Little Gem
by The Princess Rarity
“I’m definitely going to spoil you rotten… even if your mother might be against it,” Rarity murmured, with a tired smile as she ran her hoof across her wife’s abdomen, feeling the foal inside lightly kick. “You’re going to be the luckiest filly in Equestria, that’s for sure. We’re not a traditional family, but that’s been overdone anyhow. Everypony will love you, from your eccentric aunts, to the family friends, and most importantly, your mother and I. You’re destined to be a hard worker, too.”
She hesitated and gave a low chuckle. “Hopefully, you’ll find some time for the dress shop. No daughter of mine is going to spend all day with mud on her hooves. And you will definitely grow up to be beautiful, no makeup or other cosmetics needed. When you get older, all of the stallions and mares will be lining up around the block just to get a piece of you,” she laughed. “I’ll do my best to keep your mother from shooting them.”
Rarity thought for a minute, as she noticed her snow white hoof contrast against Applejack’s bold orange coat. “You know what, sweetheart?” she whispered to the unborn filly. “You might have a family of two completely different backgrounds, but I can promise you this much. You see, your mother and I, we have very little similarities, but somehow, we’ve managed to stay together in this relationship of ours for almost five years now - and when you’re finally born, I know for a fact that your life will be the most wonderful mix ever. I have a feeling it could get chaotic, but you will love it. I thought I couldn’t stick with it, but look at me now. I’m living in a simple farmhouse with the mare of my dreams, when I used to dream about having a castle with Prince Charming. Funny, isn’t it?”
She noticed Applejack fidgeting in her sleep, and Rarity released a content sigh. “Oh, alright, I think I've talked enough for one night,” she said softly. “But know this, darling - even if you weren't planned, you couldn't have come at a better time in our lives.”
“Ah can hear you, y'know,” Applejack tiredly muttered. “Yer talkin' her ear off, and she ain't even born yet.”
Rarity released a laugh as she felt her cheeks heat up with an embarrassed blush. “Well, I can't help it,” she playfully argued. “Eleven months is a long time waiting, and we haven't even reached the halfway point. Can you blame me for being impatient?”
“No, you're right 'bout that one... but mind if I ask you a question?” Applejack said, with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course not,” Rarity replied. She adjusted her position on the bed, and was now snuggling up next to her wife, who was giving her a smile. “What's on your mind, dearest?”
Releasing an uneasy breath, the earth pony nuzzled into Rarity's soft warm ivory coat, wrapping her hooves around her wife and hugging her.
“Rares... be honest with me, are you scared?” she muttered. “'Cause Ah am, but you're taking it all so well. I dunno the first thing 'bout being a mother, and here you are, actin' like it's a walk in the park. I still can't believe how easy yer takin' this. I mean, normally, I'm the level-headed one.”
Blinking slowly, Rarity kissed her wife's forehead and ran a hoof through Applejack's silky blonde mane. “I'm terrified,” she declared, in an unusually calm manner.
“You don't look it,” was the only thing that could slip out of Applejack's mouth.
“I know,” Rarity sighed. “Apparently, I'm a better actress than I thought.” She gave a half-hearted smile as she shook her head in disbelief. “You have always been one of my top priorities, Applejack, if not the biggest. But now that-” She swallowed, and released a breathless laugh. “-we're going to have a daughter, well, that just threw a wrench in the gears for me. I mean, think about it. One little slip-up after a romp in the sheets got you pregnant. I didn't even know that unicorn magic was possible of doing such a thing, and that's on my own behalf. Now, you're carrying a life that's a piece of us both. In about six months, we're going to have a little girl in this room. No doubt she'll be perfect, but it's a baby. Our child. It wasn't that long ago when I couldn't even take care of my sister, and now I'm going to be a mother?” Her voice cracked, and her lip stiffened.
Silence echoed throughout the bedroom, only before Rarity let out another uneven breath as she placed a soft kiss on her wife's lips.
“I mean, eighteen years... that seems like a long time, but time flies, and I don't want to end up driving my daughter down the wrong path,” she muttered. “Over the past five months - yes, I've been smiling and planning it all and treating you like a faithful wife should, but every one of my nerves are on edge. This isn't the first night I've spent wide awake, worrying about our future where the two of us are going to be up all night with a crying baby, or teaching her how to walk and talk - Heaven forbid when the years fly by and we have to fuss over how she's doing in school and what college she'll be going to-”
“Rarity, Ah've said this b'fore and I'll say it again - I want you to shut that pretty mouth o' yers and listen to me, alright?” Applejack interrupted, as she directly looked to her wife, who immediately quieted down and gave a small nod.
With a slight frown, Applejack gently patted down Rarity's slightly frizzy straightened out bedhead and kissed her cheek. “Ah love you, and bein' married to you is better than any Happy Ending ya used to dream 'bout. I never even thought I would be lucky enough to land somepony like you, but lookit us. How many amazin' things have we done together? We saved the world, traveled all over Equestria in your crazy fashion business and now we're livin' the simple life, about to start a family. We got the best of both worlds and even though ya drive me batty sometimes, I wouldn't trade a thang,” she said. “So what if we didn't plan this baby? And sure, it ain't gon' be easy takin' care of her, on account of the fact she'll be beyond stubborn-” She gave a smirk to her wife, who let out a scoff.
“You're worse than I am!” she teased.
“Anyhow, that's not what worries me,” Applejack continued, as her smile slowly faded. “Watchin' our baby grow up? Ah don't mind that, it's a part of life. Whatever we gotta deal with, we'll manage, like we always have. We can cross the bridges when we get down to that point in the path.” Her expression now became emotionless and she hesitated. “I'm scared she might lose one of us.” She noticed the look of confusion and terror on Rarity's face and looked away shamefully. “I know, I know, it sounds crazy! But it plays out like a broken record in mah family - it's been happening for generations now. Granny's momma just fell over one day, my Pa's daddy got hurt in an accident, and Ah lost both of my parents 'cause they were reckless fools who didn't give a damn 'bout us. That's as far as I can go without havin' to look at the records, and it scares me, y'know? It's almost like a curse.”
She began shaking with every breath, and she choked back a sob. “What if one day, that happens to me or you an' our little girl loses one or both of her mommas?” she stammered.
Rarity shook her head, wrapping her forelegs around her wife, and cuddling her comfortingly. “Oh, dear, don't you dare think that,” she whispered into Applejack's ear. Her voice was shaking with every word, and she swallowed down her emotion. “Now you listen to me, Jacqueline.”
Not bothering to correct her wife on the usage of the full name, Applejack drifted her gaze up to look into Rarity's sparkling blue eyes that put every star in the night sky to shame.
“I might not be the most honest of ponies, but you know very well that I am a mare of my word, so you can believe me when I promise you that nothing like that will happen to our family. We will both be there for every precious moment our daughter has, and she will never lose us, nor will we lose her,” Rarity said, her tone of voice serious and firm. “I know that we're both scared, for different reasons, but I realize that what you said was right - we can't worry.”
“Hey now, I never said that,” Applejack argued.
Rarity gave a wave of her hoof. “More or less, yes, you did. Or perhaps I'm summarizing it wrong, I don't know,” she responded. “Nevermind that. What I do know is that we will have a happy life, the three of us-” She gave a bittersweet smile, and gently placed a hoof on her wife's stomach, feeling their unborn child slightly move around. “-no matter what comes down our path in life. So what I'd like to hear you say is that you believe me. Do you?”
Applejack released a deep breath, and nodded. “Of course I do,” she declared.
“So… let’s take one step at a time, alright?” Rarity whispered.
“I’m good with that,” the earth pony smiled.
The two mares kept their gaze locked and shared a sweet kiss - one that radiated many emotions. Happiness, bittersweetness, anxiety, and anticipation all in one.
As they broke apart, Rarity took note of a single tear streaming down her wife’s cheek.
“Applejack? Darling, is everything alright?” she asked.
The earth pony laughed, and nodded, wiping it away. “It’s just that this is all kinda emotional, and these darn hormones are kickin’ in,” she muttered.
Rarity couldn’t hold back her smile. “Only six more months,” she said simply.
And with that said, the two mares bestowed identical grins, cuddled up next to each other intertwining in their embraces. They fell asleep soundly for the first night in a long time, with not a single worry in their minds. For once, they were absolutely content. The future for them was undetermined, but love and hope was all they needed to have happiness. After all, if it had gotten them this far, then it would be sure to be a good compass for the rest of their adventure.
~ la fin ~
Author's Note
FAMILY STORIES NEED TO BE MORE POPULAR AND I WILL FIGHT OVER THIS OPINION.
Anyway, yeah, cute stupid bittersweet fluff for my OTP 'cause why not.
