I feel so good about how this story is turning out. I thank the reviewers and the readers. And of course my wonderful Beta reader.
We rejoin the engaged couple a few weeks after the proposal.
Ditzy felt around with her eyes still closed. She relaxed as she felt the large stallion next to her. She opened her eyes to see that he was still sleeping soundly. With the snow of winter there wasn't much to do on the farm, and he took the opportunity to sleep. Ditzy didn't have to work that day either, but she got up early anyway.
She gently rolled out of the bed, careful not to wake Macintosh. She had a bit of trouble because of the slight bulge of her stomach. Ditzy trotted into the kitchen. She looked through the cupboards, and found a package of mini muffins. She opened the package and happily snacked on the muffins.
Ditzy's cravings had pretty much subsided mostly, but sometimes she still wanted some sort of strange food. She looked out the window: fresh snow covered everything. Ditzy liked the beauty of winter, but she wasn't a big fan of the cold.
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Sugar Cube." She felt Macintosh nuzzle her neck. It took her by surprise that she hadn't heard him get out of bed. She kissed him gently on the cheek.
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve." Ditzy said quietly into his ear. She nuzzled him back. They stood there for a while, looking out the window and enjoying each other's company. Big Macintosh nudged Ditzy’s stomach.
"How you feeling?" Macintosh asked. Ditzy didn't look away from the snowy scene.
"I'm feeling...good. The cravings have stopped." Ditzy said. Macintosh let out a soft chuckle.
"Thank goodness. Ah thought y'all would start askin' for even stranger things." Big Macintosh said playfully. She punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"It wasn't that bad." Ditzy quietly laughed. It had been that bad, she had sent Macintosh a few weeks ago to get some strange food.
"Do Ah have to remind ya of the smoked spinach?" Big Macintosh teased her. Ditzy smiled at the memory: it had been delicious.
"Are you going to go home to see your family?" Ditzy asked.
"Eeyup." Macintosh said his one word catch phrase. "Apple Bloom would be mighty mad at me if Ah didn't come home, with Applejack going to Canterlot for the play again; Ah'd feel bad leavin' her all alone."
Ditzy leaned into him. He looked down at her. "Ya get Dinky a present?"
"Yes...I also got you something too." Ditzy said in a seductive tone.
Big Macintosh grinned. "Y'all gonna give me a hint?"
"Nope." Ditzy smiled back. She loved the downtime she had with Macintosh. Actually, she loved anytime she had with him. She suddenly had the urge to ask him a question: "What should we name him or her?"
"Ah'm partial to Thor the Skull crusher myself." Big Macintosh joked. Ditzy shook her head with a smile on her face.
"I'm serious, Mac." Ditzy reinforced her last statement. Big Macintosh was still chuckling about his own joke.
"Ah know, Sugar Cube. Ah haven't the slightest idea." Big Macintosh admitted. Ditzy sighed; the problem was she didn't have the slightest idea what the foal's name should be either.
"Oh, alright..." Ditzy said. "I wonder if he or she will be a pegasus or earth pony."
Big Macintosh chewed on the new question for a moment. "Ah don't really care. Ah'll love it either way."
"I know you will." Ditzy put her body close to his. She leaned her head on his shoulder. They looked out the window a bit more: a few ponies were starting to come out now. Big Macintosh walked over to the closet in the living room and pulled out a scarf. She slung it around his neck where he would normally would wear his yolk.
"Ah'll be back later." Mac said as he left.
________
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!" Carrot Top called as she burst into Ditzy's home. "And I brought a present for my favorite little filly!"
Dinky, whom had previously been sleeping, bolted out of bed, ran past Ditzy, and right up to Carrot Top.
"Ooooo! A present!" Dinky squealed. Ditzy laughed to herself about her daughter's excitement. Carrot Top smiled at the little filly, and reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a doll. Dinky exploded into excitement.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Dinky could barely get her words out. Ditzy looked at the doll. It was a doll Dinky had wanted for a long time, but it was far out of the price range that Ditzy could afford.
"You're very welcome." Carrot Top said with pride in her voice. Ditzy got a bit closer to Carrot Top.
"How did you afford that?" Ditzy whispered into Carrot Top's ear, so Dinky couldn't hear.
"I got a lot of Hearth Warming business." Carrot Top said happily. "Don't be jealous, I got you something too."
"Awww...Carrot Top, you didn't have to get me anything..." Ditzy replied.
Carrot Top smiled, and pulled something else from her saddlebags. It was a brochure, that displayed a wonderful beach in the tropical southern part of Equestria.
Ditzy looked at it confused, until Carrot Top explained: "I have a time share there, it was a terrible deal, but I still have 3 years left on my contract, so I thought that you and Mac might want to go on honeymoon there."
Ditzy gave Carrot Top a big hug. She and Big Macintosh hadn't even planned on going on a honeymoon, they just couldn't afford it.
"Thank you so much!" Ditzy exclaimed, hugging her friend even tighter.
"You're welcome; I couldn't let my friend get married without a proper honeymoon." Carrot Top explained.
"I feel embarrassed now...all I did was make some muffins." Ditzy said. Carrot Top smiled at this, she would have been upset if her friend had spent any money on her.
"Ditzy, I love your muffins." Carrot Top reassured her friend. Ditzy went into the kitchen to grab the basket of muffins. Carrot Top happily munched on the delectable baked goods. "So...you get anything for Macintosh?"
"Well, it's more of doing something..." Ditzy said with a sly smile and slight blush. Carrot Top almost spit out her muffin laughing.
"Ditzy, you seductress." Carrot Top laughed. Ditzy started to laugh too, Dinky ignored them: she was too busy playing with her new doll.
___________
The cold air filled Ditzy's lungs as she stepped outside, pulling the sled Ditzy had gotten for Dinky for Hearth's Warming. Dinky forced her way around her mother and out into the snow. Unlike Ditzy, Dinky loved the snow, but Ditzy supposed she loved the snow as a filly too. Dinky ran circles around her mother as they walked to the sledding hill.
The sledding hill was large. One end had a relatively gentle slope slowly increasing in intensity of the slope until the other end which had a dangerously extreme slope: rarely any pony went down it, and if they did, more often than not the pony going down got hurt.
Ditzy and Dinky walked up the other side of the hill, where no pony was sledding down. They reached the top after a while: the foal in her slowed Ditzy down a bit. To her surprise Macintosh was there with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were sitting in a long sled, a toboggan
"Come on, Big Mac give us a good kick." Scootaloo demanded. Big Macintosh raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He turned around and gave the back of the toboggan a kick with one leg. The toboggan flew down the hill, leaving the fillies inside squealing.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders toboggan racers, YAY!" The three fillies cheered as the raced down the hill at an alarming speed.
Big Macintosh smiled as he saw them go. Then he noticed Ditzy and Dinky. "Howdy. Y'all want a kick too?"
Ditzy looked down at Dinky, who was shaking her head no. Ditzy said: "No thanks honey."
Dinky sat herself on the sled, and looked up at her mother. "Ride with me mom? Please!"
Ditzy sighed and set herself behind her daughter. She gave a little push and the sled started to gain speed. The cold air blew past them as they continued to gain speed. Ditzy held tightly onto her daughter. Dinky cheered with the excitement of her first sled ride.
The sled slowly came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Dinky hopped around her mother as Ditzy pulled the sled back up the hill. "I wanna do that again!"
Ditzy smiled at the comment: she was glad that her daughter enjoyed the present. They reached the top again, and Dinky saw her friend Twist at the top of the hill. Ditzy was glad when Dinky wanted to ride on the sled with Twist instead of her, she couldn't pull that sled up the hill that many more times. Ditzy gave the fillies a push and they went zooming down the hill again.
She took the opportunity to go over to Macintosh, who was preparing to give the three fillies another kick down the hill.
"Come on, Big Brother, ya can kick harder than that!" Apple Bloom complained. Ditzy was surprised, they seemed to be moving plenty fast before.
"I think we were moving fast enough..." Sweetie Belle chimed in.
"Nah, I agree with Apple Bloom, we could go faster." Scootaloo put her opinion in. Big Macintosh half smiled as he gave them another kick that was about 20% more powerful and the three fillies flew even faster down the hill. Sweetie Belle screamed in terror as the other two cheered with glee.
"Heh, I sure hope that's fast enough for them." Ditzy observed. Macintosh watched the fillies fly down the hill, then they kept on going.
"Ah doubt it. Apple Bloom's friend, Scootaloo, will want to keep on going." Macintosh said plainly. Ditzy looked down the hill to Dinky and Twist. They were having quite the time getting the sled back up the hill.
"You want to go sledding?" Ditzy asked him. He looked at her like she was asking a silly question.
"Ya think we're a bit old for that?" Big Macintosh looked at her seriously.
"Well...I just..." Ditzy stuttered. Macintosh touched her shoulder to calm her.
"Ah was just joshing ya, Sugar Cube, Ah would love to go sledding with ya." Big Macintosh said with a gentle smile and apologetic look. "But we have a problem with a lack of sleds 'round here."
Ditzy looked around for a solution, but couldn't find one. She looked to Big Macintosh for an answer.
"Climb on to my back." Macintosh told her. She fluttered up to his back. "Hold on tight, Sugar Cube."
Ditzy did as he said and held onto him tightly. He broke into a gallop to the end of the hill that had a steep incline. Ditzy's eyes widened as he ran to a spot with a severe slope.
"Mac..." She started to warn him, but he dove on to his stomach and they started to head down the hill. "Oh no."
They shot down the hill at higher speeds then Ditzy wanted to imagine. Cold air zipped by as Ditzy screamed: at first with screams of terror, but slowly melted away to cries of joy. Big Macintosh kept his mouth closed, to keep snow from flying in, but he had a wide smile on his face. They came to a sliding stop at the bottom of the hill.
Ditzy rolled off Macintosh and sighed. "Warn me before you do that next time. The foal could have been hurt."
"It was fun though." Big Macintosh said playfully, standing up.
"Yeah, it was." Ditzy admitted. She walked closely next to her fiancé. She got to the base of the hill and stopped. "Hehe...You think you could carry me up?"
Big Macintosh looked at her, a gentle look on his face. "Of course, Sugar Cube, anything for ya and my foal."
It warmed her heart to hear every time he talked about the foal, even though she knew he loved it and her. She climbed onto his back, and he marched up the hill.
As they reached the top, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were waiting for them. "Can you give us another kick down?"
"Any stronger?" Big Macintosh asked the fillies.
"No, Ah think last time was strong enough." Apple Bloom spoke up, and Sweetie Belle nodded.
"Yeah, last kick was good." Sweetie Belle agreed.
"No! Kick it harder!" Scootaloo said with a crazed look in her eye. This surprised Macintosh, and it was evident on his face.
"You can go it alone Scootaloo." Apple Bloom said. Both she and Sweetie Belle got out of the sled.
"Give it all you got!" Scootaloo said excitedly. Big Macintosh only used one leg, but he used all the power of that leg. Scootaloo was sent flying, not down the hill, but the sled flew straight out into the air, quickly falling into a crash landing.
"That was awesome!" Scootaloo could be heard calling from the bottom of the hill.
___________
The lights dimmed as the Hearth’s Warming Even play began. Ditzy stood next to Macintosh, who looked on with a slight smile on his face. Ditzy loved the Ponyville Hearth’s Warming Eve play. They didn't bother having adults do it, the fillies and colts were just too cute when they did it.
Dinky had a small part in the play, but it was enough for Ditzy to get excited. The play began its usual way, with a few wording mistakes, but it was okay since they were only children. Macintosh chuckled as his own sister playing Pudding Head, walked on to the stage.
All in all it ended up being a very nice play, cute to watch and well done for fillies and colts.
"Y'all did a very nice job!" Big Macintosh congratulated the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who each had played one of the leaders; too bad it wasn't their talent.
Ditzy looked to her own daughter and congratulated her. "You did very well, Muffin."
"Thank you, mommy." Dinky said, as Ditzy nuzzled her. Dinky yawned, it was getting late and it was already past the time Dinky normally stayed awake. Big Macintosh had the three Crusader fillies on his back, half asleep.
"Ah'm gonna take them home, then Ah'll be back, okay, Sugar Cube?" Big Macintosh asked. Ditzy nodded her head, and she walked home with Dinky.
_________
A soft knock came from the door, and Ditzy opened it to see her large fiancé. He gave a soft smile as he entered the home. Big Macintosh was wearing some saddle bags over his body.
"Ah got you a present, Sugar." He said in a happy tone. He pulled a gift wrapped box out of one of his saddle bags. He placed the box in front of her.
"Awww...Mac you didn't have to get me anything." Ditzy said. In truth, she would have been very disappointed if he hadn't gotten her anything, but she would never say that.
"Oh, well Ah guess Ah can return it then." Big Macintosh joked. She laughed, but took the present hungrily in her hooves.
"Now, I didn't say that." Ditzy responded. She undid the bow before tearing into the wrapping paper. She opened the box, once all the wrapping paper was off. She looked inside. It was picture of a house, a nice house, but it didn't seem to have any significance.
She looked up at Big Macintosh confused. "Look under the picture."
She moved the picture over and saw a pair of keys; it didn't clear up any of her confusion.
Big Macintosh sighed with a grin on his face. "Ah bought us a house, Sugar Cube."
Ditzy's eyes widened. She looked down at the picture, then back up at him. "Mac..."
Big Macintosh's face fell. "Oh...ya don't like it..."
"No, I don't." Ditzy smiled. "I love it!"
Big Macintosh sighed in relief. She tackled him in a hug and kiss combo. Another box fell out of his saddle bag. It had a tag that read, "To Dinky" on it. That warmed her heart.
"I'm glad our foal will have a great dad." Ditzy put her head on his shoulder.
"Ah'm glad our foal will have such a strong mom." Big Macintosh responded. The stayed there for a while, enjoying each other's presence, until Ditzy remembered her present.
"I'll be right back, big boy." Ditzy seductively, and he smiled sheepishly back. Ditzy smiled to herself. She very rarely had time to be sexy for Big Macintosh, so she would take the time now. She got to her room and opened a drawer. She pulled a large bow from it.
She took the bow and wrapped it around herself. Then she suddenly felt a hot flash and sick to her stomach, just for a second. As quickly as it came it was gone. She shook her head and finished wrapping the bow. She felt pretty clever at that moment.
She trotted out back out to the living room. "Time to open your present."
Big Macintosh looked at her with a surprised look. He had a sly smile on his face. He stood there for a moment, but then his face dropped. "Ditzy...you're bleeding..."
Ditzy felt confused for a moment, then she felt the warm crimson liquid run down the inside of her rear leg. Her eyes went wall eyed, as she felt faint and another wave of heat. She almost fell over. Big Macintosh picked Ditzy up and put her on to his back.
He ran at full gallop out of the house and over to the hospital that was on the other side Ponyville. Ditzy barely recognized what was going on.
Macintosh burst through the doors. The nurse looked pleased that she had something to do.
"Nurse, we need help." Macintosh said as Ditzy came out of the wave of heat. She felt that she was still bleeding. Big Macintosh carried her to an examining room.
She suffered through several proddings and ultrasounds. She wondered what was wrong with her, but Macintosh was there to comfort her the whole time.
After all the tests, she was left to wait with Macintosh in the waiting room.
"What's wrong with me?" Ditzy asked sadly as she put her head on his shoulder.
"Ain't nothing wrong with you." Big Macintosh reassured her. She was worried about the foal and he was worried about them both. The door to the waiting room opened and the doctor stepped in.
"I'm very sorry to inform you..." The doctor started to say. Ditzy listened to the final few words in horror: "But you've miscarried."
Well, that was a chapter. I know it may be the complete opposite of what you were expecting but everything has a reason.