already blue.”

“Blue-er,” the stallion replied with a wave of his hoof.

Some red began mixing in with the blue as Rainbow began blushing. “Ditzyyyyyyyyyy,” she whined, squirming in her grasp. “C’mon, quittit! Everypony’s looking at us.”

“Well, yeah! That’s the point of a public display of affection.” She held on for a second longer, then let go. She ignored Rainbow’s loud, dramatic gasps and stepped around her. “Okay, let’s see if we can get all of this cleaned and set up.”

Each of them grabbed a seat cushion from the cart and followed Ditzy to the front door, where Fluttershy was waiting for them. After fumbling with the key for a moment, the front door swung open to reveal the inside. The dust layer kicked up from her previous visit had largely gone untouched, leaving clear trails of hoofprints around the building. “Shoot. I should’ve grabbed cleaning stuff for the floors.”

Rainbow’s face lit up. “Eh, no worries. Hey, big guy—catch!” She haphazardly tossed her seat-cushion to Cirrus, who had just enough time to turn his head and catch it. With his face. An apology was drowned out by a cackle as Rainbow shot skyward; she came back a second later with a cloud just a little larger than she was. “Ya don’t need to get to the cleaning stuff. Instant mop, right here!”

“So, clean first, then move in the furniture?” Cloud nodded. “Easier that way.”

Fluttershy nodded as well. “You should probably start with things that need to be painted. That way, they’ll be dry for later.”

Cirrus took a chunk of cloud and trotted in. “I’ll start with the kitchen.”

“I’ll get the main bedroom, then,” Cloud said. Ditzy didn’t think that it was a coincidence that the two rooms were on opposite sides of the building, but she opted against saying anything.

“Dibs on the other bedroom!” Rainbow shouted. She paused just long enough to leave a piece of cloud for Fluttershy before bolting off down the hall. Fluttershy traded an amused look with Ditzy and started working on the living room floor.

With everypony having taken a role, Ditzy suddenly found herself without anything to do. Not content to merely sit back and supervise, she went back outside to get what she could from the cart. The paint cans were trapped beneath the larger sections of the bed, so there wasn’t much she could do to get to them on her own. Leaving those be for the moment, she instead made a couple of trips to and from the cart, grouping the rest of the seat cushions, silverware, and anything else she could carry on her own in a small pile outside of the front door.

With that done, the grey mare grabbed a few rags and went back inside to see how things were going. There was enough dust still on the floor that she didn’t want to stir it up by flying over the clean section of living room, so she tip-hoofed past Fluttershy on her way to the kitchen. She put the rags in the sink and got the water running, then turned her attention to the silverware drawers. Her first thought was to simply open them up and just scrub out what she could find, but merely opening the first drawer covered caused an explosion of, quelle surprise, dust.

Ditzy jumped back with a violent sneeze. She heard her brother cough off to the side of her and scramble out of the way. They fought through the haze and somehow managed to open a window above the sink. It took a few minutes for everything to die down, leaving both Doo siblings with manes as grey at their coats.

Cirrus coughed again. “Jeez Dee, you just can’t help but make a mess, huh?”

“You’ll get over it,” Ditzy deadpanned, brushing her mane with a foreleg.

“No love, no love at all,” her brother grumbled good-naturedly. He made a few more passes, then turned to take his now-black cloud outside, only to be stopped by a familiar blue face.

“Slowpoke,” Rainbow chided, clicking her tongue in chastisement. “I got my room cleaned in fifteen seconds! Who’s awesome?”

“You are!” Ditzy wing-fived her friend, sending up a fresh cloud of dust from their pinions. “Um.. think you can do it twice?”

“In my sleep! Why?”

“Aller-jeez?” Ditzy faked a cough, which turned into a real one quickly enough.

Rainbow frowned and narrowed her eyes. “But I already cleaned that room. What’s the point in doing it again?”

Cirrus snorted and took her soiled cloud from her. “Ooh, you do not want to be the one to ask that question where I work,” he said as he made his way to the door.

That got a curious look from Ditzy. Her brother was far from a belligerent pony, but she was pretty sure she’d heard him tell stories about worse comebacks than that from his times with the Canterlot Choir. She put it aside for later and turned back to her friend. “To make sure you got everything? Please, Rainbow?”

Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively. “‘Course I got everything!”

“So you won’t mind if we check it?” Cirrus called over his shoulder.

“‘Course not. Just be prepared to be amazed by what an awesome job I did!”

“If you say so.” Ditzy rolled her eyes, briefly bringing them into alignment. “Cirrus, when you get back in, could you get the cabinets please?”

She didn’t wait for a reply, and instead followed Rainbow into the back of the house. Cloud Kicker waved to the two of them as they passed by the master bedroom, getting a nod in reply from both mares. Rainbow bolted ahead, hoof at the ready on the door handle and a smug grin on her face.

“Ta-daaa!” She threw the door open. “So ... am I awesome, or am I awesome?”

Ditzy struggled to find the right words; in Rainbow’s defence, the room was a lot better than it had been. The worst of the free-floating dust was gone, the peeling paint on the windowsill had been mostly pulled away to reveal the wood beneath it. However, plenty of dust remained clumped together, especially in the corners, and the drying droplets of water on the floor were stained black with grime. “It’s … a good start?” she offered weakly.

Rainbow sputtered indignantly. “Huh? No way! I know I got the cloud over everything!” She hastily stepped on a small pile of gunk beside her foreleg.

“It’s a good first pass.” Ditzy nuzzled her, then used her wing to point out a small bit Rainbow had missed on her first past. “I’ll, uh ... let you just get that really quickly. And that. And that. And—um, yeah.”

“Oh, it is on!” Rainbow opened the window, vanishing just long enough to grab a new cloud before coming back in. She circled the room in a rainbow-colored whirlwind which Ditzy could only avoid being sucked into by leaning against the wall. By the time the mini-twister had ended, most of the paint had been torn from the walls, and now coated the ground in small, fine strips. Rainbow’s vortex had been strong enough to pick up every speck of dust in the room—even the ones still trapped in the water from her first attempt at cleaning—and a small dust devil spun idly for a moment before another gust from Rainbow’s wings blew it out of the open window. “C’mon, now. Who’s the best house-cleaning pony around?”

“Um, you are. I’ll go check on the others.” Ditzy shook her head, partially in amazement and partially in an attempt to get her mane to lay flat again. She briefly pondered a quick stop in her new bathroom, as she hadn’t actually relieved herself while at Davenport’s, but one look at the state of things convinced her that she would need to clean things very thoroughly before using them. The growing pressure in her bladder wouldn’t go ignored forever, though, and she sincerely hoped that Cloud had made some more (albeit less destructive) headway on the bathroom in the master bedroom. She walked into the room, and was instantly hit with the smell of paint stripper. Swallowing back a mild feeling of nausea, she trotted over to Cloud Kicker, who was hard at work at the windowsill.

“Oof, smells like brain damage in here. Sure you don’t wanna open that thing?”

Cloud rolled her eyes. “Oh, shush. I’m doing just fine. How’s it going with everypony else?”

“Looks good so far, I think we can get a lot of this done by the end of the afternoon.” She opened the window and started fanning out some of the fumes. “Thanks again for your help. I’d be—well, kinda doing this myself without you.”

Her friend wiped her brow, smearing a small fleck of paint on her forehead. “That’s why we’re doing it, Derpy. Not gonna leave you hanging.”

Ditzy gave her a brief nuzzle. “I couldn’t ask for better friends.”

“Thanks, Derpy. I’m just glad—watch out for the paint can!”

“What paint can!?” Ditzy jumped back in shock, and felt her hoof tip something over. Cloud closed her eyes and gave a pained sigh; Ditzy let out a weak, awkward chuckle in reply. “Eheheh ... my bad. I’ll, um, go get another can for you. And a cloud.”

Cloud took another deep breath. “Thanks, Derpy. I’d appreciate if you could take care of the paint spill. Kinda busy.” She paused, a worried frown growing on her face. “That’s not gonna a problem for you with the kid, is it?”

“I--” Ditzy’s mouth opened and closed several times as her mental gears churned. “...don’t know, to be honest. Um, I’ll get somepony pronto.” She hurried to the doorway and poked her head out. “”Is anypony done with their cloud?” she called out.

“I can drop it for a sec,” Cirrus’s voice echoed in reply. “What’s up?”

Ditzy waved a paint-covered hoof to an empty hallway. “Me. Paint can. Gravity.”

Her brother’s facehoof was audible from the other side of the house. “Dee...”

“I got it!” Rainbow blasted out of her room, proudly displaying a cloud covered in dust, paint chips, and the odd bit of wood and plaster. “Just did another awesome room-cleaning. What’s going on? I’m totally done with my cloud!”

“Me, paint can, gravity,” Ditzy said again. “Can I borrow your cloud for a minute?”

“Chillax, Ditzy, I got it.”

“I just need a minute, Rainbow, it’s—”

Rainbow wasn’t having any of it. She dropped her cloud, and gingerly picked Ditzy up instead, carrying her into the living room over her squeals of surprise and indignation. Fluttershy shot her a look as they came into the room, but obligingly scooped up a seat-cushion and set it beneath the grey mare. “There.” Rainbow gently plopped Ditzy’s derriere on the cushion. “Just sit there and ... um ... make sure Cirrus doesn’t slack off.”

Ditzy snorted indignantly. “I’m pregnant, not invalid!” Rainbow half-acknowledged her with a wave of her hoof as she flew back to help Cloud Kicker.

Cirrus poked his head around the corner. “Hey, Dee? Hush up and enjoy a day off.”

The reply to her brother took time to form in her mind as Ditzy took an extra moment to properly convey herself: she stuck her tongue out at him. “Phhhbt.”

Cirrus’s reply was no less eloquent. “Phhhbt. “

“Phhhbt.”

“Don’t make me throw a pillow at you, Dee.”

“I’ve already got one,” Ditzy shot back.

“Cirrus!” Fluttershy barked from the living room. “You can’t throw things at Derpy in her condition!”

“It’s just a pillow,” the stallion murmured, sounding like he just realized he’d been kicking a baby seal.

“But if something went wrong...” Fluttershy trailed off.

“What could possibly go wrong with just pill—” he cut himself short as a sudden look of realization crossed his face. “Y’know what? You’re right. Let’s play it safe. Probably a good idea not to throw any pillows Dee’s way. Or cotton. Or bedsheets. Or—y’know what?” He turned to his sister, tapping his chin thoughfully. “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can get you while you’re there? A fire suppression spell, maybe?”

Ditzy crossed her forelegs in front of her chest. “Hush up and scrub, bub.”

“I would so throw a pillow at you if you weren’t pregnant,” Cirrus grumbled.

What's in a Name

by Comma-Kazie

Month 1 - or, Unexpected Arrivals

Month 2 - or, Friends Old and New

Month 3, Part 1 - or, Baby Mine

Month 3, Part 2 - or, Going Groundside