Starshine

@, "Yeah, the filly looked awfully sad for a moment, but after we found her mother she just started jumping all around. We invited them into our cabin for the night, too," Winterglade was beaming at this point. Remembering her encounter with Springsteps had brought a smile to her face. She felt bad that she was unable to say goodbye, though. Morning Mist giggled hearing her daughter's excited words, Autumn Glow on the other hand had lost interest and curled back to sleep. Fender's sad face was brief, but Winterglade caught the wind of it from the side. With a sigh she slid closer to Fender and hugged the stallion. "What's wrong? Do you miss the little fuzzball?" She nuzzled the stallion and chuckled. "Don't worry about it, soon we will have our own fuzzballs, and I'm sure at least one will be very close to you."

@, Winterglade shook her head once and grimaced slightly. "No, not everything. It's nothing, mom," Winterglade quickly interjected before Morning Mist could ask anything. Winterglade leaned closer to Fender and whispered, "I don't want to worry mom about your headache, but I guess we can tell them about Springsteps." At this point Autumn Glow was staring at the pair with rapt interest. Winterglade returned the stare with a stern look, as if saying 'not your business.' Morning Mist looked worried for a moment. "Was there a problem?" she asked. "Everything's okay! It's just that we ran into a filly on the train to Vanhoover. She was lost on the train, and we helped her to find her mother, right, Fender?" Winterglade nudged the stallion with an elbow. She felt bad for trying to lie to her mother, but then again for some reason she didn't like the idea of having to explain how she had to see Fender suffered ten days ago.

@, Winterglade raised a hoof in agreement. "Yeah! We will get you a room in the Ponyville Inn when the time come. It's a nice place to live, I'm sure you will like it there. It's not too far from the hospital, too." She nodded excitedly. "Until then, I guess we can take it easy? There shouldn't be any need to worry about bits, we got that covered," with a giggle she threw a grateful smile to Autumn Glow, who was still too busy moping to acknowledge it. "And, uh, where is father? What have you been doing since we left to Vanhoover?" Morning Mist smiled weakly at her daughter. For a couple of seconds she busied herself with Autumn's wrinkled mane before answering. "Your father and your brother is on an assignment somewhere. They didn't tell me anything other than they might have to be away for at least two months." Morning Mist quickly raised a hoof before Winterglade could voice her protest. "You shouldn't worry about me, you two can go back to Ponyville. Autumn Glow would stay here while they are gone." There was a muffled 'yes' coming from Autumn, Morning Mist nodded. She then continued, "There aren't much activities in this home without you or your father. What about yourselves? Did you meet something special in your honeymoon? Other than the avalanche, of course."

It's still going on, but looks like there is only like three people left here :s Need more ponies

Ding. The main elevator chimed its happy bell and its door gave way to Chemm and Erlen. Yoyo perked up her ears and quickly trotted to greet her friends. "Hey guys! are you ready for the... Oh my." Yoyo covered her mouth with a hoof to hide her grin. Erlen was wearing a particularly shiny kind of clothes. Combined with the glasses, Erlen almost looked like one of the performers in Las Pegasus. "Um, Erlen, why are you wearing that?" Yoyo asked.

@, Autumn Glow could only blink in bewilderment. She turned to face her mother to see that, yes, the elder mare was giggling at her, even her younger sister joined in on the fun. Autumn Glow groaned and smacked her face to the cushion in shame. "There goes the prank." Winterglade tried to cover her mouth, but the giggling fit was too much. She quickly took in a deep breath and let it out. "Um, yeah, I've been getting these cravings, but so far there is no clear pattern. It's whenever I see some food, there's a good chance I want that thing in my mouth as soon as possible," she shrugged. It was unexplainable, but now she really wanted to chew on something green. She sat on the couch and start nibbling on a cabbage. "And... I guess we will stay here for a night, then maybe tomorrow we will go back to our home in Ponyville. Fender, what do you think?"

Yoyo blearily watched the clock slowly ticking its way to the noon. Tick tock tick tock... The clock fingers' movement was easily captivating. They ticked together in a seemingly otherworldly cadence, hundreds of tiny weeny gears turned together in unison. It might seemed petty or insignificant, but Yoyo always found any kind of clocks, even the digital ones, as something marvelous. Tick tock tick tock... "Oh... Where are they?" Yoyo muttered under her breath. Even with the couch this soft under her, she was getting bored waiting for Erlen and Chemm. In an hour it should be afternoon, the time for her to buy some lunch and a small screwdriver or two.

Looks like we need more ponies to keep things interesting Anypony who are interested, feel free to sign up! No alicorns and all that usual stuff

@, That kiss brought a blush to Winterglade's cheeks. Hearing that Fender wouldn't mind about the foal's gender certainly eased her mind considerably. She turned around and nuzzled Fender lovingly. "Thanks, love. I'm you'll be the best father Equestria will ever see." A quick kiss to the lips later, Winterglade rushed around the place to prepare a quick lunch, namely a salad using whatever bits of random fruits she could find. When Winterglade returned to the living room, Autumn Glow was curling up on Morning Mist's lap, the elder mare occasionally brushing her daughter's dirty mane with a hoof. She smiled seeing her a younger daughter arrived with a lunch. "Mm, fruit salas just when I like it. Thanks, Winty," she accepted one bowl of it and turned to Fender. "So, Fender, has your wive been acting weird lately?"

It was midnight in the Everfree forest. Or somewhere around midnight, it's hard to guess what time it was when all your eyes can see were dead trees looming over your tender flesh, branches clawing weakly at your direction. The air was unusually cold even for Everfree forest, the sound of southern wing rustling the leaves was pretty much near deafening. Starshine quickened his pace on the dirt path that lead to Ponyville. It was dark, but nothing he couldn't manage through. With a simple light enchantment he had fashioned himself a makeshift torch. His monthly business with the zebra was done and thorough, his supplies of forest flowers had replenished, now he was ready for another journey around Equestria. He left much of his bits back with the zebra, though. There was only enough bits for a train ticket to Baltimare in his saddlebag. The Ponyville was eerily silent the time Starshine reached the train station. Other than some drunkards wobbling around, there wasn't anything worthy of notice. With a sigh Starshine slumped on one of the benches. The Baltimare train shouldn't be here for another four hours. Drowsily his eyes fluttered close, eager for the much deserved rest. Maybe a quick nap wouldn't be so bad...

@, Winterglade raised an eyebrow. Fender was about to say something when Autumn suddenly barged in. "Um, wait wait, I'll go take care of the food. Mama, please take care of Autumn for a bit?" Winterglade threw a look to her mother. In an unspoken agreement Morning Mist smiled and walked to comfort the still sprawled Autumn Glow. Winterglade herself quickly snatched Fender and dragged the stallion into the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, away from any leery ears, Winterglade looked at Fender. "You don't like fillies?" she asked.

@, "Well..." Winterglade rubbed her chin in thoughts. She took a glance at her mother, who only shrugged as if putting the weight of the decision on the younger mare. After a few moments, Winterglade finally looked at Fender and also shrugged. "Whichever works. Be it a pegasus, earth pony, or unicorn, we will love the foal no matter what, right?" She chuckled and rubbed at her underbelly. This early into the pregnancy there wasn't any visible changes from the outside, but she could feel something was different in her. "I want it to be a filly, though." At that moment the front door suddenly flung open. Through it trotted a very worn-out Autumn Glow. Much of her coat had random darker patches all over, and her vest had definitely seen a better day. The cerulean mare hobbled and threw herself onto a vacant chair, but she missed cushion entirely and her rear ended up hoisted over the arm rest. "So tired..." she wheezed.

@, Morning Mist actually looked insulted by the question, but the smile never left her face. She chuckled. "Of course! Why wouldn't you? You will always be a part of this little family, sonny. Now come here and give mama a hug." Morning Mist smiled warmly, her hooves inviting for Fender to join in. In the mean time, Winterglade was already too comfortable in her mother's embrace to say anything. The white mare merely dug deeper into her mother's fur. It certainly felt so nice, being welcome at one's own home. Nothing would ruin this moment exce- Winterglade yelped and looked around. She could almost feel something was breathing on her neck.

@, Winterglade tensed as soon as her mother sat by her side. The elder mare herself was simply sitting there, smiling and looking quizzically back and forth between the younger pegasi, as if wondering just what party she had been left out. Winterglade gulped. Didn't Autumn said she was going to tell mother? Looked like Autumn had 'miraculously' forgot. Silently promising herself to give her sister one good smack in the plot, Winterglade grinned sheepishly and spoke in rapid heave, "I'mpregnant." Morning Mist frowned. "Excuse me?" She perked up her ears, she was not as young as she used to be. Winterglade rolled her eyes and took her mother's forehooves in her own. "Mom, I'm pregnant. I'm about three weeks in." She smiled, a sense of pride swelled in her chest. "We are going to have a foal running in the house this year." For a moment Morning Mist was silent. Her face was blank, as if trapped in a loop. She blinked a few times and looked at son-in-law, then at her daughter. A mist clouded her eyes as she hugged her daughter tightly. "Oh Celestia... Thank you so much, Winterglade. You've made this old mare proud. Congratulations, and you too, Fender."

@, Winterglade meekly nodded. Fender's back rub had a sudden, calming effect on her, she felt a lot better, but still not very good yet. She took a deep breath a few times and followed the stallion into the house. "Here goes nothing," she whispered under her breath. She was justifiably relieved when there wasn't any sign of her dad's presence. Feeling suddenly weak, she walked to the sofa and slumped herself on the cold, downy couch. "Home sweet home." In the kitchen, Morning Mist was doing her usual routine of preparing her afternoon snacks. Since she learned about her health condition, she had been accustoming herself to eat as many fruits and vegetables as she could, or as her son would say, 'boring stuff all day everyday.' When she heard clopping hooves behind her, she had assumed that it was Hot Wing. Needless to say she was surprised when the voice belonged to Fender, her son-in-law. "Fender? Oh, welcome home, son," she put down the fruits and turned around to gave the grey stallion a nice hug. "It's good to see that you're okay, dear. I was so worried when Autumn told me that there was an avalanche in Vanhoover. I'm so sorry that your honeymoon had to be so short."

@, "I don't know..." Winterglade bit her lips. These last few days had been rather hectic, there were many random urges to try out any new foods she ran across, and for some reason she just couldn't sit idly without poking everything around her. In other words, she was an utter wreck of a restless mare, and the closer they got to her home, the more uneasy she became. Her teeth started clattering at each other. "What if they think that the foal is too soon?" she muttered. "What if mama isn't home and there's only papa and he would berate me for getting pregnant this early and-" She had unknowingly landed on the front yard of the cloudhouse, at this point she was just one spook away from bolting away from the scene.

@, Winterglade raised an eyebrow at the question. She didn't really caught what Fender meant with that. "What? She just told me that I'm about a week or two into the pregnancy and... that our love is special?" she guessed. The exact wording might be different, but she couldn't recall it correctly. With a forehoof she pulled Fender in until his snout touched her. "What do you expect? You know I would never hide anything from you." She playfully licked Fender's snout and pecked him a few times before being overwhelmed by a fit of laughter. "I still can't believe it. We are going to have a foal," she whimpered, a tear made its way to her eyes.

@, Autumn Glow's smile grew considerably wider when Fender mentioned her mother's name. "Of course! How could I forgot of gosh I'll have to tell mother and-" Her words were stopped by a sudden bleeping sounds from her vest. "Oh Celestia-damnit, my boss is calling me now. Fender, Winterglade please take care of yourself while I'm gone, would you?" She gave each pegasus another kiss to their cheeks before trotting to the door. "Oh, and stay in this hotel for a while, okay? Don't worry about the rent, all of your expense will be covered by the city council. I will return here as soon as I recovered the rest of your stuff, I'm sure there are some of your stuff left under all that snow. And one more thing, stay the buck away from the avalanche. See you later!" With that said, Autumn Glow galloped out of the hotel. Not too far away, she was joined by other pegasi with similar attires. Winterglade tried to say farewell, but soon gave up as the older mare disappeared into the horizon. She sighed. "She's always in a hurry to somewhere... Heheh, looks like our foals will have one heck of an aunt," she chuckled and sat near Fender. The explosive morning call had made her unable to continue her sleep. "Y'know... Before this I want to tell her that Luna visited us, as some sort of bragging rights between siblings, but I figured she would ask a lot of things and soon she would found out about Springsteps and her ruby," she sighed and nuzzled Fender. "Do you still have the nightmare?" she asked, a bit worried.

@, "What? Snow machine!? You mean all those ponies died for-" Autumn Glow fumed, but soon grew calm. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Foal? You mean, you two..." she pointed a hoof to Winterglade, the white mare merely nodded and grinned. Autumn Glow was a silent for a moment before yanking both Fender and Winterglade into a brief group hug. "You are having a foal! Congratulations, both of you! Oh gosh have you picked a name yet? When did you visit the maternal doctor?" Winterglade chuckled and waved a hoof aside. "It's not a doctor, a... close friend of Fender visited. She was an unicorn, and she knows a spell that can look inside of me. So yeah," Winterglade threw a side glance on Fender and mouthed, 'Don't tell her about the princess and the ruby.'

@, Winterglade snapped into awareness as soon as she heard her sister's name. Blearily she slipped off the bed and walked to the door, nearly knocking herself senseless into a wall. She peeked her head to the living room, vaguely aware of the cerulean blob hugging a grey blob. She shook her head to focus her eyes out. "Au-Autumn? Why are you here?" Autumn Glow herself was quick to pull Fender into a tight hug. She instinctively kissed his cheeks, just to ensure that she wasn't hallucinating. "Oh Fender you are okay thank you Luna..." She quickly released and Fender and dashed to her still half-awake sister. "Winterglade! You are alright!" She promptly kissed Winterglade right in the lips a few times, despite the panicked kicking hooves of the younger mare. Winterglade tried to escape, but Autumn Glow was too strong. "I'm... fine!" Winterglade yelled out. She pushed Autumn away with both of her forehooves. "And why do you have to kiss me? Eugh..." Autumn Glow finally released Winterglade, who promptly dashed away. She blushed and scratched behind her head sheepishly. "Sorry! I'm just so worried about both of you. I thought I would never see you two again, and... What happened? There shouldn't be any snow on the mountain this year, the Vanhoover weather team won't tell us anything." She looked at Fender, as if asking for a clue.

@, Winterglade held back a giggle and playfully smacked Fender with one wing. "What? You can't blame me for having a sweet tooth! It could be the foal speaking." She nuzzled the stallion and briefly licked his nose. "Besides, you also had a plateful. Don't say that you didn't enjoy all those cheese... I guess we are calling it a day now?" she asked. The day is still young, but somehow she was tired enough to feel sleepy. Holding back a yawn, Winterglade followed Fender to the bedroom. She waited until Fender was comfortable before joining him on the bed. Now that she was positively pregnant, she didn't feel the need to push Fender. She was quick to fall asleep while curling up next to her husband. "Good night..." ... The blissful sleep was abruptly cut short as deafening knocks broke the silence of the room. Winterglade slowly stirred awake, her belly facing upward, and cursed all the living hell of whoever knocked their door this- she turned at the window -early. It wasn't even sunrise yet. She rolled about and snuggled herself deeper into Fender, but the knocks were still too loud. With an exasperated sigh she rose and stretched her back. "Who could be so rude!? The sun isn't even up yet oh Celestia... Fender, you awake yet?" she nuzzled her husband. "Can we kick this pony's flank? I want to sleep again," she whined, eyes pleading. Behind the hotel's door, a certain cerulean pegasus was pacing back and forth. Ten hours ago, she was summoned by her superiors to assist in the searching team for any survivors under the Vanhoover's disastrous avalanche. She didn't even stay there for any briefing, she quickly rushed ahead everything and flew straight to the villa where her sister and her husband should be spending their honeymoon. In her panic she had forgotten to carry most of her equipments. Needless to say, her day was a very chaotic one. "Oh Luna... Please be okay, please be okay," Autumn Glow repeated the mantra over and over again, and stopped only to knock at the door as hard as she could without waking up the entire hotel. She was wearing a crude protection vest and a helmet, both were at a bad condition due to her digging up the snow recklessly. A few minutes ago she had been informed that Winterglade and Fender had taken residence in this hotel, she dearly hoped that it was true. "Winterglade, are you in there?" she yelled to the door.

@, Winterglade pouted and rolled around to right herself up. She knew she couldn't take her alcohol but it wasn't exactly something silly. "Come on! It's not like the foals would be from my blood alone. You'll be responsible for half of the foals" she stuck out her tongue. "And even if I can drink alcohol, I would rather not to... I don't want our foals to come out wrong. Starting now, I'll eat healthy stuff!" she exclaimed, raising a hoof in emphasis.

@, "You shouldn't worry about the crib..." Winterglade closed her eyes and returned the kiss lovingly. It was a new experience to her, kissing while pretty much upside down from Fender's lips. She ended up moaning a bit louder than usual. "Ummh... I love you to, Fender." Winterglade continued exchanging tongue with her husband for a few more minutes before she finally pushed Fender back to caught her breath. "Phew... I guess it makes sense now. I've been having some random urges for sweet and salty food." She looked down at her tummy and poked at it twice. The thought that a new life resided inside her made her chuckle.

@, Winterglade laughed heartily as Fender showered her with kisses. She pawed at his chest and nuzzled him. "Oh you... I'm glad to hear that you're doing fine," she sighed and rolled around to lie down, resting her head on Fender's lap. "You should be proud. Princess Luna told us that I've been pregnant for about a week or two now, which means it's one of our late-night session that..." her words trailed, she started to blush. "I can't wait!" she suddenly exclaimed and jabbed at Fender's stomach.