Precious Cargo

“Hey there, Pinkie, Rainbow, what y’all up to?” AJ strolled into the dining area of Sugarcube Corner where the other two girls had been chatting.

Pinkie squealed and vibrated her way into the backroom, “I can’t wait to throw the PARTY!!” Leaving both Rainbow and Applejack staring after her confused, and both somewhat dreading Pinkie’s plans.

“Now, what in the hay has got her all excited.” AJ wondered out loud.

Rainbow rubbed her one foreleg with the other, staring at the design in the floor tiles, trying to screw up the courage to tell her how she felt.

“AJ, I have something to—“

“Rainbow, Ah need ta—“

Both mares stopped, blushing, and AJ said, “You c’n go first.”

“No, go ahead, what were you gonna say, AJ?” Rainbow insisted, the knot of worry she’d felt at Twilight’s building again, either that or the ginger snaps had worn off, she wasn’t sure which.

“Well, Ah just wanted ta say that, um…” She trailed off, scratching the back of her head with her hoof. “Aw haystacks Rainbow, Ah love you, an’ Ah know ya don’t feel that way about me, but after the last party, Ah just couldn’t keep it bottled up no more. Ah’ve missed ya aroun’ the farm, an’ Ah kinda figured y’were avoidin’ me. So Ah made up mah mind Ah was gonna tell ya how Ah feel the next time Ah saw ya, no matter what was goin’ on.” Applejack plopped down on her haunches and stared at the floor, blushing wildly, and praying she’d made the right choice.

Rainbow stared at her for a few minutes, overcome with something she didn’t really tap into all that often, and before she could do anything about it tears started pouring down her face. She knew AJ was waiting for a response, some kind of answer to her confession, but she just couldn’t control it. All she wanted to do at that moment was bury her nose into that straw-colored mane and forget the world for a while, but all she could do was sit there and sob as all of the stress, exhaustion, loneliness and hope of the last several days came rushing down on top of her. “I love you to-oo-oo.” She sobbed, trying to control her tears and failing.

“Hey. Hey, sugarcube. Shh.” AJ pulled Rainbow into her arms and held her, letting the cyan Pegasus bury her nose right where she wanted to. She made the shushing noise all mothering types make when somepony’s upset, and gently rocked back and forth a little until Rainbow pulled back looking very green around the edges.

“P-“ Was all AJ got out before Rainbow loosed the contents of her stomach onto the floor between AJ’s hooves. Holding the chromatic mane back from her face, AJ simply waited patiently until Rainbow’s heaves were calmed. Then she took the offered towel and bucket from Mrs. Cake, who’d heard the commotion from behind the counter. She gave the orange Earth pony a sympathetic smile, then left the two with their pseudo-privacy.

Fortunately, there weren’t any patrons in Sugarcube Corner at the moment. So, both ponies could clean up without anyone being the wiser. For safety’s sake though, AJ guided Rainbow out the side door, so that should the cyan pony vomit again it wouldn’t be in the restaurant. Once AJ returned with the rinsed out bucket, just in case, she found Rainbow leaning against the wall of the building, dozing.

“Honey, why didn’t ya tell me ya was sick? An’ what’re ya doin’ out an’ about if ya are?” AJ nuzzled Rainbow gently, rousing her.

Rainbow started to shake her head, but thought better of it, and answered in a hoarse voice, “I’m not sick.” She had to pause, and AJ filled the gap.

“Course ya are! Ya jus’ threw up all over mah hooves, girl!”

She sighed heavily. “I’m not sick…” The pause again filled the air and the gap began to grow heavy between the two. Instantly a million thoughts ran through AJ’s mind, and Rainbow’s next words, “I’m pregnant.” Fell heavily in her ears.

“Ah see.” She said softly, her ears down and a bit of her color fading. “Who’s the lucky stallion?” Suddenly Rainbow’s tears made sense. If she was pregnant, that meant that there was somepony in her life, which meant that all of AJ’s foalin’ around was over now that she was settling down to raise a family.

“There isn’t one.” Rainbow looked at the floor, sounding like Fluttershy.

The silence grew between them again, AJ wasn’t too sure what Rainbow meant by her statement. It wasn’t natural for a stallion not step up and take care of his foal, but then again, knowing Rainbow, maybe she hadn’t told him yet. AJ watched the object of her affection closely, looking for any sign that the cyan mare was pulling a prank on her, but from the bags under her eyes to the swelling of her breasts, from the way her hair hung limp against her frame to the luster of her coat, there was no mistaking it. Rainbow was most definitely pregnant. AJ had seen enough expectant mothers in her life to know that fact without a doubt. In fact, she cursed at herself for not realizing what was going on the whole time. Rainbow must have had a special male somepony the whole time, and that was why she’d kept running away. Unconsciously, the farm pony sighed, and didn’t notice Rainbow wince.

Rainbow, though watching her hooves had been watching AJ just as carefully, following the strong curve of her haunches, the toned way her shoulders became her neck, and that sun-weathered blonde mane, the color of freshly churned butter. Really her whole coat was like that, soft yellow, but years of working in the sun had bronzed the skin underneath her fur, giving her the appearance of a burnt orange sunset. Then she’d sighed.

It was all Rainbow could do to hold back the tears. She hated that about this thing, her emotions were all out of whack. “I-I guess I’ll let you get back to work.” She got up wearily, more tired now than she had been when they’d sat down together.

Applejack was confused. “Wait!” When Rainbow turned and frowned, AJ almost lost her nerve. “Ah mean yer gonna be alright, right? Uh…Ah mean, Granny Smith don’t need me on th’ farm fer a while yet. Ah could…um…” She trailed off unable to meet Rainbow’s steady gaze.

The Pegasus settled her wings on her back and sniffed, for an instant appearing like the boastful, show-off she normally was. “Don’t worry about me. I’m Rainbow Dash! Nothing can keep me down.” She spread her wings and forgetting her balance issues took off, leaving AJ in the dust. If that hypocritical farm pony wasn’t interested in her foal then she wasn’t interested in that…beautiful…honest…hard-working…farm…pony…her trajectory wobbled as her emotions began to get the better of her again. All she really wanted to do was bury her face in that straw-blonde mane, drink in the scent of apples, and let the world melt away, but AJ had made it pretty clear to her that there was no room for a filly, Rainbow thought with a snort. An amazingly talented, definitely stunning, and wonderful filly; she was sure of it. She banked left and fluttered down to Twilight’s library balcony only losing her aim once now that she’d begun to compensate for the added weight of her filly. Her disorientation hadn’t even bothered her on her descent, which brought her out of her funk for the moment.

Dumb founded and more than a little angry at Rainbow’s stuck-up exit, AJ snorted loudly. She pulled her Stetson down a little farther on her head and set off in the same direction Rainbow had, catching up with her as she landed in Twilight’s tree.

Barging through the door without bothering to knock, AJ bellowed, “Now you see here, missy! What in tarnation d’ya think yer doin’ takin’ off on me in th’ middle of th’ most important conversation Ah’ve ever had!?”

Twilight looked up and blinked at AJ, clearly confused by the situation, and obviously unaware of what was troubling her friend. “Uh, Applejack? Can I help you?”

“Not you, Twi, Ah mean,” AJ crossed over to the stairs leading up to Twilight’s living quarters and shouted louder, “the featherbrain upstairs that just took off on me after tellin’ me she was pregnant without givin’ me so much as a moment ta think ‘bout it!”

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t have run off if you hadn’t taken so long to answer!” Came the shouted reply from upstairs.

“Rainbow?! You flew in? I told you that you shouldn’t fly until we find out who the father is!” Twilight called, worried. “If that’s a Unicorn or Earth foal you could be in serious trouble. Unicorn babies can do magic as soon as their horn grows, and Earth pony foals are too heavy for you to carry through the skies safely. You may not even be able to land on clouds if you’re carrying an Earth baby!” Twilight had started up the stairs, her horn primed and ready to examine Rainbow, when AJ pushed past her.

“Ya mean ta tell me y’don’t even know who th’ stallion is?!” AJ was shocked, livid even, at the thought of being just one of Celestia knew how many others that Rainbow dallied with over the past year.

At this point Rainbow had shut herself in the spare room Twilight had loaned to her earlier, and was leaning against the door, cradling her belly, and tears streaming down her face. She knew what AJ must think of her, what she thought of herself, but there was no denying it. “I don’t care! This is my filly, and whoever sired her doesn’t matter. I’ll raise her on my own if I have to. I’ll go back to Cloudsdale, or Canterlot, or maybe even Fillydelphia. It’s obvious you don’t want anything to do with her, so why so you care if I slept around on you!?”

Emotion had made her voice raw, and she knew she wasn’t masking her pain very well, but she was too angry to care. It was true she’d never come out and told AJ how she felt, but she’d been too afraid that the farm pony was only interested in fillies when she was drunk. That didn’t mean she’s slept around on her though. She was Loyalty, for Luna’s sake! She thought her friends knew her better than that, at least, she thought AJ knew better than that.

AJ listened to the sobbing Pegasus in the next room, her temper cooled so quickly she couldn’t recover. “Ah…Ah never said Ah didn’t care about the foal.” She said softly, unsure if Rainbow could even hear her. The sound of tears on the other side of the door seemed to quiet slightly, and she pressed further. “D’ya…” She almost couldn’t say it. “Rainbow? Were ya…were ya raped?”

Silence. Twilight held her breath. She’d been too afraid to ask that question herself, but it had burned in the back of her mind. So, both mares stood on eggshells waiting for some answer from the distraught Pegasus beyond the door.

“I don’t know.” Came the soft reply after a while.

Neither the Earth pony nor the Unicorn realized the door had opened until they heard Rainbow’s tentative footsteps. She looked up through her mane at Applejack, tears still shining in her eyes. AJ seemed to know what she wanted and sat down so the blue mare could lean against her. Twilight took that as her cue. She did a quick scan with her horn while Rainbow was trying to make her voice work again after crying so much, and made her exit to report the information to both Princess Celestia and Nurse Redheart at the Ponyville Mare’s Wellness Clinic.

AJ nuzzled Rainbow’s forelock and whickered softly, a calming, loving noise she had practiced looking after Applebloom for so long. ‘What happened to ya, sugarcube?” She asked softly, never once moving back.

“I don’t know, a week and a half ago I thought I had a cold. I was nauseous and tired, and it took more than my usual shower to get me up in the morning.” She took a deep breath, admitting weakness was never easy for Rainbow. “Then…I stopped being able to control the clouds, and flying was so hard. I just couldn’t fly straight. Even Derpy was flying circles around me. So, I started calling off from the weather team.”

“Oh, sugarcube, why didn’t ya tell us?” AJ tucked her muzzle under Rainbow’s cheek. “Y’know we’d have helped ya.”

“Derpy did, and Fluttershy covered for me the last two days, but the final straw came today when Dinky was sick and…”

“And Fluttershy’s helpin’ Big Mac in Appleloosa.” AJ finished. The thought that it was odd he needed both Fluttershy and Rarity to accompany him seemed odd, but Rainbow’s disheartened sigh brought her back to the present.

Rainbow was talking about collapsing through Twilight’s front door, and the storm and everything that had happened so far that day. “…and then when you didn’t answer me, I just figured you didn’t care.”

“Now stop right there, sugarcube. Ah never said Ah didn’t care.” AJ took Rainbow’s shoulders in her hooves. “Ya caught me off guard, that’s fer sure, but Ah never said Ah didn’t care!” Her emerald eyes bored into Rainbow’s rose ones, hopefully carrying all of the love and honesty she held in her heart. “Ah don’t care if yer pregnant, or if yer gay, or straight, or secretly a stallion under all that hot air and ego. Ah love you, for who ya are. Ah admit Ah jumped ta some conclusions Ah shouldn’t have without voicin’ ‘em, but there has ta be a stallion fer ya ta be preggers. It just cain’t happen without one.”

“Actually, Twilight told me about this spell she’s read about, but I wouldn’t do that to you, not without your…” She trailed off as a flash of memory crossed her mind; tasting apples and alcohol, her own husk voice asking the unknown pony for a foal, the laughing ascension slurred by sarsaparilla. “Oh sweet Celestia’s wicked horse-feathers…” Rainbow swore in a soft, horrified voice.

Applejack frowned at Rainbow’s sudden change in demeanor. “What?”

“I think I know who the father is.” She pulled away from AJ fear radiating from her form, making her wings clench tight against her back and her hooves shake.

“Y’do?” AJ tilted her head, with an eyebrow raised in confusion. “Was it somethin’ Ah said?”

Rainbow shook her head and got to her hooves. “I think we need to talk to Twilight first. It was something I said, triggered it.” She started shakily down the stairs with the comment, “Maybe we should talk to Pinkie too.”

AJ was thoroughly confused, but also curious as she followed the Pegasus down and out of the library.

Spike was on his way in, carrying a bag stuffed to the brim with plants and bottles, obviously just returning from Zecora’s hut. “Hey, where you guys going? I just got back, and where’s Twilight?” He looked around, but Rainbow didn’t stop.

AJ threw, “Ah think she’s at the Wellness Clinic. We’re on our way ta go find her, wanna come?”

“Yeah, wait up!” The exuberant young dragon tossed the bag down rather recklessly and darted after AJ and Rainbow.

Outside of the Mare Wellness Clinic, Twilight waved goodbye to Nurse Redheart, “I’ll make sure she comes in to see you soon.”

The white mare wearing the nurse’s cap over her pale pink mane smiled. “You just make sure your friend makes her way over here, and everything should be right as rain. Dr. Foalgood is the best Obstetrician to come from Cloudsdale University.”

Twilight smiled, waved again and turned around to crash into Rainbow, running at full speed across the square. She opened her mouth to apologize but as time seemed to slow down her eyes went wide and she just barely got her teleportation spell primed when Rainbow blew what was left of the ginger snaps and soda water out of her stomach. The reappearance of Twilight behind Rainbow, and the resumption of normal time brought into focus a collapsed Pegasus and a stunned Nurse Redheart.

“Oh…oh my. This must be our little expectant mother.” The pale Earth pony gracefully stepped around the puddle on her doorstep to lend a hoof to AJ in getting Rainbow to her hooves again. The cyan pony swayed a bit under the weight of her own body and through a combined thought among the three other mares, they maneuvered Rainbow into the clinic. Once she was settled into a bed, she groaned a bit, and passed out.

Not long after, with AJ sitting by her bedside and Twilight and Spike sitting in the window of the flowery patient room, Rainbow was able to focus on more than just the spinning of the world in her ears. Nurse Redheart gave her a disk of crystalized ginger. “Place this under your tongue. It’ll calm your nausea.” She was about to say something to Twilight when she was cut off by a warm male voice breaking through the silence.

“Well, now, you haven’t been taking very good care of your precious cargo, Ms. Dash.” Dr. Foalgood was one of the biggest Pegasi Rainbow had ever seen. He was easily a full hand taller at the withers than Big Mac, and that realization almost brought Rainbow’s nausea back. He was dressed in a white lab coat but underneath his fur was a deep caramel color, and his mane and tail, though cropped close to avoid being a contamination in the medical facility, were almost jet black except for a small peppering of grey that belied his true age. Over all he was quite a comforting presence to all of the mares in the room.

Rainbow just blinked at the doctor for a few moments, trying to come up with something to say, but her exhaustion seemed to be muddling her thoughts. Then she felt something sticky between her legs and she got struck with an icicle through her heart. “Is-is she okay!?” She got out through a strained voice, hoarse and tight between stress and abuse.

“Yes, Ms. Dash, your foal will be fine, but you’re lucky you collapsed here. You’ve been pushing yourself entirely too hard, and judging by your body’s reaction to the pregnancy, that is a very dangerous thing to do as a Pegasus pregnant with an Earth foal.” The words fell like lead on Rainbow’s heart, first her fear regarding the filly, and then the cold snaking truth of what her memories and the doctor’s diagnosis meant, left her mouth dry.

“Can I have a drink?” She croaked, still trying to suck on the ginger.

Dr. Foalgood nodded and Nurse Redheart handed her a small cup. He spoke before she got the liquid to her mouth. “For now, Ms. Dash, please just swish the water in your mouth and spit. We don’t want to risk irritating your stomach any further. You’re quite dehydrated, and on the verges of being malnourished. Why-ever did you wait so long to seek help?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but AJ, Twilight and Spike echoed, “She’s too stubborn.” And Rainbow glared at them swishing water between her cheeks, very much looking like she wanted to spit it at someone and couldn’t decide on a target.

“Well,” Dr. Foalgood chuckled, “I’m going to have to insist that you stay overnight for observation. In spite that your foal is quite the hardy little thing, there was some minor bleeding just after you lost consciousness.” He noted the look of fear cross Rainbow’s face, and smiled warmly. “Never fear, your friend Twilight here was able to monitor your little one quite handily until we could get the monitor hooked up.”

At that moment, Rainbow looked under the covers to see a pink cotton strap around her middle. What she’d thought was the weight of the blanket was actually a faintly pink glowing cloth held over her stomach by the cotton strap. She tilted her head, obviously wondering how it could be monitoring something that wasn’t even really affecting her streamlined abdomen much yet. Truly, with the band and cloth there the rounding out that Rainbow had noticed earlier in the day was invisible, even to her trained eye, and, she thought, if anyone would notice a difference it would be me.

“You are curious about it, yes?” Dr. Foalgood smiled, peeking over the blanket Rainbow was holding up. She didn’t even have to answer him, because he continued on with another, more profound question, “Would you like to hear your foal’s heartbeat?”

Rainbow snapped her head up to stare dumbfounded at the doctor, as he motioned for Nurse Redheart to bring in what looked like a radio with a screen attached. Dr. Foalgood fiddled with a switch on the front similar to that of a radio knob, and within a few moments there was a soft, whooshing sound rhythmically pulsing.

For a few seconds everypony in the room just stopped and listened, their breath taken away by this verification of life within the fastest flier in all of Equestria. Tears came to Rainbow’s eyes and whimpered just a little, touched in a way she never knew she could be by something she’d never seen.

Surprisingly to AJ the sound of the foal’s heartbeat hit her harder than she thought it would as well. Her brow creased for a moment but the sound of the baby was too intoxicating. It wasn’t until Spike broke the revered pseudo-silence that she came back to herself to notice she too had been silently weeping.

“Why is it so fast? IS it because it’s Rainbow’s?” The inquisitive dragon kept looking from Rainbow’s stomach to the machine and back again, clearly confused.

Twilight giggled, she had almost forgotten he was there, “Oh, Spike, that’s because the baby is so small. At this stage of pregnancy the foal’s heart beats around 170 times every minute to make sure that it gets the oxygen and nutrients it needs to grow hooves and legs. In a few weeks we’ll be able to cast a special spell that will let us see him or her.”

Spike didn’t look convinced, but he let the matter drop, knowing that Twilight would have read up on the subject, even before Rainbow’s unexpected foray into it.

“Well, I think it’s time we let our little mother-to-be get some rest. She’s had what seems to be an exciting day and she needs to start rebuilding her strength for later.” Dr. Foalgood began herding everypony out of the room, but Rainbow stopped him.

“Doctor, are you sure that the father was an Earth pony?” She asked worried.

He tilted his head. “It appears to be that way, yes. I assume you don’t know?” Rainbow shook her head and he pursed his lips thinking with a slow nod. “Well, there is a spell we can cast but I’d like to make sure you and the little one are completely in the clear before we cast it.” Rainbow looked crestfallen at the prospect of having to wait, but even she had to admit that the safety of the foal came first. Dr. Foalgood placed a hoof on Rainbow’s comfortingly, “If it will put your mind at ease I can have my partner, Dr. Angelheart, come and do a scan. She’s a Unicorn, graduated from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She’ll at least be able to tell what race your foal is, and possibly a family name depending on whether we have a record for the father’s bloodline in our records.”

Twilight seemed impressed, though she didn’t recognize the name, as she indicated when both of her friends looked at her expectantly. She shrugged, “I think I’m going to take Spike home. Maybe you should walk with me, AJ?”

The farm pony looked torn but Dr. Foalgood said, “Some privacy to perform the test would be best. Sometimes the results aren’t as pleasant as others, and in a case like this, Equestrian Law dictates that the information between Ms. Dash and myself be kept strictly confidential, unless Ms. Dash allows for it to be shared in writing.”

AJ nodded. “Alright. Take care, sugarcube.” She gave Rainbow a nuzzle, not quite old enough to kiss her yet, but she did place a gentle hoof over the sensor of the monitor. “Don’t you worry none, Ah won’t go nowhere, no matter who the father is, unless ya want me to, y’hear?” Rainbow covered AJ’s hoof with her own and smiled, nodding.

Then she was alone with the doctors and Nurse Redheart, who had fetched Dr. Angelheart as Dr. Foalgood’s suggestion. Rainbow sighed. “To tell you the truth, Doc, I’m a bit worried that I already know who the father is. See, I’ve got this hole in my memory from a couple of months ago, when I was partying with Pinkie at the Apple farm…” She trailed off.

The doctors exchanged a knowing look when Rainbow mentioned Pinkie, and Nurse Redheart winced. Dr. Foalgood smiled and patted Rainbow’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, secrecy is our first priority.”

On the walk back to Twilight’s, AJ sighed and scuffed her hooves. “Ah don’t know, Twi. Y’know how she is, she’s always takin’ off on me. Y’think she really didn’t have somepony on the side? I mean besides you and Pinkie, o’ course.”

Twilight blushed lightly, previously having been unaware that Applejack knew about her occasional tryst with the high flying Pegasus and the cotton candy Earth pony. “She swore up and down to me, Applejack, that she doesn’t ever have sex with stallions. I know what it looks like, but I believe her. There’s just something about this that doesn’t sit right with me, like I’m missing something.”

“Ah know what ya mean, Twi. Ah keep getting’ the feelin’ like there’s some part o’ all this that’s just not makin’ any sense.” AJ kicked a rock out of her way, nearly beaming Spike in the head.

“Hey! Watch it, Applejack!” The dragon protested. “I don’t know what you all are bent out of shape for anyway. I’m not even a full grown dragon and I know what happens between a mare and a stallion. I don’t think she’d like to you guys on purpose but how else could she be pregnant?” He made a valid point, but neither mare was comfortable with it.

“It’s simple!” Came the answer to both of the mare’s thoughts, from one Pinkamena Diane Pie, who popped out from the water of the fountain in the middle of the square.

Neither Twilight nor Applejack had realized they had been walking in circles around the square, until Pinkie stopped them outside the Wellness Clinic, which was really part of the Ponyville General Hospital.

Pinkie hoped out of the fountain and shook off like Winona just coming out of a bath. “Like I was saying, Dashie’s not lying, but she’s not telling the whole truth either. She just doesn’t remember!”

“But you do?” Twilight asked slowly, almost afraid to know what Pinkie knew.

Pinkie giggled, “Of course I do, silly! I’m THE party pony, aren’t I? You really think a party can knock me out? Silly Twilight!” She danced around them, her usual bubbly self, but then she stopped and vibrated across the pavement a little bit. “Oh wow! She really doesn’t get it!” She snorted, and grinned at Twilight and AJ.

“Well, spit it out, sugarcube, who’s the stallion that sired Rainbow’s foal?” AJ raised an eyebrow, staring Pinkie down.

“Mmmm, I think it’d be better from her. Check ya later!” Pinkie bounced off in search of something, and they could hear her singing about pie.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand that pony. C’mon, let’s get Spike home so we can get back to Rainbow and find out what she learned.”

It wound up being the next morning before Twilight could get back over to see Rainbow, and it took the better part of the day to get Applejack back to see her again, as she’d had to catch up on all of the work she’d shirked the day before when she was dealing with Rainbow. Big Mac was due back with Rarity and Fluttershy that night, and Applejack wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything left unfinished for him to do after traveling all day and the night before. So, by the time she made it to the Wellness Clinic, Twilight and Rainbow were sitting in silence, both absorbed into a book, but there seemed to be an uncomfortable air about the place when she entered the room.

“Howdy, girls.” She greeted them cheerfully.

Twilight looked up like she was electrified with a loud, “Eep!” Her mane looked a little frazzled, and she didn’t quite stand up straight when she got down from the windowsill. “I’ll see you later, Rainbow, and don’t worry. Just get it out, you’ll feel better, I swear.”

Rainbow didn’t look like she truly believed the Unicorn, and from AJ’s standpoint, she looked a little worse for wear, in spite of having spent the night and most of the day resting. AJ watched Twilight leave, before coming over to stand next to Rainbow’s bed. She put her fore-hooves up on the bed and reached to take one of Rainbow’s hooves in hers, only to find the Pegasus tense up at her touch. So, she let her go. “What’s up, sugarcube? Don’t tell me ya’ve decided that yesterday was all hormones?”

Rainbow picked at the blanket between her legs, and took a deep breath, as though fighting back tears, “I wish it was that simple, or even that I could turn off how I feel about you, AJ.” She continued looking at the blanket, and AJ remained silent to let her potential marefriend speak her mind unpressured. After an eternity Rainbow sighed again, and looked up into AJ’s eyes. “I love you, AJ, I really, really do, but I’m afraid you won’t accept me once I tell you who the father is.”

“Ah promised it didn’t matter! Ah’ll never leave ya, Dashie!” Pinkie’s nickname for the blue Pegasus speedster just seemed right spoken in that Southern drawl. “Ah always keep mah promises. Ya should know that. Jus’ tell me, who’s the dirty-handed brute that took advantage of ya?”

Rainbow shuddered at AJ’s vehemence. “I’m trying to tell you, AJ. I just didn’t think it would be this hard to tell you the father is…”

“Big Mac! Darling! We’re almost home!” Rarity exclaimed, one hoof on her large brimmed sun-hat, and leaning over the edge of the wagon she and Fluttershy occupied, being pulled by the aforementioned stallion.

Fluttershy hovered out of the wagon and landed next to the large stallion. “Are you alright, Mackie?” Her voice soft and concern in her eyes. “You haven’t said a word since we left Canterlot.”

“Ah’m fine, sugarcube, just concentratin’ on gettin’ home. Ah’ve got a feelin’ in my gut that says we’re in fer some rough ground ahead.” The stallion wasn’t big on words but around these two there wasn’t a need for much to be spoken.