[FFML] [fanfic][MLP:FiM] The Alicorn Foal, Chapter 5

[Mythril Moth]

Here we go again! Same disclaimers still apply. C&C welcome.

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Chapter 5: An Ill Wind Blows

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Cheerilee stared forlornly at the wreckage of her beloved schoolhouse.

"'Tain't much left," Applejack drawled beside her.

"Nnnnope," Big Macintosh agreed from her other side.

The schoolmare'm slumped dejectedly, tears welling in her eyes. "Why?" she 
sniffled.

"Don't fret none," Big Mac said gently. "Ah'll clear this mess out, an' 
round up a herd o' workers t' rebuild. Jes' leave it t' me."

Cheerilee wiped at her eyes with a hoofkerchief. "Th-thank you, Big 
Macintosh."

"Eeyup."

Applejack smiled at the two of them. "If'n y'need a place t' hold school in 
th' meantime, Ah reckon y'all can use our farm," she offered. "Who knows, 
maybe outside classes--"

"Aren't safe right now," Cheerilee said, head lowered. "I know Twilight 
Sparkle and Shining Armor are TRYING, I really do, but..."

Applejack sighed. "Yeah. Li'l Vel's way th' hay outta control." She looked 
at the pile of rubble that used to be the schoolhouse. "Ah mean, first it 
was rainin' pony plop, an' now THIS..." The farmpony shook her head. "Ah'm 
startin' t' think maybe shippin' 'er off t' Canterlot woulda been th' smart 
thing t' do in th' first place."

"Eeyup."

Unnoticed, Twilight Sparkle trotted silently away, head hung low and ears 
flattened against her head.

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

"Don't let it get to you," Shining Armor reassured his forlorn sister as she 
related what she'd overheard. "Everypony's just upset right now."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Twilight sighed. "Maybe they're right. Maybe Velvet 
and her family should move to Canterlot, at least until she's a little 
older..."

"It would certainly be easier to keep her magic...contained," Armor hedged, 
stroking his chin with a hoof. "But...that'd mean you'd need to move back to 
Canterlot too. Could you really leave your friends here?"

The purple mare sighed. "No. No, I couldn't...not even for an opportunity 
like this..."

"Then we'll just have to endure, and have faith in this great plan of 
yours," Armor said with a gentle smile.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah..."

"Besides, nothing Velvet could possibly do could be a worse disaster than 
the Parasprites, right?" Armor asked with a sly grin.

The younger unicorn winced. "I didn't know you'd heard about that..."

"Word gets around..."

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

Late that afternoon, the doctor came around to check up on Velvet Frost. 
"Well, she's a perfectly healthy little foal," he declared as he completed 
his examination. "Have you had any problems with her? Err, I mean besides 
the...weather magic stuff?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, she's been fine. Maybe a little fussy and a 
little gassy..."

"Well, most foals are fussy and gassy," the doctor replied with a chuckle. 
"I've never met a foal yet that wasn't."

"I'm a little worried about the gassy part though," Twilight said. With a 
sigh, she lowered her voice. "I think when she, you know, passes gas...well, 
I think the tornado that hit the schoolhouse was..."

The doctor's eyes widened. "I see." He sighed, shaking his head. 
"Unfortunately, there's not much I can do for that...foals pass gas. It's 
just natural. Trying to stop it from happening is bad for the foal."

"I understand." Twilight's ears drooped. "I guess we'll just have to pray 
she doesn't blow down half of Ponyville every time she lets one."

"I pray that very same thing every time my wife snores," the doctor said 
with a laugh and a grin. "Well, I'll be back in a week to check on her 
again. Call if there's any problems."

"Will do, and thanks!"

As the doctor left, Twilight looked down at the fidgety little alicorn. 
"You're certainly turning out to be a lot more trouble than I expected," she 
muttered.

Shining Armor passed through the room on his way to the kitchen. As he did 
so, Twilight looked up. "Remind me never to marry a pegasus," she said.

Armor tilted his head at her curiously, then snorted and resumed his snack 
run.

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

"Come on now, Velvet! Come to Auntie Pinkie!"

Velvet tottered uncertainly across the room to the pink Earth pony, nearly 
falling once but managing to recover. Pinkie clapped happily. "Yay! Good 
girl! You can walk so far now!"

Cadence giggled. "Foals grow up so fast, don't they?" She let out a sigh. "I 
wonder what ours will be..."

Pinkie blinked, then her mouth dropped open. "You're not...?"

"Oh no, not yet," Cadence said with a shake of her head. "I'm not quite 
ready to be a mommy just yet. But...one day, absolutely."

Pinkie beamed. "You'll make a great mommy."

"Thanks." Cadence watched as Velvet trotted around the room a couple times, 
then plopped down on her diapered rear. She had a strained look on her face.

The two mares shared a look; both grimaced. "Your turn," Cadence said.

Pinkie sighed, picked Velvet up, and burped her.

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

The next several days were fairly calm. Princess Celestia dropped by to 
visit, and announced that she and her sister were going to attempt a spell 
that would dampen the effects of Velvet Frost's random magic. This 
pronouncement was met with cheers that rocked Ponyville to its foundations.

A week after the disastrous tornado, the new schoolhouse opened, and all the 
colts and fillies of Ponyville went back to school. As Cheerilee greeted her 
students on the first day back, she noticed a weary pink pony trudging into 
town. It took her a moment to realize it was Pinkie Pie; her mane had 
flattened out except for parts of it that were sticking out at very odd 
angles, her coat was completely filthy, and she was limping. Most of her 
tail was gone.

"Pinkie Pie?!" Cheerilee gasped. "What in Equestria happened to you?!"

"I burped Velvet," Pinkie replied.

Cup Cake suddenly galloped up the road, stopping in front of Pinkie. 
"Pinkie, dear, where HAVE you been?!" she asked breathlessly. "Everypony's 
been worried sick--"

"I burped Velvet," Pinkie replied. Her tone was not bubbly or happy.

"Well...yes...Princess Cadenza did mention something about an incident with 
Velvet, but that was nearly a week ago!"

"I know," Pinkie said, before collapsing in an ungraceful heap on the road.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Cake said, blinking.



TO BE CONTINUED...




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Mythril Moth
www.mythrilmoth.net