A Little Problem

Calla smiled warmly as she gently urged the colt out the door.

"The papers jsut make it easier for hospital bills, schooling, and... will stuff. For the future," she said. "Really, anypony could take a foal into their home, but until the papers are filled out, you're not legally recognized as our son, so..."

She shut the door and looked at her two stallions.

"Well," she said finally, "are we ready?"

Brawny Hooves looked at his family. He loved thinking about that. His family. he honestly didn't care much for his parents, but he liked this family. His wife, his colt, and soon to be born filly. It was rather heartwarming. He was both creating new life, and supporting young life. And he was enjoying it.

"I'm ready. You ready, Kid?" Brawny looked down at his soon to be son. Brawny still wasn't sure he'd be a great dad, but so far, he's been doing pretty well

This day was going to be perfect, the kind of day of which he'd dreamed since he was small. With everypony gathered 'round. He could barely contain his excitement as he nodded when asked if he was ready to go.

"A family, a family~" Kid sung to himself in his head. "I'm finally going to have a family~ We'll have picnics, and..."

Thats when Kid realized he didn't know anything about having a family.

"Uhhh...when we're a family...what exactly will we do...?" Kid asked confused, disappointed in himself for not already knowing this.

Calla shrugged.

"I don't really know. I guess we just learn by experience. I would know, but my parents died in an avalanche when I was five, so I don't really remember much "family time." Instead of getting adopted, I was accepted into Princess Celestia's School, so I didn't spend a lot of time doing... family stuff."

She thought for a moment.

"We could have a picnic in the Whitetail Woods," she suggested. "I like that idea. We can stop by the stall and get some food after we finish the paperwork, and then we can go eat. How does that sound?"

Brawny Hooves thought for a moment. He didn't spend much time with his family. He generally played guitar by himself and not participating in family activities. Besides, he really didn't care much for them. He didn't know why, though. Maybe because he was babied a lot and it got annoying.

"That sounds like a great idea. A picnic in Whitetail. Come to think of it, I am pretty hungry for some reason. Let's get the papers filled out so we can eat, shall we?"

Kid loved the idea of being with his family! what he didn't love was the idea of eating again. He was still overly full, and the idea nauseated him. Still, he did hear that picnics were fun! Perhaps he'd see if he couldn't sneak off and feed his lunch to the local wildlife.

"Alright! That sounds like fun!" Kid smiled as he hugged Brawny and Lily again, then winced due to the pain that came rushing back. Seemingly worse now than before.

"Argh!" Kid shouted in pain as hey crumpled on the ground in pain, incapacitated by the sheer amount of pain shooting through his body. It took a mere half of a minute of dealing with the pain for him to black out.

Calla gently picked up the unconscious Kid and put another painkilling spell on him. It hurt her to see him like this, but...

"Let's wait a bit," she suggested to Brawny, slipping the colt over his back. "We can't take him to the office like this, and his next doctor's appointment is next month."

She settled awkwardly into the grass in front of their home, laying awkwardly around her belly. She gently put a hoof on it, beckoning for Brawny to sit next to her.

Brawny Hooves laid next to Calla. It really worried him how Kid just collapsed and passed out from the pain. He would need a lot of nursing to even hug him. Poor guy. But then again, what could you expect when you pick up a malnourished colt who's bones were broken by a guard pony? Brawny laid on his side and looked at Calla. Her belly was very noticeable. It was weird that she was carrying her filly in there.

"How's Nikki doing? I hope she's alright. We've worked hard to make her." Brawny chuckled a bit at his somewhat perverted remark. Can't say he was wrong. "When do you think she's due?"

Kid's face was a twisted painting of pain as he laid on the bed, Lily's spell doing nothing to dullen it. If that wasn't bad enough, his body went into shock. He began having spasms. His body and limbs flailing about as he continued through it.

"She's due next month, Braw-"

Calla stopped, staring at Kid's convulsing body.

"Oh, Faust! Come on, we're going early. We need to get him taken care of, now!"

She put a hoof on Brawny and the other on Kid, teleporting them to the Hospital.

"My stars," the nurse at the front said, jumping to her feet. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Calla said, shaking with fear for Kid. She loved him beyond words, and she couldn't bear to see him in pain like that. It hurt her inside.

Brawny Hooves's sweet smile turned into fear when he saw Kid spazzing out. Before he could react he was teleported to the hospital. This happened a few months ago when he first met Kid. Only he was with his pregnant wife this time instead of that random stallion that the doctors assumed was his partner. He looked at the nurse.

"We were going to officially have him adopted, then he was in serious pain and went into shock. She tried the painkilling spell, but it didn't work."

Brawny was panicking at the fact that Kid was in serious trouble right now. He loved Kid to death. He was just hoping the death part wouldn't come for a long time...

Kid's convulsions had been getting less violent as the nurses picked him up and rushed him off towards the emergency room. They quickly looked him over and did everything they could to restore his bodily functions and remove the pain.

During this time, they utilized a new form of medication/cream on his bones. This would speed up the healing process, despite Kid's nutrient intake. They also took the time to repair a rib bone that was not treated the first time that he was in the hospital.

It took a few hours, but when it was done. Kid was sleeping calmly in the hospital bed. Getting the best sleep that he ever had in...possibly ever.

The doctors came out and spoke to Lily and Brawny after the surgery. They informed them of everything that they did, as well as tips on how to prevent it the next time. They also reported a strangeness in Kid's body. Nothing obviously harmful, though it was curious.

"What's wrong with him?" Calla asked the nurses timidly. "What did we miss the first time?"

She wiped the sweat that had been running down her fur for the past three hours from her face. She was sure it wasn't good for Nikki, all the stress, but she felt nothing bad, down in that region. Wait...

She cringed from the pain in her stomach, wincing until it faded.

"False alarm," she muttered. "I hope..."

While a month in adavnce wasn't too bad, the foal would still be a premee, and she didn't want it to happen.

"C'mon..." she whispered. "Stay in a little longer, Nikki..."

Brawny Hooves was worried for Kid. He prayed that he would be alright. The doctors better keep him safe, or they better figure out how to operate on themselves...

While Brawny was getting violent thoughts about the doctors not being able to save Kid, Calla was feeling pain in her stomach. Must have been Nikki getting ready for her arrival. He was hoping this wouldn't happen. She needed to wait another month. Brawny held her stomach and spoke in the softest voice he could, hoping he could calm her down, and it was just a false alarm.

"Just stay calm Calla. Take deep breaths. Everything will be fine." He gently rubbed her belly, as if he was actually able to touch his filly. He couldn't wait to be able to hold her in his hooves, but he had to for her safety. "You calm down too Nikki. Just stay inside of mommy for a little bit longer." He then kissed her belly and hugged both it and Calla. "I hope my little girls and my little boy are okay."

Kid continued to lie in peaceful comatose.

[[Didn't know what to post, sorry!]]

Calla calmed the stirring in her stomach, settling down and breathing hard.

"Are you alright?" the nurse asked.

"I'm fine," Calla assured. "Can... Can we go see Kid, now?"

"What is your relationship with the patient?" the nurse asked, sounding bored.

Close enough.

"We're his parents," Calla fibbed.

The nurse looked uncertainly at them, but finally led them into the emergency wing.

Brawny Hooves looked at Calla. They both knew they weren't his parents yet. But they would be fairly soon, and they might as well have been. They cared for him for months, and they were almost a family already. They may have told a little lie, but it was close enough to the truth.

Brawny took Calla to Kid's room. He seemed to be getting better, but he looked like crap. The doctors better make sure he comes out fine, or at the very least alive. He would have communicated or interacted with him, but he was out cold, and with his state, that could be dangerous.

"How's he looking? Think he'll be getting any better?"

Still out cold, Kids body appeared to warp in front of his "parents" eyes. Now appearing to become smaller in terms of weight and height. Now nearly same height as a baby. (Similar height as the Cake's babies in Baby Cakes, smaller weight)

"A side effect with the serum we used..." The doctor who operated him sighed as he looked up at Lily and Brawny. "Don't worry, it shouldn't affect him...or hurt him in the slightest."

"Though you should be careful when it's windy out...." The doctor said as he began writing some things down on a clipboard. "I know it might sound like i'm kidding, but i'm not. His bone marrow is extraordinarily light and he has absolutely no fat or muscle on him...even less now. I suggest getting one of those children leash things...but then you might be using him like a kite."

Turning to leave, the doctor froze in his tracks and turned around to speak to Brawny and Lily again.

"Oh, and, I hope you're proud. Your child will be the envy of elderly Canterlot mares." The doctor said as he turned around. "And by that I mean, he isn't aging...not in the slightest...I hope you weren't hoping for grandchildren from this one!"

With that, the doctor left to attend to other patients.

Calla couldn't believe the nerve of the doctor. To leave them hanging on by a thread like that...

"Hey!" she yelled, not even bothering to run after him with her swollen belly, "come back! We're not done with our questions! We never gave permission for you to use a serum! You're supposed to explain side affects before you operate! You could have told us this earlier! We can sue! We can get you fired! I happen to be connected to the royal palace!"

Tired of ranting, she slumped into the chair next to his bec chair and wiped her brow.

"Faust damnit!" she cursed. Gently, she strokes his mane back with her hoof, careful not to hurt him. "Brawny, he's going to be a colt forever. How will we know if he's aging? Will he ever die?"

She deflated like a balloon.

"We have to take legal action for this. It's illegal by Equestrian law to operate on a foal and use a serum like that without notifying the parents or guardians beforehand!"

Brawny Hooves looked at the doctor trot away. He screwed over their colt without any warning? He wanted to destroy him. But suing him and taking his money would be even better revenge. Why give them the satisfaction of death when they could take everything he owns because he infinitely paused the life of his colt?

Brawny sat next to Calla, comforting her again. He was just as angry as her, but he tried his best not to let it show. He hated being angry. Especially with his family in the room.

"Don't worry Calla. We're gonna get everything he owns for this. Oh Faust, my colt will never become a stallion. At least he'll be our little baby forever." Brawny smacked himself for joking in a moment like this. It was just so tempting.

"So, what do we do about him? Do we just care for him like he's a baby forever?"

Kid's eyes fluttered open as he awoke with a yawn. Looking over towards Lily and Brawny he smiled, then gave them a confused look.

"...Where are we...?" He asked as he looked around, his voice higher and more youthful sounding than before. When he looked at himself, he let out an audible gasp. "W-wasn't I larger before...? What happened!?"

Kid began looking at himself and feeling a lot lighter. Confused out of his mind, he looked back at Lily and Brawny, hoping for an answer.

"Am...I smaller...or am I imagining things..." Kid asked as he poked his now tiny and thinner body over and over.

Well, at least he stayed at his body's mental state.

"Hey, Kid," Calla said quietly. "We're in the hospital. You collapsed when we were off to the Town Hall."

She looked anxiously at Brawny, then back at Kid.

"The doctors made some changes to you to keep you healthy--mind you, it was without our permission--that are... permanent and strange."

She frowned, completely furious at the Ponyville Hospital.

"Well, first, you aren't going to age. Ever. Whether or not you're immortal, I have no idea, becuse the bucking doctors wouldn't tell me anything. Second, somehow, they shrank you. I don't know why, but I need you to listen to me if you don't want to blow away in the wind."

She knew she had cursed in front of him, but she was mad enough to rip that doctor to shreds, and she didn't really care about censoring her language.

"You need to start eating a little more, okay? I know it's hard, and it makes you sick--don't lie to me, mister--but if you don't, you're going to die. There's nothing besides skin and bone in your body. You have to eat."

Brawny Hooves looked at his infuriated wife and his emaciated son. Why couldn't they catch a break today? Brawny looked at Kid, hoping he could convince him as well.

"She's right, Kid. You're nothing but bones. And you're so light a breeze could blow you away. Hay, if you held your breath, you'd probably get buried." That was a sick and terrible joke for Brawny, but it got the point across at least. "Point is, we care for your health. Just because you're forever young, doesn't mean you're invincible. You need to eat, buddy."

Brawny clenched his hoof, wanting to send that doctor into the next dimension. He made his future son a baby forever. At least it wasn't mentally. That would have been annoying.

"Even though you're going to be like this forever, we still love you. We will still care for you. Just don't beat yourself up like this." Brawny was a bit worried about when Nikki would be born. Her older brother would still be the size of a foal when she would be all grown up. That would be a bit odd.

Kid didn't know what to say. His face went completely blank. No aging, he shrank and he would blow away in the wind? how was that even possible?

"You know...maybe I could try eating a bit more..." Kid sighed as he looked towards Lily and Brawny. Mustering up a weak smile. "Now, before we discuss this any further...can we leave? I don't like it here..."

Kid moved to get up and hop off the bed, but he saw how much larger of a drop it was and scampered backwards a bit, falling on his plot. The bed, the drop, EVERYTHING was enormous now. A "little detail" he managed to forget. Eyes widening as he eyed the large drop, and his now enormous parents.

"I...th-think I might need a little assistance..." Kid squeaked out of fear of the drop. "...please?

Calla gently used her levitation to bring Kid down to the floor. She couldn't support her weight on two legs, now, and it was slightly embarassing. Gently, she set the colt on his hooves and got to her own.

"I think we need to check out, but we will be out as soon as possible, and we'll go make the adoption official," she said.

Having to help Kid get off the bed was incredibly heartbreaking. He was so small and weak. It hurt to watch him go, almost more than when he could barely move from the pain.