And Marshmallow Makes Three

[Smitty91 57]

And Marshmallow Makes Three

 

Chapter 1: Little White Skunk 

 

   Fluttershy exhaled as she stood in front of her door. She wasn't usually one to venture off out of the comfort of her home unless it was absolutely necessary, like if she needed something or if she just wanted to visit her friends and see what they were up to, although more often than not they dropped by her house to see what she'd been up to as of late. She turned and smiled at Angel, her pet bunny who gave her a worried look. She walked over to him and patted him on the head. "I'll be back soon. I shouldn't be gone long."

   And with that, she opened the door and prepared to go outside, only she was stopped when she noticed something on her doorstep. She leaned down and gasped upon seeing what appeared to be a little white creature nestled in a little basket, comfortably wrapped up in a bright blue blanket. Looking down she noticed that the creature had a striped tail, and being that skunks were the only animals that she could think of that had striped tails, she concluded that the creature must have been a white skunk. But as to why it was on her doorstep, she didn't know. Carefully, she searched the basket but could find no note or anything that would answer her question as to why the skunk had been dropped off at her home. She supposed she should have answered the door earlier when she heard a knock, but she had dismissed it, thinking it only to be the wind. 

   Just to be sure, she looked around the area only to discover that no other person was in sight. She looked back down at the baby skunk and smiled sweetly at it while it merely sucked on its thumb. Taking the handle in her mouth, she turned back and entered her house, shutting the door with her hoof before setting the basket down. The others were going to have to wait. 

   She pulled back the blanket to reveal the skunk's upper and lower body. From here she could get a closer look at the skunk. The skunk was clearly female. One oddity about the skunk was that she was completely white, although she did have silver-gray stripes, starting at the base of her nose and running all the way to the tip of her tail, splitting at her upper back and reconnecting at the base of her tail, only for them to get separated once again. There was a tuft of silver-gray fur on top of her head. She had gorgeous golden brown eyes and a black, albeit small, nose. 

   The skunk suddenly gripped one of its feet with both paws and began sucking on her toes. Fluttershy took this to mean that the skunk was hungry and began looking around in her kitchen for anything that could be edible for the tiny skunk. Luckily, she had a nice collection of baby bottles for when she was nursing her woodland critters friends back to health. Better yet, she had a jug of milk in her fridge. Unfortunately, she would have to heat up the milk via her stove. Thankfully, Angel helped her with pouring the milk in the bottle and getting other materials that she would need, such as a pan. Doing any kind of work with hooves was hard enough. 

   The fire from the burner lit up in a dark shade of blue and yellow before settling and hovering underneath the pan, heating up the milk that was in the baby bottle. The baby skunk watched the bottle curiously, sucking on its thumb while sitting on Fluttershy's back, the only place the yellow pony thought she would be safe. She didn't want to run the risk of the child getting hurt. 

   She yelped and jumped upon feeling a sudden tug at her pink mane. She looked up to see the white skunk snuggling with it and she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure what it was, but she, for whatever reason, felt a strong connection witht the child. She felt a strong connection with all of the creatures she looked after, but unlike all the others who would eventually scurry off back into the wilderness, she knew that this one was different. She couldn't just let her scamper off after a hot meal. If no one was going to look after the baby, then she would. 

   "Hmm," Fluttershy pondered, "I suppose if I'm going to be looking after you, you'll need a name." She turned her head so that she could look at the child; luckily for her, the baby skunk was doing most of the work by leaning forward and turning its head so that they were eye-to-eye. "Now let me see . . ." Her face scrunched up in concentration until her eyes lit up and a smile crept upon her face. "How about Marshmallow?" She paused to glance at the child's reaction, only to see that there was none. "Would you like to be called Marshmallow, because you're all white?" She got her answer by the child laughing and she gently nuzzled the skunk's nose with hers. "I guess it's official then." 

   At long last, the bottle was warm enough to be consumed. Once she had turned off the burner and retrieved the bottle, Fluttershy set Marshmallow in her lap and proposed the bottle to her. Almost instantly, the baby snatched the bottle and began sucking on the nipple, a warm smile coming across her face as she drank. Fluttershy gently rocked her back and forth, humming a merry little tune to keep the baby calm and to make it feel more comfortable. The skunk's tail curled up and began stroking Fluttershy's side, making the pony giggle with delight in response. She lowered one hoof and used it to tickle the skunk's somewhat distended belly and the child smiled up at her. Fluttershy didn't feel like she was going to let the skunk scurry off anytime soon. 

 

***

 

   Fluttershy jumped and spun around in mid-air. Given that she wasn't expecting any visitors, she was quite taken aback to see Rainbow Dash entering her house. Couldn't she have at least bothered to knock? If she had, Fluttershy must have not heard her. 

   "Where have you been all day?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "We've been waiting on you for half an hour."

   "Oh, sorry, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy apologized. "I, uh, kind of got . . . a litle distracted." 

   "What do you-" The iridescent pony suddenly stopped and looked down to see an albino baby . . . something or another cuddling with one of her hooves. "What is that?" Her head shot up at Fluttershy, demanding an answer, her other hoof that was being cuddled with pointed at the baby skunk. 

   "Well, it's a baby-"

   "Yes, I can see that."

   "It's a baby skunk."

   Rainbow Dash blinked. "You'll let anything in your house, won't you?"

   "Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash. I can't just kick her out in the middle of the forest. She has no one to look after her." She brought the baby skunk over to her, much to the child's content, she could see. 

   "Well," Rainbow Dash looked down at the floor, "I suppose you're right. So," she slowly lifted her head, "no picnic with us this afternoon?"

   Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm afraid not. But, I will need to pick her up a few things. I get the feeling she's going to be staying with me for a while. If you and the others won't to come up with, that'd be fine."

   "Shopping?" Rainbow Dash blinked. She snorted. "You'd have a better chance of getting Twilight to go a whole day without reading or to get Pinkie Pie to go on a diet or-"

   Fluttershy chuckled. "I get that shopping is more Rarity's department than anypony's, but, it won't be so bad."

   "Who's gonna watch the kid while we're doing all of this?"

   "Spike did a decent job watching my pets while we were facing down that big, scary dragon. Maybe he'd like to look after her."

   "You're going to entrust a dragon, who's a baby no less, with a baby?"

   Fluttershy blushed. "Now that you mention it, it does sound somewhat silly, doesn't it?" 

   "You could probably get Mr. and Mrs. Cake to watch her. Or, better yet, Princess Celestia."

   Fluttershy shook her head at this suggestion. "No, Princess Celestia has too much to focus on with her being a princess and all, but maybe the Cakes wouldn't mind watchig her. I'd ask Pinkie Pie given that she's had some experience with baby-sitting, but we all now how distracted and hyper she is." She shook her head. "Bad idea."

   "Well, think of somepony fast, 'cause I'm hungry." 

   Fluttershy blinked. "You didn't eat anything before coming over here?"

   "It's only a five-second flight."

   Fluttershy blushed once again, forgetting how fast her friend could fly. "Right. Sorry."

   Rainbow Dash grinned. "Ah, don't worry about it. I'll leave you alone so you can figure out what to do with the kid. I'll see you around, okay?"

   Fluttershy smiled and gave a nod. "Right." She watched in amazement as Rainbow Dash took off like a cannon. She watched her friend until the rainbow streak flowing behind her was out of sight. However, she wished that Rainbow Dash would have stayed given her current dilemma: finding someone to watch Marshmallow while she and the girls went shopping. 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Sleeping Troubles 

 

   "Go to sleep," Fluttershy pleaded. "Please? Pretty please?" Instead of obeying her pleas, the child only continued to wail, kicking her stubby, chubby legs. The yellow mare let out a stressed sigh. She was at her wit's end. She had tried everything: feeding, holding, cuddling, rocking. The child simply didn't want to go to sleep. Perhaps she should do something like reading to her in order to make her fall asleep. Oddly enough, the milk hadn't had any effect on her. The child was still as active as ever, much to the mare's distress. "Please go to sleep." She rocked the basket back and forth in hopes that the tranquil rocking would lure the child to sleep. She had yet to get the child a crib or a substitute such as a cradle. She would be able to get all the necessities tomorrow when she went shopping with the girls. 

   She sighed and picked the child up in her hooves, holding her out. She looked at the child as she continued to cry. "What do you want me to do? Hmm? What do you want?" She received no answer, only more crying. "Hmm, I wonder . . ." She set the child over her shoulder and gently patted her back. After only a few seconds the child let out a soft burp and all fell silent. She smiled to herself, holding the child out again. "There? All better? Now will you go to sleep?" She set the child back down into the basket and covered her up. "Now, get some sleep, okay? We've got a big day tomorrow." She suddenly stopped as she headed off towards her bed, remembering that she had yet to find anyone to watch after the baby as she and the girls went out shopping. 

   She shook her head. She would figure something out. She hopped into bed, snuggling into her covers, Angel curled up by her side as always. The rabbit didn't like sleeping alone. Like a dog, he preferred sleeping with his owner. She smiled down at him and she gently stroked his head before closing her eyes and beginning to fall asleep, Marshmallow's soft breathing filling the room. 

 

***

 

   Fluttershy woke up in the middle of the night, quite baffled that Marshmallow hadn't stirred all night. While she was new to parenting, she was sure that the child should have woken up at one point in the night, needing to be fed or changed or . . . something! Worried as to why the child hadn't stirred all night, she went over and gently nudged Marshmallow. The baby didn't react. Okay, don't panic just yet, she thought to herself. She studied the baby's chest and noticed that it wasn't rising and falling. Naturally, this got her concerned. She lifted a hoof and felt around on the baby's neck until she found the spot where the pulse should have been. Only, there was none. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Marshmallow, hoisting the child onto her back and bolting out of the cottage, waking up Angel in the process. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, being careful not to let Marshmallow slip off in the process. 

   She thought about where she could go. If anyone would know what to do, it would definitely be Twilight. Oh, but she didn't want to bother Twilight, especially when it was so late in the night. The hospital was her best option. Surely the hospital would be open. They had to be. They were open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, weren't they? Sure they were! 

   Her baby wasn't breathing! She had to do something, anything. If only she'd gone and asked Twilight for a book on parenting, she wouldn't have been dealing with this dilemma. She would know what to do and wouldn't be belting towards the hospital so early in the morning. Nonetheless, even if she did know what to do, she figured she would still have to get emergency help anyway. 

   In spite of the fact that she was hurrying towards the hospital, she yelled for somepony, anypony, to help her, screaming that her baby wasn't breathing and she needed emergency assistance. Nopony came to help her. If they did, she probably couldn't see them properly due to the fact that her eyes were swimming in tears, making it hard to see. It was a miracle that she hadn't crashed yet. She didn't know what was wrong with her. After all, she barely knew the child and yet she was calling it "her baby." Why? She and the child had only known each other for a couple of hours, and even then their bond wasn't that strong. Still, she had an oath to keep, an oath to help others in need, even if she didn't know them very well. She was certain that her friends would do the same. 

   She suddenly stopped, realizing that she was still running. What am I doing, she asked herself. Her wings flew open and she took to the skies, soaring past the fluffy clouds, the wind stinging her eyes, making it all the more difficult to see properly through her tears. Luckily, her wings acted as a shield to protect her baby from falling off and falling to her death. She was at least thirty feet or more in the air and a fall from any height would do untold damage to the baby, and that was the last thing she wanted. The wings seemed to be keeping her firmly in place, so her fears were, for the most part, dashed. 

   By flying, she was able to reach the hospital much faster than had she just walked. She burst through the emergency entrance and thrust Marshmallow onto the counter, panting, trembling with trepidation. Breathlessly, she tried her best to explain the situation and the nurse immediately took the white skunk and began walking down a hallway that had various rooms on either side. Fluttershy followed her, only to be stopped by the nurse and told that she had to wait in the waiting room. Unfortunately, the yellow mare didn't take this too well and demanded that she be allowed to stay in the room as her baby to ensure that her baby would be all right. While the nurse reassured her that her baby would be fine, this didn't help to convince her. Continuously she pleaded to be let in the room to watch over the operation so she would know what to do if the event should occur again, and to know what was wrong with her baby. Sadly, her demands were not met and she had to forcefully dragged to the waiting room while she kicked and screamed for them to let her watch over her baby. 

   Minutes later, she sat in the waiting room, a cup of water in front of her and a warm light green blanket draped over her body to keep her warm. One of the doctors that had dragged her to the room sat in front of her for two reasons. One, to make sure she didn't try to get in the room where her baby was being held. Two, to reassure her that everything would be all right. His words so far were having no such effect. She had yet to drink from the cup of water that he had given to her. She sat, still trembling, her mind overwhelmed with worry and fear of what was wrong with her baby. She whimpered and allowed a stray tear to fall from her eye at the thought that her baby might be dead. But how? She didn't know. She had never heard of someone just dying during sleep from some unknown cause. 

   She jumped as she heard the door to the waiting room hit the wall and she looked up to see all five of her friends entering the room, Rainbow Dash leading the pack, the rainbow streak that flowed behind her leading them even if they couldn't completely see her. The doctor who sat in front of her turned his head to look at them and he realized that they were friends of hers based on the surprised expression on her face. 

   "What are you guys doing here?" she asked. 

   "Making sure you're all right, dear," Rarity replied. 

   "You were yelling so loud we thought something terrible had happened," Rainbow Dash declared. 

   "Is everything all right, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. 

   The yellow pony shook her head sadly, looking down at her hooves. 

   "What's wrong?" Twilight asked. 

   Fluttershy lifted her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "My baby," she said softly. "Something's wrong with my baby." 

   The others, aside from Rainbow Dash, blinked. "Your baby?" they all asked in unison, all utterly baffled at what was going on. 

   "Rainbow Dash, what in the Sam Hill is she talking about?" Applejack demanded, gazing up at her friend. 

   "You didn't tell them?" Fluttershy asked. 

   Rainbow Dash shook her head. "When I went to go check up on Fluttershy about why she wasn't at the picnic earlier today, she was busy watching after one of her forest friends." 

   The others stared at the yellow pony. 

   "What?" Fluttershy asked. 

   "You're not going to get overly attached to this friend, are you?" Twilight asked. 

   Fluttershy blinked. "What do you mean?" 

   "I mean, you're not going to spend all your time looking after it, are you?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

   "Don't call her an 'it,'" Fluttershy demanded, glaring. "'It' has a name." 

   "A name?" Rainbow Dash lifted an eyebrow. 

   "Marshmallow," Fluttershy answered simply. 

   The others snickered, particularly Rainbow Dash. 

   Fluttershy glared. "And just what is so funny?" 

   "'Marshmallow'" Rainbow Dash repeated. "You're kidding me, right?" 

   "Well, I think it's a rather cute name," Fluttershy replied. 

   "But going back to my question," Twilight said. "You're not going to spend all your time looking after . . . uh . . . Marshmallow, are you?" 

   "Well, that depends," Fluttershy replied. "She's just a baby. She needs me. I can't just look after her for one day and then just dump her in the middle of the forest." 

   "So find someone who to look after the kid," Rainbow Dash suggested. "Let her be somebody else's problem." The others, particularly Fluttershy, glared at her. "What?!" 

   Fluttershy shook her head at Rainbow Dash's suggestion. "Oh, no, no, no, no. I could never do that. You guys all know how passionate I am about my work, like Twilight is with studying, or you, Rainbow Dash, with flying."

   "But this isn't going to become a problem, is it?" Rainbow Dash wanted to know. 

   The blanket draped over Fluttershy's body went up and down, indicating that she didn't know the answer. "I don't know. I might just decide to become her permanent guardian." 

   "But, Fluttershy, surely her family is looking for her," Twilight suggested. 

   Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sure they are, but until they arrive on my doorstep, someone's gonna have to look after her, provide for her, take care of her." 

   "And how are you gonna deal with that?" Applejack said. "How are you going to handle it when you have to give the young'un back?" 

   Once again, the blanket heaved up and down. "I don't know. I'm sure Rainbow Dash has already mentioned this to you all, but would you girls mind helping me tomorrow with shopping for her? There are a lot of things I need to get." 

   Applejack smiled. "Of course, sugar cube. We have all afternoon." 

   Fluttershy smiled in return. "Thank you." 

   A sound of somepony clearing their throat got their attention. Upon seeing the doctor, Fluttershy nearly ran over to him and demanded how her baby was doing. "I'm afraid your baby has sleep apnea," he said simply. 

   Though she had no clue what the condition was, Fluttershy still felt her heart drop into her stomach. Based on the distressed look on the doctor's face, she could tell that the condition wasn't anything good. Fear seemed to overwhelm her once again and she took off down the hall, her eyes darting to and fro as she struggled to find the room where her baby was kept in. She spotted it not too far down the hall and she burst through the door. Immediately, a nurse began pushing her out, stating that she shouldn't be in the room and that she had to leave. "I need to know if my baby's all right," she cried. She pushed against the nurse, struggling to get to the bed that her baby was lying in. "I need to know if my baby's all right!!" She jumped backed, caushing the mare pushing her to fall onto her stomach. Seeing her chance, she trotted into the room and looked down at the white skunk lying in the hospital bed before glancing up at the doctors surrounding the bed. 

   Once again, she was dragged to the waiting room where the doctor spoke to her about Marshmallow's condition and what she could do to help. 

   "Your baby's gonna be fine," the doctor stated once Fluttershy had calmed down. "Sleep apnea is simply a sleeping disorder where one stops breathing during sleep. It's mostly prevalent in premature babies. Luckily, there are several things you can do to help." 

   "Like?" Fluttershy asked. 

   "You could try having her sleeping in a different position. For some babies, lying on their backs causes this problem. Try having her sleep on her side, if you can. Though, I should warn you, this can be dangerous. Lying on her side could cause her to roll onto her stomach, and that could cause her to fall into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome." 

   Fluttershy yelped at this and covered her mouth with her hooves. 

   The doctor continued as if there was no interruption. "Other things you could try would be  a breathing mask. Her nasal cavities could be congested. There are a number of things you could try, but all the solutions might not work. You might have to go through a number of them before you find the right one. Here," he handed her a few pamphlets, "read these. They'll help you better understand the condition, as well as list more solutions to the problem. And if there are any futher problems, come see me." 

   Fluttershy nodded to show that she understood. She swallowed hard, clearly trying to fight back her emotions that semeed to be getting the better of her. "May I . . . may I please see my baby now?" She blew her pink mane out of her face, revealing her right eye. 

   The doctor nodded. "Of course." He turned, revealing a nurse pushing a carriage that contained the baby white skunk. 

   Fluttershy instantly grabbed her and held her close, letting out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Celestia . . ." 

   "You should all go home and get some rest," the doctor advised. "You wouldn't want to spend the night in the hospital, would you?" 

   Fluttershy smiled. "Of course not. Thank you, doctor. Please excuse me for my behavior tonight." 

   The doctor shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I have a kid of my own, you know." 

 

***

 

   "I'm so embarrassed," Fluttershy said quietly, looking down at the ground as she walked. Marshmallow was saddled onto her back. She looked at the others out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash flying ahead of them. "Could we please not mention this night ever again?" 

   "Whatever are you talking about?" Rarity demanded. "You have no reason to be embarrassed." 

   "But I acted like a maniac." 

   "No," Twilight replied. "It only shows how much you care, and that's the important thing." She smiled. 

   The yellow mare smiled back. "Thank you, Twilight." 

   Applejack smiled down at Marshmallow. "She really is quite adorable." She nuzzled the white skunk with her nose, watching carefully to make sure that the skunk was breathing. 

   "Really cute," Pinkie Pie added gleefully, hopping. How she could be so perky so early in the morning, the others didn't know. Must have been the sugar she constantly consumed, they reasoned. 

   "Yes," Fluttershy agreed, turning her head to look down at the baby skunk out of the corner of her eye, "and she's my baby." 

   "Are you sure you can take care of a baby?" Twilight asked. "It's a big responsibility, after all." 

   "Oh, I'm sure I can handle it," Fluttershy replied. "It shouldn't be any different than taking care of any other animal I've looked after, right?" 

   "Uh . . ." Twilight mumbled. 

   "You guys wouldn't mind looking after her every now and then, would you?" Fluttershy asked. 

   Applejack smiled. "Course not, Fluttershy. Since me and Rarity have experience with babies, we'd be happy to look after her." 

   "Me?" Rarity questioned. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I don't do diapers." 

   Fluttershy chuckled at her friend's objectiveness. Typical Rarity. 

   "But we'll help out any way we can," Twilight reassured the pegasus. "That's what friends are for, right?" 

   Fluttershy suddenly looked down, a frown on her face. "Are you sure it's all right? I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage." 

   "Nonsense, sugar cube," Applejack replied, smiling. "We'd be happy to help." 

   "But who's going to watch her while we're all out tomorrow?" Fluttershy asked. "I can't leave her at home by herself? And I'm going to need some help renovating my bedroom to make it into a nursery. It's just as well. I barely use it except for guests. I usually sleep on the couch. It's much more comfortable." 

   "We'll find someone, don't you worry none," Applejack replied. She turned to Twilight. "Is Spike busy tomorrow? Or have you given him the day off?" 

   "I'm pretty sure he won't be busy," Twilgiht replied, "what, with us being in town. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with watching her." 

   "And if all else fails," Rarity replied, "you can always have Mr. and Mrs. Cake watch her." 

   "They already have Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. I don't want to burden them with another kid, especially someone else's. Besides, I turned down their offer to babysit for them. No way would they want to babysit for me." 

   "Honey, you're thinkin' too hard about all this," Applejack interjected. "Relax. We'll find someone." 

   Fluttershy smiled. "You're right. I shouldn't be stressing about this so much. She attempted to check on Marshmallow, but turning her neck at such a degree hurt her neck. "Is she all right?" 

   "She's just fine, sugar cube," Applejack replied. "Don't worry. I've got my eye on her. If anything should happen, I know CPR." 

   Fluttershy sighed in relief. "That's good. Maybe you could teach me some time." 

   Applejack nodded. "Of course." 

 

***

 

   It was near dawn by the time Fluttershy got home. Nonetheless, she still wanted to get as much as sleep as she could before she had to go shopping. There was no way the girls would be in the mood to go shopping so early in the morning. They would more than likely head off on their shopping trip a little after lunch, so that gave her all morning and the early afternoon to look for a babysitter. 

   To keep another incident like earlier from happening, Fluttershy allowed Marshmallow to sleep with her. She held the infant close, the baby skunk snuggled warmly within her mane. Of course Angel didn't take too kindly to this and he reluctantly retreated to the foot of the bed and went to sleep, once Fluttershy had used the stare on him in order to get him to obey orders, of course. 

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Shopping for Baby

 

   "Oh, Mr. Piggy, you've been so good to me over these past few years," Fluttershy stated as she stroked her beloved piggy bank with one hoof. "Keeping my bits safe and whatnot, but now it's time to give it all back!" She smashed the piggy bank against the floor, only to find that there was nothing but thin air now among the broken pieces of the pink piggy bank. She frowned. "Oh, no." She jumped and yelped as she heard a sudden knock on her door. Tentatively, she opened the door, just a crack, so that only one side of her face was showing. When she realized it was Rainbow Dash, she opened the door all the way and smiled at the pegasus. 

   "You ready to go?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I want to hurry up and get this over with. Sorry, but I'm not much into shopping. You're lucky I'm even going." 

   The yellow pegasus smiled sweetly. "And I appreciate it very much. Thank you." She leaned forward and gently licked Rainbow Dash's face. 

   "Eck!" Rainbow Dash wiped her face. "Don't ever do that again!" 

   Fluttershy smiled. "Sorry." 

   "So, are you ready to go or what?" 

   Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at the broken remains of her piggy bank. She looked back at her friend. "Sorry, but, no. I don't have any bits to buy anything." 

   "Don't worry about it. We've got it covered." 

   Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no. I could never ask you guys to do that." 

   Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Don't try to talk us out of it. We've already decided. Besides, that's what friends are for, right?" 

   "I . . . I guess." 

   Rainbow Dash. "Great! Now come on! The others are waiting!" 

   "Would you guys mind if I brougth Marshmallow along? Sorry, but I couldn't find a babysitter on such short notice." 

   Rainbow Dash nodded. "I guess that would be okay." 

   Fluttershy smiled as she picked Marshmallow up from her basket, waking her up in the process, and hoisted her onto her back. She walked out of her cottage, making sure that the door was locked before she went any further. She walked below Rainbow Dash, who had to fly slowly due to the fact that Fluttershy walked at such a normal pace. Besides that, she didn't want anything bad to happent to Marshmallow, such as Marshmallow accidentally falling off and hurting herself. Luckily, the child knew well enough to hold on tight to prevent such a thing from happening. 

   Every now and then, Fluttershy would turn her head to make sure that Marshmallow was all right. The child would simply smile at her and she would face forward once again, assured that the white skunk was fine. 

   Eventually, the three of them arrived at the store. At the front entrance the other five were waiting, Pinkie Pie hopping up and down as usual, a giddy expression on her face. 

   "Sorry we're late," Rainbow Dash apologized. "Fluttershy here just had to take her sweet little time." 

   Fluttershy said nothing. 

   "Well, the important thing is that you're here," Twilight stated. "Now, I've compiled a list of things that we need. I've made copies so that we can split up and each get what's required." A series of papers, illuminated by a purple aura, floated out of her saddlebag and floated in front of the others. "We'll meet up for lunch around noon." 

   "Sounds good to me," Applejack said. 

   Twilight smiled. "Okay then. With that said, let's get started." 

   The group walked in the store, each one taking a different path. With Marshmallow, Fluttershy walked down the aisle that contained diapers, pacifiers, baby bottles, baby powder, and baby wipes. The piece of paper that Twilight had given her suddenly fell in front of her eyes. She turned her head and smiled up at the white skunk. "Thanks, Marshmallow." She turned towards the list. "Now let's see . . ." She looked around the aisle. "Everything I need is right here in this aisle. How convenient." She spotted a cart a few feet in front of her to her left beside the shelves containing the diapers. She held one in her mouth while Marshmallow grabbed the items that were needed, dumping them into the crate below. On some instances, the baby had to stand on Fluttershy's head in order to get some items, resulting in a headache for the yellow pegasus. 

   Once Fluttershy had all of her things, she searched for the others to see if they needed help with anything. She spotted Rarity attempting, but ultimately failing, to get a crib down from a high shelf, supported by a ladder somepony was holding steady for her. She finally managed to get the box down, but it landed with a loud thud on the floor. The white unicorn glared down at the box and moved down to the floor. 

   "Oh, Fluttershy," Rarity cried, smiling at the pegasus, "be a dear and help me with this, would you?" 

   Fluttershy nodded and helped Rarity load the box into her cart. "Have you seen the others?" 

   "I think I saw Rainbow Dash helping Applejack get some baby food," Rarity replied. "Walk with me?" 

   Fluttershy smiled. "Of course." 

   The two of them walked down a few aisles before spotting Rainbow Dash tossing a few jars of baby food into Applejack's cart, the two treating it like a game, as if the task of shopping bored them. After tossing a few dozen jars of baby food in the cart, Rainbow Dash landed by Applejack's side and both looked over what was next on the list. 

   "The next we gotta get is a changing table," Applejack announced. She looked around. "Where the blue blazes are those?" 

   "Aisle eight, I believe," Rarity piped up. 

   The group of four, plus Marshmallow, walked down to the aisle specified and each worked together to look at different changing tables. All of them seemed to agree that one with crates for storing wipes and diapers would be best. The look of the changing table wasn't particularly important to Fluttershy, just as long as it was sturdy to where it could support Marshmallow's weight and had crates where she could store supplies. They finally setlted on an oak changing table that they all felt would go nicely with the interior of Fluttershy's cottage. 

   "Now can we go home?" Rainbow Dash asked once the box was loaded into the cart. 

   "Not just yet, sugar cube," Applejack replied. "We still need a crib, blankets, pillows, and maybe some stuffed animals and toys." 

   "I think Twilight and Spike are taking care of all that," Rainbow Dash remarked. 

 

***

 

   "Okay, next we need . . . blankets," Spike remarked, smiling. 

   "Check," Twilight replied, trotting down a row of aisles before turning into one of them. She observed the different blankets. "Which one do you think she'll like?" She turned her head to look at her number one asssitant. 

   "Does it really matter?" the dragon asked. "I mean, she's a baby. She's not going to care about what blanket she gets." 

   She nodded. "You're probably right." Using her mouth she grabbed a blanket and dumped it in the cart. "What's next, Spike?" 

   The purple dragon observed the list. "Hmm . . . pillows, toys, and a crib." 

   She nodded. "Where are . . ." She turned to see such items resting on the shelves opposite of her. "Oh." She chuckled to herself and began retrieving pillows and various toys and dumping them in the cart. She spotted one crib that she liked and requested that Spike get it down for her. The dragon succeeded in his task, but ended up falling on his back, the box on top of him. The box was lifted of him by Twilight using her magic and dumped in the cart. 

   "Thanks," Spike replied. "Now, can we get some lunch? I'm starving." 

   Twilight smiled. "Sounds good to me. Come on, let's go find the others." 

   The others were located at one of the checkout lanes. They stood in line, each one with their cart packed with baby items. Up ahead, Twilight could see Marshmallow riding on Fluttershy's back, and the thought of Fluttershy giving Marshmallow a pony ride popped into her head and delighted her. One by one, each of them dumped their items onto the counter and the total was tallied up. The total cost came to three hundred bits, a fact that didn't surprise Fluttershy in the list. True to Rainbow Dash's word, though, she and the others collected all of their bits together and handed them over to the cashier before loading their things in their carts again. 

   While the others ate, Fluttershy was left with feeding Marshmallow. Trying to eat while doing this proved to be futile, so she ended up discarding her lunch and concentrated solely on feeding Marshmallow instead. Luckily, Rarity fed her from time to time while she fed Marshmallow, even though Fluttershy looked quite embarrassed about being put in such a position. The others didn't make a big fuss about it and even offered to care for the child once she was done feeding Marshmallow so she could enjoy her lunch properly. She gratefully handed Marshmallow over to Applejack, who held her close and tight, while she went about eating her lunch, which was just as well since Spike and Pinkie PIe weren't done eating. 

   Once lunch was over with, they each walked to Fluttershy's and went about setting up Marshmallow's nursery in a spare bedroom that Fluttershy rarely used. The room was right next to Fluttershy's bedroom and so it would be easier for her to get to Marshmallow in case anything happened. However, at the suggestion that they set up the nursery in the spare bedroom, Fluttershy suggested that they set it up in her bedroom so that if Marshmallow ever stopped breathing in the middle of the night, she could get to the baby and faster. The others agreed that her idea made sense and so they set about setting up the nursery, helping each other put the various furniture together. To keep her occupied and so that she wouldn't get in the way, Spike took Marshmallow down to the first floor and began playing with her, along with Angel. It wasn't long, however, when the others decided to take a break, feeling tired from their constant working, and Fluttershy led them down to the kitchen for some refreshments, which was just as well since Marshmallow began crying upon seeing the yellow pegasus, reaching out for her. The yellow pegasus lovingly picked her up and carried her into the kitchen, setting her down on the floor and asking Rarity to look after her while she got the child something to eat, suspecting that Marshmallow was hungry. 

   The high chair had yet to be built, but this didn't concern any of the others seeing as Marshmallow could easily be fed without it. Spike, being the only one with actual fingers besides Marshmallow herself, offered to feed her and Fluttershy agreed to the idea, seeing that the skunk seemed to get along with him. He had a hard time getting the jar of baby food open and had to have Twilight open it for him. He was taken aback when Marshmallow actually accepted the food that he proposed to her, not expecting her to take it. Fluttershy reminded him that it had been at least an hour and a half since her last meal, so of course she would be hungry. 

   After everything was set up, the others went home and Fluttershy put Marshmallow to bed. The baby skunk seemed to be happy that she finally had a bed and didn't have to sleep in the basket anymore. Still, Fluttershy decided to keep the basket so that it could serve as Marshmallow's bassonet and stroller when the two of them were out for a walk among the residents of Ponyville. Fluttershy gave her her bedtime bottle and went over to her bed. Angel hopped up by her side while she retrieved a book from the shelf above her bed. While she wasn't as enthusiastic about reading as Twilight, one of her bedtime hobbies was snuggling up with a good book and doing a bit of light reading until she got too tired to read another sentence. She set her bookmark down by her side and began reading the last chapter that she stopped on. While reading, she would look up peridoically to make sure that Marshmallow was all right. At least she knew what to do if the child should stop breathing again in the middle of the night, thanks to the many pamphlets she'd read on the topic. 

   At around midnight, she let out a yawn, an early sign that she was growing tired. She placed her bookmark at a good spot to stop reading and she put the book back on the shelf, snuggling under her covers and holding Angel close while she rested her head on the pillow. 

 

***

 

   Fluttershy was actually kind of grateful that Marshmallow had woken her up in the middle of hte night with her wailing. At least she knew that Marshmallow hadn't stopped breathing. She guessed that it had something to do with the fact that she had changed the position that Marshmallow slept in. It seemed to be working so far. Once the railing was down and she picked Marshmallow up, the child calmed down significantly, though she was still letting soft sobs escape her mouth. 

   The two of them went downstairs to the kitchen, the baby skunk holding her bottle limply in her paw. By this time the high chair had been made, but Fluttershy wasn't about to feed her baby food. She guessed that the child wanted a bottle of milk. She set Marshmallow on the counter, taking her bottle and filling it with fresh milk before placing it on the pan on the stove. She stood in front of Marshmallow to catch the skunk if she should suddenly fall. The child simply sat, grinning while she sucked on her thumb, swinging her legs back and forth, the heels of her feet banging against the cabinet doors beneath her. Leaning forward, Fluttershy took a whiff of Marshmallow, to see if the child needed to be changed or not. Her nostrils were met with the somewhat foul stench of urine and she nodded her head, concluding that the child needed to be changed. 

   She waited until the bottle was hot to take it off the stove. This would give her enough time to take Marshmallow upstairs and change her without the bottle losing any of its warmth. The two of them headed back up to Fluttershy's room and Fluttershy gently set Marshmallow down on the changing table, bending down to retrieve wipes, baby powder, and a fresh diaper. She set the items beside Marshmallow. While she skunk happily sucked on her thumb and played with one of her feet, Fluttershy went to work giving her a change. Even if she was new to parenting, she knew how a diaper change was administered. It was common sense, really. Once she wiped down and the wet diaper was disposed of in the diaper pail by the changing table, Fluttershy taped a new, clean diaper on Marshmallow. The child sat up, her diaper rustling audibly as she moved. 

   Fluttershy chuckled and nuzzled her nose with Marshmallow's as she said, "You look so cute." She smiled at Marshmallow and the skunk climbed onto her head and slid down her neck, turning around so that she was facing forward, gripping Fluttershy's mane gently so as to prevent herself from falling off. "Now, let's go get you fed." 

   The bottle was still warm enough to be consumed. She handed it to Marshmallow, who began sucking eagerly while the two of them went back upstairs to the bedroom. Marshmallow climbed into Fluttershy's lap and sucked happily on the nipple of her bottle while Fluttershy held her close, rocking her back and forth. The child looked so happy that Fluttershy couldn't help but smile herself. 

   Marshmallow took her time with drinking the entire bottle of milk, wanting to enjoy it as much as possible. Of course, Fluttershy didn't mind, knowing that it would take a while for the child to drink the whole bottle. Besides, the baby needed more sleep than her. While she only needed three hours of sleep, the baby would need several, so it was no surprise that Marshmallow would sleep for much throughout the day. This wasn't a problem for Fluttershy until she realized that if Marshmallow was sleeping a good amount of the time during the day, then this would prevent her from interacting with her friends as much as she would have liked. She just hoped that her interactions with Marshmallow didn't do any untold harm to her relationship with her friends. She loved them all, but Marshmallow needed her and she couldn't just abandon the baby during its time of need. 

   It took at least a half-hour for Marshmallow to completely drink the bottle of milk, after which she was burped and then placed back in her crib and Fluttershy gave her a stuffed animal to cuddle wtih before she herself turned in for the night. She hoped that Marshmallow wouldn't wake up until morning.    

 

***

 

   Rainbow Dash flew back and forth in her bedroom, her mind clouded with thoughts. She finally stopped, hovering in the air, scowling down at the floor below her. She lifted her gaze and stared at the ceiling in thought. Why does she remind me so much of . . . him, she thought to herself. She had yet to grow comfortable around Marshmallow. Anytime she was around the kid, she was reminded of what had happened the last time she was around someone else's kid, a memory she tried her best to forget about it. She had thought that she had pushed it aside out of her memory, but Marshmallow had suddenly brought it back full force, and she couldn't stop remembering what had happened that fateful night. The only question was, if Marshmallow was left in her care, would it happen again? She hoped not. 

   She glanced down at her bed, where a plate that contained some crumbs of chocolate cake and a empty, stained glass rested: her dinner for the evening. She had needed some comfort after her long day of being near Marshmallow. Being around the skunk, albeit she was very young, frightened her. It did nothing but bring back negative emotions and bad memories. If Fluttershy ever asked her to babysit, she would flat-out refuse. While she hadn't refused to babysit Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, she had made up an excuse to avoid babysitting, not wanting another mishap happening on her part. 

   She shook her head. Now that she thought about it, she realized that it hadn't entirely been her fault; it had merely been an accident, though she supposed that she should've been looking after the child a little more closely. Then again, it had been her first babysitting job and so she was still new to the whole parenting thing. Somehow, she had been able to maintain her patience while feeding and caring for the child, even succeeding in doing a diaper change without any harsh side effects such as her eyes watering or passing out from holding her breath for too long. 

   She groaned and put a hoof to her head. All this thinking was giving her a headache, which unfortunately meant that she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. She sighed and decided that she might as well try to get some sleep, even if she knew right off the bat that she wasn't going to get any. She set the plate and glass down on her bedside table and climbed into bed, the covers bringing her some comfort and warmth, but unfortunately wouldn't ultimately aid her in her quest to get some sleep. 

   She stared up at the ceiling, her mind seeming to become more and more clouded by the minute. She let out a sigh and turned onto her side, her eyes falling on a photo of her and her friends that was taken last summer at Sweet Apple Acres, the ten of them (Spike, Big Mac, Applebloom, and Granny Smith included) just getting together to have  a good time, just for the hay of it. She smled as the memory floated through her mind. Spike had set up the shot, jumping in at the last minute so he could get in the shot. All had had a wonderful time. She frowned, wondering if such good times lay ahead of her and her friends if Marshmallow was included in the bunch. 

   She wondered how Fluttershy was doing with looking after the child. No doubt due to the other night's situation, the yellow pegasus was taking extra caution with Marshmallow to ensure that another incident like that never happened again. She couldn't help but wonder if the others would be helpful in taking care of Marshmallow whenever Fluttershy needed to go somewhere and couldn't take Marshmallow with her. If so, she hoped Fluttershy wouldn't ask her to watch over Marshmallow. Then again, she probably would need to. With how expensive diapers and other baby supplies were, it was common sense that Fluttershy would need to get a job. Given that she loved helping people, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile as she thought about Fluttershy getting a job at the hospital, and Pinkie Pie could also get a job there keeping the patients entertained and upbeat. The two of them would make a great team together. 

   With her worries behind her and a smile on her face, she pushed one hoof underneath her pillow and closed her eyes to go to sleep, no longer fearing that she wouldn't be able to get a good night's rest. WIth such great friends like hers, they were always there to help, even in her subconscious when she couldn't get to sleep.