As for things that had never happened before, until such a time as they did? "Fair enough, I guess," Arlo responded without missing a beat as he continued to support Vega, be she sitting, lying down, standing or pacing. "But you're still not going to spontaneously combust, pop, explode, or whatever you want to call it. This child will be a wonder for all to know, but he or she will still come into the world in the usual way." Immortals willing, though he didn't say it aloud. Arlo had a good case of nerves himself after all, but explosions of that nature were the very least of them.
But just as he'd come to the conclusion that things were proceeding as they ought to, with the exception of the midwife not having arrived just yet, a trio of small, hairy and chatty interlopers turned up. And apparently they were bearing gifts. A book? Or, maybe not a book, but a..."Our names are in that book?" he asked impatiently, though the nature and look of the three made it a tricky affair to be outright short and impatient with them. Tiny bodies, large round eyes, it would be like kicking a puppy.
"I wouldn't put it past Cassion," Arlo said to Vega, turning his attention back to supporting her while she kept moving. "He does have a flair for the dramatic but this doesn't seem quite his style." As for the sharp pains she was having, and how far apart they were, Arlo had to consider whether it was wise or not to clarify for the already agitated Vega, while he believed the midwife was asking. Caution to the wind, he impulsively decided. "I think she means, how long between the pains," he suggested as gently and diplomatically as possible.
But she wanted a story...Now? Arlo frowned curiously while they went along. Then again, a story...something sweet or even whimsical, might help take her mind off all the worries that were currently chasing her. "Have you ever heard the story of how the pegasus got her wings?" he asked. "A long, long time ago, even before two legged men and women walked the lands, there was a beautiful, snow white horse that lived beneath the shadows cast by snow capped peaks, deep in the forest surrounded by towering trees, babbling brooks, keeping company with all sorts of whimsical woodland creatures," he told her.
"But for all her beauty and that surrounding her, and no matter how wonderful the place that she lived, she was lonely, and not happy at all. She knew that she wasn't like other horses, with all her heart and soul she wished to soar among the peaks with the eagles. For there," Arlo added with a smile and in a soothing tone, "she'd feel closer to the sun. First, she asked a buzzing bee if he'd be willing to lend her his wings. Oh no, the bee buzzed back gruffly," he said, transforming his voice to suit. "My wings are much too fragile for the likes of you. They'd tear much too easily in the wind."
After that, "She happened across a snow white dove who was busy feathering her nest. May I borrow your wings, the little while mare asked politely?" And Arlo switched tones to match, yet again. "Don't be silly, the little bird said. My bones are hollow. My wings would never lift you up off the ground. But because the horse found the white feathers to be the prettiest ones that she'd ever seen before, the little bird relented, just enough, to give the mare a few of her feathers to weave into her mane and tail."
"Of course, the little horse still yearned to fly, but she did love her new feathers. So many trials later, she was standing at the edge of a pond, admiring her reflection in the still, perfect clear waters. But then she heard a ruckus nearby and when she looked round to see, she spied a small fairy that had been caught up and become hopelessly snagged in a bramble. The beautiful, shimmering little creature wailed with fright but the more she struggled, the more dire her predicament."
"And then, something changed for the little horse," Arlo told Vega, and smiled. "For the first time in months, she stopped thinking of how much she wanted to fly. She stopped feeling sorry for herself, and wanting to be much more than she was. She only cared for the little creature in trouble. And so acting quickly, she tenderly nudged away the offending brambles until finally the little fairy was free. Oh, thank you, the fairy cried! I've been here forever! A bee buzzed by once, but said he was too busy to stop. A bird just yester-trial said she had no time, she had a nest to feather! I would like to reward your kindness, she told the little horse. What is your fondest wish and I will grant it!"
"The little horse thought and thought on the fairy's offer. But suddenly she'd forgotten just what it was she'd been yearning for. Instead, she'd remembered what was most important of all. I'm only happy that you're free, she said, when she could have asked for anything she wanted just then. Fairies are magical, after all!" Arlo said with a grin. "But of course, because fairies are magical, this one knew exactly what the snow white horse yearned for, deep in her heart. And so right then, right there, the fairly smiled, fluttered her wings and sent out sparks of rainbow colored light, and the snow white feathers woven into the mane and tail of the little mare came loose, fluttered up and around her body until they all settled again, forming two, glorious wings upon her powerful back. Fairies are magical creatures after all, and that made all the difference. So from that day forward, thanks to the little fairy in the bramble, she was able to soar among the clouds, just where she belonged. And that, is how the pegasus got it's wings."