[FFML] [fanfic][MLP:FiM] The Alicorn Foal, chapter 8

[Mythril Moth]

Kind of a weak chapter. Usual disclaimers apply. C&C welcome.

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Chapter 8: The Plot Thickens

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Days passed, as days will. Thanks to Luna and Celestia, the only real crises 
involving Velvet Frost were of the usual variety: early-morning feedings, 
late-night diaper changes, the occasional inexplicable fever. And crying.

Lots of crying.

Velvet was entering a particularly cranky phase, where she would often cry 
for no apparent reason. Twilight and Cadence had spent more time awake than 
asleep since this phase began, sitting around the house tending to the foal, 
reading, and eating.

And eating. And eating.

"Ugh," Twilight groaned one morning as she shambled out of the nursery, down 
the stairs, and into the kitchen, opening the fridge with magic and 
levitating out milk, butter, and eggs. She plopped down at the table and 
hauled a skillet, utensils, and bread out of various cabinets, directing 
breakfast to cook itself with little real attention paid to what she was 
doing.

Cadence trotted downstairs a few minutes later and wordlessly hijacked the 
milk, pouring it over a bowl of incredibly sugary cereal.

Shining Armor looked up from where he was drinking coffee and reading the 
newspaper. "You girls are a sad sight," he said.

His wife and sister glared at him. "What's THAT supposed to mean?" Cadence 
demanded.

"It means maybe you should...kinda go easy on the chow there, get a little 
fresh air, a little exercise?" Shining Armor suggested.

"Are you saying we're fat?" Twilight asked dangerously.

"No, not at all! Well..."

"How'd you like to be gelded, dear?" Cadence asked sweetly, a knife wreathed 
in her magical aura.

"Please, like that threat'll work on me," Shining Armor scoffed. "Seriously, 
I'll take care of things today. Just...go out and get some exercise!"

Twilight sighed. "I suppose...it *would* do us some good..."

"*Us*?" Cadence asked dangerously.

"Do you REALLY want to ride that train, Cadence?" Twilight asked sweetly.

Shining Armor coughed. "Ladies?"

The two mares blinked, then had the grace to look sheepish. "Yyyyeah, 
let's...sorry," Twilight said.

"No, I'm sorry," Cadence replied.


There was a pause.

"Let's go visit Pinkie Pie," the mares said in unison, before cantering for 
the front door.

Shining Armor facehoofed.

=================================

Pinkie was chowing down on raw sugar when the two mares walked through the 
door. She raised an eyebrow. "Uhh...you two are lookin' a little lumpy in 
the rumpy," she stated bluntly.

Twilight groaned. "Not you too," she moaned.

"Give us a break," Cadence whined. "Foalsitting 24/7 is hard!"

Pinkie nodded sagely. "That's for sure." She hauled a thick, gooey chocolate 
cake off a shelf behind the counter and plopped it in front of the mares 
with a loud thud.

The three of them dove in with abandon. After a while, Twilight looked up at 
Pinkie, face covered in crumbs and icing. "Say, Pinkie," she asked, "how do 
you keep YOUR figure? I mean, you eat more sweets and sugar than anypony 
I've ever known..."

"Oh, I'm just naturally skinny," Pinkie replied happily. "I have a high 
metabolism. I can eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and never get even a 
little teeny bit flabby!"

"Lucky," Cadence grumbled, taking a large bite of cake.

"Weeeellllll...if you girls are really worried about your weight, I think 
Rainbow Dash is running some kind of fitness class on her off days..."

Twilight and Cadence looked at one another. "Seriously?" Twilight asked. 
"DASH is doing extra work?"

"Well...she was really disappointed in the pitiful shape the tornado team 
was in last year..."

=================================

A carriage, being driven by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, careened into a large 
rock, smashing against it, raining broken boards and bent nails everywhere. 
The stallions who had been pulling the carriage took off into the distance; 
the fillies inside it sat around, dazed.

Rainbow Dash descended upon them like a flurry of wendigoes, looking 
shabbier and more unkempt than anypony had ever seen her. She had cider 
sloshed all over her scruffy, somewhat mangy coat, her mane was in complete 
disarray, and her bloodshot eyes were hidden behind wraparound mirrorshades.

"Okay, I'm in a real bad mood this mornin'," the grungy, cider-breathed blue 
pegasus growled at the three fillies in the demolished carriage. "So your 
head is goin' up the driver's plot, her head's goin' up YOUR plot, and 
you...well, you drew the short straw, 'cuz your head's goin' up MY plot..."

"EWWWWWWW," the unicorn filly in the carriage said, giggling.

"CUT!"

Rainbow Dash screamed in frustration, pulling off her mirrorshades and 
throwing them at the ground in frustration. "SWEETIE BELLE!"

"S-sorry, Rainbow Dash," Sweetie wheezed out between giggles. "It's 
just...that...it's so..."

Rainbow's lips twitched, then she started laughing too. "Yeah, it is 
pretty..."

Nearby, a unicorn stallion with a pencil-thin mustache, a beret, and a cutie 
mark of a movie camera planted his forehooves on his flanks and assumed a 
haughty expression. "Ex-CUUUUSE me," he whined. "Any time you ladies are 
ready to do this thing for real--"

"Rainbow Dash!" a voice cut across the movie set, as two mares trotted right 
into the middle of the shot. The director pony threw up his hooves and 
stomped off to his trailer, grumbling.

Cadence watched him. "What's HIS problem?" she asked.


"Eh, give him time to cool down," Rainbow said dismissively, picking up her 
discarded mirrorshades and polishing them on her chest. "He's just mad 'cuz 
somepony keeps laughin' in the middle of shootin' this scene..."

"I *said* I was sorry," Sweetie replied petulantly.

"Shooting...scene?" Cadence asked, blinking. "What in Equestria--?"

"We're makin' a movie," Rainbow Dash replied brightly. "Didn't Twi tell 
you?"


Twilight blinked. "I don't think *you* told *me*, Dash."

"I didn't?" Dash replied, scratching her head in puzzlement. "Oh. Well, 
anyway..."

"So you're busy with this," Twilight gestured around, "so I guess Pinkie was 
wrong about that fitness class..."

"Oh, that?" Dash asked. "Yeah, that's still goin' on. I just handed it over 
to somepony else. Why, you interested?"

"YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAH!!" a guttural male voice roared, startling them.

Dash glowered at the massively overmuscled, tiny-winged white pegasus 
stallion who was suddenly standing beside her. "I was askin' THEM, 
Snowflake. And shouldn't you be, y'know, runnin' the fitness class?"

"YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!" Snowflake bellowed, spraying spittle at everypony, 
before galloping off to rejoin the exercise class.

Twilight and Cadence stared after him.

"Uhhh...I think we'll just skip on that..." Twilight said.

"Yeah. Um...good luck with your movie...thing," Cadence added.

"Okay! Later!"

=================================

Twilight sighed. "This is really depressing."

"Yeah."

"Hey Twi, hey Princess," Applejack drawled as she trotted up alongside them, 
a heavy basket laden with supplies strapped to her back. "What'chy'all up 
to?"


"Oh, hey Applejack," Twilight said. "We're just...trying to figure out what 
to do about getting some exercise."

The farmpony raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, y'all ARE kinda a sorry sight," she 
nodded. Then, she brightened up. "Y'all know whut's good fer a flabby fanny? 
Applebuckin'!" She reared up on her hind legs and gestured at herself with 
her forehooves, somehow managing to not upset her cargo. "See this? There 
ain't not one ounce'a fat on me!"

"Yeah, but...it isn't exactly applebuck season right now, is it?" Twilight 
asked.

"Actually, Ah got a crop o' goldens what done come in a mite early," 
Applejack replied. "Y'all're more'n welcome t' help if'n y'all want."

Twilight and Cadence looked at one another, shrugged, and followed Applejack 
back to the farm.

=================================

Three hours later, Twilight and Cadence left the farm, completely and 
utterly sore. "I hope...that was worth it," Cadence panted.

"Yeah...I'm sure we at least...worked off the cake...we had at Pinkie's..." 
Twilight replied.

"Maybe...we're going about this the wrong...way," Cadence puffed. 
"Maybe...we should...just...go on a diet..."

"You...have a point there..." Twilight agreed.

Derpy flew past the two tired mares just then, a tray of fresh, hot, 
steaming blueberry muffins balanced carefully in her forehooves.

Twilight and Cadence looked at one another.

"Hey, Derpy, wait up!"

"Share the muffins!"




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Mythril Moth
www.mythrilmoth.net