Chapter Ten

Pinkie Pie wasn’t exactly happy, that was for certain. In fact, she seemed quite the opposite. Her puffy, pink curls were straight and those steely blue eyes were glinting from the moonlight above. The sun had just gone down, and with it, that loveable enthusiasm that made her a jester among aristocrats, fooling around until you couldn’t help but giggle. But something was wrong, and it was painfully obvious what it was. You could tell from the corners of her eyes.

She was in pain because somepony hurt her pretty badly… again. Somepony who had no right to hurt her in the first place decided not to show up like they said they would. Somepony who was a complete and total asshole for being late for the second time in a row…

“Pinkie!” A voice called out, catching the attention of the confectioner. She almost dropped the large bag of trash she was carrying when the purple dragon bounced into her. He fell to the ground, panting hard.

“Spikey? What are you doing here?” Her eyes looked over the distressed dragon, nudging him on the ground. With a groan, he sat up.

He continued panting. “Pinkie… I,” he coughed. “Pinkie, I came… to tell you…” He doubled over, wheezing up a fit. Some fire was even rolling down his scaled chin.

“Oh my Celestia! Spikey, are you alright?”

The dragon held up a claw. “Yeah, I think so… but don’t worry about me. We need to get to a hospital!” His eyes went wide as he began to tug at Pinkie’s hoof, trying to coax her away.

She hesitated. “What? I thought you just said you were okay. What happened?”

Spike took in a few deep breaths. “No, no! Not for me. For you!” he tugged on her hoof even harder as she dropped the trash.

She looked taken back. “Spikey? I’m not sick… why would I need to go to the hospital.”

“Because you’re really hurt!”

She shook her head. “Spike, I’m not hurt! Who said I was?”

Spike stopped his thrashing and looked at the mare in her blue eyes. “But it must have hurt you a lot…”

She raised her brow. “Hurt when I what?”

“When you fell straight out of heaven…”

I trotted up to both of them, my bow tie on straight, the flowers I stole from Pinkie’s neighbor’s lawn in my muzzle, and confident now that the best pickup line ever had been executed perfectly, all thanks to my little lizard assistant. I gave him a wink before he shot back a thumbs up and darted off. Pinkie stood there expressionless.

I trotted up close to her and stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. “Oh, I got you these…” I said through my teeth before laying the flowers down at her hooves. She looked down at them and then back up at me, still stoic.

The way she was looking at me was not at all what I was expecting. No smiles, no cheerful jubilee… just staring.

Oh god, I fucked up...

“Pinkie… I’m sorry I’m late. I just thought that I could—” Before I could finish, our mouths were together, locked in a kiss. Her eyes weren’t open, but mine sure were. How could they not be, with her trying to jam her huge pony tongue into my innocent little mouth. Not the biggest thing I had in there these past couple days, but definitely my favorite.

We broke away, but Pinkie was still trying to grab a hold of my mouth. “Woah, hey, what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Alright?” she said. “Alright!? Of course I’m alright! You showed up; you’re here!” She was practically jumping up and down at this point.

I chuckled. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss this date for the world.” She kissed me again on the cheek. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t make it the first time.”

“Oh, Brian,” she laughed, “I don’t care about that now. You made it… you made it this time.” In the middle of her thought, she seemed to drift off to somewhere else. I couldn’t quite tell where it was, but it looked like a happy place. I was glad she found whatever she had been looking for.

I felt a gentle tug at my mane that jerked me back to reality. “Oh yeah, the date! Where would you like to go?” Though, it seemed as though she already had some place in mind. She trotted off down the road, and I rushed by her side. “Where are we going?” I asked, playfully nipping at her ear.

She smiled outwardly. “The library…”

“The library,” I asked. “How are we gonna get food at the library?” She just giggled and nudged me on the side. I felt weird for a minute. Pinkie was not acting like Pinkie. In fact, I was almost sure that something was awry. And I use awry because I know that it implies something is very strange. You don’t just say awry when something could be just a tad bit out of place. No, awry is a strange word for an even stranger situation. Only weirdos use awry.

I’m not going to lie. I was not a very talkative person. But I think that’s why I’m so attracted to Pinkie. Opposites attract, and Pinkie would much rather chat your ear off than listen to you complain about your trifles. I would sit, she would talk, and I would listen. And I can say without a doubt, I loved every minute of it.

So when I say something was awry when Pinkie was being quiet, you can be sure as hell that something was up, whether good or bad. I kept my mouth shut and trotted closer to Pinkie, making her feel aware that I was with her every step of the way. I don’t know why I felt the need to reaffirm my faith in her, but it felt appropriate enough. The streets of Ponyville winded up and around in every which way, and she led me through it without so much as a second glance. I would’ve been lost without her to show me what way to go.

Finally, we rounded a corner and set off toward the end of the road where the library tree house stood firmly planted at the roots. It had been a couple of days since I had been there, and the lights were out.

“Pinkie? Why are we going in there? I don’t even think Twilight’s home.”

That reminded me of the other choice I had turned down in order to come here. Twilight was probably out looking for me to try the spell. What a shame, too. I was going to swing by after taking Pinkie home to see if the potion would still work. You have to set priorities, or else you’re going to be lost somewhere you don’t want to be. Anyway, I guess this means I missed my chance...

She just chuckled and kept walking. My first assumption was that Spike was going to cook us up some dinner because, after all, you couldn’t get a better dragon cook than him. The dude may have sacrificed a certain amount of masculinity, but he was one hell of a cook on the show. I can only imagine what the real food must taste like.

But if he wasn’t home, then what were we doing there? Sure, reading leaves you full of knowledge, but a full stomach is worth more in my book, and the low grumbles coming from below were telling me that the tank was empty. Pinkie broke away from me and quickly galloped up to the door before I could catch up with her. She knocked her hoof three times pretty loudly and turned back to me, smiling the whole time.

“Ready?” she asked me.

I stared at her. “Uhh, ready for what?”

“The date, silly!”

I looked at the library door and back at her. Yes, awry is definitely the word I’m using to describe the situation.

“Oh yeah,” I answered mechanically. “Of course.” I spoke hesitantly and I’m sure she could sense it. It’s not all the time that you talk to someone that thinks you might be trying to lure them into a trap…

She beamed at me and opened the door with a hoof. Inside, the room was pitch black with no source of light whatsoever. Though, it didn’t seem to halt her one bit as she trotted on in, slowly being gobbled up by the tree’s dark gullet. I hesitated.

Am I going to trust her? Am I ready for whatever is about to be on the other side of this doorway? I looked back out into the street. Freedom is just down this street. It’s just a hop-skip-and-jump away. One turn, and I’m out.

But why would I leave? Pinkie’s done nothing wrong to me. In fact, I’m the one who’s done something wrong to her, whether intentional or not. And even after all that, she’s still willing to keep me? After all that garbage I put her through? A little part of me is afraid of Pinkie. Afraid, not because of some stupid little story I read about her when I was a human, but more of what going through that door meant.

It was just a door, and I was just someone who had the choice to walk through it. Either you wait outside, or you take that first step. Take a chance, they say. Make that final plunge. Let yourself change.

I didn’t need to decide. I already made my decision an hour ago.

I took the first step of the rest of my life into the stuffy, pitch black library.

The lights flashed on.

“SURPRISE!” I was blinded for a moment and stumbled onto my flank as confusion took hold of me. Around me, familiar faces greeted me as my vision restored itself. I saw Pinkie standing in the middle, her arms outstretched and pointing to a sign above her that read: “Welcome to Ponyville!”. Twilight was standing next to her, a goofy grin plastered on her face like she had been laughing. It was me and my flabbergasted face she was laughing at too, I’d bet.

All around the center table, the elements of harmony stood, each watching me and smiling at me like I had saved Equestria or something. Rarity even showed up… Huh, she doesn’t look as shiny as I thought she’d be… Next to her, Rainbow Dash was standing with a little orange pegasus on her back. The little one was craning her neck over Rainbow Dash’s ear like she was telling her some big joke, and from the chortles Rainbow was giving, it seemed to be a good one. I can only assume that it’s about me and the time I met the crusaders. It’s funny cause I didn’t think they got why I was so quick to run away. Maybe they’re a little more clever than I thought they were.

Slouched in the end of the group was Fluttershy… who was doing her best to hide it, but I saw it plain as day. She was pregnant. I sighed and thought about something to do with the loss of her innocence, but I couldn’t delve too deep into the subject. There was too much going on to focus on just one thing. Fluttershy needed tending to, but that could wait till later.

On the other side of the library, near the shelves, were a few other ponies. In the front sat a rather familiar pony with gray fur and a violet bow tie. It was Octavia, and next to her was none other than the infamous DJ Pon3 herself, rocking the purple shades, a sly grin, and a belly that protruding out in a way that made me think she had packed something more than just a few pounds.

Next to her was Derpy Hooves and Zecora who shared similar fates. I wanted to shake my head and sigh, but too many things were being thrown at me. That makes… seven. Six ponies and one zebra that are pregnant. Applejack who was leaning against a post, much larger than the rest of the mares, Fluttershy who seemed more afraid than glad to see me, Twilight, Vinyl, the aptly named Derpy Hooves who was literally dipping her head in a bowl of punch, and of course, Princess Celestia, who was standing behind the rest, nudging her sister in the side.

They were all there. Every pony whom I affected with my blind lust and lack of forward thinking. There were a few more ponies that I didn’t recognize, but they just seemed to be there to enjoy the party. They were smiling. In fact, there wasn’t a frown in the whole library, except of course, for Fluttershy, who seemed just as timid as one would presume.

I was taken back. They were happy, but after all that happened? They’ve got to take care of these foals and raise them all because of me… and they threw a surprise party for me? How could they not be afraid? How could they be so accepting of their situation? How could they not hate me?...

Pinkie trotted up to me and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Are you alright?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m just… a little surprised is all.”

“Great!” she shouted. “That’s what we meant to do! You’re so silly, Brian. Haven’t you ever had a surprise party?”

I looked back at the party. “But…”

“But what?”

“I just… I don’t get it. What’s going on?”

Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle waddled up closer to us. “Hey, Pinkie, I can take it from here.” The pink mare nodded and trotted over to the punch bowl to fish Derpy out. “Welcome to Ponyville, Brian.” Celestia walked up behind her.

“And I would like to formally welcome you to Equestria as well,” the Princess said. “You’ve done well, my little pony.”

“Uhh…” I was at a loss for words. “What?” No, I really was at a loss for words. Like, I had not a god damned clue what was going on.

Twilight laughed. “Well, it’s about time I explained, then.” She took in a huge breath and did exactly that. “So, I bet you’re wondering why Pinkie brought you here in the first place, instead of out somewhere else.”

I nodded.

“Because I told her to do it.”

I furrowed my brow and eyed the unicorn. “But… what about turning me back into a stallion? I thought you needed me to come in as soon as possible…”

“Hold on, Brian, I was just getting to that. You see, I may have just been the tiniest bit dishonest when you showed up two days ago. I told you that you were changed because of some kink in the spell that brought you here.”

“Uhuh,” I said, a little bit of anger rising in me.

“Well, that’s not true exactly… Let me just say that magic, and specifically teleportation magic, really doesn’t have as many errors in it as you might think. Actually, all magic is pretty simple once you get a knack for it.”

She seemed to be dancing around the point. “So…” I motioned my hoof in a circle.

“So,” she said. “I turned you into a mare and told you it was an accident… on purpose.”

My mouth hit the floor. Well, metaphorically, but if it were possible, it would have somehow unhinged itself and crumpled to the floor in a heap. “Why in the hell, would you do that!” I was fuming. I’ve had to deal with something over the past few days that no man should have to. I was fucked! I shouldn’t be the fuckee, I should be the fucker!

She ducked her head. “Well, I had to prove if you were ready one way or another…”

I ceased my glare and furrowed my brow. “Ready for what?”

“Ready for all of this. Ponyville, living in Equestria… being a father.”

I slumped down. A test? It was all just a test? “Did I pass?” I asked her.

She smiled and nodded. “Yes! Of course you did! Don’t worry about getting sent home or anything! You’re safe!”

My face lit up. “You were going to send me home?!”

She threw a hoof in her mouth as if she had said something wrong. In her words, I was just the tiniest bit more angry again. “Uhh, maybe… But you passed, so it’s okay!” She giggled, but I just sat there, making it awkward for all of us. Hey, someone had to do it. “You see, we just wanted to know if you’d choose us over something that we knew was nearly impossible to resist. Haha, it’s actually funny. You know, the one who came up with the whole idea of turning you into a mare was actually Spike.”

Just as his name was mentioned, I noticed him slink around the back. He knew all too well what was going to happen if he got close to me. That’s right, you yellow bellied lizard, slink off into the darkness… I know where you live.

“So we set everything up from the beginning. You were going to run into each of us right before you and Pinkie were going to go on a date. We would try to stall you and invite you to sleep with us before you could go out.”

Well, that would certainly explain how everybody knew who I was…

I stopped, remembering something. “So that’s why Rainbow Dash invited me to her house. So those ponies that looked like they were going to rape me, weren’t actually going to rape me?”

“Actually,” a scruffy voice called out from my left. “That wasn’t my turn that night. Fluttershy was supposed to stop you… You were really about to be raped…”

“Oh,” I said, my voice faltering a bit. “I guess some things don’t really change.”

“Well, dude,” she said. “It’s not really rape when you’re practically telling them you want to fuck. I mean, goddesses, you practically painted a target on your plot!”

Rainbow shut up when she realized that Twilight was glaring daggers at her. She slinked off into the corner. “Yes,” Twilight continued. “Anyway, we each had a little test planned for you to see whether or not you were ready. Applejack’s was to test whether you were ready to be honest and own up to things.”

“And you were not ready for that one, Sugarcube…” Applejack chimed in from my right, grinning at me. “Ah knew you were a little worried after seein’ me like this and all.” She motioned to her stomach with a hoof. “But Ah just wanted to see whether ya had the guts to tell a mare to her face that you did it to ‘er.”

I blushed. “Umm, sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize, Sugarcube.” She laughed. “After what I did to ya, I’d say were square.”

“Applejack,” Twilight asked. “What did you do?”

The farm mare laughed. “Oh, I just had Big Macintosh give a little mare a scare is all. Told him to give her something she’d always remember so she wouldn’t be wantin’ none no more. Maybe teach her a lesson about lyin’ to ponies.”

I shuddered. “You definitely got the point across.”

She nodded her head. “Glad to hear it, Sugarcube. You failed my test, but I think I can give you a passing grade now.”

Everything that was coming at me was almost too much to bear. I felt giddy at the fact that I had been the focus of so many ponies, and I had ended up winning despite odds being stacked against me. But I also felt played; used, like a tissue. It didn’t feel very good, I’ll tell you what.

“Huh… I didn’t know Big Mac was in on this…” Twilight said. “But anyway, you weren’t doing very well on the second day. In fact, we were only supposed to give you one day from the start. Pinkie was told to send you to the library, and from there, you were going to be sent home. It wasn’t until that morning that I heard that Pinkie gave you a second chance.” She looked around at the other mares. “Actually, that was when a few of the other mares found out that you were in town. Pinkie told you that she was busy that night so we could give you a few more tests.”

I looked up at Celestia who was listening intently to all of us talk, kind of like a mother watching her children play. “So you got the Princesses involved?”

This time, I was surprised when Twilight shook her head. “No, that’s actually the problem we had. You just sort of disappeared, and it was about an hour later that we found out where you went.”

I furrowed my brow. “Wait, so why are you here right now?” I asked the Sun Goddess herself who merely smiled warmly down to me.

“Ah, that is very simple,” she said. “You see, I had no idea that Twilight was even conducting this little ‘experiment’. I had simply heard mention that you were here, so I dispatched my guards to go get you. It was only when you told me that Twilight was looking for a way to change you back that I realized what was going on. I knew for a fact that my pupil could change you back as easily as levitating one of her books. Something was awry, and you were at the bottom of it.”

Yeah, I’d definitely say something was awry.

“All it took was a simple letter to Twilight, and I was well aware of the plans surrounding you. I am just so happy that you passed! Now you can accept my offer!”

I smiled outwardly. Oh yeah, I forgot about that… well, that’s definitely something…

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I had to accept the offer, no question. But what about Pinkie? I had told her I loved her, and I definitely loved her. How can I be with both? And what about Twilight… and Applejack… and Fluttershy, and Vinyl, Zecora, and Derpy Hooves for christ’s sake! They all needed me, but I couldn’t be with all of them. There’s seven of them and only one of me!

“So basically,” she said, “we didn’t hear about where you were until the Princess sent me a letter this morning. She said you were spending the morning with her sister, and you would be on the noon train back here.”

“And what a wonderful time we had!” Luna interrupted, beaming at me. “Brian, we simply must have another spa date after this! I loved your company, and you’re such a gentlecolt.”

I blushed and smiled back at her. “I’d love to.”

My response was met by a chorus of “D’aaaws” by the Elements of Harmony and Princess Celestia. I blushed even harder and Princess Luna did too. I guess some awkwardness never really wears off.

“So…” Twilight continued, looking eager to finish her presentation that she had obviously spent a lot of time on. “We decided to let you get by with one last test. All you had to do was show up to the date instead of picking your stallionhood. It was a choice: for yourself, or for others. And…” she smiled at me, “while a lot of us had our doubts, you proved us wrong, and from how quiet Pinkie has been, you must have done something right. She only gets this way when you do something so nice for her, she can’t process it.”

Oh, so that’s why she’s not bouncing off the walls happy right now…

Twilight continued. “All we had to do was set you up in an ultimatum with the help of our little mastermind.” She looked around. “Where is Spike anyway?”

I shrugged. Probably getting on the next train to Appaloosa if he’s smart.

Twilight shook her head. “Well, I’m sure he’s somewhere around here. Anyway, you know the rest of the story. You showed up, I explained… and now we’re here.” They all stared at me expectantly. What they expected, I have no clue. Literally, I didn’t know what to say.

“Uhh, I don’t know what to say…”

We stared at each other for a moment before a high pitched voice chimed in. “I do.” It was Pinkie, and she was back over to where we were all crowded around me and talking. “Congratulations, Brian.” She kissed me. “Welcome to Ponyville.”

The room suddenly filled with the cacophony of hooves battering the floor. Most of the pregnant ponies were being careful not to stomp to hard, and for good reason. I almost found myself telling them to take a break from it so they wouldn’t do anything bad to the foals.

The applause stopped. “I have a question to ask him.” I looked around to find Fluttershy uncharacteristically trotting up to me in front of the crowd. Her pink mane was covering most of her face and I could only barely see one of her eyes. She looked so small compared to everyone else. It must have taken her a lot of guts to do what she was doing. She was practically quivering in her place.

In a strangled voice, she choked out, “Brian, umm… I was wondering… if it weren’t too much trouble…” She took in a deep breath. “I was wondering if I could be in your herd!” she yelled and then immediately backed away, as if ashamed she had asked it.

I gave her a funny look. Almost too funny, because she looked like she was about to cry. “Oh no! I knew I shouldn’t have asked! Now everypony thinks I’m dumb!” Tears welled up in her eyes, and my heart almost exploded.

“Fluttershy,” Pinkie said, “you’re not dumb.” She giggled. “Of course you’re in Brian’s herd. All of us are in Brian’s herd!”

“Huh?” I asked, drawing everyone’s attention away from the butter yellow mare. “I don’t understand... you want to join my what?” All of their mouths were gaping. It’s as if I murdered someone right in front of their eyes, and they didn’t know what to do. But I know for a fact that I hadn’t killed anyone because I had yet to see Spike anywhere near me…

“Uhh, your herd, dude,” Rainbow Dash said as she floated above me. “Don’t tell me after all this you’re just going to leave anyway!”

My pupils shrank. “No! I’m not going anywhere! I just… what’s a herd?”

This time, Twilight stepped up to the plate. “Brian, a herd is the group of mares that you’ll live with for the rest of your life with. It’s a covenant between you and them that you’ll protect them and love each of them until you die… don’t you have those where you come from?”

My head teetered back and forth between a nod and a shake. “Uhh, kinda. We have marriages, which are just like that… but only between two people.” Some of them looked sorta surprised when I said ‘two’. I guess the idea of multiple partners is strange to me too, but… it did solve a lot of my problems.

A thought struck my brain like a bolt of lightning. "Wait a second, what about Mr. and Mrs. Cake? They're married, right? They only have each other..." I looked around and a few of the mares were cracking some grins and chuckling.

"Mr. Cake?" Rarity asked. "I'm surprised he was even able to get Mrs. Cake to join his herd. Believe us, Brian. It's not his choice that he only has the Mrs."

... Makes sense...

A part of me was glad that I didn't have to make a choice, but my other half was a bit disappointed. Did this mean I could never have what my parents had? Or what I was going to have before…

I cringed. No, that wasn't important anymore.

But I felt like that was just another piece of my humanity that had been taken away. Sure, I had willingly given it up, but still, now that it’s happened, I don’t know what to feel. Lost? Guilty? Homesick, maybe?

I just didn’t know.

“That sounds dumb,” Rainbow huffed. “Why would you just limit yourself to one pony. You’d go crazy!”

“No,” I shot back, not even looking up. Instead I was looking at Pinkie. “It’s beautiful. There’s nothing else like it. You and someone you love, promising each other that you won’t even take a look at someone else while you’re together. To trade your own life for a shared one. To quit being selfish and devote your time to something other than your interests and carnal needs…” I kissed Pinkie. “That’s what it means to be married.”

My answer was met by yet another round of “D’aaaws,” and I blushed. Wow, I didn’t know I could get that sappy.

“I’m not human anymore,” I said. “So I guess that means I have to give some things up.”

Twilight lifted her head. “So, Brian, what’s your answer?” She smiled. “Can we join your herd?”

I looked around to see every set of eyes in the room locked on me. The Elements of Harmony, Zecora, Vinyl Scratch, Derpy, Octavia, the Princesses… all of them, on me. Every eye was hungry for an answer. So I gave it to them.

Goodbye, Brian…

“Yes,” I said as they all cheered. They all huddled closer to me and laid a kiss on my cheek. Some were even rubbing against my side as if it were some sort of primal instinct to let them know they trusted me. It made me feel flattered, that’s for sure.

The party had started, and I was left with some time to mingle with the guests. I talked to Zecora first who seemed happy to see me. Out of all the ponies, she probably had the least amount of time spent with me. It turns out, Zebras have both herds and unions like the ones back on Earth. She said she could see the ups and downs of both, but to her, there wasn’t much of a difference. That seemed to ease that gut ache I was feeling, and soon I was back in full swing.

Derpy was really physical when I was talking to her. Like, she was ready to jump my bones right then and there, despite me lacking a certain body part that I’m sure she was after. She must have been in heat, which would explain the fact she had dunked her head in the punch bowl at the beginning of the party. Poor girl, I knew how she felt.

Octavia and Vinyl Scratch were bickering over something when I walked up to them, but both immediately shot me their attention. Vinyl was really excited and wanted to have me come over to sample some of her music, and Octavia was already talking about wanting a foal of her own. I shuddered at the thought of raising another, but then again, why the hell not! I already had like seven. What’s one more gonna do?

Eventually, I had gotten around to Twilight who was talking to Applejack about being pregnant from the looks of it. Both seemed happy and talkative when I came up to them.

“So how’s the party, Brian?” Twilight asked.

“Great,” I answered. “Everyone’s being so great! I’ve never had a party like this before.”

She smiled. “Well, you can thank Pinkie because she set it up, and without her, you probably wouldn’t be here either.” I looked off to the side where Pinkie was busy playing a game of pin the tail on the pony.

“Yeah, I guess I do owe her a lot…” Suddenly, I remembered something. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Twilight, do you mind changing me back into a stallion? I think there’s something that I need to take care of that I can’t really do right now… hehe.”

She blushed. “Oh, I see. Well, let me just concentrate for a second and we’ll get you all fixed up.” Her horn started glowing a violet hue. We waited as it seemed to charge up.

“So, Applejack…”

“Yeah, Sugarcube?”

“There’s just one thing I don’t get.” I rolled my head around. “So if Big Mac was in on it, then why isn’t he here right now? Wouldn’t he be here to enjoy the party?”

She paused for a moment. “Oh, Sugarcube, you misunderstood. Big Mac wasn’t in on it. I just told him to pop a mare’s cherry if I sent her over to him. Don’t worry, I told him not to get you pregnant or nothing.”

“Uhh…” was all I could get out before I was punched with a bolt of purple lightning. Steam was rising off my body and my limbs ached uncontrollably. I didn’t realize it, but I was on the ground before anyone knew what was going on. It only took a second for ten hooves to be scrambling to get me back up and check if I was alright. Eventually, I got up and looked around.

“Oww,” I said. “Why did it hurt so much?”

Twilight’s eyes were wide. “That… wasn’t supposed to happen…”

I looked down to find that I still had the same small frame as before, and there were two small teets down below. I was still a mare.

“What the hell? Twilight, why didn’t it work? What’s wrong?” I was starting to panic.

She shook her head. “I… I just don’t know. Here, let me check you.” Her horn lit up again as I looked out over my herd. Some faces were shocked, and others seemed confident that everything was going to work out okay. Twilight didn’t look too sure, though. But Applejack… Applejack had a very curious gaze shooting my way. It almost made me feel uneasy.

“I don’t sense anything wrong with your body. You seem perfectly fit to me.”

I stood up and walked towards her. “Then what is it?!” I practically yelled.

“Hold on, Twilight,” a southern sounding voice called out. “I think I’ve got an idea.” I watched Applejack as she trotted towards me, but then surprisingly went past. Suddenly, I felt my tail get pushed out of the way and a cold nose sniff my nethers. A shiver ran up my spine. It did not feel all that comfortable.

I felt a tiny lick at my opening and shuddered. “Hey, what are you doing back there?” I asked, lowering my tail and turning around. Applejack was just smiling and shaking her head. “Why… why are you doing that?” She looked at me and chuckled.

“Because you’re pregnant, that’s why.”

Author's Note

Hey guys, check back soon for the epilogue, a little something extra, and news about where this story may be going and what I'm writing next. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!