Never Ending Happiness

ONE MONTH LATER

Applejack woke up feeling miserable. She rolled over to see Spike, but discovered that he was already gone for the day. She glanced out the window to see if he was in the orchards... no. He had already gone to the market.

She rose, unsteadily, from the bed and clutched her stomach in pain. The urge to vomit was almost unbearable. She ran as fast as she could to the bathroom and not a moment too soon.

"Ugh..." She sighed when it was over. "What was that all about?"

Then, she heard a knock at the door.

"Applejack? You in there?" Twilight called out when she knocked on the door again.

"Ah'm a comin'!"

Applejack hobbled to the door and quickly swung it open much to Twilight's surprise.

"OH, Applejack! What happened to you?!" Twilight exclaimed.

She rushed into the house and put her hoof under Applejack's chin to look her over. AJ's mane was in a mess and she had numerous bags under her eyes.

"Are you getting enough sleep?"

Applejack swatted her hoof away in annoyance.

"Yes, Ah'm gettin' plenty a sleep!"

Twilight was taken aback by her friend's harsh tone.

"Well, maybe you're getting too much. We said to meet us at the spa at nine... and it's almost noon!"

Applejack groaned and wrapped her hoof around her stomach again, feeling woozy and collapsing onto the floor. Twilight gasped and ran to her friend's aid, only to be pushed away by the stubborn farm pony.

"Ah'm OK, Twilight. Ah don't need help."

She got back on her three hooves and hobbled out the door.

"Well? Aren't we goin' to the spa?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, but said nothing more as the two of them walked in silence. They were greeted at the spa door by the twin ponies who owned the place.

"May we help you, Princess?" Aloe asked warmly.

"We're meeting our friends here an-"

"The usual!" Aloe interrupted, grabbing the Princess and Applejack and throwing them into a sauna. Applejack gasped for breath in the hot, stuffy place and tried to fan herself off.

"Why, Applejack, a sauna is meant to help you sweat off some extra calories!"

Applejack looked over to the high-pitched voice and smiled a little. Rarity smiled back as she wrapped her silky mane into a damp towel. Fluttershy and Pinkie were there as well, both of them already having towels on their heads.

"Rainbow's a no-show again, eh?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, you know how much she despises ponies touching her..." Rarity gagged in disgust. "Daredevil hooves." She prissily waved her own hooves around and admired the gleam that they cast across the room. "I, on the other hoof, truly enjoy shining them up a bit."

"A bit? You can see yer own reflection in 'em!"

Rarity glanced down at her hooves and smiled.

"And don't I look ravishing?!"

Applejack rolled her eyes and chuckled for a little while before she heard a deep rumbling noise coming from her stomach.

"Good heavens, Applejack, did you have nothing to eat this morning?"

Applejack blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, Twilight here was so eager ta get me outta mah home, that I didn't have nothin' ta eat." She shot an accusing glance over to Twilight who also blushed.

"Well, we must get you something." Fluttershy piped in. "What are you hungry for?"

"Uh... I guess... a daffodil and daisy sandwich."

"That's no problem! I've got one right here!"

Pinkie Pie pulled a plate from behind her back which held a soggy, yet edible, daffodil and daisy sandwich.

"Pinkie Pie, where did you get that?" Rarity exclaimed.

"I didn't have much time to eat, either, so I brought breakfast with me! Here you go!"

Pinkie Pie threw the plate over to Applejack who smiled gratefully. She was about to take a bite, when she stopped to think about something.

"An' you don't possibly have any... sapphires, do ya?"

The room went utterly silent.

Everypony stared.

"Uh... Applejack?" Fluttershy whispered.

"Nope! Sorry! Fresh outta sapphires!" Pinkie Pie gave an apologetic grin before changing the subject. "Did you know that Pound and Pumpkin are almost two years old now?! Boy, does time fly!"

The conversation continued and everypony eventually dropped the whole 'sapphires' bit, everypony except for Fluttershy who was still staring quizzically at Applejack. AJ tried to act like she wasn't aware of Fluttershy's troubled gaze, but eventually found herself staring back into Fluttershy's eyes and sighing with concern.

Applejack then quickly looked away and shoved the entire sandwich into her mouth, chewing contently on the juicy petals of the flowers. While the rumbling in her tummy died down, there was still a strange craving for precious gems...

"Oh, it's time for our mud masks!" squealed a delighted Rarity.

"You can count me out for this one!" Applejack declared as she rushed to sit in a waiting chair.

"You'll at least join us for our mud baths, won't you?"

Applejack grimaced and slowly turned her eyes to the white unicorn. Her lips were puckered out and her eyes were as big as she could make them and she let out a small whimpering noise. Eventually, she had to collapse onto her stomach and cry out to make Applejack agree.

"So, how's life living with Spikey-Wikey?" Rarity asked as Aloe coated her face with a thick green mud.

"It's nice. He takes care ah me an' all. Why, he practically runs our whole farm!"

Suddenly, Applejack started to feel woozy again, so she instantly tried to change the subject.

"How 'bout you an' Fancy Pants?" Applejack mocked. "He's sure been ta Ponyville... frequently."

Rarity chuckled nervously when she saw the rest of her friends staring at her. She uttered a silent prayer of thanks when Aloe put two fresh cucumbers on her eyes so that she couldn't see her friends' curious eyes.

"Yes, he quite enjoys seeing my works of art!" Rarity declared while proudly putting her muzzle into the air.

"Ah bet he enjoys seein' you, too."

The five friends laughed when they saw a deep crimson color start to show from the green mud mask. Rarity did her best to hide her face, but to no avail.

"Do you like him?" Fluttershy asked.

"Perhaps... it's too early to tell!"

Rarity turned her back on her friends and tried to ignore them.

"I bet she likes him more than chocolate milk drenched in whipped cream covered with chocolate chips sitting on the top of a hill made of skittles while being rained on by Reese Cups!"

Pinkie Pie snortled to herself and clutched her sides with laughter.

"Actually, Pinkie, I'm not fond of skittles." Rarity retorted.

"But you sure are fond ah Fancy Pants, aren't ya?"

Applejack smirked deviously when she saw Rarity start to tremble. AJ knew that Rarity was about to have an outburst, and it was coming.

"3... 2... 1..."

"YES! I LIKE HIM! HE'S SO SPECIAL AND IMPORTANT TO ME! I WISH HE WOULD PROPOSE! WHY ISN'T HE PROPOSING YET?! HE CALLS ME HIS JEWEL! WE TALK ABOUT LIFE AND HOW I WANT A LIFE WITH HIM!"

Rarity summoned her fainting couch and collapsed into a heap of a muddy and teary mess. Applejack snickered and helped Rarity wipe the mud off the velvet cushions while she was still sobbing uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Rarity's head shot up with excitement and her tears quickly dried.

"Oh! And did I happen to show you my latest creation?!"

Rarity instantly sprung from her couch, forgetting her meltdown, and produced a shimmering new dress. Everypony gasped in awe when they saw the deep green color of the fabric, but most of all they noticed the gold hemming around the skirt.

Applejack looked more closely at the glimmering substance and felt her mouth begin to drool.

"That... isn't... real gold... is it?" Applejack sputtered.

"You bet your left hind leg, it is, Applejack!"

Rarity spun the dress around in circles so that the gold would catch the light just so. Everypony 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at the spectacle, except for Applejack whose eyes were fixed on the hem.

"Madam, the mud baths have been prepared." Announced Aloe who had just walked back into the room.

"Thank you, deary."

Rarity gently hung the dress back up on the clothing rack she had brought with her and draped a garment bag over the top of it. The four friends continued on with their treatments while Applejack stayed behind, still stuck in a trance. Her eyes were fixed on that garment bag and the urge to walk over to it seemed intolerable.

"Gold... real gold." Applejack muttered, slowly approaching the clothing rack. She laced her hooves through the garment bag's rough texture and felt the soothing fabric underneath. She carefully pulled out the dress and sighed in contentment when the flickering gold sent sparkles flying across the room.

"Just... one... taste..."

"Applejack?! What are you doing?!"

Fluttershy was gaping in horror at the sight of her friend. Half of Rarity's new dress was stuffed inside her mouth! Applejack tried to spit it back out, but found herself munching happily on the golden hem.

"Applejack, spit that out!"

Fluttershy ran over to Applejack and yanked the dress away from her like a mother would to a toddler. Applejack cried out in protest, but then smacked herself across the face and sighed.

"Ah'm sorry, Fluttershy. I just don't feel right today."

"No kidding!"

Fluttershy looked over the dress and cringed when she saw the teeth marks all along the hem. Applejack blushed in humiliation and tilted her stetson hat over her eyes, but Fluttershy smiled sympathetically and came up with a plan.

"We'll say that Opalescence came in and tore it up a bit."

"That's a lie, Fluttershy."

"Well, am I the Element of Honesty?"

"Well... no... but-"

"Do you honestly want Rarity to know that you did this?"

...

"Well, do you?!"

"No."

Fluttershy sighed with concern and walked over to her friend.

"Applejack, what's wrong?"

"I woke up sick this mornin', I have a cravin' for precious stones, and I almost ate Rarity's new dress! That's what's wrong!"

Applejack turned away from Fluttershy and smacked her hoof off of her shoulder. Fluttershy recoiled, but not because she was afraid. All Fluttershy could do was stare hopelessly at the stubborn pony and try to figure out why she was feeling this way.

Then she had an idea.

"You don't think that you could be..."

Applejack looked over to her.

"You know... uh..."

"Yeah? What?"

"Hold on, let me think!" Fluttershy looked away from Applejack and started muttering. "Sick in the morning... strange cravings... irritation... mood swings..."

Suddenly, Fluttershy's head snapped up and she quickly rushed over and embraced Applejack tightly. Applejack gazed awkwardly, and quite intimidated, at Fluttershy's hug (which was quite strong for her) and eventually had to yank herself away.

"What? What is it?" Applejack demanded.

"I think you're... pregnant." Fluttershy whispered.

Applejack froze. At first, she couldn't even comprehend the words that had come out of Fluttershy's mouth and she just stared into oblivion. Then the words sank in and a deep scowl started to form on Applejack's face.

"How dare ya?" She muttered.

"What?" Fluttershy came closer.

"How dare ya raise mah hopes!"

Applejack sprung onto the pegasus and pinned her onto the ground. Fluttershy squeaked in fear, but did not scream as Applejack snorted into her face.

"Ya know how much Ah want a foal, and now ya tell me that Ah'm PREGNANT?! Element of Kindness indeed!"

Applejack raised a hoof to strike Fluttershy and took in a deep breath. Fluttershy squeezed her eyes tightly shut and whimpered as the hoof started to fall. But then it stopped.

"What am Ah doin'?"

Applejack slowly lowered her hoof to the ground and jumped off of Fluttershy. She started to walk towards the exit of the spa with Fluttershy quietly trailing behind her.

"Where are you going, Applejack?"

Applejack turned around to see Fluttershy with tears streaming down her face. Seeing this only made her stomach twist into even more knots!

"Away from everypony! Ah'm not safe anymore!"

Fluttershy watched helplessly as Applejack galloped out the door, leaving a stream of tears behind her. She wanted to call out for help, but couldn't even manage a silent breath.

That was the last time that anypony had seen Applejack. She had barricaded herself in her home and refused to let anyone in, except for Spike, of course. She stayed in there for two whole months until the doctor insisted that she see him at once! So, one day early in the morning, she quietly slunk out of her room and towards the hospital where the news of another miracle would be waiting.